Lucy

DVD, Smallville S4 (Lucy)

Apart from being on mascara and blusher overdrive this is quite a solid episode, probably due to its keeping of the ongoing stones 'plot' (and I use the word loosely) in the background, merely as something for Jason, Lana and Lionel to talk about. It's got to the point where I wonder how they ever found anything for Lana to do each week, but then I remember: she was part of the group and they'd all combat the latest threat together. Now she just looks worried all the time or stares up into Jason's eyes. Still, at least the guy got to throw Lionel around a bit, which hasn't happened for a long time, and it's something viewers would wish to see. As usual he retains control even under physical attack, but I've got to admit, the genial, pleasant character Luthor Sr. has turned into has remained evident and I miss the barbed wit and subtle insults he used to trade. Now he seems to say things with complete conviction without ulterior motives, but we'll see.

Being suspicious I suspected either Jason or Lana might have taken the stone (why is it called that, it's made out of metal?!), so no surprises there. The teaser gets special mention as featuring the best, most adrenaline-pumping opening since I can't remember when, with a superb Bond-style ski chase. The episode could never live up to that level of excitement and it doesn't try. So rather than an action-packed chase story with Lucy Lane avoiding her evil pursuer it turns into a bit of a teen-angst thing with similarities to Season Two's 'Prodigal', except that tale of Lex discovering a brother he never knew he had was the superior. Still, it provides reasons to be sympathetic to Lois, which is useful, and Clark gets to do some superheroics without anyone seeing, leaping onto the back of a moving lorry. I recognised some of the lorry scenes so this must have been one of the last episodes I caught a bit of before I resolved never to watch it again, but here I am anyway.

Jonathan and Martha have really changed: not only are they willing to have Lois as house guest, snooping around, they allow Lucy, her sister, to stay too! Maybe Clark uses it as an excuse to get out of doing his chores - "Sorry Dad, I can't use super speed and super strength or the house guests will see it." To which Mr. Kent would reply "Well you'll just have to do it at normal speed like everyone else, son." The Lane family grows ever larger - first we had Chloe, though we didn't know she was of the Lane clan at first. Then Lois, then her Dad, the General (I wonder why he hasn't been in it more?) and now sister Lucy. She's a sure bet to return if ever there was one.

It's a shame that Chloe hasn't featured as strongly since she found out Clark's secret, I hope this isn't the format from now on - she may as well come right out and say that she knows his secret, with all the double-talk she's giving him! And it seems the English quiz programme 'The Weakest Link' has seeped into popular culture as Lois says the famous catchphrase. Over all not a bad story, but did they have to end with a rubbish CGI shot of space?

***

Persistence of Vision

DVD, Voyager S2 (Persistence of Vision)

Creepy episodes: they are the best. This is the third story of the season in which strange and unreal happenings afflict some or all of the crew (and the second in a row that the Doctor has advised a female crewmember not to miss meals), but it never gets old. The Holodeck characters roaming the ship are the most chilling aspect at first, but I'm not sure if they are worse than the appearance of people close to the main characters who pull them off course in appealing to their innermost thoughts and wishes. The ending is mysterious and adds a flourish of a conclusion, as the alien speaks so confidently and as though he's in charge, and we soon find out why.

There is only really one little pointer to later events in the series, and that is the alien's attitude toward Kes - he's surprised at her power and it was she that upset all his plans (if any of it actually happened...), hinting at her unknown depths, something that would go on to be explored and change things forever for her and the crew. We know so little of the Ocampa, this dependent race that relied on an alien entity to provide for them, and Kes' personality stood out even among her own people.

Other things you could call noteworthy: Kim and Torres working together (on the project to get the Doc moving around the ship as he saw in his nightmare of 'Projections') - they would be a familiar pairing on projects this season. Also Torres' secret fascination with Chakotay never went further. Paris' difficult connection to his Father is touched on again, and this version of Admiral Paris is much closer to the one I'd imagined than the later, Richard Herd version. It's a shame they didn't take advantage of the recent use of Kim's girlfriend Libby to have the actress make a cameo as it would have been a simple matter to film it during production of 'Non Sequitur'. It could be that they hadn't written this episode at that point. And I'll bet most viewers never expected to see Vulcan in this version of Trek, but it wouldn't be the last time...

