"Mortal Coil"
Air Date: December 17, 1997
Star Date: 51449.2
12/22/97 Update
1/5/98 Update
1/12/98 Update
PLEASE NOTE: This file is frozen. I think we've done as much as we're going to do on it. You're welcome to send in addition nits and I will keep them on file but I won't be adding to this file any longer unless something really spectacular comes in!
After dying during a mission to collect proto-matter, Neelix is revived by Seven of Nine utilizing borg nano-probes to reverse the cell damage. This leads to a crisis of faith for Neelix since he was dead for eighteen hours and remembers nothing of the experience. He has always believed that he would go to a beautiful forest after he dies and live there with his dead relatives. Eventually, Neelix dispairs enough of his loss of faith that he attempts to commit suicide but Chakotay talks him out of it.
Brash Reflections
Well, someone on the writing staff has obviously read Nietzsche! (I was trying to find the specific story that Nietzsche wrote about the manman approaching a guy who is dying and telling him that there is no afterlife and nothing to fear so he should just go ahead and die but I couldn't come up with it. Anyway . . .)
I missed this episode the first time around and all the good nits were taken by the time I did the plot summary. But since this episode at its core is nothing more than an hour long advertisment for the school of thought that says, "God is dead, the universe is meaningless and we can delude ourselves into believe that's there's some purpose to our miserable existance if we really try," I thought I would give you a simplistic reaction to the simplistic reason the creators give us for why so many people believe in an afterlife.
According to the creators, those of us who hope for an afterlife do so because we fear death.
Responding in kind, I might postulate that the creators hope for annihilation because they fear judgement.
There's always a "flip-side."
Until next time!
Reflections from the Guild
(Note from Phil: I haven't verified these reflections but they sounded good to me!)
Chris Booton: Interesting episode, anyone else notice that Nelixes spiritual experience was very similar to what people experience when they encounter the prophets (DS9) , makes ya wonder if they are in contact with other places besides Bajor.
The crew seems unfamiliar with protomatter , if I remember correctly the Genesis device had protomatter in it, so they should be familiar with it.
The protomatter bold that goes right through the shuttle does so even though the shields are apparently up, they must have been up because each subsequent blast hit shields.
On that topic why didn't the blast smash the shuttles viewing window, it did after all go directly through it!
Ensign Wildmans daughter sure has grown fast! Fortunately they explained it.
Seven says that the Kazon were not technologically advanced enough to assimilate, but why would they consider humans to be then, I mean every thing that humans had technologically the Borg had a version of.
Someone Identified Only As Anomaly: If Neelix's vision quest was supposed to start off at his happiest moment, why did it start at the mess hall celebration?
Kazons "unworthy of assimilation?" Never stopped them before- or did it? What about the Trabe?
Anybody else think the Borg assimilated the anti-necrosis tech from the Vidiians?
Borglings are kept in chambers for x amount of cycles. What's a "cycle?" UT on the fritz again? Would that mean Seven doesn't *really* speak English?
Heather B. Smith of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario: Just some observations...
The first time Neelix was searching for monsters in Ensign Wildman's quarters, I kept expecting a little girl named Isabella to be suddenly standing there as in TNG's 'Imaginary Friend'...
And speaking of Ensign Wildman's child -- just how old is she supposed to be? Is this another case of accelerated aging like Alexander and Molly?
When the doctor informs Neelix how long he was dead, the doctor says 'Congratulations Neelix, you've just set a new 'world record'' -- Excuse me -- what world are we speaking of?
When Tuvok was doing the 'Father, Mother, Sister, Brother' recitation on Prixin, did anyone else think Dr. Seuss? 'That one is my OTHER brother...'
At the very end of Neelix's deep meditation, when the crew members are speaking at him, it reminded me of the aliens ('Prophets') in the wormhole in DS9 speaking to Sisko.
Shane Tourtellotte: Simply amazing. A story about shattered faith as Voyager's Christmas episode. I'd wonder at the creators' sense of timing in showing it now, but I'm pretty convinced it was intentional! Even to me, someone whose religious convictions are nebulous at most, this is shocking.
I will now calm down with an exercise a swami in Missouri taught me: nitpicking.
I wonder when protomatter became safe enough to consider exploiting as an energy source. It blew apart the Genesis world in STIII, demonstrating its known extreme volatility.
Wasn't 7o9 supposed to progress past her need to regenerate(see "The Gift")? It's been around five months ship-time.
How was the shuttle beaming through its own shields before it got zapped?
I missed a moment of the episode, but I don't understand how it took 18 hours to get Neelix's body back to Voyager. The ship appears to be right next to the nebula.
I'm unclear on why The Doctor was so averse to 7o9's attempt to revive Neelix. The Hippocratic Oath, which he has recited on-screen and presumably adheres to, enjoins a doctor to preserve life. Is the patient already being dead a convenient loophole?
During the shuttle simulation on the holodeck, a shot shows the viewport to Paris's side filled with stars, not nebula clouds as it should be.
Chakotay makes much of needing a long time to interpret a vision quest. However, when Wesley Crusher underwent similar experiences in TNG's "Journey's End", I don't recall all that much contemplation. He seemed to act pretty swiftly on what he experienced, and his 'guide' didn't object.
Was Neelix shutting off the mess hall's lights in the middle of the day? Chakotay tells him to see him at 1400, which by context appears to be the same day. Is the hall shut down completely between each meal? Does nobody come in at odd hours for a snack?
My, how interesting that nobody was on duty in the transporter room when Neelix traipsed in. Then again, with all the times we see transporter control run off the Bridge, maybe there isn't somebody constantly on duty there. Hm.
How could Janeway's hail reach Neelix in the transporter room when he left his combadge in the mess hall. Come to think of it, how did they know it was him in the transporter room with his combadge elsewhere?
In all the hubbub, did nobody think that if Neelix beamed himself into space, they could simply beam him back?
That's all the nits from me. Needless to say, I'll be thinking of you as I decide which big movie release to go see Friday. Should be good hunting either way.
Corey Hines, Hamilton, ON: Great Line: No time for that. Maybe later.
Why are they trying to collect protomatter. ST:III stated that protomatter is a mysterious substance.
At least this time they explained why the Wildman child is growing fast for someone who is just under 2 years old.
Not a nit, just a amazement. Pizza has made it to the 24th century.
It's odd how the bolt went through the shuttlecraft window but didn't shatter it.
Does Chakotey think that is role was so unimportant during the shuttle mission that he decided that he shouldn't be featured in the simulation. Or is his mind like Tuvok's, he can remeber every detail.
David T. Shaw, from Hamilton, Ontario: Just saw "Mortal Coil". I liked it. But here are my nits.
So, we still need coffee in the twenty-fourth (or is it twenty-third, it is so hard to keep track) century, do we? This from a civilizations that has synenthanol? What is this, depressants are bad but stimulants are good? Or have they just lost the technology of de-caf during the Eugenics war? 8)
I found it interesting that good ol' 7 of 9 complained about the pungent taste of her food. Isn't this the same 7 of 9 that once remarked that "taste is irrelevant" in Year of Hell? I realize that the Year of Hell never happened, but why is taste relevant all of a sudden. (Of course, she might have said that to lighten the mood in "Year of Hell" but somehow I don't think that she has the social skills to do that sort of thing.
