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Which Episodes Featured Captain Proton?

Discussion in ' Star Trek: Voyager ' started by FalTorPan , Nov 22, 2007 .

FalTorPan Vice Admiral Admiral

I watched about a third of the Voyager episodes -- none of which featured "Captain Proton," Tom Paris' holodeck alter ego. Which episodes featured one of those adventures?  

Evil Twin Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

The three main ones... Night Thirty Days Bride of Chaotica! To a minor degree... Alice (only see Kim in costume) Shattered (Janeway and Chakotay are briefly captured by Dr. Chaotica) I may be forgetting one or two.  

Sisu Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

Warning Will Robinson....! Bride of Chaotica is as camp as a row of pink fluffy tents. But it's great!  

Squiggy FrozenToad Admiral

From Captain Proton * "Night" * "Thirty Days" * "Bride of Chaotica!" * "Alice" * "Drive" * "Repression" * "Nightingale" * "Shattered" * "Endgame" HAIL WIKI! End communication.  

Odon Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

The Proton program was based on a number of Hollywood adventure serials produced in the 1930's, most notably: Captain Proton and the Coffee of Arachnia. Captain Proton and the Large-Breasted Space Vampires. Captain Proton and the Scantily-Clad Amazons. Captain Proton and the Redshirts of Death. Captain Proton and the Invasion of Cliches. Captain Proton vs. the Vulcan Freakasaurus. Captain Proton vs. the Unconvincing Giant Toy Spider Captain Proton Conquers A Very Tiny Part of the Universe. Captain Proton Battles Reused Props From Other Hollywood Movies Captain Proton Enters A Mirror Universe That Looks Exactly Like Southern California. It also appears to have drawn from the Republic serials Doc Zimmerman: The Photonic Man and Commander 'Chuck' Kotay: Man of Wood as well as some blatant plagiarism of mainstream sci-fi like A.E. Vogt's The Voyage of Porthos , Issac Assimov's I, Rebok (the Sponsored Edition) and the controversial rewriting of Harlan Ellison's "Shitty On The Edge of Neuropressure" for the latest series of Star Trek: Enterprise . There's also clear semiotic influences (and a few 'in-jokes') from: Plan Seven of Nine From Outer Space. The Shape of Things in Catsuits. The Six Million Dollar Borg. Amazon Women on the Move. The Stepford Chakotay. The Crawling Eyelash. This I-Pod Earth. 20,000 Leagues Without A Pee. They Stole Archer's Brain Godzilla versus Ambassador Soval. Satan's Robot is a clear homage to the classic (or should one say cliched) theme of the water heater that is upgraded with artificial intelligence and then turns on its masters: It Came Without Needing Regular Maintenance (promoted in Great Britain as It Came From Out of the Kitchen! ) and Chrome Toasters From Hell which we all know inspired Battlestar Galactica. Constance Goodheart clearly represents the vapid space babes of The Beast With A Million Thighs and My Head Is Hollow And I Am Blonde . The Twin Mistresses of Evil are clearly inspired by those pretty actresses who played bit parts when they weren't filming more adult fare like Mars Needs Scantily-Clad Boxum Women with No Brains , Debbie Dax Does Deep Space Sixty-Nine and supposedly 'educational' shorts like You're Astronauts on Some Kind of Sex Tour or the shocking Lesbian Trill Tramps Who Dare To Rejoin .  

Kegek Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

Excellent post, Odon , however, I believe this fellow was the real inspiration for Satan's Robot.  

Thanks for the replies! I often forget about Memory Alpha. Before posting this thread, I had checked both Wikipedia and StarTrek.com. Odon said: The Proton program was based on a number of Hollywood adventure serials produced in the 1930's, most notably: Captain Proton and the Coffee of Arachnia. Captain Proton and the Large-Breasted Space Vampires. Captain Proton and the Scantily-Clad Amazons. Captain Proton and the Redshirts of Death. Captain Proton and the Invasion of Cliches. Captain Proton vs. the Vulcan Freakasaurus. Captain Proton vs. the Unconvincing Giant Toy Spider Captain Proton Conquers A Very Tiny Part of the Universe. Captain Proton Battles Reused Props From Other Hollywood Movies Captain Proton Enters A Mirror Universe That Looks Exactly Like Southern California. It also appears to have drawn from the Republic serials Doc Zimmerman: The Photonic Man and Commander 'Chuck' Kotay: Man of Wood as well as some blatant plagiarism of mainstream sci-fi like A.E. Vogt's The Voyage of Porthos , Issac Assimov's I, Rebok (the Sponsored Edition) and the controversial rewriting of Harlan Ellison's "Shitty On The Edge of Neuropressure" for the latest series of Star Trek: Enterprise . There's also clear semiotic influences (and a few 'in-jokes') from: Plan Seven of Nine From Outer Space. The Shape of Things in Catsuits. The Six Million Dollar Borg. Amazon Women on the Move. The Stepford Chakotay. The Crawling Eyelash. This I-Pod Earth. 20,000 Leagues Without A Pee. They Stole Archer's Brain Godzilla versus Ambassador Soval. Satan's Robot is a clear homage to the classic (or should one say cliched) theme of the water heater that is upgraded with artificial intelligence and then turns on its masters: It Came Without Needing Regular Maintenance (promoted in Great Britain as It Came From Out of the Kitchen! ) and Chrome Toasters From Hell which we all know inspired Battlestar Galactica. Constance Goodheart clearly represents the vapid space babes of The Beast With A Million Thighs and My Head Is Hollow And I Am Blonde . The Twin Mistresses of Evil are clearly inspired by those pretty actresses who played bit parts when they weren't filming more adult fare like Mars Needs Scantily-Clad Boxum Women with No Brains , Debbie Dax Does Deep Space Sixty-Nine and supposedly 'educational' shorts like You're Astronauts on Some Kind of Sex Tour or the shocking Lesbian Trill Tramps Who Dare To Rejoin . Click to expand...

jimbtnp2 Commander

the bad ones well let me cut that list down the REALLY BAD ones no desire to offend just mho  

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• Episode aired Oct 14, 1998

Passing through a vast starless void, monotony hits the crew hard till a darkness species attacks, mistaking Voyager as an ally of a poisonous garbage freighter. Passing through a vast starless void, monotony hits the crew hard till a darkness species attacks, mistaking Voyager as an ally of a poisonous garbage freighter. Passing through a vast starless void, monotony hits the crew hard till a darkness species attacks, mistaking Voyager as an ally of a poisonous garbage freighter.

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

• Capt. Kathryn Janeway

• Cmdr. Chakotay

• Lt. B'Elanna Torres

• Lt. Tom Paris

• Seven of Nine

• Ensign Harry Kim
• Controller Emck

• Night Alien
• (as Steve Dennis)

• Dr. Chaotica

• Voyager Computer
• (uncredited)
• Crewman Foster

• Operations Division Officer
• Constance Goodheart
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia According to Brannon Braga , The Adventures of Captain Proton holodeck program was influenced by Flash Gordon. Versions of the program also appear in Thirty Days (1998) , Bride Of Chaotica! (1999) , and Shattered (2001) . In the prequel Cogenitor (2003) , a title called "The Bride of Chaotica" is one of the movie options for the crew's movie night, indicating that the holodeck program is an interactive version of a (fictional) movie.
• Goofs Whilst Voyager heads toward the vortex, the Malon apparently disable Voyager's engines; however, when we see the exterior of the ship, both warp and impulse engines are undamaged and functioning normally. Not only that, just before Voyager enters the Vortex, Tom Paris tells the Captain that the engines are damaged and offline; yet, upon exiting the vortex moments later, Captain Janeway orders "Full speed ahead," even though Voyager has apparently not paused to fix the seriously damaged engines.

[Paris has asked Seven to join him on one of his 'Captain Proton' missions]

Seven of Nine : My designation?

Tom Paris : Ah, right. You're Constance Goodheart. You're... my secretary.

Seven of Nine : Secretary?

Tom Paris : Yeah, you tag along on all the missions. Now, I want you to keep the robot occupied, while I save Earth. Computer - run program.

Satan's Robot : Citizen of Earth, surrender. Do not resist.

Seven of Nine : I am Borg.

[opens the control panel of the robot and pulls out a few wires]

Satan's Robot : Surrennnnderrrr...

[shuts down]

Seven of Nine : The robot has been neutralized. May I leave now?

• Connections Referenced in Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force (2000)
• Soundtracks Star Trek: Voyager - Main Title Written by Jerry Goldsmith Performed by Jay Chattaway

User reviews 11

• shelley-bourdon
• May 19, 2017
• October 14, 1998 (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

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• Runtime 46 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Star Trek: Voyager - Episode Guide - Season 5

What’s that? You want even *more* Borg? Welcome to season 5 of Star Trek: Voyager! At least four episodes are devoted entirely to the cybernetic badasses – “Drone”, “Infinite Regress” and the two-part “Dark Frontier” – and rare is the Voyager season 5 episode in which Borg or Borg technology is a key plot device or character motivation.

Not that Star Trek Guide is complaining: This show had been wanting serious badassery to test Janeway et al for much of four seasons, and the Borg certainly bring that.

(Quite frankly, STG believes that the Borg are the single greatest alien race created for any of the ST series. Vulcans? Give me a break! Klingons? Baktag, wej naDev! Tribbles? You may have competition there…)

This season is also notable for its high number of character-focused episodes. In fact, of all the main characters, only Neelix is (justifiably) denied at least one solo shot in this season.

1. Night – Let’s get things started in Beckettesque fashion! Voyager attempts to cross “The Expanse” a region of empty space spanning thousands of cubic light years in all directions. Pretty excellent Beckettesque nightmare fuel here is ruined by Janeway’s completely out-of-character pouty behavior for the first two-thirds of the episode. ***

2. Drone – Though “Drone” begins with the well-worn trope of transporter malfunction, the episode’s remainder tells an interesting story of a Borg accidentally created with 29th-century technology. ****

3. Extreme Risk – While much of the Enterprise crew gets to work building a bigger, faster shuttlecraft, B’Elanna suddenly starts suffering from survivor guilt from news she received 11 episodes ago as thus takes up lots of extreme Klingon sports in the holodeck. **

4. In the Flesh – In the middle of nowhere in the Delta Quadrant, the Voyager crew stumbles upon an intensely detailed mockup of Federation headquarters in San Francisco. The actual revelation of who’s behind the recreation and why is questionable, though interesting enough. ***

5. Once Upon a Time – What’s the difference between Neelix and the officer’s daughter for whom he’s caring? One is an annoying little alien trying desperately to be cute, and the other’s a little girl. *

6. Timeless – All right, temporal paradox! Some 15 years in the future, Kim, Chakotay and Chakotay’s girlfriend who happily accepts the possibility of nullifying her own existence seek to change the past and thereby prevent Voyager’s destruction. Kim gets to act intense for a while before insufferably freaking out; good thing The Doctor’s on hand to balance the melodrama. And *Captain* Geordi LaForge? Nice. ****

7. Infinite Regress – What might have descended into a silly tale of Seven developing multiple personalities is actually quite watchable thanks to a brisk pace and Jeri Ryan’s outstanding devotion to the part. ***

8. Nothing Human – When B’Elanna Torres becomes attached (literally) to a very large symbiote, the Doctor creates a hologram of a Cardassian doctor who’s the galaxy’s foremost expert on exobiology. The Doctor soon suffers a crisis of conscience, however, when he learns that his new comrade is actually quite the war criminal… ***

9. Thirty Days – At an aquatic planet, Tom Paris suddenly declares that he loved reading Moby Dick and Jules Verne as a child. (Yeah, sure.) His involvement in helping save the world’s environment goes over the top and gets him busted. ***

