View source for Projections (Star Trek: Voyager)

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{{use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series         = [[Star Trek: Voyager]]
| season         = 2
| episode        = 3
| director       = [[Jonathan Frakes]]
| writer         = [[Brannon Braga]]
| music          = [[David Bell (composer)|David Bell]]
| photographer   = [[Marvin V. Rush]]
| editor         = Robert Lederman
| production     = 117
| airdate        = {{start date|1995|09|11}}
| length         = 45:48
| guests         = {{bulleted list|[[Dwight Schultz]] as [[Reginald Barclay]]|[[Majel Barrett]] as Computer Voice}}
| prev           = [[Initiations (Star Trek: Voyager)|Initiations]]
| next           = [[Elogium (Star Trek: Voyager)|Elogium]]
| season_article = Star Trek: Voyager season 2 
| episode_list   = List of Star Trek: Voyager episodes
}}

"'''Projections'''" is the 19th episode (third in the [[Star Trek: Voyager season 2|second season]]) of the American [[science fiction on television|science fiction television]] program ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]''.  Originally slated for the first season, the episode originally aired on UPN on September 11, 1995, and tells the story of the ship's holographic doctor suffering an identity crisis on the [[holodeck]] regarding whether he or the world around him is the illusion.

Brannon Braga compared "Projections" to the work of [[René Descartes]], and wrote the episode around the premise of ''[[cogito ergo sum]]''.  [[Dwight Schultz]] as Reginald Barclay was praised by the cast and crew, especially for his on-screen chemistry with co-star [[Robert Picardo]].  The episode is considered as one of the most underrated episodes of the ''Star Trek'' franchise and received positive reviews, with only a few negative comments regarding predictability and underuse of characters.

==Plot==
{{USS|Voyager|Star Trek|6}}{{'s}} [[the Doctor (Star Trek: Voyager)|holographic doctor]] is activated due to a red alert.  Despite [[Majel Barrett|the computer]]'s assertion that nobody is aboard, [[B'Elanna Torres]] soon arrives in [[sickbay]].  She informs the Doctor that the ship was attacked by [[Kazon]] and that all except herself and [[Kathryn Janeway|Captain Janeway]] have abandoned ship.  After treating her injuries, Torres transfers the Doctor's program to [[bridge (nautical)|the bridge]], using newly-installed holographic emitters there.  The Doctor treats the captain and further assists [[Neelix]] to defeat a stray Kazon in  [[mess|the mess]], but then notices he is bleeding and feeling pain, neither of which is a function of his programming.  In sickbay, making inquiries with the computer, the Doctor is told that there are no holographic programs matching his own and that he is actually [[Lewis Zimmerman]], whom the Doctor recognizes as his programmer.

With the computer insisting that the crew of ''Voyager'' is only a collection of holographic programs, a new hologram appears in sickbay and claims to be [[Reginald Barclay]], Doctor Zimmerman's assistant at the Jupiter Station Holoprogramming Center.  Barclay explains that the Doctor is really Lewis Zimmerman and that the ''Voyager'' is just a simulation in which he has been trapped and which is inflicting radiation poisoning.  To end the program and rescue Zimmerman, Barclay suggests destroying the ship before he suffers irreparable [[brain damage]].  To convince the Doctor that he is Zimmerman in a simulation, Barclay restarts the ''Voyager'' program, and the Doctor finds himself reliving the events of "[[Caretaker (Star Trek: Voyager)|Caretaker]]" when he was first brought online.

Convinced of Barclay's claims, the Doctor prepares to destroy the ship, when [[Chakotay]] arrives and gives an alternative story: the Doctor is indeed the ''Voyager'' EMH, but his program is stuck in the malfunctioning [[holodeck]].  The crew is trying to extricate his program and he only needs to wait; if he destroys the ship as Barclay suggests, it will prematurely end the program and the Doctor will be lost.  Even though Barclay introduces [[Kes (Star Trek)|Kes]] as Zimmerman's wife, the Doctor finally opts to believe in his holographic existence.  The simulation ends and the Doctor finds himself on the holodeck; Chakotay's story was true and the Doctor is safely returned to sickbay.

==Casting==
Casting for "Projections" was done by Junie Lowry-Johnson and Ron Surma.<ref name="1995-09-04 Initiations" />  Episode [[guest appearance|guest star]]s included Dwight Schultz as Reginald Barclay and [[Majel Barrett]] as the computer's voice.<ref name="2003-05 Ruditis" />

[[File:Dwight Schultz 2.jpg|thumb|Dwight Schultz (2006)]]
Writer Brannon Braga came up with the idea of having Schultz appear as Lieutenant Barclay, later saying that he and Picardo worked so well together that "they should have a [[spin-off (media)|spin-off]] series."<ref name="1996 Gross & Altman" />  Episode director [[Jonathan Frakes]] also lauded the chemistry between the two actors.<ref name="1995-12 Star Trek Communicator" />  Schultz was pleased to be back on ''Star Trek'', and was surprised to be considered for a ''Voyager'' guest appearance.  On meeting Robert Picardo, he recalled they spent their time joking with each other on set, discussing mutual friends, and comparing notes on their [[theatre]] experiences.<ref name="1997-08 Official Monthly Magazine" />  Picardo called working with Schultz "like having a party."<ref name="2000 McIntee" />

Before deciding on Schultz, it was originally suggested that the guest star would be [[LeVar Burton]] as ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''{{'s}} [[Geordi La Forge]].<ref name="1996 Gross & Altman" />

==Production==
"Projections" is one of four [[Star Trek: Voyager season 1|first-season]] episodes that were held over by [[UPN]] to get the jump on other networks in the [[1995–96 United States network television schedule|1995–1996 television season]].<ref name="1996-02 Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine: Nazzaro" /><ref name="1996 Gross & Altman" />  Its runtime is 45:48,<ref name="1995-09-04 Initiations" /> and its [[production code number]] is 117.<ref name="2003-05 Ruditis" />

[[Brannon Braga]] wrote the story from the initial idea of the Doctor having an [[identity crisis]], "What if the doctor discovers that ''Voyager'' is a hologram and he is real?"  From there, Braga questioned the axiom "[[cogito ergo sum|I think, therefore I am]]" and what it means to be "real".<ref name="1996 Gross & Altman" />  Calling it a "creepy, [[philosophy|philosophical]] quandary", Braga related the story of "Projections" to the work of [[René Descartes]], where "the [character is] plagued by an evil demon out to prove he doesn't exist"; in this instance, Braga made Barclay (Schultz) the demon.  The episode was written to keep the viewer guessing as to which reality was true; Braga would later say that the fun of the episode wasn't in the story itself, but in the telling of the story, "in considering all the different twists and turns along the way."<ref name="1996-02 Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine: Nazzaro" />  The final draft of the episode was submitted on March 30, 1995.<ref name="Indiana University" />

The episode's music was composed by [[David Bell (composer)|David Bell]], [[cinematography]] was done by [[Marvin V. Rush]], and Robert Lederman was editor.<ref name="1995-09-04 Initiations" />

==Reception==
"Projections" first aired on September 11, 1995.<ref name="1996-11 Cinefantastique: Kutzera" />

<!-- in-house -->Writer [[Brannon Braga]] called "Projections" his favorite installment of ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' in a 1996 interview with ''The Official Star Trek Voyager Magazine''.<ref name="1996-02 Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine: Nazzaro" />  Series co-creator and [[executive producer]] [[Michael Piller]] called the episode "a wonderful show" and "a fascinating episode", specifically praising [[Robert Picardo]]'s performance alongside co-creator and executive producer [[Jeri Taylor]].<ref name="1996 Gross & Altman" />  Picardo himself rated "Projections" as one of the two best Doctor-heavy stories of the second season, second only to "[[Lifesigns (Star Trek: Voyager)|Lifesigns]]".<ref name="1996-11 Cinefantastique: Kaplan" />  Reviewers [[Lance Parkin]] and Mark Jones described the episode as "excellent".<ref name="2003 Jones & Parkin" />

