Tuvix
"Tuvix" | |
---|---|
Star Trek: Voyager episode | |
Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 24 |
Directed by | Cliff Bole |
Story by | |
Teleplay by | Kenneth Biller |
Produced by |
|
Featured music | Jay Chattaway |
Cinematography by | Marvin V. Rush |
Editing by | Daryl Baskin |
Production code | 140[1][2] |
Original air date | May 6, 1996 |
Running time | 46 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Tuvix" is the 40th episode (24th in
The episode was substantially rewritten from its original iteration as a lighthearted story to a more somber tale with serious moral and ethical implications. Tom Wright guest stars as Tuvix to lend more credence to a unique new character that consists of equal parts Tuvok and Neelix. Both director Cliff Bole and Wright himself had reservations about the latter's take on the character, and despite a perceived lack of support, Wright still praised the Voyager cast and crew. Both the story and performances of "Tuvix" were lauded by the production team and critics alike.
"Tuvix" was well received by fans and critics, earning generally positive reviews. Researchers and critics found "Tuvix" teeming with technical and philosophical content, including thematic ties to other episodes in the Star Trek canon, real-world logical and metaphysical ramifications, and scientific concessions for the story.
Plot
On
Kes (Jennifer Lien) reacts poorly to Tuvix as his existence deprives her of both Tuvok and Neelix, her mentor and boyfriend respectively. Her displeasure lessens over the course of the episode, but never completely goes away. Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) accepts Tuvix in his role as an excellent chief tactical officer and "an able advisor, who skillfully uses humor to make his points". Tuvix himself, having the combined memories and personalities of his constituents, melds the previously intractable qualities of both and improves upon them, flexing either muscle as the situation requires: "Chief of security or head chef, take your pick!"
Two weeks after the accident,
Production
Wendy Neuss, Merri D. Howard, Kenneth Biller, Peter Lauritson, and Brannon Braga were all credited as producers on "Tuvix", while Jay Chattaway was credited with the music and Marvin V. Rush was the cinematographer. Daryl Baskin edited the episode to its 46-minute runtime.[3]
Writing
During its development, "Tuvix" was previously known as "Untitled Tuvok/Neelix", "One",
Casting
Director Cliff Bole and the episode's producers originally considered having series regular Ethan Phillips (Neelix) portray Tuvix, but decided against it, fearing that he was too identifiable and would have difficulty integrating an equal amount of the Tuvok character into his performance.[15] Casting for "Tuvix" was done by Junie Lowry-Johnson, C.S.A., and Ron Surma.[3]
The only non-recurring guest star in "Tuvix" is the eponymous fusion of two main characters. Though guest stars have occasionally played major recurring characters—e.g.
When contacted by his talent agent, Wright jumped at the opportunity to create a character wholly unique to the Star Trek franchise.[7] When he auditioned for the role of Tuvix, Wright had never seen Star Trek: Voyager and was completely unfamiliar with the characterizations of Tuvok and Neelix. Instead, he drew upon his prior experiences with the characters' actors, Tim Russ and Ethan Phillips respectively, to successfully vie for the role.[16] Executive producer Jeri Taylor was pleased with the casting of Wright, marveling at his ability to bring credibility to the prospect of two characters in one.[4]
After securing the role, Wright was provided video of Tuvok and Neelix from previous episodes from which he refined the character. Instead of portraying Tuvix as simply a vessel for two separate consciousnesses, Wright blended the two characters to form a unique third. Wright focused on juxtaposing the contrary physical and emotional natures of the two characters in his performance; in scenes where Neelix's persona is more prominent, Wright played up Tuvok's composed physicality, and in scenes where Tuvok's skills and experience were needed, Wright leaned more heavily on Neelix's exuberant mannerisms. Wright also worked hard to exhibit the intrinsic warmth of both characters and make Tuvix as likable and sympathetic a character as possible.[7][16] Author David McIntee (Delta Quadrant) felt that Tuvix expressed more of Neelix's mannerisms than Tuvok's. He also noted that Tuvix adopted Neelix's right-handedness as opposed to Tuvok's left-handedness.[11]
Costuming and makeup
McIntee hypothesizes that the modified Starfleet uniform Tuvix initially wears after his creation was influenced by the orchids which were also transported. He called it "an illogical but subtle and attractive stylistic touch" and praised its design suggesting they all be modified duly.[11] Robert Blackman served as costume designer for "Tuvix".[3]
In an interview with The Official Star Trek Voyager Magazine in 1998,
Filming
