The Best One-Off Characters In Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: Voyager Kashyk Hirogen Penk

Across its seven seasons , "Star Trek: Voyager" followed the crew of the titular Starfleet vessel as it traversed the faraway Delta Quadrant to return home to Federation space. Led by Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway , "Star Trek: Voyager" featured a memorable ensemble cast as the starship braved dangerous territory throughout its long journey. However, as beloved as the principal cast is, there are plenty of one-off guest stars on"Voyager" that helped elevate the show to new heights .

From formidable adversaries and villains to supporting characters that brought new dimensions to "Star Trek: Voyager," there is no shortage of excellent guest roles. Featuring a mix of prolific character actors and big-name stars, these characters not only enhanced their respective episodes but brought out the best in the main cast. With all that in mind, we've narrowed it down to the 12 best one-off characters from "Star Trek: Voyager's" 172-episode run,

Telek R'Mor (Vaughn Armstrong) — Eye of the Needle

Stranded in the Delta Quadrant, Voyager often turned to help from unlikely sources, including the Romulans in the first season episode "Eye of the Needle." Finding a wormhole capable of relaying messages back to the Alpha Quadrant, Voyager is surprised when the first presence they make contact with is Romulan Captain Telek R'Mor (Vaughn Armstrong). Janeway strikes a rapport with Telek, and the two captains overcome their mutual distrust for one another in a gesture of cooperation and good faith.

At this point in "Star Trek" history, the Romulans hadn't enjoyed the evolution into allies of the Federation that the Klingons had, and Telek brings a heightened level of tension and paranoia to the proceedings. However, this gives way to a touching chemistry between Telek and Janeway, a rare foil for the seasoned, no-nonsense Starfleet officer that makes Telek stand far above most guest stars on the show. As with most things "Voyager," this budding dynamic would take a bittersweet turn, but Telek is one of the more memorable one-off characters in the series early years that would help set the overarching tone.

Quinn (Gerrit Graham) — Death Wish

The second season episode, "Death Wish," as the title would suggest, is oddly morbid but also fits in the exploration of the human condition that "Star Trek" is known for. The Voyager is visited by Quinn (Gerrit Graham), one of the omnipotent Q Continuum, who pleads for the right to end his life after his long cosmic existence. As Q (John de Lancie) arrives to bring Quinn back to the Continuum to ensure this doesn't happen, Janeway becomes an arbiter between the two demigods.

As a god who has grown tired of his existence after witnessing untold eons pass, Graham brings immense world-weariness and end-of-life serenity to Quinn. Quinn's argument to be allowed to die before in an impromptu trial overseen by Janeway on a moral question with no easy answer is a standout scene. Juxtaposed against de Lancie's mischievously manic Q, Quinn's old soul performance is elevated all the more, balancing determination with melancholia in equal measure.

Henry Starling (Ed Begley, Jr.) — Future's End

The Voyager managed to arrive on Earth in the two-part Season 3 episode "Future's End," albeit with a time-bending twist. The crew is transported to Earth in 1996 rather than the 24th century. A time traveler that had been pursuing Voyager accidentally opens a temporal rift, with unscrupulous businessman Henry Starling (Ed Begley Jr.) harvesting technology from the time-traveler's ship and passing it off as his invention. As the Voyager moves to stop Starling from disrupting history further, they must contend with their presence threatening to upend the timeline.

Begley is a beloved character actor who has played numerous kindly, paternal figures throughout his extensive career and effectively plays against type as Starling. Starling is one the most conniving and manipulative antagonists in "Star Trek: Voyager," playing on the crew's sympathies to his advantage. In an age filled with egotistical technocrats with delusions of grandeur, Starling is one "Star Trek: Voyager" character that has aged particularly well and is certainly a worthy enemy for the crew.

Rain Robinson (Sarah Silverman) — Future's End

Ed Begley, Jr. isn't the only memorable guest star to appear in "Future's End," with comedian and actor Sarah Silverman getting in on the two-part time-travel action. Silverman plays Rain Robinson, an astronomer hired by Starling to keep an eye out for any additional starships passing near Earth. However, after making contact with the Voyager crew, Robinson finds herself targeted by an assassin hired by Starling to maintain the secret behind his ill-gotten technology empire.

What makes Silverman's performance as Robinson so enjoyable is her character's on-screen chemistry with Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) and Tuvok (Tim Russ). More than just providing comic relief, Silverman lights up the proceedings whenever she's on the screen. She plays particularly well off McNeill. If Begley is playing against type as the villainous Starling, Silverman, quirky and funny without overstaying her welcome, leans into her natural strengths as Robinson's world is completely turned upside-down.

Belle (Lindsey Haun) — Real Life

Throughout the entire run of "Voyager," the Doctor (Robert Picardo) developed a burgeoning sense of humanity as he became more autonomous from his base emergency medical hologram programming. Perpetually curious about the human experience, the Doctor programs an elaborate holodeck program that gives him a suburban family to come home to in the episode "Real Life." This descends into outright tragedy as the Doctor's programmed daughter, Belle (Lindsey Haun), has an accident that leaves the Doctor to discover the pain of enduring death.

"Real Life" could've very easily been one of the more distractingly melodramatic episodes of "Star Trek: Voyager" if it wasn't for Picardo and Haun giving this familial relationship a firm emotional foundation. If there was ever a character to remind audiences of the genuine human stakes behind the virtual realities on the Holodeck, the Doctor is the best suited to make that argument. Haun stands out from the rest of the guest cast to underscore the sense of heartbreak that the Doctor suffers as he faces the most traumatizing aspect of his newfound fatherhood.

Annorax (Kurtwood Smith) — Year of Hell

The Season 4 two-part episode "Year of Hell" perfectly captures the stranded premise and occasionally desperate tone of "Voyager." After taking a detour, Voyager is dogged by constant attacks for a year, incurring heavy damage and casualties to the starship. Leading the hunt is a maddened scientist named Annorax (Kurtwood Smith), who obsessively believes that destroying Voyager will undo fluctuations in the timeline and restore his deceased wife.

As Annorax, Smith pulls off the tricky feat of playing a pursuer as single-mindedly driven as Captain Ahab but with enough sympathy that we feel for the guy, even as he plots to destroy Voyager. "Year of Hell" is easily one of the best episodes in the entirety of "Star Trek: Voyager," and much of that elevated quality comes from the earnest intensity of Smith's performance. While Voyager may still be far from home by the episode's ending, Annorax has the best possible happy ending, giving the show a surprisingly heartfelt and hopeful note.

Quarren (Henry Woronicz) — Living Witness

"Star Trek: Voyager" has the benefit of largely taking place in a quadrant of the galaxy unfamiliar with Starfleet and the Federation, making the starship and its crew strangers in a strange land. "Living Witness" from Season 4 flips the perspective on Voyager's exploits through a museum exhibit approximately seven centuries in the future. The museum activates a backup copy of the Doctor, who is appalled by how Voyager is depicted and recounts to museum curator Quarren (Henry Woronicz) how history truly unfolded.

In Quarren, "Star Trek: Voyager" receives a somewhat impartial observer who puts the starship crew under scrutiny, with the Doctor serving as his friends' defender. With established history challenged, Quarren has to choose whether he stands with his people and what they've grown up to believe about Voyager or side with the Doctor's account. "Living Witness" is a unique transposition of Voyager's place in the Delta Quadrant in the eyes of those affected centuries later, with Quarren providing a point of view for the audience that is elevated by Woronicz's dynamic with Picardo.

One (J. Paul Boehmer) — Drone

"Star Trek: Voyager" continues themes of looking at trauma inflicted by the Borg Collective introduced in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" while humanizing the relentless enemy. These themes are primarily explored by Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), who finds a surprising kinship with a newly formed Borg drone, played by J. Paul Boehmer in the fifth season episode "Drone." Known simply as One, the drone is formed by nanobots from Seven interfacing with the Doctor's 29th-century technology during a transporter accident, with the Borg Collective hunting him to assimilate this advanced tech.

One helps Seven of Nine understand her status as a former drone liberated from the Collective, making their own observations about the Borg and humanity. Although the Borg are among the most menacing races in "Star Trek," Boehmer brings a sense of innocence to One as a drone naive to their nature and place in the galaxy. Innocence quickly gives way to tragedy when One, recognizing his entire existence poses a threat, must destroy the pursuing Borg. The moment is a beautiful full-circle scene, as a drone partially born of Seven reminds her of her resilience as he makes the ultimate sacrifice.

Kashyk (Mark Harelik) — Counterpoint

From the start of "Star Trek: Voyager," Capt. Janeway faces crisis after crisis as she maintains command over a composite crew and ship stranded without support from Starfleet. The fifth season episode, "Counterpoint," shows just how keenly strategic Janeway is as a commander. As Voyager passes through a sector with a ban on telepaths while secretly transporting refugees to safety, they are dogged by Inspector Kashyk (Mark Harelik), who takes a strong interest in human culture — and Janeway.

Janeway rarely gets an overt romantic foil, and Kate Mulgrew's dynamic with guest star Harelik makes for a gripping game of cat-and-mouse as both characters size each other up. More than just making eyes at each other, Janeway and Kashyk are playing mental chess with lives hanging in the balance. As Kashyk thinks he has finally tricked Janeway into lowering her guard, the captain reveals she has been playing him all along. This interplay is only made possible by Harelik being a credible opponent and love interest for Janeway, and the two actors take full advantage of this.

Noss (Lori Petty) — Gravity

Virtually every actor portraying a Vulcan in "Star Trek" has to convey the bulk of their character's repressed emotions through subtext and nuance. Tim Russ mastered this as Tuvok in seven seasons of "Star Trek: Voyager." The fifth season episode, "Gravity," gives Tuvok a love interest in Noss (Lori Petty). When Tuvok, Paris, and the Doctor are stranded on a remote planet (with the added wrinkle of their universal translators being broken), they struggle to find a way to contact Voyager. Tuvok keeps his emotions in check rather than admit his mutual attraction to Noss. This is made all the more complicated by the language barrier between them.

Having to speak primarily in an alien language and pretend to learn English is a thankless task for any actor and carries the risk of venturing into outright camp. In addition to deftly pulling off this daunting assignment, Petty creates a character charming enough for us to believe that Noss could compromise Tuvok's typically unflappable facade. Petty brings a steely resilience to Noss that cuts through her usual higher-pitched vocal delivery and demeanor, blending vulnerability with a determination that plays superbly opposite Russ.

Hirogen (J.G. Hertzler) — Tsunkatse

This might be a hot take, but while Dwayne Johnson's guest-starring appearance in the sixth season episode, "Tsunkatse," is the show's most memorable, it's not the best guest performance in the episode. This isn't a slight to Johnson so much as it is a compliment to the other guest stars appearing in "Tsunkatse," one of whom is "Star Trek" veteran J.G. Hertzler, whose character is simply credited as a Hirogen hunter. Of the two opponents that Seven of Nine takes on in the episode's central gladiatorial spectacle, Hirogen outshines the Champion (Johnson) because of the complexity Hertzler brings to the role.

When Seven of Nine is forced to fight in a series of mixed martial arts fights, she is mentored and healed by the Hirogen, who offers his sage wisdom to the new combatant. Of course, the Hirogen ends up being the final opponent Seven of Nine faces, with Hertzler displaying the quiet turmoil his character endures during the brutal duel. Hertzler excelled as noble Klingon leader Gen. Martok in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and brings a more understated sense of honor as the Hirogen as a grizzled teacher and a tragic pugilist.

Penk (Jeffrey Combs) — Tsunkatse

J.G. Hertzler isn't the only "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" alum to appear as a different character in "Tsunkatse," with fan-favorite Jeffrey Combs playing the conniving fight coordinator Penk in the episode. Penk captures Seven of Nine and Tuvok, coercing Seven of Nine to fight in the eponymous mixed-martial arts competition in exchange for life-saving medical treatment for Tuvok. Manipulative and sadistic, Penk revels in his dark side in contrast to Combs' more stoic antagonist Weyoun in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

Like Hertzler, Combs is heavily made up for his "Voyager" role and scarcely recognizable. He clearly relishes the chance to play a much more gleeful villain. The sense of fun Combs' performance brings carries through the entire episode. Penk is as calculating as he is vicious. The Champion and the Hirogen may provide "Tsunkatse" with its physical opponents, but Penk stands out as the primary adversary.

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Series: Voyager

Character(s): Noss

Lori Petty played the role of Noss in the Star Trek: Voyager fifth season episode “Gravity”.

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The Greatest 'Star Trek: Voyager' Guest Stars (That You Probably Forgot About)

Did you know these actors had boldly gone to the Delta Quadrant?

How has it been 20 years since Star Trek: Voyager ended? The fourth live-action show in the franchise has found a resurgence in fans of late thanks to streaming, and rightly so. Star Trek: Voyager has its flaws, but the show also has a diverse cast, some fascinating storylines, and cool guest stars.

Star Trek as a franchise is known for its surprising cameos and guest performances. Since there are so many shows and characters, you’d be forgiven for forgetting a few notable actors who appeared during Star Trek: Voyager ’s seven seasons. If you’re wondering which names you’re missing, here are nine famous faces who appeared on the show.

RELATED: 'Star Trek: Picard' Season 2 Trailer Teases Some Wild Returns and Twists for the Paramount+ Show

Michael McKean as The Clown

Michael McKean is a veteran actor who has appeared in… just about everything. Before his recent critically acclaimed work on Better Call Saul , McKean was perhaps best known for his role in This is Spinal Tap , and has had a formidable career as a comedian. His role in Star Trek: Voyager Season 2, Episode 23, however, is anything but a laugh riot. In “The Thaw,” Harry Kim ( Garrett Wang ) and B'Elanna Torres ( Roxann Dawson ) are trapped in a computer program with the Clown (McKean) and his cohorts. Harry spends the entire episode being terrorized by this maniac, while the crew of Voyager try and figure out how to save him. The episode is an obvious attempt to subvert the expectation of both McKean’s presence and the circus iconography. Let’s just say, if you have Coulrophobia, this episode will likely exacerbate it.

Ed Begley Jr. as Henry Starling

Multiple Emmy nominee and Golden Globe nominee Ed Begley Jr. has had a prolific career playing so many different kinds of characters that it’s hard to keep track of them all. Begley Jr. guest starred in the Season 3 two-parter “Future’s End,” and boy, was he evil. He played Henry Starling, a futurist from 20th century Earth who becomes embroiled with Voyager, as the crew is trapped in the past, but can’t return to their own time without stopping Starling and correcting the timeline. Star Trek loves a time travel storyline, and an insidious villain like Starling ups the stakes considerably. He’s smarmy and considers himself the smartest person in the room, but he’s also extremely nasty. The scene where he captures the Doctor ( Robert Picardo ) is brief but still distressing to watch all these years later.

Sarah Silverman as Rain Robinson

She's a household name nowadays for her comedy, but one of Sarah Silverman ’s earliest on-screen acting roles was as Rain Robinson, also in the Season 3 two-parter “Future’s End.” Rain is a scientist in the 20th century who is the first person to spot an anomaly in the skies (Voyager’s warp signature). This information puts her life in danger, but luckily Tom Paris ( Robert Duncan McNeill ) and Tuvok ( Tim Russ ) come to her aid. Despite Tom and Tuvok’s attempts to disguise their true identities as time travellers, Rain deduces that there’s something fishy about them, and helps them on their mission against Starling. Silverman played the character with her quintessential wry humor and sarcasm, and her easy chemistry with Duncan McNeill made their characters’ budding and brief romance an adorable subplot in the episodes.

John Rhys-Davies as Leonardo da Vinci

John Rhys-Davies has such a towering presence that I could have sworn he appeared in several Star Trek: Voyager episodes. Turns out, he only starred in two of them, the Season 3 finale “Scorpion” and Season 4’s “Concerning Flight.” Rhys-Davies played the holographic version of Leonardo da Vinci, Captain Janeway’s ( Kate Mulgrew ) mentor, on the holodeck, pulling out his best Italian accent to take the captain under his wing. Leonardo acted as the captain’s confidante, as well as a sounding board for her ideas; while the character’s appearances were more ponderous than plot specific, “Concerning Flight” did give Rhys-Davies more work to do when the holographic character was accidentally transported to an alien planet. Hilarity definitely ensued.

Lori Petty as Noss

Lori Petty has such a wide-ranging filmography, but somehow her Star Trek: Voyager guest appearance is still a surprise. When Tom Paris and Tuvok are stranded on a mission in the Season 5 episode “Gravity,” they cross paths with Noss (Petty), an alien scavenger, and the trio form an unlikely bond as they remain trapped for months in the desolate landscape. Noss even learns to speak English to communicate better with Tom and Tuvok, after their universal translators are destroyed upon landing. It’s not long before Noss becomes attracted to Tuvok – his enigmatic, Vulcan aloofness was always appealing – but despite Noss’ overtures, Tuvok remains dedicated to his wife and family. Petty’s performance is more in line with her Point Break character Tyler; she’s sweet and naïve but can hold her own in difficult circumstances.

Jason Alexander as Kurros

For many, Jason Alexander has become synonymous with Seinfeld , but his role in the Season 5 episode “Think Tank” was far removed from his signature character. Alexander plays Kurros, the leader of a group of highly intelligent aliens. The Think Tank, as they call themselves, claim to have a way to prevent dangerous bounty hunters from pursuing Voyager. But the group soon show their true colors when they insist on recruiting crewmember Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan ). Alexander plays against type here — the episode would have been completely derailed if Alexander had been over the top, but instead he plays Kurros as calm and sinister, which makes the character even scarier.

Daniel Dae Kim as Gotana-Retz

In the Season 6 episode “Blink of an Eye,” Voyager gets accidentally trapped in a planet’s orbit, thereby inadvertently altering the planet’s history forever. The planet experiences a time differential which causes years to pass on the surface without much time going by for Voyager’s crew. As the generations are influenced by Voyager’s presence, two astronauts land on the titular ship. Daniel Dae Kim ’s Gotana-Retz survives the landing and although his character is mostly offscreen, he plays a significant part in helping Voyager break free. Dae Kim only appears in the fourth act, but his character arc is remarkably memorable. The last shot of his character remains a bittersweet moment in the show’s history. Star Trek has been at the forefront of diverse casting choices, and Dae Kim is part of a still short, but brilliant, list of Asian guest stars in the franchise.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as The Champion

Dwayne Johnson is one of the biggest movie stars today, but his road to stardom had an unlikely pitstop aboard the starship Voyager. Admittedly, the role of the Champion in the Season 6 episode “Tsunkatse” wasn’t very different from playing The Rock on Monday Night Raw. In the episode, the crew of Voyager are invited to watch a gladiatorial tournament, but their excitement dissipates when one of the fighters is revealed to be their own Seven of Nine. She and Tuvok had been captured by aliens, and Seven is subsequently forced to fight in the match in order to save Tuvok. Johnson is very much in his element in this role, playing to his strengths as a famed wrestler. It's more of an extended cameo than a role, but you will still be on the edge of your seat waiting to see if The Rock can beat a Borg.

Mark Sheppard as Leucon

As prolific character actors go, Mark Sheppard is high on the list. He’s appeared in everything in every genre, so why would a Star Trek show be any different? Late in Season 6, Sheppard guest-starred as Leucon Icheb, the long-lost father of Voyager’s latest resident, Icheb ( Manu Intiraymi ). Icheb was a child who had been assimilated by the Borg before being rescued by the crew of Voyager. In “Child’s Play,” Voyager locates his parents on the Borg-ravaged Brunali homeworld. Sheppard is infamous for playing morally ambiguous characters, and this episode plays to his strengths as it keeps you guessing about Leucon’s actions and motivations. In the end, this is a heartbreaking installment, and much of that comes down to Sheppard’s scene-stealing turn as a parent with a difficult decision to make.

Star Trek: Voyager is streaming on Paramount+, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu.

KEEP READING: 7 Sci-Fi Shows to Binge If You Love ‘Star Trek’

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Star Trek: Voyager

“Gravity”

2.5 stars.

Air date: 2/3/1999 Teleplay by Nick Sagan & Bryan Fuller Story by Jimmy Diggs and Bryan Fuller & Nick Sagan Directed by Terry Windell

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

"There has to be something out there. Shuttles don't just vanish into thin air." — Janeway (and we won't even touch that one)

Review Text

Nutshell: Pleasant enough, but not much in terms of lasting impact.

"Gravity" is a good example of fifth-season Voyager . It held my interest, it's handsomely produced, and it's a fairly enjoyable hour. It also stands alone in a vacuum, separate from everything else.

Now that we're at the halfway point of the season, I'm feeling the need to comment on the bigger picture. It's pretty simple: Voyager 's season has been engaging, keeping me interested in the crew and the stories (so far, this season has proven to be Voyager 's best). The writing is generally pretty sharp, and we've avoided the bottom-of-barrel installments that have at times made Voyager notorious. My next question is, what's next? Are we just going to float out here in random respectable plot-land forever, or is there somewhere the ship and series actually can go?

I wonder, if I were the producers of Voyager , if I'd even care at this point. They've apparently found a rhythm, and they're apparently comfortable with it. And their ratings, I'm guessing, are better than they have been in quite a while (although that's just a guess). The stories seem to be working more often than not. And unlike many past seasons, I don't feel Voyager is mediocre Trek ; I feel that it's pretty entertaining, if derivative in numerous ways.

