 |
| Capt. Janeway falls in love with a holodeck character. |
Original Air Date: Jan. 12, 2000. Written by: Robin Burger. Directed by: Allan Kroeker.
THE PLOT:
Tom Paris's latest holodeck creation is Fair Haven, a 19th century Irish village. This carefree community with its simple, slow-paced existence has already become a popular spot for Voyager's crew to unwind, with even Capt. Janeway appreciating its authenticity (given that what we see is as idealized as a small town in a Hallmark movie, I think she's just being exceptionally kind).
Fair Haven is about to become even more popular. A neutronic wavefront is approaching, and interference with the warp engines means that Voyager can't simply get away. Instead, the plan is to anchor in place and wait for the storm to pass. To keep up morale, Janeway authorizes running the Fair Haven program 24/7 and allowing an open-door policy for off-duty crew members.
This includes her. Michael Sullivan (Fintan McKeown), the rough but charming local bartender, has caught her eye. She knows he's a hologram, but she's happy to flirt with him, particularly after she makes a few minor modifications to his program. Janeway's new-and-improved Michael is taller, sufficiently educated that he'd be very unlikely to be a bartender in this particular time and place, and - most importantly - single.
But as she begins her holographic love affair, she finds herself wrestling with feeling genuine emotions for someone who isn't actually real.
CHARACTERS:
Capt. Janeway: Kate Mulgrew all but single-handedly keeps this featherweight material watchable. Her early flirtation with Michael is amusing, Mulgrew showing Janeway with her guard down for a change as she smiles warmly one second - then reacts slightly but visibly when his wife appears. I love the way she plays the scene in which she adjusts his program. She goes into the holodeck with eagerness and behaves surreptitiously, as if she doesn't want to get caught doing something naughty. After the affair begins, the realization that he is nothing but a computer program hits hard when he annoys her by snoring: "Did I nudge him with my elbow hoping he'd roll over and stop... No, why bother when I could simply access the computer and alter his vocal algorithms?"
Chakotay: He tells Janeway not to be embarrassed by her attraction to Michael, adding that it's nice to see her having fun. So far, so supportive. Then it gets creepy when he responds to her protests about Michael being a hologram by saying, "I never let that stand in my way." That is *far* too much information, Chakotay. I can just picture the lowest-ranking members of the crew groaning when they see him leaving the holodeck, sighing that it's time for another deep clean...
The Doctor: He plays the town preacher within the simulation, though he's dismissive when a parishoner (Richard Riehle) attempts to confess outside of "office hours." When he notes Janeway's dilemma, he states that he doesn't see the problem. "You're the captain. You can't have a relationship with a member of your crew... A hologram may be the only logical alternative." This is fairly decent advice, as is his plea for her to stop trying to control the simulated relationship and just let it play out, and this scene is easily the episode's best.
Hot Holographic Space Hunk of the Week: Michael is already an idealized character when Janeway meets him. He is kind, patient, and humorous even before she adjusts his education level, and she has fun losing a game of rings to him followed by a laughable attempt at arm wrestling. To be honest, I would have found it a clever turn if Janeway found the modified Michael less attractive than the original version - but that would be a different episode with an entirely different point to it. I can't say that I found Michael to be a particularly interesting character, but he fulfills his script function of provoking Janeway's internal conflict.
THOUGHTS:
I want to start my review by reflecting on the many great quotes from the various Star Trek captains:
"Risk is our business. That's what this starship is all about, that's why we're aboard her!" -James T. Kirk, Return to Tomorrow.
"The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." -Jean-Luc Picard, The Drumhead.
"I lied, I cheated, I bribed men to cover the crimes of other men... but the most damning thing of all, I think I can live with it." -Benjamin Sisko, In the Pale Moonlight.
"Delete the wife." -Kathryn Janeway, Fair Haven.
OK, I'm being unfair. I can find plenty of fine Janeway quotes, and more than a few bad ones for the other captains. But Kate Mulgrew's delivery of, "delete the wife," is so perfect in its slightly sadistic eagerness that it becomes memorable.
I'd go so far as to say that line is the only memorable thing in this episode. That's the other reason for me padding the review out with this: I don't actually have much to say about Fair Haven. I don't think there's much to say about it.
I didn't dislike watching it. There's a pleasantly relaxed atmosphere, particularly early on, and it's nice to see the regulars having a good time. Kate Mulgrew is excellent, and she makes Janeway's dilemma over her romance feel relatable more through her performance than through any of the actual lines or character beats that have been written for her.
But there isn't anything here that even approaches being interesting.
Writer Robin Burger avoids the obvious cliché. The holodeck doesn't malfunction. The stakes are purely emotional: Janeway's romance and the internal conflict it provokes in her. This could be the basis for a good episode. Unfortunately, by the time Janeway starts seriously wrestling with having real feelings for someone who isn't himself real, the episode is almost over.
This has become a recurring issue in Voyager's sixth season. This is the fourth episode this year in which major story beats have been underserved because the scripts take too long to get to them. The Technobabble subplot is there to provoke the crisis that forces the episode's ending. Fine - but the story doesn't need to remind us of the Technobabble every single Act. The story also doesn't need scenes with Harry Kim arm-wrestling, and it certainly doesn't need a would-be comic bar brawl. What it needs is a lot more of Janeway with Michael and Janeway thinking about the implications of being with Michael. As it stands, their relationship doesn't even properly start until after the halfway point!
As I noted earlier, the scene between Janeway and the Doctor works because it actually addresses the idea: that feelings matter even when they are attached to fiction. It's a single scene, which isn't nearly enough, but at least it gets a bit of weight thanks to the performances of Kate Mulgrew and Robert Picardo (imagine if this had been a Harry Kim episode, or a Chakotay one). Still, one scene, even a good scene, isn't enough for the viewer to share the emotion. I can intellectually recognize the point being made, but I'm left at a remove from actually feeling it.
I actually think Season Six is on track to be one of Voyager's better seasons. That said, the 43-minute running time of each episode makes it all the more important to get quickly to the main idea of the story and stay there to develop that idea... and this is proving to be an are in which too many scripts are floundering.
OVERALL:
Fair Haven may be the ultimate "meh" episode. There are worse Voyager installments. Bilge like Emanations, Favorite Son, The Fight, and The Disease were endurance tests. By contrast, this is nicely produced, generally well-acted, and all-around pleasant. It's just kind of... well, boring.
And in the end, that's about all I can find to say about Fair Haven.
Overall Rating: 3/10.
Previous Episode: Pathfinder
Next Episode: Blink of an Eye (not yet reviewed)
Review Index
To receive new review updates, follow me:
On BlueSky:
On Threads:
No comments:
Post a Comment