---Synopsis:
When Janeway returns to Voyager following an away mission, her strange behavior and unusual orders prompts suspicion from Chakotay and Tuvok.
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By Richie Vest
The Nits: It was pretty good but it kind of slowed down in the middle there.
1. The helm officer when they received the call from "the captain" isn't he usually in green.
2. Why is Vorik is the episode?
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By Lee Jamilkowski (Ljamilkowski) on Wednesday, April 18, 2001 - 2:37 pm:
This episode has Janeway being abducted and The Doctor having to go undercover as other Voyager crewmembers in order to find out what happened to her and to rescue her.
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By John A. Lang on Friday, April 20, 2001 - 12:34 am:
Janeway kidnapped AGAIN?!?!?! Somebody should send that woman to the Captain James T. Kirk School of Self-Defence. Sheeez! Yeoman Landon from "The Apple" (TOS) can defend herself better than Janeway! (Don't EVER forget that "Rockette" kick from Landon! That was juicy!)
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By The Undesirable Element on Friday, April 20, 2001 - 10:00 am:
The only other time I can recall Janeway getting kidnapped was in "Threshold"
TUE
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By John A. Lang on Saturday, April 21, 2001 - 2:30 am:
Still...with all the times Voyager has been taken over by hostile aliens, crew abductions, yada, yada, yada, you'd think Janeway would be a lot more protective about her crew, her ship and herself! She seems to let the tragedies happen before actually doing something.
Start kicking butt, Janeway! Use those legs!
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By Andreas Schindel on Tuesday, April 24, 2001 - 6:14 am:
Question et the end of the 4th Star-Trek-Series:
Does anybody know any rumors about the 5th series?
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By Rene on Tuesday, April 24, 2001 - 6:49 am:
"The only other time I can recall Janeway getting kidnapped was in "Threshold"
Does "Workforce" ring a bell?
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By Andreas Schindel on Thursday, April 26, 2001 - 2:33 am:
To Phil:
Now, that Voyager is about to end: Are You working on or planning a "Nitpickers Guide for Voyager"? Pleeeeease do it!
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By ScottN on Thursday, April 26, 2001 - 10:18 am:
Andreas, see the comments over on the "Nitpicking the Nitpicker's Guide" board.
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By Strgzr 47 on Thursday, April 26, 2001 - 10:39 pm:
Nitpickers Guides for Star Wars, DS9 Vol 2, and Voyager would be nice.... but since they won't happen, we have this nifty board!
Anyway, I hope this is a good episode. We need a good setup for the finale.
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By Anonymous on Thursday, May 03, 2001 - 12:11 pm:
Vorik is supposed to return in this episode.
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By Rene on Thursday, May 03, 2001 - 12:17 pm:
[begin sarcasm] To die just like Carry? [end sarcasm]
I can't wait. The death of Vorik! ;)
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By Alleycat11 on Friday, May 04, 2001 - 11:56 am:
I bet this has to do with the Finale... In "Endgame" suppossedly Janeway was at some point "replaced" by a new type of Borg Drone to look like her to infiltrate Earth.. Maybe they don't actually rescue the real Janeway as they think they are.. (see my spoilers in the "Endgame" post..
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By The Undesirable Element on Friday, May 04, 2001 - 1:22 pm:
Rene: D'Oh! I guess it didn't ring a bell. I must of lost my train of thought while writing that post. Believe me, it's an easy train to derail.
TUE
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By Rene on Friday, May 04, 2001 - 1:40 pm:
Nah. I mean, you can't remember every episode of Voyager at every moment in time.
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By Anonymous on Monday, May 07, 2001 - 3:00 pm:
ScottN: Where is this "Nitpicking the Nitpicker's Guide" board you speak of?
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By ScottN on Monday, May 07, 2001 - 11:21 pm:
* NextGen: Next Gen Sink: Nitpicking the Nitpicker's Guides For Next Generation Trekkers
* ClassicTrek: The Classic Trek Sink: Nitpicking the Nitpicker's Guide For Classic Trekkers
* DS9: DS9 Kitchen Sink: Nitpicking the Nitpicker's Guide For Deep Space Nine Trekkers
Or, you could do a keyword search for "nitpicking" in the Subject line like I did.
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By Anonymous on Tuesday, May 08, 2001 - 5:15 pm:
Yes, Scott, I saw those. However, I couldn't find any reference to a Nitpicker's Guide for Voyager.
(Andreas asked if one would be published. You responded to check the above boards.)
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By ScottN on Wednesday, May 09, 2001 - 1:58 am:
In one of those above boards, we discussed the fact that Phil's publisher chickened out and Phil will not now or ever be publishing any more Nitpicker's Guides.
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By ScottN on Wednesday, May 09, 2001 - 1:59 am:
Specifically, the Classic Trekker's board, towards the end.
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By John A. Lang on Sunday, May 13, 2001 - 9:54 pm:
SPOILER: The Doctor gets to impersonate Janeway...physically...by transforming himself into a Janeway "clone".
"Turnabout Intruder" anyone?
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By Jwb52z on Sunday, May 13, 2001 - 10:05 pm:
::Nah. I mean, you can't remember every episode of Voyager at every moment in time.:: Rene
I just have a thought for you to consider after seeing you post that. If what you say is true, how can we expect the level of continuity that we do?
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By ScottN on Monday, May 14, 2001 - 9:25 am:
SPOILER: The Doctor gets to impersonate Janeway...physically...by transforming himself into a Janeway "clone".
Didn't he do that in "The Thaw"? Granted it was only in the funky clown world, but, nevertheless...
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By Palandine on Monday, May 14, 2001 - 9:42 am:
Jwb: I just have a thought for you to consider after seeing you post that. If what you say is true, how can we expect the level of continuity that we do?
In one of his books, Stephen King talks about how when he's writing a novel, he puts together a file about the town or area he's writing about and the people who live in it. He has a map of the area and keeps track of the features of the characters he's writing about. I would assume most writers need to have this. On a show like Star Trek where you have legions of geeks watching for continuity, this would seem to be even more important, and it seems like something you could keep a comprehensive database on. That is, I would think the Trek writers would want something like a detailed timeline, not to mention files on the various characters (what are the names of the members of Chakotay's family, Tuvok's kids birthdays, all the minutiae). This cuts down dramatically on continuity errors.
If you're going to have a show run for 7 years and expect people to develop some sort of bond with the characters, you have to supply continuity. For what it's worth, in these final days Voyager seems to be doing a better job of that, with the notable exception of Neelix's shoes in Homestead.
