Message in a Bottle (episode)
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference
(written from a Production point of view)
| "Message in a Bottle" | ||
|---|---|---|
| VOY, Episode 4x14 Production number: 181 First aired: 21 January 1998 | ||
| ← | 80th of 168 produced in VOY | → |
| ← | 81st of 168 released in VOY | → |
| ← | 500th of 727 released in all | → |
 | ||
| Teleplay By Lisa Klink Story By Rick Williams Directed By Nancy Malone | ||
| 51462 (2374) | ||
- You may also be looking for the TNG episode "Ship in a Bottle".
Seven of Nine finds an abandoned subspace relay network that has the ability to send a message, or in this case the Doctor, to a Starfleet ship detected in the Alpha Quadrant.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
The former Borg drone Seven of Nine, serving as head of astrometrics aboard the USS Voyager, makes a startling discovery: a Hirogen communications network that allows Voyager's astrometric sensors to see all the way to the Alpha Quadrant, to a Federation starship detected there. However, only a holographic signal is strong enough to cross the distance to it. Thus the Doctor, Voyager's holographic chief medical officer agrees to be sent, propelling him into an adventure with one of his own kind. He returns with news that the crew has waited four years to hear.
[edit] Teaser
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres and Commander Chakotay are walking along a corridor. The chief engineer is fuming. The reason is, as has been often the case since her arrival, Voyager's newest crewmember, Seven of Nine, now the head of astrometrics since the new astrometrics lab was completed. Torres has run out of patience with the former drone's aloof, arrogant attitude. Chakotay admits Seven can be "difficult", but counters that Torres has never even tried to accept her as part of the crew. Torres huffs that her attitude, given Seven's, is justified.
Seven then hails Chakotay to go to astrometrics. Her tone and wording hold no hint of a request that the first officer join her, instead sounding like an order. Torres cites this as a perfect example of what she it talking about. She warns Chakotay that she may take drastic action if Seven again gets in her way. But, as happened before, Chakotay is angered by such statements from her, a senior officer. He rounds on her and tersely commands her to act as such, and find a way to deal with Seven. (VOY: "Day of Honor") He walks off, leaving her mollified, but still fuming.
Chakotay meets Captain Kathryn Janeway outside astrometrics. She too has been "summoned." They share a bemused expression as they enter. Chakotay asks Seven, who is busy at the console, what this is about. Seven fills them in: she has been increasing the astrometric sensor resolution, and she has found something they need to see. She shows them: a ship. Janeway asks what is special about it. Seven's response astounds them both: it is a Starfleet vessel.
[edit] Act One
Seven informs them that the ship is in the Alpha Quadrant. Thunderstruck, Chakotay responds that she could not have extended the sensors' range to that degree. She confirms not, but informs them that she has done so enough to detect a huge relay station network, apparently abandoned, which extends all the way to the edge of the Alpha Quadrant. The ship, she tells them, is in range of the network sensors on that end.
The two officers instantly grasp the extreme significance of this discovery: an opportunity to communicate with Starfleet, which they have not been able to do since being brought to the Delta Quadrant, four years earlier. (VOY: "Caretaker") Chakotay asks if a message can be sent to the ship. Seven confirms, though she adds that some modifications to their own transmitters must be made first. But the message must be sent in the next 41 minutes, or the ship will go out of range. Janeway orders the modifications be made immediately.
At Zero minus 16 minutes, the modifications are completed. On the bridge, with bated breath along with every other bridge officer, Captain Janeway orders a channel opened, and speaks the message. She identifies herself, Voyager, and their position and coordinates, and asks the receivers to adjust their com signal to match theirs to answer.
But the only answer is the sound of her own words. Seven surmises that the distance is so great that the signal is being degraded before it reaches the ship. Lt. jg Tom Paris, the ship's flight controller, suggests using a stronger type of signal, one that would not degrade so quickly. But what kind? Torres suggests a holographic data stream. Chakotay points out that it would take too much time to prepare such; the ship would be out of range by the time it was ready. Then they remember the Doctor, the ship's emergency medical hologram.
Torres rushes to the sickbay. Before the Doctor can even finish asking what is happening, she transfers him to his mobile emitter and dashes with it to astrometrics. Captain Janeway herself goes to astrometrics and explains the situation to him when he is reactivated there.
