“The Haunting of Deck Twelve”

Since Seven had her hands full with the other children + her normal duties, maybe Joe Carey offered to care for the Borg Baby. Off-screen, of course. ;-)

I'd give "The Haunting of Deck Twelve" a two-star rating, according to your system. Definite filler. But I can't say that it bored me, either. Plus it was great to see Celes again, even if she didn't get to do anything. It was also nice of the writers to remind us that Deuterium supplies are still a concern, and that Vorik still exists.

I actually just put this episode on again and when it first aired I didn't like it much, but after seeing it again I really did enjoy it, almost enough to give it a 3 star rating. Other reviewers online (most notably the Cynic) enjoyed this episode, and while I can defintely see your arguments, I found the episode enjoyable in the way they a spun an action sweeps episode. I thought David Livingston's directing was fantastic and Kate Mulgrew shined as always. She is defintely one of the best actors that Star Trek has ever seen.

I tend to agree with David Forrest.

I quite liked the set design, I thought it was rather effective in conveying an ominous atmosphere. I'm happy they continue the antagonistic Tuvok-Neelix friendship as well. And the Borg children have some funny lines: 'our cardiopulmonary systems are reinforced' and of course 'snacks are irrelevant'.

Has there ever been a really GOOD penultimate episode to a Voyager season or do they just give us spatial anomalies?

I have to disagree about this episode; while it was nowhere near Voyager's most stellar, I enjoyed it, in particular the confrontation between Janeway and the alien-as-Voyager's-computer.

Additionally,
"Of course, we never really find out why this is necessary. It's a plot point lost in sketchy scripting. The whole idea of shutting down the ship exists for no dramatic purpose aside from the fact the story needs darkness around which to frame its narration device."

I believe the story sufficiently establishes or implies that, as Voyager's power sources/engines disrupted the original nebula home of the alien, they must cruise through, powerless and on momentum, so as to return the lifeform to a similar nebula without dissipating it. This was clear to me, at least.

@ Will...

I rather liked both Resolutions and Worst Case Scenario.

I like the beginning: A complete Voyager shutdown without knowing the reason. Quite dramatic. It's kind of anti-climactic when we find out what it's all about, but it's a fun Halloween story with quite a bit of suspense, an alien unlike the usual Forehead-Of-The-Week, and - always a major plus - not too much philosophizing, psychological introspection and analyses or silly fantasies or recreations. This show is definitely a damn sight better than a number of abominations of this Season, such as that theater depravity of an episode.

Tuvok shone in this show; he is definitely one of the strongest characters of the series, and thank heavens no-one tried to assimilate him into the touchy-feely Dr. Phil Collective over the six years. He doesn't goof up, acts logically and professionally, thinks soberly, doesn't have a problematic relationship with his mother he needs to talk about every other episode, dabbles in some meditation crap but not too often... - in a word, a star.

As far as this episode, I'd give it 2.5 stars.

Kind of enjoyed this myself. It was far from special and doesn't seem worthy of much comment, but certainly not bad either in my view. Sometimes goofy / "comedy" Trek episodes can be absolute dross (see just about any Ferengi episode in DS9), but this one succeeded in just remaining pleasantly goofy.

It continues to be nice to see the return of continuity even in a very basic form, like the existence of Celes and the Borg children. (Apart from the baby, goodness knows what happened to that. Maybe it died off-screen.)

2 stars works for me.

Pretty much agree with Jammer's assessment. A pretty 'meh' storyline (Voyager's version of a 'ghost' is basically a technobabble monster - figures!), although it is well directed and conjures a reasonable sense of atmosphere at times. Way too many tedious scenes of people wandering corridors, however and a plot that has virtually no purpose or payoff.

Well, I for one enjoyed this fun little ride on the haunted house of deck 12. The starship Voyager meets any angry engery alien and befriends Capt. Janeway. It wasn't scary, but it might be for kids. All in all a nice happy ending and feel good episode some children might enjoy. 2point 5 popcorns.

