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Published Nov 3, 2023

Revisiting 'I, Mudd'

It's time for a look back at one of Star Trek's iconic episodes.

StarTrek.com

“ I, Mudd ,” written by “ Mudd’s Women ” scribe Stephen Kandel, is a fun and entertaining hour of Star Trek .

It’s got the second appearance of the gregarious Harcourt (Harry) Fenton Mudd , hundreds of duplicate androids, and a nice plot that involves our Enterprise crew — forced off their ship by the androids and held hostage on a planet — overloading a giant hive mind with illogic in order to free themselves.

Since today is the anniversary of the first broadcast of “I, Mudd,” we thought we’d coordinate all units and stroll down memory lane.

Promotional Material

In broadcast order, from the beginning of the series, “I, Mudd” was Episode 37 and it followed the second season’s “ Catspaw ” – the previous week’s horror-oriented offering.

Advertising for the episode was handled by both the Desilu Studios and the NBC Network, and a storyline note for the episode resulted in a paraphrased television listing, as seen in the image above.

The novelty of using twins to represent the many androids was heavily promoted prior to the episode’s broadcast. Several focus articles were written specifically about it, including the above, which appeared in the October 14, 1967, edition of TV Guide .

Note the error in the identification of the twins. The pictures in the upper right and lower right of the last page were flipped and needed to be switched to correctly match the text.

Mudd the First

The role of Harry Mudd was played on The Original Series with joie de vivre by Roger C. Carmel.

Carmel would go on to portray Mudd a third time when he voiced the character in The Animated Series episode, “Mudd’s Passion,” and his reportedly planned fourth outing in Star Trek: The Next Generation was cut short when he unexpectedly passed away in 1986 (at the age of 54).

Currently, the character of Harry Mudd is delightfully played by Rainn Wilson in the series, Star Trek: Discovery .

The Twins, Twinned and Twinned

As mentioned previously, twins were used to represent several of the android series, and the producers were lucky enough to find four sets of them. Each set was used to represent any of the 500 androids by simply changing their numbered necklaces (called 'badges' in the script). This trick was done often and gave the impression that any one set was more than just two individuals.

However, there was one instance in the episode where it was useful to show more than two androids in one of the series simultaneously, and for this feat, they turned to an optical effect.

"I, Mudd"

This shot, with its six Alice Androids, was created by combining three optical elements, each containing actors Alyce and Rhea Andrece and photographed separately into one element using an optical printer. If you look very carefully at this composite, you can see the vertical matte lines between Alices 2 and 3 and Alices 4 and 5 (from left to right) that separate the three shots.

Interestingly, the final draft script for “I, Mudd,” (dated July 31, 1967, and written about two weeks prior to the start of filming) populated the planet with only the Alice and Stella android series. Specifically, that script specified that the Alice series had 207,809 duplicates while the Stella series only had one.

Also, in this early draft, all of Norman’s part was originally Alice One’s and Chekov’s was Sulu’s. (Other than that, it’s essentially the same as the shooting draft — the revised final draft — dated August 4, 1967.)

Enticing the Crew – A Deleted Scene

Every episode of The Original Series had one or more scenes that were deleted or trimmed as they were being assembled, and “I, Mudd” was no exception.

The partial deleted scene shown below comes from Act III of this episode and it was intended to show more of Kirk’s crew being cajoled into staying on the planet. The accompanying text comes from the shooting draft of the script, and we’ve paired it with retouched images from the film frames of the lost scene.

Note that the director, Marc Daniels, chose to stage this scene somewhat differently than what was called for in the script.

INT. LOUNGE AREA – (SMALL REDRESS) CAMERA OPENS TIGHT on an Enterprise CREWMAN, stretched out on a chaise lounge. He is eating grapes. CAMERA PULLS BACK as we see an Alice #73 handing him a filled goblet of wine. CAMERA PANS so we see and Enterprise CREW WOMAN, seated with an ecstatic look on her face, as back of her, a Male Android, with a shoulder badge #114, industrially massages her back. There is a sound of gentle MUSIC as CAMERA CONTINUES TO PAN, and we see another Enterprise Crewman, leaning back with his eyes closed, as another Alice #500 plays a stringed instrument… and yet another Enterprise Crewman is being handed a plate of interesting looking food by a smiling, lovely member of the Barbara series #321 of Androids. GOING TO A FULL SHOT, we get the impression that each and every one of the Enterprise crewmen is very, very happy.

Mudd in His Eye?

We’ll close this article by leaving you with a frame from a blooper that occurred in the third act. There was no sound with the film, unfortunately, so there’s no way of knowing exactly what occurred that caused it.

However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t use our imaginations to fill in the blanks.

Get Updates By Email

This article was originally published on November 3, 2017.

David Tilotta is a professor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC and works in the areas of chemistry and sustainable materials technology. You can email David at [email protected]. Curt McAloney is an accomplished graphic artist with extensive experience in multimedia, Internet and print design. He resides in a suburb of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and can be contacted at [email protected]. Together, Curt and David work on startrekhistory.com. Their Star Trek work has appeared in the Star Trek Magazine and Star Trek: The Original Series 365 by Paula M. Block with Terry J. Edrmann.

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Star Trek S2 E8 "I, Mudd" » Recap

Original air date: November 3, 1967

There's something strange about this Enterprise crewman. He never smiles, never engages in small talk, shows great reluctance to talk about his past, and he isn't Mr. Spock. He soon takes over the ship and reveals that his name is Norman, he is an android and they will be going to his planet—no ifs, ands, or buts. Once in orbit, Norman specifies who will be in the landing party. Kirk and company find they have no choice but to comply when Norman threatens to destroy their engines. When they beam down, who should greet them on a grand throne but their old friend, Harry Mudd?

It seems that after Harry decided to release himself on his own recognizance (i.e., he broke out of jail) he crash landed on this planet of androids who immediately made him their emperor. It seems the androids are very much like Lumiere and his friends . They're just not happy without people to serve. And now that they have an entire starship full of people to serve, Mudd can now leave his android followers for a permanent vacation.

Yeah, that's what he thinks.

