Child's Play (Star Trek: Voyager)

Last updated
"Child's Play"
Star Trek: Voyager episode
Episode no.Season 6
Episode 19
Directed by Mike Vejar
Story byPaul Brown
Teleplay byRaf Green
Featured music David Bell
Production code239
Original air dateMarch 8, 2000 (2000-03-08)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Ashes to Ashes"
Next 
"Good Shepherd"
Star Trek: Voyager season 6
List of episodes

"Child's Play" is the 139th episode of Star Trek: Voyager , the 19th episode of the sixth season. Icheb (played by guest star Manu Intiraymi) takes center-stage as the crew of the USS Voyager spacehip once again grapple with the cybernetic Borg aliens, and their impact on the Delta Quadrant.

Contents

Plot

Captain Janeway informs Seven of Nine that the parents of Icheb, one of the children Seven has been taking care of, have been located and he is going to have to leave Voyager .

When they near Icheb's home planet, readings indicate there is a Borg transwarp conduit nearby and the planet has been attacked by the Borg several times. When Janeway, Seven, Icheb and Tuvok beam to the surface they meet the Brunali, who live in huts. The Brunali explain that they have to keep things low-tech or the Borg will detect them and attack the planet again.

After meeting Icheb's parents, Leucon and Yifay, the away team and Icheb's parents return to Voyager and discuss how to make the transition easier. While on board, Leucon explains to Seven that the Borg took Icheb four years ago when he wandered off to see a new fertilization array. After spending time with his parents, Icheb decides to stay with the Brunali, despite Seven's protests.

As Voyager leaves the planet Seven begins to research the circumstances of Icheb's assimilation. She discovers that the Borg did not attack the planet four years ago, meaning Leucon was lying. When Seven gives this information to Janeway, the Captain turns the ship around and heads back to the Brunali planet.

Meanwhile, on the Brunali world, Icheb's parents grab him and inject him with an alien medical device. The device renders Icheb unconscious and his parents put him on a shuttle heading for the Borg transwarp conduit.

When Voyager returns to the planet, Seven discovers the shuttle heading for Borg space and Voyager pursues. Seven manages to transport Icheb onto Voyager just as a Borg sphere emerges from the conduit and traps both the shuttle and Voyager in a tractor beam. The crew transports a photon torpedo to the shuttle, which detonates inside the sphere and damages it, allowing Voyager to escape.

After leaving with Icheb the Doctor determines that Icheb had been genetically engineered with anti-Borg pathogens, suggesting his parents had raised him specifically to infect the Borg (as seen in the earlier episode, "Collective") and stop the attacks on their planet. Seven begins to help Icheb understand that as an individual he can determine his own destiny.

Reception

In 2019, SyFy recommend this episode for their Seven of Nine binge-watching guide. [1] This episode is noted for featuring the Borg aliens and fictional biological weapons. [2]

Continuity

The ex-Borg teenager Icheb was previously introduced in the episode "Collective" (S6E16), after which Icheb became a recurring character for the remainder of show's run. [3] Icheb also returns in Star Trek: Picard season one. [4]

Releases

This episode was released as part of a season 6 DVD boxset on December 7, 2004. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seven of Nine</span> Fictional character in Star Trek franchise

Seven of Nine is a fictional character introduced in the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. Portrayed by Jeri Ryan, she is a former Borg drone who joins the crew of the Federation starship Voyager. Her full Borg designation was Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One. While her birth name became known to her crewmates, after joining the Voyager crew she chose to continue to be called Seven of Nine, though she allowed "Seven" to be used informally.

"Endgame" is the series finale of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, episodes 25 and 26 of the seventh season and 171 and 172 in the overall series. It was originally shown May 23, 2001, on the UPN network as a double-length episode and later presented as such in DVD collections, but it is shown in syndicated broadcasts as a two-part story.

"One" is the 93rd episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 25th and penultimate episode of the fourth season. It originally aired on May 13, 1998.

"The Raven" is the 74th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the sixth episode of the fourth season. The episode was directed by LeVar Burton, and was broadcast on UPN in October 1997.

"Relativity" is the 118th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager airing on the UPN network. It is the 24th episode of the fifth season.

