The Killing Game, Part II (episode)

With half the Voyager crew trapped in a deadly simulation staged by the Hirogen, Captain Janeway must find a way to retake the ship.

Summary
As the holo-Nazis continue to pour out of the World War II holoprogram and into the corridors of the USS Voyager, which has been turned into one huge holodeck, Captain Kathryn Janeway and Seven of Nine fight their way to astrometrics. They use the sensors to find the location of the remaining crew members and the Hirogen. The determine that the neural interfaces that are controlling the crew are controlled out of sickbay and without disabling them, they cannot get the crew back. Sickbay however, is heavily guarded and they need help. They realize that the only allies they have in the simulation are the French Resistance and Americans.

Ensign Harry Kim informs the Hirogen about the extent to which this simulation has gotten out of control. In order to stop it and bring it under control, he suggests they allow him to go to engineering and initiate a power-surge across the holographic projector network. But the Hirogen overwatching him does not allow him to do so out of fear that it would destroy both holodecks. He tells Kim that he wants the holodeck technology preserved. Turanj suggests just killing the prey and moving on but Karr wants to preserve the technology and not jeopardize the ship's resources.

In the World War II simulation, Americans Captain Miller and Lieutenant Davis (Commander Chakotay and Lieutenant jg Tom Paris) as well as the members of the French Resistance try to make sense of the situation. They believe that all the technology they see is some sort of secret laboratory designed to make a secret weapon. Miller and Davis take charge and decide to disable it and use the cafe as the command post. Brigitte (Lt. jg B'Elanna Torres) is asked to help the Americans locate the weapons they have been hiding across town.

Crawling through the Jefferies tube, Janeway and Seven sneak back into the simulation to get assistance. Janeway persuades Captain Miller to attack "a generator" that powers the entire complex. With their help she will be able to set off some explosives. Right after they go through the "escape tunnel", which takes them out of the holodeck, the cafe is attacked by the Nazis.

The Doctor is being forced to treat more and more wounded sent in by the Hirogen. When he refuses to treat a Hirogen with minor injuries before a crewmember with massive internal injuries, he is deactivated by Turanj. Turanj gives orders to ignore the wounded prey and tend only to their own.

In the Klingon simulation, Neelix is drunk and thoroughly enjoying his time when Janeway enters his program. While Captain Miller keeps them distracted and is quite confused, Janeway gets The Doctor running again and learns from him that the only way to disable the neural interfaces is through the surgical console in sickbay. Since they don't have time, Janeway suggests they access the Jefferies tube that runs under that deck, set a few charges and just blow up the consoles. She and Captain Miller begin heading to the Jefferies tube under Sickbay and The Doctor is left to keep the Klingons company.

When Janeway and Miller arrive at the Jefferies tube under sickbay, they discover a level 9 force field around the console. She asks Miller to set the detonator for five minutes and makes her way to sickbay. She gets the Hirogen medic to leave with the threat of being killed and disables the force field as enemy troops begin to converge on sickbay. She narrowly escapes and when the bomb goes off, everyone's neural interfaces are finally disabled. However, Janeway is shot in the leg by a Hirogen.

The Germans, who have gotten into the café, hold Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, Torres, Paris and Seven as hostages. One of the Nazis engages Torres in a conversation, provoking her and almost shooting Paris for coming to her defense when he hits her. Meanwhile, in the Klingon simulation, Neelix and the Doctor are forced to engage in yet another battle.

Janeway is brought into the ready room to see Karr. He tells her that her effort to seize the vessel was inventive but that it is over now. He asks her to help him shut down the simulations and repair the holodecks. Janeway states that she would rather destroy the ship than surrender it. He continues threatening her but to no avail. Karr tells her that this is not merely a game but his attempt to create a future for his people because they are hunting themselves into extinction. He believes that Voyager's holodeck technology offers them an alternative, a new way of life. Instead of scattering themselves across the Delta Quadrant in pursuit of prey, they could simulate the hunt and concentrate on rebuilding their civilization. He tells Janeway how much he admires the Human race, which has faced extinction many times but still managed to avoid it. He admires humanity for its resilience. She finds his reasons noble, if his methods brutal, and agrees to give them the technology if he calls a cease-fire.