• Alice Allusion : About to Logic Bomb the Alice series of androids, Kirk says, "Next, we take the Alices through Wonderland."
• Behind Every Great Man : Harry notes that every great man has a woman urging him on...and every time he thinks of Stella, it urges him further on into space.
• "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word : Mudd rankles at being called a liar and a thief by Kirk. He prefers "entrepreneur".
• Bling of War : Mudd's getup has a martial look, but in this case it's probably Bling of Sloth and Avarice.
• Brick Joke : Early on, Norman claims that they don't know the meaning of the world "please", even as they add it onto their 'request' that the Enterprise visit the planet. When the landing party first arrives on the planet, one of the Alices says "If you will follow us, please." (Possibly a clue that Norman in his role as central control computer has transmitted the importance of "please" to the other androids.) At the end, as Norman is overloading from trying to solve Mudd's Liar Paradox, he exclaims "Illogical! Illogical! Please explain!"
• Chew-Out Fake-Out : Uhura seemingly sabotages her crewmates' escape attempt. After the androids leave, Kirk approaches her sternly, seemingly intending to chew her out (if not throttle her with his bare hands) for her betrayal...only to reveal to the viewers that Uhura's sabotage was part of the plan, which she pulled off very well and for which he's very proud of her.
• Continuity Nod : Mudd's previous appearance in " Mudd's Women " is directly referenced, making this one of the few episodes with direct continuity with a previous story. Harry is also the only recurring character not part of Enterprise's crew during the run of the series (Khan, Sarek, and Amanda would later appear in the films, with Sarek also appearing on The Next Generation , while Kor, Kang, and Koloth note  though Kang and Koloth were only created due to John Calicos being unavailable to return as Kor in their respective episodes returned in Deep Space Nine . Sarek, Amanda, Cyrano Jones, Koloth, and the Guardian of Forever would all reappear in episodes of Star Trek: The Animated Series . And of course, Captain Pike and his crew would get their own spin-off series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds .)
• Cool and Unusual Punishment : Mudd is left on the planet with at least five hundred android copies of his shrewish wife in an attempt to keep him in line. And he can't turn them off.
• Apparently Deneb V punishes fraud with the death penalty.
• Played for laughs with at least five hundred androids of Harry's wife.
• Euphemism Buster : Combined with Rule of Three when Mudd explains what happened after ending up on death row on Deneb V: Mudd: Well, of course, I...left. Kirk: He broke jail. Mudd: I... borrowed transportation— Kirk: He stole a spaceship. Mudd: The patrol reacted in a hostile manner— Kirk: They fired at him.
• Even the Girls Want Her : Uhura is the first to be impressed by the female androids, while Kirk asks about male androids.
• Evil Laugh : Mudd lets loose one after revealing the Enterprise crew are stuck here.
• Failed Future Forecast : Chekov references Leningrad, which was renamed back to St. Petersburg in 1991 .
• Fake Defector : Uhura sells out her compatriots' escape plan, but it turns out her betrayal was also part of the plan.
• Fate Worse than Death : What the Enterprise crew leave Mudd to: stuck on the android planet with 500 copies of his wife that he can't shut off.
• Full-Name Ultimatum : Harcourt Fenton Mudd! His first name is embarrassing, his middle name is embarrassing and his last name is nothing to crow about either!
• Gilded Cage : The trope is discussed among the crew when they realize they are in a situation where their every comfort and desire will be catered to...unless it is a desire to leave.
• Ham and Cheese : Invoked In-Universe — Kirk and his officers say and do the most ridiculous things in the most over-the-top manner to Logic Bomb the androids.
• Hell of a Heaven : Mudd says the android planet is a paradise, in a tone that shows it's become anything but. With all his desires catered for, the interstellar rogue had gotten bored and restless.
• Henpecked Husband : Harry Mudd had an android made of his harridan of a wife so that he could finally have the last word. Guess what his punishment is? Stella-bot: Harcourt Fenton Mudd, you lazy good-for-nothing-thing-thing-thing...!
• Hive Mind : All the androids operate this way, with Norman as the "Queen", if you will.
• How Would You Like to Die? : A question Harry Mudd evaded by breaking out of jail : Mudd: Do know what the penalty for fraud is on Deneb V? Spock: The guilty party has his choice: death by electrocution, death by gas, death by phaser, death by hanging.... Mudd: The key word in your entire peroration, Mister Spock, was, death .
• Humans Are the Real Monsters : The androids come to this conclusion after spending a good amount of time with Mudd. They plan to fix this problem by taking over the universe.
• Hurricane of Euphemisms : Mudd tries to explain euphemistically how he came to this planet. Kirk is more direct .
• Harry claims Information Wants to Be Free as his defense for patent infringement, yet he got caught because he sold the rights to one of his stolen patents.
• When protesting a patrol shooting at him, Harry rants that had no respect to keep them from damaging private property, namely the spaceship, ignoring that he stole the spaceship in the first place.
• After the androids quit obeying Mudd's orders and declare that he will be left behind with all the other humans: Mudd: You'd better do something because I'm as anxious to get off this ruddy rock as you are! McCoy : You wanted to leave us on "this ruddy rock" and leave by yourself.
• I, Noun : The title
• Insistent Terminology : You will call him "Mudd the First!"
• Ironic Echo : "I am not programmed to respond in that area." Initially, it's used by the androids on Kirk and the crew. Later, when Kirk and Mudd Logic Bomb Norman and the android begs for an explanation, Kirk returns the favor.
• Just Between You and Me : Spock notes that the androids are almost ready to take the Enterprise out of orbit. Bones asks how he knows that; Spock replies, "I asked them." Kirk ruefully comments that the androids are so confident that the crew can't do anything to stop them that they don't see any need to keep secrets.
• Left It In : When the Alices 1 and 2 are telling the crew of the library facilities, they are in perfect sync, until one says, "You are free to use them," while the other says, "You are free to visit them."
• Liar's Paradox : Captain Kirk and Harry Mudd use a liar's paradox to set off a Logic Bomb in an android holding them captive. Kirk: Everything Harry tells you is a lie. Remember that. Everything Harry tells you is a lie. Mudd: Listen to this carefully, Norman. I am lying. Norman: (chest light frantically beeping) You say you are lying, but if everything you say is a lie then you are telling the truth, but you cannot tell the truth because everything you say is a lie. You lie. You tell the truth. But you cannot for... Illogical! Illogical! Please explain! (Smoke comes out of Norman's head) You are human! Only humans can explain their behavior! Please explain! Kirk: I am not programmed to respond in that area. (Norman crashes)
• The one Spock comes up with to short out two of the Alices is beautiful in its simplicity: Spock (to Alice 27): I love you. (turns to Alice 210). However, I hate you. Alice 210 : But, I am identical in every way with Alice 27. Spock : Yes. Of course, that is exactly why I hate you— because you are identical. (both Alices promptly shut down)
• And, of course, the infamous Liar's Paradox .
• Men Are the Expendable Gender : Oddly, it applies to androids as well this episode, insofar as "Male characters get more explicit and brutal deaths." To wit: as the crew is dropping Logic Bombs on the androids, the female Alices are shown simply closing their eyes and slipping placidly into sleep mode. However, Norman's death by Logic Bomb is much more visually torturous, as smoke and sparks pour from his ears ... because his brain is on fire . Justified by the fact that Norman - the sole model of his kind - is essentially the central Hive Queen , and so required a much stronger paradox to take him down, compared to the female models (and presumably, the other offscreen male models that Mudd mentioned) who were just smaller parts of the whole.
• Most Writers Are Male : The female androids are far more fanservice-y than the male ones.
• No-Sell : What happens when Spock tries his Vulcan nerve pinch on Alice 210; she just seems bemused and Spock has to resort to a Logic Bomb to neutralize her and Alice 27.
• Offhand Backhand : This is how Norman treats all the Redshirts in engineering. Fortunately, this is a funny episode, so they're just KO'ed.
• Oh, Crap! : Mudd's reaction to seeing the number 500 on the Stella android at the ending is epic.
• Oh, No... Not Again! : Quite clearly Kirk's reaction when he sees Mudd on the throne.
• Parting-from-Consciousness Words : Mudd protests being knocked out as part of the crew's plan to fool the androids.
• Planet Baron : Mudd has become ruler of a planet of androids, though by the end of the episode the robots are more his captors than his subjects.
• Politeness Judo : When threats of utter destruction still leave Kirk reluctant to follow Norman's demands, he tries saying "please".
• Purple Prose : In the latter stages of the story the Enterprise crew and Mudd go on long, flowery speeches to the androids, presumably so that their circuits will overload even quicker trying to work out just what the hell they're talking about.
• Ridiculously Human Robot : All of the androids not only look human, but they are programmed to be "fully functional".
• Robotic Reveal : Norman reveals a mechanical panel on his abdomen. Originally, it was a simple cluster of wires and transistors . The remastered edition has something that better lives up to the "Most sophisticated" description Spock gives.
• Sex Bot : Suggested about as blatantly as television of the era could get away with when Chekhov realises the implications of the female androids being programmed by "that unprincipled, evil-minded, lecherous kulak Harry Mudd"... and decides things might not be too bad here after all. When we next see him, later on, he has a huge blissful grin on his face.
• Shadow Archetype : Moreso than in the previous appearance of Mudd, Mudd is portrayed to contrast Kirk — but Kirk wants to help while he explores space and is a Chivalrous Pervert at worst, while Mudd complains of his nagging wife pushing him into space, and is an interstellar pimp. Lampshaded in Mudd's introduction, wherein Kirk is clearly furious to see Mudd again, readily translating all of Mudd's excuses into unforgiving realities.
• The title of the episode is a reference to I, Robot (1950), and the plot of the episode also has a little bit of fun with Asimov's Three Laws.
• The title of the episode is a reference to I, Claudius (1934) as well, as Harry fancies himself as the androids’ ruler.
• Sick Captive Scam : The crew sedate Harry and tell the androids that he's dying but could be saved if they could get to the Sickbay on board ship as part of a plan to get the upper hand. Played with in that this scheme is only part of a more complex one to outgambit the androids, who will expect them to make an escape attempt . Now that they've made an obvious one, they can continue with the real one.
• Sidetracked by the Analogy : Mudd tells Spock he couldn't sell false patents to his own mother. Spock can't figure out why he'd want to do that, leaving Mudd to roll his eyes.
• Stating the Simple Solution : How does Spock know so much about the androids' abilities? "I asked them."
• Stop Worshipping Me : Even Harry Mudd tires of being planetary emperor.
• That Came Out Wrong : McCoy 's explanation of why he doesn't trust Norman — he never smiles, he doesn't do small talk... — accidentally insults Spock . He tries to explain that it's different for Vulcans, which doesn't really help.
• That Russian Squat Dance : While he doesn't get into the Preesyadkee, Chekov's dance is very reminiscent of the Kazatsky.
• Too Happy to Live : During one of the logic bomb incidents, Scotty begs to be put out of the misery of having too much pleasure. Kirk, Spock and Bones all pretend to shoot him. Kirk takes Scotty in his arms and declares he died of too much happiness.
• Two of Your Earth Minutes : While taking over the Enterprise, the android Norman says "We shall continue on our present course for approximately four solar days."
• Uncanny Valley : In-Universe - From the beginning, McCoy notices that there is something off about Mr. Norman.
• Understatement : "We're in a lot of trouble."
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee : Kirk says nothing about his plan until he sets it into motion—which involves Slipping a Mickey to Mudd in order to get back to the Enterprise . It looks like it might work until Uhura blows the whole plan out of her desire to stay and become an immortal android. Kirk looks like he's about to chew her out big time—and then congratulates her, revealing that this too was part of the plan . On to Phase 2...
• Vanity Is Feminine : Uhura has trouble dismissing the possibility of having eternal youth and beauty.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist : The androids want to take over the galaxy, coddling everyone into a state of blissful dependence, in order to protect the cosmos from all the hubris, aggression and whatnot they observed in Harry Mudd.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human? : Little, if any, concern is given towards the androids that are sabotaged by the crew's Logic Bomb as listed above.
• The robots apparently were working on the robot body to put Uhura's brain into before they left to take over the galaxy. When the episode ends, it seemingly gets forgotten about.
• What did the androids intend to do about the other intelligent species who are neighbours to humans?
• Sulu completely disappears from the episode after the Enterprise arrives at Planet Mudd.
• Who Wants to Live Forever? : Uhura is briefly tempted with the possibility of living forever. At one point, it looks like she's even willing to betray her crew for the chance. Fortunately, it turned out to be all part of a grand Batman Gambit to trick the androids .
• World of Snark : Before the intentionally hamming it up kicks in. Kirk, Bones and Spock all have fun snarking at Mudd's expense.
• Your Mom : Generally, bringing up Spock's mother is a good way to get introduced to your spleen . Fortunately, he's too confused as to why he'd want to sell her false patents to really react.

Video Example(s):

Captain Kirk and Harry Mudd use the liar's paradox to defeat the android Norman.

Example of: Liar's Paradox

• Star Trek S2 E7 "Catspaw"
• Recap/Star Trek: The Original Series
• Star Trek S2 E9 "Metamorphosis"

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Alice series

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The Alice series was a group of five hundred identical androids who inhabited the planet Mudd. They were designed according to Harry Mudd's "exacting" specifications, and was the primary liaison between the vast android population and the crew of the USS Enterprise.

Alice Eve defends her controversial Star Trek scene: “I’m proud of that”

Alice Eve, who stars in the new sci-fi film Warning , reflects on her much-criticized Star Trek moment.

Star Trek once promised to boldly go where no man has gone before. But Alice Eve knows science fiction can go much further by foregrounding women within its strange new worlds.

“A lot of women in sci-fi are self-sufficient,” says the actress, who played one such character — Dr. Carol Marcus — in 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness , though not without controversy. (More on that later.)

