Jeri Ryan Speaks About Her ‘Intentionally Unpleasant’ Experiences on “Star Trek: Voyager” 

Star Trek rumor mill has been swirling about the supposed \'feud\' between 

co-stars Jeri Ryan and Kate Mulgrew, stemming from Mulgrew\'s dislike of the addition of Ryan\'s former Borg character, Seven of Nine, to the show.

2006 interview with Garrett Wang contains some fairly harsh reports of the on-set experience surrounding Ryan\'s arrival to the show, but a recent interview on actress Aisha Tyler\'s

podcast (released last summer, but just pointed out to us by a reader this week) has one of the first narratives of those years revealed by Jeri Ryan herself.

Ryan does not specifically name Mulgrew as the source of her torment, but her description of the interaction, combined with the years of reports of discontent with this unnamed co-star makes it nearly impossible to be anyone else.

was the flagship show of the network -- UPN -- and Paramount saw this as this character as their chance to break

into the mainstream media, and not just the sci-fi mags and things like that. So the Paramount publicity machine went into overdrive with the addition of this character.

RYAN: This was the beginning of Season Four. Everything was top secret about the character. The costume people didn\'t see what the makeup people were doing, everything was secret, secret, secret. They didn\'t want anybody to know anything about it until the day I walked on to set to shoot this -- which is a bunch of other stories!

They were very successful in getting the mainstream media to pay attention to it with the addition of the character.

TYLER: What were the other stories? It\'s so far in the past...

TYLER: Pick the one that you feel comfortable sharing.

RYAN: It was understandably tough for an existing cast that had been together for three years already.

, traditionally -- because this was like the fourth incarnation of

at the time -- was always the Captain, or the Captain and First Officer. Typically, it\'s the Captain that gets the attention of the press, and the shows revolve around that.

So all of a sudden, all of that shifted drastically in Season Four and now the writers, who have been writing for the same seven characters for three years, are salivating for something new to write with. They\'ve got this character that\'s so rich, because she\'s not even

TYLER: And the whole point of it is what it means to be human, it\'s a huge storyline.

RYAN: Right, there\'s no better way to do that. Consequently, all the scripts revolved around Seven of Nine and her relationship with the other characters, of course -- which actually ended up leading to some really rich storylines for the other characters.

TYLER: There was probably more diversity in terms of storyline for everybody.

RYAN: Exactly -- but that\'s hard, when the new kid comes in and suddenly it\'s all about them. That was tough, and it was particularly tough for some more than others, which was not real fun. It really made it an unpleasant work experience.

I mean, for the most part, everybody was phenomenal and absolutely great -- and the guys, my God, I loved my boys on that show. 

 They were hilarious to the point that if I had a two-shot with and then it\'s my close-up, I had to look off-camera because if I looked at them I\'d just break and crack up.

But yeah, it was unnecessarily unpleasant for a couple of years -- basically, until I started dating [Brannon Braga]. Once I was dating the boss, funny how things suddenly cleaned up!

 But it was really, really tough the first couple of years. and there were many days when I was nauseous before going into work because it was that miserable. Just unnecessarily, intentionally unpleasant.

TYLER: I always feel like there\'s a strange intimacy on a set that makes difficult sets much

difficult that working at a difficult office -- because you can usually avoid the other person...

RYAN: Right. There\'s no avoidance on a set, and most of my scenes were with this person.

RYAN: I mean, there was NO avoidance, because it was the richest relationship. They really wanted to capitalize on that.

TYLER: I\'m not going to ask you... I\'m sure people can deduce [who it is] if they spend some time Google-ing.

TYLER: I have had friends who have been in situations... where they had a very close co-star, sometimes their love interest, and they really did not like each other off-camera. I know someone who went through this, and they were just not even on speaking terms, and they had to

on camera. How was that for you -- did you develop mental tricks? Like, what did you do?

RYAN: There was nothing I COULD do -- literally I would be nauseous when I knew these scenes were coming up. When there were a lot of scenes with this person the next day, I was sick to my stomach all night, just miserable. It was so unnecessary and just so petty; things like, oh my God...

We\'d have scenes -- because a lot of my scenes took place in this set they built for my character called the Astrometrics Lab. It was a really impressive-looking set with this huge, massive, curved green-screen and this giant window. So there\'s only one entrance to the set, because all the cameras were built up on platforms and stuff to shoot the window -- there was just one set of doors.

I remember this one time in particular, I had this once scene with this person, just the two of us. We do their coverage first, and shoot their side of this really dramatic scene, and then it was time for my coverage. Before every close-up, the hair and makeup and wardrobe teams come in and do touch-ups and everything to make sure everything\'s right... 

[The co-star] shut the door to the set, and said, "She\'s fine. LET\'S GO." Wouldn\'t let them in. Just stupid, stupid stuff like that.

RYAN: Right, things like that. Another time, I don\'t even think it was the same day, but a different scene with that person on the same set -- we do their side first, and then it\'s my coverage on close-up for this really intense scene. The literally sat off-camera picking their nails, thumbing through a book, and just haphazardly saying their lines off camera without even making eye contact.

TYLER: It would have been better to just not have them there.

RYAN: Yeah, could the [assistant director] just read it off camera? I\'m good.

TYLER: Anyone? A production assistant? A C-Stand and a tennis ball? It would be better.

RYAN: Exactly! It would have been better. It was intentional, purely intentional and unnecessary.

Jeri Ryan\'s discussion of her time on the Voyager set, along with details of her audition and life in the convention circuit begins at the 38:00 mark in her interview with Aisha Tyler, linked below.

