star trek bloopers voyager

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Star Trek: Voyager

Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is seventy-five years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home. Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is seventy-five years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home. Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is seventy-five years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.

• Rick Berman
• Michael Piller
• Jeri Taylor
• Kate Mulgrew
• Robert Beltran
• Roxann Dawson
• 427 User reviews
• 26 Critic reviews
• 33 wins & 84 nominations total

Episodes 168

Photos 2084

• Capt. Kathryn Janeway …

• Cmdr. Chakotay …

• Lt. B'Elanna Torres …

• Lt. Tom Paris …

• The Doctor …

• Lt. Tuvok …

• Ensign Harry Kim …

• Lt. Ayala …

• Voyager Computer …

• Seven of Nine …

• William McKenzie …

• Naomi Wildman

• Ensign Brooks

• Science Division Officer …
• Jeri Taylor (showrunner)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Stellar Photos From the "Star Trek" TV Universe

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia When auditioning for the part of the holographic doctor, Robert Picardo was asked to say the line "Somebody forgot to turn off my program." He did so, then ad-libbed "I'm a doctor, not a light bulb" and got the part.
• Goofs There is speculation that the way the Ocampa are shown to have offspring is an impossible situation, as a species where the female can only have offspring at one event in her life would half in population every generation, even if every single member had offspring. While Ocampa females can only become pregnant once in their lifetime, if was never stated how many children could be born at one time. Kes mentions having an uncle, implying that multiple births from one pregnancy are possible.

Seven of Nine : Fun will now commence.

• Alternate versions Several episodes, such as the show's debut and finale, were originally aired as 2-hour TV-movies. For syndication, these episodes were reedited into two-part episodes to fit one-hour timeslots.
• Connections Edited into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges (1999)

User reviews 427

• harrypothead42024
• Jan 19, 2019
• How many seasons does Star Trek: Voyager have? Powered by Alexa
• Why do the Nacelles of the Voyager pivot before going to warp?
• Is it true there is a costume error in the first season?
• How many of Voyager's shuttles were destroyed throughout the course of the show?
• January 16, 1995 (United States)
• United States
• Heroes & Icons
• Memory Alpha, the Star Trek wiki
• Star Trek: VOY
• Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant - 6100 Woodley Avenue, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Paramount Television
• United Paramount Network (UPN)
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 44 minutes
• Dolby Digital

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed

• The Inventory

These Hilarious Star Trek Videos Turn Bloopers Into Canon

Boy, there sure was a lot more high-fiving on the Enterprise than I remember.

Star Trek: The Next Generation was, for all its goofiness, played relatively straight. It was a serious sort of show , even if absurd things sometimes happened. It did not, as a rule, have a lot of gags. Star Trek INtakes by YouTuber Ryan’s Edits changes that, and in the process renders Star Trek ’s vibe absolutely absurd. The idea, so far as I can tell, is a simple one: edit outtakes together with the actual episode footage.

Related Content

This simple idea has incredible results, as normal Star Trek moments turn absurd, surreal, and incredibly funny. I laughed harder at these videos than I have at just about anything lately. There are a handful in a playlist on the Ryan’s Edits channel. The most recent one, featuring Worf and Riker, is one of the best.

The video is titled “Something’s Wrong With Worf”, but, really, it’s Riker I’m most concerned about here. Where’s he going? Is somebody going to stop him? All the videos have this quality, creating a sort of silly alternate universe, entirely chaotic version of the show. I don’t really think CBS should do an absurd art-house comedy version of Star Trek , but, based on this, I’ m pretty confident that if they did I would watch it.

For more, make sure you’re following us on our Instagram @ io9dotcom .

Advertisement

• Today's news
• Reviews and deals
• Climate change
• 2024 election
• Fall allergies
• Health news
• Mental health
• Sexual health
• Family health
• So mini ways
• Unapologetically
• Buying guides

Entertainment

• How to Watch
• My watchlist
• Stock market
• Biden economy
• Personal finance
• Stocks: most active
• Stocks: gainers
• Stocks: losers
• Trending tickers
• World indices
• US Treasury bonds
• Top mutual funds
• Highest open interest
• Highest implied volatility
• Currency converter
• Basic materials
• Communication services
• Consumer cyclical
• Consumer defensive
• Financial services
• Industrials
• Real estate
• Mutual funds
• Credit cards
• Balance transfer cards
• Cash back cards
• Rewards cards
• Travel cards
• Online checking
• High-yield savings
• Money market
• Home equity loan
• Personal loans
• Student loans
• Options pit
• Fantasy football
• Pro Pick 'Em
• College Pick 'Em
• Fantasy baseball
• Fantasy hockey
• Fantasy basketball
• Download the app
• Daily fantasy
• Scores and schedules
• GameChannel
• World Baseball Classic
• Premier League
• CONCACAF League
• Champions League
• Motorsports
• Horse racing
• Newsletters

New on Yahoo

• Privacy Dashboard

These Classic STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES Bloopers Are Still Hilarious Decades Later

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

Star Trek is in the midst of a golden age, with multiple series in production, and more on the way. But back in the ’70s, it seemed like Star Trek might never return. It might have gone down in history as a show that ran three years in the ’60s, got canceled, and got a cartoon . During that time, the Star Trek Convention was born. These cons kept the fans entertained during the “lost years” of the franchise. Before Star Trek: The Motion Picture relaunched the series. Often, the highlight of those cons, and the only “new” Star Trek material shown at them, was an 8MM reel of bloopers from the original show. Which you can watch right here:

These The Original Series gag reels showed William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , Nichelle Nichols, and the rest of the Enterprise crew walking into doors and flubbing technobabble lines. And, of course, cursing up a storm and cracking each other up at any given moment. They’re both goofy and hilarious. Now you can watch a full twenty minutes of these classic bloopers from Star Trek in their entirety, thanks to the YouTube channel Pop Culture Curator.

Although these The Original Series blooper reels were popular at cons, not every Star Trek cast member was happy about them. Someone originally edited them together for the cast and crew for wrap parties at the end of a season. They were never intended for public consumption. According to William Shatner’s memoir Movie Memories , Leonard Nimoy was particularly unhappy about this—especially as Trek creator Gene Roddenberry took these reels to conventions and made money from them.

Nimoy, in a very non-Vulcan move, wrote an impassioned letter to Roddenberry asking him to please stop showing the blooper reels at conventions. It put a rift in their relationship for years. Some believe it’s why Nimoy was the sole hold-out for the proposed 1977 continuation series, Star Trek: Phase II . But, once the blooper cat was out of the bag, it was too late. But as true Star Trek fans, we can’t lie. These The Original Series Star Trek bloopers are fun to watch now and a wonderful time capsule of the franchise’s early years.

Recommended Stories

Nfl draft: packers fan upset with team's 1st pick, and lions fans hilariously rubbed it in.

Not everyone was thrilled with their team's draft on Thursday night.

NFL Draft: Bears take Iowa punter, who immediately receives funny text from Caleb Williams

There haven't been many punters drafted in the fourth round or higher like Tory Taylor just was. Chicago's No. 1 overall pick welcomed him in unique fashion.

NFL Draft: Spencer Rattler's long wait ends, as Saints draft him in the 5th round

Spencer Rattler once looked like a good bet to be a first-round pick.

NFL to allow players to wear protective Guardian Caps in games beginning with 2024 season

The NFL will allow players to wear protective Guardian Caps during games beginning with the 2024 season. The caps were previously mandated for practices.

Michael Penix Jr. said Kirk Cousins called him after Falcons' surprising draft selection

Atlanta Falcons first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr. said quarterback Kirk Cousins called him after he was picked No. 8 overall in one of the 2024 NFL Draft's more puzzling selections.

Korey Cunningham, former NFL lineman, found dead in New Jersey home at age 28

Cunningham played 31 games in the NFL with the Cardinals, Patriots and Giants.

Panthers owner David Tepper stopped by Charlotte bar that criticized his draft strategy

“Please Let The Coach & GM Pick This Year" read a sign out front.

NBA playoffs: Tyrese Hailburton game-winner and potential Damian Lillard Achilles injury leaves Bucks in nightmare

Tyrese Haliburton hit a floater with 1.1 seconds left in overtime to give the Indiana Pacers a 121–118 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. The Pacers lead their first-round playoff series two games to one.

Based on the odds, here's what the top 10 picks of the NFL Draft will be

What would a mock draft look like using just betting odds?

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Widely available players ready to help your squad

Andy Behrens has a fresh batch of priority pickups for fantasy managers looking to close out the week in strong fashion.

8 WTF Moments In Star Trek: Voyager That Keep Me Up At Night

Thankfully the Delta Quadrant is far away.

Star Trek: Voyager contains some of the absolute best episodes in the Star Trek franchise, and, unfortunately, some of the worst as well. What's even more interesting, however, is that there are plenty of episodes with "wtf" premises, but none of those are entirely bad or good. When comparing it to similar features we've done on shows like The Next Generation , that's not common. 

Things can get a bit freaky in the Delta Quadrant. This list will prove that in spades as we recap some of the wilder moments from Star Trek: Voyager that have me staring at the ceiling on late nights and just wondering, why? Check out the list, and then binge these episodes with a Paramount+ subscription for a terrible night's sleep. 

When Tom And Janeway Turned Into Salamanders And Mated ("Threshold" Season 2 Episode 15)

It's hilarious that a Star Trek episode that won an Emmy is considered one of the worst of all time. Granted, that Emmy was for Outstanding Makeup, and there's no denying the makeup is incredible, even if the episode is awful and upsetting. In a quest to achieve Warp 10, the adventure somehow devolves into Janeway and Tom Paris turning into salamanders. 

Not only do Tom and Captain Janeway become salamanders, but also mate and have three children together. If that wasn't bizarre enough, Voyager decides to abandon those children upon rescuing Tom and Janeway, possibly so no one has to acknowledge it ever happened again. So many bizarre decisions were made for this episode that I can't help but lie awake and wonder how it ever got made. 

When An AI Clown Turned A Utopia Into A Neverending Nightmare (“The Thaw” Season 2, Episode 23)

"The Thaw" is a famous episode of Star Trek: Voyager thanks in no small part to a phenomenal performance by Better Call Saul actor Michael McKean. It's also known for its creepy premise, in which the Voyager crew finds a group of aliens trapped inside of a virtual reality simulation. B'Elanna and Harry go in to investigate, only to find the aliens hostage to an AI clown who has constructed an evil circus and is feeding on their fear. 

There's so much to really send a chill down your spine in this episode. The idea that an artificial intelligence could fuel itself on fear and physically impact the actual humanoids within it. There's also the wild reality that had Voyager not interfered, these lifeforms would've been trapped inside of a virtual hellscape until they finally gave up and died. In an age where we're giving more and more power to AI, the clown deserves his slot on Voyager 's greatest villains . 

How The Hirogen Gravitated Toward Nazism (“The Killing Game” Season 4 Episodes 18 and 19)

"The Killing Game" is a two-part adventure for Star Trek: Voyager in which the Hirogen captured the crew and kept them brainwashed inside a holodeck scenario in order to train and hunt them for sport. Out of the vast library of content available for training simulations, the Hirogen decided to be Nazis and have the Voyager crew work as French spies in the resistance. 

CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER

Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News

There's a part of me that acknowledges Star Trek: Voyager used that parallel intentionally, but thinking in-universe, it's scary to see the Hirogen adapt and relate to Nazi ideals so readily. One scary reality about the idea of extraterrestrials is them having a feeling of superiority and the advanced tech to do some real damage to those they believe are lesser than them. This one always makes me wary of potential first contact and the first species humanity could come across in real life should that day ever come. 

Janeway Temporarily Dies And Almost Has Her Spirit Taken By An Alien Ghost (“Coda” Season 3 Episode 15)

Captain Janeway wrestles with death in "Coda," though she's not immediately aware she's fighting for her life. What started as a time loop scenario devolved into an out-of-body ghost story in which Janeway is confronted by what she believed to be the spirit of her father. Janeway ultimately learns it's an alien hoping to seize her spirit to nourish itself, but fortunately, she makes it back to the land of the living. 

It's weird enough there's a corporeal alien spirit attempting to grab Janeway's soul. This being took things to the next level, however, by emulating her father! I know she made it out of the whole ordeal alright, but it's moments like these I'm amazed the Voyager crew isn't just wrecked with trauma from all they endured during this journey. Something like that would keep me up for weeks, and certainly not capable of resuming my duties as captain.  