Still, more than 50 years after Star Trek first aired, “science fiction is not necessarily the domain of women in terms of creation” off-screen, Eve says. For all the Ellen Ripleys and Sarah Connors on screen, this lack of female perspective behind the camera can hold the genre back.

An English actress who’s also known for her roles in Men In Black 3 and on Marvel’s Iron Fist series, Eve is experienced at navigating this tension. Her latest film — Warning , from Polish director Agata Alexander — marks the first time Eve has made a sci-fi thriller with a female filmmaker.

“I wanted to support a woman tackling traditionally male subject matter,” Eve tells Inverse , speaking in support of the film (out now on digital platforms). “I loved her audacity. She had this grand vision she was determined to execute on a small budget. And she did.”

Broadly, Eve is a sci-fi fan. And playing characters like Star Trek ’s Carol Marcus is part of the appeal. “Sci-fi is cool because it shows powerful women,” Eve tells Inverse. “They're not usually married with kids. They’re working for their passion.”

In 2013, Eve found herself discussing the optics of female representation in sci-fi in a more negative sense. When Star Trek Into Darkness hit theaters, some audiences objected to a scene in which Marcus strips to her underwear and is glimpsed by a chastened Captain Kirk (Chris Pine).

After the release of Star Trek Into Darkness , Alice Eve found herself at the center of online debate about the portrayal of women in mainstream sci-fi.

A throwaway shot, it served little narrative purpose in the film’s theatrical cut. Online, the backlash was swift to what some saw as a gratuitous instance of a female character being unfairly sexualized. (Though, of course, there was also a backlash to this backlash. ) Eventually, producer Damon Lindelof apologized, and director J.J. Abrams conceded that he understood the criticism. Eve has spoken only sparingly about the incident but, looking back on the scene, remembers being taken aback by the controversy.

“It was something I voluntarily worked with a trainer to be fit for, was very much prepared for, and very much enjoyed [doing] — filming, executing, promoting,” recalls Eve, who says she was actively involved in discussing all her character’s scenes. “The feeling I shouldn’t have done it, or that it was exploitation, was confusing to me.”

Eventually, Eve shrugged it off: “There are many things in the world that are confusing. I put it down to one of those anomalies. I’m proud of that scene, and all the work I did.”

The experience was still eye-opening for the actress, leading her to seek out projects, like Warning, that would avoid the male gaze dominant in most Hollywood sci-fi. Told over a series of disconnected vignettes set during a freak storm, Warning stars Eve as Claire, a lonely woman whose daily life is dependent on a pyramid-shaped smart home device called “God 2.0.” (In real life, Eve avoids such smart devices.)

Living in a near-future where technology is seen as a substitute for human contact, Claire’s isolation is heightened by everyday interactions that are hostile, cold, and unfriendly. “People have their main relationship with their device and they lose the ability to connect, to feel each other and empathize,” Eve says. “To me, the ‘warning’ is to remain empathetic, to remain in tune” with humanity, she adds.

Eve found shooting Warning to be isolating, as her main scene partner is an inanimate object (voiced by actor James D’Arcy). “The pleasure of the movie was the experiment of not having another actor,” she says. “It’s different, but it was much more lonely.”

Alice Eve ( Star Trek Into Darkness ) stars as “Claire,” a lonely woman dependent on a smart home device called “God 2.0.”

Claire’s backstory isn’t deeply explored in Warning , but Eve and Alexander collaborated on the idea that her character’s vulnerability stemmed from heartbreak. “When we suffer heartbreak, we retreat,” she says. “And when we retreat, we don’t like to connect with people. And then she becomes reliant in that period of recovery on this device.”

Far from helping Claire, “the device hooks into her,” making Warning a cautionary tale, says Eve. Claire turns to God 2.0 in an almost fanatical way, with Warning taking an unsubtle stance against organized religion and its power to prey on people.

“She’s lured into this belief she'll be a better person,” says Eve. “Organized religion seduces people by telling them life will be better. It's old capitalism: You won’t be lonely and sad if you don’t commit sin . Obviously, it’s important to be a good person, but it’s not going to make your life better to live.”

A scene from Warning.

Eve is still learning all it can mean to be a woman in science fiction. She will soon star in The Power , an Amazon series based on Naomi Alderman’s 2016 novel in which women possess electric superpowers. Alderman is writing the adaptation of her own book, with Handmaid’s Tale director Reed Morano at the helm of at least one episode and an all-female writer’s room involved in the project.

Eve says the 10-episode series’ main concept is teased by its title: who gets to wield power, and what will they decide to do with it?

“ The Power is an idea of a future where women have power and are more physically capable than men,” she explains. In the series, Eve stars opposite Leslie Mann, Auliʻi Cravalho, Daniela Vega, Tim Robbins, Rob Delaney, and John Leguizamo.

“My character is something of a choir [for] understanding the story,” she says. “I think it’s a really important story to tell, to show us throw[ing] the world on its axis and show how much of our [society’s] power dynamic relies on physical strength.”

In the years since Alice Eve starred in Star Trek , she’s paid closer attention to how women have been represented in the final frontier and beyond.

“There’s a different generation coming up, and I hope they’re feeling empowered,” says Eve, praising the long-overdue reckoning that the #MeToo movement has played one part in triggering. “I believe we're all having a human experience, and that’s a painful thing to have.”

Warning is available on Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 22.

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Star Trek: Voyager

“Alice”

Air date: 10/20/1999 Teleplay by Bryan Fuller & Michael Taylor Story by Juliann deLayne Directed by David Livingston

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

"Stay out of this, B'Elanna!" "Or what? You'll sick Alice on me again?" — Paris and Torres, a lovers' spat for the books

Review Text

Nutshell: Not bad—just really, really average.

I don't have much interesting to say about our friend "Alice." It's the sort of middling plot-based story that just doesn't demand a great deal of discussion. There aren't many themes that are sufficiently interesting to dissect; there are no real insights or implications to ponder; there are no real surprises; and unlike the previous four episodes, I didn't get the sense that the characters were the important aspect of the story, because it's the plot that's piloting this ship.

"Alice" is, however, a competent, watchable hour-long exercise with a few interesting moments as well as some questionable ones. This sort of story might best fall into the genre of "sci-fi procedural." It's not quite engaging enough to be labeled a mystery. Not boring enough to be labeled a failure. "Alice" so much tempts me to offer up a non-reaction reaction.

More than anything else, "Alice" seems to demonstrate that Paris is not all that complicated a character like Torres, the Doctor, or Seven. If we take "Alice" as any indication, Paris is a "pilot." Who else is he? Who knows? This plot seems to see him as one of those guys who equates what he does with who he is. Okay, fine. But in an episode that's about mental manipulation and, apparently, personal inner desires, you'd think maybe there'd be more to find out about this guy.

The story uses elements of Paris that are in line with what we know of him, but the story doesn't go anywhere new with them. In accordance with episodes like " Extreme Risk ," " Vis A Vis ," or even (dare I mention it) " Threshold ," this episode sees Paris as the Expert Pilot, a guy whose dream in life is to attain some sort of pilot's pinnacle of the aesthetically perfect flight.

This time Paris finds himself falling in love with a run-down old shuttle that a merchant is willing to unload for a reasonable price. Paris is certain: Inside this little relic is the potential of an ultra-maneuverable dream machine. In keeping with ancient naval tradition (and in pushing the foreboding factor), everyone calls this ship "she." Paris eventually names her "Alice." Alice is equipped with an advanced neural interface that connects directly into the brain, allowing the most efficient of all piloting methods: you think what you want and it happens.

Well, the alarms should be going off by now; any Star Trek premise where a piece of technology is being hooked directly into a character's brain is all but guaranteed to turn into a bizarre, hallucinatory mind-takeover plot. "Alice" is no exception. It's an average take on the material. This isn't new stuff, but it's competently put together. Competent, not inspired.

Alice is a weird beast. The camera bears down on the shuttle ominously, and soon we realize that it's somehow alive ... sort of. The idea reminds us of Christine . Is Alice evil? What is Alice doing to Paris?

The second question is perhaps the more easily answered. Paris develops an obsession to make repairs and bring Alice's systems on-line as quickly as possible. Every moment of his free time is spent on the restoration project. And soon we see that he begins hallucinating; Alice becomes personified in the form of a mysterious woman (Claire Rankin) who talks to him constantly, reminding him that the most important thing in his life now is preparing for their first flight. Before too long, Paris is disobeying orders and stealing components to get Alice up and running.

Most of "Alice" is clear-cut plotting setup, but there are some attempted character themes that find their way into the story. Of course, one is the Paris/Torres interaction, which follows more or less expected, but not wrong-headed, lines. Torres objects to being ignored; Paris, under the spell of the addictive Alice, thinks she's overreacting and brushes her aside, without even realizing it.

As Paris' behavior continues to venture into the obsessive, Torres is finally forced to confront him about it. At this point we get a horror-movie-inspired sequence in which Torres becomes locked inside the shuttle and the computer vents the atmosphere, nearly killing her. This reality check prompts Paris to try to give up his obsession, but Alice won't let him—threatening to, well, blow up his head if he doesn't do what she wants.

So now it's time for the questions: What is this shuttle? Is it sentient? The episode seemingly writes it off as a "complex computer program," but there are sketchy head-scratchers, like why anyone would build a shuttle that actively tries to recruit its own pilot (and is looking for the perfect "compatible" pilot, for that matter), and harms anyone who refuses. The episode also isn't sure whether Alice is truly in control or simply causing Paris to act out his ultimate piloting fantasy. There's a reference made to the myth of Icarus (one of Paris' favorite legends, it seems), followed by the Trekkian Icarus equivalent of Paris and Alice setting course for a dangerous spatial phenomenon. Why? Is this Paris' vie for flight perfection? Alice calls this phenomenon "home," but what does that mean? The story doesn't tell us.

There seems to be a sort of "Halloween tale" motif here—where the story is full of mysteries and weird unknowns that are supposed to pique the imagination—but it's only sort of half-effective, and sort of unfulfilling.

