One episode of Star Trek: Voyager season 5 was effectively saved by Robert Duncan McNeill. McNeill played Tom Paris, a member of Voyager's main cast of characters, as well as the ship's pilot and sometimes medic. Tom was arguably the character who underwent the most growth throughout Voyager's seven seasons. He began the show as an arrogant, misanthropic former convict who found his purpose and family as part of Voyager's crew. Although Tom's transformation was gradual, one episode of Voyager season 5 illustrated perfectly how much he had changed.
Voyager season 5, episode 9, "Thirty Days" began with Tom being demoted to the rank of Ensign by Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and thrown in the brig. Through a letter to his father, Tom proceeded to relay the story of why he was once again in prison, explaining how he had violated the Prime Directive and Janeway's orders to help the inhabitants of an ocean planet save their world despite internal resistance. "Thirty Days" is one of Voyager's best Tom Paris episodes thanks to its character study and Robert Duncan McNeill's acting, but the episode was almost very different.
Robert Duncan McNeill Helped Create Star Trek: Voyager Season 5’s Best Tom Paris Episode
McNeill had an influence on the storyline for "Thirty Days"
According to members of Voyager's writing staff, the idea for "Thirty Days" originally centered more on the ocean planet as a science fiction concept. However, the planet wasn't a strong enough hook to base an entire episode around, and when given the opportunity, it was Robert Duncan McNeill who suggested that the storyline be focused on Tom Paris. Speaking to Cinefantastique around the time of the episode's airing, McNeill detailed the story of how he influenced the changes and why he thought "Thirty Days" was better for it. Read McNeill's full quote below:
"The first version of that episode I didn't like. We had an opportunity to look at it and say, 'How can we improve it?' The whole concept of Paris being in the brig from the beginning, and telling this as a flashback in a letter to his father, brought in a whole other element that was much darker and much more interesting. This was more complex; it had a lot of character stuff to play with. All those scenes with Paris in the brig gave it a framework that was much more interesting, and had much more mystery to it. I was very happy with it by the end. I thought it turned into a really good show."
Not only was McNeill right about the story changes making the episode darker, but his idea to have Tom in the brig and the episode being told via flashback added an element of intrigue from the beginning, giving "Thirty Days" a much stronger hook. The Star Trek: Voyager episode was effectively a mystery story, which helped keep audiences engaged and made the episode a departure from Voyager's usual storytelling style. Similarly, the episode never would have worked if its main character hadn't been Tom Paris.
Why Star Trek: Voyager’s “Thirty Days” Would Never Have Worked Without Tom Paris'Story
The episode wouldn't have been cohesive enough to be a success
"Thirty Days" needed Tom's character as its emotional core. The idea of the ocean planet on its own was certainly not enough to carry the episode, but even a similar storyline focused on a different character would not have worked as well. Tom's personality and connection to the episode's concept made him the perfect main character, but besides that, the real strength of "Thirty Days" was the exploration of Tom's backstory and showing how much he had changed since Voyager's pilot episode.
Tom's complicated relationship with his father had been hinted at previously, but "Thirty Days" provided the clearest picture of their dynamic, revealing a lot about Tom as a person. Likewise, the episode saw the return of some of Tom's bad-boy tendencies, but in a way that didn't make him less likable. The contrast of Tom's personality in season 5 with the return of these traits showed that Tom's convictions had changed and demonstrated how far he would go for a good cause. Star Trek: Voyager couldn't have done better with a main character for "Thirty Days" than Tom Paris.