10. Counterpoint – Voyager passes through a bit of space ruled by the Devore, a species especially paranoid about telepaths. Several times are a handful of crew members and picked-up refugees stowed away – and then one of the chief Devore law enforcement officers turns traitor. Some awesome cat-and-mous stuff with Janeway coming out the clever badass. ****

11. Latent Image – The Doctor discovers that he has operated on Harry Kim but has forgotten about doing so entirely; he’s also experiencing hallucinations starring an “Ensign Jetal” (cough cough Red Shirt ahem cough hack), a crew member he’s never heard of before… ***

12. Bride of Chaotica! – A fan favorite and a classic holodeck-based episode. Whilst Paris and Kim are playing another round of “The Adventures of Captain Proton,” Voyager appears to be attacked from within the holodeck. Soon, Janeway and The Doctor are enlisted to play parts in the black-and-white holo-serial – don’t ask; just enjoy the hilarity. ****

13. Gravity – Paris and Tuvok crash-land a shuttle (didn’t take long for one of these to hit DS9 season five) on a planet whose time moves at a different rate than the surrounding universe. They take refuge for weeks (relatively) against hostile aliens of all sorts with an alien named Noss. **

14. Bliss – Voyager suddenly begins receiving an incredibly unlikely stream of good news – but what’s that got to do with the lone captain figure with the distinctly Ahab vibe seen in the cold open? ***

15. Dark Frontier, part I  – Janeway & Co. get gutsy as they make plans to steal Borg technology right off a cube. The plan works, except that Seven decides to rejoin the collective. ****

16. Dark Frontier, part II – The Borg Queen, last seen in Star Trek: First Contract remanifests in order to oversee Seven’s reentry into the Borg fold, though why the Borg ever figured Seven would play ball without getting properly re-assimilated remains a mystery. ***

17. Disease – Kim finally gets some, only to get a gnarly STD and/or fall in love, diseases which turn him into a regularly glowing whiner. (What? He was always a whiner? Oh.) Star Trek Guide is quite intrigued with those “differences” Kim and his Varro girlfriend mentioned, though… ***

18. Course: Oblivion – Star Trek: Voyager is often at its best when deep-diving into a bleak, Beckettesque plot. On the off-chance you haven’t seen this episode before, the mind-blowing twist about 20 minutes in involving B’Elanna’s apparent death is perhaps the finest in all of Star Trek history. The subsequent degeneration of things is equal parts engaging and existentially depressing. ****

19. The Fight – Comination head trip/holodeck trip for Chakotay, who must use dream-symbolism and memory patterns to communicate with aliens. A decent story whose unfortunate padding means the crew figures out the mysteries long before the audience. ***

20. Think Tank – An utterly unrecognizable Jason Alexander guest stars as a representative of the Think Tank, a small group traveling about the galaxy solving planet-sized problems. And when a large fleet of Hazari sets to hunting down Voyager, it appears the Think Tank can help – until they propose an untenable deal, almost an indecent proposal, if you will. ****

21. Juggernaut – The Voyager crew has another run-in with the Malons, those waste dumpers of the galaxy, when they encounter an ailing freighter packed with radioactive, volatile stuff. ***

22. Someone to Watch Over Me – As for episodes featuring Seven and The Doctor, Star Trek Guide prefers those with more wit and intrigue, as opposed to fluffy stuff like this, with Seven learning about dating. *

23. 11:59 – Janeway learns about one of her ancestors which completely changes the captain’s opinion. An attempt at breaking form, this one falls well short of Deep Space Nine episodes like “The Visitor” and “Far Beyond the Stars.” **

24. Relativity – All right, Captain Braxton of 29th-century Starfleet is back! The time-travel authority hurriedly recruits Seven (several times, as it turns out) to find terrorist or terrorists who will destroy Voyager. Interesting stuff, but one question: How did Braxton remember his 30 years trapped in the 20th century when Voyager helped wipe out that timeline altogether? ****

25. Warhead – An Enterprise away team discovers – and The Doctor takes a quick liking to – a sentient robot which turns out to be a rather single-minded space-traversing weapon. ***

26. Equinox, Part I – Voyager’s path comes across that of the Equinox, another Federation ship accidentally brought into the Delta Quadrant by The Caretaker. The Equinox is a science vessel reduced to half its already small crew immediately upon entering the quadrant currently, the ship is relentlessly under attack from “nucleogenic” aliens. A disturbing realization is made about Equinox’s operations, and the aliens invade the Enterprise as well as the Equinox… ***

25 Must-Watch Episodes of ‘Star Trek: Voyager’

“We're Starfleet officers. Weird is part of the job.”

Paramount+ recently renewed their roster of Star Trek shows, meaning fans have access to Star Trek all year-round. One of the best things about New Trek has been a renewed appreciation for Star Trek: Voyager . Be it the return of Kate Mulgrew as Hologram Janeway on Star Trek: Prodigy , Jeri Ryan reprising her role as Seven of Nine on Star Trek: Picard or Voyager’s enduring legacy nearly 1000 years in the future as seen on Star Trek: Discovery , the show has been inescapable. Former Voyager actors Garrett Wang and Robert Duncan McNeill have also revived interest in the show through their recaps on The Delta Flyers podcast.The fifth Star Trek show to debut on screens, Voyager was the first to have a female captain leading its crew and one of the more diverse casts in the roster when it debuted in 1995. Voyager faced plenty of criticism when it aired, but viewers’ newfound love for it is hardly misplaced. There is a lot to love and enjoy during the show’s seven-season run.If you’re wondering where to start with this underrated show or want to take a trip through the Delta Quadrant, let’s look at some of the best episodes to watch. RELATED: ' Star Trek: Voyager': The 7 Best Time Travel Episodes

Season 1, Episode 1: "Caretaker"

The pilot episode of Voyager sets the tone for an unpredictable journey through the Delta Quadrant. Voyager is tasked with retrieving a rebel Maquis ship when both ships are pulled more than 70,000 light years away by an entity known as the Caretaker. Neither crew emerges unscathed, and Captain Janeway must weigh impossible options to either return her crew home or save an entire civilization.

The episode gives viewers a glimpse of all the main characters and their unique personalities. We also meet the Kazon, the bane of Voyager’s life in early seasons. What “Caretaker” does well embodies the varied aspects of a Star Trek episode in one—there’s action, there are uncomfortable alliances and there’s solidarity in the face of adversity.

Season 1, Episode 14: "Faces"

“Faces” is a bold episode to include in the first season of a show. Voyager’s away team is captured by the Vidiians, a species that have advanced medical technology but are unable to cure themselves of the devastating disease, the Phage. The chief surgeon of the facility splits Voyager’s Chief Engineer B’Elanna Torres ( Roxann Dawson ) into two people—a Klingon and a human.

The episode examines B’Elanna’s conflict with her mixed heritage, the bullying she suffered because of it and her journey to accepting who she is. Through B’Elanna, we see an analogy for real-world discussions of identity, especially among minority communities. “Faces” will resonate with anyone who is struggling with their identity and how it’s viewed by others.

Season 1, Episode 15: "Jetrel"

Neelix ( Ethan Phillips ) was introduced as comic relief but “Jetrel” shows us a very different side to him. Dr. Ma'Bor Jetrel ( James Sloyan ) arrives at Voyager with dire news for Neelix but Neelix refuses to engage with him. Jetrel was the man behind the metreon cascade that decimated Neelix’s home world, killed his family and hundreds and thousands of other Talaxians.

The beauty of science-fiction is its ability to reflect real-world incidents through a genre-specific lens. “Jetrel” is obviously an analogy of the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The story channels the consequent suffering of the Japanese people through Neelix. The creators don’t attempt to redeem Jetrel but instead balance the varied emotions that both Jetrel and Neelix navigate when faced with each other.

Season 2, Episode 12: "Resistance"

Captain Janeway is separated from her away team and rescued by an alien named Caylem ( Joel Grey ). Caylem is convinced Janeway is his daughter, so Janeway tries to use his help to get back to her crew. Meanwhile, B’Elanna and Tuvok ( Tim Russ ) are captured and try to find a way out.

This seems like a straightforward episode—stranded on a planet, split up, captured by aliens, standard Star Trek stuff. But the episode allows B’Elanna and Tuvok to bond and get to know each other despite their differing personalities. However, it’s that heartbreaking dénouement that makes it a must-watch. Captain Janeway’s humanity and generosity come to the fore with a few lines of dialogue and will have you reaching for the tissues during the finale credits.

Season 2, Episode 21: "Deadlock"

Voyager spots Vidiian ships and hides in a nebula, only for the ship to start failing in mysterious ways. Lives are lost, and the ship is in shambles. Captain Janeway and her crew locate the source of their troubles. It’s another Voyager?

Duplicates, high stakes, technobabble, “Deadlock” feels like classic Star Trek. The creators capture the claustrophobia of a ship-based story and the sets perfectly capture the differing scenarios aboard the two Voyagers. The episode writers don’t pull any punches; sometimes space exploration can be deadly and Voyager has to face that fact. The conclusion is such a surprise—just when you think you know how the episode will end, the creators chuck in another twist.

Season 2, Episode 25: "Resolutions"

Unrequited love is a standard trope across pop culture, but “Resolutions” takes it to a whole new level. Captain Janeway and First Officer Commander Chakotay ( Robert Beltran ) transport to an isolated planet after they’re infected with a contagious disease. While Chakotay immediately takes it upon himself to make the planet their new home, Janeway still holds out hope that they’ll return to Voyager.

The episode is incredibly romantic despite lacking a concrete romance. Chakotay veritably declares his undying love for Janeway without saying the actual words, but just when Janeway begins to imagine her life without Voyager, Captain and Commander are miraculously saved. A happy ending has never been sadder. The thread of their almost-romance informs Janeway and Chakotay’s relationship throughout the show, but never overshadows it.

Season 3, Episode 3: "The Chute"

Tom Paris (McNeill) and Harry Kim (Wang) became fast friends in the first episode of Voyager and their friendship is one of the best in the franchise. So, what happens when the close buddies are wrongfully convicted and imprisoned in an alien prison?

“The Chute” is a tense episode that shines a spotlight on Tom and Harry during one of the worst ordeals they have together. It’s stressful watching Tom deteriorate and Harry reach the end of his tether. We’re on tenterhooks throughout worrying about how this friendship will survive this episode if it can at all! It all comes to a head in the final scenes and a simple line of dialogue that rights the world. This is heart-wrenching stuff that showcases the power and importance of friendship.

Season 3, Episode 8 & Episode 9: "Future’s End Parts I & II"

Time travel is an integral part of Star Trek, and one of Voyager ’s most memorable temporal stories is the two-parter “Future’s End”. In the episode, Voyager becomes trapped in the 20th century and can’t get back until they stop Henry Starling ( Ed Begley, Jr. ), a con man who has stolen future technology for his own gains.

This is an entertaining episode but also thought-provoking. Starling is a truly reprehensible villain compared to the other aliens that Voyager has met in the Delta Quadrant. The crew are also faced with an interesting conundrum—they’re back on Earth but in the wrong century, do they really want to return to their time when they’re 70-odd years away from home?

Season 3, Episode 16: "Blood Fever"

B’Elanna Torres is accidentally infected with the Vulcan Pon Farr which sets her hormones in overdrive. When she and Tom Paris are alone on an away mission, sparks fly but how real are these feelings?

