“Life Line”

Robert Picardo is such an amazing actor. Whenever I watch "Life Line", it's easy for me to forget that he really *is* playing both of these characters. And as you mentioned, the visual effects are excellent and have held up well over the years. Plus it's always great to have Troi and Barclay in the mix.

I would love to give this episode a perfect 4-star rating, but I can't say that I enjoy it *quite* as much as other Voyager masterpieces like "Caretaker", "Before and After", "Year of Hell", "Timeless", "Someone to Watch Over Me", "Muse" or "Body and Soul", so I agree with your 3.5-star rating.

This is another of those shows that leaves me bewildered why the Doctor's program files can't be copied. The whole risk of transferring the data across the galaxy should be a non-issue.

Okay... I haven't read the review, AND I am only 9 minutes into the episode. Even still... I cannot believe Janeway is agreeing to send the doctor. ARE YOU FREAKING MAD! Why can't the characters do anything that make sense on this show? WHY?!

Belanna wants to enduce death for spirtual reasons? SURE! Why not? We don't need out chief engineer if you die!

The doctor wants to save his creator? Sure! We don't need a Chief Medical Officer the next 30,000 light years! Nosiree!

What a joke. What a freaking joke. The show may turn out to be good, but I have lost respect for the premises of these shows. The writers CANNOT create a sound premise for a show to save their life. It either has plot holes, continuity problems or has characters not acting logically and out of character for it to work. Ugh... why do I even bother watching?

Ken, I couldn't agree with you more. While Picardo's dual performance is fun to watch, the fact that the whole crew supposedly agrees to forgo sending/receiving messages from loved ones so the EMH can take an "ego trip" of sorts strikes me as very unrealistic. Just look at how much Harry was whining in "Author, Author" that he wouldn't be able to have comm time in time to wish his mother happy birthday? You're telling 150 or so others would just happily say "Sure, Doc. Go ahead." I think not.

And just the general risk to losing the EMH isn't worth it in the end. Very bad command decision by Janeway to allow it. The EMH should have transmitted a message stating what the cure was and left it at that.

While I've enjoyed Picardo as the EMH, I've never believed the Doctor was anything more than a piece of technology. Letting him (yes, I call him "him") run pell mell when he's the sole medical officer on this ship just doesn't make any sense.

The premise doesn't justify the episode. This would've made more sense (had the series done this) to have the EMH meet up with Zimmerman once Voyager had returned and then show us the bittersweet reunion.

This was an O.K. episode. Too much talking at times but, as others already said, Picardo carries it thru.

Of course, Ken, Jeff and others already pointed out that the premise of the show is absurd on many levels, but it's an entertaining 40-odd minutes. 2.5-2 stars.

Originally, Neelix was supposed to be the breakout character on this series. Instead, it turned out to be the only character even more excruciating than he is.

The Enterprise is only 7 years from Jupiter Station...that puts them in Sector 001. Not exactly deep space.

And frankly, if after the horror of the Dominion War, Starfleet is still hot and bothered by the likes of the Maquis (who aside from some Voyager crew are long dead), that's pretty sad.

Also hilarious is that an empath needed to ask which of a flesh and blood person and a hologram is Dr. Zimmerman...

The Doctor was on Vulcan on Stardate 53292 (which is only months earlier), but dialogue earlier in the episode said he hadn't left Jupiter Station in over four years. Canon violation within a single script...

Ooh good point on detecting which guy is which. Presumably she was playing dumb to be polite, they probably do a lot of that as empaths (aside from the tactless and annoying Lwaxana).

To be fair the Captain did argue VERY strongly against sending him so I consider it suitably addressed (it was that or he goes without permission which would raise worse questions about security, or the episode doesn't happen at all). He just happened to raise a fair point about prioritising saving someone's life, and when you think about what Zimmerman does, arguably many other lives too.

Excellent episode, loved every minute. It's good to see the other side again along with Broccoli and Troi, it seems to be returning to continuity again (it has to really, they're 1 season away from home) and we get 2 lots of Picardo. AND some decent commentary on the "realness" of holograms with a sustained uptime. What's not to love.

It's not gobsmacking whilst still being one of the best, so 3.5 seems spot on. Agreeing with many of these ratings as of late.

I greatly enjoyed this episode too, it's always lovely to see Barclay and Troi (TNG was the series I grew up with, that and DS9), but the real star of the show is Robert Picardo however, who proves time and time again that he was the show's greatest asset. Charmingly done, funny and even a little touching. We have a winner.

Holy crap! I didn't even *think* about it until I read this review, but I never even gave the 2 Picardo characters being onscreen together a second thought. And normally effects like that catch my attention immediately. But in this case, I never gave it a thought. I really did just accept that there were two of him and it wasn't until I read this review that I realized I'd done that! A testament to both the tech team and the actor.

About copies... quite frankly, I think the only reason that 'rule' exists is because you could have infinite doctors... who cares if he gets killed, reboot him. That would be weird. It would also be hard to write for a TV show, just send the Doctor first anywhere there might be trouble. It's ok, we'll make more! It would have turned the show into Holographic Captain Scarlet.

It doesn't make sense, but from a TV standpoint I guess they had to. Except in that one episode that pulled the backup copy out of it's aft so he could testify in the future.

Anyway, I liked it. Picardo was good, and that other guy who played Zimmerman was good... oh wait.

Barclay can sometimes be almost painful to watch, (as he attempts to finally spit out a sentence) but since he was among friends or at least acquaintances, he wasn't having a panic attack the entire time, unlike his previous appearance. I liked him better as Murdock, to be honest, but in this episode it all worked. I loved seeing him trying to not laugh when the angry Doc was yelling about what Zimmerman did to the tricorder. lol

Excellent acting makes it a worthwhile episode, but the premise violates everything the show has told us for 6 years about the doctor's program. Typical Voyager disrespect for its own consistency.

On one hand, they stress that there's room for only a very small amount of data. Janeway even stresses that everyone better keep their notes short, so they can include something from everyone. So we're talking kilobytes, maybe megabytes, certainly not gigabytes.

On the other hand, we've been told that the doctor's program is so unbelievably large and complex that the ship can't possibly make a copy of it. Words like zettabyte have been thrown around. How's that fit in a floppy disk's worth of data?

Just to make it obvious: the entire crew could have dictated their notes to the doctor, and he'd have no trouble remembering them and taking them with him as a tiny fraction of his memory. But this never occurs to anyone.

The worst thing about Voyager's inconsistencies is that they're so often unnecessary. Why have the "very short message" premise at all? The suddenness of the discovery was enough to keep their messages short anyway, if they didn't like the idea of allowing too much information to be shared. The doctor could have gone, along with the messages they could throw together quickly, and it makes sense. And I just thought that up while I was typing. Why couldn't the writers?

From the establishing shot that opens the episode, Jupiter Station looks like it's insanely close to Jupiter...

Loved it! Beautifully done.

