"Latent Image" is the 105th episode of the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

television series '' Star Trek: Voyager'' airing on the

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network, the 11th episode of the fifth season. The show has stories about a spacecraft, the eponymous USS Voyager, traveling back to Earth after being lost on the other side of the Galaxy; the episodes typically focus on problems encountered by its crew. In this case ship's holographic medical

program Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program management, the process of managing several related projects * Time management * Program, a part of planning Arts and entertainment Audio * Progra ...

, "The Doctor" (

Robert Picardo Robert Alphonse Picardo (born October 27, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the Cowboy in '' Innerspace'', Coach Cutlip on '' The Wonder Years'', Captain Dick Richard on the ABC series ''China Beach'', the Doctor on '' S ...

), finds something amiss in his program's memory. In the typical style of the ''Star Trek'' franchise, the story uses science fiction to explore the philosophical issues, in this case, of medical ethics, personhood, decision making, and human rights. This episode originally aired on

on January 20, 1999.

Plot

During a routine medical examination, the

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

discovers evidence that Ensign Harry Kim has undergone complex brain surgery within the last two years which only the Doctor could have performed. Having no memory of the procedure, the Doctor attempts to reconstruct the missing time period and discovers that certain files in his memory were deleted. A reconstruction reveals photos of an Ensign Ahni Jetal, a woman of whom he has no recollection. The Doctor eventually discovers that

Captain Janeway Kathryn Janeway is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. She was the Captain of the Starfleet starship USS Voyager (Star Trek), USS ''Voyager'' (on ''Star Trek: Voyager'') while it was lost in the Delta Quadrant on the other side ...

and the crew conspired to eliminate files concerning a traumatic event that caused a holographic equivalent of a

psychotic break Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior t ...

. After an attack during an away mission, the Doctor could only treat one of two equally critically injured patients: Ensign Jetal and Ensign Harry Kim. The Doctor saved Harry, while Jetal died on the operating table. As time passed, the Doctor was overpowered by guilt, believing his friendship with Harry affected his decision to save him rather than Jetal. A conflict then developed within his ethical programming that compromised his impartiality. On having the previously deleted files reinstalled, the Doctor's mental stability once again deteriorates, and Janeway is faced with deleting his memories or allowing the Doctor time to resolve his guilt, a decision that could leave the crew without a medic in the interim.

Seven of Nine Seven of Nine (born Annika Hansen) is a fictional character introduced in the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Voyager''. Portrayed by Jeri Ryan, she is a former Borg drone who joins the crew of the Federation starship ' ...

argues to Janeway that, much as she herself did, the Doctor's personal development has advanced to where he deserves an opportunity to evolve beyond his program's original constraints. Janeway allows the Doctor to retain his memories so he can eventually reconcile with his past actions. In the final scene, the Doctor reads from ''

La Vita Nuova ''La Vita Nuova'' (; Italian for "The New Life") or ''Vita Nova'' (Latin title) is a text by Dante Alighieri published in 1294. It is an expression of the medieval genre of courtly love in a prosimetrum style, a combination of both prose and ve ...

''. The words differ from the actual poem to make them more applicable to the story and give a more profound sense of closure: "In that book, which is my memory, on the first page of the chapter that is the day when I first met you appear the words, 'here begins a new life'".

Actor commentary

said that this is not only his favorite ''Voyager'' episode, but also the most important in the development of the Doctor's character.

Reception

In 2012, ''

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'' ranked "Latent Image" as one of the top ten episodes of ''Star Trek: Voyager''. In 2020, '' SyFy'' ranked this the 5th best episode of ''Star Trek: Voyager'', commending it as a "powerful drama" that mixed a

whodunnit A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with th ...

with a medical storyline.

Releases

On November 9, 2004, this episode was released as part of the season 5

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box set of ''Star Trek: Voyager''. The box set includes 7 DVD optical discs with all the episodes in season 5 with some extra features, and episodes have a Dolby 5.1 Digital Audio track. On April 25, 2001, this episode was released on LaserDisc in Japan, as part of the half-season collection, ''5th Season vol.1'' . This included episodes from "Night" to "Bliss" on seven double sided 12 inch optical discs, with English and Japanese audio tracks for the episodes.

References

External links