Now Voyager The Official Newsletter of the Kate Mulgrew Appreciation Society Volume IV Number 1 Editorial Buzz I did an impulsive thing this August. I got a job. I saw a classified ad in The Washington Post looking for someone with a journalism background, basic knowledge of html, and "expertise in science fiction." When I got done giggling at the thought that the latter could even exist, I applied. I still don't know what "expertise in science fiction" is, but they must think I have it, because they hired me (you can check http://www.mania.com if you want further evidence of their insanity, or mine). Suddenly, after ten years out of full-time journalism, I'm an entertainment reporter. Mostly I am having a screamingly good time, even though I have somehow convinced a large number of readers that I actually like Babylon Five better than Trek. It must be one of the signs of the apocalypse. Obviously, this has necessitated some changes in my life. For instance, I actually have to be in an office at least one day a week--despite the sacrifice of not seeing Adam get peanut butter in his hair for the umpteenth time, or having someone else insisting that my kids clean up their toys rather than hiding them in the bathtub, this is...well, really fantastic. Even more difficult to deal with is that now, when I'm at some sort of science fiction gathering, and someone introduces me to Richard Hatch, and I am tempted to fall into complete Fan Girl mode and scream, "CAPTAIN APOLLO! I LOVE YOU!", I suddenly remember that I am supposed to act professional. (I did wear my Voyager uniform to the office on Halloween, so I think they are suspicious, but I have only slobbered over Kate in two reviews so far. And they sort of expected that anyway--I put Now Voyager on my resume.) Voyager's back at 8 p.m., Janeway got a haircut, Mulder's not dead. We've got some changes going on at Now Voyager, too. For starters, my beloved Vice President, Joan Testin, put this newsletter together and got it printed and mailed, along with help from the Philadelphia Contingent--to whom I owe big hugs for a variety of reasons, like getting our t-shirts made and distributed. Joan did this partly because I simply didn't have time, and partly because the printer I've been using for the past two and a half years nearly doubled their prices, so Joan offered to research and haggle over prices on behalf of the club. In the course of these events, we made a decision which we've been heading slowly toward for awhile now. I don't expect this to be a popular decision, but I hope people will understand why it's necessary. We realized that as this club has grown, it has become increasingly difficult for us to keep up the pace we established when we started in terms of our financies and our energies. We had discussed dropping to five issues next year, since the post-hiatus issue always tends to be a little thin on content anyway since there are no new Voyager episodes to discuss. We're running out of old Kate movies to review, we're being careful about not running screen captures to avoid copyright infringement. And we go nuts trying to get the newsletter printed, collated, and mailed every other month. So we're becoming a quarterly. Instead of putting out six 36-page issues, we're going to put out four longer issues next year. We're going to print five issues in the current volume, since this is the first--we'll bring out new ones next January, April, July, and October. Everyone who gets this issue as part of a past subscription will receive six issues under your current subscription; anyone who joined as of November 1 will receive five, this issue and the four next year. Anyone who joins henceforth will receive the four issues next year. It's the only way we can run this club affordably and manageably. We're working on additional member benefits--like buttons, that blasted membership directory which will be mailed out with the next issue, photos when we can get them. This is still a pretty good deal. We're considerably cheaper than the clubs which publish more often than that. I think that in the long run, the newsletter's going to be higher quality and more interesting if we do it this way. Michelle Reviewzzzzzzzz SCORPION, PART II This is not the "Scorpion" I would have written. Rube Goldberg, on the other hand, might have. The script couldn't have been more convoluted had it been written by the guys who handled my first home purchase. This episode drew me in emotionally. Unfortunately, those emotions were mostly negative. I found myself getting angry with characters I like, particularly Chakotay, and that made me mad. We know that several things have to happen in this episode. First, Voyager has to remain in one piece, and unassimilated. Second, a new character needs to be brought on-board. Third, the incredibly expensive Species 8472 needs to be dealt with ASAP. And fourth, something needs to happen to justify the title, meaning the True Nature of the Borg needs to reassert itself - and Voyager needs to be ready for it. Simple enough. (Heh.) Okay, now let's look at the episode, a piece at a time. Janeway strikes a deal with the Borg. No problem, I was expecting that. Nobody haggles like Captain Kate. She manages to maintain the alliance and her individuality by sheer force of will; she believes Voyager has the upper hand in the arrangement - and by the Borg responses, she's apparently right. She's got all the cards for dealing with Species 8472 -modified nanoprobes, ideas for delivery systems - and the Doc for insurance in case the Borg get any ideas. What she doesn't have is a contingency plan in case the Borg revert to type and start plunging tubules into necks. When Janeway's plan goes so well that the Borg sacrifice a cube to preserve Voyager, it's clear the die is cast. However, we still have only half the puzzle. So, naturally, Janeway falls into a convenient 24-hour coma, giving command to the guy who has more reason than anyone else on board to distrust the Borg. Under Chakotay's leadership the alliance goes south, all those extra Borg onboard Voyager get vented into space (a very cool effect, I must say), and Voyager gets sucked into the home "space" of Species 8472, where we learn that the war is the Borg's fault - something Janeway would never have learned about on her own. And the events worked out as they did only because the script said they did. At this point, logic was right out the window, and we were firmly in Commander McBragg territory. So - just when Captain Chakotay had taken the plot as far as HE can, with himself and the Borg at an impasse ... the captain's coma lifts, and she's conscious and dressed and chewing duranium in sickbay. The only way to get out of their current two-front predicament is to finish the argument they had in Part One, and to address the issue of both enemies. Janeway and Chakotay were each part right, part wrong. Each properly identified an enemy that could not be ignored - and each improperly ignored the other enemy, at their peril. They somehow manage to recognize the simple truth that together, they have a decent plan for surviving this battle of the Titans ... but that neither of them alone has all the answers. My problem with Scorpion 2 is that they should have realized this back in Scorpion 1. No deal should have been floated to the Borg without contingency plans already in place. But had they done so, the premiere wouldn't have needed to be NEARLY as convoluted - and we couldn't have that, now, could we? Once the pieces are in place, everything runs predictably. The new malevolent species is taken out with minimal delay. All the invasion of Kes' mind turns out to be a red herring; what could have been an interesting takeover of her mind turns simply into the opening of a comm channel. Species 8472 might have planet-killing weaponry, but their strategy relies completely on their invincibility - and once that's removed, they're easy pickings. Voyager leaves fluid space, into an area of the Delta quadrant devoid of cubes but swarming with bioships, and one big weapon takes them all out. Visually impressive, but dramatically it fell flat. The subsequent neutralization of the Borg threat is also anticlimactic. What bothered me most is that characters I like, I didn't like so much this week. I yelled "what are you doing?" or "what were you thinking?" at the screen far too often. I don't ask much from Trek; the characters need not always be in control of the situation, but I do ask that they be in control of their wits so they eventually CAN control the events - and I questioned that here repeatedly. I didn't enjoy this episode, and that's a bad reaction for a premiere to invoke. The performances were fine - Russ and Picardo in particular filled their roles nicely, and Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine far exceeded the confines of her blackout-inducing outfit. And Mulgrew and Beltran did a fine job of portraying their characters, giving each the urgency and strength of conviction in their respective opinions. But what bugged me most, aside from the tortuous plot, was the characterizations of the captain and first officer themselves. At arguably the most dangerous point in their journey to date, the two top officers were so split and so single-minded in pursuing their agenda and ignoring each other's arguments that the ship itself was imperiled. Both characters lost something in the "Scorpion" saga - a measure of my respect. I know they wanted to introduce some professional tension between Janeway and Chakotay - but they did so at the expense of their professional credibility, and that is something I think is a real shame. A lot had to happen in the second half of Scorpion, and all of it did. But though it was visually stunning, and well acted, I did not enjoy the trip - the pod people inhabiting the bodies of Janeway and Chakotay took the ugly route. -Jim Wright I'm happy to say that this cliffhanger was well worth the wait. Last year's Basics II was slightly underwhelming, but this year's season opener is just the opposite. Happily, Scorpion II has something for everyone: slam-bang action, a believable plot, character development, command staff conflict, and gratuitous T&A for those who care about such things. Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), the new Borg character, has breast cones that would put Madonna to shame. Her rubber suit looks like they poured it on her and the only way out is to cut through it with a blowtorch. Still, I can't help but love this character with her arrogant, contemptuous attitude towards Humans. Her words about Borg perfection fit hand in glove with Alice Krige's spooky Borg Queen in First Contact, a movie scripted by none other than Brannon Braga, who joined with Joe Menosky for this outing. Ryan did some major scenery chewing in every shot, and the regular cast is going to be hard put to upstage her. I am excited about this new character because she has the potential to add much needed dramatic tension to Voyager. The writing staff missed the boat on the Starfleet/Maquis pairing during Season One, so they have a golden opportunity with Seven of Nine. People on the crew are bound to have major problems with her presence, starting with Commander Chakotay. If she becomes another one of Janeway's pet projects, that could throw even more fat onto the flames. Imagine if Janeway is put in a position where she has to defend Seven of Nine against the wrath of her crew! That would be totally cool, and I hope they go with something like that. For starters, where are they supposed to put this woman? Will she be added to the rapidly thinning ranks of the Engineering staff? Her attitude is sure to set B'Elanna's teeth on edge, and if Torres complains to Chakotay, who probably doesn't want Seven of Nine on Voyager, then things are bound to get sticky. From her "We are Borg" to her attempts at challenging Janeway, this is someone to reckon with. If only they'd refrain from using the catsuits and the Elton John heels, I could totally endorse and enjoy this latest addition to the Voyager cast. If you watched the opening credits, then you probably noticed that Jennifer Lien's name has been excised. Everyone in fandom already knows that Jen Lien is history, but during the previews for next week's episode, they're throwing out these bones about who is leaving the cast. It all seems kind of pointless and dumb, and to be honest, Jen didn't add much to Scorpion II. She was the conduit for Species 8472's telepathic transmissions, but that's about it. Since they decided to transform her into Farrah Fawcett with a Counselor Troi uniform, she's been about as fascinating as the dust bunnies under my bed. Kes's character had a few interesting moments, but they were few and far between. Personally, I think she was one of the best actors in the troupe and her talents were criminally wasted. I wish her the best of luck in her career. Major kudos go out to Foundation Imaging for the totally amazing FX. From start to finish, this was a modeller's wet dream. Even I was salivating when I saw all those Borg bodies sliding out into space, complete with decompressed air. We weren't allowed to care about Voyager's extra baggage, so I shed nary a tear when Chakotay pulled the plug on them. This is the first time I've ever seen a spinning Borg cube throw off shimmering balls of green, and the short burst of intense battle was one of the coolest shots in the entire episode. At a recent con, Mojo from Foundation told us he had to fight to get those shots put back in, so I'm happy he out's there fighting the good fight. Way to go, Mojo! As for Chakotay's ruthlessness and tough stance, I say, "It's about bloody time." I was starting to wonder when my favorite Indian would show some cajones! As a former Maquis commander, we assume he's killed Cardassians in large numbers and probably had to make some tough calls. Chakotay was thrust between a rock and a hard place, and he did what he thought was right under the circumstances. Personally, I agreed with him and disagreed with Kathryn. Going back 40 light years would have been madness, and for someone who claims that getting her crew home is her highest priority, she sure was taking a lot of risks with their lives. In Scorpion I, Chakotay made a very telling statement about Janeway; he said that she gets so close to things that it blinds her. That was certainly the case with her insistence on maintaining this alliance against all odds. What should have been an intensely personal scene between J/C in Sickbay left me feeling empty. Kate Mulgrew was tremendous here, as she was throughout this episode, but I sensed no emotional connection with Chakotay. We know there's chemistry between Beltran and Mulgrew, because we've seen it so often. So what happened here? Rick Kolbe directed this adventure, and I hold him partly responsible for this lapse. Beltran has varied from wildly emotional in Coda to cigar-store-Indian impassive in Scorpion II. How are we supposed to gain insight into his character when the writers and directors can't seem to figure him out? Even at the end, he maintained a professional distance from Janeway when he explained that going against her orders was the hardest thing he's ever had to do. If the man showed even the slighest bit of remorse, this scene would have had a lot more punch. I'm grateful that it wasn't back to moonlight and roses and sailing on Lake George after the altercation they just had. That would have been totally inappropriate, and would have upheld beliefs that aTrek script always comes complete with a reset button. Despite my nits about the aforementioned scenes , there were other areas that partially redeemed it. In the opening scenes, we see that Chakotay is tense and upset. He's been forced into this situation and is at the end of his rope. The lines of his jaw are taut, and after listening to Torres's excuses, he barks at her uncharacteristically and calls her Lieutenant. Other than that time in "Parallax" where she received her field promotion, I don't think he's ever used her title or raised his voice at her. He was true to his convictions, and he risked Janeway's wrath to follow the path he felt was right. That takes guts, and I'm glad to see this change in his character. I hope the command staff butts heads on a regular basis from now on! Generally speaking, Trek holds few surprises for me.The plots are predictable and plod along in their usual way. But I have to give credit where credit's due: Braga and Menosky really pulled it off with this script. When Janeway and Chakotay agreed to stop fighting, I should have been alerted that something was up. Janeway rejoined the ongoing chess match with Seven of Nine, and this time, it was the Borg woman who became the pawn. When Janeway resumes command and glances sideways, it was clear she had regained the upper hand. Then, the writers threw out their curve ball: Chakotay and his neural transceiver. It was an interesting plot twist, but it left me scratching my head. Where in the heck did they get this transceiver? Earlier on, Chakotay alludes to a transceiver that was embedded in his spine, but as far as I remember, this was never brought up in "Unity." I assume they used it to manipulate him after they cut him loose, and the Doctor probably cut it out of him at the end, but you'd think they would have mentioned it to the audience. Oh well, guess I have to write it off as yet another Trek inconsistency (YATI). I only have a few other issues with this episode. I've lost count of the number of shuttles destroyed over the past three seasons, but Seven of Nine was offered one, and next week, Kes will also be sent away on one. Voyager is a small ship and they should have run out of shuttles by now. Sloppy writing fellows, unless you're attempting to mess with our minds. Species 8472 turned out to be another one of those alien races that starts out with a lot of potential and ends up like a pile of soggy bread ends on a wet lawn. We're given this information about how malevolent this race is, but except for one brief glimpse, we only see them through the eyes of someone else. I suppose they figured it wasn't worth spending the money to create elaborate models, but it was still disappointing. And what's with the nanoprobe weapons? On the first pass, it takes several seconds before the bioships are destroyed, but when they launch the big bomb, the effect is immediate. Wouldn't it take time for the nanoprobes to infiltrate the bioships, or is this one of those deals where we have a bigger lethal weapon, so it kills them immediately? All in all, Scorpion II was a very enjoyable hour of entertainment. It's easily one of Voyager's finest hours, and I hope it's a continuing trend. Brava! - Elizabeth Klisiewicz Over the last year, or so, I've discovered just how difficult it can be to put a really great idea on paper. It can be everything from exciting to tiring, haphazard to harmonious, excruciating to entirely joyful. As I have progressed, it has become easier for me to understand why written artistic work can sometimes seem like a chore, even when it's one of the most interesting jobs in the universe. Taking the written word and turning it into a tangible, emotional image takes courage, determination, talent, and dedication. Writing for film is putting your life on paper, while distancing yourself just enough to be able to surrender your work to the scrutinous public eye. One evening, when I was having particular difficulties with certain sections of my work, my writing mentor said: "Every word is like a drop of blood." It took me some time to realize this, but once I finally did, I began to understand why it is so easy to criticize those who create what we see and hear around us every day. I also began to realize the difficulty that producers and directors can have when casting people for roles in important productions. They want to be able to see themselves and their ideas and dreams portrayed through the eyes of those who are trained to bring the written word to life. Casting a character can be viewed as hiring someone to be an image, a particular aspect, of the creator on stage or screen. As the summer passed, and I thought about my work and the new season, I tried to justify decisions that were being made about Voyager with answers that I thought were reasonable. Then, the season began. And, with that, a whole new set of questions arose. I found myself with two basic conflicts: 1) The events which began to play themselves out happened too little, too late, and 2) I was disturbed by the "need" for a male version of Beauty to parade across the foreground of my television screen in order to boost Voyager's ratings. Janeway and Chakotay's conflict in "Scorpion" just plain came too darn late to be believable. Maybe a season earlier - even right after "Resolutions" - it would have made sense. Then, their relationship was still early enough to believe that they could argue that much over something of that level, but I just felt that the producers waited too late to have that disagreement. It still feels, no matter how much I know their characters needed some kind of tension, that this effort just didn't really fit. By now, their conflicts should be beyond disobeying orders and getting thrown into the brig. Maybe this is why the producers are testing the Paris/Torres long-term relationship idea. They know that people see where J and C are, but they don't want to move too much further until they guage a reaction from the audience about another admitted romance. But this is late, too. Or, in this case, early. It was obvious that Torres and Paris would declare their "love" for each other when their lives were in grave danger. Dire circumstances can do that to people. But what about when their lives aren't "in danger"? Their flirting was almost gross last season because it was too plain for all of us to see. It's wonderful that the producers wish to branch out into new relationship territory, but what will happen on T's & P's good days? Do the writers have the courage to write tension into a "lasting" relationship? I don't know. They didn't do it soon enough with Janeway and Chakotay. It will be a while before the seriousness of Torres' and Paris' relationship actually becomes a comfortable idea. Speaking of Janeway and Chakotay, Chakotay has some serious owning up to do. Of course, so does Janeway. He, for not really apologizing after letting himself get so caught up in another former Borg. She, for seeming to ignore Chakotay's feelings (post-"Resolutions") and not confront her own and the fact that her past is still too big of a personal can of worms after three whole seasons. I recently read an article where Kate said that she likes the unspoken romance their two characters share, and that's all well and good, but where is the conversation? Why don't these two characters at least attempt to open up to each other? Just when I think that they might finally at least share some kind of insightful revelation and start to heal some old wounds, they keep right on dancing around the obvious. Quite frankly, it's annoying. And, hey. I know that Kate was trying to reach out to viewers my age in that article. I'm nearly twenty. But this is really testing me. Her own comments are discouraging. So, there's no bedroom scene. Big deal! If the conversations were written with enough feeling ("If it's not two feelings, then it's not a true feeling."), passion, and intelligence, it is entirely possible that no one would even have to question "bedroom scenes." Enough with bedrooms, already! I want passionate conflict that makes sense!! On the second note, Jeri Ryan is actually an intelligent actor who positions herself well and executes her role with certain, excuse the phrase, "efficiency." However, the only thing that I, and many others, could only think about was: "I know why she was really hired." T & A always leads to controversy. Of course, I tried to find better reasons for the decision: Jennifer Lien's character had (not) been exhausted. The writers were looking for new ideas, and, when they found them, they wanted to hire the best possible person to portray them to the viewing public. Etcetera. Instead, however, I found that I needed to justify my criticism of Jeri more than to attempt to understand the producers decisions for hiring her. It's not every day that a woman who resembles the model for the original "Barbie" doll doesn't get fed lines that would give women a real reason to cringe. The fact is that by criticizing Jeri, I allowed myself to be caught up in a battle that ultimately limited my view of how we, as women, should be allowed to view ourselves. "Beauty," just like many other factors, is a relative term. Usually, I try to describe beauty in terms of who people really are, not who they appear to be. Unfortunately, I allowed myself to be distracted by what everyone else was talking about and forgot that I should be judging this woman's work, not how many hours it actually took her to get into that catsuit. Generally, I have found this to be a very trying and interesting start to the new season. Yes, I criticized Kate (constructively, I hope). Yes, I criticized the writers and producers (again, constructively), but I also critized myself. When a viewer who is also a creator in her own right can honestly ask herself about her own role in life, and how to make it better, then maybe everyone is finally back to doing their jobs. - Cyclonewoman Scorpion II: 'In which Chakotay saves the ship and later apologizes for it." Chakotay's initial distrust of the Borg as expressed in Scorpion I is justified again and again in Scorpion II. Chakotay KNOWS the mind of the Borg. He's been there. Done that. Once burned, twice shy. Won't get fooled again. In all fairness to Captain Kathryn Janeway I will admit that hindsight is 20/20. I believe that Captain Janeway made the only decision she could have made. Her priority is to get this crew back to the Alpha Quadrant. The Borg alliance looked like her best bet. I don't fault her decision. But she really should have listened to her First. It would have saved them both a lot of grief. Chakotay's decision not to turn around and rendezvous with the Borg cube was probably the best and most difficult decision we've seen him make. Janeway's response to his decision is disturbing. The woman moved to tears in Scorpion I because she feels alone responds to his tactical decision with a personal attack: "You never trusted me... You were just waiting for an opportunity to circumvent my orders." Talk about a lack of trust! What exactly were his options? As Chakotay notes, Voyager was a prime target for 8472. Turning around to rendezvous with the Borg cube had two possible outcomes; Voyager faces 8472 alone in route, or Voyager faces 8472 with the Borg. If Voyager faces 8472 alone and is somehow victorious, they are still deep in Borg space with a cargo bay full of Borg ready to assimilate them. If Voyager faces 8472 with the Borg cube and is somehow victorious then they are snuggled up with a Borg cube that's ready to assimilate them. These are not good options. Janeway is self-reliant. This is a good thing. Voyager needs a strong, determined, willful, self-reliant Captain is she is to survive. But, as is often the case, Janeway's greatest strengths are the source of her greatest weakness. Fortunately, Janeway is a strong enough person, and a smart enough captain, to recognize this. The change can be seen in sick bay, when Chakotay tells her of the Borg deception about how the war with 8472 really started. She realizes that his suspicions were right on target. She recognizes almost immediately that division in the command team was a mistake and that she cannot stand alone, but must stand with Chakotay. She makes her call. They stand and fight 8472 It was a good call. It was the right call. It was an example of Janeway at her resolute, determined best. Tucking tail and running through the nearest singularity would have been disastrous. But she finally listens to Chakotay and it is thanks to Chakotay's persistence that Voyager has a contingency plan to deal with the attempted assimilation. An outcome he knew was inevitable. I hope that Chakotay, like me, realizes that Janeway is a 'package deal'. Her strong will has saved the ship more than once. The Maquis/Starfleet alliance was forged of this will and it is by her will that Voyager will find a way home. But that sort of strength comes at a price, and the price is often paid in personal relationships. I think Chakotay is confident enough enough to accept her as she is. We see in Scorpion that when it comes down to it they can each stand their ground, and with mutual respect admit their need for each other. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. - Helen Anthony "SCORPION"/"THE GIFT" In my opinion, these episodes belong together, but maybe that's because I watched them in a row - thanks to a friend in the States, who sent me a tape!!! I watched "Scorpion", Part I for the first time during my summer vacation in the States and I really liked it. The interactions between Janeway and Chakotay were marvellous, in prosperity and in adversity. The Borg appeared to have recovered quite well from the damage done by Picard et al., when a sense of individuality was spread through their collective by the young Borg they rescued and named Hugh. Nevertheless, species 8472, which they easily could have borrowed from Universal Studio's "Jurassic Park", seemed to pose a serious threat to them. Their resistance definitely wasn't futile... I was wondering, am I the only one who found it a little unsettling, that Janeway came up with the idea to seal a pact with "the devil", after Da Vinci's suggestion to pray?! Anyhow, I completely agreed with Chakotay here, I thought this alliance with the Borg was a very bad idea from the start. And this time he didn't give in to her - so he does have a spine after all. The past few months, I heard a lot of complaints about Janeway's attitude towards Chakotay, when he told her he thought she was making a fatal mistake, varying from "whining" to "blackmail". For me, it was just the final proof that she's fallen in love with her first officer, after the wonderful scene interupted by - of course - Tuvok: "Three years ago I didn't even know your name and now I couldn't imagine a day without you" However, it seemed to me that Janeway gets a bit too used to getting her way all the time. In the Delta quadrant, there are no admirals to tell her no. She always has the last word - and I think that's an unhealthy situation, for her herself as well as for Voyager. In "Alliances", she said to Chakotay, that she couldn't run the ship by consensus. Even then, I thought "Why not?!" They're out there on their own and after about a year, one can hardly call their journey a Starfleet mission anymore. Now, I'm almost sure it's time for a little change in the command structure. When Janeway hailed Voyager from the Borg cubicle, none of the senior officers on the bridge - exept for Harry, who was laying in sickbay with tauge all over his face and chest - seemed very pleased with her idea. Even Tuvok hesitated to carry out her order to beam over to the Borg cubicle, and only did so when Chakotay told him that he'd "heard the Captain". I couldn't help wondering what would have happened, if Chakotay had relieved her of command in this matter. I think Tuvok would have supported him, as well as most of the other senior officers. For what it's worth, her crazy plan worked. Even though Chakotay almost succeeded in sabotaging it by blowing the Borg, working on Voyager with Janeway's consent, out of an airlock - except for one, or, to be more precise, Seven. Whatever happened to respect for life?! And whatever happened to "You're the Captain - I'll carry out your orders"?! She wasn't dead yet!!! In my opinion, he should either have relieved her of command much earlier, or have cooperated with the Borg right then. Or he could at least have asked the other senior officers for their opinions - but, apparently, that's neither the Starfleet, nor the Maquis way. Naturally, Chakotay was right about the scorpion-like nature of the Borg: Seven of Nine tried to assimilate them right after they'd defeated species 8472. However, Chakotay, who wasn't in the brig, to my relief, but in sickbay, could prevent that by linking to her long enough for B'Elanna to blow up the conduits and disable Seven of Nine. Maybe I'm just a nitpicker, but, among billions of Borg voices, would his voice really stand out in the crowd?! (Of course, he has an incredibly sexy voice, but still!) Personally, I really enjoyed the J/C scenes in "Scorpion", part II. My favorite was the one in sickbay, where Chakotay hovers over an unconcious Janeway and tells her that she's more than just his senior officer. Maybe it was just in my mind, but after "You're my friend," I heard a clear "And I love you." She must have heard it as well, because she wasn't nearly as mad at him as I'd expected her to be, for disobeying her orders. And she also didn't succeed very well in giving him "The Look", when she asked him why. In the final scene, Janeway and Chakotay agree that they have to face the future together. How romantic that may seem, I think they shouldn't forget about the other hundred and forty something crewmembers (plus one Borg) on Voyager - I think it's time their voices are heard as well when it comes to critical decisions. In "The Gift" Janeway keeps making critical decisions for other people: Seven of Nine will become human. Granted, she did have a point that Seven of Nine was assimilated at such a young age that she didn't know better than to be Borg, so she couldn't really make the decision herself. On the other hand, if they'd left her on the nearest planet, the Borg certainly would have come for her - instead of after Voyager ... When Seven of Nine told Janeway in the brig that she was "no different than the Borg", I couldn't help thinking that she was basically right. Janeway seems to start acting somewhat tyrannically at times, like when she told Seven of Nine "You must comply", in combination with "The Look", in sickbay. Marvellous acting by Kate, by the way. We really get to see all the aspects of Janeway's character: the captain, the woman, the mother. In the goodbye scene with Kes we see Janeway cry for the first time - we saw her on the edge of tears some times before, but this time it's for real. (Because in "Coda" it all happened in her mind.) And this time Kes is the one to comfort her instead of the other way around. I really hope we'll learn more about what happened to Kes. The whole thing reminded me of the episode with the Caretaker's mate Suspiria ("Cold Fire"). She lived in subspace as well, and she could transform into several shapes, varying from humanoid to a liquid sort of form - not that I'd like to see Kes return as a liquid! Of course she gave the Voyager crew a wonderful goodbye gift, by sending them ten years closer to home, out of Borg space. And, still on Voyager, she also saved Seven of Nine's life. In the final scene we see a rather pleased Seven of Nine. (Or should I say Annika, now most of the Borg implants are removed?!) From what I've seen so far, I think she'll be a valuable addition to the Voyager crew. I'm really looking forward to getting to know her better! - AA THE GIFT After hearing all of the actors at conventions stating that this was the best episode that they have ever done, it was very hard to watch this episode without expectations. It was good to realize that the actors were right. My only regret is that I would have liked to see the effects of Kes' telepathy and telekinesis spread out over the season instead of over an hour. I loved this episode! I was prepared to have to swallow some bonehead method of adding Seven of Nine. However, the story logically brought her into the fold and set up wonderful interpersonal dynamics that I hope are explored. The farewell scene between Janeway and Kes was outstanding! Mulgrew and Lien had the screen crackling with intensity. Mulgrew's face and voice were perfect illustrations of her character's grief at losing her "daughter". I wish that Kes could have had a final opportunity to speak with Paris (his face during the bridge scene showed that he wished the same) and the Doctor (at least she did get some time with him earlier that day). I also thought it was cute that Tuvok was going to instruct her on how to control her abilities. Sorta like a caterpillar teaching a butterfly, Mr. "there is nothing beyond the subatomic"! For awhile, I was upset at Janeway playing God, and disregarding Seven's rights to determine her own existance. But this may open up the character as one who is willing to make the hard decisions. We will have to wait and see. Nevertheless, I think that I am going to like this Janeway. She seems to have a purpose beyond ambling home. I was completely tickled at Seven of Nine's instruction to go to Engineering to help B'Elanna. I cannot wait to see more sparks. Talk about a cook not wanting help in the kitchen! I also enjoyed the scenes between 7 and Harry. He seems to have taken on the admirable job of making friends with people who are armored. He did the same with B'Elanna and Tom, so I can't wait to see him with Seven. Anson Williams did an excellent job with this episode. He touched on so many things; little details that are, in the end, so very important. I hope the following episodes of ST:VOY do not wast his work. - Rhonda E. Green Wow. Kes is gone, Seven of Nine is converting to a human lifestyle, and the Janeway we saw in season one is back. That's quite a bit to put into one episode, but I didn't feel rushed at all. I like that. Now that we've seen Kes do some extraordinary things with her telepathy, I wish that the exploration of her abilities could've been spread out over a couple episodes prior to this one, perhaps of species 8472. I never was clearly defined as to why Kes' telepathy was developing at such a fast rate; Tuvok's suggestion of an 8472 influence was only a theory that the Doctor didn't confirm. Well, no matter what the cause, I'm glad that the door has been left open for Kes to return. I'd like to know what she's doing with her newfound powers and exactly where and what she is. Did she evolve into a being like the Caretaker and Susperia? Or better yet, a Q? Now that would be interesting. One of the things I didn't particularly like about Kes' departure was that she didn't say goodbye to many people. Captain Janeway had a final conversation with her, and Tuvok had a chance to see her for a final time (although they didn't exchange any last words), but Kes should have definitely talked to the Doctor one last time. And what about Tom? He deserved a special good-bye. Next week's episode will hopefully show some grievance among the crew instead of the Trek reset button being pressed. The scene between Neelix and Kes was too much too late. They shared more of a bond in this scene alone than in the entire time they were considered a couple! It's great to see that they were still talking together as good friends, but it doesn't make up for the little explanation for them breaking up. Sorry, I don't buy it. Tuvok certainly shined in this episode. It looks as though the writers are aiming for a Spock/McCoy relationship between him and the Doctor. With Kes, I considered it brave of him to work with her on her telepathic abilities, considering what happened in "Cold Fire." His closing scene which ended the show left me feeling as though Tuvok will miss Kes the most, Vulcan or not. Seven of Nine is the next member of Janeway's "conform to Starfleet" project, as Paris was. She made a great deal of progress in just this episode alone; In the beginning, Seven of Nine, was a full-fledged Borg while in the end, she was beginning to accept her life among humans. Right now, Seven of Nine has much more potential beyond that skin-tight suit. I hope it's not wasted. Overall, I enjoyed "The Gift." Seven of Nine's transition is off to a good start, Kes' departure was both interesting as well as emotional, and we saw some continuity! Not too bad; I'm enjoying season four thus far. - Charlynn Kate Smith The Gift was an episode about transformation: Seven of Nine's transition into the Human 'family' and Kes's ascendence into a higher life form. Joe Menosky, the sole credited writer, has a firm grasp on these characters and presented us with some compelling drama, but his journey was not without some bumps. First, he needs to straighten out Seven's diction. The poor ex-drone wavers between 'I' and the Borgesian 'we' in all her scenes, and it's downright confusing. While this appears to be sloppy writing, it may also be deliberate. It may reflect Seven's inner turmoil about her situation: one minute she reverts to the Borg, the next she sounds downright Human. Kes's sendoff was rather underwhelming. It's not often that a major character departs from a show, so you'd think they would have spent more time with this. Kes spent way too much time in Tuvok's company and their meditation scenes were far too reminscent of "Cold Fire". Two of her closest friends were Tom Paris and Holodoc, and she never got a chance to say farewell. If you remember "Investigations", then you'll recall the nicely written scenes where Paris said good-bye to his friends. Instead, everything happened in a rush. Kes's physical degradation intensifies and she throws the ship into immediate danger. So, they pull a shuttle from their seemingly infinite supply and ship her off on it, where she explodes and sends them beyond the fringes of Borg space. Tell me, how does Janeway know they are out of Borg territory? As far as I know, no one has charted the Delta Quadrant, so the Voyager crew should be clueless about this. Oh, let me guess, Seven of Nine just happened to supply them with this information. Seems to me she has other things on her mind, like how to escape from the unwelcome clutches of her newfound family. Despite my nits about how this departure was handled, Kes did have some really great scenes with Janeway and Neelix. When Kes had her little talk with her ex-lover, I couldn't believe it. Last season's breakup was practically non-existent and was explained away in one sentence. As for Janeway, this was a truly wonderful scene. Our favorite captain is allowed to be emotional, and the sentiments seemed sincere. It was almost like Kate was crying over Jen Lien's departure. I've heard a number of people complain about Janeway's coldness towards Chakotay, and frankly, I don't see it. Their discussion about Seven of Nine seemed perfectly civil, and no different than countless talks between Picard and Riker or other famous command pairings. The trouble is, fans are looking for something that isn't there; constantly searching for warmth or hidden feelings doesn't serve anyone. These characters work long hours, and they're going through an ordeal with their newest crew member. That situation alone should be causing a lot of stress! I can't speak for anyone else here, but in my relationship with my spouse, we're not always smiling, laughing or happy. All these emotions are balanced by darker feelings, and in my opinion, this is a much needed dose of reality between our favorite command team. The most intriguing aspects of this episode were Seven's interactions with Janeway. The captain has decided to make Seven her pet project, and in her infamous scientist mode, she tries to psychoanalyze the young woman and decipher her feelings. Clearly, this scrutiny isn't appreciated, and I loved it when Seven accused Janeway of being a hypocrite and said she was no better than the Borg. Janeway's assumption that Seven would want to freely join the Humanoid community and revel in their company is a tactical error on her part. Janeway is just doing the job that any good leader does, and when she got hit in the gut, I winced in sympathy. She has her work cut out for her, and I hope that Seven continues to be difficult and prickly. It makes her a far more interesting character, and helps me swallow the high heels and catsuit without barfing. Jeri Ryan has the talent to pull this off, and I hope they don't turn her into Season Four's pinup girl. The scuttlebutt on the Internet and the gratuitous press about her sexuality are not helping matters. This is a woman that deserves more respect than being reduced to a pair of breasts and a shapely butt. One other moment that was especially nice was the final scene where Tuvok looked out the window and placed his candle in it. The camera zooms out and we are treated to one of Foundation Imaging's gorgeous shots of Voyager. Now this was a sendoff, and almost made up for the frantic rush to get Kes off the ship. In summary, Joe Menosky penned a very "nice" episode. It was not without its flaws, but it does seem to indicate that the writing is headed in the right direction. I'm sad to see Jennifer Lien go, and I wish her the best of luck. - E. Klisiewicz As a follow-up to "Scorpion," this works pretty darned well. The continuity issues are welcome-the events follow mere days after the battle with Species 8472, soon enough for the repercussions to still be evident. We all pretty much knew what was going to happen in this episode. Picture if you will, though, a world in which we didn't know beforehand what was going to happen with Kes, with Voyager, etc. The Trek writers of today have no hope of enjoying the same level of pre-airing mystery that TOS and early TNG enjoyed, and there are times that I feel very sorry for them because of that-even the best ideas are old hat before they finally reach the screen. It's like knowing what all your presents are weeks before Christmas morning-it's nice to finally claim them as your own, but the thrill of surprise is long gone. In this regard, the faster-than-light rumor mill of the Internet is a mixed blessing for fandom indeed. We essentially have two stories here-one newly-adopted Borgish stepdaughter, and one Ocampan debutante ready to step onto the sub-subatomic society pages-both of which center around Mama Janeway. Toss in the twin dangers of being stuck in enemy territory without a working warp drive and the desire of the adoptee to return to her cybernetic stepfamily, and the reality-warping danger to structural integrity formed by Kes' wing-stretching, and we see we have a situation that will keep the good captain quite busy. Performances here were generally excellent. Mulgrew's Janeway is at once touching in her pride and affection and concern for Kes, and infuriating in her consistent but questionable tough-love handling of the world-shattered Seven of Nine. (I agreed with her actions, but many I've heard from have not.) Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine was astonishingly good, giving us a character at once strong and fragile, proud and pitiable. Her transition did seem a bit too rapid to her final form and attitude at episode's end, but it was understandable that they would want to shorten her time in the coma-inducing Borg leather and makeup as much as possible. I do want to go on record, however, to state that the impossible dimensions of Seven of Nine's torso, combined with the powder-blue and silver of her new outfit, resemble nothing so much as a fair-sized drive-in movie screen. I half-expect previews for coming weeks' episodes to be projected onto it. Jeri Ryan is striking enough without the corsets and Wonderbras and anti-gravity units "accentuating the positive" into the stratosphere, and earning UPN (along with its new lineup of comedies) a new nickname as the "United Pulchritude Network." It is to Ryan's credit that her acting actually overshadowed the considerable efforts of the costumers and cameramen to point out just how incredible she looks. The plot of Seven of Nine's transition from Borg back to human is wrenching. However unwillingly she was assimilated as a young girl, she is fully socialized into the Collective now. The billions of voices are a comfort to her, a family; when that is ripped from her in "Scorpion II," she is utterly lost and yearns to return. But Janeway won't let her, for strategic reasons-and for personal ones. It's just like Janeway to assimilate someone into her own Collective, particularly when the image of a little, smiling human girl calls out to her from the past with unfulfilled promise of laughter and hope and human joy. It's understandable that Seven of Nine wouldn't rush towards that view of herself-it's too distant a part of her past, one the Collective part of her has long since come to terms with. But now Janeway gives her as little choice in the matter as those nanoprobes and implants did twenty years earlier. It is a pity that the farewell episode for Kes didn't take up even a full episode-and that even the scenes she had were among the weakest of the hour. Perhaps it was time for her to go. A lot went unsaid here-no farewell scenes with Doc or with Tom Paris, no wakes or memorial services, in this hour or since, no recognition whatever that Kes not only left, but gave them an inestimable gift-a ten-year chunk taken from their journey home. You'd think she deserves more than a candle in the wind(owsill) in Tuvok's quarters, though that was a very nice touch. And she did have a long-delayed chat with Neelix about their time together, and their breakup, which was nice. The surprise about "The Gift" was the ending-even with the vaunted Internet grapevine, I hadn't heard what the Gift was until it happened. It caught me by surprise-and I liked that a lot. All in all, "The Gift" was a solid, moving episode. Perhaps unintentionally, it also showed us that while we may be losing a character, we're also gaining one - a character with a great deal of dramatic potential. - Jim Wright I expected to hate this episode for a number of reasons - Kes leaving, the new Borg babe getting fully entrenched in the crew - so I was surprised and delighted at how complex and moving I found it to be. At its core, this was a female coming-of-age story. The two main characters are both adolescents, with the bodies of grown women but the experiences of very young girls, and both are just beginning to learn about who they are. I loved that they had someone like Janeway to talk to, and that, in this episode, she could admit that she doesn't have all the answers, some of her decisions are arbitrary, she can't always know the best course for her entire crew. This is the Janeway of first season Voyager; I've really missed her. "The Gift" may have focused on Kes and Seven of Nine, but it was a fantastic Janeway episode - possibly the best one Voyager has ever done. Most of the previous Janeway stories have not focused on her in her role as captain. She was off the ship working alone in "Time and Again" and "Resistance"; "Persistence of Vision" was about her loss of control, "Resolutions" about her loss of Voyager, "Coda" about her loss of life. We've seen her as a more emotional person on the holodeck than dealing with live people, so it was illuminating to see her dealing with losing a good friend and gaining an unwilling passenger. I really, really loved watching Janeway the control freak deal with two upstart kids on their own terms - a vast improvement over her artificial brats from the Victorian holonovel. Kathryn should try living in the real world more often. Many of the more neglected characters of Voyager had great scenes this episode, like Tuvok - who was more Vulcan than he's been in a season - and Doc, who didn't seem as concerned about Kes as I would have expected, but who brought some much needed comic relief. The scene between Neelix and Kes in which they discussed their breakup seemed like too little, too late. They dated for over a year, yet the level of interaction remained pathetically superficial - these two considered having a child together once! We should have seen more evidence of that bond, even if their romantic relationship ended. Chakotay didn't get to do or say much about anything, but after recent events, I'm not sure he deserves to. I absolutely can't stand her costume, and I hate her artificial breasts and her runway model walk and her platinum hair. That said, I like Seven of Nine a great deal. She and Janeway play beautifully off each other: both very strong, but they couldn't be more different in style. The chemistry's electric. Janeway's very verbal, deceptively soft, while Seven's physically aggressive, sparing with her words and gestures, tough as nails no matter how she's suffering. Jeri Ryan does a fantastic job convincing me of the character's pain while in no way diminishing her power. To hell with Chakotay; Seven makes a more interesting foil for Janeway, ideologically and personally. Or at least, she will until the writers inevitably get around to reducing the new babe to the characteristics for which they ostensibly brought her on the show: the ones which protrude in front of her. - Sara Unger DAY OF HONOR DOH (acronym intended) answers the big question about where Voyager is getting all their shuttles. Answer: replicator rations! Have you ever seen a skinnier crew? Well-fed, my eye. The reason they couldn't spare more supplies is because they have to sacrifice every last credit to build a shuttle to replace the one they blew up last week. The good news is that DOH wasn't nearly as nauseating as I anticipated from the treacly previews; the bad news is that it wasn't all that great either. They've fixed Seven's grammar, but they still have her in that horrible outfit! Tell me, why they need to put such a tall woman in spike heels? Did you notice she was nearly eye-to-eye with Robert Duncan McNeill, the tallest guy in the troupe? I guess catsuits and flats don't go together, and lucky for Paramount that I'm not the wardrobe manager; Voyager would turn into one of the most unsexy shows on the planet. The captain and her pet project had the best scenes together, but there wasn't much competition. So, they've shortened her name and rushed her along the path to humanity. By next week, she should be partying with all the scantily clad babes on the Holodeck! For someone who lived with the Borg for 18 years, she's forgotten her Collectivity with astounding rapidity. Seven also had a decent scene with Tom Paris, who obviously remembered how he felt when he was the pariah. Gee, how long can I avoid discussing the inevitable EVA scene? You think Torres and Paris were the only ones gasping for air? While the whole idea of floating in the void is quite cool, that only works if we have some drama to back it up. I've never liked the way they wrote these guys, and this is yet another nail in the coffin of Bad Trek Relationships (TM). They can't write their way out of a paper bag when it comes to romance, and unless they ship Jeri over to Baywatch, I'm afraid we're in for it, folks. Roxann Dawson is pregnant, and they want to write it into the show! Excuse me while I go find a waste receptacle. These two have barely started dating; they can hardly say two words to one another before they fight; they have no obvious chemistry, and what little relationship they have has been off camera. So how do the writers expect us to swallow a love story? Are they going to dream up some alien who impregnates B'Elanna (a la Troi), or are they going to throw some unsafe sex into the mix? If this is the case, then the writers are really stupid and irresponsible. This is not a good message to be sending to the masses, and I'm not sure I want to hang around to witness this. Anyway, I like these two characters, or at least, I like what I remember of them from Seasons One and Two. I identified with them because they weren't the perfect, shining models we usually get from Starfleet Central. No, they were real people with compelling issues to work through. Now, we get a Torres who still can't figure out what she wants for herself; she can't even complete her Day of Honor ritual! The ritual isn't that interesting in the first place, so why name an episode after it? And Paris? Don't even get me started on him. After she says the "L" word, he just gapes at her. Did he pass out, or was he incapable of expressing his feelings? You know how they dropped Janeway and Chakotay's relationship through a black hole? Well, I wish they'd forget about this one too. Lest you think I hated this episode, I should point out a few more parts that I liked. Torres and Neelix had a very nice scene together, and I appreciated the fact that she didn't snap his head off. It gives us an indication of how far she has come from the rebel who wanted to attack Janeway in Caretaker. I also enjoyed the little interchange between Chakotay and Torres. Thinking that a simple refusal would be enough to dissuade her friend from shoving Seven at her, Torres is taken aback when Chakotay pulls rank on her! This is the second time in three episodes that he's called her Lieutenant. I'm glad he has a backbone, but what about his feelings on the subject? He's got to have some serious objections about Seven being there, but they haven't brought it up. The aliens of the week made Janeway and company look pretty foolish. Our favorite space cadets should have been tipped off when their Dino-headed leader made snippy comments about how selfish and well-fed Janeway's people were. The buzzer sure blared in my brain on that one, especially in retrospect. With that said, and forgetting bad science and command protocols, I thought the warp core ejection was the coolest thing. And did anyone spot Voyager's reflection in B'Elanna's EVA visor? Once again, kudos to the gang at Foundation Imaging for a stellar bunch of FX. Despite my objections, DOH was still a mildly entertaining episode. There's a patented formula for each and every episode: check your brain at the door and lower your expectations to the bottom of the barrel. If you remember this simple ritual, then you too can survive the Voyager experience. - E. Klisiewicz Oy vey. Times that you shoulda just stayed in bed. First off, a couple of nitpicks. Janeway, for all intents and purposes, "storing" the Borg in the Cargo Bay. Even Lon Suder got better treatment. And ... her wanting to re-name Seven of Nine to make it easier to address her. One wonders what would have happened had Chakotay's name been "Warrior-Who-Walks-With-Wolf? Overall though, I thought this episode was excellent. That writers' meeting in April seems to have done wonders for the show. The addition of Seven of Nine has given the show a new set of dynamics to explore, and opens up many story possibilities. After this episode, I have hope they might even use them. As far as Paris/Torres, I was prepared to buy whatever the writers told me; I've been waiting for months to see this relationship develop.. And they are soooooo cute. It was fantastic to watch Paris offer her his (figurative) hand, and then rip into her when she slapped it away. With the quality of writing so far this season, I am allowing myself to hope that this relationship will also be written well. I loved the warp core ejection. How many times have we heard someone on a starship talk about ejecting the core? We finally got to see what that means and it looked fabuloous. Kudos to Foundation Imaging! So far this season, Voyager seems to be paying serious attention to characterization, interpersonal dynamics, scene writing and direction, as well as taking advantage of the one thing that it has always had -- a talented cast. A toast to the future ... and pass the blood pie. - Rhonda E. Green It's lust in space ... suits! I'm thrilled that Tom and B'Elanna have finally pursued their romantic relationship; That was the better part of the episode. However, I do have one problem with the episode. The story we saw wasn't bad at all. It's what wasn't in it that bothers me. Not even one comment about Kes? Her name wasn't spoken even once. The continued lack of continuity between episodes holds back the potential for viewers to keep tuning in each week to find out what happens. Now for what was actually in the episode. It's been a few long months since the idea of a Paris/Torres relationship was given its widespread hope. I think that Jeri Taylor brought out the progression of events very nicely, specifically with B'Elanna, who went through some extreme changes in one hour while staying true to her character. Now that she's told Tom how she feels, I hope that their relationship won't be put off for two or three episodes. I want to see their bond grow strong from the very beginning, instead of an update here and there in a B-plot. TPTB will also hopefully give both characters individual room to grow, instead of the both-or-nothing trap Dax and Worf fell into on DS9. And as for Seven of Nine, I think she's growing on me. Although not the star of the show, her character is a vital part of this episode. She's adapting to human life very quckly, and that's interesting, but what really has my attention is her conflict with B'Elanna. B'Elanna obviously doesn't like her, but I think it's a tad beyond simple dislike. I think she's jealous, envying every moment Seven of Nine has an idea using Borg technology, as well as the attention she is receiving from the crew. Torres also seems intimidated by Seven at times, and that feeling is made worse when Seven doesn't react in any emotional way. It would be interesting to see these two working together for some time. I really liked this episode, and the wide mix of emotions it explored. It will hopefully be followed up with some continuity next week, unlike the half-job that was done this time. I hope TPTB are, as they say, "taking chances." They're working on it, but I'm waiting for the full effect. - Charlynn Kate Smith Voyager encounters its umpteenth desperate, duplicitous species which takes advantage of their generosity, the same week the crew decides to use Seven of Nine's help to see if she can help them recreate Borg transwarp technology. The experiment fails, endangering the ship, so Torres is forced to eject the warp core. When she and Tom Paris try to retrieve the core, their shuttle is destroyed by the nasty aliens. As they wait in pressure suits for their inevitable rescue by Voyager, B'Elanna confesses that she loves Tom. Of course, they're saved, and the warp core gets recovered. Janeway throws the Prime Directive out the window, Seven gets warm and fuzzy for a minute, and the crew's one big happy family lost in space again. A real character development episode for all. Oops. Did I sound sarcastic, there? Maybe because this episode was odious. I usually agitate for relationships on Trek, particularly on this show where, after three years lost in space together, you'd think people would be falling in love and forming bonds. But whenever we get a relationship episode, I remember the big drawback of them, namely: Trek writers wouldn't know a mature, realistic, nondemeaning romantic relationship - you know, like John and Delenn on Babylon 5 - if it were taking place right in front of them. I might have to get off the "Janeway/Chakotay - More Than Just CO & XO" bandwagon, for fear of hearing the captain spout drivel. B'Elanna Torres says a couple of times that "Day of Honor" is the worst day of her life, and she's right about one thing: Voyager's writers would be hard-pressed to come up with worse dialogue for her than this. And I thought "Persistence of Vision" was bad! The episode is a weak tie-in with Pocket Books' miniseries about a Klingon ritual, the Day of Honor, which nobody knows much about without buying all four volumes, so we got to hear all the Klingon cliches we're usually spared on Voyager about honor and a warrior's heart without even learning anything new about Klingons. One of my favorite things about Voyager was that it has no full Klingons aboard. I'm going to cry if Torres gets into this painstick and bat'leth stuff. She's half-human - one would think she could give us a new, refreshing perspective on Klingon ritual, which has been shown to be pretty damn sexist. But no, she appears to consider it a failing on her part that she doesn't buy right into the traditional mumbo-jumbo. Sigh. The Bad Science Meter was off the scale for this episode. I'm not even going to dwell on Tom and B'Elanna wasting their oxygen discussing the meaning of life. That permitted one of the fun gimmicks of the episode: Torres sharing her air with Paris, just like in the classic Space 1999 episode about the robot who gave Martin Landau and Barbara Bain the Love Test to see if they'd do the same. Then there are the annoying Trek inconsistencies. Two weeks, two shuttles...well, maybe they're self-replicating. In that case, though, why didn't Janeway and crew test the transwarp conduit with a shuttle, rather than risking the entire ship? And there's the nagging question of just who has the authority to dump the warp core. In "Cathexis" during the first season, Chakotay took over Torres' body to make her dump the core, and Janeway figured out that Torres couldn't have done it by herself because only a command-level officer could eject the core. The entire episode hinged on that revelation. I thought it was stupid at the time - obviously the chief engineer should be able to dump the core if she needs to! - but the writers might at least have been consistent about it. Once again, I find myself with only good things to say about Seven of Nine. I still hate her costume - I will recite that every week like a litany until they change it. But she was smart and smooth and tough with the captain. I don't like that they're already softening her edges - they did that with her body, can't they leave her attitude for a little while? It made for some interesting moments with Janeway, though, who was having a good episode until she contradicted the technological non-interference policy she established in episodes like "Prototype" and "Alliances," just to get her warp core back the easy way. Things I liked: *Torres taking Neelix seriously instead of laughing him off like most of the characters do, too often. *Chakotay telling her not to give him lip about having a Borg babe in engineering. *The return of Vorick. I had mixed feelings about Janeway announcing that it's time to stop talking and do something: she was right, but she's been doing a lot of that lately before really thinking out alternatives. As for Paris and Torres, I have mixed feelings. Yes, I'd like to see an ongoing pairing on Voyager, even if this is the wrong pair. There's not a lot of chemistry - plus, I find Tom increasingly condescending as he's rewritten in hero mode. The previews asked ominously of Tom and B'Elanna's love story, "Will it end before it begins?" Given this inauspicious start, I am tempted to hope that it already has. Next week, Angry Warrior Chakotay returns with a vengeance. Then again, he's been angry and snappish at everyone this season already. I miss the man who abhorred violence, but fat chance of that lasting on a mindless action series. -Sara Unger I am starting to really feel for all the Star Trek (and other) fans who have chosen to stop watching Voyager this season. This fourth season has had some fantastic stuff going on and the more people who join in the merrier. Although I am no great Torres or Paris fan, I found this to be a terrific episode on a lot of levels, even tolerating the Kim/Seven of Nine stuff. But what this episode did more than any other episode so far was prove to me without a shadow of a doubt, that Jeri Ryan can act. I mean really act. And that she can act circles around most of the existing cast, excluding Mulgrew and Picardo. I had my doubts about Seven of Nine, but they have gone away. I had my doubts about Jeri Ryan but they have gone away. This whole episode sold me on her being a fine addition to this cast and I'm just relieved that it didn't take a half or whole season to bring me to this point. Perhaps I am beginning to like her so much... because she reminds me of Kate Mulgrew. And Patrick