Okay, decades-late hypothetical amateur rewrite pitch, so take it with a grain of salt: Voyager is on course back to the Alpha Quadrant when they're attacked out of nowhere by a Klingon battlecruiser. They're confused but don't have time to think because they're fighting for their lives. Strangely enough, the Klingon ship is a design that hasn't been in service for decades. Voyager's weapons systems are far superior, but the Klingon ship has the element of surprise. Things aren't looking good when, suddenly, just in time for a thrilling finish to the cold open, another ship swoops in to the rescue: the Excelsior! It fights off the Klingon ship, which retreats and warps away, and then Captain Sulu himself hails Janeway to ask if she needs assistance, and also if she can tell him where the hell they are. Sulu comes aboard Voyager and fills Janeway and the crew in on what happened: back in the 23rd century, they detected a spatial anomaly and stopped to investigate. The Klingon ship showed up, too, assumed the Excelsior was trying to claim the anomaly for the Federation, and a fight ensued. During the battle, both ships were pulled into the anomaly's gravity well and were spat out here. Sulu returns to the Excelsior and leads Voyager back to the anomaly. The science and engineering teams of both ships team up (including young Tuvok if Tim Russ pulling double duty is feasible, if not skip it) and figure out that the anomaly is a previously undiscovered form of a black/white hole. It exists as a black hole in the alpha quadrant in Sulu's time, and a white hole in the delta quadrant in Janeway's time. Objects that enter the black hole are expelled from the white hole at the other end. The only way for Sulu and his crew to return to their own time is to go back through the hole, but it's impossible for matter to enter a white hole. So, they have two problems: figuring out how to bend the laws of physics to allow the Excelsior to return home through the white hole, and tracking down the Klingons and talking them into cooperating so they can go back through the white hole, too. Kang can still be the captain of the Klingon ship if that's feasible, but if not the Klingon can be a new character. Also, if we do the "two Tuvoks" thing, there needs to be a scene early on where someone, probably Paris, realizes that their Tuvok lived through these events as Young Tuvok and asks their Tuvok what they did to solve the problem, and their Tuvok insists that he doesn't remember any of this happening. Then, before the Excelsior returns to its own time, the two Tuvoks mind meld with each other (themselves?) so that Young Tuvok won't remember the last few days in order to preserve the timeline when they get back to the 23rd century. There needs to be more, including the actual solutions to the problems, and meaningful stuff for Sulu to do, and there are probably lots of problems with it I haven't thought of yet, and who knows if they would have been able to do it within their budget, but that's the general idea.
@@SteveShives they really did back themselves into a corner with the premise of the show. Unless they did something with the Andromedans. Thank Gods they haven’t brought them back sporadically.
as an elder-millennial trekie who wrote in for the letter campaign for the Captain Sulu tv show back then, i must admit, taking off my "Sulu is the coolest!" rose-colored glasses, your criticisms are very well reasoned. the Excelsior stuff in this episode could have been anything, and was just included to make this the requisite 30th anniversary episode. that said, i do appreciate that, when the Quantum Leap rules stop and the Excelsior crew can see Janeway, even as a virus-induced memory, Captain Sulu takes one look at Janeway, knows she's trouble and calls for security.
You know, the biggest sin Picard and Lower Decks have committed is that all of Steve's sass and derision has transferred to them. Voyager and Enterprise largely get a pass now. Sad.
I adore that description of "perfectly acceptable Star Trek." I definitely enjoyed Voyager more than Steve, but they consistently aimed for that 6/10 to 7/10 sweet spot and they rarely deviated from it. Like much of the show, I liked this episode but wanted to love it.
I actually think it does add to the 'world' of Trek. In Undiscovered Country, we see the Excelsior is near the Klingon border at the start of the film, then shows up for the finale, so I enjoy the 'fill in the gap' element of trying to depict what the Excelsior was up to during the main events of the film and Sulu's actions fit his character really well. As an anniversary episode, I think it's really well done. I accept that it could be argued that's a very self-serving premise but any show that reaches a 30th anniversary with active series is entitled to have that. I also enjoyed the mystery of this 'memory', because it is so out of place and the reveal was at least something different. Is it an exceptional episode? No, not at all. But I would definitely put it at 'above average'.
My second-favorite thing I've heard George Takei say at a convention was what he suggested as an idea, before Generations came out. "Star Trek 7 - The Further Adventures of Captain Sulu" The favorite was referring to Galaxy Quest as "The best documentary I've ever seen."
These reviews are extremely good. I'm genuinely really looking forward to the Borg series. What I like most about them is that, even though Steve is obviously not keen on this one, the review is informative enough to give someone an Idea if they're likely to enjoy it or not. He's really good at these videos, is what I'm saying... though typing that did make me feel dirty all over
This episode actually raises interesting questions about different species' careers and life paths. Tuvok was an ensign in 2293, and eighty years later, he's only a lieutenant. Vulcans reach adulthood around 30-40 years old, and can live to 250... meaning that when Picard first took command of the Enterprise-D, there could have been Vulcan senior officers who had been in Starfleet since the very beginning. That would make for one hell of an interesting episode... or even a whole series.
I had this recorded on one of my first Star Trek tapes, before I learned you could fit eight episodes within 6 hours on SLP/EP. It’s one of my favorites, because it was new material and it had a character from both the show and the old movies, and it had continuity between eras that was respectful; I loved it because of its in-universe quality. It’s a good candidate for “Episodes that help Star Trek”.
Sulu clearly had a storied career, there was a ship named after him. "Oh, that could've been some other Sulu..." No, it was clearly the USS Hikaru Sulu. It helped destroy the Excelsior. Which was a...clever?...little twist from the writers.
At the end of ST:VI, the hero shot of the Excelsior's bridge crew really gave many of us the idea that there may be a new Sulu-centered series coming up. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. It would have been fantastic. Did you mention that Tim Russ was a nameless bridge crew member in Star Trek VI? I think that alone gets to why they chose to go back to that era and that ship for this episode.
btw though, it warrants saying, "repressed memories" in the conventional way are NOT an actual thing. Memory is complex and you can have trauma you're not dealing with, or your recollection can change over time, but there is no "buried" or "hidden" memories you can somehow "recover".
