Projections

There aren't a lot of episodes from the first 3 seasons of Star Trek voyager which I would call "must-see" for science fiction fans. But this episodes I'd argue is one of them. The others would be: Eye of the Needle, Deadlock, Distant Origin, Worst Case Scenario, and Scorpion part 1.

What makes this episode great is that it's mysterious from the start. And it keeps the viewer engaged throughout. It even adds an extra twist at the end after one thinks that the writers ran out of tricks.

The episode largely explores the idea of one character not knowing what is or isn't real. And being put in a situation where it's seemingly very important for him to make the correct determination about reality. All of these sorts of stories are very relatable because we know of people who are convinced of things which are false to their detriment. We know that many likable characters are still easily fooled.

And although this sort of story has been done before many times, it's interesting and different to see this sort of story from the perspective of a seemingly artificial form of life questioning if he isn't artificial. It's usually the other way around. It's easy to forget some of the important story details of this episode as well. And that makes it fun to re-watch. This episode also, although confusing, doesn't rely on time travel for creating the confusion or trying to resolve the confusion. And that's something that I appreciate given how common it seems for sci-fi writers to use time-travel or space-time anomalies as their tool for establishing confusing and interesting scenarios for their characters.

Given that the Voyager are in the Delta squadron with all new aliens and stories. The producers decided to hark back to those glitz in the holodeck stories. They even have Dwight Schultz as Lieutenant Reginald Barclay.

The HoloDoc finds himself alone in Voyager seemingly abandoned after an attack by the Kazons.

Reginald Barclay appears and tells him that he is Doctor Lewis Zimmerman, the person who invented the Emergency Medical Hologram programme. There is a malfunction with the other crew members who now appear to be holograms.

The only way out is to destroy the ship. Something the HoloDoc is reluctant to do.

Directed by Jonathan Frakes, it does not always live up to its promise. It could had been better if the Kazons were using a hologram of Barclay for sinister purposes.

At least it was fun as the HoloDoc goes back the events of the very first episode and a realisation of the inner workings of a character who is just supposed to be beam of lights.

The Doctor appears to find the ship abandoned.

This is a strong episode with enjoyable performances.

The plot is elaborately written and obviously meticulously thought out, but you never think for a second it's going to to do anything but press the reset button at the conclusion. Plus the concepts of life and reality are quite familiar from episodes of The Next Generation.

For me the main reason to watch is the Doctor's fun journey back to reality, which has some clever twists and as it unfolds the tension increases. One scene that returns to the events of an early episode is particularly good.

The entertainment provided by pairing Robert Picardo with Dwight Schultz gives an added edge, as the charisma levels are off the charts.

Visually it is very good, which helps the storytelling and the various reveals when they happen.

While the concept of this episode is intriguing, the layers of reality when it comes to holographic technology were quite confusing. As a matter of fact, I assume that Kes walking away at the end, added another layer of confusion which we though had been solved. It was interesting to see Mr. Barclay (Broccoli from STNG) show up. I'm pleased to see the Doctor becoming more and more significant in this series.

An excellent episode which raised all sorts of of questions about what is reality. The doctor's thought processes in trying to establish what reality he is part of, resemble the stages in Descartes' arguments to prove whether or not he existed (as a basis for knowledge) in his 'Discourse on the Method' which ended with his famous conclusion 'I think therefore I am'!! As well as being a very thoughtful episode, there are touching moments with Kes, making it a thoroughly enjoyable piece of television!