"I'm loathe to compare us. ... I'm very proud of the work we did on the show," he says. "Having the first female captain, we were certainly groundbreaking. I also think our theme of pure adventure - because we found ourselves on a journey home through a totally new and unfamiliar part of space - is very much in the spirit of the original series."

The actor says he thinks his character, the 'Emergency Medical Hologram', carved out a unique place in TREK history.

"My character certainly covered a lot of the same territory [as TNG's 'Data']," he admits. "But Brent Spiner's characterization and mine were so different - on the surface, he was so childlike and enthusiastic and lovable, and I was so curmudgeonly and cranky and such a windbag - that we were able to re-examine those stories and make them feel new and different."

Picardo has landed a recurring guest role in the new NBC fall drama THE LYON'S DEN, starring former WEST WING actor Rob Lowe. Picardo told the paper that he was enamored with the series's pilot script.

"I've never read a pilot that has more elements - you know, legal drama, murder thriller, office place romance. And it has quite a bit of humor."

Picardo plays a detective investigating a suicide at Lowe's titular law firm in the show.

For more of the interview, in which Picardo also talks about his convention appearances with fellow actor Ethan Phillips, visit this page.