The Doctor is well aware of how important this is, but he is understandably concerned that he could be destroyed in the transmission process, going or coming back. Janeway tells him this is totally voluntary. She could have simply had him transmitted without him even knowing, but over the years, she has come to see him as not a hologram, but sentient synthetic life, and therefore gives him the choice. This mission, after all, could, in organic terms, kill him. As Seven reports that the other ship is within 90 seconds of going out of range, he takes a deep breath. This may be the only chance the crew will ever have to get a message back to the Federation; back home. He agrees to do it. Torres downloads and transmits him.
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The intended recipient ship is seen; a design that is totally new. Its saucer section is shaped like an arrowhead, with four warp nacelles. It carries the NX Starfleet registry code of an experimental vessel.
The Doctor materializes in its sickbay. The decor is a light cream color. The room is empty. He calls to anyone around, but gets no answer. He queries the ship's computer, and is very pleased to find that his transmission was successful; he is indeed aboard the target Federation vessel, in the Alpha Quadrant. He queries the ship's computer about the vessel's identity, and learns that its designation is the USS Prometheus.
But why does it seem to be deserted? He uses a wall com panel to hail the bridge. No answer. He repeats the hail to anyone aboard. Still no answer. He asks the computer if the com system is working. It confirms yes. "Then why can't I reach anyone?" he asks. It responds that communications have been restricted. Annoyed and confused, he searches the room.
He finds a crewman dead on the floor. He also finds an ensign, barely alive. Their uniforms are different from those of the Voyager crew; instead of division colors on the shoulders and chest, with a gray turtleneck underneath, the shoulders are gray and quilted, and the turtleneck is the division color. This does not surprise him; Starfleet uniforms may well have changed in the time Voyager has been gone. The ensign has sustained severe phaser burns. The Doctor manages to revive him, and asks him what happened. His response, just before he dies, is that Romulans have taken over the ship. The Doctor looks at the corpse worriedly. He now knows something that has not changed: Romulans are still Federation enemies.
[edit] Act Two
On the Prometheus' bridge, the aforementioned Romulans man all stations. The female at helm control, named Nevala, reports to the male sitting in the captain's seat in the center, presumably their commander, that a Federation starship is approaching. The man angrily asks her why she did not mask their warp trail. She responds that she does not know how; this is an experimental vessel, which they seized only hours prior. "We should have left some of the crew alive," she grouses. The man, named Rekar, orders shields raised.
In sickbay, the Doctor gets from the computer information pertaining to what the dead ensign told him; 27 Romulans are aboard, and all Starfleet personnel are dead. He then asks the computer about the ship itself. The ship, he learns, is unlike most Starfleet vessels, designed primarily for exploration but with battle capabilities; the Prometheus is a dedicated warship, an experimental deep-space tactical prototype. It is equipped with belligerence technologies that Starfleet is experimenting with: regenerative shielding, ablative armor, and something called "multi-vector assault mode." He asks the computer what that is, but learns that he needs level-4 clearance to access that information, which he, of course, does not have.
The approaching Federation starship arrives and engages the Prometheus. On the Prometheus bridge, the Romulan commander orders the "multi-vector assault mode" engaged. The woman at the helm does so. The lighting on the bridge (and in sickbay, much to the Doctor's surprise) turns blue. The computer counts down from ten to one, the time of what it terms "auto-separation."
The nature of the technology is then seen. The ship separates into three sections: the saucer and two stardrives, all battle-ready and warp-capable. In effect, the one ship becomes a small squadron. This would be a very unpleasant surprise to any enemy vessel's crew, who would be expecting a one-against-one fight with the arrival of the one ship. The commander orders engagement of the other Federation ship. The three sections surround and attack, disabling it. But, in the battle, the Prometheus' bridge takes a hit, and a Romulan is badly injured. As the three sections reform the one ship, the commander orders him taken to sickbay.
The Doctor asks the computer if he can access the com to communicate with another vessel. The computer tells him he needs level-4 clearance for that. He looks exasperated, but his look changes to alarm as he hears footsteps approaching outside. The female Romulan helm controller enters with her injured cohort. The Doctor immediately puts on his bedside manner. The woman is instantly suspicious, demanding to know who activated him. He lies that she did, when she walked through the door. She is still suspicious; he is, after all, a Starfleet program. But he assures her his primary directive is to treat anyone requiring it, Federation citizen or not, friend or enemy. She leaves the man and goes.
