star trek voyager juggernaut cast

Juggernaut (episode)

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

Summary [ ]

A large Malon export vessel streams through space , spewing waste as it goes. A Malon crewmember wanders the ship, playing with a toy, a small replica ship. He makes it crash into his commander, Fesek . It turns out that the toy is a gift for Fesek's children. All of a sudden, the ship jolts. The first crewmember, Pelk , reports that there is a fluctuation in tank four. Alarms sound throughout the ship. Emergency systems are off-line, and there is a full-scale rupture in tank four. Fesek orders the tank to be ejected. The ejection systems aren't responding, and tank six begins to rupture. Fesek orders one of his engineers to go into the core and seal the tanks manually.

Act One [ ]

Aboard USS Voyager , Tuvok is patiently attempting to teach a skeptical B'Elanna Torres a meditation technique. Apparently, Torres lost her temper at The Doctor and destroyed his holo-camera . Torres is now undergoing Vulcan therapy to control her emotions, as per Commander Chakotay 's orders. As Tuvok begins to bring Torres back to her childhood, she begins to laugh, explaining that she pictured the Vulcan as a child. Finally going along with it, Torres tells Tuvok of her earliest memory of anger. She talks about a boy she knew as a child, Daniel Byrd , who often tormented her about being half- Klingon by calling her "Ms. Turtlehead." On one occasion she attacked him while he was on the gyro-swing . She sabotaged the machine, and then yanked him from the contraption and beat his face in. Their teacher, Miss Malvin , separated them.

Tuvok analyzes Torres' anger, " Your anger was a source of strength, it protected you, gave you courage. " He demonstrates how easily provoked Torres is by calling her the name that the boy called her. She gets up and says she has had enough for one day. On the bridge , Tom Paris asks Tuvok how the meditation went. Tuvok declines to give details due to confidentiality, but when pressed finally admits " it will be a challenge for both of us. "

A Malon escape pod

Voyager then picks up an automated distress call . Captain Janeway orders a response and the ship moves to intercept. When the Voyager crew responds, they find 37 escape pods , all contaminated with theta radiation . Only two people are still alive. They are transported aboard and treated by The Doctor. Both are Malon, and one identifies himself as controller Fesek, the other as Pelk.

Fesek tells Captain Janeway that their vessel was damaged when cargo containers 4 and 6 ruptured. Every system failed aboard the ship. Sixty crewmen died in minutes. They aren't out of danger yet, however; there are are about four trillion isotons of antimatter waste on board, and if that waste ignites, everything within a three light year radius will be destroyed. Janeway orders Paris to back Voyager off five light years; however, Voyager can't generate a stable warp field because of the high concentration of theta radiation.

Act Two [ ]

On the bridge, the crew and the Malon discuss their options. Fesek proposes hiding in a nebula where it will be safe. However, Janeway states that she will not abandon the other three ships in the sector to save herself. They decide that they must send an away team . The control room is contaminated, so they must enter the ship in an uncontaminated area and vent the radiation on the other decks .

Before they enact the plan, Pelk feels compelled to tell the captain about Vihaar . Fesek says it is only myth, but many Malon believe in the monster that lives in the theta storage tanks on Malon vessels. Pelk says that during the evacuation, crewmen saw unknown forms aboard the ship. Fesek counters this by saying that hallucinations are one of the first symptoms of theta radiation poisoning.

During the briefing in main engineering , Neelix demonstrates his knowledge of waste management, citing his experience with a Talaxian garbage scow . Torres continues to antagonize the Malon survivors; almost every comment of hers is directed against them and their race. Chakotay pulls her aside to talk about it, and orders her to keep her temper in check.

In the mess hall , Chakotay enters as Neelix gags on some sort of liquid. He says it is not strong enough. Chakotay assures him that the crew will be able to feed themselves, but Neelix insists that he has already prepared lunch, dinner, breakfast, and a midnight snack. He is currently working on a Talaxian theta radiation remedy, just in case The Doctor's inoculation fails. He also thanks Chakotay for selecting him for the important mission.

Chakotay, Torres, Neelix, and both Malon survivors beam aboard the Malon ship and attempt to decompress all decks and contain the explosion risk. The corridor that they enter is full of highly-charged metagenic particles; Torres predicts that there will be an electrostatic cascade. At the last minute, she realizes that the tricorders are causing the cascade. An electrical explosion floods the corridor while everyone takes cover. Afterward, the Malon discover that they must manually open the airlocks . Chakotay sends Fesek and Torres to the injector port, while Pelk stays with the away team.

Fesek and Torres activate the actuators, but the airlock mechanism is jammed. Pelk goes onto the contaminated deck to unlock a manual coupling. He instantly becomes aware of an alien presence aboard. A moment later Chakotay and Neelix hear screams and find Pelk with severe injuries.

Act Three [ ]

Pelk claims he saw the "creature" before he loses consciousness and dies. He is beamed to sickbay for an autopsy. The away team has vented five out of fifteen decks, but at that rate, the ship will detonate before they can reach the control room. Janeway decides to put together a plan B orders Tuvok to calculate how to tractor the freighter into the path of a star of an O-type star . Torres then begins to show signs of radiation poisoning . Chakotay orders Fesek to take Torres to the Malon infirmary for treatment. They will rendezvous outside of the control room.

Once they arrive in the infirmary, they discover a body that was being treated for long-term exposure. Fesek informs her that he was a core laborer. This is an occupation with a high-pay (making more in a couple of months than most Malon do in a lifetime) but low survival rate, since they work in close proximity to the core.

In astrometrics , Seven of Nine assists Tuvok in the tractor beam plan calculations. She has also created a "plan C" to protect Voyager from radiation in the event of a failure.

Later, when the remaining four away team members attempt to decompress deck 3, their own deck is decompressed. They barely make it out, but Commander Chakotay is hit by debris and loses consciousness. He is transported to sickbay. As they argue over whose fault it was, a mysterious figure watches them from hiding without their knowledge.

Act Four [ ]

Tuvok expresses his concern that Torres is now in command of the away team. He offers to beam over and take command himself. However the captain has confidence in Torres' ability, and leaves her in charge of the away team. Torres continues to prepare the tractor beam plan.

Neelix reports to Torres that they have a clear path to the control room, but she is meditating. Finally Torres, Neelix, and Fesek reach the control room. As they attempt to seal the ruptured tanks, power fails. In the meantime, The Doctor finds that Pelk was attacked by some lifeform that has grown resistant to theta radiation. He relays this to astrometrics, where Seven finds the creature closing in on Torres and Neelix' position. Voyager has no choice now but to alter the freighter's trajectory with the tractor beam . However, the away team cannot be beamed out through the dampening field .

The "creature" attacks Neelix, but there is too much gas to see the attacker. Suddenly, Neelix stumbles out of the mist with heavy radiation burns. As Fesek tries to pry the hatch open, the "creature" attacks him from behind. Torres grabs a metal pipe to attempt to defend him.

Act Five [ ]

The Vihaar, aka Dremk

The "creature", known in Malon myth as a Vihaar, turns out to be a Malon core laborer named Dremk , who has set out to sabotage the ship in order to show to the Malon that this form of shipping of waste should be banned. Torres tries to reason with him while she wages an inner battle between her anger at the dangerous situation she's been placed in and her desire to do the right thing. She tells him she understands his anger and that she is on his side, but he will not give up his cause. Torres knocks him out using a piece of piping, reluctantly realizing that sometimes her Klingon aggressiveness is the only way out of a situation. She, Neelix, and Fesek flee the control room and are beamed out just before the freighter flies into the star and explodes.

