Date: September 12, 2020

Season 1, Episodes 10 and 11

Musical Accompaniment: Someone compiled their top 25 epic music tracks

Interstellar News: Today did not go quite as planned, but it was not the worst day ever.

“State of Flux” in TL;DR: An away team is exploring a planet when they encounter a masked Kazon ship. Everyone else beams back but Chakotay has to find Seska, she’s in a cave with some Kazon and they barely escape. Seska brings Chakotay some soup, he’s grateful until he realizes she broke the food rationing rules, and apparently they used to be an item. Soon after they receive a distress call from the same Kazon ship, it’s been in a terrible accident and there’s only one survivor. Unfortunately there are traces of Federation technology aboard the Kazon ship and Tuvok suspects a traitor in either Carey or Seska. Seska is hurt and the EMH believes she’s actually Cardassian, which Seska explains away as a by-product of a childhood disease. A Kazon captain named Culluh arrives to talk to the survivor, but they kill him instead before he could talk. Chakotay and Tuvok set a trap for the traitor and it’s totally Seska, who is totally a Cardassian spy that is fed up with Janeway and the Federation and is hellbent on setting up alliances and building up a power base. She beams out to a Kazon ship and they disappear as Chakotay wonders if anyone serving under him was actually a Maquis.

Favorite Quotes:

Culluh: If you attempt to remove anything from our ship, it will be considered an act of war.

Janeway: You know, I’m really easy to get along with most of the time. But I don’t like bullies, and I don’t like threats, and I don’t like you, Culluh. You can try and stop us from getting to the truth, but I promise you, if you do I will respond with all the “unique” technologies at my command. Janeway out.

Janeway showing Culluh who’s boss.

Tuvok’s Truth:”How may I be honest with you today?”

“Was anyone on board that ship working for me?”: There’s a lot to unpack here but most of it is good. I’ve never liked Seska and I’ve written in my notes a few times that she’s got too bad of an attitude when they’re all supposed to be in this together. Granted they are supposed to be heading home and Janeway keeps having them do all the damn side quests so I understand the frustration, but Seska is then found out to be a Cardassian. Won’t she be surprised that the Federation and Cardassians are sort-of friends by the time they get home. I mean it’s certainly something I didn’t see coming, though her being a traitor to the crew and her reasons why make sense for someone who is so damn frustrated and never learned how to play well with others. I mean she even throws Chakotay’s animal guide in his face, which is totally not cool.

I feel for Chakotay who has now had two of his crew be revealed to be double agents, let’s hope Torres really is a half-Klingon with mommy issues. I loved when he and Seska were bonding over soup and his demeanor completely changed once he found out how the soup was made. One thing this episode fails to do is make Carey a serious contender for the traitor. Seska has always skirted the rules and more and more things keep adding up not in her favor. She never went in for her physical, she was closest to the Kazon down below, and she admitted to never being dumb enough to use her own login. Carey is given a stern talking to and then he’s sent to his room by mommy, daddy, and Uncle Tuvok, whereas we keep seeing Seska. Seska does an amazing transformation at the end, after she knows she’s been caught, where she totally has me believe Garak would be proud. I also love Torres, a lot. She tells Janeway she doesn’t pad her results and she demonstrates that if she’s given the time she’s asked for, everything can get done smoothly and without incident. It’s a nice break from the “miracle worker” engineering and a wonderful nod to how project management actually works. A great mystery, a nice twist, and a nice set up for a reoccurring enemy. This gets 8 jaw drops from me.

“Heroes and Demons” in TL;DR: Torres and Janeway beam aboard two samples from a protostar, though one has some trouble coming through. They decide to ask Kim for his help but he is nowhere to be found so they send Tuvok and Chakotay after him in the holodeck. Kim was running a holonovel of Beowulf, so our duo meets Freya, Hrothgar, and Unferth and learn Kim has “died”. A diagnostic reveals the matter beamed aboard interfered with the holodeck and as soon as Grendel approaches, Tuvok and Chakotay also disappear. In order to investigate they have to send the EMH in, where he also meets the same three characters and identifies himself as “Schweitzer”. He battles Unferth, eats elk, tells a tale, is shown the home of the King, and is kissed by Freya. When Grendel arrives we see it’s an energy monster and as the EMH is beamed back to sickbay, he’s also missing an arm. Paris and Torres replicate what they did earlier and Janeway realizes the “matter” the beamed aboard was a life form and her people are being held hostage by Grendel, who was taken over by the larger life form. The EMH takes the other sample back into the holonovel, is saved by Freya who dies, and then he negotiates a hostage release and the boys are back. Janeway puts a commendation in the EMH’s file, but he decides he doesn’t want to keep that name.

Favorite Quote:

EMH: I can describe every detail of every piece of equipment in this Sickbay from biobed to neurostimulator, but I’ve never even seen a sky or a forest, let alone Vikings and monsters. I can’t afford to fail but I don’t know what to expect in that holodeck.

Kes: You’ve been telling me that you deserve to be treated like a member of the crew. Well, here’s your chance. And I can tell you that none of the crew knows exactly what to expect when they go on an away mission.

The EMH explaining how he was only programmed to be a doctor, and only one that functioned in the confines of a starship.

“Before combat, it is most important to stay warm.”: This was such a fun episode. Before I go on let me say this, I’ve never read Beowulf or seen any adaption of it aside from when he was part of Once Upon A Time. That being said, I really enjoyed the use of the holodeck as kind of a live action video game. The mystery of what happened to Kim, then Tuvok and Chakotay, is interesting. Janeway, again, figures out she accidentally messed with another intelligent being but this time she kidnapped instead of assaulted. I still don’t understand why starships don’t have a constant scan on the crew in order to set up an alert when someone going missing, but that’s just me. It’s fantastic to see the EMH interacting with other holograms and getting to be the hero. As Kes and Janeway both point out, he’s done a lot of things other Starfleet officers have done… just in his own way.

I loved the goofiness of this episode, the humor and wit, and that Kim gets one whole line but delivered in a period costume. I didn’t think it made sense for Paris to be helping Torres, he hates science, but I guess he was motivated to help his friend and it’s a two person job. This Paris I like, the one who is there to be helpful and deliver a snarky line here or there. I really enjoyed the character of Freya, especially since she gave a double middle finger to the gender norms of the time and she also took her job seriously. The bit about the mushrooms was absolutely hysterical. I so enjoyed the end where Janeway explains that the EMH assisted with a strange first contact situation and he did it as good as anyone can expect with little to no training in hostage negotiation. This was a fun “the holodeck as a plot device” episode and I enjoyed it immensely, 9 Viking swords for the EMH!

TA Out!

Date: September 11, 2020

Season 1, Episodes 8 and 9

Musical Accompaniment: Ambient Worlds presents Black Panther music

Interstellar News: I wrote a big long thing about all the horrible things that have happened on this date on my Facebook, I’ll give you to tl;dr here: Be excellent to each other, party on dudes, live long and prosper, and my the Force be with us all.

“Emanations” in TL;DR: Voyager thinks they’ve discovered a new element but it’s really dead humanoids who look like Frodo after he’s been stung. Chakotay is adamant about respecting the dead and this culture when subspace distortion appears and when they try to beam out Kim is gone and a dead body is in his place. The EMH revives Ptera who thinks she’s in the afterlife and is disappointed and scared because this is not what was promised. She just wants to go home or die trying, and she winds up dying again in a transporter accident. She and several other dead bodies find their way onto Voyager where they are simply transported to one of the nearest asteroids.

Kim is sent to the Vhnori home world where they believe he was sent from the great beyond. They explain how their death ritual works and what is expected in the afterlife and Kim tries to not give too much away as it’s a First Contact situation. He meets a man named Hatil who is being asked to not be a burden on his family, but he’s not read to die so he and Kim switch places. Kim dons the burial shroud while Hatil runs off to live his remaining days in the mountains. Kim “dies”, is transported to Voyager, and the EMH revives Kim where Janeway gives him a few days rest.

Favorite Quote:

Kim: Are you saying you think they do have an afterlife? That the energy field is where they exist at a higher level of consciousness, just like they believe?

Janeway: I’m not certain, but I am certain about this. What we don’t know about death is far, far greater than what we do know.

Janeway being all wise and shit.

“It’s so easy to become jaded, to treat the extraordinary like just another day at the office, but sometimes there are experiences which transcend all that. “: This reminds me a bit of “Half A Life” where those who are older or a burden on their family are asked to end their lives. There are three stories here and they all get happy endings, actually. Ptera died, was resuscitated, became beyond scared and confused, and died again. She started and ended the episode in the same way and hopefully this time she was reunited with her brother. Hatil begins the episode apprehensive but who is he to ignore what his family wished? He’s clearly willing to do anything for his family and he doesn’t want to cause them worry, so when Kim offers him the ability to satisfy his family’s wishes you can see his face light up with glee at the chance of living more without being a burden on his family.

Kim’s story is by far the most compelling because we know him and he’s so damn green. He realizes he’s in over his head and he’s hoping that this swap with Hatil will work. He has great faith that Voyager is still looking for him and the EMH will revive him and all will be well. He’s so optimistic and youthful and Janeway’s chat with him at the end is fantastic because it’s so true. I remember when I first started working as a faculty member, I had been a teaching assistant the four years prior, and one of the other, older faculty commended that I was too young to already be that cynical. I’m very glad Harry Kim still has light and wonder in his eyes about exploring the galaxy and he’s not like 23 year old me who was already over First Year Fred. 7 vaculoes for Kim and Kes who is proving to be the most empathic person on the ship.

“Prime Factors” in TL;DR: The combined crew is finally acting as one when they receive a distress signal, only it’s a race called the Sikarians who want to offer shore leave for the Voyager crew. Gath is quite taken with Janeway and Kim gets to know Eudana who introduces him to a transportation device that can transport up to 40,000 light years away. Kim, being who he is, gets suuuuuuper excited and they ask if the Sikarians can beam Voyager or share their technology, but it’s totally against their laws. Janeway decides to try for diplomacy and orders the crew to do nothing, but Seska and Carey keep working on Torres to try to do something. Janeway offers the complete Federation library of stories in exchange for them beaming Voyager away and Gath says he’ll talk it over. Gath’s assistant, Jaret, offers Kim a proposition: he’ll give them the matrix in exchange for the stories because Gath’s never going to help them. Janeway says no as it’s truly against her and Starfleet’s principles to skirt the law and then she and Gath get into an argument and Voyager is asked to leave. They pack up but Tuvok is the one to beam down and make the exchange with Jaret, only for Torres to find out the matrix won’t work. Torres and Tuvok confess and Janeway can only tell them she’s disappointed and they had better never do it again.

Favorite Quote:

Janeway: You can use logic to justify almost anything. That’s it’s power, and it’s flaw. From now on, bring your logic to me. Don’t act on it behind my back.

Tuvok: You have my word. My logic was not in error, but I was.

Janeway and Tuvok discussing logic so… logically.

“After all, it doesn’t hurt to theorize.”: This is a great vehicle for showing how the Maquis and Starfleet crews are really working together because you have Carey (Starfleet) and Seska (Maquis) working together because they just want to get home to their families and they don’t care much about what laws they violate. Torres is the one who surprises everyone, even herself I think, that she has become the person who takes responsibility so she can look at herself in the mirror and know who she’s looking at. Kim shares his feelings and gets laughed at equally by both sects of the crew and he also goes to them first to share his thoughts before going to Janeway, as he’s starting to think of them as his friends. Tuvok is supposed to be the big surprise but you can see that he is willing to do whatever it takes to help Janeway, he just doesn’t think through it well enough. Unfortunately many people use logic to its extreme to justify things that are not really justifiable.

Janeway is left with the toughest call ever… does she get the crew home at any expense or does she continue to obverse new worlds and gather all she can on the DQ so that when they return they can say they ran a clean Starfleet ship? In the end it doesn’t matter because the matrix was never compatible anyway and wasn’t going to work and Torres does what she knows best, shoot the damn thing to stop the ship from blowing up. It’s a great story about being on the other side of someone’s Prime Directive and it’s done very well in most places. Also, Tuvok gives the absolute best eyebrow raise… he can give The Rock a run for his money. 8 gondolas for this episode, just don’t fall out!

TA Out!

Date: September 10, 2020

Season 1, Episodes 6 and 7

Musical Accompaniment: Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order soundtrack

Interstellar News: I’m over this apocalypse. Either bring the locusts and rain of blood or get out of my world. Also, I’ve updated all of my menu pages… you should totally check them out.

“Eye of the Needle” in TL;DR: Kim finds a teeny, tiny wormhole that’s in the last stages of decay. They send a probe, which gets stuck, but they use it as a relay to send a message out. They make a connection with a cargo ship in the Alpha Quadrant but it’s with a Romulan who is clearly suspicious. Meanwhile the EMH is training Kes who is appalled at how the crew is treating him. They finally make visual contact and Torres realizes they might be able to use the transporter and the EMH realizes he cannot transport with them, he’s tied to the ship. Unfortunately when the Romulan beams over to them, Tuvok realizes he’s from 20 years in the past. They send Telek R’Mor, as he finally gives his name, back and ask him to send their letters in 20 years time. After he leaves Tuvok reveals that R’Mor died four years prior and it is unknown if the letters were delivered. Janeway decides to let the EMH control his deactivation sequence and helps him to understand he’s the CMO and part of the crew, not just a hologram.

Favorite Quote:

Janeway: Kes, he’s only a hologram.

Kes: He’s your Medical Officer. He’s alive.

Janeway: No he’s not.

Kes: He’s self aware, he’s communicative, he has the ability to learn.

Janeway: Because he’s been programmed to do that.

Kes: So because he’s a hologram he doesn’t have to be treated with respect or any consideration at all?

Janeway: Very well, I’ll look into it.

Kes pointing out “the Data problem” and Janeway thinking she might be right.

“I’d rather assume that he’s going to be successful.”: In “The Measure of a Man“, Picard argued for Data’s right to be treated as any other crew member and Kes is sort of arguing the same for the EMH. Don’t get me wrong I love sassy EMH and have loved every line of dialogue he’s spoken, but I also understand how the crew might feel about his “bedside manner”. That does not give them permission to treat him as such and I don’t see anyone else trying to learn to do what he does, aside from Kes, so it’s certainly a problem Janeway should have handled and I liked her solution. I felt super bad for the EMH when he explained he couldn’t be downloaded, but then I remembered there were six more seasons and there was no way there were getting home this quickly. I also loved that the EMH pulled”rank” as the CMO at the end of the episode and decided that he wanted a name.

The rest of the story is a damn roller coaster. There’s a wormhole and we might get home, damn it’s super small, wait we can use the probe as a relay, damn we met a Romulan, awesome he trusts us, wait we might be able to transport out, damn it there’s time travel, oh well please take our notes, wait… he’s dead? Kim is super excited, the kid misses his parents, and he’s also realizing that not everyone has had his upbringing as Torres is without loved ones outside of the Maquis. R’Mor is naturally skeptical and eventually decides he’s a scientist after all and his curiosity gets the best of him. He’s even delighted when he’s transported over because SCIENCE. There are two things, however, that flummoxed me a bit. First, they totally could have written the letters and sent them to R’Mor and if the Romulan Senate decided in their favor he could have sent them, otherwise he could have destroyed them. Why wait for permission? Second, why didn’t we get a montage of them writing their letters, or even snippets from the letters in a voice over mode. Janeway asking about her pupper, Kim loving on his parentals, and maybe even Torres writing to her mother. Other than those two things and the devastating news that R’Mor died just four years before, this was an excellent episode. 9 test cylinders, just to be sure.

“Ex Post Facto” in TL;DR: Paris is accused and later convicted of murdering a man on Banea after kissing his wife, the man’s memories are pretty clear cut and implanted in Paris so he relives those last moments every 14 hours. Kim returns in the shuttlecraft and explains how they met the victim, Professor Ren was helping them fix something on the ship and he invited them to his home for dinner where they meet his wife Lidell. Neelix tries to help Janeway understand the war between the Baneans and the Numiri, but is shocked when they don’t cause trouble as Voyager enters orbit. Paris explains his side, Tuvok investigates, and Janeway brings Paris to the EMH because there are terrible side effects to the implanted memory. Tuvok’s investigation comes to a head after Voyager is fired on and he mind melds with Paris, so he gathers everyone on the planet. The Banean doctor is working for the Numiri and tried to smuggle out data in Paris’s brain, he was the one who killed Ren and then altered the memory while Lidell drugged Paris with some tea… and the dog helps him prove his point. Paris is cleared, thanks Tuvok, and the EMH considers what to name himself.

Favorite Quote:

Paris: Hey, Tuvok, I know it’s a little late to ask, but you’re sure you’ve got the logic of this thing worked out?

Tuvok: If I am incorrect, we will know it shortly.

Tuvok not mincing any words.

“Good can get very boring.”: This episode reminds me of a weird mix of “Wolf in the Fold“, “A Matter of Perspective“, and “Hard Time“. A crew member is accused of murder because they were flirty, but they didn’t do it. O’Brien gets the same treatment Paris does where he’s also punished before the captain even knows what’s happening. Paris totally hits all over her and the minute she’s “free” he seems to have second thoughts. Tuvok is acting as our Data/Sherlock Holmes/Odo character performing his investigation and using his observations to lead to the conclusion that Paris is only guilty of being an outrageous flirt. I also love that Tuvok has apparently been married for 67 years and is over 100 years old, Vulcans continue to surprise me.

This is a good mystery episode where you know what’s going to happen, but not how, and you try to pick up clues along the way. I also enjoyed that the EMH picked out names that have been referenced in Trek before, Galen and Spock for example, and he’s so overwhelmed with choices he just wants someone to give him one… which is the most human thing ever. My favorite part, though, was when Janeway put on her captain boots and laid into the Numiri by way of threatening them with explosives. It was totally epic. I don’t feel too bad for Paris because he’s a slime, but I don’t think anyone should be punished for something they didn’t do and I especially do not believe putting someone to death is acceptable for any crime. 7 cycles for Paris, just because.

TA Out!

Date: September 9, 2020

Season 1, Episodes 4 and 5

Musical Accompaniment: Trying something different with some Wild West music

Interstellar News: My body hurts, that is all.

“Phage” in TL;DR: Voyager tries to find dilithium to add to its supply and Neelix has taken over the captain’s private dining room to build a galley. Chakotay, Kim, and Neelix beam down to survey the planetoid, discover some strange readings, and then Neelix is attacked and his lungs have been removed. The EMH creates holographic lungs to help Neelix breathe until his lungs can be recovered, but he also has to remain very still. They track down the Vidiians who are suffering from a disease known as ‘phage’. They usually take their organs from those who have just died but sometimes the situation is dire, like in Motura’s case. Janeway decides she can’t stoop to their level and in appreciation the Vidiians help do a lung transplant, as Kes dontates one lung to Neelix. Janeway allows Neelix to keep the kitchen.

Favorite Quote:

Neelix: Well, if I’m going to be in here a while, now’s as good a time as any to tell you. Your ceiling is hideous.

EMH: I didn’t design the room, I just work here.

Neelix: Something with a bit of color would help. Maybe a nice tapestry or a painting. Could you dim the lights a little?

EMH: I’m a doctor, Mr. Neelix, not a decorator.

Neelix not holding back and the EMH not giving a shit.

“One of these days I’m going to surprise you, Tuvok, but not today.”: I am totally Neelix in the kitchen sometimes, though I’ve only set fire to a kitchen ONCE. This is why I don’t attempt to deep fry things anymore. I also totally feel for Torres who had to do all this work to set up a refinery and then there wasn’t anything for them to refine. I mean they might come across what they need at some point, so it’s not bad to have… but still. You have to feel bad for Neelix. He studied and is trying so hard to be useful and he gets his lungs stolen on his very first mission. This, however, allows for several things to happen. Kes gets to be compassionate, the EMH gets to be a miracle worker and explain the gravity of his situation, and Paris gets to be a creep… oh wait, he would have been anyway. I also don’t understand why they didn’t just keep Neelix sedated until they could either reinsert his lungs or come up with a different plan. I am also in love with the fact that absolutely no one took the time to explain to the Vidiians that the EMH is a hologram, it was wonderful.

There’s a lot of action followed by inaction, which really slows down the episode for me. While it was cool to see Voyager fly into the “asteroid” and do the trick with the phasers, it went on for longer than I would have liked. The crux of the episode is when Janeway lets the Vidiians have it. She is frustrated, pissed, and several other emotions at once and she lets them know that this would not fly in the AQ. She doesn’t really have the jurisdiction or the choice to do anything but let them go and make sure they understand Starfleet is off limits. Thankfully they pay her, and Neelix, back by fixing Neelix with their superior technology – but that leads to several other questions. Why not use artificial organs? 3D printed ones? Replicated ones? I get that they are desperate but that doesn’t excuse them taking a life to prolong their own and that makes them very bad people. I also heartily disliked Neelix berating Kes about Paris flirting, like it’s her fault what comes out of Paris’s mouth. I absolutely hate it when someone tells me they trust me but not someone else, then go have that conversation with them and also – I can take care of myself. 6 trips to Candy Mountain for me (please watch the whole video below, it’s totally worth it… I promise).

