why kes leave star trek voyager

The Story Of Why One Of Star Trek: Voyager's Most Divisive Characters Left The Show

In January 1995, Paramount launched the United Paramount Network, a brand-new TV station with a massive lineup of original shows. Its original 1995 lineup included thrillers like "Marker," "Deadly Games," "Nowhere Man," and "The Watcher," as well as sitcoms like "Platypus Man," and "Pig Sty." The UPN's flagship program was a brand new "Star Trek" series called "Star Trek: Voyager," the fifth series in the franchise and the first to launch after the end of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" the year before. The premise essentially mixed "Star Trek" with "Lost in Space," throwing a ship called the U.S.S. Voyager clear across the galaxy, about 75 years from Earth. Facing limited resources and no backup from Starfleet — none of the local aliens had ever heard of the Federation before — the ship faced a long journey home. 

In the pilot episode, the crew of the Voyager took on a pair of local aliens. There was the Talaxian chef Neelix (Ethan Phillips) and his Ocampa girlfriend Kes (Jennifer Lien). Neelix was a jolly hobbit-like character who didn't ever quite understand Starfleet's formalism and propriety. Kes was a gentle, compassionate character who brought a sense of conscience to the show. She was mildly psychic, but was still too young to master her powers. Controversially, her species only had a lifespan of nine years, and while Lien was 20 when "Voyager" debuted, Kes' stated age of two led some to feel Neelix was committing pedophilia. 

Despite being part of a beloved media franchise, "Voyager" floundered in the ratings for its first three seasons. For the fourth season, Kes was replaced by the character Seven of Nine, a statuesque ex-Borg played by Jeri Ryan. Ratings improved thereafter, and Seven became the show's most important character.

But why was Kes targeted?

Why was Kes targeted?

The concept for Kes was interesting. "Star Trek: The Next Generation" had lasted seven seasons, and it seemed that "Deep Space Nine" was heading down the same path. If "Voyager" was to follow suit, coming to a conclusion after seven years, then a character who lives nine years would provide an interesting arc. Kes was to be an adolescent at the beginning of the series but would die of old age by the end. An entire person's life would be presented in microcosm, and the crew would have to see Kes through a century of life experience in only seven years. Kes, meanwhile, would have to confront the fact that the Voyager crewmates around her don't appear to be aging at all. 

Kes also provided "Voyager" with a vital sense of ethics. Captain Janeway ( Kate Mulgrew ) was action-oriented and had something of an authoritarian streak . When presented with aliens or ethical dilemmas, Kes was the one who encouraged open-mindedness and empathy. She was the one who first suggested that the ship's holographic doctor (Robert Picardo) might be alive. Picardo once said that he loved Kes as a character , as he taught her medicine, and she taught him humility. Kes wasn't a cold-hearted diplomat, but a calming, gentle presence. She would also eventually develop more agency as the show progressed, dumping Neelix and developing her growing psychic powers. 

On a special feature on the DVD for the fourth season of "Voyager," producer Jeri Taylor said that Paramount thought that the show had too many characters, a fact that fans had postulated for years. The story goes that either Jennifer Lien or Garrett Wang, who played Ensign Harry Kim was going to be fired and replaced. 

People Magazine saved Kim. Lien was not so lucky.

The People Magazine of Destiny

In the third season of "Voyager," increasingly desperate measures were being taken to snag a flagging audience. Guest stars from previous "Star Trek" shows ( Jonathan Frakes , John De Lanice, Dwight Schultz) appeared. The crew's usual holographic hangout of a pool hall was replaced by a bikini beach. It smacked of desperation. 

The show's producers were also at a loss as to how to write stories for Kes and Harry Kim. This was confirmed at a convention in 2014 when "Voyager" co-creator Brannon Braga said: "We were running out of things to do with Kes. We had to make room in the budget for a new character in the cast so there was a pragmatic reason but it was primarily a creative decision." 

So someone was going to be cut, and the cast was going to be reworked. When it came to deciding between Kes and Harry Kim, however, People Magazine saved one of them. A 1997 issue featured a photo of Garrett Wang, declaring him one of the magazine's "Most Beautiful People."  That seems to have given Wang a reprieve and led to Jennifer Lien being fired. 

The "farewell" story for Kes involved her psychic powers. They were growing too strong too quickly, and Kes felt she had to leave the ship to protect her friends. Mulgrew admitted on the "Voyager" DVD that she loved working with Lien, and that when Captain Janeway bid farewell to Kes, the tears were quite real. 

Braga was pitched the idea of adding a Borg to the cast as the intriguing new character replacement. His co-creator Rick Berman said, according to Braga on a featurette for the home release of season 4, to "Make it a Borg babe," and Seven of Nine was created. Given that Jeri Ryan was constantly dressed in a skintight catsuit and corset , she was clearly invented for prurient reasons. 

Jennifer Lien's career

Seven of Nine soon became the primary focus of the series.  Robert Picardo once noted that she was so popular, she began to usurp the kinds of stories that would have once been handed to the Doctor. He also missed having a character like Kes to balance the Doctor, and Picardo suggested that Seven of Nine could perhaps be used in a similar way. No such luck. Seven of Nine became her own entity. Ratings for "Star Trek: Voyager" improved and improved. It, too, lasted seven seasons. 

Jennifer Lien did return to play Kes in a time-travel episode called "Fury" (May 3, 2000). By then, Kes was a destructive, middle-aged psychic. "Fury" was meant to give Kes better closure, but the episode wasn't terribly good. Some even consider it to be one of the worst episodes of the series. 

Lien, meanwhile, gave up on acting shortly thereafter. She would voice a character in the "Men in Black" animated series through 2000, but when her son was born in 2002, she retired altogether. Sadly, Lien's mental health suffered, and, in the mid-2010s, was arrested for several crimes, including ramming a cop car , mooning the neighbors , and driving under the influence . Many of those charges were later dropped. 

Lien did attend a few "Star Trek" conventions after 2000 but has largely retreated from associations with the franchise. The Ocampa are rarely mentioned in extant Trek lore, and Kes is rarely referred to. When the "Voyager" cast reunited in 2020 for a public appearance, Lien was absent. The reasons for her absence can only be conjectured. 

One can merely hope that she's living the life she wants, and is content at home.

Star Trek Voyager: Why Kes Actress Jennifer Lien Left The Series

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This story contains discussions of mental health. If this discussion affects you or someone you know, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.

The "Star Trek: Voyager" unique character Kes (played by Jennifer Lien) offered many interesting opportunities for the series, but unfortunately, it didn't come to fruition.

Kes, known for her telepathy and nine-year lifespan, was written out of the series after three seasons, a departure the cast and crew lamented.

At the time, the reasons for Lien leaving the show were a little murky. Writers confessed to feeling they wrote themselves into a corner with her character.

However, later producers disclosed that her increasingly unstable mental health forced them to let her go. Producer Jeri Taylor expounded on this in a 2020 book about the series.

Taylor explained, "She wouldn't talk or let us offer to help." With no other foreseeable options, showrunners decided to write her out of the show.

Unfortunately, problems persisted for Lein after “Voyager.” She was arrested for indecent exposure in 2015 and again in 2018 for driving on a revoked license.

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Published Aug 9, 2010

Catching Up with Jennifer Lien

Jennifer Lien is doing fine and leading her life her way. That’s the gist of a 20-minute conversation with Lien, who played the Ocampan character Kes – sweet-natured girlfriend of Neelix (Ethan Phillips) -- on Star Trek: Voyager for the show’s first three seasons, then departed, only to pull away from the limelight pretty much for good. This past weekend, Lien reunited with most of her fellow Voyager co-stars on stage and during several special events at Creation’s 2010 Official Star Trek Las Vegas Convention . Startrek.com sat down with Lien in the middle of her time in Las Vegas, and here’s some of what she had to say:

How did you enjoy being together again with your co-stars?

That was the most important thing. It was great to see everyone again and feel that way again. It jus felt good. They’re all great people and that’s something that will never happen again to me, being with that sort of group of people. That was truly incredible and special for me.

Had you kept in touch with them?

Opportunities like this are my best chance to catch up with everyone. I have kids, I study, and I’m active with a life that doesn’t involve acting anymore. So it’s not easy to stay in touch.

How easy or hard was it to say, “I really don’t want to act anymore”?

It was pretty easy. It was actually becoming something that didn’t fit into my life anymore. I still love acting, but I don’t like that life anymore. I can’t.

Have you watched Voyager with your family?

My son likes Star Wars. He doesn’t really watch me on Star Trek and I don’t like watching myself. So we never watch Star Trek . Maybe he watches episodes of it when I’m not around or with someone else.

You left Voyager after the first couple of episodes of the fourth season (after her contract was not renewed and Jeri Ryan came on board as Seven of Nine). How do you look back on your time with the show?

I had a good time. It went on after I left and continued, but my time was great. I have no complaints. I have no regrets. Everything worked out the way it should have. Everything happens for a reason. So I don’t look back and say it should have been like this or it should have been like that. I’m perfectly at peace and content with my life. I don’t live in the past and I don’t wish anything were different.

You basically had two exit episodes, “The Gift,” the second episode of season four, and “Fury,” which you returned to the set to do in season six. Which did you prefer as Kes’s swan song?

“The Gift,” probably. I didn’t think “Fury” was acted as well as “The Gift.” There were a lot of poor acting choices on my part. I wasn’t really thinking as creatively as I could have with my acting choices. So I’m not really proud of that one, but I was very grateful that they asked me back and that I got to see everyone I’d worked with. But I hadn’t been acting for such a long time and to pick up with a character I hadn’t been with, and to try to have continuity with a character who was so different from what I’d played and to act so out of character – with the other characters, who had developed so much (in her absence) – it was hard. But everyone did their best to work with me.

What are you up to these days?

I’m taking college courses and trying to keep my mind busy and stay healthy physically and mentally. I’m trying to take care of my kids. I also have three dogs. I have a chow mix, I have a beagle mix and the other one is a Lhasa Apso.

What are you studying?

I’m going into health. I was thinking about being a nurse. I don’t know if I still want to be a nurse or maybe go into being a dietician or nutritionist. If I’m a nurse I won’t be able to spend as much time with my family as I want to. So I’m working on my associate’s degree right now.

