Lifestyle | Woodacre’s Martin Rayner, the master of…

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Lifestyle | woodacre’s martin rayner, the master of transformation, woodacre resident reflects on longtime acting career.

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Courtesy of Martin Rayner

Woodacre actor Martin Rayner, left, in character as the ghost of Sigmund Freud.

Some may recognize Martin Rayner for playing villainous Dr. Chaotica...

Some may recognize Martin Rayner for playing villainous Dr. Chaotica in "Star Trek: Voyager." (Courtesy of Martin Rayner)

Martin Rayner's Rusty Ducks cottage. (Courtesy of Martin Rayner)

Martin Rayner's Rusty Ducks cottage. (Courtesy of Martin Rayner)

Martin Rayner has transformed the old Woodacre post office. (Courtesy...

Martin Rayner has transformed the old Woodacre post office. (Courtesy of Martin Rayner)

Martin Rayner has been an actor for 50 years. (Courtesy...

Martin Rayner has been an actor for 50 years. (Courtesy of Martin Rayner)

Martin Rayner’s life has always been centered around transformation. Over the last 50 years as an actor, he’s embodied everyone from the cancer-stricken Sigmund Freud — including during a 850 show run of “Freud’s Last Session” in New York City — to King Charles VI of France in “Henry V” alongside Liev Schreiber in Shakespeare in the Park in Central Park to the villainous Dr. Chaotica in a brief but iconic stint in “Star Trek: Voyager.”

After getting his start in London, he later moved to Dallas, where he was discovered by theater legend Adrian Hall and joined his Dallas Theater Center company, and would go on to star in numerous, varied productions across the country.

But, for the last five years, Rayner has settled down in Woodacre, channeling his creativity into a new project — transforming the former Woodacre post office into the Rusty Ducks cottage, a colorful place of his estate sale finds, homemade stain glass shutters and a 100-year-old oak floor from a pub from his native England that he calls home when he’s not in his apartment in Los Angeles.

He reprises his role as Freud in his ghostly form in “Now Hear This,” a PBS classical music documentary series, in the fall. The episode, entitled “Beethoven’s Ghost,” was shot in January with COVID protocols.

Q When did you get bit by the acting bug?

A I came from a poor family in England. My mom died when was 11, and my siblings and I learned to fend for ourselves. I was trained in physics and chemistry. I remember being at an interview for a laboratory job near London and I suddenly realized in the middle of it, this is not me at all. I don’t know why acting came, but it was like a light bulb went on. I hadn’t done any acting, and I had not seen a play except a school one, but as soon as I realized that, I never looked back. I eventually got into a drama school, and my life just completely changed.

Q You’ve battled cancer since 2006 and your aorta dissected a few years ago. What have these experiences taught you?

A I have had many rich experiences, I feel incredibly lucky. I have met the Queen and performed at the White House, all these different things. It made me realize that living in the now is a big secret. Now is really the only moment there is. My childhood was so difficult but it also gave me a great deal of empathy and insight. That kind of a background is what makes you as an actor able to reach deep into things. The difficulties and the struggles that my life have presented me have rewarded me as an actor.

Q What drew you to the stage?

A I was a character actor and I seemed to be best suited for the stage and I had a good voice for theater. I love the theater; it’s an incredibly craft to try to master.

Q Looking back on your career, what stands out?

A My favorite thing I have ever done was playing Myshkin, the idiot, in “The Idiot.” I think it was the best thing I ever did. Certainly doing Freud, and I rang the Nasdaq bell as Freud one day, fun things came of that show. There was only two of us in the show and we managed to keep it fresh all those performances and that took a lot of effort to do that. I was proud of that. And when George W. Bush was in the White House, and the war was going on, the kids of the soldiers were invited to the White House to celebrate Christmas because their parents were away and they asked us to do an excerpt from “A Christmas Carol,” which was a blast, and I played Scrooge.

Q What was it like being cast for “Star Trek?”

A I was mightily surprised because to me it was a little job but my son said, “You’re doing ‘Star Trek?’ That’s so cool.” It was wonderful experience, but what was also wonderful about it was when I would go to conventions and sign pictures. That’s a whole world onto itself. People would bring me things and say, “You are a trading card” or “You are in a book.” It was like, what! Just the other day, I was in San Rafael and these two young guys were fundraising for charity and I talked to them. One of them asked what I did and I always say stage actor and one of them said, “Don’t you do television?” I said “Yes, things like ‘Star Trek,'” They got so excited and started Googling me, and suddenly I am talking to these 20 year olds about a role I did ages ago.

Q How does it feel to be reprising your role at Freud for the upcoming show?

A These musicians were brilliant. Being in the scene with them and listing to moving music by Beethoven made the acting so much easier. I did Freud in New York and Los Angeles and I said, “This is the end of Freud,” and suddenly here I was. It was easier because I knew Freud by that point and that role allowed me to be much more subtle than on stage. I really enjoyed being naturalistic as Freud for a change.

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A look back at Star Trek: Voyager – Bride of Chaotica!

By d. goodman | jan 28, 2019.

chaotica voyager actor

It was 20 years ago this week that the bridge set of Voyager caught fire and lucky for all of us, the result was the classic episode Bride of Chaotica!

Star Trek, in all its various forms, has never shied away from taking on the issues of the day. From The Original Series to Deep Space Nine all the way to the new kid on the block Discovery , Star Trek has always told stories that worked on multiple levels. They usually tried to teach us something about ourselves and our humanity.

It’s what makes Star Trek so much more than phasers, explosions and one action sequence after another. It’s what makes the franchise special in the eyes of so many fans.

That all being said, there are times when Star Trek has let its hair down and tried for something a bit different. When getting a laugh was more important than a deeper understanding.

“The Trouble with Tribbles.” “Ménage à Troi.” “Take Me Out to the Holosuite.” All example of episodes where there was no grand meaning, no greater message to be learned. Just an excuse to have fun and laugh for a bit.

And if we’re talking about the silly side of Star Trek, then there is perhaps no better example than Star Trek: Voyager ‘s “Bride of Chaotica!”

“Bride of Chaotica!” aired 20 years ago this week, part of Voyager ‘s fifth season. The plot revolved around the holodeck and the Captain Photon program, which became necessary after a fire broke out on the bridge set and it couldn’t be used for a period of time.

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In the episode, which is almost entirely in black and white, the crew has to deal with photonic beings who have gone to war with Prince Chaotica, a Ming the Merciless clone from Captain Proton. There are some other things going on, but none of it really matters. The joy of “Bride of Chaotica!” is seeing Robert Duncan McNeill, Garrett Wang and Robert Picardo having a blast while playing Flash Gordon and getting paid to do it.

But the crown jewel of “Bride of Chaotica!” and why it is a classic is without a doubt Kate Mulgrew as Arachnia, Queen of the Spider People. For reasons that aren’t important, Captain Janeway has to enter the holodeck as Arachnia to help stop Chaotica. The result is the kind of performance that I doubt we’ll ever see again on Star Trek.

Mulgrew just crews up the scenery as Arachnia, channeling her inner Shatner and going completely over the top, seemingly loving every minute of it. I don’t think any other actor could have brought what Mulgrew did to that performance.

“Bride of Chaotica!” is regularly listed among the best episodes from the seven-year run of Star Trek: Voyager and with good reason. It was Star Trek at its silliest, most fun and totally absurd. Which is something you need every once in a while in even the best science-fiction universes.

Next. Frakes regrets passing on directing Star Trek: Nemesis. dark

Happy birthday “Bride of Chaotica!” We’re very happy you came into our lives, gave us a laugh or two and taught us to always use grandiose language.

TrekMovie.com

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Interview: Kate Mulgrew On ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ Reunion And Why It Would Be “Delicious” To Play Janeway Again

chaotica voyager actor

| May 25, 2020 | By: Laurie Ulster 138 comments so far

On Tuesday, the cast of Star Trek: Voyager will celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary with an online reunion at starsinthehouse.com, where they plan to raise some money for The Actors Fund .  To get a sense of what to expect—and also catch up, since we haven’t spoken to her in a year or so—we chatted with Kate Mulgrew about the event itself, what she’s up to in quarantine, and her thoughts on what castmates Garrett Wang and Robert Duncan McNeill have been up to.

We started out talking about current events, then quickly switched to “happier Star Trek things.”

Kate Mulgrew: It’s so surreal… talk about science fiction, right?

Well a lot of people are watching Star Trek now for comfort, either because of the familiarity, or for the optimism. So I think it’s a good time for it. In terms of the reunion you guys are doing. I read that Robert Picardo got the ball rolling, but how did getting the full Voyager cast come together?

Yeah, he’s terrific. He did. He manages these things with such dexterity. I am appallingly bad at them. Especially in quarantine, he’s been quite productive. He’s wonderful with press and he’s even better with altruistic stuff like this, like The Actors Fund and gathering us together. He has the energy for it, and he’s got the heart for it. He’s one of the most decent people I know, and we’re very, very close friends. So of course the minute he asked me I said, “I’d be delighted to, sweetheart.”

I read that you two talk all the time . Have you been keeping in touch with anyone else in your Voyager cast group, or will this really be a reunion?

This will be a reunion, but I feel like I just saw them. We were all on a boat in March [Star Trek: The Cruise]. Afterwards I got very, very sick and thought I had caught the virus. I was convinced that I had it because I was in bed for almost a month. But I had my antibodies results last week and they are negative! So, I can’t figure it out, at all, but there is a 50% false-negative on those results, so we will see.

But we had a great time together on this cruise. The only one missing was Robert Beltran and I think that was only because he had last-minute things. We had a great time. One night I threw a huge party and everyone came. Jeri Ryan and I sat out on the deck for hours, reminiscing and catching up on stuff. Everybody came in from Next Gen . It was just a great party that lasted all night long. So I feel that I’ve spent some quality time with them all. But it’ll be fun to do this Zoom with them.

My Voyager cast mates from the Trek Cruise! It was good to seem them again. pic.twitter.com/Y1Riy4ztH9 — tim russ (@timruss2) March 11, 2020

Do you have anything you know you want to talk about at the virtual reunion, or are you going to just let things roll?

Well, I would love to talk about acting. The future of acting. How we feel about it going forward. And I think certainly what it has given to us, looking backward. It saved most of our lives. Some of us have diverged. I think Garrett [Wang] has gone off and done other things, but most of us have stuck with the game plan, which is to act until we stagger into our graves. But I think it’s been imperiled by this pandemic. Also, a lot of us are getting older. I think we should talk about what acting has meant, what it means, and what it means to people.

You just said that everybody is watching Star Trek. There’s a reason for that. Acting is more than just acting. In situations like this you see that it is an imperative in the culture. And for some reason, and this is what we’ll talk about largely, Star Trek signifies hope. Of course, the parallel is terrific, isn’t it:  a capsule lost in a dark and dangerous place, the Delta Quadrant, could really be a wonderful comparison to where we are now. The planet is jeopardized, I think, and everybody’s scared and quite overcome by the magnitude of this pandemic, the perniciousness of it. And what it’s going to cost us coming out the other end. And how will we survive? We survive with art and this is an art that we cannot practice while we are contained like this.

So, all of these subjects will be touched on. And I think very well , because it’s an articulate group,  and they’re funny. And they’re very very smart.  And they’re all very decent, so it’ll be a good and lively talk I should think.

Because this is the 25 th anniversary of Voyager , there was a big reunion planned for Star Trek Las Vegas convention this summer. Do you think that’s even possible at this point?

It doesn’t feel like it will happen. Although they have not definitively stated anything. I think they’re clinging to the last hope. But, do we really want to walk into a confined area with 10,000 people is the question, right? For me, I will tell you it’s particularly hard—and probably my cast mates will attest to this—I’m not a touchy-feely person, but when a person in a wheelchair approaches me with a passionate either declaration or confession, or something he or she wants to share with me, it is my absolute instinct to touch that person. So I think that that would probably win out in Las Vegas this year, and I’d  be right back in trouble again. [laughs] That will have to be well-considered.

I don’t know. I don’t think so. And too bad for us, too, because it was supposed to be a sort of… the year was supposed to be an anniversary tour. All of those conventions in Europe have been canceled as well as everything domestically, so it’s too bad. It’s not fair! [laughs] But let’s wait and see what those guys think. [Creation Entertainment’s] Adam Malin and Gary Berman are wise, straight shooter kind of guys. I don’t think they would imperil thousands of people for any number of reasons, foremost among them lawsuits. But it looks doubtful, don’t you think? I think most people are just too nervous until a vaccine is available and approved. I’m with Anthony Fauci on this one.

I suppose talking about what else we might talk about, we might also talk about is politics.. Because it’s a cast full of liberals. We’ll get into it.

People are so polarized. How do you anticipate people reacting when you guys start talking politics? 

I think that we will state what we will state. We will stay composed. And we will take the questions accordingly. I’m the most outspoken and the most dangerous on her feet. So I’ll have to really sew my lips together. But I will state my mind if asked, that’s for sure. I mean, I’ve got to stop fooling around with this. And if I turn some people off, so be it. That is the way it goes. We have a future to think about here. I have a granddaughter coming in October and I’ll be good and damned if she’s going to walk into this thing, if I haven’t done something. I’ve been out stumping for my native state of Iowa, we’ve got to flip those seats. I am doing everything I can to change this. If Trump gets four more years, I am promising you, I will leave the country. And I will go and live in Ireland. There are very wise people over there. They get it. Anyway, let’s go on.

Yes, back to fun Star Trek things! Robert Duncan McNeill and Garrett Wang have been talking about resurrecting Captain Proton. Is that something you would want ever to do with them? Does that sound fun to you, being Queen Arachnia again?

As Queen Arachnia, that could be fun. What do you mean? How are they are thinking of doing it?

They are talking about making some kind of series or shorts. Robbie says he has talked to David Goodman, a producer on The Orville , about it. Garrett has suggested they could crowdfund it.

Huh. Well all I can tell you, is that was probably the greatest fun I had in the seven years on Star Trek . And I had a lot of fun doing that series, but playing Queen Arachnia with that guy, that actor [Martin Rayner as Doctor Chaotica], who was so good, and so alarmingly funny. I could barely make it through a take. You wouldn’t know this looking at my portrayal of Janeway, but when I go, I go. I am a complete corpser. I just lose it. Tears streaming down my cheeks. The guy was brilliant. S, the memory is sublime, but they haven’t talked to me about it. We’ll probably talk about that on the Zoom reunion.

But you would consider, if the circumstances are right, doing something like that with them?

I never say never, and never say die.

Bride of Chaotica - Star Trek: Voyagerc

Martin Rayner and Kate Mulgrew in “Bride of Chaotica”

Those two also have a podcast where they are watching every Voyager episode in order and talking about them. It’s called The Delta Flyers .

Tell me something: Are they drinking? [laughs]

[laughs] I’ve been listening to them, and I don’t know if they’re drinking, but their actor insecurities are on full display, because they’re rewatching their own work from twenty-five years ago.

That would go right to my head. Yeah.

Garrett seems obsessed with his ADR recordings and Robert is very worried about how Tom Paris comes across. [Kate laughs] If they asked you to join them for an episode, would you?

I don’t know, they haven’t asked me! Let’s see what they come up with, the little devils. They’re afraid of what I’d say, do you know that? They’re afraid. And Garrett Wang has been dining out on an impersonation of Janeway for years. [laughs]

Oh, they do that a lot.

I wouldn’t mind dissecting his performance. That would be interesting. Mr. Kim, Mr. Kim.

Would you ever undertake such a project, rewatching every episode of a show you were on?

Absolutely not.

Because life’s too short. I’m trying to write a novel here. I’mm in quarantine, but I’m struggling with this third book, which is a novel. My publisher thinks I can write a novel. Oh my god, I just want to  stick needles in my eyes! It’s so hard sometimes. But no, I would not do that, because if  you think they’re critical of their performance? I haven’t watched myself in thirty years on television. I haven’t watched myself in anything. No I simply will not. My ego is otherwise directed. Freud would have a field day with me. God knows it’s a substantial ego. But I refuse to endanger myself by watching myself. [laughs]

I’m fascinated by this, because if they did ask you to be on their podcast, you would have to watch the episode they were going to talk about.

Yes, but then I’d say to them that I get to choose the episode. I would choose one that I know I was proud of.

The Delta Flyers podcast

The Delta Flyers podcast, where you can hear many Kate Mulgrew impressions

I think that it is funny that they’re doing that. And great, because it’s great for the fans. But I remember it as being such a… it was so big, shooting that series in my life. It was just huge. I’m only now sort of resting. That’s how I feel about the rigor of it and the reward of it, certainly. But Captain Janeway really worked her little patoots off, there’s no question about it. And I wanted so much to make her great, because she was the first female. And that determination was always in my sights, regardless of what was going on at home. And there was a lot, because I was raising two little boys all by myself. And it was tough! Those were tough years. But if you can pull that off with some success, there was a great sense of satisfaction. I saw my great constitutional strength. I can really stand on my feet for a long time. My mind is strong, and my retentive powers are very robust. But my longing was to endow her with such a complexity that the audience would find her very, very compelling and endearing, and I hope I achieved that. I don’t know that I did, but I think that I did. In the later years I did.

You showed a type of female leadership that was so important to so many of us watching. And not just women, very important to men too, to see it.

One could argue it was more important to men to understand that a woman of childbearing years is capable of that kind of single-minded command, that kind of dedication, and that kind of strength. It was great! But you can imagine it was everything.

My sons were not very pleased.. That was hard on them. So  they’ve never seen it. And I don’t think they ever will. They’ve come to see everything in the theater. But they won’t watch me on TV. They don’t like it. To them, it touches that nerve of my absence, which for a child is a permanent kind of wound. It was a decision I thought I made in a clear-eyed way, but looking back, their vulnerability is a knife in my heart. But we do what we do. And I cannot tell you I regret it. I am glad I did Janeway and I’m glad that I had my kids. Life goes on, right?

How would you sum up the legacy of Star Trek: Voyager , looking back with twenty-fifth anniversary eyes?

I would say Voyager , intrepid vessel, was full of passionate scientists. Before she was a captain, Janeway was an ardent scientist. I think that our exploration of the Delta Quadrant… let me just speak for Janeway. Her absolute immersion into what it was like to travel within that quadrant and to discover species and to relate to them, and to communicate with them and sometimes to fight them, was just, for Janeway, the very, very pinnacle of life.

It was a wonderful crew. I think that Janeway led with her humanity and therefore each one of them followed. I think having the Maquis on board, that mix was somehow magical. The introduction of Seven of Nine as a half-Borg/half-human was also intriguing. I think the writing was great. I think the intention was sublime. And I think tthat we captivated, or should I say captured, the universal imagination in what we did in those seven years. That’s the legacy.

The last time we talked , Star Trek: Picard had not premiered yet. Have you had a chance to see it?

I haven’t, I am sorry to say. I think I told you at some point in time—and I think this goes for both Patrick Stewart and Bill Shatner too—captains can be quite territorial. We’re on our ship and we shoot our seven years, or at least Stewart and I shot our seven years. And you become very possessive over those seven years. I haven’t watched it, but I don’t have a good excuse.

When we talked about it, I asked you if you had ever thought about what Janeway would be up to after twenty years, or what you might want to explore with her. At the time you said you hadn’t thought of it that much. Have you thought about that at all since?

Only because people are asking me about it all the time, since Picard came on. When are you coming on? When are you coming back? When will we get Janeway on? Blah, blah, blah. On the web somebody created an idea of what Janeway would look like, and it was actually quite stunning when I saw it.

I think it would be wonderful to explore Janeway’s continued love of adventure and perhaps even, love of power. So, there are any number of things that could be delicious to dip into. But I don’t think it is going to happen. I am not saying that summarily, but time’s a wasting, you know?

Vice Admiral Janeway in Star Trek: Nemesis

Vice Admiral Janeway speaking to Picard in Star Trek: Nemesis

There is a Janeway memorial going up at her fictional future birthplace. What do you think about that and would you go to the unveiling on October, if it was safe?

Well, my granddaughter is due in October. So I think that I will be falling in love in October. I think it’s a terrific honor. We talked about this on the Star Trek Cruise a lot. I saw the image of it and she looked sort of intimidating, formidable actually. I think it’s a great honor, and I think it’s wonderful. If I could possibly attend, I would. Why wouldn’t I? How many people get a statue made of a character that was so meaningful? It’s quite lovely. Of course I’ll go, if I can. I hope they invite me!

You have been doing a Zoom happy hour with fans during quarantine, how has that been going?

Yes. You should join one, but I only take seven, because we have in-depth conversations about whatever the theme is. Last week was bibliophiles, writers, librarians, editors from all over the world. It was fascinating. What they’re reading and how books have saved them, what they’re writing and their experiences. The week before was fathers alone with children, really fascinating. I thought this week I’d do psychiatry and psychoanalysis, just to see if they’re still practicing, which I’m sure they are, and what they’re getting from the public at large, what they’re feeling about this pandemic and the change it has made to our minds. So, it’s great fun. But that’s just my way little way of saying I’d like to connect with people throughout this time.

It’s such a smart way of doing it—the way you’re grouping people is fascinating.

It is. I mean, we’re talking to somebody in Siberia, and somebody else in New Zealand and somebody else in New York, and it’s all so very moving. At the end of them we’re always—you know it’s a cocktail hour, so everybody’s had a a cocktail, and at the end we’re all quite aware of the fact that this is an extraordinary thing that’s happened. I’m glad I did it.

What’s your cocktail of choice for the happy hours?

A vodka and lemonade, or something like that. I like vodka. [laughs]

How is the novel going?

This is because my editor has asked me to do it. It’s harder than the memoirs, there’s no question. A narrative is a linear kind of thing and for me, a degree easier. A novel has a mind of its own, and a heart of its own. So I have my protagonist and I have my story, but then she goes off and does something I hadn’t planned at all, right in the middle of the chapter. And I have to sort of go with her.  It’s intriguing, but it’s also very frustrating. There are days I just want to throw the computer out of the window and myself right out after. But I can and I must persevere. I will. It’s a good day to spend my days and I am a very disciplined person.

Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway

Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway

Tickets available for Voyager’s virtual reunion on May 27

On Tuesday, May 26th at 8 PM ET (5 PM PT), the cast of  Star Trek: Voyager will reunite live on “Stars In The House.” Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Tim Russ (Tuvok), Roxann Dawson (B’Elanna Torres), Robert Beltran (Chakotay), Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris), Robert Picardo (The Doctor), Ethan Phillips (Neelix), and Garrett Wang (Harry Kim) will all be together for a virtual reunion panel celebrating the 25th anniversary of the show. The live event will be streamed on the Stars In The House YouTube channel  and on  starsinthehouse.com .

During the event, fans will be able to donate to The Actors Fund for the chance to have their names read on air. The Actors Fund is a national human services organization that fosters stability and resiliency, and provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan.

For more information visit https://www. starsinthehouse.com .

Keep up with all the interviews at  TrekMovie.com .

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I’m confused. Didn’t she SPECIFICALLY say in a recent interview, when asked about the Picard show, that she had no interest in ever playing Janeway again?

EDIT: just found the interview in question. Here’s the actual quote:

“I don’t know what to say about Janeway. Seven years is a long time to play a character. I’m not sure that she would enjoy resuscitation. She was a very, very vibrant person, while she was. … I would have to cross that bridge when I got there. It’s nothing that I have entertained.”

Remember Patrick Stewart said he wasn’t sure he wanted to play Picard again…until he did.

I think they probably mean it at the time but minds can always be changed. She doesn’t sound like she’s begging to be on Picard or anything but she probably can be persuaded if the part and money is right.

As she literally said in your quote, she would cross that bridge when she got there meaning she’s not completely against it, it’s just not something she really see’s herself doing again and it has been almost 20 years since she last played her.

That was Laurie’s trekmovie interview from a year ago, as linked in article you can see her asking follow up question now that Picard is out

Yep. Was just surprised to see the sudden turnaround. “It would be delicious!” is a far cry from “I don’t know, I’m not sure she would stand resuscitation.” I would have expected something a bit less enthusiastic if she’d had a change of heart, but I suppose seeing Picard may have completely changed her mind.

again, it was a year ago so not sudden. Also she says she hasn’t seen Picard yet. Not to be rude, but did you read the interview?

I’m not trying to argue with you, just stating my opinion.

I think your answer is found here…”… I would have to cross that bridge when I got there. It’s nothing that I have entertained.”.. she’s at the bridge and considering it now. It would be fantastic to see and she is right in that time has passed, her Character was lively and active (physically) so this version would be older and maybe, just maybe, not so much, still there is a way if the will is there. It sounds like the will IS there!

Agreed! Would LOVE to see Janeway back on Picard! Clearly many want to see her again. I hope eventually they make it so!

Yes, please, add Janeway to Picard. I love her acting

Which makes me wonder if the bridge is there. Clearly over the last year she’s been giving this a lot of thought, despite that this wasn’t a role she ever seemed interested in returning to. I think as production ramped up on Picard, and seeing Jeri Ryan make her return, probably got her a bit more interested.

Backup a shuttlecraft full of credits to her front door (along with a GOOD idea) and I’m sure she will have a change of heart.

Kate Mulgrew should play Janeway again.

I’d like to see a flashback of her, right after returning to the alpha quadrant, on trial for all the war crimes and murder she committed in the Delta Quadrant.

Yes, she needs to answer for that. She got a free pass on that in my opinion.

You know, a war crimes trial for Janeway would make and interesting ep in Picard. That’s not a bad idea.

Sisko got off for all the things he did, so I don’t see any difference with Janeway and she was on the other side of the galaxy.

And last we saw her she was an admiral over 20 years ago so clearly she was never in trouble.

Maybe you’re being a little draconian… when you’re so far from home and years away, and you feel responsible for stranding your crew, you kind of do what you feel you have to do to get them home.

Yep. And when she gets them home, time to face the music.

She was inconsistently written at best, and her morals flip flopped from episode to episode. One day she’d preach about noninterference in local affairs (demonizing the crew for wanting to make a deal with the Maquis because it might affect the balance of power in the quadrant) and then turn around and make a deal with the freaking BORG.

Arturis was right in his speech. Janeway claimed “I couldn’t have known.” But it was her job to know. She claimed that 8472 was the greater threat? BS! She acted out of PURE self interest. Made all the worse when it turned out 8472 weren’t evil, and she was 100% in the wrong.

That episode always bothered me: it’s a GREAT episode, but the writers didn’t seem to grasp how bad it made Janeway look. If they were smart, they’d have played up that fact, rather than gloss over it. In that one, and with Tuvix, I always felt the show should have had her have to deal with the ramifications of her bad decisions.

Janeway: worst written Captain ever!

I totally see the 8472 issue completely different. I don’t blame her at all for what she did. But I DO agree she was written inconsistently a lot of times. That’s definitely true.

Whether you agree with her decision or not, it flies directly in the face of other preachy sermons and decisions she made in previous and subsequent episodes. One episode she’d talk about starfleet duty being the moral superiority, and her needing to be the moral compass for the crew, and the next she’d nearly murder a man (and sometimes JUST murder a man) because she wants revenge on an Starfleet captain gone rogue, or because she wants her friend back.

It makes me think they were trying to emulate both the better aspects of Picard, and the moreally grey areas of Commander Sisko. Yet they made no effort to reconcile those two disparate sides.

They tried to be TNG light, while still trying to be edgy, but couldn’t make up their minds about who they wanted her to be. When what they should have done was make Janeway the moral compass, and Chakotay (the Maquis commander) the edgy, morally grey character. That’s how it was early on, but at some point they just said f*ck it!”

Now, if Chakotay had slowly become the moral compass, and Janeway slowly become more morally grey– over time– that would have been interesting, and almost was. But Janeway just kept going back and forth. She was ready to slaughter 8472 with no diplomacy, yet held back in the subsequent episode, urging 7 not to judge people too harshly (even after 8472 explicitly said they were going to invade Earth).

The Janeway in THAT episode played things more consistently with the character as conceived.

“One day she’d preach about noninterference in local affairs (demonizing the crew for wanting to make a deal with the Maquis because it might affect the balance of power in the quadrant) and then turn around and make a deal with the freaking BORG. Arturis was right in his speech. Janeway claimed “I couldn’t have known.” But it was her job to know. She claimed that 8472 was the greater threat? BS! She acted out of PURE self interest. Made all the worse when it turned out 8472 weren’t evil, and she was 100% in the wrong.”

Exactly. It was disheartening how how hypocritical she was. And no accountability for her actions when she returned home.

Only if they put her on the Mark Hammil/Carrie Fischer fitness program. And I would put Shat under the same constraint if he were coming back. These characters need to look fit in terms of what we would expect the characters they are play to look like in the far future.

Janeway will be a role model for HAES body diversity, which the Federation has surely embraced.

I don’t think a 90 year old man should be put on a drastic weight loss plan…

I agree of course. If he wanted to play Kirk again in a major role beyond a simple cameo, I see CGI as the only option.

Anyone who cares about their weight is really thinking about the wrong things…

Actors have to lose or gain weight for certain parts. They know this and it’s part of their job. Pretending this is not the case is unrealistic.

Not when they’re freaking NINETY YEARS OLD!

Emphasis being on “for certain parts”. Unless you count the Kelvin movies or any fan films the character of Kirk was last seen more than 25 years ago. Depending on how he spent those 25 years the character of Kirk may look like Shatner does now. This may come as a surprise to some but even starship captains get old, and they may gain weight as they get old, especially if they leave active service. You may not like it because it doesn’t fit your mental image of that character decades ago but time can do that to a person.

Wow, Harsh.

Acting is a profession where looking the part is essential, and actors know this.

The part we are talking about is that of an 85-90 year old man who retired from his job decades ago.

Well I guess Ms. Mulgrew is the first person on my list to leave the country. I will wait until November and find out what excuse she uses to not leave….like every other showbiz person that didn’t leave 3 1/2 years ago.

“Love it or leave it!” “But then I’d be subjected to our foreign policy.”

Joe Biden will win obviously.

Take NOTHING for granted, Faze. Orange Gul Dukat is going to make this an ugly, tough election at best. Biden may win, but unless it’s an overwhelming, decisive victory, Hair Furor will petulantly screech that the other side cheated. I’m preparing for what will likely be a nightmarish November-January (and that was BEFORE the prospect of a third wave of COVID).

It’s going to be a long Fall and Winter.

Trump’s already laying the groundwork for voter fraud no matter how wide a Biden victory could be. He will have to be dragged out of there kicking and screaming. Plus, just like Sadaam Hussein, he will probably be doing his best to set the country and the world on fire in the process, not that he isn’t doing that already. Putin, with all his wealth, couldn’t buy a better saboteur.

I never could get into Voyager, partly because there was something about Kate Mulgrew’s performance that felt stilted. Now, I like her, and I think I might give Voyager another try.

I’ve said this before and it’s worth repeating. This pandemic is the best thing that has ever happened to the Democrats in their effort to retake the White House. Before Covid-19 it very likely was an impossible task to beat Trump. The economy was really moving and even many fence sitters who were against him the first time seem to have been swayed as things did not go the way that was feared. The longer the pandemic goes the better the chance Biden has. A struggling economy and a yet to be resolved pandemic in November is Biden’s best chance.

Also, I would wager no matter what the result someone on the losing side will whine about someone “cheating”. It happened last time. Why would it not happen again?

Expect a lawsuit if Trump loses, mark my words. He is not one to go quietly and admit defeat. But frankly, since 2012, Democrats can’t seem to get out of their own way. Plus, Trump has a way of spinning any negative into a positive for himself, and put the fault the other side.

Because didn’t you know, the places in the US hardest hit by coronavirus are blue states (because they’re densely populated cities which almost always lean Democratic due to their diverse demographics), and he’s already begun seizing on that. Expect that to be a major talking point in his debates. Also expect Biden to not do well in debates, as he seems to always trip over himself.

Trump’s a master of obfuscation, manipulation, and spin. Combine that with a group of supporters who don’t ever think critically about anything, and it all adds up to a second term.

I’ll be pleasantly surprised to be wrong.

Maybe. But should Trump win we can expect the other side to continue their moaning and groaning and not learn from their defeat. It seems like instead of working to figure out how to beat him they decided to focus on failed attempts at trying to bring him down. Perhaps even produce their own lawsuit.

“Trump’s a master of obfuscation, manipulation, and spin.”

You just described nearly every single successful politician ever. It seems to be part of the job description. Trump certainly does not have a monopoly on these characteristics. And ripping a candidates supporters is pretty low. Anyone on the opposite side of issues could claim the same thing about those who support the other side.

What adds up to a 2nd term would be a brilliant economy like we had before the pandemic. If the virus stipulations can be scaled back to zero and the economy rebound in time THAT will add up to a 2nd term. I think he has already won over many fence sitters who were not on his side in 2016. Before the pandemic I though it likely that not only he wins the electoral college but also the popular vote.

BTW.. I think large cities tend to lean to the left less because of diversity and more because of population density. But that’s another issue for another place.

However, most of the non mask wearing clowns who are going to beaches and going out like it’s business as usual are in Red States — just give it another 3 to 5 weeks, and the Red States where that is happening now is unfortunately going to result in large increases of cases and deaths. It’s coming — this virus is easy to transfer if you don’t social distance. Just wait.

I don’t know about that… California is as blue as it gets. San Francisco even more so. Yet thousands of people flooded Ocean beach last weekend.

It was the blue states, NY and NJ, whose idiot liberal Democrat governors ordered infected people into elderly care facilities! It was Cuomo who said the virus was a hoax (odd that the liberals only call a Trump on that) and urged New Yorkers to keep riding the subway, meeting friends downtown, and to keep living their lives! Those two states account for 80% of the US deaths! Either liberal Democrat politicians are incredibly stupid, or they knew full well what they were doing and just hoped to get the death toll as high as possible so as to hurt Trump as much as possible. Either way points to the fact that liberals are not fit to govern, and again how odd that the liberals only pin that on Trump.

Good point on the liberal democrats messing this up. If they has just listened to Trump, there was no need to do anything until April when the weather would kill most of the virus, and then for the ones still sick with it, you simply inject infected people with Lysol and shove some UV flashlights up their ass, and problem solved!

I don’t know what the big deal over COVID is anyway. Everyone knows this whole virus was made by the Chinese in a Wuhan Lab, in cooperation with Hillary Clinton and her Deep State assistants, right?

“Orange Gul Dukat”

Please stop insulting Gul Dukat! Gul had a brain.

I came here for the Star Trek, not the 21st century politics. ;-)

“This too shall pass.” All the Holllywood types are hoping it’s like another Buchanan to Lincoln situation, a bad president leading into a great president type of thing.

Dump is a failure and your country really will prove that it’s worthless if you elect him again.

I loved Janeway, and would love to see her play the character again, but I don’t believe she’ll be leaving America any more than all her fellow celebrities who threatened the same and then stayed. In any case, she could escape to Canada and still play Janeway since Star Trek: Picard is done in Toronto, right?

Uh, no. Star Trek: Picard is filmed in California.

Then she can play a 1,000 year old Janeway on Discovery.

I’m moving to Canada if Trump wins the election. I’m not kidding about that.

Where do you live now, Ninja?

Good luck. I tried moving overseas in 2016, it is not easy (and no, I didn’t try to move because of Trump).

I don’t think you’ll be missed. 🤣

Was that really necessary, Hoosier?

That was inappropriate. Final warning.

Oh noes, I’m shaking. Seriously, get a grip and check yourself.

No one on this planet would miss you, trust me on this.

Wow when one of favorite startrek actors start talking politics and being a baby if Trump is elected for another 4 years… Lost all respect for her and won’t be watching anything Voyager related. Peace out

Wow, people get so sensitive over Trump.

Bye, watch out for the door on your way out.

I agree that even thought she’s threatening to leave her country of birth, it’s really other people who are sensitive.

I’m talking about Tyler D Anderson not her. He’s upset because she threatens to leave the country because of Trump.

You threatened the same thing elsewhere on this page.

She couldn’t help but slip in that customary Trump jibe. Utterly pathetic. It’s getting harder to separate the character from the actor/actress. Not everything needs to be politicised.

The only thing that is pathetic is Trump with his idiocy and corruption. He’s a total disgrace.

You’re ridiculous!

Do you ever listen to Trump talk for more than a minute after he ran out (or forgot) his talking points? THAT’s ridiculous. The very stable genius sounds any thing but stable or intelligent most of the time.

…..types Tiger2 on his cellphone, as he takes a short break from screaming at the sky.

Is that the equivalent of Trump LITERALLY sending hundred tweets in one day like a teenager? ;)

The only reason you’re upset is because you don’t agree with her. Rest assured if she were pro-Trump, you’d love her.

I on the other hand don’t have any problem with ANY entertainer using their position to spread a political or social message they are passionate about. It’s 100% their right, and I applaud them for it, regardless of which side they fall on. Many entertainers I follow have expressed right wing beliefs, and on some occasions made me cringe and lose interest in their professional work. It is what it is.

I am certainly not offended by their desire to speak up about something they believe in.

And why should she NOT? Because she’s worried about alienating fans? Why should she care?

I disagree. I don’t like them expressing political views because they usually come across as acting as if they think their views are more important than the views of the rest of us. They are ONLY people. We the fans are the ones who have made them rich and famous. Just because they become well known doesn’t make their opinions on ANYTHING more important than anyone else’s. Many of them act as if they think they are superior to the common man. Especially if they don’t agree with your viewpoint. They only get one vote, same as the rest of us. They aren’t ANY BETTER than the rest of us, even if they think so! I get tired of their self important attitudes!

Yes, those celebrities and their high and mighty opinions. Why can’t they be more down to earth, more humble, not feeling the need to express every knee-jerk political opinion for all the world to hear? Why can’t they have more self-control?

Well, let’s hope this way of thinking never reaches the highest office. That power coupled with the ego and neediness of a celebrity, it could lead to some real unfortunate situations.

” I don’t like them expressing political views because they usually come across as acting as if they think their views are more important than the views of the rest of us. They are ONLY people. We the fans are the ones who have made them rich and famous. Just because they become well known doesn’t make their opinions on ANYTHING more important than anyone else’s.”

How in the world is that any different from Trump himself???? This guy did NOTHING but mouth off about every President he hated for decades. Wasn’t he also just a celebrity like you are slamming her for??? What’s the difference? Because he owned hotels it’s OK for him to show up on every talk show and bad mouth politicians? Or show up on FOX news?

Guess what, now he’s getting it. At least Mulgrew didn’t create a fake investigation to find his tax returns like he tried to do with Obama and his birth certificate. Remember that? Total idiocy.

Everyone should have the right to say what the want. I highly doubt you cared one thing what Trump said about Obama because you probably didn’t like Obama. And yet Trump stayed on that train for years before he ever ran for President.

You sound deranged. There’s an acronym for that.

VSG: Very stable genius?

And I notice you didn’t put up an argument how this clown could mouth off for years AS a celebrity against every President he hated but then you want to get on another celebrity case for it when they mouth off against him? Sounds pretty hypocritical to me, doesn’t it? Am I missing something? You’re clearly missing an argument.

We all notice how you’re incapable of actually REFUTING a single thing he said and attempted to deflect, like a true Dumper. Congrats, you support a demented sex offender/serial liar who doesn’t actually care one whit about you.

I would argue that your little insulting interjections sound a bit more mentally unstable thant T2’s reasoned, well-articulated comments.

Disagree all you want, you’re still wrong, Hoosier! Nobody said their opinion was more important. They are using their position to spread a message they’re passionate about, and one could argue they are morally obligated to do so.

You are the one that sounds self-important here, that’s what’s ironic.

“one could argue they are morally obligated to do so.”

One could argue. But they would be wrong. Entertainers have no moral authority to tell other people what they think and/or what other people should think.

That’s not what i’m saying at all.

I’m saying some people believe that those with the privilege of an audience are morally obligated to use their position to spread awareness of important issues.

It’s one thing to spread awareness. It’s quite another to tell everyone in your audience what you think they should think.

This reminds me of what Ricky Gervais said at the Globes in January. He was suggesting winners not spout off about politics and other such issues because “You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg.”

Doesn’t sound like you’re much interested in peace, but rest assured nobody will miss you.

It’s fine. When Trump gets re-elected she can just work from Toronto. They shoot Trek up there, win/win. No biggie.

I didn’t read this close enough. I just figured she was moving to Canada like everyone else that hates Trump. She said Ireland. My bad.

Oh he will DEFINITELY win, but only because the average IQ is under 100. And people writing in Bernie Sanders.

Excuses already? Wow.

I’m surprised you’re shocked, considering how open minded you are. Man, where’s the block feature, it would be handy for whiners.

?? If you know how open minded I am then you wouldn’t be shocked.

Ah, found a snowflake. Dump is a failure. Learn to live with that FACT.

If I bailed out on a show because of something stupid said by one of the actors or producers I would have a lot more time on my hands.

Please don’t do that. You’re better off with science fiction than the political fiction you clearly spend most of your time ingesting.

Really? And what political fiction do you surmise I have been ingesting?

BTW… I think I must be doing something right. Often when I talk to lefties on line they think I’m a righty and when I talk to righties on line they think I’m a lefty.

Kate Mulgrew getting political doesn’t annoy me at all. She can leave the country anytime she wants.

Ireland is a great country, I would love to visit Ireland in the future.

Trump is a moron and he is the most corrupt president in American history.

Hopefully Americans make the right choice. Voting is no joke, your vote matters.

Mentioning politics because of an article is one thing. Or because of an episode. But I think we should stay away from the “vote this way!” posts if only because it leads to very little productive discussion here.

I was really disappointed you felt that way toward our president. Anyway I’m sure gonna miss you.

I didn’t vote for this sideshow clown. Sadly most of the country didn’t either.

I didn’t vote in 2016. 2020 is the most important year in our lifetime. I’m voting to get rid of Trump.

It would be a lie to call him a competent President or even decent human being.

At this point I would care more if he just came off like a decent human being over being a competent President because at least he would show he had a heart and cared about people and acted like he wanted to do the right thing. Even the bad presidents did that.

Me, if my only choice was an effective President but he’s a narcissistic a-hole or he’s the nicest guy in the world but a terribly ineffective chief executive… I choose the effective but a jerk side. Obviously I want both but if it has to be one or the other, that is how I would rather see it.

Well, he’s neither….

I’m done with politics. Just utter nonsense.

Your president. Not mine. Remember the 3 million.

Or the 4 million he lost California by?

Or the 63 million legal citizens who voted for Trump in a landslide victory.

And will give Trump another four years in office – and perhaps more?

(Feel free to reply with your “FACTS” because your delusions become real if you spell them in ALLCAPS.)

I was pointing out that while Trump lost the popular vote by less than 3 million Clinton had a lead of 4.3 million votes in California alone. That’s all. He still won the presidency by 77 electoral votes. No judgement. Just the facts.

You clearly don’t know what a landslide is sparky.

I would argue you do not know what one is. Ronald Reagan won a landslide in 1984. 54.4 million to 34.5 million. And 525 electoral votes to 13. Trump was hardly a landslide. But I guess that’s subjective.

What on earth are you talking about? I’m replying to Palizia, who claims that Dump won with a landslide, which he most definitely didn’t. He essentially won with the votes of 70,000 absolutely moronic/idiotic/self-absorbed people.

The way these posts are arranged it is difficult to know what post is being directly replied to without referencing it. I will only agree it was not a landslide. But I would restrain myself from ridiculing any candidate’s supporters. I know people of varying political persuasions and I wouldn’t call any of them any of the put downs you just used. I see plenty of sharp people on all sides.

She’s not going anywhere.

Why couldn’t Paraount back in the day do a few direct to video tv movies to cap off Voyager in particular? This was a series that didn’t have a satisfying conclusion. Endgame itself is somewhat underwhelming of itself.

