Transcript of Starlog’s Interview with Robert Duncan McNeill

Robert Duncan McNeill is contemplating the end. “We all have mixed feelings about it,” McNeill says, referring to the imminent exit of Star Trek: Voyager from the TV starscape.

Creation’s Grand Slam Convention 2001

Diary of events at Creation’s 2001 California convention.

RanDoM Flight Charity Cruise 2001

On Sunday, April 1, 2001, Robert Duncan McNeill’s fan club, RanDoM Flight sponsored a charity brunch and cruise to benefit The Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric Aids Foundation and The Wildwood School…

Galaxy Ball 2001

On Saturday, November 10, 2001, actor Robert Beltran hosted the fourth annual Galaxy Ball a day-long fundraiser at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Studio City, California…

All about Eric

Everything you are about to read is true. Not even the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

When I was in junior high school in the late 1970’s, I became penpals with another teenager who lived in the Pacific Northwest, 3,000 miles away from my home on the East Coast of the USA. (This was clearly way before the internet….) His name is Eric Stillwell. Our only link at the time: our mutual love of Star Trek.

We exchanged letters regularly for at least ten years, and have stayed friends ever since, but what’s remarkable about Eric is that he lived every Star Trek fan’s dream: he ended up working on the show, and even co-wrote the stories for several episodes, including TNG’s Yesterday’s Enterprise and Voyager’s Prime Factors. You may recognize his name from the credits of TNG, where he was Pre-Production Coordinator for many years.

I like to think our long-distance friendship had a big impact on both of our childhoods–it certainly did on mine. (And considering Eric’s shift to the left politically–after many years of thoughtful political discussions–I like to think I had an impact on him, too!)

I’ll let Eric tell his own story, but I encourage you to check out his web page. He’s having a real private life (now after working with the late-great Michael Piller as an Associate Producer on The Dead Zone), and gives hope (and a cautionary tale) to Star Trek fans everywhere.

Barbara