Revising The Borg Yet Again, “Dark Frontier, Part 1” Returns The Borg Queen!

The Good: Good special effects, Decent acting, Moments of character
The Bad: A massive bevy of continuity errors, A lot of set-up for little payoff, Light on character development.
The Basics: “Dark Frontier, Part 1” undermines (further) Borg history and characterization and sets up a conflict after pretty much putting to rest the tension between Janeway and Seven Of Nine.


I am not a big fan of revisionist history. In fact, it freaks me out. So, when I popped in the DVDs for the fifth season of Star Trek: Voyager, I was really upset to find “Dark Frontier” as a single episode. The reason I was upset was that it is revisionist history. I remember because such a big deal was made of the episode when it originally aired. Promoted as a double-long episode, a la “Way Of The Warrior” (reviewed here!), I went through extraordinary efforts to get UPN in at the time in order to watch the episode. At the halfway point, I was shocked and annoyed when the words “To Be Continued . . .” came up. In its original airing, “Dark Frontier” was shown on one night, rather ridiculously, as “Dark Frontier, Part I” and “Dark Frontier, Part 2.” The DVD version puts the two episodes back together, but because they aired as separate episodes, I’ve opted to review them that way.

The commentary on revisionist history is entirely relevant to this, beyond simply kvetching about how the show is presented on DVD. “Dark Frontier” continues the trend of revising who and what the Borg are. Apparently, the writing staff realized that it was a huge problem to create the idea of “Borg Space” but then put Voyager outside it. Even more problematic is that “Dark Frontier” recasts Annika Hansen’s family as exobiologists who actually went hunting for the Borg about ten years before “Q-Who?” (reviewed here!). While the episode firmly establishes that the Hansens might have been the first humans the Borg encountered, it does so in a ridiculous way; presenting a scenario where the Federation clearly knew about the Borg long before Q had the Enterprise encounter them.

Opening on a Borg scout ship, the Borg detect Voyager and are destroyed when the ship beams a photon torpedo aboard the small Borg ship. Janeway orders a salvage operation to begin and she is thrilled when the salvage nets data nodes, medical tools, and a transwarp coil. In discovering another Borg ship, a small sphere, nearby that is only slowly regenerating, Janeway decides to organize a heist of a transwarp conduit from the Borg ship.

To prepare for the mission, Janeway has Seven Of Nine go through her parents’ records of their study of the Borg. In doing so, the flight of the S.S. Raven is illustrated. In that way, Seven Of Nine begins to recall her childhood as Annika Hansen and the events leading up to the Borg capturing her and her parents. The crew begins training on the Holodeck for the heist they hope will net them a transwarp coil.

“Dark Frontier, Part 1” is a sequel to “The Raven” (reviewed here!) and its final moment makes it feel much like Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “Unification, Part 1” (reviewed here!). The revelation of the Borg Queen might have been a surprise had it not been for her presence in all of the advertising surrounding “Dark Frontier.” As it is, it just seems here like yet another derivative aspect of the episode.

The derivative nature of the episode is hardly the greatest problem of the episode. The big problem is that “Dark Frontier, Part 1” very sloppily revises the history of the Borg. When, for example, the Hansens in the S.S. Raven encounter a Borg ship for the first time, the Borg cube ignores them. Magnus Hansen notes that the Borg are ignoring them because they pose no threat to the Borg. While that has long been established as trait of Borg in personal interactions (like when an Away Team tries to interact with the Borg on their own ship), in spatial encounters it makes no sense. The Borg assimilate technology and if the encounter with the S.S. Raven was their first with a Federation ship, the Borg cube would, of course, have attempted to assimilate it. The Borg do not know what is a threat until they actually encounter it!

Moreover, when the Hansens encounter the Borg, the Borg are using transwarp conduits. This, too, makes absolutely no sense based on “Q-Who?” After all, if the Borg wanted the Enterprise (and they did!), they could have easily opened a transwarp conduit and plopped themselves back in real space in front of the Enterprise. The writing of “Dark Frontier, Part I” is just sloppy.

One of the notable aspects on the character front comes from Seven Of Nine. Hearing Tom Paris describe Borg drones leaves her sarcastically claiming not to be offended. This does the work of making Seven Of Nine feel isolated. The episode manages to focus on Seven Of Nine and her relationship with Captain Janeway. Janeway is perceptive enough to recognize that Seven Of Nine is getting twitchy as the crew moved toward executing their undercover mission. Janeway actually has a pretty remarkable appreciation for her newest crewmember and for the first time in a long time, she seems like a viable leader and StarFleet Captain.

Jeri Ryan gives a decent performance, though director Cliff Bole presents some incredibly obvious shots where Ryan is framed in such a way to accent her breasts, especially with her out of breath. Undeterred by the exploitative shots, Ryan gives one of her best dramatic performances near the episode’s end as Seven Of Nine and Janeway square off and Seven Of Nine avoids telling Janeway that she has heard from the Borg Queen.

Like “Unification, Part I,” “Dark Frontier, Part I” is a set-up episode where the crew is planning for a mission and the culmination of that brief adventure is a surprise that is hardly surprising. “Dark Frontier, Part 1” sets up a character conflict between Seven Of Nine and the Borg Queen, building in an “escape hatch” for the forthcoming episode. But, for as exciting as the episode is, it is sloppy in its writing and continues to undermine the frightening nature and strength of the Borg. As a fan of the Star Trek franchise, it is frustrating to watch the episode, even with its incredible special effects, and be forced to realize that the show has fallen so incredibly far from the nature of one of its most incredible villains. Like so much of Star Trek: Voyager, style trumps substance in “Dark Frontier, Part 1” and leaves the viewer wishing for better from their beloved franchise.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Voyager - The Complete Fifth Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the season here!
Thanks!]

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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Did Voyager Get Home? We Know Better Than To Be Suckered By “Bliss!”

The Good: Surprisingly smart, Great acting, Special effects
The Bad: A bit light on character development, Obvious
The Basics: “Bliss” presents Voyager with an apparent way to get home, though Seven Of Nine and the viewers are not fooled.


The big tease in Star Trek: Voyager was the “will they or won’t they” question of getting home. While there are any number of shows that could do a midstream course correction, the Star Trek franchise seems to be especially unwilling to redefine itself unless there is a ratings-based need. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine took a detour in its fourth season (reviewed here!) in order to plausibly have Worf join the crew. Similarly, Star Trek: Enterprise abandoned its aimless journey and consistent disregard for Star Trek history to attempt an audacious season-long plot and then a season that tried to align the show with known Star Trek history. Star Trek: Voyager’s only real course correction was to add Seven Of Nine to try to lure would-be fans back with the simple joy of a large-breasted woman in a skin-tight catsuit.

But, for those looking for substance over style, as Star Trek: Voyager became more and more “The Seven Of Nine Show,” there were few truly disturbing elements like those that messed with the fans as to whether or not Voyager would make it home. In other words, the times that, following Seven Of Nine joining the crew, the writers played with the idea that Voyager would actually make it back to the Alpha Quadrant, they seemed especially flimsy. “Bliss” was one where the viewers almost universally know that this is not the episode where Voyager gets home. Unfortunately, that makes the episode seem more tedious than audacious. Even so, the show is not wrong for trying an episode like “Bliss.”

