Star Trek: Voyager Fans Are Repeatedly Jerked Around By “Course: Oblivion!”

The Good: Interesting basic concept, Decent acting
The Bad: Belabored plot, No character development
The Basics: In “Course: Oblivion,” the U.S.S. Voyager begins falling apart and the reversal hardly justifies the episode.


As a series that adamantly refuses to be serialized, Star Trek: Voyager occasionally had to work exceptionally hard against itself. Sadly, that sometimes meant preposterous plots based almost entirely upon the reversal (usually inspired by Brannon Braga) that came in the last moments of an episode. “Course: Oblivion” is the episode that works hardest to ignore what came before to try to deny the past episodes . . . and in the process it becomes ridiculous.

“Course: Oblivion” also foreshadows quite a bit of what is to come, including the final arc between Seven Of Nine and Chakotay.

Following the wedding of B’Elanna Torres and Ensign Tom Paris, things on Voyager seem to be going well. Utilizing a new warp drive, the ship is scheduled to make it back to Earth in just two years. But rapidly the ship and the people aboard it begin to deteriorate in an unforeseen and unpredictable way. As the mystery deepens, Tuvok and Chakotay try to nail down the event that might have contaminated the ship. As the crew and ship fall apart, they go in search of what led to their destruction.

So much of “Course: Oblivion” is a simple drawing out of the investigation of why Voyager and its crew are abruptly falling apart and the experience of the episode is watching the various characters die, starting with Torres (because she worked in Engineering near the new warp core). Sadly, there is not much more than that and because the cause of the degradation is not revealed until the very end, it is hard to discuss the episode without revealing the big twist from the middle.

That said, despite Star Trek: Voyager trying hard not to be serialized, “Course: Oblivion” is revealed, at the twenty minute mark, to be a sequel to “Demon” (reviewed here!). Once the viewer knows that this version of Voyager is not actually real, the episode simply belabors itself and it becomes impossible to care about what is happening aboard the ship. Lacking the emotional resonance to the characters, “Course: Oblivion” simply plods on to its inevitable end.

Unfortunately, it ends up not making sense from the moment of the discovery. While the conceit of the new warp core almost justifies how Voyager has managed to traverse the incredible distances the real Voyager has traveled, “Course: Oblivion” has one incredible, obvious issue that makes the episode fail at the midpoint of the episode. To prove exactly what Torres is, Tuvok and Chakotay inject her with an enzyme. That enzyme reverts Torres to her natural form. The problem is, Torres and her biobed are made of the exact same stuff. The enzyme should have destabilized not only Torres, but the biobed, the floors, everything through the ship, like the way the acidic blood in Alien (reviewed here!) eats through the decks until it becomes inert.

That leaves the acting in “Course: Oblivion.” No one in the cast gives anything remotely remarkable to make the viewer care about the characters in “Course: Oblivion.” The result is that any potential emotional resonance from the episode is lost and the viewer simply sits through this utterly unremarkable episode.

[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!]

2.5/10

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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Another Alternate Reality Episode For Star Trek: Voyager: “Demon” Rises To Mediocre.

The Good: Strong opening, Adequate acting, Decent special effects
The Bad: No substantive character development, Reversal is unnecessary and ultimately pointless.
The Basics: “Demon” starts with a good, strong concept, but degenerates into a familiar concept episode that adds up to nothing.


Star Trek: Voyager occasionally had episodes that were simple concepts that were fleshed out into full-length programs that did not quite work out. “Demon” is one of those episodes. Because of Star Trek: Voyager’s adamant refusal to do serialized episodes, “Demon” is arrived at abruptly and resolved almost as abruptly. The lack of build-up to the crisis that initiates the episode implies to the viewer that the solution to the problem will be reached by the end of the episode, too.

