“Thirty Days”

I would agree with most of your review here---this was defintely a solid outing from Voyager and a solid outing for Paris.

I have to say that the F/X were exceptional during this episode as those shots made the episode really worth it.

I liked the episode but I found the punishment a bit harsh based on the last time something like this happened. When Tuvok decided to take matters into his own hands in "Prime Factors", he got a slap on the wrist. Yet Tom is demoted and thrown in the brig for doing the same thing? I guess the captain does play favorites.

I liked the episode but I found the punishment a bit harsh based on the last time something like this happened. When Tuvok decided to take matters into his own hands in "Prime Factors", he got a slap on the wrist. Yet Tom is demoted and thrown in the brig for doing the same thing? I guess the captain does play favorites.

When Sanford from "Sex And The City" as the fish guy explains in technobabble how the ocean works (and it's total Trek ridiculousness,) and Janeway says "makes sense," it totally reminded me of how much I missed this so-bad-its-great show.

The production of the episode is okay, no better or no worse than many of VOY's average episodes. I can't help but smile when I see those B&W Captain Proton sequences. And finally, the Delaney sisters make an appearance!

The internal logic of the script, however, is totally bogus. There have been numerous previous episodes where other characters have disobeyed direct orders (Tuvok, Seven, Torres, et. al), and every time punishment needs to be handed down, Janeway delivers a very logical and understandable "I want to punish you, but I can't afford to have you out of action, so life goes on." Makes perfect sense - Voyager's only been losing crew over the years.

But this time, she sentences a vitally important member of the bridge crew to 30 days restriction? I guess it's a good thing that Voyager didn't encounter the Borg, or the Hirogen, or 8472, or she might have had let him out early for expediency's sake.

Not to mention the fact that Paris gets demoted and promoted to Lieutenant faster than Harry can get to LTJG.

Wow. I said after the recent Seven episode that Voyager could do with some character development (or regression) involving characters other than Seven for a change... I wasn't expecting it to actually happen. :)

And another thing that Voyager hasn't done for years: consequences that go beyond the single bottled episode. I was fully expecting Paris to, for whatever reason, be re-promoted to Lieutenant by the end of the episode. Glad to see I was wrong. I bet it happens within a couple more episodes though!

Got to say I have mixed feelings on the likeability of Janeway sometimes. She's pretty ruthless. Picard and Sisko certainly knew when to put their foot down but always with some air of fairness and sympathy. Janeway just does a lot of growling and seems a bit too comfortable sometimes about the idea of destroying ships and murdering people when in her eyes they are wrong (Tuvix, the toxic waste aliens, the intention to kill Paris etc). We've had Sisko gas an entire planet - after warning them to leave - which was probably his moment of being a jerk. But Janeway seems to be like that a lot more often. Scary lady.

Why would a planet made out of water need a gravity machine at its center to hold it together? Gas giants don't need gravity machines. Maybe the planet was too small to generate a large enough gravity field to hold itself together, but if that were the case, it would have been nice if the episode had actually SAID so. Europa (6th moon of Jupiter) is one big ocean covered by a layer of ice. But even if the ice melted, the water wouldn't just start floating away into space! (Europa has a silicate mantle and a metallic core, but that's not the point. Even if it were water all the way through, it still would generate enough gravity to hold itself together. Right? I'd be happy to be corrected by any astrophysicists in the room.)

A planet that is oceanic all the way to its core would probably have pressures in the interior capable of forming exotic ices (like VII) due to pressure rather than temperature.

I noticed that the brig cells lack any kind of waste extraction facility...

James, they make Harry beam it out. Sucks when he can't get a pattern lock due to gaseous interference.

This episode was pure drivel. I'm supposed to feel pity for Tom Paris? He's whining in that cell like a child within minutes. Holo-deck priveleges? "I had to try"? You're in solitary confinement. They should have turned the lights off. Janeway was 100% correct. We gave them the information, it is THEIR planet and THEIR choice to act upon, Voyager has NO right to interfere. This was not a Prime Directive issue, that only applies to pre-warp civilizations - this was a First Contact situation. Janeway should have court-martialled him and given him over to "local" justice for punishment.

In response to the comment: "While I generally don't respond much to messages like "ruining oceans with unsafe technology is bad," I do appreciate the notion of a bureaucracy that refuses to see the big picture; it strikes me as realistic."

But it really is more than a case of bureaucracy, both in this fictional world and in our own, which this episode serves as a commentary on. The issue is maintaining an unsustainable status quo for the sake of endless economic profit. Mining operations in the fictional ocean and on Earth are responsible for environment destruction. And on Earth industrial development has led to the death of the oceans through global warming and pollution and over-fishing. I am glad for a fictional social commentary through Star Trek. Humans learn through narrative (vis-a-vis "Darmok"). The fictional government is much like Canadian and American governments today that ignore the hazards of what they're doing to the Earth's oceans. The popularity of Star Trek has a lot to do with its social commentary and its vision of a sustainable humane future. I don't understand the point of denying that.

I think Paris' and Rega's actions were justified in this case. Earth Liberation Front (E.L.F.) would agree. Captain Janeway's approach would condemn that society and that ocean to death within five years. The Federation is not supposed to violate the Prime Directive, but that principle should be violated in situations where the good of the society and the environment and individuals' basic rights are at stake. It is a principle that make sense to prevent colonialism, not inaction in the face of injustice.

Yeah, that's a pretty strange mistake, isn't it? Maybe Torres was working the night shift, and as such would really want to have dinner at 7 a.m. :)

Does the Prime Directive even apply to a warp-capable civilization? I think the Federation's non-interference policies (in foreign governments) are the issue here, but they have historically played fast and loose with those (Picard and the Klingons, Sisko and the Bajorans for examples).

Didn't move me. First off, a planet entirely of water is just as possible as a planet entirely of gas. We didn't need all this technobabble junk science to explain its existence. Secondly I don't think we learned anything more about what makes Tom Paris tick than we already knew. Paris is hot dog who bucks authority. Yeah, we know, and so what? We still need an interesting motive and this ecology story doesn't do it. The story failed to convey the danger the aliens-of-the-week were in. It was just some technobabble danger that really didn't impose itself visually. The water world was loosing its cohension? Ridiculous! The Delta Flyer can fire phasers underwater? Ridiculous! And let's get back to Paris again for a moment. You would think someone whose is no stranger to prison wouldn't act so stir crazy about 30 days in a brig. And how come Kim got to visit him INSIDE the cell no less but no one else could? Don't even get me started about the Captain Proton nonsense. It's the only thing sillier and more boring than Fair haven. I won't be viewing this episode again.

I liked it, the way that the episode is simple yet effective in its' approach is very refreshing and there was a hint of vintage sci-fi about it which is my cup of tea. There's plenty of little touches and an attention to detail to help you really buy the story, not to mention Captian Proton is the best holodeck programme yet! So yeah, simple and very effective and quietly memorable is how I'd describe 30 Days. Jammer mentioned somewhere that so far season 5 has a tendency to split between really good Voyager to bland or bad Voyager each episode, not as consistent as I remembered season 4 being but I'm happy with the highs this season is hitting so long as it avoids too many lows.

