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Message in a Bottle File Photo
|| Airdate: January 21, 1998 Written by: Lisa Klink (Teleplay); Rick Williams (Story) Directed by: Nancy Malone Short Take: A show important as much for how it presents itself as much as the fact that it finally allows Voyager to contact home. Brief Summary:Upon discovering an array network that stretches for light years, Voyager hastily sends the Holodoc across it to contact a Federation ship barely within range. The Doctor tells the ship of Voyager's plight, and a rescue mission is sent to send Voyager home. From there, it joins the Dominion War. (OK, that last part was a lie. I'm just checking to see if anyone reads this part.) Review: Do you ever just love an episode, but wish you good go back and make it even better? Especially, as in this case, the episode is a high-profile one that reflects on all of Trek? I sure do. "Message in a Bottle" leaves me with mixed emotions for this very reason. What was there was good, but I can't help but feel that in many ways it could have been much better as well. The many of the very basic things, like the acting, were off, and while the script in many ways was strong, sometimes it was almost heavy handed with its humor, if it is possible to make a thing so light so heavy. This was a good episode that executed well, yet it could have also been truly world-class, and I can't help but feel frustrated as a result. I know what you're thinking. The reviewer really didn't like it. Actually I did, and I'll tell you why. I hate to sound like I'm making some defintive statement here, but it seems to me that the question of whether or not "Message" was good can be traced back to one fundamental question: whether or not the focus of the episode was appropriate for what it did. I think it was. The show was about HOW a message got home. The realism of the situation was that the HOW may or may not work, and the show addressed that with the Janeway and Chakotay scene on the bridge. Yes, the HOW could have been approached differently, but anyway you look at it the end is the same, and that is what the episode should be about. The forethought isn't terribly relevant, and the aftermath can always be saved for later. But, Mr Reviewer, wasn't the decision to send the Doctor a bit hasty? Yep, and that hurts the episode. Though I'm sure Klink intended to point out how badly they wanted to get home, doing the way they did it was simply foolhardy. The Doctor's going to be needed either way, so risking him is silly. And Voyager can, after all, continue toward the array network in hopes of spotting another long ranged Federation vessel. This part of the show needed some fine-tuning. But, Mr Reviewer, the show seemed to lack emotional impact. You mean to tell me you weren't moved when Janeway learned Starfleet knew of their situation? Please, I was moved, and I didn't bat an eye during Titanic. (Mortal Combat Annilihation was another story. Those were tears of pain.) And anyway, I had spoilers on my side. Spoilers are like candy to me, and I, as the reviewer, should probably put them off to the actual airing, but during rerun season they're a solution to my Trek munchies (Sorry. I will stop with the bad wordplay.). In this case, I benefited from them. I'm happy to report that we will see actual contact between Voyager and the Federation during the next first-run, "Hunters." I don't say this to spoil you, but to give you a sense of relief, so ppppplease don't complain to the webmaster. Of course, this is not to say that everything is allright with the episode. Gosh, I'd be out of work if that were true. Scratch that, I don't get paid anyway. Mulgrew, for example, in places seemed to try to give every line flair when it wasn't called for. It was perhaps her weakest perfomance of the year. Also, while I have no problem with the episode's choice of focus, I also can't help but think that things came off a bit flippant in places. Yes, it would have been nice if the show made some attempt at higher meaning, but more fundamentally it seemed content to be merely amusing and no more. While this is not bad by itself, the episode did tend to overuse its humor, and the humor didn't always work. I think the major reason that was true was, in two words, Andy Dick. Voyager probably thought that they had landed a high-profile celeb with Dick, but looking back I don't think casting him was a wise decision. Picardo for the most part handled Dick well (I'm sorry...), but Dick seemed always a beat off of the humor, as seen in the scene where the EMH2 didn't know how to enter the Jeffries Tube. But I think it goes even further than that. As one of my friends asked, "Why in the hell are they making a gay holodoctor? Are they suggesting something about his bedside manner?" That's pretty much the bottom line. When Dick asked for the "thrombic modulator," and it turned out to be a coned shape probe, I couldn't help but posit a couple of theories as to what he was going to probe. This is not to say he had Shakespeare to work with - the celebration scene on the bridge where he and the Holodoc commented on their work was cheesy at best - but another actor, ANY actor, would have been a little less... effeminate. The emphasis on this Niles-and-Frasier interplay between the two docs in a way is symbolic of a new trend within not only Voyager but all of Star Trek. The fact is, Trek is pulling punches when it comes to meaningfulness