Unfortunately, that is easier said than done. When Turanj gets orders from Karr to call a cease-fire, he becomes enraged. Additionally, the holographic Nazi forces refuses to let their battle end. They believe that they are surrendering a battle they are winning and that they are "negotiating with inferior forms of life." Turanj agrees, giving a stirring speech to his holographic compatriots and attempts to attack the retreating Allied troops.

Meanwhile, The Doctor and Neelix are still in the Klingon simulation, watching the half-drunk Klingons eat. They realize that even in their half-drunken state, Klingons still make great warriors. They believe that they would make excellent warriors in the other simulation as well and would certainly be able to hold off the small band of Nazis attacking the Allies' position.

Just as the holodecks are about to be overloaded with a power-surge, Turanj shows up and shoots Karr with a German rifle. He then tells Janeway, his prey, to run. With her injured leg she can't move as fast as he can. However, she finds an area where the holoemitters do not reach, gets him to move his weapon into it, and then knocks him down, seizing his weapon. Janeway asks him to tell his hunters to stand down but he attacks her and she shoots him.

While Chakotay, Paris, Tuvok, Seven, Neelix, Torres, The Doctor and the Klingons are in the WWII simulation engaged in a heated battle with the Nazis, the hologrid finally overloads and the simulation ends.


 * "Captain's log, stardate 51715.2. The damage to Voyager has been extreme. Both sides have taken heavy casualties and it's clear that no one is going to win this conflict. The fighting has reached a standstill and the remaining Hirogen have agreed to negotiate a truce."

Janeway, after lots of diplomacy, gives the remaining Hirogen an optronic data core they can use to create holodeck technology on their own vessels. She tells the remaining Hirogen that she made a promise to their Alpha and she intends to keep that promise. She tells them to accept this "trophy" to create a new future for their own people. Somewhat reluctantly they accept and leave Voyager.

Memorable Quotes
"They're Nazis, totalitarian fanatics, bent on world conquest. The Borg of their day. No offense."
 * - Tom Paris to Seven of Nine

"Pardon me gentlemen, I wonder if I might have a word with you."

"They're Klingons, not kittens."
 * - Neelix and The Doctor, as Neelix is trying to get the attention of the Klingons in the simulation

"Qapla'!"

"Qapla'..."

(sarcastically) "Tally-ho."
 * - A Klingon, Neelix and The Doctor

"The thought of you carrying my child disgusts me."

"You're not the only one."
 * - The SS officer and B'Elanna Torres

"What should we do?"

"Not having a cure for Klingon hangovers, I couldn't tell you."


 * - Neelix and the Doctor

"Loosen up baby doll, the war's almost over."
 * - Tom Paris and Seven of Nine

"What do you think? Boy or a girl?"

"It's a holographic projection."

"Unfortunately, it's a very good projection. I feel 20 kilos heavier. It even kicks."


 * - Tom Paris, Seven of Nine and B'Elanna Torres on her holographic pregnancy.

"Funny, doesn't seem like your type."
 * - Tom Paris, to B'Elanna Torres concerning the SS Officer

"You speak English?"

"Yeah... I speak English."
 * - Tom Paris, while under the influence of a neural interface and Harry Kim

"Even half drunk, Klingons are among the best warriors in the galaxy."
 * - The Doctor

"Sing or you will die."

"Then I'll die....One day the Borg will assimilate your species, despite your arrogance. When that moment arrives, remember me."


 * - Turanj and Seven of Nine

"Qapla' gentlemen, Qapla'!"
 * - The Doctor, excitedly, to the Klingons during the final battle

"Accept this... trophy. You can use it to create a new future for your people. At the very least, you can hang it on your bulkhead."
 * - Captain Janeway giving the Hirogen holographic technology

Story and Script

 * This episode was affected by the evolution of the previous installment, . For instance, it was not decided how writing staffers Joe Menosky and Brannon Braga would fill up this second part, until one point late in the writing of that first half. Citing the two-parter and, Menosky remembered, "This felt very much in its dynamic as 'Year of Hell' did, where Brannon and I, as we were writing this, felt like we had about an episode and a quarter. We did not have the full two parts. We were just struggling. What is the image that we need?" (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 87)
 * It was while considering how to come up with enough material for this episode that the writers hit upon the idea of making a societal commentary, by having a certain ideology be central to the leader of the Hirogen invading Voyager. "At some point we came up with this idea that this wasn't just playtime on the holodeck. This wasn't just bad guys mucking around," Menosky related. "It was [about] a guy who [...] as leader of this small group of Hirogen, actually has some Trekkian notions, things that finally would weave into more of a humanistic message about change. How cultures who may be doing certain things in a destructive fashion have to learn to change and to somehow use elements in their culture like hunting, for example, and turn [them] to a more positive direction that isn't going to destroy the culture [....] That character thread [...] gave us more story for the second part." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, pp. 87-88) Menosky also commented of this development, "It especially helped part two, because at some point, it's a kind of Star Trek message [....] So what started out as 'Let's watch some sh** blow up and see World War II material,' and had an action-oriented or more visual inception, turned into a story with a thematic Star Trek basis." (Star Trek Monthly issue 39, p. 15)
 * This installment's final draft script was submitted on.

Cast and Characters

 * Although Neelix actor Ethan Phillips found discomfort with wearing both Talaxian and Klingon makeup simultaneously, he nevertheless enjoyed performing the scenes in which his character of Neelix looks like one of the Klingons. "Klingons are outrageous to play, especially those guys we played," Phillips recalled. "They were just nasty people. And they had these big bones, lamb shanks, that we were all [adopts a gruff voice] sitting around the campfire eating, [reverts to his usual voice] and I love lamb, so that was an added perk to that show. But it was all shot in the caves, you know. It gets pretty smoky in there. We [sang] some drunken songs and stuff like that. You know, it was fun." (VOY Season 4 DVD easter egg)
 * Despite trying to find a moral root in his role of an unnamed Nazi Kapitän, actor J. Paul Boehmer believed the character had a rotten core that became exposed once the Kapitän, in this episode, discovered that the mother of his unborn child was a member of the French resistance. "Once I find out that she's cheated on me, it's a total scorned lover routine," Boehmer observed. "At that point, you get the real heavy Nazi stuff, because for him it has then turned into a 'let's get her' routine." (Star Trek Monthly issue 46, p. 71)
 * J. Paul Boehmer found a particular section of this episode's dialogue to be notable. "There was a speech that I did that was very concise about what the Nazi movement was all about," he explained. "I thought it really encompassed what the thinking was in Germany, at the time, on the Jewish question, as they called it. It was interesting to have to say something like that, because the speech was so well written. It was interesting to get to say that, and to have to commit to it, because it's a really nasty speech. It's about getting rid of the Jews. There's nothing redeeming about it." (Star Trek Monthly issue 46, p. 71)
 * Following his appearances in this episode's two-parter, J. Paul Boehmer went on to portray another unnamed Nazi officer in and . Similarly, Paul S. Eckstein appeared as an unnamed Hirogen in not only this episode's two-parter but also in the feature-length Season 7 Voyager outing.