“Blood Fever” is a sexy episode, with a lot of hot and heavy emotions bubbling to the surface. B’Elanna is aggressive with her desires, but the writers do a great job in making consent a priority. Tom was introduced as a cad on Voyager , and had his eye on B’Elanna, but he refuses to give in despite B’Elanna’s requests because she isn’t in a position to consent. The gender-flipped power play adds to the appeal of this episode. In the end, “Blood Fever” sets the stage for a romance but doesn’t ignite it, which is an important difference. Also, a new terrifying villain is introduced in the final moments. What’s not to love?

Season 3, Episode 23: "Distant Origin"

There are a few Star Trek episodes that have attempted to investigate the origins of humans, but in “Distant Origin” two scientists from an alien species called the Voth believe they originate from human beings. They capture Chakotay who reluctantly helps them.

The debate between traditional dogma and science is familiar to everybody and “Distant Origin” reflects the destructive impact of such rigidity through the Voth and the Doctrine. It’s maddening to watch the scientists lose their hard work and their future because of bureaucracy, which is what makes this episode so brilliant (and sadly, relatable). Another fantastic element is Chakotay’s characterization—his kindness and understanding are a balm during an otherwise tense episode. This is also a rare moment where aliens help Voyager altruistically.

Season 3, Episode 25: "Worst Case Scenario"

“Worst Case Scenario” begins with B’Elanna seemingly being encouraged by Chakotay to begin a mutiny, but just when things get interesting, the holo program stops. Suddenly everyone wants to play this program and learn the identity of the author.

While the author reveal is surprising, what comes after is gripping stuff. Tuvok, who had conceived the story as a training program, is convinced to complete the narrative, alongside a very eager Tom Paris. And that’s when things go very wrong. Tuvok and Tom make for an unlikely comedic duo—Tuvok, dour and logical as ever, Tom, a bit too flippant considering the danger they find themselves in.

There are twists and turns that one would never expect, and laughs aplenty, as the entire ship finds itself facing a talented adversary.

Season 4, Episode 8 & Episode 9: "Year of Hell Parts I & II"

Another time-focused two-parter, “Year of Hell” puts the Voyager crew through the grind, and they shine despite it all. The ship is caught in a series of temporal incursions created by Krenim scientist Annorax ( Kurtwood Smith ) and each one devastates the ship more and more. Unable to get out, the crew do everything they can to survive.

“Year of Hell” is a harrowing episode, but the best part of it are the character interactions and dynamics. Tuvok and Seven’s relationship, Chakotay falling for Annorax’s big ideas, Neelix’s promotion, the politics aboard the Krenim ship, Captain Janeway’s valiant sacrifice—they all come together to create a moving and immersive experience. The Voyager crew have never been closer than in this two-parter. The dénouement feels like a well-earned relief.

Season 4, Episode 14: "Message in a Bottle"

If you need a laugh, “Message in a Bottle” is the perfect bottle episode. The Doctor ( Robert Picardo ) is transmitted as a holographic message to the Alpha Quadrant. The only problem? The ship he arrives at has been overtaken by Romulans. The Doctor then has to partner with the captured ship’s emergency medical hologram, the Mark 2 ( Andy Dick ), to survive and save the ship.

If you thought the Doctor had a bad attitude, the Mark 2 somehow trumps even him. The banter between the two EMHs powers this entire episode and the comedic timing of Picardo and Dick is stellar. What should be a stressful situation becomes a comedy of errors because we’re following the exploits of two doctors—EMHs—not trained Starfleet officers.

Season 5, Episode 6: "Timeless"

One of the most heartbreaking episodes on Voyager is another time travel story. This time, Harry and Chakotay are on a mission to save their friends who died in the Delta Quadrant fifteen years ago.

From the opening teaser reveal to the final scene, “Timeless” tugs at the bond that the Voyager crew has formed with one another, and with the viewer. Director LeVar Burton perfectly juxtaposes the joyous celebrations of the past with the eventual doom in the ‘present’. Seeing Harry transform from hopeful and optimistic to jaded and fatalistic adds another layer of shock to the proceedings. “Timeless” will make you want to bawl your eyes out. It doesn’t matter how many times you watch this episode; you will be overcome with emotion by the end.

Season 5, Episode 10: "Counterpoint"

Star Trek has rarely shied away from reflecting the atrocities committed by humanity and “Counterpoint” is another great entry in the franchise. Voyager is secretly housing telepathic species who are seeking refuge through an expanse of occupied space. The ship is constantly inspected by the smarmy Devore Imperium officer, Kashyk ( Mark Harelik ). And then one day it’s Kashyk who’s asking for refuge.

There are so many layers and subtleties that make this episode a memorable and heartbreaking one. The obvious references to Nazi Germany make it a powerful watch, but the interplay between Captain Janeway and Kashyk is riveting. This is a spotlight episode for the captain, and she is written as compassionate and intelligent. The writers cleverly subvert our expectations of the conclusion, and you will be left feeling as crushed as Janeway by the end of it.

Season 5, Episode 12: "Bride of Chaotica"

Another Captain Janeway episode, but this one is so different. Tom and Harry’s The Adventures of Captain Proton holodeck program is one of the more memorable holodeck programs in the franchise. In “Bride of Chaotica”, photonic lifeforms mistakenly believe the program is real and begin fighting the evil Doctor Chaotica ( Martin Rayner ). The battle affects the ship and soon Janeway is on the holodeck assuming the new role of Queen Arachnia.

This episode fully embraces the cheesy, hammy style of classic science-fiction. Tuning in to “Bridge of Chaotica” is like switching off your brain and enjoying 45 minutes of bombastic performances, bulky props and a lot of fun. This is exactly the kind of silliness that a holodeck-based episode should embrace.

Season 5, Episode 21: "Someone to Watch Over Me"

It can be very icky when an older gentleman falls for a much younger woman, but “Someone to Watch Over Me” still makes the interaction between the Doctor and Seven of Nine a touching one. The Doctor takes it upon himself to help Seven learn some social skills, especially the art of dating. The two of them bond over songs and banter, and it’s not long before the Doctor begins falling for his student.

The episode doesn’t go any further with their relationship, and that’s the beauty of it. Once Seven decides to put dating on hold, the Doctor realizes the door to explore other aspects of their relationship is closed. Voyager is made for lovers of unrequited love, and you will be all choked up as Picardo sings a heartbreaking version of “Someone to Watch Over Me” as the episode closes.

Season 6, Episode 4: "Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy"

The Doctor is a man of many talents, or so it seems in “Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy”. The story sees the Doctor alter his program so that he can daydream, only for an unsuspecting alien scientist named Phlox ( Jay M. Leggett ) to tap into the feed. Soon, Phlox’s mistake and the Doctor’s tampering put Voyager at risk. And only the Emergency Command Hologram can save them.

There’s a lot to be said about the innovative ways the Voyager writers allowed Picardo to flex every muscle he could. This laugh-out-loud episode is crisply paced and comedic gold. The Doctor’s love for daydreaming is one of his most human aspects. But it’s the writers’ ability to imbue the unknown character Phlox with so much personality and high stakes that elevates this episode.

Season 6, Episode 6: "Riddles"

Frenemies Tuvok and Neelix are returning on the Delta Flyer when Tuvok is attacked and loses his memory. The crew is desperate to get their chief tactical officer back and Neelix takes it upon himself to help Tuvok heal. But along the way, both characters learn that there’s more to each other’s personalities and themselves.

Star Trek is all about friendships and “Riddles” captures the importance of that. Tuvok always acts like he barely tolerates Neelix, but Neelix never seems to take the hint—this episode explores why. It’s so sweet and the relationship between Tuvok and Neelix is affectionate and touching. “Riddles” was actor Roxann Dawson’s first directorial effort on the show, and she does a great job evoking myriad emotions from the central cast.

Season 6, Episode 10: "Pathfinder"

“Pathfinder” is a rare episode that doesn’t center Voyager. Set on Earth, Lieutenant Reginald Barclay ( Dwight Schultz ) is part of the Pathfinder project to help the ship find her way home. Except, Barclay is a little too obsessed with the project and his holodeck program… of the Voyager crew. When the problem reaches a peak, Barclay’s friend, Enterprise Counselor Deanna Troi ( Marina Sirtis ) tries to help him work through it.

Brilliantly paced with obvious roots in Star Trek: The Next Generation , “Pathfinder” feels very meta. Barclay is every Star Trek fan come to life—desperate to be part of a story he dearly loves. Schultz and Sirtis step into the shoes of their TNG characters with ease, and the workplace setting also adds to the novelty of the episode.

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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/TheAdventuresOfCaptainProton

Film / The Adventures of Captain Proton

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A Show Within a Show from Star Trek: Voyager that appears in the episodes " Night ", " Thirty Days ", " Bride of Chaotica! " and " Shattered ".

Captain Proton is an Affectionate Parody of 1930s-50s Universal and Republic Film Serials heroes like Flash Gordon and Commando Cody . The holodeck program was created by Tom Paris (who always plays the hero, Captain Proton) ostensibly for the purposes of historical study, but more likely so he and Harry Kim can have a fun time battling hammy villains and rescuing gorgeous space babes.

This film serial provides examples of:

• Ambiguously Evil : The "real" Queen Arachnia never appears, so it is unclear if she ultimately allies with Captain Proton or remains a villain.
• Arachnia's vial of irresistable pheromones .
• Dr Chaotica's Lightning Shield .
• Arachnia, Queen of the Spider People.
• The Twin Mistresses of Evil, Demonica & Malicia. Tom: ( busts in ) You're done for, Demonica! Malicia: Malicia. She's Demonica! Tom: Whatever.
• Batman Can Breathe in Space : Parodied in "Thirty Days" where Proton is introduced flying through outer space protected by a leather jacket and flying goggles .
• Beard of Evil : Doctor Chaotica is a hirsute fellow. Visually, his appearance is based on Ming the Merciless.
• Captain Space, Defender of Earth! : Captain Proton: Spaceman First Class, protector of Earth, scourge of intergalactic evil...at your service.
• Captain Superhero : The hero is played by Lieutenant Paris (demoted to Ensign at one stage). When Captain Janeway is reluctantly convinced to enter the program, she naturally outranks him as Queen Arachnia.
• Card-Carrying Villain : Doctor Chaotica is your typical retro sci-fi villain. His rantings make classic Doctor Who antagonists look staid by comparison. Paris: I've been studying how past generations viewed the future. Janeway: And? Paris: It didn't work out quite as black and white as they imagined.
• Chained to a Rock : Constance Goodheart is tied to a pillar prior to her being presented to Queen Arachnia as a "supreme sacrifice."
• Though that's, bizarrely, actually the reverse of a Cliffhanger Copout, since normally apparent death in one episode would be downplayed in the next. This is more a case of Never Trust a Trailer !
• Dark Action Girl : Queen Arachnia. Given that she acts like a Femme Fatale yet is aiding the heroes, she's presumably a villainess from a previous chapter who made a Heel–Face Turn after falling for Proton or having our heroes save her life .
• Deliberately Monochrome : The Doctor isn't happy when Harry adjusts his 'spectral frequency' to fit in with the program, which is entirely in black and white (including anyone who plays the program).
• Department of Redundancy Department : The "Underground Cavern."
• Parodied in the voluptuous form of Sexy Secretary Constance Goodheart, who "tags along on all the missions" for the sole purpose of getting captured by Mad Scientists , and whose only dialogue is an ear-piercing scream . That's her in the comic art above, jaw agape as usual.
• Hilarity Ensues when Tom tries to put Seven of Nine in this role. She goes Off the Rails quickly. Seven: I am Borg. (Yanks out robot's wiring, disabling it) The robot has been neutralized. May I leave now?
• As Proton's sidekick, 'Buster' plays the Distressed Dude on a couple of occasions.
• Dope Slap : Paris gives this to Satan's Robot when it scares off the alien they're trying to make First Contact with. The Robot shambles off muttering sulkily about alien invaders.
• Emperor Scientist : Doctor Chaotica, Ruler of the Cosmos!
• Evil Is Hammy : Justified with Chaotica. The entire program is a World of Ham with even Captain Janeway joining in, so naturally the villain has to out-ham everyone or get left behind. "FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! You shall PAY for your inCOMPetence! SEIZE HIM!"
• Evil Laugh : Chaotica, whose other Evil Tropes include Evil Eyebrows , Beard of Evil , Paid Harem , Big "NO!" , Pitiful Worms , You Have Failed Me , You Fool! , Seize Them! , "Kneel before Chaotica!" , Lonely at the Top , and "Full power to the Death Ray !"
• Excessive Evil Eyeshadow : The much-discussed Delaney Twins make their debut in "Thirty Days", looking like a pair of badly-dressed raccoons.
• Expanded Universe : Captain Proton: Defender of the Earth , a compilation of Captain Proton stories by Pulp Magazine writer D.W. "Prof" Smith (actually Star Trek novel writer Dean Wesley Smith).
• Dr Chaotica appears to be a Ming the Merciless expy .

