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Published Jul 20, 2022

Everything You Need to Know About Star Trek: Voyager's Seska

A guide to one of Voyager’s most ferocious foes!

StarTrek.com

The crew of the U.S.S. Voyager faced a variety of foes during their journey home. External threats came from the Borg and the Kazon , but one of the show’s most memorable came from their own crew!

Seska joined the crew as part of the Maquis ship Val Jean when their fighters were brought onboard at the start of the series. However, Seska’s own secrets led to her partnering with the Kazon to try and betray the Voyager crew and Captain Janeway . As she faces off against The Diviner in this week’s round of the Villain Showdown , we’re diving into Seska’s exploits throughout her time on the series.

Seska’s Secrets

Seska’s first appearances showed her to be a Bajoran woman, but she was hiding her true identity. She was, in fact, a Cardassian operative disguised as a Bajoran fighter who had infiltrated the Val Jean . She and Chakotay previously had a romantic connection while she was undercover, using their relationship to get information to report to her Cardassian superiors.

This isn’t the first time that a character has undergone surgery to appear as a different alien species. There are plenty of examples from across the franchise, including notably in the Deep Space Nine episode “ Second Skin ,” when Kira Nerys is kidnapped by Cardassians and gaslit into believing she is a Cardassian operative.

Aboard Voyager

Seska made it clear to Chakotay when they were onboard the Voyager that she would support a Maquis mutiny to take over the ship. Still disguised as a Bajoran, she expressed disapproval of Starfleet and their procedures. She and her close friend B’Elanna Torres were both assigned to Engineering by Janeway; but as B’Elanna became part of the Voyager family, Seska never fully acclimated.

In the episode “ Prime Factors ,” she and several other crew members attempted to steal spatial trajector technology from the Sikarians; when that plan failed, Seska attempted to lie to Janeway about what happened. However, B’Elanna held her back, stating she didn’t want to lie— this signaled a fracturing of their friendship.

Eventually, Seska collaborated with the Kazon, offering them replicator technology in exchange for their help. In the episode “ State of Flux ,” her Cardassian background was discovered by The Doctor . Though she tried to lie and cover up her past, she ultimately revealed the truth when confronted by Chakotay, then escaped to a Kazon ship.

As part of the Kazon, Seska became a consort of First Maje Culluh, having a child with him. She continued to aid the Kazon in their attacks on the Voyager until she died.

At one point following her death, Chakotay traveled through time due to temporal distortions and discovered Seska and other Kazon trying to take over the ship through Engineering in the year 2370. Upon learning her fate, Seska tried to change the course of history to ensure the Kazon’s victory and her own survival. However, they were defeated and her memory of the incident was wiped.

Seska appeared in 13 episodes of Voyager. Her trickery and cunning made her a worthy adversary of the crew. Will she emerge victorious in a showdown with The Diviner? Vote for your favorite and check back next week for the winner!

Stay tuned to StarTrek.com for more details! And be sure to follow @StarTrek on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

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Martha Hackett

Series: Voyager, DS9, TNG

Character(s): Terellian alien, Sub Commander T’Rul, Seska

Hackett’s first experience of Star Trek was when she auditioned for the role of Jadzia Dax in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but lost out to Terry Farrell. She subsequently was cast as a member of the Terellian alien species in the finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation, “All Good Things…”. She appeared on Deep Space Nine as the Romulan Sub Commander T’Rul in the two part episode “The Search” in season three.

She was cast in Star Trek: Voyager in the recurring role of Seska, a Bajoran member of the Maquis crew who joined Voyager after it was stranded in the Delta Quadrant. She first appeared in the episode “Parallax” where she wore the blue uniform of a Starfleet science officer; this was later revealed to be a costuming error and she was subsequently seen in the uniform of the operations department.

When she was first cast in the role of Seska, she was not informed that she was a Cardassian spy. She later explained that “when I first started I was Seska the Bajoran Maquis member and they sort of worked everything else up in soap opera fashion.” Hackett became pregnant, which was written into Seska’s character. Seska was killed off in the second part of “Basics”, which came as a surprise to Hackett as she was previously sent a version of the script where Seska survived, but her baby died. She was only told that Seska was to die less than a day before filming. Following her character’s death, Hackett as Seska returned to Voyager twice more in the episodes “Worst Case Scenario” and “Shattered”. She appeared in a total of thirteen episodes of Voyager.

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The Intriguing World Of Entertainment

Whatever Happened To Martha Hackett, ‘Seska’ From Star Trek: Voyager?

By Nick Lee | December 9, 2022

Great science fiction shows are even better with able and well-written villains. In Star Trek Voyager, viewers got that villain in ‘Seska’, the nefarious Cardassian agent, played by Martha Hackett. Although she only appeared on 13 episodes, she made a lasting impact on many fans who regarded her as one of the most memorable villains of the show.

20 years has passed since the end of Voyager, what has Martha Hackett been up to ever since?

Born on February 21st, 1961, Hackett hails from Boston, Massachusetts.

Hackett got into acting during high school. While in college, she starred in several stage productions.

She graduated from Harvard with a B.A. in English, American Literature, and Languages.

After Harvard, Hackett went to Hollywood to further her career. She landed her first job in the police drama Hill Street Blues (1986) as Carole Greene.

Acting Career

Hackett’s introduction to the Star Trek universe came with Deep Space Nine in 1992. She unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Jadzia Dax. Getting there just took a bit longer! She was not done with Trek despite this or alien costumes and makeup.

Between the "Trek" years, Hackett appeared in several movies or T.V. roles. She played a detective in Leprechaun 2 and The Marshall Chronicles (1990).

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Hackett auditioned for Star Trek: The Next Generation. She portrayed an alien species called the Terrellian in the series’ final episode, "All Good Things." Her part was cut in the editing and was not in the finale.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Her gig in TNG led to a two-episode appearance on Deep Space Nine as the Romulan subcommander T’Rul (1994).

Like many scenes in Trek history about cloaking devices and the Federation, Hackett’s T’rul was to protect the device against seizure. Dominion forces caught the episodes’ characters all before being rescued.

Star Trek: Voyager

Hackett’s portrayal as T’Rul was a lead up to her most arguably best role: Seska on Star Trek Voyager.

Seska was among the rebels – the Maquis, but in reality, it was revaled that she was a Cardassian agent who infiltrated the group to spy on them.

To aid her deception, Seska was altered to look like a Bajoran – a people subjected by the Cardassians.

As Seska, Hackett masterfully played the role of a double agent. Seska helped mask her duplicity using Commander Chakotay as her lover.

Though she loved him, Seska did not hesitate to seek others to help her. As Hackett’s role matured, she betrayed Voyager to the Kazons and as the main villain, Hackett usually stayed one step ahead.

Seska’s ultimate goal was to capture the Voyager for the technology.

Hackett showed Seska’s deceitfulness but was also conflicted too. Besides her betrayal, she stole Chakotay’s DNA to become pregnant and took up with the head Kazon. Her stalker-ish goal was to get Chakotay back. 

Hackett depicted Seska for thirteen episodes over two seasons. Subsequently, she appeared twice more in later seasons, still vicious. Her last swipe she aimed at Tuvok; she changed a program he used to try and kill him.

After Hackett’s Voyager stint ended, she did voice work in several Star Trek video games, the last in 2003. 

What did she do after Star Trek: Voyager?

From the late 90s, Hackett appeared in various T.V. shows and films. Among the films are Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) with Robert Downey Jr and the TV show I Heart Vampires, where she played the part of Siona McCabre for six episodes.

Other credits for Hackett include, Days of Our Lives for four episodes in 2018. In Days of Our Live, she played the character of Pamela Van Damme, who was the head of a military group called the ISA. Like Seska, Pamela was morally corrupt and covered up her evil deeds. This character, too, had a less than happy ending!

What is Martha Hackett doing now?

Martha is still acting in movies and on stage. In 2019, she acted in a virtual reality Amazon movie – Exorcism of Allie Fay. The movie’s plot, like The Exorcist, shows the expelling of a demon from a young woman by two priests.

Her last television role was in 2020 for the TV movie A Deadly Lullaby, where she played the character of Monica.

Martha is also very prominent in the theater and stage acting world. She was the lead or in supporting roles in fifteen-plus plays. In 2018 she played the lead actress in Edward Albee’s Occupant, which played at the Garry Marshall Theatre in Burbank.

One aspect of acting in any Star Trek series is the convention afterlife. Trekkies are a fanatically loyal fanbase. Like most Trek alum, Hackett has appeared at several conventions. Her most recent appearance was in 2021 at the Destination Star Trek – London convention.

Personal Life

Martha Hackett married Tim Disney, although the date of the marriage is unknown. Tim is the son of Roy E. Disney and the great-grandnephew of Walt Disney. 

Tim Disney was born in 1961, graduated from Harvard and became a filmmaker.

While filming Voyager, Martha got pregnant and instead of hiding the pregnancy, writers wrote her pregnancy into the show.

Martha and Tim have two sons together, although they divorced in 2004.

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About Nick Lee

Nick is a Senior Staff Writer for Ned Hardy. Some of his favorite subjects include sci-fi, history, and obscure facts about 90's television. When he's not writing, he's probably wondering how Frank Dux got 52 consecutive knockouts in a single tournament. More from Nick

Seska is a 24th century Cardassian undercover operative, genetically altered to Bajoran appearance to infiltrate the Maquis. She served on U.S.S. Voyager in Delta Quadrant until she collaborated with the Kazon.

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• Appears in Voyager

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Whatever Happened To The Cast Of Star Trek: Voyager?

The third "Star Trek" series to air in the 1990s, "Star Trek: Voyager" was also the flagship series for the all-new Paramount television network UPN. Making its debut in January of 1995, the series saw Captain Kathryn Janeway command the state-of-the-art starship Voyager on a mission to pursue a group of Maquis rebels. However, when a phenomenon envelops them both and hurls them to the distant Delta Quadrant, Starfleet officers and Maquis terrorists become one crew on a perilous journey home.

Despite a few cast shake-ups, "Voyager" ran for seven seasons and featured a consistently stellar ensemble. The series helped launch the careers of several of its lesser-known actors, while others can count the series as the highest point in their filmography. Some walked away from Hollywood after it concluded, while a few have since made big comebacks, returning to the roles that made them famous.

Since it ended in 2001, "Voyager" has aged like fine wine, earning new fans thanks to the magic of streaming where new generations can discover it anew. Whether seeing it for the first time — or even if you're watching it for the umpteenth — you may be wondering where the cast is now. Well, recalibrate the bio-neural gel packs and prep the Delta Flyer for launch because we're here to fill you in on what's happened to the cast of "Star Trek: Voyager."

Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

It's no secret that Kate Mulgrew wasn't the first choice to play Captain Janeway in "Star Trek: Voyager." Academy Award-nominee Geneviève Bujold was famously cast first  but filmed only a few scenes before quitting the show during the production of the series pilot, leading to Mulgrew being brought in. Today it is difficult to imagine anyone else in the role, though it's hardly Mulgrew's only iconic TV series.

