It has been awhile, friends! I actually finished watching the show, sheesh, 4 or 5 months ago? Maybe even longer? And when I went back to my notes for seasons six and seven I realized I'd not written anything for at least a dozen episodes. Watched and scored 'em all, but no remarks. I didn't want to type these up with any "notes missing" sections obviously, so that meant I had to go back and re-watch a bunch before finishing, necessitating a further delay. But here we all are. My how you've grown! Let's just dive in.
24.
Voyager crewmembers return from an away mission experiencing repressed memories of having participated in a massacre. They eventually discover a malfunctioning memorial which is transmitting fragmented neurogenic pulses, causing anyone in proximity to experience the trauma, as a (see title).
Here's the only thing I wrote while I was watching this: "Holy moley if this doesn’t get better it could be the worst episode the entire series..."
It didn't. Starts off somewhat okay with the shared nightmares (a la that one TNG episode where Riker et al are getting probed by the scissor-aliens) then becomes something of a parody of itself. (And didn’t they do this one already, with Chakotay? I can't think of the title, but it's similar enough where someone should have realized they were needlessly retreading ground.)
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| I did like the whole got-you-a-TV-I-have-made-a-terrible-mistake... stuff from B'Elanna. |
There's a good - possibly even great - episode in here somewhere, but it needed an actual conflict. Just prior to Janeway's decision to leave a "trigger warning" in space for any other hapless travelers, the crew tries its best to angrily disagree about what to do, but why would there be any argument? Mainly the whole thing just fails to justify itself.
23.
After an alien attack strips him of his Vulcan memories, inhibitions and control, Tuvok turns to Neelix for help and insight only to experience a completely uncharacteristic chain of events.
Not bad, I guess, but does anyone really need another episode where a character's memories/ personality is wiped out and they have to rebuild? I mean this goes back to "The Changeling" FFS; whatever drama there was in this scenario is well and truly dried up. Some nice bits here and there, I guess, harmless but boring.
22.
Seven of Nine encounters a past lover in a secret Borg hideaway where drones maintain their individuality; Janeway seeks to foster a resistance movement among them.
The season finale is the first of a two-parter. It has some fun ideas (Tuvok’s “bridging of the minds,” Anika/Axum, the Borg’s admittedly-legit beef with Janeway) but they’re all underdeveloped.
- Was Ron Moore involved in this at all? There’s kind of a Caprica vibe here. The more you examine it, the more Battlestar Galactica looks like a response to Voyager. The parallels are so numerous. Perhaps, though, it’s that Voyager looked to the original Battlestar as a template of sorts, so the similarities are really between Voyager and BSG (2003) on one side and BSG (1975) on the other. I don’t know. Had I known this, though, I’d have done a side-by-side rewatch and made that the focus of these Voyager posts. Too late now.
- The Borg hive looks pretty cool. Susannah Thompson does a good job as the Borg Queen, even though I come down on the “The Queen makes the Borg less interesting, though” side of the argument. (I also prefer them all to have that multi-chambered voice). She’s just kind of an evil queen here, issuing orders, but, as happens often when Trek revisits the Borg, they muddy the original concept that much more.
- One thing with this Queen, though. In pivotal scenes, she’s reading the stuff off a screen and saying it out loud. Is that Borg efficiency? I allow for TV conventions, but come on. It's almost Galaxy Quest-like. In other scenes, with but a thought, things explode halfway across the quadrant.
- FFS pt. 2: this sort of dialogue/ scene between Janeway and Chakotay. “We’ve had our disagreements… I need your support.” How many more times do we have to hear this crap? Too much unearned drama.
- Adios, Delta Flier. Well, until they replicate a new one.
- “Front shields are gone.” Then they sustain several frontal blasts, which are clearly shielded. Watch for it next time. I bet Tuvok was just fooling with everyone, correctly guessing no one would even notice. He's probably nursing a few years worth of hurt feelings over there in his corner of the bridge.
- So… Voyager invented anti-assimilation technology? Seems kind of big, no?
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| Not the biggest fan of the cliffhanger fake-out. |
21.
Tom Paris falls in love with a ship that connects to him neurogenically, then appears to him as an attractive woman. Becoming addicted, Tom leaves Voyager with "Alice" and the crew must figure out a method of countering the addiction.
Great idea. Not a bad performance from Alice (or from Tom) but neither are given enough to do with the concept. Everything kind of fizzles after a certain point.
Reminded me more than a little of the s2 episode "Threshhold."
20.
When Voyager encounters a derelict Borg Cube, a group of partially assimilated Borg youngsters try to seize the ship's deflector dish, and Seven of Nine is left to negotiate with them.
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| Intro Icheb (Manu Intiraymi). I like Icheb. |
Chakotay does a fake-out lose-a-shuttle plan that made me smile. If you were send someone on a fake-out-lose-a-shuttle mission, you'd definitely pick Chakotay. Otherwise, I never quite buy (or understand) the course of action Janeway pursues. Why “stall” another deflector? Just go over and get them.
19.
The return of a vengeful Kes sparks disaster for Voyager. This Kes blames Janeway for her premature evolution and the loss of her youth and will stop at nothing to take revenge on the crew.
Kes’s Khan-like fate – and the rationale for it – is a little flimsy. They were going for something different, something darker/ arguably more epic. But I don’t think they succeeded.
Three quick things: (1) The doctor’s doctor/patient confidentiality obviously wouldn’t apply in Voyager's circumstances, would it? Or under these ones anyway. (2) General Trek observation: every species should have had its own unique sound fx for blasters, transporters, etc. I mean it: every single one. That’d be a hell of a synth-database to own. I sympathize with production realities and all, but Trek is more consistent with its pointy-sideburns than it is with its peripheral sound fx sometimes. And (3) So what does Janeway tell Kes? No Vulcan memory wipe. Sleeper-activation? We’re supposed to believe Janeway just had this in the back of her mind for all the episodes together? Perhaps I misunderstood.
All that aside, the main unfortunate spectacle of this episode is the real-world sadness, obviously unintentional, of things onscreen mirroring subsequent events in Jennifer Lien’s life. Some of the dialogue is uncomfortably close to what it might have been like (or would be like) for Lien to show up randomly at a big Trek convention and confront the cast or something like that. It makes me wonder how far along Lien’s mental illness was during this, or how well-known, if at all, among the writers.
Certainly I don’t suggest any of it was or would have been exploited, just like I say some of the parallels as you’re watching now with hindsight are unsettling.
18.
When Seven of Nine and Tuvok are captured on shore leave, Seven finds herself forced to face down a devastatingly powerful opponent in a match of Tsunkatse, a game which is played to the death.
A blown opportunity. Has its moments but more fun could have been had with the concept.
Fun mental exercise: think back over the many Trek series and consider how often you’ve heard some variation of this way of the warrior stuff in Trek. (Now picture the writers themselves, but that's a different exercise.) It's kind of amazing, isn't it? The universe is populated with wrestlers.
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| Is the communal wellspring for this in sci-fi Robert E. Howard? It probably isn't. Those readers literate in Golden Age of Sci-Fi Trope Establishment trivia, please let me know in the comments. |
17.
When Seven of Nine awakens a race of dormant aliens in stasis for centuries, an ancient struggle to control subspace is revived as well, with Voyager caught firmly in the middle.
There are several cool ideas in this episode, all more or less squandered or not developed to their full potential. I like the Talaxian connection. "The Talaxian Connection" might've been the name for one of those more developed ideas herein. Another suggestion on both counts: “The Khan That Failed”.
Cool attack sequence with the little ships on Voyager, itself a little(r) ship compared toother Starfleet vessels we've seen. I like stuff like that. The pics don’t do it justice, so there aren't any.
16.
A dead crewmember with whom Harry Kim was once in love returns in a body reanimated by aliens. However Lindsay Ballard must face a difficult decision when her alien family returns to claim her.
Some of the Borg-as-kindergarten-cop stuff is fun ("Resume your disorder", "Fun will now commence"), but this subplot didn’t do much for me. The main plot is better, with a good guest performance from Kim Rhodes as Lyndsay. They could have done this with someone we’ve actually seen Harry with. (Or have we?) But that "haven't we seen this before?" feeling hangs over all proceedings. I do like how the two plots combine in the last scene, though. Whenever that's pulled off successfully, I picture everybody in the writer's room high-fiving. Sort of like the guys at NASA control when something happens in outer space. A white-board victory.
Kind of a weird set-up, though. I don’t know what to make of this alien species. They re-animate full grown aliens as procreation? I suppose it doesn’t have to make sense to me.
15.
When Seven of Nine downloads the entire Voyager database, she believes she has discovered conspiracies involving Starfleet, the Maquis, and the Caretaker. She spreads paranoia among the command staff until they realize that they must untangle the theories together and discover that the most efficient way to gain knowledge is often not the most accurate.
A fun one, if drawn out a little too much. Crunching too much data leads to Seven coming to plausible if projective conclusions. Watching it in 2019, the parallels to the internet are immediate in a way they weren't when this episode originally aired.
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| If it was a warning of some kind, it wasn't just tragically ignored, it's like we took it and ran as far as we could in the opposite, dumbass direction. |
14.
