Maybe They're Just a Little Slower (Star Trek: Voyager - Blink of an Eye)

From S6 E12 "Blink of an Eye" from Star Trek: Voyager
One of my favorite episodes. Fair use under whatever Paramount says

[@Shadowkey392]

Paragraph guy here: in this episode, titled “Blink of an Eye”, Voyager comes across a planet with a unique core, the composition of which causes time to pass much faster on its surface. This messes with Voyager’s warp core, preventing them from leaving and causing them to become a third magnetic pole for the planet’s magnetic field. This in turn causes the planet to experience periodic quakes, leading the primitive civilization on the planet to regard Voyager as a god. As time passes and the civilization rapidly (from the Voyager crew’s perspective) advances, they realize that voyager is a spacecraft and try to contact them, not realizing that time passes differently and so prevents them from succeeding. Their efforts lead to their creation of a space program, which culminates in these two astronauts being sent to make contact with Voyager, with, shall we say, mixed results. It’s a very neat episode.

[@Zevrael]

If the accelerated time is a physical, local phenomenon resulting from a feature of the planet, shouldn't everyone be affected by it the same way if they're in the same place? Why does the effect linger on the astronauts while on the Voyager? I assume the episode works because it's set up as a mystery.

[@TheZeroAssassin]

@@Zevrael Was wondering the exact same thing

[@Aracnah]

@@Zevrael Oh, it´s been years since I watched that episode. Iirc, the effect wore off over time. You can see (or rather hear) that at 0:25. That "scratch" sound was the reply from Launch Controll, but vastly compressed, as if you play something at a much quicker speed. The disorientation the woman felt while descending the ladder was the first sign that something was "not right" with their bodies. Also, they collapsed when their bodies finally caught up with the "universal" flow of time. Also, I think to remember that they sent the Doctor down with his holographic chip overclocked a lot, so he could spend a few hundred years there in the... uhm... blink of an eye

[@Mike__B]

@@Zevrael Technobabble reasons, aka because it's written that way in the script to make the show work. If Voyager was slowed down a million times slower (whatever the number was), how can they breathe? They would quickly inhale oxygen local to them and the slow moving air couldn't replenish what they breathe quick enough. Why are the rooms brightly lit? While yes the speed of light is constant in every reference frame, objects emitting those photons of light would do so at a slower rate meaning things would look very dim. Why would Torres feel warm to the touch? Same argument as light, if he felt her hand as warm he would sap so much energy from her in her time frame that her hand would freeze. Technobabble FTW to make the show enjoyable.

[@alastairbrand4998]

​@@Zevrael It's the presence of the little understood element known as narrativium, which enables implausible plot lines to proceed unhindered.

[@Alex99782]

I like how we only know these astronauts for a few minutes, yet we can emphasise with their situation straight away and the story is immediately intriguing. Good writing and directing.

[@raven4k998]

those second stage propellants did not last long even the final stage propellants did not last longer either💀💀

[@tygerbyrn]

@@raven4k998 Suspension of disbelief coupled with limited episodic run time.

[@Dantheman-0..1]

This episode was based on Dragon’s Egg a science fiction story about life that evolves on the surface of a neutron star whilst an Earth ship watches from above. The creatures that live on the neutron star have lifespans of about 40 minutes by Earth standards whilst their days last 0.2 seconds and so their society evolves and progresses at a highly rapid rate. Within the course of a month or so the creatures go from primitive technology to surpassing the technology of the Earth ship and humanity who they affectionately dub ‘the slow ones.’

[@MrPlusses]

I believe the fact that the alien life forms are oxygen breathing , English speaking humanoids help substantially to the effective control of empathy. And she's obviously pregnant with his baby.

[@cracno1125]

Did you notice that the music was a bit slow when the astronauts were just walking around? As if time was passing by slower around them.

[@BrainControl2691]

Star Trek is the golden age of good television.

[@joetuktyyuktuk8635]

Opens airlock... "Oh, no... they breathe Fluorine.... *COUGH COUGH COUGH* "

[@Judokasting]

It sounds silly, but that was the only part i thought a bit out of place. Like yea, they couldn't penetrate the hull for scans, could very well have been poison air. Great episode tho but that never made much sense.

[@jurgenronaaz4695]

Reminded me of that scene in Galaxy quest. "What're you doing‽ It's an alien planet! Is there air‽ You don't know!"

[@kidsafe]

@@jurgenronaaz4695*puff puff* seems ok…

[@joes5010]

@@Judokasting They did have helmets at the start so maybe when they first enter they treat it like a full EVA but by the first scene we see them on voyager they decide the atmosphere is breathable and take the helmets off. It would still be insanely stupid if you don't know what's on the other sides because there are Star Trek races that live in an atmosphere that would kill you even with a space suit of this standard. Tholians live in 200C and real life space suits are expected to perform at 120C, they can probably go a bit higher for a safety margin but another 80C seems a bit much.

[@eisenklad]

*docks to malon ship* "opening hatch" "aaaarrrrgggh...." if you know, you know

[@nonyabisness6306]

this video made me rewatch the episode. one of the better ones in voyager to be sure.

[@raven4k998]

I'm picking up a ship at docking port one it just appeared there and the docking port hatch has been forced open🤣🤣

[@DrClaw-y2l]

Same ... doing it right now

[@jpp7783]

What season/episode was this? I don’t recall it.

[@Supremax67]

Year of Hell had some good writing too.

[@Supremax67]

@@jpp7783 Someone doesn't spend a lot of time to read the video description.

[@infamoushacker4chan883]

Excellent episode and concept. I do still find it amusing that from Voyager's perspective, the door was flung open at incomprehensible speed and two blurs took a tour of the ship in nanoseconds before promptly collapsing on the bridge.

[@Annihilationzh]

I find it funny to think about the physics behind it. That door being flung open at incomprehensible speed would have involved absoutely insane amounts of force. In real life that door likely would have just kept going and cutting it's way through voyager.

