The Borg Grail: Voyager The Return, page 3

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Voyager: The Return, page 3

Report index / page 1 / page 2 / page 3 / page 4 / page 5 / page 6 / page 7 / page 8 / page 9

Kate's Saturday Q&A

So, I was ready and waiting for Kate.... well slightly off to one side, as the front seats had been given over to some local kids, so even us with passes didn't always get the absolute best places! Kate was introduced by the voice of Lolita Fatjo... the doors opened... the crowd began to roar.... and Lolita walked out! Good joke Lolita! I think she got a friendly boo. Anyway, she said 'I knew that would happen', then made way for the real thing.

Kate arrived on stage looking simply stunning (look at the pictures! Wow!) She also seemed to be enjoying the reaction of the crowd, though she did order us to sit down... She talked about what a wonderful experience it had been working on Voyager, and how she had won over the brass that doubted her by 2 years of being commanding in the role. She also talked about how she was the first female Captain, and that she hoped to be the 'only female captain'. I wasn't sure I liked that last comment... but I hope she meant it in the sense that some people talk about 'Kirks the ONLY Trek captain for me...' I want another female captain!

She talked about juggling home and work, and how she feels it is not always possible to be both a good actor and a good mother. Her way of dealing with it is that when she is at work she is totally at work and when she is at home she is totally there. (She said something about her boys seeing her as their 'mad mother', and I can really see her being a mad mother… in the nicest possible way!)

She's found the fan base surprising, rarefied, with the imagination of a scientist. She has always felt categorically supported by the fans.

Q: Is she as fond of poetry and the arts as Janeway?

Yes. But who taught Janeway? (She answers her own question) The Doctor. Because of what Picardo has made of him. (It's the) most moving (story): 'I love my EMH because of what he taught me'

She said she no longer has an official website, (I think she said Tim Hagan does?)

She loved Endgame. (The audience goes 'shhh!) 'Do you think I'm stupid?'

Someone suggested she would be great cast as a young Kathryn Hepburn. To which she replied that she was, in fact, going to play Hepburn.

Someone from the audience told her that they often discuss with their daughters 'What would Janeway do?'

Q: How much of Janeway is directed, how much her playing Janeway, and how much is Kate?

When she first came on the show, they told her captains don't cry, they don't touch... She replied 'Is she a sadist?' She said 'This captain will touch...' And the fans loved it.

Would you believe it: around this time I got called for a photo session. This time with Tim Russ. So my notes got a little fragmented as once more I tried to scrawl them in the photo queue.... I remember being up on the balcony for the next question...

Q: Something along the lines of, did Janeway fancy Chakotay?

Kate mimed looking at her watch, saying that she'd been waiting for that question, and it was actually the longest wait she'd ever had. She then answered that yes, Janeway did fancy Chakotay. Now I'm not totally sure I heard this straight, but she went on to talk about another relationship. She said it had all been one-sided on the side of the other person. Was it J/7? I want to know myself!

I think it was about then that I reached my turn with Tim. He is looking rather good these days, I have to say! I was a little nervous, as I'd had someone say they had found Tim a little unfriendly, but that was not my experience at all. In fact after the photo I said 'It was nice to meet you', to which he replied 'It was nice to meet you'. Honestly, it was almost like he was flirting with me! Emphasis on the 'almost'! I'm sure he wasn't really!

Anyway, back to Kate. And at last I was able to relax with everything else done for the day! Well, I may have been able to relax, but Kate wasn't. I arrived just in time for the auction.

Kate was telling us about why she is involved in Alzheimer's. Her mother has the disease. She told us a lot about the person she had been. She finished by saying, 'she was a wonderful person... but now she's gone'. It was very moving. Then she brought out her own script from the episode 'Hunters', apparently complete with her own notes and the cut scenes. She told us she'd recently sold a similar script in the States for $1000, so that was where she was going to start, at $1000. Well the audience were not happy with the idea of an auction in dollars, so everyone started out shouting 'pounds! pounds!' (Me included; who wants to be worrying about exchange rates in the middle of an auction in your own country?) It was a little confused for a moment, but finally Kate established and checked that there was one person making a serious bid of £1000. In fact she asked several times. She seemed quite stunned that we'd started at a value much higher than she expected. She then got steadily whiter as the price climbed higher, finally closing at £5500. (I've read it quoted elsewhere as £6500. I have £5500 in my notes... and it was high anyway!) Kate quite clearly could not believe what she was hearing!