If paramount were smart they’d have took a few years off from doing the weekly tv shows after Voyager ended and just did a few DTV releases for a few years that would have satiated the fanbase and given Trek a more sustained break while recharging the creative juices BTS. It would have been cheaper than putting out weekly shows with already reduced ratings year on year and costlier production costs. DTV could have been done for the cost of 5 or 6 episodes of a tv season.

Nice interview! It’s always nice hearing Kate & Jeri are getting along well – they appear to have long moved on from the past which is great for them and us fans! =) Janeway and Seven were a great pairing on the show and would love to see them together again.

I wonder how a hypothetical Star Trek: Janeway would turn out if Kate Mulgrew was given the an executive producer role as Patrick Stewart was. I didn’t entirely understand what Stewart and the writers were trying to do with the character of Picard through watching the show alone and have only now, via articles, interviews and post-examination of the show, worked out just what they were going for. If we take this template as a standard for any returning ‘legacy’ captain character, that the actor has the EP role, I’d be curious to see if Kate’s direction for Janeway would please a bigger percentage of the auidence than that of Stewart’s.

Say there was a show in production for each previous captain where the actor would have the same role as Stewart has in the Picard series, I wonder which actor would keep their character closest to how it was portrayed in their earlier series or which would be most pleasing to the fanbase. Something tells me Bakula would keep Archer pretty much the way he was on ENT. I can’t even begin to imagine the direction an Avery Brooks executively produced post DS9 Star Trek: Sisko show would go.

I really had to laugh sometimes. Kate comes across as such a warm person, just lovely. You can tell how much of herself she invested in her character, she gave Janeway everything. Makes her fallout with Jeri in the past really relatable, I totally get why she would be hurt and upset when Jeri joined. Anyway, If I’d had to spend 7 years away from home on a ship lost in space, I couldn’t imagine having another captain than her. Really really hope Janeway will be back on Picard. Or in another series set in that period. There can never be too much Star Trek!

I absolutely love reading and watching interviews and con panels with Kate. She’s so eloquent and animated. She’s an amazing actress. Thank you to the author here for a top-notch interview!

I don’t think Jeri Ryan would be enthusiastic about Mulgrew joining in. She made it very clear Mulgrew made life on Voyager difficult for her. That’s why I’m glad Ryan was solicited for PICARD and not Mulgrew. She gets her revenge.

You’re stuck in 2005. They’ve openly talked TOGETHER about these things, and put it all behind them.

Celebrities have always used their voice for politics and charity. Bottom line is it is still an individual choice when it is time to vote. I would not be influenced one way or another based on any celebrity endorsement. Perhaps some are and if so that is their choice. Hopefully voters listen to the candidates platforms and make a choice they are most in agreement and comfortable with.

Totally agreed. I am not offended when Eastwood talks to a chair, and nobody should be offended when Stewart or Mulgrew talk their politics.

You’re not offended to the extent that you’re compelled to reply to every single post to tell us all know how “above the fray” you are. T’Pol’s Beard wins the award for most self-important poster at TrekMovie.com.

Palizia T’Pol’s Beard has their opinion. So do you, let’s keep it civil please.

No one is offended by Mulgrew and her politics. Everyone has a prospective of their own.

Well, based on some comments here some people are definitely offended by Mulgrew and her politics.

guess she will be moving to Ireland then…..

Nothing wrong with that. A beautiful country.

Of course Ireland has better people.

Nothing wrong with that. Ireland is a beautiful country.

Bye Felicia.

If Janeway had the license to be put against the backdrop of a grittier Star Trek setting, you know it would be worth watching. She was a badass, she just needed a little more freedom to be ruthless, fair, but ruthless. I could see her going down Kamikaze-ing an enemy ship. She’s done it before a few times even

Oh God, I love Janeway… She was a great Captain, absolutely confident in the values of the Federation and co-operation, single minded in her determination to get her ship home and like a she-wolf in protecting her crew… and she loved her coffee.

Best line ever: “You know I’m really easy to get along with most of the time, but I don’t like bullies and I don’t like threats – and I don’t like YOU”

I love her too best Captain ever

Star Trek Timeline

chaotica voyager actor

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Interview: voyager's doctor chaotica, martin rayner.

chaotica voyager actor

Martin Rayner played one of the most-colorful characters in all of Star Trek , even if his scenes were in black and white. The actor portrayed the megalomaniacal, mustache-twirling, Janeway-obsessed Doctor Chaotica in three episodes of Star Trek: Voyager , namely " Night ," " Bride of Chaotica " and " Shattered ." Chaotica was just one role in a long, busy career that's seen Rayner concentrate mostly on stage work, but has also encompassed such films and shows as Victor Victoria, Dallas, Problem Child, Frasier and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. The actor's current project is also an old project. Rayner will play a dying Dr. Sigmund Freud in the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble's upcoming production of the Mark St. Germain comedy-drama, Freud's Last Session . The Show will open on January 13 and the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A. and run through March 4. Back in 2010, when Rayner was battling prostate cancer while performing the show off-Broadway in Manhattan, he collapsed during a performance. True to the rallying cry, "The show must go on," Rayner ended up in the hospital that night, but returned to the stage the very next day. Rayner's latest turn in Freud's Last Session provided StarTrek.com the opportunity to chat with Rayner, who talked about the show, his health and his memories of bringing Doctor Chaotica to life...

Martin Rayner and Martyn Stanbridge

What do you recall of the costume and the fact that your scenes were shot in color but aired in black and white? They were shot in color so they could be made into sepia. I have a color photograph of me on the throne in my full outfit. It's really beautiful. But it looks fantastic in the sepia effect. The make-up, I didn't even know what that was going to be until I sat in the chair and they took, I guess, a couple of hours to do it. What I liked about it was that it was still nicely me. I wasn't completely covered over by makeup. So, that was my ego that I felt, but I thought, "People still know it's me." They had all this new technology with air brushing, and it was pretty fascinating to watch them do it. Just as you didn't know Chaotica would recur, can we assume you didn't know "Shattered" would be your last time in the role?

chaotica voyager actor

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Star Trek: Voyager

“Bride of Chaotica!”

2 stars.

Air date: 1/27/1999 Teleplay by Bryan Fuller & Michael Taylor Story by Bryan Fuller

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

"Think of it as Starfleet's first encounter with Planet X." — Seven to Janeway, advice on first-contact situations in the holodeck

Review Text

Nutshell: Schlocky is as schlocky does.

The last thing I expected from "Bride of Chaotica!" was for it to come off as routine. I mean, it's a throwback to the 1940s serials, shot in black and white, and the title even contains an exclamation mark, for heaven's sake. How can you have a title with an exclamation mark for an episode that plays itself nearly as straight as any other standard offering?

Simple style aesthetics and common sense insist that I write the title of this show "Bride of Chaotica!" Even so, I tend to think that the idea behind this episode was "BRIDE OF CHAOTICA!" The intentions behind what would warrant a cheerful, all-uppercase assault are clearly present. Unfortunately, the net result of this offering can never muster anything that deserves more than "Bride of Chaotica!" or perhaps just "Bride of Chaotica" sans exclamation mark.

Episodes like this one tear down that cinematic "fourth wall" in our minds. We're aware that this isn't a story being told so much as a meditation on much older cinema. The point of the episode is to show the cast and crew of Voyager paying homage to an idea, perhaps so we'll experience vicariously the fun they had in making an unconventional installment.

Well, I'm all for it. I loved the self-referential humor of " Trials and Tribble-ations " and got a great deal of enjoyment out of other holodeck comedies/spoofs like " Our Man Bashir " and " Take Me Out to the Holosuite ." And although I'm no expert on 1940s serials, I am familiar with them, and they do appeal to my enjoyment of schlocky cinema: I've seen all 12 chapters of "King of the Rocket Men," and I still enjoy an occasional episode of MST3K on the Sci-Fi Channel.

All of which is why I find it so hard to believe "Bride of Chaotica!" struck me as so flat. What went wrong?

Well, to be an optimist, I'll first answer the question of what went right.

Item #1: A workable nod to the 20th century. Tom's been a history buff of sorts, even if he tends to look at old cars and entertainment as history in a more superficial and playful context (as opposed to, for instance, Sisko, who took interest in the 21st century for what was decidedly more socially relevant reasons). Old sci-fi is, like I said, something that might serve as a good source of juxtaposition for Trek in the '90s.

Item #2: Shot mostly in black and white. This was a good idea back when the Captain Proton holo-program first appeared in " Night ," and it still is.

Item #3: Flawless re-creation. Although I'll admit that it looks like a lot of money went into some of the Captain Proton sets (which certainly wasn't the case with serials), the production team did a great job with props, costumes, and art design to make the setting look as cheesy as it should've. David Bell's tinny, bass-free score is also perfectly appropriate.

Unfortunately, the writing staff just couldn't trust the audience to enjoy the concept on its own terms. (It's the same sort of attitude that required a holodeck jeopardy premise be made out of " Worst Case Scenario ," a story that would've stood just fine on its own.) Fuller and Taylor felt compelled to merge Captain Proton with a technobabble plot—which would've been okay if done carefully. But "Bride of Chaotica!" makes a fatal mistake by taking itself—and especially its tech plot—too seriously.

One could probably argue similarly about the crew-in-jeopardy setup of "Our Man Bashir," but the difference is that "Bashir" had the ability to embrace its own silliness and just go with the flow. Something about "Chaotica" just can't pick itself up and break free. The tech plot becomes a huge liability.

And about the technobabble—it's the epitome of annoyingly arbitrary Voyager technical gobbledygook. The basic premise is okay— Voyager is visited by aliens who exist as "photonic" (i.e., holographic) life forms, who mistake Tom's program for an actual planet. The idea could've been compelling if the aliens were permitted to have a more interesting and substantive perspective in this dilemma, which, alas, they aren't.

But all the flab concerning the ship being stuck in space and trapped by gravimetric forces (or whatever)—who freakin' cares? Not me. And I wouldn't have let it get in the way of my enjoying the rest of the episode if it weren't for the fact there's so much of it. Every time the episode seems to be building its momentum in the holodeck's black-and-white sessions, along comes color and technobabble to interrupt the flow.

What's particularly funny to note is that the "actual" plot of this episode is about as schlocky as the Captain Proton story; it's just more updated schlock. Unfortunately, the writers didn't seem to notice the fact enough to parody it. They simply present it as straight as any other Day at the Office.

And yet, these complaints would've been irrelevant if the holodeck games would've been hilarious. Simply put: They aren't. What this episode sets out to do is all too rarely realized. The gags are surprisingly tame.

As I watched this episode, I realized that what they did here was not easy. The careful mimicking, the attention to detail—all expertly done (Kroeker deserves kudos for the directorial effort). But what's missing is pure enjoyment and exhilaration. This episode never quite takes off. I wasn't laughing much. Occasionally I was chuckling. Some of the gags are perceptive, but they don't dare to be brashly satirical. The lesson to be learned here, I think, is that skillful imitation alone is not enough. There has to be an attitude, an edge, brought to the material. In "Our Man Bashir," a great deal of attitude arose from the sharp banter between Bashir and Garak. There was a sense—despite the alleged seriousness of the plot's situation—that the actors and characters knew their setting was ridiculous.

That isn't the case here, and as a result, the humor doesn't flow, although it drips occasionally. The holo-plot is absurd (as it should be): The evil, holographic Chaotica (Martin Rayner) opens war on the alien beings (because he is one-dimensional, programmed evil, you see), which means Janeway must enter the holodeck, pose as the irresistible Arachnia, and stop his evil plan. (Standard contrivance of course dictates that the holodeck cannot be simply turned off, but never mind.) The performances are good but somehow not all that funny. Mulgrew chews the scenery well, but her incessant twitching is merely bizarre near the end.

Doc looks at home in the role of "President of Earth," but his negotiation with the aliens is so brief that it feels like an opportunity wasted. There are some other good moments, particularly the nods to the familiar comic-book goofiness ("NOT THAT BUTTON!"), but given the potential, the show seems to play the whole game awfully safe. There are sarcastic side-comments, sure, but they don't push far enough into parody to make the episode funny. For an unconventional episode, it sure manages to be awfully conventional.

To me, the whole subtext of the Captain Proton holodeck series this season has been to analyze the difference between the corny science fiction aimed at kids in the '40s and '50s versus the post- Star Wars era of commercial science fiction that appeals to large audiences looking for something more magnificent and significant (or at the very least seeing something blow up more realistically).

But based on what this Voyager offering gives us, the lesson seems to be that science fiction has come so far that we don't need solid ideas beneath the slick, high-budget exterior. Schlock has evolved into an art form toward which we can throw money in mass quantities. We can't get to the center of why there's reason for juxtaposing today's sci-fi with the old stuff, but, doggone it, we can certainly replicate the old stuff down to the last detail if we want to.

That may perhaps be a harsh interpretation of "Bride of Chaotica!" Maybe I expected too much from this show; in its defense I must admit that it aspires to simply be light rather than significant. But it's somehow hard to laugh at schlock condescending to schlock. I suppose we can grin.

Next week: "Shuttle Crash, Part XXIV." Let's hope characterization is the key, 'cause it don't look like plot is.

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Comment Section

94 comments on this post.

I agree they didn't quite make this as good as it seems it ought to have been but it was still a lot of fun with some impressive production design.

this episode was one of the most important along the course of star trek! we get to know that there are toilets on board (Neelix mentions that in the mess hall when the ship is stuck in this subspace rift)

*sigh* The very opening shot has that RIDICULOUSLY STUPID Captain Proton business going again. A surefire indication we're in for a dumb and dull episode. WHY, WHY, WHY did the scriptwriters feel the need to come up with this entire Captain Proton nonsense??? *despair* This has put me off Voyager; I'll watch the remaining 44 minutes of the episode tomorrow.

"Death ray," "fortress of doom," "dungeon of pain," "master of the universe," black-and-white mid-20th-century T.V. environment... WTF!?! Without a doubt, THE single worst episode of any Star Trek series, ever, period. I had to fast-forward through 90% of it; that's how idiotic it was. Nearly had a brain hemorrhage. It's too fatuous to even attempt to critique. Voyager really plumbed new depths with this abomination. Is it possible to give it MINUS five stars? Bride of Idiotica, more like. On a tangentially related notion, the entire holodeck concept should be dumped. Other than a few instances where it's employed for useful simulations, it's either a source of problems or shamelessly used by the scriptwriters to pad the episode with meaningless tripe. And when problems occur, guess what: "The controls are offline; we can't shut down the program." *groooooaaaaan*

PhoenixFyre

Geez you guys are such buzz kills, This is one of my favorite episodes to be honest. It was meant to be a homage to the early 1930's sci-fi and I thought they pulled it off very nicely. Janeway's performance as Arachnia was awesome, as she certainly pulled of the old school characterization. besides of which how many episodes of TNG was set on the holodeck? quite a few as I recall. It allowed the crew and actors to be able to play in roles that most certainly could not be attempted in space. You guys are party poopers to say the least. Go watch some of the early sci-fi and you will see that the episode was indeed quite the homage. I give it 5 stars, but I guess I am in the minority. Thats ok though I don't mean to be insulting, not everyone is going to like the same thing as someone else. I guess being an older viewer I can appreciate it more than those unfamiliar with the concept they were making :)

Not as funny as I was hoping, but still brought a smile to my face. I loved that idiot robot. He should have replaced Neelix as a permanent character.

Couldn't agree with PhonixFyre more! This episode had me laughing out loud at several moments. My personal favorite moments are when Chaotica calls Queen Arachnia an IMPETUOUS HARLOT and when Janeway graps the microphone and whips the cord! A truly groan inducing Voyager attempt at comedy in my opinion is "False Profits". An awful throwback to early TNG episodes like "Menage a Troi" and "The Last Outpost".

There's no accounting for taste, but keep it out of your ratings would you? "Our Man Bashir" ticked me off, because to me there characters weren't remotely charming or endearing enough to warrant the goofy adventure. It came off as self-indulgent masturbatory fluff. The Voyager characters are like family to me and the fun of this episode was absolutely infectious. These characters have earned the right to this kind of episode. Does anyone care about the danger premises in any episode of ST? Do I actually fear the Dominion or the Borg? Of course not. This is mythology--the plots are relevant only as much as they suite the characters. I too would have liked to have heard more from the aliens, and that's this episode's true shortcoming, but everything else is perfect. Every scene outside the holodeck is useful at least (whether you buy the premise or not) and often as hilarious as what's going on on Planet X.

I really enjoy a lot of the holodeck eps from TNG and DS9 (Our Man Bashir is one of my favourite DS9s - so incredibly fun!). Alas, the holodeck overusage in Voyager has sickened me by this point. Captain Proton is fun, but is best in very small doses and simply can't sustain an entire episode. I liked the idea of aliens mistaking a holodeck simulation as reality, but this absolutely lacks the sense of fun and humour it needs. It's a bit of a bore actually... Also, I don't know what's up with Janeway this season but she's becoming unbearable. She's become a sour-faced, gravel-voiced authoritarian monster - the boss from hell basically. And though I recently praised Mulgrew's acting, it can just as easily swing the opposite way. I wasn't impressed here. The scene in the conference room prior to her joining the simulation made me realise how fake Mulgrew's nuances can be at times, she very much comes across as an actor being an actor (in this scene trying to be funny - but it's too telegraphed to work). The coffee scene with Neelix was probably meant to be fun, but made me realised just how much I'm coming to despise the woman.

"The point of the episode is to show the cast and crew of Voyager paying homage to an idea, perhaps so we'll experience vicariously the fun they had in making an unconventional installment." Absolutely wrong. The underlying self-referencial idea here screamed at me the first time I saw it, and that isn't it; In 60 years (well, now 50), Star Trek, Star Wars and all the rest will seem as schlocky as the 30s era "Proton"-esque sci-fi of our past. In fact, Star Wars already seems a bit schlocky to me. However, the charm and durability of the genre lies in its ability to tap into the core of our psyche the way only mythology can. There is something ineffably "true" about Star Trek and Captain Proton, in spite of, or perhaps because of their obvious naïvety. Things aren't as simple as we wish them to be (see the scene where Constance Goodheart is found dead--"she isn't supposed to die! Something's wrong here."). Roddenberrian economics and social conjectures are, perhaps, equally naïve and a symptom of wishful thinking. But that isn't the point; the power is not in plausibility (whether that be economical, technological or even *gasp* within a show's given continuity)--the power is in the hope, in the dream, in the myth which means more to us than the depressingly unimaginative reality of the world around us. That is art, my friends.

OY CHAOTICA!

Chris Harrison

Absolutely, Iceblink. In the coffee scene with Neelix, she is unnecessarily rude. She also puts her own desire for coffee above the energy needs of the community she is supposed to be guiding. Compare this to the enlightened scientist, and inspiring leader Janeway was in the first and second seasons.

I liked this episode. It's as if showing star trek isn't quite as different as the b&w's. A lot of poking fun to itself. Our man bashir was awesome too. Both unfortunately has stupid Premises of how they got into the situation. I think TNG did better when they did i think the title is elementary my dear Data where Moriarty became sentient sort of. All of them fun nevertheless. Episodes like these arent supposed to be taken seriously. Don't be a party pooper ;) .

Oh and yeah, they should've kept satan's robot as permanent cast member walking around voyager with the mobile emitter ;). He was an awesome robot that can be regenerated next to 7of9 lol.

Glad to read that many posters liked this episode as much as I did, and more than Jammer (though that's a given at this point). I'm really tired of his denigrating Voyager while elevating the ponderous DS9 to mythic status, and critiquing the Voyager trailers as much as he does the episodes (which seems pretty silly now that a decade has passed and they are long forgotten). Anyway, this was a classic homage to sci-fi serials, wonderfully acted. And every time I watch the scene where the robot yells "Invaders!" and Tom punches him and says "quiet", only to have to robot repeat "Invaders" under its breath- for me it's the funniest scene in the series. Makes me laugh every time. I agree with the poster who would have exchanged the robot for Neelix.

Captain Jim

As I'm re-watching these episodes 13 years after they first aired, there aren't too many that I remember at all. This one stuck out in my mind for some reason. I didn't remember any of the details, but I had positive feelings associated with it. However, this time around, I found much of the episode (especially after Janeway entered the holodeck program) to be positively boring. I thought I'd come out appreciating this more than Jammer, but darned if I don't think he was right on the money.

Invaders from the Fifth Dimension, but Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis were nowhere to be seen...

This episode is an absolute riot. It's not annoying like the endless Ferengi DS9 episodes, repeating the same joke over and over. It's fun on its own terms and doesn't deserve to be picked apart because it was "too much of this" or "not enough of that." Quit raining on the parade, buzzkillers. I agree with David that it's a classic homage to '40s sci-fi cheese. I also agree that Satan's Robot dejectedly muttering "invaders" under its breath is the funniest moment of the episode. It's the kind of parody SCTV was so hilariously good at. Is it as funny? No, but I can just picture Joe Flaherty or Dave Thomas as Chaotica and Catherine O'Hara as Constance Goodheart. And of course, John Candy going in for the triple-take 3D closeup... @Jay, I guess the Moon was not in the Seventh House and Jupiter was not aligned with Mars.

Well produced and well written episode. A very nice change of pace episode. This was indeed homage to Flash Gordon serials. Chaotica acting like, and looking like, Ming the Merciless; Constance Goodheart a copy of helpless, screaming Dale Arden, and of course Captain Proton being Flash. And Janeway getting a chance expand herself, and vamp, was a lot of fun. A most enjoyable episode.

Couldnt they have pulled out the plug in the holodeck? :) An unconvincing, but fun episode.

I haven't read every single comment, but i haven't seen it mentioned, and surprisingly not in the review: What killed this peisode for me is, THERE ARE ACTUAL SENTIENT BEINGS DYING HERE FOLKS. And the episode is supposed to be a comedy?

