voyager nemesis

Nemesis (episode)

• View history
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.1 Production history
• 4.2 Story and script
• 4.3 Cast and characters
• 4.4 Production
• 4.5 Continuity
• 4.6 Reception
• 4.7 Video and DVD releases
• 5.1 Starring
• 5.2 Also starring
• 5.3 Guest stars
• 5.4 Co-stars
• 5.5 Uncredited co-stars
• 5.6 Stunt doubles
• 5.7 Stand-ins
• 5.8 References
• 5.9 External links

Summary [ ]

Commander Chakotay is captured walking at night in a jungle on a Delta Quadrant world by the Vori when his shuttle is shot down during a survey mission .

Act One [ ]

They quickly decide he is not a threat to them and decide to integrate him into their team. They tell Chakotay of the "Beast", the enemy they are fighting against. Chakotay explains to the soldiers that he needs to contact his vessel, the USS Voyager . He cannot reach the ship using his combadge , as the Kradin , the species hostile to the Vori, have disabled communications in the battle zone. Brone , the leader of the Fourth Vori Defense Contingent , assigns Namon to guide Chakotay to the wreckage of his downed shuttle. Brone advises Chakotay to wait for the dawn or the "new light", as he calls it before leaving.

The Vori speak an odd language which Chakotay easily picks up, mostly from engaging in conversation with a Vori youth named Rafin , who is teased by Namon on his inexperience in combat, as well as his nervousness in battle. Chakotay tries to relate Rafin to a young Kradin soldier out there who might be as afraid as he is to fight. During this, Rafin informs Chakotay on why the Vori hate the Kradin so much, such as their appearance, the burning seen in their eyes. Rafin's motivation for hatred of the Kradin stems from the destruction of Rafin's home village as well as their killing of Rafin's relatives.

The next day, while walking with Namon to search for the shuttle's wreckage, Chakotay tells him of his battles back in the Alpha Quadrant with the Cardassians , when he asks the commander if he has ever killed before. Chakotay tells the soldier that it was the worst thing he has ever had to do. Namon tells Chakotay that if he were a Vori, he would crave to drive off the Kradin from their world just as he does. Chakotay and Namon discover a small piece of the shuttle on the ground, and Voyager 's first officer remarks that there does not seem to be much left of his shuttle. Just then, he and Namon come under attack from two Kradin. Namon is hit, but he fires off a shot before falling which happens to kill one. Chakotay rushes the other and manages to take his weapon. " Don't make me kill you! ", he shouts at the Kradin soldier. The Kradin is shot anyway shortly after by Brone and Namon is declared "nullified".

Act Two [ ]

During Namon's memorial , Chakotay learns about the Vori's culture, specifically their burial rituals, like how they bury their bodies downturned. Afterwards, Chakotay is given Namon's uniform, as his Starfleet uniform is noticeable enough to draw attention by the Kradin. Chakotay hesitates, as it isn't his conflict, but Brone insists.

Brone then has Chakotay go through some basic training from Rafin, particularly in Vori firearms. Chakotay tries to talk to Rafin, saying it's all right to be afraid. He also suggests the "nemesis" is just as afraid of him, but Rafin seems to take a lot of offense. He's obviously been hardened like the rest, and reminds Chakotay of what their enemy has done to them. Rafin is a good shot, and takes his anger out on the targets before cutting the lesson early.

Later, the group sets off to meet a second group, the Seventh Defense Contingent . When they arrive at the rendezvous point, however, they discover that the other group has been slaughtered and desecrated. Brone then makes a speech to the group and challenges Chakotay on his neutral stance. Just then, the Kradin arrive and quickly kill most of the group, including Rafin. Chakotay tries to save him, but he's hit in the process and Rafin dies. Respecting his wishes, Chakotay turns him over and manages to escape to a nearby village. There, he is greeted and treated as a hero by some Vori before he collapses.

Act Three [ ]

On Voyager , Janeway reviews the information on what happened. Chakotay was indeed shot down by enemy fire, and the interference from the weapons is interfering with transporters and sensors . It appears there is a long war going on, and Neelix has contacted an ambassador named Treen with the details. He's willing to help Chakotay, but is unable to divert any resources to do so. Lieutenant Paris wants to take a team down, regretting not going with him in the first place, but Janeway says they need to talk to Treen more and consider options.

Meanwhile, Chakotay is awake and explains he is not really part of the Defenders. Regardless, the villagers insist on getting information on what is going on. He starts to tell them he was with the Fourth, and they are encouraged. Chakotay asks for communications equipment, but the only place is far away, and the villagers insist he stay the night and rest first. He agrees, and becomes friends with a young Vori girl named Karya . She asks him to deliver a letter to her brother, Daryo , who is fighting in the seventh defense contingent, which was ambushed and annihilated by Kradin forces. Chakotay agrees to drop off her letter at a restock unit despite this.

The next day the Vori village is attacked by the Kradin and most of the villagers, including Penno , Karya's grandfather, are marched off to extermination centers. After Karya is taken away herself, this enrages Chakotay and raises his weapon, but a group of Kradin is right behind him and disarm him. The villagers seem doomed.

Act Four [ ]

Meanwhile, the crew of Voyager is concerned about the fate of Chakotay on the planet 's surface after finding the wreckage of the shuttle inside enemy territory. Tuvok relates that Ambassador Treen has told him that his people's enemies are ruthless in their methods, using biochemical weapons and massacring innocent civilians. Janeway now wants a team to go to the surface. Paris is enthusiastic to join, but Lieutenant Tuvok suggests that he should go down to the planet to search for Chakotay on his own, despite Paris' objections. Tuvok alone will join a commando group provided by Ambassador Treen to expedite his search for Chakotay.

Chakotay is brought to the other Vori after being interrogated. Karya is there too, and says her grandfather is not well. Chakotay demands to talk to the guard, but he is knocked back. With nothing else to do, he sleeps next to Karya. The next day, they wake up to gunfire while the Kradin lead the older villagers to be killed while the younger ones are forced to work. Karya sees Penno and cries out for him to be let go, but eventually the Kradin take them both. Enraged, Chakotay knocks down a guard and jumps on the leader, only to be knocked down himself soon.

On Voyager, Ambassador Treen and his soldiers arrive to help with the search for Chakotay. It is then revealed that Treen is not Vori, but Kradin. Janeway thanks him for his help but Treen assures her that any enemy of their merciless nemesis, the Vori, is a friend of his.

Act Five [ ]

Chakotay is left upturned, but not for long as Brone is nearby and helps him. Brone says he will take Chakotay to the command post to contact Voyager , but Chakotay is now invested in the war, and insists he go with him to the Fifth Contingent. There, the Vori group come under attack and soon they are surrounded. A loud booming voice orders them to lower their weapons, but Chakotay refuses and keeps shooting. Then, Chakotay is approached by a single Kradin and almost shoots him but he discovers that the Kradin is actually Tuvok. Brone, injured and being taken away, shouts to Chakotay to ignore this, as it is a Kradin tactic. Eventually, Chakotay sees through the deception, but only a little. To prove that everything Chakotay had experienced was a delusion, Tuvok then leads him back to the village, where Chakotay is greeted by the people who should have been exterminated earlier that day and in a scene that was nearly identical to his first experience there.

Back on Voyager , The Doctor reveals that Chakotay has undergone extensive psychological conditioning and training to hate the Kradin. Everything he had experienced up to that day had been an illusion as part of the training. Apparently, risking his life to attack a Kradin officer was enough to promote him to active duty in the Vori's conditioning. Although no-one knows if the Kradin are actually guilty of the type of atrocities Chakotay was led to believe, Janeway states that the Vori are accused of the same. Kradin ambassador Treen enters sickbay to talk to Chakotay, but Chakotay says nothing and after a tense, angry silence storms out of the room. In the corridor outside sickbay, Chakotay remarks to Janeway, " I wish it were as easy to stop hating as it was to start. " He continues to walk away.

Log entries [ ]

• "Captain's log, stardate 51082.4. After searching for more than two days, we finally located what's left of Commander Chakotay's shuttle. I can only hope the commander has fared better than his vessel."
• "Captain's log, stardate 51096.5. Although Lieutenant Tuvok has managed to bring Commander Chakotay safely back to the ship, it may be some time before his psychological wounds are fully healed."

Memorable quotes [ ]

" How is he? " " Nullified. "

" Welcome aboard, Ambassador. Thank you for agreeing to help us find our crewman. " " Your thanks are unnecessary, Captain. Any victim of our bloodthirsty nemesis, the Vori, will always find friends among the Kradin people. "

" If we greet the nemesis in the trunks, you'll fire like the rest. As long as you're with us, you do my tellings. Fathom? " " Fathom. "

" Motherless beast! "

" From the condition of your hypothalamus, I'd say they had you so mixed up they could have convinced you your own mother was a turnip. "

" I wish it were as easy to stop hating as it was to start. "

" You are a scientist, an explorer. You are not a killer. "

Background information [ ]

Production history [ ].

• Production number: 011-40840-171
• Final draft script: 13 June 1997 [1]
• Working title : "The Recruit"
• Day 1 – 17 June 1997 , Tuesday – Paramount Stage 8 : Captain's ready room , briefing room ; Paramount Stage 9 : Corridor , sickbay , transporter room
• Day 2 – 18 June 1997 , Wednesday – Paramount Stage 16 : Ext. Forest
• Day 3 – 19 June 1997 , Thursday – Paramount Stage 16: Larhana settlement , alien campsite, int. caves
• Day 4 – 20 June 1997 , Friday – Paramount Stage 16: Commando campsite
• Day 5 – 23 June 1997 , Monday – Warner Bros. backlot : Larhana settlement, ext. woods
• Day 6 – 24 June 1997 , Tuesday – Warner Bros. backlot: Larhana settlement
• Day 7 – 25 June 1997 , Wednesday – Paramount Stage 16: Ext. Forest/woods
• Day 8 – 26 June 1997 , Thursday – Paramount Stage 16: Ext. Woods, commando campsite, ext. forest
• 2nd Unit – 29 July 1997 , Tuesday – Paramount Stage 9: Ext. Forest (blue screen)
• Airdate: 24 September 1997

Story and script [ ]