As soon as she has gone, the Doctor asks the computer if he can access the ship's EMH. The computer confirms he can, and he does. This EMH is a Mark II, as opposed to a Mark I, like the Doctor. He appears and gives the standard EMH greeting, asking for the nature of the medical emergency. When he sees the Doctor however, his manner changes to shock and anger. "What the hell are you doing in my sickbay?!" he demands.
[edit] Act Three
The Mark II regards the Doctor with contempt, calling him an inferior earlier EMH program, much to the Doctor's umbrage, and tries to hail security. The Doctor immediately stops him and explains the situation; Voyager's and the Prometheus'. The Mark II's contempt quickly changes to fear and he immediately turns himself off. Exasperated, the Doctor reactivates him. With a forceful tone, he convinces his reluctant counterpart to help him wrest the ship back from the Romulans. He asks if the Federation is at war with the Romulans. The Mark II responds no, they have had nothing to do with their war with the Dominion. Confused, the Doctor asks who that is but the Mark II simplifies it as a "Long story". They begin to treat the injured Romulan.
Voyager holds position. The crew awaits the Doctor's return. Janeway and Chakotay, for example, cannot help but write letters to their loved ones, though they know that the Doctor's return will not necessarily mean establishing a comlink with Starfleet. Flight Controller Paris, being also a trained medic, has been assigned to sickbay until the Doctor's return, with another officer taking his place at the conn console. He chafes at the duty.
The Prometheus heads for Romulan space at warp speed. The Mark II informs The Doctor that the ship is capable of a cruising speed of warp 9.9; no other ship in Starfleet can do this. Thus, there is no chance any Starfleet ship can intercept and rescue them. They are on their own. But they come up with a plan: to release an anesthetic into the ventilation system. They choose neurozine, because it vaporizes easily. The Mark II is to go into a Jefferies tube to prepare to release it, while the Doctor will go to the bridge to unlock the environmental controls to allow the release of it through the system, without the computer sounding an alarm. The Mark II reminds him of the Romulans on the bridge, but the Doctor responds that he has experience dealing with hostile alien takeovers; he will manage. They move to enact the plan.
The Doctor arrives on the bridge. He informs the Romulans that he is there to scan them for a virus called the Terothka virus; he lies that the Romulan brought to sickbay has it. They are at first reluctant, but a description of the painful symptoms by the Doctor; severe stomach cramps and a terrible rash, change their minds.
The commander orders a course change; they were previously headed for Romulus, but he has decided that they should instead rendezvous with the Tal Shiar, the intelligence service of the Romulan Star Empire. The others object. As they argue, the Doctor, pretending to scan them, surreptitiously attempts to access environmental controls. But the commander notices and accosts him. He checks his scanner and sees that he has not scanned anything. He has been found out.
Torres remonstrates Seven of Nine about the former drone's attitude
On Voyager, Seven of Nine enters astrometrics to find Torres there. She sees that Torres is making recalibrations to the interface between the ship's transceivers and the relay network. As per her usual manner, she tells Torres to: "State your reasons for making these modifications." Torres exasperatedly takes the opportunity to tell her that the way she speaks to other crewmembers is unacceptable: she is rude, she never says "please" or "thank you," she carries an insulting air of superiority, she orders people around, even senior officers including the captain and first officer, and she does things without permission or clearance. She advises her to "try to remember we're not just a bunch of drones".
As Seven considers this, however, a transmission comes through. A large humanoid alien man's image appears on the lab's huge viewscreen. The man is wearing an armored helmet and an armored mask that covers his nose and mouth. He gruffly demands their identity. Torres identifies herself and Voyager. The man angrily tells them that the network is in fact, owned by 'the Hirogen', of which he is presumably one. Torres apologizes and explains that they thought the network was abandoned. She attempts to explain why they are using it, but he is not interested and orders them to terminate their link before ending the communication.
[edit] Act Four
The Doctor is being interrogated by Rekar. He believes that the Doctor is either a spy or saboteur. But he does not believe a computer-generated projection to be capable of performing such action independently; he demands to know who is operating him. The Doctor is not intimidated. Nevana enters and reports that she has found the transmission log that shows when the Doctor came aboard. Of course, the transmission that brought him has a Starfleet signature, which she also reports.
