My anticipation for this was off the charts. Given my high expectations, its only natural that I would end up being a little underwhelmed by this premiere episode. Still, overall I really liked it.
The biggest compliment I can give it is that it feels like Star Wars. It fits in very nicely with the aesthetic set up by the original trilogy, while managing to also make things a bit seedier. The lighting and colour palette is lovely, the set design is incredible and I absolutely love the use of practical effects alongside CGI. There's a bold use of music which doesn't entirely match what you would expect from Star Wars, but I found it more intriguing than off putting.
That's all important, but the storytelling is the main thing that needs to work. This first episode came across as a little bit restrained in that respect. Most of the first half felt like it was playing it safe and was ticking off the thing that make you think 1) Star Wars, and 2) a western. It was hard to get any reading on our main character since he barely spoke two words and we can't see his face.
That began to change around the halfway point where the story kicked in with a bit more force and there was a hint at both character development and world building. The Mandalorian culture is a complex one that has been explored (perhaps too much) in both The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series. This managed to tease enough to make me want to know more. The metal and the armour is a cool angle to approach thing from and the hints of a painful backstory for our main character beg for more detail. I hope he gets a name. In fact, the lack of names for characters, locations and things in this episode was one of the biggest frustrations for me, leading me to explore Wookieepedia for more info.
By the final 10-15 minutes of the episode I was fully in to it. The bounty hunting side of things is just plain fun. The introduction of the IG droid and his self-destruct routine was really enjoyable and the action felt very nicely choreographed. Plus, it enabled the Mandalorian himself to come more into focus. The final reveal of what they were hunting came as a big surprise and opens up a lot of questions, so right now I can't wait for episode 2!
Things I noticed:
* A mention of Life Day from the Holiday Special.
* The stormtrooper's armour didn't quite seem to fit right; wondering if that was intentional.
* The ending. That most likely wasn't baby Yoda himself, but what if there's some cloning thing going on?. At any rate, it suggests some major reveals ahead.
EDIT: I changed my mind. Looking back, I liked this show more than I say I did. The cast are fun and likeable, even if I never fell in love with their characters.
Hey, everyone, I made it! I got through my least favourite Star Trek show for the first time after numerous attempts. And I have to say, I didn't completely hate the journey.
But, this is how it ends? That's it? What a thoroughly disappointing way to finish things. The finale introduces some random new plot elements that really don't work and just come out of nowhere (Tuvok's disease and the Chakotay/Seven relationship - which did have some hints but they were completely from Seven's imagination, so this feels jarring), and worst of all we get no proper resolution to so many things.
Voyager arrives back home and there's zero emotional payoff; we don't get to see their welcome back or any reunions with family and friends. Tom's father is on the screen when they make it back and doesn't acknowledge his son sitting right there. What's going to happen to the Maquis crew members now? B'Elanna gives birth but we don't get introduced to the baby or even find out what they name her. Seven asks to have the Doctor perform the procedure on her which will "unlock" her ability to feel the full range of emotions, but we don't even know if he actually does that. In just the previous episode, the Doctor declared his love for Seven but that's not addressed at all.
Instead, the final episode decides to spend its time on another dull Borg story that feels like it lacks any impact. Voyager has defeated these guys so many times now that it feels pointless for them to keep encountering them (and this time they have convenient future tech). Yes, it's nice to have Alice Krige reprise her role as the Borg Queen, but the episode doesn't actually do anything interesting with her. The entire bullheaded mission of future Admiral Janeway is dubious at best and depicts her as extremely selfish.
The entire show was a missed opportunity to do something interesting, and it chose to stay as safe as possible all the way through. Any time the series did do something good, it was forgotten about and not mentioned again (remember when Seven's nanites were discovered to be a cure for death? Sure would have been useful to do that again. Remember the previous episode when the Delta Flyer's communications were destroyed so Janeway transmitted a message through the deflector? Why hasn't that been used in the uncountable times communications were down?).
The show had some really good characters, though. The Doctor was the standout by a long way and the introduction of Seven was a good move. Captain Janeway is inconsistent in her actions and motives, but Kate Mulgrew was never less than fantastic in the role. I just wish everyone had some evolution across the show. Harry, Tom, Tuvok, Neelix, Chakotay: they really never changed their personalities (and this even applies to the Doctor and Seven). There's an argument that everyone became a better person, but I say that nothing about them actually evolved. The fact remains that I just don't care about characters like Tuvok or Chakotay, because they never felt like real people.
Still, it is an easy and entertaining watch and in the end it is Star Trek and delivers a lot of the storytelling and universe that makes me feel cosy. I just probably won't watch it again (hmm... maybe if it's given an HD upgrade and released on blu-ray). I know the show has a lot of fans and if you like it then that's great, but I don't think I'll ever quite understand why.
I've often accused Voyager of being formulaic and dull. I think that point stands (it's taken me close to a year to struggle through these final two seasons), but every so often an episode like this pops up. For once, the characters are given the spotlight and we get a fascinating and even emotional story with them. It happened earlier this season with the episode 'Lineage', and here it happens again.
