6-12. Blink of an Eye.

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.

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6-09. The Voyager Conspiracy.

Seven becomes convinced of a conspiracy theory.

Original Air Date: Nov. 24, 1999. Written by: Joe Menosky. Directed by: Terry Windell.


THE PLOT:

In the interests of increased efficiency, Seven of Nine has installed a cortical processing subunit in her alcove. This will allow her to download Voyager's data as she regenerates, effectively letting her "learn while sleeping." This initially seems to work out, with Seven able to pinpoint a minor insect infestation by drawing conclusions from related pieces of information.

At the same time, Voyager encounters Tash (Albie Selznick), an alien who was also displaced by the Caretaker. Tash has built a space catapult to send him home - technology that Voyager can use to cut time off its voyage as well. Janeway agrees to assist with final repairs, with the understanding that she can use it after Tash takes his journey.

Seven's next regeneration allows her to identify the catapult as using a tetryon reactor, the same type of technology used by the Caretaker. Tash reluctantly admits to this. The revelation doesn't really change anything, and the alien makes his test flight the next day.

Seven, however, becomes fixated on the idea that Tash's reactor is not just the same type of technology, but the same reactor that was used by the Caretaker. She contacts Chakotay and asks to speak with him privately. While regenerating, she has analyzed "over thirty million teraquads of data," leading her to one inescapable conclusion. Voyager isn't in the Delta Quadrant by accident. Janeway stranded the ship here on purpose, as a prelude to a large-scale invasion by Starfleet!


CHARACTERS:

Capt. Janeway: Though she's eager at the prospect of shaving years off the voyage home, she doesn't ignore Seven's warnings that Tash's catapult uses Caretaker technology. She's ready to pull out of her deal with Tash if he doesn't provide details - but once he's given reasonable explanations both for the technology and for why he lied about it, she is satisfied and continues assisting him. She's supportive of Seven's alcove alterations, particularly after Seven is able to demonstrate the advantages of processing data so quickly.

Chakotay: The episode is bookended by scenes of him having dinner with Janeway, which shows how relaxed they've become around each other over the past five years. He's initially dismissive of Seven's claims about Janeway. When Seven continues bringing up the captain's stranger past decisions, however, he decides it's worth investigating. Even then, he limits himself to sharing the suspicions with B'Elanna, his most trusted former crew member. Oh, and being blatantly obvious in his wariness of Janeway until the misunderstanding is cleared up.

Seven of Nine: Jeri Ryan has some fun playing Seven the bonkers conspiracy theorist. As she lays out her "evidence" to Chakotay, she paces back and forth, agitated, shouting out dates and incidents as if each is a smoking gun rather than just a stray bit of data that she's selected to fit her pattern. By the point she's accusing young Naomi Wildman of being in on it - even asking who the child is working for - she's reached the stage of full paranoid delusion. I half expected her to start ranting about fluoride in the ship's drinking water.


THOUGHTS:

The Voyager Conspiracy is the series' X Files style "conspiracy" episode, with Seven of Nine thrust into the Fox Mulder role. Obviously, there's no chance that the viewer will ever buy into her increasingly convoluted theory, but it does allow writer Joe Menosky to play with some of the bizarre decisions Janeway and her crew have made over the years. I'm surprised Seven didn't fold in Janeway's botching of a path home in False Profits, though, as that would practically qualify as a smoking gun.

Menosky structures his story well. Seven's new alcove is introduced in the teaser, as she explains its workings to Naomi Wildman. This scene also emphasizes how Seven has changed since her introduction by reminding us of the bonds she's made with the people on Voyager. Can you imagine early Season Four Seven making time for a weekly board game with a child?

Her first use of the alcove sets up the rest of the episode. She wakes up from her regenerative cycle and urgently contacts someone to speak to them - in this case, B'Elanna; in later cases, Janeway and Chakotay. She believes there is an insect infestation inside the ship's sensor network, and she quickly relates the many individual pieces of data that led her to that conclusion. The crew checks the sensor node, and the insects are indeed there. Both viewer and crew sees that the alcove works, and that Seven draws conclusions from multiple individual pieces of information.

Her second use alerts Janeway to Tash's use of a tetryon reactor in his catapult. Seven is again correct. At the same time, the viewer sees her fixating on the idea that this is the same reactor the Caretaker used. We recognize that she's starting to behave irrationally, but the crew has mostly just seen that her alcove has twice delivered correct conclusions. This helps to sell Chakotay taking her seriously when she accuses Janeway in the second half.

Structurally, this is all sound, but I think the episode takes a little too long to reach the accusation. There's dramatic potential in making Janeway and Chakotay suspicious of each other. I appreciated that Chakotay confided in B'Elanna, his most trusted former crew member, but I'd have liked to see this taken further than just B'Elanna snapping at Harry (who's probably so used to that sort of thing by now that it likely didn't even register).

I think the episode makes a fundamental error in making its main character Seven instead of focusing more on Janeway and Chakotay. The real interest isn't in watching Seven turn into a ranting conspiracy theorist, but in seeing Janeway and Chakotay take her seriously. I'd love to see that amount to more than a few sideways looks. Chakotay confides in B'Elanna; maybe go further, with the crew starting to take sides. As it stands, the whole thing is reduced to a sitcom-level misunderstanding that's resolved far too quickly and easily.

