Once Upon a Time
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 11 November 1998
- ON
- UPN
- STARDATE
- None given
- DIRECTED BY
- John T. Kretchmer
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 199
WRITTEN BYWritten by Michael Taylor
When the Delta Flyer goes missing with her mother aboard, young Naomi Wildman is kept busy with holodeck fairy tales, while Neelix struggles with how much to tell her.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
Ensign Samantha Wildman joins Paris and Tuvok on a Delta Flyer mission, leaving her daughter Naomi with Neelix. An ion storm forces the shuttle down on a planetoid, burying it under kilometres of rock, and Wildman is badly hurt. On Voyager, Neelix keeps Naomi distracted with her favourite holodeck stories about Flotter and Trevis. He cannot bring himself to tell her the truth, until Naomi finds out for herself and feels betrayed. Neelix opens up about losing his own family in war. Inside the shuttle, the survivors record farewell messages as their situation worsens. Delayed by further storms, Chakotay's rescue team finally drills through the rock and beams the whole shuttle aboard. Wildman recovers, and she and Naomi share the Flotter story together.
- 01Scarlett Pomers' first appearance as Naomi Wildman, a role she played until the final season.
- 02Michael Taylor's first Voyager writing credit. He became a story editor the following season.
- 03Taylor's original idea was an Alice in Wonderland-style holodeck fantasy; the shuttle crash was added during rewrites.