Later on in sickbay, The Doctor has healed the away team as best he can however he tells Fesek that his prolonged exposure to theta radiation has caused damage that cannot be repaired and his condition will deteriorate. The captain has contacted a nearby Malon transport to take Fesek home. He wonders how he can explain the events to his superiors, and Torres suggests he tells the truth about the Vihaar. Torres takes a sonic shower , while remembering her furious attack on the Vihaar.

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Whatever you say, Miss Turtle Head . "

" Take it from me, getting B'Elanna to control her temper is like convincing a Ferengi to leave his estate to charity. "

" Once you get past the, the choking reflex, it's really, it's really not so bad. "

" With any luck, we won't be needing it. " " I didn't think Vulcans believed in luck. " " As a rule, we don't, but serving with Captain Janeway has taught me otherwise. " " She does tend to succeed more than random chance would allow. I'll factor it into my calculations. "

" B'Elanna, I need your expertise on this mission, not your bad mood. "

" Flame, like emotion is a primitive force. Left unchecked it's chaotic, destructive, but if controlled it can be a powerful tool. The lamp controls the flame as you must learn to control your emotions. "

" He said he was attacked. " " Ah yes, the Malon boogeyman. "

Background information [ ]

• The final draft of the script for this episode was submitted on 15 January 1999 .
• Dremk's name is never mentioned on screen but is from this episode's script.

Cast and characters [ ]

• Alexander Enberg ( Malon engineer ) is better known for his recurring role as the Vulcan Voyager crewman Ensign Vorik . ( Delta Quadrant , p. 305)
• B'Elanna Torres actress Roxann Dawson liked how the anger of her own role was personified in the character of Dremk. She commented, " What's wonderful, and I think Star Trek does very well, is when they take external plot devices that reflect internal struggles. This episode does that very well. " Dawson was also happy with the final encounter between the two characters. " Their final confrontation is a real eye-opener, " she said. " It's a really fascinating confrontation. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 31, No. 11, p. 36 & 37) The actress concluded, " I think that the episode was very well-written and a lot of fun to do. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 31, No. 11, p. 53)
• Similarly, Neelix actor Ethan Phillips had high expectations for this episode. " I think it is going to be a powerful episode, " he predicted. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 31, No. 11, p. 53)

Production and post-production [ ]

• According to the unauthorized reference book Delta Quadrant (p. 305), the Malon freighter's interiors were redresses of sets previously used for the Borg interiors of the earlier fifth season episode " Dark Frontier " and the freighter's helm console was a revamp of the equivalent console from the USS Dauntless , featured in the fourth season finale " Hope and Fear ".
• Ethan Phillips found this episode's production to be extremely challenging. " That was a real arduous show to film, " he admitted, " because it had a lot of smoke, and a lot of grime, and a lot of dark, steamy, filthy places to work. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 31, No. 11, p. 53)
• Roxann Dawson had to do much recording during post-production. She stated, " I spent four hours looping […] because so much of it was done in a way where we couldn't keep the soundtrack. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 31, No. 11, p. 53)

Continuity [ ]

• This episode marks the final appearance of the Malon , who previously appeared in the fifth season premiere " Night " as well as the subsequent episodes " Extreme Risk " and " Think Tank ".
• This episode's conclusion offers a rare glimpse of the sonic shower in action.
• Voyager 's encounter with the Malon in this episode is tens of thousands of light years from the previous encounter in " Extreme Risk ", given Voyager 's use of the slipstream drive in " Timeless " and use of the transwarp coil in " Dark Frontier " to cover a distance that would have normally taken 25 years to cover at normal warp speeds. This suggests the Malon empire is extensive, or that Malon ships are faster, or have access to another subspace vortex, like the one seen in " Night ".

Reception [ ]

• Teleplay co-writer Nick Sagan , who was story editor for Star Trek: Voyager 's fifth season and was involved in the writing of five of the season's installments, felt that this was the only one of those five episodes that he was not happy with. He also stated, " There was a lot of people working together so I don't really feel any authorship. " [1]
• This episode received the worst ratings during the course of the series upon its initial airing, having been moved from its usual weekly spot, gaining only a 1.7 Nielsen rating and a 2.5 million share. [2]
• An autographed script of this episode was auctioned off for US$1700 on the 1999 Galaxy Ball, which was held for the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles. Among the presenters of the auction were Kate Mulgrew , Robert Picardo , Robert Beltran , Ethan Phillips , and Robert Duncan McNeill .

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 5.11, 18 October 1999
• As part of the VOY Season 5 DVD collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

Also starring [ ]

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

Guest stars [ ]

• Ron Canada as Fesek
• Lee Arenberg as Pelk
• Scott Klace as Dremk

Co-star [ ]

• Majel Barrett as Computer Voice

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• John Austin as Voyager operations officer
• Christine Delgado as Susan Nicoletti
• Alexander Enberg as Malon engineer
• Tarik Ergin as Ayala
• Caroline Gibson as Voyager operations officer
• Arthur Murray as Voyager command officer
• Erin Price as Renlay Sharr
• Keith Rayve as dead Malon in control room
• Christina Rydell as Voyager command officer
• Pablo Soriano as Voyager operations ensign
• Dead Malon in corridor
• Dead Malon in infirmary
• Dead Malon in control room
• Voyager operations ensign
• Warren Tabata as Voyager operations officer
• Talon Tears as Voyager command officer
• Joan Valentine as Voyager operations officer
• Unknown actor as Voyager transporter operator (voice)

Stand-ins [ ]

• Sue Henley – stand-in for Kate Mulgrew
• Susan Lewis – stand-in for Roxann Dawson
• Brita Nowak – stand-in for Jeri Ryan
• Lemuel Perry – stand-in for Tim Russ and Ron Canada
• J.R. Quinonez – stand-in for Robert Picardo and Lee Arenberg
• Keith Rayve – stand-in for Robert Duncan McNeill
• Joey Sakata – stand-in for Ethan Phillips and Lee Arenberg
• Richard Sarstedt – stand-in for Robert Beltran
• Pablo Soriano – stand-in for Ron Canada
• Hand double for Scott Klace
• Stand-in for Garrett Wang , Lee Arenberg and Scott Klace
• Hand double for Roxann Dawson
• Stand-in for Alexander Enberg

References [ ]

2368 ; actuator ; amusement ; analeptic compound ; anesthezine ; antimatter waste ; ascender ; atom ; biohazard containment procedures ; Bird, Daniel ; blast radius ; blister ; cc ; centrifugal governor ; chemical burn ; child ; choking reflex ; classmate ; communications ; contingency plan ; core laborer ; corona ; cortical stimulator ; cranial ridge ; creature ; dampening field ; decompression sequence ; decontamination bay ; Delta Quadrant ; density ; electrostatic cascade ; emergency containment field ; environmental controls ( environmental systems ); eV per cubic meter ; Ferengi ; flame ; freighter blight ; grammar school ; gyro-swing ; holo-camera ; industrial waste ; infirmary ; inoculation ; isoton ; Katyllian clove ; kilometer ; light ; lightheaded ; logic ; luck ; lung ; Malon ; Malon escape pod ; Malon export vessel ; Malon Prime ; Malon transport ship ; Malvin ; maneuvering thruster ; " Miss Turtle Head "; meditation ; meditation lamp ; methogenic particle ; microcellular scan ; Milky Way Galaxy ; model ; monster ; morgue ; myth ; navigation ; nebula ; O-type star ; occupational hazard ; oxide ; paint ; photo essay ; Plan B ; " pointy little ears "; pressurization system ; propulsion ; rama leaf ; recess ; scalding ; sculptor ; shield modulation ; short range scan ; Sivad ; sonic shower ; structural integrity ; subdermal injector ; Talaxian ; Talaxian garbage scow ; Talaxian garbage scow crew ; Theta Core ; theta dampening field ; theta radiation ; theta storage tank ; tractor pulse ; transporter lock ; tricorder ; uncoupler ; vihaar ; Vulcan ; warp core ; warp field ; warp manifold ; waste controller ; waste management ; white ; year

External links [ ]

• "Juggernaut" at StarTrek.com
• " Juggernaut " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Juggernaut " at Wikipedia
• " Juggernaut " at the Internet Movie Database
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Episode's ratings

• IMDb 6.7 1668

Cast & Crew

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1995 — 2001

Allan kroeker.

