Date: October 12, 2020

Season 3, Episode 5

Musical Accompaniment: YouTube wasn’t working, so iTunes it is

Interstellar News: Happy 12th Day of Halloween!

I’m dedicating this post to my step-Uncle who passed away on Sunday. He suffered from MS but always had a positive attitude, especially when it came to a good party and good food. He always said his wheelchair gave him wings.

“False Profits” in TL;DR: Voyager finds evidence of a wormhole and a replicator on Takar, along with two Ferengi from the TNG episode “The Price“. Arridor and Kol have taken on the role of the Sages from the epic poem “Song of the Sages”, but they have taken advantage of the local population for their own personal profit. Janeway reasons that since the Federation was host when the mishap occurred it’s their duty to fix it, so they send in Neelix disguised as the Grand Proxy after their first meeting doesn’t go so well. Neelix is eventually found out, but it turns out there’s an end to the poem where the Sages depart. Just before the townspeople burn the three Ferengi, they’re beamed back to Voyager. The Ferengi escape, however, and are pulled through the wormhole which promptly disappears.

Favorite Quote:

Tuvok: Captain, I must remind you that the Ferengi are not members of the Federation. They are not bound by the Prime Directive. Nor would it seem that the Prime Directive would allow us to interfere with the internal affairs of this society, as much as we may disapprove of what the Ferengi are doing.

Janeway: The Federation did host the negotiations. And if it weren’t for those negotiations, the Ferengi wouldn’t be here. So one could say, without being unreasonable I think, that the Federation is partially responsible for what’s happened, and therefore duty bound to correct the situation.

Tuvok: That is a most logical interpretation, Captain.

Also, the Nagus can’t share in some of the Ferengi profits and they can’t pay their taxes or whatever… so maybe they are wanted back.

“Options? There are none.”: I knew this episode was eventually going to happen once I knew that Voyager took place in the DQ. It would have been a big missed opportunity to have these two stranded and not see what happened to them. I was, however, a bit shocked and disappointed at several things. The women in the temple were clothed, though just barely, which is very un-Ferengi (I’m super kidding on this one, folks). Aside from Neelix being the shortest and closest to Ferengi height, why did they choose someone who wasn’t warned about the Ferengi at the Academey? I guess the biggest downer here is that they could have gone through and gone home, but they had to play the heroes. Yeah I get that’s what heroes do, but then you have to stop pretending getting home is your number one goal. It’s more like a long term goal where you can explore as much as possible until you find the “right time” to go home. I was also not really buying the villagers just now feeling like they could overthrow their gods, but I also don’t know how else they would make wings of fire. I think there was just too much technobabble in this episode for me, especially since there wasn’t really a compelling reason for why they couldn’t go back after it other then Kim saying so. 4 pieces of dried pineapple for Howie.

TA Out!

Date: October 11, 2020

Season 3, Episodes 3 and 4

Musical Accompaniment: Spooky Music for Spooky Season

Interstellar News: Happy 11th Day of Halloween! The is entitled “The Review”, heh.

“The Chute” in TL;DR: Kim and Paris are imprisoned after being wrongfully accused of a terrorist bombing. There are no guards, but also no means of escape, so the prisoners fight among themselves. Paris is stabbed and Kim makes a deal with another prisoner as well as using his technical skills to try and climb up the chute that dispenses the food. Unfortunately the other end leads to space so there’s no chance of escape. Voyager finds the ship responsible, it has two young people on it, but the Akritirians won’t let Paris and Kim out. Janeway convinces the kids to take her to the prison where she and Tuvok break out Kim and Paris in the nick of time, as the device implanted in their head almost made Kim kill Paris.

Favorite Quote:

Paris: You did a terrific job, Neelix.

Janeway: I agree. Excellent piloting.

Neelix: I’m glad to hear you say that, Captain, because I’ve been thinking. Until Tom here gets back on his feet, perhaps I could, er, try my hand at conn for a while.

EMH: That won’t be necessary. Lieutenant Paris is just fine, thanks to excellent doctoring.

The EMH must always have the last word.

“This man is my friend. Nobody touches him.”: This episode boils down to “Alcatraz in space” with Janeway getting to be the badass who tries everything. In prison Paris is the protector and Kim is his bitch, but after Paris gets stabbed Kim really steps up to the plate and not only protects his friend but doesn’t take his eye off the prize of escape. It’s heartbreaking when he gets to the top and finds out there’s no escape, almost as much as it is when the EMH reveals that Zio was right and the clamp was stimulating aggressive tendencies. Janeway also goes through a lot this episode, though nothing as physically grueling as what Paris and Kim go through. First she tries diplomacy, next is detective work, after that comes a sneaky plan with the finale being her and Tuvok coming in guns blazing. It was a fun episode and I enjoyed it. 6 otters, happily swimming in the pool.