The most best moments both centre on Janeway. When she is confronted by Mrs. Templeton with the knife at her door for one, and Mark appearing at her side for the other (in his second and final appearance in the series, and he gets to do a bit more than in his first). The first instance is probably the scariest moment as it takes such a long time to get to, using the old horror technique of making us uneasy - she sits with her back to an open doorway to a darkened room, or earlier she sees a glimpse of a Holocharacter disappearing round a corner. These moments of half-seen things or shadows magnify the foreboding, but it's the deep welling in her eyes when she wishes to tell Mark she's still alive and which she finally succumbs to that tells us so much about her.

Again Neelix is too easy to see in a nasty light, once his friendly persona skews into malevolence. The way they finish with a quiet little scene between Janeway and B'Elanna somehow emphasises the discomfort that's come before, and far from setting us at ease, I can imagine any children watching would have felt most uncomfortable at the thought that these character now have to go off to bed after such events, a time when we are most alone and vulnerable. It also speaks volumes about how the two feel after what's happened, and the urge to get home has only been allowed to rise further to the surface. One of the highlights of Season Two and the most accomplished of it to this point.

****

Parturition

DVD, Voyager S2 (Parturition)

I get the impression with this second season that the series hadn't quite got hold of its characters in the way that its predecessors 'TNG' and 'DS9' had done by this stage of their run. It started so well with the pilot, but too many of the episodes became a little dry, a little generic, in that they could easily be transferred over to another series. That same thing could said of any of the TV branches of 'Star Trek', and this episode is no exception in that it's a basic story of two enemy's learning to work together by necessity of circumstance. The episode may not be revolutionary, but it does bring out almost all the characters in a much better, more defined way: you have the Kim/Paris friendship which hasn't been greatly explored, wonderfully illustrated in the scene when Tom slumps on Harry's sofa, Kim finally getting to show off his clarinet skills (after being reminded of it in the alternate life of 'Non Sequitur'), and the humourous banter they have is similar to the O'Brien/Bashir thing on 'DS9'.

The Doctor shows his fatherly connection to Kes, reassuring her as best he can - a 2 year-old and someone that doesn't exist. They make quite a pair! The main developments are between Paris and the extremely jealous Neelix, in what has been a running theme at the beginning of the season, seemingly now resolved. It provided humour at Neelix' strained attempts to rein in his own insecurities and paranoia, excitement as his apparent feud with Paris escalates into a violent confrontation, and sympathy as poor Kes worries about both of them, while being angry at the same time.

There are little links to the other Trek's - the episode was ably directed by Jonathan Frakes of 'TNG', features a shot of some Jem'Hadar ships attacking in a simulation, and even reuses the classic phaser use of warming up rocks from the Original Series. If you wonder how those aboard Voyager could know about the Dominion, don't forget they launched well into Season Three of 'DS9' when the threat was established, and they launched from the station itself so would have been updated with all the local intel on threats to that area.

The ships shots look particularly good in this one, with a shuttle crash on a planet, an alien vessel in defensive posture and the production has the essential ingredients to make it a solid episode, well worth watching. Frakes again directs well, with such noteworthy touches as the alien creature stalking through the gloomy vapours, half-seen through grassy fronds. The shaky cam goes on overdrive to become super shaky during the shuttle crash, then deftly cuts to a shot of Tuvok's unwavering hand on a panel, the calm, stationary Vulcan reassuring as ever. The style is close to how a 'DS9' episode would handle such a story, with the characters coming through well, a bit of adventure, and a good-looking alien design.

One of the inherent flaws in this series is that we sometimes don't get to find out who or what people are, and in this case, who the aliens are, so you can't say "I really liked that one with the Gorn" or whatever; it's harder to pin down, so we don't learn much about this reptilian species. But that's the trouble with being in a completely unexplored region where no human has ever been before. The episode even dares to break the fourth wall, or throw a few dents into it at least, as both 'technobabble' and 'Planet Hell', nicknames for things used behind the scenes, make it into dialogue (a bit like in 'First Contact' when Cochrane talks of "...Some kind of star trek"). You could almost be forgiven for wondering if you'd stumbled upon a Season Four episode if you were going by Janeway's hair. For some reason she's got the shoulder length 'do instead of the bun. But then the females of the species like to change their hair a lot, or so I've heard.

***

Sacred

DVD, Smallville S4 (Sacred)

It was nice of them to write a tribute to Dr. Virgil Swann, killing him off because Christopher Reeve had died and wouldn't be coming back, but the rest of the episode? It's a heavy-on-the-plot style of episode, tying together the ongoing threads and advancing the storyline, except it's so contrived - I guess they've succeeded: The series now feels very much like a comic! The scenes in China were well shot, but it was hard to disguise the fact that they're on a studio backlot which they have to film from multiple angles. When characters walk slowly down a street talking, stop at the end and then stride purposefully back the way they came it's rather obvious.

