On Friday, January 5, the entire principal cast of Star Trek: Voyager and its two executive producers appeared before reporters at the Television Critics Association's Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, California, on a day devoted to UPN shows. The following is Part I of the transcript from that appearance.

MODERATOR: I'm pleased to introduce this session. As you all know, Voyager has been the cornerstone of UPN's schedule from the day it premiered on January 16th, 1995. All of us at UPN will be very sad to see it go at season's end, but Rick, Ken, and the show's exceptional cast are going to leave us on a high note with a finale fit for the end of a remarkable seventh-season run. The series finale will air as a two-hour presentation on Wednesday, May 23, from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. And a retrospective of the past seven seasons will air the previous night, on Tuesday the 22nd, from 8:00 to 9:00, followed by an episode voted as the viewers' favorite from 9:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Joining us in the back row from your left, co-creator and executive producer Rick Berman, Ethan Phillips, Robert Beltran, Tim Russ, Garrett Wang, and executive producer Ken Biller. And in the front row from your left, Jeri Ryan, Robert Picardo, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Duncan McNeill, and Roxann Dawson. And I'd also like to thank the production and cast and crew for joining us on what is for them a production day and taking the time to come out for all of you this morning. Thank you. Now they'll take your questions.

Q: So what is the answer to the ultimate question? I guess I'm asking Rick.

BERMAN: Not gonna tell you. (Laughter)

Q: What can you tell us? Are we waiting for the final episode to resolve this, or...

BERMAN: Not gonna tell you. (Laughter)

RYAN: You get nothing.

Q: Anything. Throw us a bone.

BERMAN: (pause) Not gonna tell you. (Laughter)

PHILLIPS: We actually end up in the Gamma Quadrant. Surprises everybody.

Q: Can any of you tell us how the filming of the final season is progressing?

BERMAN: I think it's progressing beautifully. Ken?

BILLER: Yeah, we're very pleased. We've already aired a number of episodes that we're very proud of. We've got some in the can we're proud of and I think we have 14 original hours yet to be aired, and I think that the audience is going to be really pleased. We keep saying that we've saved the best for last, and we really hope that we have and that the audience agrees.

Q: So hypothetically let's say you do get home; what will happen? Like, will Seven of Nine be accepted [even though] the Borg has been feared for so long?

MULGREW: Not gonna tell you.

BERMAN: Do you really think we're gonna fall for that?

BILLER: I think that's a trick question!

BERMAN: Yeah, that was good!

RYAN: But ya get the big goose egg. Sorry!

Q: Let me ask some of the cast members — do you want to go home?

PICARDO: Right now? (Laughter)

Q: Do you want to have the show just end with them lost in space still?

MULGREW: No, no, it's time—time to land. That's how I feel, among other things. (to McNeill) How do you feel?

McNEILL: How do I feel? Yeah, I think it's very important for us to resolve the series at some point. You know, it started, in the pilot episode, with us getting lost and beginning this adventure, so I think it's important that we sort of resolve it and bring it to an end. But I think it's important that it be a surprise, too.

BERMAN: Resolving the series has a great deal more to it than just a question of, does the ship get home or not. And I think to compact it down to a simple question like that is unfair to what we're hoping to accomplish in the final two-hour episode.

Q: So for the actors, is there anything that when the show ends that you might want to take from the set and take home as a memory? (Laughter)

RYAN: I'm ripping down all the walls.

MULGREW: There will be a great deal of theft.

RUSS: A few phasers and tricorders, I'm sure.

PHILLIPS: I'm taking Seven of Nine. (Laughter)

MULGREW: And those stun rifles.

Q: For Jeri, after playing a Borg, how was it being in vamp makeup [in "Dracula 2000"] after being in Borg makeup? And did you have any problems with the teeth?

RYAN: I was the vampire with the speech impediment. Yes, I lisped because of the teeth. It was nice not having rubber glued to my face for a little while! But it wasn't that much different.

Q: Rick, why is 2001 the time to end the series and not 2002?

BERMAN: Oh, they have not announced the eighth season yet? (Laughter) This is the third Star Trek series in a row that has run seven years, and I think that from a business standpoint, from a station standpoint, from a network standpoint, that's been Paramount's objective from day one on all three series. So it did not come as a surprise to anyone. It's sort of been an accepted fact in the case of Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and now Voyager that these shows would run about 170 to 180 episodes with a seven-season order.