But it does not indicate its origin or who sent it. They demand this information from the Doctor. He tells them part of the truth: the origin. Of course, they do not believe it; the Delta Quadrant? Even without the suspicious, paranoid nature of a Romulan, this would be difficult to accept at face value.
They decide that stronger action is necessary; they will extract all his algorithms and analyze his subroutines individually. This, of course, will severely damage or destroy his matrix, in effect, "killing" him. However they do not get beyond talking about it; they suddenly begin to cough and gag, before collapsing, unconscious.
The Mark II materializes. It is obvious he succeeded in releasing the neurozine into the ventilation system. But the Doctor asks him how, since he did not succeed in opening the system. The Mark II, with great bravado and melodrama, recounts what he did: he accessed the main computer and simulated a ship-wide bio-hazard. This caused the computer to open the system automatically, allowing him to release the neurozine into it.
Their next step is to get to the bridge and turn the ship around. However, the Mark II agitatedly points out that there are only four people in all of Starfleet capable of flying this ultra-top secret ship, and they are all dead. As he operates controls that transfer them both to the bridge, he tells the Doctor that he has no subroutines that will help them fly it. They are running out of time; the ship is fast approaching Romulan space. The Doctor finds a way to make the ship slow from warp speed; however his method causes a warp core overload; fortunately, he manages to stop it before a breach occurs and the ship is destroyed.
But then things get more complicated: sensors indicate that three Romulan warbirds are headed straight toward them.
Meanwhile, on Voyager, Seven of Nine and Torres work to reestablish the link with the network in the astrometrics lab. Captain Janeway has joined them. But before they can succeed, the large alien man appears again on the viewscreen. His name is Idrin. He angrily reminds them of his initial warning to leave the network alone. Janeway desperately tries to get him to listen, explaining that they are using it to get a message to their people. But he is not interested. He again moves to jam their link.
But then he suddenly convulses and screams with pain, as an energy discharge crawls over his face and body. He collapses out of view, and the link is restored. Janeway, shocked, demands to know what happened. Seven nonchalantly explains that she zapped him with a feedback surge along the link. Janeway and Torres are even more shocked; Torres asks Seven incredulously if she killed him. Seven nonchalantly assures them that the zap was mild; he will recover. He was not responding to diplomacy, she tells Janeway in response to her "I cannot believe you!" look. Janeway orders them to keep watching for the Doctor's return, and to alert her if the alien troubles them again. With another such look at Seven, she leaves.
After she has gone, however, Torres tacitly voices to Seven her approval of her action. Seven thanks her casually.
Aboard the Prometheus, the Doctor and the Mark II try to get the ship moving again, without success. A hail comes through from one of the warbirds. Keeping the viewscreen off, the Doctor answers, trying to fool them into thinking that he is the Romulan commander. But he fails miserably. The warbirds open fire. The Prometheus' shields rapidly begin to fail; true, they are regenerative but, unfamiliar with how to operate them, the two holograms cannot keep them working. Then sensors detect more ships approaching.
They note with relief, however, that these new ships are Starfleet. The ships, two of the Defiant-class and one of the Akira-class, are seen approaching at warp speed. They slow and join the fight. But the holograms' relief quickly changes to horror when the Starfleet ships, instead of attacking the warbirds, fire on the Prometheus. The Romulans' attempt to steal it has been discovered by Starfleet Command, who will not allow this to happen, given the ship's nature. The Starfleet ships are under orders to destroy it if necessary.
[edit] Act Five
The Mark II tries to hail the Starfleet ships, but the Romulans hijackers scrambled the com frequencies, making this impossible. The two holograms are thus left with no choice but to defend themselves and prove that the ship is no longer under enemy control by attacking the warbirds. The Doctor sends the Mark II to the tactical station and instructs him to start shooting. He does, but fails to set a target first; thus the torpedo he fires, without a set target, misses two of the three warbirds and instead hits a Defiant class ship that crosses its path. The Doctor angrily shouts at him that he has to set a target first. The Mark II bemoans that he is going to die, and leans sadly on the tactical console.
