Torres (then Paris, then everyone else in the crew) discovers an old holoprogram that simulates a Maquis takeover of the ship. Tuvok comes forth as the original author; he had initially intended it to be a training scenario for junior starfleet security officers, until he scrapped it after determining that a Maquis mutiny was no longer a likely event. Janeway thinks that a simulated overthrow of her leadership is a hilarious and morale-boosting idea, so she allows Paris (and Tuvok) to finish the program. Seska, before leaving the crew, had found the program and altered it, so when Paris and Tuvok go to start adding more scenes, her avatar shuts off the safties and begins chasing them through the ship. Janeway and Torres find a way to help by writing in new elements as the program progresses, eventually allowing Tuvok to off the Seska-hologram and restore control.
Honestly, Janeway's reaction is weird to me. I guess it is sort of a break from her usual condescension, but having her be so open to the popularity of this program is really out of character. But, we get a reasonably fun episode out of it, and it is nice to see her less uptight, so I can let it pass. Tuvok and Paris work off each other well, in a way that I had hoped Tuvok and Neelix could have done. Neelix's scenes with Tuvok have degenerated into Neelix trying to teach him how great emotions are in a very preachy way, and Paris doesn't get a lot of good character-foil opportunities (why we haven't gotten more Paris-Kim scenes is beyond me, those two are great together), so again I'm pleased. I'm still not that impressed with the pairing of Paris and Torres; she and Kim have a lot more chemistry. Plus, Trek writers simply don't know how to write for flirtatious characters - they end up using variations of the bad pick-up lines you'd find on a list-of-jokes website, rather than sounding remotely genuine.
I could really do without all the meta-writing jokes though. I get it, this show about writing a story was written by writers. There are a ton of movies and shows and books out there whose hero is a writer (often flawless except for his extreme devotion to his craft), and so many times those stories serve as ego vessels for their creators that they need to be extremely entertaining or thoughtful to not bother me - though one of my favorite books of all time is an author-protagonist story, so it can be done. Janeway's line about Deus Ex Machinas being underrated is particularly grating to me: sure, when used sparingly, they're not all bad. But when they're used to the extent that the Voyager writers do, and then they call attention to it in this episode, that's a level of smugness that'll infuriate me.
Watchability: 3/5
Bottom Line: As a fun episode, it does its job.
Showing posts with label Seska. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seska. Show all posts
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
S2 E26 & S3 E01: Basics, Parts I and II
It's not like I didn't watch these episodes back to back, so it isn't really worth keeping up the pretense of reviewing them one by one.
Voyager receives a Kazon distress signal, suggesting that Seska has fallen out of Cullah's graces upon the birth of "Chakotay's" child. Chakotay doesn't want the ship to run into an obvious trap on his account, but Janeway and his spirit dad give him cause to reconsider. Along the way, they pick up a wounded Kazon soldier who tells them that Seska is dead, and he was injured trying to escape. He grudgingly agrees to help them mount a rescue of the baby. It turns out to be a trap, and the Kazon soldier blows himself up in order to cripple Voyager. Two key things happen: Paris escapes on a shuttle to go get help from the Talaxians, and Lon Suder (the guy who is in confinement for murdering someone, but is trying to mend his ways now) is set free. The rest of the crew are stranded on a barren planet with only primitive humanoids for company.
I didn't get into this during the Meld discussion, since I knew I'd need it here: One of the most powerful scenes from Lord of the Rings, for me, occurs in the first movie, when the fellowship is making its way through Moria, and Frodo suggests just killing the wretched Gollum. Gandalf has this to say on the matter:
"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."
The significance of that line didn't sink in when I read the books in my sophomore year of high school. I enjoyed them, but only read them once, and never read that line while knowing the final outcome. Without Gollum's interference, Frodo would have put the ring on in Mount Doom and walked away. Sam could not have bitten off Frodo's finger. It was the pity that stopped Bilbo from killing Gollum in The Hobbit that ultimately saved Middle-Earth. Even better, it isn't truly a redemption for Gollum; it is after all his unrelenting greed that drives him to single-mindedly fight for the ring, at the cost of his own life. I think it is even more powerful and less heavy-handed that way.
We get that here, and this episode's going to coast to a 5/5 on the power of the Lon Suder stuff alone. As much as I still think that putting him off at the nearest uninhabited world would still have been the best course of action, his role here is fantastic. Like Gollum, his reprieve is ultimately what saves the ship. But also like Gollum, he is successful because he is still a brutally capable killer. His scenes in part one, where he's trying to contribute to the ship despite his incarceration, show a man who is trying to atone, but still can't control his anger. It's not clear he'd ever be trusted enough by Janeway to make food for the ship. While he's hiding from the Kazon, and working with the Doctor, he's clearly struggling with himself over the killing he'll have to do. And when, at the end, he arrives in engineering, and slaughters the ten or so Kazon there, his fate is sealed. This character arc is perfect. I'm a bit sad that he dies, but if that prevents the writers from abusing the character later on, it is all worth it.
Anything else that I have to say about the episode is just nitpicking, really. It's a bit annoying that Voyager is lured into yet another trap, but at least it is Seska, who has already established that she's quite capable of crafting excellent Voyager-lures. Also, I like the Kazon, and we get some good action in this episode as a result. The revelation that the child is actually Cardassian/Kazon is awfully convenient, but I sure am glad we aren't going to have to keep the kid around as a result. Seska's death is pretty anti-climactic, but not every villain death needs to be over the top, and I feel that the Seska stuff has pretty much run its course.
It is a shame that the crew-stranded-on-the-planet part is pretty irrelevant to the overall plot, but this episode works better as a season finale/opener than the last ones, so if they needed some filler to make it happen, I'm all for it. Plus, it's not bad, it's nice to see the tech savvy Voyager crew roughing it. Neelix's scene where he is telling Hogan to collect the humanoid bones they find for use as weapons is good: I like that despite his bubbliness, Neelix is ever the pragmatist, and completely unfazed by Hogan's squeamishness. I wish they hadn't just used Hogan as a redshirt in the beginning of part two though, he was really shaping up nicely as a background Maquis crewman who has adjusted enough to get along, but still had his reservations about Janeway's choices. In a way, he could have been the bridge between the two crews that Chakotay hasn't been shaping up to be.
Fun notes: The Doctor is phenomenal in his scheming to retake the ship. He manipulates Seska better than any other member of the crew has managed. Also, it's good to know that pointy ears grant archery ability: on the planet, Tuvok fashions a bow out of materials he has found there, and proves that he has elven accuracy on a couple occasions. Finally, this is the second time that Tom arrives in a shuttle to save the day, only to have his thunder stolen by someone else (this time, Suder).
Watchability: 5/5
Bottom Line: Like I said before, this episode buys the 5 on the strength of the Lon Suder parts. The rest thankfully doesn't get in the way, and is a fitting send-off for the Kazon.
Voyager receives a Kazon distress signal, suggesting that Seska has fallen out of Cullah's graces upon the birth of "Chakotay's" child. Chakotay doesn't want the ship to run into an obvious trap on his account, but Janeway and his spirit dad give him cause to reconsider. Along the way, they pick up a wounded Kazon soldier who tells them that Seska is dead, and he was injured trying to escape. He grudgingly agrees to help them mount a rescue of the baby. It turns out to be a trap, and the Kazon soldier blows himself up in order to cripple Voyager. Two key things happen: Paris escapes on a shuttle to go get help from the Talaxians, and Lon Suder (the guy who is in confinement for murdering someone, but is trying to mend his ways now) is set free. The rest of the crew are stranded on a barren planet with only primitive humanoids for company.
I didn't get into this during the Meld discussion, since I knew I'd need it here: One of the most powerful scenes from Lord of the Rings, for me, occurs in the first movie, when the fellowship is making its way through Moria, and Frodo suggests just killing the wretched Gollum. Gandalf has this to say on the matter:
"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."
The significance of that line didn't sink in when I read the books in my sophomore year of high school. I enjoyed them, but only read them once, and never read that line while knowing the final outcome. Without Gollum's interference, Frodo would have put the ring on in Mount Doom and walked away. Sam could not have bitten off Frodo's finger. It was the pity that stopped Bilbo from killing Gollum in The Hobbit that ultimately saved Middle-Earth. Even better, it isn't truly a redemption for Gollum; it is after all his unrelenting greed that drives him to single-mindedly fight for the ring, at the cost of his own life. I think it is even more powerful and less heavy-handed that way.
We get that here, and this episode's going to coast to a 5/5 on the power of the Lon Suder stuff alone. As much as I still think that putting him off at the nearest uninhabited world would still have been the best course of action, his role here is fantastic. Like Gollum, his reprieve is ultimately what saves the ship. But also like Gollum, he is successful because he is still a brutally capable killer. His scenes in part one, where he's trying to contribute to the ship despite his incarceration, show a man who is trying to atone, but still can't control his anger. It's not clear he'd ever be trusted enough by Janeway to make food for the ship. While he's hiding from the Kazon, and working with the Doctor, he's clearly struggling with himself over the killing he'll have to do. And when, at the end, he arrives in engineering, and slaughters the ten or so Kazon there, his fate is sealed. This character arc is perfect. I'm a bit sad that he dies, but if that prevents the writers from abusing the character later on, it is all worth it.
Anything else that I have to say about the episode is just nitpicking, really. It's a bit annoying that Voyager is lured into yet another trap, but at least it is Seska, who has already established that she's quite capable of crafting excellent Voyager-lures. Also, I like the Kazon, and we get some good action in this episode as a result. The revelation that the child is actually Cardassian/Kazon is awfully convenient, but I sure am glad we aren't going to have to keep the kid around as a result. Seska's death is pretty anti-climactic, but not every villain death needs to be over the top, and I feel that the Seska stuff has pretty much run its course.
