Star Trek: First Contactis often regarded as the bestStar Trek: The Next Generationmovie, and it also has two surprisingStar Trek: Voyagercameos.Crossovers between the 24th-centuryStar Trekshows were common, sinceStar Trek: The Next Generation,Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, andStar Trek: Voyagerall took place at the same timein theStar Trektimeline, and progressed in real time. For seven years, Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and the crew of the USS Voyager were lost in the Delta Quadrant, making crossovers with otherStar Trekshows difficult, but not impossible.
One90s-eraStar TrekcrossoverwithStar Trek: Voyagerwas possible becauseVoyager’s Doctor (Robert Picardo) was an Emergency Medical Hologram who could be transmitted back to the Alpha Quadrantto interact withStar Trek: The Next Generation’s Lieutenant Reginald Barclay(Dwight Schultz). Robert Picardo also played the Doctor’s creator, Dr. Lewis Zimmerman, not just inStar Trek: Voyager,but also inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine. Zimmerman visitedDS9to scan Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) for a new version of the EMH, since the EMH with Zimmerman’s face had been a successful feature on Starfleet’s new ships.
Star Trek: Voyager’s 2 Crossovers In Star Trek: First Contact Explained
Voyager’s Robert Picardo And Ethan Phillips Are In Star Trek: First Contact
InStar Trek: First Contact, Robert Picardo plays the USS Enterprise-E’s version of theEmergency Medical Hologram, and Neelix actor Ethan Phillips has a cameo playing a completely different character.Picardo’s cameo is easy to spot since the EMH on the Enterprise-E is essentially the same as the USS Voyager’s EMH at the start ofStar Trek: Voyager, just in a new gray-shoulderedFirst Contactuniform. The Enterprise’s EMH is a blank slate hologram designed to assist in medical emergencies, so he’s woefully unequipped to carry out Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden)’s order to distract the Borg.
As theTNGcast’s first solo outing, 1996’sStar Trek: First Contactfamously featured the debut of the Borg Queen (Alice Krige), who would go on to become one of Janeway’s major enemies in the later seasons ofStar Trek: Voyager.Krige split royal Borg duties with Susanna Thompson, who played the Borg Queen onVoyager.
Ethan Phillips cameos inStar Trek: First Contactas the nightclub maître d' in Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) Dixon Hill holodeck program. Picard and Lily Sloane (Alfre Woodard) use the holodeck as another distraction to stop the Borg on the USS Enterprise-E. Without Neelix’s Talaxian makeup, the actor is trickier to spot, but Phillips' voice is unmistakable in his brief moment. The uncredited role inFirst Contactis the only time Phillips appears inStar Trekwith his own face sinceEthan Phillips' otherStar Trekrolesare Ferengi inStar Trek: The Next GenerationandStar Trek: Enterprise.
How Voyager’s Robert Picardo & Ethan Phillips Appeared In Star Trek: First Contact
Both Picardo And Phillips Asked To Be In First Contact, But In Different Ways
Star Trek: Voyager’s Robert Picardo and Ethan Phillips both appeared inStar Trek: First Contactbecause they asked to be part of theStar Trek: The Next Generationmovie. TheEMH was inStar Trek: First Contactthanks to Picardo’s not-so-subtle hinting. Picardo left a trail of “breadcrumbs” by explaining toStar Trekexecutive producer Rick Berman andFirst Contact’s writers, Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore, thatit would make sense for the newest Starship Enterprise to have more advanced technology than the USS Voyager.As a result, the USS Enterprise-E had its own Emergency Medical Hologram.
Voyager Referenced TNG More Than Any Other Star Trek Series
From its basic premise to aliens, concepts, and characters, Star Trek: Voyager contained numerous shout-outs to Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Ethan Phillips asked for hisStar Trek: First Contactcameo more directly than Picardo’s “breadcrumb” strategy.Phillips pointed out toStar Trekexecutive producer Rick Berman that “nobody knows what the heck I look like"underneath the Neelix makeup, so Phillips could audition for the holodeck maître d' role despite being a series regular inStar Trek: Voyager.Phillips' uncreditedFirst Contactrolewas also his idea since it would make his cameo harder to confirm. The twoStar Trek: Voyagercameos inStar Trek: First Contactbring the connection betweenStar Trek: The Next GenerationandVoyagerfull circle.