Apart from some unnecessarily brutal torture scenes, I enjoyed the different style and visual tone. Lana, dressed in some long, flowing Chinese attire made for a dramatic visual (again with the comic book), but it was like they wondered what was missing from the series and someone piped up "I know, how about a 'Matrix'-style fight scene?" On a TV budget? Yeah, right. I never bought any of the witchy stuff, and this episode didn't win me over. It seems Isobel can take over Lana at any time, how useful that is for the plot. As for the short trip to China... None of the characters experience jetlag, no one looks the least bit dishevelled, I mean they haven't even had a change of clothes! And then they pop back again to America as if it was a matter of heading off down the shops for a pint of milk.

I know, I know, this is fantasy and there've been lots of things that are fantastical in the series, but the writing decisions are terrible. Even the staunchest fan couldn't defend the clunky 'Duh!' plotting. I guessed right away that Jason and Lex' incarceration was his own ploy, and everything has to be rammed into place to make it fit, none of that finesse stuff here! Worse, Chloe doesn't even make it into the story at all, the whole 'sticking stones around the world for Clark to find' was a ridiculous premise in the first place, and I have to say the season has gone off the boil in a big way. I feel very generous to give it this rating, but chalk it up for the look of the episode, and nothing else.

**

Dressed To Kill

DVD, Dressed To Kill (1946) film

It's a shame to come to the end of these Sherlock Holmes films, although many of them weren't particularly great in themselves, the camaraderie and characters of Holmes and Watson have shone through in their unique Rathbone and Bruce guise, making the experience a pleasure. This final film in the series doesn't exactly go out on a high, but does make for a reasonable installment, as usual taking bits and pieces from various stories and slapping a 'based on a story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle' tag on them. It reminds me of 'The Red-Headed League' which was about counterfeiters, but I have a feeling there might have been a story about jewellery boxes, though it shares similarities with 'The Six Napoleans'.

There are plenty of references, including one or two titles of stories, Watson and Holmes even commenting on the Strand magazine in which a tale has just appeared from the pen of the Doctor. Hopkins is there in place of Lestrade, and Irene Adler gets a nostalgic remembrance, perhaps in anticipation of the female mastermind behind this latest plot. Unfortunately she doesn't come across as great an adversary as to rival Adler, or even the Spider Woman of this series, though certainly she was adequate enough to trap Holmes. In fact she does remind me of the actress who played the Spider Woman, and there's a host of familiar faces in different roles, most notably Hamid, the actor who played him having been in the majority of the series.

The story rattles along nicely, the message is cleverly hidden, and the duo are their usual pleasant company. Some continuity has been reintroduced - the shots fired at the wall in a 'V' shape behind the door, missing in one of the films, are now visible again, so unless Holmes regularly fires into it and then plasters over again, someone was paying some kind of attention. I feel that they could have gone on to do many more films, but this was it, and for many, no matter how dissimilar they are to the exact letter of the books, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce embody the best loved version of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his good friend Dr. Watson.

**

Twisted

DVD, Voyager S2 (Twisted)

A good bottle show can be useful for character building and still provide an enjoyable story. Sometimes the series is guilty, like 'TNG' before it of becoming too technically-minded, and it does come close, but the reactions to events by each person is what carries this episode. All the cast are used, there's a bit of comedy from Neelix' ongoing bouts of jealousy and the Doc's irritation at being stuck in Sandrine's, as well as the occasional misstep by people as they encounter changes to the layout of the ship.

The bending effect works incredibly well for such a long time ago - I would suggest it was because Janeway was pulled out of the distortion that she became unconscious, otherwise she'd have been fine as they all were when the wave passed over them. The ending works well, the solution being to do nothing, and it's nice to see the crew patching up disagreements (they all say how much they couldn't stand the other person before finishing with more positive sentiments!). And it was all a benevolent alien's way of saying hello, which is a nice touch to end with.

***

Non Sequitur

DVD, Voyager S2 (Non Sequitur)

Contact with home space was difficult to pull off - what would happen to the the drama if Voyager could too easily be connected to the familiar? So in the few times when the crew were able to experience Earth or the Alpha Quadrant, they remained snatches of familiarity pulled away by episode's end. Brannon Braga pulls off another of his signature subjects in this tale of Kim experiencing another reality, but for once the victim realises something's wrong right away, tallying off the possible causes (holodeck?, hallucination?, alien experiment?), but for once it is real, and the people in it are real, and this time there's the option of staying because this version of life is sweeter, perhaps how it should have been?

