---Synopsis:
Paris and Kim convince Janeway to enter the Delta Flyer in a shuttle race being held to initiate the peace process between four Delta Quadrant races, but Paris' neglect of Torres causes her to reevaluate their relationship, and provokes a major life change for both of them.

---Notes:
---This episode marks the first appearance of the Delta Flyer 2.
---This is also the only episode in which two Voyager regulars get married.
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By Rene on Thursday, October 12, 2000 - 6:54 am:

For some reason, CityTv doesn't air previews. What is this one supposed to be about?

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By Jason on Thursday, October 12, 2000 - 7:20 am:

A space race between lots of ships and the Delta Flyer for no appanent reason. I guess since Voyager is so far ahead of schedual on where they're suposed to be, they can stop and drag race with the locals.

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By Rene on Thursday, October 12, 2000 - 8:01 am:

I'm getting a headache!

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By Kyle Powderly on Thursday, October 12, 2000 - 11:30 am:

Did you see the white outfits they were wearing in the previews? God help me, I had flashbacks to the last days of Battlestar Galactica and the white outfits then.

[insert your own punchline here]

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By Special Agent Mulder on Thursday, October 12, 2000 - 12:38 pm:

Is this the episode where Paris picks up a hitchhiker, and has to keep travelling in the direction 180 Mark 0, or the hitchhiker's head will explode? Of course, once Paris reaches the galactic barrier, it's too late for the Doctor to puncture the alien's eardrum...

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By trekkerxphile on Friday, October 13, 2000 - 1:09 pm:

Yep; just like the episode "Little Green Men" on DS9 was about Sisko almost giving up his quest for the orbs and Kira reinvigorating him through an away mission. BTW, "The Host" on Nextgen was about a parasite, too.

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By Jwb52z on Friday, October 13, 2000 - 9:34 pm:

There IS a reason for this race. The race will start the peace process for 2 fighting species. It's kinda like the Olympics which were started to take the place of wars in Greece and Rome. It's kinda like a more peaceful way to overcome conflict.

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By Rene on Saturday, October 14, 2000 - 11:35 am:

Do the words "Prime Directive" mean anything to Janeway?

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By Jason on Saturday, October 14, 2000 - 12:03 pm:

So, if Voyager wins, does that mean that the two species will begin fighting again?

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By Wannabe Trek Writer on Saturday, October 14, 2000 - 1:39 pm:

Did the Prime Directive mean anything to Kirk? And besides... How exactly does the PD apply in this case? I am very interested to hear Rene's informed analysis considering he hasn't watched the show and didn't even know what the show was about until two days ago.

I laughed when I saw the racing uniforms.

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By Rene on Saturday, October 14, 2000 - 1:54 pm:

Hey, there are many times when I want to grab Kirk by the throat...Like when he destroys Vaal...I completely agreed with Spock in that episode...

And I was responding to Jwb52z's comments. He acts like that is a good reason for the race...and for Voyager joining in.

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By Rene on Saturday, October 14, 2000 - 2:02 pm:

How exactly does the PD apply? Duh! They aren't suppose to interfere in the affairs of others.

I think WTW has been brainwashed by Braga and co.

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By TomM on Saturday, October 14, 2000 - 2:44 pm:

The Prime Directive applies to pre-warp civilizations. There are similar but less restrictive protocols for dealing with other space-faring races, but the DF apparently was (will be) invited to participate in this race.

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By Rene on Saturday, October 14, 2000 - 2:51 pm:

Does getting home mean anything to them?

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By Spornan on Saturday, October 14, 2000 - 3:33 pm:

Considering they are travelling at the speed limit for the interstate, I doubt it Rene.

Kinda funny that they have an episode all about going fast, when they NEVER GO FAST.

This show just confuses me.

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By Jwb52z on Saturday, October 14, 2000 - 5:05 pm:

Rene, if they are ASKED to take part, they are not interfering really. Interference is when they go where they are not wanted and get involved. Getting home is not as important as fulfilling their general mission as part of Starfleet to explore space. They'll all be likely old enough to survive the trip anyway even if they don't go back really soon because they are realistically close now with all the jumps they've made.

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By Spornan on Sunday, October 15, 2000 - 12:32 am:

They aren't realistically close when they are moving at 20 MPH every episode. They could be at Alpha Centauri, and still have longer than their lives to get there.

Unless they are forced to, they shouldn't be stopping to go do racing. I hope the stories gives some sort of excuse.

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By Jwb52z on Sunday, October 15, 2000 - 12:42 pm:

Spornan, they are only about 30 years away and since most humans live to be 100 even NOW, it is not inconceivable that the majority of the crew won't be alive.

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By Jwb52z on Sunday, October 15, 2000 - 12:43 pm:

Spornan, you act like getting home should be the ONLY thing they ever try to do. Why? I agree it should be a priority, but not the ONLY thing they ever do or want.