[@michaelfarrell4824]

​@@Annihilationzh Was my first thought when I first seen that scene. "JESUS!!! What velocity did that door just move?"

[@landsgevaer]

​​@@Annihilationzh Their hands would tear trough the door's material like a bullet. Also, they could not breath because air molecules don't move quick enough to fill their expanding lungs. They would cause sonic bangs. The coffee hangs in the air, but they can walk on the ground. Etc.etc.

[@TehJumpingJawa]

Let's not consider how they used the turbo lifts to get to the bridge....

[@kiwisteve6598]

Interesting question. In the episode Voyager deduces the planet is experiencing 58 sunrises per minute of Voyager time. Assuming the planet time is like earth time, call it 60 sunrises per minute, say 1 day a second. That’s 60x60x24=86,400 times faster than earth time. A normal walking pace is about 5km an hour. They are exploring and moving pretty slowly so say 3km an hour. 3x86,400=259,200km per hour. So the boundary layer of air between Voyager time and their time would heat to a plasma, as if the universe’s fastest 70kg meteor was punching through it. And irradiate and melt the ship from the inside. That is assuming the physics involved allows them to overcome the air resistance - at that speed the air will present as a near-solid - and maintain a pace of 3km/hour local time, and the temporal boundary layer protects the astronauts from being incinerated by their own fireball.

[@thesixthfifthbeatle]

The doctor going “native” was a great part of this episode.

[@radioflyer68911]

The fact that they can dock is totally far fetched. Suspension of disbelief effectively strained.

[@stupidminotaur9735]

there a mine book about his time on the planet, and his adopted kid

[@latenerd2441]

@@radioflyer68911 So the fact that they are basically human like is just fine. But the airlock is just too far. BRUH

[@GattToDaChoppa]

@@radioflyer68911 wait until you hear about doc's kid he supposedly had on the planet

[@mechanicaldavid4827]

​@radioflyer68911 It's credible that humanity has a unified future and forms an intergalactic alliance but you're hung up on physics that you don't like?

[@MisterMarin]

Back at the Alpha Quadrant, Worf sensed a disturbance in the Force and instinctively mumbled "little?". 😛

[@FeralSparky]

As if millions of Klingon's cried out in honor and were suddenly silenced.

[@MisterMarin]

@@FeralSparky Your father's bat'leth. This is the weapon of a Klingon warrior. Not as neat and tidy as a phaser; an elegant weapon for a more barbaric age.

[@capuchinhelper]

Eat any good books recently?

[@tygerbyrn]

Show me you care Worf. Growl for me.

[@weareorigin]

Picard: not now Mr Wolf. We have an emergency in the Delta quadrant to deal with.

[@9Johnny8]

"Their skin feels warm." If enough heat transferred in their time frame to feel it, B'elanna would've gotten frostbite instantly.

[@raven4k998]

just one slight question why did it take so long for them to transition over to voyagers time frame?

[@9Johnny8]

@@raven4k998 I don't know. I don't think it was ever questioned in the episode, let alone explained. If I remember correctly, the explanation for the time dilation effect itself was a 'tachyon field' around the planet. The only thing I can think of is that they had a high amount of tachyons in their bodies somehow, slowly bleeding out until they're at equilibrium and transition over? It would require ignoring a lot of particle physics, but sounds technobabbly enough to work in Star Trek.

[@MegaZeta]

That’s right, my child, there is not a lot of hard science in Star Trek, because it’s rarely important for Star Trek

[@justincronkright5025]

@@9Johnny8 Really like your explanation there, but always wanted them to add stuff to the story. Like just make them carry Crystals or something that are important in their culture & hold the tachyons for longer that allow them to more slowly transition. So easy to add in 10 minutes of thought that meld the story together seamlessly for a science fiction storyline.

[@roughwaves]

Not to defend voyager or this Swiss cheese plot, but.... Maybe zero transfer of heat in either direction feels 'warm'.

[@eddyrussell9853]

“We need to learn as much as we can about the sky ship.” “Shall we take photos?” “Nah, we’ll just remember stuff.”

[@kedolan4992]

Well they weren't supposed to be boarding it, so I imagine they probably didn't have cameras with them.

[@nathanberrigan9839]

@@kedolan4992 I would expect a science expedition to always have cameras available.

[@michaelfarrell4824]

Do we know for certain camera technology was even ever invented on this planet?

[@tonoornottono]

@@michaelfarrell4824 there’s a scanner on their ship, so i assume they’ve come up with more rudimentary ways to capture visual information beforehand.

[@kedolan4992]

@@nathanberrigan9839 Early space flight, weight was a big concern at all times. I doubt they'd take a hand held camera if they weren't supposed to get out of the ship ever. They had "scanners" to scan the ship, so I would expect that would include some kind of external camera.

[@javaman7199]

They really need to work on the security systems on Voyager. Apparently anybody can just walk right in and go to the bridge without any problems.

[@raven4k998]

well yeah they do because I doubt that hacked the airlocks security locks🤣🤣

[@Howyaduing]

Will be difficult if their trespassers would be a second out of sync with real time

[@ixaldorran7867]

That might be true but they have to be quick.

[@raven4k998]

@@Howyaduing huh how if the computers to slow it should lock them out simply by being unable to understand such fast aliens🤣🤣

[@seanbraley2772]

They are movieing at a hyper exaltrated rate then ships senisers would be unable to detect them wall all the bull heads have manual overrides in case of a problem with the computers

[@shanerooney7288]

2:03 "Don't take your helmet off. Is there air? You don't know! " * sniffs the air * "seems alright."

[@henrytheturnip]

I understood that reference!