In many ways, this is almost a complete copy of the classic TNG episode 'The Measure of a Man', in which Data's right to be recognised as a living being is put to trial, but here there's enough of a Voyager twist to make things feel different enough. In particular, the Doctor is one of the most original and thought-provoking characters in the Trek franchise. I do attribute that mostly to Robert Picardo's great performance, but his performance can't exist without the writing to back it up.
The episode actually flows through several things before arriving at the final hearing. My favourite parts were the holonovel that the Doctor had created which shine a fun and sometimes hilarious alternate light on what the crew of Voyager could be like. From there we get some good discussions on whether his work is offensive and damaging to the crew with the Doctor's position being sympathetic enough to make us be in his corner. But the crew do all have a point, and it's almost painful to see the way they forcefully inform the Doc how inconsiderate he's being.
It's also another frustrating example of Voyager's inconsistency, as we've had numerous episodes in which the crew - especially Janeway - don't seem willing to recognise the Doctor as a real person with feelings. This happened as recently as a couple of episodes ago with Harry Kim in 'Workforce'.
There's also a quite lovely B-story involving the crew finally getting to have direct communications with their families back home. I actually feel like this didn't get quite enough story time and held back a bit too much. The only conversation which really resonated here was B'Elanna and her father, although Seven speaking with her aunt did work well (anyone else think it was kind of creepy that Seven was always standing in the room while everyone was having their deeply personal conversations?). I would have liked to have seen Tom interact with his father - who was RIGHT THERE - and that feels like a missed opportunity.
Well, there's a lot to take in here. After eight seasons, one of the greatest TV shows of all time comes to an end with a satisfying and emotional finale. In an episode that (I think) didn't contain a single swear word, sex scene or moment of strong on-screen violence we got something completely character focused that provided closure for just about everyone.
It's a bittersweet ending and one that I really need to spend some time with. In a season that felt very rushed and like it was doing a disservice to characters, this was a slow paced and meditative reflection on where these people had come to and where they needed to go next. Some of the choices made may feel peculiar or unearned, but I couldn't help but feel like it was the right send off.
Striking this show off my "to watch" lists after so many years does feel like it's going to leave a significant hole. This show meant a lot to me as I read the books many years before and used to dream about what a TV adaptation would be like. I even had the pleasure of meeting George R.R. Martin when A Feast for Crows was released and there were only a dozen or so people waiting to get their books signed. I'm very much looking forward to seeing how the story goes in the next books (one day!), as the show diverged from them so much that I can't see things finishing up in quite the same manner.
As many others have said, this ending is strong but the problem is the confusing mess that was how we got here.
Getting things back on track after some iffy storytelling in previous episodes.
Another strong offering from Jonathon Frakes, however this one is not entirely without its flaws. It shines in the character interactions but seems to stumble over some of the plot points.
Absolutely excellent, probably the best episode of the season so far. Some real edge-of-your-seat enjoyment with stunning visuals.
The Orville is back (finally) and gave us what may be my favourite episode so far. That's odd, because nothing really happened in it as such. This was a pure character piece that juggled a lot of different plots and did it well. It's mostly made me realise how much I enjoy these people, and how fun just spending time in their lives is.
This was definitely a drama first, with comedy in the background. I like that arrangement, and I hope that the show continues in a similar fashion. I'm sure there are going to be mysteries, space battles and all sorts of thrills in later episodes, but for now this was a great re-introduction.
I'm really becoming a fan of the Claire/Isaac interactions.
I am a little surprised at the direction that Captain Mercer is going, he's not exactly presenting a good role model for the commander of a ship! I'm also disappointed that the Ed/Kelly relationship is still such a thing. It hasn't worked for me since the first episode, and I was hopeful that it was done with given the way season 1 ended.
Leave it to me to often find "filler" episodes the most enjoyable.
An episode with a really interesting premise that sort of falls flat on its face. It also helps that Kim Rhodes is pretty charismatic in the role of Lyndsay.
But the episode is all over the place. First of all we get a bizarre situation in which Lyndsay attempts to communicate with Voyager and for some reason her transmission goes to an unmanned screen in an empty room where a little girl just happens to stumble upon it by chance. Since when does communication happen like that on a ship? If Voyager is contacted then the bridge is alerted and someone (usually Harry) says, "Captain, we're receiving a transmission." This episode just decides to do whatever.
Then there's the massive issue that Lyndsay was a beloved and trusted crew member that everyone remembers fondly. Harry was even in love with her. Except... we've never met her before. She's never even been mentioned before. The episode would have had some actual impact if this had been somebody from the show's past who died. Granted, Voyager has never actively tried to introduce us to many crew members outside of the main characters, but I'm sure there was scope for this to work somehow. As it is, we get a disjointed story that it's difficult to care about.
There's also very little drama in her return or subsequent leaving. She's desperate to return to Voyager but then she just decides "nah, not for me" and leaves. Not all that compelling.
Still, the stuff with Seven and the Borg kids (they're still around!) is a little diversion.
Somebody got paid to write this episode.
Voyager, what are you doing to me? It may not seem like it, but I try to give you the benefit of the doubt. I look for hidden nuances in your cardboard characters and try to get myself invested. I accept that you have zero interest in continuity and want each episode to speak for itself.
So, why do you make it so much harder by throwing episodes like this at me? I'm not at all sure what the point of it was. Some kind of character study of Captain Janeway by throwing her into an awkward romance? An exploration of her need to assert control over every situation until it fits her vision? Another look at her clear discrimination and dismissal of holograms as sentient beings? (By my count, this is the third time. The whole thing is muddied by the question of just how sentient and independent holgrams actually are, but this show has the Doctor so I don't know what further proof she needs.)
I don't begrudge this for being a romance episode. Star Trek has done them before and they are important for character development, even though they almost always end up being pretty crap. I do take issue with it for being trite, lacking creativity, incredibly clichéd and turning almost every main character into a cheesy joke parody of who they are.
And by all means, let's leave two holodecks running this ridiculous program 24 hours a day. It's not like you're stranded in unknown hostile territory, low on power or need the energy. Oh, that's right: holodecks have their own magic independent power source. Please.
It's a relief to finally have an episode that I can say really positive things about! It's become something of a joy in this show to see the main plot be moved along, as it's something that happens so rarely. In that regard, this is a real treat.
In many ways, the crossover elements turn this almost into more of an episode of The Next Generation, especially given how little we actually see of the Voyager crew. Lt. Barclay (great to see him again) takes up the main focus along with Counsellor Troi providing quite a bit of a supporting role. Most of the time when are with the Voyager crew it's not actually them, but rather a holographic simulation.
The set up of the episode is a little bit weird. Barclay announcing that he's become obsessed with Voyager feels a bit forced and unnatural, and the flashback format is rarely something I fall in love with. It's especially a bit trite that Barclay is unloading all this in the form of a counselling session. I can forgive that, though, because I like that it meant Marina Sirtis could get involved.
I really like the fact that Starfleet HAVE been searching for Voyager and putting in quite a bit of effort. We've had vague hints that they hadn't forgotten about them, but nothing to really say that there is a massive ongoing project. Once they establish direct contact and we switch back to the real Voyager crew, it all becomes surprisingly emotional. The show had strengths and a powerful hidden core as this clearly demonstrates, so why did it so rarely elect to use them?
A few little things I noticed:
- The photo of Tom on his father's desk is actually from the actor's appearance as Locarno from the TNG episode he appeared in (a nice way of using it).
- The Golden Gate bridge appears to have been completely rebuilt since it was destroyed by the Breen a few months earlier. Nice work (either that or Voyager forgets once again that continuity is a thing).
- I was also a little confused that the Doctor didn't appear to recognise Barclay, since he had quite a memorable interaction with a version of him previously.
An episode that changes tone quite a lot along the way. It started out fairly poor then evolved into something quite epic. I wasn't surprised to read that this was originally intended to be a double episode.
There is some creative stuff going on throughout this, although its execution left something to be desired. Maybe I'm now too familiar with '90s Star Trek, but it seemed obvious to me that the Vaaudwar were not going to be good guys from almost the moment Gedrin is revived. From there it just became a matter of waiting for my suspicions to come true.
But I was quite pleasantly surprised by how far the episode goes in increasing their threat. It feels like a lot is crammed in that needed to be expanded upon - for example, Neelix researching the Vaaudwar in his people's language history, and the random scene of a depressed Naomi Wildman hinting at more story to be told - but in some ways this worked in the episodes favour as it kept things pretty exciting all the way through.
I now also expect any opportunity for Voyager to get home faster to be rendered useless to them, so I really wish that episodes would stop dangling the possibility.
There was a really well done space battle towards the end, reminiscent of what we would see in Deep Space Nine. In general, it felt like the effects work (both digital and practical, for example in the alien makeup) were of a higher quality than usual. The episode's story itself doesn't do anything all that remarkable, but it kept all of the characters working together well and even Janeway didn't suddenly change her personality as she is wont to do in times of crisis.
However, Chakotay's dialogue that shoehorned in the "dragon's teeth" reference of the title was awkward as hell, and didn't fit at all. Also, the ending suggests that we'll see the Vaaudwar again, but I just don't believe that for a second.
An episode with a lot of heart that does flounder a bit, but manages to come out pretty good. Tim Russ is, of course, the main attraction here as he plays a very different version of Tuvok. It's quite a startling change, but also really charming. I'm sure I'm not alone in preferring the childlike, emotional Tuvok we meet here instead of the usual one.
This is also a strong Neelix episode, a character that I typically dislike. However, it's episodes like this which really let us see what's going on underneath his cheerful, over-exuberant exterior that make me warm to him more. Neelix cares deeply about his friends (or in the case of Tuvok, "colleague") and his affection and attention towards people is not an act. For once, I really enjoyed spending time with him.
There are things about this which I didn't really like, though. The nature of the show means that Tuvok was always going to revert to his former self by the end, and even though there's a tease that he may have retained some of the "fun" Tuvok, I feel quite sure that it will never be mentioned again. Nor will his secret affection towards Neelix. It's a shame, it could have made for a really interesting premise to keep Tuvok this way and have him relearn what it means to be Vulcan over the course of time. Or even reject that entirely.
There was also a real missed opportunity to refer back to the events of the episode 'Tuvix', which this episode mirrors in many ways. That was also a strong Neelix/Tuvok pairing (literally) and ended with an unwanted surgical procedure. I'm amazed that the two characters didn't bring that shared experience up at any point. But that's what Voyager is: past events have little bearing on each episode, no matter how important they were, and I think the writers were always happy to stick to the assumption that viewers had never watched the show before.
