Phage Stardate 48532.4: Synopsis in main VOY listing

Beware healthy folks, here come the Vidiians! Yes, the disease stricken folk and the second recurring villain race to appear in Voyager are introduced in this episode which is...ok. Just ok though. Granted, as with these early episodes it sets up a lot of recurring themes such as Neelix converting the Captains 'Private Dining Room' (were they planning on the Captain hosting the entire senior staff in such a LARGE "dining room" anyway?) into a galley, Kes donating her lung to Neelix and becoming the Doctor's assistant, and the Doctor, once more continuing to contemplate his existence and role on the ship. And yet again, Tom the 'walking hormone' is seen cracking onto Kes.
Plot: The crew are lured to what they believe to be a dilithium depository on a seemingly deserted planet, while on an away mission Neelix has his lungs removed, and the chase is on to find those that took them. Neelix of course struggles with being limited to a bio-bed in sick-bay with a pair of 'holo-lungs' breathing for him, until the Vidiians are caught, and through their miraculously superior knowledge they BOAST about, manage to transplant Kes' lungs into his and Voyager's off on their merry way...
But what about all that dilithium? What about B'Elanna's plans to build a makeshift refinery somewhere on ship? Not sure exactly if those 2 points are picked up in subsequent episodes, but it they were good ideas to bring up and it would be a shame if they were so quickly forsaken. And the Vidiians, of course Janeway muses over the morale of their plight but it's dealt with so quickly about 80% into the episode with hardly enough time to ponder about the ethics of their actions. Personally I question the Vidiians' existence entirely, it seems only through their technological "expertise" have these people managed to evade extinction, but at the cost of the lives of so many others, it's difficult to sympathise with them.
But the majority of the episode was spent dealing with Neelix, I wont take anything away cause Ethan Phillips put in a pretty good performance that was thankfully unlike his usual exuberance, but I think it would've been better had the Vidiian side of the story been expanded beyond the 2 scientists seen.
Remarkable foreshadowing: Complaining over the dullness of sickbay, Neelix asks the Doctor if he's programmed to sing, something he does far too often later in the series ;)
Remarkable quote: "If I ever encounter your kind again, I will do whatever is necessary to protect my people from this harvesting of yours. Any aggressive actions against this ship and its crew will be met by the deadliest force. Is that clear?" -Kathryn Janeway, telling Dereth and Motura to take a message to their people
Remarkable scene: The 'Hall of Mirrors' inside the asteroid, and usage of the Phasers to find the real Vidiian ship, an impressive sequence :D
Remarkable fact: The Phage had afflicted the Vidiian people for 2,000 years. It disrupts the genetic code of the host body, then proceeds to devour tissue and destroy cellular structures.
Rating: 5 (Cameron)

The Cloud Stardate 48546.2: Synopsis in main VOY listing

Yawn, it's a pleasant enough episode, and following the pilot and the action oriented episodes to have followed Caretaker ("Parallax", "Time and Again", "The Phage"), it's not much surprising that it was time for a breather. And the episode takes advantage of the slow pace, introducing Chakotay's 'animal guide' story, Tom Paris' oft-seen Chez Sandrine holodeck program, Janeway's unquenchable thirst for coffee, and Neelix taking on the role of 'Morale officer'.
Eh, I wouldn't begrudge the episode due to its unremarkableness, the plot's pretty Trek-like in story and spirit, what's thought to have been a nebula turns out to be a giant life form, and after punching a hole in it trying to recover omicron particles or something, the crew set out to kiss its boo-boo better. Awww, how sweet, no sarcasm there either, it's a good message the episode conveys, even as pointed out by Janeway in the end, the ship's dwindling power was further expended in the process.
A gripe would definitely be the technobabble, I forgot to mention in my review of the episode Parallax the 'dechyon beam' to help the ship escape from the anomaly, and again another miracle beam is used as the deus ex machina here as a nucleonic radiation beam to help stitch up the creature's wound. It was particularly annoying whenever this sort of technobabble was used in a crunch by La Forge in TNG, and my feelings hadn't changed. Fair enough, it's the future, it's an alien life form, there's advanced, alien-inspired technology being used, but for it to pop up like that, eh, I didn't like it.
Remarkable error: Not that it counts, but this is the first instance where Voyager fires off its first of supposedly 38 irreplaceable photon torpedoes. As illustrated in great detail on this very website, we discover that number was subject to nearly triple at series end ;)
Remarkable scene: On the bridge, while Janeway, Chakotay, Torres and Tuvok are at Tactical analysing some screens after muting the condescending Doctor, watch him in the background as he appears, frustrated at the ignorance on the main viewer.
Remarkable foreshadowing: The Doc is a double offender here, first theorising that he might program himself a family after B'Elanna suggests he could be capable of that and more. This happens in 'Real Life' in Season 3. Also, the first mention of Doctor Zimmerman is made, he's noted to be stationed on Jupiter Station and looks 'alot' like the Doctor. When a hologram and the real Zimmerman appear in later episodes, he is played by Robert Picardo.
Rating: 4 (Cameron)

