Jammer's Review

Star Trek: Voyager

"Nightingale"

**

Air date: 11/22/2000
Teleplay by Andre Bormanis
Story by Robert Lederman & Dave Long
Directed by LeVar Burton

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

"I scanned you."
"You scanned me?"
"In the Jeffries tube. Your blood pressure and neurotransmitter readings indicated a state of arousal."
"It was hot!"

— Icheb and B'Elanna

In brief: A nigh-perfect example of too little, too late.

"Nightingale" didn't do much for me. I'm not entirely sure whether to blame the episode or the series as a whole, so I'll do the honorable thing and blame both.

But in all seriousness, an episode like "Nightingale" suffers all the more because it's an example of the adage "too little, too late."

Well, too bad.

Ensign Harry Kim, as many people undoubtedly know, is by far not my favorite Voyager character. In my view, he's the best candidate for ripping apart and making fun. The writers apparently share that view, and frequently give him episodes where he's the butt of the joke. (The story break meetings must boil down to: "That darn Harry! He's such a funny, naive kid! How green can we make him this week?") Witness the very end of "Inside Man," for example, and you see Harry being the victim of a joke that seems to reinforce the fact that he hasn't advanced a step forward since day one. Besides, when the character is saddled with episodes like "Favorite Son" or "The Disease," how can we possibly believe the writers see him as anything more than the lovable goofball who gets some of the worst shows?

Now we get "Nightingale," which seems to be a last-ditch effort by the writing staff to redeem themselves for years of Harry non-growth. Does it work? Not really. Could it have? I'm honestly not sure. The show wants us to accept Harry as a starship captain. That's sort of like asking us to accept Tuvok as a stand-up comedian.

Harry ends up in command of a ship by complete accident, which is perhaps a telling sign. Wandering into an alien conflict by chance, Harry makes a choice while on a Delta Flyer mission with Seven and Neelix: He opts to stop one ship from firing on another. Strictly speaking as a matter of policy, the conflict is not his concern, but humanitarian instincts tell him that saving the crippled ship under attack is the right thing to do.

The decision he makes is not a bad one, though it will raise complications later. When the Delta Flyer crew boards the vessel to tend to survivors, Harry finds that the ship's captain and senior officers have all been killed (how convenient!), and this crippled ship needs the help of experienced personnel to make repairs. They're called the Kraylor, and they say they're on a mission of mercy to deliver medicine to their world. They need protection from the Annari, who are the ones who attacked them. They are particularly vulnerable without their cloaking device working.

Harry offers them help in making repairs, after which they ask if he would be willing to take command of their ship and take them to safety. He routes them to Voyager's position and asks Janeway for an opportunity to see this mission through. There's a speech here where Harry makes his case for getting his first "real command" — which is a relevant idea after all these years — and he even makes mention of the fact he's been an ensign for the past six years ("If we were back home, I'd be a lieutenant by now — maybe even a lieutenant commander"). Not that Janeway couldn't have given him a field promotion at any time; she gave rank to the Maquis officers and promoted Tuvok (and Paris, after demoting him), but never mind.

So Janeway gives Harry his chance to sit in the big chair of this Kraylor vessel. Harry takes command of the Kraylor ship and quickly names it the Nightingale, hence the episode's title. There's a complication here: The Annari, the Kraylor's enemies, are in the middle of some trade negotiations with Voyager, so Harry's mission must be conducted outside their knowledge.

The problem with "Nightingale" is that the crises are far too obvious and the story is not subtle enough. Harry takes command, and it's almost as if the power of the captain's chair instantly rushes straight to his head and turns him into a magnified version of his already blatantly naive self. As captain, he's an annoying micromanager, giving an order to his officer and then practically shoving the officer out of the way to do it himself, so it's done right.

Also, Harry carries an air of arrogance that practically snuffs out our sympathy for him. He doesn't gain the respect of those under him and instead assumes he has it because he sits in the captain's chair. Frankly, if I were serving under him, he wouldn't have my respect either. (Does Harry have a single character trait besides being green?)

The best scenes are probably the ones where Seven kicks Harry in the rear with her direct opinions ("There is a malfunction in one of the ship's systems — its captain.") whenever he makes a mistake. But he should already be realizing these mistakes if he ever commanded Voyager during the night shift. By throwing us such ham-fisted Harry actions, the story doesn't really give us a sampling of Harry's abilities but instead examples of why he shouldn't even be in the chair in the first place.

There's some extra plotting to "Nightingale" involving the hidden motives of the Kraylor, as mostly filtered through the mysterious character of Dr. Loken (Ron Glass). They aren't trying to deliver medical supplies but instead the ship's prototype cloaking device. This exposed deception leads Harry to order the mission abandoned, at which point the crew answers in mutiny by refusing to follow his order to turn around. Harry decides it best to flee the ship in an escape pod rather than be a party to delivering military equipment. But then he changes his mind after getting dressed down by Seven and decides to see the mission through anyway, at which point I wondered if a crew would really accept him back. (Somewhat indulgent is the show's portrayal of Harry as heroic for coming to this decision, and making so much of his return to the bridge.)

