Covenant

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S8 (Covenant)

Another Earth-bound episode, and another surprisingly good one, at that. It's all about the question of whether the general populace of the planet we call Earth deserves to know the truth of the SGC and the wider Universe, whether they have the right to, or whether it's for the best to continue keeping them in the dark. All because a billionaire decides the people should know. Alec Colson isn't insufferable, but he is driven and ruthlessly righteous as only a ridiculously wealthy man could be. He shouldn't have been so naive as to think he could get away with challenging the authorities of the world without consequence, even though it wasn't they who were responsible for an attempt on his life, probably the first of many, something his best friend and assistant, Brian Vogler, couldn't live with. The question itself is really the meat of the episode, even though, as the audience, we're naturally rooting for the worldview of our heroes to prevail, which, as it stands, is to keep things under wraps to prevent mass panic and keep control of things, with help from their allies.

It's a typically American thing that they should put their own government as the ultimate authority for global safety, but being an American TV series it's fair enough - if it were made in England we'd have the English as humanity's last, best, hope for peace, wouldn't we? For once, that idea of who decides and protects, is at the heart of the discussion - even though Sam doesn't want to discredit Colson, having known him previously, she remains staunchly against opening the floodgates of information and truth because she genuinely believes it could cause personal distress and worldwide chaos if the Stargate became a known entity, she's a realist that can imagine countries warring against each other for control of the technology, exceeding the existing distrust and general Cold War many nations exist in, and causing more problems. However, it's not entirely a revelation that would be new to all nations, as several do have limited access, in largest part the Russians, then the English and French, and some others, as we've seen before in committee (Season 6's 'Disclosure'). At least this examination of the issue wasn't a clips episode as that one was!

Colson is more of an idealist, not exactly a modern Gene Roddenberry, but someone who stubbornly refuses to believe humanity would destroy itself as some planets have at the Stargate's reveal. He's definitely a humanist, thinking well of his race, even though the evidence points otherwise; after all, if The Trust, a group of rich high-ups who've banded together to exploit alien technology, and whose goal may be to take the 'gate for themselves, tried to kill him, and they're some of the few that are in the know, what would it be like if such possibilities and wonders were recklessly uncovered to everyone? On the other hand, his analogy to living with cancer is a good one, whether it's better to know and take steps to focus on living, or to go on blissfully unaware until you drop dead. Personally, I prefer to know the worst as it means you can mentally prepare, but the cases are two different kinds - in this dilemma it's the very knowledge that could cause preemptive action to endanger the fragile state the world lies in, and far from giving people the chance to enjoy their 'last days,' it would inflate their desires. Everyone would demand trips to other planets, the use of all technology, amping up the martial capabilities would cause a new arms race, and every country would believe it knows best how to handle the situation. The fact that there is no one world government means the US can pretty much speak for everyone in its own way.

Maybe that's a bad thing, but if you look at history, America's involvement usually means a positive end: World War II might not have ended with the Allies beating Hitler, and where would we be now? Not to say America is perfect, or knows all the answers, but an engaged America is better for the world (or at least, the West), than an isolationist one. I've gone a bit off topic, but it just shows that an episode of a sci-fi series can engage the brain, and provide food for thought. It could even be a commentary on America's position in the world, I don't know. But for the series, it's an important moment because it reassures us that the mythology isn't going to be thrown under the bus, because as interesting as the concept of the Stargate no longer being a secret operation, it would lose much of its charm and mystery if it became so open. This way we can still imagine that it is (or was), happening in some mountain somewhere in America. I have the feeling that it does come out eventually this season, but I hope I'm wrong. Although… it's amazing in the modern age that so many alien encounters, ships and technology hadn't been spotted by the billions on our planet: photos from satellites, telescopes, so much that can see so far makes it hard to believe that the secret had never come out. I suppose the conceit is that, like Colson, people are always undermined or disbelieved, and that all talk of UFOs, etc, in real life was 'really true.'

What works about the episode for me is that although it's a subject that shouldn't be very interesting, whether people will learn the truth or if the SGC will succeed in preventing that from happening, the various struggles with personal and military guilt and reality concerns is at work. It's mainly Sam, but the people around Colson are also conflicted, and it does justice to the central idea. It's also a magical moment when someone is shown the Stargate for the first time, and given an out of this world experience. I should have seen the solution coming: Colson was a marked man, his whole company collapsing, he only had that to replace the deaths of his wife and daughter years before, which had spurred him to create the global company after all, and to top it all, best friend Brian topped himself, so what ties did he have left to the planet of his people's birth? None, which makes him the perfect person to travel off world and begin a new life on some other planet where his tenacity and skills can thrive on new challenges and a new reason to live in the full knowledge of the achievements that have been won. The ultimate happy ending, really! I thought the actor who played Brian did an excellent job as the collapsing support, and though it was fun to see the reporter, Julia Donovan, again, I didn't remember her, so it didn't twig until they mentioned she had been part of the Prometheus incident (another Season 6 episode, 'Prometheus'). A better episode than I originally gave it credit, in spite of its Earth-based politicking.

***

Year of Hell

DVD, Voyager S4 (Year of Hell)

We finally reach the epic scope of The Year of Hell, a concept that had originally been introduced in the Kes episode 'Before and After,' during the previous season, though back then it was little more than a hint of potential trouble ahead. The writers were perfectly within their rights (not to mention their MO), to ignore the possibility of such a concept playing out within the series - an alternate timeline, a road not taken, whatever excuse they needed. But in fact, the plan was one hundred and eighty degrees the other way: I believe it may have been a concept on the table to do a season-long serial, delving into the USS Voyager's troubled mission to get home in a way never before seen on Trek. In truth, I'm glad they didn't go that far as I've never been as comfortable with complete serialisation as I have with continuing arcs and multi-episode stories (as seen best on 'DS9,' but also effective in Season 4 of 'Enterprise'), the Season 3 Xindi arc of 'Enterprise' proving patchy, and far from the grand turnaround that some claim it to be (though almost any change would have been preferable to Season 2, but that's another story), and a mixed bag for the final half-season of 'DS9,' with some terrific episodes, but also some looser, less satisfying ones, constrained a little by the need to traverse all the points to get from one episode to the next. I can imagine 'Voyager' Season 4 being much more like the reimagined 'Battlestar Galactica,' a series I've enjoyed, but is nowhere close to my taste in Trek.

