Yeah, the official story is that Locarno was too fucked up for audiences to forgive. Jeri Taylor said:
“We had liked the idea of a character like Tom Paris ever since we had done “First Duty” and had Lecarno [sic.]. We didn’t make Lecarno the con officer, because he was somewhat darker and more damaged. We felt Lecarno couldn’t be redeemed and we wanted to be on a journey of redemption.”
Personally, I think Locarno would have been a great choice, because while I like Tom Paris just fine, Voyager utterly failed at selling the idea that he was in need of redemption or a “bad boy” of any kind.
I agree, Locarno at the con would have significantly upped the ante for Voyager. We did see a hint of it in the pilot when Janeway bails Paris out of the penal camp, but the over the course of the first season they pretty much shrugged it off and he is such a Milquetoast character for most of the show.
Yeah, the official story is that Locarno was too fucked up for audiences to forgive. Jeri Taylor said:
Personally, I think Locarno would have been a great choice, because while I like Tom Paris just fine, Voyager utterly failed at selling the idea that he was in need of redemption or a “bad boy” of any kind.
I agree, Locarno at the con would have significantly upped the ante for Voyager. We did see a hint of it in the pilot when Janeway bails Paris out of the penal camp, but the over the course of the first season they pretty much shrugged it off and he is such a Milquetoast character for most of the show.
Yes! As with many things Voyager, it set up a good premise only to move on from it an episode or two later.
Four words, “The year of hell”. It was 90 minutes and immediately reset by the end of part 2…