I will say that I like the climax, with Janeway attempting to talk Seven down from her mania. Janeway appeals to Seven by mimicking her own "evidence" of rattling off stardates and events that happened on those dates. Unlike Seven, she draws on key emotional moments, milestones in the ex-Borg's evolving humanity and in their personal relationship, and there's a decent emotional tug there.


OVERALL:

Despite my issues with it, The Voyager Conspiracy is well-structured and highly watchable. For the second episode in a row, I think dramatic potential is left untapped by a decision to focus on Seven when there was more interest in seeing the other characters' reactions. Still, judged on its own merits, this is enjoyable, even if I think it had the potential to be a lot more.


Overall Rating: 6/10.

Previous Episode: One Small Step
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6-07. Dragon's Teeth.

Voyager is forced to land on a planet that
turns out to be less dead than it first appears.

Original Air Date: Nov. 10, 1999. Teleplay by: Michael Taylor, Brannon Braga, Joe Menosky. Story by: Michael Taylor. Directed by: Winrich Kolbe.


THE PLOT:

Voyager is pulled into a subspace corridor, which they escape only thanks to the intervention of the Turei. The Turei are not friendly, however, demanding to board the starship to purge its records. When Janeway refuses, they attack, and Voyager has no choice but to hide on a nearby planet whose radiation will discourage pursuit.

They land in the midst of a ruined city, destroyed in what appears to have been a nuclear war. Surprisingly, there are life signs, which they trace to an underground chamber filled with stasis pods, many of which still function after 900 years. Seven impulsively revives Gedrin (Jeff Allin), the occupant of the first pod they find.

Gedrin reveals that this was once the home of his people, the Vaadwaur. He describes them as a race of merchants who mapped out the subspace corridors to trade with distant planets, including Neelix's ancestors. He agrees to help Janeway navigate the corridors to shave decades off Voyager's trip in return for reviving the rest of his people and helping them find a new home.

Neelix uncovers hints in ancient Talaxian literature that the Vaadwaur may not be the peaceful race they claim to be. That may be a moot point, though, as the Turei have started orbiting the planet in force, determined to either board Voyager or destroy her.


CHARACTERS:

Capt. Janeway: Seven commits a massive breach of protocol by reviving Gedrin without permission. Janeway deals well with this. She shows sympathy for Seven's reasons, but she also makes clear that those reasons are no excuse for what she did. Her interactions with Gedrin show a similar balance. She's empathetic as he stares out at the ruins of the city. However, while she agrees to help his people resettle, she flatly refuses to give them Starfleet weapons, growing steadily frostier when Gedrin's superior, Gaul (Robert Knepper), attempts to insist.

Seven of Nine: As a Borg drone, she participated in the assimilation - and destruction - of many cultures. She sees the revival of Gedrin and his people as an opportunity to rebuild a dead culture. She earns appreciation from the Vaadwaur for her efficiency and even her bluntness, a quality that's often been criticized by her fellow crew members. However, when Neelix approaches her with his findings, she takes him seriously enough to cross check the mentions of the Vaadwaur in Talaxian literature against historical data she retains from being Borg.

Neelix: He only vaguely recognizes the term, "Vaadwaur," when Gedrin first talks to him, connecting it to its most common usage among Talaxians: "foolish." But when Naomi Wildman is uncharacteristically reluctant to socialize with the Vaadwaur children, he is perceptive enough to listen to her reasons. This prompts him to look more closely into the Vaadwaur in his people's literature. He also is intelligent in handling his discoveries. He makes no accusations, tacitly acknowledging that it may be nothing; he just asks Seven to cross-reference against her data before they jointly take their findings to Janeway.


THOUGHTS:

Dragon's Teeth has an arresting opening. Gedrin and his wife, Jisa (Mimi Craven), run to the stasis pods as the city above them is bombarded. Gedrin calms her before the two enter their pods, planning to wake in five years. This teaser immediately establishes him as a sympathetic figure, and it's the single most effective way the script tries to steer our initial impressions of the Vaadwaur.

There are interesting ideas in this episode. Gedrin presents his people as merchants; Neelix's legends indicate that they were conquerors. When confronted about this, Gedrin admits that both versions are true. I like this, because societies don't tend to have one set of values that never changes. It makes perfect sense that the Vaadwaur may have been merchants and eventually developed into conquerors (or vice-versa). I also found the way Neelix and Seven cross-referenced mentions of the Vaadwaur in literature with actual data to be an intriguing idea, even if the tight screentime in the episode leaves this to be heavily simplified.

"Heavily simplified" is the episode's biggest problem. By reviving Gedrin and his people, the Voyager crew effectively bring a race back from extinction. There are a few lines dealing with this, mainly in exchanges between Seven and one of the Vaadwaur or between Seven and Janeway, but it's a concept the script never completely engages with. The Vaadwaur both intellectually and emotionally process being so far out of their time with ridiculous ease. Even Gedrin accepts his new situation very quickly, and he's the only Vaadwaur to be even shown grappling with it.

Dragon's Teeth was initially intended as a double-length episode, like the previous season's Dark Frontier. It really should have remained as such, because 43 minutes just isn't enough time for everything this story is trying to do. I still like this episode, which moves along quickly and is never less than entertaining. At twice the length, though, I think its ideas might have been explored more thoroughly, and I think the story would have had some much-needed time to build. It's a good episode of Star Trek: Voyager - but with that extra time, I think it might have been a genuine highlight.


OVERALL:

Dragon's Teeth suffers from being a single episode. The plot is rushed, and the most interesting ideas are shallowly glossed over. That said, it at least has interesting ideas. It's also well made, with director Winrich Kolbe providing some decent visual moments, such as Voyager sat amidst the ruins of a bombed-out city.

It could have been and should have been more. Even so, I enjoyed watching it, and I'd rate it as an above-average episode.


Overall Rating: 7/10.

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6-04. Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy.

The Doctor daydreams about being
a romantic hero and saving the ship.

Original Air Date: Oct. 13, 1999. Written by: Joe Menosky. Story by: Bill Vallely. Directed by: John Bruno.


THE PLOT:

The Doctor is daydreaming.

He's suffered twin slights. First, he's snubbed for an Away Mission; then Janeway denies his proposal to make him an "Emergency Command Hologram" with authorization to take command should the crew be incapacited. So he retreats into daydreams in which he does get put in charge, each time saving the ship from an overwhelming threat... and receiving full appreciation from the ship's female officers.

All of this is harmless, even ordinary. But it's happening while Voyager is being observed by an alien ship. Observer Phlox (Jay M. Leggett) has received approval from the Hierarchy to interface with Voyager in order to gather intelligence. He ends up connecting with the Doctor, observing his fantasies - which convinces Phlox and the others that the Doctor's daydreams are reality!

The Hierarchy authorizes an attack. When Voyager realizes what is happening, they're left to scramble to recreate the Doctor's daydreams in order to save the ship - for real!


CHARACTERS:

Capt. Janeway: Though she declines the Doctor's proposal, she tries to be compassionate, telling the rest of the command staff to be more respectful of his feelings. When the Doctor's fantasies are made viewable in the holodeck, Janeway is hesitant about intruding on his privacy. Around all the outlandish fantasies about saving the ship, she catches a glimpse of him talking about living up to his full potential. This moves her, and there's a marked difference in her interactions with him afterward.

The Doctor: The episode's a showcase for Robert Picardo's comedic abilities. It opens with him singing opera, only to improvise lyrics when Fantasy Tuvok begins going through pon'farr. His "save the ship" fantasies see him channeling square jawed action heroes. When he's tasked with playing that role for real, however, he's anxious and nervous. Picardo hits every note perfectly, elevating an already good script.

Seven of Nine: Though the Doctor's imagination finds time to muse about both Torres and Janeway, Seven is the principle object of his fantasy affections. This is actually a nice bit of continuity with Someone to Watch Over Me, in which he ultimately kept his attraction to Seven unspoken. The holodeck allows Seven to see his attraction directly. She doesn't respond with anger, instead being mostly bemused and a bit sarcastic - particularly when she delivers her final line of the episode.

Phlox: The main alien character, whose situation parallels the Doctor's. Like the Doctor, he feels disrespected... though given his sneering and officious Overlooker, Phlox has a better case for the disrespect being genuine. Like the Doctor, he wants to prove his abilities, which leads to him monitoring the Doctor and Voyager. He laments that his species' thinking is "confined," and he admires the Doctor for being able to conceive of other possibilities.


THOUGHTS:

Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy is Voyager's "Walter Mitty" episode, with the Doctor fantasizing heroic and romantic situations for himself. It would be a fun trifle even if that was all there was to this. The scenarios are genuinely amusing, and Picardo performs with comic gusto. But if there was nothing more to it, then I suspect it would start to feel a bit stretched by the end.

Thankfully, the final script is by Joe Menosky, one of 1990's Trek's best writers for both theme and characterization. Menosky hits the comic beats that are expected from the concept, but he also captures the characters. Janeway, the Doctor, and Seven get the bulk of the material, but there are well-scripted moments for everyone, making this a rare Voyager to make good use of the full ensemble.

Chakotay plays devil's advocate when Janeway considers the Doctor's proposal, pointing out how crucial his primary responsibilities are and wondering how comfortable she would be putting a computer in command. Torres is slightly impatient in her interactions with the Doctor, but she shows concern when his daydreams take over and put him in danger. Tom opines that the Doctor's manner creates many of the problems he's complaining about. Neelix and Harry both speak up for the value of daydreams, something that Janeway ultimately echoes. Tom and Harry are greatly amused when they observe the Doctor's fantasies. Everyone gets at least something to do.

There's also a theme that emerges, seen with both the Doctor and Phlox, about how it can be unhealthy to box someone into a confined set of duties indefinitely. Variations are voiced throughout the second half, but the Doctor says it best:

"All I ever wanted was to live up to my full potential, to hone all my skills, expand my abilities, to help the people I love."

Janeway, the good commander (in this episode at least), is moved to immediately begin searching for reasonable ways to let the Doctor expand his responsibilities. Phlox's Overlooker, the bad commander, just wants his people to know and stay in their place, declaring anything that deviates from the norm to be an "unacceptable risk."

The episode encourages us to identify with Phlox as much as the Doctor, and their converging threads advance the theme alongside the comedy. This lends just enough substance to make a superficially silly bit of fluff into something more.


OVERALL:

Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy is a fine episode: Funny, well-structured, and well-paced. With strong character work, good thematic unity, and an excellent performance by Robert Picardo, this is a highly enjoyable outing.


Overall Rating: 9/10.

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5-26, 6-01. Equinox.

Capt. Ransom (John Savage), another Starfleet captain trapped
in the Delta Quadrant, hides a secret from the Voyager crew.

526 - 601. Equinox

Original Air Date: May 26, 1999, Sept. 22, 1999. Teleplay by: Brannon Braga, Joe Menosky. Story by: Rick Berman, Brannon Braga, Joe Menosky. Directed by: David Livingston.


THE PLOT:

Voyager intercepts a distress signal from an impossible source: another Federation starship, the USS Equinox, under the command of Capt. Ransom (John Savage)! There's no time to question the situation. The Equinox is under attack by mysterious lifeforms, and it's at risk of being destroyed.

Janeway is able to stop the attack by extending Voyager's shields around the other ship. But by the time she arrives, the Equinox is in bad shape. Janeway's crew manages to rescue the survivors, and the united crews begin work on repairing the vessel while celebrating finding another Starfleet crew in the Delta Quadrant.

The celebration is short lived. Ransom and his crew have a secret that they're hiding from Janeway. By the time she discovers the truth, the Equinox crew have prepared a double-cross - a way to get themselves home while leaving Voyager at the creatures' mercy!


CHARACTERS:

Capt. Janeway: She's always wanted to meet Ransom. As a scientist, she admires him for having made contact with a species that had been previously believed extinct. I guess she missed the old adage about never meeting your heroes. When she uncovers the secret Ransom's been keeping, she is appalled. But that's nothing to the cold fury she displays after his betrayal. It turns out that making Janeway truly, deeply angry is not a good idea.

Chakotay: His best material comes in the second half. Janeway becomes fixated on capturing the Equinox, but Chakotay believes they should prioritize communicating with the creatures to stop the attacks. At first, he confines his disagreements to private conversations. But when he believes Janeway is crossing a fundamental line, he acts to stop her. These scenes see Robert Beltran waking up from his nap and doing some actual acting for the first time in about half a season.

The Doctor: Robert Picardo gets another chance to play evil as the Equinox EMH, who was transformed into a sadist after his ethical subroutines were deleted. This much is fine, and it even allows Picardo to show his range as he differentiates between the two Doctors with slight changes in vocal pitch and body language. Then Part Two sees Ransom disabling our Doctor's ethical subroutines, leading to a subplot that... just doesn't add up. I fully expected the Doctor to be just playing along with Ransom, particularly since his "evil" actions never yield anything more than some bad singing. But - nope, everything really is exactly as it seems, though a quick tag assures us that there will be no pesky consequences.

Seven of Nine: Tries to awkwardly comfort survivor Noah Lessing (Rick Worthy) while Harry Kim cuts him free from the rubble. When Seven tells him not to be frightened, Noah tells her that it's already two days too late for that. She is looking forward to getting to know the Equinox crew so that she can expand her knowledge of humanity. Though one crew member later apologizes for being such a bad example, Seven frostily replies that she actually learned quite a lot from them.

Torres: Her former lover is Max (Titus Welliver), the Equinox's first officer. This should give her a strong role in the episode... but somehow, it doesn't. Torres ends up being unable to counter Max's expertise, even though we're specifically told that he was always a bit lazy and that most of what he knows, she taught him. Beyond that and a brief bit with Tom expressing jealousy, she doesn't do much outside of reciting Technobabble.

Max Burke: In the first episode, he seems slightly conflicted after reuniting with Torres. That doesn't last long, though. Once he learns that B'Elanna has moved on with her life, he is downright eager to betray her. Titus Welliver is reliable as ever, but by Part Two the character has been flattened out to just being evil. Mind you, if you're going to cast someone to be "the really evil guy" among the villains, then Welliver is a solid go-to for that role.

Marla Gilmore: Seems the most torn about double-crossing Voyager. She actually tries to talk to Chakotay about permanently transferring to Janeway's ship, an idea that he shoots down given that Ransom already is working with a skeleton crew. She goes along with Max and Ransom, but she clearly feels guilty. Olivia Birkelund does reasonably well with what she's given, though it keeps feeling as if the character needs something more to do, and that "something more" never quite materializes.

Capt. Ransom: I actually like how his backstory is revealed in Part One. His vessel is less advanced than Voyager, and therefore has been less able to defend itself against hostile species. Given a chance to save what was left of his crew, Ransom took it. This doesn't make him less of a villain, and Seven rightly mocks his insistence that he had "no choice" in his actions. But at least his actions are understandable. Unfortunately, actor John Savage is in full "twitchy" mode. He's so busy playing "furtive" and "evil" in Part One that it flattens out the character, which further undercuts his role in the second half.


THOUGHTS:

Equinox opens well. The teaser is short and attention-grabbing, as Ransom's ship comes under what is the latest of obviously many attacks by an unknown force. The first Act then follows Voyager finding the ship, which by then is little more than a derelict.

David Livingston, almost certainly Voyager's best director, makes effective use of the lighting. The Equinox is dark, with the main light sources being the rescue crew's lights and the sparks from damaged systems. There's a fair bit of suspense throughout this sequence, even though the closest it comes to actual action is a rattled crew member holding a weapon on his rescuers. Best still is that it's dark enough to create atmosphere, but never so dark that I had to strain to see. That's a balance I wish more recent shows and films were able to strike. Yes, you can create atmosphere without simulating a sensory deprivation chamber, thank you.

This sequence raises mysteries, particularly the question of what these creatures are and why they are attacking. To the episode's credit, the answers come during Part One, with more plot complications spinning off from that reveal.

The cliffhanger is effective, though the resolution to it is rather limp (Janeway presses a button. No, really). After that, however, the second episode remains mostly pretty good. There's some decent tension in Voyager's pursuit of the Equinox, and even more in the escalating conflict between Janeway and Chakotay.

I liked the way the epilogue addresses their personal disagreement. They are back on the same side, but they aren't entirely comfortable with each other even as the episode ends. I'm sure everything will be back to normal in the next episode, because Voyager doesn't believe in consequences, but I'm also glad that it isn't completely airbrushed away within the confines of the actual episode.

The ending is weaker than the rest of the two parter, with the resolution seeming rushed and downright easy for the Voyager crew. It doesn't go so far as falling apart - what happens makes sense in context - but it feels like it needs about five more minutes to breathe, and maybe one more complication for the characters to overcome.


A GOOD EPISODE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN MORE:

Though it's a good two-parter overall, the most frustrating thing about Equinox is the glimpse it offers of the Voyager that might have been. The Equinox's desperate journey, in an increasingly run-down vessel with more than half the crew dead? That sounds like a much more interesting show.

It's also a Voyager episode, so it goes without saying that potentially thorny ethical questions are mostly handwaved away. For instance: Yes, what Ransom did was unquestionably wrong. Very wrong. And if he hadn't done it, the rest of his crew would almost certainly have ended up dead. Can the end justify the means? Would Janeway be at least tempted to do the same in the same situation? These are questions that the script has no real interest in asking. Which is a shame, because exploring that might have made a good action episode into something legitimately memorable.

Still, Equinox isn't really trying to be much more than a good action/suspense story. Judged on that basis, it's a good episode. Save for a rushed final Act, it's well-paced; it's very well acted, particularly by Kate Mulgrew and - surprisingly - Robert Beltran; and it is extremely well-directed.

It certainly could have been more. But Equinox does its job, which is more than can be said of a lot of other episodes. Most of all, it closes out the fifth season and opens the sixth on solid footing. I don't know that I'll even particularly remember it a month from now - but I had a good time watching it, and in the end that's good enough.


Overall Rating: 7/10.

Previous Episode: Warhead
Next Episode: Survival Instinct

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5-23. 11:59.

Shannon O'Donnel (Kate Mulgrew) meets
bookseller Henry Janeway (Kevin Tighe).

Original Air Date: May 5, 1999. Teleplay by: Joe Menosky. Story by: Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky. Directed by: David Livingston.


THE PLOT:

Voyager is enjoying a moment of peace, an uneventful trip through a calm area of space. This leads the crew to reflect on their cultures and ancestors, prompting Janeway to reminisce about the ancestor who most inspired her: Shannon O'Donnel, who helped to create the Millennium Gate.

In December 2000, Shannon (also Kate Mulgrew) was just an unemployed engineer, driving across the country with no real goals in mind. Her car breaks down in the small town of Portage Creek, Indiana. When she takes refuge from the cold in the bookstore of Henry Janeway (Kevin Tighe), he takes pity on her, offering her a job while she waits for the repairs to be finished.

Henry is the town's sole holdout, refusing to sell his shop to allow the construction of the Millennium Gate - something which has not made him popular with the locals. He insists that it would destroy the town's heritage to bulldoze it for what he sees as a "glorified shopping mall." Shannon grows close to both him and his son, Jason - close enough to be noticed by Gerald Moss (John Carroll Lynch), the spokesman for the company that wants to build the gate.

Moss has a deal for Shannon, an escape from her dead-end life. She has the qualifications to work as an engineering consultant. She just has to convince Henry Janeway to sell!


CHARACTERS:

Capt. Janeway: Though most of the episode takes place in the past, with Kate Mulgrew mostly playing Janeway's ancestor, Joe Menosky's script still gives Janeway a decent arc. She idolizes Shannon, even stating that she joined Starfleet in part to live up to her legacy. Within the series, though, it's been centuries since these events, and direct information is scarce. When Neelix is able to find a photograph of Shannon, it pushes Janeway to want to find more - but inevitably, she doesn't like everything that she discovers.

Shannon O'Donnel: Kate Mulgrew gives her normal Janeway performance in the present story, but she also plays Shannon in the bulk of the episode. It's very much to the credit of both Mulgrew and the script that Shannon is a distinct character from Janeway. Life hasn't been kind to Shannon, and there's an undercurrent of desperation in Mulgrew's when she all but begs Henry for a job. In the scene in which Moss makes his offer, we can feel the conflict, eagerness vs. loyalty to Henry. Finally, when she and Henry argue, Shannon's first instinct is to run away and leave the town behind - something very unlike Janeway. Throughout, Mulgrew injects a hint of something tentative in Shannon, helping to create a full sense of a woman who has never quite managed to commit to anything.

Henry Janeway: Kevin Tighe, best known for sleazy politicians and white-collar bad guys, seems to enjoy playing an actual likable person. There's energy and enthusiasm in his voice as he talks about the past, and he's charming when he sets up a "Paris date" with Shannon, propping up books about Paris in his shop as they eat. Henry is a good man, but he's also deeply stubborn. He dismisses the worthy elements of the Millennium Gate project purely because it will also include shop space and is designed to turn a profit. When Jason and Shannon try to point out the useful aspects, he lashes out instantly. His crusade against the company is sincere, but there is a note of self-aggrandizement, with him repeatedly comparing himself to historical and mythological heroes throughout the episode.

Gerald Moss: Decades of movies and television programs have coded us to see him as the bad guy. It becomes clear, however, that he's anything but. The project he represents is beneficial (and since it's seen that way centuries later, I'm going to take that as read). He doesn't attempt to cheat the townspeople, offering to buy well above market value. He never tries to strong-arm Henry into selling. The most morally suspect thing he does, offering Shannon a job if she can persuade Henry, is offset when he eventually offers her a job regardless of the bookseller's decision: "If we didn't think you had something to add to this project, we never would have made the offer in the first place."

Neelix: His interest in Earth's past is sparked by a competition with Tom Paris, as the two attempt to stump each other regarding their respective cultures. Janeway's talk about her ancestor leads him to search for more information, and he shows an understanding of how to investigate the past that outstrips Seven's when he expands her initial search beyond Starfleet databases. Neelix is relaxed and likable throughout, and Ethan Phillips is particularly good opposite Kate Mulgrew. Note to the writers: This Neelix is a joy to watch. Ditch the stupid comedy relief version and write him this way from now on.


THOUGHTS:

"I've gone through dozens of histories written about twenty-first century Earth, all of them biased in one way or another... so I go back to the raw material. Birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, census surveys, voter registration forms, housing records, medical, employment, court records. It's all fragmented and incomplete."
-Janeway discovers the frustrations of historical research.

I love the quote above. It is one of the most accurate descriptions of any historical research that I've encountered in fiction. The past itself may be set. But unless you happen to have Doctor Who's Time Space Visualizer, then your access to the past is limited to historical records and accounts, all of which are filtered through interpretation and bias.

Those records that even survive through time. Across centuries, official documents are lost, while a stray item may survive simply because the right person finds it - such as the Ferengi who retained the photo of Shannon simply because it was marketable "as a nostalgic gift item." I suspect someone who worked on this episode has done some level of historical research to slip in observations like that.

I thoroughly enjoyed 11:59. The Shannon/Henry story that occupies the bulk of the episode is lightweight but charming, and it's enjoyable to see the Voyager crew relaxed and engaging in leisure activities. The relationship between Shannon and Henry is, by necessity, quickly sketched, but it basically works. Shannon is an explorer by nature, but she also needs a place to call home; Henry has a love of the past, at least as it exists in books, but he also tends to hide from the present in it. They are different enough for there to be moments of conflict, but each offers something that the other needs - and Mulgrew and Tighe are good enough both individually and together to sell the mutual attraction.

I also appreciated that the present day story wasn't a throwaway. Shannon's story does impact Janeway, as she learns that her ancestor wasn't a perfect match with the woman in her imagination. The script doesn't go over-the-top with her reaction. Janeway is disappointed and frustrated, but no more than that. Still, the full importance of the past is made clear in a well-written ending scene.

Though Janeway and Neelix are the only regulars to get significant attention, the script does a good job of giving everyone a moment. Seven attempts to investigate Janeway's ancestor, but her thinking is too regimented to make much progress. When Janeway is disappointed by what she uncovers, Chakotay points out to her that Shannon was living her own life, not trying to "live up to (Janeway's) expectations." Tom and Neelix have their culture competition. Other crew members talk about their ancestors, including the Doctor, who describes a prize-winning chess program as his "cousin."

Surprisingly, it's Harry Kim of all people who gets the best of the side bits, as he describes an uncle's deep space mission, involving six months of absolute isolation. The descriptions are enough to create an image in the viewer's head as Harry describes them, and Garrett Wang delivers the speech well.


OVERALL:

At first glance, 11:59 seems like a pleasant but inconsequential change of pace. It is a low-stakes story. In the present, Janeway deals with the mild disappointment of an ancestor failing to live up to her imagination. In the past, that same ancestor deals with a nascent romance and a town that desperately wants to sell out to a corporation for a genuinely worthy project. Neither story has any particularly big twists, there is no violence beyond an occasional harsh word, and no lives hang in the balance.

I think it's also going to down as a personal favorite of mine. I enjoyed the story in the past, which was buoyed by fine performances by Mulgrew and Kevin Tighe. I was even more impressed by the present day strand. Many times (see Enterprise's Carbon Creek, which I also enjoyed), these types of episodes throw away the series' present. Here, writer Joe Menosky crafts a full arc for Janeway, while also giving some nice little moments to the supporting cast.

On the whole, I would rate this as a minor triumph - and an episode that left me smiling at the end.


Overall Rating: 9/10.

Previous Episode: Someone to Watch Over Me
Next Episode: Relativity

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5-6. Timeless.

The starship Voyager, in its icy grave.

THE PLOT

On a desolate, ice-covered planet, a ship has been discovered. Under a layer of ice lies a lifeless husk that had the misfortune to crash on this world 15 years earlier. The ship's designation: Voyager!

15 years earlier, the Voyager crew prepares to use the finally-ready slipstream technology to travel directly home. The crew is celebrating - save for Tom Paris, who has discovered a phase variance in the slipstream system. He and Harry test this out in the holodeck, and simulation after simulation ends with Voyager's destruction.

Harry comes up with a plan, however. If he flies ahead of Voyager in the Delta Flyer, then he can send phase corrections back, allowing the starship to compensate for the variance. Janeway authorizes the plan, with Chakotay piloting the shuttle as Harry works on the math. And so the great ship's fate is sealed...