There are certainly hints of the starker, harsher reality of 'BSG' in this episode, with moments like the Doctor having to close the escape hatch on a couple of crewmembers trapped in the deck that's about to explode. Or Chakotay's birthday gift, replicated with hard saved rations over a long period, rebuffed because it will be better used as a reconstituted meal or a pair of boots. Uncompromising, bleak, but with a humanity to the characters, not to mention the visible damage to the ship's insides, the bridge a mess of dropped girders, blackened debris, dirt and dust all around - not the usual exploding consoles and pipes belching smoke out onto the carpeting. That's because we're literally seeing the effects of weeks, stretching to months, of a continual cycle of battle damage as the Voyager comes up against the impossible-to-defend-against temporal torpedoes from the superior force of the Krenim Imperium. There's no reset button allowing a week or two to pass until we see the ship again, so we experience the degradation of the vessel, no time for permanent repairs or succour. I must admit, I didn't quite get the impression of how vast Krenim space must be (in this time stream), and there's a surprising lack of exterior shots of the ship, which took away some of the excitement. You want to see them warping away from attacking vessels, or performing evasive manoeuvres, but for such a large scale, battle-focused plot, it stays a lot within the confines of Voyager. Perhaps that was to increase the tension, perhaps it was because showing much damage to the ship's hull would be too expensive back then, but either way it does the episode some disservice.

Despite this, there's plenty to carry the episode along, with so many good character moments, from the aforementioned reminder it's Janeway's birthday (20th May), from her First Officer, to the Doctor's speech summing up the crew as family, and what an achievement they've made to get so far, to the trivia challenge between Harry and B'Elanna (intriguing to think that old films have been adapted for a Holodeck, although she could have been referring to seeing 'To Catch A Thief' in that environment rather than it being turned into a three-dimensional experience you could join in). Leaving aside its reputation as an action story, this two-parter (certainly Part I, anyway), is very much character based. And that bodes well for the sixth TV series fast approaching us, for the simple fact that Joe Menosky, co-writer with Brannon Braga, has been named as a writer on the series, which adds a frisson of interest to any episode he'd written in Trek's illustrious past. I'm not going to divert into the topic of the new series here, I don't want to take it away from 'Voyager,' but the fact that Menosky wrote scaled up 'Star Trek,' with big ideas, yet didn't forget the importance of staying focused strongly on the characters, should tell us to look forward to Series 6, or 'Star Trek 2017,' or 'Star Trek All Access' (or whatever temporary monicker you think best), because he knows his stuff. I'm sure Braga has a lot of credit in this one, too, and I can imagine he'll eventually be back on that series to write more Trek, assuming it lasts more than a season - it's only a matter of time…

The inauguration of Astrometrics is heralded with a little gathering within it - it shows how keen they were on Seven, because they pretty much built this set just for her, and it would become the equivalent of her office (complete with, typically Borg, standing room only, no chairs!). In case she needed to get even more into the crew's good books, Seven also manages to knock five whole years off the journey home, thanks to careful planning and route-mapping of the improved technology. I did like the effects of space that we see beginning the episode, post credits, with a true sense of three-dimensionality that we rarely saw (I think of the Stellar Cartography in 'Star Trek: Generations'), and it's a really warm scene all round. Some of the effects in the episode work better than others, with the Krenim weapon ship, that can change the course of time, a forbidding, yet gorgeous design whose size and shape is as impressive as its capability. Even for effects work now, the work they did on that still looks great today. It's not just the outside that impress, internally it's just as fascinating, with the many wall screens displaying complex ribbons of multiple timelines (I assume), for every major action or race in the area - somehow these Krenim boys know how to read it all, too! The temporal shockwave Annorax and crew use to alter the timeline was another matter, appearing flat and lightweight in comparison to the other effects - I suppose particle effects just weren't up to scratch back then, which is a shame as the effect is a key element of the story.

There are other issues, too: when Voyager blows out torpedoes like mines at the Krenim, they look outsized in comparison to the ship (a bit like when the Enterprise-JJ drops its warp cores to escape the black hole in 'Star Trek XI'). Or the question of why the Krenim seem so weak compared with the Federation vessel, or at another point, they mention they're a pre-warp civilisation, so how can Voyager be facing a Krenim ship then? The last two can be easily explained away as part of the plot, because Annorax is changing the balance of power in the region with his time-meddling, so a change here makes the Krenim a huge imperialist power, whereas a tweak there alters their history to make them weak. What can't so easily be rationalised is why Tuvok's inner eyelids didn't save him from blindness in the explosion in the Jefferies Tube. It's always Tuvok that seems to get the bad rap - forget O'Brien and the annual quest to torture him, and ignore Harry Kim, with his penchant for dying or falling in love with the most inappropriate of persons: Tuvok is the real whipping boy of Trek. Didn't Kes almost cook him once, and doesn't he end up going mad in the finale? And so many other stresses and strains were thrown at him over the years, if he weren't a typical stoic Vulcan he might not have survived it all! At least Seven feels responsible enough for the accident to care for him, but he's shown not to be a victim, he still operates his station and is fully involved ('activate tactile interface' was a really cool moment!). He's not one for electric shavers, either (or sonic shavers as they probably would be then), as we see him use a cutthroat blade which looked more akin to Klingon aesthetics than Vulcan.

If only Quark had been in the Jefferies Tube, he could have defused the torpedo, just like he did in 'Starship Down,' which, incidentally, put him with costar James Cromwell, who went on to play Zefram Cochrane in 'Star Trek: First Contact,' who was mentioned in Harry's trivia game in a wonderful piece of referencing to satisfy regular viewers of all things Trek (another reason to be hopeful about Menosky's contribution to the new series). Even better, we get a little insider knowledge from Seven, who rescues him and B'Elanna from the Turbolift they're stuck in, answering the question of what the name of his ship was, easily (the Phoenix), because the Borg were there, but it was a long story. A gleeful use of the tools at their disposal from the writers, and great fun for the audience in the know! Tuvok's troubles don't end with his blindness, however, I can imagine they just begin, since (just as we saw in 'Before and After'), Neelix is now part of Security, gold uniform and all (a sight so bizarre, apparently, that Playmates decided to make an action figure out of it!). It's good continuity to see something minor like that, but so different from the norm as to take us back to the Year of Hell we witnessed in the earlier episode (and yet another reason to be hopeful about the new series!). But then, it makes sense that the characters would have to change and adapt to their new circumstances.

