Star Trek surely needs no introduction, unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past, well nearly 60 years at this point, then you’ll have at least heard of it. Getting to appear in the show was a bonus for Virginia Madsen as a long time fan.
Star Trek: Voyager was the 4th spin off from the main series. It followed the adventures of the USS Voyager, a spaceship that was flung to another galaxy by a mysterious entity.
Captain Kathryn Janeway runs the ship with a crew made up of a mix of Federation and Marquis crew members, and the off stray they picked up along the way. Her First Officer is Chakotay, an ex-leader of the Marquis.The show follows the adventures of the ship’s crew as they make their way home.
I do like Star Trek and have seen every episode at least once, I think I’ve watched Voyager through at least twice. For a show set so far into the future it tends to date quite quickly but it’s always a fun watch if nothing else.
In the twenty second episode called Unforgettable, of the fourth Season broadcast on April 22 1998 on the (now defunct) United Paramount Network Virginia Madsen would play a guest role on the show. She’d play alien Kellin from a species known as Ramuran. The Ramurans have a unique biochemical trait that stops anything biological, and technological from retaining memories of them for more than a few hours.
The crew come across Kellin when she requests asylum aboard the ship, she hails them and speaks to them as though she is already familiar with the ship and the crew, much to the bemusement of the crew. She specifically asks for Chakotay.
Once on board she explains to the crew that they actually first met a month ago, but they’ve lost all memory of her. She’s examined by The Doctor (Robert Picardo) who is confused by the readings he isn’t getting from Kelllin.
Kelllin tells Chakotay about their species and their ability to be forgotten by everything. The crew do their thang and find evidence to support her claims. The ever sceptical Tuvok (Tim Russ) and the suspicous of everything Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan)
It turns out when they first met she and Chakotay had quite the fling going. She’s returned to Voyage because she’s decided she wants out of the Ramurans way and make a life with him, Chakotay doesn’t remember but after spending time with Keelin he soon realises that she could easily be telling the truth and finds himself with feelings for her, again.
Before long she is tracked by another Ramurans who intends to being her back into the fold, they attack Voyager but they are able to get away thanks to some modifications Kelllin makes to the ship. Immediately after the attack Captain Janeway grants her asylum.
Chakotay and Kellin rekindle their romance but just as though it looks as though they are going to have a happy ending, another Ramuran, Curneth (Michael Canavan), beams in and shoots Kellin with a special weapon that makes her forget everyone. The inverse of what normally happens with their species.
Shortly after being shot, Kellin is unable to remember Chakotay or the crew of Voyager, Kellin agrees to return back to her people. Chakotay doesn’t want her to leave but she promises he’ll forget all about him and goes on her way.
Refusing to accept this Chakotay writes down his memories of her with pen and paper to always remember his time with her.
It’s a very middle of the road episode as far as it goes. It’s certainly watchable but it was never going to win any awards as the best of the bunch. Of course Virginia has worked with Robert Picardo before in the TV Movie A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story where he played her attorney, David Lewis. Also Robert Beltran in Slam Dance, but given her minor role in that and no shared screen time I don’t know if they’ll have even met.
Virginia’s character is likeable enough and she gets to show a soft and an almost comedic side of her acting skills “Can I have your pudding?” she coyly asks at the end of a slightly heated debate between her and Chakotay as a way to defuse the situation. She is of course totally believable in her role, the highs and lows such a role can afford in well established show like Voyager. Again, no awards to be won but way better than some other big name guest stars they had over the years.
Virginia Madsen is a self confessed Trekkie, so she loved being able to play a part in the show, no matter how small. Speaking with The AV Club and Will Harris she’d say;
“That was a dream come true, because I was a huge Star Trek fan. I mean, I still am, but I was a fanatical Star Trek fan. I had a giant life-sized cutout of [William] Shatner well into my 20s. And my first live-in boyfriend was like, “Darling, are you really going to bring Shatner into our new home?” I was like, “Oh, uh… just for fun?” “No, no, I don’t think that’s a good idea…” [Laughs.] I’m just kidding. But not much.
That was the earliest call time I’d ever had on a show. It was at 2:43 a.m., because I had to put on those… well, they were kind of like Vulcan ears. But it was cool! I got to be on the bridge during a battle, doing the thing where you bob and weave, I got to beam in and beam out, I had my own phaser, I had my own quarters, I went to sick bay and was scanned by a tricorder, and in one scene that got cut out? I went into a Jefferies tube, thank you very much.”
Also, a bonus repairing of Virginia Madsen and Tim Russ who previously worked together on Fire with Fire back in the day. There is a joke somewhere about it being a small world even in the Delta Quadrant, but I can’t find it.
Availability:
Good. The show is more or less freely available on DVD, you’ll probably have to buy the whole season if you want to own the episode but it’s cheap enough these days. Netflix currently carry the Series in the UK so if you have a Subscription there you can watch it as part of that.
Trailer:
Not for this particular episode unfortunately.
