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INITIAL VIEWER EXPERIENCE
Oh good, an episode that features Harry Kim not doing his job so well...He could use a little character...uh, a LOT of character development...He's in love with WHAT? Another holodeck gone mad story?...Wait, Harry's gotten too boring and now we're dealing with Tuvok...Hmmm, it's not just another holodeck character story after all...interesting twist...nice final shot.
I wish things were a little smoother, and Kim's never going to be a real force on the show until they give him something to do besides whine. But it was touching, at the end. Is Marayna supposed to represent people on the Internet, as Ashley Miller has suggested? Or is that a special skin condition she's got, making her represent acne-ridden teens who hide in their rooms?
PLOT
Voyager finds an inversion nebula and studies it for days because they're aren't any in the Alpha Quad. Even stranger, this one isn't acting right. It's supposed to burn itself out, but it's been around a long time. Kim seems uninterested.
In Tuvok's quarters, Kim tells Tuvok he wants to use Vulcan techniques to suppress his emotions. One would hope he's talking about that whining thing, but it turns out he's fallen in love with a holodeck character, named Freya -- no, Dr. Leah -- no, that chick from the Dixon Hill program -- no, Marayna, that's the ticket! She's the hydrosailing (??) instructor in the Club Med program.
Tuvok agrees to help, arrogantly counting off the different stages of Kim's puppy love while they go meet the holocharacter herself. Marayna is nice and friendly to Kim, but one look at Tuvok, and it's like the kid doesn't exist, which is either a display of fickleness or good taste -- you be the judge! Marayna talks to Tuvok about his favorite Vulcan game, kalto, which is supposed to be a million times more complex than chess, sounds like that province Janeway and Paris were supposed to be from in "Paralax," and looks like my old erector set gone horribly wrong.
Back on the bridge, Tuvok, Kim and company study the nebula up close. A strand catches fire, but then seems contained by a dampening field. Kim still can't seem to get too excited by the whole thing. Janeway mentions that she's expecting everyone at Neelix's luau, much to Tuvok's displeasure.
Paris flirts with the tropical dress-wearing Torres and shows off his super-authentic Big-Daddy Hawaiian shirt. She gets the best line of the show: "I think you put just a little too much thought into that, Tom." She also reveals that Kim isn't coming to the luau, so Paris goes to get him. Tuvok's meditation techniques last about two seconds against Paris' suggestion that Kim deal with his infatuation by confronting it rather than hiding from it.
At the luau, Tuvok walks around in rigid protest while most of the others seem to be enjoying themselves, until finally Marayna starts talking to him. Soon they are deep in conversation. Vorik is a little overly attentive to Torres, Kim mopes and then leaves when he sees Tuvok talking to Marayna, and Paris can't find anyone to eat with.
Back on the bridge, Janeway decides enough's enough with the nebula, but when she orders a course back to the Alpha Quad, nothing works. Kim goes to help in engineering and finds that even Torres has figured out he's got the hots for Marayna. Like a tolerant aunt, she tells him to run along, and he goes to the holodeck where he finds A KLINGON WHO CHOPS HIS HEAD OFF!!!
...No, he finds Tuvok talking to Marayna. Jealous, Kim whines that Tuvok is making moves on his holowoman. Tuvok deletes Marayna to show that he was only enjoying some conversation with a computer subroutine. Kim is not buying it and stalks off.
Back on the bridge, the ship still won't respond to commands, and they all figure it must be the nebula messin' with them. Torres gets thrusters to work a little bit, so it will take about a day to get away from the nebula. Kim is still not interested in the whole thing, and takes the opportunity to sulk at Tuvok.
Displeased at the situation (in Vulcan terms), Tuvok returns to his quarters and finds A KLINGON WHO'S JUST CUT OFF KIM'S HEAD!
...No, Marayna, which actually was a bit of a surprise -- for me, anyway. She's playing kalto and explains that she downloaded herself into sickbay and is using the Doctor's portable transmitter. She wants to BE with Tuvok, but the stalwart Tuvok calls out an intruder alert and security actually does come to his quarters, though not before Marayna shows she can control the ship by silencing the intruder alarm.
In the conference room, Kim stops sulking and starts looking embarrassed as Tuvok explains that Marayna wants to BE with him. Speculation goes round the table, and they finally decide something in the nebula may be affecting the holodeck while alluding to Star Next The Next Generation (a sort of prayer for better ratings?) and Prof. Moriarty. Janeway says in her stern voice that she wants it taken care of.
Paris, who seems to be there only so he can suffer his Injury of the Week, Torres, and Tuvok go to the holodeck to confront Marayna and get beaten up by a bunch of waiters. Torres finds out the ship is actually in contact with another ship, somewhere out there in the nebula.
