“Rise”

Boring episode, I found myself having to force myself to watch at times, altough it was nice to see Neelix bleed.

C'mon. It wasn't that bad. Time spent in the company of Tuvok is always good. The majority of the episode was spent in Neelix/Tuvok's perspective, so i didn't have a big problem with the lack of explication about what was going on. I was just along for the ride to the ionosphere.

Partly a rip off of "Flight Of The Phoenix", people stranded after a plane crash in the desert convert the larger plane into a smaller jury-rigged plane on the instructions of a nerdy guy. It turns out all the aviation knowledge the nerdy guy has is from making models. To spite this and the gratuitous shuttle craft carnage, (which is a great point about Voyager)I still kind of thought this was one of the better episodes.

I rather liked the idea of the sky tether--it reminded me of Robert Heinlein's 'Beanstalk' from "Friday." Of all the various transport devices in the Star Trek universe, I thought this one was pretty interesting. Unfortunately, they couldn't come up with much that was fun to do with it.

Although the shuttle craft crash in large numbers, presumably Voyager can recover at least some of the bits for re-use. And, in any case, later on they build the Delta Flyer - twice - and that's only a special effort because they design it themselves from the ground up.

More mysterious is how they make so little of retro-engineering the Doctor's C29 mobile emitter and the Borg tech from the various Borg corpses and encounters they've had.

Pretty average episode, but enjoyed Neelix's work here. Not a character I normally like with his usual vacuous statements and over doing of his family's death (which he bores everyone he comes into contact with). But here, he stood up to Tuvok (ok in a childish way), but he was sure he was right, and as Tuvok did tend to dismiss him (understandably on his part eh?) he didn't have much choice. I didn't understand the plot with who was on who's side but I don't think you needed to. Luckily.
Yes, well observed that this was a sci fi Flight of the Phoenix - it really is.

The entire premise of this episode is faulty. Doesn't the Prime Directive forbid even benign interference in a civilization's "natural evolution," even if that "evolution" results in the civilization's destruction? Cf. TNG's "Homeward." Yes, they were fake asteroids, but nobody knew that going in. I hope the excuse isn't "That wasn't actually their planet; it was just some colony they had set up."

Also, doesn't a space body, whatever it was when it was a space body (asteroid in this case), become a meteorite when it strikes a planetary surface?

why is neelix the only one who knows how to pilot a friggin elevator?

I can't help but laugh every time I see the scene in sickbay with Neelix trying to put his backpack on and Doc saying "Mr. Tuvok seldom acknowledges MY brillance." That was pure comic genius.

As for the rest of the episode... well, there are too many plot holes to even count. Experienced or not, how could Neelix be able to learn alien technology so quickly? Why would Sklar betray his race? Why would - oh, never mind.

Jammer,

I've read many of your reviews, and often find myself agreeing with them, and your score, /after/ reading the review, even if I didn't agree with your score beforehand. But there's one thing I vehemently disagree with, and that's your dislike of Neelix.

I find Neelix very much to be a multi-layered personality. I don't think he's someone who's fully coped with the loss of his parents and his sister yet; his often lightheaded jokes seem to me to be nothing more than a way to camouflage the sadness that is still in his heart. When he dies in "Mortal Coil", it seems to me that he's not so much sad about realizing there's no afterlife, as he is about realizing he won't see them again.

The contrast of Neelix against Tuvok is also something that, I think, works very well. In this particular episode, we see it get to a head. Neelix has been putting up with this dismissive Vulcan who wants nothing to do with him for a very very long time, even though he considers him a friend (and Tuvok knows this). When he believes there's something important on the roof, Tuvok believes he's just being silly, and dismisses him without even considering the possibility that he might be right. That just pushes the built-up tension to the surface, and Neelix and Tuvok get into an argument. Not at the most convenient of times, I'll grant you, but these kinds of arguments often do.

Also, I don't see his stopping the tether carriage as childlike. If the party inside the carriage wants to go and investigate what's up on the roof, that needs to happen when there's actually still air outside, since I don't think there are any space suits in the carriage. Granted, someone could take a shuttle from Voyager and do it that way, but that takes time, and we're in a crunch here. Neelix doesn't actually say it with so many words, but his "we're not moving until someone checks" does make sense in that light.

I'll grant you that the acting and directing wasn't stellar; but I do think that based on Neelix and Tuvok's history, the interpersonal conflict presented here seems very believable in my eyes, and would warrant more than just 1.5 stars.

Oh, and regarding the technical feasibility, you might want to check the wikipedia page on 'Space elevator' :-)

I was gratified to see you acknowledged the HORRIBLE acting of the guest stars in this episode. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Kelly Connell makes the guy that plays Travis Mayweather seem like Marlon Brando.

@navamske : The PD doesn't apply here, the civilisation is warp-capable and they asked in an official capacity for assistance from Voyager as a unified planet (no internal conflict) from a natural disaster. Were the civilisation pre-warp or had they known there was a political conflict, the case would be different. The Enterprise helped civilisations with natural disasters dozens of times.

@Wouter Verhelst : thank you for putting so eloquently what I've always loved about Neelix. There is a value to all people, and Neelix is a wonderful person who hides his deep pain (which in many would make one cynical and menacing) with saccharine humour. People who dismiss him as "annoying" really miss the entire point of his character. It's so sad how this show went (and goes) over so many people's heads.

It's not a great episode for the reasons you mentioned (directing and guest acting), but the characterisations of Tuvok and Neelix make the whole endeavour worth watching. And guess what? The interactions they have here play deeply into their character development over the next four years, but hey this series doesn't have any continuity because of the all-important shuttle count. God knows how important that is.

I have just re-watched this episode for the first time in years and find myself much in agreement with Wouter Verhelst. It certainly isn't among the most memorable Voyager episodes, but is nowhere near as dreadful as Jammer portrays here (IMO). And I think it's far better than Darkling. Rather than 1 1/2 stars, I'd give it 2 1/2. I found it quite engrossing and entertaining.

For the record, I'm not a Neelix hater. I'm not exactly a fan either. The only time he's interesting is when he has to confront that inner pain that is written into his character. It's the fun-loving, easy going facade of the character that's annoying. He's not funny, he's not particularly endearing, and he offers virtually no witty repartee of note. Bones he is not to Tuvok's Spock. The whole "Mr. Vulcan" thing is the perfect example. The jealousy over Kes angle is another egregious example of how overwrought and badly written the character could be.

Most of the time, though, I'm able to ignore these annoyances, particularly if there's a good story going on. This particular episode? Not so much. I'm waiting for Naomi to start her rapid aging process. Ethan Phillips and Scarlett Pomers had decent chemistry on screen.

