15 Star Trek Deaths That Didn't Last

13. Tom Paris - Threshold

Star Trek Generations Kirk Death William Shatner
CBS Media Ventures

What could be worse than reaching warp 10, being at every point in the universe, dying and then returning from the grave only to father lizard babies with the captain of your own ship?

If the answer is nothing then correct! Yes, that's Threshold and an episode that has had its very existence within Star Trek canon questioned over the last 25 years. Is this the story that went just that bit too far?

At its heart there's a good concept - as always - with the attempt to hit warp 10 as a way home. Yet as Paris mutates and slimes his way through the episode, shedding a tongue or some hair around the ship, the episode swings from Voyager High Concept to What Exactly Is Going On Here?

Nor does it stop, with Paris' demise being merely a breather before the real weirdness kicks in and the crew are off searching for space salamanders. In all honesty, this has to hold the top spot when it comes to most bizarre resurrection. Most characters tend to get to be reborn with very little to no ill effects but coming back as a scaly reptile isn't great. But in retrospect neither is it the most crackers part of the story.

Contributor
Contributor

A Star Trek fan from birth, I love to dive into every aspect of the franchise in front and behind the screen. There's something here that's kept me interested for the best part of four decades! Now I'm getting back into writing and using Star Trek as my first line of literary attack. If I'm not here on WhatCulture then you're more than welcome to come and take a look at my blog, Some Kind of Star Trek at http://SKoST.co.uk or maybe follow me on Twitter as @TheWarpCore. Sometimes I force myself not to talk about Star Trek.