Following the show's conclusion in 2001, Mulgrew took a few years off from acting, returning with a small role in the 2005 film "Perception" with Piper Perabo. After a guest appearance on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," Mulgrew snagged a recurring role on "The Black Donnellys" in 2007 alongside Jonathan Tucker and Olivia Wilde and another in the short-lived NBC medical drama "Mercy" in 2009. Her return to a main cast, however, came in the Adult Swim series "NTSF:SD:SUV::," where she played an eye patch-wearing leader of an anti-terrorism task force alongside future "Star Trek" star Rebecca Romijn .

Of course, Mulgrew found a major career resurgence in 2013, starring in one of Netflix's earliest forays into original programming, "Orange is the New Black." In the series she stars as Red, an inmate at a women's prison, a role that would earn her an Emmy nomination. Mulgrew returned to "Star Trek" in 2021, voicing both Kathryn Janeway and a holographic version of the character in the Nickelodeon-produced CGI-animated series  "Star Trek: Prodigy."

Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay

Sitting in the chair next to Captain Janeway for seven seasons was Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay, a former Maquis first officer. Though Beltran counts his heritage as Latino, Chakotay was actually the first Native American series regular in the franchise but was sadly under-used, a fact that the actor has  commented on . Following "Star Trek: Voyager," Beltran's work on the small screen was mostly limited to guest appearances, popping up in episodes of "CSI: Miami" and "Medium" in the 2000s while filling roles in movies like "Taking Chances," "Fire Serpent," and "Manticore." 

Beltran's first recurring part on TV after "Voyager" was in the series "Big Love," starring Bill Paxton and Jeanne Tripplehorn. In the series, he played Jerry Flute — another Native American — who has plans to construct a casino on a reservation. However, over the next decade, Beltran seemed to move away from acting, with a sparse handful of minor roles. He revealed on Twitter that he turned down a chance to play Chakotay one more time in the revival series "Star Trek: Picard," as he was unhappy with the part they'd written for him. 

Nevertheless, Beltran did come back to join Kate Mulgrew for the animated children's series "Star Trek: Prodigy." Voicing Chakotay in his triumphant return to the franchise, the series sees the character lost in space and his former captain on a mission to find him.

Tim Russ as Lt. Tuvok

Actor Tim Russ had already made a few guest appearances in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and even the film "Star Trek Generations" before joining the main cast of "Star Trek: Voyager" in 1995. Russ became a fan-favorite as Vulcan Lt. Tuvok, who was later promoted to Lt. Commander. However, after seven seasons playing the stoic, emotionless Tuvok, Russ kept busy with a variety of different roles, mostly guest-starring in popular TV hits.

This includes guest spots in everything from "ER" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" to episodes of "Hannah Montana" and "Without a Trace." He even appeared on the big screen with a small role in "Live Free or Die Hard" in 2007, but it didn't keep him away from TV, as he also had a multi-episode appearance on the hit soap "General Hospital." That same year, Russ joined the main cast of the Christina Applegate comedy "Samantha Who?" and later began working in video games, providing voice work for "Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus" and "The Last of Us Part 2." 

Since then, the actor has kept busy with countless roles in such as "Criminal Minds," "NCIS: New Orleans," "Supergirl," and "The Good Doctor." More recently, Russ turned up in an episode of Seth MacFarlane's "Star Trek" homage "The Orville,"  and in 2023 voiced Lucius Fox in the animated film "Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham."

Roxann Dawson as B'Elanna Torres

On "Star Trek: Voyager," the role of chief engineer was filled by Roxann Dawson who played half-Klingon/half-human B'Elanna Torres. Starting out as a Maquis rebel, she eventually becomes one of the most important members of the crew, as well as a wife and mother. Following her run on the series, Dawson had just a handful of on-screen roles, which included single episodes of "The Closer" and "Without a Trace." That's because, like her franchise cohort  Jonathan Frakes , Dawson moved behind the camera to become a director full-time.

Getting her start overseeing episodes of "Voyager" first, Dawson moved on to helm entries of "Star Trek" spin-off "Enterprise" before broadening to other shows across television. Since 2005, Dawson has directed episodes of some of the biggest hits on TV including "Lost" and "The O.C." in 2006, eight episodes of "Cold Case," a trio of "Heroes" episodes, and more. 

We could go on and on rattling off the hit shows she's sat behind the camera for but among her most notable might be the David Simon HBO series "Treme" in 2011, "Hell on Wheels" with future starship captain Anson Mount, and modern masterpieces like "Bates Motel," "The Americans," and "This is Us." Her most recent work saw her return to sci-fi, helming two episodes of the Apple TV+ series "Foundation."

Garrett Wang as Ensign Harry Kim

Despite never seeing a rise in rank and perpetually remaining a low-level ensign, Harry Kim — played by Garrett Wang – often played a crucial role in defeating many of the enemies the crew would face in the Delta Quadrant. When "Star Trek: Voyager" left the airwaves, though, Wang bounced around, with his biggest role arguably coming in the 2005 Steven Spielberg-produced miniseries "Into the West." He has continued embracing his role as Ensign Kim by appearing at many fan conventions, where he found an entirely new calling. 

Beginning in 2010, Kim embarked on a career as an event moderator, serving as the Master of Ceremonies at that year's FedCon (a science fiction convention held in Germany). Later, he was the Trek Track Director at the celebrated Dragon Con event, held annually in Atlanta, Georgia. Over the course of his new career, Wang has held moderating duties and hosted panels and events at major pop culture conventions in Montreal, Edmonton, Phoenix, and Denver. According to Wang, his biggest role as a moderator came at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo in 2012, where he interviewed the legendary Stan Lee .

In 2020, Wang joined forces with co-star Robert Duncan McNeill to launch "The Delta Flyers," a podcast that discusses classic episodes of "Star Trek: Voyager."

Robert Duncan McNeill as Lt. Tom Paris

Robert Duncan McNeill guest-starred in an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" as a hotshot pilot who broke the rules and wound up booted from Starfleet. So when producers developed a similar character, they brought in McNeill to play him, resulting in brash, cavalier helm officer Tom Paris. In 2002, after "Star Trek: Voyager" ended, McNeill starred in an episode of  "The Outer Limits" revival  and a few more small roles. However, like Dawson, McNeill left acting not long after the series ended to become a director and producer, starting with four episodes of "Star Trek: Enterprise."

Into the 2000s, McNiell helmed episodes of "Dawson's Creek" and "One Tree Hill" before becoming an executive producer on the action-comedy series "Chuck" starring Zachary Levi. Ultimately he'd direct 21 episodes of that series across its five seasons. From there, McNeill went on to sit behind the camera for installments of "The Mentalist," "Blue Bloods," and "Suits." 

Since the 2010s, McNeill has served as an executive producer on further shows that included "The Gifted," the Disney+ reboot of "Turner & Hooch," and the SyFy series "Resident Alien." In addition to hosting "The Delta Flyers" podcast with co-star Garrett Wang, McNeill came back to "Star Trek" in 2022 when he voiced the character of Tom Paris in a cameo on the animated comedy "Star Trek: Lower Decks."

Ethan Phillips as Neelix

Another actor to appear on "Star Trek" before taking a leading role on "Voyager," Ethan Phillips played the quirky alien chef Neelix for all seven seasons of the show's run. A well-established veteran, his TV roles prior had included dramas like "NYPD Blue" and family hits like "Doogie Howser, M.D." Unfortunately, his role on "Voyager" never translated to big-time success after, though he hardly struggled for work. That's because he went back to his former career as a character actor.

In the ensuing years, Phillips could be seen all over the dial and beyond, with parts in "Touched by an Angel" and "8 Simple Rules" among many others, even popping up in a guest-starring role in an episode of "Star Trek: Enterprise" in 2002. Later he did a three-episode run on "Boston Legal," another Beantown-based legal drama from David E. Kelley, this one starring "Star Trek" legend William Shatner and "Deep Space Nine" alum René Auberjonois. Some of the biggest shows he's found work on during the 2010s meanwhile include "Better Call Saul" and a recurring role in the Lena Dunham comedy "Girls." He's also had roles in major movies, showing up in "Inside Llewyn Davis," "The Purge: Election Year," and "The Island."

Though he hasn't come back to "Star Trek," Phillips did return to sci-fi in 2020, joining the main cast of the HBO space comedy "Avenue 5" alongside Hugh Laurie and Josh Gad.

Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine

Though she didn't arrive on "Star Trek: Voyager" until Season 4, Jeri Ryan arguably became the series' biggest star. She came in to help liven up a series that was struggling and joined the cast as a former Borg drone named Seven of Nine . It proved to be just what the series needed and a career-defining role for Ryan. One of the few cast members of "Voyager" to parlay her role into bigger success, Ryan immediately joined the David E. Kelley legal drama "Boston Public" after the series ended.

There she had a three-season run and in 2006 she secured another starring role on another legal drama, this time in the James Woods series "Shark," with Danielle Panabaker and Henry Simmons. Smaller recurring roles came after, including multi-episode stints on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Two and a Half Men," and "Leverage," before Ryan returned to a main cast with her co-starring role in "Body of Proof" in 2011 alongside Dana Delany. Parts in "Helix" and "Bosch" came after, as well as brief recurring roles in "MacGyver" and "Major Crimes," leading right up to her return to "Star Trek" in 2020.

That year, Ryan joined the cast of the revival series "Star Trek: Picard." Returning to the role of Seven of Nine, she supported series lead Patrick Stewart by appearing in all three seasons, and rumor has it she may even star in a spin-off. 

Jennifer Lien as Kes

Joining the Starfleet and Maquis crew aboard Voyager was Kes, a young alien woman with mild telepathic powers and just a nine-year lifespan, and played by Jennifer Lien. Unfortunately, her character never quite gelled, and in Season 4 Lien was written out to make way for Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine.

Leaving the series in 1997, Lien's career stalled in front of the camera, though she did manage a role in "American History X" alongside "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" star Avery Brooks. However, most of her subsequent work came in animation, with voice work in "Superman: The Animated Series" — where she played Inza, the wife of Doctor Fate — and a starring role as Agent L in "Men in Black: The Series." 

Unfortunately, Lien pretty much left acting shortly after that. She married filmmaker Phil Hwang and started a family but has faced personal problems along the way. While struggling to deal with her mental health, Lien was arrested in 2015 for indecent exposure and again in 2018 for driving without a license. 

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website .

Manu Intiraymi as Icheb

Late in Season 6 of "Star Trek: Voyager," a storyline saw the ship rescue a stranded vessel commanded by a group of wayward Borg children. At the conclusion of the story, four young drones join the crew, becoming a surrogate family of sorts to Seven of Nine after jettisoning their Borg identities. The eldest of them is Icheb, a teenager who becomes like a brother to Seven, played by actor Manu Intiraymi. The young actor went on to make 11 appearances across the final two seasons of the show. 

When "Voyager" ended in 2001, Intiraymi continued acting, with his largest role coming in "One Tree Hill." There he played Billy — a local drug dealer — in a recurring role in 2012. Further projects were mostly independent films like "5th Passenger" in 2017 and "Hell on the Border," a 2019 Western starring David Gyasi, Ron Perlman, and Frank Grillo. 