Its really disheartening to hear things like this. I was aware that they did not get along to a certain extent but to hear that the animosity came largely from the actor who I thought was wise and mature is disappointing. It puts a dampener on the experience of watching this show that is meant to be about tolerance and compassion. It is unfortunate that petty, real world conflicts could seep in and muddy that experience.

Based upon Jeri Ryan’s comments here — and of course, everything is subjective — it seems like Mulgrew took her dislike of the network’s decision out on Ryan personally, rather than directing her displeasure at the ‘system’ that caused the issue.

Seems that way, but it’s always risky to judge based on one person’s side. I am sure Mulgrew thinks it was Ryan who was antagonizing.

I don’t know. If you combine this with what Garrett Wang has said about this, it seems like Mulgrew was just unprofessional, nasty and petty. It’s disappointing, but no more so than realizing what an ass Shatner is, from the accounts of multiple cast mates and from others who have worked with him or met him. I wonder how Mulgrew feels about it now. Does she regret being nasty to her fellow actor?

I just know from countless friends’ break-ups (and my own way back) that it’s really hard to judge someone based on second-hand and biased information. Unless I was there I try not to judge.

I agree with both you and Mat Rowe….but, I feel that part of Kate Mulgrew’s animosity towards Jeri Ryan was jealousy. Like Ryan said, in part of the interview, for 3 seasons, Mulgrew’s Captain Janeway and crew were the focus. And then, this beautiful and sexy, younger actress comes along and steals her attention, from the fans and the boss, Brannon Braga! Lol

And, yet, I would love to lick the inside of her colon.

Really? Only a whore dates her boss? How about Lucy Lawless and Rob Tapert? They got married 3 years into the life of the show Xena. And yet she was a success in her own right. Even a Lesbian pride symbol.

Patrick Stewart dated his boss on TNG. Is he also a whore?

For me, as I rewind the series (time after time) I’m happy when ‘7’ comes on the scene. She was a center for the series from then on. Anyway, for me . .

Braga banged a chick and forced her – awkwardly – into a show. And yeah, she was tgere to be eye candy, which is sad on a show with the first female captain! Mulgrew owned her role, all Ryan did was give pouty lips in a spandex suit.

Sounds like she was a haggard, middle age woman who got jealous of the Pretty New Girl and decided to make her life miserable because she never grew out of high school

Or, sounds like she was cast in a starring role where she was told the show wouldn’t be overtly sexual with the female characters. That she’d be playing a strong, dynamic female lead. So she works her ass off to develop the character, and then gets side-swiped when they bring in a young woman who agrees to play the easy win sex-pot role (the boobs on the outfits were outrageous!) …and, then, that same young woman winds up sleeping with the boss like a creepy cliche?!? (Actually, that’s the point where I totally lost any compassion for Jeri’s story. If you are a young woman of any substance and self-respect, you don’t sleep with your boss. If you are really in love, wait until after you are not working directly for him.) Seriously, they would not have pulled that crap on Stewart–bring in a younger, sexier leading man to focus all the story-lines on while quietly casting Piccard into an out-to-pasture impotent fatherly role. It’d have been better if they killed her off.

I have no doubt they spent inordinate amounts of time on how “7” looked during that time in make-up, while Janeway’s hair was chopped into a more masculine bob, and all that “feminine side” plot-line that was so cool about Janeway, was handily erased as to not compete with the sex-pot character. Kate was not haggard, she was a beautiful woman (in Macrocosm she looks like Laura Croft.) I liked the “7” character and plot line but saying Kate was “haggard” or “jealous” is bull. She was pissed TF off, and rightfully so given how she was treated. Sounds to me the stuff she did–that Jeri thought was “petty”–was reaction out of sheer annoyance with the absurdity and cheapness of what they were doing.

Probably did not help that they booted Jennifer Lien at the same time as they added Ryan. Keeping Kes and dumping Kim would have made for a balanced cast amongst the sexes.

Sounds about right given her current law problems

Hah. Yeah, was pissed, but totally over it since Orange is the New Black.

Wow, talk about being one sided. Jeri didn’t call out her offender by name. She didn’t even mention gender. She only said “that person.” Jealous, yes, very. The show creators wanted to breathe life into the show, and a younger female sex symbol brings in the nose-bleeding boys. It was the 90s. The same thing happened in sliders, only Madame Cleavage happened to be a bitch. Unlike the whore on Charmed, we don’t see Jeri saying her set was like high school, nor do we hear about Jeri sleeping with half the cast.

Patrick Stewart dated his boss on TNG. By your logic, that would make him a whore too.

Never called anyone a whore. But, yes, inappropriate for Stewart as well. Tho, we were not dismissing a male collegue’s issues with Stewart by saying the guy was just past his prime and jealous of Stewart. That said, given how often successful women have been wrongfully accused of sleeping their way to the top (thereby diminishing their efforts, sometimes intentionally so by competition) I think a woman who respects herself would actively avoid this… Particularly where there would be the perception of special treatment. It reinforces the idea that sleeping around is how women get ahead instead of talent and hard work. Patrick Stewart is absolutely a whore, but, in being so he doesn’t perpetuate a tired stereotype that others have fought hard to dispel.

Why believe one side about “this person” years after the fact? That’s what gossip is, for the most part.

I’m binging ‘Voyager’ this week and I’ve just begun season four; the beginning of Jeri Ryan’s stint on the show. So I googled Ryan and came across this article. If this is Mulgrew to whom they’re referring, I must agree 100% with you, Mat Rowe. It’s very disappointing! In my opinion, Voyager and its crew faced the toughest challenges of any ‘Star Trek’ crew, and Mulgrew did a great job as a strong compassionate leader. But, my enjoyment of the show will be diminished knowing how difficult Mulgrew made it for a woman who was just trying to do her job.

