Darkling (Star Trek: Voyager)
| "Darkling" | |
|---|---|
| Star Trek: Voyager episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 18 |
| Directed by | Alexander Singer |
| Story by | Brannon Braga Joe Menosky |
| Teleplay by | Joe Menosky |
| Featured music | Paul Baillargeon |
| Production code | 161 |
| Original air date | February 19, 1997 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Darkling" is the 60th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 18th episode of the third season. This show focuses on the holographic Doctor, a self-aware computer program aboard USS Voyager that is struggling with re-programming himself.
The episode debuted on UPN on February 19, 1997.[1]
Plot[]
While Kes pursues a romantic interest, the Doctor attempts to improve his program by including elements of the personalities of various famous people that he admires, taken from holocharacters of them. However, the darker, less well-known sides of these people's personalities form a second, evil personality. This evil version of the Doctor attempts to murder an alien from the planet being visited by Voyager by pushing him off a cliff. The evil twin also temporarily paralyzes Lt. Torres when she discovers it. It later jumps off a cliff with Kes but is beamed back to Voyager while falling. At the end of the episode, the Doctor's program is restored to normal. As the episode concludes, the Doctor is heard reciting part of the Hippocratic Oath.
Reception[]
In 2017 this episode was noted as featuring scary or eerie Star Trek content.[2] In 2018, TheGamer ranked this one of the top 25 creepiest episodes of all Star Trek series.[3] They note a series of disturbing behaviors by the EMH program in this episode, and were disappointed that many of the programs malfunctions were not addressed.[3]
Literary Origin[]
The story derives from Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which the mild mannered Doctor of Stephenson's novel is transformed into the ebullient and violent Mr. Hyde through the ingestion of a secret formula. This parallels the experience of the EMH, in which the 'ingestion' of the personality elements from famous historical personalities - in particular the romantic Lord Byron - results in violent, dark personality emerging.
Media releases[]
This episode was released on DVD on July 6, 2004 as part of Star Trek Voyager: Complete Third Season, with Dolby 5.1 surround audio.[4][5] The season 3 DVD was released in the UK on September 6, 2004.[6]
In 2017, the complete Star Trek: Voyager television series was released in a DVD box set , which included it as part of the season 3 discs.[7]
References[]
- ^ TV.com. "Star Trek: Voyager: Darkling". TV.com.
- ^ "18 eerie, disturbing and downright scary Star Trek episodes". H&I. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
- ^ a b "25 Creepy Star Trek Scenes That Set Phasers To Stun". TheGamer. 2018-04-16. Retrieved 2019-08-05.
- ^ Ordway, Holly E. (July 7, 2004). "DVD Talk Star Trek Voyager: Complete Third Season". www.dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Star Trek: Voyager, Season 3 Review | DVD Video Review | The Digital Fix". Film @ The Digital Fix. 2004-09-06. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
- ^ Foster, Dave (August 10, 2004). "Star Trek Voyager: Season 3 in September". The Digital Fix. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
- ^ Wright, Matt. "REVIEW: "Star Trek: Voyager" – The Complete Series on DVD". TrekMovie.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
External links[]
- "Darkling" at IMDb
- Darkling at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- Darkling at StarTrek.com
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- Star Trek: Voyager (season 3) episodes
- 1997 American television episodes
- Star Trek episode stubs