In 2017, Intiraymi came under fire for criticizing fellow "Star Trek" actor Anthony Rapp, who'd made accusations of sexual assault against Kevin Spacey . A few years later, fans speculated those comments may have been why he wasn't asked to return to the role of Icheb in "Star Trek: Picard," with a new actor playing the part in a scene that killed off the character.

Scarlett Pomers as Naomi Wildman

Plenty of TV shows have added a kid to shake up the status quo late into their run, and "Star Trek: Voyager" was not immune to this trope. In addition to Borg kids like Icheb, Samantha Wildman — the newborn daughter of a crewperson — became a recurring character beginning in Season 5, played by Scarlett Pomers. She'd wind up in 16 episodes, including a few where she played a leading role. In the aftermath of the end of the series, Pomers appeared in the Julia Roberts film "Erin Brockovich," and in 2001 joined the cast of the sitcom "Reba."

For six seasons Pomers starred as Kyra Hart, daughter of the show's star played by Reba McEntire. Appearing in a whopping 103 episodes, it was only Pomers' second regular role but also her last on-screen performance. When that series concluded, Pomers essentially retired from acting. Unfortunately, her exit from the stage was at least partly due to her ongoing battle with an eating disorder, and Pomers has since become an outspoken advocate for those struggling with anorexia and mental illness. In a 2019 interview with StarTrek.com , Pomers also talked about her subsequent career as a photographer, musician, and jewelry designer.

If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

Martha Hackett as Seska

In the early seasons of "Star Trek: Voyager," one of the most compelling ongoing storylines was that of Seska, a Bajoran and former Maquis rebel and on-again-off-again lover of Chakotay. Played by recurring guest star Martha Hackett, it was later revealed that Seska was actually an enemy agent in disguise. Hackett would appear in a total of 13 episodes of the series, making it by far the largest role in her career. Still, she has appeared in some big hits over the last two decades.

Those included a small role in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" in 2005 and an appearance in the cult horror movie "The Bye Bye Man" in 2017. It also includes one-off appearances in episodes of popular projects on the small screen, like "The Mindy Project" in 2014, "Masters of Sex" a year earlier, and a recurring role in the daytime soap "Days of Our Lives" between 2016 and 2018. Thanks to her iconic role as Seska, though, Hackett continues to be a regular on the "Star Trek" convention circuit and was interviewed for the upcoming "Star Trek: Voyager" documentary "To the Journey."

Robert Picardo as the Doctor

For 30 years, the world of science fiction meant one thing when the moniker of "The Doctor" was uttered, but that all changed in 1995 with the launch of "Star Trek: Voyager." There, actor Robert Picardo — already known for antagonistic roles in "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" and "InnerSpace" — starred as the Doctor, the nameless holographic chief medical officer aboard the Voyager. Known for his offbeat humor and cantankerous attitude, he was played to perfection by Picardo, and it would become the actor's signature role. 

Still, even after leaving sickbay as the Doctor, Picardo had a healthy career, moving quickly into a role in "The Lyon's Den" starring Rob Lowe and Kyle Chandler in 2003. A year later he joined another iconic sci-fi franchise when he secured a recurring part in "Stargate SG-1"  as Richard Woolsey, a grumpy U.S. official who opposed the Stargate program. Following a string of appearances on the flagship series, Picardo joined the main cast of "Stargate: Atlantis" in 2006. A few years later, Picardo had another repeat role, this time as Jason Cooper on "The Mentalist," and he later enjoyed a stint on the Apple TV+ drama "Dickinson."

In 2023, the actor made a guest appearance on the "Quantum Leap" revival playing Doctor Woolsey, whose name is a clear tribute to his two biggest TV roles.

Star Trek: Voyager - Who Is Seska?

A Maquis-turned-Starfleet who turned out to be an undercover enemy agent, Seska was never who she seemed to be on Star Trek: Voyager.

At the beginning of Star Trek: Voyager , two ships are transported to the Delta Quadrant, thousands of light years from home, by the mysterious alien called the Caretaker . Knowing that there was strength in numbers, the two crews decide to integrate: the Starfleet vessel Voyager, with the Maquis rebel ship the Val Jean. Tensions were high at first. Starfleet crew distrusted the Maquis rebels, and the Maquis were reluctant to follow Starfleet protocol. But eventually, they gained mutual respect and began to work together, even becoming fast friends.

There was, however, one former Maquis who proved she could not be trusted. It turned out that her allegiances lay with neither the Federation nor the Maquis, but with enemies of them both. Just who was Ensign Seska, and why did she betray Voyager and her crew?

RELATED: Star Trek: Is Voyager More Advanced Than The Enterprise?

Early Appearances

Seska was a recurring character in early episodes of Voyager 's first season. She was a determined and sometimes headstrong Bajoran woman, growing easily frustrated with Starfleet protocol. However, she was generally friendly with the rest of the crew. Seska had a close friendship with B'elanna Torres , as they had been in the Maquis together. She appeared to get along with Harry Kim, teasing him about a mishap on a double date. Seska and Chakotay had been romantically involved at some point in the past, and even though they had decided it wouldn't work, she still displayed affection for him. Her connections with the other characters, as well as her determination to help get Voyager home, made Seska a likable supporting cast member.

That all changed in season 1, episode 11, "State of Flux." In the episode, the crew of Voyager learns that someone has been secretly feeding information to the Kazon , a ruthless race of aliens hungry for power and hell-bent on seizing Voyager's technology. What's more, Federation technology is found on a wrecked Kazon vessel. Many suspect Seska, who had previously been vocal in her willingness to trade technology for protection from the Kazon. These suspicions anger Seska, who sets about trying to prove her innocence.

Seska's True Nature

Unfortunately for her, Seska's efforts have the opposite effect. When she transports to the Kazon ship to try and remove the technology, she is knocked unconscious and beamed back to sickbay. There, the Doctor makes a shocking discovery: Seska's blood is missing all the typical Bajoran genetic markers. He determines that she cannot be Bajoran, and is in fact Cardassian .

Seska tries to explain her anomalous physiology with Orkett's Disease, which killed thousands of Bajoran children during the Cardassian occupation . Seska claims that she survived due to a Cardassian bone marrow transplant. However, the Doctor examines her story and concludes that it can't explain the genetic markers in her blood. After she falls into a trap set up by the crew's officers, it is confirmed that Seska is the one behind the stolen technology.

Unmasked, Seska releases her anger on Janeway and Chakotay. She had been disguised as a Bajoran to infiltrate the Maquis, who were fighting the tyrannical Cardassians. She had tried to cooperate with Janeway's crew, but grew frustrated and resentful with Starfleet's way of doing things. She believed that a Cardassian ship, they would be home by now, and would have already established power in the Delta quadrant. Seska allied herself with the strongest force she could, the Kazon, in hopes of gaining and using their power for herself. Before Janeway can throw her in the brig, Seska beams off the ship with a voice-activated transporter program .

As a Cardassian, the idea of conquest and domination appealed to Seska. That had been her people's goal in the Alpha Quadrant , and in the Delta Quadrant, she was determined to do the same thing. That was why she allied with the Kazon Nistrim, whose goals were similar: force others to submit to their rule.

Collaboration With The Kazon

After leaving Voyager, Seska became the paramour of Maje Culluh, leader of the Nistrim faction of the Kazon. Though the patriarchal Kazon expected Seska, a woman, to be subservient, she remained an expert manipulator. By influencing Culluh, Seska was thus able to influence the entire Kazon faction, abetting them in their pursuit of dominance over the quadrant. Her plan was to help the Kazon take Voyager, whose technology would make the Nistrim the most powerful Kazon faction.

After she left Voyager, a few of the former Maquis crewmembers expressed some agreement with what Seska had said and done. If giving technology to the Kazon would offer Voyager protection, why not do just that? With this mindset, Crewman Mike Jonas, a former friend of Seska's, contacted the Kazon Nistrim and began feeding them information.

Matters were further complicated by Seska's pregnancy. In the final moments of the episode "State of Flux," the crew receives a video message from Seska, who tells Chakotay that she took his DNA and used it to become pregnant with his child. She used her child to continue to manipulate Chakotay from afar, which came to a head in the Season 2 finale, "Basics Part 1."

Voyager Takeover & Seska's Fate

In "Basics Part 1," Voyager received a message from Seska. In the message, it appeared that when Seska's child had been born and Maj Culluh saw that it was not his, he turned violent towards both Seska and the baby. Though he knew it could be a trap, Chakotay decided that if there were any possibility that his child were in danger, it was his responsibility to rescue the baby. Captain Janeway refused to let him go alone, instead assuring him that Voyager would help him save the child.

Unfortunately, despite the precautions they took, Seska's distress call was indeed bait for Voyager. The Kazon took the ship, stranding the crew on a nearby planet. Only the holographic Doctor appeared to remain onboard. It was the Doctor, though, who managed to surprise Seska with some unexpected news: her child was not in fact Chakotay's. That had been her intention, but she had instead become pregnant with Maj Culluh's child, and the baby was a Kazon-Cardassian hybrid. However, she wasn't about to let it get in the way of her plans.

And yet, Seska's plans crumbled anyway in "Basics Part 2." The Doctor managed to ally with Lon Suder, who had hidden himself in the ship's Jeffries tubes, and Tom Paris , who had escaped in a shuttle. Together, they managed to thwart the Kazon, but the ship sustained heavy damage as a result. The last viewers saw of Seska, she was crawling through the debris in the ship, trying to reach her crying baby. By the time the ship's crew returned, she had died of her injuries. The Kazon were driven off the ship, and Maje Culluh took his and Seska's child with him.

"Basics Part 2" was the last that the starship Voyager saw of the Cardassian traitor and the Kazon that she allied herself with. It marked the end of one of the show's earliest major plot arcs, and the downfall of the first enemy they made in the Delta Quadrant. Despite Seska's intelligence and her talent for manipulation, she ultimately chose the wrong side. Betraying Voyager came back to bite her in the end.

MORE: Star Trek: Why Voyager Deserves More Credit Than It Gets

State of Flux (episode)

• View history
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.1 Title, story, and script
• 3.2 Cast and characters
• 3.3 Alien design
• 3.4 Production
• 3.5 Continuity
• 3.6 Reception
• 3.7 Video and DVD releases
• 4.1 Starring
• 4.2 Also starring
• 4.3 Guest stars
• 4.4 Co-star
• 4.5 Uncredited co-stars
• 4.6 Stunt double
• 4.7 Photo doubles
• 4.8 Stand-ins
• 4.9 References
• 4.10 External links

Summary [ ]

While Commander Chakotay and an away team , including Carey and Neelix , are on a scouting expedition on an alien planet , Lieutenant Tom Paris , onboard the USS Voyager , notices something from his station that may be a cloaked ship. Tuvok reveals it is in fact a ship using some kind of masking circuitry unfamiliar to him. He suggests using a polaron burst; when Captain Janeway gives him the go-ahead, the burst reveals the outline of a Kazon warship , the specifications of which conform to the Kazon-Nistrim sect. Janeway immediately orders the away team back to the ship.

On the surface, Chakotay assembles the away team, but there is no sign of Seska . He has the rest of the team beam back aboard Voyager while he looks for her with a tricorder in hand in some nearby caves. He finds her picking mushrooms so she can teach Neelix how to make Chakotay's favorite soup . As they move to leave the cave, they are surprised by a pair of Kazon soldiers. Chakotay is injured in the firefight, and Seska helps him out of the cave to the transport site.

Act One [ ]

Seska visits Chakotay's quarters bringing him mushroom soup . They savor it together as she describes how Neelix wanted to make the soup with leola root. She goes on to explain how thanks to an altercation she describes as a 'Maquis operation' with Jackson stealing the mushrooms and some other food from the kitchen allowed for the mushroom soup to be made for Chakotay, while Neelix was dealing with a convenient case of homesickness that arose with several other Maquis officers. Chakotay, visibly upset at her raiding the kitchen and stealing food, revokes all the culprits' replicator rations for two days including his own. He also threatens to throw Seska and her co-conspirators in the brig , next time. As Seska leaves, Janeway calls the senior staff to the bridge .

Voyager receives a distress call from a ship identical to the one seen at the previous planet , and while the call appears to be genuine based on sensor readings, Neelix advises caution; the ship hails from the Kazon-Nistrim , one of the most violent sects in the Kazon Collective . With no indications of other Kazon ships in the vicinity, Janeway plots a course to intercept the ship.

When an away team beams aboard the Kazon ship, they find several bodies on the bridge, all dead from what appears to be a kind of subatomic manipulation that has melded them with pieces of metal. They detect nucleonic radiation emanating from an area of the bridge, contained automatically via force fields . One survivor is among the Kazon crew, so he is beamed aboard Voyager to be treated in sickbay , but the away team finds something strange in the vicinity of the radiation: neosorium , a composite unique to Federation technology.

Back aboard, The Doctor finds the Kazon's cells have been fundamentally altered and he doesn't know if he can save him. As they head to the bridge, Chakotay and Tuvok tell Janeway of the possible Federation technology aboard the Kazon ship. Tuvok notes three possibilities: either it is not Federation but something similar, or another Starfleet ship has been pulled into the Delta Quadrant, or (most likely) someone from the crew handed the technology over. Janeway immediately halts the turbolift, finding the idea that someone on Voyager might have given technology to the Kazon very disturbing. Tuvok suggests that Seska might have been responsible since she was found near the Kazon on the planet, but Chakotay points out he found her hiding from them. Janeway tells them that retrieving the console is now top priority and resumes the turbolift.

Act Two [ ]

The staff meets in engineering , where B'Elanna Torres brainstorms possible ways to retrieve the console. Although Seska thinks she can use a ' subspace bubble' to walk through the force field and protect her from the radiation, Torres thinks it is too risky and instead opts for Carey's suggestion to push the force field and the radiation so it no longer intersects with the console. The plan will take until the next day, so they begin to get to work; however, when Torres assigns jobs to the engineering crew, Chakotay claims that he does not want Seska on the engineering team but on the bridge instead.

Seska is upset at Chakotay's decision to pull her away from the engineering team, but Chakotay assures her in a corridor that he is only trying to protect her; visiting sickbay, she asks The Doctor to inform her immediately if their Kazon guest wakes up, as he is the only one who can prove her innocence. While she is there, Kes notes that Seska never got around to giving a blood sample. Seska tells Kes that her blood cannot be used for transfusion due to a childhood disease and she was warned never to donate. The Doctor notes that is all the more reason it should be on file, however Seska simply promises to give a sample later before leaving.

Later, Seska tries to retrieve the console herself by transporting over to the damaged Kazon ship without authorization and using her subspace bubble. On the bridge, Chakotay orders her back, but she refuses and Tuvok points out she may have gone over to destroy evidence that could implicate her. As Chakotay argues back that it is a misguided attempt by Seska to prove herself, the Bajoran is suddenly heard screaming. She is beamed to sickbay, where she is found to be burned but it is easily treatable.

Act Three [ ]

Janeway calls Carey into her ready room , where Tuvok and Chakotay are waiting. They interrogate him about any personal communications he might have had with the Kazon since Voyager was stranded in the Delta Quadrant pointing out he was separated from the away team on the planet for over an hour and may be bitter over Lieutenant Torres being promoted to chief engineer over him. Carey vehemently denies all of the accusations, and although he does mention Seska's name, he stops short of implicating her directly. Janeway has Carey confined to quarters for the rest of the investigation. After he's gone, the three discuss if Carey may actually have betrayed the crew to the Kazon; while he indeed has a motive and had the opportunity to do so, he also has a distinguished Starfleet career while Seska spent two years as an enemy of the Federation. Chakotay however still refuses to accept this, pointing out that he was a Maquis too.

When another Kazon ship arrives, the First Maje Culluh of the Kazon-Nistrim introduces himself. Like all Kazon, he is aggressive, but he is intent on protecting Kazon property. Janeway refuses to leave the ship alone until she has the console, using her superior technology as the stick. Culluh agrees to settle for visiting the still-unconscious survivor of the accident.

Culluh and his bodyguard arrive in sickbay, where The Doctor explains about the accident and the nucleonic radiation from the console. The Kazon want to be left alone with the man, so Janeway talks to The Doctor in private, not eager to release their patient into Kazon hands. Janeway prepares to inform the Kazon of her intentions when Culluh's bodyguard takes out a small needle and, before Tuvok can intervene, instantly kills the patient with an injection of neurotoxin . Disgusted, Janeway orders Culluh and the bodyguard off her ship.

Once the Kazon are gone, Kes and The Doctor have important news for Janeway: according to Seska's blood screening , she is not Bajoran but Cardassian .

Act Four [ ]

Chakotay is informed of The Doctor's analysis and is incredulous and wants to be the one to question her. Janeway decides to hold off until the console is retrieved. As an away team is preparing to beam over to the vessel to take back the console, the other Kazon ship threatens war if anything is removed. Janeway threatens a harsh tactical response if they interfere, and the Kazon back down.

An away team including Torres manages to successfully beam the console, decontaminate it, and begin analysis in Engineering. Torres identifies the console as a food replicator , however it lacked sufficient shielding to prevent nucleonic radiation from leaking and causing a cascade. It is also identified that the components in the console contain bio-neural circuitry , proving that those components could only have originated from Voyager .

Chakotay confronts Seska in sickbay with the evidence of the food replicator components and the diagnosis that she is believed to actually be Cardassian . Seska indicates that the reason for this is that she had suffered from Orkett's disease as a child and received a bone marrow transplant from a Cardassian woman named Kattell to survive. Chakotay informs her that an extensive search of security logs is currently underway to identify the traitor.

Once Chakotay leaves sickbay, Tuvok informs him outside the room that Carey has also been told about the pending search and that the trap is now ready to catch the culprit.

Act Five [ ]

Chakotay and Tuvok play gin at a console in engineering while monitoring the activity of the manifest logs. Upon detecting changes, they find that Seska's security codes are being clumsily planted into the logs, seemingly implicating Carey who would be trying to frame her.

Chakotay enters sickbay to tell Seska what they've found and that they now know for certain who gave the technology to the Kazon… her. Seska denies everything, claiming that she doesn't know what evidence they think they found but Chakotay replies that actually they found the evidence she put out there for them to find: her own security code. He explains their trap and how they were hoping she'd fall for it. She knew no one would believe she could be that careless by typing in her own security code, so that is exactly what she did, hoping that everyone would believe that someone else was trying to frame her. They also managed to trace the fact the information was entered from a console in sickbay. The Doctor also refutes her claim to be the victim of Orkett's disease , having already discounted it before she even mentioned it to them; there is no doubt she is Cardassian.

At that moment, the lights in sickbay go on and Captain Janeway and Tuvok enter. Upon realizing that she has been exposed, Seska finally admits everything. She claims to have done it for Chakotay and for this crew that is alone in this part of the galaxy , at the mercy of any number of hostile aliens because of the incomprehensible decision of a Federation Captain who destroyed their only chance of getting home. She mocks Federation values and angrily points out that if this were a Cardassian ship, they would be home now, and should forge alliances with powerful allies such as the Kazon Nistrim in exchange for some minor technology. She says that building a base of power in this quadrant at any cost is all that matters, finally pointing out to the captain what a fool she is and what a fool Chakotay is for following her. She escapes Voyager using a voice-activated transporter program, known as Command XJL , to quickly transfer over to one of the nearby Kazon ships. Attempts to get her back fail, and Janeway quickly realizes that they are going to soon be outnumbered by Kazon ships from all over if they remain. She decides to retreat, knowing that they haven't seen the last of Seska.

Later in the mess hall , Chakotay sits down with Tuvok to discuss Seska's betrayal; he does not understand how Seska, of all people, could fool him to this extent and asks if there was something about him that made it easy for everyone to deceive him. Tuvok reassures Chakotay that he does not strike him as particularly naive, and admits Seska had him fooled as well, and Chakotay – much to Tuvok's confusion – begins to feel a bit better about himself.

Memorable quotes [ ]

" We should be able to make an attempt by tomorrow. " " I want it ready by the end of the day. " " No Captain. When I say 'tomorrow', I mean tomorrow. I don't exaggerate. "

" On the contrary, the demands on a Vulcan's character are extraordinarily difficult. Do not mistake composure for ease. How may I be honest with you today? "

" You will prepare for my arrival. " " Friendly sort. "

" You Humans! You're not used to roughing it, are you? "

" You were working for her [Janeway], Seska was working for them [the Cardassians]… was anyone on that ship working for me ? "

" Oh, thank the Prophets ! "

" You damned Vulcans and your defined parameters! "

" Get off this ship! "

" You know, I'm really easy to get along with most of the time, but I don't like bullies and I don't like threats, and I don't like you , Culluh. You can try and stop us from getting to the truth, but I promise you that if you do, I will respond with all the 'unique technologies' at my command. "

" Of all the things to die for… It's a food replicator, or at least it was trying to be. "

" Any unexpected life signs down there, commander? " " Nothing but bloodworms. Neelix wants to take some back with us for a tartare he wants to make. I've tried to talk him out of it. "

" I was analyzing her blood chemistry to try to locate a compatible donor. But when I got the results, her blood was lacking all the common Bajoran blood factors. " " Meaning? " " The only conclusion we can reach is that she is not, in fact, Bajoran. It appears Seska has been genetically altered. My suspicion is she was born Cardassian. "

" Why would anyone on this ship betray us? We're all in this together. "

" I did it for you. I did it for this crew. We are alone here, at the mercy of any number of hostile aliens, because of the incomprehensible decision of a Federation captain. A Federation captain who destroyed our only chance to get home. Federation rules. Federation nobility. Federation compassion? Do you understand? If this had been a Cardassian ship, we would be home now. We must begin to forge alliances. To survive, we must have powerful friends. The Kazon-Nistrim were willing to be our protectors in return for some minor technology. "

" You are a fool, Captain. And you are a fool to follow her. "

" We'll have to wait for another day to settle up with Seska. "

Background information [ ]

Title, story, and script [ ].