Jeri Ryan saved Voyager, she really did. Only when 7 of 9 joined the crew did the show become compelling – must see television. To me, it’s actors like her that can make a show great. Compare this with Enterprise – where none of the cast really came into their own.

Only for two seasons though. Season 3 was a great effort, as were 4 and 5. The show suffered in Seasons 6 and 7.

Agreed – the show had started to improve with season 3. Season 6 and 7 still had some bright points and Picardo and Ryan were always good value.

Yeah I don’t agree at all. The show was better when it focused on the entire crew and hadn’t become the “Seven of Nine” show where she pulls some deus ex machina out of her borg implants every episode.

Omega Directive still rings true with me ….best voyager with a lot of potential ..agree best episodes were with the whole crew but OMEGA could’ve been a VOYAGER movie

The Janeway/Seven relationship was definitely the best thing about that show. And Seven was also the best comic partner with The Doctor. Voyager is my least favorite Trek show but those relationships definitely make a lot more episodes bearable than there otherwise might have been.

Also I disagree on Enterprise. I think Archer/Tucker/T’Pol really came in to their own over time and built more out of that show than existed on the page. They make seasons one and two watchable for me.

Your “least favorite”? It’s certainly better than non-trekky DS9 and Sisko’s constant overreacting when unnecessary, no emotions when necessary plus terrible writing and disrespect towards sci-fi, especially “sci”.

That is not true, I liked the character and the actress, but the show started revolving around her and it got extremely boring, seriously, how many times can a former Borg save the ship! They forgot they still had other characters that they just ceased to develop I still watched but it got increasingly annoying.

I don’t agree at all, she was an interesting character but how many times can 7 of 9 and her nanoprobes save the ship! It got extremely tedious and

the writers got very lazy and ignored more than half the cast. And I can’t

believe that after seven years of hard work from the cast they rewarded them

with Endgame. Absolutely the worst Star Trek episode ever! Although the Borg

and him pining for her after her death? Honestly, are we expected to believe that

would happen and for so long! They just completely dismissed the seven years of

character interactions and let the audience down. They should all have been

fired.If I had been one of those actors, especially Robert Beltran, I

would have refused to do the episode, those lines he had to say were the worst

I have heard in years. I remember looking forward to it until that picnic scene

and then made worse by the Astrometrics scene, they should have just castrated

him and got it over with! Voyager is still my favourite Trek show but only up to season four.

I agree about Chakotay and Seven. That relationship thrown it at the last minute was a joke and an insult to the audience. Voyager should have ended with Janeway and Chakotay hand in hand. C/7? Please……..

Mulgrew wanted to avoid that to keep the show from becoming “Melrose Space”. Because, unlike Ryan, she’s a great actress and could sell her role without sexing it up left and right.

Interesting article! but for goodness sake hire a proof-reader!

Hi spockboy, we transcribed the podcast nearly verbatim — aside from any typo we may have made, all grammatical concerns are from the source.

* “But” should be capitalized since it starts a sentence.

* The phrase is “for goodness’ sake,” with an apostrophe.

Any time someone talks about “that terrible episode of VOY” I just assume they mean Threshold. 😉

I don’t think Seven was in Threshold, before she joined the cast.

Considering we’re talking about her watching an episode on TV that aired before she got the job, I have to ask…what’s your point?

Hmm, it just sounds like the atmosphere on Voyager was pretty toxic to a certain degree. It’s sad, because it’s one of my favorite shows.

From watching and listening to Kate Mulgrew on The Captains, and now reading this, I think we should look at Kate’s perspective as well. She was working insane hours, didn’t have a lot of family time, felt unappreciated on the set, and then they bring in this new person all while letting go of a character that didn’t need to be, and I think it’s a recipe for resentment and bitterness. It’s a shame that she took her resentment out on Jeri Ryan, who was simply brought in by the heads to spruce up the show. Just another perspective to add to the discussion.

Not to mention that Robert Beltran was bad-mouthing the show whenever he was given the chance.

Funny, thing, though: nothing he said was wrong. 😉

Makes me laugh how, whenever this horrible stuff that Mulgrew visited on Ryan comes up, sooner or later someone tries to deflect attention from it by bring up Beltran’s bad-mouthing the show. They are two completely different situations imo. Beltran was spot on with a lot of his criticisms of Voyager. Mulgrew, in this situation, bullied a co-worker for years, going out of her way to make the poor girl sick to her stomach at the thought of going to work each day. That’s appalling! I for one shall roll my eyes and shake my head every time I stumble across one of those holier than thou interviews Mulgrew gave decrying the unprofessional behaviour of others (ie Beltran) on the cast. What a hypocrite!

Oh bs. I bet Ryan is exageratting. Maybe she felt sick because she was banging her boss to get ahead.

I suppose Beltran was adequate on that show. However, all the episodes he was central to bored me. There was nothing compelling about his character at all. Why he would badmouth a show which he’s known best for is beyond me.

sounds to me like fans need to realize the sexism that goes into network tv shows…i can see why the media and ppl jump up and down about Shonda Rhimes and what she does …and even she recently got some sexist remarks…personally Janeway was a good captain overall…and i like Seven as a character but i do think UPN as a whole were sexist from the get go …

Mulgrew owned her role and then some sexed up tart comes on the show and bangs the boss, detracting from the amazingness Mulfrew brought to the show. I side with Kate!

Kate Mulgrew was the worst part of that series onscreen, so it’s no surprise to hear she was also the worst offscreen. She said every line as if a bleating sheep was stuck in her throat, and her facial expressions were over-the-top and loopy. By far, she was the worst character. So, naturally, she was not happy about this new development–she was being upstaged by a much better character being played by a MUCH better actor.

DISAGREE…. captain Janeway was more realistic captain than the others …she worked hard because of the fact that she was the first female captain …and the scrutiny was intense …damn media heads ..

mulgrew was not even supposed to be there, she was a late addition because the original actress couldnt handle the schedule. I had seen Ryan on Dark Skies and knew she could act but the costume was ridiculous, very distracting. you had mrs columbo on one side sex goddess on the other things were bound to be difficult

I still prefer Mulgrew over Geneviève Bujold… she just didn’t seem to add any emotion to the role.

Bujold’s performance was definitely really flat. As cool as it would have been to have a local accent on the show (and since that’d make it part of the character’s backstory, maybe explore a bit of that heritage), it just wouldn’t have worked out very well.

On the other hand, Picard was super stiff for the first season of TNG, and changed substantially by the second…

Whatever the conflicts, iv had the pleasure of meeting both Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan seperately at both Destination Star Trek conventions ( Mulgrew in 2012, Ryan just last month ).Both are terrific actresses and were great guests.Im sorry if they did not always get along but this never showed up on screen and their relationship on the show were one of the highlights.

Just goes to show that not everybody has to get along to produce great work.

One of the biggest problems with Voyager was the shake up in head writers between seasons one and two (and of course carry over because of how they broadcast into season 3). While the conflict between Taylor and Piller was by all accounts purely creative and never personal, it really hobbled the first two seasons. And Taylor third season was extremely uneven, until about 2/3 through where it finally found some solid story telling. But that’s an incredible long time for a show to find it’s voice.

For myself the first third of Season one, the last third of season 3, and seasons four and five are what I fondly remember for Voyager.

Yikes. Taylor. The woman who killed continuity. May she go to hell… Voyager could have been great, but it would have required someone like Ron D Moore or Ira Steven Behr. I mean, as a writer she is fine, doing a couple of episodes here and there. But running the whole show…

Behr made all the crap ferrengai episodes of deep space 9 and pretty corny he wears those sunglasses all the time.

I’m not even going to bother defending his writing. Anyone who looks at his writing credits on the show can decide for themselves.

Ferrengai episodes are bad and profit and lace is probably the worst ever trek episode.

I liked all the Ferengi episodes (Little Green Men was absolutely great). I liked Yesterday’s Enterprise and pretty much everything he did on DS9.

And to top it all, he is to be credited with the Dominion Arc… the best thing that could ever happen to the show. And he was FOR continuity. Unlike Taylor.

I can only agree with you, he made a very special kind of Star Trek.

The Dominion War is the worst period in Trek TV History, hands down, dumbest storyline ever, most unneeded schlock ever.

What? That was the highlight of DS9. Without it, it was a very bland and boring show.

Sadly, Ron Moore proved that he didn’t care one bit about “continuity,” just “the drama.” He’s no better than the writers who wrote for Voyager. One only needs to watch the new Battlestar Galactica to see that. His writing on DS9 was good, but I personally feel that was due to him not being in charge and being talked out of silly ideas by the other staff writers.

Ron Moore is awful, awful, awful. He’s more about fantasy than sci-fi and he mixes the two on a whim which causes the continuity issues…well, along with constantly changing his mind every two minutes. BSG ironically searched for a plot the way the characters were searching aimlessly for Earth. To lionize Moore is to prove your own naivety.

Not to defend the alleged childish behavior described by Jeri Ryan, but Kate Mulgrew was promised from the beginning that abject sexuality was not going to be a part of Voyager. From the start, Voyager and her female captain fought to buck the system and not be a vehicle for the stereotypical guy-fantasy space show. Then they drop in six-feet of pure sex, barely clothed (sure the suit didn’t show any skin, but it was so tight, Jeri Ryan said it took half an hour to take it off just to pee) and completely incongruous to the previous storyline. Completely disrespectful to Mulgrew, as if she couldn’t continue to carry the show. And it didn’t help that Jeri started dating the boss…or perhaps it helped her more than it probably helped the show. Now, I LOVE the Janeway/7 dynamic, and if it shone through despite all of the strife, then both actresses deserve a huge dose of awe.

The saddest part is Ryan would have looked even better in a Starfleet uniform as a field commissioned officer, in my opinion. Her catsuits looked silly.

Agreed. The image from ‘Relativity’ above shows what could’ve been. The skintight suit she wore, was at times meaningless. Might as well been walking around naked.

But see for me, Seven has spent years walking around naked. I don’t think as a Borg she wore clothes. I think its supposed to be part of her body, and surgically attached at that. So literally skin tight. Just as it took her time to adapt to other aspects of society, that also should have been something that she wouldn’t have just jumped into.

I think as soon as you get your emotions and individuality back you would go “whoa this skin-tight outfit and corset is super uncomfortable” and grab a robe. Maybe that’s me, though.

Yeah, but seriously when did Seven truly get a real sense of self. It wasn’t until the end of the 4th season that she realized she didn’t want to be re-assimilated.

Really the only aspect, especially for her first solid year of growth that seriously made no sense was her wearing heels. That doesn’t seem to be something a Borg would do. But skin tight clothes, not really layered clothes appropriate, no that’s actually quite reasonable.

Though I wish that was a point of showing her character actually develop. The most you could say on that is the degree the corset get removed with various outfits, the silver one was exceptionally uncomfortable (visually its the one that did look the best though, color wise).

You and pretty much every other teenager (and probably quite a few adult) males

If you don’t want to fuck her and you’re interested in females, then you’re probably gay.

I disagree. Clothes she wore was efficient (like the Borg was) and didn’t get in the way. The fact that we found it extremely sexy is just our imagination not being able to let go of our instincts. It didn’t had to be that tight to her body but it was not meaningless.