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By Wannabe Trek Writer on Sunday, October 15, 2000 - 2:41 pm:

Rene-

Right... They aren't supposed to interfere in the affairs of others. Where does it say that they're interfering in anything? So DUH! back at ya.

And I wish I was important enough to merit brainwashing.

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By Jwb52z on Sunday, October 15, 2000 - 4:46 pm:

Well WTW, now Rene thinks that I'm the one who is brainwashed so don't concern yourself with it too much.

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By Spornan on Sunday, October 15, 2000 - 5:03 pm:

---Spornan, you act like getting home should be the ONLY thing they ever try to do. Why? I agree it should be a priority, but not the ONLY thing they ever do or want---

No, but I think it's something they should at least TRY to do. At this point in the show, getting home seems to just be an afterthought. They might as well just throw out that plot point altogether, as it makes little difference in the show.

---Spornan, they are only about 30 years away and since most humans live to be 100 even NOW, it is not inconceivable that the majority of the crew won't be alive. ---

It is when you travel at much less than the speed of light. Even if they are only travelling at impulse speed, that's still 25% the speed of light.

I might be more inclined to say "Hey, let's have a happy little episode where they race for no real reason" if they even TRIED to get home in any other episode.

There is ABSOLUTELY no excuse for the lack of warp used in Voyager. It is the key point of the show: They are trying to get home. Except they never do try to get home.

I'm not going to say anyone is brainwashed or anything strange like that, but I am curious to know how, even if you love every other part of Voyager, you can defend that one key point.

THEY NEVER GO WARP. To me, that's the foundation of the whole show, and without it, makes everything else void.

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By Pel Underhill on Sunday, October 15, 2000 - 5:26 pm:

Maybe the reason that they have enough energy and parts to build Delta Flyers and replicate hula shirts is cause they're not using warp at all. Hey, they've got to save energy somehow.

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By Spornan on Sunday, October 15, 2000 - 7:51 pm:

That explains why they aren't rationing power anymore, like they used to in the first few seasons! They're saving it all up by not using Warp.

It makes so much sense, it's scary.

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By The Undesirable Element on Monday, October 16, 2000 - 1:38 pm:

Look, for all you know, the instant that the episode ends, they blast off at warp 9. If Janeway forced the ship to constantly move at impulse:
a. The entire crew would mutiny.
b. They wouldn't say that they only have 30 years left (as they have in some episodes)
c. They wouldn't be meeting new aliens every week.

Therefore, since none of these things has happened, we must assume that they are travelling at warp when we're not watching.

So there! **The Undesirable Element gets a smug attitude** I'd like to see YOU come up with a good explanation as for why they would constantly go at impulse. (One that does not include: "If I don't see it, it doesn't happen")

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By Jason on Monday, October 16, 2000 - 4:04 pm:

I think everyone here knows that the ship goes to warp sometimes, but what we are griping about is that they never show that on screen.

How many people would take a show like Knight Rider seriously if they almost never showed KITT on the road.

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By Wannabe Trek Writer on Monday, October 16, 2000 - 6:47 pm:

The comments about the ship not being at Warp are valid. It does seem like a violation of the show's premise to continually not have them at Warp.

But as I said before on other boards, there are a few possibilities. Now, these are my opinions as to why they might avoid showing the ship at Warp.
The first is production cost. Though showing streaking stars in an exterior effect shot of Voyager travelling through space would not be any more expensive than showing it at impulse, streaking the stars does dramatically increase the production costs of interior scenes that take place near windows. Voyager is a very costly show to produce. And the production team continually are looking for ways to cut costs.

Even standard Trek effects are expensive to show. Somewhere I have a copy of the effects budget for "Blink of an Eye." To show someone beaming off the ship costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $7000. Now add a rematerialization effect and you have to double that. So the effects team and producers decide whether or not they need both shots in the show. The same holds true for the ship being at Warp. A Briefing Room scene while the ship is at work requires the blue screen curtain and lighting to be in place. And then there's the costs of digitally adding the effects behind the cast and sometimes altering the perspective as a character moves about the room.

Now, I have not tracked this. But I believe that this is the primary reason why they don't show the ship at Warp all the time.

A second reason has to do with drama. Showing the ship at high speeds elevates the sense of urgency and drama in a situation. If the ship begins at Warp, then it's difficult to set the mood visually. You can't differentiate between when the ship is just heading home and when it's in some sort of jeopardy. It's a dramatic decision.

Again, the ship not being at Warp is a nit. And a nit about the very premise of the show. But it's not because the producers are ignorant of the premise or simply don't care. Television production is a continuous juggling act with enormous time constraints. And it's a highly competitive business. Voyager tries to stay on top of all of it by providing us with amazing visuals we have never seen before. And even the harshest Voyager critics have to acknowledge that Voyager may not be the best Trek on the playing field (dramatically), but it certainly is the best-looking.

