Star Trek: Voyager — 6x01 — Equinox, Part II

Aired 1999-09-22

SpaceOpera.com rating:8

Average reader rating:5.85

Synopsis

A renegade starship causes problems for Voyager.

Remarkable scenes

Ransom: "You know, Janeway's not the only captain who can help you explore your humanity." Seven: "You would be an inferior role model."
The evil Voyager EMH singing as he extracts information from Seven of Nine.
Voyager locating and battling the Equinox.
Janeway interrogating Lessing.
Chakotay saving Lessing.
Janeway negotiating with the nucleogenic aliens.
The evil Voyager EMH making Seven of Nine sing.
Burke regarding Ransom's decision to surrender: "Rudy, with all due respect, have you lost your mind?"
Burke taking over the Equinox.
Voyager's second battle with the Equinox.
The Voyager EMH deleting the Equinox EMH.
Ransom undermining Burke's efforts, letting the aliens destroy his ship.
Burke's foolish attempt to make it to the shuttle bay.
Ransom going down with his ship.

Review

Well, it seems my predictions all came true. Nobody important died in the cliffhanger and Janeway tracked down the Equinox and destroyed it. The second part even managed to make another fairly serious distance / speed mistake documented in the problems section. That said though, the second part is a a lot better than the first. Janeway becomes Captain Ahab hunting her Ransom and she starts to let her ethics slip, ironically all in the name of protecting ethical behavior. There's a method to her madness though. She's angry that Ransom and his crew are murdering the nucleogenic aliens and she's willing to make sure they pay for their crimes at any cost. Janeway was most certainly in "the ends justify the means" mode here. To her, stopping the killing and salvaging relations with these aliens was more important to than the Equinox crew's lives. This of course breeds a nice level of conflict between Chakotay and Janeway. And the various space battles in the episode were quite spectacular. In the end, it's fitting that Ransom finally realizes he'd made a critical mistake and decides to go down with his ship. I liked the look of forgiveness in Janeway's eyes when Ransom was about to meet his end.

8 reader comments

I thought that Janeway was really off base in this episode. She has always been something of a hypocrite, but it's really clear here. She will lecture Ransom about being ethical, and then try to execute a fellow officer. She seemed to be insane with revenge, even surpassing Sisko's obsession with Eddington. It's damn scary that she was allowed to continue in command of the ship, despite constant objections from her first and second officers regarding ethics and tactical decisions. She absolutely should have been relieved of duty, not Chakotay.
This leads me to another point about Voyager that I'll keep brief. The structure and order aboard Voyager is pathetic. Janeway regularly has loud arguments with Chakotay, as well as other crewmembers, on the bridge. She NEVER listens to anyone, even (especially) if they are right. The first officer is a really weak person, and just shuts up when he is overruled. (Point in case this episode when Chakotay just goes to his room like he's been bad) Can you imagine Picard and Riker screaming at each other on the bridge, or Picard ranting to Worf loudly while they both walk out of the ready room? Of course not.
Bottom Line: Janeway is a terrible captain. The worst. I'm sorry to all her fans out there, but she's irrational, impulsive, vengeful, and spiteful.
by Pete Miller | 12/24/2006 at 2:21 am

Just been revisiting some of my favourite episodes of voyager, which isn't many, but anyway.
Just a couple of comments on this episode:
The two parter as a whole is very good. Unfortunately, and as per usual for Voyager as a whole, there are missed opportunities. I love the clash in styles between the two ships, I love seeing a ship that has been in the delta quadrant and under constant threat. The Equinox has obviously suffered major losses and damage, very realistic. I liked the plot in general, Janeway has to stop the renegade captain.
What I don't like is how the Equinox crew are all written to be psychopaths. Why did they have to polarise the episode like that? If the lines had been made more blurry they could even have written some voyager crew as having sympathy with the Equinox crew thus creating tension between Janeway and crew. Also they could have created some sympathy for the Equinox crew from the viewer, making the inevitable ending all the more effective.
I also dislike how Janeway is written for the second part of this two-parter. I agree with all of the points made by Pete. She is out of character, even for Janeway, and it seems ridiculous that Chakotay ends up relieved of duty!
by Bernard | 03/29/2010 at 9:58 pm

Agreed with the above comments. I was thinking after watching this show again, that the person who should have mutinied was Kate Mulgrew when she saw the script. After 5 seasons she should have known the character and the series well enough to recognize that this was out of character and a good way to ruin the legacy of her version of a Starship captain. The basic Captain Ahab idea of the writers was a good one. We saw it with Picard in "Star Trek: First Contact". We saw it with Kirk in "Obsession". And we saw it with Archer in the Xindi arc. In each of these cases the personal conflict that shaped the actions of those captains was a good one, and the way they responded was believable. All were well executed. But the writers did a poor job on both counts for Janeway and diminished her character in the process. And Chakotay says that mutinying would have been crossing the line? Hardly, with the behaviour she showed. Bones would have relieved her from duty in a nanosecond. Spock or Riker would have hesitated to mutiny out of Star Fleet duty. Archer or Picard would have had her in the brig to stay, and she never have been trusted again.
Entertaining episode, but a major flaw.
by Steve R. Mohns | 08/23/2012 at 4:12 am

Just watched this episode on a first-time run through Voyager, and I genuinely thought Janeway must have been somehow possessed by the alien that knocked her over at the start of he episode, she was so wildly out of character.
by Jem 5x5 | 10/13/2013 at 10:52 pm

I hope we will see some of the adopted Equinox crew in the future! I thought Marla (the engineer) seemed like an interesting character.
Wasn't it odd that there were only humans on Equinox btw?
by Hugo von Ahlenius | 02/18/2015 at 2:23 pm

i was just so absolutely happy with this two-parter. i wish every voyager episode was like this.
i wish they did story arcs, or something like this kind of character depth, transformation, fragility. so many twists and unexpected turns--not in anything "dangerous", as site author mentioned (obviously Janeway was never going to be in danger)--but how the different alignments of good/evil played out, with ransom coming round in the end.
i also appreciated it because it respected the intelligence of the viewer--rather than bluntly hitting us over the head with janeway going a little bonkers you see it happening slowly--and while chakotay vocalises it, other characters make noted faces or brief objections but the point is not belabored. a lot is left to the imagination which is good; there are no gratuitous scenes of people debating how far gone the captain is--still leaving it, in a sense, up in the air, though by that time i was with chakotay.
and that's perhaps the greatest thing about this two-parter: it's the first time in…almost ever (with a voyager episode at least) that i felt like they truly presented the idea of principles vs. a slippery slope and it wasn't cheap or dull.
finally we see what the consequences of just choosing expediency are, not merely because we should "believe" it's wrong (the unfortunately milquetoat conclusion of many lesser ST episodes across all series), but because you can see it qualitatively produces different results.
everything janeway was doing as she was "becoming" ransom could be seen to deteriorate everything: strategy, morale, consistency, ethics itself--and this way the moral quandary, unlike most episodes, is actually way more polarising and tense. it's not just a vague "let's turn the other cheek and not hurt our enemies" plot, but actually mixed and compelling arguments for either approach (though i still am firmly w chakotay), in that you can see that the situation tactically can appear to call for a set of steps that, though logical, are very harmful in the long run.
these are how real-life situations, and real-life violence is. it is very layered and complex. it often deteriorates into bloated, festering situations that go way beyond their original scope and launch a sort of dragnet drawing all kinds of people into its maw that have varying levels of agency and responsibility, as well as being coerced into it. and rather than that all of that being a reason to just abjure responsibility and try to pretend that everyone is right, or that everyone's wrong in some kind of simplistic relativism (because ultimately, action needs to be taken)…we get an episode that tells the hardest story of all: that in the DEPTHS of these moments, in the very hardest of them, is when we must STILL center ourselves, even more than usual, b/c your moral center can get away with you in a blink of an eye, and it will not be dramatic: it will be gradual, until it's sudden. if you catch my drift.
in real-life genocides, massacres, mass sterilisation programs, ethnic cleansing projects, violent statecraft, you name it--this is the dilemma. there is such a complex set of decisions and procedures to arrive at the result--millions of dead beings--that it is impossible for any one person to execute. it requires the consent of and infiltration of massive social structures, which also implies culpability for more than just the "leader". the whole scenario itself becomes a toxic lake baptisiing its swimmers with an unholy burden--enough ethical dilemmas to last a life time, and if one does not take a stand, look for an alternate route, and potentially even face death (a scary thought indeed), one inevitably ends up part of it. the platitudes about german society being partner to the shoah would come right about here.
and on that note, as i have no doubt said before in a million places and on this very site, i will always come back to hannah arendt's "the banality of evil", and say that this is precisely the scary thing: that the question of evil is not one of supervillains, but of its being actually quite banal--something that can appear so simple, and often executed by seemingly "normal" people, that it escapes us if we always think about the Big Bad and not the true evil that permeates the systems that surround us, affecting everyone and leaving no-one untouched.
this is why i don't think janeway was 'out of character', as some people mentioned. if you look carefully, you can see that beneath the cool exterior there is an inner seriousness and sort of uncompromising passion that drives her to do her "job"--even in a situation where there is (potentially) no federation to do a job for. like most people in high places, she is a mix of intelligent (in a calculating sense) and ruthlessly ambitious, not merely a "nice person" who knows how to run a bureaucracy, but somebody who had to work incessantly and no doubt beat out other people for her position--such are top-down military hierarchies. and most high-ranking jobs require a certain kind of total sacrifice of the person to the job itself, an insane thing to ask of a person but also why it is so easy to lose yourself and be corrupted in such roles. even if we imagine a rich CEO vacationing and enjoying all their life at a level of luxury almost no one experiences--as in, "how could this be sacrifice?"--you are still losing a piece of your soul, since it is this very luxury that provides the direct incentive to blithely make horrifying, oppressive decisions on the daily (remember that worldwide colonialism almost always began as a business venture, the most famous case being the east india trading company).
the fact the we haven't seen more of this side of her is actually the weirder part. seeing her inner passion, obsession with the federation ideal & image--the only thing she has LEFT in this land far away from her home--totally makes sense to me, and again, when people break, they are not usually "the joker". they break and they act increasingly off until you don't recognise them anymore--and her stubbornness only made me enjoy this more. because frustrating as it was, rather than capitulate to chakotay, she truly had tunnel vision until it was over. and if you've ever gotten yourself into a rut and lost yourself, well…that tunnel vision is real. and it's f'ed up. i do wish she had repented a little more at the end. but at least they sort of tease it out.
now i can only hope--though i doubt--that this sets up the 'maquis dynamic' we always wanted for voyager, with the theme of these new crew members integrating into the crew and janeway's dance with the devil, the other side of the line that marks the prime directive. my god, that would be amazing; halfway through pt. 2 i even imagined a battlestar reboot-style season where they chase the equinox onto that planet and crash land there, leading to a whole season where they have to figure out how to survive on this planet as they repair voyager and interact begrudgingly with the survivors of the other crew, also showing how janeway's heedlessness lead to real consequences--a la bg on caprica…and yes, i clearly am a noob for having seen BG and not voyager first :P.
now THAT would've been brave. but we know that that's not what voyager's about…at least, unless it's about to surprise me…
thanks to kethinov for giving us over-thinkers an outlet for our grey matter.
by parkbench | 02/23/2016 at 10:56 am

I see a problem with The Doctor. Two things: Why he didn't completed his surgery on Seven's brain? He had enough time to turn her into vegetable. And second, far more important - just when exactly his ethical subroutines were activated again? On Eqinox he was evil, then after beaming on Voyager boom, and he's good again? Why? I was thinking all the time, he's just faking his psychopatic behavior, because he evolved so much, he doesn't need ethical subroutines to act ethically (I was even thinking he uploaded Seven's image into Ransoms "vids" to influence him). Just like human brain can sometimes take over functions of his damaged part - Doctors program could do the same. But well, it's not the case. A bit of wasted opportunity.
by McCoy | 10/09/2017 at 4:40 pm

A lot of fair criticisms of Janeway in this episode. One comment above compares this with Kirk, Picard, and Archer in their various "Captain Ahab" moments. And I think someone else added Sisko with Michael Eddington.
The difference between all of those, and this, comes down to writing and acting. Neither Mulgrew nor the writers sold me on the idea that Janeway was consumed by revenge. I got the impression she was just intentionally being stubborn about pursuing Ransom with no real emotional or logical reason for doing so, because that's what was in the script. And I have to say, Beltran didn't sell me on the protesting First Officer role, either. To me, this two-parter illustrates one of the main problems with Voyager: bad acting.
Now, Mulgrew and Beltran are both talented actors, and there are plenty of fantastic Janeway and Chakotay moments in this series. But it wasn't consistent. I feel like there were often breakdowns between the writers and the actors on Voyager, and comments by Robert Beltran in the years since Voyager went off the air convince me that's true, as well as Garrett Wang and a couple others. I think some of the other cast members had frustrations about how their characters were being written.
In any case, this was an exciting two-parter. I also feel like Equinox gave us an example of how things might've turned out for Voyager. As the webmaster said, we rarely got the sense that Voyager was in dire straights during their long journey across the galaxy; Equinox, on the other hand, reflects a formerly noble Starfleet crew that has been reduced to a desperate rabble living on the edge of privation. It was an astonishing contrast that I wish had been more thoroughly explored.
by Mike J | 11/13/2023 at 11:56 pm

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x02 — Survival Instinct

Aired 1999-09-29

SpaceOpera.com rating:8

Average reader rating:5.93

Synopsis

Seven is confronted with her past.