“Demon” is a bottle episode that starts promising, if ridiculously executed, that quickly becomes something far less inspired. Why, for example, Neelix cannot bring his own blankets into his new quarters when the crisis is a power deficit makes no rational sense. “Demon” tries, but the execution is mediocre and seems designed to set-up the reversal at the end of the episode, which is a sad payout for the investment of time and effort.

Voyager is suffering from a severe power crisis and goes into “gray mode,” to preserve energy. With most of the decks shut down, Seven Of Nine discovers a nearby planet that is rich in deuterium that Voyager needs. Harry, uncharacteristically assertive, recommends taking a shuttle down to mine the deuterium with Tom Paris. When they go down, Harry is lost inside a pool of liquid that is rich in the element the crew needs. While Paris is able to rescue him, both soon fall unconscious, necessitating Voyager to land to recover them.

When Chakotay and Seven of Nine are dispatched to find them, they discover Tom Paris, able to breath and walk around on the Demon-class planet without his environmental suit. After discovering the fluid on the planet has mimetic properties, the planet itself is revealed to be adversarial. Repowered and repaired, Voyager takes off, with a twist.

Following on the heels of another episode that fundamentally messes with the reality of Star Trek: Voyager, “Living Witness” (reviewed here!), “Demon” works toward a resolution that largely negates most of the episode. That makes it very hard to evaluate, rewatch, or care about “Demon.”

Sadly, the end reversal necessitates a great deal of filler that could have been worthwhile were it not for the reversal negating it. Harry Kim does a whole retrospective on his character early in the episode that explains how far he has come. Kim’s recitation of his accomplishments are used to explain his rather abrupt character transformation in the episode. And, frankly, it is about time. While Neelix has been essentially worthless since “Fair Trade” (reviewed here!), Harry Kim entered the series with the least going for him and thus the most potential to do something with the character. The writers have not known how to utilize him outside being a very minor support character and his transformation in “Demon” makes him suddenly vital, interesting, and worthwhile.

Unfortunately, this is not really a Harry Kim episode; it is a scientific anomaly episode and a pretty weak one at that. Further diluting the episode is the subplot that has Neelix rather ridiculously camping out in Sickbay. This is another example of Chakotay making ridiculous decisions or choices (like telling Harry Kim to live with Seven Of Nine’s new command structure in “The Omega Directive,” reviewed here!). The silly, time-killing plotline is one that Star Trek: Voyager could have done without. While The Doctor is an excellent source of comic relief in the series, “Demon” makes a fool out of him.

The acting in “Demon” is adequate, but there is nothing at all superlative about it. There are no great performances in the episode.

In the end, “Demon” is all right, but in no way extraordinary and the “surprise” ending is hardly strong enough to justify the episode that precedes it.

[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!]

4.5/10

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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So Long Kes, Hello Breasts! . . . Er, Seven Of Nine. "The Gift"

The Good: Moments of character, Jennifer Lein
The Bad: Jeri Ryan's initial acting
The Basics: Kes is written out in an episode that minimizes her transformation until the very end when her gifts are finally revealed!


As part of a transition between Jeri Taylor's vision of Star Trek: Voyager and Brannon Braga's version of the show, a transition needed to be made on-screen as well as behind-the-scenes. While the stated reason for getting rid of Jennifer Lein's Kes was the ridiculous notion that her make-up would have to be changed every three or four episodes given how the character was aging, it seems awfully coincidental that when Taylor was ousted as an executive producer, the only character removed from the show was the one she created. That meant that when Jeri Taylor was out, so too was Jennifer Lein.

Kes's departure from the series came in "The Gift," an episode that worked to make Seven Of Nine a more permanent member of the Voyager crew and lessen her full-Borg status. In other words, the point of the episode was to get rid of a character of substance and replace it with sex appeal. "The Gift" follows "Scorpion, Part II" (reviewed here!) and it almost immediately begins to do away with the idea that Borg space was so small that two episodes would find Voyager through it. As Voyager finds the Borg threat still very real, Seven Of Nine is made into less of a Borg and Kes is written out.

