Anyone know?
Has Ethan phillips ever commented on the Neelix hatred?
- Thread starter TalkieToaster
- Start date
I hope he hasn't.
Too often voices of 'hate' are the loudest. I liked Neelix, as did many others. He doesn't need to 'comment'.
Too often voices of 'hate' are the loudest. I liked Neelix, as did many others. He doesn't need to 'comment'.
I doubt he approaches discussion about Neelix from such a negative position. He probably assumes there's mostly love. And he's probably right.
I find Neelix annoying and don't especially enjoy him but I'm glad he's there and part of the family.
In that respect, he's similar to my uncle Neil (who still owes me money but I digress...).
I find Neelix annoying and don't especially enjoy him but I'm glad he's there and part of the family.
In that respect, he's similar to my uncle Neil (who still owes me money but I digress...).
He annoyed the crap out of me. His personality got right under my skin. I don't know how Tuvok put up with him for 7 years. I'd have strangled him by the end of Season 1. He appeared to be completely oblivious to how annoying and pointless he was. It was tragic really.
Then there's his grooming of Kes, Naomi Wildman and the Borg children. Disgusting
Then there's his grooming of Kes, Naomi Wildman and the Borg children. Disgusting
Neelix was intentionally annoying but I do wish they had spent a bit more time on scraping away the sunny exterior (metaphorically) a piece at a time. I would have liked to see him unravel a bit as time went on, more vulnerable so we could understand it was largely a front and empathise with him a bit more. They did it a bit with Lwaxana in the elevator with Odo.
I think with episodes like “Jetrel”, “Fair Trade”, “Mortal Coil” and “Rise” they did exactly that. Neelix' funny exterior was shown to be a front behind which he hid his hurt and unsecure side. I loved the character for that!
I agree it wasn't incremental or done with any subtlety.
He's fluffy mister jovial then bam!... He's the hate filled, angst-ridden wreck of "Jetrel", spewing out vitriol.
Back to soft, happy, jolly, lovely Neelix again then bam!.. He's frothing at the mouth with an angry, unpleasant jealously towards Kes in " Twisted."
Back to smiley, upbeat avuncular Neelix then bam!... He's losing his shit in "Mortal Coil" aggressively demanding answers about the great beyond.
And so on and so forth.
It wasn't handled brilliantly and did feel jarring.
He's fluffy mister jovial then bam!... He's the hate filled, angst-ridden wreck of "Jetrel", spewing out vitriol.
Back to soft, happy, jolly, lovely Neelix again then bam!.. He's frothing at the mouth with an angry, unpleasant jealously towards Kes in " Twisted."
Back to smiley, upbeat avuncular Neelix then bam!... He's losing his shit in "Mortal Coil" aggressively demanding answers about the great beyond.
And so on and so forth.
It wasn't handled brilliantly and did feel jarring.
Those episodes only showed that Neelix was a total fake. Lwaxana actually was the person she appeared to be. The difference is she had depth also. Neelix had no depth which is why he acted like a character from a kids tv show in every single episode except for when he was called upon to do something dramatic. In those cases it felt jarring because it happened so rarely.
They'd already started to strip the layers of Lwaxana's character back by her 4th appearance in TNG's "Half A Life". Lwaxana didn't become a totally different character in that episode or later ones like "The Forsaken", "Dark Page" and "The Muse". The character development she received added to her characterisation going forward. Neelix being angry or jealous was a plot device for whatever episode called for him to act that way. It never added anything onto his characterisation. He was a dud of a character, incrediby annoying, ingratiating and came across as fake nice. That's why I hated him.
They'd already started to strip the layers of Lwaxana's character back by her 4th appearance in TNG's "Half A Life". Lwaxana didn't become a totally different character in that episode or later ones like "The Forsaken", "Dark Page" and "The Muse". The character development she received added to her characterisation going forward. Neelix being angry or jealous was a plot device for whatever episode called for him to act that way. It never added anything onto his characterisation. He was a dud of a character, incrediby annoying, ingratiating and came across as fake nice. That's why I hated him.
