Once Upon A Time

DVD, Voyager S5 (Once Upon A Time)

A Challenge For Neelix. That's what it's all about and that's what it could have been called, but it's also about the thorny issue of what to tell children, and whether they're ready for the truth, as well as being a very personal reminder for Neelix about his tragic past. I sometimes come to episodes I've rated highly in the past with some trepidation, worried they won't hold up, whether modern Trek has so lessened my sense of wonder and attachment to that universe that I won't be as susceptible to its charms, especially when they're episodes I haven't watched in years. I'm glad to say this was every bit as strong a story as I'd previously thought, though I had very little specific memory, other than knowing it was about Naomi Wildman in the Holodeck, and it stands as the best episode of the season so far, what a relief! In an age when Trek references are thrown around with gay abandon, having all the emotional resonance of a damp log (in keeping with the Flotter theme), this shows how to really use backstory and characters' pasts in a way that pulls you in and invests the experience with great feelings of sympathy and care. That's down to the episode's choice to tell some of it from a child's point of view, something Naomi brought uniquely to this particular series. I could quibble over things like it not going far enough, and maybe they should have been really experimental and had the story completely from her perspective, but then we wouldn't have been able to explore the feelings of loss and grief that Neelix is forced to confront in this situation.

It is very much a Neelix story - the purpose of guest or recurring characters should be to bring something new out of our main cast, and as much fun as it is playing with new people, that is the reason for having main characters, we're seeing the series through their eyes and the more we learn about them, their inner, as well as outer selves, the more we are drawn in. It shows powerfully how accomplished Neelix was in dealing with children, that he is such a sweet-natured man, a quality that would endear him to little ones. Some people will snidely bring up how he was romantically entangled with what was essentially a very young child in the days when Kes was aboard, but in her lifespan, being two was basically in her twenties, so though in terms of time she was a baby to us, in her short span of expected life, plus physically and emotionally, in every way she was an adult. Still, among the best qualities of Neelix' attraction to her was also a deep-seated need to help the vulnerable, and looking back we can see that comes from the loss of his own family in the war between the Talaxians and the Haakonians, resulting in the terrible genocidal attack with the Metreon Cascade, something explored so effectively in Season 1's 'Jetrel.' The series largely ignored Neelix' tragic past ever since, other than confronting his loss again in the previous season's 'Mortal Coil' (where the image of Alixia originates), and in a series where he was one of the characters to become a little lost in the shuffle later on, it's a real joy to have him and his past so central to the story here.

Children had been part of the Trek universe, or I should say the Starfleet day-to-day, ever since the beginning of 'TNG,' though of course as early as 'Charlie X' on 'TOS' they'd dealt with young people, and continued that theme in the films with the cadets. But specifically children had been an incorporation of 'TNG' in the logic that families assigned to voyages of multiple years and little expectation of returning to Earth (or Ktaria VII, or wherever the crew called home), wouldn't want to be parted and were required for good mental wellbeing and morale. There are all kinds of arguments both ways whether it was too dangerous or foolhardy to take your whole family with you, kiddies and all, but the fact is that's what Roddenberry added to this era of his Trek saga. That continued with 'DS9,' though Jake and Nog were older children, and when Voyager was assigned to track down the Maquis ship containing Tuvok, they were only a small science vessel on a short mission, so there was no question of families there. In the event only one crew-member had such a strong wrench from their family, and that was Ensign Samantha Wildman, a recurring character mostly appearing in Season 2, separated from her husband on DS9 (a real shame they never introduced his character as a link for 'DS9' with its sister series, but they didn't seem to like much overlap between each other, sadly), and most importantly of all, pregnant with what would become Naomi.

