"The Gift"
Air Date: September 10, 1997
Star Date: Unknown
PLEASE NOTE: This file is frozen. Once a file hits 100K it's time to give the episode a rest!! 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!
Once disconnected from the Borg Collective, Seven of Nine's human biological components begin to reassert themselves, putting Seven of Nine's life in danger. Though Janeway knows that Seven of Nine would prefer to return to the Borg, she orders holodoc to being removing the Borg technology. Meanwhile, Kes's recent experience with Species 8472 awakes new psychic abilities that allow her to see beyond the subatomic level to a new reality where matter, energy and thought are combined. When Seven of Nine seizes an opportunity and attempts to send a message to the Borg, Kes uses these new powers to stop her. Unfortunately, Kes soon begins phasing to the new reality, endangering the ship in the process. Eventually, everyone agrees that she must leave for Voyager to survive and just in time she departs in a shuttle. Before diappearing from our reality, however, Kes gives Voyager one last gift. She emits an energy burst which propells the Voyager all the way across Borg space, shortening the crew's trip home by ten years. Meanwhile, holodoc completes the removal of eighty-two percent of Seven of Nine's Borg hardware, dresses her in a catsuit and presents her to Janeway. Having rediscovered her individuality, Seven of Nine tells Janeway that she will not attempt to contact the Borg again.
Brash Reflections
Some nice moments here. A necessary transition show so there was some housekeeping to do but all in all, I enjoyed it.
The pattern continues from last episode. Seven of Nine can't seem to get her pronouns straight. Sometimes, she says "I", sometimes "we", sometimes "this drone." A bit moe consistancy would have been nice but, hey, maybe she flunked Borg Grammar 101!
The "Don't Give Picard a Straight Answer" syndrome is alive and well on Voyager also. Two or three times in this episode, crewmembers call Janeway and tell her something to the effect, "You'd better get down here." I guess it would be too much to expect that crewmembers would give their captain a short synopsis of the problem so that their commanding officer could decide for herself whether or not her presence was required!
Nice of Kes to give Voyager a kick but I couldn't help wonder if Janeway--while attempting to look enthralled at the outcome--was thinking, "That's it?! That's it?! A stinking, measely 9.5 thousand lights years?! Couldn't she just slow it down a bit so that the ship wouldn't fly apart and send us all the way home?!?!!! (Just joking!)
There's more but I'll leave it to you, fellow nitpickers.
Phil
Reflections from the Guild
(Note from Phil: I have verified these reflections but they sounded good to me!)
Murray JD Leeder: And what a gift it is! Amazing that the spoilers didn't reveal THAT (at least not my sources, anyway. Thank God for small miracles). But a surprisingly good episode (some of it was too much like "Cold Fire" though.) It's too bad we had a scene with the Doctor mourning her loss.
First of all, Janeway is stupid to keep 7 of 9 at all. I mean, sure she's necessary for the repairs but after that just toss her into space! (or leave her on a planet) Surely she has heard about how the Borg actively attempted to retrieve Hugh? (granted, it's possible that was just because they were in the neighbourhood, and the Borg probably wouldn't bother because they're rebuilding after the Species 8472 war, but still...)
While sedated, watch 7 of 9 as Doc says "Aye Captain". Her neck twitches!
Don't you think you'd have visual problems if just one of your eyes had increased acuity?? (Note from Phil: Of course, Seven of Nine is probably used to it being a Borg and all!)
Shouldn't the bridge have called Tuvok when 7 of 9's attempt to send a message right away? So that he doesn't find out from... *ahem* unorthodox channels.
Well, at least she didn't say that Janeway was "worse than the Borg"!
Good job shooting the Borg attacking your captain, Ayala!
Is that duct tape on 7 of 9's shoulder?!? They still use duct tape in the 24th century? Red Green would be so proud...
Obviously Vulcans make money, unlike the humans! (Note from Phil: Apprently! After all, the Vulcan did double the price on the lamp!)
