Star Trek: The Thaw

Episode: "The Thaw"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 2, Episode 23

Original Air Date: April 29, 1996

via Memory Alpha

Voyager happens upon what is initially presumed to be an abandoned planet.  Neelix identifies it as a former important trading colony and scans reveal evidence of an advanced civilization, but no life forms.  And then, they receive a hail.  Miraculously, a very small group survived 2.3 km below the surface in artificial hibernation.  The hail was an automated response (we've seen those before) as they are still asleep.  Our friends beam the hibernation pods to the ship in hopes of reviving the occupants.  Then the real fun begins.

In order to learn more, Kim and Torres enter the same hibernation state where the survivors have generated a shared dream scape to keep their minds active.  Unfortunately, the dream has turned to nightmare.  A tyrannical clown (Michael McKean) embodies all of the inhabitants' anxieties and he uses them to manipulate, terrorize and even kill.  Obviously, all must be rescued.

The set up is complicated for what evolves into a fairly straightforward hostage narrative.  Of course, it's Star Trek so the philosophical exploration behind it all makes the basic a lot more interesting.  Plus, Michael McKean is predictably outstanding.  It's difficult to imagine anyone else playing an evil clown so expertly.  With the zany characters, simple set and melange of striking colors, "The Thaw" has the look and feel of an original series installment.  Overall, it's strong, one of Season 2's best.

Acting Notes

via Disney Wiki

Michael McKean was born in New York City, October 17, 1947.  He holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon and an MFA from NYU.  

McKean is one of the most recognizable television actors of his generation.  Never exactly an A-lister, he built his career as a top-notch comic character actor.  In 1976, he and his comedy partner David Lander were cast together in the Happy Days spin-off series Laverne & Shirley.  In fact, McKean and Lander had created their characters of Lenny and Squiggy while they were still in college.  Later, McKean was a company regular in several of Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, including This Is Spinal Tap, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind (for which he won a Grammy for the song of the same name) and For Your Consideration.  Over the years, he's made numerous appearances in highly regarded shows, including Better Call Saul, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Veep and The Good Place.  

McKean is the last surviving member of the Laverne & Shirley original principal cast.

via Wikipedia (McKean/Lenny bottom left)