Chakotay has tended to be the one who's most adaptable, quite happy to posit the question of settling down on that planet back in 'The 37's,' his whole life has been about adapting to the vagaries of change, whether that was Starfleet, so different from his heritage, to joining the Maquis in their fight against Cardassian oppression, to accepting Janeway's authority above his own. So it's perfectly within character for him to suggest an alternative to continuing the fight against the Krenim, to split up the crew in escape pods so there's a greater chance of survival. It's what any good First Officer is supposed to do, provide his Captain with options. Unsurprisingly, Janeway turns him down - for a start she doesn't like being threatened (perhaps a weakness, as once her hackles rise, her judgement can be impaired sometimes, and she'll go all out to fight back when sometimes prudence dictates a more peaceful option, something Picard was best at), and she's not the one to abandon ship, nor does she feel it would be safer to split up, but to stick together through thick and thin. In Chakotay's favour, he wasn't wholeheartedly comfortable with the idea himself, and it only further strengthens the bond between Captain and First Officer at a crucial time. Ironically, once he's gone, captured by the Krenim, is when Janeway chooses to implement the suggestion, an emotionally taut sendoff for the crew with a reassuring speech, while bolstering her shaken crew, (a beautiful moment when she squeezes B'Elanna as she talks about going back to rescue Paris and Chakotay), then a lump in the throat, terrifically sad final shot of the escape pods blasting off into lonely space, just like in 'First Contact.'

Ironically, not that much really happens in this first part. Voyager just happens to stumble into an area of space where Annorax' mission to restore his race's might and dominance, is altering space-time. It's probably changing the timeline in the whole Galaxy, except that there weren't likely to be big changes beyond the region, however large, Krenim space had covered. Fascinatingly, their mission had been ongoing for at least two centuries, so that's some long-lasting technology there. Or it would be, except that I get the impression the crew and its equipment never ages, protected as they are from the ravages of time. No doubt their loyalty to Annorax and their own pride in their civilisation is what kept them at it for so long, but we start to see the slight cracks in resolve, represented by Obrist, who sees 98% restoration, which is what they achieve, as an accomplishment of their goal, only for his superior to contradict his own words of moments ago, that their goal will never be finished until they reach 100%, an impossible task. Effectively, they're trapped within an unending task, like some kind of medieval vision of Hell.

The real reason Annorax won't settle for less than 100% restoration is hinted at, but not specifically stated, as we see him holding a transparent container in which a lock of hair is displayed, and his question about whether a particular colony has been restored or not. Like Soran and Nero, and so many other villains, his motivation will turn out to be a dead wife - maybe all these villains should get together (The Dead Wives Club), and threaten the Galaxy with their plots and plans, because it has become something of a major cliche. Back then it was still a new thing to me, which is why Part II ends with such resonance, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Annorax is an intriguing villain, not mad or shouty, he has the weight of all time upon him, as shown in his conversation with Janeway where he doesn't threaten or get excitable, he just tells it as he sees it. He's a man that demands precision, whether from his ship or his crew, words as well as deeds, simultaneously the best and worst man to be charged with the restoration of his race, because he'll never settle for 'nearly,' right down to "every blade of grass." It's a chilling thought that he and his crew could be stuck in their timeless bubble for eternity, never quite reaching the exacting, perfect standards demanded by their leader. The weapon itself is worse than the Genesis Device - with that you could only transform one planet at a time, but with this you can erase entire races with one foul blast of a temporal wave, a genocidal weapon beyond comprehension. I've known people I wouldn't mind having erased from time as if they never existed, but not an entire race!

The episode is quite different from your standard Trek episode, and that's good, you want something a little different sometimes, and this delivers, from the long time period of months (something rarely seen - I think of 'The Visitor' which occurs over Jake Sisko's entire life, another episode which dealt with time travel from a new perspective), with the day number appearing on screen to denote the passage of time, to the concept of time as a weapon, to seeing character-changing moments such as Tuvok learning to deal with blindness, or Paris' medical training in triage as the Doctor lets out his frustration at having had to lose two crewmembers to save the ship (though he doesn't agonise over it like he would in 'Latent Image,' perhaps because that was more personal and precise, where this was a necessary tactical decision in the heat of battle, in order to save the ship), by having a go at Tom for concentrating on the injured, but not dying, Torres, when he should be treating the worst affected, impressing the need for professional detachment. The splintered timeline isn't untidy like 'Shattered,' but then we have Annorax' precision for that, he's not a man to do anything messily. Kurtwood Smith gives us a sympathetic opponent we can understand, and was a Trek veteran, having appeared as Federation President in 'Star Trek VI,' and a Cardassian in 'DS9.' His fellow Krenim, the unnamed Commandant, was played by Peter Slutsker who strangely had made a name for himself as Ferengi, having played three on 'TNG.' Even the minor role of a Zahl official was played by Rick Fitts who'd been on 'TNG,' so it was quite full of both in-universe and production continuity, fitting for a story about the restoration of such.

****

Affinity

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S8 (Affinity)

I don't usually enjoy the 'Earth-based lives' episodes because they don't go anywhere or mean much, beyond the obvious nice character moments and the chance to see the domestic side of the SG-1 team's existence. But this time there was something more to it, it covered several themes and, alongside the obligatory nice character moments, there were truly beautiful character moments. It's all about Teal'c's right to live a free-roaming life on Earth outside of the SGC and his duties there - he's come a long way since the days when he had but little understanding of the ways of humankind and kept himself hidden, not really permitted to speak lest he say something that would blow his cover or raise suspicions about him. All that's well past now, however, represented by the fact he goes about without his beanie most of the time, proudly displaying his forehead 'tattoo' and no longer hiding behind the false name of Murray, but being Teal'c (even if he claims to be from Mozambique). And he certainly does 'be' Teal'c in his daily life, so much so that he should probably start wearing a diamond-shaped logo with a 'T' in the centre of his chest, because he couldn't be more like a superhero unless he started flying! It's a glorious opening (if odd, as you don't see where the episode's going to go from there), where the Jaffa native intervenes to prevent a bully and his burly mates from taking out his stress on a concerned citizen, KO-ing all three with little apparent effort. It's so pleasing to see Teal'c get to show his superior abilities to thugs, especially dressed in an embarrassing seventies suit that somehow makes their disgrace even more degrading!

