Vis à Vis
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 8 April 1998
- ON
- UPN
- STARDATE
- 51762.4
- DIRECTED BY
- Jesús Salvador Treviño
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 188
WRITTEN BYWritten by Robert J. Doherty
Restless and bored with life aboard Voyager, Tom Paris jumps at the chance to help a charismatic alien pilot with an experimental warp drive, but his new friend wants more than his company.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
Paris is restless, spending his free time restoring a 1969 Camaro on the holodeck and drifting away from Torres. When Voyager helps a small ship with an experimental coaxial warp drive, Paris bonds with its pilot, Steth, a fellow hotshot. But Steth is a body-swapping alien who has taken many identities. He attacks Paris and swaps bodies with him, leaving Paris stranded on the alien ship while the impostor takes his place on Voyager. The fake Paris behaves badly, upsetting Torres and snooping in Janeway's logs, then swaps bodies with Janeway herself and flees in a shuttle. Meanwhile, the real Paris meets the real Steth, now trapped in the body of a woman named Daelen, and together they chase the thief. Paris disables the shuttle's coaxial drive, everyone is returned to their own bodies, and Steth sets out to find the alien's other victims.
- 01The working title was “Perspectives”. “Vis-à-vis” is French for “face to face”.
- 02Writer Robert J. Doherty was working as an assistant to the producers at the time. He later created the US series Elementary.
- 03The closing surf rock music is by Dick Dale. Composer Dennis McCarthy, once a member of Dale's backing band, recommended the song.