Jo Jo Meastro

I'm with those who really enjoyed this episode, however I do agree with the review that it would have benefited from letting its hair down even more and dwelled even deeper into the outrageous silly 1940s fun. Every time we got pulled away from the holodeck to give attention to the standard Voyager "crisis", I was impatiently waiting to get back to the goldmine of the episode which was Captian Proton. In the end it balanced out fine though. It had the potential to be a classic yet only reaches 3 stars IMO, if only the writers were willing to go one step further with the black and white glorious silliness!

@Jay - LOL! I liked this episode, not as much as I wanted to but enough. It is a fun throwback to 1930's serials. Although does anyone else thing that the naem Chaotica sounds like a girl?

A nearly 20 paragraph review of this incredibly weak holo-deck episode? A pale shadow of Data as Sherlock battling Moriarty .

I absolutely loved this episode! A fun premise with lots of laugh-out-loud details, like Janeway as Arachcnia and the panicky robot. Sure, not everything worked (backing out of the anomally at an increasing speed of quite a few meters per second and STILL being stuck after a minute? Voyager is only supposed to be 344 meters long, right?!) - but the things that DID work worked extremely well, at least for me. On a sidenote: am I the only one who found Tom Paris seemed quite indifferent to what was going on whenever he was playing Captain Proton? It seems Harry Kim was much more into playing a part in the story than Tom was.

@Caine: that always struck me as era-appropriate bravado from the star (John Dille, for example) more concerned with being handsome a flirting with the camera than committing to the rôle.

Hated it. Hated it. HATED it. Worst episode ever. Absolute worst. If I wanted to see an old-timey black and white TV show I wouldn't be watching star trek I'd be watching I love lucy or andy griffith Stupid stupid episode. Hated it.

I like cheesy 1950s SF (Invaders from Mars etc), liked this when it first aired, and usually agree with Elliott over Jammer re Voyager, but this episode just didn't connect with me second time around. I wanted more jokes and more Janeway chewing scenery.

ROFL I just found this review I think it's crazy and speaks volumes that it took nearly 10 years for the first comment to be made. For the episode I think it's one of my favorites, considering I love Flash Gordon, this was great. Anyone remember the Captain Proton Poster from Star Trek Communicator?

Quite funny one. As a comedy, it works well, achieving to amuse without having to push for it. Although, at the same time, in some moments it did just tried too hard to be funny. The black-and-white option is indeed still very smart and welcome. There were also some smart plays, like the fact that the aliens believe our reality is just as unreal as we believe the holograms are (what is, btw, a slap on the face of some comments'authors at the previous episode review). Also, I say once again. I agree with Elliot when he points that it does not matter whether or not the danger for Voyager's crew is credible. I always get bothered when I see someone, mostly Jammer, complaining that the danger didn't felt believable in an episode, since in all Trek it NEVER did or does. And so what? The other hand is that I don't think this episode achieved much more than fine amusement - what is ok. Fair entertainment may be enough sometimes. However, Voyager crew is not family for me and therefore they did not earn from me the right of having pointless episodes without receiving some criticism. So, here I am: it was a bit fun and certainly funny. But mostly too empty for my taste and a bit too forced here and there. Therefore, a bit wasted. A score of something around 7 out of 10 would be fairer than the underrated stars.

The Professor

Not a fan of Jammer's definition of 'history'. Even in the university, history has expanded to look at food and other things traditionally considered less 'relevant'.

I both agree and disagree with Jammer. The agreement: We spent far too much time with the technobabbling Voyager crew. I didn't need the subspace sandbar metaphor. I also didn't need the extraneous, hackneyed "ship is in danger and running out of power" scenes. "We can't move the ship because CHAOTICA! is at war with photonic life forms and we can't turn off the holodeck AGAIN" should have been enough. The disagreement: I thought the humor was pretty darn good. The guest stars chewed black-and-white scenery with gusto, and Kate Mulgrew's expressions during her conference with Paris (and during her performance as Arachnea) were a scream. If anything, I wish we'd seen more interaction between President Doctor and the photonic aliens. I also would have liked more from Tuvok. Tim Russ was a scream as the Vulcan straight man to 1930s sci-fi cheese.

My favorite part of this episode is the way Janeway swishes the microphone cord at the end. xD

I don't know what all the negativity is about. Sure, I could've done without the Voyager is in danger bit, but it didn't exactly bother me. I simply enjoyed the cheesy, over the top throwback to the 30's complete with megalomaniacal ruler, clunky robot and ofcourse, the death ray. I loved this episode. Besides, if they hadn't done it this way, the only other way to go would have been the 'crewmembers are stuck in a holodeck program and can't get out because technobabble reasons' and that's been done to death before as well. So with that in mind, I kind of liked this. It's like a guilty pleasure. So long as it's only once in a while (say once per season. Two at most), I can enjoy this sort of episode. Would watch again, most likely with a goofy smile on my face.

W. Scott Richardson

I'm with @Locke: The microphone cord swish was grandiose, in-character, unexpected, and made me laugh, genuinely. I think Janeway's "Captain Proton" performance counterbalanced the Delaney twins in that one can choose what to perform when in a fantasy setting, and it need not correspond to the accepted norm. It's okay to play "Boobs and Brainless" but when you leave the Holodeck, Megan is back to being competent and responsible. Its also okay to play seductress or savior of the cosmos, but when you leave the holodeck, you go back to being the captain under Federation ideals (completely ignoring the Prime Directive at will) or her Ensign pilot.

"The Royale" all over again and about as bad.

The Great Danton

I liked this episode. The reviewer is correct about the momentum of the black and white story being stopped by the "real life" story but I like that it pays hommage to old TV shows like Flash Gordon or Los in Space. This should have been the only episode to feature Captain Proton and it should have included the hot twin sisters shown in a different episode.

The 1980 Flash Gordon movie is one of my favorites, so I had high hopes for this episode. After all, if I loved one cheesy reinterpretation of a cheesy old sci-fi show, why not a second one? And I guess I can say I wasn't disappointed; I think it worked well enough. The feel of the old serial is pretty faithful, I loved the inclusion of the 1930s-esque music every time they were in the evil lair, and the actor who plays Ming - I mean Chaotica - does a wonderful job. And unlike many people, I thought most of the "Voyager" scenes didn't drag and complemented the rest of the show well. Mainly because the cast treated the plot with all the reverence (or lack thereof!) that it deserved. Didn't anyone else see Tom's completely deadpanned "Yes Ma'am. His army of evil."? Didn't anyone else see Janeway's reaction looking at the Padd when she saw what she'd be wearing? Or all of Tuvok's overly sarcastic comments? Seeing the cast required to the absurdity of the situation was probably better than when they were acting along with the absurdity. There's a lot of comments here comparing these events to Our Man Bashir. Honestly, I think Trials and Tribble-ations is a better analogy. After all, both are love letters to sci-fi of the past. Both have the main cast being quite clearly bemused by their entire situation, with many of them outright enjoying it despite the danger. Of course, Trials is a better episode, in part because it is also homaging a franchise closer to our heart. And, in doing so, spent a fair amount of time having the characters fawn over their older counterpoints. And, well, the characters were having a far better time. So yeah, that one was a classic, while Voyager's episode was merely a pleasant diversion. But I still enjoyed this. Although its probably for the best that this is the end of the Chaotica gimmicks. It would be hard to keep going back to these holodeck scenes as flavor after we got this episode. Too bad, I think I'll miss them. As a random aside, does anyone else think the scene in the beginning where Tom and Harry scoff at the hyperbole of the teaser was a subtle dig from the writers to UPN's own promo team? Reading these reviews 20 years later, Jammer really seems to hate the teasers for the next episode, and I recall some of them were pretty awful as well. Wouldn't surprise me if this was the writers having a bit of revenge... Same with Kim's comment that Planet X looks an awful lot like the Mines of Mercury; that also has to be poking fun at Star Trek's recycled sets.

Diamond Dave

Let's first consider what went right here - the recreation of the Flash Gordon-type serials is absolutely pitch perfect, including the glorious 1930s-style score, and the production quality is fantastic. The whole thing just looks gorgeous. It's also a wildly inventive idea. On the downside - it's just not that funny. Don't get me wrong, there are some really funny moments (Satan's robot's "invaders" in response to "Quiet!" being the second time the thing has stolen the show in a Captain Proton themed episode). But overall this takes its sweet old time getting anywhere (witness the first scene with Janeway and Chaotica that just goes on forever...), and there are large amounts of time spent doing nothing more than admiring the crew playing at dressing up. It's OK overall, but no more. 2.5 stars.

Did anyone else catch the subtle jab at UPN's episode previews that Jammer has been complaining about at the start of the show? Harry and Tom talk about how the Proton recaps are always hyperbolic and over the top :P

Similar to my feelings re: Dragons Tooth I like this one more than the reviewer and would vote 3 stars. Not unlike 'Tomorrow Land' in Disney World, there's something "future-retro" about contrasting an imagined future and the real one. In many instances tech such as the 'imagizer' and 'ray guns' have perfect parallels in the 'real world'. Paris was great. I enjoyed this like an old twilight zone episode and would watch again. In any event, thank you Jammers for guiding us through all the Star Trek episodes. You've done a fantastic job!

@ Skeptical Mon, Jan 25, 2016, 9:05pm (UTC -5) Agree on all counts. (although I can't speak to the writer's/UPN thing) I loved this episode. The hammy-ness and how they merged it with a real-time dilemma. Good lord people, lighten up and have some fun. I enjoyed this as much as the hammy "Our Man Bashir" or any other "lets have some fun" Star Trek episode. The set folks should have won something here. Amazing work. I too noticed and enjoyed the old music. I just can't really knock this thing. It was fun and well done. 4 stars.

Excellent episode (****) Old fashioned Flash Gordon scifi at its corniest. Somebody said of the previous episode that those psychological, psyfy as I call them, episodes are where Star trek shines. Hogwash! If I wanted to ponder the psychological and ethical implications of A.I. I'd torture myself with Caprica. Star trek shines when it deals with scifi themes like time travel, alternate dimensions and universes, space anomalies not boring psydhobabble.

I like Captain Proton and think it is a kick. They do not over do it and it fits well into the overall series. Watching it again in 2016, (binge watching it on Hulu), you can appreciate things better. This was a very well done series. There are a few clunkers, but there always are.

@mephyve - it's possible to love both the psychological and the corny flash Gordon throwbacks. I loved this episode and the last. I think they did pretty much everything right in this episode. Just the right level of melodrama. Lots of fun. I actually cringed when I saw the name of this episode. What a nice surprise it turned out to be. 3.5 stars

"Full power to the Death Ray!!!" Oh Chaotica, that's your solution to everything isn't it.

I loved this episode aka Buck Rogers in the 25th century tribute ..The sets used were so reminiscent of 40's TV, The acting also was great. Seeing Janeway overacting her role was suburb :)

2 Stars?? This is a balls-out fun-as-hell episode. :)

Good silly fun. I think my favorite part, though, is when Janeway and Paris are walking to the holodeck, Paris is explaining what J. will have to do as Arachnea, the discussion is going back and forth fast and furious, and all the while J. Is examining the datapad for the "parameters of (her) costume." The look on her face is priceless. A moment in an earlier scene may have been my imagination: Janeway's just asked, archly, who's going to play Arachnea and, just before she realizes it's her, I thought I saw her look teasingly ("yeah, it's you!") at Seven.

@skeptical Yes! I noticed that too. That was something I found fun about the episode, that it was parodying not only old sci fi like Flash Gordon, but referencing and poking fun at itself. In addition to the things you mention: When Paris teaches Janeway about the rules and terminology of the Captain Proton Universe, and she rolls her eyes, it feels like they are also both poking fun at the Star Trek universe rules and terminology, which let's face it, is just as silly and made up. When they discover whatshername dead, which isn't supposed to happen, it could have been a reference to the death of Tasha on TNG, which also felt wrong. @Don Lee I noticed it too. Seven as Queen Arachnea would have been fun. But then we wouldn't have had her priceless "it's lonely at the top" line, another reference to the "real" universe.

Well, as somebody who happens to be an old sci-fi serials fan (as in, watched shitton of them because of this episode so I knew what is it making fan of) I found this one to be very fun outing. But I do agree with Jammer to extent. There is this feeling writers aren't terribly comfortable with what they are doing here. Which is understandable, this is a big risk in and of itself. Still, one thing that irks me is that for an affectionate parody, there seems to be a certain lack of affection? I mean, I don't hold old serials as sacred or anything, of course there are going to be jabs at them. But the thing that made people love Galaxy Quest was that it was made with love-even for the dumb bits. Here, Paris has a moments when he talks about how he's done with Captain Proton and anywhere else, this would be a set up for him to realize how fun it is again by the end, which never happens. While there is fun with them, there is also a sense of "we are so above this". Like, guys, you had characters shoot their way out of event horizon and your current reoccuring bad guys are evil polluters. Shut up. Nit picks: The jab at cliffhangers is dumb. The thing about movie serial cliffhangers wasn't that the description lied about there being some, it was about them being resolved by changing the scene while showing in the next chapter, by having the hero suddenly jump out before the plane crashed or something. And where was the Friendly Scientist character? Come on, EVERY one of these had one. I thought Doctor was going to play one, but nope.

Prince of Space

Hello, PhoenixFyre... I greet you from 2,633 days in the future! Time has proven that your comment of August 17, 2010, was accurate; so do not despair! Your prophetic words were not lost to history, nay! Rather they *made* history... a history that we here in the future are the benificiaries of. We owe you a debt of gratitude, PhoenixFyre. For lo many of the commenters on this episode ARE buzz kills and party poopers... intellectual charlatans more enamored with their own keyboard-infused death rays than they are of enjoying Chaotica’s admittedly campy ones. Upon excreting their vapid review, they sit back and read it multiple times basking in their own derring-do with a firm belief that their place in the sci-fi universe is now assured. Oh, ok... perhaps I’m being a bit too harsh on the smug little buggers. Your phrasing was a lot nicer sounding. I guess even here in the future, we are still not perfect.

To anyone quibbling about small details in the execution of this episode... sad. It's a fun romp, you aren't meant to take it seriously. IT's A JOKE, people! Laugh, or say you don't think it's funny, or say you don't get it... but to pretend it should be judged on the same standards as a serious work... I feel sorry for you.

For a light-hearted episode, it was a little strange to juxtapose the parody with all those innocent life forms being murdered. It's a joke people!

(I really liked both Counterpoint and Latent Image. More later, perhaps.) I agree with the two major observations people tend to have about this episode -- it's fun and effective at conveying the feel of early sci-fi serials, and it's maybe not quite fun enough to feel entirely right. Not everyone agrees (on either point!), but I think I land somewhere in the middle in my opinion on the ep. I think having the aliens *die* because of Chaotica was a bit of a mistake that made the whole thing seem more serious than it needed to be; the episode could have maybe gone for full black comedy to make it work, but it mostly remains in register of homage-farce, in which case it makes sense to have danger (and a lot of it!) but the fun gets kind of spoiled if lots of people actually do die. And we don't really learn anything about the aliens, when I think it really would have made some sense to at least better use the aliens as a way of probing the Captain Proton simulation -- if they believe that this is the Real World, what do they think of Earth culture? The running time is only an episode length, of course, but I thought of Galaxy Quest as a sort of model of how it could be interesting to follow aliens who really believe that the optimistic-and-silly sci-fi show is real, and how that can help/harm them, and (if the episode is mostly positive on the sci-fi serials) how that help them, even. As is, the Captain Proton simulation was purely a disaster for the aliens and it does tend to send the message that entertainment is entirely frivolous and destructive, without any positives that are sufficient to outweigh the negatives. If the point is something along the lines of what Elliott says above -- that the silliness and schlock are only superficial qualities, covering up the deeper optimism and mythic qualities of even the shallowest of the hopeful sci-fi genre -- which I think makes sense, I don't think the ep quite sells it, both because of the destruction caused by the program (which isn't even mitigated by Janeway, Tom et al.'s actions -- they just allow the danger to stop) and because of Tom's downbeat I'm-through-with-this-Proton-world conclusion which doesn't get countered, except very weakly. But still, it is pretty fun. Melgrew is a hoot chewing scenery as Arachnia, especially the way she gradually gets into the role. Satan's Robot's quiet "invaders" after Tom tells it to shut up is, as many others have mentioned, hilarious. And the off-holodeck scenes aren't wastes of time but are generally amusing, if not laugh-out-loud for the most part. Favourite moment: Janeway's assumption that Tom is going to want Seven to play the space femme fatale babe, with a kind of dripping cynicism, which reads to me as a bit of Melgrew's contempt for the cynical aspects of Ryan's casting dropping into the show. I think I'll go with 2.5 stars.

Startrekwatcher

3 stars. I thought this along with Dark Frontier, Think Tank and Equinox were the better episodes in a pretty awful fifth season It felt fresh and fun. It was just a good time action adventure back to basics outing

One thing not really that relevant to this episode is how everyone always comes into the mess hall and asks Neelix for a cup of coffee or whatever, and he walks over to the replicator and asks for a cup of coffee and hands it to them. Why not go to the replicator yourself? Why tell Neelix, then have him tell the replicator? That annoys me every time it happens. They also seem to have forgotten that Seven can make 'anti-hologram' grenades (The Killing Game). Just take one of those into Chaotica's control room. The end. I too found it strange that they were all acting so silly when 53 (!) aliens had been slaughtered by their holodeck program. You think they would have been a bit more serious. Ignoring all the contrivances, plot-holes, and things that make no sense, it simply wasn't funny. 1 star for trying.

I Hate Janeway

This was a fun episode! The idea of aliens who think that the holodeck is real but that the humans are fake, that's pretty creative! Too bad Janeway had to be involved in it, it would have been better if one of the Delaney sisters played Arachnia.

My main gripe with this episode is the fact that they will go light years out of their way to explore new life and civilizations, yet when entities appear, *literally* inside their living room, they go out of their way to avoid any contact or investigation of them until after Ming The Merciless has taken out a handful of their people. Granted, it would have made for a short episode if they had made contact first, but it just goes against the whole concept of what they're doing out there in the first place.

I'm not familiar with 40s and 50s sci-fi but can believe that this was a good recreation of it -- of course, not an episode to be taken seriously but certainly better than some of the DS9 Ferengi comedies and I also prefer it over "Our Man Bashir" slightly. It is also like "Trials and Tribble-ations" in that it is an exercise in technique with a near paper-thin plot (although there's more here than in that DS9 episode's plot). I really liked Janeway going to town as Arachnia -- yes it's all hokey and contrived and I didn't really laugh at any of the gags, but it didn't totally suck. The novelty had worn off pretty quickly since it wasn't the first Captain Proton on VOY, but getting Janeway and Doc involved helped greatly. What was a bit weird was seeing the holographic aliens manifesting themselves as human characters from the 40s/50s. Seems a bit of a stretch to me but ultimately, it's a pretty simplistic plot -- aside from the needless technobabble of the ship being stuck in subspace. Was it firmly established that the "5th dimensional" aliens were behind Voyager being trapped in subspace? Because it also seemed quite coincidental to me. Of course the holodeck malfunction is one of the oldest tricks in the Trek canon. I liked how the transition from scene to scene was done when in the holodeck program -- not just abrupt switches but different styles of transition. I admire the attention to detail in really trying to make it feel like those ancient sci-fi shows. At one point, Janeway/Arachnia gets "phasered" but is not affected -- how is this to be explained? Also was curious why she seemed to have some feelings for Chaotica after he got zapped when the death ray was destroyed. I suppose this is a throwback to the typical endings of those ancient sci-fi stories -- yes the bad guy never truly dies and will be back somehow. 2 stars for "Bride of Chaotica!" -- enjoyed Mulgrew as Arachnia and some of her facial expressions even when just playing Janeway. Not sure why Harry Kim would want to take part in this Captain Proton stuff with Paris -- does he just want to get with holodeck girls in this program? But overall, I give credit to the tribute attempt here, although it's farfetched. The problems the ship faced were underwhelming and boring.

This episode is fun as part of a binge session but was kind of brutal back in 2000 when I sat down, hungry for sci-fi at 11:00 PM, to watch the nightly CBS Star Trek episode. Perhaps that's where that 2009-2012 anger was coming from. It seems that people lightened up on this episode once Star Trek began streaming online. Very little sympathy for the aliens. The only victim was the one who got shot during the initial interrogation. Chaotica explicitly told the pair that he believed they had invaded his planet and he wondered if they were alone or part of an invading army. The alien stated that contact should be terminated. But after the first alien was killed, an invasion commenced. Chaotica was proven right. "You have killed 53 of my people (...who were invading your territory, intent to kill you, revenge in their photonic hearts)." The purest vintage of dipshits, these aliens. Their only danger was when they chose to invade someone else's territory and fly in front of the death ray. Hard to mourn. I think the Voyager crew realized this and decided to enjoy themselves, dragging out their scenes. Why cry over moths in a bug zapper when the party is so much fun? Wild power move by Janeway to put her hands on Neelix and bark "COFFEE. BLACK." eight inches from his face and make him use the replicator for her. The writers wrote such a wonderfully insane, unstable, and bipolar character. Harry ducking under the robot's arm as it clumsily turned to walk across the room was hilarious.

Mostly silly, but kinda fun. Not a total loss, but unlike Tom, I'm not a big fan of old timey sci fi, so . . . eh. Not a huge stinker, but can't imagine wanting to watch it again.

Sean Hagins

I loved watching the old 40s sci-fi serials, and I think this is a great homage to it! Between Seven's disdain of entertainment, and Tuvok's deadpan sarcastic comments, and Janeway's eyerolls, this show was great! It made fun of the genre, but still respected it. I personally love how the writers did this! Yes, it might have been fun to just have the holodeck adventure without the contrived plot (the fact that real holographic beings were dying in a war put cold water on the light tone the episode was going for), but besides that, I wouldn't change a thing! I also think that Paris is a good choice for Capt Proton. He's always been a kind of boyish character, and I could see him getting a kick playing the hero in a scenario like this. i just wish they utilised Harry Kim more. Going back to the holographic aliens-it is kind of sad that they never learn the "truth" of what was going on. They think they just won a war against real invaders. Yea, that whole subplot really did take the joy out of the light romp.

