TREKCORE > VOY > EPISODES > THE DISEASE > Behind the Scenes

	This episode originated with Kenneth Biller inventing the storyline about Harry Kim's relationship with Tal. "I wanted to explore the notion that people will stay in relationships that they know are unhealthy for them, because they feel an almost physical need or compulsion to be with that other person," explained Biller. "The idea was that in the science fiction world you could explore that as a reality. A love affair with an alien literally could make you sick, and yet you felt the compulsion to go through with it." The B-story, regarding the aliens who want to separate from the rest of their people, was later added to the plot. Ken Biller was pleased with Kim actor Garrett Wang's work on this episode, noting, "I thought that Garrett was really great."
	According to the unauthorized reference book Delta Quadrant, the Varo control room was a redress of the Borg Queen's lair from "Dark Frontier", however it is most likely the other way around, as "The Disease" was produced before "Dark Frontier".
	Most of the episode's opening shot was created with CGI by Foundation Imaging. Visual effects supervisor Ronald B. Moore commented, "I got a call from Foundation that it was going to take something like four or five hours per frame [to render, even though] it was a 20 or 30 second shot [....] That was the most complex model that Foundation had ever made for TV. We had the roll, and that ship had all the little pieces to it that had to be able to separate. Mojo [at Foundation] went in and worked with the animator. We would never have made it at five hours a frame. They pulled off the stuff that you didn't see, like the backside of the ship, and just pulled all that out of the render. It only rendered what actually showed on the screen, and was able to knock it back down into reason. The shot connects up on the interior, and up to the point of the connect-up it was all CGI. We come through the window and see that room in CGI. It made the change just as the door opens." Although the workload involved in creating the effect was lessened, Foundation staffer David Morton – who digitally built the interior room for the shot – still felt that the length of the effect itself was extreme, describing it as "one of the longest shots I've ever had to do."
	David Morton noted that "most people don't really realize" that the interior in the episode's opening shot is at first actually a digital set. Robert Bonchune also found the sequence to be very convincing. "That's [...] one where [even] they [the Paramount Pictures VFX people] were fooled. You watch that shot and when they cut to the door, you can't tell that they've switched from the CG set to the live-action set," Bonchune observed. "And there's one other technical thing that David did that I thought was really cool. Right before the camera goes into the window, you saw a flash of light reflecting off the glass. To me, it looked exactly like a real window. It had little scratches in it, and that added an extra touch of realism. Those are the little things that make the producers say, 'Hey, that's cool!' They're not complaining when we add little touches like that, which aren't specifically spelled out on the effects sheet." Morton enjoyed working on the sequence, stating, "That was a lot of fun."  Ronald B. Moore was also highly pleased with the effect, saying he was "extremely proud of" it. Additionally, he remarked, "It was huge, and it was worth it [....] I think that was one of the better ones we did."
	Ken Biller appreciated the aspect of the episode about Kim experiencing actual illness, due to his affair with Tal, but continuing with the relationship, regardless. "I liked those parts of the episode, that exploration of love," Biller noted. "I thought that the scenes between Kim and Janeway were [also] great. That was really good character stuff that [script writer] Mike Taylor did a great job with." Biller did not like the subplot concerning the Varo revolution, however, remembering that he had "objected to [it] strenuously." He also remarked, "The whole subplot [...] just felt really clichéd and tacked on. The story that I wrote was a much more intimate story about these two people. I was more interested in the relationship and the repercussions that it has in Kim's life, and the way that it affects his relationship with the Captain, and other people."