Virtuoso 

The Doctor's singing talent is so appreciated by an alien species that he considers resigning his commission and staying on with his millions of adoring fans.

Director:

Les Landau

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (based upon "Star Trek" created by), Rick Berman (created by)

Stars:

Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Kate Mulgrew	...	Capt. Kathryn Janeway
Robert Beltran	...	Cmdr. Chakotay
Roxann Dawson	...	Lt. B'Elanna Torres
Robert Duncan McNeill	...	Lt. Tom Paris
Ethan Phillips	...	Neelix
Robert Picardo	...	The Doctor
Tim Russ	...	Lt. Tuvok
Jeri Ryan	...	Seven of Nine
Garrett Wang	...	Ensign Harry Kim
Kamala Lopez	...	Tincoo (as Kamala Lopez-Dawson)
Ray Xifo	...	Abarca
Paul Williams	...	Koru
Marie Caldare	...	Azen
Nina Magnesson	...	Vinka

Storyline

A snugly condescending but highly mathematical alien race inexplicably finds The Doctor's singing voice completely and uniquely enthralling. Offering him a new career as a singing sensation strokes his self-inflated ego and makes him consider leaving Voyager, arguing that Captain Janeway treats him like technology more than as a person.

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Plot Keywords:

opera | resignation | alien race | opera singing | applause | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-G

Did You Know?

Trivia

Janeway's response to The Doctor calling her 'Kathryn' - "I was not aware we were on a first-name basis" - is similar to what Picard told Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation: Hide And Q (1987) - "...have you noticed how you and I are now on a first name basis...?"

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Goofs

When two forward Qomar women have the doctor "trapped" in Sickbay, he calls for Security then deactivates himself. When he deactivates, his mobile emitter does indeed remain and visibly drop to floor.

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Quotes

[Seven has issued red alert]
Seven of Nine: I believe the Qomar are attempting to disable our com system.
Captain Janeway: How?
Seven of Nine: By overloading it with millions of teraquads of irrelevant data.
Captain Janeway: What do you mean by "irrelevant"?
[she takes a look at the data]
Captain Janeway: They're transmissions... all addressed to the Doctor.
Seven of Nine: Precisely. I've only been able to decipher a small fraction of them so far, but they include invitations to social and scientific functions, requests for personal encounters, and cloying tributes to the Doctor's talents.
Captain Janeway: ...

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Connections

Features Star Trek: Voyager: Year Of Hell (1997)

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Soundtracks

That Old Black Magic
(uncredited)
Written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer
Performed by Robert Picardo

User Reviews

Good acting, but a sub-par episode

While assisting a group of technologically advanced aliens, they hear the Doctor sing and instantly become mesmerized by his voice. Voyager returns the aliens to their home world where the Doctor becomes adored like The Beatles when they first came to America. The Doctor must decide if he wants to stay on this planet where he is worshiped as a singer or remain with the Voyager. There is also the question of if he should be allowed to leave the ship, since he is in essence an Emergency Medical Hologram.

Robert Picardo turns in a fine performance in this episode, and there are some great scenes with him and Kate Mulgrew, but this is one of the show's weaker episodes.

It's still worth watching as it brings up some interesting concepts about exactly how to classify the Doctor now. Hologram property of Starfleet or a sentient being. In a way this is a courtroom episode, but instead of a courtroom it takes place in a concert hall.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

26 January 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Virtuoso

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1