• This episode had the working title "The Recruit". [2] The episode's ultimately-used title (along with TNG : " First Contact ") later served as the subtitle of one of the Next Generation motion pictures (namely, Star Trek Nemesis ).
• During the first day of production on this episode, executive producer Jeri Taylor stated, " It's a story about how people can be taught to hate, about propaganda, and about how wars can come out of a conscious attempt to impose hate in people. It's one of those stories that is supposed to make you think a little bit. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 31 , p. 14) Writer Kenneth Biller himself remarked, " We set out to explore the whole nature of propaganda. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 81)
• The Vori language seems strange, but it merely substitutes various words with lesser-known synonyms (e.g., "glimpses" instead of "sees" or "eyes"). Janeway actress Kate Mulgrew commented about the Vori's vernacular, " Almost Chaucerian , they speak in what is like Old English. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 32 , p. 9) Regarding the creation of this communication style, Ken Biller commented, " I tried to create an interesting language for the aliens. Our aliens either sound too Human or they sound kind of hokey, and it's tough to find a balance. I decided to try to do something that was more stylized, where the language itself became part of the indoctrination, so that they spoke differently than our people do, and Chakotay began to speak with their language as he became more and more indoctrinated into this culture. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 81)

Cast and characters [ ]

• In the interview that Jeri Taylor gave on the first day of this episode's production period, Taylor noted that the installment presented an opportunity to remedy a feeling that the character of Chakotay (as played by Robert Beltran ) was not utilized enough at the end of the previous season: " Chakotay is a wonderful character played by a wonderful actor and, in the second half of the [third] season , we didn't find enough good stuff for him to do. So we are addressing that early on this season with a very strong episode for him. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 31 , p. 14) Indeed, the episode so centrally features the character of Chakotay that Kate Mulgrew once described the installment (referring indirectly to the Vori) by stating, " 'Nemesis' is just Robert Beltran alone, with a very bizarre species. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 32 , p. 9)
• Kate Mulgrew had high hopes for this episode. She predicted, " It should be interesting. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 32 , p. 9)
• Jeri Ryan ( Seven of Nine ) does not appear in this episode. It is the only episode, after she joined the cast of Star Trek: Voyager , in which she does not appear. Though Ryan was not part of this episode, she was on set on the first day of production, 17 June 1997 , to film additional scenes for " Scorpion, Part II " on second unit. The call sheet listed her makeup call at 5:30 am.

Production [ ]

A moment from the production of this episode

• Director Alexander Singer spent hours thinking about how to depict the episode's elaborate planet setting and how to overcome the related limitations. " We had to create a wooded forest that had many different aspects in both day and night, " he recalled. " There were many scenes that each had to look special and different. I spent many hours studying the possibilities. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 119 , p. 64)
• Ultimately, Ken Biller was pleased with the creation of the planet's jungle environment. " We did two location days on that show (on the Warner Bros. backlot ), and then built a great jungle set, " Biller explained, " so you can't really tell what's on the stage and what's on location. (Production designer) Richard James did a really great job. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 81)
• Makeup supervisor Michael Westmore was conscious of making the Kradin physically similar to Nausicaans , first seen in TNG : " Tapestry ". " The bad-looking good guys of ST:VOY's 'Nemesis', the Kradin, resembled the Nausicaans from ST:TNG but in a nastier way, " Westmore commented, " with the mouth opened a little more and the hair not quite as beaded and braided. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 42 , pp. 82-83)
• The Kradin uniforms were reuses of Mokra Order uniforms from the second season installment " Resistance ". ( Delta Quadrant , p. 200)
• The PADD that Karya gives to Chakotay, with a letter for her brother, Daryo, is a reuse of a PADD containing schematics for the Etanian Order starship, from the third season episode " Rise ".
• The Kradin and the Vori are armed with contemporary weapons. ( Delta Quadrant , p. 200)
• According to the unauthorized reference book Delta Quadrant (p. 200), the Kradin aircraft were Harrier Jump Jet s modified with CGI .

Continuity [ ]

• The makeup of the Kradin resembles not only that of the Nausicaans but also that of Fek'lhr from TNG : " Devil's Due ", as well as the aliens from the Predator movies, giving the Kradin an archetypal vicious and untrustworthy appearance despite their good intentions.
• This is the third episode in a row wherein a Voyager shuttlecraft is lost, for a total of seven up to this point, after having previously lost six shuttles in " Initiations ", " Non Sequitur ", " Parturition ", " Unity ", " The Gift ", and " Day of Honor ". In " The Gift ", a Class 2 shuttle is lost when Kes evolves; in " Day of Honor ", the Cochrane is destroyed by the Caatati ; and here, Chakotay loses a third , of unknown type.
• Chakotay mentions his fight against the Cardassians as part of the Maquis in this episode, a conflict which is explored in many episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .
• The firearm used by the Vori is a Ruger Mini-14 fitted with a Muzzelite bullpup stock, model MZ14. [3] The Kradin firearm is also a modified assault rifle, the AKU-94 modification of a Kalashnikov. [4]

Reception [ ]

• Jeri Taylor once enthusiastically described this episode as "a script by Kenneth Biller that I love." Taylor then said, " He's written it in a very interesting and original fashion. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 31 , p. 14) She also cited this episode as "one of the strongest" of "some very interesting [Chakotay] shows" in the series and went on to say, " I was terribly pleased with that. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 36 , pp. 12 & 13)
• Ken Biller himself was very proud of this episode. Regarding the task of setting out to explore the issue of propaganda, Biller enthused, " [We] did it fairly successfully. " Speaking more generally about the installment, he continued, " Disappointments with it were [that] I think we shouldn't have said at the end that everything was a simulation. It should have been clear that some of these other young soldiers were also being recruited in the same way that Chakotay was. 'Nemesis' was probably, of what I did, my favorite of the year. It came out really pretty well, and it had a good twist. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 81)
• This episode achieved a Nielsen rating of 4.5 million homes, and a 7% share. [5] (X)
• Cinefantastique rated this episode 2 and a half out of 4 stars. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 80)
• Star Trek Magazine scored this episode 3 out of 5 stars. ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 37 , p. 61)
• The unauthorized reference book Delta Quadrant (p. 201) gives this installment a rating of 7 out of 10.

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 4.2, 2 March 1998
• As part of the VOY Season 4 DVD collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

Also starring [ ]

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

Guest stars [ ]

• Michael Mahonen as Brone
• Matt E. Levin as Rafin
• Nathan Anderson as Namon
• Peter Vogt as Kradin Commandant
• Booth Colman as Penno
• Meghan Murphy as Karya

Co-stars [ ]

• Terrence Evans as Ambassador Treen
• Marilyn Fox as Marna
• Pancho Demmings as Kradin Soldier

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• B'Jahn as Vori villager
• Tulsy Ball as Vori commando
• Millie Baron as Vori villager
• Mac Beers as Vori villager
• Linda Bell as Vori villager
• Angela Bertolino as Vori villager
• Kradin commando
• Kradin soldier
• Michelle Butler as Vori villager
• George Cambio as Vori commando
• Mary Cervantez as Vori villager
• Carol Cetrone as Vori villager
• Louis Coleman as Vori villager
• Misty Dickinson as Vori villager
• Torrey Dickinson as Vori villager
• Maureen Flaherty as Vori villager
• Tom Gianelli as Vori commando
• John Gipson as Vori villager
• Glenn Goldstein as Vori commando
• Linda Gucciardo as Vori villager
• Brian Hall as Vori commando
• Norman Joseph as Vori villager
• Tam "Egypt" Lee as Vori commando
• Mark Major as dead Vori
• Cazimir Milostan as Vori commando
• Kradin guard
• Monica Peterson as Vori villager
• Steve Race as Vori commando
• Jerry Sherman as Vori villager
• Joey Spagnola as Vori villager
• Kristen Wong as Vori villager

Stunt doubles [ ]

• David Balcorta as stunt double for Robert Beltran
• Johnny Martin as stunt double for Matt E. Levin
• Paul Short as stunt double for Peter Vogt

Stand-ins [ ]

• John Austin – stand-in for Terrence Evans
• Debbie David – stand-in for Robert Beltran
• Sue Henley – stand-in for Kate Mulgrew and utility stand-in
• June Jordan – stand-in for Meghan Murphy
• Susan Lewis – stand-in for Roxann Dawson
• Lemuel Perry – stand-in for Tim Russ and Pancho Demmings
• J.R. Quinonez – stand-in for Robert Picardo , Nathan Anderson , Michael Mahonen , and Matt E. Levin
• Keith Rayve – stand-in for Robert Duncan McNeill , Nathan Anderson, and Peter Vogt
• Jennifer Riley – stand-in for Marilyn Fox
• Ron – stand-in for Matt E. Levin and Booth Colman
• Richard Sarstedt – stand-in for Robert Beltran
• Simon Stotler – stand-in for Ethan Phillips and Michael Mahonen
• John Tampoya – stand-in for Garrett Wang

References [ ]

2364 ; 2374 ; accusation ; aggressor ; ambassador ; bad breath ; basic training ; biochemical weapon ; blanket ; blister ; blossom ; brainwashing ; brother ; cadaver ; canteen ; Cardassian ; Chakotay's shuttle ; clash ; clash zone ; clay mark ; color ; conscript ; command post ; commando unit ; contingent ; crash landing ; Daryo ; dawn ; defender ; dozen ; driller ; elder ; extermination facility ; Fifth Contingent ; flower garland ; flaming ; footfall ; Fourth Vori Defense Contingent ; fuming ; gag ; girl ; Gloried Way After ; graduation ; grandfather ; gray ; Grove Yellow ; health ; hypothalamus ; intelligence report ; Kradin ; Kradin fighter ; " Krady beast "; Larhana settlement ; letter ; logic ; mind control ; neck-strapping ; nemesis ; new light ; novice ; omicron radiation ; photometric projection ; propaganda ; psychotropic manipulation ; radiation ; Rafin's uncles ; restock unit ; rotting ; scout walker ; Seventh Defense Contingent ; shuttlecraft ; stake ; tactical analysis ; team leader ; turnip ; village ; Vori ; Vori Defense Contingent ; Vori homeworld ; Vori homeworld star ; Vori language ; Vori village ; Vori/Kradin planet ; walk ; war ; warrior ; Way After

External links [ ]

• "Nemesis" at StarTrek.com
• " Nemesis " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Nemesis " at Wikipedia
• " Nemesis " at the Internet Movie Database
• 3 Ancient humanoid

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Star Trek: Voyager – Nemesis (Review)

Nemesis is a great example of Star Trek: Voyager pitching itself as generic Star Trek .

This is a story that is not unique or particular to this crew. In fact, the story could easily be adapted to service characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation or Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or even Star Trek: Enterprise . In some respects, Nemesis might even work better if Robert Beltran were swapped out for Jonathan Frakes or Colm Meaney or Connor Trinneer. There is very little in the script that relies on the particularities of this show or the nuances of its characters.

The Rifleman…

While this lack of a distinct identity is a problem for Voyager as a television series, it does lead to some great episodes. Many of the best episodes of Voyager could easily be ported to or from any of the other shows. It was an approach that really came to the fore during the third season, when Jeri Taylor and Brannon Braga made a conscious choice to steer the show away from its focus on a crew stranded far from home and towards a more generic Star Trek sensibility.

