voyager episode cold fire

Cold Fire (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 Introductory details
3.2 Story and script
3.4 Production
3.5 Reception
3.6 Continuity and trivia
3.7 Video and DVD releases
4.1 Starring
4.2 Also starring
4.3 Guest Star
4.4 Co-Stars
4.5 Uncredited Co-Stars
4.6 References
4.7 External links

Summary [ ]

Ten months previously , the USS Voyager was pulled into the Delta Quadrant by a powerful being known as the Caretaker . When he died, the crew of Voyager were stranded 70,000 light years from home. Before his death, he revealed that he had a female counterpart, giving the crew hope that she may be able to return them to the Alpha Quadrant …

Kes receives studies in honing her telepathic abilities from Tuvok in his quarters . When Tuvok asks her to focus her mind, Kes begins hearing the thoughts of Neelix , who is getting a haircut in another part of the ship. Kes begins to giggle, much to Tuvok's annoyance. Tuvok ends the session and promises to give her a lesson how to reduce her emotional outbursts and better control her mind. Kes then leaves and arrives in sickbay late for her shift. The Doctor begins to gently criticize her tardiness when he is interrupted by a high-pitched, shrill noise. Kes and The Doctor open a panel to find the source of the sound – the Caretaker's remains shaking.

Act One [ ]

USS Voyager arrives at Suspiria's array

Kathryn Janeway and B'Elanna Torres are summoned to sickbay. Torres scans the Caretaker's remains and confirms that the remains are completely inert and dead. Janeway refuses to believe that they simply sprang to life for a few seconds without a reason, but as they discuss their options the remains starting shaking again. Torres now reads life-signs, but they're not coming from the remains; rather they are reacting in response to a sporocystian energy source – another Caretaker lifeform . Remembering that the dying Caretaker had mentioned a female of its kind, Janeway wonders if she could be nearby. If so, a meeting with her could be their ticket home.

Kim, on the bridge , does read lifesigns but cannot pinpoint the location exactly. Torres hypothesizes they can use the remains to locate the signal more accurately and gets to work. Meanwhile, Tuvok is concerned with the raw energy of the first Caretaker; the Voyager was completely at his mercy. Tuvok and Janeway don't want a repeat of this occurrence. As a precaution, Tuvok begins work on a toxin that could debilitate the female lifeform without killing her if she poses a threat. Soon, another surge of energy comes and Torres eventually confirms a heading .

Following the energy trail, the crew comes upon a space station that looks similar to (except being considerably smaller than) the Caretaker's array . Interestingly, it is inhabited by over two thousand Ocampa . Voyager hails the station, but receives no response. The station then begins firing on the ship. After a few warning shots, an Ocampan man appears and warns Janeway to move away from the station, cutting off the transmission without hearing her response. Janeway is surprised and disappointed.

Act Two [ ]

Later, Janeway summons Kes to the bridge. Kes agrees to act as the crew's liaison to her people, and speaks to the Ocampa leader, Tanis . He then agrees to board Voyager . Janeway assures him that the crew comes in peace, but oddly, he doesn't believe her, citing the Voyager 's reputation. Unbeknownst to the crew, the Caretaker's death and the conflict with the Kazon have been attributed to them and has become widespread belief. Janeway further tries to explain it isn't true, but Tanis telepathically asks Kes to meet with him privately. Tanis then expresses interest in Kes and her life up until now. He also tells Kes that the female Caretaker, Suspiria , is nearby. She has taken care of this group of Ocampa for 300 years, and has taught them to develop their psychokinetic skills and drastically extend their life span . Tanis, for example, is fourteen years old, which Kes can hardly believe, noting that a typical Ocampa life span is only nine years. He shows Kes a sample of the powerful abilities she has yet to tap, blooming all of the plants in the airponics bay.

" Be cautious in your dealings with Tanis. " " I will, but I just have a good feeling about him. "

Kes, overwhelmed with the discovery, reports back to Janeway in her ready room . Kes tells Janeway and Tuvok that she had always hoped that one day, her people would become more than what they are and that their mental abilities could be heightened. Now, she has met a member of her species who has fulfilled that potential and she does not know whether to be excited or frightened by this. Janeway is happy for her, but also advises her to be careful when dealing with this group of Ocampa. On the station, Tanis telepathically communicates with Suspiria, who demands that he deliver Voyager to her.

Act Three [ ]

Tanis comes back to the ship in order to share a dinner in the captain's mess with the crew and Kes. During, Janeway and Chakotay ask about Suspiria's existence, though Tanis doesn't know that much about how she exists, only that she's there when they need to communicate. He promises to take them to the meeting place so they can ask her. Tanis also invites Kes to stay with the other Ocampa, much to Neelix's surprise, in order to learn more about her abilities. Kes is immediately dismissive but Janeway asks her to give the decision some thought.

Later, in engineering , Tuvok and The Doctor are successful at creating a way to disable the female Caretaker by creating a toxin that induces temporary paralysis. Tuvok hopes it is not needed, and so Janeway approves of them going forward. Meanwhile, Tanis begins tutoring Kes on using her telepathic skills. Kes successfully learns how to move a cup with her mind and how to boil water. Neelix watches with amazement, congratulating her, and agrees to go with Kes if she decides to leave Voyager and live with the Ocampans on the station.

Tuvok's blood overheats

On the bridge, Tanis hails Suspiria, who will respond within 47 hours. In the meantime, Kes meets with Tuvok to show him the mental abilities she learned from Tanis. The demonstration nearly ends in disaster when Kes tries to boil water with her mind and, to her horror, inadvertently begins to heat Tuvok's blood as well—his blood cell membranes ruptured when their temperature increased by 37 degrees in a matter of seconds. He collapses in shock, writhing in agony.

Act Four [ ]

Fortunately, Tuvok recovers from the near-fatal incident, waking up in sickbay. Tuvok tells Kes not to feel remorse, but instead to use this experience to learn from her mental mistake. He also agrees to continue teaching her, much to Kes's relief.

Tanis continues teaching Kes in the airponics bay, telling her that she can realize the full potential of her mental powers in her mind, even to the point of thinking of her non-telepathic crewmembers as "pets". Initially Kes is reluctant, but her emotions take over as she begins to touch her plants with her mind, first by enhancing their color. Tanis instructs Kes to "bring the fire" and she burns all of the plants in the airponics bay. She's disturbed, since she doesn't want to kill anything or anyone, but Tanis doesn't view that as important. Tanis urges Kes to leave Voyager and live on the Ocampa station, where he says she will be embraced by Suspiria and surrounded by her own people. On the station, the Ocampa would hone her telepathic skills to the level where Suspiria would let her go to Exosia , a subspace layer of pure thought and energy. Kes asks for more time to think about her decision.

Act Five [ ]

In engineering, the Caretaker's remains begin to resonate again – Suspiria has arrived. Tanis says he is going to the bridge but instead goes to the mess hall to coax Kes off the ship again. Just then, a plasmatic energy field appears in main engineering . After hearing no response from Torres over the comm system, Tuvok and a security team investigate. Tuvok informs Janeway that Suspiria is the cause of the energy field and still in main engineering. Janeway goes down to engineering to talk to Suspiria, who has appeared as a little girl. Suspiria is ready to complete her mission of revenge (she believes Janeway killed her mate).

Meanwhile, Kes is in the mess thinking about her choice when Tanis comes in enthusiastically to get her to bring her to the other Ocampa. He invites her to listen to the others and to Suspiria, but then Kes becomes aware of the monstrous plot and backs away from him. In engineering, Suspiria attacks Janeway (in addition to Torres and Tuvok, who are suspended from the ceiling) and begins to destabilize the molecular composition of the ship. Kes attacks Tanis with her expanded psychic abilities after he mentally throws Neelix against the wall. Tanis' pain temporarily incapacitates Suspiria. Janeway is then able to fire the toxin, subduing her. Janeway allows Suspiria and Tanis to leave the ship (much to Suspiria's surprise; she did not expect mercy) while Kes remains with her friends on Voyager .

Kes and Tuvok are back in his quarters relearning how to hone her telepathic abilities. Her abilities have drastically weakened with the departure of Tanis. Kes regrets her "dark impulses" that forced her to kill the plants in the airponics bay and her thoughts of leaving Voyager . Tuvok informs her that even Vulcans have such impulses, but that one must learn to control them rather than pretend that they do not exist.

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Your ship is known as a ship of death. "

" Vulcans make the worst patients. "

" Focus on the goal, not the task. "

" You are probably feeling the emotion known as remorse. Possibly guilt. I advise you to look on this incident as a learning experience. " " It's not that easy. I almost killed you. " " That is correct. But you did not. Try to remember that. "

" To be honest, I never want to see that part of myself again. " " To which part are you referring? " " To the part of me which got pleasure from destroying the plants in the airponics bay. To the part of me that was tempted to go with Tanis. I never realized I had such dark impulses. " " Without the darkness, how would we recognize the light? Do not fear your negative thoughts. They are part of you. They are a part of every living being, even Vulcans. " " You? " " The Vulcan heart was forged out of barbarism and violence. We learned to control it, but it is still part of us. To pretend it does not exist is to create an opportunity for it to escape. "

" Now you will know what frail, small creatures you truly are! "

Background information [ ]

Introductory details [ ].

This episode begins with a very brief recap of how Voyager became stranded in the Delta Quadrant , in order to re-establish with viewers that the Caretaker had a mate – namely, Suspiria .

Story and script [ ]

This episode's stardate is not mentioned in the episode's final version but is established in the episode's shooting script. ( Star Trek: Voyager Companion (p. 76)) Yet, the Star Trek: Star Charts , on page 84, gave the stardate for this episode as 49040, which would place the episode before " Tattoo ".
At the time Anthony Williams wrote the story for this episode, he was an assistant manager in advertising at Paramount Pictures . ( Star Trek Monthly issue 10 , p. 15)
A working title of the episode was "Untitled Kes Firebug". [1]
Suspiria was initially conceived of as essentially a form of "get out clause," designed to change the format of Star Trek: Voyager if such a need arose. This was because the studio executives at Paramount were wary of audience reaction to the lost-in-space concept that was central to the series. During Voyager 's first season , executive producer Rick Berman explained, " The studio was very concerned when they first heard the pitch […] We convinced them that it didn't have to be bleak […] And frankly we made a concession to finally finish the sales job… we put the one-armed man out there–which is the other entity that we met in the pilot. It's out there somewhere. We will try to find that entity more than once during the next several years because we know that the entity has the ability to send us back home. " ( A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager , p. 192) This episode's usage of Suspiria without having her send the Voyager crew back to their destination of the Alpha Quadrant therefore implies a confidence in the series that was either absent or not as strong when the series began.
The final draft of this episode's script was submitted on 30 August 1995 . [2]
Gary Graham (Tanis) found that featuring in this episode was not an entirely comfortable experience. " Though I enjoyed most of the cast members on Voyager , the tone on the set was tense, " he noted. [3] " They're very tightly wound over there, " Graham elaborated. " That's not to say it wasn't a rewarding experience, but it was about as fun as taking a midterm when you really, really have to make a good grade […] I wanted to change two words at Star Trek and it took thirty minutes to get script approval on that back from the Ivory Tower. " ( Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages ) Graham had previously been considered for the roles of Benjamin Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Captain Janeway in Voyager before the decision was taken that those characters were to be African-American and female respectively. He would later play the recurring character Ambassador Soval in all four seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise .
The making of this installment reunited director Cliff Bole with Gary Graham – the two having worked on the short-lived series M.A.N.T.I.S. – but Bole felt Graham seemed too overly challenged by his role here, despite also thinking that the performer was "a great actor." Bole noted, " Gary's performance was fine, but we both could have done better. " ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 15 )
Cliff Bole was, however, impressed by the performances of the series regulars in this episode, such as Kes actress Jennifer Lien and Tuvok actor Tim Russ . The director noted, " It was Jennifer Lien's episode, and she did great work […] Tim Russ also did solid work in that one. " ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 15 )
Jennifer Lien herself was enthusiastic about this episode's depiction of Kes. " I […] like 'Cold Fire', " Lien stated. " It presents Kes with a temptation and then leaves the decision up to the character as to whether or not to give in to it. I feel that this is good because it displays another side of Kes which is her confidence in being able to choose a path for her life. " ( TV Zone , special #23, p. 21)

Production [ ]

Cliff Bole directing Jennifer Lien and Gary Graham on the set

This was the first of ten Star Trek: Voyager episodes that Cliff Bole directed.
The exterior of Suspiria's array was a modified reuse of the Caretaker's array from " Caretaker ". ( Delta Quadrant , p. 82)

Reception [ ]

Cliff Bole was ultimately very pleased with this episode, despite also thinking that it suffered a problem of pacing. " I thought the episode was better than average, " he remarked, " although it did need a little more action, a little more movement. " ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 15 )
This episode achieved a Nielsen rating of 6 million homes, and a 9% share. Along with the episodes " Non Sequitur " and " Dreadnought ", this was the joint fifth most watched episode of Voyager 's second season (on first airing); all three episodes had the same viewing figures. [4] (X) This particular episode, however, has repeatedly failed to appear in the top five of fan polls testing the popularity of episodes in Star Trek: Voyager 's second season. ( Star Trek: Communicator issue 108 , p. 18; [5] )
Star Trek Magazine gave this episode 4 out of 5 stars, defined as " Trill -powered viewing". Additionally, Star Trek Monthly reviewer Stuart Clark referred to the episode as "a chilling Kes story" and described the effects to Tuvok when Kes loses control as "a credit to both the make-up and special effects departments." ( Star Trek Monthly issue 14 , p. 62)
Cinefantastique gave the installment 2 out of 4 stars. ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 88)
The reference book Delta Quadrant (p. 84) scored the episode 5 out of 10.

Continuity and trivia [ ]

This episode's brief, introductory recap establishes that the episode takes place ten months after " Caretaker ", which means it has been two months since the events of " Non Sequitur ".
This is the second of three episodes in which members of the Ocampa species, aside from Kes, are seen. They previously appeared in the series premiere " Caretaker ".
Despite Captain Janeway stating her desire to find Suspiria again, she is never seen after this episode and is only mentioned once, very vaguely, in " The Voyager Conspiracy " – at which point Janeway declares that she is "not eager" to have another encounter with a Caretaker, in light of the unpleasant previous encounters. Further Nacene appear in the novel trilogy Star Trek: Voyager - String Theory , which reveals more about their culture and ties to Ocampa history.
The assumed abilities of the female Caretaker represent the fourth time besides the series premiere (after " Eye of the Needle ", " Prime Factors " and " The 37's ") that the Voyager crew is presented with the possibility of returning home much faster than by conventional warp travel. In this case, the female Caretaker shows no interest in helping.
Reference to 47 : Suspiria will arrive within 47 hours from the carrier wave that summons her.
This episode confirms that the crew of Voyager kept the bodily remains of the Caretaker in storage, in what would appear to be an uncharacteristic disrespect for an alien species, especially in light of Chakotay's views on deceased aliens in " Emanations ".