Stewart. Jeri has that whole face-thing down really really well. It struck me in the corridor scene between Seven of Nine and Paris - when Paris continues to walk on and Seven of Nine is just standing there... Jeri went through at least 5 facial expressions and it was marvelous! I sort of sat there in shock - Wow! Kate and Patrick can do that really well. So glad to see that there is someone else on Voyager who can act past the rest of the wimps like Garrett Wang. If Jeri Ryan keeps acting like she's been acting this season... and keeps getting the really cool stuff they keep giving her, I will be sold on this series for life!! Oops... actually, I'm already sold on the series for life. I think I'll just die a happier person in the future... There were a lot of things to like about this episode - a great deal of: Torres/Paris, Janeway/Seven of Nine, Torres/Seven of Nine, Paris/Seven of Nine - must I go on? What an episode. There were so many good scenes in this episode I lost count. And that doesn't happen very often. Where shall I start? The writing was outstanding - the acting even better! For once Robert Duncan McNeil didn't look like he was sleep walking through a scene - because they writers gave him something to do! No offense to all the McNeil fans - but as most of us are painfully aware, Paris has had precious little to do on this ship - and in this series in general. It was refreshing to see him doing something a little more than being an overbearing puppy or just a "helm boy." Loved the whole Torres Day of Honor thing: Loved her Holodeck scene and her reactions to things. The Blood Pie with Neelix - I really liked the blood pie scene with Neelix. Both characters came across really well. And the two characters hardly have scenes together anyway. I wish B'Elanna hadn't said she felt like such a coward. I don't think that's true. I think she has done the best that she could under her circumstances and has been a warrior in a variety of different ways. The whole Torres/Paris thing: Unlike many other fans, I have never been "in" to this relationship. I have been hot/cold on it. Or, more to the point, I haven't really cared. But now I do. This episode was so well written, the characters' chemistries came across so well (even in space suits) that I bought the whole thing, hook, line and sinker. I hope they go into a terrific relationship, I really do. I just wish Tom's answer had been better after B'Elanna told him she loved him. Stupid guy. The whole space suit scene: I liked it. Thought it was well done special-effects wise. The space suits were from Star Trek: First Contact for those of you who didn't know: although Roxann's suit had to be made for her because she was so small and couldn't fit into any of the bigger ones made for the guys in the movie. I loved the hug through the space suits. I had never seen that done before and I thought it was one of the most touching moments I had seen in a long time. How damn sweet! The Janeway/Seven of Nine Stuff: I LOVED IT!! I LOVED IT ALL! Everything from the discussion over the warp core accident and if Seven of Nine sabotaged something to the "random acts of kindness" that came up in the end on the Bridge. LOVED IT. If they keep coming with stuff like this between Mulgrew and Ryan I will die VERY happy. There's REAL acting, REAL characterization, REAL issues being addressed. About damn time!! Generic Aliens of the Week[tm]: . Yeah, it was different that in small numbers they wanted to kick Voyager's butt... but still. The make-up looked so much like... all the other aliens we've seen in Trek for years. So, all you Engineering people out there - who knew the bloody warp core could be ejected and brought back in? Well, we knew that from a previous 2nd season episode. But we had never seen it actually happen. I was very impressed. Foundation Imaging did an outstanding job on the effects in those relevant scenes - even the tractor of the core. I just hope we don't have this happen too often. Sounds waaaay too messy to clean up. Has Robert Beltran dyed his hair? That gray streak of his from 1st, 2nd and 3rd season appears to be gone. I could be wrong, but his hair seemed awfully dark this episode. I guess being surrounded by younger actors (who have been removed and added to the cast recently) isn't doing much for his ego... Over all, a very enjoyable episode. Again, I wasn't really into the whole Torres/Paris thing all that much, but it did catch my attention. I was by far more interested in all the Janeway/Seven of Nine conversations that were taking place there. A lot of depth, a lot of thought - it truly appears that someone is paying attention to not only the characters and what they are capable of doing together, but are considering the actresses as well. Both Mulgrew and Ryan are coming through in spades as far as I am concerned because they are being given real material to work with. My only hope is that this trend can continue. Understand, I am biased toward Janeway because she remains my favorite character to date (with a little Tuvok mixed in). Anything that gives Janeway and Kate Mulgrew a great deal to do on screen makes me very happy. And, after having had it proven to me that Jeri Ryan is acting a storm around almost every actor on the series, I am so please that Mulgrew and Ryan can tear up the set together. I think we're in for a real treat ahead as, for the first time ever, we see two strong female characters take the center stage of a dramatic series and literally go where no women in Star Trek or 20th century television have never gone before - Sashi Alexandra German NEMESIS I always watch episodes twice before reviewing them, and Nemesis was no exception. During the second round, I really hoped I'd change my opinion, but if anything, it only drove it home for me. This was Dullsville, and even though I enjoy watching Robert Beltran in action, there was nothing he could do to interrupt the leaden pace and stilted conversation. Whose brainless idea was it to weigh this down with ridiculous dialogue? Last week everyone talked real-ly s-low, and this week we get the Vori, who ought to sign up for "Hooked on Phonics." And then, there was the faceless cast of thousands they thrust upon us. Except for the imaginery girl who took a liking to 'Defender Chakotay', I didn't give a damn who they nullified (or is it nullied). The first twenty minutes were stifling, and suddenly, there's Voyager floating over this planet and they mention this Ambassador. Raise your hands: how many of you knew he was from the 'beasties'? And since when would Neelix know anything about this war? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't they leave familiar Talaxian territory back in Fair Trade? They're also three for three on the shuttle death count. Isn't this getting a little ridiculous? Are TPTB mocking us? I get that impression sometimes, especially after last season's Worst Case Scenario. The only item that surprised me was the brainwashing bit. It was unexpected, and it made me think about good vs. evil. "Bad guy" is a relative term, isn't it? It all depends on how you look at it. Chakotay had a lot of reasons to side with the Human looking dudes. Not only did they look like guys from home, but their plight appeared to be similar to the Maquis, so they reeled in the perfect trophy for their little war. To summarize, this is the first low point of the season. Yet, when you compare it to dreck like "Threshold", it's a bonafide masterpiece; it all depends on your frame of reference. Better luck next time, Mr. Biller! - E. Klisiewicz I'm already growing bored of these story endings that don't close everything up because of the lack of continuity. Where is it?! No mention of Kes since "The Gift." Zero evidence that Tom and B'Elanna are exploring their romantic relationship. Next week, I extremely doubt that we'll hear Chakotay talking about his experience as a soldier. It's sickening. Lack of continuity aside, I still didn't enjoy "Nemesis" as much as I have the other episodes. Part of it, for me, was that I'm not very interested in stories about war. And the story was so predictable. I wasn't surprised to see Janeway working with Chakotay's "enemies" to return him to Voyager. I wasn't even surprised to find that Chakotay had involuntarily fallen into an alien military training facility of some kind. I guess that it just wasn't written to the effect where I'd be thrilled with twists like that. Then again, I was expecting a twist here and there, simply to figure out what was going on. The moral of the story was most definitely the one thing that made this episode worthwhile. I really liked Chakotay's closing line, "I wish it was as easy to stop hating as it was to start." Very classic Trek and very powerful. I like it.Other than that, this one didn't do much for me. After a fairly better-than-normal start of season four, this was a disappointment. Chakotay needs a good story to make up for this one. Two stars out offour. - Charlynn Kate Smith I am happy to report that I was somewhat pleasantly surprised by this episode. I think I'll start with the ending and work my way back. First of all, it is rarely these days that I am acutally surprised by the end of an episode. Let's face it, the Voyager writers aren't strong finishers. But this season seems to have started a new trend. I hope it continues. When the aliens that Janeway had been negotiating with to help get Chakotay back were finally revealed, I was genuinely surprised. I suppose maybe I should have figured it out, but I didn't. I think that's great! Please, surprise me more often. I enjoy it. I really think that twist made the episode for me. Up to that point, I'd been going along with it and thinking, "So what?" But here they presented some really powerful issues, a very powerful look into perception and how it works, and a powerful lesson - at least for me - in seeing that how one is trained to look at things is all important. Not that I didn't already know that, but this is one of the things that I have always been proud of Trek for doing: tackling social issues and making a statement. I was thrilled to see Voyager doing this here. The couple of problems that I had with the episode seem small in comparison to how pleased I was with what was done with this episode. The most minor of the two is this: I found the affected way the aliens that captured Chakotay spoke to be overly distracting. As a writer, I know that it is generally accepted that it is better to show such idiosyncracies through the way a character speaks rather than through strange words and such. Okay, so they're aliens. Fine. We all know there are universal translators, so just get over the language differences and focus on writing powerful characters. The quirks of speech served only to detract. My last point of contention is just a little bit less of a nit pick, however. Although I thoroughly enjoyed an episode that actually focused on Chakotay and gave us some small look into his inner workings, I think that the real story here was not his brain-washing as much as it was what he is going to do, how he is going to heal, and how or who among the crew is going to be critical in this process with him. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see Captain Janeway sitting down with him and going over his experience. If I had been asked to review the script on this one (like that would ever happen - not!), I would have suggested that the planetary scenes be summarized more quickly and that the meat of the story focus on what happens once back aboard Voyager. I have no doubt that Robert Beltran could have portrayed the brainwashing that took place in less time than was actually taken. And I am certain that Chakotay's struggle to deal with the hate he'd acquired would have proven even more powerful than the episode as it stood. - Siobhan Wolf Voyager seems like two different television shows; just when I think it's a travesty of Star Trek, a worthless piece of cliched drivel, they go and do something like "Nemesis." Not that this was a fabulous episode, it had assorted flaws, some pretty large. But it reminded me a lot of the original Trek, particularly the Vietnam allegory episode "A Private Little War," in which Captain Kirk was manipulated into involvement in an alien conflict. This one wasn't as complex - as with most Voyager episodes, it was too straightforward, with no deep questions about the broader politics of noninterference. Still, it was subtler than I expected from the Commando Chakotay previews, and surprisingly moving despite the transparent attempts to manipulate the audience by making us identify with Chakotay, when we could guess midway through that Voyager's allies were going to end up being the Craydin rather than the Vori. That gimmick is undoubtedly the reason that we didn't even see the ship till after the halfway mark. For the second time ("Distant Origin" was the first), an episode did not center around Voyager's crew but an alien culture, and it works wonders to break up the monotony. This crew should go on away missions more often, no matter how much it costs to shoot on location. Since Voyager has an endless supply of shuttles - they've destroyed one three weeks in a row now! - it shouldn't be a problem to keep sending people down. Chakotay's character stayed remarkably consistent with his behavior in previous episodes - both the ones I liked and the ones I hated. The scenes with the young soldiers and the little girl were almost redundant for anyone who's seen second season's "Initiations," in which Chakotay counseled and bonded with a young Kazon, but at least we know he's still the same guy in that respect. The speed with which he became emotionally involved with the alien war also makes sense, given how quickly the ex-Borg in "Unity" assimilated him last season. But I wish it didn't. I wish he had a little more strength of character, and we got more glimpses of the righteous terrorist Janeway was sent out to arrest - if, as he keeps saying, he's always hated war, it makes little sense that he would adapt to the struggles of others so easily. That pat ending about how it's easy to learn to hate didn't erase Chakotay's flaws. It was chilling that he took orders from an alien kid so well when told to pick up a gun. I have big concerns about Chakotay as first officer, the role of a leader, when he's been so hasty to follow on too many occasions. The slang dialect of the aliens was another interesting gimmick, though it got cloying, especially when inconsistent - if "mother's mother" is the translation for "grandmother" according to the Universal Translator which hasn't done much of interest since Next Gen's "Darmok," then why did Chakotay hear the little girl say "grandfather"? And "nullified" seemed an awfully static verb for a crime which the Vori seemed to perceive as cold-blooded slaughter. Those are nitpicks, though, compared to the illogic of the Vori culture as explained at the end of the episode: they use huge land masses and expend enormous resources to ensnare and brainwash aliens for their wars? Sounds highly inefficient, and completely implausible. Why don't they just brainwash the Craydin into laying down arms, or joining their cause? Why did they create a projection of a standard Alpha Quadrant patriarchy (which there are too many of in the Trek universe), and how did they adapt to Chakotay's belief systems? That Janeway's allies would turn out to be the Craydin, who look a lot like The Next Generation's Nausicaans, was entirely predictable. Though we only learned the truth of Chakotay's brainwashing by sharing his experience of seeing Tuvok as a Craydin assassin, this episode would have been far more effective had we not seen Voyager at all until the very end - if we shared Chakotay's entire experience on the planet and believed in it, instead of receiving suggestions during the shipboard scenes that all was not as it seemed. Robert Beltran carried the episode - in addition to his strong performance, he looks hot in fatigues. I think I should be allowed to notice that, since during next week's preview, I had to put up with Seven of Nine's catsuit and watch her decide she'd like to try sex. That was fast, but I guess I should be glad someone on Voyager wants a little spice in her life. Janeway's been out there for more than three years, and she's apparently still not interested. - Sara Unger REVULSION In her first outing of the season, writer Lisa Klink provides us with a fine character-driven drama. In the A story, Torres and the Doctor attempt to help an insane sanitation hologram. The guest actor was decent and they gave him an intriguing storyline, but I think they goofed when they showed us all that blood at the beginning. Wouldn't it have been far more interesting to think he really was in distress only to later see small pieces of evidence that he tried to hide? Surprise and suspense are at the heart of every good mystery, and those elements were missing here. As for the regular cast, Kate Mulgrew was mostly absent, but she was present for Tuvok's roasting... er... promotion. While I love to see the crew joki ng around, the "live long and prosper" humor was about as subtle as a sledgehammer. I was glad that Tuvok got his own licks in while he had the chance. I was also happy that Neelix's ambassadorial duties were addressed, because I called the writers on this discrepancy during "Nemesis" when he had some knowledge of the alien war but was beyond familiar space. Robert Picardo was excellent as usual and he managed to snare most of the good lines. His character's smugness can grate, but it can also be endearing. He and Torres make a good team, and while he commiserated with his fellow isomorph, he still knows his heart belongs with his fellow organics. The B story with Seven and Harry also worked surprisingly well, especially when she started terrorizing the poor boy. Mr. Kim is really out of his element with this ex-Borg woman, and he should have listened to Tom and kept his distance. Garrett Wang isn't much of an actor, and the only reason I liked these scenes was due to Jeri Ryan's performance. It's hard to ignore the dumb heels when she climbs down a ladder, but her character is a lot of fun to watch. The only bad news continues to be the writer's ill-advised decision to pair Torres and Paris. Not only have they softened B'Elanna to the point of no return, but they've handed Tom a platter full of crap that makes him look like a real heel. A few weeks ago as they gasped for their last few breaths, he gaped at her and told her that she could have picked a better time to declare her feelings. And this week he tells her to shut up and kisses her in full view of any interested bystanders. Shouldn't B'Elanna have been a little uncomfortable with Tom's behavior? Torres strikes me as a fairly private lady, and her irritation with Holodoc when he comments on her alleged relationship seems to back this up. I'm also starting to wonder if her Klingon side has also dissolved into the ether with her Day of Honor program. When she was attempting to elude the enraged hologram, I didn't buy her gasps of terror. This from a woman who broke Vorik's jaw last season! In summary, "Revulsion" was a flawed but fun episode with wonderful character moments. If you continue to ignore the promos they spew at us this season, then you'll find some tarnished gems strewn about. - E. Klisiewicz I could do an Erykah Badu and go "on and on and on and on ...", but I won't. Suffice it to say, THEY KISSED! Ah. Okay. I'm better. I now understand the J/Cers (and the Picard/Crushers and the Sheridan/Delenns). Even discounting this, it was a good episode, although it seems that we are seeing a lot less of Janeway this year while stories concentrate on other characters. In this episode, at least, we did get reminders of the scope of the Janeway/Tuvok friendship. Since Janeway has been set up at Seven of Nine's mentor, one hopes that this dry spell will end soon and we'll be able to see more of our intrepid Captain. For anyone worried about the involvement of The Doctor with Seven, this episode should have assuaged fears. As always, it was great seeing Robert Picardo do something more than patch up injured crew members - in this episode we saw him take a stab at career counseling and tease fellow crewmates about their hormones. I do have to say, however, that I found the "B" story much more interesting than the "A". Watching Seven of Nine realize, in horror, that she was not human who made mistakes and wasn't invincible was a lot more interesting than watching a psychopathic hologram do a Lon Suder. Jeri Ryan really seems to enjoy her role, and I enjoy watching her expressions and listening for her intonations. As if her appearance didn't provide enough sexual overtones, the scenes between Seven and Kim confirmed what many new viewers were thinking. I've read that Voyager hopes to put the fun and sex back into Star Trek. They are succeeding. The conversations between and about these two were convincing and amusing. I wish that the show didn't feel that it was necessary to add sex for ratings, but thus far, the addition of Seven of Nine has been far from disturbing. - Rhonda E. Green Finally, the continuity I've been asking for! Yay! This episode had a great story to tell while patching up some unresolved elements from "The Gift" and "Day of Honor." And that's not all. Tuvok isn't my first choice for a promotion, but at least someone has finally received one after three years! I was very impressed with the writing of the ceremony, from the humor of the "live long and prosper" prank to how the conversation floated smoothly from one group of people to another. It was a relaxed, light-hearted, and nicely-done scene. I was a little disappointed with how certain issues from "The Gift" were patched up. The Doctor does need a replacement nurse, yes, and Paris is the likeliest choice. I didn't have a problem with that. It's just difficult to think that the Doctor is so unmoved with Kes' departure. I don't buy it for a second. As for Tom and B'Elanna, on the other hand, I was very pleased with what happened between these two. The confrontation was absolutely brilliant, with humor brought to it by the Doctor. His comments later brought out in the shuttle to B'Elanna were rather unnecessary, but did bring with them the usual humor the Doctor brings to an episode. No failure in that department. Speaking of the more entertaining parts of this show, Chakotay got to put his odd sense of humor to use, much to Harry's embarassment. It was just about the only scene Chakotay had in this episode, but it was fabulous. Hopefully, our first officer