The visuals may not be the reason you're watching the show... but a *lot* of people are. And though I am one of the ones that prefers substance over flash, I do not dislike the production people for the choices they make. Nor do I fault them. I think many of the people who do would change their minds once they understood the complexities that television production is all about.

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By Adam Bomb on Monday, October 16, 2000 - 7:11 pm:

Amen to that, WTW. These people work their asses off to bring us the best show they possibly could. Maybe some of the stories are not as good as others, but would you rather have NO Trek on TV or in the movies at all? I am old enough to remember the long dry spell we had between the original Trek's cancellation in 1969 and the first movie in 1979. Even then, it was a movie every two or three years. We have had a new Trek story weekly (for a time, two) for 13 years now, and we are probably spoiled because of it. In other words, even bad Trek is better than NO Trek.

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By Jason on Monday, October 16, 2000 - 7:30 pm:

I realise that there are a lot of reasons why they aren't at warp during the episode, but just about every episode ends with a shot of the ship in space. I, personally, wouldn't have a problem if they had the ship go to warp during these last few seconds. It would be stock footage and they wouldn't have to worry about blue screen shots since the show is over.

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By Rene on Monday, October 16, 2000 - 8:05 pm:

"would you rather have NO Trek on TV or in the movies at all"

Yes....

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By Spornan on Monday, October 16, 2000 - 8:50 pm:

My point is this though, as all your points are quite Valid WTW: The show should have been budgeted, from DAY ONE, to allow to the basic special effects the show would need. The fact that it's not, really says something. To me, it says that the premise of the show has been pretty much ignored.

How tough would it be to simply end every episode with stock footage of them blasting off into warp? But they don't even do that!

And actually, at this point I'm thinking Star Trek needs to refresh itself. A Year or two without Trek might actually be a good thing. Voyager is obviously not living up to the expectations that Star Trek should be.

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By Rene on Monday, October 16, 2000 - 8:52 pm:

I agree...I think it is waaaaayyy too soon for a fifth Trek show...Maybe 5 years down the road, but not next year...

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By juli k on Tuesday, October 17, 2000 - 12:27 am:

Why do there need to be any effects at all? Why not just have Janeway say, "Ahead, Warp 6" or whatever, like Kirk used to do at the end of practically every episode?

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By Mike on Tuesday, October 17, 2000 - 5:42 am:

You know Rene... I KNEW you were going to say that... You seem to hate Trek...so why bother being here? Of course, if you have a love/hate relationship with Voyager, like many people I know... do try to lighten up a bit, ok?

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By Rene on Tuesday, October 17, 2000 - 6:20 am:

Don't be silly...I don't hate Trek...Just Voyager. And you don't think there has been too much Trek lately? I mean, come on...barely two seasons into DS9, they decide to make a fourth show...and then the show isn't even finished and they're going to make a fifth one?! And with the same guy who was in charge of Voyager for the past couple of years?!

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By Anonymous on Tuesday, October 17, 2000 - 8:04 am:

Sigh....kindly take a trip back in time just three short years ago, when this board was actually about the season's episodes, and before the episode ran there were, therefore, no (or very few) comments to read....what a concept!

Can't a new board be opened for people to trash each other?

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By The Undesirable Element on Tuesday, October 17, 2000 - 1:29 pm:

Rene: I've said it before and I'll say it again, If you don't like it, don't watch it. Even if you do get some perverse pleasure out of watching something you hate, you don't have to be so hostile about it. Lighten up man! The world is more than what you see on TV. Go out! Get drunk! Party with some hot women! Got it?

Now, back to the main topic. Main topic? What main topic? You mean there's a point to this board? Oh yeah! The Voyager episode "Drive". For some reason, this episode looks pretty cool. Maybe that's just because I'm a sucker for races. I love racing. Horseracing, Auto Racing, Pod Racing, it's all good!

But Paris and B'Ellana getting engaged is not good. Paris is a jacka**. B'Ellana should have punched him in his smart mouth a few seasons ago. Besides, B'Ellana Paris doesn't sound right.

Okay, Enough rambling for today. See ya later!

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By Get some Creativity on Tuesday, October 17, 2000 - 1:48 pm:

It looks like they've stopped ripping off the other Trek series stories. Now they are ripping off Star Wars!! They're moving up in the world!!

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By Spornan on Tuesday, October 17, 2000 - 1:57 pm:

It seems to me that many of you guys are getting angry at Rene for no real reason. He's pretty much just giving his opinion, which is that he doesn't like Voyager, and you all jump down his throat. He can be a bit crass sometimes in his opinions, but he does have the right to say them without people insulting him.

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By Icheb on Tuesday, October 17, 2000 - 5:16 pm:

Its fine with me that he doesn't like Voyager. Thats his opinion and hes welcome to it. However, I do not appreciate him bashing the show every chance he gets and seeming unwilling to realize that some of us actually LIKE the show. I think that Mike was saying that he can appreciate that Rene does not like Voyager. However, there is no reason for him to cram it down our throats!

