So I'd re-watched three episodes from season 4. VOY was hit or miss in its first two and a half years, but season 3 sealed the deal and with some sparkling new directions that gave the show a boost in confidence and verve, to the point it would get through four more years. As viewers, we may not always agree with every line of dialogue or concept, but it sure is fun to watch and experience and then ruminate on them.
"Day of Honor" raises some interesting points, which also has a rushed ending - mostly because the makers felt they needed to build a romance between Tom and B'Elanna, but by the 1990s the notion of "shipping" started to become standard plot issue. Didn't care for it then, still don't. It could have been worse, but they didn't do what I would have laughed at so I won't go too deep and on the other hand, none of them on ship thought they'd get back home so why not get it on with the soap. If nothing else, for a brief moment, it was cool we'd see crew members in a dire predicament - though we all know they'd get back safely and we weren't disappointed or surprised.
The story takes a spin of TNG's "The Icarus Factor" with the painsticks and life ritual but taken to another direction. Seeing B'Elanna mope is definitely interesting and as a one-off isn't half-bad.
The 7/Caatati/Janeway subplot might have been more effective if this episode took place a couple weeks later after getting to know 7 better. Janeway is right in fighting for her, there's enough meat to the subplot, but I still think the "I'll fight for you" notion would have been that much stronger as a result.
The Caatati resolution is way too quick and glossy. I would have waited to get the warp core back before handing over their thorium generator but I did like they had 7 there, to help show the Caatati representative she's not Borg anymore in a subplot that could have been fleshed out a bit better if it weren't for the "shipping setup scenes". Especially as the Caatati seemed to be set up as a group for audiences to fume over with their antics. And, really, never tell anyone you want to say things that indicate you want to copulate with them just before you're going to die if you're thinking y'all are going to die. There's no tease that's worse than that. Unless you're Al Bundy but this is a different show.
Whining about maudlin soap opera aside, there still is something creepy about being trapped in space with only a spacesuit on. Wasn't there a movie from a couple years ago about an astronaut stuck outside a space station and nobody could get to her? It's pretty much a similar same soapy situation but running for a nauseating 90 minutes instead of a thankfully condensed 8 minutes or whatever for VOY's entry. And the VOY episode still packed a punch on more levels than that movie ever had but VOY is more imaginative and "out there" than any modern day Earth-based flick ever could be... wish I could remember the name... (oh, I say it as if it's a bad thing but that movie still uses a horror-style premise in a realistic way that would be accessible to more generalized viewers that aren't freaky-deaky sci-fi fans the way some of us are. There's always a nuance.)
Overall, the story has a couple of good premises, with generally solid execution, but was still jamming in too much when so many plot strands could have been even better without the contrived romance setup taking up screen time. Though to be fair, seeing Neelix and Tom both want to work with B'Elanna to let her vent with a listening ear was also a plus.
Rating: B+
"Revulsion" is an eye-opener on what a superior life form is or isn't. A sentient hologram (or "isomorph", cool terminology) seeks out help, but unbeknownst to anybody his programming's gone all psycho and he wants to kill any biological organism out of a sense of superiority. For which Dejaren has some great dialogue in explaining his case over not being trapped in dirty icky bodies... he's clearly an inspiration for both Bender the lovable robot in Futurama and, of course, any number of Kaylon...
Which isn't much of a gripe, those shows took a similar premise and made them their own.
B'Elanna and the EMH also get some fantastic dialogue. Though the trope of "all lonely people are psycho murderers" was getting trite by the late 1990s, at least there's a benefit of the doubt by the EMH and being open-minded until facts present themselves, even if the audience saw Dejaren kill the crew in the pre-credits opener, the plot could have gone in any number of ways at that point so the mystery was still there at the time.
But Dejaren's unpredictability was compelling. Leading to both types of scenes where he blubbers over his fish and later discusses how gross all organic lifeforms can be.
The holographic emitter scene where they realize there's a problem because Isomorfish there was still swimming away is as by-the-numbers as it was effective despite the time tested trope.
Meanwhile, on Voyager, Harry Kim wants to get busy with 7, in scenes that add some levity to break up the tension from the main plot. These are effective and 7's exposition on efficiency for copulation would be out of left field as much in 2017 as it had in 1997.
Overall, I'm a sucker for sci-fi/horror genre crossovers and this one is no exception. It also innovates and shows "AI gone wild" in a new and different way. Data meets Terminator meets Cylon meets Arnold J Rimmer (hologram aspects, not as much for personality).
Rating: A-/A cusp
"The Gift" (yes, I'm writing these mini-reviews out of order, unless I am, it depends on your point of view...)
An episode trying to merge sci-fi with fantasy and stay within the plausibility of sci-fi as opposed to passing off anything while demanding the audience just swallows it with keeping suspension of disbelief is a fine line and this one just about manages it with Kes and her esper-like abilities. From saving 7 to making the candle brighter (and subverting expectation, I was expecting her to not control it and fry Tuvok), only at the end can she not control it and the whole ship is at risk.
Nothing's explained yet it remains fairly captivating. And as she apparently dies as she looks so bizarrely happy when she's phasing. Okay, why is she seemingly on cloud nine with that smile? Is this a natural process? Definitely not induced by any external force... but Trek has had so many incorporeal life forms or esper abilities and other fantasy-driven ideas that are far more out-there than this and they got far less explanation. Especially Trelane's parents...
And, boom, sending the ship almost 10,000 light years ahead, why not, I shed a tear. which is illogical since it's not really explained why she's destabilizing at the subatomic level but, man, those f/x were trippy. But it could be worse, too much exposition can be worse than too little or nonexistent explanation. The episode manages to keep the viewer interested without getting them to ask too many details too soon.
The subatomic particles and what's beyond that were interesting enough, as were the f/x...
But what eclipses that is the 7/Janeway plot. Like a survivor of a cult now in deprogramming phase, or a person who had been assaulted, molested, or kidnapped or other nasty things as a child while being convinced at the time such things were normal and okay now having to psychologically heal, while believing Janeway is the bad one.
Why a supertight outfit is needed to hide the remaining implants, usually loose clothing or specialized tailoring with proper fabrics might do a better job at that. Yes, she's not a crewmember so she shouldn't be in a Starfleet uniform... oh wait, neither are the Maquis...
On the flip side, scenes devoted to the EMH's designer expertise at creating a new eye and other little bits seeded in the episode make up for it. Especially with kudos going to the costuming department for showing her eye implant and reminding us the physical horrors of the Borg along with Ryan's amazing performance of the emotional and mental horrors endured.
The acting from Mulgrew and Ryan should have had this story up for numerous awards because it's that darn good.
Lastly, this was written back in the day when sci-fi was good and used big words like "technology" instead of "tech".
Rating: A/A+ cusp. Even with the convenience of Kes' new powers, the story's timing and flow are impeccably good.
"Day of Honor" raises some interesting points, which also has a rushed ending - mostly because the makers felt they needed to build a romance between Tom and B'Elanna, but by the 1990s the notion of "shipping" started to become standard plot issue. Didn't care for it then, still don't. It could have been worse, but they didn't do what I would have laughed at so I won't go too deep and on the other hand, none of them on ship thought they'd get back home so why not get it on with the soap. If nothing else, for a brief moment, it was cool we'd see crew members in a dire predicament - though we all know they'd get back safely and we weren't disappointed or surprised.
The story takes a spin of TNG's "The Icarus Factor" with the painsticks and life ritual but taken to another direction. Seeing B'Elanna mope is definitely interesting and as a one-off isn't half-bad.
The 7/Caatati/Janeway subplot might have been more effective if this episode took place a couple weeks later after getting to know 7 better. Janeway is right in fighting for her, there's enough meat to the subplot, but I still think the "I'll fight for you" notion would have been that much stronger as a result.
The Caatati resolution is way too quick and glossy. I would have waited to get the warp core back before handing over their thorium generator but I did like they had 7 there, to help show the Caatati representative she's not Borg anymore in a subplot that could have been fleshed out a bit better if it weren't for the "shipping setup scenes". Especially as the Caatati seemed to be set up as a group for audiences to fume over with their antics. And, really, never tell anyone you want to say things that indicate you want to copulate with them just before you're going to die if you're thinking y'all are going to die. There's no tease that's worse than that. Unless you're Al Bundy but this is a different show.
Whining about maudlin soap opera aside, there still is something creepy about being trapped in space with only a spacesuit on. Wasn't there a movie from a couple years ago about an astronaut stuck outside a space station and nobody could get to her? It's pretty much a similar same soapy situation but running for a nauseating 90 minutes instead of a thankfully condensed 8 minutes or whatever for VOY's entry. And the VOY episode still packed a punch on more levels than that movie ever had but VOY is more imaginative and "out there" than any modern day Earth-based flick ever could be... wish I could remember the name... (oh, I say it as if it's a bad thing but that movie still uses a horror-style premise in a realistic way that would be accessible to more generalized viewers that aren't freaky-deaky sci-fi fans the way some of us are. There's always a nuance.)