When people recognize you on the street and especially when they talk to you at conventions, what is the single most common question you get about Voyager ? And what’s the answer?

How was the makeup? I think that is it. Everybody asks how long my makeup took. It was two and a half or three hours.

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Ever since Star Trek first hit the small screen in the 1960s, there have been a plethora of new and exciting iterations into the franchise. Some of these have been more successful than others. For example, the The Original Series has been highly regarded by some, mostly fans who watched it when it was released, but also slated by others for having some pretty wacky plots, and some uncomfortable moments, despite its aim to be diversely groundbreaking . The Next Generation is another that had a large fan base, while programs such Deep Space 9 often divides people, some really enjoying it for it’s grittier look at the problems of the Federation in a time of war, others unable to properly enjoy a standstill story focused on politics.

It is V oyager however, where a lot of fans stand together. Many aren't fond of the program thanks to its boring story telling, dull characters, and mostly nonsensical plot. The first few seasons were the most turbulent, and at the center of it all was poor Kes.

RELATED: Star Trek: Exploring Worf’s Unusual Relationship With Klingon Culture

Kes was an Ocampa, a race of humanoid beings native to the Delta quadrant, where the USS Voyager was whisked away to by the nefarious caretaker's array. The Ocampans are a race of short-lived beings, with a life expectancy of around eight or nine years. As a result of their quick aging, they develop very quickly, being able to learn and process information at a high level all within the first 6 months. By one year of age, they are considered to be adults. Ocampans are also considered natural telepaths, being able to communicate mentally with their own race and the races of others. In the Star Trek universe, telepathy is something that all beings are capable of; some are not born natural gift and others are, like the Betazoids and Vulcans. The Ocampans were also known to harness their ability to see into the future, and present various telekinetic powers.

Kes joins the potential war criminal Captain Katheryn Janeway’s ship right at the start of the series, and became a valued member of the crew. She sticks around for the entire first season, until the episode “The Gift” during season 2. Throughout the story, she becomes more and more in touch with her telepathic abilities, harnessing them in various different ways until she began to give off massive power surges, and her mental powers began to overwhelm her. This is when her telekinetic abilities started coming through more prominently. She manages to use these to perform complex surgery alongside the holographic doctor , using just her mind.

This was great for a short time for this newly almighty character, until she began to destabilize, falling apart at a subatomic level. She started to rip the ship apart, putting it in a constant state of red alert . To save the ship, Kes took a shuttle craft and left, wanting to explore her new powers without hurting anyone. It is heavily suggested that she transcended the corporeal world and became pure energy, similar to the Q in many aspects, but the specifics are left ambiguous.

This is what happened in-universe to Kes, but it’s interesting to explore why this happened. The main crew during Voyager mainly stayed the same, only adding the occasional member to the rotation such as the ex-borg Seven of Nine . Kes was the only one to leave the crew and thus the show, and it all happened rather quickly, only four episodes into the second season. The biggest reason is that the character never really caught on with audiences, being regarded as poorly written and fairly boring. Her character was interesting, and offered a unique lens to look at a whole new way of life from a species that aged so rapidly. However, this all fell flat for fans, as a result of a mixture of what they often refer to as convoluted plot points and poor acting.

The problem with Kes, however was much bigger, her lackluster response being the perfect mirror for review of the show. Voyager was never a fan favorite , but this went two-fold at the start. When it came to Season 2, the writers knew they needed to shake things up a bit. It was a dull meandering voyage, which in some ways is perfect as that sums up exactly what the show was about: a 78-year slog to get home.

Kes’s departure was timed perfectly with the addition of another, the stunningly memorable Seven of Nine (played by Jeri Ryan), a character that has become as iconic as many of the other shows' protagonists. The producers knew they wanted Ryan in the show, and they also wanted to cut an existing character to make room for her. Apparently Gerrett Wang, who played ensign Harry Kim, was at the top of the list of people to go, but they decided to keep him as they thought replacing the show's only Asian character with yet another white actor would not go down too well.

Kes was one of those characters that starts out with a show, but was unable to keep up with the speed and direction the show needed to take. She became more and more extraneous, fading into the background compared to the others and their personal story arcs. This was made all the more apparent in the few episodes she appeared alongside Seven of Nine, the shiny new addition to the show that became an instant success. It’s also rumored that actress Jennifer Lien was unhappy on the show, and may have even been the one to suggest departing, but this is unclear. The decision to replace her with Jeri Ryan was the best choice the writers could have made, with Seven on Nine practically carrying the entire show all the way through the seven remaining seasons.

MORE: Star Trek: Why Did Q Leave Captain Sisko Alone?

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Jennifer Lien

• View history
• 1 Early life and career
• 2 Departure
• 3 Aftermath
• 4 Legal problems
• 5 Star Trek interviews
• 6 Other characters
• 7 External links

Early life and career [ ]

Lien was born in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of three children. At the age of 13, she joined the Illinois Theatre Center, where she performed in productions of William Shakespeare's The Tempest and Othello , among others. At 16, she decided to pursue an acting career in New York, ultimately landing the role of Hannah Moore on the soap opera Another World during the 1991-92 television season (the character returned to the show in 1998, but was played by Blakley Braniff).

During the 1993-94 season, Lien was a regular on a sitcom called Phenom . In 1993, she appeared on Adam Sandler's debut comedy album, They're All Gonna Laugh at You , on two tracks. [1] [2] In 1994, she lent her voice to Jay Sherman's girlfriend in the pilot episode of The Critic (also featuring the voices of Gerrit Graham and Charles Napier ) before being cast for the role of Kes on Star Trek: Voyager . Although most of her time was spent on Voyager , she continued to supply her voice to various animated shows, including Duckman (with Voyager guest star Jason Alexander voicing the title role), The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (with John de Lancie ), and Superman (along with Joanna Cassidy ).

Departure [ ]

Jennifer Lien's departure at the start of Season 4 is well-remembered for its rather abrupt nature, with fans speculating for years on the reasons. In an article appearing in Star Trek: Communicator  issue 134 , Lien recalled, " I was on for a few seasons, then they asked me to leave. They decided not to renew my contract. I didn't ask why I was not being renewed, I just said 'okay' and moved on. " [3]

Rumors and speculation often surrounded Lien's departure. Stephen Edward Poe was the earliest source to claim Lien was fired to make room for another lead actor. In his book A Vision of the Future - Star Trek: Voyager , Poe claims that in 1997, when producers were ironing out the details of the introduction of Seven of Nine , they had already lined up Garrett Wang ( Harry Kim ) to take the bullet and leave in order to free up enough budget for a new main actor. Then that year, Wang was chosen by People Magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World", which necessitated finding a different actor to remove. However, Wang has refuted this story over the years on numerous occasions, including as host of the Alpha Quadrant and Delta Flyers podcasts.

Ben Robinson and Mark Wright , the co-authors of Star Trek Voyager: A Celebration , conducted over thirty new interviews with Voyager 's producers, cast, and crew for the 2020 reference book . With the context of Lien's then-recent legal troubles (see below), Robinson and Wright were able to present a clearer picture of what had happened: over the course of production on Voyager , it had become clear that Lien was suffering from mental health issues in her personal life, which were affecting her performance and work conduct. Jeri Taylor recalled that she tried to offer support, but Lien "wouldn't talk or let us offer to help." Contrary to prior claims, the showrunners did not wish to end Lien's contract nor lose Kes. Although there was some difficulty in fully realizing the character, they still wanted to explore her story across the whole planned six or seven seasons. Unfortunately, Lien's personal issues prevented this from coming to fruition. Robinson summarized with sensitivity, "It’s a very sad story. There’s been a lot of avoiding the subject and repeating an official line over the years, but, essentially, she was very troubled and became unreliable, which led to them ending her contract. Everyone was very thoughtful and considerate about what is obviously a very sensitive subject, and it feels right that we’ve finally been able to admit what happened, and I’m very grateful that the team at CBS let us tell that story." [4] [5]

The sensitive nature of the circumstances is believed to be why production staff and fellow actors often remained cryptic and muted about the reasons for Lien's departure. Regarding Kes leaving the show, Rick Berman noted, " I'm a big fan of Jennifer Lien, as we all are. It had nothing to do with her. " ( Star Trek: Communicator  issue 114 , p. 12) Additionally, Berman said, " It had nothing to do with Jennifer Lien; she's a lovely actress. " ( Braving the Unknown: Season Four , VOY Season 4 DVD ) However, Jeri Taylor admitted, " These things are never cut-and-dried. It's never one thing. I think Jennifer had a wish to move on, and that coincided with some thinking here. There has not been any rancor or unpleasantness about it […] I know she will go on to a wonderful career […] and I will miss her very much. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 113) Taylor also said, " It was a mutual feeling […] [Jennifer Lien] just felt her character wasn't going anywhere, so it was a very amicable and mutual decision. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 31 , pp. 4 & 13)

Immediately after Kate Mulgrew filmed her scenes of the first four episodes of Star Trek: Voyager 's fourth season, she remarked, " She'll probably be a big movie star, you know? I'm sure it's happened for a reason. " Mulgrew also speculated, " It may be good [for the series] in the long run. I trust my producers on this level, because they are good people, and they're looking at the welfare of the show. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 33 , p. 20)

However, Kate Mulgrew also initially struggled with emotionally accepting the fact that Lien was leaving. ( Braving the Unknown: Season Five , VOY Season 5 DVD special features, et al.) Shortly after she completed her work on the third season, Mulgrew admitted, " I'm very, very sorry to see Jennifer go. She was a part of the family on the show, but I've been in this business a long time, and nothing surprises me. " ( The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine  issue 14 , p. 35) Following the production of the first four Season 4 installments, Mulgrew commented that the loss of Lien " was a great sorrow to me on many levels, foremost among them being the fracturing of an ensemble cast that was extremely special to me. " Moments later, Mulgrew remarked, " At the moment, it's hurtful and difficult to adjust to. I cared a lot about Jennifer, and I think everybody else did too, and as clichéd as it may sound, we were very much like a family. So the loss of that girl has been heartfelt, keenly felt, by all of us […] This is a sorrow for me […] Her loss shook me up. It really shook me up. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 33 , p. 20) In a retrospective interview, Mulgrew remembered, " [I was] sad about Jen, and I'll tell you exactly why – 'cause I think she's a hell of an actress. [I was] sorry to see her go, sorry to see her go the way she went, knowing that she was a wonderful actress. That was tough. " (Voyager Time Capsule: Kes , VOY Season 4 DVD , 2004)