The Doctor Changes His Programming And Starts Trying To Murder And Torture People (“Darkling” Season 3 Episode 18)

Self-improvement is a natural part of life, and when you're an EMH, it's pretty easy to accomplish. Unfortunately, The Doctor's attempt to better himself by taking on the personalities of past figures he admired resulted in crafting a dark persona that did some truly terrible things. This included trying to murder someone by pushing them off a cliff and paralyzing B'Elanna with a toxin when she tried to stop him. 

The most upsetting part of this was that The Doctor thought he was doing something for the betterment of everyone, and it had devastating consequences. Apparently the problem-solving of artificial beings isn't perfect even in the distant future either. It's all the more reason to make me just a bit leerier of the speaker assistant next to my bed. 

Kes Being Thrown Between Through Times In Various Points In Her Life (“Before And After” Season 3 Episode 21)

Kes is hurdled through time randomly in "Before And After" and is confused as she attempts to navigate chunks of her life she has lived and other moments she never experienced. It's all due to "chroniton particles" in her body, which nearly wiped her out of existence. Fortunately, The Doctor was able to purge Kes of the last of the chroniton particles as she became a single egg, which transported her back to the present timeline. 

"Before And After" really messed with me when I first watched it because I had no idea how I'd be able to navigate the whiplash of whipping between different times and ages. Just the thought of it makes me feel like I'm losing my mind, so all the credit in the world to Kes for keeping her wits about her and making it through the ordeal. 

Icheb Realizing His Parents Intentionally Gave Him Up To Attack The Borg (“Child’s Play” Season 6 Episode 19)

Star Trek: Voyager introduced Icheb as part of a mostly dead Borg colony, and it was believed he was stolen from his parents and assimilated. In "Child's Play," we learned that the actual reality was far darker. Icheb hailed from the Brunali people, who had managed to survive the Borg attacks on their planet for years thanks to their advanced understanding of genetics. Icheb eventually learned that he wasn't assimilated, but rather deliberately meant to be captured by the Borg because his DNA contained a virus that was fatal to adult Borg.

It's a terrible revelation and one that Icheb would've never known had the Voyager crew not pressed him to meet his parents. I feel like if I was one of those people that pushed, I would have trouble sleeping that night after finding out the type of people his parents truly are. 

The Traumatic Year Of Hell (“Year Of Hell” Season 4, Episodes 8 and 9)

Remember when Star Trek: Voyager crossed paths with a Krenim Captain hellbent on using his dangerous command of time to restore his species to its former glory and save his wife? Who would've thought one man's quest would send Voyager on a long battle that resulted in Tuvok losing his sight, the death of many crew members and a near end of this journey home?

"Year Of Hell" is in contention for one of the best Star Trek stories of all time, and possibly could have even worked as a standalone Voyager film . The amount of hardship, tragedy and pain that Captain Janeway and the crew endured would've broken any lesser individual. Janeway, of course, isn't just any individual, which may be why people want to see Kate Mulgrew's character back in live-action so badly. 

Star Trek: Voyager is available to stream right now on Paramount+. Be sure to hold onto that subscription for all the upcoming Star Trek shows around the corner and for access to other great sci-fi as well.  

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

Billie Eilish Opens Up About Sexuality After Being Outed On A Red Carpet: ‘The Whole World Suddenly Decided Who I Was’

After FBI: Most Wanted's Harrowing Close Call, One Easy-To-Miss Clue Has Me Hyped For The Season 5 Finale

Poor Henry Cavill’s Dealing With All The James Bond Questions Again After An AI Trailer Racked Up 3.5 Million Views

Most Popular

• 2 Nightbitch: Release Date, Cast, And Other Things We Know About Amy Adams' Upcoming Horror Movie
• 3 'There Are A Lot Of Suspicions': Elsbeth's Carra Patterson Talks Kaya's Conflict And Being 'Very Worried' About The Partnership
• 4 Every Best Picture Winner From The First 40 Years Of The Oscars
• 5 After New Details About Game Of Thrones’ Scrapped 10,000 Ships Spinoff, Here’s How Faithful It Would Have Been To George R.R. Martin’s Source Material

Star Trek: Jeri Ryan Reveals The Voyager Scene She Hates To This Day

The lore surrounding the fearsome Borg took a decidedly unexpected turn during the 4th season of "Star Trek: Voyager,"  when Jeri Ryan debuted the beloved "Trek" character Seven of Nine . Seven is, of course, a former Borg drone who spends the bulk of her "Voyager" tenure having her cybernetic implants removed, learning the honorable ways of Starfleet, and attempting to reconnect with who she was before being assimilated. That journey is often as hilarious as it is heart-wrenching, with the role making an instant "Star Trek" icon of Ryan. 

It remains a calling card to this day, with the actor discussing how she was cast in the role in a February 2023 interview with  StarTrek.com . Per Ryan, she was sent two scenes for the audition. And it seems she still doesn't much like one of them, describing it as "the infamous Harry Kim 'take off your clothes' scene that I've always hated."

Ryan doesn't clarify precisely what it is about the scene  that continues to draw her ire. But if you've seen it, you know it arguably errs on the side of cringe, with Seven using her still Borg-like logic to inadvertently bulldoze Harry Kim in regard to a perceived romantic advance. And yes, Seven's frankness throughout could make even the staunchest "Trek" fan squirm a little.

There's also one scene Jeri Ryan seriously regrets NOT shooting

It is hardly uncommon for Seven of Nine to speak so frankly to her Starfleet shipmates over the years, of course. Given that this particular scene opens with Harry Kim admitting his attraction to Seven, the subject of romance also seems inevitable. But part of the problem may be that Seven's bluntness in the moment is indicative of what some perceive to be the shameless over-sexualization of the character — a concept more clearly illustrated in the infamously skintight getups that serve as the character's uniforms. Whatever the case, it does seem a slightly odd scene for producers to push on an actor during the audition process. 

Still, as Ryan told StarTrek.com, the second scene was far more intriguing, and it remains one of her all-time favorites despite having never been shot. "The other [scene] — that we never ended up shooting — was one of the most beautifully written scenes I've ever seen for any audition, before or since," she said. "It was a scene of Seven — I think she was with Chakotay — having her first memories of laughter."

While the first scene apparently came close to turning Ryan off to the role, she admitted the second really sold her on the character's potential, saying, "It was so beautiful, and I saw what the potential for this character could be and the growth that she could have." Though Seven's pre-Borg life was talked about with some regularity on "Star Trek: Voyager," it really feels like a missed opportunity that this particular scene was left out of the mix. And it seems Jeri Ryan still has some pretty strong feelings about it too.

• Buy the Book…
• Reviews Hub

the m0vie blog

Following Us

• Adding Our RSS Feed to Your Gmail
• Following our Feed in Internet Explorer
• Millennium (Reviews)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Reviews)
• Star Trek: Enterprise (Reviews)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation (Reviews)
• Star Trek: The Original Series (Reviews)
• Star Trek: Voyager (Reviews)
• The X-Files (Reviews)
• X-Files Fandom Poll Form

Check out the Archives

Awards & Nominations

Star Trek: Voyager – Innocence (Review)

This February and March, we’re taking a look at the 1995 to 1996 season of Star Trek , including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and  Star Trek: Voyager . Check back daily for the latest review.

One of the remarkable things about the first two seasons of Star Trek: Voyager is the way that they seem to hark back to the aesthetic of classic Star Trek .

There is a palpable goofiness to some of the ideas in the second season that feels very much in keeping with the mood and tone of the classic sixties series. There’s a surprising amount of high-concept science-fiction allegory running through the first two seasons of the show, with the writer playing with concepts not too far removed from the space! Romans of Bread and Circuses or the half-black half-white allegories of Let That Be Your Last Battlefield . There are points where Voyager seems to drift away from literalism and wander into sci-fi wackiness.

Kids these days…

There were elements of this to be found in the first season, with Caretaker awkwardly literalising the franchise’s wild west metaphor by having Janeway’s first planetfall occur on a desert world with a primitive aggressive population. The Kazon and the Vidiians seemed like they escaped from pulpy science-fiction serials, with the show even going so far as to present the Vidiians as body horror space nazis in episodes like Phage and Faces . This is to say nothing of the Cold War paranoia of Cathexis or the primary colour atomic anxiety of Time and Again .

However, this tendency really kicked into high gear during the second season, with the crews’ dreams conspiring to kill them in Persistence of Vision , Chakotay meeting his people’s space! gods (er… “sky spirits” ) in Tattoo , Voyager embroiling itself in a “robotic war” in Prototype and Paris “evolving” into a salamander in Threshold . There was a sense that the show was embracing the sort of high-concept sci-fi weirdness that Star Trek: The Next Generation had spent so much of its run trying to avoid, and had only really embraced in its final years.

Bennet, we hardly knew ye.

That is particularly apparent in this stretch of episodes towards the end of the second season. Innocence has a species that ages backwards, enjoying a simple allegory without getting too caught up in the internal logic of the situation. The Thaw is arguably a much greater visual tribute to the style and tone of the original Star Trek than Flashback could ever claim to be. Tuvix is a classic transporter accident story, reversing The Enemy Within . These pulpy elements of Voyager would never quite go away, but they would never be as pronounced as they were in the first two years.

Innocence is a weird and goofy little story that works best as a modern fairy tale. It is arguably proof that the Star Trek franchise probably works better as metaphorical allegory than straight-up science-fiction.

Eye see…

One of the more interesting aspects of nineties Star Trek is the seriousness with which it takes itself. Classic Star Trek was decidedly goofy science-fiction, with Kirk and Spock frequently crossing paths with the absurd and the ridiculous. Episodes like  Arena and Patterns of Force lend themselves to mockery from all corners of life. The image of William Shatner wrestling with a guy in a green lizard suit looks crazy, even in context; the idea of an entire planet modelling themselves on the Third Reich so they can bully their neighbours from “Zion” is just nuts.

The classic Star Trek encourages a certain sense of affectionate derision. Whether it’s William Shatner’s performance style or the incongruity of Kirk dressed as a gangster or an alien that looks like a giant pizza, the classic Star Trek was packed full of weird and zany imagery that occasionally seemed like a fever dream of fifties and sixties pulp science-fiction horror. It is easy to joke about Klingon foreheads or the cardboard sets, so these gags became something of a pop cultural shorthand.

Vulcan bedtime stories…

When the production team made an effort to update Star Trek for the eighties and nineties, there was a conscious effort to downplay the goofier elements of the franchise. This was evident in a number of different ways. The ship sets were built sturdier, the background music was toned down, the show shied away from traditional soundstage planetscapes after Hide & Q and The Arsenal of Freedom . The plots arguably got toned down as well, with nineties Star Trek largely avoiding the broad (almost lyrical) allegorical style of classic Star Trek .

This is perhaps responsible for the stock criticisms of The Next Generation as “stuffy” or “staid.” The production team working on The Next Generation arguably took themselves a lot more seriously than their counterparts working on the original Star Trek , possibly as a result of the growing mythology around the franchise and possibly as a reaction against the affectionate mockery that the original series received. This is perhaps why the Best Drama Emmy nomination was such a big deal for the show in its final year; it finally broke out of the sci-fi ghetto.

This doesn’t quite scan.

Producer Rick Berman was a major proponent of this move to tone down the more stylistic elements of the Star Trek franchise. He was very keen that the The Next Generation and surrounding shows should be taken seriously. He was notably opposed to the inclusion of gag and blooper reels from the franchise :

I have been opposed to gag reels simply because Star Trek is something that always borders on the silly. You’ve got people flying at impossible speeds and spaceships defying gravity. You’ve got a lot of things that are accepted, but that are almost scientifically ridiculous. It’s so easy to turn it into a parody.

There are a whole host of feature film directors who adopt a similar policy; Christopher Nolan is not fond of outtakes or alternate takes, because he feels that it might potentially discourage actors from attempting more experimental interpretations of the material .

Under an alien moon…

However, there is just the faintest hint of insecurity about the insistence that nineties Star Trek should be taken completely seriously. After all, the line between “serious” and “ridiculous” is quite arbitrary when discussing a franchise with magic machines that can move people impossible distances in the blink of an eye and most aliens resemble humans with odd shapes stuck their forehead. Suspension of disbelief is a notoriously subjective concept, and it is hard to argue that Klingons are somehow less silly than Gorn.

Then again, this is arguably a feature of any discourse on genre entertainment. Consider the energy spent trying to justify the crazy pseudo-science of Star Trek , which seems to exist so that fandom can claim that the franchise is somehow “more realistic” than looser genre work. It is not uncommon to hear fans argue that Star Trek must be superior to Star Wars because “it’s science-fiction” as opposed to “science fantasy.” Even Neil deGrasse Tyson has gotten in on the act, arguing, “I never got into Star Wars. Maybe because they made no attempt to portray real physics. At all.”

“I’ll be right back…”

Perhaps this explains why episodes like Threshold tend to upset fandom more than grossly offensive racist nonsense like Tattoo or Alliances . Episodes like Threshold undermine the argument that the pseudo-science of Star Trek makes any sort of sense, and so it becomes something that must be immediately (and aggressively) exiled from the Star Trek canon before somebody can raise their hand to reference it during the next “Star Trek is scientifically plausible” debate. Of course, Threshold is a terrible episode of television, but generates a stunningly disproportionate amount of hate.

To be fair, this is entirely a matter of personal taste; it is up to everybody to decide what they like about a particular franchise and what they don’t like. However, it frequently seems like “Star Trek is somehow more plausible or realistic” is treated as an absolute indicator of objective quality. The argument is not “I prefer Star Trek because…” , but rather “Star Trek is better because…” There is a staggering amount of energy invested in the credibility (particularly the scientific credibility) of the Star Trek franchise.

State of disrepair…

To be fair, this issue of classification is not unique to Star Trek fans. There is a wider conflict about classification in the context of science-fiction and fantasy, with the act of classification implicitly treated as a measure of quality. As Joyce G. Saricks notes in The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction :

One last issue to consider in working with fantasy fans is a controversy among writers, a certain snobbishness it seems, about the superiority of genre over another. There seems to be a feeling among some writers and readers that Science Fiction is the genre designation of choice, and that it is better to be considered a writer of Science Fiction than a writer of Fantasy. This affects a pair of very popular authors: Anne McCaffrey and Marion Zimmer Bradley. Both state emphatically that they write Science Fiction, but their books are beloved by Fantasy fans, and probably cherished more by them than by readers of Science Fiction. Yes, there may be a scientific basis for these stories set in other worlds, but the feel of the stories and characters appeals far more readily to Fantasy fans than to Science Fiction readers.

There is something deeply frustrating about the way that this conflict serves to stifle debate and discussion of works, suggesting that classification must come first – to decide whether a work is worth discussing. There is an irony in this, given both science-fiction and fantasy are treated like this by the mainstream .

“Close your eyes and count to ten…”

Of course, Innocence is a story that is very hard to explain away as being “more realistic” or more “scientific” than the fantastical concepts underlying the Star Wars universe. Tuvok crashes on a strange planet, where he encounters a group of what appear to be children who survived a recent crash. However, it is eventually revealed that these survivors are not children at all. They are members of a species that age backwards. These “children” are older than most of the crew of Voyager, with the notable exception of Tuvok himself.

How does that work, biologically speaking? How can a person be born as an old person and then age backwards to the point where the normal traits of age reverse themselves? The casting of the episode emphasises that the Drayans literally age backwards. They appear more human-like than most Star Trek aliens, a clever visual choice that exists to emphasise the bizarre nature of their lifecycle. After all, Aron Eisenberg couple play a teenage Ferengi and a teenage Kazon while in his mid thirties; a more stylised make-up design could mute the story’s metaphor.

Jeez, Tuvok. At least put the safety on.

Lisa Klink’s script is decidedly ambiguous about how precisely Drayan biology (or even society) works. Corin and Elani literally disappear off-screen, leaving behind only their uniforms. Did they literally age back to babies? Did they just evaporate? The fact that they appear to be ten years old does suggest that Drayan ages do not map to human ages on a one-to-one basis. Even Alcia’s choice of words in explaining the process is coy, “This is a normal biological process which begins the day we are created.” Drayans are not “born” , they are “created.”

It is a very goofy concept, but one that works surprisingly well as an allegory or metaphor. Innocence is a story that could easily have been told using the original Star Trek cast, with the weird Drayan biology seeming just as surreal or absurd as the ghost of Jack the Ripper in Wolf in the Fold or half-finished sets in The Spectre of the Gun . However, it is part of a much broader literary tradition;  “aging backwards” is a storytelling chestnut, a starting point which allows the author to provide telling commentary on the human condition.

“The foot is down.”

Perhaps the most famous example of such a tale is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , published in 1922. However, Fitzgerald was far from the first writer to tackle the subject. Roda Roda wrote Die sieben Leidenschaftenm in 1921, but J. Storer Clouston provided an early example with The Prodigal Father in 1909. By the time Andrew Sean Greer published The Confessions of Max Tivoli in 2003, the trope was old hat :

I hadn’t heard of the Fitzgerald story until my book was published. I thought I’d invented the idea. Such hubris! The vanity of a solitary writer! Now whenever I do a reading, people say, “You know, there’s a Star Trek episode about people aging backwards.” Mork and Mindy had a character age backwards!

The premise of Innocence , although fantastical, is arguably no less silly than warp drive or the replicator. It is a story that is hard to classify as “science-fiction” in any meaningful sense, unless  “science-fiction” is broadly interpreted to mean “it has space ships and aliens in it.” It is perhaps an example of Star Trek successfully skewing towards fantasy.

You’ve got to be kidding…

To be fair, this does mean that Innocence is covering well well-trodden ground. “At this age they become easily confused,” Alicia tells Tuvok. “Their memories are clouded. Near the end of life we reach a state of complete innocence. We free ourselves from all responsibilities to this life and we leave it peacefully.” We get it; in some ways being a elderly is like being a child. The idea that the human life cycle is somewhat cyclical – that we revert back to children as we grow older – is a nice punchline to a short story, but it loses some of its impact through repetition.

As such, Innocence shrewdly structures itself so that the reveal of the true nature of the survivors is preserved until the final scene; the episode knows better than to labour a point that has already been thoroughly explored and discussed. However, this creates something of a problem for the episode. The idea that the “children” are really a bunch of old people might not be particularly novel, but it is the best idea that Innocence has. A lot of the episode is spent stalling as it builds towards that final scene.

“You have been, and always shall be, a background extra.”

Then again, the episode’s slow pace allows the various elements room to breath. There are lots of charming individual elements of Innocence . The teaser features yet another dead Voyager crewmember, but at least the episode has time to afford Ensign Bennet a few lines of dialogue before he passes away. Bennet’s monologue is a little blunt and heavy-handed, but he still feels more fleshed out and developed than Jonas or Hogan. More than that, Tuvok’s attempts to counsel him provide a nice character moment for Tuvok.

The sequences of Alicia touring the ship with Janeway are charming in their own relaxed low-stress sort of way. There is room for philosophical conversation and the civil exchange of ideas. Alicia’s interactions with the EMH underscore just how wonderful Robert Picardo is, even when afforded precious little material. Innocence is definitely more relaxed than Deadlock or The Thaw , but it never drags. The pacing feels deliberate rather than indulgent. It is hardly a classic episode, but it certainly above the season average.

Death becomes her…

Lisa Klink’s script is aware of the ridiculous nature of the premise. More than once, the dialogue draws the audience’s attention to the fact that this is an allegorical tale about the human condition. When the survivors talk about “the Morrok” , it is quite clear that they are referring to the anthropomorphised representation of the concept of death – a Drayan Grim Reaper. “The Morrok is what takes you when you die,” Tressa tells Tuvok. “It lives here in the cave,” Corin elaborates. “You can only see it when it comes for you,” Elani adds. “Then it’s too late.”

The cave is an important part of Innocence . It seems like Corin and Elani are drawn there before they die. It is not home to any living creature, but instead to the abstract concept of death itself. Quite cleverly, Klink’s teleplay mirrors the allegory playing out on the planet to the conversations happening on Voyager. “One of our greatest philosophers, Plato, wrote that what we see around us are only poor shadows of ideal objects which exist on a higher plane,” Janeway explains to Alicia, an acknowledgement that Innocence itself is playing with abstract concepts.

In fact, Klink’s teleplay seems to touch on the fact that Innocence is a clear departure from the pseudo-science trappings that fans have come to expect from nineties Star Trek . In her meetings with Alicia, Janeway ruminates on the idea that science is really a secondary concern to Voyager and her crew. “Do your people consider advanced technology to be their highest achievement?” Alicia asks. Janeway responds, “Not as an end in itself. The purpose of all this is to help up gain knowledge about the universe and the people in it.”

The warp core does not exist as proof of some underlying physics concept or as theoretical model of scientific advancement; the warp nacelles do not operate according to the physics that underlie the real world, at least not in any concrete manner. Instead, the warp engine exists as a means to get the characters on Star Trek into new stories with new characters. The pseudo-science of Star Trek is not an end of itself; it is a means to an end. Similarly, the transporter does not exist because of anything related to science, but because the production team needed a budget saver.

“Most of those words don’t make sense.”

There is an almost lyrical quality to Innocence . Even the costuming of the Drayan representatives feels delightfully operatic and overstated; Alicia and her companions board Voyager dressed in black robes and with shawls drawn over their faces, as if stuck in a perpetual state of morning. The survivors of the crash are all dressed in jumpsuits in strong primary colours. This is perhaps a stylistic nod to the aesthetic of the original Star Trek , albeit one less pronounced than the entire production design of The Thaw .

It helps that Innocence is centred around Tuvok. Although Tim Russ was woefully underused on Voyager , the character of Tuvok creates a very clear link back to the original Star Trek . (That link would be cemented in Flashback .) As the first full-blooded Vulcan regular on a Star Trek show, Tuvok creates a very strong link back to Spock. Appropriately enough, Tim Russ’ performance is very informed by Leonard Nimoy’s characterisation of Spock. If Innocence is a conscious throwback to the style of the original Star Trek , Tuvok is the perfect character to drop into it.

Wise beyond (or perfectly appropriate to) her years…

It is Tuvok who anchors Innocence , providing (ironically enough) the heart of the tale. As Lisa Klink explained to Cinefantastique :

The premise sounds hokey – Tuvok is trapped on a planet with a bunch of children – but it really isn’t as hokey as it sounds. When they gave me that premise to work on, my reaction was, ‘God this is going to be a sit-com.’ It really did not turn out that way at all. I think it came together well, because Tuvok has children at home so it was a chance to explore him as a father. What are Vulcan fathers like? How do they raise their children? And there is also a little mystery on the planet: these children are disappearing one by one. So Tuvok has to determine what is going on.

As the only regular cast member with full nuclear family back home, Tuvok makes sense as the protagonist of this particular story.

“Don’t tell mom the babysitter’s Vulcan.”

Innocence arrives near the end of Michael Piller’s tenure on Star Trek . He would depart the television franchise after the end of Voyager ‘s second season, having been responsible for a number of disastrous creative decisions over the course of the year. Looking the choices that Piller advocated over the course of the second season, it is perhaps fair to argue that the writer was past his creative prime. His refusal to accept that the Kazon weren’t ever going to work suggested a producer out of touch with the Star Trek franchise.

At the same time, Innocence works well as a reminder of the fundamentals that Michael Piller brought to the franchise when he took over stewardship of The Next Generation during its troubled third season. Piller was a writer who advocated that story should serve character, that the franchise’s science-fiction concepts should never overwhelm the cast. Piller advocated for every story to impact or inform the primary cast in some meaningful or substantial way; they should be more than mere passengers, they should be participants.

“It appears I am still old enough to send you to your room.”

Tuvok is a good fit for Innocence . While not a quintessential “Tuvok story” in the way that Meld or Gravity is, it is hard to imaging Innocence working as well with Paris or Torres at the centre of the story. Klink credits Piller’s philosophy for helping her to successfully focus Innocence :

I also enjoyed working for Michael Piller. I never found him too critical. He was famous among the staff for always asking: “What’s it about?” In a big picture sense.  Is the story about a character wrestling her inner demons, or about how paranoia can infect a group? I remember him asking that question about my episode Innocence, which stranded Tuvok on a planet with a bunch of kids. In the first story meeting: “But what’s it about?” Fortunately, I was ready. “It’s about Tuvok as a father. How do Vulcans raise their children to be logical?” Good enough. We continued breaking the ep.

Of course, Innocence is not necessarily the most informative or insightful Tuvok episode, but the focus on the character helps to make the episode more than just a fantastical allegory about the experience of aging.

“Yes, EMH does stand for ‘engagingly mannered holographic programme’.”

Innocence is not a particularly strong episode of Voyager , but it is an interesting episode that feels decidedly old-fashioned in its execution.