At its best, this leads to very strong allegorical storytelling. Episodes like  Remember and  Distant Origin are very much archetypal  Star Trek episodes, extended science-fiction metaphors with a strong moral core that evoke the  Star Trek beloved by so many of its fans.  Nemesis is very much an episode constructed in that tradition, a metaphorical exploration of the dehumanisation of soldiers through combat training and conditioning. It is a powerful and thought-provoking piece of social commentary and a superb piece of  Star Trek .

A hard shoot.

As with Distant Origin , there is a certain threshold of ridiculousness to Nemesis . It is not the most tightly constructed episode of Voyager in the history of the franchise, one that leaves a number of very important questions dangling about the mechanics of the science-fiction world that was just presented to the audience. Most notably, there are a lot of questions left hanging about how exactly the Vori function as a society engaged in a long and bitter war against the Kradin.

Initially, the scenario seems quite reasonable. Chakotay is shot down during a routine survey of a planet. He happens to meet a bunch of soldiers engaged in jungle warfare. As he tries to reunite with Voyager, he finds himself drawn into the conflict. He comes to feel sympathy for the soldiers and the civilians trapped in the perpetual warfare. Against his own better judgment, he comes to hate the enemy. Gradually, he is convinced to take up arms in support of their cause.

He’s Kray Kray.

However, it is then reveal that all of this was a hoax. Chakotay’s shuttle was not shot down by the Kradin, it was shot down by the Vori. He was captured and subjected to “photometric projections, heightened emotional stimuli, and highly sophisticated psychotropic manipulation.” The whole point of his experience was to recruit him as a soldier in this grand conflict between the Vori and the Kradin. He was trained to hate, and then trained to kill.

It is a brilliant twist, just in terms of plotting. Kenneth Biller has improved a great deal as Voyager has gone on. As with the creeping wrongness in the first few acts of Worst Case Scenario , as little inconsistencies and details begin to gnaw at the audience’s expectations, there is a similar build across the run of Nemesis . Initially it seems Janeway has allied with the Vori to find Chakotay. Then it seems like she has sided with the Kradin, but she doesn’t realise that they are monsters. Then it is revealed Chakotay has been brainwashed.

Tied down to expectations.

Just structurally, that is a very clever build. The script plays entirely fair with the audience, and it builds organically to each major revelation in a way that never feels like a cheat or a cop out. Structurally, Nemesis is a very good script in service in service of some very great themes. However, there is an inherent goofiness to the twist, to the reveal that Chakotay has been subjected to an extended and involved “basic training.” It is a revelation that does not bear too much scrutiny.

It is made abundantly clear that there is nothing particularly special about the conditioning that Chakotay had received. “We tracked you to a Vori training camp,” Tuvok tells Chakotay at the climax. “We infiltrated the facility, but you were gone. They had already brought you here to fight this battle. Before today, nothing you experienced here was real. It is the method the Vori use to conscript and train soldiers.” This is standard operating procedure.

“Damn it, this is the second shuttle we’ve lost this week.”

Similarly, when Chakotay asks why this happened to him, Janeway responds, “Luck of the draw. You happened to be passing through their space and you were as promising a recruit as anyone else. We’ve been told the Vori have dozens of these training facilities where they conscript their own people, and any aliens they’re able to capture.” How many aliens fly into Vori airspace? After all, this seems to a bush war in the Delta Quadrant; it looks to be confined to a single planet. How is this considered a practical method of recruitment?

There is a suggestion that recruiting aliens is not the primary purpose of this operation, although it is a large enough part of the process to merit discussion. It is explained that the Vori employ this technology against their own people, brainwashing their own soldiers to turn them into killing machines. While a lot of the operation appears to be automated, such as the village itself, at least some of it is real. Chakotay’s conditioning includes Brone, who accompanies him on his first mission. As such, that feels like a very elaborate set-up for a bush war.

The horns of Namon.

Still, as with the craziness of warp-capable dinosaurs in Distant Origin , this leap of faith is entirely justified. Nemesis is a striking and powerful piece of allegorical science-fiction, dealing with big and bold themes. In fact, it should be noted that the episode has a lot in common with the themes and high concepts of Men Against Fire , the fifth episode of the third season of Black Mirror , released in late October 2016. It is an episode built around a number of very clever idea, putting a science-fiction gloss on the dehumanisation of the enemy.

Indeed, Nemesis is quite explicit about its influences. The Vori and the Kradin are very clearly locked in a twenty-fourth century version of Vietnam, with Chakotay handed a contemporary assault rifle and the Kradin flying what appear to be conventional fighter jets. One of the nicer twists in Nemesis is the gradual revelation that the Vori are not stand-ins for the United States, but that these predominantly white khaki-clad soldiers are instead cast as the Viet Cong in this analogy; their villages devastated by the enemy , fighting in the bush , at a technical disadvantage .

The kings of Cong.

There are also shades of the Korean War to be found in Nemesis , with its emphasis on brainwashing and manipulation recalling the reports of experiences of American prisoners of war ; these reports would inspire The Manchurian Candidate among other things. Pointedly, Nemesis is very much anchored in the idea of warfare after the Second World War. This makes sense on a number of levels. Most superficially, Star Trek has always treated the Second World War as an origin of its shared universe. However, there’s more to it than that.

Quite simply, the way that modern militaries train soldiers has evolved a great deal since the Second World War. In the aftermath of that conflict, S.L.A. Marchall famously published Men Against Fire . Marshall suggested that soldiers on the field of battle were reluctant to kill the enemy, often firing over their heads or discharging warning volleys. Marshall’s findings are hotly contested, with many arguing that they were exaggerated or drawn from bad data . Still, regardless of merit, his findings prompted further research and investigation .

Now you gun done it.

The sciences of teaching people to kill is known (somewhat crassly) as “killology.” It has attracted considerable attention since the end of the Second World War. As Vicki Haddock notes :

Psychologists who advised the military and law enforcement agencies began to push for changes that would revolutionize training to improve kill rates. Their methods — familiar to those who operate boot camps, police academies and aggressive-response self-defense courses — are a distasteful mystery to most in the outside world. But they work. The Pentagon improved firing rates. Research suggests that 55 percent of U.S. soldiers fired on the enemy in the Korean War. By Vietnam that rate had climbed to more than 90 percent. Police studies document similar changes in recent decades. One of the key changes was to get rid of the old firing ranges, where shooters took target practice in an open field aiming at a bull’s-eye. This failed miserably at preparing shooters for real-world confrontations. Today’s apprentice killers train in situations designed to simulate combat as closely as possible, and they rehearse in a fashion that would be instantly recognizable to pioneers of behavior modification, from Ivan Pavlov to B.F. Skinner. The bull’s-eyes have been replaced by human-shaped targets that pop up without warning, for example, with polyurethane faces on balloon bodies inside uniforms. A trainee spots the targets, fires almost on instinct and gets rewarded with points, badges and three-day passes. Over and over, these “kill drills” build muscle memory and acclimate the brain to the act of killing.

This is understandably a disturbing field of study, but one that has grown in profile and stature over the second half of the twentieth century. Nemesis plays very well as a metaphor for this idea, the Vori having honed the training of killers to a fine art.

Who’s Rafin now, eh?

The episode acknowledges this in an early conversation between Rafin and Chakotay, as one fresh recruit schools the other in the art of discharging firearms. “It is one matter to fire at clay marks, but much another to nullify the nemesis,” Rafin remarks to Chakotay. “That’s what Namon told, and he told the truth before he went to the gloried wayafter.” Chakotay agrees, “He was right. Killing’s not easy.” It is an exchange that seems particularly potent in hindsight, once the purpose of everything that Chakotay has seen is made clear.

Training soldiers often involves dehumanisation of both the trainee and the enemy. The disruption of normal psychological and biological functions is common. During Vietnam, the United States plied its soldiers with amphetamines to help them stave off physical and mental exhaustion ; they are still used today among American soldiers . Soldiers are drilled to shoot at targets that look like the enemy rather than simple bullseyes . It has been suggested that these changes in training psychology may have contributed to increases in PTSD and suicide among veterans .

All fired up.

As Steve Robinson explained, training a soldier to take a life is a very gradual and carefully curated process :

We desensitize soldiers to the idea of killing by starting them off with drills and paper targets that don’t look like anything, and then ultimately transition to moving targets, pop-up targets and things that are shaped like humans, so that your response is automatic. You don’t think. The last thing you want in war while somebody’s bearing down with their rifle onto a target is [for them] to think to themselves, I wonder what the consequences are going to be to my long-term psychological health about this act that I’m about to commit. So reflexively, because of drill, they pull the trigger, because that’s what they’re trained to do.

Chakotay’s experience is a little more involved than that, but it is really just an extrapolation of that core concept.

Here there be monsters.

Everything that Chakotay experiences is designed to manipulate him into taking up arms with the Vori. First, he witnesses the death of Namon. Then he picks up a rifle. Then he puts on the same military fatigues of the rest of the unit. Then he watches them die. Then he is introduced to a village of old people and children, who treat him as a returning hero. He then witnesses the horror of a Kradin occupation first-hand, including their brutal beating of him and their massacre of the local population.

All of this is intended to convince Chakotay that the Vori are innocent idealists and that the Kradin are inhumane monsters. “This nemesis of yours… why do you call them beasts?” Chakotay asks Rafin. He then answers his own question, “You know, sometimes people say terrible things about their enemies to make them seem worse than they really are.” Naturally, the entire training programme is designed to teach Chakotay to hate the Kradin, to the point that he throws himself upon on “the simulated commandant” labeling him a “motherless beast!”

“Nausicaans? Nah, we’ve never heard of them.”

Much like teaching a soldier to discount his own individualism makes him a better soldier, dehumanising the enemy makes it easier to kill them. As Andrew Pomerantz explains :

Very often they will call the enemy by some subhuman name – you know, “gooks.” Who cares about a gook? What’s a gook? It’s not a person; it’s not a human being. Part of the dehumanizing, it’s made a lot easier if the person looks different than us, whether it’s by names or just firing up “God’s on our side; this is our war; we’re fighting this, and we should be fighting, and God is proud of us”; a lot of killing is done just with that as the reason. Anything you can do to make a person think this is not the kid next door; this is not the friend that I grew up with that I’m about to blow his brains out; this is some animal; it’s not a real person – simple.

Indeed, Nemesis even plays into this idea by ensuring that the Kradin have a very similar make-up design to the Nausicaans from Tapestry . These are aliens that feel genuinely alien, in contrast to the Vori who are very human in appearance. It is a classic Star Trek twist, in the spirit of The Devil in the Dark .

Night terrors.