Opening with an alien, muttering to himself and launching his ship at a giant nebula-like formation in space, Voyager abruptly detects a wormhole that leads directly to Earth (Sector 001). Suspicious of the find and the fact that they detect bioplasmic energy coming from the wormhole, the crew begins investigating the spatial phenomenon when Paris, Naomi Wildman, and Seven Of Nine return from an away mission in the Delta Flyer. Seven Of Nine and Janeway begin butting heads about the apparent risk with utilizing the wormhole.

Seven Of Nine’s suspicions soon seem reasonable when telemetry from the probe reveals that StarFleet is sending messages to everyone aboard the ship. Those messages offer everyone exactly what they want: Chakotay is offered amnesty, Janeway’s ex-fiancé hints that their engagement may be back on, and Neelix is offered an ambassadorial position by StarFleet. When Seven Of Nine enlists the help of The Doctor, the EMH is taken off line and soon, the command staff turns against Seven Of Nine and Naomi Wildman (the only other person not affected by the threat emanating from the Wormhole. Working together, Seven Of Nine, Naomi, and the alien from the beginning (Qatai) team up to thwart the organism that is clearly not a wormhole back to Earth!

The nice thing about “Bliss” is that it does not insult the intelligence of even the most simpleminded viewer. This is not going to be an episode where Voyager makes it home and it is made pretty clear from the outset. In fact, the set-up with Seven Of Nine returning to the ship sets the episode completely as a Seven Of Nine saves the ship episode!

Given that, the latter half of the episode works well. Qatai is an interesting guest alien. Like Ahab or some demented Noah, the alien understands the nature of the creature that is ensnaring Voyager and he works, quite suspiciously, with Seven Of Nine and Naomi Wildman. Played by W. Morgan Sheppard, Qatai is an old salt that provides most of the episode’s exposition in a convincing way. Moreover, the writing is sharp enough that Qatai is given a reasonable way to understand that Seven Of Nine and Voyager is real and not part of his imagination. In classic “death dream” philosophy, Qatai can only be assured of reality by experiencing information that he did not have before and could not imagine. Wildman actually provides that.

In fact, the only problem with the writing is that there is no sufficient explanation for why Seven Of Nine’s resistance, especially shooting Torres and two others in Engineering, did not free them from the creature’s clutches. After all, if the entity makes everyone feel bliss to ensnare them, the conflict with Seven Of Nine should have been powerful enough to break someone of the trance. After all, it is contrary to the creature’s influence and does not feel good.

The acting in “Bliss” is excellent. Robert Picardo plays the Doctor as calm and efficient, Seven Of Nine is portrayed with reasonable skepticism by Jeri Ryan and Naomi Wildman actually does a fine job of playing a young alien with a curious mind. Roxanne Dawson uses her brief time in the episode to play Torres with delightful realism as a hallucinating Torres. In fact, one of the only real weak links in the episode is Tim Russ as Tuvok. He plays Tuvok with such perfect dispassion in his exchange with Ryan’s Seven Of Nine, that it makes it impossible to believe that he would not be swayed by the logic of Seven Of Nine’s argument!

The effects in “Bliss” are really cool, too. For a change, the CG monster looks pretty awesome and the episode works well as a result.

Ultimately, “Bliss” might be the best “Seven Of Nine saves Voyager” episode and it is well worth watching for those who like science fiction.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Voyager - The Complete Fifth Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the season here!
Thanks!]

For other works with William Morgan Sheppard, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Star Trek
Transformers
The Prestige
Gargoyles - Season 1
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
“The Schizoid Man” - Star Trek: The Next Generation

8/10

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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Abandoning A Tight Character Piece For A Bland Plot, “Extreme Risk” Introduces The Delta Flyer!

The Good: Moments of character, Plot continuity
The Bad: Continues with the lame Malon, Plot becomes a predictable story that negates the early character work.
The Basics: When Torres starts abusing herself in reaction to the news from Earth, Star Trek: Voyager abandons an interesting character study for a disappointing competition plotline.


Perhaps one of the more disappointing aspects of Star Trek: Voyager was the way it would occasionally, momentarily, commit to an interesting, audacious premise, and then almost without fail, abandon it for something that was predictable, obvious and (usually) done by another show within the Star Trek franchise. Equally as problematic is when episodes of Star Trek: Voyager starts with an intriguing character struggle that actually appreciates the larger context of the series and then abandons that struggle for a predictable plot, spatial anomaly, alien parasite, or (very frequently) an amazing technology that will conveniently fail by the end of the episode. “Extreme Risk” is one such episode, yet still makes it into the essential Star Trek: Voyager as it introduces the new shuttlecraft alluded to in “Drone” (reviewed here!), the Delta Flyer.

“Extreme Risk” could have been one of the great B’Elanna Torres episodes, but it becomes overly bogged down in the underwhelming “space race” story that brings the Malon from “Night” (reviewed here!) back. The creation of the Delta Flyer is done with a story that seems like a reasonable idea, but given that the stakes are a probe and probes have been arguably the most disposable Federation material, it seems like a lot of work for no real payoff. But, at least, the Delta Flyer’s introduction leads to a greater sense of serialization.

When Torres is called out of the Holodeck, where she is performing orbital skydiving without the Holodeck safeties on, she dismissively lets Seven Of Nine take an assignment geared toward her. A probe from Voyager falls into Malon hands and to keep the probe from ending up with them, Janeway sends the probe into a gas giant. Voyager begins to design and build a new, bigger, more resilient shuttlecraft, called the Delta Flyer.

In the process of building the Delta Flyer, it becomes clear that Torres’s heart is not in the project. This leads Chakotay and Paris to investigate what is going on in her life. Spending time on the Holodeck with the safeties off, Torres is abusing herself simply to feel something. Exposed, Torres becomes part of the race for the probe, in the process recovering her interest in living once more.

“Extreme Risk” has a decent initial premise, on both plots. Torres is reacting to the news that all of her (and Chakotay’s) friends have been killed by the Dominion, which she learned in “Hunters” (reviewed here!). Now, Torres is self-abusing because she feels she does not have anything to live for. This is a decent character trait and it is initially well-presented. Unfortunately, the complex character concept is quickly undone by the ridiculously simple act of revealing it. Once Chakotay figures out what Torres’s problem is, the problem simply evaporates for the rest of the episode and that is utterly insulting to people with serious trauma issues.

In the process of exploring Torres’s character, Roxann Dawson is given a few choice moments to perform. As Torres heals herself after one of her Holodeck exercises, she looks in the mirror, not quite recognizing herself. That moment is actually exceptionally well-acted and following it up with a quieter scene where she and Ethan Philips (Neelix) play off one another is exceptionally well-done. Had the episode been maintained with such impressive intimacy for both the character and the performance, “Extreme Risk” would have been a much better episode.

