11:59
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 5 May 1999
- ON
- UPN
- STARDATE
- 52840
- DIRECTED BY
- David Livingston
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 217
WRITTEN BYTeleplay by Joe Menosky; story by Brannon Braga & Joe Menosky
Janeway shares the story of a celebrated ancestor who inspired her career, and on the last days of the year 2000 we meet the real Shannon O'Donnell.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
Janeway tells Neelix about her ancestor Shannon O'Donnell, an astronaut she believes helped build the Millennium Gate, a landmark of the 21st century that inspired her own career. The story then moves back to late December 2000, when Shannon, out of work and passing through Portage Creek, Indiana, has car trouble. She meets bookshop owner Henry Janeway and his son Jason. Henry is the last holdout refusing to sell up to make way for the Millennium Gate, and the whole project will collapse if he has not signed by 11:59 on New Year's Eve. Shannon is offered a job if she can persuade him, but she comes to sympathise with Henry and the town. As the deadline approaches, Henry changes his mind and the Gate goes ahead. On Voyager, Neelix and Seven discover that Shannon was never an astronaut, but Neelix's final gift reveals what she really became: Henry's wife, and the start of Janeway's family line.
- 01Kate Mulgrew plays Shannon O'Donnell. Joe Menosky said the original aim was an episode built around Mulgrew as a distant ancestor, barely seeing Voyager.
- 02Early versions of the idea involved Q or Guinan in the 20th century before it became a straightforward historical story.
- 03Portage Creek is fictional. Its streets were filmed on Paramount's New York street set, with imported snow.