For that matter, I find it a little tough to swallow that Paris' brain was "altered" in a way that makes him seemingly communicate with the shuttle computer. The story calls it a "hallucination," yet one gets the impression it goes a little further than that considering the shuttle tries to suffocate Torres on its own accord. (How would killing Torres help Alice's cause, anyway? That to me seems like a guarantee for an instant investigation that would keep Alice from getting what it wants—its tandem flight with Paris.)

I have mixed feelings about the performances. I liked some of the quiet scenes between Paris and the Alice-image. McNeill does a good job with the thousand-yard stare into space as he recites his Quiet Meaningful Dialog about the ultimate flying experience. (The sentiment itself isn't as captivating as it wants to be, but the delivery is pretty good.) On the other hand, the key Paris/Torres scene after the attempted-suffocation episode was hammered too hard with histrionics. (The histrionics are understandable, but the scene feels off-kilter.)

In the end, the story executes well enough to hold its own and temporarily (key word: temporarily) suspend our disbelief. But analysis reveals too many unanswered questions, too much nonsense, and not enough worthwhile character insights. The Paris/Torres relationship in particular seems to end up as potential gone unrealized; their interaction could've been really good, but is instead only adequate. I also must voice the lack of satisfaction in learning that most of Paris' early decisions weren't even really motivated by actual characterization but rather the forced circumstances ("It's like I was sleepwalking").

As I write this, there's a Conan O'Brien rerun on TV. To borrow a phrase I just overheard, I'll say that "Alice" is okay television—but it's certainly not "compellivision."

Next week: A rerun of the Epic Voyager Telefilm™, " Dark Frontier ."

Previous episode: Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy Next episode: Riddles

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Comment Section

67 comments on this post.

The very first time I saw this episode, once Paris and Alice reached that nebula (or whatever it was) and he asked Alice what it was I just knew she was going to answer "Home." I have no idea what it means either. I'm assuming Fuller and Taylor thought it sounded cool, but it doesn't make any sense.

It's a pretty good episode. Nothing about it makes any sense whatsoever but it's fast-moving, snappy and fun. Harry "Can't-Get-A-Lock" Kim couldn't get a lock, again; and that AFTER he had been unable to seal the shuttle bay doors. The rogue vessel is outwitted by "distracting" it, which is funny because even 20th century computers can multitask; though maybe that ship was built by Apple (q.v. iPhone without the multitasking ability). Paris commits multiple breaches of StarFleet and criminal law but retains his rank and position, rather than have his ass thrown in jail. Ah, good old Star Trek!

Chakotay: "We already have a full complement of shuttles." Undeniable proof if ever there was any that this ship is somehow able to replicate shuttles (must be those gel packs)

"This reality check prompts Paris to try to give up his obsession, but Alice won't let him -- threatening to, well, blow up his head if he doesn't do what she wants." That would be, from her point of view, kinda self-defeating, wouldn't it? It really defies credulity that Abbondanza (the Silik guy) would mention the Haakonians and Neelix, who was right there in the room, wouldn't go, "Wait, WTF?"

Running commentary time! 1) Loved the opening chit chat with Tuvok 2) Voyager has a full complement of shuttles? COUGH COUGH COUGH hahahahahaha 3) He's living next door to Alice? Who the f--- is Alice? 4) What's with the awful 70s / Kerr Avon outfit... 5) I'm glad they didn't smash that bottle on her hull. That would've been rude. 6) I'm sure I've seen a slut-ship before. Ah yes... Andromeda 7) How does a guy and a ship... Uh... Actually after a picture of a guy with a Land Rover I saw once, never mind. 8) Paris does not suit a beard. Definitely not a Riker. 9) Oh I see, DS9 is over, let's get some Ferengi refences into Voyager :) 10) Darth Rommy: "Think of what you want me to do and I'll do it" - umm, self destruct, Tom? 11) You can distract a computer? Can't be a very good multi-tasking OS.. Alice must run on Windows... 12) Kaboom. Are we done with daydreams now? Fun episode actually... At this point Trek had boldly gone everywhere and often run out of ideas, so something this unique is welcome. I had no real problem with it, and it was fun doing commentary.

Like a couple of others have noted, Chakotay's line that "we already have a full complement of shuttles" elicited a reaction somewhere along the lines of: bwa-hahahahaha! That was definitely the most memorable part of this otherwise mediocre episode, which raised a lot more questions than it answered (that's sometimes not a bad thing, if the questions are intelligent and thought-provoking; these unanswered questions on the other hand stem from a rather half-baked plot that doesn't entirely make sense).

So Kim says to Tuvok here that "we know you were at least 100 when you reentered Starfleet (and Paris mentions that Tuvok's child was born during his 11th pon farr, which is 70 years after his first, which happens at, say, twenty years of age, and that child is now married, so their guesses were in the ball park, and Kim seemed to establish as fact that Tuvok is at the least 100 with that first line. But then later, in Fury, Janeway says in Tuvok's birthday that he is "almost to the triple digits".

Maybe it's because I was sleep-deprived when I was watching this but I thought the lover's spot, especially with Charming Happy-go-lucky Tom shouting and being so pissed, man-handling B'Ellana (Wow you're crazy to do that!) was so unlike him, just made him look way hot to me.

Just Another Trekkie

Watching Tom and B'Elanna bicker every second they are together makes me believe Seven's assessment that romantic relationships are irrelevant. How much longer can we suspend our disbelief in the supposed chemistry between those two--let alone the premise of genuine feeling? Granted, they had some delightfully tense scenes in "Blood Fever" and the following episodes, but once their intimacy was no longer forbidden, it seemed to lose all excitement and spark. I know, I know, I've seen the future episodes and I know how they end up... But still, I can never buy B'Elanna's commitment to Tom. It seems that she's always running off and being her charmingly self-destructive self at the drop of a hat, with little visible regard to Tom's protestations. Anyone agree?

I like any episode of Star Trek with John Fleck as a guest star. Put some latex on his face or give him pointy ears and you've got yourself a reliable alien of the week.

I'm a tiny bit surprised that Jammer didn't mention some of the lame one-liners Harry had in this episode, since Jammer seems to enjoy pointing out how much of a chump Harry has become. I normally share this annoyance to the same extent, but Harry is particular pathetic in this episode. The other thing I noticed is that the ending of the episode seems rushed, as if the producers had to cut out a bunch of scenes. For example, once Seven finds out about Tom's secret flight plan, the Voyager ends up on location in very next scene, even though it took a good part of the episode for Tom and Alice to get there. The "plot a course for the Alpha Quadrant" ending also seems a bit rushed somehow.

This episode might have made sense two seasons earlier, but early in Season 5 Tom got to design and build his dream shuttle, so this makes a lot less sense here.

The story hooked me and I kept waiting for the reveal of the malicious alien... Only to discover it all was a hallucination with no real point except that the ship wants to get to a certain spot for some reason. Disappointing. It could've been a much more entertaining show if "Alice" had been real with a motive that made sense. Without that, I'm left scratching my head. PS I liked Paris looking a little scruffy.

I dont know if anyone caught this, or because i JUST saw TNG "Suspicions." but i heard "metaphasic shielding" and it made me smile and Beverly Crusher helped Dr. Reyga (Ferengi) establish that a ship could fly into a star with metaphasic shielding. anyway, i guess this episode isnt my favorite. we could all see where the story was going. no real mystery or memorable spots. I give it a 1.5 stars

I too think you were overly generous with this episode. As with most mind-takeover plots, this one could have no lasting consequences. As soon as the outside influence is neutralized, everything is forgiven. So it all rides on the execution. Unfortunately the execution here was sorely lacking. The setup was long and uninteresting and the non-payoff was not nearly worth the time it took to get there. Unanswered questions are fine, but I couldn't come up with any plausible explanation for the 'revelations' of the final act, and I got a sense the writer's couldn't either. As for the performances, I though McNeill and Dawson did okay, but Claire Rankin was terrible. Or maybe she was just doing her best with the material.

Uninspired, uninteresting piece of Trek. We have seen this concept a thousand times. We have seen Paris' love for ships, cars and so on, far too often as well. Boring, flat, forgettable episode. Anything more than 1.5 stars is to be gentle.

"We already have a full complement of shuttles" has got to be the dumbest line in all 7 seasons of Voyager. One thing that struck me about this episode was that it wasn't quite as bad as I remembered it. It was mainly the ending that was abrupt and unsatisfying. The motives of the ship's builders, and the ship itself as personified by Alice, never explained. There were too many cliche lines. "Just you, me, and the stars." "What's that?" "Home!" Please. I did like the scene in which Seven confronts Paris in Astrometrics and Alice appears and tells him what to do. In the beginning of the episode, the way the alien trader recognized Neelix as a fellow trader was a nice touch for continuity's sake (as was Neelix's reminiscing about his ship). In fact the opening scene where we met the alien trader reminded me quite a bit of the way we met Neelix. Anyway I don't get the two-and-a-half star rating--it seems Jammer has been grading on a curve lately. With a better ending this episode might deserve two stars, otherwise it gets 1.5 from me.

Couldn't really get into it. For starters, I don't know why Tom was so intrigued with the shuttle when he first saw it. He already has the Delta Flyer, which is pretty much his work in progress, isn't it? Anything he can do to Alice, he can do to the Delta Flyer as well, save for the Neurogenic interlink or whatever it's called. I also found the actress who plays Alice a little lackluster. She just doesn't sell the manipulation parts. She comes acorss as flat and unconvincing, particularly towards the end. She detects Voyager messing with her shiels while B'elanna distracts Tom and she just doesn't transmit a sense of urgency or desperation, the way I feel she should. She's pretty to look at, but that's about it. It wasn't all bad, though. I liked the opening scene where they try to guess Tuvok's age. I liked the bit where B'elanna gets locked in Alice and almost dies. And I liked the joke Seven made where she tells Neelix that all sales are final, including his precious berylium crystal. It works as a watchable hour, but just barely. Perhaps if Alice had been more convincing, it would have proven more interesting.