That said, one of the smarter aspects of Nemesis is the way that it avoids turning the conflict between the Vori and the Kradin into a simple black-and-white conflict with clear good guys and bad guys. Rather than simply reversing the idea that the Vori are the heroes and the Kradin are the villains, Nemesis instead hints at the idea that both parties are trapped in a vicious and brutal struggle. The Kradin might help Janeway to retrieve Chakotay, but the script is careful not to insist that they are the heroes in this extended conflict.

Most obviously, the Vori and Kradin both employ similar language. Some of this might be a function of plot, allowing Nemesis to trick the audience into thinking that Janeway is working with the Vori when Tuvok uses ambiguous phrasing like “the nemesis.” However, the repeated use of the phrase by Ambassador Treen underscores the idea that the Kradin are just as guilty of dehumanising their opponents as the Vori.

“I realise you are probably still a little miffed about that whole Maquis spy business, but this is really not the time.”

Indeed, even when Chakotay learns that the Kradin are not “motherless beasts” at the end of the episode, the script is careful to make it clear that this does not mean they are entirely innocent either. “The Kradin don’t kill innocent civilians?” Chakotay asks Janeway. “They don’t desecrate the Vori’s dead?” Janeways does not dismiss these claims as mere propaganda. “I don’t know,” she states. She also underscores the recurring sense of equivalence, “But the Kradin accuse the Vori of the same kinds of atrocities.”

This is a very clever piece of writing, one that rejects the obvious twist of “the Vori were the bad guys all along” and edges it into something altogether more nuanced and sophisticated. This is more akin to the pragmatism of the various Vietnam films, suggesting that war is a situation that rarely allows for clear-cut heroes and villains. War sullies all of those involved, rendering both sides complicit in atrocities and horrors. It is a very strong Star Trek anti-war moral, recalling Gene L. Coon’s work on  A Taste of Armageddon or Errand of Mercy .

Speak no evil.

One of the more interesting aspects of the episode is the language employed by the Vori. It sounds genuinely alien, despite the fact that all of the characters are using English words. In fact, writer Kenneth Biller zeroed in on the dialogue in Cinefantastique , pointing to it as an aspect of the episode of which he was very proud:

“I tried to create an interesting language for the aliens. Our aliens either sound too human or they sound kind of hokey, and it’s tough to find a balance. I decided to try to do something that was more stylized, where the language itself became part of the indoctrination, so that they spoke differently than our people do, and Chakotay began to speak with their language as he became more and more indoctrinated into this culture. We set out to explore the whole nature of propaganda and did it fairly successfully. Disappointments with it were [that] I think we shouldn’t have said at the end that everything was a simulation. It should have been clear that some of these other young soldiers were also being recruited in the same way that Chakotay was. ‘Nemesis’ was probably, of what I did, my favorite of the year. It came out really pretty well, and it had a good twist.”

It definitely deserves recognition. Like the transporter, the universal translator is a stock Star Trek plot device that is rarely examined or explored in any detail. Unless language and communication are the explicit theme of the episode, as in Darmok , spending too long on getting our characters talking to the aliens can seem like stalling or padding on the part of the writing staff, as it did in Sanctuary .

Food for thought.

As a result, Star Trek very rarely plays with language when it comes to alien societies and cultures. However, Nemesis is immediately striking for the dialogue employed by the otherwise human-looking Vori. This is clear from the first scene after the opening titles, when Namon presents the captured Chakotay to Brone. “We found him in the trunks, a hundred footfalls past Grove Yellow,” Namon explains. Brone berates his subordinate for treating Chakotay as a hostile. “He’s no Krady beast, is he?” Brone asks. “His glimpse is too tame to be a Kradin.”

In some ways, this dialogue is very goofy. It can occasionally sound like something from a bad fifties science-fiction movie, particularly coming from some of the weaker members of the cast. However, there are moments when it works on a purely aesthetic level. There is a certain poetry to the way that the Vori express their ideas through substitutions and simplifications. “You’ve got the trembles,” Namon warns Rafin. “If you don’t wrestle your trembles to rages, ally, the nemesis’ll nullify you.” It conveys a lot, very effectively.

Unfathomnable.

However, it also plays into the broader themes of the episode around it. Much like the Vori training is clearly influenced by the pop science of S.L.A. Marshall, the Vori language plays into the popular notion that language shapes and distorts thought; remove words and limit vocabulary, and you compress the capacity for thought. It is a notion most explicitly articulated by the concept of “newspeak” in 1984 , the conscious distortion of language and dialogue as a means of keeping citizens compliant.

There are very clearly elements of that to the Vori dialogue in Nemesis . Most notably, the characters avoid words like “free” or “freedom” or “know.” Instead, they apply synonyms that avoid the larger philosophical concepts. “I’ll set you loose,” Brone advised Chakotay, a rather cumbersome way of avoiding saying “I’ll set you free.” Similarly, the word “fathom” is used repeatedly in place of “know” or “think” , a choice that suggests a more basic understanding; the grasping of a concept rather than its intricacies.

A dark little story.

As with Marshall’s research into violence in war, the notion that language dictates thought is hotly contested and subject to debate. Obviously, the counter-argument is that the logic flows in the other direction, that language follows thought and experience; the oft-debated example of Eskimo words for “snow” comes to mind . However, Guy Duetscher argues there is some evidence of connection :

In recent years, various experiments have shown that grammatical genders can shape the feelings and associations of speakers toward objects around them. In the 1990s, for example, psychologists compared associations between speakers of German and Spanish. There are many inanimate nouns whose genders in the two languages are reversed. A German bridge is feminine (die Brücke), for instance, but el puente is masculine in Spanish; and the same goes for clocks, apartments, forks, newspapers, pockets, shoulders, stamps, tickets, violins, the sun, the world and love. On the other hand, an apple is masculine for Germans but feminine in Spanish, and so are chairs, brooms, butterflies, keys, mountains, stars, tables, wars, rain and garbage. When speakers were asked to grade various objects on a range of characteristics, Spanish speakers deemed bridges, clocks and violins to have more “manly properties” like strength, but Germans tended to think of them as more slender or elegant. With objects like mountains or chairs, which are “he” in German but “she” in Spanish, the effect was reversed.

The original basis of Benjamin Lee Wharf’s hypothesis was the theory that the Hopi tribe of Native Americans did not have a concept of time corresponding to that of the European settlers, which was an uncomfortable (and swiftly disproven) hypothesis that served to “other” the Native American . The Vori might approve. Still, there is evidence that some mathematical concepts are easier to grasp in certain languages .

Face of the enemy.

This is a nice science-fiction idea, one that is integrated quite skilfully into the episode around it. The effect of the Vori language is relatively understated, although it very clear impacts Chakotay. As the Vori manipulate the character further, his vocabulary shifts. He begins to use Vori words. It is possible to determine how far the Vori have pushed Chakotay by simply looked at how familiar he is with their dialogue, whether he uses their vocabulary ironically or in earnest.

Early on, he explicitly questions the use of the word “beasts” to describe the Kradin. Later, he feels comfortable enough with the dialogue to assure Karya, “Close your glimpsers, and dream of your gloried brother.” Even later, he unironically describes a Kradin as a “murderous beast.” There is a sense that the Vori have successfully managed to change the way that Chakotay thinks. It is a very effective expression of how thoroughly their brainwashing has affected the Starfleet officer.

It’s a jungle out there.

This is very high concept science-fiction, playing back into the idea of Nemesis as a great example of Voyager pitching archetypal Star Trek storytelling. It is science-fiction as allegory, using a fantastical situation to play on ideas that are very pertinent to the modern world. Much like the Men Against Fire saw Black Mirror playing with similar ideas about dehumanisation and killology, Arrival is a recent example of a high-profile science-fiction project dealing this theme of the relationship between language and perception.

There is a reasonable argument to be made that Nemesis is the best Chakotay-centric episode across the seven-season run of Voyager , with the possible exception of Scorpion, Part I and Scorpion, Part II . After the departure of Michael Piller led to a conscious shift away from the New Age clichés of episodes like The Cloud , Initiations and Tattoo , the writers struggled to find a compelling read on Chakotay as a character. The holographic version presented in Worst Case Scenario is more interesting than his flesh-and-blood counterpart.

“A Chakotay episode? Really?”

However, Nemesis works in large part because it plays to the blandness of this iteration of the character. Although Chakotay makes a few fleeting references to killing Cardassians as part of the Maquis, there is a sense that the character has been slotted into the script as “generic human character.” It is not the worst possible approach to Chakotay. Robert Beltran is far from the most charismatic actor ever to grace the franchise, but he can play that average quality in a way that makes his plight sympathetic.

In some ways, Nemesis recalls the format of the “O’Brien must suffer!” episodes of Deep Space Nine , like Whispers or Visionary or Hard Time . The idea of throwing a seemingly normal guy (perhaps the most normal guy in the cast) into a crazy science-fiction high-concept to watch him suffer feels like a reasonable angle for Chakotay’s character development. In fact, there are shades of that in Unforgettable later in the season. However, that episode suffers more obviously from Beltran’s limitations as a performer. Still, he fits in comfortably here.

The production team had an unorthodox manner of dealing with Beltran’s complaints.

Nemesis is a very effective demonstration of how well the “generic Star Trek episode” model can work for Voyager . As with Remember and Distant Origin , it is an episode that functions very well as an example of what the franchise does, even if there is little of the episode specific to Voyager .

You might be interested in our other reviews from the fourth season of Star Trek: Voyager :

• Scorpion, Part II
• Day of Honor
• Scientific Method
• Year of Hell, Part I
• Year of Hell, Part II
• Random Thoughts
• Concerning Flight
• Mortal Coil
• Waking Moments
• Message in a Bottle
• The Killing Game, Part I
• The Killing Game, Part II
• The Omega Directive
• Unforgettable
• Living Witness
• Hope and Fear

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Filed under: Voyager | Tagged: aliens , chakotay , killology , review , science fiction , star trek , star trek: voyager , Television , voyager , warfare |

12 Responses

It’s very generi-Trek, but it still works very well (like most of Voyager at its best). It reminded me a bit of the TNG episode about the TNG episode with the imprisoned supersoldiers, which was also Star Trek!Vietnam. That episode though was more about the difficulty of deprogramming human killing machines after the war, rather than the process of programming itself. This episodes also deals with that deprogramming a bit in the final scene, with Chakotay being triggered by the Kradin ambassador using the word ‘nemesis’, though of course it never gets mentioned later.

You’ve said before that Trek leans heavily on WW2, but I’d say the Vietnam war also definitely left its mark on Trek. Not just the vague musings on the nature of war in TOS, but the results it has on the people actually suffering through it. Maybe DS9 has paid attention to that aspect as well? I’m not as familiar with that show as I probably should be.

