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Message in a Bottle: Directed by Nancy Malone. With Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Robert Duncan McNeill. Using an alien communications net, Voyager sends their Doctor to the Federation ship USS Prometheus only to find that it has been taken over by Romulans.
- (2.7K)
- Action, Adventure, Drama
- Nancy Malone
- 1998-01-21
"Message in a Bottle" is the 14th episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the 82nd episode overall. It aired on January 21, 1998 on the UPN network.
Nov 3, 2023 · Message In A Bottle. Season 51 Episode 4 | 1h 25m 25s |. My List. Watch Preview. Experience five-time Olivier Award nominee Kate Prince’s dance and theater show set to the songs of...
- Overview
- Summary
- Memorable quotes
- Background information
- Links and references
Seven of Nine finds an abandoned subspace relay network that has the ability to send a message, or in this case The Doctor, to a Starfleet ship detected in the Alpha Quadrant.
Teaser
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres and Commander Chakotay discuss Torres' dissatisfaction with the former Borg drone, Seven of Nine. Torres has run out of patience with Seven's aloof, arrogant attitude and is furious. Chakotay, on the other hand, doesn't want to hear it and advises her to start acting like the senior officer that she is. He orders her to find a way to deal with Seven in a professional manner. While discussing this, Seven hails Chakotay to the astrometrics lab. Chakotay meets Captain Kathryn Janeway outside astrometrics. She too has been hailed by Seven. They share a bemused expression as they enter. Chakotay asks Seven, who is busy at the console, what this is about. She shows them a ship on the astrometrics viewscreen that is a Starfleet vessel.
Act One
Seven informs them that the ship is in the Alpha Quadrant. She informs them that she has been able to detect the ship because of the presence of a huge relay station network. The network is apparently abandoned but it extends all the way to the edge of the Alpha Quadrant. The ship, she tells them, is in range of the network sensors on that far end. The two officers realize that they now have an opportunity to communicate with Starfleet, which they have not been able to do since being brought to the Delta Quadrant, four years earlier. Chakotay asks if a message can be sent to the ship. Seven confirms, though she adds that some modifications to their own transmitters must be made first. The message must be sent within the next 41 minutes or the ship will move out of range. Janeway orders the modifications be made immediately. However, the signal is too weak to reach the vessel. Lieutenant Tom Paris suggests using a stronger type of signal, one that would not degrade so quickly. Torres suggests a holographic data stream. That is when they remember The Doctor, the ship's Emergency Medical Hologram. Torres rushes to sickbay and, before The Doctor can even finish asking what is happening, she transfers him to his mobile emitter and runs with it to astrometrics. Janeway arrives in astrometrics and explains the situation to The Doctor when he is reactivated there. There, he is downloaded and transmitted. The Doctor materializes on the Starfleet vessel's sickbay, which seems to be empty. He calls to anyone, but gets no answer. He queries the ship's computer and is very pleased to find that his transmission was successful; he is indeed aboard the target vessel, in the Alpha Quadrant. He further asks the ship's computer about the vessel's identity, and learns that it is the USS Prometheus. Searching sickbay, he finds a crewman dead on the floor. He also finds an ensign, barely alive. Their uniforms are different from those of Voyager's crew. The ensign has sustained severe phaser burns. The Doctor manages to revive him and asks him what happened. His response, just before he dies, is that Romulans have taken over the ship.
Act Two
On the Prometheus' bridge, Romulans man all stations. In sickbay, The Doctor confirms what the dead ensign told him: 27 Romulans are aboard and all Starfleet personnel are dead. He then asks the computer about the ship itself. He learns the ship is an experimental prototype designed for deep space tactical assignments. It is equipped with technologies that Starfleet is experimenting with including regenerative shielding, ablative armor, and a multi-vector assault mode. The approaching Federation starship arrives and engages the Prometheus. On the bridge, the Romulan commander orders the "multi-vector assault mode" engaged. The lighting on the bridge (and in sickbay, much to The Doctor's surprise) turns blue. The computer counts down from ten to one, the time of what it terms "auto-separation." The ship separates into three sections: the saucer and two stardrives, all battle-ready and warp-capable. In effect, the one ship becomes a small squadron. Rekar orders the Prometheus to engage the other Federation ship, the USS Bonchune. The three sections surround and attack the Bonchune, disabling it. During the battle the Prometheus' bridge takes a hit and a Romulan hijacker is badly injured. As the three sections reform, Rekar orders the injured Romulan taken to sickbay. Nevala enters sickbay with her injured hijacker. The Doctor immediately puts on his best bedside manner. She is instantly suspicious, demanding to know who activated him. He lies that she did when she walked through the door. She is still suspicious because he is, after all, a Starfleet program. He assures her his primary directive is to treat anyone requiring it, Federation citizen or not, friend or enemy. As soon as she has gone, The Doctor activates the ship's EMH – which is a Mark II, as opposed to a Mark I, The Doctor's designation.
