The Thaw

DVD, Voyager S2 (The Thaw)

In contention for the scariest episode of 'Star Trek', although with repeated viewings the shock value is lessened, the nightmarish situation and style can still fascinate in an unsettling manner. The horror is psychological rather than gory (such as 'TNG's 'Conspiracy'), bright, but unpredictable rather than dark and textured (such as 'DS9's 'Empok Nor') with little action rather than carnage or visceral displays of danger (such as 'Enterprise's 'Impulse'). No, it remains one of the most disturbing because it echoes the reality of some people's lives - those trapped in abusive situations, perhaps bullied or tortured, even mental prisoners of their own mind or drugs, imprisoned in a world that is almost impossible to escape and at the mercy of their tormentors.

The first scene with Tom and Harry in his quarters was a filler taken from 'Death Wish' when that overran. It becomes a more interesting scene when you know that because Tom was still acting up at that point, so his bored attitude can be read differently in that context than it was as part of this episode. Early on, the theme of the episode is hinted at in the music, which is quiet and portentous, while the lighting on the ship has been toned right down for higher than usual contrast. I had forgotten the episode involved an ice planet, the title having more connotations than the thawing of fear. I also thought the stasis pods (surely used on 'TNG' and seen again on 'DS9'!) were found in an underground cavern rather than them being beamed aboard into a Cargo Bay. I tend to think that a mission down to the depths of the planet with an Away Team in environmental suits discovering the pods would have heightened the atmosphere and edged it closer to being a classic.

As always with these pods, they have to be wiped to reveal their contents and there's always got to be at least one dead body to emphasise the danger to the others. So things aren't far from the familiar, but they soon become very unfamiliar when Harry and B'Elanna visit the artificial world to which the minds of the survivors are linked. Why didn't they come out when they were prompted? Could this place be so idyllic they didn't want to leave or is there another reason? The episode could have been quite different if the inhabitants refused to leave because they'd learnt to enjoy the false reality more than the real world, and I'm sure there have been episodes with that kind of storyline ('It's Only A Paper Moon' perhaps?), but this took the altogether more unsettling route.

The colonists are trapped by their own fear, a manifestation of which appears as a chaotic clown, played excellently by Michael McKean. Like the Joker in 'The Dark Knight' he is sadistic, but isn't easy to quantify as he shifts his personality around on a whim. The usual problem with makeup occurs: the pinkness of the mouth and around the eyes lessens the effect, but otherwise I love the design. Two of the guest actors would be recognisable to those that pay attention - Thomas Kopache (Viorsa), in the similarly downtrodden role of Kira's old Father, and I noticed Carel Struycken (Mr. Homn in 'TNG') was in it, which I hadn't realised before as he's in a full-body costume, but it's fun to hear his voice since Homn doesn't speak.

The weirdness is well played by the background artists, and I imagine for anyone with a fear of clowns, this would be as nightmarish for them as for the characters! The real feeling of being held hostage in a nightmare is ably played out, the most striking moments being the clown's talk to Harry about what he saw that he shouldn't have seen as a child, while he's strapped to a bed and an over-sized scalpel is about to be used on him (until the Doctor appears to drain all the fun and menace from the situation - he fulfils the same role that Tuvok did for the children in 'Innocence'), and when the Doc tries to prevent Viorsa from being dragged to the blade to have his head cut off - no matter how hard he pushes away the circus performers, and how much he drags Viorsa away, they relentlessly come for him and he's pulled slowly out of the Doctor's hands. The same is true when B'Elanna tries to hit out at a clown, but her strong blows make no impact like in a dream, and she and Harry are powerless, carried away by the mob of hands.

We learn a few things about Kim which are usually left unsaid, if sometimes hinted at: the he misses his girlfriend Libby (seen earlier in the season in 'Non Sequitur'), feels Janeway is like a Mother to him, and hates being the 'baby' of the crew. The ageing makeup as the Clown makes him old was really very accomplished, as good as the old Bashir in 'Distant Voices', but that poor baby the clown throws around - I'd love to know if he's still traumatised by that scene at fifteen or so years old! I like the way they throw in a reference to a 'TNG' planet with Galorndon Core (and another thing Trek did before 'Stargate', using the name Chulak, later known as Teal'c's homeward on that series!). The biggest parallels must be with the film 'The Matrix' which has a very similar premise. If Kim is Neo, who is Morpheus? It can only be the EMH, both bald, and both holding the answers and being able to move in and out of the artificial world.

The final scene in which Janeway pulls the biggest trick on the Clown is one of the best, and also one of the best endings for a 'Voyager' episode. I had forgotten how she did it without sacrificing herself, but it works, using the Clown's technology against him, and at the same time ending the episode at the same moment the program is ended - very effective, like a magician's final flourish. The credit music allows us a moment to draw breath after such a tense end! And what she says about fear existing to be conquered, and that Starfleet Captain's don't know fear, are also very true sentiments.

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