Sweetie, skin tight clothes are not efficient. It was the 90s and scifi has always objectified women by having them wear clothes that enhance their curves. She was basically Counselor Cleavage for Voyager. The outfit was pure sex marketing and completely useless. If anything, I think Jeri should have been offended for being treated like nothing more than eye candy for teens to drool over.

Actually While I wished they did eventually move the character into wearing a uniform (you could make the same argument with Kes and Neelix, yet rarely do I hear that), but I actually thought at first anything other then form fitting apparel would be something that 7 would have a very difficult time adapting to. I mean most of what she had worn for years appeared to be extremely form fitting if not surgically grafted to her body. In my mind the Borg are basically walking around nude, I don’t think of the look of the Borg to be a costume, but something that is a part of you.

Though I do think seeing her eventually move to more normal dress would have been a nice small character bit, showing her slow adoption of human costumes. After all you could still wear fairly form fitting outfits, but usually they had some layers as well, just based off of some of Kes outfits.

I doubt it was all day every day. I honestly think the reality was somewhere in between 😉 Must have been hard for mulgrew, the star of the show, busting her chops. Working late not seeing her kids and this new character suddenly blows in with all this sex appeal and ALL the attention. Can’t imagine Shatner would have took this lying down. I’m certain of that. Maybe she could have handled it better but I’m prepared to cut her some slack.

And also, while I believe Jeri Ryan to be a terrific actress (as is, Kate Mulgrew), dating/sleeping with the boss (Brannon Braga) probably helped her career on Star Trek quite a lot, which probably led to a lot of resentment, not just from Kate but also other cast members.

But Ryan only started dating Braga after having been on the show for a while. So she didn’t get onto the show because of that, and she didn’t become the main character because of that. Ryan also claims that once she dated Braga the situation got better… Mulgrew must have feared her job/character.

I would have expected Mulgrew to be smarter than this… it wasn’t Ryan’s fault that the show wasn’t doing so well and that the show runners thought they’d have to “sex it up”. She was just introduced to fix the show and make it popular, and really, didn’t it work?

Yeah, but sleeping with the boss IS sleazy. Nobody else in the workplace enjoys when that happens because it makes the boss’ motivations untrustworthy. I’m surprised Paramount didn’t have a policy against that.

So… was Lucy Lawless sleazy for marrying Tapert?

Sometimes – when you are angry – it doesn’t matter how smart you are.

I am sure Braga hired her with this is mind, it just might have took him a year to pull it off. She maybe even dated him because she was getting crap on the set. That being said, both of them shouldn’t have done that, it is unprofessional and if I was on the crew or the cast, I wouldn’t have liked it, you know she was getting favortism or it would create the appearance of it. Especially on television, which is an ongoing process over years. If two people hook up on a movie, it at least only lasts for a month or two.

Kate was jealous of the prettier younger girl – wow, woman hold each other back far more than men hold them back

I think the difficult person Jeri is referring to is the girl who played Naomi Wildman. They shared a lot of scenes together. ;o)

I think what’s petty is that this story was posted and the podcast was aired without even asking “the other character” for their side of the story. If it’s anything I’ve learned in this life, it’s that you can’t really have a full book with half the pages missing. Even if one person tells the truth and the other person completely lies about everything, everyone else can usually pick it apart and figure out what really happened, and it’s hard to get all the details with half the book gone.

I think it’s great though that any personal animosity didn’t show up when viewing the acting. You’d never know it! So they were definitely capable and talented actors. And though I found Voyager as a series to be ultimately disappointing, the characters of Seven AND Captain Janeway as played by their actors were a few of the highlights. I cannot imagine another actress now playing Janeway. Mulgrew made her interesting, unique, and commanding. She’s great on Orange is the New Black, too by the way!

That’s probably a testament to the editors. Man, what a toxic waste dump of a working environment. You have Ryan sleeping with the boss and being forced to slink around in a skin tight suit, Beltran perpetually pissed off and bad mouthing everything all the time. Wang being a party boy and showing up late and unprepared and then getting bitchy about it. (I have no sympathy for actors on a show that is successful who are raking in huge salaries who then complain about the writing and their character development. They’re being paid to look pretty and read their lines, not to write a show. And then of course they had Mulgrew being nasty to an actor for decisions made by others. I don’t care if she had long hours and was away from her family. Boo hoo. She’s signed up knowing she was carrying a show and would be required to put in ridiculously long hours. And she was compensated for her efforts. She’d never have to work again in her life, if that’s what she wanted. It didn’t give her license to make someone’s life miserable. I haven’t heard nasty things about Picardo, Dawson, McNeil, Phillips, Russ or Lien. And I never hear these horrible stories from people on TNG. They actually like each other. I think in part that’s because if you are going to spend a decade with someone, you might as well decide to get along.

As a matter of fact, I did hear stories on how the TNG cast treated Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski) on set. She often left the set in tears because of the way she was treated according to a director who worked on TNG during season 2. Muldaur was originally going to be in season 3 (scripts with Pulaski in it were already written) But as soon as her contract was up at the end of season 2, she vowed to never work on Star Trek again. That’s why we never get a goodbye seen at the end, she wasn’t supposed to leave. Muldaur’s lines were then almost 1 on 1 transferred to Crusher for the first 4 scripts. The cast resented the fact that Muldaur got paid more than anyone else, except for Stewart. She was also going to be in the opening credits after Frakes, but other cast members objected. She was ignored on and off set and their anger bacuse of the producers firing Gates McFadden was all directed towards Muldaur. It was a nightmare for her.

That’s so sad. Like finding out George Peppard hated Mr. T.

I’ve heard in other places that Robert Beltran (Chakotay) was really resentful towards her addition to the cast too…

Pretty sure he didnt resent the love scenes he was given with her though!

No, I don’t think he was resentful of her at all. He used to run lines with her – there are pictures on the net of them doing this, and there’s even one of them cuddled up on the bridge with Jeri in her white robe. They got on fine, and he’s one of her ‘boys’. He was, however, resentful of the witers only being able to write for Janeway, Seven, and The Doc most of the time.

The Voyager main cast was too large from the beginning. It’s hard to spread the stories around for everyone. Especially when half the male characters are blandly written and/or bad actors. And really, we should’ve gotten to know most of those 140 other people on the ship over the 7 years.

Sorry that Mulgrew was a b***h to you Jeri Ryan!

Having only recently heard Garrett tell-all in that podcast, hearing this isn’t as shocking – but still. It changes the dynamic of that whole relationship on the show for me to know. :S

I love how Aisha Tyler interviews. I hope she gets a chance to interview Kate Mulgew now. That would be interesting.

There was only one time in the entire series when I was like… “huh, Jeri Ryan is actually very attractive” – the rest of the time I just felt: “why did they put that ridiculous outfit on her that makes her look like a DC Comic book character in a land of professional Starfleet personnel?”

would it make me a really REALLY terrible person to say that the story of how Melgrew shut the door in front of seven’s make up team made me laugh hysterically?? It probably would, I’m sorry, but I can’t help feel just a little bit of simpathy also for Kate =)

As a kid I was ENTHRALLED by Voyager. I was so small, my world view was so very much shaped by Star Trek and Seven of Nine and Janeway. Then as an adult I took up filmmaking, went to LA, and I learnt. I learnt that drama exists off cameras. Like a circus, the atmos in the tent can change positively or negatively with anyone and everyone. And it can really affect what eventually gets on screen for the audience. So much so that filmmaking still isn’t really regarded as fine art, because it’s almost like catching lighting in a bottle. So a professional’s temperament and tolerance is EXTRA important when you’re living the set life.

Regardless of who’s right and who’s wrong. I respect all these actor so much. Because that show, Star Trek Voyager, really REALLY required so much sacrifice, everyday. Just what Jeri Ryan’s describing right here, not many people can survive that life and performed as well. The crew life too. And in the end, it all paid off! The character and series yielded such legend, great stories and inspiration. So regardless of how awful they had it, so sorry they had that, but THANK god for them. Because that series got completed properly, it didn’t get cancelled, and it influenced so many around the world.

Perhaps being a filmmaker allows me that distance between reel and real life. Even hearing about these unfortunate stories, I can still re-watch Voyager and be all proud of that show. Cause look what great cast and crew they are, they were unhappy but they MADE BELIEVE a wonderful family. A wonderful show that painted so many great messages about humanity, hope and love. And that was the most important thing about art, especially science fiction.

Also, I do think that the industry is changing for the better, though slowly. Few people get to air it all out. Play nice, but please reject and defend yourself from bullshit. Refine professionalism and goodwill where-ever you are.

Jeri Ryan’s character did seem among the most interesting in the Trek ‘verse. I real borg babe.

Voyager didn’t get good till Seven of Nine joined the show. So, it was a very good idea to make her a part of the crew.

I didn’t notice the dislike between Kate and Jeri. But I’m very disappointed to hear that Kate didn’t like all the attention Jeri was getting.

Between the Doctor, and Seven of Nine, they carried the show. Without them, the show would have failed. Most of the other characters on the show, were forgettable.

Star Trek: TNG pretty much every character was likable. You cared about the characters, same with the first series.

They are making to many shows/movies now, that you could careless about the characters on it.

their superb interaction all the time if the writers/producers had been doing

their jobs right in the first place. Using two to three of the same characters

week in week out is ridiculous and an insult to the franchise. If they had

developed the other characters correctly they would not have had to rely on

sooooooooooo boring with her saving the ship all the time. And Robert Beltran

was correct in his criticisms, just because they are the actors and paid well

doesn’t mean they have no right to complain. If you worked in an office and

I, too, feel that Mulgrew was in essence undermined by the addition of Ryan in that way. Yes, Kate was misdirecting her anger, and that was awful, but Voyager did start off with the premise of the strong women being the body of its cast, and it’s easy to see why she’d feel so betrayed.

I don’t think Kate is a prima donna in this way, so it’s sad that this is the story to come out of it.

As someone else said though, this never appeared to bleed through into the screen, so it’s a very strong credit to both on their acting skills.

“We did not have a deep friendship,” Kate said. “I think Jeri Ryan did a marvelous job in a very difficult role. It was very clear to anyone with eyes in their head that Jeri Ryan’s beauty and sexual appeal were an important part of the numbers. I had thought ‘damn, we were going to forgo all of this with a female captain.’ But the demographics proved the audience wanted more sex and they got it in that beautiful, talented woman.”

What does Mulgrew say about all this? I can’t just conclude everything just from this simple interview. I need to hear the other side. It’s like the Bible…as far as I know – Devil didn’t write any books, but we still need to hear his side of the argument, right? Who knows what kinds of deception and lies are in there…

and maybe it’s just her own point of view. Each person sees things differently

Jeri Ryan was brought in because most of sci-fi shows are watched by young men. TPTB wanted to increase ratings by bringing some T&A. No offense to Jeri Ryan who does have acting skills and created a memorable character, but I can understand Kate Mulgrew’s resentment. She was the lead role and felt that sexualizing the show was unnecessary and chauvinist. One reason why there was never a Janeway/Chakotay pairing was because Mulgrew was against it. She felt that as the first woman captain, it wouldn’t be right for her to be seen sleeping around with her crew. She wanted to be a positive role model for girls and women. As for the feud with Ryan, I will withhold judgment until I hear what Mulgrew has to say. There’s always two sides to a coin.