Corey Hines, Hamilton, ON - Until the Borg equipment is removed from the hull, the special fx people can't use the usual flybys they were using from the last three seasons. (Note from Phil: On that note, does it seem to anyone else that the Voyager shots are all computer generated now?)
The point of view from the Borg in ST:FC seemed more distorted than 7 o 9's
7 o 9 used the words "we" and "us" in almost every reference to herself but she used "I" a lot in the last episode.
If the Holo-Doc can make such an authentic looking eye why couldn't they do the same for LaForge?
The way Kim was trying to make small talk to 7 o 9, and the way he said "Stupid question" it almost makes me think that he was trying a pick up line on her. (Note from Phil: Patience, patience. If you believe it, it will happen . . . especially once Kim gets a look at Seven of Nine's new look. Way to go, Harry. Make a pass at her when she's still Borgerfied and she'll think you really love her for her soul!)
At least in this episode they had a plausable reason why Neelix got some lines in this episode. Not like the last one.
Major KMYF between Kes and Janeway.
What a surprise, another shuttle lost.
When Tuvok was attempting to meld with Kes and give her more control, it seemed that time was of the essense. Was there a reason why one cannot walk and meld at the same time? (Note from Phil: It's like chewing gum. Takes a lot on concentration.)
The same problem with the DS9 episode "The Muse". What excatly is the main plot of this episode anyway? Kes or 7 o 9? (Note from Phil: Yes.)
Joseph Pintar of New Hartford, NY: I just saw the Voyager episode "The Gift." Good episode. I'm going to miss Kes and her much improved hairstyle. Just when you like their hair, they leave. What are you going to do.
This episode was directed by Anson Williams, Potsie from Happy Days. He has also directed episodes of Hercules, Xena, and Melrose Place. With Voyager, he has quite a diverse directing resume, huh?
When the warp core is being reactivated, the crew is measuring in cochrans. What's a cochran? A unit of measurement named after O.J. Simpson defense attorney Johnny Cochran? That would be an interesting story about how that came about, if true. (Note from Phil: Cochrane comes from Zephram Cochrane, the "inventor" of warp drive--at least for humans. He was featured in the latest Trek movie, Star Trek: First Contact.)
Is it me or is Janeway basically forcing humanity on Seven of Nine? It remind of TNG episode in which Picard is teaching a human boy raised by aliens about humanity (I can't remember the exact episode title.). I think Picard made the right decision in that episode, but Janeway made the wrong decision here. Then again, Janeway's actions could be the result of necessity. That is, she needs the cooperation of Seven of Nine to get the ship running again after the Borg assimilated it. (Note from Phil: Janeway most definitely forced individuality on Seven of Nine. Sort of like cult deprogramming, dontcha know! And, I will leave it to you to decide on the ethical issues involved.)
Shane Tourtellotte: What, no wrapping? Not even a bow? Just 9500 light-years and seeya later? I knew I would have preferred a deathbed scene. At least you could understand *why* that was happening.
Rant mode off. Nitpicker mode on.
Why is everybody so cavalier about getting close to Good Old 8:53? (Think about it a minute.) Connected to the collective or not, doesn't she still have assimilation nanoprobes at the ready? At least The Doctor removed them later on, so this won't be a nit every week.
The Doctor couldn't remove some armor plating in 7o9's head because of nano-level anchoring. Might it not be possible to beam it out? Remember, he once performed a transporter delivery.
I suppose a human eye, cloned from the one she still has, would have been less functional than an artificial organ. Still, it would have been nice if The Doctor had mentioned the possibility. I mean, we aren't too far from doing that ourselves.
During their early meditation, Tuvok tells Kes to focus on the flame at the subatomic level. All those little balls I saw whizzing around: they sure looked like atoms to me, or what we all learned to expect atoms to look like in school, with the Bohr model and all. That's atomic level, not subatomic.
Oh, and why didn't Tuvok have this meditation flame around in "Cold Fire", Kes's previous experience with enhanced telekinesis? Made the poor thing work with a cup of coffee. Not very dignified; not very Vulcan. (Okay, unless it was Vulcan coffee. ;-) (Note from Phil: No doubt Kes was still in her "secretarial phase" at this point.)