Share this:

Filed under: Voyager | Tagged: allegory , cave , drayans , fantasy , innocence , lisa klink , reverse ageing , star trek , star trek: voyager , Tim Russ , tuvok , Vulcans |

10 Responses

It’s funny that this is the episode where you brought up Berman’s stance on the blooper reel, considering when they did release Voyager bloopers one of the best is from “Innocence,” where Tim Russ runs away from the cave at the climax: “I ain’t going in there!” (Based on that reel, Russ had a terrific sense of humour he sadly didn’t get to show off; Beltran’s laid-back demeanour is also a lot more fun than uptight Chakotay)

I did not know that. The joy of coincidences!

I have to disagree that Innocence does not drag. I think the children scenes go on for far too long, and it does not make sense to me why the Aliens do not simply tell Voyager what is going on with the children. Why is telling Voyager “they are old” so hard? This episode is just built on too many contrivances for my taste, which is unfortunately a consistent element in Lisa Klink’s writing. Even one of her better scripts, Hippocratic Oath, is built on the ridiculous coincidence that a shuttle just happened to crash land right next to the Jem’hadar.

Weren’t O’Brien and Bashir lured to the planet by the engines of the crashed Jem’Hadar ship? Which justifies them crashing right on top of it, I think.

It is a fair point about the contrivance necessary for Innocence to work.

Here starts a new Voyager tradition. Whatever shuttle Tuvok steps inside of, it will crash.

We’re fast approaching a point where Voyager defies analysis. It has kicked the series premise to the curb. It’s not trying to win a Peabody award. Apart from “Memorial” and “Nemesis”, there are no more message shows on the horizon. This is feel-good fantasy television for children.

I’d consider “Remember Me” to be a message show, but I think you’re right. We’re entering the No-Danger-Zone, so to speak.

I guess no more rides to the Danger Zone then. Damn.

Alcia’s line about the technology became more important then the people could apply to Trek as well. The Drayans abandoned this belief to return to themselves and that’s what Michael Piller achieved on TNG with great success. I would have liked that thinking applied to Voyager more because modest episodes like Meld and Jetrel have been where the show has really scored up until now.

One thing I especially liked about Innocence is how Tuvok fails miserably to discipline Tressa, Corin and Elani, even though he’s a father of four. It’s like how his teaching methods failed to yield any results with the Maquis in Learning Curve because he’s used to raising children as emotionless as he is, not ones with short attention spans and no time for exercises in deconstructing emotion.

During Alcia’s tour of the ship, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the crew are bending over backwards to be nice (even the Doctor!) because the Drayans have a resource the crew are in desperate need of. It was more then just a cultural exchange between two peoples but more a case of “I’m Ok. You’re Ok. Even though you all wear silly veils, you do have something we want”.

I think Hogan could have been better developed if he had been given the chance, but it’s amusing that the biggest impact he had on an episode was as a pile of bones in Distant Origin where his remains proved a common ancestry between humans and a hyper-evolved dinosaur species, the Voth.

It’s funny how everyone, including the show’s own writers think Tuvok crashed (and brought the shuttle back intact for once!) on a planet. But it was on one of the moons of Drayan II.

That’s a very fair point about Tuvok’s own children being logic-less. I hadn’t thought of it that way, but it probably makes a great deal of sense. Although I think Gravity makes it clear that Vulcan children are not as emotionless as their elders, I suspect even being raised in so emotion-free an environment probably makes them a bit more stoic by default.

I just recently watched Into the Fold, an episode of The Orville where the robotic Isaac had to babysit Dr Finn’s two sons on an inhospitable planet. Isaac’s dispassionate way of discipline was hilarious to watch like when after they’re bickering becomes too much to bear, he took they’re handheld video game off them and vapourised it, he flatly tells them a bedtime story in a monotone voice before reciting it in Dr Finn’s voice and he gives them a weapon to protect themselves from scavengers. That episode really did remind me of Innocence.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Recent Posts

• 373. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (#225)
• 371. Poor Things (#246)
• 370. Dune: Part Two (#12)
• 369. Memento (#57)
• 368. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (#154)

Recently tweeted…

• "I Simply Am Not There": The Existential Horror of Eighties Excess in "American Psycho"...
• Star Trek: The Original Series (Reviews)
• Crime and Pun-ishment: The Art of the CSI One-Liner
• Star Trek: Voyager (Reviews)

Available at…

Blogs Well Worth Your Time

• 1001 Must See Films
• Andrew at the Movies
• Anomalous Material
• Cut the Crap Movie Reviews
• Encore Entertainment
• Fandango Groovers
• FlixChatter
• Four of Them
• It Rains… You get Wet…
• Jameson Cult Film Blog
• Jar Watches Films
• Let's Go To The Movies
• M. Carter at the Movies
• Marshall and the Movies
• Movie News First
• Musings from a Man Lost in La Mancha
• Never Mind Pop Film
• Paragraph Film Reviews
• Roger Ebert's Journal
• Ross v. Ross
• Scannain.com
• Screenwriter (Donald Clarke, Irish Times)
• Strange Culture
• The Film Cynics
• The Pompous Film Snob
• The Projection Booth
• Things That Don't Suck
• Too Busy Thinking About My Comics
• Undy a Hundy

Film Nerd Resources

• CinemaBlend (News)
• Internet Movie Database
• Rope of Silicon
• The Guardian Film Blog
• James Berardinelli
• Roger Ebert

Email Subscription

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address:

Sign me up!

Blog at WordPress.com. WP Designer.

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

• April 26, 2024 | Michael Dorn Wanted Armin Shimerman To Play The Ferengi That Worf Killed In Star Trek Picard
• April 26, 2024 | Podcast: All Access Gets To Know The Breen In ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ 505, “Mirrors”
• April 25, 2024 | Prep Begins For ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Season 3 Finale; Cast And Directors Share BTS Images
• April 25, 2024 | Jonathan Frakes Sees Opportunities With Streaming Star Trek Movies, Weighs In On “Filler Episodes”
• April 25, 2024 | Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Reflects On Its Choices In “Mirrors”

‘Star Trek: Voyager’ Documentary Gives Production Update; Releases Sneak Peek Video

| August 29, 2021 | By: Brian Drew 72 comments so far

The Star Trek: Voyager documentary To the Journey was featured on a panel at this month’s 55-Year Mission Las Vegas Star Trek convention that included details on where they are in production and what they have planned. They also showed  a sneak peek, which is now available online.

To the Journey production continues

After wrapping up a record-breaking $1.2 million crowd-funding campaign earlier this year, the documentary team set up a new studio to shoot more interviews in June . At the Las Vegas panel, producer/director Dave Zappone said the team was still “deep in production,” but had already completed a number of interviews. He mentioned a couple of standouts, including one with Star Trek: Voyager co-creator Jeri Taylor (who was a surprise guest on the panel), thanking her and saying “She had us up to her home in northern California and our crew took over her house. It was a wonderful interview and you could not have been more gracious.” He also mentioned Robert Beltran’s interview, saying he sat down for them for two and half hours and it “really blew me away,” adding the actor “was just so open, he is just a wonderful, wonderful guy.”

A number of interviews with members of the cast were done in 2020 during a Voyager  reunion on Star Trek: The Cruise. This summer they have been bringing in more people who worked on the show, including guest stars and behind-the-scenes creatives. In Vegas, the team played the following video to the crowd that showcased some of the people who had dropped by the studio over the summer.

Behind the scenes, bloopers, HD, and more

Zappone assured the audience that the doc will not just be talking heads, mentioning that they are working their way through archives to find more footage shot contemporaneously with  Star Trek: Voyager in the ’90s. There is some particular material he was interested in, saying, “I am looking for the infamous blooper reel. We are looking everywhere for that.”

Voyager actor Garrett Wang has also been helping out with the doc and was part of the panel as well. He talked about how he and others are contributing their own footage:

I do have some footage from my own camera… So that’s the plan. It’s not just myself. There are other people that have documented their time on Voyager . That can definitely supplement this documentary.

The team is also planning on shooting footage on the Paramount lot with Garrett Wang giving a tour of where Voyager was shot and what it was like during that time. And with the team headed to the Destination Star Trek Germany convention to shoot more footage, including a Voyager reunion panel, Zappone revealed they are also going to take some time out to accept an invitation from the European Space Agency to visit their facilities and put Wang through some astronaut training.

One of the stretch goals for the crowd-funding was to help the team convert original Voyager footage into high-definition, and Zappone talked about how this was still a goal of the doc. “We are planning to upres—hopefully—the original 35 millimeter [film] like we did with What We Left Behind. ”

Garrett Wang, Jeri Taylor, Lolita Fatjo, and David Zappone at 55-Year Mission convention, Las Vegas, August 2021 (Photo: TrekMovie.com)

Why Voyager ?

To the Journey is the latest of a series of Star Trek documentaries produced by Zappone and his production company. He talked about how he has been surprised by the fan reaction so far:

Having done what we did with What We Left Behind and partnering with Ira [Steven Behr] who was an amazing collaborator, I knew the love for Deep Space Nine . I guess I didn’t realize it was just as great for Voyager . The fans are just as rabid, just as passionate. That is my pleasant surprise.

In 2020, right before the pandemic hit, the team was able to shoot footage of a  Voyager cast reunion on Star Trek: The Cruise, which Zappone said was crucial to the doc, adding, “If we didn’t have that, I honestly don’t think we would have a film.” He also talked about how they got a lot of great footage from fans on the cruise and promised that they will use as much as they can, saying, “the emotional reactions and the impact Voyager had [on the fans], it just blew me away.”

From To the Journey footage filmed on the 2020 Star Trek: The Cruise

When a fan asked what made  Voyager different, the answers revealed some variety in what the team was looking at in terms of some of the themes of the doc. Co-producers Lilita Fatjo (who also worked on Voyager) offered her personal take:

As the only female on stage, I honestly have to say it was because there was a female captain. I had the privilege of working with Michael [Piller], Jeri [Taylor], and Rick [Berman] for years. And being part of two shows that were created– Deep Space Nine and Voyager –and just watching them create these shows and characters was amazing, but I would have to say it was because of Captain Janeway.

Zappone added on to that:

It’s not just Captain Janeway, it’s the strong women in general. Roxann Dawson and of course Jeri Ryan, and Jennifer Lien was also strong. So not just the captain.

Garrett Wang said he felt the show stood out for having “amazing chemistry” amount the cast from the start, but he also talked about the diversity of the show being a key differentiator. He he took some pride in his own contribution, pointing out how after George Takei, there were no Asian-Americans on TNG or DS9 in the main cast:

One out of every five people in this world is Chinese—not Asian, Chinese—that’s a lot. There should be an Asian in every Star Trek. Voyager [had a] Native American first officer, Asian-American ops officer, African-American Vulcan.

Zappone noted something that came up in Garrett’s documentary interview which was how at the time of the show in the 1990s, he was the only Asian-American series regular on television. Wang also told a story of later meeting Lost star Daniel Dae Kim who thanked him, saying he’d “paved the way.”

Kate Mulgrew from To the Journey

Hoping for a theatrical event and streaming

It’s too early to talk about how the doc will be released, but Zappone did say that in addition to being distributed on Blu-ray he was hoping to follow the same route as What We Left Behind and do a short theatrical release with Fathom Events, which he noted had sold out 1,000 theaters. After that, he said he expected the doc to become available for streaming, but wasn’t sure which service might pick it up.

To keep updated on the project, visit voyagerdocumentary.com .

More from Vegas

We still have some more from the con, so stay tuned to TrekMovie for updates. And don’t forget to check out the coverage we’ve already posted .

Find more  news on Star Trek documentaries .

Related Articles

Books , Review , Star Trek: Picard , VOY

Review: Action-Packed ‘Star Trek: Picard: Firewall’ Reveals Seven’s Compelling Quest For Identity

Conventions/Events/Attractions , Trek Franchise

Creation Brings Back Regional Star Trek Conventions Starting In San Francisco This Weekend, Chicago In Fall

Comics , DS9 , VOY

All Eyes Are On Lieutenant Harry Kim In Preview Of ‘Star Trek’ #17

ENT , Interview , VOY

Exclusive: ‘Gremlins’ Star Zach Galligan On Being In ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ And In The Running For Trip On ‘Enterprise’

That trailer was edited horribly. Why is it that these fan efforts always have such clunky production values?

I thought it was fine. It certainly wasn’t horrible.

It was definitely an awful trailer. Just a bunch of people sitting down.

