"
Flashback" is the name of the 44th episode of
Star Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. The show was created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and Jeri Taylor and is the fourth incarnation of Star Trek, which began with the 1960s series Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry...
, the second episode of the third season.
It is noteworthy for featuring characters of
the Original SeriesStar Trek is a science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that aired from September 8, 1966 to September 2, 1969. Though the original series was titled simply Star Trek, it has acquired the retronym Star Trek: The Original Series to distinguish it from the spinoffs that...
of the late 1960s, most noticeably
Hikaru SuluHikaru Sulu is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by George Takei in the original Star Trek series, Sulu also appears in the animated Star Trek series, the first six Star Trek movies, one episode of Star Trek: Voyager, and in numerous books, comics, and video games...
(
George TakeiGeorge Hosato Takei Altman is an Japanese American actor, best known for his role in the television series Star Trek, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise. He played the father of Hiro Nakamura, Kaito Nakamura, on the NBC television show Heroes...
) and
Janice RandYeoman Janice Rand, played by Grace Lee Whitney, is a character in Star Trek: The Original Series. She subsequently appears in several Star Trek films and in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager.-Depiction:...
(
Grace Lee WhitneyGrace Lee Whitney is an American actress and entertainer, also known as Ruth Whitney and Lee Whitney. She is most famous for playing the role of Janice Rand on the Star Trek television series and films.-Early life:...
). Naturally enough, both characters appear by means of a flashback by
TuvokTuvok, a Vulcan played by Tim Russ, is a character on the television series Star Trek: Voyager where he serves as the ship's chief of security as well as being its chief tactical officer.-Overview:...
. The episode was produced, along with
Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television program that premiered in 1993 and ran for seven seasons, ending in 1999. Rooted in Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek universe, it was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, at the request of Brandon Tartikoff, and produced by Paramount...
s "Trials and Tribble-ations" as part of Star Trek
`s 30th anniversary.
"
Flashback" is the name of the 44th episode of
Star Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. The show was created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and Jeri Taylor and is the fourth incarnation of Star Trek, which began with the 1960s series Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry...
, the second episode of the third season.
It is noteworthy for featuring characters of
the Original SeriesStar Trek is a science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that aired from September 8, 1966 to September 2, 1969. Though the original series was titled simply Star Trek, it has acquired the retronym Star Trek: The Original Series to distinguish it from the spinoffs that...
of the late 1960s, most noticeably
Hikaru SuluHikaru Sulu is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by George Takei in the original Star Trek series, Sulu also appears in the animated Star Trek series, the first six Star Trek movies, one episode of Star Trek: Voyager, and in numerous books, comics, and video games...
(
George TakeiGeorge Hosato Takei Altman is an Japanese American actor, best known for his role in the television series Star Trek, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise. He played the father of Hiro Nakamura, Kaito Nakamura, on the NBC television show Heroes...
) and
Janice RandYeoman Janice Rand, played by Grace Lee Whitney, is a character in Star Trek: The Original Series. She subsequently appears in several Star Trek films and in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager.-Depiction:...
(
Grace Lee WhitneyGrace Lee Whitney is an American actress and entertainer, also known as Ruth Whitney and Lee Whitney. She is most famous for playing the role of Janice Rand on the Star Trek television series and films.-Early life:...
). Naturally enough, both characters appear by means of a flashback by
TuvokTuvok, a Vulcan played by Tim Russ, is a character on the television series Star Trek: Voyager where he serves as the ship's chief of security as well as being its chief tactical officer.-Overview:...
. The episode was produced, along with
Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television program that premiered in 1993 and ran for seven seasons, ending in 1999. Rooted in Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek universe, it was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, at the request of Brandon Tartikoff, and produced by Paramount...
s "Trials and Tribble-ations" as part of Star Trek
`s 30th anniversary. While the DS9 episode featured stock footage of the majority of The Original Series
cast, the base episode, "The Trouble With Tribbles", did not feature Takei (who was filming his role in The Green BeretsThe Green Berets is a 1968 film featuring John Wayne, George Takei, David Janssen, Jim Hutton, and Aldo Ray, nominally based on the eponymous 1965 book by Robin Moore, though the screenplay has little relation to the book....
while "Tribbles" was shooting). As compensation, he was given an all new part in this episode.
Plot
As Voyager monitors a nebula with large quantities of the power source sirillium,
TuvokTuvok, a Vulcan played by Tim Russ, is a character on the television series Star Trek: Voyager where he serves as the ship's chief of security as well as being its chief tactical officer.-Overview:...
finds his hands shaking, and requests permission to go to sickbay. En route, he experiences a flashback that involves him trying to pull a young girl off a cliff to safety. The girl ends up falling, horrifying young Tuvok. Eventually, he arrives in sickbay, and collapses, convulsing on the floor.
In sickbay, Tuvok describes the memory, but insists the events he 'remembered' never occurred. With no clear cause of his symptoms, he is dismissed with a device to monitor his readings in case such an event occurs again. That night, he attempts to build a 'structure of harmony' in an effort to aid his meditation, but cannot stop the structure from collapsing. After a visit from
KesKes is a character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager, played by Jennifer Lien.She was a regular for the first three seasons, leaving the show in the season four episode "The Gift". She made one guest appearance two seasons later....
, he attempts again.
The next morning, he notes he had spent fourteen hours meditating, and still had no idea what the cause of the problem was.
