The Disease

A well-told episode involving Harry Kim falling in love. Voyager is helping a group of Xenophobic aliens make repairs to their ship's systems when Harry Kim has an affair with a female on the other ship which is a major no-no. The intimate encounter has an unexpected effect on Harry's body and the whistle is blown, much to the disappointment of Captain Janeway.

What is nice about this episode and different from the previous "Harry Kim develops feelings for (insert random female here) this time the girl likes him back and he handles himself pretty well with her, with no awkward stumbling.

We soon learn that life on the Aliens ship is not enjoyed by all who are there and a secret separatist group is planning mischief.

This episode features some nice moments between Janeway and Harry, and it's a nice break-out show for Garrett Wang. It's just doesn't seem fare that Captain Kirk nailed half the female life forms in the Alpha Quadrant and never got any diseases, but Harry Kim gets lucky 1 TIME and ends up with the Delta Quadrant's version of the clap.

The camera work in this episode is really good. Many long tracking shots, one of which starts in the briefing room, goes to the bridge and ends in Janeway's Ready Room all in 1 shot. Very Cinematic.

Harry is one of the most tiresome characters in this series. At one point, he tells someone that he has never done anything wrong during the entire time on Voyager. Well, he may not have been caught or his transgression may not have resulted in serious damage, but he routinely is out of line and careless. I mean, just a couple episodes ago, it is his insistence that they take an untested shuttle into a dangerous situation, and the entire crew gets killed. Of course, saved by time travel. Anyway, I wanted this episode to be over. The companion plot involves a big ship that pretty much keeps its crew totally in check until a rebellion forms.

Harry Kim, young single man, on board Voyager for five years without ever getting laid. He finally does and everyone treats him like a Christian convent that caught a ten year old masturbating.

Janeway is particularly incensed by the nerve of violating Starfleet protocols which apparently involve full medical evaluations and signing off in triplicate before having sex. You know, very romantic stuff that is easily inserted into a moment of passion.

This episode just angered me more than anything and I also lost respect for Janeway who had almost no empathy or even recognition that a guy in his 20s that's horny as F, halfway across the galaxy and stuck with the same 100 people for five years might need to get some action!

BTW didn't Janeway just kiss some DeVore alien passionately like three episodes ago? Where were the protocols on that one? Didn't Kirk and Riker basically sleep with every sexy female alien they ever encountered?

Lack of consistency/continuity and betrayal of characters and culture established to date got this episode a low rating from me.

Good episode to a point. Been going through watching 'Voyager' recently as I never saw the last few series in my initial viewing some years back. We, my sister and I, always thought 'v'ger' As we called it, was the weaker of the 'Treks' - But I'm quite enjoying them and think I was a bit harsh in my, many years earlier views... Anywhoo..

This episode was rather an odd ball one. Usually unflappable Ensign Kim - who after many heroics is still an Ensign... fall head over heals for a very pretty Alien engineer - They are found hanging out at what looks like her college dorm room at the beginning of the episode... Now Star Fleet has some proper regs about new aliens and whether one should get too familiar without medical advice etc but ya know 'feelings' etc - so all are sort of right as they go along - the Captain the Medical issues etc.. And Harry makes a big song and dance about his Alien lady... However the episode falls apart at the end, utterly and totally. After all the histrionics and Alien Engineer Tal gets her wish to leave her family ship - well she rather stay with here group of travellers then consider asking to go with Kim. And then we have Straight lased Ensign Kim who breaks regs for the women he loves so deeply etc - but he doesn't ask to go with her - nor does he ask her to go with him.... Bizarre... What? Does Kim think himself a Capi-tan Kirk, all of a sudden?? Anomalous episode! - surprisingly 'Seven' was able to unravel the malarkey to get a useful life lesson - lesser mortals like myself are still perplexed.

Trying to control someone on their personal time. Tut.

Starfleet is about exploring and is for all intents and purposes voluntary. Even if it wasn't... certain things in life and implicitly out of bounds of companies and whatnot. They have no say (if you remember to stand up for yourself) in your personal life especially when it has absolutely no effect on what the company is doing. Or in this case Starfleet. Harry engaging in his hormones on his own time did sweet FA bad to Voyager at all.

Have a spine in life and stand up for things that are none of other people's business and it will all work out.