“The Swarm” in TL;DR: Torres and Paris are in a shuttle when two aliens beam aboard and shoot them. On Voyager, the EMH is singing opera and then has to attend to Torres and Paris. Torres is fine, Paris needs some help, and the EMH is starting to forget things. His memory circuits are degrading due to a cascade failure, partly because of all the “useless” information that doesn’t pertain to medicine and partly because he’s been on for so long. In order to avoid a factory reset, Torres runs the diagnostic program in the holodeck which produces a holo-Dr. Zimmerman and Kes tries to graft its matrix onto the EMH’s. Meanwhile Voyager tries to avoid a hostile race, fails at sneaking, and then chain reactions their way out. The EMH overlay works, kind of, as he’s similar to how he was in “Caretaker” but also hums the opera he was singing at the top of the episode.

Favorite Quote:

Janeway: I’m not going to tell this crew we’re adding another fifteen months to this journey. We’ll have to find another option.

Tuvok: If we are not to go around their space the only available option is to go through it.

Janeway: Precisely.

Janeway has finally found something she won’t stand for, though I am surprised she didn’t try diplomacy first.

“You are questioning my bedside manner?”: I kind of hated that the new alien race didn’t have anything to do with the EMH’s memory issues, but then it was kind of amusing that it’s his personality that caused the issue in the first place. It was extra fun to have the EMH and an impression of Dr. Zimmerman in the same episode. I also loved that Kes was the one to consider getting to the root of the issue instead of just slapping a bandage on the problem and hoping it fixed it. She’s really coming along in her problem solving skills and applying the knowledge she’s learning in the medical field to other every day problems. I was surprised and shocked that Janeway was so caviler about storming through an enemy’s territory, but maybe she’s had enough of the side quests for a while. This was a very ‘meh’ episode and it only gets 4 York peppermint patties.

TA Out!

Date: October 10, 2020

Season 3, Episode 2

Musical Accompaniment: Elder Scrolls music by Ambient Worlds

Interstellar News: I’ve actually watched up to Episode 6 but need more time , and energy, to write. I’ve also recently updated my Rankings page.

TL;DR: There’s sirillium in that nebula! Unfortunately the nebula causes Tuvok have a vision and pass out. Tuvok tries to meditate, thinks they’re in Klingon space, and has another vision. The EMH believes it’s a suppressed memory that’s killing Tuvok, so Tuvok and Janeway mind-meld. Suddenly they’re on the Excelscior with Captain Sulu, Rand, and a 30 year old Tuvok just as Praxis is exploding. Sulu wants to rescue Kirk and McCoy, they encounter a similar nebula, and then Kang finds them. Tuvok and Janeway have no idea why they are there and not in his memory of the little girl falling. Back in the memory something goes wrong with the meld, Sulu sees Janeway, and Tuvok’s bunk mate dies. The EMH realizes Tuvok has a virus and kills it, it was implanting the false memory.

Favorite Quotes:

EMH: If you were human, I’d say you had a severe panic attack.

Tuvok: I am not human.

EMH: No kidding. I don’t know what happened to you, but there can be any number of explanations. Hallucination, telepathic communication from another race, repressed memory, momentary contact with a parallel reality. Take your pick. The universe is such a strange place.

The EMH is extra sassy and I am all here for it.

Tuvok’s Truth: The human fascination with fun has led to many tragedies in your short, but violent, history. One wonders how your race has survived having so much fun.

Janeway: We could have just asked her.

Tuvok: Asking female officers for their clothing could lead to misunderstanding.

After knocking out Rand for her uniform so Janeway could blend in, Tuvok says the most perfect thing ever in the most Vulcan way possible.

“Mr. Neelix, I would prefer not to hear the life history of my breakfast.”: My biggest gripe about this episode is… DID THEY GET THE SIRILLIUM? I mean, it’s the whole reason they went to the nebula and we don’t get a resolution, come on! The mind-meld this time reminds me of the Pensieve from Harry Potter in that Janeway was able to be an observer in a memory. It’s a medical mystery that turns out to be something Tuvok has been carrying around with him for 80+ years. I was hoping to find out something about Tuvok’s childhood, but this was a fun curve ball as it was something completely unexpected. I was so excited to see Sulu, Rand, and Kang and thought it was also a nice touch to show just how fucking old Tuvok is. I wonder how many Vulcans have several careers, like Tuvok, or do they all devote their entire lives to something like Sarek did. It was also nice to learn something new about Tuvok that Janeway didn’t even know, that he was a bit prejudiced and jaded, that he eventually came to his own terms about Starfleet and humanity, that he chose to raise a family for 50 years before heading back out into space. This episode had its problems, but it was a lot of fun. 7 bags of BBQ potato chips and a nice dip to go along with it.

