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Star Trek: Why Tuvok Is The Franchise’s Most Important Vulcan

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The importance of Mr. Spock to Star Trek cannot be understated. While Captain Kirk was the ostensible series lead, Spock was the breakout star -- an instantly beloved figure who embodied everything the series was trying to convey. And yet, as vital as he is to the franchise, he might not be the most important Vulcan to appear onscreen. Spock may have done more for Star Trek , but conceptually, the Vulcans owe a lot more to Tuvok.

Tim Russ’s Tuvok was the first Vulcan besides Leonard Nimoy to appear as a series lead. As the chief of security on Star Trek: Voyager , he held a similar position to Spock’s on the Enterprise  -- wise counselor and faithful friend to Captain Janeway. But the impact he had not only allowed subsequent Vulcan characters to come into their own but also prevented Mr. Spock from becoming a relic.

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Gene Roddenberry placed a strict moratorium on Vulcans and other original species from appearing in Star Trek: The Next Generation , making an exception only for Worf and the Klingons. He wanted to make as clean a break from the former show as possible, which would help The Next Generation find its own voice. The show found its own aliens to explore, and the crew’s “Spock stand-in,” Mr. Data, was fully his own character, with only a few superficial similarities to Nimoy’s logical Vulcan. Indeed, The Next Generation  produced enough interesting alien concepts that when Star Trek: Deeps Space Nine arrived, they had plenty of more recent species to develop. The show focused on TNG -era aliens like the Bajorans, Trill and Ferengi, with the Klingons again as the lone exception. Roddenberry’s embargo had done its job, allowing Star Trek to evolve beyond its early roots.

And yet, at the same time, there was a growing risk of losing the Vulcans in the process. The Next Generation  had broken Roddenberry’s embargo a few times, most notably for Mr. Spock himself in Season 5's “Unification.” The results were strong -- “Unification” ranks among The Next Generation ’s best episodes -- but kept the species locked on Nimoy. But with the actor growing older and the original crew moving on, there was a real danger of leaving the Vulcans calcified and limited to one single character.

That was the challenge that Tuvok was created to address. At the time, the decision to create another Vulcan was met with surprise. No one was entirely certain whether he would be a thinly veiled Spock clone, or -- if he did exhibit a unique personality -- how much of what Trek fans understood to be Vulcans would be lost.

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Thankfully, the character was an instant hit, and Russ quickly established how different Tuvok could be from his predecessor. For starters, he was a security officer, a strange role for a species known for pacifism. But it worked, giving him not only a more purely strategic mind than Spock’s but also moral flexibility that hadn’t appeared in Vulcans before. The series opened with him working as a mole against the rebel Maquis and forced him to function alongside the people he fully intended to help capture.

Beyond that, Tuvok exhibited traits of a kind rarely seen with Spock. He would brood, and at times, he exhibited subtle signs of emotion that his predecessor lacked. Tuvok also suffered from trauma and even displayed a sardonic sense of humor. And yet, he was also indisputably a Vulcan -- logical, wise and ultimately quite compassionate. Janeway relied on him for advice as often as she did Chakotay, and he established strong bonds with all of his fellow crewmembers during the series’ seven-year run. But perhaps most importantly, the impact of casting a Black actor as a Vulcan was incalculable, silencing any racist arguments against balanced representation in Star Trek in a single blow.

Tuvok's success allowed more Vulcans to take the spotlight without fear of emulating Spock too closely. Figures like T’Pol and Oh could develop their own personalities and still stay true to the established Vulcan traits. Even Spock himself benefitted from the effects, as it allowed actors like Ethan Peck and Zachary Quinto to provide their own takes on the character. In truth, none of this progress would have happened without Tuvok, Russ and the Voyager writing staff leading the way.

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Published Feb 6, 2023

The Ballad of Lon Suder | Star Trek Tackles Mental Illness

The one-off Star Trek: Voyager character's appearance gave this fan a someone they could relate to.

