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Killing Game I File Photo || File Photo 2
|| A Great Way to Kill Time
Airdate: March 4, 1998 Written by: Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky Directed by: David Livingston Short Take: A wonderful historical piece that carefully balanced its showier side with with good, solid character work and some work - at last - on the Hirogen themselves. Summary: The Voyager crew, under control by the Hirogen, acts out World War Two on the holodeck while Kim and Doc are forced to help the Hirogen run the vessel. Review: "The Killing Game" presented me with one of the toughest dilemmas I've had to face in recent memory: whether or not to review the episodes as one single show, or to review them separately. I've decided to review them separately, despite the fact that this is suppose to be my vacation and I have a DS9 review to do as well. Why? Well, first, the episodes will air separately in the future, and only aired tonight because UPN is a loser network. For reference in the future by Trekweb users it works better. Second, the writers intended for the episodes to air separately, meaning they gave each part different elements that should stand on their own. It's the sign of a good two-parter if it can work with a "To Be Continued..." attached. So, believe it or not, I'm reviewing Voyager this way for artistic reasons. I had read the spoilers at Mike Jonas about this episode/ these episodes, and had come to one conclusion: the Voyager writers had too much money to throw around. I mean, not only was it going to be an expensive costume drama, but a four-deck hole was going to put into Paramount's European Street! Matters weren't helped when promos announced it as "the most expensive Trek episode ever." $$$ didn't make ID4 a good film, and, besides, we all know that "Trials and Tribble- lations" is way more expensive than "The Killing Game." If you're going to do overblown commercials, at least tell the truth. Instead of pulling an ID4, however, "The Killing Game" pulled a "Titanic" - that is, being worth what it actually costed. "The Killing Game"'s first part managed to be, for most of the time, both a wonderful historical piece based on a delicious plot twist and a great reworking of some our favorite movies about World War Two, all while at the same time hinting at giving the Hirogen a level of depth that would be more fully explored in the show's second episode. Things looked excellent from the opening scene on, and, no, I'm not talking about Janeway taking a knife in the belly. Dramatically, it worked great to just drop us into the "hunt" with no explanation. Those going in blind had no idea what was happpening, giving the episode a bit f mystery, something every money bonanza needs to keep the viewer involved. Yes, I'm sure some will complain that the ship was taken over too easily, but do I really need to refer to the umpteen episodes where Voyager was taken over exactly that way? Stop complaining and enjoy the episode for once! There was certainly plenty to enjoy. Perhaps I'm just a sucker for history (I am), but I loved this setting. The only thing "Far Beyond" had that it didn't have was a tad more originality with the science fiction magazine. "Game" just had the right feel to it, from Captain Miller commenting on Charlie One's lack of accuracy to the BBC report that was a coded message for the French Resistance. The history was (for the most part) accurate, which is pretty good considering that this was an invented scenario with enough plot twists to make it at times seem like a movie. But more importantly, I think, the setting was fun but not overdone. It had cloak and dagger, Nazis, explosions, and a real sense of danger - yet never went too far. Despite all the warfare, it proved to be an understated, subtle drama. Some people think that being understated means that it was boring. 'Friad not chaps. The first part I thought did a great job of keeping the intrigue while methodically moving from storyline to storyline. The Seven/Janeway feud was continued on a new level, the Americans were going to invade, and the Resistance had to act soon.... all while at the same time the Hirogen were actually controlling things, forcing Kim and Holodoc to act at their behest as they delivered witticisms. And Neelix was shot! The de Neuf/ Katrine tension reminds me of another point. I thought the characterizations were exactly as they should have. There is an argument in saying that the actors should have had the chance to branch out some, but at least plot wise it made more sense for the people to show shades of their real life personalities. Here, I think it worked particularly well. Seven and Janeway were great when they locked horns. Neelix was great as the baker and Torres, finally able to be pregnant, dead-on as the feisty infiltrator. I think Tuvok's logic was a bit overplayed, but overall I found the character work here to be great. All of this made Part One "fun." Voyager is having it's strongest season this year, but it has at times run dangerously close to being Trek's most un-Trek-like season too. We've had Leonardo da Vinci rescue the ship's main computer for crying out loud! "Killing Game" looked like it could be much of the same, but it saved itself from this by finally putting some meat on those big Hirogen bones. The Hirogen must change or die, and their culture has become solitary to the point of nonexistence. It is the product of the way of the warrior. The Alpha Hirogen's speech, helped by some outstanding acting from Danny Goldring, was one of the episode's great highpoints. Part of what made it work was that it made a sympathetic character out of a professional killer, but I think more importantly it finally gave the Hirogen needed relevance to our own situation. The Hirogen are certainly no worse than us, as he pointed out when he referred to our numerous wars. The Nazis are the best example of that, hunting for trophies because they believed they were indeed superior. A lot of stuff to work with, and fortunately many of it would indeed be further explored in Part Two. The first part of "The Killing Game" was a treat, and it goes a long way in restoring my faith in the ability of the Voyager writers to treat the fans with respect. Yes, a lot of money was involved, but it was an intelligent script that was well-executed thanks to strong acting and direction. Finally, a show that lives up to its own hype. Eat your heart out, "Time's Arrow." Some short takes: I don't like Harry Kim. He should die. But he (if not Garrett Wang exactly) was strong in this episode, actually getting the chance to be a little wily and talk back to people. Keep it up. Seven's singing was... good. I'm not a great singer myself, but I do think she did a good job and her voice worked nciely as a backdrop to the events going on at the Coeur de Lion. In case you cared, both songs apparently are from a film called "Now Voyagers" - which apparently deals with a rocky mother/daughter relationship like Janeway and Seven's. Overall: A Quote: "You should have seen what a mess you were after the Crusades." - Holodoc, giving Seven the good news. Next week: Before we worry about next week, let's worry about next hour's Part Two Discuss This Episode and/or Review in the Fan Comm Link Discussion Board! | |
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