The normally action hero characters got, in return, at least one "warm fuzzy"/"sensitive" episode?
I really like both. When I get to it (I'll be doing TNG after DS9/VOY because of how things worked out), I'll probably give "Starship Mine" a similar score. Although I give a slight edge to "Macrocosm" because fighting Macro-Viruses is more sci-fi than fighting Terrorists.I haven't rewatched this episode (or any of VOY) in a very long time, but after re-reading Jammer's review of it (https://www.jammersreviews.com/st-voy/s3/macrocosm.php), I think I liked it better when it was "Starship Mine".
To be honest, I wasn't thinking of "Starship Mine" and Die Hard. I was thinking of Alien and First Contact. But now that I think about it, I can see it.
See, I kind of feel the other way around, because the terrorists (some of them, anyway), actually had personalities and some worthwhile interchanges with Picard, while the macroviruses are just CGI objects that the actors can't even physically interact with, much less have any sort of dialog with.
I was amused by Jammer's note that Neelix disappears from the episode and that he was vaguely hopeful that was meaningful in some manner.
I always thought the best way to fix Starship Mine was...
1. Replace Picard with Worf.
2. Triple the number of terrorists.
Regarding Macrocosm, it was an interesting concept, and it was fun to see Janeway having her action hero moment. We know she's the Chuck Norris of Star Trek, after all. Who else could kill Covid with a knife? I'll give it a 7.5, maybe an 8. I need to watch it again.
1. Replace Picard with Worf.
2. Triple the number of terrorists.
Regarding Macrocosm, it was an interesting concept, and it was fun to see Janeway having her action hero moment. We know she's the Chuck Norris of Star Trek, after all. Who else could kill Covid with a knife? I'll give it a 7.5, maybe an 8. I need to watch it again.
"Fair Trade"
An episode focused on Neelix that tackles two main aspects of him head-on: his usefulness to Voyager and his shady past... and then puts them together into one. Voyager reaches the Nekrit Expanse, which is the limit of Neelix's familiarity with the space Voyager's been travelling through. Neelix had to know this would happen eventually. You'd think he would've thought about it, but Neelix has always been a "live in the moment" type, thinking only of the present, except when he gets an uncomfortable reminder of the past.
Wixiban, the other Talaxian in the episode, represents the shady, criminal life that Neelix used to live. Wixiban is stuck in the Nekrit Expanse because his ship was impounded and he has to do whatever he can to get by and to be able to eventually afford to get his ship back. Whatever he has to do is whatever he has to do.
Neelix, rather than admitting to Janeway that he doesn't know anything about the space they'll be in from this point on, wants to find a map. He says Voyager doesn't need a cook. If they're not making full use of the replicators, then they need a cook. He says Janeway doesn't really need an Ambassador. They'll keep running into new aliens, some of them won't be diplomatic but some of them will, and she'll need an Ambassador for those who are. So, this isn't really about need. I think it's about ego. He wants to keep up the image that he knows all about the space they're in. He loves the idea of "I'm your guide!" and doesn't want to let it go.
This season so far, in terms of Neelix, has been about him having to let go. Having to let go of Kes being his girlfriend. Having to let go of being the guide. He probably feels like he's lost his sense of self and sense of purpose, he's lost his sense of feeling wanted or needed, and that's what's made him so desperate to find a map.
Neelix, quite frankly, is the most irrational character on the show, so it makes sense that he would act so irrationally and be willing to go along with whatever Wixiban tells him. All Wixiban ever has to do is threaten to tell Janeway all about him. Whenever Neelix seems too ridiculous to be for real, I think it's because it isn't for real. It's always a front. The cheery front that some tries to put on when they're not really cheery. If he were on Earth, he'd be the Santa Claus at the mall every Christmas Season.
The set design for the station in the Nekrit Expanse and the aliens on there really give the location a sleazy feeling. A back-alley type of vibe.
No surprise that Wixiban was a smuggler, and no surprise that Neelix would keep getting in deeper and deeper rather than let his pride be hurt. I guess getting in deeper and deeper with a criminal like Wixiban is more palatable than telling Janeway the truth.
For all of Neelix and Wixiban's flaws, they're not murderers however, and they cut a deal with Bahrat, who's in charge to law enforcement, to help expose who the real killers in a crime are rather than have Chakotay and Paris framed. That's their out for not being arrested for smuggling. Bahrat and Odo would probably become fast friends.
The truth comes out about what Neelix did, Janeway delivers her "How can I trust you again?" speech, because it's Neelix's turn. And, in my opinion, Neelix got off lightly. Nice for the episode to go deeper into Neelix and his motivations. There's nothing wrong with the episode, other than than things being sorted out a little too neatly, and I think it's fine overall, but I'm not a Neelix fan and it's also not normally an episode I'll go out of my way to watch.
And the harsh truth is that Neelix can only be trusted if what he thinks he's doing benefits him. If I were Janeway, I'd always take that into consideration. And she probably does. Too bad none of what I just said was vocalized because the writers didn't want to go all the way. As a result, still a good episode despite my not being a fan of Neelix, but I can only rate it so high. So, I give it a 7.
Scene of the Episode: Neelix asking Paris about his shady past. When Neelix leaves, Paris' facial reaction makes me think Paris figured out something was up. He just didn't know what.
