There we go again, thinking that Voyager is about us, well it is, but in this episode it's about Naomi Wildman, who makes her premier with the actress that played the role throughout the end of the series. The character had appeared before but the first time only as an infant and the second time as a much younger girl.
So the story has to be told from her level, which appears to be approximately an 8 to 12-year-old child (Naomi of course grows fast being half Katarian). And I think this episode captures how a child would perceive events occurring on voyager at the time.
But the character of "Flotter T Water" played by the great character actor Wallace Langham, isn't just here for Naomi's benefit.
Because this holodeck program was used (and abused) by both Naomi's mother Samantha and Captain Janeway when they were both kids. And of course by Ensign Kim. In fact, the character of Flotter appears to be something that most of the crew of Voyager is familiar with.
Which is a very human thing, how many of us grew up watching certain cartoons or played certain games, only to see that when we grew up and had kids of our own, they loved the same games and cartoons that we did? Beanie and Cecil... Clutch Cargo... Fireball XL-5... Thunderbirds (And Jon Frakes directed the remake)...?
The B story behind this, the Delta flyer in jeopardy and we have our old friend the "ion storm" to blame, Naomi's mother on the flyer, and Neelix being Naomi's godfather is only doing what he thinks best to shield Naomi from some bad news during a time when he felt she didn't really need to know it.
Of course, this was a mistake.
Getting back to the holodeck program of the episode, if I were a kid I would have loved it. But the holodeck program is a parallel to what is occurring with Naomi's mother, who of course is being pursued by a real "ogre of fire".
As an adult, I see a child's program that has colorful characters that are somewhat funny, in a juvenile way of course, but is also designed to teach the child certain rudimentary things about how the world works.
But of course children like Naomi, and Janeway when she was a child, as being more inquisitive had to tweak the program...
I don't consider this a weak or a substandard episode at all, it in fact deals with something that is very sensitive, how do you talk to a child when their parent is in jeopardy?
Of course Naomi lives in an enviable environment, on a starship. But being the only child makes it difficult. Eventually that issue is remedied somewhat, albeit temporarily.
