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| Astronaut Gotana-Retz (Daniel Dae Kim) prepares to rendezvous with the mysterious ancient sky ship... Voyager. |
Original Air Date: Jan. 19, 2000. Teleplay by: Scott Miller, Joe Menosky. Story by: Michael Taylor. Directed by: Gabrielle Beaumont.
THE PLOT:
Voyager gets caught in the orbit of a planet that experiences time at an accelerated rate. Seconds on the ship translate to years on the surface. To the primitive culture below, Voyager becomes the newest star in the sky - a god whom they label the "Ground Shaker" when its arrival coincides with an earthquake.
This quake is just the first of many. The planet's gravimetric forces trap Voyager, but they also impact the planet, causing frequent and severe quakes. While the Voyager crew struggles to find a way to break free before their orbit decays, generations pass below. Telescopes enable the natives to see that Voyager is not a star, but a vessel, which they name "the sky ship." Finally, they are able to send a radio message, pleading with the ship to leave so that the quakes will end.
Janeway insists that the Prime Directive still applies and that they absolutely cannot answer. However, the planet continues trying to reach them. Hours of ship time, and generations of planet time, later, astronaut Gotana-Retz (Daniel Dae Kim) and his commander, Terrina (Kat Sawyer-Young) launch into space, determined to dock with Voyager and find answers to the mystery that has orbited their planet for all of recorded history!
CHARACTERS:
Capt. Janeway: Though she dismisses Tom's emotional appeal to ignore the Prime Directive and contact the planet, she's still keenly aware of the unintended devastation Voyager's presence has caused. She passes up one chance to break free from orbit when it becomes clear that doing so will make the seismic disruptions worse. Later, when the ship is in jeopardy, she refuses to take action that might cause further harm to the civilization they've unwittingly shaped.
Chakotay: He recognizes the sped-up planet as a fantastic anthropological opportunity, and he initiates the first of Voyager's investigations into their culture. He has Torres modify a probe so that it can take regular images - snapshots to trace the development of a civilization across centuries. When those images show buildings that have been reinforced by far more metal than you'd expect, he makes the obvious observation: "If you lived on a planet that wouldn't stop shaking, you might be doing the same thing." He also realizes that this means that the people have already developed to the point where they must be observing Voyager, albeit at a more primitive level than the ship's own investigations.
The Doctor: As a hologram, he would not be affected by the time differential - meaning that of the crew, he alone can safely beam down to observe the civilization and try to find information that can help them break free. He does so, but a technical hiccup results in his planned 3 second/2 day excursion instead lasting for three years. We don't witness his experiences, but he reveals enough for to convey that he had a full life, one that included a wife and a (presumably adopted) son. When Gotana-Retz arrives on Voyager, there's an amusing bit in which the Doctor is incensed at hearing how badly his favorite sports team is doing - followed by a poignant moment in which he asks the astronaut to pass a message on to any descendants.
Seven of Nine: She monitors the situation from Astrometrics, letting the bridge know that they need to stop their attempt to pull away when it becomes clear that it's putting the civilization in jeopardy. When Naomi Wildman pays her a visit, she continues focusing on her work, but she also indulges the little girl enough to make suggestions for the paper she's writing about "the weird planet."
Gotana-Retz: His first memory is of the sky ship, or rather of a toy of it hanging above his crib. He became a pilot in large part because of his dream of seeing the ship, but he's cautious by nature. He confesses to Janeway that he thinks his selection for the mission was a mistake: "I don't have the courage of the others." He worries that without Voyager, his people might lose interest in exploring space, particularly with the hurdle of the time differential.
THOUGHTS:
Blink of an Eye presents a sci-fi high concept, of two groups experiencing time at vastly different rates, in a manner that's both thoughtful and engaging.
The episode cuts between the Voyager crew and the planet. Each planet-bound scene is a vignette, a glimpse at the civilization at a different stage, viewed through the eyes of a new character who will be long dead by the time the episode cuts back for the next vignette. These bits convincingly sketch the progression, from a primitive tribal culture, to a medieval one, to one that resembles the early 20th century, and each new stage sees an increase in the understanding of the ship above them.
As if to mirror this, the Voyager scenes also shift focus from one character to the next. Just as the planet scenes chart a progression in the civilization's understanding of Voyager, the scenes on the ship show progressive stages of their investigations of the culture. Early scenes see Chakotay being enthusiastic about the anthropological opportunity, with him taking snapshots of the emerging civilization via an orbital probe. Then the Doctor beams down, becoming trapped for three years and integrating himself into the society. The final Act of the episode sees Janeway learning about these people directly, when one of them comes to Voyager.
I particularly like how the Doctor's adventure is handled. When he beamed down, I fully expected the episode to follow him, becoming Doctor-centric as he was forced to become part of this society. Instead, the episode stays on Voyager. As far as the Doctor's experiences go, we learn only what he chooses to share, with the emotional impact left to a few brief exchanges, the personal significance shown through a wonderfully restrained performance by Robert Picardo. Yes, it's a more budget-friendly choice... but I also think it's the better choice, dropping hints and leaving gaps that viewers can fill with their imaginations.
The introduction of Gotana-Retz propels the episode to its resolution, but it doesn't disrupt the tone. Gotana-Retz is a likable character, well played by Daniel Dae Kim, and he has well-scripted interactiosn with both the Doctor and Janeway. The ending sees a spike in the pace and the characters' activity, but it doesn't come out of nowhere. Every piece of the finale makes absolute sense within the overall concept of the story.
OVERALL:
I thoroughly enjoyed Blink of an Eye. The concept isn't new, with multiple science fiction works both written and filmed having played with similar ideas. It isn't even new to Trek (see TOS's Wink of an Eye). But the concept is well-executed, and the script does a nice job of mirroring Voyager's crew investigating the planet with the planet's own investigations of Voyager - and it does so while giving multiple members of the regular cast a turn in the spotlight.
Overall, I think this might be my favorite Season Six episode thus far.
Overall Rating: 9/10.
Previous Episode: Fair Haven
Next Episode: Virtuoso (not yet reviewed)
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