Unforgettable (Star Trek: Voyager)

"Unforgettable" is the 90th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the 22nd episode of the fourth season. It was directed by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine recurring guest actor Andrew J. Robinson who portrayed the Cardassian character Elim Garak.

"Unforgettable"
Star Trek: Voyager episode
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 22
Directed byAndrew J. Robinson
Written byGreg Elliot
Michael Perricone
Featured musicJay Chattaway
Production code190
Original air dateApril 22, 1998 (1998-04-22)
Guest appearance(s)

The episode was broadcast on the United Paramount Network (UPN) on April 22, 1998.[1] The USS Voyager is visited by a mysterious alien woman, Kellin (played by guest star Virginia Madsen).[1] Another guest star in this episode is actor Michael Canavan.[1]

The episode depicts the real-world technology known as the Bussard ramjet.[2] In this episode the Star Trek version is said to take in deuterium.[3] Bussard jets have been proposed to scoop up fuel for a spacecraft's engines, allowing the plot a scientific yet fictional element use of technology.[3]

Background

One of the aspects to second wave of Star Trek (1979-2005) were Actor-directors, which traces to Jonathan Frakes directing "The Child" episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (aired March 12, 1990).[4] Frakes went on to become one of the most famous directors of Star Trek besides playing major character first officer William Riker of the Enterprise D (Picard's ship).[4][5] The Star Trek franchise is noted for allowing actors of the series to step into directing.[5] In "Unforgettable", Andrew Robinson (who played Garak on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) directs the episode.

Another example of this is how Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner directed feature films based on the original series cast.[5]

Plot

An alien woman named Kellin (Virginia Madsen) requests asylum aboard the Federation starship Voyager. When she comes aboard, The Doctor attempts to scan her but his tricorder does not retain any data about her. She is from a race called the Ramura, whose chemistry is such that any other race fails to remember them after a few hours, and that her race is "impervious" to technologies such as tricorders. They release a pheromone that does this. She claims that she came aboard Voyager a month ago to track down a Ramuran fugitive, and that during that time she and Voyager's First Officer, Chakotay, fell in love. The crew looks into it and evidence seems to support her claim that she was on Voyager. Chakotay does not remember her, but as they work together he understands that he could have developed feelings for her.

Just as Chakotay and Kellin start to pick up where they left off, another member of her race appears and fires a weapon at her. The effect of the weapon is to disintegrate her memories of her experiences aboard Voyager. This time, Chakotay is the one trying to convince her that they fell in love, but she is unresponsive and wants to return home. Kellin and the other Ramuran eventually depart Voyager, telling Chakotay that it would be better if he just forgot about her. Chakotay wants to remember everything about this experience, and as they have loaded a virus into the computer which will erase all record of the aliens' existence and encounter with Voyager, he records events with an old-fashioned pen and paper.

Reception

On TV.com it has a rating of 6.1 out of 10 as of 2019.[1] Jammer's Review's gave it 1.5 stars out of 4, calling the episode 'boring' and groaning at Chakotay's lines, but did remark that it was a 'sci-fi twist on the romance'.[6] Jammer's describes it as a 'romance by the numbers' plot.[6]

This episode is noted as one of the Chakotay character focused ones with a romance aspect including "Unity", "In the Flesh, and "Resolutions".[7]

The aliens presented in this episode, the Ramurans, were noted for the ability to make others forget their existence and stealth technology.[8]

References
  1. "Star Trek: Voyager: Unforgettable". TV.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  2. Bloom, Steven D. (20 June 2016). "The Physics and Astronomy of Science Fiction: Understanding Interstellar Travel, Teleportation, Time Travel, Alien Life and Other Genre Fixtures". McFarland. Retrieved 21 February 2019 – via Google Books.
  3. Bloom, Steven D. (2016-06-20). The Physics and Astronomy of Science Fiction: Understanding Interstellar Travel, Teleportation, Time Travel, Alien Life and Other Genre Fixtures. McFarland. ISBN 9780786470532.
  4. Marsh, Calum (January 24, 2019). "Star Trek: TNG Legend Jonathan Frakes on Directing TV". Vulture.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  5. "'Star Trek' Producer on How the Franchise Turned Actors Into Directors". Star Trek. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  6. "[VOY] Jammer's Review: "Unforgettable"". Jammersreviews.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  7. Ruditis, Paul (21 February 2019). "Star Trek Voyager Companion". Simon and Schuster. Retrieved 21 February 2019 – via Google Books.
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