• Paul Robert Coyle thought up the basic idea for this episode's plot based on reading the script of Star Trek: Voyager ' s pilot episode, " Caretaker ". He then suggested it, when the Seska character didn't yet have the name, she ultimately did, during a pitch session in which he was alone with Executive Producer and series co-creator Michael Piller . " The first pitch out of my mouth was basically the 'Seska' pitch, " said Coyle. " 'A member of the crew that Chakotay has taken onboard turns out to be a spy genetically – you know, a Cardassian – and she's disguised as a Bajoran or whatever.' " [1]
• Michael Piller embraced the idea for this episode upon first hearing it. " He really liked that, " stated Paul Robert Coyle, " and yet he was not, by nature, an enthusiastic person; he was very subtle and underplayed and started running with the idea. 'Yeah, that could work, blah blah blah.' " Coyle deemed the "Seska" plot as not his strongest story idea, and was eager to pitch about half a dozen other stories to Piller. " But he was really interested in that first one, and I continued to pitch a few more, stubbornly, and he finally shut me down and said, 'No, I want to do the first one. Let's just talk about that,' " Coyle remembered, with a laugh. " That was an assignment in the room, he sent me out of there to go home and write an outline, and told the secretary to strike a deal memo with my agent. " Such a fast transition from story to outline assignment, requiring no approval from another executive producer nor from the studio, was virtually unheard of in the industry of writing television. Upon Coyle leaving the room, Ira Steven Behr , in the hallway outside, immediately congratulated him on having successfully pitched the story. As Coyle later learned, he was the first freelancer to sell a story pitch to Star Trek: Voyager . [2] Executive Producer Jeri Taylor noted, " ['State of Flux'] was one of the first [stories] that we bought. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 143)
• Paul Robert Coyle proceeded to develop the episode idea. " I did a story of that, and then a rewrite, I guess, " he continued, " and then Jeri Taylor called one day, to say, 'Thanks, Paul. Good work, and we'll be taking it from here.' So, I was being cut off, as many freelancers in the world of Star Trek were. The story, for whatever reason, wasn't hitting on all cylinders, so they were bringing another writer in to write the script. " [3]
• Michael Piller did some uncredited work on the episode. He revealed, " This is a show that I worked on quite a bit […] I felt the most important challenge was to keep the audience guessing until the very end. " Part of the work that Michael Piller invested in the episode was intensifying the history between Chakotay and Seska. Jeri Taylor recollected, " Michael […] gave Chakotay and Seska the backstory that they had been romantically involved, which had not been in any other versions. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 143)
• This episode had the working title "Seska". " [It] obviously gave everything away, " noted Director Robert Scheerer . " They changed that before we shot. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 143)
• The episode's final draft script was submitted on 25 January 1995 . [4]

Cast and characters [ ]

• As this episode was the first Voyager installment that Robert Scheerer directed and because he was used to directing Star Trek: The Next Generation , he found – while filming this episode – that the atmosphere between Voyager 's main cast members differed from the Star Trek environment he was used to directing in. He later recalled, "Voyager was very new when I did my first one. The cast, although friendly, had not really come together the way they did on Star Trek: The Next Generation . That cast was really a family, and I felt like part of the family, whereas on Voyager , they were all nice, but it wasn't the same. The dynamic was somewhat different than the other show. I can't really explain it and never really analyzed it. There was just a much more complete feeling about The Next Generation than about Voyager . Voyager was still evolving, so it was quite another experience. " ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 17 , p. 56)
• Culluh actor Anthony De Longis had a mistaken initial impression about both this episode and the role in which he had been cast. " I had read only the few pages that had my character on them for my audition, so, at one point I actually thought that I might somehow be romancing the Captain, " De Longis explained, laughing. " When I read the rest of the script, it became very clear that this really wasn't an option […] I figured chances were that Janeway wasn't going to be interested anyway. " ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 18 , p. 67)
• According to Seska actress Martha Hackett , the revelation that her character turns out to be a Cardassian operative was decided shortly after the series went into production. The actress recalled, " I think it was three episodes or four episodes in, they thought, 'Well, let's make her a Cardassian spy.' " ("Saboteur Extraordinaire: Seska", VOY Season 2 DVD special features) Hackett was surprised by both the concept that Seska was actually Cardassian, as well as by the character's previous romantic relationship with Chakotay. ("Saboteur Extraordinaire: Seska", VOY Season 2 DVD special features) " In that story, she became more mature and craftier than I had initially envisioned her, " the actress noted. ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 7 , p. 8)
• Director Robert Scheerer placed importance on the plot point where Seska is revealed to be a Cardassian spy. " We worked very hard on that […]. We particularly took care that her relationship with Robert [Beltran] was a genuinely loving, warm relationship and that her caring for him had nothing to do with the fact that she was a spy who was trying to get home. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 143)
• According to Robert Scheerer, Janeway actress Kate Mulgrew was ill during production on this episode and came in only for the last day of filming on the bridge, so some of her dialogue was given to her fellow main cast members. ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 17 , p. 57)

Alien design [ ]

• In order for Anthony De Longis to look the part of Maje Culluh, he had makeup applied to him by Makeup Supervisor Michael Westmore and also wore a headdress. Of his makeup, De Longis recalled, " We were sort of making do because they really hadn't done it before except en masse for the opening episode. Michael began by giving me this Klingon -looking forehead, and then he designed these pieces to build up my cheeks slightly along with a funny nose appliance that made it look as if I had nostril tusks. Some of the pieces didn't quite fit me, but I could still animate the prosthetics. We managed to find something that worked pretty well. " The headdress that De Longis wore for this episode was mostly made out of sponges and dog chew toys. An amused De Longis remarked, " When I saw the hairpiece, I thought, 'Well, Culluh must be the leader because he has the biggest head of hair.' " According to De Longis, seeing how the production staff had designed Culluh's hair and makeup reinforced the realization that the actor would not be romancing Captain Janeway in this episode. ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 18 , pp. 66 & 67)

Production [ ]

Camera Operator Joe Chess and Ethan Phillips during shooting

• During filming, Robert Scheerer had fun with trying to maintain the episode's sense of mystery, an aspect that he thought was unusual for Star Trek: Voyager . He said about the outing, " It was different in the sense that it was a mystery. It was something that is hard to categorize very easily, but it was a rare episode in that regard. It was something that was fun to do because of that – to take the scenes like the ones with the young man [Lieutenant Carey] who was also suspected and try and turn that into as much of a diversion as possible so that it wasn't clear who it was that was causing all the problems. And even though it was clear very early on who it possibly was, I tried very hard to prevent it from being obvious until the last possible moment that it was revealed to be Seska. I approached it on the basis of a mystery, which is something you don't get a chance to do very often with Voyager . " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 143)
• The exterior scenes of the teaser were filmed at Bronson Caves in Bronson Canyon. [5] (X) Robert Beltran suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction during this location filming. Martha Hackett recalled, " This is more about Robert than it is about me, but we were shooting one of my first episodes and I was a Maquis and… " giggling to herself, she continued, " we were shooting in this cave up in the Hollywood Hills and we had these new costumes. I mean, I think it was like their second or third episode. " Laughing wholeheartedly, she remembered, " And Robert's kept splitting , just the whole thing, you know, stem to stern, every time we did this little run into the cave. So, you know, everyone got to know each other rather quickly after that! " ("Saboteur Extraordinaire: Seska", VOY Season 2 DVD special features)
• The unauthorized reference book Delta Quadrant (p. 38) refers to this episode as being virtually a bottle show , apart from the location work in the teaser and use of some leftover sets that were made to look distressed.
• Robert Scheerer was surprised by Kate Mulgrew in a particular scene of this episode's production. He explained, " Just in one moment, she caught me quite by surprise in a reaction she had. [It's a scene] I would have shot differently if I had expected it [….] We got it, but not the way I would have liked. " ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 17 , pp. 56-57)
• Creating the special effect of the Kazon melted into the machinery of their ship was one of the episode's most difficult production tasks. Voyager 's art department hired an outside special-effects lab to create the elements of the shot. Supervising Producer David Livingston reflected, " The art department was concerned that it would be hard to kind of meld a body-form around a desk and make it look realistic, but it was so dark in there I don't know if the audience got the full impact of it. " Likening the illusion to an effect in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi , Livingston added, " It was the old Star Wars deal where Harrison Ford is frozen in carbonite in the wall of Jabba the Hutt's palace. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 143)

Continuity [ ]

• This is the second episode in which Voyager encounters the Kazon after the pilot episode " Caretaker ", albeit a different sect: the Kazon-Nistrim. The sect encountered in " Caretaker " was the Kazon-Ogla.
• Despite this episode featuring the first appearance of the Kazon-Nistrim, Tuvok recognises the sect to which the Kazon ship belongs, which can only be explained if the crew had made an off-screen encounter with them by this point or otherwise learned of the configuration of the sect's ships.
• This is the fifth of five episodes in Voyager 's first season to feature the character of Seska; she appears exclusively in her Bajoran officer disguise in " Parallax ", " Phage ", " Emanations " and " Prime Factors ". However, her inclusion in those episodes only came about after the writers bought the story idea for this episode. Jeri Taylor explained, " Seska came about in a not very planned way […] We realized it would probably be a good idea – since all of these people are new – if we did some stories in which we established this character before we did a whole episode about her. It would have more emotional resonance for the audience, and so we started doing that. Then we found her character to be very useful […] You don't always have rumbling in the lower decks or mutinous people on purely Starfleet ships. Seska gave us conflict and bite, and we actually pushed ['State of Flux'] further down the line so we could use Seska. She was very well established by the time we got to it […] It worked better than it might have simply because we had Seska in the earlier shows. People had a sense of who she was. " Robert Scheerer noted, " She'd done three or four of the shows beforehand, and I suspect she may be back later on. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 143) Indeed, the duplicitous Seska makes five return appearances in the second season (" Maneuvers ", " Alliances ", " Lifesigns ", " Investigations " and " Basics, Part I "). Although she dies in the climax of the third season opener " Basics, Part II ", she returns as a hologram in the later third season episode " Worst Case Scenario " and as a duplicate from an alternate timeline in the seventh season 's " Shattered ".
• This Voyager episode constitutes the earliest return appearance of a race previously featured in the series (i.e., the Kazon).
• This episode marks the first appearance of Anthony De Longis as Maje Culluh of the Kazon-Nistrim. Seska's departure to join that Kazon sect begins a story arc that culminates in the episode " Basics, Part II ".
• This is one of the few times, early in the series, that The Doctor does not say, " Please state the nature of the medical emergency, " upon activation. This is accounted for in the later first season episode " Learning Curve ".
• While trying to explain how the Kazon acquired Federation technology, Tuvok ponders the possibility of another Federation ship being brought to the Delta Quadrant. Captain Janeway explains that, to her knowledge, no Federation ships had gone missing in the Badlands prior to Voyager . However, it is later revealed (in the two-parter " Equinox " and " Equinox, Part II ") that the USS Equinox had been pulled into the Delta Quadrant just as Tuvok guesses in this episode.
• Torres' line claiming she doesn't exaggerate is an allusion to Montgomery Scott 's habit of exaggeration, which led to his becoming known as a miracle worker . ( TNG : " Relics ")
• While discussing whether Seska could be a Cardassian agent, Tuvok mentions that Starfleet has documented several instances of Cardassians using cosmetic alterations for the purposes of infiltrating an enemy. This is demonstrated in several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , such as " Tribunal " (wherein the crew of space station Deep Space 9 arrests a Cardassian agent who has disguised himself as a former Starfleet officer as part of a plot to discredit the Federation ), " Second Skin " (which involves an incident wherein Kira Nerys has been surgically altered to become a Cardassian in an ultimately unsuccessful Cardassian plot to convince her that she was an Obsidian Order agent) and " 'Til Death Do Us Part " (in which Gul Dukat disguises himself as a Bajoran to earn the trust of Kai Winn ).
• This episode has the longest teaser in the first season of Star Trek: Voyager , being only one or two seconds longer than the teaser of " The Cloud ". " Elogium ", which was also produced during Voyager 's first season, has an even longer teaser than this episode, although that installment aired as part of Season 2.
• This is the final appearance of Lieutenant Joe Carey in the "present time" until the season 7 episode " Friendship One ", set in 2378. Subsequent appearances between this episode and Friendship One (Season 5's " Relativity " and Season 6's " Fury ") which depict Carey always have him appear in scenes that are set in Voyager 's past in relation to that episode.
• Despite having premiered in theaters five months earlier, this is the first episode of either Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or Voyager to have a stardate later than that of Star Trek Generations .

