page_title: Tuvix
section_title: Writing
hierarchical_section_title: Tuvix / Production / Writing
caption_attribution_description: English: TV writer, editor, director and producer Kenneth Biller.
context_page_description: "Tuvix" is the 40th episode of the science fiction television program Star Trek: Voyager. The episode originally aired on May 6, 1996, and tells the story of Tuvok and Neelix being merged into a unique third character named Tuvix.
  The episode was substantially rewritten from its original iteration as a lighthearted story to a more somber tale with serious moral and ethical implications. Tom Wright guest stars as Tuvix to lend more credence to a unique new character that consists of equal parts Tuvok and Neelix. Both director Cliff Bole and Wright himself had reservations about the latter's take on the character, and despite a perceived lack of support, Wright still praised the Voyager cast and crew. Both the story and performances of "Tuvix" were lauded by the production team and critics alike.
  Researchers and critics found "Tuvix" teeming with technical and philosophical content, including thematic ties to other episodes in the Star Trek canon, real-world logical and metaphysical ramifications, and scientific concessions for the story.
context_section_description: During its development, "Tuvix" was previously known as "Untitled Tuvok/Neelix", "One", and "Symbiogenesis", with the third of these persisting through the episode's development and shooting.  The episode and its teleplay were written by Kenneth Biller; the story is credited to Andrew Shepard Price and Mark Gaberman.  Though described by Biller as "high-concept", the original story by Price and Gaberman was much more light-hearted and tended more towards slapstick.  Biller and Brannon Braga felt the tone of the episode was so akin to a 1960s sitcom, the two of them even wrote a theme song for it.  Biller re-wrote the episode to focus more on the serious philosophical questions raised by the episode and especially the inevitable separation of Tuvix back into the series regulars.  In Biller's original treatment, Tuvix recognized that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few and consented to his fissure.  However, after a discussion with executive producer Michael Piller, Biller began to "[poke] at the audience" by throwing up roadblocks to the episode's foregone conclusion; first Tuvix was re-written to object to the procedure and then the Doctor's refusal was added to force Captain Janeway to put truth to action.  Piller later described Biller as "the poet laureate of Star Trek", highlighting his work on "Tuvix" and "Lifesigns" as examples.
caption: Kenneth Biller (2009)
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