Remarkable scenes

The sight of the trading outpost and all the people aboard Voyager.
Seven's flashbacks.
The former Borg attacking Seven.
The flashback depicting the crashed drones beginning to regain their memories.
I like the scene when Tom and Harry get into trouble for getting into a fight.
The revelation that Seven was responsible for linking the drones together.
Chakotay arguing to Seven for fleeting freedom while the doctor argues for survival.
The different reactions of each of the three drones once they were freed of their neural link.

Review

A great episode exploring both the psychology of the Borg Collective as well as the psychology of Seven of Nine. The three former drones in this episode give a wonderful performance playing mentally tortured pseudo individuals. And the ethical issue of whether a month of freedom is better than a life of slavery was well presented. Additionally, I enjoyed the connection between this episode and Voy: One. In that episode, Seven stated that she'd once been separated from the Collective. It's very possible she may have been referring to the events described in this episode. A nice bit of continuity.

1 reader comment

I actually thought this was easily the best psychological exploration of the Borg in all of Star Trek (much better than TNG's I Borg), and one of the best Seven of Nine episodes in all of Voyager.
The triad's description of what it was like to be intimately and perpetually linked to two others was fascinating and quite compelling.
Basically, by "scaling down" the notion of belonging to a collective intelligence, reducing it down to just a group of three, effectively demonstrates what its really like to be sentient but not fully differentiated…no other episode gets this across as well as this one.
There are other redeeming features in the episode, but that's the main one, and a very important feat. I gave it a 10.
by badure | 12/15/2011 at 7:02 am

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x03 — Barge of the Dead

Aired 1999-10-06

SpaceOpera.com rating:4

Average reader rating:4.21

Synopsis

Torres embarks on a journey to Klingon hell.

Remarkable scenes

Torres' shuttle crashing into Voyager's shuttle bay.
Torres: "We only have one multi spatial probe, I didn't want to lose it." Janeway: "We only have one B'Elanna Torres. I don't want to lose her either."
Tuvok wielding a bat'leth.
Seven of Nine and the doctor singing a Klingon drinking song.
Chakotay: "I accept there are things in the universe than can't be scanned with a tricorder."

Review

Voy: Coda + Voy: Mortal Coil = Voy: Barge of the Dead. The third "afterlife" plot Voyager's done so far. First Janeway, then Neelix, now Torres. I wonder when the writers will get tired of it. This one's a little better than Voy: Mortal Coil, but not quite as good as Voy: Coda. Torres' issues weren't quite as annoying as Neelix' were, but the writers made no attempt to explain away the dreams Torres was having like they did with Janeway. So in the end, the episode ended up being slightly below average. Not particularly bad, but not all that good either.

4 reader comments

I love klingon episodes and to see them in voyager is a refreshing change. The scene with tuvok and the batleth was great and hearing the doctor and seven singing. Did anyone notice its the same song worf and his fathers friend sang in his quarters in DS9-Way of the Warrior, a line mentioned by b'lanna in the episode. Great continuity there i have to say. It is annoying that the episode has no plot really but i thought it was a good character episode for a character who doesnt get many.
by Scott MacGregor | 11/26/2008 at 1:24 am

One of the first episodes in a while that Tuvoc actually does something. He hasn't gotten NEARLY enough screentime in the last few seasons, it's basically just been the doctor, seven, and Janeway.
by Psycroptic | 01/05/2013 at 9:15 pm

Isn't it surprising that the Doctor went with recreating her experience, I would have thought that his ethics wouldn't allow that…
by Hugo von Ahlenius | 03/02/2015 at 7:12 am

This entire episode should have been a dream while she recovered from the accident. But now we have Janeway, Paris and the Doctor almost letting her kill herself because of some stupid superstition.
btw…isn't it very rude of Chucky Chacotay to call it klingon "mythology" when he was talking to her? When I call people's superstitions mythology they are always very offended.
by Amelia Obumhardt | 02/28/2022 at 5:29 pm

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x04 — Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy

Aired 1999-10-13

SpaceOpera.com rating:9

Average reader rating:6.61

Synopsis

The Doctor experiences daydreams.

Remarkable scenes

The doctor singing "La donna è mobile" then altering the lyrics to deal with Tuvok. The complete lyrical score:

"La donna è mobile
qual piuma al vento
muta d'accento
e di pensier

Sempre un' amabile
leggiadro viso
in pianto o in riso
è menzognero

La donna è mobile
qual piuma al vento
muta d'accento
e di pensierv
e di pensier
e di pensier

Tuvok I understand
you are a Vulcan man
you have just gone without
for seven years about

Paris please find a way
to load a hypospray
I will give you the sign
just aim for his behind

Hormones are raging
synapses blazing
it's all so very
illogical
illogical
illogical"

Janeway, Torres, and Seven fighting over the doctor in another one of his daydreams.
The Borg daydream. The doctor activates the "emergency command hologram" or ECH. His uniform changes color from teal to red and 4 pips appear on his collar.
Computer: "Warning, warp core breach a lot sooner than you think."
Computer: "Warning, last chance to be a hero doctor! Get going."
The doctor jumping from fantasy to fantasy.
The doctor painting a nude Seven of Nine.
The crew's reactions to watching the doctor's fantasies.
The doctor's "photonic cannon" stunt.

Review

In the tradition of Voy: Message in a Bottle, quite possibly Voyager's funniest episode. The humor is superior to my other previously high rated Voyager humor episodes Voy: Message in a Bottle and Voy: Death Wish. The humor in Voy: Message in a Bottle was a bit too silly, and the humor in Voy: Death Wish was secondary to the actual plot. In this episode, the plot is secondary to the humor! Now while I admit the plot is fairly weak, it doesn't particularly need to be anything grand. I found the wide allotted time to the exploration of the doctor's fantasies well used and the albeit simple solution to let the doctor play out his ECH (Emergency Command Hologram) fantasy to deter the Hierarchy both fitting and hilarious. And of course, who could forget the marvelous teaser in this episode? This episode is a treat, and I recommend it to anyone who needs a good laugh.

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x05 — Alice

Aired 1999-10-20

SpaceOpera.com rating:4

Average reader rating:3.78

Synopsis

Paris rebuilds an old shuttle.

Remarkable scenes

Paris: "Congratulations Tuvok, you just saved us from a flotilla of hostile trash."
Tom freaking out at Torres.
Alice at warp. Nice visual effects.
Alice's destruction.

Review

This episode thoroughly failed to live up to its premise, mostly I'd say because of the ulterior motives of Alice and her eventual destruction. The episode could have been a lot more interesting if Tom was less reckless and Alice ended up being a permanent addition to Voyager's shuttle compliment; a fast, maneuverable battle shuttle to supplement the Delta Flyer and standard shuttles. I envisioned space battles where Voyager acted as a carrier, deploying its fighters against the enemy. But instead of these grand uses, Alice was reduced to a mere plot device, something to make Tom act all bonkers. Fortunately, Tom did a great job acting all bonkers in this episode; in fact the acting in this episode was superb all around. A decent episode even if not quite what it could have been.

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x06 — Riddles

Aired 1999-11-03

SpaceOpera.com rating:6

Average reader rating:5.14

Synopsis

Tuvok suffers neurological damage.

Remarkable scenes

Neelix' riddle. The ensign survived by eating the "dates" on his calender.
The doctor: "If anyone can provoke Tuvok, Mr. Neelix, it's you."
The doctor: "The Vulcan brain: a puzzle wrapped inside an enigma housed inside a cranium."
Voyager decloaking the aliens.
Tuvok's "not very logical" alternative answer to Neelix' riddle.

Review

It seems the writers liked the emotional Tuvok from Voy: Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy so much that they wrote a whole episode around the idea. ;) Tim Russ does a wonderful job playing emotional Tuvok in this episode, an episode which explores how much intelligence and emotional control have over a person's underlying personality. It's remarkable how Tuvok's interests changed after his injury. Also remarkable is our guest star, Naroq. Rarely ever does Voyager present us with a guest star who remains an ally the entire episode, without at least some kind of hostile contention erupting somewhere in the middle. Not only does Naroq remain an ally the whole episode, but he sacrifices a lot in the end to be able to help Tuvok. I was glad for this detail, as it's truly in the spirit of Star Trek.

7 reader comments

This episode did something I was fearing would never happen in the series: it explored the relationship between Neelix and Tuvok (which I find to be very similar to the relationship between Quark and Odo in DS9). For too long their relationship has been nothing more than a simple device for comedy in the show.
However, here the writers reveal how deep Neelix's feelings for Tuvok really are, and perhaps the feelings for Neelix that Tuvok is hiding under all that Vulcan logic. I found the scene where Tuvok is having doubts about the operation to be deeply moving. This was really one of Voyager's best character development episode offerings. Tuvok and Neelix both are the most underused characters in all of Star Trek, and it was infinitely pleasing to have an episode that centered around them instead of the Janeway/Doctor/Seven show.
Great acting, and superb writing. One of the few times Voyager has lived up to its potential. 9.
by Pete Miller | 12/27/2006 at 12:12 am

I feel weird following up a comment from 2006, but I have to agree completely!
I also found this episode deserving of a far higher score than a 6. I though that the Tuvok-Neelix relationship was explored very well in this episode, and that this is also one of the times that Voyager really shined a light on its true potential.
I actually felt myself tearing up during that scene where Neelix is convincing Tuvok to go through with the procedure.
by Pete Oliva | 09/26/2011 at 4:53 am

I just watched this episode for the first time and I have to say that I am shocked to have just unearthed one of the hidden gems that are scattered throughout Voyagers seven year run.
This is a truly moving episode that is well written and wonderfully acted by both Russ and Phillips and successfully explores the two characters relationship with one another.
Unfortunately, Voyager never ever used to expand on character developments from one episode/season to the next so I'm willing to bet the events of this episode were totally forgotten over the last two seasons.. maybe I'll be proven incorrect in that assumption as I rewatch them.
Anyway, I would give this episode 8 or 9 and that would have been even higher had it not been wrapped up with a fairly tedious alien of the week.
by Bernard | 11/04/2011 at 12:16 am

I totally agree with the others here, completely underrated episode and one of best so far in Voyager.
by Psycroptic | 01/15/2013 at 10:16 pm

I guess they can only do a Tuvok story when he is out of character? Good point about Naroq btw, I was waiting for him to switch sides…
by Hugo von Ahlenius | 03/15/2015 at 8:29 am

This episode is the final proof of what I've always suspected: Tim Russ is THE unsung MVP of the show.
He is as fantasic as the "emotionally controlled and logical" Vulcan as he is angry, scared, childlike, excited, fun -- a whole range of emotions he showed here and not ONE instance of overplaying (which often happens when actors playing Vulcans finally get their "emotion" episode). Russ made a deeper impression during the large chunk of the episode where he lost speech than most people with lots of lines!
The guest star's performance AND the way his character was written were subtle yet quite engaging. The story explored cook things on multiple fronts -- Tuvok and Neelix's friendship, Tuvok dealing with loss,the Xenophobic B'nath, Naroq's academic curiosity -- sometimes getting out of hand, but ultimately responsible and selfless. I can't believe this got just a 6, meanwhile the Doctor falling in love with Seven got a 9? This is certainly a "riddle"!!
by Jadzia Guinan Smith | 07/02/2015 at 6:06 pm

Doctor: "Captain, Tuvok's situation is very delicate. As his synapses reform he is experiencing volatile and unpredictable emotional reactions. I recommend assigning Ensign Vorik to serve as his guide as he works to rediscover and reassert his logical Vulcan self." Janeway: "Nah, just have Nelix hang out with him for a while." Doctor: "But Captain, that makes no sense! We have another Vulcan on board! Considering the circumstances it would make the most sense to have Vorik guide Tuvok through this experience." Janeway: "Yeah, but we also have Naroq and invisible aliens this episode. We don't really have the budget left after that to pay Alexander Enberg to be a guest star. Besides, I have a feeling those two have some hidden chemistry they can explore." Doctor: "…" Janeway: "No seriously, I'll just have, I don't know, Harry or someone fill in at Tactical for a while. I'm sure this will all work out fine. Janeway out!" (drops mic)
by Dstyle | 07/21/2015 at 1:07 pm

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x07 — Dragon's Teeth

Aired 1999-11-10

SpaceOpera.com rating:7

Average reader rating:5.36

Synopsis

Voyager stumbles into Turei under-space.

Remarkable scenes

The "underspace" dispute, the ensuing battle, and the subsequent ship landing.
Tuvok: "We don't know anything about this species. They could be hostile." Seven: "Most humanoid species are."
Seven: "The Collective's memory from 900 years ago is fragmentary."
Neelix researching the Vaadwaur via his Talaxian database.
Janeway confronting Gedrin about history.
Voyager's battle with the Vaadwaur.
The Vaadwaur battling the Turei.

Review

This episode introduced many complex plot threads, but never sufficiently elaborated them. The subspace corridors were never revisited; I would have enjoyed seeing Voyager acquire a shortcut using them. The Vaadwaur were a great idea for a species, a civilization of conquered conquerors. Much like the Cardassians were on DS9. But we never see them again, despite Janeway's "I doubt we've seen the last of them" line. Overall, it was a fantastic episode, but I must deduct a point for the episode's inability to resolve its own plot threads and the series' inability to revisit these plot threads.

5 reader comments

Although this was an overall great episode, there were a lot of little things that bothered me.
Another ship landing!? This is unbelievable, even for Janeway.
Seven of Nine opening that stasis chamber! What is she, a n00b? I mean I get it with her Borg guilt crap, but I'm not convinced that anyone would do that without clearing it with the captain. What an idiotic thing to do. She should have been formally disciplined.
Why did Janeway get in that alliance with a species she had known for about 2 hours? Even I could tell that they weren't trustworthy right off, and I'm no Starfleet captain. This is what the Prime Directive is for. Both Seven of Nine and Janeway are directly responsible if that race were to rise to power again.
I realize that these are picky things, but the writers really disrespect the fans to make these ridiculous things happen. If Janeway was in the alpha quadrant doing this shit, she would be demoted immediately imho.
by Pete Miller | 12/31/2006 at 4:11 am

This could have been an excellent episode. The idea is pretty original and clever. It certainly didn't lack for action and excitement. But there were several glaring annoyances in the plot that had me shaking my head. Why would the Vaadwaur on the bridge so easily accept the planned destruction of his race by Janeway? I could understand if he were pacifistic and had chosen not to help his race take over the Enterprise, but to head back down to the planet to give his life to help Voyageur target his people's ships was difficult to believe. Also, Janeway eases 7's guilt by telling her that she might have done the same thing. The real problem was not that 7 wanted to revive the Vaadwaurian, but that she just did it unilaterally. Surely that wasn't her decision to make. She should have had that pointed out to her by Janeway at the end of the episode at minimum as a moral lesson. A potentially fine episode marred by poor writing choices.
by Steve R. Mohns | 08/05/2010 at 5:49 pm

Agree with the others, could have been much better, but I really hate it when otherwise smart characters act stupidly, and this episode was full of that kind of writing.
On an amusing note, after Tuvok leaves Gedrin to target the fighters on the planet (with the chamber collapsing around them), Tuvok is never mentioned again! Voyager just goes to warp without him being beamed up or anything.
After the cut, even better, Janeway's voiceover says, "…however, Seven of Nine has made an unsettling discovery." I wanted the scene to be Seven saying, "Captain, I believe we have left Tuvok behind." "Oh well, he will adapt." chuckles all around freeze frame on smiles roll credits
by Spline | 02/03/2014 at 10:58 am

Janeway: "I don't know if the Vaadwaur can be trusted. What I wouldn't give to have a Betazoid on board!" Chakotay: "You mean like Ensign Jarot?" Janeway: "Huh?" Chakotay: "Ensign Jarot. Back in the episode with the Devore she was one of the telepathic crew members we had to hide in the transporter buffers during the Devore inspections." Janeway: "Oh yeah. What ever happened to her?" Chakotay: (shrugs) "You got me. I guess she died?" Janeway: "Yeah, guess so. Shame, there have been SO MANY instances where having a Betazoid on the bridge would have been really helpful." Chakotay: "Yeah, we sure underutilized her, didn't we?"
by Dstyle | 07/21/2015 at 1:58 pm

I also couldn't help notice that these Delta Quadrant aliens who have been in stasis for almost 900 years are rocking some very 90s shoulder pads. That's very fashion forward of you, Vaadwaur!
by Dstyle | 07/22/2015 at 6:55 pm

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x08 — One Small Step

Aired 1999-11-17

SpaceOpera.com rating:6

Average reader rating:5.86

Synopsis

Voyager searches for a long-lost Mars spacecraft.

Remarkable scenes

The glitches.
Seven of Nine debating with Tuvok the logic of exploring the Graviton Ellipse.
Seven beaming over to the module.
John Kelly's final log entries.
John Kelly: "I think we're gonna need to make room on the periodic table..."
Seven's change of heart.

Review

A pleasing, if slow episode. I found the idea of the Graviton Ellipse fascinating and I was glad they didn't use it as some sort of plot device for yet another alien confrontation, but they were in fact genuinely interested in exploring it. The historical investigation into John Kelly's mission to Mars in 2032 fit well with the story; I liked how the A and B plots were essentially the same plot except stretched over a long period of time, kind of like Star Trek VII: Generations in a way. The episode was good for Seven of Nine's character development too, though that seems to be the trend these days. I could probably list close to a dozen episodes now directly dealing with her humanities education. But that's not necessarily a problem, as it served this episode well.

5 reader comments

Also, Robert Picardo, who plays the EMH of course, directed this episode… :)
by jaylong | 04/11/2007 at 6:52 am

Torres says that the 21st century spacecraft weighed 92 "metric tons". In this world of SI units, why would she feel the need to emphasize the metricness of those tons? :)
Also funny: a comment by Damien under this review: http://www.jammersreviews.com/st-voy/s6/onesmallstep.php
"But I cannot let a real zinger go by without comment. The anomaly zeros in on electromagnetic fields, so what do they come up with to explain the source of EM causing the anomaly to change course? Dark matter! Yep, the stuff that got its name because it doesn't interact with EM fields at all! It emits ZERO radiation - which is what makes it dark! Why on earth did they come up with that when they ran through some perfectly good sources of EM, like pulsars?"
by Remco | 08/16/2009 at 10:49 pm

When Seven said she had wanted to be a ballerina, I would have bet good money that the episode would end on the holodeck with her doing just that. Quite glad it didn't, the ending we got was more poignant.
by Jem 5x5 | 10/20/2013 at 9:23 am

Thank goodness the Delta Flyer was equipped with a form-fitting space suit for Seven, complete with molded plastic breasts! It'd be a shame if the audience didn't have constant reminders that Seven of Nine is a shapely female.
by Dstyle | 07/21/2015 at 3:51 pm

One silly error is the baseball discussion. The Yankees are in the World Series, then John Kelly states that (I can't remember the name, but a nice reference to DS9) broke DiMaggio's record. What record? The 56 game hitting streak. That's a regular season record so it can be done in the World Series. A silly error that should have been caught.
by Andrew James | 08/11/2017 at 2:59 pm

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x09 — The Voyager Conspiracy

Aired 1999-11-24

SpaceOpera.com rating:6

Average reader rating:4.42

Synopsis

Seven suspects there is a conspiracy.

Remarkable scenes

Seven of Nine's complex web of reasoning for how she discovered the parasites Neelix accidentally brought aboard.
Voyager stumbling on the space catapult.
Tash regarding his catapult: "Catapult a vessel across space, in the time it takes to say 'catapult a vessel across space.'"
Seven of Nine speculating that a tractor beam recovered one of the reactors on the Caretaker's array.
Seven of Nine outlining her conspiracy theory to Chakotay.
Seven of Nine outlining her new conspiracy theory to Janeway.
Seven of Nine accosting Naomi.
Janeway and Chakotay confronting each other with (perhaps not so) subtle innuendo.
Chakotay: "You didn't poison the coffee did you?" Janeway: "Not any more than I usually do."

Review

This episode is both annoying and wonderfully hilarious at the same time. Seven of Nine's conspiracy theories reminded me of clinically paranoid people who have nothing to do but study the intricacies of world politics all day so that they can invent government conspiracies. A nice tip of the hat there. But Seven's behavior was hardly rational. It seemed pretty clear early on that Seven's theories were bogus, so it was kind of annoying but also somewhat funny watching as she managed to convince both Chakotay and Janeway of conflicting theories. Kind of reminded me of a sleazy car salesman. While Seven's actions made the plot kind of exciting, I think Voyager's cooperation with Tash is the remarkable part about the episode. Tash's catapult reminds me a lot of Babylon 5's hyperspace gate. A small deficiency, why didn't Voyager get the schematics of this catapult? They could have attempted to build another one; and even if they failed they could at least transmit the schematics to Starfleet so that the Federation could build some and send some to Voyager in sequence. Oh well.

7 reader comments

This episode kind of reminded me of DS9: Whispers. The convincing conspiracy theories demonstrates how evidence can be arranged to support all kinds of wild theories, and that correlation does not necessarily mean causation. It also makes fun of a lot of current conspiracy theories that violate Occam's Razor to a ridiculous extent.
by Pete Miller | 01/02/2007 at 9:05 pm

I like Voyager, but why don't they wear more casual clothes when the eat, have dinner or are in own quarters. Like Riker on TNG or Sisko.
by Dejan | 03/12/2008 at 12:57 pm

You know, I think it takes a current or former conspiracy theorist to fully appreciate this episode. I think it did quite a spectacular job and has several important lessons, among them: good and plentiful data does not necessarily mean good information, and even good information does not always translate to actionable knowledge. Our brains loathe chaos, yet the natural and socio-political world is inherently chaotic. Its easy for us to find patterns where none exist. And find solutions and false answers to questions that may ultimately be too complex or bizarre to even begin to answer.
I love how at the end we're left wondering…What was that 'tracking beam' that Seven found? Some kind of astrometric lab artifact? Or something more bizarre?
by a2a.com | 12/27/2011 at 5:34 am

This episode is awful and an abomination of logical reasoning.
I went to the grocery store today. Was I picking up food to eat, or establishing channels to monopolize the local food supply to gain power?
Simply adding or and then a random conclusion to explain simple behavior is shown in this episode to be compelling reasoning. After all, it pretty much convinced the top two officers.
by Rick Smith | 04/09/2013 at 4:09 am

One amusing nitpick: When Janeway tried to regain Seven's trust, she said "Stardate 52840 - the captain orders Seven to study her parent's journals…". Clearly the writers mixed up the events of "11:59" and "Dark Frontier".
I suppose we could argue that it was Janeway who made the error, but there is no way Seven - in full-paranoid-mode - would have trusted her after such an inconsistency.
And to Rick:
The fact that you deny your quest of world domination, is evidence enough that these suspicions are true ;-)
by OmicronThetaDeltaPhi | 01/23/2014 at 9:39 pm

I did like Tash's catapult, and the episode was intriguing until Seven went all tinfoil hat and laid out wildly speculative theories to both Chakotay and Janeway, apparently within mere hours of each other.
Lost in all that, though, was one question: what was that tractor beam in the middle of the explosion of the Caretaker Array? That's never sufficiently answered. It's never even made clear that it's the same technology that eventually wound up with Tash. You could assume something survived the explosion and he eventually got his hands on it, but that doesn't make clear what the tractor beam was. Kind of an unsolved mystery of the episode, I guess.
by Mike L. Jackson | 06/15/2017 at 11:20 pm

This episode could have been good, but I agree with Rick, Sevens reasoning was random, she badly needs logic lessons from Tuvok. And even worse that Janeway and Chucky immediately fall for it and betray each other to the point they start wearing weapons! Add to all of it that Sevens information was at times flat out wrong, like when she talked about the Chakotay-Seska child plot, which wasnt even his child in the end.
by Amelia Obumhardt | 03/02/2022 at 8:39 am

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x10 — Pathfinder

Aired 1999-12-01

SpaceOpera.com rating:9

Average reader rating:6.55

Synopsis

Barclay tries to make contact with Voyager.

Remarkable scenes

Seeing Barclay and Troi.
Barclay's cat, Neelix.
Barclay: "Has it ever occurred to you that a tachyon beam directed at a class B itinerant pulsar could produce enough gravimetric energy to create an artificial singularity?" Troi: "I can't say it has..."
Barclay telling his story to Troi.
Barclay breaking back into the lab.
Harkins ending Barclay's Voyager simulation by creating a warpcore breach. Awesome. :)
Seven of Nine insulting Neelix' singing ability.
Barclay's communication attempt succeeding.

Review

A supremely impressive episode documenting Starfleet Command's efforts to reestablish communication with Voyager that skillfully weaves in a plot thread dealing with Barclay's personal issues and a Troi cameo. Much like Voy: Distant Origin or Voy: Living Witness, I vastly enjoyed the fact that this episode, which largely dealt with Voyager, didn't actually take place for the most part on Voyager. The only annoying detail was Barclay's Voyager recreations in which he was regarded as some sort of god among the Voyager crew. This was of course a new reference to TNG: Hollow Pursuits, but I think in this case it was a bit over the top. The climax of greatness for this episode is of course the ending; I loved watching Barclay succeed in establishing communication with Voyager. It's amazing how good an episode in which nothing really happens can be with a proper storytelling technique.

3 reader comments

I really liked this episode. To me, it seems Seasons 5 and 6, particularly this beginning of season 6, has been the best of Voyager so far.
I liked seeing Troi again and it is frankly amazing how she keeps looking better with age. I had to grin a couple times though, as I think I heard an accent (Manchester?) slipping out in a few different scenes.
by JR | 07/11/2012 at 6:48 am

A nice episode, great with the TNG cross-over and how it is told from outside Voyager (the ship). I have never been a fan of Barclay though, him being over the top. I guess he is more human and realistic than most other characters though - he has flaws!
by Hugo von Ahlenius | 04/21/2015 at 8:42 pm

What really irritates me about Voyager, which generally is a show I grew up watching and always enjoy, is how they always seem to be travelling at impulse when the external view of the ship is shown.
WHY?
Presumably they would be going as fast as possible at all times, why, before anything happens in the episode, would they be at impulse?
by Luke | 06/21/2022 at 9:27 am

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x11 — Fair Haven

Aired 2000-01-12

SpaceOpera.com rating:2

Average reader rating:4.54

Synopsis

The crew enjoys the holodeck creation Fair Haven.

Remarkable scenes

Janeway reprogramming Michael Sullivan.
Tom, Harry, and Neelix unintentionally worsening Tuvok's space sickness.
Tom: "You'd make a good barometer, Tuvok. Every time you get queasy, we go to red alert."
Seven acing the rings tournament.

Review

Not very interesting in the slightest. A lot of people complain about how every episode of Star Trek introduces a new dangerous situation and a new conflict; that at times it feels redundant or that we never get a sufficient feel for daily life aboard ship. However, this episode is deficient because of its distinct lack of any such contention. It's also annoying that in order to show an episode about the day to day life of the characters, there had to be some kind of space anomaly to stop the ship from moving first. That said, the main plot of this episode would have made a decent B plot for a more interesting episode and there were details about the setting and characters of Fair Haven that were quite charming. But ultimately it seemed to be a poor use of episode time.

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x12 — Blink of an Eye

Aired 2000-01-19

SpaceOpera.com rating:8

Average reader rating:5.89

Synopsis

Voyager encounters a strange new world.

Remarkable scenes

Tom: "That's one planet that never showed up on the multiple choice exam."
Chakotay: "A few hours? We might miss the rise and fall of a civilization." Torres: "So we'll watch the next one."
The doctor: "What if they're big purple blobs of protoplasm?" Janeway: "Then you'll be the best looking blob on the planet."
The doctor's three second away mission, the return failure, and the subsequent scramble to get him back before too much time had passed.
Naomi regarding the name of her report: "How does this sound? The weird planet where time moves very fast and so do the people who live there, by Naomi Wildman." Seven: "Your title is... verbose. I suggest you try to condense it." Naomi: "The weird planet." Seven: "Better. But it lacks precision. The weird planet displaced in time?" Naomi: "Perfect."
The first alien space vehicle approaching to and docking with Voyager.
The aliens collapsing on the bridge and transitioning into Voyager's timeframe.
The attack on Voyager.
The aliens making first contact in advanced space ships, pulling Voyager out of orbit of their planet.

Review

Add this species to the list I hope we see again, like the Voth. This episode was excellent in many ways. First, it's important to point out that the very premise of the episode is fascinating. An extremely fast rotating planet, affected by spatial anomalies on which time moves extremely fast. Truly science fiction at its best. Second, the idea to place a civilization on this planet may have been a little convenient, but it's exploited well. Chakotay's admittedly brief anthropological enthusiasm works much better in this episode than in Voy: One Small Step, and the implications of watching this entire civilization evolve are both enormous and fun to watch. Finally, another nice detail is that Voyager stays true to the Prime Directive all throughout. I enjoyed the fact that the interaction between Voyager and the planet was initiated by the aliens, not by Voyager. Overall the episode was well above average.

6 reader comments

This is one of the very best Voyager episodes, and that on several levels. One good touch is that we get to experience the development and speculation of the alien race on the nature of Voyager. And we are presented with a good idea that provides a sense of wonder.
(Though not completely original, the compressed time theme have been used in at least one novel about life on one neutron star, and this is also to some part reminiscent of "Mission of Gravity" by Harry 'Hal' Clement.)
The problem I see is why the visiting astronauts would be slowed down as much as they are unable to communicate with their mission control. Yet get to see the crew of Voyager frozen to statues? But it provide with some cool scenes so I can let that detail pass.
Full score and a must see IMO.
by TheAnt | 10/09/2013 at 9:54 am

I absolutely loved this episode. However, I'm surprised that a rather sizable problem hasn't been picked up.
I'm not sure if the time rate differential is quite consistent throughout the episode.
If one second is nearly a day as Seven points out, then surely a few hours wouldn't represent the "rise and fall of a civilization" as Chakotay says… a few hours would be equal a similar number of decades! Above all: how much time in Earth years would have passed between the primitive civilization we encounter at the start of the episode, and the highly advanced civilization who tug Voyager free? 3000? 4000? Let's say the former - on Voyager, this would correspond to two weeks. Were they really stuck in orbit that long? I guess one could check stardates and all, but my impression was that they were there for a couple of days. The only way to explain this away is to state that the development of the civilization was hugely accelerated by Voyager's presence, such that they went through millennia of Earth's development in several centuries. Possible, but it would have been nice to clarify.
Of course, this doesn't detract from the fact that the episode is one of the Voyager episodes that will stick with me - in fact, on my recent revisitation of the series, I was eagerly awaiting "The weird planet displaced in time"… ;-)
To sum it up, it's a 9 for me.
by Fic | 02/16/2014 at 10:41 am

I agree this is fantastic science fiction. This is Voyager's Darmok: an encounter with a unique species (or rather, their unique world) that is difficult to make contact with but ultimately efforts are successful.
The episode is fascinating on many levels. The rapidly rotating world was amazing to see. The progress of a civilization, and how Voyager was perceived at different stages of that progress, was also remarkably shown in such a short time. I also liked the episode's showing how cultural taboos are formed, in this case a taboo developed around the eating of "fire fruit" as a result of Voyager's arrival and the tremors coinciding with an offering containing fire fruits. And like you say the idea of having the inhabitants make contact with Voyager, initially out of sync, was a very nice twist.
In response to Fic: if we assume Voyager is using Earth measurements of time in its conversion, then one "Earth day" seems to be approximately 250 years. That is enough time for a civilization to rise and fall as we've had many in our history that didn't last that long. So Chakotay's assessment is possible.
As for the other point, I think the episode drops a few hints agreeing with your reasoning as to why the species goes from Stone Age to warp-capable in a few centuries. The desire to signal, contact, and eventually reach Voyager has been their collective focus for generations. It fueled their progress. When Voyager is under attack, Chakotay says that they've done enough damage to the inhabitants over the last thousand years. Even if he's using that figuratively, it implies that Voyager has been in orbit for 3 or 4 days. That seems about right.
by Mike L. Jackson | 06/04/2017 at 2:16 am

Great fiction, but terrible science. I admit, this episode is enjoyable but only if you switch your brain in offline mode:) If the planet rotates so fast - what with day/night cycle on the surface? And how the planet orbits sun? Fast too? Or normal? Plus Voyager arrives in stone age - too convenient:) And we suppose to believe this planet just exist in space from eons of normal time and life is evolving now? They should have warp capable civilization before Mars lost his atmosphere:)
by McCoy | 10/17/2017 at 2:58 pm

DOCTOR: "He was my…son."
GOTANA-RETZ: "But you're a hologram"
DOCTOR: "It's a long story. He's dead by now. But perhaps you could discover what happened to him. Maybe he had children, or grandchildren, if you could tell them…"
JANEWAY: "Janeway to Doctor. I hate to ruin a touching moment, but may I remind you WE ARE UNDER ATTACK by anti-matter torpedoes! Shut up and let that guy get back to the planet!!!"
Anyway, I don't think there are as many problems with this as pointed out. It would still have a day-night cycle if it rotates; the speed wouldn't be perceptible to the inhabitants any more than our relatively fast rotation is perceptible to us. Its revolutions around its star aren't mentioned, and don't need to be. The time difference was already explained: Voyager's only been in orbit a few days which is centuries on the planet. Finally, the planet might've had other civilizations that rose and fell, as Torres and Chakotay imply at one point. I don't think you have to shut your brain off to enjoy this. You just have to keep in mind that it's sci-fi.
by Axel | 06/08/2018 at 10:32 pm

Janeway: "I'm beaming you down there for three seconds, Doctor. THat's almost two days in their timeframe. Gather seismic charts, meteorological records, whatever you can…"
I'm just trying to imagine gathering that kind of stuff in two days. I know he ends up being there a lot longer, but…what do they expect him to do? Walk into the nearest weather station or research lab and say, "hey, you guys know where I can score some charts or seismic data? I need as much as you can give me, and I'd really appreciate it if you didn't ask me any questions at all about why I need it…"
I also love B'Elanna verbally counting out the three seconds. Sometimes, you just don't need to get all high-tech to get the job done.
I agree though, great episode. One of Voyager's better ones. The series ages well because you can watch the good ones and skip over the bad.
by jtax | 02/18/2022 at 8:25 pm

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x13 — Virtuoso

Aired 2000-01-25

SpaceOpera.com rating:7

Average reader rating:6.09

Synopsis

The Doctor experiences fleeting fame.

Remarkable scenes

The first scene with the Qomari.
The recital.
The doctor: "If you consider the height of the average Qomar, it's obvious that anyone seated in the back five rows will have an obstructed view!" Torres: "You're right. They won't be able to see anything but the top of your head. The glare could blind them."
Torres: "I'm an engineer, not a costume designer." Not exact, but I'll count it. Count 32 for "I'm a doctor, not a (blah)" style lines, which McCoy was famous for.
Seven of Nine's red alert scene.
Seven reading the doctor's fan mail: "What does he do in his spare time? To how many decimal places can he calculate Pi? This one wants to know his favorite quadratic equation."
The doctor's final performance.
Seven reading the doctor's fan mail: "Dear Doctor: I regret that your last performance was not as successful as you'd hoped. There are still those who appreciate your unique talents and admire you as an individual. I'll always consider myself your loyal fan." Doctor: "Who is it from?" Seven: "It's signed, 'Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One.'"

Review

This episode is highly innovative, funny, and entertaining. It's nice to see the extremely talented Robert Picardo get to flex his singing muscles again. It's pretty clear the doctor isn't leaving the show, but the moral dilemma the show presents regarding the doctor beginning to mirror the arrogant, egotistical behavior of the Qomari is genuinely interesting and the the way the doctor falls out of favor with his new fans is pretty sad. I most enjoyed Seven of Nine's part in the story. She had so few scenes, but each was so well used. The episode would have been lacking without her scenes. As such, it was most fitting to have Seven of Nine do the final scene. A nicely done episode.

4 reader comments

There was one thing that bugged me throughout the episode, and that was that they never gave any good explanation why the aliens specifically wanted to hear the doctor. Is there something wrong with anyone else singing or playing music? I also felt the plot was somewhat weak, so despite the fact that i'm going contrary to nearly everyone else, I give this one a 2.
by Tony | 08/31/2008 at 2:50 am

what i did not like about this episode is why 7/9 did not preform with the doctor on any of the (shown) operas. i would have like to see her sing with the doctor like she normally does in the cargo bay and the Holodeck.
by Conor Lum | 05/05/2012 at 1:02 am

I was expecting a duet as well.
I figured that the aliens liked the doctor's voice so much and not other music because the doctor's voice is so perfect - digital precision instead of a human voice or human played instrument. Thinking along those lines, Seven has the perfect Borg voice tone as well. That is why I was expecting a duet at the end.
by JR | 07/13/2012 at 3:07 pm

So if Voyager's computer core expressed a desire to leave should they grant that as well. Frickin doctor, what a pain in the ass. He is just a program. He aint no Data.
by Rick Smith | 04/11/2013 at 3:16 am

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x14 — Memorial

Aired 2000-02-02

SpaceOpera.com rating:3

Average reader rating:4.91

Synopsis

The crew experiences strange visions.

Remarkable scenes

Torres and her television set from the 1950s complete with commercials.
Neelix freaking out after Naomi burns her hand.
The Delta Flyer crew reconstructing their memories.
Seven of Nine trying to cheer up Neelix.
The crew discovering the source of the memories.
Chakotay: "Words alone cannot convey the suffering. Words alone cannot prevent what happened here from happening again. Beyond words lies experience. Beyond experience lies truth. Make this truth your own."
The debate about whether or not to leave the memorial running.

Review

Chakotay, Tom, Harry, and Neelix reconstructing their memories reminded me much of TNG: Schisms. In fact, most of the episode is a rehash of several others. Other notable examples are the monument being kind of like the probe in TNG: The Inner Light, and the forced war experiences being kind of like Chakotay's experience in Voy: Nemesis. The rehash itself is only slightly boring and annoying, but the episode starts to really miss the mark with the ending. Nobody should be forced to experience something they don't want to. Janeway's decision was wrong. So given all of this, it's hard to give this episode much of a rating.

9 reader comments

You're right about this episode being a giant melting pot of a lot of ideas from previous episodes. There are all kinds of borrowed themes from episodes like Schisms, The Inner Light, and even several of those dark DS9 war-guilt episodes. That's what kept this episode from being good. As a matter of fact, that's pretty much what kept Voyager itself from being good. It's one big rehash for the most part.
by Pete Miller | 01/11/2007 at 9:46 pm

I completely agree that Janeway (urged on by Neelix) completely failed to understand the moral issues of the situation. Choosing to ignore some basic, clear violation of people's rights such as forcing them to undergo this trauma (and failing to do something simple one can do to prevent it) on the grounds that it's for some "good cause" or to "teach a valuable lesson" is bizarre, IMO.
And in this case especially useless, because Janeway herself recounted that there were similar historical instances in human history (which apparently nobody really "forgets" even though nobody is forced to experience them firsthand or Janeway wouldn't know of them!) But more importantly, it's apparent in the Star Trek Universe that just about every sapient species also has similar historical atrocities and tragedies in their past. So what's so damned special about this species' specific experiences that makes it so vital to the understanding of others? This idea, I submit, is simply stupid--not just a point of controversy or difference of values or disagreement over the issues covered in the story. I submit it's a huge gaping plot-hole which renders the premise of the episode absurd.
As to the issues actually raised in the episode, the common sentiment that the only way to know something is wrong/bad and to avoid it is to remember some specific instance of it happening and then somehow you automatically, by that alone, realize it's "bad" because, presumably, you feel the bad feelings, is silly.
Questions of right and wrong, good and bad, ought-to and ought-not-to, are not just down to feeling an emotion. Some people's emotions are twisted--feeling "good" when they cause harm to others, such as a sadist or powerluster or whatever. Rather it's some degree of thinking which is needed to lead one to decide "not to repeat this mistake again". What I just typed is a cognitive proposition, not a feeling, even if it's accompanied by various feelings. You gotta figure out what your values are as a person or society, and then consider the "good" to be supporting them and the "bad" to be opposing them--the "right" to be acting in line with them and the "wrong" to be acting against them. All that is done with thinking, ultimately, and the emotions that come about are results, not causes.
So I'm triply (if I'm counting right) opposed to the ideas the writers are moving from here, and to what Janeway did as a character.
Now, frustratingly, whenever you see me chime in here with lengthy criticisms of an episode, it's not that I found it particularly bad as compared to others where I don't bother to comment. It's always when there are some aspects of the episode I really liked, and so I feel strongly about the producers getting it wrong in other places. Wasted potential rather than just a "meh" reaction. Here, the intense performances, the conflicts played out between the crewmembers, the action, and the kind of New BSG style of addressing issues of morality in war are all huge positives for me, so to have it all break down in ways I strongly take issue with prompt me to post these commentaries.
Finally, I just want to note that by titling this episode "Memorial" they removed any possibility of suspense or mystery as to what is going on. I can't believe this was done. Ok, it's not the most difficult of plot mysteries to solve and maybe most people would have gotten it more easily, but still. You don't title your story with a word which puts across clearly the "reveal" of what's really going on no matter what. It's bad form even if you think nobody in the audience will be in suspense anyway. For me personally, I figured things out a good deal before I think I would have by simply knowing the title.
by David from California | 03/18/2008 at 4:59 pm

Heloooo. Am I the only one to notice that Janeway set warning beacons around the Monument so no one would have to experience it if they didn’t want to? How is she forcing people to experience it?
by Tony | 08/31/2008 at 3:35 am

^^ If they need to go through that space?
by Alex Sallas | 05/16/2010 at 7:44 pm

I actually only wanted to comment because of one thing. I'm fairly certain that probably no one noticed this and / or no one cares for it. The guns of those alien people sound awesome! You know, I never really liked the sound of phaser rifles or the Jem'Hadar guns, but the gun sounds in this episode have the right amount of "brunt" to it, like a cannon firing, but also still sound like energy / particle weapons.
But since I don't want to spam like this, here my review: I, like many others, didn't really like the episode. I liked the acting of everyone really much and the plot wasn't necessarily bad, but it all doesn't make too much sense and once again Janeway totally misses the point and comes to a stupid decision. Overall sub-par.
by Lee | 04/24/2013 at 1:12 pm

Like someone said, the title gave away the whole mystery. I support Janeway btw, in the spirit of the Prime Directive, one shouldn't just interfer when passing by.
Also - wasn't this one of the 10 lamest teasers ever in Trek?
One interesting point that I saw on the discussion page about the Memory Alpha entry for this ep - they never question the "truth" in what the memorial tells them - maybe there is another side to the story…
by Hugo von Ahlenius | 05/24/2015 at 7:19 pm

Assuming the warning buoy actually makes it clear to passers-by what they are about to experience, I don't have an issue with Janeway's decision. The probe in TNG: Inner Light certainly didn't give any warning about what it did, and you could argue it's just as invasive and traumatizing since it makes a person think their previous life was a hallucination.
But, along with the aliens in Inner Light and whoever built the archive in TNG: Masks, this is yet another story about a civilization that likes to interface and take control of ships/people in order to preserve the memory of their cultures. While not entirely original in its plot, it was a pretty decent episode and worth watching.
by Mike L. Jackson | 07/16/2017 at 6:12 pm

Just about everything is trivial in the long-run.
War-crimes are not.
Neelix made the right call; and Janeway did the right thing.
(though there are a lot of unresolved or unexplained things about just how defective the system had become as compared to what it would be restored to; and just how effective the warning system would be… "problems"… but, assuming the "eractics" were truly fixed, and the buoy would work it's purpose… Janeway did the right thing)
by QuasiGiani | 09/19/2017 at 3:38 pm

Of course Janeway did the right thing! What's wrong with you, peaple? You don't understand and that's why there are still wars across the world. Know something is one thing, but experience it is totally different. (And it concerns not only war, but other things - you will never understand what means to love someone if you never loved yourself). You know why we didn't had atomic war yet? Because during cold war people still remembered what a real war means. Now we are slowly forgetting… I know what I'm talking about. My grandmother still lives and she survived II world war in Poland. We have no idea what people of that time experienced. We can listen them but we will never fully understand. Really. We have NO IDEA! 10/10 Great, moving episode, and with good use of sf.
by McCoy | 10/18/2017 at 3:27 pm

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x15 — Tsunkatse

Aired 2000-02-09

SpaceOpera.com rating:7

Average reader rating:4.74

Synopsis

Seven must fight for the entertainment of others.

Remarkable scenes

Torres: "The Borg wouldn't know fun if they assimilated an amusement park."
Seven: "Two hours, 37 minutes, 13 seconds. That's how long we've gone without verbal communication." Tuvok: "Why is that remarkable?" Seven: "The Doctor encourages me to engage in conversation during awkward silences." Tuvok: "Did you find the silence awkward?" Seven: "No." Tuvok: "Nor did I."
Chakotay, Kim, Tom, and Torres discussing Tsunkatse.
The people's champion fighting Seven.
Seven fighting the hirogen while Voyager fights the "traveling circus" ship.
Seven of Nine and the Hirogen being beamed away just as Seven's about to kill her opponent.
Tuvok consoling Seven in the end.

Review

Good continuity with Voy: The Fight regarding Chakotay's fascination with boxing. I am quite surprised though how excited everyone was, until they saw seven in the pit of course. It's as if the crew has an aristocratic opinion of the whole thing. They're above doing this sort of behavior, but not above watching it. Aside from that admittedly small deficiency, the episode is exciting. I can't say I was all that excited about "The Rock" and his guest appearance, but he didn't play a major role, nor was his role anywhere near as annoying as "real life professional wrestling" is. Though this episode seems to be remarkable guest star central. Two former very important DS9 actors in the same episode along with "The Rock." Very strange casting. Jeri Ryan (and perhaps a stunt double ;)) gave a spectacular athletic performance in this episode. Her acting as also top notch. It's not as if Star Trek (especially TOS) hasn't done "let's make our crew fight for the amusement of others" before in excess, but this particular gladiator rehash was quite well done and remains one of my favorite generic action episodes. It just goes to show how much the little details can sometimes contribute to a meager plot.

6 reader comments

I've just noticed - after watching the episode for the nth time - in several of the fight crowd shots you can see a Voth in the audience. Some recycling from the makeup dept methinks!
by David Chambers | 04/13/2010 at 10:43 pm

These episodes where the reviewer's rating and the fan ratings differ considerably are always somewhat curious. In this case, I have to side firmly with the fans, especially the ones who voted on the lower end of the scale.
In other words: atrocious.
Not completely without redeeming moments, and even redeeming characters (the Hirogen and Penk were both good), and with a good concluding scene, but painful to watch, on the whole.
Lousy fighting choreography. Lousy dialogue. Too many crowd shots, too many flashing lights, and too many spinning cameras.
by formborg | 12/31/2011 at 6:11 am

I got the impression everyone on Voyager only had a problem when the found out the competitors were not doing it of their own free will, when everyone thought that the combatants were self motivated this was fine, when they were slaves fighting for their bed and bread was when perspectives changed against the game.
Was there also a slight dig at modern day big business getting away with whatever they want as they support local economies with their revenue creation and are often above the law? For example like big pharmaceuticals and petroleum interests in modern day.
Yes the fight choreographing was terrible (did you expect Shaw brothers here? This is from a branch of Hollywood in the 90's like the rest doesn't know how to throw non theatrical punches yet)but they probably had the Rock on as fight consultant so it was bound to look like WWE trying to look like real fighting.
Redeeming features for me, harry getting goaded by the crew in regards to his paresi Squares injuries and him telling Tom he punches like a Ferengi, Weyoon and Martok actors outdoing themselves with yet another passionately twisted and convincing alien, Seven doing an abused version of wing chun or tai chi in the silver spandex and Neelix debating whether to go to the insect display at the museum or go to the fight
"Alien bugs or alien fitiscuffs? That is a tough one" next frame of film he is jumping up screaming and cheering at the fight.
by Rob UK | 10/28/2013 at 1:02 am

…wow not what I expected from people. For folks claiming to be into sci-fi, your ability to imagine non-abthropocentric species is surprisingly limited…
But then so are the writers'. Yes, this episode was mind of a weak rehash and jumble of many different things--but the inference one could make, and that I wish the writers had explicitly drawn out, is one of culture/epistemology.
Just as we have seen species who communicate only telepathically, have no concept of music, or any number of permutations on our multiple understandings of "sensible" behavior, it is easy to imagine a culture or species which already operates with a kind of shared "memory-net," this being a conventional way of sharing things for this society. Despite this being a more intense version of this and no doubt jarring to members of that society, it also would not be unfamiliar in form, like a particularly violent photo does not shock you simply because you are looking at a floating image of something that happened somewhere else, but because of its content.
And if this is the case, yes, it would be morally questionable for another species to desecrate the monument because it interacts with their physiology or cultural experience differently. If they didn't know any better and destroyed it, fine. But once they knew they had that burden of knowledge, and the final decision was very Trekkian in my opinion--maintaining a sort of "posthumous prime dirextive". Again, despite the mediocrity of the episode over all.
An analogy that occurred to me instantly upon fi ishing the episode would be some kind of alien species that did not use visual imagery of any kind in either symbolism or scientific communication, perhaps with some kind of limited and easily-damaged eyesight that would feel like staring at the sun would to us, connected to the emotion their were witnessing They are visiting a now-extinct Earth. They come across paintings, or pictures, or even gruesome historical footage of atrocities on Earth, either by downloading them or, as on the case of many monuments or murals, simply seeing them. And this causes a similar existential upset for them, leading to the dilemma of destroying or leaving the monuments. While we keep these for historical purposes, to this 'innocently exploring species'--if there is such a thing--it feels like an invasion of their very being.
So, wouldn't the answer be obvious here? To us, these are innocuous things we can turn our eyes away from easily, and disengage from. But to another species, it may not be. I thought the analogy, here, was very clear if poorly drawn out. Trek has had its fair share of species who share thoughts, project them, change their environment via the same, or even prosecute 'thought crimes'. How is this not a leap people can make?
So, yeah. While heavy handed, not the worst episode ever, by far. Get it together, people!
by parkbench | 02/28/2016 at 12:02 pm

Hard to imagine a space faring people who have travelled millions/billions of Kilometers through space being undone by a painting or photograph.
Plus there is a difference between seeing a seeing a painting right infront of you and have an image forcibly beamed into your head.
by lumzi23 | 07/27/2017 at 12:32 pm

My comment: This was one of the dumb, bad episodes. Not the dumbest or worst, of course, but dreadful all the same. One of those that'd I'd rather just forget about… and yet I comment here…
Because what I really wanted to say is:
The two comments above this one* (those of parkbench & lumzi) seem to be meant to be under "Memorial".
*if this one makes it -- which I'm supposing it will, as Kethinov (thank you) has been very accommodating so far.
by QuasiGiani | 09/19/2017 at 5:13 pm

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x16 — Collective

Aired 2000-02-16

SpaceOpera.com rating:5

Average reader rating:4.97

Synopsis

Voyager encounters Borg children.

Remarkable scenes

The teaser. Holy crap! Just like TNG: The Mind's Eye ;)
The Delta Flyer fighting the Borg cube.
Voyager's encounter with the Borg cube.
Seven of Nine encountering the "neonatal" drones.
Harry, within the Delta flyer, within the Borg cube.