Come to think of it, that Neelix does not become more of a confidant to Torres, based on his experience in “Mortal Coil” (reviewed here!), seems to be an exceptional oversight on the part of writer Kenneth Biller.

Instead, “Extreme Risk” becomes a monotonous conflict with the Malon, arguably the least impressive adversaries in the Star Trek universe since the Pakleds. When Seven Of Nine discovers the Malon are building their own ship, it becomes an excuse to tie the two plots together as microfractures lead Torres to a simulation that helps her continue her self abuse.

Ultimately, one of the only real character aspects that is remarkable and well-executed consistently throughout “Extreme Risk” is Tom Paris’s desire to use knobs and levers for the controls in the Delta Flyer. It makes a lot of sense that people would get sick of flat panels and desire something real to manipulate and that is a smarter note from Biller.

It is, however, not at all enough to save the episode, which falls much flatter than either good idea ought to have on their own.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Voyager - The Complete Fifth Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the season here!
Thanks!]

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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"The Q And The Grey:" Q Gets Dumbed Down, But Who Cares? Suzie Plakson's Back!

The Good: Decent acting, Fun idea
The Bad: Idea guts character(s), Unsatisfying resolution.
The Basics: In an episode that is more fun than substantive, Q returns begging Janeway to incubate his child to save the Continuum.


Perhaps the principle problem in the Star Trek universe is that, as a franchise, there are few villains in the universe that remain as menacing as they are initially characterized as being. To wit, Q, the seemingly omnipotent entity who first appeared in the series premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter At Farpoint" (reviewed here!). He first flashes into existence powerful and badass, almost instantly whipping the crew with his limitless power. In the decent episode "Deja Q," (reviewed here!) Q is made mortal, becomes a punchline and it is a role he never recovers from. When Q first appears on Star Trek: Voyager in the second season episode "Death Wish," (reviewed here!) there is something more philosophical about him, though he maintains a strong whimsical quality. The problem is, upon his next appearance in "The Q And The Grey," the Q Continuum is pretty much gutted of any menace. In "Death Wish," the Continuum's powers are likened to advanced technology. In "The Q And The Grey," the concept is almost lowered to the idea of "Anyone can be a Q."

When Voyager witnesses a surprising number of stars going nova in a pretty tight region of space, Q suddenly appears to proposition Janeway. The Q Continuum, it appears, is in the throes of a civil war and Q's solution to the chaos and anarchy of the Continuum is to provide them with a new focus and perspective, in the form of a baby. Q propositions Janeway with the idea of mothering the child in exchange for Q returning Voyager to Federation space. Janeway rejects Q's advances and when a female Q appears, Janeway and Q rush off into the heart of the maelstrom; the war-torn Q Continuum!

The problem with "The Q And The Grey" is that it removes any menace of the Q Continuum and continues to oversimplify the concept of an omnipotent being (or beings). Far from godlike, Q is often silly in this episode and the result is more ridiculous than clever. The writers of the series once more illustrate their ethnocentrism by creating the metaphorical environment of the war-torn Q Continuum as the American Civil War. Seeing Janeway, Paris and others in Civil War outfits is fun, but it's one of the episodes where the costumes tell the story as opposed to the story forcing the costumers to adapt (the Spanish Civil War would have been a much more interesting setting). The only thing that remains consistent here is the concept from "Death Wish" that the Q Continuum is so magnificent that its true nature must be obscured and rationalized for the human mind to understand. Thus, the viewer knows Q and Janeway are not in the American Civil War, but rather this is the closest metaphor their human minds might understand.

The bigger problem is the one with the female Q and Voyager. Their ability to surprise the Continuum is a huge part of what guts the menace of the Q and makes the episode a bit of a disappointment. Of course, it's hard to be disappointed any time Suzie Plakson, K'Ehleyr from Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Reunion" appears. Plakson is memorable as the female Q and it's fun to see her brought back to the Star Trek fold after so long.

Kate Mulgrew gives a decent performance that illustrates that, more than simply being an authoritarian captain, she has a sense of comic timing. This is quite possibly the most amusing we ever see Mulgrew perform as Captain Janeway. She is funny, with a great sense of bewildered body language and she's able to perform with a wide-eyed sense of frustration that most viewers are not likely to have guessed she could do. Mulgrew's performance is actually quite funny and makes the episode worthwhile to watch.

John de Lancie (Q) returns and, sad to say, does nothing we have not seen from him before. De Lancie is Q and he's got the role down pat; this episode does not significantly add anything to the character and there is nothing special about his performance in this episode to say that he's what makes it more or less watchable.

"The Q And The Grey" works for entertainment, but it's not much more than that. Sure, it's interesting to see what happens to a society plagued by omnipotent boredom, but this episode simply proves that the Q are not omnipotent and, in fact, by the resolution to this episode, they are not menacing and not even all that interesting anymore. In short, fans of the franchise who delight over seeing Q again are likely to sober up to how this episode guts one of the initially clever villains in the franchise. "The Q And The Grey" is the nail in the coffin for the Q continuum and repeated viewings make it seem more silly.

It's hard for fans of the Star Trek franchise to sit back and accept their series (or franchise) as silly and that's a big problem for this episode. The concept is not bad, but the execution is. And Star Trek: Voyager is not so edgy as to make this a seriously desperate encounter for the crew. Q's desperation at asking Janeway to bear his child is limited, so the menace does not seem all that big of a deal. Q asks politely, if in a smarmy way. The only manifestation the crew has to worry about with the Continuum's civil war is a bunch of novas in an area of space they are leaving. Presumably, one side of another will win the war, the novas will stop or the universe will be destroyed. The problem here is that the writers are not edgy enough to raise the stakes to real character menace.

Yes, the problem with "The Q And The Grey" is that Q continues to ask politely. This is a nice, PC, PG episode that claims the universe is at state, but plays with characters that play by the nice rules. It's hard to take the extent of Q's stated desperation seriously when he continues to politely ask, harass and cajole Janeway about mating with him. Nothing justifies rape, certainly nothing from a human perspective, but with the stakes being the universe itself, one wonders why Q remains fixated so rigidly on Janeway and/or why his desperation never boils over into . . . well, actual desperation or anger.

As a result, this becomes a fun episode and is worth at least a single viewing for fans of the Star Trek franchise (and it's definitely good Star Trek: Voyager), but it doesn't truly hold up beyond being an entertaining science fiction romp.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Voyager - The Complete Third Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the entire season here!
Thanks!]

For other works with Suzie Plakson, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Red Eye
Star Trek: The Next Generation - “Reunion”
Star Trek: The Next Generation - “The Emissary”
Star Trek: The Next Generation - “The Schizoid Man”

6/10

Check out how this episode stacks up against others by visiting my Star Trek Review Index Page where the episodes are ranked best to worst.

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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"Future's End 2:" One Of The Rare Occurrences Where The Second Part Tops The First!

The Good: Excellent acting, Good character development, Decent plot
The Bad: Resolution isn't great, Some of the plot contrivances
The Basics: When Voyager finds itself at the mercy of a man with 20th Century ambitions and 29th Century technology, Janeway must save the Doctor and the future of Earth!


