Virtuoso (episode)
The Doctor becomes a celebrity among a race that has not developed music.

Summary

Teaser
"Captain's log, stardate 53556.4. We've towed a damaged vessel aboard and are attempting to repair it; while The Doctor treats the Qomarian crew who have suffered minor injuries."

The  has picked up some Qomar to treat their injuries. The Qomar ship was damaged when Voyagers sensor scans disturbed its impulse engines. The Qomar are extremely rude to Voyagers crew whom they regard as intellectually inferior. While The Doctor tries to treat the Qomar's injuries, they are very dismissive and patronizing and even attempt to break into his program to shut off his vocal subroutines. He tells them that they're not authorized to do that and that they need to sit down so that he can treat them. Janeway appears in sick bay and patiently deals with her guests, who continue their condescending ways. While The Doctor begins their treatment he starts to sing the first verse of "I've Been Working on the Railroad". 

The Qomar (who are a race of somewhat shorter than average height) are immediately fascinated by The Doctor's singing which is something they have never heard before. They find it so intriguing, that they request him to sing some more.

Act One
The Doctor amuses the Qomar by singing "Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah" and they listen on in utter amazement and admiration.  

They are intrigued by the mathematical aspects of the music but do not understand what it is for. The Doctor explains that it is meant to convey emotions and that it's a form of entertainment. He is surprised to learn that this supposedly advanced race does not possess music of any kind. He informs them that many of Voyagers crew possess musical skills, though of course he is himself the most talented one. He offers the Qomar access to Voyagers musical database so that they can hear more of the vast musical selection available to the crew. Pleased by the offer, the Qomar ask The Doctor to sing more for them which of course appeals greatly to his vanity. Immensely intrigued by their new discovery of music, they invite Voyager to their system. 

"Captain's log, supplemental. The Qomar have completed repairs to their ship and, surprisingly, have invited us to visit their system. Apparently, it's no longer closed to outsiders."

In the Qomar system, the Voyager crew meets Prelate Koru, who appears on the viewscreen. While Janeway wants to discuss science and culture exchange, Koru impatiently interrupts her to focus on music. He wishes to hear The Doctor sing live. Captain Janeway suggests a show with several different types of music. During this recital, The Doctor sings a rendition of "Dio, che nell'alma infondere", a duet from the opera Don Carlos, composed by Giuseppe Verdi. 

 

His performance is a resounding success and he receives great applause from his crewmates but particularly from the Qomar. The Doctor then announces the next act: the jazz band Harry Kim and the Kimtones. They begin playing a instrumental version of "That Old Black Magic". However, the Qomar aren't interested in hearing them play. They begin disrupting the performance by yelling that they only want to hear The Doctor sing. Tom Paris urges The Doctor to help Kim and the band out, which he does by quickly jumping on stage. He instructs the band to pick up the tempo and starts singing the lyrics of the song. This pleases the Qomar greatly and they start enjoying the swinging music.

Act Two
After the recital, there is a reception. Again, the Qomar only seem interested in the singing of The Doctor. Paris extols the merits of rock and roll, but upon learning that The Doctor doesn't sing that style, a Qomar guest walks away. A young Qomar woman recognizes Harry Kim as a musician and approaches him, but it quickly becomes apparent that it is only because she thinks he might introduce her to The Doctor. Captain Janeway congratulates The Doctor on his performance. The Prelate then invites The Doctor to perform on the planet so that the rest of the Qomar homeworld can enjoy this newly discovered music. The Doctor is greatly flattered by the offer and instructs the Prelate to arrange the details with his "representative" Captain Janeway. She is already seeing that all this attention is beginning to go to The Doctor's head but she agrees to the performance. 

The Doctor asks B'Elanna Torres to reprogram his mobile emitter so that he can change appearance quickly in between acts. She snorts at his arrogance but agrees to make the modifications. Tincoo, one of the Qomar, says that she believes the crew don't seem to appreciate him very much. The Doctor of course agrees and laments his own self-perceived plight of being under-appreciated. Torres feels he is exaggerating and being extremely arrogant, especially when he tells Tincoo that in order for his performance to be fully appreciated the lecture hall where his performance is scheduled to take place will need to be entirely restructured, for better acoustics. The Doctor goes on and even insults Torres by saying that her knowledge of music goes no further than a smattering of Klingon drinking songs. The Qomar, on the other hand, will do anything to please their new idol and agree to rebuild the lecture hall's structure.