Production

 * According to the unauthorized reference book Delta Quadrant (p. 230), so many Klingon uniforms were needed for this episode that they were a combination of commonly-utilized ones from Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as numerous rarer ones from.
 * Filming of this episode's two-parter covered late November-early December . The Sainte Claire exteriors were filmed over three days, the second of which was, at Universal Studios' "European Street" backlot. (Star Trek Magazine issue 143)
 * A map of Toulouse was used to represent the map of Sainte Claire.
 * At one point on the Universal Studios' backlot, Tuvok actor Tim Russ took a break from filming (while Voyager's production crew scrambled, in the rain, to set up the next shot of this episode), relaxed in his temporary trailer (still wearing his makeup appliances for the role of Tuvok but dressed in plaid slacks and a black sweater), and spoke to interviewer Ian Spelling for The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine. Russ had worked at Universal Studios on a couple of previous occasions and had taken of the studios. "But to be on the actual outdoor lot," he said, "is kind of neat [....] To be shooting on the backlot now makes me appreciate how far I've come. The sets are great." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine, issue #17) Russ later reminisced, "We were on location, playing and dressing differently, doing different things. That was always welcome, it was always appreciated. Any departure from the routine of saying the same kinds of things all the time was fabulous. So, I really enjoyed doing that." (Braving the Unknown: Season Four, VOY Season 4 DVD)
 * One aspect that the cast did not enjoy was the rain. (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine, issue #17; Braving the Unknown: Season Four, VOY Season 4 DVD) Seven of Nine actress Jeri Ryan noted, "The weather was horrible." (Star Trek Monthly issue 40, p. 35) Tim Russ thought the miserable weather was unfortunately typical of working conditions whenever the Voyager cast and crew got to work outside the confines of the Paramount Pictures studio complex. (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine, issue #17) Immediately after expressing appreciation at the fact that the location shooting was permitted, Roxann Dawson remarked, "Of course, I remember it was raining. We [would] rarely go out and, of course, the weather chose to completely have a downpour that day. And we would have umbrellas over us – until they called, 'Action' – and then people would run away with the umbrellas and then we'd stand there, acting and getting soaked in the freezing rain. That was tough." (''Braving the Unknown: VOY Season 4 DVD)
 * Although it rained on the second day of the location shoot, this was meager compared to a rainstorm that arrived on the next night, during which the nighttime battle sequence – at the conclusion of this installment – was being filmed. Mitch Suskin, this episode's visual effects supervisor, recalled, "The only unforeseen complication about that whole sequence is that, when we were shooting on the Universal back lot in the European village, we had one of those terrible El Niño rainstorms on the last night of shooting [....] It was all being shot in sequence [....] I remember as we stood under our umbrellas that night thinking, 'How is this going to work?'" (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 89)
 * The stormy weather was almost too much for Jeri Ryan to endure, she having become extremely stressed by a lack of sleep – due to Star Trek: Voyager's filming schedule – as well as a consecutive run of illnesses. "It all came to a head during an exterior night shoot when El Nino moved in, and it started to rain on us – pouring rain – and I completely broke down," Ryan stated. "I couldn't function. I just sat down for a long time crying and trying to figure out if being on the show was worth it, because at that point it didn't seem like it was [....] Anybody would buckle under those circumstances." (TV Week magazine (Canada) of May 8-14, 1999, pp. 6-7, 9 from "Super Moms", an interview by Michael Logan)
 * The rainstorm was so extreme that, ultimately, it was included in the episode. Mitch Suskin remarked, "It really wasn't part of the script, but it ended up working out [....] It's a major part of the scene [....] It played well in the end." Suskin also referred to the fact that the location work was shot in sequence as "fortunate." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 89)
 * In one shot from the night battle sequence, The Doctor (as played by Robert Picardo) welcomes the Klingons to the battle, stepping out from under an awning. He then glances up at the rain while wiping the top of his head. Mitch Suskin reckoned, "I think [Picardo] did that as a gag on the set, not thinking that they'd use it. But they kept it in because a few shots later, it was raining so hard you couldn't mask the fact it was pouring." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 89)
 * J. Paul Boehmer enjoyed working with director Victor Lobl on this episode, as well as with David Livingston on the two-parter's first half, and found both directors to be extremely helpful. The actor enthused, "The directors were very much aligned on what they wanted from the individual episodes. Both of them were very good at seeing where the thrust of the piece needed to go. I had a pretty clear vision of what it needed to be, too, so it was pretty easy to move that forward. They were terrific to work with, both of them. They were very supportive, very helpful." Boehmer concluded that he also found both directors to be "really great to [him]" about the fact that the two-parter was his first acting job in television work. (Star Trek Monthly issue 46, p. 71)
 * The module given to the Hirogen is the same pair of props used in to contain the Moriarty program.

