Parks and Rec’s Jim O’Heir basically played Jerry Gergich Star Trek: Voyager

Jim O’Heir basically played a sad version of Jerry Gergich in Star Trek: Voyager.

Fans of the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation (or Parks and Rec) will fondly remember Jerry Gergich, the bumbling but dedicated civil servant how only wanted to put in a hard day of work and go home to his shockingly attractive family. What those same fans may not realize or remember is that the actor who played Jerry, Jim O’Heir, was in Star Trek: Voyager and he basically played a more depressing version of his Parks and Rec character.

In the season seven episode “Critical Care” ( 7×05), O’Heir is seen playing an alien, only intensified in the credits as “Husband”. The Voyager comes across this character as they look for a thief named Gar, who stole The Doctor from the ship to sell him. The husband knew Gar, as Gar and the husband’s wife were close.

You can see where this is going.

So the husband did whatever he could for Gar, even if it meant helping him do something less than honest. Why did the husband do this? Because his wife asked him to. The same wife who ran off with Gar and left the poor sad husband all alone.

Typical Jerry. Or Larry.

Star Trek: Voyager’s “Critical Care” does more than make fun of Jerry

Jerry jokes aside, “Critical Care” is one of the Voyagers’ better episodes in my opinion, and tackles the idea of inequality in healthcare. The Doctor is basically forced into medical slavery, being forced to give precautionary care to more socially-vital patients, as opposed to helping those who are very sick and are in far more need of the medicine than the more “worthy” patients.

It’s a brilliant episode and Robert Picardo delivers in his performance as always.

The subplot of the episode, which sees Captain Kathryne Janeway hunting down Gar is more light-hearted, which the episode needs. It’s a very heavy subject and the more “innocent” interactions that Janeway has on her hunt for Gar allow the viewer to not be overwhelmed emotionally.