Three former Borg drones from Seven of Nine's unimatrix track her down, hoping she can help them break free from the neural link that ties them together.
I didn't write much down on this one. (The sum total of my notes is "This again.") Which is weird because I think this is one of the better Borg episodes of the various Berman-era Treks. It's not a classic episode like "Best of Both Worlds", but it's a thoughtful fleshing out of the whole Borg concept. And it's another one where the A and B stories coalesce pleasingly in the finale.
The trauma of assimilation - and of becoming un-assimilated - might be a little darker of a topic than Trek comfortably could explore in this era. And maybe that was fine. Suggestive metaphors work better in sci-fi than the uber-grim, at least for me. Those raised on tortureporn likely disagree.
13.
When Voyager tracks down the parents of the young ex-Borg drone Icheb, Seven of Nine has trouble trusting the boy's parents to care for him. Her concerns are soon justified when they attempt to send Icheb back to the collective.
The parents’ plan is a little wonky. Beyond a little wonky, actually - why would the Borg even cut such a deal? Of course, the joke is on them, ultimately.
Also, it's funny how many times this introduce-a-pathogen thing is considered. The Captain’s/ Starfleets arguments for or against it are inconsistent. But beyond that, you’d think the Borg might have adapted by now. How much warning do they need?
Still, I like Icheb. My wife - not really a Trek or Voyager fan - ended up watching most of this one with me. Whenever she asked what was going on, I prefaced the answer with "Oh, this is classic Icheb..." regardless of what he was doing. It never made much sense, she looked at me like I was crazy, but I amused myself each time. And am doing so even now, in hindsight. Classic Icheb!
12.
Torres has a near-death experience in a shuttle, and after having a series of hallucinations, travels to the Klingon Barge of the Dead, where she must fight to save her mother from spending eternity in Hell.
I know myself. If certain elements are involved (aerial dogfights, William Shatner, a ring that leaves a skull-imprint on the faces of punched enemies, etc.) I’ll find a way to like whatever’s being offered regardless of whether it’s any good or not. I think a barge of the dead ferrying the souls of the Klingon dishonored probably qualifies for such a list, but the episode is pretty good all on its own so I don’t have to worry.
A cool idea and a good B’Elanna episode, even if (stop me if you’ve heard this before) we’ve hit some of these B’Elanna’s personal journey/ B’Elanna and Janeway beats a few times already. But VOY folk like to re-trace their character arcs every so often (right, Harry?).
11.
Voyager encounters an anomaly which swallowed up the command module of the first manned Mars expedition in 2032. Chakotay, Paris and Seven set out to rescue the module but soon end up caught in the same anomaly which crippled the ancient vessel decades before.
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| All of these people are still trying to make the Nexus work. |
I kid, re: the Nexus. And if that's what they were doing, they succeeded, actually. Is the Mars/ Delta Quadrant/ ancient-Earth-mystery thing a little much? Sure? Have they already done this a few times, now? Yep. Is the episode pretty good just the same? You bet. I like the saga of Phil Morris's doomed astronaut. There's not much to his story except getting stuck in the space-energy-ribbon and dying, just as there isn't much to the Voyager-timeline story, either, but together, they add up to something more interesting than either alone.
Phil Morris, son of the Mission Impossible star, filming on the same Desilu set as TOS, also starred in Star Trek III as well as an episode of DS9. I love a Trek pedigree like that.
10.
A troupe of alien con artists pose as Janeway, Chakotay and Tuvok in their mock up "Delta Flyer" in order to take advantage of other species riding on Voyager's good name.
Fun one, good set-up. Great opening. Two memorable guest performances as well. Three or four, I guess. My favorite of all the Levar-Burton-directed Voyager episodes.
The Janeway imposter (played by Kaitlin Hopkins) reminded me a bit of Michelle Sprecht, from Star Trek Continues. I like the Tuvok guy (played by Greg Daniel) slowly losing himself in the part, as well as Tuvok’s taking him out.
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| "Logic would indicate that neither of us has the advantage." "Your logic... is flawed." |
Janeway goes on an away mission in the Delta Flyer with three misfit crewmembers from the lower decks who, according to Seven, are constant underperformers. When the mission runs into difficulty, Janeway's leadership skills are needed more than ever.
The episode opens with an elaborate tracking shot following some engineering specs being passed person to person until they end up in some far corner of the ship.
It's fine and all, but is there any real 24th century need for physically passing the baton like this? It's cool to walk the ship and all, but they could've considered the matter for five seconds and come up with some better justification for it, even if they just crunched most of the other expository conversations into one walk-with-me scene.
This whole episode seems very 90s to me. I don’t know what it is. The relationship set-ups and the dialogue? The self-absorption? They should have these guys all in flannels or (other 90s wear). The hypochrondiac guy is a bit annoying. Out of 3 annoying ones. Nice performance from Mulgrew, however. That's why this is landing where it is: it's a solid Janeway episode.
8.
Janeway falls in love with a holocharacter in a holo-program created by Tom Paris, but comes to her senses and deletes him when she learns how obsessed she has become. And The people of Fair Haven develop enough sentience to accuse Voyager crewmembers of witchcraft; when Janeway seems more worried about saving Michael Sullivan than Paris and Kim, Torres reminds the captain that while her lover can be reprogrammed, Tom and Harry can't.
Man some people hate these episodes. I've never understood getting all that worked up about them. And they're both perfectly charming, happy-fun episodes, to boot, with some suggestions of deeper sci-fi conundrums that never overwhelm. Maybe that's why some hate these; they shrug at the implications and just go with the broad strokes. I can see that. I'm perfectly happy shrugging along with them, though.
I like that Voyager's holodeck characters occasionally follow in Moriarty's footsteps, but I didn't need a retread of either "Bride of Chaotica" or "Ship in a Bottle." So, I'm glad they didn't try to give me one. This is a nice little unofficial two-parter that satisfies all the definitions of Trek.
7.
Deanna Troi visits Reginald Barclay, who has an idea about how to contact the Voyager crew, but Admiral Paris, Tom's father, thinks he has relapsed into holo-addiction.
I used to like this episode more than I do now, but I still like it fine. Some of the Barclay stuff is just a little too much. Most of it, actually. It's odd because everything he does (his awkwardness, his disregard for boundaries, his obsession with Voyager) is true to Barclay's character, and might even be toned down a bit, considering whence the character.
Maybe that's it - Barclay is just kind of an uncomfortable character. The idea with him was that in the future even people like Barclay would have a supportive community around them who know how to deal with his disregard for boundaries and Holly Gibney-ness. That's a positive thing obviously. Still a pretty solid episode.
6.
As Voyager enters a nebula the ship goes to grey mode, and Neelix tells ghost stories to the Borg children whose regeneration cycles have been disrupted. His last story is about a mysterious creature that takes over the ship until the Captain promises to find it a new nebula to live in. The children (except Icheb) are frightened, until Neelix tells them he made it all up and there is no nebula-creature. Once they are safely regenerating, Neelix goes to the bridge and looks at a nearby nebula as the ship takes some final readings. "Well," he says, "I hope it lives happily ever after."
I wonder why this wasn't the Halloween episode? I remember liking it when I first watched it 10 years ago or so, but it blended into the background in memory. Wrongly, as it turned out upon rewatch: the performances, writing, pace, atmosphere, all of it is quite well done. It plays to Ethan Phillips's strengths and blends the concept plus traditional genre-scares well. It's more successful in this regard than both "Catspaw" and "Wolf in the Fold," two TOS attempts at the very same, or TNG's "Sub Rosa", so that's a feather in the show's cap.
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| Great score by Jay Chattaway. |
Icheb is the proto-blogger here, the Trek reviewer asking nitpick questions that hint at the absurdity of some of the franchise’s conventional wisdoms/ go-tos. And he even calls out Neelix's story is meta, so extra meta-points.
Trek Trivia: Tuvok only sweats when the temperature reaches 300 degrees Kelvin (with an unspecified humidity threshold.) #TellYourLovedOnes
5.
An advanced race discovers music via the Doctor's singing and begins to treat him like a superstar. When the Doctor's ego grows too large, he abruptly announces he's leaving the ship, and cuts all ties with his former crewmates. And The Doctor has fantasies of running the ship and being desirable to all its women, but when aliens tap into his daydreams, he must work to make them real.
Two seemingly quite different episodes, but two that I a) like pretty much the same, and b) pretty much explore the same terrain: the Doc’s thwarted need(s) for adoration. Trek is about the human condition and how technology complicates or simplifies things, but the problems of our essential nature remain. The Doctor always represents narcissism and ego in this meta-view of the Trek experience, and these two episodes explore that well. We are all the Doctor; we are all Seven, too. Most of us can't sing as well as Picardo or fit a catsuit as well as Jeri Ryan, but nevertheless.
"Virtuoso" suffers ever so slightly from the technical difficulty of creating music that sounds like an advanced hologram going "beyond musicness." Tall order. But they do a good job. There are many unexpectedly touching scenes in this episode, no more so than the end. Good stuff.
"Tinker Tenor" - cheeky title aside - is a fun use of all the above with the Doctor as well as a classic Trek-adventure sort of idea. This is almost a fan service episode, but it's also one of Voyager's best. (Not that there's any incompatibility between being these things.)
