The Visitor 20th Anniversary

[Melakon]

It's one of my least favorite episodes, and I avoid it. It hits too close to home for me, because my father died when I was about Jake's age. Unlike Jake though, I know he's not coming back. Hasn't shown up in 45 years.

 

[t_smitts]

Re: The Visitor 20th Annivers

The Visitor is pure filler, there's no story progression or character development, it's nothing but a "what if" story with Jake pressing the reset button at the end, it's meaningless.

You could say the same about "Far Beyond the Stars", "City on the Edge of Forever", "Tapestry", "All Good Things..." and a tons of other episodes.

I dislike the casting of Tony Todd, they put old age make up on everyone including Tony Todd but Cirroc Lofton gets replaced by another actor entirely for the adult scenes, that shouldn't have happened.
Ben acts creepy, from his perspective Jake ages to an old man close to death in what can't be more than a few hours but instead of being confused, scared or panicking he just sits there calmly watching his son ...

Not too many 17 year olds can pass for an 67-80+ year old, make-up or not.

The episode is depressing from start to finish, there's not a moment of fun.

You know Star Trek's not always an action or comedy, right?

And of course I realize I'm in the minority but why should I care? Am I supposed to fall in line and pretend I like it because everybody else does? That's not going to happen.

It's a story of love and dedication. If it's not your cup of tea, that's fine, but there's plenty to care about.

 

[dub]

Re: The Visitor 20th Annivers

I cry like a baby every time I see this episode. I think Tony Todd did an amazing and believable job. I didn't think Avery Brooks' acting was any stranger than it normally is (he's a quirky actor, but that grew on me and became part of his character for me). Yes, the reset button is hit. And I admit, reset does bother me in some Trek episodes. But in this episode, we get to see and remember as an audience this look into a "what if" future which, regardless of reset, shows just how strong the bond is between this father and son.

This episode actually gives me hope that after the events of the series finale, Jake perhaps will focus on researching ways to bring his father back (Bajoran prophecy, the science of the wormhole, the wormhole aliens, etc.). By the way, I could totally see a follow-up series about Jake searching for his father.

The music in this episode is absolutely phenomenal as well. I actually teared up just listening to it for the first time on CD. I'm turning into a softy the older I get, what can I say. I LOVE that some of the music from this episode is available for purchase now!