Ashes to Ashes (1 Mar. 2000)

Three years ago, when Ensign Lyndsey Ballard died on an away mission, Voyager gave her a traditional burial in space. Her remains were recovered by the Kobali, a race that procreates by ... See full summary »

Director:

Terry Windell

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator), Rick Berman (creator),

Stars:

Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Kate Mulgrew	...	Captain Kathryn Janeway
Robert Beltran	...	Chakotay
Roxann Dawson	...	B'Elanna Torres
Robert Duncan McNeill	...	Tom Paris
Ethan Phillips	...	Neelix
Robert Picardo	...	The Doctor
Tim Russ	...	Tuvok
Jeri Ryan	...	Seven of Nine
Garrett Wang	...	Harry Kim
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Majel Barrett	...	Computer Voice (voice)
Manu Intiraymi	...	Icheb
Kevin Lowe	...	Q'ret
Marley McClean	...	Mezoti
Scarlett Pomers	...	Naomi Wildman
Kim Rhodes	...	Ensign Lyndsay Ballard / Jetlaya

Storyline

Three years ago, when Ensign Lyndsey Ballard died on an away mission, Voyager gave her a traditional burial in space. Her remains were recovered by the Kobali, a race that procreates by reanimating the corpses of other races and altering their DNA. When Lyndsey flees the Kobali and returns to Voyager, Janeway is skeptical but medical scans prove she is the real deal. While The Doctor can't make her human again, he alters her appearance to look like her old self and she tries to reintegrate herself with the crew. Also in this episode, Seven of Nine is frustrated to find the Borg children act more like children and less like Borg, despite her allotting 'fun' in their daily schedule.

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Plot Keywords:

24th century

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Release Date:

1 March 2000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title refers to "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust", a phrase from the Anglican burial service, used sometimes to denote total finality.

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Goofs

When the twins Rebi and Azan explain to Seven that they have made cubes out of their clay, one of them mentions that they are one-one-thousandth the size of a Borg vessel. The cubes are clearly only a few inches square. One thousand times those dimensions would be only a few hundred feet, and one thousand times the volume would only be about 50 feet square, clearly much smaller than all Borg cubes seen in all Star Trek series. A more likely description would be one-ten-thousandth the size of the Borg cube.

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Quotes

Harry Kim: I'm sorry you didn't get to finish everything on your list.
Jhet'leya/Ensign Lyndsay Ballard: I think I took care of what really mattered.

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Soundtracks

"Star Trek: Voyager - Main Title"
(uncredited)
Written by Jerry Goldsmith
Performed by Jay Chattaway

User Reviews

Raising the dead

This episodes starts with an alien shuttle craft being attacked by a larger vessel, after escaping its pursuer the occupant contacts Voyager and claims to be Ensign Lyndsay Ballard, a crew member who died on an away mission three years before. After initial suspicions are dispelled by the Doctor they believe her; it turns out her body was found by the Kobali, a species that procreates by resurrecting the dead of other species then genetically altering them. While the genetic alterations can't be reversed the Doctor can give her treatment so that she at least looks like she did before. She tries to fit into Voyager's crew once more but finds herself reverting to a Kobali; occasionally speaking their language and forgetting her past. When the Kobali come looking for her they explain that normally those who are resurrected quickly forget their old lives a get on with their new ones. Lyndsay ops to stay with Voyager but the Kobali are willing to use force to take her back. Ultimately she must make a decision about where she really belongs. While this is going on there is also a subplot concerning Seven and the Borg children they rescued a few episodes before.

I really enjoyed the main story, even though there had been no mention of Lyndsay Ballard or her death in previous episodes. Guest star Kim Rhodes was really good in the role making be care about what happened to the character. I thought Harry acted a little bit too much out of character when he leapt to her defence, even suggesting destroying a Kobali ship. The secondary story concerning the Borg children was less interesting and just distracted me from the better main plot.