Since probably everything of value has already been commented on, I'll throw in my nitpick for the episode: The Lights.

Now, I know the point of everything was the spooky atmosphere but I couldn't get over the fact that lights that huge in the 24th century not only put out so little lighting, but can't go a few hours without using up the battery? A phaser's power cell is how big and powers an energy weapon but apparently those lanterns the size of someone's head are using off-brand AAA's.

Yes, yes, atmosphere, I know, I get it... but it seemed so strange that 24th century emergency lighting is less advanced than early 21st. It stuck out like a sore thumb.

While I pretty much agree with Jammer's assessment of this episode, what's this about it not being "as bad as Twisted"? I liked Twisted! (And I really don't see that much similarity between the two episodes.)

I didn't watch this episode after seeing Jammer's rather low opinion of it.

I kind of bit the bullet and watched it the other day and I found myself entertained by it.

Thus, Jammer's review on Voyager, for the most part, cannot be taken seriously.

@KL: I don't always agree with Jammer, but that doesn't mean he can't be taken seriously. It just means that different people like different things. Any review has to be taken with a grain of salt. If you routinely skip movies and TV shows because of bad reviews, you're probably missing out on a lot of good stuff.

"Snacks are irrelevant!" ROFLMAO!

Did anyone else notice that at one point Janeway mentioned collecting Dilithium instead of Deuterium as it was supposed to be? I half expected that to have been a Neelix story-telling mistake and the kids to call him out on it, until I realized it was the writers' story-telling mistake!

Didn't dislike it, kinda fun in a mindless sort of way.

Yeah, i liked twisted too. i like the sci...in my sci-fi.

this episode is why i like Voyager. they always had a lot of mysteries. i agree with michaels comments more than jammers review.

2.5 stars

I fundamentally disagree with Jammer's review.

I was impressed with the direction and some of the plot techniques. It made the story much more enjoyable and less linear. The Flashback device was employed successfully with charming and sometimes clever dialog with the Borg children and Neelix. The episode progressed like it was a story being told around a campfire, complete with tangents and quirky interruptions. I think this episode was well executed. This was meant to be an engaging yarn - Voyager-style.

15 minutes in I couldn't bare to watch anymore, and this saying a lot. There are a whole lot of better low-cost 'bottle-episodes' out there; the writers could have done MUCH better. Even that TNG episode of Picard helping those kids during a similar blackout (you remember the one) had more going for it.

I liked this one. The only thing that really bugged me was the cheesy showdown between Janrway and the alien. So lame! Her near-death grunting and yelling was just silly. And to lose her life rather than sacrifice her ship? I'm sorry, I know there's a little bit if captain-psychology there, but her life is worth more than the USS Voyager.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that as a mother, the disappearance of the Borg baby is very disturbing! I thought she was pretty cute. Why save the baby if it's just going to be ignored? Just one little scene in one episode to tie up the loose thread is all that was needed. I can't remember if this was mentioned on this site, but my favorite fan theory for what happened to the Borg baby is that she was assigned to the Torpedo and Shuttle Replacement Crew along with Lt. Carey, Samantha Wildman, and Vorik!

Great reviews, Jammer. Of course I don't always agree (VOY is my favorite series...I know, I know...) but, as they say - "in matters if taste, everyone is right."

I like this episode. I didn't in its original airing because I knew there were only so many episodes left that I remember groaning. Now that I can only choose reruns I warmed up to it.

Although I agree with your rating, I thought the actual story was far less bad than the framing device around it. Neelix’s narration is the worst part of this episode. It drags what little momentum the main story has down to a halt. So much of the dialogue so blatantly exists simply to fill up the episode’s running time, it’s literally painful to watch. The only interesting part was Icheb grating Neelix on getting the technical details of his story wrong, which is a nice jab at Trek fandom.

So I’d give the main story 2.5 stars (and I’ll admit I’m being generous here, mostly because David Livingston did his best given the material) and the narration 0.5 stars.

Beyond the pointless and rather dumb narration, the story being narrated is, while far from superb, also quite better than Jammer painted it.

