Plot – ‘I trapped your crew in a temporal loop. They’re going through the last 30 seconds over and over…’ – Q2 has just summed up the series. ‘Scans, scans, scans…that’s all you ever do!’ – it’s funny because it’s true. ‘When are you going to do something interesting?’ Perhaps you should be careful of introducing a character that highlights your shows flaws quite so succinctly. ‘You’re certainly a mommy to this crew, just look how quickly you housebroke that Borg drone.’
Turning Engineering into a nightclub is one of the most visually arresting and amusing sequences of the last season. I want Star Trek to above this sort of thing…and I’m really glad it isn’t. Voyager doesn’t get to let its hair down like this very often (in a genuinely creative way) and it’s often a much more likeable show when it does.
It’s a shame that the episode has to resort to throwing Borg Cubes at Voyager because it was doing a rather fabulous job creatively until that point.
Character – God bless Janeway who has the right to look bored to the point of a coma at the thought of Icheb having recounted the entire five-year mission of Kirk’s adventures around the galaxy. If I had to listen to Icheb go on for more than a minute, I would be yawning too.
Why is it when Nog wanted to join Starfleet it was boundary pushing and cute as hell but Icheb’s attempts to impress in the same direction comes across as a Wesley Crusher clone, only less handsome.
Given the exploitative nature of Original Trek towards women, it is glorious to have a sequence where Seven of Nine is stripped naked and shows absolutely no embarrassment because of it. Naked or not, she’s not going to give a man the satisfaction of a reaction to his exploitations. Although if this was truly a demonstration of how things have developed, perhaps Q2 should have removed the clothes of one of the male members of the crew. I think Enterprise redresses the balance in that respect quite nicely.
I know Neelix means well nine times out of ten…so why nine times out of ten do I want to toss him out the nearest airlock. There’s something delightfully sweet about a character who is always trying to get the crew to get the feels…but he always seems to do it in the most gag reflexingly sentimental way possible. His ‘perhaps Q2 needs a friend’ approach made me want to embed an axe in his head. And that’s not just because the godlike scamp is injecting a little wit and humour into this show. Clearly Q2 thinks the same thing, since in a moment of sheer brilliance (and I don’t say that about Voyager with any real frequency) he sows Neelix’s mouth shut. Such a shame they have such a proficient Doctor on board as a mute Neelix would be a wonderful thing.
Q was once a being to be feared; an incisively critical, charismatic and terrifyingly intelligent God. Now he’s a sloppy parent looking to humans for nannying advice. DeLancie sells the material because he’s just too good an actor not to but the assassination of his status is very clear. Go and watch Q Who and spot the difference. The Q of early TNG would never debase himself to kiss Janeway’s foot in the bath.
Performance – I want to give Keegan de Lancie some props because he’s a pretty likable scallywag and certain highlights positively against the deathly dull Voyager crew. He’s annoying…but unlike Neelix he is supposed to be annoying but de Lancie’s charm shine through despite their efforts to bend the character in the regular human direction. A fate worse than death – studying with Icheb…no wait being friends with Icheb! I wish the episode could let Q2 stick to his guns and play about with humanity – to go off and be a rogue Q in his father’s old image before he went soft. But no, Q2 gets to learn about humanity and the joys of finding a friend…and that friend is the dullest kid Star Trek ever gave us. It cheapens Q2 to allow him to be seduced quite so easily by Icheb’s…ahem…charms. At the beginning of the episode he is unpredictable and amusing but by the end he is neutered.
Best moment – ‘Coffee black’ ‘Make it yourself’ – that’s potentially the best exchange between a Captain and their computer.
Worst moment – Why oh why can’t Janeway negotiate a return trip home with an omnipotent being that wants something from her? I get the impression that at this stage she is just used to being in the Delta Quadrant and is happy to limp her way home.
A reason to watch this episode again – TNG would have gone for the most godawful ‘life lessons’ approach to ‘how to parent a Q’ so props to Voyager for taking a more whimsical and witty approach. The first half of this episode is genuinely rather good and it made me laugh a lot and took a few risks with the storytelling, whilst never threatening to alter anything in the series (this isn’t really your show if you’re looking for that sort of thing). It’s when that sentimental angle kicks in that things fall of the rails. How is it that when a Voyager lets its hair down (something that doesn’t always work out for Trek) here that it is the sunniest part of the episode but when it tries to display some heart it veers off into mind-numbing territory? Half sitcom Trek, and that’s definitely the better half.
*** out of *****
Clue for tomorrow's episode:
https://www.theincomparable.com/randomtrek/
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