It’s downright terrifying to think that Star Trek: Voyager is celebrating its 30th anniversary, which we believe makes it the perfect moment to look back at the show’s scariest episode. Though some fans might cite “Threshold,” in which Tom Paris and Captain Janeway evolved -- or, rather, devolved -- into creatures that resembled a cross between slugs, salamanders, and lizards, that was scary mostly because it was such a freaky image in an atrocious episode. If we’re talking about good, old-fashioned scary, then “The Thaw” earns that honor.
The episode debuted on April 29, 1996, during Voyager’s second season, and was directed by Marvin Rush, who served as a director of photography on The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. UPN’s publicity department provided the media with an extensive advisory/synopsis that read, in part, “Voyager activates an automated message from members of the Kohl settlement who, years earlier, survived an environment catastrophe by submitting themselves into artificial hibernation. When the crew transports the Kohl’s hibernation pods on board, they find humanoids in deep stasis with suppressed metabolic activity -- but with active minds and complex sensory development systems controlled by a computer -- and that is where the nightmare begins… Michael McKean guest stars as an evil clown, the embodiment of fear.”
McKean, at the time best known for his comedic work in Saturday Night Live, This Is Spinal Tap, and Laverne & Shirley sends shivers down the spine with his sinister turn in the episode. As the clown, McKean torments Garrett Wang’s Harry Kim and Roxann Dawson’s B’Elanna Torres and tests the patience of Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Janeway. It’s all dark and mean and sinister, which stood -- and still stands -- in juxtaposition to Star Trek’s more familiar omnipotent jokester, Q, whom John de Lancie portrayed with a certain impishness, not to mention an affection for the characters, particularly Captain Picard, he toyed with every now and then.
Complementing the strong performances -- among them, the one by Wang, who actually had some meat to chew on for a change -- are Rush’s wild visuals, which take viewers into Kim and Torres’s worst fears, and the colorful clown costumes, disturbing masks, eye-popping makeups, carnival-like sets, and Cirque du Soleil-esque dances (handled by real Cirque du Soleil dancers). And in a creepy and creative touch, McKean sports a gray costume and makeup as the clown.
Not everyone loves the episode; in fact, fans are pretty divided about it. And the ratings for it weren’t great, as it ranked as season two’s second lowest-rated episode. But we’ll die on the hill saying it’s a worthwhile, out-of-the-box -- and yes, scary -- episode of Voyager that should be checked out again (or checked out for the first time for Voyager newcomers) during the show’s 30th anniversary.