And, having watched "The Practice" last night, which had the mother of all continuity errors on it, I'm inclined to be a little generous to the Trek folks this week.
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By ScottN on Monday, May 14, 2001 - 12:08 pm:
I missed "The Practice" last night. What was the continuity error?
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By Jwb52z on Monday, May 14, 2001 - 12:21 pm:
Palandine, I agree, but I was just asking Rene why he thought that fi he wants continuity to be held up.
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By Palandine on Monday, May 14, 2001 - 12:36 pm:
HIJACK
ScottN: I missed "The Practice" last night. What was the continuity error?
In one of the trials, one of the witnesses pins down her timeline by saying "I wanted to see Boston Public at 8." However, theoretically Boston Public and The Practice are in the same "universe"--they've done crossover shows for Pete's sake.
However, supposedly someone on Ally McBeal also name-dropped either The Practice or Boston Public as a tv show at some point too, and they're supposed to be in the same "universe" as well (they've done crossover shows too), so maybe it's just David E. Kelley trying to be hipper than thou. I still found it messy and confusing.
END HIJACK
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By ScottN on Monday, May 14, 2001 - 6:17 pm:
Didn't something like that happen on Homicide as well, referring to the X-Files as a show?
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By KAM on Tuesday, May 15, 2001 - 4:36 am:
ScottN, I don't think it was the Doctor as the holo-Janeway in The Thaw. I think it was just a generic hologram of Janeway.
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By ScottN on Tuesday, May 15, 2001 - 9:45 am:
Drat.
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By Jwb52z on Tuesday, May 15, 2001 - 11:54 am:
It was a synthetic brain type thing that simulated Janeway. That's how she explains it to the clown.
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By Spornan on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 8:14 pm:
I'm gonna try something new this week with my nits, and label how many minutes into the show I am when I write any particular nit. It may make them a little more easy to understand. And while I'm sure no one really cares one way or the other how I write my nits, it'll still make me feel better.
0:01-- In all honesty, I shouted (a little too loudly) "WHAT!?" when I heard Holodoc mention that he was glad Janeway was going with him to a medical symposium. Why are they going to medical symposiums!? They should be trying to go home! They don't have time to stop and spend a few days here and there to go to medical symposiums! And what species is holding this symposium? UGH. The whole thing is just so against what this show should be about, especially since the whole thing is just a plot device to get Janeway and Holodoc off the ship, or alone together, or something.
0:06-- Holy Guacamole! That's...um...Vorik...or something, isn't it? Wow, seems like the PTB are trotting out all the old extras for the last 4 episodes or so. I wonder if he'll make it through this episode, or suffer a bit of Carey-itis.
0:06-- Impulse. 'Nuff said.
0:08-- Somekinda alert! Red-shirted ensign (who looks substantially older than Kim, BTW) tells Harry that there's "Somekinda pulse being directed at our transceiver array"
0:08-- And why does "Somekinda pulse" at the deflector array cause all the stations around the bridge to start flashing on and off? That's like someone ringing your doorbell, and your television explodes. (How's that for an image?)
0:09-- It's pretty funny to hear Janeway (or most likely Holodoc-Janeway) talk about how much trouble they are in for using a warp drive through the R'kaal's space when the stars are dead still behind her/him/it.
0:11-- Considering I'm assuming that Janeway is really the Doctor at this point, why did no one notice that the Doctor was missing when the Flyer returned to Voyager?
0:11-- And if in fact Janeway is the Doc, why doesn't he hide his mobile emitter like he can when he pretends to be her?
0:12-- With the announcement of Scott Bakula as Captain of the next Trek show, I couldn't help but think that Janeway whispering, "I heard you the first time" was a very "Sam Beckett" moment. Maybe Al's checking out Seven and we don't even know it!
0:13-- You would think that Chakotay would notice that the Doctor breaks Doctor/Patient Confedentiality when he tells him that Janeway is fine. In all other instances, we've seen that the Doctor is pretty much incapable of breaking such rules of his profession.
0:16-- Chakotay says, "You have consulted me on every major decision for the past 7 years" I gotta admit, I laughed out loud when he said that. He must be watching a different show than I am.
0:25-- Y'know, I just noticed something. No one ever says, "The elbar prime Mud baths" when they talk about an attraction another planet. It's always, "The mud baths of Elbar prime" or the "Cascading Waterfalls of Meldron IV" It's just an odd way of speaking. Would you ever say, "Let's go to the Disney World of Orlando, Florida?"
0:28-- It's a bit strange to think that this isn't the first time the Doctor has kissed a man.
0:35-- OK...Now that was a VERY cool effect, with the Doctor jumping through the window to get his mobile emitter. Very second-to-last episode worthy.
0:35-- Why doesn't Tuvok set his Phaser to wide beam and just blast all hundred or so of those holo-holodoctors?
0:38-- And now I can't decide if the Holodoc-Torres' little matrix flip thing was cool, or just kinda silly. I guess they're blowing the special effects budget on this and next week's episode. Too bad we don't get things like that all the time.
0:40-- Why is the Doctor back in his Teal/Blue uniform when he delivers the Warp core? I would think it would be better for him to remain as the ECH while piloting the Flyer, just in case Voyager tries something tricky.
0:42-- I really don't agree with the Doctor's logic here. The ship can survive without a warp core, but not without a Captain? Hardly seems that way. But I guess his programming makes it impossible to harm another human being, and he apparently perceived her being held hostage unless he followed the Alien's orders to be that type of situation.
0:54-- Shouldn't The Doctor be much stronger than most normal people? He struggles a lot with the Alien guy (I know they are the slug type beings from Tinker, Tenor, just can't remember their real names)
0:57-- Hey, lookit that! Warp at the end!
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By Vicki on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 8:34 pm:
Did the Emergency Command Hologram have any pips?
I think the ensign who detected "some kinda pulse" looked like Ayala, but he was in the wrong color uniform.
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By PaulG on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 8:42 pm:
Again, I would ask that people DO NOT POST SPOILERS FOR UPCOMING EPISODES ON BOARDS FOR EPISODES THAT HAPPEN BEFOREHAND!!! Some people like to be surprised, despite UPN News efforts. Spoil the finale on the finale board. Thank you.
Before Chuckles is transported into the morgue, Doc setup a dampening field. Would that interfere with the transporter beam?
The Doc needs to ask Vorik the location of the gel packs. Wouldn’t this information be in the computer for easy access? Couldn’t they come up with dialogue for poor old Vorik?