After growing up watching TOS and the TOS movies, this was the episode that brought me back to Trek because STVI is my favorite Trek movie. So I had to see this episode and then I kept watching VOY. Happy memories
Tuvok and Janeway's inability to make any difference to the perceived past events _could_ be seen as a metaphor for the need to to leave the past of fandom and such in the past, but that's probably giving Voyager too much credit. I'm broadly in agreement with your take on this episode, and on Voyager as a series. George Takei is great, and Tuvok is my favorite VOY character, but even with that focus, this episode feels "just there." Viewing it really solidified my lack of VOY fandom.
I enjoyed this episode. I liked the conceit that Earth was connected to the universe before they even understood that there were people in space. Also there’s no knowing how far back it went or how far into the future it might have gone.
As I am German i cite Goethe: Zwei Selen wohnen, ach, in meiner Brust. (Alas, two soles are living in my chest). I.e. I did enjoy seeing Sulu in the captain's chair of the USS Excelsior just on its own ... I would have loved to see a Sulu/Excelsior centered show... Might have been a better project than "Enterprise"... However at least with your excelent teachings, Steve, which helped me value content over lore and nostalgia, I fully recognize that this show also for me classifies as perfectly good Star Trek... However not more... It is a legitimate wish to want a Sulu/Excelsior show... However, one has to take care that this wish does not head canonize the only glimps of it, we have and fill in our own thoughts of what might have been, which creates an over-positive image...
I know that probably nobody will care but here's my top three star trek Uniforms: 1. The Lower Decks (Season 3) Crisis Point 2 uniforms (they're like the DS9 uniforms mixed with the lower decks uniforms and I absolutely love them and hope we'll get to see them again) 2. The DS9 dominion war uniforms (do I have to say anything about that? They're just so badass and cool, how could you not like them?) 3. The lost era uniforms from the later TOS movies (I hope they'll be a series discovering the lost era)
I'd really love for a 2160s or 2170s Enterprise followup to solidify some of the canon from that era and really give closure for those characters. Even if it was done as part of some kind of anthology series. Maybe something like The Lives of Dax as an example.
This is an episode highlighting Tuvok as a character. You get to see how he is different from Spock (as a Vulcan) because he was actually at odds w humanity as opposed to Spock who had a good relationship w humans. I think it is also supposed to show a bit of the friendship and mutual trust between Janeway and Tuvok.
Can you start your Borg run off with a brief nod to The Neutral Zone episodes where both Romulans and Starfleet can't figure out what has been scooping up huge areas? It's a bit of foreshadowing that appears in Part 1 of The Best of Both Worlds.
Lovely analysis of Flashback, I agree about the missed opportunity of a Sulu show. Have you ever listened to the audio drama Captain Sulu Adventures? It’s kind of a half-baked lot but it’s the closest we ever got to Sulu having a slice of trek for his own
I absolutely adored Voyager when it first aired and I still love it now, but I 100% get what Steve is saying here. When I do a rewatch, this episode isn't guaranteed to be, umm, rewatched. Oh and I love all 3 seasons of Picard!
At the end of Star Trek 6 The Undiscovered Country, when Sulu says goodbye to Kirk you can see the crew of the Excelsior standing there. Yes you see Tuvok, but you also see Valtane also standing there. 😮😮
I would have liked to have seen a Sulu series start a few years before Undiscovered Country, when Sulu first takes command. Tuvoc as a junior officer would have made a great character for the show. We could have also had great cameo moments from other TOS characters. Then end the series with the Excelsior going into battle beside the Enterprise at the end of Undiscovered Country.
Interesting, the virus suddenly reminds me of the one temporal virus Captain Archer had. I almost wonder if in someway they were actually on the bridge temporally without actually leaving their temporal starting point. That opens up a whole new can of worms
"the hall is rented ... the orchestra engaged ... its now time to see if you can dance!" cant wait for your review of one of my favorite episodes of TNG enjoyed this one as i do all your trek related content!!
I personally want a Star Trek: Starships series where we follow the ship as a character rather the the cast, of course over the seasons we follow one crew member from one ship (say a critical supporting cast member) who transfers to another ship, highly similar to Word going from TNG to DS9 and that humanoid character is ALWAYS secondary to the main character, the Starship a character we see go through the key moments in its life and see warships, exploring, science, medical, attack and even Section 31 ships as they themselves have adventures with their crew. Their are too many iconic ships in Trek for this show not to work
I’ve often thought of the different eras of classic Trek as different high school cliques. TNG were the popular overachieving seniors who had a difficult freshman year. DS9 were the effortlessly cool kids who listened to great music and smoked behind the bleachers. Voyager was the youngest group full of drama kids trying to emulate the fun of their parents’ generation (TOS) where legends were made, but with NONE of the same emotional or social intelligence and charisma. The kind of kids who show up after summer break in a fedora and embracing ska that just try SO hard and fail… at least until the gorgeous and cool transfer student with an interesting life story shows up, of course
No surprise that Flashback was written by Brannon Braga who co-wrote Generations. Both stories essentially have the same problem. How to have two sets of characters who lived a century apart meet and interact but without employing time travel. In both cases, Braga comes up with something that feels contrived. And like Generations, Flashback feels flat. Braga is known for telling high concept stories. But in general, his scripts don’t elicit strong emotional reactions, unless they’re negative like with TNG’s Genesis or Voyager’s Threshold.
It was cool to see Sulu and Rand, but I found it kind of pointless ( but, yeah,acceptable) Still fun to watch once, if only for Sulu and Rand. A Captain Sulu series would have been cool.
