10 Star Trek Episodes That Actors Regret

3. The Killing Game - Robert Beltran

Star Trek The Killing Game
CBS

The Killing Game was the two-part episode from Star Trek: Voyager's fourth season that saw the ship overrun by the Hirogen. The crew were forced to enact holographic simulations of brutal conflicts from history, again and again, all for the enjoyment of the hunters. Naturally, World War II quickly caught the Hirogens' eyes and a recreation of a French town in the grips of NAZI oppression appeared.

Robert Beltran hated the episodes, believing first that they were offensive to German fans of the show. The NAZIs were an easy villain to portray yet every single German character was portrayed as evil, with no attempt to show any double agents or spies.

Leading on from this, he felt that the episodes were not well written. Writer and producer Joe Menosky acknowledged that it had been a long-gestating idea that changed forms several times, though the idea of putting the crew in a WWII scenario was one of his first pitches to the series. Despite Beltran's feelings on the episode, its success in being aired on a single night led to the creation of Dark Frontier, which was always intended to be a TV movie.

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"