Worst Case Scenario

DVD, Voyager S3 (Worst Case Scenario)

Worst case scenario, it wouldn't work - going back to the Maquis and Seska, and the crew's early months of their mission would be a drag. In fact it worked well and is great fun, more than I remembered - this is down to the fact that much of the episode is taken up with the crew having fun before the danger manifests. This story could have been done in a number of ways: written so it stays in the Holodeck the whole time with Seska's modifications activated from the start - perhaps Tuvok would have been the first to go through the program rather than B'Elanna? Or there could have been no threat, remaining a lighthearted comedy with various members of the crew experiencing the uprising in different ways (Tom must have got carried away a bit as he tells Torres he's on duty in less than an hour, but later seems to have been stuck in the holding cell for an hour, unless he turned up late for his shift, or this was actually another time). Not remembering exactly what happened  I was half expecting to see several more of the crew's attempts to tackle the story, but we only got to see Torres and Paris, though others talk about what they did, or planned to do, as if they're all discussing the latest computer game of today! This part of the episode is a really nice ensemble piece with the main characters having fun in each other's company (whether real or holographic), and reminding us (if Janeway's comments about being head of a community weren't enough), that this is a family of people, not 'just' a starship crew.

That feeling of family was something the writers had wanted early on, to emulate the popular style of 'TNG,' and no doubt, hopefully, its success. This came at the price of integrating the Maquis crew too quickly and easily into the wider Starfleet crew, something often cited as being a lost opportunity for drama. I agree with this view, but what people seem to forget is episodes like this, in which the Maquis, though amicably part of the wider ship, can still be used to generate drama (such as 'Repression' in which another Maquis booby trap causes trouble, and it's centred around Tuvok again - those Maquis really didn't like him, did they!), not to mention several episodes of the early seasons that dealt with Maquis who weren't happy with their lot. Most notable of all was Seska, the font of all evil in which the Maquis' negative qualities found their home, becoming a recurring villain with the Kazon. If only she'd joined another race, I wonder whether she'd have had more success in her schemes. She and the Kazon were a success because they managed to do what no one else had, and oust Captain Janeway and her captive crew from control of Voyager, so it could be said that Seska was the crew's, and specifically, Janeway's most deadly nemesis. Unquestionably in the early seasons, though there's an argument to be heard that the Borg became the series' strongest opponents later.

What if Seska had joined the Vidiians, that other recurring race of villainy? They might have been just as victorious in taking the prize of Voyager, and when Seska dies at the end of 'Basics, Part II' they might have had the capability to revive her - she could have continued to be a plague on the tail of Voyager! Yet that would also have been the end of the series because the Vidiians wouldn't have made the mistake of stranding the crew on a planet, they would have harvested them, and probably Seska too, so it wouldn't have worked out. And it would be hard to take Seska continually doing the same thing, returning with another ally in another part of space, so death or dishonour was the right choice for her, especially as they could have their Seska, and kill her too! We get to see the former Cardassian-dressed-as-Bajoran spy once again as part of a little present she left behind. This is exactly the way Cardassians always operated as episodes of 'DS9' showed: if they were leaving somewhere they'd make sure to plant booby traps ('Babel'; 'Civil Defence'; 'Empok Nor'), so she was true to her heritage. And how good it is to see the villain again, even more as she's in her original Bajoran guise, one of only three characters to be seen alternating between Cardassian and Bajoran more than once (the others being Dukat who took on Bajoran disguise, then lost it again before the end, and Kira's turn as a Cardassian, later reverting to her true face).

The real villain is the computer since Tom and Tuvok are trapped in the simulation of Voyager, and I enjoyed the battle between the programming of Seska reacting to the inputs of Janeway as she attempts to help them from the outside. If Seska could turn off communications and Transporters, you'd think she'd be able to blow up the ship or do much more damage than playing around with Tuvok's life, but back then she planned to capture the ship and probably thought killing Tuvok would send a nasty enough message to the Captain without harming her fellow former Maquis. I'd have liked more of the programming battle, like some kind of 'Matrix' training variation (it always comes down to that!), where escape routes and objects are activated or appear, just as Seska changes the rules of the game, but going too far down that route would have needed a much bigger budget as they'd need to be manipulating the ship, having outrageous events like a comet crashing through the bulkhead, to make it work. So they couldn't have escalated things too much, although the pair being pursued by holo-characters with their friends' likenesses could have made it more tense.

