A Semi-Hater Revisits Voyager

[startrekwatcher]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

I find Author Author to be quite overrated. It is entertaining enough but deserving of no more than 3 stars out of 4.

I had seen so many alternate characters throughout Trek and most recently with "Living Witness" that it doesn't do all that much for me here. Also the Doc's rights arc had worn out its welcome a year earlier if not before then with episodes like TTDS and Virtuoso.

Also this episode tries to evoke TNG's classic "The Measure of a Man" but fails to have the gravitas, the intelligence, the compelling drama or the emotional resonance. And Barclay and Admiral Paris was wasted in their cameo appearances--a shame really given how close to the end the show is.

 

[Count Zero]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

I thought the end scene of Author, Author quite disturbing. To me, it came off as if the Federation has created its own class of slaves.

 

[Tachyon]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

Author, Author is probably what I consider the last gem of Voyager's run.

Agreed. It was very good. There is another enjoyable episode still coming, though (Rennaissance Man).

Oh wow. That took me by a surprise to say the least.

AA's first half was decent, second half sucked. RM must be one of the worst of season 7. Only Human Error and Endshame are worse than it.

 

[JB2005]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

I thought the end scene of Author, Author quite disturbing. To me, it came off as if the Federation has created its own class of slaves.

I thought that too, then I decided that that was the point, we were supposed to stop and think.

What bothered me was - it's the 24th Century and they're using hammers to mine ore...

 

[TheGodBen]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

Friendship One (**)

An interesting idea for an episode but one which ends up being dull, pointless and dumb. It starts out well enough, I like the idea that the naivety of early humanity's desire to make contact with alien races inadvertently caused a disaster on another world. The scenes of various crewmembers walking through the devastation with no idea that humanity is partly to blame is not only interesting, but it opens up a lot of potential. However, rather than exploring the legitimate grievances these aliens have with humanity, the episode makes the aliens insane conspiracy nuts who accuse humans of some asinine plot to invade the planet, and the real issue is almost side-stepped entirely. That's disappointing.

Then the episode devolves into your standard hostage situation where the goldshirt we haven't seen in six years is the only person to die. I'm not the sort of person who is opposed to characters being killed off, I believe when it is done right it adds to the drama of a series, but Carey's death is pointless, and it has no emotional resonance because the guy was clearly brought back purely to kill him. When I first saw this episode all those years ago I didn't even remember him, he meant that little to me.

Then Voyager solves the problem using magic torpedoes, and Janeway reflects upon Carey's death:

CHAKOTAY: The urge to explore is pretty powerful.
JANEWAY: But it can't justify the loss of lives, whether it's millions or just one.

Um, what? Did this scene just undermine all of Star Trek? Janeway, contradict yourself:

JANEWAY: We seek out new races because we want to, not because we're following protocols. We have an insatiable curiosity about the universe.
SEVEN: Your Chief Engineer and Security Officer were nearly lost today. That is unacceptable.
JANEWAY: To you, maybe, but not to me or my crew. Our experience with the Mari gave us an insight into a culture we've never encountered.
SEVEN: But that is irrelevant.
JANEWAY: No. It's how we gain knowledge.
SEVEN: We are in disagreement.
JANEWAY: Good. I dread the day when everyone on this ship agrees with me. I thank you for your opinion but our mission is not going to change. Dismissed.

Torpedoes: 96/38

We saw two torpedoes being fired, then Janeway orders at least one more volley so that brings a total of four torpedoes (although explosive sounds indicate there might have been a lot more).

 

[Kira Nerys]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

I wish there was a voyager best of so fans like me who are only luke warm to the series can get . I tried to get into voyager and just couldn't it was too bland and dry.

 

[teya]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

Then Voyager solves the problem using magic torpedoes, and Janeway reflects upon Carey's death:

CHAKOTAY: The urge to explore is pretty powerful.
JANEWAY: But it can't justify the loss of lives, whether it's millions or just one.

Um, what? Did this scene just undermine all of Star Trek?

Kirk is rolling in his grave.

 

[rahullak]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

GodBen are you going to start a "Lover revisits DS9" thread after you're done with this Voyager revisitation? Just curious.

 

[Vic Sixx]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

I was gonna ask that too. It would be much more interesting than an Enterprise Review thread. ( I hate Enterprise).

 

[Count Zero]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

Then Voyager solves the problem using magic torpedoes, and Janeway reflects upon Carey's death:

CHAKOTAY: The urge to explore is pretty powerful.
JANEWAY: But it can't justify the loss of lives, whether it's millions or just one.

Um, what? Did this scene just undermine all of Star Trek?

Kirk is rolling in his grave.

