Resistance

DVD, Voyager S2 (Resistance)

For the most part this comes across as a standard planet-based story, with an Away Team captured or in hiding from the unfriendly local security force. The way it was shot, with close-ups and hardly any establishing shots of the locations, such as the prison or the market, makes the place seem claustrophobic and a bit small scale - would the head of security really be patrolling this small town market when there could be an entire planet of towns to hide in? So Janeway might have had difficulty getting out of the town, but it would have been good to see more of the place to give a larger perspective. The introspection does serve one particular character, who becomes the centre of our attention - Caylem, a little old man who has become slightly confused after his wife and daughter were both captured, and his gentle care of Janeway, thinking her his daughter is a sad, but warm thread running through the story, culminating in his unfortunate death in the prison break, though Janeway is able to set his mind at ease in the most touching way before he goes. I love the scene in her ready room at the end in which she holds the necklace he gave her, which belonged to his wife, showing without the need for words, how much the encounter meant to her, and how she will not forget his bravery. It's better to have a closing scene like that rather than just go off to the next stop.

Though Kes and the EMH don't feature at all, the other characters all get some good moments, whether it's Neelix being part of the shady goings-on to get the material they need, Chakotay in charge up on the ship with Kim as his right-hand man, or the unlikely pairing of Tuvok and Torres. She has to hold herself back a few times when provoked in the prison cell, and only Tuvok's calm reasoning stops her from launching a pointless assault that would probably get her killed. There's quite an uncomfortable moment as we see her in the cell when Tuvok's been taken for interrogation and she hears a loud cry - even a Vulcan can't withstand all levels of pain, as he later admits, though he never gives up the information the Mokra want. I wonder if Torres' Klingon blood would have been as effective?

The Mokra are standard black-clothed, booted, menacing villains, but their leader has a hint of humour, or is that cruel pleasure, in his eyes, his highly restrained demeanour and voice, belying his true power. I liked their biker outfits, with the large black helmets and fast-firing little guns. It was also good to see Neelix wearing his big coat from the pilot episode - it probably smells quite pungently, but in a comforting way, I like to think. B'Elanna appeared to be wearing her Maquis clothing from that episode, too, and Tuvok looks quite tough in his t-shirt, long before he got to dress so casually in 'Future's End'!

Joel Grey's performance as Caylem is the stand out attraction of the episode, as we learn to care about him over the course of our brief time spent with him, something which isn't always achieved with guest roles. Glenn Morshower who was the red-headed guard Janeway distracts had been in 'TNG' - he was Ensign Burke in 'Peak Performance', Orton in 'Starship Mine' and also the navigator of the Enterprise-B in 'Star Trek: Generations', so he certainly got around! Alan Scarfe, who played the leader of the enemy forces had also been in that series as Romulans Admiral Mendak in 'Data's Day' and Tokath, a Romulan in 'Birthright'.

***