And speaking of eating, why is & still using the regenerating unit - is Nelix's cooking really that bad?
And the Korzan weren't assimilated eh? What did the Borg do with the colony - I can't imagine it being pleasant. On the other hand, if the Borg decided to leave them alone to see if they came up with anything interesting, it would explain the lack of Borg space - most of the sector is composed of "rejects" 8)
So they used Nelix's expertise to get the proto-matter, eh? Despite the fact that he never got proto-matter using a transporter before? What expertise is needed - you beam it into a containment field just like every other sample. (And note - Nelix's lack of proto-matter/transporter interaction is what does him in) Of course, they might have got him there simply for the containment aspect of it, but I wish they would have made that clear.
In the shuttle, Nelix is knocked down. Tom immediately jumps up to help him - without orders. It seems to me that the reason why Helmboy is there is because he is the best pilot. So he should be flying the shuttle. And he just leaves the helm when it is experiencing nasty special effects? Of course, it could be argued that since Tom is the official nurse of the ship, he is the logical one to go, but Chakotay should have said something like "I've got it- go help." Of course, naturally Chakotay would never have said that since he obviously doesn't think Tom knows what he is doing (why else would he be yelling out advice on revival in the middle of wrestling with a balky shuttle?) And hey - the shuttle made it back and was repaired. Amazing - I guess the laws of probability stated that one had to survive eventually.... 8)
Once again, we see 7 as deus ex machina (my suggestion for a new acronym: SADEM). Some one is dead, and here complete data base of borg technology provides a solution. I am getting tired of this, and eagerly await the day when the bulk of her data base is lost somehow (sorry, just riding my favourite hobby horse...). I will pass over the question if the technology is realistic in terms of destroyed neural connections.
The "simulation" was not entirely correct. After the character Nelix got hit, the real Nelix didn't freeze the program for over four and a half seconds. In that time, the character Tom hadn't left his post, in fact he went back to manipulating the controls. The actual events, Tom never went back to the controls, and had stood up before four seconds had passed. I guess the computer knew that Tom's original actions were wrong in the circumstances and corrected them.
I found it surprising that Chakotay didn't report Nelix's loss of faith to the doctor. I would expect that dying is regarded as quite a traumatic experience, and thus his psychological state should be watched carefully. (Speaking of which - why doesn't Voyager have a ship's counselor? Did that worthy die with the rest of the medical staff in the premier and I missed it?)
About the chiming of the glass - didn't it seem to be a nice clear ring for a glass that was being held so near the rim?
I liked the continuity of Chakotay's spirit quest. But where was Nelix's spirit guide? And if first spirit quest can be ambivalent, or even traumatic (remember - B'Ellanna killed her spirit guide...) why didn't Chakotay add that to his initial caveats?
Great lines - both in the Spirit Quest. Janeway - "Ah, yes, the dead girl, very charming." and the interaction between Nelix and 7: "You will be assimilated" "Not now, maybe later" (Actually, that last bit works on a different level as well - Nelix didn't like the idea of Borg bits in his blood stream, so it is something that he needs to deal with, but the loss of faith is more important, so he pursues that first.)
When Nelix was preparing for suicide, a question of timing comes up. Chatokay came into the galley and told Nelix that he got off duty at 1400 hrs. I figure that means that he either just went on duty or is going to report for duty. So why is the Galley empty? Don't all those going on duty want breakfast? Or those coming off some dinner? Besides, the galley seems to be the ships social gathering place (remember the scene in "scientific Method" with all the crew members chatting away?) I don't believe that it would ever be empty for very long on a ship running on shifts. Of course, it maybe that Nelix's food really is that bad...
I liked the line, "Even the Borg understands your importance" using Seven of nine's interpersonal skill deficit as a plus in the argument.
Which reminds me - it must have been obvious from the beginning that good ol' Borg babe would need some lessons. And who would be the best to teach her? Not the Captain, but the Doctor. He has come along way in his interactions, and he is the only member of the crew who had to learn them all at once, not as a process of growing up. An hour on the holo-deck, the doc and Borg babe would run simulations so that she can practice (with some other advice from other members so she can get a wide range of opinions and decide for herself the best way to proceed.) But that "Assimilated youngster's " comment should never have happened - tact is one of the first things she needs to learn to survive (at least socially).
The matter of timing pops up again when Wildman tracks down Nelix in the transporter room. She seemed to generally want Nelix, and wasn't be used as some sort of clever ploy by the Captain (that was my first reaction). So why was Niomi worried about Monsters in the middle of the day? (Remember, Chatokay is still on duty, so it is before 1400 hrs). It is even too early for an afternoon nap, let alone bed time. Maybe this human-other race make up requires lots of sleep. For the sake of peace, I am assuming the last scene took place later in the day.
I hope that we see in the future Nelix continue his Spirit Quest (a more satisfying resolution than a mere sense of duty would be nice.) It does raise the question of what Nelix's duty log reads like: 1300 hrs - made lunch. 1500 hrs - cleaned up. 1600 hrs - cleared the replicator of monsters....
One last question - where is Naimi's father? Did Wildman get pregnant before Voyager got lost? Did he die? Or does his race not care about children until a certain age? (Note from Phil: Wildman became preganant just before Voyager was kidnapped to the Delta Quadrant.)
And maybe I misremember, but I thought that Ensign Wildman's baby was a son, and was named after Kes's father - or was that somebody else's baby?
Gina Torgersen of LaCrosse FL: Also, Neelix is upset because he was dead and he didn't see the Great Forest. Didn't Seven say he still had brain activity by Borg standards? The thing that really bothered me about this episode was that I always assumed you wouldn't necessarily experience an afterlife unless you were permanently dead.
Now we can add Talaxian to the list of holidays and rituals from alien cultures we've seen in Star Trek. I was hoping they'd do a human holiday like Christmas. I don't think we've seen any human ones aside from birthdays. Maybe they'll do something next week. (Note from Phil: Not likely! I think the Christmas scene from Star Trek: Generations is as close as we are ever going to get! Remember the philosophical belief set of the creators is always reflected in the creation. ;-)
12/22/97 Update
Rick Bell of Towson, Maryland: Currently watching the "Mortal Coil" episode of Voyager. The little girl at the start of the episode looks a lot like the actress playing her mother. Good casting!
Johnson Lai: So the Borg encountered the Kazon, found them too
"unremarkable" to assimilate and just left them alone? I wonder how much
of the Collective was in Crosis when he said, in TNG's "Descent": "We do
not assimilate inferior biological organisms. We destroy them." Maybe
that was Lore's influence.
When they find out Neelix is trying to beam away, why did Janeway send
Chakotay? Why not Tuvok or a security team? But I suppose Janeway knows
about Chakotay helping Neelix with the vision quests and decided that there
was a great dramatic potential in a dialogue between the two (and there was).
Rebecca S. Bare: I just finished watching this week's Voyager (I missed the
title). I thought it was all right. I liked the way they explained why
Naomi looked older than three. I did find one nit, however. It seemed to me
that the little girl's horns on her forehead were smaller than when she was born.
David D. Porter: So, the comestibles are 'pungent.' I suppose that, while taste is irrelevant to Seven, odor apparently is not.
