VOY – The Haunting of Deck Twelve

Plot – This is probably the best use of the Borg children who were brought aboard in Collective, aside from Icheb who gets to have his own quiet character arc in season seven. Credit where it is due; Voyager introduced these characters as a development on the ship and they haven’t been forgotten. In a ‘horror’ episode about a haunted deck of the ship it is nice that they are brought in as the audience to Neelix’s florid tale. They are able to react to his exaggerated details with their calculated logic but at the same time it is clear he is able to shake them up a little.

Character – Another late great use of Neelix in a show that has finally found a use for the character. It’s a shame that he spends the first scenes wandering around the mess hall like he knows he is in a horror movie because it rather gives the game away about the genre of this episode but that is the nature of episodic television. It asks characters to adjust given the type of story the writers are trying to say when life…really isn’t like that. Neelix becomes that naughty Uncle who tells inappropriate stories to scare the shit out of the children, gathering them all around the campfire during the blackout and keeping them engaged.

Janeway is far too lenient with Tom Paris on the Bridge. Listen to him here – goading Tuvok, complaining about modern technology – Sisko would have bitten his head off if he was on his crew.

The ensign that Kim meets on his travels deserves her own show. She’s paranoid that the Borg or the Hirogen are on board and almost takes Harry out when she bumps into him unexpectedly. Unlike Harry, he ability to see a monster in every shadow is very sweet and believable.

Performance – God bless Kate Mulgrew, who is truly game during the climax and gives everything she has to make this battle of wits between her and the entity one for the history books. She’s struggling to speak at points because she is shouting so much.

Production – From a technical standpoint, this episode is a marvel. The shutdown sequence in the pre-titles really sells the idea that the power is being shut down across the entire ship and the usually luxurious Voyager becomes plunged into darkness and becomes a much more sinister affair. We’ve seen episodes where the ship has been plunged into darkness before (Night for example) but this is by far the best looking of the bunch, with the lightning designer in particular deserving a huge amount of praise.

Best moment – Neelix – ever the drama queen – pauses his story at the right moments (during moments of extreme danger) to ask the kids if they would like some snacks. Well I laughed.

My least favourite moment has now become my favourite moment as Neelix is left alone in the Mess Hall and wanders into the corridor only to find a door opening and closing like gnashing teeth and is suddenly set upon by Tuvok in a truly terrifying gas mask. It is absurdly schlocky and ridiculous but remains one of the most atmospheric moments in the entirety of Voyager. I think the entire episode should have been pitched at that level. High camp horror movie. It makes me laugh every time. It’s astonishing how menacing those sets can be made to seem with a few dramatic tweaks.

Worst moment – As soon as the computer starts communicating with Janeway in Majel Barret’s voice and trying to get her to guide the ship in the opposite direction, I knew this script was aiming for the least intelligent and most obvious denouement imaginable.

I wish they hadn’t done that – Voyager has been through more than its fair share of nebulas and Neelix has never had a problem before. It does irritate me when they bolt on character backstory to suit the particular episode they are telling which contradicts previous stories.

Check out Janeway when she steps on the bridge with her cup of coffee. A man flies out of nowhere and takes it off her. Is that his function? Just in case?

A reason to watch this episode again – Such a silly episode, but it is really rather enjoyable. Much more could have done with the ‘Neelix tells a story idea’ because if they writer and the director were really interested in playing with the narrative this could have been really exaggerated versions of the Voyager crew in an implausibly horrific situation (since this is all from Neelix’s perspective) but if you are after an hour of light entertainment from the Voyager crew then this is perfectly serviceable. David Livingston is at the helm so the direction is stylish and exciting, and certain scenes contain a fair amount of atmosphere and tension. It’s a story about a nebula and Voyager snagging a part of it, which is the kind of story that Star Trek has been telling for donkeys years but played out with a charismatic cast and told by a master storyteller (Neelix certainly has a gift for hyperbole), The Haunting of Deck Twelve passes muster. Even if the whole piece is really stupid.

***1/2 out of *****