Other cast members found Jennifer Lien's departure hard to deal with, too. At about the end of the fourth season, B'Elanna Torres actress Roxann Dawson remarked, " I would be lying if I said it was easy. We're a very close cast. We love Jennifer, and she's very talented. I think that it was easy to see, just looking at her role and the scripts, that they had written her into a corner that they couldn't get out of. It's hard when something like that happens. We all feel awkward about it, and we miss her terribly. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 83) During the fifth season , Dawson reflected, " It was hard losing Jennifer. It was something that I guess just happened, and I think Jennifer needed to move on as well. But we did miss her. It was a difficult transition to lose one of our family members. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 44 , p. 39) Likewise, Chakotay actor Robert Beltran commented, " I was sorry that Jenny left, because we were a family. We were very close. [But] they weren't doing much with her anyway. Except for the Kes-driven episodes, she was pretty much a glorified extra, as we all become when we're not intrinsically involved in the episode. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 83) At the second annual Fantasticon convention – in August, 1997 – guests Robert Beltran, Neelix actor Ethan Phillips and Kim actor Garrett Wang remarked on Lien's departure, comments that included Wang saying, " We're sad to see her go, but the decision was made on the basis of Paramount and the writers on the show. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 33 , p. 9) Robert Picardo was yet another cast member saddened by Lien's departure. ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 45 , p. 16) In summation of the cast's reaction to the news that Lien was leaving, Brannon Braga offered, " I will say that there were definitely uncomfortable feelings among the cast, which is totally understandable. We let Jennifer Lien go, and brought someone new on [namely, Jeri Ryan], and that's bound to cause some unsettled feelings. There were rough spots here and there, but it's nothing worth noting. Everyone was very professional. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 78)

Aftermath [ ]

Several costumes worn by Lien in Voyager were later sold off on the web including her " Tieran " costume from the third season episode " Warlord " at the Profiles in History auction. [6] [7]

After leaving Voyager , Lien began lending her voice to Agent Elle (L) on Men in Black: The Series , leaving the show in 2000. Lien made her film debut in the cult 1998 comedy SLC Punk! , which co-starred Christopher McDonald . That same year, she was seen in the acclaimed American History X , a drama which also starred Avery Brooks . Lien also voiced the character of Adult Vitani in the direct-to-video Disney sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride . Andy Dick , Michelle Horn , and Jason Marsden also supplied voices to this movie, which was released in 1998.

Since then, Lien has appeared in the 2000 film Rubbernecking (starring Corbin Bernsen ) and was a producer of the short-lived animated science fiction series Battle Force: Andromeda . Lien also lent her voice to this series, as did fellow Star Trek veterans Clancy Brown , Kurtwood Smith , and David Warner .

Lien is married to director Phil Hwang. Together they produced Geek Mythology , a direct-to-video comedy film in 2008. They have a son, Jonah, born 5 September 2002.

Legal problems [ ]

Lien has been arrested at least eight times near her home in Harriman, Tennessee.

On July 3, 2012, she was arrested for domestic violence. [8]

In April 2015, she was arrested a second time for evading arrest, resisting arrest, reckless endangerment, and aggravated assault after attempting to flee police. [9]

On September 3, 2015, she was arrested a third time outside her home, allegedly for exposing her breasts and buttocks to young children during an altercation in which she confronted some children that were in her front yard. When arrested, she was reportedly completely nude, threatened the arresting officers, and had to be physically carried to the patrol car. [10]

After paying restitution to the Harriman Police Department for damaging a patrol car and staying out of trouble for more than six months, all charges against Lien were ultimately dismissed in November 2016. [11]

In December 2017, she was arrested at least a fourth time for driving under alcoholic influence, and then three more times (#5, #6, and #7) for driving with a revoked license in February and March 2018. [12] [13] [14]

In September 2019, she was arrested an eighth time for driving with a revoked license. [15]

Star Trek interviews [ ]

• E! Inside Star Trek: Voyager ( 1995 )
• Launch of Star Trek: Voyager (1995)
• Star Trek: Voyager - Inside the New Adventure (1995)
• VOY Season 1 DVD special feature Cast Reflections: Season One , interviewed on 18 November 1994

Other characters [ ]

External links [ ]

• Jennifer Lien at Wikipedia
• Jennifer Lien at the Internet Movie Database
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)
• 3 Calypso (episode)

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Ethan Phillips Laments ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ Breakup Scene With Neelix And Kes Was Never Shown

| June 29, 2021 | By: Laurie Ulster 50 comments so far

As  Star Trek: Voyager fans know, the romantic relationship between Kes (Jennifer Lien) and Neelix (Ethan Phillips) that was a thread through the show’s first few seasons eventually fizzled out, even before Kes left the ship for new planes of existence.  The breakup didn’t really happen onscreen—unless you count the conversation they had when Kes was possessed by Tieran in “Warlord” and not really herself—although it was mentioned in a few third season episodes as a given. But the couple wasn’t ever given any real onscreen closure. So on a recent episode of The Delta Flyers , the podcast co-hosted by Garrett Wang (Harry Kim) and Robbie McNeill (Tom Paris), Ethan Phillips talked in a bit of detail about the closure scene that was written and filmed for Neelix and Kes, but never aired.

Phillips and Tim Russ (Tuvok) were guests for the  Delta Flyers ‘ discussion of season three’s “Rise,” and Phillips told them all about a scene in sickbay where Neelix and Kes interact almost as if they have no history at all, let alone a recent breakup. Wang pointed out that there seemed to be no tracking of what had happened between the characters, and that’s when Phillips mentioned a scene shot for an earlier episode—which was news to his former co-stars, who’d never heard about it before. Phillips explained:

“…we did do a scene where we both acknowledge that we’re not a couple anymore. We shot it in the science lab, which was a set we didn’t use often. And Kes and I had a closure conversation where we said we want to be friends now and blah, blah, blah. And it was, it was quite a nice tag to the relationship. They never aired it… …it was it was a very good scene. It was easily as six or seven-page scene where we track what happened to us and what we think might have caused the split, but that we want to stay friends…”

He added that it was a “beautifully written scene.” He said he never found out why it didn’t air, especially given that it was a standalone scene that could have been inserted into any of several episodes done at around that time.

Co-stars weigh in

Shooting scenes that don’t make it into the final episode is something all actors are used to. Tim Russ chimed in to suggest that time was the culprit:

“Time, and they probably couldn’t have—I don’t even know if they had time to maybe edit it down. You know, just to get to the meat of it and get out.”

McNeill thought that cutting the moment out was in keeping with the overall tone of the show, for better or for worse:

“I don’t think that the producers and showrunners of our show valued those kind of relationship stories. They really wanted standalone sci fi concepts, let them play out. They didn’t want to deal with long term relationship consistency or continuity. There was very, very little of it. Tom and B’Elanna got a little bit of that in later seasons, but you know, Garrett and I have even talked about the Chakotay/Janeway relationship and that people get whiplash, too. It’s like, one episode, they have a relationship, then the next episode, they don’t, then they do again, then they don’t, then they do. Which is it? I think what it was was, it was if it was convenient to play that quality in an episode, they would do it if it wasn’t, they wouldn’t. And I think that’s probably what happened with the Kes and Neelix thing.”

Phillips agreed, while also pointing out that the relationship had some problems from its inception:

“It was a lot of ambiguity about that relationship to begin with. Was it platonic, wasn’t romantic. And it was shaky, just the the optics You know, I’m an older guy, and here’s this very young girl who’s ostensibly two years old in her race, and I think  they weren’t sure how to handle it so much. And so I think they just thought let’s just move on, and maybe they’ll forget about it.”

Read the scene

The actual breakup between Neelix and Kess happened offscreen during the episode “Warlord,” earlier in season three. The closure scene Phillips is talking about was written and shot for “Fair Trade,” three episodes later. Interestingly, the  Star Trek: Voyager Companion has the script from what seems to be the scene Phillips is talking about. While the information matches up, Phillips clearly remembers filming a longer version as this one is only about half a page long. You can see it below.

At least part of the deleted farewell scene between Kes and Neelix, as reported in the Star Trek: Voyager Companion

Kes and Neelix do eventually have a bit of a conversation about the breakup. In the early fourth season episode “The Gift,” they share some Talaxian champagne and Neelix tells Kes that he realizes he was holding her back—and jokes that she broke up with him because she hated his cooking. But the meaty, more specific interaction described by Phillips was never seen by viewers. One can always hope that the team working on the Voyager doc  To The Journey will be able to track this one down for us.

Listen to The Delta Flyers

The rest of the episode with Russ and Phillips is well worth listening to for any Voyager fan, as is the podcast itself.

Find more articles on Star  Trek history at TrekMovie.com .

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Maybe that will somehow find its way onto the “To the Journey” discs.

Their relationship was always creepy. Kes was only a year old at first, and she really was portrayed as basically being a child in the first season. And wasnt’t there a scene where Kes dumps Neelix while she’s posessed?

Yes, I remember. It was confusing at the time.

I think it would be well to remember that Kes’ species had a fairly short lifespan to begin with, and that Kes was sexually mature, and had a “false pregnancy” at age 2. Different characters had different lifespans. A Vulcan usually had a lifespan a little more than double that of a Terran; and Guinan’s Race was extremely long lived; on the order of 900 years. There was also Jadzia Dax: She was about 25 years old, while her symbiote was on its 7th life, and on the order of, at least 300 years old.

Kes was born in 2369. Voyager ended up in the Delta Quadrant in 2371, making her “about 2 years old” at the time. Given the actress age, and the fact that Ocampans supposedly only lived about 9 years, would make her “about 20 Earth years” of age.

So, her relationship with Neelix likely began in her “late teens”, which would’ve been several months prior to joining Voyager.

