Why Tom Paris and not Nick Locarno?

[Darth Thanos]

So, Robert McNeill played Nick Locarno in TNG, a guy that attempts a dangerous stunt, gets discovered and sentenced, and has to atone for his mistakes. In Voyager he's another character, Tom Paris, who was in prison and has to atone for his mistakes.

So... why a new character? Why not make Nick Locarno the character of Voyager as well? Same actor, same general backstory, same broad strokes personality... and being just a one-time character, he was not that developed, so the authors would still have plenty of room to do whatever with him. Friend of Harry, holodeck fan, the issues with the Maquis and Chakotay, the romance with Torres... all that could have been added to Locarno, hardly contradicting anything from the TNG episode.

 

[NCC-73515]

I read the writers who invented Locarno would have to be paid for all VOY episodes

 

[fireproof78]

So, Robert McNeill played Nick Locarno in TNG, a guy that attempts a dangerous stunt, gets discovered and sentenced, and has to atone for his mistakes. In Voyager he's another character, Tom Paris, who was in prison and has to atone for his mistakes.

So... why a new character? Why not make Nick Locarno the character of Voyager as well? Same actor, same general backstory, same broad strokes personality... and being just a one-time character, he was not that developed, so the authors would still have plenty of room to do whatever with him. Friend of Harry, holodeck fan, the issues with the Maquis and Chakotay, the romance with Torres... all that could have been added to Locarno, hardly contradicting anything from the TNG episode.

According to Memory Alpha, there is a snippet on one of the TNG commentaries that basically described Locarno as "irredeemable" in the eyes of the writers, so they opted to not bring him back. However, they wanted someone with a similar edge as McNeil had brought to Locarno and asked him to read for the part.

 

[Tosk]

The "official" story is that they didn't want to use Locarno, that they thought he was irredeemable.
I've always called bullshit on this, Tom caused multiple deaths as opposed to Nick's one. The only difference was that Tom came forward on his own instead of being forced to by a snotty dickhead.

Plus, they offered no such excuse for why they invented a new Taurik-alike character for Voyager named Vorik. Same actor, no apparent need for it to be a new character. The unofficial reason fits both instances, and the official reason smells fishy.

Even the writers forgot that Tom wasn't Nick, accidentally using Nick's backstory in an ep of Voyager instead of Tom's.

 

[WarpTenLizard]

The "official" story is that they didn't want to use Locarno, that they thought he was irredeemable.
I've always called bullshit on this, Tom caused multiple deaths as opposed to Nick's one. The only difference was that Tom came forward on his own instead of being forced to by a snotty dickhead.

Plus, they offered no such excuse for why they invented a new Taurik-alike character for Voyager named Vorik. Same actor, no apparent need for it to be a new character. The unofficial reason fits both instances, and the official reason smells fishy.

Even the writers forgot that Tom wasn't Nick, accidentally using Nick's backstory in an ep of Voyager instead of I

I agree that Locarno wasn't truly irredeemable. But maybe the writers truly did want that detail of him having turned himself in, as the start of his redemption arc. In general, making Tom a separate character just gave the writers more creative freedom than using a character with an already established onscreen story.

As for Taurik, I suspect that his name just sounded too similar to Tuvok. And with the internet in its infancy, very few people in the 1990s would have instantly recognized him as the same actor as a Vulcan on one random episode of TNG. Some novels apparently decided that they're identical twins.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

The "official" story is that they didn't want to use Locarno, that they thought he was irredeemable.
I've always called bullshit on this, Tom caused multiple deaths as opposed to Nick's one.

Yeah, but there's also the issue that Locarno caused one death, while knowingly committing a dangerous and illegal act, which in legal terms could even leave him liable for "felony murder" in some jurisdictions and maybe manslaughter otherwise... OTOH, Paris committed a navigation error during a fully sanctioned and authorised operation.

he only difference was that Tom came forward on his own instead of being forced to by a snotty dickhead.

