Mortal Coil (Star Trek: Voyager)
"Mortal Coil" is the 12th episode of the fourth season of the television series Star Trek: Voyager, and deals with a starring character's death, resurrection, and crisis of faith. Produced by Kenneth Biller and Joe Menosky, and directed by Allan Kroeker,[1] "Mortal Coil" received mediocre-to-positive reviews, with the episode being rated between 69 and 76%. The episode originally aired on December 17, 1997 (1997-12-17).[3]
Plot
In this episode, written by Bryan Fuller,[1] Neelix (Ethan Phillips) is killed while participating in a survey mission of a protomatter nebula. Using a technique devised by Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), however, The Doctor (Robert Picardo) is able to revive Neelix after being dead for nearly 19 hours. Distressed that he had not perceived the afterlife while he was dead, Neelix begins to question his religious beliefs. With the aid of Chakotay (Robert Beltran), Neelix embarks on a spiritual vision quest, during which he confronts his dead sister, Alixia (Stapler), who mocks him before she is killed. He then finds himself on a slab, surrounded by visions of his shipmates, who tell him that life is irrelevant and that he knows what he has to do.
Convinced that his existence is meaningless and that his life has no purpose, Neelix decides to commit suicide by transporting himself into the nebula. Despite the attempts of his shipmates, Neelix prepares to beam off until Ensign Samantha Wildman (Hower) arrives to ask Neelix if he could console Naomi (Stephens), who believes she saw a monster in the replicator and who will only allow Neelix to tuck her in. Realizing that he does, indeed, have purpose in his life, Neelix relents and heads for the Wildmans' quarters. Once there, Naomi, who had heard that Neelix was sick, wondered if a monster had got him. "Yes", Neelix replied. "But I chased him away."[3][4][1]
Theme
In this episode, Neelix's religious faith is seriously challenged; he eventually chooses to live without it. Chakotay serves as a counterpoint to his perspective, encouraging Neelix not to abandon all faith. In Star Trek: The Human Frontier, Michèle and Duncan Barrett discuss this episode as an example of Star Trek's shifting attitudes towards religion, specifically Voyager's treatment of religious faith and how it can change. The Barretts contrast this episode with "Sacred Ground", in which the rationalist Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) is forced to accept the possibility of forces outside rational explanation.[5] Both episodes are considered as illustrations of how "Star Trek articulates the conflicts between religion and science that continue to recur in modern western thought."[6]
Production
Writer Bryan Fuller also created the death-themed American television programs Dead Like Me[7] and Pushing Daisies.[8]
Reception
Ethan Phillips, who plays Neelix, said he felt the episode was the most rewarding of the show for him, and that it was one of his favorites. "I thought that was a beautiful show", he said. "It was very existential [...] and very well directed by Allan Kroeker".[9] As of January 2011[update], members of the user-contributed television review sites TV.com and the Internet Movie Database rated "Mortal Coil" a 7.0 (rated "Good") and 6.9 out of 10 respectively,[10][11] while the official StarTrek.com site rates fan reaction at 3.8 out of 5.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Mortal Coil". Bryan Fuller (Writer), Allan Kroeker (Director). Star Trek: Voyager. UPN. 1997-12-17. No. 12, season 4.
- ^ Star Trek Voyager - The Complete Fourth Season (1995) (DVD). Los Angeles, California, USA: CBS Paramount Television. 2004-09-28.
- ^ a b c "STARTREK.COM : Episode". STARTREK.COM. CBS Paramount Television. http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/VOY/episode/71721.html. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- ^ Ruditis, Paul (2003). Star Trek Voyager Companion. New York: Pocket Books. pp. 217–219. ISBN 0743417518.
- ^ Barrett, Michèle; Duncan Barrett (2000). Star Trek: The Human Frontier. New York: Routledge. pp. 148–149. ISBN 0415929822.
- ^ Barrett, Michèle; Duncan Barrett (2000). Star Trek: The Human Frontier. New York: Routledge. pp. 145. ISBN 0415929822.
- ^ Myers, Jack (2005-06-06). "Dead Like Me Creator Bryan Fuller Speaks Out on Showtime, MGM and the Future". Jack Myers Media Village. MediaVillage, LLC.. Archived from the original on 2005-08-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20050813234043/http://www.mediavillage.com/jmentr/2005/06/06/jmer-06-06-05/. Retrieved 2008-04-07. "Sony Exec Says Dead Like Me TV Movie "Always Possible""
- ^ Armstrong, Stephen (2008-03-31). "Geek legends". The Guardian (London: Guardian Media Group). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/31/4?gusrc=rss&feed=media. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ "Community :: Chat :: Transcript Archive :: Ethan Phillips ("Neelix" - VOY)" (in English). STARTREK.COM. CBS Paramount Television. 2001-02-01. http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/community/chat/archive/transcript/1240.html. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
- ^ "Star Trek: Voyager: Mortal Coil Episode Reviews". TV.com. CNET Networks, Inc.. http://www.tv.com/star-trek-voyager/mortal-coil/episode/10719/reviews.html. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
- ^ ""Star Trek: Voyager" Mortal Coil (1997)". Internet Movie Database. Amazon.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708932/. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
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