Star Trek: Voyager’s Vulcan Vorik & Alexander Enberg’s TNG Connection Explained

Summary Aside from Tuvok, Star Trek: Voyager featured another Vulcan character in the form of Ensign Vorik.

Vorik's introduction added depth to Voyager's crew and impacted major storylines like Tom and B'Elanna's relationship.

Vorik's character was influenced by his predecessor Taurik from Star Trek: TNG's "Lower Decks," also played by Alexander Enberg.

Star Trek: Voyager's Vulcan Ensign Vorik (Alexander Enberg) became a recurring character in season 3 and had a surprising connection to Star Trek: The Next Generation. Voyager's cast of characters was one of the most diverse in the franchise at the time of its airing in 1995, and also included the first main character Vulcan since Star Trek: The Original Series in the form of Lieutenant Commander Tuvok (Tim Russ). However, Tuvok was not the only Vulcan introduced as a member of Voyager's crew.

Throughout Voyager's seven seasons, the show relied heavily on its supporting characters in addition to the main cast. Except for maybe Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, other Star Trek TV shows before Voyager focused on their main characters or a select few leads within that group. However, Voyager kept things interesting by introducing memorably recurring characters like Naomi Wildman (Scarlett Pomers) or Icheb (Manu Intiraymi) throughout the series. Within the cadre of guest stars Voyager brought onboard, Alexander Enberg's Vorik stood out in some surprising ways.

Star Trek: Voyager’s Vulcan Ensign Vorik Explained

Voyager's other Vulcan became an important recurring character

Vorik was a Vulcan Engineering Ensign first introduced in Voyager season 3, episode 13, "Fair Trade." Creating the character helped flesh out Voyager's crew complement, and adding another Vulcan was a smart choice given how little Vulcans had been represented in Voyager's sister shows, TNG and DS9. Vorik was instrumental in some very important storylines, including arguably being the catalyst for Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) and B'Elanna Torres' (Roxann Dawson) future relationship after he infected B'Elanna with Pon Farr in the season 3 episode "Blood Fever."

Alexander Enberg, who played Vorik, had a strong connection to Voyager before he even appeared on the show as the son of Executive Producer Jeri Taylor. Outside of Star Trek, Enberg has done many small parts in other movies and TV shows, and more recently has worked in the special effects departments for a handful of projects. In addition to Voyager, however, Enberg appeared on another Star Trek series, playing a very similar character to Vorik.

Vorik Has A Surprising Connection To Star Trek: TNG’s “Lower Decks”

Alexander Enberg first appeared on TNG

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Before Voyager, Enberg's first appearance in the Star Trek franchise was on Star Trek: TNG, where he played the Vulcan Ensign Taurik in the season 7 episode "Lower Decks." The episode focused on a group of junior officers aboard the USS Enteprise-D and was a departure from TNG's usual storytelling in that it featured a group of largely unknown characters rather than the series leads. "Lower Decks" would go on to inspire the hit animated show Star Trek: Lower Decks which will air its fifth and final season in late 2024.

Given the similarities between the two characters, it's hard not to think that Taurik was the blueprint for Vorik on Star Trek: Voyager. According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, Taurik was the breakout character from "Lower Decks" and there was even talk about making him a recurring character had TNG continued for an eighth season. Jeri Taylor also suggested that Vorik and Taurik could be twins, according to Star Trek: The Next Generation 365. Although this was a joke, it would be a good way to tie the two series together and explain Enberg playing both roles.

Source: Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, Star Trek: The Next Generation 365

Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: The Next Generation are available to stream on Paramount+.