"Darkling" is the 60th episode of ''
Star Trek: Voyager'', the 18th episode of the
third season. This episode focuses mostly on the events which result when the holographic Doctor (a self-aware computer program) aboard the starship
USS ''Voyager'' tries to enhance himself by adding personality traits from other people into his programming.
The episode debuted on
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...
on February 19, 1997.
Plot
While Kes pursues a romantic interest,
the Doctor attempts to improve his program by including elements of the personalities of famous people he admires; as taken from holocharacters of them.
As it turns out, the darker, less well-known sides of these people's personalities form a second, evil personality within the doctor.
This evil version of the Doctor takes over and attempts to murder an alien from the planet which ''Voyager'' is currently visiting, by pushing the alien off a cliff.
The evil twin also temporarily paralyzes
Lt. Torres when she discovers his existence.
At the episode's climax, the evil version of the doctor jumps off a cliff with
Kes but they get beamed back to ''Voyager'' while falling. Upon returning to the ship, the Doctor's program is restored to normal.
Summarily, just before the end credits, the Doctor is heard reciting part of the
Hippocratic Oath
The Hippocratic Oath is an oath of ethics historically taken by physicians. It is one of the most widely known of Greek medical texts. In its original form, it requires a new physician to swear, by a number of healing gods, to uphold specific e ...
(the medical professional's pledge) which begins with the solemn promise to "do no harm."
Reception
In 2017 this episode was noted as featuring scary or eerie ''Star Trek'' content. In 2018, ''TheGamer'' ranked this one of the top 25 creepiest episodes of all ''Star Trek'' series.
They note a series of disturbing behaviors by the EMH program in this episode, and were disappointed that many of the program's malfunctions were not addressed.
Media releases
This episode was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
on July 6, 2004, as part of ''Star Trek Voyager: Complete Third Season'', with
Dolby 5.1 surround audio. The season 3 DVD was released in the
UK on September 6, 2004.
In 2017, the complete ''Star Trek: Voyager'' television series was released in a DVD
box set
A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists and bands ...
, which included it as part of the season 3 discs.
References
External links
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1997 American television episodes
Star Trek: Voyager (season 3) episodes
Television episodes written by Brannon Braga
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