An entertaining and enjoyable episode. I agree that there are several plot holes, though. One that bothered me and hasn't yet been addressed is the fate of the other EMH Mark 1s... scrubbing plasma conduits on waste vessels. That's completely ridiculous. If you need a hologram to do that kind of duty, you can whip up a basic one designed for simplistic menial labor rather than re-programming an extremely sophisticated medical matrix. If you wanted an ice scraper, would you go dig out your old iPod, or would you actually use something designed to scrape ice?

Indeed, considering how holograms can only function in areas where there is holo-projection equipment, why even use any hologram to do such tasks?

It was a ridiculous contrivance in order to get laughs and maximize Zimmerman's humiliation but it didn't make sense, even though I was granting the typical suspension of disbelief I allot to the use of holograms on ST. They don't need to play by the rules of modern technology, but they at least should play by rules they themselves established.

Picardo's delightful performances and the great character moments allowed me to enjoy the episode anyway, but every time that was brought up, I was jerked out of the moment.

I am amazed! such a great episode and it only has 17 comments? and 5 of them are from Jared?

i loved this episode. one of my favorites. I loved the last line between Z and the doc about dropping a line next time.

i dont know why so many people harp on "plot holes." geez, we know in real life that the captain could not send her doc 30,000 light years in fears of losing him. but it is a SHOW. they had an idea and they have to find someway to explain how to get the doc to the jupitor station.

in truth, if you are going to blow away the plot holes, at least come up with ANOTHER scenario to do the same episode.

i am saddened that most of the comments on this show are about plot holes and not how much fun this episode was.

the holograms, the witty banter between the doc and z. z trying to fix the doc. reason why z hates the doc. just brilliant story telling. entertaining and funny.

4 stars!

@azcats - The reason people (myself included) bring up plot holes is because, as I implied earlier, it makes it harder to get caught up in the fantasy when plot weaknesses are blatant and egregious. It makes the show less enjoyable. Writers typically understand that and do their best to avoid such holes, so when they don't, it's disappointing.

However, I agree that it's a shame a good episode as so many negative comments and that I contributed to that. Sometimes it's easier to get caught up in the negativity even when you enjoy the episode, so I'll throw in a few more positives.

I loved seeing Troi again even if it was a bit contrived, and I thought the show did a terrific job of quickly and effectively painting a portrait of Zimmerman that made you feel like you understood his motivations. He's so freaking obnoxious and unsympathetic at the beginning (just because you're dying doesn't mean you get to treat everyone else like crap), but by the end, you understand where his pain is coming from.

I also liked how they explained why only the first EMHs looked like Zimmerman, something that I hadn't given much thought to before although I remember on DS9 that they were going to model one after Bashir before finding out about his enhancements, and wound up going with Andy Dick (and what a huge step down that was, amirite ladies?)

I don't typically "rate" shows but I'll go ahead and say 3 and a quarter stars (wow, just had a Star Search flashback).

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. I am a huge fan of Robert Picardo's acting. He draws you in and keeps you there. I was saddened to see the episode come to an end.

I am a huge fan of Dwight Schultz, too. Barclay is one of the genius characters of Star Trek. Think about it: every other character, regardless of their role in the varying plots, good or bad, is overwhelmingly confident; confident in problem solving, tech analysis, scheming, morality, protocol, politics, war-mongering, you name it. Everyone KNOWS what they are doing at all times. Yes, there may be conflicted characters based on the storyline at the time but confidence is never in question. Then, along comes Reggie...he's the opposite of anything Starfleet as far as confidence. Yes, he's brilliant, but he is the one character that doesn't believe that his genius is enough to inspire confidence. In this way, he is so much more relatable to all of us.

The notion that outmoded holograms would be used to do manual work, as presented in this episode, is completely ridiculous, for the same reason that the machines supposedly using humans as "batteries" in The Matrix is ridiculous. It costs far more energy to run a hologram or keep a person alive than that hologram or person can possibly generate in return.

It is odd, as Jared noted, that Troi can't tell the real Zimmerman from the Doctor, especially since in dialogue not five minutes later, not sensing emotion is the reason she gives for being able to tell that Haley isn't a person.

Now we could assume that the enhancements over the years have made the Doctor have genuine emotions (though unlike Data, he seemed to have them from Day 1), but Haley seemed every bit as capable of matching him emotion for emotion, so who knows what is going on here.

On that note, may I give a special word of praise to the actress who played "Haley", Tamera Craig Thomas.

Note the apparent contrast between her face and her voice when she confronts Zimmerman on his view of holograms. Her face remains, with a few slight exceptions, somewhat emotionless, expressionless. Her gaze as she recites the date when Zimmerman canceled his lecture on Vulcan is as if she were simply reading a log entry.

But her voice has such a deep, wounded cry to it, as if she were about to burst into tears at any moment. And even here, what does she do? She doesn't raise her voice, but continues speaking meekly, humbly, and then physically approaches her creator—as if, even though he's "offended" her, she still wants to be close to him because she cares for him so much, with an innocent and childlike love, and even knows the kind of man he truly is, or can be.

It's not every day that a guest star can believably pull off such a wide range of emotion. Well done!

Regarding plot holes, in sci-fi and fantasy most can be explained away one way or another either in the story or in your head. But sometimes with the really deep plot holes, it can come across as laziness.

I think if you're going to be lazy and not care about plot inconsistencies, at least be honest about it and turn it into a humorous thing (see Doctor Who for many examples of "wibbly wobbly hand waving stuff")

@Joseph S.: Your powers of perception are impressive, Jedi Master! I hadn't noticed it, but upon reading your review of Thomas' performance I have to agree with you: her performance is stellar - understated but skillfully excecuted in such a way, that it carries a "ninja impact".

Reagrding th episode as a whole: I'm afraid I'm surprisinlgy unimpressed. "Surprisingly" because the script (apart from the huge plotholes) is actually really good, especially the dialog - ad because the acting is generally pretty good.

However ...

Normally I adore Picardo in the role of Doc. BUt in this epsidoe, as Doc vs. Zimmerman, I didn't buy it. It seemed overacted and annoying to me. I don't know, maybe it's because of the bad timing in the dialog between Zimmerman and Doc, quite clerly caused by the technical challnegs caused by having the same actor talking to himself - because, contrary to Jammer, I'm not at ALL convinced by the scenes where Picardo plays up against Picardo. The timing is, quite simply, off. It bugged to the point where it, more or less, ruined the entire episode for me, however great I otyherwise find Picardo, the script, the dialog, Schultz as Barclay and Sirtis as Troi (yowza, Marina Sirtis looked FIT, better than EVER!)

To me, this epsiode seems like a great idea, excellent actors and a really good script (save the plot holes) ruined by the techs working on the Zimmerman/Doc scenes (and possibly the director and the editor).

A casualty of the general mess that is "Star Trek: Voyager".