• Proton's leather jacket has Jet Pack controls which are the same as those used by Commando Cody (aka The Rocketman ).
• D.W. "Prof" Smith is a riff on E. E. "Doc" Smith , who virtually invented Space Opera with his Skylark and Lensman series.
• Faceless Goons : Chaotica's Army of Evil. Justified when Tom mentions the Dressing as the Enemy trick is part of the program.
• Genre Savvy : Tom Paris knows something's gone wrong in "Bride of Chaotica!" because Constance Goodheart has been killed, and that never happens to the Good Guys . Likewise he tries to warn Captain Janeway of Chaotica's fondness for hidden traps , but she falls into one anyway.
• High Collar of Doom : Arachnia wears a pretty big one.
• Lonzak greets any new player by demanding they "HALT! IN THE NAME OF CHAOTICA!"
• Captain Proton giving his Large Ham Title when we first meet him.
• Lampshaded when the hologram Constance dies, proving that something is vastly wrong with the program .
• Hypercompetent Sidekick : Proton is more or less helpless when Seven is playing Constance Goodheart. This is evident even before the holodeck gets invaded by legit aliens. Seven, who has spent all of ten minutes rolling her eyes at this daft program, immediately barks, 'Disengage safety protocols!" and roasts the intruder with the fallen Tom's ray gun .
• Killer Robot : Parodied in the clunky mechanical form of Satan's Robot. Supposedly terrifying but actually slow-moving, easily disabled, and rather pathetic.
• Large Ham : With the exception of Tuvok and Seven, everyone who enters the program can't resist hamming it up along with the holodeck characters.
• The Load : When Seven asks what Constance Goodheart's function is, Tom mumbles that she 'tags along on all the missions'. Officially Constance is his Sexy Secretary , but as there's not much use for a secretary In Space she's actually the Designated Victim .
• Love Is in the Air : While Tied To a Pillar Janeway uses Arachnia's vial of "irresistable pheromones" to make Dr Chaotica release her. Unfortunately Chaotica moves out of sniffing range, leaving her to get slobbered over by his ugly henchman Lonzak instead.
• The Men in Black : The alien MIB version turns up in "Bride of Chaotica!" when two photonic aliens appear on the holodeck dressed as grey-suited men in fedoras. They speak in a stilted manner and though dressed like humans of the 1930's are unfamiliar with their society, mistaking the holodeck characters for Energy Beings like themselves and assuming the supervillains they encounter are a genuine threat.
• Mistaken for Profound : When the Doctor complains of Tom monopolizing the holodeck, he protests that Captain Proton is an important sociological work of the highest magnitude! The Doctor: Perhaps you can teach a course at Starfleet Academy: Satan's Robot - an Historical Overview.
• Mooks : Chaotica's 'Army of Evil' , plus his Number Two for Brains Lonzak.
• Names To Run Away From: Nouns : Dr. Chaotica is outright derived from the adjective of "Chaos."
• In "Night", Tom Paris ropes in Seven to play the plucky "secretary." Upon being menaced by the Killer Robot , Seven expresses her opinion of this hackneyed role by reaching into the robot's chest cavity and shutting it off , foiling Tom's attempt at heroism.
• "Bride of Chaotica!" went off the rails on multiple levels. Holographic aliens, believing the simulation to be reality, ended up waging war with Chaotica after he murdered one of their own. Within that, Tom and Harry just shoot Lonzak in the middle of his speech since they don't have time to play along.
• Not So Above It All : Janeway ends up playing her role with gusto. "HA! You're no match for Arachnia!"
• One World Order : The Doctor cuts a nice figure in his double-breasted suit while playing the "President of Earth."
• Phallic Weapon : While trying to romance 'Queen Arachnia', Dr Chaotica proudly shows her his Death Ray . Janeway promptly strokes the barrel in a sensual manner . Janeway: Ohhh, it looks like a... formidable weapon. Chaotica: The most powerful in the cosmos!
• Recycled Set : Lampshaded In-Universe — Harry Kim points out that "Planet X" looks identical to "The Mines of Mercury" that they visited in the last adventure. Tom replies that sets were expensive in the days when you couldn't just create them on the holodeck.
• Retro Rocket : But of course. This is Captain Proton's ride.
• Robo Speak : Satan's Robot with its Catchphrase : "SUR-REND-DER!" Also Electronic Speech Impediment whenever it gets damaged.
• Role-Playing Game : That's what any holonovel is.
• Killed Mid-Sentence : Lonzak is raygunned by Proton and Buster as he's hamming his way through his Roaring Speech of Revenge. They were kinda busy with the invading holographic aliens. "Surprised? You thought I had perished in that den of crocodiles . I SURVIVED! CLINGING to the thought that I would ONE DAY— Arrrrgh! "
• Sidekick : Ensign Harry Kim plays 'Buster', a Shout-Out to Buster Crabbe who famously played Flash Gordon in the 1930s film serials . In the Expanded Universe novel he is a Tagalong Reporter .
• Space Clothes : The expected shiny metallic robes and ridiculous headgear.
• Strapped to an Operating Table : The Cradle of Persuasion ("It's fully equipped: Brain Probe, Pain Modulator..."). In "Shattered", Captain Janeway finds herself strapped to it and has to resort to the undignified method of vamping her way out.
• Stylistic Suck : The Adventures of Captain Proton is a lot more hammy than the Film Serials that inspired it.
• Supervillain Lair : Doctor Chaotica's Fortress of Doom .

• Telegraph Gag STOP : Due to its Zeerust look the Subspace Ansible is a teletype machine. Paris: It's a message to Captain Proton from the President of Earth. Intercepted communications between Doctor Chaotica and Arachnia STOP. Chaotica at war with aliens from Fifth Dimension STOP. Must strike now to disable Death Ray—- Tuvok: Stop. Please summarise the message.
• Tin-Can Robot : Satan's Robot looks absolutely ridiculous, moves very slowly, and is very difficult to see as a threat to anything. The holo-characters are deathly afraid of it. The real people in the holodeck find it hard to take seriously, and they take the ham up to 11 when dealing with it. Only Tom seems to enjoy everything (seeing as he deliberately designed the holonovel after a 1930s movie serial - he basically says "Of course it's ridiculous - it's supposed to be).
• Trrrilling Rrrs : Chaotica. "I'm afrrraid your SEC-cretarrry has alrrready been prrromised to Queen ArrrrACK-nia as a SUPrrreeeeme sACKrrrrifice!"
• Unholy Matrimony : Chaotica makes this pitch to "Queen Arachnia", arguing that the blissful union between two people who so perfectly embody evil is inevitable.
• Unwanted Rescue : Harry Kim greatly enjoys being chained up by the Delaney Sisters and threatened with mental enslavement via their evil Brain Probe , so he objects when Tom comes barging in for a Big Damn Heroes .
• Villain Shoes : Invoked and Exploited with Janeway as Arachnia. She steps into the role of an established (if unseen ) villianous character to be in position to carry out the Voyager Crew's plan to end the photonic war. Presumably, replacing an active character like Chaotica himself wasn't assured to work with the holodeck controls unstable.
• Weird Science : The Raygun Gothic version.
• World of Ham : Frankly, the whole point of playing the program. Chaotica is the emperor of this trope , but also seen with the Doctor and Captain Janeway whose initial reaction is either contempt or amusement, but who end up playing their roles with gusto . Hilariously subverted by Seven of Nine in "Night" (see Off the Rails .)
• You Just Ruined the Shot : In "Bride Of Chaotica!", photonic aliens mistake the simulation for reality and go to war with Chaotica. Although given that they were, well, photonic beings living in the photonic subspace layer in which ''Voyager'' was stuck , Chaotica's Death Ray was very real for them - and killed many of them.
• Zeerust : It's several centuries old by the time of Voyager . Furthermore, it was specifically designed this way by Tom Paris.
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Star Trek: Voyager: Stars Would Like to Revive Captain Proton as a Series

by Jessica Pena, May 4, 2020

Is  Captain Proton making a comeback? Recently,  Star Trek: Voyagers  stars Robert Duncan McNeill and Garrett Wang discussed possibly reviving their UPN TV show characters, TrekMovie reports.

McNeill and Wang played Tom Paris and Harry Kim, respectively, on  Star Trek: Voyager.  The sci-fi series ran on UPN from 1995 to 2001. The cast also included Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, and Jennifer Lien.

During a recent virtual panel, McNeill brought up the idea of a possible  Captain Proton series.  The Adventures of Captain Proton was a “holonovel” created by McNeill’s  Voyager character Tom Paris and starring Wang’s character Harry Kim. The show-within-a-show emulated B-movies from the 1930s.

From McNeill:

I loved the Captain Proton  holodeck stories. I thought there should have been a lot more of that, partially because I liked the character I got to play. That could have been an amazing thing to explore the story within the story. And it was such a great echo where we could make fun of ourselves; we could reference old Star Trek plotlines. We could have done so many things in the  Captain Proton holodeck story. So yeah, I think there is a great opportunity to go revisit that.”

The  Voyager  star revealed that he has taken the idea to producers:

I have talked seriously about that with David Goodman, who worked on  Enterprise  as a writer but is also on  The Orville , where I got to direct a couple of episodes. I talked to Goodman about maybe writing that serial. I don’t know if it would be a CBS All Access thing or something that we could do that would be fun and silly and we can get our cast back together, which would be a blast.”

What do you think? Are you a fan of  Star Trek: Voyager ? Would you watch a  Captain Proton revival?

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I think Captain Proton would be awesome with all the crew members back together!

it coud be done as a short trek episode. re visiting old series from the past. i personaly would like a enterprise crossover. they did not get a good farwell and now with the new pike series comming up there is a chance to tell the nx story to captain pike. tpol visits the enetrprise and tells the story of the final mission of the nx enterprise. would be just like the tos episode the menargie where the tolosians tell kirk about pikes mission.

I would love to see this come to tv! I am a big fan of Captain Proton and would wait with baited breath each week for a new episode!

It is an interesting idea.

I would like to see all of the original crew take part in episodes as that is where it’s original appeal came from.

There is no reason why it could not be incorporated into a Voyager type story where even after they have returned home and lead their respective lives, pieces of the past could come back, using the Borg, Species 8472 or Q.

So you could have a parody type story tied into something involving the Federation.