“The Cloud” in TL;DR: Voyager needs to increase their energy supply so Janeway can feed her coffee addiction, I mean so they can get home, and they decide to enter a nearby nebula for some of its omicron particles. The nebula is actually a living entity and their entering and then leaving caused it damage, so they fix it so it’s no worse than when they found it. Janeway is also worried about the crew so she has Chakotay teach her about animal guides, hers is a gecko. Meanwhile Paris introduces Kim to his sleazy holodeck program (a pool hall in France), the EMH and Torres work together to fix the nebula-entity, and Neelix makes himself the morale officer and feeds everyone like the good Italian Grandmother he is.

Favorite Quotes:

Janeway’s Jam: “There’s coffee in that nebula”

Janeway: You strike me as the bear type.

Chakotay: Thank you. The bear is a very powerful animal. It has great pokattah. But he’s not my animal guide. The creature that guides us doesn’t define who we are. It merely chooses to be with us.

Janeway: Okay. If not a bear, then what?

Chakotay: I can’t tell you that. It would offend my animal guide if I spoke its name.

Janeway: But he guides you well?

Chakotay: Actually, it’s a female. But yes, she usually guides me very well.

Janeway, wrong at every turn. Sigh.

“Dismissed. That’s a Starfleet expression for ‘get out’.”: There’s a little bit of “One Of Our Planets Is Missing” and “Where Silence Has Lease“, which I just referenced yesterday. There’s a big cloud entity that the crew mistakenly beat up and then they have to figure out how to fix it and not explode in the process, which is the “new” part of the plot for Voyager. I found it funny that I made a Pinocchio reference and minutes later Janeway makes the same reference, but to Jonah and his whale instead. I love that Neelix totally lost his shit, did not get the reaction he expected, and then stress cooked and tried to use humor as a tension reliever on the deck. My absolutely favorite part, however, was when the EMH was muted and he keeps going the whole time. He knows he’s muted but he’s pacing, muttering, and getting more visibly frustrated even though no one is paying attention to him. Finally he waves his hands around and gets the attention of everyone and proves just how useful he can be, as long as they can put up with his snark. Robert Picardo gives great face and just acted his ass off even when the camera wasn’t on him.

I didn’t like the way Janeway reacted to Chakotay’s ritual, she was almost irreverent. Now she’s not doing it on purposes, she’s simply ignorant as to how spirtual and important it is to Chakotay and his people. She’s genuinly interested in knowing more about the animal guide, but it sort of comes off the same way when people say something about “oh, that’s my spirit animal”, cringey. I did like, however, how Chakotay presented his custom, was patient, was grateful that she wanted to know more about it, and made it sound so important to him. The first bit in the holodeck was stupid, why did he have to wake Kim up? Just to rub it in that he can make out with to holograms? Sigh. The ending, however, where Janeway totally hustles them at pool is fantastic because I totally believed she didn’t know anything until the last second and then I caught on right before she hit the ball. Sinking the green 6 means I’ve got solids, and I’ll call the eight-ball in the corner pocket.

TA Out!

Date: September 8, 2020

Season 1, Episodes 2 and 3

Musical Accompaniment: Disney piano music

Interstellar News: Four loads of laundry complete and one hell of an emotionally draining day, ugh.

“Parallax” in TL;DR: Janeway is trying to best manage the crew and Chakotay advocates for some of the Maquis to be promoted. They run into a spatial distortion and notice a ship being pulled into the singularity so they try to help. Nothing works so they try to visit another planet for help when they realize they haven’t moved and they are the ones stuck in the singularity and it was a reflection of their ship… insert some technobabble about temporal mechanics here. Janeway and Torres geek out over figuring out a way to bust a hole and totally bond, even finishing each other’s sentences, and also have to make the hard choice to figure out which Voyager to get back on because one isn’t real. The choose wisely, Paris does some fine piloting, and Torres is promoted to Chief Engineer. All the while, the EMH’s projector is malfunctioning and no one remembers to fix it so he keeps shrinking.

Favorite Quote:

Kes: I’ve been thinking that you might be able to convert one of your lower decks into a hydroponics bay to grow your own food. I understand that the replicators are down and that the emergency rations won’t hold out much longer.