Seven, like Spock, seems to have a gift for understatement. Neelix a
'peculiar creature!'
Gee, it's gotta be kind of insulting when the Borg dem you unworthy of
assimilation. Do you suppose that their bad attitude is fed by a
Borg-induced inferiority complex?
Why does 7 say a decision about reviving Neelix has to be made
'quickly?' Didn't she just tell everyone that 'drones' had been
reactivated up to 73 hours after what we could call death? By my math,
that leaves 54-plus hours' margin.
How long has it been since we've seen a human holiday celebrated on
V-ger? The last one I can remember in all of Trek is Picard's Christmas in
'Generations,' and before that the mention of a ship's Christmas party in
'Dagger of the Mind.' Perhaps humans have discarded any other celebrations
(except weddings and Klingon's birthdays).
By *most* definitions Neelix is alive? What are the others?
Joshua Truax: "Mortal Coil" continues an enduring Star Trek tradition: remaking the classics. (STII:TWOK 3D Moby Dick, "The Mind's Eye" [TNG] 3D The
Manchurian Candidate, etc.) And, since it's Christmastime, it's only
fitting that this one retells It's a Wonderful Life, with Neelix, of all
people, in Jimmy Stewart's role. The writers did a fine job of
translating it into a Star Trek script. What's more, they managed to
reaffirm Neelix's place on the series, something I had questioned after
Kes's departure. Kudos to all!
On top of all that, the writers even managed to get in a shot at
Voyager's original villains, the Kazon. Nearly everyone agrees that the
Kazon were lame villains. (Even Kate Mulgrew herself said something to
that effect at a convention in Minneapolis last year!) Apparently now
even Voyager's writing staff agrees, because early in this episode they
have Seven of Nine say that the Borg once encountered the Kazon, and
were so unimpressed that they didn't even bother to assimilate them!
Coming from the Borg, that has to be the ultimate insult...
As I've said before, the best examples of series continuity are the ones
so subtle that it's hard to tell whether they were even intended by the
creators. Such an example occurs here, as Janeway gives Neelix a couple
of days off to ponder his near-death experience -- just as she did for
Ensign Kim after he "died" in "Emanations", one of Voyager's first few
episodes. (And, I might add, just as was the case with Kim in that
episode, she can't seem to keep her hands off Neelix afterward either!)
Now, on to the nits... When 7/9 proposes her technique for reviving
Neelix, Doc Hologram balks at the idea at first. Isn't it way out of
character for a doctor to be reluctant to try to save a patient?
Besides, it's not as if there's any risk involved in the attempt. Were
it to fail, all that would mean is that Neelix would still be dead!
(Which, I must admit, is something I wouldn't have minded, at least at
this point in the episode. Again, this story really saved Neelix's
character in my opinion, in more ways than one...)
Later, in the holodeck, Neelix interrupts his and Chakotay's
investigation just to talk about his brush with death -- and Chakotay
makes no effort to bring Neelix's attention back to their task at hand?
What kind of a first officer is that? (Compare this to the Stellar
Cartography scene in Generations, in which Picard snaps a despondent
Data back into focus on his duties...)
Deep down, Neelix must not have *really* wanted to kill himself. If he
had, there should have been any number of ways to do so without
immediately attracting the bridge officers' attention. Why not, say,
make a noose out of his apron and hang himself? Or stab himself with
one of his cooking utensils? Or steal a phaser and vaporize himself?
(True, the phaser discharge would attract attention, but too late to do
any good.) Or... you get the idea.
Travis McCord: Well, I think the other guild members got most of what I saw...
with a few exceptions:
First, even with 24th century tech, I don't see how Neelix could have
been brought back from the dead... 18 hours dead means 18 hours
of _decay_. In humans, brain cells start dying after a few _minutes_,
and the rest of the body starts almost disintegrating soon after!
(You might check this with the Doc you consulted for the X-Guide.) (Note from Phil: Well, I think that, supposedly, the nano-probes took care of this! ;-)
Second, they go ahead with the ceremony... talking about how everyone
is with their family together on this special occasion. Erm, considering
the crew's families are on the other side of the galaxy, isn't this a real
bad idea for maintaining morale? (I think the writers keep forgetting that
they're stranded so far from home!)
Richie Vest of Fountain Valley, CA: A good episode. As some one who holds a relgious belief it is nice to see chararactors dealling with faith. It is one issue Trek has not done over the
years. Anyways on to the nits:
The celebration in Ten-Forward. The senior staff are wearing , I guess,
Talaxian clothing. It being a Talaxian hoilday. So, why are Ensign Wildman
and some of the extras wearing their uniforms.
The vision quest. We see Torres at the party. She was NOT at the real
one.
Vicki Strzembosz: I sure am glad Ensign Wildman's baby showed up again. For
some reason I thought it was a boy but I haven't gone back to look at
the previous tapes. It seems highly unlikely that Seven would be
unaware that one member of a community of less than 150 was a child.
How many weeks or months has Seven been there? Maybe this child has
been locked in her quarters for all this time. She never eats in the
mess hall, she never goes to the holodeck, and no one ever took her
down to any planet, not even the planet where the thought police got
Belanna. No one ever mentioned in Seven's hearing that they wanted to
buy something special in the marketplace for the child. (Shopkeeper to
visiting crewmember: Let me guess...you're looking for something for
your niece...you're only the 50th one so far this morning.) Maybe
Samantha has been made permanently exempt from the duty roster, because
if she were working then the duty roster would include who was on baby
sitting duty. Of course the child could always be left in sickbay or in
the holodeck (One of the novels has Quark renting a holosuite with a
holonanny program.) At any rate, it's obvious that she spends a lot of
time locked in her quarters alone because that's where she was when the
rest of the crew were in the mess hall celebrating the holiday which
honored the FAMILY!!!
Bob Canada: Great episode! When the creators put their minds to it, even Neelix can be interesting, instead of annoying.
Note that Neelix says Naomi was the "first" child born on Voyager. One
could interpret that as meaning there have been others--otherwise he
could have said "the only child."
If the Borg have assimilated Talaxians, then why doesn't 7 know what
"Prixin" is? Must be 7's turn to play cabbage head this week. Of course
I suppose such an irrelevant fact could have been discarded from the
collective.
Why did it take 19 hours to get Neelix back to Voyager? Was Voyager on
some mission that was so incredibly important that they couldn't go to
Warp 1 for 2 seconds and intercept the shuttle?
Wow, NOBODY liked the Kazon, did they. Even the Borg deemed them
unworthy of assimilation. I kept imagining First Maj Costanza chasing
after a Borg, saying "Come on, assimilate me! Why not?! How is my
biological and technological distinctiveness not worthy of assimilation?
Fine! Can't upset the delicate collective! Oh, I'm assimilatable, baby!"
24th century alien technology or not, reviving a body after its been
dead for 19 hours...I don't know...
How exactly does 7's brain work? Does she still have Borg implants in
her brain? She must, because every week she spouts some kind of relevant
technobabble that would make Data proud. I could see her reciting
endless facts about every race the Borg ever encountered if she was
still hooked up to the collective, but that's no longer the case.
Apparently she's retaining and can recall all the knowledge of the
Collective on her own?
As keeper of Neelix's lung status, note that 7 says "the aveoli in his
LUNG are regenerating." Way to go creators. Nice to know they're trying.
Another post-year of hell mention of Kes (the other was in "Random
Thoughts" I think), proving they do remember her, if not her Krenim
warnings.
Phil, I know you don't usually comment on fashions, but at the Prixin
party, didn't it look like all the males present raided Neelix's closet?
Yeesh. Apparently the Neru jacket will make a comeback in the 24the
century.
When Neelix had his attack, why didn't 7 have him beamed directly to
sickbay, instead of hobbling down the hall with him?
Now we all need to watch future episodes to make sure Neelix is
continues to take his daily dose of nanoprobes--especially any episodes
where he gets stranded on some planet for more than a day.
Chris Booton: A couple more comments on Voyager. David T. Shaw asked where Wildmans baby
father was, if I recall, she stated that he was on DS9 when Voyager left,
it's too bad that on DS9 they have not shown him (then again maybe this
is a good thing because he would likely become the victim of the red shirt
syndrome)
Seven makes a coment about younger people who have been asimilated being
put in chambers or something like that, is this what we saw those babys
in, in the episode "Q who?" (Note from Phil: Could be! Sounds like the creators are covering their tracks!)
Kate Kosturski of Woodbridge, NJ: My friend Brian introduced me to the wonderful world of nitpicking about the same time that he introduced me to Voyager. Let me add watching tv or a movie
with him has never been the same since. ;)
So I've decided to offer some off the cuff (and these are off the cuff...I
wrote them down last night while watching my Voyager tape) reflections from
this week's Voyager: "Mortal Coil." Please bear with me...this is my first
time nitpicking!!
This was an ok episode...fitting for the holiday season, but a clear case of
PAL (Previews Always Lie!!) An ordinary Voyager viewer would have expected
lots of tense drama culminating with Neelix on the brink of the 24th century
equivalent of suicide. (I know...I saw my mom, who was half paying attention
to the show, ask me if that "alien guy" was going to kill himself.) I knew
that would not be the case...who would cook for the crew??
Speaking of culinary arts, I found it kind of funny that Neelix didn't want to
make pizza for Chakotay and Paris while on their mission. Maybe he realized
that his talents at the stove leave some to be desired....just ask 7 of 9,
she'll tell you....:)
Ok, now on to the Borg Pamela Lee (sorry to all you 7 of 9 fans). I thought it
kind of cool that she rushed over to help Neelix when he was dead, no
questions asked or without being asked to. Could this be a sign of 7's human
emotion coming out?? It puts the idea in my head of a Neelix/7 pairing, if not
as a couple, as good friends. He is one of the kinder characters on the ship
and could help her bring out her deep repressed feelings, something that I
don't think any relationship with Ensign Kim would do. And she could teach him
some new cooking skills....hey, the Borg probably assimilated some of those
somewhere down the line.
(I know, I am ragging on Neelix's cooking quite a bit, but remember, he
admitted that his meals left a bad taste...pardon the pun...remember he told
Kes in "The Gift" that she always hated his cooking???)
I swear that thing on the table in the mess hall during the Prixin celebration
looked like a Christmas tree?? But then, that could be my eyes playing tricks
on me. Loved Tuvok's speech about family....only from him....:)
Two lines tied for best line in my book here. The first, obvious:
7: "You will be assimilated."
Neelix: "Not now, maybe later."
And the second, from none other than our own Captain Janeway:
"Neelix, you've just come back from the dead. Go easy on yourself."
This from a woman who nearly put her ship in serious peril during the Year of
Hell!! LOL!!!
On the whole, for an episode that was meant for Christmas and with little
blowing up of things and dangerous species, I liked it. The way TPTB could
have made it better was by bringing Kes back as an angel...like Clarence in
"It's A Wonderful Life", one who needed to earn her wings. The friendship they
shared was priceless, and I know it's not possible since Kes transformed into
a beam of light after leaving Voyager, but this is the 24th
century....anything is possible.
Lars Ormberg of Rimbey, Alberta: Fairly nit-free episode. Mostly filled with Neelix thinking and stuff.
Protomatter, as has been hacked to death here, was probably a bad thing to
use, since David's use of it had such disasterous results. Shouldn't an
energy source be controllably unstable? (Bear in mind that what
we consider stability in a substance makes it a very bad power source, but
its inherint "desire" to reach equilibrium in a predictable way is how a
power source is in fact used).
When 7 of 9 explained the Borg's expanded view of death did anybody else
think of Billy Crystal in "The Princess Bride" saying "your friend is only
mostly dead"?
Is 7 of 9 going to ressurect all the crewmembers now before they die? If
she can just bring the shuttles and torpedoes back to life Voyager's
problems are over!
The BIG nit I found in this episode was Neelix's entire spiritual
difficulty. Even if we consider that 7's comment notwithstanding, Neelix
died, it makes little sense. Did Neelix expect to come to with memories
of his death? After his neural pathways shut down and the protomatter
prevented any activity, he was considered dead, right? But without neural
activity the electrical signals inside of Neelix's brain would be unable
to cause biochemical reactions. Electrical biochemistry is the method by
which our memories are formed by the brain. With Neelix's brain shut
down, there would be no way for the "memories" that he may obtain from
death to be created and stored. Chakotay's conversation regarding the
necessary time, while interesting (is there time in the afterlife?
Religious physicists refer to time as just another property of God's
physical universe, but w/o a physical universe in the afterlife why would
time be necessary?), are rather pointless for even if Neelix experienced
the great forest there would be no way for his memories to carry over to
his corporeal form.
Scott McClenney: It looks like 7 needs to work on her people skills and tact!!:)
So the Borg are finisky about who they assimilate?!
Personally I think what the Kazon need is a good bath!:) Ok,just what did the Borg do with
that medical technology they assimilated?From I,Borg it is clear that the Borg just let the
injured die. Well that is all for now.
Murray Leeder: Hmm... kind of fence-sitting on this one. Intriguing ideas, muddled execution.
Tuvok sure is disrespectful in not giving all of that blessing!
I wonder why Neelix didn't come to what I think is a fairly obvious
conclusion... you don't go the Great Forest unless you're dead FOR REAL!
It's an afterlife, why not abstractualize it by saying that it knows
whether or not you're coming back?
Stephen Mendenhall: I'm having trouble liking any episodes of Voyager any more. I guess this was okay but I keep feeling annoyed at all the inconsistencies
and errors.
Nobody's been revived after 18 hours? How long was Spock dead in ST
II/III? Why don't they mention the katra?
Not everybody thinks Jesus and Lazarus came back, but why not at
least mention them? (Note from Phil: The creators?! Mention Jesus and Lazarus?! I doubt that'll ever happen! Of course, Mulder alluded to Jesus's ressurection in the episode "Miracle Man.")
That little girl's scales might actually be hairs, like cowlicks, so
it wouldn't be such a problem giving birth to a baby with those
things.
Wouldn't the Vulcans and Betazoids have developed empathic and
telepathic computers to detect Neelix's emotional state?
Why does Janeway get a guide, that lizard, and Neelix doesn't get one? (Note from Phil: There be mysteries in the vision quests.)