There's a B-story in "Nightingale" that goes down as one of the most disposable filler B-stories in some time. It involves Icheb coming to terms with an unexpected crush on B'Elanna. Being unfamiliar with romantic signals, he perceives simple friendliness as signs that B'Elanna has an interest in him. While not offensive, this subplot is the lightest of lightweight and not one bit necessary or interesting. The comic "twist" is when Icheb confuses the facts until he's telling B'Elanna they must "stop seeing each other." The story misses its lighthearted payoff moment by showing B'Elanna annoyed after the strange misunderstanding instead of smiling at the absurdity of it. (C'mon, 'Lanna — lighten up!)

Now that I think about it, I don't know that this show could've actually succeeded. It's probably unfair that "Nightingale" suffers from the mistakes that were made before — and perhaps it reveals my bias against a character long reduced to a single joke. But this is a show that can't really work as entertainment unless we feel the central dilemma about Harry is worth our time. All the alien conflicts and hidden agendas are just stock McGuffin material (and too mediocre to be compelling); the real story is about Harry. And I can't really say that the real story is anything but mediocre either. The ending in particular doesn't ring true, because it shows that Harry seems to think he's captain material. He's not. But the episode seems to want us to think he is, or at least that he might be someday down the road.

I dunno. By the end of the episode I didn't get the sense that Harry learned much of anything. What's more, I didn't really care.

Next week: Doc is pulled into the plight of a group of sentient holograms.

Previous episode: Body and Soul
Next episode: Flesh and Blood

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15 comments on this review

EP - Tue, Mar 10, 2009 - 12:52am (USA Central)
For this episode, I ignore all aspects of "Harry the Captain," and instead view it as a cautionary tale of what happens when you intervene in the internal affairs of other societies. Because the plot is actually preposterous - not only does Harry decide to help support the Kraylor cloaking device prototype shakedown cruise, he engages in military actions against the Annari, all while wearing a Starfleet uniform. There are violations of sovereignty all over the place.

Meh. At least there were those cool shots of the warp nacelles being refurbished.
Will - Fri, Nov 27, 2009 - 6:32am (USA Central)
My favourite nickname for Harry Kim is "the man who can't be moved" because it's true. His character can't be moved. He never develops. If half the stuff that happened to him happened on Battlestar Galactica (well, half the stuff that happened to him WOULDN'T happen at all on Battlestar Galactica), getting sucked out of an airlock, having his heart broken, getting killed and brought back to life... (I could go on all day) he'd either have committed suicide or be a nervous, defunct wreck by now
Ken Egervari - Mon, Dec 21, 2009 - 5:40pm (USA Central)
I think this episode came way too late, despite its many flaws. Ensign Kim changes WAY too much in this episode. In a few episodes back, he's gullible about getting home... and now he's playing captain?

The truth is that in some scenes, Harry appears to be quite a strong leader - a deeper voice, more confidant, etc. While I don't doubt the credibility of this character EVENTUALLY... it comes right out of left field here. Simply put, the character did not undergo enough transformation to make what is shown here credible.

Sure, Harry makes some pretty bad mistakes as captain... and I suppose you should make mistakes when your learning command. Still, the mistakes even come out of left field... and the dialog and acting make it go way over the top. When Harry was "being the big man", I was cringing. I had a sick feeling to my stomach. I felt that the writers were pushing too hard to force this on Harry. The dialog and logic behind his actions also kind of didn't make sense.

The whole episode is just two much of an extreme. I get emotional stomach pain watching.
petetong - Wed, Jan 20, 2010 - 5:11pm (USA Central)
This is just an example of how the writers, even after 7 years, still base their stories on what must have been written in the show's bible. While DS9 comparisons are cliche I can't help but draw the comparison to Dr. Bashir who of course started off as the green fresh out of school doctor but matured at a respectable pace as the series progressed. The writers/costume people even gave him a promotion LT JG to full LT.
Eduardo - Sun, Jan 24, 2010 - 12:06am (USA Central)
Just think about it. By this point, Nog was alread a junior-grade lieutenant, outranking Kim.

Harry was a waste of bridge space. No one lasts 7 years as an ensign if they're doing a good job. Given how much Garrett phoned it in, I'm not surprised that might reflect on his character development.

Data said the average ensign life span was 3 years.
Michael - Fri, Jul 16, 2010 - 1:29pm (USA Central)
"At least there were those cool shots of the warp nacelles being refurbished."

I liked that footage, too, but what struck me (and this is not the first time) was how tiny Voyager was made to look compared to the people scampering around it. It's sized more like a jumbojet than a starship bearing a dozen or so decks. I remember thinking the same the few times Voyager was shown landing on a planet and was shot with crewmembers standing near it.

Anyway, soooooo, Harry "Can't-Get-A-Lock" Kim a captain!?! Wow. That guy couldn't captain a third-division junior highschool hopscotch team!! LOL!!! But another fine mess he got Voyager into.