Actually, if it was portrayed without the narration and was played just as it was but in TNG, I can bet that many would praise it as being good. I even have the impression that it is in fact similar to something that already was portrayed in previous Trek (likely TNG), but I can recall exactly which episode it reminds of.

On average, however, this one was no more than a passable hour of Trek. Maybe 2 stars would be more accurate.

This episode really drives home the fact that nearly every Star Trek writer had no idea what nebulas actually are.

Wait a second, folks. The entire story that Neelix told was just that, a story. He made it up as he was telling it, so of course it was full of holes.

I thought that this was a really good comedy episode. I loved the scene where they mocked the use of technobabble on Star Trek - when Icheb called Neelix out on what he had said because it didn't make technical sense and he responded with - "the technical details aren't important".

I thought that episode made excellent use of both Neelix and the Borg children. I also loved the fact that Harry Kim was able to flex his 'senior officer' muscles, for once, in the mess hall scene. He did a really good job of taking charge.

Janeway's habit of talking to the ship was clearly something invented by Neelix to spice up the telling of the story. I'm pretty sure she talks to her replicator in other episodes but not the other systems in the ship. I thought this was a nice touch in this episode given that the framing narrative made it valid.

As was the case for Zarm, it seemed clear to me at the end of the episode that the power had been shut down to reduce the risk of dissipating the new nebula.

Jammer! Don't forget that you hated 'Bride of Chaotica!' - and with good reason. This episode is far more charming and more humorous.

I noticed the star rating on this episode when reading previous reviews, and was not looking forward to it in the least. But when all was said and done, I really enjoyed the episode. Definite 3 star episode for me, although my wife thought it was a 2.5. I was happy with the ending, and actually enjoyed Neelix's telling of the story, as of course he wouldn't have all the details, but could offer filler. Enjoyable, and not anything what I had feared.

If I recall correctly from another blog entry, Jammer, you had a child, and I believe sometime after this episode premiered and you wrote your review. I wonder if you are far enough along in parenting to reconsider your perspective and rating on this episode, which I just watched again and enjoyed very much. (I have two kids.)

I like this one. Particularly since some details that don't add up may be attributed to Neelix making them up to jazz up the story for the kids. And speaking of details that probably don't add up, Tuvok claims he doesn't sweat until the temperature hits 350 kelvin. That's about 170 in Fahrenheit. I know Vulcans are tough but that seems a bit much.

I thought this was another OK episode. 2.5 stars.

As soon as the power cell ran out in the lantern, I thought, ugh Batteries still don't last long in the future. Too bad we can't use the batteries they use in pacemakers. A little nuclear battery lasting hundreds of years that would far outlive the owner. Imagine never needing to charge your cell phone again.

I know who isn't caring for the Borg baby. Ensign Wildman. But, seriously, I would have placed the baby in a statis chamber until they reached Earth. With a security field around it.

I thought the campfire storytelling elevated this beyond what would have been a bog standard alien entity show. There was a lightness of touch here that I found rather endearing, and the Halloween feel led to a distinctive atmosphere. Additionally, there was actually a creative use for the Borg children. Yes, it began to drag a little toward the end but overall I thought this was a creative and distinctive effort.

"Snacks are irrelevant" indeed. 3 stars.

Lonely Among Us. Evolution. Emergence. They aren't exact replicas to this episode's plot, but they're all pretty close. The other thing they have in common is that they're all average episodes at best of TNG. So the idea of having another "alien life form taking over the ship due to misunderstanding" is hardly exciting. Hence, they almost certainly needed an extra hook to at least try to make it more exciting. Hence the ghost story approach. And in that, I think they succeeded, at least in taking a boring, tired trope and making it at least watchable. Still not a great episode though.