Our two 47s for the day: The communications node 7o9 accesses has the serial number 59S47B; and Kes went into cellular flux in the mess hall for 17.4 seconds -- a reverse 47, behind the back, nothing but net. ;-)
And about that cellular flux in the mess hall: do you suppose Neelix's cooking was responsible all along?
For once, they get some use out of losing a shuttle, but again, nobody seems concerned about their dwindling numbers, and next week yet another one gets into big trouble. Yes, Voyager is back! (As if previews giving away the whole crux of upcoming episodes didn't tell you that already.)
Michael Apple: It seems our friends, the creators, have entered "the zone" in the past few episodes of Voyager. They even managed to seamlessly continue "Scorpion" into "The Gift". This impresses me, because, like TNG's "Best of Both Worlds", the crew has experienced a traumatic event, and instead of simply continuing on, like nothing happened, the creators have explored the changes the characters have experienced. Kudos.
Now, before I begin to rip this story apart, I'd like to contribute an anti-nit. Last week, we all nitpicked the idea of Seven of Nine having more difficulty with individuality than Hugh. After all, Hugh had been a Borg his whole life.
But actually, it does make more sense that Seven of Nine would have a tougher time of it. Now, we all know that the Star Trek novels are non- canon, but Seven of Nine's situation parallels that of another female Borg, who was separated from the Collective in "Vendetta", by Peter David. The Borg had been a smuggler, assimilated years before the Borg had contact with the Federation. As Geordi LaForge tries to help her return to her normal human life, it is so difficult for her that she eventually commits suicide. This is the same as Seven of Nine's problem. She was aware of what it was to be human, before she was made Borg. Now that she is returning to being human, her emotions are returning as well and the strain (from being human, to being Borg, then back to human) threatens to rip her apart. Dramatic, isn't it? :)
Now for Nits:
I found the scene between Kes and Neelix to be most amusing. Finally, the creators show the confrontation between them, when Neelix asks why she left him. And how does she respond... SHE STALLS! That's because there was no reason! The creators simply wanted to turn her into the "babe" of the show, and the idea crumbled when she decided to leave. The relationship between the characters was so strong, that even now the creators couldn't come up with a good reason for the break-up. (Isn't this like the "Klingons' appearance" discussion from DS9 "Trials and Tribbleations"? They couldn't come up with a good reason there either.)
Tuvok states that there is nothing beyond the sub-atomic level. What about quarks? They are definitely smaller than sub-atomic particles like neutrons and electrons. Unless Tuvok included quarks as sub-atomic particles, which would expand the title to include everything smaller than atoms. But in that case, Tuvok would just sound silly saying "There is nothing smaller than sub-atomic particles," because anything smaller would just be instantly included under the title. (What kind of scientist IS this guy? No wonder he's stuck in Security.)
When the doctor suddenly started babbling on, when Janeway and Seven of Nine talk in sickbay, didn't that seem out of character? The acting seemed to be a little strained when I watched it. (Note from Phil: Maybe he likes Seven of Nine too!)
An observation: When Kes mentioned that she was going to give the Voyager crew a gift, and then the shuttle glowed. I thought maybe she was going to make a whole ton of shuttles out of the one they gave her. After the death toll that's mounted up on those things they sure could use more! (And they lost one this episode, and they will apparently lose another next week... Will the insanity never end? :)
One last nit: When Kes transforms, she turns into a creature of light. Why does every transformation turn the person into a creature of light? It happened in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, in ST:TNG "Transfigurations", and now in "The Gift." The writers should really have more creativity.
David D. Porter: Well, the opening flyby shot is a plus for the continuity folks; V-ger's hull still has the nanoprobe torpedo modifications.
Great line: "A reasonable diagnosis -- for a security officer." And later, the converse.
Hmmm. Maybe the almost-omnipotent Q didn't know about 7/9's parents? It was a good try by the scriptwriters to explain an assimilation several years before "Q Who."