Reception [ ]

• This episode achieved a Nielsen rating of 6.5 million homes, and an 11% share. [6] (X)
• Paul Robert Coyle was pleased with how this episode developed, noting, " It turned out well. " [7]
• Although both Michael Piller and Executive Producer Rick Berman liked this episode, Jeri Taylor was less enthusiastic about the installment. Piller said of the episode, " It has a good payoff [....] It's a very tricky, complex mystery story which is so intricately woven that the audience might believe she's innocent of the crime until the very last moment, and then, of course, the revelation comes. I thought it was a very rewarding story. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 143) In a tone of similar appreciation, Berman described this installment as "a wonderful episode". ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 102 , p. 11) On the other hand, Jeri Taylor merely noted, " The show was OK. " One facet of the installment that Taylor approved of was Michael Piller's introduction of romantic backstory for Chakotay and Seska, a character development that Taylor described as "an interesting thing." She elaborated, " I think that made Chakotay's struggle all the more poignant. You really saw what the stakes were for him because of that, and ultimately he did the right thing and what his duty compelled him to do. Those are always good stories. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 143)
• Martha Hackett ranked this episode as being her second favorite of the first season and a half of Star Trek: Voyager (with the second season installment " Maneuvers " topping the list). ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 7 , p. 9) She was specifically pleased by the revelation that Seska was really Cardassian. After laughing at the outlandish idea and then nodding, the actress enthused, " So, um, it was a good surprise. " ("Saboteur Extraordinaire: Seska", VOY Season 2 DVD special features)
• Robert Scheerer was impressed by Martha Hackett, with whom he worked only on this episode, later describing her as "a very good actress" and noting, " I enjoyed working with her. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 143; The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 17 , p. 57) Scheerer said of the revelation that Seska was the spy, " I kind of liked the fact that it was not someone who was very well known among the crew. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages , p. 143) The director was also "really impressed with Captain Janeway – Kate Mulgrew," particularly in the scene where she surprised him with a reaction she performed. " Kate was really good – it was an emotional moment that she really dealt with, " he remarked. ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 17 , pp. 56-57)
• Robert Beltran felt that this episode succeeded in exposing certain facets of Chakotay's persona. The actor said of "State of Flux", " That episode lets you see Chakotay's vulnerable side. Normally, Chakotay can handle anything, but he made a mistake with Seska. The episode also showed Chakotay's loyalty in that he was willing to stand by her until it was absolutely certain that she was a traitor. I think that's one of the strong things about Chakotay: he's very, very loyal and it takes a lot to shake his belief in people. That's something the writers had captured well. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 20 , p. 34) Midway through Voyager 's second season, Beltran further said of the relationship between Seska and Chakotay, " Given the way it fizzled out, which has not been made real clear, I think it was probably a mutual breakup. What had become a platonic relationship wasn't enough for Seska, who was obviously holding onto the notion of getting a romantic relationship started again. When she saw the door shut, I think, it made it easier for her to leave the Voyager and go ahead with the Kazon. " In fact, the scene in which Seska departs Voyager , moments after criticizing both Chakotay and Janeway, was a moment that Beltran found memorable, saying, " I remember Seska turning into this awful, awfully scary person […] She turned into this evil, malevolent person who Chakotay had never recognized in the Seska he thought he knew. " ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 7 , pp. 14 & 16)
• Although a rumor circulated that the sour-tasting Leola root was meant as a barb aimed at Geneviève Bujold and that the root's name was linked to her because she had played a character called "Leola" in the 1996 film The Adventures of Pinocchio , her character in that film is actually named "Leona" and the movie was released over a year after this episode was first broadcast. ( Beyond the Final Frontier , p. 279)
• Cinefantastique gave this installment 2 and a half out of 4 stars. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 56)
• In their unofficial reference book Trek Navigator: The Ultimate Guide to the Entire Trek Saga (p. 228), co-writer Mark A. Altman rates this episode 2 and a half out of 4 stars (defined as "average") while fellow co-writer Edward Gross scores the installment 3 out of 4 stars (defined as "good").
• The unauthorized reference book Delta Quadrant (p. 38) gives the episode a rating of 7 out of 10.
• In Star Trek Magazine 's retrospective "Ultimate Guide", the magazine gave this episode 4 out of 5 Starfleet-style arrowhead insignia, also naming it the "4th" best episode of Voyager 's first season. It additionally awarded the outing as having the "Best Moment" of the season – Robert Beltran's delivery of the line " You were working for her, Seska was working for them… was anyone on that ship working for me? " – and the season's "Best Guest Star", Martha Hackett as Seska. ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 164 , p. 30)
• A dermal regenerator used in this episode was auctioned off in week 1 of the It's A Wrap! sale and auction . [8]

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 1.6, catalog number VHR 4006, 25 September 1995
• As part of the VOY Season 1 DVD collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

Also starring [ ]

• Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay
• Roxann Biggs-Dawson as Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres
• Jennifer Lien as Kes
• Robert Duncan McNeill as Lieutenant Tom Paris
• Ethan Phillips as Neelix
• Robert Picardo as The Doctor
• Tim Russ as Lieutenant Tuvok
• Garrett Wang as Ensign Harry Kim

Guest stars [ ]

• Martha Hackett as Seska
• Josh Clark as Joe Carey
• Anthony DeLongis as Culluh

Co-star [ ]

• Majel Barrett as Computer Voice

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• Derek Anthony as operations ensign
• C. Bender as sciences crewman
• Jasmin Bischoff as operations officer
• R. Capurro as sciences officer
• Steve Crawford as Kazon-Nistrim survivor
• Christine Delgado as Susan Nicoletti
• Tarik Ergin as Ayala
• Pablo Espinosa as operations officer
• Heather Ferguson as command officer
• Norman Gibbs as operations officer
• M. Green as Kazon-Nistrim aide
• Jamie Hernandez as sciences officer
• Kerry Hoyt as Fitzpatrick
• Julie Jiang as operations lieutenant junior grade
• Katsuki Kazuhiro as command officer
• Norman Large as Kazon-Nistrim captain
• Eva Larson as operations officer
• Irving Lewis as Kazon-Nistrim guard
• Dennis Madalone as Kazon-Nistrim guard
• Jordan Monheim as sciences officer
• Trina Mortley as sciences officer
• Louis Ortiz as Culhane
• John Parsons as Michael Parsons
• Rob Plaza as operations officer
• Jerry Quinn as command officer
• Richard Sarstedt as Henard
• Daunette Saunders as operations officer
• Lydia Shiferaw as command officer
• Jennifer Somers as sciences officer
• Simon Stotler as operations ensign
• Ondar Tarlow as sciences officer
• Julie Thornton as operations officer
• Jeremy Trabucco as Michael Parsons
• Rod Wallace as operations officer
• Unknown actor as sciences officer

Stunt double [ ]

• David Balcorta as stunt double for Robert Beltran (unseen)

Photo doubles [ ]

• Unknown actor – photo double for M. Green
• Unknown actor – photo double for Tim Russ
• Unknown actress – photo double for Martha Hackett (unseen)

Stand-ins [ ]

• David Keith Anderson – stand-in for Irving Lewis
• Jasmin Bischoff – stand-in for Martha Hackett
• Tarik Ergin – stand-in for Anthony De Longis
• Ken Gruz – stand-in for Norman Large
• Sue Henley – stand-in for Kate Mulgrew
• Cy Kennedy – stand-in for Robert Beltran
• Susan Lewis – stand-in for Roxann Biggs-Dawson
• Lemuel Perry – stand-in for Tim Russ
• Jerry Quinn – stand-in for Robert Duncan McNeill
• Ron – stand-in for Josh Clark
• Richard Sarstedt – stand-in for Robert Picardo and Anthony De Longis
• Jennifer Somers – stand-in for Jennifer Lien
• Simon Stotler – stand-in for Ethan Phillips
• John Tampoya – stand-in for Garrett Wang

References [ ]

2369 ; act of war ; agent ; apple ; attention span ; automatic containment system ; axiom ; Bajoran ; Bajoran work camp ; berry ; bio-neural fiber ; bio scan analysis ; blood cell ; blood chemistry ; blood factor ; blood scan ; blood transfusion ; bloodworm ; bone marrow ; bow ; bridge operations ; brig ; broth ; burn ; Cardassian ; cards ; career ; cascade reaction ; cc ; chief engineer ; chief inspector ; childhood ; childhood virus ; children ; cloaking device ; combadge ; Command XJL ; composite ; computer station ; console ; conspiracy ; cosmetic alteration ; cytological screening ; Delta Quadrant ; dermal regenerator ; dimensions ; donor ; dorsal emitter ; dozen ; EM scan ; Emergency Holographic Medical program ; ETA ; expander ; Federation ; food replicator ; force field ; framing ; genetically altered ; gin ; gin tournament ; herb ; heart ; homesickness ; hospital gown ; inorganic matter ; inventory database / inventory manifest ; intercept course ; Jackson ; kaylo ; Kattell ; Kazon Collective ; Kazon-Nistrim ; Kazon raider (aka Kazon warship / Kazon ship / Kazon vessel ; unnamed 1 , Culluh's raider , and 3 ); kelotane ; kilometer ; leola root ; leola root planet ; leola root planet sun ; logic ; love ; low orbit ; Maquis ; masking circuitry ; medical text ; mildew ; Milky Way Galaxy ; mineral ; " misery loves company "; morale officer ; mushroom ; mushroom soup ; needle ; neosorium ; nerve toxin ; nucleonic radiation ; Occupation, The ; Orkett's disease ; pattern buffer relay ; poison ; polaron ; port ; promotion ; Prophet ; " pulled the wool over my eyes " ( wool ); pyrocyte ; Rakan folk song ; ring ; scene of the crime ; secrecy ; security code ; senior officer ; shield casing ; spitting ; sponsor ; spy ; Starfleet ; Starfleet Security ; stealth ; stir crazy ; stone ; subspace bubble ; systems analysis ; tartar ; testify ; tractor beam ; traitor ; transmission log ; transplant ; transporter autosequence ; transporter beam ; Transporter Room 2 ; trespassing ; tug of war ; vakol fish ; Val Jean ; virus ; vitamin ; volunteer ; Vulcan ; windpipe ; work camp

External links [ ]

• " State of Flux " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " State of Flux " at Wikipedia
• "State of Flux" at StarTrek.com
• " "State of Flux" " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• 3 Ancient humanoid

Screen Rant

A major star trek villain & betrayal is set up in voyager episode 2.