You realize that if they rapid-aged Naomi, it wouldn't be Scarlett Pomers anymore...?

@wouter verhelst -- Thanks for defending Neelix. His character is too often misunderstood. His desperation to be needed and loved is always there under the annoying cheerfulness. Phillips shows that even when the script doesn't seem to call for it. I loved how Neelix stood up to Tuvok, and the scene in the mess hall at the end was adorable.

When Voyager first started I was very excited to see how several characters would evolve, Neelix being one of them. At very first I liked him, then I found him annoying, and then I found him VERY annoying. Then after watching "Fair Trade", something happened to my view of, Neelix- I felt sorry for him. Feeling sorry for him then made me like him again and brought a clearer understanding to his character.

So now we come to this episode, "Rise". And while it wasn't the best episode by far, I did find myself caring about this loud and annoying alien who very much wants the approval and friendship of a crew mate who any viewer knows, doesn't like him. Kudos to telling Mr. Vulcan how he really is, Mr. Neelix. Kudos.

Watched this turd for the first time since it aired on TV. I fell asleep 2 times, but i didn't seem to miss anything.

Sucks hard.

I love Tuvok, he is my favourite Star Trek character. But in this episode he was a prick!

This episode has so many problems. The biggest one: A huge dramatic point is made of the fact that they are going to run out of air halfway up the tether. Then that problem utterly disappears! They even have the door open for quite some time which would make the problem multitudes worse for everyone, except maybe Tuvok. Did the writers forget about this aspect of the plot? Did they not understand WHY air supply in a high altitude vehicle is critical and that keeping that door open would mean death for everyone inside? Tuvok even mentions that they would all have died if that one dude had opened the door. I watched again the scenes that developed the air supply problem and it was made clear that the injection Tuvok gave them was only supposed to be a temporary fix. They were going to run out of air and DIE if the remaining working air thingy couldn’t be enhanced. Then, no one ever worked on that problem. Also, how was The Bad Guy able to survive on top of the vehicle to fight with Tuvok if Tuvok was the only one capable of breathing out there? The Bad Guy throws Tuvok off the vehicle and sort of saunters over to the data thingy without showing any signs of struggling with breathing.

I disagree that Tuvok is any more condescending to Neelix than he is to anyone else who shows signs of emotion. That fact made Neelix’s blow up seem even more childish. Neelix reminded me of religious people who get emotionally upset when someone simply questions their beliefs. (A muslim got quite upset at me once when I suggested that perhaps Mohammed wasn’t a prophet of God. He told me that I was insulting him. I was clearly not, however.) As an aside, in my opinion, the only Vulcan who didn’t condescend to emotional people was T’Pol. She was quite rational about the emotional people around here. Spock was pretty good about this too, although some of his comments about human emotions came out a bit snide.

Oh, and to the people who are saying that we who are annoyed by Neelix are misunderstanding him: No I'm not. I completely understand his history. That doesn't change the fact that while I am watching the show, his is the only character that makes me cringe in annoyance often. He IS annoying even if I understand why. However, I am not convinced that a person with his past would be that annoying. He is written to be practically incapable of recognizing that people around him are bothered by him. I have known people in real life who are sort of like this (never this extreme), but they can usually take a hint. Even if YOU don't find Neelix annoying (which you seem to do -- you just grant him the context of his past), that doesn't mean that people who do find him annoying are clueless. I believe that he was deliberately written over the top and allowed to be acted over the top in an attempt at humor by the producers. But, as you can see, many people find that kind of thing annoying rather than funny. I don't blame the actor for this, by the way. Even if Ethan Phillips would choose to play Neelix over the top, it is the responsibility of the production team to make sure the actors are giving them the performances that they desire. The Neelix character came from the same place as Jar Jar -- a production mind that thought that shrill, cloying, and overbearing are funny. For many people they are not. Neelix is fine when he is played more low key. It’s just too bad that he is rarely played that way.

@Yarko:

I agree that the episode has many problems. But the interpersonal conflict between Neelix and Tuvok works, in my opinion.

Is Neelix an annoying character? I can see why people think so, even though I don't agree with that sentiment. Even so, annoying people do exist in real life, too. The fact that Neelix is annoying in and of itself doesn't make him unrealistic as a character. I don't think that people who find him annoying are necessarily "clueless".

That Tuvok is condescending towards everyone in the carriage is completely irrelevant. Personally, I can tolerate condescending people for a while, but if I have to live with them for a long time, eventually my patience runs out; and if I believe I'm right about something and people are just dismissing me out of hand, the limit of my patience will be reached much earlier.

Both are true in the case of the Neelix/Tuvok interaction here: Tuvok isn't condescending just in this episode, the two have a history, while Tuvok doesn't have that history with other people in the carriage (they're throwaway characters) Additionally, it's Neelix who came up with the idea that perhaps there's something out on the roof, and Tuvok doesn't even entertain the possibility.

Is an emotional outburst, as Neelix had one in this episode, the most productive way to solve the problem? Most likely not. Is it a human, understandable, and believable way? Absolutely.

Tuvok didn't dismiss Neelix's desire to examine the roof. He simply said they would examine it after meeting up with Voyager. That makes perfect sense; they could use Voyager's tools and scanners to find the device as opposed to scrambling around in barely breathable air with a pretty big drop if one happens to stumble (or get attacked by conspirators).

Neelix's tantrum was childish and unfair to Tuvok, but in character for him. His low self-esteem causes him to be hypersensitive to perceived slights and he doesn't seem to consider long-term ramifications of his actions.... Like the fact that stopping the vehicle and opening the door endangers everyone. While I understand why he acts that way, his issues make him a liability.

I don't blame Ethan Phillips. I was an avid fan of "Benson" as a child and therefore he (and Rene A. from DS9) will always have a special place in my heart for their respective roles of Pete and Clayton. He is a talented actor. When given good material, he does quite well. He just was written poorly most of the time.

I did crack up at the "you have to have the last word" gag at the end.

I've always really liked this episode and I agree with Wouter and the others. The Neelix/Tuvok dynamic works, and it's a completely novel type of episode for Star Trek. Instead of the standard Voyager-based action we have an episode largely set on an orbital tether(!) featuring a multitude of guest stars (who I thought were fine) and plenty of intrigue and action that keeps the viewer interested and makes sense (as opposed to the Voyager Action Insert). It's a very novel episode and excellently paced.

Come on... give some credit for originality here... the orbital tether was a good, sci-fi idea. The bombard-the-planet-you-want-with-asteroids isn't an awful idea either.