Yes, which in law allows for mitigation of even serious felonies, whereas Tom's only actual offence was "lying to investigators" or possibly perjury (I can't remember whether he gave evidence at an inquiry/inquest or not).

 

[Oddish]

ccording to Memory Alpha, there is a snippet on one of the TNG commentaries that basically described Locarno as "irredeemable" in the eyes of the writers, so they opted to not bring him back

Pretty sure that was retconned in, after they decided not to reuse the character for legal reasons. Though they made him pretty much irredeemable in his "Lower Decks" appearance.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

Pretty sure that was retconned in, after they decided not to reuse the character for legal reasons.

Retcon implies that they originally intended that he would be a recurring character, which was almost certainly not the case, at least in part because he was intended to be irredeemable from the outset.

 

[Oddish]

The Nick Lacarno we saw in "The First Duty" wasn't irredeemable... he took the fall for his whole team, at the cost of his own ruination.

 

[Farscape One]

Which lends even more credence to the explanation of having to pay the writers of "The First Duty" instead of the 'official' reason.

Possibly the same with Vorik, but in that case it's very likely nepotism was the case there... Alexander Enberg was Jeri Taylor's son, and she was the showrunner for VOY season 3. He did appear in season 3 almost as much as all his other season appearances combined. Doubt that's a coincidence.

 

[trekshark]

what shocks me about the pay the writers thing is I'd think on shows like this characters and plots and whatnot would be signed over to the show

 

[Tosk]

what shocks me about the pay the writers thing is I'd think on shows like this characters and plots and whatnot would be signed over to the show

Even with it only being a maybe, it's not hard for me to imagine that even the possibility of a writer suing for residuals isn't worth the trouble. Easier to just file the name off and pretend it's a new character. They already have to pay residuals to the credited writers on Caretaker, why add another one if you don't have to?

 

[Oddish]

The story goes that when they were doing auditions for the character, they advertised for someone who was like Robert Duncan Macneil. Robbie saw this and figured "who's more like Robert Duncan Macneil than Robert Duncan Macneil?" so he auditioned.

 

[Snowdrop82]

Since they are played by the same actor, it could have easily just been Locarno, with Locarno's father being in Starfleet, as an Admiral - played by the same actor, as well. Problem solved.

 

[at Quark's]

So, suppose that in the last Voyager episode it would have been revealed he really was Nick Locarno all along, who had gotten a 2nd chance by (a Starfleet-approved) identity change, would they have had to pay the original writers of that character only for that episode, or retroactively for all episodes in which he appeared?

 

[Newt]

So, suppose that in the last Voyager episode it would have been revealed he really was Nick Locarno all along, who had gotten a 2nd chance by (a Starfleet-approved) identity change, would they have had to pay the original writers of that character only for that episode, or retroactively for all episodes in which he appeared?

Only thing is you have the character of Admiral Paris, Tom’s father, who also has a shared backstory with Janeway.
So it be a bit weird and convolute that they both changed their identities.

 

[at Quark's]

Only thing is you have the character of Admiral Paris, Tom’s father, who also has a shared backstory with Janeway.
So it be a bit wired and convolute that they both changed their identities.

I agree it wouldn't have fitted. But I was just asking hypothetically.

 

[mithril]

I read the writers who invented Locarno would have to be paid for all VOY episodes

pretty much everyone involved with the production of VOY, including the guy who invented the Locarno character, have stated this is false. which honestly fits pretty well with how i understand that character ownership worked back then. having been used in an episode, Locarno belonged to the studio, not the episode writer.

as for being 'redeemable' or not.. Locarno pressured his team into perfomring a highly illegal and dangerous stunt, got someone killed, pressured his team into a coverup, and when one of his team started having second thoughts, attempted to pressure said teammember (wesley) into taking the punishment of being drummed out of starfleet, in order to protect his own ass. literally right up until it was clear that their cover up had failed, he was willing to let anyone else suffer and lose their dream of graduating into starfleet in order to avoid suffering any penalties to himself. he only threw himself on the mercy of the court once it became clear that the jig was up and they all were going to be expelled. which honestly felt more like he was shamed into it by wesley and jaxa's actions, then anything else. honestly with selfishness and ego like that i have to wonder how he got past all the academy personality testing.