In those early episodes the pregnancy and the baby became an important symbol of life carrying on regardless of circumstances. There was no talk of abortions or of making it easier on the Mother, or the fact it was so dangerous to introduce such a small life form onto a ship travelling into the unknown, and wouldn't it be better to end such a life before it could suffer. That's the attitude that might have been a part of the story now, as life has become so devalued and dehumanised. Quite the opposite, as Wildman's baby represented all their futures and in fact it was only strange that there weren't more born (with, as far as I can recall, only B'Elanna's last-minute birth of Miral in the closing moments of the series), especially when it was recognised they could potentially require replacements if this was indeed to be a generational ship that would take decades to return to Federation space. Once the baby had served its dramatic function, however, not to mention Samantha, there wasn't much call to bring them into the story again, and sadly they didn't return until 'Mortal Coil' when we see Neelix in his Godfather role for the first time. In real terms Naomi should only be about three or four by now, but in 'Once Upon A Time' she's more like an eight year old, for obvious reasons of practicality in a TV series: a three year old wouldn't have been able to act in the way Scarlett Pomers did, and the little mite they used before (Brooke Stephens), didn't have the same focus in the story, so to achieve what they wanted, they needed to recast.

Pomers was delightful - not precocious or annoying. Yes, she does come across a little like she's doing what she's told, but for a child actor she did very well and had the charm and grace required to pull it off. It wasn't the first time Trek had done such a thing, either, as young Alexander Rozhenko, aka Worf's son, had also had a sudden growth spurt from birth to appearances in the series. Fortunately in both cases alien DNA came to the rescue as they could easily say that Klingon or Ktarian children grow far quicker than human examples, and that was good enough! What makes this episode special is that 'Voyager' hadn't been shown from such a different perspective before, it had always been much more adult due to the position the crew were in of being completely alone, and a desire by the makers that this crew weren't going to be sitting around morosely feeling sorry about missing their families and instead embracing their circumstances and the joy of exploring strange new worlds that had never been seen by humans before, something Harry Kim reminds Neelix when he wishes Naomi hadn't had to be born on Voyager. And coming from Harry, who was so close to his parents and so young when he started, it's like a confirmation of those Starfleet values, and there is something of the self-sacrifice idea that comfort and security may need to be given up if Starfleet's knowledge is to be expanded, so it's all very true to the Trek ethos.

I felt there might be somewhat of a parallel with the contemporary times the series was made in when Neelix tells Naomi he had a real forest behind where he lived and he and his sisters used to go off and explore every day as opposed to her Holodeck one - this could have been meant as a comment on the rise of computer games back then and children beginning to spend so much time in fantasy worlds (or even watching Trek!), rather than playing out in the physical one, as the only forest Naomi has is the artificial one. But that isn't what the story is about, even if we see that that's exactly where Naomi runs in a crisis to escape her real world problems. But she's a lot more grown-up than most children her age, and like Neelix, she has a sweet nature, quick to respond in sympathy when he tells her about losing his own family instead of holding a grudge for the fact he lied to her. Children do tend to be more resilient, probably because they simply don't know any better, and Naomi above all has been through a lot in her short life when you think of the number of attacks and takeovers that have occurred. Actually, it does make you wonder how the Wildmans coped with things like the Borg or when the Hirogen took over the ship... That's the main reason we haven't heard much about them since the early seasons because it is difficult to work the plight of a child in every time, and how she might be traumatised by events that are daily life for a Starfleet officer, so it's probably best not to think about that too much!

One episode that sprang to mind was 'Cost of Living,' the one with Lwaxana Troi and Alexander playing in the Holodeck, but only really for the superficial connections of an adult and a child in a wacky holoprogram world with quirky characters. I quite liked that one (Lwaxana's always good for a laugh), but this episode is far superior. One thing I appreciated was the early setting up of Naomi's career path and social standing in the Voyager community. If she wasn't careful she could easily have been a spoilt brat with all these adults around to make a fuss of the only child aboard (though that would change eventually). The special friendship she would have with Seven of Nine in particular (unsurprisingly when you consider they have more in common than first impressions since Seven is practically a child herself being assimilated for much of her life), but also the Doctor and Janeway, and becoming the 'Captain's Assistant' were set up nicely here - as you'd expect from a child she's afraid of 'the Borg lady' and believes she could be assimilated into her collective. Of course she's a young child so she doesn't mean everything she says, and Neelix is quick to smooth over any silliness or concerns, but it was a terrific scene where Seven approaches and they have a little interaction, one moment where Pomers excels as you completely accept that Naomi would be frightened of someone so different - there were probably plenty of adults on the crew who were initially concerned about her, too, it's only natural! Terribly ironic that eventually Naomi would indeed become part of Seven's 'collective' as both pupil and friend, which adds even more joy to going back to this scene.