Nothing about it made me want to watch the final doc. Where are the clips of the cast speaking? Where are the behind-the-scenes clips from the 90s they talk about? Where is the moment where someone teases something slightly intriguing, or dare I say– provocative? A funny moment from an interview, a dramatic moment where someone reveals tension on the set, an uplifting or emotionally inspirational moment; something, anything, to fascinate me and make me wonder what cool new things i’ll learn about the making of the show.

The trailer to “What We Left Behind” was way more intriguing, including ALL of the things I just mentioned; I suspect that’s because Ira Behr was involved. Go watch it. Teri Farrell is moved to tears, Marc Alaimo gets angry, Alex Siddig is inspirational, Avery Brooks speaks of what the role meant to him; Rene Auberjonois and Colm Meaney describe how hard they worked, DeBoer notes her awe at joining the show, and Michael Dorn mysteriously notes that “only those involved know the facts.” A bit melodramatic? Sure. But that’s what makes you want to see it. Great trailer to a great documentary.

After this trailer, I suspect the Voyager documentary will be a lot like the show: a watered down version of better docs that came before.

I don’t get the sense this was intended as an official trailer, just a casual sneak peek. Hence the title of the video.

Well then this is the worst sneak peek i’ve ever seen! Should at least had some cast members actually saying something– ANYTHING. This makes me LESS interested, not more.

Yeah, it was pretty bad.

So excited for this doc! I was literally watching an episode of VOY when I saw this article. I’m really really hoping it gets a theatrical release like ‘WWLB’ did. And I really love the fact they brought in so many other actors from the other shows. WWLB was strictly a DS9 affair, which was understandable, but it is cool to hear from other Trek stars on their thoughts on the show.

This is probably the most attention VOY has had since it went off the air, especially with all the characters appearing (or starring) in the multiple new shows and now this doc. It’s great to see for both old and new fans of the show! And imagine how many plates they can sell when it arrives! ;)

But no Kes 🥺

There’s a non-zero chance she’s in a mental institution or under conservatorship.

Well, WWLB did not have Avery Brooks participating on camera, and they made do with archival footage and anecdotes from other people. It worked, though in there case he was offering notes behind the scenes.

I hope Lien is getting the help she needs, I’m sure the doc will be an honest and respectful take on her time with the show.

There’s plenty of archival footage of Lien if they can clear it – Studio/Network EPK material from her time on the series, Entertainment Tonight, There was an E! BTS special early in the shows run, might be some convention footage out there – so there’s material available – they sure have enough of a budget to get SOMETHING.

Given the state of her health, why is that a surprise? Other cast members wishing her well is more then sufficient participation for her in this endeavor.

They should produce a plate of Boimler holding the Tom Paris plate to mark the occasion!

LOL! What’s funny is I could see someone at least considering it.

Anyone think Chakotay would sign my bowl?

I only recognized 3 of the people in that video…I guess most were behind the scenes or buried in makeup/prosthetics on-screen? They could have flashed their names at least. I love voyager and am looking forward to the doc, but this wasn’t very inspiring.

I totally agree … to assume that after all these years, and with many wearing prosthetics that totally changed their ‘real’ identities was silly. Their character image and/or name would have been very helpful. I only recognized the main characters and not the rest. Too bad, they deserved to be called out – maybe the final cut will do that.

This is a “sneak peak,” and I’m hoping that means that even the part we saw isn’t finished yet. Putting the names and functions of the people on the bottom of the screen (e.g. “Jeri Taylor, Executive Producer, 1995 – 1998”) would help a lot.

It’s very clearly not finished. But as a marketing person myself, if you have nothing intriguing to show, don’t show anything. Clearly some of these interviews have happened already, so they couldn’t find one or two good lines from them to get people interested? Awful job here.

Umm…where are the VOY cast??

When all the DS9 people turned up, I starting hoping Marc Alaimo would randomly appear for no reason.

I loved Armin Shimmerman’s reaction. “Why am I here?”

I suspect a lot of the audience will be asking the same thing as they watch the documentary!

He probably said the same thing on Insurrection.

It’s not just Captain Janeway, it’s the strong women in general. Roxanne Dawson and of course Jeri Ryan, and Jennifer Lein was also strong. So not just the captain.

Mulgrew and Ryan were strong. Dawson was average. Lien was weak, as was Wang. (Plus: an “African-American Vulcan”? Really? The actor, sure. The *character* had no human ancestry.)

It’s this kind of commentary that makes me think less of VOY; I’m glad we had a female captain, but cast diversity is not enough to compensate for poor characterization and writing. It certainly doesn’t compensate for the “Hollywood Indian” trope.

I believe that you are being unnecessarily harsh and hyper critical. Sounds like you didn’t watch the series but are here to comment for no apparent reason at all. Its confusing, did you watch the series or not? Sounds like you couldn’t stand it, yet you are here.

It’s called “literary criticism” for a reason. Criticism is the point.

I loved Dawson and thought she was very strong. But yeah I loved them all. ;)

I loved her too. Very under rated as an actress. Her character kinda disappeared into the background when Jeri Ryan came on the scene – that happened to most of the cast though – not her fault at all, that was the writers.

Maybe I’m just biased but I always loved Dawson and how she portrayed B’Elanna. Even though Worf was the most popular Klingon character, I liked B’Elanna because she was anti-Work or even Anti-Spock and really tried to be closer to her human side even though her Klingon side was always just underneath the surface. She played between the line very well. But I always love when her temper comes out lol.

But it’s all just opinions. People will like or hate different characters so completely understandable not every character or actors on these shows are loved by everyone.

Yep, Dawson nailed it as B’Elanna. She almost gets zero credit. She is the forgotten Voyager character.

TNG had already featured a Black Romulan.

The lack of diversity we sometimes see in alien races in science fiction is the problem. If the human race is anything to go by, and since the humanoids in Star Trek are supposed to be all related (again going back to TNG) then we should see more variations of skin color, not fewer.

Sigh. I guess I didn’t make my point clearly enough. I don’t have a problem with darker-skinned Vulcans; it’s just that they’re not “African-American Vulcans.” Africa and the Americas are continents on *Earth*.

What did you expect? It was a TV series produced in Hollywood. More chances than not the Black actor cast was going to be African-American. You know, that Hollywood that is located in America on Earth.

Oh, I see what you mean now. You wanted at least one cast member to be non-American. Well, we almost had that with the original actor cast as Janeway (her name escapes me at the moment), so you can’t fault them for at least keeping that in mind. But Tim Russ had already been cast at that point, so why single him out?

I don’t think it makes much sense to think “less of VOY” because the cast, crew, and fans of the show highlight it’s diversity as a positive, memorable, defining element of the show. And no one is saying that it compensates for failures in other areas of the production. The question wasn’t, “what element of Voyager balances out all the other mistakes of the show?”

As for the “Hollywood Indian” trope, I don’t think that you can lay all the blame on the Voyager staff (maybe 10-25%). The did hire a “respected Native American consultant” for the show – it just happened that that consultant was a fake and was conning Hollywood at large.

The “respected consultant” may have contributed to the problem, but he didn’t create the character, and he didn’t cast a non-Native actor in the role.

So sorry you were triggered by the mention of diversity and that someone different then yourself enjoyed seeing themselves reflected on the screen. Find something from the 1950’s on youtube that only features straight white men and take long, deep breaths.

In point of fact, I support diversity on Star Trek. I submit to you that VOY was the *least* diverse cast, and that the focus on the captain (and her ethnically ambiguous first officer, portrayed in blackface by a non-Native actor) were a way to deflect attention from this shortcoming.

Every other iteration of Star Trek has had at least one non-American human character in the main cast:

TOS: Chekhov (Russia), Scott (UK), Sulu (Japanese/Filipino, until TVH unfortunately retconned his ancestry a bit). TNG/PIC: Picard (France), LaForge (likely West Africa, possibly Caribbean); Worf’s roots on Earth were in Belarus; Yar (Ukraine/Lithuania). It was also lightly implied that Troi’s human ancestry was Greek; Rios (Chile). DS9: Bashir (Sudan), Miles O’Brien (Ireland) and Keiko O’Brien (Japan) (both also on TNG), Worf ENT: Sato (Japanese, possibly Brazilian-Japanese), Reed (UK) DIS: Owosekun (Nigeria), Detmer (Germany), Georgiou (Malaysia), Landry (likely India), Rhys (likely Hong Kong, but who knows?), probably others that I’ve missed, since the line between lead and supporting characters has grown blurred.

VOY had…*maybe* Annika Hansen from one of the Scandinavian countries. And that’s it. (And even she didn’t come until the fourth season.)

Chakotay, who was so “diverse” that they couldn’t name his tribal affiliation, doesn’t count; he was a Hollywood composite from nowhere (and alternatively implied he was born in Central America and Arizona, so who knows). The “diverse” captain was from…Indiana. “Farm country,” as she told us. Right next door to Kirk’s old stomping grounds, and not that different from wine country; only agrarian types make good captains, I guess. B’Elanna Torres was implied to be Mexican-American, not Mexican. Kim, whose actor now lectures us “every Star Trek series must have a Chinese character,” was clearly Korean-American, not Korean.

(Oh: and why? In Wang’s book, it’s OK not to have had a single Turkish, Indonesian, Argentine, or Congolese character in all of Star Trek, but we *must* have a Chinese main character in *every* series? By his standards, even Georgiou doesn’t qualify; she’s Straits Chinese. This is selective outrage at its finest.)

Then there were the little details. I can’t think of any VOY recurring or minor human characters who were non-American. In the other series, we had Khan Singh; engineer Singh (both in TOS and TNG); Xu (implied to be Chinese); Anaya (implied to be Bolivian); Admiral Komack (implied Iranian); Admiral Nechayeva (possibly Serbian or Croat); Fleet Admiral Shanti (West Africa); Rostov (Russian); Benayoun (possibly French, possibly Israeli).

I’ll also note that in-universe, VOY didn’t feature a single crew member from an unfamiliar Federation species. TOS gave us Vulcans, TNG Klingons and Bajorans (Ro was the first), DS9 Trill, ENT Denobulans and Andorians. VOY served slopppy seconds, warmed-over Klingons and Vulcans we’d seen before: an utterly disappointing lack of vision and creativity. The buffoonish Neelix (“Jetrel” excepted) and bland Kes (the implications of her short lifespan never examined) hardly counteracted this.

In short, VOY was easily the least multinational crew, and cast, in the history of Star Trek. (And VOY and ENT were filmed at the apex of post-Cold War globalization in the real world; TOS might have had an excuse for this, but VOY has none.) Say what you will about Gene Roddenberry, but he had a global perspective, no doubt from his military and Pan Am days, that Jeri Taylor absolutely did not. The VOY writers’ room hastily cobbled together a milquetoast set of characters (there was too much Trek on at once, and the lack of focus showed) and delivered lackluster storytelling for its first three seasons. To this day, its writers hide behind the one solid casting choice, Mulgrew, to deflect attention away from this weakness.

*I’m* the one triggered by diversity because I’m not a VOY fan? I must have the name of your occulist.

Oh, and all the above is before we get to the fact there wasn’t a single gay character on VOY. On a series that wrapped in 2001, not in the 1960s.

I read all of that above and as a Turkish person I agree with you about the need of Star Trek to have a Turkish crew member. If my memory doesn’t play tricks on me I think there was at least one Starfleet starship named after a Turkish historical figure but I’ll have to check Memory Alpha for that.

The obvious choice would be Sabiha Gokcen.

(Dollars to donuts Mr. “1950s on Youtube” above has zero clue who she is, at least not without consulting the Google.)

Ignoring the bit about Wang, but in terms of playing women with fortitude and strength, all four actresses did that. Torres and Kes may have gotten shortchanged at times, but the characters were strong women, haphazardly written.

I thought Roxann was wonderful in the series and as a director too. She went on to direct ten episodes of Enterprise. She broke ground for female directors of Star Trek. There aren’t a whole lot of them. They should be celebrated.

Whatever the merits of her acting on VOY, I’ve enjoyed her directorial work on THE AMERICANS, and she’s clearly vastly expanded herself in her post-Star Trek director career.

I don’t understand why the new Trek shows aren’t using her as a director. She always does very solid work with her directing, elevating the written material visually.

I find that weird as well. Maybe she is too busy directing other shows? No idea. But I’d like to see her name appear again on a new Star Trek episode(s)

Are you both ignoring the red elephant in the room?

Which is???

That the Discovery Team fired a black writer who used the N-word only as a quote in a story. If they are so sensitive about such things, why should they hire an AllLivesMatter hashtagger?

And if Dawson thinks it is decent to twitter anti-BLM, she would think Discovery is a show to her taste?