Why is Chakotay using a technological gizmo for the vision quest? His
ancestors didn't have one. (Note from Phil: No, but they did have drugs, heat, dehydration . . . ;-)
Chris Pope of Vandalia, OH: Well, Torres sure had a BIMOL moment in this one!
Did anyone else get the impression that Paris and Doc weren't all that
concerned about bringing Neelix back? Were they finally getting revenge
for "Phage" and "Parturition," or do they somehow blame him for Kes's
leaving? (After all, maybe she wouldn't have changed if they'd used
tissue from that lung she gave him....)
From now on, whenever anyone dies on Voyager, will Seven step in with her
nanoprobes? At this rate, the Voyager crew could survive the trip home
and still obey the warp speed limit!
Ed Watson: Let's start with the three nits in the same short
sequence. NIT 1 - So the shuttle's shields are damaged, not yet down
altogether, and there is a transport in progress. NIT 2 - Then the
shields are pronounced "down" just as Neelix gets up. Immediately,
Neelix gets zapped, with no damage to the shuttle's front window. And
NIT 3 - Then as we see the shuttle turning around, more lightning bolts
are seen bouncing off, that's right, the SHIELDS.
As Tom was evaluating Neelix, Chakotay kept suggesting things to revive
him and Tom just kept saying "It's too late". So Tom, if he's dead and
you believe there is nothing to be done, then why are you still waving
that tricorder wand over his body?
I read some of the guild member's comments about protomatter being
unstable or whatever, because of it's use in ST III. That was like a hundred years ago now. Surely they have
learned more about this great energy source since then. (Note from Phil: Well . . . perhaps . . . or maybe someone just couldn't come up with an original term!)
Shane Tourtellotte mentioned Neelix's amazing comm badge. I also
noticed it on his apron when he took it off in the mess hall just before
turning out the lights. He then proceeded to pick up his jacket. I
thought "Does he have another one on the jacket?" Unfortunately we
didn't see the front of the jacket until he was standing in the
transporter room, but when we did see it, it had a comm badge on it.
Didn't you always assume that each crew member had only one comm badge?
I sure did.
Finally, let me just mention the fantastic scene between Seven and Tuvok
about death. When Seven mentioned that she would continue to exist in
the collective consciousness, Tuvok said that it must be a great
comfort to her. In her response (Yes.........it is.) She looked and
sounded truly Human. A great moment in the evolution of this ever
changing character.
John Latchem: I am of two minds about this episode. First, I liked this episode. There were great character moments throughout. I enjoyed the first half or so a
lot. The faith vs science aspect has been explored in Trek before, most
recently in "The Rapture" and "Sacred Ground," but I thought this angle was an
interesting twist. The "what if you died for a day and was brought back,"
idea was interesting to explore, and for the first time I wasn't really
annoyed by Neelix. The teaser of this episode showed him in a new light, and
I was forced to agree with Seven, that he does perform a diverse service to
the crew. However, the questions raised in the early part of the episode,
mainly why Neelix didn't see the afterlife, were not only not dealt with in
the end, they were completely discarded. The ending was botched, and I don't
know if I like the implications of it. Neelix is having a crisis of faith.
Understandable, under the circumstances. And the most logical choice of
crewmembers to counsel him on it would be Chakotay, as rich in Indian faith as
he is. Chakotay does try to bring Neelix back to his faith early on. But as
soon as Neelix tries to kill himself, Chakotay ditches this effort. Instead
of appealing the the unknown mysteries of the afterlife, which is briefly
touched upon earlier, Chakotay talks Neelix down with an argument basically
along the lines of "so there's nothing beyond this life. That means you
should do your best in this life." And then if you think about it Neelix's
only reason for living is to scare monsters from Naomi. Not good. The faith
angle should have been dealt with better at the end. A simple throwaway line
such as "the mortal mind was not designed to comprehend interaction with
another realm" or "Those in the afterlife knew it wasn't your time and they
didn't let you it" or some other attempt at explanation. Thus the devastating
anti religious fervor towards the end wouldn't seem as blatant. (Note from Phil: But that ending wouldn't have been as nearly as "Nietzsche-esque!")
Also I don't know If I entirely approve of Seven's supreme Borg abilities.
Seven has been disconnected from the Borg. How is it possible that she has
the complete knowledge of the collective. Is her brain being fully utilized?
This seems a stretch to me.
So she has all this Borg knowledge. Unfortunately this creates a problem for
the creators. They don't know what all this knowledge is yet, so they have to
make it up as they go along. So we have scenes like the one in "Day of Honor"
in which the Voyager crew dosn't know what to do, and Seven steps in with her
Borg knowledge and saves the day. And again in "Mortal Coil," Neelix is dead
and Seven steps in and says "Gentleman, we can rebuild him. We have the
technology." Then she says she would do the same for any crewmember. But not
that bridge officer who died in "Scientific Method?" Oh wait, the creators
establish in "Day of Honor" that Seven isn't used to offering her services and
therefore is holding things back. So that's why she never mentioned this
medical technique before. Great. The creators have thus set up Seven as a
character who knows everything but will only use the knowledge when
convenient. This is a dangerous trend, and could mar an otherwise improved
season in terms of the writing.
Speaking of which, Seven can do it all. Nurse, astronomer, counterpoint to
Janeway's Starfleet ideals.
Then there's poor Neelix. This guy has just been beaten up over the years.
He's lost a lung, his girlfriend, his life, his faith, and now he has an
Ocampan lung and Borg nanoprobes in him. Ouch. This is what serving on
Voyager has done to him, don't forget. Considering he's an eighth of another
species altogether, I think Neelix qualifies as a living museum of biological
diversity, all by himself.
Despite the warnings I listed above, I still think Seven is a great character.
I think she steals the show in the teaser after Neelix tells her of the Kazon.
Speaking of which, there is a GREAT moment here, when Alexi dissolves into
dust, harkening back to Neelix on the holodeck, seeing his image dissolve and
stating that's what happens to us all.
I also enjoyed seeing Naomi again. I wish they'd deal more with her and
Wildman instead of ignoring them during episodes in which you wonder "What
about the Baby?"
And guess what's back? Time for another WIVRON tally. Here goes:
"Flatliners": Film in which characters die and are brought back in order to
experience the afterlife.
"Ethics": The erstwhile alien crewmember makes a request of the first
officer. I half expected Neelix to ask Chakotay to kill him. Good thing the
hakona was a more logical choice.
"Emissary": And any other DS9 orb experience episode. Neelix's spirit quest
was certainly reminiscent of one of these.
"Hard Time": Chakotay talking down Neelix just reeked of that earlier DS9
gem. Didn't have the same impact here, though.
Rene Charbonneau: In your review of "Trials And Tribble-ations", you wondered how could an
orb experience be faked (after Sisko made a comment that they would take
the Orb Of Time to Bajor to verify if it's real). Well, I guess this
episode of Voyager answered the question for us.
Scott Newton of New Brunswick, NJ: First of all, great title! An appropriate Shakespeare reference, like classic Trek. And a pretty good episode, if you can get past the "back
from the dead" premise.
Wow, now Seven can raise the dead! I'm impressed! Is there nothing she
can't do? I'm sorry, but this greatly reduces dramatic tension. If
someone dies on an away mission, just call good old Seven, resident
miralce worker. I hope the creators add some explanation to show us that
this was only a one-time deal, like Scotty in "The Changeling" or Spock
in the movies.