Naomi must have a privileged position on the ship as I'm sure if it had been the Enterprise or other Starfleet locations with children as standard, they wouldn't have access to either the Bridge or Holodeck, but because she's a special case, uniquely the only child aboard, she can (just about), reach the controls for the Holodeck (and is apparently intelligent enough to encode them so Neelix couldn't change the program to take out her friends Flotter and Trevis, and presumably to prevent him shutting the program down - another real world parallel to today when young children can be more technologically savvy than adults!), and there's no block from the computer when she heads to the Bridge. Either she's never attempted it before and they didn't see any reason to make sure the computer would refuse access to her, or they didn't even think of it. Either way, the important thing is she stumbles onto the news that the shuttle her Mother was on has crashed, the worst possible way to learn such crushing tidings. It reminded me of a story told by one Trek character about how they stumbled into an operating theatre and witnessed things a child shouldn't have - was it Bashir, I can't remember? No, it was Harry as he's reminded of it in 'The Thaw,' but it's a real shock, and the worst is that Neelix hadn't told her the truth. That was a truly fascinating part of the story, an inexperienced adult (in that he's never had children himself), has to make the decision about how much or what, to tell of a child in his care's parent.

It was a tough call and I think he was right to protect her, but it's also an organic process that is changing all the time: how much they know, how much might be speculated on. It came to the point where Neelix should have broken it gently that her Mother had crashed and they knew no more than that, and Janeway was insistent that he tell her. That was also a fascinating consideration: how much is Janeway responsible, and therefore has the decision, over this child's position. Because in a sense it isn't for authority to decide how children should be raised, other than basic standards of care and health, but it should have been up to Neelix to decide what was right in the absence of Samantha. And yet at the same time Janeway is the ultimate authority of this ecosystem and so she is responsible in that respect. What I loved is that she didn't do what I was, for some reason, expecting, and bark at Neelix (her bark's worse than her bite - actually it's probably the other way around for her!), ordering him to tell the child. Instead she pulls him into her Ready Room for a personal chat. And it's not the kind of personal chat her crew must sometimes dread where she talks very quietly, but with steel in her voice. It was a different kind of chat where she genuinely tries to help with empathy and care, sitting Neelix down and having the discernment to realise what's going on with him, especially after he's blown up in her face, she doesn't respond with equal ire, but listens and pays attention, reacting in the right way. It was beautiful to see, and when you think last season it was mostly confrontations with Seven in there, maybe that's the experience I was expecting!

The success of the episode is in it's skipping between the adult and child's worlds, seen most deftly in the screen conversation with Samantha - at first she's very reassuring and comforting to her daughter, then when she's talking to Neelix she switches to a more realistic attitude. Even the few scenes based on the Flyer were well done, whether it be Paris recording a goodbye to B'Elanna, or Tuvok reassuring the Ensign that no matter what happens to them Naomi will be in good hands on Voyager. It's so touching when we're recalled to the fact that he's been away from his children for four years and yet still has faith that they are 'prospering,' talking about his daughter: "I conveyed my values to her before leaving and I have confidence in the integrity of those around her." His Vulcanness is very reassuring (something so lacking in modern Trek), and so true to the race, as is his equable acceptance of their situation, the writers cleverly turning it around when Paris says he prefers 'live long and prosper' out of those Vulcan sayings! It's a comfortable knowledge and understanding of the Trek world and its races, as well as the specifics of each character's position at this point in their lives and history - Tuvok prefers to write his farewells rather than put himself through the emotional and public display of recording a personal message onscreen. I'm not sure they should have moved Samantha, though, if she has internal bleeding couldn't they have got the computer to record from a different camera?