Effects

 * CGI was used to show Teranj's view over Sainte Claire, from the holographic devastation of Nazi headquarters. Mitch Suskin explained, "We had one matte painting looking out the window [....] That was all digital. That was all matte painting, a 3-D miniature [...] done by Eric Chauvin." The fact that it had been raining during the filming of the nighttime footage influenced the creation of the matte painting. "We put rain in the Eric Chauvin shot too," Suskin noted. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 89)
 * The subsequent shot of Teranj falling from the devastated building brought about some consternation, because – when Digital Muse had created, for the previous installment, the model of the breach between the holodeck and one of Voyager's hallways – they had been unaware of the Hirogen's descent, not having read the script of this second part. Mitch Suskin reflected, "We were actually kind of worried about that shot. We really weren't sure how well that was going to do [....] [Digital Muse] did a few touchups on [the model], and I think repainted some of the texture maps so we could get closer." With the gap model readied, the shot of the tumble was visualized digitally. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, pp. 88 & 89)
 * Teranj's plummet was considered to be highly effective. Mitch Suskin remarked, "It worked really well." The shot was so convincing, in fact, that it even fooled other production staffers, who incorrectly suspected it was a stunt. Suskin offered, "I remember there was somebody in the office, I think it might have been one of our production assistants who was saying, 'That's really cool. That must have been a difficult stunt to do.' We said, 'No, it was really easy, because it's not a stunt at all.' That was surprisingly successful." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 89)

Reception

 * Both Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky were ultimately very happy with this episode's two-parter, being especially proud of its thematic content. "I was very pleased with it," Braga remarked. "It had a lot of scope and adventure, and it also had some interesting themes about how cultures change of necessity. There were parallels between Germany and the Hirogen, and even ourselves. I hope it struck a chord with Americans, because Americans out of all the cultures in the world, change the most. We are constantly reinventing ourselves. So there are big themes in there [...] and it turned out great." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 87) Additionally, he remarked about the two-parter, "It was huge. It was a movie [....] It had a great sweep and great themes [....] What was interesting about [its portrayal of the Nazis] was that in some ways it reflected what was going on with the Hunter species [the Hirogen], and ironically the Nazi, in his propaganda-ish speech, convinces the Hunter not to give up his way of life and kill the leader and all that stuff. So the two stories ended up converging." (Star Trek Monthly issue 44, p. 12) Braga also counted this episode's two-parter as a highlight of the fourth season (along with and  as well as ), and opined that – in common with the two-parter "Year of Hell" – this episode's duology involved "high concept stories with an epic sweep, with big cinematic action sequences, and all of the characters [having] something fun to do." (Star Trek Monthly issue 44, p. 12) Menosky offered, "There's a certain thematic underpinning to it, which I think worked really well." (Star Trek Monthly issue 39, p. 14) "I think that's why that episode worked as well as it did," Menosky continued. "Plus we just got some great explosions, and that's important for the kids. It was wonderful to see. It's always great when you write this, and you see people bring it to life in an amazing way that's way better than you would have imagined it." Braga was also highly satisfied with the two-parter's production. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 88)
 * Another production staffer who was impressed by the making of the "Killing Game" two-parter was Jeri Taylor, who – in common with Brannon Braga – considered the two-parter to be one of the high points of Voyager's fourth season. "That was probably the most ambitious production we've ever attempted," exclaimed Taylor. (Star Trek Monthly issue 40, p. 15)
 * Tim Russ also thought highly of the "Killing Game" two-parter. "It was spectacular," he opined. "I thought it was very well done [....] The World War simulation was interesting." Like Jeri Taylor and Brannon Braga, Russ also counted the two-parter as one of his highlights of the fourth season, together with the five-episode Hirogen-centric story arc that includes the two-parter. "I think those were definitely interesting for me," he remarked. "They were very different." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, pp. 100 & 102)
 * This episode aired back-to-back with on its first airing. Even though these two episodes were originally intended to initially air on two separate nights, the decision to first broadcast both parts on the same night as each other was made by UPN, surprising the producers. Brannon Braga commented, "It was actually their idea. We planned it as a two part episode, and it was their idea to air it on the same night as a Voyager movie of sorts." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 89) Indeed, it was also originally planned that the two parts would first air as a single, feature-length edition (and promotional trailers for the episodes advertised them as such). However, these plans did not materialize, and each episode aired as a separate entity. A feature-length version was broadcast by the BBC on its first airing on, and formed part of the UK VHS release Star Trek: Voyager - Movies.
 * The way in which the two-parter originally aired was a Star Trek first, because – although there had been feature-length episodes in the past (with Star Trek: Voyager's own pilot episode,, included among them) – this was the first time when both halves of a two-parter aired on a single night. Tim Russ noted, "Again, here we go with defying convention, breaking the rules once in a while. That's what keeps people interested." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 100)
 * Both Brannon Braga and Tim Russ were ultimately happy with the ratings of the "Killing Game" two-parter, as well as the fact that both segments of the two-parter were first aired on the same night as each other. Russ observed, "I think it was received quite well [....] To put on a two-hour show like that in one night was just great." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 100) Similarly, Braga said, "It really worked out well. The ratings were quite good." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 89) In fact, this episode achieved a Nielsen rating of 4.3 million homes, and a 7% share. The two-parter also ranked number 89, well above numerous series on the television network . (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 89)
 * Cinefantastique rated this episode 3 out of 4 stars. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 102)
 * Star Trek Monthly scored this episode 5 out of 5 stars. (Star Trek Monthly issue 45, p. 61)
 * The unauthorized reference book Delta Quadrant (p. 231) gives the installment a rating of 10 out of 10.
 * The success of this two-parter's first airing influenced two-hour, feature-length episodes in subsequent seasons. (Beyond the Final Frontier, p. 316) The first of these was, of whose development Joe Menosky said, "Because of the success of airing 'The Killing Game' in a single night, the network and the studio were really interested in doing a Voyager movie, a two-part episode that was aired on a single evening." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 31, No. 11, p. 32)

