"Night" revisited

[Mach5]

I'm watching 5x01 - "Night" on TV right now, and I must say, its a pretty good episode (I haven't seen it in years).

One thing bugs me, though...

SEVEN: I have no good news to report. I've completed an astrometric scan of the entire region. There are no star systems within twenty five hundred light years.
...
CHAKOTAY: Why can't we see stars beyond that?
SEVEN: There are heavy concentrations of theta radiation. It has occluded our sensors.

Okay, theta radiation messes with the sensors... But why aren't any stars visible to the naked eye? Twenty five hundred light years isn't really that much, considering that we ourselves can see stars much farther than that. Even the Andromeda galaxy (2.5 million light years away) is visible to the naked eye.

 

[JustKate]

Do people on Starfleet vessels see anything outside the ship "with the naked eye"? I thought not, but maybe I thought wrong.

Edit: On second thought...maybe they do actually see stuff through the windows in their quarters and so on - all that nice transparent aluminum. But the viewers are just that, right? Viewers, which use sensors?

 

[Mach5]

Do people on Starfleet vessels see anything outside the ship "with the naked eye"? I thought not, but maybe I thought wrong.

Edit: On second thought...maybe they do actually see stuff through the windows in their quarters and so on - all that nice transparent aluminum. But the viewers are just that, right? Viewers, which use sensors?

Main viewer uses sensors, sure. But mess hole windows? The windows in Janeway's personal quarters? All of them are blank in "Night."

 

[JustKate]

^ Yes, that's what I meant by my edit - I was questioning my own conclusion.

 

[Kai Winn]

Even the Andromeda galaxy (2.5 million light years away) is visible to the naked eye.

it's core only. if we could see it wholly, it'd be five times the size of the moon.
the stuff them malons dumped in space probably dimmed the visible light as well,their ships always left a trace of yellowish smoke.

 

[Garm Bel Iblis]

I'm watching 5x01 - "Night" on TV right now, and I must say, its a pretty good episode (I haven't seen it in years).

One thing bugs me, though...

SEVEN: I have no good news to report. I've completed an astrometric scan of the entire region. There are no star systems within twenty five hundred light years.
...
CHAKOTAY: Why can't we see stars beyond that?
SEVEN: There are heavy concentrations of theta radiation. It has occluded our sensors.

Okay, theta radiation messes with the sensors... But why aren't any stars visible to the naked eye? Twenty five hundred light years isn't really that much, considering that we ourselves can see stars much farther than that. Even the Andromeda galaxy (2.5 million light years away) is visible to the naked eye.

I loved this ep until: "Time to take out the garbage."

Homer: With a dry cool wit like that I could be an action hero.

 

[scnj]

Excellent episode, but bringing the Malons into it was a bad decision. It would have worked best as a character piece right through.

 

[Garm Bel Iblis]

Excellent episode, but bringing the Malons into it was a bad decision. It would have worked best as a character piece right through.

Voyager could never manage JUST character pieces. Just like Hunters should've been about the messages from home, the dominion war etc... instead we got Hirogen and blackholes.

 

[mr.peany]

Hold up, why the hell did the lights go out in the holodeck Captain Proton program???

 

[eepruls]

This episode weakened Janeway's character significantly. It was also out of character for her. I remember seeing this episode when it originally aired and going, "Huh? The crew needs her and she's pouting and moping around in her quarters like a child?" Could you ever see Picard or Kirk do that?

What made it worse is that any second thoughts she might have were 3 seasons too late. I could see an episode where she questioned her decision back in season 1 or 2 when it was still fresh and even then it shouldn't be anything where she locks herself in her room. But the premiere of season 5? After all they've been through together? That whole sub-plot wasn't needed whatsoever. The rest of the episode was great.

 

[RyuRoots]

This episode weakened Janeway's character significantly. It was also out of character for her. I remember seeing this episode when it originally aired and going, "Huh? The crew needs her and she's pouting and moping around in her quarters like a child?" Could you ever see Picard or Kirk do that?

What made it worse is that any second thoughts she might have were 3 seasons too late. I could see an episode where she questioned her decision back in season 1 or 2 when it was still fresh and even then it shouldn't be anything where she locks herself in her room. But the premiere of season 5? After all they've been through together? That whole sub-plot wasn't needed whatsoever. The rest of the episode was great.

Well, 's not like it matters, since she changed her mind by the time Endgame rolled around anyway.

 

[freak]

I really enjoyed this episode..but I was also bothered about Janeway's moped and depressed moods as well..they were a bit too late to dwell on past decisions. Other than that, great episode.
There was an interview I watched with part of the Voyager cast at a Las Vegas convention. Robert Picardo made a comment about this episode. He remembered "The Night"..and the lights going out..and also that Malon character/actor..and he was dressed in nothing but brown. He called him a "gigantic tootsie roll" and was referred to as "The Captain's Log". !!!!!!! I got a real kick outta that and laughed for twenty minutes cause nobody knew what the guy really looked like EVER! So everytime I see the ep Night with that alien, I start laughing cause I think of that interview.

 

[Wicca who Wonta]

^ I also found Janeway's depression kinda late coming. Although the dark made everyone depressed, Janeway's mood felt out of place.

And I agree that it's strange they couldn't see stars from the ordinary windows.

 

[Tayana]

^ I also found Janeway's depression kinda late coming. Although the dark made everyone depressed, Janeway's mood felt out of place.

And I agree that it's strange they couldn't see stars from the ordinary windows.

Yes, it was late coming in Season 5. I suppose the reason she was dwelling on things at that point was because of the huge expanse of nothingness that lay before them, which could have happened at any time during their journey.

Prior to that, she always had something to occupy her mind, which would stop her from examining her actions in The Caretaker too deeply. Such a long period of time with everything running at peak efficiency and no challenges seemed to act as a catalyst for her depression.

Well, that's my long shot at an explanation for trying to make it fit in, anyway!

 

[McCoy]

Also, she may have expected (perhaps unrealistically) to have found a shortcut back to Earth long before. After a rough 4 years and facing a long journey with no distractions, she got introspective (as you do), and subsequently depressed. Sometimes depression sneaks up on you, and you're well into it before you realize how withdrawn you've become.

 

[Johnhead99]

I liked Night because it has one of the funniest ST lines in it. When Seven tells the robot "Resistance is futile"...

 

[Noise]

Personally I thought it made a lot of sense for Janeway to go like that because of this vast area of emptiness, really sinking home to her the idea that they are isolated, alone and in the middle of nowhere. It really made her think about what she'd done, but when her crew is in danger she's immediately back in action. Made complete sense to me.