Janeway Lambda one is a holonovel, or advanced virtual reality adventure, featured in the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet and Maquis crew of the starship USS Voyager after they are stranded in the Delta Quadrant, far from the rest of the Federation. In the holonovel, Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), finds a temporary escape from her responsibilities as Voyagers captain by playing a governess, Lucy Davenport, in a Gothic novel set in Victorian England. The holonovel was a recurring subplot in the show's first two seasons. It features Michael Cumpsty as Lord Burleigh, and Thomas Dekker and Lindsey Haun as Burleigh's children. Carolyn Seymour guest stars as the housekeeper Mrs. Templeton, and previously played two separate Romulan commanders and Science Minister Mirasta Yale in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Voyagers writing team developed the holonovel as an expansion of the holodeck, which was introduced earlier in the Star Trek franchise, and a futuristic response to the audiobook. Voyager creator Jeri Taylor initially imagined Janeway Lambda one as a simulation of Western fiction in which Janeway assumed the role of a pioneer woman struggling to contend with the elements and care for her family. The holonovel's genre was changed when Mulgrew refused to work with horses and the crew realized shooting outdoors would exceed the show's budget. The set for the Burleigh manor was constructed on Paramount Stage 16, and was nicknamed "the Jane Eyre set" by the film crew. Commentators also compared Janeway Lambda one to Henry James' novella The Turn of the Screw and Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca.
Parts of the holonovel were included in the teasers for the season one episodes "Cathexis" and "Learning Curve", and it was featured in the second-season episode "Persistence of Vision". In the holonovel's final appearance, Janeway experiences hallucinations of its characters and objects appearing outside of the holodeck due to a bio-electric energy field from a Bothan ship. Janeway Lambda one was intended as a vehicle to further develop Janeway, but critics disagreed on whether the storyline was appropriate for the character. The holonovel was never fully resolved due to lack of interest from Voyager fans. Taylor had written a conclusion for the holonovel, but it was never developed into an episode. Critics had a negative response to Janeway Lambda one, and questioned how it fit Janeway's role as a female captain. The show's frequent use and expansion of the holodeck technology was also panned by reviewers.
Production
Concept and development
In the Star Trek franchise, the holodeck is a computer program capable of creating virtual reality simulations chosen by the user.Murray (1997): p. 15 It was first introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation, but a precursor to the technology appeared in an episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series, entitled "The Practical Joker", as a technological advanced version of a recreation room.Solow & Justman (1996): p. 404 In The Next Generation, the holodeck was shown as being able to project "novellike stories", but Star Trek: Voyager expanded on this idea to introduce the "fully interactive holonovel". Holonovels were distinguished from past examples of holodeck technology through their "complex narratives" and the user's active participation as one of the characters.Murray (1997): p. 287 Developing the holonovel as a futuristic update of the audiobook, Voyagers writers defined them as computer programs enabling the user to "experience total, physical immersion in the story, with a full spectrum of sensations in every way".Poe (1998): p. 10 In his book A Vision of the Future, author Stephan Edward Poe wrote the holonovel was intended to provide: "new ways for crew members to learn ... to be their own heroes in self-directed sages, or even use their stories as a safe and acceptable means of released pent-up emotions."Poe (1998): p. 11
Voyager creator Jeri Taylor designed Janeway Lambda one as Captain Kathryn Janeway's (Kate Mulgrew)'s favorite holonovel and a "story within a story" that would slowly unravel with each of its appearances. It was the first holonovel to be featured in the series. Taylor originally imagined the program as a simulation of Western fiction, in which Janeway assumed the role of a pioneer emigrating to the American West on a covered wagon. Janeway's character was described as a wife and mother struggling with daily tasks, and was presented as the polar opposite of Janeway's position as a Starfleet Captain. Taylor described the Western concept as a "metaphor for the captain's predicament in the Delta Quadrant" and a "method of developing and enhancing Janeway's character". The plan was subsequently abandoned after Mulgrew disliked working with horses and estimates for developing and filming each scene ranged up to an additional $100,000 per day. Taylor said it was "not a prudent decision" to keep the Western concept considering the show's budget and the difficulty in shooting outdoor locations. As a result, the concept of Janeway Lambda one was changed to be a work of Gothic fiction set in 1840s England in which Janeway plays Mrs Lucille Davenport.Poe (1998): p. 19Poe (1998): p. 12
Janeway Lambda one features a recurring set of guest stars, who played various members of the Burleigh family and household. Michael Cumpsty was cast as Lord Burleigh, Davenport's love interest. Burleigh's two children, Henry and Beatrice, were played by Thomas Dekker and Lindsey Haun, respectively. Carolyn Seymour portrayed the housekeeper Mrs. Templeton. Seymour had previously guest-starred as the Romulan Subcommander Taris and the Romulan Commander Toreth in The Next Generation episodes "Contagion" and "Face of the Enemy".Okuda & Okuda & Mirek (1994) Bridget, a servant who worked for Lord Burleigh, was played by an uncredited actress. While Lord Burleigh's late wife plays a large role in the holonovel, she is only shown in a portrait, and does not appear in any of the episodes.
