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Star Trek: Voyager

Scorpion, Pt. 2

Cast & crew.

Jennifer Lien

Information

© 2011 CBS Corp.

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Scorpion (episode)

• View history
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.1 Title, story, and script
• 3.2 Cast and characters
• 3.3 Production
• 3.4 Effects
• 3.5.1 Holographic Leonardo da Vinci
• 3.6 Reception
• 3.7 Home video releases
• 4.1 Starring
• 4.2 Also starring
• 4.3 Special guest star
• 4.4 Uncredited co-stars
• 4.5 Stunt double
• 4.6 Stand-ins
• 4.7 References
• 4.8 External links

Summary [ ]

Resistance is not futile

In a region of space , two Borg cubes advance on their next intended targets for assimilation . Their hail is cut off abruptly as energy beams lash out at the cubes, which are instantly destroyed.

Act One [ ]

On one of the USS Voyager 's holodecks , Captain Kathryn Janeway is running a Leonardo da Vinci holo-program , conversing with a Leonardo hologram in a simulation of the historical figure's workshop. As Janeway convinces the hologram to take her on as a student, she receives an urgent hail from Commander Chakotay , who urges her to go to engineering to take a look at something.

There, Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres explains that the long-range probe they sent out months ago has stopped transmitting. However, she was able to catch the last few seconds of telemetry, which show a Borg drone 's face staring into the viewscreen . Janeway quickly realizes the implication: after nearly three years in the Delta Quadrant, Voyager is finally approaching Borg space.

Chakotay demonstrates a diagram of the Northwest Passage

Janeway immediately calls a meeting of the senior staff and explains that it is unknown how many Borg vessels are out there but that their space appears to be vast, including thousands of star systems . Voyager is no doubt entering the heart of Borg territory and, unfortunately, there seems to be no way around it. However, there might be a way through it. Chakotay explains that, before the probe was disabled, it detected a narrow corridor of space devoid of Borg activity – which members of the crew nicknamed "the Northwest Passage ". Navigating through it, however, may prove complicated, as the passage is filled with intense gravimetric distortions , probably caused by a string of quantum singularities . The crew are left with no choice, though, but to go through the passage.

All over the ship, preparations are finalized. In engineering, the warp drive is checked, yet again. Tuvok goes through weapons checks with his security officers . Chakotay and Kim review planned tactical options in case the Borg invade the ship.

One of Kes' premonitions

While The Doctor and Kes examine the Borg drone corpse the crew discovered three months earlier looking for possible ways to protect the crew from being assimilated. The Doctor has found that the Borg assimilate by injecting the victim with nanoprobes which quickly take over the bloodstream and suggests a defense which would involve fighting against the infection before it can spread. Kes suddenly experiences a vivid vision of dismembered Borg drone corpses, piled up on one another. She has no idea what this means but it disturbs her greatly. She experiences these and other frightening visions for the next two hours; visions of dead drones and Voyager 's destruction haunt her mind. Tuvok, who is Kes' mentor in honing her telepathic abilities, is informed of this development. While he discusses Kes' predicament with Janeway and Chakotay on the bridge , the ship begins to tremble. Kim reports that long-range sensors detect transwarp signatures 5.8 light-years away closing from behind. Before they know it, fifteen Borg vessels are rapidly closing on them from 2.1 light-years away. Subspace turbulence forces Voyager out of warp.

Fifteen cubes bear down on Voyager

Much to everyone's surprise, the enormous vessels do not attack, merely racing past Voyager . One cube slows and scans the ship, then speeds up to rejoin the others. The subspace turbulence affecting Voyager dissipates. The crew is at a loss to explain their unusually good fortune.

Act Two [ ]

Kim confirms there's no damage, and systems are coming back online. Janeway orders the ship to resume course while she reviews the Starfleet database for data on previous Borg encounters. Chakotay interrupts her later to inform her the passage is still clear then, seeing she hasn't eaten, offers to eat with her. She declines, then explains she has been seeking useful information on the Borg from the logs of other Starfleet commanders but has gotten nothing. Although she knew when Voyager first started its journey back to the Alpha Quadrant they would eventually hit Borg territory and everyone has tried to prepare themselves for the challenge, she asks about what happens if the danger is too large; do they press on or retreat to friendly territory, permanently abandoning the journey home. Chatokay gently assures her that he and everyone else will support her and that she is not alone. Janeway says that she cannot imagine a day without him – though just three years ago, she didn't even know his name. While they are talking, Tuvok hails her to the bridge.

There, he and Kim report that the Borg cubes have suddenly stopped 5.2 light years away, for an undetermined reason. Janeway orders Paris to take Voyager to the coordinates of the dormant Borg ships at warp 2. The crew then finds that every one of the fifteen cubes has been destroyed – with only a few life signs remaining. Tuvok detects two residual weapons' signatures in the debris: one Borg and the other of unknown origin. Astonished, Paris asks the question that everyone else is wondering: who could bring such devastation to the Borg?

Act Three [ ]

" Who could do this to the Borg? "

The idea of someone more powerful than the Borg seems rather incredible. Kim thinks they might have found an ally but Chakotay warns not to jump to conclusions. While scanning the vicinity for other vessels, the bridge officers detect a biomass attached to one of the Borg ships. They confirm that it is organic but do not receive a response when they send out a standard greeting. They try to beam it away from the ship, but cannot get a lock on it and a tractor beam also doesn't seem to have an effect. They realize that whatever is attached to the Borg cube is impervious to their technology. Janeway orders Chakotay to lead an away team to the cube to take a short-range scan of this biomass.

Voyager discovers a peculiar vessel

The vessel "docked" to the remnant of a Borg cube

Tuvok and Kim join Chakotay on the away team and beam aboard the cube. As they look around, they find nothing but dead drones scattered amid the wreckage. As they move on, they find a pile of dismembered Borg corpses reminiscent of the visions Kes had earlier. They continue forward to the object and find that it has created a gaping hole in the cube's hull and fused onto it. Interestingly, there is a Borg unsuccessfully continuing to attempt to assimilate it. Scans reveal it to be an organic-based vessel with high concentration of antimatter particles, possibly a warp core . Chakotay and Tuvok board the ship to investigate while Kim accesses a Borg distribution node to download their tactical database.

The dead, infected drone

In Voyager 's sickbay , Kes is carrying a tray when she is suddenly overwhelmed by visions of Kim screaming in abject agony. She collapses, frantically warning that the away team is in grave danger and that they need to leave the cube immediately.

On the Borg ship, Kim calls the other two officers to his position, as he has detected something that is biological in the vicinity but does not appear to be Borg. Just then, Janeway hails and tells them to prepare for immediate return to Voyager . The unknown life form suddenly tears through a wall of the cube, entering a corridor where the away team is. Immediately, it attacks nearby drones, swiping them before turning to Kim and attacking him. Kim collapses, screaming in excruciating pain, just as he had in Kes' vision. The creature moves to finish him but, just then, the away team is beamed back aboard Voyager .

Voyager spirals up of control

On the bridge, Paris reports that the alien ship is detaching and powering up, apparently readying to fire a weapon. Kes, who is also on the bridge, experiences another vision of the pilot on that bio-ship communicating with her. Janeway orders Paris to take them out of the area at maximum warp. As Voyager moves away, the bio-ship fires, not landing a direct hit but Voyager loses control. Paris is able to jump to warp speed, and the bio-ship does not give chase. An alarm-stricken Kes tells Janeway that it is not the Borg that they should be worried about but this new species. Kes informs the captain that the creature told her, " The weak will perish. "

Act Four [ ]

Kim is being ravaged by the alien's attack

As Janeway enters sickbay, she is horrified to view Harry Kim's condition. The Doctor tells her that the alien cells are consuming his body from the inside out, while he is conscious. He shows her the scan of the alien cells which contain more than a hundred times the DNA of a Human cell. It would take him years to decipher it. The Doctor is unable to sedate Harry as anything that penetrates this species' cell-membrane – biological, chemical or technological – is instantly destroyed. Janeway realizes that this is probably why the Borg cannot assimilate the species. The Doctor, however, believes that Borg technology holds the key to saving Kim, as he hopes to unleash an army of modified Borg nanoprobes into Kim's bloodstream , designed to target and eradicate the infection. He has successfully managed to dissect a nanoprobe, access its recoding mechanism and reprogram the probe to emit the same electrochemical signature as the alien cells. That way, the probe can do its work without being detected. The Doctor is not certain he will be able to modify enough nanoprobes in time to save Harry.

The Doctor presents his solution to the Captain

On the bridge, Tuvok and Torres show Chakotay a part of the tactical data Kim retrieved from the cube. According to it, the aliens – designated by the Borg as Species 8472 – have engaged the Borg twelve times in the last five months and, each time, the Borg have been defeated swiftly. The bridge officers also finally determine that Species 8472 comes from the Northwest Passage – which would explain why it is a region devoid of Borg activity. While discussing this, Tuvok detects 133 bio-ships coming from a quantum singularity. A grim-faced Janeway watches the visual as it shows hundreds of the aliens' ships streaming forth from quantum singularities in the Northwest Passage.

Kes notifies the captain that the aliens have been communicating with her further. Their new messages are even more frightening than the first; she feels malevolence and cold hatred. Kes says that what they are doing is carrying out an invasion and that they intend to destroy everything. Voyager is taken 5 light-years away at maximum warp to wait.

Chakotay and Janeway discuss their next move. The Northwest Passage is no longer an option as a route through Borg space. Now, the choice is between facing the Borg in their space or staying behind and giving up hope of ever returning home. Chakotay reminds Janeway that just because they're turning around doesn't mean they won't find another way home, but Janeway still can't bring herself to tell the crew they're remaining in the Delta Quadrant and is desperate for another choice between permanent isolation or almost certain death. She decides to get some sleep and see how she feels with a clear head, as she hasn't slept for 2 days.

Janeway however can't bring herself to rest and heads to the da Vinci holodeck simulation, the decision she must make weighs heavily on her mind. She tells Leonardo her problem (as a metaphor) and he suggests she journey with him to church and make an appeal to God. This suddenly gives Janeway an idea… she could do a deal with the "devil".