Just before the concert, The Doctor is starting to feel nervous because he feels pressured by having the great responsibility of being the first person to expose the Qomar to music. He speaks to Tincoo about it, and she makes him feel even more nervous at first by saying that the performance is being broadcast to hundreds of millions of Qomar. But she eases his fears just before he goes on stage by expressing her confidence and great appreciation of him. The performance is a resounding success even before it starts with the Qomar giving The Doctor a standing ovation even before he begins to sing. The applause and admiration give The Doctor's ego an enormous boost and he revels in the attention.

Act Three

After the performance, everyone is back on board Voyager and the troubles with The Doctor's growing fame among the Qomar are starting to arise. Seven of Nine issues a red alert from astrometrics because she believes the Qomar are trying to sabotage Voyagers comm system. When Janeway arrives in astrometrics, Seven tells her that the Qomar are trying to overload the comm system by flooding it with millions of teraquads of irrelevant information. After realizing that all the information the Qomar are transmitting to Voyager is all addressed to The Doctor and that it is actually just fan mail, Janeway cancels the red alert. She explains to Seven the concept of fans and is a little amused by the whole thing. 

However, Janeway's amusement at the situation quickly fades when Tuvok calls her to address another problem. Hundreds of Qomar fans of The Doctor are swarming the ship and are interfering with normal ship functions. The Captain agrees with Tuvok that they should disallow any further Qomar visits and beam those already aboard back to the planet as soon as possible.

The next thing that Janeway sees is going on with The Doctor really disturbs her. Apparently The Doctor is signing autographs in the mess hall and handing out miniature singing holograms of himself. He's even entertaining the Qomar by singing the duet Dio, che nell'alma infondere with one of the miniature holograms. 

The captain cuts in line to speak to The Doctor and he tells her to wait her turn if she wants an autograph. Angered by his enormous ego she tells him she needs to speak to him. She informs him that this whole thing is getting out of hand and that he shouldn't have used valuable replicator reserves to make souvenirs of himself. The Doctor then informs her that he did no such thing and that they were actually made on Qomar. Apparently they've devoted an entire holo processing plant to producing them. However the captain says that things are still getting far out of hand. For instance, she tells him that he's been neglecting his duties in sickbay and that he's getting behind on his reports. He then tells her that none of it is that important and he even goes so far of calling her by her first name. This irks Janeway to no end. He's getting far too familiar with her and becoming negligent in his duties and disrespectful of her and the crew. She sternly orders him to resume his duties in sickbay.

The Doctor does realize he went a little too far with Janeway and returns to his regular duties. But when he arrives in sickbay he finds Paris attending to two young Qomar ladies. They say that they became faint and overwhelmed while waiting in line for The Doctor. The Doctor dismisses Paris and begins examining the young women. He finds nothing wrong with them and they admit that they faked illness to get into a more private situation with him. They become harassing and refuse to leave him alone. Desperate, The Doctor calls for security and even deactivates himself to get away from the overly-insistent women.

Later, The Doctor is working on the surface of planet. He runs into Tincoo and tells her that he came down to get some peace and quiet. She surprises him with a musical piece she has written in his honor. Immensely flattered and impressed, he reads it over. It is enormously complex and an amazing piece of work for someone who has only been aware of music for a few days. She requests that he sing it in his performance tomorrow, but he explains that he doesn't believe he can. It is too complex and beyond his vocal range, which is that of a normal humanoid. Tincoo is puzzled and tells him that since he is not Human he could easily be reprogrammed to expand his vocal range. She even offers to help him with it, but he doesn't believe they have enough time, since his final performance is the day after. She then tells him that it doesn't have to be his last performance. He can stay on Qomar where his talents will be far more appreciated. He is tempted, but feels he cannot forget his duties on Voyager. She reasons that his duties on Voyager pale in comparison to the cultural enlightenment of the millions of Qomar. He still doesn't want to leave Voyager but then Tincoo says that she personally wants him to stay: "What about the simplest equation of them all: one plus one?". That she feels her time with him has been the most stimulating of her life. The Doctor feels the same way and thinks she genuinely has feelings for him. This seals the deal for him. He wants to stay.