"The show wants us to accept Harry as a starship captain. That's sort of like asking us to accept Tuvok as a stand-up comedian."
:)))))))))))))))))))))))))

No-Lock: "If we werre back home, I'd be a [] lieutenant-commander[.]"
Ha! Given the number of things he screwed up over the seven years, I'd have him scrubbing plasma-conduits! I'd sooner have Icheb be an admiral than "No-Lock" anything above an ensign, and even that's really pushing it. He is always depicted as a nice guy but there wasn't a single moment I remember him really shining.

Speaking of Icheb, that poor guy's probably still having wet dreams, ten years after the episode was shot! Man, the scriptwriters can be really cruel!! *grin*

Um, anyhow, here's what I don't get: The Kraylor planet is in dire straits and its inhabitants may die of starvation due to the Anari blockade of the planet. So, the planet is not self-sufficient? Unlikely. Secondly, why did "Dr. Loken" develop the cloaking technology so far away from the planet instead of on the planet itself? Ah, never mind.

Good show. I liked the action sequences. It deserves three stars, in my view.
Jay - Sun, Mar 13, 2011 - 10:34am (USA Central)
Icheb's nutritional supplement looked like nachos.
Cloudane - Thu, Apr 7, 2011 - 6:06pm (USA Central)
An episode centred around Ensign Hapless - yeah that was going to end well.

Dull as dishwater, just like Kim himself.. I almost nodded off, if not for the odd slightly interesting moment like watching slices of nacelle being moved around.

One star, and not a golden one...
Nathan - Sun, Nov 13, 2011 - 5:19am (USA Central)
"My favourite nickname for Harry Kim is "the man who can't be moved" because it's true."
I guess there's too much interference to move him?
Ghostwheel - Fri, Mar 16, 2012 - 5:26pm (USA Central)
"Wandering into an alien conflict by chance, Harry makes a choice while on a Delta Flyer mission with Seven and Neelix: He opts to stop one ship from firing on another. Strictly speaking as a matter of policy, the conflict is not his concern, but humanitarian instincts tell him that saving the crippled ship under attack is the right thing to do."

I'd say that's court-martial material right there.

An overlooked point is that while Harry is interfering in an alien squabble he knows nothing about, Voyager is helplessly planetside with its insides splayed out in the open. So if there's a hostile response to Kim's meddling, Voyager not only can't come to his rescue, but has zero capacity to defend anyone at all.

Both Janeway and Kim were lucky that all the Annari did was escort Voyager out of their space. If they had decided to arrest everyone and impound Voyager, what could the crew have down, given that the ship was totally helpless during its maintenance?

Zero stars. Unless it becomes a two-parter with Kim being court-martialed the next episode.
Mitch - Tue, Apr 10, 2012 - 2:46am (USA Central)
Hah. I was just cleaning through my hardrive and forgotten I actually wrote my own review on Nightingale. I posted it some 12 years ago to Usenet, where it's still archived to this day:

groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.startrek.reviews/browse_thread/thread/2413 150b6f0ca120/38069ddf84fc5af4?q=nightingale+author:mitchell+author:spector# 38069ddf84fc5af4

I think it was my first and only Trek review! I sort of felt the need to vent about the series and this particular episode culminated a lot of those frustrations.
Jelendra - Tue, Jul 3, 2012 - 4:43am (USA Central)
I didnt mind this episode in the least. Not great stuff but a welcome Kim driven show. The character of Harry Kim has been hamstrung up to this point by writing that keeps him as Ensign Naive. He always struck me as competent just not given the chance to shine often being outshone by other characters. I like this episode as an"ok" one.

The words of wisdom spouted from Seven concerning Harry's "command" should really have come from Neelix. He is the one with the introspection necessary to have made those somments in a useful fashion...as much as I like Seven, those comments didnt seem right coming from her. She looks better in tight clothes than Neelix and that is always good for ratings...
Jelendra - Tue, Jul 3, 2012 - 4:45am (USA Central)
And I thought the Icheb B story was kind of cute...Jammer missed her reaction in the form of a wry smile when she agreed to not see him again :)
Mrwonder? - Mon, Oct 22, 2012 - 12:04am (USA Central)
Why is it that people complain Harry Kim's character never evolves and then on episodes where they work on "Evolving" his character people complain that it was "So obvious" and don't like it?
Go back to previous episodes with Harry Kim as the main plot character and read the forums section and you'll see what I'm talking about.
Adara - Thu, May 9, 2013 - 12:58am (USA Central)
@Jay: I noticed that too! I guess nachos would be a 16-year old kid's preferred nutritional supplement. :)

Wow, what a terrible episode. I'm not sure if the Harry Kim character or Garrett Wang's acting is worse, but they're both positively cringe-worthy.

One thing that really bugged me that no one else brought up is the idea that flying a ship automatically equals a chain of command. If I ask someone else to drive my car home, that doesn't mean I'm going to call them "sir" and let them bark orders at me. I thought that was very presumptuous on Kim's part, to make the jump from chauffeur to captain. I would drive home blind before I'd let someone I just met boss me around.

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