StarTrek.com

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of mental and/or behavioral disorders and violent ideations to follow .

One of the hardest things a Vulcan might ever cope with is emotions. They are conditioned to suppress their feelings so that they can focus on the logic of every scenario.

As one Star Trek: Voyager character aptly said to Commander Tuvok, “It must be difficult for you, knowing violence as I know it.”

That character was Lon Suder , a Betazoid Maquis who eagerly helped the human-led rebellion eliminate Cardassians. However, Suder had a secret — he wasn’t there to free anyone. He joined the Maquis because he had a brain imbalance that cut off his empathic abilities and gave him violent, difficult-to-control impulses. All his life, he tried to self-medicate with hologram programs and synaptic therapy, but none of them worked. With no one to help him, he settled on joining the Maquis, where his violence could be an acceptable tool.

Once he joined Voyager , though, where things were back to Starfleet regulations, Suder struggled to keep his impulses in check. He suppressed them for an entire year and a half before he broke and, in the episode “ Meld ,” ended up killing a fellow shipmate. Suder, Tuvok, and the Voyager crew spent the rest of the episode coping with the repercussions.

And he is the character I identify most with in all of Star Trek .

Episode Preview: Meld

Suder’s diagnosis was always left vague. Though Suder’s actor, Brad Dourif, described his condition as sociopathy (which from this point on, I will be describing as the more professionally defined Antisocial Personality Disorder , ASPD), I believe the situation is a little more complex. Instead of ASPD, I’ve always read Suder as living with bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is characterized by mood swing episodes that range from depressive lows to manic highs. The disorder is further complicated by intrusive thoughts and impulses that feed the depression and mania. This disorder affects approximately 2.3 million Americans (1% of the population) and usually begins in adolescence or early adulthood.

While the Doctor and Tuvok never clearly define what Suder has in the episode, and even deliberately say he doesn’t have bipolar disorder, there is a lot of evidence to the contrary. The oscillating impulses, his disregard for his own life, and the clear unfathomable depths of his rage speak to something different.

Because, despite Suder describing a lack of emotion and the writers implying ASPD, he does feel remorse and rage and self-hatred. People with ASPD are described as manipulative, callous, risk-taking, and charming. Suder was a man who hid away, kept to himself, all in an attempt to stave off his own impulses. He did not have a grandiose self-worth, criminal versatility, poor behavioral control, or a failure to accept responsibility. Many of ASPD’s most important indicators don’t exist in Suder. All he had was a self-described lack of empathy. Furthermore, he took complete responsibility for himself and wanted to rid the world of a “monster” just as much as they did.

Now, let’s apply his behaviors to bipolar disorder. Much like bipolar disorder symptoms, Suder was bombarded by complex moods and impulses. For example, he liked to bury his feelings and insist they didn’t exist, but when he killed the other ensign, he said at first it was “just because he didn’t like how he looked at him.” But as Tuvok pried, Suder got slightly more agitated and upset, clearly trying to keep those parts of him he didn’t like at bay. He eventually admitted the ensign looked at him like everyone else does, like he is a monster. And Suder himself agreed with that assessment. He was a monster, and he was more than willing to die for his crimes.

That’s not a self-important, manipulative man who doesn’t care about others. That’s someone who thinks he’s the scum of the earth and everyone would be better off without him; he was just trying to hold it in. And now he doesn’t feel like he has any right to keep trying anymore.

While this is a fictional character, I do think there is a serious case for Suder having more in common with bipolar disorder than ASPD. But, either way, he was a rare case of representation on screen for any severe mental disorder, and the way the show approached Suder’s illness matters more than the average person will ever know.

While Lon Suder is an extreme, uniquely violent example (which can be problematic in itself), the way that Voyager treated Suder was also uniquely humanizing. At first, Tuvok felt the captain’s choice of confining Suder to his quarters was too kind. But, in his efforts to support her decision, he melded with Suder and got a real taste of who he was. He felt the anger, the seething, incessant thoughts, and the self-loathing.