When Torres quotes the medical condition the fried chicken could cause in a very un-Torreslike tone, Paris doesn’t even think twice. What, no “HUH?” even in jest?
When Tuvok runs into the “Will the Real Slim Shady Doc Please Stand Up” holoprogram, he just walks into the middle of them without considering that he could be jumped by any or all of them. Then when they disappear, he doesn’t look back to check if one of those Docs was the real one. Chief of Security, indeed.
You know, they should have figured out something was wrong when Paris ended up in the command chair.
Again, the computer gives no warning when people start disappearing from internal sensors. You know, that would be useful. It would also be useful to detect when several person’s communicators are attached to one body.
So let me get this straight. The Doc can fake the captain or any other crewman well enough to fool the computer and the crew. The Doc can take control of the ship whenever he wants. No security hole there. Does Tuvok actually do anything?
“Decompile” is defined as “deletion” again. I will now accept that the term has been redefined. It’s still a weird word choice though.
We have another one of those severe disciplinary punishments by Janeway. Ignore a direct order, strip Voyager of it's primary propulsion and energy and leave the entire crew practically defenseless and you get time served and coffee with the Captain. Sheesh, and it's not even Neelix’s coffee.
And, on a sad note, we have a 42: the Doc’s command authorization code is ECH-omega-42. Douglas Adams, we will miss you. So long and thanks for all the books.
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By PaulG on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 8:42 pm:
BTW, did they ever explain why Kim switched from the clarinet to the saxophone? Just curious.
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By Rene on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 8:48 pm:
"DO NOT POST SPOILERS FOR UPCOMING EPISODES ON BOARDS FOR EPISODES THAT HAPPEN BEFOREHAND!!!"
What the heck are you referring to?
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By Rene on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 8:51 pm:
And the Doc mentions donating his emitter to the Daystrom Institution. Um...wouldn't mass product of technology from the future cause a major screwup of the timeline?
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By DennyK on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 8:51 pm:
"0:25-- Y'know, I just noticed something. No one ever says, "The elbar prime Mud baths" when they talk about an attraction another planet. It's always, "The mud baths of Elbar prime" or the "Cascading Waterfalls of Meldron IV" It's just an odd way of speaking. Would you ever say, "Let's go to the Disney World of Orlando, Florida?" "
When you're talking about a common natural feature and your range of possible destinations encompasses dozens of planets, it makes a lot more sense. "We're going to the mud baths" just isn't very informative... ;)
"0:16-- Chakotay says, "You have consulted me on every major decision for the past 7 years" I gotta admit, I laughed out loud when he said that. He must be watching a different show than I am. "
Our UPN affiliate just re-aired 'Scorpion' yesterday and today. The parallel between the scenes in the ready room in that episode and the one at the beginning of this one were kind of interesting, especially the way in which Janeway (well, Holo-Janeway in this ep) and Chakotay's stances were reversed this time; Holo-Janeway is the one who is pretending to want to give up because of the danger, and Chakotay is the one trying to talk "her" out of it.
One other thing I noticed...that alien fellow (sorry, don't remember the name either) threatened to drop Janeway off on some planet (yeah, yeah, my memory sucks...I'm terrible with names ;) ), whose inhabitants were "mostly harmless"... There's no way that could have been slipped in on purpose as a tribute to Mr. Adams that close to air date, could it? Very eerie...
DennyK
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By aifix on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 9:18 pm:
Why does Chakotay think the doc's materializing in sickbay is unusual? "Something wrong with the turbolift?" And he did say to report immediately. The only reason for that comment is to foreshadow that something's wrong with the doctor (and not very well, I might add.)
Doc confesses that he broached patient-doctor confidentiality by telling Neelix about Tuvok's affliction. Well, he already did it earlier in the episode, and just then, when he repeated it in front of everybody there! And we never saw a bit of privacy in sickbay anyway. Shouldn't there be the equivalent of those drapes they use like in E.R? A translucent force field would at least afford some measure of privacy.
I'm sure Starfleet would love to get a look at Doc's list of Janeway's questionable command decisions. He should have been adding to it all along.
Here's another case where the engineer says something is impossible to do (use a tractor beam on a warp core), the captain says "Well, we really really need it!", and she says "Oh, OK. It'll take six hours."
Paulg was referring to potential spoilers in Alleycat11's pre-nits for Endgame above. I don't like those either, but I guess we don't have to worry about that any more with Voyager now, do we?
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By TomM on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 10:12 pm:
Why does Chakotay think the doc's materializing in sickbay is unusual? "Something wrong with the turbolift?" And he did say to report immediately. The only reason for that comment is to foreshadow that something's wrong with the doctor (and not very well, I might add.) aifix
The doctor did not materialize the way he does when his program is on "stand-by," or even when his martrix is transferred from one hologrid to another. He beamed into sickbay using the transporter. The effect was noticible and that is why Chuckles commented on it. Still, the writers could have handled it better.
0:25-- Y'know, I just noticed something. No one ever says, "The elbar prime Mud baths" when they talk about an attraction another planet. It's always, "The mud baths of Elbar prime" or the "Cascading Waterfalls of Meldron IV" It's just an odd way of speaking. Would you ever say, "Let's go to the Disney World of Orlando, Florida?" Spornan
When you're talking about a common natural feature and your range of possible destinations encompasses dozens of planets, it makes a lot more sense. "We're going to the mud baths" just isn't very informative... ;) DennyK
Spornan did not suggest dropping the name of the planet (although, to be fair, his example of Disney World does lend itself to that interpretation), but rather that in English it is more common to identify the location in an adjective phrase than in a prepositional one: the California Sierras, rather than the Sierras of California. Either is correct, but one is more common. Personally, I like that they use the less common construction. It makes it sound that much more exotic.
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By Spockania on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 10:17 pm:
General Rumination: I have to say I hated the plot for this one. Acting was good, but within five minutes I came up with a half dozen ways to escape the situation.
- Anyone else remember "Condition Green" from TOS? Sure would have been useful here! Once the crew KNEW something was wrong, they could have played along and worked behind the scenes.
- Speaking of that, I'm surprised the Doc didn't work slower or even allow himself to be delayed by the crew. They aren't going to just kill their hostage if they think they can still get the warp core for ransom.
- And speaking of the core- isn't Voyager supposed to have two of them? Oh, well...
- The Doc was FAR too trusting when he turned over the core. When the villain said 'This isn't a negotiation" I would think the reply would be "That is exactly what this is- a negotiated exchange," or at least refuse to lower the Flyer's shields until Janeway is free. Considering these villains want technology and the Doc's been kidnapped for that reason at least once, he should be more suspicious.