At the same time, I wish the writers would follow through—something they seem to feel is completely unnecessary. I wish they would take risks—something they also seem to think is unnecessary. I wish they wouldn't settle for the conventional solid story when they could push for the unconventional solid story instead.

"Gravity" is a good example of what I'm talking about. All things considered, it's a pretty respectable hour that uses its characters sensibly, but it's not particularly memorable, and it relies on the most fundamental of the fundamentals. One of those fundamentals is the Shuttle Crash Setup. Another is the Venture Into a Character's Past. Another is the Weird Spatial Anomaly. And another is the One-Hour Romantic Theme. That's quite a number of Trekkian standbys to find in one episode, but, lest you think standbys can't be executed well, "Gravity" manages to assemble the pieces into a whole that makes a surprising amount of sense—although it does have some rough spots.

The Shuttle Crash du jour involves Tuvok and Paris ("I told you we should've brought the Delta Flyer," Tom offers helpfully), who have been sucked into a "subspace sinkhole" where escape would be impossible even if their shuttle hadn't been totaled. Realizing they may be stranded awhile, or forever, they try to make the best of a long-term survival situation. Fortunately for them, they have Doc's portable emitter. Of course, if being stranded forever really were to be the outcome here, Voyager would find itself in dire straits the next time there were a medical emergency.

Not to worry: Even though Tuvok and Paris find themselves living two months on this planet, the cleverly scripted properties of the Weird Spatial Anomaly ensure that time passes more quickly inside this subspace sinkhole than outside, meaning that while two months have passed for Paris and Tuvok, only a day has passed for the Voyager crew members, who have launched a rescue plan involving precise use of the transporter.

The crew's rescue operation is complicated by the appearance of some aliens who are determined to seal off this sinkhole in order to prevent more ships from being lost into it. They're scheduled to begin tomorrow. Janeway would like just a little more time to prepare her rescue efforts. Will the aliens grant this request? Don't make me laugh. These are Uncooperative Aliens of the Week (not to be confused with the slightly more extreme Hard-Headed Aliens of the Week, who would probably open fire on Voyager rather than just cutting off a communication effort).

Meanwhile, on the planet, Tuvok and Paris are befriended by a woman named Noss (Lori Petty), who has been stranded there "for 14 seasons." Their initial meeting is a little bizarre, involving some unnecessary silliness with the universal translator. (The language barrier itself is a decent idea, but it's dismissed so early on that it becomes a non-issue.)

It's not long before the Romantic Theme appears, where Noss begins to fall for Tuvok. Of course, as a Vulcan, Tuvok cannot accept her love and pushes her away. This forms the basis for the Venture Into a Character's Past, as flashbacks of Tuvok's youth reveal a young Tuvok (Leroy D. Brazile) trying to rectify an emotional control problem with the help of a Vulcan master (Joseph Ruskin). Tuvok had been smitten by infatuation at a young age, see, bringing forth that schism between discipline and emotion that we suspect all Vulcans (and not just the half-human ones like Spock) have. This ties into the main plot, see, where Tom confronts Tuvok for not letting go of his discipline and his marriage back in the Alpha Quadrant, as being stuck on this planet forever may present little alternative.

But we must ask—how long will the Doctor last solely on his portable emitter? It must have one hell of a battery.

Okay, so I'm a little heavy on sarcasm here; it's meant more in jest than in disappointment. The way these routine elements come together isn't really bad at all. It's just that routine maneuvering sometimes leaves little to ponder afterward.

What works best here is the analysis of Tuvok as a Vulcan. It's plausible and true to his character, and it's nice to see Tuvok open up (with some prodding) his feelings to Tom. On the other hand, the topic of repressed romantic feelings in Vulcans is nothing new; we've seen it several times through Spock, in TOS episodes ranging from " The Naked Time " and " This Side of Paradise " to " All Our Yesterdays ." "Gravity" provides pleasant reinforcement material for a Voyager audience. As a Tuvok episode, it's decent, but it also might've dared to challenge the our typical assumptions of Vulcans by asking if Tuvok's 50,000-light-year-distance from home might alter his perception just a bit.

Which brings us to the topic of Pon Farr: That seventh year is coming up pretty soon, no? (But I digress.)

One aspect of the episode that works is the chemistry between Tom and Tuvok. Tom's forceful attempts to prod Tuvok into a relationship with Noss might at times seem a little extreme, but so is the situation. Robert Duncan McNeill and Tim Russ work well together outside the normal ranks.

What doesn't work are some of the scenes involving Noss. The chemistry between her and Tuvok never entirely reaches a convincing stage, and it's difficult to understand how she comes to develop feelings for him. Also, some of Noss' gestures and speech patterns are a little, well, strange—and not in any way that the story seems to intend. Lori Petty's voice is not what I would call typical in the Hollywood arena, but the performance isn't consistent and at times I wasn't sure what to make of it. Scenes like the one where she explodes in rage ("I hate logic!") are jarring in their strangeness, and not jarring in a particularly effective way. Other scenes seem to come across more "normal."

What does work, fortunately, is the payoff. A scene in the transporter room where Tuvok and Noss part ways is pleasant because it brings Vulcan intimacy to the material in a way that is both plausible and quietly moving. When Noss says "I understand," we understand, too.

"Gravity" is an episode that doesn't demand high praise. Nor is there much to object to. It has its interesting moments as well as its derivative ones. I propose now that Voyager has found a good rhythm for this season—but that it needs to shake things up a bit to unleash something fresh.

Next week: Voyager gets ate, and must be saved by Seven.

Previous episode: Bride of Chaotica! Next episode: Bliss

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Comment Section

95 comments on this post.

I would like to praise the physical portraying of Tuvok, for what it's worth. It may not make the episode better, but it was really Tuvok standing there, in the cave - not some Vulcan who you are told is named Tuvok. In the very first shot of the intro (when looking over young Tuvok's shoulder, I immediately thought: "Hey, he looks like Tuvok. But wait, he's way younger. It'll just have to be Tuvok in his youth then..."

How about Paris' skeevy suggestion that Tuvok cheat on his wife, because she's "fifty-thousand light years away?" Tom can't even be bothered to call Tuvok "sir," despite him being an Ensign and Tuvok a LCDR, which is contrary to good order and discipline. Then again, VOY never really cared much about things like a command structure, except when Janeway needs to put Seven in her place.

Ken Egervari

I don't think cheating has the same effect that it does on other species, or namely humans. Honestly, I don't think cheating even becomes an issue for vulcans EP. Tuvok didn't even mention that it would be cheating per sae - he just said it is not the pon far. If it was, I'm sure he'd be getting it on with her. It IS the logical thing to do after all. Tom was right. My only real complaint with this episode was the alien girl's acting - she was terrible. I wonder what she did to get the role. While they could have taken some more risks with the episode, and they could have avoided the whole alien idiots of the weak (why are they all knuckleheads for?), I thought it was alright. The ending was actually pretty good. It had a deep, understanding between the characters that translated well to the audience.

I must agree with Jasper - I thought the boy looked very like Tuvok and was convincing as his younger version. Of course it was obvious that he must be a young Tuvok right from the start (apart from the looks, how many black Vulcans do you ever see?) but it was interesting to see *such* an emotional young Tuvok. I wasn't sure about the Vulcan Grand Master though - he didn't seem very Vulcan-like - almost emotional in his delivery! Perhaps the character is deliberately like that to engage with off-message young Vulcans like Tuvok. The real problem here, though, was that we didn't really see anything of the training that transformed him from emotional Tuvok at the start into calm Tuvok at the end. We should have found out a bit about how that transformation came about, but I didn't feel that the scenes we had were enormously enlightening.

Opening shot: Two members of one of the most enlightened races in the Star Trek universe in a medieval dungeon talking about honoring ancient beliefs. They could just as well have shown a scene from a 13th-century Franciscan monastery. (What's a very young Tuvok doing there, what's the context, what year is it... - let's not even attempt that.) Next, a chick straight out of a Mad Max movie witnesses a Voyager shuttle crash landing. Even before seeing him, you know Paris is involved because (1) he had already managed to crash more shuttles than could fit on ten Voyagers, and (2) the broad has some nice junk and who better to ravish her than the philandering Tom. I'm surprised hapless Harry "Can't Get a Lock - There's Some Sort Of Dampening Field Around It" Kim wasn't in the picture to dry-hump her. O.K., cynicism aside, it's a marginally passable episode. The alien girl should've kept her veil on but you gotta hand it to her for learning English within a matter of hours. Why Paris is so insistent that Tuvok likes her (or SHOULD like her) is beyond me. He gets really PAINFULLY annoying in the later stages, when he berates Tuvok for his handling of the alien chick's infatuation. Had to FF that part. BTW, he (Paris) was convinced they were stuck on that planet for good, so why didn't he try to bumb uglies with the alien girl himself, rather than unremittingly trying to put Tuvok up to it? If it would've been O.K. for Tuvok (my favorite character in the series, BTW), then why not him? WAY too much time was wasted on philosophizing, portraying inner conflicts, discussing feelings and all that B.S. at the expense of depicting conflict with the other stranded aliens, Voyager's rescue endeavors or Tuvok and Paris's attempts to survive and be salvaged. Does every other Star Trek installment really need to be about crewmembers' troubled relationship with their fathers, their search for their inner selves, their sad transient little romances, their trying to make sense of the divergent principles of common sense versus New Age hippie crap? I'll tune in to one of those cheesy South American soap operas for that! P.S. I'm surprised Kim succeeded in teleporting the group at the end. He usually can't move a glass of water from one end of the dining table to the other, let alone transport anything. But I guess, with five minutes to go till the episode's end, another twist would've been too much, particularly when we needed those five minutes for Tuvok to resolve his vexing, intricate feelings. I was expecting to see him meditate with scented candles all over the place and, sure enough, it happened, but only for a few seconds. Let's hope at least a half hour is dedicated to that in one of the forthcoming episodes! *sigh* What had been a very promising fifth series started going downhill fast in its second half.

Shuttle crash - check Plenty of quips from Ensign One-Liner - check Hard Headed Aliens - check Love story - check Several lines pulled directly from Bones in TOS - check Technobabble - check Yep, it's an episode of Voyager all right. I didn't really enjoy this episode much as I was distracted by all the clichés unfortunately. Add to that Tuvok's emotional control being visibly (subtly, but visibly) cracked in just 2 months with a fairly uninteresting Chick of the Week which I find to be a little insulting to his character, and I can't say I rated this episode particularly highly. It wasn't completely offensive, but grated a lot too.

An emotional episode about an emotionless man (sort of)--now that's compelling. This is for Tuvok what "Counterpoint" was for Janeway. Season 5 is really the apex of this series for its greatest strength which was character. Do I give a damn about any of the surrounding jargon? Magical shuttlebays, stupid aliens, implausible anomalies, inconsistent technology...nope. Never have, never will. Do I care about a character I know enduring a superhuman level of pain, painted on a beautiful and convincing canvas. You bet. Do I learn something about myself. Sure do. Do I see like a faint brushstroke upon his countenance the change this experience paints for Tuvok. Hallelujah I do! Season 5 followed by 6, 4, 7, 1, 3 and 2 creating a very interesting arc for Voyager's development which perfectly suites its length. TNG peaked right at the end of season 3 and pretty much faded out after that, with season 7 a little better than 6 (of course the journey from 1 to 3 was extremely hefty). DS9 "peaked" I suppose during season 5, followed by 2, 1, 4, 6, 3 and 7 making it incredibly uneven--with two humps which flittered out into its worst season amongst them all.

I would also like to point out, for the record, that this episode received the same score as DS9's "Q-less" which borders on unwatchable. Tell me there's no bias here.

It's nice to see Tuvok get a turn in the spotlight (I found he'd really been side-lined following Seven's arrival), but this was a really mediocre episode. The moment I saw yet ANOTHER shuttle crash I think part of me switched off. It's a tired old premise and this brings nothing new to the table. I didn't find the relationship between Tuvok and Noss at all involving and it wasn't helped by Lorri Petty's frankly dire performance.

Elliott - please start your own Star Trek review page. I find myself agreeing much more with your perspective on this series than Jammer's - and with most of the nit-picky comments below his DS9-does-everything-better critiques.

Tom Paris is just getting increasingly unwatchable. I can't believe when I read people praising his character development. He's a child, always throwing tantrums. He was exhorting Tuvok to throw away his control and abandon his life on the FIRST NIGHT. Just like in Thirty Days he was crying for someone to stay and talk to him within the FIRST MINUTE. Torres is attracted to this PUNK? That's what he is, nothing but a PUNK and I wish something or someone would slam his face up against a wall every episode, every time he opened his mouth with a smart-ass comment, or yet another un-helpful remark, or when he's rolls his eyes or pouts. I was begging Tuvok to do this! My favorite character did not step up to the plate for me. Since he did not snap and snap Tom's neck, I didn't expect the ending. I expected just another *awkward moment*. But when he mind-melded with her that was just beautiful - brought a tear to my eye. Breaks my heart to have to rate what could have been a great Tuvok episode at a mere .5 stars because Tom Paris had to ruin every single scene he was in.

I thought Lori Petty did a great job as Noss. The oddness of her voice helped her performance, I think. It made her seem more alien.

Yes this episode is certainly better than "Q-Less" (and five times better than "Move Along Home", for that matter). But in all fairness, when you look at the 10-scale ratings, "Q-Less" got a 5.5/10 and "Gravity" got a 6.5/10, so Jammer seems to agree with us at least a litte. I did like the temporal displacement idea, it seemed a plausible way to explore what happens to crewmembers who are stranded for months with no hope of resuce.

Reading over the comments, it seems all the complaints with this episode (except the idiotic pleas for more boning and the uninformed dissatisfaction with Petty -- seriously, guys, this is Tank Girl!) could have been remedied by making this a two-parter. The extra time could be spent by having B'Elanna react to the fact that Tom is having to suffer for a longer period of time, to the worry that they might have given up on Voyager, and to demonstrating that the language problem was more of an issue than they have time for in this condensed episode. It would also give more time with Petty, whose mercurial style needs more space to breathe in. Here, she just seems inconsistent, due to the heavy-handed editing. And yes, I would like to see some of the things Tuvok had to do to overcome his emotions. It would also make Tom look like less of a jerk, because more time had gone by. The difference in time between the two scenes just doesn't come off in one episode.

I really hate this episode. The whole 'love story' thing is repulsive. Just because you're stranded means you abandon your existing life within a few days? Just because she's female and you're male means you are required to get it on? WTF? Why is Tom hounding Tuvok over his buried feelings? Just because someone has feelings doesn't mean you act on them. Maybe if they were stranded for many years a relationship could naturally develop as it becomes more unlikely that they'll be rescued. But this is all too rushed and comes across as cheating. In another episode when Tuvok must work through his Pon Far with a hologram he states that the treatment was effective, "but no substitute for my wife." THAT was Tuvok, this is not. The love story/feelings nonsense shoehorned in ruins what would otherwise be an interesting episode.

And one other thing, she loves him and he makes it clear that he's not interested. Sorry lady, that means you're out of luck. But she goes off about hating logic and all this like that crazy woman in that episode of TNG that kept yelling at Picard "LOVE ME! WHY WON'T YOU LOVE ME!" So Tuvok is supposed to love her too because she loves him? Huh? That's just creepy. A relationship has to be between two willing parties. Then, to make matters worse, Tom interrupts Tuvok's meditation yelling at him for not loving her back. Tuvok has the right to love, not love, act, or not act as he sees fit without Tom treating him like a child. The more I think about this episode, the more I hate it.

@Curtis: I really hope your comments stem from being young and therefore inexperience with this kind of situation. Tuvok loves his wife in his Vulcan way perhaps, but he definitely has feelings for Noss and had no reason to believe he'd ever be rescued (repeat: ever). All his Vulcan gibbering to Paris about not reciprocating her feelings was a cover. That was the purpose of the flashbacks--to demonstrate just how susceptible to love Tuvok is. How is one to explain to someone that not acting on his emotions, strong as they are, are the only way he can survive psychologically? To do so would open up another portal of vulnerability, admitting fear. Tuvok's choice to meld with Noss in the end reveals the level of intimacy with which he finally regarded her, and was as much an act of love as a Vulcan can muster.

@Elliott: Whether or not I'm 'experienced with this kind of situation' is irrelevant. Do I believe people fall in love or have difficulty with feelings? Of course. Do I believe Tuvok would suddenly have all these feelings for Noss in the episode? Not for one second. And sometimes, just because you have feelings for someone doesn't mean you have to act on them. We all know Vulcans have emotions so it's nothing new. I could see Tuvok respecting Noss and becoming unique and special friends but true love? No way. Even if it was love, Tuvok had the right to cover it in any way he saw fit, just like we do in real life all the time.

@Curtis : First, people absolutely do fall in love suddenly. Vulcans? Well, they're described as having feelings many times greater and more intense than humans, so I would be surprised if on some level they didn't fall in love suddenly--a lot. Second, the feelings he developed grew over the course of months, not suddenly. Third, you're right that the circumstances in which one finds himself dictate whether he should act on certain feelings. The situation in the episode is that Tuvok, Noss, Paris and Doc were going to spend the rest of their existence together. What would be the point of resisting, says Tom, with literally zero hope for a reunion with their previous lives? Of course Tuvok had the right to act as he chose, but it's not about rights, it's about feelings. With no society, no order, no rules left, the only conclusions one could draw about Tuvok's behaviour do not justify it. It's only because we learn of the psychological danger to his Vulcan brain that allow us to empathise with him and understand his journey.

Funny how half way across the universe aliens look exactly like humans and humans don't even notice the similarities...

@ milica... Yeah, that is a Trek staple. Sometimes they throw in a forehead thing, bu sometimes not even that. It was most obvious to me in TNG's "The Inner Light"...they were 100% human, which sucked a lot of poignancy out of it.

Re: foreheads Tangent here, but Trek would've been immensely improved if the aliens had been cast with anyone other than SAG's whites actors. Even a foreign accent would've helped. In the case of, say, the Bajorans, constant reminders of foreignness (beyond wrinkled noses and religion) would've emphasized their different agenda. As it was, viewers had to stuggle to remember that Bajorans weren't straight-up Federation, like Trills with different makeup (ugh, Trill). Or Neelix: if he had been less vaudevillian huckster and more Tonto, his role as a local inhabitant of an unfamiliar corner of the galaxy would've been clear in every episode. Give credit to TNG's "Code of Honor." They may have been grotesquely stereotypical, but at least they were more exotic than, say, those wusses in "The Hunted."

I'm sorry, but I will never give any credit to TNG's "Code of Honor."

^ nor should you...

Oh hey Ticking Clock, Uncooperative Aliens, Romantic Hour, Shuttle Crash, Vulcan non-emotion, the power of Technobabble to save the day, all in this together, obviously must be saved because of Plot Armor main characters episode! We missed you! It's like they just threw all the Trek cliches into one bucket and came out with this episode. Or more like all the Voyager cliches. All that's missing is some Fun with DNA! xD I was genuinely shocked that Tuvok's love interest didn't die though, so I'll give it that. I like that he melded with her at the end, though. The most intimate thing a Vulcan can do with someone.

Jammer, first, congrats on the new addition to your family! As a reader, wishing you all the best! ... I think the intro to this review sums up Voyager nicely. I don't agree 100%: I like having standalone stories, and a noble crew, that doesn't get jaded by time and experience. DS9 is more true to life, while Voyager is closer to fairy tale or mythology, with idealized (or at least more static) characters. I get a lot of "real" life everyday, and found DS9 and it's successor of sorts, BSG, trying to drag it's characters (and audience) through hell just to see the reaction: DS9 in a much softer way, though (Quark? Rom?)! There's quite a difference between the family life of Chief O'brien, for example, and the despair that Chief Tyrol goes through (although they both go through hell - O'brien, though, only once per season ;). ... A thought about Tuvok (and what prompted this entry): I suspect Tuvok was underused partly because his relationship to Janeway was often an uncontested one: not the case for Kirk and Spock. Entire episodes were dedicated to the personal conflict between Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Without that tension, Tuvok did not have as many stories to tell, or drama to be part of.

@Dean Grr: Here's the problem. If you want a show about the wonder of exploring space, set it in the Alpha Quadrant. That's what TOS and TNG were, and they were great. But the fact that Voyager never seemed to run out of crewmembers, shuttles, torpedoes, etc., when it was the only Federation ship for tens of thousands of light years was just stupid. It made no sense AND it pissed away the whole premise of the show. What's sad is that the first two seasons of Voyager sort of tried to use its unique premise. There's a line in an early episode about how Voyager only has 38 photon torpedoes, for instance. The second season was about the only attempt at a sustained storyline. But the Kazon were boring villains and the creators never really went all in ('Deadlock' is a great example of hesitant storytelling). After the second season, Voyager became an episodic exercise in frustration for much of the next five seasons. Seven's introduction in the fourth season made Voyager a better episodic show than it had been. But only occasionally was Voyager ever great -- and usually, when it was, it happened in a single episode set outside of the main Voyager universe ('Timeless', 'Living Witness'). Enterprise, for all of its flaws, was at least more ambitious overall. Voyager, though, was just a waste of time.