I laughed out loud when 7 said she would have done the same for any crew
member. Does that include extras? Are Redshirts everywhere now breathing
a sigh of relief? (Probably not. How much you want to bet that this
becomes the biggest case of technoamnesia since, well ... ever!)
So the Borg can raise the dead? So why, when a drone dies, do they
destroy the body? Why not just raise it? But if the Borg destroy their
dead bodies, why bother remembering how to raise the dead? But if they
can raise the dead, why do they destroy the dead drones? Illogical.
Illogical. Please explain (he said with smoke coming out of his ears).
Janeway said that no one had been raised after having been dead for so
long (18 hours). Doesn't Spock count?
So why did the protomatter damage the shuttle? (I might have missed
something, but I don't think the episode ever explained this.) It seemed
that that whole plotline was dropped once the focus switched to Neelix.
Someone on the site asked about Trek references to human holidays. I
have a dim memory of a classic Trek episode (sorry -- can't remember
which, but I think it was first season) in which Kirk ordered the galley
to cook meat loaf in the shape of turkey for Thanksgiving. (I could be
way wrong about this, but I'm 95% sure.) (Note from Phil: The episode was "Charlie X.")
Speaking of holidays, everyone have a happy one!
John Burke of Hyannis, MA: About the vision quest...it's very different from Janeway's. Sort of Neelix meets the Prophets. A short list of differences... Janeway didn't have to bring her own medicine bundle. Chakotay provided one for her, and it wasn't filled with her personal items. Also, Neelix doesn't seem to have a spirit guide. Wasn't he supposed to see some animal that would guide him? And if
he was suppose to start someplace peaceful, why'd he end up at that party?
Assorted other items:
Why does Seven say that a drone's individual experiences and memories live on in the
Collective? Borg drones don't have individual memories, do they?
Neelix pressures
Chakotay into taking him on a spirit quest by telling him, "You said if I ever needed
anything..." Actually, what Chakotay said was, "If you ever need to TALK..." That's a
seman ic difference, but also a whole change in meaning.
At the end, should Ensign Wildman
be concerned about letting this extremely troubled recently suicidal person near her young daughter? (I know Neelix is harmless, but still...) (Note from Phil: And I'm note sure that she knew Neelix was suicidal!)
Nice to see they've replaced the
patented Revolving Door Security System. They were actually able to override Neelix's
transport. If he were a guest star, he'd have been dead already.
Great Line from the
Doctor (as usual): "And they say I have a lousy bedside manner."
I hesitate to include
this last, but I gotta: Just before collapsing, Neelix says "I don't feel like Neelix
anymore...Maybe Neelix is gone." I think I speak for all concerned when I say...yay. (Sorry, couldn't resist)
John Reese of Austin, TX: Boy, was that a downer! Merry Christmas from UPN! Fortunately, there are always nits to pick:
Janeway said that no one had ever been revived after being dead for 18
hours. However, in the STNG episode, "The Neutral Zone", they revived some
people who had been dead for hundreds of years. Which brings us to the
second nit: Scientists today speculate that the only way to revive
cryogenically frozen people, aside from curing their original illness, is to
repair the cell damage, cell by cell, using nanotechnology (freezing causes
massive cell damage). Therefore, they must have used such technology in
"The Neutral Zone". However, in "Mortal Coil", no one thought of using this
technology until 7 brought it up.
Unnecessary technobabble: When Neelix was rushed to sickbay the second
time, the Doctor said his cells were reverting to a necrotic state. This is
a fancy way of saying his cells were "becoming dead", which is a fancy way
of saying they are "dying". So why not just say they're dying?
There is a simple explanation for the fact that Neelix couldn't remember the
afterlife. He was NOT DEAD! Why do they continue to insist that people are
dead when they can, in fact, be revived? I agree with Phil: Don't ever
lose consciousness in the Star Trek universe; you'll wake up underground!
(or out in space, whichever the case may be!)
Paul Lalli of Feeding Hills, MA: Just a quick thought (ie, not a nit) about the most recent episode.
Seven claims that the borg can use nanotechnology to reanimate a corpse,
more or less. I just realized, that this is precisely the same plot
device William Shatner used in "The Return" which tells how the Borg
reactivated Kirk after his Death on Veridian III. Does anyone happen to
know if anyone who conspired with Shatner on "The Return" was in anyway
responsible for Mortal Coil? If not, I find it rather amazing that
Shatner had the exact same idea as the creators of Voyager! (Note from Phil: On one hand, I agree that it seems too coincidental. On the other, using nanotechnology to repair cell is a technological-old idea!)
Brian Dominguez, Oswego, NY: Good episode.
So what's up with Neeliz's eyes. This was HIS show. So shouldn't the
gold contacts be in? He had regular brown eyes. I'm not complaining
though, those eyes were always a bit hard to look at anyway.
Was Harry in this episode? I remember Torres two token lines. (Note from Phil: I think he had a few lines!)
Seasons Greetings and Happy New Year
1/5/98 Update
Tony H Forbes: While we're talking about the Great Forest, isn't it convenient that a
lot of un-human religions (with the exception of Bajoran) don't seem to
have an "ALL POWERFUL BEING?" True, there are a few that worships Gods,
but they seem to be in the minority, especially in Voyager.
Continuing on the Great Forest theme, Neelix wonders where his sister
and the rest of his family was. Well, I find it strange that Kes wasn't
included in his list o' Great Forest dwellers. (Note from Phil: Perhaps Neelix doesn't consider her dead?)
Now on to a different theme. Chakotay says the Vision Quest will kick
off in the place where Neelix had the most peace. Well, it starts at the
party! Now, I thought Neelix was majorly depressed then. Of course,
considering what happens later...
The captain's "Dead Girl" line, even though I can't remember it, is my
nomination for best line.
How did B'lanna manage to materialize in the Vision Quest, when I don't
even think she was at the party? (Note from Phil: There be mysteries in vision quests.)
Murray Leeder: Seven's assertion that drones can nearly always be repaired flies in
the face of what we know about the Borg. For instance, the fact that
they typically disintegrate their dead (the earlier Borg, anyway. They
didn't in FC!)
Allan W. Fix: Yes, there was an EGAL for Harry -- twice! ("Potent stuff!")
I hate to admit that when Tom first pronounced Neelix dead I shouted "Yeah!"
Fortunately the rest of the episode added some characterization I always
thought was missing.
I watched this episode after seeing last week's Seinfeld episode. Couldn't
help thinking that Prixin(sp?) was just a made-up holiday in the manner of
George's father's "Festivus". I kept looking for the aluminum pole in the
corner of the mess hall and was waiting for the "Test of Strength".
Didn't the music played during the party seem like a new age version of
the Next Generation Theme? Something about the rhythm, the chords, or
an occasional note just kept it at the edge of recognition.
Aaron Nadler of New Cumberland, PA: First, Consider that dream of Niomi's at the very end. Isn't it hard to believe that she
and Neelix see the tree **exactly** the same? (Note from Phil: Just a little artistic license I'd say! ;-)
Second, Watch the scene where Neelix dies (originally). He says to "set the
transporter at so-and-so, not a bit more." He says this dull and dreary, as if
he's not really awake. In the simulation, Neelix announces this in his usual
uppity mode.