Plus there were some excellent Tuvok-Neelix moments here.

Neelix is no Jar-Jar... that's lazy and unfair. Jar-Jar is a racist caricature, Neelix is perennially cheery, and perhaps annoyingly so, but probably a necessary distraction on the "ship of the damned" that stirs up the typical Starfleet interactions (in addition to the not so uptight Maquis). There's all sorts in the world (galaxy) and interacting in society means interacting with them and putting up with them. Life would be a tad grim without this variety.

I'd prefer him than another stick-up-the-arse TNG take-yourself-too-seriously type.

Plus he was right in this case about his "hunch"... where's the credit for that?

Finally, isn't it accepted that the materials for building a shuttlecraft can be replicated? I think it's fairly realistic that a shuttlecraft can be damaged in all manner of circumstances, and I'm pretty much positive that it has been established in recent Star Trek that such vehicles are mostly built of replicated materials, not ordered from a factory somewhere.

I Don't love this episode and do agree there are a lot of problems, but I do not get all the hate this one seems to get. As has been said, I also think for the most part the Neelix/Tuvok works, and I have always appreciated that there seems to be a play on trying to improve the moral of "Galileo 7." Although G7 is a far superior episode over all, it always annoys me that in the end no one acknowledges that it's combination of things or a middle ground that wins the day. Instead it pretty much comes out and says The Racist-irrational people are right, and no one really pays for disrespecting the order of command. While this episode is inferior, I do appreciate that it tries to show a more rounded pro/con of a Vulcan command. Here Tuvok and Neelix learn to respect each other, instead of the odd ending where everyone patronizes and laughs at Spock. To reiterate I love G7 but I do appreciate that this episode tries to deal with the one part of that G7 that knocks half a star off of the score for me. (My Opinion: G7 4.5 Stars, Rise 2.5 stars)

It isn't a bad episode, but it certainly isn't well written or directed either. Lazy directing and writing is easy to spot... for example:

Neelix says he can barely open his eyes... Tuvok gives him some motivation, and the next minute he is wide awake and saving the day. A good director would have made sure that this was acted properly.. that you could see how hard it was for him to carry on when injured so much.

That's one example of many in this episode and beyond.

the only plot hole is the shield modulation frequency of the alien ship. How could this information be in the hands of a scientist on the planet?
Why would it even be disclosed to anyone, except the alien ships personell, for that matter?

I'm tired of seeing voyager get outgunned all the time, and get saved by a last minute miracle. Also I'm tired of seeing voyager always take the first hit (or multiple hits), before they begin pondering what to do.

The breathable air is another hole, but i'll forgive it. Lets assume at some off-screen point they fixed it.

In overall though, it was an original episode, and worth 2,5-3 stars.

While I thought "Darkling" deserved the benefit of the doubt for its entertainment value and the Doctor's apparent (and endearing) naïveté in improving himself; I find this episode an exercise in mundane plotting replete with contrivances and second-rate performances.

There's nothing about this episode that ever strives to be anything more than the sum of its underwhelming parts. Most of the performances read like a first rehearsal based on a rough draft. The idea of a space tether is certainly fresh in ST (though it is a genuine theory in scientific circles) but is merely used here as a backdrop to a bad story. And the pairing of Tuvok/Neelix seems forced out of script necessity for our benefit rather than being an organic part of an unfolding story.

One can add all of the interesting ideas in the world to an episode; but don't forget about plotting, dialogue, performance, and overall storytelling quality as well. What is here isn't overly-offensive, but it is trite and tiresome.

1 star.

As often, I disagre with you Jammer.

I really liked this episode, it was different, and you who are always asking for "character developement" / storyline, well you've got one here! The premise is almost irrelevant. the whole show is about the Tuvox-Neelix relationship and a "long due" elaboration on their rapport. I thought the outburst was really well acted and justified for the character, and really liked the final dialogue as well.

I generally don't like Neelix, but in this episode the whole thing worked. I also liked the idea of aliens invading other worlds cleverly, not by force but by ruse...

Jammer, while I agree that the performance of the guest actors wss not very good (to be nice), I will say that this is a good Tuvok/Neelix plot. As you said, visuals are almost laughable at times.

It's totally in character for Neelix to act the way he did. He LIVES to please folks, Captain on down and he gets no "love" from Tuvok (because he's Vulcan or course). I guess what we learn about Neelix here, is that he does required some level of acceptance/appreciation for his efforts.

I just watched this again last night. I do have one question for the brain trust here. Why was that "pad" on the roof? Who put it there, for who?

Also, it was pretty darn funny that Tuvok struggled so to get that PAD out and then Sklar just easily turns the knob as it comes right out! :-)

The ending in the mess hall was pretty darn funny.

I'll go 2.0 stars.

Voyager is in mid-battle when Neelix and company reach the top, and Janeway tells them to stand by to transport, and then suddenly Tuvok is on the bridge at tactical. Did they drop the shields in the middle of a battle (bad)? Or did they beam through the shields somehow (worse)?

I don't have a problem with the space tether, as it's a concept being explored right now as a viable means of moving cargo (and potentially people) to and from the International Space Station. And I didn't mind the Tuvok/Neelix dynamic that was unfolding. But I must agree, this was one of the worst directed episodes of Voyager ever. Braga's teleplay was okay, but Sheerer's directing was awful. The guest actors were terrible, the plot movement was choppy, and I never felt engaged with the story. Could have been so much better, but the production was so bad I'd give it just one star.

For the record, I rate it higher than Threshold.

I think the problem with the Tuvok/Neelix interaction is I kept basing it on human values. Neither Tuvok nor Neelix are human so it's difficult to say if this scene was as serious as it would have been if it were a human he were interacting with like, say, Paris. Who also had his own issues from what we saw in S5's Gravity. Or better yet S1's Ex Post Facto.

Anyways Neelix was really the only talaxian we had seen so there was no baseline comparison to begin with on how they tend to act. It's harder for me to really say.

So I guess I default to human emotions but that's not really an accurate or fair assessment either since neither are human. Tuvok was full Vulcan and the choices made were not based on emotional context or a 'funny feeling' as Tuvok put it. Condescension would be based on an emotion akin to a superiority complex. He didn't come off as that. His temperament didn't change, in fact whether it was swift, decisive action or quiet, contemplating moments. I can easily put his performance in the Hall of Fame for Vulcan portrayals in the ST mythos.