Continuity and Trivia

 * The Hirogen return in the seventh season episode, which reveals the results of their usage of the holographic technology provided to them at the end of this installment.
 * As mentioned above, the Nazis – following their appearance here – went on to return in ENT: "Zero Hour" and "Storm Front", an incident resulting from agents of the Temporal Cold War sending Captain Archer and the back to the Second World War.
 * This two-parter marks the only episodes where Roxann Dawson's pregnancy is intentionally shown on screen, although Seven of Nine clarifies that – in this case – her character's pregnancy is holographic.
 * Torres says that they stole the weapons from the Germans, yet their weapons (M1 Garand, Colt M1911) are all American.
 * Although the holographic German officer holds the rank of captain (Hauptsturmführer), he clearly regards Turanj as his superior officer, despite the latter bearing the lower ranked second lieutenant (Untersturmführer) insignia.

Video and DVD releases

 * UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 4.10, catalogue number VHR 4631,.
 * In feature-length form, as part of the UK VHS collection Star Trek: Voyager - Movies: Volume 3 (with "Equinox"),.
 * As part of the VOY Season 4 DVD collection.

Starring

 * Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

Also starring

 * Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay
 * Roxann Dawson as Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres
 * Robert Duncan McNeill as Lieutenant Tom Paris
 * Ethan Phillips as Neelix
 * Robert Picardo as The Doctor
 * Tim Russ as Lieutenant Commander Tuvok
 * Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine
 * Garrett Wang as Ensign Harry Kim

Guest Stars

 * Danny Goldring as Karr
 * Mark Metcalf as a Hirogen medic
 * Mark Deakins as Turanj
 * J. Paul Boehmer as a Kapitän
 * Paul Eckstein as a Young Hirogen
 * Peter Hendrixson as a Klingon

Uncredited Co-Stars

 * David Keith Anderson as Ashmore
 * Brian Hite
 * Tom Morga as a Klingon

External link

 * "The Killing Game" at FiveMinute.net

Das Tötungsspiel, Teil II The Killing Game, Part II The Killing Game, Part II The Killing Game, Deel II