Act Five [ ]

In the briefing room, Janeway outlines her plan: an alliance with the Borg , against their new enemy. Voyager 's crew will offer the Borg a way to defeat their enemy and, in return, the Borg will grant them safe passage through their space. Janeway references The Doctor's findings regarding the nanoprobes, which she believes can be used as a biological weapon against Species 8472. The officers are incredulous at her suggestion of teaming up with such an entity. Janeway is adamant that her stratagem will work, however. She has The Doctor save all of the research regarding the nanoprobes in his holomatrix . She also explains that, if the Borg threaten Voyager in any way, the crew will simply erase The Doctor's program.

After everyone else leaves, Chakotay – who has remained rather quiet throughout the meeting – tells Janeway that he believes that what she proposes is far too dangerous. Illustrating his reasoning by citing a parable of the scorpion that allowed itself to die rather than overcome its deadly nature, he argues that her plan is a huge mistake, as she is underestimating the true evil of the Borg. He explains that no amount of diplomacy, reasoning and incentive-providing will ever change what the Borg are. They have no guarantee that the Borg will actually keep their hands off them after they acquire the information. He also wonders how much Voyager 's safety is ultimately worth, that Janeway is willing to give advantage to a species guilty of murdering billions; they would essentially be giving the Borg the means to assimilate yet another species, just to get themselves home. But Janeway is convinced that they will be able to keep the Borg at bay with the bargaining chip they have. She furthermore believes that helping to assimilate Species 8472 might actually not be such a bad idea, given the malevolence they have expressed towards the entire galaxy. Chakotay, however, remains steadfast in his objection to her plan accusing her of being so blinded by her desire to go home that she is closing herself to all other options. Janeway asks him to trust her, firmly stating that the time for debate is over as she has made her decision. Chakotay reluctantly agrees that, as her first officer, he will comply with her orders but makes it clear she does not have his support. With misty eyes, Janeway says she guesses that she is alone after all. She dismisses him sadly but her resolve is unshaken.

Voyager arrives at an assimilated system. Several Borg cubes are in the area, and one of them seizes the ship in a tractor beam. Janeway notifies the Collective that she has tactical information about Species 8472. She offers to negotiate for it but the Collective refuses. Janeway has Torres transmit (to the cubes) a sample of the research, showing the 8472 cells being destroyed by the Borg nanoprobes. The captain declares that this is a sample of the data and threatens to destroy it, if the Collective does not listen to what she has to say. There is a long pause. She again offers to negotiate but, as she speaks, she is transported to the cube, finding herself on a catwalk spanning the vessel's vast interior.

Janeway negotiates with the Collective

The Collective instructs her to state her demands. She states that there is only one demand: safe passage through Borg space in exchange for the data. Once her ship is past Borg territory, she will give them their research. The Collective does not accept because their space is vast and her passage would take too long. They demand the technology immediately. Janeway refuses because if she gives the data to them right away, they would assimilate Voyager . The Collective explains that Species 8472 has to be stopped and the Collective's survival is Voyager 's survival. Janeway then comes up with a plan: they would collaborate – as Voyager traverses Borg space – in order to craft a bio-weapon using the data. She is in the middle of outlining this plan when the cube is violently shaken.

Voyager and the cube escape the planet, but only just

On Voyager 's bridge, Tuvok informs Chakotay that a quantum singularity has opened 20,000 kilometers away and that more bio-ships are coming through. The cube's shields are weakening but not enough to beam Janeway back to Voyager . Nine bio-ships converge in a star pattern and head toward the assimilated planet . They destroy the planet and all the Borg cubes in the vicinity, except for the one holding Janeway and Voyager . The remaining cube hurtles away at high warp, just ahead of the explosion, with Voyager still held firmly in its tractor beam.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Memorable quotes [ ]

" We are the Borg. Existence as you know it is over. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is fu… "

" Better to ride the rapids than face the Hive. "

" Think good thoughts. "

" In their collective state, the Borg are utterly without mercy, driven by one will alone: the will to conquer. They are beyond redemption, beyond reason. "

" It is my opinion that the Borg are as close to pure evil as any race we've ever encountered. "

" It's nothing to be ashamed about, echoing the greats. Ensign Hickman in astrophysics does a passable Janeway." " If we manage to survive the next few days, I'm going to have a chat with Ensign Hickman. Imitating the captain – surely that violates some kind of Starfleet protocol."

"Three years ago, I didn't even know your name. Today I can't imagine a day without you. "

" We might have just found our ticket through Borg space: an ally. " " Let's not jump to conclusions. "

" A skeletal lock, huh? We'll have to add that one to the transporter manual. "

" The weak will perish! "

" They have an extraordinary immune response. Anything that penetrates the cell membrane, chemical, biological, technological, it's all instantly destroyed. That's why the Borg can't assimilate them. " " Resistance in this case is far from futile. "

" Fight it, Harry! That's an order! "

" There are times, Caterina, when I find myself transfixed by a shadow on the wall, or the splashing of water against a stone. I stare at it, the hours pass, the world around me drops away… replaced by worlds being created and destroyed by my imagination. "

" There's a path before me… the only way home. And on either side, mortal enemies bent on destroying each other. If I attempt to pass through them… I'll be destroyed as well. But if I turn around… that would end all hope of ever getting home. "

" What if I made an appeal… to the Devil? "

" The Borg aren't exactly known for their diplomacy. Can we really expect them to cooperate with us? " " Normally, the answer would be no, but if what I've learned from the aliens is true, the Borg are losing this conflict. "

" There's a story I heard as a child, a parable, and I never forgot it. A scorpion was walking along the bank of a river, wondering how to get to the other side. Suddenly, he saw a fox. He asked the fox to take him on his back across the river. The fox said 'No. If I do that, you'll sting me and I'll drown.' The scorpion assured him, 'If I did that, we'd both drown.' So, the fox thought about it, and finally agreed. So, the scorpion climbed up on his back, and the fox began to swim, but halfway across the river, the scorpion stung him. As the poison filled his veins, the fox turned to the scorpion and said, 'Why did you do that? Now you'll drown too.' 'I couldn't help it,' said the scorpion, 'it's my nature'. "

" We'd be giving an advantage to a race guilty of murdering billions. We'd be helping the Borg assimilate yet another species just to get ourselves back home. It's wrong! "

Background information [ ]

Title, story, and script [ ].

• "Scorpion" takes its name from the parable Chakotay shares with Janeway after briefing the crew on her plan to form a temporary alliance with the Borg. The parable is most commonly known as The Scorpion and the Frog , but for unknown reasons Chakotay's version substitutes a fox for the frog. The Italian dub keeps the frog in the story.
• Even before it was firmly decided that the Borg would reappear in Star Trek: Voyager (as the series' team of writer-producers were considering if they should, following the defeat of the Borg and their queen in the film Star Trek: First Contact ), Brannon Braga had come up with one of the story points of this episode. He noted, " I think it would be cool if the USS Voyager came upon a Borg graveyard, and basically, they're all dead. Obviously, somehow they'll come back to life. I just think it's a cool setting, and it's an interesting pay off to the movie. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 24 , p. 37) Evidently, however, the cause of the destruction thereafter changed from being the Borg's defeat in First Contact to Species 8472.
• This installment was not the first choice for the finale of Star Trek: Voyager 's third season , a fact that even CGI Effects Director Ron Thornton became aware of (despite his purview being quite different from that of Voyager 's writing staff). ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 16 , p. 37) Originally, " Year of Hell " was planned to be Voyager 's third season finale but, with the choice made to shake up the cast in Season 4 , this episode was the result. ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 34 , p. 12; Delta Quadrant , p. 207) This episode also replaced an undeveloped story idea that featured biomimetic lifeforms , doppelgängers of the Voyager crew, arriving at Earth to much enthusiastic furore before then causing havoc on the planet; although Joe Menosky and Brannon Braga started to collaborate on scripting that plot, dissatisfaction with the writing of the teleplay resulted in the writing duo instead turning their attentions to the "Scorpion" project. The same aliens who appeared in the unfinished script ultimately featured in Season 4's " Demon " and the fifth season installment " Course: Oblivion ". ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 31, No. 11, p. 49)
• Brannon Braga's initial idea for this episode was originally influenced by two then-recent Borg-related Star Trek productions: the film Star Trek: First Contact (which Braga himself had co-written) and the earlier third season Voyager installment " Unity ". Braga recalled, " Late one night I was sitting in front of the TV and I saw a promotion for Voyager on the air on UPN . I saw an image of a Borg corpse from the show we were doing, 'Unity'. It struck me then and there that First Contact had come and gone. It was time to deliver the Borg in a big way, at which point we threw out the cliffhanger we were working on at that time, and came up with 'Scorpion I' and 'II'. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 75) Years later, however, Braga hesitantly recounted that the moment of inspiration had come when he " was sitting at home, late one night, and I was watching a video tape of one of our episodes; it had a Borg mummy in it or something. " ("Braving the Unknown: Season 4", VOY Season 4 DVD ) Regardless of how exactly he saw footage from "Unity" at the time he had the thought for this episode, he clarified, " All we had planned for the Borg was that 'Unity' episode […] I thought, we can't just do 'Unity'. It's not enough. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 75)
• Voyager co-creator and Executive Producer Jeri Taylor credited Brannon Braga, who Taylor considered to be a highly inventive writer generally, with the idea for Species 8472. ("Braving the Unknown: Season Three", VOY Season 3 DVD special features)
• Although the concept of a Borg graveyard had unsuccessfully been considered for "Unity", the reason – according to Brannon Braga – that the idea was included in this episode was "not because we were dying to do a Borg graveyard." Braga further explained, " It's kind of an image that we had held over, but it fits into the events of the story perfectly. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 28 , p. 17)
• The sequence wherein multiple Borg cubes pass by Voyager was part of an attempt, made by Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky, to feature memorable, large-scale images in the two-parters that were included (at least partly, as in the case of the "Scorpion" two-parter) in Star Trek: Voyager 's fourth season. Menosky explained, " We made a conscious effort to put back [in] amazing images that are memorable, and that the character stuff works in and around, things like from 'Scorpion Part I', little Voyager with 15 Borg cubes blasting by. I loved looking at that […] A big part of this is not just visual effects but images. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 75)
• A starship battle in Borg subspace tunnels was temporarily considered for inclusion in this episode. The idea was discussed before being dismissed. ( Star Trek: Action! , p. 7) Similarly, the idea of having the Borg use quantum slipstream drive was also contemplated. " We were going to have the Borg ships raising slipstreams and have big fights in those slipstreams, " Brannon Braga reflected, " But we had too many ideas for that episode and some just didn't make it. " ( Star Trek: Action! , p. 42)
• The holographic Leonardo da Vinci was added to the story at the request of Janeway actress Kate Mulgrew . Although she twice (on separate occasions) referred to the idea as having been her own, Mulgrew also indicated a lesser degree of personal involvement in the character's conception by saying, " I helped come up with the idea. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 46 , p. 26; Star Trek Monthly  issue 33 , p. 23; The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 14 , p. 33) Leonardo actor John Rhys-Davies offered, " The whole thing was Kate's baby and she had done a lot of research into it. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 58 , p. 40) Mulgrew's inspiration for the character was that it would give Janeway someone creative to confide in. ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 28 , p. 4; The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 14 , pp. 33-34) Concerning exactly how she made her contribution to this character concept, Mulgrew offered, " I think it was Brannon Braga who asked, 'Where did art most notoriously meet science in history?' And I said, 'With Leonardo da Vinci.' He said, 'Exactly.' " ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 14 , p. 34)
• During the scripting process, the members of Species 8472 were at one point described as being fourteen feet tall. The script, while being written, was very vague about most of the aliens' other details. Concept artist Steve Burg recounted, " It just said, 'A great beast of some sort blasts through the wall, kills two of the Borg and hits Harry, knocking him out.' " ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 2 , p. 28)
• The final draft of this episode's script was submitted on 26 February 1997 . This document refers to Species 8472 as being at least ten feet tall and wearing an alien breathing apparatus aboard the Borg cube. [1]

