Robert Beltran (Chakotay) is again making headlines for his views on Voyager, only this time he's not the one doing the criticizing. In an exclusive interview with SFX magazine, Kenneth Biller, Voyager's new executive producer, pulled no punches when it came to Beltran, calling him a whiner.

"I think Robert Beltran should stop whining and do his job - print that if you want!" he began before continuing in more detail. "He has his opinions," Biller said, "and he`s entitled to his opinions, but he`s getting paid a lot of money, and he`s got a lot of fans, and I`m sorry that he`s not happy doing what he`s doing. But there`s nothing I can do about it." When asked if anyone on else was feeling similar to Beltran, Biller replied with "No I don`t think so," though he did add that the "writing staff are getting tired". He also mentioned that he speaks to Robert Picardo (the Doctor) several times a week, and the actor is "just as enthusiastic as he ever was". He then adds that both Picardo and Kate Mulgrew (Janeway) "[come] in every day to work," something which Beltran has previously indicated he does not do.

In more general Voyager news, Biller talked about his plans for Voyager's final season. Though he revealed nothing new (which seems to be a standard tactic for all Trek producers), he did talk about the continuity we're beginning to notice in season seven. "I think the fans will find that season seven of Voyager will be slightly more serialized than previous seasons," he told SFX, "so there will be slightly more continuity from one episode to another, and things that happen in particular episodes will also come into play in later episodes." Also contained in the magazine is a round-up of all the trek rumors out there at the moment – though the only news item of interest there being insider news that Tuvok will die at some unspecified point in the future, though their source is hasty to add that it could well be simply a plot-twist in the upcoming episode, 'Shattered'.

The interview, which appears in the Christmas issue of SFX magazine, was transcribed by AntonyF of Fandom's Star Trek Central, and his report can on it can be found here.

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