4.
Learning that his inventor is dying, the Doctor has his program transmitted back to the Alpha Quadrant to try to save him. There he meets Troi and Barclay who, having already tried to convince Zimmerman to seek treatment, are doubtful about the chance of success from the Doctor.
Fantastic episode. Here are my bullet-points, Straight Outta Notebook:
- I like Haley. It's unclear whether the relationship was meant to be romantic or familial, but either way, it adds a dimension to the episode that works well.
- No holo-emitter? Isn’t that 29th century? (I don't quite remember what this bulletpoint refers to.)
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| - Did Troi and Barclay have some kind of joint contract deal? Where one appears, the other must? Is this some kind of penance for all the creepy-holodeck-implications from TNG? |
- Nice Insurrection tie-in with the masseuse. (And nice fake-out with the doctor.)
- Good split performance (and tech) from Picardo. The primary-matrix-degradation parallel is good, with the “You’re defective!” projections. He’s bitter about what happened to the mk-1s and then the Doctor shows up, a literal externalization of his failures at the end of his life.
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| And I like the whole Dad/son stuff, too, sue me. |
3.
Janeway pursues Ransom with a vengeance - dismissing the interests of her crew, relieving Chakotay of duty, and threatening the life of an Equinox crewmember in her effort to bring the renegade captain to justice.
Not only is it fun to see B'Elanna (I'm sorry, I mean "BLT") get the best of Titus Welliver, one of those actors with an innate this-guy-annoys-me demeanor or the Dark Doctor causing chaos, or the rising above of a tense situation, the redemption of the Equinox captain as brought to life by a very effective John Savage really turns this from an exciting story into a great Trek tale.
As with so many Voyager episodes (as I alluded to in my write-up of the first part) you can see how these ideas changed into BSG-reboot episodes in the years to come. I've voiced this suspicion many times (even in this review, somewhere up there - I write these things months apart and I've no editor, so it happens) but having just picked up So Say We All: The Complete Uncensored Unauthorized Oral History of BSG by Mark Altman and Edward Gross, I'm happy to report this suspicion was confirmed the moment I cracked it open to a random page and read Ronald Moore confirm it.
2.
Torres crashes on an alien world and becomes the inspiration for a playwright trying to inspire peace for his people who are embroiled in a bloody war between factions.
This one really hits me. It's only edged out ever-so-slightly by the episode below, but it's one of the best of the whole series for me. This is Trek doing and exploring compellingly all that it could and should within the boundaries of its concept. (i.e. philosophy and space lasers, against the backdrop of western civilization.)
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| It's also a great B'Elanna episode. |
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| I feel bad for this theater company, though - no way they're going to replicate this effect again. The script covers for this a bit, but I'd be extra careful, Kelis et al: that audience might get rowdy. |
This deserves a better breakdown than this wee capsule summary, but so it goes for now. Onto my favorite of the season and perhaps the series altogether:
1.
Voyager is trapped in orbit around a planet that experiences the passage of time much differently on the surface; what Voyager experiences as minutes, the inhabitants experience as years. Visible to the people below (first as a star then as a ship once they develop telescopes) and dubbed "Groundshaker" due to the earthquakes its presence in orbit unfortunately creates, the crew tries both to free itself and to reverse the damage it has done to the planet's natural evolution. The Doctor beams down to investigate and ends up spending the equivalent of a lifetime on surface. When the planet's technology gets to the point where it can launch warheads and ships of its own, things get tense.
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| Nice turn by Daniel Dae-Kim as Gotana-Retz, the first of his people (unnamed) to make contact with the Sky Friends. |
Favorite moments:
- The Doctor's lifetime adventure and possible fatherhood (we haven't seen the math on that one but I love it) on the planet surface.
- Everything with Gotana-Retz, particularly that last shot of him looking up at Groundshaker slowly fading away as Voyager warps away forever.
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| "I feel like I'm saying goodbye to an old friend." |
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| While we're here, updating this establishing shot to convey the centuries passing was handled well. |
Great stuff. The title's an obvious nod to TOS's "Wink of an Eye," of course, but thankfully there was no attempt to tie the fate of this unnamed planet to the Scalosians.
~
One season to go - see you whenever that comes together, hopefully by Christmas-time.
Sweet! Time to head out to the Delta quadrant again.
ReplyDelete"Equinox, Part II" --
ReplyDelete(1) That tidbit of Moore talking about Voyager's influence on BSG makes me want to read that book even more than I already did.
(2) I find myself with mixed feelings about this episode, and I think they mostly stem from the fact that Janeway's morality slips significantly during the course of the episode. Not just once, but many times. It's good drama; I'm not sure it's consistent with the character, though. On the other hand, I like the fact that it gave Chakotay an opportunity to shine a bit. Doing that at the expense of Janeway feels wrong to me, but it's all played well be everyone involved.
(3) The Evil Doctor(s) subplots work pretty well. Picardo is always better at that stuff than it seems like he ought to be capable of.
(4) I can't recall -- do any of the Equinox's crew members show up again later on? If not, that's a missed opportunity.
(4) I do not believe they do, actually. It was indeed a missed opportunity.
DeleteThis last rewatch of this two-parter really hit me. The unexpected connection between Seven and the Equinox Captain, his redemption and sacrifice, the whole world-weariness of it all: everything really clicked with me. But, there are elements that either didn't work or slowed things down, and I agree Janeway's inconsistent ethics was one of them. That always hits me in Borg episodes, too; she never has the same argument twice.
In her defense, neither did Kirk, usually, so hey.
It's probably a more interesting episode than I'm giving it credit for being. After all, Janeway's ethical lapses are motivated by her anger over those of Ransom; it's almost like the episode is saying she is SO Starfleet that when she finds evidence of someone who should also be but has violated those ideals, she kind of temporarily snaps so as to be able to bring an end to what he's doing. That's kind of a compelling conundrum, in some ways. Still seems a bit forced to me, but maybe less than I was initially thinking.
DeleteAnd anyways, that's an excellent point about Kirk. Anywaysier, this is a well-made, well-acted, and satisfying episode. So whatever my complaints are, they're fairly mild in the grand scheme of things.
(1) I've heard stories here and there about Jennifer Lien. The irony is a heard about it long after I'd seen this episode. I the time I thought it was just passable. Now i wonder how I'd take it.
ReplyDelete(2) "One Small Step" stands out for me as the one where I'm looking at Chakotay and wondering how he went from officer to Captain Ahab in just under half an hour.
The irony is I can more than understand the value of preserving history and legacies. For some reason, though, it just didn't resonate with me on this one. I guess it's down to the whole lost recordings not being as compelling or something, combined with the circumstances making me want to take a more practical course of action and just not take any unnecessary risks. Either way, Chakotay just comes off as obsessively annoying in this one. It doesn't help matters that the episode tries to justify his obsession at the end.
Again, this from a guy who can think of a lot of history that could use some preserving. Weird, right?
(3) I tend to go easy on the Borg kids as I do on child actors in general. Then again, I'm always more focused on the writing to begin with. "Collective" can have it's problems, mainly down to the antagonist being the kind of clown who'd get himself stuffed in a locker without trying. Still, it's harmless all in all.
(4) I hear what you say about "Voyager Conspiracy". The irony is I wonder if the episode's plotting works against it. There are one or two anomalies in the records the viewer is presented with. Each of these turns out to be a red hearing, yet the trouble is I don't think the writers did enough to establish these plot points. Instead, I'm just left with questions that I keep thinking need answers.
The funny thing is I'm sure that if a real conspiracy presented itself, Seven would such a revelation a lot more competently. She would just see, acknowledge it, and take whatever steps necessary to avert it. Too bad we didn't get that kind of scenario.
ChrisC
(1) Yeah it's a real bummer. Poor lady - I hope there's a happy ending to that story, somehow, somewhere down the line. But I think this will likely be it for Kes - kind of a sad real-world aura over this farewell.
Delete(2) I think Chakotay as Captain Ahab is a Chakotay I'd rather have seen!
(3) I'm with you on applying a bit different set of standards on child actors. I agree "Collective" is harmless, just a bit underbaked for my money. I'd rather have seen this subgroup-collective have turned into more of a Children of a Corn sort of story. But perhaps that might've stretched the boundaries of what Trek is, who knows. I've likely gone space-crazy.
(4) Yeah that's a good point: I wouldn't mind have Seven acting in a fact-checker capacity or to un-do actual conspiracies. I liked this whole set-up, but perhaps it was an overreach. It's amazing, though, how we basically live out this scenario in Internet-world everyday.
Then again we hardly need the internet for such things:
http://swilling.com/what-we-thought-wasnt-true-how-erroneous-belief-helped-fuel-the-opiate-epidemic/?fbclid=IwAR012tjui64-cn0WZNJ5Jn4kVcEGHY6vD9oHgT_anPaLAueKahbOySXG5QQ
Not vouching for that site (I haven't vetted it personally) but the info in this seems appropriate for the topic at hand.