Drone (<i>Star Trek: Voyager</i>) 2nd episode of the 5th season of Star Trek: Voyager

"Drone" is the 96th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the second episode of the fifth season. The crew of the 24th-century spacecraft USS Voyager deal with a Borg drone, played by guest star J. Paul Boehmer.

"Infinite Regress" is the 101st episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the seventh episode of the fifth season. The show depicted a Starfleet spacecraft slowly making its way back to Earth after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant.

"Unimatrix Zero" is a two-part episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the cliffhanger between 26th episode of the sixth season and the first episode of the seventh season. Starfleet's USS Voyager, stranded on the other side of the Galaxy, once again encounters a race of cybernetic organisms called the Borg as the ship journeys back to Earth.

"Survival Instinct" is the 122nd episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. In this episode, Voyager encounters three aliens played by guest stars Vaughn Armstrong, Bertila Damas, and Tim Kelleher. This show expands the story of the character Seven of Nine.

"Imperfection" is the 148th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the second episode of the seventh season. The ex-Borg Seven of Nine has a medical technology crisis that must be resolved by the crew of the USS Voyager, lost far from Earth in the 24th century. This episode involves the cybernetic Borg aliens, which were previously introduced on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

"Natural Law" is the 168th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 21st episode of the seventh season.

"The Gift" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the 70th episode overall. The episode marks the transition of Kes, played by Jennifer Lien, out of the main cast of the series, and integrates her replacement, Seven of Nine, played by Jeri Ryan, into the ensemble.

"The Killing Game" is a two-part episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the 18th and 19th episodes of the fourth season. In the episode, a Hirogen hunting party has taken over Voyager and put its crew to work as living holodeck characters. Their minds are controlled by neural interfaces which make them believe they are their characters, and the Hirogen hunt them in two holodeck programs. These are the third and fourth episodes of the Hirogen story arc.

"Prey" is the 84th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the 16th episode of the fourth season, and the second episode of the Hirogen story arc. The episode centers upon a member of Species 8472, who escapes capture by the Hirogen, and boards Voyager. This results not only in an uneasy alliance between the Voyager crew and the Hirogen hunting the alien, but tension between Janeway and Seven, who harbor different ideas about how to resolve the situation.

"Dark Frontier" is a feature length episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 15th and 16th episodes of the fifth season. This episode originally aired as a feature-length episode that was later broken up into two parts for reruns in syndication. Actress Susanna Thompson guest stars alongside the cast of this Star Trek television show as the Borg queen. The crew of a spacecraft trying to get back to Earth once again encounter a race of cybernetic organisms bent on Galactic domination. Ex-Borg character Seven of Nine struggles with her past as she rediscovers her humanity aboard the spacecraft.

"Collective" is the 136th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 16th episode of the sixth season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borg</span> Fictional faction in Star Trek

The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the Star Trek fictional universe. The Borg are cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a hive mind called "The Collective." The Borg co-opt the technology and knowledge of other alien species to the Collective through the process of "assimilation": forcibly transforming individual beings into "drones" by injecting nanoprobes into their bodies and surgically augmenting them with cybernetic components. The Borg's ultimate goal is "achieving perfection."

"Human Error" is the 164th episode of the TV series Star Trek: Voyager, the 18th episode of the seventh season. Seven of Nine explores her romantic side, in her ongoing recovery aboard the USS Voyager. Set in the Star Trek universe, a Federation starship must spend decades making its way back to Earth. In its last season, writers take us deeper into the character Seven of Nine.

"Scorpion" is a two-part episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager that served as the last episode of its third season and the first episode of its fourth season. "Scorpion" introduced the Borg drone Seven of Nine and Species 8472 to the series.

References

  1. Fleenor, S. E. (2019-04-16). "The Seven of Nine binge guide". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  2. Erdmann, Terry J. (2008-09-23). Star Trek 101: A Practical Guide to Who, What, Where, and Why. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   9781439117873.[ verification needed ]
  3. Fleenor, S. E. (2019-04-16). "The Seven of Nine binge guide". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  4. Blauvelt, Christian (2020-02-21). "'Picard': The Most Violent 'Star Trek' Scene Ever, and Why Seven of Nine's Story Needed It". IndieWire. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  5. Holly E. Ordway (November 29, 2004). "Star Trek Voyager: Complete Sixth Season". DVD Talk . Retrieved 2021-04-20.