I also thought Tuvok was pretty ineffective in this episode, and thought someone should have noticed the missing Janeway.
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By Keith Alan Morgan (Kmorgan) on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 11:59 pm:
Janeway & the Doctor are returning from a medical conference, then when telling Chuckles about the Rakall 'Janeway' says they've been in their space for 3 WEEKS. Shouldn't Chuckles have questioned this? Have the Captain & holodoc been away from Voyager for more than 3 weeks or did Chuckles believe the conference took place in Rackall space?
You are a bridge officer. Your captain appears to be talking to mid-air. Do you:
A. Act like this is perfectly normal?
B. Relieve them of duty?
So what's the big deal about getting Voyager's warp core? It hardly ever works.
Interestingly enough the warp core ejector works right the first time here. I think that makes twice in 7 years the thing worked properly.
Where did the Doctor pick up those Matrixlike moves? From one of Paris' holoprograms?
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By Charles Cabe (Ccabe) on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 12:20 am:
Another Hitchhiker's reference was when one of the aliens said We'll leave a planet such-an-such, the inhabitants are mostly harmless.
By LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 2:45 am:
Note: The two Hierarchy aliens are listed in the closing credits as Nar and Zet. I’m going to assume that Nar is the domineering one and Zet the meekish one because when they first appear, Nar is closer to the camera and speaks first, and is listed first.
I liked this episode! While it was somewhat derivative of past episodes ("Is the strangely acting regular character an alien in disguise, a clone, or the real thing under mind control or duress?"), it kept me interested. I also liked the choice for a clever title for once. I really wanted to know whether "Janeway" was really Janeway (When Doc beamed into sickbay to talk to Chakotay in Act 1, I was convinced it was two imposters, because the imposter impersonating Doc couldn’t be "activated" and "deactivated" and had to appear therefore via the transporter—but I was wrong!), I liked the reappearance of the Hierarchy and the ECH, both of which originated in the same episode—Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy. Doc’s use of his ECH subroutines to gain control of the ship was believable. Tuvok finally showed marginally more competance as a security officer for once (well, more than usual), not being so easily duped by a transparent palming of a hypospray by Doc, Doc’s physical evasions of him in sickbay were one of the few times his abilities as a hologram were exploited, his duping Tuvok into the holodeck and his "Matrix"-like flip over him in the corridor while disguised as Torres was satisfying. Basically, both characters showed intelligence , rather than one getting the upperhand because of arbitrary stupidity on the part of the other. Doc’s "deathbed confession" at the end of Act 5, such as his revelation about his "Janeway’s questionable decisions log" was funny, given how many fans have kept their own, and it was also nice to hear he stopped keeping it when he began to feel like a member of the crew. I was SHOCKED by Doc’s revealing his feelings for Seven; I never thought his feelings from Someone to Watch Over Me would ever be visited again. Since the series is over, I guess the creators don’t mind having the characters say or do extreme things. I also liked Doc’s complaint to Janeway that she never socializes with him, and her invitation to him to join her at a holodeck café at the end of the episode. Some of the nits I thought I spotted were even explained by the plot: I wondered how Janeway could overpower Chakotay with a simple arm-wrestle at the end of Act 1, only to learn it was Doc, who could overpower him. I figured that Doc’s line to Nar about not being able to remove a gelpack without anyone noticing because they’e integrated into the ship’s systems, despite Tuvok’s line in the beginning of Act 1 of Learning Curve that they had 47 in reserve was just stalling on Doc’s part, and when he subsequently went to Engineering to get a reserve, it was confirmed. I wondered why Doc would listen to music in Act 3, and why a hologram would feel "stress" as he says, only to learn later that it was a message to the crew, a smart move on Doc’s part. I was also glad I didn't anything about the episode going in, making sure to avoid all spoilers.
Why did Janeway go to medical symposium with Doc, and without any other security?
Why couldn't Voyager itself go to the symposium?
Why wasn’t Paris flying the Flyer? The Flyer’s his baby, and he’s always the pilot on a Flyer mission. I understand that maybe he was preoccupied with the romantic dinner for Torres, but did he really plan it that far ahead? And if the Flyer’s mission was only a day or two, again, why couldn’t Voyager go on it instead?
Chakotay should’ve known something was fishy when Doc, disguised as Janeway, told him in Act 1 that they’ve been in "Rakaal space" for three weeks. The stardate given in the beginning of Act 5 of Homestead 54868.6. The one given in the beginning of Act 4 of this episode is 54890.7, a span of 22.1 stardate units, or 8 days. This would mean that the Talaxian asteroid from the last episode was in this supposed "Rakaal" space. Chakotay should’ve known that such a race so territorial would’ve noticed 500 people in their space for the past five years 5 years, not to mention the alien miners in that episode who claimed the asteroid was theirs.
Also, if I were Chakotay, and just used bluffed "Janeway" into revealing that she doesn't have Janway's knowledge of her career, as Chakotay does at the end of Act 1, I would've calmly ended the discussion with no conflict, and run and got Tuvok and some security officers. Doc wouldn't have been able to take all of them on.
Doc does a fairly good job of making believe he’s Janeway, Torres, etc., but if he hadn’t made a blatant slip and actually TALKED to the Hierarchy aliens on the bridge in Act 1 where EVERYONE could see, Chakotay might not have noticed that something was up.
The Hierarchy aliens tell Doc in Act 2 that they’re monitoring his perceptions, and we see them do so. Too bad they don’t do the same thing with THEIR OWN BRIG when Janeway tries to overload the forcefiled with Doc's emitter!
Robert Picardo did a good job of playing Doc and Zimmerman with different mannerisms in Life Line. Jeri Ryan did a good job of playing Seven being possessed by Doc in Body and Soul. But Kate Mulgrew plays Doc disguised as Janeway as a straight Janeway in Act 1, and even in the way she walks into the morgue in Act 2 , when no one else is around, and in sickbay. (Because they don’t want the viewers to know yet it’s Doc in disguise.)
This episode is the first time we see a 24th century holoemitter, when Tuvok destroys one in sickbay in Act 3.
I couldn't help but think that when Tuvok went into the holodeck filled with Docs in Act 3, he should've been more careful when doing so. He just saunters in there, filled with potential enemies, much as Kirk does with the captured Klingons in Day of the Dove(TOS).
Although this episode isn't the first one to hint at it, Doc has the same problem from a security standpoint as Data does: It is too easy for him to take over the ship whenever he wants to, and of course, while in this episode he did this to save Janeway, no one talks about instituting new protocols or procedures to prevent this from happening again.
