Date: July 22, 2021

Season 7, Episode 14

Music Video of the Day:

Interstellar News: In one week, I’ll be attending Galaxy Con in Raleigh, NC… and I’m SUPER STOKED. I’ll likely be cosplaying Lady Riddler, Season 1 Klaus from The Umbrella Academy, Wednesday Addams, and Marty McFly.

TL;DR: Seven prepares dinner for some of the senior staff when a gravitron surge pulls them into an area devoid of stars and full of enemies, some who steal vital supplies. A General Valen welcomes them and explains where they are while Seven finds a stowaway whom the EMH names Fantome after he learns how to communicate with them. Janeway begins an alliance, like the Federation, that survives on cooperation not intimidation. She has to kick out one member, but her and a few other ships make it out of the void… along with help from Fantome and his friends.

Favorite Quote:

Neelix: Pinot noir, Commander?

Chakotay: I’ll have another glass of the Chardonnay.

Seven of Nine: Each course has been paired with a specific wine. Substitutions are not recommended.

Chakotay: The Pinot noir sounds perfect.

I will admit, I’m very much like Seven when I prepare a meal… I put a lot of thought into it and want folks to try it as prepared before adding ingredients or making alterations.

“The Charter’s a statement of principles, not a practical document. There’s no section on how to exist in a Void.”: The Void is very similar to the area of space that was covered in “Night” as are the aliens that are native to the area. We also see a reappearance of the aliens from “Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy“. This is another episode, much like “Caretaker” and so many others, where Janeway is all about her principles first. Cooperation and tolerance do go a long way, and in the end she’s victorious, but I wonder how well that holds up in real life. I understand this is a fictional show but I’m also wondering if always choosing the high road really does pay off in the end or do nice people really finish last? I’d like to think I would have made the same decision in her shoes, but it’s also hard to say because I’ve never been to space and never have had to survive in an area with no resources. I don’t hate this episode. I love Fantome and his friends, especially since the EMH was able to communicate through music and figure out their language and it was the crew’s kindness to the aliens that allowed them all to escape. I think this earns itself 6 minutes of “All About Soul” by my main man, Billy Joel.

TA Out!

Date: July 21, 2021

Season 7, Episode 13

Music Video of the Day:

Interstellar News: Today was laundry day, four loads, and an incredibly busy day at work. I chatted with a good friend on the phone, saw a dear friend for a drink after dinner, and helped the husband person make a dent in cleaning out his home office.

TL;DR: Klingons that have been traveling four generations in the DQ believe Torres and Paris’s baby is their savior. Some of the Klingons don’t believe this baby is the right one due to it’s “impurities”, but it turns out that her stem cells helps cure them all of an incurable Klingon disease. The Klingons are moved to the nearest M-class planet to start a new life, Neelix gets his groove on, and Torres is given a bat’leth for her daughter to use later.

Favorite Quote:

EMH: As I understand it, you have two options. Kill her, or mate with her. Since the first option is clearly unacceptable… hands Kim a padd.

KIM: What’s this?

EMH: Authorization for you to engage in intimate relations with a member of an alien species. Be sure to get the Captain’s approval as well.

The EMH is not helpful, but it’s a wonderful exchange and you can totally see Kim go a little green.

“Today would be a very bad day to die.”: I actually really love this episode because it’s ridiculous and adorable at the same time. Neelix getting everyone to bunk together for a bit, staying with Tuvok, and then essentially putting a “sock” on the door so he could have sex with a Klingon was absolutely amazing and Tuvok’s face said more than any words could ever.

Torres has the typical journey of not wanting to be the savior (cough Sisko cough), doing her best to play along for the sake of those who believe, and then getting all warm and fuzzy at the end. Paris, in the same vein, does his best to support Torres. I am glad we were spared a training montage when he was learning how to fight with a bat’leth. There’s, of course, a Klingon who tries to take over the ship… but I love how he’s completely in awe of Torres and the baby once the EMH figures out how to cure their disease. It may be cheesy, but it just worked for me. 7 chili cheese dogs for this one!

TA Out!

Date: July 19, 2021

Season 7, Episode 11

Music Video of the Day:

Interstellar News: This weekend was a lot of fun. My sorority spouse came to visit and we had a great weekend. Then a good friend and her husband came over for dinner and game night and we played a few fun games.