Kate Mulgrew

Robert Beltran

Roxann Dawson

Robert Duncan McNeill

Ethan Phillips

Robert Picardo

Garrett Wang

Lee Arenberg

Scott Klace

Majel Barrett

John Austin

Alexander enberg.

Tarik Ergin

Michael piller, rick berman.

Jeri Taylor

Gene roddenberry.

Kenneth Biller

Michael Taylor

Bryan Fuller

Brannon Braga

Merri D. Howard

Peter lauritson, joe menosky, john farrell, dawn velazquez.

Brad Yacobian

Stephen welke, marvin v. rush.

Dennis McCarthy

Alan Bernard

Dale chaloukian, robert crozier, alan decker, william freesh, jonathan golodner, ashley harvey, albert ibbotson.

Robert Nichols II

Russell smith.

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Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2

People of earth.

The U.S.S. Voyager is travelling through space, when suddenly they detect a large, disabled Malon freighter carrying a highly volatile cargo, which is threatening to explode and destroy a nearby planet. Captain Janeway and her crew set out to help, but the freighter’s crew has been infected by an ancient alien virus that has taken control of the ship.

The virus is revealed to be an ancient weapon, created to protect a powerful being known as the Juggernaut, which is responsible for protecting a powerful artifact of the Ancients. Now, it is up to the crew of Voyager to find a way to stop the Juggernaut and protect the planet before it is destroyed.

The crew of Voyager is joined by Tom Paris and a team of Malon scientists, who are sent aboard the freighter to repair the ship’s systems. But the Juggernaut is slowly taking control of the ship, and the crew must race against time to find a way to stop it before it can cause any further destruction. Meanwhile, a Malon terrorist group is also searching for the Juggernaut and its artifact, and will stop at nothing to acquire it.

The crew of Voyager locates the artifact and safely removes it from the freighter, but the Juggernaut has already taken control of the vessel, and is determined to get its prize back. In order to save the planet, the crew must find a way to deactivate the Juggernaut. To do this, they must enter a dangerous virtual reality, where they will be forced to confront their deepest fears and doubts.

In the virtual reality, the crew must battle the Juggernaut in a series of trials, where they must overcome their doubts and fears. If they fail, the Juggernaut will gain control of the ship and the artifact, and the planet will be destroyed.

The crew of Voyager is able to succeed in their mission, and the Juggernaut is deactivated. The artifact is safely returned to its rightful place, and the planet is saved from destruction. In the end, the crew of Voyager has proved once again that their courage and determination can prevail against even the most powerful of enemies.

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Star trek: voyager cast & character guide.

In its seven seasons, Star Trek: Voyager introduced many new faces to the Trek universe. Here is a breakdown of the show's main cast and characters.

As the fifth official Star Trek series, Star Trek: Voyager introduced audiences to an entirely new Starship and her intrepid crew. After the stationary setting of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Voyager brought things back to the stars by flinging the titular ship into an unexplored part of the galaxy. As Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) fought to bring her crew home, the USS Voyager encountered all kinds of new life forms and strange new worlds. In addition to Captain Janeway, Voyager would introduce several new characters to Star Trek , some of whom have made appearances in current Star Trek shows

The series began with Captain Janeway leading a mission to find the missing Maquis ship the Val Jean, on which her colleague and friend Tuvok (Tim Russ) was serving undercover. After Janeway found the Maquis ship, both ships were thrown 70,000 light-years across the galaxy, from the Alpha Quadrant to the Delta Quadrant, by a dying entity known as the Caretaker. Over the course of the seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager , Captain Janeway and her crew encountered alien species both old and new, as they made their way home through the uncharted Delta Quadrant.

10 Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

The Captain of the USS Voyager, Kate Mulgrew's Kathryn Janeway has the distinction of being the first female Captain to lead a Star Trek show. Janeway initiated first contact with many new alien species across the Delta Quadrant and would eventually become an Admiral in Starfleet . As Captain of Voyager, Janeway had the difficult task not only of navigating the unfamiliar Delta Quadrant, but also of merging a crew of Starfleet officers with a crew of rebel Maquis. She managed both tasks admirably and did her best to uphold the ideals of Starfleet even 70,000 light-years from home.

9 Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay

Captain of the Val Jean, Chakotay (Robert Beltran) was a former Starfleet officer turned Maquis who became First Officer of the USS Voyager after the destruction of his ship. Chakotay helped smooth over relations between the Starfleet officers and the former Maquis, and devoted himself to serving Voyager and Captain Janeway. Despite Robert Beltran being Mexican American, his character Chakotay was of Native American descent and had a strong connection to the spirituality of his tribe. He also had a strong sense of justice and, while he mostly supported Janeway, would occasionally speak up against her, particularly if he felt she was being reckless with her own life.

8 Tim Russ as Lieutenant Tuvok

Lt. Tuvok served as the Chief Security and Tactical Officer aboard Voyager, as well as Janeway's Second in Command. When Star Trek: Voyager began, Tuvok was undercover as a member of the Maquis abroad the Val Jean, but he was quickly reinstated as a security officer after the ships were thrown into the Delta Quadrant. As a Vulcan, Tuvok valued logic and reason , and Janeway often relied on him for advice and counsel. Tuvok and Janeway had served together before their time on Voyager and had become close friends. Despite his Vulcan stoicism, Tuvok seemed to feel deeply and often expressed himself with biting sarcastic remarks.

7 Roxann Biggs-Dawson as Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres

Though B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) initially attended Starfleet Academy, she eventually dropped out to join the Maquis. As a half-Klingon half-human, B'Elanna struggled with her anger and was prone to lashing out, which was part of the reason why she chose to join the rebels. She and Chakotay would become friends as they fought together with the Maquis, and Chakotay helped her work through some of her anger. When she joined the crew of Voyager, B'Elanna became the Chief Engineer after she saved the ship from a quantum singularity. She would eventually begin a romantic relationship with pilot Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill​​), and the pair got married early in season 7.

6 Robert Duncan-McNeill as Lieutenant Tom Paris

The USS Voyager's helmsman Tom Paris had been kicked out of Starfleet and was serving prison time when Janeway approached him to join Voyager's crew. Janeway had previously served under Tom's father, Admiral Owen Paris, and she wanted to help Tom turn his life back around. Due to Tom's less-than-stellar reputation, it took time for his Voyager crew mates to trust him. He would eventually become close friends with Ensign Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) and enter into a romantic relationship with B'Elanna Torres. Tom had a particular fascination with 20th-century American culture, and created a holodeck program called The Adventures of Captain Proton inspired by the science fiction serials of the 1930s.