"...only occasionally was Voyager ever great -- and usually, when it was, it happened in a single episode set outside of the main Voyager universe ('Timeless', 'Living Witness')." I'm not as eager to defend this series as, say, Elliott, but in fairness what Paul says about Voyager's great episodes applies to TNG as well, namely "Yesterday's Enterprise" and "The Inner Light." Even my personal favorite, "Cause & Effect," is only "real" in the last act. The same syndrome applies to DS9, for those who exalt "The Visitor" or "Far Beyond the Stars."

@Grumpy: Um, no. Several of DS9's best episodes ("Call to Arms", "The Dogs of War", "The Jem Hadar", "Chimera") were decidedly part of the core story that didn't take place in a secondary reality. TNG was more episodic and didn't have the serial concept that should have been part of Voyager. And even "The Best of Both Worlds" was definitely "real". So was "Measure of a Man", "Q Who" ... I could go on.

@Grumpy & Paul: Well, GEOS lists DS9's top ten as "Far Beyond the Stars, Duet, Children of Time, Trials and Tribble-ations, The Die is Cast, Hard Time, Improbable Cause, Necessary Evil, The Wire and A Call to Arms" I would definitely add "Chimera" to the list. My point is of all those episodes, only "A Call to Arms" is dependent upon ongoing continuity, even if they're part of "reality" (a rather useless term in my book when dealing with fiction). Yes, continuity plays a rôle in most of them, but the success of the story doesn't live or die on that fact. They could (save "Call") all have easily been episodes of any of the other Trek series with only minor alterations. I would say the same is basically true of the best episodes of every other series as well. In TNG's case, many of the best episodes would not be so memorable if not for the extraordinary acting of Patrick Stewart, but we can assume they'd give those stories to Nimoy, René Aubourgenois, Andrew Robinson, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Picardo or...um...Phlox I guess. This is probably the most concise argument I can make in Voyager's defense: given that, in all but the most rudimentary of ways, Voyager did not utilise the serial storytelling potential which was so heavily emphasised and part of its billing, its success depended almost exclusively on its ability to create interesting and affecting episodic television. Every season had its bumps and bruises, but each and every season has at least one episode which stands as one of the best the franchise ever produced (1. "Faces, Jetrel," 2. "Death Wish, Projections," 3. "Distrant Origin, Scorpion," 4. "Year of Hell, Living Witness," 5. "Timeless, Drone, Dark Frontier," 6. "Tinker, Tenor, Barge," 7. "Workforce, Author, Author." Without Voyager, we wouldn't have them. Many, many of DS9's "episodes" would hardly be worth the time if not for the fact that they amount to telling part of a larger story. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not as though this is a prerequisite of television, even with a "premise" (as it's mistakenly named) like Voyager's.

@Elliott: You've got to be joking. "Every season had its bumps and bruises, but each and every season has at least one episode which stands as one of the best the franchise ever produced (1. "Faces, Jetrel," 2. "Death Wish, Projections," 3. "Distrant Origin, Scorpion," 4. "Year of Hell, Living Witness," 5. "Timeless, Drone, Dark Frontier," 6. "Tinker, Tenor, Barge," 7. "Workforce, Author, Author.") If you really think Faces, Jetrel, Distant Origin, Year of Hell and Workforce come close to "The Visitor", "The Inner Light" "Best of Both Worlds", "City on the Edge of Forever", "Space Seed", etc. ... then I think you must be ridiculously drunk. Some of the Voyager episodes you mentioned were genuinely great. "Timeless," "Living Witness" and "Author, Author" were Voyager at their best. But the others are mid-range fair, and "Year of Hell" is a perfect example of what Voyager could have been if the creators had any guts.

@Paul: I didn't say "Distant Origin is as good as the Inner Light". I listed 15 episodes of Voyager. It's fair to compare them to 15 episodes of TNG or any other series not all of them against the top 2 from that series. Voyager at its best is Trek at its best and its greats deserve the same accolades from fans as its parent and sister series.

Jo Jo Meastro

I found myself nodding with agreement all the way through reading the review. The subtle, sensible and quietly compelling character work for Tuvok was good but it's a bit too nonedescript to really take off (especially with such a standard conventional story). It's a respectable outing with merit (good performances, even-handed direction, exotic planet sets etc)...but rarely did it step up a gear to make it something truly emotional and striking. 2.5/4 is my verdict too.

ProgHead777

Within a few minutes of appearing on screen I became convinced that Lori Petty was attempting to channel Leeloo from the movie The Fifth Element (which came out a couple of years or so before this episode was produced) with her performance in this episode. Whether that choice was hers or was that of producers/director/other powers-that-be is an open question.

Sex and intimacy in the twenty-fourth century must be different from what they are today. When Riker was host to the Trill, he had sex with Beverly Crusher. When Sisko was in the mirror universe, he had sex with Mirror Jadzia. I don't see how these events could fail to change significantly Riker's working relationship with Crusher or Sisko's working relationship with Real Jadzia. One small thing I liked about this episode was that instead of putting a wacky forehead on Lori Petty, they just put sparkly stuff on the sides of her face.

I had to laugh at Tom's suggestion that Tuvok forget any hope of rescue, and his wife along with it, and build a new life with alien girl. A new life, on a crapsack of a desolate world, with exactly two other people and intermittently a hologram, huddled in a crashed spaceship hiding from ten times as many enemies, praying that the force field never becomes non-operational, and with only some hideous looking giant spiders for food. Sounds great, Tom.

I have been reading these comments since season 2 as i have been going through Voyager series. I think is is amazing that this website was up in 1995. and that Jammer made those reviews over 18 years ago. it seems that he let comments appear in 2008, or these comment sections would be huge. in any case, i think this is the FIRST episode recap where i saw Jammer respond in the comments section...of all episodes...hmm. my 2 cents. I always love time and space anomalies. it was used very well to make time pass. yes, I agree with BEEJ so much on his comment about "new life."

I typically enjoy Tom Paris. He's funny and sympathetically portrayed usually. That said, he was very obnoxious in this episode. If I had feelings for a guy but decided not to act on them, I would NOT appreciate someone (even a friend) literally SCREAMING at me that I HAD to act on those feelings or I'm being unfair to the guy. Relationships have to evolve naturally; if a person has to be harassed and scolded into participating in one, he/she isn't ready for it.

This episode reminded me of TOS The Galileo Seven...minus any semblance of drama or immediacy. The TOS classic had Spock in his first command, threatening monsters attacking a crippled shuttle craft, a race against time to escape the surface and outrun the ticking clock, AND the moral dilemmas of command for Spock - including ramifications of sending fellow crew members to their deaths. Sure, the TOS didn't have CGI, was stuck with primitive and even corny looking sets, even suffered from overwrought dialogue, but the STORY was solid and riveting from start to finish. Lori Petty was cute however.

I'll take Trek's too human aliens over Farscape's muppets any day.

@Elliot I've been agreeing with your remarks almost every episode, especially (but not only) about some aspects of DS9. However, I can't help but find it funny to read you accusing Jammer of being biased. I mean, that Jammer was much gentler with some of DS9’s ludicrous problems while being quite picky with other shows, like Voyager, it seems quite clear at this point. But that you do the same in the opposite direction, also seems quite evident. Your tolerance to some Voyager's recurring problems with plot device, bad character development, lazy writing, weak episodes, is no small deal. Your reading of this episode, for instance, was astonishing: "An emotional episode about an emotionless man (sort of)--now that's compelling”, “a character I know enduring a superhuman level of pain, painted on a beautiful and convincing canvas”, “do I see like a faint brushstroke upon his countenance the change this experience paints for Tuvok. Hallelujah I do". Besides the exaggeration of the general prolixity, well, hallelujah is a wise word. One has to have quite a lot of faith on Voyager to have seen all that deepness in this episode... But do not get me wrong. I am not bothered by your bias for Voyager or Jammer's for DS9. We are not robots evaluating the precision of a warp-engine. I find it to be quite normal, even welcome because I enjoy your remarks quite a lot. The only troublesome thing is to read your recurring charges against Jammer due to him doing precisely the same you do, only with reversed sign.... That said, I enjoyed the episode quite a bit. But it was not more than a bit above average for me; quite empty and quite shallow most of the time. For me, character development is not about just throwing at the screen some event that hits a dear character and then just letting us suppose that and how it will affect him/her deep inside from now on. It is about showing us, in some of the following episodes, how and to which extent, such happenings have affected him/her. That Voyager quite often does not do that in moments that when it certainly should, it is crystal clear already. Even though, that’s where I wholeheartedly agree with Elliot. Even if not often, when Voyager gives us that, it gives probably the best character developments in the whole Trek. Just thinking of the Doc and Seven would be enough to see that.

@Ric : That is a very fair criticism. In my defence, I can only offer the fact that when I first began reading Jammer's reviews and their subsequent comments, I was rather emotionally dismayed (not to mention closer to adolescence). Voyager was unquestionably flawed and an episode like this one is not a showcase for great Trek, but nor is it the pedestrian fluff Jammer frames it to be. It's a solid show that works, is interesting, moving and does indeed bear consequences down the line (just not the kind of serial CONSEQUENCES many modern viewers demand). I'd probably rate it at 3 stars on the Jammer scale, which is just slightly higher than he appraises it, but is still the very difference between "okay" and "recommended."

As I've stated before, I give Voyage rquite a bit of leewya when comparing it to other series because it was the first one to be charged with carrying a network, rather than being syndicated. That left it far, far more at the mercy of absurd gimmicks, ridiculous promos, and various other meddling from network suits.

HolographicAndrew

Not a bad episode, pretty good. But definitely not one of my favorite Tuvok episodes so far. My main problem is that I'm left with this question, "what did the flashbacks add to this episode?" It was cool to see the convincing younger actor play the character, but I can't think of anything seeing the flashbacks added that Tuvok didn't sum up in his one liner about what happened to him.

"...and does indeed bear consequences down the line (just not the kind of serial CONSEQUENCES many modern viewers demand)." I would venture a guess that here "CONSEQUENCES" means something like "readily apparent developments in ongoing plot, character, etc. as a result of this episode OR story/character concepts and elements introduced or elaborated on in this episode are clearly followed up on/uses in future episodes". While I will guess "consequences" (lower case) means "consequences that are only present in Elliot's imagination/delusions, which were possibly triggered by his emotional trauma at learning that at this website the author and the majority of the commentators saw Voyager as the all too often pedestrian show that it is." I'm glad that word, "pedestrian" was mentioned because that was exactly the word I was looking for to describe the majority of Voyager's content. Yes, I agree that maybe on average less than five episodes a season are not and rise above the rest and are deserving of the Star Trek name (regarding the standards set by TNG and DS9), but even then the average TNG episode season 3 or later (and same for DS9) is just as enjoyable as most of these, with only a few each season (or only two) fits in with other "elite" Star Trek episodes. Sorry that to you a troubling amount of us feel more or less that way, but using laughably exagerated language (ie. using the phrase "beautifully painted canvas") regarding a mediocre (another useful buzzword for concisely describing Voyager on a broad level) Voyager episode is not going encourage people to take you seriously. One last thing about your points made about TNG not being very serialized, either- I know, but where there was continuity in stories it was much more interesting and better done than in Voyager (Klingon- Romulan alliance, Cardassian plots starting in "Ensign Ro", Worf's Honor, etc), and TNG episodic shows still had an excellent overall standard of quality far above that of Voyager's writing AND acting (so no, not just Patrick Stewart's incredible acting making them stand out). I believe DS9 is more or less as superior to Voyager as TNG is, but I will just leave it at that since I am not in the mood to fan that particular fire of yours.

Just thought I should add that when I wrote my above post I was in kinda a cranky mood, I have been doing a Voyager re watch using Jammer's ratings to guide me for what are worth watching and I've ran out of all the three and four star episodes but deciding to keep going and thus after a night of watching mediocre Voyager and then reading comments on the episodes (whose mediocrity were giving me a headache) where a vocal minority tries to defend them or pretend they can't understand/see the difference between some of these episodes and good TNG episodes they compare them to got me more irritated. It was in that mood I made my post, singling out Elliot. All arguments about the show aside I believe I should have toned down my rhetoric, as in reading it again it sounds a little too hostile/personal for a debate about a TV series. I apologize.

It was alright, I suppose. Felt like it was about damn time Tuvok got another episode. It's been a while. It even has a scene where he beats up two aliens. Not that the scene means anything. I just enjoy watching the clumsy way Star Trek usually handles hand to hand fights. I rather liked Lori/Noss. Her voice and manner of speaking added to her alien nature. That's the beauty of getting to play an alien race you only see once. You can get away with bizarre behaviour as much as you want and they can just write it off as 'normal behaviour for that species'. A little bit more make up to help her look more alien and less human like would have been good too, but you can't have it all. It's pretty forgettable in the grand scheme of things because the entire episode is selfcontained with absolutely zero chance that any of this will ever affect anything in future episodes, but for a selfcontained story, it was pretty decent. Now if they'll do the same for Chakotay soon, I'll be happy. Dude's practically been part of the background scenery this whole season. He's basically little more then a nameless crewman/ensign at this point. Some attention to his character is sorely needed here.

Someone here commented on the actress playing the alien and how her voice helped. I'm Sure that person finds her attractive and that's enough. Personally baby talking, squeaky voiced, idiotic sounding women kill any story for me. It's like that film the fifth element with the baby goo goo ga ga crap from the actress. To me it's a sign that very idiotic people wrote a stupid story. This episode was utterly intolerable due to the fact we are supposed to believe an intelligent and logical man would be attracted to a baby talking idiot woman

Damn, Jammer, DS9 really tainted you. This was a standout episode, and I really enjoyed Tuvok's character development. And I'm getting tired of hearing you and others on here complain about "plot devices". So fucking what!!! If the central story that draws us into the characters is a good one, like this episode, then who gives a damn about how the writers get us there... 3.5 stars, easily!

lol Rosario! I was just about to comment on Tuvok not putting Paris's face thru those rocks when Tom was in his face about Noss being upset and I read your (3 year old) comment. It wouldn't be a fair fight tho when you think about it. Remember Vulcans have a lot more strength for their size than the average human. It's probably that security that allowed Tuvok to retain control knowing he COULD do that to Tommy boy. I'm sure his old man Owen Paris must have felt the same way from time to time about him when we was a little bugger. We know he was always a willful guy. Look at his life's history (or better yet check out his star trek wiki page). I'm guessing this was all about showing how excellent Vulcans' emotional control is. And I must agree that he still showed incredible restraint. Considering how little he had when he was younger as we saw in the opening the writers probably had Tom put on a show to demonstrate how resilient Tuvok had become since then. But the title still doesn't quite gel with that aspect of the story. If a fellow trekkie has a moment or two please enlighten me me on that one, because I just don't see the connection.

Maybe "Gravity" refers to the gravity Tuvok feels with respect to emotion? Paris may think it's no big deal for Tuvok to open up a bit and have a fling with an alien, but Tuvok understands that the emotion could overwhelm him. Hence, he feels the gravity of it. I don't know, I tend not to care about symbolism. Anywho, I'm surprised at the people who are declaring this to be a fantastic, deep, wonderful episode. I mean, I know character pieces tend to be highly popular around here, but you still have to put some effort into them. You can't simply toss up an incredibly weak plot and a relatively by-the-numbers character piece and call it a masterpiece. If we're going to do that, why not just have the entire episode be Tuvok giving a personal log declaring how he feels about love? I mean, yet another shuttle crash? A convenient meetup where the two must fall in love because... plot says so? Random obstinate aliens producing artificial timer on the whole plot? Last second danger? The character revealing that his personality is all based on a single significant event that happened in his childhood? The love leaving at the end of the episode? It's all happened before, oh so many times. Yes, I know, nothing new under the sun, or random spatial gravitational anomaly in this case. But try to disguise that fact just a whee bit, ok? It's not that it's a bad episode, it's an okay representation for Tuvok, but just way too by-the-numbers for me to really praise. As for what this means for Tuvok, well, I'm of a couple minds about it. I really liked the idea that Tuvok was more emotional than most Vulcans as a child. I think that fits his character well, especially given the darker side of his psyche we saw in Meld. I could see him keeping a bit of that with him, even as he was externally (and even internally) trained to suppress it. But the episode didn't really go that way, just giving a simple "he once had a crush, then got over it" explanation. Seemed a bit too, well, standard for me at first, and was disappointed. But then, the more I thought about it, I guess I can hammer it into my impression of Tuvok. His rebelliousness may have been about his crush, but he wanted all emotions. He wanted to reject Vulcan ways entirely. He wasn't trying to bargain, thinking he could love Jara while still being stoic in everything else. So in a way, it was deeper than just a crush. And while he accepts Vulcan philosophy, that rebelliousness may still be there. One thing he learned from his ordeal was that the emotion of love, at least, was too powerful for him. Hence his absolute seriousness in repressing that aspect of his life. But perhaps he thinks he can explore, just a bit, some other emotions without losing control, can still let his little adolescent self out of his mind every once in a while. Not so that anyone would ever see it, of course, but in the privacy of his own mind, he can still explore some emotions. But love? That one he knows is just too powerful for him. He absolutely must keep that one bottled up. Even if it means his fellow castaway must suffer...

Diamond Dave

I can't help feeling that this would have worked better simply as a character piece. The Tuvok story is really well played - and young Tuvok in the flashbacks nails the mannerisms of the older character - and I thought Noss was given a slightly alien twist in the performance that worked well. It would have been a nice, simple story rooted in character. But the artificiality of the technobabble element and the forced jeopardy of the conclusion forces the triviality of the episode to the surface at the expense of the main plot. That's a shame, and pulls what could have been a great episode back to the mid level. 2.5 stars.

@Dave - The ridiculous level of jeopardy was stupid, but the technobabble was needed I think. Thanks to the technobabble over 2 months pass on the surface. It adds a nice touch I think that they were able to do a love story that makes a bit of sense due to the passage of time without actually making sure VOY sits above a planet for 2 months trying to rescue Tom/Tuvok and failing badly for 2 months.

OK, how did this episode spark "my trek is better than your trek" crap? I really enjoy Lori Petty. She's in one of my favorite movies of all time "A League of Their Own" and the reason I like her in that and this is that she IS different. I thought she played a fine alien here and due to the nature of this story she was a great choice for the part. They needed someone to be a little over the top emotionally to play against our beloved stoic unemotional Vulcan. I will say Voyager, while at times deserves the daggers it receives, receives far to many. This is a wonderful little story and a great character piece for Tuvok. I agree, that kid that played the young Tuvok nailed it. I love it when they are able to nail casting like that. I also love the casting with a young Trip in 'Similitude'. That really adds to the believability of the story. Someone above asked about the title. I thought it had to do with the temporal differential that gravity causes here. (and in real life) As plausible as all the other trek sci-fi stuff. And as Robert says, it was a pretty smart story telling device too. I loved the spider stuff :-) I don't mind that Tom "got in Tuvok's face" concerning Noss. For all they knew they were stuck here. It fit's Tom personality to push Tuvok like that. I thought Noss' affection for Tuvok was real and they way Tuvok dealt with her was very Vulcan and with the back-story this episode provided very fitting. Very enjoyable each time I watch it. I tear up each time Noss is beamed off Voyager. 3.5 stars for me.

I really enjoyed this episode. I could have done with less flashbacks and a little more showing in how much of an emotional struggle the grown up tuvok really is, but well. I think the tuvok, doctor, paris trio works very well together. I also really like Picardos performance, he really shows how much the doctor has changed. Speaking of acting, Im a little disappointed by Janeway and Mulgrews portrayel of her starting with season 5. Her Janeway seems hurried and impatient as well as more superficial. The character basically stays more or less the same. There isnt much development. It looks a little like Mulgrew is going through the motions since shes established the character and the producers were satisfied with her initial acting. Also season 5 starts with "Night", an episode which allowed Mulgrew to spend more time with her family, a thing she had supposedly been "complaining" about. I think Mulgrew didnt give her personal best since season 5 anymore, with some exceptions like "counterpoint" for instance. What do you think?

I just didn't believe the Tuvok/Noss pairing. She talks like Bart Simpson on helium and acts like a little kid. What's really there for Tuvok?

I like Tuvok after the Doctor he's my second favorite character. That's why I think it's a shame that after this episode the only way he gets his own subplot is if the writers pair him up with Neelix.

whenever an episode begins with a crashed shuttle, expect a boring melodrama (**)

I don't get the hate for Lori Petty. I thought the way she talked made her far more believable as an alien than the standard. Even with the universal translator it's funny how every alien has a typical US accent and syntax. Refreshing to hear something unusual. Enjoyed the episode: 3 stars

Startrekwatcher

2 stars. This was pretty bland and really could care less about any of the events going on.

I suppose the alien girl speaks in a weird manner on this episode because she's an alien trying to speak English? Idk, maybe that's just me. That said, I liked this episode and I have to agree with one of the above comments; I don't mind the writers using old Trek standbys as long as it helps the story get somewhere. And it does get somewhere here, imo anyway. My only complaint about this episode (and about Voyager too) is that this all happens in this "self-contained within a single episode" structure. I'd have loved to see a little continuity and character progress on the show.