It is a shame that the crew-stranded-on-the-planet part is pretty irrelevant to the overall plot, but this episode works better as a season finale/opener than the last ones, so if they needed some filler to make it happen, I'm all for it. Plus, it's not bad, it's nice to see the tech savvy Voyager crew roughing it. Neelix's scene where he is telling Hogan to collect the humanoid bones they find for use as weapons is good: I like that despite his bubbliness, Neelix is ever the pragmatist, and completely unfazed by Hogan's squeamishness. I wish they hadn't just used Hogan as a redshirt in the beginning of part two though, he was really shaping up nicely as a background Maquis crewman who has adjusted enough to get along, but still had his reservations about Janeway's choices. In a way, he could have been the bridge between the two crews that Chakotay hasn't been shaping up to be.
Fun notes: The Doctor is phenomenal in his scheming to retake the ship. He manipulates Seska better than any other member of the crew has managed. Also, it's good to know that pointy ears grant archery ability: on the planet, Tuvok fashions a bow out of materials he has found there, and proves that he has elven accuracy on a couple occasions. Finally, this is the second time that Tom arrives in a shuttle to save the day, only to have his thunder stolen by someone else (this time, Suder).
Watchability: 5/5
Bottom Line: Like I said before, this episode buys the 5 on the strength of the Lon Suder parts. The rest thankfully doesn't get in the way, and is a fitting send-off for the Kazon.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
S2 E20: Investigations
I remember seeing the trailer for this episode originally, and it went something like: "Next time on Voyager: there's a spy on board! It could be any of the characters you've come to trust, who could it be?" And I thought, "Yeah, we know who the spy is. It's that background guy. He's been up to no good for the last five episodes. This is a surprising twist?"
So Neelix has started to do a kind of "morning show" for the crew, which is cheesy but not terrible. He also discovers through a Talaxian colleague that Paris is planning to leave the ship. Paris does leave with the Talaxians, but is almost immediately captured by the Kazon. Neelix then begins to uncover evidence of the subspace communications made by Jonas, and discovers that Janeway and Tuvok had been masterminding a plan for Paris to appear to be disillusioned with Voyager so that he can infiltrate the Kazon and unmask the traitor. Paris escapes with the intelligence, but not in time to save the day: instead, Neelix figures it all out and kills Jonas in a struggle in engineering.
Here's what works: I really like that the writers had the foresight to plan this storyline out, and give it bit by bit rather than all in this one episode. It makes for a cool reveal when Paris is aboard the Kazon ship and whips out his spy tools to try to get to the bottom of the traitor mystery.
Here's what doesn't work: The part of the plan involving Tom's departure is awfully convoluted. It probably would have worked much better for his discontent to have become common knowledge throughout the ship, to the point that he is accepted into Jonas' confidence. During the departure scene, with Kim in the transporter room to see him off, I realized that I was pretty surprised that we hadn't gotten any scenes in this arc where Kim tried to approach Paris and figure out what was up. Really, I'd rather have Kim, Paris' only close friend, be the one to make the discoveries that Neelix does. Also, it's pretty awkward that Janeway and Tuvok kept Chakotay out of the loop on this one; he registers his annoyance with them, but if I were him I'd be furious. And for all the planning, Tom doesn't even get to save the day. Now, I'm happy that Neelix got to be useful, even competent, but Paris also needs some of those moments at this point.
Here's the biggest problem with the whole storyline though: I didn't trust the writers yet on my first time through this part of the series, especially after the whole love triangle debacle. As a result, I didn't see the scenes of Paris' fall from grace as an opportunity for growth, but as more annoying scenes for Tom Paris. He's had such little development so far that I had no reason to believe that he was capable of being more than a whiny navigation officer. On the second time through, knowing what was going to happen, I liked it more, but we still don't really get any more insight into Paris by the end of it. Sure, he wasn't a complete misfit after all, but what is he?
Watchability: 3/5
Bottom Line: Entertaining enough, but this episode has a lot of wasted potential.
So Neelix has started to do a kind of "morning show" for the crew, which is cheesy but not terrible. He also discovers through a Talaxian colleague that Paris is planning to leave the ship. Paris does leave with the Talaxians, but is almost immediately captured by the Kazon. Neelix then begins to uncover evidence of the subspace communications made by Jonas, and discovers that Janeway and Tuvok had been masterminding a plan for Paris to appear to be disillusioned with Voyager so that he can infiltrate the Kazon and unmask the traitor. Paris escapes with the intelligence, but not in time to save the day: instead, Neelix figures it all out and kills Jonas in a struggle in engineering.
Here's what works: I really like that the writers had the foresight to plan this storyline out, and give it bit by bit rather than all in this one episode. It makes for a cool reveal when Paris is aboard the Kazon ship and whips out his spy tools to try to get to the bottom of the traitor mystery.
Here's what doesn't work: The part of the plan involving Tom's departure is awfully convoluted. It probably would have worked much better for his discontent to have become common knowledge throughout the ship, to the point that he is accepted into Jonas' confidence. During the departure scene, with Kim in the transporter room to see him off, I realized that I was pretty surprised that we hadn't gotten any scenes in this arc where Kim tried to approach Paris and figure out what was up. Really, I'd rather have Kim, Paris' only close friend, be the one to make the discoveries that Neelix does. Also, it's pretty awkward that Janeway and Tuvok kept Chakotay out of the loop on this one; he registers his annoyance with them, but if I were him I'd be furious. And for all the planning, Tom doesn't even get to save the day. Now, I'm happy that Neelix got to be useful, even competent, but Paris also needs some of those moments at this point.
