Drive (2)

 DVD, Voyager S7 (Drive) (2)

It's always nice to be pleasantly surprised when it comes to an episode you've considered one of the weaker stories of the season - I actually did like this the last time I watched (and reviewed) it, but still, my initial thoughts of a space race being a bad idea were lodged in my brain. Every space series has to do a multi-species race, possibly due to 'Star Wars Episode I' and its pod-race (even though that wasn't even in space!), especially around the time this was made with that film still fresh in the memory, but this isn't really about a space race and that's why it works. In modern Trek we're used to space being depicted in rainbow colours all the time, full of sights to see and 'marvel' at, but old Trek tended to be more conservative in its depiction, so often going for what space really is: empty. In this one they make an effort to pretty it up, because one of the worst things about racing through space is that there's nothing there, no obstacles, no environmental danger, other than the competitors, no real thrill or excitement to be had - that wasn't the case in this particular example as they have a 'small wormhole with a big attitude' as Tom Paris puts it, one which blocks out all sensors. Which makes it seem a bit of a pointless route for a race since spectators won't be able to track the racers for the last third when it should be at its most thrilling, not to mention any of these participants could pull off some dirty tricks while out of the limelight. It turns out the dirty trick is set to go off at the very end of the race when a triumphant Delta Flyer would've crossed the line and blown everyone at the finish line to smithereens, reigniting the war between these four races, and collapsing everything the race was meant to stand for.

Having it be more than a mere test of piloting and speed, but instead the linchpin upon which a new treaty between former enemies is cemented, adds a lot more weight to the drama and gives a good reason why we, and especially Voyager itself, should care - Tom sounds like a young teen trying to convince his parents to let him stay out late or get a dog when he brings his petition to join in to the Captain and senior officers. Fortunately for him it came at just the right time: Janeway deciding the crew needs some R&R, while also providing a useful diplomatic function and hopefully winning them some new friends in the area. The only person who doesn't benefit is B'Elanna who'd already planned some romance for her and Tom (or 'kissy time' as he later monickers it!), only to find he's back to the big boy's toys again (just like in 'Alice,' only this time it's an outside force that causes the trouble rather than his own ship...), but ultimately it benefits her even more as she receives the commitment she's been longing for, having arrived at the conclusion she and Tom aren't well matched, despite their longevity. Torres seemed especially vulnerable and contemplative, quite different from the young, brash woman earlier in the series. Perhaps it's all to do with the biological clock, maybe it's a dissatisfaction with not getting enough A-stories to keep her busy, but whatever it is, she seems to have arrived at a crossroads that demands some kind of change, never easy on a relatively compact ship like Voyager, and one with no prospects for separation.

A touching scene is when she goes to the Mess and Neelix gives her the benefit of his wisdom - I at first took it she was in a foul mood, the way she flounced down on the sofa tapping away at her phone– sorry, her PADD! But then you realise she must have expected Neelix to be there, he so often is, and if she really wanted solitude she'd have gone to her Quarters or some deep part of the ship, or even hid in Engineering (like Seven did last week), so she must have needed someone to talk to and maybe a spot of sympathy. She sounds quite self-pitying, not wanting Tom to act differently, just wallowing in the fact her carefully constructed plans fell through, but she won't speak to him about it because then he could do something about it. She's just plain miserable, which is much more deadly than the Klingon rage we've seen so many times before: a quiet 'realisation' is much more effective, and it sounded as if Roxann Dawson was suffering from a sore throat or a cold, which only enhances the scene - Peter Jackson was right: pain is temporary, film is forever! Neelix is such a good listener, reminding us why he wasn't written out when he could no longer be a guide since Voyager had travelled beyond the bounds of his knowledge, and he understands people, too, hence why he appeals to that Klingon side of her by suggesting it doesn't seem very honourable to keep all this from Tom.

The resolution works really well, B'Elanna forcing herself into Tom's orbit by replacing Harry as co-pilot, thus it becomes a couple's adventure rather than the boy's own, and whether she realised it or not, was a way to test his loyalty and push him to a point where things change, either way. All very interesting psychology that I wouldn't have understood as a teen on first viewing, perhaps why it appeals more now. Also appealing is that it's all very realistic, unlike so much of Trek nowadays - yes, Tom could be said to be the proto-Trek character of modern times, the guy who talks so much more casually and isn't above ducking protocols (like in the mini-race Irina challenges him to, he always has a justification, in this case it's a test flight for the new Delta Flyer, so why not test it! It makes me wonder if she let him win since she was trying to create a mug to carry her bomb into the race, ensuring he was fully committed, but it could also be that she was seeing whether he had the skill to win or at least be at the finish line among the first...). Harry had to be the guy who ends up taking her copilot's seat (did the original copilot find out what she was doing?), his misadventures with the ladies being the running joke of the series in the same way O'Brien always had to be tortured on 'DS9' - Paris tends to remind us of the list of failures, this time citing Borg (Seven), hologram (the Irish program most likely, but could also cover the one from 'Alter Ego'), and dead (Lyndsey Ballard of 'Ashes To Ashes'). And now we can add terrorist to that growing list - it is funny, but perhaps a little unkind that Kim is still so eager and naive (when he likes Irina you know she's the villain!), but then that is his character and we love him for it.