The episode proved how oppressive Suder’s disorder was by sharing his thoughts and emotions with Tuvok. Even against the most level-headed of minds, those violent impulses and intrusive thoughts were aggressive and unrelenting.

The only thing that shook Tuvok out of it was Suder’s own experienced self-reflection on the disorder in their brains. In one of Voyager ’s most powerful scenes, Suder explained that Tuvok killing him wasn’t really justice. The mental gymnastics going through Tuvok’s mind didn’t change the nature of what he was doing. This violence towards others was a form of self-harm. Tuvok felt like he and Suder were these twisted monsters and he was trying to kill them both.

It was only when Tuvok gave into that truth of his emotions and stopped fighting that Suder was able to call for help and save them both.

Once he experienced Suder’s suffering and Suder saved his life, Tuvok became his loudest advocate. To Tuvok, Suder went from a hardened criminal on death row to a man trapped in an unbalanced mind that he couldn’t control. Afterwards, The Doctor and Tuvok fought for rehabilitation and management instead of ending Suder’s life.

With time, the Doctor and Tuvok helped Suder find balance and peace with medication, meditation, and self-soothing hobbies. Suder started growing plants to help the aeroponics bay and was making a lot of therapeutic progress with Tuvok. Tuvok even wanted to give him more freedoms, proving how far he’d come along in roughly less than six months. Getting that kind of support finally gave Suder the agency to become a well-rounded person for the first time in his life. That is, until his untimely death.

Even though Voyager only knew the real Suder for a short time, he grew from a violent, unstable person who couldn’t handle the screaming in his head into someone trying to get healthier and contributing to his community. That doesn’t excuse murder, but it does speak to the person behind the disorder.

While Suder deserved to be saved before it ever came to murder, it was revolutionary for the series to insist upon his worth and his potential even after he did such a horrible thing. That kind of complex narrative isn’t what you normally see for someone who has anything looking like bipolar disorder, or ASPD, especially not in science fiction.

For comparison, in 2019 films, two different bipolar characters killed family members and themselves ( Midsommar , The Goldfinch ) and the vaguely mentally ill Joker murdered multiple people and incited a violent, city-wide anarchy movement. Drama series have gotten better about mental disorders, but sci-fi/horror tend to act like its proof of villainy. And don’t even get me started on how many disabled villains are used in Shyamalan films .

That hard truth makes Voyager ’s portrayal all the more impressive. Let’s say it plainly — Not only did the series not turn Suder into a cheap and easy monster, but they also showed how overwhelming the effects of his disorder can be. And they did it brilliantly, by loaning it to a well-understood, well-balanced, beloved character. Though his death was premature, Voyager ended his story by letting Suder improve and become a savior. Voyager went above and beyond to prove there was a person underneath the unchecked darkness that plagued him. That the illness was a chemical imbalance, a bundle of neurons, and not a personal, damning flaw of Suder’s own fault.

After all, the episode does imply that if Suder hadn’t been afraid to get help, and had been helped, he might have never hurt anyone.

Now, Lon Suder is still a bit of a problematic figure. Voyager did take his disorder and experiences to the extremes, turning an unbalanced man into a murderer. And they also, though several episodes later, still managed to turn him into a martyr. Neither of those things are redeemable. People with intense psychiatric disorders like bipolar disorder deserve stories where they don’t have to be a criminal or a killer to be noticed. After all, only a rate of roughly 8.4% of patients with bipolar disorder have committed a violent crime after diagnosis. That means, going by that statistic and the number of bipolar people in America, over 2 million members of the community have never had a history of violence. Even then, most all of those committing crimes were ones who struggled with the disorder and substance abuse. And yet, even though the vast majority of bipolar people don’t commit crimes, it is that loud minority that the greater society has used to damn us.