...Um, am I the only one who really hates Doc? He's my Neelix, and I really hate watching his selfish antics. Everything he does is "me, me, me!" and this episode is no exception. He doesn't even go so far as to say "all my fellow crewmates gave up communications with their families just so I could come and help you." Instead, it's just Doc being self-centered, with his self-centered creator. Oh joy.

Also, Deanna is more useless than usual. In TNG, the plot usually took her more seriously, and at least pretended that her banal advice had merit. this time she just sort of freaked out and gave up after maybe ten minutes of actually trying. Weird.

Although I enjoyed this episode for the acting and characters, I tend to agree that the premise and the reuse of the Mark1 as menial labor makes me cringe. What is this- Red Dwarf? I don't mind humor, but this whole style of cheekiness is a little extreme. The actors definitely make it work despite the holes.
I have said this is from my previous reviews, but it begs the question if there was ever a writer's Bible to keep things consistent.

Hehe, Red Dwarf :) Quite true..

I think the problem is, it was just that - it was a sitcom style "and those guys are scrubbing plasma conduits, hahaha!" (or mining or whatever it was they ended up doing) but it's totally out of context in Trek, which wasn't a comedy but rather supposed to have a bit more realism / believability.

I guess that's why Trek's other attempts at comedy (episodes involving heavy use of Ferengi, Mrs Troi etc) tend to fall flat as well. They're just so out of place that they feel 'off'

I am usually very fast in criticizing Voyager due to relying on episodes' plots that are infuriatingly bad.

However, in this one I have mixed feelings. Of course I though "how the hack can the captain let him go again in this suicide-like mission". I myself complained about that in the first episode they sent him. But thinking about it, it is funny that the same people that like the character development of The Doc, who debate his humanity and etc, often complain about the captain allowing him to do what he wants.

Sure, the captain has made a ton of misled command decisions over the seasons. But I don't think that respecting the freedom of will of someone who has gained the status of conscious being is one these mistakes. Out of character and out of Trek morality it would be to deny him such freedom and such rights. What we would be criticizing as well if that was what happened.

So, the "premise" of this episode does not have the huge issue that many have being appointing. Maybe only a bit more drama should have been put on the issue. Overall, this episode was in fact quite strong, moving, fun and, why not, brought still more human development to Doc's character.

My big issue here is that Troi, after trying to work with Zimmerman and the Doctor about halfway through the episode shouts out that they're both jerks. That doesn't really seem like something an experienced counselor would do, much less Troi. I'm no counselor, of course, so it could all be some elaborate scheme.

Nissa, I can't stand the Doctor either, and at his worst he can make an episode of a show I otherwise like be nearly unwatchable. He's similar in some ways to Sheldon Cooper on BBT, another excruciating character that can make some episodes of a show I otherwise like unsuitable for repeat viewings.

I reaaly enjoyed this episode, It confirms my opinion the Robert Picardo is by far the besr actor ever to wear a Star Fleet uniform. If only the rest of the cast could match this high standard of acting. The only one who can even come close to his level is 7 and their scenes are dekightful to watch.
Colin

Nissa said: "...Um, am I the only one who really hates Doc? He's my Neelix, and I really hate watching his selfish antics. Everything he does is "me, me, me!" and this episode is no exception. He doesn't even go so far as to say "all my fellow crewmates gave up communications with their families just so I could come and help you." Instead, it's just Doc being self-centered, with his self-centered creator. Oh joy."

Nissa, I hate him as much as you. And you made a good point. Doc didn't say "all my fellow crewmates gave up communications with their families just so I could come and help you." Instead he says "I left my crew without a surgeon so I could come and help you."

This episode is not a 4 star or anywhere near it. First, the whole "crisis" is manufactured and forced. Zimmerman would not be behaving in that manner. No scientist like him would behave in that manner given the situation.

It's got some humour to it, and is fun, but it's just a regular filler episode. And Troi? Please... we had enough of that useless character on TNG.

This episode takes place sometime after First Contact. I thought when Admiral Hayes' ship was destroyed in First Contact, he would have gone down with the ship. Seemingly not because he's still around! Maybe the admiral is a hologram! Or like Weyoun...Weyoun-5! Maybe he faked his own demise Section 31-style. Or he was the first one to the escape pod.

Plothole: Zimmerman says he hasn't left Jupiter Station in "over 4 years." But he was on Deep Space Nine just 3 years ago in the 5th season episode "Dr. Bashir, I Presume?"

Every once in awhile, Voyager has a great episode, and we're reminded why we still watch this show. This episode goes beyond great. Unlike the earlier "Pathfinder", Mirina Sirtis is intelligently brought into the story. She administers therapy; my mind is blown. She does more real counseling work in this single episode than she ever did in The Next Generation.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. What a great outing for The Doctor! I love how Janeway tried to quash The Doctor's idea, and then we got to hear a very compelling speech as to why to let the Doctor go lightyears from Voyager into the Alpha Quadrant. Likewise, The Doctor having to put up with a very ornery (and justifiably ornery) Zimmerman.

What's great about this episode is that it really explains why The Doctor is special when compared to other EMHs. Zimmerman is an engineer, and doesn't see past the programming to see the Doctor like a person the way we do. But the Doctor's own personality, efforts, and quirks show has exceptional he is. It's basically a codifier for the character.

The one thing that didn't impress me was the Marquis B-story with Janeway. It seems like a simple response of "We've let bygones be bygones" would've been sufficient. I don't see why Janeway would need to belabor that point. Surely her field commissions would hold even under Starfleet scrutiny.

Oh well, a minor point in an otherwise superb character story.

4+ stars.

4 stars for Robert Picardo alone. I remember looking up Picardo to see if he had a twin after watching this episode the first time. Excellent job.

I can understand Troi's frustration in this episode. She is trying to help a hologram she can't read. She is used to being able to read people's emotions to aide her. Remember how useless she felt in TNG when she lost her mind reading ability in "The Loss".

Off topic: When they get back to Earth, they should hookup Barclay with Celes from Good Shepherd. A perfect match if there ever was one.

Colour me the contrarian, but I didn't get along with this at all. Setting up a contrivance so that Picardo can chew the scenery frantically with himself is a cheap shot, and to me it gets old real fast - basically two arrogant assholes shouting at each other, with the Doctor showing a really weird approval seeking mentality ("I just want you to say you're proud of me, Daddy" or somesuch). Awful.

The return of Barclay and Troi also smacks of another ratings stunt. Probably the best thing about this episode was Haley - a strong and subtle performance that showed what nuance might have brought - and the merest hint of trouble ahead back on Voyager. 2 stars.

@Diamond Dave

Dave, let's be honest here: All Voyager episodes smack of ratings stunts. In fact, The Rock makes a guest appearance and layeths the Smacketh down on Voyager.

Also, this episode was anything but cheap. Getting a single actor to have a dramatic exchange with someone who isn't physically there is not a simple task as Jammer's review explains. I'd be curious how you rated "Brothers" or "Doctor Bashir, I Presume", the latter of which basically sets up this episode.