Review

Mixed feelings about this one. On one hand it's got great special effects, a compelling story (mostly), and very real consequences. On the other hand the episode utterly fails to live up to its premise. The story it decides to tell isn't half bad, but the story they could have told with it could have been much better. And the flaws along the way ruin some of its greatness. Specifically, the idea of rescuing Borg children from the maturation chambers is a good one, but the idea of a Borg ship with all the drones excepting the children dead was a bad one. It's also inconsistent with Borg behavior. It's been said that the Borg usually return to salvage their technology. At the very least, they should have destroyed the cube. In a better version of this episode, Voyager could have encountered a damaged Borg ship and gone hunting for transwarp coils again (why didn't they do that by the way?) and they could have accidentally destroyed the power source to the maturation chambers. So now Voyager is faced with rescuing the dying children or completing their heist. They choose to save the children. Same outcome, better story. With a full compliment of Borg aboard, a much more exciting one too. In short, this was a fair episode, great consequences, decent ride, below average plot. Could have been improved upon easily.

5 reader comments

I agree that the story could have been better, but I still think it was an above average plot. Certainly better than Tsunkatse, which got a 7. But I do agree that a lot of it was unrealistic as far as the Borg just leaving the cube floating in space for anyone to salvage. I wouldn't put it past them though, with their ridiculous arrogance.
by Pete Miller | 01/12/2007 at 8:57 pm

This episode is absolutely vile. The last thing I want to see is bad child actors parading around as Borg. I understand the circumstances of the plot, but even considering them… it's just a major disappointment and it's done all wrong. Voyager's writers seemed intent on trivializing the Borg to the level of just another ST villain. Yeah, it's cool to see them out of their element once in a while, but not like this. The leader kid's acting is especially bad.
by szycag | 09/29/2008 at 6:43 am

Yes, a flawed episode that could have been a great one. The flaws are disruptive to the general Trek narrative, undermining hitherto established basics -- eg, that the Borg return for their technology, or destroy it, when a vessel is disabled. Adding to the list of problems … what happens to the Borg baby? The writers took care to establish the children as recurring characters, yet the baby is never, ever mentioned again in any episode.
by Joseph Angeles | 12/20/2012 at 4:55 pm

The Star Trek take on Lord of flies
Even though this isn't one of the very best of Voyager, it still stand out as one of the better episodes of the series.
One detail I especially like is that the deck of cards which take all attention for the 4 in the shuttle so that they are caught in the first place. Also foils the plan to blow up the cube shield generator when the Borg girl use the cards to follow and find ensign Kim. Thumbs up and a must see!
by TheAnt | 10/09/2013 at 11:09 am

You know that Collective voice you hear whenever you communicate with a Borg cube? "We are the Borg, you will be assimilated, your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own, resistance is futile, et cetera et cetera…" I always assumed that was thousands of drones on the cube speaking as one. I guess not. I guess it's just… like, a vocal filter anyone on the Cube can use.
And why the heck do the Borg keep biographical data on the individual drones? Seems like an incredibly inefficient use of computer memory, especially if all of the drones had access to those files.
by Dstyle | 07/30/2015 at 7:49 pm

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x17 — Spirit Folk

Aired 2000-02-23

SpaceOpera.com rating:3

Average reader rating:4.17

Synopsis

Problems arise when Voyager runs a holodeck program non-stop.

Remarkable scenes

Tom turning Harry's girl into a cow.
The doctor's sermon.
Neelix being compared to the likeness of a Leprechaun.
Sullivan "playing along."

Review

An improvement upon Voy: Fair Haven, but not by much. The episode is better in that they didn't have to find some external space anomaly to have an excuse to spend all the episode in the holodeck, but we did get some cliched holodeck malfunction action. We also got a slight rehash of TNG: Elementary, Dear Data. It's remarkable to point out how Moriarty had to be more or less eliminated, but since the Fair Haven characters were not villainous, the same was not necessary of them. With all these things considered, the episode is quite pleasant; my fundamental problem is with the whole idea of Fair Haven in the first place. I just don't find the crew escaping into a stereotypical Irish town all that interesting.

4 reader comments

This episode epitomizes Voyager. It's really painful for me to even talk about this episode. Tom Paris turns Harry into a cow. The Doctor is a minister. The show has nothing to do with outer space.
God. Since it doesn't break canon, I can't give it a zero on this scale. However, its score is the limit as x approaches zero. It's as close to a zero as you can get without actually being one.
As a matter of fact, I actually think that "Threshold" has a better plot.
by Pete Miller | 04/17/2007 at 9:09 pm

Paris didn't turn Kim into cow. He turned his holographic girlfriend
by fan ive | 01/28/2010 at 11:08 pm

Almost worth it just for the scene where the Doctor slams open the church doors and yells "Sinners!"
But otherwise, lame.
by L | 01/30/2014 at 8:44 am

That doc has a jeremiah-chrichton-level-bad beard. A thorough stupid/silly episode, but it still kept my interest. Not sure what that means though.
by Hugo von Ahlenius | 06/27/2015 at 7:12 pm

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x18 — Ashes to Ashes

Aired 2000-03-01

SpaceOpera.com rating:4

Average reader rating:4.28

Synopsis

A crewman returns to Voyager.

Remarkable scenes

The opening scene. I liked Ballard switching from Kobali to English.
Seven of Nine: "Fun will now commence."
Seven of Nine's less than perfect parenting skills.
Tom: "For those of us keeping score, Harry Kim has fallen for a hologram, a Borg, the wrong twin, and now the dearly departed!"
The doctor: "Hair is one of my specialties, despite evidence to the contrary."

Review

Good concept, nice premise, a well flowing story, and a great guest starring actress playing Ballard, but the flaws in this one spoil the ride. With more careful writing the episode could have been a lot better. It's hard to watch an episode like this because the execution of the premise was nicely done. If continuity did not exist, there wouldn't be a problem with this episode at all. But there are things in this episode that are hard to justify which wreck a lot of the fun. For details, see the problems section. Otherwise, this episode would have scored well above a 5.

11 reader comments

I always thought they really missed an opportunity here. If they had to bring back a dead crewman for the story, why not bring back Harry? Remember, the 'real' Harry was killed in "Deadlock" and was replaced with the 2nd Voyager's. Wouldn't it have been a kick if it was his body that had been recovered by the Koboli?
by Robert | 12/29/2006 at 9:06 pm

First of all, this episode is an example of how VOY is suffering from "Badda Bing" syndrome, as you might put it. It's well into season 6 and we're getting a bunch of random crap like this rather than major advancements in the storyline. This episode might have been appropriate had the dead ensign been someone we knew. (In fact this would have been a good way for them to bring back Yar in TNG rather than make her some kind of Romulan hybrid.)
Secondly, this episode is a perfect example of a problem I have trouble reconciling, that Star Trek is rife with: The universal translator. When Ballard starts speaking Kobali, how can Torres tell the difference? The translator should be giving it to her in english or Klingon, or whatever she speaks. Example: When Ballard's "father" comes on board, he is almost definitely speaking Kobali, and everyone can understand him just fine.
This problem is all over the place in star trek. When Worf or Martok or whoever says something in Klingon, how can people tell the difference? Furthermore, isn't martok always speaking Klingon?
I realize that the UT is a necessary plot device, but I wish they either mentioned this magic ability it has to determine when you want to speak unintelligibly to the rest of the crew, or just stop putting these problems in.
by Pete Miller | 01/16/2007 at 10:15 pm

I completely agree with the other Robert… in fact, when I first saw this episode I immediately thought "This could have been a great Harry episode if the 'original' was now the Koboli" and I also thought they could have easily used Ahni Jetal from "Latent Image" and given the Doctor and Harry both an emotionally powerful scene.
Again: Voyager = Wasted Opportunities
by Rob Gnow | 04/27/2008 at 12:37 am

ah, Lyndsay Ballard. To me, the cutest and most sweetest female character of all the Star Trek series. Why couldn't she just stay and be happy?
by fan ive | 01/29/2010 at 10:37 pm

To both Rogers, that Voyager was blown up, there would have been no recoverable body.
by Anonymous | 01/13/2013 at 7:56 am

Anon that 2 Robs.
Yes but from the more damaged Voyager copy, Harry dies when he is lost/thrown(?) into outer space. A twist to the ultra fab "Dreadlock" is breached by the Vidians is the less damaged Voyager, leading for that Janeway to order Harry takes the Wildman's baby (like Harry, died in the other ships reality) with him to the other ship as the successful Vidian boarding the "healthier" Voyager now means that 'J' will stop the the invasion by self destructing, destroy in the Vidians threat + setting the other Voyager free to escape the "lock" of phenomena that divided the ship, now given the reversal of fortune the clear best chance of survival (of the two ships) with the Vidians breaching the other ship
by Al | 10/03/2015 at 3:34 am

I agree that bringing back Ahni Jetal would have made the most sense… they could even have used a different actor without much of a problem
by Vmail | 12/15/2015 at 4:09 pm

thanks peter miller for noting the translator problem. as a bilingual person who has enjoyed fleetingly studying languages over the years and who works occasionally as a translator, it frustrates me to no end that the universal translator principle is always assumed even to the point of not making sense. i'm a few episodes past this now ("muse") and just trying to understand how communication is happening at all, unless you assume that the matrix locks into your freaking lobes without you even realising it--this somehow on a crashed and non-functioning away mission ship…
also, i wish that ballard had stayed on as a "teaser" permanent character. they could have milked this story arc for a few episodes, made her a kind of 'background' main-character for 3 or 4 episodes with hints of her feelings changing as a back story, and then her actual loss at the end, actually messing w viewers' expectations of a new permanent character. she certainly looked creatively done as an alien; i wish seven's difference w rest of the crew was that pronounced (supermodel w/ 3 pieces of visible robotics is kind of too obviously eye candy/fetish…).
so yeah, cute episode, but lost opportunities, the name of the voyager game.
by parkbench | 03/01/2016 at 7:01 am

In short - it was awful. I agree with all noted continuity/logical problems, but it's the morality of this episode which bothers me most. But first - why Kobali are altering alien DNA? They've lost their reproduction ability? Or maybe they've never existed as a species and this "pathogen" is some kind of virus, somehow altering humanoids into "kobali form"? I find their behavior disgusting and amoral. You can't explain it by "different culture". Stealing a body, altering and reanimating it is very similar to what Borg are doing. And my final question - why Janeway allowed Ballard to go back to Kobali? Because she really wanted it? Well, it's bull… Seven didn't want to be disconnected from the collective and it doesn't mean she should stay with Borg. Now I want to forget that episode and never see the Kobali again.
by McCoy | 10/22/2017 at 3:30 pm

Agreed with pretty much everyone here, they should have brought back someone we knew, I was thinking Suter, the killer that Tuvok helped mentally.
Instead they wasted most of the episode on exposition for a character nobody cares about. Terrible.
by Amelia Obumhardt | 03/04/2022 at 8:44 pm

Ugh, the Kobali seem to be a rip off of the Oankali in Octavia Butler’s Xenogenisis series. The Kobali use the dead instead of live species with the Oankali. And of course their looks differ too. Otherwise, both mix their DNA with the alien species to reproduce. Both use stasis chambers and place their alien “mates” with families. Both offspring struggle with identity. Don’t forget the similar sounding names…
I don’t see Octavia Butler credited anywhere. For two species to have so many similarities and not be acknowledged feels icky. At min, it’s inspired by, at most it’s a copy with minor modifications.
I’m sure it’s tough being a writer for a revered show. But they can’t be so out of ideas that they are snatching storylines from an award winning sci-fi author, right?
Should have just expanded on the Seven of Nine/mom/teacher/etc episode. Glad for the continuity there.
by maggie | 07/06/2022 at 4:55 pm

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x19 — Child's Play

Aired 2000-03-08

SpaceOpera.com rating:5

Average reader rating:6.27

Synopsis

Icheb returns to his family.

Remarkable scenes

Janeway: "Why potatoes?" Seven of Nine: "Their first idea was to clone Naomi. But I suggested they start with something smaller."
Seven accosting Icheb's parents.
Seven debating her objections to returning Icheb to his parents with Janeway.
Seven discovering holes in Leucon's story.
Icheb's parents' true motives being revealed.
Voyager rescuing Icheb.

Review

A good connection with Voy: Collective, giving us the story of Icheb. Now we know where that pathogen came from. Unfortunately much of the plot concerns Icheb returning home unwillingly, something we've seen before in TNG: Suddenly Human and with Seven of Nine in a way. The revelation explaining Icheb's parents' true motives comes far too late and is resolved far too easily. This has the nice side effect of catching the viewer totally off guard, but I would have rather had a deeper story than a surprising one. Overall the episode is fairly decent though.

3 reader comments

According to Memory-Alpha.org, Leucon is played by Mark A. Sheppard, while Morn is played Mark Allen Shepherd. Despite the similarity in their names, they're actually different actors. So far for the Morn Appearance…
by tjrt | 02/10/2010 at 12:41 pm

I was pleasantly surprised by this episode. At first I felt like the stakes were too low: here was a brand new character that we, the audience, haven't known long enough to care about, suddenly faced with the decision to leave the ship. YAWN. Who cares?
But the episode actually shaped up nicely, and caused me to care about Icheb when I didn't before, which I suppose was the whole point of the episode. Captain Janeway was again faced with a difficult moral decision (a situation she finds herself in frequently, to the show's credit) and made the call to put the ship in danger to rescue Icheb. Perhaps not the decision I would have made in the same situation (needs of the many, Prime Directive, etc.), but complicated and ultimately defensible decision nonetheless.
by Dstyle | 07/27/2015 at 2:49 pm

this episode surprised me. these days i tend to leave voyager on and sort of half-watch it; i really had expected it to end when icheb beams back down to the planet, but when it kept going & getting more sinister i was suddenly gripped by it (so was my partner, who normally doesn't like such things, that probably helped).
basically i like any conceivable continuity in Voyager, so that definitely biased me towards the episode. and i like that seven has a little bit more to her now than her (& the doctor's) usual data-like dilemma. hopefully they draw this out more.
by parkbench | 03/01/2016 at 7:37 am

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x20 — Good Shepherd

Aired 2000-03-15

SpaceOpera.com rating:6

Average reader rating:5

Synopsis

Underperforming crewmembers go on a mission.