In fact, probably the worst part of it is the fact that the Voyager crew couldn't seem to figure out that this was an AI until way too late in the episode. After all, it was such a tired trope on TNG that as soon as weird stuff started happening on the show the audience should have started to expect this. Thus, the Voyager crew ends up looking like morons. I'm sure most starships don't have as much weird stuff happening to them as the Enterprise, but shouldn't these sorts of situations be in their computer database? Shouldn't Janeway and crew have chatted with other Starfleet officers about these sorts of things? It makes it hard to call this a "mystery" when we the viewers are much further along in solving it than the characters.

It's also a bit awkward that this event supposedly happened before the Borg kids came on board. Just how long was that alien being living on Deck 12? Well over a month? Given how impatient it was in Neelix's story, it's surprising that it was willing to just hang out there for so long while Voyager went about its business, taking Icheb to his home, spending weeks searching for Torres and Kim in Muse, tracking down con artists, etc. I'm not sure if there was any way to fix that easily, but it did throw me for a loop.

At the very least, though, Neelix's narration and the gloomy atmosphere helped to elevate it a bit. I found it odd that Seven was worried about their hyperactive imagination and being too scared when, in fact, they seemed to handle the whole thing pretty well. Sounds like Seven is being a bit overprotective here.

Ah, another skipper for me.

For the longest time I couldn't figure this damn thing out, and didn't care to.

The Neelix narration was fine, but I only gave this a watch because I'm commenting here.

Seven? ... overprotective of her Borg nuggets? ... lol, say it isn't so :-)

I don't know, I guess I just never felt haunted.

2 stars.

More unfair trashing of an entertaining, well-acted episode that tries to do something different from the usual. More bandwagon "I hate Voyager" and "I skipped another Voyager episode but am still commenting LOL" comments. People hate Voyager so much they watch virtually every episode multiple times and comment about them almost twenty years after they aired. Yeah, you must really hate Voyager, your continuing obsession ;)

NoPoet,

Breathe in, breathe out...

Jammer, you were way too rough on this episode. "The Tale of Deck 12" was one of the better stories told by the Midnight Society. 2 1/2 stars.

Neelix tells a ghost story about an alf that takes over the ship. (-****)Can't stand when they try to pass monster movies off as sci fi.

I enjoyed this episode and would give it 3/4 stars. Basically, it's just a fun campfire ghost story, and I liked the ride. Janeway has some really sharp and well-written dialogue here. Neelix distracting the kids with his ghost story was fun. All in all, a great Star Trek Halloween episode.

Waaaaaaaaahahaaaaaaaaay better than "Muse" (2 episodes ago now: 3.5 stars).

Even still I'd give it 2 stars.

Fun episode and by far the most self-aware Voyager episode: crappy story teller (Neelix/VOY writers) telling a story with lots of plot holes that the smart kids (borg kids/us) see through easily, but push aside to have fun with characters they know and love.

I couldn't get into it at first, though. I couldn't tell if Neelix was telling a real story or was just making crap up to entertain the kids.

3 star episode in my opinion. Just a fun little campfire story. The ending was a little abrupt and lackluster, but I feel this is the first time the Borg children have been put to good use. Disagree with most of Jammer's review here.

I also think Jammer was way too critical of this one. I enjoyed Janeway's bargaining with her ship and the Borg children demonstrating the conflict they are going through of having both Borg programming and the thoughts and feelings of children. 3 stars for me.

Just a minor point to add: I thought Neelix deliberately set it up so that his light would fail, to add some scares to his story.

Stock story, told from the point of view of kid's scary story. Nothing wrong with that. Enjoyable and exactly the sort of scary story you'd love at a young age. The narration actually adds tension, if you can open your mind to visualising from narration, as kid's do. Nothing perfect, but a good 3+ story, told in a different way.

Eh, this one isn't bad. The stock horror elements are indeed tiresome and not all that exciting, but there is something engaging about the campfire story wraparound and an opportunity to see Neelix doing his thing ("morale officer"/babysitter) fairly competently, and a relatively benign first contact situation. The Borg kids have grown on me a lot since Collective. It's still very thin, but really nothing to be a shamed of. And unlike Fury, the retroactive reveal that there was an alien life form on Deck 12 THE WHOLE TIME of the past few months doesn't actually contradict anything major and is actually kind of neat. A high 2 stars.

