Virtuoso

DVD, Voyager S6 (Virtuoso)

Pathos and humour - you can be assured of both when an episode focuses on the Doctor. What begins as a study in fame, becomes a study of friendship, as the Doctor finds out who his real friends are. It seems the Doctor feels his wish to be accepted as an equal has still not come to pass, when Janeway is so reluctant to let him leave to be a performer. That's because the Doctor has grown so much in his short life, and it's often thanks to the Captain and crew of Voyager, that he has come so far, yet he doesn't realise that it's not as simple as being handed over like a piece of technology, the very thing he is protesting about, and it becomes apparent that the Qomar only want him because of what he is, rather than who he is.

As has happened before, the Doctor's self-delusion and large ego bring him into conflict with the crew. Except this time it's because he's their friend, and he's too eager to leave those friendships behind to pursue the adoration of a species they've only just met. It's always painful for the Doctor to see he's wrong, mainly because though he is treated as an equal he feels slightly superior to those around him. He allows a bit of tedium and a lot of buttering up from the aliens to make him leave his home. Yet the crew won't stand in his way, though he leaves with nary a heartfelt goodbye to any of them, bar Seven. It's only the slap in the face of Tincoo, who he thought loved him, with the creation of a superior version of himself, to make his mistake clear.

Though the crew could gloat and some perhaps in fun, did, Seven surprises him with a deep show of her own attachment. He realises he is appreciated on Voyager after all.

Of course the setting up for a fall is what the viewer is relishing, and what he must go through to swallow his pride and go back to Voyager, but at the core, it's about the emptiness of fame and hero worship, in a not so subtle look at the phenomenon, becoming almost self-referential in places, with the fan mail and holopad signings! It's also the closest an episode has come to being a musical, with the Doc performing various styles with typically flawless vocals.

They must have cleaned out the short actor stakes with so many people. Different stature helps to sell another race, like the reverse with the Hirogen, and their taste in mathematical sounds rather than emotion or skill contributes even more to their alienness. Perhaps his most embarrassing extravagance, and all the more enjoyable for it, is when he sings with a miniature version of himself!

Fame is fleeting, but real friendship is forever.

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