Kate Mulgrew is best known for her role as the stalwart Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek Voyager. She has since reprised that role recently for Prodigy, which just had a second season drop on Netflix. And Mulgrew is her same feisty self as she sparred with the audience at Fan Expo Chicago while she gave out matronly advice ribbed with Nerf-tipped invectives. It’s hard for this author to separate the actor from the character, because as I look at Mulgrew and hear her talk, all I can think of is Janeway.
As soon as she came on stage, she began to praise the fandom, noting how Star Trek was a philosophy and fans are intelligent and thoughtful. Perhaps one of the more thoughtful questions ensued when she was asked how Janeway and her character Red Reznikov from Orange is the New Black were similar, noting that the thread that joined the two was in their drive for survival - though she did note that Janeway, as a scientist who loved exploration “probably went back in her ready room and went ‘Yesss’’’ at the thought of being able to explore the uncharted territory of the Delta Quadrant. Another great answer came when a young girl asked how she got her hair that way - referring to the “steel space bun” Janeway was known for, and she discussed how often her hair was changed and she was ‘poked and prodded’ in ways that her fellow male captains just weren’t.
While quite lovely herself, Mulgrew had to deal with some not-so-lovely questions from the audience, many of whom seemed obsessed with Janeway’s sexuality and romantic misfires. Mulgrew then groaned about Janeway's “Seven long years of agonizing celibacy.” When Mulgrew asked a fan who he thought Janeway should have ended up with, the fan said “Seven of Nine” to which Janeway rightfully scoffed, saying, “She’s half Borg!” she went on “I want a plain face. I want a male face, with a male body.”
But she knew that the audience and producers wanted more, saying
“I’m not going into my ready room with Chakotay and screaming Red Alert! I’m not going to do it. I’m not going to do it ever!”
Mulgrew went on:
“And everybody wants romance. Well, they solved it. They brought on a beautiful sexy half Borg, half human woman. To play a very important part. And I thought that the relationship between Janeway and Seven of Nine was very important. It's shaped Seven’s Idea of human relationships, and it altered Janeway’s idea of the Borg. It was absolutely critical and beautifully done. I’m just sad you asked that question.”
To the sexed-up audience members the MC added “I really hope some of you go home tonight and scream ‘Red Alert!’”
Mulgrew replied,
“Great tips, very sexy. It’s better than saying ‘there’s coffee in that Nebula.’”
A young fan then asked Kate Mulgrew about her time working with Jeri Ryan. She said,
“Well, you’ve all heard the stories, I'm sure. You know my vanity was hurt the worst. I was the first female Captain and I wanted that to be enough. Kirk was enough. Picard was enough. Sisko was enough. But I wasn’t enough. That’s how I took it. They had to bring in this ‘va va voom.’ She was very smart, the story was very good, and she was a very fine actress. But how did I feel initially? I was quite stung. And then I had to sort of figure it out. The value was in the story. The story was Star Trek Voyager, and I had to get them home. Jeri– she’s a very very smart and worthy partner. So it’s always hard, but I’d be a liar if I told you otherwise, right?”
Kate Mulgrew is absolutely a gem.
And as was mentioned in the panel a few times: Star Trek: Prodigy is in danger! If you have a Netflix subscription, you are doing yourself a favor by checking it out.
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