For most of the episode, I was agreeing with Diamond Dave and the other contrarians here (Diamond Dave and the Contrarians, sounds like the name of a 60s era rock band...). I've been more skeptical of EMH-centered stories here than most (even though Latent Image is my favorite Voyager ep), and so doubling the fun of having two Picardos around isn't necessarily my cup of tea. And the way Zimmerman acted annoyed me almost as much as he annoyed everyone else. It's one thing to be a condescending jerk all the time. It's another thing to refuse to consent to the only possible cure that can treat you because... uh, reasons?

But, surprisingly enough, I found myself agreeing that the reason they gave actually did make sense. The sheer humiliation of his failure with the EMH-1, particularly given how self-centered he is, may very well have been enough to throw away his one chance for survival. It's clear he has issues expressing himself (he is Barclay's friend, even though he treats him like a jerk, and does really care about Haley, even asking Starfleet to allow her to stay "alive" afterwards, despite never showing that to her), so running away from his failure is conceivable. It also hurts the fact that, in part, the failure reminds him of his OWN failure. It's clear one of the problems of the EMH-1 was the attitude, which is easily linked to Zimmerman's own irascible nature (the Season 2 comment that he was programmed by Barclay notwithstanding). So people criticizing the EMH-1's medical skill or usefulness? Well, Zimmerman might take it personally, and probably does, but that can be fixed in later models. People criticizing the EMH-1's attitude? yes, it can be fixed in later models... but it also is a direct criticism of him, and he can't be fixed.

Given that humiliation (even if the humiliation is only in his head; it's clear that Starfleet still respects him if he can keep making a Mark IV and has other projects), it makes sense that he wants nothing to do with the Doctor. It also makes sense that, when he needs to fix the EMH, he also tries to fix the attitude. He is a man facing death, with (presumably) no children or family to carry on his line. His only "child" left is this Doctor, who will forever imprint on everyone the fear that Zimmerman feels deep inside - that everyone hates him because of his attitude. If he's going to die, let him change that part of the legacy first. Let him be remembered in his last EMH as a friendly, warm personality. It's the tiniest bit of redemption he can have.

But it's enough to make him realize that, well, he cares about redemption in the first place. And the best way to do that is to be alive. Most of these humiliations are probably in his head, appearing due to his huge ego. In reality, both Haley and Voyager's EMH are huge accomplishments for him. Maybe, when the Doctor started refusing getting his personality changed, Zimmerman saw something of Haley in him... an independent mind. Maybe he saw that, if this EMH did have such an independent mind and wasn't just being annoying because he was programmed to be, maybe his treatment would work. Maybe it wouldn't be a humiliation to be saved by what he deemed as his greatest failure.

So Zimmerman's plight did work for me. The EMH's plight, well, not so much. I mean, I can kinda get the "Daddy doesn't love me!" angle to some extent, but the shouting matches and sulking in the holodeck? It got a bit too much for me. Does it really make sense that the Doctor would get so angry just because one of his patients refused treatment? Does it make sense to get so angry because his daddy was a jerk? I know the Doc/Zimmerman scenes were supposed to be the highlights, but it kinda just doubles the annoyance of the character. Don't get me wrong, Picardo did a fine job. But it annoyed the heck out of me.

The coincidence that the Doc's program started to stabilize also annoyed me as being contrived, but I guess that wasn't the point. So kudos to the episode for not falling into a cliche there. That, and her conversation with Haley, was probably the best use of Deanna in this episode. Certainly a lot better than a trained psychiatrist yelling at her patients and storming out within two minutes of meeting them.

By the way, one annoyance I'm finding with Voyager that I realize stretches all the way back to the second season, if not the first: what's with the constant scenes of Janeway changing her mind when a crewmember asks her something? It's always the exact same format. 1) Crewmember requests something. 2) Janeway says no. 3) Crewmember pleads that it's important. 4) Janeway says that it's too dangerous or whatever. 4) Crewmember gives a heartfelt story of why it's important to them. 5) Janeway pauses and then agrees. Every. Single. Time. I get that they want to acknowledge the risk involved in sending the Doc as well as to provide some character insight or whatever, but the scene plays out the same every time! Surely I can't be the only one sick of it by now. Is that really all it takes to change Janeway's mind about stuff; a sob story from your childhood or wanting recognition from your creator or claiming your mom is in Klingon hell or whatever you can come up with?

So on the whole, I guess I fall somewhere in the middle. It was a good episode, mainly due to the focus on Zimmerman as well as strong guest roles in Barclay, Troi, and Haley. The Doctor's side was much weaker overall, but at least an acceptable idea. Better than Fury though, that's for sure...

Meanwhile, one tiny nitpick: "We're nearly 7 light years from you." Really, what kind of superimportant mission would the freaking Enterprise be doing 7 light years from Earth? The ONLY star system that fits that criteria is Luhman 16, a pair of brown dwarfs with certainly no life on board. You would think that the citizens of Earth would have fully explored the 3rd closest star system to them by now...

What a pity they ruined a potentially stellar episode with Troi and Barclay. This insistence on cross pollinating episodes with characters from other series is vexing in the extreme. Barclay should be locked up permanently in a holodeck and Troi exiled to Betazed. Hayley should have been given more screen time and character development. She's the absolute highlight of the episode. And the holographic fly doing microsurveillance.

Skeptical,

You've represented my thoughts on this episode to a tee.

I usually skip this one because there is just too much ham to chew off the bone.

Picardo is fine when he's not he center of an episode (there are good ones of course, but those are comedic) but this one brought be back to 'Darkling' WRT our Doc. ... and of course this one is EMH headache X2. Double condescending doesn't an episode make.

Nothing gained except Doc now knows that whoa-is-me-Doc is proud of him?

2 stars because there is some good fun in there.

@Yanks

I actually like how Picardo's Doctor seems *less* condescending than his creator, Zimmerman. We can conclude that while Zimmerman was an eccentric who even programmed his EMH to be like him, yet the program could socialize and grow in ways that Zimmerman couldn't. Perhaps Zimmerman even recognized his personality as being caustic (He's did mention it in "Doctor Bashir, I Presume"), but since he couldn't really fix it, he did the next best thing and create an evolved version of himself that could.

This one feel's like TNG's "Brothers" to me. Except instead of the Doctor reaching out to the "son", the situation is reversed.

Chrome,

I get your point, but I guess I look at this like the current Sherlock (British series) and Elementary (American series).

I understand brilliant and eccentric, but that doesn't need to make you a prick.

I tried to watch Sherlock and couldn't get over Cumby's Holmes. Elementary is a far superior series to me because Holmes isn't a dickhead.