One of the good things about Voyager turning you off after Season 3 or so during its initial run is that there's always a ton of episodes leftover that you've never seen before to watch when you're bored. And so yesterday I picked this one out of a hat and gave it a go. The first thing that really stuck out to me was just how terrible an actress that woman was who played Alice. WOW. Seriously, anybody Avery Brooks bashers out there really need to see this chick's chops for the real definition of terrible acting. The episode wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. On the plus side, Chakotay was actual decent in his short scenes. And though clearly the best characters on this mediocre show are The Doctor, Seven, and Janeway, Tom Paris did a good job in this one. I kind of wish the episode wasn't so friggin' blunt though. I mean we GET IT, it's about drug addiction already haha.

Well, that was an incredibly dumb and predictable plot. As others have said, as soon as there was mention of a neural interface onboard that shuttle, I immediately knew how this was going to end. It also didn't help that this is a retread of a lot of the themes of Vis a Vis, which in itself was also a weak episode. Basically, Tom has an obsession with piloting, with flying on his own. This obsession ends up consuming him to the point where he is isolated from his friends and his duties, and nearly ends up ruining (or ending) his life. And at the end of the episode he makes up with B'Elanna, hopefully learning his lesson until the next Paris-centric episode rolls around. So I should declare this episode a complete waste of time, but, with that said, there were a few nice scenes . Others have already pointed out the opening with Harry and Tom needling Tuvok about his age. It worked well; these people have all only really been around the same 140 people for the past 6 years. Normally, a ship would have new blood trickling in and old blood trickling out, which would keep some level of formality present. Here, though, you would expect some softening of the crew, at least during times of routine operation. The fact that Tom and Harry feel comfortable enough about this in front of a superior officer, even a Vulcan, and the fact that Tuvok allowed this line of questioning even while dismissing it, means that it is happening. Seeing the crew in casual slices of life moments like this helps to make them look more realistic. But more importantly, I think, is the brief scene with B'Elanna and Harry. See, back in Season 3 I thought the writers did a great job of slowly building up the mutual attraction between Paris and Torres, thus making their declaration of love in early Season 4 a satisfying moment. And yet, once that happened, we basically saw all growth in their relationship cease for two seasons. I thought it might at first have been due to Dawson's pregnancy, but then the pointlessness of their relationship continued throughout Season 5. I mentioned in Barge of the Dead that the two of them together actually felt real in that episode, which wasn't there before. And I think the relationship shines through in this episode as well. It's just a casual discussion between the two closest people to Tom. And it deconstructs, a bit, what Tom's major fault is. Harry simply mentions that Tom is prone to bursts of interests in other things, but that B'Elanna remains a constant in his life. In one scene, it basically explains away Tom's distance from B'Elanna in the past two seasons while simultaneously reaffirming their relationship. It essentially retcons the past two seasons so that we can in fact see them as a happy couple. Moreover, B'Elanna's tone throughout this conversation isn't one of anger or hatred, but more resigned annoyance. Again, it shows that this is something she's used to and accepts, even if she doesn't like it. Sure, their relationship isn't perfect, but which one is? It makes them being together seem believable. Likewise, there were a lot of other scenes sprinkled through this episode that show that Tom still cares about B'Elanna even though he's being mindwarped by the shuttle. He specifically invites her and her alone to the christening of the shuttle. It's the near-death of B'Elanna that makes him nearly break free of Alice's grasp. When he first hears the whispers of Alice in his mind he assumes it's her. And so forth. Unlike Vis a Vis, this episode doesn't ignore her for huge chunks of the story, but rather weaves her into the story. Thus making it less stupid. So yeah, still a weak episode, but is saved from complete despair by actually recognizing continuity.

Diamond Dave

A haunted car episode? OK...... Didn't get on with this at all. Felt like an early TNG story, and played out in a by turns formulaic and melodramatic manner that just wasn't engaging at all. The plot brought no surprises and the conclusion made little sense. 1.5 stars.

I wonder if the story was left intentionally vague in certain parts. Perhaps what the writers were trying to do is tie several of the following themes into one story: Drug addiction / compulsive behavior - psychological research knows that the brain structure does change, therefore leading to certain actions such as the desire to take a drug, or repeatedly perform certain actions. In Paris' case, it was Alice altering his mind to make him feel dependent on her, like a bit of a drug. B'Elanna's help and actions towards Paris, and the overall crew's response - they did not punish him or court martial him, or anything like that for disobeying orders. Instead they treated him like a person who was ill mentally and helped me recover, to snap out of the addiction Alice induced. Alice may be more than a shuttle, but a sentient organism - she wants to go to that spatial anomaly and calls it "home". Is she sentient? Is she actually some kind of non-carbon-based lifeform that Voyager's sensors missed and she resides in that old ship. And that anomaly really was her home? But due to her uncooperative or secretive nature, and the overall situation, the Voyager crew were never able to conduct First Contact properly with her and she took matters into her own hands... Resulting in her undoing. Perhaps if this was an episode of The Next Generation, would Picard and crew discover her sentient nature, negotiate, and offer to help her fly her own way into her home?

I usually skip this one. Just blah. The gal that played Alice wasn't all that great and Tom didn't give that good a performance. I also agree the ended was a little "WTF?". 2 stars.

I should have added that one point of my awarded 2 was because John Flec is in it. Awesome actor and successfully brings to life a wide range of different characters with ease.

Shouldn't they give Stephen King writing credit on this one since it's just a tired retread of "Christine"? They didn't even bother to change the episode name from the name of the car/ship. So bad on so many levels. I agree that Jammer's rating was overly kind. If give it 1 star.

Saw this show before only this time the Camaro is sentient. I guess the sentient bomb bomb didn't teach the writers anything (*)

I like the concept of a 'Christine' type of episode and I get the comments that it wasn't executed as well. But I think it deserves at least half-a-star for something no one has mentioned - the scene where the alien merchant is about to do something that Alice considers a threat - and Alice appears as to the MERCHANT as a female whatever-species-the-merchant-is. She ominously says to the merchant, something like , "I hope you haven't forgotten me already." The merchant clearly already had a relationship with Alice too. It was chilling to discover this ship could infiltrate someone else's head like that. But it also left you with the question: what the heck IS Alice?

"We already have a full complement of shuttles" I suspect this line was supposed to be very tongue-in-cheek as viewers all know how many shuttles have been lost. I thought it was hilarious. There were a few good bits in this episode, though, overall I did not like the story. I would've given it 2 stars IF we had actually had some kind of explanation at the end about what the heck Alice was, or the relation with the plasma fountain (or whatever it was). Without that, 1 star.

There's a team of oompaloompas solely dedicated to building shuttles. As for this rubbish: 1 star

The only Tom Paris story I ever liked was "The First Duty" - oh wait...

It was an okay episode, fun to watch. Voyager's very own version of the 'ghost in the machine' concept. Did anyone else think that the colour and design of the Alice-ship's nodes in Paris' chest resembled that of Enterprise's 'child' in Emergence? I was intrigued by how B'lanna's call for help whilst she was being suffocated in Alice-ship was directed to Chakotay. There's always been some sort of subtle hint that the two of them share a bond that they do with no one else on the ship, and the fact that he's the only person she calls to for help by name whilst she's effectively nearly being murdered - is indicative of that special relationship. Funny to think that Chakotay's the first person she would think of in great trouble, not Tom, or even Harry.

Didn't really like this episode. Alice should've been better cast. With a better actress playing her this episode could've been lots of fun. It needed someone who could be enticing, sexy, and delightfully devious, like the actresses that played Ardra or Vash on TNG. Instead they just chose an actress that looked like a yandere single white female that was seriously off her rocker. Tom Paris has always been a crappy character. Never liked any episode which focused on him. Never saw how people criticized Kim so much and let Tom just skate by. I did wish there was some information as to why the ship wanted to go into the particle fountain, besides a single word. Instead, it's destroyed and forgotten. Just as well.

One more thing, while the shuttle crash is a very annoying trope, I never did understand this nonsense people keep talking about their shuttles. They built the Delta Flyer from purely replicated parts in one week. Have you seen how big that damn thing is compared to a standard shuttle? Several passengers get their own station. There's even a den ith a tactical station for Tuvok to escape from Neelix. Not to mention, it was built Starfleet tough to submerge in the atmosphere of a gas giant. A regular no brand name shuttle composed totally of replicated parts should take no more than two to three days to put together. As long as they're not running low on deuterium, dilithium, and anti-matter, it would be odd if they didn't have a full compliment of shuttles. If you have a problem with them still having yet more shuttles to crash, you need to take it up with the existence of replicators, because that's the particular plot device you actually have the problem with.

The Delta Flyer is also where Janeway gets all her magical unlimited torpedoes from. Shhhhhh! It's a secret!

Wow. A lot of hate for this episode. I've always enjoyed it. It reminded me of "Christine" - the Stephen King movie - when I first saw it years ago. I love that movie and liked this episode. Plus, I like Tom Paris so any episode that focuses on him was a good one for me.

Somehow this episode reminds me of the 1983 movie Christine.

@Stefan - it is definitely reminiscent of "Christine," esp. that scene w/B'Elanna choking in the shuttle. I love that movie, which is probably why this episode is one of my favorite Voyager episodes. I don't understand the hate for it. I enjoyed this one. Plus, Tom Paris was my favorite Voyager character, so I enjoyed any episode that focused on him. Yes, Threshold is one my favorite episodes too. LOL!

I noticed how Seven is written and acted as bit more sociable and easy going. You really get the sense she has grown over the years.

If an episode bores you this much, maybe spare us the boring review. You can only type "meh" in so many different ways. Or come up with interesting things to say about the mediocre episode. Not to criticize anything grander, but this review seems as forced as the episode.

