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If Science Fiction television had its own designated lifesaver, Marina Sirtis would be more than qualified for the job.
Think about it. In recent months the Star Trek: The Next Generation alumnus has not only thrown Voyager a lifeline by reprising her role as the Enterprise's sexy shrink, Deanna Troi, but has also helped resuscitate Earth: Final Conflict by toplining one of its most successful episodes to date.
Now Sirtis is about to gatecrash the party at Stargate SG1, and you can bet her unmistakable presence will keep that show's phenomenal ratings afloat.
"It's funny the way it's worked out," Sirtis told SFX as she discussed her new-found ubiquity. "As far as Marina the actress goes, its wonderful to be in these
highly-visible shows, one after the other. It kinds of gets your face out there again, which is something I have to concentrate on doing."
Although she had previously declined an invitation to play a holographic Troi during Voyager's first year, Sirtis was enthusiastic about appearing in the sixth season adventure, Pathfinder.
"When we finished making The Next Generation, I did want to put some distance between myself and Star Trek," she explained. "At the time, I was simply concerned about being typecast. But when they asked me if I would do 'Pathfinder' and told me I would be working with Dwight Schultz [Next Gen's Lieutenant Barclay] I said yes. I didn't need much persuading at all."
However, the British born actress had no idea just how popular her appearance on the Star Trek spin-off would be. "I thought my fans would be quite pleased to see me back in that space suit, but it was on the news here [in the USA]! A friend of mine called me and said 'You were on the news' and I was like, 'For what?' I couldn't think of doing anything that would get me on the news. And she said 'Because you're going to be on Voyager.' I just thought, 'Wow.'
Sirtis's first two episodes of Voyager were bookended by her guest appearances on Earth:Final Conflict, and Stargate SG, with the former show featuring the Trek star as a Taelon-revering Sister Margaret in the third season offering, "The Cloister".
"Earth: Final Conflict was a lot of fun," she recalls. "It was a really dramatic part. I don't think people expected me to play someone who isn't a sympathetic character, and a lot of viewers were also surprised to hear me doing an English accent. [The producers] wanted me to sound English and it was actually a bit of a struggle, because there are some Americanisms in my speech now."
Following her spot of Taelon-worshiping, Sirtis resumed her tour of the cosmos as a guest-star in Stargate's fourth season episode, "Watergate". But whereas her role on Earth was simply offered to her courtesy of Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, the Star Trek icon had to fight for her place in Russia's first SG team.
"I had to audition," Sirtis confirms, matter-of-factly. "My character had to be authenticaly Russian. I say my voice teacher before the audition, but when I got there, there were real Russian actresses and Russian-American actresses there. I walked in and I was like, 'Okay, what I am doing here? I'm never going to get this part because they want real Russians! But then I remembered there was a lot of technobabble and I though, 'If anyone can do technobabble it's somebody who was on Star Trek.' So I nailed that."
The actress readily admits she's gone through a fallow period in her career recently, but hopes her recent high profile will help lead to further TV and film roles. "I had seven very good years, and now I've had a few quiet years. And I think its very difficult for anyone who's been in a successful series to shake that character.
"I've got things coming up, and then there's pilot season. It's a numbers game. Sooner or later I'm going to hit it."