15 years later, an older, guilt-ridden Harry and Chakotay have come up with a new plan. Salvaging Borg technology from Seven of Nine's remains, they now have the ability to send a message back in time. Harry made a mistake in his calculations, leading to the ship's destruction. If he can send the correct calculations to Voyager just before the accident, then he can save his crew - and alter the course of history!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Janeway: Chakotay believes Harry's plan is too much of a risk, and Janeway admits that by the book he's correct - But the responsibility for the crew weighs heavily on her, and she decides to take the chance. This ties in with her depression in Night, in which she shut herself away and blamed herself for every day and every death that the crew had experienced in the Delta Quadrant. Chakotay's right about the risk being unwise - But Janeway so badly wants to get her crew home, that her guilt overrides her judgment.

Chakotay: Just as determined to alter history to save Voyager as Harry is - But he isn't as guilt-ridden. He's actually moved on with his life, starting a relationship with Tessa Omond (Christine Harnos), who assists him and Harry on the mission. He even voices reservations about moving forward with a plan that will erase their relationship from the timeline, though that does not stop him from going through with it.

Doctor: When Chakotay and Harry investigate the wreckage of Voyager, they discover that the Doctor's program is still working, as is his mobile emitter. This allows them to bring him along to assist their efforts. The choice to include the Doctor is an inspired one. It makes sense for him to be "alive" when the rest of the crew are dead; and since he's been out of commission for the entire 15 years between the crash and the discovery of the wreckage, all the backstory can be explained to him without it feeling like a forced infodump. Finally, it allows the Doctor to act as a foil for Harry, urging him to abandon the doomed effort to get the ship home and instead settle for simply saving it from destruction.

Capt. Geordi LaForge: Sent to stop Chakotay and Harry from changing the past. He is genuinely sympathetic to the Voyager survivors' desire to save their crew. But as he points out, his duty is to protect the last 15 years of history, a history in which Voyager was destroyed. Throughout the conflict that follows, he gives every chance for Chakotay to drop his shields and be beamed to safety, and it's clear that he takes no pleasure in targeting the Delta Flyer. At the same time, his position is absolutely justified, and he does his duty.


HARRY KIM AND TIMELESS

OK, where did this Harry come from, and can we keep him?

A handful of previous episodes have shown that Wang is more than capable of giving a good performance when the writers can be bothered to give him good material. The Chute and The Killing Game both showcased an edgier Harry, beaten down and left weary and angry. Those traits are built on with the brusque, embittered future Harry of this episode. The result is something I'd have sworn was impossible - A Harry Kim who is a genuinely compelling character.

Since it's clear Wang is at his best playing a Harry with a bit of en edge, why not make that a permanent part of his personality? The couple of earlier good Harry Kim episodes made it clear that the problem with the character was never the actor. Timeless shows that the writing staff knows how to make Harry work... Which means that, going forward, there is no longer any excuse for him to continue being a failed character. If he goes back to being wallpaper (which I unfortunately expect will be the case), then the blame belongs solely to the writers.


THOUGHTS

Timeless is a terrific episode from top to bottom. It's easily Season Five's best episode to date, and is among the highlights of the entire series. Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky have delivered an outstanding script, and director Levar Burton makes the transitions between the Voyager of the show's present and future seamless without ever being confusing.

The episode opens with the discovery of Voyager under the ice - a fantastic visual flourish that takes us to credits, eager to discover exactly what is going on. The entire first Act continues in the future, with the disaster that befell the ship imparted piece by piece as backstory. Only with the revelation that Harry and Chakotay plan to change history does the episode finally move back in time to "our" Voyager, on the eve of its fateful slipstream flight.

Act Two follows the Voyager of the series' present, with our knowledge of the ship's fate hanging over the proceedings. Harry's desperate attempts to first deny the phase variance, then to improvise a risky solution for it, explains much about Future Harry's guilt. His eagerness to get back home leads him to pushing for reckless action. But the blame isn't ultimately his. Janeway is as affected by guilt as the future Harry is, and her ongoing sense of responsibility for stranding her ship leads to her authorizing a plan that she knows she shouldn't.

The rest of the episode intercuts present and future until, at last, they fully merge. With the sending of the messages through time, Future Harry interacts with Present Voyager, with Geordi's intervention raising the stakes and the suspense for a highly effective climax.

There's a tag scene, and it's a good one. Janeway gives Harry a message from his future self, one that loops back onto an earlier scene and provides additional context for it. The final word belongs to the Harry from a future that now will never be, sending us out of the episode on a very strong note.


Overall Rating: 10/10.

Previous Episode: Once Upon a Time
Next Episode: Infinite Regress

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5-2. Drone.

Seven and B'Elanna observe as a Borg
drone matures on Voyager!

THE PLOT

B'Elanna, Tom, the Doctor, and Seven are in a shuttlecraft, investigating a proto-nebula, when their shuttle gets caught by a gravimetric surge. Voyager beams them back fast, but distortion from the nebula makes it a difficult transport. The team's patterns briefly merge - Not a lasting problem for the organic crew members, but a big issue for the Doctor's mobile emitter, which begins malfunctioning immediately.