Yeah, there’s a definite Vietnam vibe to DS9’s attitude to war, whether in the first season episode Battle Lines or the final season episode The Siege of AR-558. Even Soldiers of the Empire has a nod to the infamous “necklace of ears.” I think director Winrich Kolbe actually served in Vietnam.

Interesting review of an episode I might have underated in the past.

I do find it intriguing, speaking as a non-American how long a shadow Vietnam cast over American popular culture. I remember watching the fourth season finale of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ (‘Restless’) which among much else had an extended riff on ‘Apocalyspe Now’. This from an episode of a show first broadcast in 2000 whose nominal target audience (and main characters) were born years after the war ended.

“The hope of our nation’s future is a bunch of mulch.”

Vietnam arguably shaped the country as much as the Second World War did, perhaps providing something of a counterpoint. I mean, there’s an argument that the nation never quite got over it. Didn’t Trump say something over the weekend about how he remembers when America used to win wars? I mean, surely that was the nineties, but the implication seems to be that he’s talking about the sixties, if not earlier.

” Robert Beltran is far from the most charismatic actor ever to grace the franchise, but he can play that average quality in a way that makes his plight sympathetic.”

Yeah, it’s the same reason why he was so satisfying as the Infantry captain (The Killing Game). More so than the supposed all-American Tom Eugene Paris.

In other words, if Chakotay is Mr. Roberts, Tom is Ensign Pulver.

I mean, I do feel a little sorry for the neglected players on Voyager, even if they aren’t all Laurence Olivier. A good writing staff should be able to do something with a cast that isn’t all front bench.

Glad I wasn’t the only one to notice that this episode could be applied to other series. I’ve sometimes thought how certain episodes would fit in other series (How would “The Drumhead” fit airing on TOS, an era much closer to the HUAC and McCarthy hearings?) and I did in fact picture this one working as a TNG episode (probably seventh season) with Riker.

It’d definitely work on “Enterprise” as well, and while assigning the main role to Trip is kind of obvious, it might be better to show the indoctrination happening to someone younger and more naive (and under-used), like Travis (or even Hoshi).

I guess you’re right that Trip is kind of obvious. But I’m not entirely sure Anthony Montegomery could pull it off. Hoshi might be an interesting choice though, particularly as a linguist.

Now that normal service has resumed on Voyager, Nemesis feels like the first episode that could have been shown anywhere throughout this season. It’s odd that Jeri Ryan is absent (the only case during her time on the show) considering the strong focus on her for much of S4 – in fact, you could easily mistake Nemesis for an earlier episode, maybe somewhere between S2 or S3, almost as a throwback to those early years the way Worst Case Scenario was (also written by Kenneth Biller).

Chakotay episodes have not exactly been a treasure trove up until now. His character was hamstrung for much of the first two years with the ongoing Kazon/Seska arc, and more often than not, he was often relegated to stories about doomed romances like Unity or Unforgotten. Nemesis is that rare thing – a very, very good Chakotay episode where Robert Beltran is asked to carry much of the story alone. The only other one I can think of in this vein is The Fight – another episode where Chakotay is forced to toughen up to survive. The only other successful Chakotay episodes are two-handers, where he doesn’t have to do all the heavy lifting, like Distant Origin or Year of Hell, Pt II.

With DS9 waging a war of its own concurrently in S6, VGR decides to as well. The only difference is that Nemesis is forced to tell its story within the limits of a single episode, such is the nature of Voyager, where Chakotay is unknowingly drafted into the middle of someone else’s war.

Nemesis does resort to a few war movie cliches, from Apocalypse Now to Full Metal Jacket. But they don’t get in the way of a strong story about indoctrination and dehumanisation. The space of a 45-min episode means that Nemesis can’t cover the whole distance of Chakotay’s journey from reluctant officer lost in a jungle at war to someone all too willing to take up arms against the Kradin (he’s even picked up the Vori dialect) by the time he encounters Tuvok at the climax.

Nemesis might have worked even better as a two-parter, which would have granted us more time to see Chakotay’s conscription into the Vori war. As it is, Nemesis has Chakotay only just taking up arms against the Kradin by the end – had this been the climax of a two-part story, he could have progressed even further from willingly aiding the Vori’s cause to a fanatical zealot out to exterminate all of the Kradin.

Wisely, the scenes set aboard Voyager are kept to a minimum. Nemesis is at least halfway through before we even see another member of the Voyager cast, freeing up more time for Chakotay’s absorption into the war. The only real complaint I have with Nemesis is one that I’m used to seeing on Voyager by now – the lack of a follow up. What happens to Chakotay is as serious as Picard’s assimilation, but like LaForge’s brainwashing or O’Brien’s similar mistreatment by the Argratha, we’re not allowed to witness Chakotay’s slow recovery. It’s one of Voyager’s most disappointing attributes but on its own terms, Nemesis is a powerful treatise on the dehumanising horrors of war.

Yep. I really, really love Nemesis. I think it’s brilliant. It’s a great example of Voyager showcasing just what you can do with the “generic Star Trek” template that the show adopted early in the third season; I’d add “Remember” to that list as well. I don’t mind the Vietnam movie homages; as you point out, they’re effective narrative shorthand.

This episode was ruined by the little things for me. Chakotay alone in a shuttle for no purpose (as so often happens), and the loss of YET ANOTHER shuttle. This loss is mentioned off screen. Also, as you pointed out the mechanics of the brainwashing make little sense. The utter lack of world-building, so common to Voyager, makes everything seem like cardboard cutouts. Why do we care? We know its all a ruse in some way or form. Even the big reveal of the ugly aliens being the good guy is tedious, though at least it provides a plot excuse for yet another alien race that is identical to humans. The universe of Star Trek: Voyager is quite a bland place, full of world after world, star upon star, of human-like or human-identical societies, all expressing some various aspect of human culture. It’s just all mounting up by season four. This is our Chakotay episode? He doesn’t even get to really explore the deeper implications the experience has in regard to his terrorist leader past, or have a small conversation with Torres or another Maquis peer about what he went through. He’s a prop and the writers clearly have almost no interest in him as a character. All dialogue exist to serve the plot, in almost every episode, especially this one.

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Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2

People of earth.

A mysterious alien vessel has been encountered by the crew of the Starship Voyager. The vessel appears to have been engineered to mimic the precise specifications of the Voyager itself, down to the tiniest detail. It is piloted by an intelligent, yet aggressive alien species called the Vori. It soon becomes apparent that the Vori are determined to capture and enslave the crew of the Voyager.

On the bridge, the crew are briefed on the situation and are advised to remain on alert for any suspicious activity. Captain Janeway is especially wary of the situation, knowing that the Vori could have dire consequences for the ship and her crew if provoked.

Meanwhile, a group of Vori board the Voyager and take the crew hostage. The Vori deny the ship’s escape and send out a distress signal to their home planet. The Vori are determined to take advantage of the Voyager’s sophisticated technology and use it to further their own agendas.

An away team is sent to investigate the Vori’s home planet, but soon discovers a hostile environment where the Vori have enslaved the inhabitants. The away team learn that the Vori have been manipulating the inhabitants of the planet to serve their own ends.

With the help of the inhabitants, the away team devise a plan to neutralize the Vori and free the prisoners. In an effort to take back control of the ship, the away team use the Voyager’s advanced technology against the Vori. After a long and arduous battle, the away team are able to free the prisoners and the Voyager escapes the planet.

Back on the bridge, Captain Janeway reflects on the events of the mission. She reminds her crew that the Vori are a dangerous species with a hidden agenda, and that they must remain vigilant in order to protect the safety of the ship and her crew. With a new understanding of the Vori, the crew set out for a new mission.

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Equinox (part 2), persistence of vision.

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• Star Trek: Voyager

Full Episodes

• Sep 24, 1997

Summary Star Trek: Voyager follows the adventures of the Federation starship Voyager, which is under the command of Captain Kathryn Janeway.Voyager is in pursuit of a rebel Maquis ship in a dangerous part of the Alpha Quadrant when it is suddenly thrown 70,000 light years away to the Delta Quadrant. With much of her crew dead, Captain Janeway is ... Read More

Directed By : Alexander Singer

Written By : Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor, Kenneth Biller, Bryan Fuller, Lisa Klink

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Created By : Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor

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Kate Mulgrew

Capt. kathryn janeway, captain jenkins, shannon o'donnell.

Robert Beltran

Cmdr. chakotay, cmdr. katanay.

Roxann Dawson

Lt. b'elanna torres, b'elanna torres, dreadnought.

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Lt. tom paris, ensign tom paris, lt. (j.g.) tom paris.

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The doctor, dr. lewis zimmerman, equinox emh.

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Ensign harry kim, ensign kymble, tarik ergin, lt. ayala, satan's robot, security guard.

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Voyager computer, computer voice, computer.

Seven of Nine, Three of Eight, Two of Three

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Susan henley, ensign brooks, manu intiraymi, jennifer gundy, science division officer, ensign, alexander enberg, ensign vorik, third malon engineer, susan lewis, operations division officer, transporter technician, mikhal traveler, user reviews.

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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS4E4Nemesis

Recap / Star Trek Voyager S 4 E 4 Nemesis

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This episode provides examples of:

