"Living Witness" is an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 23rd episode of the fourth season. It is widely regarded as one of the ten best Voyager episodes aired.[1] Image File history File links ST-VOY_Living_Witness. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Screenwriters, scenarists or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies and television programs are made. ... Brannon Braga at a 2006 lecture Brannon Braga (born August 14, 1965 in Bozeman, Montana) is an American television producer and screenwriter who is mostly known for his significant contributions to the Star Trek series since 1990. ... Bryan Fuller (born July 27, 1969) is an American scriptwriter. ... A television director is usually responsible for directing the actors and other taped aspects of a television production. ... Timothy Darrell Russ (born on June 22, 1956 in Washington, DC) is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and musician. ... Henry Woronicz (b. ... Craig Richard Nelson (born September 17, 1947) is an accomplished American theater, film and television character actor. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Unforgettable is an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 22nd episode of the fourth season. ... Demon is a episode of Star Trek Voyager, the 24nd episode of the fourth season. ... The starship Voyager (NCC-74656), an Intrepid-class starship. ...

In it, an alien museum curator 700 years in the future hopes a Voyager relic containing a copy of the Doctor can confirm their version of history.

Plot

The episode opens with a scene on the "warship Voyager", quite obviously an unrealistic depiction of the ship which turns out to be the museum's recreation of events. Although the brutality and detachment of the crew is chilling, there are some dark, campy elements of the alternate reality that provide comic relief: the whole crew wear altered versions of their uniforms with no combadges or rank insignia, black gloves, and black turtlenecks. Chakotay's name is repeatedly mispronounced by the crew (as "CHAC-a-tay") and his tattoo has so grown in size as to cover half of his face and appears to be in the design of Māori Tā moko markings. Janeway sports a butch haircut and excessive schadenfreude. Meanwhile, the Doctor has become an android mass murderer while Tuvok has adopted a sinister sense of humor, and Seven of Nine is shown as she was when still a member of the Borg collective with several other drones serving as shock troops onboard Voyager. There are also numerous Kazon actively patrolling the ship with phaser rifles in hand. The excesses and contradictions in these alterations provide both humor and a chance for the cast to portray completely different characters. Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character or scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. ... Communicator from Star Trek, The Original Series Communicators are devices in the Star Trek fictional universe which are used for voice communication between two people. ... Chakotay, played by Robert Beltran, is a character in Star Trek: Voyager. ... This article is about the Māori people of New Zealand. ... Māori Moko in 1908 Tā moko is the permanent body and face marking by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. ... “Femme” redirects here. ... Look up Schadenfreude in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... “Mechanoid” redirects here. ... Mass murder (massacre) is the act of murdering a large number of people, typically at the same time, or over a relatively short period of time. ... Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, played by Tim Russ, is a character on the television series Star Trek: Voyager. ... Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One, often shortened to Seven of Nine or simply Seven, played by Jeri Ryan, is a character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager. ... includeonly> It has been suggested that Assimilation (Star Trek) be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Stormtrooper. ... In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Kazon are a Delta Quadrant race. ...

In the actual course of events, Captain Janeway had agreed to provide the Vaskans with medical supplies in exchange for dilithium crystals. The Kyrians, who were at war with the Vaskans, boarded Voyager to stop the deal, which they thought was a weapons deal of some sort. During their time on the ship, they stole a data module carrying a backup copy of the Doctor. 700 years later, this module was part of a Kyrian museum exhibit which showed their version of the encounter. This biased encounter showed Voyager as a warship, crewed by a savage and sadistic crew that was willing to commit genocide. Even the Vaskan in the simulation became horrified over the atrocities committed, but the simulated Janeway told him it was too late to stop now. A curator at the museum, always fascinated by Voyager's story even though they were "the bad guys", finally figured out how to revive the holographic doctor, and, despite some initial problems, the Doctor was able to finally set the 700-year-old record straight, although he always regretted that he would never see any of his friends again. Following that, the Doctor served as the surgical chancellor for the Kyrians and Vaskans for many years, but eventually he took a ship and departed for Earth; he said that 'He had a longing for home'. Kathryn Janeway (Born: May 20, 2332 in Bloomington, Indiana), played by Kate Mulgrew, is a Starfleet officer in the fictional Star Trek universe. ... It has been suggested that Trilithium be merged into this article or section. ...

Reception

This episode has been subject to criticism for introducing a backup EMH program as a plot device, displacing the long-established impossibility of backing the Doctor up ("Message in a Bottle", "The Swarm").^{[citation needed]} However, the episode was popular among fans, and has an average rating of 4.3/5 on the official Star Trek website (as of May 22nd, 2007). In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Emergency Medical Hologram or EMH (full name: EMH Program AK-1 Diagnostic and Surgical Subroutine Omega-323) is a holographic program intended to support or replace medical personnel aboard a Starfleet vessel or installation in case of emergency. ... A plot device is a person or an object introduced to a story to affect or advance the plot. ... Message in a Bottle is an episode from the fourth season of Star Trek: Voyager. ... The Swarm is an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the fourth episode of the third season. ... The current Star Trek franchise logo Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment series and media franchise. ... May 22 is the 142nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (143rd in leap years). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items into other sections and removing inappropriate items. (June 2007)

• The episode is also notable as it is one of two Voyager depictions of an explicitly "evil" version of the series' protagonists (along with the episode entitled Author, Author). Each Star Trek series (except for Star Trek: The Next Generation) has one or several episodes depicting its Mirror Universe, including Tuvok's appearance in a Deep Space Nine "mirror" episode, and although this episode does not take place in the Mirror Universe, there are similarities. They include: darker lighting on the set, more militant and darker uniforms (black gloves, militaristic tailoring), an unethical doctor, and a generally opposite set of ethics and actions from the main characters.

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... In the Star Trek television series, the Mirror Universe is an alternate reality. ... Space station Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9 or STDS9 or DS9 for short) is a science fiction television series produced by Paramount and set in the Star Trek universe. ...

External links

• Living Witness on StarTrek.com
• Living Witness article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki