Voyager again, for the first time

[Guy Gardener]

It's 2.04 am Jan 1st down here, and I wished I had stayed home.

Expensive and unsatisfying.

You'd almost wonder if Seven could have "tagged" Harry as unworthy of assimilation?

If she did that with the whole ship or endless planets, the collective would think "GFY" but if all an Assimilation party find is just the one guy on the entire ship out of everyone listed as a massive dud, maybe they would take her at her word?

 

[NightJim]

The New Year Marathon was just three episodes.

Unforgettable
Like the idea of an alien race whose pheromones make you forget them when not in their presence and their entire culture has formed up around that. Very nice concept. The Chakotay story is OK, but the ending speech by Neelix was a bit too syrupy.

Living Witness
I like the alt history, all the fun of the original Mirror Universe without worrying about the continuity of Mirror, Mirror. Most amusingly is that Kim is Lieutenant.

And that it's a history created by a race trying to justify their own part. Not a bad episode in all.

Demon
Yay, struggling for resources. I like this, but it feels like it came out of nowhere. They've not really had to worry about anything for a long time, then suddenly "We're out of power." Still nice episode, even if it was pretty obvious where it was going, nice to get a good resolution instead of the dupes just being straight up evil.

 

[exodus]

I like this, but it feels like it came out of nowhere. They've not really had to worry about anything for a long time, then suddenly "We're out of power."

It's like in real life, when you forget to pay the electric bills.

Also, isn't "Voyager's already been overrun and this is the story of how they take it back" trope getting a little tired now. It happens at least once a season if not more.

Maybe but it's been the shows theme since "Caretaker".
In a region where everybody drives a Pinto, a stranger drives through town in a Mercedes.
Who wouldn't want it?
I think it feels over done cause they didn't drill home enough that due to Borg, Hirogen, Vidieen & other killers every where, the DQ is full of poverty and war. Voyager just wants to get home but to the natives of the DQ Voyager is an endless supply of food, weapons and medical care. Voyager is nothing to us but something of extreme power to them.

 

[NightJim]

See that's a good spin, and if that point had been made clear it would have been a lot more palatable. I guess they did try and make a deal out of it in the first series, but after passing through the Nekrit Expanse and think they needed to keep it up. That area made it clear why the Kazon and the Borg didn't meet, but it didn't make it clear that the place was still really screwed up.

Had another good mini marathon last night.

One
I liked it. A good way of bringing a bit of humanity to Seven. Force her to see that social interaction is a good thing by removing her from it all. I love these episodes that have the ship dealing with space phenomena in unique ways. It's another of those that Voyager is perfect for. Back in the Alpha Quadrant this place would be "Welp, that's lethal to organic material, time to throw some probes at it and move along." But for this crew it's "No way we're adding that much time to our trip. How do we go through?"

Hope and Fear
Ray Wise! Love this guy. Course soon as he turned up I knew the guy was dodgy. Wise doesn't play anyone nice ever. I mean he was the Devil at one point, and a brilliant one at that.

The Daedulus was a very nice ship, even if the Quantum Drive was a bit cheap. A nice end to the season that I'm amazed wasn't a two parter. Plus a short cut that managed to knock a month or two or the travel home. And the Seven/Janeway confrontation was pretty great too.

Night
Nice epic episode, that I suppose works well for a season opener. Feels like a lot happened here, what with Janeway losing the plot a little, the alien invasion quickly followed by
Another shortcut that knocked a whole two years off the trip. I get the feeling these shortcuts are going to start coming thick and fast because I remember a few and only had a few up to this point.

Which brings me nicely to a personal point.

Fun story. When I started this I was convinced I'd seen up to the end of Season 4. Obviously that being when they initially aired there's been episodes here and there that I missed, and most I just don't remember, conversely ones that I remember vividly, or at least have an inkling of seeing it before.

However, as I was heading towards the end of Season 4 one thing became clear. I saw more of Voyager then I thought. I remember the Equinox, the Delta Flyer and Captain Proton holodeck. While I've known some Captain Proton, it's not the one I remember. So by the look of things I've seen at least some of Season 5 as well.

 

[exodus]

Ray Wise! Love this guy. Course soon as he turned up I knew the guy was dodgy. Wise doesn't play anyone nice ever. I mean he was the Devil at one point, and a brilliant one at that.

REAPER!!!!

Ahhh, how I miss Sok

 

[NightJim]

Reaper was so good. I keep meaning to give Rookie Blue a go, on the sole reason of Missy Peregrym. And I kinda love Cop shows.

Drone.
An interesting spin. Borg drone with 29th Century tech. His portrayal as an information hungry child is great, and Seven's ascent into accidental motherhood was done brilliantly. The ending is about the only one possible. What surprised me was that we're now in Season 5 and this is the Borg's second proper appearance after Scorpion. I know the reputation of Voyager is to pile them on, but it obviously comes a lot later than expected.

 

[NightJim]

Extreme Risk

Wow Guy, you weren't kidding. B'elanna's been lumping around non-feelings for a bloody long time. No wonder Tom went off on one.

However, the same problem with Doctor Bashir is raised here. Siddig has complained that he only found out about the twist of him being genetically engineered when that scriptwas delivered. It looks the same here with Roxanne Biggs. Some of the writers clearly didn't know either. Just go back to the start of Drone when Seven mentions building a new shuttle and Torres gets all excited about, and the episode with Tom going off the deep end, she's trying to reach out. Obviously that one was a different series, so I get how they missed that one, but at least the two episodes before this could have had a distant B'elanna in it.

Other than that though, a good episode.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I like Rookie Blue but there is no doubt that it's incredibly light weight.

And for some unbeknownst reason (BLAME CANADA!) its fricKing littered with
Smallville actors and actresses.

5 years on, and they're all still Rookies.

Sounds like "Planet of the Harry Kims".

 

[NightJim]

In the Flesh
8472, went from rampaging monster, to possibly misunderstood, to able to take human form and practically signing a treaty... that was quick. Other than the neutering of a fantastic alien race, not bad. The approach of 8472 was great, and the production kept you guessing for a good long time about just what was happening. Chakotay macking on a 8472 was interesting, and really shows how open-minded Starfleet can be

Once Upon a Time
Erm.... really? I don't mind the 'growth spurt' of Naomi, if any show can excuse it it's Star Trek. She's part alien, job done. Other than that... not really a fan of this episode. The kid does a pretty decent job, and I like the touches of some of the humans remembering their time in the holodeck with the characters.

 

[Guy Gardener]

The kid comes back a lot. You'll come to enjoy her sugary goodness.

She like Kim, if Kim wasn't a fully grown man without any excuses to act like a tiny child.

(Although, if you want to see her as a complete bitch, Scarlet played the youngest daughter in 180 episodes of Reba.)

Chakotay, didn't just mack out with an 8472, she was also a Cylon.

Fricking triple agents.

 

[NightJim]

That's where I knew her from! That was bugging me the entire time I was watching it.

Timeless

HEY LaForge As a captain no less. I have to admit, I expected another Prometheus rather than a Galaxy class. LaForge as a Galaxy class Captain is cool for reasons, and that first shot of it passing over the camera made me double take and smile, but 15 years later, is LaForge got an old model?

On top of that little cameo an excellent episode, I love these time travel ones, and the opening again was played just right. The solution of ripping Seven's dead head open to transmit a signal back in time was nicely dark, and the prop that the doc was holding supported that, all without them actually addressing it. This was a very nice episode.

Oh and another ten years off the travel time. They're really starting to knock those miles down. It's like someone realised they were a few years in, better start ramping up their distance travelled.

Infinite Regress
Bloody hell. Jeri Ryan acting masterclass. The way she shifts personalities in seconds is quite a feat.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I wanted to see her full time as a Ferengi after that.

Kate Vernon had a spectrum where she could play very young, and very old, relative to her actual age.

Ellen Tigh and Val Archer where at opposite ends of that spectrum.

 

[exodus]

Once Upon a Time
Erm.... really? I don't mind the 'growth spurt' of Naomi, if any show can excuse it it's Star Trek. She's part alien, job done. Other than that... not really a fan of this episode. The kid does a pretty decent job, and I like the touches of some of the humans remembering their time in the holodeck with the characters.

I liked this one, it really showed why Neelix is so messed up due to his parents dying. It explains why he was so attached to Kes(whos parents were dead too) and why he feels a desperate need to care for everyone. He's like Bruce Wayne, showing the world a smiling face but going home each night, sitting in the dark crying because he's trapped in a moment.

Plus, I think the advice Tuvok gives Sam Wildman about the future of Niomi without her is one of the best heartfelt moments in the series. Too overlook it is a crime IMO.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Yes yes!! Neelix IS Bruce Wayne!!!

 

[NightJim]

Yes. Give Neelix a cape and he's sorted. BatTalaxian!

Fair point on Tuvok speech. That was really good. And the delve into Neelix psychosis was interesting, but the rest of the episode let it down. A good ten minutes out of a 45 minute show isn't good enough. Especially when you compare it to the shows either side of it.

 

[AgentCoop]

Yes yes!! Neelix IS Bruce Wayne!!!

You're pressing my rage button.

 

[NightJim]

Nothing Human

A good take on the ethical problems of medical science, and obvious problems of things we learnt from the Nazis after WW2. My only problem was that the guy was programmed according to written history, so his stance wouldn't be quite so similar to the real version. I dunno, just that bit didn't sit right.

Also love the fact that we have such an alien alien.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I'd like to see if they decided to get rid of their phasers, if they found that their inventor, Mr Phaser, had been a secret serial killer?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

There are un-secret serial killers? OH, yeah, world leaders and such.

 

[exodus]

Yes. Give Neelix a cape and he's sorted. BatTalaxian!

Fair point on Tuvok speech. That was really good. And the delve into Neelix psychosis was interesting, but the rest of the episode let it down. A good ten minutes out of a 45 minute show isn't good enough. Especially when you compare it to the shows either side of it.

True, but I'm not going to deny Ethan Philips or Tim Ross for doing a stand up performance. They get denied so much credit normally, for this they deserve their moment in the sun.