 

[Lynx]

So, Robert McNeill played Nick Locarno in TNG, a guy that attempts a dangerous stunt, gets discovered and sentenced, and has to atone for his mistakes. In Voyager he's another character, Tom Paris, who was in prison and has to atone for his mistakes.

So... why a new character? Why not make Nick Locarno the character of Voyager as well? Same actor, same general backstory, same broad strokes personality... and being just a one-time character, he was not that developed, so the authors would still have plenty of room to do whatever with him. Friend of Harry, holodeck fan, the issues with the Maquis and Chakotay, the romance with Torres... all that could have been added to Locarno, hardly contradicting anything from the TNG episode.

I've read two explanations for that.

The first one is that those in charge of the show would have to pay the writer of the TNG episode The First Duty to use the name Nick Locarno.

The other explanation is that those in charge of Voyager had planned to use Nick Locarno in the series because they found the character with his background useful for the new show and therefore wanted Robert Duncan O'Neill to play the character in VOY.

However, they got cold feet due to how Locarno had behaved in The First Duty and they thought that the character was too much of a scumbag who all of a sudden woud become a hero ald likeble character in the new show. So tyhey decidet to change the background story a bit and rename the chaarcter Tom Paris instead.

Both those explanations can actually be reasons for the change.

I can understand that they didn't want to pay a writer a large sum for using a character which had only been in one episode, although it was a good episode and a good performance by McNeill.

I can also understand if they had doubts to use Locarno since he was a rather egoistic and selfish character, not that likeable as the producers may have wanted him to be.

But they should have written Tom Paris's background story better. What we have now is two lookalikes which both have been kicked out of Starfleet because of an accident in which Starfleet cadets lost their lives (one in the Locarno story and four in the Paris story).

And what about the similarity in looks between the characters?

Well, the solution is to be found on the Kes Website!

Tom Paris-Nick Locarno

Now, this has caused a lot of confusion. Nick Locarno, a Tom Paris lookalike is involved in an accident similar tothe one Tom was involved in later. That "coincident" has created a lot of rumors and speculation. There are:

Three possible options

Option 1: Nick Locarno was the result of a a love affair between Admiral Paris and another woman than his wife. The old Admiral helped Nick Locarno to be accepted at Starfleet Academy where he screwed it up. The similar accidents Nick and Tom had were coincidents. Tom's hatred to his father was because he found out about Nick Locarno's existence during his time at Starfleet Academy. A possible meeting between Tom and Nick would be something for coming books or movies, wouldn't it?

Option 2: Tom Paris and Nick Locarno are the same persons and there was only one accident. Admiral Paris tried to cover it up by persuading all involved to use the name "Nick Locarno" during the trial so that the good name of Paris wouldn't be disgraced. However, Starfleet later gave the Admiral a reprimand for that sceme and the convicted pilot was revealed as Tom Paris. Tom's dislike of his father was further increased by that "Nick Locarno" scenario and the fact that Admiral Paris more and less pretended that the accused wasn't his son.

However, option 2 is out of the picture since Nick Locarno did show up in a ST novella called Revenant. The Memory Beta article about Locarno's appearance can be found here. In fact, even the story Strange Dreams on the Kes Website website states that Paris and Locarno are two different persons.

Option 3. Tom Paris and Nick Locarno are twins separated at birth. The similarity between the accidents are coincidents, however Admiral Paris did his best to cover up the relationship between Nick Locarno and the Paris family. Tom did find out about it later which is one of the reasons he despises his father.

Note also a certain similarity in the family names of those characters. Paris is the name of the capital of France while Locarno is the name of a town in nearby Switzerland.

 

[Mage]

Plus, they offered no such excuse for why they invented a new Taurik-alike character for Voyager named Vorik. Same actor, no apparent need for it to be a new character. The unofficial reason fits both instances, and the official reason smells fishy.

I believe in the non-cannon novels they're twins.