ST: VOY "Nothing Human" (S5:E8)

[LiquidCougar]

Just a couple thoughts and observations..
Episode guide HERE .

While the Cardassians relationship with the Bajorans could be compared to Nazi Germany, I was a little upset about some of the crew's reaction to the Krell Mocet hologram. I admit, I don't have the same feelings as a Bajoran would toward a Cardassian, but he was, after all, just a hologram.

My feelings aside, I got to thinking. Why could the Doctor not just integrate all of the database information used in the Krell program into his own? Was it really necessary to create a whole other holographic program?

Supposing the new hologram was required, would it not have been possible to change the appearance of the hologram and have it recognize itself under a different name? I understand the Doctor isn't capable of any kind of racism, and there was no way he could have known, but the crew theoretically never would have known who the consultant really was.

 

[Christopher]

LiquidCougar said:

My feelings aside, I got to thinking. Why could the Doctor not just integrate all of the database information used in the Krell program into his own? Was it really necessary to create a whole other holographic program?

Well, the real answer is that it had to be that way for the sake of the story. But I would suggest a possible explanation: expertise is not just a matter of raw knowledge, but of how you think about and apply that knowledge, the particular approach you bring to handling it. So it's not just about what Moset knew, but how his mind operated upon what he knew to get results. That's something that you could only capture with a simulation of his personality.

 

[KitchenWitch]

While I appreciate the intent of the episode, the ethics were all over the place...

Voyager routinely used Seven's knowledge from the Borg--and using it gave her comfort in that it was being put to a positive use.

Why was the Cardassian research any different?

 

[mr.peany]

^For the sake of plot.

 

[Thena]

Just a quick question that's totally unrelated to the serious discussion of this episode.

I caught this ep today on Spike TV. Did they cut something from the teaser? It seemed really disjointed. One moment Janeway and crew were joking in the hallway, the next moment she's on the bridge while they're preparing for impact.

 

[J47]

KitchenWitch said:
While I appreciate the intent of the episode, the ethics were all over the place...

Voyager routinely used Seven's knowledge from the Borg--and using it gave her comfort in that it was being put to a positive use.

Why was the Cardassian research any different?

I imagine to the crew, it was everything. There were more people on Voyager who had beef with the Cardassians than with the Borg (don't forget, about half the crew is made up of Maquis). And while there's little arguing that the end result of the Borg's actions was no different than Moset's, the Borg weren't doing experiments - they assimilate and move on. In some sense, it's similar to a hunting vs animal testing debate. While to many both are morally reprehensible, there's a certain cruelty associated with animal testing that isn't necessarily there when one considers hunting.

 

[od0_ital]

Thena said:
Did they cut something from the teaser?

Probably, yeah. SpikeTV has become notorious for their sloppy edits of Trek - TNG, DS9 & VOY.

 

[nx1701g]

Thena said:
I caught this ep today on Spike TV. Did they cut something from the teaser?

Yes. Several events were cut from the episode.

Because of currently used advertising rules most Trek episodes (and most older shows) are HEAVILY edited to fit them into the new time slots. Most new shows only have about 40 - 42 minutes of programming with the difference made up by commercials (they are guaranteed a minimum of 18 minutes of advertising per program under the current guidelines if a show runs for a 60 minute block).

Star Trek gets the brunt of this. Most Treks had 45 minutes of programming and 15 minutes of advertisement. As per the rules they have to cut items from the episodes to fit the new guidelines. Spike TV is one of the more advertising heavy channels. Instead of the 18 minutes required they go for the full 20 with most programs.

That's why Trek gets so many cuts on Spike.

 

[LiquidCougar]

nx1701g said:
That's why Trek gets so many cuts on Spike.

Bastards. I suppose I should just be thankful they play any episodes at all, eh?

 

[Capt_Piett]

The Borg, while intimidating and malevolent, are not inherently evil. As mentioned, they believe they are helping to perfect the species and cultures they assimilate.

Krell Moset , OTOH, is portrayed as Josef Mengele. He was condutcting experiemnts on Bajorans with no rhym or reason as to the consequences as long as he got the results he wanted; he was shown to be doing much the same during the Dominion War in the Battle for Betazed.

He has no remorse; he does what he can BECAUSE he can; in his mind, the advancement of science is a means as well as the ends. The point he made at the end of the episode was a vlaid one; the Doctor could delete his programming, but he had used his research knowing how he came by that knowledge and benefitted from it to save Lt. Torres. I thougth this episdoe was very well done.