Tawny Newsome Loves Breaking Rules for Noble Results as the Irreverent Mariner on STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede There have been a lot of captains in the STAR TREK universe, and actress, comedian, and musician Tawny Newsome has a favourite. But it isn’t one of the obvious choices, like Captain Kirk or Captain Picard. The subject came up while Newsome was discussing her voice role in STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS, the animated comedy that is in the midst of its boundary-busting first season, airing Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on CTV Sci-Fi Channel. Newsome voices Ensign Beckett Mariner, who best can be described as a highly skilled loose cannon on a starship called the USS Cerritos. Serving as Mariner’s natural foil, and pal, is the ambitious but nervous Ensign Bradward Boimler, voiced by Jack Quaid. Boimler is a rule-follower, whereas Mariner is decidedly not. But does Mariner’s willingness to push the envelope actually make her a better candidate than Boimler to develop into a Starfleet captain someday? After all, Kirk and Picard weren’t shy about taking chances, especially in their younger years, and a touch of recklessness often is reframed as “experience” by successful people. Newsome fully understands that argument, given what we’ve seen of Mariner and Boimler thus far in STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS. But Newsome also had her own point to make, and that’s when she revealed who her ideal STAR TREK captain is. “Mariner definitely could be a captain someday, although I would counter that and say that my favourite captain, Ben Sisko, was the ultimate rule-follower,” Newsome said. Captain Ben Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, was the commanding officer on the series STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE. “And it’s not that he was a nerd about it,” continued Newsome, still praising Ben Sisko. “He just was perfect. He didn’t have to break any rules. He just followed them exceedingly well, and he improvised within the rules. So I think that, maybe with Mariner’s influence, Boimler could become someone like that.” For the falsely confident but often frantic Boimler, one might argue that the irreverent Mariner is the worst buddy he could ever have. “Or the best!” Newsome shot back. “Isn’t that what you need? Someone to shake you up, right? I mean, you’re right in that they are diametrically opposed. They have a classic odd-couple relationship. But they’re both really supportive of each other. And I think for all the vexing that they do of one another, they also have some genuinely supportive friendship moments. And he’s good for her, too. You always need that friend who is a little more cautious, to stop you from getting into too many scrapes.” So is Newsome more of a Mariner or a Boimler in real life? “I’m definitely a Mariner in that I’m much more of an ‘ask for forgiveness, not permission’ type of person,” Newsome said with a laugh. “But I also believe in Mariner’s core tenant, which is, know the job so well that even when you are doing something wrong, people can’t really fault you, because your intention is still rooted in good. So I definitely get that and I resonate with that.” It sounds as if Tawny Newsome has big plans for Beckett Mariner in STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS. Mariner just might be another Captain Kirk or Captain Picard some day … or maybe, if she plays her cards right, another Captain Sisko! billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv