Living Witness (Voyager episode)
Encyclopedia
"Living Witness" is an episode of Star Trek: Voyager
, the 23rd episode of the fourth season. It has an average fan rating of 4.2/5 on the official Star Trek website as of September 2009.
In it, an alien museum curator 700 years in the future hopes a Voyager relic containing a copy of the Doctor can confirm their version of history.
: the crew wear altered versions of their uniforms with no combadges
or rank insignia, black gloves, and black turtlenecks. Chakotay
's name is repeatedly mispronounced by the crew as ("CHAC-a-tay") and his tattoo has grown in size as to cover half of his face and appears in the design of Māori Tā moko
markings. Janeway sports a butch
haircut and excessive schadenfreude
. Meanwhile, the Doctor has become an android mass murder
er while Tuvok
has adopted a sinister sense of humor; Seven of Nine
is a full Borg
with several other Borg drones serving as shock troops
onboard Voyager- this is possibly an insight into what would happen later on in Voyager when the Borg children arrive on board (The information gathered by the Kyrians may have come from other races experiences at that time). There are also numerous Kazon
actively patrolling the ship with phaser rifles in hand, and Neelix
is depicted as a bridge officer.
In the actual course of events, Captain Janeway
had agreed to provide the Vaskans with medical supplies in exchange for dilithium
crystals. The Kyrians, who were at war with the Vaskans, boarded Voyager to stop the deal, which they thought was a weapons deal of some sort. During their time on the ship, they stole a data module carrying a backup copy of the Doctor. 700 years later, this module was part of a Kyrian museum exhibit which showed their version of the encounter. This biased encounter showed Voyager as a warship with a savage and sadistic crew that was willing to commit genocide. Even the Vaskan in the simulation became horrified over the atrocities committed, but the simulated Janeway told him it was too late to stop now. Quarren, a curator at the museum, always fascinated by Voyager's story even though they were "the bad guys", had found (with the help from an archaeological team) the Doctor's backup module 3 weeks prior. He was able to activate it using Voyager's own tools. 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 version of history before the Commission of Arbiters. The Doctor states, however, that a presently non-functional Starfleet medical tricorder would settle the issue of who killed Tedran, a Kyrian revolutionary hero who died during a raid on Voyager. Eventually, after fending off an angry mob, he convinces the Kyrian curator to help him set the 700-year-old record straight. 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 efforts of the Doctor, although he always regretted that he would never see any of his friends again. Following that, 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; he said that 'He had a longing for home'.
, displacing the long-established impossibility of backing the Doctor up ("Message in a Bottle
", "The Swarm"). This inconsistency was later explained as the Doctors backup unit was constructed with materials that were unable to be replicated and that were never located by the Voyager crew. However, the episode was popular among fans, and has an average rating of 4.2/5 on the official Star Trek
website (as of September, 2009).
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
, the 23rd episode of the fourth season. It has an average fan rating of 4.2/5 on the official Star Trek website as of September 2009.
In it, an alien museum curator 700 years in the future hopes a Voyager relic containing a copy of the Doctor can confirm their version of history.
Plot
The episode opens with a scene on the "warship Voyager", quite obviously an unrealistic depiction of the ship which turns out to be the museum's recreation of events. Although the brutality and detachment of the crew is chilling, there are several dark, campy elements of the alternate reality that provide comic reliefComic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
: the crew wear altered versions of their uniforms with no combadges
Communicator (Star Trek)
Communicators are devices used for voice communication in the fictional universe of Star Trek. They allow direct contact between individuals or via a ship's communication system....
or rank insignia, black gloves, and black turtlenecks. Chakotay
Chakotay
Chakotay , played by Robert Beltran, is a character in Star Trek: Voyager. He is the First Officer of the USS Voyager.-Character biography:...
's name is repeatedly mispronounced by the crew as ("CHAC-a-tay") and his tattoo has grown in size as to cover half of his face and appears in the design of Māori Tā moko
Ta moko
Tā moko is the permanent body and face marking by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Traditionally it is distinct from tattoo and tatau in that the skin was carved by rather than punctured...
markings. Janeway sports a butch
Butch and femme
Butch and femme are LGBT terms describing respectively, masculine and feminine traits, behavior, style, expression, self-perception and so on. They are often used in the lesbian, bisexual and gay subcultures...
haircut and excessive schadenfreude
Schadenfreude
Schadenfreude is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. This German word is used as a loanword in English and some other languages, and has been calqued in Danish and Norwegian as skadefryd and Swedish as skadeglädje....