Not a bad idea. Don’t think a full series would work, but it could be part of Short Treks.

Discovery is kind-of getting good. Picard has been the biggest let-down in Star Trek history. But THIS… you absolutely can not screw this up. I would 100% sign up for CBS All Access (or Bell’s service Crave in Canada if I have to) for this show. I would not hesitate. Sounds like fun.

Captain Proton was based on an old Republic serial called King of the Rocketmen called cliffhanger serials as they always ended with the hero in some jeapody

I would watch anything Star Trek.

I enjoyed those episodes and would love to see a series.

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Robert Duncan McNeill Has Pitched ‘Captain Proton’ Series To Star Trek Universe Producers

| July 27, 2021 | By: Anthony Pascale 81 comments so far

Last year, TrekMovie reported that Robert Duncan McNeill was hoping to bring back his Captain Proton holodeck character. Now, the Star Trek: Voyager star has taken the big step of actually pitching the show to the powers that be.

Another step for Proton

It’s been a big week for Robert Duncan McNeill. Our article about McNeill revealing he’d been asked to reprise his Voyager role of Tom Paris on Star Trek: Picard got fans   buzzing . The next day, the season two Star Trek: Lower Decks trailer dropped , featuring a cameo from McNeill as Paris. He is even being immortalized on a new commemorative plate straight out of Lower Decks .

But there was actually more in that Primitive Culture  podcast chat where he dropped the Picard news. When asked about pitching possible Paris plotlines for Picard to the producers, McNeill revealed that he had an entirely different pitch for them:

I did pitch to them—I’ve had this idea for a number of years—about doing a Captain Proton on the holodeck, only. Get our cast back together. Do like a serialized—like the old Flash Gordon short little stories that add up to a bigger story. I thought about trying to produce it as a podcast during COVID. I thought that might be fun, do an old radio drama with Captain Proton , but get all of our actors back together. And I actually talked to [Alex] Kurtzman’s company and those guys about producing either a podcast version of Captain Proton or a web series or Short Treks kind of version with just Captain Proton …

Garrett Wang and Robert Duncan McNeill in a Captain Proton adventure, from Star Trek: Voyager

McNeill wants to have fun with it

While McNeill wasn’t able to fit appearing in either season one or season two of Picard into his busy schedule working as an executive producer and director on Disney+ series Turner & Hooch and Syfy’s Resident Alien , it does appear he is motivated to carve out the time for Proton . McNeill told the TrekFM podcasters his vision for the show:

People really love that holodeck and I love doing that character. And I just think the fans would really love the show-within-a-show kind of idea of Captain Proton commenting on sci-fi generally and Trek sci-fi tropes. It’s just a lot of fun.

McNeill saw fan interest in this show earlier this year when he took to social media to get it trending . And now with the actor-turned-producer/director being courted to work on Picard and actually appearing in Lower Decks , he is now inside the new Star Trek Universe ecosystem. As for Alex Kurtzman, he has expressed interest in doing black-and-white Short Treks , although at this time there is no indication Paramount+ is planning on any more from that series.

Many of McNeill’s Voyager co-stars have indicated their interest in the project, including Kate Mulgrew in a TrekMovie.com interview . McNeill has also indicated he was hoping to get The Orville writer/executive producer David A. Goodman involved, and Goodman told TrekMovie he would jump at the chance, assuming he can work around his contract with Fox.

Martin Rayner and Kate Mulgrew in “Bride of Chaotica”

Proton the podcast?

If things don’t align for a filmed version of a Proton revival, McNeill’s suggestion of doing it as a podcast may fit the bill. In 2020 ViacomCBS began working with iHeartMedia on a slate of podcasts, including the official Star Trek podcast The Pod Directive . This year, they expanded their offering of podcasts with hopes to have 20 new podcasts by the end of the year. McNeill has already proven himself in that arena; he and Voyager co-star Garrett Wang (Harry Kim) co-host the popular Delta Flyers podcast, where they’re making their way through the entire series from start to finish.

ViacomCBS SVP in charge of podcasts Steve Raizes said to The Wrap , “The secret sauce, or unfair power, that we’ve got [is] this amazing, known IP.” With five Star Trek series currently in production for Paramount+, it’s clear the company sees Trek as an important IP, so why not more for the audio frontier?

Robert Duncan McNeill co-hosting The Delta Flyers podcast

Keep up with the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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Sigh. Can we put this on the shelf with the “Captain Sulu” and the “Captain Worf” concepts?

Yes, please!

I always thought a Sulu series would have been awesome, they should have done it when it was originally pitched. Even now if they did a series set somewhere in the 2290s or early 2300s, I’d love to see Sulu either as a recurring or cameo character (recast obviously).

Worf could have been in Picard as Captain of the Enterprise. He easily could have been in Riker’s fleet. I’m surprised they didn’t think of it.

Worf, the man of rejected solutions!

You mean the drawer.

Is that shelf where we’re putting Trek ideas I’d love to see happen? If so, then absolutely.

I like that kind of shelf!

With todays technology why not. You dont need to watch all content. Have it produced. Why not go further? Why not take BBCs Sherlock and deepfake in Data, where benedict Cumberbatch is. And replace the Hobbit with Geordie. I would watch that.

As long as we’re deepfaking Cumberbatch out of things, we could get a South Asian actor to replace him in Into Darkness.

While we’re at it, can we deepfake a good movie into Into Darkness’s place?

Can we deepfake in Ricardo Montalban, the real Kahn?

I think these two concepts could work very nicely. Would love to see some time travel story with boths Sulus (George Takei and John Cho). And Worf, I never get tired of watching my favorite Klingon, however, doesn’t necesarily means having an all Klingon concept.

I loved “Bride of Chaotica” — mostly because Kate Mulgrew was so wonderful in it — but in general, I hated the Captain Proton episodes.

Why were we watching Paris and Kim live out their juvenile fantasies on the holodeck, when we could be watching Tuvok or B’Elenna or one of the other underserved characters who were WAY more interesting than Paris and Kim?

Was never a huge fan of Captain Proton (but do love the episode Bride of Chaotica which has become classic in its own way). But yeah I think this has the same chance of happening as the Worf show or that Trek movie Nic Meyer supposedly pitched last year, zero to none.

That said if they made it would happily watch it since I would love to see Paris and Harry together again!

Remember those Star Wars 2D animated shorts from a few years ago? They were around one minute long recaps of the movies or of specific characters. A Captain Proton serial along those lines would be pretty cool, I think.

Here’s one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf1cfemeX_U

I think Captain Proton popping up in Lower Decks or Prodigy as a holodeck easter egg is the glimmer of hope possibility. There is no mention of ‘Short Treks’ being planned/produced for VIACOMCBS by the Secret Hideout powers that be.

That’s a shame if they’re not making any more Short Treks. It’s a solid idea with a lot of possibilities to explore, especially in the animated realm. You don’t have to blow your budget building sets, for one. ;-)

Animation isn’t necessarily cheap either. The last Toy Story had an estimated budget of $200 million. Same for a few other recent Pixar movies. That’s more than the Kelvin Trek movies. Good animation costs a lot of money because it takes ages to make.

Oh, good grief, nobody said these had to be on the level of Pixar or feature length movies…

Look at the link I shared above. They’re 2D animated shorts — and I mean SHORT. They look fine and Disney probably didn’t spend a ton of money on them.

How much of that $200M went to VAs and marketing? $195M of it?

Yeah, that might be worth exploring….in sepia tone. I’d watch that.

Would also be fun to get Robert Picardo as the hyperbolic narrator. “Last time on Captain Proton!…”

Those youtube shorts were terrible. I do remember the pre Filoni Clone Wars from Genddy fondly. In fact i have the DVDs.

They’re weren’t terrible. They were okay. Come on, I didn’t say they were the greatest animation in the history of creation. Just a recent example of short form animation that Trek could use. That’s all.

I love the guy, but…. no, thank you.

No thank you.

As a one-off “TV movie,” I might watch it out of curiosity. As an actual “Star Trek” TV series 🙄 no way!

Yes, please! And if only for Janeway’s Bride of Chaotica! Mulgrew was deliciously over the top, & I ate up every moment of her performance!

Hard pass for me. Bride of Chaotica! is one of those Voyager episodes I generally skip over on a rewatch. Voyager really struggled coming up with interesting holodeck programs. None of them really seemed to work.

Season 1 and 2 were Janeway’s gothic novel Season 3 was the tropical resort program and Da Vinci Season 4 was more Da Vinci (can’t remember if there was another) Season 5 was Captain Proton Season 6 was Fair Haven

…and I don’t believe we saw a recurring holodeck program in season 7.

You forgot Sandrine’s from the first couple of seasons. Like the resort, the idea was that they were more hangouts than programs in and of themselves, a bit like Vic’s without Vic.

You forgot the Nazi recreation with the Hirogen. We almost made it to the end of Trek without another WW2 Nazi episode….

I’ve said for a long time the “Short Trek” format could be interesting ways to catch up with legacy characters without integrating them into the different series. I think this could work in that format, though an old radio-style podcast could be neat. Was never the biggest fan of the captain proton episodes, but it could be fun

You might be right about that being a good format. Perhaps four highly serialized 15-minute episodes or something.

I actually think this could be a lot of fun as 10-15 min Short Trek-esque type series; but definitely NOT as a full blown Trek series.

Yes, it would be perfect as a series like Short Treks! I would love two watch it! 15 -20 min of fun per episode would be perfect! A running time of an hour for each episode would be to long – I think.

This seems like a bit of a no-brainer to me. There’s no reason why a Captain Proton series would need to be all that expensive; the cheesier the effects, the better, in all honesty.

It probably makes more sense as a standalone movie than as a series, though. Given the response to the Voyager documentary, I’d think that would be a good investment for Paramount +.

I’d imagine they’d go the route of a series of weekly shorts on Paramount+ with ‘a movie’ cut released for the DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD markets if they were to green light something like this.

You’re right — I wasn’t thinking about the “weekly serial” aspect of it.

Bring it on!

I didn’t myself to be honest when this idea was first floated I considered it a waste of a potential series slot until somebody pointed out it would likely just be a season of Short Treks!

Even just as a radio drama, it could be fun. I enjoy retro sci-fi. In the context of the show it wasn’t exactly a highlight, but on it’s own it could be better.

A Trek radio drama would more or less be new territory (a few audiobooks excepted) for Trek; I like the idea.

Captain Proton : Garret Wang Gets A Paycheck After 20 years

I wonder how hard it is for Garret. I see him selling T-Shirts at conventions. He’s always behind our booth in Vegas. He’s incredibly nice to everyone, poses for pics for free. Seeing his fellow actors get gigs again must be tough. On a side note, I think Patrick Stewart got Wil Wheaton his gig on the after show. As far as Captain Proton goes? I dunno. I think it may put off fans who haven’t seen VOY or Trek in general. It’s a definite fan boy piece, and a vanity project for McNeill. I think a podcast would work. A short Trek at most. I would watch it, as I watch all the Trek series.

Really nice! And you earned how much in 20 years?

Was this comment really necessary?

Why are here some people mean to Garret Wang? He is a very nice guy (esspecially to the fans) and I liked his acting and character on Voyager. Yes, he wasn’t blessed with the most exciting writing material for his character by the writing staff (but still better than Kes) and it was overdue that he gets promoted. But just being “a nice guy” as a character should not be considered a problem. I really liked him in the episode “Timeless” and it is clear to me that Harry should return as well as Tom if the Captain Proton series happens in any way! I would love to see him again! And yes, he would deserve that paycheck because he is part of Star Trek.