I enjoyed this episode. I did, however, wonder at whether it was a good idea to send the ship's Chief Medical Officer on such a mission, particularly considering that the backup doctor is also the main pilot. I guess if the ship is getting attacked, Paris would have to first fly the ship and then run down to sickbay and treat the wounded. And then if additional enemies attack, go running back to the bridge to fly the ship. Hope he's good at multi-tasking. :)

Of course it is true that the EMH has saved the lives of many of the crewmembers on Voyager and he wouldn't exist if it weren't for Zimmerman so I guess it could be argued that they did owe him something.

Overall, a good episode. And the amusing scene where Troi calls both of them jerks or says that they're acting like jerks (I can't remember the exact words) and the holographic iguana also says "jerks" is one of my favorite scenes.

Why does Troi say they're nearly 7 light years away like that's very far?

I liked the premise of the episode, but it grew tiresome after so many scenes with the Picardos shouting at each other. Zimmerman's behavior was not believable at all. I would think a scientist, especially one near death, would be eager to exhaust every treatment option.

The constant references that the EMH Mark 1's were scrubbing plasma whatevers was ridiculous. The programs could be upgraded or deleted. That's like saying "my Windows Vista is outdated so I have it relegated to being my calculator."

I don't say this often for voyager. Excellent episode (****)
Reg tells Troi that he wants the best (counsellor) Then why was he calling Troi? If he had said 'the best looking counsellor' I'd understand.

I know it's been said but Picardo is a genius. It's so easy and forget that he's playing both roles. It's a shame they couldn't shoehorn him into a sitcom after voyager.

This is 1 of my very favourites.

I wasn't even that bothered by the Hobbit (Troi) showing up.

3.5 stars

I'm not a fan of the Doctor episodes, which were too numerous in late season Voyager. I'll grant that Picardo is probably a really good actor, but something about him just annoys me.

What's with the retcon here that the Mark 1 was a failure? It seemed to work fine on Voyager for the most part. No mention of it being a failure was made in "Doctor Bashir I Presume?"...the Bashir one was just going to be the next iteration, not the replacement for a failure.

This is the problem I have with Voyager - when it scores it scores big. I loved maybe a third of the episodes in season six - and when it fails, it fails big. I don't know yet what the response will be to next episodes from Jammer - but I personally hated that episode, what a bad way but consistent way to end the season

When your most interesting and great acting come from the only character who is not even a real person in the series, have to rely on that character many times to have great show. You know then as a whole series Voyager is suffering.

Dont get me wrong, I love the Doctor character, and Piccardo shown just how good he is on this performance. It's just a shame that we very rarely see that kind of performance and character growth on the other, and seeing him again pulling the leg (along with Jeri) for the show, is kinda bit tiresome.

The setup is a bit cliche, but the whole premise is sound, the plot is good and well executed. The bit that Barclay-Troi made a foulplay to trick is nice, it made better than they just suddenly settle the diffference.

The one thing that I found ridiculous and cheap trite is the EMH-1 relegated to scrubbing conduits and garbage. How is the society that convert matter into energy need it in the first place? Even if it somehow need, with the whole 24th technology it wouldn't be hard to make it an automatic recycling process or done via unmanned robotic.
Let's go further, even if somehow some special place needs that one to be done manually and a robotic tehcnology is not an option, send a simple hologram matrix specific to the task will be a better and more efficent, why use a sophisticated (and wasting a resource) for a menial task.
Even if somehow they need a sophisticated hologram, change the physical parameter so they are not resemblance a particular person (particularly the creator) will be a simple task, it doesn't make sense Starfleet want to humiliate their precious scientiest nor Zimmerman allow it. In a short : NONSENSE!

Not a classic, but it's great episodes, 3 (***) stars

God I hate when people nitpick things to death. This was a fun episode meant to be humorous and provide some major feels for fans of the Doctor. The Mar 1's scrubbing plasma conduits was just a joke that doubled as a means of explaining Zimmerman's issues with the Doctor. If it fell flat for you, it fell flat. However, it's a minor issue. Making a big deal out of it is asinine. If you absolutely must have a logical explanation, you can infer that Zimmerman being the obvious obnoxious overbearing ahole that he is pissed off someone in higher authority, who thought it would make their moment to totally humiliate him.

Another thing, people claiming that a scientist like Zimmerman would never act so irrationally as to refuse treatment are fooling themselves. Smart people are people. People act irrationally all the time. Remember Steve Jobs?

According to Wikipedia, "In October 2003, Jobs was diagnosed with cancer. In mid-2004, he announced to his employees that he had a cancerous tumor in his pancreas. The prognosis for pancreatic cancer is usually very poor; Jobs stated that he had a rare, much less aggressive type, known as islet cell neuroendocrine tumor.

Despite his diagnosis, Jobs resisted his doctors' recommendations for medical intervention for nine months, instead relying on a pseudo-medicine diet to try natural healing to thwart the disease. According to Harvard researcher Ramzi Amri, his choice of alternative treatment "led to an unnecessarily early death"."

Steve Jobs was a very smart man who did something so incredibly irrational he put himself in the grave early. This notion that there are certain kinds of people out there that are immune to common human failings is patently absurd.

I'm usually pretty easy-going on Voyager, and I definitely didn't hate this episode or anything, but I'm not understanding the love for it either. It was okay - Robert Picardo was indeed excellent - but the story wasn't exactly riveting. Nowhere near as good as "Pathfinder".

In pathfinder, Janeway said they wer sending through their log entries. Yet here we have the admiral asking about casualties, the Borg and the maquis. Are we to believe that either a) not a single crew member made a passing reference to any of those things or b) no one at starfleet bothered to read the logs?

Great episode with Barclay, Trouble and the doctors. I have only one science nitpick to present. Dr. Zimmerman suggests that the Hologram doctor should visit the third moon of Jupiter because the lava flows are wonderful this time of year. For a show that is based space exploration, I don't understand why their astronomical advisors would allow them to make such a simple mistake on our own solar system. The third moon of Jupiter is Europa and is not volcanic. The first moon of Jupiter is Io and it is volcanic. Albeit this is a silly nitpick however the show gets to make up their own technobabble when it comes to deep space and areas that we have not yet explored. They should not be making mistakes on our own solar system.

Fun episode with some machine/creator sappiness and great performances from Picardo. Barclay in his subdued role here is also good and Troi gets thrown into the mix in a bit of a salute to the great episode "Pathfinder".

It's interesting that EMH Doc learns a bit about his own personality while seeking validation from his creator -- it is a bit of a stretch for these holograms to evolve to such extents but it's entirely forgivable given benefits it brings to the show. Funny moment when Troi calls them both jerks.

The cliches are tolerable here (crazy genius doctor and his female assistant, iguana etc.) Plenty of good acerbic exchanges between Doc and Zimmerman and I think the episode is meant to be a comedy but playing on the more serious part about a machine (hologram) evolving and wanting to see its master and those kinds of feels. I do think it's ridiculous that Janeway would allow Doc to go in the first place.

