Star Trek: Voyager
"Demon"
Air date: 5/6/1998
Teleplay by Kenneth Biller
Story by Andre Bormanis
Directed by Anson Williams
Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
"When I first came on board Voyager, I was pretty green, right?"
"A deep, almost-fluorescent green, if I remember correctly"— Harry and Tom
Nutshell: Bizarre—in a weird, meaningless, and completely ineffective sort of way.
Jammer walks into the room on the third floor of the Illini Union. It is the first time he has decided to go to a meeting held by the campus' Star Trek: Voyager fan club. He has heard that these people usually have nothing but witless praise for the show, and that they do not like people who criticize it. Being that this is the last meeting before summer adjournment, Jammer decides that he wants to have some fun by sitting in and making some comments about the most recent Voyager episode, "Demon." He takes a seat at the back of the room.
Club president [banging a gavel]: All members, the meeting is now in session. We'll begin with the usual weekly commentary about this past Wednesday's episode, starting with our lead speaker and reviewer, Gary. Are you ready, Gary?
Gary [standing up]: Naturally. As you all know, I wouldn't miss an episode. It's my favorite TV show. The Bulls are in the playoffs, and I had to miss the end of the game, but one must have priorities, you know. [Some club members laugh.]
Jammer [from the back of the room, trying to incite trouble]: Are you kidding? Voyager is LAME. DS9 is a lot better.
[Gasps come from everywhere in the room. Murmurs from all the members blend together, filling the room with an air of appalled surprise.]
Bob [a member from the front of the room]: Oh, it's Jammer. We know all about you and your reviews. You really think you're the man, don't you?
[The room grows quiet, as members begin to realize a debate is about to begin.]
Jammer: No, I just write them. You don't have to agree with them.
Bob: Well, whatever. I've heard DS9 is just a rip-off of Babylon 5. I don't watch it much ... all that Prophets stuff gets on my nerves and is boring. Voyager is better because it takes place on a ship, the way a Trek series should. Plus, it has that Borg Babe.
[Some members start laughing. The mood lightens.]
Amanda [from the center of the room]: Bob, you're such a moron. Get over her. She deserves more credit than being reduced to a sex object. [The room grows quiet again.]
Bob: I'm not even going to start, Amanda. We had this discussion two weeks ago. Quit being so politically correct.
Gary: I'll admit, she's nice to look at, but I think we have more important discussion at hand.
Jammer: Yes, we do. What did you think of "Demon"?
Gary: Well, it was one demon of a planet. The place was really harsh. Five hundred degrees Kelvin!
Bob: Yep. Don't forget the poisonous gases.
Gary: The episode was really good. This is Voyager doing interesting exploration and also remembering that the ship is stranded. The deuterium supply was low, so the ship was running out of fuel. I was glad they brought that up, because we haven't seen anything like that since the second season when the crew would look for food.
Jammer: What? You bought into this?
Gary: Sure, why not?
Jammer: So you're saying that if you had a car and were running out of gas, you'd drive out to the middle of the Mojave Desert and not look for a gas station until AFTER the needle was dropping below "E"?
Gary: Well, I don't think that analogy...
Jammer: I suppose you'd leave the air conditioning running full blast, too. That was B.S. All this time in the Delta Quadrant, and all of a sudden Voyager is running low on fuel and conveniently couldn't find any deuterium? I just loved the way they didn't turn off the lights and the holodecks until the same day they ran out of energy. I mean, this came out of nowhere, for crying out loud! The crew must be a bunch of IDIOTS! The whole episode was based on a completely absurd, far-fetched, and unbelievable idea. And very, very artificially manufactured. Pulled out of the creators' rear, if I may say so.
Gary: Well, maybe a little, but...
Jammer: And what was up with Tuvok not letting Neelix keep his book and his blankets? Yeah, Neelix may have been a whining chump this week, but how does one book take up THAT much space?
Amanda: Yeah, what WAS that all about?
[Murmurs from all around the room begin again.]
Gary: Well maybe Tuvok wanted to be fair. After all, the entire crew couldn't bring their books and blankets if they were being put into general population. Tuvok probably didn't want to have to worry about books getting lost or stolen and stuff. [Laughs.] Who cares? It was all done for comedy.
Amanda: Yeah, but it was still trite, you have to admit.
Jammer: They sure padded this episode with a lot of stupid scenes. It was supposed to be funny, but it didn't work. All it did was break up the momentum. Wait—I take that back. There wasn't any momentum to break up.
Gary: Well, what about the subplot where Neelix decides to go to sickbay as his temporary "quarters," and then Neelix and the Holodoc get into a fight over it?
Jammer: That was the worst of it all. Absolutely horrendous. Did you actually think it was funny? It had to be one of the biggest wastes of screen time this entire season. Pointless scenes of Doc trying to annoy Neelix and vice versa. What was this supposed to be?
Gary: I'll admit that it was kinda goofy. But the whole thing of Doc not being able to stay up late so that Neelix could sleep reminded me of the roommate problems I had my freshman year.
Jammer: Did you act the way either Doc or Neelix was acting here? If so, I can see WHY you had roommate problems. This was just dumb; it had both of them acting like junior high kids. I thought even this show was way beyond this trivial crap.
[Murmurs fill the room again. Many people are obviously angry with Jammer.]
Bob: Why should we listen to you? You actually liked "Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night"!
[Shouts of agreement fill the room, as it becomes obvious the meeting is turning into Jammer versus everyone else.]
Jammer [trying to avoid losing the floor to dissension]: Hey, but did you notice: B'Elanna's back, and she's not pregnant anymore.
Bob: Yeah, that's right. She's still wearing that engineering coat, though. That's okay; everyone knows Seven of Nine is the real engineer. They should get rid of B'Elanna and make Seven the chief. She has all that Borg knowledge and could run that department, and threaten to assimilate anyone who doesn't obey her orders. [Laughs.]
Amanda [with disdain]: The Seven worshiper speaks again.
Gary: Hey, did anyone try to win 100 bucks through the TV station with that Trek promo they have this month?
Unnamed member #1 [who is sitting near Jammer]: I actually got through, but I was the fourth caller.
Unnamed member #2 [from the front]: I tried the last few days, but I never get through. I've given up and don't bother anymore.
Jammer: Yeah, when the message came on the screen I tried to get through, but it was busy every time I dialed. Being the tenth caller is impossible. I usually tend to ignore it, but since the show was so boring and tedious, I just went ahead and tried to make some money off it.
Gary: Oh well, better luck next time.
Jammer: Anyway, I thought they were going to crash that shuttle at the beginning, but fortunately they didn't.
Gary: There! You see, they ARE managing to avoid using the standard clichés.
Jammer: Maybe, but considering the whole premise was based on a DNA-mimicking metallic fluid, I didn't feel too great about it. I also don't recall them taking the shuttle back to the ship, but that's not exactly a surprise; they never show that. It's not something worth complaining too much about.
Bob: I think you complain enough, anyway. You're just a nitpicker who hates the show. Anyway, you're missing the point. This was about Tom and Harry and how they got absorbed by that liquid metal stuff.
Jammer: Well, it was about them getting absorbed, but it certainly wasn't about Tom or Harry. Anyone could've been absorbed, including you or me. This whole show could've been done with a bunch of guest characters for all the good it did for the characters who were actually in the show!