By the way, I've been watching all Star Trek shows (besides a few TNG/DS9 episodes and pretty much most episodes of Voyager) for the first time ever, once they were finally made available on Brazilian Netflix recently, and I always come here to read your reviews after watching each episode. Congratulations on your great work!

Unfortunately a minor plot point overshadowed this episode for me: I couldn't take the artificial urgency seriously. Did Voyager honestly never manage to communicate to the hard headed "we lost seven ships" that they have a transporter relay? "Hey, guys, we have a transporter relay into that sinkhole, if you give us 2 hours we can rescue every single one of your survivors. You don't have to risk anything, just stay back and let us do our thing and we'll return your survivors in no time. If we fail, you can still close the sinkhole. Deal?" They can't be that hard headed to say no to that! Anyway, on Voyager nobody seemed to care that all the others aliens on that planet were going to be crushed. I'd understand if in the end they didn't manage to rescue them all, but not even talking about attempting to do it? Why did the aliens attack the ship just before Voyager rescued our "heroes"? 1) They are cardboard villains who have no motivation but to be villains and to attack (wasting plasma grenades!) at the moment the plot requires them to attack. 2) They intercepted the message and make a desperate attempt (wasting all their weapons) to reach the distress beacon and get rescued before the subspace sinkhole collapses and they are all crushed to certain death. There is a scene where two aliens stand outside the force field and hit it with their fists. At first I thought it's 1) and they're just being ridiculous. But then I thought of 2) and realized they are in a desperate panic that they don't get through the force field and will die. After being threatened and robbed by the aliens for months it's understandable that Tom and Noss don't particularly care for the aliens. But Tuvok as the logical person should have brought it up - after all Noss herself robbed Tom at gunpoint on their first encounter. The only difference is that she is not using much violence - but who is to say that's not just because she is physically smaller/weaker/alone? Why is Noss so important and all the other aliens are not? Is it because she is white and looks like a human and has sparkly stuff on her face while the aliens look less human and have darker skin? There have been several points in the series I have been disappointed by this crew supposedly upholding Starfleet values. Here it's the blatant lack of empathy for the lives of the aliens. Based on what? The actions of this single one hard headed bureaucrat? Does Janeway and the rest of the crew like to judge all members of a species based on one unpleasant individual? Thinking back to the void with the waste disposal guy - yes, they do.

@Tmrn I agree with nearly everything you said. It would've been really engaging if the aliens attacking at the end were that desperate and Tuvok points out that they are not necessarily the enemy. Of course, that would require the original message that Voyager sent to include the information of what the idiotic and inexcusably inflexible aliens were doing to the sinkhole and what that would do to the planets therein. My point of contention is the racist remark: "Is it because she is white and looks like a human and has sparkly stuff on her face while the aliens look less human and have darker skin?" Too often these days such a statement is brushed aside, accepted or simply ignored because it targets "the Man" or white people. Basically it's become acceptable to make disparaging remarks about a particular skin color because of the skin color - making a race-based judgement. I understand the history behind the accusation and for all I know it might be true! But that does make its tone any less racist than it is. I mean no offense to you Tmrn. I just wanted to make the point that this kind of behavior shouldn't be accepted. Again, the trend you point out may have some basis in fact, but too often it is used by race-baiters on both sides to pollute the debate with their own agendas.

I have to admit, the skin color point wasn't entirely serious. :)

Looking back at some of the low scores and negative or indifferent reviews Jammer gave to TNG episodes(the Bonding, Clues, Night Terrors, Silicon Avatar, Disaster, Hero Worship, Violations, Power Play, Rascals, Man of the People, Genesis) yet is far more enthusiastic with VOY episodes like this, Juggernaut, Blood Fever, Heroes and Demons, Prototype, Dreadnought, Alter Ego , Thirty Days, or DS9 episodes like The a Forsaken, Dramatis Personae, Move Along a Home, The Storyteller, His Way, Looking for Par'mach for instance has me totally befuddled. He needs to run DS9 and VOY back through the same process he did the TNG reviews. I hope a lot of those scores and semi positive to outright enthusiastic reviews might change

You are right. Some ratings likely would change. The circumstances under which the reviews were written were very different, spanning years and in some cases decades. I have admitted this many times. But I prefer to let the original reviews and ratings stand for what they were and the contexts under which they were written.

If you can watch that final scene without tearing up, your heart truly is Vulcan.

I generally liked this one. I think the performances are good and the basic idea that Tuvok feels something for Noss, but cannot act on it for fear that it will consume him, is well-realized. The use of the SF weirdness as a way to allow Tuvok and Tom to spend a few months acclimatizing themselves to their new situation without putting the Voyager crew through the equivalent development is effective. The big open question is this. It's implied by the flashback structure and some of Tuvok's dialogue with Tom and Noss that he really is only using his marriage as an excuse to avoid pursuing something with Noss, and that the real reason is his fear of emotional engulfment. Not only that, but the total absence of T'Pel from the episode -- through Tuvok describing her, or through flashbacks depicting her -- tend to suggest that she doesn't significantly factor into Tuvok's emotional landscape. Does that mean that his relationship with his wife does *not* threaten him emotionally in the same way? Does he love her? It's kind of a big and obvious question and it seems like this episode is the obvious time to address it. I think the most likely answer is that he does love his wife, but that because she is also Vulcan, there is a kind of understanding between them that they keep their passions at bay as much as possible so as to avoid the complete dissolution of self that Tuvok fears; with a non-Vulcan woman, like Noss, it would not be possible to demand the same. But it's a guess, and I don't think the series ever really deals with this issue, even though it hits the "is Tuvok attracted to this woman?" note both here and in Alter Ego. I think the episode is also held back a bit because the Tuvok/Noss relationship doesn't quite gel as much as it could before we're asked to see Tuvok as attracted to her, and we basically have Tom telling him (and us) about it rather than it passing by onscreen. I don't find the relationship implausible -- several months pass in near-complete isolation, and Vulcans have strong internal emotions -- but a little more of it to be shown on screen to sell the story (and the tragedy) would have helped. That said, I think that the material of Tuvok/Noss early and late in the episode worked well -- the meet cute in the desert after she's mugged Tom and their implicit, immediate bond, and the sadness of the last few scenes together. I like that Noss' qualities -- her pragmatic ability to survive, her intelligence (as evidenced by her quick command of language) -- do seem like ones that would attract security-and-intellect-minded Tuvok, and that the passage of time and the interpersonal communication are conveyed through Noss' ability to communicate. I also liked the dynamic between Tuvok and Tom, where the two reach a kind of understanding and work through several issues at once. A favourite moment is Tom telling Tuvok that he will never see his wife and kids again, and then later coming to apologize to him, at which point Tuvok tells him that he was not hurt by it, and that may well see B'Elanna again -- both deflecting the issue of his own pain, and showing some understanding of why Tom is so heavily projecting his own feelings of despair about his relationship onto Tuvok. As usual, the shuttle number is a bit annoying and the stuff with the aggressive aliens is pretty pointless over on the Voyager side of things -- especially when the ticking clocks get doubled up (so the thing is going to collapse by itself AND ALSO the aliens are insisting on closing it). The aggressive aliens on the planet could maybe have been excised with a little tinkering, too, but at least have some benefit in the story. Probably a low 3 stars.

Some absolutely shocking writing in this.

Boring and pointless. 2 stars.

I Hate Janeway

4 star episode! Best so far for Season 5. Pure enjoyment to watch. Without Janeway around (she didn't make an appearance until 22 minutes into the episode), Tim Russ and Robert Duncan McNeill could really shine and put in a great performance. I know this Vulcan in love (or not in love) was done in several episodes of TOS, but they still did a great job with the theme here. I also liked the guest actress who played the alien woman.

I don't normally give up on Voyager eps but I turned this one off after the nth fake spider stabbing shot, it just felt so silly, that and Lori Petty's squeaking... man :(

Tuvok is such a great Vulcan. Tim R is so good in the roll. I enjoyed seeing a little bit about young Tuvok, and watching him deal with his situation. Why did Janeway keep talking about rescuing Tom and Tuvok, while never mentioning the Doctor? She's got some kind of blind spot about him. Though Tuvok and Paris weren't much better. I guess Doc still has more struggling to do, to be seen as "fully human," so to speak.

Ok. So commenting after reading the reviews and other comments: I liked Laura Petty In the role and don't understand the concerns about her voice . . .yes, she has a naturally high voice, an unusual voice and manner, I think, which works well as an alien. She did fine, and Ross was excellent. He clearly cared a great deal for her but just . . . wasn't going to go through that again. Paris was so annoyingly forceful because he missed B'Ellana a lot . . . and here was Tuvok, with a chance at real love in all that lonely desolation, and he's rejecting it!! That was very hard for Tom to watch. The time wonkiness, I thought, related to the ep's exploration of what comes and goes in our lives, for everything, there is a Season . . . and sometimes, the timing is off. For Noss and Tuvok, it wasn't to be. I thought there was symbolism too, in the set up of that planet on a different sub-space level worth different time passage, and the aliens desperate to close it off . . . symbolism for Tuvok's struggle with his buried emotions. Yes, the ending was lovely and perfect.

Sean Hagins

@ Elliott-No, people do not fall in love instantly! I don't know where you get that from! I appreciate Tuvok taking a stand for being faithful to his wife. Actually, I thought the mind meld at first would make Noss forget (the way Spock did to Kirk once) I do have to say this, we have a very different way of dating than most do here I imagine, but I for one can not understand how some people think here-I really can't!

Not a bad VOY outing that works some familiar themes (shuttle crash, rescue under duress from time and enemy fire, instant romance with an alien). Was going to use Jammer's "hard-headed aliens of the week" but then I read his review where he says: "These are Uncooperative Aliens of the Week (not to be confused with the slightly more extreme Hard-Headed Aliens of the Week, who would probably open fire on Voyager rather than just cutting off a communication effort)." I liked the Paris/Tuvok dynamic where Tom presses the Vulcan to open up. But what didn't work was the supposed romance building quickly between Noss and Tuvok. When Paris first challenged Tuvok that he's in love with Noss -- how could he possibly come to that conclusion given that they had just met? This felt forced as if to set up the examination of Tuvok's conquering of the love emotion and Paris' ongoing attempts at prodding Tuvok (which eventually work). And the Noss character's sudden change to hating logic when spurned by Tuvok didn't feel right either. Another attempt at romance on Trek that failed. The "Uncooperative Aliens of the Week" might as well have been hard-headed. This is typical VOY and is usually the weakness in any episode they're in. The ones on the planet had evolved into raiders putting Noss under constant threat. I liked the idea of the subspace sinkhole combined with the temporal anomaly that makes the people on the planet forced to spend a long period of time together. That has potential if Noss is a better character. But I'm glad they didn't make this another 7 episode -- other VOY characters are being marginalized. As for a Tuvok character examination through the flashbacks to his youth -- perhaps he's now a stricter Vulcan given what he went through with the Vulcan Master who helped him get over unrequited love. But Tuvok eventually "breaks down" and explains to Paris and through the mind meld explains to Noss -- but the episode didn't really explain how he got over love -- just that he did as a Vulcan. So not a well-done character examination for me. Was it supposed to be the main thrust of this episode or just in the background of a mainly rescue mission episode? I suspect it was supposed to be the main thrust. But if so, it was half-assed. 2.5 stars for "Gravity" -- some creative elements here were nice like the planet and the initial lack of the universal translator for Noss - made it feel like Star Wars for a bit. The rescue under duress was OK, but the romantic element didn't work (which isn't surprising for Trek). As Tuvok episodes go, this one didn't really give us much more about him ("Innocence" was better in that respect). Tom Paris can be quite nosy. No way is this one of the better VOY episodes in a solid Season 5 but it didn't suck either.

Sleeper Agent

The idea of seeing Tuvok dealing with emotions both historically and present is not bad. However, the premise, writing and casting are just way off in this one. Tim Russ excellent performance is the only thing keeping this episode from belonging in the trash. 1 Star, barely.

I did enjoy the 'Tuvok dealing with his emotions' business, but the story surrounding it is about as pedestrian as it gets. Never really got the sense that they were truly stranded, the romance is undercooked and the fact that they've been there for months wasn't even particularly well communicated. Perfectly watchable, but largely unremarkable. 2 stars. Also, I am wondering why they keep sending Doc on these away missions, especially after reading this line: "if being stranded forever really were to be the outcome here, Voyager would find itself in dire straits the next time there were a medical emergency."

Tuvok and Noss' farewell is very effective though. Just a nicely restrained scene that favours subtlety over any kind of grand gesture. Good stuff.

Tuvok has control, and never lost it. The episode doesn’t condemn or make a farce of Vulcans for being unfeeling like so many TOS episodes do, no- it embraces “infinite diversity… in infinite combinations." The Vulcans are different from Noss, from Paris, and this episode reminds us that’s how it’s supposed to be. Embracing diversity doesn’t always feel right or natural, because nature comes differently to each of us, but through that difficulty, we find truth. This episode emphasizes the beauty of being Vulcan, the richness of difference, and I love that.

Am I the only person to be confused that time is moving faster for the people in the gravity well versus outside it, and how that’s backwards from reality? I shouldn’t be bothered but this stuff but, it’s COVID and I’m watching waaaay too much Star Trek...

I just wanted to point out how hard I laughed when Tom was like “look Tuvok, you need to accept this is home and the crew probably left without us,” and when we first see Voyager, the first thing they mention is that the shuttle’s been missing for an hour! That was before they explained the time differential, but I still got a kick out of imagining Tom giving up hope after an hour. “Well this is our life now, better cheat on your wife, Tutu!” I could see that in Chakotay actually.....

Is in the aughts" a common English phrase..ive never heard the word aught before and thought it was a typo and I'm a native fluent English speaker..guess its rare or maybe a British thing?

It was once a common way of describing the first decade of the 20th century (which doesn't lend itself to a convenient short form like 20s or 90s) and there was some attempt to revive it 100 years later. Didn't majorly catch on.

Shuttle crash aside, as a variation on the "stranded crew members" type of plot, I thought this one worked fairly well and had a lot to offer. It's good to see Tuvok remaining faithful to his wife, even if he might never see her again. I enjoy seeing Tom and Tuvok interact in a survival situation, and the time differential between the area inside and the area outside the sinkhole allows for a lengthy survival situation for Tom, Tuvok and the Doctor while plausibly keeping Voyager in the area for months, because of course it hasn't been months for them. The location filming is very welcome, making a nice change from the standard Voyager sets. I don't know that the episode needs to say anything greater about Voyager to be worthwhile. It's an incident along their journey that tells us something about the characters and is an enjoyable adventure. Good enough for me.

grumpy_otter

@Linda You said, "This episode was utterly intolerable due to the fact we are supposed to believe an intelligent and logical man would be attracted to a baby talking idiot woman." I'm a woman and while I would normally agree with this critique, as with Leeloo in The Fifth Element, in this case Noss may have a childish voice, but she is clearly strong and capable and not at all idiotic. She simply is not fluent in English. So I don;t think it's fair to lump her in with the "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope we so often see presented in films. Look for the video by that title presented by Pop Culture Detective--I think you'd have to agree Noss doesn't fit the type.

Captain Proton

Lori Petty is such a horrible actress it made it really hard to get through this episode. And we’re supposed to believe that Tuvok wants to shag this woman? Um...no.

I wish I could learn another language that fast.

{{ Tangent here, but Trek would've been immensely improved if the aliens had been cast with anyone other than SAG's whites actors. . . . . Give credit to TNG's "Code of Honor." They may have been grotesquely stereotypical, but at least they were more exotic than, say, those wusses in "The Hunted." }} {{ I'm sorry, but I will never give any credit to TNG's "Code of Honor." }} It's basically the Galbrush Conundrum, but with race instead of sex. With a large number of never-seen-again AOTW's (Aliens Of The Week), if they were Asian or Black or whatever, the portrayal would probably be considered racist. Which is not to excuse Code of Honor because that one actually *was* racist.

Glad to see many comments stating how obnoxious Paris is in this episode. Leave Tuvok alone, if he doesn’t want to get into a relationship, for whatever reason, that’s Tuvok’s problem, not Tom’s.

Add me to the choir which liked the episode "Gravity." The setting was great and actress Lori Petty (Noss) with that special voice and those intense huge eyes of hers was a big part of its success. It was not simply a redux of the TOS' All Our Yesterdays plotline where Spock, McCoy and Zarabeth form that toxic triangle. Noss starts off as a forbidding character, so it was a relief when she lightens up. I particularly liked her cute laugh when she realizes that Paris can't hunt to save his life. The final attack sequence reminded me of Bogart's Sahara...good energy and left me in suspense as to whether Noss would survive. The emotional scenes with Tuvok and Noss were 'lump in the throat' great. Glad that I took the time. 3 stars.

Really enjoyed this. The premise of being stranded on an inhospitable desert planet trapped on the other side of a wormhole-like anomaly with a time distortion was inventive enough for me, but obviously the Tuvok-Noss relationship was what made the episode. I've always been a massive fan of Tim Russ' (for me) consistently perfect portrayal of Vulcan rigour, but he truly outdoes himself here. Utterly outstanding. Lori Petty does an excellent job as well - and that final farewell scene in the transporter room is astoundingly well-played by both. There's that one moment, when Noss reaches out only to retract her hand in sudden realisation, that is sublime in how much it says with so little. Perfect. I have two very minor criticisms about the rest of the episode that I cannot shake. Firstly, Paris comes across as thoroughly obnoxious in browbeating Tuvok into confessing the feelings that Paris states Tuvok has. It becomes one long invasive, distasteful harangue of Tuvok - let Tuvok have his privacy, good God! Secondly, it seemed a little unethical to me that Voyager didn't attempt in any way to rescue the other stranded aliens. Of course, they'd been repeatedly attacking Tuvok, Noss and the Doctor - but at the same time they're all abandoned to be crushed to death with nary a qualm. It just felt wrong. That side, a great episode with an engaging plot, intriguing characterisation and a very moving ending. I was afraid the writers would kill Noss off, and I was pleasantly relieved they didn't indulge in such lazy, forced tragedy cliché. The actual ending was all the more memorable and meaningful for being so bittersweet and, well, logical. Top work from Russ, Petty and all involved!

Entertaining episode. I think the story moves along quickly and Russ does a good job as Tuvok.

Didn't everyone else wish this episode was MORE ABOUT THE UNIQUE AND ORIGINAL SCI FI CONCEPT OF A SOLAR SYSTEM IN A POCKET OF SUBSPACE AND TIME MOVING AT ADIFFERENT RATE and Tha we had learned MORE ABOUT THE ALIENS AND TBEIR CUKTURE AND PHYSIOLOGY??