5 Robert Picardo as The Doctor

After Voyager's first Doctor was killed when the ship entered the Delta Quadrant, the Emergency Medical Hologram or EMH known as The Doctor (Robert Picardo) became the ship's Chief Medical Officer. In the Star Trek: Voyager season 3 two-part episode "Future's End," The Doctor acquired a futuristic mobile emitter, which allowed him to move freely about Voyager and even join away missions. Since he was a created hologram, The Doctor's rights were sometimes called into question, much like the android Data (Brent Spiner) from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The longer he stayed active, the more human traits The Doctor acquired, and his crewmembers on Voyager stuck up for him when his sentience was questioned.

4 Garrett Wang as Ensign Harry Kim

Eternal Ensign Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) had recently graduated from Starfleet Academy and was on his first deep space mission when Voyager was flung across the galaxy. Over the course of his time on Voyager, Harry became close friends with Tom Paris, and the two would often go on adventures together in the holodeck. Though Harry was a bit naive and overeager when he first joined Voyager's crew, he had a brilliant mind and was valedictorian of his class at the Academy. He had always wanted to join Starfleet and requested Voyager as his first assignment.

3 Ethan Phillips as Neelix

When Voyager first arrived in the Delta Quadrant, they found a Talaxian named Neelix (Ethan Phillips) near the Collector, as well as the Ocampa homeworld. He helped them navigate the underground Ocampan city where Harry Kim and B'Elanna Torres were being held prisoner. Neelix and the Voyager crew also rescued Kes (Jennifer Lien), an Ocampan woman and Neelix's romantic partner. Neelix and Kes then joined the crew of Voyager and Neelix acted as a guide for their journey through the Delta Quadrant. Neelix would serve as Voyager's chef as well as the "chief morale officer," a title he created for himself. Though Neelix was not the most popular character among fans, his stories improved after Kes left the show.

2 Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine

Assimilated at the age of six when she was still Annika Hansen, Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine joined Voyager's crew for the show's fourth season after she was disconnected from the Borg collective. After their introduction in Star Trek: The Next Generation , the Borg became one of the Federation's most dangerous foes, and Seven was the first former Borg drone to join the crew of a Federation Starship. It took Seven a while to adapt to her newfound humanity and Captain Janeway became a mentor to her. Seven used her knowledge of the Borg and their technology to build an astrometrics lab on Voyager, and she would prove instrumental in helping the ship make it back to the Alpha Quadrant. Seven would become a fan-favorite character, and Jeri Ryan later reprised Seven in Star Trek: Picard .

1 Jennifer Lien as Kes

As a member of the Ocampan species, Kes had a very short life span of only eight or nine years, as well as a natural telepathic ability. Kes chose to join Voyager's crew with Neelix after they helped rescue her, and she soon began studying medicine with The Doctor. She and The Doctor became close friends and she fought for him to be treated better by the crew. She also worked with Tuvok to hone her telepathic abilities. At the start of the series, Kes was involved in a romantic relationship with Neelix, but they broke up in season three. Kes left Voyager early in season 4 after her psychic abilities grew too strong, but she returned for one episode of season 6. With Kes and the rest of the USS Voyager's crew, Star Trek: Voyager introduced some truly compelling characters to the Star Trek universe.

Star Trek: Voyager

Cast & Crew

Lee Arenberg

Alexander Enberg

Malon Engineer

Scott Klace

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Voyager  encounters a damaged and adrift Malon freighter in danger of releasing deadly theta radiation into that sector of space and rescues two crew members. Captain Janeway sends a repair crew to try and contain the radiation spread. Before they embark on the mission, the two crewmen warn them about the "Angel of Decay" that wreaks havoc aboard the ship.

Lee Arenberg

Scott Klace

Alexander Enberg

Cast appearances.

Kate Mulgrew

Robert Beltran

Roxann Dawson

Robert Duncan McNeill

Ethan Phillips

Robert Picardo

Garrett Wang

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Star Trek: Voyager – Juggernaut (Review)

Juggernaut is not a great episode of television.

The episode has any number of key problems. Most obviously, the episode illustrates how little the character of B’Elanna Torres has actually grown since Parallax , without even pausing to acknowledge everything that has happened in between in episodes like Extreme Risk . More than that, the episode’s core themes are undermined by an incredibly cynical conclusion that might work in the context of a larger character arc, but which doesn’t work when rooted in the series’ episodic approach to storytelling.

Calm under pressure.

However, in spite of all these fundamental flaws that hobble Juggernaut as a piece of television narrative, there is quite a lot to like here. This is very pointed a big “action” story told in blockbuster mode, evoking episodes like Timeless . It is all about broad strokes, ticking clocks and epic stakes. Juggernaut is fundamentally a runaway train story crossed with The Phantom of the Opera , which is almost perfectly within the show’s comfort zone. More than that, Juggernaut actually figures out how to do something vaguely interesting with the Malon before they disappear.

Juggernaut is a highly enjoyable episode of Star Trek: Voyager .

Here there be monsters…

It is worth pausing to acknowledge the very severe limitations on Juggernaut , the fundamental problems that hold the episode back from greatness. Many of these problems are typical of Voyager , and the fact that Juggernaut works as well as it does is down to the fact that Voyager has largely resigned itself to its flaws. Voyager is not trying to transcend these problems, as it did during the second or fourth seasons. Voyager has made peace with what it is, and how it chooses to tell stories.

This does not make the flaws any less obvious or grating, but it allows Voyager to feel more comfortable in its own skin. As terrible as the character work in Juggernaut might be, it never feels as embarrassing as something like Vis á Vis . This is in large part because Juggernaut accepts these characters as they seem to be, rather than trying to force them into an uncomfortable and unearned shape. Juggernaut is built around a very simplistic conception of B’Elanna Torres, but that conception is no less accurate for its simplicity.

Double face palm.

Juggernaut is a story about how B’Elanna Torres has a temper. If that story seems familiar, it is because Voyager has been telling this sort of story for a while. Torres’ emotional volatility is very much her defining trait, racially coded as her “Klingon temper” in Nothing Human or Blood Fever . Faces is forty-five minutes of therapy, in which Torres accepts her anger as part of herself. Day of Honour is about Torres’ pent-up anger preventing an opportunity for happiness with Paris. Extreme Risk is about Torres’ inability to confront her own emotions.

To be fair, this is how Voyager tends to approach characterisation and character-driven storytelling. Harry Kim’s defining trait is that he is the youngest member of the senior staff, so most of his stories are built around that youth. Harry’s flirtations with sex in Favourite Son , Harry’s desire to be taken seriously in Demon , Harry’s deep love in The Disease , Harry’s first command in Nightingale . It does not matter that Kim has aged sever years between Caretaker and Endgame . His personality is nothing more than an archetype. He will always be the baby on the senior staff.

“I thought we covered this almost five years ago?”

Some of this approach was inherited from Star Trek: The Next Generation . Several members of the regular cast on The Next Generation were similarly archetypal, prone to fall into particular stories because their characters were coded as archetypes. Riker was characterised by his sense of self-doubt, and the question of whether he had given up on a vibrant career in episodes like The Icarus Factor , The Best of Both Worlds, Part I , The Best of Both Worlds, Part II and Second Chances . Deanna Troi tended to get stuck in bad romances like The Price or Man of the People .

