Spirit Folk (Star Trek: Voyager)
| "Spirit Folk" | |
|---|---|
| Star Trek: Voyagerepisode | |
| Episodeno. | Season 6 Episode 17 |
| Directed by | David Livingston |
| Written by | Bryan Fuller |
| Featured music | Jay Chattaway |
| Cinematography by | Marvin V. Rush |
| Production code | 237 |
| Original air date | February 23, 2000 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Spirit Folk"is the 137th episode of the Americanscience fictiontelevision seriesStar Trek: Voyagerairing on theUPNnetwork. It is the 17th episode of thesixth season.The titularUSS Voyagerspacecraft is stranded on the other side of the Galaxy as Earth and theUnited Federation of Planets.
In this episode, the crew go on an adventure in theholodeck,but things go wrong.
Some of the music byJay Chattawaywas nominated for anEmmy.[1][2]
Plot
[edit]The crew continues to enjoy the Fair Havenholodeckprogram. After Lt.Tom Paris's suggestion, the holo-program is set to run continuously, but over time, the strain put on the holo-technology begins to cause problems. The hologram characters gradually realize that the visitors can change their world at will (normally, holograms' programming makes them oblivious to non-in-world aspects). Frightened, the villagers begin to suspect that the crew are spirit folk that have come to destroy Fair Haven.
Captain Janewaymanages to elude her companion, Michael the barkeeper, but nevertheless asks Tom andEnsign Harry Kimto figure out the problem with the Fair Haven program. The two establish that the subroutines that make holograms unaware of anything outside their program have malfunctioned due to prolonged operation. When Tom and Harry enter the program to repair it, they are captured and held hostage by the holograms, who try to make Tom and Harry spill secrets about the spirit folks.
The Doctor,in the role of the village priest, enters the holodeck using his mobile emitter to avoid being influenced by the damaged holoprogram. However the emitter is confiscated and he is held captive with Tom and Harry. Michael, determined to find "Katie" (Janeway), puts the emitter on. Janeway, thinking that it is the Doctor, orders him transported to the bridge.
Janeway can no longer deceive Michael. She explains that her crew are on a spaceship and on a long journey. They enjoy the occasional visit to peaceful Fair Haven. They afterwards reenter the holodeck and convince the other characters that the crew has no hostile intentions.
While Torres is able to repair the program, it can no longer run continuously without risking breaking down again, so the crew decide to have one last drink together at the bar before shutting it down.
Continuity
[edit]Thestory arcbegan in the season six episode "Fair Haven",the first Voyager episode featuring the town.[3]
Reception
[edit]Some of the music in this episode, by composerJay Chattaway,was nominated for an Emmy award.[4]
"Spirit Folk" was suggested viewing forSaint Patrick's Daydue to its Irish content.[5]
Den of Geekmade a ranking of all 23 episodes written by Bryan Fuller forStar Trekup to that time, and placed this episode very last, remarking "'Spirit Folk' was pretty much just another episode where the holodeck malfunctions".[3]Screen Rantrated it the 10th worst episode of theStar Trekfranchise up to that time,[6]and as one of the top five worst of the series, noting that by this point the idea of self-aware holograms may have lost its freshness.[7]They went on to rank this episode as the sixth worst episode ofStar Trek: Voyager,based on anIMDbrating of 6.3 out of 10 at that time.[8]CBRincluded it on a ranking ofStar Trekepisodes "So Bad They Must Be Seen" and noted it had not been received well by audiences.[9]The Digital Fixsaid that "'Fair Haven' and its sequel 'Spirit Folk' are perhaps the worst episodes of the seven year run" and remarking that "Spirit Folk" "is just as painful to watch". However, they did note it received an Emmy nomination for its music.[2]
Releases
[edit]This episode was released as part of a season 6DVDboxset on December 7, 2004.[10]
References
[edit]- ^Ruditis, Paul (2003).Star Trek Voyager Companion.Simon and Schuster.ISBN9780743417518.
- ^ab"Star Trek: Voyager Revisited - A Look Back At Season Six | Feature | The Digital Fix".Television @ The Digital Fix.August 20, 2020. Archived fromthe originalon July 25, 2021.RetrievedMay 29,2021.
- ^ab"Every Bryan Fuller Star Trek Episode Ever, Ranked".Den of Geek.September 20, 2016.Archivedfrom the original on August 20, 2024.RetrievedMay 29,2021.
- ^Ruditis, Paul (2003).Star Trek Voyager Companion.Simon and Schuster.ISBN9780743417518.
- ^Whitley, Jared."Celebrate the Feast of Saint Patrick with These Pat-Trek Classics".TrekMovie.RetrievedMarch 17,2021.
- ^"15 Worst Star Trek Episodes Of All Time".Screen Rant.May 22, 2017. Archived fromthe originalon June 8, 2019.RetrievedJune 8,2019.
- ^"Star Trek: The 5 Best Episodes Of Voyager (& The 5 Worst)".Screen Rant.July 11, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on May 17, 2024.RetrievedJuly 15,2019.
- ^"Star Trek: Voyager - The 10 Worst Episodes, According To IMDb".ScreenRant.August 2, 2020.Archivedfrom the original on April 4, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 13,2021.
- ^"Star Trek: 20 Episodes So Bad They Must Be Seen".CBR.December 12, 2018.Archivedfrom the original on August 18, 2024.RetrievedJune 8,2019.
- ^Holly E. Ordway (November 29, 2004)."Star Trek Voyager: Complete Sixth Season".DVD Talk.RetrievedApril 20,2021.
External links
[edit]- "Spirit Folk"atIMDb
- "Spirit Folk"atMemory Alpha
- "Spirit Folk"atWayback Machine(archived from the original at StarTrek )