Neelix as one reviewer well put it seemed to have this strong need to be accepted on some level by everyone. Including a Vulcan who does not express emotions. His actions in this case were dead wrong and downright dangerous. That I did not like in the least. I really wished they hadn't let him come along on the mission. His headstrong ways could have easily been the death of all of them. On a mission you don't have the luxury of acting like a child when something isn't going your way.

In this case the lift was prematurely launched and things had to be done quickly and completely without being so careless with the feelings because of a perceived condescending that never occurred. Watching the scene it wasn't even close. It was just a talaxian that demanded to be heard at a moment where survival should have been a priority. And whining for acceptance to a Vulcan, to boot.

I generally enjoy Ethan Phillips' work. But Neelix was not one of the better characters he's played.

With that being said, I am surprised that Tuvok completely dismissed what the dying scientist was saying. It was certainly plausible that if there were anything to be hidden it would be on the Maglev's roofside. As to what could be anyone's guess but it wasn't entirely illogical nor out of the question. He didn't need Neelix's childish outburst to come to that conclusion. Something else I slight the writers for.

As willful as the aliens were themselves (the female one had Neelix at knifepoint and the other one was a hotheaded caveman. BOTH wanted to toss the scientist out the Maglev door!) they had quite the audacity to attack Tuvok when they knew nothing about either of them. Why be so quick to take the hypersensitive talaxian's side? Tuvok was maintaining a cool head and stuck to the objective which was to position the carrier lift to transport range. Another source of contention for this ep.

I always enjoy Tim Russ' Tuvok. But truthfully there is no chemistry between he and Neelix. He and B'elanna had much more chemistry. S2's Resistance and S6's Barge Of The Dead were examples of that. He also had great chemistry with Jeri Ryan's Seven Of Nine. At least there was consistency as only a borg and a Vulcan can muster.

On another note as far as Spock's ways I always keep in mind that he was himself half human. Issues he took up had an underlying passion to them that you would not see in a typical Vulcan, such as in TNG's Unification. I think that was the source of all the arguments between he and his father Sarek. The fact that he chose to 'embrace' his Vulcan side is a very real human attribute. So appeals to his emotions were not surprising in the least. Just confirmation that even as a half human feelings sometimes get in the way.

Overall I rate it 1 to 1.5 stars. The execution left a lot to be desired.

I like Tuvok and Neelix so i don't under rate episodes featuring them like others do

I liked the Tuvok/Neelix interaction and thought there was some useful character development here, even if it was along the lines of a Sesame Street type "and so they learned to respect each other" outcome.

It's just a shame the rest of the episode was so dull, and as others have noted that seems to lie mainly with the execution and performances rather than any fundamental problems with the idea. You have to wonder whether the FX budget for this one was running low too, because they seemed to be having something of a shocker this week. 1.5 stars.

Episode was a good one I used to hate neelix but started to like the character after a while I actually get aggravated at kes for pushing their past aside for no reason they tend to do that a lot on star treks breaking up couples without reason an without resolve. I can see Janeway breaking protocol at will she's not like Picard she's more emotionally sound and not a stickler for rules. But air technicalities were off with air and acceleration . Also transporting with shields up is impossible in all other seasons and usually adds to problems on other episodes . But if they clarify all problems in all episodes we would never get stories just loads of technicalities .

I wonder how a 300 km tether was actually built. It certainly wasn't carried atop a land vehicle. Maybe it was by air ship and deposited to the ground or it was built by section and fitted all together to form one whole piece. As for the story, it is very forgettbly boring.

I feel it necessary to mention that the space tether is in fact plausible. It was once theorized as a way to get people into space in the 50's and 60's. The idea is that if you launch a rocket laying out a cable, once it reaches orbit it acts as a counterweight and centrifugal force pulls the cable tight, providing you with a rail to space essentially. The trouble is that no material on Earth can handle the forces that would be put on a cable like that. But hell, this is Star Trek, we got weird alien metals for days. Just want to point out that the idea, with some fake metal, is indeed plausible.

Brail,

Yes, the technology wasn't there in the 50's/60's, but I believe those little carbon nano-fibers could get the trick done now.

"By the way, I'm not even going to begin on the plausibility of a "300-kilometer pole in the ground extending into space." No comment here at all."

Hasn't modern scientists established that this is completely feasible? They call it a space elevator.

watchable

I really should rewatch episodes in which they are together or at least this one before making this judgement, but going by what I remember-I just don't see the supposed condescension from Tuvok towards Neelix. Lack of patience certainly, annoyance and skepticism regarding his abilities but I really can't recall Tuvok somehow picking on Neelix or even behaving unreasonably. Yes, he doesn't like him and I relate to Neelix's frustations, given that he really wants his respect and friendship. Problem is, it's not like Neelix has just been trying to reach him and befriend him. He constantly acts as if he knew better what he needs and how he should behave and frankly, I think most people period would find his antics annoying. And if he just wanted Tuvok to loosen up, fine, but stuff like him making him a Vulcan soup and then changing it to make it super spicy or him wanting to do a Vulcan holiday but also wanting to change it up cause he personally doesn't enjoy it, those are less actions of an insecure man wanting to be liked and more of a self-obsessed jerk wanting to be liked. TBH, Neelix may like Tuvok more than he likes him, but respects him about the same.

Hello Everyone!

When Sklar fell out of the mag-lev, I just had to laugh. I watched the scene twice, and it seemed as if he was about 12 feet from the open door, and after he was hit he just kept shuffling his feet backwards until he was gone. I think if he'd just stopped moving his feet, and let his momentum keep going, he'd have fallen over about three feet away.

After coming in from the cold, perhaps Tuvok was having a problem with not having proper air to breathe. But after showing that one fellow just how strong he was (he caught his punch and took him to his knees), he could not overwhelm the stodgy scientist, and only won the fight because the scientist shuffled out the door.

Yes, I also noticed the beaming scene and had a problem with it:
*Janeway tells Tuvok standby to transport*
*Shot of ship shooting Voyager, hitting shields*
*Tuvok on bridge, using pad to save the day*
These three shots were bang, bang, bang, seeming to take less time than even a normal beaming would take. And it didn't look like Tuvok had just arrived, he looked like he'd been there for a few moments.

I really, really wished Neelix had actually worked on tether systems before. Finding out he lied just to get them over to the tether was a disservice. It would have been much better to find out he really did know what he was doing. Having a homage to another show is great, but only do it if it helps the show. This simply made me think he was the same, old Neelix. Doesn't know how to do anything really well, and lies about his prowess so often I don't ever believe a word he says. Then he compounded his lie by saying they always named their mag-lev craft. Did they really? Or did he just name his models? And if they did, how would he know? He never worked on them.

It never worked for me that the scientist fellow would completely lose his cool and try to launch the darned thing before it was ready. He knows there is a traitor, but does not know who it is or if they are near him or not.

HEheheh... yes, I also laughed at Tuvok not noticing the pad was held in place by a simple turn lock. He fought with it so hard... hehahahah... then, the baddie just twists the knob... hehahdhdh... the one who shouldn't be able to breathe... heheheh... stupid funny.

Have a great day Everyone!...RT

RandonThoughts,

Neelix must believe that lying is acceptable behavior. He lied to Janeway in Caretaker as well (which resulted in her crew being in danger) and Janeway still let them onboard.

I didn't think this episode was so bad. I'm finding Jammer's reviews on Voyager overall to be fairly harsh and tending to focus strongly on plot elements. It ignores that Voyager is, more so than any of the other Trek series, primarily focused on character development. This was an important episode for Neelix and Tuvok's relationship as well as for them individually. 2.5 stars.

Great point by both Jack and RT above. Tuvok's appearance in the blink of an eye on the bridge to save the day with shield codes, how fast he entered the codes, and Voyager fired were so "warp speed" that it made it laughable. Just the same with Tuvok's strength magically disappearing when he has to fight the bad guy, and the comical fall of the latter (RT pointed those out as well).

Jammer is right, awful directing.. and acting.

That elevator thing isn't as implausible as you might think. Look up about space elevators. Have to agree about those shutle crashes though, Voyager makes it looks as though they are ridiculously unreliable. Had no objection with the Neelix and Tuvok stuff. I somewhat agreed with Neelix here even if he can be a bit childish and annoying.

I rather liked this one. It pretty much builds on Fair Trade, with Neelix continuing to find ways to make himself useful, and obviously (and correctly) seeing Tuvok as his biggest obstacle.

I agree that the episode has bad guest actors and the direction seems to be off as well. There is very little effort to actually make us care about all the plot shenanigans. As a random example, one of the characters get poisoned and there's a dramatic act break, so that we're clearly set up for what looks like a drawing room mystery added on top of a disaster scenario -- you're trapped inside a box WITH A KILLER; think And Then There Were None or Tarantino's recent Hateful Eight. But then Tuvok, the security officer, doesn't make any effort to find who did it, and the episode just waits around until eventually the killer just reveals himself by pushing Tuvok off and then holding a phaser to everyone. Relatedly, Tuvok and Neelix are our protagonists, but they do no actual figuring out for the whole asteroid/murder/etc., with the only exception being that Neelix decides they should check the roof because that guy said "the roof." So most of the plot is just "Neelix gets lift thing to work, and then some other times stuff happens," which itself wouldn't be terrible except there is a lot of "stuff happens" going on, which doesn't end up telling us much about how they react.

Anyway the Neelix/Tuvok stuff has moments. There's a problem here which I think is common in a buddy movie/conflict episode, where both characters seem to be somewhat exaggerated in order to make them butt heads more. I know he was dealing with children there, but the Tuvok in Innocence seemed to recognize that sometimes you have to actually talk to people to reassure them rather than just scowl at them, and so his complete opposition to Neelix doing any morale boosting in their precarious, life-threatening situation is over the top. Neelix, meanwhile, apparently lies that he used to work in magnetic tethers when he...built models? But anyway, the big moment where Neelix insists that Tuvok is dismissive of him actually did work for me, because Neelix is basically correct; Tuvok *does* condescend to him and resents him. And we know why: Neelix invades his space. Neelix imposes. Tuvok's dismissiveness of Neelix went back to Caretaker, and it's not wholly actually the result of Neelix's flaws -- Tuvok's disgust at the idea of Neelix wanting a bath in Caretaker suggests a lack of empathy, I think -- but a lot of it is that Neelix is not that far from the holodeck character version of him Tuvok created to strangle in Meld, that Neelix will absolutely not allow Tuvok to keep the distance Tuvok wants. The episode then maybe feels a bit unbalanced; Neelix is "right" but the reasons for Tuvok's behaviour go uncommented on. I think maybe "childish" is the wrong way to describe Neelix stopping the tether, because I do understand that Neelix believed it was for the best, but it's also insubordination and Tuvok is probably too lenient on him, given that Neelix insisted that he wanted to be on the security team. But the scenario is also somewhat contrived, because for Tuvok to be so dismissive of the idea that the dying man who had a secret and was poisoned over it might have been correct strikes me as, yeah, illogical. (Say what you will about Ex Post Facto, but I miss the Tuvok who wanted to solve mysteries.) I hasten to add that if Neelix hadn't stopped the tether car, leading to Tuvok going on the roof and getting shot and then that guy holding them hostage, etc., they also could have just continued going up, gotten in contact with Voyager, and have them scan the roof for anything that might be worthwhile, and the timing would presumably have worked out for Voyager to still get the information on the enemy shield harmonics sooner -- so even in the episode's frame, I'm unconvinced that Neelix was "right."

Anyway, I get it, I do. Neelix is intuitive, has a lot of skills but little discipline, is really focused on people; Tuvok is logical, has highly specialized skills but not quite as much varied experience, and is focused on ideas. They are bound to disagree, and you can see the general shape of the disagreement here. The fact that I can sort of see both of their points of view on some issues is a mark in the ep's favour, and I also get how, in a disaster scenario, people's natural inclinations can become excessive. So yeah, Neelix slacking off for half the time to help the strangers around him feel better and Tuvok telling people to stop feeling anxiety but barring any other steps to help people feel better so they don't go stir-crazy are both "bad" but are both related to good impulses. I just felt like both were a little too unreasonable, compared to how they're normally written -- well, Tuvok anyway. The episode also gestures to some Galileo Seven stuff where Tuvok's authority keeps getting questioned by that one guy, I guess.

Still, I was kind of with the Tuvok/Neelix stuff until toward the end, when Neelix gets injured, and he's apparently ready to...give up? Die? And then Tuvok gives him a bit of a pep talk about his sister, and then Neelix gets up and he's totally fine and then they make the rest of the trip, and Neelix even stands around making jokes on the bridge when they get called up. I'm not sure exactly how they could have sold that Neelix was that close to losing consciousness completely and then gathered himself together, but they really didn't do it here. And then we have one of those endings where the beam-through-shields has to be broken, a rushed plot ending, and then that last scene where we get what seems to be an attempt to imitate a TOS making-fun-of-Spock ending which falls completely flat. These last few minutes really turned me from not liking this episode to seriously disliking it, even though some of the previous Neelix-Tuvok scenes were okay.

Points for Neelix's scene talking about his favourite sister, though. I probably will agree with the 1.5 star rating.

My oh my. Where do I begin?

First of all, another lame Voyager episode where nothing works. What a suprise.

Scanners couldn't track debris. Couldn't locate site of transmission. Communications don't work. Thrusters don't work on shuttle, so shuttle crashes (of course). Shuttle's warp and impulse engines and comminucations then don't work. Heck, even the elevator thingy doesn't work! I'm so sick of nothing ever working. So stupid.

Why didn't Voyager detect that the asteroid wasn't a real asteroid?

The whole, 'person living inside the carriage and taking Neelix hostage' stuff, was unnecessary and ridiculous.

Why did Vatm start the carriage before it was ready and leave everyone behind? He had absolutely no reason to at all. He didn't know that other guy was a traitor, and even if he did, why not say that, and get help from the others? What good does it do to launch the carriage all by himself? And why did he put the pad on the roof instead of just carrying it? Why and how does he have a pad with all the sensitive alien info on it? What a total coincidence that both the investigator of the attacks, and the traitor are both there at the same time for no apparent reason. And neither one knows what the other one did, so that's even more coincidental that they both end up on the carriage. Just ridiculous.

NEELIX: Doctor Vatm! Please stop! The tether's base hasn't been secured. If he launches now he'll destabilise the entire cavern.
SKLAR: Wait, please! Don't leave us here!
TUVOK: Stand aside.
NEELIX: It's too late. The cabin support structure is collapsing. We've got to get out of here.
TUVOK: Can we launch?
NEELIX: I think so.

Wut? So you can't launch, but it's ok to launch? Wut?

Then literally about 2 min later they are 30km above the surface. So they were going 900 km/hr. Though they say they are going 30km/hr. Ok then. Then they settle on 47km/hr. And that means it would take a little over 6 hours to reach the top, but earlier they said it takes 12 hours to reach the top. No one working on this show ever checks any speeds or distances or does any sort of math whatsoever apparently.

The other people on the carriage question why Tuvok is in charge of anything, since it's their carriage, and their planet, after all, and Tuvok basically says, 'because I can beat you up that's why'.

HANJUAN: Who put you in command?
...
TUVOK: If you are trying to intimidate me, I should inform you that as a Vulcan I possess physical strength many times your...
...
Hanjuan tries to hit Tuvok, and Tuvok grabs his hand crushing it.
...
TUVOK: It is going to be a long and perilous journey. As such, I will need your full co-operation. Understood?

Nice Starfleet negotiating skills Tuvok.

Then Vatm is murdered!

LILLIAS: Murdered? How?
TUVOK: Poisoning. According to my tricorder readings, his water supply has been contaminated with a lydroxide corrosive.
NEELIX: Lydroxide? That's the coolant used in the tether couplings.
HANJUAN: How do you know it wasn't an accident?
TUVOK: The coolant system is completely sealed, and there is no lydroxide anywhere else on board.

So Sklar killed Vatm. Why? No reason whatsoever that I can see. He didn't know who he was. Where did he get this poison from if everything on the carriage is sealed? He's just carrying it around with him just in case? And there's no trace of it anywhere now? Wut?

And as other people mentioned, they are already short of oxygen, so of course what they do is open the hatch and let all their air out. Pfft.

Tuvok fights Sklar, and instead of nerve pinching him or choking him out or something, he kicks him out of the carriage to his death. So Tuvok murdered someone for no real reason. But that's ok. No one cares about anything else in this episode anyway, so what does that matter?

And the second 'asteroid' is 2 hours away, and is supposedly going to crash into the planet, killing thousands of people. Why didn't Voyager warp over to it and destroy it long before it got to the planet? They just waited there at the planet for it to show up, because that worked out so well the first time right? But it's actually a ship anyway! Gotcha! So lame.

Then Neelix explains what was really going on the whole time at the end, with some pitiful exposition. So much lamer.

A terrible terrible episode. And for all the people saying it could have been better with better direction, not even Steven Spielberg could have saved this total pile of crap.

There's also even more crap that other people mentioned and even more that I tried to erase from my memory.

zero stars.

Sklar you need to pay more attention. For example in your own handpicked quotes it says that launching would kill the people in the cavern, which is why they’re panicking so much, but once they’re inside Neelix thinks the carriage will be okay but the launch cavern will be destroyed. No contradiction, no plot hole. And about the poison - they are establishing that the poison is available here but that it wasn’t accidental poisoning. You can get the poison, but it has to be on purpose because it’s a sealed system. So it’s murder not an accident.

That Tuvok apparently doesn’t care that there’s a murderer inside with them is a plot hole. The rest isn’t.

I don’t know how some people miss the point so badly. Saying space elevators is a stupid idea when it’s a real idea and feasible in Star Trek world. Whinging about shuttles (now more than when Jammer wrote his reviews - there are two entire episodes later dedicated to how voyager can not only build but design its own shuttles which he didn’t have, though I think with all the episodes about getting materials for the ship combined with them not really caring about lost shuttles it would have been possible to guess anyway). Saying they don’t understand the murderer’s motives and that that’s a problem with the plot and not their attention. Come on!

There are real problems with Voyager sometimes and this plot has a big one in Tuvok the starfleet officer with his duty to the truth, Tuvok the mystery solver who is completely distressed if he doesn’t have all the answers to a murder even if others would consider it solved, apparently no longer caring about a murder in front of him. On the mission he takes great pains to point out he’s in charge of. That’s a real genuine honest to god plot hole, one that detracts from the episode.

Beaming up in a fight is a plot hole too but not a significant one. I often think American television really suffers from adverts. I assume this was shown in an hour slot and if they’d had that full hour for each episode they would have been a lot better. But that’s how it is. So the first parts are often paced well and then they really squeeze the ending in. It’s not good but I think it’s better than either rushing the whole thing or giving us less story. There are plenty of logical explanations for how they and Neelix got back on the ship and his concussion was at least stabilised, but it was weird that we so conspicuously didn’t even see a hint of any of them. But I don’t call that a serious plot hole because it’s a minor plot point.

I like this episode for the Tuvok/Neelix relationship development and the insights into Neelix. That’s the point of the episode and I think they did it well. I also think the ideas of the failing rickety space elevator, the murder in a closed space, the aliens who use both cunning and force to steal planets, they’re all good ideas and at least felt fresh for Star Trek even if they’re not. I’d give this 3 out of 4 easily

I have to say that I found the final scene with Neelix and Tuvok humorous, with Tuvok trying to get the last word. It always makes me giggle.

