Star Trek: Voyager
"Life Line"
Air date: 5/10/2000
Teleplay by Robert Doherty & Raf Green and Brannon Braga
Story by John Bruno & Robert Picardo
Directed by Terry Windell
Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
"The Enterprise is in the middle of a mission. We're nearly seven light-years from you."
"An important mission?"
"They're all important, Reg."— Troi and Barclay
Nutshell: A winner. One of the year's more entertaining shows.
Watching "Life Line," one can see just how effectively Robert Picardo disappears into his character week after week, or in the case of this week, two characters. The plot of "Life Line" permits Doc to meet his creator, Dr. Lewis Zimmerman, face to face. We know the story: The original EMH was modeled in appearance and personality to resemble Zimmerman. So Picardo plays Doc and Zimmerman right alongside himself. What's interesting is that it's not a carbon-copy performance. There are subtle differences that allow Zimmerman to become his own character.
We previously saw a rendition of Dr. Zimmerman's character in the third-season installment "The Swarm," as well as in DS9's fifth-season episode "Doctor Bashir, I Presume." I can't recall in detail Zimmerman's demeanor, whether the same subtle differences as compared to the Voyager EMH were evident in those episodes. (Although, in looking back at my review for "Presume," I see that I did praise Picardo for creating a character who was similar but not identical to the Doctor.) No matter; the differences are evident here, and it's an impressive feat.
The episode is a successful follow-up to "Pathfinder" from five months ago, even though the main story being told here is mostly self-contained and completely different (reminiscent of TNG's "Brothers" in its basic idea). Starfleet has found a way to send a data transmission to Voyager once a month when a certain cosmic alignment makes it possible. Voyager then has a window of opportunity to send information back.
In an interquadrant e-mail, Barclay sends news along to Doc that Zimmerman is dying of an unknown terminal illness. No one in the Alpha Quadrant has been able to treat him successfully, but Doc, adapting methods learned out in the Delta Quadrant wilderness, believes he may have a cure he can administer. He's the only one with the experience, and he wants to treat Zimmerman himself. He asks Janeway to transmit his program to the Alpha Quadrant. Janeway reluctantly grants Doc's request.
So there's your premise, a neat tech idea that makes sense and is believable. The rest of the story takes place almost exclusively in Zimmerman's holography lab at Jupiter Station, where we have ourselves a story that focuses on personalities, dialog, and an interesting relationship between Doc and his programmer—and not exactly having the dynamic Doc had in mind.
Zimmerman is an irascible fellow—even more abrasive than Doc ever was. Of course, knowing that he's dying probably doesn't help form a positive attitude. It's almost painful to watch Doc building himself up to present himself to his creator as a hologram who has grown beyond his original program, simply because Zimmerman is truthfully beyond caring. The moment when Doc materializes in Zimmerman's lab shows Doc nearly in a state of glee. That glee is met with a cold Zimmerman shoulder: "An EMH Mark 1? I was wrong Mr. Barclay; you do have a sense of humor." Ouch.
If you listen closely, you'll notice the subtle way Zimmerman's speech differs from Doc's: Zimmerman has a more relaxed, "human" way of talking, with slightly less articulation on each spoken syllable. Doc tends to articulate each syllable just so and with more song in the inflection, which has become so much part of Picardo's performance that it's almost strange to hear it scaled back through Zimmerman.
A lot of the episode focuses on the Doc/Zimmerman friction. Make no mistake: Zimmerman wants no part of Doc's treatment, and in several scenes Zimmerman flat-out insults Doc and his limitations. For Zimmerman, this is an issue that runs deep. Doc is getting nowhere. Even an attempt to scan his patient while masquerading as a masseuse fails.
Doc also makes some unsettling discoveries: The original EMH has been rendered obsolete by several new versions—Marks II, III, IV (although, is it really likely there'd be a Mark IV already? Mark III, possibly, but Zimmerman seems to have a faster development schedule than Intel). The original line of EMHs, much to Zimmerman's dismay and what helps explain his distress at Doc's appearance, has been relegated by Starfleet to scrubbing conduits in garbage barges after being bounced out of the medical corps because of defects.
Zimmerman's unyielding resistance to Doc's attempts eventually prompts Barclay to call in Counselor Troi for help. Maybe she can get to the bottom of the friction between these two stubborn personalities. Then again, maybe not. Between the two of them, they have enough stubbornness for 10 people.