Third, watch Neelix right after the protomatter is aboard. He stands up, and
says
that it is aboard. He is holding it with both hands. The plasma shoots through
the window (incredibly, without losing structural integrity), and he falls to
the deck, dead.
The canister is resting between his left arm and his torso.
Now, watch the same segment of the simulation. He stands up, says it is
aboard, and he is holding it with both hands. Then the plasma kills him in a
close up, but if you watch him fall very carefully (or in a freeze-frame,) you
can see the end of the
canister falling over to the RIGHT side of him!!!
Fourth, He tells 7 of 9 that the canister almost cost him is life to the
Kazon. He is
wrong!! It was filled with warp plasma and he almost died because the
TERRORIST on that SPACE STATION at the edge of the NECRIT EXPANSE shot his
disruptor!!
Fifth, does Neelix's conversation with the crew (in his mind) remind you of
TNG's
"Eye of the Beholder?" You know, "You know what you have to do..." , and then
the main character of the episode running off to commit suicide??
Paul Lalli of Feeding Hills, MA: A couple different people asked about Spock's death not counting when
Janeway said that no one had ever been revived after being dead for 18
hours. Remember, Spock's situation was completely unique. His body
died, but the Genesis wave some how reanimated his body, with a "blank"
mind, thanks to the katra transfer. Spock was not dead for 18 hours
when he was revived. In fact, I'm not sure he was dead at all. I think
that by the time he got on the soon-to-be HMS Bounty, he may have simply
slipped into a coma due to not having a katra, or something like that.
In any case, it was the Genesis effect that caused his body to live
again, not some medical miracle.
Gareth Wilson of Christchurch, New Zealand: I agree with the other members of the Guild that there was
an easy way of avoiding Neelix's agnst. Just tell him he wasn't
really dead. Even today there is a surgical technique where the
patient's
blood is cooled until the heart stops beating and brain activity ceases.
The patient is "dead" but can be revived after a few minutes.
This doesn't seem to cause spiritual crises in the patients,
because they don't see themselves as really dying.
Michael Konczewski of Havertown, PA: I feel compelled to nitpick some of the nitpickers this time around.
With all due respect, Chief, I think that you're missing the point on
this episode. I don't believe the point of the writer was that all
afterlife beliefs are based on a fear of death. Rather, I think they
were trying to show that you shouldn't require proof to believe in the
afterlife, but that you should accept it on faith alone. I seem to
recall that Jesus had the highest praise for those who believed in the
kingdom of God without the need for proof or miracles.
Instead of Nietzsche, I think the subtext was more existential; i.e.,
the point of life is life itself, not worrying about rewards in an
afterlife. Choosing Neelix as the subject of the story was
interesting because he has the most mundane of jobs on Voyager, yet he
is extremely devoted to duty. "Monsters in the replicators--only you
can handle that."
(Note from Phil: First of all, obvious, everyone has a right to their own opinion and I would hope that by now I've made it clear that I don't expect everyone to agree with me! But I would respond with the following: With regard to the message of the episode, the writers specifically fashioned a discussion between Tuvok and Seven and the topic was the afterlife and why do humanoids believe in it and the conclusion was humanoids believe in the afterlife because they fear death. This kind of discussion has been typically used in Trek to convey "The Message" [just in case there are cabbages in the audience who don't get the topic of the episode]. There are lots of examples of this in NextGen and they usually take the form of Data conversing with a fellow crewmember--usually La Forge. In this context, I would assert that a stong component of the message of a given episode can always be found in the "explanatory discussion" that the writers chose to craft.
Following on to the next item on the agenda [and I will tie this all together but it will take a few moments so please bear with me]: Did Jesus reserve "the highest praise for those who believed in the kingdom of God without the need for proof or miracles"? I would answer, "Yes, he did." Unfortunately, that answer would be misleading without a context [and would result in a misunderstanding that is at the heart of this discussion.] So . . . here's the context! The instance of "believing without proof" that immediately comes to my mind is the encounter with Thomas after Jesus's ressurection. Not coincidentally, the incident deals with the afterlife! Without going into a lot of detail since it is not my intension to conduct a Bible study, Thomas's problem was that he didn't believe that Jesus had come back from the dead. He even went so far to say that he wouldn't believe until he stuck his finger in Jesus's wounds. Jesus appears later and basically says, "You need proof! Fine! Stick away!" afterwhich Thomas believes. Jesus then rebuffs Thomas and says, "Okay, you've seen and now you believe. Blessed are those who haven't seen and still believe."
Thomas needed "proof." But in this context, what is meant by "proof"? The other disciples had already told Thomas that they had seen Jesus. Thomas has their eye-witness reports. But Thomas says, "Nope, I won't believe until I get to prove it to myself using the methods and parameters that I choose, evaluating the evidence gathered therein by the criterion that I establish." Notice that this is a very stringent definition for "proof." It is "I-Centered" proof. Kind of like a "I dare you to make me believe" type of proof.
And in this context, yes, absolutely, Jesus reserves the highest praise for those who believed in the kingdom of God without the need for "proof."
But, in a larger context, did Jesus require that people believe on the basis of faith alone [i.e. without any kind of proof]? Nope. In fact--if you choose to accept the accounts in the Bible--Jesus went out of His way to present himself to the disciples [i.e. "Hi guys, how ya doin'? I'm BACK!"]. The Apostle Paul even claims that Jesus appeared to 500 people at one time after His death.
All of this brings us back around to the message of the episode. Even if the message of the episode is that you just have to believe in an afterlife on the basis of faith alone, it's still very "Nietzschesque" in tone because this is typical Nietzsche. "God is dead. We just created Him to make ourselves feel better." With the corollary statements being, "Any system of religious belief is just based on belief and has no 'proof' and you guys are just believing in it because you want to." This is very convenient for Nietzsche--and others--because it makes any system of religious belief easier to ignore . . . the objection being that all systems of belief are entirely subjective. There is no "proof!" [Wink, wink.]
So . . . in my mind, at least . . . the episode presents a distorted image of a belief in the afterlife--a belief that is so shaky, so subjective, so groundless that it can be completely obliterated and abandoned because of one incident, one "proof". And the creators present this distorted image for a reason! They present it in order to get in their digs at certain systems of religious belief. [And lest anyone think, "Well, but the creators are only postulating that for the Talaxian religious, not for any human religion," I would hope that we all realize that Trek is really "All About Us." At least, that is the tradition of Trek! Understand: I'm not mad. It's just what it is!]
One final musing: I do find something very interesting about the idea that the episode is really about existentialism. I'm reminded of Kierkegaard's "leap into faith" or "leap of faith." As I understand it, this "leap" refers to a belief in belief for the sake of belief--a hope that life has meaning in the moment without "proof" that it does. Hmmmm.
Anyway . . . we now continue with Michael's nits! ;-)
Someone pointed out that, after 18 hours, Neelix' body should have
been in pretty bad shape. Well, I would assume that with the
filtration device in the transporter, the generally "clean"
environment of the starship, decay should proceed at a much slower
rate. Holodoc did mention that there was necrosis of the tissue,
which is a type of decay of the cells.