Again Captain Janeway shows the willingness to make decisions contrary to the known wishes of the patient. Remember Tuvix?
Looks like this willl be the ultimate (in more ways than one!) 'Use the Force, Kes' episode.
Why isn't Chakotay, who *has* group-mind experience, helping with 7/9's 'weaning?'
Janeway must have been real persuasive to get 7/9 to help with the 'purification' of the engineering systems. Doesn't 7/9 still want to get back to the collective?
Doesn't Tuvok remember bleeding from his eyes the last time he tried to get Kes to see the subatomic essence of something? (Note from Phil: The guy is an eternal optimist I tell you!)
After 7/9's bit about 'attempts to assimilate this drone,' I really was hoping Janeway would say, 'resistance is futile!'
More of Janeway's 'Big Sister' act. 'You don't agree with me, so you obviously aren't competent to make a decision.' It's kind of unsettling. Phil, would you call this Kirkanization? (Note from Phil: I gotta admit that it's kind of nice to have a captain again who has the attitude, "I'm right. You're wrong. Sit down and be quiet." Now if we could only get that fear and trepidation look out of her eyes . . . ;-)
9/15/97 Update
Dave Pack of Newfoundland: I just finished watching The Gift. Overall a very good episode. I
believe I picked up a few nits and I have a few comments too. First, I
think that when Janeway was reading the stardate when 7 of 9 was born
it was something like 25473. 47 being the operative number.
I think that a little more explanation into what happened to Kes
would have been nice. Especially since they are now 9.5 thousand light
years away from her last location and they'll probably never see her
again. (Note from Phil: Of course, she does live in some kind of trans-dimensional domain now!)
Overall, a great episode and I'm sure we'll all miss Kes, prehaps
she'll be back for a mysterious guest appearance :-)
Adam Howarter of Stow, Ohio: An interesting episode indeed. Of course as has already been pointed out Janeway comes down with what I call EDDINGTON'S desease. You know
"**Everyone** wants to join the Federation, and nobody leaves
paradise...*EVER*." Other examples of this is the fact that dispite the
fact the Dominion have laid claim to the gamma quadrant, Starfleet still
sends ship there (kinda makes you wonder who invaded who.) Janeway says
"... you were part of a group, a collective..." I'm screaming "YOU MEAN
A FAMILY!!" something this poor girl won't have once they get back
"Home."
BTW... of the two main characters that have left their respective Star
Trek series (Tasha Yar and now Kes) both were blond women, hmmmm. Add to
this yoman Rand form TOS we have to wonder if maaaaaybeeee....naaaaa.
Johnson Lai: Looks like Mr. Ayala has been a bad boy. I'm pretty certain
he held a "lieutenant" rank in one of the previous episodes. Now, he's
only an ensign.
Kevin Weiler: Pretty good episode. Nice transition from the previous two.
I'm not really sure about this one, but did anyone else notice that
7o9's prosthetic on her left eye seem to wobble a bit when her head
moved?( Like a computer added animation. It wasn't quite in sync with
her head.)
At the end of the episode I was left wondering if Kes would run into
John Doe.
Next week: Beauty and the Beast.....in Space!! (I assume you can
guess which one is the beast. *snicker snicker*)
Kevin Weiler: One more thing I thought I'd add to this episode.
I thought the same thing when I heard 7o9 was assimilated 18 years
ago. I liked the way the Voyager writers worked the "adventurer
parents" into the explination. A warp capable shuttle can get pretty
far in about the 10 years they were out there. Too bad there adventure
was cut short!
Lisa Solinas: Ruminations: I was very happy when Janeway and Chakotay had a
perfectly platonic-sounding conversation in the last episode and
it carried over to this one.
Great line: "Red"--Seven, describing her favorite color as a tot.
This isn't witty or spectacular, but it shows that she remembers
some of her childhood. Sniffle.
Bestest lines: The exchange between Tuvok and the Doctor about
medical and security measures.
We get plenty of lovely body-pans of Seven.
And of course we couldn't have her in ANYthing but a tight silver
catsuit, could we?