Here's the biggest problem with the whole storyline though: I didn't trust the writers yet on my first time through this part of the series, especially after the whole love triangle debacle. As a result, I didn't see the scenes of Paris' fall from grace as an opportunity for growth, but as more annoying scenes for Tom Paris. He's had such little development so far that I had no reason to believe that he was capable of being more than a whiny navigation officer. On the second time through, knowing what was going to happen, I liked it more, but we still don't really get any more insight into Paris by the end of it. Sure, he wasn't a complete misfit after all, but what is he?
Watchability: 3/5
Bottom Line: Entertaining enough, but this episode has a lot of wasted potential.
Friday, January 14, 2011
S2 E14: Alliances
The Kazon are beginning to wear Voyager down with relentless attacks, and redshirts are being lost at an alarming rate. At the funeral for a former Maquis engineer, Janeway is confronted by some of his shipmates, who are angry that Janeway isn't doing anything to appease the Kazon and make their lives easier. This is really the first time in the series that the Maquis point-of-view isn't just used as a strawman argument for the purpose of making the Starfleet course of action sound better. Janeway is dismissive at first, but Chakotay makes some strong points (like "yeah, there's probably a middle ground between giving the Kazon replicator technology or giving them the finger until they kill us all.") and she consents to putting out some feelers to the Kazon leadership (after consulting with Tuvok).
Now, since there's no way to negotiate with the Kazon as a whole, and any alliance with one faction would pit Voyager against others, this is a clear prime directive issue. Personally, though, it doesn't seem that, given the circumstances, if their priority is to survive, that they have much choice. At this point it is more about minimizing their impact. Initially, Neelix is sent to confer with a connection he has with one faction, while Voyager itself would open negotiations with Seska and Cullah. What?! That seems like a really odd choice. It has been recently made abundantly clear that Seska has a vendetta against you, why turn to her? The reasoning given seems to run along the lines of this being a "devil-you-know" situation, but I think that they just know too much.
Neelix isn't very successful at getting in touch with the Kazon, but he does return to Voyager in an armada of ships that appear to be Kazon. However, they're actually the property of the former slavers of the Kazon: the Trabe. The Trabe are weary of their war with the Kazon, whose subjugation they purport to regret and have turned over a new leaf. On top of that, they'd like Voyager's help to organize a peace conference with the Kazon with the goal of ending the decades of hostilites. It's a bit too tidy: now Janeway doesn't even need to violate the prime directive. It is well within the purview of a Federation captain to act as an intermediary in negotiations, so of course she seizes this opportunity.
In the meantime, the Maquis character who we met at the beginning starts to secretly make contact with the Kazon, hoping to... well, it isn't really clear what he hopes to accomplish, but he's being a shady bad guy. This thread is not resolved in this episode, so there's more to come, and maybe his motives and general plan will become more clear as things progress.
Turns out to not be so tidy afterall, as the Trabe were just using the Voyager to give them the credibility they'd need to bring all the Kazon leaders together and massacre them. Some good old political machinations at work here, I'm happy. Janeway figures out what's going on in the middle of the talks and saves the lives of all the Kazon, and gets furious at the Trabe leader and tells him off quite sternly. The ending is troublesome though. Janeway takes a moment at the end to have a big old "told ya so" moment with the senior staff; "look what happens when we break the prime directive? Now we're just as bad off as before, so let's not do that again." But really they never broke any rules, and did what any Starfleet crew would have in their place - sought peace through diplomatic negotiation. And how much can the Kazon actually be mad at her for saving their lives? This whole end note puts a sour taste in my mouth, like the writers were just using this episode to justify poor decisions in previous episodes - and then made an episode which ended up not proving their point at all.
Watchability: 4/5
Bottom Line: Ignore the ending, and you've got another great Kazon episode.
Now, since there's no way to negotiate with the Kazon as a whole, and any alliance with one faction would pit Voyager against others, this is a clear prime directive issue. Personally, though, it doesn't seem that, given the circumstances, if their priority is to survive, that they have much choice. At this point it is more about minimizing their impact. Initially, Neelix is sent to confer with a connection he has with one faction, while Voyager itself would open negotiations with Seska and Cullah. What?! That seems like a really odd choice. It has been recently made abundantly clear that Seska has a vendetta against you, why turn to her? The reasoning given seems to run along the lines of this being a "devil-you-know" situation, but I think that they just know too much.
Neelix isn't very successful at getting in touch with the Kazon, but he does return to Voyager in an armada of ships that appear to be Kazon. However, they're actually the property of the former slavers of the Kazon: the Trabe. The Trabe are weary of their war with the Kazon, whose subjugation they purport to regret and have turned over a new leaf. On top of that, they'd like Voyager's help to organize a peace conference with the Kazon with the goal of ending the decades of hostilites. It's a bit too tidy: now Janeway doesn't even need to violate the prime directive. It is well within the purview of a Federation captain to act as an intermediary in negotiations, so of course she seizes this opportunity.
In the meantime, the Maquis character who we met at the beginning starts to secretly make contact with the Kazon, hoping to... well, it isn't really clear what he hopes to accomplish, but he's being a shady bad guy. This thread is not resolved in this episode, so there's more to come, and maybe his motives and general plan will become more clear as things progress.
Turns out to not be so tidy afterall, as the Trabe were just using the Voyager to give them the credibility they'd need to bring all the Kazon leaders together and massacre them. Some good old political machinations at work here, I'm happy. Janeway figures out what's going on in the middle of the talks and saves the lives of all the Kazon, and gets furious at the Trabe leader and tells him off quite sternly. The ending is troublesome though. Janeway takes a moment at the end to have a big old "told ya so" moment with the senior staff; "look what happens when we break the prime directive? Now we're just as bad off as before, so let's not do that again." But really they never broke any rules, and did what any Starfleet crew would have in their place - sought peace through diplomatic negotiation. And how much can the Kazon actually be mad at her for saving their lives? This whole end note puts a sour taste in my mouth, like the writers were just using this episode to justify poor decisions in previous episodes - and then made an episode which ended up not proving their point at all.
Watchability: 4/5
Bottom Line: Ignore the ending, and you've got another great Kazon episode.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
S2 E11: Maneuvers
Seska is back! She has taken up the mantle of "recurring villain" and sided on a more permanent basis with the Kazon, and lured Voyager into a trap in order to steal transporter technology. Sounds about right; if I were to rank the importance of Trek tech, transporters would be right up there with replicators and warp drive. Kazon, being about as science-minded as Klingons, make a lot of sense as technology thieves, without it totally defining them (and being too much like the equipment-minded eqivalent of the Vidiians). As a bad guy, it works pretty well to have them be less advanced than the Federation, but still threatening in this show because they outnumber the one Starfleet ship around.
Seska tips the odds a bit more than I'd like; I feel that the Kazon could be perfectly threatening (without being given the upper hand by her) by constantly wearing Voyager down over time. It's okay though, because she's used to good effect here, taunting the crew quite effectively, which Chakotay (understandably) takes quite personally. So personally, that when the Kazon successfully steal a transporter core (with a cool hull-piercing boarding ship), he runs off on his own in a shuttle to get it back. His rationale - which is explored a bit more at the end of the show - is that he could save lives by only risking his own. It just seems pretty reckless/foolhardy, especially for a character who has been so calm and rational in other episodes, but the show does a decent job of showing how much Seska's taunting has affected him.
The Kazon balance of power is explored some more in this episode; the tribe that Seska has aligned herself with (likely due to them being in the "right" place at the "right" time) seems to be a middle-strength one, and with the new transporter core they are hoping to tip the scales in their favor. Seska herself is clearly a huge asset to them too, but that is tempered by her obvious power-hunger, which Culluh (the guy in charge) is well-advised to be appropriately threatened by.
Chakotay succeeds in his mission (but is captured in the process), giving the Kazon the perfect bait with which to lure Voyager into another trap. This time, with the help of other sects, they hope to capture the whole ship this time - a plan that might have been better executed if it were part of the first plan. Seska attempts to seduce/torture Chakotay into giving up the command codes, but he hates her so much at this point that neither tactic could possibly be successful. What's great is when Culluh tries to torture Chakotay, but all he gets in response are snarky barbs about Seska's manipulations. Chakotay is usually pretty passive, so the guy we see in this episode seems a little out of character, but I think I like this one better.
Voyager waltzes into trap #2, planning to just beam Chakotay off the Kazon ship (their ships have no shields), but Seska has some field set up to stop them. The solution is pretty fun (beam the Kazon leaders off instead and hold them hostage) but will lead to the writers to need to explain why they can't just do that again in later Kazon episodes. Also mildly problematic is that the Voyager was able to transport through their own shields, which is also prohibited, but I suppose the technology may have advanced some since TNG - though I recall the same restriction being present in DS9 (a post-Voyager-departure example).
The episode ends with the soap opera-y ending wherein Seska reveals that she has stolen Chakotay's DNA and impregnated herself with his baby. Now, I like having a recurring villain and all, but Seska's motivation feels... odd. Why does she seem to have this vendetta against Voyager? You'd think that she'd just take off and take her chances with finding her way home herself - or even just satisfy her power-hunger by taking on easier targets. I hope that when we see her again that she will have at least manipulated her way into another Kazon sect (a more powerful one), so that as long as she's going to be crazy, she'll be good at it. It is nice to see her being very competent at treachery and deceit, because that makes it a little more realistic that she would have been able to fool so many people for so long.
On the matter of Chakotay's punishment: the writers put themselves in a real tough spot here. Chakotay really should be put through the ringer for running off on his own and stealing a shuttle without authorization, but given Voyager's predicament it would be really hard to come up with a suitable reprimand without taking a very useful person out of the action for a while. Even putting him in the brig would just waste resources that they can't spare, but the solution of putting him "on report" is very unsatisfying. I would have liked to at least had the threat of making Tuvok acting first officer be mentioned (if not actually enacted for the next episode or two) as that would have mentioned a real possibility for punishment that could be carried out.
Watchability: 4/5
Bottom Line: Once again the Kazon come out with a strong showing. I might be a bit happier if the Seska and Kazon threads weren't woven together so tightly (I doubt at this point I'll get another Seska-less Kazon episode), but better than having neither one.
Seska tips the odds a bit more than I'd like; I feel that the Kazon could be perfectly threatening (without being given the upper hand by her) by constantly wearing Voyager down over time. It's okay though, because she's used to good effect here, taunting the crew quite effectively, which Chakotay (understandably) takes quite personally. So personally, that when the Kazon successfully steal a transporter core (with a cool hull-piercing boarding ship), he runs off on his own in a shuttle to get it back. His rationale - which is explored a bit more at the end of the show - is that he could save lives by only risking his own. It just seems pretty reckless/foolhardy, especially for a character who has been so calm and rational in other episodes, but the show does a decent job of showing how much Seska's taunting has affected him.
The Kazon balance of power is explored some more in this episode; the tribe that Seska has aligned herself with (likely due to them being in the "right" place at the "right" time) seems to be a middle-strength one, and with the new transporter core they are hoping to tip the scales in their favor. Seska herself is clearly a huge asset to them too, but that is tempered by her obvious power-hunger, which Culluh (the guy in charge) is well-advised to be appropriately threatened by.
Chakotay succeeds in his mission (but is captured in the process), giving the Kazon the perfect bait with which to lure Voyager into another trap. This time, with the help of other sects, they hope to capture the whole ship this time - a plan that might have been better executed if it were part of the first plan. Seska attempts to seduce/torture Chakotay into giving up the command codes, but he hates her so much at this point that neither tactic could possibly be successful. What's great is when Culluh tries to torture Chakotay, but all he gets in response are snarky barbs about Seska's manipulations. Chakotay is usually pretty passive, so the guy we see in this episode seems a little out of character, but I think I like this one better.
Voyager waltzes into trap #2, planning to just beam Chakotay off the Kazon ship (their ships have no shields), but Seska has some field set up to stop them. The solution is pretty fun (beam the Kazon leaders off instead and hold them hostage) but will lead to the writers to need to explain why they can't just do that again in later Kazon episodes. Also mildly problematic is that the Voyager was able to transport through their own shields, which is also prohibited, but I suppose the technology may have advanced some since TNG - though I recall the same restriction being present in DS9 (a post-Voyager-departure example).
The episode ends with the soap opera-y ending wherein Seska reveals that she has stolen Chakotay's DNA and impregnated herself with his baby. Now, I like having a recurring villain and all, but Seska's motivation feels... odd. Why does she seem to have this vendetta against Voyager? You'd think that she'd just take off and take her chances with finding her way home herself - or even just satisfy her power-hunger by taking on easier targets. I hope that when we see her again that she will have at least manipulated her way into another Kazon sect (a more powerful one), so that as long as she's going to be crazy, she'll be good at it. It is nice to see her being very competent at treachery and deceit, because that makes it a little more realistic that she would have been able to fool so many people for so long.
On the matter of Chakotay's punishment: the writers put themselves in a real tough spot here. Chakotay really should be put through the ringer for running off on his own and stealing a shuttle without authorization, but given Voyager's predicament it would be really hard to come up with a suitable reprimand without taking a very useful person out of the action for a while. Even putting him in the brig would just waste resources that they can't spare, but the solution of putting him "on report" is very unsatisfying. I would have liked to at least had the threat of making Tuvok acting first officer be mentioned (if not actually enacted for the next episode or two) as that would have mentioned a real possibility for punishment that could be carried out.
Watchability: 4/5
Bottom Line: Once again the Kazon come out with a strong showing. I might be a bit happier if the Seska and Kazon threads weren't woven together so tightly (I doubt at this point I'll get another Seska-less Kazon episode), but better than having neither one.
Monday, December 6, 2010
S1 E10: State of Flux
I'm going to stop trying to avoid spoilers, unless it would be really easy to do so. If you haven't seen these episodes and want a chance to be surprised when viewing them, these reviews probably aren't the best thing to be reading.
Last episode reminded us that there are Maquis crew members, and gave us some more time with Seska. Even if that episode was lousy, I'm grateful that we got that time prior the the Seskasplosion we get here. We actually don't see that many Bajoran Maquis - for the most part, it is an organization made up of the former federation colonists whose land was given away to the Cardassians in a treaty. Typically, the Bajorans who join are just sympathetic to the Maquis plight in light of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor - and/or never stopped fighting the Cardassians as part of the Bajoran resistance. I'm a big fan of both the Bajorans and the Cardassians, and the in-depth look we get on them in DS9. Seska's petulance so far has, as a result, been kind of annoying since she is the Bajoran representative on this show. Not that her delivery/acting has let me down or anything, I'm just annoyed.