Again the open mindedness of the trek fans are showing with all the rejections to this idea. Why do you guys also want same old, same old. I think this might be an interesting idea and I wouldn’t mind seeing it. Especially as a person who immensely enjoys the cheesy serials from the 30s. I sometimes think you guys are taking all of these too seriously, sometimes Trek can and should be just for fun and this would be nothing but fun.

After seeing my reply to Commander K, I realize you’re right, it would be fun. With the VERY LITTLE I know about show business, (my spouse is peripherally involved, and I’m a vendor at several cons a year.) I think it would be difficult to get Par+ to finance it, based on conversations I’ve had with some acquaintances who are execs at CBS. I think we only got Jeri Ryan back as 7 of 9, based on how good she looks. (And her talent of course!) Wait! Idea just popped into my mind. They’ve inserted Paris as a hero to Boimler in LDS. I can see him interacting on the holodeck with the Proton characters. I think that may be the best way to organically insert Proton back into Trek. If the response is good? I can see Par+ giving it a greenlight.

Why do you guys also want same old, same old.

So for “new and fresh” you propose an entire series based around a 20-year-old middling, cheesy episode of VOY?

Well, at least it is something different as a concept than doing the same basic episode. But I see what you are doing here, the typical taking of a tiny detail from the big picture to refute an idea.

It literally is same old same old. It’s an episode we saw 20 years ago. Fun novelty episode as far as I remember, but just because a joke is funny once doesn’t mean it needs to be repeated to the point of exhaustion.

I’d much rather a Captain Proton series, than the Section 31 series.

Sadly agree about that. At least with Space Hitler at the helm.

I guess much like Michael Dorn, Robert Duncan McNeill needs work so pitching this idea every few months is a thing…If either one of them even browse this site when Trekmovie reports on these proposals, these actors will stop bringing these messes up..

Terry Farrell was at the Set Tour in Ticonderoga. I always ask a celeb what is their next project. Usually, they perk up a bit and excitedly tell you about their idea. It’s easier to pivot back to Trek questions as they see your interest in their career. Terry told me most of the cast had a project, or script, they are trying to get off the ground. I think whenever a cast member is being interviewed they try to insert their idea or next project into the article. Hopefully, it gets some buzz, or some film company looking for a project, will pick it up. JG Hertzler, who played Martok, would tell stories of stretches of “stark unemployment” you would take any gig to make some $$ and get noticed. Even though we may dislike their idea, they most likely don’t care. One job can turn into another one. Mr Nimoy also encouraged his son, Adam, to take a directing gig, even if the project was a B film. He told him you’ll never know who might notice you and bring you onto another project.

Imagine if Vince Gilligan, fresh off X-FILES, had pitched endless cheesy spinoffs of that rather than BREAKING BAD.

Point made. Unfortunately, none of the new Disco era shows comes close to Breaking Bad.

Actually, Robert Duncan McNeill seems to be pretty busy as a producer and director so I don’t know that he “needs work”. But Captain Proton would give him an excuse to work with his Voyager friends again.

RDM has stayed busy behind the camera for the last 20 years. He doesn’t need the work

For some reason, I always associate “RDM” with Ron D. Moore, not Robert Duncan McNeill. I guess they have both stayed busy behind the camera ;-)

This was a middling episode from Voyager (a series that never lived up to its potential precisely because of diversions like this) featuring one of Voyager’s least remarkable characters.

It might work, as a pleasant diversion, for a short Trek. Greenlighting Captain Proton as a series would seriously say that Star Trek has jumped the shark.

I would absolutely love the hell out of this. I love pulpy space opera serials, and a love letter to that that also homaged Trek would be a dream come true for me.

It has one short trek in it at best.

Lots of these former-cast pitches have a Short or other made-for-streaming anthology episode in them at most.

But I’m glad they keep pitching the ideas if not impressed by their seeming fixation on getting a series format.

I’d love more Short Treks, or a once a month one hour anthology show with different casts and producers.

One or two Trek made-for-streaming movies per year would be brilliant too.

And I’d even pay a premium to see the litverse Destiny trilogy brought to streaming as 3 six-part miniseries, with a new and younger cast to give us the Enterprise, Titan and Aventine face-off against the Borg in 2381.

Not a fan of Captain Proton. The acting/performance was similar to Enterprise Mirror Universe, which is something that was not really appealing to me at that time. I remember skipping those episodes when I was in college.

Now, at this point in my life, I am not closing doors to any possible Star Trek project. Common guys!? Aren’t you still suffering from the very quiet 50th Anniversary? The Paramount split was not very nice to the Franchise. Fifty years and we only got one exciting video, one round applause, and Shatner and Green-Martin holding hands. Right now, so glad and grateful we can choose several shows, and hopefully, for 2023 we will have the next movie. Every new show is different, new audiences will watch these new Star Trek productions, keeping the magic for all types of fans, new and old, Trekkies and Trekkers,

I am welcoming all kinds of new series, mini-series, movies, short treks. Captain Proton, Section 31, great. The Paris Family or Seven and Chakotay Chronicles, sure! An Enterprise mini-series or a Lin Manuel Miranda Star Trek Musical, awesome! The return of Captain Sisko and more DS9, pleeeeease! :P

Too many years waiting for a new show. How can’t we be so picky? Every year, the new productions are getting better. Every new team needs time to adjust. Kurtzman has been a good listener, for fans and colleagues. And he has succeeded to convince Paramount Executives to move forward.

Look how much has been accomplished since Discovery Season 1. I have a feeling SNW and Prodigy will be a smash hit right from the start. Everything changed for me, after watching Lower Decks. Has been my biggest and most unexpected surprise. And it seems this is just the beginning.

Ya’ know, if I didn’t know better I’d say he and Frakes are related. They’re starting to resemble each other.

I’m slowing warming up to this…..but do it being faithful to the Flash Gordon shows of old (no or very minimal effects), props and sets done the old fashioned way, or animated. It’s for a streaming service….knock out a few, post them, and repeat when things are a bit slow on the flagship shows.

I agree. One twist I’d like to see is our heroes tackle problems analagous in the Proton Universe to previous ones in the series where they used merely technobable to resolve – except, this time they have to actually work out a Proton Universe scientific method solution with no technobabble new or otherwise allowed as the Proton solution..

“Bride of Chaotica” was fun little episode while VOY was on. The best was the b/w aspect and the retro score that I still like to listen to. But as a new series? No. The cast is 20+ years older now. The series is ancient history. I’d like to see a VOY reunion movie or mini-series on P+ but this?

Some folks here compare it to a Captain Sulu or Captain Worf show. That’s almost offensive. Takei may be too old now to take on the role but any “Lost Era” series would be awesome. And Worf? Yeah! Bring him on while Dorn’s still the right age!

That said, I believe there are many good ideas / gaping holes in the franchise out there that would be perfectly served as P+ streaming movie. With redressable bridge sets and the AR-Wall, they would easily be able to “build” those ships for each movie… Excelsior, Stargazer, Enterprise B / C all of those might fly for 90 great minutes but I doubt they’ll be full-on TV shows…

There would be so many more great eras to explore: pre-ENT Ringship Enterprise, post-ENT Romulan War / NX-01 refit / Horizon, the entire Lost Era, post-NEM opportunities (Titan, Enterprise-E)…

As a TV show I’d recommend a time travel show next. That show could basically explore all eras of Trek alongside Earth history, alien history and ancient civilisations… It’s the one comcept long overdue in this franchise: Legends of Tomorrow vs Doctor Who vs Time Tunnel vs all Trek time travel adventures = STAR TREK – GUARDIANS OF FOREVER

Kate Mulgrew said about Martin Rayner (Chaotica), “Only the funniest man I have ever met in my life. When he electrocuted himself, I wet my pants.”

I can take it or leave it. I’m sure a Captain Proton series would be a lot of fun, but I won’t be at all upset if this never happens.

What about a Dixon Hill show?

Seriously, also a Why?

The New Adventures of Moriarty and DaVinci!

Please, no!

I wonder if Paris was supposed to be Rios at some point in the drafts. Then when he wasn’t available, they created a new character. The idea that he’d joke around with holograms fits.

If they ever pick up this ridiculous campy drech, I will purchase and detonate thermonuclear weapons.

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Published Nov 8, 2014

Captain Proton Collectibles

“Take a look around you. This is how the twentieth century saw the future. We are studying sociology!” -- Tom Paris responding to criticism about his holodeck creation, Captain Proton, in the Voyager episode “ Night .”

As sociology professors, we always enjoy whenever the words “sociology” or “sociologist” are mentioned on Star Trek . One of our favorite supporting characters of all time is Christopher Lindstrom, the Enterprise’s sociologist from “ The Return of the Archons ,” who stays behind to help the people of Beta III. However, our favorite mention may be when Star Trek: Voyager ’s Tom Paris, in the fifth-season opening episode “Night,” argues that his holodeck creation Captain Proton is really a sociological exploration of how people of his past viewed the future. It is an exciting and innovated use by Paris of his sociological imagination.

There have been some interesting collectibles created inspired by Captain Proton, Buster Kincaid, Queen Arachnia, Doctor Chaotica and the many other characters of Paris’ sociological experiment. Because the world of Captain Proton has such a unique look, with black and white environments and 1930s retro technology that stand in sharp relief with the otherwise colorful and streamlined designs of most Voyager episodes, Proton merchandise was likely fun to create and certainly fun to collect. These are some favorites collectibles:

During the days of the Official Star Trek Fan Club and Star Trek Communicator magazine, several exclusive Captain Proton items were available. The first was an innovative and ironically colorful lithograph by artist Joe Boulden. At 18”x”24, the bold poster forsook the black and white design elements usually associated with the character and his worlds. For $30, limited to 1000 pieces, and printed on archival-quality paper, the artwork’s advertisement proclaimed the litograph “A decoration worthy of your IMPENETRABLE FORTRESS!!!”  (Another colorful poster foldout was included with the 2000 Star Trek: Voyager calendar co-published by Pocket Books and Andrews McMeel Publishing. This image mimicked the style of a 1930s science fiction Saturday matinee movie poster with hilarious monikers for Tuvok (“The Alien!”), Seven of Nine (“The Cyborg!”), Chakotay (“The Illustrated Man!”), B’Elanna Torres (“The Warrior Woman!”) and Neelix (“The Cook!”).

A second item available from the fan club was the “Captain Proton Hawaiian Shirt” which featured a repeating image, in black and white, of Captain Proton, Buster Kincaid, Lonzak, and Satan’s Robot. The $55 shirt was made of 100% rayon, and the shirt also symbolized the frequent use of Hawaiian aloha shirts by characters like Tom Paris and Harry Kim in different episodes of Voyager.

Various trading card companies, including Decipher, Inc. which produced Star Trek collectible card game cards from 1994 until 2007, capitalized on the black and white imagery of Captain Proton to create unique trading cards. The most recent Star Trek: Voyager trading cards (The Quotable Star Trek: Voyager set) premiered in September 2012 via Rittenhouse Archives, Ltd. and featured the possibility of getting a Captain Proton autographed card from actor Martin Rayner (Chaotica).

Back in November 1999, Pocket Books published a Captain Proton novella/short story collection by Dean Wesley Smith (writing under the 1930s pulp name D.W. “Prof” Smith).  Written as if it were from the 1930s, the book is a wonderful and fun wink at the pulp science fiction stories of the era. There are many Star Trek in-jokes and references, making this a wonderful bit of futuristic nostalgia.

November 2014, for example, will see the publication of the Star Trek Pop-Ups book by Thames & Hudson, featuring art by Courtney Watson McCarthy and text by Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdmann. Early descriptions of the book mention that a Captain Proton pop-up is among the collection of pop up images.