Come on have we really come to that time where what people post on twitter became more important than their talents and skills? This is probably a rhetorical question as everyone probably knows the answer. You know Odradek, you may have a point, I feel like this over-sensitivity was why Nick Meyer refused or didn’t work in Discovery after the 1st season.

A discovery actor? a couple of Ds9 actors? TOS? in a voyager Doc I would rather hear from the crew and cast of voyager rather than listening to people who was not involved talk about what voyager meant to them.

George Takei actually had a Captain Sulu episode so it is germane to the topic.

Yeah Voyager was the last tine Takei officially played Sulu as well. Hard to believe that was nearly 25 years ago now.

Andrew Robinson actually directed two episodes on VOY, which I only found out after I asked myself what he was doing there, so at least he has a connection to the show.

My personal guess is they included him (I don´t know how many other directors will be in the documentary) because Garak is so well known an loved as a character.

I would Like to buy the ds9 doc in europe…. Gut where

Same here, buddy…

I thought we weren’t supposed to share the trailers as it was backers only? I don’t get how this is exclisive content when it is distributed a week later to everyone.

What’s the point in a trailer that’s for backers only? The backers are already probably planning to watch the thing. They need to build up hype for general audiences.

I like the fact that they’re not putting the main cast up front. They usually tend to tell their small stories in such interviews, but its the backstage people who can talk about the meat and bones of the show. Color me interested.

Obviously it’s not that way but watching this made me feel like “those DS9 actors are always up for an interview huh, no matter how small the link might be”

Hopefully this is better than the ds9 documentary, where 1. Way too much Behr, he is annoying especially his cheesy sunglasses, and facial hair 2. It was odd to see them criticizing certain aspects of the show, for instance one case was in the use of gay characters. When they say that I think should remember the context that there were only three or four gay characters on TV when ds9 started and about 6 or 7 when ds9 ended.

Context like that needs to be remembered when they make comments about things.

But for a series that is part of a forward-thinking franchise that celebrates diversity, it was a black mark. I’m glad they did Rejoined, and little things like the rest of the crew not batting an eye over the idea of two women dating was appreciated, but this has always been an area where the franchise actually fell behind the curve.

There’s also a moment a lot of people overlook, in the episode “Rules of Acquisition”: before anyone knows that Pel is actually a woman– when everyone believes Pel to be a man– Dax says “it’s obvious hw you feel about [Quark]” meaning Pel’s romantic interest. This says that Dax found nothing odd about a Ferengi man’s attraction to another Ferengi man.

It’s a nice moment BECAUSE it doesn’t get highlighted, if you ask me.

Now it’s possible Dax saw it as no big deal because she is, essentially, a transgender species that does not prescribe to strictly heteronormative relationships, but I choose to believe that outside of Ferenginar– within the Federation– LGBTQ people are not seen as abnormal (and are perhaps even the norm, considering how many different alien races are members) in the 24th century.

There was a scene in Captain’s Holiday that seemed to me more progressiv, when I first saw it, than it really was. I saw it in dubbed version. When the Risean woman hits on Picard, Picard says his Horg’ahn for is his friend Riker. Now the woman assumes that Picard and Riker were lovers and because of the way Picard addressed Riker ln my language she would indicate that Riker is a man and she had to assume they were both gay. I expected the typical nervous ” no, no not that king of friend…” routine from Picard and was pleasently surprised when he was all non chalant about it. I thought :” How cool in the future no one cares about it orfeels the need to set the record straight if you are gay or not. I was a little disappointed after I saw the original version with no indication she thought Picard was gay.

I think you might be mistaken, because Picard very much does respond with the nervous “no, not that kind of friend” an even if you read it otherwise, the intent of the scene is clearly to make the audience laugh at a gay panic joke.

Actually, the woman says, “someone you love”, and Picard says, “I wouldn’t go that far”.

…which to be fair, was the point of “Rules of Acquisition” but the reaction of Dax was not meant to be a joke.

Star Trek should always be ahead of the curve when it comes to diversity. It is a shame that in this instance they were not.

To be honest, I found his self-criticism quite impressive. Believe me, Behr knew the context.

And why does it matter HOW MANY gay characters there were on TV in 1993 or 1998? The fact is, there were openly gay characters on mainstream TV as early as the 60s and 70s, in shows that discussed the issues facing LGBTQ people in a frank and serious way. Why Trek felt– even well into the 1990s– that they couldn’t include an open character, or make an existing character (like Garak) gay, is to me, an embarrassment to the franchise. Clearly Behr agreed, and I think that’s a GOOD thing.

I also felt that not using the Trill as a trans allegory, despite the VERY obvious parallels, to be a huge oversight (and one they finally followed through on in DSC) .

By the way, I find it rather odd that in the same paragraph as you hit back against the criticism of not representing LGBTQ characters, you mock the “annoying” sunglasses and facial hair of Behr; you seem to have some kind of inherent bias against people who are different.

I plan to get this on dvd just like I did the DS9 documentary and I sure hope they will do one for Enterprise

• Watch This /
• Entertainment

Here are some of the best bloopers from 'Star Trek: TNG' season 7

By Kwame Opam

Source Uproxx | Via io9 Toybox

Share this story

Captain Jean-Luc Picard cursing up a storm. Commander Riker chasing an ensign down the Enterprise corridors. Season 7 of Star Trek: TNG must have been a wild time for the cast and crew. Uproxx got their hands on a clip from the upcoming Blu-ray, due out December 2nd, and it's absolutely hysterical. We just wonder what Worf is up to in all of this. Take a look.

I traded in my MacBook and now I’m a desktop convert

The walls of apple’s garden are tumbling down, blizzcon 2024 has been canceled, how to delete the data google has on you, dji might get banned next in the us.

More from Entertainment

The Nintendo Switch 2 will now reportedly arrive in 2025 instead of 2024

The best Presidents Day deals you can already get

Vudu’s name is changing to ‘Fandango at Home’

Tommy Tallarico’s never-actually-featured-on-MTV-Cribs house is for sale

1 hr 59 min

Interview with Garrett Wang: Star Trek Voyager Stories Random Rewind

• Film Reviews

Set your phasers to stun and prepare for a voyage into the final frontier as we welcome a special guest to our podcast: Garrett Wang, best known for his iconic role as Ensign Harry Kim on Star Trek: Voyager. Join hosts Jon and Brittney as they sit down with Garrett for an unforgettable journey through the stars and beyond. In this episode, Garrett shares never-before-heard stories about his journey to the stars and how he landed the role of a lifetime on Star Trek: Voyager. From auditions and callbacks to the excitement of joining the Star Trek universe, Garrett offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of one of the most beloved sci-fi series of all time. But the cosmic connections don't end there! Join us as Jon and Garrett reminisce about their serendipitous meeting at a Comic-Con many moons ago. Hear firsthand about the chance encounter that sparked a friendship and led to this momentous reunion on our podcast. And behind the scenes, Producer Dez keeps the warp core running smoothly, ensuring that every moment of this epic conversation is captured for your listening pleasure. So grab your tricorders, strap in, and prepare for a warp-speed adventure through the cosmos with Garrett Wang. Whether you're a die-hard Trekkie, a sci-fi enthusiast, or just along for the ride, this episode promises to be an interstellar journey you won't soon forget.

• Episode Website
• More Episodes
• © copyright 2023-2024 Random Rewind. All rights reserved.

10 Background Characters Star Trek Fans Love

• Background characters in Star Trek add depth to the universe, making it feel lived-in and real.
• Beloved regular faces like Lt. M'Ress, Nurse Ogawa, and Mr. Mot enhance Star Trek shows.
• From Lt. Linus to Dr. Migleemo, each background character brings their own unique charm to the series.

There's something about beloved Star Trek background characters that really helps its universe feel lived-in and real. While the primary action is taking place, it's up to the background actors to make the sets look like genuine places where people are going about their business. These are the folks at the bridge stations who aren't in the opening credits. They're the assistants to the main characters. They're the beloved regular faces spotted among the crowds in establishing shots, and the names floating around duty rosters and civilian gossip that remind viewers that there's more to Star Trek than the captains and chief engineers.

There are so many background characters from all of the Star Trek shows who are beloved by fans, of course. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Promenade is full of colorful background characters without names or personal histories, like the singing Klingon chef (Ron Taylor). Star Trek: Voyager features recurring background characters, since being stuck in the Delta Quadrant means no new Starfleet officers can join the crew. Star Trek: The Next Generation features background characters who sometimes level up to become proper guest stars , and in one famous case, a series regular: the "most important person in Starfleet" and original lower-decker, Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney). Here are 10 background characters Star Trek fans love.

20 Best New Star Trek Characters Of The Last 20 Years

Lt. m'ress (majel barrett), star trek: the animated series.

Lt. M'Ress is a Caitian officer with a seat on the USS Enterprise bridge, created for Star Trek: The Animated Series when Star Trek 's jump to animation meant that the aliens in Star Trek were no longer restrained by what the makeup department could physically create. As the first Caitian in Star Trek , M'Ress sets the standard for the feline alien species , later echoed by Star Trek 's other animated Caitian, Dr. T'Ana (Gillian Vigman) in Star Trek: Lower Decks .

Like many background characters, M'Ress' cool character design is a top reason for her appeal, but M'Ress earns her spot on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise by being a capable officer. M'Ress' duties as relief communications officer include communication within the Enterprise as well as to outside vehicles, along with scientific duties as situations arise, similar to the duties of primary communications officer Lt. Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols).

Lt. M'Ress appeared in 2 episodes of the "anything but canon" animated web series Star Trek: very Short Treks, voiced by Cristina Milizia.

Lt. T'Veen (Stephanie Czajkowski)

Star trek: picard.

The starship action of Star Trek: Picard season 3 takes place primarily aboard the USS Titan-A, and as such, introduces a brand-new bridge crew of younger Starfleet officers, one of which is the Vulcan Lt. T'Veen. T'Veen stands out as both a woman and a Vulcan for her striking bald appearance , marking her look as both novel and unique. Actor Stephanie Czajkowski suggests that T'Veen may have some Deltan ancestry, but in reality, T'Veen's lack of locks comes from Czajkowski's own battles with cancer.

When Vadic (Amanda Plummer) commandeers the Titan in Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 8, "Surrender" , T'Veen is one of the Titan bridge officers used as leverage against Vadic's request for Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers). At this point in Picard , the Titan's crew are painted as candidates for a potential spinoff show, but Lt. T'Veen's shocking death at Vadic's hand sends the message that no one is safe.

Sonya Gomez (Lycia Naff)

Star trek: the next generation, star trek: lower decks.

The original claim to fame for Ensign Sonya Gomez (Lycia Naff) is being the eager young engineer who unfortunately spills hot chocolate on Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in Star Trek: The Next Generation , season 2, episode 16, "Q Who". Serving on the USS Enterprise-D with Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) is Gomez's dream job, and the chocolate-covered Captain isn't going to earn her any high marks. La Forge recognizes Gomez's talent as an antimatter specialist, and helps Sonya focus, despite the gaffe.

Lycia Naff makes a triumphant return to Star Trek as Captain Sonya Gomez in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2, episode 10, "First First Contact", commanding the USS Archimedes with the same compassionate focus on problem-solving that La Forge had as Gomez's mentor. Captain Gomez's story is proof that Star Trek characters do learn from their earliest mistakes , and can come out on top in the end.

Mr. Mot (Ken Thorley)

Star trek: the next generation.

In an interesting twist, Mr. Mot is a barber working on the USS Enterprise-D, and happens to be a Bolian, a species that has no hair of their own. Nonetheless, Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) says that the civilian Mot is the best barber in Starfleet . There's more to being a barber than just cutting hair, after all, and Mot's listening ears are available to anyone who comes to sit in his barbershop chair, as long as they don't mind receiving a little free advice on the side.

The Bolian barber became an entrepreneur.

After providing excellent service to the crew on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Mot grew even more successful. The Bolian barber became an entrepreneur, which is evident by the presence of Mr. Mot's Hair Emporium as one of the many businesses in Stardust City, on the planet Freecloud, as seen in Star Trek: Picard season 1, episode 5, "Stardust City Rag".

Bolians are named for Star Trek director Cliff Bole, who directed a total of 42 episodes between his work on Star Trek: The Next Generation , Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , and Star Trek: Voyager .

10 Star Trek Characters Fans See Themselves In

Groundskeeper boothby (ray walston), star trek: the next generation, star trek: voyager.