It still is creepy, largely because they didn’t try to develop the nuances at all. The implications of the concept of a species that only lives 9 years are largely glossed over, which actually only makes the awkwardness worse. We see Kes as being quite wise, but she’s also often in the position of being a student to the Doctor and sometimes Tom, who also has a crush on her and we see would’ve happily married her in the right circumstances. That didn’t help. They also never explored how Ocampans attain emotional and physical maturity or delved deeply into their culture, society or physiology. They are portrayed as being babied by the Caretaker and nurtured to become powerful and longer-lived by Suspiria, and we get surface-only glimpses of them and their peculiarities in Elogium, Before & After and Cold Fire. That’s it, beyond the odd psychic moment for Kes.

The way I see it, if you’re going to introduce as eyebrow-raising a concept as a humanoid species that reaches maturity in less than 2 years and put one of them in a romantic and sexual relationship… then own it and develop it. The fact that the producers not only tiptoed around the intricacies of the Neelix/Kes relationship and any details about the Ocampa, but also publicly chalked up letting Kes go because they didn’t think the character was working out, that bothered me to no end. Knowing now that they were at least in part covering for Jennifer Lien’s personal struggles mitigates that to a point, but there was so much wasted potential in seasons 1-3 because someone got cold feet about following through with this idea.

Did they want Kes dead at the end of Voyager’s journey? It seems like they aimed for 7 years of the series, so it looks like Kes was about to reach the end of her lifespan sometime about the series finale. Having said that I realised that would mean Voyager staff actually planned ahead which is a silly notion, since they never planned anything, which is why Voyager is what it is.

Suspiria’s wards were older than 9, so they did at least sow the seeds for her having the potential to exceed expectations. But I bet they did have that in mind, actually – that having her die would add poignance to their finale down the road.

Not creepy at all. A charming relationship on every level.

Great rebuttal!

I agree with what you said about Kes, Ian. The relationship with Neelix never ever looked good to me for the reasons you stated. It looks even worse now, now that we all know how pervasive pedophiles and sexual abuse are in society and how they are protected by corporations, religious institutions, government bodies, schools and universities, etc.

It’s interesting that Mr. Phillips even the very real problems with the relationship even then. Although I never ever liked Neelix (I find him extremely irritating), I do think Mr. Phillips is a gifted actor who I’ve seen in other roles. I don’t blame him for what happened with the whole Kes and Neelix thing. That can be laid at the feet of the creators, writers, and showrunners, obviously. If it was my choice, neither of those characters would’ve been on the show to begin with. Neelix was beyond irritating and the whole Kes character was very badly thought out.

The real problem was that Neelix– especially in hindsight, watching it 20+ years later as an adult who has had adult relationships– often comes across as emotionally manipulative, sometimes dismissive of Kes, toxically jealous, and at times downright abusive. I didn’t see it at the time because I was a young teenager, but some moments make me very uncomfortable watching them today.

You’re totally right, KLOne. That made it so much more creepy.

I don’t know what the creators and writers were thinking but the Neelix-Kes thing was just awful!

This sums up my biggest issue with Voyager: inconsistent and sometimes even nonexistent character traits and development. I really enjoyed many of Voyager’s plots, but outside of The Doctor, Seven of Nine, and to a lesser extent Janeway, most of the characters remained unchanged from Caretaker to Endgame.

I’m really looking forward to “Stranger New Worlds,” as the writers have flat out said they want to return to an episodic/story of the week type of story telling, but (unlike Voyager) maintain character arcs and development.

“they want to return to an episodic/story of the week type of story telling, but (unlike Voyager) maintain character arcs and development.”

Presumably they also favor both expanded government services and lower taxes.

‘ “I don’t think that the producers and, and showrunners of our show valued those kind of relationship stories. They really wanted like a standalone sci fi concepts, let them play out. They didn’t want to deal with long term relationship, consistency or continuity.’

says it all really.

Didn’t notice the typo until after I couldn’t edit my post anymore – adding an extra R in “STRANGE New Worlds” really changes the tone! “STRANGER New Worlds” kinda sounds like a spin-off of “Stranger Things” ;p

I recall Ron Moore lamenting that he was told, while writing Barge of the Dead, that it was not important to address how the episode’s events affected B’Elanna’s relationship with Tom. It’s bizarre when a show takes what is ostensibly a network or studio note that most writers would try to fight, and just makes it a flat out rule.

If I remember correctly, what “broke” Ron Moore, was how there was no fallout between Chakotay and Janeway after “Equinox”. She is pretty vengeful in that episode and their relationship gets seriously strained, but by “Barge of the Dead”, despite there never being even a scene to deal with it, their relationship was back to normal. Iff I also remember correctly, it was Berman who pushed for the episodic, reset-button storytelling, because he came from a syndication background, where you want to be able to air the episodes in any order you want. I love Voyager and grew up on it, but of all the Star Trek shows, this one has the most wasted potential. I maintain that “Year of Hell” and “Void” should have been the template for how the show should have been handled.

a show like Voy suffers from using the ‘re set’, its premise needs character, arc development. i know they screwed up with the jonas/spy arc in season 2 but that should not have meant not developing more properly.

I’ve said it before, so apologies for being a broken record, but it is annoying that this particular standalone strategy worked, commercially. It has meant that Voyager is now more popular than DS9 on streaming services where people actually pick and choose episodes more than they binge. The trickledown effect has been that Voyager is seen as the property people want to revisit besides TNG, hence Seven and Janeway returning and there being a Voyager J in Discovery. I have no issue with standalone storytelling so long as characters develop. On Voyager they actively thwarted character growth and continuity for pretty much everyone except Seven, the Doctor, and, haphazardly, Janeway. Voyager’s commercial success worries me that its lessons of what not to do will be ignored.

The most popular Voy EPs streamed are Borg stories.

Telling that the only time they added more children to the show was when they could be Borg. 150 people and in 6 years they had only 1 baby conceived during the trip and one pregnancy from before the show started. They were that determined not to develop ancillary characters and evolve the ship and crew unless they were connected to Seven (Naomi only ever interacted with Neelix, Janeway and Seven, it’s like her mother never existed).

in 7 years there should have been hook ups and babies everywhere.

That mind set led to the similar development of Ent

I think the episodic structure of Voyager could’ve worked really well, had the characters been allowed to grow. TNG is a fairly good example of this. Even the least developed of the main cast (I’m thinking Geordi and Beverly) went through some fairly large changes over TNG’s seven year run. It’s fairly easy to see the differences b/w the characters in Season 1 vs. Season 7. That just wasn’t the case on Voyager. You could pluck out Harry Kim from a Season 1 ep, throw him in Season 7, and you wouldn’t notice the difference.

Absolutely. I don’t know think it’s a coincidence that once Michael Piller, famous for obsessing over how plot affected character, stepped back, the show became less interested in character growth.

Chakotay stops being rebellious in season 3, and even when he disagrees with Janeway, it’s only for an episode. Tuvok’s character growth over 7 years consists entirely of learning to tolerate Neelix. Kim does not change at all. Tom matures a little, but it’s stop and start. Same with Torres, she lives within this tiny bandwidth of coming to terms with internalized shame over being Klingon. Neelix actually becomes kinder and less suspicious, possibly the most TNG-like evolution now that I think of it. The only characters they really give their all to though are Seven and the Doctor, who have the most exciting and imaginative backgrounds. Braga was so good with Seven’s dialogue as well as exciting high concept sci-fi, so that papered over a number of sins, but they definitely left a lot on the table when it came to putting such a solid ensemble to good use.

he pushed for the jonas/spy arc and wanted young actors cast as kazon because he based them on l a gangs. writers room fought against him in season 2 when he came back on staff.

That doesn’t surprise me at all. I’ve always felt that Berman was (is?) a fairly good executive producer. He knows how to make a show run, keep it on budget, etc. However, the minute his sticks his hands into the storytelling, he just ruins everything. The best thing he did for Star Trek was stay the hell away from DS9 once he and Michael Pillar had developed it. I think if he had stepped away from Voyager in the same way, and let Jeri Taylor fully take the reigns, Voyager would have turned out quite differently.

as the writers have flat out said they want to return to an episodic/story of the week type of story telling, but (unlike Voyager) maintain character arcs and development.

So just like every other tv show these days.

Janeway was definitely inconsistently written. Her morals– which would then affect her command decisions– would flip flop episode to epsidoe. One moment she’d say they could not do a thing because they “can’t abandon Starfleet principle just because we’re far from home”, and the next she’d break a major Starfleet directive because she “had to get her people home.”

Easily the most inconsistent character on the show.

forget about what she did in ‘equinox’, her actions at the end of ‘tuvix’ should have inspired a mutiny.

They should get Jennifer Lien on their podcast. That’d be something.

But this scene should be in the documentary

There’s no “they should get…” with Ms. Lien. She’s stepped away from the business, and given her health issues, a return is highly unlikely.

I hope she’s ok.

That scene sounds like something that would be of great benefit to put back into the show in an extended episode cut, à la the HD remaster of “The Measure of a Man”.

I guess I’ll make it a sub-entry under “Voyager HD remaster” on my list of Star Trek pipe dreams, right alongside “DS9 HD remaster” and “TMP director’s edition HD remaster”.

Voyager had a rough 3rd season.

I wonder how many of those scenes were left “on the cutting room floor”. I hope they were saved, and with the newer technologies, and time not necessarily a problem; maybe they could be reworked into the tapes, or DVD’s, of the various series. I wonder too, if new episodes, or movies, could be created; using the past recorded episodes as source material, and using new scripts, and new scripts based on some of the better Star Trek books. I personally liked the “duel” fought on Organia, by Spocks 1, and 2; with Kirk as observer/participant; in “Spock Must Die!” and the expansions of “Bem”, and “Eye of the Beholder”; as well as “Planet of Judgement” and “Journey to Madworld”, the latter having an element of fun in it, something of a “Tribble story”.

Wait, they were a couple?

I see what you did here 😆

I didn’t want to get into details. ;-)

I never felt the relationship was unresolved or remember having any questions, though I think the much more wasted oppurtunity was when old Kes came back and the only interaction she shared with Neelix was some standoffish exchange of one-liners. They could have done some meaningful reflection then.

Whys is it that I remember that scene, or at least part of it? It was in the botanic section where they were growing plants, if I remember correctly? Is this some freaky version of the Nelson Mandela Effect?