Cast and characters [ ]

• Kate Mulgrew liked many aspects of this episode, citing it as one of her eight favorite installments of Star Trek: Voyager 's third season. For example, Mulgrew was highly proud of having come up with the idea of a holographic Leonardo da Vinci. " For me, 'Scorpion' introduced another element of Janeway that I loved, " Mulgrew explained, " and that was Leonardo da Vinci. " The actress went on to state that, because she had assisted with the conceptual development of the Leonardo hologram, she was "very pleased." ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 14 , pp. 32 & 33) Mulgrew not only thought that the character concept was "a really good idea" but also believed the holographic program "makes sense." ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 33 , p. 23) Additionally, the actress was delighted by how this episode initiates the bond between her character of Janeway and the Leonardo hologram. " They begin an extraordinary relationship on the holodeck, " Mulgrew enthused. ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 28 , p. 4)
• Without auditioning for the role of the holographic Leonardo da Vinci, John Rhys-Davies was offered the part by Star Trek: Voyager 's producers. Having been a long-term Star Trek fan, he was delighted to accept the offer. ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 58 , p. 38) Kate Mulgrew enjoyed working on this episode with the actor. Shortly following the completion of her work on the episode, Mulgrew stated, " John Rhys-Davies is just perfect for it. We had a very good time working together. " ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 14 , p. 34)
• Both Kate Mulgrew and Joe Menosky noticed that, by this point in the third season, the character of Janeway and the persona of the actress playing her were seeming to gravitate more towards one another and that this development appeared to be benefiting the portrayal of the Starfleet captain. Menosky commented, " In 'Scorpion Part I' [Janeway] was becoming a little more risk taking, and edgy, and frankly, a little bit more like Kate Mulgrew. I've always said, even Jeri Taylor used to always say, 'if Captain Janeway were only more like Kate, we would have a much better captain on our hands.' For whatever reason, our writing and Kate's kind of freewheeling personality seemed to come together a bit more, at the end of the [third] season. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 86) Mulgrew herself remarked that, particularly "towards the end of the season," she made some "very important breakthroughs" with becoming "much more relaxed and more allied with Janeway". ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 33 , p. 23)
• Jeri Taylor was impressed by the acting, in this episode, of both Kate Mulgrew and Chakotay actor Robert Beltran . " Weren't they good? " Taylor rhetorically asked. " I felt that the actors more than rose to the occasion. They really liked the idea of that conflict [between Janeway and Chakotay] and how it would test their friendship, and they really poured themselves into it. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 113)
• Kim actor Garrett Wang liked how this episode introduced a new, villainous alien species. He observed, " All of a sudden, now you have an enemy which is even more… fearful than the Borg, an enemy that can single-handedly take out the Borg. 'Who could that be?!', you know? Up 'til that point, I mean, the Borg was the end-all, be-all of enemies, you know? Nobody could defeat – and then, now, you've got, 'Who are these guys?!', you know? […] So that episode, to me, was… I loved it because it introduced, you know, a 'new villain.' The sci-fi fan in me really enjoyed working on that episode, for that. " ("Braving the Unknown: Season Three", VOY Season 3 DVD special features)
• Garrett Wang was less pleased, however, about having to play the out-of-action Kim. " I mean, I wasn't too happy that, most of the episode, I was on a bio-bed with green goop on my face, " Wang remarked, before loudly echoing of the writers (wearing a big grin on his face), " 'Who else but Kim needs to be tortured in the bio-bed?', you know? No one else, just Kim. " ("Braving the Unknown: Season Three", VOY Season 3 DVD special features)
• This episode marks the final appearance of Jennifer Lien ( Kes ) as a regular cast member.

Production [ ]

• The makeup appliances for the holographic Leonardo da Vinci, as created for this episode, consisted of a beard, mustache and eyebrows as well as a nose that was styled in much the same way as Leonardo's was. ( Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts , p. 169)
• Director David Livingston appreciated the fact that, for this episode, Species 8472 was scripted to appear for merely a few brief moments, giving only fleeting glimpses of the species. " It was kind of played a little bit like Alien , " Livingston remarked, " where you don't really get a huge look at it, which, to me, is always the best way to portray these things. If you look at them too long and too closely, they start to fall apart a bit. " ("Braving the Unknown: Season Three", VOY Season 3 DVD special features)
• According to the unauthorized reference book Delta Quadrant (p. 188), the Borg costumes in this episode were reused from Star Trek: First Contact , as were "much of the Borg's furnishings."
• After Garrett Wang portrayed a reaction to seeing the approach of the massed Borg cubes that fly by Voyager , his fellow actors jokingly mimicked him. Wang commented, " I notice onscreen on my sensors that all these Borg cubes are coming upon us, but they don't even stop for us […] And my lines are like, 'Captain, I'm reading one – no, three – no, five – no, seven Borg cubes.' And the way I said it, I said, 'Capt-taiiiin…' " Wang laughed. He then continued, " I really extended out the 'Captain.' So from then on, [Robert] Beltran and [Robert Duncan] McNeill would always go, 'Cap-taiiiin…' " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 106 , p. 40)
• Visual Effects Producer Dan Curry acted as second unit director on this installment. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 96) As such, he was involved in the directing of the scene wherein an away team from Voyager passes the pile of Borg corpses aboard a Borg cube. The heap of deceased drones was not an on-set element, however. Recalling the filming of the scene, Curry said, " The actors knew where to look, on stage, so they would walk around and say, 'Okay, it's up there.' " ("Red Alert: Amazing Visual Effects", VOY Season 3 DVD special features)
• Visual Effects Supervisor Ronald B. Moore worked on the filming of the scene in which a member of Species 8472 bursts into a corridor, attacks Kim and then hurries away. Ron Thornton enthused of this scene, " Ron Moore and the live-action guys did such a great job of shooting the live action that it had a massive amount of drama–the wall suddenly blows out, so we could make the creature come in. " ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 16 , p. 38)
• Performing the scene wherein Janeway speaks with the Borg Collective while aboard one of the Borg cubes represented a scary challenge for Kate Mulgrew, who consequently had to do several takes of the scene. To aid her performance, Mulgrew imagined she was in an extremely contained space, surrounded by hordes of serial killers. ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 28 , p. 4; The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 14 , p. 33) This footage was filmed by Dan Curry's second unit team. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 96) " They put you on the stage with just a blue screen behind you, and they say, 'This is the Borg hive. You are surrounded by them. You can go four inches this way. You can go two inches this way, and forward no more than an inch and a half, " Mulgrew told an audience at the Pasadena Grand Slam Convention on Friday 21 March 1997 , " and meanwhile you play the three-page scene, and you are jeopardizing not only yourself, but the assimilation of your entire species […] I played the scene with so much quiet that I scared myself! " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 28 , p. 4)

Effects [ ]

