Another 'Flesh and Blood' review

With only a few hours to go until it premieres, TV Guide's G.J. Donnelly has posted a review of Voyager telemovie 'Flesh and Blood'. Pessimistic, unfortunately, is the word we're probably looking for with this one.

Ah, the holodeck, the wellspring of the lazy Star Trek scribe. This time, the Hirogen, a warrior race clad in scaly rubber suits, are using holograms for target practice. Bored with hunting the same old game, they modify the holograms to make them more "challenging prey." But the hunters make the holograms too challenging, and soon they become the hunted. Since the Hirogen received the hologram technology from Mulgrew's Janeway, Voyager intervenes to suppress the revolt.

However, there's a snag. The Doctor (Robert Picardo), Voyager's resident hologram, sympathizes with the holographic rebels and Iden, a messianic leader with a truly elaborate earring. The episode degenerates into unintentional hilarity when Iden engages the Doctor in a moral debate about the inalienable rights of holograms. This is like a can opener trying to persuade a dishwasher to push its own buttons. Both of them are machines and neither can control their own destiny.

The "Holograms Are People Too" angle was exploited earlier — and better — in Star Trek: Next Generation's "Elementary, Dear Data." Data modified his Sherlock Holmes program to make Moriarty a more formidable foe, thus endangering the Enterprise when Moriarty achieved self-awareness.

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