st voyager good shepherd

Good Shepherd (episode)

• View history
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.2 Cast and characters
• 3.3 Continuity
• 3.4 Reception
• 3.5 Video and DVD releases
• 4.1 Starring
• 4.2 Also starring
• 4.3 Guest Stars
• 4.4 Co-Stars
• 4.5 Uncredited Co-Stars
• 4.6 Stand-ins
• 4.7.1 Other References
• 4.8 External links

Summary [ ]

Captain Janeway looks out into space from her ready room

Captain Janeway looks out her ready room window into space as her door chirps. Chakotay enters and informs her that Seven of Nine wants to present her ship-wide efficiency report to the senior staff . Janeway says to put her on the schedule. Chakotay also reminds her that they'll be passing through a class-T cluster in the next couple of days, not important enough to alter course, but Janeway thinks it is at least important enough to send out the Delta Flyer and to get a full range of scans. Chakotay nods, and leaves.

On the bridge , Chakotay relays the captain's orders. He tells Tom Paris to prepare the Delta Flyer for the mission, and Harry Kim to do a level 3 analysis of the cluster. Kim contacts Seven, asking her to increase metagenic resolution in the long-range sensors .

In astrometrics , Seven and Crewman Tal Celes , a young Bajoran woman, are working on the sensors. Seven types some data into a PADD and hands it to Tal, telling her to take it to Lieutenant Torres . Tal exits, and walks down the corridors to a turbolift . " Deck 11 ", Tal tells the computer as the turbolift begins whirring.

The turbolift doors into engineering open, and Tal exits. She hands the PADD to Torres, who opines that they're going to need to transfer another five terawatts to the sensor array. Torres then hands another PADD to an engineering crewman, who goes into the same turbolift, "Deck 15", the bottom deck of the ship.

Harren stares out into space from Deck 15

On Deck 15, a section characterized by cramped, dimly lit corridors, where even the doors are thinner, the crewman exits, and nods hello to another officer on his way down the hall. He enters a small plasma relay room and interrupts Crewman Mortimer Harren 's attempt to disprove Schlezholt's Theory of Multiple Big Bangs . Harren tells him to hold on, that he's standing in the way of cosmological history. The crewman sarcastically replies, " The cosmos is sixteen billion years old, it can wait another few minutes. " He hands Harren the power transfer requisition, who just types in a quick couple commands into a panel, and he leaves. Harren looks out of a small porthole, which is on the ventral section of the ship.

Act One [ ]

Tal works on sensor analysis at night, under her covers

In Tal Celes' quarters , her roommate is sleeping and she's contacting her friend William "Billy" Telfer via combadge . She tries waking him up, and he finally answers. He tells her it is late and to go to sleep. She is under her covers with PADDs and an SIMs beacon , working on a level 3 sensor analysis. Telfer breaks down, and asks what the problem is. She says she's having trouble interpreting the subspace infrared from the cluster. Telfer says that it is too complicated to explain over the com, and to either meet in the mess hall or do it tomorrow. Tal replies she doesn't want to get dressed, and that she has to have it in tomorrow. " Your only options ", he says sleepy-eyed.

The next morning in the briefing room , Seven is explaining a ship-wide efficiency analysis. Operations receives a 76 out of 100; Seven says that the officers left on the night watch rarely have anything to do once the course is set in. Torres complains about her grade and her "failure to utilize expertise". Seven explains Crewman Harren's background and that Torres has assigned him to the plasma relay room on deck 15, a fairly lowly task. Torres complains that she's tried to give him more to do but when she does, he doesn't do it. So she's left him alone down there, like he wants to be. Security receives a near-perfect grade; however, Seven believes the phaser rifles could use reorganization, making them more accessible in an emergency. The Doctor then complains how Billy ruined his score by visiting sickbay once a week, and always complaining of one illness or another, but one is never found. The Doctor explains that Telfer is a hypochondriac , saying that he's afraid of medication and that he's also afraid of counselling. Harry Kim brings up Seven's score, which she reluctantly explains. The problem is Tal Celes, a sensor analyst, whose work must always be double-checked for errors. Seven thinks maybe reassigning her to engineering would help improve her work. Captain Janeway, thinking of a plan, dismisses the room. Chakotay stays behind and asks what she's planning.

" They've never been on an away mission " Janeway comments, and Chakotay explains (although they get off the ship whenever there's general leave ) that Harren never volunteers, Tefler always gets himself excused for medical reasons and Tal can never meet the minimum proficiency requirements. He reminds her that there's always a few officers who aren't suited to life on a starship and maybe they should be relieved of duty to pursue their own interests. Janeway doesn't want to "just deactivate them", like Borg drones, so she decides to put them on the Delta Flyer mission.

Billy and Celes working on a sensor analysis

In the mess hall, Telfer explains to Tal the aspects of the subspace infrared algorithm , to better analyze the data. He suggests breaking them down to four small algorithms, when Captain Janeway walks in and overhears their conversation. Celes asks what the sequence is, and Captain Janeway comes in and states "Zero-G Is Fun". They both jump to attention, but Janeway puts them At Ease and explains. " Zeta particle derivation. Gamma wave frequency. Ion distribution. Flow rate of positrons. " Captain Janeway sits down, handing each of them a PADD, and tells them that the briefing will be in astrometrics that afternoon. As the captain walks away, the two officers stare at the PADDs in awe.

Janeway enters a turbolift, and heads for Deck 15. She exits the lift and can't seem to find her way around. She starts walking down a corridor when a crewman notices her, and shouts "Captain on the deck!", and the near-by officers stand at attention. Janeway replies "at ease", and asks where junction room 16 is. Crewman Mitchell points her in the right direction, and she takes a moment to ask him how he's been. He replies " Never better ma'am, yourself? " She smiles, and heads for the plasma relay room, " Not bad, not bad at all. " As she heads down the corridor, at the first junction she takes a wrong turn, and Mitchell points her in the right direction again.

She enters, looks around, and finds Harren in an obscure corner. He turns, surprised to see her, and asks if she's lost. She smirks and says " I was, for a minute ." She hands him the PADD on the mission, and he says there must be a mistake. She assures him that there's no mistake, but he insists that he wants to stay there. She tells him that Ensign Culhane will cover for him and orders him to report to astrometrics for the briefing. He tells her as she's about to leave that he's about to disprove Shlezholt's Theory, but she reminds him that Wang's Second Postulate "has more lives than a cat", which is what's been giving him problems and she leaves.

Act Two [ ]

In astrometrics, Janeway explains the details of the mission with a diagram of the cluster on the screen. Tal is assigned to run an ongoing sensor analysis to provide information for the rest of the crew. Harren is going to monitor subspace particle decay for anything new that they can learn on star formation, and Crewman Telfer will look for signs of life, even if it is unlikely in the environment. Telfer asks if they'll land on any planets , if they find any. Harren says that any planets in the cluster would be gas giants , and Captain Janeway reassures him that the Delta Flyer is fully equipped for medical emergencies. The Captain reminds them to be in shuttlebay 1 at 0600 hours and dismisses them. Seven reminds the Captain that she'll have to constantly monitor Tal's work for errors and that the mission could be better served with a more experienced crew. Janeway tells her that the mission isn't only to explore the T-cluster, but also to "rescue" the three crewmen. She tells Seven the story of the Good Shepherd, that if even one sheep of the flock went astray, the shepherd would leave the safety of the flock and retrieve it.

Harren working on one of his theories, alone in the mess hall

In the mess hall, Neelix sits down with Torres and Paris, who are watching Crewman Harren drinking coffee and working on a PADD alone in the corner. Paris feels sorry for him, rotting away on deck 15, and jokes that "it's a shame he doesn't have a superior officer who cares" . Torres says it's not her job to keep everyone happy. Neelix doesn't think they've even said two words to him, but Paris replies that he's said two words exactly: " Excuse me ", during a Borg attack. Since they were at red alert , he considered it quite courteous. Torres suggests he go over there and offer encouragement, so he does. Paris asks Harren what he's doing and he shows him a PADD (Com Analysis 007-31) with an exceptionally complex equation on it. Harren can see that he doesn't understand, and jokingly asks what he finds most interesting about it. Paris simply replies "your creative use of the minus sign" . Paris returns to the table, having failed in his attempt to befriend Harren.

Tal is sleeping in her quarters when Telfer contacts her on her com badge. She knows what he's going to say, and says " You're not sick… " He claims that he is, as he scans himself with a medical tricorder . She decides to ignore him and goes back to sleep.

Telfer goes to sickbay in robe and slippers and The Doctor scans him, showing that he has a minor 0.2° fever. Telfer claims he may have a multiphasic prion . The Doctor reassures him several times that he does not have a prion . The Doctor tells him he won't give him a medical excuse to avoid going on the away mission and that he'll be having so much fun exploring that he won't have time for his hypochondria.

Telfer jokes to Tal in the aft compartment

Several hours later, the Delta Flyer drops out of warp and retracts its warp nacelles . Captain Janeway, at the helm, drops to one-quarter impulse and has Celes start the sensor sweeps. The ship shudders and Harren confirms that it wasn't the engines that caused it. Tal scans for any problems but doesn't find anything more than simple background noise. Janeway goes to check her work and agrees. Telfer asks over the comm if anyone wants lunch and Tal offers to go back to help him with it. Captain Janeway asks "Mortimer" if he'd like anything but he just turns and coldly says " Even my mother didn't call me that… " Janeway says she'll have the pasta soup , under Neelix-651. Tal eagerly agrees and says she'll have the same thing and goes to the aft compartment.

Tal relays the order and Telfer replicates two servings of the pasta soup. Tal sits down, depressed, and says that the Captain is checking every single thing she does. Telfer tries to reassure her it's just standard procedure. Tal wishes that she could go back to Voyager and Telfer wishes the same thing. They joke that they could always take the escape pods .

Back in the forward section of the Delta Flyer , Janeway is trying to start a conversation with Harren, referring to the fact that he grew up on Vico V . But Harren coldly asks if she really believes the environment a child is raised in is more important than genetically-driven behavior patterns and accuses her of filling her attempt at conversation with unspoken assumptions that he doesn't agree with. Janeway tries to change the subject, by jokingly asking how his 13th chromosome is and missing a couple base pairs in gene 178. Harren also decides to change the subject and explains how he only signed on to Voyager because the Orion Institute of Cosmology required a single year of hands-on experience, and how he'd be there right now had Voyager not become stranded in the Delta Quadrant .

The Delta Flyer loses a section of hull plating

Janeway says that space exploration is unpredictable, but Harren just says that that's exactly why he doesn't like space exploration. He goes on about not liking space travel, as Janeway just rolls her eyes and wonders if this was such a good idea after all. Harren decides to join the other "misfits" for lunch and heads to the aft compartment. Just after he leaves, the Captain picks up an unknown spatial fluctuation. Then the ship is violently rocked, as a piece of the outer hull is mysteriously sheared off. Janeway orders red alert and tries to contact the aft section, but there's no response.