Why are torches (flashlights for the Septics) so impractical in the future?

400 years of technological advancement and, in the event of a power failure, you can’t illuminate your path without incurring significant pain by having to hold your arm out in front of you (don’t believe me? Try walking around holding your arm up at shoulder level for a few minutes). Contemporary torch design is infinitely superior.

Mind you, it could be worse, they could be using those palm-held contraptions the guys on the Enterprise-D use. Only good for torturing redshirts before they die horribly in the name of drama those things, I tell thee.

Crewman Tal Celes should have been addressed as "Crewman Tal," not "Crewman Celes."

I enjoy the episodes whose plot spans the entire ship. It's a good and important opportunity for the directors to remind us of how big Starfleet's ships are. I was reminded of TNG's 'Starship Mine'.

Speaking of big ships, I thought it was interesting that Neelix noted the creature dwelling in an "isolated section of deck 12". A subtle reminder that it a vast enough vessel that there are entire portions of decks that none of the ~144 crew members have use for. Imagine being the person with the quarters closest to this dead zone and learning that they're housing an alien that just tried to kill you....somewhere in the dark. That's scarier than Neelix's story.

I found the episode to be very charming. A nice mix of characters doing what they do best during another horrifying Lovecraftian space incident.

The one plot issue was Voyager not detecting the life form right after leaving the nebula. They have sensors that can detect gravimetric/electromagnetic data across light years but we're to believe that they can't detect it on their hull and crawling around within their walls? Oh well. It's a sign that I enjoyed an episode when I'm interested enough that the lazy reality distortion used to set up the plot is cloaked behind something good.

Mediocre ep. Loved the beginning though, with Voyager going dark.

The kid actors did a good job, and I liked Janeway in the ep.

It was shot oddly, with lots of close ups, wasn't sure what to make of it all, but wasn't interested enough to try to figure it out.

The story Neelix told was very dull to me, though I could see why it would fascinate the kids.

This episode has a good title!
Seriously, that's got to count for something right?
And how do we know that Neelix's campfire story wasn't all just made up and that maybe there really WAS a ghost on deck 12?? Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

I REALLY liked this episode! I was left wondering if Neelix actually did tell them the truth as it seemed to make sense as he wished the Nebula a "happy ending" on the bridge at the end.

Still, it was cute with the storytelling and bickering of the Borg children. Good times!

I enjoyed this episode and am pleased that most commenters did also. I liked the campfire story setting and that it had all the elements of a classic scary store. The deserted corridors, fear of being left alone, even the loose shutter banging against the wall. I give it *** for originality and execution.

Very little quality material here, quite similar to "Twisted" from Season 2 and that's not a good thing. I did like Neelix with how he comes across as a natural handling the kids, his interaction with Tuvok isn't as annoying as in other episodes. But really this episode is a turd -- just a poorly done version of a bizarro alien trying to communicate with the ship, return home (reminded me also of "Lonely Among Us"), a bunch of disjointed boring scenes, ship-wide problems and arbitrary plotting.

I liked the different filming techniques for when it was Neelix telling the story, but unfortunately the story isn't so good. It got ridiculous at several times but when Janeway is pleading with the entity that it needs the crew to maintain the tech, I was grimacing. I suppose I should appreciate the continuity of seeing the young Bajoran woman from "Good Shepherd" again except that she's super-annoying with her paranoia.

Thought Neelix made an intriguing argument about fear and that it keeps you alert. Not that this episode was meant to somewhat analyze fear like "The Thaw". Also annoying are the ex-Borg kids -- either they're interrupting Neelix all the time or trying to show they're smarter than him (which they probably are).

1 star for "The Haunting of Deck Twelve" -- boring, mostly stupid filler of an episode. VOY can come up with feel-good episodes that have good character work but Neelix has had better episodes structured for him "Mortal Coil" and "Fair Trade" come to mind. He isn't bad in this episode but the concept and plot really are. Why does the ship have to shut down all its power at the start of the episode? Just a totally forgettable hour of Trek.