[@englishteadrinker736]

I forgot that was just a clip, I was getting into that! Must fish out my Voyager dvds 😃

[@quillquickcard8824]

If this was one of your favorite episodes of Voyager, I strongly suggest that you read Dragon's Egg by Robert L Forward. It is the story that this episode was based on. This hard science fiction story follows life on the surface of a neutron star, where they experience life at roughly a million times faster than humans. Follow this life from its earliest beginnings at the dawn of plant life, to the first weapon, through the invention of mathematics, and eventually to levels of technology far surpassing that of the humans onboard the spacecraft observing this. It is a wonderful story, and the beautifully alien Cheela are one of the most fascinating and thoroughly explored biologies I've seen in fiction.

[@raven4k998]

shocking they can get anywhere those rocket lasted a bout a second or two before being exhausted😱

[@ProphetChuck8471]

Thanks for the advice mate, just bought both the Dragon's Egg and Starquake!

[@fuzzblightyear145]

may need a physicist here, but doesn;t time run *slower* in a high gravity field...? ( a la Interstellar)

[@raven4k998]

@@fuzzblightyear145 well I was wondering why they are still running fast in a slower time field why dose the transition to a new time field slow to take effect and fatal to some? wouldn't the transition be quick and painless that is what I would think it would be like because if time speeds up for those in orbit they don't seem to notice the change in speed going up to orbit or coming back down to earth

[@scottjohnson9799]

@@fuzzblightyear145 The aliens in the book run faster not because of time dilation but because their biology/environment is completely different.

[@Lovetheviolins]

One of my favorite episodes... The new characters feels like old friends immediately...

[@Eichward_SKV]

Amazing star trek episode. Episode's like this are always the peak of Star Trek.

[@raven4k998]

makes you wonder is there a planet out there where time goes by way to fast

[@Winter-The-Masquerade]

I would agree... if not for the fact that this episode is a ripoff of another story, Dragon's Egg. And no I don't mean "Oh, this story was inspired by Dragon's Egg" I mean they ripped off the novel beat for beat and never created it so they wouldn't have the pay the people who actually came up with the idea. I'm not against borrowing ideas from other stories if I was I would have to hate like 97% of all Shakespeare plays but this is just lazy. It's basically the cliffnotes version of the book. Go read it and then compare it to this episode and realize just how lazy this whole thing really is. Just to show what I'm talking about go check out the episode Bride of Chaotica! That is a love letter to older sci-fi shows and movies and it's so much fun and is a great take on older movies. It's not peak Voyager but it's a great time.

[@TimeSpinner]

As a small touch, I love the lights on the helmets. It's such a pragmatic, early-spaceflight feel. "What if the power goes out?" "At least put some lights on the helmet so they can see what they're doing."

[@TheFiddleFaddle]

Thanks for this. Motivated me to go rewatch this masterpiece of an episode.

[@raven4k998]

the scans won't penetrate there hull I wonder why oh yeah because voyager has an ablative armor🤣🤣

[@TheRAYviewYT]

I’m gonna watch it again. Today

[@Leafsdude]

Seeing Daniel Dae Kim as a heroic character after knowing him as an evil lawyer (redundant lol) in Angel was a shock to my system when I recognised it retroactively. Excellent actor.

[@Fred_Lougee]

I know him best from Lost. There is a story from the days of filming Lost. His wife was a huge Yoonjin Kim fan, completely not surprising as she is a very popular star in Korea. Well, when the missus learned that Daniel would be playing opposite Yoonjin in a new show she asked to be introduced. Of course Daniel agreed and as things turned out the two bonded as fast friends. There are a lot of Japanese in Hawaii, but very few Koreans. The sight of two Korean ladies running around Honolulu and environs was soon a common sight for the residents.

[@captainlengthwidth6692]

I know him from Crusade, the one season Babylon 5 spin-off which - for all it's faults - was much better than this load of codswallop. He also had a blink and miss it appearance in an early season 2 Episode of Enterprise.

[@Fred_Lougee]

@@captainlengthwidth6692 I thought it was season 3 of Enterprise. He played one of the Space Marines, or whatever the invented term, that get assigned to assist with security as they go off to the mysterious Delphic Expanse. There are only supposed to be a dozen of them, including their commander, but I must have seen at 30 different actors playing them. DDK is in like two episodes and never seen again.

[@andrewmurray1550]

Know him best from Hawaii Five-0 reboot.

[@captainlengthwidth6692]

@@Fred_Lougee I stand corrected. (Well I would be if I wasn't sitting down - I sit corrected?) You are right - Season 3 it was.

[@spyrofan9681]

They probably irreparably fucked up every door they had to force open on their way around the ship

[@RichardA.-yi5sz]

Probably damaged, but their Chief Engineer is B'Ehlanna Torres. She'd have noticed the problem in half an hour and had them all fixed within three hours more.

[@JoshuaHopkins-j9o]

Buncha jerk astronauts is what they are

[@robertveith6383]

Stop majorly cursing, *jerk!* It is ignorant and needless.

[@TheGUARDIANOFFOR]

Im was thinking more about breeathing the time dilatated oxigen ....... all theyr cells shud rupture and explode....

[@spyrofan9681]

@TheGUARDIANOFFOR They probably briefly speed the atomic clock of matter and energy they encounter which means there's pockets of vacuum all over voyager when they appear. Or they dumped air from their craft into voyager which is conveniently pocketing around them due to electro static charge or maybe they just don't need to breathe as often as most species... man they could have just had them put helmets on.

[@al28854]

0:59 watching this again brings me back, also now in 1080P I can see the uneven edges of the painted drywall and the strip of cut wooden frame at the top. Just so many good memories of this episode, hare to believe it's been 24 years already.

[@enikata7349]

I like how Janeway's first reaction was to go straight over to try and help

[@irregularassassin6380]

And still people say she's a terrible captain and person.

[@cracno1125]

@@irregularassassin6380 She's not that bad a person. Just a bit of a hypocrite and a tyrant at times. All the captains make pretty stupid decisions, but hers are more blatant.

