Living Witness

Last updated

"Living Witness"
Star Trek: Voyager episode
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 23
Directed by Tim Russ
Story by Brannon Braga
Teleplay by Bryan Fuller
Brannon Braga
Joe Menosky
Featured music Dennis McCarthy
Production code191
Original air dateApril 29, 1998 (1998-04-29)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Unforgettable"		Next →
"Demon"
Star Trek: Voyager season 4
List of episodes

"Living Witness" is the 91st episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager , the 23rd episode of the fourth season. This episode takes place in 3100s, when an AI program called The Doctor (played by Robert Picardo) is re-activated by aliens.

Contents

The events from Voyager's time in the Delta Quadrant, in the 2370s, are viewed through the eyes of history as museum spectators observe recreations of the past, nearly 700 years after the initial events. A backup of the Doctor's program is found and reactivated, allowing him to set the record straight. The episode deals with the topic of historical revisionism and is considered by critics as one of Voyager's best episodes.

This episode was directed by Tim Russ, who also plays Tuvok on the series. [1]

Setting

The episode is partly a review of events in 2374, partly the experiences of a copy of the Doctor's hologram program in the year 3074, and partly a review of these two time periods by historians in an unspecified more distant future.

Plot

The episode opens with a scene on the "warship Voyager ", an alternate Voyager with a brutal, sadistic crew. The Vaskan ambassador requests their military aid against their enemies, the Kyrians, but the crew goes above and beyond what is necessary, committing genocide against them with biological weapons and executing the Kyrian revolutionary hero Tedran. The scene is then revealed to be a recreation by a Kyrian museum exhibit, seven hundred years later. In the actual course of events, Captain Janeway had agreed to provide the Vaskans with medical supplies in exchange for dilithium crystals. Tedran and the Kyrians boarded Voyager to stop the deal, which they thought was a military alliance. During their time on the ship, they stole a data module carrying a backup copy of the Doctor.

Quarren (Henry Woronicz), the curator at the museum, has found the Doctor's backup module three weeks prior. He is able to activate it using Voyager's own tools. The Doctor, upon seeing this biased simulation of history, is appalled and offers to show Quarren the correct version of events. Initially, the Doctor's claims that Voyager was unfairly depicted by the Kyrians are ignored, and he is told he could be held accountable for war crimes when he presents his story to the Commission of Arbiters. The Doctor states, however, that a presently non-functional Starfleet medical tricorder would settle the issue of who killed Tedran.

After fending off an angry mob of Vaskans intent on destroying what they now know to be a museum of false history, the Doctor initially wishes to abandon his quest to set the record straight and says that the truth may cause more harm and violence. Quarren objects, saying that the tension between the Kyrian and Vaskan cultures has already reached the breaking point. Quarren stresses that both races on his planet need to hear the truth about the real course of events on Voyager. This persuades the Doctor to continue searching for the tricorder.

The episode ends an indeterminate number of years later, as the museum's new curator explains that the two species finally made peace thanks to the Doctor's efforts, with Quarren living long enough to see peace made. Following the peace, the Doctor served as the surgical chancellor for the Kyrians and Vaskans for many years, but eventually he took a ship and departed for Earth, saying that "he had a longing for home".

Reception

Space.com rated "Living Witness" as the 6th best Star Trek episode overall out of its seven hundred plus episodes. [2] The Hollywood Reporter rated "Living Witness" the 34th best episode of Star Trek overall. [3] Digital Trends gave "Living Witness" an honorable mention in an article highlighting the best episode from each Star Trek series. [4]

TrekNews.net ranked this the second best episode of Star Trek: Voyager. [5] Den of Geek ranked "Living Witness" the second best episode of Star Trek: Voyager, behind "Year of Hell" [6] and noted the "evil Voyager" segment as entertaining. [7] The Hollywood Reporter rated "Living Witness" the 3rd best episode of Star Trek: Voyager. [8] ScreenRant said this was the 7th best episode of Star Trek: Voyager, based on an IMDB rating of 8.8 out of 10. [9] SyFy ranked "Living Witness" as one of the top ten episodes of Star Trek: Voyager. [10] Vulture listed this episode as one of the best of Star Trek: Voyager. [11]

CBR rated "Living Witness" the 6th best 'holodeck' episode of the Star Trek franchise. [12]

Related Research Articles

"Ship in a Bottle" is the 138th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 12th episode of the sixth season.

"Someone to Watch Over Me" is the 116th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the 21st episode of the fifth season. It was directed by cast member Robert Duncan McNeil.

"Timeless" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of Star Trek: Voyager and was also the series' 100th episode.

"Message in a Bottle" is the 14th episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the 82nd episode overall. It aired on January 21, 1998 on the UPN network.

"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.

"Blink of an Eye" is the twelfth episode from the sixth season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, 132nd episode overall. The show is set in the 24th century of the Star Trek universe, aboard the USS Voyager spaceship on a decades long journey back to Earth.

"It's Only a Paper Moon" is the 160th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the tenth episode of the seventh season. Directed by Anson Williams, the episode was written by Ronald D. Moore and based on a pitch by David Mack and John J. Ordover, who had previously written "Starship Down" from season 4.

"Body and Soul" is the 153rd episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the seventh episode of the seventh season. This television episode is one installment of a science fiction series involving a spacecraft trying to get back to Earth from the other side of the Galaxy. The show aired on the United Paramount Network on November 15, 2000. It is focused especially on two characters, Seven of Nine and the holographic medical program called the Doctor. The episode was noted for its humor and acting performances in reception.

"Frame of Mind" is the 147th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the 21st episode of the sixth season. Written by Brannon Braga and directed by James L. Conway, it first aired on May 3, 1993, and focuses on First Officer Riker as he grapples with conflicting realities. The episode incorporates elements of the Tom Stoppard play Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, which had recently been performed by members of the cast.

"Worst Case Scenario" is the 67th episode and the 25th and penultimate episode of the third season of Star Trek: Voyager. This episode focuses on events that take place on a spacecraft virtual reality system, involving a plot based on factions established earlier in the series, the Maquis and Starfleet.

"Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy" is the 124th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the fourth episode of the sixth season. The title is a parody of the famous 1974 novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré.

"Bride of Chaotica!" is the 106th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager airing on the UPN network, the 12th episode of the fifth season. The episode originally aired on January 27, 1999. The episode largely takes place on the holodeck, which is running a holo-program in black and white instead of the usual color. This was because of a small fire to the Bridge set that had occurred while the episode was in production; as a result the Bridge scenes were shot weeks later after the set was repaired and scenes that were originally set for the Bridge were either entirely rewritten or set on a different part of the ship. The episode satirizes numerous elements of the classic 1936 film serial Flash Gordon and classic 1939 film serial Buck Rogers.

"Real Life" is the 64th episode of Star Trek: Voyager and the 22nd episode of the third season. This episode revolves around the Doctor dealing with his holographic family program. Robert Picardo plays a holographic AI aboard the starship USS Voyager in the 24th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Year of Hell</span> 8th and 9th episodes of the 4th season of Star Trek: Voyager

"Year of Hell" is a two-part episode from the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager which aired on UPN in November 1997. It aired in two parts, on November 5 and November 11, 1997. Part I was directed by Allan Kroeker and Part II by Mike Vejar; it was written by Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky. This includes a number of guest stars, including Kurtwood Smith.

"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. It is set in the 24th century aboard a starship returning to Earth after having been stranded on the other side of the Galaxy.

"Before and After" is the 63rd episode of the science-fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, and the 21st episode of the third season. It foreshadows events seen in a later episode, "Year of Hell". The episode debuted on UPN on April 9, 1997. This episode is focused on the alien and crew member Kes, played by actress Jennifer Lien, in a plot involving a complicated time travel paradox with the USS Voyager. In this science fiction show, the USS Voyager is a 24th century star ship stranded on the other side of the Galaxy as Earth, and must make its way back over what may be decades with motley collection of Starfleet, Maquis, and aliens as crew.

"Spirit Folk" is the 137th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager airing on the UPN network. It is the 17th episode of the sixth season. The titular USS Voyager spacecraft is stranded on the other side of the Galaxy as Earth and the United Federation of Planets.

"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.

Equinox (<i>Star Trek: Voyager</i>) 26th episode of the fifth season and 1st episode of the sixth season of Star Trek: Voyager

"Equinox" is a two-part episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the cliffhanger between the fifth and sixth seasons. This television episode features a 24th-century spacecraft, the USS Voyager, lost on the opposite side of the Galaxy as Earth, the Delta Quadrant, and they must make their way home.

"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. ↑ "Star Trek: Every Actor Who Also Directed Episodes Or Movies". ScreenRant. April 9, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  2. ↑ Entertainment, Elizabeth Howell 2017-09-20T16:19:28Z (September 20, 2017). "The 10 Best 'Star Trek' Episodes Ever". Space.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ ""E2" - 'Star Trek': 100 Greatest Episodes". The Hollywood Reporter. September 8, 2016.
  4. ↑ "The Best Star Trek Episodes from Every Series". www.digitaltrends.com. December 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  5. ↑ Michelle (February 23, 2016). "10 Best 'Star Trek: Voyager' Episodes". TREKNEWS.NET. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Top 10 Star Trek: Voyager episodes". Den of Geek. October 3, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Top 10 Star Trek: Voyager episodes". Den of Geek. October 3, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  8. ↑ ""Year of Hell" - 'Star Trek: Voyager' — The 15 Greatest Episodes". The Hollywood Reporter. September 23, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Star Trek: Voyager: Top Rated Episodes, According To IMDb". ScreenRant. April 19, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  10. ↑ Granshaw, Lisa (January 16, 2015). "20 years later: Our top 10 episodes of Star Trek: Voyager". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on February 23, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  11. ↑ Bastién, Angelica Jade (September 25, 2017). "A Beginner's Guide to the Star Trek Universe". Vulture. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Star Trek: Ranking the 20 Best Holodeck Episodes". CBR. January 4, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.