10 Stand-Alone Star Trek Episodes More Important Than You Realise
2. Nothing Human
Nothing Human is a fifth-season entry for Star Trek: Voyager. The MacGuffin of the piece sees an alien latch itself to Torres, feeding from her to stay alive. The only way to carve it free is to use the skills and knowledge of Crell Mosset - a Cardassian physician in the ship's data banks. The problem is that Mosset is Star Trek's answer to Josef Mengele.
This episode delivers a fine ethical debate on whether the ends justify the means, but it is actually something far more than that. It is the final writing credit for Jeri Taylor, who had been the showrunner on Voyager for the first four years.
Taylor joined Star Trek during the Next Generation, and would go on to co-create Voyager with Michael Piller and Rick Berman. Under her tenure, the female characters began to come out of the background a lot more. One such example is giving Crusher command of the Enterprise in the episode Descent.
While she would remain a creative consultant on Voyager for the remainder of its run, this was effectively her swansong. Her contributions to Star Trek would pave the way for future female showrunners in the franchise, such as Heather Kadin and Michelle Paradise.