I noticed a theme for season 5; characters on a low or struggles within themselves. We had Janeway in The Void, Torress in Extreme Risk, alternate Harry in Timeless, the Delta Flyer crew in Once Upon A Time, Seven in Infinite Regress, possibly the Doc et al in last episode and Tom in 30 Days. Interesting.

@Paul York
" I think Paris' and Rega's actions were justified in this case. Earth Liberation Front (E.L.F.) would agree"

Well, at least your consistent. In the comments for Nothing Human your arguments would put animal rights on par with human rights, an agenda P.E.T.A would be proud of.

Now, in Thirty Days, you advocate for E.L.F.

Dude, the fact E.L.F. would agree is definitely not proof an action was justified. Its would actually define a particular action as a terrorist act.

@Rosario what about that alien who asked him for help? I'm not saying Paris was in the right but is it really that horrible to do something that wouldn't really harm anyone that would save milions of lives? If our planet was about to be destroyed, and some alien would try to help even against will of our leaders, would you really blame him?

HAHAAA!

Underwater buldings, submarine action, attack of the 50-foot killer croc-dino ... I love it!

This is probably my favorite action-episode on Voyager so far. Paris as the rogue hero, flying in the face of authority and beurocracy to take action ad "do the right thing" really made me root for him.
The "shock-start" with Paris' demotion and incarceration, Janeway forced to fire at the Delta Flyer, Paris' letter to his dad - lots of great dtials in this episode!

Sure, there are (as always on Voyager) stuff that doesn't make much sense ... but this is one of the episodes where this nonsensical stuff doesn't steal focus from the story, at least not for me. Maybe that's also due to the great pacing of this episode ... someone barely says somehitng moronic, then we're off into the underwater adventure on planet Raindrop.

I love it! 3,5 stars from me :)

I think the capt was being a bitch. Anyone in their right mind would have stop the idiots wrecking the ocean if it was in their power to do so. She should have helped Tom, not stopped him.

"I think the capt was being a bitch. Anyone in their right mind would have stop the idiots wrecking the ocean if it was in their power to do so. She should have helped Tom, not stopped him"

Yeah, because that's what Trek is about. About saying to other people, cultures, countries, planets or civilizations, what they should do with their destinies. Even more: forcing them to do what Voyager/we think is "for their own good". Nope fellows, that's just us in the 21st century US. And it seems there is not immediate hope for us in this century if we think it's pretty normal to do so.

That said, I find it amusing that people think Paris did not deserve that much of a punishment. He did not only disobey a direct order. He technically commited an act of terrorism in a foreing friendly planet! Not to mention interfere in the inner businness of a foreign planet (guys, having warp tech only means the civilization can be contacted, not treated as a puppet). Paris' punishment is the least he deserves. Let's just imagine that in all similar situations each crew member will just go there in a Rambo style imposing to other planets what Voyager decides to be better for them!

Now, it is not to mean that the episode was bad. On the contrary, it was a joy to watch. From the character development that was long needed for Paris, to the outstanding visual effects for that time in a TV show, from the acting to the plot itself and how it was played. I really liked this one. By the way, it is amazing how seasons 4 and now the 5th have shown huge quality improvement.

Ric, if Star Trek was being consistent, they wouldn't be communicating with any culture when passing by. By communicating they are already interfering, or placing themselves in a position where they will.

Trek wants it both ways.

DLPB, sorry but no.

I have no idea from what show did you get such a concept. It is pretty established since much earlier in the franchise, that Starfleet ships and officers should avoid contacting civilizations without warp-drive, not "any culture when passing by". However, they should avoid interfering in the business of any culture, warp-drive or not, with quite strict exceptions (like being asked for help when it does not alter balance of power, etc).

So, these are two different things: not contacting pre-warp civs (exaclty because in that case just by contacting they would be interfering in their existence), and not interfering in any other way the business of any warp-drive civ.

Making contact with any race is by definition, interfering. By turning up at someone's planet, you are already making a possible situation POSSIBLE. It's that simple. You either accept that by meeting new races you are risking a problem, or you don't meet new races.

You cannot have it both ways.

Even the best intentions can go wrong (except in Trek).

The main reason I didn't enjoy this one was because it seemed to be such an arbitrary story to try to develop Tom's character. As others have said, there have been plenty of instances in previous episodes where a crew member disobeyed orders and struck out on their own, yet each time it just led to a conversation between Janeway and Chakotay that included "What am I supposed to do, confine them to quarters? Throw them in the brig?". But somehow this time it was different. The Voyager writers had a lot of flaws, but the biggest one by far was their inconsistency.

Another perfect example of Janeway being an idiot and the prime directive not working. Even though Paris had already gone through with it she decides to condemn the entire planet to death, perhaps some of the humanoids would evacuate but it doesn't even look like they're prepared to do that.

I don't buy the argument that the prime directive prevents them from saving that planet, who is to say that the oceans belongs to that humanoid species that is destroying it? There was mention of other lifeforms in that ocean and since they weren't even aware of anything below 1000ft or so then who's to judge the intelligence of other the animals in the ocean? In essence a Federation vessel has caused the death of countless species by allowing one to be reckless.

I'm with Janeway on this one. The aliens contacted her for help. She gave it to them, determined the problem and suggested the solution. What they do with that information is up to them. All Voyager can do is say, that's your problem right there and this technology can provide the solution.
Their government is made aware of the situation on every level they can expect from Voyager. What they do with it after Voyager leaves is up to them. It's not their place to enforce a solution they perceive as right onto a foreign civilization. Even if it means possibly damning that civilization.
Paris was in the wrong. Like minister fish-face points out: We've been living here hundreds of years. You've only been here 3 days and you presume to tell us what to do with OUR planet? It's just not right.

On a completely unrelated sidenote, though, I was thoroughly impressed with the visuals of the water planet, the underwater cityn the diving scenes and the aquatic creature that attacked them. Great job on that. I liked the episode as a whole, but there is no doubt in my mind that Janeway did what was right this time.

I thought the demotion and firing on him were justified. 30 days in (basically) solitary confinement might have been a bit much.

Even people that MURDER other crewmen get confined to quarters and Tuvok is allowed to visit.

I have to agree with Robert. We are uncovering information now that indicates solitary confinement might be akin to torture. At the very least, many people currently consider it inhumane. I have a very hard time believing that Janeway would consider it an appropriate punishment for a member of her crew.

They have encountered many cultures with innovative means of punishment. Why would they ever use one which is of questionable ethics?

Paul York - Tue, May 8, 2012 - 8:00pm (USA Central)

"But it really is more than a case of bureaucracy, both in this fictional world and in our own, which this episode serves as a commentary on. The issue is maintaining an unsustainable status quo for the sake of endless economic profit. Mining operations in the fictional ocean and on Earth are responsible for environment destruction. And on Earth industrial development has led to the death of the oceans through global warming and pollution and over-fishing."