will have another chance at tormenting Harry over his crush on Seven. Then again, she doesn't seem to be doing that bad of a job herself. Her direct honesty has already put Harry into an odd kind of trouble with interacting with her; I doubt this will change, althoug a certain kind of understanding will be found. I also doubt that this developing relationship will progress as-is, but more on that as the season continues. I want hints before I say anything on this prediction I have. So, in a nutshell, this was a GREAT episode! Everything I've been asking for. The hologram plot wasn't new, but was done well, and with intense emotion that made me feel. Continuity from past episodes was a definite plus, as was the astonishing amount of character development that wasn't reserved for only one member of the cast. This episode is definitely on the upper part of my list of favorites. - Charlynn Kate Smith It's not that Voyager isn't trying. The writers are taking risks - starting more and more episodes off the ship, permitting character evolution, aiming for continuity and long-term arcs. They're even injecting humor. The only problem is that the stories are still plodding, predictable, and contrived. Take the Paris/Torres love story. It's hard to say that the relationship's been rushed, since the seeds were sown back during the first season... but the leap during this one episode from confession to public kissing to acknowledged dating made it seem so. And what a waste of potential tension in upcoming weeks - there could have been a buildup to that first kiss, interruptions and duty calling, plus confusion over whether and when to tell their friends. Instead, the writers are going for blatant and obvious. Snore. These two had more sexual tension when they weren't interested in each other. But who needs a mature sexual relationship when we've got Seven of Nine? Astoundingly enough, considering the fact that the camera picks up every angle of her stunning figure, I found Harry's attraction to her completely unconvincing. He looked moody and tense rather than aroused and embarrassed. It's kind of amusing that he can't manage to fake chemistry with his Dream Borg, who's a ridiculous male fantasy in ways other than her appearance - swaggering, inconsistent, sniveling when I'd expect her to be strong and aggressive when I'd expect her to be uncertain. She's afraid of an injured hand, but not of losing her virginity with a stranger? This creature was obviously invented by men... adolescent men. Sure didn't take long to turn her from a compelling character into a joke. The main plot had potential, but once again the writers played their cards too soon. The setup was classic horror movie "woman trapped in house with psychotic man," with skeletons in the closets and all that. It's hard to be scared, though, when there are no red-shirted ensigns on the away team; we knew perfectly well that B'Elanna wasn't going to get killed, so there was no point in screaming. It was also entirely predictable that the one item identified as a threat to the isomorph would end up becoming the instrument of his destruction. The bigger problem with knowing that the isomorph was a murderer from the teaser was that we had no reason to take him seriously as a foil for the Doctor. When an outsider is clinically crazy, we don't take seriously anything that character says about our society, even when it makes some sense. In this case it did not; since the amount of energy involved in maintaining matter-intensive holograms like the Doc and the isomorph must be tremendous, surely they waste far more resources than "organics" do eating and making love, even if the latter activities are messier than matter-antimatter reactions. The Doc was way too quick to make jokes about the things the isomorph said about humans; it would have been much more interesting if he were disturbed, if he identified more, if he actually thought about the advantages of leaving the ship and its grungy organic crew. There's no depth to his psychology. If Kes were around, she probably would have pressed him to feel something about the experience, but she's gone, probably taking his personality with her - Seven now gets to be the alien among humans, while Doc's merely the comic relief. For the second week in a row, the captain was present for less than five minutes, and all she did in that time was kill the laughter at a party by bringing up a yucky incident with Tuvok from her official biography (for those who haven't yet bought Mosaic). Chakotay's the one interacting with the crew these days, though he seems oddly paternal towards Harry for someone who acted like such a gullible kid himself last week. I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I missed Neelix. He's had fewer stupid lines than anyone else so far this season. - Sara Unger THE RAVEN I've watched this twice now, and if I go by surface impressions, then I have to say I liked it. But it's getting more difficult to overlook the obvious problems with this show, such as the sloppy writing. Biller, Braga and the rest may think it's real funny to keep blowing up shuttles, but it makes them look real stupid. Voyager started off as a flawed concept, and it seems like they've blown every available opportunity to present us with interesting drama. What happened to the Starfleet/Maquis conflict? What happened to Janeway and Chakotay's relationship? Think of the potential for storylines here! It certainly hasn't been lost on the fanfic crowd, has it? I stay away from Babylon 5 vs. Trek debates, but in my heart, I know which is the better show. Anyway, I digress. In "The Raven", directed by Levar Burton (Geordi LaForge) and written by a bunch of outsiders, Seven (Jeri Ryan) gets a chance to strut her stuff, and strut she does. Does she look cool with a phaser rifle or what? She was as unstoppable as the Terminator, and she made the Voyager crew look like first year cadets. Sound like a certain Cardassian we all know and love? Jeri has quickly turned into my favorite character, and if they keep writing her this well, then the catsuits and heels won't matter much. One of my favorite scenes was the one where Neelix instructed her in the culinary arts. When she swallowed her first bit of food and proclaimed it a 'curious sensation', I thought that she'd make a great Vulcan. In fact, I think she'd do a way better job than Tuvok, who always seems to wear his emotions on his sleeve. Ryan and Russ delivered the goods, and their scenes together were the best part of this episode. I did fail to understand how Seven's parents got so far into the Delta Quadrant, but perhaps they found a wormhole somewhere. Also, how could a Federation beacon regenerate the Borg technology in Seven? And finally, why hasn't the Voyager crew attempted to assimilate some of this technology for themselves? Those personal shields and the ones wrapped around Seven's shuttle were unbeatable. Seems to me that Voyager could use some help like that, especially when the nearest starbase is 60,000 light years away. The aliens with the sports gear on their noggins (the Bohmar) were marginally interesting, but this B story did little to enhance "The Raven". And just what is going on with Janeway these days? When she's not on the holodeck, she's letting aliens frolic around on the bridge and insult her competence as a captain. While I'm happy to see her spending real time with another human being, I wish it could be somewhere other than that damned holodeck program of hers. It has become a crutch that she's dragged along from her Academy days when she cavorted with Amelia Earhart. (As written in the "Starfleet Academy" books.) It doesn't seem likely that they'll fix this increasingly irritating Janeway characteristic, so we might as well get used to the fact that she feels more at home with holograms than humans. In summary, "The Raven" was an entertaining if lightweight episode which made a desperate attempt to rid Seven of Nine of any remaining shred of Borg, the one thing which makes her fascinating! - E. Klisiewicz If Voyager had done a storyline like this six months or so from now, I probably would have thought it was terrific. We'd have had a long period of getting used to Seven as a Borg, still resisting fitting in with the humans of the Federation despite being thousands of light years from Borg space, and it would be dramatic and frightening suddenly to have her Borg side re-emerge. But Voyager's writers are apparently determined to throw away most of Seven's potential as an alien source of confrontation before it starts. Like they did with the Maquis, the writers are assimilating her into the Federation crew faster than we can say "Resistance is futile." Seven is currently the most interesting character on the show. She's still conflicted, angry, oddly innocent; Jeri Ryan has played her subtly and superbly, even during last week's sexploitation scenes. It's also a lot easier for me to look at her now that the silver catsuit has been replaced with a brown one, though I'm glad they're putting her on solid food - she looks like she's about to drop dead from anorexia. I'm still astounded that Seven was ready to try lovemaking before eating, but hey, we all have our own priorities... I can't figure out Janeway's, however. She looked really incompetent letting the Bohmar, her new reluctant allies, come onto her bridge in the middle of a red alert, especially considering that she had no clue what was going on nor how to stop her rebellious ex-Borg crewmember. Her later lame threat when they warned her not to interfere in their space, "You're still on my ship," was laughable. I agree with the Bohmar: Janeway's security is so dreadful that Voyager shouldn't be trusted in anyone else's space. They're down another shuttle, too, but with their infinite supply, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Janeway did figure out what was going on in Seven's mind, but too late to help Voyager; she was able to retrieve her crewmembers, but she's going to have to add a lot of months to their journey. What happened to the captain who was so anxious to get home that she forged - practically forced - a treaty with the Borg? I guess she's been too busy being creative on the holodeck to get up to speed on command skills. She says it helps her efficiency to forget about Voyager for awhile... sorry, Captain, but I beg to differ. I hope Seven chooses to be creative around other people rather than with artificial constructs... even with Harry, whom she says she finds predictable - she's not the only one! Chakotay's consistent as well; he still doesn't trust Seven, still expects her Borg side to keep reasserting itself. Maybe this is a good thing, since he's more ready to protect the crew from the problems she causes than anyone else seems to be, but I have to worry about the poor woman, having to answer to a man with such an obvious prejudice. Tuvok was far more sensitive with Seven - their dialogue was lovely, restrained as a Vulcan-Borg exchange should be yet still moving, and his commitment to seeking the truth with her made up a little for his gross inadequacy as a security officer earlier in the episode. I think Janeway should make Seven the new chief of security; Seven did a great job bolstering her shuttle's shields while whomping alien spacecraft and hiding from Voyager. Still, I like Tuvok. He was a lot more sensitive to humans this episode than B'Elanna, cracking jokes about Harry's crush on Seven when in all likelihood the poor boy was never going to see her again. I'm curious why Tom got to sit in on the briefing with the aliens when Tuvok didn't - the Vulcan's the one who just got a promotion, after all - but I guess they had to give Tommy the Superhero something to do. Visually, the flashback sequences of this show reminded me a lot of "Birthright Part I," the Next Generation segment where Data dreams about a bird flying through the Enterprise - since LeVar Burton directed this episode, that makes sense, though Burton's images are more heavily shadowed and ominous than were Winrich Kolbe's in the TNG episode. This wasn't a bad episode, but it cut off the possibilities for all sorts of intrigue down the line about Seven's past and future. Like Chakotay's capitulation to Starfleet, like Paris and Torres falling in love, the writers seem to have plunged in heedlessly, tossing out one episode instead of developing characters and situations which will hold interest over the long haul. - Sara Unger From beginning to end, this episode drew me in and held me there. I'd have to say that is one of the best of the lot so far this season. If I didn't already love Captain Janeway, her time in DaVinci's workshop with Seven would have hooked me. As a matter of fact, I fell in love with her all over again during those scenes and the touching ones following Seven's flashback. Kate Mulgrew brings to this role everything I could imagine and more were I asked to define the perfect female role model. I hope that we continue to see this relationship grow over time, much as Janeway's relationship with Kes grew. Jeri Ryan continues to blow me away with her acting ability. I didn't expect to like Seven of Nine much when she was introduced, but my experience has been quite the opposite. It takes a special talent to portray both the unemotional distance of one raised by the Borg while at the same time allowing the innocence and curiosity, and fear, of a child to peek through. Jeri accomplishes this in a way that comes across effortlessly, naturally, and thus I both love and believe her character. I am also glad that we are getting to see some of the crew members in a different, and frankly, more flattering, light. The scenes in the mess hall with Neelix introducing Seven to food and the joy of eating were priceless! It is a relief to see Neelix as less the buffoon and more in the role of a vital Voyager crew member. The other crew member I was happy to see improving was Tuvok. Until this point I have found that character stiff, boring, and even cliched (yes, I know he's a Vulcan). However, this is the first time I really connected with Tuvok as anything more than a caricature. This is what I felt was missing - his heart and connectedness with other crew members. I am glad that it has been found; I hope we continue to see more of it. I was particularly fond of the way that Seven's past was explained within the plot of the story. It didn't seem forced or as though we were just being handed information. As with all good storytelling, we were shown the events as they played out. This served, at least for me, to draw me directly into the episode. Therefore, I could feel Seven's fear and then her pain as she came to the realization of where she was and what she was remembering. The entire series of scenes that unfolded while aboard The Raven were wonderful! Not only did they serve to provide necessary back story, they also brought Seven understanding of herself and brought a sympathetic element to the character that the audience can grab hold of and relate to. Of course, the emotions passing across Jeri Ryan's face during these scenes had as much to do with the overall feel of them as the writing. Again, I cannot say enough good things about her portrayal. I want to end this review on a Janeway note. Though the scenes with Seven were touching and brought me nearly to tears at times, it is still Captain Janeway that gives me thrills. I am speaking of the scene where she and Harry are discussing the contents of Seven's personal logs. Janeway reads the description of the bird and you can see the wheels of her mind working the puzzle that has thus far eluded her. Finally, when she says, "Or a raven," in that whispered voice of discovery, chills literally ran up my spine and down my arms. Even though (on first viewing) I had no idea what that meant at the time, I knew that the Captain had solved the puzzle. Kate's ability to take the emotion of discovery and sprinkle it over the viewer without giving the puzzle away is amazing. I have watched that scene over and over again, always with the same tingling response passing over my body. (A minor nit-pick with the description of the bird: The journal entry read, "with yellow eyes," yet the bird we were shown over and over throughout the episode had the black eyes of a raven. Ooops.) All in all I have no quarrels to pick with this episode at all. I enjoyed it throughout and am certain that it will be one of the ones I pull up to watch again and again. - Siobhan Wolf I really enjoyed this episode - it's one of the few I haven't figured out before the characters did and I love it when that happens. Everyone put in a strong performance and there was lots of Janeway, which is always a good thing. It was nice to see her interacting with a real person on the holodeck for a change. The story was fascinating but self-defeating in a way because it answered a lot of questions about Seven of Nine that would have been more interesting if left alone for a few months while she struggled with adapting to humanity again. Give her some time to get used to things like eating (which doesn't seem like something she would have forgotten so completely) and needing to sleep and working with more of the crew, so that it would be that much more unexpected when her Borg implants began reasserting themselves, and more dramatic when she discovered the repressed memories of her parents and their assimilation. I still think she's fascinating, but a lot of the mystery that made her so interesting at the beginning of the season has been removed already. What's left? More inane dialog about what's irrelevant? Speaking of irrelevant, how about Voyager's security force. Once again, they looked totally useless and much to my chagrin, I had to agree with the gyroscope-headed alien about Janeway's apparent incompetence. It wasn't just her though. Just once I'd like to see Voyager's internal force fields and/or shields hold up against whatever they're supposed to be containing or keeping away. I'd like to see Tuvok's security team prevent or stop the menace, I'd like to see aliens who are completely wonderful and potential first allies for humans in the Delta Quadrant the way Vulcans were in the Alpha Quadrant. And I want to see Chakotay supporting Janeway in a way that doesn't make me think he's suppressing a deep anger about how she's welcomed a Borg, however disconnected from the collective, into their community. I would love to spend some quiet time in DaVinci's workshop with Captain Janeway, talking about imagination and art and politics and religion and philosophy. I'd ask her how she's feeling, how she's holding up under the pressure of being on duty essentially 24 hours a day. Captain of a Starfleet vessel, leader of a community... I'd ask her why she keeps retreating from the women and men who are now her only friends and family in favor of computer constructs and clay. It's not that I think it's a bad thing for the captain to have some time alone, but that's all we've seen her doing on her own time for the last season or two--tennis with the holocomputer, painting in her ready room, talking Holo-DaVinci into a corner of his workshop, sculpting. The only time she's been with other people is when she's on duty or being motherly with Seven of Nine, or when there's a group celebration like Tuvok's promotion. Kate's done an excellent job showing us how lonely the captain might be, but it's time now to find the warm, confident Kathryn Janeway from Season 1 again. SHE is the captain I'd follow without question for the next 60 years. -Meredith Antonelli Here we have another marvelous Janeyway/Seven of Nine episode, which continues the superb dialogue and relationship started in "The Gift." "The Raven" surprised me in many ways because I did not think the writers would keep in mind this terrific bond between Janeway and Seven of Nine, yet here it was and once again, in full force. As we saw in "The Gift" Janeway is someone who, as Voyager history has shown us, is willing to give people a chance - again and again. From 1st season's "Caretaker" when she brings aboard Tom Paris to 4th season's "Scorpion II" - Janeway shows that she is willing to give people a first chance and even a second - people who normally would never have been given opportunities in the reality of both the Alpha and Delta Quadrants. There are many who would say that Janeway is foolish for doing this. That even after getting tricked (Seven of Nine in "The Gift") Janeway should cut her losses and stop believing in the goodness of people. But it is that goodness that often leads to others around her bettering themselves and often becoming more than they, themselves, ever imagined they could become. And that brings me to "The Raven", an episode that I enjoyed quite thoroughly for how it started and how it ended. The opening scene with Janeway and Seven of Nine in Leonardo DaVinci's workroom set the stage, once again, for what I feel is this marvelous relationship between two characters who are so different, yet so alike. They both have a great deal to learn from another, and with Janeway leading the way, I think we have a lot to look forward to. My favorite scene in the whole episode is really the first one. We have Kate Mulgrew who, my God, looks more relaxed as Janeway than I think we've ever seen her. Everything from her mannerisms to voice inflection to the way she walks, stands and sits - the whole scene for me just oozed complete believability. Kate reminds me so much of William Shatner as Kirk - where the actor and the character have truly fused into a whole being and become so utterly believable. I can never say I have ever reached that point with Patrick Stewart/Picard or Avery Brooks/Sisko. So, watching Kate like this for me is a real joy. The whole dialogue concerning imagination and creativity was beautiful - how many of us, in our hectic lives, have forsaken the time for just those things because we were too busy working overtime, or racing on another errand, or trying to get that one more thing done! I know I have been guilty of that. And this marvelous scene once again reminded me of the beautiful aspect of art, imagination and creativity and what it can truly do for our souls. And frankly, if Janeway has time to do that kind of stuff - why can't we? We learn more about our dear Captain in this scene. We learn that she enjoys art, likes to creative things and that, almost more importantly, she feels the need to "forget about Voyager" now and then - something we never really knew she needed to do. We learn more of her great love of Davinci - of how he brought art and science together and she enjoyed studying