If I'm nitpicking I'd also point to the idea of triangulating the distress call - to do that they'd surely need more than one point of connection, and I don't think they had shuttles out looking then, did they? Maybe they had multiple probes in different locations? Leaving aside the evolutionary propaganda the Doctor teaches poor Naomi, since that's just the usual Trek worldview unfortunately, there's really very little to find fault with - perhaps certain parts of 'The Adventures of Flotter' holoprogram were a little too extreme for young children: the Ogre of Fire burns up the forest in its entirety, leaving blackened remains? And the Holodeck characters don't seem entirely family friendly unless you consider Flotter's suggestion of drowning Neelix for interfering, or even more explicitly, Trevis' of hanging him from one of his branches, acceptable! Okay, so maybe Trevis didn't literally mean a hanging, maybe he just meant hanging him up out of harm's way so he couldn't interfere, but it did seem excessive in an amusing way (makes me think of the awful Holodeck character 'Badgey' in 'Lower Decks,' which I most certainly did not like!), and it was certainly a new dimension for scary bedtimes stories!

What I did love, however unlikely, was the legacy of this Flotter program - apparently most people in Starfleet have enjoyed it in their childhood (although, not sure that fits in for some since the Holodeck was new when it was on the Enterprise-D, everyone was impressed then, like it was brand new, and yet Janeway played it as a child...). You wouldn't think one specific holoprogram would be around so long for multiple generations to enjoy, and maybe they should have played with that as an internal joke about Trek being a long-running franchise (but this isn't 'Lower Decks,' they tended not to break the fourth wall like that). It must have been Samantha's own program since Flotter remembers her as a child, which made a nice sense of continuity that you could revisit childhood programs and they'd still know you. Although that means Samantha hasn't played the program with her own daughter, which you'd think she would have done... I'm just surprised they never sold Flotter dolls as part of the Trek merchandising empire! Or those Phaser drills. Have we ever seen that before? You'd think they'd simply use hand Phasers, but perhaps the nature of the rock meant it would require a long exposure to the beam and these were designed for a longer, slower release of energy, specifically targeted that a human arm wouldn't be able to keep up as precisely or for as long.

Not every single character is used excellently, Chakotay doesn't get much, Torres barely appears, despite being the usual go-to in an emergency, nor do we see her worry over Tom, but then it wasn't their episode and that side of the story could have been a whole episode in itself. The series has more variety when it focuses on certain characters in different episodes, one reason this era of Trek works so incredibly well. They keep saying how in modern Trek each series has its own tone and style, but in this era they were able to play with whatever style they wanted from week to week because they weren't forced down a specific route by complete serialisation. It's not that I really want to bash modern Trek, it's largely an uninteresting thing to me now, but I do like to call attention to what made Trek great, and this episode has those qualities in abundance: a personal story, emotional storytelling without the characters becoming overly emotional - other than Neelix' outburst at the Captain it all plays out on his face, all that he's going through internally, and you can read it there, you don't need to see him blubbering on someone's shoulder. Likewise, the trapped shuttle crew are stoic and ready to accept death if that's what they must do. It helped they had a Vulcan with them, and if Neelix had been the one there his feelings might have got the better of him, but he's taken a lot of example from his Starfleet brethren over the years and they remain professional and able to deal with whatever happens, and that's what makes it inspiring: seeing Neelix go through these difficult times and come out the other side.

It helped that it was a happy ending, perhaps for more 'drama' they could have killed off Samantha (she'd only appear in one more episode anyway, sadly, and in fact her daughter would go on to appear more than she did in total!), and that would have been a very modern way to handle it, but instead we have both the anguish and the joy, wrapped up in one big present of an episode. I could add to my list of minor complaints that it was a shame they just reused the set of the forest in the Holodeck as Neelix's nightmare when he's trying to escape the Metreon Cascade, but it can be justified by the fact he'd recently been in the Holodeck so it was highly plausible that it would be incorporated into the dream. There aren't really any serious complaints, this definitely stands as a high point in the series, one of the great Neelix episodes which would tend to be thin on the ground in the latter half of the series. It's not merely the character stuff that works, it's everything: the design of Flotter, Trevis, and their idyllic fairytale Forest of Forever land full of bright colours (even when the Ogre's destroyed the place the sky is this beautiful sunset awash with colour), is simply beautiful and provides the necessary contrast with so much of the episode taking place in the dark, whether it be the Bridge shrouded in darkness or the night time views of Naomi's Quarters. A real pleasure, and an episode I'd recommend even to those that have no interest in Trek, as it's a great family story that has resonance outside of whatever other interests the series brings.

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