Star Trek: Voyager
Summary
Star Trek : Voyagerwriter Brannon Braga call the episode " Threshold " a disaster for a very specific reason . " Threshold " was episode 15 ofVoyagerseason 2 , andis to engagement one of the most controversial episodes intheStar Trektimeline . The episode revolved around Tom Paris ( Robert Duncan McNeill ) on a mission to break the Warp 10 upper roadblock , something that had been institute inStar Trek : The Next Generation . However , when Paris succeeded in surpass Warp 10 , he begin mutate into a salamander - alike tool that snatch Captain Janeway ( Kate Mulgrew ) and mat with her on an foreign planet .
Although the premise of " Threshold " held promise , and Paris ’s de - evolution after breaking Warp 10 was interesting in theory , the episode fell aside in its last bow . The revelation that both Paris and Janeway had reverse into salamanders and Janeway had given birth to three babies in the time it tookVoyager ’s mold of charactersto locate themcaused " Threshold " to become too strange for critic and consultation likewise . Brannon Braga , the episode ’s writer , had often cited " Threshold " as one of his bad outings for some particular reasonableness .
Star Trek : Voyager ’s darling characters have come back in Star Trek : Picard , Star Trek : Lower Decks , and especially Star Trek : Prodigy .
Brannon Braga’s “Big Mistake” Turned Star Trek: Voyager’s Salamander Episode Into A “Disaster”
InCaptains ' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyagesby Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman , Braga discussed the writing of " Threshold , " and give away that he had originally intended for the sequence ’s ending to be a small more high - concept . Braga state that he hadwanted to centre the discussion of evolution as the instalment ’s focal point , but had eventually take this idea out in rewrites . However , he believed unequivocally that " Threshold " suffered because of this decision . Read Braga ’s full quote below :
" It ’s very much a Graeco-Roman Star Trek level , but in the rescript physical process I took out the account , the idea behind the termination , that we germinate into these little lizard because maybe phylogenesis is not always reformist . possibly it ’s a hertz where we retrovert to something more rudimentary . That whole conversation was use up out for various intellect , and that was a disaster because without it the sequence does n’t even have a period . I think it suffered greatly . I incur the note that it was n’t necessary , but in fact it really had a set to do with what the episode was about . Big error taking it out . "
Braga is correct in put forward that " Threshold " was " very much a classic Star Trek tale . " In fact , it was not even the firstStar Trekepisode to deal with human de - evolution . TheStar Trek : TNGseason 7episode " Genesis , " which saw the USS Enterprise - D crew Delaware - evolve due to a botched aesculapian discussion , had a very similar concept at its core . However,“Threshold " choosing to center Paris and Janeway ’s unknown salamander affairrather than keep it focused on the evolution assumption was where affair ultimately fell apart . cleave to Braga ’s original story architectural plan might have made " Threshold " much less controversial .
Custom image by Yailin Chacon
How “Threshold” Became A Cult Classic Star Trek: Voyager Episode
" Threshold " is undeniably still contentious , but something interesting has materialise in the years since its release . The installment has become a furore classic amongStar Trek : Voyageraudiences in the same way that fringe films often accomplish this status . Many viewers have latched onto the strangest constituent of " Threshold , " namely the salamander de - evolution , Paris and Janeway ’s affaire , and their erstwhile child , andcome to love these secret plan elements precisely because of their outlandishness . " Threshold Day , " the anniversary of the episode ’s airing , has become almost a recess holiday for someVoyagerfans , with dedicated feeds on site X and Tumblr .
In general , a cult following is not rare for out - there movies or shows , such asThe Rocky Horror Picture ShoworTwin Peaks . However , it is interesting that cult status should be reach by one specificStar Trekepisodethat was so deride at the time of its release . Other unpopularStar Trekepisodes have never achieved the same degree of status that " Threshold " has , and there have for sure been some strange concepts explore within the enfranchisement . at long last , " door " will always beStar Trek : Voyager ’s weirdest installment , and both hated and get it on for it .
Star Trek : Voyageris available to stream on Paramount+ .
Source : Captains ' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyagesby Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman
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