Star Trek: Voyager
"Blink of an Eye"
Air date: 1/19/2000
Teleplay by Joe Menosky
Story by Michael Taylor
Directed by Gabrielle Beaumont
Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
"If there's an intelligent species down there, we'll be able to track their development, not just for days or weeks, but for centuries."
"And watch them discover new and better ways of beating each other over the head."
"They won't necessarily follow the Klingon model."
"As opposed to the human model?"— Chakotay and Torres
Nutshell: A good reapplication of a good premise that was misapplied in its original use.
"Blink of an Eye" is a compelling hour of Voyager, and it might've seemed like a truly original sci-fi concept if it weren't for the fact the basic premise was made into an episode of original Trek more than 31 years ago. Is this new episode an homage, an updated retelling, or a blatant plundering of already-used ideas?
I'm inclined to use the phrase "updated retelling." One gets the sense that this story might've been intended to seem fresh to new-Trek fans who were not familiar with the original premise; at the same time, the fact that the title has barely been changed (the TOS episode was called "Wink of an Eye") is a hint that maybe the writers were consciously, if quietly, acknowledging their source material.
Still, with a premise built on such an interesting hook, it almost seems like the original script's writers, Arthur Heinemann and Gene Coon, deserved to be inserted into this week's credits.
"Blink of an Eye" is not a rehash, mind you. "Blink" is, in fact, miles ahead of "Wink," which had that great starting premise but didn't do much with it, and required viewers to overlook crucial flaws in logic in order for the story to work.
"Blink" takes the idea of time differential to a much more interesting level by inserting Voyager into the very mythos of the strange new world in question. This is easily the best, most ambitious sci-fi premise seen on Voyager this season.
We've got a planet that exists in accelerated time, where nearly an entire day goes by in the time the Voyager crew experiences one second. Voyager gets stuck in orbit in some sort of technobabble eddy, and while they're stuck they observe the society below developing from primitive to industrial to digital. And what's perhaps most interesting about this idea is that the planet's inhabitants all the while are observing Voyager, which looks like the brightest, biggest star in the sky. It's a wondrous new take on a concept that was nowhere within the thought range of the original "Wink." Anyone who is calling "Blink" simply a rehash is missing the point.
The most interesting aspect of "Blink" is what grows from the implications of everyone gazing into the sky, seeing Voyager, and wondering what that super-bright star in the sky means. The story supplies us several time periods on the planet where a dialog opens between two people looking at the sky. They wonder what it is, who put it there, and why it causes frequent earthquakes. As the time periods change, the nature of the belief regarding this mysterious "star" changes. At first it's worshiped and feared; later those values of worship are challenged and primitive contact is attempted (by sealed letter and hot-air balloon, no less); and still later we have astronomers staring at it through telescopes, sending it radio signals, and wondering who put the "Sky Ship" in orbit and why it's not going anywhere.
Strangely, I don't have a whole lot to say about some of the societal perspectives, because the most interesting ideas to ponder are implicit. In fact, if there's a drawback to "Blink of an Eye," it's that some of the execution can't really live up to the potential of the concept. For such an interest-piquing idea, there are numerous scenes that, in and by themselves, strike me as oddly lackluster. As a whole, probably each scene is necessary to establish the unfolding canvas of centuries of time, but as individual drama scenes they don't really stand out to say something powerful.
Part of that, I think, lies on the guest cast, which isn't uniformly solid. Each time frame we see features two actors engaging in a dialog about the Sky Ship, and in each case one actor seems significantly weaker than the other. Also, the early scenes can't break free and become completely engrossing because the dialog comes across as a bit stilted. Particularly in the first two ancient time periods, the people talk with a wooden properness that strikes me as over-scripted and artificial.
Back aboard Voyager, we have some neat ideas, like the idea of beaming Doc down to the planet to investigate a way of escaping orbit, and the idea that when he is unretrievable for several minutes because of a technical problem, he comes back to Voyager having been on the planet three years, where he had basically become a citizen.
And in the most immediate example of observing progress that's unfolding before one's eyes, Seven witnesses on the viewscreen in a few moments the testing of antimatter bombs over what is really a few months' time—and then realizes the devices have been promptly aimed at Voyager.
The best moments come in the latter stages of the show after two astronauts make the historic first attempt to reach the Sky Ship. Seeing through their eyes, we're able to experience the anticipation as they approach Voyager—a weird, alien, impossibly frozen object that has been a mystery for centuries. They board Voyager, which of course gives us the creepy visuals of two explorers walking through the decks of a ship full of frozen people. (Are the physics of such a situation plausible? Wouldn't people running around the ship at such high speeds cause some sort of increased friction or heat? What if one of these astronauts punched somebody? Would their hand go right through a Voyager crew member and break them in half? Is there some sort of law of conservation of energy or something to account for this? Okay, I'm being flippant; I honestly don't know or care. There's a reason I got a degree in English and not physics.)
Suddenly, the astronauts are pulled into Voyager's rate of time. One of the astronauts dies from trauma, but the other, a man named Gotana-Retz (Daniel Dae Kim), survives, and becomes the emotional anchor for the story's closing stages. Gotana-Retz is represented by the better actor of the two astronaut characters, fortunately, and I liked that the story revealed the way Voyager impacted him as an individual who had always sought answers to the Sky Ship mystery—from childhood.
The show's most interesting explicitly discussed idea is that the mystery of the Sky Ship had prompted a societal acceleration of technology (sort of a "space race" like the race to the Moon). The idea that a people sought development to answer questions with such huge significance is a notion that tunes into our own wonders. There's also some musing over what might happen to society if the Sky Ship were to leave. Interesting, how the universal are-we-alone-in-the-universe question is filtered through this particular Voyager plot.
Of course, it's also an honest and telling point that, as Doc reveals, if some members of government had their way, newly discovered weapons would be quickly pointed and fired at the Sky Ship.
The ending works pretty well, though there seems to be a tad bit of chaos. It's nice that Voyager's escape from the planet's grasp isn't arbitrarily handled with tech but instead by the decision to have Gotana-Retz return to the planet and tell his people what he has seen.
Despite the smart script, "Blink" doesn't really land in the realm of Trekkian masterpieces. Some of the more potent moments in the drama feel a bit underplayed (and Paul Baillargeon still refuses to score moments of action with any sort of energy). Where this episode reveals its cracks is in the ebb and flow of the plot along the way. There are distracting moments that don't quite seem to fit, like the walk-on of Naomi Wildman and especially Doc's brief mention of his "son" from when he was on the planet—which is downright confusing as presented, and seems tacked on since it makes one wonder where all the emotional attachment vanished to the instant he beamed back aboard Voyager.
But regardless, this episode is a winner. It has genuine sci-fi imagination of the type that sci-fi deserves. I've observed that there are two general types of sci-fi that Hollywood uses to establish their stories: the kind that tell human dramas about the nature of possibilities and imagination, and the type that exploit spaceships and fantasy technology merely for explosions and cheap thrills. "Blink of an Eye" represents the former.