However, even the cast of The Next Generation was allowed to evolve over time. Wesley Crusher grew up a great deal between the second and third seasons, becoming a lot less annoying following his character-centric episode Evolution . As difficult as it was to write for Troi, the later seasons afforded the character something approaching an arc. She became more assertive and more authoritative in episodes like Chain of Command, Part I , Chain of Command, Part II , Face of the Enemy and Thine Own Self .

A toxic work environment.

It goes without saying that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was even better at this sort of character development. Dax and Bashir were almost unrecognisable between Emissary and What You Leave Behind . Sisko’s arc was organic, but it covered a huge distance. Sisko began his journey as a disillusioned career officer shipped off to a dead-end assignment, and ended it as a religious believer who planned to retire on his adopted home. Every cast member on Deep Space Nine fundamentally changed over those seven years, even those who claimed that they didn’t.

In contrast, very few characters on Voyager could be said to have changed between Caretaker and Endgame . Kim hasn’t really grown up. Chakotay is as reliable and indistinct as ever. Tuvok is still perfectly rational. Neelix is still annoying, even if he happens to be annoying in the Delta Quadrant rather than the Alpha Quadrant. Even some of the characters who have fundamentally changed have moved in judders rather than arcs. Janeway is not the same person from Caretaker to Endgame , largely because she is not necessarily the same person from episode to episode.

“Just going to wash off that pesky character development.”

So it is no surprise that Juggernaut should return to this archetypal conception of B’Elanna Torres as an angry young woman. Torres appears to have changed very little since Parallax , the second episode of the series. Early in Parallax , Chakotay holds Torres to account following an altercation with Carey in Engineering. Early in Juggernaut , Tuvok holds Torres to account following an altercation with the EMH in Engineering. The details are superficially different; Torres broke Carey’s nose and the EMH’s holoimager. However, the core idea is the same.

There is something exhausting in all of this, a reminder that these characters have essentially been trapped in amber since the first season, with no real evolution of which to speak. Indeed, Juggernaut might be able to get away with this broad strokes approach to Torres if the episode were willing to contextualise it. Is Torres still struggling with her depression following the events of Extreme Risk ? After all, as anybody who lives with depression (or who knows somebody who lives with depression) will know, those feelings never go away.

“Do you ever think about Kes?” “Who?”

To be fair, there is is some value in returning to familiar plot structures and narratives with certain characters over an extended period of time. There is no better way to illustrate how much a character has changed over the years than by putting them through the same basic scenario and watching how differently it plays. In its seventh season, Deep Space Nine built the episode Chrysalis around Julian Bashir, using a template similar to the second season episode Melora . The episode felt fresh and interesting because Bashir was fundamentally a different person.

The big problem with Juggernaut returning to the same basic character arc as Parallax is that it underscores that Torres has not really changed at all. Juggernaut never offers any indication that Torres is being especially emotional of late, that Torres is struggling with anything more than her usual emotional volatility. Juggernaut is not the story of somebody trying awkwardly to recover from a breakdown earlier in the year, Juggernaut is very simply a return to a familiar character beat that was first hit in the second episode of the series. It is a very cynical piece of plotting.

Spoon feeding the audience.

This cynicism is reflected in the climax of the episode. Juggernaut builds its central story as metaphor for Torres’ emotional volatility, pitting her against a rogue Malon who has been turned into a monster by his anger. (And high doses of theta radiation.) In Cinefantastique , Roxann Dawson spoke highly of the contrast:

“What’s wonderful, and I think Star Trek does very well, is when they take external plot devices that reflect internal struggles. This episode does that very well. It deals [with] forces of uncontrollable anger, both B’Elanna’s internal uncontrollable anger and also with this beast that is inhabiting this Malon freighter. This beast that is loose has been very destructive, and is hurting and is acting out of a kind of a rage that very much reflects B’Elanna’s internal rage, that she’s having a hard time controlling. She is forced to face this rage inside of her, personified in this character. Their final confrontation is a real eye-opener. It’s a really fascinating confrontation.”

In theory, this is not a bad idea. Torres finds herself confronted with another character who has been consumed by his righteous anger, who has embraced violence and brutality as a way of life. The climax of the episode throws the two characters into conflict. It is neatly set up, so Torres has to conquer her own anger to save the day.

Smoke and mirrors. Mainly smoke.

Indeed, the climactic confrontation between Torres and Dremk is clearly designed to bring a sense of closure to Torres’ arc. Not only does confronting Dremk’s anger afford Torres the opportunity to find peace within herself, it also allows Torres to show sympathy for the Malon workers after spending an entire episode in conflict with them. The episode is clearly structured in such a way that Torres’ final argument with Dremk is an opportunity to redeem herself as much as to save the ship.

Torres seems realise this quite early in the sequence. As Dremk works at the controls, Torres lowers her weapon and begins the process of negotiation. “Listen, listen to me,” Torres pleads. “I know. I know that you’re so angry you want to destroy everything in sight, but there’s another way to make them understand. I’m on your side. I can help you. Innocent people are going to die if you do this.” Dawson is quite good in this sequence, selling the desperation of a character who is looking for validation as much as resolution.

“Boy, this place is a dump.”

However, Juggernaut refuses to allow Torres that sense of closure. Torres cannot get through to Dremk, cannot find a peaceful resolution to the crisis. Torres instead falls back on her strength and her anger, viciously beating Dremk with a pipe. Even in retreat, Torres cannot save Dremk. Torres returns to the ship with Neelix and Fesek, but Dremk is left to die as the freighter explodes. It is a rather grim ending. Not only does Torres fail to save Dremk, she only manages to defeat him by giving into the anger with which she had been trying to come to terms.

There is a sense that absolutely nothing has been accomplished, a suggestion that is reinforced by the actual plot of the episode. At the start of the episode, Janeway assigns a team to travel to the runaway freighter in order to “reestablish containment.” However, once the team is on board, the plan changes dramatically. Janeway comes up with a clever plan to “nudge” the freighter into corona of “an o-type star” to absorb the damaging radiation. It is a clever concept, one rooted in physics that make sense; if Voyager cannot slow the freighter, it can direct it.

“What a waste.”

However, this plan is so simple and straightforward that it undercuts the original idea. Why send an away team to the freighter, exposing them to all of that radiation, if it is simply possible to redirect the freighter to an area where it can do a minimal amount of harm? Surely it would make sense to bring the away team back to Voyager once it becomes clear that the freighter can be directed from the outside? Given the risks involved on even setting foot on the freighter, it seems unnecessary to put the away team in such danger.

Of course, the script justifies this decision at the climax when Dremk fires up the manoeuvring thrusters to try and steer the freighter back on course. However, Janeway is oblivious to the existence of Dremk when she sends the away team over in the first place and when she concocts the “nudge” plan in the second place. While Torres’ confrontation with Dremk is necessary from a plot perspective, the episode never builds to it in an organic sense. It all feels like a cheat. The original mission to the heart of the freighter seems redundant by the end of the story.

“And thus was Star Trek: Enterprise ‘s decon chamber born.”

There is something very cynical about the plotting of Juggernaut , and particularly about the end of the episode. The script underscores this cynicism through its closing scene, in which Torres returns to her quarters and steps into the sonic shower. With a simple verbal command, “Computer, activate sonic shower,” all the grim and dirt just washes away. All the horror and brutality is forgotten. Torres is washed clean of any guilt or any responsibility or any disappointment.