"Survival Instinct" --
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of having a hard time deciding whether I liked this one or not. Which I guess means I didn't. It's not bad, and it does all kind of come together at the end -- but it also kept at arm's distance pretty much the entire time, despite good acting from everyone involved.
I think this was the first Ronald D. Moore episode of the show. Not too many more after this, if I remember correctly.
He and Brannon seemed to have gotten over it, but apparently Moore was a bit of a problem child during his one season at VOY. It seems from reading SO SAY WE ALL so many of the decisions for BSG were indeed made by David Eick saying "what was it that Rick Berman said you could never do over on STAR TREK? Let's do that times a hundred."
DeleteSo now I want to do an analog of every Moore-written episode and see where it landed on the BSG wheel. What would this one be? A Cylon disconnected from the hivemind? Played out differently in BSG than we see here. Although I do like this VOY episode fine enough.
(I doubt there IS a one-to-one analog for every episode, but it's been occupying my mind lately.)
The more time goes by, the more it seems to me that Moore was simply never a good fit for Trek. He did some great stuff on TNG, but he also made a few questionable decisions and overall just seems like he's a bit out of step with the more idealistic aspects of the concept.
DeleteOn the other hand, he was a GREAT fit for Battlestar. He may have been the best possible fit, and at the best possible time.
I look forward to tracking his progress through his time on Voyager. That ought to be entertaining. If I have any good BSG-analog thoughts, I'll offer 'em up. For this episode, I think you've identified it pretty well.
One aspect of the episode I liked and should have mentioned is the idea that when Seven temporarily regained her self-identity in the flashbacks, she was effectively a child, since that's where she'd left off. (Still not sure how the timeline works on that, by the way. I just keep assuming it does.) Part of me feels like that ought to have somehow been more the focus of the episode; but mostly, I like the fact that it's just sort of presented as a background detail. That makes it more realistic, or more impactful, or something.
I think I more or less agree with you re: Moore. The Trek work he's proudest of is his DS9 stuff, and I've just never been excited by anything on DS9. Second to that is his TNG Klingon stuff, and while some of that is certainly cool, it's not really my favorite part of the show. And then there's his VOY stuff. (Let's not speak of GENERATIONS.) I think if anything Trek has proven to only be a sort of training ground to get him ready for BSG, and given the quality of that work, well then! Worked out rather well.
Delete"Barge of the Dead" --
ReplyDelete(1) Undeniably a well-made and involving episode. Like you, I'm more than happy to indulge this "barge of the dead" stuff. A barge ferrying dishonored Klingon souls across what appears to be a sea of blood, steered by the First Klingon, who was such a badass he killed the gods? Yes, please. That's the best Slayer album ever. CBS All Access should make a series set exclusively onboard the barge of the dead, and it's just them sailing back and forth, sending shitty Klingons to Grethor or whatever it's called. Lots of scowling, lots of people falling overboard and being eaten by the sea monsters. I'm in.
(2) This was written by Ronald D. Moore and Bryan Fuller, who have plenty of anti-Trek Trek under their belts. That perhaps explains my resistance to the episode despite the many ways in which I enjoyed it. I guess I'm a stereotype, but I just prefer my Star Trek to be rabidly attempting to defang religion. This one kind of goes in the opposite direction; that's debatable (after all, this might all be in B'Elanna's head), but my argument is that I'd rather it not be. Apologies for the intolerance, but there you have it!
(3) The episode was directed by Mike Vejar, whose name I still remember as being one of the most reliable "Babylon 5" directors. He also directed some quality episodes of "Enterprise" (including "The Catwalk"), the TNG episode where Wesley takes a Starfleet Academy test, a "Dead Zone" episode I remember liking a lot, and all kinds of other stuff.
(4) I really like all the acting in this episode, but Tim Russ is especially good in the scene where B'Elanna is still dreaming and "Tuvok" attacks her with a bat'leth. He's really good at being menacing.
(2) Interesting! How would you have wanted it to play out?
DeleteHaving grown up on TOS I was always partial to their defanging-religion episodes ("LANDRU!") as well as their wackadoo WTF-is-this religion episodes ("Patterns of Force" or what not). Like the Prime Directive, I always enjoyed trying to square some unified approach to the topic that never wanted to add up. There's metaphorical and spiritual value in doing so, I think.
I didn't really notice this one as being over-religion, though; I definitely took it like the way her synapses were firing and assigning symbolic value to. Like the episode where Dylan is a coma on the original 90210 or when any-TV-character gets visited by guardian angels/ christmas-ghosts, etc. and then at the end wakes up and realizes its a dream but then sees the angel's bracelet on the stand or something.
Actually you just made me think of Freddy Krueger: it'd have been cool if the twist at the end was that the First Klingon was some Freddy Krueger Klingon demon, exiled to some Phantom Zone that ended up in the Delta Quadrant, and this was the trap he laid for B'Elanna (or perhaps for B'Elanna's baby).
(4) Agreed. I wouldn't mind seeing some Mirror Tuvok Stalks the Voyager crew movie. Heck it could be like that last episode of FIREFLY and that'd be fine for me.
(2) I think you might have just concocted the scenario I'd prefer. The notion of a Klingon Freddy Krueger is pretty appealing.
DeleteOn the whole, though, I think you're right; this episode leaves it open to interpretation, so it's easy enough for me to interpret things by saying it's B'Elanna's brain making all of this happen. I guess what I'm asking for is for it NOT to be open to interpretation, which is probably the wrong impulse to have.
Good episode either way.
(4) That's a great episode of "Firefly." Still bummed that show didn't run for ten seasons.
"Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy" --
ReplyDelete(1) "Tuvok, I understand / You are a Vulcan man"
I just about died laughing at that bullshit. I'd like to shake the hand of whoever wrote that and then slap them and then buy them a drink.
(2) One of the aliens is played by someone named Googy Gress. I don't know what to say about this, but felt it needed to be said.
(3) These are some of the Doctor-Whoiest-looking aliens on any Star Trek series. They are evolved sentient potatoes, I assume.
(4) All the regulars are great in this (the ones who have anything significant to do, at least), but Picardo is inspired. If they didn't submit this episode so the Emmys would consider him, then they screwed up.
(5) What do we think about the Doctor's desire to potentially move into command? I suppose that if we're going to consider him to be a sentient life-form, we have to grant that he'd have to be granted the same rights as anyone else, which would indeed include trying different avocations for himself. I can't remember -- does the series follow up on this in any meaningful way? If not, that seems a shame; but it feels like if they do go that route, they'd have to really commit to it, and that would be difficult.
(2) That is one hell of a name.
Delete(3) and (4) Agreed. And (5) They DO go into this very briefly in a couple of subsequent episodes, about as much as they dared serialize any subplot on VOY. But those episodes that they do are pretty great.
"Alice" --
ReplyDeleteKind of like if Tom Paris was Arnie Cunningham in "Christine" and Roland LeBay was a hot woman. I've heard worse ideas. Not much to it as an episode, but it's a painless watch.
I like your idea much much better.
Delete"Riddles" --
ReplyDeleteI like this one more than you do, which makes sense given my increased tolerance for Neelix. Ethan Phillips is great, and Tim Russ does a really good job of channeling what Tuvok might have been like as a teenager if he hadn't been super interested in being traditional.
But the episode really is breaking no new ground. That's okay with me, but it's definitely true.
There's a later episode that I think should be spun off into a Tuvok and Neelix show. The same part of my brain that thinks this has zero problems with this episode or any unbroken-new-ground aspect of it. I agree, too, both Ethan Phillips and Tim Russ do some interesting work here.
Delete"Dragon's Teeth" --
ReplyDelete(1) "The Khan That Failed" is a great alternative title for this. Although I wonder if they actually did fail; the episode certainly ends on a pessimistic note. What if the "Picard" show ends up being about how the Vod'Waar (no idea how to spell that -- that's a guess based on being semi-fluent in Trek-ese) came back and wreaked havoc on everyone? That would explain Seven's involvement. I'd bet many monies that that ISN'T what the show is about; but I've heard worse ideas.
(2) The Talaxian connection was a good use of Neelix. I like it when the show finds things to do with him other than just being goofy.
(3) Great effects throughout this one. Surprisingly good for the era, actually; but they still look solid even today.
(4) Unless I missed it, the words "prime directive" were never spoken here. They certainly apply, though. I'm on the fence as to whether I am a believer in that concept in a real-world sense (I *think* I probably would be when it came to exploring alien worlds), but this episode's concept makes a good argument for it.
(1) I like it! Like I said, I think this episode has a lot of cool ideas that don't quite ignite into the blaze any one of them deserved, but some sparks are struck.
Delete(2) and (3) Agreed completely. VOY was easily the best-looking sci-fi on TV at the time. And like you say, its fx have even aged well.
(4) Yeah that's a good call.
"One Small Step" --
ReplyDelete(1) Phil Morris was also one of the kids in "Miri." I like that guy.
(2) As you suggest, this episode doesn't redefine the concept or anything, but it's very good. In some better version of the world, there'd be a Trek series that was nothing but episodes like this, where they're out exploring stuff and getting in scrapes with nature rather than with Kazons and whatnot.
