Virtuoso

Another marvelous Doctor episode!

Doctor's ego is both a benefit and a curse to those who love him, but we have to take each other as we are.

He learns this is a two way street, that in as much as his friends have to accept his own capacity for ego he has to accept that they will not always feed that ego --- autonomy is a double edged sword.

If your friends are happy to inflate your ego without respecting their own individuality then they are fake friends; the real ones won't debase themselves to prop you up on a pedestal.

So bravo, Doctor, for embodying our own experiences of painful lessons, they are valuable and through you we laugh at our own inflated egos!

5/5, a lovely episode.

The Doctor has an opportunity to start a new life as a singer on a planet of obsessive opera fans.

Fame, fandom and his own self-worth are explored in comedic and dramatic moments. Robert Picardo is excellent as always, and so are Katie Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan.

This episode is best when it pokes fun at the celebrity ego and obsessive fan behaviour. The scenes dealing with fan mail, groupies and The Doctor's demands prior to performance are very enjoyable.

Unfortunately, when things get a bit more dramatic, I struggle. Tom Paris says at one point, "Doc, you're not really gonna do this, are you?", which for me is the problem. Nobody could honestly consider that he would actually do what he's contemplating. If they'd executed the romantic subplot better, it might have worked, but his feelings for the individual come out of the blue.

Overall, I enjoyed it, but mainly due to the performances.

I suppose licensing the song (or any song, given that the Doc doesn't perform any music that's still under copyright) would have killed the budget, but I'm still disappointed that the Doc didn't choose Randy Newman's "Short People" at one of the concerts on the planet. Such is the tragic nature of the world that things like this don't happen.

Other than that, I found it an interesting, if somewhat pointless, episode. It doesn't really explore any aspect of the Doctor's development that hasn't already been explored. We've already covered the ground of the Doctor wanting more appreciation, of the Doctor asserting his individuality, of the Doctor seeking to live out his (day)dreams, etc. I did find it implausible that the Captain wouldn't put up more of a fight -- resigning one's commission isn't simply a matter of saying "I don't want to do this anymore" even in normal circumstances, and Janeway would have said so if any other integral officer tried, whether B'Elanna put Engineering at risk or Tuvok or Tom or any other officer with highly specialized skills tried to abandon Voyager. And the Doctor might even be the single most irreplaceable crew member, given how dangerous the Delta Quadrant has proven to be and how the next most capable "doctor" is essentially a field medic (we even saw not long ago how the Doctor insisted nobody else could do certain kinds of surgery in "Latent Image.) And being aboard Voyager tens of thousands of light years away from the nearest reliable source of help just magnifies the unlikelihood that Janeway would just go with the "friendship" argument for releasing the Doctor from his duties. Despite what the Doctor said, she certainly didn't let Harry Kim off so easily, and he's probably the least integral of the main cast officers (plus Seven, for that matter. He beats out Neelix, but only barely, since Neelix brings information about the region to the table, while Harry doesn't bring anything that one of the other officers couldn't also offer.)

So, a serviceable but not really meaningful episode on the fleeting nature of celebrity and fame. I'm just not sure Star Trek really needed to weigh in on this particular aspect of existence.

Also, I didn't care for the Doctor's rendition of "I've Been Working on the Railroad." He sings it just fine, I just prefer other interpretations. I just wanted to get that off my chest, because it's surely important that everyone hears my opinion on the matter. Right? Right....?

"Virtuoso" is a very slight episode, though it is enjoyable. It all begins with Voyager coming into contact with a VERY self-satisfied and smug planet. They feel that Voyager and its crew are beneath them...at least until they happen to overhear the Doctor singing. Suddenly, these folks are entranced and respond to him like he's Elvis or the Beatles in their prime! These folks are now begging him to put on a series of concerts. Heck, they'd even love to have him come live on the planet forever. But this serves to give the Doc a very, very swelled head and soon it's practically impossible to live with him. So what's next? See the show yourself.

One very odd thing is that the famous singer/song writer Paul Williams appears in this one but his part is very small. I saw a documentary about the guy recently and apparently he was struggling with addictions until he ultimately got straight and is now an addictions counselor. Perhaps this was during his chemically dependent period, as this would seem the only reason to have such an impressive guest and barely use him. Oh, and good luck to you, Mr. Williams!

The Doctor sings amazing. I loved this episosd. Robert Picardo is an outstanding singer.