Think Tank (Star Trek: Voyager)

"Think Tank" is the 114th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the 20th episode of the fifth season. Jason Alexander guest stars as Kurros; this actor was famous in the 1990s from the hit sitcom Seinfeld, which had recently ended its run. In this episode, Voyager encounters a unique group of aliens.

"Think Tank"
Star Trek: Voyager episode
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 19
Directed byTerrence O'Hara
Story byRick Berman
Brannon Braga
Teleplay byMichael Taylor
Featured musicJay Chattaway
Production code214
Original air dateMarch 31, 1999 (1999-03-31)
Guest appearance(s)
  • Jason Alexander - Kurros
  • Christopher Darga - Y'Sek
  • Christopher Shea - Saowin
  • Steven Dennis - Fennim (uncredited)
  • Tarik Ergin - Lt. Ayala and Hazari crewman (uncredited)

In 1999, Cinefantastique noted the cast said it was, "a real honor" to have Jason Alexander guest star on Star Trek: Voyager.[1]

Plot

Voyager is sought after by the Hazari, unyielding bounty hunters of the Delta Quadrant, within a sector of space. Every escape route devised by the crew leads to dangerous battles with the Hazari. At their wit's end, they are suddenly visited by Kurros (Jason Alexander), the speaker for a small group of highly intelligent aliens that Captain Kathryn Janeway dubs the "Think Tank". Their vessel, safely hidden from the Hazari in sub-space, includes a telepathic module that allows Kurros and his group to quickly communicate and to solve complex problems. As Janeway and Seven of Nine are brought aboard, and Seven given a brief opportunity to experience their telepathic communication, the Think Tank offer their services to Voyager - a means of escaping the Hazari in exchange for a selection of Voyager's technology. Janeway seems pleased with the solution, until she is informed by Kurros that they would also like Seven as part of their payment. Both Janeway and Seven refuse this payment, but Kurros keeps the offer on the table, and offers a free bit of advice for dealing with the Hazari as a good-faith sign of their cooperation.

Voyager is able to capture a sole Hazari ship, beaming its crew aboard. In their records, they find the records of who placed the bounty on Voyager, apparently the Malon. The crew recognize oddities in this information as stored on the computer and the atypical motivation from the Malon, and investigate further, discovering that it was really Kurros that spurred on the Hazari. The Think Tank has been playing both sides of the conflict to drive Janeway to hand over Seven and get what they want. Explaining the situation to the Hazari, the combined crews begin to work out a way to outsmart the Think Tank.

Janeway and the Hazari orchestrate a scenario in which Voyager appears to be falling under the Hazari attack, and Seven leaves in a shuttle, supposedly giving in to the Think Tank's demands. The shuttle disappears into sub-space with the Think Tank's ship. Aboard, Kurros welcomes Seven, but is suspicious of their capitulation and links her to the telepathic matrix to probe her mind. The waiting Voyager crew sees this, and send a signal through Seven's cybernetic implants, causing the telepathic matrix to shut down, incapacitating the Think Tank. Their ship falls out of sub-space, and soon is attacked from all sides by the Hazari, now seeking revenge on them. Voyager rescues Seven, and leaves the Think Tank to potentially be destroyed at the hands of the Hazari.

Reception

"Think Tank" is noted for Jason Alexander in his guest star role, and the actor has said he is a fan of the Star Trek franchise in interviews.[2] TV Guide and Variety have noted Jason Alexander's role in this episode, as one of the surprising guest stars of the Star Trek franchise.[3][4] They note he was famous for playing George Costanza on the hit TV show Seinfeld, but was able to bring a new presence to his presentation of the Star Trek alien Kurros in this episode.[3]

gollark: Actually, Esobot should have a general command delay mechanism.
gollark: You can glean information from when people send messages, see.
gollark: Yes.
gollark: <@!319753218592866315> !anon should be able to anonymize you in time.
gollark: And there exist Rust and Python ones.

References

  1. "Think Tank Jason Alexander - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  2. Jason Alexander Reveals His Trek Love, startrek.com
  3. "28 Surprising Star Trek Guest Stars : Jason Alexander, Star Trek: Voyager, "Think Tank" | TV Guide". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  4. Bryant, Jacob; Bryant, Jacob (2016-09-02). "Stars You Didn't Know Were in 'Star Trek'". Variety. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
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