The Disease

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.

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.

So, Harry falls deeply in love with an alien woman and Janeway gets all mad about him breaking Starfleet protocols and regulations. This is so stupid and doesn't suit her protective nature towards the crew at all.

They are stranded for five years in the delta quadrant, away from their loved ones. Crew members died in battle or pointlessly on alien planets. They constantly run into dangerous situations and it is just pure luck, that the ship hasn't been assimilated by the Borg already. Every day could be their last. And Harry is a young man. It is just natural that he wants to break free. Guess what happened back in the days when explorers traveled with sailing ships for years around the globe and landed on distant unknown shores with beautiful, half naked girls in the middle of a tropical paradise.

Also, I've never seen Riker being medically examined before and after he slept with alien women in every second episode of TNG. He never asked Picard for permission either and Picard never lectured him about 3 cm thick regulations on inter species relationships. It is a private matter of each crew member - the love life is none of the captain's business, especially not on an exploration vessel. Starfleet is not a military organization, Voyager is no war ship. It would have been one thing if Janeway and the doctor would have been concerned about an alien infection. But Janeway is mad about Harry falling in love! Not about him not using a condom to protect himself from alien diseases and viruses. She is disappointed in him because she feels like he is still the freshman from academy of day one of their journey and obviously has problems in accepting that he and others have changed over the past years. She is like a protective father that gets mad about his teenage daughter that has a boyfriend for the first time, because in his mind he still sees her daughter as this six years old pigtailed girl that needs her father to protect her.

And what is this talk about career and rank anyhow? They are far away from Starfleet headquarters. There is no court martial in sight. They don't know if they ever manage to return home. What career? The only thing that matters on this ship is that everyone stays healthy and happy and doesn't give up. If he has a black or golden pip more than before doesn't make any difference as long as they are still in the delta quadrant!

Janeway acts completely over the top. I bet many crew members didn't just enjoy the scenery on alien planets when they had shore leave for a couple of days in the past years. By the way, after five years away from home and tempted by new worlds, new species, new adventures, a new life... there would have been several crew members already that would have left Voyager and resigned their duty to start a new life on another planet with a new love they found there. This also is quite natural when people travel for a long time. It even happens to ordinary people today, that fall in love during holidays in another country and then burn the bridges and begin a new life there. It is quite weak at the end of this episode that neither Harry nor Tal even considered to leave their lives behind and join the other one on his or her journey just to be together. That deep love they had obviously isn't so deep after all.

The conflict on this generation vessel though is quite interesting. It basically portrays the same struggle that Harry faces. A ship that only travels but never sets anchor to settle somewhere has not much of a purpose. As those people on this ship want to live their lives where and how they choose, the same is true for the crew on Voyager.

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.

Harry Kim has a romantic encounter that causes problems.

This is an okay episode with a typically unconvincing Star Trek love story. Garrett Wang and Musetta Vander do their best with the dialogue, but it feels a bit forced to me as always during episodic television.

The reaction of Janeway is one of the key dramatic aspects of the plot, but feels such a bizarrely OTT attitude it is funny. How someone stuck at the far side of the Galaxy can be risking their career is beyond my logic. I appreciate there is a command structure, as I work within a strict hierarchy, but I'm not sure if the writers realise the arrogance associated with lines about lowly ensigns not earning the right to question a captain's orders. Especially when so many command structures contain questionable ability at top.

That being said the romance and reaction of Janeway is by far the most engaging aspect of the story. The conflict between factions of the alien-the-week characters feels quite cliché ridden and make me zone out.

What lifts it above mediocre for me is some of the amusing banter between characters, particularly in the early scenes.

The quality of the visuals is also very good, with the opening establishing shot being one of the best examples in Star Trek. The filmmakers also make the most of Vander's striking screen presence to create some quite erotically charged moments that feel stronger than usual for the franchise.

Easily the best aspect of the writing is Seven of Nine's perspective on love. This is done a few short scenes of dialogue, but they work well for the story and her character development.