Unfortunately for Teal'c, attention is the last thing he needs, and he's failed to keep out of other people's business (as Daniel delicately puts it), just that little too much for the authorities' comfort, which is really where much of the story lies. Or at least it might have done, but it becomes seasoned with a little soap sub-story about Pete asking Sam to marry him (another reference to the SG team's legendary qualities as Pete still finds it hard to fathom that his girlfriend is an intergalactic superhero), and her needing time to think about it, goes a bit 'Karate Kid' for a beat or two (Teal'c teaches a girl martial arts), then steps way off the expected route by heading into kidnapping by ex-NID, desperate for Daniel to translate some Goa'uld dialect for their own nefarious purposes. That's where the episode lost itself a little because in the need for intrigue it loses sight of the question of freedom and alien rights (both in the 'Stargate' universe and in the real world of different cultures), something that could have really done with exploration instead of falling back on tried and tested warehouses, Zat guns and heavily armed police forces (except for Sam and Pete because they're the hero characters and must have their faces clearly shown!). Not to say the ex-NID side had no interest, it does, and it's good to be reminded that there are factions out there on planet Earth going about their business without a by your leave from the SGC (or any other authority), a thread to be picked up at any time.

I just felt it was a shame when the writing was so good, and the subtext and subtlety was on such strong form, as well as the delight and the comedy, that they felt the need to stray out of simply seeing how the characters live, in particular how well Teal'c has learned to conduct himself around humans. It helps that Erica Durance is his costar for much of his storyline, although I didn't realise I'd ever seen her in anything before 'Smallville,' which was making me wonder if this was an episode I'd never watched before - until Teal'c reluctantly gets involved once again, throwing a pomegranate or some other piece of fruit, a good hundred metres or more to take down a rapidly retreating bag-snatcher! Again, it's like he's some kind of comic book superhero, but unlike the many bloated hero films we have to endure these days, characters like Teal'c (or many of the Trek characters with special abilities), are far better defined and rounded beings, and much more interesting to watch because of that. His wish to help people at any opportunity is an inspiration (and reminded me of Benton Frazer from 'Due South'), even if he's puzzled by Daniel's advice to keep out of other people's business (yet there are exceptions, the Doctor says pointedly as he leaves Teal'c and Durance's Christa - why are young female neighbours always called that? - alone after she's visited him to ask for help with the plumbing).

The interaction between the friendships is lovely to see, and rarely does it get this good. Not just Daniel's kindly visit to straighten out Teal'c's unbridled exhibitionism, or the scene where Daniel explains the differences between men and women's experiences (with Sam suddenly chipping in with her own issues about society making you feel abnormal for being alone or making you expect some kind of romantic ideal, reacting to Pete's proposal, without Teal'c and Daniel understanding!), but crowning the lot is O'Neill coming down from 'on high,' the big office, to see her, having noticed she's not behaving normally, jokes about her getting her report to him as quickly as possible, then self-sacrificially puts in a good word for Pete when Sam's not sure if it's the right course to follow. The conversation they have about whether a member of the SGC can have a family, or specifically whether 'they' should, leads to a reminder of Jack's own tragedy - without ever even mentioning it they cover that ground touchingly, ending with the positive view that he wouldn't have been there if it hadn't happened. If you didn't know the characters or their backstories you could watch it and enjoy it as a deep conversation between two old friends, but if you know what it's about it's quite moving. It's as close as I can remember the team's obvious familial ties together coming through, in the same way as Kirk, Spock and Bones call out their own friendship as the bond of family in 'Star Trek V.'

Like I said, I could have done with much more examination and threat to Teal'c's liberty on planet Earth, in spite of saving it several times, and a whole episode just about his fish out of water antics, or missing certain key points of understanding could have made for an even more satisfying episode. But I can't fault it for putting out an enjoyable, heartfelt runaround that knocks on the door of a few deeper ideas and reminds us why we care about the series in the first place: not for aliens and special effects, clever sci-fi ideas or an intricate, detail-heavy mythology, but for the simple fact that it's a pleasure to be with these people. Even after eight seasons, and considering O'Neill's reduction in participation in this and subsequent seasons it's a real joy to see him a good part of it, too. It even ends as I'd hoped, with a final scene between Teal'c and his new friends as he leaves: poetic and pleasant. It struck me during the opening credits, and I'm surprised I never thought of it before: is David DeLuise (Pete), Peter DeLuise's brother, because there's a definite family resemblance to the Supervising Producer, who also wrote and directed this episode!

***

Avatar

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S8 (Avatar)

The very definition of a bottle episode, which, despite the references, has nothing really to do with any other episode, purely a self-contained knockabout utilising nothing but the standing sets, main cast and some recurring characters. Nothing wrong with that, but did the SG-1 team not learning anything from all those 'Star Trek' episodes where the Holodecks malfunction and the safeties fail? O'Neill's a bit of a sci-fi fanatic, he even mentions 'The Matrix' films (he didn't understand them), which is fun, but he should know what's going to happen: someone's going to get trapped in the artificial reality and their life will be at risk. If not, there wouldn't be an obvious drama from which the episode could draw its story. Dr. Lee and his gang of scientists have developed a special training chair from alien technology (something to do with that of the Season 2 episode, 'The Gamekeeper'), in order to give realistic training to the troops. A noble goal, but of course the scientists weren't up to the job of tactical excellence, and since the chair was designed to learn from the player's experience to provide a challenge, Teal'c finds it all too easy. The big man needs to take an ego check, but it's hard not to be sympathetic to his plight, as his cockiness turns into weary acceptance that he cannot win or escape when his own experience puts the game up to a level that's almost impossible to win.