Act Three [ ]

The Delta Flyer is adrift and main propulsion is offline. The three crew personnel hurry into the bridge section returning to their consoles. Janeway brings emergency power online, as Harren reports that 90% of the antimatter has been drained and one-eighth impulse is the best the engines can do, which means that it could be 10 years before they would reach the rendezvous point. Janeway transmits an emergency distress call and has Tal check sensors. Harren theorizes it was a dark matter proto-comet . Janeway read a paper on it once and Harren says that he's the one who wrote it. He believed a tertiary product of stellar consolidation would condense into a comet -like assemblage of dark matter that would be attracted to antimatter and neutralize it on contact. He believes that the warp core should be ejected but Janeway believes it's the best way of getting main propulsion online. Tal suggests bringing the hull plate that was pulled off aboard and scanning it for dark matter residue.

In the aft compartment, Janeway is scanning the hull plate that was beamed aboard. She hands the tricorder to Tal and has her download it into the computer. Tal feels guilty for not realizing the spatial fluctuations from earlier could be a problem. Janeway reassures her that she doesn't have to doubt herself all the time but she assures her that she does , because she makes mistakes all the time. On Voyager , Seven of Nine doesn't let her do anything too critical, but out here, she could get everyone killed. Tal explains how she got through Starfleet Academy , feeling that the conflict on Bajor worked in her favor and that the Federation was so eager to get Bajorans in Starfleet . Janeway says she brought her aboard because she showed signs of unconventional thinking, such as not everyone would have thought to bring the hull plate aboard. Tal says that the computer analysis is like a monster to her and that it chases her in her nightmares. Janeway says that maybe they can find her another post on Voyager but she says the only post she'd be good at would be a waitress in the mess hall. Tal doesn't believe she's really a part of Voyager 's crew, she just lives there.

In the bridge section, Harren is repairing an EPS relay , as Telfer is distracted by scanning himself with a medical tricorder. Harren orders him to cut the plasma flow but Telfer's still distracted. The EPS relay starts venting gas, as Telfer finally hits the console. Harren gets up, angry that he could have been killed. Telfer claims to be sick but again it is written off as hypochondria. Harren would prefer to be on deck 15, where he's his own number one priority. Telfer asks if he ever gets lonely down there but Harren prefers to be in the company of his own thoughts. Telfer asks him to spend some time with him and Tal when they get back, as he might like it, but Harren simply says that he doesn't like proving his hypotheses.

Tal monitoring sensors

Janeway briefs the crew on the results of scanning the hull fragment. They found some displaced positrons that could indicate a dark matter impact but could have been caused by something else. This is reason enough for Harren, who again suggests dumping the remaining antimatter. Janeway says it isn't proof enough for her and activates a panel, which shows a star chart . There is a class T gas giant within range, surrounded by radiogenic rings which could in theory re-initiate the warp core, so they set a course. They go back to their stations, and Tal picks up another spatial fluctuation. Janeway decides to hail it but there's no response. Harren still wants to eject the core but Janeway decides to fire a photon torpedo , since the antimatter in it would draw the anomaly if that's what it is. Just as the spatial disruptions are leaving sensor range, a loud murmuring sound fills the Delta Flyer . They all scan around with tricorders and converge on Crewman Telfer. He then disappears in an alien transporter beam. Tal scans the area and Janeway concludes he's not anywhere . Scans of space and subspace come up with nothing, but he rematerializes as suddenly as he disappeared. " Inside… me… " he says, as a creature can be seen moving around under his skin and a cut on the back of his neck.

Act Four [ ]

They take him to the biobed in the aft section, and try to transport the creature out of him. Transporters aren't picking it up, nor are the tricorders. Janeway suggests it could be some kind of " dark matter lifeform ". Harren concludes that it is impossible, as molecules that complex would collapse under their own weight. Telfer says that he was transported to a dark place where he couldn't see anything. He tried to talk, but there was no air. Tal offers reassurance saying that if they wanted to kill him they'd have done it already. Janeway activates a force field around the biobed and leaves Tal to monitor Telfer. Janeway and Harren go to the bridge section.

Harren says they never should have left Voyager , but Janeway jokes that Voyager 's no safe haven, either. They've been up against the Borg , the Vidiians , Species 8472 , and more. Janeway asks if he ever wishes to be a part of the friendships he sees on Voyager . He awkwardly responds "You don't know me at all" and goes back to working at his console. The Delta Flyer receives a transmission on a Starfleet frequency. It is their distress call , but modified on the same dispersal pattern as the anomalies. They play the message, which is a distorted version of the distress call. Harren thinks that they're taunting them but Janeway thinks that they're trying to communicate. Just as they are going to modulate the universal translator , Telfer walks through the doors. " He walked right through the force field… " Tal says, as the alien now controls Telfer's motor functions.

The Dark matter life form taps into ships controls.

Janeway grabs a phaser and stuns Telfer but he just falls over onto the console. The alien rips through the skin on Telfer's neck and jumps onto a console. It taps into the environmental systems, as sparks and minor explosions fill the cockpit. Harren grabs a phaser, and Janeway orders him to hold his fire. Harren fires at the alien anyway and vaporizes it. Janeway knocks the phaser out of his hand and yells at him, saying now they've lost their chance for first contact. The Flyer shakes as another section of hull is ripped off. Janeway takes the Flyer into the rings of the gas giant where they can only survive a few minutes – just long enough to restart the warp core.

Act Five [ ]

The Delta Flyer enters the radiogenic ring, and begins transporting radiogenic particles directly into the reaction chamber . Janeway goes back to check on Telfer, who is actually feeling better than usual. He explains that his hypochondria was like an internal red alert, which always told him he was sick or dying. Janeway relates that as a child, she was afraid of the ocean – she liked to swim in shallow areas but not the ocean where you didn't know what was beneath you. During her first year at the Academy, she went through zero-G training in the Coral Sea and overcame her fear. Tal says that the aliens are in pursuit, despite the creatures not being detectable by sensors. They'll intercept in half the time needed to start the warp core . Janeway orders the others to the escape pods with intentions to ignite the ring and escape at full impulse . Tal says that she wants to stay and that on Voyager not much of what they do matters but here it is important. Telfer also decides to remain.

Harren tries to distract the dark-matter lifeforms

Harren decides to leave alone and enters escape pod one. Just as they are about to fire, the escape pod changes heading and heads for the dark matter lifeforms. The Flyer crew try to beam him aboard but they are out of transporter range. They come very close to hitting the dark matter aliens but beam the escape pod aboard and head out of the rings. They fire aft phasers at a radiogenic rock in the ring and it explodes, causing a chain reaction in the ring. A shock wave approaches the Delta Flyer from behind and Tal counts down to impact. The shock wave hits several seconds after Tal predicted.

In Voyager 's sickbay, Chakotay says that they found the Delta Flyer adrift over a gas giant, but everyone is all right. Janeway asks, but they didn't find any signs of dark matter lifeforms or another ship. He asks her what happened and she says, continuing the metaphor from before, " The good shepherd went after some lost sheep… and ran into a wolf. " Chakotay asks if she found them, and Janeway smiles, lying on the biobed, " I think she did. "

Memorable quotes [ ]

" What does our Borg Queen want now? "

" Uh, to the left, ma'am. "

" Very interesting. " " What do you find most interesting about it? " " Your creative use of the minus sign. "

" That's not possible. "

" I can't get a lock, it's like something's there, but it's… not there. " " Oh, it's there. " " Unfortunately I have to agree. "

" Contact in 4… 3… 2… 1… more or less. "

" Mortimer? " " My mother didn't even call me that. "

" So pay attention to what we're doing here. You can check yourself into Sickbay when we get back. " " And you can go back to Deck 15. " " That's right, where I don't have to rely on you or your intellectually deficient friend! " " At least I have a friend. "

" What the hell is wrong with you?! "

Background information [ ]

• The episode title is taken from the Bible 's Gospel of John, chapter 10, verses 11-15 (" 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep./But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep./The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.'/I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine./As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. " [1] However, the reference to going after the one stray sheep is found in Luke 15:4-7 [2] and Matthew 18:12-13 [3] .

Cast and characters [ ]

• Much like TNG : " Lower Decks ", almost none of the featured characters make another appearance during the course of the series. Tal Celes ( Zoe McLellan ) is the only character to later re-appear, in the episode " The Haunting of Deck Twelve ".

Continuity [ ]

• This episodes introduces a third Bajoran crewmember on Voyager (Tal Celes), following Gerron from " Learning Curve " and Tabor from " Nothing Human ".
• This episode can be compared to TNG : " Lower Decks " and the first-season episode " Learning Curve ", in that they feature low-ranking crew with less focus on the main characters. Interestingly, the latter episode centered on several ex- Maquis crew who were performing below standards whereas this episode focuses on underperforming Starfleet personnel instead.
• In the teaser, when the camera zooms from space to the captain's ready room , several figures can be seen in the Officer's Mess. There are two in red-shouldered Starfleet uniforms, one in a yellow-shouldered uniform, one in what appears to be Seven's blue jumpsuit, and at least two others in identifiable costumes.
• The window Crewman Harren looks out of in the first scene is not on the miniature or CGI models of Voyager , and was added specifically for this episode. In later shots of Voyager 's underside, the window is not there.
• The equations shown when Tom Paris checks the PADD which Crewman Harren had been working on are adapted from Fundamentals of Astrodynamics, a 1971 book developed by the U.S. Air Force Academy. Several symbols have been added or changed. They can be found in the Example Problem in section 1.11.
• During a brief cut inside Crewman Harren's escape pod, he manipulates an LCARS terminal that looks like a conventional LCD computer monitor (instead of the back-lit overlays used for most LCARS set pieces). A black mouse cursor can be seen moving around the screen.
• Despite Seven's earlier assertion that " Religious metaphors are irrelevant. " (following The Doctor's quoting the phrase " The devil finds work for idle hands. "), Janeway later tells her the tale of the good shepherd regardless.
• Celes is refered to simply as "Celes" by both Janeway and Telfer. According to the Bajoran naming convention established in " Ensign Ro ", this would be her individual name.
• Paris tells Torres that he invited Harren "to watch our television set"in a reference to what Torres had replicated for him in " Memorial ".
• Janeway tells Harren that "we've been chased across the Quadrant by far worse than whatever's out there", listing the Vidiians, Species 8472, and the Borg as examples. Voyager had first encountered the former species in the first-season episode " Phage " and the latter two in " Scorpion ".
• Paris claims to have "collided [with Harren] in the corridor during a Borg attack". However, in all previous conflicts with the Borg, Paris has been at the helm.
• A photon torpedo is used in this episode, one having previously been used in " Child's Play ". This brings the total number of torpedoes confirmed to have been used by Voyager over the course of the series to 63, a total which exceeds the irreplaceable complement of 38 that had been established by Chakotay in the first-season episode " The Cloud ".