Amanda: Well, I like Harry's character, and I thought the theme at the beginning was interesting—you know, where he decides to be more assertive—even though the DNA mumbo-jumbo was uninteresting.
Jammer: Harry's issue came completely out of the blue—just like the whole "out of fuel" thing. There's never any gradual drama on this series. Everything is conjured out of nowhere, and Harry's personality this week was a perfect example of this.
Amanda: Well, they had some references to other shows; that made for some good continuity.
Jammer: Too bad so many of the references were to BAD shows. The fact Harry attributes his most "worthwhile" experience to bizarre events, like turning into an alien in "Favorite Son" or coming back from the dead doesn't say much about his character. Hell, I was surprised he didn't mention his twin getting sucked out into space in "Deadlock." Now THERE'S something to put on your resume.
Gary: What about the way the plot explained the real reason for everything? It was reasonable science fiction, wasn't it? I liked the idea that it was a liquid lifeform that copies people's DNA.
Jammer: DNA, DNA, DNA. I'm not even going to start in. Voyager plays that DNA card way too much. I especially loved the way the copied DNA allowed the liquid lifeform to make replicated people, complete with uniforms and total memories of the past. [Shakes his head.] God-awful science. But what's the point in being critical of bad science anymore? Really—this episode was like a classic Seinfeld episode: a show about nothing. At least, for most of the way, it was. When it finally decided it was making a point, it pulled plot conveniences out of thin air.
Amanda: You're so harsh!
Jammer: Well, to be fair, it wasn't quite as bad as "Threshold." But it was incredibly slow and pointless, and had a plot that jumped around aimlessly. Easily the worst of the year.
Bob: Whadayamean? This story had the ship land! Blue alert! We haven't seen that since the second season. And then the liquid metal stuff started to go under the ship and make it sink. That was cool. I liked the way Janeway played the badass and shot the liquid stuff with the phasers until they agreed to let go of the ship.
Jammer: I thought that was a questionable moment, especially seeing how sincere the fake Harry was asking Janeway for help, but I guess you've got to protect your own first.
Gary: But you have to admit the way the story handled the fake Harry and fake Tom was done well. I didn't suspect a thing for the longest time.
Jammer: Yeah, except for that the plot cheats and is completely deceptive in order to do this. Just how is it the mimicking metal stuff remembered that Tom and Harry ran out of oxygen and passed out—which happened AFTER it had copied them? And we never even found out why they had leaks in their suits, or how they managed to survive for an hour with "no oxygen." And when it was all over with, what was the POINT? To fake out the audience? I was literally amazed at how little sense this made, and how many cheats they used to do it.
Bob [angrily]: Who even asked you, Jammer? You could at least give the show credit for being bizarre and different. It's a lot more interesting than a bunch of bratty kids piloting a Valiant-class starship, which isn't believable, either.
Jammer: Oh, come ON! Believable? You want to talk about BELIEVABLE? Okay, let's go. First, doesn't it seem silly that Tom and Harry would leave their shuttle door OPEN in 500-Kelvin weather? Seems like it'd be bad for the equipment, or at least the upholstery. Then again, they'd have to leave the environmental controls on full blast in order to keep the shuttle cool, anyway. Man, and I thought cooling my car down on a summer day was bad. And, by the way, the Valiant is a Defiant-class ship.
Bob: I'm warning you, Jammer, don't make me mad...
Jammer [testing the limits of Bob]: And didn't you think it was strange that later, after they found them with no enviro-suits, no one noticed that Harry and Tom were okay in that heat? Sure, they noticed that the two of them could breath the poisonous gasses, but no one seemed to notice that they hadn't become a nice, crispy, charred barbecue.
Bob: Just shut UP, already!
Jammer [having even more fun provoking Bob]: Oh yeah—tell me how much energy it would take to keep the starship Voyager habitable while it's sitting on the surface of a planet that's 500 Kelvin. Or how long it would take the ship to reach the planet from .4 light-years away at ONE-QUARTER IMPULSE POWER.
Bob: THAT'S IT! [He begins walking toward Jammer, looking particularly violent.]
Jammer [reveling inside]: And Janeway KILLED Tuvix!
[The room explodes into a fury of shouting and arguing. Bob becomes lost in the pack. One member even picks up a chair, as if he might throw it into the crowd. Jammer considers calling the police, but then realizes that the outbreak is his own fault.]
President [furiously banging his gavel]: Order! ORDER!
[The crowd slowly calms down, and back to normal. Everyone is uncomfortable. Bob is still fuming.]
President: Jammer, you may make your closing remarks, but then you have to leave. We cannot tolerate this sort of dissension.
Gary: I just want to say that this episode was different, which is worth respect.
Jammer: Well, I don't know what you saw in this. I'll grant you that it was bizarre and different, and wasn't bad in any typical way. Rather, it was bad in a way all of its OWN. They really tried pushing the envelope at the end, but it was a big flop that was merely mind-numbingly bland. None of what happened made any sense, and none of the characters seemed to care what was happening around them. Especially the ending, where the fake Harry started to suddenly realize the nature of his existence, was hopelessly contrived.
Gary: What about the final scene with the replicated crew standing around outside the ship? That was sort of poignant.
Jammer: It looked neat, but it was totally thoughtless and without regard to any consequences. Did you even think about the implications of Janeway allowing the entire crew to be replicated, with copied memories of everyone? Now THERE'S a cloning issue for you. What about security? Don't get me wrong; I'm glad this didn't turn out to be a simple example of killing the "bad alien lifeform," but it was almost as bad the way it unfolded. Very poorly thought out.
Bob [calmer]: You think about this show way too much. It's supposed to be entertainment. I watch it for the special effects, the exploration, and, of course, the Borg Babe.
Jammer: Maybe that's why you don't watch DS9—you watch TV you don't have to think about. I can understand that, I guess. I don't always want to think when I'm looking for entertainment. But at the same time, that certainly doesn't mean Voyager has to be completely without a brain. "Living Witness" last week was a great story—didn't you think so?
Gary [receiving agreement from others]: Yeah, it was. And I guess I didn't mind thinking about it after it was over.
Jammer: Well, there you go—living proof that this series won't alienate viewers simply by thinking every so often. I've said my piece. Thanks for letting me sit in on your meeting.
Bob [aside]: Don't you mean destroy it?
President: Please leave now, Jammer.
Jammer: No problem. Just one more thing...
President: What?
Jammer: The Trek novels AREN'T CANON!
Jammer bolts out of the room as it explodes again. He walks down the hall, listening as the shouting and arguing echoes throughout the floor. As he exists the Union, he laughs to himself as he wonders how so many intelligent, college-educated people could enjoy such a lobotomized television episode. But, then again, everyone has their own opinions. Fearing for his life, Jammer takes the bus home, as he wouldn't want to be assaulted by a gang of Voyager viewers during a short but decidedly dangerous walk down Green Street.
Next week: Frozen crew. Guess that's better than a non-barbecued-at-500-Kelvin crew.