Video and DVD releases [ ]

UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 2.3, 25 March 1996
As part of the VOY Season 2 DVD collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

Also starring [ ]

Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay
Roxann Biggs-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

Guest Star [ ]

Gary Graham as Tanis

Co-Stars [ ]

Lindsay Ridgeway as Girl
Norman Large as Ocampa
Majel Barrett as Narrator

Uncredited Co-Stars [ ]

Majel Barrett as Suspiria (voice)
Tarik Ergin as Ayala
Cindy Howe as an Ocampa female
John Tampoya as Kashimuro Nozawa
Caretaker (voice)
Wine-pourer (scene 4, dinner reception)

References [ ]

2072 ; 24th century ; 2358 ; 2369 ; 2371 ; airponics ; alien entity ; Alpha Quadrant ; atom ; bearing ; bio-spectral analysis ; blood ; boiling ; carbon-based lifeform ; Caretaker ; Caretaker's array ; cell membrane ; compass ; containment field ; convalescence ; cup ; cylinder ; day ; Delta Quadrant ; dizziness ; enzyme ; Exosia ; generation ; heart ; hexi-prismatic field ; hypnagogic mental state ; hyperthermic induction ; intermediary ; level 3 biohazard ; life span ; light duty ; Meeting Place, The ; mental ability ; microcellular analysis ; mind ; Milky Way Galaxy ; Nacene ; nausea ; non-emotional response ; Ocampa ; Ocampa (planet) ; Ocampa history ; patient ; plasmatic energy ; precognitive skill ; psychokinetic skill ; red alert ; resuscitation ; scalp ; second ; shampoo ; shock ; sideburns ; sporocystian lifeform ; sporocystian energy ; sporocystian toxin ; status quo ; stellar cartography map ; subspace carrier wave ; subspace layer ; subspace rupture ; Suspiria's array ; Tanis' father ; tea ; telepathic ability ; temperature ; thought ; Vulcan ; weep ; yellow alert

External links [ ]

" Cold Fire " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
" Cold Fire " at Wikipedia
" Cold Fire " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
" Cold Fire " at the Internet Movie Database
1 Daniels (Crewman)
3 Calypso (episode)

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Star Trek: Voyager – Season 2, Episode 10

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Cast & crew.

Kate Mulgrew

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B'Elanna Torres

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Jennifer Lien

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Episode Info

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Star Trek: Voyager

“Cold Fire”

Air date: 11/13/1995 Teleplay by Brannon Braga Story by Anthony Williams Directed by Cliff Bole

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

"If you want to succeed in honing your telepathic abilities, you must learn to control these emotional outbursts." "Outburst? It was a giggle!" — Tuvok and Kes

Review Text

Nutshell: Some good moments in an almost-reasonble episode, but the ending is purely silly.

The Voyager comes across another space station array—a smaller version of what brought them to the Delta Quadrant ten months earlier in the pilot episode, " Caretaker ." On this station they find a small community of Ocampa residents—the descendants of Ocampa adventurers who, centuries ago, went against tradition by leaving their homeworld for space travel.

The leader of the Ocampa community, a man named Tanis (Gary Graham) takes to Kes and offers his guidance in developing her mental abilities. Before long, Kes is able to telekinetically move teacups across the table, cause water to boil, and even, in one rather bizarre scene, accidentally begin to boil Tuvok's blood. (If there's one thing this scene proves, it's that Jennifer Lien was definitely not hired for her screaming ability.)

Through Tanis, Kes is able to fully utilize a full range of her mental abilities, and experiences her dark side emerging when she takes pleasure in killing a room full of plants. Tanis invites her to live on the space station with the other Ocampa so that she might realize her full potential, which gives Kes a big decision to make.

Speaking of the array, Tanis has more to offer than just education for Kes. He also knows about the Caretaker. In fact, the Caretaker's mate (whom Janeway hoped would be able to send the Voyager back to the Alpha Quadrant one day), protects Tanis' array. The "Caretakers" are actually from a race called the Nacine; Tanis' Caretaker is a Nacine named Suspiria. Janeway hopes Tanis can arrange for her to meet Suspiria.

Unfortunately for Janeway and the crew, the Voyager has obtained a bad reputation. Many, Suspiria included, think Voyager killed the Caretaker when they destroyed his array. Kes' connection with Tanis ties into the plot rather tidily—as she begins to sense the bond between Tanis and Suspiria, she becomes aware of Suspiria's intense anger—and the fact that Suspiria wants to destroy the ship.

This leads to the inevitable final act where Janeway's first meeting with Suspiria is crosscut with the coinciding scene where Kes learns of Suspiria's motive. This revelation works fairly well assuming you don't know what Suspiria is up to. Unfortunately, the idea that Suspiria wants to destroy Voyager is not a surprise simply because the previous week's preview gives it away.

Once the episode reveals what Suspiria is doing, the episode gives us a horror-style ending, in which Janeway walks into engineering to find Torres and Tuvok hanging unconscious in mid-air by Suspiria's superior powers. Dennis McCarthy has some fun with the violins this week, creating a creepy tone. But the creepiness turns to hokiness when Suspiria's powers are subdued, causing Tuvok and Torres to fall 15 feet without serious bodily injury.

Really, if you think about any event in this ending for more than about ten seconds, you're bound to scratch your head. The manner in which Janeway traps Suspiria is clumsily handled and hardly believable. The connection between Tanis and Suspiria makes an obvious plot device, but has no real justification or explanation. And why is it Tanis so desperately wants Kes to come live on the array? Why is he so taken by her abilities? What does she offer his people? And why does Suspiria prove so stubborn and refuse to negotiate? And what exactly happens to the array and its inhabitants after Suspiria and Tanis retreat into subspace? Too many plot points are left unresolved; others feel forced and unclear in this unimpressive finale.

This is too bad. The story is certainly agreeable for its first four acts as Kes uncovers her hidden powers. But everything else rides on the conclusion, which, unfortunately, prompts just one question: What is the point of this episode? The only discernible answer is that the writers want to introduce the Nacine as Voyager 's potential chance to get home, because other than that, there's no impact on any of the characters. Kes' powers disappear as soon as Tanis leaves, illustrating another example of Reset Button Plotting—how to change characters just so they can change back 30 minutes later.

Introducing the Nacine could have been done any time, and the writers should have done it at a time when they had a knockout story to deliver. Instead, they squander a promising card on an average story. I was looking forward to seeing another from the Caretaker's race, but not really in an underwhelming story like this.

Voyager is still having a generally disappointing season thus far, and there's only one consistent reason—the writing. "Cold Fire" is a prime example. Here's a premise that could have (and should have) been a reasonable turning point in the season. Instead, it's another mediocre installment which proves even more disappointing because of what it could have been.

Previous episode: Tattoo Next episode: Maneuvers

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Comment Section

46 comments on this post, admirable chrichton.

This has to be one of the most anticlimatic follow ups to a major plot line I've ever seen. It basically runs as "Use the force Kes, oh look a remake of the Caretakers array, use the force sommore Kes on some tea, plants and a Vulcan security officer. You killed my mate, no we didn't, oh right then, toodleoo." That is honestly about the upshot of it. It was only today why I discovered they did make it at all (as Jammer asks in the review), as a "get Voyager home" card should the show be cancelled (which was a possibility back then.) In that context, this ramshackle outing makes sense.

Too much silliness and corny words in this episode...I couldn't get past them. At "Exosia" I could take no more.

I know I really bash these episodes on all of the seasons, but there is actually things to like in this episode. The relationship between Tuvok and Kes was fantastic. The whole susperia plot was really stupid and pointless, but the I'd like some of the character moments in this piece. Hey, at least they did *something* right as opposed to botching everything...

The ending is certainly hokey, but I would think that the events of "Scorpion" and "The Gift" would explain Tanis' interest in Kes... (but boy they sure don't bother with continuity do they?) This show is about characters and ideas, it's not the Dungeons and Dragons style plot machination show that DS9 and late TNG were. The plots exist solely to serve the character arcs which (except for Kes) move very slowly and carefully across seven seasons (wow). In other shows (ahem), characters change back and forth so wildly, it's a good thing there are big plots going on to distract one from the oscillation.

I saw this for the second time last night and quite enjoyed it- lots of great resonances from this episode to 'The Gift'. A pity they never concluded the Suspira story arc, however.

Carbetarian

Kes's raptor scream had me rolling in laughter! Haha, what was that??? I couldn't take Tuvok's exploding head scene seriously because I was too busy cracking up. Ha, did I just write "I couldn't take Tuvok's exploding head scene seriously"? Ridiculous. Anyway, yes, I agree with Jammer. The consistent problem on Voyager was the writing. I think all the actors are both competent and very likable. There are even moments when I don't hate Neelix! But, the writing... Oh boy, the writing is awul! However, sometimes the terrible writing provides some unintentional comedy, such as when Janeway went crazy and started speaking in tongues a few weeks ago in "twisted". In an odd way, I appreciate those moments. They keep the show from getting boring. Of course, it would be better if the show could be kept from being boring by actually being good. But, I digress. Two stars for this episode from me.

All sorts of weird crap happened so I was thoroughly entertained. The screeching KFC crispy strip was unintentionally hilarious. Ocampa dude's BIG TWIST was ruined by the same problem that's plagued every single betrayal in voyager to date including Seska's: he just looked wildly untrustworthy from the get-go. I don't know whether it's a casting thing or what but he might as well have twirled his mustache at us.

The ocampans heard detailed stories about Voyager's ravaging, but not about saving their own frickin' homeworld form the Kazon? How dim can you be. This other caretaker should have know that her fine friend over at the Ocampan home world was randomly abducting, torturing and abandoning people, leaving Voyager and its inhabitants stranded, 70 years away from their loved ones, for a lot probably never to see their families again - ever. That's why you do the "I mean you no harm routine", of course in true Janeway style followed up by immediately "weaponizing". It's frightening to know the more evolved species become in Star Trek, the more violent they become. Even in our society families of victims sometimes meet (and forgive) the victim's murderer(s). Alas, at the time you're a superbeing, you kill at first sight. Let's redefine "civilization". It should have been a fierce discussion between the crew and this Suspiria about the horrors her mate back at the array did to Voyager and its inhabitants - not to mention all those others we never saw. And maybe this Suspiria could have reached out by hurling them a few extra thousand of light years way home or so. But no. A depressing story.

"Unfortunately for Janeway and the crew, the Voyager has obtained a bad reputation." What was it they were called? Oh yes: "Ship of Death." This point is emphasized in the review at SF Debris, noting that it came up again two weeks later in "Resistance." Now that I think about it, this "legend of Voyager" was a recurring motif throughout the series. For example, in "Future's End," Voyager is infamous for destroying the timeline. The motif features most prominently in "Living Witness" and, a few weeks after that, in "Hope & Fear." It's found somewhat in "Distant Origin" and arguably in "Course: Oblivion," in both cases with Voyager as a forgotten ancestor (inverted as the "Ship of Life"?). By "Think Tank," Voyager's reputation was so bad that they couldn't figure out which of many enemies might have a vendetta against them. Voyager-as-legend is seen most often in Season 6: "Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy" (faulty intelligence exaggerates Voyager's power); "Pathfinder" (Barclay's obsession with the simulated crew) followed two weeks later by "Blink of an Eye" (Voyager inspires a religion) and "Virtuoso" the week after that (Doc becomes a celebrity); and "Muse" (Voyager's tale inspires a poet). All of those are reiterated in Season 7's "Author, Author." While the Suspiria plotline was never revisited, the "Ship of Death" motif, and more broadly the idea of Voyager's reputation preceding it, is one of the core themes of the series.

I just watched this for the first time -- this is the only episode of Voyager I had never seen before (I missed it both on its original run and in reruns). The episode does some important work establishing a backdrop of Kes' powers, as well as suggesting reasons why Kes really will have to leave the ship eventually. While she doesn't end up seeing the Voyager crew as "pets," it's not hard to imagine a superpowered Kes post-"The Gift" feeling that way. (I suppose having total power and difficulty controlling rage is what leads to "Fury," but I don't really know what to make of that episode.) This also does some nice work for the Kes/Tuvok relationship. And I like some aspects of the Kes/Tanis scenes -- the reveal of the dead plants is creepy, for example, and I like some of the ideas if not their representation. At core I think one of the issues of the episode is whether philosophical exploration necessarily leads to being disconnected from other people's experiences -- Tanis' discussion of how he and Kes can see the true deeper reality whereas those around them stay on the surface seems to me to be more centrally about this topic. And that's a fascinating issue to explore, and I applaud the episode for devoting so much of its time to dialogue scenes. Still, these scenes, almost to a fault, just involve Tanis stating his views and Kes halfheartedly disagreeing if he says something anti-the crew or nodding in excitement if he says something that doesn't seem objectionable. There isn't much interesting development of the ideas of Tanis, and while there is some effort to visualize these ideas (like the saturation, the shots of the molecules) they are not insightful enough to carry these long scenes. While the episode has some value as part of Kes' longterm arc, I really don't think there's enough story to sustain this episode. Tanis is too obviously untrustworthy early on for it to be in doubt what Kes should do, and I don't think there's really a need for it -- the suggestion that Kes will eventually see her non-Ocampa friends as being below her, and the question of whether she should explore her power to the exclusion of her current family, with all that entails, could have been dealt with without Tanis eventually nearly killing Neelix just because he interrupted or without him also working with an entity set on destroying the ship. I like Grumpy's rundown of the ways in which the ship's reputation is a recurring theme throughout the show. So that is some good on a series-wide basis to come out of the Suspiria story. But that's very little. The Suspiria story has no real development, running as a handful of lines and moments through the main Kes/Tanis plotline before heading to the big climax which is over before it's even begun. I don't care that much about plot details, but the idea that Suspiria and Tanis and the whole space station of Ocampa couldn't use their psychic powers to determine whether Janeway is telling the truth about not having killed the Caretaker somewhat bothers me; the whole plot hinges on a misunderstanding which Suspiria of all entities should have been able to clear up right away. I dunno, 2 stars? 1.5?

I always post these comments too soon and think of more things to say. It is weird how much of a nonentity Suspiria is to the story. The opening narration by Majel Barrett Roddenberry even reminds us of the Caretaker's destruction and its mate, and the early scenes suggest this will be the main thing of import in this episode. While Suspiria is important to the story insofar as she is the reason given for these Ocampa to have developed their telekinetic powers more strongly, she herself is an extreme cipher who only has impact in the final act, which is goofy and quickly dispensed with. None of the emotion of this story is related to Suspiria, and she only worsens the Tanis/Kes material by making Tanis that much worse.

Another Bad Captain decision! You mean no harm, then incapacitate and confine the subject??? Worst of all, Bad Captain then releases the best chance they've had to get home in the past 10 months without any negotiations at all! I understand the writers were under pressure to insert this, but that final act was a real let down compared to the excellent content in the rest of the episode. Jammer's got this one spot on.

"Susperia" ... really? Well, at least they didn't call her "Disturbia". At the very end of the show Janeway (in voiceover) tells us that she'll be looking for a way to find Susperia again so that she can bring the ship home. Okay. Um ... why not ask the remaining 1999 Ocampa in that space array thingie? Wouldn't they be bound to know stuff about where Susperia and Tanis went? Couldn't they offer clues or advice? Tanis gave the distinct impression that no one on the array wanted to be in vcontact with Voyager, true ... but to just abandon the array withoput even TRYING to communicate and get some answers? Lame!

Tuvok's head was fried. His blood was risen over 30 degrees. And he is fine. Yup. Magic wand of Trek writing.

Kes's raptoresque screams crack me up.