Commander Jameson

I can’t believe you all missed it – this is a very pleasant re-run of a very ancient myth; namely, that of the Sirens, the seductive creatures that lured mariners to their doom (and to whom only Odysseus was able to remain immune). This is why it features the name-checking of another Greek myth, namely that of Icarus and Daedalus. As such, mixed with the ‘haunted ship that turns into a bunny-boiler’ theme, I felt it worked really well. Tom’s slide into obsession was well done (stubble notwithstanding). I really like Tom Paris as a character – the wise-cracking, hot-shot pilot is admittedly a bit of a trope, but it’s one that’s been seriously lacking perhaps in previous series of Star Trek and I feel McNiell carries it off really well, even to the point of sending it up as Captain Proton. It’s nice to see him using his range and stepping out of the Paris comfort zone. A solid three stars from me as in imaginative retelling of an old story, maybe with an extra half a star. Though the ‘full complement of shuttles’ line MUST have been an in-joke. Made me laugh out loud, anyway.

John Harmon

Chakotay: "We already have a full complement of shuttles." I guess that's proof that they're either repairing their shuttles or constantly building new ones using an industrial sized replicator. Otherwise it's the dumbest line in the series.

Prince of Space

Hey! Anyone pick up on that “full complement of shuttles” line? haha While I’m at it, pointing out things never before observed in human history, anyone else think this was a lot like that book/movie, “Christine”? Gees, people, I appreciate the fervor in which you wish to bedazzle us with your witty insights, but maybe try reading the already existent comments first?? haha

It was ok until about 3/4 of the way through. I can see why Alice wants a good pilot but: 1. What is Alice's motivation for suicide? It's never explained 2. Why does she need a pilot to kill herself? Surely once she's on course she wouldn't care whether Tom was beamed out or not 3. She mentioned needing a 'good pilot', the trader guy was 'too slow' to be of use to her. Nothing she did once she had a pilot explained why piloting skill mattered in the slightest. If all you're going to do is fly into an anomaly and die and idiot pilot could do that. It all made no sense and it annoyed me that none of the characters even questioned the motivations of Alice flying into the anomaly.

So late to the party but thank-you Netfilix. Was this meant to be a Borg origin story of sorts? The suit, the tubes the interface. The multi-phasic shielding, the talk about machine/human interdependence????? An ancient shuttle representing the earliest version of Borg Tech?????? If so - a huge missed story telling opportunity IMHO.

This might be my least favorite episode of Voyager. There are some which might be technically worse, like Threshold, but they at least produce some laughter. I struggle to even finish this one. The entire Tom Paris plot line is ridiculous, and the writers show no regard for the character they've worked so hard to develop. "They're just not like us." "...maybe you're right." Give me a freaking break.

Trigollius - fun idea about the origin of the Borg. Maybe Alice and the Borg area related in the same way Tosk and Jem Hadar are related in DS9.

Sean Hagins

I agree with everyone that says that the episode never explained what Alice's motivations were. How is the "plasma fountain" home? The girl who played Alice in my opinion was very good. Cute, and scary-which is what the producers were going for.

I was very quickly reminded of "Christine" here -- loved that movie but this episode is really just a tease of that and goes in a different direction and fizzles out. The story is mediocre and many scenes seem typical. Definitely no envelopes are pushed here. Interesting to see John Fleck, a reliable Trek guest actor, in a mostly easy-going jovial role here -- he pulled it off but is really a minor character. The woman playing "Alice" played the neurotic, compulsive character well. The ending is super-weak and typical of VOY for the solution to be so convenient with everything working out perfectly so that there can be a nice little coda between Tom and B'Elanna. Many things that don't add up, of course -- like this special, possessed shuttle, like the neurogenic interface. But some handwaving can be done. The story isn't terrible but just isn't challenging enough, nor compelling enough. I guess Alice is some kind of entity in the shuttle that wants to escape into the anomaly come hell or high water -- so the actual shuttle is expendable but a suitable pilot is needed. Enter Tom Paris. But at least it plays on his character who likes fixing cars etc. and wants to further boost his reputation as a pilot. Also liked the interactions between B'Elanna and Tom -- I think these 2 have a good chemistry as actors and characters. The part where they yell at each other after she nearly suffocates had the right amount of edge to it as Tom is completely obsessed. It's good that VOY has been able to build their relationship over a few seasons now and it can provide a wealth of material to build on. A low 2 stars for "Alice" -- thought it might be something of a tribute to "Christine" maybe like TNG's "Starship Mine" seemed to be to "Die Hard". The first half of the episode was slow and had a very cheery feel to it which abruptly changed in the 2nd half. No lasting consequences of course which goes back to my point of playing it safe thanks to a very convenient ending. Another test for Tom and B'Elanna's relationship ultimately, which is fine but this episode just seemed like a weak effort at something that has been done far better.

Matt Boehland

Yet another time there’s an unauthorized shuttle launch that they can’t stop or are too late to prevent. That should be #2 on their list of things that need fixing or additional precautions/procedures for (after the holodeck and its myriad of problems)

EightOfNine

If the ship was sentient AND was acting with purpose...wouldn’t Janeway explore the mystery of WHY it wanted to reach that destination? THAT would’ve been the more compelling mystery.

I can only say that if I were in Tom Paris' place and the female pilot manifested itself as Grace Park I would have done anything, went anywhere, she asked! Miss Battlestar Galactica........All those Number eights!

Yep, nope. Obvious Christine nod, appropriate for Tom the Car Guy...but left under-developed. The menace never felt visceral. Ehh. Moderately interesting concept in the neural interface of man and machine, but it’s been done better, and this brought nothing new. Ehh. The tease that the “particle fountain” (quasar?) was “home” to the AI piqued my interest...like maybe a sister race to the wormhole aliens was doing business in the DQ, and one of the energy beings had somehow run out of motive capacity far from his vortex and so had infiltrated/taken over/possessed an innocent little space runabout (I imagined it sounding like George Jetson’s coupe), but needed to socially engineer a meatbag pilot into pairing up to get it home. But the story did nothing with that notion, so I was left to imagine it on my own. Ehh again. And the rote, pot-boiling, by-the-numbers script proceeded via an endless string of the hoariest cliches. Sometimes Voyager attains such sublime heights...and then there are pedestrian messes like this, putting the dopiest lines in the mouths of actors we know are capable of so much better. It must have made them wonder sometimes why they even came to work. Overall, a simply inane episode. Ehh.

By “script” in my penultimate paragraph above, I more specifically meant “dialogue.” (Sure wish these posts could be edited. By habit I’m a relentless self-editor.)

Well it had potential. Atleast this time the space ghost didn’t impregnate Tom the way they did Deanna Troi. This episode would have been so much better if the scrapped the ghost, made Tom obsessed with the shuttle in a normal way while negeldcting b’lanna and his duties, and the B plot could have been the crew getting Abbadon to fix and replace his junk parts in exchange for that diamond thing he accidentally gave them. We would have got realistic psychology and interpersonal drama instead of ‘space ghost possession’

I thought the casting of the Alice avatar weakened the impact of the episode. Alice should have been a really charismatic and manipulative seductress, but the portrayal from Claire Rankin just gave me clingy, overbearing Donna Reed. The best scene of the episode for me was at 13:20 when Tom blows off some scheduled Holodeck time with Harry. Something about the way Garrett Wang spins around and marches away is hilarious.

Tom Paris: "Oh look, a puppy! Can we keep him, daddy? Can we, oh can we? I'll look after him, clean up after him, take him for a walk. I promise, daddy, I promise!" Commander Acoushla Moya Chakotay: "Oh, okay. But don't make me regret it." **FACEPALM** At least it gave us respite from the idiotic Captain Proton nonsense. P.S. @Jammer: It's "sic," not "sick" :)

Sarjenka's Brother

Usually I think y'all come down on shows too hard, but yeah, this one really is a two point fiver. But I will give three point five to the actual ship design after Tom cleaned it up. That was pretty cool looking. I like ships, so a bump just for that.

Michael Miller

Yes about time we get a break from the Captain Proton Nonsense, of all things they could do on a holodeck they pick that old style bogus! But a sexually-sadistic female shuttlecraft trying to burst Tom's brain unless he lets it wire him up like a borg so they could fly into a particle fountain for no apparent reason disclosed in the episode? Looks like they are trying to compete with "Threshold" lol

You guys are too harsh on this ep. All the shuttle wants is to get away so it's not inexplicably crashed like so many others that came before.

Puppylaurah

I like episodes about Tom Paris, but they don’t let him do that much. And I’m still waiting for him to say “I love you “ to B’ Elanna.

Intriguing that some people suggested Alice might be related to the origin of the Borg, but that would mean she was more than 100,000 years old!

I think this is an entertaining episode, but its not one of the greats.

Can anyone really blame this shuttle for wanting to escape from voyager? I imagine that in sentient shuttle circles voyager has a reputation as a death trap. All kidding aside, this episode needed to explain itself a bit better. I’m ok with ambiguity, but this episode didn’t even half heartedly theorize, just some vagueness about the shuttle being haunted. Um, wha? The shuttle design needed to be better to make tom’s initial fawning make sense. Honestly it was kind of ugly. And pastel green? Really? That got Tom all fanboyed out? Ok bro, you do you I guess. Also Tom and Torres have a weird relationship. At one point she mentions to him that she’s heard he’s been sleeping in his new shuttle. Who would she be hearing that from and wouldn’t she, of all people, know where Tom has been sleeping? I mean, they’ve been in a relationship for two years, wouldn’t they be practically sharing a bed by now? How often do they see each other? It’s a little off. Overall an ok, diverting episode tho.

Rewatching this episode 20+ years later, I'm surprised how callous and dismissive Janeway acts when B'Elanna comes to tell her Tom attacked her.

Aaaaannd: Yet another version of “male Trek character gets fawned over by a female who fulfills his fantasies.” The slight trope inversion (oh no, she’s evil!) is obvious. Maybe I would have found the plot more fresh if I hadn’t read Stephen King’s identical “Christine” way back in 1983. But I don’t think so. “The machine has a mind of its own”, like “the seductive woman is evil” like “love triangle with catfight between the Bad Girl and the hero’s steadfast True Love” all seem very tired. Also, the theme is identical to Vis a Vis (Tom is seduced by machinery while jilted Belanna wrings her hands) . Not awful, just pedestrian and derivative.