that as a child. Janeway speaks with a of passion on these subjects and one can't help but see her more a full 3-dimensional character than before. Sometimes it's little scenes like this that can make all the difference for a character. This episode mostly deals with Janeway helping Seven of Nine deal with nightmares or day dreams that involve the Borg chasing Seven of Nine and her fear at that - she is not only unaccustomed to fear, but feeling fear about her fellow Borg. What would be causing this? Then, in the midst of all of this, Seven of Nine's dormant Borg implants spring to life and she leaves the ship for a planet that she eventually discovers is the key to her behavior. Throughout this primary story, Janeway is dealing with Seven of Nine's inner conflicts as well as the Aliens Of The Week[tm] who are placing strict rules on where and how Voyager can travel through their space. In the end, though a variety of machinations, Seven of Nine and Tuvok visit the source of her dreams - The Raven, the ship in which she and her family were aboard 20 years ago when the Borg attacked and assimilated them. Seven of Nine suddenly remembers her father and his experiments, her birthday party, her family - the fear of being attacked and assimilated against her will by the Borg. It's in this scene onboard the ship that Seven of Nine can see and experience how much of what Janeway has been trying to explain to her about her humanity is, in fact, true. That they're not just words - but that Seven of Nine (Annika) truly had a life, had feelings, emotions and human impulses that were all taken away once she was taken by the Borg. This experience is important for Seven of Nine for it can only help convince her more that Janeway is telling her the truth and that there is a future for her among humanity. So all the scenes of Seven of Nine struggling against Janeway in "The Gift" and "The Raven" do, in fact, make sense. However, from this point on, one can hope the direction of Seven of Nine's teachings will perhaps grow with her experience. We shall see. If it were not for Janeway's decision to give Seven of Nine a chance (again) with the crew, if it weren't for Janeway's determination to try and understand what Seven of Nine was going through (KJ standing in that Borg Alcove had elements of horror and endearment in it - loved it!), if it weren't for Janeway's true desire to give people a second and even third chance even when someone didn't think they needed it - this is what Janeway and her command style is about. This is something I do not think we have seen in other Star Trek Captains and I am so glad to se it here. Granted, KJ will sometimes go over the edge and give people a chance one too many times. But she treats her crew well and gives them every chance to prove themselves worthy. And so far, Seven of Nine has shown (as has Tom Paris, Chakotay and others who have betrayed KJ or Starfleet at one point or another) that she is worth the chance. Worth the time and effort and belief that Janeway is putting into her. And the more we see of that the happier I know I will be. And finally, on a lighter note, how about a brief list of Things That Just Made You Scream: * When the Borg implant popped onto Seven of Nine's right hand * When Seven of Nine told Neelix that she was unaccustomed to sitting because, "Borg do not sit." How many people heard Jeri Ryan follow that up with, "I cannot sit in this tight outfit." * How come every alien idiot that comes along can steal a shuttle craft out from underneath every officer onboard Federation starships - not matter how much advance warning they have that Said Alien is headed to the Shuttle Bay? (And how are they gonna fix that big hole anyway?) * Who knew the Borg knew the Vulcan Nerve pinch? Who knew every Borg could carry the traits of the races they have assimilated? - Sashi Alexandra German Katewatch SOJOURN'S SEASIDE SOIREE 27 SEPTEMBER 1997 On Saturday, September 27 I attended the Seaside Soiree for Sojourn, an organization that provides shelter for battered women and their children in the SouthernCalifornia area. Every year the group holds a charity fundraiser and honors various people for different contributions not only to Sojourn but to the community as well. For this year, the group was honoring Kate Mulgrew as their 'Inspiration of the Year.' The other three honorees were Michael King for 'Humanitarian of the Year' and Diane and David Robbin for the Sheila James Kuehl Award. This was a black tie affair held at the Loews Resort in Santa Monica, which is located in front of the pier and other buildings where beach scenes from "Futures End, Part 1" were filmed. The evening kicked off with a silent auction and cocktails from 6:30 until 8:30. Kate arrived quietly with several supporters in tow: her two sons, Alexander and Ian; Rick Kolbe; Roxann Dawson, Garrett Wang; Robert Picardo and Brannon Braga. Roxann was just starting to show and looked charming in her black dress with a lace overskirt. Kate also wore a black dress (as did about 99% of the women there) with spaghetti straps, a long flared skirt and a slit up the side. To me she looked a little pale but that may have been because of the bright lights and her dark dress. Of course, her freckles still caught me by surprise-she looks so much younger when she doesn't cover up them up with makeup. She wore very simple jewelry-rhinestone earrings, a thin chain around her neck, a gold bracelet on her wrist and that ring that seems to be in every picture I see of her. Guests and honorees milled around before dinner, chatting and sipping champagne. Bids for the auction were written on small notepads placed in front of each item. Gifts donated for auction included dinners at local restaurants, photography sittings, stuffed animals, walk-ons for television shows, computer software, leather jackets and all sorts of autographed scripts and movie posters. Kate had autographed several editions of Voyager paperbacks and there were also two copies of the "Scorpion II" script signed by the new cast-not Jennifer Lien but Jeri Ryan. I spent most of my time chatting with my friends Ari and Jen, who volunteered for the event and were in charge of one specific table of items to be auctioned. I ran into Lynda Foley, whom I had met on the Paramount lot back in June and we stood and talked for awhile. On our way to the ladies room we passed Kate, who reached out and touched Lynda's arm and began to talk with her. I just stood there until she realized I was with Lynda. She extended her hand and said, "I know I have met you before." I told her that we had indeed met-at UCLA in May when she read parts of Bleak House for the English Department fundraiser. I passed Michelle's 'hello' on to her and she inquired about her, wondering how she was faring with two small children and a new job. Until dinner was served I just wandered around looking at all the treasures for auction. I caught glimpses of Kate here and there-once she was fussing over her youngest son Alexander, who at 13 is eye level with his mother. Guests were called into dinner at 8:30. At each place setting there was a teddy bear in either a red or blue sweater, a program for the evening and a bag filled with all sorts of treats. Mine contained a video of an old movie, a CD with dance hits on it, a Star Trek Original Series poster and several samples of hand creams, gels and makeup. The program was full of dedications to different people associated with Sojourn. Many were for Kate, including Paramount Pictures, MTA Talent Agency, different theatres in Southern California and of course, Now Voyager. Rick Kolbe wrote a lovely one that said "Kate. Loving, Caring, Gracious, Magnanimous. Congratulations, My Love, Rick." During the salad course the band began playing soft jazz music and several couples got up to dance, including Rick and Kate. What a terribly cute couple! Unfortunately for us admirers, that was the only time they were on the dance floor. Dinner was salmon with dill sauce and rice pilaf or spinach soufflé for those of us that do not like seafood. After the dinner dishes were cleared there was a little more dancing-this time with a mixture of big band music and old rock and roll. Then another break in the music while the honorees were presented with their awards. The statutes were triangular shaped pieces of colored glass on a black base. Mr. King spoke briefly and then Kate was introduced. She too spoke very briefly. In fact, I was lucky to get the two photos I did because she was at the podium for only a few minutes. She opened with a request to the men at her table to "please stop playing with the teddy bears because that has gone on long enough!" Then she stated that she wasn't quite sure why she was an inspiration, except to give young girls a desire to study physics for endless hours, take command of a starship and then get lost in the Delta Quadrant far from home. Kate very politely thanked the Sojourn organization for honoring her and complimented the staff on their fine work. The last speakers were a couple that was both on the advisory board. Mrs. Robbin at one time had been a battered wife and had turned to Sojourn for help. The band began playing again but by this hour several people had begun to leave. Ari, Jen and I wandered over and stood in line (behind Robert Picardo nonetheless) and asked Kate for a group picture. She more than graciously agreed. Then Lynda walked by and Kate asked her to take another group picture so that we could include Jen, who had taken the first two. Ari and Jen offered to drive me to my car because I had parked several blocks away. While we were downstairs at the concierge's desk waiting for my bag, Kate walked by us and waggled her finger stating "don't drive home too safely!" I laughed out loud and stated that she was a "silly woman-she thinks we're going home!" We stayed out very late that night, but that's a different fan club. As we left, Kate, Rick and her sons were sitting in the downstairs lobby with a few other people that I didn't recognize. Despite some professional differences of opinion, I still have respect for this woman and all she and the character she plays stand for. During the whole evening she was very gracious and charming and so were her sons. They are both very well mannered. Every person that approached her was treated with a warm smile and a handshake and requests for photos were gladly given. She does possess a certain degree of elegance that very few women have and with Kate it seems very natural. She just likes people and her celebrity status doesn't seem to have gone to her head. And it was a treat to see her not only out of character but also as a mother. The few moments I saw her with her two boys (who look alike but Alex has her copper colored hair and Ian has dark hair) were heartwarming. It was a truly magical evening. --Annmarie Daneker I volunteered for the fund raiser for Sojourn, where Kate was given the "Inspiration of the Year" award. I was monitoring the silent auction tables. I did see Kate and her two boys (I recognized one from the Rosie O'Donnell show). I told the one boy how cool his tie was--because it was. Roxann was also there with her husband. She was dressed in a slinky black dress and looks so much different in person--very cute and "perky" and classy (reminded me of a darker Anne Heche). She didn't look pregnant to me, but my roommate said you could tell when she stood sideways that her tummy was growing a bit. Anyway, Kate. She looked incredible. She reminded me of Princess Grace or Princess Diana. She obviously had makeup on, but I couldn't really tell--it was subtle and natural, just made her skin look radiant and healthy. She just glowed with grace and presence. I'm sorry, I just don't remember what she was wearing. I wasn't going to go up to her and say anything, but I was looking at an item that I had bid on and praying that I wouldn't get stuck with it, when I sensed someone else looking at it. I looked up and She was standing so close to me our shoulders were practically touching. My mouth probably dropped open or I gasped or something, because she looked up and smiled. Well, at that point I had to say something. So I said, "Hi, I'm Julie and I'm a member of your fan club. It's so nice to meet you." She held out her hand and said, "Thank you. It's great to meet you." We shook hands--hers was warm and firm but not too tight--like some people who know that a "firm" handshake makes a good impression so they grip you like a vise. Nope, just right. She smiled warmly, then we were interrupted by one of the organizers who dragged her away. The whole thing probably took 45 seconds, but it was great. Robert Picardo was also there with his wife, as well as Garrett Wang with a lovely woman (don't know his marital status). Garrett looked quite handsome and appealing; I think I would like Garrett much more than Harry Kim. Garrett laughs and smiles all the time. Both he and Picardo seemed to be having fun. Rick Kolbe was escorting Kate. The real thrill of the evening was meeting Lynda Foley. We chatted for quite some time, though she had to get home to finish a script for a promising pitch meeting that Monday. I also met fan club members Jennifer [Schlenzig] and Alana [Voeller] and fan club friend Ari [Oyola, who was pictured in a recent newsletter]. Kate gave a brief speech. She said "First of all, I'd like to tell everyone at my table to stop playing with their teddy bears. I mean, enough is enough." She said she didn't know what she could possibly inspire anyone to, unless it's to "inspire young girls to study physics for years and years and years and leave their homes to command spaceships only to get their entire crews lost in the Delta Quadrant." This got a small laugh from the crowd. Kate basically said what a great cause Sojourn is (shelter for battered women) and how honored she was. It was short and sweet. One of the organizers of the event told me that Kate was the big draw. Because of Kate, she said, they'd had their biggest turn-out ever--a sold out event. She said they had used Kate's personal mailing list and contacted the fan club, and that her supporters had been incredible. She told me again what she had told me twice before--that the response from Kate's fan club had been surprising and overwhelming. I only wish I could have met more of the people who I know were there. --Julie Aiken Now Voyager raised over $800 for Sojourn, in addition to the individual contributions of members who attended the event. Anyone interested in supporting the organization should write to P.O. Box 7081, Santa Monica, CA 90406-7081. The People Page INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT BELTRAN by Becky Olsen and Diane Nichols This was at Vulkon in Atlanta, Georgia, September 13, 1997. Diane and Becky want to thank Nancy Molik who saved the day with her tape recorder, and Irma Zamot who provided videotape of both days...as well as Joe Motes and Ruthann Devlin, for leaving them alone in a hotel room with Robert Beltran and a king sized bed . They also extend sincere thanks to Robert, who was exhausted and starving but still managed to smile, and that's a true gift. The final question was asked by a local Starfleet chapter. NV: Since I talked to you two years ago in Ft. Lauderdale, what's changed? RB: It's pretty much been, since Ft. Lauderdale, pretty much the same. The only thing that changes is what we personally do on hiatus. NV: Does that leave you time for family on the weekends? RB: Yes. Yeah, weekends are free, we're free on weekends. And some episodes we don't work every day. NV: Tell us about working with Kate. What's it like working with her? What are her strengths? RB: Kate is a terrific actress, first of all. And second of all she's easy to work with. And thirdly, she sets the tone on the set and we definitely get down to work when we have to. NV: Could you see anyone else playing Janeway? RB: Bette Davis maybe. And my mom. NV: We see a lot of chemistry between you and Kate, of course everyone talks about Janeway and Chakotay, but very little of it is scripted. Do you think that really comes from you and your friendship with her? RB: Yeah. They do write good scenes for us most of the time and because we are friends, and I consider her a very good friend, I think it adds to the scenes, definitely. Just a natural ease that we have with each other. I think we like each other personally so it comes through. NV: Can we talk about Hamlet? RB: Sure. NV: How did that come about? How did you end up directing, acting, doing everything? RB: Well, I knew the play very well... I did want to direct, I offered the directorship to a good friend, Kristoffer Tabori, but he wasn't available to join us until later in the rehearsal schedule, so I started all the work and it was very difficult because we had two entire casts to rehearse. And then we lost four weeks because Voyager's hiatus started earlier, so we lost four weeks of rehearsal. And it was just a monumental task trying to get this thing together and a couple of times I didn't think we were going to, but we did. And I'm glad we did, because I learned a lot and it was a wonderful experience. NV: When does your shooting schedule run? RB: We started May 29 this year and we're finished in mid-March. NV: Did you have time in between Hamlet and then starting the new season's shooting? RB: I had a couple of weeks. Yeah, and I had to go to Europe. I had to be in Zurich about the 24th or 25th [of May] so I went to London and Paris and then I made my way up to Zurich and came back to work a couple of weeks later after we closed. NV: Looking back on it, what was the best part of it? RB: Well, I think the sense of accomplishment and also just the privilege of being in that play and running it for thirty performances. I had never done that play, except...I had never played Hamlet, except in my class doing various scenes and soliloquies. So to be able to just do the entire play all the way through, night after night like that, it was very exhilarating, even though I was exhausted. NV: What would you do differently if you decided to do this again? RB: I would do it with one cast and a few understudies, and I think what I would do is just try to enhance what we already had, because the play evolves as you do it. And I think it would have only gotten better and better the more we did it. NV: My view of it, having seen it, was that it was strictly acting. You had minimal setting, no costumes, and it worked really well. Would you want to do a full stage production of Hamlet? RB: I purposely did not want to do that because like you said, it distracts. It doesn't have to, but I thought that if we did Elizabethan costuming and went that way...I really did want to just attack the play as a "new" play, as if it had never been done before. I just thought that if we could keep it moving quickly and tell the story then most of our job would be done. But it almost achieved what I had in mind originally. NV: Had you worked at the Actors' Gang Theater before? RB: No. In fact I was in despair because all the theaters that I had wanted to use were not available. So when Actors' Gang came up...it was the first time I had gone in there and seen it, was when I heard that it was available and I went to go look at it and it was a dream come true cause it was better than any of the other theaters that I had originally wanted to do it in. I mean this whole thing was sort of like, blessed and but this doesn't mean that you don't have hard work and things to overcome that make it difficult at the time. But like I said, the end result is that you did it. NV: And it's an exhilarating feeling, too, doing something live and knowing that there's no going back, and what you do that night is there. RB: That's right. NV: It's a big difference from filming. RB: Yeah. That's one of the reasons I wanted to do it, because I hadn't done any theater in three years. NV: Do you like it better? RB: Well, yeah, I like the process more. NV: Are you still involved with the East LA Classic Theater? RB: I am, but I feel sort of like I got it off the ground and now it's sort of something that's beyond... yeah. I'm proud to be a founding member and to have gotten it started and I'm glad that now its an entity that's being taken care of. It's a self-sustaining entity and I'm happy about of that. So I don't have my hands in it too much. We have a Board of Directors and we have so many "boards of directors" that I don't even know who they are any more. So it is moving. NV: I have to ask you a personal question. My son is an aspiring actor, so he thinks that he might like to go on to college and take some classes. What kind of advice would you give him? RB: Well, I think he's got the right idea, to go to college, go somewhere where he could study; and just keep doing it and doing it until something breaks for him. There's no one way to do it, and the way I did it, is totally different from the way anybody else...so he's going to have to find his own way. But the main thing is for him to train and be prepared when that break comes. NV: When will you have your next time off? RB: Probably Thanksgiving and then Christmas and then hiatus. NV: Getting back to the show for a minute, one of my favorite shows from last season was "Worst Case Scenario." Was that as much fun to do as it was to watch? RB: It was a lot of fun. We got Martha back for a little while, she's great to work with, and it was a fun script. I liked it. NV: Are you happy with what you've done so far this season? RB: I liked the cliffhanger, the Part 2, very much. ["Scorpion"] And then there was another one that I did, called "Nemesis," that's going to be coming out pretty soon. I've enjoyed this year so far. NV: Some of us have had the real feeling that the show is turning a corner. There have been some rough times, some scripts that maybe didn't quite make it, some stories that just didn't work, and it's been really toward the end of last year that things really started to gel. It seems that this new year is starting that way too. Do you have that same sense of that? RB: A lot of people have said that. I guess that I do sort of feel a momentum picking up, but it's hard to put your finger on. NV: You have to be happy with the ratings. RB: We're very happy. NV: You beat out Ellen. RB: Yeah, we did very well. Which is possibly a good sign of things to come. NV: So what do you see ahead for "Voyager"? Any conception of how long this is going to last or where the show is going? RB: I'm not privy to what the writer/producers are thinking. All I know is that we started off great this year and hopefully that momentum will keep