• Although Visual Effects Supervisor Ron Moore usually used a mixture of effects methods, the visual effects of this episode were virtually all CGI. This method of effects was costly but a saving of finances enabled the profuse usage of CGI here; Jeri Taylor noted that, for this episode, the production crew of Star Trek: Voyager had "some extra money saved so we [could] go all out." ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 31 , pp. 27 & 13) Both David Livingston and Senior Supervising Visual Effects Animator Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz appreciated the fact that this episode allowed for more digital effects than usual. " [It] really, really pushed the envelope, " noted Lebowitz. " It had an incredible amount of complicated effects work, stuff that would have probably been prohibitively expensive to have done with miniatures. That might have been one of the first shows where you can really say that without CGI they couldn't have done it. It was really a compliment that they even wrote an episode like that. I think it showed that they were finally having some confidence in the work that was being done, and they decided to really push it. I was really happy that they were finally writing episodes knowing that this stuff can be done more effectively now. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 58 , p. 44) In agreement, Livingston noted, " That was fun, because we got to deal with CGI figures. " ("Braving the Unknown: Season Three", VOY Season 3 DVD special features)
• The effects in this episode (in particular, the creation of Species 8472) were influenced by the success of effects in the earlier third season episode " Macrocosm ", particularly the computer-generated design of the macrovirus . ("Red Alert: Amazing Visual Effects", VOY Season 3 DVD special features)
• Despite this episode's script being sparse on details regarding Species 8472, the episode's visual effects artists were able to glean some information about the aliens from their involvement in the story. Dan Curry noted, " We had a script for a very vicious alien creature that had to be so powerful and so fearsome that it was able to chop up and destroy the Borg. " The aliens were then designed – for their debut appearance in this episode – by Curry, Steve Burg and CGI animator John Teska . ("The Birth of Species 8472", VOY Season 4 DVD special features)
• Meanwhile, Adam Lebowitz worked on the CGI Species 8472 bio-ships , the Borg cubes and Voyager . Ron Moore and coordinator Cheryl Gluckstern devised the two different forms of energy beam that the bio-ships' weapons fire: the style that is emitted from the single bio-ship that Voyager initially comes across, and the more concentrated blast that is fired by the formation of bio-ships. Recalling the creation of the latter style of blast, Moore said, " I wanted to do something that was a little bit different than Star Wars ' Death Star. I thought it was more interesting if they could share the strength of each and then create this monster beam. " The beams were visualized by Greg Rainoff at Digital Magic , using Harry animation. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 95)
• The teaser of this episode involved a lot of work for CGI supplier Foundation Imaging . Ron Thornton explained, " We originally built the Borg Cube for an earlier episode [i.e. 'Unity'], but we really had to trick it out for this one, because in the first few seconds, two Borg Cubes are blown up, so we had to create a lot of pieces for each explosion. " Using a studio model and motion-control photography rather than CGI would have made the sequence somewhat easier and less time-consuming, as Foundation would not have had to deal with the painstaking task of crafting the explosions. ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 16 , p. 38)
• During the creation of the sequence wherein Voyager is passed by an armada of Borg cubes, the visual effects team were not entirely certain how big to make the effect. " Initially when we did that shot, " Ron Moore recalled, " we thought it was a little bit over-the-top. The idea is that these Borg cubes are really, really big, and whatever drive they're using is throwing out some kind of electromagnetic field that's kicking the Voyager around. So we did a second softer version, and we looked at it and looked at it, and finally the decision was made to go back to the original. It's a lot more fun. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 96) Visualizing this sequence with such traditional effects methods as a model and motion-control photography would have been problematic. " The mount would have given us a problem, " Ron Moore explained. " We could have done a side mount, maybe, but it would have been a lot more subtle. " In other words, what the effects team veered away from, when it came time to create the sequence. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, pp. 95-96)

Ronald B. Moore and Paul Hill work on this episode in the edit bay at Digital Magic

• The green-tinged polaron beam that is utilized by one of the Borg cubes to scan Voyager 's bridge was actually rendered CGI by Digital Magic. Ron Moore said of this effect, " The thing that was important to me was that it would look like it was dimensional, when the light would hit the face, and then you'd see it in the background. We played with it in the edit bay. A lot of times with CGI this works out better, because there's a lot of freedom in the edit bay. Something like the scanning beam works until you make it too heavy, and you can't see through it. It's very subtle. With Paul Hill in the edit bay, we laid down one of the passes bright, another one with a little green in it, and we plugged in the flat fan-like surface as it went across. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 96)

The pile of Borg action figures

• The pile of dismembered Borg seen on the disabled cube was actually a twelve-inch pile of Playmates Toys action figures. Dan Curry recalled, " We didn't have the budget or the time to create full-scale body chunks, because of the cost and time it would take to do that. So, I asked our licensing department for a bunch of Borg toy action figures […] And kudos to the person who sculpted those toys, because the detail – especially the facial detail – was so good that I was able to take the toy action figures, cut them up with a Dremel cutting tool, and then I stacked them up with hot glue and shot them at home against a little blue screen cove. " To complete the scene in which the away team members from Voyager pass the pile of corpses, the live-action footage that Dan Curry had already shot of the actors was composited together with the Borg drone models. Curry remarked, " By compositing the stack of action figures, it looked very real. And the toy faces were sculpted so well that I was able to do close-ups on a [tiny] head, […] filling the TV screen with them, and they looked very good. Of course, it was in kind of a smoky environment, but um… So, the toys served us well and saved the production company lots of money. " ("Red Alert: Amazing Visual Effects", VOY Season 3 DVD special features) Ron Moore commented, " That was something we all knew immediately was perfect for Dan […] He really had a lot of fun painting it, showing it to everybody. He'd come in and tell us, 'It's real disgusting now,' and he had a big smile on. It was great. We used it in a couple of shots, one with our crew, and one without. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 96)
• While Chakotay, Tuvok, and Harry Kim are exploring a Borg cube, they encounter a Borg drone repeatedly trying, unsuccessfully, to assimilate the Species 8472 bio-ship attached to the cube. For a single shot in this scene, Industrial Light & Magic assisted with the inclusion of some Borg assimilation tubules that extend from the drone's fingers. Ron Moore stated, " Since ILM had done the tubules for the last feature, First Contact , [Producer] Peter Lauritson set it up so that they would go ahead and give us those tubules again for the show. We added the electricity. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 96)
• The look of the Species 8472 infection that can be seen on both the infected Borg corpse and Harry Kim, while he is also stricken with the condition, was created by Greg Rainoff using Harry animation. " The idea was that they wanted to show that even though the Borg was dead, whatever these aliens had done to him was still at work, " Ron Moore revealed. " Later when we see Kim in sickbay, it's the same thing. If you look closely, you'll see that these veins are growing bigger and leaning just a little bit. We wanted to tie those two [effects] together. Greg on the [Harry] actually painted them on. He would paint one vein a little longer, then do an effect to reveal it so it looked like it was growing. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 96)

An enhanced photograph (showing the Orion Nebula ) that was used for this episode

• To depict a red nebula near the Borg colony world that is destroyed by a formation of bio-ships in the episode's conclusion, an image of the Orion Nebula – captured by the Hubble Space Telescope – was modified and composited together with the effects footage. ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 31 , p. 29)
• Although Foundation Imaging worked extensively on this episode, the company had no input on the interior Borg cube matte shot in the episode's final scene. [2] (X) The shot used recycled footage from Star Trek: First Contact . Ron Moore remembered, " We picked some pieces out of the Borg collective that was used in the feature [film] […] We took certain frames and had them re-rendered, or re-shot by Illusion Arts so we'd have nice clean frames. All of them in the feature were moving, so they had a little bit of a [motion] blur to them. So we picked frames, had them give them to us clean without the blur, then Dan went in and painted the bridge. " Subsequently, Janeway was super-imposed into the shot, using the second-unit footage that Dan Curry had taken of actress Kate Mulgrew. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 96)
• The creation of the CGI for this episode took a total of about six weeks. [3] (X)
• Jeri Taylor and Voyager 's other producers were extremely satisfied with the visual effects of this episode. Shortly after working on Voyager 's third season, Jeri Taylor said of this installment, " That was one of our experiments with computer-generated graphics. We're more and more happy with the kinds of things we're able to get with CGI, and fortunately for a price we can afford. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 113) The visual effects artists themselves were pleased with their work on this episode. Ron Moore noted, " We were very proud of it. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 96)

Continuity and trivia [ ]

• This episode references Star Trek episodes from both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . Janeway mentions Q and his act of introducing the Enterprise to the Borg, as depicted in TNG : " Q Who ", and the Battle of Wolf 359, as depicted in DS9 : " Emissary ".
• This episode has one of the shortest teasers in Star Trek , at just under twenty seconds and with only a single (unfinished) line of dialogue spoken by the Borg.
• This is the last of three episodes of Voyager 's third season to feature the Borg; other than "Unity", their third season appearances also include the final scene of " Blood Fever ". As noted in the script of this episode, the Borg body parts here came from "the Borg corpse last seen in 'Unity,' which has been dissected." Another link between those two episodes is that Brannon Braga intended for the revelation, in this episode, that Species 8472 was overpowering the Borg to account for the condition of a disabled Borg cube that Voyager comes across in "Unity". ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 28 , p. 17)
• This episode marks the third time in Star Trek that an end-of-season cliffhanger story revolved around the Borg, the previous occasions being TNG : " The Best of Both Worlds " and TNG : " Descent ". Coincidentally, the former of those two episodes was at the end of TNG's third season , just as this episode is at the end of Voyager 's third season.
• In TNG : " The Best of Both Worlds, Part II ", that series' hero ship, the USS Enterprise -D , comes across a fleet of destroyed and damaged Starfleet ships, having been decimated by the Borg (at the Battle of Wolf 359 , which is referenced in this episode). Likewise, in this episode, the series' hero ship, Voyager , comes across a fleet of destroyed and damaged Borg ships, having been decimated by Species 8472. While the former scene is commonly referred to as the "graveyard scene," the script of this episode refers to the site of the latter scene as a "cemetery of decimated ships" and "a graveyard of debris".
• The assimilation tubules that appear in this episode previously appeared in Star Trek: First Contact . In fact, the script of this episode notes that the tubules were "seen in 'First Contact,' when the N.D. was stabbed in the neck". In an audio commentary for that film, recorded by Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore , Braga comments, " A lot of stuff we established in here involving tubules, and maybe even nanoprobes , we would go on to use a lot in Voyager because the Borg became a big part of that show. " This episode was, however, the first episode to establish the concept of Borg nanoprobes, nanotechnology having been briefly referenced in the Borg-related episodes "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" (in particular, nanites ) and " Descent, Part II " (specifically, nano-cortical fibers ).
• This episode marks the beginning of a development of tension in the relationship between Janeway and Chakotay that culminates in the latter character considering mutiny in the season 6 premiere, " Equinox, Part II ". Kate Mulgrew was thankful for the introduction of this tension, describing it as "a very good thing to have." ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 33 , p. 22) Shortly after completing her work on this episode, the actress commented, " There's some real heat between them, especially after the events of 'Scorpion, Part I'. It will take some time before Janeway and Chakotay can re-establish the kind of intimacy and trust they had. In the meantime, though, the tension will give the relationship a wonderful new dynamic. " ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 14 , p. 32)
• After being introduced in this episode, Species 8472 appeared in both Seasons 4 and 5 . Their fourth season appearances are the concluding part of this episode's two-parter and " Prey ", whereas their Season 5 appearances are " In the Flesh " and (in a holophoto ) " Someone to Watch Over Me ".
• When Janeway references Captain Amasov in this episode, it is an in-joke reference to Isaac Asimov , famous 20th century science-fiction writer, cybernetics supporter, and friend of Gene Roddenberry .

