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.

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