Talk:Message in a Bottle (episode)

Forum:Voyager and the Dominion
Why would the Doctor be unaware of the Dominion, even though Voyager had holograms of Jem'Hadar attack ships, Breen and Jem'Hadar? -- Warp One 15:09, 10 March 2006 (UTC)


 * A possibility: that knowledge of the Dominion was not relevant to medical treatment.  He could have therefore found it out by reference to the ship's libary computer if it was needed; it just wasn't stored in his program.  But that is just base speculation.  Aholland 15:34, 10 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Well the Breen hologram can explained quite easily because they are an Alpha Quadrant species and only joined the Dominion after Voyager's disappearance. Maybe (only maybe) the Jem'Hadar hologram was from Torres' program from (I think it in ) that she created when she found out the Maquis were gone, since it's unlikely that the Doctor would have used the program. In addition while the doctor's program was being created the Federation may have had no information on the medical nature of the Jem'Hadar and as such the politics of the situation was unimportant to his program. As for the ship I have no idea Igotbit 18:50, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

Doctor converses with Starfleet
"The Doctor then informs Starfleet of Voyager's condition, position, and of everything that has happened to the crew since they arrived in the Delta Quadrant. He discovers that Voyager was officially declared lost 14 months ago, but after The Doctor sets the record straight directly to Starfleet Headquarters, they send the Doctor back to Voyager through the subspace relay network with a message for the captain: Voyager is no longer alone."

Should it be mentioned that virtually all of this -- the emotional payoff of the episode, BTW -- takes place offscreen?

Reviewer Comment
One reviewer (I can't remember who), praising the interplay between Picardo and Dick, called them "the Niles and Frasier of Starfleet." After I read that, I was able to see a similarity to the relationship of the Crane brothers in Frasier.

Regarding Alfa/Beta Quadrants
"'According to the display in Astrometrics on Voyager, showing the position of the USS Prometheus, the ship was actually in the Beta Quadrant, although the relay station network did reach into the deep space regions of the Alpha Quadrant.'" Not only is the Prometheus in the Beta Quadrant, according to the episode the network doesn't even come close to the Alfa Quadrant. Shouldn't this be an honest-to-goodness error?


 * Actually, Seven says that the ship is "near the outer edges of the Alpha Quadrant." That could mean that the Prometheus is either just inside or just outside the Alpha Quadrant.


 * Also, when the Doctor first arrives on the Prometheus he specifically asks the computer if the ship is in the Alpha Quadrant. The computer clearly affirms that they are, in fact, in that Quadrant.


 * In addition to that - the map from Astrometrics does not have the four Quadrants labeled in any fashion. We cannot be certain that the four divisions that are shown are intended to be the quadrant borders.  Therefore, given all this, it seems that saying the ship is "actually in the Beta Quadrant" jumps the gun.


 * True, when in a canon production do they say "the Beta Quadrant begins here and ends there? Many people belive non-canon books and posters that state the Earth is the line of demarcation, but I don't recall it being labeled as such on the map. The dialogue is principal to what we are trying to record here. -- Captain MKB 05:30, 24 April 2007 (UTC)


 * The 30th Anniversary [Canadian] TV Guide Star Trek edition had a large poster map in it (which I have lost, very regretfully), which had it like this:


 * &mdash; And Earth/Sol system (I coloured it light blue) was very much in the centre, but still in the Alpha Quadrant. -Mardus 17:31, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
 * &mdash; And Earth/Sol system (I coloured it light blue) was very much in the centre, but still in the Alpha Quadrant. -Mardus 17:31, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
 * &mdash; And Earth/Sol system (I coloured it light blue) was very much in the centre, but still in the Alpha Quadrant. -Mardus 17:31, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
 * &mdash; And Earth/Sol system (I coloured it light blue) was very much in the centre, but still in the Alpha Quadrant. -Mardus 17:31, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
 * &mdash; And Earth/Sol system (I coloured it light blue) was very much in the centre, but still in the Alpha Quadrant. -Mardus 17:31, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
 * &mdash; And Earth/Sol system (I coloured it light blue) was very much in the centre, but still in the Alpha Quadrant. -Mardus 17:31, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
 * &mdash; And Earth/Sol system (I coloured it light blue) was very much in the centre, but still in the Alpha Quadrant. -Mardus 17:31, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
 * &mdash; And Earth/Sol system (I coloured it light blue) was very much in the centre, but still in the Alpha Quadrant. -Mardus 17:31, 9 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Be that as it may, "The 30th Anniversary [Canadian] TV Guide Star Trek edition" is not cannon.