How incredibly unethical it is to teach Kes how to control her abilities by randomly trying to read the crew's thougths! Preposterous. Sure, it was an ok episode with a really enjoyable horror tone. I really liked how it looked sort of creepy. The scene with Tuvok was nice, hehe. But DLPB is right: he surviving this feels like the magic wand of Trek writing... Besides, what a lame ending, Jammer is completely right on this one. As Caine has said above, the captain is to leave without even trying to comunicate again? Oh yes, and how easy it was for a young untrained Ocampa like Kes to hurt a trained master and, by consequence, to weaken the mighty Susperia. Blah. Very lazy writing. Worst, now Kes lost her new abilities just because... oh never mind. Everything that happens is for nothing, right? Of course this one certainly had important character develoment. But please, it is obvious that so far (I never watched Voyager before and do not know about the future episodes) Voyager does not bother too much with continuity. One episode that touches character development is certainly not in contradiction to that.

How freakin' creepy is that when Kes boils Tuvok's blood?!

Everything about this episode was great - until the quickie lockup of Susperia. And her release. And her being quick to learn, trust, and forgive. Especially when it's revealed that Kes didn't have any powers after Tanis leaves. I took it at face value that this Ocampa colony wanted to take her in, to save her when they let Susperia enact her revenge. But here's Tanis, teaching her how to use powers he was giving her (as opposed to training her to use any innate powers SHE had), and she uses them on him so conveniently yet he doesn't throw his off switch? Such wasted potential... more time, more thought, maybe a 2-parter as most of the material was built up extremely well, just to be unraveled at the end out of convenience. Part of me was hoping Tanis would get her to apply to the ship what he trained her to do with the plants - fry 'em with kindness. Again, a 2-parter could have fleshed out so much more. And, yup, how could Tuvok - or any organic life form - sustain a 30 degree (celcius) change instantly and for that long... it was a chilling scene, but - yup - all is well. Voyager definitely was influenced by TOS, including the scribbled writing and "next scene later, we're all fine" routine. ("The Deadly Years" being a perfect example, or the number of times Scotty gets killed only to be revived in an instant...)

This showing is a prime example of why Voyager, as a series, frustrates the hell out of me. We get a fantastic recap opening scene to set up a potentially great episode. This scene is followed by a few acts of nicely done character growth for the oft under-utilized Kes. All of it involving the ever reliable guest star Gary Graham and the hope for further insights into the Nacine. Plus an opportunity to learn more about the wayword Ocampa. After a pretty satisfying, yet lengthy appetizer tasting menu, we're prepared for the main course. The plate is set before us which consists of simply dried, moldy bread slathered in what seems to be actual shit. Enjoy what you can; just make sure to satiate your appetite before the last course here at the Unfulfilled Potential Restaurant and Bar. 2.5 stars.

"Enjoy what you can; just make sure to satiate your appetite before the last course here at the Unfulfilled Potential Restaurant and Bar." Heh, I know what you mean. That said, I think I'm becoming immune to Voyager's problems. Of course this episode is a lost opportunity. Of course the reset button was annoying. Of course the plotting wasn't as good as it could have been. But still, I generally liked it anyway. Part of the reason for that is that, by focusing on the Ocampa rather than the Caretaker, we got a better story. Yes, it's unfortunate that we couldn't spend more time with Susperia as well, but the Ocampa was better. Let's face it, so far the Ocampa were basically sentient tribbles without the reproduction aspect. They are cute, cuddly, harmless, innocent little creatures that you just can't help but try to hold and protect them. All we saw of the Ocampa was the neutered version that the first Caretaker had, sterile people that were just sitting around slowly waiting for extinction. Then we have Kes, the childlike innocent one who is always eager to learn and help out and always perfectly kind and sweet to everyone. It's not a surprise that we anthropomorphize the Ocampa to be "good guys". We see them the way we want to see them, as the tribbles, a perfectly harmless bunch of elves. And now, we find out that they can kill you with their brain. Not so harmless now, are they? I mean, I thought the raptor scream was silly too at first, but I do think it does work. If it was a normal scream, Kes would be no different than any of hundreds of actresses in horror movies. We would see her as human. But in that scene, she should be alien instead. She's the one setting Tuvok on fire, after all, and she's the member of the species we are finding out is much more terrifying than initially thought. It should be a bizarre, unsettling scene. So maybe the raptor scream was a bit silly, but I can see the logic behind it. It's a bit unfortunate that so many people saw it as just a joke. But the scene of Kes killing the plants was even better. Again, I don't know if the actual execution was that great, but the idea was smart. First of all, it was unexpected. It started out with Kes feeling the plants, something tender and kind. And then, she killed them all. And scariest of all, she didn't seem to mind. Her little garden was something she cared deeply about, and wanted to grow and nurture those plants. And yet she killed them all without a thought. And enjoyed killing them. And felt no remorse, no concern afterwards. Again, this is contrary to the standard expectation we had of the Ocampa and of Kes. It's frightening and disturbing. It's completely alien to us. And yet it remains all the same. DPC was right, Tanis should have used this approach at the end. I mean, the "these puny humans are beneath you" thing has been seen dozens of times before. Tanis should have reminded her of the rapturous joy she felt in destroying those plants. He could remind her that she had never felt closer to the plants, had never felt them as deeply and emotionally as when she brought the fire. And in that instant, she felt more connected to those plants than she had ever been with anyone. Closer than with Neelix, closer than with Tuvok. If she truly cared about the crew of the Voyager, if she truly wanted to be close to them, there was only one way to do it. Of course, Kes would protest. We would expect nothing less. Perhaps she can even turn it back on Tanis. If that is true, after all, why doesn't Tanis kill the people closest to him? Then Tanis could reveal that he DOES, that all of the Ocampa on this array do. When they reach the end of their lifespan, their closest friends and family gather around them and use their telekinetic powers to euthanize the elderly. Tanis did it to his father, and it was a beautiful, heartwarming moment for him. He looks forward to the day that his children will do it to him. But Kes will not outlive her friends on Voyager. She will never truly know Neelix. She will never feel the beautifully of becoming one with the people she kills. Unless she does it. (I'm reminded of Stranger in a Strange Land here: the Martians in that novel eat their dead in order to fully "grok" them. Something like that is what I'm trying to get at; an act that is truly horrifying for us but is perfectly natural and loving to the alien.) The rest of the episode would continue on as it did here. Except at the end, Kes' powers wouldn't leave. She'd simply refuse to use them anymore, out of fear of hurting anyone accidentally again. And just as scary to her, out of fear that she would enjoy it. She felt something inside her when she hurt Tuvok, and a part of her does wonder if Tanis is right, that she is missing out on something complete by not fully understanding her shipmates. Tuvok can tell her of his own emotions, and the Vulcan use of logic to control them. And it can end on much the same note, with Tuvok helping her to control these feelings and to move forward. So yes, it's a wasted opportunity and that's unfortunate. But I like what this episode did for Kes. There's some depth in there, even if the episode failed to follow up on it. So yes, I like the episode despite its flaws. Like I said, I think I'm becoming immune to Voyager's problems. I guess we'll see how immune I get the next time they have some sort of massively ridiculous piece of "science" like a hole in the event horizon...

Same DVD player/disc issues abound for this one too... :-( I remember the Kes/Tuvok scenes and interactions being wonderful. I remember Kes' "powers" intriguing Tuvok. I remember dead plants. I remember Soval :-) I remember Kes deciding to stay. But I too remember being a little more than disappointed with the ending. We just met the Caretaker's blood relative and nothing... I'll go 2.5 stars.

FromHolland

What annoys me is that after something happened Tuvok rushes to Engineering and asks for back-up by Security. Later we see him entering Engeineering together with ONE (1!) security crewmember and he contacts the captain that the female caretaker is aboard. A few scenes later Janeway sees the female caretaker in Engineering and when she looks up she sees Tuvok and Belanna floating in the air: the female caretaker has done this. Where is the security crewmember that accompanied Tuvok? What did the female caretaker do with him? He just disappeared? Strange.

Strange that after this episode the caretakers were never heard from again. But then again can't keep track of the number of species in this series that we could apply that to. I suppose the fact that Voyager was simply leaving the sectors they occupied is a somewhat credible reason. But how could that apply to the caretakers? For them 70,000 light years is a blink of an eye. Only the Q could pull off something like that. No amount of space should keep the caretakers from having another run-in with Voyager. So once again careless writing is the only thing I can think of. It's too bad Kes didn't get the chance to enhance those abilities to a tee before they jettisoned her in the 4th season. She would have been able to resist Tieran's mind invasion completely from what we've already seen of her abilities. I did find it odd that the caretaker's mate was still so young compared to him. I guess those 'fertile grounds' he mentioned kept her from aging. But it also looks like it kept the array from expanding as well. The size differences between hers and the pilot's were night and day. Also found it strange that given their vast powers she did not know that voyager was not responsible for her mate's death. He simply died of...old age. But I'm guessing when the caretakers pass away they all become some chunk of mineral rock. But we really don't know, do we? That's pretty much my point. Too little explained in this. And we still know next to nothing about these caretakers. And like the tricobalt missles used to destroy the first array we would not hear from either of them ever again. Not even one followup. 1 to 1.5 stars is all I can give. At the very least they could have confronted the caretakers once and for all considering they were the ones who kickstarted this voyage to begin with.

So Voyager has been on its journey home for a little over 18 months now and they've already come across the second Nacene as mentioned in "Caretaker". So the Caretaker went to all the trouble of finding and abducting ships from at least 70,000 light years away, but couldn't or didn't think to scan a few thousand light years away to see if his mate was around? If he can find Voyager in the Badlands, he can surely scan most of the galaxy the same way.

Diamond Dave

Another blown opportunity. You'd think that meeting the second caretaker would be something of a big deal, given the extra voice over we get in the intro. And yet what we actually get is a relatively interesting exploration of Kes' powers and potential and a profoundly anti-climactic confrontation with the caretaker who they just kind of let go. A couple of interesting shock moments do lend a rare, if slight, horror twist - Tuvok's exploding head being a nice one - but overall another misfire. "Ship of death" indeed. 2 stars.

I was looking forward to the crew visiting the array and meeting the Ocampa people but it never happened. it could have shed more insight to the peoples dilemma, if any, and could have made for a better episode.

i did love that there was some kind of character development with neelix. he didn't feel jealous of kes and tanis even though their from the same race, can speak with each other trough their mind and i felt that he was a bit to interested in her. and neelix even left them together in one room. so far he was always way to jealous but now he isn't

If at first you don't succeed fail faill again

RandomThoughts

Heya Everyone! It'd been many years since I'd seen this one, and I'd forgotten much. Like the voice-over at the beginning, which I didn't see the point of. Maybe they figured many folks had missed the pilot, or didn't remember, but I thought they'd mentioned the Caretaker a few times up to now, and had said something about his mate, just not recently. It seemed out of place to me. That let us know Susperia was going to be in it, instead of letting us figure it out on our own. *10 1/2 months ago, Voyager was taken from their part of the galaxy by a powerful entity know as the Caretaker. During the course of their experience, they encounter a race known as the Kazon, which they eventually encounter a few times. These were dangerous foes who didn't seem to really have a plan for, well, anything, but they like to shoot things. Which makes them dangerous. Oh, and they have muddy feathers (or something) in their hair. Just in case you forgot...*. I'll be looking for the Kazon voice-over when we see them next, which I think is soon. I really liked Kes in this one, although I'd forgotten how much time was spent just walking around and talking, though I didn't mind too much. I think the character had great potential, but nobody had an idea what to do with her. And I too was waiting to see a shot of a crowd of Ocampans, or for them to go visit the station. And yes, it was nice seeing Neelix not fly into a rage because Kes is talking to someone. On a whole, I liked the episode until the end, which reminded me of the TNG episode "Imaginary Friend". Even the actress reminded me of the *friend*. Then, same as in that one, the alien flies away after they convince it they really are good sentients. And lastly, it's been ten months. How long is the gestation for the human/alien baby? Did they say? Shouldn't we have had a birth around now? Extra lastly, Jammer mentioned the trailer from the previous week ruining part of the plot. I stopped watching any trailer after seeing the one for TNG's "Cause and Effect" ("The Enterprise is caught in a Tiiiiime Loop"), which gave the thing away. I was, umm..., ticked, to say the least. I think I mentioned that in my review of said episode. :D Have a great day, gentle sentients... RT

Oh, man... I lmao when Kes microwaved Tuvok. I can't believe that never became a viral meme, like Picard's face palm. It was so hilarious, made even funnier by Kes' ridiculous scream. The words "cooked baloney forehead" and "deep fried Vulcan's taste like chicken" kept ringing through my mind this entire underwhelming episode.

Just to chime in about Kes' scream. Obviously it was ridiculous sounding to us... but I wonder if the director asked Lien to scream in a way that would seem alien to us. Surely not everyone would react in a human way to such a thing. Marina was asked to create an alien accent too... which was great until her mom didn't want to use it and then she just sounded like an idiot :P

It's a common Trek theme for a character to gain mighty powers and then struggle with them. Here, I thought it was done ok with Kes. The part when she nearly makes Tuvok explode and screams ridiculously could have been done much better -- it was as if coming from X-Files or something like that. I'm surprised Janeway wasn't more suspicious of Tanis and Kes spending so much time together but she's desperate to get in touch with the other Caretaker. It should be obvious that Tanis is not one to be trusted - he's a pretty shady character from the start. Why wasn't he able to fight back when Kes used her new-found powers on him after he sent Neelix flying. The ending is a bit ridiculous as has been mentioned. I think the episode wasted far too much time with Kes/Tanis and exploring telekinesis -- should have spent more time on the Caretaker part. And yes, a ton of questions left unanswered. Quite unsatisfying in that regard. I'd rate it 2/4 stars. Had some interesting moments and is not a bad episode but definitely not a very good one.

