Tuvok: how would you have fleshed out his role?

[Ragitsu]

Greetings.

It was unfortunate that Voyager eventually became The Janeway, Seven and Doctor Show; there were other characters that deserved more time in the limelight. Among those neglected, Tuvok (Tim Russ) happens to be my favorite. I know that writing Vulcans (especially those center stage) isn't easy...they're often depicted as wet blankets or quietly obnoxious in their superiority (IMO, Taurik and Vorik were both pleasant aversions), but a skilled enough writer should be able to do them justice. So, with that in mind, what greater role do you think should have been afforded to Tim Russ?

 

[Relayer1]

I probably wouldn't have.

Voyager was, at the time unique to me in that it had some cast and characters that I disliked initially and didn't really warm to as the show progressed.

Russ/Tuvok was one, and Mulgrew/Janeway another. Partially the writing on the show (i.e. Chakotay) but partlly the portrayal.

If I had to, I'd suggest playing up conflict between Tuvok and his former 'comrades' in the Maquis and their feelings of betrayal.

 

[matthunter]

Tim Russ fleshes out his role quite well enough.

Giggity.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I would have kept his personality the same but framed his development more as being the lone logical person surrounded by people driven by emotions instead of constantly locking him in rooms with Neelix and just playing him as the comedy straight man.

The story always seemed to be “Emotionlessness from an emotional perspective” and rarely “Emotion from Tuvok’s perspective”.

 

[Oddish]

Tuvok may be the only character on Voyager who really didn't need much development. He was 110 years old and therefore likely to be set in his ways. As a Vulcan, he was intensively trained in logic and discipline. With a spouse and children at home, romance was off the table for him as well. And thanks to Tim Russ's skills, he knew how to infuse his dry Vulcan logic with a hint of sarcasm.

Be that as it may, Tuvok's primary "development" should have been in relation to changes in his circumstances and consequent new challenges. Given that Chakotay never satisfactorily balanced out Janeway, and that his character was phased out anyway, he should have been either killed off or otherwise eliminated around about mid-run*. This would have given us a much stronger character as first, one who might have been able to keep Janeway in check.


*Him, Harry, and Kes. By eliminating a third of the original characters (including the first officer), that would have given the Delta Quadrant some very sharp teeth.

 

[valkyrie013]

Even being "Fleshed out" from the start, doesn't mean he doesn't have stories to tell, or room to grow.
Could have had a crisis of faith of some sort, given him that syndrome early on, instead of at the very end, see him slowly losing persepective, something akin to demtia, but in the end find a cure. Maybe find a way to transport somebody, but is only good for a short time, and only manage to transport Tuvoks wife onboard, cures him, and now both are on board.

Voyager to me is just a waste of an excellent premise.. Always had to "Reset"..

 

[Ragitsu]

Tuvok may be the only character on Voyager who really didn't need much development. He was 110 years old and therefore likely to be set in his ways.

Isn't one-hundred and ten years of age for a Vulcan roughly equivalent to forty to fifty years of age for a Human?

 

[flandry84]

Funny for a Vulcan “bred to peace” to be a security and weapons officer.

 

[Oddish]

Isn't one-hundred and ten years of age for a Vulcan roughly equivalent to forty to fifty years of age for a Human?

About. Tim Russ was 40-45 when he did Voyager. But I figure that Vulcans are inherently resistant to unnecessary change.

Funny for a Vulcan “bred to peace” to be a security and weapons officer.

In a dangerous galaxy, Vulcans understand the logic of being able to protect themselves. They might prefer peace, but know that not every species agrees. Indeed, it was their own capacity for violence and savagery that drove them to embrace logic as completely as they did.

 

[Qonundrum]

IMHO, Tuvok was done right. The writers put effort into his character and it shows. Tim Russ does an extraordinary job in acting him, and I suspect he was able to contribute more to the role as well... Noting even an early entry, "Meld", that really shows it all. Heck, I prefer him to Spock, partly because of what they did to do expand Vulcan lore in VOY and not while going over the top in the process.

Otherwise, what @valkyrie013 said. If Tuvok could have been better, that's how it could have been done.

And what @Oddish said too about how a born pacifist can become a security/weapons officer. It's rather a large universe, even the single quadrant is big enough. Vulcan ships had weapons capabilities as well, not turrets pew-pewing put gigantic white flags.

 

[STEPhon IT]

Tim Russ fleshes out his role quite well enough.

Giggity.

