Memorial (2)

 DVD, Voyager S6 (Memorial) (2)

My memories of Season 6 concentrating on the Doctor, Janeway and Seven keep being proved inconsistent, as this is another strong ensemble story which uses everyone, to counter my impression. I don't consider it the absolute highest echelons of the series' quality compared to when I last watched it (and reviewed it, in the brief way I used to do), but then at that time I remember thinking I might have been a little generous, but was caught up in the moment and slapped on five stars. It remains a very good episode, even so. Part of what makes it work is it's all very cleanly directed by Allan Kroeker, one of the more accomplished Trek Directors - it does what it does neatly, gets right into it and doesn't get bogged down. It doesn't use so much CGI as in some episodes this season (perhaps just the upper part of the obelisk), and instead features good, physical sets, the base of the obelisk (reminiscent of the one in 'The Paradise Syndrome' another large, well-constructed outdoor prop), location filming, yet another redress of the caves, which this time give it a whole new, claustrophobic feel since Harry Kim crawls through a tunnel to reach it, and it's always well lit when the actual sun's doing the lighting! Outdoor work really adds to our characters, their uniforms and technology, perhaps because there's so much black in the uniform and the contrast is more extreme. There is the issue of the title giving away what this is all about, but then if you came to it with no knowledge you might not necessarily pick up on the massive clue there.

It feels very much like one of the early season episodes, which tended to have a more raw, less slick weirdness to them. The story came from Brannon Braga, well known as the King of Weird, so it's not a surprise he was able to bring that sense of unreality and uncertainty over the characters' experiences. It's different in that it doesn't focus on a single person, the usual route when everyday life suddenly goes creepily strange, as that emphasises the loneliness and unsettled experience they must go through. Here it's a group hallucination akin to that seen in 'Things Past' when Odo 'transports' several of his colleagues back to the DS9 that was. There are actually several Trek stories that could be pulled as influences, most obviously 'The Inner Light' for its technology-based lesson to others out there about a terrible tragedy. I could also cite the enforced mental anxiety of Chief O'Brien's incarceration in 'Hard Time' (as well as his concern that he can't be near his little girl any more because he's afraid of scaring her - Neelix' horrible experience of shell-shock while Naomi was with him is a very similar parallel). Then there was a touch of 'The Sound of Her Voice' in Harry's experience with such intense memories of people he later discovers in a cave as long dead. And shades of this series' own 'Nemesis,' in which Chakotay was thrown into a war that used psychological effects to coerce people into fighting, so as you can see, there are many influences, but if you're going to borrow, borrow from the best, and all these are great episodes - it shouldn't be strange to see a similar story turn out so well.

About the only negative I can think of, and perhaps which coloured my view on this occasion, is that things are so straightforward there isn't a lot to dissect and discuss. All I can say is, it's great! That's it, review over. But seriously, I found few things to keep track of, and it can sometimes be the case that great episodes have the least potential to be said about them. There are always the ethics of the situation, that's certainly worthy of examination: is it right to force people to go through mental torture as a tool to influence them never to let something like the massacre take place again? In the past I would probably have gone along with the story entirely, it does seem right for Janeway to make the ultimate decision to not only refuse to deactivate what could be considered a harmful interference, but to actively support it by renewing its power source. I think she did right to leave a warning buoy so that people who ventured into that system would know what they were getting themselves into. I'm undecided if the original intent of the aliens was good and right, but then I think of the Holocaust and how such a horror could be perpetrated against a group again in the future (and I'm sure will be), and perhaps if people who mock it or disbelieve the evidence of history could actually experience it for themselves, or some small portion anyway, that would be a good thing. (I didn't even twig the connection to 'Remember' as the closest story, which I read in the notes at Memory Alpha).