Lon Suder lives in a rare in-between; a space where he was a criminal and person who needed help and patience. It was something I’ve never seen before. And it was something I absolutely needed, when I watched it as a struggling young adult coping with my own disorders.

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2013, when I was 17. And even then, I didn’t get a decent handle on it until I was 22. That same year, I was struggling with my transition from a miraculous college grad, to a lost writer cleaning my house too much because my boyfriend had his life together and I felt like a mess.

I figured binging Voyager while trying to scrub my pain away wouldn't be a bad idea. Star Trek had always been proverbial comfort food for my little nerd heart. I threw it on, got to folding laundry, and didn’t give a second thought to (what I thought was) a typical 50-minute, sci-fi crime story.

I stopped cleaning the second Suder and Tuvok talked for the first time about their meld. Suder said, “It’s like I can observe the violence within me without letting it get too close.” That’s almost exactly what I thought after my first month on stabilizer meds. I put my towels down. All I could do was stare, unblinking, at this man who all of a sudden looked so much like me. The first man on TV I’d ever seen who looked like me. I hadn’t joined a rebellion to sate my impulses, but I tried to run away from home to spare my family my suicidal ideations. I didn’t kill a man, but I did barely sleep for a month and told someone I was willing to die for my writing.

Going in, I thought I didn’t like looking at Suder. But seeing Tuvok glare at him, I saw every face that suddenly saw me as a stranger when I disclosed my disorder. I felt Suder’s words echo against my ribcage — and he was right. I certainly didn’t like the way he looked at me.

“ You’re right; it is disturbing. Never knowing when that impulse may come. Or whether or not you can control it when it does. You live on the edge of every moment ," Suder described, talking about his disorder.

And there I was, on the edge of my couch, and he was right.

By the end of the episode, after seeing his struggle, the person it made him, and the person he wanted to be, I was sobbing, horrified, and relieved all at once. Lon Suder was more violent, more dangerous, but still just a person who needed help with the things in his brain he struggled to control.

That mattered more to me at that moment than any of the rejection letters in my inbox or the projects I wasn’t sure I was getting right. In a fictional, utopian future out there, someone looked like me and Starfleet, the moral arbiters of the galaxy, wanted him to get better.

I only wish they gave him more time to enjoy the stability he always deserved. Many stories like to show the monsters or the inspirational heroes of mental illness. Suder wasn’t that. He wasn’t only pitiful or unforgivable or full of lost potential. In his short time on Voyager , Lon Suder got to be the rarest thing someone with a mental disorder on-screen gets to be — a person.

This article was originally published on November 16, 2020.

Stephanie Roehler (they/she/he) is a freelancer who loves to write about video games, books, movies, TV shows, comics, and especially Star Trek.

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32 Star Trek Actors Who Played Multiple Characters

One role just wasn't enough for some.

If you watch Star Trek shows a lot, like I do, you start to notice some familiar faces. With decades of television shows and movies under its belt, it's only natural that the franchise has approached actors to play multiple roles over the years. Sometimes, it was because it made sense for the character, but other times, it just seemed like the franchise loved working with that person. 

Today, we acknowledge both of those roles. Some of these actors you'll know quite well, and others you might not even realize it was them beneath all of those prosthetics and makeup. Let's dive in, and talk about these special actors who took on multiple roles during their time in Star Trek . 

Brent Spiner

This one is fairly obvious if you've watched Star Trek: The Next Generation , you've seen Brent Spiner play more roles than just Data. He's played his Synth twins Lore and B4, as well as various members of the Soong family across several shows. It's a fun recurring bit, and one fans are never upset to see. 

Jason Alexander

Since  leaving the  Seinfeld  cast , Jason Alexander has performed a couple of Star Trek roles. He played the merchant Kuros in Star Trek: Voyager and is also the voice of Dr. Noum in the animated series Prodigy . Both characters are wildly different, and show a side of Alexander that casual viewers may not have seen before. 