A character introduction in Star Trek: Voyager episode 2 set up a major villain for the series as well as a betrayal that happened later on.

• Star Trek: Voyager's first few episodes set up major character arcs and themes for the show's first few seasons, providing a fully formed picture of each character.
• Seska's introduction in "Parallax" heavily foreshadowed her later villainous turn, with her behavior and disdain for Starfleet setting the stage for her betrayal.
• Seska's motivations for leaving Voyager and betraying the crew are complex and not entirely clear, but her Cardassian status and distrust of Starfleet likely played a role in her actions. However, her true motivations are never explicitly revealed, leaving viewers to rely on her unreliable word.

Star Trek: Voyager introduced one of its major villains early on, setting up the character's betrayal in the process. Although Voyager 's first season wasn't its highest rated in terms of episode consistency, the show did a good job of setting up its themes, characters, and major arcs for at least the first few seasons. Voyager' s character introductions in particular were very well done, giving the audience a more fully formed picture of each character than other Star Trek shows had done previously. This applied to minor characters as well as main characters.

Although the first few episodes of Voyager focused on introducing the main cast, the show did take time to showcase a few minor characters that would continue to be relevant to the plot going forward, especially in season 1, episode 2, "Parallax". Some characters, like Lt. Joe Carey (Josh Clark), only made sporadic appearances in the rest of the series, despite being set up as relatively important in the episode. However, one introduction in particular in "Parallax" ended up having major implications for the rest of Voyager , even though it was a relatively minor moment.

Related: Star Trek: Voyager Cast & Character Guide

Seska’s Voyager Introduction Set Up Her Villain Turn

Ensign Seska (Martha Hackett) was introduced in "Parallax", and her first appearance heavily foreshadowed her character arc later on. Although Seska wasn't a big part of the episode, her scenes are very telling when looked at upon a rewatch, knowing where her storyline is going. Early in the episode, Seska and another former Maquis tell Chakotay (Robert Beltran) that they would have his back in a mutiny against Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) if he was considering one. Seska also eggs B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) on in her disagreement with Lt. Carey, making it clear that she disapproves of Carey too after he and B'Elanna have another confrontation.

Given the fact that Seska went on to betray the USS Voyager to the Kazon and then left the ship to join her collaborators, her initial behavior heavily foreshadowed her imminent villain status. Being one of Voyager 's former Maquis was already a strike against her, but unlike the other Maquis, Seska was never interested in integrating into Starfleet, something that her actions in "Parallax" showcased perfectly. Other twists that contributed to Seska's turn, such as her being a Cardassian disguised as a Bajoran, weren't directly foreshadowed by the episode, but Voyager did a good job of making sure it was clear that Seska couldn't be trusted from the start.

Why Seska Left Voyager For The Kazon

Seska's betrayal and collaboration with Star Trek: Voyager 's Kazon contributed a number of major storylines to the first two seasons of the show, but her motivations for leaving the ship are a little harder to pin down. Seska's disdain for Starfleet's values was always clear, and part of the reason she betrayed Voyager was Captain Janeway's refusal to share technology with the Kazon, something that Seska thought could get the crew ahead in the Delta Quadrant but was against the Prime Directive. Most likely, however, Seska's secret Cardassian status would have always led to the betrayal, given that the Cardassians and the Federation were never on friendly terms.

However, because of her status as a proven liar and spy, it can be argued that Seska's true motivations were never explicitly revealed on Star Trek: Voyager . Certainly, Seska's reasons for sabotaging Voyager changed throughout her time on the show, given that she switched to targeting and manipulating Chakotay almost exclusively after she left the ship. Ultimately, the only thing viewers have to go on as Seska's reasoning for her actions is her own word, which isn't very reliable all things considered.

12 Star Trek Female Villains Ranked, Worst To Best

• The best Star Trek female villains include complex characters like the Intendant and the Female Changeling.
• The Female Romulan Commander and Alixus offer early examples of intriguing female villains in Star Trek.
• While some female villains like the Borg Queen excel, others like Seska from Voyager fall short of their potential.

While the canon of iconic Star Trek antagonists can often feel like an exclusive boy's club, many of the franchise's best villains have been complex female characters. For nearly 60 years, many of the best known villains in Star Trek movies and TV shows have been male, from Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) to Shinzon (Tom Hardy). Looking back, it feels quite regressive, and speaks to a wider issue with how women were written in early Star Trek .

For example, the notorious Star Trek: The Original Series finale "Turnabout Intruder" features Dr. Janice Lester (Sandra Smith), who was presented as a hysterical woman scorned, rather than a multi-layered and complex villain. However, even in those early days, there were one or two memorable female villains that could hold their own against Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). While Star Trek 's movie villains have been predominantly male, the TV shows of the 1990s and 2020s introduced some truly iconic recurring female villains to the franchise .

Every Major Star Trek Villain Species, Ranked

Alixus (gail strickland), star trek: ds9, season 2, episode 15, "paradise".

The impact of Alixus (Gail Strickland) is relatively minor. However, Alixus is an incredibly compelling Star Trek: Deep Space Nine villain who deserves to sit alongside some franchise greats. In DS9 season 2, episode 15, "Paradise", Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) are stranded on a planet that has abandoned technology in favor of a more simple life. Alixus is the leader of this traditionalist community, but Sisko and O'Brien soon unearth the darkness at its core. Alixus was a Federation scientist who had theorized that a return to nature would be better for humanity in the long run.

Gail Strickland had previously appeared with Avery Brooks in Spenser: For Hire .

To prove her point, she sabotaged the colony ship, the SS Santa Maria, forcing it to crash-land on a remote planet. Alixus installed a duonetic field generator that prevented all technology from operating, forcing the colonists to live by her new vision. To prove her thesis, she resorted to cruel punishments and stood by and let her colonists die from easily curable ailments. Gail Strickland plays Alixys with such nuance, transforming "Paradise" from a filler episode into an underrated Star Trek: Deep Space Nine classic . Her electric scenes with Sisko foreshadow the DS9 captain's later conflicts with other zealots.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

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

Seska (Martha Hackett)

Star trek: voyager, seasons 1 to 3.

Star Trek: Voyager 's Seska (Martha Hackett) was a fantastic idea for a character, but very poorly executed. Introduced as one of the secondary Maquis crew members of the Valjean, it quickly became clear that Seska was hiding something. Not only did Seska want Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) to lead a mutiny against Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), she was also a Cardassian spy in disguise. These two elements combined ended up confusing Seska's character in Voyager , as an outnumbered Cardassian would surely have set their sights on an alliance with Janeway, not the Maquis .

Martha Hackett previously played the Romulan Sub-commander T'Rul in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's season 3 premiere "The Search, Parts I & II".

Eventually, Seska left the USS Voyager, to make an alliance with the Kazon in an attempt to capture the ship. The motivations for Seska's plan to capture Voyager were seemingly rooted in her disappointment at being scorned by her former lover, Chakotay. Disappointingly, one of Star Trek: Voyager 's most interesting villains was reduced to the level of Captain Kirk's evil ex-girlfriend, Janice Lester . The most successful plot by Seska was only discovered after she'd died, when a holodeck simulation of a Maquis mutiny turned into a deadly trap in Voyager season 3, episode 25, "Worst Case Scenario".

Star Trek: Voyager

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

Asencia, The Vindicator (Jameela Jamil)

Star trek: prodigy season 1.

Janeway's ship was once again infiltrated by an enemy alien in Star Trek: Prodigy season 1. Masquerading as a Trill ensign, Asencia helped track the USS Protostar, in the hopes of activating its deadly Living Construct weapon and destroying Starfleet. Asencia's true identity was discovered after Janeway and the USS Dauntless rescued the Diviner (John Noble). Hoping that the two Vau N'AKat could work together, Asencia was shocked when the Diviner chose his daughter Gwyndala (Ella Purnell) over their plan to destroy Starfleet. In the Prodigy season 1 finale, Asencia successfully activated the Living Construct and returned to her own time .

Asencia's story will presumably continue in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 , as Admiral Janeway heads into the alternate future to rescue Captain Chakotay and his crew from the Vau N'Akat. It's therefore hard to rank Asencia higher until her story plays out in full. However, judging by the ruthlessness and cunning that Asencia displayed in Prodigy season 1, it's clear that Janeway and the crew of the USS Voyager-A will have their work cut out for them.

Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy is the first TV series in the Star Trek franchise marketed toward children, and one of the few animated series in the franchise. The story follows a group of young aliens who find a stolen Starfleet ship and use it to escape from the Tars Lamora prison colony where they are all held captive. Working together with the help of a holographic Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the new crew of the USS Protostar must find their way back to the Alpha Quadrant to warn the Federation of the deadly threat that is pursuing them.

Female Romulan Commander (Joanne Linville)

Star trek: the original series, season 3, episode 4, "the enterprise incident".

In Star Trek: The Original Series , season 2, episode 4, "The Enterprise Incident", Captain Kirk is tasked with stealing a Romulan cloaking device . Part of the plan requires Lt. Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy) to seduce an unnamed Female Romulan Commander (Joanna Linville), who is attracted to the Vulcan. However, unlike Seska in Star Trek: Voyager , the Female Romulan Commander's ambitions lie far beyond romantic interests. She believes that capturing the USS Enterprise for the Romulan Star Empire will be a boon for her career progression, and wants Spock to serve alongside her.

Years after the events of "The Enterprise Incident", the Federation was banned from developing cloaking technology thanks to the Treaty of Algeron.

Having seemingly turned on Kirk and even killed him in a fight, Spock keeps the Female Romulan Commander interested while Kirk infiltrates the ship. However, the Commander saw through the ruse and beamed aboard the Enterprise to try and take it by force, or have it destroyed. The plan to steal the USS Enterprise is foiled, and the Female Romulan Commander is left embarrassed by falling for Kirk and Spock's fight and losing the cloaking device to the Federation. Interestingly, Spock doesn't throw the Female Romulan Commander into the brig, and instead takes her to standard quarters, implying his seduction wasn't all pretend.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek: The Original Series follows the exploits of the crew of the USS Enterprise. On a five-year mission to explore uncharted space, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) must trust his crew - Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Forest DeKelley), Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Sulu (George Takei) - with his life. Facing previously undiscovered life forms and civilizations and representing humanity among the stars on behalf of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, the Enterprise regularly comes up against impossible odds and diplomatic dilemmas.