However, as luck has it, he leans on the control that activates the multi-vector assault mode. The Prometheus again separates into its three battle-ready components. The Doctor and the Mark II look around and at each other uncertainly as the ship jolts a bit during the process. The computer requests an attack pattern. The Doctor has no idea what to say; he uncertainly asks for 'attack pattern alpha'. Fortunately, there is indeed such a thing; the computer accepts it. It then requests a target. The two holograms exchange a tense, hopeful look. They definitely know the correct response to this request: "Romulans!"
The three sections attack a warbird. With the computer in control, the belligerent power of the vessel is brought very effectively to bear. The warbird is quickly destroyed. The others retreat; now the fight is, in effect, six against two. The Doctor and the Mark II grandiosely verbally pat each other on the back in celebration, before being interrupted by the beam-in of two heavily-armed Starfleet security officers.
In Voyager's astrometrics lab, Seven of Nine detects a transmission coming through the relay network, from the Alpha quadrant. She informs Torres; the transmission is holographic. Torres immediately tells her to transfer it to the sickbay, and alerts Captain Janeway.
Janeway, Chakotay and Lt. Commander Tuvok arrive in sickbay, joining Seven and
This is monumentally important; the crew's families and friends will now know that they are alive, after four years of emotional purgatory. The Doctor then conveys a message that Starfleet Command has for Janeway and the crew: they have immediately begun to seek a way to retrieve them and will not stop until they succeed in doing so. Voyager is no longer alone. Janeway is misty-eyed. She swallows to hold back her emotion, and remarks that 60,000 light years seems much closer now.
[edit] Memorable quotes
" What did you feed Them anyway? " " Rodeo Reds Red Hot Rootin Tootin Chili " Neelix telling Tom what he fed the crew.
"I'm a doctor, not a commando!"
- - EMH Mark II
"Well? Fire phasers!"
"Phasers not fuctional.
"Then fire a torpedo!"
(EMH Mark II fires a torpedo which hits one of the Defiant-class vessels)
"You hit the wrong ship!"
- - The Doctor and EMH Mark II
"I'm as close to a sentient life-form as any hologram could hope to be; I socialize with the crew, fraternize with aliens, I've even had sexual relations."
"Sex?! How's that possible? We're not equipped with--"
"Let's just say I made an addition to my program."
"Maybe before you leave... you could download those subroutines into my database?"
- - The Doctor and EMH Mark II
"... However, I found something disturbing in his blood work. It seems hes been exposed to a nasty strain of the Torothka Virus, and if he was, you may all have been. I've come to run some scans."
"No one here is sick!"
"Not yet. I understand the stomach cramps are unbearable, although some say that the rash is worse."
"Conduct your scans"
- - The Doctor and Rekar
"What else have you done to this ship? I will deactivate you unless you start answering my questions."
"If I answer them you'll very likely deactivate me anyway, so I fail to see the point."
...
"Tell me who is operating your program. Is it someone on this ship? A Starfleet crewmember we missed, or one of my own men?"
"Paranoia is a way of life for you, isn't it?"
- - Rekar and The Doctor
"I'm a pilot, Harry, not a doctor!"
- - Tom Paris
"You're rude."
- - B'Elanna Torres, to Seven of Nine
"Trapped, in the Jefferies tube, alone, nowhere to run. His smug comrade captured by Romulans. EMH Mark II had to improvise!"
- - EMH Mark II, to The Doctor
"You know, you really should keep a personal log; why bore others needlessly?"
- - The Doctor, to the EMH Mark II after curtly stopping his tale of how he had to 'improvise'
"I warned you!"
"I apologize for our intrusion - allow me to explain..."
"No explanation!"
"Your relay network gave us the unique opportunity to communicate woth our people - they are very far away; we're expecting a message back from them!"
"All messages will be intercepted!"
"There must be some room for negotiation - is there anything you might accept in exchange for... (the Hirogen screams in agony as bolts of energy discharges spread all over his body)
- - Idrin and Captain Janeway
"What happened?"
"I generated a feedback surge along our sensor link."
(The captain and engineer are both in shock, mouths wide open)
"You killed him?"
"It was a mild shock - he will recover."
"And when he does?!"
"He wasn't responding to diplomacy."
(Incredulous)"Is the sensor link stable?"
"Yes, Captain."
"Let me know if our friend gives us any more trouble."