First animal rights terrorism and now this fictional tree hugging crap? May I assume you also smoke weed and refuse to shower for days on end?

Paul York - Tue, May 8, 2012 - 8:17pm (USA Central)

"I think Paris' and Rega's actions were justified in this case. Earth Liberation Front (E.L.F.) would agree."

Just how many eco-terrorist organizations are you affiliated with? PETA and ELF? Should I inform the FBI? Hopefully, the NSA already did.

"Captain Janeway's approach would condemn that society and that ocean to death within five years."

Um, no, the decision of that government condemns that society. It is not Janeway's place to interfere. Please get off your high horse.

"The Federation is not supposed to violate the Prime Directive, but that principle should be violated in situations where the good of the society and the environment and individuals' basic rights are at stake."

No, it shouldn't. You want to baby an entire species and shield them from the consequences of their own actions just because your horseshit tree hugging sensibilities are offended? You are a tyrant!

"It is a principle that make sense to prevent colonialism, not inaction in the face of injustice."

Who the fuck are you to determine what is or is not an injustice for a group of aliens? If they want to destroy themselves, you have no right to wag your pathetic hippie finger and say "but that's wrong" like some flower power Disney bimbo!

Get over yourself! Accept that people have a right to make their own choices without your totalitarian moralizing. Your personal disapproval of those choices means exactly nothing. This is what I hate the most about eco-terrorists. You're the most arrogant self-righteous tyrants that this world has seen in a while. I hope you're all arrested and imprisoned where you can scream "global warming" at a padded wall until it gets boring!

I know that Paris was wrong to do what he did. Regardless of Voyager being stranded in the Delta quadrant, they still must adhere to the Prime Directive and not interfere in another alien race's problems, although, I have major qualms over the fact that Kathryn was willing to fire on her OWN OFFICER and claim that he forfeited his right of being a protected member of the crew because he violated a direct order from her and the PD? Uh, I call bs on that. Tuvok freaking stole a device from an alien race because he thought I could bring them home and Kathryn gave him a slap on the wrist. He was merely given a stern reprimand and, besides that, she left him alone. In this episode, however, she was going to destroy Tom and Friga - a member of the alien race whose affairs they cannot intervene in. Why didn't Kathryn tell Tuvok to fire on Tom's torpedo instead of the Delta Flyer itself? That would have been murder, plain and simple and inconsistent with Kathryn's character. The writers did a crap arse job with her development in this episode. She made the same kind of decision in Tuvix. I understand why some fans claim that she is bipolar. Why wouldn't they when there are episodes like this which rob her of her humanity? Smh...

To my mind, a desperately clunky environmental message episode that we haven't seen the likes of since early TNG. I'm all for character development - and God knows Paris needs some - but the fact he 'loves the sea' comes so out of left field it really undermines any attempt to give weight to his actions.

Impressive production values, yes. And the Delaney sisters, no less. But still 1.5 stars.

Jammer: "In the opening moments of "Thirty Days," Janeway demotes Paris to ensign and sentences him to 30 days in the brig. Why? Well, that's what the episode is all about."

Yeah, but I think it would have been more effective has they not shown us this. I'm not a fan of giving away the ending at the beginning. Enterprise did this a few times too.

For all you Janeway haters.... she did exactly what she should have done. They asked for help, she gave them what they needed. It's not her place to shove it down their throats.

As for the punishment, Janeway is right again. Tom disobeyed orders and committed an act of terrorism! Only environmentalist whackos eco-terrorists could think his actions were justified. I think it's probably appropriate. It's not like it's solitary. He had visitors. The demotion in rank was appropriate too.

Oh and....

"PARIS: Thanks. But Captain Proton's not going to be able to save the day this time, is he?
TORRES: What about Tom Paris?"

So, B'Elanna urged him to "save the day"? hmmmm....

One does wonder where he uses the bathroom... maybe they escort him out somewhere to take care of that.

The visuals in this episode are incredible for a TV series. Just think, this was made 20 years ago and it still holds up!!

One has to wonder how excessive mining of O2 can affect anything (scratches head)

The whole letter to dad thing was fine as was Tom's interest in the sea. Good lord, some folks here need to get over themselves. We can't know everything about everyone onboard. This was as good a way to find out something about Tom as any.

Once again, someone can seemingly at will steal a damn shuttle craft... Tuvok should look into these things.

But nit-pics aside, this was an enjoyable episode. I'll go a solid 3 stars.

*John
Our planet is from year to year more and more fucked up, because of goverments as ours, and because of brainwashed sheeps as you are.

Destroying our oceans and our rainforests by greedy corporations is OK, you say, and if someone has desire to protect at least what's left from our nature, he is a terrorist. Hmm... Nice.

@Yanks: "It's note like it's solitary."

Janeway: "I sentence you to 30 days solitary confinement."

From Amnesty: '... solitary confinement, defined by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment as "the physical and social isolation of individuals who are confined to their cells for 22 to 24 hours a day"... It is a management tool that has been criticized by human rights bodies, and is being increasingly challenged by US penal experts and others, as costly, ineffective and inhumane. ... In recognition of the psychological harm that can result from isolating people even for relatively brief periods, international human rights experts and organizations have called on governments to restrict their use of solitary confinement so that it is applied only in exceptional circumstances, for the shortest possible period of time.'

Pete,

24th century "solitary" isn't like what I was referring to... I'm sure you can make that distinction. So what is your point?

Good episode. Janeway is not only an idiot, she is a hypocrite. The doctor gave her a direct order and she ignored him with no consequences.
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9888

It's really quite astonishing how far off many viewers are from understanding the severity of the prime directive. It's not some 'general principle' or guideline for 'certain situations.' It's a very harsh and difficult rule that is enforced very sternly (unless your name is Kirk or Picard). It's not supposed to be easy to follow, and it's not even supposed to be humane. It's for 'the good' of other races, but for no race in particular. It might actually do considerable harm to a particular pre-warp race that does need help, but that's not the point. If one made exceptions on a case-by-case basis we'd be back to starship captains having their way with primitive worlds like we saw several times in TOS.

And yes, the prime directive both involves not contacting pre-warp species, as well as not interfering with the affairs of post-warp species. And the former stipulation seems to have come into effect sometime between TOS and TNG, because Kirk's Enterprise contacted pre-warp species all the time. They were just forbidden from doing anything uninvited.

It should also be noted that in Kirk's time we are told as canon that violating the prime directive is the only crime punishable in the Federation by death. We don't know whether this punishment was retained by the time of Voyager, but suffice to say that the directive itself specifies that a captain must do anything up to and including sacrificing the ship and crew rather than violate the directive even once. Obviously Janeway doesn't take this part of it seriously, but as a punishment for aggressively interfering with another species 30 days in the brig is completely trivial, as is the minor demotion. In theory Paris could have been executed for that, not that Janeway has any kind of moral high ground with her track record.