Anyway, this was sweet and charming. The subplot with the invisible aliens was quite boring, and the deputy investigator was a really irritating character.
Quite entertaining, walking the line between funny and cringe worthy. The Doctor's daydreams feel like they become repetitive fairly quickly, but there's creativity in all of them (Paris waving from his lonely table was great). I'd imagine that the cast were able to have some fun with this one. The alien race also managed to feel both highly inventive and extremely familiar, and I think that sums up much of the episode.
In the end, it made me laugh and that counts for something. Robert Picardo shines on this show with whatever he's given, and here that's certainly a lot. I felt a bit put out at Janeway's initial reticence to give him any recognition for who he is because of what he is. By now the Doc has proven time and time again that he's more than just his programming, and Janeway has even dealt with this specific issue previously. Yeah, the Doc was probably asking for a bit too much in being granted emergency command of the ship, but it's true that the crew treats him without much respect.
Season 6 is doing pretty well so far (apart from the opener), it feels like all of these episodes are finally placing characters front and centre instead of plot. I wonder if it's going to keep this up...
I do have to wonder if seeing the credit "written by Ronald D. Moore" appear at the start of the episode is colouring my opinion, but I really quite enjoyed this. It felt epic and emotional, and the strong focus on characters was markedly different from what I'm getting used to seeing on Voyager.
It was helped no end by some good casting in the roles of the three ex-Borg, and along with Jeri Ryan they all had chemistry as a group. I found myself getting quite wrapped up in the tale unfolding. It all lead to a difficult decision with a somewhat bittersweet outcome, the mark of classic Star Trek. I found the dialogue to be a step up from usual with some much more natural and heartfelt discussions between characters - and again, I wonder if my mind is just attributing that to the fact that I know that Ron Moore wrote this, or if it actually is genuinely of a higher quality.
At the same time, it's another Borg episode and by this point it's a real struggle to make them at all interesting. Seven herself is so good purely for the fact that she isn't a Borg and is rediscovering her individuality, so when we go back to a previous time it feels like it falls into a certain predictable pattern. Fortunately, this remains separate from the entire Collective.
It's interesting to read the comments Ron Moore himself has made about his short time working on Voyager, and how upset he was with the whole experience which caused him to quit fairly soon after this. At any rate, I would be delighted for the show to go more in the direction suggested here with the focus on character development over action.
An enjoyable start. I like the characters quite a bit, especially Bean who comes off as the most interesting of the bunch. Elfo has potential but I feel like I need to warm to him a bit more. Luci is pretty great, but I have to say that I don't think the voice quite fits his appearance, it's just not quite what I was expecting. Right now that's throwing me off a bit. I was also surprised that Bean didn't ask him any basic questions, like why are you here/where did you come from?
I liked the story set up and the jokes were pretty good, with a couple of laugh out loud moments for me (notably with the names of the elves, and the racist antelope warning). Great voice cast, and Matt Berry appeared which I really wasn't expecting! A lot of recognisable voice talent from Futurama here.
In terms of tone, this is definitely steering more towards Futurama than The Simpsons for me and I think that's a good thing. Visually it's in the same realm as well, and quite nice to look at. Groening's style has a lot of personality. It's setting up a world and it needs to take some time to do it. I'm happy to give it that time and keep watching right now.
I'm trying to come up with some eloquent way of expressing myself, but all I keep coming back to is that this was just a pile of turgid shit.
It's a shining example of Voyager's absolute mediocrity, predictability and lack of meaning. Ooh, look, we've found another Starfleet crew stranded out here! Oh, it turns out they're bad, well who saw that coming? Hmm, seems like a couple of the crew members are actually kind of decent people really - oh, look at that, they're the ones who survive.
I could almost have handled that stuff, but the real thing which drags the episode down is yet another example of Janeway's inconsistent character. I think I have to admit I absolutely hate her by this point. She has a reckless disregard for her crew and her attitudes towards things seem to rely on the flip of a coin. Remember at the start of season 5 when she blamed herself entirely for stranding the crew here and decided that there was nothing more important than getting everyone home? Yeah, all that's forgotten here. Apparently Captain Ransom pushed her buttons enough that she's willing to let everyone die just as long as he understands how angry she is. WHY is she so angry? There is no personal stake for her. It's nonsense to add conflict where there is none.
Speaking of whom, Captain Ransom is a terrible bad guy. The actor never seemed to have his heart in the role and delivered his lines with apathy. The rest of the crew fared a bit better, but everyone of them fell into a cliched stereotype. It's nice to see a young Titus Welliver but he never got to actually do anything. After hinting at a past relationship with B'Elanna (I did like the BLT nickname), no further developments are given and at the end he just says "I guess you're gonna die, good luck with that!". There could have been some fun stuff with him and Tom at odds, not to mention some meaty stuff for B'Elanna herself, but no.
The aliens were threatening until they weren't. Even though we saw them attack and kill people instantly at the beginning, when they do the same thing on the bridge of Voyager then everyone is more or less fine. Why? Because they can't kill off the main cast, that's why. One of the worst resolutions to a cliffhanger between episodes that I've ever seen.
