Within the relatively new fi eld of audiovisual translation studies, voice-over has been
given very little attention and very little credit, even in Poland, where it is used extensively
in TV translation of motion pictures. Similarly, the science-fi ction fi lm genre
– especially its television form – is usually treated with some contempt and considered
not worthy of serious research, except for sociological reasons. The two main issues
discussed in this paper are: fi rstly, the ontological status of the s-f fi lm, the specifi city
and function of its language and the general problems of its translation; secondly, the
weaknesses and strengths of Polish voice-over practice, illustrated by the analysis of
various Star Trek translations and compared with its dubbed and subtitled versions. The
examination of the fi lm material leads to the conclusion that, in spite of the negative
evaluation of voice-over by scholars, this translation practice has some potential. If
fully exploited, it could offer a valid alternative to dubbing and subtitling techniques.

Within the relatively new fi eld of audiovisual translation studies, voice-over has been
given very little attention and very little credit, even in Poland, where it is used extensively
in TV translation of motion pictures. Similarly, the science-fi ction fi lm genre
– especially its television form – is usually treated with some contempt and considered
not worthy of serious research, except for sociological reasons. The two main issues
discussed in this paper are: fi rstly, the ontological status of the s-f fi lm, the specifi city
and function of its language and the general problems of its translation; secondly, the
weaknesses and strengths of Polish voice-over practice, illustrated by the analysis of
various Star Trek translations and compared with its dubbed and subtitled versions. The
examination of the fi lm material leads to the conclusion that, in spite of the negative
evaluation of voice-over by scholars, this translation practice has some potential. If
fully exploited, it could offer a valid alternative to dubbing and subtitling techniques.