Holographic Leonardo da Vinci [ ]

• The holographic Leonardo da Vinci, following his debut appearance here, featured in the fourth season episode " Concerning Flight ". The holographic recreation of his workshop appears not only in that episode but also in the Season 4 installments " The Raven ", " Scientific Method ", and " The Omega Directive ".
• The robot that the holographic Leonardo is working on, in this episode, is based on a real work that Leonardo created. Although the final drawings of the robot are lost (if they ever existed), preliminary sketches have been input into computer simulations that confirm that the sketches were indeed meant to be of a mechanical man. While the sketches were known of, it was not until the 1950s that a professor from the University of California realized what they were meant to be. (For more information, see Leonardo's robot at Wikipedia or Lodestar's Lair .)
• Janeway points out to Leonardo: " Someone once said… all invention is but an extension of the body of man… " This "someone" is Marshall McLuhan , popular for his studies in media theory. One of his theses is that all media are just extensions of our Human bodies; for example, a radio is an extension of the ear and binoculars are an extension of our eyes. This theory directly relates to the character of the Borg.
• A few words of Italian are spoken on the holodeck. The term " Esatto " (meaning "exactly") is used twice: first by Leonardo da Vinci, upon confirming for Janeway that all he received in return for painting the Cardinal's nephew was the Cardinal's gratitude, and secondly by Janeway, when Leonardo responds to her suggestion of gliding like a hawk rather than flapping like a sparrow. In an example of Italian profanity , he finally swears, " Che cazzo! " (literally translated as " What the fuck! "), when his Arm of Hephaestus snaps a cog. The episode's script does not specify the translations of these terms, but does indicate to the reader that Leonardo's expletive is "cursing". Additionally, Leonardo addresses Kathryn Janeway using the Italian version of her first name, "Caterina".

Reception [ ]

• During her appearance at the 1997 Grand Slam Convention, Kate Mulgrew declared this episode would be "shocking, unpredictable, mesmerizing, and terrifying." ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 28 , p. 4) She also said of this installment, " It is going to be a marvelous episode. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 28 , p. 16)
• However, Kate Mulgrew was admittedly unsure, initially, how the two-part "Scorpion" story line would be resolved. " Frankly, I don't know what's going to happen, " she confessed, at the 1997 convention. " I don't know how they are going to rectify this cliffhanger. It's pretty scary. " A particular aspect that Mulgrew was uncertain would return was the character of Leonardo da Vinci, though the actress hoped he would have "longevity and tenure on the series." ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 28 , p. 4) Mulgrew also wished that the Leonardo hologram would return in the fourth season and that there would be another occasion where Janeway's adoption of "knowledge and psychological tools" from Leonardo would be shown. ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 14 , p. 34)
• Brannon Braga was ultimately very pleased with this episode. " I think it's just classic Star Trek," he enthused, shortly prior to the episode's initial airing. " It's a show with a lot of action, a great new alien race, and lots of Borg, but it's also got a real moral dilemma in it. " Braga continued by wordily explaining that the dilemma he referred to was, specifically, the question of forming an alliance with the Borg, who he referred to as "the Devil," just as Janeway does in this episode. Braga concluded, " It's a very interesting show. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 28 , p. 18) He also included this episode among a few examples of third season Voyager installments that he thought were good (the other episodes being " Distant Origin " and "Unity"). ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 29 , p. 13)
• Jeri Taylor was also highly satisfied with this episode, citing it as one of the highlights of Star Trek: Voyager 's third season and referring to it as "simply smashing." ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 31 , p. 11)
• One particular scene that was very popular among the producers was the one in which Janeway realizes Chakotay does not agree with her. " I think it's one of the best scenes we've ever had, " Jeri Taylor raved. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 113) Brannon Braga similarly enthused that the same scene was "a great scene". ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 28 , p. 18)
• So pleased was Ronald B. Moore with this episode's effects that he gave some thought to nominating it for an Emmy Award . " This will be the one I'm putting up for Emmy [consideration] this year, " Moore declared, as Visual Effects Coordinator Mitch Suskin began to work on the effects of " Scorpion, Part II ". ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 96) Ultimately, though, this episode was not nominated for an Emmy.
• An accurate summary of this episode leaked onto the Internet prior to the episode's broadcast. This did not, however, displease Brannon Braga, who merely expressed extreme gratitude that the episode had generated fan interest (even if obsessive) and implied that he thought such interest was harmless as "it's not like people are selling stuff." ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, pp. 101 & 107)
• This episode achieved a Nielsen rating of 5.6 million homes, and an 8% share. [4] (X) At the time, this episode was estimated to have had 7.86 million viewers. It was number 62 of prime time television episodes in its week of first broadcast. Jeri Taylor said of the episode's high number of viewers, " It was very gratifying. I think that they were very comparable with our ratings for ' Future's End, Part II ' which is the highest I think we had all year. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 107) Actually, together with the first part of the "Future's End" two-parter – namely, " Future's End " (which had an identical Nielsen rating to this installment but a slightly higher share percentage) – this episode was only the third most watched installment of Star Trek: Voyager 's third season (on first airing), behind both "Future's End, Part II" and " Basics, Part II ". (Contrary to Jeri Taylor's beliefs, the most watched episode of the season was "Basics, Part II", not "Future's End, Part II".) [5] (X) Taylor also said of this episode's ratings, " Our numbers at the end of the year and for the season finale exceeded our numbers last year, so there looks to be an upward kind of trend. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 31 , p. 13) This is technically an accurate statement, as this installment's Nielsen rating was higher than that of the second season finale " Basics, Part I ", although both episodes had the same share percentage. [6] (X)
• One of the viewers who watched this episode when it aired in the United States of America was Bryan Fuller . Viewing the episode shortly after being hired to join Voyager 's writing staff (beginning in the fourth season), Fuller was amazed by this episode's production values and was duly excited by the prospect of writing for the series. ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 2, Issue 2 , p. 67)
• In the United Kingdom , this episode – upon its first broadcast in September 1997 – was the highest-rated program on Sky One during that entire month, with nearly five million viewers. ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 34 , p. 7)
• One fan criticism aimed at this episode was that many aspects of it looked like "rip-offs" of certain elements from Babylon 5 . These likenesses included, from this installment, Species 8472 and their bio-ships as well as the quantum singularities used as interdimensional rifts, as compared to the Shadow creatures, Vorlon ships and the Shadow phase-in effect from Babylon 5 . Adam Lebowitz responded to these criticisms, saying, " At no point when we were working on 'Scorpion' did *any* of us here at Foundation notice similarities between it and B5. " [7]
• Cinefantastique rated this episode 3 and a half out of 4 stars. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 113)
• Star Trek Monthly scored this episode 4 out of 5 stars, defined as " Trill -powered viewing". ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 32 , p. 93)
• Writer K. Stoddard Hayes clearly holds this episode in high regard. In Star Trek Magazine  issue 179 (p. 18), she describes the moment when a fleet of Borg cubes regardlessly passes by Voyager , en route for another target, as "an astonishing twist" and comments, " Out of the stunned silence on the bridge, Paris murmurs what we are all thinking: 'Who could do this to the Borg?' " Hayes also remarks that Janeway later "embarks on her most remarkable partnership yet," regarding the captain's deal with the Borg.
• The unauthorized reference book Delta Quadrant (p. 190) gives this installment a rating of 10 out of 10.
• The book Star Trek 101 (p. 175), by Terry J. Erdmann and Paula M. Block , lists this episode and the concluding part of its two-parter as being, together, one of the "Ten Essential Episodes" from Star Trek: Voyager .
• Following this episode's first airing, rumors circulated that two particular members of Voyager 's main cast – namely, Garrett Wang and Kes actress Jennifer Lien – would be written out of the series at the start of the fourth season. The fact that this third season finale concludes with a cliffhanger ending in which Kim is apparently near death made Garrett Wang seem more doomed for departure than Lien did. However, it was Lien alone who left the series following this season finale (specifically, in Season 4's second installment, " The Gift "). ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 17 , p. 37)

Home video releases [ ]

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 3.13, 20 October 1997
• Released on 24 September 1999 as part of the Japanese LaserDisc set Star Trek: Voyager - Third Season Vol. 2
• In feature-length form, as part of the UK VHS collection Star Trek: Voyager - Movies : Volume 2 (with "Year of Hell"), catalog number VHR 5072, 18 September 2000
• As part of the VOY Season 3 DVD collection
• As part of the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

Also starring [ ]

• Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay
• Roxann Dawson as Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres
• Jennifer Lien as Kes
• Robert Duncan McNeill as Lieutenant Tom Paris
• Ethan Phillips as Neelix
• Robert Picardo as The Doctor
• Tim Russ as Lieutenant Tuvok
• Garrett Wang as Ensign Harry Kim

Special guest star [ ]

• John Rhys-Davies as Leonardo da Vinci

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• Patrick Barnitt as Borg drone
• Michael Beebe as Murphy
• Jeff Cadiente as Borg drone
• Cullen Chambers as operations officer
• John Copage as sciences officer
• Tarik Ergin as Ayala
• Caroline Gibson as operations officer
• Grace Harrell as operations officer
• Sue Henley as Brooks
• Kerry Hoyt as Fitzpatrick
• Charles Imoto as operations officer
• Julie Jiang as operations lieutenant junior grade
• Zach LeBeau as Larson
• Susan Lewis as operations officer
• Rad Milo as operations officer
• Tom Morga as Borg drone
• Trina Mortley as sciences officer
• Borg drone (probe analyzer)
• Borg drone (victim)
• Alexander Xavier Ponce-Bonano as Borg drone
• Keith Rayve as command officer
• Craig Reed as Borg drone
• Joey Sakata as operations officer
• Richard Sarstedt as William McKenzie
• Lydia Shiferaw as command officer
• Jennifer Somers as sciences officer
• Deborah Stiles as command officer
• Infected Borg drone
• Kashimuro Nozawa
• Voice of the Borg
• Species 8472 invader
• Species 8472 pilot

Stunt double [ ]

• Peter Lai as stunt double for Garrett Wang

Stand-ins [ ]

• Sue Henley – stand-in for Kate Mulgrew
• Susan Lewis – stand-in for Roxann Dawson
• Lemuel Perry – stand-in for Tim Russ
• J.R. Quinonez – stand-in for Robert Picardo and utility stand-in
• Keith Rayve – stand-in for Robert Duncan McNeill
• Joey Sakata – stand-in for Garrett Wang
• Richard Sarstedt – stand-in for Robert Beltran and John Rhys-Davies
• Jennifer Somers – stand-in for Jennifer Lien
• John Tampoya – stand-in for Garrett Wang
• Trevor Janes – stand-in for Ethan Phillips and utility stand-in
• Unknown actor – hand double for John Rhys-Davies