Q: I'm aware the other shows ran seven years, but in this particular case, was it really a production company decision or was it a UPN Network decision?

BERMAN: I would guess it was a combination. But I do know that from the point of view of Paramount Pictures, that they had always, in terms of the deals that they structured, in terms of all their projections, this was always going to be a seven-year project.

Q: Producers, after this voyage is over, will you be involved in any possible future spin-off Star Trek projects?

BERMAN: There is a new Star Trek project that's in preparation now, but that's about all that I really can say about it now.

RYAN: You're just not very talkative today, are you Rick?

PICARDO: I have actually floated to the network the idea of having a reality-based Star Trek that uses no actors. It would have nine contestants who would be real people who would be stranded on an M-class planet. And the first one to come up with a warp-capable vessel with things that they can find around the island would be the winner. It's called "Star Trek: Survivor."

Q: This new project, is there a commitment for it to be on UPN? Is it being shopped to other networks?

BERMAN: I think it's really premature to be talking about where the next series is going to be and when it's going to be. It's in a kind of early developmental stage now and none of those decisions have been made yet.

Q: You haven't had any talks with any networks at this point?

BERMAN: Paramount is making all those decisions, and they've been involved in a lot of complex discussions and negotiations regarding UPN, regarding a lot of different things, and it's a decision that's going to be coming from them hopefully in the next month or so.

Q: Kate, could you expand a little bit more about what you said, "It's time to come home." Do you feel like with this character you've done everything you wanted to do, that you've accomplished all you could do with it?

MULGREW: No, I don't feel that at all. I'm deeply attached to her. And I feel that, bizarrely enough, it's only in the last year or two that I've "owned" her, if you understand what I mean in a creative sense. And once that takes place, that confidence, there's a great renewal of excitement and energy. And I feel that there are many, many layers, many subtleties, many nuances that I've missed and that I would have loved investigating and attacking. But I've loved her. I've really loved her.

Q: I'd like to start with Kate and then ask Robert and Jeri: What are your feelings about the show ending?

MULGREW: I'm terribly mixed about it. And as you can see already, quite emotional. Seven years is a long time to be, as we say, "in the trenches" with people who were initially strangers and who have become more intimate to you than those in your personal life. (tearful) I mean, it's very deep. I love them. And I know that the chances are great that I may not see some of them when this ends, so that's the toughest. That's the toughest. It's been a marvelous journey with these guys.

PICARDO: I also will be terribly sad when it ends because this has been a wonderful family experience among this great cast of actors that we have, but also the crew that we work with, all the people in production. It's really a great family atmosphere. And I've never had a job this long. It's unusual for an actor to have a job that lasts seven years.

MULGREW: Very sad to know that we won't have another one! (Laughter)

PICARDO: I think the saddest person is my wife, though. (Laughter) I will miss it a great deal because I really love these people, and it will be sad not to see them on a daily basis.

RYAN: It's absolutely true. It doesn't yet feel imminent for me, because we still have, what, 10 more episodes to shoot, I think. So I'm probably in denial at this point, but I think the closer that we get... I'm a crybaby anyway...

Q: Are any of you worried about typecasting after the show's over?

MULGREW: Red alert! What are you talking about? (Laughter) No.

PICARDO: Future hologram roles. (Laughter)

Q: Rick, you're reluctant to talk about what the new series is about. But can you tell us, in the next Star Trek movie, will any of these cast members be included in it? Are you thinking of a Voyager film for the future?

BERMAN: Well, we have a film that, depending on the various strike situations, is in — we've completed a script. A wonderful writer named John Logan who wrote "Gladiator" and "Any Given Sunday" has written a script for the next movie, which is basically going to be another Next Generation cast film. And as far as when that will be produced, it is all really going to be contingent upon the strike. My guess is, it will be a movie that will be released in 2002.

Q: Will you incorporate any of this cast in it?

BERMAN: We may. We may. But again, that's...

MULGREW: Well, I want you to elaborate on that, sir! (Laughter)

BERMAN: Don't like giving anything away.

MULGREW: "Not gonna tell ya!"

Q: With the end in sight for the cast members, have any of you made any monumental plans for when the show ends?

BILLER: Bob, is this the time for you to announce that you're pregnant? (Laughter)

MULGREW: What do you mean by "monumental"?

Q: A movie? A long vacation? A singing career?