"In theory Paris could have been executed for that, not that Janeway has any kind of moral high ground with her track record."

Well, Starfleet code only has the death penalty for Talos IV, if I remember my Treklore correctly. I actually think that Janeway would have been within her (legal) rights according to Starfleet charter to shoot Paris down before he interfered, for the same reason that she'd be within her rights to sacrifice the ship to avoid any PD violation. But I don't think she could punish him with death afterwards legally.

But generally, yeah, like, 30 days and a demotion is nothing. It's mostly ceremonial. I don't really blame Janeway for not permanently relieving him of duty given their situation, and that he's both their best pilot and apparently their only non-holographic medical officer, but she could have legitimately given him a permanent dishonourable discharge.

There was a TOS episode - I want to say Turnabout Intruder, but I can't be certain - where there is mention of execution as a punishment in the Federation. Maybe I'll go back and watch it tonight to see what they said.

I was going off The Menagerie:

KIRK: What every ship Captain knows. General Order 7, no vessel under any condition, emergency or otherwise, is to visit Talos Four.
MENDEZ: And to do so is the only death penalty left on our books. Only Fleet Command knows why. Not even this file explains that.

However, in Turnabout Intruder we have this dialogue, after Lester-as-Kirk sentences death for the mutineers:

CHEKOV: Starfleet expressly forbids the death penalty.
KIRK: All my senior officers turning against me?
SULU: The death penalty is forbidden. There's only one exception.
CHEKOV: General Order Four. It has not been violated by any officer on the Enterprise.

The most probable explanations on the writer's level are, to me: 1. the writer was thinking about The Menagerie but misremembered the number (confusing Talos Four with General Order Seven), or 2. the writer just threw in that there is an exception because it sounded reasonable that Starfleet might occasionally have the death penalty. I think 1 is more likely -- I feel like the line plays more as callback than dramatically necessary for the scene, and the use of "General Order" suggests it's probably a reference to the earlier dialogue -- but I'm not sure. In-universe, either Chekov is misremembering the number (important to remember that he's an ensign and maybe not that much of an expert) of the General Order, or Starfleet has changed the rules surrounding death penalty recently, apparently reducing the penalty on General Order Seven while upping it on Four. Or maybe Starfleet simply renumbered their General Orders.

More broadly, though, it could just be a retcon which results from the changing dramatic needs of the universe.

Good research, William. For some reason I remembered it as being about the prime directive, and even as a numerical error it seems to me strange that breach of any general order beneath #1 could carry a more severe penalty than that of #1 itself. IIRC they are numbered in order of importance, which you would think means the punishments decrease linearly as you progress down. I'm sure the writers simply made the number up as you suggest, since they didn't have a continuity team like the Okudas that could be consulted. Then again past TNG it seems like they were dismissed anyhow :p

For now I'll have to settle on having remembered wrongly, unless some other episode (like Patterns of Force, etc.) mentions something about it. For my own personal 'inner Trek world' I'll choose to go on assuming that the supreme penalty comes from breaking the supreme directive. If it's serious enough to warrant the destruction of a ship and crew, the death of one person - albeit after the fact - doesn't seem quite so extreme any more.

Thanks. I agree that a sensible ordering of General Orders would have the most important first, and have the most important have the greatest punishment, in general; if Starfleet as any death penalty, it should generally apply to the Prime Directive?

My suspicion -- putting aside that they didn't have the Okudas, of course -- is that the Prime Directive is aka General Order One, and then there were five other General Orders of high importance by the time The Cage happened. I suppose according to Enterprise, Starfleet predates both the Federation and the Prime Directive, so let's assume that at some point the Prime Directive and other such rules were instituted. Either a few General Orders were instituted at once, or a few were established and then gradually others were added. If they were all instituted at once, they would all be in descending order of importance; otherwise, they'd probably be put in chronologically.

Whatever the case for the first six General Orders, General Order Seven is "don't go to Talos IV," which seems to have been thrown in, ad hoc, in the handful of years between The Cage and The Menagerie. Seeing what the Talosians could do with their mind control, Starfleet immediately created a new general order. I think the reason they added "death" here was probably a result of newfound panic that the Talosians could take over the universe if people got to close to them, which is probably a little bit exaggerated. I forget whether the Talos IV ban is ever brought up explicitly post-TOS; I would imagine that given enough time, and especially after encountering all the Godlike beings they encounter in TOS, the Talosian threat would seem less existential, or at least, less *uniquely* existential.

What's interesting is why Starfleet Command kept Talos IV, and why one shouldn't go there, a secret, and imposed the death penalty, which they apparently don't even give for the Prime Directive, as their deterrent. Probably they recognized how easily people would be taken in by the Talosians if they knew that the Talosians could give them whatever they wanted, and wanted to keep it a secret. However, given that they've kept it a secret, they cannot properly explain why going to Talos IV is so strictly forbidden. While they trust that Starfleet officers will abide by regulations that they understand, Picard's interpretation as he says to Data in Redemption, is that Starfleet would rather have people who don't blindly follow orders (without there being a good reason). So usually, while the Prime Directive comes with all sorts of ethical and pragmatic arguments, which they assume will be enough to (mostly) deter people, "Don't go to Talos IV" comes with none, and Starfleet falls back on death threats. It's perhaps overly optimistic to believe that less deterrent is necessary for the Prime Directive because there is an ethical argument for it, especially since (as we see in this site, for example), the general principles that justify the Prime Directive often break down in individual instances or break down under many ethical frameworks.

Ah the voyager sledgehammer metaphor. These people are like us because they're ignoring the damage they're doing to their ocean. But come on: if there was indisputable scientific evidence that we are FIVE YEARS away from ruining earth do you think our bureaucracy would do nothing? I'm sure some people will think I'm naive, but I'm sure we're not that stupid. This alien race is beyond idiotic. Natural selection should take care of them.

Yes, there is strong evidence that our planet is being harmed (whether you believe it is man-made or not is irrelevant) . Whilst many people think we're not doing enough (l'm one of them) the steps taken worldwide over the last 20 or so years are significant. Whilst the bureaucracy is slow moving, it is moving. I think a lot of people miss that point.

Back to this episode:
I laughed out loud at the leak in the hull. If they were 600kms underwater, without shields, they must have some seriously strong alloys making up the hull. But even still, a hole the size of a pinprick would cause water to enter at tremendous pressure. If Paris stood under that leak it would have sliced through his entire body in an instant.

Then there's the issue of Paris interfering in alien domestic affairs. The arrogance of his actions (whilst understandable) is breathtaking. The federation is not a galactic police force. And it's not as though the aliens were facing extinction. They even said at the start that they are a nomadic people and most live aboard their vessels, so at worst they would just have to abandon their home and wander off somewhere else.

Which brings me to Janeway. They go to "investigate" an interesting ocean planet: fair enough. But when ships come out of the ocean and fire on voyager, she fires back? Why? This episode should have ended where it started. Janeway should have said "ok, we're not welcome here, let's go". But instead she fires on people defending their planet? Bullshit.

