Could Robert Duncan McNeill’s idea for Captain Proton really work as a Star Trek series

Should Star Trek bring Captain Proton to the animated world?

Robert Duncan McNeill is better known to many Star Trek fans as Tom Paris from Voyager. He was a huge player on the show and became a fan favorite for his maverick-like mentality. Yet, after Voyager ended, the former series standout moved over to the world of directing.

He’s returned to Star Trek from time to time, directing a few episodes of Enterprise, appearing as Paris once again for a cameo in Lower Decks, and even hosting a podcast with Garrett Wang called the Delta Flyers.

Largely though, he’s most known for directing shows like The OC, One Tree Hill, The Orville, and So Help Me Todd, while producing stuff like the new Turner and Hooch series, Resident Alien, Chuck, and the Gifted.

Yet, whenever McNeill gets asked about returning to Star Trek, the idea of him returning to the role of Captain Proton always gets brought up somehow.

For those unfamiliar, Captain Proton was a holodeck character that Tom Paris would sometimes roleplay as. These scenes were especially fun for McNeill and he’s gone on the record in the past and talked about how much fun it would be to do a series based on the pulp stories that Paris would play out.

But would it work?

A Captian Proton series wouldn’t work as a full Star Trek series

It’s hard to imagine that the Captain Proton series would work as a stand-alone, multi-season affair. We’ve spoken about it in the past that the show would be a good thing for the franchise, but as the franchise has continued to produce new content and with the threat of franchise fatigue hanging overhead, the thought of the series being a good idea is no more.

Star Trek needs to deliver more classic Star Trek, like with Strange New Worlds, and less of the more abstract.

A Captain Proton series would totally be abstract and at this point in the franchise’s lifespan, that’s not something fans need more of.