“Bride of Chaotica” ends with a question mark, promising future adventures in the world of Captain Proton. The same is true for Proton collectibles: there is likely no end to them because of their fun and referential qualities. That said, wee never did get Captain Proton action figures... if anyone from the fifth dimension is listening!

____________Maria Jose and John Tenuto are both sociology professors at the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois, specializing in popular culture and subculture studies. The Tenutos have conducted extensive research on the history of Star Trek , and have presented at venues such as Creation Conventions and the St. Louis Science Center. They have written for the official Star Trek Magazine and their extensive collection of Star Trek items has been featured in SFX Magazine . Their theory about the “20-Year Nostalgia Cycle” and research on Star Trek fans has been featured on WGN News, BBC Radio, and in the documentary The Force Among Us. They recently researched all known paperwork from the making of the classic episode " Space Seed " and are excited to be sharing some previously unreported information about Khan's first adventure with fellow fans. Contact the Tenutos at [email protected] or [email protected].

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Shattered (episode)

• View history

The macroviruses, Dr. Chaotica, and Seska hinder Chakotay and Janeway's attempt to restore Voyager to its normal state after a temporal distortion shifts sections of the ship into different timeframes.

• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.2 Production
• 3.3 Continuity
• 3.4 Apocrypha
• 3.5 Reception
• 3.6 Video and DVD releases
• 4.1 Starring
• 4.2 Also starring
• 4.3 Guest Stars
• 4.4 Co-Stars
• 4.5 Uncredited Co-Stars
• 4.6 Stunt Doubles
• 4.7 Stand-ins
• 4.8 References
• 4.9 External links

Summary [ ]

Chakotay enters the cargo bay where he finds Naomi Wildman and Icheb working on an educational jigsaw puzzle . Chakotay is in a bit of a hurry, looking for his stash of Antarian cider . He wants to bring a bottle to his weekly dinner with Captain Janeway. He is in a good mood and quite amused with Icheb's frustration with Naomi's playful attitude while she is supposed to be studying. He tells Icheb not to tell Neelix of his hiding place, as he only has a couple of bottles left. Icheb suggests to hide the cider among Borg spare parts, where Neelix is sure not to snoop.

While Chakotay and Captain Janeway enjoy a quiet dinner in the captain's quarters – or rather attempt to, since her replicator decides to burn her pot roast – Voyager encounters a temporal anomaly . Chakotay quickly runs down to engineering while the captain gets to the bridge.

In engineering, Chakotay tries to prevent a warp core breach , but a surge of temporal energy travels through the core, and hits him. He is quickly transported to sickbay showing signs of progeria on his face and in various organs of his body.

Act One [ ]

The Doctor treats Chakotay, telling him that his body parts were out of temporal sync with each other; some organs were as if they belonged to a child while others were as if Chakotay were an old man. However, using a chroniton-based serum the Doctor has succeeded in bringing Chakotay's body back into alignment. Chakotay decides to head straight to the bridge, and tells the Doctor to come with him in case any other crew are injured. The Doctor 'reminds' Chakotay that he's unable to leave sickbay. Chakotay, confused, asks what happened to the mobile emitter , but the Doctor has no idea what that is. Chakotay, in a hurry, leaves alone.

Once in the turbolift , a strange wave of light sweeps from above as the lift rises to the bridge, and the medkit that he was carrying vanishes. When Chakotay arrives on the bridge, he causes a stir and Janeway acts as if she doesn't know him. The captain's long hair is tied up in bun, much like when Voyager arrived in the Delta Quadrant . Janeway informs him that Voyager is pursuing the Maquis ship in the Badlands , and that Chakotay is her primary target. She orders him taken to the brig , but the officers with him vanish as they go down in the turbolift, and he arrives in engineering 5 years ago during the Kazon takeover of Voyager by Seska . Chakotay manages to escape through another distortion. Seska asks the rest of the Kazon in Engineering to scan for anomalies.

Act Two [ ]

Chakotay manages to get back to sickbay, where he realizes that The Doctor's treatment allows him to pass through the temporal barriers . He asks the Doctor what stardate it is; the Doctor says it is stardate 49624. The Doctor won't get his mobile emitter for another year .

With this in mind, Chakotay takes a hypospray with the serum in it and heads back to the bridge, where he confronts the past Janeway once more. Chakotay tells her that an anomaly has hit the ship in the future causing him to shift into the past. Janeway tells him that her helmsman ( Lieutenant Stadi at the time) walked out of her ready room into the corridor and disappeared. However, the occurrence doesn't sway Janeway into believing Chakotay, so he claims the hypospray holds poison and presses it against Janeway's neck, threatening to kill her. Chakotay, still holding the captain, heads off in the direction that the crew member had gone before they disappeared. The two shift into another timeline, Chakotay having injected Janeway with the hypospray seconds earlier.

Chakotay explains to Janeway that it is all true and that they are good friends in the future. Still skeptical, Janeway offers her help in formulating a plan, but they must get to sickbay. On the way to sickbay, they pass into another timeframe, one where two wounded crew members are laying on the ground unconscious. Chakotay theorizes that it may be either when the crew was under the influence of the Dream Aliens , or when the crew encountered the telepathic pitcher plant . He assures Janeway that the crew will be fine.

A future Naomi Wildman

Chakotay suggests they go to astrometrics to scan the ship for temporal fractures, surprising Janeway who doesn't think Voyager has such a lab. They enter astrometrics to find Icheb and Naomi Wildman as adult Starfleet crewmembers, surprised to see them since, in their timeline, the captain and her first officer had died seventeen years earlier.

Act Three [ ]

Icheb and Naomi reveal that the ship has been fractured into thirty-seven different timeframes. The focal point of the surge appears to have been obliterated. Naomi wishes that Seven of Nine was there to help them but tells Chakotay and Janeway that they don't know when or where she is. Before Chakotay leaves, Icheb tells him that he never told Neelix where Chakotay hid his bottles.

They find her in Cargo Bay 2, still a pure Borg drone , with the other Borg drones that beamed aboard during their alliance. She informs them that the Borg vessels experience chronological stress when they travel through their tunnels, and that they keep the Borg vessels in temporal sync by projecting a chroniton field and suggests that if they modify the bio-neural gel packs that run Voyager 's systems, it will return Voyager to Chakotay's timeframe.

The Doctor modifies a pair of bandoleers to resist the temporal barriers to hold the hyposprays. The Doctor starts talking about the Delta Quadrant, but Chakotay cuts him off, not wishing to violate the Temporal Prime Directive any more than Chakotay already had. Chakotay and Janeway head off to inject the necessary packs, first passing through time into past events, although Chakotay does not realize this at first. They inject the gel pack, and narrowly escape when a macrovirus from that timeframe's infestation turns up. It chases them through a time barrier and disappears.

They find themselves having enter the holodeck into Tom Paris ' favorite holoprogram, Captain Proton , where they are met by the various cheesy characters that they must get past to inject the gelpack in holodeck number two, mainly achieved by Janeway's reluctant impersonation of Queen Arachnia .

Act Four [ ]

Janeway is strapped to a table while Chaotica is preparing to torture her. Then Janeway and Chakotay tell Chaotica that there is a danger from the 8th dimension. Chaotica is then manipulated into exposing and injecting the gelpack and they manage to convince him to release them to rid the rest of Chaotica's realm of those gelpacks.

In the transporter room , they encounter several members of the Maquis, including B'Elanna Torres and Ayala . They are hostile to Janeway and Chakotay, but allow them to inject the gelpack and leave. Janeway questions Torres' comments about stranding them in the Delta Quadrant and Chakotay assures her that she did it for a good reason.

When they enter the mess hall , they find it being used as a sickbay and injured crewmen litter the floor, being treated by Tom Paris for radiation poisoning due to the temporal anomaly in Chakotay's timeline. Neelix gives Janeway some coffee and assures her that he has faith that they will come through this crisis like they have all others – surprising Janeway as she has obviously never met Neelix before – while Chakotay injects the gelpack. Janeway then finds a badly-injured Tuvok , who greets her before dying. In a turbolift Janeway hatches an alternative plan: to bring the entire Voyager into her timeframe. She intends to prevent Voyager from being stranded in the Delta Quadrant in the first place; having heard about encounters with the Borg, dreaming aliens, macroviruses, telepathic pitcher plants and the like, she believes that they'll hit one disaster after another and she's better off ignoring the Temporal Prime Directive if it means avoiding these. Chakotay tells her that she's only seen the bad side of their journey, and there's plenty of good things ahead as well; she'll help out many species, allow Seven of Nine to regain her humanity, reform Tom Paris into an outstanding officer and husband to Torres, provide a home for Naomi and Icheb, and combine a group of Starfleet officers and Maquis rebels into a crew who will make just as much of an impact on the Delta Quadrant as it does on them, led by a captain who doesn't doubt for one minute they'll make it home. Janeway, swayed by his argument, agrees to help return Voyager to Chakotay's timestream.

Later, Chakotay fills Janeway in on Seska and the two agree that she and the Kazon won't cooperate. Janeway however has a backup plan.

Chakotay goes to engineering and explains everything to Seska, who agrees with his solution… at least, part of it. She realizes that if Chakotay is there from the future, and his timeline's version of Voyager is free, then they must have re-taken the ship from the Kazon and makes an attempt to bring the ship into sync with her timeframe instead so she can stop this.

Act Five [ ]

Voyager 's deflector acts as a " lightning rod "

Meanwhile, Janeway, Paris, and Kim watch from the higher section of engineering. Paris and Harry Kim leap onto two of the Kazon, while Naomi and Icheb correct the modification that Seska had already made. Ayala and B'Elanna Torres disarm another Kazon guard, but Seska holds Janeway hostage. She disarms Janeway and holds a weapon to her head, forcing all of them to drop their weapons. Seska is about to kill Janeway when Seven of Nine enters engineering, repelling Seska's shots with a Borg force field . She slaps Seska and chokes her, forcing her to release Janeway. This means that Chakotay can initiate the pulse, thus erasing the memories of the other participants while Chakotay has Torres help her avert the events that caused the anomaly by diverting all of Voyager's power to its deflector system and setting it to a specific frequency, thus using the deflector array as a lightning rod for the energy surge, burning it out, but no other damages occur.

Voyager flies away

Back in the present, Chakotay reminds Janeway that they have not finished their dinner. Janeway is surprised but follows Chakotay off the bridge. Back in her quarters, Janeway asks Chakotay about the experience. He declines to answer, gently reminding her of the Temporal Prime Directive . When they run out of cider, Janeway surprises Chakotay by suggesting he should go to the cargo bay to get another bottle. When Chakotay asks her how she found about it, Janeway also declines to answer, reminding him of the Temporal Prime Directive.

Memorable quotes [ ]

"There." "Excellent. You recognized the complementary base pair." "Actually, I just found two pieces that fit together." "You're missing the point." "I thought the point was to finish the puzzle." "And to learn something about genetics." "If you really want to help, find me a green piece that looks like Tuvok's ear."

" Once, a long time ago, I called this replicator a glorified toaster. It never forgave me. "

" It's a fascinating story, but as the Ferengi say, a good lie is easier to believe than the truth. "

" The Captain and I haven't risen from the grave. "

" Commander, in case you were wondering… I never told Neelix where you hid that cider. "

" Your plan is inefficient. " " Why? " " There are only two of you. If I were to assimilate you into a small Borg collective, you could then assimilate others. The work would proceed more quickly. " " Sorry, but I like my plan better. We'll be back. "

" Doesn't sound like Mr. Paris' tastes are very sophisticated. " " That's why we love having him around. "

" You're going to have the opportunity to study things no Human has ever seen before. " " Including some very large germs. "

"If we restore the timeline, remind me to cancel Mr. Paris' holodeck privileges."