[@JoshuaHopkins-j9o]

@@cracno1125 ... As a feminist... I am offended anytime someone points out the flaws and contradictions in a woman's behavior... no matter how verifiable. How dare you sir

[@Reoh0z]

@@cracno1125 Yeah like that one time Sisko committed a war crime by irradiating a planet to make it deadly forcing the families of maquis he was chasing to abandon the planet, and the only one to question it was Dax making a joke during the outro.

[@khhnator]

@@JoshuaHopkins-j9o wut?

[@evanfinch4987]

Captain our doors were ripped open at immense speed

[@Deltaflot1701]

My first thought as well

[@aceofspadesguy4913]

“Don’t worry they’ll be good as new by the next episode”

[@rickmarr8784]

I really liked this episode, the concept of a world in a pocket of accelerated time is so interesting.

[@raven4k998]

are you a little disoriented?💀💀

[@glen1555]

There's a Original Series episode where this also happens. Of course the woman is beautiful and Kirk tries to shag her. Sole reason I wanted to be an astronaut, but didn't pass the interview. Going to other planets, meeting beautiful alien women and having interspecies sex wasn't an acceptable answer

[@raven4k998]

@@glen1555 yeah but Kirk tries to shag every woman🤣🤣

[@haravikk]

This is one of my favourite episodes of Voyager - cool sci-fi premise, extremely well executed. Sure it fudges the rules a lot throughout the episode, but if you just take it as granted and watch for the fun of it it's a great episode.

[@malthus986]

Enters alien starship. Immediatly takes off helmet. Big brain move. Even if the gas mix fits what about organic hazards?

[@gajustempus]

plus - we see how the coffee for Janeway is pouring so incredibly slow it almost stands still. Same would go for ALL the gases aboard. So - how do they breathe?

[@vannustube]

presumably they have something that detects hazards before they take their helmets off

[@ebee-uz1oz]

or as Guy said in Galaxy Quest " Don't open that!, Is there air? You don't know"

[@DrownedInExile]

@@gajustempus Exactly. They would have suffocated instantly.

[@manuj.-h.7060]

Or maybe ot is schon fi and not everything has to make sense.

[@starwolf3020]

The distortion you hear is the because as they leave the vicinity of the time difference time is already slowing down for them

[@monkeyman767]

Yeah I love that little detail

[@MostlyPennyCat]

What distortion?

[@L8onL8on]

​@@MostlyPennyCatthe sound effect around 0:27 I think.

[@starwolf3020]

The response you hear on the radio like a audio recording as it speeds up

[@DoveHarlequin]

One of my absolute favorite episodes to be certain.

[@raven4k998]

Imagine meeting aliens and finding out they are just a little slower then you😱

[@markfox1545]

*favourite.

[@alexanderrahl482]

​@@markfox1545No chance limey. It ain't 1775 anymore.

[@barmy709]

@@alexanderrahl482 I'm from the UK and absolutely was pmsl at your comment ... Bless ya 👍

[@RaimoHöft]

Dragons Egg and the Cheela come to mind.

[@strawberrycloud2807]

I love how Janeway’s and Neelix’s first instinct is to help them.

[@Hawk_of_Battle]

People wondering how they had compatible docking equipment (as if *that's* the biggest question to be asking here!); didn't these people have millenia to study Voyagers hull through telescopes? Like, they had toy models made for kids and everything. They almost certainly knew exactly what the outer hull looked like, down to the last detail. Any engineer could work out where docking ports would be and design any ship of their own to match it, especially if said ship is going up to take a closer look. Even if this ships mission wasn't *intended* to dock, you'd certainly learn a lot about your first ship design by studying Voyager and would produce components for future ships in mind. As for how they got inside afterwards; any docking port on a ship this advanced would still have a manual override on the outside. You never know when somebody might need to EVA out on the hull, and maybe have to re-enter into an unpowered section, either due to damage or any number of other situations. A simple pneumatic handle could be used to force open the doors. They wouldn't even have to re-pressurize, since their own ship would still be docked and covering the breach. The air in their own ship would equalize once the doors are open. And clearly they checked the air, temperature and presumably did a bio scan for contaminants sometime off-screen before taking off their helmets. This is no more egregious than anyone else in Trek sending away teams down to random planets in their standard uniforms. You can argue that Federation tech has better scanning tech to ensure peoples survival, but at some point you just gota get the plot moving and these shows are usually not about that stuff (though these are also the same people who fill their control panels with Explodium, so take that with a pinch of salt). It's not like the team from Prometheus, who *only* did a scan to see if the air was breathable before a guy took his helmet off, here we can at least *presume* they did a bio-scan of some sort as well.

[@ptonpc]

Those are all good points.

[@darrengriffin8609]

Bet you're fun at parties.

[@TheJoefussGarage]

The logic bombs aside from how they got inside, to how could interact with ship, I easily suspend my realities, for a decent story, and this was good one..

[@safebox36]

Getting inside isn't that hard, Voyager never closes the shuttlebay door unless it's in combat or at warp according to the schematics book. Security shouldn't be a huge issue either, as the Jefferies tubes are designed to be accessible to everyone on all decks in case an emergency takes the turbolifts offline. The three primary issues I have is they should be struggling to move and breath because the air should be as solid as jello. She also shouldn't be able to feel heat coming off Belanna because it wouldn't have enough time to transfer. And finally they should have trouble seeing much, even if they are moving slower than light still they should still have a dimmer cone of vision or less saturated colours because less photons are able to reach their eyes.

[@SlideIX]

⁠@@safebox36nah man, air wouldn’t be hard, it would still be intangibles and effected by their interactions although I admit they might find it harder to breathe like being at the top of a mountain. Also the heat transfer is not hard to explain either, simply put heat transfer happens pretty quickly even if the effects are minimal to start with. Combine that with their accelerated perception and mental capabilities should explain how she felt heat of Belanna. As for their vision I have two possibly theories, first is again their accelerated time means their mental capabilities are simply processing stuff fast enough to see and second theory maybe they can’t see that well in the first place 🤷‍♂️ their aliens. For all we know their sight is simply different from what we would expect so lack of light might not be an issue.