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By Kristina Kim on Tuesday, October 17, 2000 - 6:22 pm:

well, as long as we're actually talking about the episode now....did anyone else catch a shot in the preview for "drive" of several ships, including the delta flyer, flying through a quantum slipstream? does anyone have any info on this? i thought quantum slipstream was so incredible dangerous that it might actually end the major premise of the show! any comments?

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By Icheb on Tuesday, October 17, 2000 - 7:13 pm:

Hahahaha. Rene, Mike, and I are actually one in the same. I just enjoy playing around.

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By Adam Bomb on Tuesday, October 17, 2000 - 7:16 pm:

Why would a cool single guy like Tom want to get married? Maybe it is the stress of the race that makes him say something that he may live to regret. People under duress sometimes say things that they don't really mean. I will have to check it out tomorrow. (Old Klingon Proverb-"Give me marriage or give me Sto-Vo-Kor.")

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By Mike on Tuesday, October 17, 2000 - 7:17 pm:

Really?! Well... thats news to me... (Looks in mirror) Nope. Just Mike, no Rene in here. True, I do enjoy this sparring I do with Rene and do it all in good cheer, never really becomming angry... HOWEVER, I am just Mike. Rene is someone else... unless I have multiple personality disorder and dont know it.... Rene? Are you me?

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By Merat on Tuesday, October 17, 2000 - 7:19 pm:

Anyway, NANJAO (I hope thats the right abbreviation)... I like the joysticks on the DFII (WOW! Continuity! They look like the same ones from Insurrection! Was Berman sick when they were doing this episode or something?!) and the new, red seat covers.

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By Spornan on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 10:49 am:

Rene - As Shatner is fond of saying, GET A LIFE!!

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By Cuddly_Tribble on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 10:54 am:

Oy... here we go again.. I actually am looking forward to this episode, so all you Voyager-Haters (you know who you are) leave this board to the people who enjoy the show and keep the spirit of nitpicking the stories. Why don't you create a "I Dislike Voyager" board and move along... Leave this to Real Fans. Thank you and good afternoon.

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By Rene on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 11:02 am:

I didn't do all that ••••....The last thing I typed was about liking Trek but not Voyager.

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By Ed Watson on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 2:59 pm:

You know, I really hate pro wrestling. Isn't there some pro wrestling message board I can hang out on all day just to tell people how much I hate it?

;-)

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By Adam Bomb on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 4:06 pm:

Who has time to hang out in message boards all day? I, like many, have a job (without Internet access) that I go to day in and day out. I have a family to support, and I surf the boards whenever I can. Incidentally, does B'Elanna Torres/Paris(?) still suffer from clinical depression? She is apparently still functional as chief engineer. Meanwhile, my wife also suffers from depression, has been in and out of the hospital a good deal of the year, and in in effect non-functional. What gives?
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By Richie Vest
The Nits: It was pretty good. I enjoyed the Tom and B'Elanna secenes very much.

1. You think the Doctor could get real golf balls?
2. So why do they need the flight suits?
3. Tom was expelled from Starfleet Academy!? No, he was not some one on staff should have checked this.

Happy Nitpicking and Go Mets!
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By Spornan on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 5:35 pm:

Just want to point out, that the last two responses to this board were NOT made by me.

That's a pretty rotten thing to do.

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By Benjamin Daniel Cohen (Bcohen) on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 7:16 pm:

Incidentally, does B'Elanna Torres/Paris(?) still suffer from clinical depression? She is apparently still functional as chief engineer.

This really irks me too. The producers seem to have completely forgotten about that episode. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, she was alright very soon after those events took place. Perhaps TPTB should hire a reality consultant.

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By MasterMind on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 7:45 pm:

Hmmmm... Harry's hands and face are greasy, but his WHITE FLIGHT UNIFORM is spotless. Must be that 24th Century Technology.

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By Lee Jamilkowski on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 7:48 pm:

Let us see... in no particular order

1. (ex-) Borg
2. (kind of) dead
3. terrorist
4. wrong twin
5. xenophobic species

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By Benjamin Daniel Cohen (Bcohen) on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 7:48 pm:

Tarellians AGAIN?!?!?!?!?! How's it spelled this time? I would have turned on my captioning, but I couldn't exactly figure out how.

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By Spornan on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 7:59 pm:

Well even if you didn't already know it, it's pretty obvious to tell that this episode was shown out of order. Considering that the Delta Flyer was used last week, and now they are testing it. Oops.

I can SORTA see why Voyager is at Impulse in the beginning.

Whoa! When did the Delta Flyer get so big? That shot of it in the Shuttle Bay made it look huge. I thought it was about the size of an old shuttle.

"Warp is not a factor"-Alien babe. You can say that again.

Janeway says that this race is just the type of break this crew needs. Break from what? From lolligaging around at impulse day in and day out?