Steve the best part of your riff on Voyager is that you criticize it because it could have been good for most people story wise. That said I've been a Trek fan for the tech which has definitely influenced every pit of tech from Tablets to Bluetooth to Holodeck. I'm also glad that Lower Desks & Picard came out so Voyager can be the 3rd place for meh Trek, LD & Picard are "Nu Trek" and should definitely know better by now, as if looking at the franchise from a parental perspective. Before I go, the one episode that will always the best Voyager episode to me is Season 2 Episode 1, "The 37's". It was the best use of SciFi explaining a still unsolved mystery in American history, Amelia Earhart disappearance. It's a episode like Flashback episode in Voyager but not in a typical sense, it take the time travel trope and kinda tweaks it a bit and shows you Janeway, the First Female Captain of a Trek show fangirling on what rightfully should be her idol. This is fan service to unsolved mysteries in history fans like myself who find other cases like D.B. Cooper to be intriguing enough (The Loki series & The White Rabbit Project) to still be referenced to this very day. This is the fan service that fantasy and SciFi should be, doing call backs that are niche enough and popular enough that almost any age can go "oh look what they did!". Hopefully you will get to that review and look upon it as fondly as I remember it, one of my favorite stand alone episodes of Trek to ever be made, with Schisms at number two, Aliens abducting "aliens" and given even Wolf a genuinely concerned moment during the episode. That's another episode that was covered in Horror in Trek but hasn't got reviewed yet or regularly referenced when people talk about their favorite episodes. Great work on all your Trek videos and others as well Steve, you are one the few YT channels that I watch all the content of.
“Flashback” is a prototype of “These are the Voyages…”. Both are insubstantial stories that feature a future generation looking back at simulations of an older generation without really affecting anything. Both stories revisit previous Trek stories of yore (Star Trek VI and TNG’s “The Pegasus”). And both episodes feature characters being pointlessly killed off by explosions (Valtane and Trip Tucker). Both episodes are haphazard and pointlessly written tribute episodes that add nothing to the mythos and are sloppily made and embarrassing entries into the franchise.
I know this comment comes late, but I just watched (and enjoyed() this one. Like you, I also wished we had been given a Sulu/Excelsior series. Although a live action series is imposdible now, I wonder if an animated series with voice work by the original actors could be done (though alas Rand would need a new actor, and I definitely want that character developed in such a series). It would be great to explore a young Tuvok as well as other new characters. The key is to make such a series less fan service and more its own unique thing. Thoughts?
I think a new series about Captain Sulu and the Excelsior would be pretty great, and they should do it with both George Takei and John Cho -- Kelvin? Prime? Who knows… just figure out something that works and then focus on making it a good show.
"Perfectly acceptable Trek". Yep that was Voyager, for the most part. Once or twice a season there would be an episode that I didn't forget as soon as the closing credts rolled.
I enjoyed this episode. But honestly I didn't care about the excelsior scenes. I really care about Janeway and Tuvok's friendship. This is one of few consistent storyline in the show apart from character development of Seven of Nine and The Doctor.
I know the Excelsior seems to sit in Spacedock until Star Trek VI, but I've always had a soft spot for it. And yeah, those red uniforms are my favourite, too. Damned if I can explain why though, I came to the movies quite late. I also like that canonically they were in use from the 2280s all the way to the 2240s. Probably a reason why no-one wants to set a series in that era 'cause they wouldn't be able to slap in a new uniform to wring money out of those cosplay crowds, lol.
There was a Ps2 game with captain Sulu in it I used to love as a kid, I'd definitely watch a captain Sulu animated series or something like that if he was up for it.
Thanks for this one, Steve. This episode’a take on the events of STVI were interesting enough to me back in… what was it, 96 (?) that i rewatched it a few times shortly after it aired. I was only in high school at the time but was fascinated by the episode (we’re about the exact same age I think, hah). Yeah it was done for fan service but mostly in a good way. But I’m with you on the weirdo clips of the multicultural little kids on the edge of a deep chasm. That’s just an odd creative decision.
I think it helps that I didn't watch the episode as part of some anniversary thing. I just happened to catch it. And I liked that they (1) established that Tim Russ was playing Tuvok in ST:VI and that it told us what Sulu was up to during that movie. I'm also just generally okay with excuse plots. I get that Janeway and Tuvok weren't really necessary, but they had a good enough excuse to set it up, and I'm fine with the only danger being what might happen to them. Did I like it as much as Trials and Tribulations? No. But I also didn't know they were related at the time, so I didn't compare them. And it's not like T&T isn't also an excuse plot. There's just more fun involved in visiting a comedic episode, and a wow factor with the effects.
then they came up with the blue nebula in the present that reminds Tuvok of a blue nebula in the past explanation, just for the sake of then retelling from a different viewpoint some of the events of Star Trek 6. I agree, it doesn't really advance the plot of the trauma of what he believed to be a repressed memory - and nothing's ever done to explain WHERE the virus came from, or how long it had been hiding in Tuvok's mind. This was Voyager attempt to repeat the effort of DS9's Trials and Tribbleations but came out second best.
How can you not bring up that the entire premise of this episode rests on the actor for Tuvok having an unnamed cameo on the Excelsior bridge in Star Trek VI? It seems pertinent.
"Flashback" was the episode that finally convinced me to finally stop watching VOY back in the day. Janeway's condescending speech about how "of course" Kirk and company would all be tossed out of Starfleet today pissed me off horribly and seemed a really disrespectful thing to put into an episode that was celebrating the 30th anniversary of TOS. It's also pretty unsatisfying that we never learn what the deal with the memory virus thing is. It's literally just "Hey, that was weird. Wonder what that was all about. Oh well, back to work!"
According to the series bible, Tuvok was supposed to have been Portrayed by an actor significantly older than Tim Russ. Thus Tuvok looking younger than his age.
Just realised when it was described how Tuvak becomes unstable... Doesn't he have to go to Vulkan every seven years to mate (or kill his best friend) to keep from dying? Same for other potential Vulkan crew members on the Voyager...
I read the novelisation of the episode before I saw the episode. I loved the novel. I was supremely underwhelmed by the episode. To be expected, since the tv budget wouldn't have allowed for many of the things in the novel.
Ah the great divide is the "lived" in long lived pronounced as the "live" in "live long and prospers" + a "d" or as the "live" in "live stream" + a "d"? I always pronounce lived as the verb to live and not the adjective live, myself...
Fell in love with TNG, from the night it premiered. Caught the 1988 TV special where they showed the reconstructed episode of The Cage and watched the hell out of that tape as a kid. And watched all of the star treks in their first run ever since. And, Flashback was a total "meh" episode for me. It's cool to see the Excelsior and crew; but, it doesn't really do anything more than that, for me.
