Flesh and Blood (Star Trek: Voyager)

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"Flesh and Blood"
Star Trek: Voyager episodes
Episode nos.Season 7
Episodes 9 & 10
Directed by Mike Vejar (part I)
David Livingston (part II)
Story byJack Monaco (part I)
Bryan Fuller (parts I & II)
Raf Green (parts I & II)
Teleplay by Brian Fuller (part I)
Raf Green (part II)
Kenneth Biller (part II)
Featured music David Bell
Production code253 & 254
Original air dateNovember 29, 2000 (2000-11-29)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Nightingale"
Next 
"Shattered"
Star Trek: Voyager season 7
List of episodes

"Flesh and Blood" is a two-part episode from the seventh season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager . The crew of USS Voyager must contend with violent Delta Quadrant aliens the Hirogen, who use the holodeck technology with a horrific amoral twist.

Contents

Overview

The episode originally aired on UPN on November 29, 2000; it was played later in two separate approximately 45 minute installments. [1]

This episode is a follow on from the events of "The Killing Game". [2]

Plot

The U.S.S. Voyager discovers a Hirogen ship that has been turned into a large holodeck. All but one of the crew are dead; the survivor, an engineer named Donik, reveals the holograms found a way to disable security controls and kill the crew. Voyager is soon met by another Hirogen ship also responding to the distress call. The two ships are led into a trap set by the holograms, leaving Voyager helpless to stop the holograms from abducting Voyager's holographic Doctor.

Aboard the holo-ship, the Doctor finds the holograms to be those of other Alpha Quadrant races. Their leader, the Bajoran Iden, asks the Doctor to help tend to their wounded, which surprises the Doctor as holograms cannot be harmed. He finds that the Hirogen modifications cause the holograms to experience pain and death many times over as to make their training more realistic.

The Doctor explains Iden's case to Captain Janeway. The two get into a heated debate over holographic rights just as the Hirogen make contact with their homeworld and engage in combat with the security teams in the Mess Hall. Iden detects two Hirogen vessels approaching and fires on Voyager. Iden abducts Torres onto his ship before they take off into warp.

On the holo-ship, the Doctor explains the holograms' plight to Torres. Iden identifies a nearby Y-class planet where they will set up their society. En route to the planet, they come upon a Nuu'bari mining vessel that uses photonic beings for manual labor. The Doctor and Torres find other holograms have become wary of Iden's intentions.

Voyager arrives and prepares to fire on the holo-ship. Iden transports several of the Hirogen from their ships to the surface, where they are hunted by the holograms. The Nuu'Bari holograms are activated, but do not understand. Torres explains that their programs are not complex enough.

The Doctor finds Iden before he can execute the Hirogen leader and tries to convince him to stop. Iden refuses to listen and, as he proceeds to land a lethal blow, the Doctor fires his weapon, fully disrupting Iden's program.

The surviving Hirogen are treated and returned to their ships. On Voyager, the Doctor accepts his responsibility for disobeying orders and working with the holograms.

Reception

Jamahl Epsicokhan in Jammer's Reviews assigns this episode 3.5 out of 4 stars and calls Flesh and Blood: 'a well-crafted Voyager outing. As an "epic two-hour telefilm!" it's by far the best of the series' three (excluding the pilot), the other two being the dumb and bloated "The Killing Game" and the entertaining but relatively thin "Dark Frontier."' [3]

In 2019, CBR ranked this the 19th best holodeck-themed episode of all Star Trek franchise episodes up to that time. [4]

In 2016, SyFy Wire ranked this the 6th best episode Bryan Fuller wrote for, and felt it was a brilliant idea but not perfect. [5] That same year Den of Geek, ranked the episodes the 15 (Part I) and 16th (Part II) best Bryan Fuller episodes. [6]

Home media

On December 21, 2003, this episode was released on DVD as part of a Season 7 boxset; Star Trek Voyager: Complete Seventh Season. [7]

Related Research Articles

The Doctor (<i>Star Trek: Voyager</i>) Fictional character from Star Trek: Voyager

The Doctor, an Emergency Medical Hologram, is a fictional character portrayed by actor Robert Picardo on the television series Star Trek: Voyager, which aired on UPN between 1995 and 2001. He is an artificial intelligence manifesting as a holographic projection, designed to act as a short-term supplement to the medical staff of a starship during emergency situations. However, when the starship Voyager is stranded on the far side of the galaxy with no surviving medical personnel, he is forced to act as the ship's chief medical officer for several years. In an example of the Star Trek franchise's exploration of artificial intelligence, a simple software program becomes a major character in the show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B'Elanna Torres</span> Fictional character

B'Elanna Torres is a main character in Star Trek: Voyager played by Roxann Dawson. She is portrayed as a half-human half-Klingon born in 2346 on the Federation colony Kessik IV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holodeck</span> Star Trek device

The Holodeck is a fictional device from the television franchise Star Trek which uses "holograms" to create a realistic 3D simulation of a real or imaginary setting, in which participants can freely interact with the environment as well as objects and characters, and sometimes a predefined narrative.

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References

  1. TV.com. "Star Trek: Voyager: Flesh And Blood (1)". TV.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  2. "The Trek Nation - Flesh and Blood" . Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  3. Jamahl Epsicokhan. "Flesh and Blood". Jammer's Reviews . Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  4. "Star Trek: Ranking the 20 Best Holodeck Episodes". CBR. 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  5. Roth, Dany (2016-02-29). "Every Bryan Fuller Star Trek episode, ranked". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  6. "Every Bryan Fuller Star Trek Episode Ever, Ranked". Den of Geek. 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  7. "DVD Talk // Star Trek Voyager: Complete Seventh Season // Paramount // Unrated // December 21, 2004". www.dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2021-02-25.