Remarkable scenes

The teaser with the both cool and symbolic zooming effects.
Seven of Nine complaining about the ship's lack of efficiency.
Janeway handing out away missions to the underperforming crewmembers.
Janeway getting a bit lost on deck 15.
Janeway trying hard but poorly getting along with Mortimer Harren.
Harren trying to sacrifice himself.
The sight of a Delta Flyer escape pod.
The Delta Flyer's escape.

Review

TNG: Lower Decks meets Voyager. Or, Voy: Learning Curve done right. This episode lacks the profoundness of TNG: Lower Decks, but also does not make as many of the mistakes of Voy: Learning Curve. Still, this episode would have been better suited for showing in an earlier season. I enjoyed many aspects of the otherwise mediocre premise. Janeway and the three guest crewmen all gave marvelous performances. They are all characters I would enjoy seeing again. The actual alien of the week plot wasn't very interesting, but I felt the character story made up for any deficiencies in that department. Finally, while the episode was perhaps belated, I am pleased to see Voyager exploiting its premise. None of these crewmen would have remained aboard Voyager if the ship were still in the alpha quadrant. They could have been put off the ship for their underperformance. But since Janeway doesn't have that option, she feels personally obligated to help them. As such, this episode has a certain charm to it that I enjoyed very much.

2 reader comments

I was worried the episode would end with Harren back on Voyager, asking if he could join some fellow crewmen at their table in the mess hall, so I'm glad to have been wrong on that. He was a truly hopeless case, and both he and Voyager are probably best served with him holed up on deck 15 with Tom Morello (also: awesome!). Harren's abruptly out-of-character gambit to save the Delta Flyer in the final act notwithstanding, I think this was a solid character driven episode.
Also: Billy standing in the middle of Sickbay in his underwear is a good reminder that in the future we won't need any sort of privacy when receiving medical attention.
by Dstyle | 07/27/2015 at 8:05 pm

Why would any of the carrying of the specs in the opening sequence need to take place? They have ship-wide communications and interconnected databases…it's obviously a plot device, but it's damned annoying and wholly insulting to any avid Trek watcher.
by joe | 06/17/2016 at 2:19 am

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x21 — Live Fast and Prosper

Aired 2000-03-19

SpaceOpera.com rating:5

Average reader rating:4.8

Factoids

Kaitlin Hopkins, who played Dala in this episode, played the Vorta captain in DS9: The Ship.

Problems

It is said that Voyager has 30,342.4 light years to go. This would seem inconsistent with my calculations that they in fact have about 24,000 light years to go. According to my calculations, Voyager has traveled the equivalent of about 51 years since it began its journey. (10 years [Voy: The Gift] + 5 years [Voy: Year of Hell] + 2 years [Voy: Night, rounded down] + 1 year [Voy: Hope and Fear, rounded up] + 10 years [Voy: Timeless] + 15 years [Voy: Dark Frontier] + 3 years [Voy: The Voyager Conspiracy] + 5 seasons of conventional warp = 51 years.) If you factor out five or six seasons of conventional warp and blame it on Voyager's extensive exploration and various delays, the 30,000 figure seems to make more sense though. At least they didn't over estimate distance traveled.

Synopsis

Voyager encounters con artists.

Remarkable scenes

Janeway's sonic shower malfunction.
Tuvok complaining about Harry and Tom altering his holodeck programs.
Tom and Neelix trying and failing to fool the doctor.
Janeway confronting Dala.
Tuvok's improvisation.
The doctor posing as Dala.
Mobar encountering Tuvok.

Review

A light hearted, funny episode. The thieves with their good, but not quite perfect impersonations and costumes reminded me of the scene of a Star Trek convention. I wonder if this was intentional. I most enjoyed Mobar's complete and utter admiration of Tuvok which, again, reminded me of a rabid Trek fan. The Voyager crew using the impostors' own tactics against them was ironic, funny, and fitting; rarely is the doctor used so well. Overall entertaining, but nothing too terribly special.

2 reader comments

I think you're right about the costumes because that was the first impression I got as well. They have this subtle cheapness to them that definitely reminds me of star trek fans' costumes.
by Pete Miller | 01/22/2007 at 9:23 pm

i'm surprised this didn't get a higher rating; in a sense it is more of voyager's non-sequiturs, but it feels like this season there's actually a bit of craft to the storylines, and as long as you don't expect too much, it's almost like Voyager's "trying" for once.
we're starting to see--6 seasons too late, in my opinion--something resembling a fulfillment of the original concept idea, interesting and non-connected adventures every week that have a unique flair and a sort of blunt, but a little bit subtle moral edge to them. this one actually felt really lovingly made to me, and is sort of a logical consequence of Voyager traipsing around the quadrant being do-gooders for so long. i liked that somebody eventually would take advantage of it, and i liked the ending deception. i only think we were 'let in' on it too early and it felt like the dilemma wasn't drawn out enough (though i really did feel bad for that telsian…).
so, not the best episode but certainly not a purely 'silly' one like the doctor's singing forays; it seemed to really be an appropriate 'monster of the week' style story--and let's be honest, this is all Voyager's going to ever be good for.
by parkbench | 03/01/2016 at 8:32 am

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x22 — Muse

Aired 2000-04-26

SpaceOpera.com rating:7

Average reader rating:6.02

Synopsis

Torres is stranded.

Remarkable scenes

Torres beginning to "play along" with her "captor," sending him on a mission chasing after dilithium.
Kelis to his actor: "They'll realize that beneath your unfeeling exterior is a heart that's breaking. Silently and in more pain than any of us can possibly understand. Because that's what it is to be Vulcan."
Tuvok snoring in the captain's chair.
The improvisation at the end.

Review

Not a very "inspiring" premise... another shuttle crash. One wonders if they crash or damage shuttles more often than they don't. But in this case, it was appropriate. Never have I seen a more captivating shuttle crash story. Torres, rescued by a local alien, discovers her savior is in fact using details from her life as material in his plays. The story's focus remains off of Torres and her shuttle problems; we're shown more instead about Kelis and his troubles maintaining his relationship with his patron. While at this point neither plot thread is all that interesting, Torres does a masterful job walking the line of the Prime Directive, giving her savior just enough information without going too far. I like how she referred to Voyager as a ship on the sea and the Borg as a vast army of soldiers who all think alike. The play plot becomes interesting when Kelis decides he wants to expand the Voyager play to convince his patron not to go to war with his neighbor. He cites his culture's history, claiming that many years ago a play took the place of a ritual sacrifice, saving a single life, and all those who'd have been sacrificed in the future. Kelis asks if a play can stop a murder, why can't a play stop a war? At some point, these words hit home for Torres. For she decides to help Kelis after all, when news arrives that his attempt to quell the war goes badly. To enrich his play, Torres uses transporter technology to "ascend to the heavens." I liked their conversation at the end. They weren't just improvising an act for the crowd, they were actually talking to each other. There may have been symbolism in the words for the play, but Torres at the same time was discussing the nature of inspiration with Kelis. The conversation made clear to me that Kelis knew or at least had some kind of idea what Torres actually was and where she actually lived. But he wasn't half as interested in her advanced culture as he was saving his own. In many ways, he was more enlightened than she. The whole story is true to the spirit of Star Trek and charming to watch. A bonus point for the marvelous symbolism.

1 reader comment

A fun Episode.Reminded me of the ancient greek tragedies and comedies.Had many elements like the chorus, masks etc. In ancient greek mythology the nine muses were considered as the goddesses or spirits who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. Not many tragedies and comedies have survived. I wonder if among the lost ones, were any similar to this episode… After all a greek ancient writer named Lucian wrote the first sci-fi story ever: "The True Story" I laughed very much when Tuvok was snoring. At first I thougt it was the faint sound of Torres' distress call. I'm pretty sure that was the impression Tom Paris also had!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GreekTragicTheatre en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucian en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_History
by Aris | 08/01/2009 at 6:56 pm

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x23 — Fury

Aired 2000-05-03

SpaceOpera.com rating:2

Average reader rating:3.5

Synopsis

Kes returns to Voyager.

Remarkable scenes

Tuvok's excuse for blowing out the candle: "It was a fire hazard."
Kes' appearance and subsequent telekinetic attacks on the ship.
Kes traveling back through time.
The doctor lamenting about not having a name.
Tuvok mentioning the Delta Flyer whilst in the briefing in the past.
The Vidiian attack.
Chakotay: "Reverse thrusters, full power!" Harry: "That could tear the hull apart!" Chakotay: "Then tear it apart!"
Janeway deactivating the EMH in the middle of talking to Kes.

Review

This is an episode which gets lost in its own premise. The idea was to have Kes come back, but for only one episode. Which is fine, it was fun. But examining the episode more deeply shows its flaws. First of all, the episode takes place in Voyager's past, probably season 1. Again, it's fun to revisit this, but having a "modern" Kes return to us, then tossing the episode in the middle of the past was a grand waste of time. By the time we finally got the "real" Kes back and Janeway + Tuvok managed to quell her evil plan, the episode was pretty much over. Kes and Janeway have an extremely short conversation, and off Kes goes in Braxton's, er, I mean her shuttle to the Ocampa homeworld. Several things are not explained. Where did Kes get that shuttle? How fast is it? How did she locate Voyager? How did she catch up with Voyager? Why is she not as powerful as she was in Voy: The Gift? The question of why she was so angry throughout the episode is only barely answered. Suffice it to say, either a longer episode or an episode devoid of time travel would have been a better episode. And frankly, this likely being the final Kes episode leaves me more than a little annoyed. She already had one relatively bad send off, now two? I'm surprised Jennifer Lien actually did this episode after reading the script. This episode could have been the perfect opportunity to show us what Kes' life has been like for all these years or to even reintroduce her character. What a monumental waste. An extra point for the Vidiian plot and doing a good job making a season 1 set though.

8 reader comments

Ha! This episode basically gave a big middle finger to Kes. I never liked her and was disappointed to hear that she comes back in this episode.
Problem: Correct me if I'm wrong, but when you set a phaser to "kill", it vaporizes the person!!! Kes just kind of fell over when Janeway shot her. Come on guys, this is season 6 and that's Star Trek 101!
by Pete Miller | 01/24/2007 at 9:15 pm

Not to pretend to be an expert on phasers or anthing, but I thought that a 'maximum setting' results in vaporization (ST: First Contact). That doesn't necessarily translate to the "kill" setting as a setting below complete vaporization could also cause enough damage to kill a target.
Yes, No?
by Rob Gnow | 04/28/2008 at 2:37 am

I'm no expert on phasers eaither, so I don't know wheather the kill setting vaporizes or not, but if Kes can stay concious when hit with the stun setting, her powers could have prevented her from being vaporized as well. As for the episode itself, I did indeed find it distastefull as I was hoping for Kess to have a happy life after voyager. Presumably she still will after the events of this episode, but with much less of her life left. The fast that she lost some of her powers is anoying as well.
by Tony | 09/25/2008 at 1:24 am

Regarding Tuvok's age, "Flashback" explicitly stated that Tuvok was 29 years old in those flashback scenes (which occurred during Star Trek VI, circa 2293). So regardless of how fast Vulcans age, there is simply no way Tuvok could have been less than 100 years old during "Fury" (set in 2376)… unless one of the two episodes was giving Tuvok's age in Vulcan years or something.
by OmicronThetaDeltaPhi | 02/16/2014 at 9:56 pm

My friend, this episode is NOT a 2, it's a 0. A BIG FAT zero.
The poster who said it was a "middle finger" to Kes is absolutely right. Except, unlike him/her I don't think it's at all laudable or even interesting (and certainly not very "Star Trek") to give a "middle finger" to a perfectly moral and good character, even if they are unpopular. And she wasn't even all that unpopular, she was just let go to make room for a new character because the showrunners were changing direction. (In my opinion the new character is much more interesting, but that's beside the point here).
"The Gift" was an unsatisfying send off for Kes, but at least the idea behind it was that she had gone on to a bigger, more enlightened existence (like Wesley Crusher)… This redux, on the other hand, is totally unconscionable! WTF??? Really! If I was Jennifer Lien, I'd refuse to come back for a guest spot like this!
Kethinov, I know your require a canon-defying continuity error to give something a zero rating, does the Tuvok's age thing count? Make it count :-)
by Jadzia Guinan Smith | 07/10/2015 at 10:37 pm

agreed that this episode was a mess--an there interesting premise, but almost seemed like an excuse to do a 'bottle show'--recycle a lot of old clips and slightly alter them.
it also had a flimsy premise for kes petulantly getting mad as she got older and exacting revenge, and the second time when she already knew what was coming, somehow forgetting and falling into the same trap. maybe you could stick in things there about 'fate' and whatnot, but they didn't, so it just seems arbitrary.
also tuvok's age thing--i'm confused because wasn't it just a few episodes ago that they were guessing his age, i think tom was, and they said it was already in the hundreds? forget 29…so yes this seemed inconsistent.
anyway a confusing episode which ruined a not-great character=flop. i don't mind them soiling the memory of a "nice" character if they want to, but they didn't even do it well. kes somehow goes off the deep end and doesn't only want to revenge but actually becomes a heedless jackass who tries to condemn the entire crew to death? nope. don't believe it.
by parkbench | 03/02/2016 at 10:36 pm

I liked how when they went to the second run-through of the birthday cake scene, the director "crossed the line" and shot it from the reverse angle, almost giving it a mirror-image kind of look from the first time through.
by tigertooth | 07/26/2017 at 4:39 am

In the season 2 episode “Meld”, Tuvok mentioned that he has studied violence for “over 100 years”, leading further credence to Tuvok being far older.
Either Janeway was incorrect in her calculations and Tuvok was humouring her, or the script writers stuffed up. Likely the latter.
by Mitch89 | 10/19/2023 at 12:15 pm

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x24 — Life Line

Aired 2000-05-10

SpaceOpera.com rating:9

Average reader rating:6.56

Synopsis

The Doctor's creator is dying.

