I know some folks think everything Trek is always good. I've seen a few reviewers that simply give 9s or 10s to every episode. Well, I've got shocking news--some show DID occasionally suck! This is especially true on "Star Trek: Voyager". All too many episodes simply should have been ditched. In fact, instead of seven seasons of shows that varied tremendously in quality, I would have preferred five really good seasons. Had they ditched all the Fair Haven show, it would have been a great start!
A few episodes back, Mr. Paris made the Irish town of Fair Haven on the holodeck. Within the program everyone is happy and everything is perfect. There is no IRA, there is no British occupation, there is no potato famine and there is no division between Catholics and Protestants. Here everyone gets along wonderfully and welcomes strangers. In other words, it's nothing like the Ireland circa 1910 like it's supposed to be!
Here in the second Fair Haven another cliché appears--that these are all simple, foolish and highly superstitious folk. When one of them sees Mr. Paris doing things like talking to the computer or fixing a flat tire instantly or turning a lady into a cow for a joke, he realizes there's something amiss. Soon the others also catch on and the entire village is ready to weigh the strangers to see if they weigh as much as a duck!
The bottom line is that this has as much to do with sci-fi as a lump of butter. The plot is ridiculous, clichéd and embarrassing. Another episode that never would have been made had the writers not been drinking a few too many pints of Guinness!
Also, for laughs, try watching this with a few Irish friends. They'll probably appreciate it far less than an average American. I could be wrong, but seriously doubt it.