References [ ]

2370 ; abbot ; access point ; Achilles ; alloy ; amusement ; Antimatter ; " Arm of Hephaestus, The "; Amasov ; assimilation ; assimilation tubule ; astrophysics lab ; Battle of Wolf 359 ; binary matrix ; biological weapon ; biomass ; bioreading ; bio-ship ; Borg ; Borg Collective ; Borg cube ( unnamed 1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 ); Borg space ; Breen ; bronzetto ; cardinal ; Catarina ; cell ; cell membrane ; cellular structure ; chapel ; classified ; " clean bill of health "; conduit ; da Vinci's Cardinal and his nephew ; decompression cycle ; destroyed Borg planet ; Delta Quadrant ; devil ; disruptor beam ; distribution node ; dissection ; DNA ; dozen ; electrodynamic fluid ; emergency power ; Endeavour , USS ; Enterprise -D, USS ; evasive maneuvers ; fear ; first Borg star ; flattery ; flock ; fluidic space ; flying machine ; goose grease ; gravimetric distortions ; heart ; Hephaestus ; Hercules ; Hickman ; holodeck ; horse ; imitation ; inflection ; interdimensional rift ; intuition ; Italian ; Leonardo da Vinci's workshop ; life sign ; line of fire ; maestro ; meter ; micron ; microscopic level ; monk ; nanoprobe ; near miss ; neuropeptide ; " Northwest Passage "; oak ; omen ; organic ; organic-based vessel ; organic conduit ; parable ; particle ; Picard, Jean-Luc ; polaron beam ; prayer ; premonition ; protective shielding ; Q ; red alert ; safe passage ; Santa Croce ; scudi ; sedative ; short range scan ; skeletal lock ; solar system ; smiling ; space ; space-dwelling organism ; Species 8472 ; Species 8472 bio-ship ; square millimeter ; standard greeting ; Starfleet database ; Starfleet protocol ; starling ; submicron subspace turbulence ; System D43119 ; System D43119 star ; tactical alert ; tactical database ; telepathic species ; telepathy ; transwarp ; transporter lock ; transwarp signature ; traveler's inn ; vision ; weapon of mass destruction ; weapon signature ; Wolf 359

External links [ ]

• "Scorpion, Part I" at StarTrek.com
• " Scorpion " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Scorpion " at Wikipedia
• " Scorpion " at the Internet Movie Database
• " Scorpion, Part I " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• "Scorpion, Part I" script  at Star Trek Minutiae

Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series)

Scorpion, part ii (1997), full cast & crew.

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Scorpion, Part 2 Star Trek: Voyager – Season Four --> Scorpion, Part 2

Janeway enters into a temporary alliance with the Borg in order to combat their common enemy, but suffers a debilitating injury. Left in command, Chakotay wrestles with whether to continue his captain’s dangerous plan.

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Script to Screen - Star Trek: Voyager: Scorpion Pt. 1

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StarTrek.com highlights a notable scene from Star Trek: Voyager's " Scorpion, (Part 1)"

8 Alpha Quadrant Things Star Trek: Voyager Found In Delta Quadrant

• Star Trek: Voyager finds familiar things from the Alpha Quadrant in the Delta Quadrant, sparking important questions and connections.
• Encounter with Ferengi negotiators leads Voyager crew to stop their interference in a pre-warp civilization for profits.
• Janeway and crew discover humans abducted by aliens in the 1930s living in the Delta Quadrant, including Amelia Earhart.

For a show with the conceit of being so far from home, Star Trek: Voyager found a surprising number of things in the Delta Quadrant that originated in the Alpha Quadrant, including several from Earth itself. The USS Voyager, commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), and Commander Chakotay's (Robert Beltran) Maquis raider Val Jean were both brought to the Delta Quadrant in 2371 by the Caretaker (Basil Langton). After Janeway destroyed the Caretaker's array to save the Ocampa , Voyager and the Val Jean were left without a ticket back to the Alpha Quadrant, and banded together to make the long journey.

Finding something familiar in an otherwise totally alien corner of the galaxy brought a sense of familiarity to the USS Voyager crew and viewers at home alike, but the presence of something from the Alpha Quadrant in the Delta Quadrant inevitably raised important questions , like how familiar people and objects traveled 70,000 light years from home in the first place, and whether the find could lead Captain Kathryn Janeway towards a quicker path home to Earth.

Star Trek: Voyagers 20 Best Episodes Ranked

A pair of ferengi negotiators, arridor and kol, star trek: voyager season 3, episode 5 "false profits".

The USS Voyager encounters a pair of Ferengi negotiators, Arridor (Dan Shor) and Kol (Leslie Jordan), who claim to be the prophesied Great Sages of the Takarians, a society with Bronze Age level technology. The Ferengi have no Prime Directive to deter them from interfering with the Takarians' development , so they're performing "miracles" with a standard replicator to reap the monetary benefits of the Takarians' worship. Voyager's crew know the Ferengi reputation well enough to know they're no Sages, so they must figure out how to put a stop to Arridor and Kol's grift.

"False Profits" serves as a Star Trek sequel episode to Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 8 "The Price", as Voyager catches up with Arridor and Kol (formerly played by J. R. Quinonez) seven years after their Delta Quadrant arrival. The Ferengi took a test flight through the supposedly stable wormhole near Barzan II, which was supposed to emerge in the Gamma Quadrant, but instead stranded the Ferengi in the Delta Quadrant, where they made the best of their situation as only Ferengi can.

Star Trek: Voyager Season 3, Episode 23 "Distant Origin"

"Distant Origin" opens on Forra Gegen (Henry Woronicz), a scientist who discovers that his people, the Voth, share certain genetic similarities with the humans aboard the USS Voyager. While this confirms Gegen's theory that the Voth are the descendants of a species brought to their homeworld millions of years ago , religious leader Minister Odala (Concetta Tomei) refuses to accept the truth. Even with Commander Chakotay present as a living specimen of humanity, Odala pushes Gegen to recant, because Gegen's theory goes against the Voth Doctrine that keeps Odala in power.

After meeting Gegen's assistant, Tova Veer (Christopher Liam Moore), Janeway and the Doctor use the holodeck as a research guide to extrapolate how hadrosaurs might look in the 24th century if they'd been able to evolve into a humanoid form with comparable intelligence. The result resembles Veer, so Janeway and the Doctor conclude, like Gegen, that the Voth evolved from hadrosaurs into a highly advanced species on Earth , then fled to the Delta Quadrant in spacefaring vessels instead of being wiped out with the other dinosaurs.

The Friendship One Probe

Star trek: voyager season 7, episode 21 "friendship one".

By Star Trek: Voyager season 7 , the USS Voyager is in regular contact with Starfleet Command, and Starfleet gives Voyager a mission to retrieve a 21st-century Earth probe, Friendship One . The probe proves difficult to find, but once discovered on an alien planet suffering devastating climate collapse, the implications of Friendship One's launch become clear. Besides the irreversible damage to the planet's climate, the inhabitants are all suffering from radiation sickness, and bear understandable hostility towards Earth, because the aliens believe humans orchestrated their destruction with the Friendship One probe.

The United Earth Space Probe Agency was one of the early names for the organization the USS Enterprise belongs to in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "Charlie X".

Friendship One was launched in 2067 by the United Earth Space Probe Agency with the intention of making friends with whomever found it, as the name implies. Although Friendship One, the 400-year-old Earth probe, traveled for centuries carrying messages of peace, musical recordings, and ways to translate languages, the people who discovered Friendship One in the Delta Quadrant took a greater interest in the antimatter it used to travel across space. Without the proper knowledge of its use, antimatter proved devastating to the planet and its people, resulting in death and disease for generations.

Dreadnought, a Cardassian Missile

Star trek: voyager season 2, episode 17 "dreadnought".

The USS Voyager discovers a dangerously powerful, self-guided Cardassian missile in the Delta Quadrant, which Lt. B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) recognizes as one nicknamed "Dreadnought" . When B'Elanna was with the Maquis, Torres had actually reprogrammed the missile herself, with the intention of turning the Cardassians' own weapon against them. Without a Cardassian target in sight, the artificially intelligent Cardassian Dreadnought targets a heavily-populated Class-M planet , Rakosa V. B'Elanna determines she must be the one to keep Dreadnought from hurting anyone else, and boards the missile to convince it to stand down.

While no concrete reason is given for exactly how the Dreadnought wound up in the Delta Quadrant, its last known location in the Alpha Quadrant was the Badlands, the same rough patch of space where Voyager and the Val Jean, Chakotay's Maquis raider, fatefully met. Because of this, Torres theorizes that Dreadnought arrived in the Delta Quadrant the same way that Voyager and the Val Jean did , courtesy of the Caretaker.

Star Trek: Voyagers BElanna Is More Klingon Than TNGs Worf Ever Was

A klingon d-7 class cruiser, complete with klingons, star trek: voyager, season 7, episode 14 "prophecy".

The USS Voyager certainly never expected to find a Klingon ship in the Delta Quadrant, but more surprising is the fact that the crew of the Klingon D-7 Class Cruiser believes their savior, the prophesied kuvah'magh, is aboard Voyager . Janeway assures the Klingon captain, Kohlar (Wren T. Brown), that the Federation and Klingon Empire have been allies for the past 80 years, and offers Voyager's own half-Klingon, Lt. B'Elanna Torres, as proof their societies are working together now. The kuvah'magh is Torres' unborn daughter, who does save the Klingons, but not the way they expected.

Centuries ago, Kohlar's great-grandfather set off on a quest to find the kuvah'magh, and the Klingon D-7 Cruiser became a generation ship that is now crewed by the descendants of its original crew . The quest begun by Kohlar's great-grandfather brought Kohlar and his crew to the Delta Quadrant after four generations of searching. Whether B'Elanna's child is actually the kuvah'magh or not, Kohlar desperately wants the baby to be their savior, so that his people may finally rest.

