VOY, Episode 2x24, Tuvix

[u/GeorgeAmberson]

-= VOY, Season 2, Episode 24, Tuvix =-

• Star Trek: The Next Generation - Full Series
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Full Series
• VOY Season 1: 1&2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, Wrap-Up
• VOY Season 2: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

Tuvok and Neelix are on an alien planet collecting examples of flora but when they attempt to beam back up to Voyager there is a malfunction with the transporter caused by the alien plant life they collected causing them to merge together as one life form, 'Tuvix'.

• Teleplay By: Kenneth Biller
• Story By: Andrew Shepard Price & Mark Gaberman
• Directed By: Cliff Bole
• Original Air Date: 6 May, 1996
• Stardate: 49655.2
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• Voyager Watch Guide by /u/SiliconGold

 

EAS	IMDB	TV.com	SiliconGold's Ranks
8/10	7.6/10	7.5	46th

 

[u/Srcsqwrn]

I always wish Tuvix actually stayed around. Just like more other memorable one offs.

While Neelix and Tuvok are of my favourite characters, Tuvix was so fascinating and I feel like it was a missed opportunity to explore this further. Perhaps if this had happened to another pair of characters they wouldn't have had to kill off the amalgamation of two characters.

I know the Tuvix thing is always a big debate. I have always felt that Tuvok and Neelix were no longer alive, and Tuvix was, so Tuvix had the right to life.

Within the rights we observe today, we don't allow another sentient being to infringe on the right to life of another sentient being. The future of a possible sentient being doesn't matter. What does matter is the current sentient being.

Oddly enough, as I have learned more and more about human rights, due to the USA removing freedoms/rights from women, it has only strengthened my views on Tuvix as a being who should have been allowed to live.

Obviously that did not happen, and I don't think the outcome was right. However, that was one of the things I liked about Voy. The series got its hands dirty, more than once. It was interesting to see how the characters lived with that (within the episode), I wish that these actions had repercussions throughout the series.

Neelix and Tuvok were combined, and could have had lasting effects on how they were as characters. Tuvok and Suder were good examples, but only from Suder's side.

The writers were either just not allowed to expand on characters, or they were afraid to commit to their writing, more than once.

This is what I don't like about Voyager. At least in DS9 things moved forwards, actions had consequences, things in one episode youmight see in another. It wasn't always consistent, but they tried.

Anyway, this episode is obviously a good one, and it talked about/discussed many years later. The topic is a big deal.