As I said, what did they think was going to happen if they programmed the chair to react and beef up the difficulty factor for the player? It's another sci-fi trope, but it's fine, and Teal'c was the ideal person to be the fall guy. Turns out Daniel was the ideal person to be his backup, sent in with the uncanny ability to see two seconds into the future (at the risk of lauding Trek, as usual, that had been done better back in the pilot of 'Enterprise'), but they don't really use the visual effect much, it's indicated more from Daniel's warnings. I think the setting may have hurt the story a little, because Stargate Command has always been a little bland, militaristic, and empty, whereas in the many Holodeck episodes of Trek, or travelling inside the mind of other series', they could recreate a much more interesting environment. The dialogue seemed to go in as many circles as Teal'c's 'Cause and Effect'-like experience, with Lee, Carter, the doc (how you miss Dr. Fraiser in situations like this - it just shows how integral the medical role is to a series like this), then Daniel and finally O'Neill, having similar conversations about what the chair can do and what it means for Teal'c.

Unlike some other episodes of a similar type, it didn't go any deeper than the basic concept of a reality in the mind which can kill you unless you win the scenario by achieving a set goal, but that's the series' usual attitude, and the reason it tends to be functional rather than completely satisfying, always relying (and getting away with), how much we like the characters, to get us through. But just off the top of my head, it could have been fun to throw in some paranoia beyond Teal'c shooting Daniel on sight until Jackson can explain he's from the real world, maybe having multiple realities, which I admit can be confusing, but would have added that extra twinge of tension the episode could have done with. It does a good job with the four of them (Teal'c, Daniel, Jack and Sam), meeting at the end of the game, none of them knowing if one of the other two is a Goa'uld, and it was good to see Siler get a dramatic death scene, but it did end rather soft. Also, was the computer graphic simulation they use to view Teal'c's in-game progress really just an advertisement for an 'SG-1' game, because I know one did eventually get released (there are trailers for it on the DVDs), but I don't know when it came out? If it was, then it needed some work, because the likenesses were pretty poor! Admittedly, the era had relatively primitive graphics compared with today's almost photorealistic games. It did seem like they were trying to be 'hip' by throwing in references to games such as 'Doom' and 'Def Jam Vendetta,' but it's funny to hear such things being mentioned.

We got close to the resignation and utter defeat of 'Groundhog Day' when we see Teal'c realising there's nothing he can do, repeatedly slumping against a wall and waiting for the inevitable destruction and reset, but it never had the full emotional despair that that film achieved, which would have elevated it. Saying that, it successfully reached a moment of triumph when Daniel arrives and is finally able to persuade his friend that there is hope and they can beat the scenario together (I thought of gassing the whole base so no one could be used as a Goa'uld, but it never came to that, Siler handily staying near the Naqadah generator). And there are plenty of little moments of goodness from the various characters, making me chuckle a few times. It just doesn't quite carry it in an episode that doesn't fully explore a good idea that's been done consistently much better elsewhere, as much as I liked to see these characters dealing with the situation, maybe they're better at doing specifically 'Stargate' episodes, steeped in their lore and heavy references, unrolling a semi-serialised mythology. Actually, I like the standalone stories, but this one needed a little more to it because I didn't feel I learned much about the characters or saw anything that I hadn't already. It was a little like being in the repeating simulation myself.

**

Star Trek 2017 TV Series - 13 Episode Arc, etc

Star Trek 2017 TV Series - 13 Episode Arc, etc

A lot has happened since I last put thought to digital column space, partly because I was waiting for something more substantial to grip onto, and partly because Fuller and company have remained fairly tightlipped on the details, probably waiting until the fourteenth film has had its time in the spotlight (unless they're hoping to upstage their filmic contemporary in its moment of attention?). Instead, a flurry of fascinating snippets have fluttered down the internet's wind tunnel, and since it's getting hard to keep track of, it's time to recap for my satisfaction, and to gauge where the series currently resides sitting in my estimation.

We've had an actual teaser trailer, further announcements on the writing team, and some actual comments from Bryan Fuller, though more confirming what the internet got wrong than positive facts. Let's start with the trailer: it's only a teaser, some effects thrown together which apparently hold clues to the series' content, but it could just as easily be an early indication of what the opening credits might look like. I can't say it dismayed me, dooming the series to the fast-paced, brain-empty experience I associate with both the Abramsverse films and the mainstream success of modern 'Dr. Who,' both of which fall flat in general, for me (the effects very much in the vein of those productions' effects). At the same time, neither did it fill me with fresh hope and renewed excitement for the potential of this still-untitled sixth TV 'Star Trek.' It wasn't the kind of fascinating propaganda that had me poring over each frame, but it did suggest the destruction of Praxis, though following more recent comments from Fuller, perhaps that wasn't the intention. Most notable was the slogan about new heroes, villains, crews… So it appears this will be much more about the Starfleet as opposed to one ship, or one lonely station, that was the tradition of every other series. Again, this could be a good thing if it means more recurring characters and a wider scope - I had wondered if being out exploring in a ship, episode to episode, was likely to provide the depth and detail a modern audience demands, perhaps one reason 'Enterprise' failed: lack of momentum and strong purpose.

A word must be said about the logo. I really hope upon hope that this is merely a placeholder for the eventual art, because it sure is ugly! I have some training in graphic design, and I find it hard to believe that shoving some textures on a futuristic, but aesthetically unappealing font, with a 3D effect that apes the current films, and sticking a cloven chevron behind (is that a clue as to the nature of the Federation at this time: split?), is anything more than something to get people talking, because I don't see any other merits! I also hope that the series will have its own identity, with a unique title (preferably with 'Star Trek' part of it), and logo to match, and I'm sure it will. It just seems strange in this modern day of fast, reliable design, and the relative ease of crafting the most apposite identity for your marketing, that such a monstrosity was considered a wise choice to herald the biggest futuristic franchise ever created. Perhaps it's just my artistic hackles that have been raised, and it's far from the worst logo I've ever seen, and indeed, I'm sure I could learn to live with such a style, but hopefully I won't have to.

