Why Was Tom Paris In Prison When Star Trek: Voyager Began?

In the premiere episode of Star Trek: Voyager, "Caretaker", Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) was a prisoner of the United Federation of Planets serving time in a New Zealand penal colony. At the time, Paris was a former Starfleet pilot who became a jaded loner with low self-esteem, and lost trust in the system that had repeatedly failed him. Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) knew Tom Paris as the son of her former commanding officer, Admiral Owen Paris (Richard Herd), and specifically sought Tom out to pilot the USS Voyager's risky Badlands mission in search of Chakotay's (Robert Beltran) Maquis raider.

One early Star Trek: Voyager concept was the blending of Captain Janeway's Starfleet officers with Commander Chakotay's Maquis fighters to create a single crew that had to work together in the Delta Quadrant. The Maquis in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine were comprised of former Federation citizens whose homes had been annexed by the Cardassians and disillusioned Starfleet officers. In protest, the Maquis organized to commit acts of terrorism against both the Federation and the Cardassians. If caught, the Federation charged the Maquis with treason, in addition to any other crimes individual fighters committed.

Tom Paris In Prison When Star Trek: Voyager Started Explained

What Tom Paris Did To Land In Prison Before Voyager

At the start of Star Trek: Voyager, Tom Paris was serving an 18-month-long prison sentence in New Zealand's Federation penal colony because Paris was convicted of treason against the Federation for working as a Maquis mercenary. Since Federation prisons like the New Zealand settlement prioritized rehabilitation over ineffective punishments, a non-violent prisoner like Tom Paris could reduce his sentence through supervised service to Starfleet. Under Janeway's supervision, Paris was released from the penal colony as an official observer on the USS Voyager who could help track down Chakotay's Maquis crew.

Paris didn't have any particular allegiance to the Maquis, so it was easy for Tom to take Janeway's deal. Before working for the Maquis, Tom Paris had begrudgingly followed his father into Starfleet, in hopes of earning Admiral Paris' affection. Unfortunately, on Tom Paris' first Starfleet assignment, Paris committed a pilot error that resulted in the deaths of three Starfleet officers. Paris initially covered up the evidence that implicated him, but eventually admitted his guilt, and was still dishonorably discharged from Starfleet. The Maquis gave Paris the fight he'd been looking for after his Starfleet expulsion.

Tom Paris Was Supposed To Be Star Trek: TNG’s Nick Locarno

Nick Locarno Would Have Been An Expensive Addition To Star Trek: Voyager's Cast

Originally, the character that evolved into Tom Paris was supposed to be Star Trek: The Next Generation's Starfleet cadet Nick Locarno, also played by Robert Duncan McNeill. In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 19, "The First Duty", Locarno was part of Nova Squadron with Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton). Nick Locarno pushed Nova Squadron to attempt the dangerous Kolvoord Starburst maneuver, resulting in the death of Cadet Josh Albert. Rather than own up to his part in the tragedy, Locarno insisted Nova Squadron should cover up Josh's death as an accident. Despite eventually confessing, Nick was expelled from Starfleet Academy.

Instead of using TNG's Nick Locarno on Star Trek: Voyager, Tom Paris was a brand-new character with a similar backstory. Casting McNeill as Tom Paris was a more frugal option with more freedom for character development, because the writers of "The First Duty", Ronald D. Moore and Naren Shankar, would be owed royalties for every Star Trek: Voyager episode that Locarno appeared in. More to the point, Locarno was intentionally self-serving, unsympathetic, and implicitly irredeemable, whereas Tom Paris had a good heart buried beneath a run of rotten luck. Paris wanted to change, and on Star Trek: Voyager, he could.

How Tom Paris Changed Throughout Star Trek: Voyager

Tom Paris Redeemed Himself On The USS Voyager

Because Tom Paris' criminal past meant very little this far from Federation space, Paris redeemed himself over the USS Voyager's seven years in the Delta Quadrant. Despite strong self-doubt, Paris' heart was in the right place, and Tom stepped up to become an important part of the USS Voyager crew. A few semesters of medical training meant Paris was assigned to assist the Doctor (Robert Picardo). One of Paris' greatest achievements was designing Voyager's Delta Flyer with Lt. B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), Lt. Commander Tuvok (Tim Russ), Ensign Harry Kim (Garrett Wang), and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan).

Tom Paris' redemption arc wouldn't have been possible without Paris' willingness to accept others' friendship. Janeway's initial belief in him brought Paris aboard the USS Voyager, and Paris soon developed one of Star Trek's best friendships with Harry Kim. Tom's relationship with and eventual marriage to B'Elanna Torres allowed both characters to grow together, learning how to accept the unconditional love that they'd sought as children. When the USS Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant, Tom Paris was accepted back into Starfleet as proof of completing his Star Trek: Voyager redemption arc.