Changes: Initiations (episode)

Revision as of 17:32, 15 March 2012

Template:Realworld

Chakotay becomes caught up in a young Kazon's rite of passage.

Summary

This episode or film summary is incompleteThis episode summary has been identified as lacking essential detail, and as such needs attention. Feel free to edit this page to assist with this expansion.

Note: Please obey copyright policy; do not copy material from other sources without permission.

"First Officer's personal log, stardate 49005.3. The captain has granted me the use of a shuttlecraft so that I may perform the pakra, a solitary ritual commemorating the anniversary of my father's death."

Commander Chakotay has asked Captain Janeway for the use of a shuttlecraft so that he can perform a ritual on the anniversary of his father's death. While praying to speak to his father, the shuttlecraft drifts into Kazon-Ogla space. The main Kazon ship picks the shuttlecraft up on their scanners, and sends a young Kazon boy called Kar to destroy it and thus earn his Ogla name.

The commander outmaneuvers the small Kazon ship which Kar is on. When realizing that Kar is most likely on his own on that small ship and unconscious, Chakotay beams him onto his ship before the small Kazon ship explodes.

Soon the main Kazon ship arrives and tractors the shuttlecraft into their hanger, Kar is to be killed because he failed to kill the Federation officer, which means that he shall never earn his name in life or in death. Eventually Kar is brought into another room with Chakotay where the First Maje, Razik, expects Chakotay to kill Kar. Grabbing a Kazon weapon Chakotay drops it, then swiftly picks it up, and crashes into Razik and escapes with Kar.

Shortly after they leave the Kazon ship they come under fire and are forced to transport to a nearby moon. That night, while Chakotay pretends to be asleep Kar steps over him with his weapon drawn, but throws it aside, unable to kill the man that spared his life. Chakotay tells him there is nothing different between his Starfleet uniform and Kar's name, as he had to earn it. The young Kazon inquires about how he acquired the uniform, and Chakotay says that he spent years studying science, starships, and navigation.

Soon USS Voyager arrives and Janeway leads an away team comprised of her people and some Kazon who claim they are there to help them search for Chakotay. When the group arrives at Chakotay's location, Kar comes to realize he will not earn his name by killing the Federation officer but instead he kills Razik, allowing Haliz to become the new First Maje. Haliz pronounces that Kar has earned his Kazon name, and they allow Voyager to leave peacefully.

Back on Voyager, Chakotay prays to his father, asking him to watch over him and Kar.

Memorable Quotes

"Look, son. My starship is only a few light years away."
"I am not your son, Federation. I am your executioner!"

- Chakotay and Kar

"Computer, damage report."
"Long-range communications, lateral sensor array and aft shields are off-line."
"Great!"

- Chakotay and Shuttlecraft computer

"You should have let me die."
"I'm not in the habit of killing children."

- Kar and Chakotay

"And now Mr. Neelix, please join me on the bridge."
"Yes, sir. I mean, ma'am. Captain."

- Kathryn Janeway and Neelix

"Why are you so eager for me to kill you?"

- Chakotay, to Kar

"Well, you just saved my life. Twice more and we'll be even."

- Chakotay, to Kar

"Don't worry, Captain. You can count on me to keep those nefarious Kazon at bay!"

- Neelix, to Janeway

"Get him something to eat. The execution is tonight."

- Razik, referring to Chakotay

"You tell this Jal Razik that Federation Commander Chakotay demands to see him!"

- Chakotay, to Haliz

"Why did you save him? It's a very ineffective way of waging war."

- Razik, to Chakotay about saving Kar

"You would rather die in your sleep, a wrinkled old man?"
"Sounds about right."

- Kar and Chakotay

"You won't stop me from earning my name, Federation."
"Not Federation! Chakotay. That's my name."