Star Trek: Voyager's first major endeavor into time travel began with "Future's End," so if you've not read my review on the first part of "Future's End" (that’s here!) this review is somewhat pointless. "Future's End, Part II" is one of the rare occasions that a second part of a two part episode is better than the first (the only other one in the Star Trek pantheon that comes right to mind is "Chain Of Command, Part II" - reviewed here!). "Future's End, Part II" makes some ambitious changes to Star Trek: Voyager and it is certainly a welcome outing.

Henry Starling, billionaire industrialist on 1996 Earth has managed to outsmart and escape Captain Janeway. Using a decoy, he also manages to keep Chakotay, Torres and Tuvok from finding him as well. Starling, employing futuristic technology, has also managed to capture the Emergency Medical Hologram and the Doctor is put into a state of shock at being suddenly mobile on Earth. Janeway and her crew must thwart Starling, rescue the Doctor and prevent Earth from being destroyed in the future in the process . . .

Once one accepts all of the problems with returning to 1996 in the Star Trek timeline, which sticks in my craw when watching part one, "Future's End, Part II" is much freer to make good television. With the aid of Rain Robinson, Paris works to recover the Doctor and the episode relies far less on the "fish out of water" humor that mischaracterized part one. Almost entirely absent from the second part are Neelix and Kes and their obsession with a soap opera. Similarly, the consequences of the U.S.S. Voyager being caught on camera and put on the news is swept under the rug.

This leaves an episode that works on establishing a dramatic tension and building up with the story to leave a real question about how it will end. Sure, we have a pretty good feeling Voyager will end up back in the 24th Century, but other than that, the episode is pretty much up in the air as to how it will play out. If there was ever a scenario when some of the main crew might bite the dust, this improbable episode makes it seem so plausible.

This is essentially because of two things. The first is that Henry Starling is a great villain. Starling plays by his own rules, but he's smart and he's a good equal to the intrepid heroes of Star Trek: Voyager. He is a match for Janeway and he understands enough about the 29th Century technology he has salvaged to wield it effectively. The result is that the 1996 businessman is cunning enough to match wits with the 24th Century Janeway and his 29th century ship can outgun Voyager. That's a formidable foe and part of the brilliance of "Future's End" is that Janeway is truly not able to defeat him in a simple or traditional way. As a result, Starling sits on the verge of world domination when he powers up the Aeon and prepares to launch it.

The other aspect that sells the true menace of "Future's End, Part II" is the performance of Robert Picardo as the Doctor. The Doctor has been confined to Sickbay most of the series because he is a hologram and while he takes trips to the holodeck, most notably in "Heroes And Demons" (reviewed here!), most of his characterization has been somewhat stunted by his insular existence. In this episode, he suddenly finds himself in the real world, a place he was not truly prepared for.

Robert Picardo does a pretty amazing job emoting the shock and agoraphobia of the Doctor who finds himself hijacked by a 29th Century mobile emitter which essentially acts as a one-person holodeck. This convenient piece of technology insinuates much about the 29th Century StarFleet, where Starling stole his technology from. Picardo's presentation of the Doctor in shock and wide-eyed terror at being not tethered to anything is played out wonderfully in the course of the episode and the on-the-edge menace that the Doctor could be lost as a result of the unknown technology is pretty brilliant. It is Picardo who smartly adds much of the tension underlying the episode through his portrayal of the Doctor.

What Picardo adds in edginess, Ed Begley Jr. capitalizes on in confidence and arrogance. In the scenes Begley and Picardo share, Ed Begley Jr. plays up the maniacal brilliance of Henry Starling in a way that completely sells the viewer on his willingness to put his personal profits above the welfare of humanity. Begley is different here than anything else I've ever seen him in, exchanging his usual cool, quiet brilliance for a mercenaric ruthlessness that far exceeds the lines written on the page for him.

Those performances, along with the way the mobile emitter suddenly opens up the character of the Doctor, almost make the ultimate resolution of the episode forgivable. Instead of truly making the series take a right turn by providing something like Voyager doing a slingshot maneuver around the sun to return to the 24th Century, a safe way is concocted to resolve the plot. It's unfortunate because with the mobile emitter and the villainy of Henry Starling, Star Trek: Voyager finally proves it's willing to do some daring stuff.

"Future's End, Part II" is not entirely dependent upon seeing part one, but it is definitely more understandable when one has seen how Voyager ended up around 1996 Earth. That said, "Future's End, Part II" is likely to be enjoyed by anyone who likes a decent thriller as opposed to simply science fiction buffs who might just enjoy the time-travel elements.

This ends up being one of Star Trek: Voyager's high water marks, even if the first part wasn't.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Voyager - The Complete Third Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the entire season here!
Thanks!]

8/10

For other Star Trek reviews, be sure to check out my Star Trek Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Star Trek: The Next Generation Loose End Is Tied Up With "False Profits"

The Good: Moments of humor, Interaction with the larger Star Trek universe
The Bad: No real character development, Disappointing acting, Resolution
The Basics: In another disappointing one-shot, a question from Star Trek: The Next Generation is resolved almost a decade after viewers stop caring.


Star Trek: The Next Generation, like its later spin-off Star Trek: Voyager was largely episodic, meaning most of the episodes stand alone and when one ends, it has little or no consequences on the next one or one years down the line. As a result, the series occasionally left dangling plot or character threads that only an obsessive fan of the series would truly care about. So, for example, when "The Price" (reviewed here!) found Geordi, Data and two Ferengi in the Delta Quadrant on the other end of a wormhole, all the audience truly cared about was the fact that Data and Geordi made it home; when the Ferengi were stranded there, few honestly cared. Enter Star Trek: Voyager, featuring a ship stranded in the Delta Quadrant and enter "False Profits," a little piece that seems to cater to the obsessive fans by closing up one of the plot loopholes in the franchise.

The U.S.S. Voyager, witlessly journeying home, comes across the Takarians, a primitive group of people whose planet is beholden to two powerful sages . . . Kol and Arridor, a pair of Ferengi. Kol and Arridor have been stranded in the Delta Quadrant for some time and they've set themselves up fine on the Takarian Homeworld where they are exploiting the citizens for their own profit and comfort. Voyager and its crew are not willing to let this slide and so they mount a mission to stop the Ferengi, using Neelix, himself disguised as a Ferengi to try to stop them.

"False Profits" is a bad episode. Sure, there are worse episodes, but this was is pretty terrible in its own right. I get the idea behind it and I remember being excited before the episode aired going to Star Trek conventions and being teased about how this loose end was going to be tied up (I'd rather they had an appearance by the godlike Traveler Wesley) and when I saw the episode . . . there's no word in English that describes the level of disappointment I was subjected to.

