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» » Star Trek: Voyager Alter Ego (1995–2001)

Short summary

Harry Kim finds himself in love with Marayna, a character from Neelix's Polynesian resort holodeck program. Seeking to eliminate the emotion, Harry turns to Tuvok, who interacts with the woman and finds himself falling for her as well. While Harry is overwhelmed with feelings of jealousy and betrayal, Tuvok realizes the persona is too real and discovers she is actually a lonely alien who can interact with passing ships through their computers.

Production had to be shut down for 40 minutes so that lining could be sown into the bathing suit worn by Sandra Nelson (who played Marayna). The set was too cold and they wanted to avoid a "nipples memo" from UPN.

This was the second Star Trek: Voyager episode to be directed by a main cast member (Robert Picardo).

This episode is the first to feature the Vulcan game kal-toh.

47-reference: after being hit by several plasma strands, Voyager's shields are down to 47%, according to Chakotay.

This takes place in 2373.

Tuvok & Ensign Harry Kim's simultaneous responses of "no" and "yes" respectively, could be reminiscent of Spock & Kirk simultaneously saying "yes" & "no" (Spock, a Vulcan, just like Tuvok) and Kirk saying "yes" in Star Trek IV - Retour sur Terre (1986) when asked if they liked Italian food.

As well as portraying Marayna in this episode, actress Sandra Nelson also played Tavana in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Soldiers of the Empire (1997).

This is one of ten "Star Trek" episodes with a Latin title. The others are Star Trek: Voyager: Coda (1997), link=tt0708528], Star Trek: La nouvelle génération: Sub Rosa (1994), Star Trek: Voyager: Ex Post Facto (1995), Star Trek: Voyager: Non Sequitur (1995), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges (1999), Star Trek: Enterprise: Terra Nova (2001), Star Trek: Enterprise: Vox Sola (2002) and Star Trek: Discovery: Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum (2017).

The title which means in Latin "the other I", deals with the idea of a self within one's self or dissociative identity disorder as exhibited in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: Goldfury
    Tuvok and Kim find they're both involved with the same woman- a holodeck character!

    Now this is what I like to see in Star Trek: A little romance, a little danger, a little Vulcan and a little Holodeck-gone-wrong. Notice I say "little" danger. When the Marayna character breaks free of the Holodeck and takes over the ship, none of the crew is terrorized, tortured or brought to the brink of death. Just enough trouble to propel the story to the next act, which it does brilliantly.

    I loved the story beats going from Kim's infatuation with Marayna to Tuvok's... it was very well-handled and kept me guessing all the way through. It also proves that even Vulcans appreciate a great pair of melons.

    Tim Russ is great as a Vulcan... it seems to come second-nature to him, and he doesn't shy away from the genuine hostility that would arise from dealing with emotional humans. And the fact that the real Marayna eventually raises questions in Tuvok about his own loneliness is just brilliant writing. A winner.

    GRADE: A
  • comment
    • Author: Katishi
    Harry Kim has a problem; he has fallen in love with a character called Marayna on the holodeck and wants Tuvok's help to purge the feelings he has for her. When they visit her on the holodeck it is clear that Tuvok will have a lot of work to do if he is to cure Harry's love. That evening Neelix organises a party for the crew on the holodeck and Tuvok attends despite not being keen on the idea. When he gets there he is surprised to find Marayna playing a Vulcan game; they get involved in a conversation and it is clear that she understands the way he thinks and appears to think the same way herself. It soon becomes clear that she is becoming obsessed with Tuvok; when he deletes her character she transfers herself to sickbay and steals the Doctor's mobile emitter. It then becomes apparent that she is no ordinary holodeck character but is some how connected to the phenomenon that Voyager had been exploring.

