"Course: Oblivion"

[DeepSpaceWine]

One thing that I don't think has been mentioned yet: Janeway's "melting" makeup was done in such a way that it looked like she'd had a stroke. It was pretty powerful and disturbing imagery.

The melting makeup effects on everyone are what made the episode so incredibly bizarre. Think about the episode from an outside perspective looking at all the Trek episodes. Even beyond Trek, into sci-fi tv overall, it's just so... weird.

Seven was the only one that looked crappy. The makeup looked hideous (not the way it was intended) against her maroon catsuit and hair. The cobalt catsuit probably would've been better. Janeway had the best makeup job. They should've made Chakotay's tattoo lines bend down and look like they run down part of his temple rather than look cohesive.

 

[Akiraprise]

This is one of my favorite episodes of the series. All the actors did a good job with the material. Everyone seemed totally in character the entire time. Paris getting moody and mutinous after Bellana died. Janeway still insisting on going to Earth, even though that wasn't their real home. Chakotay finally talking some sense into her. Then the ending when their probe was destroyed, the look of defeat on Kim's face, it just all came together. The crew dies and all of their accomplishments are lost...was a pretty shocking ending really at the time.

 

[Mutara Nebula 1967]

It's funny to find this thread here as I was just coming to start one on this show.

VOYAGER takes a lot of flack but this really was a marvelous episode.

I really like Duplicaste Paris and Chakotay's stance on the situtation...they knew "Janeway" was driving them over the cliff so to speak and with no "true" authority and they did their best to reason.

It was heartbreaking that neither VOYAGER got to see the other one before the unhappy ending.

 

[Thestral]

I'm with Akiraprise here - this is absolutely one of Voyager's best episodes. Well-written, well-acted, and heartbreaking.

 

[Kara Jor-El]

A good start bad ending. Not my faveorte episode.

 

[starlitegirl]

Being Demon class beings, they would have had entirely different encounters unless they somehow developed to process M class planet atmosphere. There were no Y class atmosphere beings on the series aside from the Demons. So who would they have met? Where would they have stopped. They could not survive outside of the forcefield with Y class atmosphere. That is actually a bit of a problem because don't you notice you can't stop at planets and go on ships without collapsing because you can't breathe. I guess Janeway on Soyager never stopped anywhere and just headed home, which aligns with the idea that they get obsessed with things. So that I can buy. You sure see it from Janeway as she's melting and refusing to turn back. But if they didn't stop anywhere, how did they get the enhanced drive? Was the mimetic fluid capable of that when warp plasma wasn't?

No my head hurts.

 

[Deks]

Voyager found a Y class planet where the atmosphere might have sustained them, but it was protected by a species that laid claim to mining rights on it, and instead of destroying them, Janeway decided to go on.

It wasn't until later on in the episode when the ship suffered too many losses in life that she gave the order to go back to the Demon class planet where the 'biomimetic lifeform' resides.

 

[starlitegirl]

The demon copies could not survive in Voyager's environment. They had to put them behind forcefields with Y class atmosphere. Remember when Tom (I think it was Tom) couldn't breathe. Then the doc realized what the problem was. Haven't watched it in a while, but I thought that was what tipped them off that they were copies.

So that's what I was referring to. How could Soyager have gotten involved anywhere. There are Y class planets, but we never came across anyone from them or any civilizations on them, though Voyager would generally be looking for Y class. They only needed it for a specific purpose. Thus, Voyager and Soyager would have different stops along the way.

And now that I'm thinking of it, Voyager needed to replenish materials they needed along the way to keep them going. I wonder if Soyager needed to do that as well?

 

[Deks]

Actually, since Voyager itself was a replica in Course: Oblivion, the environmental controls were modified to simulate Y class planet only AFTER they realized the crew and ship were falling apart and what the problem was.
Until then we have no reason to think that the atmosphere was different from what real Voyager used.
It's possible that the biomimetic copies adapted themselves to live in other environments.
Otherwise it would have been a dead ringer give-away that the ship is a copy long before the warp core new radiation from enhanced warp drive started to destroy the ship.

 

[starlitegirl]

Thanks Deks! I totally missed that. I hate it when I miss very important details. However, this makes me even more grateful for this forum because people like you tell me the stuff I missed.