This could be a powerful ending. This could be a very insightful and clever piece of character work, suggesting that Torres will never actually defeat her anger and her aggression. However, it would need to exist in a larger context where the audience believed that anything on Voyager could have serious long-term consequences. The closing scene suggests that Torres is haunted by the brutality of her attack on Dremk, but the reality is that this will never be mentioned again. This character beat will never be explored again. Torres will be reset to factory settings.

Radiating enthusiasm.

In some ways, Juggernaut suggests the fundamental tragedy of Voyager , of characters who will never change and never grow. Torres will always be angry, and will never find peace. Kim will always be the baby of the crew, and will never be accepted (or even mature into) a grown-up. Chakotay will always be reliable, and kind of dull. Tuvok will always be rational. These characters have not changed in the five years since Voyager began, and they are unlikely to change in the two remaining seasons.

There is something exhaustingly cynical about Juggernaut , which seems to imply that nothing any of the characters actually do will matter in the grand scheme of things. The initial mission to reestablish containment is quickly rendered redundant. Torres’ attempts to centre herself using meditation are pointless.  Juggernaut suggests that the characters are all caught up in the gravity of something beyond their control,  Voyager is operating under a similar momentum to that of the freighter, that its course cannot be reversed and that its explosion cannot be contained.

Ship shape.

Still, in spite of these incredibly frustrating aspects, there is a lot to like about Juggernaut . The episode is very big and very broad. It is a blockbuster episode that is very much in keeping with the default aesthetic of Voyager , a live action cartoon approach to storytelling that is weak on character and strong on spectacle. This is a very high-stakes science-fiction disaster movie, a twenty-fourth century spin on something like Runaway Train or Unstoppable . It is an episode where the story is driven by momentum rather than logic, barrelling along like the freighter itself.

Writer Nick Sagan has singled out Juggernaut as the one episode of his Voyager tenure with which he was disappointed. He singled out the fact that he did not feel a sense of authorship over the finished story, conceding, “I’m pretty happy with all of them, except for Juggernaut, where there was a lot of people working together so I don’t really feel any authorship.”  This makes a certain amount of sense. The other two credited writers on it are Kenneth Biller and Bryan Fuller, and Juggernaut feels much more in keeping with their sensibilities.

“What ‘soup?”

Voyager has been trending towards blockbuster storytelling since its third season, driven by producer Brannon Braga. To be fair, Voyager was always a plot-driven rather than a character-driven show, where the emphasis was constantly on “what happens next?” more than “how does this affect our characters?” This is most obvious in the way that Voyager tends to build its plots around twists, undercutting the effectiveness of its narratives by refusing to let them breath; shows like Worst Case Scenario , Random Thoughts and Waking Moments come to mind.

Writer Kenneth Biller is one of the writers on staff who is particular prone to this “… and then…” school of television writing, a tendency to switch premises as often as necessary in order to fill forty-five minutes of television. Biller’s scripts frequently twist and turn in awkward attempts to maintain momentum, frequently beginning as one story only to suddenly shift gears as soon as it becomes difficult to follow that particular narrative thread through to its conclusion.

“I get that mood is important, but do you think maybe you could just get your lights to shine white?”

The Q and the Grey starts as a weird courtship between Q and Janeway and then becomes a story about civil war in the Q continuum. Worst Case Scenario begins as an exploration of fan fiction and authorship and then becomes a revenge-from-beyond-the-grave narrative for Seska. Random Thoughts begins as a narrative about Torres’ inability to keep her emotions in check and then evolves into a creepy mystery with Tuvok. Demon begins as a story about supplies running low and then becomes a story about alien replicants.

Kenneth Biller is a writer who tends to treat plot as paramount, with character motivation secondary at best. Many of his episodes rely on broadly drawn caricatures of the primary cast, even after years of writing for them. There is no sense that Biller fundamentally understands these characters or their perspectives, beyond the basic summary in the writers’ guide. Torres is always angry. Paris is a little rebellious, but not threateningly so. Kim is naive and innocent. Biller’s broad stokes approach fits very well with the blockbuster stylings of producer Brannon Braga.

Labouring under false assumptions.

Braga has a strong affection for b-movies, a love that bleeds into his work on the show. Many of these massive two-part really pushed what was possible on a science-fiction television show on the later nineties, constructing miniature television movies with Future’s End, Part I and Future’s End, Part II , Scorpion, Part I and Scorpion, Part II , Year of Hell, Part I and Year of Hell, Part II , The Killing Game, Part I and The Killing Game, Part II , Dark Frontier, Part I and Dark Frontier, Part II .

In fact, Braga really pushed for blockbuster-style storytelling within individual episodes, leading to more and more spectacle-driven episodes of Voyager . A lot of this was driven by advances in technology, with computer-generated imagery making it possible to realise aliens and concepts that would have been impossible only several years earlier; the giant viruses in Macrocosm , Species 8472 in Scorpion, Part I and Scorpion, Part II , the literal water world in Thirty Days .

What ever it meditates.

However, there were also changes in how these stories were constructed, often with an escalation in stakes and scale within single episodes. The Next Generation tended to deal with individual planets or characters on a week-to-week basis, while Deep Space Nine built up a threat to the Alpha Quadrant over seven years. In contrast, Voyager seemed to put the quadrant or the galaxy or the timeline in danger every other week. There were existential threats on a constant basis.

Timeless found Harry Kim plotting to rewrite history itself to save the Voyager crew. Relativity finds Captain Braxton plotting to erase the entire show from history. Dragon’s Teeth finds Voyager accidentally awakening an alien menace that poses a threat to the entire region. These episodes frequently focused on complex special effects shots and tightly-wound twisty plots, with reversals and betrayals and revelations. They were quite different from the sort of character-driven narratives that Michael Piller had made a Star Trek staple.

Torres is a bit rusty.

The stakes in Juggernaut are considerably lower, with the runaway freighter threatening only a few sectors of space. Nevertheless, it is still an episode with a very clear central drive and with a very shallow character plot layered over that drive. Juggernaut is a race against time disaster movie, as the ship and crew try to prevent the destruction of a gigantic freighter that is careening out of control. A team is dispatched to the runaway ship, thrown right into the carnage and the chaos, struggling to regain control of the ship or to minimise the damage caused by its destruction.

At least some of the credit for the success of Juggernaut rests with director Allan Kroeker. Television directors are often overlooked in favour of writers and producers, which makes a certain amount of sense given how television has historically been produced. At the same time, there are any number of directors who have done great work within the punishing confines of a nineties broadcast television framework. Allan Kroeker is one of those directors, who joined the franchise with The Assignment during the fifth season of Deep Space Nine and quickly made a name for himself.

No mean feet.

Kroeker was responsible for any number of great big spectacle-driven episodes of Deep Space Nine and Voyager ; A Time to Stand , Sacrifice of Angels , Once More Unto the Breach and Year of Hell, Part I . Tellingly, Kroeker would become the default director for season and series finales after joining the franchise; Call to Arms , Tears of the Prophets , What You Leave Behind , Unimatrix Zero, Part I , Endgame , Shockwave, Part I , The Expanse , Zero Hour , These Are the Voyages…

Kroeker does action very well, and Juggernaut succeeds in large part due to his direction. Juggernaut is claustrophobic and tightly paced, constantly creating a sense of momentum and movement that builds across the episode. Emphasising low angles and tight framing, along with atmospheric lighting, Kroeker builds a palpable anxiety on the freighter. This anxiety is strong enough to sustain the episode during some of the more awkward plotting decisions, whenever the action cuts back to the rest of the cast on Voyager itself.