There was actually a fair bit of good, gentle humour throughout, whether it was Torres' joke she took Harry's place aboard by reassigning him to diagnostic duty, or responding to Paris' insistence she remember the piloting rhymes that got him through the Academy by reminding him he was expelled (although, she's one to talk...), to the idea of Seven being the one to commentate on the race, only giving updates every few minutes until Neelix comes to the crew's rescue and shows her how it's done ('andthey'recominguptothenextbendwhaddanovertakingthispilotknowsnofearthisisanonstopthrillofarace' kind of thing!). Nothing nasty, nothing cruel and unpleasant, just the exact kind of positive storytelling and warmth that Trek got so good at and has now lost in exchange for crudeness, nastiness and silliness. It's not a standout episode, but it is very pleasant even with serious threats underlying the story. It's as relevant now as it ever was, being about the dangers of people anarchically taking their views into their own hands and using violence to push back against those they hate, whether it be those with conservative or liberal values doing the pushing. And it's not political, you notice, there's no 'side' other than Irina's xenophobic group that wants to disrupt and end the mini-Federation within which these four races have come together (incidentally, I counted five species, unless there are others from outside this former war-zone just here to compete).

Primarily, though, it's entertaining - it has its message, which in fact isn't even a message, we're simply shown that this exists and we don't go any deeper (such as there could be reasonable concerns within this xenophobia that have been ignored, exacerbating these people and adding fuel to their fire so extremists take it as a call to action), so it's not a complex picture, but then all of that is really window dressing for the personal story of Tom and B'Elanna - it's taken three episodes to address them and where they are, but now we know why, and while Trek shouldn't be a soap, it's good to explore the characters so they're more than merely two-dimensional creations having adventures all the time. At the same time there are a few points I would raise: firstly the idea of Voyager becoming this impartial outsider to help strengthen the alliance between these races, and yet they also have a dog in the race - and what good would it have done for them to win it, it could have discouraged all the 'legitimate' competitors! As much as I enjoy the brand new white-shouldered racing outfits, are they really necessary? There didn't seem to be any justification within the episode and I'm sure it doesn't take all that much replicating (plus it's good to have something different visually from time to time), but they did used to mention how they only have certain Replicator privileges (they wouldn't be seen again for over twenty years until they showed up in 'Lower Decks,' but then just about everything does!).

One thing that made perfect sense was how Tom and Harry would know and can communicate through Morse code, Paris saying it's something they use in the Captain Proton holoprogram, so it was beneficial, after all! I was also appreciative of the reminder about how warp travel has to be in a straight line, a reason why the race isn't at warp speed (yet another key idea apparently forgotten in modern Trek for the sake of 'looking good'). Of minor note was that the race Assan represented looked very much like a different coloured Benzite, so I assume they repurposed those old masks or built on them, as so often happened in those days. Not to say they didn't look good. I thought it was interesting they show Assan as this separate individual who stands apart at the party, solitude written all over his body language, which Paris ignores, yet in the same scene you see his copilot in the background happily chatting away to Starfleet: either he isn't as standoffish as Assan, or else they didn't consider what a background character did and failed to advise him to act disdainfully. No, the biggest issue is the Delta Flyer itself, which Tom suggests putting through its paces as it's newly rebuilt, except we saw Janeway already do that in 'Imperfection' with the alien scavengers. The continuity flub was because this was written and filmed out fo sequence, while being shown after. It's not that big a problem since you could say Paris is talking about his own experience being in full control with this test flight, but it doesn't quite ring true. And lastly, they mention Irina is a 'Terrellian,' but aren't they an Alpha Quadrant race? Or is that... the Terellians... Yes, it's that perennial Trek favourite of the confusingly similar named races beginning with 'T' and ending in 'ian.' Best not to even try and work it out.

The episode ends strongly, both in a general sense when Tom shows B'Elanna means more to him than anything else (as he probably should have realised before requesting to take part in the rally in the first place, but it just shows that what is important to one person in their head may not automatically be quite as much to another - a good life lesson, I'm sure!), halting the Flyer mid-race to hash out what's bothering her, proposing, then the pair of them bravely speeding the Flyer out of the racing zone to ensure no one dies when their Warp Core's about to breach (always a fertile source of danger and drama!), and then the very last shot when they're going off on a honeymoon with 'Just Married' scrawled on the back of the Flyer and strings of barrels tied to it. Okay, maybe that was a step too far into silliness, but it closed out the episode amusingly and warmly. They could have shown the actual wedding and I'm sure some (female) viewers would feel shortchanged on the omission, but we had already seen a version of that when their doubles got married in Season 5's 'Course: Oblivion,' and it was elegantly handled in the sense there wasn't time for anything more to the story at that point unless they decided the next episode was going to be a traditional 'build up to the wedding' story, but that only worked on 'DS9' because it followed an intense seven-episode serial and was a light capper to the heavy opening of Season 6. I'm just glad he made an honest woman of her.

The guest cast deserves some examination, not so much for playing particularly impressive roles (there's no James Sloyan or Jeff Combs), but for their return to Trek having previously portrayed other, more memorable characters: Cyia Batten, as terrorist Irina, would be the most recognisable name here since she played the original Tora Ziyal on 'DS9,' making two appearances as Gul Dukat's daughter, and after this 'Voyager' episode went on to appear in 'Enterprise' as one of the green-skinned Orion slave girls of 'Bound.' Brian George was the harried ambassador trying to keep this whole Antarian Trans-Stellar Rally from falling apart, but stuck in the memory far more (I'd forgotten he even had another Trek role!), as Dr. Bashir's Father, Richard, in 'Dr. Bashir, I Presume.' And Patrick Kilpatrick, the man with the best name in Trek (is it his real name?), had previously been in this series as the imperious Kazon, Razik in this series' 'Initiations,' and on 'DS9' as the scary human soldier, Reese in 'The Siege of AR-558,' so his role as intense former fighter pilot Assan wasn't out of his comfort zone, although the writers weren't being very imaginative calling his species the 'Imhotep'! Been reading about the ancient Egyptians at all?

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