Previous episode: Living Witness
Next episode: One
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105 comments on this post
Sat, Sep 8, 2007, 9:26pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Dec 25, 2007, 9:26pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Jan 15, 2008, 8:12pm (UTC -6)
Sun, Apr 13, 2008, 11:10pm (UTC -6)
Sat, May 3, 2008, 10:16am (UTC -6)
Mon, May 26, 2008, 11:11am (UTC -6)
Thu, Jun 26, 2008, 10:21pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Aug 19, 2008, 3:34am (UTC -6)
Tue, Feb 24, 2009, 12:47am (UTC -6)
On the plus side, VOY gets plenty of use out of those EV suits from STVIII.
Thu, Jul 9, 2009, 3:25pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Jul 23, 2009, 7:27am (UTC -6)
Tue, Oct 27, 2009, 9:33am (UTC -6)
Tue, Oct 27, 2009, 9:47am (UTC -6)
Fri, Feb 12, 2010, 4:13am (UTC -6)
I can't imagine how condemning it because the Treknobabble has no relationship to real science can make any sense! Now that is crazy. Within the logic of the plot it all made sense, that's the point.
There were some nice character interactions. I especially liked B'ellana saying Seven should go because she's a cold-hearted bitch, then Seven was very jumpy and distracted when she actually got on the surface, showing how little B'ellana actually knows Seven. There was the typical Tom-Harry banter (between the "real" Tom and Harry), Dr vs Neelix, Chakotay dressing down B'ellana...
But then, I'm also a big fan of "Course Oblivion."
Wed, Mar 31, 2010, 12:05pm (UTC -6)
All the negative things about the episode have been said, so here's a few points in its defense:
1) I think it makes sense that the EV suits would have an "emergency" life support system in case the first one failed, and that was what kept them alive. Of course, they could have mentioend it.
2) Kim DOES get some character development. Yes, it hadn't been mentioned before, but I can find plenty of examples in TNG and DS9 where the same thing happened. That's a staple of pretty much all episodic television.
Wed, Sep 22, 2010, 2:42pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Nov 18, 2010, 4:33pm (UTC -6)
When Tim Lynch quitted reviewing Voyager (end of season 2) I thought it was a massive dramatic overreaction. If you think Jammer is critical, he's an extremely tolerant pussycat compared to Mr Lynch who whined at even vast amounts of DS9 (then did season roundups and marked everything further down for good measure). But during season 4 I'm surprised Jammer didn't quit too. I would have.
I still have the rest of Voyager and season 7 of DS9 to go, but so far my impression of season 4 is that aside from the good points of Seven's introduction (all 2 of them, hurr hurr... No, she is a genuinely interesting introduction) it's the most shallow, inconsequential cliche-filled half arsed season in the entire Trek run. Absolute dross. This episode is just the nail in season 4's coffin.
I actually loved season 3... why they gave up any pretense of ongoing storylines and good drama with 4 is beyond me. Well, 2 more to go....
Sun, Mar 6, 2011, 11:58am (UTC -6)
Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 8:47am (UTC -6)
deuterium is the least of its troubles...
Sat, Apr 23, 2011, 2:33pm (UTC -6)
For a "Demon" class planet, this was practically frigid. Venus is much, much hotter on the surface.
Thu, May 12, 2011, 10:50pm (UTC -6)
That was hilarious by the way. If they ever make another series, you should go back for a GOOD episode involving something deep and awesome. It would have been funny to see what they thought of "Frame of Mind", or "Projections".
Fri, Jun 24, 2011, 12:29pm (UTC -6)
Sun, Sep 25, 2011, 7:58pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Oct 8, 2011, 5:18pm (UTC -6)
Zing!
Fri, Jan 27, 2012, 4:38pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Oct 3, 2012, 4:54pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Nov 10, 2012, 5:38pm (UTC -6)
Regarding energy spent in keeping temperature of the space station (and shuttle), you know that in space they are already doing that when the outside temperature is 2.7K compared to a comfortable 293K for people? And energy required to in full impulse or warp will be way way way too much. They might also have extremely tight temperature control (really required for space travel).
"I also don't recall them taking the shuttle back to the ship, but that's not exactly a surprise; they never show that."
They didn't show Tuvoc eating in this episode. Not everything needs to be shown.
Very lame review, unless you were just kidding. I have been reading your reviews recently and started to like a bit. This one spoiled.
Mon, Sep 16, 2013, 10:28am (UTC -6)
People seem to be demanding literary and scientific orthodoxy from what is a TV show inspired by another TV show that was quite frankly utterly bizarre (TOS).
Someone came up with an original idea in the constraints that the show imposes, and I think in that respect it did fine.
At least it tried to be Sci Fi rather than a sterilized, invisible war in space with so-called political intrigue which actually went little above soap opera standards a la DS9, which is frankly military porn for people who know nothing about war, and religious porn for people who know nothing about religion.
Mon, Sep 16, 2013, 10:42am (UTC -6)
Tue, Nov 12, 2013, 3:10am (UTC -6)
What we have here is no classic, it would have benefited from an extra minute or two of exposition at the end for reflection and explanation. What exactly are all those clones supposed to do on the demon planet with no technology? Talk about a loose end. Of course, we the audience are not expected to ask such questions, merely enjoy the 45 minutes of uh...demon planet exploring interlaced with Neelix whining.
Neelix even managed to make the Doctor feel guilty, which makes no sense at all considering he's just a hologram.
Oh well, I for one thought the spacesuits were cool.
Sun, Dec 8, 2013, 2:33pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Dec 14, 2013, 11:31pm (UTC -6)
Me: No thanks!
This episode was very poor but that ending was downright disturbing. They might as well have had a shot at the end with the real Voyager crew waving out the windows as the ship alighted, smiling and saying "Bye clones! Have fun down there with the creepy goo we know almost nothing about!"
Sat, Feb 1, 2014, 9:56am (UTC -6)
I found this episode to be a well paced 45 minutes in a unique setting in unique circumstances. For that alone I was apt to enjoy whatever story they told and, frankly, I enjoyed the birthing of sentience of a totally alien organism. This might have been a case where a two parter would have benefitted the premise because a.) more resourced committed would force the crew to commit more logic to the storyline (Tom and Harry should have been rescued quickly. They died for lack of oxygen...except for the fact that the writers said they didn't) and b.) the species' dawning self awareness could have been explored more. I would have enjoyed seeing its initial exuberance turn into fear of isolation then turn into desperation. Instead it was pretty much just desperation-->resolution via phasers.
Maybe I'm just tolerant of the episode's flaws because I'm grateful that the story wasn't about time travel or about bipeds with funny forheads being assholes to Voyager. As amazing as it is to see a 45th instance of BwFF shooting their beams at Voyager or imprisoning their crew, I always seem to enjoy the episodes that aren't about that the most.
Mon, Apr 7, 2014, 11:00pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Apr 17, 2014, 1:15am (UTC -6)
This episode's lack of logic was ofensive. The sudden lack of fuel/energy just to bring a pseudo-continuity for a lazy plot excuse was even more. The half stars is more than enough. I would give this same half star, but only for the fact that the writers decided to show officers beaming down to non-M class planet, i.e. even using astrounaut clothss. It always bothered me how rare this is.
Sun, Jun 22, 2014, 2:10pm (UTC -6)
The alien fluid was very interesting.