Sleeper Agent

Extremely well done episode, which balanced comedy, ingenuity and action drama in a quite remarkable way. Would've loved to see the Delaney Sisters as well as more of Tuvok and the Doctor. But that's the only things holding it back. 3 solid stars.

Nah, the episode is fun. I do wish the crux of the story about Voyager being trapped and ultra-serious photonic aliens going to war wasn't so stilted and full of technobabble, but the rest of the proceedings are a blast. It's a joy to see the cast loosen up and get to play up the camp, and the love put into the production design is infectious. Give me Captain Proton cheese over season 3's Club Med or the offensive and cloying Fair Haven any day of the week.

Gosh, Trekkies, ya gotta get out more. You need some perspective. You...you do know that Trek left science out of the fiction equation during the first season of TOS, don’t you? That it’s fantasy? As in...the Trek universe, Trek history, Trek characters, Treknobabble...aren’t REAL? (No matter how we might wish they were.) frantic, who posted above - somewhere in the timeline - has the secret decoder ring. Quoting: “When Paris teaches Janeway about the rules and terminology of the Captain Proton Universe, and she rolls her eyes, it feels like they are also both poking fun at the Star Trek universe rules and terminology, which let's face it, is just as silly and made up.” This is a purely pleasurable grand romp of an episode, as visually and aurally delicious as it is a love letter to ALL sci-fi (not just old stuff) - and a love fest for (and to) this cast. The color parts taking place in the “real” Trekiverse are absolutely crucial to any “point” the episode makes, which is that there’s no substantive difference between the fantasy weapons and tech of the Cap’n Photon program and its counterparts in the full-color “24th century” “reality.” (Unquote.) Hearing the technobabble in the holodeck program vividly illustrates that the usual Treknobabble is just as fatuous. Fergawdsake, Tom even exPLAINS this to the crew when they start to snicker at “death ray” and “rocket ship” and “ray gun” and “lightning guard,” and translates them to their Starfleet equivalents - at which point the crew grudgingly starts to take Chaotica’s realm more seriously. Captain Photon makes Star Trek look equally fantastic (in the literal sense of the word), in that both are complete and utter fictions, serving simultaneously as brain-tickle entertainment, mythopoetic storytelling, and more or less insightful and emotionally truthful meditations on myriad dimensions of the human experience. And of course the “death” of “photonic beings” in the context of this episode is treated with little Rodberrian hand-wringing, because it emphasizes what is literally true in every episode: everything we see on the screen - pacifists, killers, and killed - is a play of photons. No aliens were harmed in the making of this episode (or, you know, any other). I get that in many episodes we’re to take the humans, the aliens, the action, and the interactions seriously - that we can, and do, live with and make it “real” in our imaginations. (At least to the extent we can willingly suspend disbelief.) But not in this episode. In this episode, people who produce make-believe photoplays - who put on prosthetic makeup and dress up as aliens, who play let’s-pretend for a living, feigning fights amidst stage props - have stepped back to make a little loving meta fun of the whole, so to speak, enterprise. We’re surely meant to laugh with them, not prod for plot holes and violations of canon. Sometimes we forget that Trek - all Trek - is as much anthology as it is serial, or even situationally episodic. One week it may be hard-core speculative fiction with a philosophical bent, then barely disguised allegory, then space opera melodrama or close character study or mystery or science procedural or courtroom or medical drama or disaster flick or action-adventure derring-do, wartime drama, or light comedy - or gentle satire, parody, or farce. We can’t bring the same expectations, the same dour and reductive critical stance to every episode. And we certainly shouldn't take a fabulously frivolous outing like BRIDE OF CHAOTICA! more seriously than the people who clearly had so much fun making it. Sometimes I swar tew Gawd Trekkies don’t deserve nice things.

@Proteus One correction. None of the Star Trek shows are fantasy. It is science fiction which is a different genre.

"Fantasy" is a broad term that needn't only refer to the genre, but here it seems to be used more or less as a synonym for "fiction."

That was my thought Top Hat, that someone was equating "fantasy" with "fiction". There isn't a doubt that some overlap is going to occur between fantasy and science fiction and in some cases the line becomes blurry if not non-existent. But conceptually and stylistically, they are separate genres. There is a good reason why many of a generation of NASA scientists, astrophysicists and others who went on to real science careers attribute their professional inspiration to Star Trek and not, say, Lord of the Rings. Real engineers were inspired to develop real technologies like cell phones by Trek communicators but not by, say a Palantir.

@ Proteus, We have some issue with terminology here, but since you bring it up: " You...you do know that Trek left science out of the fiction equation during the first season of TOS, don’t you? That it’s fantasy?" I need to correct what you think "science fiction" means. It does *not* mean fiction involving real (as in, currently known) science. If it did then a story about Louis Pasteur that I wrote would be called science fiction, like you know, fiction about a scientist doing science. But that's not what it means. Science fiction means a story about fictitious science, meaning it's about science that does not exist but (if well-written) might possibly exist one day. That last clause isn't even necessary to quality but very often writers do try to guess about what will be. You can't say "but this stuff isn't real" and then claim it's not therefore science fiction. You are just misunderstanding what the genre is and what the term means. However I do find your write-up of this episode interesting, especially as it may shed light on how outsides (non-Trek fans?) might see Trek in general, rolling their eyes at all the 'rules' and contunuity bickering. Especially during the run of VOY, by which time I suspect the production team was already wary of the handcuffs set by continuity, there may have even been some of that sentiment on the inside. However taking your analsysis as valid, my interpretation of it is a bit more bleak: could it not just as soon mean that the writers of this episode basically thought that Trek rules are stupid and that insisting on their consistency is no more intelligent than the rules in Bride of Chaotica? My instinct would be to take this as a bad omen, that basically the production team sees Trek as little more than a silly 1950's serial, basically drek that sells, if we're going to take your reading of it seriously. And I'm not sure we shouldn't, because that's actually how I felt about the showrunners when this show was first on the air. I basically assumed they didn't care about very much and actually I quit watching at around this point and couldn't take any more for a season or so. IIRC I made myself tune back in to watch the final season or something like that. I've seen them all since then, but yeah - I can't say I disagree that this could be taken to mean the showrunners are making fun of Star Trek.

Don’t take me wrong: I love sci-fi, and if we must slavishly observe hide-bound distinctions between academically defined genres, prefer it to “fantasy.” And I’ve been a Trek fan - and defender - since watching TOS episode one during its first TV run. That said, you gotta admit there’s a wide margin of overlap between the two, precisely in the region where Heinlein observed that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. One can easily imagine Trek presenting sentient mobile trees, magic rings of power, orc armies, elven species, and wizard staffs - but suggesting the enabling power is technology rather than magic. After all, what IS the difference between transporting and magically appearing there rather than here? I get that casting incredible power and other worlds in the physical trappings of technology rather than of sorcery can inspire and reinforce interest in science. It also makes mythic magic and godlike capabilities more palatable to modern tastes, and so sneaks the archetypes and wonder of mythology into minds which might otherwise be hostile to it. That’s all good, and no argument from me. But when virtually every technology which makes a fictional universe and its inner mechanics workable - FTL, transporting, replicating, universal translation, artificial gravity, solid holograms, et al - either ignore the laws of physics as we know them or require quantities of energy exceeding that available in the known universe - I can’t help but observe that there’s a fair dose of fantasy in our fiction. Science fantasy, maybe. Which isn’t intended as an insult. Trek’s “science” is only a part of its formula, part of its function, appeal, satisfaction, and value. As is frequently stressed, it’s also about human psychology and relationships, and a medium through which to explore moral and ethical issues, particularly in our relationship with science and tech as it evolves in the real world. (And among a myriad of other attractions, it’s possible to watch it - as my wife does - to enjoy the textures, weaves, patterns, colors, and details of Ferengi couture.) An episode like “Bride of Chaotica” is intended, I’m pretty sure - and should be taken - as pure fun. If by juxtaposing a 1930s take on sci-fi with a 90s take, it suggests that both are equally ludicrous in the context of what’s plausible in the “real universe” ... well, that’s a useful perspective. The real 25th century (if we get there) will be far different from either imaginary scenario. And not that I’ll ever know, but I’d be pleasantly surprised if human exploration even manages a manned/womanned Trek to the Alpha Centauri system, just 4 ly away. And shoot, Voyager can make that trip in a few weeks.

@ Proteus, I'm not trying to be insulting or anything when I say you should really go out and read some "science of Trek" books, maybe by Krauss. I don't think you're aware of how many pains were taken in TNG for instance to have the show's science accord as much as humanly possible with either known science or else the cutting edge of science theory. I've known phycisits and engineers who *loved* TNG because of how many nods it makes to real theory. There's a reason Stephen Hawking appeared in an episode. What you're saying about science fantasy certainly applies to DISC and I frankly don't like that at all. VOY seems to teeter on that edge as well, and it's been a common critique of that series that it relies too heavily on technobabble to get the plots resolved. But don't lay that at the feet of Trek in general. Even TOS included a lot of ideas that have in fact been shown to have merit. Are you aware that the 'warp drive' is still NASA's best leading idea about how future space travel might be done? Are you aware that specially-aligned crystals really are a good method of shooting charged particles through (e.g. dilithium crystals)? Are you aware that positrinics was something posited by Asimov, which is no doubt what led TOS to come up with "duotronics" and so forth? And hey, The Cage had fax machines before we did :) This is interesting stuff, you should go read up about it. Small correction: I believe it was Arthur C. Clarke, not Heinlein, who said the thing about advanced technology resembling magic.

In other words, I’m just peeved that the pokey speed of light (and other universal constraints) are going to limit all our fun before it ever starts. And, fond as I am of the notion, I don’t think the aliens (who surely don’t look like us anyway) are ever coming. I’m going to miss them.

I’m not insulted, just amused you feel the need to point it out. I’m pretty aware of those correlations, and am in fact consistently impressed that Trek’s “technobabble” is as realistic and plausible as it is - given that we accept the technology as presented. Wave guides, magnetic containment, neural gel-packs, crystals, beam coherence, pattern buffers, etc are all logically conceivable concomitants of the proposed technology. My point - and it’s a dull one - is that those techs STILL violate practical constraints of even hypothetically attainable physics. Alcubierre‘s warp drive (indeed directly inspired by Trek) is a based on mathematically valid solutions of Einstein’s equations - but its actual realization requires either quantities of antimatter exponentially out of proportion to what mankind might be able to produce, and/or other forms of “exotic matter” as yet unproven and undetected. Not to mention actually achieving that magnetic containment - or controlling the reaction once initiated. And that leaves aside any consideration of achieving the warp miracle with a craft as massive as a Federation starship. Per my (admittedly incomplete and “lay”) understanding of the actual physical principles underpinning other key Trek tech - gravity plating, transporting, replicating, etc - they are equally unattainable, and for similar reasons. They may have theoretical bases consistent with some hypothetical application of known science - but it’s mighty hard to imagine how we get from that to something that actually works, much less on the scale required for ST. Which doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. We should. And it doesn’t mean ST shouldn’t depict such a future. (Though it would be nice if the writers tried to deploy the fantasy tech consistently, rather than magically as plotting demands.) On the other hand, from a pure entertainment perspective, they shouldn’t let tech stand in the way of a good story (as is the case in this ep). After all, it IS fiction.

We can probably agree that if science fiction and fantasy are vemm diagrams there is probably an overlapping "neutral zone" (to borrow a Trek metaphor) where you'll find most Marvel movies, Star Wars and some Trek series on the sf side and maybe something like the Shattered Earth books or... boy I am having trouble thinking of fantasy genre examples that would be on the F side of the neutral zone - but you get my drift. But Peter is correct that Trek always at least attempted to ground its ideas in real science. Trek was never hard sf to be sure, but to flippantly compare it to Saturday morning serials or to just throw up your hands and shovel it into the fantasy box wholesale is really unfortunate.

And yes, Clarke. Thanks for correcting my misremember! Old age brain sieve.

For the record, it was indeed Arthur C. Clarke, whose third law is "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." There's a corollary: "Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology." One could certainly point to someone like Ursula LeGuin as a writer who works right on the margins of both concepts. I think it's possible to say this: Star Trek as a franchise is, in general, more interested in the appearance of fidelity to actual science than actual fidelity. That said, it is fundamentally ABOUT science -- as in, scientists and engineers are venerated as heroes, scientific solutions are taken seriously, the scientific process is explored -- in a way that affiliates it with science fiction more strongly than something like Star Wars, of which none of the above can be said and fictional technologies are treated as purely imaginary.

“to flippantly compare it to Saturday morning serials or to just throw up your hands and shovel it into the fantasy box wholesale is really unfortunate.” Yesnomaybe. I’m not concerned to “correctly” put ST - or any other fiction - in a genre box, I’m just taking it as I find it. I didn’t mean to insult Trek; I seem to like more of it, more consistently, than most posters here. Maybe because I’m not concerned with genre constraints.

Sez Top Hat: “One could certainly point to someone like Ursula LeGuin as a writer who works right on the margins of both concepts.” Definitely. Furthermore, him sez: “I think it's possible to say this: Star Trek as a franchise is, in general, more interested in the appearance of fidelity to actual science than actual fidelity. That said, it is fundamentally ABOUT science -- as in, scientists and engineers are venerated as heroes, scientific solutions are taken seriously, the scientific process is explored -- in a way that affiliates it with science fiction more strongly than something like Star Wars, of which none of the above can be said and fictional technologies are treated as purely imaginary.” Very well articulated, and I agree 100%. ST is in every way a more thoughtful franchise than Star Wars, and I much prefer it for that reason. Trek is probably as much ABOUT science as a mass market audience would tolerate. There have been more space battles with hostile aliens than I would hope there would be in its imaginary future - not to mention wars - but we unevolved humans do thrive on conflict. ST depicts us as we are - as well as we might like to be.

Hazy Cosmic

The Doc's performance as President of Earth-still unimpeachable in 2020. ***

I normally can’t stand holodeck episodes. And honestly towards the end of this one I kept checking the clock to see how much time I had left (something this season of Voyager has drastically improved upon!) But dang if Satan’s Robot didn’t make the whole thing worth watching for me. Technobabble and slow pace aside, I’ll give it a 2/4 just for that robot.

In our current age of political polarization, I am not surprised that some people love this episode and others hate it. I loved this episode. I thought it was hilarious and was laughing all the way through.

Gotta disagree with Jammer, this episode is so much fun. It's often very silly, gloriously so, and I'm glad to see the writers and actors can do an episode where they don't have to take everything dead seriously. Both my daughter and I identified with Tom trying to explain his hobby to someone not into the same hobby, and having to deal with the "I can't believe you waste your time on THIS" attitude. Hammy villains can be a lot of fun, and Chaotica could give emperor Palpatine a run for his money. The whole Captain Proton scenario is absurd, and the writers and characters know it and have a great time playing along, and so do I. Second favorite line of the episode: Chaotica's enunciation of "Foooooooool!" which has to have four or five octaves and syllables in that one word. Hilarious. :) My favorite lines are where Janeway and Chaotica discuss "underlings", and the look on Janeway's face is priceless: CHAOTICA: Why this preoccupation with the Shield? JANEWAY: Oh, forgive me. It's just that, as a fellow ruler of the cosmos I often have to do things myself. CHAOTICA: Ah. Because of the incompetence of your inferiors, no doubt. JANEWAY: Something like that. Three and a half stars for this one. Love it!

Sarjenka's Brother

I'm with the crowd that wonders why we had to have the photonic aliens from subspace at all. Voyager was a long way from home. It would stand to reason that for every dramatic alien encounter, there would be long periods of just going though empty, boring space. The crew would need something to do to pass the time -- what better way than holodeck programs? I think two or three times a season, a nonperil storyline that examines the crews' cultural and social situation via the holodeck (or not the holodeck) would have been fine. You simply could have set the story up with a senior staff meeting with so little to report in the empty sector of space they are in that they simply start sharing ways they are passing the time. Harry Kim mentions Tom's "Captain Proton" story. Seven and Tuvok are skeptical and pronounce it a waste. But Neelix and Chakotay say it sounds like fun. They're in! (Fade to opening title). So Neelix and Chakotay join Tom and Harry for an "episode." They are delighted and at the next staff meeting talk about how much they liked it. Seven and Tuvok remain skeptical. They argue about the dubious merits of spending time that way with the Doctor siding with Tom and his Proton posse and B'Lanna and Janeway neutral about a 1940s sci-fi program but open minded. In the end, Janeway issues a challenge -- they'll all participate in a full Proton adventure. If Seven and Tuvok fail to see the value, Harry and Tom will have to do some boring odious chore mentioned in the intro. But if Seven and Tuvok (who cannot lie) see the value, they'll get stuck with the duty. "Bride of Chaotica!" plays out w. no aliens, no subspace. The only stakes are unwanted chores and bragging rights about being right. As the Proton adventure reaches its climax, Seven can't help herself but enjoy it and Tuvok cannot deny that the program had benefit for his emotional, bored crewmates. Team Proton gloats at the admission. When the episode ends, you see Tuvok and Seven engaging in the tedious chore in a Captain Proton motif. Laughs all around! In the end, Trek didn't have too many holodeck episodes. It had too many holodeck malfunction episodes. There were plenty of ways to utilize it without adding in needless peril.

Jillyenator

I dig how this episode -- and Janeway herself -- recognizes just how comfortable Janeway is as a megalomaniacal ruler. The nods to it throughout Arachnia's performance are hysterical, culminating in whipping that microphone cord like a boss. She's loving it. Watch her sit on the throne with her little comment about somehow liking that. Her expression is priceless. If you watch Janeway's little expressions of awareness about herself, it's an awesome bit of story meta. At this point in the series, Janeway is more or less written as a complete dictator with no accountability -- a fellow ruler of the cosmos indeed... The actors seem to be trying not to corpse throughout, and pass it off as the characters barely restraining their glee at the ridiculous situation. Janeway did what Picard really couldn't, and "bow to the absurd." I'd take Satan's Robot as a series regular too! At some point it looks like he is trying to cuddle Harry and Harry keeps trying to get the robot to leave him alone. What a hoot. A cute metatextual episode with enough levity to provide a respite from Voyager's more serious fare. Three stars.

Just chiming in -- decades after the fact -- to add that this episode was stre-eee-etched out (far) beyond its original premise because of a fire on-set -- Voyager's bridge was unavailable for months, requiring a great deal of asynchronous post-facto filming. Chaotica 'suffered' (extensive rewrites) as a result; one imagines the initial plot wasn't quite so cookie-cutter "aliens take control of holodeck."

I dreaded when we were first introduced to the Captain Proton Holoseries, knowing that at some point there would be an episode dedicated to defeating Chaotica because of some ridiculous holodeck plot design. Whatever it was bound to happen, I kept my bile down and got through it. My bigger question is around why the writers of every Star Trek focus the characters entertainment preferences on early 20th century. Captain Proton in Voyager, B movie horror movies in Enterprise, Private Eye dramas in TNG. I'm assuming there are copywrite considerations as well as not wanting to highlight contemporary entertainment in the fear that some scandal will tarnish the reputation of the series. A reference to relatively current entertainment that I believe will last until the 24th century would be a welcome touch. Let's have movie night be The Godfather, Raiders of the Lost Ark or The Shawshank Redemption. Let's have Naomi reading Harry Potter. Let's have a crew member reference Pink Floyd or Madonna. Finally, does anyone else cringe to see Ensign Kim playing the role of Sidekick. The minority playing second fiddle to the strong white male protagonist fits the Hollywood of the '30s but we would hope it is over in the 24th century.

"Flawless re-creation. Although I'll admit that it looks like a lot of money went into some of the Captain Proton sets (which certainly wasn't the case with serials), the production team did a great job with props, costumes, and art design to make the setting look as cheesy as it should've. David Bell's tinny, bass-free score is also perfectly appropriate." "The careful mimicking, the attention to detail—all expertly done (Kroeker deserves kudos for the directorial effort). But what's missing is pure enjoyment and exhilaration. This episode never quite takes off. I wasn't laughing much. Occasionally I was chuckling. Some of the gags are perceptive, but they don't dare to be brashly satirical. The lesson to be learned here, I think, is that skillful imitation alone is not enough. There has to be an attitude, an edge, brought to the material." I agree with all of this, except that to me it is on the one hand a check the kind of overpraise it gets in some quarters (Tor.com gave the episode a ridiculous rating of 10/10), but the positive aspects still warrant at least two and a half stars. I tend to think more in terms of five star scales because that's what is used on Letterboxd, the Netflix disc-by-mail service (yes, it still exists and I still subscribe to it), and the TVTime app, where I gave the episode three stars out of five. Which I guess is about equivalent to 2.5 on Jammer's scale, although the latter seems harsher somehow. Like @Yanks (whom I've seen around here fairly recently), I liked the 2016 comment from @Skeptical (a moniker that doesn't ring a bell).

Chuck AzEee

This episode is quite horrible. Zero stars

The murder of the innocent photonic life forms feels like a weird juxtaposition with the silliness of the episode. It's all a jolly jape when people are getting killed by a half rate Ming. Episode is just about saved by by Kate Mulgrew giving it beans.

This episode is watchable but it doesn't do much for me. I like the quirky comic book themes and the decision to go black and white for this one to add to the feel. Overall, I agree with Jammer's review. I think this could have been a great episode, but the writers couldn't pull it off. It ends with and old fashioned end card with ? Perhaps if this episode had been executed in a better manner we would have gotten a follow-up to this one. I do have to say, I like this holodeck program much better than that recurring beach one from a few seasons back.

Did anyone else catch President of Earth Doc remarking that his performance was unimpeachable? This is 1999, remember.

The production of the Flash Gordon type sets and costumes were very well done, but the characters and story seemed to just fall short of the mark. If I want a delicious twist on an existing character, give me Nana Visitor as Major Kira as The Intendant in the mirror episodes of DS9.