 * While it is clearly cannon that the quadrant borders are arranged as you describe, evidenced by maps clearly visible from VOY: "Pathfinder" and VOY: "Endgame," there is NO cannon evidence that Earth sits on the border between the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. This assumption comes entirely from non-cannon sources.


 * It is possible that Federation space is at least near the Beta Quadrant border, evidenced from several throw-away lines (most notably from Sulu's three year exploration of the Beta Quadrant in "The Undiscovered Country" and Captain Lisa Cusak's seven year exploration of the quadrant in DS9: "The Sound of Her Voice.") However, that does not necessarily mean that Earth is anywhere near the Beta Quadrant border or that Federation territory even extends into that quadrant.


 * In addition, as I've said above, this episode gives absolutely no indication that the Beta Quadrant is even involved. The Prometheus' computer clearly states that the ship is in the Alpha Quadrant and the map from the episode does not label the four galactic divisions as the four Quadrants.  Therefore, it seems reasonable to simply take the dialogue at face value.  The ship is in the Alpha, not the Beta, Quadrant. 206.21.110.123 20:03, 14 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I have removed the trivia items stating "that according to astrometrics, the ship is in the Beta quadrant" since it seems to have sneaked back in there and I believe this discussion covers why it shouldn't be there Melak 16:07, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Sending the Doctor question
This is something that really puzzles me. When you send a file via email, the file is still on your computer. Therefore, when the Doctor's program is sent over the relay network, it should still be in Voyager's computer. Why, then, is it not? Things that are sent via computer are not generally deleted upon sending them. Avengah 07:06, 29 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Because holodoctors work differently than normal files. They're self contained entities and if you could just reproduce them willy-nilly then why not create a whole army of holopeople to fight wars and so forth. It just comes down to the fact that the doctor is unique and an individual and when you transmit his file it's like your transporting a person down to the surface of a planet...You destroy the local copy and create a new one somewhere else with other matter. I'm sure there's a talk somewhere on this site where this type of stuff is being debated. --Morder 08:18, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Removed comment
The following nitpick was removed by an anon user, posting here for the record:


 * When B'Elanna Torres transfers The Doctor's program to the transceiver array, his mobile emitter disappears with the Doctor. As the mobile emitter is not part of the Doctor's programming, it should have simply fallen to the floor.--31dot 02:31, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

Another removed nit (nothing to so with the previous one, but why make a new section if we have this one...):


 * raises questions about Harry's struggles in this episode. The presence of an Emergency Medical Hologram backup module in "Witness" suggests at least two possibilities.  Either Kim's failure to program a new version of the Doctor prompted the creation of the module, or the module was standard technology on all vessels equipped with an EMH.  If the latter, there was never any need for Kim's failed effort at programming a new version of the Doctor in this episode, unless the backup module was initially present but lost before the events of this episode. This possibility indicates that the Voyager encountered the Kyrians and the Vaskans prior to this episode.

*Jasper* 21:56, February 1, 2010 (UTC)

Removed this unnecessary speculation from the Background Info regarding uniforms. It's obvious why they don't wear Alpha Quadrant uniforms, there's no need to comment further.--CoffeeBlack 15:49, April 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * This is likely because creating new uniforms would put an unnecessary strain on the ship's energy reserves, through the Replicator system, when they already had perfectly serviceable uniforms. In other words, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."


 * Thanks Coffee, I don't know how I missed that speculatory comment on my initial run through.--Obey the Fist!! 17:19, April 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * There is a goof in the beginning of the episode. Seven's graph on the screen shows the network and the Prometheus as being in the Beta Quadrant, not the Alpha Quadrant as stated.
 * Here's another. - 22:54, August 5, 2010 (UTC)

Removed quotes
Removed the following quotes, per the new MA:QUOTE page, to here for possible discussion. Some of these I think were put here simply because they were funny, which doesn't mean memorable. The others didn't seem particularly memorable.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency... what the hell are you doing in my sickbay?"
 * - EMH Mark II

"I am as close to a sentient lifeform as any hologram could hope to be. I socialize with the crew, fraternize with aliens, I've even had sexual relations."