building and I know that we all recently re-negotiated for more years, so we'll be around for a while unless disaster strikes. NV: What's your life's motto? RB: I call my production company The Mustard Seed which is taken from a parable from the Gospels. Actually, two parables concerning the mustard seed. One is 'having faith as small as a mustard seed you can accomplish anything' and second of all, the mustard seed is the smallest seed and yet it grows up into a huge tree that provides shelter for birds and others. If I have a life motto, it's contained in those parables. SOME CONVENTION NOTES by Becky Olsen On the first day of the con, Robert delighted the audience by playing impromptu scenes with Janeway, a.k.a. a microphone stand. The second day, our own Nancy Molik presented him with Leah Frey's Janeway "standup." From across the stage, Robert called, "Isn't she beautiful?" to much applause. Then he added, "She's a lot of fun to work with, 'cause she's nuts!" Slipping slowly into character, moving very close to Janeway and speaking very romantically, he murmured, "What do I have to do to make you understand? It's inevitable." The audience hooted as Robert moved behind the cardboard Janeway and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Think of the children. We're going to have wonderful children." He paused. "Hopefully we won't de-evolve and they'll come out slugs." By this time the audience was howling. Someone suggested that he and Kate should perform The Taming of the Shrew, with Kate, of course, playing "Kate." Robert proceeded to play the scene to "Janeway": "I did that in college, and she would be a great Kate. Boy would she be a great Kate. He then adopted a stage voice and began to play to the cardboard Janeway: "Good morrow, Kate. Well, that is your name I hear..." The scene continued until Robert reached the line, "I will wed you, I will bed you, I will marry you Kate," at which point the audience was beyond control, so he wisely changed the topic! Asked whether Chakotay has any other tattoos (which brought riotous laughter from the audience), Robert pointed to the inner corner of his eye and sniffed, "A little teardrop, right here." When someone called out that he ought to show it to Kathryn, Robert said, "It wouldn't work." He then affected a very bad Janeway voice, and proclaimed, "'Oh, Chakotay, here's a handkerchief. Please. I'm talking to Leonardo.'" The audience oohed, and Robert continued, "You're talking to Leonardo Da Vinci? A hologram?" He paused dramatically. "And I'm here alone in my quarters...with my medicine bag...God, I hate you." By far the funniest moment of the entire convention came twenty minutes into the first Q&A session. A little girl of about ten or eleven stood and asked Robert how he felt about being an action figure. As she handed him her Chakotay figure, she apologized, saying: "I'm sorry it's bent in a kind of weird position, my mom's been playing with it." There was no gaining control of the crowd for a full five minutes. I'm thoroughly convinced that if he didn't know before, Robert now knows what a truly twisted bunch of people we all are! Kathryn Janeway, Feminist Heroine MY DAUGHTER, CAPTAIN JANEWAY by D. Rush "Red alert. Battlestations!" Her voice is steely and the command presence is tangible in each word. Captain Janeway has arrived on the bridge and her officers are falling over themselves to do her bidding. No, we're not watching Voyager--we're watching one of the effects that Voyager has had on my household. My daughter has developed quite a fascination for Captain Janeway--HEY, it's not MY fault. Not once have I let her see me drool during the show, I swear! Emma loves to pretend that she's the Captain, and has gone so far as to introduce herself as Captain Kathryn Janeway and often demands that I call her by that name. Imagine my consternation when I have to say, "Captain Janeway, you have got to put on your underwear right now, we have guests!" She has carefully trained her grandparents, her friends, and even her physical therapist in proper protocol when the captain is in residence. Immediate compliance. No questions. "Do it!". Period. The Captain is always right, the Captain never makes mistakes, the Captain can fix anything. Hero worship in its purest form. I'm not surprised that my daughter loves to pretend that she's Janeway, but I thought I'd ask her why just to see what she said. "She knows a lot of science and I'm good at science. She's really, really smart and I'm smart. She gets to give the orders." And, "I like her hair." I was so pleased when I heard her answers--well, except for that hair thing. Janeway is exactly what I'd hoped for my daughter--a role-model to help show a strong woman in a powerful position, making good decisions. A leader who is so smart and so principled that one would never question her orders. That's how Emma and I see Janeway--our view may not agree with more discriminating viewers, but Emma and I adore our Captain for the utter delight we feel that she even exists. And she IS powerful and strong and in complete control--how many times do our daughters see women like that? (Mothers do NOT count, of course, everybody knows that!) Living with Captain Janeway can be a bit difficult at times, especially when it comes to explaining stuff from the show. I was in a major quandary trying to explain the kidzards that came along with her new mutated Paris action figure. No, she didn't care that Janeway had been knocked up by Helm Boy, but was royally pissed that they abandoned the babies. Also, where ARE those seatbelts? Her older brother is a wonderful source of scientific explanations for the "technology" and background of Star Trek and watching Voyager is one of the few activities that has brought my 18 year old son and my daughter closer together. For that reason alone, the show is a miracle--trust me. It's fascinating to see Matt and Emma debating the situations on Voyager, I can get positively sappy when that happens. Of course, then they bring out their communicators and proceed to drive me nuts with them. (I will NEVER forgive Michelle for not warning me not to get the talking kind. Arrrgh!) Emma is terribly concerned about how often the Captain seems to fall down. She thinks that Chakotay should hold on to her--it IS his responsibility as first officer to keep the Captain safe. Ahhh, that's my girl. My darling daughter is truly obsessed. She requests...no, demands...that I wake her in the morning by calling, "Captain Janeway, exit your quarters." Although she occasionally calls me Chakotay, at least she hasn't refused to bathe with me because it goes against command protocol. And, although she doesn't understand why, she knows I won't answer to "Chakotay" when I'm putting her to bed, undressing her, or washing her. I just can't do it. I guess I blame my little dilemma on Kate Mulgrew--she's created a monster! I should fly Emma out to Kate and tell her that her portrayal of Janeway comes across as so controlling that it's a bad influence on innocent little children. Emma is living proof of a power-mad kid. I'll tell Kate that Em's staying with her until Kate can convince Emma AND Janeway to act like there might be a person or two who also have good ideas and accurate opinions. It could straighten BOTH of them out. It would probably be quite enlightening for Kate to see Janeway as portrayed by a 6 year old. If Em could walk well enough, she'd be swaggering around with her hands on her hips spouting orders CONSTANTLY! About the 4th time Emma said, "because I'm the captain and I say so!" Kate might start getting the message. Emma would probably be much sweeter to Chakotay, too...IF he'd been very, very good. Emma is very fond of Kes, too, and misses her terribly as she is sure Captain Janeway does. Overheard during Sunday school: the teacher asked, "What is God?" (I thought it a rather strange question for 5-6 year olds, too.) One little boy (who obviously has parents who tow the party line) said, "God is everywhere and everything." What was my darling daughter's answer? With great confidence and conviction, she firmly stated that "God is probably half alien and half Ocampa." There is no question in her mind that Kes must be a Goddess! All that whining aside, I guess I'd just have to thank Kate profusely for providing such and inspiring model of perserverance for Emma. For a kid who is constantly faced with her physical limitations and who struggles daily just to walk without falling and who may never realize her dream of jumping rope, Kate's Janeway inspires Emma to keep trying, to never give up, to force herself to go farther than she thinks she can. There are more and more strong, fascinating women in the world than there ever have been before, but it's pretty hard for small children to know them. Captain Janeway, on the other hand, flashes onto the television--larger than life, vibrant and dynamic and DEMANDS our attention. Simply put, there's no one else like her and I'm thrilled that she's there. And she's even a Hoosier, like us. VOYAGER AND ANCIENT EPIC By Amy Spagna Epic poetry was one of the largest literary genres of the ancient world. Growing out of an oral tradition, the poems of Homer and later, Vergil, came to enjoy a status as the most widely read texts in antiquity. Everybody who had an education had read them. Although the whole Star Trek phenomenon is a part of 20th century popular culture, it too has come to enjoy a similar position. At least in the U.S., even if a person is not a fan, he or she has at least heard of it and has probably seen it. There have been numerous comparisons of Trek to ancient cultures; a professor of mine even maintains that the Klingons are Romans and the Vulcans are Greeks. Perhaps the most obvious similarity is that of Star Trek to ancient epic. It is told in a similar fashion, with characters who, in many instances, cannot grow and can do no wrong. Voyager is no exception to this rule, as its stories are told in the same grand fashion of its predecessors, and most of what the crew encounters seems larger-than-life. Voyager seems to have more in common with Vergil's epic rather than Homer's, particularly in its premise and in the characterization of its captain. The whole premise of the series revolves around finding the way home. This is a common theme in the works of Homer and Vergil; the major themes of both the Odyssey and the Aeneid are about finding the way home despite difficult, numerous, and dangerous obstacles. Even Apollonius of Rhodes (Argonautica) deals with this while chronicling the adventures of Jason. While the crew has gotten less whiny about their predicament -- as do the crews under Odysseus and Aeneas -- the concept of reaching home does surface occasionally. The first occurance is in the first-season episode "Eye of the Needle," in which the crew comes very close to finding the answer they are looking for. This happens often to the hapless Trojans; in the course of Aeneas' telling his story, the reader learns that he too has often found what he thought was safe harbor, only to be told by one of the gods to move on. "Home" also has come to have the same meaning for the crew of the Voyager as it does for the Trojans. On the vast majority of the occasions on which it is mentioned, the Trojans do not have a clear idea of where their new home is located, or of what they will find there; it is the notion of eventually finding this place that keeps the Trojans' journey and hopes alive. Similarly, "home" has become somewhat of an idea rather than an actuality for Voyager's crew. The idea of it is by no means dead, though it is not often mentioned outside of the context of a wistful statement by Captain Janeway or one of her crew. Voyager presents the audience with a crew which is somewhat thrown together. This is also the case in the Aeneid. After Aeneas flees the burning citadel of Troy, he discovers that many others have also done so. Collectively they decide to seek out a new home; Aeneas becomes their leader by virtue of his position as the only surviving member of the Trojan royal family and by their will. He relates, ...As night waned I joined my company. And there to my astonishment I found New refugees in a great crowd: men and women Gathered for exile young -- pitiful people Coming from every quarter, minds made up, With their belongings, for whatever lands I'd lead them by sea... -- Aeneid II. 796-800, translated by Robert Fitzgerald The Latin here makes use of the subjunctive form of the verb, which seems to suggest that this journey has the potential to be very long, and that the people are following Aeneas out of their own free will as much as they are following him in deference to his status as a hero. The situation following Janeway's destruction of The Array in "Caretaker" is somewhat similar. She is also faced with a motley crew, the survivors of her ship combined with the survivors of Chakotay's. Like Aeneas, she also becomes the leader of the whole group by virtue of her position. USS Voyager is her ship, and she is also the highest-ranking officer present. In the cases of Chakotay, Neelix, Kes, and the remainder of the Maquis, they choose to go wherever she may lead them; as Chakotay tells B'Elanna Torres, they follow Janeway because she's the captain. Janeway is a lot like Aeneas in other ways as well. Possibly most important is her possession of the Roman virtue known as pietas. The word does not translate well from the Latin, and there has been a great deal of debate over its exact meaning. The Oxford Classical Dictionary defines it as, "... the typical Roman attitude of dutiful respect toward gods, the fatherland, and parents and other kinsmen..." (OCD 833). In the case of Aeneas, this quality tends to manifest itself in his devotion to his duty. Fate has decreed that he is to be the common ancestor of the Romans, and he consistently acts to fulfill that destiny. Janeway is also devoted to the duty she feels she owes her crew. On multiple occasions she makes mention of it. In "Caretaker", she tells Tuvok that she has to get her crew home; likewise in "The Q and the Grey," she tells Q that she's not about to abandon her intrepid crew just to raise his child. Janeway also tries to impress her sense of duty upon those serving under her. On occasions when her officers break Starfleet regulations, e.g., "Prime Factors" and "Fair Trade", she is very quick to lecture them about what their responsibilities to the Prime Directive and ultimately, to her and to the rest of the crew, are. There are also several issues with which Janeway must cope as a result of her pietas. Perhaps the most obvious of these is the fact that she sometimes finds herself coming into conflict with others because of it. The best example of this is her relationship with Chakotay. She is so committed to getting her crew home and to her command protocols that to this point she has not allowed it to become anything more than friendship. This is brought to the fore during "Resolutions," and has hung in the air between the two of them since. Pietas drives Janeway to keep searching for answers so she can return to the ship and fulfill her duty, and that serves to drive a wedge between her and Chakotay. The destruction of her scientific equipment serves a function similar to the storm in Book IV of the Aeneid. Unlike the case with Dido and Aeneas, there was no marriage involved; however, it did allow her to forget her duty, even if for a little while. As recently as "Scorpion," Janeway's devotion to duty has caused problems with Chakotay. She refuses to consider alternatives to punching her way through, and ends up having a huge argument with him as a result. It causes no irreparable damage to their relationship, but it does demonstrate that, at least in a command situation, her sense of duty is her major motivation. Finally, Janeway sometimes sounds like Aeneas. Consider the following two speeches: ...Friends and companions, Have we not known hard hours before this? My men, who have endured still greater dangers, God will grant us an end to these as well. You sailed by Scylla's rage, her booming crags, You saw Cyclops' boulders. Now call back Your courage, and have done with fear and sorrow. Someday, perhaps, remembering even this Will be a pleasure. Through diversities Of luck, and through so many challenges, We hold our course for Latium, where the Fates Hold out a settlement and rest for us. Troy's kingdom shall rise again. Be patient: Save yourselves for more auspicious days. -- Aeneid I. 198-207 (Fitzgerald) We are alone, in an uncharted region of the galaxy. We've already made some friends here -- and some enemies. One thing is certain: both crews are going to have to work together if we are to survive. That's why Commander Chakotay and I have agreed that this is going to be one crew: a Starfleet crew. And as the only Starfleet crew assigned to the Delta Quadrant, we'll continue to follow our directive to seek out new life and to explore space. Our primary goal is clear. Even at maximum speeds, it would take 75 years to reach the Federation. I am not willing to settle for that. There's another entity out there like the Caretaker who has the ability to get us there much faster. We'll be looking for her. We'll also be looking for wormholes, spatial rifts, and new technologies to help us. Somewhere along this journey, we will find a way back. -- Kathryn Janeway, "Caretaker" Both express similar sentiments in similar terms: we've been through rough weather and there is plenty more ahead, but we are going to make it. Unlike the vast majority of Homeric heroes, Aeneas does show glimmers of humanity. He openly anguishes over what he's done in leading his people to their new home, mourns for the dead, and even gets to fall in love. Janeway too is human, and the audience has been reminded of it in numerous ways, both through the writing of episodes and the wonderful acting of Kat e Mulgrew. Janeway worries about her crew; she genuinely feels, and we have often shared in her anguish. Unlike Aeneas, she continues to receive reminders of her humanity from characters like Caylem ("Resistance"), the Nikani ("Sacred Ground"), the Borg of "Unity", and Seven of Nine. She does not become a slave to her fate as Aeneas does; rather, she works with it and tries to make the best of each situation that presents itself to her, not only for herself, but for the people around her. Works Cited: Fitzgerald, Robert, tr. The Aeneid of Virgil. New York: Vintage Books, 1990. Graf, L.A. Star Trek: Voyager: Caretaker. New York: Pocket Books, 1995. "Pietas." The Oxford Classical Dictionary, Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970. GESTURES by a writer who wishes to remain anonymous Recently I spent a weekend in the mountains. I have found that this can be a very peaceful experience and offers one an opportunity for moments of much needed reflection in a very busy world. Giving a great deal of thought to the many losses and gains in my life thus far, I could not help thinking about my Grandmother's absence and the presence of a lady named Kate Mulgrew. We all have memories of childhood that we hold in our hearts and cherish throughout our lives. This is one of mine, and I wish to share it. When I was very small, my Grandmother moved in with my family to an apartment attatched to the house. At the time I felt this would be a great intrusion on my irrepressible lifestyle. However, it was not long after she moved in that I found myself often drawn to her presence. I enjoyed listening to her many stories of the past though she told them repeatedly. Each day I would come home from school at lunch time just so I could share part of my day with her. This was a special time and place for me, and how my Grandmother became a very important part of my life. In the corner of her living room sat a carefully polished old clock set to chime precisely at 12:30 each day. To her that old clock's chime was like a messenger crying out to remind her that something very special was about to begin. It was the start of a program called Ryan's Hope and the entrance of an actress, a lady, named Kate Mulgrew. She enjoyed watching many soap operas, but Ryan's Hope was very special to my Grandmother because in Kate she saw much more than just a gifted actress. She saw a woman who she often said she felt was "blessed with with the heart of an angel." I believe this is true because Kate has never forgotten what a simple act of kindnesss can mean to another person. She repeatedly shares her endless generosity by offerering her voice to those whose cries are not always heard: the sick, the lost, and the children. Now various charities honor Kate because she makes such a worthy difference in this world simply by caring about the people in it. My Grandmother always felt Kate was destined for "great things" because she believed her to be "strong of spirit" and always and forever a "class act." That was her highest compliment, and one very well spoken. Kate has deservedly achieved success as an actress. Through the years she has also managed to hold onto the same grace, dignity, and class that made her so worthy of such high praise both then and now. As a child, I myself only knew that I was awestruck by Kate's presence whether on a tiny screen or a darkened stage. I did not have many good role models, so Kate was a true gift for me. She was someone for that child to look up to and strive to emulate. I was too young to know the meaning of celebrity or fame, so her influence came from the heart. My youthful instincts simply told me this was a very special lady. Exactly what my Grandmother saw when she looked at Kate is a mystery. It had to be something very special because just the mention of Kate's name made her smile. That is the greatest gift one can ever offer. More than twenty years have gone by since those days of sharing Ryan's Hope. My Grandmother passed away some time ago. However, the gifts she bestowed are a part of who I am just as Kate's influence on that child is a part of me too. When I speak of Kate now, it is with both the heart of that child who was touched so deeply years ago, and the adult whose life she continues to touch. She has repeatedly shown herself to be that "class act" my Grandmother spoke so proudly of. Kate continues to show us all that she still has so many wonderful gifts to share with this world. I myself am still learning from her example. Her touch bridged generations, brought direction and hope to a small child, and offered joy to an old woman whose smile was slowly fading with age. Perhaps we do not all have a chance to stop what we are doing and contemplate our lives. If we