Russ Praises Berman And Braga

Voyager star Tim Russ (Tuvok) said last week that he disagreed with those fans who accuse producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga of having a negative influence on the franchise.

"I think it's quite the opposite," Russ told EMusic.com in an interview that is now available for free download. "I think that Rick Berman was very adamant about maintaining the integrity of the look and feel plus the philosophy of Star Trek that had been laid down by Gene Roddenberry. On some occasions it was frustrating to us because they would not move away from or try to change any of those kinds of things. [With Enterprise], I think you'll find it'll be a little bit different because the storyline takes place before the rules of the Federation come into place. You'll have a little bit wider and broader character choices and motivations that will happen for those series because it won't be locked into Federation rules.

"But I think that Voyager and TNG and DS9 have to ome degree maintained Roddenberry's vision and rules," Russ continued. "Certainly from a technical standpoint. The way the ships were designed, the way they looked, and certain things you never saw. Philosophies and storylines - we explored everything from the soul to the origins of man. There were difficult decisions by characters to solve problems, dilemmas that were presented, and I think we did that very consistently. I think that they definitely held up the integrity of the show and of the creator's vision and that they've done a very good job."

With Enterprise forcing less restraints upon the producers, Russ thought they were already doing a good job on the new series. "I have actually had a chance to see the sets of Enterprise, and it's pretty impressive. They take up roughly three soundstages - they're very expensive, and they're very retro-Star Trek, if you will. As the story takes place prior to the formation of the Federation, their technology is very different than what we had in our ship. It's very cool - very, very cool. I think everybody is going to like the way it looks."

As for Voyager, Russ was doubtful it had much of a future beyond the television series. "As far as the future of Voyager in feature films, [that has] to be determined by the producers and the studio, whether they feel that there is a viable market for a feature film based on Voyager. But the fact is that we just came home in the series' end, so I think it would be counter-productive to make a project with a storyline with us still in the Delta Quadrant. Once we get back, everything is changed, so I personally don't foresee that happening. There will probably be other Star Trek movies, but I doubt if it will specifically be a Voyager storyline."

Even without a Voyager film, the actor expected to stay busy - and not just with acting. "I will always work, or have the opportunity to work as an actor, so I will continue to do that as it comes along. I hope to be producing and directing my own projects very soon. I've got a couple in the wings that I'm working on. And also musically I'm probably going to still play, to still perform, live, and eventually I'll certainly put together a fourth music project. But only about 30% of my time will be dedicated to music."

In the full interview, Russ talks about his favourite Voyager episode, the amount of character development for Tuvok, and his music. The interview is available as an MP3-file here at EMusic. In addition, if you'd like to find out exactly what Tim Russ's music sounds like, his entire music album is available for free download as part of EMusic's celebration of Star Trek's 35th Anniversary.

During this celebration, which will last the entire month of September, EMusic will update weekly with new Star Trek features - last week an interview with Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) and a look at the music of the Original Series, this week the Tim Russ features and free downloads from Neil Norman's music album. Over the coming weeks, the site will also feature an interview with Scott Bakula (Jonathan Archer) and will organise a live web chat with Russ.

In order to access the features made available as part of this celebration, visitors need to sign up for a free 30-day trial version of the EMusic downloading service, allowing them to download up to 100 free Star Trek (or other) MP3s. It is now possible to sign up here at EMusic. In order to ensure the same person can only sign up once, the site requires visitors to enter their email address and credit card number, but the credit card will not be charged unless visitors decide to subscribe to the company after the free trial run is over.

EMusic is the world's first authorised distributor of MP3 music from major artists. The company licenses its music from labels and believes in rewarding artists for their music. For every track which is downloaded from the site (including the tracks included in this new offer) the company compensates the artist. In addition, by participating in this free trial you will not only be supporting the artists, but also TrekToday.

The tracks are available in the regular MP3 format, meaning that they can be easily and conveniently played on PCs or portable players, and can even be burned to CD-R for playback on any CD player.

To download your 100 free Star Trek MP3s, please follow this link.

Discuss this news item at Trek BBS!
 Add TrekToday RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fan? Then visit CSIFiles.com!