Introduction

“The 37’s” is the first episode of the second season, and seventeenth episode overall, of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager.

Due to differing release schedules, it was also released as the final episode of the first season in other countries.

It was originally intended to be a two-part episode to bridge between the first and second seasons, and was subsequently re-written to be a single part.

Due to late changes to the final act of the episode, special effects shots of the settlers’ cities could not be completed, with which Braga and series creator Michael Piller were unhappy.

Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet and Maquis crew of the starship USS Voyager after they were stranded in the Delta Quadrant, far from the rest of the Federation. In this episode, Voyager’s crew discovers a group of humans – including Amelia Earhart (Sharon Lawrence) – who were abducted from Earth in 1937.

Lawrence was cast as Amelia Earhart after she had previously worked with Voyager’s casting director on NYPD Blue. The episode shows the first time that a Federation starship lands on a planet’s surface. CGI was used to show the landing struts unfold, and feet were added to the Voyager model for filming; however the production crew weren’t pleased with these and obscured them during filming.

The episode received Nielsen ratings of 7.5 percent, and was given a mixed response by critics. Among the criticisms were the density of the ideas in the episode and the gimmicky appearance of Earhart. It was also said to be redeemed by the vignettes showing the crew discussing whether to leave the ship, and that the episode contained a “powerful feminist narrative”.

Outline

On stardate 48975.1, the crew of Voyager follows an ancient SOS to a Class L planet whose atmospheric interference requires landing the ship to investigate. On the surface, Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) leads an away team to discover the source of the transmission: a Lockheed Model 10 Electra[8] with an alien generator added to sustain the SOS. Joining Commander Chakotay’s (Robert Beltran) team, the crew finds a “cryostasis chamber” containing eight humans preserved since the 1930s, including Amelia Earhart (Sharon Lawrence) and her navigator, Fred Noonan (David Graf).

After resuscitation, Noonan uses a handgun to hold the Voyager officers hostage, disbelieving their story and insisting on speaking to J. Edgar Hoover. Janeway speaks to Earhart and explains her significance to human history and to Janeway herself; Earhart, as Noonan’s boss, tells him to cooperate, and some of them exit the caves. Outside, a firefight breaks out between the Voyager away team and three hooded figures. Janeway flanks the attackers and disarms them; they are human, and are surprised that Janeway is too. They had assumed the Voyager was a ship belonging to an alien species called the Briori.

Janeway learns that the Briori visited Earth in 1937 and abducted some 300 humans, bringing them to the Delta Quadrant to use as slaves. The humans later successfully rebelled against the Briori, who fled and never returned. Fifteen generations later, there are more than 100,000 humans living in three cities on the planet. The last eight un-revived humans in cryostasis were believed dead by the others, who came to revere “the 37s” as “monuments to [their] ancestors”.

The settlers cannot offer the Briori technology that brought them there, as their ancestors dismantled the alien ship long ago, but they do offer to accept any of the Voyager crew into their society. Janeway thus faces a crisis of conscience over whether she can condemn all on Voyager to the 70-year journey home to Earth. Yet, if the choice is presented to the crew and only some decide to continue onward, the ship cannot be staffed by fewer than 100. Meanwhile, Earhart says that as much as she admires Voyager and yearns to learn more about it, she and the other 37’s feel a stronger affinity to the people on the planet and they will all be staying. In the end, Janeway allows her crew to decide for themselves, and they all opt to stay aboard.

Star Trek TV Series

You can find a full index of Star Trek TV series here.

Star Trek TV Series, Films, and Documentaries

You can find a full index of all Star Trek TV series, films, documentaries here.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s): James L. Conway.
• Writer(s): Jeri Taylor and Brannon Braga.
• Release Date: 28 August 1995.
• Running Time: 45 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.