Thomas Kopache

If Thomas Kopache's face looks familiar to Star Trek fans, it's because he's been in a good deal of shows. The actor has held minor roles in The Next Generation , Voyager , Enterprise , Deep Space Nine , and even the movie Star Trek Generations . From a Starfleet communications officer to a Vulcan, one might never know where he'll pop up!

While he may be more well-known for his role in Candyman which required a lot of bee stings , Tony Todd is a beloved figure in the Star Trek universe. He played a recurring role as the Klingon Kurn in TNG and DS9 , an Alpha Hirogen in Voyager , but many may most remember his role as the older Jake Sisko in "The Visitor."  

Tim Russ was a beloved part of Star Trek: Voyage r's main cast as the Vulcan Tuvok, but that wasn't his only role in the franchise. He first popped up in The Next Generation as the mercenary Devor, and later in Deep Space Nine as a Klingon named T'Kar.

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Diana Muldaur

Diana Muldaur had a few roles in the original Star Trek , but it was in The Next Generation she made her biggest contribution to the franchise. Dr. Katherine Pulaski served on the Enterprise while Beverly Crusher was away, and had a brief fling with Riker's father. Her tenure was short, though Bev fans would argue not short enough. 

Todd Stashwick

Star Trek: Picard fans will sooner remember Todd Stashwick as the prickly Captain Shaw from Season 3, but that was not the actor's first role in the franchise. He had a smaller role as the Vulcan Talok in Star Trek: Enterprise . It's far less notable compared to the anti-hero he played in Picard , but still worth checking out. 

Kurtwood Smith

While readers may know him better as the hot-headed Red Forman in That 70s Show , Kurtwood Smith also had a couple of high-profile roles in Star Trek . He was the Federation President in Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country , as well as the obsessive captain Annorax in the iconic Voyager episode "Year of Hell." 

Jeffrey Combs

I don't think there's a more famous guest star among die-hard Star Trek fans. He's played many roles across all shows, even if you exclude the numerous clones of the Deep Space Nine character Weyoun. There are way too many to post for this entry, but personally, I would say his role as the Andorian Shran on Enterprise is among the best. 

Ken Mitchell

Actor Ken Mitchell was known for various roles across Star Trek: Discovery and Lower Decks and didn't let his diagnosis of ALS get in the way of interacting with the fandom along the way. The actor was remembered by many Trek actors and fans when he passed in February of 2024 . 

Aron Eisenberg

In addition to his incredible journey as Nog in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , actor Aron Eisenberg also had a brief role in Voyager . He played the young Kazon named Kardon in "Initiations," and once readers know that, they won't have trouble spotting him in the episode. 

Robert Duncan McNeill

Before he was the daring and sometimes troublesome Tom Paris on Star Trek: Voyager , Robert Duncan McNeill had played an almost identical character on The Next Generation by the name of Nicholas Locarno. Canonically, they're just two separate guys who look identical and have very similar personalities, as weird as that may be.  

Susanna Thompson

Before she stepped in as the Borg Queen in Star Trek: Voyager , actress Susanna Thompson did some smaller guest roles for the franchise. She played roles like a Vulcan and an illusion in  The Next Generation  and was also a Trill scientist on  Deep Space Nine . 

J.G. Hertzler

J.G. Hertzler's Martok was a beloved character for Deep Space Nine fans, but the actor also played a litany of minor characters in the series as well. He also did the same for The Next Generation , and even did some voice work for Lower Decks . 

Majel Barrett

An accomplished actress and the wife of creator Gene Roddenberry, Majel Barrett was in Star Trek from the very beginning. While her role as "Number One" wasn't resurrected until Star Trek: Discovery and later in Strange New Worlds , she was featured in TOS as Nurse Chapel and was beloved as Lwaxana Troi in TNG and DS9 . She also did tons of voice work for the franchise, including the voice of most of the computers up until the modern era. 