(3) Man, that's a LOT of writers. But I'm not sure it shows; it's a cohesive episode. Well, except maybe for the character focus; it seems like it's a Chakotay episode initially, only to turn into a Seven episode. I wonder if that array of writers was responsible for the shift.
(4) Nice DS9 reference with Buck Bokai, Sisko's favorite player. Not one of my favorite aspects (of not-my-favorite Trek series) of DS9, but still, nice callback for those who are paying attention, and not something that would distance those who aren't.
(1) It's amazing the things I neglect to mention. In this series, elsewhere, in general, eternally!
Delete"The Voyager Conspiracy" --
ReplyDeleteI was almost entirely aggravated by this one. I think this may have been due to the inadvertent-parallels-to-now aspect you mention above. I think most of my frustration with the episode stems from the fact that both Chakotay and Janeway fall for Seven's theories. In neither case does it seem in character, "evidence" or no. And then they both kind of just shrug it off, more or less out of embarrassment.
Also, I didn't care for Jeri Ryan's performance. This is maybe the first time that's ever been true. I guess it was bound to happen eventually, though.
Still, I don't mind an episode like this every so often. Give me one I feel like spitting out, and it makes me remember how tasty most of the rest are.
Did you notice their giving a reason why they're beamed out at the end instead of just turning the shuttlecraft around?
DeleteYou raise a good point: that both Janeway and Chakotay fall for the theory, on one listen, with no evidence, just suggestive framing by Seven. But, before we're too harsh on them, that's most of us. Not that that makes their actions any less hack, just that everyday there's another example, it seems, of intelligent people we love falling for something or other that they really should have vetted beforehand. It gets even trickier when the sources we use to vet anything are themselves engaged in even worse narrative framing than the things we seek to source.
But: that's mainly aspects-of-now which explain some of the convenient storytelling hackness of "The Voyager Conspiracy." Like I say, if this was some kind of warning, we not only failed, we decided to entrench Seven-in-this-episode throughout the media-academe and the lawyers we sent to Congress to defend them.
Yeah, maybe that's getting close to why I reacted so negatively. I expect better from Starfleet!
DeleteAs for them beaming out at the end, the idea, I think, must be that Janeway simply wants to get Seven away from the controls as quickly as possible in case her talking her off the roof doesn't stick. Logical(ish), but clunkily executed, and probably not necessary to the story. But in a world with tractor beams, I guess you can do weird stuff like that every so often.
"Pathfinder" --
ReplyDeleteReginald Barclay meets Holly Gibney. Boy, now THERE'S some fan fiction waiting to happen.
Reg is a bit much in this episode. In general, actually. But I've got a soft spot for him, because those early TNG episodes of his are just so distinctive. This episode is distinctive, too, in its way: it's kind of crazy how little the real Voyager crew is involved in the story. It's not unheard-of for genre shows to take sidesteps away from their primary cast for an episode -- but it's unusual enough that I can't immediately think of another example. That's likely a my-memory thing more than it is anything else, but still. Bottom line is, this sort of thing just doesn't happen all that often. Reginald Barclay was a pretty good vehicle for it to happen here. And the culmination of his efforts is kind of touching, especially the way his butthead superior officer falls whip-straight into line THE SECOND it is clear Reg's plan has worked.
My big questions for the episode: how did Reg know about Neelix in order to name a cat after him? And why are the Maquis crewmembers still wearing Maquis uniforms? This must have something to do with the Doctor, but I kind of lost track of the specifics.
Very good episode, though.
And re: his butthead superior officer, they kind of go out of their way to make that guy sympathetic, too. I think it speaks to this future/ supportive-of-quirks sort of deal. Would the episode/ drama have worked better with someone more like Lee Ermey from FULL METAL JACKET? (Or from BOYS IN COMPANY C, for that matter?)
DeleteAnd yeah good call on the rarity of this sidestep-away-from-primary-cast episode in VOY. I remember when I was a kid watching TOS re-runs and when "Assignment: Earth" came around being so puzzled by the relative lack of cast-ness. Of course that was consciously trying to be a backdoor pilot for a new show, so slightly different, it's just where my brain went.
Good questions, especially about the Maquis uniforms - I don't recall that from this episode but that's weird. I assume since he's working on the VOY project he knows all the names and rough sketches of the crew, so I can see him naming his cat Neelix. I can see that more than Troi being his lifelong counselor; I swear those two must have had some kind of most-favored-nation joint-contract clause regarding their post-TNG appearances.
I knew Troi was in the episode, but still, it put a smile on my face when she showed up.
DeleteThinking through the uniforms and the Neelix issue a bit, I guess he would only have two forms of information available to him: (1) Starfleet records from before Voyager's disappearance and (2) whatever information about the events since then that Schmullus imparted to holographic Andy Dick in that earlier episode.
I'd be interested -- not quite interested enough to actually do it, but interested -- to rewatch that episode to see how this idea tracks. But Barclay's holographic versions make a certain amount of theoretical sense if he knows the Maquis have joined the crew, but NOT that they wear regular Starfleet uniforms. Then, too, if he knows there is an individual named Neelix but has precisely zero visual information about him except maybe that he is a little hairy, it makes a certain amount of sense that Barclay would name a cat after him if only to have *some* manner of "interacting" with "Neelix." Barclay is obsessive enough that that sort of seems logical for him.
Fascinating!
Excellent point about Barclay's superior officer. On the one hand, he's the stereotypical stick-in-the-mud know-nothing bureaucratic type that is so loathed by writers of fiction; but on the other hand, he's the more advanced 24th-century version of that. So here again, we've got a great example of "Voyager" understanding that the way to make Trek work is to write UP, to make its core concepts a virtue rather than a hindrance. These are tiny points in some ways, but other ways, they are the entire point.
"Assignment Earth" is a good example of what I was trying to get at. I feel like "Lost" had a big one, too, but I'm too lazy to research it.
"Fair Haven" --
ReplyDelete(1) I'd kind of like to read a spirited smackdown of this episode, just to see what somebody could possibly find to hate about it. Not enough to seek such a thing out, mind you; the hell with that, though.
(2) For my part, I love this one. Loved it the first time I watched it, and still do this time. It's a really weird episode, which does nothing to change my mind. It strikes me as being simultaneously sweet as pie AND creepy as hell, and the overlap between the two is kind of provocative.
The sweet part is in how Janeway is permitted to be a very, VERY sexual creature in the episode, but without being exploitatively sexualized BY the episode. Now, I don't know, maybe there's somebody out there who's got proof that it's actually a radically anti-feminist story; one can never be sure of one's standing in such areas anymore. But I thought it was pretty dang advanced for its era in terms of the implications that what's going on here is that Janeway is horny as FUCK and is looking to create what amounts to the perfect sex toy. You'd kind of expect most tv shows to judge her for this, but the episode never does; Janeway herself does, but I don't the episode itself does at all, which makes it very interesting.
(3) And anyways, Janeway's actions here are no more fundamentally creepy than Riker's in "11001001" (I didn't check that title, so I might have committed a binary typo). Which is to say, not creepy at all, if you get right down to it. There are not real people. They are temporary simulations; these are walking/talking full-body Fleshlights. This aspect of Trek is sometimes seen as being uncomfortable, but what's under discussion here strikes me as a likely (and logical) development of human sexuality. It's just big-ticket whacking off, and where's the harm?
Not new ground for Trek by this point, but it probably was new ground for a female Trek character. I can only imagine that Kate Mulgrew -- who is fantastic -- had a blast playing notes she had never gotten to play on the show before.
(4) There are a lot of implications involving The Doctor that I'm not sure I want to think about.
(5) You know who DID seem like a creeper in this episode? Chakotay. The intent, I think, is that he's supposed to be amused by Janeway's urges, but only because they make her more relatable to him; but it kind of comes off as though he is being mildly jealous. It's not a good look for him.
(6) Yet another to be added to the list of Voyager episodes in which there is no villain except Mother Nature. In this regard, I believe this is handily the most elevated Trek series of them all; it makes up for it with shoot-'em-ups in many other episodes, but still.
I keep trying to type a reply to these fine remarks, but Owen's whining and other pre-schoolday drama is dismantling my every attempt. The long story short is I want to watch this one again and then respond.
DeleteI can imagine that an unruly child would make it difficult to concentrate on the specifics of holodeck philosophy.
Delete"Blink of an Eye" --
ReplyDeleteI don't have much to add to what you said about this one. I totally agree with your assessment; this is an all-timer.
One thing I'll add is to mention how odd I find it that Daniel Dae Kim is the only one of the numerous guest stars to receive credit in the opening. Everyone else, you've got to look for them in the end credits. Some kind of SAG thing, but a little odd.
As for the Doctor, I assume his kid must have been adopted. Any other option brings up too many issues (so to speak). I liked the little moment where he mentions three years being a long time, and Janeway immediately pipes up with an "You'll get no argument from me." This one week after "Fair Haven," of course.
Ooo, nice catch there with that Janeway line.
DeleteIt probably says something about me that I want all those issues to be brought up. "Computer: what is the potency of holo-sperm, please?"
Yeah that is weird about Dae-Kim being the only one. A SAG thing like you say, I bet.