Deleting the Doctor's ethical subroutines seems like a very simple task. It seems like it's something that's all set up and ready to go just in case it's needed, with the only defence being the computer flashing up a window with "Are you sure you want to make your EMH evil? OK/Cancel".
Some good things were there. Nice to see Chakotay standing up to Janeway, even if it's kind of halfheartedly; Riker would have relieved her and assumed command pretty sharpish once he saw how she was endangering the ship - but it's ridiculous that there is no ending to their conflict, they just shrug it off. Seriously?
The moment where the evil Doc knocked out our Doctor's mobile emitter was a really nice surprise moment with great timing on the delivery. And I'm happy to see that some of the Equinox's crew join Voyager at the end (including sci-fi TV stalwart Rick Worthy), although I'm intrigued as to whether we'll actually see them again.
I do love time travel stories. This is an odd one, in that it doesn't seem to want to take itself too seriously. Of course, most time travel stories don't but this one in particular feels like it plunges ahead with abandon, not really caring too much about tidying things up.
It's good fun, though. I like that we revisit past events and there's a serious continuity nod by bringing back Captain Braxton (even if he's played by a completely different actor). The episode moves through different tones and ends in a very different place than it starts. Jeri Ryan is given a lot to do and - as usual - pulls it off very well. Once Janeway becomes involved in the time travel shenanigans it really begins to become great.
The ending is a let down, in that everything is wrapped up quickly and we're told not to worry, the timeline will now sort itself out and things were done off-screen to fix all the causality/paradox problems. And all the different versions of people will magically recombine into one. Somehow.
Slight continuity issue that really jumped out at me: the Doctor is activated for the first time at a completely different moment to what we've seen/been told before (everything previously has stated he was first activated in 'Caretaker' once they were stranded in the Delta Quadrant). What we see here does make more sense, of course, as you would think he would have been turned on previously for testing purposes if nothing else.
I get emotional every time. Deep Space Nine ends with a beautiful farewell that manages to cover a lot of bases. It wraps up the Dominion War and gives - mostly - satisfying farewells for these characters. This show had by far the characters with the most depth and development in the franchise. There is no room for arguing that fact at all. They felt real. They had faults and they had arcs and evolved throughout the show.
So, it's a real shame that this is the final on-screen appearance for all of them bar Worf. If there was any Trek show that deserved a continuation in film format it was this one. The stories developed here were so rich, and even though this episode wraps things up it still leaves enough open questions and paths for exploration (with one MASSIVE cliffhanger in particular).
This episode itself is strong though certainly not without problems. The pacing is mostly good, but every time we cut to Kai Winn and Dukat on their pah-wraith search it really spoils the momentum. I've now learned (thanks to online forums that didn't exist for me back in the day) that a lot of people were not fans of any of this storyline. I can kind of understand why, even though it never bothered me too much. I really like the mythos that was slowly built up around the Bajoran religion, and certainly when I was younger I couldn't see the way elements became shoehorned in. The pah-wraiths amount to little more than hand-waving magic when you really look at them and they had the effect of turning both Winn and Dukat into pantomime villains.
I don't really accept the way that Winn changed her entire religious beliefs so readily, even though she tries to justify it. I also don't quite understand most of Dukat's motivations after he loses his daughter in season 6. If we are supposed to believe that he's just gone a bit insane then it could have been portrayed better. The whole showdown is over and done with far too quickly and it all gets a bit Star Wars (which I adore, but Star Wars is fantasy-based whereas Star Trek is science fiction/technology based). It doesn't fit. And we get a fast wrap up where Sisko and Dukat just fall into the fire which is... silly, to be polite.
The rest of the episode makes up for this, though. The final battle of the Dominion War is a visual feast and a gripping rollercoaster. The space battle is a tremendous accomplishment for 1990s television standards, but the best part is the Kira/Garak/Damar resistance storyline. Those three characters have such rich histories of conflict to mine that putting them together leads to nothing but joy on screen. The death of Damar does feel like a gut punch even though we've spent so much time hating him for his actions over the course of the past few seasons. It's a shame that his murder of Ziyal is never directly addressed by Kira or Garak. The love-to-hate-him character Weyoun gets a satisfying send off, and the war is ended with a moment of compassion and understanding when Odo offers to give himself up to save everyone.
The individual character bookends are also greatly satisfying, and often bittersweet. Odo leaves, O'Brien leaves, Worf leaves. Odo's decision feel natural even though he leaves hurt people in his wake, but Miles' is much more unexpected and actually the more emotional for me. The O'Brien/Bashir bromance was among my favourite parts of this show, so the video collage of their past moments is heartbreaking for me. Worf's departure is a bit stranger, since we will see him again in Star Trek: Nemesis and it doesn't acknowledge his decisions here at all. Additionally, I will be forever disappointed that there are no flashback to Jadzia due to licensing reasons.
In happier endings, Julian and Ezri are finally together and I like it. It was all a bit forced but I'm just happy at the thought of them together. Nog gets promoted to Lieutenant (take that, Harry Kim), Kira is in charge of the station and Quark gets to keep running the bar while Rom has become Grand Nagus!