    As this episode got underway it seems like it was just an excuse to return to Neelix's Beach program that is populated by beautiful women with minimal clothing. While that might be true Marayna was an interesting character, she certainly didn't behave like any of the other holodeck characters. When it is revealed just what Marayna is it was a nice surprise, I'd been expecting another clichéd hologram malfunction. Overall this was a fairly enjoyable episode, Sandra Nelson was good as Marayna and Tim Russ put in another good performance as Tuvok
  • comment
    • Author: Sironynyr
    Janeway and crew encounter gorgeous inversion nebula, inexplicably remaining active despite typical behavior dictating eventual burnout. Sandra Nelson stars as holographic luau beauty, on a program designed by Neelix to lighten the moods of the crew, named Marayna. Ensign Kim is head over heels for Marayna, going to Tuvok with a desire to practice alleviating all emotion due to just the embarrassing fact he's not in love with a *real* woman. Tuvok reluctantly attends the luau becoming compelled by Marayna who sizes him up analytically well. Soon Marayna is obsessed with Tuvok and uses The Doctor's mobile emitter (which allows holographic characters to move about the ship) to visit him in his quarters for a game of kal-toh (mentally challenging game where order is sought in chaos). Soon, the ship malfunctioning occurring since arriving at the nebula and Marayna is determined by Janeway and crew to be linked, with Tuvok key to halting the potential of Voyager's destruction. Kim and Tuvok in a rather unanticipated triangle with what is at first perceived to be a computer subroutine sure is quite a lead-in for the episode, directed by The Doctor himself, Robert Picardi! Tuvok and his logic dealing with Kim and his jealousy while a holographic woman yearns to be with the Vulcan...now that is quite a plot development! Slight, but fun...seeing Torres, Paris, and Tuvok under attack from holographic Hawaiians at a luau as a lei is used as a means to choke is just too funny. Loved the end with Tuvok apologizing to Kim and making an effort to offer an olive branch. The real Marayna revealed isn't underwhelming as I was expecting, as Tuvok gives her advice worth considering and their talk has intellectual and reasonable results.
  • comment
    • Author: Rleillin
    Sandra Nelson was the most Gorgeous Holodeck Woman - Marayna - ever to show up in Neelix's Holodeck Program. Where'd she come from? Ensign Kim is madly in love with her, this is no big surprise, as I am too.

    So he wants to mind meld with Tuvok to remove this infatuation. Unfortunately, Tovok starts falling for her as well - But even more unfortunate, she falls for Tuvok!

    At first I thought this was going to end up like Dr Moriarty (Daniel Davis) on the Enterprise Holodeck - And this is referred to here as well. But there is more going on.

    Voyager is passing through a Nebula where some strange things are happening - There are Streams of Force which would tear an Intrepid Class ship to tiny Verteron chunks, but for the fact they dissipate for no reason at all. Nosey Janeway wants to find out what is causing this.

    In the course of this episode, she does - But it is not what she thinks, nor what we think initially.

    What appears to be an Intelligent Hologram turns out to be a real person! A real person whose feelings can be hurt just like anyone else.

    I was telling all through this episode, "Just be Nice to this woman" - But of course, she was demanding some unrealistic things here, she wanted Tuvok to leave the ship. Tuvok would have done this just to save the ship, but Janeway won't accept that, so of course she has to put the ship in danger to force the issue.

    I was so hoping that this would turn out to be an intelligent Hologram, just sop we could see Sandra more in upcoming episodes... Why Not, John Rhys-Davies was Davinci for half a season... But it was not so to be. too bad for us. Because Nelson was the most gorgeous person to grace the Holodeck ever.

    The Moment I saw her face, I knew she would be trouble! Women like that always are.
  • comment
    • Author: Fenrikree
    To start with, it would seem like the holodeck is to the male characters on the ship what an inflatable doll is to some lonely guy. I mean, the characters are touchable and can be made any way one wants. Here, Harry Kim falls for a beautiful character. But she is wise and intellectual and not the usual empty headed treat that is produced by some male imagination. It turns out that her intellect and her strong presence attracts Tuvok. This leads to jealousy, even though he stays true to his character. I began by thinking this was really stupid, but the final fifteen minutes are quite nicely done.
  • comment
    • Author: Nuadazius
    The premise to "Alter Ego" is just stupid. Harry Kim is in love with a holodeck woman and so he seeks out advice from Tuvok on how to control his emotions. However, when Tuvok himself meets this same holo lady, he's also very intrigued by her. While he would never call it love since he's a super-stoic Vulcan, it's obvious this is the case. Soon, Harry Kim sees that Tuvok is spending time with her and he's furious-- which makes no sense.

    At this point, I was longing for this god-awful plot to end. Fortunately, it took a wonderful detour and eventually it turned into a dandy episode. How? Just see this episode and force yourself to keep watching!

    Overall, surprisingly good despite a slow and rocky premise.
  • Episode cast overview:
    Kate Mulgrew Kate Mulgrew - Captain Kathryn Janeway
    Robert Beltran Robert Beltran - Commander Chakotay
    Roxann Dawson Roxann Dawson - Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres (as Roxann Biggs-Dawson)
    Jennifer Lien Jennifer Lien - Kes
    Robert Duncan McNeill Robert Duncan McNeill - Lieutenant Tom Paris
    Ethan Phillips Ethan Phillips - Neelix
    Robert Picardo Robert Picardo - The Doctor
    Tim Russ Tim Russ - Lieutenant Tuvok
    Garrett Wang Garrett Wang - Ensign Harry Kim
    Sandra Nelson Sandra Nelson - Marayna
    Alexander Enberg Alexander Enberg - Ensign Vorik
    Shay Todd Shay Todd - Holodeck Woman
    Majel Barrett Majel Barrett - Voyager Computer (voice)
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