[@seanbraley2772]

The airlocks have manual overrides we see them use them throughout the franchise they would find the lack and pull the leaver that control would be one of the universal concepts for any alien “race” with a similar body type

[@stevengoldstein114]

No one ever seemed to deal with the fact that the visitor spoke English

[@danielpothier9990]

Or you could just enjoy the story😊

[@MDE_never_dies]

This the time Johnny Gat went to Voyager

[@clintbrew]

He got LOST in space

[@Susanville77]

I'm picturing all of the original Third Street Saints strutting around Voyager.

[@MDE_never_dies]

@@Susanville77 I asked ChatGPT to create this very scenario 😁 **[The scene begins in a sleek, futuristic corridor aboard the USS *Voyager*. The Third Street Saints are standing in the middle of a hallway, looking around, clearly out of place. Johnny Gat cracks his knuckles, while Shaundie and Pierce look around with a mix of curiosity and confusion. Boss stands at the front, taking charge of the situation.]** **Boss**: *(Glancing around)* Alright, this is… new. Last thing I remember, we were blowing up a rival gang's compound. How the hell did we end up in a spaceship? **Johnny Gat**: Spaceship? Man, this place looks like a damn high-tech hotel. *[He kicks a nearby railing, which makes a soft metallic *clang* but doesn’t budge.]* They got some weird-ass décor, too. You see these walls? *[He gestures to the sleek, metallic surfaces]* This is straight out of a bad sci-fi movie. **Shaundie**: Yeah, and what’s with all the people just… frozen? *[She points at a few crewmembers standing perfectly still in the hallway, mid-step, as if time had been halted.]* Are they like… mannequins? Or some sort of weird space glitch? **Pierce**: *(With a wide-eyed expression)* Okay, hold up. If this is some kind of alien prank, I'm out. I did *not* sign up for this. I’m good with taking down street thugs and corrupt politicians, but this? I’m *way* out of my league here. I didn’t even pack a weapon. **Boss**: *(Pulling out their phone, trying to get a signal)* I’ve got nothing. No signal, no map, nothing. *[They glance around, a little more sternly]* Alright, keep your heads on straight, we need to figure out where we are and what the hell happened. And *why* everyone here is frozen in place like mannequins. This feels like something out of a *Twilight Zone* episode. **Johnny Gat**: You think we pissed off some space aliens or something? Maybe this is their version of a kidnapping. *[He starts walking ahead, clearly unfazed.]* **Shaundie**: Yeah, and if this is a trap, they clearly didn't get the memo. We *always* win. *[She follows after Johnny, half-joking, half-serious.]* So, if this ship’s as advanced as it looks, maybe we could… hijack it? Make them give us a ride home? **Pierce**: *(Grumbling as he trails behind them)* You’re seriously thinking about stealing a spaceship? I barely know how to use a damn ATM, Shaundie. Can we *please* focus on getting out of here in one piece? **Boss**: Look, we’re going to have to think this through. Whoever is behind this *is* going to have some big answers. *[They stop in front of a nearby door, which automatically slides open. Inside, they find a large room filled with more frozen crew members, this time in a mess hall.]* What is this? **Johnny Gat**: A break room for the crew, looks like. I think I could go for some coffee. This place sure as hell doesn’t look like it belongs to a gang, but... maybe we can make it work. *[He walks up to one of the frozen crew members and nudges them.]* **Shaundie**: Yeah, if coffee was the solution, this’d be over in five minutes. *[She steps inside, looking at the large tables, glancing around skeptically.]* But, seriously, if they're frozen in time, what does that mean for us? Are we stuck in whatever… time freeze this is? **Pierce**: *(Frustrated)* I don't know, I don’t like the idea of playing around with time travel. You ever see how *that* works out? Things go sideways real quick. We're probably already breaking some rule by even being here. **Boss**: *(Ignoring Pierce and looking over the ship’s technology)* The important thing is we need answers. *[They walk up to a nearby console, which is flashing with different data readouts.]* This looks like the ship’s main control system. I bet we can get it to work… maybe even unfreeze everyone. **Johnny Gat**: Yeah, or we could just turn everything off and see what happens. *[He grins at the thought of just blowing up the ship’s systems.]* **Shaundie**: And by “what happens,” you mean, "We die." No thanks. I’m good with less explosions. *[She steps closer to Boss, clearly more interested in the tech.]* Let’s figure out what *actually* happened first. **Pierce**: *(Looking at the control panel nervously)* I’m gonna need you to be careful with that, Boss. This ship probably runs on tech we don’t even understand. We start pushing buttons, and next thing you know, we’re in a black hole or something. **Boss**: *(Smirking as they tap the console)* If we’re gonna be stuck here, I’m at least gonna make it interesting. **Johnny Gat**: *(Walking over to another frozen crew member)* Hey, maybe one of these guys knows how to fight. Could come in handy. *[He gives the person a quick shove, but they remain motionless.]* **Shaundie**: Right, cause *that’s* gonna work. You really think these people are just *gonna wake up* and start fighting with us? Or maybe they’ll start singing show tunes. You know, the whole "frozen in time" vibe is starting to get weird. **Pierce**: I *really* need to know what happens when we get back. This kind of thing is a total headache. No one’s gonna believe us when we get back to Steelport. I can’t even tell if we’re still on Earth. This place looks like something straight out of a sci-fi comic book. **Boss**: *(Hitting a few more keys on the console)* Well, Steelport's not going anywhere. *[The ship begins to hum quietly, and a nearby console flickers to life with a map of the ship.]* Looks like we’re on the USS *Voyager*. And judging by this… we're not in Steelport anymore. **Johnny Gat**: No kidding? What is this, some sort of… Star Trek thing? **Shaundie**: I think it is. Are we gonna meet aliens now? Do you think they’ll be into our vibe, or are we getting thrown into some sort of intergalactic jail? **Pierce**: I swear to god, if I get probed by some alien, I’m suing. **Boss**: *(Laughing dryly)* We’ll figure it out, Pierce. For now, let’s just… take a look around. If we’re in some weird space-time thing, we might as well make the best of it. **Johnny Gat**: *(With a grin)* Yeah, and who knows? Maybe we’ll find some alien tech we can use to blow up stuff back home. **Shaundie**: And maybe we can make some new friends. *[She smirks at Johnny]* Or, you know, new enemies to kill. **Boss**: *(With a serious look)* Right now, our priority is figuring out how to get back. But if we have to kick some ass along the way, I’m not complaining. **[They walk off down the corridor, the hum of the spaceship's systems surrounding them as they begin their exploration of the USS *Voyager*.]** --- **END SCENE**