In Act 4, Janeway fiddles with Doc’s holoemitter, saying that if she can amplify his matrix, she might be able to disrupt the brig’s forcefield. Can’t Doc pass through forcefields? Maybe his emitter can’t, but couldn’t Janeway hold the emitter in her hand behind the forcefield, allowing Doc to move through it and maybe coldcock the aliens?
Act 4 was only 3 minutes, 58 seconds long, possibly a record.
When Paris and Tuvok go after the Delta Flyer in Act 5, Tuvok tells Paris that the Hierarchy ship has autoregenerative shielding, which makes it sound tough. But after only a few hits from their type-9 shuttle, Zet, the somewhat meek alien says their shield generator isn’t going to last.
Since Doc’s physical strength derived from a magnetic containment field and tractor beams, it makes sense that he overpowers Chakotay at the end of Act 1, so why is Nar, the domineering alien, able to maintain a physical standoff with him at the end of the episode?
VOYAGER AT SUBLIGHT
I actually keep a Voyager at sublight tote board at the end of the Voyager section of my Nitpick document, and have been neglecting to include the sublight shots of each episode with my posts, but will do so now.
-The Delta Flyer’s at sublight in the opening shot of the episode.
-shot of the ship in Act 1 after Doc, disguised as Janeway, tells Torres to prepare for a warp core ejection, when they should be at warp to rendezvous with the Flyer.
-the stars in Janeway’s quarters in the last scene of Act 1 are motionless when Chakotay confronts the Doctor disguised as Janeway.
-the shot of the ship in Act 2 after Paris kisses the Doctor disguised as Torres in Engineering.
PaulG: Before Chuckles is transported into the morgue, Doc setup a dampening field. Would that interfere with the transporter beam?
Luigi Novi: I think he deactivated it after rendering Chocolatay unconscious.
Rene: Wouldn't mass product of technology from the future (Doc's emitter) cause a major screwup of the timeline?
Luigi Novi: The presence of the original alone in the 24th century does this itself.
Spockania: Isn't Voyager supposed to have two warp cores?
Luigi Novi: Where has this been established?
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By LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 2:46 am:
Missed this one: the stars in the ready room are motionless in Act 1 when Doc/Janeway tells Chakotay that they will surrender their warp core;
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By LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 2:59 am:
Somehow I just don’t see Doc having the facial expression he does when, disguised as Janeway, he/she coldly tells Chakotay at the end of Act 1 that he/she’s erected a dampening field around the room, or when he/she struggles with Chakotay and hypos him. Doc wouldn’t probably have a pained, conflicted look on his/her face. (This is because they still want the viewer at this point to think it’s a traditional mustache-twirling villain, and not the Doc.)
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By Miko Iko on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 9:56 am:
I'm sorry that I don't have enough time at the moment to express how disappointed I am with this ep so I'll just point out what I found to be a pretty big nit:
Nar and Zet (I'll take Luigi's word for it) seem to have been planning this exact mission for some time, and both Janeway and Doc were integral to it. How did they know that the two of them would be on an away mission together without any other crew members aboard? It would seem to be a pretty rare event to plan around.
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By Karen Delano on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 10:34 am:
Several comments: Why is CAPTAIN Janeway going to a MEDICAL symposium? She is a scientist as well as being a captain, but she is not a doctor. Paris should have gone not only to fly the Flyer, but also because he is Doc's little helper.
If you want to mention Hitchhiker references, How about "Resistence is Futile," sounds a lot like "Resistence is Useless" to me.
I think Doc/Janeway did act differently (and not just talking to herself), she was too abrupt while speaking with Chakotay.
Regarding the "elbar prime Mud baths," these are aliens after all, so they would most likely phrase things differently. Darmok and Jalord (?) anyone?
Doc was a Wuss in this episode, why didn't he try to outsmart the aliens and do as Janeway said and use the holodeck to fool them and not Tuvok? he should think of something. He could even had written a note without looking at it, so the crew would be able to find Janeway. Even if he had to stay in the Holodeck the whole time.
You would think that a Emergency Medical Hologram would have a doctor/patient confidentality safeguard built into his his matrix, so he couldn't break Tuvok/Janeway's trust.
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By Bioforce on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 11:16 am:
-When Doc/Janeway says that they are eco extremeists saying that the warp core damages subspace, I'm going "So does Starfleet in 'Forces of Nature' (TNG)"
-When Chakote asks Seven to see if she can monitor cloaked ships, I was wondering why nobody brought up the anti-proton scans that the domnion used to find the defiant. and alternatively, the defiant used on the dominion.
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By Jason on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 11:25 am:
-When Chakote asks Seven to see if she can monitor cloaked ships, I was wondering why nobody brought up the anti-proton scans that the domnion used to find the defiant. and alternatively, the defiant used on the dominion.
Well, they didn't know about the anti-proton scans until after Voyager left IIRC. Its possible that Starfleet never got around to telling them this little tid-bit of information
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By Anonymous on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 12:25 pm:
I'm just glad they FINALLY mentioned the Beta Quadrant
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By aifix on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 1:25 pm:
I had to laugh when I thought of them downloading(uploading) several different "skins" for the doctor. (Winamp, anyone?)
Also, a nice little bit in the upgrading of Torres' holographic template.
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By The Undesirable Element on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 2:01 pm:
Dang good stuff.
>> That one alien had "CHUMP" written all over him. Speaking of which, this is another instance of an evil genius keeping a bumbling assistant around for no apparent reason.
>> How can you tow the warp core and still go to warp?
>> Why would the Doc need to jump through the glass? Shouldn't he be able to run through the wall. (That was awesome though)
>> How did the doctor obtain the codes for the ECH without the captain's authorization?
>> I realize the Doc didn't need to breathe, but wouldn't ejecting the warp core while in Engineering $uck (blow, whatever) the Doc out into space?
BEST DIALOGUE:
DOC: "Did I disturb you Captain"
JANEWAY: "No, 15 minutes of sleep is all I need."
(So many people do this to me)
See ya later
TUE
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By Jwb52z on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 4:53 pm:
TUE, when you have a different warp core being used in the Delta Flyer than the one you are towing, it's not hard.
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By mei on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 5:20 pm:
TUE, I think he jumped thru the window because there would be less resistance - one pane of glass as opposed to lots of equipment.
What's this about Douglas Adams? Have I missed something?