Of course there's not going to be any ongoing ramifications, this isn't that kind of series - there won't be further episodes in which we see Harry, Neelix or any of the others shown to be having sleeping problems because the nightmares won't leave them. It means that the episode could be viewed as being a little arrogant: we've sorted another problem, now onto the next. Trek itself can be viewed that way on many occasions I suspect, but then it was designed to be taken in weekly doses or once in a while. You don't need any further understanding of the characters or their situation to appreciate the quality of an episode such as this: it tells its story and that's enough. But sometimes I can't help wishing there was a little more overlap. There is some, good use is made of Seven's own experiences when she comes to comfort Neelix in her own fairly blunt way (though she is a lot more compassionate and considerate than she used to be, having learned much from Neelix, the Doctor, Janeway, Naomi, etc), when they talk about her experiences of guilt having done so much as a Borg. She does feel it, even though none of it was her fault, she was under control and knew no better, and perhaps that should have been said, but for that little moment it was a strong link between the two and what they'd both been through.

Tuvok could have been worked in a little more, considering he is the one to be in command of his feelings, and he does get to do a little of that when he's with Kim in the tunnel and he starts to panic as the very real memory and fear grips hold. It's interesting it takes Chakotay to talk Neelix down in the Mess Hall, the best scene of the episode, but that fits because they were comrades in the war of their memory, Chakotay a commander as he is in real life. His calming tones are used to appeal to Neelix' rational side, but the whole impression of each of them having such visceral reactions to what was implanted in their minds, was so strongly played out. There's no question that when they're debating what happened in scenes such as the Briefing Room, that they all remember it like they were there, and believe it. They become completely different people and it's impressive to see. They even take on a haggard, drawn look, which spreads to the rest of the affected crew. At first you can put it down to this long, two-week mission where they haven't been able to wash and it's like a camping trip that's gone wrong - tired and crotchety and looking to get back to the comforts of home (though you do have to wonder if a fortnight exploring planets is the best use of their time, except for the fact they mention they found much needed supplies), but then the visions begin.

B'Elanna's gift of a 1950s TV complete with programming of the time was fun, but it might not have been the best timing for it! Paris watches 'The Untouchables' and in the best fantasy tradition finds himself within the TV, first viewing himself, then actually being there. I don't think that was as discomfiting and weird as it should have been, and once again B'Elanna isn't used to the best (though I liked the fact she replicated the parts and assembled them herself rather than importing in the complete set!). Neelix, Kim and Chakotay are the ones the episode gives the best to, and that's another reason I would have marked it up last time, I think, since they are the underused characters in general. They're allowed to do more than the usual bounds of their characters allow. We know Neelix has a tough streak in him from his past, we've seen what Harry can turn into when pushed to the limits ('The Chute'), and Chakotay has gone through similar weirdness in both 'Nemesis' and 'The Fight.' Perhaps the actual massacre came across a little out of the blue - the civilians they're escorting suddenly start panicking and running away so the soldiers shoot them down, but the point is that these sudden escalations borne of fear and panic can come down like that out of nowhere. I didn't feel quite the same tension in the characters as, say, 'The Siege of AR-558' on 'DS9,' but the actual event is only really the backdrop to what's happening to our crew.

A couple of lines stood out, one when someone, maybe Neelix, says they're civilians, and another soldier qualifies 'civilians with particle weapons.' And when Neelix later asks Seven how she keeps going with all her guilt, she matter-of-factly states she has no choice. I thought that last one especially was a reminder that life isn't a choice, you have to keep going no matter what mix of strong feelings, despair, guilt or whatever, are at war inside. In the end it was a hopeful story because there can be that warning of consequences, but there's also a warning left for the warning so future visitors won't be going in completely blind. I think post-traumatic stress disorder was becoming more understood when this was made so it probably was in the zeitgeist, but even so, reality and unreality, impressions and how they affect the mind, are all ripe for Trek exploration, so much more than mere action and reaction. There isn't really anything else to add in trivia, none of the guest stars had appeared before or since, other than David Keith Anderson, presumably the crewman suffering from trauma Janeway speaks to - he apparently goes back to being a crewmember on the Enterprise in 'Star Trek VI,' 'Generations' and 'First Contact,' all uncredited, and had been in a credited part in 'Warhead' last season.

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