Sorry for ranting but this episode really annoyed me. 1 star

Mikey, this is a bad time to be arguing that "the bureaucracy is moving" to address climate change and environmental threats generally. Trump is assembling a Cabinet that will feature anti-science climate-change-deniers and oilmen running EPA, Energy, and Interior.

@Peremensoe: yeah, you're probably right. My bad.

What I was trying to get across though is that there has been significant progress in the last couple of decades. Whilst I understand that a lot of people don't think it's enough, I still do believe the metaphor of the episode was silly.

I guess time will tell...

Btw I'm an Australian so I didn't vote, but if I could have? I don't have a fucking clue. They're both despicable if you ask me...

Thank you Mikey for bringing up the hull breach issue. It's not even that the stream of water would slice Tom in half, but the tiniest breach would instantly crush everyone inside to pink goo. Futurama made this same mistake (though probably deliberately) after conceding that a spaceship's design considerations are completely opposite that of a submarine.

LEELA: Depth at 45 hundred feet, 48 hundred, 50 hundred! 5000 feet!
FARNSWORTH: Dear Lord, that's over 150 atmospheres of pressure.
FRY: How many atmospheres can this ship withstand?
FARNSWORTH: Well it's a spaceship, so I'd say anywhere between zero and one.

Assuming the gravitational field holding this planet together is similar to the gravity we experience on Earth, at 600km in depth, they'd be subjected to nearly 60,000 atmospheres of pressure, or 875,000 pounds per square inch. And they were able to survive without the shields? Then there's the question of how exactly they can propel and maneuver the Delta Flyer underwater. I can see them technobabbling a way out of it, but firing phasers too? The science makes me sad.

I do think the overall idea of the planet needing an artificial gravity generator to maintain containment is sound though. At 600km in radius, this ball of water is only 1/3 the size of our moon. That's no gas giant. An all-water planet of this size wouldn't generate enough of its own gravity to prevent atmospheric escape losses. Basically the planet would evaporate away, or be blown away by solar winds without a magnetic field and other help.

Why is it every time we have a Tom Paris story he wants to leave the ship?
And something I forgot about last week's episode - why haven't they just programmed holographic nurses for the doctor? Apparently, that's super easy in the 24th century.

The opening shot of Janeway demoting Paris apparently wasn't reused for the later shot. In the first shot, she removes his rank insignia while demoting him - in the latter, she removes it before demoting him. Also, 30 days in solitary confinement without a razor, and he barely grew a stubble?

However, the most ridiculous thing was when the scientist of this space-faring civilization said that he believed the giant ball of liquid water encapsulated in a force field was created naturally in space.

There is a wide range of opinion regarding Tom's actions and Janeway's response, which is a good thing. Shades of grey open up interesting discussion, black and white does not.

There is a fine line between being benevolent and being a busybody. I feel Paris crosses that line. Give the aliens all information, then let them decide. As Xylar pointed out, Voyager has been there for 3 days. It's their planet, let them decide.

I do feel Tom's punishment was a little harsh. Perhaps demote him to Ensign, but only for the length of his confinement, with the understanding that once his confinement is up he will be returned to his old rank (or maybe to Lt J.G.).

I've always felt Tom's punishment was harsh, and I've always seen Janeway as a bitch in this episode. Maybe if she had punished other members of the crew in the same manner for disobeying her orders, I wouldn't have an issue but she didn't. It's only Tom she sentenced to the brig and demoted?!?!?! Screw her!

2 stars meh

Paris as an interesting character became a lost cause in season four when he began to be written as an insufferable man child. So full disclosure I have a difficult time caring about episodes in which he is featured. Maybe the story itself is decent. Maybe with a different character I'd have enjoyed it more. I don't know but as presented I wasn't the least bit interested in Paris' rogue behavior or him trying to articulate to his dad about his actions or being demoted or being thrown in the brig

Sorry this gets a bit longer than usual -- I'm not even sure why, because it's not that it's *that* interesting an episode, but anyway.

Let's start with this. When Riker defied the Prime Directive and Picard's direct order to try to save Soren in The Outcast, it was for romantic love and compassion for another being. When O'Brien defied Sisko's orders and endangered diplomatic relations with new species to help Tosk escape in Captive Pursuit, it was for friendship and compassion for another being. Here, Tom defies Janeway's direct orders, maybe brings a conflict with a new species, and violates the spirit of the Prime Directive (though he tries to squeeze through on a technicality). His actions, if successful, could have helped save the Moean civilization from collapse and total evacuation in a few years; would have helped Riga in particular; and could also have saved the various undersea life forms (like that sea monster they run into in the action sequence), but Tom doesn't seem particularly interested in any of those. The bottom line is he cares about that ocean, and wants to save it. He likes Riga but otherwise doesn't seem interested in the civilization he's saving (and whose rules he's breaking), so it's not that Tom is acting out of a patriarchal belief that he knows better than them what is good for *their society*; it's that he sees them as abusing a beloved property. There is precedent for people to put other moral concerns over duty and Starfleet responsibility, but has anyone else done so pretty much primarily out of passion for a non-living beautiful thing? The closest place Paris comes to his "cause" being about a person is his desire to preserve the ocean in part because it was a great feat of engineering by a long-extinct civilization, and I think that on this point, as well as with his burgeoning friendship with Riga, Paris seems to feel he has common cause with people because they share his passion for the ocean, and wants to defend their passion as his own.

It reminds me of some studies done with children, where they got them to play with dolls or tonka trucks or some such, and they described it as person-orientation versus thing-orientation. I think the study was had mostly to do with evaluating gender differences in interest, but that's less relevant to what I'm talking about here as that it occurs to me that Tom is *very* "thing"-oriented, and has especially been characterized that way in the past year or so. He preferred spending time fixing up an old car in the holodeck than with his girlfriend in Vis a Vis; his big passion project was the construction of the Delta Flyer; his Captain Proton hobby is full of excitement for gizmos and gadgets. He's like a Tim Taylor-from-Home Improvement type guy. But whereas Geordi La Forge's difficulty relating to people as opposed to machines or machine/humanoid hybrids (the Enterprise, the Leah hologram, Hugh, Data) was framed as something that frustrated him, Tom was even something of a lothario before, and is extraverted and social, but on some level his biggest passions don't quite get directed toward people but to things he's obsessed with. Hence the flashback with his father where his father chastises him for playing with toys.