I like this episode, and it's refreshing to see Neelix put into a good use and not just being plain annoying. Telling it from Nelix point of view reading story to borg children were nice.

The minor issue i have is some of the scene seems dragged, and the silly scene of Janeway threatening the 'life form' and shouting... it's annoying and trite.
Also, nebulae is spanned across few light years to hundreds light years wide. How the hell a small starship like Voyager could cause the Nebulae to collapsed and dissapear is beyond me...

2 star or 2 1/2 for me.

I found it odd partway through when Neelix was telling a story of when Neelix was telling Tuvox a story.

My problem with this episode....or rather my puzzlement, is how can those children (Borg children no less) that have been assimilated into the BORG....one of the most terrifying bad guys in the universe, and now living aboard the danger-of-getting-in-danger-a-minute Voyager....be afraid of the dark?

Seven is near Grace Park level beauty.

I thought this episode, like the much meatier “Muse,” was primarily a meta riff on storytelling itself - particularly a self-referential and self-deprecating bit of Voyager-mocking by the writers themselves - with secondarily a (mostly unresolved) inquiry into a minor aspect of child psychological development.

The misunderstood-intelligent-energy-alien-trying-to-communicate has been done so many times in ST that you really have to accept it more as recurring genre exercise than accuse it of redundancy. Given that, I thought this outing was executed amiably enough.

But not for a minute did I think it was to be taken seriously. The framing as a scary campfire tale told by a guardian of children - a camp counselor or fun uncle, more or less - allows for all manner of inconsistency, embellishment, and fabrication on the part of the story-teller. So I didn’t care about plot holes or improbability in Neelix’s narration.

What I wondered as he told the story was whether it was the right way to entertain, distract, and comfort children in an already spooky situation. Neelix went into the assignment more worried than anyone else that the kids would be scared by the shutdown/blackout - and I expected him to be more comforting and reassuring.

It surprised me that he went with this narration of a recent harrowIng episode on Voyager. But maybe it’s a truism that kids don’t mind beIng scared if they feel safe in the protective custody of a sympathetic adult - and maybe Neelix rightly understood that Borg kids would be more objective and analytical than scared. That THEY understood the events of the tale as a series of science problems to be worked out, and NOT a supernatural ghost story, and that it would keep them occupied during the shipwide reboot.

What caught me by surprise when the lights came back on - and what I’m surprised neither Jammer nor most commenters have mentioned - was that Neelix said at the end that it was all a complete fabrication. When all was said and done, the alien intrusion never happened!

And since the blackout shutdown condition was never explained, aren’t we left with what Voyager’s most persistently negative critics accuse the series of turning out - that is, a hackneyed and derivative incoherent tale with an abandoned premise and lots of goofy action, which means nothing in the end because it wasn’t even “true” in its fictional setting? Kinda no need for a reset, because in this episode, LITERALLY NOTHING HAPPENED.

Plot synopsis: all power and lights on the ship are shut down for no reason, and Neelix tells a fictional and meaningless campfire tale to some kids. The End.

It’s like Voyager gives its audience a literal version of what the audience complains about - and no one seems even to notice. I thought the joke was on us.

Besides which, it was entertaining enough, with a fair amount of amusing camp - and, withal, fine characterization and an engaging depiction of the REAL action. That is, Neelix telling a story: when we’re in the cargo bay with the kids and Uncle Neelix, everything rings true, and is even endearing.
___________

Also, while the pitch black of an unpowered spacecraft drifting in the void of space has to be about the loneliest, most nullifying environment I can imagine...I’m kinda with Neelix in being more disturbed by inpenetrable fog.

Just a thought.

"Neelix" is nearly an anagram of "Netflix"!

@Mikew

"Neelix" is nearly an anagram of "Netflix"!"
No, it is not. Still maybe CBS should lawyer up. Just to be safe.