First off, "False Profits" is not funny and it tries to be. Instead, the over-the-top use of humor falls flat making the episode seem like a parody of Star Trek as opposed to an episode within the franchise. Star Trek has done cultural intervention stories before, most notably the original series' "A Piece Of The Action" (reviewed here!). The Star Trek episode worked well because it kept the pace tight, the story was fresh and the humor was genuinely funny. With "False Profits," it's clear part of the point is to illustrate how lucky planets are that the Federation has a non-interference directive, but again, that's something well-established in the Star Trek franchise with episodes like "Patterns Of Force" (reviewed here!).

Beyond the simple and non-menacing plot, "False Profits" falls down because the antagonists are given far too much credit and so much effort goes into defeating them. Kol and Arridor were never terribly clever in the episode they were in before, they are not impressive now. How and why Voyager devotes so much attention to them is beyond disappointing, it's stupid. It all comes back to the old adage that heroes are only as impressive as the power of their villains. Kol and Arridor are two lame villains who surround themselves with riches and beautiful women, why does it take Janeway and her crew so long to solve the problem of what to do with them?

Well, in part it's because they send Neelix. Neelix is used in this episode for reasons unknown. Why the StarFleet officers - or better yet, one of the Maquis - don't take the problem out with speed and efficiency and instead cater to the Takarian mysticism is a mystery to me. In fact, the only reason I can find for this not being a simple problem, simple solution episode is that the producers thought it would be fun to have Neelix disguised as a Ferengi (Ethan Philips, who played Neelix, originally appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation as a Ferengi). Outside that, the use of Neelix is pointless save for comic relief and he's not funny in this one.

Sadly, the episode has very little going for it in the way of humor, though I did laugh once. The plot is disappointing and it does make the viewer wonder if Janeway truly recalls that she's trying to get her ship and crew home. I mean, every episode, she stops for some reason and when the reason is a weak moral reason like saving the Takarians from the exploitation by the Ferengi, it seems like the least she can do is take care of the problem with speed. Alas, the viewer is not so lucky on this endeavor.

"False Profits" is also light on the acting front. None of the actors appears to be bringing anything new or interesting to their performances. In fact, the episode is downright dull in the performance department. There is not a single superlative performance in the episode.

This episode is even impossible to recommend to fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation who were curious about the fate of Kol and Arridor as the answer is hardly satisfying. Or interesting.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Voyager - The Complete Third Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the entire season here!
Thanks!]

3/10

For other Star Trek reviews, be sure to check out my Star Trek Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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I Return To My Reviews As Kes Faces A Dilemma Named "Tuvix"

The Good: Well acted, Mildly original concept, Decent moral dilemmas
The Bad: Predictable and obvious to fans of the genre
The Basics: When Neelix and Tuvok become joined as one being, the viewer is presented with an interesting life and choice dilemma.


Every now and then, the writers or producers of shows in the Star Trek franchise change the name of an episode late in the game. The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Time Squared" (reviewed here!) is still often mislabeled "Time To The Second" by TV Guide. It's rare I remember such things, but when the episode "Symbiogenesis" was changed to "Tuvix," I remember being disappointed. Star Trek: Voyager had dumbed down from an intriguing title to the obvious. That's somewhat emblematic of the problem with "Tuvix."

When Tuvok and Neelix beam up from an alien planet carrying a new, rare flower, the two are merged by the transporter into a single lifeform. The awkward, part Talaxian, part Vulcan takes on the name Tuvix and begins to interact with the crew of the USS Voyager. Captain Janeway finds herself in the awkward role-reversal of mentor to half her mentor and Kes finds herself in the awkward position of trying to continue a relationship with a man who is the combination of both her lover and her mentor.

Tuvix, for his part, soon becomes an invaluable member of the crew as a cook and tactical officer, though many of the crew are unsure how to respond to this entity that is not Tuvok and not Neelix. This becomes of vital concern when Ensign Kim and The Doctor figure out how to separate the two from one another. Tuvix begins to plead for his unique life and the crew finds themselves in an ethical bind.

This episode represents one of the last true chances Janeway has to make a strong ethical dilemma that is not in any way tied to Seven of Nine (the former Borg character that enters in Season 4). Recently in the second season, Janeway has been forced to rule on issues of life and death, like in "Death Wish" (reviewed here!) and "Tuvix" represents much the same dilemma between free will and the obligations of the individual.

On a straight plot level, "Tuvix" represents a rather banal twist on a Star Trek standard. Ever since early in the first season of Star Trek when Captain Kirk was split by the transporter into two beings (the good and the evil or the aggressive and the weak, depending on perspective), Star Trek has had a "thing" about splitting recognizable characters into two versions of themselves. "Tuvix" takes the opposite tact in an attempt to be original by combining Tuvok and Neelix. Sadly, this comes well after Odo and Dax were combined over on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the episode "Facets" (reviewed here!), so this potentially original episode smacks of derivations like so many of the episodes of Star Trek: Voyager.

Why is this worth your time, then? First off, Tuvix is an interesting enough character. The blending of the unlikely combination of Neelix and Tuvok - two characters who are otherwise foils of one another - creates a character that is impressive enough to dominate the viewer's attention for the full episode. Far less silly than Neelix, Tuvix becomes a joyful reinterpretation of Tuvok and the interactions between Tuvix and Janeway and Tuvix and Kes become dramatically tense.

On the character level, Tuvix is more than a simple statement to the viewer where we have yet another argument in the Star Trek pantheon for the value of life. No, Tuvix becomes convincing in his own right combining the reason of Tuvok with the passion of Neelix as he pleads for his right to exist and not simply end up as an ended experiment. It's too bad, in some ways, how this episode resolves itself as the outcome is both obvious and disappointing on a character level. Tuvix stirs up a character who has been swept under the rug and one who is just goofy.

Tuvix is brilliantly acted by Tom Wright, the actor who electrified the third season of NYPD Blue in the episode "The Blackboard Jungle.” Wright proves his ability to act with a reserved, very Vulcan, quality that is lightyears from his angry, passionate character of Kwazi on NYPD Blue. Wright has a bearing to him that instantly brings him credibility, eliminating the doubts that his Tuvix character is not genuine or legitimate. Indeed, Wright appears to have studied the mannerisms of both Tim Russ (Tuvok) and Ethan Philips (Neelix) to play the role. There's not a hint of the silly Neelix when Tuvix is passionately arguing with Janeway for his right to exist, a credit to Wright.

And both Jennifer Lein (Kes) and Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway) play off Wright perfectly. Mulgrew is passionate and expressive giving a performance that is utterly believable as she fights for the return of her beloved mentor. Lein is faced with the acting challenge that twists her character in knots and the viewer instantly empathizes with Kes as a result of her performance. Lein insinuates a quiet desperation into Kes as the character wrestles with becoming attached to Tuvix or wanting only to have Neelix and Tuvok returned to her in their more useful capacities.

So, all that truly suffers in Tuvix is a derivative concept and plot execution. This is par for the course with Star Trek: Voyager and this aspect is mitigated some by the interesting character and the focus on the dilemma that follows his existence. Instead of becoming preoccupied with the science that created the unified being Tuvix, the show focuses on what it means that he exists and now that he has experiences neither Tuvok nor Neelix had, what does reversing the process (splitting the one character back into two) mean ethically. That's a nice twist and it offers solid entertainment value to anyone who is a fan of science fiction and likes a decent character study.

