Blink of an Eye (Star Trek: Voyager)

Did You Know?

• The 2005 Star Trek novel Star Trek: Voyager: Distant Shores Anthology includes a short story 'Eighteen Minutes' set during this episode.
• Gabrielle Beaumont was the first female director on Star Trek, having directed the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Face of the Enemy."

Plot

The starship Voyager nears a planet surrounded by a tachyon field, which creates unusual time effects. Captain Janeway moves the ship closer, but the planet's magnetic field traps Voyager in orbit. As the crew works on an escape, Seven of Nine scans the world and finds that Voyager is triggering quakes. Further investigation shows time flows much faster on the surface, where primitive humanoids live. The planet sees 58 sunrises for every minute aboard Voyager. While hours pass on the ship, centuries unfold below, and the humanoids advance to a 20th-century Earth level of technology. A radio message reaches Voyager; Tom Paris wants to answer, but Tuvok argues that since the species lacks warp drive, replying would break the Prime Directive. Janeway suggests a secret solo mission. The Doctor, a hologram immune to the time difference, volunteers. From his viewpoint, the mission lasts three years, though only minutes pass on Voyager.

Production

Producer Brannon Braga described it as a challenging episode, ambitious in depicting the evolution of a civilization over thousands of years, with a large cast, many sets, and special effects. Gabrielle Beaumont, the first female director on Star Trek, directed this episode, which was her last for the franchise. Daniel Dae Kim, who played Gotana-Retz, was already known to sci-fi fans for Crusade and later appeared in Star Trek: Enterprise, Lost, and the re-imagined Hawaii Five-0. Olaf Pooley, who played the Cleric, was married to director Gabrielle Beaumont. The title echoes the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Wink of an Eye," which also involved time displacement. The episode is believed to have been inspired by the 1980 novel Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward.

Reception

The Guardian recommended this episode as one of "six to watch" Star Trek episodes. Gizmodo ranked it 46th out of 100 best Star Trek television episodes. Vox rated it among the top 25 essential episodes of all Star Trek. Den of Geek ranked it among the top 50 Star Trek episodes. ScreenRant called it the number one best episode of Star Trek: Voyager based on an IMDB rating of 9.1 out of 10. SyFy ranked it among the top ten Voyager episodes. The Hollywood Reporter ranked it 5th out of 15 top Voyager episodes. ThoughtCo ranked it as one of the top 10 Voyager episodes. The Digital Fix called it the best episode in season 6, with innovative storytelling of a bold science fiction concept, and one of the greatest episodes in the whole series. SyFy Wire ranked it the 10th best Voyager episode, sharing that ranking with "Relativity," praising it as a surprisingly poignant episode with an emotional and nuanced story. Tor.com included it as one of six Voyager episodes worth re-watching. ScreenRant ranked it the third best time travel story of the entire Star Trek franchise. CBR ranked it among the top twenty time travel themed episodes of all Star Trek series. Den of Geek suggested it for a binge-watching guide focused on Voyager time travel episodes. Bustle.com highlighted it for having no traditional villain, instead exploring the impact of technological influence between two cultures. As of 2025, it ranks first as the most popular user-rated Voyager episode on IMDB with a weighted score of 9.0 out of 10.