MULGREW: I'm going to do a movie. I'm doing a wonderful movie in England in May, and then I am actually moving to New York, and I'm building a house in Cleveland, and I'm getting my teenage sons to independence, and then I'm going to have a drink. (Laughter)

RYAN: Not necessarily in that order.

MULGREW: (to others) How about you? What are you doing? I'm not the only one who's doing a million things.

RUSS: I've got a few things. I'm involved in music, and I think I'd like to get a chance to do a number of things that I haven't had the time to do over the past seven years, to be able to cut loose and be involved in some production aspects of projects, and music projects as well.

MULGREW: And that play, right?

RUSS: And a stage play, yeah, definitely.

WANG: I've been thinking about legally changing my last name to Berman and asking Rick to adopt me, actually. (Laughter)

Q: Mr. Berman, whatever form this next Star Trek series might take, could it conceivably be ready by Fall 2001, or is that out of the question? If they told you they wanted it then, could you deliver it then?

BERMAN: Yes, we could. As to whether that's going to happen, I think, again, it's going to have a great deal to do with the impending strikes.

Q: Rick, for Deep Space Nine, do you think you'll ever do a two-hour movie for television?

BERMAN: I think that idea has been thrown around a bit, but it's not something that has been focused on greatly. I think it's a possibility, but nothing that's in any kind of serious discussion now.

Q: And for [the rest of the cast], what will you miss when Star Trek ends?

DAWSON: I will not miss my forehead. And as far as typecasting, which was a question earlier, that's one thing that I may not have a problem with because I don't think I'm recognizable, really, out of makeup. My own crew doesn't recognize me when I walk on the set, so that's a pretty good sign that people will think I'm new in town. (Laughter) I will miss having a job that I can depend on, because I think as actors, we're sort of gypsies. We're used to going from role to role, from show to show, and this has been an absolute luxury to be able to have a job for this long and really get to know the people you're working with like family. And I don't think it will happen again, and that I will miss.

RUSS: I definitely will miss the crew that we work with and the cast. These guys, you go to work so many days of the year, you get a chance to goof off and clown with them and have fun and laugh. I'm really going to miss that a great deal. A great group of people to work with, cast and crew. I'll definitely miss that.

BELTRAN: Yeah, I think we all had a great relationship with each other, and we've all said how much we enjoy our crew; we have a terrific crew. I'm going to miss doing scenes on the Bridge the most, I think. (Laughter) But at the same time, I'm looking forward to what's next. It's exciting to know that something unknown is next. But like Roxann said, it's been great having a gig for seven years. It's a great luxury.

PHILLIPS: I'm going to miss Craft Services. It's the only place where you can have free doughnuts, coffee—they lay out salmon, melon—it's fantastic. (Laughter) I'm going to be doing a production of "Greater Tuna" with Bo Derek as soon as this is over; I'd like you all to come. I'm going to be suing Bob Picardo for sexual harassment; he's annoyed me for seven years. (Laughter) It's a terrific gig, but it's like being a painter and you're known for one painting, or as if you're a musician and you're known for one song. You know, you want to move on and try something else, but it's been very, very exciting. This group of people has been extraordinary. We are all very, very good friends, and it's been a joy to be with them, and the crew and everybody. So I will miss going to this virtual home every day, which is like a little medieval village where everybody has something they do, and it's run smoothly, and it's been very sweet, and I'm going to miss that a lot.

Q: Just to beat a dead horse a little further, last night I read you people didn't even know what the ending was going to be. Is that still the case?

VARIOUS CAST: We don't know!

MULGREW: We don't know, darling! I'm a Roman Catholic, I'm telling you! We do not know!

Q: Is it tough, now that you're getting into the final stretch, not knowing where this will take you?

MULGREW: No. We've never known. It's a mystery.

RUSS: Every episode is basically different. Because of the nature of our show, being a ship on the move in an uncharted quadrant of the galaxy, every episode is different. If you tune into the show at episode 83 or episode number 2 — each story can be self-contained to a certain extent. You don't have to know what happened 12 episodes ago to watch the episode. Every week is a new show, every week is a new story.

BILLER: The only people who know still aren't telling. You keep asking, but we still won't tell you!

MULGREW: So cryptic.

Q: Is it written? Is the last episode written, or is it just that you're saying you don't know because it hasn't been written?

BILLER: Oh, no, we're not saying we don't know, Rick and I; we're just saying that we won't tell you!

PICARDO: We think they don't know.

BERMAN: Yes, we do know.

PICARDO: They know, but they might change their minds.