Anyway I find this all interesting because it makes Tom's rebellion particularly weird in comparison to how most others would behave. The main equivalent off hand is Seven's religious experience for a molecule in The Omega Directive, but otherwise Tom's viewing a ball of water/engineering monument from a dead civilization as something worth risking his life and sacrificing Federation principles for is really unusual. It's also worth noting that while humans occasionally take big risks and do industrial sabotage or whatever to protect the planet/the oceans/etc., it's generally at least got the justification that the planet is a shared resource, that we need to save the oceans because we need to *have* the oceans. (Note: not getting into the morality of industrial sabotage, just drawing a contrast with Paris here.) But Tom doesn't expect to "have" that ocean world, but is planning on leaving. He just wants that ocean world to continue existing, on some level, like it matters to him that there exists some perfect place in the universe, and he doesn't think that the Moneans have a right to destroy it. The letter to his father which is supposed to explain himself to him may inadvertently widen the gap; would Admiral Paris, who seems to dedicate himself to Federation principles, be able to understand the degree of Tom's passionate attachment to a ball of water?
So I agree that the Moeans are mishandling their situation, letting bureaucracy and myopia blind them to the catastrophe just around the corner, but I don't agree that makes Tom "right," not just because the Prime Directive would indicate that the Moeans' being right or wrong is irrelevant anyway, but because that's not Tom's motivation. I mean, they aren't wholly irrelevant; I think it's important that while Tom is defying the wishes of the Moean government, he is not really intending to permanently harm their civilization, just defy their will. But while I think Riga can be reasonably seen as heroically trying to protect his people from themselves, Tom barely factors the Moeans into his calculations at all.

It makes me think that Tom's values in some way really have to do with the idea of beauty -- beautiful things, beautiful accomplishments (like breaking speed barriers, like great flying, like beautiful engineering displays) -- as a source of meaning in life, and that these put him so out of sync with those around him who have more traditionally Federation values where beauty of things is important but comes far below happiness and abstract knowledge and well-being, that he has a hard time having relationships beyond shallow ones. Tom's desire to be a hero in a Captain Proton-esque story and his ongoing interest in the 20th century all seem to be his attempts to figure out how he can be heroic when he's already failed his father's definition of a hero, and in some way he wants to have some idea of heroism that emphasizes gizmos and daring-do that both is something he could achieve and also is something that he grasps, rather than the more high-falutin' Picard-style 24th century Renaissance Man scientist-philosopher idea man or Sisko-style Emissary people-oriented community or the Admiral Paris-style duty-bound rule-enforcer leader roles (with Janeway being something of a combination) that seem to be the main actual ways to be heroic in the Federation standards, none of which are really something that Tom can either be or even fully understand. This all makes Tom a sort of tragic character, being gradually redeemed, in that as we see, he's capable of incredible passion for something beautiful and is willing to risk his life for it, but it's somewhat out of step with values that can actually make the Federation function.

I think that's why the suddenness of Tom's obsession with the ocean sort of rankles a lot of viewers, including me to an extent; the obsession has to be a major hobby that is sufficient for him to defy orders to protect, without really any other reason besides that he loves the ocean. It's still consistent with his character that he'd buck authority and be unable to rein himself in by others' principles when his own passion is activated, and that he's still working toward something rather than peaceful rebellion is character growth as mentioned. I mostly understand Tom's reaction, too, especially the feeling of helplessness at the idea of something beautiful that has lasted a hundred thousand years being depleted by short-sightedness, and Tom's idea that the Moeans may claim property rights but that it's unjust for them to strikes me as the kind of thing that may even be true, but is totally unsustainable for Voyager to take as a guiding principle, hence why he necessarily has to break Janeway's orders to get to it.

I like that when Tom tells Janeway about his love of the ocean, he mentions reading Verne over and over again, but he does not mention that his father used to read it to him (as he does later in his letter); Tom seems to instinctively delete any positive experiences with his father from his telling of it, the pain of his father's rejection runs so deep.

As far as Janeway's actions: I agree that Tom defied orders and that Janeway had to deal with it. And frankly, yeah, in some ways he got off easy. I don't think he could have been executed (as Peter implies), but he's shown himself to be untrustworthy and committed acts that could have led to war, albeit one Voyager could have won. There's really no place in the Voyager chain of command for his actions. And yet, solitary is supposed to be pretty bad psychologically for people, and beyond punishment I think it probably will make Paris just more unruly and harder to control, rather than the reverse, as well as do some damage to him. When he starts yelling at the Doctor that he's going crazy, I can't quite understand why the Doctor is so blase about it; what I know about him would suggest he *would* be concerned (and might defy Janeway's orders to treat him psychologically). So what's funny is that I think that the solitary confinement -- which even Suder, who got visits from Tuvok, didn't get -- is a bad idea, but in other respects the punishment is too light. In a real way, Tom shouldn't be allowed near sensitive systems where he can get access to other civilizations lest this incident repeats itself, and I feel as if Janeway should maybe have simply taken him off conn altogether and made him be a permanent nurse, which they probably need anyway. Janeway doesn't want to do that, so I think she uses the solitary confinement (and the pain this causes him) as power play so that she doesn't have to do the hard work of replacing him from his everyday duties but can force him to see who's boss.

A minor point, but I find the use of the captain's log in the middle of the flashbacks representing Tom's letter to his father kind of on the goofy side. It seems as if the episode should just have flashbacks from Tom's POV, really.

I think the episode does end up being a bit thin, though it got me thinking about what makes Tom tick, which is good. The ocean-love being strong enough to defy orders and commit crimes is a huge buy and one I don't think the episode sufficiently sells. But it's got some interesting elements. 2.5 stars.

All this is very approximate, but...

The Atlantic and Pacific combined total well over a billion cubic kilometers of water. The ocean world in this episode is only about 900 million cubic kilometers. So it's actually smaller.

Also the pressure at the center of the water planet would be about 500 atmospheres, not 60,000. The equivilant of being at a depth of about 5km on earth. The deepest part of the oceans here on earth have a pressure of about 1100 atmospheres.

500 atmospheres would certainly still cause the delta flyer to fill up with water almost instantly if it had a hull breach, if not be crushed.

But all that's not really very important. :)

It's an ok episode.

2 1/2 stars.

Tom Paris is not a character I dislike (although not like "wow he's the best character in all of Star Trek!") so I never mind another Tom Paris episode. Nothing really bad here, but nothing great either.

Except the usual getting pissed at Janeway's arbitrary regard for the Federation doctrine of non-interference. In this episode, Janeway must let the aliens destroy their own world, but an episode later, Janeway is putting the entire ship in danger to get involved in some other civilization's treatment of telepathic refugees.

The main issue in this episode is an allegory for the current climate-change debate so it was kind of ahead of its time for 1998.

"In short, he disobeyed orders for a reason. That to me is somewhat interesting, because it reveals a "real" Tom Paris. Not one who is watered down to brainless compliance, resulting in the token Lt. One-Liner we've often seen."

I agree with what Jammers says here, but unfortunately we've had 4 seasons of Lt. One-Liner now. At this point, THAT is his character. So this sudden love of the ocean making him willing to disobey orders is a big character flip. Not as bad as if they made Harry or Neelix suddenly go rogue, because at least there is SOMETHING is Tom's backstory that foreshadows it.

I feel like these new character traits, ie Tom's love of all things oceanic, seem to be conjured up to serve one episode's plot, so it is hard to take seriously. Does it ever come up again in future episodes? At least his Hot Rod fetish, and Holodeck programming is consistent enough.