Turns out some Kazon (I belive that is the proper pluralization) have gotten their hands on some Federation technology, and gone and blown themselves up as a result of some serious bungling. And Seska is our biggest suspect! Actually, for most of the episode she's our only suspect. Joe Carey shows up again in an effort to give us someone else to cast a weary eye upon, but we never really belive it. Seska's just too guilty. That makes most of the episode a little... stall-y, since we're just waiting to find out Seska did it.
The piece of stolen equipment is a replicator - probably one of trek's top 3 most magical pieces of technology (transporters and holodecks round out that set). I would think that if someone were to smuggle some goodies, they'd start the Kazon a little lower on the tech ladder, not just becase they'd blow themselves up, but also just to string them along a bit. Clearly, the person who snuck it to them (obviously, it was Seska) doesn't have the remotest concern about changing the balance of power in the quadrant.
So guess what? It was Seska all along! Really surprised you, huh? Well, there is a good surprise after all: she's actually a Cardassian sleeper agent, who had infiltrated the Maquis. Chakotay: "So if you [Tuvok] were working for her [Janeway], and she [Seska] was working for the Cardassians, was there anyone on that ship working for me?" That makes a lot of sense, given the depth of her treachery. Giving the Kazon something that powerful straight away, of course she'd be perfectly happy if the Kazon destroyed Voyager. Even better, Seska even sounds more Cardassian, both in content and accent, giving herself a more snakelike posture. The best news? She escapes, so we'll get to see more of the evil, Cardassian Seska.
I do like that the writers explore what Chakotay feels like to have had two traitors on board his ship. Usually that's the kind of thing that Voyager ignores and hopes we won't notice. But Chakotay has a nice talk with Tuvok (who seems to be making friends rapidly, despite his stated disinterest in that activity), and kind of resigns himself to being that guy who was made a fool of twice. At least he never slept with Tuvok. Oh yeah, I didn't mention that. Seska slept with Chakotay back in the day. That's dedication to your cover.
Watchability: 3/5
Bottom Line: A bit of continuity/story progression for Voyager.
Amanda's Voyager Hair Report: The wife notes that any time a Voyager woman lets down her hair, she becomes no less than sixty times less ugly.
Last episode reminded us that there are Maquis crew members, and gave us some more time with Seska. Even if that episode was lousy, I'm grateful that we got that time prior the the Seskasplosion we get here. We actually don't see that many Bajoran Maquis - for the most part, it is an organization made up of the former federation colonists whose land was given away to the Cardassians in a treaty. Typically, the Bajorans who join are just sympathetic to the Maquis plight in light of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor - and/or never stopped fighting the Cardassians as part of the Bajoran resistance. I'm a big fan of both the Bajorans and the Cardassians, and the in-depth look we get on them in DS9. Seska's petulance so far has, as a result, been kind of annoying since she is the Bajoran representative on this show. Not that her delivery/acting has let me down or anything, I'm just annoyed.
Turns out some Kazon (I belive that is the proper pluralization) have gotten their hands on some Federation technology, and gone and blown themselves up as a result of some serious bungling. And Seska is our biggest suspect! Actually, for most of the episode she's our only suspect. Joe Carey shows up again in an effort to give us someone else to cast a weary eye upon, but we never really belive it. Seska's just too guilty. That makes most of the episode a little... stall-y, since we're just waiting to find out Seska did it.
The piece of stolen equipment is a replicator - probably one of trek's top 3 most magical pieces of technology (transporters and holodecks round out that set). I would think that if someone were to smuggle some goodies, they'd start the Kazon a little lower on the tech ladder, not just becase they'd blow themselves up, but also just to string them along a bit. Clearly, the person who snuck it to them (obviously, it was Seska) doesn't have the remotest concern about changing the balance of power in the quadrant.
So guess what? It was Seska all along! Really surprised you, huh? Well, there is a good surprise after all: she's actually a Cardassian sleeper agent, who had infiltrated the Maquis. Chakotay: "So if you [Tuvok] were working for her [Janeway], and she [Seska] was working for the Cardassians, was there anyone on that ship working for me?" That makes a lot of sense, given the depth of her treachery. Giving the Kazon something that powerful straight away, of course she'd be perfectly happy if the Kazon destroyed Voyager. Even better, Seska even sounds more Cardassian, both in content and accent, giving herself a more snakelike posture. The best news? She escapes, so we'll get to see more of the evil, Cardassian Seska.
I do like that the writers explore what Chakotay feels like to have had two traitors on board his ship. Usually that's the kind of thing that Voyager ignores and hopes we won't notice. But Chakotay has a nice talk with Tuvok (who seems to be making friends rapidly, despite his stated disinterest in that activity), and kind of resigns himself to being that guy who was made a fool of twice. At least he never slept with Tuvok. Oh yeah, I didn't mention that. Seska slept with Chakotay back in the day. That's dedication to your cover.
Watchability: 3/5
Bottom Line: A bit of continuity/story progression for Voyager.