BILLER: That's true. That's true, we do sometimes change our minds.

RUSS: And [if history is any indication], there is probably a fan in Iowa who does know. (Laughter) We're gonna find him and ask him!

BELTRAN: There is that guy in Iowa who channels Gene Roddenberry, but we haven't talked to him in a while!

Q: Question for the producers, what sort of security precautions are you taking to make sure that the ending doesn't get out on the Internet or whatever?

RYAN: Not telling us. (Laughter)

BERMAN: We always have a great deal of problems with plots of final episodes, and two-hour episodes, and pilot episodes and movies getting out on the Internet. It's been extraordinary. Somebody once said that the two things that gave birth to the Internet was pornography and Star Trek. And I think it's true to some degree. All we can do is try to keep the story, the concept, the script in as tight a group of people as we can and keep our fingers crossed. These things always end up getting out. We don't get crazy in the precautions we take. We just continue to do our best, because eventually you shoot it and there are 130 people on the set who know about it. And it will get out eventually. We just try to hold it off as long as we can.

Q: Question for Robert Picardo, as you look back over your Voyager experience, how did writing the episode and directing the two episodes change your perception of the experience, as opposed to just being a regular cast member?

PICARDO: Well, I didn't write it, it was just a story idea. But I think that directing the show just gives you a great appreciation for the quality of our story-telling, because you're standing outside it and telling the story yourself, rather than just being an actor in the story and executing your own role. So I think I really learned to appreciate what it is about our show that makes it unique and exciting, and how science fiction affords you the opportunity to tell a story in a totally different way than a regular story set in the present. I think that because my character, more than any of the others, had no backstory and had no real anchor when we began, that it was really open to go in any number of directions. Certainly being an artificial intelligence character, certain of the themes explored were going to be those that were explored with Data and with other popular artificial intelligences in the other series. But because my character had a different premise and they didn't quite know — aside from the fact that they knew they wanted him to be cranky and have a bad attitude, they didn't quite know what they wanted to do with him and where they wanted him to go — that I had the opportunity to bring things. If the writers gave me a particular line that worked in a way they liked, they would write in that direction according to what I was doing well, or not doing well. So I think that I had a freedom that some of the other characters didn't have in the show because they fit into a certain Starfleet mold. And having had that freedom, I think I really abused it terribly. (Laughter)

Q: Each Star Trek show has left a particular mark. It's had a unique point of view. What do you hope the legacy is of Voyager when you end it?

BERMAN: It's the ol' legacy question. Every seven years we get one of these! I hope that Voyager maintains the sensibility that all the Star Trek series have had, dealing with a glimpse of the potential of humanity. I think the show has been unique in that we have a female captain, which is something that a lot of people felt might not work, and I think it's worked brilliantly. And I think we have seen a group of typical Starfleet, Gene Roddenberry, 24th-century characters placed into a unique situation that separates them, not only from Starfleet and from Earth, but also from the other three Star Trek series that preceded Voyager. And I'd like to think that we've managed to maintain the same view of the potential of the future of humanity.

Q: And Kate, as the first female captain [to lead a Star Trek series], what is your point of view on the Voyager legacy?

MULGREW: Well, I think Rick articulated that quite beautifully. I would both selfishly and quite proudly say that indeed under the first female command, it has been both pioneering and rather unprecedented. A very bold move, and I think it has proven to be timely, wise and deeply encouraging culturally, if you understand my meaning. So the legacy is very helpful to women, while fully embracing Roddenberry's concept. And I think, if I may say this, Rick — I'm curious to know if you agree — I believe that Voyager enhanced its predecessors with a new-found humanity. So that's where I would put the money in the legacy. (to Berman) Do you agree with that?

BERMAN: Absolutely.

On Friday, January 5, the entire principal cast of Star Trek: Voyager and its two executive producers appeared before reporters at the Television Critics Association's Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, California, on a day devoted to UPN shows. The following is Part III of the transcript from that session.

Q: I'd like to ask Ken Biller, earlier this season you had an episode that was a commentary on the healthcare system. Later on you'll have an episode commenting on the corporate culture.

BILLER: Wow, somebody notices!

Q: I'm wondering if under your executive producership, if there's an especially strong emphasis on timely themes this season?

