The year is winding down, and with Star Trek not starting back up until the 2026 TV schedule has started, now is as good of a time as any to check up on actors from past shows and get their takes on them. Many were doing just that at the recent ST: CHI Trek To Chicago event, where Jeri Ryan talked about her iconic catsuit on Voyager.
Star Trek: Voyager had tons of WTF moments fans called out back in the day, but Seven of Nine’s catsuit being controversial feels like a take that’s gotten more spotlight in the modern day. Ryan was recently asked about her reaction at the time to being asked to play a character that was presented sexually, and the actress told attendees why she was ok with it (via TrekMovie.com):
I was involved in all the costume fittings, all of the discussions. I knew what this was. And I was okay with the costume. I knew it was sexy. I knew what they were going for. I was okay with that because the way the character was written. And bear in mind, this was the ‘90s, guys. Because the way the character was written, she was the complete antithesis of this. She was not that [catsuit].
As the actress mentioned, Seven of Nine’s personality was the opposite of what might come to expect in television at the time when a woman walked in wearing a catsuit. Her stories didn’t deal with romance, but rather the traumatic story of her being taken by the Borg at a young age, and how reconciling that with her new identity after being freed from its hive mind influence.
Ryan continued, saying:
In the end, Star Trek: Voyager created one of the best Trek characters of all time, who went on to return in Picard, without the catsuit. The character has aged so well that Paramount even approached Ryan to star in a Picard follow-up after the series ended, but she turned it down, citing that the project wasn’t something that fans wanted.
Given how she was receptive to the original pitch for Seven of Nine, I’ll trust Jeri Ryan’s judgement on what Star Trek fans want. Unfortunately, it feels as though it’ll be a long time before we get another chance at what’s been dubbed “Star Trek: Legacy,” As Paramount Skydance has other goals in mind for the overall future of the franchise.
Those plans, at present, seem not to include Jeri Ryan, with Star Trek: Starfleet Academy set in the 32nd century, and plans in motion for a movie that will be separate from any previously existing show or movie. That said, with Seven’s former crewmate, the Doctor, serving as one of the instructors in Starfleet Academy, I’d love to see if we somehow get a Seven hologram for an episode. Somehow, someway, we need more of Ryan’s beloved Borg.
Watch Seven of Nine on Star Trek: Voyager and Picard over on Paramount+ right now, and get a reminder of why she’s one of the best characters in science fiction. I’m a sucker for her episodes with Naomi Wildman, if only because of how she always says her name with the same cadence.