Act Four
Back on Voyager, The Doctor informs the captain that he wishes to resign his commission. At first she refuses, saying that he can't neglect his duties like that and that Voyager needs him more than the Qomar. When he says that they'll adapt to the situation, the discussion moves to the fact that he is a system of the ship. They argue about his rights as an individual and that he's not merely a piece of equipment. The Doctor suggests that if (for example) Harry Kim fell in love with an alien woman and wanted to stay with her, abandoning Voyager, there would be no question he would not be denied. Finally, as his friend, the captain reluctantly agrees to his request, after he informs her that there's a woman involved. 

The Doctor begins settling his affairs on Voyager by telling Paris what his duties will be now that he's Voyagers chief medical officer. Paris tells The Doctor he can handle things in sick bay, but that he doesn't want him to leave. Who will he torment after he's gone?

The Doctor then goes to see Seven of Nine. He wants to say goodbye and give her some more social lessons to study after he's gone. She is angry with him. She doesn't want to lose her friend and mentor. He tells her he wants to grow as an individual and that he'll be loved and appreciated on Qomar more than he ever was on Voyager. Seven accuses him of abandoning his friends because he desires fame and attention (similar to an argument the Captain had made). He admits to wanting those things but if those are the things he wants then why shouldn't he try to attain them. Seven considers such things as applause and fan mail irrelevant and says she simply doesn't want to lose her friend to a mere fad. The Doctor wishes her to understand better but doesn't get the opportunity to talk things through when a call comes through for him. It is Tincoo, and she asks The Doctor to join her on the surface, telling him she has a surprise. He agrees to beam down and then turns to Seven to say goodbye, but she simply dismisses him by saying that he shouldn't keep his fans waiting. He is hurt by her words and silently leaves, leaving a distraught Seven behind.

On the surface Tincoo tells The Doctor that she had an inspiration. At first he thinks she's made another composition, but it turns out to be a new holographic matrix. She informs The Doctor that it will solve all their problems. The Doctor asks what problems she is referring to and she says that this program will allow him to stay on Voyager since he was reluctant to leave, and that the program is far superior to him in musical abilities, so that it can do what The Doctor struggled to even try. It is capable of singing any musical piece no matter how complex. Tincoo brings her re-creation of The Doctor (with slightly modified facial features to look more like the natives) online to demonstrate, but The Doctor shuts down the program, and suggests to Tincoo that singing is more than mathematics and complex subroutines; that it needs soul and artistry, experience and passion. She simply states that she has duplicated that too, that she has created "a far more sophisticated piece of technology". The Doctor is very hurt, realizing that she had no real feelings for him and that she would settle for any copy of The Doctor and discard the old one for the newest version. Tincoo is genuinely puzzled; she has no idea how much she hurt The Doctor's feelings.

Act Five
Hurt, almost desperate, The Doctor returns to Voyager where he attempts to upgrade his own program so that the Qomar and especially Tincoo would still want him. He doesn't have much luck as he continues to struggle with singing Tincoo's composition. He calls Torres to help him, appearing desperate. He needs her access codes so that he can erase his medical database. She asks why he would want to do such a thing and he explains the situation a little bit to her. At first she's a little dismissive because of his earlier insults regarding her lack of interest in music. The Doctor confides what happened with Tincoo, and Torres discusses the problem with him. Torres confirms that she can reprogram him to be anything he wants, even to be a whistling teapot, but then he really wouldn't be himself anymore, would he? Her words strike a chord with him and he realizes that she's right.

At his performance that evening he tells the crowd of Qomar that he isn't advanced enough to sing Tincoo's composition, much to their disappointment, and that this will be his goodbye show. Instead, he sings an old Neapolitan ballad about lost love called "Rondine al nido", which moves Janeway to tears, but generally meets with only polite applause from the Qomar. 
 
He then gives way to Tincoo, who calls his performance "fascinating" and then proudly announces the new and "improved" musical hologram that will sing her own musical piece. The new hologram takes the stage and begins singing Tincoo's work. It is bizarre, composed of nothing more but overlapping and clashing scales, and sounds terrible to the Voyager crew, but the Qomar love it because it is technically more sophisticated.

If anything, it shows that the Qomar still have no true understanding of the real meaning of music; that it doesn't revolve around algorithms, binary syntax, and quadratic equations, but around emotions, artistry, and soul.