Reception [ ]

• Kate Mulgrew identified "Good Shephard" as one of her favorite VOY Season 6 episodes in an interview with Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 1, Issue 18 , p. 16. " I loved that show, you could put a big asterisk on that one; that was my favorite... 'Good Shephard' was really Janeway at her best. " Identifying Janeway's commitment to the ship and her crew as one of her highlight traits, Mulgrew continued: " She just tries. She keeps trying. She never gives up her heart in any situation, and she is always prepared to go down first. "
• Mulgrew also expressed her love for scenes with Zoe McLellan 's character Tal Celes , showing Janeway's compassionate side in a way not always possible with Star Trek 's other captains. " I want to move people always, because I'm an actress, so that's always my essential compulsion; but beyond that I think they've really let Janeway do it more than any of the other captains. I think they've learned to trust that I can get away with it, and that I will still maintain absolute command. " ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 1, Issue 18 , pp. 16, 18)

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment ): Volume 6.10, 6 November 2000
• As part of the VOY Season 6 DVD collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

Also starring [ ]

• Robert Beltran as Chakotay
• Roxann Dawson as B'Elanna Torres
• Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris
• Ethan Phillips as Neelix
• Robert Picardo as The Doctor
• Tim Russ as Tuvok
• Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine
• Garrett Wang as Harry Kim

Guest Stars [ ]

• Jay Underwood as Mortimer Harren
• Michael Reisz as William Telfer
• Kimble Jemison as an Engineer
• Zoe McLellan as Tal Celes

Co-Stars [ ]

• Tom Morello as Junction Operator
• Majel Barrett as Computer Voice

Uncredited Co-Stars [ ]

• Carter Edwards as Voyager command officer
• Tarik Ergin as Ayala
• Eric Hunter as Voyager command officer
• Tina Kotrich as Voyager operations officer
• Louis Ortiz as Culhane
• Erin Price as Renlay Sharr
• Joan Valentine as Voyager operations officer

Stand-ins [ ]

• Brita Nowak – stand-in for Jeri Ryan

References [ ]

ability ; algorithm ; all-nighter ; alloy ; Alpha Quadrant ; analysis ; antimatter ; astronomical survey mission ; away mission ; away team ; Bajoran ; base pair ; biosignature ; body temperature ; Borg ; Borg Queen ; career ; carrier wave ; Celes' instructors ; childhood ; chromosome ; class L ; class T cluster ; class T planet ; colleague ; continuous scan ; conversation ; Coral Sea ; corridor ; cosmologist ; courage ; Culhane ; data ; Delta Flyer ; Delta Flyer escape pod ; Delta Quadrant ; dark matter ; dark matter proto-comet ; dark matter lifeform ; environment ; EPS relay ; evening ; Federation ; " field day "; food poisoning ; gas giant ; Good Shepherd ; Harren's mother ; head ; head cold ; helm ; hour ; hull plate ; hypochondria ; impulse ; insect ; kilometer ; level three sensor analysis ; " long shot "; mechanic ; medical tricorder ; minus sign ; mitochondrial prion ; motor neuron ; multiphasic prion ; multivariate analysis ; nightmare ; nucleic acid ; ocean ( open water ); Orion I ; Orion Institute of Cosmology ; pasta soup ; phaser ; phenomenon ; photon torpedo ; plasma relay ; plasma residue ; pond ; pool ; positron ; protostar ; quantum signature ; question ; radiogenic particle ; reaction chamber ; red alert ; reprieve ; safe haven ; Schlezholt's Theory of Multiple Big Bangs ; sheep ; shepherd ; ship-wide efficiency analysis ; spatial continuum ; spatial fluctuation ; star formation ; Starfleet Academy ; subspace echo ; subspace frequency ; subspace infrared algorithm ; subspace particle decay ; swimming ; sympathy vote ; television set ; terawatt ; tetrovaline ; theoretical cosmology ; transporter lock ; tricorder ; vacuum exposure ; Vico V ; Wang's Second Postulate ; warp ; warp core ; wolf ; zeta particle derivation

Other References [ ]

External links [ ].

• "Good Shepherd" at StarTrek.com
• " Good Shepherd " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Good Shepherd " at Wikipedia
• 2 Star Trek: The Next Generation
• 3 USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G)

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Star Trek: Voyager

“Good Shepherd”

Air date: 3/15/2000 Teleplay by Dianna Gitto & Joe Menosky Story by Dianna Gitto Directed by Winrich Kolbe

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

"Shockwave approaching! Contact in four, three, two, one..." [nothing] "...more or less." — Celes

Review Text

Nutshell: Fresh and entertaining on the whole, but where's the ending?

The opening teaser sequence of "Good Shepherd" begins with a CG shot that starts from outside the ship and tracks in on Captain Janeway in her ready room. The sequence ends with a parallel shot that tracks out from a window way down on deck 15, where a lone crewman looks over an order on a PADD that has just been handed to him. The order has traveled from the top of the chain of command to the bottom, while we've watched it travel from channel to channel. It's a fresh and interesting little sequence, and it sets the stage for "Good Shepherd," a fresh and interesting show.

"Good Shepherd" isn't exactly of the dramatic caliber of TNG 's "Lower Decks," but the ideas are similar. It gives us the workings of the starship Voyager from a different perspective, from those of crewmen who see the higher-ranking officers as intimidating bosses rather than friends or acquaintances. Funny, how I just mentioned in my review of " Ashes to Ashes " that we're never permitted to see this perspective. I guess it's better late than never.

The general idea here is that three members of the Voyager crew have "slipped through the cracks" of the Voyager family. They're misfits of sorts, whose work performance isn't the greatest. They've been noticed because they don't fit the model. In five-plus years, none of these three has been on an away mission.

Janeway's idea is to play the "good shepherd" looking out for some members of her flock that have gone astray. She decides to try bonding with these crew members by assigning them to an upcoming study mission on the Delta Flyer, which she is commanding.

What makes this episode a pleasure is that it gives these three young crewmen interesting, quirky personalities. We have Mortimer Harren (Jay Underwood), an abrasive fellow who detests space travel and would rather be on a stationary study post "re-postulating the origins of the universe" (in Torres' words). There's Tal Celes (Zoe McLellan), a Bajoran woman whose technical skills aren't the best, which prompts her to constantly agonize over her weaknesses. And there's Billy Telfer (Michael Reisz), a wide-eyed hypochondriac who scans himself with a medical tricorder in the early a.m. hours, hoping he can call in sick to avoid his away assignment. (There's also a bit part here for Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, as Crewman Mitchell. His part is irrelevant, but as a Rage fan, I just had to make mention.)

Once the story puts us on the Delta Flyer, the routine mission of course turns unroutine. The plotting is nothing worth writing home about—involving some "dark matter" lifeforms that run into the Flyer and cause problems and damage. (And don't even bother asking me about the plausibility of dark matter as applied here, because I haven't a clue about the physics.) But what this plot does do is serve as a capable device for revealing the characters' personalities. The dialog and the character interplay are very nicely written, with a natural ring.

Harren's haughty coldness is perfectly conveyed—being just forceful enough without going too far as to be implausibly off-putting. Make no mistake: This guy would like nothing better than to be left alone, and he has very direct—and acerbically amusing—lines for letting other people know that. (When Janeway comes to deck 15 to recruit him for the mission, he asks her, perhaps not unreasonably, "Are you lost?" Janeway obviously hasn't been on this deck for some time.) We learn that Harren never had any desire for space travel, but got assigned to Voyager as a one-year temporary prerequisite that became a long-term mission when the ship was thrown to the other side of the galaxy. I enjoyed the way he'd turn Janeway's efforts to "help" him into proof that she truly has no idea who he is or what he wants. (Janeway calls him by his first name and he responds, "My mother didn't even call me that.")

Celes is a more vulnerable person with understandable self-doubts. She strikes me as a credible average person who isn't up to a job that demands more than average, rather than the perfectly skilled problem solver that most people on Voyager seem to be. Her confession that she crammed her way through Starfleet Academy shows an honesty and an awareness of her limits. She has a discussion with the captain that almost hurts to hear: She knows she doesn't have the skills to make it on a starship, but being trapped in the Delta Quadrant has given her a job she probably couldn't sustain under normal circumstances. ("I don't deserve to be on your ship, captain," she says. "And I'm not really a part of Voyager . I just live there.") Particularly interesting is the fact that she's Bajoran and her awareness that her getting through the academy was probably made somewhat easier by "sympathy votes" based on Bajor's unfortunate situation.

Wide-eyed Telfer is a bit goofy—he talks a lot and he's afraid of anything he can't see that might possibly infect him with any symptom. This would probably be the reason why the lifeforms choose him when they decide to temporarily abduct somebody to their realm and then return him carrying some sort of parasite. Telfer doesn't have the built-in depth of Celes or Harren, but he's likable enough and gets some interesting interaction with the other characters.

In the middle of these personalities is Janeway, trying to remain as accessible as possible. Mulgrew turns in a pleasant understated performance that blends Janeway's roles of leader and confidant into a human persona who can either be firm or easygoing depending on the circumstance. She provides a solid anchor for the episode. It's good work.

Do you even care about the weird dark-matter lifeforms? I didn't, and I don't think the creators cared much either (otherwise they might've actually revealed what they wanted). The aliens exist to provide a little mystery, put our characters in jeopardy, force them to think their way out of it, and give the visual-effects team a chance to blow something up real good (in this case the rings around a gas giant).

Where "Good Shepherd" stumbles is in its lack of a satisfactory conclusion. The show comes screeching to a halt almost immediately after the jeopardy crisis is resolved, which sits strangely considering how well we've come to know these three new characters. It's almost as if the writers ran out of time and had to forego the typical extended dialog wrap-up we often get for these sort of stories ... which is exactly what this episode needed. In reality, Joe Menosky says that wasn't the case—the swift ending was intentional—but I think it would've been better to get a more concrete idea of the direction these characters might've been headed after this adventure. Considering they get such a nice setup and such compelling dialog through the story's action, it seems wrong that they don't have a voice after the mission has ended. It feels incomplete and that's a shame. Janeway's little wrap-up speech to Chakotay is far too obviously scripted and not particularly useful.

But I still highly recommend a bulk of "Good Shepherd." It's a break from the routine, and the casual dialog is skillfully conceived. We come to understand these people and their personalities, problems, and quirks, and we grow to care about them. The episode has the right approach, emphasizing character interaction and discussion.

Next week: A rerun of " Barge of the Dead ," still the season's biggest winner in my book.

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Comment Section

92 comments on this post, eightofnine.