Amelia Earhart

Star trek: voyager season 2, episode 1 "the 37s".

The discovery of a 1936 Ford truck, seemingly disconnected from any parent vehicle, leads the USS Voyager to a nearby Class-L planet, where they find eight humans who have been in cryo-stasis since they were abducted by aliens in the 1930s. Among them are one of Janeway's personal heroes, legendary American aviator Amelia Earhart (Sharon Lawrence) , who disappeared without a trace while attempting to fly around the world, and Earhart's navigator, Fred Noonan (David Graf). Earhart and the other preserved humans are known by the planet's inhabitants as "The 37s", and revered as sacred.

Originally thought to be aliens, the natives of the unnamed planet are the descendants of humans. A species called the Briori abducted the natives' ancestors, along with Earhart and the other 37s, from Earth centuries earlier , and took them to the Delta Quadrant. Once held as slaves, the humans who weren't in stasis revolted to free themselves from the Briori, and developed a thriving, Earth-like civilization in the Delta Quadrant. Voyager's crew consider staying with the humans in their little slice of home, while Janeway also offers a ride back to Earth to anyone who wants it, including Amelia Earhart.

The USS Equinox

Star trek: voyager season 5, episode 26 & season 6, episode 1 "equinox".

The crew of the USS Voyager believe they're the only Starfleet vessel in the Delta Quadrant until they find the USS Equinox, five years into their journey home. Captain Rudolph Ransom (John Savage) and the Equinox crew have had a harder time in the Delta Quadrant than Voyager, with more damage, fewer starting resources, and fewer opportunities to make friends along the way. Ransom's survival tactics include sacrificing innocent nucleogenic life forms for a more efficient form of fuel, which Janeway finds hard to stomach, and decides that Ransom needs to be held accountable for defying Federation ideals, regardless of how badly the Equinox is damaged.

Although Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) suggests that the Equinox might be in the Delta Quadrant on a rescue mission to find Voyager, the USS Equinox's specs don't fit the profile of a starship that would be assigned to a long-range mission. The explanation of how the Equinox arrived in the Delta Quadrant in the first place seems fairly simple, because Captain Ransom tells Janeway that the Equinox was also abducted by the Caretaker , just like Voyager, but the Equinox has only been in the Delta Quadrant for 2 years, and Janeway destroyed the Caretaker's array 5 years earlier.

Seven of Nine

Debuts in star trek: voyager season 4, episode 1 "scorpion, part 2".

When Captain Kathryn Janeway allies with the Borg in order to secure safe passage across Borg space, Janeway refuses the cursory assimilation that the Borg want to use to communicate with Janeway and Voyager's crew, and instead requests a speaker for the Borg, citing the existence of Locutus (Patrick Stewart) as precedent. Seven of Nine , Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01, is selected as the Borg drone to act as liaison between the Collective and Voyager, likely because Seven of Nine had once been a member of Species 5168, like most of Voyager's crew -- in other words, human.

Voyager season 5, episodes 15 & 16, "Dark Frontier" provides even more detail of the Hansens' fateful journey.

After Seven's link with the Collective is severed, more information about Seven's human origin comes to light. In Voyager season 4, episode 6 "The Raven", when Voyager nears the Hansens' ship, the USS Raven, memories of Seven's early life surface, revealing that Seven had been six-year-old human Annika Hansen , the daughter of Magnus Hansen (Kirk Baily) and Erin Hansen (Laura Stepp), Federation scientists who were studying the Borg when they were assimilated. Voyager season 5, episodes 15 & 16, "Dark Frontier" provides even more detail of the Hansens' fateful journey, showing the Raven arriving in the Delta Quadrant by following a Borg Cube through a transwarp conduit.

10 Ways USS Voyager Changed In Star Treks Delta Quadrant

Star Trek: Voyager links back to the greater Star Trek universe with people and starships from the Alpha Quadrant. Connections to the familiar were especially important early on, because Voyager 's place in the Star Trek franchise was established and aided by the legitimacy these finds offered. Later, when the USS Voyager used the Hirogen communications array to communicate with Starfleet Command, links back to the Alpha Quadrant were plentiful again, not only to prove that the USS Voyager was closer to home, but to help Star Trek: Voyager maintain connections to Star Trek and carry the franchise in its final years.

Star Trek: Voyager is available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Voyager

Cast Jennifer Lien, Garrett Wang, Tim Russ, Robert Duncan McNeill, Roxann Dawson, Robert Beltran, Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo

Release Date May 23, 1995

Genres Sci-Fi, Adventure

Network UPN

Streaming Service(s) Paramount+

Franchise(s) Star Trek

Writers Michael Piller, Rick Berman

Showrunner Kenneth Biller, Jeri Taylor, Michael Piller, Brannon Braga

Rating TV-PG

Den of Geek

Discovery Season 5 Just Brought Back a Lost Piece of Star Trek Voyager Canon

The Breen have really taken over Star Trek: Discovery at this point, which is why it might be time to revisit Deep Space Nine.

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This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers.

Since its inception in 2017, Star Trek: Discovery has been compared to various aspects of the Star Trek franchise. But, perhaps the show it most closely resembles, at least tonally, is Deep Space Nine , the gritty ‘90s spin-off of The Next Generation . And, with its fifth and final season, it feels like Discovery knows it’s the Deep Space Nine of modern Trek , and has leaned into that feeling more than ever.

The series has also taken on the mantle of being the new DS9 by simply making a ton of references to that series, as well as continuing huge storylines from that series. In the 7th episode of season 5, “Erigah,” Discovery makes a ton of references to the breadth of the Trek canon, with a specific focus on DS9 . Here’s all the best easter eggs and shout-outs you might have missed.

The Return of Nhan 

At the top of the episode, we get the first appearance of Rachael Ancheril as Nhan since season 4 episode “Rubicon.” Nhan’s journey is unique within Star Trek , and Discovery specifically. Originally a part of the crew of the USS Enterprise under Pike, Nhan joined the Discovery in season 2 during the search for the Red Angel. She stayed with the crew when they jumped to the future in season 3, making her seemingly the only Enterprise crew member from the 23rd century who now lives in the 32nd century . Nhan is from Barzan II, a planet established in the TNG episode “The Price.”

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Dominion War Medical Research 

Culber says he’s doing a deep-dive into Dominion War medical research, in order to learn more about the Breen, noting, “We don’t know much about Breen physiology.” This is accurate since, although the Breen appeared for the first time in DS9 , they never took their helmets off in that series. Culber’s deep dive into Dominion War research is also interesting in light of Star Trek: Picard season 3. It was in that season that we learned Starfleet was secretly experimenting on Changelings. Did Culber stumble on any of that research?

“Never Turn Your Back on a Breen”

Reynar reminds President T’Rina of the Romulan saying, “Never turn your back on a Breen.” This comes from the DS9 episode “By Inferno’s Light,” and was uttered by an unnamed Romulan prisoner. Although T’Rina is seemingly Vulcan, the Vulcans and Romulans are essentially the same people in the time of Discovery . As revealed in season 3’s “Unification III,” all Vulcans and Romulans live together on the planet Ni’var, previously known as the planet Vulcan.

Breen Attack on the Federation 

In this episode, we’re reminded that “the last time the Breen paid a visit to the Federation, they destroyed an entire city.” This references the Deep Space Nine episode, “The Changing Face of Evil,” in which the Breen attack Starfleet Headquarters on Earth, directly, and nearly destroy all of San Francisco. Most of the city was rebuilt by the time of the Picard flashbacks in season 1 of that series, and certainly, is fully rebuilt by seasons 2 and 3 of Picard . But, it seems like the Federation has not had a direct battle with the Breen in Federation space since the DS9 era.

Tilly Is Worried About Her Cadets

In another reference to DS9 and “The Changing Face of Evil,” Tilly expresses concern about her cadets safety if the Breen attack Federation HQ. In the DS9 era, Starfleet Academy was still located in San Francisco, though now it’s at Fed HQ. That said, the upcoming show, Starfleet Academy , set in the Discovery timeline, will move the Academy back to Earth, and San Francisco.

We learn in this episode that the next piece of the Progenitor puzzle is a book called Labyrinths of the Mind , a Betazoid manuscript written by Dr. Marina Derex. “Marina” is almost certainly a reference to Marina Sirtis, the beloved actress who has played the half-Betazoid character Deanna Troi in all of The Next Generation and Picard , a few cameos on Voyager , and the Enterprise finale.

The book was also written in 2371, which is the same year that the USS Voyager left space station Deep Space 9 for the Badlands. It’s also the same year that Thomas Riker stole the USS Defiant from the same station. It’s also the year that the USS Enterprise-D crash-landed its saucer section on Veridian III in Star Trek Generations , which also means it’s the same year that a time-displaced Captain James T. Kirk was killed. Big year!

Seven of Limes 

Reno mentions a cocktail called “Seven of Limes.” This can only be a reference to Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), the former Borg drone turned Fenris Ranger and Starfleet Captain. Because Discovery is set several centuries beyond Picard Season 3, we can only assume that Reno and the crew now have knowledge of events well beyond the early 2400s.

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“A Holodeck Adventure for the Littles”

Reno jokes that the entire premise of the current clue—connected to a library card—makes everything sound like “something out of a holodeck adventure for the littles.” The most prominent holodeck adventure for children that we’re aware of in Trek canon is The Adventures of Flotter , which first appeared in the Voyager episode “Once Upon a Time.” In Picard season 1, Soji had a Flotter lunchbox.

The Badlands 

By the end of the episode, the Eternal Gallery’s location—and thus the location of the book  Labyrinths of the Mind —is revealed to be in the Badlands. This is an unstable area of space that was first mentioned in…you guessed it… Deep Space Nine ! Although the Badlands is most famous as the area where the USS Voyager went missing in its 1995 debut episode, “Caretaker,” the concept of the Badlands was introduced about a year earlier in 1994, during DS9’s second season, specifically in the episode “The Maquis Part 1.”

The Badlands is located near what used to be Cardassian space, so in its next episode, Discovery will literally be traveling directly to the neighborhood of Deep Space Nine . We have no idea if the wormhole is still there in this time period, or if that old station is still kicking. But, as Discovery continues to drop surprises in its final season, we can all keep our fingers crossed for a glimpse of a very special space station.