- Kar and Chakotay

Background Information

Story Development

This was the first episode for Star Trek: Voyager that executive story editor Kenneth Biller wrote alone, he having helped with the writing of the episodes "Elogium", "Faces", "Jetrel" and "Twisted". This episode is not, however, the first for which he alone wrote the teleplay; he previously wrote the scripts for both "Faces" and "Twisted" by himself. In other words, this episode was the first for which he alone not only penned the script but also came up with the story idea.
While working on this episode, Ken Biller described the story as "the Kazon put a hit out on Chakotay." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine, issue #3, p. 50)
The episode was partly written as an attempt to remedy the fact that Voyager's producers felt Chakotay had been underused in the first season. (Star Trek Monthly issue 6)
Another of the motives that Ken Biller, in particular, had for writing this episode was to give Chakotay some more action scenes, similar to how the character had been portrayed in "Caretaker". "He's like a real action hero in the pilot," Biller remarked, "and I think we need to give him some action stories–which I'm hoping to do in 'Initiations'." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine, issue #3, p. 52)
After Ken Biller turned in his first draft of this episode's script, executive producer Jeri Taylor wrote extensive notes on it. Another production staffer who was not completely happy with the installment's original script draft was Michael Piller, who was about to return to Voyager as an executive producer after having taken an extended vacation in which he had both co-created and co-executive produced the short-lived television series Legend. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 76)
Dissatisfied with the first draft of this episode's teleplay, Michael Piller offered to subsequently help Ken Biller with the writing of the episode. As such, the development of this episode involved an early instance of Piller acting on a crusade he had taken upon himself – specifically, to motivate the writing of Voyager's second season. He called Biller on his own car phone and commented at length that, despite having been intended as an allegory to in-fighting Los Angeles street gangs, the Kazon were "coming across as kind of warmed-over Klingons." Piller ended the call by telling Biller, "I want you to stop, don't write anything today, leave the office and go find some gang members or find a policeman who can take you to see some gang members. I'll talk to you about it tomorrow and see what you find out from the street." Although Biller subsequently did not strictly adhere to this advice – thereafter having no direct contact with gang members – he did discover the book Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member, written in prison by Sanyika "Monster" Shakur. This publication gave Biller useful insights into gang culture and peer pressure, inspiring the writing of this episode's second draft. Michael Piller commented, "Here we were, on the first day of prep and Ken started rewriting that script based on my feelings that we had to get to the guts of what drove the Kazon and they had to be different from Romulans and Cardassians and Klingons." Piller concluded, "It was a choice of settling, or doing what I considered excellent work. The bottom line is we had a better show, because Ken did research." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, pp. 76 & 77)
While developing this episode, Ken Biller also wrote an elaborate sociological backstory for the Kazon, such as their history and customs. The episodes that the article benefited included not only this one but also "Alliances", a later episode of the second season (a season that is, in and of itself, Kazon-centric). Michael Piller commented, "That document came out of the research that Ken did for 'Initiations.' He felt it would be valuable – because we were going to invest a whole season into these guys – to provide writers with a clear backstory so everybody would be working from the same page. I think it influenced the season greatly. It was an enormous contribution." Of the document, Jeri Taylor said, "It was quite thoughtful and very well worked out, and [the Kazon] looked quite interesting in that paper." (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages)
This episode's story itself was a problematic one for director Winrich Kolbe. He explained, "Storywise it was not the most interesting show I've ever done. It was a push. My problem with the Chakotay character was that I wanted to forget the Indian aspect and make him the Maquis that he was supposed to be. I knew Chakotay would have to eventually cooperate on the ship, but I hoped he would do it unwillingly most of the time. I talked to the writers about it, why we weren't playing that conflict. They went with the Indian thing, which was kind of intriguing, but in my opinion, never paid off because it was done too subtly." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine, issue #15)
This episode's final script draft was submitted on 10 July 1995. [1]

