Star Trek: Voyager’s Infamous Amelia Earhart Episode Isn’t As Bad As You Remember

Star Trek: Voyager's infamous episode introducing Amelia Earhart (Sharon Lawrence) to the Delta Quadrant isn't as bad as you might remember it being. Written by Voyager co-executive producers Jeri Taylor & Brannon Braga, Star Trek: Voyager season 2, episode 1, "The 37's", was a hold-over from the first season that was repurposed into the season 2 premiere. In it, the USS Voyager encounters a 1936 Ford pickup truck floating in space, which leads the crew to a group of humans held in cryo-stasis for over 400 years—including Earhart, a personal hero to Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew).

According to Star Trek, Earhart was one of several 20th-century humans who were abducted by aliens called the Briori. The Briori, who aren't seen in the Voyager episode, once used humans as slave labor, until a human revolution drove out the Briori and destroyed the ship that brought them to the Delta Quadrant. For fifteen generations, humans have thrived on the unnamed planet that the USS Voyager crew finds. Although the Briori ship being destroyed means that a way home is once again elusive, the cities' similarities to Earth present a tempting opportunity to settle here instead of continuing onward.

Star Trek: Voyager’s Amelia Earhart Episode Was A Good Season 2 Premiere

Voyager's Season 2 Premiere Presented Janeway With An Alternative To 75 Years In The Delta Quadrant

Star Trek: Voyager's Amelia Earhart episode was a solid start to Voyager season 2. After some humor with Lieutenant Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) being a history nerd, and excitement about the USS Voyager landing on a planet, "The 37's" is ultimately about Captain Janeway reckoning with leadership. It's the first time settling in the Delta Quadrant is an option, and Janeway has doubts about deciding to take the long way home. Earhart has a narrative purpose, too; by reminding Kathryn how she values self-determination, Janeway knows the crew has to decide for themselves whether to stay or go.

The flaws in "The 37's" are more about narrative structure than Amelia Earhart. Janeway's doubt as the emotional core of the story only emerges in the second half. Before the possibility of staying comes up, "The 37's" sets up a mystery about who the 37's are, how they got to the Delta Quadrant, how they'll adjust to the 24th century, and whether Voyager can get home faster. When colonist John Evansville (John Rubinstein) explains the Briori and human cities, those questions are resolved. That leaves time to explore the growth of Janeway's leadership style since Star Trek: Voyager's premiere.

Why Amelia Earhart On Star Trek: Voyager Was So Controversial

Star Trek Took Artistic Liberties With Amelia Earhart's Real-Life Tragedy

Amelia Earhart being in Star Trek: Voyager was a controversial decision that hasn't sat well with fans who are critical of "The 37's". For one thing, having characters who are historical figures in Star Trek can be one of the sillier aspects of the franchise. Abraham Lincoln (Lee Bergere) appearing in Star Trek: The Original Series season 3, episode 22, "The Savage Curtain", sticks out as a series lowlight. Star Trek: Lower Decks' "twin Twain" joke hangs a lampshade on Star Trek: The Next Generation's 2-part episode, "Time's Arrow", when Mark Twain (Jerry Hardin) boarded the USS Enterprise-D.

Star Trek: Voyager's "The 37's" is a product of the mid-1990s fascination with UFOs, the same way that Star Trek: The Original Series' space hippies were very 1960s. Amelia Earhart's disappearance being revealed as an alien abduction, and Janeway seemingly confirming a conspiracy theory about Earhart being a spy aren't meant to be disrespectful of the real Earhart; instead, they're ways Star Trek's timeline diverges from our own. Star Trek: Voyager definitely took artistic license with its Amelia Earhart story, but "The 37's" is a great character piece and a turning point in Captain Janeway's story.