The Doctor is beamed directly to sick bay before his program can fail, and B'Elanna promises to look at the mobile emitter. Before she gets the chance, it becomes clear that Seven's Borg technology has interacted with the device. Within a day, the Borg technology has created a maturation chamber in engineering - Giving birth to a new drone known as "One" (J. Paul Boehmer).

The mobile emitter has its origins in 29th century technology, resulting in "One" being a hyper-advanced Borg drone. Janeway puts Seven in charge of nurturing him, to make him an individual like Seven has herself become. But "One" begins asking questions about its origins and about the Borg Collective, causing Seven to worry about the Borg assimilating him and becoming even more of a threat than they are already!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Janeway: Resists calls to kill the drone before it wakes. She doesn't want to kill unnecessarily, believing that if Seven could become an individual after a lifetime in the Collective, then this drone can surely be raised to be its own individual as well. When "One" begins asking questions about the Borg, Janeway suggests telling him - But she doesn't order Seven to do so, respecting Seven's choice to wait.

Seven of Nine: At Drone's center is a superb performance by Jeri Ryan. She has to walk a fine line in this episode, maintaining Seven's characteristic reserve while infusing an increasing amount of emotion into her scenes with "One." Ryan pulls this off splendidly, and the mother/son relationship that emerges between Seven and "One" convinces in large part because of her performance. It's worth observing that this episode is exactly one season after The Gift, in which Seven's fondest wish was to return to the Borg. Now she is the crew member most adamant about how dangerous the Borg is, and most in fear of the Collective - Having grown to treasure her individuality, she does not want to risk losing it again.

The Doctor: Is obsessively concerned about his mobile emitter when it stops functioning. This is played largely for laughs, with him badgering a sleepy Torres about the status of his emitter. But if you think about it at all, his anxiety is hardly unreasonable. Without that device, he's back to being a prisoner in sick bay and the holodeck - Effectively reduced from full crew member back to being just "the hologram." Even so, once "One" emerges, he ceases to even mention what he's lost. When the drone brings it up, asking if he's unwelcome, the Doctor insists that this is not the case:"Our primary mission is to explore new forms of life. You may have been unexpected but, given time, I am sure you'll make a fine addition to the crew."

Neelix: Though he has only a small role, his basic personality is used very well. Even as the rest of the crew responds warily to the drone's existence, Neelix is entirely open and friendly, completely welcoming. "One" responds to this openness, and when it begins researching data, Talaxian cooking is mixed in with the other, more technical material.

The Borg: It's confirmed that Borg reproduce through assimilation only, but the existence of the maturation chamber gives context to the infants the Enterprise crew found in Q Who? - As assimilated children, connected to a maturation chamber. Once matured, a drone's responses are fully automated - It must absorb data before it can interact in any way other than a pre-programmed scenario. By the episode's end, the Borg are aware of the existence of advanced future technology on Voyager - Something likely to pose a danger in coming episodes.


WOUND THE REDSHIRT!

Ensign Mulcahy (Todd E. Babcock) bears a mention for his stiff competition for a Darwin Award. On arriving at his work station and discovering it glowing green in a way that would be familiar to every Voyager crew member after Scorpion, does he run away while calling security? Or even keep a safe distance while calling security? Why, no! Ensign Imbecile walks merrily into the green glowing room. Fortunately for him, the script wants our sympathies to be with "One," so Mulcahy survives his Borg encounter with his humanity intact... But honestly, if he had died or been assimilated, it would have been his own stupid fault.

Idle question: If the Borg can become more dangerous by assimilating things more advanced, would feeding them a steady diet of idiots make them less dangerous?


THOUGHTS

If Scorpion was Voyager's The Best of Both Worlds, then this episode is its I Borg - a story focused on a single Borg drone, which emerges as a sympathetic individual over the course of the story. I Borg's complexity is replaced with more overt manipulation, and its difficult ending choice is replaced by an action set piece... But then, this is Voyager. And while Drone isn't anywhere near as strong an episode as its TNG counterpart was, it is still a highly effective installment.

The script is credited to Bryan Fuller, Brannon Braga, and Joe Menosky. The strengths of all three shine through, though. It has the fast pace of most of Fuller's scripts, with new elements and complications being built into the situation at every Act break. It also has the high concept of a Braga piece ("Borg baby") and the humanism of Menosky's best work. In short, the three styles mesh instead of clash.

Seven and the Doctor have emerged into a strong character pairing, with Seven disapproving of the Doctor's flippant attitude even as she privately takes on board his "lessons" in interacting with humans. With "One" talking to both of them about him being "born" by accident, the subtext becomes very much that of them being unexpected parents of this drone - Something that works even when the script hits it a bit too hard on the nose.

I do find myself wondering about the casual attitude toward the Doctor's mobile emitter. It's obvious by this point that B'Elanna can repair it when it breaks. Has she even tried to replicate some back-ups? Just a line of dialogue to the effect that the 29th century technology is beyond the ship's ability to reproduce would be enough - As it stands, it looks as if the crew thinks a single mobile emitter is all they need, and that they aren't even trying to provide redundancy for the only piece of technology that allows their only medical officer the ability to go down to planets or even to other parts of the ship!

Overall, and setting comparisons to I Borg to one side, this is a well-scripted, well-acted episode that does its job of creating some genuine emotional investment in a single-episode situation. It also ends with hints of things to come, leaving me actively anticipating the ship's next Borg encounter.

Definitely a good episode.


Overall Rating: 8/10.

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