VOY · SEASON 11×11

Heroes and Demons

NOMADIC PICK · FAN FAVOURITEPicardo's Doctor takes on Beowulf.
FIRST SHOWN (US)
24 April 1995
ON
UPN
STARDATE
48693.2
DIRECTED BY
Les Landau
PRODUCTION NO.
112

WRITTEN BYWritten by Naren Shankar

IN BRIEF

SPOILER-FREE

Crew members are vanishing inside a holodeck version of Beowulf, so Janeway sends in the one officer who might be immune: the Doctor.

SYNOPSIS

SPOILERS
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSISHIDE SYNOPSIS

After Voyager beams aboard samples from a protostar, crew members start disappearing while using a holodeck simulation of Beowulf, beginning with Harry Kim. Reasoning that a hologram may be safe from whatever is taking them, Janeway sends the Doctor into the programme. Calling himself Schweitzer, he joins the saga in King Hrothgar's hall, where the shieldmaiden Freya takes a romantic interest in him. When he faces the creature terrorising the hall, it tears off his arm. The Doctor discovers that the protostar samples contained living energy beings, and that their kind have been converting the missing crew into energy in an effort to get them back. Freya is killed by Unferth. Once the captive life forms are released onto the holodeck, the missing crew members return to physical form. Afterwards the Doctor decides against keeping the name Schweitzer, because of the painful memories now attached to it.

DID YOU KNOW?

  1. 01Naren Shankar's first idea was “Star Trek with Vikings”, before he saw the parallels with Beowulf. Freya was his own addition to the legend.
  2. 02Robert Picardo later called it his favourite episode of the first season.
  3. 03Marvin V. Rush (cinematography) and Dennis McCarthy (music) both received Emmy nominations for this episode.
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