Trailer commentary: It kills me the way all those extra stock-footage shots of explosions and people getting knocked off their feet were added to the promo for "Blink of an Eye," little of which happened in this episode. This preview, like many Voyager previews, obviously emanated straight from the People-Will-Watch-If-They-Think-Stuff-Will-Get-Blown-Up Dept.
Next week: According to the trailer, who knows? But somewhere in the next few weeks we'll get plenty of Borg, action, and Seven of Nine arena fighting. Yes, everyone, it's "Star Trek: LCD"!
Previous episode: Fair Haven
Next episode: Virtuoso
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116 comments on this post
Sat, Sep 15, 2007, 2:20pm (UTC -5)
You know, I think there was enough material here for a two-part episode...albeit, a pretty quiet and unconventional one. I would've loved to have seen some of the Doctor's life in this alien culture. Although, they may not have had a big enough budget to pull this off...so our imaginations do just fine.
Plausibility quibble: Early in the episode, as one of the aliens is witting a letter to the Sky Ship, we have a good enough view of the letter to see that he's clearly writing it in English. Whatever. Who is in charge of these things?
Thu, Dec 20, 2007, 2:36am (UTC -5)
I also tend to like "pointless" moments such as the Naomi walk-on, as long as they're kept short. Too often the entire episode focuses solely on the plot, and it's nice to get a short acknowledgement that there are other things going on with other characters.
To me this episode is on par with "Living Witness", and maybe better.
Thu, Dec 20, 2007, 8:39am (UTC -5)
Thu, Jan 3, 2008, 9:35am (UTC -5)
Sun, Feb 3, 2008, 5:10am (UTC -5)
Fri, Apr 18, 2008, 3:52pm (UTC -5)
Frankly, at the rate of time passage that the Doctor experiences, the missiles being fired at Voyager seemed very spread out (what's that, a few months or years between missiles?
I think the loopholes in the technical plot prevent the episode from being 4 star, but it really is a great one. Daniel Dae Kim is a great actor (well known now for Lost, but relatively unknown at the time), and he turns in a great performance. I like the scene of him and Janeway in her ready room.
As to your physics question, I recall an episode of the X-Files in which a bad guy of the week had the ability to run super fast. Mulder and Scully end up finding melted rubber (the soles of his shoes) on the floor somewhere where he had been.
Fri, Jan 9, 2009, 4:02am (UTC -5)
Thu, Aug 20, 2009, 2:34pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Dec 9, 2009, 8:23pm (UTC -5)
That one is not the worst though. The most troubling aspect is that they develop transporter technology and ships and warp drive and tractor beams.... but we see no actual flights and ships in orbit every few seconds. Are we really to believe they develop all of this tech on the surface... and after hundreds of years... finally decide to use it all?
That's just me complaining. I really loved the episode as a whole.
Thu, Apr 1, 2010, 12:50am (UTC -5)
Basically, other than some of the acting and a few credibility issues (LOL physics) aside, I can't help but think of this ep as a 4-star winner. Stories like this are why I love sci-fi, and why I still re-watch my favorite Voyager episodes, a show which I think as a whole never came close to living up to its massive potential. When these writers found a good sci-fi premise, they proved they knew what they were doing, even if only for an hour.
Tue, Jul 6, 2010, 7:00pm (UTC -5)
Nonetheless, I found this episode entertaining, and in the final analysis, that's all that counts.
Sat, Jul 10, 2010, 8:53pm (UTC -5)
A few things. Firstly, The Doc returning and hugging Janeway, and then effusing about his..."roomate," who gave him companionship he was craving. Hellooooo, he's a H-O-L-O-G-R-A-M!!!
Then there is Paris's charging-like-a-bull insistence they had to make contact with the natives, despite excellent retorts from pretty much everyone else and despite the impracticability (time differential-wise) of doing so.
Next, they start firing blahblahblah torpedoes at Voayer at three-second intervals, reducing the shields by two thirds within a few seconds. Then there's a discussion - OMG whaddowedo - DDK decides to go back, he's walked to his ship, The Doc starts waxing about his son (WTF?!?), etc. Anyway, several minutes at least pass by till he gets back to the surface. So, they decided to take a break of what, a century?, between the moment of nearly destroying Voyager and firing the next torpedo!?!
Lastly, I find it implausible that a race would spend most of its waking moments preoccupied with Voyager and earthquakes. Japan has been living with tremors for much less time and its people hardly give it a second thought. As a race, there are many questions we don't know the answers to but we don't obsess about them.
But anyway, an awesome episode!
Sun, Nov 7, 2010, 12:52am (UTC -5)
I found it more interesting to watch than many of the other episodes rated with 4-starts (eg, I found Barge of the Dead almost unwatchable, and Living Witness, while good as an allegory, wasn't anywhere near as interesting on a science fiction level).
I also notice that one of the problems people have with this episode is that it seems convenient Voyager arrived as a civilisation was beginning to develop. I don't think this is a problem as there may have been countless civilisations before this one. It's even noted in dialogue at the start of the episode:
Chakotay: "We might just miss the rise and fall of a civilization".
Torres: "So, we'll watch the next one".
Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 12:04pm (UTC -5)
But the end of this episode found this civilization creating technology to escape the time barrier.
Then again, it was in order to rescue Voyager, so I suppose it was Voyager's presence that made this civilization finally the one that was able to escape the planet's restraints.
Consequentially though, this rapidly accelarating civilization could now make its presence felt in the greater universe. So presumably, the rapid time would continue on the homeworld, and then ships could carry this technology through the barrier. Depending on the nature of the species, they could make a perfect universe or conquer it, either choice in short order.
Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 7:34pm (UTC -5)
Anyway, great episode. It does something new (okay it's based roughly off a TOS premise. Whatever. It'd hardly call it similar) and hits exactly what Trek is all about for me - not just the exploration of strange (Weird) new worlds but when things don't quite go to plan, also the impact on their civilisations. Imagine being responsible for an entire planet's beliefs and culture. It takes "The Picard" to a whole new level and is just as fascinating.
Yes it has its glaring holes. Indeed one can assume that perhaps they are early Q as one possible workaround for some of those holes.
Then again, perhaps Q represents the future of all cultures - if "working around" time and space like that is ultimately possible in the Trek universe as 'proven' by this episode then everyone is going to be doing it eventually and I suppose in the long run they'd basically become Q.
My brain is melting. Don't try to understand time.
Anyway, I have to say, it's almost as if this episode took what is often Voyager's weakness (just bumbling around messing with things then moving on) and turned it into a strength. This time, instead of going out of their way to write a story that can't work with Voyager's "stumble across something, interact, move on" style and ultimately end up frustrating, we have a story that says "here's what might happen when Voyager is doing that". It's hard to explain, but I like it.
Fri, Aug 26, 2011, 3:57pm (UTC -5)
I thought the premise was beautifully realised, and enjoyed seeing the way this civilisation progresses over the centuries while it's more or less business as usual aboard Voyager. It was handled really well, although the isolated (and quite lengthy) scenes on the planet featuring throwaway characters fell very flat for me...it's hard to invest in random characters that have no purpose in the story other than to depict the way a culture is developing. I also find that the Voyager writers are generally not good at creating compelling, three-dimensional guest characters and that trend continues here. But the alien-POV does work much better when Jin from Lost (always great to see a Lost actor) comes aboard Voyager. Nothing groundbreaking here, but it's effective.
While there's not a great deal of emotional resonance to the episode, I still found it interesting, engaging and compelling. For all that it riffs on TOS's "Wink of an eye", it still manages to feel quite fresh and also manages to capture that quintessential Star Trek spirit.
Sun, Sep 25, 2011, 2:13am (UTC -5)
This episode is very clearly based heavily on that source material, or inspired by it.
I did enjoy the episode a great deal, and think it's one of the best in the Voyager series.
As for the book "Dragon's Egg," the Cheela characters were more interestingly written than the humans. The book was also very heavy sci-fi, and not very well known. Anyone reading Jammer's reviews would probably enjoy it, though.
Thu, Sep 29, 2011, 2:10pm (UTC -5)
I found the guest star acting a little wooden, too. It was almost like they were purposely going for 1950s/60s sci-fi acting. Think Twilight Zone or Forbidden Planet. Lots of too-much-dialogue and too-simple-mindedness.
I also got frustrated in the two-astronomers-and-an-earthquake scene. Why would they develop architecture so similar to humans if they developed over hundreds of years on a planet with radically more geologic instability? Wouldn't they have figured out all the best ways to avoid shaken building syndrome?!
Overall, even with those niggling issues, I liked the idea of this episode very much. I do wish it'd had just a bit more emotion, though. The Doctor effected his return to the ship with almost no regret. (Yeah, yeah, he's a hologram. But if he was really that emotionless he wouldn't have bothered with whatever insane steps he must have taken to allow a hologram to have a son.) The astronaut got over his "everyone I've ever known is dead" before he'd even finished saying the sentence. Even Voyager's crew was more like "oh rats, we might be stuck" rather than "HOLY SCHNIKES WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE BEFORE WE BECOME AS GODS TO THESE PEOPLE AND THEN GET SUCKED INTO THEIR TIMELINE!"
Just a little tweaking and polishing could have made this very interesting episode of sci-fi into an emotional whale of a sci-fi tale.
Fri, Nov 11, 2011, 4:53pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Nov 11, 2011, 5:22pm (UTC -5)
I was thinking the same thing. Doc's visit to the planet could have been an "Inner Light" ripoff.
Fri, Jan 20, 2012, 4:27pm (UTC -5)
An interesting comparison is the novel "Spin" by Robert Charles Wilson, based on a similar idea. I highly recommend it.
Fri, Feb 17, 2012, 8:50am (UTC -5)
I thought the speeded up development of the civilization was caused by Voyager getting stuck there, and once they left, so would the speeded up part would have stopped as well. But again, like I said, that may be contradicted by something in the show.
And I got the feeling The Doctor's son was like a step-son: Perhaps his roommate was pregnant when she moved in with him and after birth, helped raise him. If someone hasn't written a book on Doc's three years there, they should! I'd buy it in a heartbeat! :)
Mon, Apr 16, 2012, 4:35pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Jun 5, 2012, 12:26am (UTC -5)
My only quibble is with the Doc and Gotana-Retz. Both endured emotional traumas. Gotana had essentially lost everyone he's ever known. I know there's not much the writers could do with limited time, but it seems to me the gravitas of that realization could have been written better. The same goes with Doc and his son. As soon as his bear hug with the Captain was done don't you think he'd start feeling quite guilty for pretty much abandoning his family? I'm a father, and I know I would.
But, like I said they're quibbles. The episode as a whole is too good for them to detract from it.
Mon, Jun 25, 2012, 12:37am (UTC -5)
Fri, Sep 28, 2012, 8:05pm (UTC -5)
The writers wanted Paris to be a devil's advocate, but he was right. The Prime Directive was beside the point; there was no longer any hope of not affecting the planet. They were literally shaking it, and the natives were contacting *them*. It's way too late to avoid contact at that point; the only question is what kind of contact you'll have.
And as it turned out, refusing to reply pushed the natives into a space-race to get there and find out what the sky-ship was, and ultimately to attack it. Had they simply sent a message back saying, "Hi, nice to meet you. Yes, we are from another planet, and we're sorry about the earthquakes. We're trying to leave, can you help?" none of that would have happened. How much of the natives' and the planet's resources went into the space-race and weapons development, that could have been better used if Voyager hadn't been looming there as a silent threat? So much for non-interference.
Sat, Dec 29, 2012, 2:12pm (UTC -5)
The final scene, with Gotana-Retz looking skyward as the Sky Ship vanishes forever brought a lump to my throat.
Fri, Apr 12, 2013, 6:21am (UTC -5)
Sun, May 5, 2013, 8:51pm (UTC -5)
I agree with the 'errors' people have pointed out in the comments, of course, but they all seem minor to me. There is only so much a producer can do appeal to as many people as possible. Like the fact that the old man wrote the note in English is obviously wrong, but it's something that did not punch me in the face as plot-breaking. I bet you could, and I know that people like you have, find such mistakes in just about every episode of every series and likely all of sci-fi in general. That's what you're good at. I do it too.
But what makes this episode memorable is the concept. I was inspired by this episode, despite all the little things that were wrong, half of which I picked up on my own but did not care about. It filled me with such wonder that you could observe a civilization develop before your eyes, and still does.
This is probably my favorite VOY episode. I can recall a scarce few episodes from any series that are nearly as interesting as this one.
I itch to suggest alternatives that could have made it better...
... perhaps if the way Voyager escapes in the end is simply through the tech of people on the planet. They have stayed so long that their tech has surpassed Voyager's.
Needless to say I think that this episode could have been developed into a 2-part, or even a whole movie. I love it to bits, because, I suppose, I love both history and progress and science. This episode merges them.
... it almost makes me sad that since Star Trek is dead, we'll likely never see anything as good as this again. The plot holes in the new Kirk-Offshot-Timeline-shoot-em-up-lens-flare-overdose-movie are glaring, obvious and make it suck.
Sat, May 11, 2013, 9:31pm (UTC -5)
All I can figure is, the Displaced people must die if they go too far or stay out too long. Otherwise they would surely run the galaxy by season's end.
Fri, Aug 2, 2013, 8:50am (UTC -5)
If something makes you think, feel and be a part of the wonderful drama then IMO it doesn't matter about a few small technical plot hiccups along the way in this fictional tale. Another thing I love about this episode is its mythological feel, I love all kinds of mythology and ancient history that crackles with almost a magical irresistible charm.
If anything I just wish this was a 2 parter. I also think it would have been very powerful and profound to have ended with Voyager witnessing the final chapter of the planet, something beautifully bittersweet and moving. But I guess that might have been too much and not to mention the budget that would have needed.
I wont complain though, because I really liked what we got. 3 and a half for sure, pushing close to a 4.
Wed, Aug 14, 2013, 10:55am (UTC -5)
clearly there are holes that are going to happen. either some would be impossible to explain, or it would take multiple hours to explain to the audience.
however, i must agree, i think it would have been fun to see the Doc's 3 years. it would ahve made a great "inner light" episode. I LOVED how he hugged Janeway when he came back. but i also liked how he figured something went wrong and he had to create a life for himself. I kept hoping DDK would tell Janeway something about the doc's lineage.
the idea of the "baby Qs" reminds me of Groundhog day when Bill Murray supposes that God is not all knowing and powerful, but that he just has been around long enough to know everything. it would be like if this civilization continued forward and became Q.
great episode. 4 stars!
Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 1:36pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Jan 5, 2014, 5:06pm (UTC -5)
3.5 for me.
Tue, Feb 4, 2014, 7:09pm (UTC -5)
It was stated Voyager was caught in a geosynchronous orbit around the planet. That means it stays over one place all the time. And yes, we see Voyager as a star fixed in the same place in the heavens seen from the planet. However if Voyager was locked in this orbit, then it would have to be spinning as fast as the planet itself. Obviously it didn't, so Voyager must have moved in the heavens. And that begs the question if one second in space is a day on the planet, how fast would the stars be spinning in the heavens of the planet. I wish I almost hadn't noticed this, because the magic of the episode has lessened somewhat. If I am wrong I hope someone can correct me :-)
Thu, Feb 6, 2014, 12:12pm (UTC -5)
Loved Jammer's question about phsyics. I imagine that Voyager and crew would have been pretty torn apart by two beings traveling through their corridors at 5,020,928,571,002,819 times the speed of sound. This could have been a hilarious series finale as the air starts on fire and the crew are torn apart by massive shockwaves. Cut to Starfleet Command's attempts to contact Voyager over a period of 30 years and eventually giving up for a second time. Roll credits.
Thu, Mar 6, 2014, 9:20pm (UTC -5)
The alien was way too cavalier about her death. Writers making the doc more human than our Captain . Little things distract a bit.
Last nit pick, we have so many resets the cast acting is becoming the audience and are way too nonchalant about their predicaments when stuck (The void). I get panicking doesn't help but they seem confident they'll be free in 42 mins. zzzzz...
Still, one of my faves I watch many times. :-)
Mon, Mar 10, 2014, 4:43pm (UTC -5)
The ending is a bit different than Dragon's Egg, necessarily. If they had retained it, the ep would have made for a superb Trekkian ending, and might have elevated this into 4 star status.
I'd like to thank Jammer for this repository. After doing the full run of DS9 on Netflix, I started up Voyager to fill in some gaps in my viewing. But after a few episodes that were true dogs, I'm very happy this site was able to guide me around the lesser episodes.
Wed, Apr 2, 2014, 9:33pm (UTC -5)
This is what Sci-Fi should do, inspire you to reach for the stars despite the limitation or challenges that hold you to the ground.
As a nod and gesture of good will to classic Science fiction, I think Voyager made all the right choices here.
8.5/10
Wed, May 14, 2014, 1:17pm (UTC -5)
At the same time, however, we have to watch an alien species in the Delta Quadrant develop and look almost 100% like humans. And even write in English. Really guys? Are we that much ethnocentric that we can't imagine it differently? Were the producers and their crew that lazy? It just feels like lack of care and attention towards the episode.
Sure, these are minor things we can look over. As Latex Zebra has accurately summarized a few comments above, "Don't ask too many questions and this is a great episode". Still, I think this episode epitomizes the problem of how much the plot and production should be considered when evaluating an episode. I mention that because many comments in many review of many other episodes always say that we *should* skip the holes for a better appreciation of what matters, of what Trek can best offer to us. Well, it depends. Is there a logical hole in how the physics are treated for the sake of the plot? Besides us making good fun of it, I do not care at all. However, is there a production hole that makes the aliens almost like humans, showing the whole ethnocentric or american-centric of us? Yes, I do care, precisely because this offends the whole philosophy of Trek.
But don't get me wrong. I though that this episode was great, overall. With a nice, powerfully touching last scene that deserves to be retained in our minds and souls. It is just that it is, at the same time, the perfect installment for thinking on the balance between plot and distracting holes... (what means, btw, it is also a great episode in an odd way too!)
Mon, Jun 23, 2014, 11:39am (UTC -5)
Mon, Jul 7, 2014, 12:16am (UTC -5)
I noticed when this civilization was in it's renaissance stage, they had a model solar system. They shouldn't know anything about this, as they could never observe planets moving, it would be too slow for them.
Mon, Jul 7, 2014, 1:37am (UTC -5)
Mon, Jul 7, 2014, 7:37pm (UTC -5)
Mon, Jul 7, 2014, 8:07pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Aug 5, 2014, 7:28am (UTC -5)
I remember being blown away by these three stories 15 years ago, when I was 15 years old. They ignited my love for science fiction. Sad to say, the rest of Voyager is just meh. Mating amphibians, anyone?
Tue, Aug 5, 2014, 7:29am (UTC -5)
Thu, Oct 23, 2014, 5:54pm (UTC -5)
This is a strangely captivating story. As I've previously mentioned it requires a lot of suspension of belief and repeat viewings only challenge that.
The thing is, I don't want to challenge it. I genuinely love this episode and niggles like the bombardment stopping long enough to get Gotana-Retz back to the planet or Doc's suddenly announced son don't detract from a truly original story.
I wonder what tweaks could be made to round this off and make it all coherant.
Then I remember my earlier comment and think... Why worry.
Even without being a nailed on 4 star episode this rates as a Voyager classic in my opinion for being exactly what I want Star Trek to be. Fun, touching and entertaining.
In my top 10 Voyager without doubt.
Fri, Oct 24, 2014, 1:29pm (UTC -5)
I can't wait to rewatch Voyager and review it :-)
Sat, May 30, 2015, 7:56pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Jun 30, 2015, 4:16pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Sep 5, 2015, 3:12pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Dec 30, 2015, 12:08am (UTC -5)
Tue, Feb 9, 2016, 11:17pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Mar 11, 2016, 7:46pm (UTC -5)
One thing Voyager has succeeded at with their method of storytelling is to actually show the impact that Voyager can have on a random civilization. This reminds me of Living Witness, in that it shows the possible wisdom of the Prime Directive (when its not being used to justify genocide, of course). This obviously wasn't Voyager's fault, but knowledge of god-like beings hovering over a planet and causing earthquakes fundamentally altered these people's civilization. And not in overly-dramatic, simple ways either. Perhaps it was a benefit, as it may have jump started a scientific revolution. Perhaps it was a negative, as the constant earthquakes and impression that it was caused by outsiders gave them a pessimistic view of the universe. Or maybe it gave an optimistic view. Or maybe both. One thing I liked was that we saw it influencing both the larger picture and the small - with children's toys and operas devoted to the skyship.
