Four New Voyager reviews

O. Deus of TrekWeb has posted his review of yesterday's Voyager episode 'Inside Man'. He appeared to have enjoyed the episode at least somewhat, calling it "pleasant and offbeat viewing".

One of the advantages of the Barclay side of the story is also the fact that Barclay is dealing with a conspiracy that might have plausibly gone unnoticed. The method of Barclay's exploitation and how clueless he was about it is very plausible and ties in perfectly with Barclay's backstory and character, while the method of the Voyager side of the conspiracy wouldn't have fooled a child. Basically on the word of a hologram who's really charming, Janeway nearly kills her entire crew without actually verifying the information with Starfleet itself. Janeway, who is usually paranoid and sensing conspiracies where there are none, is never remotely suspicious of the EHB until the EMH's pettiness (in a plot point recycled so often it's practically turned to mulch) raises her suspicisions. Barclay is supposed to be gullible and easily taken advantage of, Janeway isn't.

Still unlike the two previous Barclay episodes, Inside Man actually provides something useful for Troi to do. Where in Pathfinder she was just someone for Barclay to talk to, here she actually takes a leading role in some of the events. The interrogation scenes are priceless with every single actor from Admiral Paris down shining in however much screentime they get. This is the only time IM succesfully combines the dark and light touches that made Pahtfinder so succesful and it alone is worth the price of admission. As in Tinker Tailor, the humor works because it's grounded in reality and in genuine human pain, while on the Voyager side the funniest bit is just the sight gag involving the Doctor's golfing costume.

Please click here for the full review.
• The second 'Inside Man' review today comes courtesy of Bonnie Malmat (T'Bonz) at Section 31. Bonnie also enjoyed the episode, rating it a 'B'.

  The Good: Continuity from other shows. We have seen Paris and Harkins and Barclay before. It's good to see things in the Alpha Quadrant, and that they're still trying to get Voyager home…Mention of the Iconian Gateway….It was good to hear of Troi and Riker being together (although seeing Riker would have been better! J ), I was never one who was a fan of Troi/Worf…. Dabo girl of course makes one think of DS9…. It was good to hear about Barclay at Geordie's birthday party. It keeps TNG and DS9 alive…..Notice how they referred to other failed attempts to get home. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad!….. Also – it was interesting to get Seven's take on when she returns to the Alpha Quadrant, she's not expecting a red carpet to be rolled out for her. Setting up for the homecoming?

  The Funny: B'Elanna and Tom's ribbing of Harry. Poor naïve Harry. He'd never last on Ferenginar, would he? ….. Also – the imitation by Holo-Barclay of Janeway and Tuvok was funny.

  Again, for the full review, please click here.

• Thirdly, Tube Reviewer Jeff Bond recently uploaded his take on last week's episode, 'Critical Care'.

  The Doctor immediately rails against the injustice of this system and begins using his knowledge of how bureaucracies work to parcel out treatment more equally. Meanwhile, Janeway and the Voyager attempt to track down the alien trader who kidnapped the Doctor. Shockingly, this standard "B" story is treated with a degree of style and wit, particularly in a sequence in which Janeway deals with a succession of the trader's former contacts on the bridge viewscreen. As each personality is presented the camera cuts back to Janeway looking more and more bored. The payoff is a scene in which a flummoxed Janeway grabs for Tuvok and declares that the Vulcan is her "mate" in order to put off an alien male inquiring about her availability. It's yet another illustration of how the VOYAGER cast seems more than capable of successfully playing ironic humor (very much in the style of the original series) rather than mining the blustering Neelix for easy laughs. Unfortunately, as we reach the end of the line it's just sad to see how seldom this road was taken.

  If there's a downside to "Critical Care" it's in the easy way it solves its ethical dilemma by channeling all the blame onto an ugly, cold alien administrator played by Larry Drake. The message seems to be less "we have to change our highly complex system" and more "never trust an abrasive, ugly guy to run your highly complex system." Drake is a fine actor but ever since he was brilliantly cast against type as a villain in Sam Raimi's DARKMAN (remember he used to be the painfully vulnerable, mentally challenged Benny on L.A. LAW) he's been stuck in Edward G. Robinson villain roles.

  To be whisked away to the Tube Review site, click here.

• And finally, Julia Houston, About.com's Star Trek Guide, has posted her review of 'Repression', which aired two weeks ago.

  Boy, those weird mystics are everywhere, aren't they? And evidently, they're so messed up that not even the fact that their causes can't even pretend to exist anymore don't stop them from enacting their nefarious crimes.

  I mean, it's not just a matter of the Maquis' having been obliterated back in the Alpha Quadrant, what they were fighting for is no longer an issue. Supposedly, anyway, the Maquis formed as a protest against the unfair Starfleet/Cardassian treaty that handed over some Starfleet colonies to Cardassian space (a somewhat unbelievable premise to begin with, in my opinion, whether Adm. Nechayev were involved or not). Well, that treaty is now somewhat obsolete, to say nothing of having been completely ignored and no longer in service.

  So if there are people, and not just Teero, out in the Alpha Quadrant who want to resurrect the Maquis, their motivation is...what? General cussedness?

  To read Julia's take on the episode, click here.

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  Find more episode info in the Episode Guide.