Rain Robinson (Sarah Silverman)

[2takesfrakes]

How is it possible that nobody has yet started a Rain Robinson thread? No matter. Nature abhors a vacuum, so here it is, at long last! For those unfamiliar with her, Rain Robinson was a character portrayed in the 2 part episode "Future's End" on STAR TREK: Voyager. Sarah Silverman plays her - almost against type, really - to good result ...

YouTube trailer for "Future's End - Part 1":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9lZiyCsaig

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Definitely against the "type" she's come to be known as.

Rain was cute, adorable and funny. Sarah Silverman (now) is not.

Future's End was a really good episode to me.

 

[Greg Cox]

Apparently there was talk of adding her to the cast as a regular, but it didn't work out. Talked about a missed opportunity. That would have been great . . . .

And I still insist that Paris had more chemistry with Rain than he ever did with B'Elanna.

 

[Lance]

Definitely against the "type" she's come to be known as.

Rain was cute, adorable and funny. Sarah Silverman (now) is not.

I remember when she was cast as Vanelope in Wreck It Ralph, and one of the things the movie reviewers said about her was how much of a departure playing this sweet little kid role was, and when they saw it they thought it actually fit her like a glove. The way they said that, it was like they couldn't conceive of her playing that role. Ever. She really got plaudits for it.

When I read all that I was like, "Rain Robinson is Vanelope grown up!" It was the same kind of really sweet, affecting performance. And she did it *before* she got her own show or anything!

I hate movie reviewers sometimes.

(Yeah, chalk me up as another Sarah Silverman fan.)

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Future's End is my most watched VOY ep, not because of Silverman but because it's a great romp.

I would have liked to see more of Starling, he was interesting.

 

[tomalak301]

I liked Rain Robinson, and at the time I liked Sarah Silverman. Then I watched her show that was maybe 10 years ago and I still like the Robinson character but I wonder why we got this loveable character when the actress is disgusting and vile. Yeah I know seperate actress from character, but the reason why I watched the Sarah Silverman show was because of her stint on Voyager. I regret that decision and was glad when her show got cancelled.

 

[Pondwater]

I liked her character too. Got to wonder if Tom ever looked up what happened to her in the database?

 

[Tosk]

was glad when her show got cancelled.

Why? Isn't enough to just not watch it yourself? Were you actually angry at an actress for playing different kinds of characters? Schadenfreude?

 

[tomalak301]

was glad when her show got cancelled.

Why? Isn't enough to just not watch it yourself? Were you actually angry at an actress for playing different kinds of characters? Schadenfreude?

I think I did stop watching, I wasn't angry at the actress, I think it was more angry at my expectations for the show. Maybe being glad a show gets cancelled is a gross overreaction, but there were times when that show did make me angry.

Actually, in terms of reactions to shows, the Sarah Silverman Show back then is like Girls now. Two shows where it seemed like they got great reviews, and I still didn't get it. I've stopped watching Girls too.

 

[Greg Cox]

Future's End is my most watched VOY ep, not because of Silverman but because it's a great romp.

I would have liked to see more of Starling, he was interesting.

It's one of my favorites, too, and not just because of Sarah Silverman. It's a very fun and engaging adventure.

 

[2takesfrakes]

Indeed, Sarah did play Rain as cute, adorable and funny ...

... reminded me alot of Ms. Lincoln from the TOS Gary 7 episode. I've wondered if the one wasn't inspired by the other. Teri Garr also went onto great stardom after her turn as a loopy chick in STAR TREK, as evidenced by her role in the epic Science Fiction Classic: Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Some interesting Rain Robinson/"Future's End" links to keep you busy ...

Rain Robinson Fan Fiction
http://www.parisnights.de/parisnights/fanfiction/archive/authors/rfk/stories/rain1.htm

"REVEALED: Sarah Silverman was almost a Star Trek: Voyager regular"
http://www.blastr.com/2011/04/see_who_almost_became_a_r.php

IMDB -Star Trek: Voyager: Season 3, Episode 8
Future's End: Part 1 (6 Nov. 1996) Ratings: 8.3/10
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708902/

 

[Greg Cox]

Indeed, Sarah did play Rain as cute, adorable and funny ...

... reminded me alot of Ms. Lincoln from the TOS Gary 7 episode. I've wondered if the one wasn't inspired by the other. Teri Garr also went onto great stardom after her turn as a loopy chick in STAR TREK, as evidenced by her role in the epic Science Fiction Classic: Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Funny you should make that connection, too. Minor book spoiler alert: Rain actually meets Roberta Lincoln in one of my Eugenics Wars novels . . . .

 

[Guy Gardener]

But they didn't mud wrestle. You seriously let the side down Greg.

 

[Greg Cox]

But they didn't mud wrestle. You seriously let the side down Greg.

I bow my head in shame . . . .

(Although there is a mud-wrestling scene in one of my ALIAS books. Really.)

 

[Guy Gardener]

I knew you had it in you.

Attaboy!

How were they going to pay for Sarah?

Where they going to fire someone else or cut the SFX budget that they had just upped after firing Martha and her TV boyfriend.

 

[2takesfrakes]

. . . . I still insist that Paris had more chemistry with Rain than he ever did with B'Elanna.

I could not agree more with this assessment! I've often wondered why this was the case and it continues to elude me! Perhaps McNeill was as put off by B'Elanna's obnoxious forehead piece as I am? That would throw my concentration off, believe me. Roxann's smokin' hot, of course. In any event ...

Not having read The Euegenics War novels, I have to ask ... are Rain and Roberta just "cameo," walk-on characters? Or do they have some part to play in the drama that unfolds in your book? Not asking for anything to be "given away," of course, but you did happen to mention it ...

 

[Greg Cox]

of course. In any event ...

Not having read The Euegenics War novels, I have to ask ... are Rain and Roberta just "cameo," walk-on characters? Or do they have some part to play in the drama that unfolds in your book? Not asking for anything to be "given away," of course, but you did happen to mention it ...

Gary Seven and Roberta are major characters in the EW books, which are pretty much about Seven vs. Khan. Rain, alas, just makes a cameo appearance near the end of the second book.

I've always meant to do more with her, but the right story hasn't come around yet. (There's actually a character in another one of my Trek books, whom I thought about making Rain, but I ended up going in another direction.)

 

[2takesfrakes]

You are absolutely right to be selective about how you approach material concerning the Rain Robinson character. If you never do include her more, well ... at least you have and it makes perfect sense for her to be in The Eugenics War novel. She was around during the decade when Khan was, apparently, up to his mischief. So, there is a connection there that's in no way "tacked on." It's cool to see someone who's much closer to the franchise than I'll ever be who also thinks Rain would make a great subject for a book ... as much as I. So, absolutely, get the word out ... Rain is still in the TREK universe, having adventures! Don't we all wish we were, though?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Rain absolutely had a connection to Khan! She had a model of a DY-Class 100 sleeper ship in her office... She might have been involved in the construction and Khan might have had to seduce her to secure the ship for his exit.

Young Ricardo and Young Sarah on a blind date at an Italian restaurant so that he can steal her Key card to the launch site.

Doesn't that just scream the greatest love story never told?

 

[2takesfrakes]

It screams something, alright, but I'm not sure it can be repeated in mixed company ...