Robert Picardo Talks Voyager Ending

After already featuring Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway) last month, the new Januar edition of Starlog Magazine features an interview with Robert Picardo, starring on 'Voyager' as the Holodoc.

As in most Voyager viewers appearing this year, Picardo of course talks about the show's upcoming end. "I don't know how they are going to deal with Voyager's coming home, with regard to what it means for the Doctor. He's the only one who can say that his home is Voyager. We learned last season that all of the others like him, all of the first-generation EMHs, have been re-commissioned for waste management use because the program was considered a colossal failure. What will happen to the Docto when the ship gets home will provide an interesting resolution to his story."

In the interview, Picardo also talks about some other resolutions he would like to see for his character. In the first place, he would like the Holodoc to finally choose a name for himself. "I don't know if he goes with Zimmerman or something else. [...] That will be inextricably intertwined with what life he has projected himself to have once they find their way home. Whatever his sense of his new role will be and how he continues on - if indeed he continues on to be actived and useful - will inform the name he chooses. I'm just speaking theoretically. I have no idea what the name will be."

However, Picardo himself would like to see the Doc choose Zimmerman as his name. "It would be great if he picked the name Zimmerman after his programmer. That'll mean that he has finally become proud of his programmer and reached a meeting of minds with him. I would love for Dr. Zimmerman to show up again and be instrumental in helping Voyager get back home. That's an idea that I've suggested, and I have no idea whther or not that's in their thinking."

Finally, some other issues that Picardo would still like to see explored for his character include the Doctor's feelings for Seven of Nine, which as recently as the season opener we still saw were there, and the issue of personal space for the Holodoc. "I would like to see him get his own quarters. He could then become a collector of things. It would become a metaphor for how we go through life and collect things and then, once we transition, we can't take any of it with us. The Doctor, of course, exists in virtual reality when he's shut off, and he can't bring real objects with him when he's gone. That's a notion I've always wanted to play out, and I've been talking about it for years. I will continue to float that one forever."

Still, despite all the extra developments which Picardo would like to see for his character, he is more than satisfied with how the Holodoc has turned out, saying that "he's a fully realized character. They've written beautifully for me, and I'm very grateful for that."

The full interview can of course be found in issue #282 of Starlog Magazine. In it, Picardo not only talks about Voyager's ending, but also about its seventh season, and then especially the many episodes that already featured the Holodoc in it. Click here to subscribe online.

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