One of Star Trek: Voyager‘s earliest episodes made a Star Trek: The Next Generation murder mystery storyline so much better. Voyager was the fourth series in the Star Trek franchise, and as such, had a lot of material to draw on for inspiration while still trying to create something unique. Star Trek series all tend to borrow stories and concepts from each other, especially the 1990s-era shows which included Voyager and TNG. This was often because certain writers and producers worked on multiple shows during that era, and in order to keep the franchise feeling interconnected while two or more shows were airing at once.While it was still establishing itself as part of the franchise, Voyager sometimes copied episodes from other Star Trek series like TNG. This was true in Voyager season 1, episode 8, “Ex Post Facto,” which saw Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) accused of the murder of a prominent alien scientist that Voyager’s crew had contacted for help. Although he maintained his innocence, Tom was forced to relive the final moments of his supposed victim’s life every 14 hours per the alien planet’s law. Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Tuvok (Tim Russ) set out to prove Tom’s innocence throughout the course of the episode.
Star Trek: Voyager’s Murder Mystery Copies A TNG Season 3 Episode
Barring a few minor differences, the storyline of “Ex Post Facto” is almost a direct copy of TNG season 3, episode 14, “A Matter of Perspective,” albeit with a more well-executed plot. The similarities between the two episodes are numerous. Both featured the show’s resident womanizer, Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) in TNG‘s case, being caught in a compromising situation with the wife of an alien scientist who is then murdered, after which they were accused of the crime. Both episodes also include a reenactment of the murder and the circumstances surrounding it, since the TNG crew recreated the events on the holodeck in order to try and determine Riker’s guilt.However, the episodes aren’t exactly the same, with the main difference being who actually committed the crime. Voyager‘s version of the story took the audience through what turned out to be a classic film noir plot, complete with a femme fatale in Paris’ erstwhile love interest Lidell Ren (Robin McKee), and a secret espionage conspiracy. In TNG, the answer was a bit more straightforward and also more tragic. It was revealed at the end of the episode that the scientist, Dr. Nel Apgar (Mark Margolis), accidentally killed himself in his attempt to kill Riker after the incident with Apgar’s wife spiraled out of control.
How Voyager Improved On TNG’s Original Murder Mystery
Thanks to Voyager‘s choices in reworking the plot, “Ex Post Facto” was a significant improvement in terms of storytelling over “A Matter of Perspective.” Voyager used a multitude of classic detective story and murder mystery tropes in the episode, not just noir tropes but also borrowing ideas from works like the Sherlock Holmes books. Although “Ex Post Facto” isn’t one of Star Trek: Voyager’s best episodes, the storyline was significantly more engaging than TNG‘s version. TNG treated the mystery more like a courtroom drama, and the plot unfolded somewhat formulaically, making the episode less engaging overall.