From a technical standpoint, "Life Line" is flawlessly executed. Director Terry Windell and the Voyager visual effects team have assembled scores of shots that are so completely convincing that you won't even be thinking about the techniques that allow Picardo to interact with himself on the screen; you will simply believe that there are in fact two Picardos. Of course, Picardo deserves credit for acting these scenes out against what are really voice recordings, stand-ins, or, for all I know, empty air. This must've been a lot of work to pull off, and it shows—but most importantly, it's not evident while you're watching. Like the most "responsible" special effects, the technique is a function of the story and no more. If Picardo had an identical twin playing opposite himself, I get the feeling the scenes would've ended up looking just like they do here. Great work.
As a character study with depth, "Life Line" is not the equal of "Barge of the Dead" or "Pathfinder," but it's high on the Voyager list. It's often quite funny, it's well acted, has sharp dialog and some moments of poignancy. The stubbornness is only part of Zimmerman's problem; the biggest problem is in revisiting the pain of the EMH-1's failure. When defect reports of the original EMH began rolling in, so did nicknames like "Emergency Medical Hothead" and "Extremely Marginal House call." Zimmerman was humiliated and has carried the pain with him for years.
Troi's detour into the plot is perhaps a bit contrived, although the story makes reasonable use of her. Barclay's presence makes more sense given past history; he's the actual link between Doc and Zimmerman, since he was established in "Projections" as having once been Zimmerman's assistant in developing the EMH. In a sudden twist of fate, Doc's program malfunctions and is threatened with destruction unless Zimmerman intervenes, forcing the two into the same room until Zimmerman finally confronts his own agonizing issues. (The fact that Barclay and Troi manufactured the crisis works better than if the plot had arbitrarily done so.)
I also appreciated the little touches here, like the way Zimmerman is surrounded by his intriguing holographic creations, like pet Leonard, a holographic iguana that occasionally talks like a parrot (which is a hoot). And there's Roy, the holographic insect that buzzes around, much to Doc's annoyance until he finally squashes it.
But most interesting is Haley (Tamera Craig Thomas), who is revealed in an unexpected but understated scene to also be a hologram. Her role is crucial because she predates even the EMH; she's Zimmerman's personal assistant and a friend he has grown very attached to. She helps him realize that he cannot turn his back on the EHM.
There's also a brief scene back aboard Voyager that gives me hope about some of the larger issues that deserve to play into the seventh season. Within Starfleet's transmission is an interesting question Admiral Hayes (Jack Shearer) asks Janeway: He wants to know the "status of the Maquis"—a single line that plants a seed which could become an interesting issue for the Voyager family in the upcoming year (whether or not it does is another matter). How will we deal with these things as re-entering the Alpha Quadrant becomes closer to a reality?
The bottom line: "Life Line" is a very likable show with people we can care about. Picardo and the others are constantly watchable; the plot is simple and benefits from good dialog; we feel at home in Zimmerman's lab, which is a triumph of set design; the comic timing is on; and the problem at hand is an empathetic dilemma of one man's troubled feelings. It's hard to believe an episode like this and an episode as incompetent as "Fury" can pass the same studio export test. Here I cared. There I didn't. And that's the secret.
Next week: Ghosts in the machine.
Previous episode: Fury
Next episode: The Haunting of Deck Twelve
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82 comments on this post
Sat, Sep 15, 2007, 3:43pm (UTC -5)
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.
Sat, May 16, 2009, 12:45pm (UTC -5)
Mon, Dec 14, 2009, 11:47pm (UTC -5)
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?
Thu, Feb 4, 2010, 5:58pm (UTC -5)
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.
Wed, Jul 14, 2010, 6:44am (UTC -5)
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.
Fri, Jan 28, 2011, 12:17pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Mar 12, 2011, 4:34pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Mar 12, 2011, 4:36pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Mar 12, 2011, 4:39pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Mar 12, 2011, 4:50pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Apr 2, 2011, 12:18pm (UTC -5)
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.
Sat, Sep 10, 2011, 4:34am (UTC -5)
Fri, Mar 16, 2012, 11:27pm (UTC -5)
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
Sat, Sep 29, 2012, 8:28am (UTC -5)
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?
Fri, Jan 25, 2013, 2:42pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Jul 10, 2013, 8:37pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Aug 18, 2013, 2:19pm (UTC -5)
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.
Mon, Aug 19, 2013, 1:03pm (UTC -5)
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!
Tue, Aug 20, 2013, 1:10am (UTC -5)
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).
Mon, Sep 9, 2013, 9:18pm (UTC -5)
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.
Fri, Sep 20, 2013, 11:49am (UTC -5)
Sat, Dec 14, 2013, 11:30am (UTC -5)
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.