There might be just enough for general fans of character studies to enjoy "Tuvix," though the technobabble may be a bit much. It certainly remains one of the few Star Trek: Voyager episodes worth returning to.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Voyager - The Complete Second Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the sophomore season here!
Thanks!]

7/10

For other Star Trek reviews, be sure to check out my Star Trek Review Index Page!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Enemy Becomes The Lover In "Lifesigns"

The Good: Good serialization, Good story, Excellent character development, Good acting
The Bad: Predictable resolution
The Basics: An all-around worthwhile romantic episode involving the EMH and a Vidiian doctor whose life he saves.


There are few villains in the Star Trek pantheon that were not gutted by further exploring their culture or abilities. The Borg, which were menacing and frightening in how they were monolithic and uncaring were dumbed down for Star Trek: First Contact (reviewed here!) and then gutted of any menace when they became recurring villains late in the third season of Star Trek: Voyager. The Q-Continuum suffered a similar fate when Q made appearances on Star Trek: Voyager. While the Dominion on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was powerful and impressive, the resolution to the Dominion War was somewhat less than satisfying (they should have continued the series a year or two more before ending it!). The villains that never were dumbed down on Star Trek: Voyager and maintained their menace were the Vidiians and the closest they ever came to be reduced to something empathetic was in "Lifesigns." And even in this episode, the menace that is underlying the discovery of a lone, wounded Vidiian is present throughout.

When the U.S.S. Voyager diverts from its trip home to answer a distress call, the victim turns out to be a Vidiian who is near death from the Phage. As she lays in critical condition, the Emergency Medical Hologram uses one of her stopgaps to the Phage - a neuro-cortical stimulator - to save her life and begin regenerating her brain. The result is that the patient, Dr. Danara Pel, is recreated as a hologram while her body is regenerating. The Doctor begins to feel affection for her and she begins to reciprocate, in the process loathing her degenerated, hideous body. The Doctor works to convince her that he sees her for who she is while trying to convince Lieutenant Torres to help save her life.

Torres is brought into the episode as a result of her experiences in the first season episode "Faces" (reviewed here!), wherein a Vidiian scientist learned that Klingon DNA appeared resistant to the Phage. Tom Paris aids the Doctor in his quest to romance Dr. Pel, but otherwise pops up to set up the next episode. Paris begins to act erratically, going so far as to square off with first officer Chakotay and getting sentenced to the brig. Refreshingly, this is one of the few examples of serialization in Star Trek: Voyager and it sets up the next episode well.

Other than that, "Lifesigns" borrows heavily from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "I, Borg," (reviewed here!). Sadly, the writers of this episode included almost all of the essential elements of that episode; finding the wounded enemy, bringing it aboard to save its life, empathizing with it, and convincing a crewmember who was once abused by the enemy to aid it. Smartly, most of the episode redirects and focuses on the Doctor and his love of Dr. Pel.

The Emergency Medical Hologram has occasionally dabbled in finding a name and in "Lifesigns," that essential character search is recalled and explored. The EMH takes a name for Dr. Pel and the scenes where he shares his feelings with her are actually quite touching and quite real. It's a shame that the writers decided to end the story in the most predictable of ways. The relationship between the Doctor and Dr. Pel added some spice and humanity to the character who has been largely gruff and sarcastic. In "Lifesigns," he truly opens up and it's a wonderful chance for his character to go behind the simple delivery of snappy lines and facetious mannerisms.

The EMH is played by Robert Picardo who consistently delivers great performances as the Doctor. In "Lifesigns," he is given the real chance to emote and express his character's budding emotional awareness and he does it wonderfully. Picardo adds a whole new level to his expressiveness as he plays the Doctor with a sense of loss and confusion as he is forced to face feelings of actually caring for someone else. Until this point in the series, the Doctor has been guided by a sense of duty and programming; in "Lifesigns," Picardo infuses genuine humanity, developing the character into one who actually cares deeply for another living being.

Susan Diol guest stars as Dr. Pel and she is wonderful. It is hard to remember the last time a guest star popped onto Star Trek: Voyager and left such a distinct impression. Diol, encased in various prosthetics to create Pel is wonderfully emotive. She has a great voice that modulates well; convincing the viewer completely of her wounded status and her wonder when she is reborn as a hologram. Diol is memorable as Pel and she plays off Picardo quite well.

This is easily one of the better bottle romance episodes in the Star Trek pantheon and it's one that is quite accessible to fans of science fiction and fans of general drama. The show illustrates well two characters who are forming a common bond and Dr. Pel's dilemma is compelling and interesting to watch. This is easily accessible to anyone who likes romantic dramas, even with the serialized elements involving Tom Paris.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Voyager - The Complete Second Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the sophomore season here!
Thanks!]

8.5/10

For other Star Trek franchise reviews, be sure to check out my Star Trek Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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If You're Watching Star Trek: Voyager, Raise Your Glasses And Sing "Psychokiller" For "Meld!"

The Good: Excellent acting, Interesting character development/exploration
The Bad: Very weak plot
The Basics: When Tuvok mind-melds with a psychopath, he begins to degenerate into an emotional being in an episode defined by great acting and two interesting characters.


Star Trek: Voyager had very few opportunities that it took to explore anything truly unique in the Star Trek pantheon. More than any of its predecessor series's, Star Trek: Voyager had the feeling of standing on the shoulders of the past greatness's of the franchise and it suffered some with the fans as a result. From characters that were created by combining some of the best elements of Star Trek: The Next Generation to a betrayal of the original idea of the series to the recycled plots, Star Trek: Voyager stacked up poorly alongside its sister series'. As a result, the truly original and intriguing episodes of Star Trek: Voyager actually stand out quite well, even when they do not succeed. "Meld" is a success and it stands out as one of the weakest plots, but best character exploration episodes of Star Trek: Voyager's seven year run.

When Lieutenant Torres finds a dead body on the ship, she calls for security and Tuvok begins an investigation into the murder of the crewman. The investigation is ridiculously short as the Doctor finds DNA evidence linking the murder to Lieutenant Lon Suder, one of the Maquis officers and a Betazoid. Suder, it turns out, is a certifiable psychopath and he openly admits to murdering the crewman. Tuvok, however, is unsatisfied with the emotionally-based answer Suder provides to the puzzle and he struggles to understand the crime and apply a motive to it. This leads him to mind-meld with Suder and the result is that Tuvok begins to unravel . . .

"Meld" is a fairly straightforward and even predictable episode of Star Trek: Voyager and it does not do much to push the envelope as far as television goes. It is not extraordinary for its plot and the direction is remarkably simple. As well, there are no special effects to speak of, so the episode seems rather standard on its surface and uncomplicated.

