Delta Flyers reveal Voyager episode The Thaw had Cirque du Soleil performers

Star Trek: Voyager alums Garrett Wong and Robert Duncan McNeill are back for another episode of The Delta Flyers, this week looking The Thaw.

Star Trek has a lot of great podcasts out there, be it from fans, cast, or crew alike, there’s always something good to listen to. The best podcast, however, has got to be The Delta Flyers podcast. Each week, former Voyager cast members, Garrett Wong, and Robert Duncan McNeill break down an episode form their iconic show, while providing insight into the behind the scenes that go on from episode to episode. This week’s review was about the 23rd episode of the second season; The Thaw.

Wong and McNeill, who played Harry Kim and Tom Paris respectively, usually give great insight on their own from week to week but this time they’re joined by Marvin Rush, the director of The Thaw.

Rush spoke candidly about the fact the episode had no special effects budget because all of it went into hiring performers from the Cirque du Soleil entertainment company. Cirque du Soleil is known for its acrobatics, high-intensity performances, and rich, vibrant atmospheres that incorporate athleticism and music into one heck of a stage show.

This time around the performers were less vibrant and more “scary as heck.” The episode centers around artificial intelligence that takes on a mind of its own and beings tormenting the survivors of a near-extinct planet while in a hibernation chamber. Harry Kim and B’ELanna Torres opt to go in to try and save the surviving aliens but have to deal with a clown, played by Michael McKean who has expanded his own conscious to fill the simulation with different versions of himself

Besides working with Cirque du Soleil performers, Rush goes into detail about how freeing it was to have a character like McKean’s Clown who wasn’t bound to traditional points of movement. It even leads to an interesting exchange between Rush and McNeill about how it’s useful to have a point of reference to stage scenes by.

It’s not filled with the juicy gossip or interesting tidbits that reframes episodes, but it’s always worth a listen if you’re a fan of Voyager as a whole or just Star Trek.

Plus now I’m curious as to what song Wong wanted to use for the Delta Flyer’s intro…