This week we are joined by Chris Mitchell to discuss the episode Think Tank. Its an all boys podcast so beware.
Trek geek extrordinaire and the TrekMate tech wizard. Always liked Trek but when TNG started here in the UK I fell in love and have not looked back since. Podcaster since January 2012
December 15, 2016
Scorpion, pt. 1 and 2, Bride of Chaotica, Dark Frontier… there are actually tons of great background scores in post-Ron Jones Trek. Yes, there are a larger proportion of utterly-generic, samey scores… but there are also some highs even higher than RJ sprinkled in there, too.
December 15, 2016
I think there’s a detail to the end plan you all were missing, too: the think Tank intend 7 of 9 to stay of her own free will and be a part of them. Holding her under duress is either not their way, or not satisfactory to them (as she will not cooperate and be useless as a member of the group). Hence ‘The Hazari might destroy Voyager, and then we would lose you.’ therefore, the threat of losing 7 of 9 as a voluntary member is what keeps them from just leaving or destroying everyone; if Voyager blows up, 7 of 9 walks (or becomes an unwilling prisoner that is useless to them).
That is why they must resolve paying off the Hazari so that they don’t destroy Voyager. So there is a little more logic and redundancy to the plan than you give it credit for. Likewise, if they decloak, the Hazari can attack them; if 7 of 9 is suspected (which is assumed due to the intelligence of the Think Tank), she becomes the trojan horse and makes the Think Tank vulnerable to hazari attack anyway. So there is redundancy there; it is precisely the need to keep 7 (who they assume is here of her own free will and want to keep that way, even if it means solving her challenge, letting Voyager leave, and then holding her to her word and keeping up her end of the bargain) that prevents them from simply abducting her or walking away.
Not saying this is a great episode, at all. But the criticism of the ending was missing several crucial points.
December 15, 2016
Also, cost… crewmen, from Durst to Lindsay Ballard to ensign Jetel. (And that’s not counting all those killed as the ship was being pulled to the Delta Quadrant). Multiple torturous, near-death experiences. The trauma of the entire crew (Kim especially) in the Killing Game. The Doctor’s complete psychological trauma in latent Image. (And also, the idea that no one changes or grows? I would argue that the Doctor’s character arc alone outweighs any arc or change ANYONE in TNG underwent over the course of the show- and that’s not counting 7 of 9’s significant arc, Tom and B’elanna’s lesser arcs, and Janeway’s… descent into madness. 😉 ). Voyager undertakes more damage (and yes, is able to fix it again; Starfleet technology has that ability!), more deeply-felt crew losses, and more difficult decisions and costly choices to stick to principles than TNG (and would outweigh DS9 as well if the Dominion War hadn’t shot ‘cost’ off the charts). To claim that there is no cost to the journey home is just not supported at all.
And of course, the biggest cost… several dozen shuttlecraft, especially the ones Chakotay pilots. 😉
December 15, 2016
Lastly (sorry, webform problems necessitating splitting this up), referencing claims of timescale- Voyager seasons DEFINITELY do not equal a year each. I’m undertaking a timeline project right now, but most significantly- Projection, which references six months in the Delta Quadrant, and Non Sequiter, referencing 8 months in the Delta Quadrant, both come at the start of season 2 (Projections was scheduled for season one but held back; even so, that’s an at-maximum 8-month-long season one). Season 4 is also 8 months long, as it starts with 7 of 9 being freed from the collective and Hope and Fear, the season finale, references that event having been 8 months prior. So Voyager definitely breaks the year-long tradition with several under-and-over seasons, even if they even out to 7 years by the end. DS9, on the other hand, actually does stick pretty well to the 1-year-per-seasn rule.