Series: Star Trek: Voyager
Season 2, Episode 18
Original Air Date: February 19, 1996
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| via Memory Alpha |
Our heroes encounter Quinn (Gerrit Graham), a member of the Q Continuum. Quinn wishes to be allowed to die and suicide is illegal among his kind. Our usual Q (John de Lancie) turns up to bring Quinn in for punishment. Quinn requests asylum, giving Captain Janeway a decision to make. Q agrees to abide by her choice, though he dangles a bribe: bringing Voyager home.
The right to die on one's own terms is a relevant moral question for any society and not entirely new turf for Star Trek. The philosophical debate aside, "Death Wish" earns praise from critics for the acting. Graham, de Lancie and Kate Mulgrew are all wonderful. Plus, we get a brief cameo from our old pal Will Riker.
The series's strong run continues.
Acting Notes
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| via Memory Alpha |
Gerrit Graham was born in New York City, November 27, 1949. He attended but did not graduate from Columbia, though he did meet Brian De Palma, a fortuitous encounter in the long run. "Death Wish" was Graham's second of two Trek appearances.
Graham has been in several of Brian De Palma's films, including Greetings, Hi, Mom, Home Movies and Phantom of the Paradise. Beyond Trek, he had a principal voice role in The Critic and a recurring role in Parker Lewis Can't Lose. He was one of the finalists for DS9's Odo along with René Auberjonois and Andrew Robinson. He also wrote the teleplays for two Twilight Zone (80s version) episodes.
It’s a shame that fans so eager to proclaim Voyager a total loss are ready to sacrifice even episodes like this one in their crusade. Well, it’s their loss.
ReplyDeleteMy hunch: most people who write off Voyager haven't really watched it. They know about the weaknesses because the whiners on social media harp on them constantly. And admittedly, I myself see it as the less sophisticated younger sibling to DS9. But that's not to say there isn't quality material - quite the contrary. So far, I'm mostly impressed by the latter half of Season 2.
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