Startrekwatcher

2 stars. This didn't work at all. suspiria debut was a big deal. Voyager even included a special recap preceding the episode in the teaser. So I expected a great episode. Didn't happen and "Kes discovering her abilities" really was pretty ho hum. Overall a very MEH ep

Watching this again, it plays a little better for me than when I first saw it (see earlier comment). Kes tracks to me emotionally a little better, maybe because I'm a little more used to the rhythms of the show, such as they are. And knowing that Suspiria is basically a pointless letdown in the episode allows me to blot out the last act mostly entirely. It's worth pausing to talk about how badly the Suspiria material is bungled; there's no real indication of why Suspiria is so hard-headed that she believes Voyager killed the Caretaker, but it's maybe not that implausible. The problem is that it's so *boring* a development for a super-being, and is such a narrative dead end. I'd rather there be some genuine philosophical difference that leads to conflict rather than her *simply being wrong*, even if (as some pointed out above) it's maybe an interesting idea that Voyager's reputation is starting to get negative. I gather maybe from the ending that we were supposed to anxiously wait the Suspiria-and-her-pet adventures being restarted, in which case the ending would be a disappointment now but maybe not ruin that story overall. As is, it's just a waste of time for the ending, and it's even worse because it short-circuits what was going on with Kes. Except for the indication that Suspiria helped Tanis and the other Ocampa discover his powers, there's nothing done with Suspiria overall and then her presence ends the Kes/Tanis material, and we don't even find out whether any Ocampa *besides* Tanis were taken away with Suspiria, leaving it open whether they even bothered to check whether there were any less-unhinged Ocampa on the station before Voyager zooms away. The Kes material works a little better for me this time, though the ending is a little blunted. Kes' role in the series is clearly to be *a young adult*, and the arc is shaping up that Kes initially latches onto Neelix as her saviour/lover and Voyager as her substitute family, but she's also growing at a much faster rate than anyone on the ship. Having her paired up with middle-aged Tuvok and Neelix and to some degree unchanging the Doctor is another way of emphasizing what her abbreviated lifetime actually means; she is necessarily going to reach middle age in a time period that (for Tuvok especially, but for the others as well) basically is just a blip in their lives, and she has no real time to waste in letting other people catch up with her if she starts finding out that there is more to her life than what she's already decided it is. The idea that maybe Kes is mistaking her gratitude and affection for Neelix and the Voyager crew for opening up new vistas to her for real love and belonging is a powerful one and one that seems to resonate with the direction her story will go. And while I was pretty skeptical of Janeway making the claim on a whim in Caretaker, this does also pay off her suggestion that maybe the Ocampa can take care of themselves. Tanis is not actually a good model for Kes overall. He and Tuvok are the two primary tutors of Kes in this episode, and Tuvok (over) emphasizes emotional control because that's how his species (and he personally) operated, whereas Tanis seems intent on large-scale destruction and total emotional abandon (fire!) which ends up matching what we learn about Suspiria, and suggests that he doesn't have any real independence despite his claims to the contrary. And Kes can still choose not to harm her friends and loved ones. But she's not quite as harmless as she seems, and I like the idea that she is somewhat locked into the personality she had as a one-year-old in the view of the rest of the slowly-changing crew and that she is rapidly discovering parts of herself that she didn't know she had. The hard-reset ending (for now) is a disappointment and I'm not positive about Lien's performance sometimes but I feel like I have a better sense of what is going on, and this is probably actually the best episode since Projections. 2.5 stars is fair.

I like Kes, and this episode wasn't bad, except the ending as most people said. The Nacene aren't that powerful apparently if all it takes is a barely trained Ocampa, an anti-sporocystian gun (lol), and a forcefield to kill one. Can a forcefield even hold a being that can travel through sub-space? I have no idea. I guess it can though. My major problem is that they finally had an interesting character, Kes, on the ship and they totally drop the whole plotline. All of her newly gotten powers just magically disappear. Well, for 2 years anyway. The whole 'Kes becoming a god' thing could have been pretty cool if it was a recurring plot. 2 1/2 stars.

I guess I am the only one disgusted by the fact that Susperia is played by a 10 year old blonde girl who looks like she is on the way to a tiny tot beauty pagent. Susperia is referred to as the Caretaker's "mate" even in the introduction, so I am supposed to see her sexually related to the 70+ Caretaker. To make her seem more forimidable, the production voice-overs an adult woman's voice, so they did have the budget to hire a grown up for the part, and wanted the image of a little blonde girl as the antagonist. Little blonde girls, and little girls in general are the major antagonists of Voyager, so along with the clearly caucasian female leader of the Borg, women are the real demons. AS for Kes, she too is a pediopile's dream. Cute, always "innocent" and prepubescent in her helpfulness, yet over the course of the series she becomes more and more monsterous. Cold Fire is an early version of Kes's revelation as an object of horror as she grows both very old and hag-like, and she seeks revenge in a fit of senility. Firing Tuvok was predicatable when you consider how negatively young children through young adults are portrayed. Tuvok is a middle-aged black male who tutors a perpetually child-like white female who will turn on him more than once. I was surprised to read another commentor's observation that "deep fried Vulcan tastes like chicken" without recognizing of the racial component and union of sterotypes about African-Americans and fired chicken. There's no way the producers could have missed these obvious sexual and racial plot implications over the years it took for these scripts to finally see the light of production. There's no way anyone can miss that Susperia is a little blonde girl and a mirror-monster for Kes, also a little blonde girl-monster growing up but with an adult woman's body, so the implications of child sex aren't simply stated once, they are repeated in variations across the plot. My only explanation is the sheer propaganda power of the Trek metanarrative to promote a white male future that is friendly and inevitable.

Teaser : ***, 5% After the brief recap of “Caretaker” in which we are reminded of the existence of Banjoman's mate (whom I suspect guises herself as Lulu Hogg), we pick up with Tuvok and Kes practising mind powers, as she had indicated had become their custom in “Persistence of Vision.” Through a mindmeld-adjacent head-grab, Kes is able to sense the minds of the crew. I very much like the way in which Tuvok describes the act of disciplining the mind. Unlike with things like, say, the pond analogy in “Parallax,” the notion of treating the minds of the crew like a symphony and honing in on the various instruments with emotional distance, is sort of compelling. She is drawn to the mind of Neelix, who is heard to be worrying over his haircut. God pity the ensign who has been assigned to to trim Neelix' ear hairs. It's probably Chell. TUVOK: If you are to succeed in honing your telepathic abilities, you must learn to control these emotional outbursts. KES: Outburst? It was a giggle. TUVOK: Tomorrow I will teach you a Vulcan mind control technique that will help you inhibit your giggles. Cute. We follow Kes to the sickbay where the EMH is a bit possessive about sharing his teacher-status with Tuvok. Before we can get into things, a ringing sound fills the air. The sound is coming from a storage closet which is housing the remains of Bajoman. After a moment, it stops shaking and singing, going silent. Act 1 : **.5, 17% The Doctor reveals to Janeway and co. that for a moment, the remains were emitting lifesigns, but no longer. They consider how much they don't really understand about Sporocystians (yeah, maybe you people should have been studying this rock instead of letting it collect dust) when it starts up again. Torres figures out that the remains are reacting to the lifesigns of a different Sporocyst, like a radiation detector. Kim is tasked to track the original source and finds a spot about 10 lightyears distant. The prospect of finding Lulu Hogg puts the crew in hopeful spirits about getting home...again. TORRES: We've placed the remains in a HEXIPRISMATIC field, Captain. The next time it responds to sporocystian energy, the field should give us a heading to the source. JANEWAY: You're using the remains like a compass. Ah, that's the kind of “Parallax”-style bullshit, we know and love. After stealing a smile with Chakotay, a moment I quite liked, Tuvok proposes they take some precautions against the potentially dangerous Sporocyst they're pursuing. He suggests a toxin of some sort. Well, their compass works and takes them to another array like the one in “Caretaker,” but it's much smaller. Scans reveal the presence over 2000 Ocampans on board. These Ocampa aren't the garden-happy gophers from the pilot though, as they immediately start firing weapons at the Voyager. After a bout, one Ocampa man hails and warns Janeway away, telling her they are not welcome. Act 2 : **, 17% An elated Kes is brought to the bridge. KES: The idea that there could be Ocampa anywhere but on the homeworld is something no one ever considered. I thought I was the only one. Janeway asks her to help her arrange a meeting, and she successfully convinces a few of them to join them in the conference room. The Ocampa are openly hostile towards Janeway and co., suggesting they're trying to kill Lulu Hogg. It is revealed that the Voyager is regarded as a “ship of death” in this region. This makes some sense: in “Caretaker” a Kazon Ogla vessel was destroyed by Chakotay; in “Ex Post Facto,” Paris is connected with the murder of a prominent Benean scientist; in “State of Flux,” a group of Nistrim are melted to death by a Federation replicator; and in “Initiations,” the Ogla Majh is killed thanks to interactions with Chakotay. Well it turns out the Kazon (Seska) have been spreading rumours about the Voyager and ruining its reputation, saying they regularly steal resources from other worlds, declared war on the Kazon themselves, and murdered Banjoman. While Janeway and Chakotay defend their actions, the lead Ocampa, Thanos or whatever, telepathically asks Kes to speak to her alone. Kes asks for some privacy and the others leave. Thanos is more interested in Kes' personal life for some reason, and she gives him a brief tour of her life on the Voyager. He finds the ship impossibly sterile and barren, and it turns out he's fourteen years old, nearly twice a typical Ocampa lifespan. For whatever reason, men can't seem to help but condescend to Kes, as Thanos literally laughs at her naïvety. Lulu Hogg (I'm not calling her Susperia) has helped these Ocampa develop their mental powers and extend their lives, an approach to care-taking quite different from her mate. He proves how advanced their abilities have become by causing all the plants in the aeroponic bay to grow spontaneously, and leaves her to ponder her options.Janeway is quite pleased with the diplomatic progress, but Kes is feeling a bit overwhelmed. Tuvok advises a non-emotional response (duh), and Janeway suggests cautious optimism. Thanos returns to the array and makes telepathic contact with Lulu Hogg who quite cheesily tells him that he can have the girl, but is to bring the ship to her. Bwahahahahha Act 3 : **, 17% During a tepid dinner scene, Thanos makes two offers, one to the crew to bring them to the “meeting place” and one to Kes to remain with her cousins on the array. Neelix starts of course but Janeway once again advises being cautious but thoughtful about the prospect. The topic turns inevitably back to the issue of mental powers, as Kes is eager to learn more. So Thanos agrees to give her some coachings. For dessert, Tuvok and the EMH show Janeway the toxic weapon they've been developing. Kes meanwhile is trying to learn telekinesis while Neelix observes. With Thanos' help and the aid of analogies, Kes is able to heat a cup of tea. She says that the process seems so simple in retrospect. Later on, Kes reports her breakthrough to Tuvok and attempts to demonstrate the “next level” the “fire in her mind.” This quickly leads to the infamous face-melting scene, which is effectively horrifying. As far as Kes' Nazgûl scream, I kind of like it. Act 4 : ***, 17% The EMH is able to fix him right up, of course, leading to some expectedly amusing banter. But more significant is this exchange: TUVOK: You are probably feeling the emotion known as remorse, possibly guilt. I advise you to look on this incident as a learning experience. KES: It's not that easy. I almost killed you. TUVOK: That is correct. But you did not. Try to remember that. For one thing, I love the characterisation of Tuvok here. His mentorship of Kes is about more than honing her abilities, it's also about giving her the tools to evolve the discipline required to master extraordinary abilities. For another, it's a harbinger of where Kes' arc is taking her, and does a much better job at exploring how her powers coincide with her personality than “Time and Again,” “Cathexis” or “Persistence of Vision.” Kes an Thanos have another meeting in the aeroponic bay, and she informs him that she is reticent to leave the Voyager, especially after the accident with Tuvok. TANIS: I'm afraid it isn't going to get any easier, Kes. You're already starting to manifest abilities far beyond anything you've ever imagined. Soon you'll be so far beyond the other beings on this ship that you'll look at them as they look at pets. In a lot of ways, Thanos' whole touch-with-the-fire spiel reminds me of the way the Q or the Prophets condescend to humans. I remember this scene being really cheesy when I watched it as a kid, but honestly, I kind of dig now. Despite the somewhat underwhelming visuals, Lien sells the idea of breaking free from her humanoid shell quite well. Kes has learnt to objectify life and death, something at odds with her natural compassion. While Bajoman chose to be a kind of benevolent clock-maker god, Lulu Hogg has taken a very different approach with these Ocampa. They have been exulted to demi-gods, and the accompanying arrogance tells us a lot about the kind of caretaker she has chosen to be. Act 5 : *.5, 17% Some CGI craziness has gotten itself into Engineering and repeated calls from the bridge yield no response. In the Mess Hall, Thanos tells Kes that it's time to leave the Voyager. Tuvok and a security team investigate the engine room and report that Lulu Hogg has arrived, prompting Janeway to join him. When Janeway arrives, instead of Lulu Hogg, she encounters a young girl in a pink dress, weeping over Bajoman's remains. Kes makes telepathic contact and realises that Hogg is horribly angry and vengeful. And indeed, there's a bit of a horror show in Engineering as Lulu Hogg has strung up the crew like turkeys, inflicts massive pain and starts tearing the ship apart. Amidst this goofiness, Kes unleashes her dark phoenix powers upon both Thanos and Lulu Hogg, showing a wilfulness that's been sorely lacking in her character thus far. Janeway is freed long enough to use her toxin and incapacitate the Sporocyst. In what is supposed to me a momentous gesture, Janeway shows the girl mercy and releases her. And Lulu Hogg repays this gesture by...leaving and taking all the Ocampa with her to Exocompland or whatever. In the epilogue, it turns out Kes' abilities have become dormant again, as she has reverted back to her teaser level. She wants to bury this darkness away for ever, regretting having been tempted to go with Thanos. TUVOK: Without the darkness, how would we recognise the light? Do not fear your negative thoughts. They are part of you. They are a part of every living being, even Vulcans. KES: You? TUVOK: The Vulcan heart was forged out of barbarism and violence. We learned to control it, but it is still part of us. To pretend it does not exist is to create an opportunity for it to escape. Episode as Functionary : **.5, 10% The episode is rescued by the interactions between Kes and Tuvok which do wonderful things for the growth of both their characters. Kes has this very powerful and dangerous darkness growing within the kind and naïve shell that is the character we have come to know. It's a very mythological sort of truism that accessing supernatural gives man extraordinary abilities at the cost of his soul. Contrary to prior uses, Kes' mental powers are actually a part of her personality in this episode, which makes for a much more fulfilling viewing experience. Tuvok reveals some layers as well, the propensity for his own darkness, as well as an affection for and attachment to his mentorship of Kes. Vulcan discipline is a part of a larger ethos not of *rejecting* emotions, but of harnessing them in a healthy way, in contrast to Thanos' hedonistic approach. Aside from the Doctor, this is the most believable relationship we've seen Kes have so far. The story itself is pretty clunky. As an analogy for puberty, it works a hell of a lot better than “Elogium,” but as usual, techno-nonsense and plot contrivances get in the way. I'm reminded very much of the Traveller/Wesley arc from TNG, which had its ups (“Remember Me”) and downs (“Journey's End”). There's an attempt to blend the mystical with the sci-fi which works up unto a point, but hasn't been infused with enough artistry to really sing at this point, making it feel sort of psycho-babbly at times. The Suspiria stuff feels very much like an afterthought. They really should have had this be a two-parter (not necessarily back to back), with Kes meeting the wayward Ocampa here and eluding to the existence of the other Caretaker. Then, later we could have an episode where she actually makes her appearance. I don't know. This was a difficult episode to review as I struggled to put into words how I felt about the ideas present, probably because it requires a lot of work on the viewer's part to piece together the possible meanings within the story. I think Braga was on the right track here overall, but the story is overall rushed and anti-climactic. Final Score : **

@Elliott "...we are reminded of the existence of Banjoman's mate (whom I suspect guises herself as Lulu Hogg)" Are you comparing the Caretaker to Boss Hogg from "The Dukes of Hazzard"? If so, why do you have disrespect J.D.'s good name like that? He was a much more three-dimensional character than Banjoman (or Suspiria) ever was.

Sarjenka's Brother

There's this Caretaker that's been on my mind All the time, Sus-Sus-peria Oh oh Now she don't even know my name But I think she'll send me to the Alpha Quadrant just the same Sus-Sus-peria Woah oh (And as usual, I liked the episode more than the rest of you. 3 stars from Sarjenka and me).