The episode falls down because it doesn't play into this desire to live another life quite enough. Kim quickly decides he has to get back to Voyager and from then on we're just waiting for it to happen. The main part of the episode takes too long to get anywhere, and doesn't compare favourably with the other 'unreality' story of 'Projections' told only a short time ago, which was much creepier. The first time you watch it it keeps you wondering, especially with the mysterious coffee shop owner Cosimo who knows more about Kim's situation than he realises, and whenever he's on screen the he lights it up. Similarly when Kim visits the real Sandrine's to find a washed up Paris; a loser because he didn't get his break by joining Voyager's crew, events get interesting, but, and I hesitate to suggest it, Harry isn't interesting enough to carry the weight of almost the entire episode on his own.

I know the actor can do it when given a better script, but too much of not a lot happening steamrollers any sense of adventure and mystery. For once the situation isn't dangerous in itself, and isn't a plot to do anything to him, except keep him safe after he's mistakenly got tangled in an alien 'time stream', so the stakes aren't that high. Until Starfleet security begin to suspect Kim of being a Maquis spy, which is when things take off in a daring foot chase in which the usually prim and proper Ensign defies the authorities and gets unexpected help from Paris, whose good character has risen to the surface thanks to Kim's words. The thought of people beaming into your private rooms to grab you, and chasing through your home is frightening, and would make for a great Bourne/Bond type film. It's a shame the transporter's capabilities for destruction of privacy hasn't ever been addressed.

Whether the personal transporter was a result of the altered timestream, or Starfleet really have such technology at this point is another unexplored avenue - since 'Star Trek Nemesis' was the first to show the 'emergency' transporter, I would assume the one here is something that could only be used in the vicinity of other transporter technology, and I assume it would tap into nearby systems rather than being an actual transporter on its own.

I could have done with more of the scenes where Kim has to fit into a situation without knowing quite what he's supposed to be doing, such as the meeting for the new Runabout. And Cosimo was a character that could have done with a bit more explanation. It's such an amazing thing that he's done - he's pretty much given up whatever life he had before to keep an eye on Kim, and though it's unclear, if Kim had stayed he might have had to be there for the human's entire life, but none of that is even touched upon. After you've got over the novelty of seeing Starfleet Academy, Bolians walking down an Earth street, and the fun references to DS9 (the Runabout, the Maquis connection and this version's Paris having got into a fight with a Ferengi on the station, before being thrown into a holding cell by an unfriendly shapeshifter!), unlike most episodes if you've seen it before there isn't enough to keep you interested for multiple viewings.

**

Out of Mind

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S2 (Out of Mind)

The dreaded clips show strikes! Why do we have to endure these things? To be fair there isn't as great a reliance on the clips as there would be in later episodes, they're just there to fill in a bit of time, and I was hoping the clips were chosen intelligently as a primer, so that at least a reminder of the details would be useful in some way. The beginning suitably draws us in, playing on the fact that the previous episode was a visit to the past, so why shouldn't this be a trip to the future. It was all so plausible, and because we want them to be in 2077 it's easier to believe it. But it would be unlikely that they'd be trapped in the future right after the trip back in time, and the illusion is only kept up for a while.

Hathor was the least successful enemy they came across so her reappearance at the centre of the plot isn't encouraging. I suppose the reminder of the main facts that have been uncovered was helpful in a ticking the box kind of way, but most scenes are just filler - the long conversation between Hammond and Teal'c when he decides to leave, as affecting as it is that he's had to abandon SG Command, is an example of playing for time, making this a lot less satisfying an episode than the previous one, especially with the cliffhanger ending, but at least it wasn't the end of the season, so hopefully any money saved will go towards a strong final two episodes.

Except that I've just realised that it was indeed the season ender, and the last two episodes on the DVD are Season 1 stories! Why? Ending a season with a clips episode is the worst thing they could do, it must be that they simply ran out of money. The season on the whole has been an improvement over the first season, the characters have been further defined, as has the mythology of the series. One enemy has been defeated, but others have been introduced, and I can't complain, but really, they should have saved a bit of money for a decent send-off. Still, what can you expect, it's not 'Star Trek' (although saying that 'The Next Generation' ended its second season with a clips episode, so maybe there are parallels after all?).

