Delta Blues 'Imperfection' Review and Article

Over at Delta Blues, Heather Jarman, guest reviewer and columnist for season seven, has updated the site with both a new article, "Hope is a guy named Biller" and a sppoiler-laden review of Voyager's latest, 'Imperfection'. In the first article, Heather looks at her recent frustrations with Star Trek and how, to some extent, the appointment of Ken Biller and his focus on 'the three C's' (Character, Continuity and Consequences) has helped alleviate them.

"I know there are others out there that felt similarly. Many of you shared your frustrations with me in response to a piece I wrote for the now defunct Starfleet Journal. Over and over again, those e-mails sounded similar themes. We keep tuning in, hoping to find that we'll get anything but All Seven All the Time. What happened to the rest of the crew? Adding insult to injury, many interviews from TPTB talked down to fans as if they were stupid children who didn't know what was good for them. How deeply my enthusiasm had waned became obvious one night in July when, like 250 other parents, I joined my children in their midnight quest to obtain Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Watching packs of children wandering up and down the aisles with palpable enthusiasm was inspiring. I saw none of the hype or commercialism that the media was determined to create. Just hundreds of kids falling in love with fictional characters.

I was jealous. I missed the giddy excitement that brought me to Star Trek. I hauled out old favorite episodes and tried my hand at some fanfic; all I succeeded in doing was depressing myself. Even my Trek mailing lists were loaded with angsty fanfic and petty sniping. Mopey comments appeared on BBS. E-mail traffic ebbed to almost nothing. Not even silly musings on Robbie McNeill's chest hair could rouse the spirit of glum Paris-ites. Talk about a low point :)

Until mid-July when Ken Biller gave his first interview for the season. The first time I read the interview, I almost choked. Then I re-read it to make certain I'd read what I thought I'd read. My eyes widened, I ran to my computer and hastily sent e-mail to several Trek friends. Happy-Happy-Joy-Joy!"

Also, in the absence of Jim Wright, Heather has taken his place with a guest review of 'Imperfection', complete with the blow-by-blow summary Delta Blues is famous for. Heather, who also does Andromeda review for SlipstreamWeb, seemed to enjoy 'Imperfection' and found herself struck particularly by the character work.

"Seven has the Borg equivalent of a terminal illness. I'm assuming that Seven's nanoprobes create some sort of immunity to other garden variety humanoid ailments. We've never seen Seven afflicted with headaches, insomnia, a cold, indigestion, the flu or PMS. It appears from the surface that only a life threatening illness could bring down a former Borg (as in what she faced in "Infinite Regress"). She progresses through the various stages of illness--denial, anger, isolation, and acceptance--and those around her accompany her on that journey.

Janeway is not unlike the parent who goes to any lengths to find a cure for what ails a child. Her devotion to her protégé takes her outside the realm of even her best Starfleet behavior when she threatens to capture and remove a cortical node from a live drone. Her single-minded dedication to a single crewmember harkens back to last year's "Good Shepherd" when the captain went out into the wilderness after the "lost ones." Janeway's actions stemmed from familiar, believable motivations. In the past, the writers conveniently manipulated Janeway's character to accommodate their plot goals. Not this time. From her gutsy impulse to fly into the Borg debris field to her refusal to order Seven to accept Icheb's offer, the writers made certain Janeway's choices had integrity.

The Doctor who has made no secret about his romantic feelings for Seven attends to her not only as a physician, but as her friend, protecting her privacy, hovering devotedly, making jokes when the outlook is the most grim. There's a poignant moment in sickbay when the Doctor offers to bring her food from the mess hall and Seven dryly asks if he's offering her a last meal. Appalled, the Doctor quickly denies that motive. Seven quickly confesses she's making a joke to lighten the mood, a technique she's learned through the Doctor's social lessons. Nothing like gallows humor. The quick interchange exudes tangible warmth; a genuine intimacy exists between them. We sense from watching the pair how easy it is for Seven to choose him to accompany her from her birth as an individual through her death: he can provide both the emotional support and the medical skill to facilitate that passage. Seven subtly acknowledges that fact by joking with him. How marvelous that she feels comfortable enough in his presence to be so plain!"

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