Cast

Aron Eisenberg (Kar) is much better known for his role as the Ferengi Nog on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He was cast in this episode after a difficult casting process. Jeri Taylor recalled, "We gave ourselves a very difficult task by writing a part for a fourteen-year-old young man. We ended up casting Aron Eisenberg, who plays Nog on Deep Space Nine [....] Aron is a wonderful actor, and we cast him because the boys that we read were simply not able to bring to it the richness and the depth that we wanted." (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages) Eisenberg himself commented, "I think some people out there have the misconception that they just gave me the part, which is not true; I actually had to audition for it. They couldn't find a kid to come up to the level that Kar needed to come up to, and they couldn't find an adult that looked young enough to play the kid. Finally they said, 'What about Aron, let's get him to audition,' and I was obviously what they were looking for, because I got the part." (Star Trek Monthly issue 14) Eisenberg also remembered, "I auditioned for Kar. I think they were having trouble finding somebody that looked young enough that could handle the role, or that could handle the role. I was told Rick [Berman] said, 'Well what about Aron?' I think they wanted to bring me in for an audition for a long time, but because of Nog, they said, 'No. He's too known as Nog.' So they brought me in for the audition, I read for it, and I got it. I really had to read for it. They just didn't assume I would be able to do it." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 70)
Although he alone put a lot of effort into his performance in this episode, Aron Eisenberg was also coached – to a debatable extent – by fellow DS9 actor Max Grodénchik. "I worked very hard on that episode," Eisenberg later remembered. "Max was there to help me as my acting coach ("He did totally the opposite of everything I said and it turned out brilliantly!" jokes Grodénchik)." (Star Trek Monthly issue 14) Eisenberg also said of his DS9 co-star, "He helped me work on that script a lot, but he said, 'You did nothing that I told you to do.' Max said that everything he said for me to do, I threw out the door, and I did something else. I disagree." (Star Trek Monthly issue 19)
Before performing in this installment, Aron Eisenberg was already familiar with some of the other people who worked on the episode. "I knew most of the crew, because they used to work on Deep Space Nine when Next Generation was on," Eisenberg explained. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 70) He additionally related, "Actually, the crew on ST:VOY was originally the ST:DS9 crew, so I pretty much knew the people, like Marvin Rush the DP [director of photography], and I also knew the director [Winrich Kolbe] who had worked on ST:DS9. I didn't really know the cast, but I worked mostly with [Chakotay actor] Robert Beltran." (Star Trek Monthly issue 14)
As his role in this episode is significantly different from the Star Trek character he usually played, Aron Eisenberg felt that he didn't have to consciously differ the two roles. "It was the other extreme of Nog," Eisenberg said of Kar. "I wasn't worried at all about having Nog come out, because I knew Nog's character, I knew all his idiosyncrasies. This is a completely different character." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 70)
During the making of this episode, Aron Eisenberg had an encounter with Patrick Stewart that was apparently pleasant for both actors. Eisenberg recalled, "I got to meet Patrick Stewart. When I went into looping, I met him and he gave me a complement. He was really a nice guy." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 70)
Aron Eisenberg's experience of acting in "Initiations" was generally very pleasant and, ultimately, he was thankful for the role of Kar. Shortly after he worked on the episode, Eisenberg noted, "I got to work on Star Trek: Voyager this past season, which was even more of a plus [than the merits of portraying Nog on DS9]." (Star Trek Monthly issue 14) Eisenberg further explained, "I was so lucky to have that part. It was so much fun. I had such a blast working on that show [....] It was finally something really meaty that I had, and something that I didn't ever think I'd get to play, because of being short or looking younger. I never thought I'd be able to play a character where he's really trying to kill someone." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 70)
Aron Eisenberg also enjoyed featuring on the Star Trek series that was running concurrently with a series that was in the same franchise but with which he was much more familiar. He admitted, "I now feel that I have something extra that the other actors don't have: the opportunity of being on the other show, and getting the whole spectrum." (Star Trek Monthly issue 14) Eisenberg also observed, "It's like one huge family with two separate entities. It was fun to go to both and feel like I've been both places in Star Trek. I'll forever have that niche, that I got to be on both shows." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 70)
Another of this episode's highlights for Aron Eisenberg was working with Robert Beltran. At the 2001 Galaxy Ball charity Star Trek convention – organized by Beltran – Eisenberg was asked to name his favorite Voyager actor and replied, "This is gonna sound like brown-nosing, but Robert Beltran. We had such fun on the episode 'Initiations.'" (Star Trek Magazine issue 89, p. 30) Eisenberg elaborated, "Me and Robert [Beltran] were just goofing around the whole time. It's funny, you know, you've got such an intense role, and yet we're laughing and having a good time." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 70) In summation, Eisenberg noted, "We had a wonderful time." (Star Trek Monthly issue 14) For his part, Beltran said of their relationship, "Aron and I had a lot of fun. He's a very funny guy. It was like working with Don Rickles, because he's very quick-witted and not afraid to cut you down." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine, issue #7) In addition, Beltran remarked, "We both had a good time. Aron's a lot of fun to work with. He's a very funny man, with a lot of talent. He's got a wide range and he can do a lot of things." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 99)
This episode is the first in a triumvirate of Season 2 Chakotay-centric episodes that Robert Beltran enjoyed (the others being "Tattoo" and "Maneuvers"). Beltran remarked, "I thought those three were really fine scripts." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 99) Although Beltran was appreciative of this episode's plot, he wanted the influence that his character of Chakotay had on Kar to be gentler than he imagined the episode's audience would want. Beltran said of 'Initiations', "I enjoyed that one very much because there was a nice moral at the end of the story. For me, it was an interesting acting exercise. When I was reading the script, I felt that the audience would want me to act a little mad. But I wanted to bring that in and check that at every turn. Instead of just physically reprimanding him, I wanted Chakotay to face [the Kazon boy] with a little more patience and little more tenderness, and try to change him that way. Of course, Chakotay's plan didn't quite work in the end. But it was a fun relationship between Chakotay and the Kazon boy [Kar] and it revealed a lot about Chakotay." (Star Trek Monthly issue 20)
Robert Beltran believed that this episode did a good job of encapsulating Chakotay's persona. "It summed up in one episode basically what Chakotay is about as a person," the actor commented. "It started off with him on a vision quest, on a journey to connect with his father. He's then faced with a crisis and he deals with it as if nothing else exists but how are we going to solve the problem. He comes face to face with a person who tried to kill him, and yet he doesn't harbor hatred. He realizes the kid comes from a different culture and is a little troubled. I think that episode showed that he's willing to accept and embrace people." (The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine, issue #7)
Aron Eisenberg ultimately thought his own performance here was very successful, such as with Voyager's team of writer-producers. "They were really happy with it," he recalled. "I felt very fortunate, because I was fairly muscular, which was good for a warrior kid. It was really weird to see my asset – being older and looking younger and even muscular – which is not going to work in the real world, but was certainly perfect for this character." (Star Trek Monthly issue 14) Eisenberg also noted, "I was really proud of it. They were really proud of it, the producers and everybody. It made me feel good to know that I came in and was able to do it." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 70)
Aron Eisenberg and Patrick Kilpatrick (Razik) later appeared together in the DS9 episode "The Siege of AR-558", also directed by Winrich Kolbe.