Has Harry been taking lessons from Bashir? "Ways to
offend the opposite sex in five easy lessons"?
When non-corporeal Kes tosses the Voyager across Borg space,
shaving ten years off the trip, Tom yells that their speed is
impossible. Sez who, Tommy? You broke the warp barrier!
The brainy Vulcan Tuvok tries to mind meld with an Ocampa
who is turning into a being he knows nothing about? Help.
Torres reminds me of O'Brian in this episode with all her griping
about the Borg "circus circuitry."
After accidently tossing Neelix across the room, Kes drops to the
floor and her body from the ribcage up turns whitish and wavery.
The holodoc later says that her body flew apart at the subatomic
level. Then how does it retain her features?
Tony H Forbes: Nice episode! I figured out Kes' little "transformation into energy"
deal about halfway through though. Since I just finished watching the
episode, I'll range my nits backwards.
Okay! Let's see...7/9 seems submissive all of a sudden at the end of
the episode. Very accepting of her fate. Also, the Doctor had been
crawling about at a snail's pace in removing 7/9's implants earlier. I
don't know how much time passes before Kes' transformation and the ending
bit in the Cargo Bay, but it is a very sudden thing. The doctor suddenly
managed without a nurse and removed most of 7/9's implants.
The security guard in the brig. Okay, I just watched the episode and I
admit I can't remember his name, but it seemed familiar. Granted it was
probably in some earlier Voyager episode, but was he in a DS9 or NextGen
episode? Actually, all that stuff wasn't really a nit, but this is. It
takes a lot of buttons to push to raise and lower the force fields.
7/9 knocks Kim out, and he stumbles into the security guard. He's got a
phaser. WHY DOESN'T HE SHOOT HER?
It strikes me as odd that every time an alarm goes off in sick bay, the
doctor has to run from the table to the console. Shouldn't the console
face the table for easier access? Also, why can't the doctor just link
with the computer to find out what the problem is?
Starfleet Captains must really get sick with the way they get paged.
It's always, "Sir, I think you should see this." Why can't people
explain anything?
Joshua Truax: Well... we've known about Kes leaving Voyager for a few months now, and I'm
sure I wasn't the only one who wondered how they were going to write her
out of the series. For most of the episode, I was certain I was going to
be royally disappointed. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding
Jennifer Lien's departure, or of what we may have thought of her character,
the fact remains that Kes was a big part of the Voyager ensemble, yet up
until the final act it seemed that even in her swan song, Kes was taking a
back seat to Seven of Nine. Fortunately, the writers wised up in the end,
and in fact enabled Kes to quite literally go out with a bang! I do
realize how hard it must have been for the writers to introduce a new
character and give an old character a good sendoff in the same script, so
all things considered I thought they did a good job under the
circumstances...
Actually, we all should have seen Kes's departure coming, even long before
it was announced. Granted, hindsight is always 20/20, but we should have
realized that something was up when the creators unceremoniously ended her
romance with Neelix in "Warlord". Also in retrospect, I wonder whether
"Before and After" wasn't their way of showing us all the Kes stories we'd
otherwise never get to see - a sort of "It's a Wonderful Life" in reverse?
Nitpicking time: How come they've gotten rid of everyone's (except the
captain's) rank in the opening credits? Robert Beltran's character is now
displayed simply as "Chakotay" instead of "Commander Chakotay," Robert
McNeill's as "Tom Paris" instead of "Lieutenant Tom Paris," etc. I
actually noticed this while dubbing the season premiere, but by then I had
long since sent out my e-mail for this episode, so I decided to save it for
this one...
At one point Janeway tells 7/9 that she has met people who have regained
their individuality after being assimilated by the Borg. Evidently
Janeway's just pulling 7/9's tube. Up until now, the only people known to
have recovered from assimilation are Jean-Luc Picard, Hugh and Lore's Borg
from "Descent" [TNG]. Has Janeway really met any of these ex-Borg? (There
is one possibility here, but it's a longshot: In "The Loss" [TNG], Troi
mentions an Ensign Janeway on board the Enterprise-D. If this is a
relative of Kathryn's, then it's possible that Kathryn was introduced to
Picard by her relative. Then again, I don't recall this mysterious
relative ever being mentioned either in any Voyager episode or in the novel
"Mosaic", which Jeri Taylor wrote as Janeway's "biography"... (Note from Phil: Didn't the people from "Unity" survive assimilation?!)