- - Janeway, Seven of Nine, and B'Elanna Torres
"Beep beep beep, beep beep beep? I've never heard that one before."
- - EMH Mark II
"Stop breathing down my neck!"
"My breathing is merely a simulation."
"So is my neck. Stop it anyway!"
- - The Doctor and EMH Mark II
"What are they doing?!"
"Firing on us!"
"They must think Romulans are on board!"
"They're right!"
- - EMH Mark II and The Doctor
"My brilliant existence cut short... No time to explore the universe... No time to smell the roses... No time for... sex..."
- - EMH Mark II
"The secondary gyrodyne relays in the propulsion field inter-matrix have just depolarized."
"In English!"
"I'm just reading what it says here!"
- - EMH Mark II and The Doctor
"60,000 light years... seems a little bit closer today."
- - Captain Janeway, after being told The Doctor's message
[edit] Background Information
- Robert Picardo made an uncredited contribution to the script of this episode: "Over the years, I've pitched many jokes - many of which got in the show, some that didn't - but my favorite exchange that I have ever gotten into a show was in 'Message in a Bottle.' In the scene with Andy Dick's character EMH Mach-2... and my scripted line was "Stop breating down my neck." I remember calling Brannon and suggesting the following two rejoinders: EMH Mach-2 says, "My breathing is merely a simulation." To which the Doctor replies, "So is my neck. Stop it anyway." I thought it was a good example of a Niles/Frasier, one-upmanship." (Star Trek: Voyager Companion)
- Voyager was officially declared lost fourteen months before the events of this episode, which is approx. at the beginning of season 3.
- The Doctor's message at the end of this episode seems to suggest that the Romulan Telek R'Mor from "Eye of the Needle" did not, or could not, in fact make arrangements to send Voyager's personal letters to their families in 2371 after his death in 2367, which would have informed Starfleet of the ship's location in the Delta Quadrant.
- Although the Dominion is referenced in several other episodes, this is the only one to reference the Dominion War and the only direct mention of the Dominion on the series. This makes sense, since Voyager was stranded in the Delta Quadrant long before the start of the Dominion war, remained there for its duration, and did not return until after it had ended.
- The Doctor does not seem to know about the Dominion, however the Federation were aware of their existence since mid-2370 (in "Rules of Acquisition"), and they were encountered in "The Jem'Hadar" and "The Search, Part I", months before Voyager's departure. It can be assumed that EMH programs possibly weren't programmed with this information, seemingly unnecessary at the time for medical personnel.
- Tiny Ron previously played Maihar'du in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
- There was some confusion during the production of "Message in a Bottle" concerning the registry of the Prometheus. According to Michael Okuda, he had used the number NX-74913 on all the internal displays and the ship's dedication plaque. However, the Foundation Imaging FX artists did not get the memo and used the number 59650 instead. Although Okuda's number did appear on screen, the Foundation number was much more visible.
- This episode marks the first appearance of the new First Contact style Starfleet uniform on the series (unless you count the "flashbacks" in Random Thoughts), which had been introduced the previous year on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. From this point on, all Starfleet characters in the Alpha Quadrant wear this style of uniform, although the Voyager crew themselves continue to wear the old style. This is likely because creating new uniforms would put an unnecessary strain on the ship's energy reserves, through the Replicator system, when they already had perfectly serviceable uniforms. In other words, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
- When talking with the EMH Mark II, the Doctor says that he has, at one point, engaged in sexual relations. This presumably refers to his relationship with Denara Pel, a Vidiian whom the Doctor treated in "Lifesigns", as she was the only woman with whom the Doctor was shown to have had a romantic relationship up to this point. It is possible, however, that he is referring his holographic wife he created in "Real Life".
- One of the pieces of advanced medical equipment was an homage to Dr. McCoy's tools, which were often nothing more than machined pieces of metal.
- The Starfleet task force destroys a D'deridex-class Warbird for the first time on screen.
- Given the information provided by the EMH Mark II, this episode appears to take place before "In the Pale Moonlight", as the EMH Mark II mentions that Romulans have not taken a side in the Dominion War and the Starfleet-Romulan-Klingon alliance has not yet formed.