Planet of Hats

This is one rating I can't agree with. Bride of Chaotica is, to me, one of those episodes that works best when you just turn off your brain a little and allow yourself to enjoy the hamminess of it. The technobabble aspects are by far secondary to the real substance of the episode, which is the love letter to hammy black-and-white spaceman shows and the gusto with which the cast jumps into it. The highlight of the episode is and always has been the briefing room scene, by the way. "Yes, ma'am. His Army of Evil." I have no idea how McNeill managed to keep a straight face dropping that one, much less the line about how the destructo-beam on his rocket ship can knock out the death ray if someone can get inside the Fortress of Doom and disable the lightning-shield. That last one seems like a self-aware jab at technobabble, which I appreciate.

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Memory Alpha

Doctor Chaotica

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In 2375 , the program was running when USS Voyager was stuck in subspace , where photonic lifeforms who lived there mistook the program as being a true representation of the universe Voyager resided in. The aliens visited Dr. Chaotica's lair believing that they were meeting a real person. Dr. Chaotica told them that he would crush them like insects and promptly executed one of the aliens. The other transported away. This triggered a war between the aliens and Chaotica. The program could not be shut down due to damage to Voyager , so in order to end the war with the aliens, the crew assumed various roles in the program. As usual, Tom Paris became Captain Proton himself, with Harry Kim as his sidekick, Buster Kincaid . The Doctor took on the persona of the President of Earth , in order to communicate with the photonic aliens, who dismissed the carbon-based Voyager crew members as "illusions".

Buster Kincaid and Constance Goodheart captured by Dr

Harry Kim enjoys his holodeck time in the company of Chaotica and Constance Goodheart

Most importantly, Captain Kathryn Janeway assumed the role of Queen Arachnia , in whom Dr. Chaotica had a romantic interest. Dr. Chaotica made Arachnia promise to marry him if he would drop his shields. He later imprisoned her and told her that he would not kill her until after the wedding night. Janeway and the rest of the crew were able to defeat Chaotica, stopping the war with the aliens and releasing Voyager from subspace. As Dr. Chaotica was dying, he told Arachnia that he would return. ( VOY : " Bride of Chaotica! ")

In 2377 , when Voyager was separated into several different timeframes, one of the frames on the holodeck played host to Captain Proton again. When Chakotay and a past Captain Janeway were attempting to save the ship, they were caught on the malfunctioning holoprogram. Chaotica believed Janeway was Arachnia and vowed to kill her. However, the two "convince" him of a " greater threat ", aliens from the Eighth Dimension (Chaotica and Lonzak laughed at first, because "everyone" knew there were only five dimensions) and they showed a piece of Voyager 's gel-packs as "proof". ( VOY : " Shattered ")

In 2381 , as Voyager was being transported to Earth by the crew of the USS Cerritos , a Tak Takian macrovirus was discovered and escaped through the ship thanks to Brad Boimler 's bungling. As it reproduced and made its way through the ship, it activated three holodeck programs -- Chaotica, The Clown and Michael Sullivan -- who proceeded to take control of the ship and make its way towards a Borg cube . Boimler and Sam Rutherford made an attempt to take control of the ship with the former as a distraction. When cornered by Chaotica, Boimler declared that he wasn't a Starfleet officer, but the son of Captain Proton, causing Chaotica to gasp in shock before Rutherford shut down the holograms and the rest of the ship by infecting it with Neelix cheese . ( LD : " Twovix ")

  • 1.1 Appearances
  • 1.2 Background information
  • 1.3 External link

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

  • " Bride of Chaotica! "
  • " Shattered "
  • LD : " Twovix "

Background information [ ]

Chaotica was played by Martin Rayner on Star Trek: Voyager , and voiced by James Sie in "Twovix".

The character was a parody of Ming the Merciless , the main antagonist from the Flash Gordon serials.

External link [ ]

  • Chaotica at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS5E12BrideOfChaotica

Recap / Star Trek: Voyager S5 E12: "Bride of Chaotica!"

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This episode has the following tropes:

  • AcCENT upon the Wrong SylLABle / Trrrilling Rrrs : Doctor Chaotica, because Evil Is Hammy . "I'm afrrraid your SEC-cretarrry has alrrready been prrromised to Queen ArrrrACK-nia as a SUPrrreeeeme sACKrrrrifice!"
  • All Planets Are Earth-Like : Proton opens the hatch on his rocketship (which has no airlock) without even checking the atmosphere. Maybe he was just playing the odds on Star Trek . Or maybe the ship doesn't need an airlock because Captain Proton Can Breathe In Space! , as seen in "Thirty Days".
  • America Takes Over the World & One World Order : The President of Earth.
  • And Now You Must Marry Me : Chaotica is suspicious of Arachnia's intentions, so demands she marry him as absolute proof of her commitment. When the impetuous harlot proves herself in league with Proton... Chaotica: Don't worry my dear, I wouldn't kill my bride...till after my wedding night! ( Evil Laugh )
  • Conversely, though, from the aliens' point of view it actually is real , since Chaotica's holographic Death Ray is genuinely lethal to them. The fact that Chaotica and his minions are computer-generated simulations rather than actual photonic lifeforms doesn't make that any less true. It is also why The Doctor (under the guise of the "President of Earth") is the only one able to convince them to stand down and let "Captain Proton" defeat Chaotica: as a holographic lifeform, the photonic aliens would believe him to be as "real" as them.
  • Another Dimension : The "Fifth Dimension" (as Chaotica dubs it) is based on energy. As a result the aliens think the holoprogram is real, whereas Voyager and its crew don't show up on their sensors, making it impossible to convince the aliens to stop fighting.
  • Applied Phlebotinum : Arachnia's vial of irresistible pheromones . Dr Chaotica's Lightning Shield .
  • Big Bad : Doctor Chaotica , Ruler of the Cosmos!
  • Black-and-White Morality : Paris: I've been studying how past generations viewed the future . Janeway: And? Paris: It didn't work out quite as black and white as they imagined.
  • Breather Episode : After the intense "Latent Image".
  • Bumbling Sidekick / Professional Butt-Kisser : Chaotica's sycophantic henchman Lonzak.
  • Chained to a Rock : Constance Goodheart is tied to a pillar prior to her being presented to Queen Arachnia as a "supreme sacrifice". Later Arachnia ends up there too.
  • Though that's, bizarrely, actually the reverse of a Cliffhanger Copout, since normally apparent death in one episode would be downplayed in the next.
  • Comm Links : Lonzak has one on his wrist.
  • Continuity Nod : When Paris says that someone will have to play Arachnia in the holoprogram, the others in the room seem to assume that the role will fall to Seven. However, Paris knows that Seven's not right for the part. Sure, she's good-looking, but she won't properly embrace the role of Queen of the Spider-People. How does he know this? Because in "Night" , he had talked a reluctant Seven into playing Constance Goodheart. But when she was accosted by Satan's Robot, instead of playing along as the Damsel in Distress , she coolly disabled it by opening an access panel and ripping out a wire .
  • Cool Chair : Janeway sits in Chaotica's throne. "Somehow I feel comfortable here."
  • Crashing Through the Harem : Lampshaded; it's part of the program to liberate Chaotica's slave girls during a Dungeon Bypass .
  • Damsel out of Distress : Paris: I was about to say "Captain Proton to the rescue!" but I see you have everything under control. Janeway: I'm the Queen, remember?
  • Deadpan Snarker : Tuvok constantly drops snide comments about Tom's holoprogram.
  • Death Ray : Which is called exactly that. Much cooler than Weapon of Mass Destruction , come to think of it.
  • Denser and Wackier : Unquestionably the silliest episode of Voyager. Well, except maybe for "Threshold" . So unquestionably the most intentionally silly episode.
  • Department of Redundancy Department : Buster and Proton are meant to infiltrate the Fortress of Doom via the "underground caverns".
  • Disintegrator Ray : Just to show the stakes , Lonzak executes one of the photonic aliens with his raygun.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything? : Tom trying to explain his enthusiasm for his hobby to his bemused co-workers is familiar to geeks everywhere.
  • Don't Touch It, You Idiot! : The Doctor is told to activate the Destructo beam. He reaches for a button and Satan's Robot blares a warning, causing Tom and Harry to shout in unison, "The other panel!" Presumably he was about to activate the Self-Destruct Mechanism mentioned in "Night".
  • Dope Slap : Paris gives this to Satan's Robot when it scares off the alien they're trying to make First Contact with. The Robot shambles off muttering sulkily about alien invaders.
  • Electronic Speech Impediment : Satan's Robot whenever it sustains damage.
  • Energy Beings : The aliens are from a photonic universe.
  • Evil Laugh : In one case done along with the Title Drop .
  • The End... Or Is It? : The episode concludes with Dr. Chaotica dying, whereupon music plays on an imagizer and the words THE END appear... followed by a question mark and Chaotica's Evil Laugh . Sure enough Chaotica returns to menace Janeway one more time in " Shattered ".
  • Faceless Goons : Chaotica's "Army of Evil". Justified when Tom Paris mentions the Dressing as the Enemy trick in his original plan to enter the Fortress of Doom, so he'd make sure the guards had concealed faces when writing the holoprogram.
  • You can see the calm wash over her when she drinks coffee.
  • She puts on an expression of mock seriousness while Tom is explaining the Captain Proton holo-program to her, while Chakotay and Seven exchange smirks in the background.
  • Her "wtf?" face as she goes over the specs for her Queen Arachnia costume is a wonder to behold.
  • Famed In-Story : Chaotica is insulted that the photonic aliens don't recognize him on sight, though that could just be his cosmic ego.
  • Feet-First Introduction : The Doctor as The President of Earth.
  • Femme Fatale : Queen Arachnia, along with Dark Action Girl . Presumably she's a villain from a previous chapter who made a Heel–Face Turn after falling for Proton or having our heroes save her life .
  • Finishing Each Other's Sentences : Though it's more a sign of Seven's arrogance than an indicator that she's on the same page as her captain.
  • Genre Savvy : Tom Paris knows something's gone wrong on the holodeck because Constance Goodheart has been killed, and that never happens to the Good Guys . Likewise he tries to warn Captain Janeway of Chaotica's fondness for hidden traps , but she falls into one anyway.
  • Got Volunteered : Janeway gets roped into playing Arachnia by Tom Paris. Before that, everyone else (Janeway included) assumed it would be Seven.
  • Ham-to-Ham Combat : Chaotica vs Arachnia or Lonzak.
  • Heel–Face Turn : Satan's Robot ends up 'helping' our heroes. Presumably this also happened with Queen Arachnia in previous chapters, which is why she's helping Proton now.
  • High Collar of Doom : Arachnia wears a pretty big one, in a spiderweb pattern.
  • Holodeck Malfunction : Different from the usual — the characters can move in and out of the program freely by using a site-to-site transport, and the safety protocols are working fine (note the scene where Janeway laughs off a raygun blast). They just can't turn the program off, and despite the safeties, the ray guns are lethal to a race of photonic aliens, which forces the crew to play along and defeat Chaotica before the aliens' counterattack destroys the Voyager and/or draws it deeper into subspace.
  • On being confronted by Lonzak and his Faceless Goons , the aliens respond, "We mean you no harm." Lonzak's response is predictable.
  • Tom and Tuvok try to establish First Contact with a photonic alien and explain it's all a misunderstanding, but they don't show up on his Everything Sensor so he thinks it's a trick. The Killer Robot barging towards him doesn't help matters. Eventually the Doctor (who as a hologram is made of photonic energy) does the job successfully.
  • I Kiss Your Hand : Dr. Chaotica does this to Queen Arachnia in his usual Large Ham manner after she strides majestically into his throne room. As Arachnia is being played by Captain Janeway, she's not impressed. When he tries it again later, she walks off just as he's bending down to kiss .
  • I Know Karate : Janeway karate-chops the mook manning the Death Ray.
  • I Resemble That Remark! : B'Elanna snarks that Doctor might enter the program as "Emperor of the Universe". Unconscious of any irony, the Doctor replies that he'll have to "scale back his role in the interests of credibility. I'll be the President of Earth ."
  • Idiosyncratic Wipes : As per the Republic Film serials.
  • Incoming! : Doc says this just before a Death Ray blast rocks the rocketship.
  • Incoming Ham : Lonzak: HALT! IN THE NAME OF CHAOTICA!
  • Innocent Aliens : Chaotica: You have invaded my planet. Why? Photonic Alien: To contact other photonic lifeforms. To learn from them. Chaotica: Are you alone or are you the vanguard of an invading army ? Alien: We are explorers .
  • Insistent Terminology : Tom rigidly sticks to using all the Captain Proton descriptions for things, and coaches Janeway on the differences from their own lingo. He does this even when it is not necessary. Janeway: Let me get this straight. Transdimensional aliens have mistaken your Captain Proton simulation for reality. Paris: Yes, ma'am. Janeway: And now an armed conflict has broken out between these aliens and Chaotica's holographic army. Paris: [deadpan] Yes, ma'am. His Army of Evil.
  • Killed Mid-Sentence : Lonzak is raygunned by Proton and Buster as he's hamming his way through his Roaring Speech of Revenge. They were kinda busy with the invading holographic aliens. "Surprised? You thought I had perished in that den of crocodiles . I SURVIVED! CLINGING to the thought that I would ONE DAY— Arrrrgh! "
  • Kneel Before Zod : Lonzak demands the photonic aliens kneel before his majesty. They've no idea what he's talking about.
  • Large Ham : In classic Camp fashion, of course. The entire Captain Proton program is a World of Ham , and even Janeway gets into it, chewing some major scenery as Queen Arachnia.
  • Let Me Get This Straight... : Captain Janeway summing up the incredible situation they've gotten into.
  • Letting the Air out of the Band : When Harry discovers the aliens' portal on the holodeck, the melodramatic Captain Proton music fades out and is replaced by normal Voyager background music.
  • Love Potion : While Tied to a Pillar Janeway uses Arachnia's vial of "irresistible pheromones" to make Dr. Chaotica release her. Unfortunately Chaotica moves out of sniffing range, leaving her to get slobbered over by his ugly henchman Lonzak instead.
  • The Men in Black : The alien MIB version — two photonic aliens appear on the holodeck dressed as grey-suited men in fedoras. They speak in a stilted manner and though dressed like humans of the 1930's are unfamiliar with their society, mistaking the holodeck characters for Energy Beings like themselves and assuming the supervillains they encounter are a genuine threat.
  • Mini-Game : When you remember that Captain Proton is essentially a video game, repairing Satan's Robot is clearly one of these. Tuvok almost grudgingly compliments Paris on his knowledge of 20th century technology, but Tom's repairs of the robot's innards are probably as accurate as most other Hollywood Hacking , especially considering Captain Proton 's source material.
  • More than Three Dimensions : No, there's five!
  • Then, when Neelix tries to say something, Janeway says what every coffee drinker lives by: "Coffee first!" As Neelix waits patiently, you can almost see the caffeine flooding into Janeway's bloodstream.
  • And then , after Janeway returns to the bridge — leaving Neelix to deal with scheduling the crew's use of the remaining functioning toilets and sonic showers — he drains the rest of her cup. Evidently she's not the only one in need of caffeine right now.
  • My Death Is Just the Beginning : Chaotica: Arachnia, death as you know it has no hold on me. My defeat is but a temporary setback. I shall return to seek my revenge. Janeway: He doesn't give up, does he? Paris: They never do.
  • Never Trust a Trailer : An In-Universe version (see Cliffhanger Copout ).
  • Nobody Poops : Averted. Neelix: Replicators aren't the only systems of convenience offline. We've only got four functioning lavatories for a ship of a hundred and fifty people. Janeway: I see. Neelix: Needless to say, lines are beginning to form. If we don't get unstuck soon we may have a serious problem on our hands. Especially with the Bolians. All but three sonic showers are offline, too. In another couple of days... Janeway: I get the idea.
  • No-Sell : Because the holodeck safeties are still working, the weapons on the holodeck are useless against the crew, as seen when Janeway laughs off being shot with a ray gun. Paris warns, however, that forcefields and other, non-lethal restraints will work, which Chaotica uses to capture Janeway when shooting her fails.
  • Janeway gives her famous Death Glare to Tom after she's roped into playing Arachnia, but finds herself quite getting into the role, enjoying the feeling of sitting on a throne and gleefully hamming it up. "HA! You're no match for Arachnia!"
  • Likewise the Doctor enjoys playing the President of Earth, despite dismissing the program as a 'frivolous fantasy' in " Night ".
  • Numbered Homeworld / "X" Makes Anything Cool : Planet X.
  • Tom and Harry just shoot Lonzak in the middle of his speech since they don't have time to play along.
  • Proton is supposed to rescue Queen Arachnia at the climax of the chapter, but of course Janeway just rescues herself.
  • Yet again Harry says, "You'll never get away with this!"
  • Although she doesn't deliver the line straight, Janeway notes that when you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself.
  • Parody Episode : An Affectionate Parody of the early sci-fi serials like Buck Rogers , Commando Cody and Flash Gordon .
  • When the controls fail and the rocketship starts to crash , Tom and Harry pound the console in a suitably dramatic manner .
  • Tom repairs Satan's Robot, but it takes a whack to get it fully operational.
  • Phallic Weapon : Arachnia strokes the barrel of the Death Ray in a sensual manner . Janeway: Oh, it looks like a... formidable weapon. Chaotica: The most powerful in the cosmos!
  • Plot Armor : When Tom finds Captain Proton's sidekick Constance Goodheart dead, he realizes the program has gone seriously Off the Rails since this trope is not in play anymore.
  • Previously on… : The episode starts with a cliffhanger recap of the Show Within a Show in the style of a 1930's Republic film serial . We then cut to Tom Paris and Harry Kim watching the recap on the imagizer, and complaining that the scene of their rocketship bursting into flame never actually happened .
  • The Doctor's performance as the President was unimpeachable.
  • The Deliberately Monochrome world of Captain Proton presents a black and white view of the future.
  • When Arachnia spots her pheromones on a pedestal in Chaotica's lair, she quips, "I didn't realize you were the scent -imental type."
  • Raygun Gothic : The holo-program has this style.
  • Reckless Gun Usage : Harry and Tom point their ray guns (with fingers inside the trigger guards) at each other while standing in the hatchway of Proton's rocketship. Possibly a Shout-Out to this trope in B Movies like Plan 9 from Outer Space .
  • Recycled Set : Lampshaded In-Universe when Harry Kim points out that "Planet X" looks identical to "The Mines of Mercury" that they visited in the last adventure. Tom replies that sets were expensive in the days when you couldn't just create them on the holodeck.
  • Red Shirt : The alien with a non-speaking part is the one that Lonzak chooses to execute.
  • Repeat After Me : Tom starts ranting how he's never going to play this holoprogram again. Satan's Robot repeats the end of every sentence, even when Tom says that the first thing he's going to do is delete the robot.
  • Retro Rocket : Doesn't get much more retro than this.
  • Reverse Polarity : Torres: Basically, we've run aground on a subspace sandbar . I've tried realigning the warp field, reversing hull polarity... Paris: Maybe we should just get out and push.
  • Ripped from the Headlines : The Doctor claims his performance in talking to the photonic aliens was "unimpeachable." That's probably the closest thing to a Clinton joke Star Trek ever had. This, of course, aired soon after Clinton was impeached.
  • Rule of Symbolism : The scene where Janeway, Seven of Nine and B'Elanna Torres brainstorm in Astrometrics, while holodeck hero Tom Paris makes sidekick-like quips from the sidelines. It's obvious which sex wears the pants in the 24th Century!
  • Captain Proton travels millions of miles to Planet X!
  • Chaotica identifies himself as "Ruler of the Cosmos" though that's clearly an ego thing .
  • Screaming Woman : Constance Goodheart continues her Running Gag , in deliberate contrast to the heroics allowed in a former villainness like Arachnia.
  • Screen Shake : Whenever Proton's rocketship is hit by the Death Ray.
  • Seize Them! : Lonzak: Halt, in the name of Chaotica! Alien explorer: We mean no harm. Lonzak: Seize them! [activates Super Wrist-Gadget ] Lower the drawbridge. We are bringing prisoners.
  • Self-Disposing Villain : After being stunned by Captain Janeway, Chaotica hauls himself up using his Death Ray only to get zapped when Proton fires his Destructo Beam at it.
  • A Shared Suffering : Chaotica gets all teary-eyed over The Chains of Commanding when you're Surrounded by Idiots . Captain Janeway can empathize. Chaotica: Oh, Arachnia, my love, my life! How well you understand our plight. If it weren't beneath my dignity, I... I would weep . How I've longed for someone who would understand. Janeway: We have a saying on Arachnia. It's lonely at the top .
  • Sharp-Dressed Man : The Doctor cuts a nice figure in his double-breasted suit while playing the "President of Earth."
  • Proton's rocketship is similar to that used by Flash Gordon , while Dr Chaotica largely appears to be a Ming the Merciless expy , right down to the castle and its defenses.

chaotica voyager actor

  • Proton's leather jacket with jetpack controls are the same as those used by Commando Cody, aka The Rocketman.
  • The aliens come from a Fifth Dimension .
  • Smoking Barrel Blowout : Harry does this with his Ray Gun after the above-mentioned scene with Lonzak.
  • Some Kind Of Forcefield : When Arachnia reveals whose side she's really on, Lonzak traps her inside a forcefield. Cut to Arachnia chained to a pillar .
  • Space Is an Ocean : Probably the pinnacle of this trope in all of fiction, with Voyager "running aground" on a "subspace sandbar." Fortunately this is a silly episode anyway, so it can be overlooked.
  • Splash of Color : Tom and Harry realise there's something wrong with the program when they see an energy portal leaking color into their Deliberately Monochrome world.
  • Strapped to an Operating Table : Constance Goodheart in the Previously on… teaser. Chaotica shows it off proudly to his intended. "The Cradle of Persuasion. It's fully modified: brain probe, pain modulator."
  • Supervillain Lair : Doctor Chaotica's Fortress of Doom .
  • Sure, Let's Go with That : The aliens think the holo-program is real, so it's easier to play along than try and convince them it's not.