The hope is that the quality of the writing will override all possible concerns: clearly they'd gone all out to appeal to the loyal viewers with Nicholas Meyer, Bryan Fuller and the Roddenberry name, and now we've heard Trek author Kirsten Beyer, and 24th Century Trek veteran, Joe Menosky have been added to the roster in a pleasing display that continues to garnish the writers' room. I have to admit that I've only read one of Beyer's books ('Unworthy'), and found it perfectly acceptable - I planned to get into the 'Voyager' continuation novels after that, but never got round to it, but although I wasn't enthusiastically excited by her literary contribution, it's amazing that someone who is clearly so well invested in Trek history, style and all related ephemera, should have been drafted for the series, and again, shows a pleasing understanding of the kind of people we want to see involved. Even more in Menosky's case, since he's written so many great 'TNG,' 'DS9' and 'Voyager' episodes in his time - most famous for pairing with Brannon Braga on many of the classic 'Voyager' two-parters (such as 'Scorpion,' 'Year of Hell' and 'Dark Frontier'), but also smaller episodes more notable for their inventiveness and imagination ('Darmok,' 'Dramatis Personae,' 'Distant Voices' and 'Time's Orphan'). Maybe he wasn't the first name that sprang to mind when the possibility of hiring previous contributors became a reality, but he'd certainly have been among the second in mind, so that can only be a good thing. Also, it adds grist to the belief this is going to be recognisable as Trek, both Prime, and, potentially, 24th Century Trek.

The setting and time of the series remains the biggest question, and it doesn't necessarily follow that the writer's were chosen because of that - if you look at it we have creatives from almost every era of Trek, from the previous two Abramsverse films, the 24th Century, and the 'TOS'-era films of the eighties and early nineties. One thing that we won't be seeing is an anthology, as Fuller has come right out and pronounced that rumour inaccurate. Which is a shame, as it led to much imagining of the possible return to previous times and locations, as well as filling in eras we know little about. On the other hand, he also denied that the setting was to be between 'Star Trek VI' and 'TNG,' which had been sounding pretty much a done deal. An anthology was hard to believe, if only for the costs of creating whole new standing sets for each new season, and finding it hard to retain momentum if characters or setting won an audience over. It would have been great to have seen something in the Dominion War, or post-'Nemesis,' but who knows, maybe the series will be set in one of these periods anyway? And there's always time travel. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Temporal Investigators or Temporal Cold War element somewhere in the mix.

There's even the possibility of existing characters returning, as Fuller has definitively stated that will happen eventually. Mind you, they were talking about bringing in Q and Picard when 'Enterprise' was about to arrive ('some time in Season 2, and maybe we'll get Patrick Stewart to direct an episode…'), neither of which came close to happening, so we should take things with that little bit of seasoning. I'm feeling more cautious now, however, after the anthology and a first season post-Trek VI seemed so certain to be confirmed. Also, once bitten: with the practically sacrilegious recasting of the 'TOS' characters for the new films, something that had been almost unheard of, well against the rules of how Trek operated, and one big reason why it had always been so fantastic to see a character again since it meant seeing the actor again, too, we don't know if he means character and actor, or just character - this could still turn out to be the Abramsverse, or a third, unwanted, universe, but I hope not, and I still think it will be Prime.

So not really enough to move my anticipation strongly up or down, although the news that only thirteen episodes will make up the first season, does concern me a little. I've always loved the fact that you could immerse yourself in the universe, that you had set character-based episodes between what arcs there were, and the mythology. Instead, we're getting one story, a thirteen-part arc, and I've never felt the completely serialised Treks have worked as well as semi-serialised, with experiments such as 'Enterprise' Season 3, and (to a lesser extent), 'DS9' Season 6's six-parter, or 7's ten-parter, which had some truly great stuff, but weren't always served best by the nature of complete focus on continuous plots. I'd hoped from the announcement of it being a weekly series rather than dropping all episodes simultaneously, that it meant a greater likelihood of the traditional twenty-plus episodes, but we must remember that the series is debuting in January, the same as 'DS9' and 'Voyager' did back in 1993 and 1995, respectively, with shorter seasons as a consequence (twenty episodes, and sixteen), so we could still see longer seasons in future.

Until we get the real juicy facts that will reveal what we want to hear most of all: setting, casting, the time period, we remain in the dark, and a delicious time of speculation remains for a little while longer. Does multiple crews mean we will see Captain Worf after all? And Captain Riker (or should that be Troi?), on the Titan? The Enterprise-J? Captain Nog? At the moment the possibilities are endless, and in fact, unless they decide Prime is past its prime, anything is possible in the long run. I don't want January to come quickly, I'm enjoying the guessing and theorising, the conjecture and supposition!

Anticipation Rating: ****

Scientific Method

DVD, Voyager S4 (Scientific Method)

Old-age, bald Chakotay. Italian Renaissance Doctor. Mylean Neelix. Headache-suffering Janeway. Adolescent Paris and Torres. Gold suit Seven of Nine. The action figure potential alone was off the scale for this episode, and if the 'Voyager' figures had been as successful as the 'TNG' ones, you can be almost certain we would have got some of these variations. If they could release Tom Paris Mutated from 'Threshold,' they could have released anything! But seriously, it's like the cast requested the dressing up box be brought out so they could have some fun, there are so many costumes and prosthetics. And it is fun to see them in alternate guise. Usually it's either an artificially created disguise to infiltrate an alien world, or some genetic shenanigans, and in this instance it is the latter. This was one of the few from Season 4 that I always considered as good, but not great, perhaps because it doesn't have any bearing on the series, it's just a one-off, isolated story, which in fairness many of them were (and this does carry forward the growing kinship between Tom and B'Elanna, as well as solidifying Seven's alliance with the crew, since it's up to her to save them). But with all the intriguing integration of Seven in recent episodes, and the question of what the ongoing threats are going to be in this region of space (successor to Kazon, Vidiian and Borg), it feels very much in the vein of a 'TNG' instalment, right down to creepy aliens interfering with the crew, just like 'Schisms,' among others.