Voyager leaves the Qomar system and continues on its journey back to the Alpha Quadrant. The Doctor, embarrassed and ashamed, goes to Captain Janeway and requests to be allowed to resume his duties. Janeway allows him to return but tells him that his actions insulted a lot of people on Voyager. The Doctor, finally now aware of just how foolish he'd been acting, apologizes for his recent behavior and requests permission to delete his musical subroutines. Janeway denies this and orders him to resume all his regular activities.  

The Doctor returns to his duties. He listens to one of his mini holograms singing and then throws it into the trash, almost hitting Seven in the process. He apologizes and says he hadn't seen her enter. She tells him she has another piece of fan mail to deliver to him. He tells her to delete it. She refuses to comply and begins to read it to him. The letter describes the feelings of a fan who is saddened by the fact that his last performance wasn't the success he had hoped for. But, there are still fans who still appreciate his unique talents and admire him as an individual, and they'll always consider themselves as a loyal fan. This cheers him up a bit and when he asks who it is from she tells him that the letter is hers. She gives him the letter and leaves and he reads over it again, deeply warmed by her heartfelt words. The Doctor then resumes work and softly starts singing "I've Been Working on the Railroad" to himself again.

Memorable quotes
"Their injuries are minor. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about their lack of manners."
"Doctor!"
 - The Doctor discusses the rude behavior of the Qomar with Janeway while they stand near them

"I can expand your musical subroutines all you like. I can even reprogram you to be a whistling teapot."
 - B'Elanna Torres, to The Doctor

"You're right. They won't be able to see anything but the top of your head. The glare could blind them."
 - B'Elanna Torres, to The Doctor

"While we're at it, lieutenant, I'll need some help with my wardrobe."
"I'm an engineer, not a costume designer."
 - The Doctor and B'Elanna Torres

"Doctor, or do you prefer Maestro?"
"Oh, please, either is acceptable."
"Well, then, let me make it clear to both of you. Maestro, you're finished for today. Doctor, report to sickbay. Now."
 - Captain Janeway and The Doctor

"I believe the Qomar are attempting to disable our com system."
"How?"
"By overloading it with millions of teraquads of irrelevant data."
"What do you mean by "irrelevant"? (reads) They are transmission… all addressed to The Doctor."
"Precisely. I've only been able to decipher a small fraction of them so far, but they include invitations to social and scientific functions, requests for personal encounters, cloying tributes to The Doctor's talents."
"Computer, stand down red alert. This isn't sabotage, Seven. This is fan mail."
 - Seven of Nine and Captain Janeway

"I'd like you to make an adjustment to my mobile emitter that would allow me to make quick changes between songs."
"That sounds exciting!"
"Oh, it will be! I plan to segue from Don Juan to Rigoletto in the blink of an eye. It will be a triumph of–"
"Arrogance and self-absorption?"
(The Doctor looks at Torres and frowns)
"Just trying to help."
 - The Doctor, Tincoo, and B'Elanna Torres

"I have something for you."
"What is it?"
"Fan mail."
"Delete it. I don't want to read another word."
"Then I'll read it for you."
"Seven…"
"Dear Doctor, I regret that your last performance was not as successful as you'd hoped. There are still those who appreciate your unique talents and admire you as an individual. I'll always consider myself your loyal fan."
"Who's it from?"
"It's signed "Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01.""
 - Seven of Nine and The Doctor

Background information
 Several costumes from this episode were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, including the costumes of Zadrina,  J.R. Quinonez,  and William Smith. 
 The blue synthesizer played by one of the Harry Kim and the Kimtones members is a . The back of the synthesizer (bearing the Yamaha logo and various input/output ports) was disguised with a metallic-looking plate.
 One of the Qomar spectators is the actor Leonard Crofoot, who played two characters in ; , the male servant of Mistress Beata from  and the initial neutral-gender version of Lal, Data's "child", in .