Good episode with a number of strong points. Gotta start with the underwater visuals and VOY being a series of exploration getting to do some underwater stuff is pretty cool. But most importantly, I thought Paris' rebellion was believable and even if we never knew he gave a shit about oceans before, that popping up did not seem out of character. Now he's rebelling for a cause.

Not every episode we see Janeway really having to discipline a senior staff member -- I think this is one thing Mulgrew acts well doing. Paris explains himself -- he comes across as very passionate and not somebody who is just immature. So this was also a good scene. Paris has clearly grown and had an exemplary record with Voyager so this had to be pretty tough on Janeway.

Another cool thing was seeing the Voyager torpedo hit the one the Delta Flyer was shooting at the oxygen refineries -- was it meant to do this or meant to hit the DF? I thought Janeway was firing at the Delta Flyer.

There are some valid allegories to pollution and its effect on the ocean and diplomats trying to save their political careers instead of spending money to fix an environmental problem. There was a line early in the episode about how the ocean was created -- whether by the divine or naturally. Of course, the big reactor at the bottom of the ocean solves that issue -- some interesting sci-fi here.

The flashbacks also worked well -- little updates on Paris' solitary confinement like Harry telling him to write to his dad provided good breaks from the story that got him in trouble.

3 stars for "Thirty Days" -- was good to see how far Paris would go and how far Janeway would go to stop him. A good setup to test this aspect of her command and Paris' character to get back to what makes it tick. Something new and original here -- the underwater scenes were cool.

Awful episode dawg. Bipolar janeway cracking the whip on tom because he took the delta flyer out late when akoosha mooya and toobok have disobeyed direct orders and got a pat on the back. kes goes and gets killed because she's dumb? better waste a whole episode saving that disobedient ocampan. Seven of nine disobeys? oh well what I am gonna do restrict her to cargo bay 2 ? lul forget about it.

Get real man, he was doing it to save the planet but janeway condemmed them with no fucks given. But when it's janeway interfering with other cultures she goes "lol captain prerogative" can do whatever the fuck she wants. Krenim? Force her way through them. Borg? Help them create a new weapon to fight a war. Smuggling telepaths. The swarm? shoot them into submission. Trabe? ally with them to help them lure the kazon.

Kept my interest, the effects were especially great, though why it should be any mystery that the planet "held together" confused me.

Mostly good stuff, the biggest flaw, IMO, was the inadequate reaction to Paris' insubordination - that was one wild stunt he pulled. How could he ever really be trusted again?

It could be worse - they could have bumped him back to ensign for as long as Harry Kim was. At least Paris got to rebel a bit.

I am as much on the fence with Janeway's inconsistencies as anyone , but she was right this time. A captain alone light years from home with a crew of complicated personalities needs the discipline of leadership. Janeway must balance the discipline according to the degree of how the infractions impact the stability of the leadership. Otherwise, letting people disregard direct orders effectively neuters the command structure and kaos sets in. Paris committed very serious infractions and left no choice for Janeway to make an example of him.

Mr. Paris doesn't grow much of a beard in 30 days.

Most people have said it already. I just wanted to add that Tom Paris' character brought down the entire likeability and decorum of this series. He is so mundane, so boring, so staunchly 20th century (cars, grease monkey, television, black and white film non-sense), that he just brought the sophistication level way down. The actor is so white bread and annoyingly all-American that it's hard to take any of his plot involvements seriously. And this episode was no different.

Harry Kim is probably the only worse character, so the fact that he and Tom are close friends just makes it all the more mundane. There is absolutely nothing endearing about either of these characters and I couldn't really care less if they lived or died. Tom never really evolves or matures as a character. His romantic status changes and he has a kid, but he himself is pretty much the same from day one.

"I just wanted to add that Tom Paris' character brought down the entire likeability and decorum of this series."

Friendly sort, aren't you?

well yeah, this episode certainly aged well... nowadays, fascists like Bolsonaro and Trump do have that sort of rhetoric like "respect our borders don't meddle in our internal affairs". Janeway demonstrates just how outdated mainstream liberalism is with the non-meddling policy in case of an environmental catastrophy. Of course Paris, the romantic eco-anarchist is going to get all the bashing. Who cares about orders and military fetishism when the planet is in danger?

Did Tommy’s letter to Dad get sent right at that moment they popped out of the Borg transwarp conduit?

Admiral Paris: “Welcome back, how did you...”

Admiral’s 2394 iPhone: (“You’ve got mail!”)

This episode lost a valuable opportunity to critically examine power structures in Starfleet. Janeway is a dictator. She can tell anybody what to do and dole out punishments with no trial, jury of peers, or due process. We can kind of justify this in the Alpha quadrant because captains answer to admirals who answer to the civilian government and who in theory the public elects thus completing the circle.

But once Voyager entered the Delta quadrant this circle was broken. Janeway didn't have to answer to admirals so she became all powerful on the ship and had to answer to NO ONE. This is made worse in that the crew doesn't have the ability to transfer to another assignment or practically disembark. They are totally imprisoned by Janeway's power.

The writers (except for Ron Moore) never questioned this. We should have seen the crew second guessing Janeway more...we should have seen some semblances of democracy and maybe even elections like what we saw on Battlestar. Maybe Janeway stays captain but there are citizen councils that decide important things like punishment and what missions to partake in.

I agree that it would have been better to explore more the consequences of Janeway's authority, resistance to it, etc., but I'm not positive this episode was a great place to do it. It's not like Virtuoso (spoiler) or something where a crew member wants to leave the ship and has to go through Janeway and only Janeway, or Tuvix where it's life and death for Tuvix, Tuvok and Neelix. Paris breaks the Prime Directive and attempts large scale industrial sabotage using Voyager's most powerful shuttle. It really is as Starfleet a matter as you can get.

Tom Paris v the Trump administration.
3.5 stars

I'm still marveling at the ocean planet. What a cool concept. Very well done on the effects. I would have liked a two-parter on that one!

“wouldn't 0700 be breakfast?”

Exactly what I was going to say! I guess the writers had a brain fart and mixed up 0700 with 1900.

I'm with Lameway, for once.

#1: It's none of Voyager's or Starfleet's business what a species does with its own homestead. Does the U.F.P. have universal jurisdiction to interfere even where there's a genocide in progress, let alone environmental abuse, perpetrated by pre- or post-Warp species? (I genuinely don't know so would appreciate an answer from someone more clued-in. My understanding is that the Prime Directive is non-derogable.)

#2: Voyager's crewmen can't be going freelancing it according to their personal moral imperatives. Ignoring a direct order to release a tractor beam is one thing; ignoring an order to not tear-ass through another species' planet and destroying its important economic resource is quite another.

As for Tommy himself, he's almost as forgettable as Harry "Can't-Get-A-Lock-On-Anything-Ever" Kim, although more likable. I like Torres and him but his personal backstory and ever proceeding from it doesn't inspire me in the least.