Ensign KimEnsign Harry Kim, played by Garrett Wang, is a character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager. He serves as the USS Voyagers operations officer. Actor Garrett Wang was vocally dissatisfied with the Harry Kim character, calling him the result of poor character development.-Depiction:Kim was...
could not find anything unusual with the nebula they were near, but Tuvok suggests they scan it for
KlingonKlingons are a warrior race in the fictional Star Trek universe. They are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and seven feature films...
activity.
B'Elanna TorresB'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 2349 on the Federation colony Kessik IV. Torres joined the Maquis at age 21 in 2370 and was serving on the Val Jean when brought to the Delta Quadrant...
reminds him that the Klingon Empire is on the other side of the galaxy. Moments later, Tuvok sees the mental image again, and collapses once more.
In sickbay, the
DoctorThe Doctor is an Emergency Medical Hologram, "Mark I" character from the television series Star Trek: Voyager, played by actor Robert Picardo...
suggests the problem is a
repressed memoryRepressed memory is a theoretical concept used to describe a significant memory, usually of a traumatic nature, that has become unavailable for recall; also called motivated forgetting in which a subject blocks out painful or traumatic times in one's life...
, which in
VulcansVulcans are a humanoid species in the fictional Star Trek universe who evolved on the planet Vulcan, and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic with no interference from emotion. They were the first extraterrestrial species to officially make first contact with Humans, and later...
can cause brain damage due to the conflict between the conscious and unconscious minds. The only possible course of action is to initiate a mind meld – normally undertaken with a family member. Tuvok explains he would go to one of the Vulcans on board but he feels Janeway is the best choice to assist him in locating and reintegrating the memory. During the meld she would be an outside observer of the memories, unnoticed by anyone but Tuvok.
When Tuvok initiates the mind meld, he attempts to take them to the cliff in his memory, but instead they appear on the USS Excelsior, under attack by the Klingons. Explaining the attack, the memory moves once more, to three days before, when Praxis
explodedStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. It was released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire core cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. It was directed by Nicholas...
. After learning about how Captain Kirk and
Dr McCoyLeonard H. McCoy is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek series, McCoy also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in numerous books, comics,...
were placed on trial for the attempted assassination of the Klingon Chancellor,
Captain SuluHikaru Sulu is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by George Takei in the original Star Trek series, Sulu also appears in the animated Star Trek series, the first six Star Trek movies, one episode of Star Trek: Voyager, and in numerous books, comics, and video games...
attempted a rescue mission, which Tuvok was the only Excelsior crew member to protest.
In an effort to avoid confrontation with the Klingons, Sulu ordered an approach path through a nebula which bore a remarkable physical similarity to the one Voyager
was observing in the Delta Quadrant – the appearance causing Tuvok to recall the repressed memory once more, breaking the mind meld.
After a period of recovery for Tuvok, during which Janeway and Kim comment on the differences between Starfleet of the 23rd centuryThe 23rd century of the anno Domini era will span the years 2201–2300 of the Gregorian calendar.-Astronomical predictions:* 2221: Triple conjunction between Mars and Saturn.* December 2, 2223: At 12:32 UTC Mars will occult Jupiter....
and the 24thThe 24th century of the anno Domini era will span the years 2301–2400 of the Gregorian calendar. Unlike most century years, the year 2400 will be a leap year, and the first century leap year since the year 2000.-Astronomical events:...
, they try the mind meld again – appearing once more on the Excelsior
. After a discussion about Tuvok's motivations for joining StarfleetIn the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet is a humanitarian and peacekeeping armada of spacecraft, that provides defense, research, diplomacy, and exploration to the United Federation of Planets .-History:...
, a small Klingon attack began. After Sulu claimed their navigational equipment had malfunctioned, Kang insisted upon escorting the Excelsior back to
FederationThe United Federation of Planets is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
space, to help them from getting lost again. Sulu agreed, but on the way out of the nebula they were in, came up with a plan to disable the Klingon ship by igniting the sirillium that was also present in that nebula. After this succeeded, they set course once more for Qo'noS, before being attacked again by three Klingon battlecruisers – an attack that killed Lieutenant Dimitri Valtane. As Tuvok watched Valtane die, the memory appeared once more, and in sickbay, the neural engrams destabilize, preventing the meld from being broken. On the Excelsior, Sulu could suddenly see Janeway, who was supposed to merely be an observer. In an effort to blend into the memories, Tuvok takes Janeway to a time where she can steal Commander
Janice RandYeoman Janice Rand, played by Grace Lee Whitney, is a character in Star Trek: The Original Series. She subsequently appears in several Star Trek films and in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager.-Depiction:...
's uniform. In sickbay, the Doctor and Kes notice an irregularity in the memories, and deduced they were not in fact memories, but instead a virus. Using thoron radiation, they begin to kill the virus.
On the Excelsior, the attack occurs once more, and Valtane dies when a plasma conduit behind his console explodes. The image of the girl on the cliff appears, but this time, it is Janeway who is letting the girl fall. As the Doctor continues the efforts to kill the virus, it tracks back, changing to Valtane, and then an endless stream of other children. Eventually, it dies, and Tuvok breaks the meld.
In sickbay, the Doctor and Kes explain what must have happened: the virus thrived on neural peptides, and hid itself by creating the false memory that the person bearing it would repress, so the virus could live in secret, and migrate from person to person as its hosts died.
Walking down a corridor, Janeway suggests that Tuvok missed those days, a suggestion Tuvok rejects. However, he admits that he is pleased to have been a part of them, and having experienced the memories, Janeway says she feels she was a part of them as well. As a result, Tuvok suggests that she could feel nostalgic for the both of them.
External links