Compare this episode with "Maneuvers", both of which follow up on plot threads laid down in the first season. Both pick a focal character related to the plot in question, but while "Maneuvers" uses Chakotay and the returning Seska well and advances the Kazon plotlines, "Cold Fire" wastes Suspiria, who we never see again. The appearance of the second Caretaker should have been a big deal, but it's a fairly small-scale, easily resolved controntation that lasts only a few minutes. The temptation of Kes with fantastic mental powers is a good storyline for the character, but should have been better balanced with the attempt to find and contact Suspiria, and Kes needed to be involved with the final confrontation since she's the focal character. It's not a bad episode, but could easily have been better. I'd agree with Jammer's rating of 2 and a half.

when you meet two aliens and one of them is the same name as the root from Rose marys Baby and the other is named after a horror movie, thats a red flag.....

As things started out, I was hopeful that something good might emerge from the episode. I always liked the ESP-corrupts-absolutely-superiority- power-lust angle ever since Gary Mitchell went over-the-top in 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' back in '66. We obviously have advanced a lot since Gary moved his paper cup at the sickbay water cooler all those years ago. Now through the genius of this stellar 1995 Teleplay, we can heat (nay, boil) the water inside a much more impressive, breakable cup. What an amazing 29 years it's been. We can also drain the interesting substance from the episode quicker than saying "Earl Grey- Hot", through mistakes in pacing. Tuvok is impressed by Kes' progress on the telepathy front; suggests that she exercise caution. However, before a discussion on this fairly intriguing philosophical issue on restraint can ensue, she super-heats her mind, the tea, his face, and everything goes from red to green and, since the director has gone to lunch, it's left up to the CGI geniuses to run the episode. Good going! Left on its own, the CGI department decides to 'phone in' its effects. Tim Russ is directed to perform gesture 441-b 'lift hands to either side of head, and feign paroxism'. His eyes turn yellow, rivulets of green flow from them and from his nose, while prosthetic bulking conveys the steamy, volcanic liquid within his Vulcan cranium. Director returns from lunch, mopping his mouth with a napkin, and says: "Cut to the Tuvok still, the one where he's on the floor with glowing eyes and a somewhat bloated mandible. Ok Kes, time to scream...that-a-girl.....beautiful. Cut, print, collect paycheck". On the following day: "Is that little girl from the agency here yet?" Started out being a 3, went to a 1.5 at the Tuvok head scene, to a 1.0 when Janeway fired the ray-gun, to .5 when the little girl was released from the forcefield, as Elliot said, off "to Exocompland or whatever" LOL! Aggregate score 1.5.

It seemed kind of forced for Suspiria to "suddenly" believe Janeway. She should have been cast as an unapologetic villainess outright. Her rule on the array is the type that has destroyed real-life civilizations in the past--the cult of personality.

Michael Freeman

One of the few Voyager episodes to re-fire the some of the surreal atmosphere of ST:TOS. I had a strong impression of Alice in Wonderland when Suspiria appears as the girl. There's a strong surrealist atmosphere even veering into horror elements with members of the crew floating in the air. If I'd been a kid when I saw this I'd be hiding behind the sofa !

Andrew Eastman

SIgh2000 was "hopeful that something good might emerge from the episode." It is fairly a universal theme that good is linked to light, that is something which we know benefits and we can see clearly as such. One does not have to have an ability as Elliott mentioned of "accessing (the) supernatural gives man extraordinary abilities at the cost of his soul." Powers to do evil come pretty naturally across peoples and nations, to our detriment. Kes felt darkness and despair at her choice of actions with her powers that could ultimately harm others. Tuvok also knew such evil, and employed other powers to inhibit such dark impulses, and giggles, to come into effect. We have all struggled against various evil emanating from within, and long to be "saved" from it. (But I love my wife's "giggles" and wouldn't change it :) ) Isaiah said God’s salvation or light, would reach the ends of the Earth. It was not salvation from a power from without, such as a military power. Jesus confirmed that this salvation is from the Jews. The LORD, “from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,” did choose the Jewish people to be the nation, from whom the Saviour of peoples of all nations would come from. Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well as mentioned in John 4: “You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about Him, for salvation comes through the Jews.” Jesus did show Himself and ministered and taught in Galilee. He spoke in the Jewish places of meeting, that is, the synagogues: “When Jesus had heard that John had been arrested, He left Judah and returned to Galilee. He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.” (Both regions being named after two sons of Jacob, a grandson of Abraham) “Jesus travelled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And He healed every kind of disease and sickness.” Something good was to emerge from what some considered an unlikely place. The Good News , of the Kingdom of Light, was spreading. The fact of Jesus, the light of the world, appearing in Galilee and ministering was in line with what the prophet Isaiah said. “Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.” BLACK GUARDIAN: These creatures have no knowledge of good or evil. Enlightenment will give them power. WHITE GUARDIAN: Light destroys the dark. I think you will find your contract terminated. (Enlightenment, Doctor Who episode- Mar, 1983) Those who believe in Christ are transferred into God’s Kingdom, a kingdom of light: “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves.” Darkness is often linked with evil and goodness with light. God commanded Adam not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil , but he did and suffered the consequence- death. All who followed also experience death, and do know good and evil. We know evil should not be embraced, but we all fall in many different ways to do various temptations at different times not to do good. In the this Star Trek:Voyager episode, Cold Fire, the Vulcan, Tuvok, talks to Kes, on what he believes “makes up” humanoids as being both good and evil, or light and darkness, with the darkness such as violent actions, to be learnt to be “controlled” : KES: I never realised I had such dark impulses. TUVOK: Without the darkness, how would we recognise the light? Jesus spoke of Himself as the Light that has come into the world: “And judgment is based in this fact. God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more that the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see they are doing what God wants.” Paul described those who believe in Christ, who recognise Him as He is, as those who “live in the light.” The apostles preached Christ as the Light come into the world: “You see we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God said: “Let there be light in the darkness” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not ourselves.” In the Doctor Who episode The Pilot, the Doctor answered a question concerning evil... BILL: Is everything out here evil? THE DOCTOR: Hardly anything is evil, but most things are hungry. Jesus said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” The Vulcan, Tuvok, in his talk with Kes described “controlling” dark impulses: TUVOK: The Vulcan heart was forged out of barbarism and violence. We learned to control it, but it is still part of us. To pretend it does not exist is to create an opportunity for it to escape. Paul denounced those who prescribed onerous and tough rules on the body, which he said “provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.” For Paul the answer to overcoming evil is Christ through whom God “canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross” and “forgave all our sins” making us free and alive in Christ. This Christ who is alive and lives in believers by His Spirit, is the One who believers should let their “roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him.” Those who have a “Christian heart” are those that are joined to Christ, who does empower them to overcome darkness/evil/sin, and ultimately death in the coming resurrection, to be as He is. Jesus does satisfy those who come to Him in faith wanting what is right and good in their lives, not what is evil. He completely dealt with sin on the cross, and as we see ourselves having died with Him, we understand the victory over sin He achieved, not like as Spock said what “saved” his people was learning to control barbarism and violence. According to Jesus, all who have turned to Him, being the Light, have turned away from evil. As Paul wrote to the Christian church in Ephesus: “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of the light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.” Likewise, James wrote about the wisdom from above from the Lord: “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” By believing in this light that came into the world- Jesus Christ, one becomes a child of God- hence joining the people of God, in other words, God’s household, who are from all nations in the world. This belief is in the One whose teaching is that He is the source of eternal life, and who produces only that which is good in believers. Peter wrote of those who believe in Christ: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” The "reset" button in Christ is real.

Correction: the Doctor Who episode, The Pilot, starring Peter Capaldi as The Doctor, and Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts, first aired in April 2017.

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Star Trek: Voyager – Cold Fire (Review)

This February and March, we’re taking a look at the 1995 to 1996 season of Star Trek , including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager . Check back daily Tuesday through Friday for the latest review.

Cold Fire is an episode that exemplifies the feeling that second season’s treading water.

Cold Fire opens with a somewhat unconventional recap of Caretaker . Unlike most “previously on…” sections of Star Trek: Voyager (or the Star Trek franchise as a whole), this block is narrated by Majel Barrett in-character as the ship’s computer. It becomes clear that Cold Fire is interested in following up on the dangling threads left by Caretaker , with the crew of Voyager encountering the female mate alluded to in Janeway’s conversations with the eponymous Nacene character from Caretaker .

Everything burns…

This should be a big deal. After all, the Caretaker is the character responsible for plucking Voyager and the Val Jean out of the Alpha Quadrant and depositing them on the other side of the galaxy. Finding another being with a similar amount of power presents a very real and tangible opportunity for Janeway to get her crew home. If the Caretaker could pull them all the way across the Milky Way, then it stands to reason that Suspiria could send them all the way back. Cold Fire presents a potential end to Voyager’s journey.

Unfortunately, Cold Fire never really does anything with that storytelling angle. Even when Janeway comes face-to-face with Suspiria at the climax of the episode, she never asks the powerful entity to send her crew home. So Cold Fire feels like an episode that spends forty-five minutes walking in circles, accomplishing little of note.

“It’s probably just the inertial dampeners acting up…”

Brannon Braga’s teleplay is candid about just how thoroughly it is hitting the “reset” button. To be fair, the first two seasons of Voyager would not abuse the “reset” button as frequently as the rest of the show, but the series would frequently roll back from the daring or challenging implications of certain episode plots. When State of Flux revealed Seska to be a member of the Obsidian Order, she was promptly beamed away from the ship. When Tuvok and Chakotay disobeyed orders in Prime Factors and Manoeuvres , they were never punished.

Here, the closing scenes emphasis that the episode has had no tangible impact on any of the characters. Everybody is back where they began. “We’ve resumed our course back to the Alpha Quadrant but the female Caretaker is still out there with the power to send us home,” Janeway reports. “And I will use all my power to find her and convince her to do just that.” That is a nice sentiment, but it also underscores how completely pointless this encounter with Suspiria has been.

“Yes. This is my office. I ahve been meaning to decorate.”

In fact, Cold Fire marks the last appearance for any Nacene characters and any hint of Ocampan culture beyond Kes and her relatives. When Seven of Nine broaches the topic in The Voyager Conspiracy , Janeway doesn’t seem too bothered. “The first time we met a Caretaker, we were pulled halfway across the galaxy,” Janeway explains. “The second time we were almost killed. I’m not eager for a third round.” Never mind the rule of three, the Nacene were lucky to get a second appearance.

Still, it does seem rather strange that Janeway should give up on getting home so easily. As much as the first half of the episode stresses the possibility that Suspiria could send them home, it seems like the last act completely forgets about it. As with any of Janeway’s encounters with Q, it seems like Janeway could gently broach the idea of sending the ship home once the dust has settled on the adventure in question. There is a perfect moment after Suspiria notes Janeway’s “mercy.” It would be the perfect time to add a quick, “if you haven’t anything better to do…”

Tanis courts…

To be fair, the production staff were never too excited at the idea of a recurring element focusing on the Nacene. In A Vision of the Future , Rick Berman explained that the “Bride of Caretaker” was just an element included in the pilot episode to help assuage concerns from the executives about the basic premise of Voyager :

The studio was very concerned when they first heard the pitch. they felt the idea of the ship being so far away from home was a bleak premise… a hopeless premise. It wasn’t quite “out there” like Star Trek is used to. It’s “getting back.” We convinced them that it didn’t have to be bleak. The inspiration of the captain, the professionalism of the crew. And frankly we made a concession to finally finish the sales job… we put the one-armed man out there – which is the other entity that we met in the pilot. It’s out there somewhere. We will try to find that entity and contact that entity more than once during the next several years because we know that the entity has the ability to send us back home.

This story is illuminating. It demonstrates the different pressures at work on Star Trek: Voyager as opposed to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . Deep Space Nine was syndicated, so no one network could object to the bleakness of a show set after a pseudo-holocaust. In contrast, Voyager aired on UPN, so it was subject to the demands of a fickle network.

It comes to a boil…

The fact that UPN considered the basic premise of Voyager to be “bleak” or “hopeless” explains so many of the defining creative decisions in the early first season. It explains why the show made a conscious choice to downplay tensions between the Starfleet and Maquis crews; it explains why the show has kept the ship pristine and “good as new” ; it explains why there have been so few plots about resources scarcity and so many holodeck stories. As tempting as it is to blame the writing staff, there were other forces at play.

On the other hand, it does demonstrate how lucky Deep Space Nine has been to escape most of these notes. Even the instruction to shake things up at the start of the fourth season was a lot less restrictive than the obligations imposed upon Voyager . Ira Steven Behr was able to get away with a massive intergalactic war storyline that spanned the final two seasons of the show, while the producers on Voyager were very much restricted to episodic storytelling that hewed rather close to the franchise template.

Mind over matter…

Even ignoring the contrivance of encountering Suspiria only to watch the entity escape, there is a sense of pointless futility to Cold Fire . Kes’ growth and development is largely undone by the end of the episode. In the final scene, she tells Tuvok, “I looked at the tea and I tried to make it boil, but nothing happened. Without Tanis’s help, I just can’t do it.” When Tuvok suggests that her latent psychic powers might manifest again, Kes responds, “To be honest, I never want to see that part of myself again.” It provides a very comfortable “out” in case the show decided to never return to that idea again.

Braga is aware of the fact that Cold Fire is just walking around in a giant circle. His script makes a point to bookend the episode with scenes between Kes and Tuvok in Tuvok’s quarters as Tuvok tries to help Kes master her psychic gift. There is a sense that both the audience and the characters have embarked on a fairly epic adventure, only to find themselves circling back around to the point whereupon they departed for their journey. For a ship that is heading straight towards the Alpha Quadrant, Voyager spends a lot of time covering the same ground, moving in circles.

No stone unturned…

And yet, despite all of this, there are some interesting elements of Cold Fire . The most obvious is that this is a Brannon Braga script. The writer loads the script with all manner of his favourite plot elements and motifs. Cold Fire feels like something of a classic science-fiction b-movie throwback. This aesthetic is perhaps best reflected in the sequences where Kes threatens to boil bother Tuvok and Tanis alive, not to mention the revelation that Suspiria is really a giant purple goo monster with tentacles.

Cold Fire is very much a horror story, one that aligns with the sensibilities of other second season episodes like Persistence of Vision or The Thaw . (Even – gasp! – Threshold. ) Once again, Janeway finds herself menaced by a young girl in the incongruous surroundings of Voyager. In Persistence of Vision , Beatrice waited for her in the corridors; in Cold Fire , Suspiria confronts her in engineering. It is interesting to wonder whether this recurring motif means anything beyond the fact that creepy little girls are scary.

Oh, Suspiria… you’re breaking my heart…

Are Beatrice and Suspiria reminders of a life that Janeway will never have due to her situation? Persistence of Vision forced Janeway to confront the fact that her lover was stranded half-way across the galaxy, with no evidence that she was alive. What began as a simple search and rescue mission has become a life-long journey. Janeway’s seventy-year mission back to Earth will cost her the opportunity to have a family; to have children. Given Jeri Taylor’s repeated emphasis on the denial of Janeway’s romantic and sexual desires, the creepy little girls are quite symbolic.

Of course, they could just be an effective piece of horror movie iconography reflecting Braga’s personal interest in the genre. Much like the effectively atmospheric sequence of Torres’ blood dripping on Janeway, it helps to create a suitably macabre mood. One of the more interesting (and quite often overlooked) aspects of the first two seasons of Voyager is the emphasis on the horror and brutality of travel in deep space. The Vidians are truly horrific aliens, but they are not the only ones.