I always ask this question in such circumstances: did they really ever escape? Granted, it's unlikely once Seska was defeated that the program would continue, and they wouldn't all be sitting around in the Mess Hall discussing holonovel ideas, but what if it was all part of Seska's plan? Ultimately they'd have been rescued via Starfleet ingenuity, I'm sure, so I take comfort in that, but many times we've seen a situation where people think they've left unreality and eventually, chillingly, realised that they are in fact still in the machine, one of the creepiest things in Trek (doesn't even have to be the Holodeck, with aliens, or journeying into the mind a possibility by this time). The story could have been spread across two parts if they'd wanted to, as being trapped in Seska's nightmare doesn't happen until well into the episode. Perhaps that was designed to make it scary after all the lighthearted banter earlier, to counterpoint the familiar and fun with danger and suspense, but for me it doesn't, partly because it's Tuvok, the most resourceful man on the ship, and Tom, who always keeps the mood light.

The moment that was both most horrifying and funniest was just after the encounter with a Season 1 version of the Doctor - he's matter-of-factly programmed to cause pain, injecting acid into Paris' phaser burn, and grabbing Tuvok by the throat, then proceeds to nonchalantly throw them both out of sickbay as if his work is done. Tuvok says the crew must have been programmed to torture them and Tom suggests they go to the Mess Hall so Neelix can burn them with a pan! It threw up nightmarish visions of encounters with each of their friends and colleagues using their own unique twist to attack them (like Kes using her mental powers to bring the walls of the room in to crush them, or something like that). It was a horrible thought, but Paris' response just made me laugh! It was fun to see the ship and crew recreated from the first season, and anyone who saw the episode for the first time was given plenty of clues that things were not as they seemed, whether that was Chakotay referring to Torres as Ensign, the voice of dead Seska ally Jonas on the comm channel, Tuvok mentioning that Chakotay was still settling into his role as First Officer, and even Kes back to her old self with visible ears, a neater haircut and more suitable clothing - it reinforced how much I miss the old Kes.

The current Kes wasn't seen at all, but her former partner, Neelix, did at least get some of the fun as one of those that had enjoyed the new 'holonovel.' So close before Jennifer Lien would leave it's a shame she wasn't more a part of stories, but then that's likely one of the reasons for parting with the series. But for everyone else this felt, for the most part, like a joyful group outing before the serious end to the season. We get to see variations on the characters as seen through Tuvok and Seska's eyes (as the authors), with little things like Kim not even getting to make his dramatic leap over a console before he's shot, or the real Paris speeding things up to get to the good bit (notice he looks like he's almost standing in the forcefield when he leaves the holding cell), and all concluding with a group laughter session, though not in a cheesy way like 'TOS.' No one seems to mind that their likenesses have been duplicated in a program that was used for entertainment by the crew - you'd think there would be privacy laws about this sort of thing, but perhaps Janeway's directive for ship's culture overrode anyone's discomfort!

Often, it seems to me, the penultimate episode of a modern Trek season is a bit forgettable as money is saved for the big finale and fatigue has set in - I'm not saying 'Resolutions,' in the same slot of the previous season, isn't good, but it's a much lower-key story compared with the big, bold 'Basics.' I also think of 'Transfigurations' just before 'The Best of Both Worlds' as an example. In this episode's case we had what was essentially a bottle show, which would have saved money, I'm sure, but also makes for a good story, something you could only really have done in the Holodeck (even if people getting trapped in there with the safeties off wasn't the most original idea), going to the bother of bringing back an established figure, and reminiscing a little about the early days of the series, and showing how much more comfortable they all are with each other, and how far they've come. Taking stock of the series before readying itself for the gripping conclusion to the season when that family bond would be tested by their deadliest foe yet…

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