One Other Thing: Shout out to Vorik! This is his first episode, and they did a very good job of making Vorik seem like a very different type of Vulcan than Tuvok. Logical but somehow more personable and, unlike Tuvok, no remote. It's tricky to navigate giving Vulcans different personalities, since they repress their emotions, but they pulled it off with Vorik.
An episode focused on Neelix that tackles two main aspects of him head-on: his usefulness to Voyager and his shady past... and then puts them together into one. Voyager reaches the Nekrit Expanse, which is the limit of Neelix's familiarity with the space Voyager's been travelling through. Neelix had to know this would happen eventually. You'd think he would've thought about it, but Neelix has always been a "live in the moment" type, thinking only of the present, except when he gets an uncomfortable reminder of the past.
Wixiban, the other Talaxian in the episode, represents the shady, criminal life that Neelix used to live. Wixiban is stuck in the Nekrit Expanse because his ship was impounded and he has to do whatever he can to get by and to be able to eventually afford to get his ship back. Whatever he has to do is whatever he has to do.
Neelix, rather than admitting to Janeway that he doesn't know anything about the space they'll be in from this point on, wants to find a map. He says Voyager doesn't need a cook. If they're not making full use of the replicators, then they need a cook. He says Janeway doesn't really need an Ambassador. They'll keep running into new aliens, some of them won't be diplomatic but some of them will, and she'll need an Ambassador for those who are. So, this isn't really about need. I think it's about ego. He wants to keep up the image that he knows all about the space they're in. He loves the idea of "I'm your guide!" and doesn't want to let it go.
This season so far, in terms of Neelix, has been about him having to let go. Having to let go of Kes being his girlfriend. Having to let go of being the guide. He probably feels like he's lost his sense of self and sense of purpose, he's lost his sense of feeling wanted or needed, and that's what's made him so desperate to find a map.
Neelix, quite frankly, is the most irrational character on the show, so it makes sense that he would act so irrationally and be willing to go along with whatever Wixiban tells him. All Wixiban ever has to do is threaten to tell Janeway all about him. Whenever Neelix seems too ridiculous to be for real, I think it's because it isn't for real. It's always a front. The cheery front that some tries to put on when they're not really cheery. If he were on Earth, he'd be the Santa Claus at the mall every Christmas Season.
The set design for the station in the Nekrit Expanse and the aliens on there really give the location a sleazy feeling. A back-alley type of vibe.
No surprise that Wixiban was a smuggler, and no surprise that Neelix would keep getting in deeper and deeper rather than let his pride be hurt. I guess getting in deeper and deeper with a criminal like Wixiban is more palatable than telling Janeway the truth.
For all of Neelix and Wixiban's flaws, they're not murderers however, and they cut a deal with Bahrat, who's in charge to law enforcement, to help expose who the real killers in a crime are rather than have Chakotay and Paris framed. That's their out for not being arrested for smuggling. Bahrat and Odo would probably become fast friends.
The truth comes out about what Neelix did, Janeway delivers her "How can I trust you again?" speech, because it's Neelix's turn. And, in my opinion, Neelix got off lightly. Nice for the episode to go deeper into Neelix and his motivations. There's nothing wrong with the episode, other than than things being sorted out a little too neatly, and I think it's fine overall, but I'm not a Neelix fan and it's also not normally an episode I'll go out of my way to watch.
And the harsh truth is that Neelix can only be trusted if what he thinks he's doing benefits him. If I were Janeway, I'd always take that into consideration. And she probably does. Too bad none of what I just said was vocalized because the writers didn't want to go all the way. As a result, still a good episode despite my not being a fan of Neelix, but I can only rate it so high. So, I give it a 7.
Scene of the Episode: Neelix asking Paris about his shady past. When Neelix leaves, Paris' facial reaction makes me think Paris figured out something was up. He just didn't know what.
One Other Thing: Shout out to Vorik! This is his first episode, and they did a very good job of making Vorik seem like a very different type of Vulcan than Tuvok. Logical but somehow more personable and, unlike Tuvok, no remote. It's tricky to navigate giving Vulcans different personalities, since they repress their emotions, but they pulled it off with Vorik.
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"MORTAL COIL" was an excellent Neelix episode, too.
In this episode, Neelix sort of reminds me of the adopted kid who's uncertain about his status in his adoptive family. He seriously messed up, and winds up getting severely lectured and then majorly grounded... but in the process, he realizes that his status in the family is rock-solid. So even though he has an unpleasant experience to deal with, it's tempered by the end of his anxiety.
Not top-tier, but a worthy episode, and a more serious look at the character Neelix could and should have been. 8/10.
Not top-tier, but a worthy episode, and a more serious look at the character Neelix could and should have been. 8/10.
"Mortal Coil" is my favorite Neelix Episode. "Jetrel" is good, don't get me wrong, but Neelix is grating on my nerves in that episode even if justified. I've only seen "Homestead" twice. I thought it was good, just not my favorite.
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IIRC the major issue with "Homestead" for me, besides the sheer coincidence of Our Heroes finding a colony of Talaxians in the penultimate episode (not really their fault in-universe, of course) is the question of how the colony just happened to be there in the first place.
It was a good ending for Neelix; it just felt contrived.
Still infinitely better than the deleted future replaced by nothing that everyone else got.
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