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Recap / Star Trek Voyager S 5 E 13 Gravity

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This episode contains the following tropes:

  • Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder : Tom points out that it's not logical for Tuvok to remain faithful to a wife who is 50,000 light years away that he'll likely never see again. Tuvok is not amused .
  • A Day in the Limelight : A Tuvok episode.
  • All Love Is Unrequited : Noss develops feelings for Tuvok who is Happily Married (or devoted in Vulcan terms) to his wife.
  • The Vulcan Master instructing young Tuvok admits that the power of his emotions frightens him. As he points out, to deny this would be illogical.
  • Tuvok says that beneath their apparent serenity, Vulcans constantly struggle with volatile emotions.
  • Beware the Nice Ones : Tuvok is not often forced to engage in hand-to-hand combat, but here he easily dispatches a squad of raiders by himself. It's also a reminder that Vulcans are physically faster and stronger than most aliens, and their dedication to logic is a blessing to others.
  • Big Damn Heroes : Tuvok turns up in the nick of time to save either Noss or Tom on three occasions .
  • Book Ends : The episode begins with Young!Tuvok beginning his studies with the Vulcan Master, and ends with him leaving having regained his control of emotions.
  • The multi-spatial probe from "Extreme Risk" is used to explore the sinkhole.
  • Tom recalls his lengthy courtship of B'Elanna Torres.
  • Tuvok responds to the suggestion that he's secretly a big softy with, "There is no need to be insulting" as per Spock .
  • When young Tuvok is led to believe the girl he's smitten with has fallen for another Vulcan, Tuvok says he will challenge his rival, a reference to the kal-if-fee from TOS "Amok Time".
  • The Vulcan Master lists the emotions that an infatuated Tuvok is experiencing, just as Tuvok did for an infatuated Harry in "Alter Ego". In fact this episode explains how Tuvok knew how to deal with feelings of unrequited love in the first place.
  • Cannot Spit It Out : Tuvok is unwilling to admit his feelings for Noss. But at the end of the episode he forms a Mind Meld with her, whereupon she just smiles and says, "I understand."
  • Noss borrows Tuvok's catchphrase of "Fascinating" at one point.
  • Averted both times when the Doctor is reactivated (probably because his program is already active in the emitter). When Tuvok is injured, the nature of the medical emergency is already pretty obvious anyway.
  • Commander Crash : Tuvok's mere presence on a shuttle causes yet another crash. Though Tom was flying it so maybe we should blame him.
  • Contemplation Location : Tuvok meditates on the rocks to get control of his emotions regarding Noss, but Tom follows him and insists on discussing the issue.
  • Everyone Can See It : Tom can see Tuvok is attracted to Noss despite his denials.
  • Flash Back : Tuvok keeps flashing back to his youth where he struggled with his emotions and Vulcan teachings.
  • Florence Nightingale Effect : Noss kisses Tuvok after he's injured in an ambush.
  • Former Teen Rebel : As a teenager, Tuvok became infatuated with a Terrellian female at his school who rejected his advances. As a result he rebelled against the Vulcan philosophy of logic and emotional control, and was banished to the care of a Vulcan Master.
  • From Bad to Worse : The shuttle has fallen into a subspace sinkhole with no way of getting out. Thanks to the time-distortion, they're trapped for months on a desert planet before Voyager can even find them. An alien race is planning to close the sinkhole and won't wait for any rescue operation. Then Chakotay delivers the Wham Line . Chakotay: Ready for the bad news? Janeway: You're kidding. Chakotay: The gravitational stress is increasing. Seven believes the sinkhole is on the verge of collapse. When it does, everything inside will be crushed.
  • Future Spandex : Noss' form-fitting black outfit really isn't suitable for a desert planet, though it's likely something she scavenged.
  • Getting Hot in Here : More tank-top fanservice , this time involving Tuvok.
  • The Hermit : Young Tuvok studied in isolation under a Vulcan Master until he could learn to suppress his emotions.
  • Holding Hands : Tuvok holds Noss' hand as he leads her to the transporter pad.
  • Ice-Cream Koan Young Tuvok: If I was meant to deny feelings, why was I born with them? Where's the logic in that? Vulcan Master: Hidden for you to find. Or in plain sight for you to ignore. Young Tuvok: You speak in riddles because the truth frightens you!
  • Inconvenient Attraction : Tuvok really doesn't want to suffer the anguish of unrequited love again.
  • Averted on the planet: Noss, Tom and Tuvok have to hunt for food and scavage supplies from other downed ships. The Doctor is also taken offline for months, so they can conserve the power cell of the mobile emitter (and possibly use it as a backup power source).
  • Interspecies Romance : Albeit of the unrequited kind .
  • I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder : The Doctor has to be shut down because they may need to use his mobile emitter as a power source. He retorts, "I'm a doctor, not a battery!"
  • Kiss Diss : When Noss tries to kiss Tuvok, he pushes her away.
  • Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone : Tom orders everyone out of the transporter room so Tuvok can say goodbye to Noss in private.
  • Love Confession : All the more meaningful for being completely non-verbal. Tuvok doesn't have to say the words, because he can share his thoughts and feelings via mind-meld.
  • Love Makes You Crazy : For Vulcans it does, which is why Tuvok doesn't want to surrender to his feelings. Tuvok: I lost all sense of who I was. The emotional attraction I felt became a kind of insanity. Paris: Tuvok, everyone feels a little insane when they fall in love, but it's worth the risk. Tuvok: For you, perhaps. But I am Vulcan. My natural emotions are erratic, volatile. If I don't control them, they will control me.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me : The forcefield on Noss' crashed vessel still works, enabling her to hold off scavengers. Until the final act when they launch a determined assault using photonic charges that ultimately overloads the emitter and brings the barrier down.
  • Mandatory Line : Neelix only appears briefly in the last act under the guise of asking Noss for her recipe for sautéed spider , before he's shooed away by Tom.
  • The Matchmaker : Tom, as lampshaded by Tuvok who does not appreciate his efforts.
  • Not So Stoic : The episode delves into the emotions beneath Tuvok's calm Vulcan exterior.
  • Obstructive Bureaucrat : The rescue is made more difficult than it should be thanks to the efforts of Supervisor Yost to close the sinkhole. When he's ready six hours ahead of schedule, he goes ahead without waiting for Voyager .
  • Old Master Vulcan Master: You wish to be taught? Young Tuvok: I would question everything you say. Vulcan Master: You would not be a worthy pupil otherwise.
  • Omniglot : The Doctor can speak to Noss in her language because the Universal Translator is part of his program. He ends up teaching her fairly decent Federation Standard, though some more esoteric concepts still have to be translated: for instance, Noss has to ask him in her own language how to say 'love' because the Doctor hadn't taught her that, presumably seeing it as irrelvant to their situation.
  • Orbital Kiss : Although a kiss isn't involved, the camera does a half-circle around Tuvok and Noss as they Mind Meld , showing its romantic subtext.
  • Pardon My Klingon Noss: Logic! I hate logic! Tuvok: Your emotions will only exacerbate the situation. Noss: Shevrot kat! Tuvok: Insulting me will not help.
  • Race Against the Clock : Voyager only has a day to rescue their crewmembers before another alien race closes the sinkhole to prevent other ships being pulled in. By the time they're ready, the aliens have decided to go ahead of schedule, which gives them only 30 minutes. As they count down the last few seconds to transport, Tuvok has to race out and rescue Noss who's trying to repair the forcefield in the face of an assault of scavengers trying to breach her ship. Because of the Year Inside, Hour Outside time dilation, they have to fend off an attack for the better part of an afternoon while for Voyager , its just a few minutes.
  • Rescue Romance : Tuvok meets Noss when he saves her from two attackers.
  • Reverse Polarity : Voyager escapes being pulled into the sinkhole by reversing the polarity of its shields.
  • Robinsonade
  • Scavenger World : The only supplies on the planet are brought in by other crash victims, so there's savage competition for resources . Noss is introduced when she steals Tom's medkit, and then Tuvok saves her from being robbed herself.
  • Tastes Like Friendship : After he first rescues her, Tuvok offers Noss a ration bar (no small gift on a planet where you have to hunt your food). They also bond while cooking up their latest catch of spiders .
  • Weird World, Weird Food : The main source of protein on the planet consists of large spider-like creatures. Paris: I don't know what's worse. Catching them or eating them. Noss: No poison . Paris: Well they may not be poisonous, but they give me the creeps.
  • Year Inside, Hour Outside : After being stranded for two months, Tom is disappointed that his girlfriend B'Elanna doesn't miss him more because for her, only two days have passed.
  • You No Take Candle : Noss speaks this way because the Universal Translator isn't working. She proves Eloquent In Their Native Tongue after Voyager rescues them and Noss can speak using the UT.
  • Star Trek: Voyager S5 E12: "Bride of Chaotica!"
  • Recap/Star Trek: Voyager
  • Star Trek Voyager S 5 E 14 Bliss

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Star Trek: Voyager – Gravity (Review)

Gravity is a powerful story, all the more effective for its relative simplicity.

Tuvok has been one of the most overlooked and ignored regular cast members on Star Trek: Voyager . The later seasons tend to neglect Harry Kim and Chakotay, but they had been given considerable focus in the earlier years of the show. Chakotay had been a major focus in The Cloud , State of Flux , Cathexis , Initiations , Tattoo , Manoeuvres and Basics, Part I . Kim had taken centre stage in Emanations , Prime Factors , Non Sequitur and The Thaw . In contrast, Tuvok remained relatively anonymous, more of a supporting player than a narrative focal point.

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Vulcan on a ledge.

In hindsight, this appears a rather strange choice. Tuvok is the first full-blooded Vulcan character to appear as a regular on a Star Trek show. Spock is easily the most iconic character in the franchise, to the point that he would be the torchbearer for the JJ Abrams reboot and his family still haunts Star Trek: Discovery . As such, having a fully Vulcan character should have led to all manner of interesting stories. After all, Tuvok was introduced in Caretaker as a spy working undercover in the Maquis. There should have been a lot of material to mine in the set-up.

However, for most of the run of Voyager , Tuvok seemed cast in a supporting role. He was the investigator in episodes where the crew were falsely accused, as Paris was in Ex Post Facto or Torres was in Random Thoughts . He was a reliable sounding board for other characters, as with Kes in Cold Fire or Neelix in  Rise or Seven of Nine in The Raven . He was even effectively employed as a mind-controlled monster in episodes like Cathexis and Repression . Tellingly, most of the handful of episodes focusing on Tuvok focus on events where he is not himself; Tuvix , Riddles .

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Vulcan love slave.

This is a shame, as there is a lot of fertile ground to explore within Vulcan psychology. Logic is never as clean or simple as Spock made it sound. Existence is full of logical contradictions and inconsistencies. The two best Tuvok-centric episodes of Voyager tend to focus on these inconsistencies. Meld is an episode in which Tuvok asks questions for which there can be no answer, and in which his insistence that the universe is an ordered and logical structure pushes him to some very dark places. Gravity explores the long-standing myth that Vulcans are emotionless.

Gravity is a surprisingly influential episode of Voyager , an episode that explores the implications of an idea which the larger Star Trek franchise had taken for granted for more than thirty years. It is an episode that feels unique in the larger context of Voyager , one build as much around character as action. It is story about love and repression, one rooted very much in who Tuvok is. It might just be one of the best Vulcan-centric stories in the franchise.

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Tuvok lightens up.

As with any long-running franchise, Star Trek has cultivated a mythology around itself. The franchise has become iconic and ubiquitous, an instantly identifiable aspect of American popular culture. Kirk and Spock are characters recognised across the world. A significant percentage of the American population understands what a “Klingon” is. Catchphrases like “live long and prosper” might not have the same impact as “may the force be with you” , but they have a reach that extends beyond the ratings of individual episodes.

Along the way, the franchise has build up a fair amount of mythology. There are certain aspects of Star Trek that are taken for granted, and accepted without question. People assume that the words “beam me up, Scotty” were spoken on the original show, when they never were . Fans insist that Vulcans never lie, when Spock has been known to bend (and even break) the truth when the occasion demanded it . Fans were outraged when Star Trek: Enterprise had the tenacity to present Vulcans in an unflattering light, glossing over episodes like Amok Time or Journey to Babel .

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Just deserts.

However, one of the more persistent pieces of Star Trek mythology is the idea that Vulcans do not have emotions, that they are completely lacking in feelings and are effectively organic robots with pointy ears. David Gerrold summarised this approach to the Vulcans in The World of Star Trek :

The Vulcan culture finally rejected its savage heritage – rejected it so thoroughly that they rejected anything that smacked of it as well. Wars are emotional experiences that stem from individuals and groups of individuals and nations acting irrationally, reacting with their adrenals instead of their brains. In rejecting war and savagery, Vulcans were forced to also reject emotions. Just as Freedom and Opportunity are the spoken goals of most Earth cultures, so did Rationality and Logic become keystones of the Vulcan culture. Vulcans carefully bred emotions out of themselves. They conditioned themselves and their children to be logical. They consciously altered the direction of their evolution.

This feels very much like an attempt at revisionism from the production team, much like the revisionism that Gene Roddenberry attempted with Star Trek: The Motion Picture . It was a clear attempt to ignore the actual content of earlier episodes in favour of a blanket official statement.

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It came from above.

After all, the original Star Trek repeatedly suggested that Vulcans were far more emotional than Spock would ever acknowledge, as Kirk and McCoy would repeatedly tease him. Even leaving aside Spock’s emotional outbursts in episodes like The Naked Now or This Side of Paradise , accepting that those might be the product of his repressed human half, the Vulcans featured on the original Star Trek demonstrated heightened emotional states. To pick one example, Stonn seems pretty emotional when T’Pring picks Kirk as her champion in Amok Time .

More than that, it is very clear that Sarek is a highly emotional individual. In Journey to Babel , it is revealed that Sarek cut himself off from Spock in response to the latter’s decision to join Starfleet. That is an emotional, rather than a rational, response. Even on the Enterprise, Sarek seems offended by his son’s presence. More than that, Sarek is quite overtly racist in the way that he talks about the Tellarites, leading to a bizarre situation where Bounty would go out of its way to make Sarek’s observation about the species accurate in order to downplay the casual racism of it.

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Heated debate.

It is clear that Vulcans do have emotions, they just tend to repress them rather than acknowledge them. The tendency has been to think of Vulcans as something akin to the Fruedian “superego” , an entire species that rises about the emotional fray in order to make rational and dispassionate decisions based on the information to hand. Given Gene Roddenberry’s refactoring of the franchise into something approaching a moral philosophy, it makes sense that this reductive interpretation of the Vulcan psyche would soak through into popular culture.

The characters on the early seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation often felt like Vulcans. Roddenberry famously banned conflict among the primary cast on the spin-off, leading to the most professional workplace in the history of television . However, in the early episodes of the series, the characters could seem too aloof and too disconnected, too mechanical in nature. It could fairly be argued that the series began to come into its own when the production team allowed Picard to acknowledge his emotions in episodes like Sarek or Family .

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Objects in emotion.

After all, the notion that rational or logical thought can be (or should be) divorced from emotion is a hotly contested psychological theory. This fetishisation of rationality began in the late fifties, and would go unchallenged for decades. Only recently have scientists and psychologists acknowledged emotions are impossible to separate from thought :

Ever since Plato, scholars have drawn a clear distinction between thinking and feeling. Cognitive psychology tended to reinforce this divide: emotions were seen as interfering with cognition; they were the antagonists of reason. Now, building on more than a decade of mounting work, researchers have discovered that it is impossible to understand how we think without understanding how we feel. “Because we subscribed to this false ideal of rational, logical thought, we diminished the importance of everything else,” said Marvin Minsky, a professor at MIT and pioneer of artificial intelligence. “Seeing our emotions as distinct from thinking was really quite disastrous.”

Perhaps this emphasis on rationality was rooted in the fact that many of the researchers and writers working in the field were male , and that the theory was gendered in the same way that some discussions of science-fiction tend to be gendered . Emotions are seen as inherently feminine, and male-dominated arenas tend to react against them .

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“How can you be so cold on a planet so hot?”

As such, there is something fascinating in exploring the idea of Vulcans as emotionally repressed rather than simply unemotional. After all, the very idea of Amok Time is that storing up all of that emotion leads to a situation where Vulcans need to release the metaphorical safety valve at least once every seven years or risk causing severe harm to themselves and others. Tellingly, Amok Time also suggests that that this emotional safety valve is released through either sec or violence, highly emotional activities.

This suggests a level of nuance and intrigue to the Vulcans, something that extends the species beyond a two-dimensional archetype. It is very similar to the development of other memorable  Star Trek aliens like the Klingons or the Ferengi. It is very easy to create an alien species that is built from one core idea, to suggest that the Klingons are  “violent” or that the Ferengi are  “greedy.” However, it takes more than just an analogy to make an alien species work as a concept.  Star Trek features countless failed high-concept aliens from the Kazon to the Son’a to the Suliban.

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Poking holes in it all.

The best Star Trek aliens are rendered in a way that makes them compelling and intriguing. Klingon culture is not engaging because they are stock “space warrior guys” , it is interesting because of the inherent contradiction that exists at the heart of their culture. Episodes like Heart of Glory , Sins of the Father , The Way of the Warrior , Tacking into the Wind and Judgment cleverly play up the contrast between the image that Klingon culture projects of itself and the reality. The same is true of the contradictions in Ferengi culture suggested by The Jem’Hadar .

Revealing a similar contradiction within the Vulcan psyche adds a layer of nuance to the iconic Star Trek aliens. Many actors on the franchise have struggled to convincingly portray Vulcan characters, with quite a few performers playing the iconic aliens as green-blooded drones. The best actors understand that there is always something happening beneath the cold exterior. Gary Graham did excellent work as Soval on Enterprise , in large part because he understood that subtle undercurrent of emotion in episodes like The Forge .

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I spi(der) dinner.

Tim Russ acknowledged that this was always a challenge for an actor playing a Vulcan :

Playing the Vulcan character, everything is done very subtly. It’s all about what’s going on under the surface with the Vulcan characters, it’s not on the top … that’s what that whole character is about. Their history is spent basically learning ways in which they control their emotions, so everything is controlled, everything is pushed down as far as any kind of drama or reactions or human-type nature.

The best actors to don the pointy ears suggest vast reservoirs of feeling underneath a calm surface.

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Master his emotions.

Gravity is an episode built around this idea. The episode repeatedly stresses that Vulcans do feel emotions, they just learn to suppress them. “You are surprised to hear a Vulcan master admit to having emotions?” the Vulcan Master teases  young! Tuvok in flashback. “Emotions can be a powerful tool. To deny their existence is illogical.”  At the very, Vulcans must understand emotions. Tuvok was able to go undercover as a Maquis spy. T’Pring could manipulate Kirk and Spock in Amok Time . Sarek could negotiate with emotional species in Journey to Babel .

However, Gravity goes even further than that. Vulcans do not just acknowledge emotions, they are affected by them. After a heated exchange, Paris tries to clear the air. “Listen,” he states. “What I said in there, about your wife? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” Tuvok brushes it aside. “I have no feelings for you to hurt.” Paris gets real for a moment with his work colleague. “I think you do,” Paris responds. “You work hard to bury them, but they’re there.” The big question in Gravity is whether Tuvok is lying to Paris and Noss, or to himself.

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All for Noss.

It is surprising that it has taken the franchise so long to tell a story like this, to explore what it means to be a Vulcan in such a way. Spock was first identified as “part Vulcanian” in Mudd’s Women , meaning that Vulcans predate other iconic Star Trek aliens like the Romulans or the Klingons. However, Vulcan culture has largely been left unexplored beyond quick glimpses of ritual and mysticism in stories like Amok Time , The Motion Picture or Star Trek III: The Search for Spock .

However, it is also surprising that Voyager should be the series to tell this sort of story. After all, Voyager never really developed its alien species. The Kazon were never as fully formed as the Klingons, the Vidiians never as fleshed out as the Jem’Hadar, the Hirogen never as explored as the Ferengi. Voyager tended to treat these civilisations in a superficial manner. Perhaps this superficiality reflected the overarching narrative of the show. Maybe Voyager never invested too much time or energy in its aliens because the crew would just move on the following week.

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A prosperous career.

More than that, Voyager was a show that very rarely invested in characterisation, even for its major characters. Captain Janeway arguably lacked consistent characterisation across the seven-year run of the show, shifting from a by-the-book commanding officer in stories like Prime Factors and State of Flux to a more gung-ho seat-of-her-pants leader in stories like  Night or Infinite Regress . Was Janeway a scientist, a diplomat, or a loose cannon? Voyager never seemed to have a proper answer.

As a rule, Voyager episodes tended to be driven by plot rather than character, more focused on the things that were happening rather than the characters to whom they were happening. Many Voyager episodes often descended into a series of crazy “… and then…” plot developments instead of exploring how the events impacted and informed the characters caught in their midst. This storytelling process could lead to disjointed adventures like Alter Ego or Demon , episodes that seem to burn through several episodes’ worth of story in the space of forty-five minutes.

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Tuvok ‘n’ roll.

Writer Nick Sagan took the pitch that would become Gravity , and found himself drawn to one central aspect of that idea :

In terms of writing for television, or specifically, for Star Trek, I really think it comes down to the concept. There are so many episodes that have been done before, and you’re trying to break new ground. What I’ve learned is to try to think in abstract terms, even if it’s something close to another Star Trek idea… what is the new, fresh spin on it? What is something that we’ve never seen before? It doesn’t have to be a character or a plot, like with Gravity, it was “emotion creates its own logic”… just something that really tantalises, because if it tantalises you, it probably tantalises the audience.

It is such a simple idea, but it is an idea that has so much potential and intrigue, something that gets at a facet of the Star Trek mythos that has been suggested, but never explored.

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It doesn’t scan.

After all, it is very clear that Tuvok loves his family. He seems to genuinely miss his wife and his children, as evidenced by the impact of T’Pel appearance in stories like Persistence of Vision and Bliss , as well as his response to news of his grandchild’s birth in Hunters . Tuvok’s family is not a logical arrangement, it is not a social unit borne out of convenience. It is a family built upon an emotional attachment that exists. When Tuvok eventually goes through the pon’farr in Body and Soul , he does so with a holographic representation of the woman that he loves.

Gravity explores this contrast between the idea of Tuvok as an emotionally detached individual and as a man capable of love. It is a powerful and compelling paradox, recalling the emotion tug-of-war at the heart of so many classic costume dramas; the battle of repressed emotion and sexuality, an unspoken and unspeakable attraction. “I’ve seen the way you look at her,” Paris admits to Tuvok of Noss. Tuvok shrugs it off. “What way is that?” Paris responds, “Like someone who wishes he wasn’t Vulcan.” Expectations and appearances take a heavy toll.

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There is something very pure and very innocent in the dynamic between Tuvok and Noss, playing into sense of repressed romance. There is a recurring conflict in Gravity , between what the characters cannot say, and what they will not say. “I am sorry,” Tuvok warns Noss at one point. “I cannot return your affection.” Noss understands what is being said, even beyond the words that Tuvok has chosen. She inquires, “You cannot, or you will not?” Tuvok answers, “A minor distinction.” It might be a minor distinction, but it is an important one.

Tuvok is defined by what he will not say, what he cannot admit to himself or to anybody else. Paris repeatedly confronts Tuvok about their situation, and Tuvok repeatedly refuses to even acknowledge the complicated emotional situation that is developing. When Paris tries to figure out what happened between Tuvok and Noss, Tuvok shuts him down. “Our conversation was private.” When Paris wonders what made Tuvok so repressed, Tuvok advises him, “I have no intention of continuing this conversation any further.”

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Food for thought.

