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Someone to Watch Over Me Review by Steve Perry Airdate: April 28, 1999 Written by: Michael Taylor (teleplay); Brannon Braga (story) Directed by: Robert Duncan McNeill Short Take: A quite nice love story, or almost love story Brief Summary: The Doc plays Pygmalion Note:I didn't see Juggernaut. That stupid "airing it on Monday" thing. We'll work it out, though. Review: Some might argue that this isn't the type of episode Trek should be doing. I disagree. One of my favorite episodes of TNG was a little one called "Data's Day." They threw in a Romulan subplot to make it exciting, but at its heart was Data simply doing what he was doing each day. "Someone to Watch Over Me" is the same type of story. This wasn't some tale of technology developing sentience. It didn't deal with any grand themes of science fiction. It simply dealt with too non-humans learning the little things about being human. Maybe that won't win it a Hugo, but it still has value. When it's all said and done, being human is just as much about learning how to deal with other people and make it through the day as it is learning the Trekkian values about appreciating all life and so forth. If an episode about a hologram falling in love with a cyborg isn't Trek, then I don't know what is. It's so good, it feels easy. It's really nothing bold. I mean, it opens with a very typical scene between Tom and B'elanna and Seven, with the joke being that Seven *just* doesn't get it. But it works. A little sharp wit about "everyone knowing" when Tom and Belanna have intimate relations, and it really works. Maybe I'm in a good mood, but this episode hit me in the right spot. It's got great humor everywhere. The Doc's done many boring holo-lectures before, but this one's funny. Something about a health class flashback, methinks. Great line: "You're teaching Seven to date? Talk about the blind leading the blind." Taylor's script for whatever reason escapes projecting its jokes too much. Maybe it isn't his good writing - maybe's it the fact that, after all this, Voyager has characters. Having Tom wisecrack, having Kim act all sheepish when Seven says she's dating, and have the Doc give his lessons daft little titles like Dress for Success might just work because I feel I know who these people are after five seasons and can actually appreciate them. But in any regard humor isn't the selling point of this episode. It's the Doctor falling in love with Seven and realizing that it won't happen that's so, well, charming. Let's face it: this episode was nothing short of sweet. I'm no expert on "sweet," but seeing Doc and Seven together, practicing singing, will sucker me in every time. It's almost kinky, seeing someone who's almost a father figure fall in love with Seven, but I could understand what he would see in her, simply because he as a lonely ol' holodoc isn't a position to date a "real" person. In that regard, "Someone" is very sad. You could tell Doc would never get anywhere with Seven, but it's not just because he's a bit sheepish himself about these things. (Notice his unwillingness to see Seven naked, after not minding seeing Belanna naked at all in Extreme Risk?). But more crucially Seven doesn't understand. She couldn't pick up on what he was feeling. Maybe she never will. This was the real meat of the episode: seeing Doc struggle with his feelings, even going to Tom for help, with it climaxing (bad word for a romantic episode?) in Seven's cargo bay... make that holodeck, quite sneaky and gut wrenching of Taylor to do that! A remarkably heart-aching scene, that was. The one weakness? I felt Seven getting angry at Doc over the bet was a little forced. Once explained, it was actually not much of an issue... I never thought it was. The bet was about Doc's ability to mold Seven, not about Seven herself. Well, you have to have tension somewhere... I enjoyed this episode immensely. I can't give it a flat out A, because it felt so much like Pygmalion, but nonetheless I recommend it. It's fantastic evidence that Voyager's characters are finally coming along. Some short takes: - What's to say of the B-plot? It was nice seeing the chap from Kids in the Hall, and it certainly had its moments. Probably what Voyager needed - a little silly and quite funny B-plot that's nothing sweeping. I do hate drunk humor, though. - My word! That was actually Chez Sandrine! - How exactly do they know that 8472 has FIVE sexes??? Boy I don't even want to work through those Punnett Squares... err, Dodecagons. :) Rating: B+/A- | |
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