Star Trek: Voyager Ambitiously Copied TOS' Greatest Episode

For its 100th episode, Star Trek: Voyager copied one of the greatest episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series in a unique way. "Timeless," aired at the beginning of season 5 and is still seen as one of Voyager's best episodes. The plot featured a twist on the franchise's usual time travel storyline, set mainly in an alternate future 15 years ahead where Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) were attempting to send a message back through time to stop Voyager's cast of characters from going through with a plan to get home that would end in disaster.

The TOS episode that "Timeless" attempted to copy was "The City on the Edge of Forever," the penultimate episode of season 1 and one of the best Star Trek episodes in TV history. "The City on the Edge of Forever" featured Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) using the Guardian of Forever to go back in time to stop Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) from irrevocably damaging the timeline. All in all, "Timeless" and "The City on the Edge of Forever" are very different, but Voyager mirrored TOS with one specific choice.

How Star Trek: Voyager’s 100th Episode Copied TOS’s “City On The Edge Of Forever”

"Timeless" copied "City On The Edge Of Forever” in a unique way

Both "Timeless" and "The City on the Edge of Forever" are single installments, a deliberate choice by the creative team. By the time Voyager aired, the Star Trek franchise was known for its ambitious two-part episodes, which were extremely popular. Voyager had more than a few two-parters and could have chosen to make "Timeless" one, but according to actor Garrett Wang, Voyager producer Brannon Braga kept "Timeless" a stand-alone episode because of "The City on the Edge of Forever." Speaking to Cinefantastique about the episode in the 1990s, Wang clarified, "Brannon's comment on that was that he wanted the episode to stand alone, as if it was a 'City on the Edge of Forever' episode."

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Braga's choice to make the episode a contained story could have had consequences for the storyline. There were aspects of "Timeless" that could have easily been fleshed out given the opportunity, namely the alternate future with Harry and Chakotay and more specifically their homecoming after the USS Voyager's disastrous crash. However, keeping "Timeless" a single episode was the right choice, as it didn't drag the story out and cemented the episode as a story that captured the best of Star Trek: Voyager in terms of storytelling and acting.

Does Star Trek: Voyager’s “Timeless” Measure Up To “City On The Edge Of Forever?”

The two episodes actually have some interesting things in common

Custom image by Simone Ashmoore

In this way, "Timeless" was exactly like "The City on the Edge of Forever," even if the Voyager episode never managed to reach the same widespread appeal. In terms of storyline, "Timeless" and "The City on the Edge of Forever" did have some similarities, with both plots focusing on Star Trek's version of time travel and featuring an alternate future where a disaster needed to be averted to save the timeline. However, the plot similarities were not the most important way in which the two episodes compare.

More than anything "Timeless" and "The City on the Edge of Forever" represent the best of their respective shows, accomplishing this with an ambitious storyline that didn't get bogged down with a lot of extra detail. Both episodes are perfectly self-contained stories that show off the talents of Voyager and TOS's respective casts. Additionally, although "Timeless" does need some context from previous Star Trek: Voyager episodes, it captures the spirit of the show in a way that would make it ideal viewing for someone less familiar with the series, similar to "The City on the Edge of Forever."

Source: Cinefantastique, Vol. 31

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  Cast Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill , Ethan Phillips , Robert Picardo , Tim Russ , Garrett Wang , Majel Barrett , Jeri Ryan , Jennifer Lien , scarlett pomers , Martha Hackett , Tarik Ergin , Manu Intiraymi , Nancy Hower , Alexander Enberg , Dwight Schultz , Josh Clark , Simon Billig

  Release Date January 16, 1995

  Seasons 7

  Network UPN

  Writers Rick Berman , Michael Piller , Jeri Taylor

  Directors David Livingston , Winrich Kolbe , Allan Kroeker , Michael Vejar

  Showrunner Michael Piller , Jeri Taylor , Brannon Braga , Kenneth Biller

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  Cast William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , Deforest Kelley , James Doohan , George Takei , Nichelle Nichols , Walter Koenig , Frank da Vinci , Eddie Paskey , Roger Holloway , Ron Veto

  Release Date September 8, 1966

  Seasons 3

  Writers Gene Roddenberry

  Directors Gene Roddenberry

  Showrunner Gene Roddenberry