could, we would take pleasure in the things we have. We would hold more dearly the people who in some way, have been or now are, a part of us. I do know my Grandmother's memory lives on in my heart just as my endless respect and admiration for Kate does too. Copyright Violation Corner In the words of a certain Em Wycedee, "Paramount owns the characters, the franchise, and more of my soul than they should." The immortal poem "Ulysses," which inspired this story and which is quoted in part below, is the work of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and should be a must-read for anyone who loves the concept of explorer-as-hero. Thanks to Kathleen Speck for dialogue assistance. THAT WHICH WE ARE by Brenda Shaffer-Shiring How dull it is to pause, to make an end, To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use! "Coffee?" Kathryn Janeway asked, moving toward what she'd come to think of as her "coffeemaker." The device had begun its existence as a common replicator, but in the decade she had owned it, every flavor of coffee known to the Federation had been added to its repertoire. "Please," Chakotay said from his place on the couch. "Andorian Mountain blend, Melendran cream." Both coffee and cream were relatively obscure variations, but he was familiar with the capabilities of her office replicator. "Coming right up." She ordered his beverage, then, after a moment's thought, requested a traditional Columbian roast (black) for herself. Carrying both steaming mugs to the sitting area, she offered him his drink before taking a delicate, sampling sip of her own. Just what she'd expected, but then it always was. She settled down into her armchair, and for a few minutes they sat silently together, sharing the beverage and one another's company in their private, time-honored ritual. As she sipped, Janeway raised her eyes over the rim of her mug and looked at her companion, really looked at him, as she hadn't done in a long time. He did not seem to note her regard. As so often when he came to her office, his eyes had moved to her window, and the bay beyond it, following the movements of passing ships with small restless flickers of his pupils. The windows of his own little office, and those of the classroom where he taught, afforded him no such view. From a physical standpoint, the passage of time had been kind to the man she'd selected as her first officer, some twenty years gone. Though Chakotay's short, once-black hair had long ago turned salt-and-pepper (now more salt than pepper), and the lines that crinkled the skin about his eyes and mouth had gotten deeper, few new lines had encroached on the still-handsome countenance, and the slight additional hollowing beneath his cheekbones only accentuated the strong, blunt angles of his face. Beneath the black-and-gray of his uniform, his body still looked fit and powerful: his shoulders as broad as ever, his waist nearly as narrow, the suggestion of muscle still informing the shape of his sleeves. That wasn't all the work of nature, she knew; despite his age (or because of it), he drove himself through a demanding regimen of regular exercise. Kathryn did not need to look in a mirror to know that the passing years had not been quite as kind to her. She was quite aware that her own golden-brown hair was shot through with white; that her eyes, no longer so deep-blue as they had been, were accented by crow's feet; that her face was perhaps too thin, her cheeks too hollow, to meet some concepts of attractiveness. Though Chakotay had assured her many times that her beauty was undiminished, she suspected his assurances had more to do with his sense of gallantry than with fact. Not that it mattered; Kathryn had never been obsessed with schoolgirl standards of beauty. While she found it satisfying to know that her looks were pleasant for a woman of her years, she was more concerned with her health and level of fitness--and knew that, thanks to a demanding exercise regimen of her own, she was still strong and wiry, quite capable of "whipping her weight in wildcats" (as a long-ago physical training instructor of hers had once said). Not that she'd had much need for the ability to whip wildcats, she reflected. Or, for that matter, anything else. Not in a long time. Chakotay looked away from the window, heavy gray eyebrows quirking upward with amusement, and she knew he had seen her scrutiny of him. With a self-conscious smile, she turned her gaze back to her coffee--only to realize that he, in his turn, was regarding her, a tiny smile of his own on his full-curved lips. After a moment, she said dryly, "A comment, Captain?" He took another swallow of his beverage before answering. "Just appreciating the view, Admiral." An eternity ago, at the beginning of their journey on Voyager, she might have pretended to think he was referring to what he'd seen through the window. But they were long past such games now. "Flatterer," she accused, without heat. He inclined his head. "Not at all." "How long can you stay?" "As long as you'll have me. No classes this afternoon." Chakotay sipped his coffee. "Time off for good behavior?" "You could say that. And you?" "Me too. You're my last appointment." "Ah, saving the best for last." He set his mug down on the transparent surface of her coffee table, and considered her with the steady, serious gaze she knew so well. "So, Kathryn, what's been bothering you?" She stiffened a little, then mentally cursed, knowing the move would have been imperceptible to almost anyone but him. "What makes you think something's been bothering me?" she evaded, cupping her coffee mug in both hands and holding it high, as if she meant to block his view of her face. "Sell it to someone who's buying, Kathryn," he advised mildly, hunkering forward in his seat and laying a big hand on her knee. He'd learned that trick from her, she thought suddenly, certainly, the not-quite-casual touch that pulled someone's attention irresistibly to the toucher. He'd been a good pupil; the gesture worked as well for him as it always had for her. "You've been, I don't know, nervous, tense, for months now. I thought at first that maybe you'd found out something had happened to one of our crew"--for everyone who'd served on Voyager, "our crew" would only and ever have one meaning--"and you didn't want to tell me for some reason. But nobody I talked to had heard of anything like that. If there'd been anything wrong with someone in your family, I couldn't imagine why you'd hide it from me, but I checked anyway. Your sister said there hadn't been." Her eyes widened. She hadn't realized he'd be that thorough in his researches; wondered what her sister's exact words had been when the question was raised. "And as far as I can tell, there's not even a hint of a departmental shakeup in Starfleet Sciences. So your job's not at risk." He sketched a thin, not-trying-very-hard-to-be-cheery smile, before his eyes became serious again. "I don't know what's wrong, Kathryn. But I know something is." He squeezed her knee. "You can lie to anyone else--except maybe Tuvok--but don't lie to me. What's going on?" She sighed, temporizing for just a moment longer. "Has anyone ever told you you're awfully pushy?" "You. Hundreds of times." His gaze was unblinking. "Give." "All right." She symbolized her surrender by setting the mug down and meeting his gaze. "But I warn you, it's not going to make a lot of sense." "Kathryn, I spend every day dealing with cadets whose idea of tactics is charging head-on into a fleet of Romulan battle cruisers and firing for all they're worth." He chuckled, a bit ruefully. "Compared to that, you're a fountain of logic." "Thanks," she said wryly. "I think." That pulled a little more of a smile from him. "Chakotay--" But it was the unspeakable, unthinkable question, the one no commanding officer should raise, and she discovered that she couldn't quite ask it after all--not while she was looking right at him, and sitting so close to him, and certainly not while he was touching her. So she pushed herself out of her chair and paced a few steps away from him, her arms folding of their own volition across her abdomen, protecting and steadying her as she turned back to him. "Chakotay," she began again, feeling her stomach tighten with unaccustomed nerves. "Chakotay...do you ever wonder if it was worth it?" He looked at her for a moment, frowning thoughtfully as if considering her possible meanings, and she wondered if she would have to explain herself further after all, even to this man who knew her so well. Then the frown cleared, and she knew he understood even before his soft words confirmed it. "You mean, bringing Voyager home, don't you?" "Yes." She kept her own voice low, because she hoped he would not hear the faint tremor in it, and because the admission sounded too much like treason, like blasphemy. But he did not look shocked, or even disapproving. "Yes," he said simply. "Sometimes I wonder." The words hit her with a peculiar pang, and yet, she realized, she should not have been surprised to hear them, not from him. After all, Chakotay had gained little from the ship's return to the Alpha Quadrant. "Don't get me wrong," he said, slowly, as if he were searching for words. "I think we did the right thing. I think we did the necessary thing. I think we had to bring them home if we could--had to come home if we could." (But of course he had not been able to go home, he or most of Voyager's former Maquis, forced by the annexation or destruction of their worlds to make their homes where best they could.) "But sometimes it feels...." He trailed off. "As if we paid too much," she finished, her throat aching, and he nodded mutely. They were silent for a time, as scenes and faces flooded her mind, many long-gone, all as clear as yesterday: images of battles, explosions, bleeding and dying officers. Images of faces ravaged by disease, or hunger, or, more often, simply by despair. Images of terrible, doomed gallantry and defeat too bitter to endure, too cruel to accept. "All the fighting, all the struggle--" Durst, Bandera, Hogan, Suder, Kaplan, MacEwan, Baceski, and on, and on.... "All the death." Something crumpled in his face at that last, but he only nodded again. "And for what?" She stalked a few steps further away, the walls suddenly seeming too close, the room too small. "So that we could find some glorious future? Get to some shining Shangri-La?" She wheeled to face him, hands on her hips, snapping the words off as if she were accusing him of something. "Do you know what Tom Paris is doing these days, Chakotay? I'll tell you what he's doing." Outrage rose up in her throat; in the end all Tom's efforts, all his ability, all her own recommendations, had not been enough to see him past his old scandals. (His family connections might have helped, but to his credit he'd refused to seek acceptance on those terms.) "He's a flight instructor." "I know," Chakotay said softly. "It's a terrible waste of talent." "B'Elanna." She was pacing now, as the words, the fury, fountained out of her like water from a geyser, driven by heat and pressure. "I still don't know what the hell her debriefing team said to her--but nobody's seen her since. It's as if she dropped off the face of the galaxy." If she had ever been able to get her hands on the officers responsible for that....but she hadn't. "And Seven--Annika--oh, we know where she is. On some godforgotten world in the back of beyond, where with any luck they won't find out what she used to be and treat her like a freak, the way they did when she was on Earth." Even in the headquarters of supposedly-enlightened Starfleet, Seven of Nine's dignity had not kept her from being poked and probed as if she were a laboratory animal. "Is this what we worked so hard for, Chakotay? Is this the future we wanted to give them?" But she gave him no time to answer. "And you." Sitting there so quietly, watching her, he was perhaps the very symbol of her frustration. "A man of your ability teaching pap to idiot cadets." Oh, Starfleet had grudgingly promoted Chakotay to captain, but he must know as well as she that they would never give him command, or even let him out of his stifling little pigeonhole, his former outlawry barring him forever from any posting to which his skill and experience might otherwise entitle him. She still heard the whispers, whenever his back was turned: whispers that named him renegade, criminal, traitor, suggested that he was allowed to remain in Starfleet only by favor. "And me." A bitter taste. "The 'hero-captain of Voyager.'" Sarcastically, Kathryn tossed off the phrase she'd heard too many times in the early days of their return. "Kissing ass for highranking desk jockeys whose idea of a difficult assignment is figuring out the seating chart for a diplomatic reception." Her mouth twisted, as if she were trying to spit out the bile, and she looked away, out her window. Beyond that transparent pane, the ships and shuttles attached to Headquarters flew back and forth on their endless petty errands, as small and insignificant as insects--but still flying, dammit, those terrible gnats still flying even though her beautiful Voyager had been mothballed, turned into a godawful orbital museum for children and curiosity-seekers. "Oh, brave new world...." The words stuck in her throat. "Kathryn." Chakotay's voice was low, insistent. "Kathryn, look at me." She turned, and saw him regarding her intently, his dark eyes very serious. "I won't tell you it's not that bad--even though I think, for a lot of our crew, it isn't." The words reminded her that, when they'd first returned to Earth, there had been some happiness, some satisfying reunions: Tuvok with his family, Sam Wildman with her husband, Harry Kim with his parents (if not with his former sweetheart, who had apparently given up on him almost as soon as Voyager had been lost). But that seemed like a long time ago. Sometimes she wondered cynically if even some of those reunions had soured in the decade since their return. "But most of what you're talking about has been true for years." There was no reproach in expression or words; only gentle inquiry. "Why does it bother you so much now?" "I don't know." She shook her head, restlessly. "I don't know, Chakotay. Maybe it's been building for years, and I just didn't want to admit it. We paid so much to come back, all of us. How could I say we didn't get enough for the price? How could I say it wasn't worth it?" He simply waited. "But I tell you, any more, every time I see a starship taking off, I--" Something in her throat wouldn't let her finish the sentence. He came to his feet then, in a movement that, if not as swift as it might once have been, still had its old grace. Then he was at her side, his long fingers closing warmly over her shoulder. "Kathryn," he asked softly, "what do you want?" "Chakotay?" she said uncertainly. From a foot away, his scrutiny was sympathetic, concerned, and inescapable. "What do you want? What would make it worth it to you, Kathryn?" "I don't--" He shook his head, and she realized that wasn't true. She did know. Meeting his gaze, she told him quietly, "If we could do something worth doing again. I can't believe we came this far so that Tom could be stuck on a planet, you could be stuck in a classroom, and I could be stuck in this office. Dammit, this isn't where we belong, and it isn't what we should be doing. We're better than this." Her voice--almost--cracked. "All of us." "What, then?" His eyes never left hers. "We need to get out." The words tumbled from her, as if propelled by the quickening beat of her heart, and they were more real and true than anything she'd said in a long time. "I need to get out. Out of this office, out of this job, off of this planet. Now, Chakotay," she said urgently. "Before we're too old. Before it stops mattering any more. We have to get out." Something lit up in his eyes, some responsive spark. "You mean, get Starfleet to give you another ship?" "Maybe." She was thinking rapidly. "Or maybe not. I don't think Starfleet would give us what we really want. Remember how I asked for a field posting a few years after we came back? They told me they didn't want to risk losing Janeway-the-legend." The snort escaped automatically; that was all the more good fame had done her! "I could ask again, but I'm really afraid that, even if I could talk them into sending me out, I'd just end up patrolling some nice, safe route in known space." And, most likely, without those others who, like her, deserved and needed better. "We need to see if there's another way." "Yes." He was obviously considering the question. "If we could get a ship of our own--Chakotay!" The revelation exploded through her like a burst of pure energy. Such a simple solution, yet she, daughter as well as officer of Starfleet, had never entertained the possibility before, never even let the thought arise. "That's it. A ship of our own." He looked at her, startled, a little dazed. "How?" "How does anyone do it?" She felt a smile pulling at her lips. So very simple. "We'll buy one." "What?" he asked, in plain disbelief. "We'll buy one!" She did smile then, partly at his stunned expression, partly just with pleasure. Oh, she could do this. She would do this. She was Kathryn Janeway, scientist, explorer, captain of Voyager, and if Starfleet chose to deny those aspects of her soul, so much the worse for Starfleet; she would not be chained to trivial duties like some medieval chattel. "I've been in the service 40 years now, long enough to build up a pretty respectable pension. I can take it now, in a lump sum. And I've never spent most of the credits I got for the ten years on Voyager. And I had savings before that, and a little bit of an inheritance from my father. Do you think all that might add up to the price of a small ship?" His eyes searched her face intently, and he said at last, "You're serious." "Of course I'm serious." He smiled slowly, taking the thought in. "Interesting. And what will we do with this ship when we have it?" "Go out there," she said, anticipating it with an eagerness she hadn't known in a long time. "Explore." That had used to be what she loved about Starfleet, but somehow she had lost it, in all these years locked into the petty bureaucratic side of things. Or maybe Starfleet had lost it; she didn't know. She would have it back, with or without them. "Maybe see some of the things between here and Delta that we missed because we took a shortcut home. Oh, Chakotay"--and she gripped his hand, excitement surging--"we'd be alive again. Doing things that matter. Answering to ourselves." He gripped back. "It sounds wonderful to me, Kathryn." His smile widened. "Actually, I have a few credits set aside myself. Maybe we can get a bigger ship." "And bring Tom aboard as our pilot, and Harry as operations chief--" Chakotay raised a hand. "Harry may not want to leave the border patrol," he pointed out. "That's true," she conceded, her enthusiasm not dimming. "And I guess that's not a dull life. But we can still ask him. We can ask Tuvok, too, but I don't know if he'll come. He might not want to leave his family." "I don't know," Chakotay disagreed mildly. "The last time we saw him, he seemed a little bored with being on the Vulcan Council. He might welcome a break. And besides, I don't think there are too many places he wouldn't follow you." She smiled a little at the latter assertion, knowing it was true. Whether or not it was logical for him to be so, her old friend was one of the most loyal beings in the universe. "We definitely have to ask Seven to come on as an engineer. I think she'd jump at the chance." "I'd jump at the chance to have her," Janeway said quietly, thinking not only of the woman's skills, but also of her strength and tenacity. Her time among the Borg might have made Seven difficult to understand at times, but her courage in integrating that experience into a new, more human life had been--still was-inspirational. "And, Chakotay--" "Yes?" "There has to be somebody, somewhere, who knows where B'Elanna is. For something like this, Chakotay, maybe she'll come back to us." "I hope so," he said softly. His smile took on a wistful quality; tacit admission of how deeply he missed his old Maquis colleague and onetime best friend. "I'd like that." She squeezed his shoulder, understanding, sharing his feeling. "So would I, Chakotay." A sudden thought amused her. "They'll think we're crazy, you know," she said, eyes sparkling. He blinked. "Who?" "Everyone. Starfleet. Mature, respectable officers like ourselves leaving our mature, respectable jobs to go flitting around the quadrant like a couple of young bucks." His lips quirked. "They probably will. Does it matter?" "Not a bit." She grinned again. "Want to work on our letters of resignation this afternoon?" He sketched a bow. "At your command, Admiral." The grin grew wider. "`Admiral' will do in a crunch," she said, feeling exultation flooding her. "But I prefer `Captain.'" ...Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho' We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are; One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. --Alfred, Lord Tennyson "Ulysses" TOP 10 WAYS TO SEDUCE CAPTAIN JANEWAY by Anneke Apperloo 10) Put some wires in your hair & ask her out on a date. 9) Make sure there's no Harry Kim around to interrupt. 8) Adopt two little brats she can take care of. 7) Tell her you've fallen in love with her & get her in your grasp before she can respond. 6) Hire an alien that can make her believe you're Mark. 5) Abduct her. 4) Crash together on a silent planet, where you can peacefully transform into salamanders. 3) Build her a bathtub outside & set a monkey free in the forest. 2) Give her a backrub & tell her you love her in ancient legend form. But the ONE and only way to seduce our captain is: 1) Convince her you'll tell everybody else nothing ever happened on that planet... VOYAGER FAN CLUBS NOW VOYAGER Official Kate Mulgrew Fan Club P.O. Box 34745 Bethesda, MD 20827-4745 tigger@cais.com THE COMMANDER Official Robert Beltran Fan Club 330 Greenwich Street Reading, PA 19601-2821 oleary1@uscom.com B3 PRIME Official Roxann Dawson Fan Club 1630 Ft. Campbell Blvd., Suite 143 Clarksville, TN 37042 blilsism@aol.com RANDOM FLIGHT Official Robert Duncan McNeill Fan Club 850 Mellowood Avenue Orlando, FL 32825-8085 ricknpam@iag.net EPIC Official Ethan Phillips Fan Club P.O. Box 4818 Waterbury, CT 06704 randeg@aol.com CARPE Official Robert Picardo Fan Club Box 373, 1277 Linda Mar Shopping Center Pacifica, CA 94044 traceldel1@aol.com VULCAN INSIDERS Official Tim Russ Fan Club P.O. 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