Tom Wright described working on "Tuvix" as an exercise in forcing himself to work outside his known comfort areas and confessed he was unsure of the quality of the end product. The actor complained about what he saw as a lack of support and guidance from the Voyager team, saying he felt adrift and unsure as to what was expected of his performance, especially since his portrayal reflected two of the starring characters. However, he also conceded that it may have been intentional in an effort to evoke a genuine sense of off-balancedness in the character. Either way, though he was unaccustomed to the environment, Wright expressed his willingness to revisit Tuvix or even work on any Star Trek again if the opportunity arose. In interviews, Wright specifically fondly recalled his time working with Jennifer Lien (Kes), Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway), and director Cliff Bole.[7][16]
In a 1997 interview, Wright explained how the episode's dialogue posed a challenge in that not only did he have to take great care to adhere to the vernacular of Star Trek and not sound too contemporary or "too 1997", but he had to take several days to accommodate himself to the episode's "
Bole heaped praise on the episode's final scene in which Janeway "stalks" into the corridor outside sickbay after performing the procedure which restores Tuvok and Neelix. He extolled, "That last shot I did with Kate [Mulgrew], as she's walking into the camera, she told the whole story with her face. She gave a great performance. I only asked for a few things; she brought that look and emotion to work with her."[15] In his book The Meaning of Star Trek, author Thomas Richards also credited Mulgrew in this scene. Richards saw Janeway troubled by her difficult decision between two undesirable options and how "she must live with the choice. [A] death has cast a shadow over the ship, and for the first time in the series the Federation has put to death one of its own."[18]
In a 1996 interview, Robert Picardo reminisced that as the Doctor he had "a substantial amount" to do in "Tuvix".[10] Picardo would also look back on the episode, and the scene in which he "countermand[s] the captain" especially, as a turning point in the Doctor's and Janeway's relationship, calling it an "interesting moment for both characters".[19] Ethan Phillips also remembered being excited reading the script for "Tuvix", as it was an opportunity to discover more about his character.[20]
The science lab set in the first act is a redress of the isolation chamber in sickbay, but with a blue background as opposed to the yellow.[11]
Analysis
Elaine Graham's book Representations of the Post/Human uses "Tuvix" to contrast Star Trek: Voyager with Star Trek: The Next Generation; "Tuvix" is an example of how the former series tended to incorporate stories that touched on moral and ethically ambiguous situations and decisions. Graham notes how the character of Tuvix was written to encourage audience sympathies, yet was still effectively sentenced to death in contravention of what she describes as the "exemplary Star Trek values [of] sentience, self-determination, and personhood".[21] Thomas Richards' The Meaning of Star Trek also focused on the morality of decisions in "Tuvix" as compared to the original Star Trek and The Next Generation; more than Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the Voyager is far from the United Federation of Planets and "must address every value of the Federation [...] in a universe in which those values may no longer apply." Richards describes the episode as "truly remarkable" for its depiction of Janeway's sentence of capital punishment and her performing the very first execution in all of Star Trek. Not only is this shocking for the audience in comparison to episodes and series past, but even the fictional Voyager crew are stunned.[18] In 2000, David McIntee pointed to these themes and plot points as having made "Tuvix" the most debated episode in Star Trek fandom yet, and one of Star Trek: Voyager's "most thought-provoking, and [...] single most discussed, episode."[11]
In her book American Science Fiction TV, Jan Johnson-Smith noted that "Tuvix" is one of a recurring type of Star Trek episodes concerned with issues of individuality and self. She thematically tied this episode to
In his paper published in the Polish Journal of Philosophy, University of Sussex professor Murali Ramachandran examines the combination of Tuvok and Neelix into a single individual for its implications to modal logic. Ramachandran, though forced to disregard the metaphysical considerations imposed by "the very nature of tele-transportation", promotes a "Kripkean counterpart theory" using this study of the characters.[24]
Athena Andreadis' book To Seek Out New Life: The Biology of Star Trek attempts and fails to legitimize the episode's
Tuvix (character)
Tom Wright spoke on his interpretation of the character in 1997: he felt the two constituent halves of Tuvix "represent[ed] the left and the right side of the brain—where one is weak the other is strong, and vice versa."[16]