Lursa and B'Etor Duras (Barbara March and Gwynyth Walsh)

Star trek: tng, ds9 and star trek generations.

The House of Duras were sworn enemies of Worf, Son of Mogh (Michael Dorn) in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . After Worf killed the House's patriarch in TNG season 4, episode 7, "Reunion", Duras' sisters Lursa (Barbara March) and B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh) were left seeking vengeance. The House of Duras tried to instigate a Klingon Civil War, and even provided a Bajoran terrorist with the explosives needed to destroy the wormhole in DS9 season 1. Following the aborted Klingon Civil War, the Duras sisters effectively became guns for hire, placing them in the orbit of Dr. Tolian Soren (Malcolm McDowell) in Star Trek Generations .

Star Trek Generations was a disappointing end for the Duras Sisters, as they never really got a final confrontation with Worf . Sidelined as Soran's muscle, the sisters and their Klingon crew did manage to destroy the USS Enterprise-D, but their own ship was destroyed soon after. Weirdly, Generations never lingered on what a big deal this would have been for Worf, given how the House of Duras had been behind many of his issues with the Klingon Empire. This dissatisfying ending means that the Duras Sisters can't make it into the top tier of female Star Trek villains.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

Sela (Denise Crosby)

Star trek: the next generation, "redemption" and "unification".

Sela was the Romulan daughter of Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby), who spent years working for the intelligence services. Sela's first notable operations against the Federation were brainwashing Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) to assassinate Klingon governor Vagh (Edward Wiley) in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Mind's Eye". Sela tried again to destabilize relations between the Klingon Empire and the Federation when she supported the Duras Sisters' attempt to take control of the Klingon Empire. Sela's plans were foiled by Captain Picard and a Starfleet armada that prevented Romulan reinforcements from entering Klingon space .

Denise Crosby conceived the character of Sela as a means to return to Star Trek: The Next Generation after enjoying the experience of making "Yesterday's Enterprise".

Sela became the mastermind behind an attempted Romulan invasion of Vulcan, by manipulating Ambassador Spock's reunification mission. Using a holographic duplicate of Spock, Sela hoped to convince the Federation that an incoming fleet of Vulcan ships contained a Romulan peace envoy, and not an invasion force. Picard, Data, and Spock foiled Sela's plan, and she was incapacitated with a Vulcan nerve pinch, never to be heard from again. It was an ignominious end for Star Trek: The Next Generation 's best Romulan villain.

Spocks Star Trek TOS Romance Explains His TNG Vulcan & Romulan Dream

Valeris (kim cattrall), star trek vi: the undiscovered country.

Lt. Valeris (Kim Cattrall) is a great Star Trek villain because there's a genuine emotional impact on the crew of the USS Enterprise-A. It may have been better if Saavik betrayed Spock in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , but the weight of Valeris' betrayal is still impactful. Valeris' cold Vulcan logic dictated that peace with the Klingons was illogical , which is why she joined the Khitomer Conspiracy. Spock's protégé helped to frame Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) for political assassination, and deliberately hindered the investigation.

While Gene Roddenberry objected to her inclusion, Saavik was actually written out of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country because Kirstie Alley declined to return to the role.

Valeris' coldness makes her quite a compelling Star Trek villain, as she genuinely believes her many crimes are based on logic. It's a fascinating insight into how interpretations of logic can differ from Vulcan to Vulcan, as proved by Spock and Valeris' clash in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . Interrogated by Kirk and forced to endure a controversial mind meld with Spock, Valeris finally revealed the identities of the conspirators, and was taken to the Khitomer Conference to publicly unmask the conspiracy.

Vadic (Amanda Plummer)

Star trek: picard season 3.

Vadic was one of the most unpredictable foes ever faced by Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. A Changeling tasked with delivering Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) to the Borg Queen (Alice Krige), Vadic took some big swings to achieve her goals in Star Trek: Picard season 3. Vadic's awesome ship, the Shrike, almost destroyed the USS Titan-A and its crew during their multiple skirmishes in the course of Picard season 3 . Vadic even found time to kidnap Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) in an attempt to secure the assistance of Captain William T Riker (Jonathan Frakes).

Amanda Plummer is the daughter of Christopher Plummer, who played the villainous General Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .

It's a testament to Amanda Plummer's unique portrayal of a Star Trek villain that it wasn't immediately clear that Vadic was a Changeling . The scenes in "Dominion" in which Vadic described the brutal treatment of Changeling prisoners during the Dominion War were beautifully performed by Plummer, adding depth to Star Trek: Picard season 3's villain . It even elicited a degree of sympathy, but Vadic soon lost that when she began executing members of the USS Titan-A's crew. Eventually, she was blown out into space by Jack Crasher, where, ironically, her Changeling body solidified then exploded into pieces.

Star Trek: Picard

After starring in Star Trek: The Next Generation for seven seasons and various other Star Trek projects, Patrick Stewart is back as Jean-Luc Picard. Star Trek: Picard focuses on a retired Picard who is living on his family vineyard as he struggles to cope with the death of Data and the destruction of Romulus. But before too long, Picard is pulled back into the action. The series also brings back fan-favorite characters from the Star Trek franchise, such as Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), Worf (Michael Dorn), and William Riker (Jonathan Frakes).

The Intendant (Nana Visitor)

Star trek: deep space nine (various).

The Intendant, the Mirror Universe variant of Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) is one of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's most memorable villains. DS9 brought back the Mirror Universe in a big way, and the Intendant played a key role in each return visit. Kira's dark opposite was effectively the Gul Dukat of the Mirror Universe's Terok Nor, ruling the station with intimidation, manipulation, and violence. She was assisted in her tyrannical role of the station by Elim Garak (Andrew Robinson), who opposed some of the Intendant's more holistic methods .

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine producer Michael Piller had been rejecting Mirror Universe episodes since his days on Star Trek: The Next Generation . However, he and Ira Steven Behr finally figured out that the most interesting story to tell would be the aftermath of the fall of the Terran Empire, as seen in DS9 's Mirror Universe episodes.

The Intendant eventually lost control over the Terran rebels, thanks to various Mirror Universe incursions by Kira and Captain Sisko . This led to her losing her position, and being imprisoned aboard Regent Worf's flagship in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7. Hoping to win favor with Worf, the Intendant orchestrated a plot to have the flagship fitted with a stolen cloaking device. However, the cloak was sabotaged, leaving the flagship open to attack from the Terran rebels, striking another blow against the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance, and giving the former Intendant a chance to escape with her life.

Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher)

Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher) was one of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's most fascinating characters. First introduced in the DS9 season 1 finale, Vedek Winn was a religious zealot who objected to Sisko's closeness to the Bajoran Prophets. This jealousy of Sisko eventually poisoned the calculating religious leader even further, pushing her to more and more extreme lengths to bring herself closer to her gods. Played by Oscar winning actress Louise Fletcher , Kai Winn's descent into hell across seven seasons of DS9 was compulsive viewing.

Louise Fletcher and Michelle Yeoh are the only two Star Trek stars to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.

While Kai Winn had a redemption of sorts in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's finale, it was still rooted in the cowardice and pettiness of her character. When she realized that the Pah wraiths wanted Gul Dukat as their emissary and not her, she decided to put her faith back in Sisko. While that saved Bajor from destruction, it's hard to ignore that Kai Winn's motivations were once again rooted in Bajor's higher beings ignoring her.

The Female Changeling (Salome Jens)

The Female Changeling (Salome Jens) was Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's most interesting female villain . The spokesperson for the Dominion Founders, she was a master manipulator, and a steely villain with little regard for the "solids". The Female Changeling's attempts to manipulate Constable Odo (René Auberjonois) were compelling viewing, and ultimately solidified the Constable's loyalty to his friends aboard DS9. Seen as a god by the Vorta, the Female Changeling also appeared to delight in manipulating Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs) by playing him off against the Breen in the latter stages of DS9 's Dominion War .

Salome Jens also played the First Humanoid, now referred to as a Progenitor, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "The Chase", which Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is a sequel to.

Salome Jens' performance as the Female Changeling was utterly compelling, delivering her lines with an icy sense of superiority befitting a species that set themselves up as gods. When the Dominion War ended in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine finale, the Female Changeling was taken into custody for her multiple war crimes. However, despite Odo's attempts to educate his people to move past the Female Changeling's ideology, those like Vadic still wanted to destroy the Solids following the Dominion War.

The Borg Queen (Alice Krige)

Star trek: first contact, voyager, picard.

Introduced in Star Trek: First Contact , the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) is the greatest female villain that the franchise has produced . Unlike her drones, Star Trek 's Borg Queen had a personality, and used that to seduce others into joining the Collective. Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) seemingly fell under the Borg Queen's spell in First Contact , but was merely distracting her so he could avert the Collective's plan to sabotage the Phoenix's first warp flight. The Borg Queen's consciousness was stored elsewhere, able to be downloaded into a new body, which is why other actress have played the role originated by Krige.

Each Borg Queen performer has brought something new to the character, the most notable being Annie Wersching and Alison Pill's partnership in Star Trek: Picard season 2 . Their co-dependent relationship revealed new information about the Borg Queen that humanized her somewhat. Through her connection to the Queen, Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) discovered that the Borg long for connection, and the Queen is ultimately lonely. Rather than being a retcon, this was a callback to the Queen's previous relationships with Data and Picard, confirming that they were the only matches for Star Trek 's most enduring female villain.

Star Trek: First Contact is available to stream on Max.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews
• Episode aired Nov 20, 1995

After the Kazon steal some Federation technology Chakotay goes after them on his own and is captured. After the Kazon steal some Federation technology Chakotay goes after them on his own and is captured. After the Kazon steal some Federation technology Chakotay goes after them on his own and is captured.

• David Livingston
• Gene Roddenberry
• Rick Berman
• Michael Piller
• Kate Mulgrew
• Robert Beltran
• Roxann Dawson
• 10 User reviews
• 5 Critic reviews

• Capt. Kathryn Janeway

• Cmdr. Chakotay

• Lt. B'Elanna Torres
• (as Roxann Biggs-Dawson)

• Lt. Tom Paris

• Ensign Harry Kim

• First Maje Culluh

• Voyager Computer

• (uncredited)

• Kashimuro Nozawa
• Michael Piller (showrunner)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia In the background of the Kazon bridge there is a large doorway that was reused from Time and Again (1995) .
• Goofs During the battle Voyager has her shields up, yet they transport the enemy on board. Transporters do not work with the shields up.

[Chakotay has gone off on a suicide mission, asking Voyager not to try a rescue attempt]

Captain Kathryn Janeway : My gut tells me we should go after Chakotay. But my better judgment... tells me we should honor his request.

Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres : I would never want you to ignore your judgment, Captain. But let me ask you this: in your judgment, how would the loss of our First Officer affect this crew? What would it do to the morale on this ship? Maybe this is an instance when your gut is giving you better advice.

• Connections Referenced in After Trek: Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad (2017)
• Soundtracks Star Trek: Voyager - Main Title (uncredited) Written by Jerry Goldsmith Performed by Jay Chattaway

User reviews 10

• Aug 9, 2022
• November 20, 1995 (United States)
• United States
• Official Site
• Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (Studio)
• Paramount Television
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 46 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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