Don’t worry, Kes, everything will be back to normal the next time we see the airponics bay…

Voyager is repeatedly menaced by all manner of non-humanoid monstrosities and existential horrors. It seems like the Delta Quadrant is populated by Lovecraftian horrors, whether it’s the gigantic space-dwelling organism of The Cloud , the mind-controlling brain-eating parasites of Cathexis , the twisted deep space reflections of Parallax , the waking nightmares of Persistence of Vision , or the mythical monster at the heart of Heroes and Demons . The trend does continue into the third season and beyond ( Microcosm and Bliss come to mind), but is most pronounced here.

In a weird way, this provides a very strong thematic connection back to the original Star Trek , where it often seemed like space was populated by horrors that could drive men insane. Caretaker had suggested that Voyager would tie back into the “space western” vibe of the original Star Trek , and so it is interesting that Cold Fire should emphasise that rather macabre connections that exist between Voyager and the original Star Trek show. It feels like the perfect place to bring them up.

Feeling the burn!

The horror elements are not the only aspects of Cold Fire that hark back to the sixties. In many ways, Voyager feels like a conscious science-fiction throwback. It has since Time and Again offered viewers a nuclear allegory set on a planet of people who dress in bright coloured jumpsuits. This is not always for the best – the Kazon feel like a rather regressive adversary for the crew, owing a lot to stock depictions of “savage” foreigners (non-whites) in westerns and adventure cinema. Still, Cold Fire touches quite heavily upon these sixties vibes.

Most obviously, the episode is built around Kes. Despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that Tuvok is a full-blooded Vulcan, Kes feels like the spiritual successor to Spock’s rich counter-cultural traditions. Kes is a young woman with pointed elf-like ears and latent telepathic abilities. She is the member of the main cast who is most vibrant and enthusiastic, and whose first major contribution to the journey was building an airponics bay to grow fruit and plants on an otherwise sterile starship.

Floating the idea…

Kes is very much a classical waif figure. She is a young woman from a magical and mystical race who was stolen away and kidnapped by the Kazon, only to be rescued by the Voyager crew. In fact, the official Star Trek website explicitly acknowledges Kes’ “waif-like air.” He pointed ears and her bob haircut are intended to evoke Spock, but they also suggest an androgynous look that evokes many contemporary depictions of elves in popular culture. (Tolkein tended to keep his elves beardless and suggested that male and female elves were no different “in strength and speed.” )

In many respects, Spock arrived at the perfect moment to become a counter-intuitive counter-culture figure. The half-Vulcan character really resonated with a generation of young viewers trapped between the world inherited from their parents and the idealistic world that they hoped to build for themselves. Kes feels like an attempt to hark back to some of those elements and ideas, even though the nineties did not really have an equivalent counter-cultural movement with which she might resonate.

Caretaker of the Caretaker’s remains…

It is worth noting that Tolkein’s epic The Lord of the Rings enjoyed a massive surge of popularity in the sixties, that it resonated with the same young audience who looked to Star Trek for a utopean future :

During the 1960’s, so many American youths were drawn to these diminutive creatures that Tolkien became something of a cult figure. “Frodo Lives” was a popular graffito of the time. T-shirts declared that “Tolkien is Hobbit-Forming.” It must be admitted that there was something escapist about this hobbit-habit. Perplexed by our nation’s carnage in Vietnam and by the ultimate threat of a nuclear inferno, a whole generation of young Americans could lose themselves and their troubles in the intricacies of this triple-decker epic. Indeed, the rumor got about — a wish seeking its fulfillment, no doubt — that Tolkien had composed The Lord of the Rings under the influence of drugs.

There is something rather ironic about this particular example of counter-culture. Much like Spock would seem uncomfortable championing “free love” , Tolkein was a somewhat unlikely counter-culture icon.

No elf-control…

Nevertheless, certain segments and themes of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings struck a chord with a generation struggling against impossible odds to change a world they found unfair or unreasonable :

Also appealing to the burgeoning anti-war, feminist and civil rights movement activists was Tolkien’s political subtext of the ‘little people’, the Hobbits, and their wizard ally, leading a revolution. The military industrial complex targeted by protestors resembled Mordor in its mechanised, impersonal approach to an unpopular war. When he is drafted into bearing the Ring to Mount Doom, Frodo feels an “overwhelming longing to rest and remain at peace… in Rivendell.” Those who led the fight against Sauron’s army stood reluctantly, hoping this would be the “War to End All Wars”. Likewise, Lady Éowyn of Rohan, struggling to overcome the limits of patriarchal society, answered Aragorn’s question, “What do you fear, lady?” with lines that resonated among the second wave feminists of the 1960s: “A cage,” Éowyn said. “To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”

It might not have been as overtly utopian as Star Trek , but readers took a lot of inspiration and hope from those epic fantasy tomes.

Heated discussion…

The portrayal of Kes as a elven (or waif-like) figure seems to represent a conscious effort to provide a crossover between the sixties idealism of Star Trek and the resurgence in fantasy at the same time. Similarly, Voyager puts as much emphasis on Kes’ psychic abilities as the original Star Trek did on those of Spock. While Star Trek: The Next Generation was generally quite clear about what Deanna Troi could and could not perceive, both Spock and Kes seemed to find their powers and skills constantly evolving.

Kes’ ability to “sense” the destruction of the planet in Time and Again evokes Spock’s ability to “hear” the sound of death echoing across the cosmos in The Immunity Syndrome ; notably, Tuvok is unaffected. In Persistence of Vision , Kes is able to “reflect” the Bothan visions back upon themselves; in that case, Tuvok is quite quickly captivated by a vision of his wife. If Chakotay is the member of the ensemble most mindful of the spiritual implications of life in the Delta Quadrant, it frequently seems like Kes is tuned to a higher wave-length than her fellow travellers.

“Be prepared.”

Cold Fire emphasises this idea, suggesting that Kes has truly incredible mental powers. Tanis offers to teach her to harness her skills, to develop her mind. Rather tellingly, he does so in a manner that evokes sixties psychedelia and consciousness expansion. “See past the liquid, not with your eyes, with your mind,” Tanis urges her at one point. “What your eyes show you is only the surface of reality. Look deeper.” It sounds a lot like the sort of New Age nonsense running through some of the show’s Chakotay scripts. At one point, Kes references “the fire in [her] mind.”

“The people on this ship, they live their lives trapped inside their primitive skulls, depending on flesh and bone to tell them what the universe is like,” Tanis explains. “They don’t know what it is to see beyond the physical. Touch it. This is how they know the universe. They touch the flower, their nerve impulses travel up their arm to the brain, and in their mind they sense the moisture of the petals, the texture of the leaves, the sharpness of the thorns, and think they know what it feels like. But they don’t.”

Food for thought…

Tanis seems to be espousing something akin to the expansion of consciousness, the New Age idea inexorably associated with sixties countercultural icons like Timothy Leary. As Ralph Metzner observed :

As far as I know, the concept of consciousness expansion was first used by Tim Leary and his associates at Harvard, to describe the effects of drugs like psilocybin and LSD, which were also later termed psychedelic (“mind-manifesting”). In a 1961 letter to Leary from Albert Hofmann, the discoverer of LSD expressed his appreciation to Leary for the concept of consciousness expansion, stating that he had been urging Aldous Huxley and others, that while the applications of LSD in psychiatry and pharmacotherapy were important, there were wider implications of these experiences for the enhancement of creativity and deeper understanding of the further reaches of the human mind. In this regard, Hofmann was far more open-minded than Huxley, R. Gordon Wasson and most psychiatrists, who tended to believe strongly that these drugs could only be used safely by psychiatric patients under medical supervision, or at best by elite intellectuals. Tim Leary’s approach was radically different, though it was not, as some believed, opposed to psychiatric research being done with psychedelics.

Tanis seems to suggest that Ocampans can expand their consciousness beyond the limitations of normal people – that they can see more, and more truly, than any of the other people on the ship.

Easy pray…

Cold Fire is quite overt about this sixties psychedelia. When Tanis communicates with Suspiria, he does so by sitting in a stance that feels like shorthand for “New Age meditation.” When Kes opens her mind to her incredible psychic power, the episode ramps up the saturation on the plants and flowers around her. The colours in the airponics bay seem ready to drown out the screen, evoking the brighter colour palette of sixties television. Even the flames that threaten to consume Kes are hyper-saturated a bright red rather than a more grounded yellow.

In these respects, Cold Fire does feel like a conscious effort to evoke the mood and tone of the sixties. However, there is a sense of conservatism underlying all of this. Much like the original Star Trek was never quite sure what to make of the counterculture movement, Voyager is rather uncomfortable and awkward with the idea of Kes’ hyperactive psychedelic powers. As much as the episode trades in imagery and clichés associated with consciousness expansion, it seems rather wary of the prospect.

Scream queen…

After all, Tanis turns out to be a selfish and manipulative villain who uses his psychic powers for his own gratification rather than for any intrinsic good. His dialogue with Kes suggests that he has moved beyond good and evil, which is the Star Trek franchise’s shorthand for “this character has evolved too far.” after Kes kills everything in the airponics bay, he assures her, “Help people, hurt them, give life, kill, it’s all the same. Once you see beyond the physical, you see the universe as it truly is.”

More than that, the episode suggests that Kes has been playing with metaphorical fire – hence the title and the burning motif. It is suggested that Kes is toying with forces that exist beyond her control. There is a sense that maybe Kes should leave some doors closed. The episode ends with Kes disavowing any interest in developing those particular muscles. This could be read as an example of the franchise’s recurring fears and anxieties around transhumanism, but also as a rather cynical rejection of the countercultural movement as a whole.

Kathryn Janeway, godkiller…

As with Braga’s script for Emanations , there is a clear religious subtext to Cold Fire . As with Emanations , it seems like Braga is deeply uncomfortable with the power that organised religion can hold. After all, Tanis is very clearly attempting to “convert” Kes. In fact, Tanis’ conversations with Kes are juxtaposed against Tuvok’s lessons with Kes. While Tuvok espouses logic and rationality, Tanis simply spouts nonsensical clichés and New Age mysticism in place of any practical guidance.

Caretaker suggested that the Ocampa had an almost religious relationship with the eponymous alien overseer; after all, the being took care of the Ocampa’s needs and the very name “Caretaker” suggests a loving parent. In Cold Fire , it is revealed that Suspiria took some Ocampa with her when she left. While the religious subtext of Caretaker is quite benign, Cold Fire offers a more horrifying and unsettling devotion to a divine figure. As if referencing that quote about the difference between religion and insanity, Tanis does not just talk to Suspiria; she talks back to him.

Kes and tell…

When the crew inquire about the nature of Suspiria, Tanis seems to suggest that he does not question. When he is asked is Suspiria lives on another array, he replies, “Oh, nothing so corporeal as that. She exists as pure sporocystian energy. She only assumes physical form when we need to communicate with her.” Chakotay has his Star Trek techno-babble hat on. “Does she occupy our space-time continuum?” Tanis simply shrugs. It does not matter, ultimately. “I don’t know. All I know is, when we need her, she comes.”

If Suspiria is a god, then Cold Fire makes it clear that she is a vengeful and petty god who ultimately proves no match for the reason and science of the resourceful Voyager crew. Tuvok is able to improvise a weapon that is capable of paralysing Suspiria, at the very least. Tanis is ultimately little more than a spoilt child who has grown detached and removed from the universe around him. This is perhaps another respect in which Cold Fire feels like something of a throwback to the aesthetic of classic Star Trek .

Mole-cools…

Cold Fire is also notable for the introduction of actor Gary Graham. Graham would go on to play the recurring role of Ambassador Soval on Star Trek: Enterprise , becoming one of the few characters to guest star in all four seasons of the show. Reflecting on his appearance in Voyager , Graham noted some tension on the series :

Though I enjoyed most of the cast members on Voyager, the tone on the set was tense. It wasn’t like the very relaxed and joyously creative set I’d grown used to on Alien Nation. The Enterprise set was also a very relaxed set.

This seems quite consistent with other reports of life in and around the production of Voyager . Still, Gary Graham does a good job as Tanis, portraying a suitably cold and detached antagonist for the episode. Watching his performance, it makes sense that the production team would cast him as a Vulcan.

Light ’em up, light ’em up!

Cold Fire is a solid and interesting episode, if not an exceptional one. It underscores just how much the first two seasons of Voyager could feel like a throwback to the classic sixties aesthetic of the original Star Trek . Unfortunately, that includes the sense that the status quo can never really change, and that all the pieces must be put back at the end of the hour.

21 Responses

You aren’t familiar with SFDebris. So I thought I’d share with you his alternate idea for “Endgame”. Instead of the Borg transwarp tunnel, the reveal is that the Borg have managed to put Suspiria into a stasis field are are slowly trying to assimilate it. The rest of the episode plays out like before, except that once the crew rescues the Caretaker’s mate, she warps them back to earth as a token of thanks.

“It might not have been as overtly utopian as Star Trek, but readers took a lot of inspiration and hope from those epic fantasy tomes.”

Yeah, as the last couple season of Stargate proved, “Camelot in space” is a goofy concept which can work.

It’s yet another Voyager idea which makes you go ‘aha’, but probably doesn’t translate as well to the screen. (the fifth season episode “Once Upon a Time” is trying for a fairytale feel. But in the end, it’s the same studio jungle backdrop and rubber suits we’ve grown used to.) The show’s reach exceeded it’s grasp at times.

(The poor sods just can’t win with me!)

In a way it reminds me a great deal of Doctor Who. You know, the show can play about with magical realism and folklore. But in the end it’s always lupus, I mean spaceships. In spite of the limitless storytelling possibilities of the science fantasy medium, it still works according to very rigid rules. Is this an inherent flaw in serialized storytelling? If you change it too much, it is no longer the marketable name we remember.

That’s not a bad idea re: Endgame. It would certainly bring Voyager in something approaching a full circle and avoid the “gee, let’s kill everything!” resolution.

I remember quite liking the idea of Once Upon a Time in theory, if not in practice. But, then, I was a Bryan Fuller apologist before it was cool.

By the way…. “Elf-control?” I would be more accepting of Kes if she were played by Pat Benatar, in space.

I’ve been sitting on “elf-control” for a while now. It seemed like the perfect time.

Part of Sfdebris’ frustration with Voyager & Enterprise is that after 7 years of lupus the creators decided they’d like another 11 of the same thing – that is, the Star Trek label gave them power, influence and stability that no other newly-debuting sci-fi show would be permitted yet they chose to play it safe (lupus!) almost every week.

Due in part to my loyalty to Trek, I ignored Stargate during its run. Visiting the series for the first time now, I’m amazed to find it wasn’t simply a well-made production, at times it was also strangely out-Trekking Trek. Despite Starfleet being “not military” in the minds of fans and the SG-1 crew being military by profession, the SG-1 characters seem a lot less eager to resort to violence. Like, they tend to approach problems wondering, “how can we stop this from escalating?” or “we’ve done something wrong by accident, how do we make it right?” So much more humility and sensibility to be found there than in any of the empty threats Janeway would growl over the viewscreen for 7 years.

I wonder if it isn’t the influence of Roddenberry and his belief in humanity’s innate greatness that the Trek crews so often seem to treat the universe as their personal playground.

I’m very fond of Stargate, but I’ll admit that I largely stopped watching when the production team phased out the original cast; Richard Dean Anderson and Don S. Davis. (Shanks left and came back, if I recall; poor Jonas.) It’s funny you should compare it to Star Trek; I remember that Sky One used to rotate it into and out of the 5pm weekdays slot, alternating with The Next Generation and Voyager.