Amanda's Voyager Hair Report: The wife notes that any time a Voyager woman lets down her hair, she becomes no less than sixty times less ugly.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
S1 E09: Prime Factors
The first half of this episode was very uncomfortable. The crew makes contact with a race known for its hospitality (essentially Risa 2.0), and spends the first part being lavished with gifts and attention. The crew is made uneasy with all this generosity, and that feeling very easily spread to me. The leader makes very sleazy passes at Janeway, which she seems a bit put off by, but at the same time disgustingly intrigued by as well. Kim also gets some romancery, but it is pulled off in a much geekier puppy-love kind of way - but as soon as he discovers that this species may have a way home for them he politely informs the woman that sex can wait if there's a chance he can get the crew home.
What I found shocking was that the race introduced here was intended to be a recurring villain, because we know how well that worked with the Ferengi. For those who don't: in TNG, the Ferengi were essentially one big metaphor for how ugly greed is. Completely one-dimensional. And their presentation was so goofy that it didn't work at all, and they were eventually adopted in a more natural role as the comic relief in DS9. Here, the Sikarians are instead so obsessed with hedonism and novelty that they won't give Voyager any help to get back home because they want them around for their entertainment. That is apparently what the writers saw as a great concept for a new villain. Fortuantely, they had enough insight to see that it didn't really work here, and we never have to see them again.
So that's the first half of the episode. For the second half we have a reverse-prime directive sequence, with Janeway hoping to barter for the ability to get back home, and the Sikarians refusing for the reasons stated above (but the reason told to the crew was that it would be against their laws to share the technology). Even when offered an under-the-table deal from a Sikarian political hopeful, she opts out. What is cool and character building is we also have four crew members who all take matters into their own hands for different reasons. Seska, getting more lines as a background character than before, plays the quintessential Maquis who doesn't care about crew integration (and therefore Federation rules), and just wants to get home and give Janeway the finger. Joe Carey's (Remember the guy who was the other option for chief engineer up against Torres? He has lines again) first priority is to get home to his family, and is willing to break the rules of Starfleet to do so. Torres is skeptical at first, but is swayed by the arguments of the others that this really isn't a prime directive situation, and even if they get in trouble, the chance is worth it to get home.
What is really compelling to me is that Tuvok is also willing to help break the rules. Again going to Memory Alpha, you see the debate that the actor, Tim Russ, had with the writing staff about Tuvok's reasons for betraying Janeway. The writers wanted it to be a very cliche "logic led me astray!" motivation, but Russ thought that that was dumb and wanted to play the "logic convinced me to save you from a mutiny by taking the action which you were bound by duty not to." The writers thought that made Tuvok too infallible (and thus challenging to write for) - I think it makes him sound like a person who cautiously thinks things through and can sometimes surprise you, which would be very good for later writing. The writers get their way for the most part, and I think the episode is weakened because of it.
Watchability: 2/5
Bottom Line: Uncomfortable episode to watch, without anything else interesting to really distract me.
What I found shocking was that the race introduced here was intended to be a recurring villain, because we know how well that worked with the Ferengi. For those who don't: in TNG, the Ferengi were essentially one big metaphor for how ugly greed is. Completely one-dimensional. And their presentation was so goofy that it didn't work at all, and they were eventually adopted in a more natural role as the comic relief in DS9. Here, the Sikarians are instead so obsessed with hedonism and novelty that they won't give Voyager any help to get back home because they want them around for their entertainment. That is apparently what the writers saw as a great concept for a new villain. Fortuantely, they had enough insight to see that it didn't really work here, and we never have to see them again.
So that's the first half of the episode. For the second half we have a reverse-prime directive sequence, with Janeway hoping to barter for the ability to get back home, and the Sikarians refusing for the reasons stated above (but the reason told to the crew was that it would be against their laws to share the technology). Even when offered an under-the-table deal from a Sikarian political hopeful, she opts out. What is cool and character building is we also have four crew members who all take matters into their own hands for different reasons. Seska, getting more lines as a background character than before, plays the quintessential Maquis who doesn't care about crew integration (and therefore Federation rules), and just wants to get home and give Janeway the finger. Joe Carey's (Remember the guy who was the other option for chief engineer up against Torres? He has lines again) first priority is to get home to his family, and is willing to break the rules of Starfleet to do so. Torres is skeptical at first, but is swayed by the arguments of the others that this really isn't a prime directive situation, and even if they get in trouble, the chance is worth it to get home.
What is really compelling to me is that Tuvok is also willing to help break the rules. Again going to Memory Alpha, you see the debate that the actor, Tim Russ, had with the writing staff about Tuvok's reasons for betraying Janeway. The writers wanted it to be a very cliche "logic led me astray!" motivation, but Russ thought that that was dumb and wanted to play the "logic convinced me to save you from a mutiny by taking the action which you were bound by duty not to." The writers thought that made Tuvok too infallible (and thus challenging to write for) - I think it makes him sound like a person who cautiously thinks things through and can sometimes surprise you, which would be very good for later writing. The writers get their way for the most part, and I think the episode is weakened because of it.
Watchability: 2/5
Bottom Line: Uncomfortable episode to watch, without anything else interesting to really distract me.
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