VOY never enchanted me, although I thought I had seen all episodes when first broadcast -- it was an hour of downtime during the week. But, man, I don't remember this one at all, and I suspect I would have remembered it if I had seen it. This may be an indication that, at some point, I bailed on the series until the final episode. Based on Steve's general reaction to VOY, probably not much of a loss.
I'm pretty sure I watched every episode of Voyager, the only long running Trek show I'd make this claim about, and I don't remember it either It's just a meh, unmemorable episode.
An interestingly nostalgic episode. Set design and crew were sort of on point. Mostly shoe-horned. As far as Voyager, in a stand alone series episode goes; It's outstanding. Nowhere as good as "The Battle", in a somewhat invariably terrible season one episode of TNG.
For as often as Voyager used time travel, I would have preferred that they somehow met Sulu for real rather than just in memory. Also, what's up with Tuvok's brain? Between this memory virus and the later-revealed rogue Bajoran sleeper agent brainwashing, it's no wonder he catches a neurological disease in the alternate future.
The "repressed memory and girl falling off a cliff thing" was a bit strange, but I did like the integration into the events of Undiscovered Country and Sulu is welcome back to Trek any time.
I liked seeing the excelsior and the way the scenes were done but I did feel annoyed that they didn't make the repressed memory real and use it for character development. Maybe Tuvok has a tenancy to suck up to people and be nice but only because he wants something and uses being a vulcan as an excuse to keep people at arms length? Maybe that lead to some inciting incident that killed the kid and he was so traumatised he repressed it? And maybe retredding his steps on the Excelsior he sees him doing it again and learns from it, but part of that involves processing the memory and the implications. Or maybe its a spooky space bug and none of it ever happened and everything is Back To Normal yey! 🙄
I think your critique about the “off screen” time from STVI being superfluous hold weight in the context of when the episode was made (which is when I first watched it too), but in a modern environment episodes giving context and background in interconnected stories is more the norm.
It bothers me that Dimitri was the on the bridge in the last shot of the movie where they say goodbye to the crew of the enterprise and fly off. Even though he died in this episode. It's like they said fans will never notice and this will be fine.
i like how these reviews just review whatever episode steve feels like reviewing because when he first announced them i thought it was gonna be like every episode of star trek ever in order, which in hindsight was kinda silly
Agree. This one is Fine, and it’s nice to see Rand getting more to do, but… yeah. This always feels perfunctory, when it comes round it’s as if the writers didn’t really want to do it but had to for the anniversary special. Tribble-ations shows the writers’ love through every pore… this one sadly doesn’t. The one place I disagree is I honestly found Janeway and Harry’s discussion of Kirk &co to still be a bit too fanboyish. It’s definitely tempered, but it shows-through that Braga wanted to say so much more and held himself back. I’m a little surprised you felt it had the balance right, but that’s just because I’d expected you to want them to tone it down further like I always had!
Loomis and Carpenter are references to the Halloween franchise, hence why I think they approached it as a horror story. No overall message, just a micro adventure copy paste from previous stories (The Voyage Home and Future's End). Im surprised you didn't cover other time related stories like Cause And Effect and Times Squared unless your intention was to cover ones that take place in a setting that's in another time era.
It's pronounced long-lived, like saying "live" as in "I live in Maine" with a d on the end. It's not pronounced long-lived like "a live goldfish". Just fyi 😉
It honestly would have worked better if it had just been a "Vulcan Day of Rememberance," or something where the framing device was just Tuvok telling a story with zero stakes. The complexity of a mind meld, but also it's a virus, and there's a nebula that also doesn't matter just kinda reads as a narrative hat on a hat on a hat. Enterprise would later pull off a Flashback plot with Carbon Creek that worked a lot better, and I seldom go out of my way to complement Enterprise. Voyager would have had a ton of downtime just flying in a straight line toward Earth. Plenty of time to sit around and tell stories. Maybe the holodeck is broken that week if you need a sci fi plot device to trigger the story telling. They bothered to rebuild a pretty accurate Excelsior bridge set and then basically only got a day or two of filming on it. They could have gotten a lot more use out of that set in a simpler story.
“Palestinian girl from around the time of Christ”? Since we’re apparently never going to see actual space Jews on the show, at least give us a shout out for the one time a character explicitly coded as Jewish appears on the show. Whatever representation we can get, we’ll take.
Steve, what would you have done as a writer for Voyager for the anniversary episode?
Okay, decades-late hypothetical amateur rewrite pitch, so take it with a grain of salt:
Voyager is on course back to the Alpha Quadrant when they're attacked out of nowhere by a Klingon battlecruiser. They're confused but don't have time to think because they're fighting for their lives. Strangely enough, the Klingon ship is a design that hasn't been in service for decades. Voyager's weapons systems are far superior, but the Klingon ship has the element of surprise. Things aren't looking good when, suddenly, just in time for a thrilling finish to the cold open, another ship swoops in to the rescue: the Excelsior! It fights off the Klingon ship, which retreats and warps away, and then Captain Sulu himself hails Janeway to ask if she needs assistance, and also if she can tell him where the hell they are.
Sulu comes aboard Voyager and fills Janeway and the crew in on what happened: back in the 23rd century, they detected a spatial anomaly and stopped to investigate. The Klingon ship showed up, too, assumed the Excelsior was trying to claim the anomaly for the Federation, and a fight ensued. During the battle, both ships were pulled into the anomaly's gravity well and were spat out here. Sulu returns to the Excelsior and leads Voyager back to the anomaly.
The science and engineering teams of both ships team up (including young Tuvok if Tim Russ pulling double duty is feasible, if not skip it) and figure out that the anomaly is a previously undiscovered form of a black/white hole. It exists as a black hole in the alpha quadrant in Sulu's time, and a white hole in the delta quadrant in Janeway's time. Objects that enter the black hole are expelled from the white hole at the other end. The only way for Sulu and his crew to return to their own time is to go back through the hole, but it's impossible for matter to enter a white hole. So, they have two problems: figuring out how to bend the laws of physics to allow the Excelsior to return home through the white hole, and tracking down the Klingons and talking them into cooperating so they can go back through the white hole, too.
