Star Trek legends deliver verdict on Voyager's most controversial moment after almost 30 years
Case closed!
It's been almost 30 years since one of the most controversial Star Trek moments of all time - and now two of the legends involved have delivered their verdict on it.
The Star Trek: Voyager episode Tuvix infamously saw crew members Tuvok (Tim Russ) and Neelix (Ethan Phillips) fused into one being after a transporter accident - with Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) forcing Tuvix back onto the transporter, essentially murdering him, to save her original crewmates.
For almost three decades, fans have discussed the morals of that moment but, recently weighing in at the Trek to New Jersey convention, Mulgrew and Russ didn't mince their words.
"Janeway did the only thing she could do. Was she going to keep Tuvix over those two guys? I loved those two guys. Easy choice. Had to make it look tough. But easy, easy," Mulgrew asserted (via TrekMovie.com).
During a different panel, Russ agreed, saying: “Yes, [Janeway] did make the right decision, absolutely. Sorry.
"Her responsibility is that of her crew – the health, safety and welfare of her crew. That is the captain’s responsibility. So you know, the very last end shot in that episode, when she walks down the hall after the sick bay doors close, the look on her face tells you everything right then.”
Case closed!
Created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor, Star Trek: Voyager ran for seven seasons, from 1995 to 2001.
Mulgrew later returned to Star Trek to reprise her role as Janeway in the animated series Prodigy. At the time, she said she hesitated in bringing the character back.
“Oh, yes, I had hesitation – I have to be frank about that – because it just lives within me,” she told RadioTimes.com. “At no point does it subside or abate. It’s always a sort of constant, and is a very significant part of my professional life. And so I thought, ‘Wow, do I want to do that?’”
However, she added: “I started to talk to my friends and my counsel about it, and everybody said, ‘You’re crazy if you don’t think of bringing this to that terribly important demographic – the children.
“How is it that we’ve managed to leave them out? I don’t know,” Mulgrew added. “Do you know? Nobody’s going to grasp this philosophy, this ideology, more readily than the little sponge-imagination of the five-year-old, six-year-old, seven-year-old child.”
Star Trek: Voyager is available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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Authors
Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.