When Janeway cuts Seven Of Nine off from the Borg Collective, the alienated Borg begins to reject her Borg implants. As Annika Hansen's human DNA begins to reassert itself, her immune system begins to combat her Borg implants. After Kes exhibits extraordinary telekinetic powers, Janeway starts making the medical decisions for Seven Of Nine. In trying to remove the implants, Seven Of Nine comes close to dying and Kes starts to using her newfound abilities to disconnect Seven's failing technology.

As Seven Of Nine reluctantly aids Voyager in restoring the ship to optimal efficiency, Kes explores her new powers. Taking advantage of an opportunity to try to contact the Borg, Seven Of Nine reveals her duplicitous and obsessed nature and she is easily thwarted by Kes. Squaring off with Janeway, Seven Of Nine resists becoming human as Kes moves beyond being a simple Ocampa.

"The Gift" is an episode that is basically a series of excuses for Star Trek: Voyager. Kes was getting written out, so the entire Kes plot makes for a sensible exeunt for the character. Kes, though she makes a cameo in one future episode, is written out, essentially, as a god and that is very cool. The Star Trek franchise does not usually know what to do with superpowerful characters - like Wesley Crusher witlessly appearing in Star Trek: Nemesis after being granted godlike abilities in "Journey's End" (reviewed here!). The Kes half of the episode is interesting and worthwhile. In addition to including important scenes between Kes and the Doctor and Kes and Tuvok, "The Gift" devotes a few moments to a final real Kes and Neelix scene and that is refreshing.

The other half of the episode is less-than wonderful. First, the Borg technology continues to disrupt Voyager. Why this is occurring is not at all satisfactorily explained. The technology should be fine in Voyager and it would have been much more interesting on one level to leave Voyager enhanced. Given that the first thing Chakotay mentions being worked on is the removal of Borg armor on the hull, it seems like a cheap excuse to restore Voyager to its original configuration.

Second, the big purpose of the Seven Of Nine plot is to reduce her make-up. Seven Of Nine rejecting her Borg implants allows the character to shed her physical armor and walk around the rest of the series in a skintight catsuit with her breasts hoisted up. The make-up in "The Gift" actually is more noticeable in its changes on a high-definition television. I never noticed how subtle the changes in the make-up were before seeing the episode in HD and the make-up is a big part of the point of the episode.

Still, though, the character of Seven Of Nine makes little real sense. After a lifetime of being essentially a braindead drone, Seven Of Nine exhibits duplicity and cunning that are not at all characteristic of the Borg. Chakotay is quick to reveal that Annika Hansen was assimilated at a very young age and has only known life as a Borg. Given that, Seven Of Nine might reasonably want to return to the Borg, but the creative methods she employs do not "read" as right.

To try to salvage some of the ridiculous nature of the character, writer Joe Menosky creates an interesting philosophical difference between Janeway and Seven Of Nine. The result of their difference in opinion is that Janeway essentially takes Seven Of Nine in as her charge. While Kes is explicitly written out, "The Gift" is also the final nail in the coffin for Harry Kim's character. Watching the early seasons of Star Trek: Voyager, Janeway has an almost parental role in Harry Kim's life. That niche is now filled by Seven Of Nine and Harry Kim goes quietly as a result.

The special effects in "The Gift" are decent and the episode employs minimal effects. The make-up is better than in the prior episode and Kes's visions are very well-rendered. Director Anson Williams has a few visible issues on the basic lighting front (in the first act, there is a shot of Tuvok that looks like it was lit with the same lack of sophistication as most of "Encounter At Farpoint" was!).

Ultimately, "The Gift" is a "necessary evil" episode and given my love of Kes, it is impossible for me to entirely write the episode off. Kes gets a good exit and there are moments when Seven Of Nine is not horrible, making the episode worth watching, at the very least.

[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!]