"SEX? How is that possible? We are not - equipped..."

"...let's just say: I made an addition to my program..."

"Before you leave, maybe you could download those subroutines into my database?"

"We'll see..."
 * - The Doctor and EMH Mark II

"I assure you I am in perfect health; I was saving Voyager from annihilation when you were only a gleam in your programmer's eye! Now are you going to help me take back this ship or not?"

"Get me the thrombic modulator" (The Doctor randomly picks a spherical object). "It's the cone shaped device, hand it to me PLEASE! Medical science has made a few advances while you've been off in the - Delta Quadrant, did you say? We don't use scalpels or leeches anymore...".
 * - The Doctor and EMH Mark II

"Two holograms alone, Romulans on one side, Starfleet on the other, alarms beeping everywhere."
 * - EMH Mark II

"Specify attack pattern."

"Attack pattern... Alpha?"

"Specify target."

"Romulans!"
 * - Prometheus computer, The Doctor, and the EMH Mark II'

"Stop breathing down my neck!"

"My breathing is merely a simulation!"

"So is my neck, stop it anyway!"
 * - The Doctor and EMH Mark II

"What are you waiting for? Shoot! Shoot!"

"There are so many controls..."

"Find the one that says 'fire' and push it!"

"It's not working. It says here the phasers are off-line."

"Well, then fire a torpedo! (the Prometheus fires a torpedo that hits a ship) You hit the wrong ship!"

"It wasn't my fault!"

"Well then whose fault was it, the torpedo's? You're supposed to tell it what to do!"
 * - The Doctor and EMH Mark II

"Stop breathing down my neck!"

"My breathing is merely a simulation--"

"So is my neck! Stop it anyway."


 * - The Doctor and EMH Mark II--31dot 11:53, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

Adding additional removed quotes/passages:

"Is the Federation at war with the Romulans?"

"No - the Romulans haven't gotten involved in our fight with the Dominion..."

"The who?!"

"Long story."
 * - The Doctor and EMH Mark II

"... However, I found something disturbing in his blood work. It seems he's been exposed to a nasty strain of the Torothka Virus, and if he was, you may all have been. I've come to run some scans."

"No one here is sick!"

"Not yet. I understand the stomach cramps are unbearable, although some say that the rash is worse."

"Conduct your scans."
 * - The Doctor and Rekar

"What else have you done to this ship? I will deactivate you unless you start answering my questions."

"If I answer them you'll very likely deactivate me anyway, so I fail to see the point."

...

"Tell me who is operating your program. Is it someone on this ship? A Starfleet crewmember we missed, or one of my own men?"

"Paranoia is a way of life for you, isn't it?"
 * - Rekar and The Doctor

"Trapped, in the Jefferies tube, alone, nowhere to run. His smug comrade captured by Romulans. EMH Mark II had to improvise!"
 * - EMH Mark II, to The Doctor

"I warned you!"

"I apologize for our intrusion - allow me to explain..."

"No explanation!"

"Your relay network gave us the unique opportunity to communicate with our people - they are very far away; we're expecting a message back from them!"

"All messages will be intercepted!"

"There must be some room for negotiation - is there anything you might accept in exchange for... (the Hirogen screams in agony as bolts of energy discharges spread all over his body)
 * - Idrin and Captain Janeway

"What happened?"

"I generated a feedback surge along our sensor link."

(The captain and engineer are both in shock, mouths wide open)

"You killed him?"

"It was a mild shock - he will recover."

"And when he does?!"

"He wasn't responding to diplomacy."

(Incredulous)"Is the sensor link stable?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Let me know if our friend gives us any more trouble."
 * - Janeway, Seven of Nine, and B'Elanna Torres

--31dot 14:27, August 8, 2011 (UTC)

Stardate
Where does the listed stardate for this episode come from? The only place I've seen it is here on MA and on StarTrek.com -- it's not in the Voyager Companion and its not on the DVD set, and there are no Captain's logs in the episode. The reason I ask is that the stardate places the episode before "Waking Moments", which was produced after it, but the episode is clearly set directly before "Hunters", which aired after it. Regulation Bowling Alley 01:34, July 14, 2011 (UTC)

It comes from --Archer4real 18:28, March 19, 2012 (UTC)