We fully admit that we love Voyager. In fact, as we mentioned recently, we've been watching Kate & the crew almost exclusively since its recent addition to Netflix. Kate Mulgrew is an amazing captain, Tuvok an awesome security officer, and Neelix is one fine Talaxian. We had the honor of seeing Ethan Phillips up close and personal at last year's Starbase Indy and he was a riot. Let's just put it this way, Ethan loves jokes. Old, new, clean, dirty, he's an equal opportunity jokester and he's freakin' hilarious. So, it's no wonder that in a recent interview with The Morton Report, Ethan revealed that he wished Neelix had "developed more of an outlandish sense of humor". We know that some of you out there aren't big Neelix fans, but as Scarlett Pomers once said; how can you hate big bird?

Ethan continued with; "Yes, he became part of Voyager’s crew, and that was fine.  However, it would have been fun to have seen him, not just by virtue of his looks but by his behavior, be a bit different or a little more alien. I’m talking funnier, wackier and slightly stranger."

"That may have been up to me to do, who knows? Then again, I have no problem taking any cues I’m given and going with them. It’s difficult because sometimes you really don’t know where your responsibility with your character begins and ends. I regret not having made more of a mark than I did with Neelix, but having said that, I feel that he’s a fine addition to the pantheon of Star Trek.”

We fully agree. In re-watching Voyager, we've come to love Neelix even more. Especially his darker side, revealed in episodes like "Jetrel" & "Mortal Coil". Be sure and take the time to read the full interview over at The Morton Report.

(Source: The Morton Report via TrekWeb)