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By Dustin Westfall on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 6:39 pm:
RE: EMH/Patient Confidentiality: As I understand it, in a military-like situation, there is no confidentiality if it could affect the safety of the ship. Therefore, there is no reason for the Doc to mention confidentiality when explaining the results of his examination of the Captain. Since Tuvok's problem was hardly a threat to the ship (at least no more so than he is), that would be a breach of confidentiality. My problem is that I have a hard time seeing Doc mention something like that to Neelix. Were they ever shown in a situation that could be considered more than casually friendly?
I am also unsure about the Doctor's Matrix-like moves. Since he is a hologram, he can probably do the things depicted. The presentation, though, I think was a little lacking.
It has been almost two years since we first saw the Heirarchy. Aside from "The Void," this is the only other time we have seen this species. How far spread is this Heirarchy? And why have they not presented even a mild threat to Voyager, given their apparent size and power?
TUE: I think that the ejection system would put up forcefields similar to the shuttlebays. You know, the one's that magically can tell the difference between the atmosphere and solid objects.
mei: Unfortunately, this past weekend, Douglas Adams passed away from a heart attack. A tragic loss for the Sci-Fi community.
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By Merry on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 6:48 pm:
What I don't understand is this. If the Doc can do all the cool moves and defeat Tuvok so easily, why didn't he just beat the stuffing out of the bad aliens? There they were, standing right next to each other. I can't see the aliens with their bulky body types as being more phycially challenging than Tuvok.
Merry
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By Dan R. on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 8:13 pm:
PaulG: Before Chuckles is transported into the morgue, Doc setup a dampening field. Would that interfere with the transporter beam?
Luigi Novi: I think he deactivated it after rendering Chocolatay unconscious.
Paul isnt referring to the one around janeways room so no one can call out of the room...when Doc/Janeway goes into the morgue she puts up a dampning field around the morgue....
I had to laugh when I thought of them downloading(uploading) several different "skins" for the doctor. (Winamp, anyone?)
I was thinking more of the Sims....I can just see a Doc sim....his thought clouds show opeara singers, 7, himself....LOL
I LOVED Seven's face when the doc told her he loves her!
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By LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 9:19 pm:
Jason: Well, they didn't know about the anti-proton scans until after Voyager left IIRC. Its possible that Starfleet never got around to telling them this little tid-bit of information.
Luigi Novi: There are at least 14 different documented methods of detecting cloaked ships, possibly 15. The last of the first ten occured in The Search partI(DS9), which predated Voyager by both stardate and airdate order. The eleventh was in State of Flux(VOY). It is my understanding that all information of significance is added to ships' databases after it is reviewed by Starfleet.
The Undesirable Element: Wouldn't ejecting the warp core while in Engineering $uck (blow, whatever) the Doc out into space?
Luigi Novi: Obviously, TUE, there are safety valves that close up the second the core is entirely out of the ship, like the valves that keep blood vessels flowing only in one direction. In Once Burned(ST NF) Peter David had Captain Calhoun crawl out of a torpedo tube onto the exterior of the ship and back. A forcefield was in place that allowing torpedoes (and Calhoun) to pass through without letting vaccuum in, much as the shuttlebay doors do. A similar thing probably occurs with the core ejection tube.
mei: TUE, I think Doc jumped thru the window because there would be less resistance - one pane of glass as opposed to lots of equipment.
Luigi Novi: What resistance? When Doc moves around sickbay, the closest holoemitter probably picks up the projection, much as phone towers do with cellular phones. When Doc jumped, the holoemitter in his office took over from the one projecting him in the main receiving area.
Miko Iko: Nar and Zet seem to have been planning this exact mission for some time, and both Janeway and Doc were integral to it. How did they know that the two of them would be on an away mission together without any other crew members aboard?
Luigi Novi: I'm not sure if it was necessary to plan. It could've been a matter of opportunity. They found a sophisticated shuttle with its captain and a sentient (or "apparently" sentient) hologram on board, captured them, and used them to get the parent ship's warp core. But this caused me to think of another nit:
The Delta Flyer uses both Starfleet and Borg technology. It is therefore as sophisticated or more sophisticated in certain respects to Voyager. Why don't Nar and Zet take its warp core? They can design larger scale ones from its design. In fact, they have a sophisticated interaactive medical hologram, and a piece of technology from the 29th century! They really didn't NEED to take Voyager's core.
Also, this wasn't the first time Doc violated doctor/patient confidentiality. In Parturition, he revealed to Kes that Paris visibly was attracted to her, having noticed that whenever she’s around, Paris’ respiration increases, his pupils dilate, and his ears discolorize. Now perhaps it could be argued that this isn't necessarily knowledge of Paris' medical condition, but I still find it odd that Doc would do something like this, especially given that earlier in the same episode, he told Janeway that he was programmed to be discreet.
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By TomM on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 10:31 pm:
What I don't understand is this. If the Doc can do all the cool moves and defeat Tuvok so easily, why didn't he just beat the stuffing out of the bad aliens? There they were, standing right next to each other. I can't see the aliens with their bulky body types as being more phycially challenging than Tuvok. Merry
Since Doc?s physical strength derived from a magnetic containment field and tractor beams, it makes sense that he overpowers Chakotay at the end of Act 1, so why is Nar, the domineering alien, able to maintain a physical standoff with him at the end of the episode? Luigi
But remember that when Doc was fighting Zet (I'm afraid you got their credits backward -- they do mention one another's names.), his matrix was already starting to react to being seriously overloaded, and the mobile emitter was also strained because Janeway was re-routing some of it's power to neutralizing the forcefield.
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By mei on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 4:01 pm:
Dustin, Thanks for the answer. I had missed that fact. ... Words fail me.
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By Miko Iko on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 7:32 pm:
Luigi Novi: I'm not sure if it was necessary to plan. It could've been a matter of opportunity. They found a sophisticated shuttle with its captain and a sentient (or "apparently" sentient) hologram on board, captured them, and used them to get the parent ship's warp core.
I seem to recall one of them mentioning that they had been planning this for months and that they already had a buyer lined up for Voyager's core. Plus the hierarchy aliens already had knowledge of the doctor and how to use him to their advantage. It really did come across that this series of events, or one very similar to it, had been planned all along.
A lot of what bothered me about this has already been mentioned here but the thing that really got to me was the old "bait-n-switch". If you're going to try and pull one off at least make your second premise as interesting as the initial one. They just wasted the whole idea of the super advanced and darn-near insurmountable eco-terrorist threat. Now that would have been a fun ride. I wonder if this wasn't the last season...
Then again species 8472 does ring a bell.
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By LUIGI NOVI on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 10:43 pm:
Good point, Miko. Perhaps you're right.