Kim: What about Cargo Bay 2? It was designed for organic storage and it already has adjustable environmental controls.

Janeway: When can you start?

Kes: Me?

Janeway: It’s your idea. It’s your project.

Janeway giving Kes a project, because what else is she going to do?

“If you’re wrong, we’re going to have a long time to debate it.”: There’s a bit of “The Immunity Syndrome” here and a lot of “Where Silence Has Lease” but of course with a Voyager twist. I loved that Janeway gave Kes a project because it was her idea but then hated that she basically turned about and gave Carey Torres’s idea simply because he’s an OG Starfleet officer. I get that the Maquis joined their crew out of necessity and Janeway isn’t just going to promote them above Starfleet officers, but at the same time she’s LOST IN SPACE and needs the best people in the positions. I also liked that Chakotay is trying to make the best of a bad situation, he could have easily been plotting to take over the ship.

My favorite part, though, was when Janeway and Torres do the thing when two people get on the same wavelength and finish each other’s sentences… it was fantastic. Janeway is totally a science nerd in a similar way that Sisko showed his love for engineering. I can totally see young boys and girls watching this show and seeing that anyone can do science and it’s totally cool. Their chemistry also shines when they’re in the shuttlecraft together. Torres is so sure but so is Janeway so they each present their argument and ultimately Janeway reasons in a way that would make Tuvok proud, plus she’s the captain, and Torres abides. I also enjoyed the EMH because he just wants his program to run correctly and for people to remember to use him properly: state the medical emergency and turn off the program when you’re done. It’s just like when you leave a room and make sure to turn the lights off or shut the front door and lock up when you leave the house. A very good second episode that earns itself 6 sun-butter and jelly sandwiches, so as not to kill me.

“Time and Again” in TL;DR: Paris is trying to get Kim to go on a double date with him when they’re hit by a wave, there’s been a horrible accident at a nearby planet. Tuvok, Janeway, Paris, and Torres beam down to investigate when Paris and Janeway are sucked into a subspace fracture and are on the planet one day before the accident. Kes is having some visions and goes to the EMH for assistance, but there’s no brain scan on record for her and the EMH is shocked to find out there’s new crew members that he doesn’t have a file for. Janeway and Paris discuss the Prime Directive but then come to realize that they’re the reason for the planet’s destruction. As Kim and Torres try to save them, Janeway stops it which resets everything to the top of the episode. Kes comes to the bridge and is delighted to see the planet is undamaged.

Favorite Quote:

EMH: Another crew. That’s nice. This is the Emergency Medical Holographic system to Captain Janeway.

Neelix: She’s not on board. She’s missing on the surface of a planet.

EMH: Missing. The Captain is missing. It seems I’ve found myself on the Voyage of the Damned. Very well. Please advise the highest ranking officer who is not missing, to see me at his earliest convenience. You may shut off my program now.

The EMH has had enough revelations for the day.

“You have a lovely brain. Everybody should drink plenty of fluids.”: Kes reminds me of Guinan in “Yesterday’s Enterprise” where she knows something happened, isn’t quite sure what’s real, and then settles on being happy that all is “right” in the universe again. The EMH is overwhelmed by the limits of his programming, his being used so much more often than before, and having responsibility he wasn’t prepared to handle. The exasperation can be heard in his voice and seen in his face. He’s this very interesting mix between Vic Fontaine, Data, and the sassiest bits of Sisko.

The bulk of the episode focuses on Janeway, Paris, and the Prime Directive. On one hand I understand Janeway’s position. They don’t know anything about this area of space or anything about the inhabitants of the planet, and it’s not their job to interfere. However Paris has a point that now that they’re there and in the past, why not find out what happened and see if they can prevent it? Maybe Voyager was sent to right the wrongs of history in the Delta quadrant, no wait we’re not in an episode of Quantum Leap. The improv skills must be taught at the Academy because I can’t imagine this many people in the 24th century are that good at lying when thrown into an unusual situation. Paris jumping in front of the kid and being shot helps to try to redeem Paris, but he’s also shown twice in the same episode being proud of his cheating ways… so it’s a wash. Janeway has no idea what’s going to happen, but she realizes she’s got to do something and it takes a lot of courage to do what she did. Overall, I’m over time travel episodes for a while. I’d like 6 rolls of sushi, please.

TA Out!