10 Things We Learned From The Star Trek Voyager Cast Reunion
9. The Show Cost Kate Mulgrew A Lot
When Kate Mulgrew was cast in Star Trek Voyager, she became the first female Captain in Star Trek to be the lead in a series. This came with many opportunities yet it also came with cost.
The hours were long. Very long. Days would number anywhere from fourteen to eighteen hours while the crew set about capturing all of the shots that were needed. As Janeway was the lead character on the show, Mulgrew was needed for the majority of shots, which meant that for much of the filming time, she was away from home.
She was, at the time, raising her children single handedly, as her relationship with her partner had ended. Her children then had to endure the absence as they were growing and, as Mulgrew related in the reunion, a resentment grew up around the show. While Mulgrew was blazing the trail for female leads in science fiction, her children began to hate the show that was taking so much of their mother's time.
To date, Mulgrew's children have not watched Star Trek Voyager. Though she says this with a smile and understanding, it is surely a painful experience for her, knowing that to do what she did in terms of securing both a career and her place in Trek history, it manages to remain a source of contention to this day.
Thankfully, her relationship with her children improved rapidly after the show ended.