Ex Post Facto Stardate not given: Synopsis in main VOY listing

It feels like déjà vu all over again... the premise is astoundingly similar to TNG's "A Matter of Perspective", the horny Starfleet rogue engages in an affair with the wife of an alien scientist whom the Federation crew is collaborating with on new technology, however, it ends in the murder of the scientist in question and the Starfleet officer is the prime suspect.
But where the holodeck was used in the aforementioned TNG episode to exonerate Riker, Tuvok steps in to perform one of many 'detective' roles which is what makes this episode enjoyable. His 'invitation' for all key players to rendezvous at the scene of the crime to explain Paris' innocence, which was part of a larger plot in the war between the Numiri and the Baneans (who convicted Paris), was very reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes. And it wasn't like any really hokey plot devices were used in the end to wrap up the story nicely, the clues were planted from the start of the episode, and what you'd think were pointless B-Stories (the Numiri), end up vital components of the crime.
The pacing made the episode seem to fly by and before I knew it, it was over, but I enjoyed it very much. And the final scene in which Paris thanks Tuvok and tells him he's made a friend was nice for what it was worth, though we don't see the pair interact that much over the course of the series.
Remarkable fact: This was the first episode of Voyager to be directed by LeVar Burton, aka Geordi La Forge. He would later direct Voyager episodes; "Dreadnought", "The Raven", "Timeless", "Live Fast and Prosper", "Nightingale", "Q2" and "Homestead".
Remarkable fact #2: Tuvok reveals he has been married for sixty-seven years, placing his wedding in 2304.
Rating: 7 (Cameron)

Heroes and Demons Stardate 48693.2: Synopsis in main VOY listing

The first of many silly holodeck/Doctor romps wasn't quite a bad one, I think it sort of dragged in the first half and only once the crew realised they were dealing with a sentient life form that they pissed off by 'kidnapping' members of their crew at the start of the episode, that any sort of focus is taken, instead of the ambiguity of the creature and the fate of the crew. The holodeck side of it is fun in places, it's a bit surreal seeing the out of place Doctor being cheered on as Schweitzer (the name of choice for the Doctor), enjoying a leg of deer while bragging about combating a virus, baffling the Viking characters. Not surprisingly the holodeck characters are one-dimensional, but I was happy with the Freya character, yes she was very easy on the eyes, but for what a small part she played, it was a little influential on the Doctor, with her dying for him, and the reaction from the Doctor was great, nearly killing Unferth in a pensive anger.
Can't say the plot aboard Voyager was too interesting, just a lot of technobabble and Starfleet incompetence (which I'll get to in a moment), missing Tuvok, Chakotay and Kim didn't help either I thought. A fun episode, but nothing remarkable.
Remarkable incompetence: B'Elanna and Tom set about to 'replicate' the same kind of creature in Engineering as the one terrorising the holodeck and they don't think to put a forcefield in place? I was almost hoping the creature upon escaping would damage some vital system just to show was a mistake it was not taking what one would think to have been a simple precaution.
Remarkable hairdo: This is also the first of many of Janeway's ever changing hairstyles, with Mulgrew sporting her natural hair in this episode, which was apparently difficult to maintain.
Remarkable dialogue: "I wont forget you." - "Then I die happy." -The Doctor to Freya, awwwww :(
Rating: 5 (Cameron)

Cathexis Stardate 48734.2 : Synopsis available in VOY episode listing page.

Well, well, well it's TNG: "Lonely Among Us" all over again, more non-corporeal life forms taking over crewmen for nefarious purposes. Well, not like we knew about till the last few minutes of this episode, in which the majority is spent by the senior crew acting paranoid and not helping the by speaking in low, dulcet tones reflecting the sinister atmosphere of the ship at the time. Yeah, not very exciting, we already had a plot about crewmen going MIA thanks to alien life in the previous episode "Heroes and Demons", so it's a bit of a shame they had to recycle the story again, injecting some action into it and just changing the motives of the alien life in question.
One thing about Janeway, I'm a bit disappointed in the first appearance of her favoured holoprogram as Ms. Davenport, basically a 19th century nanny to a widower entrusted with caring for his children, maybe I'm too much of a sensitive new age guy, but I wouldn't have expected the captain of a Starship, let alone the first woman captain so heavily featured, to have wanted to undertake such a sexist and somewhat demeaning role in her spare time, it just reflects poorly on her character. But that's only my opinion.
There's a surprising moment with the Doctor I liked, B'Elanna adorning the head of Chakotay's bio bed with a Native American medicine wheel and using it to 'guide' his spirit or something, it was funny to see the Doctor's scoffing and eye-rolling weren't that of a sceptic amused by primitive hocus pocus, but his knowledge of the wheel as a form of medicine was in fact superior to B'Elanna's.
Rating: 2 (Cameron)