• All Just a Dream : Chakotay was being brainwashed to hate the Kradin through a simulation that depicted them as monsters. Everything that happened from his viewpoint, until Tuvok found him, never did.
• And This Is for... : The Defenders that Chakotay speaks to all have loved ones killed by their Nemesis. Namon: How many beasts will you send to the Wayafter, Rafin? Rafin: I couldn't say. Namon: Me, I'll nullify one for each brother and cousin that I've lost. And then one more after.
• Antagonist Title
• Artistic License – Gun Safety : Enforced. As Chakotay falls further under the brainwashing, he's walking around with his finger on the trigger of his rifle .
• Bait-and-Switch : The Voyager crew meticulously avoids stating the name of the faction they're meeting with, so the audience assumes that they're talking about the Vori, and that the Kradin are the villainous monsters. Then we get The Reveal , where the ambassador's delegation is a bunch of Kradin. This conflict isn't as simple as we'd thought.
• Beauty Equals Goodness : Subverted when it turns out that the Human Aliens are the bad guys, and their butt-ugly enemies are the ones helping Voyager .
• Berserk Button : Chakotay attacks the Kradin commandant who's hauling off Karya to the extermination facility . This marks his 'graduation' from the brainwashing, showing he's ready for battle.
• Blood Knight : Namon, who's clearly thirsting for Kradin blood. He gets to kill the Kradin who plugs him.
• Brainwashed : Chakotay, as it turns out.
• Brainwash Residue : The episode ends on a bit of a bitter note after Chakotay's rescue from the brainwashing camp. The Kradin ambassador who fought to secure his release comes to see him in sickbay, happy that he's in good health. Chakotay has to excuse himself, finding it hard to see him as anything other than a monster as he was made to believe by his captors.
• Captain Crash : As it was shot down, at least it wasn't Chakotay's fault.
• Civil War : The Clash .
• Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp" : The Vori dialect uses esoteric synonyms for common English words: "glimpse" instead of "look," "nullify" instead of "kill," "sphere" instead of "planet", "new light" instead of "morning" , "backwalk" instead of "fall back", and so on. Their speech is immediately comprehensible but sounds strange. The more time Chakotay spends with them, the more he starts talking like them.
• Cruel and Unusual Death : Chakotay is staked out in the sun to die, but is saved by Brone.
• Deadly Euphemism : Death is referred to as "nullification" by both sides.
• Death Glare : Before getting brainwashed, Vori say of him, "His glimpse is too tame to be a Krady." When Rafin's friend is killed, he picks up his own steely-eyed gaze, as does Chakotay by the time his indoctrination is complete.
• Delirious Misidentification : While under the Vori brainwashing, Chakotay sees Tuvok as a Kradin.
• Demonization : A common theme of this episode.
• Does This Remind You of Anything? : The handsome, human-looking, bare-armed Defenders wearing camouflage greens (as opposed to the usual Space Clothes ) and using assault rifles (as opposed to energy weapons) make this episode look like a gung-ho action movie of The '90s , which fits with the propaganda theme. It also has echoes of the brutality, dehumanization, and veteran PTSD/ inability to adjust to life after war of The Vietnam War , right down to unusual jargon.
• Due to the Dead : The Vori turn their dead face-down, while the Kradin are shown to leave their victims "neck-strapped and upturned," in violation of Vori customs . Brone: We beg peace from the Power that made us Vori, and we commend our brother Namon to the gloried Wayafter.
• Evil Sounds Deep : The Kradin speak with deep, distorted voices. Later subverted in both senses; the Kradin were trying to help find Chakotay, and when they appear outside the brainwashing simulation, their voices are perfectly normal.
• Evil Wears Black : The Kradin soldiers wear black, making us assume that they're evil.
• Execution by Exposure : Being left "neck-strapped and up-turned" is considered both torturous and sacrilegious, as it violates Vori funerary customs. Chakotay finds himself in this position after attacking the Kradin who drag Karya away.
• Fanservice : Any episode that opens with Chakotay Bound and Gagged is off to a good start. It gets better in the middle of the episode, when he's staked to the ground spread-eagle while wearing a muscle shirt.
• Fantastic Slurs : The Vori refer to the Kradin as "Krady beasts."
• Final Solution : Captured civilians who are too old to work are taken away to the Extermination Facility.
• Fire-Forged Friends : Deconstructed Trope ; Chakotay is made to empathize with various Defenders and Vori civilians who are then killed, so he'll feel anger towards their killers.
• Foreshadowing : When Chakotay first arrives, he notes that the Kradin might be just as scared of the Vori as vice versa. This sets up the reveal that the Kradin are at least no worse than the Vori, if not the actual "good guys."
• Going Native : After Namon dies, Chakotay is given his camouflage uniform under the justification that his bright red Space Clothes will stand out in the jungle. Which is true, but it also labels him as a Defender rather than a stranded alien, and causes him to subconsciously identify with the Defenders. He also starts talking more like them . More significantly he's given Namon's rifle for self defense .
• Good-Looking Privates : A girl from the village says that the Defenders, which Chakotay has joined, "glimpse great" in their jungle combat gear. They're actually the villains of the story.
• Gun Accessories : Namon has a big flashlight attached to the carry handle of his rifle.
• Hand Signals : The Vori Defenders use them.
• He's Dead, Jim : Namon.
• Human Aliens : The Vori—though, as Chakotay's interactions with them were during and just after his brainwashing, this may just be a facade.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight : Chakotay sees Tuvok as a Kradin commando, and nearly shoots him before Tuvok talks him down. Tuvok: You are Commander Chakotay of the starship Voyager. You are a scientist, an explorer. You are not a killer.
• Improperly Placed Firearms : The Defenders use bullpup assault rifles including the British SA80 , while Kradin soldiers use a Kalashnikov type , both modified with plastic coverings. The Kradin aircraft are CGI-modified Harrier jets.
• Innocent Flower Girl : Karya greets Chakotay by placing a garland of flowers around his neck.
• The Kradin ambassador says, "I'm only sorry we weren't able to rescue you sooner from our nemesis . (Chakotay walks out) Have I said something wrong?"
• "Welcome to Larhana settlement, gloried defender. You are brightly greeted." At the end of the episode, Chakotay is shocked to get the exact same greeting from the same girl he'd seen being dragged off for execution.
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique : Chakotay suffers this off-screen, courtesy of the (illusory) Kradin.
• Just One Man : Tuvok rejects the idea of a Voyager away team blundering about a war zone, and suggests that one man go in with a team of Kradin commandoes. Paris: Fine with me. When do I leave? Janeway: Something tells me that's not what Tuvok has in mind. Tuvok: Naturally, I am the logical person to carry out this mission. Paris: Naturally.
• Kick the Dog : Deliberately Invoked by the "simulation" Chakotay finds himself in, where the Kradin seem to do nothing but commit war crime after war crime, including desecrating the Vori's dead, rounding up civilians for slave labour and eventual execution, and even threaten a young girl , all so that Chakotay and the other recruits would come to hate them.
• Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better
• Mutual Kill : Namon shoots the Kradin who shoots him. They both die.
• Never Say "Die" : Vori are not killed. They are nullified .
• New Meat : Novice Rafin, who has never killed anyone and has "the trembles" at the thought of confronting the Nemesis.
• Nicknaming the Enemy : The Nemesis . Also referred to as "Krady beasts." In a moment of Dramatic Irony , it turns out the Kradin use the same term for their enemy.
• Not Quite Dead : The Kradin bomb the Larhana settlement, force-marching away the survivors as slave labor, and send off Penno and Karya to be executed. Tuvok takes Chakotay back to the settlement to find it restored and everyone still alive. He receives the exact same greeting from Penno and Karya as before.
• Obviously Evil : Subverted with the Kradin.
• Off-the-Shelf FX : The Kradin look suspiciously similar to Yautja . They also bear more than a passing resemblance to the Nausicaans.
• Pistol Whip : Chakotay yells at one of the Kradin about Karya's ailing grandfather and gets a rifle to the face.
• Predator Pastiche : Vori mind control makes the Kradin look very similar to the Predator. And the episode focuses on soldiers fighting each other in a jungle to boot.
• Propaganda Machine : Chakotay thinks the stories of the Krady beasts are due to this. He doesn't realise that he's actually experiencing the process himself.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil / Mars Needs Women : The Kradin are said to "make playthings of our sisters".
• Rousing Speech : Brone gives one after the Seventh Contingent is found massacred and their bodies desecrated.
• Separated by a Common Language : The universal translator that Chakotay has renders the Defenders' language into approximate English, but uses different base words: "clash" instead of "war", "savory" instead of "tasty", fly "so close to the sphere" instead of "low to the ground", and "Nemesis" instead of "Enemy".
• Series Continuity Error : At the briefing, Janeway asks Neelix what he knows about the war taking place on the planet, and he gives details about it in a manner that suggests he's well familiar with the conflict. Apparently the writers forgot that Neelix's knowledge of the Delta Quadrant had previously been established to end at the far side of the Nekrit Expanse , and that was about ten thousand light-years behind them. Although the nature and phrasing of Neelix's information suggests he got it all from the Kradin ambassador.
• A Shared Suffering ( Invoked Trope ): Having fought the Cardassians who were trying to take his own homeland, Chakotay identifies with the Vori Defenders. He tries to coach them out of their Black-and-White Morality , but ends up adopting it himself due to experiencing their privations first hand.
• Sighted Guns Are Low-Tech : When Rafin is showing Chakotay how to use their weapons, they both aim the rifle when shooting at targets. After Rafin gives a badass speech, he then shoots several targets without using the sights.
• Son of a Whore : The Defenders refer to the Kradin as "motherless beasts".
• Strange-Syntax Speaker : The Defenders have a Chaucer -like dialogue. Whether this is due to translation issues, or something to do with the brainwashing process, is not revealed, but Chakotay is shown talking the same way as the brainwashing takes effect .
• Teach Him Anger : Brone does this to novice soldiers, but the actual target is Chakotay.
• The Unreveal : We don't know for certain if the Kradin really are the good guys, as both sides accuse each other of the same atrocities . However, seeing as the Kradins help Voyager out without strings attached and the Vori brainwash random strangers to fight and die for them, the Kradins would appear to be at least better.
• The friendly ambassador Treen who's been informing Janeway about their Nemesis beams aboard, and he's a Kradin.
• Chakotay walks into a Vori village that he saw destroyed in a Kradin attack — and it's very much not destroyed, proving that what he experienced wasn't real.
• Star Trek Voyager S 4 E 3 Day Of Honor
• Recap/Star Trek: Voyager
• Star Trek Voyager S 4 E 5 Revulsion

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Chakotay is trapped on a planet where two species are fighting a genocidal war against each other.

In this episode of the podcast, Wes and Clay discuss “Nemesis” and its obvious “Deadwood” influence. Plus! The guys chat about projectile weapons in Star Trek, alien crossovers, and anticipating the twist.

• Post author By Wes
• Post date 12/26/2023

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Welcome to “The Pensky Podcast”! I’m Wes, joined as always by Clay, and today we’re dissecting a particularly distinctive episode of Star Trek: Voyager , “Nemesis.” Aired on September 24, 1997, this episode is notable for its unique approach to storytelling and dialogue.

Our conversation kicks off with how “Nemesis” unexpectedly reminds us of the series “Deadwood.” It’s an odd comparison, but the peculiar style of dialogue in this Voyager episode, with its crafted vernacular and distinct phrasing, brings to mind the immersive language that characterizes the world of “ Deadwood. ” This unusual approach in a Star Trek episode gives us plenty to talk about.

We also dive into the anticipation of the inevitable twist ending. “Nemesis” sets up a narrative where you’re almost waiting for the other shoe to drop, keeping viewers on their toes. We discuss how this sense of anticipation is built and whether it pays off effectively.

Chakotay takes the center stage in “Nemesis,” and we weigh the positives and negatives of this decision. While it’s refreshing to see different characters take the lead, we ponder if Chakotay’s character was utilized to its full potential in this episode. Does the episode contribute meaningfully to his development, or does it leave us wanting more?

The recruitment system of the alien species introduced in this episode raises some eyebrows. We discuss the questionable efficiency and return on investment of their methods, providing a more critical view of the episode’s underlying mechanics.

A lighter, yet noticeable aspect we touch on is Tuvok’s wardrobe malfunction.