TL;DR: Torres and Paris find out they’re expecting a tiny human-Klingon. Paris goes to Tuvok for fatherly advice while Torres has flashbacks to her tortured childhood. Torres wants to alter their daughter’s genes to make her more human and less Klingon, but the EMH, Janeway, and Paris are all against it if it’s not medically needed. Torres goes bonkers and reprograms the EMH so she can have the procedure anyway, but Paris stops it. Torres and Paris talk, decide they’ll make it work, and then apologize to the EMH and ask him to be the godfather.

Favorite Quote:

Paris: Is it a girl or a boy?

Torres: No. Don’t tell. I want to be surprised.

Paris: We’ve already been surprised.

Torres: I just don’t see any reason to have to label the baby. I don’t want to know the gender. I don’t want to have to pick a name yet.

Paris: Okay, okay, Mommy knows best.

Torres: Mommy?

Paris and Torres being adorable. I agree with her not wanting to label the baby. A person’s a person, no matter how small.

“Offspring can be disturbingly illogical, yet profoundly fulfilling. You should anticipate paradox.”: This was an incredibly difficult episode to watch. It had the worst bits of being an outsider and having other people make a decision about a woman’s body. Torres says “When the people around you are all one way and you’re not, you can’t help feeling like there’s something wrong with you.” Though Paris says there are other non-humans on board, the majority of the crew is human and that has got to be hard for the others on board. While there may not be racism by way of color of skin, there’s still racism in subtle ways against those who are non-human.

Now for the hard part. Torres wants to alter the genes of her child to make her less Klingon, but in the end it’s two men and an authority figure telling her she can’t do something with her body and it rubs me completely the wrong way. Paris is wonderful here, he only ever tries to help, but he’s in over his head. Also, blaming this on her hormones was just seven kinds of ick and I just felt uncomfortable watching the episode most of the time.

I did like how Icheb thought the baby was a parasite (I mean, he’s not entirely wrong), how news traveled so fast on the small ship, and getting those flashbacks into Torres’s childhood to understand how she was feeling a bit better. I also liked the end where Torres and Paris have their heart-to-heart and how Torres owns up to her mistakes. However, I just can’t bring myself to rate this episode.

TA Out!

Date: July 17, 2021

Season 7, Episode 10

Music Video of the Day:

Interstellar News: I’m sorry I’ve been away for so long. July has been an absolutely crazy month. I have been watching Trek and Marvel movies, just haven’t really had the brain to write about it.

TL;DR: Voyager encounters a spatial rift and Chakotay is hit with something. The EMH fixes him up, but then Chakotay realizes it’s before the EMH received his emitter. As he travels through the ship he meets Janeway before she left for the Badlands, Seska, Seven as a drone, and even future Naomi and Icheb… the ship is split into 37 time zones. He and past Janeway fix the ship up and send a pulse so that when Chakotay gets back to the present he can save the day and they avoid the rift altogether.

Favorite Quote:

Janeway: You’re late. Unfortunately, so is dinner.

Chakotay: Let me guess. You burned the roast again.

Janeway: Once, a long time ago, I called this replicator a glorified toaster. It never forgave me.

Chakotay: I didn’t realize replicators held grudges.

Janeway getting in trouble for name calling an inanimate object.

“If we restore the time line, remind me to cancel Mr. Paris’ holodeck privileges.”: This is sort of a fun episode where the points don’t matter… wait, wrong show. Truly, I loved getting to see all of the different time periods on the ship in a way that isn’t a clip show. We get to see “Basics” when Seska tried to take over the ship, “Macrocosm” when the macrovirus almost took over the ship, “”Scorpion” when Seven was still assimilated, and something that takes place after “Bride of Chaotica” as past Janeway had to play her part again (though this time she rolled her eyes so hard, you could feel is all the way in the AQ). There’s a scene where Tuvok dies from radiation poisoning, and the ending is VERY Spock a la “Wrath of Khan” and of course a visit to the future when Icheb and Naomi are damn near running the ship.

One of the things I don’t understand is how Chakotay and Janeway always wind up in time periods where they aren’t on the ship. Aside from that, though, I absolutely loved how Janeway is again rethinking her decision in “Caretaker” and thinking about all of the people she’s lost. This Janeway hasn’t been lost in the DQ yet, she hasn’t met the Maquis crew, and she hasn’t lost anyone yet. It’s an important conversation for her and Chakotay to have as well as a way to show that our Janeway hasn’t come to fruition yet. This episode was overall enjoyable and earns itself 8 large oatmeal raisin cookies.

TA Out!