Kang can still be the captain of the Klingon ship if that's feasible, but if not the Klingon can be a new character. Also, if we do the "two Tuvoks" thing, there needs to be a scene early on where someone, probably Paris, realizes that their Tuvok lived through these events as Young Tuvok and asks their Tuvok what they did to solve the problem, and their Tuvok insists that he doesn't remember any of this happening. Then, before the Excelsior returns to its own time, the two Tuvoks mind meld with each other (themselves?) so that Young Tuvok won't remember the last few days in order to preserve the timeline when they get back to the 23rd century.
There needs to be more, including the actual solutions to the problems, and meaningful stuff for Sulu to do, and there are probably lots of problems with it I haven't thought of yet, and who knows if they would have been able to do it within their budget, but that's the general idea.
@@SteveShives they really did back themselves into a corner with the premise of the show. Unless they did something with the Andromedans. Thank Gods they haven’t brought them back sporadically.
This was the first Star Trek episode I ever saw.
I had no idea wtf was going on.
That's okay. Neither did the writers.
First ST I ever saw was Skin of evil followed by the last 40mins of Final Frontier. Its a miracle i even became a fan.
George Takei doesn't _have_ to do much. His job is to have a sultry voice and look authoritative, and he does both masterfully!
as an elder-millennial trekie who wrote in for the letter campaign for the Captain Sulu tv show back then, i must admit, taking off my "Sulu is the coolest!" rose-colored glasses, your criticisms are very well reasoned. the Excelsior stuff in this episode could have been anything, and was just included to make this the requisite 30th anniversary episode.
that said, i do appreciate that, when the Quantum Leap rules stop and the Excelsior crew can see Janeway, even as a virus-induced memory, Captain Sulu takes one look at Janeway, knows she's trouble and calls for security.
Ah, a Voyager episode. Fingers crossed Steve grabs all that low hanging fruit!
You know, the biggest sin Picard and Lower Decks have committed is that all of Steve's sass and derision has transferred to them.
Voyager and Enterprise largely get a pass now. Sad.
@@AndrewD8Red
I don't think Enterprise deserves the contempt that rightfully belongs to Voyager.
It was at least attempting something new.
"What's going on? Only children and animals are supposed to see me!" 😂
I adore that description of "perfectly acceptable Star Trek." I definitely enjoyed Voyager more than Steve, but they consistently aimed for that 6/10 to 7/10 sweet spot and they rarely deviated from it. Like much of the show, I liked this episode but wanted to love it.
I actually think it does add to the 'world' of Trek. In Undiscovered Country, we see the Excelsior is near the Klingon border at the start of the film, then shows up for the finale, so I enjoy the 'fill in the gap' element of trying to depict what the Excelsior was up to during the main events of the film and Sulu's actions fit his character really well. As an anniversary episode, I think it's really well done. I accept that it could be argued that's a very self-serving premise but any show that reaches a 30th anniversary with active series is entitled to have that.
I also enjoyed the mystery of this 'memory', because it is so out of place and the reveal was at least something different.
Is it an exceptional episode? No, not at all. But I would definitely put it at 'above average'.
Even the writer of Flashback said that Trials and Trible-ations was the better 30th anniversary episode
The biggest miss was not having Christian Slater make a cameo
Yes, was just gonna say this!
My second-favorite thing I've heard George Takei say at a convention was what he suggested as an idea, before Generations came out.
"Star Trek 7 - The Further Adventures of Captain Sulu"
The favorite was referring to Galaxy Quest as "The best documentary I've ever seen."
These reviews are extremely good. I'm genuinely really looking forward to the Borg series.
What I like most about them is that, even though Steve is obviously not keen on this one, the review is informative enough to give someone an Idea if they're likely to enjoy it or not. He's really good at these videos, is what I'm saying... though typing that did make me feel dirty all over
This episode actually raises interesting questions about different species' careers and life paths. Tuvok was an ensign in 2293, and eighty years later, he's only a lieutenant. Vulcans reach adulthood around 30-40 years old, and can live to 250... meaning that when Picard first took command of the Enterprise-D, there could have been Vulcan senior officers who had been in Starfleet since the very beginning. That would make for one hell of an interesting episode... or even a whole series.
I had this recorded on one of my first Star Trek tapes, before I learned you could fit eight episodes within 6 hours on SLP/EP. It’s one of my favorites, because it was new material and it had a character from both the show and the old movies, and it had continuity between eras that was respectful; I loved it because of its in-universe quality.
It’s a good candidate for “Episodes that help Star Trek”.
Sulu clearly had a storied career, there was a ship named after him. "Oh, that could've been some other Sulu..." No, it was clearly the USS Hikaru Sulu. It helped destroy the Excelsior. Which was a...clever?...little twist from the writers.
Flashback was one of my favorite Genesis games.
The Quest for Identity!
it's also a good Ministry song!
Ok, now I feel like Sheldon did when Amy pointed out that Indiana Jones doesn’t actually matter in the resolution of the plot in the Temple of Doom😮
At the end of ST:VI, the hero shot of the Excelsior's bridge crew really gave many of us the idea that there may be a new Sulu-centered series coming up. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. It would have been fantastic.
Did you mention that Tim Russ was a nameless bridge crew member in Star Trek VI? I think that alone gets to why they chose to go back to that era and that ship for this episode.
btw though, it warrants saying, "repressed memories" in the conventional way are NOT an actual thing. Memory is complex and you can have trauma you're not dealing with, or your recollection can change over time, but there is no "buried" or "hidden" memories you can somehow "recover".
Fair point.
But A. Trek "science" is mostly
bollocks.
B. "Repressed memory"
was a false diagnosis
within the episode.
After growing up watching TOS and the TOS movies, this was the episode that brought me back to Trek because STVI is my favorite Trek movie. So I had to see this episode and then I kept watching VOY. Happy memories
Tuvok and Janeway's inability to make any difference to the perceived past events _could_ be seen as a metaphor for the need to to leave the past of fandom and such in the past, but that's probably giving Voyager too much credit.
I'm broadly in agreement with your take on this episode, and on Voyager as a series. George Takei is great, and Tuvok is my favorite VOY character, but even with that focus, this episode feels "just there." Viewing it really solidified my lack of VOY fandom.
NGL, Tuvok was my favorite character so this was good for me on that point
I love the TH-cam plaque you have in the background showing the subscriber count. I'm one of them!!
