Still More Voyager Reviews

• More reviews today from a number of sources. First up we have a special preview of tomorrow's telemovie, 'Flesh and Blood', by Matt Springer of Cinescape. Matt, apparently, thinks it's one not to miss.

  Maybe so, but there aren't many. Whether any given episode of Star Trek: Voyager offers its viewers a flaccid, unengaging story or taut action laced with science fiction, you can always count on The Doctor to contribute a much-needed dose of warmth, wit and style to the proceedings. So it should come as no surprise that the prospect of a Doctor-centric Voyager episode immediately holds more promise than, say, a Tom Paris/B'Elanna Torres romantic-getaway-that-turns-into-a- wild-adventure episode.

  "Flesh and Blood," this Wednesday's two-hour episode of Voyager, is a Doctor-centric story. It's a strong piece of work, tossing together everything die-hards should love about great Trek: a compelling plot built around a tricky philosophical issue; tight action sequences that flow organically from that plot, and not vice-versa; and at the heart of it all, a terrific performance by Picardo as a conflicted Doctor suddenly thrust into the middle of a corker of a conflict.

  To read the full preview, please click here.

• Secondly, thanks to Matthew Klaehn of Media Trek, the week's issue of 'Entertainment Weekly' contains a brief and surprisingly positive review of the telemovie, rating it a B+.

  STAR TREK: VOYAGER (UPN, TV-PG)

  Renegade holograms take up arms against their Hirogen masters, their leaders a would-be messiah aiming to lead his people out of bondage and found a new homeland. But when his ruthless crusade turns the oppressed into the oppressors, he becomes more Hitler than Moses, and it's up to the Doctor (Robert Picardo) to stop the madness. Need some more allegories? The Native American, and Irish Republican experiences will also do. Or hey, how's this for a holographic catchphrase: 'We're here, we're clear, get used to it'?

• Review number three is actually of an aired episode, with AntonyF of Fandom.com posting a scathing review of 'Nightingale'.

  This episode scraped so much on the bottom of the boredom barrel that even UPN had to fake their trailer. This one was pretty dire. The trailer ends with the Voyager looking really battered, and with the announcement that the captain was dead. However, the shot of Voyager was from another episode, obviously used in this episode along with that soundbite to make us think that Voyager was in jeopardy. But oh no, Voyager just sat parked on a planet for most of the episode. No battles, no beaten-up Voyager like the trailer showed.

  For the full review, click here.

• Or, alternatively, you can look at another Fandom.com review, this time by Michelle Erica Green who was somewhat less forgiving.

  Give Garrett Wang a halfway decent script, and he never fails to come through. "Nightingale" is a somewhat-less-than-halfway-decent script, a drawn-out A-plot with an unsatisfying comic B-plot, yet Wang makes Kim's situation compelling despite the predictability of every plot twist. Poor Harry has been an ensign for seven years. As he points out, he'd likely be a lieutenant or even a lieutenant commander back home. He accepts that he can't have the same opportunities in the Delta Quadrant, but it's easy to understand why he'd complain that even in fantasy Tom always gets to be Captain Proton while he's stuck being the sidekick. Kim's not bitter, but he wants to grow, and Wang does a lovely job capturing both the frustration and the unease of his position. He also sounds like a captain when he needs to.

  Again, for the full review, click here.

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