As to why 7o9 wanted to hurry even though revivial has taken as long
as 73 hours--just because they can wait that long doesn't mean they
should. I'm sure this procedure works best with fresher corpses.
Celebrating the crew as family on Prixel(?) was very appropriate.
After what they've experienced together, they're probably closer than
most families.
Holodoc didn't balk at the idea of 7o9's treatment, he just didn't
believe it would work.
The comment about B'llanna being at the dream party but not the real
party is irrelevant. After all, Neelix' sister wasn't at the real
party.
I see a big storyline nit in the development--Borg Technology. Any
time there's problem, will 7o9 chime in with a suggestion based on
something the Borg learned from another species?
There's a lot of technology she hasn't mentioned that would be really
useful. Remember how the Borg have portable, phase-variable shielding
devices? Boy, wouldn't that be useful! Our fearless crew would be
well-nigh invincible. And this resurrecting the dead gig--will this
be available to dead redshirts, or only to our favorite crew members?
Seems like no one can get killed unless they get vaporized! How about
transwarp drive? Even if 7 doesn't remember all the schematics,
Janeway should have B'llanna working with 7 night and day on that
project. They might at least be able to speed up Voyager so it could
hit warp 15 (like the original Enterprise).
Speaking of 7, how exactly is she able to contain all this vast amount
of Borg knowledge? I assume that the collective can do it because
they're all hooked together. They act like a wide area network, with
information shooting around to the neccessary drone, and redundant
info residing in cubes (or possibly Borg Queens).
But 7 is no longer of the network. Where's she keeping all this
knowledge? In the Borg implants? The nanoprobes? Is all this
brainpower the reason she's so cold--no room for emotions?
Matt Cotnoir: I have a couple of comments and
anti-nits for Mortal Coil.
First, my nit. The flower that Kes gave him looked remearkably fresh
for a cut flower, especially considering the fact that Kes gave him that
flower at least 5 months ago. Maybe he has it in a stasis field or
something.
I also have a clarification. Wildman's baby was a boy when it was
born. I am almost sure of it. Now, is Holo-Doc doing some gender
bending on the side on Voyager (But Doc, I really wanted to have a
girl...)
Now for anti-nits:
Why did it take 18 hours for Voyager to find the shuttle? There was
dialouge stating that the shuttle was without communications adn was
essentially lost in the nebula.
Why did the doctor object to experimenting on Neelix? It comes down to
descecration of the body. I do not think that your relatives in this
day and age would permit someone to try an unproven technique on your
dead body, even if it could possibly bring you back to life.
Simon Crowley: I missed the first 20 min. of this episode, so I wasn't in a really
nitpicking mood. But I do have a comment, and so I will share it with
you:
In a chat room I frequent, the folks there were discussing the episode,
(which was weird, 'cause it was a "Gargoyles" chat room), and we all
agreed that Neelix was the wrong character for the dead guy role.
Chuckles
would have been better, and a character from "Gargoyles" would have been
even better. Needless to say, I didn't like the episode very much.
Lisa Solinas: Chakotay certainly seemed reluctant to drag Neelix on a vision quest.
Maybe he was waiting for a sign of sanity? [of course tee hee, if he did
that, they'd both be dead of old age]
Neelix says that he felt nothingness. How do you feel nothingness?!
Dogbert put it best: "If they find religion, they eat, sleep, and look forward
to dying."
Does Wildman's kid Naomi have a cold?
Neelix does not want to make pizza for Tom. Is he remembering that
incident with the cheese?
I have pretty much decided that Voyager is useless. Every single time
someone wants to go somewhere and do something, they override Harry's
control. ["Block them out, Ensign." "I can't!""Block them out, Ensign." "I
can't!""Block them out, Ensign." "I can't!"]
Great line: Seven griping about the pungency of her food.
That glass-chiming thing was too tame. I've been at parties where you
had to throw the glass onto the floor, stomp on the pieces, let everyone
stomp on the pieces, then scream for attention. Of course, maybe they
hadn't tasted the fruit yet.
"In death, there is no time." I forgot who said that, but it's true.
Great line: Tuvok's whole "mother's brother's cousin's aunt's uncle's
third-cousin-once-removed."
Greatest line: the whole "Kazon were not fit to be assimilated" thing.
[my dad put it best: "Resistance is futile. You will be.... whoops, sorry."]
What is it with Neelix's clothes? Hmm? Are they rejects from
Quark's wardrobe?
To finally put this to rest: WILDMAN'S KID HAS ALWAYS BEEN A GIRL!
Doc even said it twice in "Deadlock".
Holodoc talks about serious long-term damage. No one even considered
the TRAUMA of a person coming back from the dead?
Nate Greene, Daytona Beach, Florida (Currently on Vacation...hehe): Hi everyone! Got one nit for you all that I saw you didn't list! The
canester that Neelix was serching for wasn't involved with the kason it was
involved with the Necred Expance Station. (Got that one from my ST:
encyclopedia cds (Everyone should get them, they're very resourful! ;-)
1/12/98 Update
Gina Torgersen of LaCrosse FL: Regarding how fresh Neelix's flower was, I remember it as being "a flower
from Kes's garden," which would mean someone else has taken over the garden
but it still holds sentimental value for Neelix. Or maybe it's just a
genetically engineered flower that stays fresh a very long time.
Clay: [Concerning the point that Michael Konczewski made in the 1/5/98 Mortal Coil update], He asks why they should not have 7 and Be'lanna work on the transwarp to let
the Voyager go warp 15 like the original Enterprise. He is forgetting that
the warp scale was different back then and warp 15 now wouldn't be warp 15
back then. Warp 15 back then is about warp 8 today.
Chad Brown: Just a note to re-but a nit. Matt Cotnoir and a few others
above have stated that Ensign Wildman's baby was a boy, but it was not.
Naomi was born in the second season episode "Deadlock" and she *was* a
girl. But up until Naomi's birth, Samantha Wildman kept feeling that she
would be having a boy and kept concentrating on boys names when she was
trying to think up a name for her child. She was quite suprised when the
baby born turned out to be a baby girl!
That's why Namoni didn't have a name for a long time (she was seen in
Basics Part II when she was still a baby and was mentioned in Macrocosm
and was always refered to as "the baby"). Her mother was so expecting to
have a boy that she didnt think of any girls names while she was
pregnant. :-)
PLEASE NOTE: This file is frozen. I think we've done as much as we're going to do on it. You're welcome to send in addition nits and I will keep them on file but I won't be adding to this file any longer unless something really spectacular comes in!
If you would like to add some comments,
drop
me a note at chief@nitcentral.com with the Subject line "Mortal Coil". Please include your real name, city and state (or province
and county as the case may be) in the body of the e-mail so I can give you
credit if you are the first person to bring up a particular nit. (Remember
the legalese: Everything you submit becomes mine and you grant me the right
to use yourname in any future publication by me. I will do my best to give
you credit if you are the first person to submit a particular nit but I make
no guarantees. And finally, due to the volume of mail received at Nitpicker
Central, your submission may or may not be acknowledged but that entry will make you a part of the Nitpickers Guide is you aren't one already!)
Copyright 1997 by Phil Farrand. All Rights Reserved.