in favor of more, well, "fun." DS9 has done this as well, with the less-than-profound war arc and the usual run of Ferengi comedies. I'm not going to talk about this too much for now, because we still have two shows with half-seasons left, but I am keeping it in mind, and I suggest you do as well. It is also a sign of a new approach to presentation that Voyager is finally catching up with. This episode had three seperate plots, with two of them having ramifications down the road. We would not have had that on Voyager two years ago. Obviously this is a good idea because it lets you deal with subjects over several shows, but more importantly here at least it kept the episode flowing well. Yes, those interchanges between Voyager and the Prometheus could have been devoed to more meaningfu lthings, but they also kept things from becoming monontonous as well. "Message" quite likely was the best moving Voyager show this year, with maybe the exception of "Scorpion II." Still, I keep getting this bad feeling that this was more for fun than anything. The Prometheus came off as more of a gimmick more than anything, in places, that fun was sloppily done. The Prometheus, quite frankly, is an unattractive ship, and while that doesn't make the show bad, it is somewhat symbolic of the thought behind it. It makes sense that Holodoc shouldn't be able to access the Prometheus's systems... but the Romulans did it with ease. Obviously the security systems read the script. The system's so complex only four people can operate, but EMH-2 does it by hitting his palm in the right place, and I won't even talk about the Romulans working it so well. Yes, we can explain such things away, and many of them weren't the focus of the show, but the thing is, they shouldn't need explaining! I know, I know. The episode wasn't about the Romulans really. But it was about Paris trying to find his way out of duty? I thoroughly enjoyed his scenes with Kim, especially when the Ensign handed him Gray's Anatomy to read, but with so much else going on, it did come off as a bit of a distraction. Actually, the scenes between Seven and B'elanna made the most sense from a logical standpoint, which is somewhat ironic, as it involved on of the more illogical characters on the show, in B'elanna Torres. The personality clash was clear, and the ultimate manifestation of what Torres was saying about Seven came true with the attack on the Hirogen, something that evidently will have a profound effect in the next month. Their scenes were direct and well-characterized, and Voyager needs more of them. I'm being too hard on this episode, as my final review tally will show below. This episode was more than engaging and actually improved upon watching again, something most shows don't do. I couldn't help but get a little choked up when Janeway learned the news in the end, and most of the Prometheus work was funny. I think what bothers me is that this episode could have entered the pantheon of great Trek episodes, but for whatever reason - be it the acting, the overuse of humor, or the eye candy - it didn't. Or it could just be a larger concern about the state of Trek in general... we'll see. "Message" is one of the season's best, probably just a step behind "Scorpion II," and "Nemesis," and maybe "Year of Hell I". We'll certainly take it either way. Some short takes: -Judson Scott, who played Khan's assistant ("Yours is the superior.... intellect!") in ST2, was the Romulan commander here. A bit tepid, which probably explains why he last big gig was Babylon 5. -I like the new uniforms for the Romulans The rather silly shoulderpads departed but the stoic look remained, albeit a bit darker. I do wish they would have remained light, so as to show the patterns in them. - Voyager didn't get the new unies and I'm glad... waste of money. - Rumors... I SAID RUMORS... have it that the Prometheus or some variant of it will be featured in Star Trek 9. Perhaps, but it should be pointed out that the set seemed like a dumbed down version of the Enterprise-E, complete with ship schematic in the background, so it is quite possible that we've been snowed with a white set. - I think the Voyager writers got it right with the Dominion reference. When Voyager left DS9, I'm not sure that we had reached "The Jem'Hadar" yet, so I think they are correct. Nice of them to drop the reference. - The more controversial issue is whether or not it should have been the Romulans or the Jem'Hadar. Some have argued that by ignoring the war the Voyager writers have made a major continuity error. The bottom line is that it doesn't matter. According to Ron Moore, we're going to see Romulans after all this season, so maybe thing will work out to make everyone happy. - They're not even bothering to hide Dawson's pregnancy, are they? - The EMHs may not have needed the life support, but those Romulans sure did! - What's with the name Prometheus? Are they saying this ship is a "bringer of fire?" Rating: A- Quote:"Sex! But we're not equipped--" "Let's just say I made an addition to my programming." I bet you did, Doc, I bet you did Next week: The season's worst episode, "The Raven." At least it's not in February sweeps, like "Scientific Method." Is it just me, or does UPN want to run Voyager's ratings into the ground? Good Lord, run a first-run during the one month it matters! Discuss This Episode and/or Review in the Fan Comm Link Discussion Board! | |
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