Star Trek’s Funniest Mindmeld Happened Offscreen
Ever since Star Trek: The Original Series, the mindmeld has been presented onscreen as a very solemn and serious ceremony. This makes sense, of course: two souls are joining their minds together, and it doesn’t get more intimate than that. However, one mindmeld that happened offscreen was completely hilarious: while filming a meld in the Voyager episode “Ex Post Facto,” Tuvok actor Tim Russ began imitating singer James Brown, yelling out, “I’m feeeeelin’ goooood!”
Vulcan Telepathy
For the story of Star Trek’s funniest mindmeld to make sense, you need to know a bit more about both the process and the episode in question. In this franchise, Vulcans like Spock and Tuvok have a low-level form of telepathy, one that allows them to link minds with someone else. While this allows Vulcans to do some wild stuff (including putting your entire personality into someone else’s brain), the technique is mostly used to help others recover memories or otherwise discover hidden truths.
Tuvok And Paris
The latter is exactly what happened in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Ex Post Facto,” with Tuvok using a mindmeld on Tom Paris to help prove that he isn’t a killer. In the final episode, the meld scene is very serious, with Tuvok scanning the young officer’s brain as he forcibly experiences the last moments of the dead man’s life. Using deductive techniques ripped straight out of a Sherlock Holmes story, Tuvok is able to prove his colleague’s innocence.
When first shooting this scene, however, one Star Trek actor didn’t take the mindmeld very seriously at all. Tuvok actor Tim Russ had his hands on Robert Duncan McNeill, and everyone thought he was about to launch into the kind of serious meld Spock perfected onscreen decades earlier. Instead, Russ surprised everyone by suddenly imitating James Brown and letting out an enthusiastic “I’m feeeeelin’ goooood!”
Fun On The Set Of Voyager
As Star Trek fans, it’s easy for us to laugh at this mindmeld story because it’s genuinely funny and showcases how much fun the actors were having while filming the episode. Still, you might think that others would be annoyed, especially the crew and fellow cast members just trying to finish the scene. However, one performer, in particular, wasn’t offended: Tom Paris actor Robert Duncan McNeill had no problem with the James Brown impression and seemingly found the entire thing hysterical.
Breaking Character
McNeill later summed the entire thing up: “I have Tim Russ to thank for the most memorable mindmeld of the century when he broke into a James Brown impression and caught me completely off-guard.”
In this case, the actor’s choice of words is quite appropriate…certainly, someone bursting into a James Brown impression during a serious scene is something anyone on set would remember. The whole thing was likely that much more memorable given that Tuvok’s onscreen Vulcan persona is that of someone completely serious at all times.
Enjoying James Brown Is Only Logical
Star Trek: The Original Series introduced the mindmeld over half a century ago, and it is still a major force in the modern franchise. In fact, things have come full circle, with Strange New Worlds giving us new adventures with Spock, including new melds. Given this hilarious Tim Russ story, we can’t help but pose a question to Spock actor Ethan Peck…if we get another Strange New Worlds musical episode, can you please give us your best James Brown impression?