By piper8 on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 11:55 pm:
I couldn't tell how many "days" this took place, so can someone else verify my nit. Since they are now in daily contact with Starfleet, shouldn't Chakotay have suggested HoloJaneway seek advice from her superiors before summarily giving in. HoloJaneway of course would say no, but I think if he is so concerned he would insist.
A couple of anti-nits:
Everyone keeps forgetting that the Doc's program has been altered so that he can "fit in" with the crew. The doctors ethical subroutines probably have a sliding scale just like us humans. We more easily share that someone has a boil in a precarious place than someone has cancer.
As for these jaunts to symposiums and confrences (exactly what is the difference between the two anyway?), it is a tired plot device that is used way to often. Nonetheless, inasmuch as they are eager to get home, I think a lot of the desparation has been lifted now that they are in regular contact with Starfleet, family, and friends. Now they feel free to take trips with regenerated hope that they will get home. Or perhaps Starfleet ordered them to go.
As for Janeway going with the doctor, perhaps she just wanted to get away for a while. Or perhaps this was an opportunity for more first contact, so she felt the need to go. (It still should have been skipped)
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By Q on Saturday, May 19, 2001 - 10:32 pm:
Douglas Adams is gone? How sad. He'll be missed.
-Why is Ayala wearing a red uniform? Are we to assume that Maquis crewmembers can switch from role to role?
-Now every aspect of the film industry is incorporating some form of The Matrix.
-This is not the first time someone (Captain Janeway) has acted very strange and all anyone else has done is ask them if they are OK and tell the Doctor to check up on them. This is also not the first time the person acting strangely has gotten away with the pretense of not feeling well. People who are sick don't usually talk to thin air.
-This is also not the first time another crewman, suspecting that something's terribly wrong with his/her comrade, goes into quarters of the strange one completely unarmed and stands right next to them even as they are caught in their lie with no protection whatsoever.
-The Doc wasn't very smart in this one. There are a dozen different ways to outsmart these aliens. And with the type of power he had, he could have done so much so many times.
-Who didn't see a bond forming between the prisoner and the repressed assistant?
-Wonderful deathbed speech by the Doc.
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By JackKnight on Sunday, May 20, 2001 - 11:16 am:
I don't know where to post this, but...for those of you who can tune in to Toronto's CityTV and Space stations, there will be two Trek marathons on tomorrow.
Space will be airing the top 10 DS9 episodes, as determined by voting online at their site. Time: 1000h-2000h.
City will follow with the top eight VOY episodes, determined by online voting, as well. Time: 2100h(Mon)-0600h(Tue). There's a one-hour break at 2300h for the news.
The funny thing about the City vote is that their site, apparently, got hacked. I visited it about three hours ago to cast my vote, and got a typical hackeresque message, instead. It's fixed now, but I got a
screen capture before leaving.
My bet is on Timeless being voted #1. I don't know if that's necessarily what I'd agree with, though I did like it. I'll definitely vote for The Chute and Latent Image.
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By JackKnight on Sunday, May 20, 2001 - 11:18 am:
Yes, I was listening to Carly Simon. On an excellent album called "The Glory of Gershwin, featuring Larry Adler".
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By Gilgamesh on Monday, May 21, 2001 - 4:33 pm:
When Tom kisses the Doctor, all I could think was: Holograms have a scent? Does the computer actually keep track of what Belanna smells and tastes like so that her hologram can give a convincing kiss? Why didn't Tom recoil and say "Who the hell are you?". On that note, would replicated fried chicken be that horridly bad for you? Would a replicator make food that authentically?
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By Jwb52z on Monday, May 21, 2001 - 6:07 pm:
I thought that the computer on the Enterprise D told Deanna that the food was made for optimal nutrition when she asked it to make a real chocolate sundae.
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By Rene on Tuesday, May 22, 2001 - 11:43 am:
Maybe many people protested and Starfleet gave starships the replicators from the second season TNG that created real alcohol.
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By Jwb52z on Tuesday, May 22, 2001 - 5:12 pm:
I would say that creating real alcohol would be easier than creating real food because an alcoholic beverage is just a group of chemicals.
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By TomM on Tuesday, May 22, 2001 - 8:17 pm:
From the replicator's perspective, anything it is asked to produce is "just a group of chemicals" (or more precisely, "just a specific arrangement of replicated molecules").
Of course, the progrmming is more involved for the more complex arrangements, but presumably there is a way to scan an actual item and create the equivalent of a transportor pattern.
Limitations on alcoholic content and nutritional value are added constraints on the replicator functions, not inherent difficiencies in their capabilities.
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By Anony The Mouse on Monday, July 30, 2001 - 5:32 pm:
OK, here's one: when Tuvok enters and Doc's got the music playing, it really looks like Tuvok's missing a pip, otherwise someone somewhere decided he needed to be busted down to Junior Lieutenant. Or it could just be the light.
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By Anonymous on Tuesday, August 21, 2001 - 7:15 am:
Doc's reasoning is so flawed here it makes me want to cry.
He should of at least tried to get a message to Chakotay or Tuvok when he came back. The aliens saw his point-of-sight, but he could scrawl a help message with the hand he wasn't looking at.
Did he really think he was doing his duty by stranding Voyager and assualting the crew? Even with Janeway killed Chakotay could captain Voyager. PLus she ordered him to stop.
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By Anonymous on Wednesday, December 05, 2001 - 5:25 pm:
I can't for the life of me figure out why Doc apologizes for keeping notes on Janeway's questionable command decisions. (Someone certainly should!) He's the one person on the ship who can legitimately relieve her of command. Or do hologram docs not have that power? Seems that judging a captain's decisions should be part of any medical officer's job.
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By Jeffrey M. Hall on Thursday, September 05, 2002 - 1:19 am:
I want to know, if Janeway's been to this sidewalk café -- how come she doesn't how to pronounce the town it is in? SO I guess the holodeck (like the Holo-doc) is programmed not to laugh when the Captain says, "Boi-nes R.A.'s" -- or maybe it's not in Argentina but a town in down here in southwest Missouri -- like "Ver-sales," "Na-vade-a," "Leb-a-nun" and the town across the line in Oklahoma, "My-am-a?" ;)
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By Jeffrey M. Hall on Thursday, September 05, 2002 - 2:11 am:
(cont.) (surprised I didn't see these back when it originally aired - or as Janeway would say "R.A.ed")
Yep. The Holo-doc could write ton's of stuff without looking at it - but as a real doc, NO ONE could read it
'Course it's always bothered me how come Holo-doc has to press buttons on the computer console - he's a part of the computer, but has to press buttons - AND that walking on the wall then ceiling - and going through the transparent aluminum (how do we know it's glass?) seems to say that he doesn't have to obey the laws of physics - he walked through the force fields (because he erected them to be walked though?) in the infirmary - why can't he stick all of him, but his upper left arm through and turn off the force field. BUT he has to obey the laws of physics when he's fighting.