So I guess the episode establishes that Voyager will be getting monthly communication from Star Fleet -- a seed of how interesting that can be was planted here with the Maquis question.

Just good enough for 3 stars -- Picardo steals the show in this entertaining episode that benefits from following up on "Pathfinder". Light-hearted and inconsequential mostly.

Am I the ONLY one here that cares that 4 1/2 years ago ‘azcats’ was saddened by the comments for this episode!?!

You cold, cold heartless people!!!!

FOR SHAME!! A POX UPON THEE!!

....

Fun episode. Pretty silly, however. Typical Voyager in that regard. Troi, as usual, leaves every scene she’s in slightly worse off than how she found it. Oh well, what are ya gonna do?

One of the great things about TNG's Ship in a Bottle was that it was the first episode in which Barclay's presence was totally incidental to his character flaws -- somehow he was a natural person to have in the midst of that plot. This is true of Projections, too. This episode is thus part of a pretty good tradition. The episode never explicitly calls back Barclay's history of working on Jupiter Station, but leaves it implicit for people who remember Projections, which is surprising for Voyager, which tends to either forget history or remind us more forcefully. Anyway, Barclay being in the position of helping an isolated, lonely neurotic is a a pretty good way to push forward his character. And while I know her character gets a lot of criticism, much of it justified, I have a soft spot for Troi and am mostly glad to see her. That said -- her "your both jerks!" exclamation wasn't exactly professional.

In some ways though this episode does feel like a warmed over Pathfinder, Hollow Pursuits, and Brothers, with Zimmerman as a recluse lost in his holomachinery over flesh-and-blood companions he didn't happen to create. His refusal to let the Doctor treat his illness seems to mostly be about his bruised ego, and I guess maybe his guilt over the humiliation of his greatest project failing. In some ways, I like that this actually plays something like Daystrom in The Ultimate Computer but in a humbler way -- rather than creating a new machine that will destroy everything to prove his genius, he simply becomes a recluse, and on some level would rather die than has to face up to one of his creations. It's interesting and Picardo generally plays him well, but it's still a bit extreme that the threat to his life gets deferred because he's unwilling to give his creation the time of day out of embarrassment. Here I feel like a greater sense of his guilt over imbuing his creations with something like life before they were sent to the salt mines might have made his willingness to die rather than budge on his self-loathing contempt for his creation might have worked. I like though the way the story draws out how much Zimmerman views the Doctor's flaws as his own, and emphasizes the personality defects (i.e., the things based on *him*) as the things universally rejected by Federation citizens of taste. So I have mixed feelings about it but basically there is a lot to like about Zimmerman's reaction here, and the touching ending that his creation does save him -- that even though his children were largely rejected, one of them was able to come through for him, and show him also that he is genuinely proud of his father -- gives the episode its warm glow and earns it its points.

Of course, some of his desire not to be treated is because he has been seen by a lot of people and simply expects that no Mark I is going to have the cure, but the episode seems to go out of its way to suggest that this is just a cover -- which is why I don't take it seriously. In fact it's fairly reasonable to believe that someone facing a terminal illness would not want another miracle treatment that's going to fail forced on him at the last minute, especially one with Borg technology, and I feel like it's part of the episode's shallowness that it ends up suggesting this is just a decoy because Zimmerman has Emotional Issues regarding the Mark I's.

This is why I also feel troubled by the ending: the way Barclay and Troi manipulate Zimmerman by creating some devastating failure in the EMH program that could have terminated him so that they have to save each other is actually a pretty bad violation. I think the point here is that Barclay and Troi don't *actually* see the Doctor as a person, and so are fine with giving him a terminal illness so that he and his daddy can play-act a reconciliation so that Zimmerman can get his cure, and the Doctor certainly takes it in stride; but even if we accept this, there's still the threat to Voyager's doctor -- and they need him! They need him badly! -- and also the fact that Zimmerman, apparently with like a week left to live, has to spent 19 hours fixing his creation on the off chance that the Doctor's crazy Borg tech miracle cure will actually work and that Zimmerman will consent. The episode sort of gets by on this on a first viewing because it is reassuring that it was a choice by the characters rather than a pure plot contrivance to force the ending, but think about it for a while and it's actually an awful move and not particularly treated as such. I am going to hopefully assume that Barclay had some sort of plan to save the Doctor, so that in fact he was in no real danger, which removes some of the moral difficulties, but it still leaves a bad taste. The contrivance also relies on the idea that the cliche idea that Zimmerman saving the Doctor will make him more willing to let the Doctor save him, which seems to me to be a little much.

Janeway shouldn't have let the Doctor go. I agree that the vague warning from The Admiral Who Died In First Contact (as The Cynic accurately described him) about the status of Maquis was interesting, on a first viewing, but we do pretty much know nothing will come of it, unless we count Repression.

So I'm torn on the episode -- I like the ideas and it's generally funny, and somewhat touching; it's also shallow in its treatment of the spectre of death and the ending. Maybe a marginal 3 stars, despite my qualms.

@ William B,

It's easy to see that when constructing episodes like this one, even the fact of them having come up with a good idea isn't enough to make it a real winner. The way in which the episodes plays out is so pat and tidy that you can tell that the basic concept of "Doc's creator has a problem, only Doc can cure him, and the only way to do that is to appeal to him emotionally" is as far as the script ever gets. There is no true exploration of any of the material *as it comes up.*

If I was writing a script like this with the exact same story idea, once I got to a line about Mark I's being used as miners your exact comment would come to mind - what about the fact that Doc is supposedly sentient? What does that say about holographic slave labor? How would Doc feel about others like him being used as menial laborors, never mind what Zimmerman feels about it?

Then there's the the personality of Zimmerman grating so much, and the rejection of that model by the Federation. Was that strictly due to the personality subroutine? If so, shouldn't that be a subject of discussion between Troi, a counselor, and Zimmerman, the man with obvious personality problems in the evolved 24th century? Could this even have been a legitimate platform for her to do her actual job on counseling people who don't fit into the regular Federation system? The fact that Zimmerman gave the Mark I all his flaws is itself worthy of discussion. Was it a pure act of ego? Did he know these were flaws, and knowingly think that having an imperfect doctor would actually be a benefit so that the crew would take it more seriously as a person rather than a mindless doctor-machine? Since this is more or less what actually happened on the Voyager then why the heck not ask why he made Doc that way, since Doc clearly has benefited from having these flaws? It certainly convinced the crew not to mindwipe him from time to time, reminiscent to an extent of R2-D2 with his flamboyant manner. So maybe this 'flawed' idea was a really good one, and it's saying something negative about Starfleet that they wanted a lame 'nice guy' doctor instead of a more McCoy-ish version with a 'tude?