Thu, Jan 16, 2014, 11:32pm (UTC -5)
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!
Mon, Jan 20, 2014, 4:14pm (UTC -5)
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")
Wed, Jan 22, 2014, 7:07pm (UTC -5)
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".
Wed, Jan 22, 2014, 9:03pm (UTC -5)
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.
Tue, Apr 1, 2014, 5:07pm (UTC -5)
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.
Mon, Apr 7, 2014, 10:05am (UTC -5)
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'
Tue, May 27, 2014, 3:11am (UTC -5)
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.
Wed, Jun 25, 2014, 1:12am (UTC -5)
Sat, Aug 16, 2014, 9:30pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Sep 14, 2014, 2:20pm (UTC -5)
Colin
Thu, Nov 27, 2014, 10:58pm (UTC -5)
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."
Tue, Jan 13, 2015, 3:48pm (UTC -5)
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.
Fri, Jan 23, 2015, 9:04pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Jan 21, 2016, 2:13am (UTC -5)
Thu, Feb 18, 2016, 10:36am (UTC -5)
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.
Sun, Mar 6, 2016, 7:54pm (UTC -5)
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.
Thu, Mar 17, 2016, 3:19pm (UTC -5)
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.
Thu, Mar 17, 2016, 3:40pm (UTC -5)
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.
Sun, Apr 3, 2016, 4:27pm (UTC -5)
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...
Fri, Apr 29, 2016, 11:06am (UTC -5)
Thu, Jun 16, 2016, 12:14pm (UTC -5)
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.
Thu, Jun 16, 2016, 12:26pm (UTC -5)
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.
Thu, Jun 16, 2016, 1:08pm (UTC -5)
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.
Fri, Jul 8, 2016, 7:04pm (UTC -5)
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.
Sun, Aug 28, 2016, 2:29pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Sep 1, 2016, 9:09pm (UTC -5)
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."
Fri, Sep 9, 2016, 8:02pm (UTC -5)
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.
Fri, Nov 18, 2016, 6:54am (UTC -5)
This is 1 of my very favourites.
I wasn't even that bothered by the Hobbit (Troi) showing up.
3.5 stars
Sun, Jan 8, 2017, 8:47pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Jan 13, 2017, 11:05pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Jan 31, 2017, 12:10pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Feb 5, 2017, 12:18pm (UTC -5)
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
Fri, Feb 17, 2017, 12:06am (UTC -5)
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.
Fri, Apr 14, 2017, 6:06pm (UTC -5)
Fri, May 26, 2017, 11:57am (UTC -5)
Sat, Jul 22, 2017, 2:07pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Nov 8, 2017, 6:34pm (UTC -5)
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.
Sat, Jan 27, 2018, 2:39am (UTC -5)
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?
Fri, Mar 9, 2018, 3:04pm (UTC -5)
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.
Fri, Mar 9, 2018, 3:33pm (UTC -5)
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.
Sat, Mar 10, 2018, 12:01pm (UTC -5)
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.
Sat, Mar 10, 2018, 7:02pm (UTC -5)
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.
Thu, Apr 26, 2018, 2:43am (UTC -5)
Sun, Jul 22, 2018, 2:26am (UTC -5)
"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.
Sun, Jul 22, 2018, 2:38am (UTC -5)
"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.
Sat, Nov 3, 2018, 1:23am (UTC -5)
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.
Sat, Nov 24, 2018, 10:54pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Dec 13, 2018, 1:16pm (UTC -5)
Hehe! Seriously though, it just wasn't my kind of story
Sat, Jun 29, 2019, 11:52am (UTC -5)
"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.
Sun, Jul 28, 2019, 11:44am (UTC -5)
Wed, Aug 21, 2019, 3:54am (UTC -5)
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.
Fri, Sep 27, 2019, 12:54am (UTC -5)
Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 7:11pm (UTC -5)
Wed, May 6, 2020, 8:09pm (UTC -5)
Fri, May 8, 2020, 5:01pm (UTC -5)
Well how was it you were able to see this extended episode? I have never heard of this
Mon, Jun 22, 2020, 8:47am (UTC -5)
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.
Sat, Aug 29, 2020, 10:01am (UTC -5)
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*
Fri, Jan 29, 2021, 12:19am (UTC -5)
Are they erecting a monument dedicated to the fallen in the Battle of Wolf 359?
Tue, Apr 6, 2021, 9:49pm (UTC -5)
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
Mon, Jul 4, 2022, 7:36am (UTC -5)
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.
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