[@Wriggs74]

My favourite voyager episode. I like how the time difference is so different. Greatly written.

[@raven4k998]

Move in closer!!!

[@DavidWalter-gz8ue]

This one pf my favourite episode. This shows why there could be many reason why the our Galaxy seems silent.

[@fp6343]

OK, now you made me rewatch this episode. Thank you

[@altha-rf1et]

one of my favorites esp this makes me want to watch it again

[@TheMainezetetic]

“Blink of an Eye” is one of three episodes I revisit from time to time. The other two: “Workforce” and “Relativity”. Oh and “Future’s End” with Sarah Silverman is a fun episode too.

[@jennivamp5]

This was one of my favourite episodes of voyager. Such an interesting concept to explore.

[@kxmode]

This is one of my favorite episodes in the entire Star Trek universe-easily in my top 10. It’s such a fantastic episode, perfectly blending science and fiction with a terrific story. 🙂

[@raven4k998]

the old woman died oh my god😱😱

[@told2stop]

the crew is doing the mannequin challenge lol

[@sourabhkarmakar8040]

Thanks for uploading this, one year ago there was a video of this scene but got removed perhaps for copyright issue, ever since I was hoping somebody would upload.

[@aaronc4899]

I was thinking: they’re forehead aliens, right? Yup, exactly the same except for a funky forehead.

[@h5mind373]

That's the 'Turbo' button they used to have on PCs to make you think it was working faster.

[@voccmoccer2262]

For me the best Episode of all Voyager Episodes.

[@bluemoon1197]

This is one of my favorite Voyager episodes 💜

[@brandonlordbaltimore5182]

I always enjoyed this episode of Voyager.

[@hal9khal]

I plan to rewatch Voyager for some time yet... :)

[@johnblackhead2384]

One of my favorite episodes.

[@TheFiddleFaddle]

Of all of Trek, for me.

[@markfox1545]

*favourite.

[@johnblackhead2384]

@ Nope. I spelled it correctly. You Brits spell it wrong, just like colour.

[@wernerkruger2282]

@@johnblackhead2384 Right Brits... who 1st spoke english before USA even existed, but they spelt it wrong, riiiiiiight

[@johnblackhead2384]

@ Exactly.

[@mtlreiner]

One of Voyager's best episodes.

[@Supremax67]

Borg comes along: "You will be assimilated!" Citizens: "Too slow!"

[@HHopebringer]

Interesting you mention that... There was at least one borg drone from their people in a later episode.

[@The_Lucent_Archangel]

@@HHopebringer Most likely they achieved warp at some point and some of them got caught up while away from their world. I don't really fathom how the Borg could pull off assimilating their planet.

[@teyemanon1970]

One of the best episodes in the whole of Trek.

[@nayooropeza2211]

Everyone commenting here how cool this episode was when in fact it was done before on the original series Start Trek! I can't recall the title of the episode but the crew starts experiencing a high pitch buzzing in the ear and then somehow Kirk is sped up in time somehow so that he is existing at the same moment in space and time as the invading aliens, needless to say Spock of course eventually figures it out and solves the issue before the enterprise is commandeered to travel at an accelerated pace into interstellar space!

[@andrewshouse9840]

Wink of an Eye - similar mechanic but much different focus.

[@hawkstringfellow]

Voyager was great golden era of star trek

[@Xentronium]

Agreed, along with TNG and DS9. Personally I'd even include ENT as the end of the golden era.

[@Urammar]

TNG and DS9 were, VOY was... okay

[@JDSleeper]

Not really seen that way at the time. It was using a formula that had gotten stale.

[@michaelpowers6551]

Hahaha… that was a great joke

[@megavolt67]

​@@JDSleeper You're right, but I would add that DS9 wasn't seen that way at the time either. It's later on after shows like Battlestar Galactica and people wanting TV sci-fi to be more edgy that people started to romanticize DS9's "grayer" version of the Trek formula. TNG was a huge hit and some people lost interest in Star Trek altogether when it went off the air. That's why DS9 brought in Worf and the Klingons for a boost. Voyager did the same thing with Seven and the Borg. I will say though as someone whose favorite is TNG that I do like Voyager (and DS9 too, of course) and that I think the real issue with it aside from the ship looking like a less cozy version of the Enterprise D is being saddled with the whole "missing in the Delta Quadrant and trying to get home" setup which chafes against the idea of traditional Star Trek exploration. DS9 was too dependent on everything coming to the station but they fixed that in the third season with the Defiant. Voyager never had such a fix and so there were many times over the seven years when you had to overlook for the sake of whatever story a particular episode is trying to tell that they're supposed to be spending every moment trying to get back and not stopping to do anything except pick up essential supplies.

[@gajustempus]

there's one thing that annoys me with the beginning of the episode: The two aliens act perfectly normal aboard Voyager. They don't think about wearing a helmet or other protective gear - despite them saying their sensors can't penetrate Voyager's hull. So they have NO IDEA if the atmosphere might be toxic for them. They're also perfectly fine with overriding the doors without tools - and they know perfectly how to open these doors, where to push. And, lastly, THEY CAN READ THE LCARS WITHOUT ANY ISSUES! Plus - they're not even remotely spooked about the "aliens", their appearance or so, despite them just being "normal" spacefarers/astronauts/pilots. That's so...out of place...

