Continuing our coverage of Friday's slate of guests, sandwiched amongst the Voyager crew was a familiar face from the Original Series, Eddie Paskey, who played "Mr. Leslie" in numerous episodes. Interviewed by Richard Arnold, Paskey reminisced about his experiences on the classic show back in the '60s. For instance, he recalled shooting certain scenes in "the Horta episode" ("The Devil in the Dark"), and had high praise for castmate William Shatner. "As soon as we wrapped with that show, Bill left. We came to find out that as he shot all day long, he was preparing to get on an airplane to go home — his father just passed away. No one knew until he was actually gone. And, y'know, that says a lot for the dedication of the man."

The next Voyager star to follow Robert Beltran on Friday was Tim Russ ("Tuvok"). As has become tradition, the musician/actor kicked off his appearance with a song. Backed by Neil Norman's Cosmic Orchestra, Russ performed a cut off of his new CD, "Brave New World." Taking to the stage afterwards for talking part of his appearance, Russ enthused about the beautiful, sunny Pasadena weather. "And it's a Friday," he noted. "And you guys aren't at work — you're here!"

Russ discussed some of his current projects, saying that he has been directing such programs as FBI Files and Critical Rescue for the Discovery Channel. He also just finished directing a pilot called Psychic Investigations, and is doing voiceover work for the Trek videogame "Elite Force II."

Russ took the opportunity to shed some behind-the-scenes light on the classic Tuvok-centric episode "Tuvix." Russ noted that he was initially supposed to play the role of Tuvix — a week before shooting, the decision was made to cast another actor. "I thought it was a very good idea, because a neutral character could combine the elements of Ethan's character, my character and the alien into one and be neutral about it, whereas if I had played it, it might be trickier, because I might favor Tuvok's character," he said.

Following his Voyager castmate's lead, Robert Picardo ("The Doctor") opened his appearance with a song: a dance-techno number about the holodeck (no, really) from his new self-produced CD "Extreme Bob." Picardo noted that the album includes guest appearances by the likes of Russ and Ethan Phillips ("Neelix"), who performs a saxophone solo. "He's a very sexy sax player," joked Picardo.

Though Voyager may be over, Picardo has kept busy in the acting world. He mentioned that he's had guest roles on two recently-shot pilots: "Cracking Up," a half hour comedy, and "Lion's Den," a legal drama with Rob Lowe. In the latter, Picardo plays a police detective. "I'm actually [playing] a human being, which was a nice change for me," he laughed. Picardo said that he was also recently asked to do Enterprise. Though he was unable to at the time, he hopes to work it in to his schedule next season.

During his appearance, Picardo took the time to auction off an actual piece of the Voyager set: a panel that originally appeared somewhere in Engineering. After a very spirited auction, the item went for $900. The proceeds will go to the Pasadena Playhouse, where Picardo recently starred in the critically-acclaimed " A Class Act."

Picardo also spent some time reflecting on the development of his character on Voyager, and how the Doctor captured the writers' imaginations — as well as that of Picardo himself. "I'm one of those actors who pesters the writers all the time," he said. "Brannon Braga does an impression of me hiding in the bushes, so when he comes out of his office, I jump out and pitch a story to him. I've had a lot of ideas, some of which they liked and some of which they didn't. When Seven of Nine came on the show, I suggested the way that we relate to each other, that the Doctor, who had learned so much about humanity from his mentor, Kes, decided to turn around and mentor Seven of Nine. I just thought it was such a silly notion, that the Doctor thought he knew how to be a human being better than a real human being."

When his time was up, Picardo introduced old pal Phillips. As Ethan took to the stage, the pair offered up a back-and-forth volley of banter. Noting that no one had lined up yet next to the stage, Picardo joked, "Look at all these people lined up to ask you questions!" As fans rushed to line up, Picardo bid farewell, saying, "We have shamed people into coming up and asking Mr. Phillips questions, so I'm gonna take off!"

The fun wasn't over yet, however. Mid-way through Phillips' appearance, an over-excited fan appeared at the side of the stage, saying, "I'd like to know what it's like to work with Buffy and the vampires!" The "fan," naturally, was none other than Tim Russ. After Phillips referred to him as a "gas giant," Russ leaped up onstage and pretended to beat Phillips up. "Ow!" cried Phillips, in mock-pain. "Pon farr!"

Later on, Phillips offered some insight into his performance as Neelix. "Neelix had a huge crush on the captain," he noted. "And if you watch the show, whenever I have a scene with Kate [Mulgrew], you'll [see] Neelix staring at her with love in his eyes. That was my secret, as the character."

Phillips capped his appearance by auctioning off the first issue of the Voyager magazine, autographed by the cast. The issue went for $575, with all of the proceeds going to a Connecticut organization that does research on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. On Sunday, the pair returned to Pasadena to talk about — and sign — their respective books as well as do their "photo op" with patrons who paid for this special event feature.

Phillips then introduced his former onscreen squeeze: Jennifer Lien ("Kes"). "We could not be united on the show, but there's no reason we can't be united in life!" he joked. After catching up with Lien, who recently had a son named Jonah, Phillips took his leave. Lien spent the rest of her appearance fielding questions from fans, and revealed that her favorite episode is "Warlord" because it was "so different." When asked if she missed the cast after leaving the series, Lien responded, "I missed the cast and crew, but life goes on and takes you in a different direction and you just go with it."

Speaking of different directions, our next reports will focus on the events of Saturday and Sunday as well as the evening slate of events.

Story by: Tim Gaskill, Sarah Kuhn & Sandy Stone
Pictures by: Sandy Stone

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