Sing along with me, folks, to the tune of ”I’m Just a Bill."
I’m just a geek.
Yes, I’m only a geek.
Come on over here and check the technique.
Well, I was flipping the channels
and I noticed something
Two TV directors
Used to have a fling
As characters on Voyager.
Just another day in the week,
A peek into the life of a geek
See, Robert Duncan McNeill and Roxann Dawson were cast members on Star Trek: Voyager. They played smoochy-smoochy lovers. And, as so many Trek players have before them, they directed a few episodes of the series before it went off the air. Unlike many Trek players before them, each has parlayed that into a successful television directing career. McNeill has shot hours of Chuck, Las Vegas, and Samantha Who?, while Dawson has called the shots on episodes of Heroes, Lost, and Cold Case.
They’ve managed to breach the true final frontier: getting post-Trek work.
Hey, there’s plenty of Trek actors with real jobs. Guys like Shatner and Patrick Stewart have made tons of movies n tv shows. Geri Ryan’s messy divorce helped elect Barack Obama to the US Senate, Leonard Nimoy’s been a regular on the sci fi circuit for years and Colm Meaney’s been an acting machine since his Trek stint.
Okay, so MANY of the Trek actors went the way of Walter Koenig or of Mirna Sirtis and only earn $$$ by signing autographs at conventions. But there’s at least a few who have had a decent amount of success post trek.
Didn’t Jonathan Frakes pretty much pave the way for these two?
Jonathan Frakes and LeVar Burton were the first successful TV directors.
McNeill also did episodes of “Dawson’s Creek” and I think “The West Wing” before they went off the air.
I think they each also did episodes of “Enterprise” too. In the one Dawson directed, she also provided the voice of an alien ship’s computer.
Whoa, Marc. You and I are clearly psychic twinsies today! I was discussing this very topic with my friend Erin this morning, just hours before you posted this. This is my exact quote: “It’s so sad, now that I think about it…I haven’t seen ANY of the Voyager cast in anything, with the exception of Jeri “7-of-9″ Ryan. Where did they all go!?!?!? (although we know, Erin, that Paris may be living behind the camera now).”
FREAKY!
I loved both of them on Voyager, and was pleasantly surprised to see that picture pop up in my browser window. So glad both of them are still working.
Hurrah for Voyager alum doing well! That show as a whole was mediocre but it had some nice, shining moments.
While there are some Trek actors who have had somewhat healthy careers post-Trek (Patrick Stewart, Shatner, Frakes, Ryan, and Burton), it does seem that many disappear. Too bad, there are some talented people who should be working…
Kudos to McNeill and Dawson, and here’s hoping to their continued success. Hopefully Hollywood will be less willing to write of Star Trek talent in the future…
I was so excited to see Dawson’s name in the credits when I was watching Heroes the other week! I’m always excited to see Trek actors doing well–Whether it’s in front or behind the camera. Dominic Keating (and George Takei and Nichelle Nichols of course) also have roles on Heroes.
I just noticed this week that McNeill is the executive producer of Chuck. And sure, the big guys who did the movies went on to other stuff…we’re impressed that anyone from the shows that sucked went on to anything.
I am a big fan of Robbie and Roxann and I loved watching the Paris-Torres romance on ST Voyager. I am very happy that they have found post-Star Trek directing success. Robbie has done great work in such a variety of genres. I am only sorry they are not acting anymore because they are very talented actors as well. And FYI “Samantha Who?” has another Voyager connection, Tim Russ (Tuvok) plays a doorman on the show.
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