This is the voyager episode that set the precedent the Voyager crew could defeat god like aliens . This unfortunately led to God-awful episodes like the q and the grey.

The writing for the action shows are like a stoner version of “Can You Top This”.

“Yo , let’s have the whole Voy crew turn into Borgs!” “Hey, let’s have Voyager take on a Borg Supercube and win!” “Nah man! Let’s have the Borg Queen try to assimilate Janeway and get assimilated by VOYAGER instead!”

The scary part is that this stuff is actually influential. So many fans think of Janeway as the most badass captain when violence is supposed to be antithetical to the whole Trek philosophy. I admit I get a fanboy chill whenever Mulgrew picks up a huge gun (usually the cannon is as tall if not taller than Janeway herself) or orders Tuvok to blow something up. But Star Trek is definitely catering to a more “low brow” audience than TOS and TNG usually did.

It’s a fair point. As we’ve discussed before, Voyager certainly worked most consistently (and seemed to generate the strongest positive response) when it went into full blockbuster mode. This is most obvious with the big two-parters that begin with a teaser in Future’s End and then ramp up across the run of the show. (Both “Dark Frontier” and “Flesh and Blood” were sold as mid-season “movies”, very much of the blockbuster variety.)

And Voyager: the Borg slayer!

I like Kes but – and this might be my D&D roots – I have trouble seeing her as an Elf. Tolkein’s Elves (and Gygax’s) are rather static beings, their fragility and beauty hiding an unchanging lifestyle – I’d argue that their longevity (be it the literal agelessness of Tolkein or the ‘mere’ four hundred or so years of RPGs) is a vital part of the Elf idea.

The Ocampans have some of the trappings of Elves but they lack that essential quality.

(Then again, as I’ve said before, I’ve always read Spock as a deeply conservative and flawed figure – the child of a mixed race who does his best to cover up and erase half his heritage out of shame – so I might just be out of step or sympathy with the counter culture on both.)

That’s a very fair point. On the other hand, Kes spends about a third of her life on Voyager, and doesn’t seem to change that much at all, relatively speaking.

(And you’re entirely right that Spock as a counter-cultural figure is an awkward fit, but that didn’t stop them from appropriating him. Much like Tolkein’s conservatism didn’t stop counter-culture from appropriating his work as well.)

Was Majel Barrett narrating as the ship’s computer or just as a narrator? Janeway does hint for Suspiria to send them home. Some of the dialogue in the teaser is different from Caretaker so some of that must have been reshot or reedited. I wonder if Tuvok could hear Neelix’s thoughts as well? The Caretaker’s remains look like something Neelix cooked up. We get to see a bit of Neelix’s jealousy flaring up again when Tanis asks Kes to stay with the Ocampa. Eventually, Kes comes to agree with Tanis that she can’t stay on Voyager in The Gift.

Why does it take 47hrs for Suspiria to respond and not 48 – oh wait, because it’s Star Trek’s lucky number. I thought the ending was a bit rushed, like in Non Sequitur. What did Suspiria do to the rest of the Engineering staff? It’s eerily deserted when Janeway comes down there and how did Tuvok and B’Elanna survive that fall? When Kes has her mental confrontation with Tanis, Jennifer Lien does her best Charlie X impression. There’s quite a few bloody noses and eyes in Cold Fire. In a Christmas episode of Frasier, he admitted he had been waiting to say “low elf-esteem” for a few days.

I thought Barrett read the previouslies in the same monotone that she uses for her computer voice, but it could also be interpreted as a monotone announcer voices, I suppose.

The writers left the matter with Suspiria unresolved because they wanted to keep her around as a get-out clause just in case Voyager failed (it was at this point the show was slipping in the ratings) but by the time of The Voyager Conspiracy in S6 where Janeway didn’t want to meet the Nacene again, the writers must have felt Voyager would reach the 7yr finish line after all.

Frankly, no script goes in circles for no reason at all and still makes it past the cutting room floor. Sometimes reviewers review like big, well funded studios have no internal governors and what happens is just the creative process.

Take for instance the casting of a 10 year girl easily recognized as the My Size Barbie girl to be the wizen old caretaker’s “mate,” Suspiria, itself derived from Latin meaning roughly “sighs from the depths.” Why even create a 10 year old girl whose voice suddenly changes to the husky voice of a matron, but who is easily defeated by a determined Kes fumbling with her latent psychic powers in another part of the ship?

I think it’s fairly obvious to the cynical minded. It would explain that rare mid season opening flashback to the series’ pilot (a first for the franchise I believe). It reminds everyone just who was Suspiria’s spouse by actually showing him. Later, Janeway presents the female being with the dead lump of her former lover and actually expects the woman-girl to help them all get back home. It’s a rattle trap of non sequitar indulgence.

Aside from explaining that the 70+ male caretaker is the lover of this 10 year old girl (and wrecking my dinner btw) to imply the image of her bouncing happily on the old man’s knee at some point even younger, threatening Janeway with another child is likely the only other reason this episode exists at all. In this version of the future, everyone knows those little kids are superpredators in tiny, weak packages. Braga should have his head examined for this creepy adultist plot, but not on my nickel.

Janeway doesn’t present Suspiria with the Caretaker’s remains Ang Hays. Suspiria leaped to the wrong conclusion because Voyager destroyed the Array believing that is what killed the Caretaker.

Not a great episode, or even a good one, but it’s interesting how referential this episode is. “Suspiria” is obvious. Giving Suspiria the voice of a hoarse woman is a shout-out to The Exorcist, “Tanis” is a shout-out to Rosemary’s Baby, and Kes’ duel with Tanis is a shout-out to Scanners. Too bad it’s such a non-starter of an episode.

Older men and little girls is theme that runs throughout Voyager, and the Caretaker narrative is the pilot plot for the whole series. Besides Susperia and Caretaker, we have Kes as a 1 year old paired with middle aged Neelix. Neelix later becomes the creepy “godfather” to Naomi Wildman who is played by an actual child just like Susperia. Then, Seven of Nine, who has the social skills of a child is paired with Chocotay, again, a much older man. Other little girls turn out to be adults as in “Innocence” or to be fake children as in “Flashback.” The age play can’t be denied because it is that important to the stories told in Voyager, the real question is interpretation. I am developing my own in terms of sexualized children during the 80s and 90s. Voyager works perfectly for that historical period and for its near universal approval by its fan base.

This is really, really good. Have you written more on this elsewhere?

I have a bit of a soft-spot for it, but I’m admittedly a sucker for “Braga does pulp.” It reminds me a lot of Persistence of Vision. Neither is a great episode, but they are pretty decent in the context of the season as a whole.

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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E10ColdFire

Recap / Star Trek Voyager S 2 E 10 "Cold Fire"

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Tuvok is helping Kes develop her Psychic Powers , allowing her to hear Neelix's thoughts before her amusement severs the connection. Tuvok promises to help her control her emotional "outbursts" in the future. Kes arrives late to her shift at Sick Bay, where suddenly the crystalized remains of the Caretaker begin making a high-pitched sound. Torres investigates and discovers that the crystal is resonating with an outside source of sporocystian energy, leading Janeway to suspect that it's picking up signals of the Caretaker's wayward mate. Torres hooks the crystal up to some machinery to use as a compass, and they set off in search of the entity. On the way, Janeway agrees to Tuvok's suggestion that they work on developing a toxin to subdue the entity in case she becomes hostile.

The ship arrives at a Space Station that looks very similar to the Caretaker's array, though much smaller. Kim notes that the station is filled with Ocampa. But as the ship draws closer, they're fired upon. The station's commander, Tanis, orders the ship to go away, but Janeway introduces him to Kes, a fellow Ocampa, and Tanis agrees to meet with them on Voyager. Onboard, Tanis tells Janeway that Voyager has developed a reputation as a "ship of death," and that they're believed to have killed the Caretaker. Janeway denies all of this. He also reveals that his people's own caretaker, Suspiria, has helped them evolve, increasing their lifespan and psychic abilities. He invites Kes to join them, and Janeway urgers her to think it over. After Tanis returns to his station, however, he telepathically promises to deliver Voyager to Suspiria.

Tanis agrees to take Voyager to Suspiria's location. On the way, he teaches Kes how to move objects and raise their temperatures with her abilities. She demonstrates these abilities to Tuvok but becomes unable to shut them off , nearly burning Tuvok alive. But Kes continues learning from Tanis, who unlocks her ability to summon a huge firestorm that burns all of her plants. He tells her that soon she will evolve beyond her crewmates and be able to join Suspiria in a realm of pure thought.

Suspiria arrives on the ship looking like a little girl, and it turns out that she's on a mission to avenge her mate. She starts to destabilize the ship. Kes figures out what's happening and fights Tanis off using her new psychic powers. The captain uses Tuvok's anti-sporocystian weapon to stun Suspiria and lock her behind a forcefield. However, to Suspiria's surprise, Janeway grants mercy to her and Tanis, allowing them to leave unharmed. When they've gone, Janeway vows to seek out Suspiria in the future and convince her to take the ship home. Without Tanis, Kes's psychic abilities have greatly diminished, and she returns to Tuvok for training. She regrets the dark impulses that made her lose control of her abilities, but Tuvok assures her that everyone has these impulses, and Kes simply needs to learn to control them.

This episode contains examples of the following tropes:

Aborted Arc : Suspira never appears again after this episode, ending any involvement by the Caretaker and his species in Voyager's efforts to get home.
Arc Number : The ship is 47 hours from the location of Suspiria, a recurring number throughout the Star Trek franchise.
Attack Hello : The Array greets our heroes by shooting at Voyager.
Beware the Nice Ones : Kes. When he hurts Neelix, she turns her newly heightened psychic abilities against Tanis, and he's utterly unable to defend himself against her.
Blood from Every Orifice : Tanis when Kes starts getting pissed off .
Book Ends : The episode starts and ends with Tuvok instructing Kes.
The remains of the Caretaker that the crew retrieved in the pilot episode.
Tuvok's anti-sporocystian toxin gets used before the episode is done.
Creepy Child : Suspiria appears in the form of a weeping human girl-child, but quickly turns nasty.
Cult : Although the episode doesn't get into it explicitly, the way Tanis describes life on Suspiria's station has all the hallmarks of a cult. He promises Kes that she can unlock her latent potential and live longer. He gives her an intense sensory experience and entices her to destroy something she loves, while trying to isolate her from her friends by telling her that she's better than them. And sufficiently advanced Ocampa get to go to "Exosia" where they experience communion with Suspiria in thought and energy.
Easily Forgiven : Rather than castigate Kes for nearly getting him killed, Tuvok advises her to treat the incident as a learning experience and remains committed to instructing her because the incident certainly demonstrates that she needs to practice her control. He even forestalls her apology by saying that guilt is not a particularly useful emotion.
Evil Feels Good : Kes receives a taste of this when her new mentor shows her new heights of her power and she ends up burning all the plants in the hydrobay. She confesses later to Tuvok that this power felt good, even though she knew there was something bad about it.
Evil Sounds Deep : Suspiria's child-avatar when she starts getting nasty (courtesy of a voice-over by Majel Barrett ).
Failure Is the Only Option : It's only season 2, which means the crew is not going to succeed in persuading Suspiria to yeet them back to the Alpha Quadrant.
Hero with Bad Publicity : A later episode reveals that the Kazon have been damaging Voyager 's reputation to prevent them gaining allies. Tanis: Captain, are you aware of how your ship is regarded? That when Voyager appears people fear destruction . Other Ocampan: Your ship is known as a ship of death . Janeway: (incredulous) What? Tanis: You've established quite a reputation. You killed the Caretaker , declared war on the Kazon , raided planets for their resources... Chakotay: None of that is true. We've never attacked anyone except in self-defense. Tuvok: And we did not kill the Caretaker. He died of natural causes.
Innocent Flower Girl : Inverted when Kes burns up all her flowers... and likes it.
It's a Long Story Tanis: What would an Ocampa be doing on an alien starship? Kes: It's a long story. But I'd like to know what an Ocampa is doing on an alien space station. Tanis: That is also a long story.
Layman's Terms Torres: We've placed the remains in a hexiprismatic field, Captain. The next time it responds to sporocystian energy, the field should give us a heading to the source. Janeway: You're using the remains like a compass.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast : It should be no surprise that the entity is malevolent upon hearing that her name is "Suspiria."
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain : Tanis gives Kes the powers needed to interrupt Suspiria long enough for Janeway to grab the anti-sporocystian weapon.
Oh, Crap! : Kes is initially happy to sense Suspiria, but is then horrified to sense her malevolence.
Power Incontinence : Kes suffers a terrifying instance of this when she accidentally starts boiling Tuvok's blood while trying to push her abilities.
Pragmatic Hero : A minor but important example; Tuvok notes that the Caretaker was a powerful entity who could have easily done them great harm if he'd been so inclined, and so is given permission to study the Caretaker's remains and devise a weapon that could be used against Suspiria if she proves to be hostile.
Previously on… : Majel Barrett reminds us of events in "Caretaker" ten months ago.
Pstandard Psychic Pstance : Tanis making contact with Suspiria.
Psychic Powers : Telepathy & Telekinesis
Rain of Blood : Janeway is trying to communicate with Suspiria when she feels blood drip onto her shoulder. She looks up and sees Tuvok and B'Elanna suspended above her head .
Revenge Myopia : Suspiria believes that Voyager killed her mate , and isn't interested in listening to Janeway telling her otherwise.
Screaming Woman : On seeing Tuvok in convulsions, Kes delivers a terrified shriek.
Space Station : A smaller Array houses the Ocampa colony.
Starfish Alien : Suspiria is a "sporocystian lifeform".
Status Quo Is God : In the end, the ship is right back to square one, and Kes's psychic abilities have returned more or less to where they started.
They Were Holding You Back : Tanis urges Kes to abandon the crew to whatever fate Suspiria has in mind for them. He doesn't know Kes very well.
Violently Protective Girlfriend : When Tanis assaults Neelix, Kes snaps and attacks him, taking him out of the fight quite easily.
What Measure Is a Non-Super? : Tanis is only interested in Kes, and even though the crew's behavior doesn't match their "ship of death" reputation, has no interest in the possibility that Suspiria might be wrong in judging them guilty of killing the Caretaker.
What Happened to the Mouse? : We never see Suspiria again.
You Are Not Alone
You Leave Him Alone! : Neelix yells this when Kes' new mentor is pushing the distressed girl to come with them and not worry about the fate of the crew. It doesn't work, but seeing him thrown backwards causes Kes to get dangerous.
Star Trek Voyager S 2 E 9 "Tattoo"
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Voyager encounters people of Kes's race, the Ocompa, living on a space station; they lead the crew to the female of the Caretaker's species, who believes they caused the Caretaker's death.

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Cold Fire Stardate: 49164.8 Original Airdate: November 13 1995

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While attempting to make contact with the Caretaker’s mate (who may have the ability to send Voyager home), the crew discovers a colony of Ocampa whose representative has an interest in Kes and helping her explore her telepathic powers.

In this episode of the podcast, Wes and Clay discuss “Cold Fire” and the “exciting” “return” of “Gary” Graham to our Star Trek adventure. Plus! The guys talk about names that seem to be homages, finding everything on the path home, and melting Tuvok’s brain.