Her quiet place.

Juggernaut is a testament to the production design on the franchise. It is very easy to take the production crew for granted, particularly after four hundred episodes within the Berman era. The Malon freighter looks disgusting, the smoke machine working overtime to create an atmosphere of dread. The make-up design is impressive, ensuring that the Malon look unsettling within the boundaries of family-friendly television. Juggernaut is an illustration of the sheer craft involved in putting together an episode of Star Trek .

If Juggernaut owes its sense of momentum to writer Kenneth Biller and director Allan Kroeker, than it owes its pervasive weirdness to writer Bryan Fuller. More than any other Star Trek writer, with the possible exception of Brannon Braga, Fuller is a horror writer. Fuller’s first two scripts for Deep Space Nine were both essentially slasher movies, The Darkness and the Light and Empok Nor . While Biller seems to pitch Juggernaut as a high-stakes blockbuster, Fuller infuses it with a sense of the uncanny and the supernatural.

She’ll always have Paris.

With the freighter careens out of control, there are suggestions of something unnatural at work. Pelk is convinced that there is a “Vihaar” loose on the ship. “It’s an old story shared among freighter crews,” Fesek explains. “Some of them say they’ve seen creatures in the theta storage tanks.” He elaborates, “Created by radiogenic waste. According to the legend, they are poisonous monsters that wreak havoc aboard Malon ships. It’s a common belief among our more superstitious recruits.”

Inevitably, it turns out that there is a “Malon Bogeyman” loose on the freighter, wreaking havok. However, there is nothing supernatural about it. The monstrous visage belongs to Dremk, a core labourer who has been driven mad by his exposure to theta radiation and the prospect of his own mortality. Dremk has decided to bring a terrible vengeance to bear on the freighter that disfigured him. It is a set up that rather consciously evokes a twenty-fourth century take on The Phantom of the Opera .

In the heat vision of the night.

More than that, Juggernaut quotes from other horror movies. At one point, Dremk stalks Pelk through the ship. The audience is invited to witness this chase from Dremk’s perspective, through his eyes. The visuals and the sounds channel the aesthetic of the movie Predator , in which a monster stalks the characters through the Columbian jungle. At the climax of the film, Seven of Nine manages to get a sensor reading on Dremk and overlays the display in Astrometrics. It evokes the use of motion-sensors to track the xenomorphs in Aliens .

Even Chakotay seems to recognise the horror movie trappings of the set-up, once Dremk attacks Pelk. As the team scramble to come up with an alternative strategy, Chakotay suggests, “Someone still needs to get up there and open the airlocks.” When Fesek volunteers, Chakotay interjects, “Hold on. I’ll join you. From now on nobody works alone.” Clearly Chakotay recognises the conventions of the horror genre. It might explain why the script takes him out of action so quickly, even beyond forcing Torres into a position of authority.

“Could be worse. We could be referencing Alien: Resurrection .”

To be fair, this is not the first reference that Voyager has made to Aliens and Predator . In some respects, the superlative fourth season episode Prey could be seen as the show’s twist on the classic monster movie mash-up Aliens vs. Predator . Still, Juggernaut embraces its horror trappings, whether asking the audience to step into the monster’s perspective or even just making effective use of the smoke machine to provide atmosphere. The episode clearly enjoys playing with these tropes. Bryan Fuller’s influence is very keenly felt on Juggernaut .

Juggernaut is also elevated by its focus on the Malon. Introduced in Night , the Malon are hardly the most compelling or engaging alien species to appear on Voyager . Earlier episodes like Night and Extreme Risk offered little nuance or detail for the new species, presenting the Malon as villains who had wandered right out of an episode of Captain Planet . They were polluters, aliens who dumped their waste with little consideration or compassion for those affected by the theta radiation.

“If galactic warming is a thing, then how come space is the ideal temperature for serving revenge?”

In Night and Extreme Risk , the Malon were crudely-drawn caricatures. They were moustache-twirling villains. At one point in Night , Janeway offered the Malon technology that would remove any need for them to dump waste, without any major cost or consequence. However, Controller Emck declined to accept this technology that would dramatically improve the lives of countless people (including countless Malon) because it would impede his waste management business. Nevermind that it would give him a monopoly on magic waste disposal technology.

Juggernaut offers a more nuanced and compassionate view of the Malon, right down to opening on a scene of two Malon officers enjoying a casual conversation about family. Pelk is playing with a space ship that he has built, and is planning to gift it to Fesek’s son. It is a cheesy way to build sympathy for the Malon, but it effectively humanises them. Suddenly, the Malon have families. Suddenly, the Malon are capable of compassion. Suddenly, the Malon have lives beyond illegally dumping waste across the cosmos.

Don’t inoculate it until you’ve tried it.

Juggernaut skillfully and consistently builds a society that seems slightly more plausible than the culture introduced in Night . Most obviously, the Malon cease to think of themselves as scenery-chewing villains. Very few people really think of themselves as monsters, and Juggernaut allows its Malon characters to offer some justification for their actions. There is a sense that the Malon have developed something approaching a social contract, a set of understandings and guidelines that govern their culture and provide a framework for their society.

Fesek is allowed to offer justifications for Torres’ criticisms of Malon society. “How many worlds are you willing to contaminate to keep your own home so tidy?” Torres demands at one point. “Do you have any idea of the trouble we go to, to locate isolated areas?” Fesek counters. His logic is unconvincing, given both the illegal dumping in Night and the crisis in Juggernaut . Clearly, the Malon do not go to enough trouble to protect the innocent. However, it makes sense that Fesek should believe that they do. That belief is necessary for Fesek to think himself a good man.

A highly charged work environment.

Similarly, the teaser makes it clear that Malon take no particular pleasure in polluting the Delta Quadrant. The Malon are not cackling villains who seek to make everybody else’s life miserable on point of principle. Instead, they accept such pollution as grim necessity. “Backup controls are down too,” Fesek reports. “Eject the tank.” Pelk is aghast at the suggestion. “Here?” he responds. “There’s an inhabited system.” Fesek presses the point, “We have no choice!” Once again, Fesek’s logic is unconvincing, but it is important that he believe this is a measure of last resort.

Juggernaut takes the idea of Malon culture suggested in Night and fleshes it out into something more than a one-note antagonist. Night presented the Malon as a broad environmentalist criticism of the system of capitalism, a blunt rebuke of any culture that would prioritise materialism over the protection of the environment. Night had little interest in the mechanics of how such a culture might work, beyond the end effect. Night had little interest in the kind of people who would live in this world, beyond cartoon villains.

Grease is the word, it turns out.

Juggernaut reframes the Malon as a more considered criticism of capitalist excess, couching its criticisms in terms more sympathetic to the workers within that system. In some ways, Juggernaut plays as a criticism of extreme capitalism as a system of exploitation. The episode’s philosophy is very much in keeping with socialist thought:

Marx thought that industrial capitalism, too, was created for a good reason: to increase economic output—something that “The Communist Manifesto” celebrates. The cost, however, is a system in which one class of human beings, the property owners (in Marxian terms, the bourgeoisie), exploits another class, the workers (the proletariat). Capitalists don’t do this because they are greedy or cruel (though one could describe their behavior that way, as Marx almost invariably did). They do it because competition demands it. That’s how the system operates. Industrial capitalism is a Frankenstein’s monster that threatens its own creators, a system that we constructed for our own purposes and is now controlling us.

