Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series) Alter Ego (1997) User Reviews

Harry falls for a hologram but she has fallen for Tuvok!

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 20 August 2010]

Harry Kim has a problem; he has fallen in love with a character called Marayna on the holodeck and wants Tuvok's help to purge the feelings he has for her. When they visit her on the holodeck it is clear that Tuvok will have a lot of work to do if he is to cure Harry's love. That evening Neelix organises a party for the crew on the holodeck and Tuvok attends despite not being keen on the idea. When he gets there he is surprised to find Marayna playing a Vulcan game; they get involved in a conversation and it is clear that she understands the way he thinks and appears to think the same way herself. It soon becomes clear that she is becoming obsessed with Tuvok; when he deletes her character she transfers herself to sickbay and steals the Doctor's mobile emitter. It then becomes apparent that she is no ordinary holodeck character but is some how connected to the phenomenon that Voyager had been exploring.

As this episode got underway it seems like it was just an excuse to return to Neelix's Beach program that is populated by beautiful women with minimal clothing. While that might be true Marayna was an interesting character, she certainly didn't behave like any of the other holodeck characters. When it is revealed just what Marayna is it was a nice surprise, I'd been expecting another clichéd hologram malfunction. Overall this was a fairly enjoyable episode, Sandra Nelson was good as Marayna and Tim Russ put in another good performance as Tuvok

Star Trek: Voyager - Alter Ego

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 17 January 2017]

Janeway and crew encounter gorgeous inversion nebula, inexplicably remaining active despite typical behavior dictating eventual burnout. Sandra Nelson stars as holographic luau beauty, on a program designed by Neelix to lighten the moods of the crew, named Marayna. Ensign Kim is head over heels for Marayna, going to Tuvok with a desire to practice alleviating all emotion due to just the embarrassing fact he's not in love with a *real* woman. Tuvok reluctantly attends the luau becoming compelled by Marayna who sizes him up analytically well. Soon Marayna is obsessed with Tuvok and uses The Doctor's mobile emitter (which allows holographic characters to move about the ship) to visit him in his quarters for a game of kal-toh (mentally challenging game where order is sought in chaos). Soon, the ship malfunctioning occurring since arriving at the nebula and Marayna is determined by Janeway and crew to be linked, with Tuvok key to halting the potential of Voyager's destruction. Kim and Tuvok in a rather unanticipated triangle with what is at first perceived to be a computer subroutine sure is quite a lead-in for the episode, directed by The Doctor himself, Robert Picardi! Tuvok and his logic dealing with Kim and his jealousy while a holographic woman yearns to be with the Vulcan...now that is quite a plot development! Slight, but fun...seeing Torres, Paris, and Tuvok under attack from holographic Hawaiians at a luau as a lei is used as a means to choke is just too funny. Loved the end with Tuvok apologizing to Kim and making an effort to offer an olive branch. The real Marayna revealed isn't underwhelming as I was expecting, as Tuvok gives her advice worth considering and their talk has intellectual and reasonable results.

A Fragile Plot

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 26 August 2018]

To start with, it would seem like the holodeck is to the male characters on the ship what an inflatable doll is to some lonely guy. I mean, the characters are touchable and can be made any way one wants. Here, Harry Kim falls for a beautiful character. But she is wise and intellectual and not the usual empty headed treat that is produced by some male imagination. It turns out that her intellect and her strong presence attracts Tuvok. This leads to jealousy, even though he stays true to his character. I began by thinking this was really stupid, but the final fifteen minutes are quite nicely done.

Late 1990's internet chat summed up in an episode.

[thevacinstaller · 6/10 · 21 July 2021]

An understated exploration of Tuvok's emotional control.

Essentially that is what this episode is all about. Tuvok is isolated on a ship full of emotional humans and this episode tells the story of his temptation and an exploration of loneliness.

There is a bunch of 9 and 10 ratings for this episode on IMDB? Did I have a long day at work and miss some profound message in this episode?

I dig the idea of Tuvok being tempted to display emotion but I feel they could have really pushed that idea farther and really put a candle to Tuvok.

Perhaps the episode is a statement upon the powerful effect of love?

Whatever message this episode was attempting to convey did not get through to me.

Tuvok's sorry about hitting on Kim's crush --- the end.

More Than A Woman

[Bolesroor · 10/10 · 2 February 2011]

Tuvok and Kim find they're both involved with the same woman- a holodeck character!

Now this is what I like to see in Star Trek: A little romance, a little danger, a little Vulcan and a little Holodeck-gone-wrong. Notice I say "little" danger. When the Marayna character breaks free of the Holodeck and takes over the ship, none of the crew is terrorized, tortured or brought to the brink of death. Just enough trouble to propel the story to the next act, which it does brilliantly.

I loved the story beats going from Kim's infatuation with Marayna to Tuvok's... it was very well-handled and kept me guessing all the way through. It also proves that even Vulcans appreciate a great pair of melons.

Tim Russ is great as a Vulcan... it seems to come second-nature to him, and he doesn't shy away from the genuine hostility that would arise from dealing with emotional humans. And the fact that the real Marayna eventually raises questions in Tuvok about his own loneliness is just brilliant writing. A winner.

GRADE: A

Classic Trek: Discover source of a useful phenomena & people, then leave.

[wwcanoer-tech · 8/10 · 31 October 2021]

Voyageur discovers a nebula that should burn itself out but doesn't because a dampening field extinguishes every strand that ignites. Janeway wants to learn how the dampening field works so that they can improve containment of warp plasma. But Voyageur gets caught in the Nebula and can't leave.

