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 EPISODE REVIEWS | ||
 | "Real
Life" - Week of Apr. 21st - Apr. 25th File Photo
|| Airdate: April
23rd, 1997 Written by: Harry
Kloor (story) Jeri Taylor (teleplay) Directed by: Anson
Williams In Short:
The May Sweeps kick off with an emotional story approaching the
sentimentality of DS9's "The Visitor," and giving us a
sub-plot with originality and pure excitement. Brief Summary:
The Doctor creates and experiences the trying challenges of
having a real family while Voyager explores a new spatial
anomaly, the astral eddy. Review Not since DS9's
renowned "The Visitor" last season have I been moved by
a story so emotionally; I just can't believe it was during an
episode of Voyager! "Real Life," which I was not
expecting much from, has proven that Star Trek Voyager is coming
into its' own. This show not only
had emotional involvement superior to DS9's "Ties of Blood
and Water," but also evoked a feeling closely tantamount to
that evoked during "The Visitor." ("Visitor"
is still superior however in my opinion) I would've cried if the
Doc hadn't ended the program initially, and I did indeed cry when
he finally faced his daughters' death. At the same time,
"Real Life" (whose title doesn't relate to the 'B' plot
at all unlike many ST titles), introduced a brand new idea (the
astral eddy) in a sub-plot that was just as enthralling as the
primary story line. Not since TNG's "Schisms" have we
peered into the real of subspace, or had allusions to
"subspace" as an actual plane of existence. To boot,
the visual effects of the astral eddies were new, refreshing, and
dazzling, all contributing to my overall enjoyment of this show. The main plot in
"Real Life" is simply that: Real life. The story
handles the two extreme presentations of the Doc's family
humorously in the ridiculously in the beginning, horrifying in
the middle, and saddened but united at the end. Anson Williams
does a great job of getting across the emotions in the final
"Belle" scenes with Bob Picardo. Much of this is due to
Picardo's acting, but much is due to the writing here, which is
realistic and painful to listen to. In addition to the family
situation, this story deals with future race relations shown with
the distrust and animosity between the Doctor and his son's
Klingon friends. The son's monologue about Klingon traditions,
and whether or not his father has the right to judge another
culture is excellent in this respect. The two most
powerful scenes in this show are the one in which Belle commends
her father and "breaks through to him". The other (of
course) being her death scene. The former is quite touching and
the latter is painfully sad to watch, especially twice. As I said
before, I was brought to tears slowly when the Doc exchanged his
final words with Belle, telling her she was dying and then
Belle's plea that he remain with her. Although deep down I think
the Klingon problems of his son would've been a little more
difficult to resolve, the family unity shown at the end works
nicely. The only flaw (and it's a minor one) with this primary
story is that Paris' speech about facing death and reminder on
reality was predictable, but worked logically, so although it has
been done it didn't seem worn out to me. The secondary plot
was superb as well. Not only are "astral eddies"
original in the Star Trek universe, but the allusions to subspace
and Paris's journey to a realm in between normal space and
subspace were VERY exciting. I was generally enthralled by this
plot from the start because it was so mysterious. It ended up
being a natural phenomenon, which was difficult to see from the
start. In addition, where such occurrences are usually boring or
seem overused, this space anomaly plot line is exciting to the
end. It even managed to tie into the Doctor plot slightly with
Paris and his advice near the end- even though I saw it coming
throughout the episode. I hope the
Doctor's family is continued throughout the series and doesn't
slip into oblivion. Some Smaller
Takes: - Kes's hair and
B'Leanna's braid added a welcome air of change from the norm - The chemistry
between Tom and B'Leanna is very electric, and I'm glad to see it
- The Doctor
continues his self-glorification, as is characteristic of him,
this time in the form of propaganda to his first
"family" - We've never
really seen the inside of Voyager's holodeck when not running a
program; it was cool! - When Torres
froze the program near the beginning, everything froze EXCEPT the
fire; thoughts? Writing:
Nothing extraordinarily original, but a damn good drama in which
even the side-plot offered a fresh twist on the
"run-of-the-mill" space anomaly. Directing:
Anson Williams does best with the family scenes, notably the
closing ones between the Doctor and his family offering true
emotional involvement. Nothing too stand-outish though. Acting:
Well folks, I think we all know who stole the show here: Robert
Picardo, shining as usual draws us into the feelings of his
character. Paris' final monologue was delivered well in addition.
Rating: 8
out of 10 Quote of the
Week: "...Daddy....when
will I be able to see again?..." "...I....I....I
don't.....Computer, END PROGRAM...." -The Doctor faces
death for the first time Next Week:
Well folks....here we go....MAY SWEEPS! First, next week's
episode, "Distant
Origins" involving a
species evolved directly from Earth's dinosaurs looks VERY good
IMO. The concept itself is so cool and has SO much potential. The
return of Seska in "Worst Case Scenario" looks exciting, even if it's gonna be on
the holo-deck (from what I know). The "shocking season finale" as the SWEEPS promo totes promises a
spectacular Borg episode, even if the commercial spoils the
surprise of the Borg (even though we know the plot anyway). Discuss This
Episode and/or Review in the Fan Comm Link Discussion Board! | |
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