Some really interesting moments there and a narrative on raising children/how much we expose them to.
Those holonovels are awesome! Great adventures for kids as well as teaching them valuable lessons.
I like it when Voyager spends episodes like this working on characters. Also reinforcing how much of a family the crew has become.
Almost unwatchable. I watch children's TV with my nephews and it's nowhere near as painful as what is portrayed here. On the plus side, the show managed to grab a decent child actress for Naomi and there was really nice Tuvok moment.
Flotter recognizes Samantha at the end and says she's all grown up… guess the implication is that Naomi is using her mother's Flotter account which she had with her before Voyager was brought to the Delta Quadrant.
Episodes involving children can be problematic. At least this one has a good actress for little Naomi. Despite that I've dealt out most of the episode itself, namely the holodeck parts.
We had episodes like this on other Trek shows as well. I remember that Picard always was against families on Starships for exactly the reason we are seeing here. Granted, Naomi isn't there by choice so the episode has legitimacy. And all the arguments translate to the present as well. We see how protective Neelix is when it comes to the little girl and I always enjoy this kind of character moments.
In its entirety the episode doesn't reach above mediocre, though.
On one hand that's stupid. I am not a child and I did not ask for these childish stories. That's why that's only a 6/10. On the other hand, Naomi is cute. We have witnessed her birth (twice) and we watch her growing up. That's adorable. Even Neelix and the Doctor are a very likeable godfather and teacher respectively. Naomi's observation about Seven and the Doctor are hilarious. Kids don't beat around the bush. Plus, exploring how to raise children on a starship is classic Star Trek (Jake, Wesley, infamous Captain-Picard-Day). Later, in the show she bonds with many crew members. In particular with Seven. And - as far as I remember - I loved every scene when Naomi interacted with other crew members. Showing the crew bonding and showing them to become a family is something that the show was never able to achieve in season one, two or three. I'm glad that both the A-plot and B-plot both tell this aspect very well. Thus, don't dismiss this childish story too early.
This is where I gave up during the show’s original run. Pushing forward, twenty-plus years later.
Shout by SimonBlockedParent2016-09-14T08:02:37Z
Neelix: Coffee anyone?
Janeway: No thanks, any more and I'll be jumping to warp!