Overall, the story has a couple of good premises, with generally solid execution, but was still jamming in too much when so many plot strands could have been even better without the contrived romance setup taking up screen time. Though to be fair, seeing Neelix and Tom both want to work with B'Elanna to let her vent with a listening ear was also a plus.
Rating: B+
"Revulsion" is an eye-opener on what a superior life form is or isn't. A sentient hologram (or "isomorph", cool terminology) seeks out help, but unbeknownst to anybody his programming's gone all psycho and he wants to kill any biological organism out of a sense of superiority. For which Dejaren has some great dialogue in explaining his case over not being trapped in dirty icky bodies... he's clearly an inspiration for both Bender the lovable robot in Futurama and, of course, any number of Kaylon...
Which isn't much of a gripe, those shows took a similar premise and made them their own. B'Elanna and the EMH also get some fantastic dialogue. Though the trope of "all lonely people are psycho murderers" was getting trite by the late 1990s, at least there's a benefit of the doubt by the EMH and being open-minded until facts present themselves, even if the audience saw Dejaren kill the crew in the pre-credits opener, the plot could have gone in any number of ways at that point so the mystery was still there at the time.
But Dejaren's unpredictability was compelling. Leading to both types of scenes where he blubbers over his fish and later discusses how gross all organic lifeforms can be.
The holographic emitter scene where they realize there's a problem because Isomorfish there was still swimming away is as by-the-numbers as it was effective despite the time tested trope.
Meanwhile, on Voyager, Harry Kim wants to get busy with 7, in scenes that add some levity to break up the tension from the main plot. These are effective and 7's exposition on efficiency for copulation would be out of left field as much in 2017 as it had in 1997.
Overall, I'm a sucker for sci-fi/horror genre crossovers and this one is no exception. It also innovates and shows "AI gone wild" in a new and different way. Data meets Terminator meets Cylon meets Arnold J Rimmer (hologram aspects, not as much for personality).
Rating: A-/A cusp
"The Gift" (yes, I'm writing these mini-reviews out of order, unless I am, it depends on your point of view...)
An episode trying to merge sci-fi with fantasy and stay within the plausibility of sci-fi as opposed to passing off anything while demanding the audience just swallows it with keeping suspension of disbelief is a fine line and this one just about manages it with Kes and her esper-like abilities. From saving 7 to making the candle brighter (and subverting expectation, I was expecting her to not control it and fry Tuvok), only at the end can she not control it and the whole ship is at risk.
Nothing's explained yet it remains fairly captivating. And as she apparently dies as she looks so bizarrely happy when she's phasing. Okay, why is she seemingly on cloud nine with that smile? Is this a natural process? Definitely not induced by any external force... but Trek has had so many incorporeal life forms or esper abilities and other fantasy-driven ideas that are far more out-there than this and they got far less explanation. Especially Trelane's parents...
And, boom, sending the ship almost 10,000 light years ahead, why not, I shed a tear. which is illogical since it's not really explained why she's destabilizing at the subatomic level but, man, those f/x were trippy. But it could be worse, too much exposition can be worse than too little or nonexistent explanation. The episode manages to keep the viewer interested without getting them to ask too many details too soon.
The subatomic particles and what's beyond that were interesting enough, as were the f/x...
But what eclipses that is the 7/Janeway plot. Like a survivor of a cult now in deprogramming phase, or a person who had been assaulted, molested, or kidnapped or other nasty things as a child while being convinced at the time such things were normal and okay now having to psychologically heal, while believing Janeway is the bad one.
Why a supertight outfit is needed to hide the remaining implants, usually loose clothing or specialized tailoring with proper fabrics might do a better job at that. Yes, she's not a crewmember so she shouldn't be in a Starfleet uniform... oh wait, neither are the Maquis...
On the flip side, scenes devoted to the EMH's designer expertise at creating a new eye and other little bits seeded in the episode make up for it. Especially with kudos going to the costuming department for showing her eye implant and reminding us the physical horrors of the Borg along with Ryan's amazing performance of the emotional and mental horrors endured.
The acting from Mulgrew and Ryan should have had this story up for numerous awards because it's that darn good.
Lastly, this was written back in the day when sci-fi was good and used big words like "technology" instead of "tech".
Rating: A/A+ cusp. Even with the convenience of Kes' new powers, the story's timing and flow are impeccably good.