I found the ending to be a bit... egh. From Celes' 'we've never amounted to anything on Voyager, but we can here!' to Harren's ultimate change of heart, it was all a bit predictable and clichéd. Instead of going for an offbeat, just plainly antisocial character with Harren, they just reduce him to 'the lonely guy who finally stops hiding from the world'. Too bad. I did like the whole Deck 15-bowels-of-the-ship idea and decor though. All in all it's a well thought out episode with a rather iffy ending. It's a shame that you don't really care for the characters, as we'll probably never see them again.

I think there's a pretty egregious violation of established canon in this episode. Without exception, everyone who talks to Tal Celes or who refers to her uses the name "Celes." As we learned from Ro Laren and Kira Nerys, what we would think of as the Bajoran last name is actually the first name -- or, rather, the more familiar name. It's conceivable that Billy Telfer could call his friend "Celes," but it seems unlikely that Janeway would get that familiar with her right away, or that Seven would use the familiar name.

This episode might have made sense in season 1 or 2, but not in season 6. These "misfit" crewmen have survived the Caretaker, the Kazon, the Hirogen, the Borg, Species 8472, the Ankari, more Borg, Borg disconnected from the Collective, then baby Borg, then more Borg...well, you get the idea. And they still can't get it into their thick heads that they need to ship up? Also, it presents Captain Janeway in a terrible light: that she can't even maintain basic discipline on her ship (which also runs completely counter to Captain Ransom's statement in Equinox, Pt. 1), and that she would tolerate these slackjaws without imposing any sort of corrective discipline. Instead, the episode portrays her in her "aw shucks, Ma Bell" routine where she trains her subordinates by treating them like misbehaving children. The writers tried to duplicate the success of TNG's Lower Decks, but instead, they only managed to piss me off. Aye carumba.

I really liked Harren as a character. Frankly, I'd rather see the likes of "edgier" characters like Harren, Carey, Suder, etc. as a member of the *regular* cast than some of the bland, dull "feel good" folks we got in Voyager. Other than that, this episode once again makes me hate Janeway (pompous, deluded, idiotic, take your pick) and the "Good Shepherd" stuff was sickening (the opposite of what we got in the - IMO - very good 'Lower Decks' of TNG). Oh yes, and the is no ending, is there? Just Janeway's delusional ramblings. Also, it's a shame we'll likely never see these three again after all that... heaven forbid we have any sort of continuity or continuing characters, eh? Final observation I'm surprised doesn't annoy more people... why the HECK do they need to physically CARRY the orders on a Padd from one end of the ship to the other?! Can't they use the comms? Or the computer? Or anything?! Oh, I noticed on the Flyer Janeway tells Celes to upload her tricorder info into the computer... and Celes seems to be punching it all in MANUALLY! I guess there is no wireless in Voyager's tech. Or intercoms.

Ben Masters

One of the best lines, I thought, was when Janeway got mad at Harren for shooting the alien: Janeway: "What the hell is wrong with you!" Harren: "It was trying to kill us!" Janeway: "You don't know that!" Harren: "We were at risk!" Janeway: "I gave you a direct order!" Don't know why I liked that exchange, but I did.

This is a good episode, particularly because it focuses on fresh yet relevant characters, is fast-moving and does not philosophize too much. Harren is especially engaging and makes a nice difference from the usual "Dr. Phil Collective" identikit crewmembers. Two things, as others have mentioned: It comes WAY too late in the day and it's difficult to believe that there are still "misfits" on the ship never previously identified, after everything Voyager has been thru. Secondly, the ending is poor, not so much because it's cliched, as EightofNine said, but because it is rushed, and leaves many questions unanswered and the whole conundrum of the show unresolved. Three stars is perfect.

Nifty opening and teaser direction. Bit of a change from the usual fly-by and seemed to hint that something special was coming (it didn't, but then after the past few episodes anything decent is special I guess). Love the concept, as something that hasn't really been done before (Lower Decks yes, but pretty different really). I actually liked Janeway in this episode. For once she's balanced to an almost Picard-like level: caring and kind, but firm when she needs to be. This Janeway is far better than the battleaxe we are often faced with. For the most part the misfits were interesting and it felt worth watching an episode about them. I thought yellowshirt was a bit too much of a brat sometimes though - credit where it's due to Janeway for her patience, as I'd have had the sarcastic and abrasive little turd dangling out of an airlock... Final Fantasy VI + Voyager combined in-joke: This time Celes couldn't get a Locke. Spot the mouse pointer moving around the LCARS interface in the escape pod. Um?! :D All in all pretty good. It used Voyager's premise to its advantage, which I always enjoy. Three stars seems absolutely right.

I didn't really get Janeway having a go at Harren for "murdering" the lifeform. Surely if it had accessed the environmental controls it would have killed them all instantly (regardless as to whether that was its intent)?

I kept trying to imagine these characters (particularly Herrin) in the predicaments that we saw earlier, like "Year Of Hell" and "The Killing Game".

Another enjoyable episode, kind of hybrid of Lower Decks and Learning Curve. I agree with two points noted above: this ep would have been better suited to the first 2-3 seasons. The entire crew has been through HELL by this point, these guys 'wetness' seems a bit unlikely given this. And yes, it was a gigantic damp squib of an ending that wasn't dramatically satisfying. We needed to *see* some change in these characters as they returned to the ship to make the journey worthwhile, not just a glib comment by Janeway. It was as tough the writers ran out of time. I enjoyed the guest characters though - so much so I kind of wish they could be grafted onto the main cast. There are so many pointless 'hangers-on' in Voyager's main cast of characters. I'd happily dispense with Harry, Neelix, Chakotay and Tuvok in order to make way for someone like Harren, who struck me as the most potentially interesting of the three. Even Celes and Billy had a freshness about them that could have reinvigorated the series a bit. I'd love to see them in the series again...but I know that's 99.9% unlikely (forgive me if I'm wrong, I don't think I've seen any Voyager beyond this point).

The "specifications" that Seven entered ino a pad for Celes to take to Torres...couldn't they have been transferred directly to he in engineering via the computer? Reminds me of the original V series where they had this advanced technology, but messages were always being delivered to Diana and the others in person, and on actual paper notes.

For the most part I liked this one, mainly because it's one of the rare anti-liberal episodes in the Star Trek universe. Haran's explanation of how it's his genes that determine who he is not where he grew up as well as Celes's about how she knows she doesn't belong in Starfleet and that she got in only due to sympathy votes are blasphemy on liberal-dominated TV.

Janeway claimed that she'd memorized the entire layout and schematics for all of Voyager before taking command, but here she needed to be told to turn left instead of right...

@Jack That *was* 6 years ago, and she's probably never been there in person in all that time. My nitpick is this: When does how much anti-matter remaining determine the *top speed* a ship can go? (Or shuttle, in this case.) Combined with how often they're looking for more dilithium, I'm starting to wonder if the writers got the two mixed up. And after burning food in a replicator, I think the writers forgot how the ship works. Or they just don't care.

Captain Jim

Like Iceblink, this also reminded me of Learning Curve. Eh, it was okay; certainly a change of pace. I didn't really find it all that exciting, though. I probably would have given it two stars.

The thing that bugged me in this episode was the way the alien being shot was just glossed over in one exchange. Given the federation morality, I'd expect that vaporising a probably sentient lifeform with fairly little cause would be one of the most heinous crimes a starfleet officer could commit. I'd expect instant court-martial actually. What, aliens that don't look humanoid are ok to vaporise point blank when they seem a bit threatening? it's just a little annoying to Janeway for 20 seconds but no big deal? I don't buy it, they bend over backwards to avoid harming even clearly hostile aliens all the time, but this one was exempt because it wasn't human enough to make a big deal over?... can you imagine if a random crewman got twitchy and just fired a high setting phaser at an alien on the bridge who got a bit shovey with Chakotay or something? it seems so out of place to me.

>"Final Fantasy VI + Voyager combined in-joke: This time Celes couldn't get a Locke." And then Locke posted. My day, made.

Ahah, it's even better that my nick is actually taken from the FF VI character, rather than all the other Lockes around XD... AND I noticed the Celes thing when I read the review (having forgotten her name).

This episode really is strange, it has no final act as Jammer said, it's just 4/5ths of a story.

I didn't really get a sense that there was no ending...the sickbay scene was sufficient. What were you looking for, the scene to last until they "came to", and dramatically pondered the first day of the rest of their lives?

Take it easy

I agree with Jay about the ending. Harren went into action instead of just being a theorist. Celes took responsibility when she refused to just escape and Telfer got better after the alien incident. I liked the way there was no separate scene to explain it.

Agree with some of the comments here. 1. No need to take all 3 newbies in one away mission. 2. Surprised Janeway didn't know the way to a particular area. 3. Janeway seemed to be overly upset when the alien lifeform is killed (true to Trek philosophy though).

Rather late response, but yay Locke actually being named after Locke XDD Just saw this again on CBS, or half of it anyway. Forgot about the mouse pointer appearing, but spotted it again! Hilarious blooper. Agree with my own assessment of Janeway as pretty decent in this one. Yellowshirt guy was still insufferable. I think he needs more than this mission, he needs a good slap. He makes early Squall (FF8) look friendly and extroverted. The other two weren't too bad, they were a bit loser-ish for people who've been on the ship for 6 years but they pulled through. That guy though, ugh.

I liked this episode, though it would have fitted better in the second season. What bothers me is the idea that the captain doesn't know her small crew: they're less than 150 and have lived together for 6 years ! The other thing I find awkward is about Seven. Has she become the efficiency officer ? If I were a crewman, moreover a Starfleet officer with years of training, I'd be pissed to know that a former Borg has that much influence. In addition, I'd resent her "I'm superior and better than you" attitude. I'd have understood if she had asked a private meeting with Janeway to complain, but here, it looks like a formal senior officer's meeting. Granted, that's a nitpick about an otherwise very enjoyable episode, but it's something that's always bothered me.

Hey, Jay Underwood! I remember him from that TV movie series, "Not Quite Human," where he ironically played an android who wanted to be human. Kinda wish he was playing that role here after watching this character. I get that it takes all kinds but seriously...would a guy like this have even made it into Starfleet? And Captain Janeway is WAY too lenient with his constant mouthing off. I don't remember him asking permission to speak freely. She's still his captain for pity's sake! Picard would have cut the little puke down to size in a few seconds for insubordination like that. Also, the other kid is more of a hypochondriac than Barclay and he went 6 years without this being brought to light? Barclay's idiosyncrasies were called out a very short time after he came on board and that's on a ship with a complement of over 1,000 people, where slipping between the cracks would be easier to do. I am in full agreement that an episode like this would have been far more suited to season 1 or 2. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either.

Jo Jo Meastro

Season 6 had been great all round for its first half, then it seemed to get a little stuck in a rut with one too many bad episodes and an very uneven quality...but this one was good Voyager, almost refreshing after being a little deflated with the season for a while. It was very solidly made and I loved the fresh, mismatched, quirky characters who made the story work that much better (it would have been very dry if it had just been the regulars solving yet another crisis without a unique hook or a hint of freshness). I got a kick out of the impressive space visuals, although I think a good old fashioned slime-drenched prop would have worked better for the dark matter creature! I liked the characters and I liked this fun, little unconventional Voyager adventure. 3 stars from me, I'm glad to finally be a little more positive about the second half of season 6 for a change!