" What's going on, and what the hell are you doing in that uniform? "

" If Seven's idea works, Tuvok and those other crewmen will be fine. " " They'll still be stuck in the Delta Quadrant. If the temporal anomaly doesn't kill them something else will – the Borg, telepathic pitcher plants, macroviruses – the Delta Quadrant is a death trap! " " What about the Temporal Prime Directive ? " " To hell with it! "

" That is not the future I have in mind. " " In that case… goodbye Chakotay. "

" I'd like to thank you now, for putting your doubts aside and helping me to put mine aside as well. Good luck to each of you. "

" For two people who started off as enemies, it seems to get to know each other pretty well, so I've been wondering… just how close do we get? " " Let's just say there are some barriers we never cross. " " See you in the future."

" Have you ever heard of a lightning rod? In about three seconds we're going to need one. "

Background information [ ]

• The story for this episode was pitched to Executive Producer Kenneth Biller by freelance writer and former Voyager writing intern Mike Sussman during the show's sixth season . Biller bought the pitch, although the episode wasn't made until the following season . Sussman, who by this point had sold at least five stories and written two teleplays for the series, was hired as a Story Editor for that final season. [1]
• Sussman’s original pitch was titled “Shatterday,” an homage to the premiere episode of the 1980’s reboot of The Twilight Zone . The story for that Twilight Zone installment was based on a short story [2] of the same name by Original Series writer Harlan Ellison . [3]
• This episode resulted in legal action against Paramount after a writing team, who claimed to have pitched a similar idea to a member of the Voyager writing staff, threatened to sue for the alleged theft of their idea. As was customary, Paramount settled the lawsuit with the writing team for an undisclosed sum. [4]

Production [ ]

• Filming of this episode took place from 9 October 2000 to 15 October 2000. ( StarTrek.com Production notes – The U.S.S. Voyager Gets "Shattered" (X) )
• Jeri Ryan 's voice was evidently altered in postproduction, to give it a multi-track resonance.

Continuity [ ]

• In sickbay, The Doctor identifies the stardate as 49624, which falls between the events of " Innocence " and " Tuvix ". He later states, erroneously, that he has been continually running for "almost three years".
• On entering the bridge, Chakotay visits a time after Voyager has departed for the Badlands but before it has been displaced by the Caretaker's array. Scenes depicting this narrow time frame are featured in " Caretaker ".
• On entering engineering, Chakotay revisits the events of " Basics, Part II ", finding Seska and the Kazon in control of the ship. He incorrectly identifies this as being "five years ago"; it was actually four years previously.
• Chakotay and Janeway enter a corridor during the events of " Bliss ", which Chakotay refers to when saying " this could be the day the telepathic pitcher plant put us all into comas. " He also suggests it " might be the time aliens invaded our dreams, " in a reference to the events of " Waking Moments ", but the dimmed lights suggest otherwise.
• In Cargo Bay 2, Chakotay tells Janeway " this looks like the time you forged a temporary alliance with the Borg, " referencing the events of " Scorpion, Part II ".
• In another corridor, they encounter a macrovirus; Chakotay explains to Janeway that " they infected the ship a few years ago, " referring to the events of " Macrocosm ".
• In the Holodeck, they find Paris' Captain Proton holoprogram running. It's not clear what time period they've found the holodeck to be in, but it could be shortly after the events of " Bride of Chaotica! ", as Chaotica tells Janeway, who is playing as Arachnia, " you beguiled me once with your foul potions, " referring to the events of that episode.
• In the transporter room, Chakotay finds B'Elanna Torres and others in their Maquis uniforms, indicating that he is revisiting the events of " Caretaker ", specifically, the moment after Torres is beamed off the Maquis ship.
• Meeting the future Naomi and Icheb, Chakotay tells Janeway that " Naomi was the first child born on Voyager , " referring to the events of " Deadlock ", and that they "rescued Icheb from the Borg," referring to the events of " Collective ".
• Chakotay mentions Janeway's regret about never learning to play an instrument, which she told him in " Remember ".
• The future Naomi says " When I was little, there was nothing I wanted more than to be the assistant captain, " a desire she first expresses in " Once Upon a Time ".
• Explaining who Seska was, Chakotay tells Janeway " she was a member of my crew, who turned out to be a Cardassian spy, " referencing the events of " State of Flux ".
• Of the Borg, Chakotay warns Janeway " we'll run into them on a few occasions, " in a reference to " Dark Frontier ", " Collective ", and " Unimatrix Zero ".
• Chakotay explains the origin of the astrometrics lab to Janeway, telling her that " Harry designed it, or will design it, " in a reference to the events of " Year of Hell " where the lab first debuted.
• Chakotay guesses that Janeway "burned the roast again." She had previously burned a replicated pot roast in " Ashes to Ashes ".
• Janeway claims that she " started out with a crew of a hundred and fifty three ". However, when Stadi introduces Voyager to Paris in " Caretaker ", she says the ship has a " crew complement of one hundred and forty one ".
• This episode is the last appearance of Doctor Chaotica ( Martin Rayner ) on the series. Robert Duncan McNeill was disappointed that he only appeared three times. " Personally, I would have liked to have done a lot more of Captain Proton, " he admitted. " I think the studio and the producers felt like we had done it. We had reached such a pinnacle with it that to go back would be kind of doing it a disservice and undermining the specialness of the 'Bride of Chaotica!' episode in particular. They were hesitant to go back for fear of ruining everyone's memories of it, but I would've loved it. " ( Star Trek: Voyager Companion  (p. 437)) This episode is also the last appearance of Seska (played by Martha Hackett ) and the Kazon .
• Tuvok's death is depicted in this episode. It is the only time in the series his death is depicted.
• Tuvok's last words, to Janeway (" I want you to know it has been an honor to serve with you, and to be your friend. Live long and prosper. ") are a variation on Spock 's last words to Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (" I have been... and always shall be... your friend. Live long... and prosper. "). Alexander Courage 's theme from Star Trek can be heard in the background.
• Although Seven of Nine's voice was evidently multi-tracked for this installment, the audio effect is missing from her early appearances at the beginning of season four .
• Janeway intended to serve a pot roast during her dinner with Chakotay, despite the fact that Chakotay had been previously been a vegetarian in VOY : " Unity " and would later be referenced as such by Neelix in VOY : " Workforce ". However, as it's a replicated meal, rather than an animal that was killed for food, Chakotay might not have reason to object to eating it.
• Chakotay makes mention of " the Ocampans ". In other episodes beginning with " Caretaker ", whenever referring to the plural of this race, they are always called "the Ocampa", never "Ocampans." Janeway and Harry Kim also refer to Kes as an "Ocampan" in VOY : " The Gift " and " Fury ".
• The past version of Janeway discusses changing the future with Chakotay, expressing a desire to avoid being stranded in the Delta Quadrant, but ultimately concedes to Chakotay's point that the crew of Voyager have developed as a family as a result of their predicament. Despite this, in " Endgame ", Admiral Janeway returns from the future to save Voyager from a future she cannot bear.
• In the Astrometrics lab, the adult Icheb is a captain, indicating Chakotay’s earlier prediction that Icheb would one day “be running the ship” came true.

Apocrypha [ ]

• In the novel A Pocket Full of Lies , Chakotay learns that the temporal anomaly that caused this crisis was actually the result of a chroniton torpedo fired at Voyager by the Krenim in an attempt to understand the events of the Year of Hell and prevent it from disrupting the new Krenim Imperium; while their plan to regress Voyager back to a point before their involvement in the conflict failed, they were able to take the past Janeway prisoner, resulting in her becoming a leader in a protracted conflict on a disputed planet between the Rilnar and the Zahl with the goal of keeping her occupied. The novel also reveals that Chakotay completed a classified report on these events for the benefit of the Department of Temporal Investigations , attending a classified briefing about it once the ship returned to Earth.

Reception [ ]

• This was the first original Star Trek episode to air in the 21st century (January 17, 2001).
• U.S. Democratic Party leader and Georgia governor candidate Stacey Abrams , [5] who has spoken at length about how the philosophy of Star Trek has shaped her personal and political beliefs, is a fan of episodes about “space-time anomalies,” and this installment in particular. In 2019, a New York Times interview with Abrams about her love of Star Trek stated, “ One of her favorite things is ‘Shattered,' the 157th episode of Voyager , in which the ship goes through a temporal rift that tantalizingly splits it into different timelines .” The article adds, “ [Abrams] admires Captain Picard but reveres Admiral Janeway .” [6]
• This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes For A Series.

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment ): Volume 7.6, 6 August 2001
• As part of the VOY Season 7 DVD collection
• As part of the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities 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 [ ]

• Martin Rayner as Doctor Chaotica
• Manu Intiraymi as Icheb
• Scarlett Pomers as Naomi Wildman
• Nicholas Worth as Lonzak
• Martha Hackett as Seska

Co-Stars [ ]

• Mark Bennington as Adult Icheb
• Vanessa Branch as Adult Naomi
• Anthony Holiday as Rulat
• Terrell Clayton as Andrews
• Majel Barrett as Computer Voice

Uncredited Co-Stars [ ]

• Michael Bailous as Kazon warrior
• Satan's Robot
• Bernie Escarcega as command officer
• Sunny Hawks as Maquis member
• Doug Bronowski
• Fitzpatrick
• Irving Lewis as Kazon warrior
• Anna Lumarque as chief petty officer
• Mark Major as Kazon warrior
• Tom Miller as Kazon warrior
• Louis Ortiz as Culhane
• Deryl Patterson as operations officer
• Stephen Pisani as operations officer
• Pablo Soriano as operations ensign

Stunt Doubles [ ]

• Jophery C. Brown as stunt double for Anthony Holiday
• Mario Roberts as stunt double for Robert Beltran

Stand-ins [ ]

• Brita Nowak – stand-in for Jeri Ryan

References [ ]

access port ; Al-Batani , USS ; Alpha Quadrant ; analeptic ; anetrizine ; Antarian cider ; assassination ; assimilation ; base pair ; astrometrics ; Ayala ; backup plan ; Badlands ; bio-neural gel pack ; black and white ; Captain Proton ; chroniton ; chroniton-infused serum ; chronokinetic surge ; Dante's Inferno ; Delta Quadrant ; dozen ; double helix ; Earth ; engagement gift ; firstborn ; gift ; hypospray ; inertial damper ; intelligence file ; Johnson, Mark ; Jefferies tube ; Kazon ; Kazon-Nistrim ; kidney ; lie ; liege ; lightning ; lightning rod ; lines ; litter ; liver ; macrovirus ; Maquis ; Milky Way Galaxy ; Mollie ; neurogenic field ; neutrino ; oak ; plot ; poison ; polarity ; positronic relay ; pot roast ; pound ; Queen Arachnia ; Queen of the Spider People ; reading list ; replicator ; rob ; rulebook ; runt ; sabotage ; Satan's Robot ; senility ; serial ; spatial rift ; Stadi ; Taris Seti IV ; telepathic pitcher plant ; temporal barrier ; temporal flux ; Temporal Prime Directive ; temporal sensor ; thermal regulator ; thunderstorm ; toaster ; transwarp conduit ; tutor ; Val Jean ; Wildman, Samantha ;

External links [ ]

• "Shattered" at StarTrek.com
• " Shattered " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Shattered " at Wikipedia
• " Shattered " at the Internet Movie Database
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)