I liked the non benevolent nature of the alien, its realistic behaviour inside the plot-defined parameters.
Compared to the fluid that killed Yar in TNG-Skin of Evil, way way better.
Oh, remember Skin of Evil, how may stars took from Jammer? 1,5.
Due to some logical flaws/inconsistencies, 2,5 stars from me.
And no, I'm not talking about running out of energy.
everybody keeps complaining, that in the beggining Voyager would stop and explore every tiny anomaly without reason.
here we have a reason, seek for deuterium, but its not good enough. They should have searched for deuterium a long time ago.
And what tells u they didnt?
Continuity is one thing, arc plots is one thing, but u cant expect the episodes to unfold like a soap opera.
This is a independent episode show, with gradual developmets. deal with it, or stop watching.
Jeez...
Mon, Jul 21, 2014, 9:55pm (UTC -6)
Here we have a crew too stupid to conserve energy until the tank is on empty. Just a few weeks earlier we had Tom Paris playing with his Camaro on the holodeck. The crew should've been aware of their dwindling power supply at that time.
Since they found themselves out of gas in the middle of nowhere they move all the crew to one area to conserve energy. That's a good idea, but Tuvok won't let Neelix bring a blanket and small book for comfort? That was irritating. The book and blanket take up no more room than Neelix himself really, and they will serve to improve his morale slightly. Screw you Tuvok.
Janeway intends to crawl along at 1/4 impulse power. Do the writers have any clue how large space is? Speaking in interstellar terms they won't get anywhere at impulse speed in the week before their fuel runs out. (Not that they need the engines running constantly in the first place, but Trek always screws up the physics of space travel).
Why doesn't Starfleet have any robotic probes that can be used to "mine" deuterium? If a shuttle and environmental suits can survive the environment (even briefly) then Starfleet must have robotic probes that are more capable. The Soviets landed probes on Venus in the 70s and were able to acquire photographs and scientific data. Venus is incredibly hostile, surely humanity in the 24th century would be much more advanced. (Another thing that bothered me able Trek in general -- where are the robots?)
Tom and Harry land the shuttle a good distance away from the deuterium. Why would they wander so far from the shuttle in such a hostile place? And why only a crew of two? Why do they leave the shuttle door open? Wouldn't the "hostile" environment damage the interior of the shuttle? I'd hate to see what exposure to Venus' would do to the interior of my car!
Janeway again opts to land Voyager in a dangerous situation that really doesn't warrant it. She has a penchant for doing that.
And finally, looks like the whole crew opted to be duplicated. I wouldn't go through with that. I doubt most of the crew would either.
What did I like? Harry's little bit at the beginning of taking the initiative and voicing his opinion. He really has gained a lot of experience and did deserve promotion. Too bad the writers and producers were assholes and liked to punk Harry on every possible occasion.
This episode is definitely a 1-star or less for me. Not so bad it's good, just so bad as to be maddening.
Fri, Aug 22, 2014, 6:50pm (UTC -6)
And it is slowly paced. The plot is all over the place and seems to struggle to create any rising action or conflict. I understand some of the comments above about a "TOS-style" story or "exploration", but there's nothing really that groundbreaking or different here. If I wanted Trek-style exploration plots done with a bit of freshness and humour, I'd watch Stargate: SG1. Voyager offers mainly technobabble and random jeopardy premises, and it's striking that this show can go from "Living Witness" to this in only a week.
About the only thing this episode has going for it is its sheer bizarreness - a bunch of random concepts stitched together that don't really amount to anything. The idea of the "silver blood" experiencing sentience is interesting, but it feels very underdeveloped.
Thu, Sep 4, 2014, 3:14pm (UTC -6)
The concept was great, but it was the execution that failed. One thing that's plagued Voyager is that many of its actors aren't good. The characters spend more time talking about their character traits than actually displaying them. Still, they tried with this episode, and it's really more of a run-of-the-mill Voyager episode than a really bad one.
Unless Jammer is just so sick of the routine he has to express it.
Thu, Sep 4, 2014, 3:35pm (UTC -6)
All but the crappiest actors can at least mostly play themselves. Sure, that still causes problems when they have to convey really deep emotions, but in general if the writers blend the character with the actor you'll usually get something that's serviceable until people start debating the finer points of acting methodology (stuff which I don't care about in the slightest). If I get attached to a character I don't care that their portrayer isn't god's gift to acting, I want to see more things happen to that character.
As a good example... the fact that Wang is not as good an actor as Picardo never really bothered me. When Wang had really meaty material, say in Timeless, he was able to carry it well enough that it really went to show you how big of a shame it is that he went so underutilized.
Lines like "I was young, inexperienced, and I acted like it. Nervous about giving my opinion, hesitant to make suggestions, so I usually just kept my mouth shut. And I behaved that way for so long it became a habit. But, in the last four years, a lot has happened. I fought the Borg, been transformed into an alien, helped defeat the Hirogen. Hell, I've even come back from the dead!" are violating the "show, don't tell" rule, and that is NOT the actors fault.
And even worse, they kept his characterization as green for the rest of the 7 years. Also not the actor's fault. They could have let him evolve... they didn't.
Wed, Sep 17, 2014, 7:08pm (UTC -6)
Also, Jammer, this is one of the funniest reviews you've ever done. (My vote for funniest Jammer review still goes to the ENT "Precious Cargo" review.) I guess it can be fun to creatively trash a really bad episode - I think you covered all the major plot holes although I won't be going back to the ep to make sure.
Sun, Oct 12, 2014, 4:18pm (UTC -6)
I kind of wish more of the episode was about the crew members deciding whether or not they wanted to be cloned and left there or not, the whole episode could have been dealing with those implications.
Mon, Mar 16, 2015, 5:18pm (UTC -6)
Half star.
Thu, Apr 9, 2015, 11:55pm (UTC -6)
Bwahaha!
and I cannot explain to my confused girlfriend next me that I was laughing at a Star Trek Voyager review because of the deep and inherit shame of it all
Wed, Aug 5, 2015, 5:07am (UTC -6)
Sun, Aug 23, 2015, 5:26am (UTC -6)
Tuvoc is being an ass, but he's also being inefficient. Wasting time. And what if Neelix actually does ask the Doctor for those medications (he would)? Even if the doctor doesn't have to replicate them, it's deminishing their stock.
This is another potentially interesting concept bogged down by Voyager's ho-hum writers.
Tue, Nov 24, 2015, 2:26pm (UTC -6)
Anyways Demon class planets don't really sound out of the ordinary. If anything I'd think there would be more of them out there. We can't even settle in any of the other planets in our galaxy so technically wouldn't they fall under Demon class too? Guess I can google it sometime.
Why so harsh on Tuvok? Geez...Janeway didn't catch this much flak when killing Tuvix. And let's face it, she did. Anyways Tuvok wasn't doing anything more than what his job entailed.
The doctor did seem to be a bit testy with the whole staying in sick bay thing. But I'd be lying if I said I would have changed the scene. I still enjoyed it. Still get a good laugh after all these years at the part when Neelix is just about to go into (off-key) chorus and the Doc suddenly gives in. Followed up by a doc and a gleeful "computer lights, maximum illumination". Classic.
I can't keep track of the number of times I've had to suspend disbelief when watching any of the series. I didn't find this any more farfetched than anything else they've shown in the ST mythos. (Ok, Threshold was one glaring exception.)
I would have given it 2-2.5 stars since I had never even heard the designation Demon-class before. If this is the first time they've mentioned it then I give the writers credit for trying to be original. Means their thinking caps are on and they're not just rehashing some concept that was already done millions of times and better.
Tue, Nov 24, 2015, 7:13pm (UTC -6)
I agree with your first point, which is why I disagree with your second. The writers deserve no credit for originality when they congratulate themselves for something they should've been doing all along.
Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 1:05am (UTC -6)
Paris: We gotta get you back to the shuttle.
John: The shuttle doesn't have oxygen anymore. You left the door completely open, dumbass! It's now the same atmosphere in the shuttle as here. Plus, it's 500 degrees Kelvin in there now too.
______________________
Seven: It appears he adapted.
John: Adapted? To 500 degrees Kelvin? Have the Borg ever assimilated the Pakleds? They are a species of retards in the alpha quadrant who "look for things to make them go,"
Seven: The Pakleds: Species 4189. Their biological and technological distinctiveness was added to our own. They greatly hindered our own perfection.
John: No shit! Not to mention your commonsense! In 500 degree Kelvin weather, no amount of adaptation would "make him go."
Sat, Jan 2, 2016, 4:29pm (UTC -6)
1) Deuterium is the second most common isotope of the most common element in the universe; how could they run low? This is such an easy fix if they had anything approaching a science advisor on the show. Heck, just change it to dilithium crystals; we already know it's some magic tech that's rare, we already know it's vital to warp drive, why not? Five second fix, requiring no real change to the episode.
2) Voyager's plight came out of nowhere in this episode. While I prefer Voyager's standalone, episodic format, this would be easy to set up, much like Firefly's "Out of Gas" was set up in previous episodes. Let's look at the preceding shows: 1) Living Witness had Voyager trying to trade with one of the species; just rewrite that slightly so that it is the deuterium (or dilithium crystals or whatever better option) that they are trying to obtain, with the implicit assumption that the trade fell through due to the unpleasant hostilities; 2) Unforgettable could have opened with a captain's log or comment about searching for deuterium due to not having restocked in a while as a way of getting the establishing shot on the bridge before the guest star appears; 3) during Seven's pleading with Janeway to keep the Omega particles in Omega Directive, she could have mentioned them as an alternate source of energy from deuterium. Voila, the concern over deuterium depletion is already set up and won't feel like it's out of left field in this episode... all while not harming the other three episodes in the slightest. Still can have episodic structure, but can still set up an upcoming episode like this.
(As an aside, remember in Season 3 where Neelix was worried because they were exiting known space and entering into a dangerous unknown expanse? It seemed like yet another case of the reset button until a few episodes later they ran into the Borg. Suddenly, the fact that there was a big unknown makes sense! These little connections don't have to be explicit, and don't have to jump out at you, but can help tie the whole experience together when looking back at it.)
3) The idea of Voyager only starting to conserve energy at the last minute is stupid, and probably only existed as an attempt at a cool opening hook. But why show stuff shutting down? Showing darkened, empty corridors, the warp core shut down, and a grim, dark bridge (coupled with appropriate mood music) could also be an effective, opening hook and imply that things have been shut down for days. Sure, it requires some minor changes, but it wouldn't make Janeway look like a buffoon.
4) Some of the statements around the "Demon" class planet were downright ridiculous, such as even orbiting the planet being a massive hazard and it being the most inhospitable planet ever yet still capable of supporting those space suits, etc. Here's a hint: if the planet seems actually more hospitable than the closest neighbor to Earth, maybe it's not something special. That said, I applaud the effort to create a planet that isn't either a luscious meadow or rolling fog and rocky cliffs with vague lightning in the background that everyone has to shout over. Again, this is a very easy fix. Still say it's extremely inhospitable, say Starfleet does NOT recommend away missions on Class Y planets due to the hazards, but tone down the "worst planet ever!" stuff. The rest of the story could proceed as normal.
5) Of course, if we changed #3, we couldn't have the "subplot" of Neelix trying to adapt, or at least not the stupid scene where Tuvok yells at him. Oh well, cut it out completely. It wasn't funny and it wasn't interesting. Besides, this episode really needed more time for something else, namely...
6) Harry Kim's out of nowhere character development. Actually, I thought it was fine. Harry may be a pointless character, but I haven't noticed much of his naive, wet-behind-the-ears characterization in this season. Instead, he sasses back to the Hirogen and hatches a plan to save the crew, and he works with Seven to vastly improve astrometrics. Other than his inability to work a transporter, he's been pulling his weight, and yet people still talk down to him. Thus, his sudden backbone isn't about him suddenly becoming mature and experienced, but rather him getting sick of not getting the recognition that he is mature and experienced. And that seemed to be where the episode was going, at least based on his chat with Paris in the elevator. The problem, though, is that if this was going to be a Kim episode, why does he get knocked unconscious 1/3rd of the way through the episode and never come to again? There needs to be some sort of resolution to this plot. Which means the end of the episode has to be rewritten to some extent. Somehow, you need to get Kim back into it.
7) The ending revelation that this is a newly evolving life form had serious potential, but was given a very short stick. This part absolutely needed to be expanded upon. If TNG had had this plot, they would have done something with it, since it was such a big part of TNG's ethos. And since Voyager was explicitly created to carry on TNG's legacy, why not do something with it? Again, this would require an extensive rewrite, but given the weakness of the rest of the episode, isn't it worth it? Because the last image is pretty impressive (even if Jammer dismisses it), and fake Kim slowly coming to the realization of what he is was a decent piece of sci-fi.
I think I liked this episode more than most because of its potential, but it did need a rewrite. However, except for the last two points, its a simple rewrite. So it could have went from being laughable to forgettable pretty easily, and I think could then have transitioned from forgettable to a solid episode with a bit more care as well. It just requires that the care be there.
Oh, and one more: 8) It's 500 Kelvin, not 500 degrees Kelvin. If you're going to use these fancy science-y temperature units instead of boring old Celsius, at least get it right. Yay for being pedantic!
Sat, Jan 30, 2016, 3:10pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Feb 17, 2016, 1:27pm (UTC -6)
Fri, May 20, 2016, 12:16pm (UTC -6)
I think you are a little too hard on the "science". There are plenty of common-place stuff in trek that is pipe dream "science" as well.
Plot holes galore.... you bet.
The best part about this episode is the next time they visit these folks.
Oh, I'll go 1.5 stars... because at least they were trying to be creative and original. We ding them all the time for not doing that.
Mon, Aug 15, 2016, 9:06pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Aug 30, 2016, 12:34am (UTC -6)
Thu, Oct 6, 2016, 3:15pm (UTC -6)
Tue, Nov 8, 2016, 6:12am (UTC -6)
To give this 1/2 stars and yet rate The killing game at 2 and 2.5 (2 parter) just makes no sense to me. I found the killing game almost unwatchable. Different strokes I guess.
2.5 stars
Fri, Nov 18, 2016, 1:18am (UTC -6)
It would have been more interesting if the liquid could make a copy of Voyager and then they traded their ship away for the fascimile that was fully fueled.
The WHOLE point of the episode was to refuel....and it looks like they lost most of their power landing and then leaving the ship running while on the planet!
Tue, Dec 6, 2016, 4:04pm (UTC -6)
Sun, Feb 5, 2017, 11:42am (UTC -6)
A rewrite would've solved most of the complaints with this episode. For instance, Environmental conditions like Venus' surface temperature of 735 K (462 °C; 863 °F) or worse would've made more sense. Also, it has been stated during "The Year of Hell" that replicated items can be recycled for resources. This should've been the reason for the scene with the Tuvok and Neelix. It is at least implied that the alien kept them alive somehow, as we actually see the alien breaching Tom's suit. This shouldv'e been made clear by a scene with the doctor. Instead no explanation is given. Just a few examples here.
However, this episode is nowhere near as bad as the review indicates. It had many good elements. The execution is simply off like the vast majority of Voyager episodes. Meanwhile, reviewers and commentators indite this episode for the same logical inconsistencies they ignore in other episodes. Jammer gives "Random Thoughts" a 3 star review, despite the fact of its plot holes: Tuvok conducting an "investigation" without backup, conducting a sting operation despite having two available means of telepathically interrogating the prime suspect (mind meld and Mari telepathic scanner), the old woman that killed Neelix's love interest being interrogated with the telepathic scanner and yet no information on the "black market" she bought Belanna's thoughts from being revealed (WTF?!? How useless is this technology?!?) Janeway allowing Belanna to be taken into custody and nearly lobotomized despite not being informed of the planets laws. (Wonder how many stars Jammer would've given "The Measure of a Man" if Picard had let Data be immediately transported to the scientist's lab and partially disassembled before proving his autonomy court?) There are countless more examples that Jammer himself mentioned besides these, yet he manages to not go "WTF?!?" at the entire episode. Remarkable.
If you don't see where I'm going with this, my point is simply this. Many episodes are riddled with plot holes. However, people seem to judge or ignore those plot holes based upon whether they like or agree with other aspects of the story. For instance, I loved the notion of Voyager needing the resource (should've been dilithium crystals like Skeptical said) from the aliens and the aliens needing the resource of sapience from Voyager's crew. This story had a enough elements that I enjoy that allow me to suspend disbelief. Others not so much.
Another thing, Trekkian science is dirt. It has always been dirt throughout all of its incarnations. People claiming this episode had more scientific inaccuracy than any other Trek episode are off their rocker.
2.5 stars.
Thu, Mar 2, 2017, 11:14am (UTC -6)
Mon, Mar 13, 2017, 1:24pm (UTC -6)
As others have previously noted, the notion that the crew would only begin economising energy expenditure when the ship was almost 'dead in the water' was childishly ill-considered. Tuvok's logical mind was also in shutdown mode as we saw him denying a book, blankets and pillow to Neelix as part of the above exercise. Was it supposed to be a funny moment?
I will not harp on about the rest of the 'negatives' already ably noted by prior posters. Suffice it to say, I blame the writers and the producers who did not insist on some pretty simple rewrites which might have turned this turkey into something more high-flying.
Wed, Mar 29, 2017, 8:40am (UTC -6)
Tue, Jun 13, 2017, 4:08pm (UTC -6)
Tuvok: It would be incinerated in seconds.
Harry: I know, let's launch a shuttle instead...with people inside.
[Tuvok n' Janeway glare at him.]
Harry: ...or how about we just launch the entire ship at it...and land it...on the surface?
Mon, Jul 17, 2017, 11:19pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Nov 3, 2017, 11:13am (UTC -6)
But still, yeah, this episode is terrible and weirdly pointless. I guess if I put my desperate-analysis hat on, I guess I'd say that if we take this as a Kim episode, then Harry's initial desire to be a CONFIDENT PERSON and his newfound desire to hold onto his newfound confidence is mirrored in the way Metal-Goo-Kim is desperate to hold onto his newfound sentience; both Harry and Metal-Goo-Copy-Harry have suddenly gotten a taste of being "awake" after a long "slumber" (of being meek, or of being non-sentient) and are energized with an almost dangerous zeal to hold onto it. That's about as far as I can go, and even here I'll note that while, yes, Harry is still annoyingly presented as Green Ensign, I don't really see his act of...speaking up at a staff meeting as some sort of turning-over-a-new-leaf act, given that he seems to be willing to speak up every other week. When it comes to technical matters and when the show isn't deliberately portraying him as an eternal ensign chump, Harry is basically able to run the whole ship by himself (as in The Killing Game, where he takes point in a two-person resistance). And you know, Harry was speaking up about possible strategies from season one (see, e.g., Eye of the Needle, Prime Factors). His green-ness is more in terms of romance, command stuff rather than having good technical suggestions.
Anyway yeah. Deuterium is a rare substance that can only be found on weird, inhospitable planets? The idea that the ship only starts shutting down nonessential systems when it's basically hours away from total destruction? The 500K surviving skin? That whole Doc/Neelix subplot? The blatant Prime Directive violation at the episode's end, where an entire race of clones of the crew were left behind? Etc. It's all bad and weird and dumb and, most of all, boring. The only real points in the episode's favour are some mildly interesting atmosphere and the hilarity of that form-fitting space suit of Seven's. 0.5 stars seems reasonable enough.
Fri, Nov 3, 2017, 11:17am (UTC -6)
Fri, Nov 3, 2017, 11:29am (UTC -6)
Sat, Nov 18, 2017, 2:51pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Dec 16, 2017, 11:07am (UTC -6)
Sat, Dec 16, 2017, 5:35pm (UTC -6)
JANEWAY: Harry, you and I will give them a hand in geophysics. See if we can't synthesize a substitute fuel.
Really? Synthesize a substitute fuel? Wut? And this is the first time they've tried that? Wut?
Boy that Neelix/Tuvok scene was annoying. You can't use your own blanket, you have to use a starfleet blanket. Why? Oh, I see, it's humorous. Oh, wait, no it isn't.
When they tried to beam up some of the deuterium, why did the transporter explode? No reason whatsoever, other than they wanted them offline for later in the episode. And they say they will be down for days. Yet they are back online and working a few hours later.
500K is only about 440F or 227C. That's hot, but not that hot. My oven gets hotter than that. It's certainly not enough to damage Voyager in any way, or incinerate a probe, unless they are both made of plastic and paper mache. And the shuttle makes it down just fine. Stupid. And they leave the shuttle door open. lol.
Quick! Stop cooking that potroast in the mess hall Neelix! You'll destroy the ship!
The Neelix/Doc stuff was just terrible.
They try scanning for infrared signatures of Harry and Tom, on the 500K planet. Right. At least they had it not work, but still, how stupid is Janeway really?
The backup systems in the suits kept them alive. How? Their suits had holes in them. And why wouldn't the system have kicked in immediately before they passed out? If the suit could keep them alive after that, it should have kept them from passing out. None of that makes any sense.