Production

This was actually the first episode produced for Voyager's second season. The previous episode, "The 37's", was filmed as part of Season 1.
Voyager's production team were highly affected by the extreme changes to this episode's story, as they necessitated alterations in set design and shooting schedules. Michael Piller recalled, "Basically they had to change the whole thing overnight. By the time that week was over the production people were beside themselves. I was called into a meeting and told 'You basically threw this entire unit into chaos.' I said 'I did it because the script wasn't good enough and we had to make the show better.' [....] The unit–all the people that sit in production meetings making plans, designing sets–suffered probably for weeks because I was disruptive." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 77)
The filming of this episode began on 11 July, 1995. (Star Trek Monthly issue 8)

Shooting Initiations — A moment from this episode's location shoot

The outdoor scenes of this episode were shot on location at Vasquez Rocks National Area Park. [2] Restricted by union rules to only use locations within a radius of 37 miles from Paramount studios, the producers were careful to avoid showing the most well known of the location's jagged peaks. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, pp. 77-78)

First Airing and Reception

This episode achieved a Nielsen rating of 5.9 million homes, and a 10% share. [3]
In common with "Non Sequitur", the reason why this episode aired when it did was to capitalize on the location work involved in the installment, because – of the first six episodes in the season's final airing order – three ("Projections", "Elogium" and "Twisted") were bottle shows held over from the previous season. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 76)
Cinefantastique gave this installment 2 and a half out of 4 stars. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 77)
The unauthorized reference book Delta Quadrant (p. 69) scored the episode 7 out of 10.
Regarding her opinion of this episode in general, Jeri Taylor noted, "I thought it was reasonably successful." (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages)
Ultimately, the recognizability of Aron Eisenberg proved to be too obvious to many fans. The actor himself offered, "On the Internet people say, 'I could tell it was his voice.' I say, 'Come on people, it's the same person.'" (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 76) Jeri Taylor explained, "More people were aware of [Eisenberg's DS9 role] than I would have thought. He didn't look anything the same, but he has a very distinctive voice. It broke the suspension of disbelief and made people say not, 'Oh, there's a young man in pain,' but, 'Oh, it's Nog from Deep Space Nine.' As soon as the mind is doing that, it's not involved in the story [....] We got the good actor, but we got a recognizable one." (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages) Additionally, Taylor admitted, "We thought that because he was so heavily prosthetized in this show and in DS9 that he wouldn't look anything like he did, but he does have a distinctive voice. People who know both shows picked up on that. Some thought it was cool that we were doing an homage to DS9." Michael Piller commented, "We made a very big mistake in casting Aron Eisenberg because his voice is so recognizable that it took anybody watching both shows out of the episode. His performance was wonderful, but I think it was just a casting mistake." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 78)
Perhaps partly due to this issue, Aron Eisenberg doubted that he would reprise his role of Kar in Star Trek: Voyager, despite having a desire to do so. He said, "Voyager is going in one direction, and I don't think Kar is going to meet them somewhere else, which is unfortunate. It was a fun character. I always hope to play it again." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 70)

Continuity

The new TR-590 Tricorder X and the redesigned type 2 phaser appear for the first time in this episode, although how Voyager was able to procure these newer models when it was cut off from the Federation was never explained.
This is the first episode in which a shuttlecraft from Voyager is destroyed.
Chakotay's medicine bundle is lost in this episode, either destroyed along with his shuttle or pillaged by the Kazon-Ogla. Upon returning to Voyager, he uses what must be another replicated medicine bundle.
This is the first episode to show Tom Paris in command of Voyager in the absence of Janeway, Chakotay and Tuvok.

Video and DVD releases

UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 2.1, 26 February 1996.

CIC Video released the four season 1 "hold-over" episodes in their production order, as part of the first season release. This is the first episode in the second season release. Volume 2.1 continues with "Non Sequitur".

As part of the VOY Season 2 DVD collection.

Links and references

Starring

Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

Also starring

Robert Beltran as Commander Chakotay
Roxann Dawson as Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres
Jennifer Lien as Kes
Robert Duncan McNeill as Lieutenant Tom Paris
Ethan Phillips as Neelix
Robert Picardo as The Doctor
Tim Russ as Lieutenant Tuvok
Garrett Wang as Ensign Harry Kim

Guest Stars

Previous episode:
"The 37's"

Star Trek: Voyager
Season 2

Next episode:
"Projections"

@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 "''And now Mr. Neelix, please join me on the bridge.''"<br />
-"''Yes, sir. I mean, Captain. Ma'am.''"
+"''Yes, sir. I mean, ma'am. Captain.''"
 : - '''Kathryn Janeway''' and '''Neelix'''

Changes: Initiations (episode)

Revision as of 17:32, 15 March 2012

Summary

Memorable Quotes

Background Information

Story Development

Cast

Production

First Airing and Reception

Continuity

Video and DVD releases

Links and references

Starring

Also starring

Guest Stars

Co-Star

Uncredited Co-Stars

Stunt double

References