Back on the bridge, they and the others are thrown about as strands of the nebula ignite and toss the ship about. Marayna's voice comes over the com, "Tuvok, I want to BE with you!" Tuvok goes back to the holodeck to confront her. No longer sulking at all, Kim beams Tuvok to the real Marayna, who lives in this space station, maintaining the beauty of the nebula for passing ships to admire. For fun, she infiltrates the computers of these passing ships, and the holodeck was something special. Marayna pleads with Tuvok to stay, using Voyager as a hostage. But he says that if she truly cares about him she'll let him go. Defeated by his logic, she agrees, and he suggests that she must be lonely to act like this and that she should go home for a while. She agrees again, but then asks, "But what about you, Tuvok? Will you always be alone?" he raises an eyebrow at her and beams out.
Later, Tuvok turns off his private game of kalto (solitaire) and goes down to the holodeck to apologize to Kim for dismissing his affections so lightly, then offers to teach Kim kalto.
CHARACTER
The idea of this episode seems to be primarily one of character development, and there is certainly no needier recipient of development than Kim. He could be interesting: he seems noble and smart and inexperienced and game for most anything. The main problem with him is he's never any fun. Even running around the ship dodging Vidiians with a baby in his arms, he reminds me of my old biology lab partner. Having him fall in love with a holodeck character isn't a bad idea, especially since she turns out to be a "real" person.
But the problem is that the script really does forget all about Kim once Tuvok gets into the picture. Rather than working on the problem together, Tuvok leaves Kim behind. This suggests that Tuvok may indeed feel some possessiveness about Marina, but it does nothing to develop Kim.
Frankly, it feels wrong for Kim to go to Tuvok in the first place. It seems only right that Torres and Paris figure out on their own that Kim's in love with Marina, so why didn't he go to Paris? Why tell the one guy who probably wouldn't be paying enough attention to you to figure it out on his own? Kim's never shown any interest in mental disciplines before, and if he truly believed he was having some sort of problem, the Doctor would seem to be a better choice than Tuvok. This is all aggravated by Tuvok's own attitude towards Kim, which has always been smug and distant, as far as I can remember, if not downright pissy. Of course, the whole idea is to start making them friends...but it sure gets off to an awkward start.
In fact, the only honest moment Kim shares with another character is when Paris tries to talk to him at the luau, sees that Kim is truly upset, and leaves him alone. That's sometimes the best thing your friends can do for you, and Paris knows Kim and friendships well enough to know when to back off. I think we can take this as a positive sign that Kim can have an honest moment with anyone...maybe even Tuvok...in some future episode.
Okay, I'm going to emulate the script now and turn to the more interesting guy. Tuvok's appreciation for Kim's feelings does flow naturally out of his experiences in the episode. He feels the temptation of this smart, logical, lonely woman that drew Kim in. He also seems to understand that Marayna's pointed farewell question has some justification. One of the strongest points of the whole series is that we're watching a bunch of people work and live together who -- many of them, anyway -- wouldn't even speak to each other in normal circumstances. Janeway must make friends with the crew, colleagues must become lovers (or very, very frustrated), and Tuvok himself cannot continue to stand alone in the crowd, announcing his displeasure to everyone all the time. In many ways, Kim could make the perfect foil to Tuvok, but it will have to be handled better than this.
THOUGHT
Turning away from the main characters all together, I think the coolest idea of the show was definitely Marayna's real job. It's a great idea to have a race so advanced that they maintain a nebula for its aesthetic value. We do the same thing with our work on saving the wetlands and the Everglades and all that. And it's a wonderful image of loneliness, the underlying theme of the episode. What could be more isolating than maintaining a fiery cloud of space dust?
SPECTACLE
Speaking of which, the dust looked pretty good, though Marayna's office should have looked a little bigger.
I really liked the touch of having that large metal thing in her office look like the kalto game. It strengthens the connection Tuvok and Marina make.
Am I the only one who likes the pool hall better than the Club Med set?
DICTION
Best line already mentioned.
I also liked:
"But what about you, Tuvok? Will you always be alone?" -- Marina.
"Everyone falls for a holodeck character sometime." -- Paris, and if anyone should be able to say this, I'm sure it's he.
SONG
Great job on the score as always, but I was disappointed the nebula didn't have special music, that I noticed, anyway.
Now for the section where I deal with Star Trek baggage...
STAR TREK ELEMENTS WE (OR I, ANYWAY) LOVE
Using the nebula has been covered, which leaves us with...
STAR TREK ELEMENTS WE (OR I, ANYWAY) HATE
...the damn holodeck! At least Janeway's had the sense to stop hanging out there. I know they did eventually come up with something different from a holodeck character gone crazy/sentient/overly real, but I'm tired of it anyway. And we have already seen on Voyager a passing lifeform infiltrate the holodeck and threaten to take people away in "Heroes and Demons." Unless it's REALLY different, could we keep away from holodeck (or holosuite) problems for the rest of the season?
What, exactly, is hydrosailing? It sounds a lot like regular sailing or windsurfing. Can't anything be normal?
Okay, that wraps this one up. I actually did like it, really, but it's not my favorite. Though I must admit, the image of Marina sitting in her office keeping the nebula up and running is haunting me.
Another one in the can!
Star Trek Voyager Reviews
Or go ahead to ST Voyager Reviews -- Coda.
Or go back to ST Voyager Revs -- Fair Trade.