Post author By Wes
Post date 09/06/2022

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | More

It’s like Billy Joel said: Voyager didn’t start the “Cold Fire”! It was always burning since the galaxy’s been turning. Janeway, warp drive, Chakotay has no character drive. Neelix, Tuvok, Delta Quadrant run amok.

The Wikipedia plot summary of “Cold Fire”:

Kes and the Doctor notice a peculiar change in the remains of the Caretaker, the alien who trapped Voyager in the Delta Quadrant . They seem to be resonating in response to an unusual energy source. Remembering that the dying Caretaker had mentioned a female of his kind, Janeway wonders if she could be nearby. If so, a meeting with her could be their ticket home. As a precaution, Tuvok develops a toxin that could debilitate the female lifeform if she poses a threat. Following the energy trail, the crew comes upon a space-station inhabited by Ocampa, who fire on the ship.

Kes agrees to act as the crew’s liaison to her people, and when the Ocampa leader, Tanis, boards Voyager , she assures him that the crew comes in peace. In a private meeting, Tanis tells Kes that the female Nacene, Suspiria, is nearby. She has taken care of this group of Ocampa for 300 years, and has taught them to develop their psychokinetic skills. He shows Kes a sample of the powerful abilities she has yet to tap. Later, Tanis communicates with Suspiria, who demands that he deliver Voyager to her.

As Tanis leads the crew to Suspiria, he tutors Kes on her telepathic skills. The lessons nearly end in disaster when Kes tries to boil water with her mind and, to her horror, inadvertently boils Tuvok’s blood instead. He collapses, writhing in agony.

Tuvok recovers from the near-fatal incident. Kes realizes the full potential of her mental powers when her mind causes the plants in the aeroponics bay to burn up. Tanis urges Kes to leave Voyager and live on the Ocampa space-station, where he says she will be embraced by Suspiria and surrounded by her own people.

Suspiria, who believes the lies spread by the Kazon and others about Voyager , comes aboard. She tells Janeway that she will destroy them in retaliation for the crew’s having killed the Caretaker. By the time Kes becomes aware of her monstrous plot, Suspiria has already attacked several officers. Kes, in turn, attacks Tanis with her expanded psychic abilities, and Tanis’s pain temporarily incapacitates Suspiria. Janeway is then able to fire the toxin, subduing her. Janeway allows Suspiria and Tanis to leave the ship, while Kes remains with her friends on Voyager .

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Ray wise's 2 star trek roles explained.

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Fire Walk With Boimler: Star Trek & Twin Peaks' Secret Connection

Star trek celebrations: pride is a wonderful tribute to the franchise's lgbtqia+ characters, star trek fleet command codes (june 2024).

Ray Wise portrayed Liko in TNG & Arturis in Voyager, showcasing his range in the Star Trek franchise.
Wise's memorable role in Twin Peaks as Leland Palmer is just one example of his extensive acting career.
Numerous actors from Twin Peaks, such as Carel Struycken and Michael J. Anderson, have also appeared in Star Trek episodes.

Twin Peaks actor Ray Wise portrayed two different characters in the Star Trek franchise. Wise's first Star Trek appearance came in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 4, "Who Watches the Watchers," in which he plays Liko, a member of a Vulcan-like species being observed by the United Federation of Planets. In Star Trek: Voyager season 4, episode 26, "Hope and Fear," Wise portrayed Arturis, a member of an unnamed species designated Species 116. Ray Wise is most known for his role in Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me as Leland Palmer, the father of the ill-fated Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), whose murder becomes the central mystery of the series.

Prior to the genre-bending Twin Peaks , Wise appeared in episodes of Dallas, The A-Team, Knots Landing, and L.A. Law . Wise stayed busy after Twin Peaks ended, continuing to appear in various episodes of popular television shows, including Charmed, Dawson's Creek, The West Wing, 24, CSI, Law & Order: SVU, and Castle . Wise played Robin Sr. in six episodes of How I Met Your Mother , Ed Baxter in five episodes of Mad Men , and Marvin in 91 episodes of Fresh Off the Boat. Wise has also appeared in nearly 100 movies, including X-Men: First Class, Swamp Thing, Jeepers Creepers 2, God's Not Dead 2, and Chris Pine's Poolman.

Star Trek: Lower Decks just gave a subtle shout-out to David Lynch's cult classic, Twin Peaks. Does Boimler know who killed Laura Palmer?

Ray Wise Appeared In Star Trek: TNG & Voyager

In star trek: the next generation season 3, episode 4 - "who watches the watchers" & star trek: voyager season 4, episode 26, "hope and fear".

In Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Who Watches the Watchers," Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-D head to the planet Mintaka III to resupply the Federation outpost there. The Federation has been secretly monitoring the Mintakan people to see how their proto-Vulcan society progresses. When their holographic camouflage malfunctions, Ray Wise's Liko sees it and is injured when he tries to investigate. Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) then beams Liko to the Enterprise to treat his injuries. She attempts to erase his memories of the encounter, but the procedure is unsuccessful, leaving Liko with the belief that Captain Picard is a god.

In "Who Watches the Watchers," a scientist named Palmer goes missing, which results in multiple characters referencing his name as they search for him. Ray Wise's character on Twin Peaks is named Leland Palmer and "Who killed Laura Palmer?" became a tagline for the show.

Ray Wise's character in Star Trek: Voyager's "Hope and Fear," Arturis, visits the USS Voyager after helping Neelix (Ethan Phillips) acquire supplies. As his species can translate almost any language, Arturis helps decode an encrypted message that Voyager received from Starfleet. Former Borg drone Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) grows suspicious of Arturis and Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) later comes to share her suspicions. Arturis eventually reveals that his homeworld was recently assimilated by the Borg and he blames Voyager for interfering in the war between the Borg and Species 8472 . Thankfully, Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and Voyager's crew are able to thwart Arturis's plan before he turns them over to the Borg.

Ray Wise Is One Of Many Twin Peaks Actors In Star Trek

Twin peaks returned with an 18-episode revival on showtime in 2017, with many of the main cast returning..

Ray Wise is certainly not the only actor from David Lynch's cult classic to pop up in Star Trek . Carel Struycken portrayed the imposing Giant on Twin Peaks , who sometimes appeared in the dreams of Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan). Struycken appeared in several episodes of Star Trek , as Mr. Homn, the mostly silent valet of Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett). Michael J. Anderson also played a mysterious figure who popped up in Cooper's dreams, a character known as The Man From Another Place. Anderson appeared in an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Rumpelstiltskin.

Wendy Robie and Madchen Amick both had major roles in Twin Peaks , as Nadine Hurley and Shelly Johnson, respectively, but only played minor roles in Star Trek . Robie played a Cardassian scientist on DS9, while Amick appeared as an incarnation of a shapeshifter on TNG . In Twin Peaks, Richard Beymer played Benjamin Horne, and he appeared in three episodes of DS9 as Bajoran resistance leader Li Nalas. David Warner has three Star Trek roles, including Klingon Chancellor Gorkon in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Cardassian Gul Madred in TNG's "Chain of Command" two-parter. In Twin Peaks , Warner plays the menacing Thomas Eckhardt. There are many more connections between Twin Peaks and Star Trek , and both series have come to have passionate and devoted fan bases.

Twin Peaks and every live-action Star Trek show are available to stream on Paramount+.

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The Angriest: Star Trek: Voyager: "Cold Fire"
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Watch Star Trek: Voyager Season 2 Episode 10: Star Trek: Voyager
"Star Trek: Voyager" Cold Fire (TV Episode 1995)
Star Trek: Voyager Season 2 Episode 10 Recap

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"Star Trek: Voyager" Cold Fire (TV Episode 1995)
Cold Fire: Directed by Cliff Bole. With Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Jennifer Lien. The Caretaker's remains resonate, which might well mean that its mate is nearby. The trail leads to a space colony of Ocampa with psychokinetic powers.
Cold Fire (Star Trek: Voyager)
"Cold Fire" is the 26th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the tenth episode in the second season. The episode aired on UPN on November 13, 1995. It is a direct sequel to the series premiere "Caretaker" and explores the existence of another entity belonging to the Caretaker alien's species.This is also the first episode since "Caretaker" to depict members of the Ocampa species other than Kes.
Cold Fire (episode)
While attempting to make contact with the Caretaker's mate (who may have the ability to send Voyager home), the crew discovers a colony of Ocampa whose representative has an interest in Kes and helping her explore her telepathic powers. Ten months previously, the USS Voyager was pulled into the Delta Quadrant by a powerful being known as the Caretaker. When he died, the crew of Voyager were ...
"Star Trek: Voyager" Cold Fire (TV Episode 1995)
"Star Trek: Voyager" Cold Fire (TV Episode 1995) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Menu. ... Essential Star Trek Voyager episodes a list of 47 titles created 08 Mar 2019 Star Trek: Voyager (Season 2/ 2ª Temporada) a list of 26 titles ...
Star Trek: Voyager: Season 2, Episode 10
Star Trek: Voyager - Season 2, Episode 10 Cold Fire Aired Nov 13, 1995 Sci-Fi Fantasy Adventure. Reviews Colonists on an alien space station lead the crew to the female mate of the Caretaker, ...
"Cold Fire"
Wed, Aug 20, 2014, 2:09am (UTC -5) This showing is a prime example of why Voyager, as a series, frustrates the hell out of me. We get a fantastic recap opening scene to set up a potentially great episode. This scene is followed by a few acts of nicely done character growth for the oft under-utilized Kes.
Star Trek: Voyager
Cold Fire is an episode that exemplifies the feeling that second season's treading water. Cold Fire opens with a somewhat unconventional recap of Caretaker. Unlike most "previously on…" sections of Star Trek: Voyager (or the Star Trek franchise as a whole), this block is narrated by Majel Barrett in-character as the ship's computer.
Star Trek Voyager S 2 E 10 "Cold Fire" / Recap
Recap /. Star Trek Voyager S 2 E 10 "Cold Fire". Tuvok is helping Kes develop her Psychic Powers, allowing her to hear Neelix's thoughts before her amusement severs the connection. Tuvok promises to help her control her emotional "outbursts" in the future. Kes arrives late to her shift at Sick Bay, where suddenly the crystalized remains of the ...
Cold Fire
Episode Guide for Star Trek: Voyager 2x10: Cold Fire. Episode summary, trailer and screencaps; guest stars and main cast list; and more.
Star Trek: Voyager season 2 Cold Fire
Star Trek: Voyager follows the adventures of the Federation starship Voyager, which is under the command of Captain Kathryn Janeway.Voyager is in pursuit of a rebel Maquis ship in a dangerous part of the Alpha Quadrant when it is suddenly thrown 70,000 light years away to the Delta Quadrant. With much of her crew dead, Captain Janeway is forced to join forces with the Maquis to find a way back ...
Cold Fire
Colonists on an alien space station lead the crew to the female mate of the Caretaker, who may have the ability to send them home.
Cold Fire
The crew encounters new hope of returning home when Ocampa colonists lead them to a mysterious female entity who may have the ability to help them.
Star Trek: Voyager: Cold Fire
"Cold Fire" is the tenth episode of the second season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. ... Star Trek: Voyager: Cold Fire. Edit Edit source View history Talk (0) "Cold Fire" Series Star Trek: Voyager Season 2, Episode 10 Air date: November 13th, ...
Star Trek: Voyager
Cold Fire This episode is locked. ... Stardate: 49164.8 The crew of Voyager make contact with the Caretaker's mate, Suspiria. Kes meets with the descendants of other Ocampa on Suspiria's array that left the homeworld over 300 years ago. Soon, her mental abilities begin to grow to a point where she can no longer control them, and nearly kills ...
"Star Trek: Voyager" Cold Fire (TV Episode 1995)
"Star Trek: Voyager" Cold Fire (TV Episode 1995) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Menu. ... Essential Star Trek Voyager episodes a list of 47 titles created 08 Mar 2019 Star Trek: Voyager (Season 2) a list of 26 titles ...
The Voyager Transcripts
Cold Fire Stardate: 49164.8 Original Airdate: November 13 1995. Ten months ago, the crew of Voyager was pulled into the Delta Quadrant by an entity known as the Caretaker. CARETAKER: Not enough time! When he died, Voyager's best chance of getting home died with him, but he revealed one hopeful possibility. CARETAKER: There is another like me.
Watch Star Trek: Voyager Season 2 Episode 10: Star Trek: Voyager
The crew of Voyager make contact with the Caretaker's mate, Suspiria, and hope she will be able to send them home. ... Cold Fire. Help. S2 E10 46M TV-PG. ... and hope she will be able to send them home. Watch Full Episodes . Full Episodes. Season 2. Season 1 ; Season 2 ; Season 3
"Star Trek: Voyager" Cold Fire (TV Episode 1995)
"Cold Fire" is an episode that, in the early stages of Voyager, created a strong foundation and perhaps the first 10 episode. The darkness that Kes explores through her telepathic abilities will continue to be explored throughout the series by other characters.
Cold Fire
The Delta Flyers is a weekly Star Trek: Voyager rewatch and recap podcast hosted by Garrett Wang and Robert Duncan McNeill. Each week Garrett and Robert will rewatch an episode of Voyager starting at the very beginning. This week's episode is Cold Fire. Garrett and Robbie recap and discuss the episode, and share their insight as series regulars.
List of Star Trek: Voyager episodes
This is an episode list for the science-fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, which aired on UPN from January 1995 through May 2001. This is the fifth television program in the Star Trek franchise, and comprises a total of 168 (DVD and original broadcast) or 172 (syndicated) episodes over the show's seven seasons. Four episodes of Voyager ("Caretaker", "Dark Frontier", "Flesh and Blood ...
Voyager :: TrekCore
2.10 - Cold Fire Voyager encounters an array similar to the one which stranded them in the Delta Quadrant, and discovers long-lived Ocampa living on it. One of the Ocampa teaches Kes to unlock her psychic potential and puts the Caretaker's companion in touch with the ship, but she is bent on destroying it.
Star Trek (Voy): Cold Fire
Opinionated Voyager Episode Guide looks at Cold Fire, the follow-up to the plotpoint from Caretaker that there was a second alien who might be able to send Voyager home. Naturally, the episode takes this wonderful opportunity and ruins it. Plus, the horrors of mental powers. Star Trek (Voy): Cold Fire .
Cold Fire
In this episode of the podcast, Wes and Clay discuss "Cold Fire" and the "exciting" "return" of "Gary" Graham to our Star Trek adventure. Plus! ... Voyager didn't start the "Cold Fire"! It was always burning since the galaxy's been turning. Janeway, warp drive, Chakotay has no character drive. Neelix, Tuvok, Delta ...
Ray Wise's 2 Star Trek Roles Explained
In Star Trek: Voyager season 4, episode 26, "Hope and Fear," Wise portrayed Arturis, a member of an unnamed species designated Species 116. Ray Wise is most known for his role in Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me as Leland Palmer, the father of the ill-fated Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), whose murder becomes the central mystery of the ...

Cold Fire (episode)

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Recap / Star Trek Voyager S 2 E 10 "Cold Fire"

This episode contains examples of the following tropes:

Gary Graham

Majel Barrett Roddenberry

Lindsay Ridgeway

Norman Large

Kate Mulgrew

Robert Beltran

Roxann Dawson

Jennifer Lien

Robert Duncan McNeill

Ethan Phillips

Robert Picardo

Garrett Wang

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