Remarkable scenes

Janeway regarding Zimmerman: "Unusual man. I met him once at a conference. Managed to offend just about everyone there. But he was certainly brilliant."
Zimmerman to Barclay: "You don't have any friends."
EMH: "What were your initial symptoms?" Zimmerman: "Radical hair loss."
The doctor meeting his creator.
The speaking iguana, Leonard.
The doctor: "I'm a doctor, not a zoo keeper." Count 33 for "I'm a doctor, not a (blah)" style lines, which McCoy was famous for.
The doctor squishing the holographic spy fly.
Troi's appearance.
Troi: "You're both jerks!" Leonard: "Jerks."
The revelation that Haley is a hologram.
The doctor regarding Barclay's Voyager recreation: "For one thing, Neelix doesn't purr." Nice connection with Voy: Pathfinder.
The doctor regarding Troi: "She's a counselor, Lieutenant, not an engineer!" Not exact, but I'll count it. Count 34 for "I'm a doctor, not a (blah)" style lines, which McCoy was famous for.
Zimmerman trying to improve the doctor.
Zimmerman: "Emergency Medical Hotheads! That's what everybody used to call the mark ones."
Zimmerman: "Do you know how humiliating it is to have 675 mark ones out there, scrubbing plasma conduits all with my face?"

Review

An episode loaded with goodies. Another Barclay and Troi guest appearance giving us a nice sequel to Voy: Pathfinder, an update on Starfleet's efforts to bring Voyager home; apparently two deep space vessels could reach Voyager in five to six years! Yeah, well Voyager isn't going to be running five or six more years. I think we're going to get another speed boost. ;) Also we get to see that wonderful Dr. Louis Zimmerman again, for probably final time. The whole story is wonderfully entertaining and quite funny without degrading the seriousness of Dr. Zimmerman's condition. I enjoyed Janeway's short line about her impression of Zimmerman when she met him. But the devil is in the details. You've got to love all the little things in this episode, like finally seeing Jupiter station, or seeing Zimmerman's holographic lab, or Zimmerman's holographic iguana Leonard, or his holographic companion Haley, or his holographic spy fly, or the various one liners throughout the episode that just make you laugh. Because of all these things, this episode remains one of my favorites. Even if some of the details are a rehash, the basic story isn't. And both of Robert Picardo's roles steal the show. :)

6 reader comments

Can someone explain to me why, in this and perhaps other episodes, they have such an dilemma with sending the doctor's data somewhere? He's data - what's the problem sending a copy? At worst there'd be a delta between the experiences of him having two experiences at the same time, which could surely be merged later. Have they ever described it as being some kind of ethical issue? I'd think not, as he doesn't seem to have the same rights as, say, Data had. I'd have been happier if they hadn't made an issue of not wanting to sending him because Voyageur'd be without him, and it was dangerous.
by Steve R. Mohns | 08/27/2010 at 3:20 am

Upfront disclosure: I don't think the writers had their computer science fundamentals quite locked down when they wrote this stuff. The same problem is happening on the new BSG series Caprica right now. The writers on that show make frequent computer science errors, unfortunately. I suppose tech errors are a fact of life on science fiction shows.
That said, the "copy the doctor" issue on Voyager isn't as bad as you might think. It's well established that he takes up so much computer memory that they can't have more than one copy of him on Voyager's computer at any one time. In order for two doctors to delta their experiences and merge into a single codebase, they'd have to be diffed, which requires having both copies of the doctor in computer memory at the same time.
Voyager simply lacks the computer memory for this, so after they transmitted him, they must have deleted him from their computer as a safety precaution so they'd have enough room for him when he got back.
You might wonder why they didn't keep a copy of the doctor around just in case of emergencies while the original was gone and then delete the copy on Voyager just before the other doctor got back, but that raises ethical issues. Should the doctor that remained on Voyager be deleted so that the other may live? Doesn't sound very Federationy.
They can store him in a backup module, but again, in order for two doctors to diff and merge their experiences, they both have to exist in the memory of a single computer at the same time. So, on the whole, it seems like the writers accidentally managed to get this one right, just barely. Throughout Voyager's run, I was constantly worried that they would break this rationalization. But they never did! :)
by Eric Newport | 08/27/2010 at 8:09 am

This may or may not be an episode problem: Zimmerman tells the doctor, "I didn't program you for sarcasm!" But if that's true, then the doc learned it exceptionally quickly. I'm pretty sure he was sarcastic from day one, (literally). Rather than an actual episode problem, one could interpret this as a good example of Zimmerman's conflicted and somewhat myopic nature - he's conflicted about his own personality and accomplishments just as he's conflicted about the Mach One (and by extension about the doc). Sarcasm is probably one of those character traits he wasn't quite aware of when he designed the Mach One, and that slipped into the programming unintentionally (like his own arrogance and hot-headedness and all the rest).
(Good epside, btw.)
by dillingham | 01/04/2012 at 9:32 am

Loved this episode. Picardo is brilliant in this episode. The more I watch Voyager, the more I love Picardo
by packman_jon | 06/09/2012 at 5:23 am

It always bothered me too that they can’t copy the doctor. I can’t really accept the explanation that Voyager doesn’t have enough memory for more than one copy at a time, when they had enough to run the whole town of ‘Fair Haven’ continuously for days (or was it weeks?)!
This particular episode has bigger problems, though. E.g. why in the world would 675 EMHs be used to scrub plasma conduits? There’s gotta be less resource-intensive ways to do this – like simple robotic arms or holograms designed specifically for scrubbing (that don’t require extra memory to run subroutines for “faces”). It’s not like the Mark One copies were pieces of equipment that they had to repurpose because they didn’t know what else to do with them. These are just computer files, why not just delete?
Also Troi losing her cool and calling her patients “jerks” was totally absurd. She’s a veteran counselor, with a distinguished career on the federation’s flagship, and she can’t handle a couple of squabbling patients without throwing a tantrum herself? Annoyed the hell out of me.
by Jadzia Guinan Smith | 07/11/2015 at 2:00 pm

I was going to skip this episode, but I saw our host gave it a 9, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Glad I did. They did a good job of keeping it light, adding some drama in, but not overdoing it.
And of course you get Picardo vs Picardo, which I should have known would be fun. It's somewhat a shame that the plot necessitates that he couldn't play Zimmerman very differently than the Doctor (as opposed to, say, Data vs Noonian Soong or Lore), but he got some subtleties in there.
I felt like Barcalay and Troi kind of got shoved in the background, which is odd for TNG characters, but I'm not wild about either of them (though I am a Dwight Schultz fan), so no major loss. That said, their role reversal plan between Zimmerman and the Doctor was pretty great.
And really, Zimmerman's whole plight of his personality being deemed faulty (essentially) was a great hook for the plot.
by tigertooth | 01/07/2017 at 3:57 pm

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x25 — The Haunting of Deck Twelve

Aired 2000-05-17

SpaceOpera.com rating:4

Average reader rating:4.51

Synopsis

Neelix spooks the Borg children.

Remarkable scenes

Neelix: "But I'm warning you. This is not a tale for the faint of heart." Mezoti: "We're not faint of heart." Icheb: "Our cardiopulmonary systems are reinforced."
The replicator malfunction, replicating the coffee, it spills, then the cup. :)
The computer telling the bridge crew where everyone on the ship is.
Tom: "Don't you ever sweat?" Tuvok: "Not unless the temperature reaches 350 degrees Kelvin with a humidity factor of approximately--" Tom: "Forget I asked."
The life form communicating with Janeway using the computer.

Review

A rehash of several previous episodes, but told in a unique manner. Instead of just telling us the story directly, we watch as Neelix tells the story to the Borg children. Among this there are other details redeeming the episode. It was nice to see Tal Celes from Voy: Good Shepherd again, and I much enjoyed the various system malfunctions, as well as the alien using the computer to communicate. All things considered though, the episode is largely an unexciting rehash that remains most predictable throughout.

Star Trek: Voyager — 6x26 — Unimatrix Zero, Part I

Aired 2000-05-07

SpaceOpera.com rating:5

Average reader rating:5.12

Synopsis

The Borg Queen returns.

Remarkable scenes

Harry bemoaning about not being promoted: "I didn't notice a little box on my chair!"
The Borg Queen bribing Voyager with transwarp technology.
Voyager attacking the cube.
The destruction of the Delta Flyer.
Janeway, Tuvok, and Torres being assimilated.

Review

A decent premise but a fairly weak episode. I liked the idea of Unimatrix Zero. Reminded me of a Borg version of the Matrix, where the Collective itself is the Matrix and those in Unimatrix Zero are the freed people of Zion. Unfortunately the episode gets several things wrong. I'm forced to question Janeway's and her crew's extreme recklessness, only Tom and the doctor seem to question the whole idea of invading the Borg in such a manner. The cliffhanger is totally ineffective; are we led to believe it's possible Janeway, Tuvok, and Torres are all lost? Obviously this will not be the case. There are even subtle hints that this is all going according to plan, such as the doctor's "no change yet" line followed by Chakotay's "so far so good" line after the doctor reported that Janeway, Tuvok, and Torres had been assimilated. The writers aren't fooling anybody here. I'd rather have had a more interesting plot in place of this ineffective attempt at misdirection.

2 reader comments

I second the reviewer's take on this being a kind of Matrix analogue. In fact, I'm pretty sure the writers had this explicitly in mind. It's a pretty direct homage. If you listen closely to the music just as the Doc and Tuvak bring Janeway into the Unimatrix, (itself similar in some ways to Neo's first plunge) there's a telltale audible cue - for a few bars, the music is very much like the Matrix theme! And Seven's subsequent introduction, "Welcome to Unimatrix Zero," is not unlike several of Morpheus' famous lines. I thought this little touch was neat.
I also want to point to a small but annoying problem that occurs shortly after. Janeway, Axum, and Seven interrupt a Borg drone attacking the Klingon, and for some bizarre reason, out of the three of them it's only Janeway who jumps into battle. The other two (who should obviously be much more invested in Unimatrix Zero and its residents) just watch, like bumps on a log. Doesn't really make much sense. The whole thing was scripted to make a dramatic segue to the Queen, so she could see the events unfolding and scream, "Janeway!" like some evil witch looking through her magic mirror or crystal ball. It doesn't make sense and it's annoying.
by g@g | 02/01/2012 at 4:15 am

Borg Queen: "I can give you transwarp technology to get you home faster if you just stay out of affairs that don't concern you." Janeway: "Sorry, I can't do that." <Queen closes channel> Chakotay: "Why this stab at diplomacy?" Janeway: "She's trying to find out what we're up to. She's worried." Chakotay: "You're probably right. It's a shame they don't have a more efficient way to find out everything we know; to 'assimilate' all of our knowledge, so to speak." Janeway: "Yeah, lucky for us! Whelp! Tell B'Elanna and Tuvok to meet me in the shuttle bay. It's time to go get assimilated!"
Ugh, this show sometimes. I'm becoming convinced that Voyager needs to just stay away from Borg story lines entirely: they're defanging them to the point that they're not even remotely scary anymore. As I watched this episode (and Part 2) I found myself constantly thinking "This makes no sense! And THAT makes no sense! What? Why? How…?" Seriously, as Voyager makes its way across the Delta Quadrant they should be running like hell anytime they detect anything remotely Borg-like on long range scanners. Travelling through the Borg-infested Delta Quadrant should be harder that travelling through Mordor, and, as we know, one does not simply walk into Mordor. Voyager, however, seems to be simply walking through Borg space, engaging cubes left and right like they were the Kazon or something. This episode had an interesting premise, but the way this show has been handling the Borg is really ruining it for me.
by Dstyle | 07/30/2015 at 3:01 pm