After Tom talks to the Doc, he heads out the door, but stops to make a quip about the Doc monitoring his bio-signs. He gets within a foot of the door, and it stays closed. He says his line, and moves towards it again, and of course it opens. Guess it read the script.

I guess I can't complain about them being at Impulse until the end of this episode.

When Neelix jumps around complaining about his feet, his shoes are WAY too small for how big we've seen his feet to be. I always thought he walked around barefoot.

Since when has there been a loveseat in the mess hall? Was it always there?

No Mulgrew and Beltran both have the "I'm about to break into a broad smile" problem of last week. Watch them when they are first talking to the Ambassador.

Ack! Those white uniforms are pretty bad looking.

After Tom finishes talking to the moody pilot, he walks back to Harry and the Alien Girl. But the moody pilot is in the background, joking with another partygoer! What's going on here? Sure, maybe it's just another guy that looks a lot like him...but still.

Isn't Impulse speed supposed to be 1/4th the speed of light? Would the people watching on the sidelines even be able to see the ships shooting past?

The exchange between Janeway and Tuvok about his report was pretty obvious.

Who woulda thought that Paris and Torres could have such great back and forth conversations? Why am I just learning this now!? Kudos to whoever wrote their scenes.

Did anyone else's sound mess up when they came back from the commercial as Harry had the phaser pointed at him? It was low for a few seconds.

Wouldn't inertia keep the Delta Flyer going when Tom cuts the engines.

Much better episode then I thought it would be.

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By Lee Jamilkowski on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 8:03 pm:

I won't spoil it fo rthose who have not seen it, but I did not expect that last shot of the Delta Flyer. Very cool on the part of the creative staff.

Did Harry's co-pilot's ears remind anyone else of the Ocampa and the Vorta?

Boy, Janeway reacted VERY fast to the anti-matter explosion at the end. She had started the conversation with Tuvok before the ship stopped shaking, and the shaking did not occur for very long.

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By Jason on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 8:04 pm:

So, would Tovok really get caught up in the race to ignore the security report?

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By Rene on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 8:08 pm:

You know...it wasn't half bad...I kindda liked it.

Just where are they going to get a new warp core for the Delta Flyer?

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By MasterMind on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 8:10 pm:

New Warp Core? Can you say Replicator? Neelix will just have to go on half-rations for a month.

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By Rene on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 8:11 pm:

Why feed him at all? Would it really be a major lost if he starved to death? ;)

By PaulG on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 8:35 pm:

Not bad.

UPN News: Actually made sense until it mentioned "the secret ending" to this Voyager episode. Yeah, a secret for anyone who did not watch last week's out-of-order episode or any of the previews that gave it away.

Is it just me or does the Delta Flyer need some work on the inertial dampers? Paris & Kim sure tossed dramatically for a relatively simple manuever.

Impulse/Warp made sense. Double Huzzah!

Tuvok's expression after he is overruled by Janeway on the race sure seems un-Vulcan. I would almost describe it as a pout.

Seems that "limited supply of photon torps" line is long forgotten. Now they use one as fireworks. Guess they are making their own and not telling us.

While Neelix did a fine job as the race announcer (and in general), I find it odd that everyone needs to crowd into Astrometrics to watch the race. Centuries into the future, it appears that to watch entertainment you either watch it in person or listen to the radio. We have portable technology better than that NOW.

Good to see that Torres watched some Dale Earnhardt races and picked up one of his patented manuevers for the race.

Finally, now we know how Ensign Kim has beaten the odds and survived so long at his expendable rank. (1) He never gets to be around the girl long enough, (2) he has a sixth sense to avoid exploding consoles, even on unfamilar craft and (3) he never wears red. Long live Ensign Indestructable!

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By Spornan on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 8:44 pm:

==Once again, a puzzlement. "You're the most important person in the world to me," Tom coos at one point, leading to the question: which world? ==

I thought this too, but it's really just an expression.

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By Rene on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 8:47 pm:

Why would the Ambassador refer to our Quadrant as the Alpha Quadrant? From his point of view, shouldn't their Quadrant as the Alpha Quadrant.

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By Anakin on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 8:51 pm:

Am I the only one who thinks this episode is a rip off of TPM's pod race? Hassan (sp.?) = Sebulba. The cheating was the same. Besides, the pod race was much more fun. This one didn't have enough visuals.

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By Spornan the TPM hater. on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 9:04 pm:

The Pod race stunk. I hate that movie so much. Bleh.

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By Al Fix on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 9:23 pm:

Moderator, thanks for splitting up this board into pre-show and post-show boards. I think speculation should be separate from actual nitpicking, as once the show has been broadcast, all speculation is moot.

Lee, I don't think it's possible to have "spoilers" on The Show Board. Just by reading the board one assumes you've already seen it. After all, we're here to nitpick what was shown!