I think that this dialog:

Ambassador: " What happened to you? Where's Sklar?"
Neelix: "Mr Sklar... returned to the surface"

Was particularly funny in a very un-Neelix way.

Not a good episode here with a terrible structure, awful guest actors and the two main VOY cast members (Neelix, Tuvok) aren't the most compelling either -- basically designed to shoot itself in the foot from the get-go.

It starts off as if right in the middle of a story and in the end Neelix fills in the details. It just didn't work here as for the longest time, I'm wondering what the hell was going on, what the point of everything is. And the reveal in the end is nothing special.

The premise of uncovering a plot to take over a world, a traitor, a doctor who is on to him is a good one, but that gets swept under the rug by so many routine action scenes -- like the woman holding a knife at Neelix's throat for what seemed like forever -- no drama to it.

The episode wants to have Neelix/Tuvok come to a new appreciation of each other by creating strife between the two and then each of them being heroic. It's lame. They have their debate on instinct vs. logic and who gets the last word -- that much has some validity but I'd have to side with Tuvok when dealing with Neelix's petulance.

Barely 2 stars for "Rise" -- didn't care for the abundant action scenes as the aliens and their situation was arbitrary and not engaging at all. The ending resolution is all too convenient (I actually thought the data device went out the door with Sklar when Tuvok defeated him). This is the type of episode that plagues VOY -- poor execution of a potentially decent idea, lousy guest actors, bland action scenes and without the benefit of some of the better VOY cast members.

@Yanks

"I do have one question for the brain trust here. Why was that 'pad' on the roof? Who put it there, for who?"

VATM: "Where's the pad?"
THE DRIFTERS: "Up on the roof . . ."

Very "Flight of the Phoenix."

"I have experience with this, I can get the plane going again . . . well, my experience is with models . . ."

Ross great as Tuvok, as always. Phillips great, too. Good exploration of the need to value and balance logic and intuition, emotion and intelligence, strength and softness, detachment and attachment.

Exciting happenings as Tuvok flies off the side! Villain blows out the hatch!

The attack by fake asteroids, and the tether device, were very creative.

Kind of convenient ending, with that enemy shield data in that thingy, that allowed them to beat out the enemy so handily. But that's ok.

I liked the ending. "No, I do not."

Good ep!

My nitpick with this episode is that it establishes that Tuvok is so much stronger than this alien of the week, and then the bad guy beats him to a pulp on the roof! I was expecting him to be another kind of alien in disguise, but no, he was just a traitor. I don't get how he was beat so easily. At least in Space Seed, Kirk was able to beat Khan with a pipe, but it showed that Khan had much more raw strength. I've seen this happen often-the writers suddenly forget how strong Vulcans are supposed to be

Loved this episode. Fun and original. Got to see Neelix and Tuvok in a new kind of situation. I thought the supporting characters and the setting were very interesting, kept me in suspense as to what would happen next.

I originally hated this episode but having recently rewatched it found it wasn’t as bad as I thought

It’s entertaining enough and I loved the idea of a species using natural disaster to conquer a world. Some of the neelix stuff is annoying but not as bad as I recall

I just think coming so soon after the Borg episode anything would be a let down

@Wouter Verhelst

Right on.

Anyway, pretty solid episode; almost worthy of a re-watch sometime down the line. No guarantees though =]

Actually the 300 kilometer pole in the ground reaching into space is believable because it's a space elevator and scientist are looking for ways to build one right now.

I was bored to death with this one. Tried my best not to look to my phone ALL the way.

So the Tuvok/Neelix was at best cheesy and at worst really annoying. But other then that this wasn't a bad episode.

The space tether idea was cool...but seemed impractical. The weight of a space tether would be IMMENSE. There is no way an orbital object would generate enough force to keep it from imploding on itself.

Harsh review for a pretty enjoyable episode, Jammer. Apart from the complaint about the shuttle crash, which I would agree had at this point in Voyager's run become vastly overused as a means of getting characters into trouble.

Otherwise, I enjoyed "Rise" quite a bit. Interesting story and definitely an interesting setting. I don't think we've ever seen an orbital tether/space elevator in another Star Trek episode, and it makes a nice claustrophobic setting for the action to play out, with the danger of falling from the ever-increasing height used to good effect. There's some good character work here with Neelix and Tuvok. The guest actors are not the best, but they get the job done. There is a lot of plot jammed into the episode, agreed, but it generally all works in the end. I'd go two and a half stars at least. Good episode.

They briefly reference this review on the "Delta Flyers" podcast, and I was surprised it was such a low rating. I agree that there are some pretty big plot holes, but I think this entire story is all about advancing character development and relationship between Tuvok and Neelix, and on those grounds it succeeds. I also like the episodes where there is some "murder mystery" and spycraft involved. The fight scenes and battle scenes are clunky, but overall I like this episode. I would go 3 stars.

It was an interesting podcast. It's unsurprising that actors are going to favour an episode that gives them something to do, clear emotional arcs, etc., even if everything ancillary to that is pretty weak.

This is def an episode where I just dismiss all the perfunctory stuff---shuttle crash, knife to Neelix's throat, oxygen levels that don't seem to matter--- and just enjoy Neelix wanting to earn Tuvok's respect, and achieving it. I am not really defending the episode, because I feel like I have stopped judging a lot of things critically. My overall enjoyment level was pretty high throughout. So does that make this episode of Voyager better than the movie Schindler's List? No. But I enjoyed it a lot more and am more likely to rewatch it multiple times than I am to rewatch Schindler's List or Forrest Gump or lots of "better" stuff. I thought it was a fun episode. The climax was Neelix finally yelling at Tuvok after 3 years of holding it in. It's too bad there was still 15mins of episode to fill.

"Rise" was a classic 'Scoobie Doo' type of episode...mysterious meanies try to scare the settlers off their planet. Main character with low self esteem ( i.e., Neelix ) proves himself to other main character with high self esteem (i.e., Tuvok ) in fighting off the meanest person and one of the settlers is so pleased with the result, that he becomes a Great Dane and licks Tuvok's cheek.

Others have mentioned the how Tuvok, Neelix and the surviving Nezu settlers magically appear on the bridge of Voyager without any transition from their previous location on the space pole.

It is a bit unusual to have this type of directorial mistake occur in a Voyager episode....pretty glaring...but almost added an element of humor.

I clocked it at 9.5 seconds after Janeway says "Prepare to beam up."