I mean, how could these questions *not* come up in a decent writers's mind? One possibility is the show-runners overtly did not want these issues to be explored, which I guess is possible. Another is that laziness in writing became standard once the bar was set low on enough occasions. Why go to the trouble of fleshing out a script when they'll accept a dumbed down version and pay you the same and be just as happy with it? The last option, of course, is that these writers are technically proficient in a basic way but are otherwise talentless hacks. The teleplay here was a joint effort, based on what I'd consider a good story idea by Robert Picardo. In my view this is a fun episode that they botched, because it should have been a great episode.

"The last option, of course, is that these writers are technically proficient in a basic way but are otherwise talentless hacks. The teleplay here was a joint effort, based on what I'd consider a good story idea by Robert Picardo. In my view this is a fun episode that they botched, because it should have been a great episode."

Yeah, I tend to agree. I want to elaborate more but on my way out the door (so maybe later?).

I'll add in brief that it's not necessarily damning that the episode didn't address any individual one of the points you (or I) brought up that it overlooked. There's often a huge number of directions a good story can go in, and can't go down every road. Brothers, one of the obvious points of comparison because of Spiner's double and then triple turn, leaves a lot of areas of the Soong/Data/Lore relationship unexplored but is still pretty much packed with excitement and pathos. The problem is that the episode really does seem content to remain a generally amusing and somewhat affecting story which does not stray far from a very basic, simplistic outline, and even there is padded with several very similar scenes, which are, again, decently executed. It's a good idea, and the execution at the end stage is decent, with good direction and acting and mostly decent dialogue. The middle -- the in-between the germ of an idea and the final product -- is what's missing, and what makes the result feel slightly soulless. And it's frustrating because it is a "good" episode. I don't really actually care that The Haunting of Deck Twelve is a bunch of half-baked horror cliches wrapped with a mildly amusing frame story, because I honestly don't feel like "new life form, conflict, resolution" is such a novel concept that that ep needed to be any more than that, and while I'm sure the episode could have been improved in some ways, there may have been a ceiling for how good the story was unless they brought in a genius stylist. (If that example doesn't work, maybe there are others.) I pick it in particular because Jammer identifies that one as a loser and this one as a winner, and I agree this one is much better, but this one also bothers me much more.

To tease out a bit more, I think the show does come around to addressing the point about what it means for Starfleet to be using the apparently-sentient EMH's as labourers, to a degree, in season seven. I haven't rewatched those episodes since they aired, so I don't know if they work or not. To some degree we also know that while the Doctor is sentient in the sense of "self-aware," we know that the default position at the start of the series is that he's a piece of machinery, and it's only through his self-advocacy and the crew's adjustment to him that they view him as something else. Here I think it's important to get into Zimmerman's mind further on this point: does Zimmerman see his holographic creations as real? He makes himself pets, but also Haley is apparently someone he treats as a friend, and the question becomes whether this is a sign of delusional holodiction or whether it's because she *is* a person who can reasonably be a friend, rather than just a facsimile of one. This is an important question to ask, particularly when we have Barclay around as an example of someone who formed attachments to holograms in a way that was always coded as unhealthy, particularly since the holograms were versions of real people (in both Hollow Pursuits and Pathfinder) who necessarily lacked all the depth of the real ones. The Doctor has been advocating for his own rights of late, but in season 1 didn't particularly seem to view himself as anything more than a piece of tech.

This is important because it raises a question of what Zimmerman feels responsible for -- is it that he feels humiliated because his project failed, and the failure means that the Federation basically vetoed him as a person, since his face and personality formed the basis for the hologram? Or is it that he's inadvertently created a sentient slave race? Those are really very different problems. On TNG, it was clear that Soong viewed himself as a genius on the verge of creating new life, and/but what we eventually learn about him -- from Lore, from Julianna -- suggests that he also had a kind of dark side, a willingness to create and discard models while he worked toward his more perfect (and then, according to Lore, "less perfect") androids. There are contradictions but they seemed to be thought out and shaded, even as the character was developed more through bits and pieces. With Zimmerman, I feel like there's something missing here in terms of context.

And as for the Doctor himself -- who is ultimately more important -- his reaction to the news about his brothers' fate is very slight. Again, this does come up in season seven and so it's not totally dropped. But why doesn't he have more of a reaction within this episode? His image of Zimmerman doesn't seem particularly shaken or altered, and this could, I guess, be a message about love and faith, but I don't know; it still feels like a lost opportunity.

Doc + Reg Barclay (+ Counsellor Troi) = winner episode. 4 stars.

@Nancy

"Picardo's delightful performances and the great character moments allowed me to enjoy the episode anyway, but every time that was brought up, I was jerked out of the moment."

Jerked.

@Chris

"It is odd, as Jared noted, that Troi can't tell the real Zimmerman from the Doctor, especially since in dialogue not five minutes later, not sensing emotion is the reason she gives for being able to tell that Haley isn't a person."

Also, you'd think Troi would be smart enough to realize that the one wearing the Starfleet uniform -- even if it is last year's model -- is the hologram.

I thought it would have been cool if the Doctor returned to Voyager with news of the new uniform and the crew started wearing it.

A little too much repetitive bickering, but mostly enjoyable. Seven's exasperation with Doc's arrogance is funny. The actors do a good job together.

Zimmerman's scene recording his will is very well done.

Always good to see Martina.

I liked the switcheroo on who needs to save who, wasn't expecting that. Also was surprised that the Doc was deliberately programmed to degrade. Nice twist.

Picardo is marvelous, as usual.

I like how Zimmerman made the Doc a little taller than himself.

Great little touches, good ep, that seems to be about how we all need each other.

Buona notte, I am tired.

What I really care for in all Star Trek series is the philosophical equations they propose to explore. And this episode is one of the most spectacular ones. In Life Line, the relationship between a human and his electronic creation that has evolved in becoming more human, way beyond his expectations, mesmerizes me . Aren't we on the verge of a tremendous age of AI ? Isn't it relevant to explore such a situation through a good story, with a great actor, able to nuance his performance to the point of having us believe both of them ? Those two characters finally represent two POV on humanity. A) one who enjoys becoming what he views as more human, having become able to empathize and develop skills to be able to help ; b) one who does not even care of being a better human, centred on his ego, giving predominance to feelings of despair, rage, remorse, shame, guilt, without any second thought. Both hold not only our attention but our sympathy to their singular humanity. I wish a better philosopher than me could elaborate on all that research, specially in the last seasons of Voyager.

I didn't like this one much. But at least the actress who played Hayley was cute

Hehe! Seriously though, it just wasn't my kind of story

@Quincy
"The Mar 1's scrubbing plasma conduits was just a joke that doubled as a means of explaining Zimmerman's issues with the Doctor. If it fell flat for you, it fell flat. However, it's a minor issue. Making a big deal out of it is asinine."

---

I disagree, it's not a minor. While in overall i love this episode and rate it as a great (3 star), this part and the overplay of shouting match still bug me and made it a bit fall short for becoming truly great and classic.