I enjoyed this episode. I liked the conceit that Earth was connected to the universe before they even understood that there were people in space. Also there’s no knowing how far back it went or how far into the future it might have gone.
Thanks!
And thank YOU!
As I am German i cite Goethe: Zwei Selen wohnen, ach, in meiner Brust. (Alas, two soles are living in my chest).
I.e. I did enjoy seeing Sulu in the captain's chair of the USS Excelsior just on its own ... I would have loved to see a Sulu/Excelsior centered show... Might have been a better project than "Enterprise"...
However at least with your excelent teachings, Steve, which helped me value content over lore and nostalgia, I fully recognize that this show also for me classifies as perfectly good Star Trek... However not more... It is a legitimate wish to want a Sulu/Excelsior show... However, one has to take care that this wish does not head canonize the only glimps of it, we have and fill in our own thoughts of what might have been, which creates an over-positive image...
I know that probably nobody will care but here's my top three star trek Uniforms:
1. The Lower Decks (Season 3) Crisis Point 2 uniforms (they're like the DS9 uniforms mixed with the lower decks uniforms and I absolutely love them and hope we'll get to see them again)
2. The DS9 dominion war uniforms (do I have to say anything about that? They're just so badass and cool, how could you not like them?)
3. The lost era uniforms from the later TOS movies (I hope they'll be a series discovering the lost era)
I'd really love for a 2160s or 2170s Enterprise followup to solidify some of the canon from that era and really give closure for those characters. Even if it was done as part of some kind of anthology series. Maybe something like The Lives of Dax as an example.
This is an episode highlighting Tuvok as a character. You get to see how he is different from Spock (as a Vulcan) because he was actually at odds w humanity as opposed to Spock who had a good relationship w humans. I think it is also supposed to show a bit of the friendship and mutual trust between Janeway and Tuvok.
Can you start your Borg run off with a brief nod to The Neutral Zone episodes where both Romulans and Starfleet can't figure out what has been scooping up huge areas? It's a bit of foreshadowing that appears in Part 1 of The Best of Both Worlds.
Lovely analysis of Flashback, I agree about the missed opportunity of a Sulu show. Have you ever listened to the audio drama Captain Sulu Adventures? It’s kind of a half-baked lot but it’s the closest we ever got to Sulu having a slice of trek for his own
I absolutely adored Voyager when it first aired and I still love it now, but I 100% get what Steve is saying here. When I do a rewatch, this episode isn't guaranteed to be, umm, rewatched.
Oh and I love all 3 seasons of Picard!
I watched every episode of Voyager. How do I *not* remember this episode?
It's easy to forget
I would have liked to see Tuvok give a cup of that Vulcan coffee.. to Janeway, as a way to say "thank you"...
At the end of Star Trek 6 The Undiscovered Country, when Sulu says goodbye to Kirk you can see the crew of the Excelsior standing there. Yes you see Tuvok, but you also see Valtane also standing there. 😮😮
I would have liked to have seen a Sulu series start a few years before Undiscovered Country, when Sulu first takes command. Tuvoc as a junior officer would have made a great character for the show. We could have also had great cameo moments from other TOS characters. Then end the series with the Excelsior going into battle beside the Enterprise at the end of Undiscovered Country.
It would have also been a fun nod to DS9 if Admiral Cartwright made an appearance, who has a daughter who marries a man with the last name Sisko.
Interesting, the virus suddenly reminds me of the one temporal virus Captain Archer had. I almost wonder if in someway they were actually on the bridge temporally without actually leaving their temporal starting point. That opens up a whole new can of worms
"the hall is rented ... the orchestra engaged ... its now time to see if you can dance!" cant wait for your review of one of my favorite episodes of TNG enjoyed this one as i do all your trek related content!!
I’m excited to see your review of the new season of Strange!!
I would have loved a Star Trek: Sulu.
I personally want a Star Trek: Starships series where we follow the ship as a character rather the the cast, of course over the seasons we follow one crew member from one ship (say a critical supporting cast member) who transfers to another ship, highly similar to Word going from TNG to DS9 and that humanoid character is ALWAYS secondary to the main character, the Starship a character we see go through the key moments in its life and see warships, exploring, science, medical, attack and even Section 31 ships as they themselves have adventures with their crew.
Their are too many iconic ships in Trek for this show not to work
I hope they make a Captain Sulu series in the Strange New Worlds timeline with John Cho and Tim Russ, just to fuck with the canon
It puts into perspective how huge this franchise is when it's big 30th anniversary was 4 years before I was born
I’ve often thought of the different eras of classic Trek as different high school cliques. TNG were the popular overachieving seniors who had a difficult freshman year. DS9 were the effortlessly cool kids who listened to great music and smoked behind the bleachers. Voyager was the youngest group full of drama kids trying to emulate the fun of their parents’ generation (TOS) where legends were made, but with NONE of the same emotional or social intelligence and charisma. The kind of kids who show up after summer break in a fedora and embracing ska that just try SO hard and fail… at least until the gorgeous and cool transfer student with an interesting life story shows up, of course
No surprise that Flashback was written by Brannon Braga who co-wrote Generations. Both stories essentially have the same problem. How to have two sets of characters who lived a century apart meet and interact but without employing time travel. In both cases, Braga comes up with something that feels contrived. And like Generations, Flashback feels flat. Braga is known for telling high concept stories. But in general, his scripts don’t elicit strong emotional reactions, unless they’re negative like with TNG’s Genesis or Voyager’s Threshold.
10:16 they could always use the Kelvinverse as actor but they won't since it's pretty obvious they abandoned that run entirely.
It was cool to see Sulu and Rand, but I found it kind of pointless ( but, yeah,acceptable)
Still fun to watch once, if only for Sulu and Rand.
A Captain Sulu series would have been cool.
Well now I'm really looking forward to A Mirror, Darkly next week 😅♥️
Steve the best part of your riff on Voyager is that you criticize it because it could have been good for most people story wise.
That said I've been a Trek fan for the tech which has definitely influenced every pit of tech from Tablets to Bluetooth to Holodeck.
I'm also glad that Lower Desks & Picard came out so Voyager can be the 3rd place for meh Trek, LD & Picard are "Nu Trek" and should definitely know better by now, as if looking at the franchise from a parental perspective.