Any way, back to the Q&A and a question was about pets. She has a chocolate Labrador (that refuses to die) and a cockatiel that speaks fluent Spanish, as it imitates her housekeeper.

I think someone asked about similarities between her and Janeway. She described Janeway (affectionately) as a 'cowboy of the first order', which she is not, which is why she has survived to this age!

Q: How anatomically correct is Robert Duncan McNeill's action figure?

She hasn't studied the action figure, but she can assure us that Robbie is anatomically correct. She mentioned Friday nights on the Bridge... she knows all to much about anatomy... Tim Russ's bottom at 1 in the morning...

Q: What role would she like now?

She wouldn't mind being the 1st lady of Ohio. It doesn't get much better than Katherine Hepburn. She's 42 years old, and has spent 28 years acting. With the years you get deeper, better and wiser. She's excited about the rest of her life. At 40 you have nothing left to prove - take me or leave me!

Kate then told the story of how she got the job on Voyager. She went to the network, and had to perform a scene, which was very difficult. Everybody attending the audition was dismissed, which was unusual. But she felt a certain alchemy. She stared into Rick Berman's eyes. 'Try me baby'.

A few days later she'd gone shopping, and came back to find everyone waiting on the porch. They all wanted her to listen to the answering machine, which was a bit strange. Anyway, there were a couple of other messages, then she heard something like: 'Kate Mulgrew, this is Rick Berman. I just wanted to say welcome aboard, Captain.'

Now seems a good time to mention the many people coming up to the mike to give personal messages rather than ask questions. Now, I know many people hate them, but personally I rather enjoyed their comments. They all had different things to say, but they were also expressing emotions that I'm sure a lot of people in the hall felt. I remember Kate's reply to one of them who thanked her: 'It's worth it'. I think Kate certainly appreciated their comments. Another man talked about how he had watched the show after the funeral of a friend who was a great fan, and had got comfort that way. A kid talked about how she wanted to be an actress, and got some encouragement on-stage with Kate. Another person came up to the mike saying that they only had £100 left, but they wanted to donate it to Kate's charity. Kate got quite desperate to stop them donating their last money! But they reassured her that it was their last AFTER allowing for costs for the rest of the weekend, and got her to reluctantly accept it. Kate seemed totally in shock after the script and that...

Kate told us her version of her 'war' with Tim Russ. Though I'm sure most people have heard it, it was great hearing Kate's version of it, told with some very dry humour. Apparently she calls Tim a lot of names other than Tim, but she's under contract, so she can't say... She had to put him in his place. They were still on set at 3 am and every time she tried to do her shot, Tim threw spitballs at her. So she told him if he did it again he was a dead man... and sure enough, he did it again.

So she went to the Wardrobe person, gave them a $100 bill and told them to go to Tim's trailer. 'Remove his pants... everything. You may leave one sock. And bring me the keys to his car'. The items were delivered, and she kept them all weekend long.

4.30 am Monday morning... she could have been dreaming. She wishes she had had a hangover. She couldn't believe what she was seeing as Captain... 15 photographs of Tim Russ's bare butt. And on each a little epistle. For example 'You'll kiss this for the next 5 years'

She never wrangled with him again.

Kate then started asking if Tim Russ was in the Green Room, then called out 'Are you there sweetheart?'. Apparently Tim appeared on the balcony, but I never saw him, just heard his voice replying 'Yeah, I'm right here'. Obviously there are no hard feelings... Kate then asked him who put who through more hell. Tim answered 'I believe it was me to you.'

One of the staff indicated to Kate that it was time to wrap up. She asked the audience to put their hands up if she'd signed an autograph for them. Only quite a small percentage did... Kate said, dismayed, 'Oh my God, Bryan!'

She took one last question: Did she think going for the young male demographic had meant sacrificing other things?

Kate said she had her questions about that. But Voyager's heart and soul was about a Captain and her crew who surprisingly fell in love.

Kate thanked the audience - (I think for the opportunity to meet us?) and also for the last seven years.

Then Kate went off to sign more autographs... I'm not sure if it was before or after her Q&A, but at one point (according to the notices on the screen), Kate started signing for day ticket holders only, so ensuring that those there just on Saturday and with high numbers got a chance. She was certainly serious about signing for everyone...


Kate gives acting advice to one fan and listens to another

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