Tom Salinsky

VOY S07E02 Imperfection (). We’re saying goodbye to some of the Borgettes, but weirdly not all of them. This nevertheless causes Seven to start weeping, even as she’s preparing to start letting out their alcoves on AirBnB. The remaining mini-Borg wants to embark on a career in Starfleet, but Seven’s glitches are getting worse and now she is rejected by her own alcove and so is unable to regenerate. Only a new cortical node will cure her and Janeway elects to go scavenging in a Borg debris field, putting up only a token resistance when Tuvok, Paris and Chakotay insist on coming with her. The treasure hunt for Seven’s replacement watch-spring isn’t really the point of course. It’s Seven’s angry wounded pride at being publicly laid low, and her refusal to let Icheb (or anyone) risk his life to save hers. Once again Jeri Ryan does exceptional work, but Icheb’s strand is a little contrived and more than a little soapy, and Janeway presumably tosses a coin before she decides whether to order people to submit to medical treatment against their wishes or not. Nifty effects work as the node is plucked out of and slotted into Seven’s forehead right on camera. Brannon Braga steps down as showrunner to work on Enterprise and his place his taken by Kenneth Biller.

VOY S07E03 Drive (). In an act of magnificently reckless stupidity, even by his standards, Tom Paris elects to “test” the rebuilt Delta Flyer by entering into an asteroid steeple chase with a passing rando. Hot rodding turns to the rescue of a distressed damsel in the form of Cyia Batten’s perky Irina, and then Paris arguing passionately that the very best use of Voyager’s resources right now would be for him to participate in friendly race with more randos. This kind of “let’s make the best of being stuck out here decades from home,” I frequently find hard to take, and when we combine “oh what larks, we get to play the go-fast game,” with the seventies sitcom plot of “don’t tell my wife I’m off to the races” it all feels relentlessly trivial, and appears to hinge on Paris annoying Torres back into his arms. McNeill is fine, and Dawson does much to ground this gossamer silliness, but I’m not really invested in the outcome of the race or the relationship, which made this one a bit of a slog. Evidently this was intended to follow Imperfection, which makes no issue of the Delta Flyer having been recently rebuilt and in which Paris is already seen wearing his wedding ring.

VOY S07E04 Repression (). I’m glad Torres is there to point out the absurdity of Paris creating a perfect 3D replica of 1950s movie house which showed stereoscopic movies requiring red/green cardboard glasses. But what’s even sillier is that this is the 1990s writers being nostalgic for their parents’ generation. Tom Paris is being nostalgic for a time well over 400 years in the past, rather as if you or I were spending all of our free time in a recreation of the court of King Henry VIII. Once the bodies start dropping, this becomes more creepy and more interesting, with experienced director Winrich Kolbe finding some interesting angles and moody lighting. As if anyone cared, it’s the ex-Maquis crewmembers who are being targeted. Tim Russ is spectacularly good (and even Garrett Wang gets a good scene), but none of these characters have had any real development for years, and the split crew plotline feels grafted on from another show entirely. Wasn’t it just last week that everyone onboard ship was all “Voyager! Starfleet! Ra-ra-ra!” That having been said, the final act drips with atmosphere and Manchurian Candidate style-intrigue, and I’d probably rather have a bad idea well executed than a great idea thrown away.

VOY S07E05 Critical Care (). This week’s Space Arthur Daley is trying to flog Voyager’s EMH to Benny Stulwicz from LA Law. He’s stuck in the middle of some kind of ghastly bureaucratic field hospital and his medical ethics compel him to muck in when wounded start arriving. Since the Doctor’s program can’t be backed up or copied (for… reasons) the Doctor left on board the ship is a useless knock-off – so pathetic that one wonders why the miscreant bothered at all. The notion of a society where the rich have better care is scarcely new, and while it’s always nice to see Star Trek getting political, this is preachy and obvious stuff. But centring the Doctor rarely hurts. As well as Larry Drake, this features familiar faces in the form of 24’s Gregory Itzin, Jim O’Heir from Parks and Recreation and the familiar tones of William Daniels from Knight Rider.

VOY S07E06 Inside Man (). It’s our annual visit from the Alpha Quadrant and this time it’s a hologram of Barclay transmitted to Voyager. He promises to have the ship home in a matter of days and while it would be amazing to think that the series is going to spend the last eighteen or so episodes dealing with Voyager’s crew re-integrating into Federation society, who are we kidding? This is yet another we’ve-found-a-way-whoops-half-a-mo-no-we-haven’t-soz story. Still, that’s no reason to write it off and it’s always a pleasure to see Dwight Schultz, amusingly playing an idealised version of Barclay, exactly what he would have designed for himself. The contrast is made clear when we cut back to Richard McGonagle (and Marina Sirtis) and see the real Reg wondering whether his swaggering avatar made it or not. This makes it fairly clear that the advice given by, let’s call him Alpha-Reg, isn’t entirely on the level but it’s still fun waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Ferengi turn out to be behind it all, but they’re TNG Season 2 Ferengi, not DS9 Season 6 Ferengi. The fake-out at the end is too confusing to be truly successful, and it’s frustrating that Voyager’s crew is left in the dark about “Barclay”’s motives.

VOY S07E07 Body and Soul (). One of my absolute favourite things in movies and TV shows is seeing the regular cast impersonate each other. I just get such a kick out of it, I’m not sure why. We previously had an episode seemingly written just so that Jeri Ryan could show off her versatility (wonderful, loved it). Here, the Doctor has to animate Seven’s body in order to evade anti-photonics forces. This is preposterous stuff, which is even more scientifically illiterate than usual, and with more than a whiff of Red Dwarf (specifically the episode ‘Bodyswap’) but the upshot is completely delightful, and I’m utterly won over. Seven and Captain Ranek raiding the replicator is absolutely hilarious. There’s even a little anti-slavery parable stirred in (as well as a dash of homophobia, sad to say). Also, Tuvok is going through pon-farr and sweats and jitters his way through his shift on the bridge for some reason.