Tuvok’s unwillingness to express himself is thematically juxtaposed with Noss’ struggle to find the right words. With the universal translator broken, Noss is forced to learn English to express herself. She speaks in broken English, often searching for the right word and shoe-horning in a clumsy fit to get her point across. One early exchange is revealing. As Paris talks about Torres, Noss responds, “You must really… baiya jouton?” The EMH translates, “Love her very much.” Despite literally not speaking English , Noss still expresses herself better than Tuvok.

There is an endearing earnestness to the dynamic between Tuvok and Noss. Without a common language, Noss still finds a way to communicate what is truly important. As Tuvok tells her about Voyager, she presses, “Tell me about you there.” Tuvok responds, “I am the Chief Tactical Officer.” Noss asks, “What else?” Tuvok doesn’t understand. “Can you be more specific?” Noss struggles for words. “Your duties. Where you sleep. What you eat. Music. Friends.” Tuvok is puzzled. “Why is any of that relevant?” Noss knows exactly what she means. “Because it is you.”

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To be or Noss to be.

That is one of the most compelling and beautifully expressions of romance in the fifty-year history of the franchise. It is a beautiful distillation of what it means to have a romantic interest in someone, to the point where even the most mundane details of their day-to-day life are compelling by association. It is a small moment that effortlessly captures the curiosity of such romance, the intrigue and the excitement. More than that, all of it comes from a character who is speaking in broken English to a stranger she has only known for a few days.

As with Counterpoint earlier in the season, Gravity is an episode that is built very well from the ground up. It has an interesting premise, a character-driven focus, a superb guest performance, and a number of very clever ideas that are never allowed to eclipse the core appeal of the story being told. A lesser episode would make a bigger deal of the time dilatation inside the anomaly of the week, using it as a slingshot to some bolder high-concept story about time. Blink of an Eye would recycle the premise for a more concept-driven episode, but Gravity is never distracted by it.

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Getting into one another’s heads.

All of the elements in Gravity just come together very well. As Tim Russ explained to Cinefantastique , it was a story when all of the elements seemed to align almost perfectly:

“Gravity was a really big show. We had to go on location for two days. We rarely ever go on location, not more than maybe a couple of times a year. It was fabulous. We were out in Palmdale, in the high desert, and it was actually pleasant. Lori Petty is a very good actress, and did a fine job. Robert Duncan McNeill and I have worked together quite a bit in the last couple of years, and it’s always a lot of fun, because we do a lot of cutting up.” Russ continued, “I thought it was shot well, and the opticals came together nicely. I was very happy with it. It was an enlightening episode for the character, a chance to peek back at his past, and see him as a child, see what he went through at that age and the kind of legacy that he left behind. It was a very eye-opening show.”

These stories are relatively rare on Voyager , largely down to a combination of the troubled production and the recurring structural weaknesses of the series. However, Gravity flows perfectly.

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In some ways, Gravity counts among the most influential episodes of Voyager . Its exploration of Vulcan psychology has an outsized impact. A lot of the characterisation of Spock in Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness builds upon ideas suggested in Gravity . Like the adolescent Tuvok who features in Gravity , the rebooted version of Spock is presented as a highly emotional young Vulcan whose tendency towards passion causes severe problems for his family and his future.

More than that, both Star Trek and Into Darkness make a point to emphasis fact that Vulcans do feel emotions, underneath it all. Early in Star Trek , Spock asks his father why he would choose to marry a human woman. “Marrying your mother was logical,” Sarek responds. Later in the movie, as Spock finds himself in crisis, Sarek revisits that conversation. “You asked me once why I married your mother. I married her because I loved her.” It is a very simple answer, but also very effective.

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Will Tuvok cave under the pressure?

Similarly, the relationship between Spock and Uhura runs into difficulty in Into Darkness when Uhura struggles with Spock’s inability to express his feelings, claiming that he does not care. Spock responds, “Nyota, you mistake my choice not to feel as a reflection of my not caring. Well, I assure you, the truth is precisely the opposite.” The suggestion is that Spock simply cares too much, that his emotions run deep and exert their own gravity upon his character. While this obviously builds on the work of Leonard Nimoy, it feels very much of a piece with Gravity .

It should be noted that even the background plot of Gravity would evolve into a franchise favourite. The Star Trek franchise had always been fond of stranding characters on strange and hostile worlds, dating back to episodes like The Galileo Seven or Metamorphosis . In many ways, Gravity is a continuation of that particular plot trend. The episode is a spiritual successor to other classic “shuttlepod down” stories like Parturition , Innocence , Rise or Nemesis . However, it also seems to represent something of a pivot point.

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A rocky road to friendship.

Gravity is a story about characters who find themselves thrown into a hostile and almost Darwinist environment in which the strong prey on the weak. Noss steals supplies from Paris, and is then ambushed by two other aliens. “They were attempting to rob her,” Tuvok explains. Paris deadpans, “Seems to be a local pastime.” The Starfleet officers encounter a culture of violence, in which people have learned to fend for themselves. Noss has “been alone for many years” , maybe as many as “fourteen seasons.” That time alone has forced her to prey on those weaker than her.

However, Noss is redeemed by the protagonists. She is introduced as a bandit robbing medical supplies from the shuttle, but the climax of the episode finds her risking her own life so that her friends might return home. There is a sense that the values of the Federation are infectious and appealing, that being around Tuvok and Paris (and the EMH) is enough to empower Noss to become a better person – maybe even to be the person that she was before this tragedy happened, stranding her alone on this hostile world.

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Don’t force(field) it.

This would becomes a recurring theme in later Star Trek stories. Voyager revisits it in The Void , when the ship finds itself thrown into a hostile environment and is forced to assemble a mutually beneficial alliance between those communities that have found themselves trapped in the same situation. Janeway effectively builds herself a miniature Delta Quadrant version of the Federation from bands of scavengers and predators. Gravity does not feature the same level of alliance-building or enabling, but it is very much a factor.

Similarly, the plot of Star Trek Beyond owes something to Gravity . Once again, the primary characters find themselves stranded on a hostile planet surrounded by predators who operate according to Darwinian logic. Beyond is much more specific in the cues that it borrows from Gravity . Montgomery Scott comes face-to-face with an orphaned young woman who speaks broken English, who has been forced to do violent things to protect herself and the shelter that she has built. She helps the crew escape, and they take her with them.

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Only his pride has been injured. And his body.

It is strange to think of this fifth-season episode of Voyager having such a large impact on the future direction of the franchise. Gravity is hardly the most beloved or most high-profile of fifth season entries. It lacks the sense of scale that defined Timeless or Dark Frontier, Part I and Dark Frontier, Part II . It lacks the sense of import that defines Equinox, Part I . Lori Petty is a pretty impressive guest star, but she is probably less recognisable than Jason Alexander in Think Tank .

The fact that Gravity seems to foreshadow so much of what will come is a testament to how well constructed it is as an episode of television. It is an episode that demonstrates the potential of the Voyager ensemble, proving that it is possible to tell compelling character-driven narratives centred on cast members who have been largely overlooked and ignored. Timeless proved that there was at least one interesting story to be built around Harry Kim. Gravity illustrates how intriguing Tuvok might be, were he allowed to develop.

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“Do you smell what the rocks are cooking?”

Even the supporting cast is used well in Gravity . Tuvok is trapped on the planet surface with Paris, which provides a dynamic that works surprisingly well. Robert Duncan McNeill expressed a fondness for that pairing in an interview with Cinefantastique :

I love working with Tim. One of my favorite combinations, in terms of characters, is Tuvok and Paris. I just think they are hilarious. They are such opposites, and they can dig at each other in such a light, fun way, I think they make a great team. We got to have all the subtle, fun jokes with each other. I thought it was particularly well-written, and I thought our guest star, Lori Petty, was great. It was great to be out on location. When you get on location, you feel you are making a real movie.

Indeed, Gravity would not work near as well if the writers had substituted Robert Beltran or Garrett Wang into that supporting role with Tim Russ. Roxann Dawson might have provided an interesting edge, but it would have been a very different dynamic than the one that exists between Russ and McNeill.

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“Now, let’s never speak of this again.”

The combination of Tuvok and Paris has become on of the more subtly effective team-ups among the Voyager ensemble. The two worked undercover together in Future’s End, Part I and Future’s End, Part II , before writing a holonovel together in Worst Case Scenario . Even their smaller scenes together work well in Extreme Risk or Bride of Chaotica! Tuvok is a much more compelling foil for Paris than Kim. Paris is a much more interesting contrast for Tuvok than Neelix.

There are any number of reasons why this pairing works so well. Russ and McNeill bounce off one another with a great deal of skill, bringing out the best in one another. The characters also mirror one another very effectively. Both Tuvok and Paris exist apart from both the Starfleet and the Maquis crew. Paris was a Starfleet dropout who joined the Maquis and quickly got himself arrested. Tuvok was a Starfleet officer who infiltrated the Maquis in order to turn them over to the authorities. Tuvok is cold and rational, while Paris is characterised as highly emotional.

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His torrid Torres love affair.

On any other television show, the production team would have acknowledged that these two characters worked well together and made a point to develop a relationship between them. This is how the writers working on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine tended to approach long-form characterisation, bouncing actors off screen partners in an effort to properly calibrate the characters and the dynamics to build an engaging ensemble. A lot of the character dynamics on Deep Space Nine were improvised, drawn from the actors’ performances and strengths.

Voyager never seemed to pay that much attention to their cast. While Deep Space Nine spent three full seasons trying to figure out how to make Julian Bashir and Jadzia Dax work, Voyager gave up on Chakotay and Harry Kim after only two years. Voyager should have figured out that Tuvok and Paris played well together much earlier in the run, but it does not matter. Voyager never had any interest in developing its characters to play to the strengths of the cast. The strangely compelling interplay between Tuvok and Paris would remain a background detail.

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A long time again, in a galaxy just outside this sinkhole.

In some respects, then, the gravity well feels like an appropriate metaphor for Voyager as a television show. It is a phenomenon that compresses time. Characters remain stuck inside for what feels like an eternity, with no real movement or development. As much as Voyager was a show charting a linear course back to the safety of the Alpha Quadrant, there was never a sense of momentum. After all, there was never any sense of the passage of time and the growth that comes with that.

Many of the characters on Voyager seemed to fall into their own quantum sinkholes, with their own distorted sense of time. Tom Paris might have a relatively complete character arc from Caretaker to Endgame , but what about Harry Kim? Paris could be demoted to ensign and promoted to lieutenant, while Kim was still standing in place. Time moved faster for some characters than for others, affording opportunities for development and change. Gravity finally offers Tuvok such a chance. Unfortunately, he has to fall out of the universe in order to grasp it.

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On its last legs.

Still, Gravity is an impressive accomplishment, even if the franchise would not deliver on its potential until long after Voyager had ended.

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Filed under: Voyager | Tagged: Bryan Fuller , emotions , lori petty , love , nick sagan , rationality , star trek , star trek: voyager , tuvok , Vulcans |

8 Responses

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Hey, I recognize the costume on Tank Girl. It’s the same worn by the female plant workers in “Workforce”.

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Yeah, the budget does seem to be entering the contraction phase around this point in the run.

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Quite the impressive ‘thesis’, not only of the episode, but the full series… as both a film student & 28 year vet of the biz, this is quite fairly appreciated, & further fulfilling having grown up with all the Trek series & films, as well as even having participated in some of the Trek franchise… That said, it must certainly be noted that with such a very compellingly, fully fleshed out ‘disertatative review’, further worthy mention of the very distinguished actor Joseph Ruskin’s Vulcan Master portrayal was somewhat overlooked; some decently worthy analysis was given, but overlooked the appropriate notation of this very unique & iconic actor’s reappearance in the series, as was indeed noted in a tribute statement by the Screen Actors Guild upon his passing at the end of ’13: “One of only a handful of actors brought back for successive entries in the “Star Trek” franchise, he appeared in the original series, three of the four successor series, the feature film “Star Trek: Insurrection,” and two Star Trek video games.” …All due respect that this was essentially an episode review, but having gone to such extensive lengths of analysis, this was most certainly a worthy highlight to be included. …most Trekkies would most likely agree, yet logically well done otherwise👌🏽🎬

That’s probably fair. Ruskin is great, as he is in all of his Star Trek roles. A great presence. (And a fantastic voice.)

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“Unfortunately, he has to fall out of the universe in order to grasp it.” – Good line!

Thanks for this insightful review. Never caught this episode to be as good as it was on my rewatch, and my higher than before appreciation for this show was in no small measure aided by your favorable reading of the episode. Having aged a bit and found “Eastern spirituality” in a broad sense much more interesting and compelling than 20 years ago I really could watch this show in a different way than before. It might be true that this was one of the pivotal episodes to change the notion or sentiment of Vulcans “genetically” unemotional.

I am quite astonished how good Voyager actually was at times. I tended to follow the ciritcal fan’s average downgrading of it in recent years, but come to think of it or to see it all again, I am quite impressed about the overall quality of it. Maybe I am blinded by nostalgia – I am not sure…

Yep. There are some circles of online fandom that think I’m unduly harsh about Voyager , and I do rake it over the coals when it deserves it. But I think it’s clear from this run of four episodes that I loved Voyager as much as anything when it was its best self. And Gravity (along with Counterpoint ) is very much Voyager ‘s best self.

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This is easily one of the top 5 Voyager episodes in my book.

The ending seals it though. So nice to see Tuvok get a decent episode for once. The dialogue between young Tuvok and the Vulcan master is also fairly well done for Trek. It’s a pity we didn’t see more of this kind of stuff, more cultural development for races, and characters like Tuvok.

This episode is often overlooked by Voyager vans for the more flashy shooty action ones.

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Memory Alpha

  • USS Voyager personnel
  • Maquis personnel
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Seska was a female Cardassian operative of the 24th century Cardassian Union . On one fateful mission, she was genetically altered to appear Bajoran in order to infiltrate the Maquis on the Val Jean under Chakotay , and use her relationship with him to steal Maquis secrets. However, she was forced to join the crew of the USS Voyager when it and the Val Jean were stranded in the Delta Quadrant . Unwilling to live by Starfleet rules, she later left to join with a Kazon , Culluh , in an unsuccessful attempt to capture Voyager . ( VOY : " State of Flux ", " Maneuvers ", " Basics, Part I ", " Basics, Part II ", " Worst Case Scenario ")

  • 1.1 The Maquis and USS Voyager
  • 1.2 Collaboration with the Kazon
  • 1.3 Hologram
  • 2.1 Chakotay
  • 2.2 B'Elanna Torres
  • 3 Personality and traits
  • 4.1 Appearances
  • 4.2 Background information
  • 4.3 Apocrypha
  • 4.4 External links

History [ ]

The maquis and uss voyager [ ].

Seska first joined the Maquis in 2370 while undercover for the Cardassian Union . ( VOY : " State of Flux ")

She served under Chakotay aboard the Maquis raider Val Jean when it was catapulted into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker 's array in 2371 . ( VOY : " Caretaker ") She was close friends with B'Elanna Torres and on Voyager was granted the field commission of Ensign , initially in the science department but later moving to engineering . Not very fond of the Federation , Starfleet , and their "mighty principles", she often expressed her disapproval and annoyance with their rules and made it clear to Chakotay that if the situation ever necessitated it, she would support a Maquis mutiny . ( VOY : " Caretaker ", " Parallax ", " Prime Factors ")

She was involved with Lieutenants Torres, Joe Carey , and Tuvok in a covert attempts to acquire spatial trajector technology from the Sikarians , behind Captain Janeway 's back. When their plan to steal the technology failed, she attempted a cover-up, but Torres held her back, stating that she did not want to lie anymore – something Seska found rather disappointing. ( VOY : " Prime Factors ")

Her disdain of Starfleet and Starfleet principles, such as the Prime Directive , led to her distancing herself from the crew further, ultimately leading to collaboration with the Kazon-Nistrim , offering them replicator technology in exchange for their help in this unknown part of the galaxy . She did not believe it mattered if something simple like replicator technology might shift the balance of power in this part of the quadrant , and she believed the primary goal should be to get back home and that was all that mattered. ( VOY : " State of Flux ")

Her true origins remained undiscovered until the time she helped transfer replicator technology to the Nistrim and was seriously injured during an attempt to cover-up her involvement in the transfer. The Doctor 's subsequent examination revealed her to actually be a Cardassian altered to look Bajoran. Seska denied this, claiming 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. When Chakotay confronted her, revealing the cover-up, she finally confessed to everything and openly expressed her dislike for Captain Janeway's decision, calling her a fool for having gotten Voyager stranded in the Delta Quadrant, Janeway being unwilling to give the Kazon what they wanted so that Voyager could have a powerful ally in the Delta Quadrant. Seska also expressed her disappointment in Chakotay, whom she believed naively followed Janeway, and stated that she couldn't imagine why she had ever loved him. Before she could be further questioned, she escaped Voyager by transferring to a Kazon raider . ( VOY : " State of Flux ")

Collaboration with the Kazon [ ]

After leaving Voyager , Seska immediately restored some elements of her Cardassian physiology and became the consort of First Maje Culluh , leader of the Kazon-Nistrim sect. Culluh had a thirst for power and she used that to manipulate him to do what she wanted. Equipped with Starfleet, Maquis, and Cardassian tactical experience, she provided the Nistrim with information about Voyager and schemed ways of stealing the ship and its technology.

In order to capture Chakotay, she planned a successful attempt to steal a transporter control module from Voyager , knowing that he would come after it. Even though Chakotay was able to destroy the module, he was captured and heavily beaten during interrogation. During his capture, Seska tried to get close to Chakotay but he rejected her advances, later laughing at Culluh, telling him that when Seska was through with him, she would kill him.

Shortly after Chakotay was rescued, Seska contacted him, claiming that she had impregnated herself by extracting his DNA and that she was carrying his child . At the same time, she had also told Culluh that the child belonged to him, thus using the baby to manipulate both men. ( VOY : " Maneuvers ")

Later that year, she and Culluh were contacted by Janeway and her crew who proposed building an alliance with the Nistrim in exchange for providing them with emergency supplies where needed. Culluh – who did not want a woman to dictate the terms of the agreement – insisted on a crew exchange as condition of the alliance; a proposal Janeway found unacceptable, resulting in the end of further negotiations. When Voyager formed an alliance with the Trabe – an enemy of the Kazon – instead, Seska was angered, accusing Culluh of having let Voyager slip away because of his attitude, which she promised would one day be his undoing. Even though Culluh did not like being talked to like that by a woman, she always managed to manipulate him to look the other way and acquiesce to her demands and scheming. ( VOY : " Alliances ")

Seska was not the only one disillusioned with Captain Janeway's policies: Voyager crewmember Michael Jonas also appeared to harbor resentment towards the Starfleet policies he had to live by and soon after Seska left, he contacted her, offering to collaborate with her and help sabotage the ship by supplying her and the Nistrim with vital information pertaining to Voyager . However, Janeway and Tuvok discovered Jonas' transmissions and through an elaborate plan were able to expose him. ( VOY : " Lifesigns ", " Investigations ")

Seskas baby

Seska's baby

In late 2372 , Seska gave birth to the child she claimed to be Chakotay's. She immediately contacted him, claiming that Culluh had discovered that the child was not his and threatened to have the child be raised as a slave . This lured Voyager into a trap in which a Kazon operative named Teirna was able to enter the ship and detonate organic explosives in his bloodstream while on board, disabling the ship's power systems and the primary computer core . Janeway was unable to activate the auto-destruct sequence in time and the ship was boarded by Kazon troops. Soon after Seska and Culluh took over the ship, they marooned its crew on a desolate planet named Hanon IV .

During the Kazon occupation of the ship, Seska took stringent precautions against any possible threats, even questioning The Doctor's loyalty. That line of questioning was cut short when he revealed through a DNA analysis that her baby was actually half-Kazon, not half- Human , and thus not Chakotay's. This greatly disappointed Seska, who had been sure that the baby was half-Human and was hoping to forever trap Chakotay by her side.

