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 EPISODE REVIEWS | ||
 | "Displaced"
- Week of May 5th - May 9th File Photo
|| Airdate: May 7th,
1997 Written by: Lisa
Klink Directed by: Allan
Kroeker In Short:
Lisa Klink redeems herself with an interesting twist on what
otherwise looked like your typical alien possession show. Brief Summary:
One by one, apparently benevolent aliens, the Nyrians, replace
the Voyager crew. However, not all is as it seems and soon the
entire crew is transported off the ship leaving only Nyrians
whose intent was to capture Voyager in the first place. Review Well we all know
of Miz Klink's terrible track record. Add to that a trailer that
had corny California music and relatively said nothing, and
whala... I thought "Displaced" was really going to
disappoint. Much to the contrary as I discovered, this episode
offered an original idea and played out quite well. The first thing
this show does right is to continue the Paris / Torres
relationship right off the bat. Tom and B'Leanna are fulfilling
the prophecy of "Before and After"; not to mention the
fact that this installment had the best scenes between the two in
a while. Other episodes had hinted at their coming relationship,
but this show really hit the nail on the head and showed us just
how much chemistry the two have together. The plot is simple
enough from the beginning, and frankly if it weren't for the
B'Leanna / Tom / Harry scenes in the first third of the story, it
really wouldn't have been as impressive. The story gets
interesting when Torres discovers what's going on and gets
transported to the planet (or so you think). I thought the
sequence with Chakotay and the skeleton crew trying to avoid the
ships' takeover was done well and certainly raised the tension
level a notch. But what really
set this episode apart from other alien takeover/possession shows
was the mystery surrounding the habitat ship. First they had us
thinking it was a planet with portals to others, then a planet
with multiple bio-spheres on it, and then finally after all that,
it was a starship! This idea was original as far as I can
remember, and I really wish they had shown us the ship from the
outside. But alas, the show wasn't about that. As is common in
Trek, "Displaced" had a weaker ending than it should've
had; what with the ice-world-habitat and all. Although a little
rushed and depriving us of seeing any of the resolution that
Janeway described in her log the conclusion was satisfactory. I
am wondering though why there was no "steam" coming out
of anybody's mouth, and why the phaser beam didn't generate any
steam? Forty below zero degrees Celsius huh?- I could hardly
tell. Some Minor
Points: - The idea about
inter-habitat communication / transport was entertaining, along
with that alien companion. - Tuvok got good
character time here, but it seems as if he's just the same old
guy; rigid, unemotional, uninterested, unable to understand and
interact socially with humans. - Is Neelix's
health-spa program ALWAYS RUNNING?! Isn't that a waste of
necessary power to be running even while the ship is being taken
over by aliens? C'mon. - I really feel
upon retrospect that this episode's primary plot interest was
Paris/Torres, and the story only an element to explore their
relationship with. Writing:
Original and entertaining, but to tell you the truth, I don't
foresee any long-term affect stemming from this episode save the
Paris/Torres thread. Lisa Klink does redeem herself slightly;
with good writing and original concepts. Directing:
I don't see anything notable from Kroeker except for giving a
real claustrophobic feeling to the inside of the colony-ship.
Interesting how this contrasted with the vast habitats it
enclosed. Kroeker did fail, however, to actually get across the
frigidity of the ice habitat. Acting:
Nothing exceptional. I think the best work came from Torres in
the sub plot. Her Klingon and Human sides were shown in conflict
well here. Rating: 6
out of 10 Quote: "I'm
forthright; I speak my mind; and that's very different from being
hostile!." "Very
different." "... and if
someone described me that way they'd be way off the mark wouldn't
they?!." "Way
off." "Then why do
you look like your afraid for your life?." -Torres and Kim Next Week:
Ahh... don't we all love holodeck shows? "Worst Case
Scenario" looks to
be the best display of conflict among the crew in a long time,
and we even get the return of Seska to boot (oh yippy, I just
can't wait). All I care about is the BORG the week after! Discuss This Episode and/or Review in
the Fan Comm Link Discussion Board!
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