"Spirit Folk" --
ReplyDelete(1) This is a deeply weird episode, but I mean "deeply" AND "weird" equally. For example, consider the implications of the Doctor -- a sentient man who just happens to be a hologram -- spending his spare time ministering to "lesser" holograms by delivering what appear to be Christian sermons to them. Now, THAT, friends, may be the single weirdest thing in all of Star Trek. And it arguably makes the Doctor the most troubling main character in all of Star Trek. Because...
(2) ...there's simply no way that the Doctor, if he continues explorations of that sort, doesn't end up leading some sort of galaxy-spanning death cult post-"Voyager." Right? I mean, this guy has had a taste of the sort of power that comes with holding religious court over others. No way he won't proceed in as unfettered a manner as he finds possible. And that always leads to death cults. Maybe "Picard" season three can involve the Doctor as a sort of Thulsa Doom figure. I'm joking, but ... am I?
(3) Kind of odd that this wasn't aired in sequence with "Fair Haven." I wonder if the idea was that they wanted to imply the program had been running ever since, hence the problems (and the evolution in the characters' personalities in Fair Haven). There must have been fans of the show who hated "Fair Haven," then sighed when it went away, only to fling their hands in the air in disgust when it shows up again one week later. I agree with you, though; if people are sleeping on the implications of these episodes, they're missing out. Because I think both episodes are fully self-aware.
(4) There's a funny little bit right at the end when "Katie" and Michael are in a medium shot and you can see some sheep being herded down the road in the background. One of the sheep freaks out for no apparent reason and they all start hauling ass off the edge of the screen. Kate Mulgrew turns and kind of looks in that direction, but without breaking character at all. I assume it was pure happenstance, but it's kind of a charming little moment.
(5) The extras must have been in heaven while they were getting to repeatedly pelt McNeill and Wang with berries.
(1) I know! And he's so into it, too. This is even weirder when there's the holo-terrorist 2-parter coming up. What exactly is the dividing line between sentient-photonic-life and holosuite-determined-life?
Delete(2) I don't mean to ruin what is indeed a good kid, but does "holding religious court over others" lead to narcissism and abuse of power? Or might it possibly lead in the other direction? I think it depends how you view the religious experience. I hope beyond hope that PICARD does not feel the need to go there in the current climate. Roddenberry would've, to be sure. And just to be 100% clear, I'm not saying there isn't a lot to play with there, and that the Doctor's ministering to dubiously-sentient-holo-life isn't the kind of TOS-Landru exploration I love to watch. There's a lot of room in this pool.
(3) Like "Sub Rosa" there's a whole lot brewing here under the surface. I need to just watch that one again and write 20,000 words on why it is awesome and everyone is wrong. Anyway, here, yes think of the ending: a little self-awareness has been given these people. Is this like mixing in tachyon particles into the primordial soup? Was there a 3rd part planned where Michael leads them, Moriarty-style, into taking over the ship? Some shadowy reflection of The Doctor singles him out as a purveyor of religious mistruth and crucifies him, etc.? Man - for two light-hearted episodes, the potential for dark awesome decsotnruction is high. I tell you: if they ever did a follow-up VOY episode, it should totally involve both Moriarty and the holodeck and all of these gd implications. Just don't let some commie hack write it, and I'm good.
(4) I'll watch for that, sounds funny.
(5) Yep.
p.s. I'm reminded of the end of TOS "Mirror, Mirror" where Bones and Kirk first kid Spock about the "easy way" mirror-Spock fit into the dark Starfleet, and then Spock turns the tables on Kirk and Bones about how the mirror-folks seemed more honest about their species savagery. Fun little reparte. Could "Spirit Folk" have used something like this at the end re: the Doctor? i.e. "Boy, Doc, you seemed to really bury yourself in the role. What do you think that says about your endless narcissism?" etc. and then the Doc could've parried with some prescient insight into how nuts Tom Paris is or something.
DeleteIs wanting to rewrite the episode just to include an homage to the end of "Mirror, Mirror" a relevant desire? Who the frak knows. Just a thought, though.
(1) I think that dividing line is wherever the writers want it to be. The chaps at Mission Log always felt that holo-designed characters/people which sort of take on any kind of life exceeding their basic programming are manifestations of the ship's computer briefly taking on a form of sentience. I kind of like that idea. I also like the idea that such a thing can happen by virtue of people like Tom and Harry adding programming wrinkles in an attempt to stave off boredom.
DeleteBoth seem valid to me.
Then, too, the Doctor is clearly something else altogether. But even this makes a sort of sense. If -- and this a big if, in my book (if we're talking actual-world implications rather than in-universe storytelling ones) -- artificial life of that kind can be said to truly be alive and sentient, then I think there'd likely be many ways in which that could/would arise.
(2) Part of what I'm getting at is the idea that the Doctor -- so it seems to me -- cannot possibly have anything resembling a genuine religious experience. Therefore, as depicted here, I think he's likely to learn all the wrong lessons, adopt all the wrong stances, etc. Either that or maybe he resurrects Herbertism. I'd watch either one.
(3) I have not yet been swayed by "Sub Rosa." Maybe next viewing! I do like the idea of entire planets being, like, the Scotland-theme-park planet, though.
I'm not sure there would be any stomach for writing the scenario you envision, but who knows? Bring back Brannon Braga and let him have at it, I say.
(p.s.) Yeah, you know? I think you're right, the episode needed some closure for that plotline. I also forgot to mention that there's a giant false note struck at one point when someone -- B'Elanna? -- says something like, "They're not people, they're just holograms" about the Fair Havenites. This while the Doctor is in the room. No way he wouldn't object to that. Frankly, he *should* object to that. And yet, I am probably on B'Elanna's side in that discussion.
Fascinating episode!
(3) I got that wrong, of course, regarding there only being one episode separating "Fair Haven" and "Spirit Folk." I'm kind of glad I watched them that way, though; they play well in close proximity.
Delete"Virtuoso" --
ReplyDeleteHoly Hannah...! I accidentally skipped a disc! Easy enough to circle back.
I am not super fond of Picardo's singing, I must admit. He is technically proficient, but there's no real soul to it. This works fine for the Doctor, of course; a slight artificiality remaining in his technique seems apt. Still, it kind of makes me roll my eyes a bit for yet another the-Doctor-sings episode to roll around. Still, this is fine. Several great scenes, including the bit at the end with Seven.
Plus: "the Kimtones"! That's off-the-charts lame, just as it should be.
I forgot about the Kimtones! That is funny. Lame, of course, absolutely.
DeleteYeah Picardo is obviously trained as a singer, just enough to play one on TV, I guess, but he's not someone who'd have had a stellar career on stage. If this episode has a failing to me it's that it's impossible to envision alien-species-music/music-of-the-future and every time we attempt to do it just becomes Buck-Rogers-disco/Logan's-Run-y. Which is fine and probably unavoidable.
p.s. I just re-read my entry for this and "Tinker Tenor." I really don't say much about why I ranked "Tinker Tenor" as highly as I did. I should watch it again and do a proper breakdown for when you watch it so the real review(s) will be in the comments. Easter eggs for comments-hunters...
Delete"Memorial" --
ReplyDelete(1) You know, I was thinking while watching this that it seemed like something I'd seen before. I mean, technically it WAS, since I'd seen the episode once before. But I'd forgotten it almost entirely, so that's not what I mean ... OR IS IT? (It's not.) But you mentioning the Chakotay episode sparked a dim memory, and then research turned it up: "Nemesis," from season four. Can't imagine why I didn't remember that one... If anything, I think I like this one a bit better.
(2) In fact, I didn't mind this one too much; less than you, at least. I spent most of it thinking, well, there's some decent acting here, but this is another Trek-on-autopilot episode not unlike some of my least-favorite TNGs. But still, I find that level of episode to be fairly painless. So if you give me one of those on "Voyager," I'm relatively tolerant of it.
(3) However, I found myself quite engaged by the end of the episode. I find that to be an interesting debate: leave this thing standing or burn it down? The punch is pulled somewhat by Janeway putting up traffic cones around it in the form of warning buoys, but still, it's an interesting enough issue to me. Should anyone have the right to forcibly implant false experiences into other peoples' brains? Hmm... probably not. But what if those experiences give the experiencers a fresh appreciation for why the horrors of war ought to be avoided? We-ell... uh ... still *probably* not...? I guess? Okay, okay; definitely not. I think. But at the same time, I can see how these newly burned-in "memories" might have made Janeway and at least some of the others more strident and passionate on the subject than they might have been from a remove.
(4) And also, for whatever reason, I like the fact that Janeway and Chakotay ended up on opposite sides of the issue. That seems true to both, although I'm not sure I can explain why I feel that way. None of this elevates the episode very far; but it kept me in the mildly-positive camp.
(5) Oh, and the television set B'Elanna gives Tom is pretty rad. I'd totally watch old TOS and TNG episodes on one of those if I could, complete with whatever commercials could be found and were era-appropriate. Strange, but true.
(1) through (4) Well, as you saw from my write-up, I couldn't disagree more. I thought the acting was terrible, and the direction of the performances was either absent or tone deaf to cliches and overreach. I thought the script was working backwards from a very muddled conclusion, etc. I will keep your remarks in mind when I inevitably revisit it sometime.