Before I go, the one episode that will always the best Voyager episode to me is Season 2 Episode 1, "The 37's".
It was the best use of SciFi explaining a still unsolved mystery in American history, Amelia Earhart disappearance.
It's a episode like Flashback episode in Voyager but not in a typical sense, it take the time travel trope and kinda tweaks it a bit and shows you Janeway, the First Female Captain of a Trek show fangirling on what rightfully should be her idol.
This is fan service to unsolved mysteries in history fans like myself who find other cases like D.B. Cooper to be intriguing enough (The Loki series & The White Rabbit Project) to still be referenced to this very day.
This is the fan service that fantasy and SciFi should be, doing call backs that are niche enough and popular enough that almost any age can go "oh look what they did!".
Hopefully you will get to that review and look upon it as fondly as I remember it, one of my favorite stand alone episodes of Trek to ever be made, with Schisms at number two, Aliens abducting "aliens" and given even Wolf a genuinely concerned moment during the episode.
That's another episode that was covered in Horror in Trek but hasn't got reviewed yet or regularly referenced when people talk about their favorite episodes.
Great work on all your Trek videos and others as well Steve, you are one the few YT channels that I watch all the content of.
“Flashback” is a prototype of “These are the Voyages…”. Both are insubstantial stories that feature a future generation looking back at simulations of an older generation without really affecting anything. Both stories revisit previous Trek stories of yore (Star Trek VI and TNG’s “The Pegasus”). And both episodes feature characters being pointlessly killed off by explosions (Valtane and Trip Tucker). Both episodes are haphazard and pointlessly written tribute episodes that add nothing to the mythos and are sloppily made and embarrassing entries into the franchise.
I know this comment comes late, but I just watched (and enjoyed() this one. Like you, I also wished we had been given a Sulu/Excelsior series. Although a live action series is imposdible now, I wonder if an animated series with voice work by the original actors could be done (though alas Rand would need a new actor, and I definitely want that character developed in such a series). It would be great to explore a young Tuvok as well as other new characters. The key is to make such a series less fan service and more its own unique thing. Thoughts?
I think a new series about Captain Sulu and the Excelsior would be pretty great, and they should do it with both George Takei and John Cho -- Kelvin? Prime? Who knows… just figure out something that works and then focus on making it a good show.
"Perfectly acceptable Trek".
Yep that was Voyager, for the most part.
Once or twice a season there would be an episode that I didn't forget as soon as the closing credts rolled.
Aha! Aha! Finally someone has admitted that Starfleet is a military.
Strictly speaking naval.
But yeah.
I enjoyed this episode. But honestly I didn't care about the excelsior scenes. I really care about Janeway and Tuvok's friendship. This is one of few consistent storyline in the show apart from character development of Seven of Nine and The Doctor.
I know the Excelsior seems to sit in Spacedock until Star Trek VI, but I've always had a soft spot for it. And yeah, those red uniforms are my favourite, too. Damned if I can explain why though, I came to the movies quite late. I also like that canonically they were in use from the 2280s all the way to the 2240s. Probably a reason why no-one wants to set a series in that era 'cause they wouldn't be able to slap in a new uniform to wring money out of those cosplay crowds, lol.
There was a Ps2 game with captain Sulu in it I used to love as a kid, I'd definitely watch a captain Sulu animated series or something like that if he was up for it.
I don't even remember this one even though I've seen it at least twice.
It does seem to fall into the "Once seen, instantly forgotten" category.
Thanks for this one, Steve. This episode’a take on the events of STVI were interesting enough to me back in… what was it, 96 (?) that i rewatched it a few times shortly after it aired. I was only in high school at the time but was fascinated by the episode (we’re about the exact same age I think, hah). Yeah it was done for fan service but mostly in a good way. But I’m with you on the weirdo clips of the multicultural little kids on the edge of a deep chasm. That’s just an odd creative decision.
The journey of the virus will probably get its own spinoff series.
I think it helps that I didn't watch the episode as part of some anniversary thing. I just happened to catch it. And I liked that they (1) established that Tim Russ was playing Tuvok in ST:VI and that it told us what Sulu was up to during that movie.
I'm also just generally okay with excuse plots. I get that Janeway and Tuvok weren't really necessary, but they had a good enough excuse to set it up, and I'm fine with the only danger being what might happen to them.
Did I like it as much as Trials and Tribulations? No. But I also didn't know they were related at the time, so I didn't compare them. And it's not like T&T isn't also an excuse plot. There's just more fun involved in visiting a comedic episode, and a wow factor with the effects.
"Shields! SHIELDS!!!!"
3:50 *Best Star Trek Movie ever made
Nice quantum leap call out
oh Steve. I know you hate Voyager. But I too felt that this particular episodes was just "eh" but I LOVED seeing Captain Sulu - "oh myyyyy"
then they came up with the blue nebula in the present that reminds Tuvok of a blue nebula in the past explanation, just for the sake of then retelling from a different viewpoint some of the events of Star Trek 6. I agree, it doesn't really advance the plot of the trauma of what he believed to be a repressed memory - and nothing's ever done to explain WHERE the virus came from, or how long it had been hiding in Tuvok's mind. This was Voyager attempt to repeat the effort of DS9's Trials and Tribbleations but came out second best.
How can you not bring up that the entire premise of this episode rests on the actor for Tuvok having an unnamed cameo on the Excelsior bridge in Star Trek VI? It seems pertinent.
"Flashback" was the episode that finally convinced me to finally stop watching VOY back in the day. Janeway's condescending speech about how "of course" Kirk and company would all be tossed out of Starfleet today pissed me off horribly and seemed a really disrespectful thing to put into an episode that was celebrating the 30th anniversary of TOS.
It's also pretty unsatisfying that we never learn what the deal with the memory virus thing is. It's literally just "Hey, that was weird. Wonder what that was all about. Oh well, back to work!"
Glad they didn't try to explain why Tuvok had human ears in ST:VI
Tuvok is that old but still starts Voyager as only a Lt. Kinda puts the perpetual Ensign Kim thing to shame if you think about it 😂
According to the series bible, Tuvok was supposed to have been Portrayed by an actor significantly older than Tim Russ. Thus Tuvok looking younger than his age.