chaotica voyager actor

  • Swiss-Cheese Security : Tuvok notes dryly when a photonic alien strolls into Proton's rocketship, "I assume there's no lock on the hatch?" Tom replies that it was a simpler time. Well that would explain The Cold Equations anyway.
  • Techno Babble : Parodied. Tom delivers this line completely straight-faced. Tom: The Destructo-beam on my rocketship can disable the death ray, but only if someone gets inside the Fortress of Doom and can shut down the lightning shield.
  • Telegraph Gag STOP : A message arrives via the Subspace Ansible on Proton's rocket ship. It looks suspiciously like a teletype machine . Paris: It's a message to Captain Proton from the President of Earth. Intercepted communications between Doctor Chaotica and Arachnia STOP. Chaotica at war with aliens from Fifth Dimension STOP. Must strike now to disable Death Ray— Tuvok: Stop. Please summarize the message.
  • Title Drop : Chaotica says to Janeway in her Arachnia role, "And so, my dear, the day you have always dreamed of has arrived... the day you become Bride of Chaotica!"
  • Unholy Matrimony : Chaotica and Arachnia will rule together!
  • Video Phone : Imagizers, which use the same activation sound effect as in Flash Gordon .
  • Villainous Crush : Chaotica is obsessed with Arachnia, which is why Janeway has to play the character, as she's the only one who can convince him to drop the Lightning Shield so Proton can attack.
  • We Can Rule Together : Chaotica: Such passion, such strength. Together we could conquer the universe. End this madness, and you may yet live to be my Bride. Janeway: I don't know how to tell you this (shoots him) but the wedding's off.
  • We Will Meet Again : And they do, in " Shattered ".
  • Welcome to Corneria : As with other holodeck programs we've seen on Voyager , new players entering the program are greeted by the same dialogue, in this case by Lonzak and his two minions. Players can either choose to be taken prisoner and brought directly to Chaotica, or fight Lonzak and then sneak into the Fortress of Doom via the Secret Underground Passage .
  • What Measure Is a Non-Human? : The war between Chaotica and the photonic aliens costs many of them their lives, as holodeck weapons are real to them. (At one point, their envoy gives the death toll as 53, and that's just halfway through the episode, so it presumably continues to climb.) However, the Voyager crew never seem remotely perturbed that dozens of sentient beings have died as a result of their actions; they're only ever concerned with their own inconvenience. Even the Doctor , who remarks that a universe populated entirely by photonic beings is "rather appealing", doesn't seem bothered by it.
  • Why Are You Looking at Me Like That? : Tom Paris explains that somebody has to go into the Captain Proton holoprogram and take on the role of seductive villainess Queen Arachnia. Everyone in the room looks at a nonplussed Seven of Nine... except Paris, who's looking straight at Janeway. Janeway's amusement with this idea fades immediately.
  • With This Ring : Janeway is presented with an Enormous Engagement Ring ... to be presented to his majesty, Dr. Chaotica .
  • World of Ham : With the exception of Tuvok , all the crewmembers who enter the program can't resist hamming it up splendidly.
  • You Fool! : "You FoooooOOOOOLLLLLLLLL!" Chaotica often admonishes his minions in this fashion.
  • You Have Failed Me : Chaotica isn't impressed when Lonzak returns without Proton, and sics his Killer Robot on him. Fortunately Lonzak placates his boss with his capture of the photonic aliens.
  • You Just Ruined the Shot : Aliens mistake the simulation for reality and go to war with Chaotica.

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Please summarize the message.

In "Bride of Chaotica!" from "Star Trek: Voyager," aliens from an alternate universe accidentally wander into Tom Paris's holodeck fantasy. Paris discovers a telegraph message explaining as much and reads it off in this style for Tuvok's benefit, until Tuvok cuts him off, asking him to just summarize the message.

Example of: Telegraph Gag STOP

  • Star Trek Voyager S 5 E 11 Latent Image
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chaotica voyager actor

How a Set Fire Led to Star Trek: Voyager's Funniest Episode

A fire damaged the bridge set on Star Trek: Voyager, the writers went to the holodeck for 'The Bride of Chaotica,' one of series' funniest episodes.

  • "The Bride of Chaotica" is considered to be Star Trek: Voyager 's funniest episode, and it was created because of a fire on the bridge set.
  • The holodeck, which creates realistic virtual environments, is frequently used in Voyager, often for romantic storylines or character development.
  • Lieutenant Tom Paris's fascination with 20th-century culture and technology led to the creation of the hilarious holodeck program, "The Adventures of Captain Proton."

While Star Trek is perhaps most known for its inclusive vision of the future and biting social commentary, that's not all is. As much as fans love the drama in the franchise, humor is an equally important part of its creative DNA. On Star Trek: Voyager , the fifth season episode "The Bride of Chaotica" is arguably the series' funniest, and it mostly exists because of a fire on the bridge set. A light-hearted holodeck romp, it's both a loving homage to old sci-fi and a brilliant send-up of Star Trek itself.

While most people think the holodeck was created for Star Trek: The Next Generation , it actually first appeared in The Animated Series . Essentially the next evolution in virtual reality, the futuristic holographic technology creates real environments, down to people, the crew can talk to and even touch. Where Star Trek: Voyager is concerned, the holodeck usually means an episode where Kate Mulgrew's Captain Kathryn Janeway explores a little romance. The decision was made early on that, unlike Captain Jim Kirk, Janeway would not delve into romance, especially dalliances with the crew. In later episodes, ex-Borg Seven of Nine uses a holographic recreation of Voyager and its crew to "practice" social skills and learn to be more human. Yet, the best use of the holodeck comes from Lieutenant (sometimes Ensign) Tom Paris, and his fascination with 20th Century culture and technology. He creates a holo-program called The Adventures of Captain Proton , where he plays the titular hero and faces off against the villainous Doctor Chaotica.

Voyager's Tom Paris Was Fascinated By 20th Century History And Culture

Star trek: voyager's seven of nine and chakotay romance was a mistake.

The Tom Paris character was based on Nick Locarno , an antagonist from Star Trek: The Next Generation recently brought back for the Season 4 finale of Lower Decks . He began as an irascible, formerly incarcerated character and eventually became a vital part of the crew. Paris had an affinity for 20th Century culture and technology. Originally included so the storytellers could reference the then-present, it led to Captain Proton.

"When it was just decoration it felt…gimmicky," actor Robert Duncan McNeill said in Star Trek Voyager: A Celebration , adding, "I thought [Captain Proton] was a little more emotionally character-connected to Tom's love of the 20th Century" than just the odd reference or knick-knacks in his quarters. It was introduced in the Season 5 premiere episode, "Night," but the cast and writers wanted to revisit the setting in a future episode.

Actor Martin Rayner played the holographic villain Doctor Chaotica , finding the perfect balance between committing to the role and over-the-top hammy acting. (Appropriate for the early 20th Century sci-fi serials they were parodying.) He was joined by his hapless dunce of a henchman, Lonzak, played by the late Nicholas Worth. Yet, the most unique (and risky) thing about the Captain Proton program was the whole thing was shot in black-and-white — a risk because 1990s channel surfers who might otherwise stop and watch Star Trek: Voyager could skip past the show thinking it was an old-school hokey sci-fi film.

A Fire On The Voyager Bridge Sent The Crew To The Holodeck

Star trek: lower decks just simplified voyager's biggest moral dilemma.

With 26 episodes to produce each year, the writers, directors, and cast of Star Trek: Voyager were always looking for a concept that could be repeated. Because the USS Voyager was traveling (throughout the series) 75,000 light-years back to the Alpha Quadrant and Earth, alien planets and culture could rarely be returned to. However, the holodeck went everywhere the ship did, and so Captain Proton, Lonzak and the hilariously named Satan's Robot could. The accidental fire on the bridge set forced the producers' hands.

On the Voyager rewatch podcast The Delta Flyers , hosted by McNeill and Wang, the full story of the fire is told for the first time. Producers used to cater lunch for the cast and crew on Fridays, and Wang and Neelix actor Ethan Phillips were eating their food at a picnic table overlooking the bridge. Executive Producer Rick Berman was also on set at the time, standing behind one of the ship consoles for a photo shoot for the now-defunct Yahoo! Magazine .

"The lights that were lighting this photoshoot," Wang says, "caught…that fabric we had over top of the bridge…on fire." Wang had his back to the set, but Phillips could see what was going on. His eyes grew wide, and he asked Wang if "the bridge was supposed to be on fire." They stood up and altered the crew as Berman ran clear of the blaze. Members of the crew grabbed fire extinguishers and put out the flames, but the damage done to the set was significant. Thus, "The Bride of Chaotica" came about as a way to shoot an episode primarily on other sets.

Why 'The Bride Of Chaotica' Was Voyager's Most Fun Episode

Janeway's coffee addiction on star trek: voyager is not the fault of the writers.

The premise of the episode involved the ship getting stuck in a sci-fi anomaly and creating a portal to a dimension populated by "photonic aliens." They visit the holodeck, believing the over-the-top characters to be life forms. Since Doctor Chaotica is evil, a very real war broke out between his Army of Evil and these aliens. However, the threat to the ship and the crew was very low, allowing the characters to lean into the silliness and fun of the episode. Mulgrew, for example, plays Arachnia the Spider-Queen, Chaotica's titular bride.

Despite thinking the whole thing is silly, Janeway eventually allows herself to get into the spirit of the game. The scenes in which Paris and Kim have to explain the Captain Proton program are hilarious, especially because the background cast seems barely able to contain their laughter. In the podcast, Wang notes Paris's explanation of the story is reminiscent of what it must sound like when Star Trek fans try to explain things like warp drive, transporter clones, and the other more out-there concept to those who don't know the show.

It also allows for plenty of in-jokes about Star Trek , like its obsession with caves . While walking through a cave set, Kim asks Paris why the planet looks like another one from an earlier chapter in the Captain Proton story. "Set were expensive," he says, a clear reference to Star Trek reusing the "Planet Hell" set over and over again across all the second wave shows. Since the ship is in no real danger, the characters can play the adventure for comedy instead of dire stakes. Both Wang and McNeill believe this was the episode the cast had the most fun doing.

Captain Proton Was Star Trek's Greatest Holodeck Program

Star trek: voyager predicted the ai debate - with a clever twist.

Beyond the comedy and the joy in the cast performances, Captain Proton, Doctor Chaotica, Satan's Robot, and all the rest represent the best use of the holodeck. (All due respect to Deep Space Nine's Vic Fontaine .) All too often, to create tension and stakes, the storytellers relied on malfunctions to make the harmless fun of the holodeck into something more lethal. What makes the Captain Proton episodes, particularly "The Bride of Chaotica," so fun is that they are never dangerous.

The lack of stakes allows the cast to play their roles for comedy while honoring the origin of Star Trek . The sci-fi serials and films of the early-to-mid 20th Century not only inspired Gene Roddenberry (if only to make Star Trek different), but they also inspired that other "Star" franchise. In fact, George Lucas wanted to make a Flash Gordon film but couldn't get the rights. So, he told his own story built on those foundations, giving the world Star Wars . Captain Proton honors that legacy and, at the same time, pokes fun at the more outlandish tropes.

Captain Proton and Doctor Chaotica could fly again, at least if Robert Duncan McNeill has his way. In the extended version of The Delta Flyers episode, he mentions that he actually pitched an idea for a podcast or animated special set in the "Captain Proton universe." He and Wang interviewed Martin Rayner who was delighted at the idea of getting to play Chaotica again. He told them when he encounters Star Trek fans they are passionate about his silly villain in ways that still surprise him. The concept and the characters are undoubtedly ridiculous, but there's also something about them that makes fans want more.

Star Trek: Voyager is streaming on Paramount+ and available to own on Blu-ray or DVD, and The Delta Flyers can be found on all podcast platforms or on Patreon.

Star Trek Voyager

Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is seventy-five years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.

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Star Trek History: Bride of Chaotica!

On this day in 1999, the Voyager episode premiered.

On this day in Star Trek history, the Star Trek: Voyager episode, "Bride of Chaotica!" premiered.

Data singing, with his fist in the air in Star Trek: Insurrection

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I Think Robert Beltran Is Wrong About Star Trek: Voyager's Problems

  • Star Trek: Voyager follows a familiar formula of sci-fi exploration, akin to The Original Series, focusing on episodic tales of unknown alien encounters.
  • Commander Chakotay actor Robert Beltran critiques Voyager's lack of deeper serialization, missing the opportunity for more compelling storytelling.
  • The routine bridge scenes criticized by Beltran are integral to Voyager's comforting appeal, following Star Trek's tradition of solving insurmountable problems.

Star Trek: Voyager 's Commander Chakotay actor, Robert Beltran, has strong opinions about the problems with Voyager, but Beltran's issues seem to be rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of the type of show that Star Trek is in general, and that Voyager is in particular. Ever since Star Trek: The Original Series , Star Trek has used consistent dramatic convention to tell episodic tales of explorers seeking out new life and new civilizations. TOS created a blueprint that Star Trek: The Next Generation followed and improved upon, and after Star Trek: Deep Space Nine took place on a space station, Voyager was meant to be a return to form.

And it was. Star Trek: Voyager had more in common with TOS than DS9 or even TNG , since the USS Voyager's unplanned survey of the Delta Quadrant put Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) in the position of making First Contact with previously unknown alien societies on a near-weekly basis, not unlike Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) leading the USS Enterprise's 5-year mission a century earlier, when the Alpha Quadrant was the unexplored frontier. Voyager was never supposed to break new ground ; it was meant to embrace Star Trek 's tried-and-true storytelling method to continue the legacy of exploring the human condition through sci-fi.

Best Star Trek: Voyager Episode From Each Of The Show's 7 Seasons

Chakotay actor robert beltran criticizes star trek: voyager’s “inviolable traditions”, criticizing star trek for dramatic bridge scenes is like criticizing the twilight zone for twist endings..

In The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years - From The Next Generation To J.J. Abrams by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, Robert Beltran explains that his greatest issues with Star Trek: Voyager come from so-called "inviolable traditions" :

My greatest criticism of the show was these inviolable traditions. For instance, scenes on the bridge were always the same: “Captain, the shields are down.” “Well, reroute this, and we’ll be good.” “Captain, we did that. Thank you, we’re saved.” And then manufacturing some kind of crisis on the bridge ... but the audience knows we’re coming back next week, so why spend an ungodly amount of time on the bridge with this manufactured crisis when we know we’re going to make it? And maybe one of us will get knocked out and will have to be taken to sickbay. “Is he going to make it? We don’t know. We’ll see after the commercial.” Well, of course we’re going to make it, because we are going to be back next week.

The things Beltran criticizes about Star Trek: Voyager are the same things that make Voyager a comforting show. In other words, Voyager 's routine is a feature, not a bug. The formula of Voyager 's sci-fi problems follows the same tradition of TOS and TNG before it. Star Trek characters face seemingly insurmountable problems and survive, often learning lessons and coming out stronger on the other side. The entire USS Voyager crew is lost in the Delta Quadrant, far from Starfleet Command and easy answers, with only each other to rely on, but they always get through challenges. How is that not a reassuring metaphor for viewers uncertain about their own future?

Could Serialization Have Fixed Star Trek: Voyager’s Problems?

Voyager's minimal serialization focused on interpersonal stories, not epics..

Robert Beltran suggests that a deeper form of serialization may have made up for the formulaic presentation of Star Trek: Voyager 's weekly episodes . Once again, in The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , Beltran says:

They refused to allow anything to be serialized. I guess it was their way of separating us from DS9. But you better have something as good. I think that they did have some good episodes here and there, but in general, I thought that it was a missed opportunity. The show could have been better, and I feel, as just about everybody feels who watched the show, that it missed the possibility of something much bigger and much better.

It's possible tighter serialization could have helped Star Trek: Voyager become more compelling to a wider audience. Serialization was one of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's greatest strengths, and a natural consequence of a setting that stayed in one place instead of moving on from each week's adventure. Compared to DS9 , Voyager 's serialization was minimal, but it did exist. Voyager 's arcs usually focused on character growth and relationships, rather than grand sweeping epics, and in Voyager season 4 , the USS Voyager made contact with the Alpha Quadrant via a Hirogen subspace relay station, kicking off subplots with the Hirogen and "letters from home" that wove throughout the season.

Star Trek: Voyager is by no means perfect, it is nonetheless a beloved entry in the Star Trek franchise for fans who seek comfort in it.

It seems that Robert Beltran is looking back on Voyager through a modern lens, after television has evolved a measure of realism that usually wasn't present when Voyager was made. In the 1990s, DS9 's cinematic serialization was the exception, not the norm, and a huge risk that was only possible because of the focus on Voyager as Star Trek 's new flagship show after Star Trek: The Next Generation ended. While Star Trek: Voyager is by no means perfect, it is nonetheless a beloved entry in the Star Trek franchise for fans who seek comfort in it, despite its issues, and in some cases, because of them.

Source: The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years - From The Next Generation To J.J. Abrams by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross

Star Trek: Voyager

Cast Jennifer Lien, Garrett Wang, Tim Russ, Robert Duncan McNeill, Roxann Dawson, Robert Beltran, Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo

Release Date May 23, 1995

Genres Sci-Fi, Adventure

Network UPN

Streaming Service(s) Paramount+

Franchise(s) Star Trek

Writers Michael Piller, Rick Berman

Showrunner Kenneth Biller, Jeri Taylor, Michael Piller, Brannon Braga

Rating TV-PG

I Think Robert Beltran Is Wrong About Star Trek: Voyager's Problems

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Bride Of Chaotica!

Bride Of Chaotica!

Star trek: voyager.

  • The Voyager crew encounters photonic life forms that mistake warmongering characters as real in Tom Paris' far-fetched "Captain Proton" holodeck program.
  • As Tom and Harry run an episode of their "Captain Proton" holodeck program, Voyager gets caught in a layer of subspace. This 'subspace sand bar, as they nickname it, is home to a race of photonic aliens that aren't able to detect Voyager or its carbon based life forms (e.g. humans). Instead, they transport onto the holodeck and thereby start a war with Dr. Chaotica's Army of Evil. When Voyager detects internal weapons fire on the holodeck, Capt. Janeway dispatches Tom and Tuvok to investigate, and the adventure begins. — Leila Reid
  • As Tom Paris and Harry Kim run an episode of their adventurous black and white "Captain Proton" holodeck program, Voyager gets caught in a layer of subspace, throwing holodeck controls off-line (as well as other controls throughout the ship). As inexplicable colored distortions appear within the black and white universe of Capt. Proton, Tom and Harry can only escape via the transporter. In the Astrometrics lab, Janeway comments that Voyager's predicament (stuck in space) reminds her of a previous mission when she was a science officer on the Al-Batani. "For three days we attempted to force our way out before we realized we were trying too hard. Every time we engaged the engines, we were increasing the resistance of the nebula's particle field. We may be facing a similar situation." Seven of Nine literally takes the words out of her mouth, "Our own warp field may be increasing the gravimetric forces." It's an idea they begin to pursue. With the holodeck left running (unable to be shut down), two aliens appear, immediately captured and brought before Chaotica himself. Believing the two as the vanguard of an invasion force, Chaotica has one blasted. The other escapes. When Voyager detects internal weapons fire on the holodeck, Capt. Janeway dispatches Tom and Tuvok to investigate. There they discover evidence of a battle having taken place. Paris immediately notices something significantly wrong: one of the 'good guys' (his secretary Constance Goodheart) is dead. This is strange as, in the set parameters of his program, 'the good guys never die'. Furthermore, they find Chaotica's robot (named 'Satan's Robot') badly damaged and mumbling. After some minor repairs and Tuvok sarcastically commenting, "Your knowledge of this technology is most impressive," the robot informs them that there are intruders from the fifth dimension who came through a portal, which Tom recognizes as not part of the holodeck story. Satan's Robot leads Tom and Tuvok to the alien portals where photonic charges fire at them. Tuvok verifies that the weapons signature coming from these portals matches the weapons signature detected earlier. Before leaving the holodeck, Paris insists on checking his rocket ship as it has sensors of a type that may help. Seven of Nine establishes a visual link to the holodeck. As the alien portals fire, Harry recognizes return fire as that of Chaotica's Death Ray. While Tom deciphers 20th century technology, a photonic alien enters the ship. He does not believe anything Tuvok or Tom has to say as he cannot detect Voyager or its carbon based humanoids life forms. They are not photonic, therefore they are illusions, not real. Satan's Robot suddenly stirs and attacks the alien, causing the alien to shoot back and beat a hasty retreat. Back in the conference room, Tom explains the situation to Janeway and suggests a plan of action that the captain finds slightly amusing: Allow the story to play out and help the aliens defeat Chaotica. All they have to do is disable his Death Ray. "It's a shame we don't have one," interjects Tuvok. Within the story parameters, Capt. Proton (Tom) can destroy the Death Ray with his Destructo Beam if the Lightning Shield (force field) can be shut down from within Chaotica's Fortress of Doom. Arachnia, Queen of the Spider People (with whom Chaotica has been seeking an alliance ever since Chapter Three), can do it. Janeway thinks Tom has Seven in mind for the part, but who better to play Arachnia than Capt. Janeway herself? "It's the role of a lifetime!" encourages Tom. Tuvok reminds the reluctant captain that they've exhausted all other options to escape the layer of subspace. Till they can eliminate the alien distortions, adds Chakotay, they're trapped. Seven says to think of it as StarFleet's first encounter with Planet X. Uncomfortably, Janeway agrees. More enthusiastic is the EMH Doctor, willing to take on the role of President of Earth in order to get the aliens to stop firing so that Tom (Captain Proton) and Harry can disable the Death Ray. As the doctor is holographic, the aliens would believe him because they can detect him, but even these best laid plans don't pan out smoothly. Janeway, entering the story as Arachnia and insisting that the Lightening Shield be taken down, makes Chaotica suspicious of her. The Doctor, in role of President of Earth, summons the photonic alien with his own dropped device. The Doctor asks the aliens to cease fire so Captain Proton - Defender of the Universe and Scourge of Intergalactic Evil (and competent medic to boot) - can destroy Chaotica's Death Ray. The alien agrees. Aboard the rocket ship, Captain Proton (Tom), Harry and Satan's Robot conduct a systems check. Tom declares that when this adventure is done, he'll be done too and delete the program for good. All is ready, and the Doctor enters with a satisfying report. Janeway's/Arachnia's continued requests to drop the Lightning Shield raise Chaotica's suspicious even higher. She makes a bold move to succeed but fails. Though subsequently encircled in confinement rings, she is able to uncork the pheromones, a powerful love potion that was given to Chaotica by the real Arachnia. Under its influence, Chaotica's henchman Lonzac releases Janeway from her bonds, allowing her to turn off the Lightening Shield. Captain Proton (Tom) is then able to fire on the Fortress of Doom, destroying the Death Ray and mortally wounding his nemesis. Freed of the photonic aliens' interference, Voyager is finally able to move off of this 'subspace sandbar' and continue on its way homeward. Dr. Chaotica delivers dying words, promising to return, then his evil laugh lives on as a monitor displays a question mark.