My impression when I watched the show as it aired was that the breakup while she was possessed was the point where their relationship ended. It didn’t make much sense given the plot but it’s also the clear dividing line between the episodes when they were a couple and the episodes she’s becoming interested in other people. My guess is the producers thought that was breakup enough.

That always was a gross out for me thinking about Kress actually sleeping with that hairy old dude.

Nothing against Ethan Phillips, but the less of Neelix the better. Best part is when the finally got him off the show.

The whole Neelix Kess thing was creepy. Period. Seemed like an adult abusing a kid. I actually thought having Delta Quadrant locals on the crew was a good idea, but badly executed. In university once heard that there was a connection between those who commit sex crimes and Star Trek and at the time I was really offended. I mean how can a show about space exploration where everyone is so busy exploring they unknown there is no real time to go into their sex lives have any connection. Not going to lie – I think there are some Trek’s that people based their sex lives around and it’s not good. It’s a TV show people about space exploration, or it should be.

basing your seduction technique on OS captain kirk maybe not be the best thing.

LOL Jim Kirk was many things but he was NEVER a boy scout. Seriously though, you are right. It’s a tv show. Same with politics, I mean I think it’s great to see everyone cooperating to do something exciting and entertaining but you should put lessons of history / ethics / philosophy / economics / science >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> tv show TOS >> DS9 >> ENT >> Young and the Restless >>>>>>> TNG >> VOY

Was it made clear if Kes was two Earth years old? Ocampa could have had an orbit of many Earth years.

10 Best Star Trek: Voyager Episodes, Ranked

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Everything about Star Trek: Voyager was a risk when the series debuted following the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation , an incredibly popular series. The flagship show of the nascent United Paramount Network, Captain Kathryn Janeway and her crew faced familiar struggles from fans. Their story, however, took the Star Trek universe to a new part of the galaxy. The Delta Quadrant hosted never-before-seen alien species and was the backyard of the Borg.

Through syndication and wide streaming access, Star Trek: Voyager is now regarded as a classic of this universe's second wave. Voyager finished its journey strong, and the addition of Seven of Nine -- a human drone rescued from the Borg collective -- changed the series for the better. Now in the third wave of the franchise, Seven of Nine is the captain of the USS Enterprise-G, and Janeway is now a Vice Admiral leading the young cadets of Star Trek: Prodigy . Below are the episodes that best showcase why Voyager is among Star Trek's most beloved series

10 'Distant Origin' Is the Kind of Social Allegory Star Trek Does Best

Voyager is caught up in a tale about scientific truth, immigration and acceptance, how did star trek: voyager become a tv series.

Star Trek: Voyager debuted after The Next Generation ended its historic run, but Captain Janeway's series was in development long before then.

The only episode on this list before Seven of Nine joined the crew, "Distant Origin" is representative of what Star Trek does best . It's a high-concept story about scientific exploration and the ways entrenched powers oppress the truth and those who seem "lesser" than them . The Voth are a superior race of intelligent beings that evolved tens of millions of years in Earth's past and took the stars.

The titular theory threatens the social order of the Voth, and the idea that they have a right to oppress others because they are "the first race" in their sector of space. Ironically, the episode spends much of its time away from the USS Voyager. It's not really their story, but rather the story of the Voth scientist facing punishment for violating "doctrine."

9 'Dark Frontier' Reveals Seven of Nine's Human Past and Importance to the Borg

This episode ties voyager to first contact and the next generation.

A feature-length two-part episode, "Dark Frontier" brings the Borg Queen to television for the first time since the character was created for Star Trek: First Contact . It also reveals how Annika Hansen and her parents came to be assimilated by the Borg. Part-heist story and part "mythology episode," which gives viewers a courtside view to how the Borg assimilate a species.

The USS Voyager plans to steal some Borg technology to help them get to Earth more quickly, but it's trap to recapture Seven of Nine. The Borg Queen reveals that Seven of Nine was "allowed" to leave the collective, and her recapture is meant to make her the human face of the Borg invasion of Earth, just as Locutus (Jean-Luc Picard) and Vox (Jack Crusher) were meant to be. In rescuing Seven of Nine, Captain Kathryn Janeway proves herself to be the Borg's biggest threat .

8 'Drone' Is a Perfect Blend of Star Trek Weirdness and Character Study

A high-concept voyager episode with a deeply emotional ending.

In "Drone," the holographic Doctor and Seven of Nine have a baby, of sorts. Originally bound to sickbay and the holodecks, the Doctor was given a 29th Century mobile emitter by Henry Starling. A transporter accident blends Borg "nanoprobes" with this technology creating a 29th Century Borg drone, just without a collective. He names himself "One," becoming something like a son to Seven of Nine.

One accidentally signals the Borg collective, which shows up to assimilate him and the USS Voyager. One is curious about his people, yet he's fully an individual . First, he helps the crew fight the Borg cube, but even his 29th Century know-how can't match the cube's raw firepower. He sacrifices himself in truly epic fashion, saving the ship but breaking Seven of Nine's heart .

7 'Endgame' Is the Epic Series Finale for Voyager and the Borg

Janeway brings the crew home and defeats star trek's worst enemy, star trek: voyager actor weighs in on controversial tuvix debate.

Star Trek: Voyager's Tuvix actor Tom Wright shares his opinion on whether Janeway made the right decision about his character's fate.

While everyone from fans to some of the cast lament the series finale of Star Trek: Voyager didn't show the ship actually arriving on Earth, it's still a fantastic finale. It begins many years after the previous episode, when the USS Voyager does arrive on Earth. Now a Vice Admiral, Janeway travels back in time with a plan to bring the ship and immobilize the Borg. All it will cost her is her life.

The beginning of the finale shows a version of the crew's future, though not everyone made it to Earth. The Elder Janeway's plan is ambitious and takes the ship right into the heart of the Borg society. While her younger counterpart gets her ship home, the elder Janeway has a final showdown with the Borg Queen. "Endgame" is full of spectacle appropriate for a series finale, while not sacrificing attention on the characters fans loved .

6 'Year of Hell' Is an Epic Two-Part Struggle for Survival

A year-long episode of star trek: voyager was almost a whole season.

The "Year of Hell" is a two-part episode that, according to Star Trek Voyager: A Celebration , could've lasted for an entire season. The episode centers on a new species called the Kremin, who developed a "timeship" that could erase entire civilizations from history. The captain and lead scientist, Annorax , continues these temporal incursions and sets his sights on the USS Voyager.

The two-part episode takes place over an entire year, with the USS Voyager and the Krenim engaging in a running war. The ship is damaged, the crew is battered and demoralized. The resolution resets the series' status quo. Had the fallout from this taken a full season, the show might have gotten too dark. This two-part epic is just enough "hell" to make this episode a classic instead of "the one where the season started to go downhill." The Krenim and the idea of the "Year of Hell" was mentioned in Season 3's "Before and After," when Kes visited a possible future.

5 'Timeless' Is About the Death and Resurrection of the USS Voyager

The survivors of the uss voyager break the prime directive to rewrite history.

Time travel is a Star Trek staple , and Voyager featured a lot of it. In "Timeless," select members of the crew survive after the USS Voyager is destroyed. The episode was directed by LeVar Burton who also appeared as Captain Geordi La Forge from the alternate future. As the surviving crew tries to change the past, La Forge has to stop them from violating the "Temporal Prime Directive."

Along with being a dark look at the future, the episode is emotionally heavy, especially for Chakotay and Harry Kim. The latter blames himself for the accident that destroyed the ship. He is determined to fix that mistake. Even though he's successful, the episode ends on a down note as the elder Kim sends a message to his younger self.

4 'Message In a Bottle' Brings Voyager One Step Closer to Home

The emergency medical holograms prove their mettle as starfleet officers, star trek: prodigy is the last hope for janeway and chakotay shippers.

Star Trek: Prodigy brought Voyager characters Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay back into their story and there is a chance for the romance fans never got.

The Romulans appear in "Message In a Bottle," one of the rare times a classic Star Trek alien species appears in Voyager other than the crew. The ship discovers a massive sensor array, and Seven of Nine sends the Doctor to another Starfleet vessel on the edge of Federation space. The array is the bottle, and he is the message. However, the ship is experimental and has been overtaken by Romulans.

The Doctor meets the Mark II version of the Emergency Medical Hologram used by Starfleet, and the irascible pair have to take on the Romulans. Along with being a thrilling episode in its own right, "Message In a Bottle" was important to the overall story. It's the first time the USS Voyager is able to make contact with Starfleet, letting them know the ship was not destroyed .

3 'Living Witness' Is Unlike Any Other Star Trek Episode

The closest the uss voyager ever got to the 'mirror universe'.

Another Doctor-heavy episode, "Living Witness" is a truly unique premise, not just for Voyager but Star Trek itself. Much of the episode is set far in the future from the 24th Century, in a society where the USS Voyager, Starfleet and Captain Janeway have become myth. A copy of the Doctor's program is discovered, and a researcher at the museum reactivates him.

The holographic recreations of the USS Voyager are like Mirror Universe versions of the characters fans know. As the Doctor tries to set the record straight, it causes social upheaval in the society. Ultimately, he urges the researcher to deactivate him and maintain peace on his planet, at the cost of the truth . Though, an even further future ending scene shows the truth eventually came out.

2 'Scorpion' Represents an Ending and a Beginning for Voyager

These episodes introdce the borg and seven of nine, star trek: prodigy's connection to voyager, explained.

Star Trek: Prodigy is a new series with new characters in the universe, but the series is directly connected to Voyager through characters and ships.

The end of Star Trek: Voyager Season 3 and start of Season 4 began the ship's frequent conflicts with the Borg. The second part of the two-part episode also introduces Seven of Nine, as Captain Janeway makes an alliance with the Borg . They encounter a new alien, species 8472 from a dimension of "fluidic space" with no other lifeforms. They are immune to assimilation.

The first episode cold open is short but powerful. A pair of Borg cubes descend on the unseen species 8472 and are destroyed. "Scorpion" is as consequential to Voyager as the classic Season 3 to 4 " Best of Both Worlds " was to The Next Generation . Unlike the USS Enterprise, which only had to deal with a single Borg cube, the USS Voyager was in the heart of Borg space.