Does "stand by to be transported" really mean that you have to stand up? The female alien was transported in a standing position. I would assume they could just beam her over sitting down as I thought it was an emergency.

Noticed this week and last week, more closeups of the characters. Seems to get you involved more intimately with the characters.

When did Star Trek physics become like Star Wars physics, regarding space flight. In the Classic series, ships flew as they should (admitting that we saw few shots of spaceflight, and that they produced sound in space). But especially in the Classic movies, I think they always respected the MOTION of ships in space. Now we have Star Wars style near-dogfights, with banking and aerodynamics (yeh, that's been around awhile, I just noticed it now).

Nice that they had a great big explosion done right! The nebula DIDN'T explode with a "Praxis wave" -- it expanded spherically as it should have!

I kind of liked the white uniforms.....

Ah, yes, I see the similarity to The Great Race. The movie which also gave us the immortal line, "Push the button, Max!"

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By Steve Oostrom on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 10:04 pm:

It wasn't just the Delta Flyer that forgot about inertia. The craft Kim was on stopped too just like that, and I don't think it was doing any retrothrusting. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with just letting the ships drift after they cut power. Respecing inertia in this case would not have significantly hindered the plot.

I thought that this clearly was "Star Trek's" attempt to emulate the pod race from "The Phantom Menance," but since this was television, there were a lot fewer visuals. I actually thought that the creepy alien that Paris tried to talk to would attempt to do something sneaky and underhanded.

Wasn't it awfully convenient that the xenophobic woman just happened to stumble upon the Delta Flyer when it was in the asteroid belt, since it likely was going to pick on a racer to take its tampered "enriched deuterium" (enriched, meaning higher concentration of deuterium--or what?). The other ships in the race likely already had the proper equipment, and she needed an outsider.

Speaking of the astroid belt... this has been mentioned before, but those asteroids were packed together awfully tight, certainly tighter than a typical asteroid belt would be.

The distances used, the millions of kilometres, or even the billions of kilometres, seemed completely screwed up. Travel times, speed and distances made no sense whatsoever, and if the distances were as expressed, then quite a bit of stellar phenomenona were packed into a small volume of space.

Kind of typical... the warp core ejection controls did not work when they had to, but somehow, Torres got them back on-line just in time.

When the deuterium converter was installed, the internal sensor system was tampered with. Didn't Paris or some other member of the crew assist the woman, or was she left alone? Wouldn't a computer diangostic be able to detect this?

Overall, not bad, but in Voyager's seventh season, you can tell they're starting to grasp for story ideas.

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By Keith Alan Morgan (Kmorgan) on Wednesday, October 18, 2000 - 11:41 pm:

Amazing that with all the rationing & stretched resources that have been complained about through the years & even in this episode, Harry thinks they may have a spare back-up part for an alien ship.

Antarean rally? Antarean as in someone from the star Antares?

B'Elanna finally figures out she & Tom didn't work? I knew that back during Blood Fever.

If the ex-fighter pilot didn't like comradery, then why was he at the party?

It looked like Voyager was behind the racers when it fired the torpedo flare, but than they showed Voyager beside the race course.

When they mentioned the ships disappearing in the Mobius Inversion & not knowing who would be ahead until they left, I thought, 'Speed Racer. This is the episode where they have to drive through the live volcano.' ;-)

When Harry became Yureena's partner shouldn't he have worn the same style of uniform as her previous partner?

What was an Yridean doing in Voyager's Mess Hall?

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By Spornan on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 12:02 am:

Just having a good time KAM. Just having a good time.

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By KAM on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 12:03 am:

;-)

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By ScottN on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 12:11 am:

If the ex-fighter pilot didn't like comradery, then why was he at the party?

Maybe he had to be there, as one of the racing pilots.

Did TOS, TNG, or DS9 have the prohibition about maneuvering at warp? This is the second time they've mentioned it (first time was last season -- "Faster than light, neither left nor right").

NANJAO - Tom really likes mnemonic rhymes, doesn't he?

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By Dustin Westfall on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 1:02 am:

Wow, it's been a while since I nitted (I made a new word!).Hope I don't cramp up.

Harry falls for another alien-of-the-week. Will he ever find someone who is going to be around awhile?

Okay, we have this idea for a region called the Mobius whatever (named after the inifitly long, one-sided figure). Let's make it look just like a wormhole! (???????)

Just before they enter the Mobius wormhole-thing, Tuvok approaches the Captain with a security report, and wants to speak with her about it, irrellevant of the race. Suddenly, the ships are gone from the sensors, Janeway is very interested in the report, and Tuvok is hovering over the console in worry about the race. What's wrong with this picture?

Maybe someone can explain this to me, but what was the point of injuring the co-pilot? All it did was draw attention to her. She could have simply sabotauged the ship and been done with it. And who called in the fact he was injured? If she injured him, and intended to blow up the finish line, there would have been no reason to stop the race and risk discovery.

