Random Thoughts
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 19 November 1997
- ON
- UPN
- STARDATE
- 51367.2
- DIRECTED BY
- Alexander Singer
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 178
WRITTEN BYWritten by Kenneth Biller
On a world of peaceful telepaths where even a violent thought is a crime, B'Elanna Torres's brief moment of irritation lands her under arrest.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
Voyager visits the homeworld of the Mari, telepaths who have all but eliminated violence by outlawing aggressive thoughts. When a local bumps into Torres, she feels a flash of anger. Soon afterwards the same man brutally attacks someone, and Chief Examiner Nimira concludes that Torres's violent thought passed into his mind. Torres is held responsible and faces a procedure to remove the thought, which Janeway fears could cause brain damage. After a second attack, Tuvok uncovers a black market in which Mari pay to experience forbidden thoughts. The trader Guill had taken Torres's anger for sale, and it proved too powerful for Mari minds to contain. Posing as a customer, Tuvok mind-melds with Guill and overwhelms him with violent Vulcan emotions. Guill is arrested and Torres is freed just in time, leaving Nimira to face the darkness within her orderly society. When Seven suggests avoiding such encounters, Janeway reaffirms Voyager's mission of exploration.
- 01Gwynyth Walsh had appeared in TNG's “Redemption” and “Firstborn” and in Generations. She was keen to return, but not to spend hours in the make-up chair.
- 02The montage of violent images reuses footage from Star Trek: First Contact and the film Event Horizon, along with earlier Voyager episodes.
- 03The matte painting of the Mari homeworld combined Los Angeles buildings with elements from earlier TNG and DS9 productions.