**

Terror By Night

DVD, Terror By Night (1946) film

It may be because I'd seen it before, or that I've learned to be particularly suspicious when watching such films, but I suspected Watson's friend Duncan Bleek quite early - he had such glittering, deep eyes for such a pudgy, well lived in face. I also guessed the policemen were not exactly dependable either. Mysteries set on trains tend to be more interesting than they should be - look at 'Murder On The Orient Express' or 'The Lady Vanishes' (both of which hold similarities to this film, such as the box with a false compartment to hide an accomplice from 'The Lady Vanishes'). Trains are such claustrophobic places (ignoring the luxurious compartments of the time - you couldn't do a very effective murder mystery on a modern train!), with the occupants kept in close proximity, so that reactions and suspicions become magnified. Just look at the Professor that Watson tangles with, who gets most uptight.

That the story occurs on a night train makes it feel even more enclosed. Good use of model work and stock footage lets us cut to the outside for the relative truthful violence that a train in motion embodies, in contrast to the crafty and unseen attacks aboard her. Back projection is once again brilliantly used, this time in a scene which almost sees the end of the Great Detective as he's forced out of a door, clinging on for dear life, and not unlike something you might see in a Bond or Bourne film today. The shady collection of characters and their interactions with Holmes, Watson and Inspector Lestrade, back for one of his most professional appearances, are most absorbing, enhanced by the cramped confines of the train's corridors and compartments.

Poor old Watson looks ever the fool, this time Holmes indulging him, suggesting he could try and solve the case himself after he blusters boastfully. There's always got to be at least one part of the film when the good Doctor fluffs things up, and his inquiries provide some diverting amusement. Of course Holmes had the real jewel all the time, but the story unfolds cleverly so that the pieces only fall into place at the end, when the villain Colonel Sebastian Moran is captured. I think he was actually a better character in these films than all the versions of Moriarty - there's actually a nice bit of continuity with the previous entries in the series as Holmes mentions he's been up against the master villain three times before his death, which was seen in the previous film.

It's based on one of Conan Doyle's stories which gives it an advantage, I think, but I can't remember the name of the one which featured Moran so I can't be sure how similar it was to this. As usual there are a host of familiar cast members in the company, but that doesn't take away from a thoroughly enjoyable drama.

***

1969

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S2 (1969)

What great fun the cast must have had making this! I hesitate to say it, when it's such a lighthearted episode, but it's the best of the season so far. I expected a rather dry, technical episode about finding the Stargate (it was very likely to be a time travel story with that title), but it turned out to be full of joy, meeting old characters in their prime or coming to the end of their lives - the actor playing a young Lieutenant Hammond did a great vocal impression, and SG-1 even got to do a tiny bit of future-gazing by meeting Cassandra as an old woman. But does that mean she'll really live to be that age, and that they will really have a great future of adventuring, and are they all dead by that time, and...

As usual, time travel creates all kinds of weird thoughts and complications, but the main thing was that they enjoyed it, dressing in 60s clothes, driving around America - the production team must have had great fun with the camper van! 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' references get thrown in there by Jack pretending his name is James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise, and then Luke Skywalker. But surely their captor would have known about Kirk, as the Original Series would only just have finished its three-year run on American TV? Maybe he wasn't a fan of sci-fi, and it was clear he didn't believe him anyway.

Amid the montages of driving along, getting suitable period clothes and Daniel getting to play accents and languages with a younger version of Catherine, there's even time for a little poignancy as the hippy dude that lets them ride along is trying to decide whether to go into the army, since he's been drafted, or run away. And the superb central point of the note General Hammond gives Carter is pleasingly vague at first until you see the genius. Great craftmanship there. I half expected the hippy to turn out to be Sergeant Siler, or someone they knew, but that wouldn't add up I don't think. But any episode that has me grinning happily through most of it deserves its place as the season's finest.

****

The Woman In Green

DVD, The Woman In Green (1945) film

Not one of the better entries in the Sherlock Holmes series, it's another film that has no basis in the written stories, apart from the character of Moriarty and his death by falling from a height, and the ingenious dummy in the window Holmes uses to fool a would-be assassin. Other than that there are mentions of Holmes' brother Mycroft, and Inspector Lestrade, who doesn't appear in this film for no apparent reason. The Holmes/Watson friendship, occasional observations of the detective and Watson's looking the fool are in the mix as usual, but the the good moments are sparse, and for another appearance of criminal mastermind Moriarty you'd expect them to have pulled out a cunning and devious plot.