I just whisked by this site and this is the first time I’m hearing all this. Where does one go to start at the beginning? I hear the complaints, but no details. Having worked in a number of offices where tension was high, I learned that management rarely does anything to remedy such situations. Having to work in these environments, which always involved women managers, was horribly uncomfortable. Upper management didn’t like these managers at all, but they refused to remedy the problem…so the problems went on for years. And these problem managers were especially tough on the women who worked for them, not us men. Many of the women in these offices were so traumatized that it affected their health. One problem manager would arrange to go on leave, everyone would sort of celebrate her leaving, then on the first day of her leave they’d come in and see her white Cadillac parked in its usual spot. She’d changed her plans and decided to come into work!! Really, if this woman had been murdered, they would have had to arrest all of us! Just one rotten person who was convinced she was right and everyone else in the office (as well as her bosses) was wrong.

Such people must know the hostile effects they have in a functioning work environment, yet they go on for years like the EverReady Bunny!

So, again, when did all this start?? Where can one go to learn more?

The fact is there are two sides to every story. I have always had and still do have the upmost respect for Kate Mulgrew as an actress and a person. I have been in situations like this before and everyone thinks they would act a certain way until they are in the hot seat. Does it make it right? No. Does it mean we shouldn’t judge a lifetime or even a career by indiscretion in the most difficult of circumstances? Yes. Again, there are two sides to every story. To reduce this to jealousy is laughably stupid and implicitly sexist, as though an older woman must be jealous of a younger woman due to vanity. Voyager tried to sell sex and Kate had a problem of pricniple with that. And who can blame her?

These interviews are useless. They purport to tell you everything, but end up telling you nothing! I’ve had to work with several difficult people in my life, and working and sometimes socializing was always dreadful. Yet we never get any specific stories. Just how did Kate make life miserable for Jerri and did the other cast members take sides or just watch? And why would Kate hold Jerri responsible for a move the network made? What did she wasn’t Jerri to do, quit? They had to almost beg Jerri to take the part.

Voyager was the best of the STAR TREK shows, with a better track record than even the original series, production-wise. Still, it was entertainment, and I’m sorry to hear that Kate made life so miserable for Jeri Ryan just because she didn’t approve of Ryan’s character. What if Patrick Stewart had considered Janeway nothing more than a nod to political correctness and had treated Kate like dirt? Everyone wants to be treated well, and professionally (just as Kate did). And though I imagine Ryan could be a bit hard on the nerves, the fact that she was easy on the eyes was not Ryan’s fault. When it gets to be so much of a problem that a co-worker dreads coming into work because of you, you need to do a little more soul-searching.

And screw that, I bet Ryan was exageratting. Oh pity the poor girl who sleeps with her boss!

At one convention Mulgrew asked the camera people to stop recording and then said some bullshit she never had anything against Jeri apart of her being constantly late. What are read above, the nasty petty things, that happened to me in my previous job. I was being bullied by this kind of psychological terror and I was sick to my stomach every morning just thinking about sitting in the same office with that person. And subsequently I was always late or calling in sick because it took a lot of nerve to pressure myself into going to work. In the end, I transferred to different position in the company. I thought she was bullying me for being a woman, skinnier than her or for having bigger boobs. But no, now she bullies in the very same way my replacement, a man.

I’m wondering if this tension just made the scenes and the characters more rich. My fave episodes were always with the Captian and Seven. In the end, the tension made great TV.

OK, Ryan vented her spleen about Mulgrew. Now I would like to hear Mulgrew’s response. It takes two to tango.

I’ve heard the saying often about taking two to tango and would like to know what you think about this one, it takes just one weak link to break a chain. The off-set atmosphere can be broken by just one actor. It happens.

Personally I never liked Mulgrew. She just didn’t make her character believable. Strangely enough, the little blonde, whatever her name was, had an episode where she was the main character and surprisingly made a more believable authority figure. Mulgrew just came across as whinny, bitchy, and not truly believable.

The episode she watched must have been the one which Paris and Janeway turn into newts and have children, lol. It’s the crappiest episode to come from of a Trek writer ever.

I guess Mulgrew realized she wasn never going to be the hottie on the show and didn’t like it. I never got into Voyager because I felt Janeway was so boring and uncharasmatic. Though 7 of 9 was the hottest woman with very few exceptions on Star Trek.

She didn’t want to be the hottie. She brought a lot of depth to Janeway and made that role great. What a shame that they tried to sex things up by adding Seven

It’s true that the character of Seven was rich with possibilities and storylines. I can see how others on the show might have felt diminished by her addition, though it made the show more interesting. I thought she did very well in a challenging role. The catsuit had the intended effect – it generated a lot of publicity. Men aren’t complicated. Neither are women. We admire pretty people, especiàlly with talent. TV is probably a neurotic job when you know it’s not all about your talent. Or not always.

They may have meant it at first about not turning Voyager into a sex-pot show, but the ratings were falling badly, as I recall, and they had to spice it up for younger viewers, or cancel, which would destroy their major attraction series. If Mulgrew was angry, perhaps it was because they changed the theme and focus, and frankly, she was no longer the female focus. I’m a very old woman and I recognize her need, but it’s terribly mean to make it unpleasant for Ryan. I think how Mulgrew must have felt when they took hours to be sure Ryan looked perfect, while Mulgrew was simply to one side, looking merely ok. I am sorry Mulgrew didn’t take it better. Mulgrew often played a “pretty girl” before Voyager, but when Ryan joined in season 4, Ryan was about 32 and Mulgrew was about 43. It is hard for an actress to know that a sexy girl has been added because maybe she’s a little too old to fill that slot. I like Voyager fine; I do wish they had done more episodes with Russ and/or Beltran as the focal character. Particularly Russ. He was good.

I call this the “Star Trek Curse”. It’s happened on just about every Star Trek set. The Next Generation is no exception, though very mild and very few arguments compared to the original series. I tried looking up DS9 contention among cast, but can’t find any. Michael Dorn said that it was a more serious set than the TNG set. The “Enterprise” cast just would talk crap about the writers and the producers.

This is just unprofessional of Ryan to drop hints about “this person’s” slights of years past… -ugh- She’s now a famous actress and clearly not hurt. Mulgrew was probably just annoyed that they added sex (with tons if extra fru fru) to the show so late, when they could have writen more imaginatively for everyone. All the actors worked non stop, but every scene things stop for half an hour to redo 7’s makeup or peel off her cat suit? Mulgrew wasn’t the only one annoyed.

I kinda find this topic distasteful. But if I were in Mulgrew’s position I don’t know how I would have reacted. Even though I adored the whole cast of the show, when Jennifer Lien left I was pretty upset and shocked at her departure and couldn’t believe they were bringing in Jeri Ryan. I felt like she was there just because of her looks..and looks only. I for one didn’t particularly care for her at all and she was my least favorite of the show. Of course I’m a completely different opposite fan from others who adore her and don’t really like her. But I did tolerate her on the show.

The thing that really grated on my nerves was when her character and Chakotay got together. I was like: what the hell?!? I was extremely disgusted and very much torn apart by it because I had wanted him and the Captain to get together so badly.

Back when I was watching it I adored it for what it was-wonderful entertainment. Now that I watch years later I can indeed see the inconsistencies and can understand why some fans felt jipped by the series at the end.

There was room enough for both characters, even more, B’Leanna, Chakotay, Tuvok, for example, petty jealousy impunes the character of the person.

So Kate Mulgrew was probably right to be hostile with worthless Braga ruining the show by bringing on an obvious sex piece to ruin the entire premise of the show and then later banging her and shielding Jeri Ryan from not feeling special on the set.

I suspected that Kate Mulgrew had a lot of negative feelings. Kate Mulgrew was the main star for three years and the show needed a change. What’s better: giving up a bit of the spot light or being out of a job when the show gets cancelled? It’s what makes the show a success and its survival is what is important.

Jeri Ryan is an “in demand” actor who constantly appears on popular TV shows as a special guest actor. She was just recently on Marvel’s Agents of Shield. I think she is doing just fine.

I agree that we cannot know what the truth is unless we hear both sides of the story. I am in no way suggesting that Ms. Ryan is speaking hyperbole. She has chosen to sling the mud, rather discuss her perception of the relationship. My point is that we cannot know anything unless or until the nameless character has something to say about their perception and Ms. Ryan simply received the brunt of to accept a management decision that this opposing character had no say in (I have no way of knowing for sure if there were any discussions about the additional character). However, at some point you have to make peace with the fact that if I want this job, I will have to deal with people that for whatever reason we cannot get along. Be a professional and perform as the director asks.

We have all experienced employment with people who are petty and abrasive. It may be different on a set where you are so close for hours on end, I have never acted professionally.

I love the show and am still watching it on Amazon Prime.

I agree that without hearing both sides of the situation we cannot know what was going on at the time. I am in no way suggesting that Ms. Ryan has fabricated any part of what has been said. She is describing her experience on a very popular science fiction show. I believe that Ms. Ryan is not slinging mud as they say because the actor is unnamed.

We cannot know if she was the recipient of misplaced anger because this actor had no day in the decision and cannot accept a management decision for the betterment of the show. The character 7 of 9 brought the sense of logic that has been on every Star Trek series since 1964.

Oh, sleeping with the boss, the females secret weapon. Pretty sad…

The first few seasons of Voyager were so much more diverse. All the characters were utilized. As soon as Seven of Nine came on as a character, she dominates most episodes. The diversity is lost and all the interesting story lines that could have gone with it. Other actors on the set were upset about this as well, but for some reason everyone focuses on Kate Mulgrew? People love to pit women against women. One of the things that made Voyager so great was its strong portrayal of women characters through Janeway and B’Elanna. They were able to portray strong women, because they are strong women. Their effort to show strong females becomes all for naught because of all the air time given to a character and actress who was happy to be seen as nothing more than a walking catsuit. Also, gotta say, I am sick of reading about this bombshell and hot borg. To me, I don’t get the hype. She is a bug eyed, butter face with padded curves. I find the other actresses on the set much more appealing, but then again I enjoy integrity in my women.

Who cares if Kate and Jeri didn’t get along???….Chakotay just made everything perfect…ohh if only I have a chance to meet him

Seven of Nine, while interesting, seems to have been mainly added for the TnA.

Given that Mulgrew told the writers not to hook up Chakotay and Janeway for fear of the show becoming “Melrose Space”, I can see why she would dislike the addition of a character who was more immediately for looks than substance.

Plus Jeri Ryan has a weird face and I have trouble looking at it. Like, she’s pretty, up til her face and then it goes weird.

The extras on the last season 4 dvd of Voyager has interview where Braga and Piller, I think, not sure it was Piller, say “Kess’ character wasn’t working. BS! You know how long the writers sit around tables discussing “character development”? They made the decision . They weren’t working, the writers. Kess could have become ship’s counselor. What lame idea was it to put Kess and Neelix in bed from day 1? Not knocking Neelix. Ethan Phillips is great character.

“no talented slut?” Wow. Who she chooses to have relationships with her is by the by, the network brought her in, she took a job. Mulgrew was a child to behave the way she did. Jeri is an extremely talented actress, she pulled off her role very well.

You’re an absolute prick to go around calling people you know nothing about, someone who is a mother a slut. It’s not like she did porn or sex tapes. She had a relationship with the producer, no different from the millions of people who have relationships with their office co-workers.

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