3:08 Vulcan Black don’t crack?
*sigh* We could've had Star Trek: Excelsior...
Just realised when it was described how Tuvak becomes unstable... Doesn't he have to go to Vulkan every seven years to mate (or kill his best friend) to keep from dying? Same for other potential Vulkan crew members on the Voyager...
I read the novelisation of the episode before I saw the episode. I loved the novel. I was supremely underwhelmed by the episode. To be expected, since the tv budget wouldn't have allowed for many of the things in the novel.
How about a John Cho lead Sulu series with Takel as a future self cameo!?
Ah the great divide is the "lived" in long lived pronounced as the "live" in "live long and prospers" + a "d" or as the "live" in "live stream" + a "d"?
I always pronounce lived as the verb to live and not the adjective live, myself...
Fell in love with TNG, from the night it premiered. Caught the 1988 TV special where they showed the reconstructed episode of The Cage and watched the hell out of that tape as a kid. And watched all of the star treks in their first run ever since.
And, Flashback was a total "meh" episode for me. It's cool to see the Excelsior and crew; but, it doesn't really do anything more than that, for me.
VOY never enchanted me, although I thought I had seen all episodes when first broadcast -- it was an hour of downtime during the week. But, man, I don't remember this one at all, and I suspect I would have remembered it if I had seen it. This may be an indication that, at some point, I bailed on the series until the final episode. Based on Steve's general reaction to VOY, probably not much of a loss.
I'm pretty sure I watched every episode of Voyager, the only long running Trek show I'd make this claim about, and I don't remember it either
It's just a meh, unmemorable episode.
I just wanted to say that I _love_ this "Retro Review" series you're doing. It's great! Please keep doing it! :)
That's the idea! Glad you're enjoying the reviews.
An interestingly nostalgic episode. Set design and crew were sort of on point.
Mostly shoe-horned. As far as Voyager, in a stand alone series episode goes; It's outstanding.
Nowhere as good as "The Battle", in a somewhat invariably terrible season one episode of TNG.
For as often as Voyager used time travel, I would have preferred that they somehow met Sulu for real rather than just in memory.
Also, what's up with Tuvok's brain? Between this memory virus and the later-revealed rogue Bajoran sleeper agent brainwashing, it's no wonder he catches a neurological disease in the alternate future.
The "repressed memory and girl falling off a cliff thing" was a bit strange, but I did like the integration into the events of Undiscovered Country and Sulu is welcome back to Trek any time.
Good episode
Now imagine if this virus and the "Coda" entity were in the same body at the final moments.
I liked seeing the excelsior and the way the scenes were done but I did feel annoyed that they didn't make the repressed memory real and use it for character development.
Maybe Tuvok has a tenancy to suck up to people and be nice but only because he wants something and uses being a vulcan as an excuse to keep people at arms length? Maybe that lead to some inciting incident that killed the kid and he was so traumatised he repressed it? And maybe retredding his steps on the Excelsior he sees him doing it again and learns from it, but part of that involves processing the memory and the implications.
Or maybe its a spooky space bug and none of it ever happened and everything is Back To Normal yey! 🙄
I think your critique about the “off screen” time from STVI being superfluous hold weight in the context of when the episode was made (which is when I first watched it too), but in a modern environment episodes giving context and background in interconnected stories is more the norm.
It bothers me that Dimitri was the on the bridge in the last shot of the movie where they say goodbye to the crew of the enterprise and fly off. Even though he died in this episode. It's like they said fans will never notice and this will be fine.
i like how these reviews just review whatever episode steve feels like reviewing because when he first announced them i thought it was gonna be like every episode of star trek ever in order, which in hindsight was kinda silly
thank you for pronouncing "long-lived" correctly
Paramount will still nee to do at least 10 more flashback episodes to get their money's worth out of those maroon uniforms.
Agree. This one is Fine, and it’s nice to see Rand getting more to do, but… yeah. This always feels perfunctory, when it comes round it’s as if the writers didn’t really want to do it but had to for the anniversary special. Tribble-ations shows the writers’ love through every pore… this one sadly doesn’t.
The one place I disagree is I honestly found Janeway and Harry’s discussion of Kirk &co to still be a bit too fanboyish. It’s definitely tempered, but it shows-through that Braga wanted to say so much more and held himself back. I’m a little surprised you felt it had the balance right, but that’s just because I’d expected you to want them to tone it down further like I always had!
Loomis and Carpenter are references to the Halloween franchise, hence why I think they approached it as a horror story. No overall message, just a micro adventure copy paste from previous stories (The Voyage Home and Future's End). Im surprised you didn't cover other time related stories like Cause And Effect and Times Squared unless your intention was to cover ones that take place in a setting that's in another time era.
3:10 Good Black don’t crack.
It's pronounced long-lived, like saying "live" as in "I live in Maine" with a d on the end. It's not pronounced long-lived like "a live goldfish". Just fyi 😉
6:50, who?
It honestly would have worked better if it had just been a "Vulcan Day of Rememberance," or something where the framing device was just Tuvok telling a story with zero stakes. The complexity of a mind meld, but also it's a virus, and there's a nebula that also doesn't matter just kinda reads as a narrative hat on a hat on a hat. Enterprise would later pull off a Flashback plot with Carbon Creek that worked a lot better, and I seldom go out of my way to complement Enterprise.
Voyager would have had a ton of downtime just flying in a straight line toward Earth. Plenty of time to sit around and tell stories. Maybe the holodeck is broken that week if you need a sci fi plot device to trigger the story telling. They bothered to rebuild a pretty accurate Excelsior bridge set and then basically only got a day or two of filming on it. They could have gotten a lot more use out of that set in a simpler story.
The little Excelsior Class Fanboy in me rejoices
“Palestinian girl from around the time of Christ”? Since we’re apparently never going to see actual space Jews on the show, at least give us a shout out for the one time a character explicitly coded as Jewish appears on the show. Whatever representation we can get, we’ll take.
Worf's parents? Dr. Crusher's doctor friend Epstein?
Plus, Judean, not Palestinian at that time.
I agree that this episode is kinda flat and the "mystery" leaves me like, meh, I think I can do without this in my life.
Steve reviewing anything to do with Star Trek Voyager? o_O ...Is the sky falling?