After taking over the ship, Seska and Culluh did not get very far, however, as most of the Kazon were ill-equipped to navigate and control the ship's complex and unfamiliar technology. In addition, Tom Paris – who had left Voyager in a shuttle prior to the Kazon attack to seek help – with assistance from Talaxian forces, as well as The Doctor and Lon Suder , was able to retake the ship. During the mission to recapture Voyager , Seska was mortally wounded in the resulting overload of the console she was at and only had a few minutes to live. She collapsed and died reaching for her baby. Culluh discovered her body and escaped with their son just before the crew returned. ( VOY : " Basics, Part I ", " Basics, Part II ")

In 2377 , a temporal distortion shifted sections of Voyager into different timeframes with Chakotay being the only one capable of traveling between timeframes, unaffected by the temporal distortion after being given a chroniton -infused serum by The Doctor. One of the areas he visited was engineering during the Kazon-Nistrim takeover of the ship in 2372, where he encountered Seska and a number of Kazon trying to gain control of the ship after Engineering was isolated from the rest of Voyager . Although he was forced to tell Seska the truth about what had happened to try and restore Voyager to normal, when Seska learned that the Kazon were defeated in their efforts, she attempted to stop Chakotay's efforts to restore the timeframe, holding a past version of Janeway hostage to try and make him modify the plan to return Voyager to her time, hoping that she could use this new foreknowledge to avert the crew's efforts to take back the ship. However, these plans failed thanks to the intervention of various allies Janeway and Chakotay had recruited from other time periods – such as future versions of Icheb and Naomi Wildman or a still- Borg Seven of Nine – and Voyager was successfully restored to its original configuration in the correct timeline, erasing Seska's memory of her encounter with the future Chakotay. ( VOY : " Shattered ")

Hologram [ ]

Seska Insurrection Alpha

Hologram of Seska

At some point in the early days of Voyager 's journey through the Delta Quadrant, Tuvok had created a holodeck training simulation program called " Insurrection Alpha " depicting a Maquis mutiny. At the beginning of their journey, he had perceived such a rebellion to be a very real threat and had devised a program to train Starfleet personnel in case of such a contingency. However, when he realized that the two crews were getting along better than anticipated, he deleted the program and never told anyone about it, fearing that it would trigger the very mutiny he wanted to avoid. At some point, Seska had discovered the unfinished program, which ended with Janeway and Paris returning from an away mission and beginning their attempts to retake the ship. Seska secretly reprogrammed it to act as a trap, arranging for the program to essentially 'turn' on Tuvok should he reactivate the narrative parameters file (i.e. attempt to edit the program). Over a year after Seska's death , the program was discovered by Torres and played several dozen times by various crewmembers, who found the story line very intriguing. When Tuvok and Tom Paris attempted to alter the program by writing an ending for it, Seska's trap was triggered and both men became trapped in the holoprogram with the safety protocols off. However, Captain Janeway was able to reprogram portions of the simulation to allow Tuvok and Paris to escape, simultaneously causing the "death" of the holographic Seska after giving Tuvok the chance to program a phaser rifle Seska was using to overload. ( VOY : " Worst Case Scenario ")

Personal relationships [ ]

Chakotay [ ].

Seska interrogates Chakotay

Seska "questioning" Chakotay

Seska and Chakotay were romantically involved sometime in the past, although they had eventually decided not to pursue their relationship any further. However, a certain attraction between the two still existed and when Chakotay once reminded Seska of their decision to not be together anymore, she laughed it off, joking that stranded in the Delta Quadrant, he didn't have all that many options. Despite being hesitant to pursue a romantic relationship with her, Chakotay nonetheless had a soft spot for Seska and when she was accused of sabotage and collaboration with the enemy, he was the only one taking her side until the truth about her betrayal came out. Chakotay was devastated to find that not only had she collaborated with the Kazon but that in fact she was a Cardassian spy. Even though she insisted that she had truly loved him and was not after his meager Maquis secret, he still felt betrayed. Shortly after she was exposed and before her departure from Voyager , she expressed her deep disappointment in Chakotay who had decided to take on the kind of "mighty Starfleet principles" she abhorred and believed to be a hindrance to their efforts to find a way back home. She wondered how she could ever have loved him and shortly after beamed off the ship. ( VOY : " State of Flux ")

After this betrayal by Seska, Chakotay felt a great sense of shame and disappointment, because she had not only taken advantage of his trust but also because after everything he had done for her, she publicly humiliated him by turning out to have been a Cardassian spy who now had, once again, turned her back on him by defecting to the enemy.

Seska's infatuation and obsession with Chakotay did not end after her departure and she resorted to any manipulation possible to bring him to her, such as the time she lured him into a trap in which he was caught and tortured by Culluh and his men unsuccessfully for information about Voyager . She also used that opportunity to impregnate herself by extracting Chakotay's DNA. After the baby was born, she once again lured him to her side by pretending that the child was in danger. Unable to abandon his child, Chakotay – as soon as he found out – pursued her, a pursuit that led to the capture of the Voyager by the Nistrim and to the crew being marooned on Hanon IV. Although The Doctor determined that the child was not Chakotay's son, even after Seska was killed when Paris and the Talaxians managed to retake the ship, Chakotay still seemed to be affected by his memories of their old relationship. ( VOY : " Maneuvers ", " Basics, Part I ", " Basics, Part II ")

When Seska had found Tuvok's Insurrection Alpha holonovel training program depicting a Maquis mutiny and reprogrammed it with the goal of trapping whoever played it into the program, she had programmed the novel to portray a holographic Chakotay to be strongly enamored by her, and the two were enthusiastically living out their old wild Maquis ways the way Seska had always pictured and dreamed it would be. ( VOY : " Worst Case Scenario ")

When the Chakotay of 2377 found himself on Voyager during the Kazon control of the ship, he initially attempted to appeal to Seska by simply telling her what had happened, but when Seska tried to seduce and then force him to restore Voyager to her time period, Chakotay turned the tables on her by summoning other allies to aid him in retaking the ship, showing that he had moved on from any residual affection he had for her. ( VOY : " Shattered ")

B'Elanna Torres [ ]

B'Elanna Torres and Seska were somewhat kindred spirits not too unfamiliar with the strong emotions that come with anger. Both had also served in the Maquis under Chakotay's command and up until Seska's betrayal, they were good friends. At some point it even looked like Seska was warming up to the Starfleet crew, such as the time she and B'Elanna were joking with and teasing young Harry Kim about his disastrous date with one of the Delaney sisters on the holodeck.

However, unlike Torres who did make efforts to integrate into the crew, Seska rejected all that and chose a life more in tune with her Cardassian background. Torres pursued the spatial trajector technology of the Sikarians after Seska manipulated her to feel sorry for her now that she could not see her brother on his birthday on Nivoch as promised. When their plan backfired, Seska wanted to cover everything up by deleting all evidence leading to them. Torres held her back, saying that she was no longer going to lie and instead would take responsibility for her actions; a move that left Seska disappointed in Torres, accusing her of "having changed." Torres viewed the change Seska mentioned as a compliment and even though she did feel betrayed after the truth about Seska came out, unlike Chakotay – she was able to put it behind her. ( VOY : " Prime Factors ", " Maneuvers ")

Personality and traits [ ]

Seska was one of many Maquis who had trouble abiding by Starfleet regulations, though she initially tried to adjust to being a part of Janeway's crew. She made friends with both Tom Paris and Harry Kim while serving on Voyager and enjoyed a laugh at Harry's expense after hearing of their double date, seemingly enjoying herself while in their company.

She was one of many Maquis who tried to sway Chakotay into taking over Voyager and was shocked when he threatened to put her and another Maquis into the brig if they talked about it again. Her frustrations continued to grow when Janeway refused to take advantage of the people of Sikaris by using their advanced transport technology.

Her anger towards her came to a head when she was discovered to have given their replicator technology to the Kazon, blaming Janeway for their failed attempts to get home and calling her a weak leader before defecting to the Kazon.

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

  • " Parallax " (Season One)
  • " Emanations "
  • " Prime Factors "
  • " State of Flux "
  • " Maneuvers " (Season Two)
  • " Alliances "
  • " Lifesigns "
  • " Investigations "
  • " Basics, Part I "
  • " Basics, Part II " (Season Three)
  • " Worst Case Scenario " (as a hologram)
  • " Shattered " (Season Seven) (alternate timeline)

Background information [ ]

Seska was played by actress Martha Hackett .

Starfleet crewman insignia (provisional)

Seska's rank insignia

Although Seska was invariably referred to as "ensign" during her appearances in uniform, she wore the provisional rank insignia of crewman (one hollow stripe). Contrarily, she was referred to as " Commander Seska" by Seven of Nine in VOY : " The Voyager Conspiracy ", however, Seven's clarity at the time had clearly been compromised.

In 2002 , Seska placed eighteenth in TV Zone 's list of the top twenty science fiction television villains. The Borg Queen was second, Dukat was fourth, Weyoun was eighth, and Q was eleventh.

Seska's true intentions in helping the Kazon-Nistrim were never explicitly revealed, though she initially claimed that by helping them, she would be helping Voyager gain a protective ally. ( VOY : " State of Flux ")

Apocrypha [ ]

In the Voyager novella "The Third Artifact", part of The Brave and the Bold, Book Two , Seska's past as an undercover agent for the Cardassian Empire is explored. In there, Seska had been made an intelligence operative for the Obsidian Order in 2361 and by 2367 , she underwent surgical operations to transform her Cardassian physiology into that of a Bajoran so she could infiltrate the Bajoran Resistance . After the Occupation of Bajor ended in 2369 , Seska was assigned to spy on the Maquis.

Her mirror universe counterpart ( β ) appeared in the novella " The Mirror-Scaled Serpent " and the novel Rise Like Lions . She was a Cardassian glinn serving in the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance who defected to the Terran Rebellion prior to 2371 . She was killed in Rise Like Lions .

External links [ ]

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

Gravity Stardate: 52438.9 Original Airdate: 3 February 1999

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Screen Rant

10 times star trek: voyager didn't hit the reset button.

Ongoing Delta Quadrant adventures and long character arcs prove Star Trek: Voyager didn't always hit the reset button after every episode.

  • Voyager's single-episode stories occasionally led to serialized character arcs and plot developments over the seven seasons.
  • Seska's spy storyline intertwined with the Kazon's power struggle against Voyager, creating layered conflict in the series.
  • Seven of Nine's journey towards humanity, and the Doctor's self-discovery, highlighted the growth of holograms as individuals.

There are times when Star Trek: Voyager didn't actually hit the so-called "reset button", as the series was prone to doing at the end of most of its standalone episodes. Over the course of its seven-year journey through the Delta Quadrant, Voyager excelled at delivering stories that generally wrapped up all major plot points within a single, self-contained episode , with the occasional 2-part Star Trek: Voyager episode occurring roughly twice per season. This was a stark contrast to the ongoing drama of the contemporaneous Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , which favored serialized storytelling to a much higher degree than Star Trek had previously.

Despite Voyager 's proclivity for single-episode stories, Star Trek: Voyager doesn't avoid serialization entirely. There's a through line that carries through Voyager 's seven seasons regarding the way characters act and respond to one another and new situations, as the main characters of Star Trek: Voyager learn to adjust to their changing circumstances, with new friends and enemies, and new developments to ongoing problems. Sometimes, plot arcs continue through several episodes, and although they can be watched individually, they make more sense when watched in order.

Star Trek: Voyager’s 20 Best Episodes Ranked

10 the uss voyager vs. seska & the kazon, the kazon and seska are voyager's first challenge in star trek: voyager seasons 1 & 2..

The Kazon are Star Trek: Voyager 's first big bad but aren't half as interesting as classic antagonists like Klingons or Romulans. The different Kazon sects are intended to echo warring gang factions, but the Kazon's internal discord does little to pose an actual threat to the USS Voyager's crew. Meanwhile, one of Voyager 's recurring crew members, Ensign Seska (Martha Hackett), fans the flames of dissent between Voyager's Maquis and Starfleet crews, until Seska reveals herself to be a Cardassian spy who may or may not be carrying Commander Chakotay's (Robert Beltran) baby.

The soapy intrigue of the Seska storyline converges with the Kazon posturing against Voyager for dominance in their own corner of space, as Seska infiltrates the paper-thin Kazon hierarchy in a bid for power in the sector . With the Kazon-Nistrim wrapped around her finger, Seska's coup on the USS Voyager culminates in Star Trek : Voyager's season 3 opener, "Basics, Part 2", and ends there ... at least until Seska's holographic parting gift is activated in Voyager season 3, episode 25, "Worst Case Scenario", nearly a year later.

9 Kes Develops Ocampa Powers

Jennifer lien's kes grows stronger telepathy in star trek: voyager seasons 2 & 3..

The USS Voyager picks up some Delta Quadrant natives to guide the first leg of their journey, the romantic pairing Neelix (Ethan Phillips) and Kes (Jennifer Lien). The Talaxian trader Neelix becomes the USS Voyager's chef and morale officer, while Ocampa Kes fits right in as assistant to the Doctor (Robert Picardo). Kes is kind and ingenuous, but there's little else for Kes to do in Voyager 's first season, so in Voyager season 2, Kes' telepathic powers develop.

Kes' telepathy leads to telekinesis, which grows beyond the Ocampan's control.

Kes' powers grow rapidly, aided by meeting other Ocampa who have mastered their abilities in Voyager season 2, episode 10, "Cold Fire". Aboard the USS Voyager, Kes trains with Lt. Tuvok (Tim Russ) to help Kes control her powers even though Tuvok's Vulcan telepathy operates differently from Ocampa talents. Kes' telepathy leads to telekinesis, which grows beyond the Ocampan's control, so to keep Voyager's crew safe, Kes must leave in Voyager season 4 , episode 2, "The Gift."

8 Tom Paris & B'Elanna Torres' Romance

Tom & b'elanna's relationship evolves in star trek: voyager seasons 3 - 7..

The romance between Lieutenants Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) and B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) isn't planned, but instead evolves from the characters' chemistry with each other. Tom and B'Elanna play off of each other well in their earliest scenes together , and develop a friendship that manages to break through the ways that both Paris and Torres use to avoid getting close to people. B'Elanna sees through Tom's casual charm just as easily as Tom sees through B'Elanna's intentional hostility, and it turns out they have a lot in common.

Paris and Torres are one of the best Star Trek romances .

The Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres romance grows over the course of Voyager 's entire run, from their initial meeting to their marriage, and the birth of their daughter, Miral. The relationship softens both Tom and B'Elanna , who learn to accept love from each other, despite difficult relationships with their parents making them feel unworthy of it. Paris and Torres are one of the best Star Trek romances , and a great part of Voyager 's subtle serialization.

7 Captain Janeway vs. The Borg

Voyager survives the scorpion's sting in star trek: voyager seasons 4 - 7..

Unlike other Delta Quadrant species, Captain Janeway knows what she's getting into by engaging the Borg . Rather than avoid the Borg entirely, as Chakotay suggests, Janeway faces the Borg head-on, making a deal exchanging safe passage through Borg space for Voyager's help fighting Species 8472, who can't be assimilated. The Borg Queen (Susanna Thompson, Alice Krige) and her drones become Janeway's true nemesis through repeated encounters, with each one stacking on the last before Admiral Janeway from the future and the Queen face off in a final battle.

Captain Janeway's tension with the Borg is also exemplified in Janeway's relationship with Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). In Janeway and Seven of Nine's best Voyager episodes , Janeway's insistence on Seven's humanity regularly clashes with Seven's own connections to the Collective , in a one-step-forward, two-steps-back progression that nonetheless moves forward, resembling how people escape toxic systems or overcome addiction far more than a strictly linear telling would.

Janeway Was The Borg’s Greatest Enemy, Not Picard

6 letters from home, hope comes in the form of a relay station in star trek: voyager season 4..

The discovery of an abandoned subspace relay station kicks off a story arc that connects the USS Voyager with Federation space in Star Trek: Voyager season 4 . By using the station, Voyager's crew can finally send and receive messages from the Alpha Quadrant , letting their loved ones know they're alive, but stranded. The initial messages are few and far between, sent only when certain conditions make it possible, and these infrequent missives find their way into the crew's hands in a few Voyager season 4 episodes, while setting up the upcoming Hirogen arc as well as Voyager season 6's Pathfinder Project.

Contact with family and friends after four years in the Delta Quadrant reveals a lot about Voyager 's characters. Many, like Ensign Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) , are excited at the prospect of an early return, while some, like Paris and Torres, are less enthused about reuniting with estranged family members, or face Federation judgment after crimes committed as members of the Maquis.

The promise of letters from home is the driving force behind Voyager season 4's finale "Hope and Fear", which also calls back to Star Trek: Voyager season 4's opening, "Scorpion, Part 2", with the consequences of defeating Species 8472 finally coming to bear.

5 The USS Voyager vs. the Hirogen

The nomadic hunters appear throughout star trek: voyager season 4 - 7..

The predatory Hirogen come calling as owners of the relay station after discovering that the USS Voyager's crew have been using it to communicate with the Alpha Quadrant. The concept of "the hunt" is central to Hirogen culture, which sorts alien species according to their worthiness as prey. Despite their initial reservations, the Hirogen deem Voyager's crew particularly interesting targets , between Voyager's ability to subdue the villainous Species 8472 even when the Borg have failed to do so, and Federation holographic technology that makes the Hirogen's sacred hunt more exciting than it has been in years.

Each Hirogen episode lays the groundwork for the next one, and the overall Hirogen arc sets up at least two other separate storylines that emerge from the consequences, with Janeway's gift of hologram technology playing into Star Trek: Voyager season 7's hologram rights arc, and the Hirogen relay station kicking off the domino effect of contact with the Alpha Quadrant, the Pathfinder Project, and the USS Voyager's eventual return home.

4 Seven of Nine Becomes More Human

From star trek: voyager season 4 - 7, seven of nine adapts..

Seven of Nine's character arc is perhaps the most important in all of Star Trek: Voyager because Seven's development after being liberated from the Borg Collective practically requires a serialized progression in order to work. Seven of Nine initially resists Janeway's insistence that Seven is human , and an individual, but that resistance plays out like a teenager's; in order to discover her own identity, Seven must first rebel against authority, so she can learn how to define herself for herself.

Seven of Nine finds the balance between individuality and a new collective aboard Voyager.

Seven's humanity is revealed slowly, realistically, with new information that comes to light about Seven's pre-assimilation life as Annika Hansen, Annika's scientist parents, and the Borg Queen's proposal to Seven of Nine to return to the Collective. By rejecting the Queen, Seven of Nine truly chooses herself , in a stark contrast to the desires of the drone who begged for the Collective. With help from friends like the Doctor (Robert Picardo), Seven of Nine finds the balance between individuality and a new collective aboard Voyager.

3 Icheb and the Borg Kids

Juvenile borg drones are liberated in star trek: voyager season 6..

In Star Trek: Voyager season 6, episode 16, "Collective," the USS Voyager encounters young Borg drones operating their own Cube after being cut off from the larger Collective. After rescuing the drones, it would have been easy to simply forget the Borg kids, but this far into the series, the small liberated Collective of children become recurring characters on Voyager . Icheb (Manu Intiraymi) is the eldest, followed by Mezoti (Marley S. McClean), and twins Azan (Kurt Wetherill) and Rebi (Cody Wetherill).

Naomi Wildman (Scarlett Pomers) , the only other child aboard the USS Voyager, is quick to befriend these newfound peers. Already a friend to Naomi, Seven of Nine develops a maternal relationship with the liberated drones, and Icheb in particular . Taking a page from Janeway and the Doctor, Seven instructs the children on how to discover their individuality, and learns how to take care of other people who rely on her for guidance.

Who Is Icheb? Star Trek: Picard’s Surprise Voyager Return Explained

2 the pathfinder project, reginald barclay returns in star trek: voyager seasons 6 & 7..

A few years after the discovery of the subspace relay station that allows Voyager to communicate with the Alpha Quadrant, Voyager catches up with Star Trek: The Next Generation 's own Lt. Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz) , who has immersed himself in the Pathfinder Project. The Pathfinder Project's aim is to find a way to bring the USS Voyager home quickly , and to do so, Barclay has created a holographic version of Voyager's crew based on reports received from the Delta Quadrant in Voyager season 4's "Letters from home" arc.

While Reg's hyperfocus on the Voyager simulation shares some similarities with Barclay's disordered holodeck use on TNG , Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) returns to ensure that Barclay doesn't take it too far this time. Instead of contributing to Barclay's maladaptive daydreaming, the Pathfinder Project and Barclay's holographic friends lead to an actual solution.

1 The Doctor's Arc of Self-Actualization

Throughout star trek: voyager's entire run, the emh proves that holograms are people, too,.

After years of buildup, the Doctor's character arc comes to a head when Star Trek: Voyager season 7's recurring theme is the rights of holograms as photonic life forms. The Doctor's exploration of humanity in Voyager 's early seasons, prompted by Kes' friendship, leads to experimentation with additions to his program, like hobbies, new skills, and even a family. With the addition of a mobile emitter in Voyager season 3, the Doctor is no longer confined to sickbay and the holodeck, and the Doctor's emotional horizons begin to broaden as widely as his physical ones.

By Voyager season 7, the Doctor demands agency for holograms by fighting prejudices against photonic beings.

Each subsequent season of Star Trek: Voyager expands on the Doctor's character, introducing new friendships, like Seven of Nine, and new challenges, like encountering other photonic life forms, that give the Doctor reason to reflect on the nature of his own existence. The Doctor learns how to stand up for himself as a person , owed the same rights and privileges as any other member of Voyager 's crew. By Voyager season 7, the Doctor demands agency for holograms by fighting prejudices against photonic beings, calling out the mistreatment of holograms, and asserting his rights as an author.

Much like in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Voyager 's serialization is the result of consequences influencing what happens next. Engaging the Borg introduces Seven's arc towards individuality, which in turn influences character development for the Doctor and Janeway. The discovery of the abandoned relay station catches the attention of the Hirogen, dovetailing with the hologram rights storyline later, while also facilitating the letters from home. The letters trigger character development for B'Elanna, Tom, and their relationship, and later introduce the Pathfinder project. It may be subtle, but Star Trek: Voyager doesn't always hit the reset button.

Star Trek: Voyager is streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Voyager

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Voyager 1, First Craft in Interstellar Space, May Have Gone Dark

The 46-year-old probe, which flew by Jupiter and Saturn in its youth and inspired earthlings with images of the planet as a “Pale Blue Dot,” hasn’t sent usable data from interstellar space in months.

noss star trek voyager

By Orlando Mayorquin

When Voyager 1 launched in 1977, scientists hoped it could do what it was built to do and take up-close images of Jupiter and Saturn. It did that — and much more.