Mr. Boothby is a positive influence on generations of Starfleet officers at Starfleet Academy, but one would be wrong to assume that Boothby is an accomplished instructor working to shape young minds, because Boothby works at Starfleet Academy as the head groundskeeper. Groundskeeper Boothby's no-nonsense approach to the natural development of the Academy's flora also applies to how Boothby interacts with Starfleet cadets .

Boothby's influence on the USS Voyager crew was evident in Star Trek: Voyager season 5, episode 4, "In the Flesh", when a Species 8472 leader took on the guise of Boothby in a Starfleet Academy simulation, instead of a high-ranking Admiral.

Sometimes, Boothby's advice is harsh, as was the case with Jean-Luc Picard as a Starfleet Academy cadet. But in the end, Boothby always has an uncanny sensibility for knowing exactly how to cultivate the best forms of both botanical specimens and future Starfleet officers.

Lt. Kayshon (Carl Tart)

Star trek: lower decks.

Lt. Kayshon has the honor of being the first Tamarian in Starfleet , debuting in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2, episode 2, "Kayshon, His Eyes Open", as the USS Cerritos' new security officer. The Tamarians, first seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 2, "Darmok", have a puzzling metaphorical language reliant on background knowledge of Tamarian culture. The Tamarian phrases from "Darmok" have been adopted by Star Trek fans as a fun way to signal our fandom to each other, so it makes sense that a Tamarian officer should show up on Star Trek: Lower Decks , itself a celebration of Star Trek 's own weird and wonderful moments.

Kayshon spends more time in the background after his first episode, still part of the USS Cerritos' security team. The years between "Picard and Dathon at El-Adred" and Kayshon's assignment to the USS Cerritos in Star Trek: Lower Decks mean the communication gap between Kayshon and the rest of the USS Cerritos' crew is much smaller than it might have been in the past. Kayshon communicates in Federation Standard, but still slips into Tamarian metaphor from time to time, which just adds new phrases to the Tamarian lexicon.

Dr. Migleemo (Paul F. Tompkins)

In Dr. Migleemo, Star Trek: Lower Decks continues the tradition that was established with Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) on Star Trek: The Next Generation by having a counselor aboard the USS Cerritos . Strictly speaking, Migleemo is not the galaxy's best counselor , with a whole plateful of food metaphors that don't always land butter-side-up, but Migleemo's heart is always in the right place.

As a bird-like alien of an unspecified species, Dr. Migleemo's character design pays homage to Star Trek: The Animated Series , since a bird man in a tweed suit may not translate that well to live action, but works perfectly for animation.

Even though Migleemo is bad at his job, it's in a way that's not actively harmful, but makes you want to root for him, just like any other lower decker on the Cerritos. Sometimes Migleemo gets it right , after all, like counseling Ensign D'Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) in the senior science officer training program in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3, episode 3, "Mining the Mind's Mines".

Nurse Alyssa Ogawa (Patti Yasutake)

Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) usually has assistants in the background of the USS Enterprise-D's sick bay, and one of these, Nurse Alyssa Ogawa, is a regular background character starting in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4. Ogawa grows as a character over the course of TNG 's final four seasons , receiving a full name as of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, episode 18, "Cause and Effect", and developing as a character through Ogawa's casual conversations with Dr. Crusher about Alyssa's dating history.

Nurse Ogawa gets more to do when Ogawa is one of the four USS Enterprise-D junior officers at the heart of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7, episode 15, "Lower Decks" , focusing on the friendship between often-overlooked characters. Ogawa's story focuses on Alyssa's relationship with Lieutenant Andrew Powell, and culminates in their off-screen engagement.

Nurse Alyssa Ogawa also appears in two Star Trek movies: Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek: First Contact .

Lt. Linus (David Benjamin Tomlinson)

Star trek: discovery.

With Lt. Linus, Star Trek: Discovery shows in a casual, but meaningful way what it looks like to actively include someone with unique needs . Arriving in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, Lt. Linus is a Saurian science officer who never fails to provide a little levity just by being himself. By all accounts, Linus is well-liked among the USS Discovery's crew , with plenty of crew members referring to Linus and Saurian customs relatively favorably.

Lt. Linus is accepted as someone whose needs are a little different to most human officers'.

Starfleet easily makes accommodations available for Linus' differences in biology , granting personal time set aside for annual shedding, and providing heat lamps in Linus' quarters as needed. After Star Trek: Discovery 's time jump , Linus takes a little more time to understand the new 32nd-century technology, but he's never admonished for catching up to the learning curve. Instead, Lt. Linus is accepted as someone whose needs are a little different to most human officers'.

Every DS9 Alien In Star Trek: Discovery

Morn (mark allen shepherd), star trek: deep space nine.

Morn is a fixture in Quark's Bar from the start of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , the perennial barfly occupying the same seat at the end of the table. According to the other patrons at Quark's, Morn rarely shuts up, but the joke is, of course, that Morn is always cut off before delivering any speaking lines. Instead, the picture of who Morn really is slowly comes together through other people's comments and conversation about Morn, with the speculation about Morn's true identity finally coming to a head in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 6, episode 12, "Who Mourns for Morn". Morn's apparent death is a blow to the community and all who knew him, but also reveals surprising facts about DS9 's Morn , like Morn's secret riches and tactical mind, confirming that there was more to the enigmatic Lurian than Morn's signature bar stool.

True to form, Morn is seated at Quark's Bar when the USS Cerritos visits Deep Space Nine in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3, episode 6, "Hear All, Trust Nothing".

Sometimes the Star Trek characters who aren't major players become some of the most beloved characters. When background characters on Star Trek attract the eyes of viewers with interesting character designs or memorable moments, they may wind up in expanded roles as their Star Trek shows go on. These featured background characters will get lines and names, and might even have a major part in an episode or two, but most live out their lives off-screen. From the bridge crew to the lower decks, from Starfleet officers to civilians, it's the unsung heroes in the background who keep Star Trek moving while the main action is taking place.

Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Lower Decks are all streaming on Paramount+.

Screen Rant

Star trek: voyager & ds9 crossed over in the mirror universe.

Despite being stuck in the Delta Quadrant, a Star Trek: Voyager crew member briefly crossed over into the Mirror Universe to join the DS9 cast.

• Star Trek: Voyager and Deep Space Nine crossed over within the Mirror Universe, bringing the shows together across vast cosmic distances.
• The crossovers featuring characters like Tuvok and Doctor Zimmerman added depth to the interconnected Star Trek universe.
• Despite differing tones, Voyager and DS9 remain beloved shows, delighting audiences through streaming platforms today.

Despite being separated by thousands of light years, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine crossed over inside the Mirror Universe. Voyager and Deep Space Nine were very different in tone, due to the differing approaches of the shows' respective producers, Brannon Braga and Ira Steven Behr. Where DS9 was a serialized drama that tackled huge themes, Voyager embraced a traditional episodic approach that could sometimes feel disposable and regressive . Despite their differences in tone, DS9 and Voyager are two beloved Star Trek TV shows that still delight audiences to this day via streaming, which is a testament to the versatility and timelessness of the franchise.

As the USS Voyager was stranded in the Delta Quadrant, it was hard, but not impossible, for Star Trek: Voyager to cross over into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Alpha and Gamma Quadrant settings. In fact, there was a surprising number of Star Trek characters who guested on Voyager from Captain Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) to Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Creative approaches such as intervention by Q (John de Lancie), glimpses of Starfleet's attempts to locate the missing USS Voyager, and even the Mirror Universe allowed Star Trek: Voyager to crossover with its 1990s contemporaries, including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

Every 1990s Era Star Trek Crossover

Star trek: voyager’s tuvok crossed over with ds9’s mirror universe, star trek: deep space nine, season 3, episode 19, "through the looking glass".

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 19, "Through the Looking Glass", Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) is captured and taken to the Mirror Universe by "Smiley" O'Brien (Colm Meaney). The Rebellion in the Mirror Universe wanted Prime Sisko to convince the ex-wife of his Terran counterpart to join the resistance against the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance . As Sisko is taken to the Terran Rebellion's enclave, he meets the Mirror Universe variants of his DS9 crew mates. In the same scene Sisko also meets the Mirror Universe version of Star Trek: Voyager 's Lt. Tuvok (Tim Russ), leading a more logic-driven faction of the Rebellion.

Mirror Tuvok is the only Mirror Universe variant of a Star Trek: Voyager character that has appeared on TV.

Tuvok was included in "Through the Looking Glass" at the request of Rick Berman , who presumably wanted to strengthen the links between Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager . DS9 season 3 and Voyager season 1 aired concurrently with each other, and "Through the Looking Glass" aired on April 17, 1995, a week when there was no new episode of Voyager . In this gap between "State of Flux" and "Heroes and Demons", therefore, a brief crossover between Voyager and DS9 was a good way to keep the fledgling Star Trek show in the minds of the audience.

Every Voyager & DS9 Star Trek Crossover

"Through the Looking Glass" isn't the only crossover between Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . The Voyager pilot "Caretaker" features the USS Voyager depart from Deep Space Nine to search for the missing Tuvok and the Maquis ship, the Valjean in the Badlands. As with McCoy and Picard in the previous Star Trek pilots, DS9 's Quark (Armin Shimerman) appeared in "Caretaker" to pass the baton to Voyager . In a scene that demonstrated how green the young Ensign Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) was, he almost falls for one of Quark's latest scams, until he's rescued by Lt. Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill).

Gul Evek (Richard Poe) and Morn (Mark Allen Shepherd) are the two other Star Trek: Deep Space Nine characters that appear in the Star Trek: Voyager pilot.

A version of Star Trek: Voyager 's Doctor (Robert Picardo) appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5, episode 16, "Doctor Bashir, I Presume" alongside his creator Dr. Lewis Zimmerman (also Picardo). Technically, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine marks the first real appearance by the EMH's creator, who had previously appeared in Voyager as a holographic replica. The real Zimmerman would later appear in Star Trek: Voyager season 6, episode 24, "Life Line", which also featured Lt. Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) further strengthening the bonds between different corners of the Star Trek universe.

All episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

*Availability in US

Not available

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.

Star Trek: Voyager

The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they've never faced before. 

• The Original Series
• The Animated Series
• The Next Generation
• Deep Space Nine
• Strange New Worlds
• Lower Decks
• Star Trek Movies
• TrekCore on Twitter
• TrekCore on Facebook

Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) isn’t thrilled by this prospect, pointing out before she leaves that it’s too dangerous a mission for a captain to undertake. But Burnham disagrees that this is enough of a reason to stop her; it’s a nice reminder that this is a show and a character that originated in the time of James T. Kirk, a time when captains didn’t stay behind in the face of danger.

But it’s not only that, there’s something else going on. Burnham gives Rayner permission to be blunt, quoting a classic work on Rayner’s native Kellerun , The Ballad of Krull , asking him to “serve it without a crumb of ossekat .” (As far as made-up Star Trek idioms go, that’s a pretty good one.)

It’s also the beginning of a sudden and relentless onslaught of references to Rayner’s culture, but more on that later. What’s Rayner’s problem? He’s uncomfortable with the prospect of being left in command of a ship and crew that aren’t “his.” Welcome to being second in command, buddy.

Book and Burnham take off, heading into the wormhole and finding it to be an inhospitable place. They quickly drop out of communication range with Discovery , there’s ship debris everywhere, including the wreckage of Moll and L’ak’s ship…. and what’s that, the  ISS Enterprise ?!

(A side note before we get too excited about that: what is the deal with all the empty space in the new shuttlecraft set, introduced in last season’s “All Is Possible”? The two pilot seats looked like they were crammed into the corner of a huge unfurnished room.)

Okay, Enterprise time. Burnham and Book rightly surmise that this is where Moll and L’ak must have escaped to and beam to the ship, which of course turns out to be a redress of the Strange New Worlds  standing sets. A quick scan identifies that no one else is aboard — though the clue, which Moll and L’ak have found, does also have a lifesign, hmm — and that Moll and L’ak are holed up in sickbay. Burnham takes a few moments to ponder her visit to the Mirror Universe back in Season 1 and wonder what the alternate version of her half-brother Spock might have been like (bearded, for one).

And aside from some brief storytelling about Mirror Saru’s role as a rebel leader, that’s about it for the Terran Empire of it all. Star Trek: Discovery has spent plenty of time in and around the Mirror Universe already, and I personally don’t think they need to revisit it again. But introducing the  ISS Enterprise — the ship that started it all with The Original Series ’ “Mirror, Mirror” — and then not doing anything momentous with it? Strange decision, and one that makes it ultimately feel more like this was a way for the show to get to reuse a set on the cheap than it does a materially significant addition to the episode.