The whole silver blood thing is preposterous in nearly every way. It's some barely alive goop sitting on an unihabited otherwise lifeless planet. What does it eat I wonder? And why would it have the ability to copy organic matter, or any matter, or thoughts and memories? If it can do that, why is it just pools of silver goo? If it somehow gained sentience when it copied Tom and Harry, why not use them to talk to someone, instead of trying to kill everyone, especially if they have all of Tom and Harry's memories? How would it know how to do anything, having been sentient for only a few hours? Yet it has feelings and desires, and the will to live etc. It whines and says that Janeway is trying to kill them, as it is in the midst of killing the entire crew. Stupid. All so stupid.
And the ending. OMG the ending. Good idea Janeway. Let the unknown aliens clone your whole crew, with all their memories and feelings, and strand them on some planet with no food or water or equipment or anything. Remember, the clones think they are the real people, just as Harry and Tom did. So all these clones are now standing there, wondering why their ship is leaving them behind to die. Janeway is the worst captain ever.
Why does the goo need more bodies anyway? Can't they just clone more Tom and Harry's? They have their DNA already. I don't get it.
This episode is a giant mess. zero stars.
Sat, Dec 30, 2017, 12:50pm (UTC -6)
Of course the "science" and logic parts of any Voyager episode never make any sense, and if that was the basis for a review, every episode would get zero stars. Like why can't Voyager just use the replicators to make more Deuterium?
This episode is in the spirit of TOS, learning about strange new life and dealing with it diplomatically rather than just killing it because we don't understand it.
Better than episode after episode of Hirogen/Kazon/Vidians taking over the ship because of stupid Janeway decisions.
Wed, Feb 21, 2018, 12:46am (UTC -6)
Well, it wasn't quite as bad I remembered, but it still wasn't good. And Neelix ended up in Sickbay, on a spacious bio-bed. His book and blankie would have been just fine. I wonder where Tuvok threw his stuff?
I did like this exchange though:
CHAKOTAY: Looks like they went this way.
SEVEN: My tricorder isn't picking up any lifesigns. How did you reach that conclusion?
CHAKOTAY: Footprints. I guess you never assimilated any Indian scouts.
That did make me smile.
Enjoy the day Everyone... RT
Sat, Mar 3, 2018, 7:56am (UTC -6)
Thu, Jul 12, 2018, 5:39pm (UTC -6)
Sun, Sep 9, 2018, 11:55am (UTC -6)
"This week"?
Thu, Sep 27, 2018, 9:57pm (UTC -6)
I wonder how many members of the crew agreed to be replicated. It is a weird thing to think about. Would I do it? I . . . I don't think I would.
Our ship needs fuel, our old boys need oxygen, our Neelix needs his blankie, our Doctor needs his privacy, our newly formed boys need to keep their sentience and want more and more of it. A lot of talk about competing needs, what we need to keep going, what is important to us, how we need each other but also get in each other's way.
Kept my interest. Onward.
Wed, Nov 21, 2018, 9:28am (UTC -6)
Fri, Dec 7, 2018, 11:27pm (UTC -6)
The first couple of acts weren't that bad -- yes, it is odd that the ship all of a sudden is in dire straits for deuterium - some poor planning here. But I found it interesting that the show would actually look at a demon (Class Y) planet as a solution. Problem is they are very sloppy about it. I don't see how envirosuits should be able to protect humans at 500 Kelvin (like 440F) -- or has science already come this far? And yes, Tom and Harry leave the shuttle door open...
Interesting episode for Harry in that he gets some confidence all of a sudden -- and in the end he negotiates with Janeway on behalf of the silver fluid. It's a poor way to throw the neglected character a bone -- let him act some really stupid lines...
Where the episode goes south is the silver blood gaining sentience by duplicating Tom and Harry perfectly. This is too much suspension of disbelief even for VOY. Cloning seems more "reasonable" but this type of DNA re-write is pushing it. Of course Janeway won't hurt a sentient life (even if it wasn't sentient before duplicating Tom and Harry) -- but leaving a duplicate crew stranded on a planet? Talk about another controversial decision... But since the duplicates like that environment ... but then what about their memories for family etc.?? We haven't heard the last of this decision...
The padding with Neelix and Doc was lighthearted and fairly typical for these 2 -- it certainly wasn't awful but VOY has done much better humor. The 2 just tried to push each other's buttons. Just a fairly easy situation for humor with the crew quarters being reduced (low-hanging fruit).
Barely 1 star for "Demon" -- terrible episode but not as bad as "Threshold" or "Favorite Son" for me -- those episodes were worse in terms of outright stupidity. Just overall poor planning, a general sloppiness, and way too much suspension of disbelief required.
Mon, Jan 21, 2019, 12:53pm (UTC -6)
Sun, Jun 2, 2019, 7:22am (UTC -6)
Tue, Aug 13, 2019, 4:36pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Sep 13, 2019, 3:16pm (UTC -6)
At this point I stopped to make Jim Beam Bourbon mini rips.
I definitely should have gone to a bar. What did I just see. In a bar somebody could have told me why refugees are the downfall of us all and it would have made more sense than this. I was sitting, ok lying here(I have a recamiere) with my mouth open. I did not understand anything. That's my review.
Ok I'm drunk but this was weird. This made no sense?!! What ??! Have I gone mad while watching this. Demons, blue alerts, liquid Harry. What???
I guess this is the episode where the writers finally snapped.
Let's see what Jammer has say
(The smoke from the rips just triggered my fire alarm. Or was it the episode??? Just imagine me standing on a fragile chair, drunk, trying to silence a fire alarm thingy)
Oh so Jammer snapped several times during Voyager. But he is right. Tuvok you asshole let Netflix have his blanket or his book. WHY CAN'T HE HAVE HIS BOOK??!
Yeah why did Netflix go to sickbay??! Sorry I know. LAME but am I the only one who always thinks Netflix when you hear the name Neelix???
ah shit. I burned my index finger (is that the pointy finger???) while rescuing the burned rips. They are really mini...
So yeah Jammers review. *chuckles* What can I add to that... only one thing maybe. We should spend all our money for modern medicine and plastic surgery to look like our goodess Jery Ryan. All Hail Jery. I mean it!
Fri, Dec 6, 2019, 12:26pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Mar 19, 2020, 10:20pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Apr 30, 2020, 10:40pm (UTC -6)
Meanwhile, the "silver blood" basically *assimilates* the DNA of organic lifeforms. That could make for some interesting conjecture and subsequent encounters with The Borg. Would the human-clones choose to direct the "silver blood" to avoid copying Borg DNA? Or, if it encountered then copied it, would it be just the DNA of the species of assimilated former-individual? Maybe it could be weaponized against the Borg, assimilating Borg cubes by copying them, but in a state that could withstand such extreme temperatures as to make it superior to Borg-original ships and tech because of that quality?
Then, too, if those clones left on the planet have the same memories as the originals, perhaps they would want to also be close to Earth! They could have copied Voyager (but comprised of their 500K-native substance) and joined the original Voyager on the "return home," then made nearby Venus with its ultra-hot temps their new home.
So may things they could have done to make this premise more complex and further reaching in impact... *sigh.*
Sun, Jun 28, 2020, 4:10pm (UTC -6)
Janeway "Nooo I not risk you. We land whole ship on planet instead yayyy."
Chuck "Otay! It will take rest of energy and ship not go no more. We look for things on deadly planet."