Except other episodes did this better. There was a lot of humour in the episode, from Tom and B'Elanna being caught in the unprofessional act of smooching by Tuvok, and their lack of propriety, to Janeway massaged by the Doctor (she shouldn't have given up her Victorian holonovel - then again, last time she was desperate for relaxation the holo-characters attacked her!), to Neelix and Chakotay trading ailments, dissipating much of the tension. It was also the ideal time to bring the Vidiians back as the villain, since the aliens we do encounter, mild, elf-like, Ocampa-ish medical research scientists trying to expand the bounds of medical knowledge, weren't frightening in the least, beyond their ability to move cloaked around the ship without detection, along with advanced technology that could be attached to their victims and also be out of phase (otherwise Janeway would have been banging those probes on the sides of doors or unable to lie down in the massage bed!). But one of the limitations, some might say creative spurs, of the series, was that by the very nature of their journey through space, they were going to leave most races behind, whether they were popular successes or failures (the exception being the Borg with their transwarp conduits allowing them to pop up conveniently whenever the story demanded). So I can see why they didn't bring back the Vidiians in this case, my point is just that that race was far more terrible and having them reach the point where they could sneak up on a ship and integrate into its daily running undetected, would have upped their creepiness to new heights.

If the aliens were a milder form of a previously popular creation of the series, it's also true that there are better versions of the episode - 'Renaissance Man' is the obvious improvement, with the Doctor forced to act without his crew mates' knowledge in order to protect them, a lot more dramatically. There's also 'Clues' on 'TNG' where Data must prevent his friends from learning the truth, and 'The Assignment' on 'DS9' where O'Brien acts alone when his wife is used as leverage by a Pah-Wraith. And there are probably others in the same line. It's always a good watch when it's up to one member of the crew to deal with a ship-wide problem without anyone else's help, and that side of it was really good. It shows how much Seven has become part of the crew that she's now actively saving them from an external threat. You could still imagine her going back to the Borg if she faced the easy opportunity, but she's also bonded with this new group enough that she will act for them after what Janeway and the Doctor have done for her, as well as the emanations of friendship and acceptance she's received from everyone over recent episodes. All except B'Elanna, and even that animosity is overridden in the beautiful opening scene in which Torres flares up at Seven's unauthorised redistribution of power in a Jefferies Tube, then catches herself giving the same lecture Janeway gave to her when she first became part of the crew. Her anger turns to encouragement, soliciting an apology for the inconvenience caused from Seven. As unexpected a moment to begin the episode, as any!

I suppose they were trying to show how much Seven is a part of the crew now, that even an encounter with her least appreciative colleague can become a hopeful exchange of goodwill, so that when it's down to her to save the ship and crew it doesn't seem the least bit strange. Only a few episodes ago Seven would have been certain to have used the situation to her advantage, and either escaped or sent a strong signal to the Borg, but we can see that she's accepted her position and is making the best of it. It doesn't mean B'Elanna will never get upset with her again (she would, many times!), or that she'd always feel comfortable aboard Voyager, but it was a big step in showing her successful integration, so much of which was down to Janeway and her tough love. We see evidence of this tough love for her crew in the reaction the Captain takes when she's pushed to the limit by the aliens' experimentation on her, her dedication to the job a strong theme as she takes reckless action to dislodge the invaders at the end. When one is caught, she smugly and detachedly throws out that they were wondering how much she would be able to take in their personal experimentation on her. Wrong move! We see a rare example of Thug Janeway (another action figure variation), slamming the alien up against the wall, something you'd expect from Worf or Sisko, but not so much from scientist Janeway (and another…). Tom and B'Elanna should have been glad they didn't get the same treatment, instead Janeway giving a traditional dressing down for their adolescent behaviour which the whole ship has noticed!

The whole Tom and B'Elanna thing reminded me of 'Star Trek: Insurrection,' with Riker and Troi rekindling lost love thanks to the intervention of the rejuvenating effect of the Briar Patch, which regressed them to younger days. Torres and Paris use the aliens' presence as an excuse not to feel guilty, though I think they knew very well that it was nothing to do with science that had drawn them together, unless it were chemistry… It's apparently only been a couple of weeks since 'Day of Honour,' as Paris mentions that had been how long since she realised she loved him, so it's been interesting to see such a serialised approach taken, something that was much more common in the first couple of seasons and dropped off a bit in Season 3 once the Kazon and Seska had been fully dealt with, or Tom and Neelix' jealousy over Kes had been sorted out. It's a shame they didn't go further, not to make it a fully serialised series as 'Battlestar Galactica' would be, but taking full advantage of a recurring cast, as 'DS9' did, and reaching their full potential by delving into the community of Voyager (Ensign Wildman warrants a mention, as Tom swapped shifts with her to be with B'Elanna). But as I've noted before, they didn't want to be like 'DS9,' rivalry putting a dampener on what they could have achieved, which is a tragic result, but they were still able to develop many great and satisfying stories.

It wasn't purely story faults not fully engaging the episode, as it does have the occasional technical flaw which wasn't all that common with 90s Trek, so often a smooth, oiled, and sophisticated machine pumping out inspiration juice like there was no tomorrow. The biggest booboo was a boom mike dipping into a shot in the scene where Janeway confronts the alien scientist in the Brig. I also felt the veiny makeup of a dead crewmember on the bridge wasn't assisted by the closeup view chosen, which made some of the seams visible. No doubt when the series gets its High Definition makeover as is surely inevitable, despite current prevarication, such things will be much more noticeable, but usually they're good at hiding inconsistency. It may have been that the prosthetics weren't intended for such intense exposure and it was an on-the-spot decision by the Director. Another area that could have done with improvement was the rattling ride through the binary pulsars which looked a bit flat. The lack of dimension to those white clouds might not have drawn my attention if the rest of the CG work hadn't been so good, with the pulsars themselves a beauty to behold, and some excellent closeup X-ray views as the aliens examine their victims. Seven's green-tinged vision, able to see the spectrum in which the aliens operated, was also a brilliant visualisation, as if she was underwater, and those sequences were the best in the episode, heaving with tension as she walks the decks trying not to look as if she could see them ('Walk closer. But don't look as if you're walking closer. I don't know, walk casual!').

Seven's use as the means for salvation brings all Janeway's work to light, and it was a great turning point in the character's journey. It was also the beginning of a regular role for her which would be continued many times, even in this season where in 'One' Seven would be the only person able to get the crew through a dangerous region. It could be seen as demeaning to her humanity that she was being used like a tool, her audio and ocular implants allowing for special abilities. But like so many amazing characters before her (Spock, Data, Odo, to name a few), I think it enhanced her character, made her even more special. Yes, they could have turned her fully human and played out her development in mental and psychological terms (look how well they were able to do that with Picard in 'Family' and 'Star Trek: First Contact'), but it's worth remembering that this is science fiction, and science inspiration and speculation is as important as character and story. Because you could do much of the human drama of Trek in any format, whether police, western, whatever, but you can't explore superhuman abilities and the use of them in those settings, making Trek a far more compelling potential mix of personal drama and creative exploration than almost anything else, and the reason we're drawn to it.

