Jeffrey Combs on his Star Trek: Lower Decks appearance: "I'm really happy with how it turned out"

"Where Pleasant Fountains Lie" Epi#207 -- Jerry O'Connell as Commander and Jeffrey Combs as Agimus (computer) of the Paramount+ series STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS. Photo: PARAMOUNT+ ©2021 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved **Best Possible Screen Grab**. Jeffrey Combs image via IMDb.

SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 - You’ve seen him as a Ferengi, a Vorta, and an Andorian, among other Star Trek species, and if you think you heard him during last week’s episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks, you were right.

Jeffrey Combs spoke with io9 about his return to the Star Trek universe in “Where Pleasant Fountains Lie,” this time as the voice of the computer, AGIMUS. It was a different voiceover experience for him, especially under the current circumstances. Combs said about working without other actors in the room, “Well, with this one, you’re kind of in isolation. It’s you. So, you don’t have anything to ramp to, there’s nothing else someone might do that might plunk you to say a line in a particular way. So, I guess there’s a little more flying solo guesswork, there. Having seen this episode, I’m really happy with how it turned out.”

It was also a new and enjoyable sort of Trek experience for Combs, given the unique nature of Lower Decks. He said, “I find it—the show—just to be really...witty. Rapid-fire. The joke is past you before you go, ‘Wh-wh-wha?’ A different tone from any other Star Trek I’ve ever done. And I kind of like that. It’s refreshing. It doesn’t take itself quite so seriously as some of the other iterations.” And yet he says that what draws him to Star Trek is also the focus on and example of how good humanity can be when it works together to solve problems.

Combs also expressed appreciation for fans’ enthusiasm for his characters and desire to see him on screen again, though he sees a disconnect sometimes between what fans want and what they get.

For more from Jeffrey Combs on his experience on Lower Decks (with some spoilery bits, just so you know), head over to Gizmodo.com. And if you’d like to hear his latest performance, Star Trek: Lower Decks is streaming now on Paramount+.