Janeway "Yes, we look for things! Things to make us go."
Everyone "HURRRRRR."
Fri, Jul 10, 2020, 10:45pm (UTC -6)
The episode draws from one of the great classics of the genre, the short story “Desertion" by Clifford D. Simak, which was published back in 1944 in Astounding Science Fiction magazine.
You can read the entire short story here:
https://archive.org/details/Astounding_v34n03_1944-11_cape1736/page/n63/mode/2up
From the first moment Paris says,
PARIS: I'm telling you, Chakotay. It was an amazing experience. It, it's like when you're a kid who's afraid of the water and you suddenly realise that you can swim. Go ahead, take your helmets off. Try it.
I hoped that was where the story was going.
And then much later in the episode when Harry tells Seven and Chakotay,
SEVEN: I see monochromatic geological formations, dust, haze.
CHAKOTAY: What do you see, Harry?
KIM: To me, those geological formations are a dozen shades of red and gold. That dust, it's glowing. And the haze, it seems to intensify the colours. I'm sorry. I know it's weird, but I feel connected to this place.
It immediately brought to mind the crescendo of the old 1944 story by Simak.
In “Desertion" by Clifford D. Simak, human researchers are part of a project (like the movie Avatar) where they are transformed into forms that are suited to Jupiter, so they can explore the gas giant the way a native might.
One by one the researchers transform and set out into Jupiter to go exploring. And none ever come back. Finally the head of the program decides he has no choice but to go after his team, and he transforms himself. And that is when we learn how incredible it is to be on Jupiter if you are in a form that is suited to Jupiter.
You can listen to a reading of the critical part of Clifford D. Simak's story where the head researcher describes what Jupiter looks like to him now that he has gone native:
https://youtu.be/WYOk9D0ZwVk?t=1224
I first read “Desertion" 25 years ago as a boy, and have never forgotten it.
It is a story about what you feel when you go to an alien place - a foreign country - and finally give up your old ways, and, as they used to say “go native.” The resulting beauty and awe can be overwhelming.
Sadly, Voyager’s mediocre writing team was never able to tap into that rich vein, and “Demon” ends up being a complete disaster of an episode.
Half a star for trying something great but failing completely.
Sat, Sep 26, 2020, 1:25pm (UTC -6)
Mon, Oct 26, 2020, 7:11pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Feb 6, 2021, 10:50am (UTC -6)
Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 10:24pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Aug 25, 2021, 11:42pm (UTC -6)
I was pleasantly surprised to find it visually interesting with great planet scenes and quite a few interesting exchanges between the characters. B'Elanna recommending Seven of Nine to Chakotay was a nice switch; Paris' comment about getting to puberty as his life passed before him was funny. The reddish hues of the planetary environment provided an excellent contrastive backdrop to the spacesuits with their blinking lights. I managed to tolerate and even enjoy the implausible and over-the-top bits to get the payoff.
"Demon" was really a tale of 'first contact' with Janeway basically learning to understand the 'silver blood' as a demiurge and feeding it the dna it needed to create a new society. The final scene as Voyager departs reminded me somewhat of Noah's Ark on Ararat, having just deposited the paired creatures of the Earth rescued from the waters of the flood. Actually, as done, it was a pretty memorable image.
As a bonus, I really marvelled at the number of people who jumped to Neelix's defense in the bedding confiscation incident with Tuvok.
Take this gem of an opinion from Random Thoughts (Feb 21, 2018):
"His book and blankie would have been just fine. I wonder where Tuvok threw his stuff?"
LOL ... Although I will admit that given the overall appearance of Neelix's linens, Tuvok likely took the rumpled mass to the laundromat on deck 8 to put it through at least two cycles on hot.
Wed, Jan 5, 2022, 7:13pm (UTC -6)
"Kim and Paris beam down to a hellish, barren planet to search for deuterium."
No, they don’t.
Wed, Jan 5, 2022, 7:23pm (UTC -6)
"Chakotay falls after a cliff gives way and is barely able to keep from going completely over. Seven grabs him but is unable to pull him up."
I thought she had super-strength or something. She was able to beat up Tuvok in "Raven."
Tue, Mar 22, 2022, 11:35pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 1:26pm (UTC -6)
)) John: The shuttle doesn't have oxygen anymore. You left the door completely open, dumbass! It's now the same atmosphere in the shuttle as here. Plus, it's 500 degrees Kelvin in there now too. ((
The shuttle is too small to have a separate airlock - so before exiting it when stepping foot out onto a Demon-class planet, the shuttle pumps all of its internal atmosphere back into its storage tanks (which have days' worth of air anyway). Then the hatch opens and the occupants step out. Yes, it probably would be a good idea to then close the hatch and pump out the Demon-class atmosphere from inside the shuttle again. But later, when they want to re-enter the shuttle, they're going to have to repeat the procedure anyway.
In any event, when Paris says they have to get Kim back to the shuttle, it's because they have several days' worth of air in the shuttle's tanks.
Regards,
Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 1:29pm (UTC -6)
)) I thought she had super-strength or something. ((
Seven's Borg implants were temporarily offline or operating only at reduced levels - they were performing some sort of periodic self-maintenance or such.
An individual does not always perform at top level. He is sometimes ill, tired, wounded, etc.
Regards,
Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 1:35pm (UTC -6)
)) They try scanning for infrared signatures of Harry and Tom, on the 500K planet. Right. At least they had it not work, but still, how stupid is Janeway really? ((
Assuming that their space suits had FAILED, the sensors would be looking for COLD bodies (at least until their dead bodies had reached temp. equilibrium with their surroundings).
Or, assuming that their space suits are still FUNCTIONING, the sensors would be looking for the excess heat of their life support systems (like air conditioners blowing cold air INTO a building and hotter air BACK OUT into the surroundings).
Regards,
Fri, May 6, 2022, 11:04pm (UTC -6)
That being said, in regards to this episode, Jammers review is completely just. This episode doesn't just have a couple of holes, it literally doesn't care about the science at all. The whole thing makes no sense, deserving of the 0.5 star rating it received.
Sun, Jul 10, 2022, 4:30pm (UTC -6)
Here's one that can't be blamed on this episode alone, and that is that they will have no oxygen to breathe an hour or so after shutting off life support. It's just unusual in that Tuvok specifically said "oxygen".
Well, unless they are using the oxygen for something else, there's plenty of oxygen in the vast interior of that ship to last days to weeks.
Trek really needs to improve its "life support failure" issues if it wants to use that as a trope. Life support isn't that difficult considering we've done it since the 60s and the biggest risk is venting, which almost never happens in Trek. They could at least use carbon dioxide poisoning which would happen far sooner than oxygen deprivation.
Sat, Mar 11, 2023, 10:41am (UTC -6)
Sat, Mar 11, 2023, 2:10pm (UTC -6)
>I agree that this and course Oblivion are 2 of the stupidest voyager episodes
Did you skip Threshold and Twisted?
Mon, Apr 3, 2023, 11:20pm (UTC -6)
Literally any planet they visited along the way that has oceans could supply them with virtually unlimited deuterium. Just isolate the heavy water and electrolyze into deuterium gas.
Fri, Aug 25, 2023, 2:56pm (UTC -6)
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