Demon

DVD, Star Trek: Voyager S4 (Demon)

More important as a prequel to a great episode in Season 5, this isn't quite as strong an episode (and is not a prequel to the 'Enterprise' episode 'Demons'!), though it is a classic Trek story of finding new life where it shouldn't exist and truly going boldly where no man has gone before. And the man to boldly go? Harry Kim. That's a turn up for the books, but our fresh, green Ensign isn't so fresh or green any more, as he tells pal Paris, has gained in confidence and almost overnight has stepped up his contribution as part of the crew. One of the good things about the series at this time is that no one had yet been forgotten - here we have the lesser used characters getting much of the attention, whether it be Harry's mission on the planet or Neelix getting up the Doctor's nose in the slight B-story that results from the low power mode Voyager's entered into to conserve draining deuterium. That's another good point in the episode's favour: when was the last time we heard Voyager was hard up on a vital resource? It's a source of drama that should have been ever-present except for the diplomatic encounters that tended to ensure they were able to procure most things as required, and the fact that Voyager is the latest and greatest starship in Starfleet's arsenal and in that regard is the most efficient and self-sustaining vessel ever built. Still, now and again they do run low on essentials, and since they don't have the option of seeking out the nearest Federation supermarket in the form of a Starbase, they must rely on their scientific knowledge and use their resources to maximum.

I do question how they could have got so low on deuterium that they were forced to put the ship into 'Grey Mode,' but I can't come up with anything other than the dramatic needs of the episode. They're apparently hours away from running out of power, and they commit resources to exploring this Class Y planet, inhospitable to say the least, but that promises a rich vein of the necessaries, and Janeway acts recklessly when she completely commits, taking the ship down for a landing, where, if they don't recover the supply, they'll be stuck in a corrosive atmosphere. You can chalk it up to her boldness and confidence in her ship and crew, but to stake everything when the sensible option would be to continue on at low power and hope for a better bet… but then that's probably why I'm not a starship Captain and Janeway is! If this had been made in the current, Kurtzman-era of Trek production, they would probably have gone to 'Grey Alert,' but we do get the third of such alert colours in Trek history when they return to Blue Alert, the condition for landing a starship. Grey Mode must have debuted here and wasn't an everyday occurrence, but then neither were planetary landings, something we'd only seen previously in 'The 37s' and 'Basics.' The original idea was that starships couldn't land because it was too expensive to show, but by the time 'Voyager' debuted in the mid-90s they were capable of much more and this was one of those unique selling points that gave the ship an added newness.

Due to the lack of power across the ship, only certain decks are open for business, meaning everyone living on them has to bunk up somewhere else. This leads to a comedic conflict between Neelix and the Doctor when the former leads a group to Sickbay as a suitable place to spend the night (it could have degenerated in 'A Night in Sickbay' from 'Enterprise,' but thankfully doesn't drop that low, and is quite funny), much to the Doctor's protestations that Sickbay is his residence! Once again Chakotay is a good First Officer, steamrollering over the Doc's prissy fusses and leading to his grudging agreement that they can stay. Then he proceeds to keep them awake with his singing and clattering about, so Neelix gets his revenge by proceeding with the motion for a singsong since they can't sleep (though not Klingon war chants this time, unlike in 'The Killing Game'), thus beating the Doc's hand and winning a little peace and quiet to sleep in. Once again we see the Doctor's unique capability of perpetual working through the night, like Data, sleep unnecessary. He wins the final payback when, with Tom and Harry having been discovered on the planet out of their environmental suits, he wakes them all in the overreaction of calling it a medical emergency. His glee is turned to guilt, however, when Neelix acts with good grace, fully accepting the requirements he agreed to by vacating Sickbay in the event of an emergency, surprising the Doctor and reminding us why the Talaxian is such a dependable fellow: he went from being very self-seeking when we first met him, to fully embracing the Starfleet culture he was exposed to, and is one reason why he's such a loveable character.

The A-story is the one that really matters, and I'm not sure the B's comedy fits so well. It's not that the planet-based scenes are that creepy, because they aren't. There is an edge of weirdness to proceedings, beginning with Harry's sudden radio silence and disappearance, only the ugly bloop of bubbles indicating he's fallen into the mysterious silver pool (CG? It looked amazing!). Did they learn nothing from Armus, the nasty black gloopy puddle that mercilessly and casually murdered Tasha Yar way back in 'TNG' Season 1? Never take alien pools lightly, that should be Starfleet General Order Number 2 (conversely, I don't actually know what the real sub-prime directive is). But things don't go quite the way of malevolent entities, though identity is a strong unifying theme shared with 'Skin of Evil.' The important part of the episode is that sentient life is introduced to this mimicking silver substance and so it recreates it in the only image it has encountered. Kim and Paris are duplicates, and these duplicates know very little except that they aren't the originals and survival instinct forces them to cling onto this newfound life. It's not that they're threatening Voyager because of a nefarious reason, they're just like newborns gripping onto whatever touches their grasp. A cruel Captain would have been happy to let them suffer in order to escape the clutches of the silver blood, but Janeway is reasonable even when put under the gun. She has compassion for this unknown quantity and even agrees to put it to the crew that they leave behind DNA samples so the silver stuff can make more of itself.

