ThisStar Trek: Lower Decksarticle contains spoilers.
No, not Tom Paris.
Tom Paris for seven seasons onStar Trek: Voyager.
And yes, he was a gifted pilot whose career ended in disgrace due to his arrogance.
AndStar Trekproducers would have us believe that McNeill never appeared as a member of Starfleet before theVoyagerpremiere Caretaker.
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But McNeilldidappear before as the remarkably similar Nick Locarno inThe Next Generationepisode The First Duty.
When one of the Nova Squadron members dies during training, Starfleet conducts an investigation into the group.
Instead of shouting Youre not my real dad!
Wesley heeds Picards advice and testifies against Locarno, revealing how his reckless behavior resulted in the cadets death.
To be clear, Tom Paris doesnt haveexactlythe same backstory.
And to be fair, actorsdooften play multiple roles across the franchise, including McNeillsVoyagercasemateTim Russ.
However, the Locarno/Paris connection stands out because of tinkering behind-the-scenes.
But Trekkers have never really accepted that argument.
This controversy has made Locarno something of an elephant in the room forStar Trek.
And Wesley Crusherdoesmistake Tom Paris for Locarno in the recentStar Trek: CodabookThe Ashes of Tomorrow.
Star Trek: Lower Decksis streaming now on Paramount+.