Robin Curtis 

After Kirstie Alley was allegedly blocked from returning to play Saavik, actress Robin Curtis came in to fill the role in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock . Following her work on that, she was also welcomed onto the set of The Next Generation to play the Vulcan posing as a Romulan named Tallera. 

George Murdock

George Murdock had two notable roles in Star Trek, but it's fair to say they're both substantial. He played "God" in Star Trek V: The Voyage Home , as well as Picard's friend and Starfleet Vice Admiral J.P. Hanson in The Next Generation . With roles like that, one has to wonder, "What would an actor want with a third role?" 

John Fleck has been in a lot of Star Trek , but due to fact he was always wearing prosthetics, fans may not be aware. If they watched Enterprise , no doubt they remember his Suliban character, Silik, who was a bit of a rival to Archer throughout the run of the series. 

Malachi Throne

Malachi Throne was there at the very beginning of Star Trek , playing The Keeper in the pilot episode "The Cage." Throne would be welcomed back in a couple of TOS roles, and wrap up his time in TNG as the Romulan senator Pardek. Malachi passed in 2013, but it's fair to say he was instrumental in the success of the franchise with his first role. 

Elias Toufexis

Elias Toufexis played one of the main antagonists L'ak in Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, but that wasn't the first time he appeared in the series. Go all the way back to Season 1, and he played the criminal Cold, who tried to jump Michael Burnham in the mess hall with another prisoner named Psycho. Not the best thing to be proud of for a role, but at least Toufexis got to play the first unmasked Breen in Trek history, which he was understandably thrilled about . 

Armin Shimerman

Armin Shimerman made us all laugh as Quark in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , but it wasn't his only role in the franchise. Hilariously enough, he played a couple of other Ferengi in TNG , which might be why some fans think every Ferengi acts like him. He also played that weird Betazoid Gift Box in the "Haven" episode, though was not credited for the role. 

Michael Dorn

Michael Dorn famously played the Klingon Worf across more episodes than any other Star Trek character, but he also has another role people tend to forget. Some might forget his role as Colonel Worf in Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country , where he's an attorney meant to be an ancestor of the future Starfleet character. 

René Auberjonois

There are few characters in Star Trek as iconic as Odo, and if that were the only role René Auberjonois gave us before his untimely passing, many would be ok with that. It's not his only role, however, as we can see him without his prosthetics in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as Colonel West. 

Barbara Babcock

Actress Barbara Babcock may have only had roles on the original Star Trek , but the show made the most of her. In addition to her two live-action roles, she did voice work for the cat Isis, Loskene, and the Zetarians just to name a few. Her prints are all over the original series, and she's definitely one of the more underrated guest stars of the bunch. 

Fionnula Flanagan

Fionnula Flanagan might've made all of us shed a tear playing the unaware Android Juliana Tainer, but also popped up in places outside of Star Trek: The Next Generation . She played the Vulcan diplomat V'Lar in Enterprise , and the former lover of Curzon Dax Enina Tandro in Deep Space Nine . 

Clint Howard

Few actors can say they started their career with a role in Star Trek , and later returned to play it in adulthood. I think perhaps the coolest thing about Howard's various roles is that he not only appeared in the original series, but was more recently in Season 2 of Strange New Worlds . Talk about sticking with a franchise across the decades!

Ethan Phillips

Ethan Phillips' Neelix brought a lot of personality to Star Trek: Voyager , so of course it makes sense it wasn't the only role the actor ever did. He had a small role as a waiter in First Contact and later showed up in TNG and Enterprise as a Ferengi. A pretty impressive run for someone who stood out as much on his original series, but well-deserved all the same. 

Mark Lenard

Mark Lenard is a national treasure in Star Trek , especially considering the powerful roles he had outside of playing Spock's father Sarek. We also see him as one of the unnamed commanders in the iconic episode "Balance Of Terror," and he also played a Klingon Captain in Star Trek: The Motion Picture . 