Agreed. What I loved about Russ, and an honorable mention Roxann Biggs Dawson, was he maximized whatever he was given on screen. Whether it was a scene or an entire episode; Tuvok seemed to resonate whenever I saw him on the series. He was the first full Vulcan I ever saw on Star Trek and wonderful it was to realize how different he was from Spock, just in ethics alone Tuvok was his own man and convictions and presented a pure heart of knowledge of his point of view. Another thing I appreciated about the character was when he made mistakes, he owned it with the touches of a wise man who has done them many times before but move forward by delivering the touches of levity. Tuvok, Tim Russ, appeared to deliver chemistry with every character he appeared with even the odd paring between him and Neelix somehow manage to work because Russ understood where he could take his character for the provided scene. There were many issues I had with Star Trek: Voyager, but Tuvok was not one of them.

Critiques, not him at all, but I would've utilized Tuvok's illness more during the series final run, the series needed unpredictability as it ended and Tuvok and what he was grappling could've been something interesting.

 

[Ragitsu]

I just remembered that one of my favorite lines in all of Voyager came from Tuvok.

EMH: If I had weeks, or even days, maybe I could come up with an alternative. But time is of the essence, and Moset's idea will work.
PARIS: Then you've got to use it.
CHAKOTAY: Even if the Doctor could perform the surgery without Moset's help, he'd still be using the man's research. That would be going against B'Elanna's wishes.
PARIS: We're talking about a woman who has alien tendrils sapping the life out of her. She's obviously not thinking straight.
TUVOK: On the contrary. Her concerns are based in logic.
PARIS: Logic?
TUVOK: If the Doctor uses knowledge that Moset gained through his experiments, we would be validating his methods, inviting further unethical research.
CHAKOTAY: We'd be setting a terrible precedent.
PARIS: We're in the middle of the Delta Quadrant. Who would know?
TUVOK: We would know.

 

[Farscape One]

Given how many times his mind has been violated, there should have been a recurring thread of Tuvok's failing mind for the 7th season. At least the last few episodes, and not JUST the finale, because that just made it even apparent the writers were stealing straight from the the TNG finale. (Picard's Irumonic syndrome.)


Side note: "ENDGAME" truly is the living embodiment of why many fans call VOYAGER 'TNG-lite'.

"All Good Things..."
Time travel is used.
Battle with a Klingon ship is shown.
Klingon ship is a Negh'Var class.
Female lead is dead in the future. (Deanna)
A lead character has a brain disorder in the future. (Picard)
One Starfleet lead character is an admiral in the future. (Riker)
One Starfleet lead character is a captain in the future. (Beverly)
A lead character has published in the future. (Geordi)
One character is a teacher. (Data)
Final shot of the series has a Galaxy class ship in it.


"ENDGAME"
Time travel is used.
Battle with a Klingon ship is shown.
Klingon ship is a Negh'Var class.
Female lead is dead in the future. (Seven)
A lead character has a brain disorder in the future. (Tuvok)
One Starfleet lead character is an admiral in the future. (Janeway)
One Starfleet lead character is a captain in the future. (Kim)
A lead character has published in the future. (Paris)
One character is a teacher. (Barclay)
Final shot of the series has a Galaxy class ship in it.

 

[Ragitsu]

Am I the only one who wasn't thrilled with the overuse of the "Vulcan suddenly gains emotions/strongly expresses emotions." plot? I'm not just talking about Voyager either, but all of Star Trek.

 

[Oddish]

One more parallel between Endgame and All Good Things... both "futures" never happen.

 

[STEPhon IT]

Apparently they exist in their own pocket universe, when "All Good Things..." and "Endgame" made their conclusion it just closed the gates of that universe. A writer could easily re-invent the wheel whenever they want to. I don't think the characters of those series would know the vast facets of the universe, for them, its safe to believe they do not exist anymore.

 

[fireproof78]

In a dangerous galaxy, Vulcans understand the logic of being able to protect themselves. They might prefer peace, but know that not every species agrees. Indeed, it was their own capacity for violence and savagery that drove them to embrace logic as completely as they did.

Indeed. It was something I always appreciated about Spock and he alludes to this with his father, Sarek, in TOS. If necessary, they are capable of killing efficiently. I don't see why a Vulcan security officer would eschew violence when logically there are times it is necessary.

 

[dupersuper]

Apparently they exist in their own pocket universe

Where was this made apparent?

 

[Ragitsu]

Using logic to make someone happy?

Awesome Tuvok.

 

[Ragitsu]

Funny for a Vulcan “bred to peace” to be a security and weapons officer.

There is a certain logic to employing someone who is primarily philosophically committed to using the minimum amount of force necessary in any given scenario instead of someone with naked martial inclinations or political/professional aspirations.