Voyager 1 discovered active volcanoes, moons and planetary rings, proving along the way that Earth and all of humanity could be squished into a single pixel in a photograph, a “ pale blue dot, ” as the astronomer Carl Sagan called it. It stretched a four-year mission into the present day, embarking on the deepest journey ever into space.

Now, it may have bid its final farewell to that faraway dot.

Voyager 1 , the farthest man-made object in space, hasn’t sent coherent data to Earth since November. NASA has been trying to diagnose what the Voyager mission’s project manager, Suzanne Dodd, called the “most serious issue” the robotic probe has faced since she took the job in 2010.

The spacecraft encountered a glitch in one of its computers that has eliminated its ability to send engineering and science data back to Earth.

The loss of Voyager 1 would cap decades of scientific breakthroughs and signal the beginning of the end for a mission that has given shape to humanity’s most distant ambition and inspired generations to look to the skies.

“Scientifically, it’s a big loss,” Ms. Dodd said. “I think — emotionally — it’s maybe even a bigger loss.”

Voyager 1 is one half of the Voyager mission. It has a twin spacecraft, Voyager 2.

Launched in 1977, they were primarily built for a four-year trip to Jupiter and Saturn , expanding on earlier flybys by the Pioneer 10 and 11 probes.

The Voyager mission capitalized on a rare alignment of the outer planets — once every 175 years — allowing the probes to visit all four.

Using the gravity of each planet, the Voyager spacecraft could swing onto the next, according to NASA .

The mission to Jupiter and Saturn was a success.

The 1980s flybys yielded several new discoveries, including new insights about the so-called great red spot on Jupiter, the rings around Saturn and the many moons of each planet.

Voyager 2 also explored Uranus and Neptune , becoming in 1989 the only spacecraft to explore all four outer planets.

noss star trek voyager

Voyager 1, meanwhile, had set a course for deep space, using its camera to photograph the planets it was leaving behind along the way. Voyager 2 would later begin its own trek into deep space.

“Anybody who is interested in space is interested in the things Voyager discovered about the outer planets and their moons,” said Kate Howells, the public education specialist at the Planetary Society, an organization co-founded by Dr. Sagan to promote space exploration.

“But I think the pale blue dot was one of those things that was sort of more poetic and touching,” she added.

On Valentine’s Day 1990, Voyager 1, darting 3.7 billion miles away from the sun toward the outer reaches of the solar system, turned around and snapped a photo of Earth that Dr. Sagan and others understood to be a humbling self-portrait of humanity.

“It’s known the world over, and it does connect humanity to the stars,” Ms. Dodd said of the mission.

She added: “I’ve had many, many many people come up to me and say: ‘Wow, I love Voyager. It’s what got me excited about space. It’s what got me thinking about our place here on Earth and what that means.’”

Ms. Howells, 35, counts herself among those people.

About 10 years ago, to celebrate the beginning of her space career, Ms. Howells spent her first paycheck from the Planetary Society to get a Voyager tattoo.

Though spacecraft “all kind of look the same,” she said, more people recognize the tattoo than she anticipated.

“I think that speaks to how famous Voyager is,” she said.

The Voyagers made their mark on popular culture , inspiring a highly intelligent “Voyager 6” in “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and references on “The X Files” and “The West Wing.”

Even as more advanced probes were launched from Earth, Voyager 1 continued to reliably enrich our understanding of space.

In 2012, it became the first man-made object to exit the heliosphere, the space around the solar system directly influenced by the sun. There is a technical debate among scientists around whether Voyager 1 has actually left the solar system, but, nonetheless, it became interstellar — traversing the space between stars.

That charted a new path for heliophysics, which looks at how the sun influences the space around it. In 2018, Voyager 2 followed its twin between the stars.

Before Voyager 1, scientific data on the sun’s gases and material came only from within the heliosphere’s confines, according to Dr. Jamie Rankin, Voyager’s deputy project scientist.

“And so now we can for the first time kind of connect the inside-out view from the outside-in,” Dr. Rankin said, “That’s a big part of it,” she added. “But the other half is simply that a lot of this material can’t be measured any other way than sending a spacecraft out there.”

Voyager 1 and 2 are the only such spacecraft. Before it went offline, Voyager 1 had been studying an anomalous disturbance in the magnetic field and plasma particles in interstellar space.

“Nothing else is getting launched to go out there,” Ms. Dodd said. “So that’s why we’re spending the time and being careful about trying to recover this spacecraft — because the science is so valuable.”

But recovery means getting under the hood of an aging spacecraft more than 15 billion miles away, equipped with the technology of yesteryear. It takes 45 hours to exchange information with the craft.

It has been repeated over the years that a smartphone has hundreds of thousands of times Voyager 1’s memory — and that the radio transmitter emits as many watts as a refrigerator lightbulb.

“There was one analogy given that is it’s like trying to figure out where your cursor is on your laptop screen when your laptop screen doesn’t work,” Ms. Dodd said.

Her team is still holding out hope, she said, especially as the tantalizing 50th launch anniversary in 2027 approaches. Voyager 1 has survived glitches before, though none as serious.

Voyager 2 is still operational, but aging. It has faced its own technical difficulties too.

NASA had already estimated that the nuclear-powered generators of both spacecrafts would likely die around 2025.

Even if the Voyager interstellar mission is near its end, the voyage still has far to go.

Voyager 1 and its twin, each 40,000 years away from the next closest star, will arguably remain on an indefinite mission.

“If Voyager should sometime in its distant future encounter beings from some other civilization in space, it bears a message,” Dr. Sagan said in a 1980 interview .

Each spacecraft carries a gold-plated phonograph record loaded with an array of sound recordings and images representing humanity’s richness, its diverse cultures and life on Earth.

“A gift across the cosmic ocean from one island of civilization to another,” Dr. Sagan said.

Orlando Mayorquin is a general assignment and breaking news reporter based in New York. More about Orlando Mayorquin

What’s Up in Space and Astronomy

Keep track of things going on in our solar system and all around the universe..

Never miss an eclipse, a meteor shower, a rocket launch or any other 2024 event  that’s out of this world with  our space and astronomy calendar .

Dante Lauretta, the planetary scientist who led the OSIRIS-REx mission to retrieve a handful of space dust , discusses his next final frontier.

A nova named T Coronae Borealis lit up the night about 80 years ago. Astronomers say it’s expected to put on another show  in the coming months.

Voyager 1, the 46-year-old first craft in interstellar space which flew by Jupiter and Saturn in its youth, may have gone dark .

What do you call a galaxy without stars? In addition to dark matter and dark energy, we now have dark galaxies  — collections of stars so sparse and faint that they are all but invisible.

Is Pluto a planet? And what is a planet, anyway? Test your knowledge here .

Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series)

Gravity (1999), tim russ: lt. tuvok, photos .

Tim Russ in Star Trek: Voyager (1995)

Quotes 

Tom Paris : You know something? I always thought that beneath that cold Vulcan exterior lay a... even colder Vulcan interior; but now, I'm convinced you're a hopeless romantic.

Tuvok : There is no need to insult me, Mr. Paris.

Tuvok : We may need your mobile emitter as a source of power.

The Doctor : I'm a Doctor, not a battery.

[Tuvok tells Noss about Voyager] 

Noss : Tell me about you there.

Tuvok : I am the Chief Tactical Officer.

Noss : What else?

Tuvok : Can you be more specific?

Noss : Your duties? Uh... where you sleep... what you eat. Music? Friends?

Tuvok : Why is any of that relevant?

Noss : Because it is you.

Tuvok : Her name is Noss. She was attacked by two humanoid males.

Tom Paris : Sure she didn't attack *them*?

Tuvok : They were attempting to rob her.

Tom Paris : Seems to be a local pastime.

Tom Paris : You obviously care about Noss. If you won't admit it to me, at least admit it to yourself.

Tuvok : I respect her ability to survive.

Tom Paris : It's more than that. I've seen the way you look at her.

Tuvok : What way is that?

Tom Paris : Like someone who wishes he wasn't Vulcan.

Tuvok : Where are you going?

Noss : To repair the field generator.

Tuvok : I will accompany you.

Noss : No. You stay. Prepare for the attack.

Tuvok : You can't go alone.

Noss : Risking two lives... would be illogical.

Tuvok : There is no easy way to recover from infatuation.

The Doctor : Shut down my program? Why?

Tuvok : Our resources are severely limited. We may need your mobile emitter as a source of power.

The Doctor : I'm a doctor, not a battery!

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March 18, 2024

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

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As Voyager 1's mission draws to a close, one planetary scientist reflects on its legacy

by Daniel Strain, University of Colorado at Boulder

Voyager 1

For nearly 50 years, NASA's Voyager 1 mission has competed for the title of deep space's little engine that could. Launched in 1977 along with its twin, Voyager 2, the spacecraft is now soaring more than 15 billion miles from Earth.

On their journeys through the solar system , the Voyager spacecraft beamed startling images back to Earth—of Jupiter and Saturn, then Uranus and Neptune and their moons. Voyager 1's most famous shot may be what famed astronomer Carl Sagan called the "pale blue dot," a lonely image of Earth taken from 6 billion miles away in 1990.

But Voyager 1's trek could now be drawing to a close. Since December, the spacecraft--which weighs less than most cars--has been sending nonsensical messages back to Earth, and engineers are struggling to fix the problem. Voyager 2 remains operational.

Fran Bagenal is a planetary scientist at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at CU Boulder. She started working on the Voyager mission during a summer student job in the late 1970s and has followed the two spacecraft closely since.

To celebrate Voyager 1, Bagenal reflects on the mission's legacy—and which planet she wants to visit again.

Many are impressed that the spacecraft has kept going for this long. Do you agree?

Voyager 1's computer was put together in the 1970s, and there are very few people around who still use those computing languages. The communication rate is 40 bits per second. Not megabits. Not kilobits. Forty bits per second. Moreover, the round-trip communication time is 45 hours. It's amazing that they're still communicating with it at all.

What was it like working on Voyager during the mission's early days?

At the very beginning, we used computer punch cards. The data was on magnetic tapes, and we would print out line-plots on reels of paper. It was very primitive.

But planet by planet, with each flyby, the technology got a lot more sophisticated. By the time we got to Neptune in 1989, we were doing our science on much more efficient computers, and NASA presented its results live across the globe over an early version of the internet.

Think about it—going from punch cards to the internet in 12 years.

How did the Voyager spacecraft shape our understanding of the solar system?

First of all, the pictures were jaw-dropping. They were the first high-quality, close-up pictures of the four gas giant planets and their moons. The Voyagers really revolutionized our thinking by going from one planet to the other and comparing them.

Jupiter and Saturn's ammonia white and orange clouds, for example, were violently swept around by strong winds, while Uranus and Neptune's milder weather systems were hidden and colored blue by atmospheric methane. But the most dramatic discoveries were the multiple distinct worlds of the different moons, from Jupiter's cratered Callisto and volcanic Io to Saturn's cloudy Titan to plumes erupting on Triton, a moon of Neptune.

The Jupiter and Saturn systems have since been explored in greater detail by orbiting missions—Galileo and Juno at Jupiter, Cassini at Saturn.

As Voyager 1's mission draws to a close, one planetary scientist reflects on its legacy

Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft that has visited Uranus and Neptune. Do we need to return?

My vote is to return to Uranus—the only planet in our solar system that's tipped on its side.

We didn't know before Voyager whether Uranus had a magnetic field. When we arrived, we found that Uranus has a magnetic field that's severely tilted with respect to the planet's rotation. That's a weird magnetic field.

Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune all emit a lot of heat from the inside. They glow in the infrared, emitting two and a half times more energy than they receive from the sun. These things are hot.

Uranus isn't the same. It doesn't have this internal heat source. So maybe, just maybe, at the end of the formation of the solar system billions of years ago, some big object hit Uranus, tipped it on its side, stirred it up and dissipated the heat. Perhaps, this led to an irregular magnetic field .

These are the sorts of questions that were raised by Voyager 30 years ago. Now we need to go back.

Culturally, Voyager 1's most lasting impact may be the 'pale blue dot.' Why?

I have huge respect for Carl Sagan. I met him when I was 16, a high school student in England, and I shook his hand.

He pointed to the Voyager image and said, "Here we are. We're leaving the solar system. We're looking back, and there's this pale blue dot. That's us. It's all our friends. It's all our relatives. It's where we live and die."

This was the time we were just beginning to say, "Wait a minute. What are we doing to our planet Earth?" He was awakening or reinforcing this need to think about what humans are doing to Earth. It also evoked why we need to go exploring space: to think about where we are and how we fit into the solar system.

How are you feeling now that Voyager 1's mission may be coming to an end?

It's amazing. No one thought they would go this far. But with just a few instruments working, how much longer can we keep going? I think it will soon be time to say, "Right, jolly good. Extraordinary job. Well done."

Provided by University of Colorado at Boulder

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IMAGES

  1. Star Trek: Voyager 5 X 13 "Gravity " Lori Petty as Noss

    noss star trek voyager

  2. Star Trek: Voyager 5 X 13 "Gravity " Lori Petty as Noss

    noss star trek voyager

  3. Star Trek: Voyager. Gravity

    noss star trek voyager

  4. Star Trek: Voyager Noss Alien Phaser original TV series prop

    noss star trek voyager

  5. The Best One-Off Characters In Star Trek: Voyager

    noss star trek voyager

  6. Star Trek: Voyager

    noss star trek voyager

VIDEO

  1. Voyager Reviewed! (by a pedant) S3E10: WARLORD

  2. Neelix informs the crew that Tom Paris may be a traitor

  3. USS Voyager launching its Aeroshuttle

  4. Star Trek Voyager

  5. Star Trek Voyager Quiz

  6. Arms Negotiations

COMMENTS

  1. Noss

    Noss was a female humanoid who lived during the mid-24th century. Noss was encountered by Tuvok and Tom Paris after they crashed on an uncharted planet in 2375. She found their shuttle, and pulled a weapon and stole their medical kit. Noss was later attacked by reptilian-looking aliens, but Tuvok saved her. Noss led them to her ship, which had a working force field but no working engines. Noss ...

  2. "Star Trek: Voyager" Gravity (TV Episode 1999)

    Gravity: Directed by Terry Windell. With Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Robert Duncan McNeill. Stuck on a planet within a spacial "sinkhole," Tom pressures Tuvok to take an alien woman who fancies him for his own.

  3. Gravity (Star Trek: Voyager)

    Star Trek: Voyager (season 5) List of episodes. " Gravity " is the 107th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager originally airing on the UPN network, the 13th episode of the fifth season. Lori Petty guest stars as the alien Noss. Joseph Ruskin, who played Galt in the original Star Trek episode "The ...

  4. Star Trek: Voyager

    Star Trek: Voyager is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor. It originally aired from January 16, 1995, to May 23, ... Lori Petty played Noss in the episode "Gravity". Tuvok and Tom become stranded on a planet and befriend Noss, an alien stranded there many years before. ...

  5. "Star Trek: Voyager" Gravity (TV Episode 1999)

    Noss : To repair the field generator. Tuvok : I will accompany you. Noss : No. You stay. Prepare for the attack. Tuvok : You can't go alone. Noss : Risking two lives... would be illogical. Tom Paris : [after an unsuccessful attempt to hunt a spider] I don't know what's worse, catching them or eating them. Noss : No poison.

  6. The Best One-Off Characters In Star Trek: Voyager

    These one-off characters from "Star Trek: Voyager" brought intrigue, tragedy, and romance to the Delta Quadrant. ... The fifth season episode, "Gravity," gives Tuvok a love interest in Noss (Lori ...

  7. Star Trek: Voyager. Gravity

    Tuvok and Paris crash on a planet stuck in a pocket of subspace, where they meet a female named Noss.Season 5, Episode 13

  8. Lori Petty

    Series: Voyager. Character (s): Noss. Lori Petty played the role of Noss in the Star Trek: Voyager fifth season episode "Gravity".

  9. "Star Trek: Voyager" Gravity (TV Episode 1999)

    They make friends with a woman named Noss (Lori Petty) who helps them learn to adapt to life there. In the meantime, Voyager naturally searches for them but things are confounded since time is greatly accelerated within the anomaly. During the time on the planet, Noss inexplicably falls in love with Tuvok but Tuvok is Tuvok!

  10. The Best Forgotten Star Trek: Voyager Characters

    Star Trek: Voyager had several surprising guest stars over its seven seasons, including a handful of unexpected performances you may have forgotten. ... Noss even learns to speak English to ...

  11. Star Trek Voyager: 10 Great Guest Performances

    5. Vaughn Armstrong as Telek R'Mor in Eye Of The Needle. Eye Of The Needle is an early classic, making use of Voyager 's unique situation in a well-structured episode with a gut punch of an ...

  12. "Gravity"

    Star Trek: Voyager "Gravity" ... "Gravity" -- some creative elements here were nice like the planet and the initial lack of the universal translator for Noss - made it feel like Star Wars for a bit. The rescue under duress was OK, but the romantic element didn't work (which isn't surprising for Trek). As Tuvok episodes go, this one didn't ...

  13. Lori Petty

    Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963) is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She made her big screen debut appearing in the 1990 comedy film Cadillac Man and later starred in films Point Break (1991), A League of Their Own (1992), Free Willy (1993), The Glass Shield (1994) and played the title role in Tank Girl (1995). She created and starred in the short-lived Fox sitcom Lush Life ...

  14. Star Trek Voyager S 5 E 13 Gravity / Recap

    Recap /. Star Trek Voyager S 5 E 13 Gravity. A Coming of Age story about a young Tuvok is this episode's Framing Device. We get some backstory on Tuvok's rebellious youth in this episode, as a teenage Tuvok is forced to visit a Vulcan Master to regain control of his emotions. In the present day, a shuttle crash ( a-gain) strands Tuvok, Tom ...

  15. Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series 1995-2001)

    Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series 1995-2001) Lori Petty as Noss. Menu. Movies. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. ... Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001) Lori Petty: Noss. It looks like we don't have any photos or quotes yet.

  16. Star Trek: 20 Characters Voyager Wants Us To Forget

    Noss. The blame for why Noss is a character Voyager wants you to forget is mostly on the actress who played her, Lori Petty. Petty is naturally a decent actress, but for the role of Noss, she played the character haphazardly, with hardly any emotion outside of her interactions with Tuvok.

  17. Star Trek: Voyager

    Gravity is a surprisingly influential episode of Voyager, an episode that explores the implications of an idea which the larger Star Trek franchise had taken for granted for more than thirty years. It is an episode that feels unique in the larger context of Voyager, one build as much around character as action.

  18. Seska

    Seska was a female Cardassian operative of the 24th century Cardassian Union. On one fateful mission, she was genetically altered to appear Bajoran in order to infiltrate the Maquis on the Val Jean under Chakotay, and use her relationship with him to steal Maquis secrets. However, she was forced to join the crew of the USS Voyager when it and the Val Jean were stranded in the Delta Quadrant ...

  19. The Voyager Transcripts

    Star Trek Voyager episode transcripts. Gravity Stardate: 52438.9 Original Airdate: 3 February 1999 [Shrine] (The dark place is barely lit by a multitude of smoky candles and braziers.) ... TUVOK: I'm Commander Tuvok of the Starship Voyager. Tuvok. NOSS: Tuwok. TUVOK: Yes. And you? NOSS: Noss. TUVOK: Noss. (He holds out his hand and helps her to ...

  20. "Star Trek: Voyager" Gravity (TV Episode 1999)

    Noss: Produced by . Rick Berman ... executive producer Kenneth Biller ... supervising producer Brannon Braga ... executive producer (showrunner) ... STAR TREK VOYAGER SEASON 5 (1998) (8.9/10) a list of 25 titles created 12 Aug 2012 Star Trek a list of 902 titles created 03 Oct 2017 ...

  21. 10 Times Star Trek: Voyager Didn't Hit the Reset Button

    There are times when Star Trek: Voyager didn't actually hit the so-called "reset button", as the series was prone to doing at the end of most of its standalone episodes. Over the course of its seven-year journey through the Delta Quadrant, Voyager excelled at delivering stories that generally wrapped up all major plot points within a single, self-contained episode, with the occasional 2-part ...

  22. Voyager 1, First Craft in Interstellar Space, May Have Gone Dark

    Voyager 2 would later begin its own trek into deep space. ... Voyager 1 and its twin, each 40,000 years away from the next closest star, will arguably remain on an indefinite mission.

  23. "Star Trek: Voyager" Gravity (TV Episode 1999)

    [Tuvok tells Noss about Voyager] ... Star Trek: Voyager (Season 5) a list of 25 titles created 27 Nov 2016 Movies to collect. Watch nearly immediately. Forget about. Repeat. a list of 4037 titles created 05 Jul 2018 Star Trek: VOY Episodes By Rating a list of 168 titles ...

  24. As Voyager 1's mission draws to a close, one planetary scientist

    For nearly 50 years, NASA's Voyager 1 mission has competed for the title of deep space's little engine that could. Launched in 1977 along with its twin, Voyager 2, the spacecraft is now soaring ...