I highly doubt they intend to made the 'scrubbing plasma' as a joke. Even if it's intially was, they still carry on this idea and for sure not joking, as they confirmed this and made it as a main premise of "Author, Author", we even get the chance to see the scene of dozens EMH-1 doing menial task on mine site.

This is a big let down to me, because... let's face it, it's not just unbeliavable, the premise is beyond absurd and ridiculous.

I love reading all of the seething and venemous comments left by the angry star trek dorks who just flood their basements at the chance to pick apart an episode or say something mean about the series. Get off your high horses, maybe go for a walk in nature, and enjoy the shows for what they were. Fun! An escape from reality for a short time! Just enjoy the ride and be happy the series is there. You all played your part to get star trek off the air entirely for about a decade.

@Tyson I like the episode, but do you really think this is in any way helpful? I get the feeling people here are just cynical nitpickers who refuse to give a show a fair shot, but this demand for blind loyalty and potraying any critical thinking as party pooping is absurd.

I don't know how many people here played their part in getting a show cancelled and an awful movie bomb almost 20 years ago, but why is it their fault not writer's fault for not making better products? And even it was all fine, you know what? They are not obligated to like it. I think a lot of people didn't give Star Trek Beyond a fair shot, but that doesn't mean they should like just because it's a movie that exists.

Anyone else find this episode disappointing and not that engaging because there are no aliens, New or otehreise, no new anomalies or sci-fi mysteries or phenomena..I,don't mean dumb action and character destroying plots like Kes in Fury..I,mean awe and wonder inspiring sci first mystery and new alien encounters like One Small Step and Riddles and Good Shepherd or even the Kobali in Ashes to Ashes..or make the alien or more unique and fleshed out in the Haunting of Deck Twelve..this Doc Zimmerman stuff should've just been a B plot in this episodeSame with Pathfinder..a B plot with main plot setting up the Vaadwaaur subspace corridors development and their alliance with Suspiria and the Nacene also paving the way for the return of Kes in a more plausible multi episode arc....and introduce new subspace born life forms related to the Ba'neth lets say, who were never sufficiently explored but had potential to be one of the best original aliens in the show..and maybe bring back the Voth and the Think Tank too..show the Both at Jupiter with Zimmerman and Dr. Riley Frasier..Thats a cool twist and set up...ANYONE AGREE?

I did see comments about this in any of the other reviews. I saw an uncut version of this episode, which made more sense because the Doctor discovered the cause of Dr. Zimmerman’s illness - it was his prolonged exposure to all of holographic creations! Of course Zimmerman resisted this diagnosis because his holograms were his only friends. Part of the treatment was that most of them needed to be shut off. Once all of that was edited out to make room for commercials, the story lost its main purpose. I was hoping to see the uncut version again on Netflix, but that hasn’t been the case. Am I the only one who saw those extra scenes?

The doctor yelling at himself for 40 minutes? Not SF. Not entertainment. Couldn't make it half way through. I have enough headaches.

@Dirk

Well how was it you were able to see this extended episode? I have never heard of this

Things certainly progress quickly in the TREK universe. Zimmerman's disease must also cause rapid aging, because he appears significantly older here than when he visited DS9 just three years prior. And he truly must've been whipping through those EMH redesigns and upgrades. It was only about two years ago that Voyager's EMH encountered the EM Mark II of the USS Prometheus and Starfleet is now already using a Mark IV. "Life Line" never fails to impress me on that score.

On another note, it fascinates me that Janeway (after some convincing) allows the EMH to risk his program and the lives of his Voyager crewmembers to take the trip to Jupiter Station. Paris is a medic. He is not a doctor. He is certainly not a surgeon. Even the EMH comments on this, after the fact, on Jupiter Station. If TREK were real, I can't see Janeway agreeing to this. How can she or the EMH predict what will happen to the ship and crew in the month that the EMH is gone? It would've been nice to see the EMH training volunteers to become nurses and doctors. He had started with Kes. I always thought having Paris share double duty as helmsman/medic was a touch non-sensical.

Doc: I want to go to the Alpha Quadrant to treat Lewis Zimmerman.

Lameway: No. We can't afford to stay without our lone ship's only qualified physician for a month, what with all the mortal dangers lurking around every corner of the Delta Quadrant. Nor can we take the risk of losing you permanently in transmission, which has never even been tested. (Could've added: You could instead simply send him the knowledge you acquired in the Delta Quadrant, which can be used by another E.M.H. v.1.0 to treat him.)

Doc: But Captain, he's like a father to me.

Lameway: Well, Doc, you sold me! That changes everything! You can go.


*facepalm*

The Enterprise is on "an important mission" 7 light years from the solar system?

Are they erecting a monument dedicated to the fallen in the Battle of Wolf 359?

I'd watch this ep just for Marina Sirtis' great double take on meeting "Leonard" for the first time.

There's no dialogue to quote, and the moment is extremely low-key, but how Sirtis can channel the nonplussed reaction *without even looking into the camera* is just spectacular. I'm dying xD

IMO the only thing really wrong with this episode is the fact that it's again a very good Doctor episode.

The Doc is consistently given good standalone eps, whereas those dedicated to Kim, Chakotay, Tuvok, Paris and Neelix consistently fall flat. This leads to a certain burnout; Voyager starts to feel like the Seven, Janeway and Doctor show, with the other characters and episodes offering little respite.

Skeptical and MikeyZ - I'm glad you brought up the Janeway Switcheroo. It's really been getting to me lately (I'm watching VOY all the way through for the first time). It's fine for a captain to be talked out of her orders now and then, but she doesn't EVER seem to stick with them. It's one of the reasons I dislike her so much: you never know what to expect from her, except apparently if you're a high-ranking officer you can manipulate her. I doubt very much she'd bend like that if it was a lowly nobody.

I also loved the fact that not only is the EMH slightly taller than his creator, he's also slightly better looking, and even better than that, this is never mentioned in the script but is made obvious with camera work. Great directing there.

Other great directing: Seven has great rolleye moments toward the Doc more than once, and Troi does a nice side-eye toward the iguana. I like a script /direction that shows us things rather than laboriously telling us every detail.

I'm really surprised no one has mentioned Roy the holographic spy fly. A fly on the wall to do surveillance. That's the kind of thing that kept me giggling throughout the whole episode.

I remember this episode, and I remember not liking it. I guess with age comes mellowing, because I really do like it this time round. Dr Zimmerman has always been an irascible character, and the Doctor has his own issues, but it was good to see them come together. I can also understand Zimmerman's shields since he feels humiliated that Starfleet didn't accept his mark 1 hologram.

I think the only opinion that I still universally hold about this episode is that Hayley is CUTE! I know my taste in girls differs greatly from the commonly held view of beauty, but I definitely see her as better looking than 7 of 9, or most of the other females in Star Trek

@Sean, Hayley is without a doubt super cute!

For me, this was a solid three-star episode. Not a masterpiece, but very enjoyable, with Picardo (and the episode's director) doing a great job with his dual role.