<!-- critics & fans -->In an interview with the ''Star Trek Communicator'' magazine, Jeri Taylor pointed to an ongoing Internet survey that ranked "Projections" as the third-highest ranked episode of the second season.<ref name="1996-08 Star Trek Communicator" />  In his book ''Delta Quadrant: The unofficial guide to'' Voyager, though David McIntee criticized the episode for its ultimate predictability and the characterization of Barclay near the end, he found the interplay between Picardo and Schultz to be overwhelmingly in the episode's favor; he rated the episode eight out of ten.<ref name="2000 McIntee" />  ''[[Cinefantastique]]''{{'s}} Dale Kutzera was less impressed by the episode, saying it lost momentum in the middle and that it ill-used "[''Star Trek'']'s greatest [[inferiority complex|inferiority-complex]] and greatest [[egotism|egotist]]."  Kutzera gave the episode two out of four stars.<ref name="1996-11 Cinefantastique: Kutzera" />

<!-- retrospective -->In 2017, ''[[Business Insider]]'' listed "Projections" as one of the most underrated episodes of the ''Star Trek'' franchise.<ref name="2017-09-22 Business Insider" />  In 2020, ''[[Gizmodo]]'' listed this episode as one of the show's 62 "must watch" episodes.<ref name="2020-04-28 Gizmodo" />

==References==
{{reflist |refs=

<!-- dated sources sorted chronologically -->

<ref name="1995-09-04 Initiations">{{cite episode |title=Projections |series=Star Trek: Voyager |series-link=Star Trek: Voyager |network=[[UPN]] |date=1995-09-11 |season=2 |number=3}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->

<ref name="1995-12 Star Trek Communicator">{{cite magazine |last1=Madsen |first1=Dan |date=December 1995 – January 1996 |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |editor1-link= |title=Jonathan Frakes: Looking Out for 'Number One' |magazine=Star Trek Communicator |location=[[Aurora, Colorado]] |publisher=The Official Star Trek Fan Club |issue=105 |pages=47–51 |issn=1080-3793}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->

<ref name="1996 Gross & Altman">{{cite book |last1=Gross |first1=Edward |last2=Altman |first2=Mark A. |author-link2=Mark A. Altman |year=1996 |chapter=''Voyager:'' Season Two Episode Guide |title=Captains' Logs Supplemental |url=https://archive.org/details/captainslogssupp0000gros |url-access=registration |location=London |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |pages=154&ndash;155 |isbn=0-316-88354-9}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->

<ref name="1996-02 Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine: Nazzaro">{{cite magazine |last1=Nazzaro |first1=Joe |date=February 1996 |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |editor1-link= |title=Brannon Braga: Supervising Producer |magazine=The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine |location=New York |publisher=[[Starlog Group]] |issue=5 |page=50 |issn=1079-3658}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->

<ref name="1996-08 Star Trek Communicator">{{cite magazine |last1=Fisher |first1=Deborah |date=August–September 1996 |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |editor1-link= |title=Season Review/Preview: ST:DS9/ST:VOY |magazine=Star Trek Communicator |location=[[Aurora, Colorado]] |publisher=The Official Star Trek Fan Club |issue=108 |pages=16&ndash;19 |issn=1080-3793}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->

<ref name="1996-11 Cinefantastique: Kaplan">{{cite magazine |last1=Kaplan |first1=Anna L. |date=November 1996 |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |editor1-link= |title=Star Trek Voyager: Holographic Doctor |magazine=[[Cinefantastique]] |location=[[Forest Park, Illinois]] |volume=28 |issue=4/5 |pages=95&ndash;98 |issn=0145-6032 |quote=Robert Picardo has made Doc Zimmerman the show's most popular and entertaining character.}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->