Jetrel Stardate not given: Synopsis in main VOY listing

I think this episode is probably one of the better ones of the first season. While the action level never reaches an all time high like Caretaker, the episode is the really the first major glimpse into Neelix's past. I also appreciated the indirect references to the dropping of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima in this episode (For those of you out there that aren't history buffs, when Neelix is describing what the explosion of the Metreon cascade looked like, that is almost a direct quote from a Hiroshima survivor!).
Remarkable fact: The punishment for not reporting to duty on Talax for military service is death.
Rating: 8 (Norm)

Jetrel Stardate 48832.1: Synopsis in main VOY listing

A very dark tale of redemption and forgiveness which shows a side of Neelix which wasn't seen often enough. Good performances from Ethan Phillips and James Sloyan in the titular role of Dr. Jetrel, Haakonian scientist whose biological weapon was used to kill 300, 000 Talaxians during the war between the two races, out to find a cure for persistent damage cause by Metreon Radiation exposure. Janeway is also refreshing in her position, not as one who would've been condescending towards Jetrel, she mediates well between he and Neelix, who himself is wrestling with his demons, as it's revealed he was no soldier during the war, but a coward in his own eyes. Thankfully the episode doesn't end on a dour note considering the subject matter, with Neelix forgiving Jetrel as he lay on his deathbed. A very good episode however.
Remarkable oversight: Voyager enters the Talax system and there's no more mention of it beyond Rinax and the small scene where Neelix reminisces about the moment it was bombarded with the metreon Cascade. Why not some elaboration? Talax may have remained under Haakonian control but wow, it certainly felt brushed over well enough.
Remarkable quote: "But let me tell you another story. A man goes back to Rinax after the cascade, back to what had been his home, to look for survivors... but the impact of the blast has set off hundreds of fires, and there’s nothing there -- just smoldering ruins and the stench of seared flesh. In the distance, in the middle of all that emptiness, from out of this huge cloud of billowing dust, he can see bodies moving, whimpering, coming toward him. They’re monsters -- their flesh horribly charred, the color of shale. One of them comes toward him, mangled arms outstretched, and he can’t help it -- he turns away, frightened. But then the thing speaks, and he knows by the sound of her voice that she’s not a monster at all, but a child, a little girl... Her name was Palaxia. We brought her back to Talax with the other survivors. Over the next few weeks, I stayed at her bedside, and watched her wither away." -Neelix
Rating: 8 (Cameron)

Learning Curve Stardate 48846.5: Synopsis in main VOY listing

And the recurring themes with TNG continue, only now Voyager takes on addressing the long overdue issue of the Maquis crew on board, and after a season of anomalies, random alien encounters, major character stories and holodeck related malfunctions, it did seem almost a non-issue come this episode, which shouldn't have been a good thing, and the ending is not satisfactory.
For the record, it felt like "Lower Decks" was the Next Generation episode in question being mirrored here, where we witness 3 low ranked crewmen reacting to the situation brought upon them by the senior officers, and their story is more prominent than what was happening on the bridge and throughout the ship. In this case, the bio-neural gel packs (which got a little explanation on how they worked but wasn't elaborated quite enough I thought) malfunctioning throughout the ship causing havoc, the cause basically turning out to be cheese in the Mess Hall which had infected the ship.
The Maquis story was interesting though and it had to have been addressed at some stage, even if the characters were somewhat cliché, the leader of the group, Dalby, of course has a sad story to tell involving evil Cardassians spurring him onto the patch of vengeance explaining why he joined the Maquis (I do wonder what a presumably Human was doing on the 'Bajoran Frontier' though). There's also the irritable Bolian, quiet, reserved young Bajoran, and another human. The latter three don't have much part to play though.
But after physical training and testing by Tuvok (involving tedious polishing of the transporter pads which would've taken a ridiculous amount of time better spent on more important activities) designed to shape the Maquis into model officers seemingly fails, the compromise is reached in the end, in which due to the failure of the gel-packs, the cargo bay in which the 5 characters are in floods with poison gas, Tuvok gambles in attempting to rescue the young Bajoran crewman, against protocol. He explains that his time spent with the Maquis had inspired him to 'bend' to the established rules (referencing a conversation with Neelix), and as a result, Dalby rationalises that if Tuvok can learn to bend the rules, he and his fellow Maquis can learn to follow them. Sorry, but that was just too cosy not too mention cheesy (no pun intended) a route to take in trying to dispose of what should've been a more ongoing problem on the ship, and I actually thought the B-story was a little better. And once again I was frustrated by another rolling credits appearing on screen with Voyager warping off into the distance, after the problems on the ship for the episode and the training, I was expecting at least ONE more scene to tie everything up a little neater.
Remarkable quote: "Get the cheese to sickbay!" -B'Elanna.
Rating: 4 (Cameron)

 

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