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 EPISODE REVIEWS | ||
 | "Random Thoughts"
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|| Airdate: November 19th, 1997 Written by: Kenneth Biller Directed by: Alexander Singer Short Take: Excellent premise hurt by some bad dialogue and a weak follow through Brief Summary: Torres is arrested for violent thoughts on the planet Mari. Tuvok begins an investigaton and learns all is not right with Mari criminal justice. Review:Someone in Vger land is a TOS fan, and I'm guessing it's Ken Biller. This was probably the most TOSesque (say that ten times fast) show we've had all year. Why? Yeah, there was the beautiful people and the bad matte painting, but what I'm thinking about is message. Voyager's episodes this year, with the exception of another Biller work, "Nemesis," have been most character pieces - good character pieces, mind you, but they did not carry the messages that made TOS so famous. This one did, and mostly succeeded. Mostly. Having a good social message is not enough to make the episode itself good. While the message itself offers food for thought, it often got lost in a sloppily written story. Voyager is usually known for its plot contrivances. They were certainly here in "Random Thoughts," but they weren't so bad this time around. It is inexcusably bad dialogue and weak character development that in the end sinks a show with a great idea. The episode offered an intriguing sci-fi take on a very modern issue, crime and punishment. The Mari's ban on violent thoughts created a subculture much like banning drugs and pornography (some pornography) here has created an illicit subculture. I find this intriguing for two reason. First, it reveals a certain arrogance on the behalf of government - not an arrogrance borne out of legislating moralty but an arrogance borne out of a belief in oneself to be perfect, which as Data pointed out is the sign of a delusional mind. That was certainly present with the Mari. It also fascinates me because of the psychology beneath it. Cheesy as it was, the old lady addicted to violent thoughts shows that it isn't class or gender that leads people to these type of things, but other, more personal, needs. The sleazy depths to which people were willing to go to get those violent thoughts was truly amazing, but no different than the elaborate techniques drug dealers use to get drugs into our country today. Probably the most timely show Trek has had in some time. The "moral" of the story could have arguably been stronger, as in the end it really didn't say what the Mari should do, but I don't mind too much. TV should ask questions, not answer them, and "Random Thoughts" certainly asked them. The lesson would have been stronger, however, if greater care was given to examine the different aspects of the Mari criminal justice system. Why aren't prisoners put in jail? Where was B'elanna put while in custody? Ideas were tossed up without being fully examined. The previews suggested this would be a B'elanna show, which made no sense to me since she's been in the center of two shows this year already. Turns out I'm sensible, and previews lie. This was a Tuvok show, and a pretty good one at dealing with him. Tuvok's gotten some good lines this year, from the wry observations in "Scorpion" to the powerful scenes as a blind man in "Year of Hell." But here we saw what was in that Vulcan brain - all the pent up violence, the internal struggle he must keep in check. The script was intentionally ambiguous with regards to Tuvok's motivations in places, and I liked that. First there was the question of if he would help B'elanna because seh was B'elanna or because logic dictated it. It was never answered, and that's a good thing. Then came more ambiguity with his investigation. Was logic or a thirst for violence driving him to the black marketeers? in the end, the answer was logic, but I can't help but think he had other motivations along the way. Tuvok needed follow through though. We needed to see Tuvok deal with the violence he experienced, but we didn't get that. Biller scored big when he had Chakotay struggle with his experience in "Nemesis." Here, he ignores the chance to use Tuvok in a similar way, and I think that was a particularly bad blown opportunity. In fact, all characters needed depth. Janeway seemed strangely blase throughout the show. She should have told Seven, "Look, we need to contact other species to see if they have transwarp!" Also, even Picard saved Wesley in "Justice." We should have had a similar gutsy move by Janeway here. B'elanna seemed, well, angry. I want to see more of B'elanna than just her hissy fit side. Neelix acted like a buffoon for the first time this year, breaking a fairly long non-buffoon streak he had going. For the second straight week, Tom seemed rash and unnecessarily rude. Biller slipped up in this department. That's not the only problem the show had. Things just seemed... off. The acting I thought was terrible, the directing more than lacking. But it's more than that. The opening sequence between Neelix and Tom seemed... well, hammy. Jokes about bad cologne are very old; please don't use them for future reference. Then came the scene on the bridge between Tom and Chakotay. Tom actually proposed to circumvent the Captain's order while sitting in her chair! Finally, there was the scene between Seven and Neelix, where she asked why Voyager took so many chances and acted so presumptuously with regards to First Contact. While it is good that Biller asked that obvious question, we should have gotten a better answer than just a shrug from Neelix. The whole show seemed filled with scenes jsut slightly off. I'm being too hard on this show. I liked many of the plot mechanics. The slow, innocuous setup that suddenly turns bad was of course nice, but the methodical investigation carried out by Tuvok I thought was particularly well done. The episode will probably grow on me over time, but I cannot help but think it was somewhat of a missed opportunity. Here was an actual "message" show with a plot that could stand on its own, but several weak scenes and some bad characterization let it slip away. Certainly not a bad show, but it could have been much better with only a few changed lines. Sigh. Some short takes: - What movies were used during the violent thought sequence? I caught the planet exploding in Generations, some scenes from First Contact, and a shot from Event Horizon - all, incidentally, Paramount films. I also noticed the Kraden from "Nemesis." But why a barking Doberman? - Man, what an incredible overhead shot of Voyager. -I hate to sound "phallacious," but let's just say this episode had too much of the Freudian imagery. Neelix gnawing on a fruit, that device they used on B'elanna, etc. -Personally, Tuvok's comment about B'elanna's primitive psyche struck me as borderline racist. That needed some touching up. Since when do people sell ship parts and fruit in the same marketplace? In case you didn't catch it, Gwyneth Walsh, who played Lursa of the House of Duras, was the chief Mari investigator. Writing: Good idea... but weak dialogue hurts the show. Acting: Probably the worst this season. Directing: Actually fairly weak. A chance at some cool psychological scenes was passed over for reused footage. Rating: 7.4 out of 10.0. Great idea, meaning the let down is all the harder to take. Quote:Janeway: "Have a seat." Seven: "I prefer to stand" Janeway: "I keep forgetting." Next week: Da plane! Da plane! Da Vinci and da plane! Discuss This Episode and/or Review in the Fan Comm Link Discussion Board! | |
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