Projections

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.

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.

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.

This episode is like the movie Inception or the Matrix. Multiple layers of reality inside a holographic projection. As a viewer you ask yourself which version of reality is the real one and which is another illusion inside a holo projection. It feels like being trapped in a dream not knowing that you are dreaming.

And we meet Barclay again. He tries to convince the doctor that he is a real person inside a holographic program that is trapped inside the program because of an accident. The only way to leave the simulation is to end it as it was programmed to end: Either by returning Voyager home or by destroying it. The doctor gets dragged deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole. He tries to figure out what and who is real and what is just an illusion. But how can you prove an illusion inside an illusion? Every action while being inside a holo program is just interacting with the hologram itself.

This episode is tense until the end. And just like you think, the doctor has made it, he is just fooled by the program again.

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!