I know we got to watch the 3 black sheep grow, but i did think there should have been a last scene with the 3 members, but i guess the writers couldnt think of a good one. mostly, cause we wont see these 3 again. Harren's character was a hoot. i kept thinking,"how can you talk to a captain like that." but dang it was fun. it had a 4 star start..but i think it ended with 3.

For all its belated good intentions, this one's a dud in my book. The 3 new characters are crudely drawn stereotypes - more caricatures than real people - and the actual plot concerning the dark matter centipede or whatever it is that invades the guy's body and then can somehow interface with the ship's computer systems just by sitting on the console is laughable B-movie shlock. As others have pointed out, it comes far too late in the day, and we've never seen these characters before and never do again. The fact they could still be this incompetent, neurotic and attitudinal by this point in the series beggars belief. It's a small ship.

I'm still trying to figure the ending part where Janeway says to Harren "You made a mistake, don't make another one!" What exactly was his first mistake? Following her order? Was it a mistake to decide not to stay with the rest of the crew to protect her, after she ordered them to leave anyway? First she orders them to leave, then when he does she calls it a mistake? Or am I missing something else?

@Susan: phasering the dark matter centipede was his first "mistake". The biggest issue with this episode is the pacing, whereby the events and logic of the last act or so are so crammed that one has to fill in many gaps. I believe this also accounts for Jammer's impression that there was no ending; it's there, but the lack of screen time requires one to infer a lot about what might have transpired offscreen.

To those who don't like the ending, I think it was perfect. Firstly, a lack of denouement allowed the time for the extended dialogues between each of the yellow shirts, ie. more backstory. We the audience already know that all the characters were rescued, so it wasn't necessary to show them again. Lastly, due to the character's collective experience in the shuttle craft, we can all infer that they have indeed changed, and will not be quite so isolated from the rest of the ship from this point onward. The episode was also a great character study for Janeway, allowing her to display different aspects of her leadership philosophy.

As I stated in Equanox comments, This episode would have had my attention more if it had some of Ransom's crew rather than nameless fools we never heard or wonder why they are still misfits 6 yrs later.

I’m glad Voyager did its own « Lower Decks », and this is certainly one of the better efforts of the season. I have no problem with the ending; Telfer gets some closure, while Tal and Harren pretty much stay who they are. It feels just about right. The problem is that three new characters appearing out of nowhere at this point in the series is implausible. It was okay on the Enterprise-D because it was a big ship and personnel transfers happened all the time (and there was Sito, whom we had seen before).

Not a bad episode, just bad timing to be in season 6. Amazing that Janeway allows the attitude of Harren. No other Captain in Trek would tolerate such behavior. Its an insult to the viewer that such poor use of them chain of command is not followed.

Not a bad episode at all, although a bit too formulaic for my taste. I certainly do not agree that this episode sort of didn't have a proper ending (and it kind of shocks me to read someone asking more of an ending than it had). But I wholeheartedly agree that this is just a pale incarnation of TNG's "Lower Decks". Still, with such an unusual structure it still felt like a breeze of fresh air.

I'm not terribly fond of the way Janeway treats her crewmen like children. These people are adults, they deserve to be treated as such. They're not behaving properly, they should be disciplined accordingly. They should be treated like adults, not frightened children. That said, I did like Janeway's trying to understand them. Several moments between them worked for me. It's a shame they're never going to be seen again. The standard for Voyager, obviously. I'm also not a fan of the "good shepherd" routine, again implying that Janeway is a parent and the crewmen her children that need to be rescued. It makes her seem like a self-righteous ass.

I found the guest characters annoying and unsympathetic. Once the stage was set, the rest of the show was dull, predictable, and again cliche ridden. Hypochondriac gets infected with an alien centipede? How appropriate. He shouldn't worry though, it probably means him no harm and seeks peaceful coexistence. By the way, you don't get to be captain of Starfleet's newest ship without knowing the deck plan. Even if she didn't before, she had 6 years to become familiar with a whole 15 decks. Come on. I know that scene was meant for comic relief, but this stupid writing makes Janeway look bad. The only thing I liked about this episode was the brief exterior shots at the beginning and end. I remember them doing this occasionally in the first couple of seasons, then they seemed to forget about it? It's a shame this effect wasn't used more.

Just to input a little science, dark matter isn't technically real. Scientists have observed that some planets in other galaxies spin too fast for the gravity of their star to keep them in orbit, and yet the planets don't fly off. So some have come up with the idea of "dark matter": some sort of undetectable mass that strengthens the gravity of the galaxy and keeps the too fast planets where they are.

There's more to the dark-matter hypothesis than that--it has to do with the whole structure of the universe. Given that it remains not-directly-observed, dark matter *might* not be real, but nothing *else* has been proposed that accounts for observations.

I think this was an average episode. Not as good as TNG Lower Decks but it wasn't bad.It needed a better ending. Arachnea - I had the same reaction. Who is Seven to call out someone's inefficiency at a senior staff meeting? I thought she worked in Astrometrics anyway. I believe Seven is an interesting character but I always thought that Janeway gave her too much latitude.

"Dark matter" is more a description than a hypothesis. Gravity is detected where seemingly insufficient mass is observed. The only thing we know of that generates gravity is matter. Therefore this "dark" matter must be the additional, unseen mass needed to explain the gravitational effects. Be that as it may, the dark matter centipede was very creepy and none the worse for being an obvious and predictable plot point. Actually the episode was enjoyable despite the overplayed caricatures and Kate Mulgrew's contemptible on screen presence. These three sixth-year misfits are far more interesting than any of the main characters. And, for the record, if we're ever on a smallish space ship and a dark matter centipede alien bursts out of someone's neck and starts destabilizing the core or whatever, you shoot it. That's an order.

I agree with the 3.0 rating, and ONLY because I was left hanging at the end saying the same thing Jammer was saying, "where the hell is the ending?" You spend nearly the entire show building up these 3 lower deck characters, we as an audience start caring about them (especially Celes, that whole exchange where she says to Janeway that she doesn't belong here really got to me), and then we're all sitting there waiting for the payoff only to be stunned by the ending credits. WTF!?

As others have said, this episode came far too late and ends up looking silly when you think about it (like a lot of VOY). The misfit not being like everyone else can't be that bad given that Voyager has made it this far without them causing major problems. It is incredible that these three can still be how they are after 6 years, especially Billy, who after being experimented by the Caretaker, being stranded on Hanon IV, brushes with Borg nanoprobes, macroviruses and telepathic pitcher plants to name a few, is still a hypercondriac!? If I'd survived all that intact I'd think I was invincible! Tal being incompetant is another that in 6 years no one tried help her of give her something she could do. Now I can understand Herrons annoyance. It was Janeways fault they're out here. But Janeway, nor Seven, seemed to realize they could have solved 2 out of 3 problems by switching Tal and Herron's jobs. Put Tal on Deck 15 pushing buttons that I think someone said even a monkey could do and have Herron in astrometrics doing something he's trained in and would actually be good at! Maybe then he wouldn't feel as bitter... Someone above mentioned Janeway having memorized Voyagers plans but couldn't navigate Deck 15. Well she had been down there since taking command; the spatial rift that she used in "Deadlock" was on Deck 15, which interestingly didn't look nearly as cramped as it does here! And in the briefing near the start, Kim talks like he doesn't know Tal (hard to believe with a ship of 150 after 6 years together but whatever), but later we learn in "Haunting of Deck Twelve", which is a flash back to before this episode, Tal smashed Harry in the face with a toolbox, and he didn't remember her for that alone!?

I liked this episode more than "Lower Decks," mainly because I thought the crewmen were both more interesting and Celes more likeable and Janeway's interactions with them were more enjoyable and in-character than were Worf's or Picard's or Riker's; the plotting also felt pretty interesting until the forced climax and heroism (Barclay's saving the day in "Hollow Pursuits" worked much better). It's too bad they weren't seen later (aside from one Celes appearance set earlier). I'm not sure why there's hostility to introducing previously-unseen characters, a crew of 150 is still fairly big especially when the series does focus mostly on the main characters interacting with each other.

icarus32soar

The only thing the Good Shepherd saved was her delusions of grandeur. Janeway a Good Shepherd? Remember how she treated Harry in The Disease? Gimme a break! She is one erratic, conflicted, disorganised "captain". Mulgrew is fab, and for the most part I enjoy Voyager enormously, but the writing and directing is beyond inconsistent.

I loved this ep! It is a different beast than the "Lower Decks" episode though, because that one was more of a slice-of-life account of other lower crewman we don't usually see. Shepherd on the other hand I think is trying to show that even though we think we often think we've seen it all, the best way for us to really understand ourselves and the world is to get out and do new things. You have the self-acclaimed genius who doesn't even bother to consider the thoughts of others, the neurotic guy who can't get out of his head and the insecure person who does not believe she is worthy despite evidence to the contrary. It's classic Trek in sending a human message under a layer of a lot of weird alien stuff (diamond crystals? I wasn't exactly sure what was even going on there) about the power of seeking new experiences. It's also something that could've never happened with the regular cast because they are all way too perfect and already understand most of the things these lower deckman do not yet. Just such a shame that there is no good conclusion, it would have really tied everything together. 3.5/4

A great episode. I like seeing different perspectives from different characters. It reminds me of the old Smurf cartoons where I wanted to know all 100 of the Smurf's names. A new Smurf was introduced regularly. I wish we could see more of the staff, especially the Maquis crew, since we know they don't come from perfect Starfleet backgrounds.

Just rewatched this. Jay Underwood quietly scintillates in this episode. Beautifully pitched characterisation and his intonation and inflections have a naturalness lacking in much formulaic ST. Pity they didn't have him as a recurring character. I luv how he questions Janeway's assumptions to the point where she is lost for words. How often does she NOT have the last word?

Diamond Dave

I thought the most thought provoking comment in this episode was that on any ship there would be crew who just weren't suited and would wash out it a year. But on Voyager, they're just stuck with it - and as noted above, we don't get to see the screw-ups, we just see the problem solving geniuses every week. The characterisation is not quite en pointe here - Telfer is a little broad and Harren a little off putting - but Celes right on the money as someone who just isn't really good enough to be on the ship. And it is of course a classic cliche for a group of misfits to bond together in adversity. But that's not to say this isn't handled well enough, it's just a little Sesame St in its lessons. 2.5 stars.

