Deadlock (Star Trek: Voyager)
"Deadlock" | |
---|---|
David Livingston | |
Written by | Brannon Braga |
Featured music | Dennis McCarthy |
Production code | 137 |
Original air date | March 18, 1996 |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Deadlock" is the 37th episode of
The episode aired on UPN on March 18, 1996.[2]
Plot
Voyager hits subspace turbulence and suffers from power failures after passing through a plasma drift to avoid Vidiian territory. As
The viewer is then shown the immaculate bridge of Voyager, where that version of Janeway watches a ghostly image of herself evacuate the bridge. This Voyager's proton bursts succeeded in maintaining the reaction, but damaged its doppelganger, of which the crew are aware due to Kes's arrival through the rift. The respective crews are able to make contact with each other, and conclude that upon exiting the nebula, Voyager and its crew were duplicated as a result of a space-time rift. However, this did not replicate the antimatter, hence the power failures.
The two crews attempt to merge the ships, but the effort is unsuccessful. Janeway from the undamaged Voyager crosses through the rift along with the duplicate of Kes. The two Janeways meet to discuss options, recognizing they cannot evacuate the damaged Voyager without creating a quantum imbalance. Janeway from the damaged Voyager states she will initiate a self-destruct of her ship to allow the undamaged one to regain power. Janeway from the undamaged ship asks her counterpart to delay for 15 minutes to devise another option, and returns to her ship via the rift.
The undamaged Voyager is attacked by Vidiian ships; Vidiians soon appear on board and begin harvesting vital organs from the crew. The damaged Voyager, however, is undetected by the Vidiians. Janeway from the undamaged ship orders her Harry Kim to collect baby Naomi Wildman and escape through the rift to the damaged Voyager, and then begins a self-destruct of her Voyager. The explosion destroys the ship and the attacking Vidiians, leaving the damaged Voyager free and returning to normal power-reserves.
Production
Writer Brannon Braga was initially inspired to create an episode with a strange narrative structure, and the team felt like they needed a more action heavy episode. A similar episode was proposed, unsuccessfully, for Star Trek: The Next Generation, and executive producer Jeri Taylor noted that difficulties that the writers encountered on that episode informed the structure of Deadlock. They decided to focus the story on the two Captain Janeways and their interactions,[3] resulting in what actress Kate Mulgrew described as "the most arduous and possibly the most satisfying work I've ever done, technically".[4]
The episode initially ran short, leaving the crew to write extra material, shot over two extra days.[3]
Reception
"Deadlock" had a rating of 9/10 on TV.com, the highest of season 2 of Voyager.[1] It had Nielsen ratings of 5.8 points when it debuted in 1996 on UPN television.[5] It was later voted the favourite episode of the second season during a fan poll.[6] Similarly
In 2015, a Star Trek: Voyager binge-watching guide by W.I.R.E.D. suggested this episode should not be skipped.[9]
Den of Geek considers it one of the most brutal Voyager episodes and included it in their Voyager viewing guide in 2017.[10]
The Hollywood Reporter listed it in their top 15 episodes of Star Trek: Voyager.[11] In 2015, SyFy rated it among the top ten of Voyager episodes.[12]
In 2016, Vox rated this one of the top 25 essential episodes of all Star Trek.[13]
In 2020, this episode was ranked the 8th best episode of Voyager by SyFy.[14]
In 2020, Gizmodo ranked this as one of the "must watch" episodes in season 2 of Voyager.[15]
In 2020, The Digital Fix said that "Deadlock" was the best episode in season two, calling it a "big blockbuster event."[16]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Star Trek Voyager". TV.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
- ^ "Star Trek: Voyager". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
- ^ ISBN 0316883549. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ^ Star Trek Voyager: Season 2 (DVD). 18 May 2004. Special Features.
- ^ "Star Trek Voyager: Nielsen Ratings Season 2".
- ^ Dave Archer, ed. (August 1996). "30th Anniversary Issue". Star Trek:Communicator. No. 108.
- ^ "Star Trek Voyager". Cinefantastique. Vol. 28. p. 102.
- ^ John Freeman, ed. (August 1996). "Star Trek Monthly". Star Trek Monthly. No. 19. Titan Magazines. p. 93.
- ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
- ^ Juliette Harrisson (15 September 2017). "Star Trek: Voyager: an episode roadmap". Den of Geek. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
- ^ Aaron Couch and Graeme McMillan (23 September 2016). "'Star Trek: Voyager' — The 15 Greatest Episodes". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ Granshaw, Lisa (2015-01-16). "20 years later: Our top 10 episodes of Star Trek: Voyager". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on 2019-02-23. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ Siede, Caroline (2016-09-06). "Star Trek, explained for non-Trekkies". Vox. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
- ^ Pirrello, Phil (2020-01-16). "The 15 greatest Star Trek: Voyager episodes, ranked". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
- ^ "Star Trek: Voyager's Must-Watch Episodes". io9. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
- ^ "Star Trek: Voyager Revisited - Season Two". Television @ The Digital Fix. 2020-06-18. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
External links
- "Deadlock" at IMDb
- Deadlock (episode) at Memory Alpha