6/10

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 Doctor’s Lessons With Family Are Not Quite Enough To Carry “Real Life.”

The Good: Great idea, Interesting character moments, Decent acting
The Bad: Somewhat ridiculous notions (like 1950s values still being an ideal in the 24th Century)
The Basics: The Doctor makes his own holographic family and suffers the consequences of alterations that make them more headstrong and realistic.


The Doctor was long my favorite character on Star Trek: Voyager and as the character evolved, the experiments the writers and producers did with him had varying levels of success. Some of the ideas actually worked well, like the Doctor getting his mobile holo-emitter in “Future’s End, Part II” (reviewed here!). Others were good ideas that were too simplistic to carry an entire episode and as result, they fell a bit flat. “Real Life” is one of the latter type episodes.

“Real Life” finds the Doctor experimenting with family life and after he creates a ridiculously ideal one, he gets a far more realistic one created for him. It’s a very simple idea and to flesh out the full forty-three minutes of the episode, “Real Life” includes a full subplot involving a scientific phenomenon of the week – subspace eddies – and a smartly relevant character arc that continues to move B’Elanna Torres and Tom Paris closer romantically. While any of the three elements work on their own, none of them is truly strong enough to carry their own episode and the result is that while “Real Life” has a pretty necessary idea for the Doctor’s character arc, it has a pretty jumbled execution that does not quite work.

Shortly after the Doctor begins a simulation to create a family, the U.S.S. Voyager travels into peaceful territory where they discover a benevolent scientific outpost wiped out. As Voyager investigates, the Doctor has Torres and Kes visit his family program. Over a single dinner, Torres gets increasingly upset with how the Doctor (going by Kenneth for his simulation) has created a wife and two children who are entirely idealistic. Frustrated with how they do not embody anything realistic to her, Torres gets the Doctor’s permission to alter the program.

The result is the Doctor walks in a chaotic family where his rebellious son, Jeffrey blares music, his wife is speaking at the Bolian embassy and not staying home to cook dinner, and his whiny daughter Belle wants his attention to find her mallet for music practice.

“Real Life” is, in no way, a terrible episode, but it is one that fails to find and keep a solid focus. While the Doctor is affected by his faux-life in the Holodeck, Tom Paris gets lost exploring the astral eddy. As Paris tries to find his way out and Voyager tries to find a way to use the energy from the astral eddy to gain additional power and be able to use the replicators more.

Within the holodeck program, “Real Life” looks unfortunately goofy, ironically not in the 1950’s-esque family design. The Klingons in “Real Life” who are influencing Kenneth’s son Jeffrey look far more like Kazon than Klingons. Yes, it is a matter of hair design, but the Klingons look somewhat ridiculous.

“Real Life” takes a turn for the appropriately tragic in the holodeck simulation, which makes for a reasonable reason why the Doctor would shut the program down by the end of the episode. Unfortunately, the writers of “Real Life” fall into one of the traps that too many of the Star Trek writers do, which is applying 20th Century medical standards to the 24th Century. When Kenneth tells his wife that the brain is still a largely mysterious organ, it is utterly ridiculous given that in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (reviewed here!) the brain is, in fact, not a mystery.

The episode may be one of the neglected tragedies of Star Trek: Voyager and whenever I consider the episode, it is hard not to think that Torres is a bit of a jerk. Torres is right to point out to the Doctor that the program is an unfortunate ideal that is not giving him the actual experiences he wants to have. But the parameters she puts into the program seem designed to end in tragedy and that is simply not fair and it’s certainly not nice to her friend.

On the character front, though, the effect the Doctor’s family has on him is a profound one and as Paris points out to him, the realism of the experience can give the Doctor a real sense of perspective. This allows Robert Picardo to show off his acting chops in a way that uses the actor in a way that goes well beyond his usual comedic brilliance. Playing opposite him, Robert Duncan McNeill actually delivers one of the best monologues of his career on Star Trek: Voyager when he has to talk to the Doctor about what it means to have a family. This leads from one great speech to one of Picardo’s most powerful dramatic performances as he has to deliver a series of tough and impassioned lines to a guest actress and he sells the viewer on the full weight and history of the characters in a way that is a real tear-jerker.