Direction and filming Janeway Lambda one was scheduled to debut in the teaser of the first-season episode "Eye of the Needle", but it was moved to a different episode ("Cathexis"). Television producer Rick Berman wanted a "more exciting shipboard teaser" for "Eye of the Needle". The episode's director Winrich Kolbe collaborated with visual effects producer Dan Curry to create the Gothic novel setting through the use of second unit blue screen sequences. In the episode's pre-production meeting, Kolbe and Taylor met with special effects coordinator Dick Brownfield and unit production manager Brad Yacobian to finalize the set design and to clarify the special effects. Their discussion covered minor actions and effects, such as how much rainwater would be coming through an open window, and whether or not the raindrops on Janeway's clothing would disappear when the simulation ended.Poe (1998): p. 20 Kolbe meticulously planned actors' performances in the teaser sequence, such as researching the proper way of pouring and serving tea according to 1840s customs. According to Poe, attention to such small details in the script was common in the production of Star Trek episodes.
According to the script for "Eye of the Needle", the holodeck program occurred in "a drawing room in an English Lord's nineteenth-century manor", the script for "Cathexis" mentions that Janeway's outfit included a crinoline and a corset. The space used for all of the holonovel scenes was dubbed "the Jane Eyre set" by the film crew. The story was compared to Henry James' novella The Turn of the Screw,Ruditis (2003): p. 25 and Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca. It contained elements of mystery, such as "music from a seemingly empty room, a locked fourth-floor door that Davenport/Janeway is forbidden to enter". The implication that the holonovel would end with Davenport's marriage to Lord Burleigh shifted the narrative so that it was "more romantic than gothic".Van Riper (2014): p. 196
Construction of the set began on December 5, 1994, on Paramount Stage 16. The set's construction pushed the episode's cost over its budget. This was considered normal for a new series and the next four episodes also exceeded their budgets.Poe (1998): p. 25 Despite the high cost of the manor set, the crew designed it for repeated use over the course of the series. This was more appealing than shooting several sequences of a covered wagon on location in the countryside. Curry took special care to merge the blue-screen effects with Kolbe's footage seamlessly to achieve the effect of the manor transforming back into the holodeck. Curry and Kolbe had worked together on previous projects that required similar special effects.
Cast response and abandonment Studio executives and the show's crew were skeptical about Taylor's plans for Janeway Lambda one. Ron Wilkerson, who wrote "Learning Curve" with Jean Louise Matthias, included the holonovel in the script, but was uncertain of the storyline's direction in future episodes. Despite his confusion, Wilkerson said that he trusted Taylor for her "great instincts".Gross & Altman (1996): p. 145 "Persistence of Vision", the episode in which the holonovel was the most heavily featured, was initially met with resistance from Paramount Pictures executives. Taylor attempted to include the episode in the show's first season, but the idea was rejected on the basis of its "story and script form." Studio executives felt the episode was a "very soft story" that lacked action or a clear antagonist, and believed it would not hold an audience's attention.Gross & Altman (1996): p. 159 While discussing Janeway's fight with Templeton, Seymour said the writers were uncertain of how to further develop her character, and viewed the scene as an example of how "[t]hey got carried away." Seymour said that Janeway killed Templeton in the original draft of the fight scene, but this was removed as "she couldn't do that, because she's never killed anyone."
Poe cited Janeway Lambda one as an example of an idea that "sounded good in theory, ... [that] didn't work out in practice". The storyline was abandoned since everyone disliked it. Taylor reported that fans' lack of interest, and the criticism of Janeway portrayed in the role of a servant or subordinate, resulted in the holonovel being discontinued. Seymour attributed the storyline's removal to the decision to avoid excessive use of the holodeck. Taylor wrote a conclusion for the novel, which was never developed into an episode, and she was disappointed that the narrative was left incomplete. Despite her attachment to the project, she said that she was "never afraid to cut our losses if something wasn't working". The holonovel was replaced by Janeway seeking counsel from a holographic version of Leonardo da Vinci. In her book Star Trek, media studies scholar Ina Rae Hark argued that this decision was taken to make the series more appealing to a male audience.Hark (2008): p. 122
Appearances in Star Trek: Voyager