TA Out!

Date: October 8, 2020

Season 2, Episode 26 and Season 3, Episode 1

Musical Accompaniment: Minus the Bear and other such tunes on my instrumental playlist

Interstellar News: My brain is an idiot.

TL;DR: Voyager is hailed by Seska who claims she and Chaktoay’s son are going to be killed by Culluh when the baby looks part human, so they go after her. They encounter a Kazon who was trapped on a shuttle, he says Seska is dead and tells them where to find the child. On the way several Kazon ships attack a certain part of the ship but don’t do any damage. Janeway is skeptical so they turn around and are immediately attacked by the Kazon-Nistrim. Everything they planned for fails and they are boarded. Seska, Culluh, and the baby are all alive and well. The Kazon take the ship and leave the Voyager crew stranded on a primitive planet. Paris gets away in a shuttle, hoping to enlist the help of some Talaxians, the EMH is still intact, and Lon Suder is hiding in the Jeffries Tubes.

On the planet, the crew tries to make camp but Hogan is eaten by a creature so the tunnels are out. They make weapons and a fire, Kes and Neelix are captured by the locals, and Chakotay bails them out. Wildman’s baby is sick and a volcano erupts, bringing the two groups in sight of each other. Chakotay saves one of the women and the leader of the local people saves the baby. Paris is alive, the Talaxians agree to help, and he gets a message to the EMH. On Voyager, the EMH identifies Seska’s son as being part-Kazon and gets Suder to help him sabotage the ship. Suder was making progress with Tuvok, but now he has to kill. They enact Paris’s plan which essentially EMP’s Voyager, Seska dies, Culluh takes the baby, Paris and the Talaxians board the ship, and eventually the crew is found and order is restored.

Favorite Quote:

Doctor’s Orders: “What am I supposed to do? Lead a revolt with a gang from Sandrine’s? Conjure up holograms of Nathan Hale and Che Guevara? I’m a doctor, not a counter-insurgent. Get hold of yourself. You’re not just a hologram. You’re a Starfleet hologram.”

“I don’t know, but it feels like we’re being pecked to death by ducks.”: I was glad to see Tuvok was continuing to mentor Suder and Suder was getting the therapy that was available to him. He was able to turn his energies into enthusiasm for plants and he wants to be of some use while they are all so far from home. Of course everyone smells a trap when Seska calls for them, but they feel they can prepare for it. Chakotay’s vision with his father helps him to see that no matter who is the aggressor in a rape, if a child is born it is still an innocent. He also clearly is pro-choice because he indicates not all women carried their baby to term and I thought it was nicely done. While Janeway anticipates for a trap, she does not anticipate for a convoluted plan that includes an almost-killed Kazon who blows himself up while on her ship or that she won’t be able to self-destruct the ship if she needs to. The trap planned by Seska and carried out by the Kazon makes the crew of Voyager look like a bunch of cadets. The tricks work for a bit, even the EMH gets to hang out in space for a bit, but in the end our technologically advanced crew gets marooned without their technology… a far cry from the last time Janeway and Chakotay were stranded somewhere. When they are all corralled into the cargo bay, it very much reminds me of the scene I pictured above from The Handmaid’s Tale.

“Trapped on a barren planet and you’re stuck with the only Indian in the universe who can’t start a fire by rubbing two sticks together.”: I was sad to see Hogan and the other crew member eaten by what I’m calling the “Sarlacc Pit” creature. I find it terribly fascinating that Tuvok is so adept at making weapons and, of course, he had another life as an archery instructor. I mean that is what one does when they can live almost 200 years. I continue to love that Chakotay is able to be non-violent and really tries to do everything he can diplomatically first. He was able to bridge the gap between the locals and Starfleet, which eventually saves baby Wildman. I love that one of Janeway’s plans was essentially “throw rocks at the locals, get them to chase you, and run like hell”, especially because it worked. Paris gets to save the day but he’s surprisingly in very few shots, which I did not mind. The EMH and Suder also both get to have their time to shine, the EMH just delivers lines so well I can’t help but enjoy everything he says. It was a shame for Suder to die just as he redeemed himself, but maybe it was karma or justice or something. I was upset, however, at the ending. The ship is magically okay but no one puts their com badges on, no one asks about the baby, and there is no indication that anyone told Chakotay that he is not the father. As a two-parter and a season finale/season opener, it closed a bunch of story lines and wasn’t absolutely terrible. Combined, I give it 6 more days!!!

TA Out!