Some random thoughts: - That was a horrible FF6 pun Cloudane, and I applaud you for making me laugh from it! - I wonder what Sheldon from Big Bang Theory thinks about this episode? Namely because Crewman Harren is that exact same personality. Extremely intelligent, extremely selfish, extremely arrogant. - I for one don't think this episode was necessarily "too late" in the series. It is not surprising that Janeway doesn't know about these problem crewmen: it's not her job. It is the first officer's job to take care of personnel issues (see Lower Decks for another example of this). And by all accounts, Chakotay did that job as well as possible. Harren was being antagonist? Give him a job away from everyone. Tal Celes was incompetent, so put her in the least important job possible. And Telfer does his job just fine, as long as he doesn't go on away missions. None of that requires Janeway's attention. None of it necessarily requires Janeway's attention even now, but she wants to deal with things because she feels motherly towards the crew. - Wait, so Janeway is now comparing herself to the Good Shepherd? She is literally comparing herself to God now? Whoa, her random mental problems took a weird turn there. - I think it helps to look at this episode more as a "slice of life" than a deep character development episode. Like I said, I don't think anyone necessarily required Janeway's attention, but she tried to be a good shepherd here. It was a nice gesture, but they don't need to solve all the problems in a magical 45 minute episode. Unfortunately, that seemed to be what the writers wanted. But what, exactly, did Janeway do? Telfer's problem was cured by dealing with a nightmare situation, not any wonderful psychological help from Janeway. Tal is still incompetent, so nothing changed there. That leaves Harren... Well, is he changed? He was still insubordinate, still ignoring the chain of command, still not communicating. Admittedly, he was willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the ship, indicating that he was starting to feel a sense of community with the crew he's ignored for 6 years. But then again, maybe he calculated that he was dead anyway and this was his best shot... Still, I will grant her one instance of helping out, even if it is a small one. But that's good. Turning these crewmembers into perfect little officers in one away mission would be unrealistic and trite, about what I'd expect from Voyager's character episodes. Instead, we only see the start of a change, and perhaps the only change that happens. Maybe Celes never improves; in fact perhaps it's logical that she never improves. But she can at least come to accept her limitations and know the captain is accepting of her. Perhaps Harren will remain selfish and arrogant, but he might spend a bit more time with the crew or be more willing to use his talents for the good of the ship. Little changes, that's all we need. So while I think the ending was a bit trite, with Janeway claiming her mission was a success, the fact that we don't blatantly see it helps. - The fact that they kept calling her Celes instead of Tal did bug me at first, but this might have actually been an accidental continuity reminder of something nearly forgotten. Remember when the Bajorans were introduced in the episode Ensign Ro? She mentioned that many of the Bajorans switched their name around to adapt to Federation standards, even though Ro did not. So maybe Celes was one of those people. We never heard of this on DS9 because, well, maybe that was only true for refugees. DS9 focused on the Bajorans who stayed on Bajor, not the refugees, so maybe they never changed. See, it totally makes sense! - Speaking of Celes, I was quite surprised. I would never have expected Hollywood to show, quite blatantly, the problem with affirmative action. They actually handled it reasonably well; it was clear that that was the analogy, but it wasn't overstated and didn't get preachy. Show, rather than tell. Probably because the writers themselves didn't make the connection. At the very least, it was a decent enough justification for why Celes managed to graduate and join Voyager. And who knows, maybe she was wrong. Maybe she did just barely pass on her own, but her own insecurities cause her to consider herself more of a failure than she actually is.

Skeptical: "It is not surprising that Janeway doesn't know about these problem crewmen: it's not her job." It should be surprising. Janeway is, essentially, the mayor of a town with

Skeptical: "It is not surprising that Janeway doesn't know about these problem crewmen: it's not her job." It should be surprising. Janeway is, essentially, the mayor of a town with fewer than 200 inhabitants. [original post truncated by "less than" symbol] As MartinB said earlier, everyone should know everyone by now. They should recognize each other by body odor! Elementary school principals can learn every student's name in 9 months, so Janeway has no excuse.

Oh, she may very well have known them, but not had detailed files of their performance on the ship. She would just know Harren as the antisocial one, Telfer as the nervous one, and Celes as the self-conscious one. The fact that they have been causing minor problems for the various department heads is not her concern though. She needs to be worried about replicating a new Delta Flyer every week, not the details of the personnel. That's what I was referring to, not about her knowing the crew at all. Sorry for the confusion.

I really didn't like this episode. The guest characters were annoying, and it was SO blindingly obvious how they would change over the course of the episode. The arrogant twat suddenly decides give his life to save the others? Yawn.... The neurotic hypochondriac is going to be treated of his fear in a heartbeat? Sorry dude, but i have an anxiety disorder, and i can tell that that kind of fear doesn't go away without long sessions of therapy and / or medication. The only one i found plausible and symphathetic was the bajoran woman.

I enjoy this one. I thought the guest actors hit it pretty well. Just hammy enough to get the job done. I agree with Skeptical. I'm one that doesn't think this episode was "too late". I think because it's later in the series it's more realistic. I also didn't mind the ending so much. So we don't get a preachy Janeway blab at the end that so many complain about? This was fine, the goal of the episode was reached. She reached out and touched some folks that are pretty much out of reach for her. She also didn't magically change them, just gave them some self confidence. Good for her. 3 stars is about right.

One of my favorite ideas Voyager used. Harren is an excellent one-offer. Jay Underwood and Kate Mulgrew could've turned into Voyager's House and Wilson. I agree about the ending but really enjoyed it anyway. I read Jay is actually a full-time pastor now.

Janeway is an idiot. Three misfits who have no desire for away mission and she sticks them on the same mission. Then she expects them to act like seasoned crewmen. She killed the alf. (*)

Thanks Jammer for mentioning Tom Morello's bit part. I never would have known. 2 stars. This was just fluff. I get the cosmologist, but how the hell did the other 2 make it through starfleet academy? Ok, Celes claims it was the result of cramming, and some Bajoran bias (affirmative action?) but if that's the case they really overdid her incompetence. They should have merely made her nervous, not hopeless. And the hypochondriac? Doesn't starfleet give their applicants a psyche test? Or did I miss something? If he came with the Maquis crew it would have made sense, but I don't remember anyone mentioning that.

This would have been better had they used the crewmen from equinox. And Seven was extremely annoying this episode. I would have given this two stars butcwatchable.

I tried to enjoy this but it just came across as a poor man's version of Lower Decks in TNG. None of the junior officers had the charisma and presence of either Sito, Lavelle, Ogawa or Taurik. All of them were annoying and you didn't care about them enough to want to continue watching. I usually enjoy Voyager, but had trouble getting through this one as the characters, to say nothing of the plot, simply failed to capture my attention. The only good scene in this episode was where Celes told Janeway about how she'd struggled through the Academy. Like many others have noted before me, it was refreshing - and relate-able - to see an imperfect Starfleet officer for once, someone who's more fallible and has to put in the effort. Still though, not Voyager's best. The actors themselves didn't seem to have much chemistry with each other either, unlike the ones in TNG. Also, was it just me or did the hypochondriac look a bit like a watered-down version of Julian Bashir?

I was contrived, but enjoyable.

I liked the episode well enough, and it's nice to see Jay Underwood pop up, but this is the kind of premise that should have happened way earlier in the series. If you've been adrift for five-plus years and only now getting around to these crewmen, then they're way more jaded than the crewmen we got in this episode. If it absolutely had to be Seven that pointed out these three were through the cracks, you still could have done that in Season 4. It might even have been a better fit there, where she's still looking at the ship like a Borg and trying to maximize efficiency. To do it this late in the game - both for Voyager and for Seven - makes me far more sympathetic to Harren's otherwise-jaw-dropping insolence toward the Captain.

Planet of Hats

I didn't mind this episode at all, but it definitely didn't feel like a spiritual successor to Lower Decks once I watched it again. Lower Decks was laser-focused on the extras. This one used the extras well but the focus was mostly on Janeway. I really like the Harren character and I wish we'd been introduced to him earlier or seen more of him later. There's a ton the story could've done with him - here you've got a guy who's basically Richard Dawkins but doesn't want anything to do with the ship, but takes a step at the end of the episode. Would've been nice to see him pop up as an extra now and then and continue to come out of his shell.

The concept reminded of the episode Learning Curve. Did we ever see those misfit characters again? Also agree Equinox crew could have added a nice edge here...use PTSD instead of hypochondria.

So these 3 misfits have never been on an away mission? That's because they are misfits, and no one wants them on one. And about 130 of the other crewmen have never been on an away mission either as far as I can tell, and they aren't misfits. Maybe take some of the non-misfits instead. But then you couldn't have had boring one dimensional characters, that 'learn' something. 1 1/2 stars

Well, I understand there is a financial aspects in not having to many main actors. Still this exploring inside was definitely as interesting, i believe there would have been space for for more of such episodes. The character Harren is recognisable (Asperger syndrome?) also Tal Celes feels real. Billy Telfer on the contrary does not really fit in. It was also disturbing with that he had a relationship Tal Celes. With a girlfriend he is not really an outsider. Even though this was not in itself a fantastic episode I found it entertaining and good.

Wait... what happened there at the end? (Exactly the same question I posed when I watched this episode in its original run) Second time around (maybe third) I still have no clue. Jammer was my last hope and he couldn't really tell either (I presume from reading his review). Chakotay also asked "what happened?" Alas, no answers from Janeway either. She just went into the good shepherd yadi-yada that I found..... cheesy! Good episode until the last 4 minutes. Then, as I said, I don't know what happened. Dianna Gitto wrote this episode and it is apparently (according to IMDb) her only credit for Voyager, or Star Trek, or anything else.. period.

Peter Swinkels

@banjo: I noticed that bit about carrying pads atound the ship too.

I liked the idea of Janeway being the "good shepherd" and trying to get a better handle on the misfits in her crew -- seems like a good idea to go on what should be an innocuous away mission. But of course it doesn't turn out to be that. The episode did have an unusual feel to it with Janeway working closely with 3 junior misfits rather than her senior staff. Where they episode fails is the ending and the mysterious life forms that just turn out to be a plot device. The personalities of the 3 misfits is a bit extreme as well -- especially the hypochondriac. Actually they all don't belong on a starship. It wraps up too quickly after the explosion. And how was the Mortimer rescued in the explosion when his escape pod is off in some other direction? And after all is said and done, we don't know what happens to the 3 misfits -- do they change in any way? The aliens didn't work for me -- reminds me a bit of the creatures in TNG's "Conspiracy". We don't get any resolution to what they are all about -- the science behind them being related to dark matter etc. is probably going to displease some folks too. I liked how Janeway didn't absolutely lose it with Mortimer or the other 2. Good episode for Janeway for sure. Wonder how Picard would have treated Mortimer who kills the alien against Janeway's wishes. But who knows what it would have done to the vessel...The Bajoran woman was pretty pathetic -- so much self-doubt. Star Fleet dropped the ball here in admitting her. Barely 2.5 stars for "Good Shepherd" -- good but predictable premise that wasn't very well executed. The 3 characters were well portrayed, as extreme as they were and I think this is one of the better episodes for showing how good a captain Janeway can be. A fair bit of wonky "sci-fi" here as well.

