Jetrel
| "Jetrel" | |
|---|---|
| Star Trek: Voyager episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 15 |
| Directed by | Kim Friedman |
| Story by | James Thornton Scott Nimerfro |
| Teleplay by | Jack Klein Karen Klein Kenneth Biller |
| Featured music | Dennis McCarthy |
| Production code | 115 |
| Original air date | May 15, 1995 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Jetrel" is the 15th episode of the first season of Star Trek: Voyager. Neelix has mixed feelings as he encounters a former enemy of his alien race. The rest of the crew work with them in a story of guilt, treknology, and redemption with actor James Sloyan cast as Jetrel
The story for this television episode was written by James Thomton and Scott Nimerfro, while the teleplay (aka script) was written by Jack Klein, Karen Klein, and Kenneth Biller, and it was directed by Kim Friedman.[1] It made its debut on television on May 15, 1995.[2]
Summary
Voyager encounters Jetrel, who is interested Neelix;a trip to planet Talax ensues as Neelix and Jetrel work through their respective alien pasts.[3]
Plot
Neelix is aghast when a Haakonian named Ma'Bor Jetrel contacts USS Voyager and asks to meet him. The Haakonians fought a long, destructive war against his people, the Talaxians, 15 years earlier. Jetrel was responsible for developing the Metreon Cascade, a superweapon that killed over 300,000 people on Talax's moon Rinax, including Neelix's family. But now Jetrel says he has come forward to examine Talaxians like Neelix who helped evacuate survivors from Rinax, in the process exposing themselves to high concentrations of metreon isotopes that can cause a fatal blood disease, metremia. Although he considers Jetrel a monster, Neelix agrees to be examined, and Jetrel informs him that he has incipient metremia. Later, Jetrel convinces Captain Janeway to make a detour to the Talaxian system. Using the ship's transporter systems, Jetrel feels he would be able to develop a cure by retrieving samples of the Metreon cloud still surrounding Rinax.
Janeway agrees, but Neelix is still bitter. He angrily condemns Jetrel for the devastation he's caused, only to learn that the scientist is also paying the price — his wife left him in the wake of the attack on Rinax, his children refuse to acknowledge him, and he not only has the disease himself, but is in the final stages with only a few days to live. The ship's arrival at Rinax opens old wounds for Neelix. He confesses to Kes that he lied for years about being part of the Talaxian defense forces. He never reported for duty; instead, he spent the war hiding on Talax. Later, Neelix seeks out Jetrel in sickbay, only to find the Doctor deactivated and Jetrel covertly conducting experiments. Suspecting the worst of Jetrel, Neelix tries to notify Janeway, but the scientist renders him unconscious.
Jetrel heads for the transporter room, where he is confronted by the Captain. Jetrel pleads with Janeway to let him conclude his work and bring back the deceased Talaxian victims of Rinax. He believes that he can use the transporter to regenerate their dissociated remains, and confesses he came to Voyager as a pretext to use the ship's transporter; Neelix does not have metremia. Janeway allows Jetrel to proceed, but the improbable experiment fails. The scientist collapses, knowing that he will never be able to redeem himself. Neelix pays a last visit to Jetrel and tells him that he is forgiven, allowing the Haakonian to die with some semblance of peace.
Reception
Reviewers Lance Parkin and Mark Jones complained that Neelix's forgiveness was too hasty, but accepted that haste was inevitable in the scope of one episode.[4]
This had a Nielsen rating of 5.8 when it aired in 1995.[5]
See also
- Actor James Sloyan castings in Star Trek
- "The Alternate" (DS9 S2E12)
- "Firstborn" (TNG S7E21)
- "The Defector" (TNG S3E10)
- "The Begotten" (DS9 S5E12)
- Technology in Star Trek
References
External links