That leaves the saddest ending of all: the Siskos. In particular, I think Jake gets the short straw. His dad is gone but just within reach. Benjamin has not only left his son behind, but his pregnant wife. It's a bold ending that leaves you wanting to know more, and extremely bittersweet. Ben and Jake were the heart and soul of this show from the very beginning and I think it's appropriate that it finishes on a shot of Jake thinking about his dad while being comforted.
I said in my review of 'Emissary' that DS9 was my favourite TV show of all time. This rewatch has solidified that statement for me. The characters here are mismatched, broken people who grow and evolve into true friends and take us on that journey with them. It has also really struck me how much DS9 continues to stand up to today's modern TV landscape, while the other Trek shows feel very much liked dated products of their time. Here we have a tale of terrorism, religion, war and through all that a thread of hope and idealism.
I absolutely can't leave it here, and I'm going to be delving into the "relaunch" novels that pick up where the show ended and continue the journey. It's not official canon and could easily be overwritten at any time (especially given the announcement of all the new Trek heading our way on TV), but that doesn't take away from these new stories at all, and given the "black sheep" nature of DS9 in the franchise I have a feeling that these stories are probably the best I can hope for. There's also the upcoming documentary What We Left Behind to look forward to, and maybe one day we'll get a nice HD upgrade for the show.
See you again down the road, DS9.
A clear money-saving episode needed to free up funds for the big finale. It's kind of frustrating in the way that it brings all the ongoing stories to a halt while we mess around in Sloan's head, but it manages to be entertaining because it's all about Bashir and O'Brien. I love these two together, and their friendship has been a massive part of the show from an early point. This is a last hurrah for them, and it's a shame that it's all a bit silly.
Having the crazy mind trip (which is pushing the realms of the believable in a franchise that's all about wondrous technology) just using the existing DS9 sets is noticeable as a means of preserving the budget, and makes the whole thing feel gimmicky and cheap. It's also a bit bizarre that Sloan, who is not a doctor in anyway, knows the intricacies of the cure they're looking for. A case of just needing to use the actor they'd already established as the Section 31 guy.
But I just like Miles and Julian, and they get some really good fun scenes here. It's a very dumb episode, but I find Section 31 super intriguing and entertaining as a plot line so I can get behind this one somewhat. There's also a gorgeous scene between Odo and Kira early on.
Still, I think Bashir/O'Brien deserved much better final outing than this.
Here I am, entering the final stretch of episodes. I don't want it to end.
The ten hours starting here tell one continuous story to wrap up the show. It was a massive undertaking for Star Trek in a time when serialised television was still in the infant stages. The Sopranos had just begun by this point, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was entering its stride and The West Wing was around the corner - and of course, Babylon 5 had done its thing.
Star Trek was also a notoriously episodic franchise in world where episodic television was successful, and DS9 was daring to do something different, much as it had done all along. The six-episode experiment done at the start of season 6 had worked well so now we were ready for something much more ambitious.
'Penumbra' is a tentative start, very much focused on characters and setting up the direction for how things are going to end. All the events on the station are quite low key with the highlight being SIsko's general state of contentment. Wanting to move to Bajor and asking Kassidy to marry him feel like very natural steps for his journey by this point.
The real excitement comes from the fallout of the very complex relationship between Ezri and Worf as they are forced to spend time together and face their issues. Sparks fly in more ways than one and it's really enjoyable to see it all happen apart from the fact that Worf is being a big old jerk face. They are definitely not a good match in the way that Jadzia and Worf were, but it feels right that they finally sort this stuff out. I can see this focus on relationships being a turn off for the sci-fi fans who want to see wondrous technology, space battles and alien problems solved by human ingenuity, but the characters have always been the reason I watch anything.
Also, seeing Dukat as a Bajoran never fails to make me smile. A nice twist. However, I think the best part of the episode is Damar mocking Weyoun once he's left the room.
Much better. This manages to be weird and quirky without being silly, and successfully celebrates the best traditions of classic Star Trek. The episode scored a winner by getting Jason Alexander to play Kurros. He walks the line between friendly and extremely creepy and makes a very memorable villain who, in many ways, you want to like.
It's another strong episode for Seven, who still is getting a lot of episodes devoted to her (the producers clearly wanted to make her the face of the show, if not the entire franchise at this time). She finally feels like a natural part of the crew, willing to help them out and trust them. She's also able to say no when she feels like it, a luxury not afforded to the rest of the crew who have to follow the chain of command. In this case, it makes sense. I can imagine Harry or Chakotay would have willingly given themselves to the Think Tank when first asked if it meant saving Voyager given the sense of duty that's been hammered into them; Seven doesn't want to and has no qualms about saying it.
While I will say the episode was mostly predictable, with a "twist" you see coming fairly early on, it was a very fun watch made better by the performances and interesting character writing.
The Think Tank themselves are a villain finally worthy of the screen time, after an endless stream of meaningless aliens that I've mostly forgotten. We do unfortunately get another bland antagonist species here, too, with the Hazari. Ah well, at least they don't just look human like so many Delta Quadrant races.
"I've studied their log entries long enough to realise that as brilliant as the Hansens were, they made a fatal mistake," Chakotay said as Janeway headed towards the door. "They became overconfident."
"We won't make the same mistake," Janeway said over-confidently.
This is a weird one, because it's epic scope and focus on the ever growing relationship between Seven and Janeway makes it quite an entertaining watch. It's also a terribly written piece of nonsense. Very little of it comes across as sensible and it's bewildering as you try to figure out exactly why things are happening.
