Geek Icon of the Week: Robert Picardo
Geek Credits: Star Trek: Voyager, Stargate SG1, Innerspace
Notable for: not being a voyeur, battery, peeping Tom, doorstop, engineer, decorator, bartender, counter insurgent, performer, database, zoo keeper, dragon slayer….
Further proof the bald men rock! Robert Picardo has been dabbling in the geek realm for a very long time and is generally memorable by his quirky characters. Remember the movie Legend? He gets his head cut off by Tom Cruise!
Yes, Robert was Meg Knucklebones. How’s that for an entrance into geek realm? Pretty impressive, I say! He followed up the geek credit with appearances in Total Recall, Gremlins 2, and the Batman cartoon. One role he was noted for was as the Cowboy in Innerspace, playing not only that character but also Martin Short's for a few minutes. His quirky sense of humor and great facial expressions help to keep him memorable in his projects.
The role that he’s best known for in geek pop culture would be as The Doctor in Star Trek: Voyager. His character was a nameless hologram who didn’t have much of a personality in the first season, but by the end of the series, he was one of the most well-rounded characters Star Trek ever created. He transformed the character from being a medical tool into a lovelorn geek who was always looking for a new hobby for his personal subroutines. Some of the things we witnessed him doing was learn to use a mobile emitter, defeat macroviruses, turn into a “Mr. Hyde” of sorts, take up opera singing, golfing, photography, create the Emergency Command Hologram program, battle Romulans with Andy Dick, have a son (okay, we didn’t actually get to witness that but somehow it happened), and take over Seven of Nine’s body when she downloaded his program into her Borg systems. Not only did his character become one of the most liked in the Star Trek fanbase, he also “wrote” a book called The Hologram’s Handbook (illustrations were done by original V: The TV Series star Jeff Yagher). He also directed several episodes of the series.
Unlike many Star Trek alums who were unable to find immediate work after the show ended, Robert was able to continue working in Hollywood, although since then, he has been finding more geek related gigs. He joined the cast of Stargate: SG1 and continued making appearances in the spinoffs. He has also been doing voiceovers in video games. Did you know he was in Call of Duty: Black Ops? He makes the game that much cooler!
In the end, Robert has a very high amount of geek points that are tough to beat. Keep an eye on his projects, because he'll probably be raking in more!
Geek Point Scorecard:
Legend
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Innerspace
Total Recall
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Batman (cartoon)
Tales from the Crypt
Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love
Star Trek Voyager
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek DS9
The Outer Limits
Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force (VG)
Stephen King’s Dead Zone
Roddenberry on Patrol
Star Trek: The Experience: Borg Invasion 4D
Justice League
The 4400
Stargate SG1
Pirates of the Caribbean :
At World’s End (VG)
Smallville
Stargate: Atlantis
Chuck
Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey (VG)
Call of Duty: Black Ops (VG)
Supernatural
SGU Stargate Universe
Official Geek Score: 20
Film credits courtesy of http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000585/
Picture courtesy of
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