Meanwhile, on Voyager, we saw the crew take everything seriously. Again, it's not their fault that they violated the Prime Directive. But they understood the consequences of their actions and tried to deal with it the best they could. More appropriately, they were humbled by their experiences, and it seemed to affect them as well (yes, I know, it doesn't last more than a week. But episodic sci-fi can be good too). Again, it went from the mundane (Naomi's report) to the profound (questioning if they should talk with these people, even if it does violate the PD). Chakotay was probably the best character, now that he dropped his temporary life-long love of paleontology to go back to his life-long love of anthropology. But I think everyone had their moments.
And, as others have said, the ending focusing on the astronaut makes the episode. Let's face it, the impact that Voyager had on these people was the key to the episode, so if Voyager just technobabbled a solution in the end and left, it would have been a hollow experience. Instead, Voyager, which influenced and inspired these people for generations, was saved by them in the end. What a fitting end to their progress that they would end up saving their heroes. The astronaut looking up in the sky, knowing that the skyship is no longer there, was a touching ending as well. It's things like this that allow me to look past some of my annoyances, most notably the Doctor looking for companionship yet again, even leaving a son behind. Seriously, who programmed this into him?
Also, for the most part, they did a good job on the timing issue. If the 1 second = 1 day aspect is true, then that means that means ~250 years per day (rounding and simplifying things, of course). If their progress was roughly equivalent to Trek's history of humanity, then I would say at most 3500 years passed on the surface. That's only 2 weeks in orbit, which I think is reasonable. Yes, it seemed a bit strange that the antimatter attacks were only coming in once every "day" or so, but oh well. Perhaps they were firing once and waiting to see if the skyship responded, rather than just an all out attempt to destroy it. I was also initially surprised that no other expeditions to the skyship occurred after the first one, but I suppose if it didn't come back that confirmed in everyone's mind that the skyship was hostile.
Sat, Mar 12, 2016, 12:42pm (UTC -5)
Yes, there were a number of strange beats - the absolute WTF of the Doctor having a son high among them - but nevertheless this succeeds far more than it fails. 3 stars.
Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 8:38pm (UTC -5)
Eventually, Kirk gets a virus where he speeds up, too, and sees the aliens, but everyone else on the crew is near frozen.
Both "Wink" and "Blink" are on Netflix. While TOS is the better series, "Blink" is a more provocative and thought-out episode. My favorite of the whole "Voyager" run.
Fri, May 6, 2016, 9:50pm (UTC -5)
Tue, May 31, 2016, 10:41am (UTC -5)
Alternatively, the planet inhabitants really have no reason to go into space as anything they send would be outdated as it reached space and probably overtaken by a new generation of ships minutes later. Also, based on how quickly they procreate compared to the rest of the galaxy, they would own the delta quandrant in short order if desired.
Mon, Jun 13, 2016, 1:15pm (UTC -5)
As Skeptical said, we get to "see the story" from both sides.
I also agree the interaction with their astronaut(s) made this episode a classic.
Loved how they helped Voyager get free at the end.
Nothing bad to say about this one. Enjoyable every time.
4 stars from me.
Tue, Aug 16, 2016, 3:48pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Aug 16, 2016, 3:51pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Sep 8, 2016, 9:11pm (UTC -5)
Nice but...(***)
Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 3:32am (UTC -5)
Even though there were some inconsistencies I think they did a great job with this one. Very ambitious idea and near impossible to do without mucking anything up.
I did lol when the alien guy was with seven is astrometrics:
"The seismic detectors were off by a factor of 3.8". 3.8 what? Percent? Degrees? Wingwangs? Seven knew exactly what he was talking about. Hilarious
Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 10:43am (UTC -5)
Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 11:45pm (UTC -5)
When I first saw this, I figured they might be the ones to get Voyager home. With their pace of advancement in a short period of normal time, they would make trans warp corridors look like walking on foot, and be all over the place and come to help Voyager.
Mon, Jan 16, 2017, 10:42pm (UTC -5)
This episode does all three which for my money, puts among the top 5 episodes of the entire series.
This one should not be missed.
Fri, Feb 3, 2017, 10:42pm (UTC -5)
As Jammers and many pointed out, the premise is possibly based on "TOS-The Wink of an Eye", "VOY-Gravity" and "Dragons Egg" book. Regardless, it still have wonderful scene and stories that I'm willing to overlook that.
The primitive culture scene while it's not standout and serve much on itself, made a great impact for later scene. Such the 'first transmit speech' to contact Voyager and of course the landing of the 2 astronot. Each of previous stage made the landing and main scene of the 2 astronot so much powerful and we can relate to them, knowing voyager has huge effect and impact to their culture. Sure, some of the guest stars could been better.
For once. Paris is spot on in the meeting scene, discussing 'the transmit speech'. Tuvok is offshot and 'illogical' here, a bit of shame for Tuvok character to made silly statement.
The Prime Directive still applies? You're kidding Tuvok? They already know Voyager there then attempting contact, Voyager literally affecting civilization for centuries by causing seismic! Resulting direct interference to their culture. Intentional or not, Voyager already done it, thus break and void the Prime Directive, the only question left is how to minimize further disruption and handle it as best possible way.
It is also nice to see we're not just getting the next 'Hot Headed Unreasonable Alien' of the week as the stories progress. "Any being capable of building that skyship, could destroyed our world long ago".
We got a reasonable development, they are actually trying to contact and ask the skyship "Our ancient mythology describe your arrival centuries ago coincide with seismic, we hope that was never your intention...". That is very inspiring approach.
Attack to the voyager also only being done after they tried investigate on Voyager by sending 2 astronot. From their perspective, the astronot will be considered a lost and failed on their mission after unable to contact or coming back within time expected. With the mission seems failed and Voyager still causing seismic, it is understandable their taking a more cynic and hostile position.
Gotana-Retz back to the planet some 50 years later, so roughly 5 hours of Voyager times, that is also seems reasonable time.
The only think that has major plot hole i think is Gotana spending unnecessary time a little too long on Voyager, and the landing scene back to the planet.
It's ridiculous not to try sent back Gotana as soon as possible in the first time after the proper info and understanding is achieved, or find a way to establish stable communication to the planet, while Voyager crew know they risk an attack and further hostility from the planet.
Further, say it takes 10 minutes for the whole landing sequence starting from preparation to touching ground, that is around 1.5 years the planet time.
With Voyager take pounding from anti-matter missile at 1 hit every week by the time Gotana prepared to land, that will translate to 70-80 more hit. Voyager shouldn't withstand that amoung of pounding with shield already close to fail.
Why not just beam him down? Doctor already knew his physiology well and can provide inoculation to protect him.
Some other minor hole :
- Voyager in geosynchronous orbit. If this the case, that means Voyager is in the same timeframe as the planet in my understanding, Voyager shouldn't in geosync.
- Voyager moving at the same rate relative to other stars, that wouldn't be the case if Voyager is in geosync. Rather... it should be in the same static position relative to the planet while all other stars moving much faster to the planet.
- How is the astronot module can penetrate the shield as if it's non-existance, landed on voyager then proceed conviniently open the hatch to enter?
- Doc having a child? This is major revelation in my book, why there's no further explanation or inquiry toward this? How this is possible? Janeway and the crew just barely acknowledge and seems just brushing it off then entirely forgotten? Why the writer bother doing this if it's not having effect to the episodes or the character in the long term? It only a distraction and waste of time if they dont plan to use it further.
Without the flaw, this one will be perfect.
It still a great episodes and a close to classic, quite close.. but not yet there on my book.
3.5 stars
Fri, Feb 3, 2017, 11:04pm (UTC -5)
Maybe they will, maybe not. Having such high rate rotation on the planet should bring some drawback aside from advantadge of high evolution.
* It stand to reason their planet only able to sustain shortlived compared to the rest of galaxy, maybe only for couple of decades/centuries compared to eons/million years.
* There's only so much resource can be taken from a single planet. Eventually to evolve to the next step, they have to expand to other planet/colony for resource at some point. They have to do this within the timeframe before the planet being not self-sustained.
* The such huge time differential could also be a huge hindrance and may well limiting their option in a way of space travel.
Sat, Apr 15, 2017, 2:49pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Apr 15, 2017, 3:18pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Apr 15, 2017, 4:17pm (UTC -5)
For example right now, a loaf of bread is £1.00 to £1.70, the iPhone 7+ is the pinnacle of mobile phones along with the Galaxy S7 Edge (I think), typical broadband speed here in the UK is about 20Mbps, Trump is in power in the US and about to bring us to the brink of WW3 (not really, I hope), we're about to enter the era of the superbug because of our overuse of antibiotics, and climate change is starting to get VERY real due to the inability of some of our leaders to tackle it.
I wonder how things compared in 2000, in 2007, will compare in 2050?
Just thought that was pertinent to this episode.
Tue, May 30, 2017, 3:32pm (UTC -5)
Paul I love your comment.
Wed, May 31, 2017, 6:13pm (UTC -5)
A few comments. Why didn't their super speed affect anybody? As they show on the Flash TV show, different dimensions vibrate at different rates of speed. So the astronauts were in a different dimension from the crew. Could they have evolved to the level of the Organians? They may have to. I have grave doubts they can leave the planet without dying or at least rapidly aging. But the old Trek story should affect this one. Can't anyone reinvent Scalosian water? Or would that not be fast enough? And we should have seen the Doctor on the planet.
Thu, Jul 13, 2017, 4:03am (UTC -5)
Also the doc having a baby? I assume it is a step-son as someone said earlier, but he just brushes it off as 'It's a long story' or some such thing, as if it was actually his child.
I generally don't like voyager, thinking it is the weakest of the star trek series, but other than what I mentioned and some stuff others already mentioned it's a good story at least. Like 'don't ask too many questions and it's a great episode' lol. But then that can be said of most of the voyager episodes. Did like this one though.
Mon, Jul 17, 2017, 1:18pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Aug 2, 2017, 4:34pm (UTC -5)
This is why I watch Star Trek. This episode was solid from beginning to end with a fresh imaginative sci-fi idea. Every scene is engaging. Seeing a society evolve and grow within an hour was very intriguing.
Mon, Sep 25, 2017, 2:44pm (UTC -5)
Again a very promising plot that was not exploited by the writers...
Plus my criticism:
Why aren't they the most advanced species after 5 minutes?
Why has the doc a son? Why is this not elaborated in more detail?
Why again did the doc not simply stay an observer... Why did he as a hologram feel the need for procreation?
Why doesn't he ever mention his son again? Not even visiting him? Trying to tell him who his father is etc?
Why do the aliens shoot at Voyager and have tricobald missiles... But don't even send another ship? Then... They have the best technology, send two ships with tractor beams that save Voyager...
Ridiculous.
Daniel D Kim sits as an oldan... And has never visited voayger again although this wouldn't have been a problem...
Wed, Dec 13, 2017, 4:14pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Jan 6, 2018, 2:50am (UTC -5)
Sun, Jan 7, 2018, 4:38pm (UTC -5)
The fact that the alien characters were not developed and inspire no emotion is an effective way to say that no individual defines a race or species. We live and die but the human race goes on. We are not the center of humanity, just part of it.
The ending is heartbreaking. Technology and progress cannot replace emotion and the quest for answers.
Sat, Mar 31, 2018, 9:09am (UTC -5)
@N: "[...] a tiresome "Voyager in jeopardy" climax where the shields go down to whatever percent but we know there's no real danger."
@Kai: "Why do the aliens shoot at Voyager and have tricobald missiles... But don't even send another ship? Then... They have the best technology, send two ships with tractor beams that save Voyager...
Ridiculous."
Yeah, that ending almost ruined the episode for me. I just don't find in plausible that the alien civilization would try to destroy Voyager after millenias of being obsessed about it. Oh well...
@John Harmon: "Well...The Orville certainly ripped this episode off huh?"
Yep :)
Wed, May 9, 2018, 3:20pm (UTC -5)
It's best they ignored this issue, it would be too extreme to try to portray it.
I actually have a bigger problem personally - the civilization would have DEFINITELY discovered the time lag issue with the normal space program development. It's impossible that the first launch of an orbital object would be an advanced manned mission to Voyager. There would be satellites (sputnik?) and other test flights. From the ground, a rocket would go up and up, then the rocket would suddenly freeze it's relative velocity, painted in the sky along with the sun, moon, stars, and Voyager, all relatively motionless to each other. Over the next several years the ground could observe the rocket relatively inching closer and closer to Voyager.
Oh well, it's all a bit heady stuff, and way too hard sci-fi for Star Trek. I still liked the episode, and the fact that it made me even think of stuff like this is a plus in my book.
Sat, Jul 7, 2018, 4:27pm (UTC -5)
I think it could make a great Star Trek (Tv) movie, an extended version with more time devoted to the planet's progress and Doc's visit.
Wed, Aug 8, 2018, 8:30pm (UTC -5)
I liked the different cuts to life on the planet and seeing how they look at the sky ship and react to it. Granted the guest actors weren't anything special, but the ideas conveyed were important, as was painting the tapestry of Voyager's influence.
As far as Doc's trip to the planet -- wasn't sure what that accomplished other than getting 7 some data. Not clear what she did with it. But I think this was more to add some levity to the episode. And Doc had a son?? It also reinforces (not that it was needed) how big the difference in times is.
The ending wrapped up a bit quickly and conveniently. Things get good when the 2 astronauts dock and enter Voyager -- why 1 should die but the other lives might be a sticking point but 1 definitely had to survive.
It didn't seem like he'd be able to get the anti-matter bombing stopped, but with some hand-waving and time passing- sure, why not? I take it the planet evolved to a more advanced stage than Voyager itself when it tractored the ship out of orbit and the astronaut was able to beam himself back to speak to Janeway 1 last time with some time compensator.
High 3 stars for "Blink of an Eye" -- maybe one of the best ideas the series has ever come up with. There was a lot of ground to cover in this episode in terms of the impact the "sky ship" had on stirring progress in the planet's civilization. It's a nice final scene to see the old astronaut watching the stars as Voyager leaves orbit -- VOY as a series does these kinds of little touches well. Maybe this one could have been a 2-parter, but it clearly worked for a 1-hour episode.