- The two Starfleet officers beaming over to the bridge of the Prometheus at the end of the episode are played by two regular DS9 extras. This is probably because, unlike the Voyager extras, they were fitted with the latest Starfleet uniforms, introduced in First Contact. They carried Voyager style compression phaser rifles, one of the few times Alpha Quadrant personnel are seen with the weapons.
- Harry's failure to successfully program a replacement EMH in this episode would be reversed just a season later in the episode "Nothing Human". It is never made clear how Harry gained the knowledge to so quickly succeed with the Crell Moset hologram where he had struggled and failed with the EMH replacement. Perhaps his failure in this episode motivated him to rapidly increase his knowledge of holoprogramming.
- "Living Witness" raises questions about Harry's struggles in this episode. The presence of an Emergency Medical Hologram backup module in "Witness" suggests at least two possibilities. Either Kim's failure to program a new version of the Doctor prompted the creation of the module, or the module was standard technology on all vessels equipped with an EMH. If the latter, there was never any need for Kim's failed effort at programming a new version of the Doctor in this episode, unless the backup module was initially present but lost before the events of this episode. This possibility indicates that the Voyager encountered the Kyrians and the Vaskans prior to this episode.
- It seems that the EMH Mark II has the ability to deactivate himself, while Voyager's EMH had to be reprogrammed in order to do so.
- This episode marks the first appearance of the Hirogen on the series.
- As of this episode, the Doctor becomes the first member of the Voyager crew to return to the Alpha Quadrant in the 24th century. He did this again in "Life Line" to heal Dr. Lewis Zimmerman. In "Future's End" the entire crew returned to Earth, but to the year 1996.
[edit] Video and DVD releases
- UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 4.7, catalog number VHR 4628, 6 July 1998
- As part of the VOY Season 4 DVD collection
[edit] Links and references
[edit] Guest stars
[edit] Special guest star
- Andy Dick as the EMH Mark II
[edit] Co-stars
- Tony Sears as the Prometheus officer
- Tiny Ron as Idrin
- Majel Barrett as the computer voice
[edit] References
ablative armor; Akira-class; Almak; Alpha Quadrant; American cuisine; anesthetic; anesthazine; antacid; astrometrics; axonol; biofilter; Bonchune, USS; chicken salad; Comparative Alien Physiology; compression phaser rifle; datastream; Defiant-class; Dominion; Emergency Medical Hologram; Emergency Medical Hologram Replacement Program; English language; exoscalpel; Gray's Anatomy; gyrodyne relay; heartburn; Hirogen; Hirogen communications network; jalapeño; Johnson, Mark; leech; McCoy, Leonard; mobile emitter; multi-vector assault mode; Nebula-class; neurozine; Ohio; optronic data stream; osteogenic stimulator; Prometheus, USS; Prometheus-class; psychotropic agent; regenerative shield; Rodeo Red's Red-Hot, Rootin'-Tootin' Chili; Romulans; scalpel; sickbay; Spector, USS; Starfleet Headquarters; Starfleet uniform (2373); Tal'Shiar; Terothka virus; Terrilium plague; thrombic modulator; thrust initiator; T'Met, IRW; warbird
[edit] Other references
Antares sector; Berman, Rick; Beta Antares; Beta Antares Ship Yards; dedication plaque; registry; Starfleet Command; Starfleet Ops; Starfleet R & D; Starfleet Science Ops; Starfleet Tactical Ops; Taylor, Jeri; Braga, Brannon; Lauritson, Peter; Howard, Merri; Menosky, Joe; Biller, Ken; Farrell, J.P.; Yacobian, Brad; Fleck, Jerry; Simmons, Adele; Fukai, Arlene; Genovese, Cosmo; DeMeritt, Michael; Overdiek, Diane; Davis, Meril; Rush, Marvin; Peets, Bill; Eyslee, Bob; Bernard, Alan; Brownfield, Dick; Stimson, Mark; James, Richard; Dorton, Louise; Berry, Greg; Hooper, Greg; Sternbach, Rick; Okuda, Michael; Spencer, Kim; Drapanas, Wendy; Curry, Dan; Suskin, Mitch; Burgess, Randy; Betts, Ben; Djanrelian, Jon; Smutko, Alex; Westmore, Mike; Blackman, Bob; Agalsoff, Greg; chief of staff; Roddenberry, Gene; Shakespeare, William
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