I sympathize with your post. I did say earlier that I wasn't sure if I had witnessed something brilliant or brilliantly bad when I finished the episode, but one thing I did not mention was that: Even though I wasn't immediately sure of what I had just seen, I knew it had shaken me to my core. Whether it's for good reasons or bad, it definitely made an impact. Talk about "out of the box". You would think this would've had eternal repercussions on the show and characters. It would've been ballsier if they had followed the current of the episode. The impact of the human race creating a new race of humans and leaving the offspring on the planet. What this bonding meant for Janeway and Paris. It could've changed the show forever.
Apparently while Seven was beautiful she was still inherently human although you would think her Borgness would have counted for something. Tom's tastes apparently run to alien women. Weird how he had children with all three of them. Add that to the running list of Tom Paris' accomplishments.
The episode has some bad science without doubt, but it still manages to be entertaining, just like "Spock's Brain" which also gets a bum rep. A dull episode is a far worse episode IMO and Voyager had plenty of those!
Well, I felt it was more or less ok, because it showed the crew researching and experimenting with technology to get back on their own. It would have been nice to see dedicated research teams on Voyager developing new technologies on a constant basis... heck, the crew SHOULD have invented Slipstream and other wacky technologies all by themselves given what kind of technological resources, science and knowledge they have.
As far as I'm concerned, the moment this episode becomes worthy of no more than drinking game fodder and should be barred from canon is the concept the Doctor gives at the end, that what happens to Paris and Janeway is that they hyper-evolved into non-sapient giant salamanders. That is not how evolution works, evolution is a reaction to environment, not a set and pre-determined course. Still, I gotta give the make up department their due credit, and the death scene is beautifully acted by Robert Duncan McNeil and Robert Picardo and Jennifer Lien. Plus the Doctor does get a couple of good zingers. Not Voyager's worst, but it really is only good for laughing at it.
Its been described as having the ' best acting in a bad episode.' I got the impression that Kes would have been willing to give Paris his 'last request' kiss if the atmosphere hadn't been poisonous. That was a bit moving. If the best we can look forward to is becoming giant salamanders let's all fold in ourselves and have a group existentialist crisis.
I used to think it was awful. Maybe I should rewatch it Sent from my HTC HTC6525LVW Using Ez Forum for Android
I think that episode is disgusting, especially Tom's mutation. Not one of the episodes I usually want to rewatch. More one of the ones I constantly try to avoid. I usually don't like any mutation stuff. Harry was also visually mutilated in one of the episodes. Why do I not care?????
Oh wow this was actually a thing. http://www.amazon.com/Series-Paris-Mutated-Action-Figure/dp/B001RDX8NU