1 'Blink of an Eye' Is a Classic Star Trek Episode with a Unique Concept

The top-rated star trek: voyager episode encompasses everything the franchise does best.

The USS Voyager finds itself stuck in the orbit of a planet that has a strange time variance, due to a heavy concentration of "chronaton particles." While the ship spends less than a week in this predicament, the time differential means the ship is viewed in the sky by the planet's indigenous population for a millennia. The "skyship" is the subject of myth, religion, pop culture and serves as an impetus for scientific advancement.

Because of the Prime Directive , the crew avoids making contact with the population, even though the presence of the ship causes frequent planetwide earthquakes. However, as the society advances, explorers from the planet come to the ship. It's a classic Star Trek episode despite being so unique. Just like "Distant Origin," it deals with the idea of scientific exploration, respect for other cultures or societies, and the propensity for any species to turn to violence when faced with the unknown .

Star Trek: Voyager is available to own on Blu-ray, DVD, digital and streams on Paramount+ and Pluto TV.

Star Trek Voyager

Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is seventy-five years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.

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Star Trek: Discovery tore itself apart for the good of Star Trek’s future

And it helped set the tone for where Star Trek is now

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If you were to jump directly from the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery to its finale — which just debuted on Paramount Plus — the whiplash would throw you clear out of your seat like your ship had suffered an inertial damper malfunction. Since its first two chapters premiered on CBS All Access in 2017, the series has moved to a different ship and a different century, and has acquired an almost entirely different set of characters. Moreover, Discovery has received a radical tonal refit, evolving in fits and starts from a dark and violent war story to a much sunnier action-adventure serial.

Though it never won the mainstream attention or critical acclaim of its spinoff, Strange New Worlds , nor the gushing fan adulation of Picard ’s Next Gen reunion , Discovery spearheaded Star Trek’s return to television , the franchise’s maiden voyage into the frontier of premium streaming content. Like any bold pathfinder, Discovery encountered obstacles, suffered losses, and made some major course corrections. But, if you ask the cast and crew, the adventure has been more than worth the tumultuous journey.

Tacking into the wind

“We were on wobbly legs for a long time,” admits star Sonequa Martin-Green, whose character, Michael Burnham, has had the rug pulled out from under her a number of times over the course of the series. In the first season and backstory alone, Burnham lost her parents, saw her mentor murdered, was tried for mutiny, discovered that her first love is a Klingon sleeper agent, and was betrayed by not one but two Mirror Universe doppelgängers of trusted Starfleet captains.

Move over, Deep Space Nine — this was instantly the grimmest canonical depiction of the Star Trek universe on screen. Season 1 of Discovery was rated TV-MA and featured more blood and gore than the franchise had ever seen, not to mention an instance of graphic Klingon nudity. (Actor Mary Wiseman recalls seeing her co-star Mary Chieffo walking the set wearing prosthetic alien breasts and thinking, What the hell? ) The corpse of Michelle Yeoh’s character is cannibalized by Klingons off screen, and her successor, portrayed by Jason Isaacs, turns out to be a manipulative psycho from the Mirror Universe who tries to mold Burnham into his plaything.

The bleak, adult-oriented tone was not the only sticking point with Star Trek purists, as Discovery would take place a decade before the original 1960s Star Trek but have a design aesthetic much closer to that of the 2009 movie reboot, leading to some irreconcilable clashes with continuity. The show’s serialized, season-long arcs were a far cry from the familiar “planet of the week” stories of most previous incarnations of the franchise. Then there was Burnham’s backstory as the never-before-mentioned human foster sister to Trek’s iconic Vulcan Spock , a creative decision that has “clueless studio note” written all over it. Even ahead of its debut, Discovery faced vocal opposition from the fan base for straying so far from their notion of what Star Trek was supposed to be. (Not to mention the revolting but quite vocal faction of fans who were incensed that Star Trek had “gone woke,” as if it hadn’t been that way the whole time.) Many of Discovery ’s detractors flocked toward The Orville , a Fox series starring and created by Seth MacFarlane that was essentially ’90s-style Star Trek with the occasional dick joke thrown in. The Orville offered fans alienated by Discovery ’s vastly different approach to Star Trek a more familiar (but far less ambitious) alternative.

The grim Klingon War story was the brainchild of co-creator Bryan Fuller, who had been a member of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Voyager writers rooms before creating cult series like Pushing Daisies and Hannibal . Fuller would end up departing Team Discovery before production even began, asked to resign after a string of creative differences with the studio. New showrunners Aaron Harberts and Gretchen J. Berg carried out a version of Fuller’s plans without him, and then oversaw the show’s first major pivot. Discovery ’s second season was immediately brighter, more colorful, and cozier with established Star Trek lore. (This is the arc that would introduce the versions of Pike , Spock , and Number One who now lead Strange New Worlds .) But things weren’t so sunny behind the scenes — Harberts and Berg were fired midway through the season after writers accused the duo of creating an abusive work environment.

As different as Discovery would eventually stray from the HBO-style drama of its first season, co-creator Alex Kurtzman feels that the mission of the series has never changed.

“One of the things that we set up in season 1 is that we knew that Burnham would start as a mutineer and end up a captain,” says Kurtzman. “What was exciting about that is that we knew it would take time.”

Captain on deck

It was after Harberts and Berg’s departure that Kurtzman, who had remained involved but been primarily occupied with the development of the growing television Star Trek franchise as a whole, took the helm of Discovery himself. Before long, he would promote writer and co-executive producer Michelle Paradise to the role of co-showrunner, which she would retain for the remainder of the series. Just as the late, great Michael Piller did during the third season of The Next Generation , Paradise brought a sense of stability and confidence to Discovery , which reverberated onto set.

“I commend Michelle Paradise and the rest of the writers because this show evolved ,” says Martin-Green. “Our initial showrunners, Aaron Harberts and Gretchen Berg, they made their impact and that’ll never be erased, but landing where we did with Michelle co-showrunning with Alex Kurtzman, jumping farther than any Trek had gone before, I feel that’s when our feet were solid on the ground and when we really established our identity.”

Season 2 fell into a steady rhythm that felt more in tune with Kurtzman’s “movie every week” philosophy, never far in tone from the reboot film trilogy on which Kurtzman served as a writer and producer. The steady presence of Michelle Yeoh’s deliciously amoral Emperor Georgiou was a major boon, essentially becoming Star Trek’s answer to Buffy ’s Spike or Dragon Ball Z ’s Vegeta. However, Discovery was also undeniably borrowing clout from legacy characters Pike and Spock, and the constant friction with established canon wasn’t sitting well with Kurtzman or the audience.

The season ended with a surprising twist that resolved the continuity problems but also changed the entire nature of the show. The titular starship and its crew would be propelled 930 years into the future, past the furthest fixed point in Star Trek’s continuity. No longer forced to tiptoe around the sacred canon, Discovery was free to sprint in a bold new direction. Once again and in a more tangible way, it was a whole new show.

“If the folks who came in had sort of taken us off the rails that would have been a very different experience,” says Anthony Rapp, who portrays the prickly Commander Paul Stamets. “But Michelle Paradise came through as such a shining light and a beautiful presence in our lives. She took the show into this territory of being able to have the heart in its center in a way that felt very grounded and meaningful, and really helped us to make that transition.”

An open sky

Season 3 of Discovery offered Kurtzman, Paradise, producing director Olatunde Osunsanmi, and the rest of the creative team a rare opportunity to completely rewrite Star Trek’s galactic map . Not since the launch of The Next Generation in 1987 had a writers room been able to venture onto such “fresh snow,” as Paradise puts it. In the 32nd century, beyond the furthest point explored in the established Trek canon, the righteous United Federation of Planets has all but collapsed in the aftermath of “the Burn,” a mysterious space calamity. Some longtime friends are now adversaries, and even Earth has become an isolationist state. The USS Discovery, displaced in time, becomes the means by which to reconnect the shattered galaxy. It’s not hard to read this as a mission statement for Star Trek as a whole — a relic from another time, back to offer hope to a bleak present.

Season 3’s 13-episode arc restored a bit of Star Trek’s space Western roots, with warp drive a rare and costly luxury in the ravaged 32nd century and half the galaxy dominated by a vast criminal empire known as the Emerald Chain. Michael Burnham spent much of the season out of uniform, having found a new purpose as a more roguish freelance courier alongside the sweet and savvy Cleveland Booker (David Ajala). This is arguably the most interesting version of the show, as Michael questions whether or not Starfleet — the institution whose trust she has worked so hard to restore — is still her home.

By the end of the season (and right on schedule with Fuller and Kurtzman’s original plans), Michael Burnham finally accepts her destiny and becomes captain of Discovery. More subtly, this altered the premise of the show for a third time, as the central question of “Will Michael ever become captain?” had been answered in the affirmative. But, since she’d already been the central character and a figure of improbable cosmic import, the change was mostly cosmetic. And symbolic — Martin-Green considers her presence “being Black, and a woman, and a captain sitting in that chair” to be her greatest contribution to Star Trek. After three seasons of struggle and uncertainty, Burnham could now be as aspirational a character as Picard , Sisko, or Janeway .

The tone on which the show settled at the end of season 3 would be the one that finally stuck. Where the series had initially been bloody and brooding, it was now squarely an adventure show featuring a cast of characters with a boundless and demonstrative love for each other. The crew would face mortal danger each episode and a galactic-level threat each season, bolstered by very expensive-looking visual effects and a rousing score. At the same time, many conflicts both large and small would eventually be resolved by characters talking through their feelings and finding common ground. This was exhausting as often as it was compelling, but it was consistent. For its final two seasons, viewers could finally know what to expect from Star Trek: Discovery .

Discovering itself

This “feelings over phasers” approach was not for everyone, but it was never intended to be. Even from the outset, before Paramount began pumping out more Star Trek series to target different facets of the fan base, Discovery was never meant to be a definitive Star Trek experience that checked every box.

“You’ll never be able to be everything to everybody,” says Michelle Paradise. “The goal was always to make the best version of Discovery . It’s a different kind of Star Trek. It’s serialized, it’s fewer episodes, it’s a movie every week. That’s a thing that will appeal to many people, and for some people it won’t be their cup of tea.”