Robert O'Reilly

While the wild-eyed Gowron will always be the most notable role Robert O'Reilly ever did, he also had some smaller roles aside from that. This included playing a mobster in The Next Generation . He also played an accountant in Deep Space Nine , as well as a very creepy-looking Klingon in Enterprise , though I'd rather not talk about the last one because the visual freaks me out. 

James Cromwell

Beyond playing one of the most important characters in Star Trek , Zefram Cochrane, James Cromwell has had a couple of other random roles in the franchise. This includes the mole rat-looking Jaglom Shrek in The Next Generation , as well as the Karemma Hanok on Deep Space Nine . 

Brian Cousins

The actor who terrified Star Trek: The Next Generation fans as the Borg "Crosis" ended up making a couple of appearances as other characters. He played a Romulan named Parem two seasons before his Borg role, and would later be cast in Enterprise to play a character by the name of Paltani in the episode "The Catwalk." 

Patrick Kilpatrick

The Imhotep species of Voyager are some of the most unique aliens I've seen in the show, so it's a shame we only got a small bit of Patrick Kilpatrick's character. While the actor had the one-and-done appearance as that species, he also played a Kazon in the series, and later popped up in Deep Space Nine as a soldier in the Dominion War. 

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

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An incomplete kal-toh

A completed kal-toh

Kal-toh was a Vulcan game of intense strategy that could be played solitaire or by multiple individuals.

The object of kal-toh , as stated by Tuvok , was " not about striving for balance but about finding the seeds of order even in the midst of profound chaos. " A kal-toh set consisted of a number of playing rods called t'an . Harry Kim rather described it as " The object of the game is to turn this jumble of rods into a perfect sphere ", and that each player took turns to position pieces, the one managing to form the final intended shape winning. ( VOY : " Alter Ego ", " Riddles ")

When Kim referred to kal-toh as "Vulcan chess ", Tuvok commented that, " Kal-toh is to chess as chess is to tic-tac-toe ." ( VOY : " Alter Ego ") Kim played several games with Tuvok, noting that it was surprisingly addictive for a game of pure logic , although he never managed to defeat Tuvok before Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant . ( VOY : " Alter Ego ", " The Omega Directive ", " Riddles ", " Endgame ")

A common error among novice players was to place the t'an on opposite sides of the kal-toh attempting to introduce a spatial balance, a strategy that would most certainly fail. ( VOY : " Alter Ego ")

In the holoprogram created by The Doctor , EMH program 4C in 2373 , the holograms of Socrates and T'Pau played kal-toh together. ( VOY : " Darkling ")

Tuvok, Icheb , and Kim often played a match of kal-toh together. Tuvok had been taking lessons from a master from age five . Icheb also was quite talented with the game, although Tuvok blamed Icheb's first victory over him on an early manifestation of his degenerative neurological condition . ( VOY : " Alter Ego ", " Endgame ")

During a game played by Tuvok and Kim, Seven of Nine took a turn for Kim and beat Tuvok in one move, claiming she used elementary spatial harmonics to do so. ( VOY : " The Omega Directive ")

In 2399 , Seven of Nine and Raffaela Musiker played kal-toh aboard La Sirena . ( PIC : " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 ")

A kal-toh game was present in Lt. John Foster 's quarters on the USS Titan in 2401 . ( PIC : " No Win Scenario ")

In 2404 of an alternate timeline , Captain Kim kept a kal-toh game in his ready room aboard the USS Rhode Island . ( VOY : " Endgame ")

A completed game of kal-toh is in the shape of two nested icosidodecahedra connected by the center points of their edges.

A different game referred to as Vulcan chess was shown in TAS : " The Magicks of Megas-Tu ".

External links [ ]

• Kal-toh at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 2 Daniels (Crewman)
• 3 USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G)

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In almost 60 years of star trek, this voyager episode scared me more than any other.

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Star Trek: Voyager’s 15 Creepiest Episodes, Ranked Worst To Best

This star trek: voyager episode subtly confirmed captain kirk broke a tos promise, jeri ryan's seven of nine costumes in star trek: voyager made no sense.