3 stars. This was a nice essay in character observation, that did not allow itself to rely too heavily on explosions and action. The premise is not about those, though they have their place in a different kind of story. A mainly psychological episode, that looks at why people act as they do rather than at their external actions, isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste, and can be very tedious if handled badly; but this was well-plotted, with credible characters.

Startrekwatcher

2 stars I found this one pretty boring. I’ll admit I don’t care for lower deck characters. I want the cast front and center. The plot made no sense and was boring.

Tal Celes - she finds the equations and processes in astrometrics to be scary monsters, and they couldn't find _any_ other position for her? She jokes about "waitress", but I have a suggestion: medic. Doctor's assistant. Nurse, whatever This is a position very clearly needed, and Tom Paris is mediocre at it, doesn't want to do it, and has one of the most important day jobs on the ship, one that often is critical at the very moment when sickbay gets busiest. I don't mean to say there's no skill in being a medic, or a nurse, but it requires less of the type of work Tal Celes particularly abhorred, and it is a position routinely backed up by a more capable professional (the most capable, according to the Doctor)... It's almost perfect for her.

Wow, Mortimor is super annoying! But interesting. It was fun to see some new crewmen, especially such interesting ones. Janeway is great with them and their various needs. The alien trying to communicate story was lame, though. And the overall story became a little dull. I don't understand how Mortimor got back, but maybe I missed something there.

I guess Harren had some stones talking to Janeway like that, but I was yelling at my TV: "Dammit Janeway, kick this guy's ass!" I love Janeway.

Yet Another Chris

As with most episodes of Voyager, this one had potential that it failed live up to it. There need to be more characters who dislike and disapprove of Janeway. She's a smug and dangerous leader, and there ought to be at least a few people who are short with her, if not staging outright mutinies. I thought Mortimer would be that person, but no luck because, you know, Janeway has to come out smelling like roses. Every potentially adversarial character is either dispensed with immediately, or else their character is inexplicably made tame from one episode to the next. I think this partly explains some people's love of Janeway. It's not because she's a good or interesting character, but because that the writers created the illusion that she's a sound leader by removing any sensible voice of opposition. That said, I did appreciate that she gave Mortimer the room he needed to dislike her and even to be insubordinate. I just didn't care for her savior complex.

Gary Gordon

Mortimer Harren (Jay Underwood) reminded me of Sheldon (Big Bang). This episode was written 7 years before Big Bang though.

Agree with Jammer's rating: 3 stars.

Sleeper Agent

@Jo Jo Meastro (Aug, 2013) Your comment summarize my thoughts exactly. A nice 3-solid-stars-story.

It's no Lower Decks, but I'm a sucker for episodes that lift the lid on the regular crewmembers who aren't necessarily the best of the best. I especially liked the little moment where Janeway doesn't know her way around deck 15. Surprised to see her take so much shit from Harren though (she's read Seven the riot act for far less) and I totally agree on the lackluster ending, which bizarrely takes the focus off our three black sheep, but otherwise an enjoyable outing.

Like other commenters noted, Sheldon Cooper and Harren are practically twins. Was that just coincidence? Zoe McLellan did a good job with Celes. I would have liked to see her grab Harren by the shirt collar and snap at him "Watch your damn mouth with the captain!" It seems like Celes might have been a good fit in security.

@Jack (et al.): ))Janeway claimed that she'd memorized the entire layout and schematics for all of Voyager before taking command, but here she needed to be told to turn left instead of right...(( Yeah, it's NOT like the ship hasn't been severely damaged and virtually re-built several times ("Scopion" - cough-cough -"The Killing Game" -cough-cough). It's NOT like Borg technology had been incorporated and then subsequently dismantled. Seriously: Even in a standard ship patrolling the Alpha Quadrant, it might occasionally happen that, in the course of routine maintenance, an extra wall might need to be erected or a Jefferies Tube re-routed. And who knows what modifications might have been necessary when installing "Quantum Slipstream Drive?"

Jay said: "I kept trying to imagine these characters (particularly Herrin) in the predicaments that we saw earlier, like "Year Of Hell" and "The Killing Game". " And Basics...and Demon...

"Good Shepherd" held my interest with its effective portrayals of the three sub-par crew members. I single out Mortimer Harren-- so angry, so critical, so convinced of his intellectual superiority-- for special praise, deserving of a place in upper hell with the other sullen souls. I loved how Janeway barely tolerated him, but slyly managed to parry, his nasty and disrespectful lunges at her. Tal Celes, I liked a lot. She just needed some encouragement, and seemed suited to work in Sickbay based on her innate empathy. Billy Telfer, the hypochondriac...glad that he survived, and glad that he overcame his debilitating neurosis. It was a good show, and I liked the minimalistic ending focused solely on Janeway, exhausted, but successful, but I do regret that these characters, who I grew to like, get no further exposition. 3.5 Stars

Correction... Tal Celes is seen later on in a different episode.

TELFER: It said, "Do not belong." HARREN: We don’t belong here. TAL: Or it didn’t belong in the Delta Flyer. That reminded me of the Horta's message "NO KILL I" in "The Devil in the Dark," when Kirk wondered if that was "a plea for us not to kill it" and Spock suggested it might mean that it wouldn’t kill them.

From Memory Alpha: "Seven types some data into a PADD and hands it to Tal, telling her to take it to Lieutenant Torres." Don’t they have e-mail in the twenty-fourth century? Or voice recognition software?

Jeffrey Jakucyk

TNG-era Star Trek never really managed to conceptualize wi-fi. That's the one big miss with PADDs and tricorders, they always need some direct connection with each other or a main computer console, even if a sort of near-field, Qi charging, just set it on the desk and it will connect sort of thing. The first mainstream rollout of a wi-fi enabled device was Apple's iBook, introduced in 1999, already halfway through Voyager's run. So a room-permeating wireless network just never seemed to cross the mind of the writers up to that point, with PADDs relegated more to the realm of 1990s PDAs or first-generation Kindles.

OmicronThetaDeltaPhi

@navamske "Don’t they have e-mail in the twenty-fourth century? Or voice recognition software?" There are places where voice recognition is far less convenient than typing. A busy workspace with lots of people running around is one on these places. The way PADDs are handled, though, is indeed silly. Lots of computer-related things from classic Trek have aged horribly once the internet came around.

Chattering Chaingang

They should have left Janeway out of it and stayed on Voyager and made it Breakfast Club in space.

Neelix the Cat

As someone with a lot of shipboard experience, I have to disagree with a few of the majority opinions expressed in the comment section. - While it might have been better earlier on, I don't think it's unreasonable that there were still "misfits" by S6. On a ship, even one not trapped in the Delta Quadrant, it's simply difficult to replace people, and there's no guarantee that the next person you get will be any better. At any given time there are always a couple of people who can't be trusted with much and that's sort of built into the system. The people around them pick up the slack and life goes on. In over a decade I only remember one person actually being fired and sent home. Humans are creatures of habit, people fall into routines very quickly and the routines persist unless something major comes along to disrupt them. I think it's totally possible to have many crewmembers on Voyager who are just "along for the ride" especially with all the cool kids hogging the Holodeck and the Astrometric Lab. - Janeway not knowing her way around Deck 15 is also pretty reasonable. People have their jobs and I'm sure Janeway always had something more pressing to do than stroll around a blank corridor. I often worked in the holds and knew all of their idiosyncrasies and knew all of the cargo by the end of a voyage. By contrast, the captains I worked for really had no clue about the state of the holds because there was always another email or spreadsheet to deal with. The captain disappearing into the holds is going to be a real problem because they're always being called on the phone or radio every few minutes. In the same vein, I knew the basic layout of the engine room but never went poking about just for fun because it was just something you didn't do. I imagine it would be pretty much the same on a starship. I appreciated that they used different sound design for Deck 15 as well to make it feel like an alien environment to the captain. - The 90s writers, who usually didn't know much about military or pseudo-military environments, actually nailed the types of "misfits" you find aboard ships. Telfer, the hypochondriac in the episode was genuine; in real life they are usually lazy people who just want light duties to accompany their paycheck. Once again, inconvenient to send them home, and expensive to send them to doctors, you kind of come to an unspoken arrangement where you don't ask too much of them and they keep their complaints to a minimum and ride out their tour. Celes, the incompetent, is also common, once again, others just usually pick up the slack around them and they do their time and move on. The third type, Harren, is pretty much everyone aboard ship though. Everyone is really only there for a paycheck, pretty stressed and short-fused. Instead of being an outlier, he is really par for the course. Also, no one really makes great friends aboard ships because of the workload and also everyone being split on different watch rotations, so not having an amazing social life wouldn't be seen as strange. I think it is more likely on military ships where the workload is lighter but even there you have too many people competing for free space. A person with Harren's temperament is actually pretty well-suited to mundane shipboard life. The people wanting to play Captain Proton all the time would be the ones having the tough time. - Celes didn't attend the Academy, it's said she took "Starfleet training courses," so she probably went through whatever Starfleet boot camp consists of. To "get in" she basically had to be of a certain age and in good health, not be the "best of the best" like Janeway and the others. Overall I liked this episode because I saw it more as a commentary on Janeway's failure to appreciate anyone that wasn't in her chosen clique. Club Janeway includes the usual senior officers but also Seven and Neelix who have no rank. All of them handle everything aboard ship and also get free passes constantly. I realize the budget is the reason for that but episodes like this help to balance it out a bit.

TheRealTrent

I thought this was a strong episode, with a lot of nice little touches: 1. Janeway doesn't know the layout of the ship's lower decks. 2. Janeway ably holds her own against the pretentious Mortimer (for every barb he throws her way, she has a sharp retort). 3. The aliens, while perfunctory, were mercifully allowed to be alien. They weren't fully explained, their motivations weren't bothered with, and they managed to retain their mystery. I generally like Janeway when she's portrayed as a protective mother, and this episode milks these traits well. Yes, it's odd that she suddenly cares about these "lost" crewmen so many years later, and the episode's climax is too neat, but her sense of love and concern shines through, and the episode captures well the closed-loop of Starfleet service; you serve it and it serves you.

I actually found myself thinking that maybe Chakotay had the right idea: Not everybody, not even everybody who makes it through Starfleet academy, is cut out for starship duty, and in the normal course of things in the Alpha Quadrant, the ones who aren't a good fit would wash out within a year. In the Delta Quadrant, they just don't have anywhere to wash out to. Last I heard, Starfleet wasn't like taking final vows in a Religious Order; these people haven't committed to stay for the rest of their lives. Would it really be so awful for these folks to be honorably discharged (after all, they made at least nominal efforts to keep doing the duties to which they may have come to believe themselves unsuited), and given some help to build civilian careers onboard? TNG, after all, showed us that there are roles for civilians on a starship. Would it really be so terrible for Celes to become "a waitress in the mess hall"?