First up, the return of the Borg Queen is a big draw, but there isn't a hint of explanation as to why or how she's there. As far as we know the Queen was killed a year earlier in Star Trek: First Contact, so... is this the same Queen or a different one? Did she just transmit and download her consciousness into a new body? Are there several Queens all working separately? We don't get any of those answers. It bugged me. It's also worth noting that the crew of Voyager have no idea that the Borg attacked Earth or that they are controlled by a Queen, so I was expecting a bit more of a reaction on their end.
The Borg themselves have become a very weak enemy by this point in the show. The rot began to set in with later TNG episodes, and between First Contact and their appearances in Voyager, they've really lost their edge. The crew are able to wander around on Borg ships with their weapons drawn and plant explosives all over the place, but apparently it's okay because the Borg don't see them as a threat and will ignore them (even AFTER they set off the explosives). As it turns out, the Borg don't seem to see them at all because if the crew dampen their life signs the Borg's eyes don't work anymore.
That aside, this is a good story for Seven. Jeri Ryan continues to be great in the role and while her mannerisms and performance hasn't altered drastically from when she first came aboard, her story certainly has. She states that she sees the Voyager crew as her family now and shows angry resentment to her parent's decisions that caused her life to go the way it did.
But, the whole situation with the Borg Queen trying to entice her back to the Collective is very odd. I'm not sure what the Queen was hoping to gain, and her methods of "seduction" certainly go nowhere. Her whole approach is along the lines of "come back to us Seven. It's horrible and you'll hate it, but you might as well". She continually praises and admires Seven's uniqueness, and then berates her for being individual. What was supposed to be happening here? Did the Queen genuinely expect Seven to side with her over Janeway? Then, just to add insult to injury, the Queen show's Seven her father turned into a drone. Yes, that will get her to change her mind. It's just another case of bad writing that the show is famous for, going for things that look cool over trying to tell coherent or sensible character stories.
The Queen says no Borg drone has regained its individuality before, so clearly the writer's had forgotten about Hugh, Locutus, all of Lore's Borg from 'Descent' and the previous Voyager episode 'Unity'. Janeway also makes a strange comment about preferring to suffocate rather than vaporise. Wouldn't her choice be much more drawn out and unpleasant? Vaporising is instant.
But, I had fun. The flashbacks to the Hansen's are quite good and I even got a season 1 TNG vibe from the visual side of it. Plus, there is a really intriguing suggestion that Seven was planted on Voyager purposely all along. I hope we get some follow up on that.
Me at the start of this episode:
- What the hell, B'Elanna and Tom are getting married? When did this all happen?
- Tom's a Lieutenant? He was demoted. How stupid are the writers on this show?
- Voyager has a new warp core? Why is this the first we're hearing of it?! I hate this show.
And as it turns out it's all a deception, nicely done. I did not see it coming. That still doesn't change the fact that the episode is all just a bit shit, really. It's got to be one of the most depressing ones, too. The crew's generally subdued reactions to finding out they're not who they think they were, Tom being the one angry crew member and suddenly becoming an arsehole bad boy (like the series initially set him up to be, but forgot about), these things just don't ring true.
The makeup effects also look very silly, and I honestly couldn't stop laughing as the episode progressed. The performances didn't help either, with Janeway mostly coming across as sleepy, Neelix looking like a leprechaun and Harry looking like a frog.
On the positive side, I like that the episode picked up a storyline from a previous one and I was impressed that Jeri Ryan still looked gorgeous even with the "melting" makeup. The ending is really dark and final, something which I wasn't expecting.
Okay, it's another silly holodeck episode quite soon after 'Take Me Out To The Holosuite' (and aired fairly close to Voyager's 'Bride of Chaotica'), but DS9 somehow made these work. There's a sense of full commitment from all involved and the way they come together is quite creative, and now far removed from the typical "holodeck gone wrong" scenario. In this case the stakes are very low - the holodeck safeties are even working! - but it's a nice testament to the crew's friendship with Vic.
I also just enjoy heist stories, and even though this is as formulaic as they come it's clearly doing it on purpose. All of the cast just fit into their assigned roles (and how good does everybody look?). Sisko makes a welcome argument about the race issues of the time which is similarly countered well by Kassidy.
The episode also managed to get a great bunch of supporting actors to play the gangsters, and they are absolutely perfect. Trek often falters when filling these kinds of roles and we end up with watered down cartoon character bad guys, but everyone here just adds some sparkle to their roles as well as coming across as natural.
It's a dumb episode too. The fact that the holodeck program can't just be fixed isn't really given any proper due and the whole thing could be seen as a waste of time given the whole war thing that's going on. But it can equally be viewed as a breather before the storm. Despite my dislike for the swing music that keeps featuring in these Vic episodes, we do find out that DAYYMN Avery Brooks can sing, and "the best is yet to come" can certainly be seen as a message for what we're about to get into with the remaining episodes.
Given the late introduction of the character Ezri, the writers obviously felt it necessary to give her quite a few episodes this season. Because of that, it really feels like we've been focusing on her and nobody else for a while. I would be okay with that, because I love Ezri, but the episodes have generally been nothing special.
