The Good: Acting, Character
The Bad: Plot
The Basics: More bland than bad, “Vis A Vis” relies upon one too many bodyswaps to be truly original or character-enhancing as it may initially appear.
Some might say that the worst thing a television episode can be is unmemorable. After all, if something is truly horrible, one might still find themselves discussing it and people sometimes tune in to programming for the “fascination with the abomination” factor. Star Trek: Voyager has a number of episodes that are not horrible, but are hampered by the fact that they feel typical or in every way average. “Vis A Vis” is one such episode.
“Vis A Vis” begins feeling problematically familiar. The character of Tom Paris was given an arc in the second season of Star Trek: Voyager that had him slacking off as part of an undercover plot. So, when “Vis A Vis” opens with the Doctor confronting Tom Paris on how he has not been keeping up his obligations to learn Sickbay procedures, the viewer is more likely to feel like they have seen the episode before than feel excited about what comes next. Unfortunately for the episode, the plot is similarly typical and unimpressive.
“Vis A Vis” is yet another Star Trek: Voyager rework of “Turnabout Intruder” (reviewed here!) or “The Passenger” (reviewed here!). With a bodyswapping alien plot, the viewer must settle in for forty-three minutes of “been there, done that.” Even so, “Vis A Vis” is saved by decent performances and just enough emphasis on Tom Paris as a character (as something of a retrospective for how much the character has grown over the years) to save the episode from the ratings doldrums.
After Tom Paris is reamed out by the Doctor for not showing up for his Sickbay training, he is called to the bridge. There, he takes the helm while the ship encounters a shuttle-sized vessel that is using an (until now) theoretical coaxial warp drive system. With the alien ship out of control, Tom and Tuvok successfully collapse the ship’s warp field and bring it into normal space. Their first contact encounter is with an alien, Steth.
Steth and Tom Paris rebuild the coaxial warp engines on Steth’s ship and at the same time, Steth pumps Paris for information on his life on Voyager. Paris expresses his frustration to Steth both with his daily duties and his relationship with B’Elanna Torres. Steth obliges by incapacitating Paris, stealing his appearance (and giving Paris his physical appearance) and sending the Lieutenant back to the system his ship was from. As Steth as Paris works to take that new life, Paris finds himself a under suspicion by the alien Steth stole his current body from! As Paris and Daelen work to get back to Voyager and their own bodies, Steth tries to keep the crew from becoming suspicious of his new behaviors.
The big thrill for me in watching “Vis A Vis” was hearing Dan Butler’s voice and realizing that Steth was being played by the Frasier actor. Butler is stuck in an alien make-up and his posture, bearing and character are utterly different from his role on Frasier. But his voice is so distinctive and he makes Steth interesting enough to captivate the viewer’s attention. As Butler plays both Steth and Tom Paris, he is given a decent range to perform with. As Steth, he has to play a sense of desperation and professional confusion as his genome threatens to reassert itself and as he deals with Paris pitching antiquated automotive technology to fix his coaxial warp drive. He is convincing. He maintains that ability and range as he plays Paris trapped in Steth’s appearance. There are moments he gets Paris’s speech patterns down pat.
“Vis A Vis” is really an acting exercise for Robert Duncan McNeill and he easily rises to the challenge. As Steth, McNeill has a sense of menace to him and a presentation to the character that – under the surface – is desperate. This might actually be the episode that explores the most of Robert Duncan McNeill’s range.
Jesus Salvador Trevino directs the episode in a way that almost makes it feel fresh. The special effect sequences are well-created and he is able to make clear the physical relationship between Steth and Daelen without insulting the viewer’s intelligence. Trevino even makes the (seemingly) obligatory use of Seven Of Nine feel fresh. In fact, there is really only one bad shot in the episode. After Steth swaps bodies with Paris, Trevino uses a lower camera angle to indicate that the viewer is seeing Steth through Paris’s eyes, but the angle is not quite low enough to sell it based on where Paris is seen. So, when Steth shoots Paris, which indicates inarguably it is supposed to be through Paris’s eyes, it is not rendered quite right.
“Vis A Vis” uses two actors very well, but by the time the ultimate body swap comes, the viewer (at least the seasoned Star Trek or science fiction viewer) sees it coming a mile away. The final body swap does not give that last performer the chance to do anything interesting or extraordinary.
That said, Robert Duncan McNeill and Dan Butler do a great job selling the otherwise mundane episode.
[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Voyager - The Complete Fourth Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the gamechanging middle season here!
Thanks!]
For other works with Dan Butler, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Crazy. Stupid. Love.
Frasier
“Die Hand Die Verletzt” - The X-Files
The Silence Of The Lambs
5/10
For other Star Trek episode and movie reviews, please visit my Star Trek Review Index Page!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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