 Continuity and trivia 
 The Qomar city as seen from the surface is the same city used in . It resembled a Zahl colony, which was eradicated by Annorax. 
 The Komar (pronounced identically) was the name of the non-corporeal race of aliens that took control of Tuvok in .
 The aria sung by The Doctor in his final Qomar performance is "Rondine al nido", by Italian composer Vincenzo de Crescenzo. Voiceover was provided by tenor Agostino Castagnola. This is the only time The Doctor's singing was not provided by Robert Picardo himself. 
 The Doctor's suggestion that he delete his musical subroutine as punishment for his actions is similar to an offer he made in  to delete his modified programming out of remorse over his overzealous pursuit of investigation with fatal consequences, as well as an offer he will later make in  after disobeying Captain Janeway's direct orders.
 Janeway tells The Doctor she has "given you extraordinary freedom, to explore your creativity, to go on away missions, to pursue personal relationships." The Doctor's first away mission was depicted in the third-season episode , his first romantic relationship occurred in the second-season episode , and his first hobby - an interest in opera - is established in the third-season episode .

Video and DVD releases
UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 6.7, 
Star Trek - Music Box VHS collection
As part of the VOY Season 6 DVD collection

 Links and references 

 Guest Stars 
 Kamala Lopez-Dawson as Tincoo 
 Ray Xifo as Abarca 
 Paul Williams as Koru

 Co-Stars 
 Marie Caldare as Azen 
 Nina Magnesson as Vinka

 Uncredited Co-Stars 
 Rico Bueno as Qomar spectator
 Leonard Crofoot as Qomar dignitary
 Julie David as command officer
 Andrew English as operations officer
 Tarik Ergin as Ayala
 Bernie Escarcega as command officer
 Caroline Gibson as operations officer
 Peter Harmyk as 
 Anna Lumarque as chief petty officer
 Athena McDaniel as Qomar patient
 Tom Miller as sciences officer
 Marisa Muñoz as Qomar spectator
 Lon Pho as Qomar spectator
 Joey Sakata as sciences officer
 Pablo Soriano as operations ensign
 William Smith as Qomar patient
 Paris Themmen as Qomar fan
 Karen Washington as Qomar dignitary
 Howard Weber as Qomar dignitary
 Zadrina as Qomar spectator
 Unknown performers as
 Kimtones members
 Female Qomar dignitary
 Qomar fan
 Qomar fan
 Twenty-seven Qomar spectators

 Stand-ins/Doubles 
 Agostino Castagnola as voice double for Robert Picardo
 Sue Henley – stand-in for Kate Mulgrew
 Susan Lewis – stand-in for Roxann Dawson
 Brita Nowak – stand-in for Jeri Ryan
 Lemuel Perry – stand-in for Tim Russ
 J.R. Quinonez as photo double/stand-in for Robert Picardo
 Keith Rayve – stand-in for Robert Duncan McNeill
 Joey Sakata – stand-in for Ethan Phillips
 Richard Sarstedt – stand-in for Robert Beltran
 Stuart Wong – stand-in for Garrett Wang

 References 
ability; algorithm; algorithmic expression; artistic expression; backdrop; ballad; black magic; bloodletting; booking; clown; composition; concert; costume designer; day; "Dio, che nell'alma infondere"; ; disorientation; dizziness; Don Carlos; ; Earth; emotional need; fan club; fan mail; flu; flu season; folk music; fractal; freedom; genre; girlfriend; Harry Kim and the Kimtones; health hazard; heart attack; height; holomatrix; holo-processing plant; "I've Been Working on the Railroad"; inferior species; jazz; Klingon drinking song; leaf; lecture hall; medical care; medical officer; minstrel; mobile emitter; multi-harmonic overtone; musical database; musical subroutine; music; Neapolitan; obstacle course; opera; opera house; orchestra; Pagliacci; phenomenon; ; placebo; polyphonic sequencer; prelate; primitive; Qomar; Qomar city; Qomar Planetary Alliance; Qomar singing holographic matrix; Qomar space station; Qomar starship; Qomar transport; quad; quadratic equation; railroad; ; red alert; replica; resignation; resuscitation; Rigoletto''; rock and roll; romance; "Rondine al nido"; sabotage; ; scientific function; social function; social lesson; song; spacecraft; speech subroutine; subroutine; teapot; Teatro alla Scala; tempo; teraquad; "That Old Black Magic"; Toluncan ague; trigonometry; tuxedo; university; university of Qomar; ; vocal processor; vocal subroutine; wave-form calculus; whistling; witchcraft

External links 
 
 
 

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VOY episodes