While the episode ends powerfully and makes for an experience that ultimately gets a fairly strong “recommend” from me, objectively, “Real Life” is a tougher sell in that its many elements become cluttered and do not add up to a solid storyline that engrosses the viewer for the full duration of the episode. Jeri Taylor seems to have done the best she could with the ambitious idea, but it just wasn’t enough for a full episode and the elements that supplement it are hardly as satisfying as one might want.

[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!]

5.5/10

Check out how this episode stacks up against others by visiting my Star Trek Review Index Page!

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

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"Statistical Probabilities" Find The Dominion Negotiating And The Doctor Preparing For Defeat!

The Good: Good characters, Smart, Moments of humor,
The Bad: Another program that does a disservice to smart people.
The Basics: When a group of genetically-modified people arrives at Deep Space Nine, Doctor Bashir finds himself with his hands


I like Siddig El Fadil (Alexander Siddig). I think the actor got a weird bum rush and that he should have expected better of his fans (at conventions, he frequently admits he changed his public name simply because he got sick of fans and convention promoters pronouncing it wrong), but I like Siddig quite a bit. I like him most, probably, because he is funny. Sometimes, though, it takes a long time for his jokes to pay off. So, for example, shortly before the sixth season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine began to air, I was at a convention where Siddig was the headliner. I was very excited because this was long before he did conventions virtually every weekend. So, when a fan – referencing “Doctor Bashir, I Presume?” (reviewed here!) asked Siddig if the writers were actually doing anything with his character based upon the secret that was revealed in that episode, El Fadil shook his head, frowned and said, “No. No, it’s one of those things where they needed it for the episode and we never hear about it again.” The joke, for those who are not as familiar with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is that from the outset of the sixth season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Doctor Bashir is frequently compared to a Vulcan or a computer for the way his mind works. "Statistical Probabilities," which had been filmed well in advance of that convention appearance I mentioned, was the very first episode that fully delved into Doctor Bashir’s interest in genetically engineered humans.

"Statistical Probabilities" introduces a new set of characters, genetically engineered humans, who recur once more in the series. I actually like "Statistical Probabilities" more than my rating might indicate; I like how the episode fleshes out the larger Star Trek universe. I like how the episode does make “Doctor Bashir, I Presume” have consequences. And I like the way the episode explores how there are characters in the Star Trek universe for whom circumstances have not been as good. Like the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Lower Decks” (reviewed here!), "Statistical Probabilities" shows the fate of people who are not the a-list characters and in this case explores a group of people who are not even with StarFleet.

Doctor Bashir, after consulting with StarFleet Medical, determines that there are genetically enhanced humans living in (essentially) an assisted living facility. So, he invites four of them to Deep Space Nine. With them as his responsibility, Bashir tries to find ways to integrate Jack, Patrick, Lauren and the comatose Sarina with the crew. Jack is frequently manic and nervous, but is able to do complex equations. Lauren, in addition to having an enhanced libido seems to be an expert in many scientific fields and Patrick, an elderly engineered man, is emotionally fragile, but deeply perceptive. Sarina, it seems, is unable to process the world at the speed her brain works.

While Bashir’s genetically enhanced patients are visiting, so too are Weyoun and Gul Damar. Damar is advancing a peace initiative and seems very uncomfortable working so closely now with Weyoun. When Jack, Patrick, Lauren and Sarina witness a broadcast on a monitor, they quickly piece together what has happened between Damar and Weyoun. Astonished, Bashir convinces Sisko to give them access to the peace negotiations. But soon, the group begins predicting a very dark future for the Federation and Bashir comes into conflict with Sisko and O’Brien over how to proceed with the data they are positing.

