Well whadoyouknow, Achoyeemoya did make it so there was a good episode coming up. This is the best episode I’ve seen so far. Well it is. For a start it’s a Doctor-centric episode. Secondly Kim is deleted, albeit briefly. Thirdly I love the episodes which they screw with the reality of shows. True, we all know it’ll all be a lie at the end, but it’s an entertaining lie and isn’t that the real truth? In this case, yes.
Of course the Doctor is brilliant in this, not just the sarcastic asides or putdowns either. Robert Picardo’s acting as a hologram who doesn’t know if he’s man or hologram was very believable.
Also good to see Barclay in this even if it isn’t actually him (or is it?). It was good that the vast majority of the episode was scenes with The Doctor and Barclay as they played excellently off each other.
To think this episode was done on four sets they already had and with two actors on top of the regular cast. Just goes to prove spending money on effects and vast numbers of guest stars doesn’t guarantee a good episode. Hell, this is Voyager most things they do doesn’t guarantee a good episode.
Even the fake out ending didn’t bother me, in fact, I’d be annoyed if they hadn’t done it. I’m sorry, I’ve no idea what’s happened to me. I’m sure I’ll be back to normal for the next episode or will I? Computer, end program.
Achoyeemoya, I am far from the land of my forefathers, please look after my reviews and make it so there are good episodes coming up. No? No? Oh well, worth a try.
Hey look it’s the Kazon again with their fantastical haircuts and faux Klingon ways. Chakotay rescues one of them which turns out to be a bad idea. Well, I could have told him that. Fortunately this one is played by Aron Eisenberg better known to Star Trek aficionados as Nog from Deep Space Nine, who did a very good portrayal of the young Kazon. As for Chakotay’s performance, it’s another one from him which isn’t bad but not again not good and not huge on charisma.
Also why is it all the Delta Quadrant planets look exactly like California? Specifically within 37km of Paramount Studios, it’s almost eerie.
Remember how after the episode Jetrel Neelix didn’t annoy me quite as much? Well scratch that he’s back to his previous irritating self. This time he wanted to be included in battle simulations, I say sure, in fact forego the simulation part while they’re at it.
So to the bloody Kazon. I will say that I look forward to whenever Voyager finally gets away from them and that’s after one of their episodes in what I gather is a Kazon rich season. Or maybe that should be Kazon poor season.
In this episode Janeway meets her heroine Amelia Earhart. Yeagh, it seems you can’t throw a warp coil in the Delta Quadrant without it hitting someone or something connected to Earth. How far do you have to travel to actually get away from Humans? Evidently it’s further than 70 light years, I’m beginning to see how Quark felt.
For all its faults, and there are quite a few, this episode isn’t that bad. In fact for the first half hour or so it flew by, well as much as Voyager does and I didn’t even look at my watch too often. Probably helped that they landed the Starship on a planet. Unfortunately the remainder of the episode does slow down somewhat after the story’s over and they try to create tension with whether or not the Voyager crew might stay on a planet in Human cities. Human cities, I emphasise, which we never see but that’s not needed is it?
The people from 1937 (so that’s where they got the title from) that were in the cryonic freeze seem to adjust very quickly to all their friends and family being dead. But all those pesky emotions would only get in the way of a rip roaring adventure!
Lastly on a side note, is it possible to have any show set in the future where someone in it isn’t a specialist or have a hobby in 20th/21st century Earth? It’s just a bit tiresome and it does take me out of the episode when it happens. How about 22nd century Earth or even Romulan history?
This might be the worst start to an episode of Voyager so far. We're back on Janeway's Edwardian “holonovel” where she's a Governess to a couple of children, one of whom is the most horrible brat in all of Star Trek... well so far. He also grew up to be John Connor in the short lived Terminator TV series, so at least he was in a better Sci-Fi series, well I say "better".
So anyway, back to the story proper, such as it is. It can be summed up as Voyager does Full Metal Jacket or maybe Half Empty Metal Jacket. Tuvok takes on the R Lee Ermey role but unfortunately doesn't go on to say "Only two things come from Bajor..."
There are a number of problems with this type story, for one it's horribly clichéd unless it's done really well and unsurprisingly it isn't and even more unsurprisingly they all learned an important lesson at the end. Indeed, it's so unsubtle I wouldn't have blinked if He-Man had come on at the end to tell me what I've learned.
Another annoying thing was the annoying maquis, if I was supposed to feel any kind of sympathy of them at any point I didn't. In fact if Tuvok had shoved them out of an air lock I think it would've been a good thing for the show.
So that was season one, though four episodes were held over to season two for some reason, so it's not going to improve any time soon, if at all.
This episode also has the "distinction" of being the story to feature the line "Get the cheese to sickbay". So there's that.
(This review brought to you by the quotation mark and the word "spite".)
So this is the episode in which Neelix meets Robert Oppenheimer. No, it's not a terrible interplanetary chat show it's actually a not bad episode of Voyager. Two in fifteen episodes. What are the odds?*
The story starts off in the holodeck pool bar where it appears the rules have changed again and you don't even need to hit the ball anymore, but never mind that, a war criminal has come to talk to Neelix. You see Jetrel was to blame for that weapon that destroyed Neelix's colony lo those many years ago. Yeagh, me neither.
Neelix wasn't actually annoying in this episode mainly because he was being played as an actual person and not the comic relief. I wish I could hope this is the way of things to come but alas I know differently. There was even a brief chat between Neelix and Kes about there relationship for those of us who keep forgetting.
James Sloyan who played Jetrel (and many other Star Trek characters) and excellent as usual was good at making you feel pity for this man who spent the last fifteen years of his life atoning for his mistake.
Now the ending. It implies that Neelix forgiveness is just something he said because Jetrel was on his death bed to ease him on his way. But is this even something he'd do? Sure he's learned a lot about Jetrel (and himself) but I'm not entirely convinced of this.
*Never tell me the odds.
