"The Phage" - a Trek masterpiece.
- Thread starter You_Guyz
- Start date
I liked the episode, but they should have called it "Neelix' Lungs"...
Why is that funny?
It'd make it a semi-homage titel to the TOS episode "Spock's Brain".
IIRC, the Vidian Doctor said the re-engineered Talaxian lungs couldn't be put back into Neelix after going into the Vidian. Even if they could, I doubt that taking back a set of lungs that had been so fully exposed to the phage would be a good idea. Its like donating a kidney to someone with an incurable infection. Would you really want THAT one back?
As for Janeway "punishing" the Vidians, as has been said above, she didn't need/want to carry them in her brig for the next umpteen years. Again, why keep someone with an incurable infection in your environment. What happens when the phage virus mutates enough to attack Humans, Talaxians, Vulcans etc. More importantly, its better to have a scared Vidian running about the universe spreading fear about these Voyagers than having two vidian corpses floating about space. (As Captain Malcolm Reynolds said once in "Firefly", a dead horse is cover, a frightened live horse is a problem for the horse's owner.)
I really liked this ep, for all the reasons You_guyz outlined above. I especially liked it, two seasons later when the writers remembered Neelix's lung issue during "Macrocosm". Janeway is using a medical tricorder on Neelix after he was attacked by the macrovirus, and reports that his lungs are filling with fluid, Neelix simply corrects her by saying, "Lung."
I'm betting not.
I don't think the voyager was equipped to do that. We have to assume that there are certain liminations to the replicator technology, especially when creating living tissues. Nog got a new leg in DS9. But it was at a starbase which probably had much more medical equipment than Voyager.
This is why it was such a big deal for Worf in "Ethics" to get a replicated spinal cord. It was new, untested technology which did that. Voyager must not have access to such things.
You_Guyz
Commander
Was it ever suggested that Federation replicators can completely replicate working human organs?
^It was implied they couldn't seeing how much of a deal they made about giving Worf a new spinal cord or why they couldn't give Geordi new eyes, and why Picard had a mechanical heart. But, it is possible that similiar technology in full blown medical facilities at starbases and on most Federation worlds are capable of at least coming close. They were able to get Nog a new leg during the war...
Re: "The Phage"
I think the doctor's balance of comedy, sarcasm, and EMH job is very well done.
Still surprised that the EMH did a 'experimental procedure' on Neelix.
I think the doctor's balance of comedy, sarcasm, and EMH job is very well done.
Still surprised that the EMH did a 'experimental procedure' on Neelix.
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