Ryan Britt is a longtime contributor to Den of Geek! He is also the author of three non-fiction books: the Star Trek pop history book PHASERS…

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‘star trek: discovery’ co-showrunner teases the final episodes and her message for fans.

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Co-showrunner Michelle Paradise with her "Star Trek: Discovery" cast and crew.

For five seasons, Star Trek: Discovery has taken audiences on the ride of a lifetime. With its series finale now in sight, I sat down with executive producer and co-showrunner Michelle Paradise at SeriesFest in Denver, Colorado to discuss the beloved show’s journey and what fans should expect from this ever-expanding television universe on Paramount Plus, before we say a proper farewell to the U.S.S. Discovery.

So for starters, what has Paradise enjoyed most about the evolution of Star Trek: Discovery , since it first premiered in September 2017?

“That’s a really great question,” Paradise said. “I have loved being a part of it. I joined halfway through season two, and it was starting to know what it was and it’s really found its way. I’ve really enjoyed the character arcs and getting to take them all to these different places. It’s also hard for me to separate out the evolution of the show from my evolution on the show and stepping into co-running it with [co-showrunner] Alex [Kurtzman] and starting to take over more of that in later seasons. It’s been the highlight of my career.”

Mary Wiseman as Tilly and Blu del Barrio as Adira in "Star Trek: Discovery" episode 7, season 5 - ... [+] streaming on Paramount+.

Paradise is no stranger to television production. She was previously an executive producer on such television projects as Exes & Ohs and The Originals , but I wondered what it might be about her Star Trek: Discovery cast and crew that perhaps feels special.

“It’s like a big family. First of all, our cast is incredible. They’re all insanely talented actors but they’re lovely human beings. They approach one another and they approach the project from just a place of love and respect for one another and for the material, which is always a wonderful place to start. You can’t say enough of [actor] Sonequa [Martin-Green], our number one and the tone that she sets on the show and on the set. We have a lot of folks on the show and the crew who come back, year-after-year. They all really love the world of Trek and they love one another. We try and go bigger and better and bolder every season, and there’s never a feeling of Oh, we can’t do that . It’s always a feeling of How do we do that? ”

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Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham in "Star Trek: Discovery" streaming on Paramount+.

Since the original Star Trek series first premiered on television in 1966, the Star Trek story and fictional sci-fi universe has evolved into several iterations, including Star Trek: The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , Voyager , Enterprise , Strange New Worlds and Picard - not to mention the numerous Star Trek movies over many decades, including the three recent blockbuster films, starring Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto, with another sequel in the works.

Throughout all of these years, Star Trek fans have remained quite loyal and vocal, both when they love a story and even when they don’t. So, how does Paradise and her Star Trek: Discovery creative team try to appease Trek fans, but also not allow the chatter to stop them from taking on some creative risks?

Wilson Cruz as Culber and Anthony Rapp as Stamets in "Star Trek: Discovery" episode 6, season 5 - ... [+] streaming on Paramount+.

Paradise said, “I think the best way to answer that is we always try to honor what Trek is - where it came from, what is the DNA of any Trek series, which of course goes back to the original series, and then also honoring what is this version of Trek and knowing that it’s our job to make the best version of Discovery . Someone who loves Discovery may not love Strange New Worlds or someone who loves Strange New Worlds may not love Discovery. By design, these are all very different shows. To a certain degree, it has to be okay that not everyone is going to love this iteration. We always feel like if we can do justice to the franchise as a whole - what it means, do justice to the characters and do our best version of Discovery , then we will have succeeded.”

Ever since the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes ended late last year, there have been signs of movement and optimism within the entertainment industry, but also a sense of some standstill with television and film productions. So, what is Paradise seeing around the current state of Hollywood?

“I think it depends on who you talk to,” Paradise said. “It feels a bit like a mixed bag to me. There are a lot of people who are still very much struggling - writers, crew members, directors - because things have not picked up in the way that they would normally at this particular time of year. By in large, there’s not really a pilot season, as we used to know it. That’s very difficult for people. Of course, there’s still a lot of wonderful opportunities, but it seems like the compression that happened - it’s the combo platter of the [Covid-19] pandemic and the strikes, just after that. It does feel condensed - there are fewer things but I feel like, to some degree, that had to happen because in the big balloon of streaming, that in retrospect, it doesn’t feel like it was necessarily sustainable. Hopefully it will ease up, sooner than later, and kind of calm down because there’s still a lot of people who are struggling to get back into work right now and I feel for them - it’s hard.”

On more of a positive note, when asked what Paradise is enjoying most about the television landscape today, she says that she feels there is a lot that can be done, applauding the way that every week, Star Trek: Discover y is a “cinematic storytelling into television,” though she admits that the visual design of Discovery is not sustainable for every network and studio.

While our real world faces divisive times with war, political unrest and other conflicts, I wondered if Paradise and her team keep in mind the real-life issues occurring, when crafting its stories for the screen on Star Trek: Discovery .

Mary Wiseman as Tilly, June Laporte as Ravah and Wilson Cruz as Dr. Culber in "Star Trek: Discovery" ... [+] episode 6, season 5 - streaming on Paramount+.

“That comes from just the DNA of the show itself. The original series did not shy away from what was happening societal at that time. It did not shy away from tackling those things in the way that it could. That’s one of the cool things about sci-fi - aliens can stand-in for another culture, different relationships can stand-in for whatever is happening in society at the time. That’s kind of baked into any Trek show, is that reflection of what’s happening in the world at that time via sci-fi and the different ways we could do it.”

Paradise added: “In Discovery , we were very much aware of that and very thoughtful about what are the types of stories we want to tell, how does that reflect certain things that are going on. Trek means so much to so many people and where people are actively looking to Trek to reflect themselves in some way or actively looking to Trek as an answer to what’s happening in society and for hope that, as divisive as things are right now, as challenging around the world and in our country, that there is hope and we can overcome it with our better selves.”

Blu del Barrio as Adira, Tig Notaro as Jett Reno and Mary Wiseman as Tilly in "Star Trek: Discovery" ... [+] episode 7, season 5 - streaming on Paramount+.

When asked about what fans can expect ahead in the remaining episodes of Star Trek: Discovery , which drop every Thursday during this final season, Paradise teases that fans “might see more of our bad guys this season.” She added: “We did not going into the season [knowing] that this would be our last season. We’re so fortunate - CBS Studios and Paramount Plus gave us the opportunity, after the fact, to go shoot some additional material, and I feel like the thing I just want to keep reiterating for fans of the show is it has a proper ending. Our Discovery is not going to end on a cliffhanger of Are they all going to die? and then we never find out. It was worth the investment and I do think when people finish the season/series, they will feel like this season - again, we didn’t know going in - but it does feel like if you didn’t know that, you would think we knew going in because of what we’re doing thematically and where our characters go. So, I think people will feel very satisfied.”

As the conversation with Paradise concluded, she was left with one last question: For Star Trek: Discovery fans, people who have followed these five seasons - as they soon finish these final episodes, what message do you as a co-showrunner want to say these people, after investing their time in the series over the past seven years and falling in love with these characters?

Mary Wiseman, Sonequa Martin-Green and Michelle Paradise.

“I just would want to say thank you. There is no Discovery without the fans and they are always so loving and supportive and passionate, even when they don’t like what we’re doing, they’re passionate. As writers and creators and actors and the directors, we love that! We love that passion and their passion means so much to us.”

Paradise added: “It was a gift. Hopefully, we’ll all get to do it again someday.”

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Star trek actor kurtwood smith has 2 shoutouts in discovery season 5, says writer.

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Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Star trek: discovery's efrosian: bringing back a movie alien in a historic way, explained by writer, is book the last kwejian in star trek: discovery.

Warning: This Article Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

• Kurtwood Smith's two previous Star Trek roles are subtly referenced in Discovery season 5.
• An Efrosian in Star Trek: Discovery is a callback to Smith as the Federation President in Star Trek VI.
• The Krenim Chronophage in Discovery is linked to Smith's role in Star Trek: Voyager.

Kurtwood Smith has two shoutouts in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, which was confirmed by writer Carlos Cisco. Star Trek: Discovery season 5 centers on Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the USS Discovery's hunt for the ancient treasure of the Progenitors, which can create life itself. Despite its far future 32nd-century setting, Discovery season 5 contains many callbacks to the 24th-century era of Star Trek: The Next Generation . For fans who are especially immersed in Star Trek lore, Kurtwood Smith is also subtly evoked.

On X, Star Trek: Discovery writer Carlos Cisco (@carlos_cisco) replied to a post by Strange New Pod (@strangenewpod) to point out how two of Kurtwood Smith's Star Trek roles have been referenced in Star Trek: Discovery season 5. Specifically, Smith's turns as the Federation President in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and in Star Trek: Voyage r's "Year of Hell" are woven into the fabric of Star Trek: Discovery season 5's Progenitors treasure hunt. Check out Cisco's post below:

Kurtwood Smith is best known for playing Clarence Boddicker in RoboCop and Red Forman in That 70s Show and That 90s Show , among his dozens of other acting roles.

As Burnham seeks the universe's greatest treasure in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, she'll need help from a host of new and returning characters.

Kurtwood Smith's Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 References Explained

Star trek vi and star trek: voyager get shoutouts.

The Krenim Chronophage in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4 , "Face the Strange," ties back to Star Trek: Voyager 's "Year of Hell" storyline. In Voyager, Kurtwood Smith played Annorax, a temporal Krenim scientist who had built a devastating weapon that could remove elements from the space-time continuum. Star Trek: Discovery 's Krenim Chronophage was a 'time bug' weaponized by Moll (Eve Harlow) to trap the USS Discovery in a time loop of its history and future.

The 'time bug' established the Krenim Imperium as adversaries of the United Federation of Planets in Star Trek' s Temporal Wars.

Kurtwood Smith also played the Federation President in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . Smith's white-haired alien chief executive was an Efrosian, a race first seen in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 8, "Labyrinths", introduces Hy'Rell (Elena Juatco), the first new Efrosian character in Star Trek since Kurtwood Smith's Federation President. Hy'Rell is a librarian and administrator of the Eternal Gallery and Archive, where the final clue to Star Trek: Discover y season 5's treasure hunt is hidden.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 stream Thursdays on Paramount+