MAYBE Tuvok thinks that all the holo-docs on the holodeck can't hurt him - as long as the doc didn't turn off the safeties.
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By ScottN on Thursday, September 05, 2002 - 9:27 am:
MAYBE Tuvok thinks that all the holo-docs on the holodeck can't hurt him - as long as the doc didn't turn off the safeties.
Doc wouldn't do that. I think his Hippocrtic oath subroutines are still active.
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By LUIGI NOVI on Thursday, September 05, 2002 - 6:45 pm:
The Enterprise-D required two command-level officers to disable that safetiesm, according to Descent partI(TNG). Wouldn't Voyager need at least one? Torres disabled them in Extreme Risk, but Doc's knowledge of engineering and programming is rudimentary at best.
And even if the holodeck can't make anything "dangerous" as Riker said in A Matter of Perspective(TNG), does that refer only to things that are fatal, or does it also include things that can render you unconcscious? Could a hologram deliver the neck pinch to Tuvok even if it had the safeties on?
And if there is any possibility that Doc can disable the safeties, or that a holodeck with safeties on can render him unconscious, then as a security officer, she should've been far more careful.
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By ScottN on Thursday, September 05, 2002 - 9:29 pm:
Picard disabled the safety solo in ST:FC, but then, he *is* the captain!
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By Jesse on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 8:25 am:
Spockania: Isn't Voyager supposed to have two warp cores?
Luigi Novi: Where has this been established?
The Voyager Writers' Guide, written by Mike Okuda and Rick Sternbach and published internally for the writing staff before the show premiered, establishes that Voyager has two warp cores. One of them is in storage and cannot be used until it is physically moved into position. I assume that there's some large alley connecting Engineering with the backup storage compartment.
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By John A. Lang on Saturday, January 08, 2005 - 9:05 pm:
Near the end when Janeway walks into Sickbay, the begins talking to the EMH...strange thing is...the EMH is casting a shadow.
HOW can something made of photonic energy cast a shadow?
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By LUIGI NOVI on Saturday, January 08, 2005 - 11:54 pm:
Why wouldn't it? If it's opaque, then light can't pass through it, which automatically means it would create a shadow. Even a pane of transparent glass will cast a slight shadow at the right angle.
Richie: The helm officer when they received the call from "the captain" isn't he usually in green.
The sciences/medical department color is blue, or perhaps teal.
PaulG: It would also be useful to detect when several person’s communicators are attached to one body.
I'm sure SF vessils have this ability, but it's only effective if somebody checks for it.
KAM: Janeway & the Doctor are returning from a medical conference
I'm not positive but I believe they were on their way to the symposium, not returning.
Merry: If the Doc can do all the cool moves and defeat Tuvok so easily, why didn't he just beat the stuffing out of the bad aliens?
TomM: But remember that when Doc was fighting Zet, his matrix was already starting to react to being seriously overloaded
Thank you Merry, and Tom, there were several opportunites to subdue the Hierarchy Aliens before Doc's program goes screwy.
Miko: Plus the hierarchy aliens already had knowledge of the doctor and how to use him to their advantage.
Some of them do, not necessarily Nar & Zet, plus they were no longer part of the Hierarchy.
Jesse: The Voyager Writers' Guide [...] establishes that Voyager has two warp cores.
Interesting. Is this guide considered canon? I'm pretty sure it wasn't mentioned on screen.
Doc-Janeway tells Chuckles some faux-alien's space extends into the beta quadrant. It's been mentioned before but Voyager should be in the BQ by now! I've noticed it many times but BLT's rank pin was at crooked again. The make-up on the Hierarchy dudes' face seemed really greasy this time. When Doc-Chuckles tell BLT a breach is gonna occur she says "you'd better be right___." I couldn't make out the last word but it sounded like Beltran; somebody with the DVDs care to check this out? After the HAs shoot at Doc in the DF with the warp core they tell him to drop his shields, but it looked like they just knocked them offline. It took a week to get warp back!? Janeway invites Doc to coffee on the holodeck, slaps on his mobile emitter, and they leave sickbay, without transferring his program.
Jwb52z: If what you say is true, how can we expect the level of continuity that we do?
Because it's their job to provide at least some continuity with their characters/plot-devices, or it should be at any rate. All this would require is a database, or a simple notebook, to keep track of events but this seems to have eluded the writing staff. Even ENT had better continuity than this show.
Spornan: Why are they going to medical symposiums!?
LN: Why couldn't Voyager itself go to the symposium?
piper8: As for these jaunts to symposiums and conferences, it is a tired plot device that is used way too often.
Although I was wondering the same thing Luigi, it is the captain and chief medical officer after all, I'm with piper8 on this one. The last couple seasons mentions some conference/symposium far too often just to get people off the ship so they could get into trouble, and with this being the second-to-last episode I felt this was pretty weak. Least of all, if they're strangers to this area and should be warping by how do they keep hearing about these conferences/symposiums?
Luigi: Doc’s use of his ECH subroutines to gain control of the ship was believable.
TUE: How did the doctor obtain the codes for the ECH without the captain's authorization?
The Doc being able to activate his ECH subroutines any time he pleases didn't seem at all believable to me. Even if the captain was incapacitated Chuckles would've been next in line to authorize the ECH, not the Doc himself.
Me: I'm not positive but I believe they were on their way to the symposium, not returning.
They were indeed returning.
Spornan: The ship can survive without a warp core, but not without a Captain? Hardly seems that way.
I had to pause the show because I was laughing so hard at this comment. While I suppose it's arguable that not having a warp core might prevent people from attacking them as often, look how easy it is to take over the ship and kidnap the crew while they do have one! As long as there are people on the ship Voyager will have a captain.
This ep just didn't do it for me. It relied way too much on hackneyed plot devices in order for it to work; requiring the crew to become idiots and technology to work/not work at the right moment. There were probably dozens of other options for the Doc, such as signaling Seven discreetly, and the fact that Janeway wasn't on the Flyer when they returned should've been discovered immediately. Though I'd probably feel the same way if this were aired near the other Hierarchy eps, like it should've been, Homestead would've made a much better choice for the last regular episode IMHO.