@ldh2023 I would like to think that they weren't involved in relations until marriage, but I don't think it is what the writers had in mind. Another good episode, but as I said before, the motivations of alice are unclear

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Alice (episode)

• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.1 Production history
• 3.2 Continuity
• 3.3 Video and DVD releases
• 4.1 Starring
• 4.2 Also starring
• 4.3 Guest Stars
• 4.4 Uncredited Co-Stars
• 4.5 Stand-ins
• 4.6 References
• 4.7 External links

Summary [ ]

On the bridge of the USS Voyager , Tom Paris and Harry Kim tease Lieutenant Commander Tuvok about his refusal to tell them his age. The lighthearted mood is quelled when sensors detect a nearby fleet of ships with multiple hull configurations. Apprehensive of a potentially hostile armada , Tuvok charges weapons and orders a red alert , which brings Captain Kathryn Janeway and Commander Chakotay to the bridge. Voyager reaches the source of the sensor alert and discovers sixty-two derelict ships and a few hundred pieces of ship debris in an interstellar junkyard . An alien trader hails the vessel, welcoming the Voyager crew to Abaddon's Repository of Lost Treasures and invites them to browse.

Act One [ ]

Abaddon beams to Voyager , where he is welcomed by Chakotay and Neelix , whom Abaddon immediately identifies as a fellow trader. He gives an inventory of available merchandise to Chakotay and then darts around the transporter room , impressed with the artificial gravity plating and plasma-based power induction system. Although Voyager can't trade him those integrated components without dismantling the entire ship, Neelix mentions the possibility of supplying spare duranium sheeting, which can be modified into anti-gravity plating. Chakotay instructs Neelix to share Voyager 's inventory with Abaddon.

In astrometrics , Seven of Nine , Paris, and Kim are surveying the debris in the junkyard, most of which Seven deems useless, when Paris spots a rusted shuttle that piques his interest.

Chakotay, Neelix, Paris, and Kim converge in the briefing room to discuss the items they'd like to acquire, including some inexpensive cultural artifacts. Paris shows Chakotay schematics of the shuttle, stating that it has an optronic weapons array and a neurogenic interface that reacts directly to the pilot's thoughts, making it more maneuverable than any of Voyager 's other shuttles, even the Delta Flyer . Paris volunteers to make any necessary repairs on his own time with Kim's assistance and finally convinces Chakotay to acquire the ship.

The exchanges made, Abaddon leaves the ship after one final statement: " All trades are final. "

Paris and Kim work on the newly-arrived shuttle, discovering that it has numerous damaged power cells . Paris reveals that he has named the ship " Alice ," after Alice Battisti , an acquaintance at Starfleet Academy who also seemed to be a "lost cause." The ensigns finally get the ship running and Paris activates the neurogenic interface, which links him to the primary systems: operations, tactical, and sensors. Alice abruptly shuts down, however, when two more power cells blow. Paris wants to continue working, but Kim insists he is going to bed. Once the two leave the darkened shuttlebay , Alice powers up and begins what appears to be a brain scan of Paris. It also adopts a female voice.

In his quarters, Paris is startled by a woman's voice calling his name. Thinking it's Torres, he enters the corridor, where he sees a female figure disappear around the corner. Paris follows the figure to the shuttlebay and upon entering he asks an unseen person, " Who are you? " The female voice responds, " It's me, Alice. "

Act Two [ ]

The next day, Paris greets the shuttle with a cheery " Good morning, Alice " and begins cleaning it and making a series of repairs, finally changing out of his dusty Starfleet uniform and into a gray flight suit .

Kim finds Paris in engineering, talking to a schematic of Alice and promising the shuttle that it will be happier once its EPS relays are bypassed. Kim questions Paris about his new outfit, which Paris says is a design worn by one of the shuttle's previous pilots that he found in Alice 's database. Kim reminds Paris that this is the second consecutive day that Paris has missed their plans to run Chapter 37 of the Captain Proton holodeck program. Tom is too involved with the Alice schematics, so Kim leaves, disappointed.

In the mess hall , Seven tells Neelix that the star charts obtained from Abaddon are outdated and obsolete. Neelix, who has been cleaning the cultural artifacts from the exchange, says that the charts aren't the only item that "didn't live up to its advertising." He now believes most of the so-called "lost treasures of the Delta Quadrant " are actually worthless trinkets. Seven, however, notices that one of the items, heavily encrusted, is actually a beryllium crystal, the primary currency in spatial Grid 539 . She tells Neelix some species would trade an entire fleet of starships for the item.

Paris enters, asking Neelix's permission to replicate a bottle of champagne with which to christen Alice . Neelix offers to make hors d'œuvres for the occasion, but Paris tells him it's to be a private ceremony, just him, Torres and, of course, Alice .

In the shuttlebay , Torres is impressed by the work Paris has done on the ship and suggests not wasting the champagne by breaking the bottle over the hull. Instead, the two share a toast inside the refurbished shuttle. Their romantic interlude is interrupted by a signal that the environmental controls need recalibrating. Paris asks Alice to lower the interior temperature by five degrees, and Torres is surprised and a little amused by the female voice that answers. She tries to kid Paris about it, but his attention has become entirely focused on the shuttle. When she tries to make suggestions for improvements, he curtly tells her not to touch anything. Irritated, Torres threatens to leave, and seems puzzled and annoyed when Paris readily agrees. On exiting, Torres is given a mild shock by the hatch door mechanism.

Paris then goes to visit Chakotay to request more supplies to complete repairs. Chakotay refuses, saying the request is for emergency supplies that he can't spare. He won't let Paris replicate the items either, because of the energy drain. Chakotay tells Paris to postpone his work on the shuttle for a few weeks. He also informally reprimands him for neglecting his duties: missing two sickbay shifts and being distracted on the bridge. He also instructs him to get some sleep, as well as shave and change back into his Starfleet uniform.

Paris agrees, but returns to the shuttlebay, where he apologizes to a humanoid woman for the delay in their test flight. "Alice" now appears to Paris as another person, but he takes it in stride, as if this is nothing out of the ordinary. Alice stops him from changing out of his flight suit back into his uniform and tries to compel him to complete "her" repairs and leave Voyager with her. Paris argues that he can't abandon his job, his friends, and especially Torres. Alice appears to agree, but convinces him to rest in the shuttle cockpit. There, he notices new attachments on his flight suit. Alice says she modified the garment to help them work together better. To demonstrate, she gets him to activate the interface.

Act Three [ ]

Urged by Alice , Paris steals power cells and a data relay but expresses concern over compromising vital systems that will leave the crew, his family, in jeopardy in an emergency. Alice convinces him to continue, saying he doesn't belong with Voyager , he belongs with her. She leads him into recalling the exhilaration of his first flight and promises he will regain that feeling on their flight the next day.

Later, Seven finds Paris in astrometrics charting a flight plan. She notices the modifications to his flight suit and questions the safety of the shuttle's neurogenic interface, offering to examine the vessel herself. Unseen by Seven, Alice instructs Paris in responding and evading Seven's inquiries.

In engineering, Torres and Kim are discussing Paris' new hobby, and his tendency to neglect Torres whenever a new obsession comes along, when they are alerted to the missing power cells. Kim mentions telling Tuvok, but Torres, knowing who's responsible, heads straight for the shuttlebay to confront Paris.

In the empty bay, Torres finds one of the missing cells and enters the shuttle to access the ship's database. The hatch seals and the atmosphere is vented from inside the shuttle. Torres attempts to call for help, but her combadge doesn't work. Paris enters the bay and sees Torres gasping for air and beating on the shuttle window. He opens the door and Torres scurries out, telling him that his ship just tried to kill her. He thinks she accidentally tripped the environmental controls, but she tells him it was no accident. She confronts him about stealing parts and tells him she is going to inform Janeway. Paris screams at her to mind her own business. Torres retorts, " Or what? You'll sic Alice on me again? " and storms off.

Paris starts to follow, but is stopped by the humanoid Alice . Furious, he grabs her and demands an explanation for her nearly killing Torres. She tells him that Torres would have found their flight plan and that once she speaks to Janeway, they'll drag Paris to sickbay, perform a neuroscan, and know all about the two of them. Paris realizes that he needs to get to sickbay and tries to go there, but Alice keeps appearing in front of him, finally cornering him in the turbolift . She produces intense pain in his head and forces him to return to the shuttlebay.

In Janeway's ready room , Torres has explained what happened to the captain and the two theorize that that neurogenic interface must be affecting Paris somehow. Janeway promises to have The Doctor examine him, but their conversation is cut short by a report from the bridge that an unauthorized launch is in progress.

On the shuttle, Alice urges Paris to complete the interface to disrupt a tractor beam Voyager has locked on the shuttle. Different colored wires coil around him, plugging into the attachments on his flight suit. Now one with the shuttle, he disrupts the tractor beam with an optronic pulse, fires on the ship and goes to warp, disappearing from Voyager 's sensors.

Act Four [ ]

While in warp following the flight plan Paris had mapped out for Alice , he finds himself not only completely wrapped up in wires connected to his flight suit, but also that his arms have gone numb. Alice tells Paris that he is now becoming a part of her, and to forget about the old Tom Paris, because he no longer exists. Paris is unable to resist her at this point.

Voyager returns to Abaddon's Repository seeking information. Abaddon refuses to help and powers weapons on three of his derelict ships. Janeway has Neelix show him the now-cleaned beryllium crystal, offering to return it in exchange for cooperation.

Abaddon beams aboard and informs the Voyager crew that the Haakonian who traded him the ship said it was haunted. He starts to say more when Alice suddenly appears to him, in the form of a female of his species. She admonishes him to be silent, and he pleads with her to leave him alone. The confused Voyager crew asks him what he's seeing. Desperate, Abaddon tells them she's there and then collapses, clutching his head in pain.