It's hard to take a 'Tell a scary story in the dark' episode seriously when Neelix is the one narrating, that alone made this episode a bore.

I didn’t think this was so bad. I think they should have went all in with the horror atleast a little more. First off they need a better story, change the gas monster to an actual creature that we never get a full view of. Make Neelix not so “kind and caring” while telling the story or even change him to Paris, Chakotay or Blanna. Idk there is something there I like in this episode and I could see what they were attempting the whole thing just needed tightened up.

Nearly skipped this one, and I'm so glad that I did not. Pure storytelling.

Proteus: I think you need to rewatch the last few minutes of this episode. The story that Neelix told did happen to the ship.
When the lights came back on and the Borg kids walked to their alcoves to regenerate, they accused Neelix of making the story up. To placate them, Neelix pretended like the kids were right and he had been caught inventing the entire story. Then right after, in the final scene of the episode, Neelix went to the bridge where Janeway and Harry showed Neelix the nebula where they released the entity. Neelix wishes the being a happy ending in its new home.

Not as bad as I thought it would be, but I think you have to be in the right mood for it to be entertaining or irritating.

So am confused, was the entity ever real?

Janeway has spoken to the ship before, IIRC in 'Year of Hell' just before she gets burned she asks Voyager to 'be kind'.

This one was a bit of fun and I like alternative approaches to storytelling. I think Jammer was a bit harsh and I'd give it 2.5.

Also, while I know star ratings aren't comparable to other series...it annoys me that this gets 1.5 stars while S2 of Picard matched or exceeded that rating.

Another one I ignored for decades and was surprised to actually like.

I just never cared much for Neelix. He's basically the Ferengi of Voyager, just like Quark, promising "humor".

So, Neelix telling the ship's kids a story... tough sell.


But this worked for me, more or less. The kids, well meh, but the episode was interestingly different.

Sure the most fundamental story was a retread, but that's the problem of producing hundreds of hours.

But I did like the bizarre number of times they mentioned the Bussard collectors, and fairly correctly.


But the most interesting thing by far was the alien using the computer to communicate yet not fully understanding it. So the communications are couched in the computer's usual pronouncements.

That was pretty cool, and different from the alien speaking through Data or Seven or whatever.

Jammer " "The Haunting of Deck Twelve" manages to come off as filler. "

What is the difference between a filler and a stand alone episode? There are several fillers that have been much appreciated. So clanking down on an episode for just beeing a filler is irelleveant.

I admit this was not on the top but it was still enjoyable. I appreciate the contrasts between the episodes. This was goofy and well played characters Neelix, Mezoti and Icheb.

I thnkt they managed quite well. Using stars, 2 1/2 - 3 perhaps.

You should watch a show several times before writing a review of it. Sometimes we just don't hear a line of dialogue or we don't notice key details etc. To this end, I think doing this "refresher" watching would be a terrific tool for your process.
Anyway, at 5:16, borg boy asks your very own question ! Neelix explains they have entered a class J nebula,which apparently can create a hazardous radiation condition. Cheers

Pauline Kael famously refused to watch a movie twice. There are lots of approaches to reviewing.

Sometimes I refuse to watch it once.

Come on Peter, it's an episode where the best part is (checks notes) Neelix, I'm sure you can set aside several evenings for repeat viewings.

I've probably seen this actual episode about twice in total, but do reserve the right to post reviews of things I have seen zero times!

Hmm, Neelix, ghosts, Voyager...

You realize we live in an age where there is a free channel that broadcasts nothing but Sailor Moon, right? Gotta have some priorities here!

William B - she saw 2001 one time, and she proclaimed it to be a "monumentally unimaginative work." Imagine how banal it would've been on multiple viewings.

IIRC she was cool (putting it politely) on Kubrick post-Strangelove. I doubt that repeat viewings would have changed her mind, but it is funny for her to be so extreme in her dismissal.

When you take a Rorschach test, do you look for Rorschach the whole time?

Just rewatched this one. I remembered most of it, and still like it a lot