Thu, Oct 25, 2018, 9:44am (UTC -5)
Loved the hug from Doc and just the way the whole Doc thing was handled, including how Chakotay found him.
This isn't a movie production that takes months of filming and millions of dollars. Yes, there will be flaws and holes, but they were minor to me. Nothing was galling.
Voyager is, more often than not, IMO, well done for what it is: a weekly series from the turn of the century. And here we are, almost as if no time has passed, discussing it.
And that of course is our theme, how fast, and how slow, time passes, it's relativity, and what is important in our lives.
Must go. Naomi has a report due. And I've got a toddler to pick up from preschool. She's growing up so fast!
Wed, Nov 7, 2018, 10:26pm (UTC -5)
I wondered how the two astronauts even managed to board Voyager considering it had its shields up? Plus, I presume it shouldn’t be as easy as “finding an airlock that fits an alien ship’s access port” or bypassing an alien door lock.
I don’t know if anyone else mentioned it in earlier comments, and I’m too lazy to scroll through them, but does anyone remember a sci-fi book titled “Dragon’s Egg”? I forget who it’s by as it was a book I read in the 80s, but the premise seems to mirror it to the point where it might have heavily inspired this episode.
Mon, Dec 3, 2018, 3:40am (UTC -5)
Mon, Dec 3, 2018, 3:55am (UTC -5)
Tue, Jan 15, 2019, 4:26am (UTC -5)
Tue, Jan 15, 2019, 1:10pm (UTC -5)
Ha..... yup, that would have been nice :-)
Sun, Jan 20, 2019, 1:01am (UTC -5)
Jammer, since you’re still writing reviews on The Orville, I know you’re still around possibly reading new comments on old reviews. I just want to comment on your comparison between this episode and the TOS Wink of an Eye. The two settings have nothing in common. In “Wink” the Scalosians were accelerated by some sort of radiation contamination. This caused them to move very fast, but time itself still passed at the same rate. (Although for them the speed of sound seems to have sped up as well.) Even with that relatively simple premise, there were obvious consistency issues in the rate at which events unfolded with the accelerated vs. unaccelerated characters. In “Blink” the planet’s inhabitants lived in a world where time itself passes much faster. In this situation the rate at which time passes depends on where you are at any given moment. One commenter correctly noted that anyone on the ground watching their own spacecraft climbing toward the Sky Ship would observe it slowing down and eventually coming to a stop long before it got there.
Sat, Mar 16, 2019, 1:32am (UTC -5)
Rather than nitpick plot holes or logical inconsistencies, I like to rate a show on how enjoyable an hour of television it was for me, and this was a good one. There are some even larger plot holes one could pick on for Living Witness, but as a whole I think these two shows are on a par with each other and very enjoyable hours of TV. If you're willing to suspend your disbelief enough to grant warp drive and universal translators, it seems to me you can forgive a lot if you were entertained, and even more if thought was provoked. /dl
Wed, Apr 24, 2019, 5:20pm (UTC -5)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuCn8ux2gbs&t=2s
That said, it's way too much fun to pick holes in it, so I'm joining the club. I don't care about the old man writing in English, but there is no shortage of nits.
The main one is that I think everyone is off on their time conversion. One second = one day comes to a 1440 multiple, so one day on Voyager would be only 3.9 years and change planetside. The Doctor would have had to have been down there almost a full day, Voyager time. Given what they witnessed and assuming that the planet went 3600 years of development over the course of the show, Voyager would have had to have been hanging out for nearly 100 days, not two weeks, as I saw someone else post. Not terrible, but it really becomes distracting when you get into the attack with the antimatter weapons.
Those weapons just mess up everything; I think they should have used a beam weapon instead of missiles, where you would be stepping down the speed of light, which is fast enough that they may not notice things slowing down once they break the 'time barrier' at a certain altitude. I find it impossible to believe that no one on the surface would have tracked their rounds, visually or with radar, and visibly seen their devices slow to a crawl. Also, the timing of the testing is, as mentioned, weird (6 weeks later?), and the strike interval is hokey as well. Of course, the astronaut sequence is weird for the same reason: they get a sped-up radio transmission on their little capsule craft after their first stage ends, but then they stay sped up themselves until they have been on the ship for a while. This doesn't really go with the premise of the planet's time issue as a tachyon field phenomenon with a barrier. It's more like the writers intended on a tachyon field to imbed itself in everything that spent time on the planet. That would make more sense... in fact, I'm just going to pretend like that's exactly what was intended if I watch this again.
As for the rotation of the planet and the seasons: we never hear them talk about how long their seasons are, so maybe they do just go through 900 year seasons, and those seasons are mild. On day being almost 4 years long is a stretch for plants to get sunlight, but not impossible. Plants are hardy and people can deal with the dark for long periods, just ask Alaskans.
All in all, really fun stuff.
Sun, Sep 29, 2019, 4:55am (UTC -5)
I really love the premise as well as the Doc living in the culture and having a life within it, and the last act with the two astronauts visiting Voyager. Like many here, I wish we had seen some of the Doc's life on the planet.
I agree with Jammer, however, that the scenes with the extras were weak and not memorable. I like the premise of the scenes, and it's not as if the extras were terrible in my opinion, but those scenes should have popped and really stood out. I did like the Protector debating the monk but it was all too much like Earth.
I especially liked the first scene on the planet showing the creation of ancient custom and belief when one humanoid assumed the bright object was a "god" and that now the natives were not supposed to eat a certain fruit. It makes one wonder about our own customs. I also enjoyed watching the evolution in the middle ages-looking period where the ancient beliefs are fading and that an attempt at scientific explanation is taking hold.
For me, I'm fascinated by history, evolution and Anthropology. I have a History degree with an Anthropology minor, so the idea that Voyager was watching a civilization evolve over the span of centuries was a fascinating idea. Overall, much of the episode worked and I agree with many posters here that it could and should have been spread over 2 episodes. Overall, for Voyager, a very good episode.
3 Stars
Fri, Oct 4, 2019, 3:45pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Oct 5, 2019, 2:46pm (UTC -5)
There are many things that don't make scientific sense in this episode (though we could probably fanwonk a technobabble explanation for most of these) but this isn't isn't one of them.
Fri, Apr 24, 2020, 10:17pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 7:49am (UTC -5)
"... and I think a lot of people consider this episode as one of the best of the series. Those people are wrong."
Yikes.
Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 11:26am (UTC -5)
Lol. As if I was being serious. Admittedly sarcasm and humor can be difficult to perceive sometimes through text but saying only “Yikes” is snarky and rude. Of course people can list this as their favorite episode. Everyone is allowed opinions. Just like I am of the opinion that only replying “yikes” to someone’s comment is lazy and pompous.
Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 1:39pm (UTC -5)
I thought that Yanks wanted to say something like this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqw5-DT88vo
Mon, Apr 27, 2020, 1:30pm (UTC -5)
"Lol. As if I was being serious. Admittedly sarcasm and humor can be difficult to perceive sometimes through text but saying only “Yikes” is snarky and rude. Of course people can list this as their favorite episode. Everyone is allowed opinions. Just like I am of the opinion that only replying “yikes” to someone’s comment is lazy and pompous."
Pleased to have butt hurt you.
I wear the snarky, rude, lazy, and pompous badge with honor!
But I wouldn't dream of stating that someone's opinion of a show/episode was wrong.
I guess I should work on my sarcasm/humor.
Mon, Apr 27, 2020, 2:04pm (UTC -5)
Oh no you would never say someone’s opinion was wrong. Unless it was them saying TOS does not not have the best first season in Trek. In that case you would have told them their opinion was wrong in the past week.
“We should all preface this by being thankful we have so many to rank.
I love and have watched them all at least 4 times (minus Discovery and Picard), but rank we must!
Here is mine. I've rated all of them here except TNG and Star Trek.
1. Star Trek - Not even debatable.”
Not even debatable?? You mean you are right and anyone disagreeing is wrong? But I thought you wouldn’t DREAM of saying someone’s opinion of a show/episode was wrong!?!
Sun, May 3, 2020, 6:40am (UTC -5)
...but I was correct, and you were not.
Tue, Mar 9, 2021, 12:14pm (UTC -5)
Jammer said: "it almost seems like the original script's writers, Arthur Heinemann and Gene Coon, deserved to be inserted into this week's credits."
The only person who deserves any credit for anything good about "Wink of An Eye" is Bill Theiss for designing Deela's costume.
The basic idea of a society living at a faster pace than the surrounding universe isn't a new one. Theodore Sturgeon's "Microcosmic God" was printed in 1941 and the idea had already been done a few times by then.
I love the idea for this episode. It's a Four Star plot for sure. But there is something missing. It just doesn't "pop." You don't have to have a multi-million dollar budget to tell a good story, but I think this episode would have been helped with an infusion of cash. Hire some better actors for the small guest roles, create some more visually interesting sets, and maybe hire a director who can get more out of the actors. I'm not qualified to criticize a director's work, of course, but a lot of the actors just seemed a little off. The story is great and absolutely deserves to have the producers pull out all the stops and treat it as a "prestige" episode.
Voyager has a bad habit of having a bum note in otherwise excellent episodes. Doc having a "son" is this episode's. It comes out of nowhere, raises some pretty big questions, and is dropped and never mentioned again.
Complaints aside, this is still one of Voyager's very best, imo.
Thu, Mar 18, 2021, 3:10pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Mar 19, 2021, 12:07pm (UTC -5)
No, time goes really fast = planet spins really fast (to an outside observer). Considering how quickly this species was advancing in technology, you'd think Voyager could hang around for a while after they were pulled out of the planet's grip. A couple more hours and these people could've invented transwarp or some other propulsion method to help Voyager get home. I wonder if this is why the script made them try to shoot Voyager down near the end, besides the usual "we need explosions for the teenboys!" Get the crew on edge so they hightail it out of there as soon as they can.
Mon, Apr 12, 2021, 5:04pm (UTC -5)
My main quibble is the two astronauts reached high orbit and you heard the transmission from the surface sped up. So the time had already changed to space time/Voyager time. Yet they get on Voyager and everyone is 'frozen' and they haven't transitioned!
Wed, May 5, 2021, 2:42pm (UTC -5)
The visual effects, the concept and story were really nicely done. Five star episode.
As far as the people of this planet go and progress at such a rapid rate given the time factor, I do concur on the notion of this civilisation becoming virtually omnipotent at some point. Indeed, I would love if these were the beings we come to know as the Q, having mastered all of time and space. Would indeed provide another reasoning for their "interest" in humanity.
Tue, Jun 15, 2021, 9:57pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Jul 7, 2021, 3:40pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Aug 3, 2021, 3:33pm (UTC -5)
The doctor was gone about 3 years. So aboard the ship they spent about 18 minutes trying to get him back.
When the doctor stops Goetana-Retz in the hallway, instead of speedily escorting him to his ship, to ask him to look up his son, that takes 20 seconds, or halted him getting home for almost 3 weeks while Voyager was being assailed from the surface. I always wondered why no one had the anxiety of time passing so quickly while he was there since getting him back as soon as possible would be best for him.
Goetana-Retz gets on the radio and the woman says the frequency hasn't been used by the space agency in 50 years. If the space agency abandoned that frequency soon after his flight to Voyager, he was on Voyager for about 5 hours.
Now assuming a lot of things like this civilization progressed like ours and Voyager arrived in what looks like what could be 2000 years ago in our history and then going from those primitive dwellings to going into space, Voyager was above the planet for about 8.3 days.
And Chacotay is pretty much right when someone says Goetana should've been back home for 10 minutes and he says that's about an year and a half.
I could be off on some of these. I was just curious to see how the writers handled the time and it seemed like they did a pretty good job. I just think the changing of the season was too fast and I didn't even bother with the intervals between shellings from the surface.
Sun, Aug 15, 2021, 9:06pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Nov 2, 2021, 10:07pm (UTC -5)
"Doesn't anyone else agree this episode is COMPLETELY ORIGINAL and only vaguely similar to the TOS episode Wink of an Eye?"
I agree with that.
Mon, Sep 26, 2022, 3:51pm (UTC -5)
The few things I was hoping to see ironed out but didn't:
1) I know Star Trek views humanoid society development as one way. They all go through an agrarian period, then an industrial period, then a warp period, etc... but the way it was depicted was a little bit too on the nose. They might as well have had Friar Tuck and the Sheriff of Nottingham talking about the sky ship for all the originality in those scenes contained.
2) The society's development, even at quick speed, was not totally believable. There were no ships in orbit yet they developed tractor beams, transporter tech, and ships capable of moving Voyager safely away from the planet, all without any previous experience in space.
3) Furthermore, they went from firing antimatter missiles to advanced ships capable of crossing the temporal threshold, using tractor beams, and transporter technology all within Gotana-Retz's lifetime -- and he appeared unaged one single day. Consider that the time period between humanity's first wipe drive and its first tractor beam was 150 years or so.
4) Seeing the society become en par (or close to it) with Voyager's era of space travel and then meeting Janeway on equal footing would've been a culminating moment. We watched their entire society develop in one episode but never got to have a full fledged interaction with them. Voyager was the most important icon in their entire history, yet the episode just ends when Voyager is moved back into free space? The episode should not have ended there!
5) If Voyager had waited a few more days to a week, the society would be more advanced than them and could probably offer suggestions about how to get back to the Alpha Quadrant.
6) There is no talk about how the people of that planet are likely on course to become the most advanced humanoid race in the Galaxy, in the not too distant future.
Oh well, it was still an entertaining hour. It still would've been neat if in season 7 one of their ships just suddenly showed up from transwarp space with a desire to reconnect with Voyager and offer its crew some help in getting home. But I guess that would've been expecting a lot from this series.
Mon, Jan 2, 2023, 5:57am (UTC -5)
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