Meanwhile, Harry has fallen in love with a holodeck character (Marayna) which, albeit a little humorous, feels like it will be boring and predictable B plot. But surprise, when Tuvock finds that Marayna to be extremely perceptive and intelligent, it is likely clear to most viewers that she will be the A plot and is likely due to the nebula -- an alien or an natural interaction with the nebula. Of course, Tuvok doesn't realize this until Maryana steals the Doctor's portable holo emitter, appears in his quarters and shows that she can control the ship.

They manage to find the alien who controls the nebula and Tuvok predictably convinces her to let Voyageur go. So, "poof", they leave immediately.

Voyageur is supposedly a ship of exploration, but whenever they meet a new people who they can learn from, they don't. Here, they could easily have stayed while Marayana helped them to install a dampening field in their ship, and explained how to protect themselves from another Marayana while Tuvok helps Marayana. They don't need to show all of that but could simply state it and then find a transition to end the show, but the formula is that they need to be seen resuming their journey on each episode. Less time in the formulaic trying to troubleshoot why they can't leave and more time in discovery after the crisis is averted.

Harry Kim is an idiot.

[txriverotter · 4/10 · 24 June 2022]

I don't get the love for this episode. I see Harry as the consummate lovestruck idiot. He falls in love with the "wrong" person every time, right? And he does it over and over and over.

But the problem is not that Harry has a crush or falls in love, it's that he handles it like a teenage boy. He can't concentrate on his work, he stomps around to let everyone know how unhappy he is and he comes on too strong, too fast and too creepy.

And Marayna was way too mature for Harry; that's why she fell for Tuvok.

Great episode. Intellectual, romantic, funny.

[smiledaydream · 10/10 · 6 February 2021]

Great episode. I want to go look at who wrote this episode and what other episodes they wrote. The first thing I like is this isn't just a Star Wars gun fight episode. The story really sticks together. I really care about the characters a lot in this episode. The intellectual dilemma is very much top Star Trek level. The humor is excellent. And I didn't have to listen to Neelix name a food by combining its Delta quadrant origin with an Earth vegetable name. :)

Arguing over a holo woman?! Huh?!? Don't worry...it does get better.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 18 February 2015]

The premise to "Alter Ego" is just stupid. Harry Kim is in love with a holodeck woman and so he seeks out advice from Tuvok on how to control his emotions. However, when Tuvok himself meets this same holo lady, he's also very intrigued by her. While he would never call it love since he's a super-stoic Vulcan, it's obvious this is the case. Soon, Harry Kim sees that Tuvok is spending time with her and he's furious-- which makes no sense.

At this point, I was longing for this god-awful plot to end. Fortunately, it took a wonderful detour and eventually it turned into a dandy episode. How? Just see this episode and force yourself to keep watching!

Overall, surprisingly good despite a slow and rocky premise.

It was not an oversight, I assure you

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 10 January 2023]

A holodeck character causes chaos on board Voyager, particularly for Kim and Tuvok.

This is an enjoyable episode with good character moments.

This is a character-driven story, mostly about Tuvok and a guest character. It has some particularly strong moments for Tuvok whose Vulcan ways are explored very well in how he handles a variety of situations. I like the exploration of loneliness and the associated connection to feelings of love. It feels like a plot that would not feel out of place in the original series or TNG.

Some aspects are quite predictable, especially how certain events portrayed eventually link together. The writers are also relatively mean to Harry Kim again with a Geordi La Forge-esque portrayal of his love life.

Tim Russ is the standout performer and carries the episode very well, supported nicely by Sandra Nelson and Garrett Wang.

For me it's a 7.5/10, but I round upwards.

An Emotional Vulcan

[MACEDAO · 10/10 · 17 February 2021]

Just love it how the plot is enrolled and how it was created an emotion on Tuvok and in the end he couldn't play alone the Vulcan game because he is feeling the presence of Maryanna.

CREEPY HARRY KIM strikes out again

[awbusa · 10/10 · 16 November 2020]

Yet another HARRY KIM in LOVE STORY

HARRY KIM SUCKS and is freaking CREEPY

SERIOUSLY why wasn't HARRY KIM eaten by a cave monster instead of CREWMAN HOGAN ?

A Beautiful Holo Woman - Or is she?

[XweAponX · 10/10 · 10 June 2013]

Sandra Nelson was the most Gorgeous Holodeck Woman - Marayna - ever to show up in Neelix's Holodeck Program. Where'd she come from? Ensign Kim is madly in love with her, this is no big surprise, as I am too.

So he wants to mind meld with Tuvok to remove this infatuation. Unfortunately, Tovok starts falling for her as well - But even more unfortunate, she falls for Tuvok!

At first I thought this was going to end up like Dr Moriarty (Daniel Davis) on the Enterprise Holodeck - And this is referred to here as well. But there is more going on.

Voyager is passing through a Nebula where some strange things are happening - There are Streams of Force which would tear an Intrepid Class ship to tiny Verteron chunks, but for the fact they dissipate for no reason at all. Nosey Janeway wants to find out what is causing this.

In the course of this episode, she does - But it is not what she thinks, nor what we think initially.

What appears to be an Intelligent Hologram turns out to be a real person! A real person whose feelings can be hurt just like anyone else.

I was yelling all through this episode, "Just be Nice to this woman" - But of course, she was demanding some unrealistic things here, she wanted Tuvok to leave the ship. Tuvok would have done this just to save the ship, but Janeway won't accept that, so of course she has to put the ship in danger to force the issue.

I was so hoping that this would turn out to be an intelligent Hologram, just sop we could see Sandra more in upcoming episodes... Why Not, John Rhys-Davies was Davinci for half a season... But it was not so to be. Too bad for us. Because Nelson was the most gorgeous person to grace the Holodeck ever.

The Moment I saw her face, I knew she would be trouble! Women like that always are.