An astute director could have easily inserted stock blue transporter beams for 3 secs, followed by standard down-the-corridor urgent jogging for 3 secs, and then top it all off with Neelix coming through the automatic doors of Voyager's bridge, cupping his hands to allow Tuvok to fit a foot in to the 'hand stirrup' thus configured and bounce into a somersault to tactical and then implement the special enemy-neutralizing codes, just as Kim says "I finally got a lock!". That would fill up the remaining 3.5 secs.

In all seriousness, the episode delivered several important character development moments which enhanced the Tuvok-Neelix relationship arc. The episode is deceptively bad but is actually better than mediocre. 2.5 stars.

I remembered not liking this episode, but I made myself watch it again, thinking perhaps I missed something. Alas, no. I still don't like it.

I just find it hard to get excited about "The Galileo Seven" in an elevator.

This is a weak and lazily directed episode, its script in need of a couple rewrites, and its FX hastily slapped together. One senses that the filmmakers were burnt out at this point in the show's run, and so hastily squeezed this episode out to make up season quotas.

It's a shame, because the space elevator (or sky hook) seen in this episode is a neat trope. Though common in science fiction literature, it's not something you see often on television.

"Neelix says he can barely open his eyes... Tuvok gives him some motivation, and the next minute he is wide awake and saving the day. A good director would have made sure that this was acted properly.. that you could see how hard it was for him to carry on when injured so much."

Yeah that really bugged me too. Along with the awful special efforts - Jammer is being charitable in calling them "lousy" rather than "abysmal".

I can deal with everything in this episode, apart from the SFX. It is apallong.

This episode can be directly compared to DS9's The Ascent, which is essentially the exact same premise, but executed far more elegantly. For making the effort in trying to develop the relationship between two opposed characters, Rise deserves perhaps more credit than it gets.

I thought this episode was excellent. It's almost as if many of the commentators were watching something else.

There are some shards of a story here, but this episode, like “Dragon’s Teeth,” is an unfocused, cluttered mess. That one had done interesting villains at least. Here neither the good nor the bad aliens of the week were interesting. Their interactions with the crew were not interesting. The Tuvok-Neelix scenes were trite. The actions scenes were tedious. A couple of the guest actors were terrible. contrived “suspense,” over plotted, and under-written. Other than this I don’t get the problem. Ok put it this way: try summing up the episode in less than 3 sentences in a way that does not sound overly verbose or confusing. Can’t be done. The best Trek episodes don’t have that problem

Tuvok is awesome, and at an easy glance he’s clearly the smartest person out of that group of meatheads. If he comes across as condescending that’s because he is, he has to be, he’s above the other characters, he has no option but to talk down to them. And his superior intelligence and physiology is keeping them breathing. So when nelix threw his tantrum because Tuvok didn’t immediately open the doors and kill everyone in order to entertain his hunch, I sat up and took notice.

I find nelix’s behavior towards Tuvok to be highly toxic. He refers to him as “Mr Vulcan” and constantly tries to get him to express emotion, which for a Vulcan is like waving a shot of whiskey under the nose of a recovering alcoholic. And now nelix has the temerity to accuse Tuvok of being the insensitive one? Fuck. That.

I do notice a growing depth in nelix’s character, ever since fair trade. I’ve been feeling less hate and more pity. I’ve known people like nelix, who deeply need the affirmation of those around them. It usually feels like it stems from a place of insecurity and I generally wind up feeling protective towards that kind of personality. I’ve begun to feel that way towards nelix and I’m appreciating the character more as a result. But when it comes to Tuvok, I’m still a nelix hater.

Jammer sez: By the way, I'm not even going to begin on the plausibility of a "300-kilometer pole in the ground extending into space.”

I’m surprised no one picked this up and ran with it a bit in the last 15 years.

Using the word “tether” to describe this alien-artifact-of-the-week implies it’s supposed to be an orbital space elevator. 300 kilometers is way too short under reasonable conditions.

The center of mass of the tether/elevator has to be at geosynchronous orbit altitude, and directly over the equator. For the Earth, thats about 38,000 kilometers, where the orbital period is the same as one planetary rotation period (aka one day). That way the elevator stays over the same spot on the ground.

If we assume the planet in this episode is earth-like in size, a 300 kilometer high synchronous orbit would mean its day is only about 90 minutes. The surface gravity would be significantly reduced because everything on the ground would already be going at almost orbital speed due to the planet’s rotation. There wouldn’t be much atmosphere left, either, even for a Vulcan’s highly efficient lungs. However it would make it really easy to launch a rocket into orbit, but only if you launch in the sunrise direction. Sunset direction launches would be really difficult.

So maybe it’s not an actual orbital tether, it’s just a really tall tower that sticks up above the atmosphere. This begs the question “Why?”. I suppose it would be a great observation platform (was there a rotating restaurant at the top?), or a free fall thrill ride with great hang time, or a long range cell tower, but I’m afraid the simple answer is “Because the script says we need a MacGuffin for which Neelix has special knowledge to make Tuvok dependent on him.” It could just as easily have been a steam locomotive (named “Blaine” instead of “Alixia”?) to take them to some horizontal destination required by the plot, and not much else would have needed rewriting. As a bonus, it would eliminate the hand wringing about just how thin the air would be at 30 kilometers altitude.

High point of the episode: Neelix telling off Tuvok. I like Ethan Phillips, and I like Neelix when he gets a story that doesn’t make him ridiculous. In this way I equate him with Armin Shimerman/Quark, but Neelix would never Rise (had to do that) to the level of peak Quark.

In 2008 (!), @grumpy_otter mentioned the Beanstalk in Heinlein’s novel “Friday” as an example of a space elevator. I liked “Friday”, it was prescient on several topics like the internet and mega-corporations.

Clarke’s “Fountains of Paradise” weaves much more technical detail into the narrative. Or for the stout-hearted reader, Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy builds one (and breaks it) on Mars.. Or or Apple’s “Foundation” series for a great visualization of the destruction of an elevator, about 55 minutes into the first episode. Give the rest a miss if you read any of Asimov’s books of the same name.

Jammers review way off base.

Episode is entertaining and enjoyed the interaction between Tuvok and Neelix.

Neelix had a really poignant few lines about his sister the adventurous spider-lover. “I still see my family every night and tell them each something about my day.” The actor’s delivery was fantastic. I wish Neelix were always that relatable. Imagine if he’d simply been a sweet, tragic, flawed person with some heroic traits - rather than a frenetic “comic relief.”.

Am I the only one who loved it when neelix FINALLy called tuvok out on his treatment of him this entire series? It reminded me of kung fu panda when Po admitted that he knew shifu was trying to get rid of him.