The Doctor is able to repair the cerebral hemorrhage Alice caused in Abaddon and gives the trader a cortical suppressant to prevent the hallucination from returning. Abaddon tells Janeway that Alice needs a pilot since she can't fly herself. She couldn't recruit him because he was incompatible and his reflexes were too slow. He apologizes for not warning the crew before, but he was unable to resist Alice 's influence.

Seven summons Janeway to astrometrics, where she has reconstructed the course trajectory she saw Paris working on. She shows Janeway that the flight path ends in an area of space that is empty save for one anomaly: a particle fountain , a phenomenon that Janeway knows once cost the Federation several ships.

Meanwhile, Alice and Paris have reached the fountain, which Alice calls "Home."

Act Five [ ]

Voyager catches up with the shuttle and hails Paris. He threatens to open fire, and Janeway tries to tell him the neurogenic interface is affecting his judgment, but he refuses to drop shields and let Voyager beam him back to the ship. Voyager fires a direct hit to the shuttle's propulsion but is forced to stop using weapons when The Doctor reports that any further damage to the shuttle could injure Paris severely.

With only ten minutes before the shuttle reaches the fountain, Tuvok suggests attempting to access the shuttle's computer banks to shut down its shields. The bridge crew knows, however, that Alice and Paris will compensate unless they're distracted. Janeway asks The Doctor if they can tap into the interface with a com signal. He thinks they can, but doesn't know what it would accomplish. Janeway tells him he has five minutes to set up the link and to tell Torres to prepare for an away mission .

On the shuttle, Alice still is urging Paris to take her home when Torres appears in her place, telling Paris not to believe Alice . Alice reappears and each woman tries to convince Paris to follow her. With Paris and the Alice persona distracted, Tuvok disables the shuttle's shields and Voyager beams Paris to sickbay as Alice is destroyed in the fountain.

In sickbay, The Doctor leaves Torres to enforce his recommended recovery period for Paris (now shaved). She gives Paris a hand-drawn get well card from Naomi Wildman . Paris promises no more affairs with strange ships, not even the Delta Flyer .

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Don't tell me Vulcans are embarrassed about their age. " " On the contrary. We value the wisdom that comes with advancing years. " " In that case, how wise are you? " " Wise enough to end this inquiry. "

" Its a junkyard. Congratulations, Tuvok, you just saved us from a flotilla of hostile trash. "

" Aw, she's beautiful. " " It's just an old rust bucket. " " Are you kidding? Look at those lines, it's a work of art. That ship wasn't assembled, it was sculpted. I think I'm in love. " (Harry and Seven give Paris a look.)

" Are you sure you're not just looking for a new toy? " " No! Absolutely not! Even B'Elanna thinks restoring this ship is worthwhile. " " Maybe, if we have the manpower to restore it– " " No, I'll do all the work myself, on my own time. And, if I need a hand... Harry has offered to help. " " I have? "

" The Ferengi call it the five stages of acquisition: infatuation, justification, appropriation, obsession, and resale. Seems like you've only got one stage left before he loses interest in that ship... then he's all yours again! " " Until the next infatuation ! "

" Listen to me ! " " Are you out of your mind? " " Stay out of this, B'Elanna! " " Or what? You'll sic Alice on me again? "

" I'm not sure how I feel about getting inside Tom's head. " " Maybe you'll be able to explain a few things when you get back. "

" From now on, I promise no more affairs with strange ships. " " What about the Delta Flyer ? " " We're just friends. "

" You'll need a few days to fully recover. Think you can manage to stay off your feet for that long? " " If he doesn't, I'll break his legs. " " Well then, I'll leave you to B'Elanna's tender mercies. "

Background information [ ]

Production history [ ].

• Final draft script – 30 July 1999

Continuity [ ]

• During the teaser, Harry Kim and Tom Paris are attempting to guess Tuvok's age. Their guesses (162 and 133) were both incorrect. Tuvok's age at the time was 111 or 112.
• Among John Fleck 's other Star Trek appearances is as Koval in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode " Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges ". He later played Silik in seven episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise . This is his only Voyager appearance.
• Chakotay mentions to Paris that Voyager already has "a full complement of shuttles", despite a total of ten shuttles having been lost by this point in the series.
• Neelix identifies the name of his ship, Baxial , for the first time in this episode.
• According to Brannon Braga , this episode shows parallels to Stephen King 's 1983 horror novel Christine ( Trekworld, June 1999 ), as both feature a character becoming obsessed with the restoration of a vehicle that eventually develops a hold on him as it repairs itself.
• One of the ships in the junkyard appears to be a Devore warship .

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment ): Volume 6.3, catalog number VHR 5023, 1 May 2000
• As part of the VOY Season 6 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 [ ]

• Claire Rankin as Alice
• John Fleck as Abaddon

Uncredited Co-Stars [ ]

• Michael Bailous as Voyager operations officer
• Caroline Gibson as Voyager operations officer
• Joyce Lasley as Lydia Anderson
• Nichole McAuley as Voyager sciences officer
• Pablo Soriano as Voyager operations ensign
• Simon Stotler as Voyager operations ensign

Stand-ins [ ]

• Brita Nowak – stand-in for Jeri Ryan

References [ ]

2304 ; 2356 ; Abaddon (father) ; Abaddon (grandfather) ; Abaddon's Repository of Lost Treasures ; Abaddon's space station ; Abaddon's species ; Adventures of Captain Proton, The ; alarm clock ; Alpha Quadrant ; Asil ; astrometrics ; Battisti, Alice ; Baxial ; beryllium ; broadband sensor matrix ; Captain Proton ; cerebral hemorrhage ; champagne ; christening ; commander ; confinement beam ; connector sequence ; cortical suppressant ; Daedalus ; Delta Flyer ; Delta Quadrant ; deuterium ; diamond ; dozen ; duranium ; ensign ; environmental controls ; EPS conduit ; EPS relay ; exit ; feather ; Federation ; Ferengi ; Five Stages of Acquisition ; flight suit ; flotilla ; freedom ; freighter ; get well card ; girlfriend ; gravity plating ; Grid 539 ; Grid 867 ; Haakonian ; Haakonian trader ; hallucination ; heel ; history ; holodeck ; hors d'œuvre ; Icarus ; impulse reactor ; ion exchange rod ; irrational ; irritable ; iso-convective oven ; isolation sickness ; Jefferies tube ; junkyard ; jukebox ; kilometer ; lieutenant ; lieutenant commander ; lieutenant junior grade ; logic ; Lost Cause ; lovers' quarrel ; main computer ; meter ; multiphasic shielding ; namesake ; navigational array ; neural pathway ; neurogenic interface ; odometer ; open-and-shut case ; ops ; optronic weapons array ; oven ; Paris, Owen ; particle fountain ; picnic basket ; pilot error ; plasma ; plasma coupling ; plasma manifold ; poetic license ; pon farr ; power cell ; power distribution grid ; power induction ; power regulator ; Queen Arachnia ; reactant injector ; red alert ; roadblock ; rust bucket ; S class ( shuttle ); " saved by the bell "; secondary warp assembly ; sensors ; sexy ; shave ; shuttlebay doors ; slave driver ; sleepwalking ; spaceworthy ; star charts ; Starfleet Academy ; Starfleet uniform ; Talaxian ; tactical ; tactical data module ; temperature ; thrusters ; towing vessel ; tractor beam ; trader ; translation matrix ; trinket ; Voyager , USS ; Vulcan ; warp field ; " Web of Pain, The "; Wildman, Naomi ; work of art

External links [ ]

• " Alice " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Alice " at Wikipedia
• " Alice " at the Internet Movie Database
• 1 USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G)
• 3 Daniels (Crewman)

• Cast & crew
• User reviews
• Episode aired Oct 20, 1999

Voyager takes on a "haunted" hot rod alien spacecraft with a possessiveness artificial intelligence that jealously bonds with Tom Paris. Voyager takes on a "haunted" hot rod alien spacecraft with a possessiveness artificial intelligence that jealously bonds with Tom Paris. Voyager takes on a "haunted" hot rod alien spacecraft with a possessiveness artificial intelligence that jealously bonds with Tom Paris.

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

Top cast 14

• Capt. Kathryn Janeway

• Cmdr. Chakotay

• Lt. B'Elanna Torres

• Ensign Tom Paris

• Seven of Nine

• Ensign Harry Kim

• Voyager Ops Officer
• (uncredited)

• Starfleet Scientist
• Operations Division Ensign
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia In the beginning of this episode, Tom Paris and Harry Kim try to guess Tuvok's age unsuccessfully, and unfortunately Tuvok never reveals his real age. According to the Official Star Trek Chronology, the events of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) , which was also depicted in Flashback (1996) occurred in the year 2293. In "Flashback", Tuvok told Captain Janeway he was 29 years old when he served on the USS Excelsior, which would put his birth year at 2264. Assuming this episode took place in 2376 ( Star Trek: Voyager (1995) takes place between 2371 and 2378), this would place Tuvok's age at 112 years during this episode.
• Goofs As Voyager fires on Alice, the Doctor informs the Captain that she must stop because they are disrupting Tom's neural pathways. At this time, they had not made any sort of connection to Tom or Alice. There is no way for the Doctor to have that detail of information just from scanning a shielded ship.

Harry Kim : Bad day at the office?

B'Elanna Torres : Bad night with Tom Paris. - You're his best friend, right?

Harry Kim : So he tells me.

B'Elanna Torres : So maybe you can explain why every time he finds a new hobby, I go right out the airlock.

Harry Kim : I wouldn't take it personally. The Ferengi call it the Five Stages of Acquisition: Infatuation, Justification, Appropriation, Obsession and Resale. Seems like you've only got one stage left before he loses interest in that ship, and he's all yours again.

B'Elanna Torres : Until the next infatuation.

• Connections References Christine (1983)
• Soundtracks Star Trek: Voyager - Main Title Written by Jerry Goldsmith Performed by Jay Chattaway

User reviews 11

• tomsly-40015
• Jan 16, 2024
• October 20, 1999 (United States)
• United States
• Official site
• Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (Studio)
• Paramount Television
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 43 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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