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Star trek: voyager’s janeway missed 1 big picard and sisko milestone.

Janeway, Picard, and Sisko were custodians of the legacy of Captain James T. Kirk, however the Voyager captain never got to meet the Star Trek legend.

  • Janeway missed the milestone of meeting Captain Kirk, unlike Picard and Sisko who shared that honor in their respective series.
  • Janeway displayed unwavering loyalty to Starfleet's Prime Directive, similar to Picard, while also having a keen eye for potential like Sisko.
  • In "Flashback," Janeway met Sulu and Rand from the legendary Enterprise crew, showcasing her admiration for Kirk's team from the 23rd century.

Star Trek: Voyager 's Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) never achieved one big Star Trek milestone experienced by Captains Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). Picard, Sisko, and Janeway all brought something brand new to the role of Star Trek captain, but they also shared a lot in common. For example, Janeway and Picard had an unwavering loyalty to Starfleet's Prime Directive , even when the USS Voyager found itself stranded in a region of space that wasn't beholden to it. Similarly, Sisko and Janeway had a similar ability to see the potential in those that didn't obviously fit the mold of a Starfleet officer.

As the best known Star Trek captains of the 24th century, Picard, Sisko and Janeway were custodians of the legacy of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). The adventures of Kirk's version of the starship Enterprise were hugely influential and featured prominently in the history books studied by the younger Picard, Sisko, and Janeway. Both Picard and Sisko even got a chance to step into the history books by meeting the legendary Captain Kirk, a Star Trek milestone that Janeway never got to achieve.

Star Trek: Voyager Cast & Character Guide

Star trek’s picard and sisko met kirk - janeway didn’t.

It was once estimated that Captain Janeway made first contact with more civilizations than any Starfleet captain since Captain Kirk . However, Janeway and Kirk never get a chance to compare scores, on account of the legendary Enterprise captain having "died" decades earlier. However, Kirk's death was no barrier for Picard and Sisko to meet the Starfleet legend in Star Trek Generations and the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations". Time travel allowed Sisko and the DS9 crew to save Kirk, while the timeless nature of the Nexus facilitated a meeting between two of the greatest Enterprise captains.

Janeway would have been more than a match for Kirk's machismo and charisma, and the two captains could have formed a great team.

Sadly, however, Janeway never got to meet Kirk in Star Trek: Voyager which does feel like a missed opportunity. Janeway would have been more than a match for Kirk's machismo and charisma, and the two captains could have formed a great team. While Star Trek: Enterprise floated a Kirk episode , Voyager never considered such a possibility, probably due to the finality of Kirk's second death in Star Trek Generations . However, Janeway did find herself adjacent to Kirk's Enterprise as part of Star Trek 's 30th anniversary celebrations in 1996.

Janeway Did Meet Sulu And Janice Rand In Star Trek: Voyager

Janeway met Captain Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) and Commander Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback". Written to celebrate 30 years of Star Trek , the episode focused on Janeway and Lt. Commander Tuvok (Tim Russ) interacting with his memories of his service aboard the USS Excelsior. Janeway and Tuvok witness Captain Sulu aiding the USS Enterprise-A in their attempts to unmask the conspiracy that framed Captain Kirk and Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley) for murder in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .

A scene was also written for Nichelle Nichols to appear as Nyota Uhura via viewscreen, but the actress turned down the role, to George Takei's disappointment.

"Flashback" is a fun Star Trek: Voyager episode that sheds some light on what Janeway thinks of the 23rd century's legendary Enterprise crew. Discussing the adventure with Lt. Harry Kim (Garrett Wang), Janeway reflected on Kirk's crew with admiration.

"Of course, the whole bunch of them would be booted out of Starfleet today. But I have to admit: I would have loved to ride shotgun at least once with a group of officers like that. "

Star Trek Can’t Miss Its 60th Anniversary Milestone (Like It Did 40th & 50th)

Could janeway still meet kirk in star trek’s future.

William Shatner's return to Star Trek feels unlikely, which does limit the potential for a Janeway/Kirk team-up. However, it's not impossible, and the answer could lie in Star Trek: Prodigy , which teamed Dal R'El (Brett Gray) with multiple legacy characters like Lt. Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Captain Montgomery Scott (James Doohan). Archive audio was used to place the Star Trek: The Original Series actors in a brand-new adventure with the young crew of the USS Protostar, so something similar could be done to team up Kirk with Admiral Janeway .

Alternatively, live-action Kate Mulgrew could cross paths with Paul Wesley's younger James T. Kirk from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . The story specifics as to how the two characters would meet is something to be worked out, but with Star Trek 's 60th anniversary just two years away, plans could be drawn up to rekindle the fun of 1996. Star Trek: Voyager 's "Flashback" was a creative addition to the 30th anniversary celebrations, so there's no reason that the modern franchise can't do something equally creative with Janeway and Kirk for the 60th.

All episodes of Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: The Original Series are streaming now on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 is available to stream on Netflix.

Star Trek: Voyager

The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they've never faced before. 

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek: The Original Series follows the exploits of the crew of the USS Enterprise. On a five-year mission to explore uncharted space, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) must trust his crew - Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Forest DeKelley), Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Sulu (George Takei) - with his life. Facing previously undiscovered life forms and civilizations and representing humanity among the stars on behalf of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, the Enterprise regularly comes up against impossible odds and diplomatic dilemmas.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

A spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a television series that takes place before the events of the original series and follows Captain Christopher Pike as he mans the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The show focuses on this previous crew of the Enterprise as they explore the galaxy with returning characters from Discovery.

Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy is the first TV series in the Star Trek franchise marketed toward children, and one of the few animated series in the franchise. The story follows a group of young aliens who find a stolen Starfleet ship and use it to escape from the Tars Lamora prison colony where they are all held captive. Working together with the help of a holographic Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the new crew of the USS Protostar must find their way back to the Alpha Quadrant to warn the Federation of the deadly threat that is pursuing them.

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National News | Maryland considers rights of children in family…

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National news | maryland considers rights of children in family videos monetized on social media.

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BALTIMORE — Building an audience on TikTok has been a way for Cam Barrett to reclaim part of her identity after spending much of her childhood as an unwitting social media influencer.

As early as she can remember, her adoptive mom posted about her on platforms like Facebook and MySpace. From intimate details about her adoption to her first period, the private information made public without her permission has had a lasting impact on the now 25-year-old. Barrett, who uses she/they pronouns, said that finally being able to be herself online helped them decide to become an activist for protecting child influencers.

“I didn’t have anyone to speak up or do anything when I was that age going through this, and I think we have to start somewhere,” said Barrett, who last month testified in favor of Maryland legislation that would give child influencers special rights. Maryland’s House Bill 645 and Senate Bill 1162 , modeled after a first-of-its-kind law in Barrett’s home state of Illinois, entitle certain young influencers to a share of the earnings from video content they’re featured in, to be set aside in a trust.

Maryland is among at least nine states entertaining laws like the one in Illinois that takes effect in July. Here, it goes a step further by allowing children, upon turning 18, to request that a social media platform delete video content in which they were featured as minors — and would hold social media platforms accountable to take “all reasonable steps” to comply.

“When Illinois passed the bill without having that in the bill, it was a very bittersweet moment,” Barrett told The Baltimore Sun. “I know what it would mean to have the option to … work with social media companies to have the content removed, but it’s also just part of claiming your identity back.”

The proposed Maryland legislation also includes qualifying minors in the state’s child labor law, which otherwise excludes children who work at parent-owned businesses.

Family vlogging, short for video blogging, has become widely popular on platforms like YouTube and Instagram. The effort can be lucrative. A YouTube account with a million subscribers posting weekly could make $936,000 a year just from ads, according to Influencer Marketing Hub.

Del. Jazz Lewis, who’s worked on other youth issues such as restricting prisons from placing minors in solitary confinement, said he introduced the House version of the vlogging bill after hearing from advocates and influencers. Much like child actor laws, the proposed legislation aims to safeguard kids featured in content consumed by millions of viewers.

“I think there’s this national campaign afoot of how do we protect the children of social media influencers as well as child influencers themselves?” the Prince George’s County Democrat said. “They came to me and started sharing their stories, and I just kind of got [convinced] that we needed to do more.”

One of the most well-known instances of family vlogging gone wrong in Maryland occurred in Frederick County, where the couple behind the YouTube channel “DaddyOFive” were sentenced to five years of probation on child neglect charges in 2017. Two of the children in the videos were placed into the custody of their biological mother.

As of this month, the Martin’s three other children were part of a channel called “The Martin Family” whose bio says that their “parents were wrongfully, accused of things they did not do but made the best choices they could for all of us at the time.”

Amendments to HB645 are being discussed, mostly around the “right to be forgotten” provision, according to Lewis’ chief of staff Henry Snurr.

The bill targets accounts making significant money and consistently featuring kids, said Chris McCarty, the student founder and executive director of advocacy organization Quit Clicking Kids.

Under the proposed law, a parent vlogger would be required to compensate their minor child featured in their video content if, at any point within a year, they either qualify for compensation from a social media platform or earn 10 cents or more per view of video content. In either instance, their child must also be featured in at least 30% of content posted during any monthlong period in the previous year.

A parent vlogger required to compensate a child influencer would be obligated to place into a trust a share of their earnings commensurate with the child’s presence in the content. If multiple children are eligible to be paid, the percentage of screen time where at least one child is featured is used, and money is divided evenly between the children and put into separate trusts. A child could access the trust when they turn 18. If not properly paid, a child could sue their parents/guardians for the money they are owed under the bill, according to Snurr.

The bill considers only “revenue generated by the video content itself right now,” Snurr said in an email, even though there are ways for influencers to make money apart from videos. These “gray spaces” are being explored, said McCarty, who helped draft Maryland’s legislation and testified for it.

“The majority of your money is going to be made from affiliate links or from brand deals. … It still should fall into [the proposed legislation], because you’re only getting it because you’re posting it on social media,” said Baltimore County resident Lisa Summers, who rounds up activities for families and adults on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Summers has surpassed 144,000 followers combined and made money from brand deals including with Chuck E. Cheese. Though her Instagram and TikTok accounts are “eligible for monetization,” Summers said she’s not receiving any payout from the platforms themselves linked to views.

She said her and her husband Tony Summers’ two children — Journey, 6 and Apollo, 4 — only sometimes appear in her videos.

“Anyone that works should get paid for their job,” Summers said of kids who would be impacted by the proposed legislation, drawing a comparison to child actors. “Although they’re getting … free trips and free fun, that’s not enough. Because 10 years from now, they’ll still be on the internet.”

Summers’ kids receive an allowance and also have savings accounts, she said. HB645 and SB1162 ought to allow for more flexibility regarding where money is funneled away for children, she said, like allowing for a Roth IRA retirement account or a 529 college saving plan in lieu of establishing a trust.

Heather Aranda, the Montgomery County mom behind “The Family Arcade,” an Instagram account with 140,000 followers, suggested some children will want a say in how they are compensated.

“If we were to tell our almost 13-year-old boy, ‘Honey, we’d like to put the money that you’re going to receive … away for you.’ … Our son would say, ‘Don’t I get a choice?’” said Aranda, whose videos frequently feature some of her and husband Jaime Aranda’s eight children.

The family’s account made up to around 10 cents per view as part of Instagram’s Reels trial a few years ago, she said. Today, the family sometimes receives free products and small payments from working with brands or via affiliate links.

Both Aranda and Summers support a person’s right to request that videos they appear in as a minor are deleted. So does Jill Smokler, the Baltimore County mom behind “Scary Mommy,” a blog she started in 2008 to write and share photos of her experience raising a family.

But Smokler notes that on the internet, it isn’t always easy to ensure that every trace of a video or social media post is erased.

“It’s so hard to get anything off of the internet, because [content] doesn’t live in one place anymore. So how could you possibly find all the places where something lives?” Smokler said.

Margaret Durkin, executive director of the trade association TechNet, voiced concern at HB645’s February hearing in the Economic Matters Committee about the “right to be forgotten” aspect of the bill as originally written. She noted, for instance, that there’s no mechanism for removing content individuals publish outside a centralized platform.

Smokler said she stopped writing about her kids as her oldest became a tween, and sold “Scary Mommy” in 2015 to a New York-based media company. “It’s such a different climate…,” Smokler said. “I would be very hesitant to put my kids out there now.”

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IMAGES

  1. Watch Star Trek: Voyager Season 5 Episode 12: Bride Of Chaotica!

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  2. "Star Trek: Voyager" Bride Of Chaotica! (TV Episode 1999)

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  3. "Star Trek: Voyager" Bride of Chaotica! (TV Episode 1999)

    chaotica voyager actor

  4. 5-12: Bride of Chaotica

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  5. Bride of Chaotica! (1999)

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  6. Star Trek: Voyager Rewatch: “Bride of Chaotica!”

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  3. Chaotica’s apology to Scarlett.🥺 ( @CheeseGecko56VA )

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  5. Reverse The Polarity

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COMMENTS

  1. INTERVIEW: Voyager's Doctor Chaotica, Martin Rayner

    Chaotica was just one role in a long, busy career that's seen Rayner concentrate mostly on stage work, but has also encompassed such films and shows as Victor Victoria, Dallas, Problem Child, Frasier and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. The actor's current project is also an old project.

  2. "Star Trek: Voyager" Bride Of Chaotica! (TV Episode 1999)

    Allan Kroeker Writers Gene Roddenberry Rick Berman Michael Piller Stars Kate Mulgrew Robert Beltran Roxann Dawson See production info at IMDbPro STREAMING +2 Add to Watchlist 24 User reviews 6 Critic reviews

  3. Martin Rayner

    Martin Rayner Actor Soundtrack IMDbPro Starmeter See rank Born on the Isle of Wight, his father left when he was two years old and of an outbreak of polio and all businesses took a turn for the worst. All the hardships Martin Rayner faced took him down the path of acting.

  4. Martin Rayner

    Doctor Chaotica Martin Rayner ( born 1 August 1949; age 74) is a British actor who played Doctor Chaotica in the Star Trek: Voyager fifth season episodes " Night " and " Bride of Chaotica! ", and the seventh season episode " Shattered ". His costume was sold off on the Profiles of History auction. [1]

  5. Bride of Chaotica!

    " 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.

  6. "Star Trek: Voyager" Bride Of Chaotica! (TV Episode 1999)

    Directed by Allan Kroeker Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) complete, awaiting verification Produced by Music by David Bell Cinematography by Marvin V. Rush Editing by Robert Lederman ... (as Bob Lederman) Casting By Junie Lowry-Johnson Ron Surma Production Design by Richard D. James Art Direction by Louise Dorton Set Decoration by Jim Mees

  7. Woodacre's Martin Rayner, the master of transformation

    Woodacre actor Martin Rayner, left, in character as the ghost of Sigmund Freud. Some may recognize Martin Rayner for playing villainous Dr. Chaotica in "Star Trek: Voyager." (Courtesy of Martin ...

  8. Still Wed To "Bride of Chaotica"

    To date, "Bride of Chaotica" is, to date, the only acting credit listed on IMDB for Kirsten Turner, who played the lovely, ever-screaming Constance Goodheart. Chaotica's throne was the alien throne in the film Coneheads. $4,658. That's how much the Satan's Robot costume fetched at auction in 2007.

  9. Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of "Bride of Chaotica!"

    Published Jan 27, 2014 Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of "Bride of Chaotica!" Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of "Bride of Chaotica!" By StarTrek.com Staff Star Trek: Voyager took a memorable break from its run of serious fifth-season episodes with "Bride of Chaotica! " - which first aired 15 years ago today.

  10. List of Star Trek: Voyager cast members

    Main cast Kate Mulgrew as Kathryn Janeway, commanding officer of the USS Voyager. Robert Beltran as Chakotay, Janeway's first officer and former member of the Maquis. Roxann Dawson as B'Elanna Torres, chief engineer and former member of the Maquis. Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris, conn officer.

  11. Bride of Chaotica!

    On January 27, 1999, the Star Trek: Voyager episode, "Bride of Chaotica!" premiered. Explore the Star Trek universe on StarTrek.com and relive all of your fa...

  12. A look back at Star Trek: Voyager

    The joy of "Bride of Chaotica!" is seeing Robert Duncan McNeill, Garrett Wang and Robert Picardo having a blast while playing Flash Gordon and getting paid to do it. But the crown jewel of "Bride of Chaotica!" and why it is a classic is without a doubt Kate Mulgrew as Arachnia, Queen of the Spider People.

  13. Bride of Chaotica! (episode)

    Directed by Allan Kroeker In-universe date Unknown ( 2375 )

  14. Chakotay

    Chakotay / tʃəˈkoʊteɪ / is a fictional character who appears in each of the seven seasons of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. Portrayed by Robert Beltran, he was First Officer aboard the Starfleet starship USS Voyager, and later promoted to Captain in command of the USS Protostar in Star Trek: Prodigy.

  15. Interview: Kate Mulgrew On 'Star Trek: Voyager' Reunion And Why It

    On Tuesday, the cast of Star Trek: Voyager will celebrate the show's 25th anniversary with an online reunion at starsinthehouse.com, where they plan to raise some money for The Actors Fund.. To ...

  16. INTERVIEW: Voyager's Doctor Chaotica, Martin Rayner

    The actor portrayed the megalomaniacal, mustache-twirling, Janeway-obsessed Doctor Chaotica in three episodes of Star Trek: Voyager, namely "Night," "Bride of Chaotica" and "Shattered." Chaotica was just one role in a long, busy career that's seen Rayner concentrate mostly on stage work, but has also encompassed such films and shows as Victor ...

  17. "Bride of Chaotica!"

    Teleplay by Bryan Fuller & Michael Taylor Story by Bryan Fuller Simple style aesthetics and common sense insist that I write the title of this show "Bride of Chaotica!" Even so, I tend to think that the idea behind this episode was "BRIDE OF CHAOTICA!" The intentions behind what would warrant a cheerful, all-uppercase assault are clearly present.

  18. Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series 1995-2001)

    Series Directed by Series Writing Credits Series Cast verified as complete Kate Mulgrew ...

  19. Doctor Chaotica

    James Sie Doctor Chaotica was a holodeck character from The Adventures of Captain Proton. As the self-styled "ruler of the cosmos", Chaotica was the sworn enemy of the planet Earth, and was constantly trying to conquer the world, with the aid of an army of minions, led by his faithful - if unintelligent - henchman Lonzak.

  20. Recap / Star Trek: Voyager S5 E12: "Bride of Chaotica!"

    Star Trek: Voyager S5 E12: "Bride of Chaotica!" Now here's a fun one. "And remember... you're the Queen!" Aliens from a photonic universe mistake The Adventures of Captain Proton for reality and go to war with Dr. Chaotica. Captain Janeway must enter the holodeck program as the sultry Queen Arachnia to put a stop to things.

  21. Did a Set Fire Lead to Star Trek: Voyager's Funniest Episode?

    Actor Martin Rayner played the holographic villain Doctor Chaotica, finding the perfect balance between committing to the role and over-the-top hammy acting. (Appropriate for the early 20th Century sci-fi serials they were parodying.) He was joined by his hapless dunce of a henchman, Lonzak, played by the late Nicholas Worth.

  22. Tony Todd's 3 Star Trek Roles Explained

    Candyman actor Tony Todd portrayed three characters in the Star Trek universe, across three different Star Trek shows. In his first Trek role, Todd appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation as the Klingon Kurn, the brother of Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn). Although Worf was initially meant to have only a minor role on TNG, he eventually developed into one of Star Trek's most beloved characters.

  23. Star Trek History: Bride of Chaotica!

    On this day in 1999, the Voyager episode premiered. On this day in Star Trek history, the Star Trek: Voyager episode, "Bride of Chaotica!" premiered. Stay tuned to StarTrek.com for more details! And be sure to follow @StarTrek on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

  24. I Think Robert Beltran Is Wrong About Star Trek: Voyager's Problems

    Star Trek: Voyager's Commander Chakotay actor, Robert Beltran, has strong opinions about the problems with Voyager, but Beltran's issues seem to be rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of the ...

  25. "Star Trek: Voyager" Bride Of Chaotica! (TV Episode 1999)

    — Leila Reid Synopsis As Tom Paris and Harry Kim run an episode of their adventurous black and white "Captain Proton" holodeck program, Voyager gets caught in a layer of subspace, throwing holodeck controls off-line (as well as other controls throughout the ship).

  26. Star Trek: Voyager's Janeway Missed 1 Big Picard And Sisko Milestone

    Janeway met Captain Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) and Commander Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback".Written to celebrate 30 years of Star Trek, the episode focused on Janeway and Lt. Commander Tuvok (Tim Russ) interacting with his memories of his service aboard the USS Excelsior.Janeway and Tuvok witness Captain Sulu aiding the USS Enterprise-A in their ...

  27. Maryland considers rights of children in family videos monetized on

    Maryland's House Bill 645 and Senate Bill 1162, modeled after a first-of-its-kind law in Illinois, entitle certain young influencers to a share of the earnings from video content they're ...