<ref name="1996-11 Cinefantastique: Kutzera">{{cite magazine |last1=Kutzera |first1=Dale |date=November 1996 |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |editor1-link= |title=Voyager Episode Guide |magazine=[[Cinefantastique]] |location=[[Forest Park, Illinois]] |volume=28 |issue=4/5 |page=78 |issn=0145-6032}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->

<ref name="1997-08 Official Monthly Magazine">{{cite magazine |last1=Spelling |first1=Ian |date=August 1997 |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |editor1-link= |title=Holo Hero |magazine=Star Trek: The Official Monthly Magazine |location=London |publisher=[[Titan Books]] |volume=1 |issue=30 |pages=32&ndash;37 |issn=1357-3888 |quote=Ian Spelling talks to ''Star Trek: The Next Generation''{{'s}} Holodeck addict Dwight Schultz, alias ''Reginald Barclay''…}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->

<ref name="2000 McIntee">{{cite book |last1=McIntee |first1=David |year=2000 |chapter=First Season |title=Delta Quadrant: The unofficial guide to ''Voyager'' |location=London |publisher=[[Virgin Publishing Ltd.]] |pages=53&ndash;55 |isbn=0-7535-0436-7}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->

<ref name="2003 Jones & Parkin">{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Mark |last2=Parkin |first2=Lance |author-link2=Lance Parkin |year=2003 |title=Beyond the Final Frontier: An Unauthorised Review of the Trek Universe on Television and Film |location=London |publisher=[[Contender Books]] |page=283 |isbn=978-1-84357-080-6}}</ref>

<ref name="2003-05 Ruditis">{{cite book |last1=Ruditis |first1=Paul |author-link1=Paul Ruditis |date=May 2003 |chapter=Season One |title=Star Trek: Voyager Companion |location=New York |publisher=[[Pocket Books]] |pages=48&ndash;50 |isbn=0-7434-1751-8}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->

<ref name="2017-09-22 Business Insider">{{cite news |last1=Holodny |first1=Elena |date=2017-09-22 |title=The 31 most underrated 'Star Trek' episodes |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/most-underrated-star-trek-episodes-2017-9 |url-status=live |work=[[Business Insider]] |oclc=1076392313 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118015640/https://www.businessinsider.com/most-underrated-star-trek-episodes-2017-9 |archive-date=2017-11-18 |access-date=2024-09-24 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->

<ref name="2020-04-28 Gizmodo">{{cite web |url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/star-trek-voyagers-must-watch-episodes-1843052360 |title=''Star Trek: Voyager''{{'s}} Must-Watch Episodes |last=Whitbrook |first=James |date=2020-04-28 |website=[[Gizmodo]] |access-date=2024-09-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717075747/https://io9.gizmodo.com/star-trek-voyagers-must-watch-episodes-1843052360 |archive-date=2020-07-17}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->

<!-- undated sources sorted alphabetically -->

<ref name="Indiana University">{{cite web |url=http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/lilly/mss/index.php?p=taylorjinv |title=Taylor, J. Mss. |publisher=[[Indiana University]] |access-date=2014-01-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205051015/http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/lilly/mss/index.php?p=taylorjinv |archive-date=2012-12-05}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->

}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb episode}}
* {{Memory Alpha|Projections|"Projections"}}
* {{StarTrek.com|projections}}

{{Star Trek: Voyager episodes|2}}
{{Star Trek holodeck stories}}

[[Category:1995 American television episodes]]
[[Category:Star Trek holodeck episodes]]
[[Category:Star Trek: Voyager season 2 episodes]]
[[Category:television episodes directed by Jonathan Frakes]]
[[Category:television episodes written by Brannon Braga]]