THE PLOT
As Voyager begins its long journey, the first major issues facing the ship become apparent. What would be routine maintenance between visits to Starbases has now become the only possible repairs. The replicators have failed, requiring an alternative food source. And the Caretaker's abduction of Voyager caused several deaths on board, leaving the ship with multiple officer vacancies. Janeway is determined to fill these positions with whomever is "next in line," meaning a Starfleet officer, while Chakotay is equally determined to see some of these positions filled by Maquis crew members, in order to integrate the two crews - which rapidly creates conflict between the captain and her new first officer, particularly when Chakotay recommends Torres as chief engineer.
The interpersonal conflicts take a back seat, however, when the ship encounters a singularity. Seeing another ship caught within the event horizon, Janeway orders an attempted rescue. When the rescue goes wrong, she decides to find a nearby settlement that Neelix recommends in order to come back with help. But attempts to move away from the black hole fail. Every time they leave it behind, they find themselves right back where they started!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Janeway: Despite her good faith gesture of making Chakotay her second-in-command, she genuinely does seem biased against the Maquis crew members. She resists Chakotay's attempts to integrate the two crews by filling some officer vacancies with Maquis crew members, clinging to protocols that effectively mean that none of them will ever gain seniority sufficient to become officers, regardless of ability. Her science background shows itself as she and Torres work out the mechanics of the singularity, and that seems to break through her stubbornness regarding Torres. But there's no indication that this break in Janeway's rigidity will apply to any other Maquis crew members, so here's the question I'm left with: If being the sole "token Maquis" officer is offensive to Chakotay, is it really that much better to be one of two tokens?
Chakotay: Works very hard to balance being Janeway's first officer against protecting the interests of his old Maquis crew members. When Janeway tries to effectively block any of the Maquis from advancing to officer status, Chakotay declares that he "will not be your token Maquis!" He fights hard to secure Torres the post of Chief Engineer, a fight he wins despite Janeway's stubbornness and Torres' temper. Really, based on this episode, Chakotay seems an altogether stronger and more reasonable leader than Janeway does.
The Doctor: Though Caretaker established Robert Picardo's holographic doctor, it didn't really have time to do much of anything with him. Parallax remedies this, giving him much more to do and even some characterization. The doctor has been programmed with the sum total of modern medical knowledge, to make him able to deal with any medical crisis that might arise. In effect, he is "the embodiment of modern medicine." As such, the rather routine daily medical issues the current situation calls on him to deal with leave him feeling resentful over the waste of his skills. He visibly softens when Kes treats him compassionately, though at this point Kes is the only person on board treating him as anything other than a computer program.
Kes: When she and Neelix crash the briefing for senior officers, Kes almost instantly shows her value, coming up with a suggestion for food supplies that is both practical and workable given the ship's current situation. She also shows empathy in her dealings with the holographic doctor, and these two characters and actors show signs of making a good team in the future.
Torres: Though she has difficulty keeping her temper in check, the crisis surrounding the singularity gives her a chance to show her engineering skills. Her quick grasp of the temporal mechanics impresses Janeway, which in turn secures her promotion to chief engineer. Some of the bonding between Torres and Janeway near the end comes across a bit forced (particularly when they complete each other's sentences while puzzling out the temporal anomaly), but it's still a quite reasonable episode for a character who was developed in only the broadest terms in the pilot.
THOUGHTS
OK, so you don't have to be Stephen Hawking to pick apart the science surrounding the black hole. A crack in an event horizon that the ship can just fly through? Really? Disney's The Black Hole is practically A Brief History of Time by comparison.
And truly... So what? It's an episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Go in accepting that any "science" presented is ludicrous, and you're probably going to be a lot better off. The key question has nothing to do with plausibility, but with entertainment value. I enjoyed watching Parallax, and can just about squint my way around the unconvincing science to enjoy some pretty good character interplay.
Characterization is much stronger here than it was in Caretaker, with Brannon Braga's script giving focus to some of those the pilot left undeveloped. Chakotay benefits the most, as we see him calmly yet forcefully protecting the interests of his people, even as a working relationship with Janeway is advanced. The doctor and Torres were also largely undeveloped by the pilot, and both of them also get strong moments here.
The story is ridiculous, but it is well-paced. The threat and the character material are well-mixed, with the character interplay remaining at the episode's fore throughout, but not at the expense of the story. Overall, a good show.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
As Voyager begins its long journey, the first major issues facing the ship become apparent. What would be routine maintenance between visits to Starbases has now become the only possible repairs. The replicators have failed, requiring an alternative food source. And the Caretaker's abduction of Voyager caused several deaths on board, leaving the ship with multiple officer vacancies. Janeway is determined to fill these positions with whomever is "next in line," meaning a Starfleet officer, while Chakotay is equally determined to see some of these positions filled by Maquis crew members, in order to integrate the two crews - which rapidly creates conflict between the captain and her new first officer, particularly when Chakotay recommends Torres as chief engineer.
The interpersonal conflicts take a back seat, however, when the ship encounters a singularity. Seeing another ship caught within the event horizon, Janeway orders an attempted rescue. When the rescue goes wrong, she decides to find a nearby settlement that Neelix recommends in order to come back with help. But attempts to move away from the black hole fail. Every time they leave it behind, they find themselves right back where they started!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Janeway: Despite her good faith gesture of making Chakotay her second-in-command, she genuinely does seem biased against the Maquis crew members. She resists Chakotay's attempts to integrate the two crews by filling some officer vacancies with Maquis crew members, clinging to protocols that effectively mean that none of them will ever gain seniority sufficient to become officers, regardless of ability. Her science background shows itself as she and Torres work out the mechanics of the singularity, and that seems to break through her stubbornness regarding Torres. But there's no indication that this break in Janeway's rigidity will apply to any other Maquis crew members, so here's the question I'm left with: If being the sole "token Maquis" officer is offensive to Chakotay, is it really that much better to be one of two tokens?
Chakotay: Works very hard to balance being Janeway's first officer against protecting the interests of his old Maquis crew members. When Janeway tries to effectively block any of the Maquis from advancing to officer status, Chakotay declares that he "will not be your token Maquis!" He fights hard to secure Torres the post of Chief Engineer, a fight he wins despite Janeway's stubbornness and Torres' temper. Really, based on this episode, Chakotay seems an altogether stronger and more reasonable leader than Janeway does.
The Doctor: Though Caretaker established Robert Picardo's holographic doctor, it didn't really have time to do much of anything with him. Parallax remedies this, giving him much more to do and even some characterization. The doctor has been programmed with the sum total of modern medical knowledge, to make him able to deal with any medical crisis that might arise. In effect, he is "the embodiment of modern medicine." As such, the rather routine daily medical issues the current situation calls on him to deal with leave him feeling resentful over the waste of his skills. He visibly softens when Kes treats him compassionately, though at this point Kes is the only person on board treating him as anything other than a computer program.
Kes: When she and Neelix crash the briefing for senior officers, Kes almost instantly shows her value, coming up with a suggestion for food supplies that is both practical and workable given the ship's current situation. She also shows empathy in her dealings with the holographic doctor, and these two characters and actors show signs of making a good team in the future.
Torres: Though she has difficulty keeping her temper in check, the crisis surrounding the singularity gives her a chance to show her engineering skills. Her quick grasp of the temporal mechanics impresses Janeway, which in turn secures her promotion to chief engineer. Some of the bonding between Torres and Janeway near the end comes across a bit forced (particularly when they complete each other's sentences while puzzling out the temporal anomaly), but it's still a quite reasonable episode for a character who was developed in only the broadest terms in the pilot.
THOUGHTS
OK, so you don't have to be Stephen Hawking to pick apart the science surrounding the black hole. A crack in an event horizon that the ship can just fly through? Really? Disney's The Black Hole is practically A Brief History of Time by comparison.
And truly... So what? It's an episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Go in accepting that any "science" presented is ludicrous, and you're probably going to be a lot better off. The key question has nothing to do with plausibility, but with entertainment value. I enjoyed watching Parallax, and can just about squint my way around the unconvincing science to enjoy some pretty good character interplay.
Characterization is much stronger here than it was in Caretaker, with Brannon Braga's script giving focus to some of those the pilot left undeveloped. Chakotay benefits the most, as we see him calmly yet forcefully protecting the interests of his people, even as a working relationship with Janeway is advanced. The doctor and Torres were also largely undeveloped by the pilot, and both of them also get strong moments here.
The story is ridiculous, but it is well-paced. The threat and the character material are well-mixed, with the character interplay remaining at the episode's fore throughout, but not at the expense of the story. Overall, a good show.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
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And for those of us who are female, watching a female captain geek out with a female engineer is water in the desert. It beats the hell out of opening hailing frequencies and carrying bowls of plomeek soup!
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