In fact, in some ways it’s actually a detriment to the episode. If the action had been set on any other ship it would have been fine, but being on the ISS Enterprise I kept expecting something — like seeing Paul Wesley as Mirror Kirk slinking around, or finding Anson Mount camping it up as Mirror Pike in a personal log. If they’d set the action on a generic derelict ship, what we got wouldn’t have seemed like a let down. As it is though, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop… and it simply never did.

Maybe in a subsequent episode, it’ll turn out that there’s an advantage in having an entire functional starship composed of atoms from another universe at Starfleet’s disposal — or to have a convenient collection of Constitution -class sets available for that Starfleet Academy show to borrow once in a while — but until that happens (if it even does) the use of the ISS Enterprise just seems like a name drop and a “We have to set the action somewhere , why not here?” instead of a significant use of the setting and the huge amount of lore and history that comes with it.

It’s like setting something aboard the Titanic without ever mentioning any icebergs.

As Burnham and Book make their way down to sickbay they do find evidence that the ship was being used in a way that seemed unusually gentle for a Terran Empire vessel: signs that children and families were aboard at one time, and that they were the kind of people sentimental enough to have keepsakes and favorite stuffed animals. But again, nothing about this seems like it needs the Mirror Universe connection. Ships of people trying to escape adversity are already a Star Trek staple.

Burnham and Book find Moll (Eve Harlow) and L’ak (Elias Toufexis) in sickbay, and after a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful attempt at getting them to surrender, everyone starts shooting. Moll and L’ak have a Breen blood bounty — an erigah — on their heads and surrender is simply not an option. During the firefight a lockdown is triggered, forcefields coming down that split the group into pairs: Burnham and L’ak stuck in sickbay, while Book and Moll able to go back to the bridge to try and reset sickbay.

Pairing off also gives Book the opportunity to continue his efforts to connect with Moll, and I have to say, I don’t think I’m a fan. Setting aside the portion of this that’s purely a strategic attempt to forge a connection with someone who is very to keen to kill him, my first reaction to the way Book talks to Moll about her father (and his mentor) was distaste.

I don’t think Book meant it this way, but the way he’s written in these scenes feels unpleasantly close to the “Well, he was a great guy to me , I never saw him do anything bad” response that’s sometimes made to accusations of misconduct. A person can be wonderful to some people in their life and terrible to others; both experiences are true for the people who received them, but they’re not mutually exclusive.

Book is preternaturally empathetic, and yet he doesn’t seem to see how continually assuring Moll that her father loved her is an act that’s both unwanted and actively painful for Moll to hear. I understand that Book is just trying to bring a sliver of comfort to Moll – but in the process he’s dismissing her own experiences of her father and his place in her life. Unless Moll asks him for this, it’s really none of Book’s business.

I suspect they’re setting up Moll’s character for a nice, cathartic arc where she comes to terms with her life, forgives her father, releases her past, whatever. And when that happens in real life that’s great — but it doesn’t always, and that’s okay too. If Moll never sees in her father the man Book saw in his mentor, it’s not a character failing. Discovery is really hammering home the theme of confronting one’s past in order to take control of one’s present and future, and I think it would be valuable if they included an example of a character learning to do the latter… without having to be okay with the former.

And to return to a question I posed in my review of “Under the Twin Moons,” I know Book is isolated and excruciatingly lonely after the destruction of Kweijan and his split with Michael, but the weight he’s placed on his relationship with Moll as “the closest thing he has to family” seems like he’s setting himself up for disappointment. Maybe I’m just a cynic, but this does not feel like a hopeful storyline to me. Not everyone wants to be family, and right now it doesn’t seem like Moll’s been given much of a choice in the matter — despite her frequent and very powerful explanations of why she’s not interested.

Clearly frustrated with Book’s topic of conversation and desperate to return to L’ak, Moll makes a reckless decision to brute-force a solution and overload some circuits. It works, and the forcefields in sickbay come down, but it also sends the Enterprise onto an unstoppable collision course with the too-small-to-pass-through and also going-to-be-closing-forever-soon wormhole. They’ve got eight minutes to figure this out.

Meanwhile aboard Discovery , we see Rayner’s struggles to interact with the crew. This thread could have gone so many different ways, Rayner seeming “too good” for a temporary command, him seeing this as his chance to do things “better” than Burnham or show how it’s “really done,” but instead the show takes the much more subtle and satisfying route: Rayner is deeply respectful of the captaincy, as a rank and a role, and really doesn’t want to step on Burnham’s authority.

He’s more than willing to disagree with her on command decisions , but he doesn’t question her command . And more personally, he doesn’t want his gruffness and lack of experience with this crew to cause problems. He’s trying, in his own Rayner way, and more importantly he’s succeeding — and, as we see as he shepherds the crew through figuring out how to communicate with and then rescue Book and Burnham, the crew does their part and meets him halfway.

Rayner is learning that he needs to tone down his temperament just enough that he doesn’t come across as an actual asshole to this crew, and the crew is learning that his gruffness isn’t a sign of disrespect but simply a desire to cut to the chase and get to direct, actionable information with a minimum of fluff. There are shades of Nimoy’s Spock or Voyager -era Seven of Nine here, but couched within a distinctly different temperament, and it’s fascinating to watch. I’d love to have seen him interacting with the crew of the Antares , where he presumably felt more comfortable.

The interpersonal stuff with Rayner and the crew is great; where Rayner’s thread feels distractingly like a box being checked is the explosion of “Rayner is a Kellerun!” being shouted from the bulkheads. I could practically hear the writers yelping out a panicked “Oh crap, we forgot to say what kind of alien Rayner is!”

Again, Discovery is back to its old self with the clunky, heavy-handed, and oddly paced character work. Rayner goes from having zero cultural touchstones to having about five in the span of the 15-20 minutes of screentime that his story gets this week. They’re good touchstones, don’t get me wrong — I’m skeptical of Kellerun citrus mash, I have to be honest, but I’d give it a try; not so sure about boiling a cake though — they’re just very present .

As with Rayner’s alienness, the frequent flashbacks throughout the episode to Moll and L’ak’s meeting and courtship feel like a “We forgot to explain this and now we’re trying to reference it!” correction. The content of the flashbacks is fine, there’s a lot of interesting Breen worldbuilding for a species that’s been mysterious from the start — and watching Moll and L’ak’s relationship grow from one of mutual convenience to one of true love is genuinely moving. But the way it’s woven into an episode that, again, feels like it’s composed of bits and pieces of storyline, makes it hard to shake the sense that I was watching a To Do list get checked off.

By the time the season is over it might be clear that there was simply no extra room to give a full episode over to Moll and L’ak’s meeting, or maybe an episode without any of the main cast wasn’t something they were willing or contractually able to do, but I would have loved if these flashbacks were pulled out and expanded into a full-length episode of their own. Some of the worldbuilding felt hasty to the point of hindering the emotional beats — at times I wondered if I’d forgotten a whole bunch of Breen lore and at others I was just trying to keep up with what was going on.

For example, my confusion about L’ak’s comment about having two faces, which Moll seemed to completely understand — “Duh, everyone knows the Breen have two faces” — was a distraction in the middle of an otherwise nice and significant moment. This is later clarified as the translucent face and the solid face, but again I was distracted from fully appreciating an interesting bit of Breen culture because I was busy applying what I’d just learned back to the previous scene.

The quickly (and maybe not totally clearly articulated notion) that Breen deliberately restrict themselves to their translucent form for reasons that are entirely to do with avoiding any perception of weakness is a potent if hasty bit of social commentary, and as I said I nearly didn’t catch it.

Whether holding the translucent form requires the armor for protection or the armor necessitates the translucent form — it seems like it would be more comfortable wearing that helmet all the time if you were the texture and consistency of lime jello — this is surely a metaphor for the increasingly rigid, isolating, and emotionally and sometimes physically unhealthy things men in certain circles feel they must do to be appropriately masculine. Seeing L’ak free himself from that rigidity is powerful.

With the forcefields in sickbay down, Burnham and L’ak immediately spring into action:  Burnham trying to get the artifact from L’ak and L’ak simply trying to get away. They fight, and Burnham impressively proves she can hold her own against a Breen. When L’ak accidentally falls on his own blade, Burnham grabs the clue and speeds to the bridge where she manages to get a message to Rayner through some tractor beam trickery. The message? Another reference to that classic of Kellerun literature that gives Rayner the info he needs. Hey, did you know Rayner was a Kellerun?

The ISS Enterprise makes it through the wormhole, Moll and L’ak zip away in an escape pod, and it’s time to wrap things up. We head to Red’s for a quick but significant moment between Tilly (Mary Wiseman) and Culber (Wilson Cruz), as Tilly offers advice and an ear to a Culber who’s going through a quiet existential – maybe also spiritual? – crisis.

OBSERVATION LOUNGE

• In addition to the dedication plaques on the bridge, the ISS Enterprise has an additional plaque in its transporter room — one which, despite recounting the heroism of rebel action hero Mirror Saru, still states “Long Live the Empire.”
• The transporter room plaque is marked with “Stardate 32336.6,” which is about 9 years before the events of “Encounter at Farpoint.”
• The plaque describes the fate of Mirror Spock, who was killed after instituting the reforms which later led to the fall of the Terran Empire (as described in DS9’s “Crossover”).

The full text of the ISS Enterprise transporter room plaque:

The new High Chancellor presented hope and justice as if they were natural to our world. His words, “The light of hope shines through even the darkest of nights” became our rallying cry. He spoke of reform, and changed many of us. But some saw this as weakness. They killed him, and we sought help from an unlikely ally: A Kelpien slave turned rebel leader.   He spoke of visitors from another world… a near perfect mirror cast our darkness into light. With his aid we secured the Enterprise and stayed behind to continue his work. We bear scars from our escape, but our hope remains. May it carry us into a pristine, peaceful, and just future.

• Not counting L’ak’s previous appearances this season, this episode marks the first time we have seen the Breen in live action since their involvement in the Dominion War in Deep Space Nine.  (The species has appeared in  Star Trek: Lower Decks three times.)
• The 32nd century Breen wear updated encounter suits clearly based on the designs introduced in  Deep Space Nine ; their digital speech is extremely faithful to the incomprehensible noises Breen soldiers have spoken in past appearances.
• Given the fact that Moll appears to be just fine in the environment of the Breen ship, I guess Weyoun was right when he said the Breen homeworld was “quite comfortable” in “The Changing Face of Evil.”
• When L’ak is stabbed he gently oozes some green goo — but as we learned in “In Purgatory’s Shadow,” Breen do not have traditional humanoid blood.

• During his time in command of Discovery , Rayner never sits in the captain’s chair.
• This episode closes with a dedication plaque that reads “In loving memory of our friend, Allan ‘Red’ Marceta”. Marceta was, I presume, the namesake for Discovery’s bar.
• Someone aboard Discovery keeps a Cardassian vole as a pet. Going by Tilly’s reaction, and what we know from  Deep Space Nine , this is not a good thing.
• Linus (David Benjamin Tomlinson) plays a mean piano.
• Owosekun and Detmer get the off-screen cherry assignment of flying the ISS Enterprise back to Federation Headquarters, alone. I’m thinking that’s going to inspire some fanfic…

We don’t learn what this week’s clue is, though we know there’s a blue vial tucked away inside it, but we do learn that the crew of the ISS Enterprise did indeed make it to our universe. The scientist responsible for hiding this particular clue there was one of them, a Dr. Cho, who eventually made it all the way to branch admiral.

They strove for something positive and succeeded against all odds. Hopefully Discovery will be able to do the same as they continue their pursuit of Moll, L’ak, and the Progenitors.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 returns with “Whistlespeak” on Thursday, May 2.

• DSC Season 5
• Star Trek: Discovery

Related Stories

New star trek: discovery photos — “mirrors”, interview — sonequa martin-green on burnham’s “face the strange” encounter, star trek: discovery review — “face the strange”, search news archives, new & upcoming releases, featured stories, lost-for-decades original star trek uss enterprise model returned to roddenberry family, star trek: lower decks cancelled; strange new worlds renewed for season 4, our star trek: discovery season 5 spoiler-free review.

TrekCore.com is not endorsed, sponsored or affiliated with Paramount, CBS Studios, or the Star Trek franchise. All Star Trek images, trademarks and logos are owned by CBS Studios Inc. and/or Paramount. All original TrekCore.com content and the WeeklyTrek podcast (c) 2024 Trapezoid Media, LLC. · Terms & Conditions