Lastly, we delve into the episode’s use of ham-fisted allegories. “Nemesis” attempts to tackle complex themes, but does it succeed in delivering these messages subtly, or does it come across as too on-the-nose?

In summary, “Nemesis” presents a mixed bag of storytelling techniques, character utilization, and thematic exploration. Join us on “The Pensky Podcast” as we unpack all these elements. And for those interested in further discussion and exclusive content, our Patreon page is brimming with more Star Trek deep dives and analyses. Set a course and join us on this ongoing voyage through the Star Trek universe!

Nemesis Stardate: 51082.4 Original Airdate: 24 September 1997

<Back to the episode listing

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Den of Geek

How Star Trek: Nemesis Pulled off a Major Character Cameo

"Admiral Janeway, how good to see you again." Kate Mulgrew tells us what it was like filming her big surprise cameo in Star Trek: Nemesis.

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One of the highlights of the current era of Star Trek is the return of Kate Mulgrew to the role of Admiral Kathryn Janeway , who fans first met as the captain of the USS Voyager in the series of the same name. During Voyager ‘s original run from 1995 to 2001, Janeway led the stranded Intrepid-class starship through a hostile Delta Quadrant full of Borg, and when she finally got her crew back home safe, the captain was promoted to vice admiral by Starfleet.

Longtime Star Trek fans may remember that Admiral Janeway’s promotion was first revealed on the big screen, just a year after Voyager aired its final episode on UPN. In 2002, the fan-favorite character finally made the jump to theaters with a surprise cameo in Star Trek: Nemesis , the final movie starring the cast of The Next Generation . In fact, it’s Admiral Janeway sending Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the Enterprise on that fateful diplomatic mission to the Romulan Empire that truly kicks off the events of the divisive film.

The cameo is less than a minute long, and Mulgrew doesn’t actually appear in the flesh in the scene but on a video call patched into Picard’s ready room. Yet, it still pushed Janeway’s story forward in a major way, giving her a new role in the Star Trek universe that’s finally being explored further on the Prodigy animated series.

While speaking to Den of Geek about Drew Finch, her enigmatic CIA agent in Showtime’s The Man Who Fell to Earth , Mulgrew also reveals what it was like filming her Nemesis scene.

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“That was a strange cameo,” Mulgrew says. “I was just alone in the studio on the sound stage. It was done very fast. I think it was immediately after  Voyager , if not in the final week of  Voyager .”

Voyager ‘s two-part series finale, “Endgame,” aired on May 23, 2001, with Nemesis kicking off principal photography in November of that year, meaning Mulgrew filmed her cameo months before the rest of the film’s cast shot their scenes.

Almost 20 years after the release of Nemesis , Mulgrew finally returned to the Star Trek universe in 2021 to voice her character Prodigy . Mulgrew talks about what it’s like being back after all this time.

“It’s fun. It just never ends,” Mulgrew says. “I think Star Trek is enjoying a grand resurgence. I have to tip my hat to [ Star Trek creative head Alex] Kurtzman because he’s assumed the mantle. He took it from [longtime Star Trek executive producer] Rick Berman and he’s done an amazing job. I think he’s a visionary.”

While Mulgrew says she’s really enjoying this new era of Janeway stories, she wasn’t always so sure she should come back for Prodigy .

“At first I was a little trepidatious,” Mulgrew reveals. “But only very briefly. When I checked with my trusted colleagues, everybody said, well you’re absolutely a fool! This is going to be great. It’s for children — the one demographic that Star Trek has somehow managed to avoid.”

The actor calls working on the animated series “deeply satisfying” because it’s specifically aimed at a new, younger generation of viewers. “To be able to do it and give it to children who are sitting next to their mothers who watched Star Trek: Voyager . It really speaks to the grandness and truth and magnitude of Star Trek .”

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But voicing a character is one thing. Does Mulgrew think she’ll ever play Janeway in live action again? She recently teased as much, and tells Den of Geek that she’s already talked about it with some of her Voyager colleagues.

“We’re always talking. I mean my great friends are Robert Picardo and John de Lancie. We’re always touching down and crossing paths. And when we do talk about  Star Trek , all of us are just so amazed that it constantly is reinventing itself. I think that fact only speaks to its sort of undying virtues. I know Jeri [Ryan] loves doing   Picard . And I know that all of us — all of us — would love to continue and when the opportunity presents itself, we’ll always do more  Star Trek .”

You can read more from our interview with Mulgrew here .

Ryan Britt contributed reporting for this piece.

John Saavedra | @johnsjr9

John Saavedra is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Den of Geek. He lives in New York City with his two cats.

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Star Trek: Nemesis

The Enterprise is diverted to the Romulan homeworld Romulus, supposedly because they want to negotiate a peace treaty. Captain Picard and his crew discover a serious threat to the Federation... Read all The Enterprise is diverted to the Romulan homeworld Romulus, supposedly because they want to negotiate a peace treaty. Captain Picard and his crew discover a serious threat to the Federation once Praetor Shinzon plans to attack Earth. The Enterprise is diverted to the Romulan homeworld Romulus, supposedly because they want to negotiate a peace treaty. Captain Picard and his crew discover a serious threat to the Federation once Praetor Shinzon plans to attack Earth.

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• 894 User reviews
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• Jean-Luc Picard

• William Riker

• Geordi La Forge

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• Trivia Michael Dorn was reportedly very upset about Worf having nothing to do.
• Goofs Data states that the inhabitants of Kolarus III are a "pre-warp" society, but yet the Enterprise has no problem with "contaminating" it with its presence in direct contravention of Starfleet's Prime Directive. Not only did the inhabitants see the Argo up close, as well as the Star Fleet personnel, but the Star Fleet crew fired at them, blew up one of their ATVs and possibly killed one or more of the locals. This is an unforgivable lapse on the part of the writers, producers, and director. As for the Enterprise detecting positronic signals, this does not mean that the inhabitants were the source of the technology. The violation of the Prime Directive was serious and flagrant.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard : Duty. A starship captain's life is filled with solemn duty. I have commanded men in battle. I have negotiated peace treaties between implacable enemies. I have represented the Federation in first contact with twenty-seven alien species. But none of this compares with my solemn duty today... as best man. Now, I know, on an occasion such as this, it is expected that I be gracious and fulsome in my praise on the wonders of this blessed union, but have the two of you considered what you were doing to me? Of course you're happy, but what about *my* needs? This is all a damned inconvenience. While you're happily settling in on the Titan, I will be training my new first officer. You all know him. He's a tyrannical martinet who will never, *ever*, allow me to go on away missions.

Data : That is the regulation, sir. Starfleet code section 12, paragraph 4...

Captain Jean-Luc Picard : Mr. Data...

Data : Sir?

Captain Jean-Luc Picard : Shut up.

Data : Yes, sir.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard : [turning to the wedding guests] 15 years I've been waiting to say that.

• Crazy credits Both the letter 'R' in 'Trek' and the second 'E' in 'Nemesis' are presented backward within the words in order to introduce the idea of a mirror image.
• Extended Wedding Sequence - Originally, Riker and Troi's wedding was much longer and featured Wesley Crusher (played by Wil Wheaton) in attendance. (He is still sitting next to Dr. Crusher in the theatrical version) Also during the wedding, Picard opens up to Lt. Commander Data and reveals his dismay over being a private loner all his life.
• The Seduction of Counselor Troi - In the original three-hour version, Shinzon's obsession with Troi runs much deeper and there are several scenes that show him seducing and tormenting her in her mind. A scene featured in the theatrical trailers show Troi struggling with the mind meld inflicted by Shinzon and his Viceroy. You still see the effects of the torturous mind meld in the theatrical version as Troi appears fatigued and psychologically drained.
• A scene of Data teaching his brother B-4 how to eat with a fork.
• Ambassador Worf and Dr. Crusher were also featured more prominently in the three-hour version and it was revealed that Worf was on his way back to Kronos after leaving Deep Space Nine and he was featured in more action sequences that were deleted from the theatrical release. Dr. Crusher is revealed to be considering leaving the Enterprise after receiving an offer from Starfleet Medical.
• Footage of Geordi and Data planning and executing the mission to rescue Picard on board the Scimitar was also deleted and featured the swapping places of Data and B-4.
• Extended ending - Riker and Troi board the USS Titan as he takes command as Captain and she resumes her job as ship's counselor. The instatement of a new First Officer on the Enterprise is shown. Picard bids farewell to Dr. Crusher as she accepts the offer from Starfleet Medical and leaves for San Francisco.
• Connections Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Gangs of New York/Maid in Manhattan/Antwone Fisher/Star Trek: Nemesis/The Hot Chick (2002)
• Soundtracks Theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture Written by Jerry Goldsmith

User reviews 894

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• Apr 30, 2003
• How long is Star Trek: Nemesis? Powered by Alexa
• Why is Wesley in uniform at the wedding? And is he a lieutenant?
• Fans say there is a rule that odd-numbered Star Trek films are bad and even-numbered Star Trek films are good. What gives with this one, being that it is the tenth?
• What is "Star Trek: Nemesis" about?
• December 13, 2002 (United States)
• United States
• Star Trek X
• El Mirage Dry Lake, California, USA (private property portion of Dry Lake)
• Paramount Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $60,000,000 (estimated)
• $43,254,409
• $18,513,305
• Dec 15, 2002
• $67,336,470

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 56 minutes
• Dolby Digital
• Dolby Surround 7.1

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Legacy Evolution Voyager Nemesis Leo Prime Behind The Scenes

Posted on May 14, 2023 at 10:29 pm by Mechafire under Beast Wars , Generations / Classics , Japanese Transformers

Hasbro Transformers designer Mark Maher is coming at us once again tonight on his Instagram with another behind the scenes look at an upcoming Transformers figure – this time he’s putting the spotlight on Legacy Evolution Voyager Nemesis Leo Prime!

“We welcome the carbon copy Voyager Nemesis Lio Prime to our Legacy Evolution collection. . Apologies on the wait, but I had to wait to get the proper black colored final product to show off. The promotional images had shown slightly brown colored molds and I wanted to make sure everyone knows the final product has the black c pantone color. As I mentioned in the stream, the fur color for this guy ended up a bit darker then I originally intended, but, as you can see in these images, the subtle changes in tones creates a very sophisticated pallete. . Another tidbit I want everyone to know that this character comes with an all new weapon that actually is a two-peice gun. Once you floss ol Lio Prime with the new weapon, it actually makes for a very cool look. The weapon load out with the new guns really makes the firepower on this guy fierce! . Speaking of fierce, the stare down this clone gives in lion mode will make you run and hide. . I really enjoyed working on this character with Shu san at Takara Tomy. I wanted to dig up the Nemesis Primal but for some odd reason I couldn’t find it. Hopefully I’ll be able to match up the pair soon and show em off. . Have a Happy Mothers day!”