Instead, Moriarty matter-of-factly visits his nemesis at Baker Street (a novel approach), showing that he wasn't hanged after all. The plot is only to get a bit of dough, and there must have been easier ways to that end than presenting hypnotised victims with the apparent evidence that they murdered someone. Moriarty wouldn't have been satisfied that Holmes was under the influence unless he put a needle through his stomach or somewhere dangerous, but this Moriarty is too quick to believe, his cunning brain isn't barely in evidence. And so he makes a bid for escape that causes him to plunge to his doom, and this time he really must be dead.

Henry Daniell does a reasonable job, the third actor to play the Professor in the series, and he has the blank, cold face for it, but the writing doesn't give him much to play with. The rooftop scene where Holmes appears about to walk off under hypnosis was dramatic, the height looking real, though it was back-projection. Unfortunately, like Holmes' hypnosis, the spell is broken when Watson jumps up there with him - a fold in the backdrop spoiling the illusion of the cityscape. Along with Daniell, Paul Cavanagh is back for another role, this time as Sir George, and the villainess' housekeeper played a similar role in 'The House of Fear'.

*

Elogium

DVD, Voyager S2 (Elogium)

Ever since 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' began, the issue of families aboard starships has been a constant factor. The USS Voyager being a smaller, sleeker, faster ship for short scientific missions had no need to include the families of crewmembers as they'd be seeing them again in only a few weeks or months. That was the plan, but since Voyager was swept 75 years away from the Federation the issue of 'fraternization' as Chakotay puts it, is just one of several issues facing the crew.

The fascinating potential of a generational ship and the question of where replacement crewmembers would come from is something that should have been explored a lot more on the series, but as it is, this episode does a good job of debating such things as parenthood, the governance of human nature while also showing some of the characters in a new light and tying smartly into the larger story of the ship interfering inadvertently with space-dwelling lifeforms. That part of the story is less interesting than the effects they have on Kes, and the early-days CGI is a little weak, but the solution to the crisis is simple and satisfying, and it's not often that non-humanoid aliens crop up, so enjoy it when they do.

The pairing off of crewmembers has been skimmed over before, Paris telling Kim about the Delaney sisters, for example. It's a given that Kes and Neelix are a couple, but having a child is a bit of a big step (oops, I'm sounding like Sisko now!) that they're both uncertain about. Neelix turns to Mr. Vulcan for advice and uncovers some of Tuvok's impressions on being a Father and how he misses his family, while Kes turns to the Doctor, who can't give her any direction except for being someone to talk to. It's clear that he's still considered a lesser being by the crew at this stage - Neelix is incandescent with rage at being told to leave sickbay, but Kes sees the Doc as a person, and says so.

Neelix' strong emotions come to the fore, and his jealousy over Paris helping Kes carry some vegetables, or righteous indignation at being ejected from sickbay are much funnier by the way he half behaves like a Vulcan. He's so explosive in his anger that his whole body shakes and his arms want to violently wave around, but yet he manages to contain the rage enough that he doesn't go wild, and this partial containment is quite hilarious to see. Janeway knows what to expect from him now and so she only half listens to his complaints until hearing that Kes is ill when she gives him her full attention! The Captain is the one who talks Kes down from her agonised state of mind, and I can't imagine any other Captain being able to keep her dignity and authority, but also hugging a member of her crew to comfort them!

Kes' physical changes make her appear wild and desperate and are very effective in telegraphing her condition, as is Jennifer Lien's breathless, agitated performance, the first chance she's been given to really show her skill. Kes always comes across as so honest and calm, but here she's unrestrained and confused, and there's a bit of humour in that too, just as in Neelix' lack of restraint in anger. When the 'inner' (character) and 'outer' (shipwide) stories both connect there is a better sense of logic and cohesion to an episode, so much more than disconnected plots, and this comes across best in this one, out of the first four episodes.

I think the hints of later things to come help - Ensign Wildman getting pregnant (Janeway calling her by her surname instead of the more familiar first name when she reveals her condition isn't quite right), mention of her husband being back on DS9, the teasing friendship between Janeway and Chakotay (even mention of the Breen!), and the Captain's hope that she'll see Mark again before he gives her up for dead (and she would, just not in the way she expected...) are all pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of the series that have been put into place. Some might have come to fruition better than others, but the episode shows a confidence in it's characters that would continue throughout the season.

***