Discovery has bounced up and down my personal ranking of Star Trek series a number of times during its run, more than any of its past or present siblings. I have begun each season of the show with great excitement, and that excitement is frequently exhausted by season’s end. Most Trek series have good years and bad years. To me, Discovery suffers from being simultaneously brilliant, innovative, lazy, cringe, inspiring, and eye-rolling at all times, only in different measures. It features the franchise’s strongest lead actor since Patrick Stewart, and a supporting cast that has never been leveraged to my satisfaction. In my career, I have written more words about Star Trek: Discovery than any other television series, and I still haven’t made up my mind about it. For as many cheerleaders and haters as the show must have, I imagine there are many more viewers who feel the way I do — it’s a show that I wanted to love, but never fully fell in love with.

As Discovery disappears in the aft viewport, some will bid it a fond farewell, some will be blowing it raspberries, and some will turn away with total disinterest. But regardless of how well Discovery itself is remembered in the coming years, it has already made a substantial impact on the franchise. It paved the way for every Trek series that followed, including three direct spinoffs. Its second season was the incubator for Strange New Worlds , now the most acclaimed Trek series in a generation. Michelle Yeoh had such fun in her recurring role on Discovery that, even after winning an Academy Award , she was still keen to return for the upcoming Section 31 TV movie . Discovery ’s 32nd-century setting will continue to be explored in the new Starfleet Academy series , leaving the door open for some of its characters to return.

Even the new shows that have no direct relationship to Discovery have benefitted from the precedent it set by being different from what came before. Lower Decks is an animated sitcom, Prodigy is a kid-targeted cartoon , Picard is… a bunch of different things that don’t work together , but they are all different shows. Star Trek was one thing, and beginning with Discovery , it became many things. And for Star Trek, an institution that preaches the value of infinite diversity in infinite combinations, that’s a legacy to be proud of.

Star Trek: Discovery is now streaming in full on Paramount Plus.

Star Trek: Discovery boldly goes where no Trek has gone before by saying religion is... OK, actually

Star trek: discovery is cracking open a box next gen closed on purpose, star trek: discovery is finally free to do whatever it wants, loading comments....

Den of Geek

Star Trek Discovery Ending Explained and How the Finale Connects to “Calypso”

Exclusive: Star Trek Discovery showrunner Michelle Paradise breaks down the series finale and what the ending means for Michael Burnham and her crew.

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This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers.

After five seasons, Star Trek: Discovery , the series that launched a new era of Star Trek programming on television, has come to an end with the finale “Life, Itself.” Leaning heavily on the science fiction action and prominently connecting with Star Trek elements introduced in the ‘90s, Discovery ’s fifth and final season brought the adventures of Starfleet officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) to a satisfying close. That conclusion includes a coda that was added after the creative team learned Discovery would not be renewed for a sixth season. The additional scenes were filmed to provide the finale with greater closure.

At the helm of the fifth season was Michelle Paradise, who has been an executive producer on the series since the second season and co-showrunner, with series co-creator Alex Kurtzman , since Discovery season 3. Paradise recently sat down with Den of Geek to go in full spoiler-y detail on wrapping Discovery and shares how far development on a potential sixth season had progressed before the team discovered they would not proceed with more episodes.

What Happens in the Star Trek: Discovery Series Finale

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 was largely driven by a scavenger hunt across the cosmos, with Captain Burnham and the USS Discovery following clues to recover technology from the Progenitors, a mysterious ancient race that seeded all known humanoid life in the galaxy eons ago. Unfortunately, the Discovery was not alone in this race, with the wanted criminal Moll and the Breen, a vicious alien race introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , looking to recover the technology for themselves. Racing toward the finish line in the finale, Burnham and Moll (Eve Harlow) both entered a pocket dimension where Burnham spoke with a holo program of a Progenitor, not only obtaining a data drive from them but learning that the Progenitors created life from ancient technology they discovered from another unknown race.

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In the end, Burnham not only convinced Moll to stand down but her new first officer Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) and the crew outmaneuvered the Breen warship, and though a quick analysis of the data revealed it could change all life in the galaxy, Burnham respected the Progenitors’ wishes by deciding to not share it with the Federation. Burnham’s Starfleet superior, Doctor Kovich (David Cronenberg), was understandably annoyed by this but understood and respected her reasoning. In return, Kovich revealed his real identity as Agent Daniels , a time-traveling Starfleet officer introduced in Star Trek: Enterprise .

Returning home for the coda section of the finale, the crew assembled to celebrate the wedding of Saru (Doug Jones) and Ni’Var President T’Rina (Tara Rosling) where Burnham and her paramour Cleveland “Book” Booker (David Ajala) also rekindled their romance. In an epilogue decades into the future that ties into the beloved Short Trek “Calypso,” an older Admiral Burnham sent off the Discovery and its sentient ship computer Zora (Annabelle Wallis) on an important mission. To commemorate its send-off, Zora was joined by holograms of the Discovery crew in their prime in one emotional final farewell.

Pivoting to a Series Finale After Discovery Was Canceled

Principal photography on Star Trek: Discovery season 5 wrapped in November 2022 with the initial expectation that the series would be renewed for a sixth season. However, Paramount+ and CBS Studios announced the fifth season of Discovery would be its last in March 2023, with additional scenes filmed the following month. For Paradise, this chance to wrap the story in a more satisfying way and tie up loose ends was a unique one that she and the rest of the creative team greatly appreciated.

“It’s a rare opportunity, so we remain so grateful to Paramount+ and CBS Studios for letting us do that, because it almost never happens,” Paradise says. She and Kurtzman were joined by fellow series writer Kyle Jarrow to develop a coda for the entire series, which evolved into the flash-forward of Burnham launching the Discovery for its final voyage. Paradise notes the idea of having the Discovery crew in their prime appear on the bridge for the last goodbye was something Kurtzman had in mind for a while.

“Alex pitched that scene on the bridge,” Paradise confirms. “I don’t know how long he had that in his mind, but it didn’t start this season. He’s had that in his head for I don’t know how long. It’s just so beautiful and so emotional. Getting to see everybody as they are now feels like it gives the audience an opportunity to say goodbye to all of our beloved characters.”

Paradise wanted the coda to be anchored by two characters in particular, Burnham and the Discovery itself, through the personified perspective of Zora. With Burnham as “the heart and soul” of the show, Paradise wanted to provide her with a coda that confirmed and detailed her happy ending. This extended to the closing scene on the bridge conveying to the audience that “Burnham and Book are okay, our crew is okay, and Zora and Discovery are also okay.”

Connecting to Star Trek’s Past: The Breen, the Progenitors, and Agent Daniels

The 32nd century setting of Discovery that began with the show’s third season allowed the creative team to remix familiar elements of the Star Trek mythos. For season 5, the story connected directly and prominently not only with the Breen—we finally learned what they looked like under those creepy helmets—but the Progenitors, a race only seen in a one-off sixth season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Although both the Breen and Progenitors appearing memorably in classic Star Trek series, Paradise felt they were relatively blank canvases to fill out creatively in writing Discovery season 5.

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“All we really knew about the Breen is that they were scary bad guys that had these really interesting suits that they wore,” Paradise reflects, noting they were simply known for being visually striking adversaries in DS9 . “We didn’t know much about them but, when you invoke the name of the Breen, you shudder a little bit. Getting to bring them into the season, just the name itself tells us that these are going to be formidable bad guys for our heroes, but didn’t want to just make them bad guys. It was also an opportunity to learn more about their culture.”

The Progenitors not only gave Discovery season 5 its MacGuffin but created a greater sense of mystery and tied into the season’s deeper existential themes of belonging and meaning. Paradise explains that the dark matter anomaly crisis in season 4 was analogous with COVID, leaving the crew searching for direction, with the theme highlighted by the Progenitor mission.

“It just felt right that all of our characters would be in that place, going on those journeys in different ways, but all exploring similar things,” Paradise observes. “It felt like having the Progenitors be a piece of that really spoke to the journey that they’re all on.”

The other big connection to past Star Trek series in Discovery season 5 was the unveiling of Kovich’s identity as Agent Daniels, a Temporal agent from the 31st century who encountered Captain Jonathan Archer in the first season of Star Trek: Enterprise . Inspired by David Cronenberg’s performance as Kovich, Paradise felt he added “layers upon layers” to the character and story and wanted to pay that off in a big way with the fifth season, even before learning that Discovery would not be renewed.

“Very early on, we knew we were going to have to answer the backstory of this character and who he is and that it had to be worthy of the character himself and the way David plays him,” Paradise recalls. “A couple of our writers who are very familiar with Star Trek: Enterprise suggested Daniels and the minute they did, all of our heads exploded a little bit because it just felt like that makes sense. We knew, coming into this season, that we wanted to answer that in what, at the time, we thought was the season finale.”

Tying Up Loose Ends, Discovery Season 6, and the “Calypso” Connection

Apart from the reveal of Kovich’s true identity and background, the other major plot thread that Paradise wanted to resolve was the timeline discrepancy created by the Star Trek: Short Treks episode “Calypso.” The short episode, released before the Discovery’s time jump to the 32nd century, revealed that at some point Zora had been without a crew for nearly a millennium when the ship encountered a lost soldier in the vastness of space. Before ending the series, Paradise wanted to tie up this loose end and clearly set up the events of “Calypso.”

“We always knew we were going to have to answer in the series somehow,” Paradise explains. “Finding a way to address that within the coda in a way that would feel satisfying for people who had seen [ Star Trek: Short Treks ], but not feel distracting or confusing for people who didn’t know it. Finding a way to satisfy both sides of the audience, it felt like our audience, even if they don’t know Short Treks , they’re now familiar with the ‘Red Directive’ term.”

Even though Paradise hadn’t initially planned for Star Trek: Discovery ending with its fifth season, plans for a potential sixth season had not substantially been formed by the time she learned Discovery would not be continuing. For Paradise, the important thing was that the show got the opportunity to resolve its biggest outstanding plot thread in its final scene.

“In terms of a possible season 6 and how we would’ve mixed things up further moving forward, I can’t really answer that because we didn’t really get farther down the road,” Paradise admits. “We were in the very early stages of thinking what a season 6 might be when we found out that season 5 would be our last.”

Even if Discovery season 6 will only ever exist in our imaginations, at least we got a moment to say a proper goodbye to our beloved crew before the end.

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

Discovery's Final Episode Breaks an Infamous Star Trek Curse

Stick the landing.

The finale of Star Trek: Discovery was given the impossible task of concluding Season 5’s 10-episode story while also serving as a capper for the entire show and wrapping up a handful of Short Treks anthology episodes. But while Trek series finales can be a mixed bag, Discovery fans can rest easy. Its series finale, “Life Itself,” manages to stick the landing. Here’s a spoiler-free look at why you can’t miss the Discovery finale, which makes for an impressive but concise balancing act that ends the show with confidence and class.

While the series finales of The Next Generation (“All Good Things...”) and Deep Space Nine (“What You Leave Behind”) were generally well-received, not all Star Trek series finales have been compelling. 2023’s Picard finale was a slam-dunk, but it was an extension of The Next Generation. The Original Series and The Animated Series didn’t have planned finales and just stopped on somewhat random episodes. Opinions are divided on the Voyager finale, “Endgame,” but Chakotay and Seven’s sudden romance is unrealistic, and Janeway’s time paradox story feels like a retread of “All Good Things...” Most infamously, the 2004 Enterprise series finale is considered a bad finale and perhaps one of the worst Trek episodes ever, as it focuses on guest stars dragged in from Next Gen instead of its own cast.

So making a good finale to wrap up a Star Trek series isn’t exactly a high bar to clear. The circumstances surrounding Discovery’s series finale are an odd combination of the planned finales for TNG, DS9, and Voyager, and the unexpected conclusions to TOS, The Animated Series, and Enterprise . Thankfully, that cocktail seems to be effective.

It’s no secret that the final episode of Discovery wasn’t planned to be the series finale. Nearly a year after Season 5 finished shooting, it was decided that Discovery would come to an end. And so, while the season was being edited, showrunner Michelle Paradise and Alex Kurtzman created an extended coda for Episode 10. As reported back in 2023 , Discovery was given “additional filming to help craft a conclusion for the series.” Discovery’s last episode was retroactively transformed into a series finale.

While hardcore fans might be able to see where the original season ending and new series ending were glued together, the finale is still extremely satisfying. Nothing about “Life Itself” overstays its welcome, nor does it feel like the story of Michael Burnham and the Discovery crew is being short-changed. It’s actually hard to imagine what certain characters would have done afterward had there been a Season 6. The final moments do hint at stories that could be explored in future Trek series, and the Final Frontier's distant future is still in flux. But when faced with the task of wrapping up an epic action-adventure series set inside a sprawling franchise, Discovery’s finale does it all with grace.

The Star Trek: Discovery finale, “Life Itself,” hits Paramount+ on Thursday, May 30 at 3:00 AM EST.

• Science Fiction

Why Detmer & Owosekun Were Missing From Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Explained By Showrunner

Warning: This Article Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery's Series Finale - "Life, Itself"

• The actors playing Lt. Commanders Detmer and Owosekun had scheduling conflicts, explaining their absence in Star Trek: Discovery season 5.
• Showrunner Michelle Paradise clarified that the beloved characters were not benched, but Emily Coutts and Oyin Oladejo had other projects.
• Detmer and Owo return in Star Trek: Discovery's series finale.

Star Trek: Discovery showrunner Michelle Paradise reveals why Lt. Commanders Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts) and Joann Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo) missed most of season 5. Detmer and Owo were USS Discovery bridge crew members and familar faces since Star Trek: Discovery season 1. However, audiences couldn't help but notice that Detmer and Owosekun were absent for much of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 and replaced by Lt. Commander Asha (Christina Dixon) and Commander Lorna Jemison (Zahra Bentham).

Michelle Paradise responded to @RommelVFX on X and set the record straight that scheduling conflicts is the reason why Detmer and Owosekun didn't appear throughout most of Star Trek: Discovery season 5. Read Paradise's post below:

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

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

Why Detmer & Owosekun's Absence Mattered In Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

Discovery's final season wasn't the same without detmer and owo..

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 introduced a mostly new bridge crew, with Lt. Commander Asha taking over for Keyla Detmer at the helm of the USS Discovery and Commander Jemison subbing for Joann Owosekun at operations. In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors" , Detmer and Owosekun were assigned to pilot the Mirror Universe's ISS Enterprise to Federation HQ by Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). This explained Detmer and Owo's absence for the rest of Discovery season 5.

Detmer and Owo do appear in Star Trek: Discovery's epilogue scene.

Detmer and Owosekun's absence was felt by longtime Star Trek: Discovery fans who wanted their characters' backstories and personalities fleshed out, especially since season 5 was Disco 's final season. However, scheduling conflicts prevented Emily Coutts and Oyin Oladejo from being in every episode of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, and the fact that there won't be a Star Trek: Discovery season 6 means it's now a lost opportunity. However, Detmer and Owo do appear in Star Trek: Discovery 's epilogue scene, and they were a sight for sore eyes.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is streaming on Paramount+

Cast Blu del Barrio, Oded Fehr, Anthony Rapp, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Wilson Cruz, Eve Harlow, Mary Wiseman, Callum Keith Rennie

Streaming Service(s) Paramount+

Franchise(s) Star Trek

Writers Alex Kurtzman

Directors Jonathan Frakes, Olatunde Osunsanmi

Showrunner Alex Kurtzman

Where To Watch Paramount+

Screen Rant

Jeri ryan's seven of nine costumes in star trek: voyager made no sense.

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Jeri Ryan, Voyager’s Seven Of Nine & Star Trek Future Explained

I can't believe star wars did that to carrie-anne moss, daryl dixon season 2 can't ignore the 3-year-old zombie outbreak mystery season 1 forgot about.

• The Doctor says Seven of Nine's skin-tight suit helps with the healing process post-Borg removal - but is it necessary?
• In Star Trek: Picard, Seven's practical civilian clothes replace the medically-prescribed catsuits and high heels.
• Seven's wardrobe evolution shows her newfound agency, ditching the outfits that were never medically necessary.

Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine costumes in Star Trek: Voyager made no sense. After Seven of Nine's connection to the Borg Collective is severed in Star Trek: Voyager season 4, episode 1, "Scorpion, Part 2", Seven's human body begins rejecting its Borg implants. To save Seven of Nine's life, the Doctor (Robert Picardo) and Kes (Jennifer Lien) work together in Star Trek: Voyager season 4, episode 2, "The Gift", to surgically remove Seven's extensive Borg implants, which allows Seven's humanity to physically reassert itself. By the episode's end, Seven of Nine looks practically human, with regrown hair and new clothing: a tight silver catsuit with integrated high-heeled shoes.

It's no secret that Jeri Ryan was added to the Star Trek: Voyager cast to draw in new viewers as a sexually appealing young woman, and in that regard, it does actually make perfect sense to outfit Seven of Nine in tight costumes and high heels. The young male demographic that Star Trek: Voyager intended to court by adding Seven of Nine is far more likely to tune in when Ryan, as the new hot girl, is wearing something that shows off her body. The reason for Seven of Nine's costumes is abundantly clear from a production standpoint. In-universe, however, the explanation for Seven's outfits is murkier.

From Borg Drone to Starfleet Captain, Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine has had a fascinating story arc on Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Picard.

The Doctor Designed Seven of Nine's Star Trek: Voyager Costumes But They Made No Sense

The borg do not wear high heels.

The disconnect comes because Star Trek: Voyager attempts to give an in-universe reason for Seven of Nine's sexy costumes . The Doctor takes credit for designing Seven's skintight silver suit, which is ostensibly supposed to aid in the healing process after 82% of Seven's Borg hardware has been removed. The structure of the underlying corset is intended to mimic rigid Borg exo-plating that, theoretically, Seven's human muscular system hasn't adapted to the absence of. This also implies there's a reason for Seven's shoes that's connected to de-assimilation, but Seven of Nine did not wear high heels as a Borg . It would have made more sense to do away with any explanation at all.

Seven of Nine's silver catsuit disappears after a few episodes, and a new brown bodysuit debuts in Star Trek: Voyager season 4, episode 6, "The Raven", presumably because the medical need for the tightly-corseted costume has passed in the time Seven has been aboard the USS Voyager. Instead of replicating a Starfleet uniform for Seven of Nine, as was done for Star Trek: Voyager 's Maquis crewmembers , Seven continues to wear skintight unitards. It could be argued that a one-piece garment made from a stretch fabric that allows for ease of movement is efficient, but if that's the case, there's no reason for Seven of Nine to continue wearing corsets and high heels, as she does.

Seven of Nine wears a Starfleet uniform in Star Trek: Voyager season 7, episode 11, "Shattered", when Seven is assigned an undercover mission in the USS Voyager's past.

Seven Of Nine's Star Trek: Picard Costumes Are More Practical

Seven's utilitarian clothes look great on jeri ryan.

When audiences are reunited with Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Picard , Seven's trademark catsuits are nowhere to be found, instead replaced with clothes that Seven of Nine chooses to wear for herself. Seven of Nine's Fenris Ranger look are part of a rugged and practical civilian ensemble, entirely appropriate for the action-packed lifestyle Seven has in Star Trek: Picard season 1. In Star Trek: P icard season 2, Seven of Nine trades the wardrobe of the Confederation of Earth's President Annika Hansen for easy-wearing civilian attire. As a full-fledged Starfleet officer in Star Trek: Picard season 3, Commander Seven of Nine is, at long last, outfitted in a Starfleet uniform.

Ultimately, Seven of Nine's Star Trek: Picard wardrobe reflects well-earned agency after decades of humanity. Gone are the medically-prescribed catsuits and ridiculous high heels. Instead, Seven's clothes are a realistic evolution of a character who's figured out to be human, and makes her own choices. The Borg tenets of efficiency and utility are still high priorities, but in each season, Seven of Nine's costumes on Star Trek: Picard are clearly comfortable. It's a welcome change that proves the catsuits and heels that the Doctor prescribed were never actually medically necessary in Star Trek: Voyager.

Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Picard are streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Voyager

Star trek: picard.