[@alexiachimciuc3199]

Star Trek was never about the details and more about a general idea.

[@Afrognamedglen]

Are you Crewman #6 from Episode 81? (I hope you get that reference)

[@irregularassassin6380]

A few counterpoints: First, their sensors can't penetrate the hull, but they opened the airlock hatch, which probably allowed access for their sensors to enter the hull. We also don't know when they took their helmets off. It was probably after they confirmed the air was safe to breathe. Second, I'm pretty sure that Starfleet interior doors are not locked by default, so crew can shove them open during an emergency. Tools not required. They also pried them open from the most logical point, the obvious seam in the middle. Third, they didn't read the LCARS panel, they examined the displayed schematic of Voyager, which is basically a pictographic map, and made an educated guess which proved correct. they looked at the top but which all the cables went to and said "huh, probably the control centre." Fourth, I think they were probably pretty damned spooked, but they're also consummate professionals ... despite breaking the rules and going off-book.

[@barneyrubble4293]

They knew about aliens because aliens had been in their sky for millennia.

[@Rosskles]

​@@Afrognamedglen Let's get out of here before one of those things kills Guy! 😂😂

[@littlemiho6208]

Reminds me of the classic episode In the Blink of an Eye...they exist in accelerated time, they kidnap people from other temporal dimensions to mate and companionship, however if these captives get injured, they age fast and die.

[@andrewmurray1550]

The TOS ep you mean is WINK of an Eye. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wink_of_an_Eye

[@alanjohnson2853]

The idea of this episode has its roots in one of the original Star Trek episodes

[@jimmyzhao2673]

Originally from a 1901 short story 'The New Accelerator' by H.G. Wells

[@sartainja]

No way their docking devices would work together. Excellent story.

[@julianbauer9775]

maybe they didnt work together the bording szene is never shown. Maybe they did a full spacewalk to get on board. Or had a Universal doking port like in enterprise (there they boarded alien vessel all the time) where they create a seal around the hull to board.

[@SirZapdos]

This is the best TV episode of all time

[@interrobang8472]

lol I have to go watch that episode now!

[@VhorTube]

I love ST Voyager and this is one of my favorite episodes

[@h.a.9880]

I gotta say, I really love the exterior design of the alien's spaceship, it has a nice balance of looking sort of like our own early spacecraft, yet it also has its own unique style aspects. Those interior shots are also really cool. I tried looking up if that's a Gemini capsule, but it seems the layout for those was different. Still looks like it's a museum piece or prop for a different movie that they could film in and it really is nice to have such an elaborate setpiece for just such a short scene. This old-timey cockpit also contrasts so well with the type of futuristic bridge that we see in Start Trek most of the time. When these aliens later show up with more modern ships, it accentuates just how quickly they progressed and how far they got.

[@Draknfyre]

This is my favorite episode of Voyager. I love the differing time rates and the resultant interaction between them. It must've been mind-blowing to be not only getting up close and personal with this super-mysterious space ship that's been a part of your planet's culture for millennia but then to actually board it and see the interior and the inhabitants with your own eyes. And this wasn't even part of your official mission plan. This would basically be the scientific equivalent of a religious epiphany combined with a deity appearing before you personally to have a chat. I wish the episode could've gone longer with more discussion and showing him even more about themselves and Voyager. I'm sad the other astronaut didn't live to see the truth of the "skyship."

[@MGEE8572]

One of my fav episodes

[@raven4k998]

Imagine them entering sick bay and succumbing to the time line effects in front of the doctor both of them might have survived then😢

[@Aramanth]

This was such a great episode!

[@randyrogers8568]

This was one of my favorite episodes of Voyager.

[@hammerdragon4321]

In a blink of an eye is the name of this episode

[@raven4k998]

they made it to the bridge and had a heart attack in front of the Captain talk about first contact🤣🤣

[@markfox1545]

Yes, just as it says in the title of this video, genius.

[@tripodcatz5532]

Not to give anything away, but I saw this episode. Everyone dies at the end and the Voyager blows up. A lot like the Gunsmoke episode where Matt Dillion loses a gunfight and dies in the middle of Dodge City. Or the Bonanza episode where all the Cartwrights die in a house fire after Hoss forgets to put out the fire before bed.

[@bluedragontoybash2463]

one of the best episode

[@dieseljester]

This was one of the best Voyager episodes in my opinion.

[@blackjac5000]

The Orville did a variation on this called "Mad Idolatry" where they run into a planet shifts out of a dimension where time moves way faster into ours for a while and the XO winds up creating a whole religion by mistake.

[@ebee-uz1oz]

i just watched that one......they left the robot behind (ala Doc in this episode)

[@Kairamek]

Speaks to the quality of the episode that the comedy version is also a Trek-worthy episode.

[@PowerKorrupts]

This was one of the most innovative and interesting episodes I can remember in this series! Cheers.

[@jeepsblackpowderandlights4305]

Voyagee had tons of great episodes. It mainly got bad towards the last season due to the rush to finish.

[@davidhamilton8108]

One of my favourite voyager episodes

[@ChrisM-zm4li]

It's hard to believe you could have a space program and not even know how your planet relates to space.

[@dayanson6920]

I mean for all we know our solar system could be at 500x the time frame of the rest of the Galaxy and we wouldnt know it. We only have pictures of things beyond our solar system. Up untill like 2004 we didnt have actual up close pictures of the outer planets. I see it as one of those things where we can have all the science but untill we go there to experience it we wont fully know.

[@ChrisM-zm4li]

@@dayanson6920 No, we know that's not true. We are able to observe the other planets and stars around us and we can use mathematical formulas to show their movements and relationship to our own planet.