. Meanwhile, the Doctor has become an android mass murder
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
er while Tuvok
Tuvok
Tuvok is one of the main characters on the television series Star Trek: Voyager. Tuvok is a Vulcan who serves as the ship's chief of security and its chief tactical officer. Tim Russ portrayed Tuvok throughout the show's run, from 1995 to 2001....
has adopted a sinister sense of humor; Seven of Nine
Seven of Nine
Seven of Nine is a fictional character on Star Trek: Voyager, portrayed by actress Jeri Ryan. Born human, she was assimilated by the Borg at the age of six. Eighteen years later, Voyager left Borg space with Seven on board, after attempts to negotiate passage through Borg space proved only...
is a full Borg
Borg (Star Trek)
The Borg are a fictional pseudo-race of cybernetic organisms depicted in the Star Trek universe associated with Star Trek.Whereas cybernetics are used by other races in the science fiction world to repair bodily damage and birth defects, the Borg use enforced cybernetic enhancement as a means of...
with several other Borg drones serving as shock troops
Shock troops
Shock troops or assault troops are formations created to lead an attack. "Shock troop" is a loose translation of the German word Stoßtrupp...
onboard Voyager- this is possibly an insight into what would happen later on in Voyager when the Borg children arrive on board (The information gathered by the Kyrians may have come from other races experiences at that time). There are also numerous Kazon
Kazon
In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Kazon are a Delta Quadrant race. The Kazon are technologically inferior to the United Federation of Planets as it exists in the twenty-fourth century...
actively patrolling the ship with phaser rifles in hand, and Neelix
Neelix
Mr. Neelix is a fictional character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager. He is played by actor Ethan Phillips.-Fictional Biography:Mr. Neelix is a Talaxian originally from Rinax, a moon of the planet Talax, in the Delta quadrant, although his great-grandfather was Mylean. His entire family...
is depicted as a bridge officer.
In the actual course of events, Captain Janeway
Kathryn Janeway
Kathryn Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew, is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. As the captain of the Starfleet starship USS Voyager, she was the lead character on the television series Star Trek: Voyager, and later, a Starfleet admiral, as seen in the 2002 feature film Star Trek...
had agreed to provide the Vaskans with medical supplies in exchange for dilithium
Dilithium (Star Trek)
In the Star Trek universe, dilithium is a fictional chemical element, although dilithium is also the scientific name for a molecule composed of two lithium atoms....
crystals. The Kyrians, who were at war with the Vaskans, boarded Voyager to stop the deal, which they thought was a weapons deal of some sort. During their time on the ship, they stole a data module carrying a backup copy of the Doctor. 700 years later, this module was part of a Kyrian museum exhibit which showed their version of the encounter. This biased encounter showed Voyager as a warship with a savage and sadistic crew that was willing to commit genocide. Even the Vaskan in the simulation became horrified over the atrocities committed, but the simulated Janeway told him it was too late to stop now. Quarren, a curator at the museum, always fascinated by Voyager's story even though they were "the bad guys", had found (with the help from an archaeological team) the Doctor's backup module 3 weeks prior. He was able to activate it using Voyager's own tools. 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 version of history before the Commission of Arbiters. The Doctor states, however, that a presently non-functional Starfleet medical tricorder would settle the issue of who killed Tedran, a Kyrian revolutionary hero who died during a raid on Voyager. Eventually, after fending off an angry mob, he convinces the Kyrian curator to help him set the 700-year-old record straight. 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 efforts of the Doctor, although he always regretted that he would never see any of his friends again. Following that, 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; he said that 'He had a longing for home'.
Reception
This episode has been subject to criticism for introducing a backup EMH program as a plot devicePlot device
A plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
, displacing the long-established impossibility of backing the Doctor up ("Message in a Bottle
Message in a Bottle (Star Trek: Voyager)
"Message in a Bottle" is a popular episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the fourteenth episode of the fourth season, which premiered January 21, 1998...
", "The Swarm"). This inconsistency was later explained as the Doctors backup unit was constructed with materials that were unable to be replicated and that were never located by the Voyager crew. However, the episode was popular among fans, and has an average rating of 4.2/5 on the official Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
website (as of September, 2009).