As to the fact that she set the bomb on the Delta Flyer, I'm willing to say that that was simply luck. More likely than not, she intended to detonate it herself when she crossed the finish line. At the end, she came off as the martyr type.

Anyone think the "alien" phaser looked alot like a TOS Type II, maybe movie era? Especially after we come back from the commercial break.

Apparently the crew became disinterested in the race, or Neelix got laryngitis, because the Captain seemed surprised when Tom didn't win. Was no one paying attention to the fact that the front-runner came to a dead stop in the middle of the race?

Just to note: the point about tieing cans to the back of a newlyweds cars is to draw attention to them by making noise as the go down the street. Kind of the looses the meaning in the quiet void of space, don't ya think?

Not even a stubbed toe. I'm better than I thought. Now I have to get to work collecting my old Buffy/Angel nits. Good night.

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By ScottN on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 1:12 am:

1. Those cans were awfully big.
2. Wouldn't the cans be vaporized by the exhaust of the impulse engines?
3. If they're travelling at warp, the cans would probably muck up the shape of the warp field.
4. Will Tom get a ticket for DUI?

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By WhoreBath on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 2:32 am:

I didn't much care for it, but my main gripe was that they actually marry the two of them and DON"T show the wedding!?! We got to see Obrien & Keiko's and Worf & Jadzia's. They should of had them become engaged in this episode and marry in the next. Oops, I forgot, episodes can't have any continuity what so ever, unless they're two parters I suppose.

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By SLUGBUG on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 4:30 am:

First off, to Adam Bomb, Depression is treatable, people DO recover!, Even today in the last days of the 20th century, medication and Counseling are available. Though your remarks about your "ice queen" wife probably do not contribute to her Depression, they are surely not helpful towards recovery. By your remarks , you seem resentful, trapped in a loveless marriage, staying together for the family's sake. ,Do yourself a favor and get help. Playing the martyr does not help your family Adam. besides the point of this being a nit picker's board, not a place to unload your personal emotional baggage. I too, liked the white Racing uniforms, was a Fun episode with a LOL ending.

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By Brian Lombard on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 5:15 am:

The writers probably assumed that since we saw the duplicate Tom & B'elanna get hitched in "Courseblivion" that they would be repeating themselves if they showed us the real wedding. Personally, I would like to have seen it.

Wow, Seven and the Doctor only had a few small scenes in this episode. Looks like the writers remembered that there are other characters on the show.

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By Anonymous on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 8:02 am:

A few observations. First, Janeway was very out of character in this one. When she said "It's just what the crew needs" she probably meants it was just what she needed. Tuvok was also out of character, pushing the report on Janeway and then getting caught up in the race? Now, to the depression argument. If we can believe that a wound can be healed in second with an "epidermal regenerator" then why can't we believe depression is treatable in the 24th century. It's also possible that Torres was never "really" depressed. True depression takes years to diagnose, and she was probably down from the news about her maquis friends. Finally, enough with the •••• impulse debate. The bottom line, who cares?? How does it change the plot of the show? Why don't you watch Star Trek for the stories, and not to see if the stars are streaking at the end or not. There's nitpicking and then there's nitpicking to the point of absurdity.

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By Rene on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 8:10 am:

Not if the nitpicking involves the very premise of the show.

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By Charles Cabe (Ccabe) on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 8:22 am:

>Long live Ensign Indestructable!> This refers to Harry.

Harry Kim was killed twice already. Once in the first season, and more recently in "Deadlock". He is hardly "Ensign Indestructable". (But, he did get better though.

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By Jason on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 8:30 am:

Actualy, if UPN had aired the episodes in their proper order, then we would have had this episode come first, and then last week's episode.

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By Charles Cabe (Ccabe) on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 8:31 am:

Why didn't they use the universal translator on the Morse Code message? That's what I would have done.

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By Brian Lombard on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 10:38 am:

Also, when the alien woman knocked her ship's communications system, Harry never even tried using his commbadge.

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By Anonymous on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 12:27 pm:

Cyia Batten, "Yerena," was one of the actresses who played Tora Ziyal, Gul Dukat's daughter on Deep Space Nine.

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By Aaron Dotter on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 12:42 pm:

I say again as with the season premiere: where did the medical staff come from? We see some no-name woman doodling around with a console in sickbay. I suppose the Doc could have drafted some science people (maybe some xenobiologists?)

How come neither Paris nor Torres suggested getting into the escape pods? (Perhaps they weren't installed yet?)

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By Anonymous on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 2:26 pm:

I wonder if Rick Berman guaranteed to Robert Duncan McNeill that he wouldn't win the race.

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By ScottN on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 2:33 pm:

How come neither Paris nor Torres suggested getting into the escape pods? (Perhaps they weren't installed yet?)

Plus they had to get into the nebula to contain the warp core explosion. Once they were there, it was a better bet to use the DFII to get away than to use escape pods.