The Malon can justify all of their decisions in economic terms. “Have you ever been to Malon Prime?” Fesek challenges Torres. “It’s a remarkable place. It’s one of the most beautiful worlds you’ll ever see. Our planet would choke with industrial wastes if it weren’t for the sacrifices of people like me.” The system demands sacrifice.

Core values.

The episode implies that Malon lives are measured in largely economic terms, even if very few Malon would explicitly frame it in such terms. They accept these realities, but they do not seem comfortable verbalising them. When Torres finds a crewmember abandoned in the infirmary, Fesek rationalises, “It looks like he was being treated for long term exposure. He was probably left behind during the evacuation.” Torres sarcastically responds, “Tough luck, huh?” Fesek is unmoved. “There was nothing more we could do for him.” His life was not worth saving.

The Malon characters in Juggernaut repeatedly justify their objectively crazy decisions by reference to economics. These are characters who work in appalling conditions that will shorten their lifespans and cause harm to other people. However, they continue to perpetuate this system because it provides them with both comfort and financial security. From the outside, to Torres and the audience, this system looks completely insane. To the Malon themselves, it is treated as perfectly rational. It falls within the framework of their society. “Occupational hazard.”

“Don’t be labour the point.”

The fact that the Malon have codified this system makes it easier for the workers to accept. This is simply how things are. It is only when the social contract is breached that the Malon recognise the horror of what is unfolding. During the teaser, a random officer breaks down when Fesek orders him to seal the tanks manually. “I didn’t sign up for core labour,” the officer responds. “I’ll be contaminated.” The officer was perfectly happy to serve in his own capacity, and perfectly happy for core labourers to be contaminated, but only balked when his status was challenged.

Torres is horrified to discover the conditions facing core labourers, who face in incredibly high mortality rate. “Only three of ten core labourers survive a standard mission,” Fesek tells her. Why would anybody take such risks? “Core labourers can make more in two months than most Malon make in a lifetime,” Fesek explains. Torres is not convinced. “What good is the money if they’re not around to collect it?” she demands. Fesek replies, “It will go to his family.” As such, this loss of life is presented as heroic, rather than tragic. The suffering of these people is valourised.

Warts and all.

“I’m a waste controller half the year,” Fesek assures Torres at one point. “Do you know what I do the rest of the time? I’m a sculptor.” He elaborates, “Every year I give up work I love to expose myself to radiation that will probably cut my life in half.” Fesek does this because he needs to be done. The wheel needs to keep turning. The system needs to be perpetuated. “I have a son. He’s seven years old. He wants to be a waste controller when he grows up.” This is a system where a seven year old child wants to take a job that will halve his life expectancy.

In Night , the Malon were a bunch of one-dimensional polluters. However, Juggernaut reinvents them as a bunch of out-of-control capitalists. Indeed, in the grand tradition of Star Trek analogies, the Malon could stand for almost any broken self-perpetuating social system; for generations of children who dream of being soldiers who are sent off to die in unnecessary wars, for people who vote against their own health insurance because of their broad objections to socialism, for anybody who acts against their own self-interest because of their vested interest in an unfair system.

Heated discussions.

Indeed, Dremk is presented as an individual who has confronted the insanity of Malon society and been driven mad by the revelation. Dremk has realised how fundamentally broken Malon culture has become, and argued that an act of terrorism is the only way to open people’s eyes to the horrors of what they have become. “There’s no other way to make them understand,” he warns Torres. “They poisoned me!” Dremk’s actions are horrific and brutal, with Juggernaut never presenting Dremk as less than monstrous. However, the episodes retains some sympathy for him.

Juggernaut is a very broadly drawn episode. It does not work as a character piece. It essentially replays the same character conflict that has defined Torres since Parallax , with little in the way of innovation and insight. More than that, Juggernaut seems almost cynical about this process of repetition, suggesting that this arc is ultimately pointless, that Torres will never move past her character-defining anger, because Voyager will not let her. It is an extraordinarily bleak episode, deeply frustrating in its own way.

Torresolution.

At the same time, Juggernaut is also a highly pulpy blockbuster adventure that finds the crew in a race against time to avert disaster. The script is ridiculous and absurd, but in ways that feel engaging and exciting. It is a very good example of the kind of storytelling that  Voyager has come to embrace over the past few seasons. A weird hybrid of a classic monster movie and a runaway train thriller, Juggernaut is consistently entertaining, for all its mangled character and plot arcs.

Juggernaut is not a good episode of television by any measure. However, it is a fairly solid episode of Voyager .

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Filed under: Movies , Voyager | Tagged: capitlaism , characterisation , development , growth , star trek: voyager , the malon , torres , voyager |

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Tonight on voyager: A sweaty and feral Dawson beating an alien with a pipe! Enterprise could’ve used more of that.

Then again, watching a sweaty and feral T’Pol pawing at Reed’s hazard suit is the antithesis of fun.

Yeah, Torres is underrated as a Voyager character, in large part because she really only has one setting (“emotional”) and character arc (“be less emotional”). However, Dawson is always a pleasure to watch and she is more dynamic than the vast majority of her co-stars. To be honest, I’m surprised the production team didn’t do more with Torres and Seven or Torres and Tuvok.

This review is long-winded and ill-thought out.

This comment is short and underdeveloped.

I kid, I kid. But, in the hopes of sparking an interesting conversation, what’s the problem? With what exactly do you take issue?

I disliked this episode immensely. Only Dawson’s acting made it bearable.

Are there no other lights in the prop shop than green? How about lighting the interior of the Malon ship red or blue or yellow?

Torres is half Klingon. Klingons have more of a temper than humans. It’s their nature. I don’t see it as a failure that she hasn’t changed over the course of the series. It’s who she is.

The issue is more that she keeps learning the same lesson over and over again. At least when Worf was navigating his relationship to his heritage, that relationship was constantly changing or evolving. Where he was in Way of the Warrior was different from where he was in Redemption, Part I or What You Leave Behind. Here, Torres is just hitting the same story beats over and over again.

I’ll give you that. 😀

Here Torres reverts to season one factory settings, much like Paris has several times. I enjoyed seeing the Malon get fleshed out a bit. However, that makes me realize that the writers have the ability to do that kind of world build, but don’t unless it directly services a plot. I wish they do this kind of race building more. They seemed to lean a bit more toward world-building as Voyager drew to a close, waking to the possibilities of depth only too late.

I wish we’d had at least one episode where we saw a Malon world, a glimpse of what they work so hard hard to protect.

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Whatever Happened To The Cast Of Star Trek: Voyager?

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

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

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

Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

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

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

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

Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay

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

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

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

Tim Russ as Lt. Tuvok

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

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

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

Roxann Dawson as B'Elanna Torres

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

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

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

Garrett Wang as Ensign Harry Kim

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

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

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

Robert Duncan McNeill as Lt. Tom Paris

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

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

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

Ethan Phillips as Neelix

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

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

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

Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine

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

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

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

Jennifer Lien as Kes

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

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

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

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

Manu Intiraymi as Icheb

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

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

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

Scarlett Pomers as Naomi Wildman

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

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

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

Martha Hackett as Seska

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

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

Robert Picardo as the Doctor

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

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

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

Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series)

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