Delete(5) Oh yeah me too. In a heartbeat! Why don't they sell that TV? Those replica Nintendos/ Geneses sell out in like 20 minutes. So would such a television. Sheesh, do we have to lecture Sony on the money they're leaving on the table, much less Paramount?
"Tsunkatse" --
ReplyDelete(1) This is an alright episode, almost entirely due to the strong acting from more or less everyone involved. Jeri Ryan is absolutely terrific, both emotionally and physically. A stunt double is used in her place extensively, but she also shows off a lot of practice moves in closeup and is very persuasive. J.G. Hertzler -- Martok from DS9 -- is also quite good as the Hirogen, and hey, Jeffrey Combs playing a slimy villain? I'm always down for that.
(2) I struggled somewhat with the notion that so many of the Voyager's crew would be so enthusiastic about viewing a bloodsport, though. That just doesn't quite track for me. I suspect this could largely have been solved if someone had only thrown in a line or two making it plain that matches to the death were uncommon and therefore none of the crew were watching those or even knew that they existed. Otherwise ... yikes.
(3) Interesting -- and kind of satisfying -- that Chakotay's love for boxing is brought back. Would a quasi-utopian society like Earth's of this century still have boxing? It might. A big part of the current objection to boxing is that it is barbaric and that it potentially causes severe injuries, both short- and long-term. Super-advanced medicine would make much of that irrelevant, so perhaps in such a future, the sport could flourish again due to it no longer possessing the onus of creating such health impact. This is likely more thought than anyone on Voyager's writing staff ever gave the issue.
(4) I don't want to give spoilers for a different series, but this episode came along in my viewing schedule at an interesting time. The most recent episode of "Picard" included a big guest appearance by Jeri Ryan as Seven. Predictably, she's great. The writing...? Considerably less so. And let's just say that the moral dilemma Seven faces in "Tsunkatse" as to whether killing would have been the right -- even logical -- thing to do in her circumstances was not in much evidence in this episode of "Picard." It tied in to another "Voyager" episode which I think comes up very soon, so I'll try to limit my thoughts on this matter for now.
Suffice it to say, I was not positively disposed toward what happened on "Picard," and "Tsunkatse" may actually make me even more aggravated by it.
(5) Tuvok remains one of my favorite Vulcans. I like his stance here on the degree to which what Seven does is logical. Because really, it is. Whether it would be logical for Tuvok himself is perhaps another manner, but it's absolutely the logical thing for a human (and former Borg) like Seven to do. That's pretty sharp writing, if you ask me.
(4) I'm still stuck in the first episode of PICARD. Very underwhelmed. Like we've discussed elsewhere, it seems like Trek done by people who are trying to appeal to non-Trek people. Which I think makes sense in a certain way: Hollywood (studios, networks, executives, talent, publicists - even the pervy producers) seems to want the earn the fandom of one demographic: fans of HBO shows. Or something. it's early, my brain isn't coming together just yet.
DeleteAgreed on Tuvok. And good points on boxing. Makes sense to me. I'd like to think the more enlightened future of Star Trek (do we have to say the "once-more-enlightened"? Now they want the Earth to look like 2020, with reality TV and synth wars and all the rest. No thanks.) where people have embraced both their sexualities and their violence in a very Steppenwolf/ non-repressed/ non-fetish fashion, boxing could thrive as an art/ sport. So could death matches, I guess - although you're right, it's convenient to the point of unbelievable that the WHOLE crew would just go right along with death-matches.
Then again, as I say, think of how many Wrestlemania species the Treksters have come across over the years. They may just be so used to death-matches and wrestle-warrior-honor cultures out there in space that they roll their eyes at such things now.
"Collective" --
ReplyDelete(1) Not a bad episode, I guess, but kind of a boring one. The outcome is never in doubt, so there are no stakes.
(2) Some solid fake-baby action in a few scenes; the fake baby is quite well done, but still looks incredibly fake.
(3) The belligerent Borg leader is a real prick. I was kind of glad he got greased. This is a very unenlightened attitude. I make no apologies.
(4) Why do the Borg kids all have partially-missing pants legs and shirt tops and whatnot? That's an odd production choice.
(5) I like your idea that what this episode ought to have been is a Borg version of "Children of the Corn." I'd watch that. "Outlander...! We have your Talaxian!" Something like that.
It's ironic that this is the week you watched Icheb's intro episode. Poor Icheb. A friend of mine is still watching Discovery and when I told him my reasons I've stopped, he said "oh yeah that character was on Voyager." Way to go, PICARD fans; you're truly brilliant caretakers of your legacy. You and your audience deserve each other.
DeleteAnd yes on (5)! I realize I'm high-fiving your agreement with my own idea, which is kind of lame of me. But it's like they have 2 or 3 stories they can tell with the Borg and can't seem to break out of it.
I guess they figured that's where their bread and butter was; and they might not have been wrong about that. Even so, this is alright. It ain't breaking no new ground, but neither is it salting the Earth behind it.
DeleteAs for "Picard," yeah, my thoughts on that series are mostly of a very ungenerous nature. That's doubly true where its connections to "Voyager" are concerned.
I somehow wrote "Discovery" above when I meant "Picard" of course. D'oh.
Delete"Ashes to Ashes" --
ReplyDelete(1) I thought this one was solid. Not a favorite or anything, but definitely solid. Kim Rhodes is great as Lindsay; she's one of those actor/character combinations that come along every once in a while where you can absolutely imagine them just joining the cast full-time and fitting right in.
(2) I think maybe it works that we've never seen the character before, though. Not by much -- Harry's apparent obsession with her (completely understandable, in my opinion) seems like it would have come up before -- but it gets by for me. It all feels artificial and forced, but that's mirrored in Lindsay's own struggle. She IS forcing it; it IS artificial.
(3) Granted, that's only true if you buy into the notion of what these aliens are like. And I'm not sure their modus operandi makes a lick of sense. But hey, sure, whatever; sci-fi gotta sci-fi.
(4) Does that species look like the Borg Queen, by the way?
(4) Indeed they do - I wonder if that was supposed to track? If so, it's interesting. I never gave much thought as to whence the Borg Queen but yeah, obviously she'd have to have been assimilated from some other race at some point.
Deletehas there ever been a definitive Borg origin story? Like, who/what were they before they assimilated their first organic? I imagine PICARD will 'solve' this mystery.
(3) Trek sometimes suffers from Legion of Superheroes disease, where characters are given powers or attributes that make tepid sense in relation to the story they appear in, but zero sense outside of it. Like you say, the best response is to shrug and keep on whistlin'.
"Child's Play" --
ReplyDelete(1) I know a lot of people hate the stuff with the Borg kids, but I'm not one of them. I don't know that I'd say I *love* it, either; but it's good material for Seven, and I'm all for that.
(2) I was more interested in the first part of this episode (Icheb deciding whether to stay or go) than in what came after. I like it when Trek resists the urge to turn into an action/adventure, and it felt like this gave in rather than resisting. But then it got interesting for me again when it turned out that Icheb himself viewed the whole thing as something of a failure on his part to live up to his potential. So I don't think I'd rank this as a favorite episode, but it's solid.
(3) Good guest stars! Badger from "Firefly" I recognized immediately; his dad played the Soul Hunter in that episode of Babylon 5, by the way. Icheb's mom, I knew I'd seen before but could not place; looked her up, and she was in a third-season episode of "The X-Files." Very distinctive face. She worked well for this episode of Voyager.
(2) "CLASSIC Icheb!"
Delete"Good Shepherd" --
ReplyDeleteI have virtually nothing to add to what you said about this one. Good Janeway episode; otherwise unexceptional. I do like the occasional "lower decks" type episode, but other than the Bajoran lady being cute, these three did nothing for me.
Not a bad episode, though.
Someone should do a "The Plan" style TV movie or miniseries of a lower decks cast that just follows the plot from one of the TV shows, where we see none of the upper decks at all, it stays exclusively with the team in the phaser ready room or something. Maybe it'd get a little tedious, I don't know; if done right, I imagine it'd be great.
DeleteCan you imagine pitching this to the current minders of Trek? I imagine it'd go over like the proverbial lead balloon.
( I meant on account of the forthcoming one, but done in a different, "The Plan" style. Just in case anyone out there in internet Voyager-reading land thinks me unaware of the soon-to-tcome adult animated show. )
Delete( Of course, this too muddles my original intent, was a show that over the course of a season or two followed the events of, say, TNG, or VOY, only exclusively from the POV of such a room. So, while we the audience would know the plots, we'd only see whatever part of it they knew or played a part in. Kind of a tedious set-up, especially over-explained like this but so it goes. )
I'd watch any Trek you were responsible for putting on the air. You'd be better at it than this current pack of weasels, by far.
DeleteThank you!
Delete"Live Fast and Prosper" --
ReplyDeleteThis one is pretty good. As you say, good premise, and good performances. Part of me wishes it had been even more of a farce than it is; like, the guy playing bunk-ass Tuvok is indeed pretty bunk-ass, but if the dial had been turned up to 11 on that, it could have made for some really inspired comedy. As is, it never quite gets to that level.