The real strike against "Statistical Probabilities" is that it again perpetrates the stereotype that exceptionally smart people are socially maladjusted. Smart people, we are taught through "Statistical Probabilities" and the movie Smart People are not able to fit in. They are characterized as misfits, troublemakers and never seem as worthwhile as “normal” people. Of course, this may largely be to help people who are not exceptionally intelligent get by (i.e. “well, they may be smart, but I am well-liked”). It’s a bunch of hokum; often the smartest people actually understand and interact with other people better than those who are not as smart.

So, "Statistical Probabilities" could have been about Dr. Bashir meeting with exceptionally gifted, genetically-enhanced humans who are forced to meet in secret lest they be kicked out of StarFleet. The episode could have been about an exceptionally useful think tank which tries to seduce Dr. Bashir into working with them to end the Dominion War faster, with less casualties and with a greater chance of long-term peace for the Quadrant. But, instead, "Statistical Probabilities" is about a group of people who can barely function they are too damn smart, but oh so dumb. Sigh. And I like "Statistical Probabilities" when I am watching it!

Ironically, what I tend to like about "Statistical Probabilities" are the background plots more han the a-plot. Sure, Lauren is fun to look at and watching Tim Ransom channel Brad Pitt from Twelve Monkeys (reviewed here!) is a hoot, but the schtick gets old quickly. Jack is an exhausting character to watch and Patrick is so fragile as to be annoying in most of his time on screen. But, “Statistical Probabilities" still has decent elements.

The first of those elements is the use of the Bashir/O’Brien friendship. Doctor Bashir and Miles O’Brien are best friends and while episodes like “You Are Cordially Invited . . .” play off that friendship delightfully for comedic purposes, it is nice to see how serious the relationship can be. For the first time in a long time, "Statistical Probabilities" puts Bashir and O’Brien on opposite sides of an issue. O’Brien is intimidated by the idea of genetically enhanced humans and he does not want Bashir associating with Jack and the others. So, when Bashir begins to debate the merits of the projections Jack and the others develop, it is O’Brien who serves as an emotional and intellectual tether. It is nice to see how the two adults work the problem out as adults.

Also virtuous is how "Statistical Probabilities" addresses the language issue. While working with the holographic representations, Jack and Lauren realize that Weyoun is speaking in much shakier terms than the Universal Translator is rendering the words! That sort of detail and delving into what it truly means is a perspective not seen too frequently in the Star Trek franchise and "Statistical Probabilities" presents it well. The scene between Odo and Weyoun is a nice bit of comic relief, as well.

On the character front, "Statistical Probabilities" keeps a pretty tight focus on Bashir and O’Brien, at least when it is not parading Jack around for everyone. There is a delightful scene wherein Sisko becomes overwhelmed with the sheer volume of projections Bashir has for him and that is both an enjoyable scene and cool for both characters. Sisko is great at relying upon his crew to do things that he does not; he is a great leader. Seeing him interact with an unfettered Bashir is pretty wonderful. And Bashir is able to illustrate both his humanity and his intelligence in "Statistical Probabilities," which makes it the first time since “Doctor Bashir, I Presume” where the character has not been truly out of balance.

"Statistical Probabilities" is another great performance opportunity for Siddig El Fadil. A far cry from the annoying junior officer who started the series, Dr. Bashir in "Statistical Probabilities" is smart, articulate and entirely confident. El Fadil manages to play that to a t, with wonderful body language and great, articulate deliveries. Moreover, he and Colm Meany and he and Tim Ransom play off one another exceptionally well.

In the end, "Statistical Probabilities" keeps the main Dominion War plot relevant by creating a tangent story that allows Bashir to be Bashir. That, at the very least, makes it worthwhile.

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

6.5/10

For other Star Trek episode reviews, please visit my Star Trek Review Index Page for an organized listing of all I have reviewed!

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