Re: First-timer's impressions of season 5
Infinite Regress
I've been told (well I've read) that this show becomes a Janeway, Doctor and Seven show in it's later seasons. Well, as this was the first this kind of an episode, let me welcome you to the first review of the new Star Trek show called:
Star Trek: The Captain, The Doctor and The Borg.
Most people know about TNG, DS9, Voyager and ENT, but very few know that there was also an another Star Trek show.
The pilot episode Infinite Regress hearkens back to the old days when Trek shows didn't need fancy 90 minute long pilots. Of all the new Trek shows, it's pilot is far more simpler and perhaps even more intimate because of this.
We begin with seeing a beatiful blonde woman (who strongly resembles gothic cathedrals) sneaking herself a midnight snack. But not everything is as it seems, as when we're shown her reflection - a klingon male! What could this all be about? It was a brilliant teaser and captures the viewer immediately.
One of the criticisms that can be said about Star Trek: The Captain, The Doctor and The Borg is that it uses the same theme music with Voyager. That was a dissapointment to me, as when humming it I discovered that I had hummed it before.
Then we're taken to a scene in the conference room, in where a random non-regular introduces us to the problem of this episode. There seems to some sort of borg signal coming from somewhere that they want to avoid and also the local cook is having trouble with missing food. I liked how they played it out as sort of a casual happening. It seems that CDB (from now on short for Captain, Doctor and Borg) is more "intimate" than other Trek shows with all of their social utopia, philosophical themes and political conflicts. It's more everyday human.
And as we are just about to get a sense of this "everyday human" approach, we are following a kid... or more precisely, we are following with a kid (a small girl) one of the main cast members - the Borg. With a brilliant camera work we are given that wonderful other perspective... and when the girl is discovered, we startle with her and are somewhat frightened by the Borg.
Let me make a pause here to say that Scarlett Pomers is one of the most brilliant child actors I've seen. Her response is just so natural.
It's a brilliant way to introduce us more closely to both character's. Naomi's childlike curiosity is a strike contrast to Seven's (the Borg's name) matter-of-fact behaviour and it gives us a good impression of the character, so that when we see Seven suddenly changing her behaviour we know that something is wrong.
Also that interaction reveals that Naomi is a bit lonely, a revelation that will come to play later.
Seven becomes all child-like and plays with Naomi, until she is called away to her duties. She is startled to find herself in Naomi's quarters and hastes to her duties in bedazzlement. There she gets sick again and initates a mating ritual with the local klingon woman by bitting her. That scene also reveals that there is a bit of tension between Seven and B'Elanna (the klingon woman), who is kinda like the Scotty of this show.
Seven starts to change characters in a regular manner and the entire ship is on alert - which shows us that there is a bit of concern about her borg past - and Jeri Ryan's wonderful acting here, her tender fragile voice asking: "Did I do something bad?" shows us what a mess she really is.
Then we're taken to the sickbay, where we are shown the other important character of the trio of this show - The Doctor. We are also given a bit of backstory about Seven which immediately captures imagination... I must say, I really like how CDB's pilot starts in the middle. The character's already know each other, they already have a bit of history together... and I like this approach. It makes us wonder.
Anyway, The Doctor and Seven start to search for the cause of the problem. Their interaction shows that the Doctor is somewhat in love with her... or perhaps it's just assuming too much by a few interactions from the pilot. But he is very tender and gentle with Seven, while Seven seems to be mostly unaware. And I think I saw real pain in his eyes later when Seven was losing herself in the collective voices of all the people's she had assimilated.
Meanwhile the local cook brings Seven a picture from Naomi... this interaction reveals him to be a simple-minded but kind man.
The problem is now revealed - there is a the heart of a borg cube floating in space, and it is infected with a virus that triggers this sort of chaos in a borg mind. And Seven being a former borg, can't escape it.
But be it far from me to spoil it for you, but this episode culminates in a wonderful scene with powerful directing and performances, where Seven is lost in the chaos of her mind and the lone brave security officer is trying to save her with his major mental skills... and all those lost souls... those were some hellish images. I was a bit surprised that it was the security officer that saved her, as he left me the impression of a non-important random character, but I guess this show wants it's O'Brien's from the beginning.
After Seven is rescued, and by now we have seen her as a little fragile girl lost in forces bigger than her, she tries to make contact with Naomi and we are immediately warmed by that contact between two people.
So what can be said. It's a wonderful pilot. It introduces all the regulars quite nicely. There's the Doctor, the local simple-minded but kind cook, the sweet girl Naomi all alone in the ship, the tortured by past former borg Seven and the Captain. These main characters alone show us that this show has radically different from the past Trek shows. It’s a show of us small folk, of our personal quirks and these wonderful little connections we make or try to make with other small folks. It’s Star Trek of the people, not Star Trek of the philosopher. And that to me is a wonderful refreshment from all those social utopias and political conflicts.
I expect big things from The Captain, The Doctor and The Borg.
But seriously now. I quite enjoyed this episode and it was refreshing to see Seven using different voices. However, that catsuit is all fine when she is being all gothic cathedral, but when she is playing a more human and active character that catsuit just looks so ridiculous on her – the scene where she’s a ferengi comes to mind.
Also whenever an episode is as Doctor, Janeway and Seven like this one was I will also „review“ it as a part of that new Star Trek series I made up.
I usually don’t notice tv show directors, but this David Livingstone has captured my eye.