[@whochecksthis]

My favorite voyager episode, D.D.KIM introduction to my world too. Great actor.

[@anugroho1174]

One of the best episodes ever.

[@BestoftheBest-oz4ei]

I loved this episode...one of the better ones!

[@kenvickery7319]

One of the best episodes of Voyager

[@maiabravo5978]

This should have been a cold open.

[@aznthy]

yep

[@argiebarge7955]

"awaiting your command to proceed" "what was that?" "I just stood on a hamster"

[@ricl11]

I think that may be one of my top episodes

[@kanaric]

Possibly the best episode of the series, caught me off guard back in the day since Voyager was very mid overall. Looked it up ofc this is one of Ronald D Moore's writers who went on to BSG and his list of episodes for Voyager are among the best lol.

[@taienv]

I always loved the timey-wimey episodes (yes I also watch Doctor Who). This one was one of my favorites, naturally. Plus I now love seeing that asian B actor (no insult intended) in other things.

[@Nick-yz9fd]

All time favorite trek episode

[@seanjoseph8637]

One of my favourite Voyager episodes.

[@rogerlynch5279]

ONE OF THE BEST EPISODES OF STAR TREK VOYAGER

[@JiffyDealer]

This is my favorite episode.

[@Lover-of-Creative-Priorities]

I remember this episode. Seasons changing in the blink of an eye. And voyager becomes a fascination to a whole civilisation for centuries. when voyager had only been there for a couple of hours

[@Axemantitan]

When I first watched Lost, I recognized Daniel Dae Kim from this episode.

[@lazyperfectionist1]

One thing you can pretty consistently expect with episodes of _Star Trek_ is paradigm-shifting circumstances. They _prided_ themselves on finding unique ways to challenge preconceptions and illustrate the difference between the Universe as we _understand_ it and the Universe as it actually _is._ It comes to be almost _disappointing_ when an episode doesn't do that.

[@User63098]

One of the best episodes!

[@Cragified]

What always amused me with the idea of being 'faster in time' then the universe is opening a door like that would be such an insane instantaneous force and require such force to be moved at that acceleration in 'normal time' that it would smash atoms into subatomic particles and likely disintegrate the whole ship.

[@robm1283]

I love it how they just happened to have compatible docking equipment.

[@philipchiu9835]

This was such a bittersweet episode with great writing yet sad ending when the astronaut reaches old age just when Voyager leaves. I wish the astronaut could have joined the crew.

[@DarkAngelX2]

Star Trek: TOS also has an episode about time difference, episode name “Wink of an Eye”.

[@khoichau8316]

Daniel Dae Kim in Star Trek!

[@GhostLink92]

He was also a Marine in Enterprise.

[@warchela]

Both those astronauts look like they’re carrying impressive packages in their spacesuits

[@Dranok1]

It's not only ST universe, other shows have suffered the same writing fault: if you perceive time as running so slowly (or quickly) in this "bubble" that the indigenous life forms are not moving (or zipping around too quickly to follow) then the photons will be flowing into your eyes less frequently as well so the ambient light will be dimmer (brighter). Dim or brighten the set lights and we'll keep track easily or which time bubble we're in.

[@thomaslindell5448]

I don’t understand how they could exist and breath. The air molecules would interact with their blood differently

[@SoranoGuardias]

Obviously their bio chemistry behaved relative to normal until they fully transitioned into "normal" spacetime.

[@sentasuS049]

​@SoranoGuardias still does not explain how they can breathe, the coffee Neelix was pouring showed that everything was moving at an extremely slow rate meaning even the air would not reach their lungs, to them even though there was air, it should have been like being in a vacuum to them

[@user-zr6pl6nb6z]

@@sentasuS049 Why do you say that? Nothing precludes something from moving faster in response to a stimulus just because it's in a slower existence.

[@LostieTrekieTechie]

A wizard did it.

[@sentasuS049]

@user-zr6pl6nb6z you are mostly right, the air would be able to be influenced by external stimulus, but any air they breathe would not be replaced except with the Carbon Dioxide they exhale, because the co2 they exhale is flowing at their Temporal rate the resistance the air has on the co2 would prevent it from properly dispersing, meaning that after a single breath there is a pocket of co2 directly in their front of their face and their next breath would not intake any oxygen!

[@tmoon011383]

One of my favorite scenes in Voyager. I have been looking for this clip for years but I've never been able to find it.

[@chialeux514]

On a scientific mission and not a single picture-taking device ?

[@borstenpinsel]

Starfleet doesn't have them either. Just their silly tricorder. There is an episode in TNG where they need to transmit live video from the planet to the enterprise screen and the only thing they can come up with is using Geordie's visor which is not transmitting a clear image but weirdly distorted pictures meant to go directly into Geordie's visual nerves or brain. So what they see on screen (despite seeing every alien ship and their captain video messages from and to other ships and Earth crystal clear) is more like a colorful ultrasound picture. Totally weird

[@OneTrueEdge]

I love how they can just board the ship, access main engineering and the main bridge. Starfleet really isn't very good at security.

[@Zapnl]

How are you going to 'security' something that docks, boards and explores your spaceship, all in what's probably a few milliseconds? xD even the main computer would not be able to deal with that, forcefields would be too slow..

[@OneTrueEdge]

​@@Zapnl So moving at a faster time frame provides security access to sealed docking ports and doors?

[@andrewmurray1550]

except Picard would be "better"?: Doctor Crusher arrives on the turbolift. Wesley is with her. Picard: "No children on the bridge!" Crusher: "Captain..he's not on the bridge...my son merely accompanied me on the turbolift!" Picard: "Your son....?....(light-speed change of attitude...) "Here Wesley come and sit in my chair....." [proximity alarm goes off] Wesley: "Proximity alert captain!" Picard (light speed change in reverse): "WTF..>?????? Get him off my bridge!!!!"