The success of this episode comes from the considered use of the whole ensemble, everyone getting their moments. I can point to Chakotay, Neelix and Harry as getting shortest shrift, in line with what would become common, but even they get nuggets to play: I love seeing Neelix with his joviality at breakfast, happy in his work and eager to please, which only makes his seizure moments later all the more horrid, shaking on the floor, pupils dilating to unnatural size. We also learn a little more about him, that he's one-eighth Mylean from his great-Grandfather, a race that intermarried with Talaxians - a leopard can't change its spots, but a genetically manipulated Neelix certainly can! We get to see what Chakotay would look like with a Mohican haircut when he starts pulling away his hair - I mentioned the mutant Tom Paris of 'Threshold,' well Chakotay looked very similar, and with the genetic messing about you could believe he was going to go the same way. Indeed, the episode could have pushed things further along the 'Genesis' line with the manipulation growing even more radical. I must say I preferred this episode to the 'TNG' one, but they could have learned a bit about increasing the tension from that story. Instead, Chakotay deals with progeria, though I would have loved more information on what is a real life condition for some people. It encouraged by saying it was a syndrome of the past that had long been cured, but that could have been the episode, Chakotay having to deal with premature old age. Not that they were great at the issue, since that was Kes' whole USP, and look what happened to her…

There is a message, even in such an isolated episode, perhaps easier to include because of its self-contained position: the captured alien reasons out her group's position, saying that they take care of their own, just as Janeway would do in the same situation, but Janeway explodes that it's exploitation. Granted, it's not the deepest exploration of a theme, but Janeway's condemnation of ends justifying means was heartening. And we've seen plenty of instances where she's been forced by the Prime Directive or moral code to put others before the wellbeing of her own crew, because that's what Starfleet officers do, and very inspiring it is (the whole result of saving the Ocampa in 'Caretaker' was what stranded them in the Delta Quadrant, then there were incidents such as the denial of the Sikarians' Spatial Trajector that could have seen them home far sooner), so the alien's assertion that Janeway would do as they did if it came to it, along with the weak justification that they share all medical knowledge learned from their victims and it can cure so many conditions that it's worth the loss of life, sounds hollow and selfish in comparison. It made them seem slightly more benevolent than the Vidiians, since the 'scientists' of that race charged in with absolutely no regard for the victim, intent on their own survival, or those that they cared for, stealing life without remorse as a living (a bit like the Son'a in 'Insurrection'!), at the expense of strangers. Except they're no better because if the victims learn what's happening and retaliate they must comply or be killed.

I appreciated the throwbacks to the series' or the characters' past, with Torres' heartfelt realisation of being in the same position Janeway was in when taking her on, when confronting Seven. And a reminder of the old roguish Tom when he lies to the Doctor to leave his Sickbay shift and beam in with flowers for B'Elanna. The Captain, too, tells Tuvok that she hasn't been so tense since the first day of command (though I'm not sure if she meant command of Voyager, or whether she had a command before this ship, which would seem likely). What was even more poignant was Tuvok being there as he used to be at her moment of need to set her course straight or be the guiding compass she needs. A bit like Spock and McCoy were for Kirk, except they did lose track of that important role to quite a large extent, getting lost in the mix of Seven, the Doctor and Janeway's triumvirate of screen-hogging in future seasons. It's heartening to see it still in operation at this point in the series, and actually Tuvok is well used in the story with a couple of good one-liners (asking Janeway if he should flog the crew as well, was so expertly inserted at just the moment she needed it!), and even gets to say the odds when Janeway asks him what they are for getting through the pulsars without being crushed - I was disappointed it was a whole number, though, and not to a decimal place as the Vulcan custom for precision is usually expressed. Mind you, Tuvok's knocked about with humans for far longer than Spock ever did, so he probably knew she didn't want that level of calculation!

As Security Chief it was also good judgement not to trust Seven when she's following Doctor's orders to reroute power, as interference in ship's systems is exactly the kind of thing she'd done a couple of times in order to escape. I wanted her to request a mind meld so he could see what she saw, but it was probably for the best that they didn't thrown in a meld willy-nilly, and he'd probably have refused anyway, as a likely deception. It wasn't for Tuvok to know that Seven was fully allied to her crew and acting in their best interests (another, superior example comes to mind: 'Relativity'). Although it was cool that the Doctor used her implants to contact her on a private signal the aliens couldn't detect, and that he was able to adjust her ocular implants to unmask the aliens (I loved the manner in which the computer replicated his required tool by dropping it, clunk, in a bucket next to the hidden console in the da Vinci program!), what was most impressive was her ability to improvise when the aliens realise she can see them, phasering one and holding it hostage when it becomes clear the original plan isn't going to work, thanks to Tuvok's intervention. As a Borg, adaptability is second nature, but she'd thrown off their shackles and was forced cold turkey into living as an individual, so it's her own initiative that guides her actions and shows there's hope for the unlocking of her potential.

One way that potential would flow out was through her role in Astrometrics, which is again mentioned (the reason she was rerouting power, to Torres' chagrin), but still remains unseen as yet. We do get to see the Science Lab, which is a rarity - was it a redress of Sickbay? It had the same curved back wall, but that could have simply been continuing the style of the ship. One interesting piece of information we find out is exactly how many rooms Voyager actually has, when the Doctor advises her she's only got two hundred and fifty-six more to search after scanning the Holodeck! And we see her in the third outfit after the famous silver suit, and the muddy brown one, this time in a dark gold, surprising for its novelty - I didn't remember she ever had a gold one, so perhaps this was the only episode it was trialled in and they decided it didn't 'suit'? I wonder what the in-universe justification for different colours was, because I can't imagine Seven ever getting up (i.e., stepping down from her regeneration alcove), and trying to decide which outfit matched her mood today. After all, choice is irrelevant, isn't it?

***