Legacy Evolution Voyager Nemesis Leo Prime Behind The Scenes - Additional Images

Discussion / Comments ( Jump to this Thread on the Boards )

Definitely getting this over the original. Pupils really make it look so good.

JoshuaWallace

I love your collection.

Purple Heart

Retroheavy Did the regular Leo prime ever show up at retail anywhere? I never came across him and I toy hunt regularly.

Here in the south Leo Primes shelfwarmed Targets for two months before being replaced by Metalhawks

I found Leo Prime at my Walmart in Iowa. Just bought Tarn at a Target here too

Did the regular Leo prime ever show up at retail anywhere? I never came across him and I toy hunt regularly.

DevilGalvatron

Max Tower Yeah Bound Rogue is rather nice. I was just thinking how appropriate it was considering it ties not just to Beast Wars 2nd itself but also to the mould choices for the Robotmasters subline and also that they had the Black Robotmasters repaints and not a huge number of years prior the Galaxy Force Black repaints too. It does remind me though that I am a little sad that an Evil version of Victory Saber isn't super likely due to it's Haslab status as that was a rather groovy colour scheme too. I do really hope someone will remember the Robotmasters line enough to get 5mm Versions of those Blasters they had for Robotmasters Star Saber & Victory Leo made suitable for the newer Haslab one though too. —– I can see why Mark wanted the plastic a wee bit lighter than it is here to make it look even more like the Cartoon, but that things like that keeps happening does show how out of control they are out of their production chain and likely explains why the plastic quality and discolouration issues keep happening still. As it stands though I don't mind it as is, it is kinda a happy compromise between Cartoon colours and the more traditional "Nemesis Prime" look of the other toys. & There is nothing stoping Takara Tomy making the Masterpiece in "cartoon deco" too if they really wanted too. I wonder if we will get some the other wacky repaints the character and related ones had too. I'd not say no to a Flash Leo Convoy / Burning Convoy 2 pack if they wanted to do that. I bet this guy would look really nice with the afore mentioned Galaxy Force Black repaints and with Buzzworthy Nemesis Primal. Though I think a lot of people would really like that Galva-Leo Convoy itch scratched too. I wonder if they might consider doing Beast Wars 2nd Galvatron as a Haslab or a Leader ? Though a straight up reissue would be lovely so long as it didn't have GPS issues. ——– I can't help but notice how many tricks they are missing by not repainting the "Retro" Reissues though. Not only are there several obvious Beast Wars repaints (Orange Tigertron Black Wolf Fang say) there is also some fun things you could do with the G1 moulds too such as Redwing, or (Black) Trakker Hound or (Alternators) Rollbar or even an animation deco Perceptor would be nice too I bet. I guess walmart doesn't want it they don't make it and as much as something like a perceptor anime deco might make a lot of sense (for example) i'd be reluctant to bay £50+ for it like current Hasbro would charge. But yeah Black Leo Prime is fun, and I wouldn't mind a couple more colours on the mould, at least it's a better mould than that rancid Studio Series 86" Jazz is anyway.

Like your ideas. Id love to see one of those Takara 2- packs with modern Lio painted nice and a reissue Galvatron just so we don't have GPS issues anymore. Hard to imagine an improved version of that mold anyway.

I just saw that episode. Not exactly what I thought, but fun. He wants to replace all the Maximals with duplicates he commands. Poor Lio Convoy. Now that we have these 2 out of the way can we FINALLY get that notorious GalvaConvoy? I\'m betting on Shaytered Glass line at this point.

Oniconvoy I would be more bothered were Bound Rogue not such a fantastic color scheme. View attachment 29942900 View attachment 29942901 View attachment 29942902

Yeah Bound Rogue is rather nice. I was just thinking how appropriate it was considering it ties not just to Beast Wars 2nd itself but also to the mould choices for the Robotmasters subline and also that they had the Black Robotmasters repaints and not a huge number of years prior the Galaxy Force Black repaints too.

It does remind me though that I am a little sad that an Evil version of Victory Saber isn't super likely due to it's Haslab status as that was a rather groovy colour scheme too.

I do really hope someone will remember the Robotmasters line enough to get 5mm Versions of those Blasters they had for Robotmasters Star Saber & Victory Leo made suitable for the newer Haslab one though too.

—–

I can see why Mark wanted the plastic a wee bit lighter than it is here to make it look even more like the Cartoon, but that things like that keeps happening does show how out of control they are out of their production chain and likely explains why the plastic quality and discolouration issues keep happening still. As it stands though I don't mind it as is, it is kinda a happy compromise between Cartoon colours and the more traditional "Nemesis Prime" look of the other toys.

& There is nothing stoping Takara Tomy making the Masterpiece in "cartoon deco" too if they really wanted too.

I wonder if we will get some the other wacky repaints the character and related ones had too. I'd not say no to a Flash Leo Convoy / Burning Convoy 2 pack if they wanted to do that.

I bet this guy would look really nice with the afore mentioned Galaxy Force Black repaints and with Buzzworthy Nemesis Primal.

Though I think a lot of people would really like that Galva-Leo Convoy itch scratched too.

I wonder if they might consider doing Beast Wars 2nd Galvatron as a Haslab or a Leader ? Though a straight up reissue would be lovely so long as it didn't have GPS issues.

——–

I can't help but notice how many tricks they are missing by not repainting the "Retro" Reissues though. Not only are there several obvious Beast Wars repaints (Orange Tigertron Black Wolf Fang say) there is also some fun things you could do with the G1 moulds too such as Redwing, or (Black) Trakker Hound or (Alternators) Rollbar or even an animation deco Perceptor would be nice too I bet.

I guess walmart doesn't want it they don't make it and as much as something like a perceptor anime deco might make a lot of sense (for example) i'd be reluctant to bay £50+ for it like current Hasbro would charge.

But yeah Black Leo Prime is fun, and I wouldn't mind a couple more colours on the mould, at least it's a better mould than that rancid Studio Series 86" Jazz is anyway.

Edwardmus Prime

The eyes really throw off the intimidation in lion mode. I do like it, though. Not that into the origin as presented in the cartoon, but this could be taken as a few things outside of that anyway. I kinda like the idea of it being a surviving beast era RID-style Scourge.

These guns seem like they'd be fantastic for Hubcap and Bumblebee. Think I'll pick up Nonnef's minibot guns instead but these are blast effect compatible so if I get Nemesis Leo they'll probably get donated.

Lore Keeper

" Speaking of fierce, the stare down this clone gives in lion mode will make you run and hide."

I don't know about fierce. I'm getting sad puppy vibes, personally.

I stayed far away from Leo Prime, but this looks surprisingly interesting for a relatively simple recolor. Including some slick guns didn't hurt none neither. I don't know if I'll be getting it, but it's got a lot more draw than the original. This presents the mold in a far better light, the gold/yellow plastic didn't look good to me, and the white felt a little too bald, it hid all the sculpting. I still don't think I like the "friendly dolt" expression on the lion's face, but overall this looks promising.

I am unfamilar with that character but he doesn't look too bad with the monotone colours (I know he's like Nemesis Prime). I may keep an eye on him when the price drop as I know what turns me off from Leo Prime is the complicated transformation.

Now Copy Convoy here is cool and all But you know what I think would be a COOLER thing to do with this mold instead? BEAST MACHINES SNARL BABY (MORE SPECIFICALLY THE UNIVERSE COLORS BECAUSE THAT COOR SCHEME LOOKS BETTER!) View attachment 29943107 View attachment 29943109

WatermelonSpectacles1

Ganon2099 Takara, our Transformers savior, make this happen.

It would make a really good sdcc/pulsecon exclusive.

WatermelonSpectacles1 I'm still waiting for a 2 pack with kingdom Optimus Primal and Legacy Leo Prime into Burning Convoy and Flash Convoy

Takara, our Transformers savior, make this happen.

Noideaforaname

Poe Ghostal "Floss"?

Like how it looks. Still wish they would have gone more creative with it like they did with Nemesis Primal but still, this is fairly accurate and the generic Maximal gun was a nice touch I guess.

Still need more BWII stuff. Do Apache and Big Horn already!

I'm still waiting for a 2 pack with kingdom Optimus Primal and Legacy Leo Prime into Burning Convoy and Flash Convoy

Now that I know he isn't brown, I'll buy him.

Boople Barp

Thank you, I thought I was the only one who had no clue what he meant by this.

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Star Trek Origin Movie Confirmed by Paramount, Logline Revealed

Star Trek has been dormant on the big screen for a long time, but the franchise is looking to get back into theaters within the next two years. At CinemaCon, Paramount unveiled its titles for the company's movie slate for 2025 and 2026, officially confirming plans to release a major Star Trek film during this time.

Previously, it was reported that a new Star Trek film was in development that's separate from the planned sequel to 2016's Star Trek Beyond . The film slate reveal has now officially confirmed that the project is in development, and as it's currently untitled, it's listed as Untitled Star Trek Origin Story . Also confirmed to be on board are director Toby Haynes ( Star Wars: Andor ), writer Seth Grahame-Smith ( Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter ), and producer J.J. Abrams .

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Gets Renewed, Lower Decks to End With Season 5

A brief logline was provided by Paramount, describing the project as " an origin story that takes place decades before the original 2009 Star Trek film ." This is also confirmation that the prequel is connected to the 2009 movie along with its two sequels. Given the timeline, it can be expected to follow an all-new cast of characters, though there are likely to be references that connect the film to the other Trek movies.

Star Trek 4 Is Still in the Works

Meanwhile, Star Trek 4 remains in active development, even after multiple false starts over the past several years in getting made. In March, it was reported that the project was getting back on track with The Flight Attendant co-creator Steve Yockey signing on to write a new screenplay for the movie. Franchise star Zoe Saldana recently addressed the project's slow development, sharing how she still had hope the movie would see its eventual release.

What Is Star Trek: Discovery's Spore Drive and How Does It Work?

"I still have hope. I had a wonderful experience through and through and through the three times that I was a part of that team,” she said on The Playlist's podcast . “I know that they’re always trying to sort of aim to wrangle everybody together, but I also know that Paramount is working on a new sort of fresh take on Star Trek, which I think is such a wonderful franchise that should live for a very long time, whether or not us as the original remake cast can come back. I don’t know, but I certainly hope so."

The untitled Star Trek prequel is expected to be released in 2025 or 2026, but a release date hasn't yet been set.

Source: Paramount

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

Created by Gene Roddenberry

First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Latest Film Star Trek: Nemesis

First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series

Latest TV Show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Cast Nichelle Nichols, Scott Bakula, Kate Mulgrew, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Avery Brooks, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan

TV Show(s) Star Trek: Animated, Star trek, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Lower Decks