VOY – Fair Trade

Plot – Neelix becomes an unwitting narcotics dealer. I would have paid any money for that pitch.

‘I believe this is a region of space known as the Nekrit Expanse…’ And with that line and an ominous sting of music Voyager feels as though it is heading into an exciting region of space. One of the things that this show has in its favour is the ability to capture that TOS feeling of the exploration of the unknown and that anything is possible. That was lost in TNG (when it started to flesh out the Alpha Quadrant) and DS9 (to its huge advantage as it tackled serialisation) but Voyager still has the aptitude to treat us to the unfamiliar in its own unique way. It didn’t live up to that premise nearly enough but when it did it captured that feeling of suspense about the strange and mysterious very well.

What’s fantastic about this episode is how it gives Neelix a solid reason to get into all of the trouble that he is in. It really bugs me when characters behave in unusual ways without motivation but his desperate need to prove himself to Janeway (entirely believable) forces him down a path that gets more dangerous at every turn. It comes to a point where there is no going back without exposing himself and so he has to plough on and hope that the information he gets will salvage his reputation at the end of all this. I especially enjoyed the moment where he says ‘goodbye’ to the Voyager crew without them even knowing and heads off to do something incredibly dangerous that will sacrifice his place on the crew. I didn’t know I could feel this sorry for the guy. Neelix has made some bad calls in this episode, but he’s smart enough to see a way out of the drugs deal if he is risky enough.

Character – I know I’m supposed to like Neelix. And often when Trek is desperate to make you like somebody it tries too hard and falls way short of the mark. Think Naomi Wildman, think Wesley Crusher, think Leeta. Actually, I rather like Leeta but I know people who find her a bit much. Neelix is so quirky and happy go lucky that he becomes too saccharine too quickly. Not only that he has this insidious passive aggressive streak that flashes at really ugly moments, an uncomfortable relationship with a three-year-old and a barely hidden jealous side that is never a pretty emotion to experience. All this is done behind a goofy smile and some ridiculous make up. The fact that Ethan Phillips manages to salvage the odd moment and an all too infrequent episode by adding some of his own charm and charisma to the part is something of a minor miracle. This is probably the best Neelix episode in the entire run (his leaving episode is the only other serious contender) and the one where I find him at his most sympathetic. There’s nothing more painful than feeling obsolete and we’ve finally reached the point in the Voyager’s crews journey home where his knowledge has run out and he feels that he will no longer be needed.

Performance – Wixiban is a lovely character and charismatically brought to life by James Nardini and I completely bought his relationship with Neelix. It’s affectionate but cagey because of their previous lives as scavengers. I wouldn’t have minded seeing a bit more of this rakishly charming rogue. He’s certainly far more instantly likable than Neelix ever was.

Production – Efforts are made to make the space station feel alien and exotic in a way that Star Trek rarely does. The lighting comes right down and automatically the atmosphere shoots way up. It’s bustling, full of unusual looking aliens and it feels a little dirtier and more sinister than your usual Voyager location. I wish they were visiting places this seedy all the time.

Best moment – When Neelix and Tom Paris share a moment about dishonesty and how it catches up with you. Neelix is in over his head at this point and Tom Paris has been there and has words of wisdom that might help. It’s a lovely character moment that delves right to the core of both of them.

This an episode with a double climax and they are both effective; Neelix confronting the narcotics dealers is both tense and exciting (especially when the plasma ignites and threatens to take everybody down) and a character one where Janeway gives him a dressing down in a way only she can. With pinpoint accurate disappointment. Mulgrew and Phillips both do impressive work here and for a second I was as convinced that Neelix was going to be tossed off the Ship as he was.

I wish they hadn’t done that – What the hell happened to Vorik? He was pretty well established in season three and I rather liked him because he was such an awkward doofus. But as ever with these things (can anyone say the strays from the Equinox crew) they get lost in the decks of Voyager never to be seen again. I believe he turned up in the penultimate episode of Voyager, but they could have done so much more with this character.

A reason to watch this episode again – The rarest of things – Voyager is giving Ethan Phillips a chance to really act his socks off with some challenging material. He rises to the occasion brilliantly in an episode that characterises Neelix very well (you wait and see how many times I don’t say that) and reveals some real potential in the character. Not only that it ventures into darker moral territory for this show, a creepy new location and suggests exciting things for the future. Season three of Voyager is one of my least favourites in Trek’s entire run and Fair Trade is a gripping anomaly in that year.

**** out of *****

Clue to tomorrow's episode: