By Chris Snellgrove | Published
Star Trek has, historically, had a difficult relationship with sex. On the other hand, Captain Kirk famously slept with any woman (stranger or otherwise) who gave him a second glance, and the Original Series set pop culture on fire with the dancing Orion slave girl. On the other hand, the next show, The Next Generationit was relatively innocent: sex and even romance were minimal, and Patrick Stewart did his best to persuade the writers to make Captain Picard work more often.
The pendulum had swung the other way then Star Trek: Voyager he went out. This is the show where reborn Vulcans push the brain, Captain Janeway sees a hologram, and Tom Paris has a relationship with B’elanna Torres so big that everyone can feel it. Oh, and they tamed the female Borg and made her wear a tight catsuit that even Kirk wouldn’t be embarrassed about. But that’s not too bad of it: you see, everything Voyager the episode was created because of a sex joke!
Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby!
The episode in question is “Elogium,” which has an A-plot about small space-faring creatures that shine on top of a ship and begin draining power from the ship’s systems. That’s bad enough, but their presence causes strange changes in Kes. Eventually, the Doctor discovers that these space aliens prematurely started Kes’ mating cycle, something that wasn’t supposed to happen for another three or four years. Now, as Captain Janeway explores how to save her ship, Neelix and Kes must test whether they are ready to have children.
During the Golden Age of Star Trek, freelancers and other fans were often encouraged to pitch stories and even submit unsolicited scripts. The episode was originally played by both Steve J. Kay and Jimmy Diggs, the latter a veteran of the Vietnam War. The plot of “Elogium” was inspired by Diggs’ time in the Navy, when he cleaned his ship on a starless night. The darkness was lit only by the ship’s lights, which eventually attracted thousands of fish. The sight of these creatures really moved Diggs, who envisioned the fish glinting like moving stars, lighting up his journey through the galaxy.
Captain, We have lost our libido
Apparently, those fish inspired local observers who were attracted to Voyager’s “Elogium.” But the producers thought the episode still needed a B Plot, which is why Jeri Taylor pitched the idea of these interstellar creatures starting Kes’ breeding cycle. Diggs later agreed The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine that Taylor’s idea made him make a joke about smoking while throwing. “I said, when the crew finds a way to free themselves from the creatures and the creatures finally drift away from the ship, Tuvok can say, ‘Captain, I believe we no longer have the desire for sex.’
According to Diggs, his joke amused Brannon Braga, who then uttered the “magic word” every writer wants to hear: “sold.” Afterward, Diggs was understandably proud of his achievement, saying, “Star Trek bought my first story because of that one, funny tag line.” First of all is the key word here, as Diggs goes on to successfully churn out more Star Trek episodes than any other freelance writer in the franchise’s history. This includes “Doctor Bashir, I Presume,” which revealed that the title doctor received a genetic boost similar to Khan. Diggs also stopped VoyagerThe “Omega Directive,” which would be promoted decades later, is a galaxy-threatening framework Starfleet Academy‘s first season.
While Jimmy Diggs would never have been a major Hollywood writer without this bag, he does have the credit for some of the coolest Star Trek stories. He also had the dubious right to cement VoyagerTrek’s reputation as the hottest Trek show. Of course, future shows could try to entice viewers with everything from Klingon boobies to erotic lingerie massages. But only Voyager can boast that it created an entire episode thanks to a well-timed sex joke.