But for what it is, it's just fine.
If for nothing else, it's a great title.
Delete"Muse" --
ReplyDeleteI regret to inform that I dozed my way through this one, not because it's snooze-worthy but because I was tired, I guess.
In fact, I'd estimate that I probably only saw ten minutes or so of it. Amusingly, one of the bits I woke up in time to see was a bit in which Tom is giving Tuvok shit for falling asleep on the bridge. Thanks for that, sixth sense!
I also noticed that one of the members of the acting troupe was played by Kellie Waymire, who later played Ensign Somethingorother on "Enterprise." I liked her on that show. She passed away at a grossly young age. What a shame!
Oh, I missed that. I'm very spotty with looking up guest folks, I shouldn't be. I liked her on enterprise, too; she was like a young, cuter Dianne Wiest or something, that was the "look" I always got from her.
DeleteGo back and watch this one sometime, it's great. And for my money, pure Berman-era Trek.
"Fury" --
ReplyDelete(1) This is a well-made episode that I mostly do not like. I just don't understand the thought process behind taking a beloved character from seasons gone by and turning her into a vengeful killer. The only way I can make it work is to assume there must have been a real-world reason behind the scenes to do such a thing. For example, if the producers knew Jennifer Lien had fallen on hard times and wanted to do something to get a paycheck in her hands, but also wanted to do so in a way that would keep her from ever being able to get another one. Even then, that sounds like a dickbag way to go about things from a production standpoint. But I'd at least understand the impulse. As is, I look at it as a betrayal of not only the character but of the show's broader goals. Kes leaves on good terms because she's taken inspiration from her time on the ship and wants to expand upon it in her own way? But then decides she's been done dirty and wants to take it out on Voyager? Nope. Bad writing, bad production decision-making.
(2) I'm with you in that I found myself wondering how past-Janeway explained this to past-Kes. I find it hard to believe that wouldn't have informed her decision to leave the ship in the first place. So really, I can't go for that; no can do. This is fan-fiction-level bullcrap. (And I couldn't help but notice that one of the writers was Bryan Fuller, who years later got the wrecking ball that is "Discovery" going before being fired.)
(3) I thought they were going to get through the whole episode without having Neelix be involved, but they did at least manage to bring him in at the end for a decent scene. Too little, too late.
(4) I did also enjoy the Tuvok scenes, although I'm not sure they made a bit of sense. Little here did.
(1) You are correct, agreed 100%. It's funny, I started the rewatch not liking Kes and hating Neelix, and when I got to this episode, I was like "This is bullshit! Kes wouldn't do this, and where teh hell is Neelix?" I was offended on both their behalfs. (behalves? shrugs.) I was mostly made uncomfortable by the real-world parallels, but in retrospect it's just a BS episode.
Delete(2) Bryan Fuller went from a cautiously-optimisitc addition to anything to a "I think I need to re-evaluate this guy" cautionary/wariness.
Say, did you know that Robert Duncan McNeill and Garrett Wang are starting a Voyager-rewatch podcast? Apparently so -- "The Delta Flyers," it's called. First episode in early May.
DeleteI'd heard rumors to this effect. I'll definitely check it out. Hope it doesn't suck.
DeleteMany moons ago, Wil Wheaton was doing an episode-by-episode podcast and book/blog rewatching TNG. I don't know how far along he got with it. It was... not good, put charitably. I remember having it on once while doing office work at the Post and staring at the speaker unsmiling for a good 20 minutes, like I was stunned in place. For some reason I kept up with each episode, just sure it was going to get better, that the jokes would land.
I've got no animosity toward Wil Wheaton, but he is not enjoyable as either an interviewer or an interviewee. I watched a couple of episodes of his "Picard" post-show, and it was dreck. You'd have to pay me to listen to a podcast of his regularly. I'm glad he's finding some success with that sort of thing, but it's not for me.
DeleteMy guess is that Wang and McNeill will have a great rapport, if nothing else.
"Life Line" --
ReplyDelete(1) Good episode, but I'm left a little cold toward it thanks to the fact that I really don't care for Picardo's performance as Zimmerman. Like, at all. I dislike it even more than I dislike Brent Spiner's various Data-family performances, which is saying something. It doesn't kill the episode, but it does make me less approving than I would probably be otherwise.
(2) I like Haley, too. That actress has apparently had a successful career producing reality tv shows. Good for her! I don't get a feel of romance from her relationship with Zimmerman, but I do feel like there's more to that story than meets the eye. Might just be a case of casting resulting in someone more interesting playing the part than was really called for. Poor casting by way of good casting, if that makes any sense. Either way, it works for me.
(3) I think your 29th-century bulletpoint refers to the fact that the mobile emitter is a piece of future tech. But I guess the idea is that Zimmerman's entire lab is a holodeck, or a set of connected holodecks.
(4) Typo alert: I only noticed because it took me a second to figure out what the Insurrection connection was. Then it occurred to me: masseuse! I knew we'd seen that alien before, but did not make the connection to Insurrection. I was thinking one of Quark's dabo girls. But definitely Insurrection. And that IS a good fake-out.
(5) I'm always happy for Marina Sirtis to show up. I guess the idea is that the only way Troi would get involved in any of this stuff would be for a friend to beg her to come be a part of it. Otherwise, she's busy. Works for me, I guess.
(6) Oh, God. A thought just occurred to me. What they'd do with Barclay if he showed up on "Picard." Oh, what a terrible thought.
(7) Not apropos of this episode, but I listened to the first two episodes of that "Delta Flyers" podcast Garret Wang and Robbie McNeil are doing. Pretty entertaining -- mostly just them shooting the shit, which they are good at (Wang, especially).
(1) I liked Picardo's split performance, me. I just watched "Brothers" (TNG with Lore and Dr. Soong) and even made one of my notes "This sort of thing works much better in Life Line." There! Now I've spoiled my review. Unless I'm intentionally misdirecting, to build suspense, like the current Trekholders' PR team.
Delete(4) Ahh, thank you. Will edit.
(6) I think Dwight Schultz is pretty much retired (and a Republican). I imagine that latter point would preclude him from being asked back more than the former. But, let's hope whatever the reason, he's not dragged into things over there.
(7) Oh, very good, I didn't realize those were up. I'll have to add it to my podcasts.
(1) I've never much cared for "Brothers." I mean, it's alright; don't get me wrong. But I never cared much about Lore or Soong, even back in the day.
Delete(6) They'd put him to no good use, that's for sure.
"The Haunting of Deck Twelve" --
ReplyDelete(1) I'm picturing the beginning of "The Fog," but with Neelix instead of John Housman. This is my brain.
Good episode for Ethan Phillips. I was glad Neelix and Tuvok got some quality scenes together; feels like it had been a while.
(2) What was up with the random Bajoran crewman who popped up a couple of times? Have we ever seen her before? She's pretty good, but the role (unless I fell asleep and missed something and am unaware of it [possible]) is completely inessential.
(3) I liked what you said about Icheb being sort of like a blogger-type standin. I didn't think of that, but you're totally right, he's the standin for the Internet. I like this aspect of the episode; he and Mizati (sp.?) are both pretty well used. Good to know he gets tortured to death by the Borg decades later... (Never letting this go.)
(1) That would be great. Agreed on Phillips and Russ.
Delete(3) Me neither. They gained an enemy with me over that one.
"Unimatrix Zero, Part I" --
ReplyDelete(1) This one bored me. Many of the big action/adventure episodes of Voyager bore me. It's not really the show's forte. It's not bad; it doesn't piss me off or anything, it just leaves me shrugging.
(2) "I come down on the “The Queen makes the Borg less interesting, though” side of the argument." -- Yeah, I think I'm with you on that. The Borg Queen is interesting in "First Contact," but after that, not so much.
(3) "How many more times do we have to hear this crap? Too much unearned drama." -- It does kind of just come out of nowhere in this episode. My guess is that everyone realized that without the Maquis aspect, there just wasn't much to Chakotay, so the only thing they could think of to do with him in a season finale like this one is to gin up some conflict. Unearned for sure. Too bad; I like Chakotay. They just never quite cracked the code on him, at least not in a permanent way.
(4) " “Front shields are gone.” Then they sustain several frontal blasts, which are clearly shielded." -- Boy, you got that one right. The Borg are only ever as lethal as the screenplay needs them to be; it's a flaw with the series. With the franchise, really. It doesn't ruin anything for me, but it's part of why I really kind of don't care about the Borg (Seven being an exception) past a certain point. They're nothing but plot devices.
(5) I'd be remiss in my duties if I didn't take this episode to task for the extent to which it features severed (and partially mutilated) Borg heads in the plot. It's not terribly graphic, but does this really belong on a Star Trek series? Probably not, and it's the sort of thing that the jackholes who pulled Icheb's eye out years later can point to and be all like, "See?!? They did it first!"
(1) Boring covers it, I think. It's a shame these big two-parter productions fall so flat for the most part in VOY.
Delete(3) Agreed. Part of that is on the actor, I think, but the VOY writers / Berman in this era seemed overly hesitant to take any chances/ allow the characters to expand beyond their original definitions. And Chakotay was hurt by that most of all, perhaps.
(5) Yep.