BILLER: Well, I don't think I can take credit for that. I think that's always been a part of Star Trek and Star Trek lore. And one of the things that science fiction gives you—and one of the things that Star Trek in particular gives you—is a palette that's slightly removed from real life that allows you to comment back on real life and contemporary issues in a way that doesn't feel like an issue show, like a show about teen pregnancy or something. By using science fiction metaphors for contemporary issues, we're able to explore a lot of these. And I will say we do just look for good stories, but yes, it is kind of a personal passion of mine to try to find these kinds of stories. For example, the healthcare show you mentioned, that came out of talking about and discussing issues that interested me about contemporary healthcare. And as we began to talk about it more, we saw that we had a context within which to tell a story like that. It still has to be about the character. So if we can take the character of the Doctor, played by Bob Picardo, and throw him into a situation that he wasn't used to, that was reflective of the kind of chaos that may exist in some areas of our healthcare system today, we'd take the opportunity to explore that. We still try to make it alien and futuristic and keep it off the nose a little bit. But yes, that is intentional, we try to do that.

BERMAN: I'd like to disagree with one thing, which is I think that Ken should take a lot of credit in the storylines for this season. It's very difficult when you get to the seventh season of a television series to continue to come up with exciting and provocative stories. And I think he's done a remarkable job of that this season.

Q: Mr. Berman, is there a value to having the next Star Trek next season, for the sake of continuity? What has it been, about 15, 18 years since there's been a TV season without a Star Trek?

BERMAN: It's been 15 years. That's a very interesting question, with the fact that we had two Star Trek series running for seven years. For the first two years of Deep Space Nine, it ran consecutively with The Next Generation. And for the last five years of Deep Space Nine, it ran with the first five years of Voyager. I'm delighted that we are now going into completing our second year of only having one Star Trek show on the air and that any thoughts Paramount may have had of putting a series on the air before Voyager ended did not come to light. As to whether a new series will materialize right as this series ends or half a year or a year later, again, these are corporate decisions that are dealt with by Viacom and Paramount.

Q: As with the other series, will a component of Voyager introduce the new series, or is that too far in advance to tell?

BERMAN: Yes, it's too far in advance to tell, and it's also something that's premature to discuss, I think.

RYAN: He's not tellin'!

Q: For the actors, if you could write the final episode for your character yourself, what would you write as your ending for your characters?

RYAN: There's a reason I'm in front of the camera and not behind it—I can't write! They do a great job creating the stories for these characters. There are a lot of different directions it could go and a lot of really interesting ways that any of these storylines could tie up.

BILLER: (joking) We were really counting on you guys to come up with something, because we are stumped!

MULGREW: You know, inevitably, if we tell you what our alleged ideas personally are for the final ending, you're going to assume, because you're a very smart journalist, that in fact we do know something. And that could be misconstrued and then we'd get in trouble with Mr. Berman and Mr. Biller. So I think we have to be very political and say, we don't have any idea!

PHILLIPS: I'd probably go to the writers and I'd say, "Guys, come up with something for me!"

PICARDO: And then take credit for it!

RUSS: I think Tuvok's character should probably be given a ship of his own to command, and you never know where that might lead. (Laughter)

RYAN: "Star Trek: Tuvok"!

Q: A question for Garrett. Is Kim ever going to get the promotion he's been whining about?

WANG: Is Kim ever going to get a promotion? That was going to be my answer to your question about what would happen to Kim. Kim goes crazy in the final episode because he never gets promoted. So he goes nuts, and he sneaks into everybody's quarters late at night and steals their pips, their rank pips, and puts them all on his uniform. And he shows up one day on the bridge with 500 rank pips all over his uniform. That's the ending for Kim. (Laughter)

RYAN: Bravo!

RUSS: Very good!

MULGREW: Good, Garrett!

Q: Rick, you've gone through a lot of these final episodes. Apart from obviously trying to keep the thing secret, what are some of the problems that doing a final episode on a series present, in terms of ending things but keeping it open for movies, et cetera?

BERMAN: Well, there's that. There's also the sense that these final two-hour episodes need a certain grandeur to them. They need to embrace a sense of humanity. And I think that certainly was the case with both The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. And in the case of a show like Voyager, you have this one very pivotal question about will they get home, won't they get home, will everyone survive, won't everyone survive, to try to deal with that in a way that is going to be unpredictable and hopefully incorporate enough surprises that the audience is not disappointed.

Q: What would you consider great endings for a series and not-so-great endings for a series, not counting Star Trek shows?

BERMAN: "Pee Wee's Playhouse" I think had a great final episode. (Laughter)

PHILLIPS: "Platypus Man" had a great ending. (Laughter)

BERMAN: I would have trouble answering that question, I think.