Looks here are somewhat deceiving and giving the episode attention is worthwhile. The writers of the episode were clever in the execution of the idea; as Tuvok becomes more and more obsessed with learning about the crime and applying a motive to it, Suder actually gains the control he needs to to overcome his psychosis through the mind-meld. For an hour, Tuvok - logical Vulcan and face of the law on Voyager - and Lon Suder - emotional and a psychopath - become foil characters and they play off each other's characters perfectly. Suder begins to get under his skin, but benefits from the mind-meld that, in turn, is causing Tuvok to degenerate into madness.

The Star Trek franchise has done essentially plotless episodes that are rich in character exploration before. On Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the pinnacle of this style was executed with perfection in "Duet" (reviewed here!). Star Trek: Voyager's attempt at a hard character study works out well, especially considering the character chosen and the foil character created for the episode. Tuvok is one of the gold mines of Star Trek: Voyager who was largely neglected for much of the series in favor of the Doctor, Kes, and later Seven of Nine. Despite early enthusiasm over the idea of a full-Vulcan officer, Tuvok was swept under the rug for much of the series. In "Meld," he takes a front and center role and it's about time.

Actor Tim Russ is easily up to the challenge. He effortlessly reminds the viewer of Tuvok's stoic disposition and logical sense of operations before degenerating the character into the conflict that begins to rule him. Unlike Spock on Star Trek, Tuvok has no inner conflict, no demons he wrestles with. As a result, maintaining a distinctly Vulcan approach to the degeneration into psychosis is one that Russ must invent and he does it admirably.

Russ is played off by actor Brad Dourif. Dourif might be best known for his role as Grima Wormtongue in The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (reviewed here!) or as the freakish scientist in Alien Resurrection, but here he is equally memorable. Dourif plays Lon Suder as cool and smarmy and he is able to portray the character transforming before the viewer's eyes without ever leading the viewer to doubt that the changes are organic. Suder uses a wonderful sense of body language and vocal modulation to create the transformation and he carries a gravity similar to Russ for the role, making the foil character characterization pay off.

This is a remarkably accessible episode to general audiences - whatwith the Vulcan mind-meld having worked its way into general American cultural knowledge over the last forty years. Indeed, it is likely to be enjoyed by anyone who likes a good character study, not just a decent science fiction tale. Anyone who likes dramatic character explorations will likely enjoy watching two character switch roles over the course of this bottle episode. The episode works great, as long as you're not expecting much to actually happen.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Voyager - The Complete Second Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the sophomore season here!
Thanks!]

For other works with Brad Dourif, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Priest
Pulse
The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy
Alien: Resurrection
Nighwatch
The X-Files “Beyond The Sea”
Dune
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

7.5/10

For other Star Trek episode and movie reviews, be sure to visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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A Most Subtle Two-Parter For Star Trek: Voyager Is A "Cold Fire" Indeed.

The Good: Decent character elements, Acting
The Bad: Plot, Lack of follow-up, Much of the tone
The Basics: When the Caretaker's mate shows up after Kes receives guidance from an older Ocampa, Voyager is menaced and the viewer mildly disappointed.


Star Trek: Voyager, the series where the Star Trek franchise began to go seriously wrong, flailed around in its second season and began to illustrate the cracks that would eventually fracture the series and the franchise. As a huge fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, with its ultimate theme of "Dreams Die" (check out my review of the series here!), Star Trek: Voyager's ideal place in the Star Trek franchise ought to have been to illustrate that dreams can be reborn. Ideally, what Star Trek: Voyager ought to have been was story of a crew lost in space, working week after week to return home while holding tight to their core principles as the galaxy around them took its toll on the ship and crew. Ideally, Star Trek: Voyager could have been a clever reconstruction of The Odyssey wherein Gene Roddenberry's brilliant and inspiring view of the future would be reconstructed by two opposing crews who were working together toward a common goal. Wow, did Star Trek: Voyager fail to do that. But, it started well. For all my critiques of Star Trek: Voyager, it started out quite strong with "Caretaker" (reviewed here!). When "Caretaker" ended, one of the promises left for the series was the search for the Caretaker's mate as a possible way to return home faster. That promise is lived up to and explored in "Cold Fire."

The crystallized remains of the Caretaker begin to react and hum and this leads Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres to become concerned and for Captain Janeway to believe that the Caretaker's companion might be nearby. Constructing a device to track the direction of the reaction from the dead mass, Voyager finds an array much like the Caretakers, save that it is smaller and populated by Ocampa who are older than nine years old. Kes immediately falls in with Tanis, a mentor who begins to unlock her psionic and telekinetic abilities, which results in such things as Kes almost killing Tuvok by boiling him from within. Freaked out by her new abilities, yet eager to learn more about them, Kes allows Tanis to mentor her. While Kes is off having her spiritual journey, Janeway uses Tanis's connections to hunt down Susperia, the Caretaker's companion. Susperia is nothing like the Caretaker and the encounter soon becomes deadly, leaving the U.S.S. Voyager in a precarious situation.

"Cold Fire" is one of those episodes that has a beginning that is going in one direction and a second half that goes off in an entirely different direction, leading the viewer to have the feeling that the episode does not know what it wants to be. As a result, the viewer ends up feeling more uncertain about the episode than satisfied. The episode goes from being a spiritual journey to a harrowing horror episode and in this particular instance, the combination does not work terribly well. Instead, this has the feeling of being an episode that does not know what it wants to be. Indeed, this might have been far better as a two-part episode where the first part dealt with Kes and the Ocampa elders and the second part dealing with Susperia.

This is, at the end of the day, a two-part episode, though. This is the second part of the story begun in "Caretaker" and while there is the "Previously on Star Trek: Voyager" recap at the beginning of this episode, it's barely enough to appreciate the magnitude of the story and the episode is likely to only be truly appreciated by those who sit through all of "Caretaker" again. This also, however, leads to the deadly fault of "Cold Fire." "Caretaker" was a strong, ambitious beginning to Star Trek: Voyager and "Cold Fire" merely illustrates how far the series has already fallen. "Cold Fire" illustrates a crew virtually without conflict, a captain whose priorities to get her crew home have meandered for over a season and a set of characters whose initial characterizations have already been compromised for the convenience of a series that is episodic as opposed to serialized.

That said, the Star Trek franchise has attempted this type of two-parter before, where the first and second part are not adjacent to one another. In the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the episode "Coming Of Age" (reviewed here!) set up the penultimate episode "Conspiracy" (reviewed here!) in a way that makes the two episodes essentially a two-part viewing experience. "Caretaker" and "Cold Fire" suffer some when viewed in order, as opposed to sitting down and watching the two episodes back to back. "Cold Fire," in context, illustrates to the viewer the meandering, somewhat pointless and inconsequential (literally) nature of Star Trek: Voyager. On its own, it is merely erratic, in context, it's a bit of a letdown.

What isn't a letdown are the two elements of the plot and character that make up this episode. Tanis is a cool, interesting mentor and the idea of an Ocampa who has survived beyond their nine year life span gives the viewer hope for Kes. (For those who are fans of the series, one of the excuses used to have Kes depart the show prematurely at the beginning of the fourth season was the make-up concerns that would come with aging her throughout the seasons to keep up realism - Tanis's appearance debunks that as he is a fourteen year-old Ocampa and he looks rather young - mid-thirties in analogous looks.) He has some disdain for the non-telepathic Voyager crew and that gives him a sense of balance and texture that some of the guest characters on the show lack. He's not just a mentor-type.