In his 2005 book, Teleportation: The Impossible Leap, David J. Darling notes that while Tuvix was well-liked by other characters, his fate was in fact ultimately determined not by his arguments or the decision of the captain, but by the "[e]nsemble casting and contractual arrangements" of the show.[25] Wright also felt the separation of Tuvix was inevitable from a perspective of dramatic necessity.[16] A UPN promotional video for the episode played on expectations of the audience to like Tuvix at the cost of the Tuvok and Neelix characters.[26]
Over 25 years after it first aired, the character of Tuvix continued to be a hot-button topic, not only because the character was well-liked, but because of Janeway's decision. John Van Citters was
Tuvix was never mentioned again during Voyager's remaining five seasons.[13]
Reception
Writer Kenneth Biller said that he received a "lot of mail" regarding "Tuvix" and that Janeway's tough decisions in the episode generated a lot of discussion and really moved a lot of people.[1] Director Cliff Bole felt the episode was "well-accepted", and both he and the producers liked it.[15] Actor Tom Wright explained the episode's popularity saying it resounded with viewers because it had no outright moralizations or specific good and evil characters; the episode deals with a no-win scenario.[16] Writer Thomas Richards concurred with Wright in agreeing that the episode's frank depiction without any judgments was a significant strength in its favor.[18] In a March 2023 episode of The Ready Room, Tim Russ called "Tuvix" one of the show's most controversial episodes, telling Wil Wheaton that in the preceding few years, fans had begun consistently asking him about it.[28]
Nikki Harper for
In 2014, io9's Charlie Jane Anders ranked "Tuvix" 56th of the top 100 episodes of the Star Trek franchise.[32] In 2015, Syfy's Lisa Granshaw placed "Tuvix" among Star Trek: Voyager's top ten.[33]
See also
- Trolley problem – Thought experiment in ethics
References
- ^ ISSN 0145-6032. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7434-1751-8.
- ^ a b c d e "Tuvix". Star Trek: Voyager. Season 2. Episode 24. May 6, 1996. UPN.
- ^ ISBN 0-316-88354-9.
- ^ a b "Tuvix". Star Trek (Official Site). CBS. Archived from the original on November 9, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- ^ "Star Trek: Voyager". Star Trek (Official Site). CBS. Archived from the original on October 20, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
- ^ ISSN 1357-3888.
Tom Wright Talks to Lou Anders About Creating Lieutenant Tuvix
- ^ a b Taylor, Jeri. "TAYLOR, J MSS". Lilly Library Manuscript Collections. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Bloomington. Archived from the original on April 27, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 0-609-60329-9.
Procrustean Fits
- ^ ISSN 0145-6032. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
Robert Picardo has made Doc Zimmerman the show's most popular and entertaining character.
- ^ ISBN 0-7535-0436-7.
- ISSN 1357-3888.
- ^ a b c d e Hoffman, Jordan (July 23, 2021). "Tuvix will never die". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
How an ethical debate and endless memes keep Star Trek's most infamous one-shot character in the conversation
- ISSN 0145-6032. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
Michael Piller gave the writing staff a much needed shake-up during second season.
- ^ ISSN 1079-3658.
- ^ ISSN 1079-3658.
- ISSN 0191-4626.
Join the entire Voyager cast, Starfleet gals, Maquis guys & all sorts of aliens, just sitting around talking.
- ^ ISBN 0-385-48437-2.
- ISSN 1079-3658.
- ISSN 1357-3888.
With Fair Trade seeing Neelix's character moving in a different direction, Ethan Phillips talks to Ian Spelling about recent developments in his character.
- ISBN 978-0-7190-5442-6.
- ISBN 978-1-86064-882-3.
- ^ Manny Coto (September 5, 2005). "Similitude" (DVD commentary). Paramount. Event occurs at 00:52.
- .
- ISBN 978-0-471-47095-3.
- Television production). UPN. 1996. Archived from the original on May 29, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2011 – via YouTube.
- ^ Pitt, Alison (November 6, 2020). "Star Trek gets political as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kate Mulgrew talk 'Tuvix' on Twitter". Daily Star Trek News. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
- ^ Russ, Tim (March 30, 2023). "Dominion". The Ready Room (Interview). Interviewed by Wil Wheaton. Paramount+.
- from the original on May 28, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
If space was the final frontier, the thinking behind 'Star Trek: Voyager' goes, then a wholly-unexplored region of space must be the most final-est frontier of all.
- Tor.com. Archivedfrom the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- Tor.com. Archivedfrom the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- ^ Anders, Charlie Jane (October 2, 2014). "The Top 100 Star Trek Episodes of All Time!". io9. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- Syfy Wire. Archived from the originalon June 26, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
External links
- "Tuvix" at Memory Alpha
- "Tuvix" at IMDb