BILLER: It's tough because you're never going to please everybody. But there are some wonderful antecedents. I think the ending of The Next Generation — you said not Star Trek, but I can say, having had absolutely nothing to do with that and Star Trek wasn't even on my radar then, that going back and watching that two-hour finale — that's a really wonderful, moving piece of television that seems to deliver on every level. So that's the standard we're trying to hold ourselves to. We're trying to do something, as Rick said, that is going to surprise and move and excite the audience.

BERMAN: With Deep Space Nine, we had 35-odd continuing characters that we had to sort of bring to some degree of closure and tie up some threads. That was a very complicated final two hours. And we had a war that we had to end. There were a great deal of plot and character relationships that had to be tied together. In this show, luckily, we can deal more with character and with more grand themes, I think, because we don't have that situation.

Q: For the cast members. When his Star Trek series ended, Jonathan Frakes formed a production company that is in fact producing a movie right now. Have any of you considered forming a production company with some projects you may have?

MULGREW: No.

BILLER: Tim, you produced a movie.

RUSS: Yeah. I worked with an associate of mine who has a production company. And I'm working on several projects with other individuals right now, but not necessarily forming a company that might be in association with Paramount right now.

McNEILL: You know, one thing that I think we should bring up, Star Trek has this history of allowing people to transition into additional kinds of things. For me personally, I've gotten the chance to direct four episodes of our show.

MULGREW: He's so talented.

McNEILL: And Bob [Picardo] has directed a couple of episodes. Roxann just finished directing. Tim has directed. Rick and his company have been very generous and very supportive. They've been very supportive of allowing people to grow, and nurturing that talent. So I think that's a real credit to Star Trek and to Rick, that people grow in this business, and get to direct and move into writing. I've made two short films since I've been on the series that have been out at film festivals. My latest one is up at Slamdance in two weeks at the film festival in Park City. I co-produced a movie-of-the-week last season for UPN. So I have to give a lot of credit to Rick and to Star Trek for letting me transition into those kinds of opportunities. And I think a lot of the people on this show have other talents in terms of writing, directing, just being creative in general. I think you're going to see a lot of people in this cast doing a lot more things in addition to their acting after this is over.

RUSS: I second that.

Q: Rick, if you could just follow that up, Star Trek has produced a lot of directors. Is it an easier transition because the actors tend to be so immersed in that world, or are you just a phenomenally nice guy, or are they just a phenomenally talented group of people? Why has Star Trek yielded so many directors?

BERMAN: When you have actors that are working on the show you're producing, you always know exactly when they're available. (Laughter) No, I think the two greatest keys of being a good television director is being aware of what's going on on the set and knowing how to deal with actors. And after a year or two of being on a television series, if you're an actor to begin with, it's not that unreasonable a transition. In every case the actors, from going back to Jonathan, who was the first, the actors who have gone on to direct have always done what we refer to as "going to school." They come and spend a lot of time in the cutting room. They get very familiar with all of the different elements involved. And I can very proudly say that I have yet to be let down. And over the three series, we've probably had a dozen different actors direct for us, and they've all done excellent work.

Q: Ethan, from your point of view, can you give us a brief humorous answer to the Voyager legacy question?

PHILLIPS: The Voyager legacy?

BILLER: She's asking you to be funny on cue.

PHILLIPS: A guy walks into a bar — the ventriloquist says to his lawyer — she was so thin that... (Laughter) Humorous to the legacy of Voyager. I think it will be remembered in many ways for the character of Neelix. (Laughter) Let me tell you why. The fierce determination to be of service that this character exhibited and the incredible ebullience, if I may —

MULGREW: "Ebullience"??

PHILLIPS: — and if I may not! You know, God bless you for asking me! (Laughter) I think it's — not to be humorous — I think it will be remembered for Neelix, I really do!

MULGREW: I do too!

PICARDO: I do too!

PHILLIPS: I don't want to toot my own horn, and while I'm on the topic, I begged the producers not to kill me off. I, unlike others, did not transition [to being a director]. I am primarily just an actor. I would hope that in the future, should they need the rubber-headed alien again, they know my number! No, God bless us all, I think it's wonderful! I could keep going on, but I know we have to stop.

MODERATOR: UPN is ready to announce "Deep Space Neelix" at this time. (Laughter) Actually, that will do it for this session. Thank you very much.