I can't help feeling this should have been the crux of the story, peering into the murky waters of cloning and whether it's acceptable, whether it's right and safe to do this, especially since pretty much the whole crew apparently agreed to the proposition. It's a very strange decision, even though it's to help this sentient being or group of beings, and you have to wonder what they'd get up to on this planet that wasn't built for humanoid life. Kim and Paris have an instinctual urge to remain on the planet, even though at first they're somewhat open to Chakotay's orders since the imprint of this authority is still fresh in their… minds? But like one of 'The Animated Series' episodes I vaguely remember, in which Kirk and Spock become adapted to living underwater and can't survive breathing air, they can't live in the environment upon which the bodies they've duplicated are sustained. It is a very strange thing to do, to allow your crew to be duplicated - for one thing why couldn't they just create more copies of Harry and Tom, why did they need to be individuals? Not enough time was given to exploring this new alien species, I felt, nor the hard question of helping them by allowing them to copy people. It paid off in 'Course: Oblivion,' inspiring a great sequel, but in this episode Janeway's decisions are hard to fathom.

The planet set was very important in selling this completely alien environment, and I love that we get another class of planet to add to the others we know about. Perhaps we'll even see more of this alphabet unfold now Trek continues, which it did't when I last watched this episode, though I do doubt it since they seem more concerned with perfunctory plot rather than delving into, and expanding, the universe. Thankfully, despite this series taking place in the far reaches of the galaxy they were still able to add to the canon, even if they still reused the classic old cave set. The redressing work that went into this one was exemplary and I don't know how many more variations they could squeeze from such a well used set! This time they have a golden backdrop of reds and oranges, giving the browns of the rock a rich clay colour. Details such as the spouting of hissing steam from geysers and a red, lava-like glow coming from the rocks really sold it. The only thing that didn't quite work was how calm everything seemed for such a dangerous planet, and perhaps they should have emphasised the extreme heat by showing the intense corrosion on the outside of the EV suits. Otherwise it was faultless, and it's difficult to show heat and corrosion - in a way it was scarier that the surface seemed normal from sight, because you know that as soon as flesh was exposed to the five hundred degrees kelvin temperatures, it would mean a horrible death.

That side of things worked very well - I've always loved the EV suits that debuted in 'First Contact,' and it was great that 'Voyager' was able to benefit from their use. They seem to be a more incredible technology than we ever realised because somehow Kim and Paris were saved by the backup functions that kept vital systems going - yet it seems they had no air to breathe! So is it some medical marvel or did it mean there was a backup air supply? That wouldn't make sense as the computer was very insistent (and I love how she uses their individual names when telling them how much air they have!), and we've seen other instances of air running out, such as when Tom and B'Elanna were stranded in space in 'Day of Honour.' At last we see the half-Klingon again after a couple of episodes out of it, and a number of episodes where she was very lightly used. Having had her baby in real life, Roxann Dawson continues to wear the Engineering jacket, probably so it didn't seem such a wrench for her to immediately return to just the ordinary uniform. The characterisation of the main cast continues to be true to what had been developed (even the recurring cast with a welcome return for Vorik), with Torres butting up against Chakotay in her concern for Tom, even going as far as suggesting he take Seven of Nine with him as having the coolest head (though I'd dispute that anyone's head is cooler than Tuvok's). The Vulcan himself is wise as usual, and I was glad he pointed out the amount of energy expended by landing the ship, instead of Janeway just ordering it and no one giving any input into the decision.

Chakotay and Seven searching the planet location, a different pairing, worked well, since she's so sure of everything she says and does, while Chakotay is more introspective and openminded, while also certain when it comes to his authority. I liked how he used her own words to try and get her to stop when she continues to use the modified sensors of Astrometrics to search for sources of deuterium, something she'd once again have run into Janeway over if she hadn't been successful in tracking down the Class Y planet. She even throws back the line, "Efficiency is relative, Commander," so maybe they should use that next time she complains of the crew's lack of same! Good to see Chakotay use his tracking skills on the planet when there's no sensor data - it proves that Starfleet training is more than just operating technology, but teaches survival and using all the faculties, not solely reliant on Tricorders, which means he's able to surprise Seven by pointing out the footprints. Not that technology isn't essential to Trek, because it is: we see the Science Lab used again and wide beam transport is specified when they can't get precise life-sign readings on everyone that needs to be beamed up. I also appreciated having the buddy-buddy pairing of Tom and Harry again, something much played in earlier seasons, but less common in Season 4 once B'Elanna was on the scene, sadly. This is another to add to Harry's tally of bizarre events, and he even lists some of them: fighting the Borg ('Scorpion'), transformed into an alien ('Favourite Son'), helped defeat the Hirogen (various), and come back from the dead (could be 'Emanations' or 'Deadlock,' depending on point of view!). It's good that Seven and the Doctor hadn't completely taken over most stories at this time - while Kim isn't my favourite, he's still likeable and I want to see him thrive. The only thing missing was a closeup I wanted of duplicate Harry looking up gratefully and awestruck as Voyager lifts off and pulls away.

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