While Janeway was not nearly as bad as Picard in Homeward, she was the ultimate bureaucrat, quoting rules and regulations when chances were she wouldn’t make it home alive or a very old woman.

The concept of an ocean planet was hella unique and aesthetically pleasing. The special effects in this show never fail (well 90% of the time).

I'm on Janeway's side with this one Tom had no right and deserved to be dressed down ...wasn't what he did basically terrorism? I just wish she'd kept the same enery for The Doctor on several upcoming occasions.

Someone in this thread compared Janeway to Trump ...no words just wow.

Apart from the 0700 thing there was a mistake in his dream of when he was a boy... Janeway says 30 years, not days.

Also ‘Eugene’ is obviously a reference to Gene Roddenberry who himself gave Wesley Crusher the middle name Eugene.

But no doubt you already know that.

That's not a mistake. It's a dream lmao.

I would have thought Star Fleet would be a society beyond barbaric practices like solitary confinement and incarceration. Although to be fair, with that whole slew of charges Janeway read to him before ordering him in the brig, in the US you'd get at least 10 years! 30 days is nothing by comparison, and unlike current prisons where you have to worry about being beaten/raped everyday. However the prime directive is not only idiotic but enforced completely hypocritically. In the NG episode "Justice" ONE Wesley Crusher was enough for them to violate their laws, but in "Homeward" the lives of millions of baraals was not. If you are afraid of negatively impacting a planet's development, simply give them replicator that can only make food instead of weapons for example, or only necessary medicine..etc. Serves them right when the Kazon marooned them all on that planet. Didn't the hypocrites even void the whole prime directive altogether because they were afraid of a few Omega particles LMAO

A good episode this is, but not thoroughly engaging for some reason.... I'm not hugely into the logic of the Prime Directive and I like the Tom Paris character, but his motivations were alienating because they lacked creativity. The best he could do was become disloyal to a captain who deserved better from him. This is not ultimately positive on any level.

Paris induces Riga to undertake a terrorist attack on a state facility, furnishing the means to do so which Riga would not have had otherwise. The Delta Flyer is not Tom's personal hotrod, but he decided the rules were written differently for him , and that he could 'save the world'. It was noble in a way, but also dangerous, and let's face it, the plan basically was little more than a redux of the Captain Proton holodeck simulation seen at the start of the show.

Net effect of the stunt:
Another irreplaceable photon torpedo is expended to neutralize Riga's attack on the oxygen plant.

Paris is busted in rank and given 30 days in the brig for insubordination and for endangering his crew. It was a pretty light stretch all things considered. Janeway was great as she meted out discipline. Not sure that he's redeemable at this point.

Outstandingly impressive special effects in this episode, with some particularly well-conceived and executed shots such as the perfectly-timed photon torpedo from orbit intercepting the 'missile' launched from the Delta Flyer, and the shot of the ocean planet from Janeway's ready room.

I didn't find the plot as engaging; I simply couldn't shake it reminding me of SeaQuest DSV (I didn't particularly dislike SeaQuest, by the way, it was just not what I expected from a VOY episode and it threw me) - but I agree it was a decent enough Paris episode, and that it was a nice nod to see the Delaney sisters at long last.

And when Captain Janeway violated the temporal prime directive like 1000 times? She even stole Klingon technology and went back in time just to get her crew home a few years faster, after she was already home! She was even quoted several times basically saying she doesn't give a damn about the integrity of the time line. What Tom did was nothing compared to all her reckless decisions over the seasons. Tom should have yanked off his com badge and told her to shove it up her ass after he was released. Fly the damn ship yourself!

The science in this episode was weak as well. Overall this episode is comparable with "Threshold"!

This episode was on TV again yesterday, have another question, wouldn't the water freeze over as it rose high enough into the atmosphere and toward the edge of space? Threshold still beats this episode any day now!

I agree with the poster who pointed out that the non-humanoid creatures should be protected. The aliens colonized the planet 300 years ago, not a long time, geologically speaking. So, they get a pass on irresponsible behavior, and screw the other lifeforms? When the planet loses its water, they still have the option of evacuation (though if they don’t have a plan for this, many will die). The “native” animals are doomed.

This is a good episode. I agree with those that have stated the visual effects are amazing in this one. I also think this is a good vehicle for Tom and agree with Jammers take on how it does a good job of showing where is character is at in this part of the journey.

Total snooze fest.

I just couldn't buy Tom's motivations for a moment. Ridiculous.

I agree with the above that Tom Paris is just a really boring character. He's supposed to be some rebel but comes across as Ritchie Cunningham.

It would be easier to accept Paris’ punishment if it wasn’t for janeway’s own spotty history with the prime directive. Just a few seasons ago she straight up ordered Tom not to warn a people about their impending incineration. But then ten minutes later she flips and decides to go all in saving this civilization because her best guess is that voyager caused the catastrophe in the first place. So, in essence, Janeway demonstrated first hand to a member of her senior staff that the prime directive has a little wiggle room, sometimes you gotta feel it out, play it by ear, go with the flow, help the Borg, etc..
If I were Tom, I’d accept my punishment, because Janeway is technically right in this situation, but in the back of my mind I’d have some major resentment and doubt about Janeway as a leader. I imagine many of the maquis on board might feel the same.

I also thought it might be more interesting if Tom had balked at his punishment a bit on the basis that he sees the delta flyer as HIS ship. He designed it, he pushed for it, he led the way building it, it’s even custom fit for his captain proton fantasy. What if he didn’t view it as just another shuttle, but actually saw it as ostensibly belonging to him? Thus all he did was take his ship out to help an alien pal save his planet, none of the federation’s business thank you very much. At least this might go a ways to explain why Janeway came down so hard on Paris, when others, including herself, have done similar things.

Even if the prime directive was enforced consistently, it's still so absurd that I couldn't support it. Like in the episodes Prey and Memorial and Dear Doctor in Enterprise, and Homeward in TNG. They leave 0 wiggle room for common sense and basic human decency, unless of course it's to save themselves. If they were just saying "well cavemen couldn't understand our tech" I'd understand, but the ridiculous threshold that a species has to warp capable to share any tech or make contact with them, is Lunacy. A society could have mastered every other level of civility/maturity and technology, but didn't figure out warp drive. Some species may never figure it out. That's an absurdly high standard for first contact, especially since with help from Voyager alot of those societies could make that jump much faster. And I definitely don't agree with the episodes of letting a planet die of a disaster or disease for the non-interference purpose, regardless of the level of the development.

I also think the month straight in that tiny brig is cruel and unusual punishment. Even in county jails you only spend the might locked in your cells. He didn't even have a normal matress/pillow from what it looked like. I would have thought star fleet was more civil than that, with the solitary confinement thing. All this compounded by the fact that Tom did absolutely nothing wrong. He should have been promoted. Janeway strands them there to protect an alien race and then forcibly subjects everyone to her own twisted sense of morality. Too bad Q didn't annoy her more.