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By Jwb52z on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 3:28 pm:

All the hubub about inertia is meaningless for one reason. The INERTIAL DAMPERS are on. They stop inertia from acting normally.

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By trekkerxphile on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 5:02 pm:

Loved this one!

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By AI Fix on Thursday, October 19, 2000 - 5:25 pm:

is this working yet

I really liked this ep, espicially those flight suits. A few people here called them 'white suits' when only about a forth of them were white.

"Am I the only one who thinks this episode is a rip off of TPM's pod race? [...] The cheating was the same." Anakin

The cheating was not the same. The former Ziyal, the cutest of the three who played her IMO, sabotaged her own ship, and I wouldn't call "scraping" your opponents cheating. That's one high-tech word Tom picked up at the Academy isn't it?

"Janeway says that this race is just the type of break this crew needs. Break from what? From lolligaging around at impulse day in and day out?" Spornan

Amen to that; but the funny part is that Janeway said this after Tom told her he needed 15 more people to help modify the DFII. If this is her idea of a break I'd hate to see a busy day.

"Anyone think the 'alien' phaser looked alot like a TOS Type II, maybe movie era?" Dustin

Yes I do, and I'm impressed somebody else noticed. The emitter is different but the rest is from a phaser on ST III.

For the first couple acts BLT's rank pin was crooked. Her eyebrows seem less bushy here then in previous seasons too. I think the ears of Kim's AOTW partner have been used before. My Morse Code is rusty but I don't think it was even close as to what Tom translated. The ship who brought the official for the race was just like the Karama(?) ship in "Starship Down" (DS9) with a slight change in it's nose.

A couple more points: on another board, "UZ" I believe, somebody said that he saw a II on the new DF but there definately wasn't on this ep. Also, there is a constant debate about why Voyager is shown at impulse so often and many claim it goes against the premise of the show. Well, yes they are trying to get home but in "Caretaker" Janeway said they will also try to "seek out new life and explore space" and since they are SF I would say this is a more accurate premise.

So they go at Warp between episodes & only slow down to impulse when they think there is something to explore, which conveniently coincides with an episode?

I was going to comment on your earlier post about that KAM and I forgot, but I definately agree with Voyager only being at impulse when we're watching as a plausible anti-nit.

It was John Boy who told Luigi he noticed a "II" on the Delta Flyer in later eps on the "Unimatrix Zero" part I board. He also said he'd point out which eps he saw this when he found them but never did.

“1. Those cans were awfully big.
2. Wouldn't the cans be vaporized by the exhaust of the impulse engines?
3. If they're travelling at warp, the cans would probably muck up the shape of the warp field.
4. Will Tom get a ticket for DUI?” -ScottN


1. True.
2. Why? We don't know what the impulse exhaust is like, but I would assume that futuristic starfleet propulsion wouldn't give off harmful exhaust like that. Else we're in for another 'Force of Nature' scenario... (*eye roll*)
3. Why? Again, how does what we know about the warp field suggest this? I don't think that's ever been a problem before...
4. Not the 'flight school' bit again...! :-)

Alt Title: The Wacky Races

Another Alt Title: Voyager Kart Wii

JAL - Alt Title: The Wacky Races
Now with 75% Less Wacky!

;-)

Spornan: That explains why they aren't rationing power anymore, like they used to in the first few seasons! They're saving it all up by not using Warp. It makes so much sense, it's scary.
I just wanted to second this comment

WTW: And even the harshest Voyager critics have to acknowledge that Voyager may not be the best Trek on the playing field (dramatically), but it certainly is the best-looking.
With the majority of DQ races looking almost entirely human? By slightly altering the same sets/equipment time and again? Only giving us the absolute minimum of effects for exposition purposes instead logical plot reasons? Although I personally don't agree that VGR was the best-looking Trek show, I'll take the looks from ALL any day over this one.

MasterMind: Hmmmm... Harry's hands and face are greasy, but his WHITE FLIGHT UNIFORM is spotless. Must be that 24th Century Technology... New Warp Core? Can you say Replicator?
Not only that but grease? Despite what this show wants you to believe, the replicator won't solve the issue of anti-matter or dilithium, amongst others.

Slugbug: Depression is treatable, people DO recover!
Anon: If we can believe that a wound can be healed in second with an "epidermal regenerator" then why can't we believe depression is treatable in the 24th century.
Nobody said it couldn't be treated, but just like many plot-points that had potential for interesting continuity and decent character development it was just glossed over without any resolution like it didn't matter to begin with.

Jwb52z: All the hubub about inertia is meaningless for one reason. The INERTIAL DAMPERS are on. They stop inertia from acting normally.
Inertial dampers counter the effects of inertia to safeguard the people/equipment inside a vessel from the effects of rapid acceleration and deceleration; they don't stop inertia completely, especially when there is less a physical concern such as drifting a bit after shutting down the engines.