"We need to take control of this situation!"
"I'm a doctor, not a commando!"
"It's time you became a little of both."
- The Doctor and EMH Mark II
"Is the Federation at war with the Romulans?"
"No. The Romulans haven't gotten involved in our fight with the Dominion."
Story and script
•Robert Picardo made some uncredited, humorous contributions to the script of this episode. Shortly before the end of Star Trek: Voyager's fourth season, Picardo explained, "I have gotten into the habit of calling [episode writer] Brannon [Braga] with joke suggestions, and I scored pretty well on that particular episode." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 85) At about the end of the fifth season, Picardo commented, "I'm still phoning Brannon quite often with potential joke lines, although my record is still 'Message in a Bottle'. I think I had six jokes that were mine, in that episode." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 31, No. 11, p. 30) All six of these humorous suggestions were promptly approved for use in the installment. (Star Trek Monthly issue 45, p. 17) One specific instance of the suggested jokes was, as described by Picardo himself, "in the scene with […] EMH Mark-2… and my scripted line was 'Stop breathing down my neck.'" (Star Trek: Voyager Companion (p. ?)) The actor recalled, "I said to Brannon, 'You know, we don't really breathe.' He said, 'It's just a Human expression.' It still troubled me." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 85) Picardo consequently requested the addition of two particular lines of dialogue. "I remember calling Brannon," remarked Picardo, "and suggesting the following two rejoinders: EMH Mark-2 says, 'My breathing is merely a simulation.' To which The Doctor replies, 'So is my neck. Stop it anyway.'" (Star Trek: Voyager Companion (p. ?)) •Robert Picardo suspected that he may have influenced some of the episode's jokes without being told he had. "There are even sex jokes which I insist Brannon Braga stole from my convention material," Picardo declared, "because I've been doing 10 minutes at conventions for a couple of years now about whether or not the holographic doctor is anatomically correct." (Star Trek Monthly issue 35, p. 12) •The episode's final scene was considerably altered; the scene was first shot in Voyager's mess hall, with the ship's entire crew, but was subsequently reshot and relocated to sickbay. Explaining why the first version was not used, Robert Picardo stated, "It was too much. Originally, we had all these extras, and it was this big emotional moment. They decided it was too much like The Waltons. We ended up redoing that scene and keeping it small, just with Janeway, [Chakotay] and Tuvok." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10) •The final draft of the episode's script was submitted on 26 September 1997. •Mitch Suskin was of the opinion that this episode was reminiscent of Star Trek: The Original Series. "In my mind," Suskin reckoned, "it was the closest thing to the spirit of some of the original Star Trek shows." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 80) •This episode's ending is significant to Star Trek: Voyager in general. Robert Picardo noted of the episode, "Its conclusion kind of changed the tone of our journey […] It was a very important development for the series." (Star Trek Monthly issue 45, p. 13) He also said, "It factored into a number of shows and storylines that came after it." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 18)
Cast and characters
•Actor Andy Dick was offered the role of the EMH Mark II after letting Brannon Braga (who was a friend of the performer) know that he would be interested in making an appearance on Star Trek: Voyager. Accounting for his acceptance of the role, Dick recalled, "It just seemed like such a great opportunity. I was a fan of Star Trek, but I'm not what you would call a regular viewer of any of the shows. I just thought it would be a challenge for me to do an episode." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 18) •Andy Dick had many other friends who were excited to hear of his upcoming role. "I have many friends who watch the Star Trek shows religiously," he explained. "They were all psyched when I told them that I was doing Voyager." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 18) •Because Andy Dick (who was best known for playing the character of Matthew in NewsRadio) was not entirely familiar with Star Trek, he prepared for his role here by watching some episodes. Robert Picardo explained, "Clearly he had not really seen the show before he got this episode, so he watched a few episodes and got an idea of the style of the show, because he's on a situation comedy […] And even though we were setting up to do a funny Star Trek episode, there's a certain style to our kind of performance that he wanted to acquaint himself with, which he [partly] did from watching the show." (Star Trek Monthly issue 35, p. 11) •Indeed, although Andy Dick found that he extremely liked his Voyager character, he also found that portraying the EMH Mark II took him into unfamiliar territory. "I was right in thinking it would be a challenge for me," Dick admitted. "It was really an eclectic style of acting. It's like doing a French period drama and then doing Shakespeare. It was completely different from what I had done before. I mean, there's no comparing how we do NewsRadio to how they do Voyager. None […] The characters are so different, too […] As with Shakespeare, you have to stay within boundaries when you do a Star Trek show. The words are different; the style is different. I wanted to challenge myself and try that, too." He joked, "It was really like taking a class in Trekker-ism." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 18) •Other difficulties were caused by the fact that, although Andy Dick normally wore glasses (including on NewsRadio), he found that he couldn't do so here. He said of his Voyager appearance, "One of the strangest things about doing it was that I couldn't wear my glasses […] I was tripping down steps and bumping into things all the time. It was really funny." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 18) •On the other hand, Andy Dick appreciated that he was made to feel welcome on the Voyager set. He reminisced, "Everybody was really nice to me […] I had a great time." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 18) •A particular relationship that Andy Dick valued was with Robert Picardo. "Robert Picardo was so awesome!" Dick raved. "He helped me so much, getting me to relax and helping me get that Star Trek jargon right. I don't think I could have pulled it off if he hadn't been there. Robert was hysterical. He's probably funnier than I am. He had me and the crew cracking up all day." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 18) •Early in their working relationship, Robert Picardo and Andy Dick teased one another about each others' surnames. During production, Picardo remarked, "My favorite Andy Dick story is this. About three or four days into the shooting he says to me, 'So your name is Picardo. It's so close to Captain Picard. Do you get teased a lot about that?' And I said, 'Your name is Andy Dick, and you're going to make fun of mine?' So he laughed – apparently he has a sense of humor. I don't think you can grow up with a name like that and not have a healthy sense of humor." (Star Trek Monthly issue 35, p. 11) In a retrospective interview, however, Picardo stated that the encounter in which they had traded barbs about one another's surname was "when I first met Andy" and, moments later, said, "That was our icebreaker, so […] after that, we would joke about anything." (Braving the Unknown: Season Four, VOY Season 4 DVD) •Robert Picardo was somewhat worried about being reported to be bosom buddies with Andy Dick. "I remember saying to him, 'My biggest fear is that, when this episode airs, that TV Guide will do a little close-up box about it and it will say something like, 'Picardo and Dick a treat,' or, 'Picardo and Dick inseparable,' […] 'Picardo and Dick, together forever.' It just seemed… it seemed to give me a note of caution. However, I didn't follow it and I did tell the story." (Braving the Unknown: Season Four, VOY Season 4 DVD) •Aside from the name-related jibes, Robert Picardo found that he enjoyed working with his co-star on this episode. Picardo commented that his own perception of Dick as "a bit of a loon […] appealed to me" and that, consequently, "we got along real well." Picardo went on to say about Dick, "He was very solicitous of my advice about the world of playing doctor holograms, what the conventions were, and how I said, 'Please state the nature of the medical emergency.'" Picardo also commented that Dick familiarized himself with the style of performance required on Star Trek by "asking me and the director questions." (Star Trek Monthly issue 35, p. 11) •Initially, Robert Picardo was nervous about this episode's script. "That was one of our most overtly comic [episodes]," observed Picardo. "The whole second, third, and fourth acts with Andy Dick were quite funny, and intended to be funny. I'm always a little nervous when we try to do a funny script, because in my opinion Star Trek has never been known for its comedy […] The situations they put us in were funny, so there was a lot of high anxiety and panic." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 85) •Ultimately, however, Robert Picardo was very pleased with the episode. He opined, "It did work out pretty well." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 85) He also stated, "'Message in a Bottle' was […] very well done. It was quite a funny show, but its ending was quite serious […] It was an exciting show." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 18) During the fifth season, Picardo enthused, "I loved that show. It was one of my favorites from last season. It contained a lot of humor, but was also very exciting and dramatic." (Star Trek Monthly issue 45, p. 13) Additionally, Picardo considered this episode to be "a nice demonstration of how the writers can use me, and find ways to give me interesting and different things to do, within the given circumstances of this character." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 86) •Robert Picardo was also proud of the breathing-related joke he devised for this episode, which he termed as both "the [joke suggestion] I'm proudest of" and "my favorite exchange that I have ever gotten into a show." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 85; Star Trek: Voyager Companion (p. ?)) Picardo further commented, "I thought [it] sounded like two holograms bickering. 'What holograms bicker about.' That was a fun moment." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 85) Additionally, he remarked, "I thought it was a good example of a Niles/Frasier one-upmanship." (Star Trek: Voyager Companion (p. ?)) Picardo believed that such comparisons with those two main characters from the television series Frasier were warranted. He said of himself and Andy Dick, "We do have some very high-paced comedy scenes together, where we natter at each other, and it does sound a little Frasier-like." (Braving the Unknown: Season Four, VOY Season 4 DVD) •The revised version of the episode's final scene was another highlight of the episode for Robert Picardo, who particularly enjoyed the performance that Janeway actress Kate Mulgrew delivered for the scene. Picardo commented, "That is a touching moment […] Kate's reaction was great, at the end. It is a moment of triumph." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, pp. 85-86) •Executive producer Jeri Taylor was highly amused by the pair of actors who played the holographic doctors here. She remarked, "[Andy Dick] and Robert Picardo together are just hysterical." (Star Trek Monthly issue 36, p. 12) •The two Starfleet officers beaming over to the bridge of the Prometheus near the end of this episode were played by two regular DS9 extras. This is probably because, unlike the Voyager extras, they were fitted with the latest Starfleet uniforms – the same type as can be seen worn by the other Starfleet officers aboard the Prometheus here, including the EMH Mark II
Production
•The production of this episode was enjoyable for Andy Dick. "They work very hard on Voyager," he observed. "Some days went as long as 16 hours. It was nice to be able to work hard, but also to laugh hard the whole day." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine issue 18) •There was some confusion during the production of "Message in a Bottle" concerning the registry of the Prometheus. According to Michael Okuda, he had used the number 74913 on all the internal displays and the ship's dedication plaque. However, the Foundation Imaging FX artists did not get the memo and used the number 59650 instead. Although Okuda's number does appear on screen, the Foundation number is much more visible. •According to the unauthorized reference book Delta Quadrant (p. 219), the bridge of the Prometheus was a redress of the USS Enterprise-E's bridge. bridge was an extensive redress of the Enterprise bridge set originally built for that film. •Visual effects supervisor Mitch Suskin was highly pleased with the sets for the Prometheus. "I think the art department did an amazing job on the interior of the Prometheus," Suskin remarked. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 80) •A shot that involved holographic appearances and disappearances being choreographed as different from how they usually were was one in which the EMH Mark II deactivates himself, duly disappears and Voyager's Doctor moves into the area vacated by the Mark II, who then – reactivated by Voyager's Doctor – reappears in the background. "Obviously, in production Andy [Dick] dropped out of frame, ran around to the background, and continued the scene," Mitch Suskin explained. "But this kind of staging makes the shot more fun and more satisfying." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 80) •Tiny Ron (Idrin) is better known for his role as Maihar'du, the Hupyrian servant of Grand Nagus Zek, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Starring
•Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway
Also starring
•Robert Beltran as Chakotay •Roxann Dawson as B'Elanna Torres •Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris •Ethan Phillips as Neelix •Robert Picardo as The Doctor •Tim Russ as Tuvok •Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine •Garrett Wang as Harry Kim
Guest Stars
•Judson Scott as Rekar •Valerie Wildman as Nevala
Sep 3, 1997 · S4 E14: Message In A Bottle. Sign up for Paramount+ to stream. TRY IT FREE. 46M JAN 21, 1998 TV-PG. S4 E14: When Voyager discovers an ancient communications relay that extends to the Alpha Quadrant, they send The Doctor to an experimental Federation ship, the Prometheus.
About the Episode. Great Performances presents Message In A Bottle, featuring the hits of 17-time Grammy-winning artist Sting with choreography by five-time Olivier Award nominee Kate...
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