In almost 60 years of Star Trek , one episode of Star Trek: Voyager scared me more than any other. Star Trek: Voyager seems like the least likely of all the Star Trek shows to harbor the franchise's scariest episode, and yet, the premise of Star Trek: Voyager is inherently frightening when examined closely. The USS Voyager gets flung 70,000 light years into the bleak expanse of the unknown on its maiden voyaget. In the Delta Quadrant, resources are low, Federation allies are nowhere in sight, and (barring a few exceptions) the only remotely familiar alien species is the Borg.

In Star Trek: Voyager season 4, episode 25, "One", a lengthy trip through a radioactive nebula requires most of the USS Voyager crew to spend months in stasis. Only the holographic Doctor (Robert Picardo) and ex-Borg Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) are exempt, and keep the starship running. Everything seems to run smoothly as Seven monitors the crew and makes routine repairs, but visiting trader Lo-Tarik (Wade Williams) quickly becomes a threat. When scans reveal Lo-Tarik isn't real, and the Doctor's program fizzles out, Seven must confront the maddening isolation of being truly alone.

Star Trek: Voyager's "One" Is The Franchise's Most Frightening Episode

"one" is a star trek thriller that got inside my head.

As my pick for Star Trek 's most frightening episode, Star Trek: Voyager season 4, episode 25, "One", neatly captures the feeling of horrific isolation and helplessness that Voyager 's premise initially promised. When things go awry, Seven of Nine's belief that she's stronger than her fear of isolation is challenged and proven wrong. The metaphorical walls close in, and the sense of dread amplifies. Lo-Tarik, poses the double threat of being sexually creepy and violently prejudiced against Borg. After losing the Doctor, Seven starts hallucinating the crew dying gruesomely, the Borg returning, and everything being her own fault.

Despite many uplifting installments, Star Trek: Voyager had some of the creepiest episodes of the franchise, introducing masterfully eerie concepts.

Seven of Nine's fears of loss are thrown into stark relief against her isolation, calling to mind all the fear and uncertainty that I felt during the pandemic. After losing one Collective, Seven intentionally separates herself from the USS Voyager's crew , only to experience increasing helplessness and panic. Seven's fear of losing her new collective feels very real; "One" is a story about how isolation and loneliness can manifest and amplify our worst fears , especially fear of the unknown. There are few things scarier to me than my fears seeming true, as the case is for Seven of Nine in "One".

Why Star Trek's Darker Episodes Typically Work So Well

Star trek's optimism works best with the contrast of darker stories.

Star Trek 's darker episodes typically work so well because they provide a striking contrast to Gene Roddenberry's vision of optimism that Star Trek is celebrated for. There has to be tension and resolution in dynamic, thoughtful storytelling, and Star Trek achieves success by developing a whole range of tones . Star Trek: Discovery , for example, pulls its whole series arc out of Captain Gabriel Lorca's (Jason Isaacs) oppressive shadows and into Captain Michael Burnham's (Sonequa Martin-Green) steadfast hope. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is unquestionably dark, yet its shining moments stand out as some of Star Trek 's brightest.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7, episode 4, "Take Me Out to the Holosuite", and episode 15, "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang", are willing to put comedy right in the thick of the Dominion War's denouement. They're more effective and memorable for taking that chance.

Unlike Star Trek horror episodes that are more universal, Star Trek: Voyager 's "One" successfully portrays relatively realistic fears of isolation, panic, and the unknown. The feeling of losing control hits home far more than any Borg or Gorn attacks in more objectively scary Star Trek episodes. My own thoughts whispered like Lo-Tarik that I may not be strong enough to get through my own metaphorical radioactive nebula. I've desperately scrambled to manage what feels like increasingly impossible tasks. In the end, Star Trek: Voyager remains reliably comfortable, and suggests maybe, like Seven, I can trust those around me to help.

Star Trek: Voyager

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