Yeah, I didn't buy his overt niceness at all. It felt forced and even a little suspicious.
When he was normal, he was OK but they pushed the jovial comic relief angle too much and then just when you were close to buying it, they'd ruin it by suddenly making him incongruently temperamental to the point that it became uncomfortable and even menacing.
When he was normal, he was OK but they pushed the jovial comic relief angle too much and then just when you were close to buying it, they'd ruin it by suddenly making him incongruently temperamental to the point that it became uncomfortable and even menacing.
Ethan has absolutely heard about the hate. I saw an interview for him somewhere and he said (IIRC) that he didn't pay much attention to stuff like that, that he just played the character as written to the best of his abilities. I wish I could pinpoint exactly where he said it...I feel like it was an interview snippet in a large doco as opposed to a long one-on-one interview with him.
I always feel bad for actors who play characters that are hated. It's different when it's a "love to hate" thing. He seems like a nice guy.
Ethan Phillips is a professional actor. It was the producers and writers that turned Neelix into a Hakuna Metata character, which Phillips played into. When they hadn't figured out Neelix's story, Phillips supplied it to them; rather than affirm his efforts, they eventually got around to jotting down their own ideas for the character. Phillips toed the line and gave it his best, and he didn't gruff about it. Because he is a professional.
Any criticism of Neelix should really be directed to the writing and producing; Ethan Phillips delivered exactly the character that was scripted. You never saw him corpsing, or not giving a solid, sincere performance. You never saw Hollywood creeping into his eyes with the prolonged success of the show. You never heard stories of lawlessness or butting heads with other stars on the set, or complaining that his character was screwed out of proper romance or action, etc. And - you never saw a character who was portrayed so blandly he was relegated to the shadows of Seven's torpedoes.
...What was I talking about again?
Any criticism of Neelix should really be directed to the writing and producing; Ethan Phillips delivered exactly the character that was scripted. You never saw him corpsing, or not giving a solid, sincere performance. You never saw Hollywood creeping into his eyes with the prolonged success of the show. You never heard stories of lawlessness or butting heads with other stars on the set, or complaining that his character was screwed out of proper romance or action, etc. And - you never saw a character who was portrayed so blandly he was relegated to the shadows of Seven's torpedoes.
...What was I talking about again?
I think everyone agrees Ethan did a very good job with a very difficult character. When you're asked to play the annoying character, you hope the writers give you good material.
They mostly didn't. He was at his best when he was part of the ensemble.
When you look at episodes that focus purely on him, they would often take him away from his established jovial traits and weirdly focus on his dark side (Jetrel, Parturition, Mortal Coil, Rise, Fair Trade etc). Maybe they didn't feel confident focusing on him unless they took him somewhere dark. It felt jarring.
They mostly didn't. He was at his best when he was part of the ensemble.
When you look at episodes that focus purely on him, they would often take him away from his established jovial traits and weirdly focus on his dark side (Jetrel, Parturition, Mortal Coil, Rise, Fair Trade etc). Maybe they didn't feel confident focusing on him unless they took him somewhere dark. It felt jarring.
Just think about "The Haunting on Deck 12" for a moment. Nobody could have been a better baby (Borgchildren-) sitter than Neelix! He can be seriously annoying, but all in all his personality is sunny and friendly. Something they need on Voyager!
Ethan Phillips is a good actor. I have nothing but respect for him as an actor. It's the character of Neelix I can't stand. Even though I hated Neelix I never once placed the blame at Ethan's doorstep. It was all down to the writers. He never gave less than 100% to the character. It's just a shame the character in question was Neelix.
Pleased with how the Seven of Nine character revitalized the Voygaer series, other shows began following suit....with mixed results....
He was also great with Naomi. If Samantha had died in Once Upon A Time, he would have cared for her. She wasn't his but he loved her just the same. That alone makes Neelix a good fellow.