The real winning guest character is Susperia, though it's easy enough to see what the writers were attempting to do with her. The Caretaker was a forgiving, gentle old man full of compassion; Susperia is a vindictive girl bent on revenge. She is motivated by the belief that Janeway killed the Caretaker and her desire for vengeance for the loss of her lover. Susperia is creepy, deadly, and interesting to watch.

This is, ultimately, a Kes episode in many ways as the Ocampa becomes the focus of a competition between Susperia and Tanis and the Voyager crew. Kes has abilities that have been hinted at, but not fully explored thus far. As a result, virtually any exploration of Kes's character may result in character growth and here the insinuation there may be a way to prolong her existence gives her, Neelix, and the viewer quite a bit of hope.

Kes is played masterfully here by Jennifer Lein. While the story is focused on her character's growth, Lein gives a wonderful, subtle performance where she plays a student eager to learn how to become. She is convincing in the delivery of her technobabble lines and she creates a character that progresses beyond the simple delivery of her lines.

Similarly, actress Kate Mulgrew gives a sterling performance to close the episode. Mulgrew delivers the ultimatums of the episode with humanity, compassion and the hope the viewers had for the potentials of this series. Sadly, her part is somewhat smaller in this piece and Mulgrew's place is mostly to react to plot as opposed to creating the story.

Indeed, this is a heavily plot-driven episode and while it does much right, it falls down on the tone. The resolution sets up a third part that, in continuing with how unsatisfying this episode is, was never followed through on. As a result, this episode is less likely to satisfy the casual viewers as opposed to the diehard fans. Those looking for a good mentor story will be disappointed by the left turn the story takes when Susperia appears, those looking for a good horror story about an alien-of-the-week who comes aboard with a vengeance are likely to be let down by the long build up to it.

Ultimately, this was a razor decision for me and I leaned toward the "recommend" because the character and acting aspects were sufficient. And, in context, there was something of a necessary evil quality to this episode; the viewers would have been disappointed had the Caretaker's mate never shown up. It's just too bad it went this way.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Voyager - The Complete Second Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the sophomore season here!
Thanks!]

For other Star Trek franchise episodes featuring Norman Large, be sure to visit my reviews of:
“Duet”
“Vortex”
“Dark Page”
“Unification II”
“Unification I”

5.5/10

For other Star Trek episode and film reviews, be sure to check out my Star Trek Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Many Faces Of Dax Are Revealed In "Facets"

The Good: Wonderful acting, Good character work in the end
The Bad: Somewhat lame plot, unimpressive special effects
The Basics: When Jadzia Dax undergoes a Trill ritual, Odo and Jadzia are faced with tough decisions about the future in "Facets."


Often, there are visual cues to events in science fiction that are added for the viewer rather than for the sensibility of the plot. The camera will hold on a character who has just been possessed, the invading alien will be given a "tell" like a little spine on the back of the neck or, in The X-Files, there were gratuitous shots of shapeshifting aliens and black oiled eyes. In the Star Trek Deep Space Nine episode "Facets," there is an equally ridiculous visual effect that seems to be for the benefit of the audience.

In "Facets," a Trill Guardian arrives on the station to help Jadzia Dax undergo the jantara ritual. This is a sacred ceremony in Trill society whereby the Trill Symbiont (in this case Dax) relinquishes its memories of the former hosts and allows them to become manifest once again in another's body. This way, the current Trill host (in this case Jadzia) has the opportunity to learn more directly about each past host. The past hosts possess various crewmembers and everything goes fine until Sisko allows Joran to possess him and the insane artist attacks Jadzia. Recovering from that, Jadzia must confront her fears and doubts made manifest by Curzon. Unfortunately, Curzon, who is inhabiting Odo, seems to have a new agenda . . .

There are two fundamental problems with "Facets." The first is the visual effect that happens during the jantara ritual. As the previous host comes out of the symbiont and through the Guardian and into the person it is going to invade, there's a white fog effect that is used. This is, apparently, a visual effect designed to clue us in to what is happening. The problem is, this insults our intelligence as viewers of this show. We've been told what is going to happen, they undergo a ceremony, we have enough imagination and intellect to fill in the gap without needing a visual clue.

The other problem is the somewhat idiotic move on the part of the characters. That is, having the psychopath inhabit the body of the most physically strong character seems rather asinine. It's roughly equivalent to letting a serial killer out onto a playground and giving them a knife. It would have made far more sense to have Joran, the psychopathic host introduced in "Equilibrium" earlier in the season, inhabit one of the less physically adept characters: Leeta, Bashir, Quark or O'Brien come right to mind. As it is, they put him in Sisko and figure that putting him behind a forcefield will do the trick. Sigh. What a load.

Outside these two problems, the episode works quite well. What stands out is the character work and the acting. The character work culminates in the latter half of the episode between Jadzia and the Curzon/Odo mix. Curzon and Odo find the blending that the jantara forces on them quite intoxicating and both are severely affected by the change. Thus, it is easy for us as viewers to see why Curzon wants to stay in Odo and why he would let him.

But the significant character work is in Jadzia. Here she is forced to confront her past, an experience that has left her with significant feelings of inadequacy, due in large part to Curzon's treatment of her before she was joined. Jadzia has the unique opportunity here to ask the man directly responsible for her childhood problems questions and it's a compelling bit that anyone who has ever wanted to confront their childhood demons will find intriguing.

What binds the episode together and makes it all plausible is the acting. "Facets" is basically an acting workshop for those on Star Trek Deep Space Nine. Never is this so evident as when Kira is inhabited; she does a classic acting move of going from rest to action, as if under hypnosis. If you've sat through a single acting class, you'll recognize the techniques. But Visitor sells us on it, as do the other actors. Here they screw up their faces, change their body language and alter their voices to convince us they are someone else entirely and they sell us.

Terry Farrell earns her paycheck here and she deserves a lot of the credit for keeping the flow of the episode up. Instead of dragging, Farrell creates a link for us, an anchor in what we know and expect and as a result, the viewer is left feeling like they are a part of this, as opposed to simply watching an acting exercise. Farrell's realism and acknowledgment of each of the others as they become completely different individuals sells us on how this can be happening.

The real acting credit goes to Rene Auberjonois. Rene convinces us the moment Odo and Curzon join that something special has happened. He manages to create a character that is such a perfect blend between the figure of rumor Curzon has become and the man of order Odo is. Rene has a difficult task, to take a beloved character and change him ninety degrees without making him seem like a parody. He does it. Perfectly.

This episode is accessible to those who are not fans of Star Trek Deep Space Nine as everything is well explained from the beginning. Those people will find a wonderful story about confronting one's childhood demons and inextricably stepping into adulthood.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Complete Third Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the breakout season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

6/10

For other Star Trek reviews organized by the episode or movie's ratings, be sure to check out my specialized index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2007, 2003 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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