Picard isn't happy, either.
It could have been interesting, though, if Janeway had really come to this conclusion and rejected her earlier Starfleet ideals. If that realisation had had consequences in the future. Instead she stays in Starfleet after their return home and we never hear of a change of mind back to Starfleet ideals, either.

 

[TheGodBen]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

GodBen are you going to start a "Lover revisits DS9" thread after you're done with this Voyager revisitation? Just curious.

I'm going to revisit Enterprise first because several people asked me to do it waaay back towards the start of this thread, and I was considering rewatching Enterprise for my own personal amusement anyway. If the Enterprise thread manages to keep people interested then I'll move on to DS9, but I'm not sure when that will be. I'm starting a masters degree in two weeks, so if I'm able to coast through that as I did with my bachelor degree I'll get around to DS9 in 4 or 5 months, but if I have to put some effort in this time then it could be considerably longer.

 

[angel]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

id love to read your reviews on TNG, i dont comment much but i always read the thread and have really enjoyed it so far :-)

 

[TheGodBen]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

If I'm still alive in a year then I might do TNG too, and then I might do TOS to finish things off. But no TAS, I've watched that once and that was quite enough.


Natural Law (*)

I was a bit confused while watching this episode, most episodes last around 44 minutes and I didn't understand why this episode was allowed to run for over 50 minutes. Then I looked down at the clock/timer on my DVD player and saw that I was only 35 minutes in. There was another act to this thing?! Time had lost all meaning to me.

I found it to be such a dull episode that is derivative of so many other Trek episodes; a shuttle crash, primitive aliens, technobabble deflector shenanigans... this is a bunch of Trek episodes carved up and reserved in a not very interesting way. Even the final act where there is an actual issue to explore isn't interesting, I just wanted the episode to end so I could go back to wasting my life by zooming in on random locations on Google Earth (I'm bound to find a nude sunbather eventually).

Then there's the b-plot involving Tom getting flying lessons, but the actors apparently didn't get the memo I sent them informing them that it's not funny. An episode where Tom is confronted with his reckless piloting might have been a source of amusement, but instead the funny is supposed to come from a grumpy old man who has to get up 6 times a night in order to pee and he's taking his prostate problems out on Tom for no good reason.

But if there is one thing this episode had in spades it is the sexual tension between Seven and Chakotay. Seeing them together in this episode you can tell that these two are meant to spend the rest of their lives together, and the passion in their eyes is so strong that I was half-expecting them to jump one another and make sweet, sweet love in front of the whole tribe.

I think I just broke my sarcasm unit, I may not be able to use it in my final three reviews.

When Seven used the deflector to turn off the magic shield thing, do you think that the shuttle wing that was suspended on the shield fell on one of the primitives? Because I'd like to think that it did.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

I think I just broke my sarcasm unit, I may not be able to use it in my final three reviews.

If you need to, you can borrow some parts from mine - I always keep a few spare parts handy, just in case.

 

[TheGodBen]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

Thanks, but I've recently become a Jehovah's Witness and we're not allowed to accept other people's parts in us.

 

[JB2005]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

^ On grounds of religious tolerance, forgoes obvious comment...

 

[rahullak]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

Thanks, but I've recently become a Jehovah's Witness and we're not allowed to accept other people's parts in us.

I presume this implies your sarcastic parts have been fixed.

 

[TheGodBen]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

Nah, I had to send them in for repair and I wont get them back until Tuesday afternoon. But I've jury-rigged a temporary solution by combining my humour mode and my barefaced-lie mode into a passable alternative to sarcasm.

 

[Akiraprise]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

If you're bored later you could do the Table of Contents for Season 6.

 

[TheGodBen]

Re: A Hater Revisits Voyager

Oh, so because I like Star Trek you think I'm one of those pathetic nerds who is spending Saturday night alone with his computer? I'll show you!


Season 6

Equinox, Part 2 (***½)
Survival Instinct (***½)
Barge of the Dead (**½)
Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy (****)
Alice (*)
Riddles (*½)
Dragon's Teeth (***½)
One Small Step (**½)
The Voyager Conspiracy (*½)
Pathfinder (***½) (No, that was not the end, it was a poorly targeted joke about Fair Haven that confused everybody.)
Fair Haven (0)
Blink of an Eye (****)
Virtuoso (**)
Memorial (****)
Tsunkatse (**)
Collective (***½)
[Dark Images (*½)]
Spirit Folk (0)
Ashes to Ashes (*)
Child's Play (***½)
Good Shepherd (***)
Live Fast and Prosper (**½)
Muse (*½)
Fury (*)
Life Line (**½)
The Haunting of Deck Twelve (**½)
Unimatrix Zero (**)
Season 6 Review


Ha! I showed you by doing the exact thing you expected me to do!

Hang on a sec...