"Neelix has to face the fact that there is no afterlife," he recalled of the episode "Mortal Coil." "This is it? And then he has to realize, through the help of Chakotay, that okay, we have to make the best of our stay here, we still have to do the right thing... And understanding that he takes a leap forward, he evolves. The other was 'Jetrel,' where he had to face this guy who was basically his Hitler — his race's Hitler — and he has to forgive him. And that's a very tough moment for him, as it is for anybody who has to face somebody who's been toxic to them in their life ... He doesn't absolve him of his crimes, but he does forgive him, and then he's able to let go of that terrible pain that he's been carrying."

Picardo told the story of his audition process for VOYAGER, and the performance that may have won him the role of the prickly, nameless Emergency Medical Hologram.

"I'm convinced the reason they hired me was because, when I went in and read, I made a joke that was very much a Bones-ism, without even being aware that I was doing that," Picardo told the crowd. "At the end of my Voyager audition after my last scripted line — which was, 'I believe someone has failed to terminate my program' — I took a long, droll look at the 22 people watching me in the room, and said, 'I'm a doctor, not a nightlight! I think that one joke got me a nice seven-year job, and indeed is the reason I'm here today!"

You can read much more of the Part I report here, and look for more from the site later in the week.