All the ingredients for a good episode are here, though. Nicole de Boer can carry an episode well and I just enjoy watching her performance. A great guest star is brought in for Joran with Leigh McClosky who is and intimidating and intelligent presence. There's an intriguing murder mystery and a really creative method of killing.
But put together here, it doesn't add up to a very good episode. It's slow and doesn't feel like it adds much to the show. There's a lot of wandering around and talking and pondering, and very little meat.
One thing that really stood out to me was the technology used in the rifle. The camera which can look anywhere on the station is pretty amazing, and since it's obviously a compact piece of equipment it makes no sense that the tech isn't used as standard for security cameras across the station/Starfleet (you could literally place it anywhere and monitor anything). Not to mention it's potential uses for spying and crime. The TR-116 rifle was prototyped for it's use of projectile bullets, not the targeting system, so if this sort of stuff exists it should have been used previously.
I get that this was probably a lot of fun for the writers and actors. It's not any fun to watch, though. It took all my strength not to just turn it off half way through and pretend it never happened. It disregards any character continuity for the sake of comedy (and it's not even funny, just cheesy and actually very boring). For some reason the show keeps insisting that Tom Paris is a geeky boy scout instead of the ex-con with authority issues. I don't get it, and I hate it.
Why does Janeway continue to stay in character even after the mission is over? Why don't we find out anything about the photonic aliens? Why doesn't the crew even bother to learn about them? No, it's more important to do the holodeck fantasy - which conveniently can't be shut down because reasons. I can't believe people got paid to write this.
It's interesting to compare this to DS9's 'Take Me Out To The Holosuite', which aired fairly close to this one and which is similarly bizarre but managed to succeed.
I knew that Voyager would be a struggle for me to get through, but I don't think I expected it to get as bad as this.
Right, I do enjoy the Mirror Universe but this episode has the intelligence of a piece of paper. It has a fun factor going for it which helps but it's clear that there were no new ideas on the table when this was made. We get to see the Intendant being her usual self, miraculously finding the opportunity to escape at the end as usual. We see Regent Worf being unable to control his temper. We see Mirror Garak being incompetent, and even have an extended joke sequence about it that goes on way too long. It's nothing we haven't seen before, and by this point it's tired.
I kind of like Mirror Ezri, though, with her unscrupulous ways (and a heart of gold hidden underneath). It's a shame that the portrayal of her sexuality is something a 13-year-old school boy would write.
The sequence of Quark and Rom carrying the invisible cloak is quite excellent, so the episode gains points for that. Mirror Brunt is really fun to see. It also loses some for including a mirror version of Vic Fontaine. Seriously, how dumb is that? There is no sensible explanation behind it.
I don't completely hate the episode because I could switch my brain off and have fun, but it's a shame that it feels the need to be so insulting to the audience's intelligence. Ah, well. We won't be going back to the MU again in this show - although the storyline does continue in various books, so I'll be reading them eventually.
Compelling stuff and a great showcase for Robert Picardo, who remains the best character on the show. Jeri Ryan also gets some good material. It's quite a flawed episode, though, because in so many ways none of it makes sense.
The Doctor entering some weird feedback loop because he had to choose between two patients doesn't have a satisfactory explanation. It's something that he must have already done before by this point, and I don't see why it makes him go loopy. I'm happy that the issue of whether a he is a sentient being with rights or not is addressed, but that it's only just happening in the fifth season is nuts. It should have come up much MUCH earlier, and Janeway dismissing him as being no different from a replicator is frankly obscene given what she knows about him by this point. I'm fairly sure she's defended his rights in the past. A further demonstration of her inconsistent character and general disregard for individuality among the crew.
It's also really stupid that the Ensign who died was a character that we as an audience had never seen before.
But it's an easy episode to get wrapped up in, and having the Doctor take the lead usually leads to fun. The mystery is never particularly mysterious, I can't be the only one who immediately figured out that the crew were the ones erasing his memories. It's more about the character, and there's an additional strong scene for Seven when she rightly confronts Janeway about her decision.
A much stronger follow up to 'The Siege of AR-558'. This puts Nog front-and-centre, which doesn't happen often, and deals with his recovery from losing his leg. Aron Eisenberg gets to show that he's a better actor than most of us expect and puts in a very strong performance that requires a lot of him. The episode also performs the miracle of making Vic Fontaine an integral part, and I actually found myself really liking him for the first time.
It's a downbeat episode for the majority of the running time. Nog becomes kind of exasperating to watch, and it's easy to understand why Jake loses his temper with him. It all feels very realistic, though - not that I have any experience of losing a limb or being around someone who has. The low mood all gives way to quite a gorgeous and positive ending, though, so it's worth it. It's impressive that the two main characters in this episode, Nog and Vic, are just secondary characters who don't even have their names in the opening titles. There is so many depth and good writing to all involved in this show that we can have episodes like this and it just works.
I also love the background stuff that happens, such as the worry shown by Rom and Leeta (and even Quark!). The sense of their family really shines through. I also love Bashir's exasperation when his holosuite programs are belittled.
If I have any complaint, it's the overuse of damn swing-jazz lounge music. I just cannot get behind it's inclusion in the show, and the fact that every character who comes into contact with it seems to fall in love with it just bewilders me.