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Recap / Star Trek Voyager S 6 E 20 Good Shepherd

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This episode provides examples of:

• Armor-Piercing Question : Janeway hits Harren with one when she gets fed up with his superiority complex: Janeway : Isn't there any part of you that feels a bond with the rest of us? When we escape from the Borg or discover a new type of star, don't you feel some pride of accomplishment? When you're in the mess hall, alone at your table in the corner, don't you see the friendships around you and wish, even for a microsecond, you were part of them?
• Armor-Piercing Response : Telfer gets in a few good responses to Harren's condescending attitude. Harren: Nothing disagrees with me more than having to put theories into practical use, but there's no choice, so pay attention to what we're doing here. You can check yourself into Sickbay when we get back. Telfer: And you can go back to Deck 15! Harren: That's right, where I don't have to rely on you or your intellectually deficient friend. Telfer: At least I have a friend.
• Body Horror : A large centipede-like alien takes up residence inside Telfer's body. We even see it slithering under his skin while he cries out in pain.
• Book Dumb : Maybe a little harsh, but Tal's issue has a bit to do with this; she's deathly afraid of math and anything technology-related, leading to constant and repeated mistakes.
• Break the Haughty : Harren's character arc in the episode; he's forced to confront the fact that many of his 'brilliant' theories on Dark Matter are wrong, and to face the realities of space exploration head on.
• Brick Joke : The first time we see Harren, he responds to a power-transfer request by saying that he's too busy disproving Schlezholt's Theory of Multiple Big Bangs, which apparently involves demolishing Wang's Second Postulate (whatever all that means). When Janeway comes to recruit him for the mission, he tries to invoke Schlezholt's Theory again, only for Janeway to warn him about Wang's Second Postulate popping up again.
• Brilliant, but Lazy : Harren's biggest problem, according to B'Elanna. Torres : When I give him more responsibility he doesn't do the work. Harren wants to be down on deck fifteen. It gives him more time to repostulate the origins of the universe.
• The Cameo : Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello cameos as Crewman Mitchell.
• Character Development : For all the misfits—Telfer gets over his hypochondria, Tal grows a spine , and Harren learns how to deal with weirdness head-on.
• Chekhov's Gunman : Tal has a cameo in "The Haunting of Deck Twelve".
• Delegation Relay : The episode starts by showing how a simple decision by Janeway on the bridge runs down the chain of command until it reaches Harren on Deck 15.
• Probably Morty.
• Everybody Hates Mathematics : Tal Celes. "In my nightmares, I am chased by algorithms. My brain just wasn't built to understand this."
• Exact Time to Failure : The typical case of predicting when the shock-wave will hit. Unfortunately, Tal (who can't do math) is put in charge of calculating it: "Shockwave impact in three, two, one. ( Beat as nothing happens) More or less."
• Exact Words : When Neelix accuses Tom of not having said two words to Harren, Tom claims otherwise. He said the two words, "Excuse me" after bumping into Harren in the corridor.
• Explosive Instrumentation : Harren sees it coming and calls for Telfer to cut the power, but Telfer's too wrapped up in another self-diagnosis.
• Fun with Acronyms : Z.G.I.F. - "Zero G Is Fun" - a mnemonic most likely from the Academy days, which translates to Techno Babble . Janeway: Zeta particle derivation. Gamma wave frequency. Ion distribution. Flow rate of positrons.
• Heroic Sacrifice : Harren tries to pull one, distracting the Dark-Matter creatures with his escape pod so the Flyer can escape. Considering the Delta Flyer had time enough to save him and escape, it probably would have been a Senseless Sacrifice .
• Hypochondriac : Telfer. Amazingly, his encounter with the alien bug cures it.
• Insufferable Genius : Why Harren is just fine secluded at the ass end of the ship (literally, Deck 15); he's about to disprove Schlezolt's Theory of Multiple Big Bangs, and he hates putting theories to practical use. He is a lazy thinker and always talks down to everyone. The only reason he's on Voyager in the first place is because his career path required a year of starship duty and he just happened to get assigned to the worst possible one. Notably, though, he tries pulling Techno Babble on Janeway (who comes from a science background) and she manages to flummox him with some additional theorems.
• Internal Deconstruction : Most Star Trek shows focus on seasoned protagonists who are destined for greatness and extremely talented at their jobs . This episode focuses on a trio of crewmen who for various reasons are not good at their jobs but have been stuck on Voyager because of their situation. And senior officers have been so wrapped up in big picture issues that the personal struggles of minor crew members have gone overlooked for years.
• Lower-Deck Episode : Deck 15 is as low as it gets on Voyager .
• More Expendable Than You : Harren steals an escape pod, intent on sacrificing himself to give the Delta Flyer time to escape, because he figures no one would care about his death. Averted when Janeway rescues him.
• A Mother to Her Men : Janeway takes the oversight of these crewman personally, going out of her way to help them overcome their personal issues and treating them as people rather than cogs in the lower decks.
• Mythology Gag : It's said that "Wang's Second Postulate has more lives than a cat." Given that Garrett Wang plays Harry Kim who's famous for being repeatedly killed off in this series...
• Negative Space Wedgie : An invisible one, but one powerful enough to rip a section of hull plating off.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero : When Harren kills the Dark Matter alien in the cockpit, Janeway berates him for killing an innocent being and ruining their chance for a peaceful first contact. Janeway : Based on direct observation— you murdered an alien being and destroyed any chance we had to make first contact.
• The Nicknamer : B'Elanna refers to Seven as the "Borg Queen".
• Nothing Is Scarier : Where was Telfer taken? And what was chasing the Flyer ?
• Obliviously Evil : The dark matter alien attempts to take over the Delta Flyer and reconfigure the life support systems to keep itself alive, so Harren shoots it to save the crew. Janeway berates him for killing an alien that may not have meant them any intentional harm.
• Oh, Crap! : Telfer's finally got a bug; a BIG one!
• Our Dark Matter Is Mysterious : Voyager encounters a species of dark matter lifeforms that take over Telfer's body and try to communicate. Harren panics and kills one of them, and the aliens attack the ship.
• Platonic Life-Partners : Tal and Telfer are clearly pretty good friends, but there's no indication of anything romantic.
• Puppeteer Parasite : The creature briefly takes control of Telfer's body.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits : These three are just ill fits for the kind of mission Voyager has turned out to be on.
• Remember the New Guy? : Justified as the three crewman are said to be at the lowest end of the hierarchy possible and actively trying to avoid being seen.
• Starfish Alien : The away team encounter what appears to be a dark matter alien, something that should be impossible. They don't get a chance to make any real contact, can't even really study what they are or want, and only barely escape the encounter with their lives.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome : As Chakotay says, not everyone is cut out for long-term space duty and it's common for even a promising Starfleet cadet to need to transfer to a less taxing assignment. Sadly, given they're thousands of light-years from the Federation, there's no such option for these crewmembers so some are having even more trouble than usual handling this.
• Surrounded by Idiots : Harren's opinion of the Voyager crew, and especially his shipmates on the Delta Flyer mission. He even talks down to Captain Janeway herself.
• Title Drop : Janeway will be playing the Good Shepherd to these three.
• What the Hell, Hero? : Janeway tears into Harren for shooting the alien bug against her orders. Janeway : What the hell is wrong with you! Harren : It was trying to kill us! Janeway : You don't know that! Harren : We were at risk! Janeway : I gave you a direct order! Harren : What if you were wrong?
• Star Trek: Voyager S6 E19: "Child's Play"
• Recap/Star Trek: Voyager
• Star Trek: Voyager S6 E21: "Live Fast and Prosper"

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Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2

Forget me not, et in arcadia ego, part 1.

Good Shepherd

When the crew of the USS Voyager is tasked to look after a group of young recruits, the crew’s faith in the Federation is put to the test.

Captain Kathryn Janeway and the rest of the crew of the USS Voyager are on a mission to explore the outer reaches of the Delta Quadrant. With their main priority being to make their way back to the Alpha Quadrant, the crew finds themselves on a long journey filled with unexpected dangers and surprises.

One such surprise comes in the form of a distress call from a Federation transport ship carrying six young recruits. As the Voyager crew rushes to the rescue, they find the transport ship adrift in space. The six recruits have been stranded for months and three of them have died in the interim. It is up to the Voyager crew to bring the survivors to safety.

When the crew arrives at the transport ship, they are shocked to find that the three survivors have been living in a state of near-total isolation. The decisions of their captain, who has since died, left the recruits feeling abandoned and betrayed by the Federation. As they prepare to escort the recruits to a nearby starbase, Janeway and her crew are determined to rebuild the recruits’ faith in the Federation.

The crew is also tasked with the difficult task of training the recruits and readying them for their Starfleet duty. With their main priority being the journey home, Janeway is hesitant to take on the extra burden of training the recruits. However, the crew soon realizes that the recruits’ success could be the key to a successful mission.

The crew sets out to prepare the recruits for their mission and begins teaching them the basics of starship operations. But, due to the lack of experience on the part of the recruits, Janeway and her crew soon find themselves confronted with a whole new set of challenges. The recruits must quickly learn how to work together, trust each other, and make the difficult decisions that come with commanding a starship.

As the crew battles against the clock to get the recruits ready for their mission, they must also confront their own doubts and fears about the Federation. With their own faith in the Federation challenged, the crew must find a way to come together and support each other. Together, the crew and the recruits will embark on a journey that will test their limits, push the boundaries of the Federation, and ultimately determine the faith of the Federation.

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Good Shepherd

Captain Janeway takes three crew members with poor performance records on an away mission in the Delta Flyer to bring them up to Starfleet standards. However, an unexpected collision with a Dark Matter comet leaves the crew in a dangerous situation. Plus, an unexpected attack forces them to work together to survive.

Zoe McLellan

Michael Reisz

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Kate Mulgrew

Robert Beltran

Roxann Dawson

Robert Duncan McNeill

Ethan Phillips

Robert Picardo

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Star Trek: Voyager

Good Shepherd

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Jay Underwood

Mortimer Harren

Michael Reisz

William Telfer

Kimble Jemison

Zoe McLellan

Tom Morello

Crewman Mitchell

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© 2011 CBS Corp.

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Star Trek: Voyager – Season 6, Episode 20

Good shepherd, where to watch, star trek: voyager — season 6, episode 20.

Watch Star Trek: Voyager — Season 6, Episode 20 with a subscription on Paramount+, or buy it on Vudu, Prime Video, Apple TV.

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Cast & crew.

Kate Mulgrew

Capt. Kathryn Janeway

Robert Beltran

Roxann Dawson

B'Elanna Torres

Robert Duncan McNeill

Ethan Phillips

Robert Picardo

Episode Info

Good Shepherd Stardate: 53753.2 Original Airdate: 15 March 2000

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