Even Kes's final, noble act is fair game for nitpicking, and two big ones
come to mind. First, flash back to "Q Who" [TNG]. Q hurls the
Enterprise-D into sector J25, two or three "warp-years" from Federation
space, where it encounters a Borg cube. Guinan later tells Picard that her
people used to live in this neck of the galactic woods, until the Borg
destroyed their homeworld a century ago. Evidently the Borg have
maintained a permanent presence in and around sector J25 for at least a
century. Yet in this episode, as Kes flashes out of existence, she
drop-kicks Voyager 9,500 light-years away, and the dialogue indicates that
they are now beyond Borg space, and ten years closer to home. That means
Voyager has about 62 years left to go now, if anyone's counting. More to
the point, they're also about 59 or 60 years away from sector J25. So
there's almost 60 warp-years' worth of space between Borg space and sector
J25 that the Borg have obviously been through (how else could they have
gotten to sector J25?) and decided *not* to assimilate?! Does this seem
right? (In other words, somehow I doubt we've seen the last of the
Collective on Voyager...)
Kes's final act also creates a nit in the episode "Before and After". In
that episode, Kes lives out her 9-year lifespan aboard Voyager. A few
months into the future, Voyager encounters the Krennam, thus beginning the
so-called "Year of Hell". As you may or may not already be aware, the
Krennam are supposed to return sometime next month in a two-parter to be
titled (you guessed it) "The Year of Hell". Since this would take place a
few months after "Before and After", it seems to fit the time frame
depicted in that episode... but wait: Since Kes never flashes out of
existence in "Before and After", she never gets to punt Voyager ten
warp-years closer to home, meaning that even at the time of Kes's "death"
at the beginning of that episode, Voyager should still be at least a couple
of years away from Krennam space. In other words, they should never have
encountered the Krennam at all in that episode! (Note from Phil: Unless, of course, that was some kind of alternate future thingy like "All Good Things.")
Clay Johnson: David D. Porter speaks about how Kes made Tuvok bleed from his eyes. I
assumed that the male Ocampa who visited Voyager made Kes able to do this by
allowing her mind to access his powers. I also felt that he didn't like
Tuvok and it was his doing that made Kes make Tuvok bleed. Maybe I'm wrong,
but what do you think? (Note from Phil: Hard to know for sure!)
Brian Straight, Shawnee, Kansas.: Well this was certainly an interesting episode. It really seems like Voyager has a great year planned for us! I even heard, in a article, one of the
creators said "we're going to tear the (expletive delted) out of the ship.."
for a November sweeps epoisode! I have a feeling I'm going to get a weekly
sickness, having to excuse myself from work, every Wednesday now!
It's now the fourth season, is anyone else ready for a new opening sequence?
They've obviuously mastered CGI graphics now, so why not treat us to
something new? (Note from Phil: Those opening sequences are expensive!)
Seven was born on Stardate 25479, it is now stardate 51000 (or something),
that would maker her, about 25 years old (assuming 1000 units euals a year),
and she was assimilated when she was 8. The problem here isn't with her age,
but more with Starfleet's (or the creator's) quirky idea of stardating.
Several times in The Next Generation stardates prior to the first season of
TNG where simply refered to as Stardate 40.... regardless if it was twenty
years prior, or one. It would be much easier if the creators just used
normal calendar dates, it's not like they stopped using them (I KNOW I've
heard regular dates used), or use a "treker's stardare" like today would be
Stardate 9709.11 (or something). Because this method get's complicated, and
has gotten the creators into a lot of trouble.
The crewmembers working on removing the borg technology from Voyager's hull
must be camera shy, whenever we see an outside shot of the ship no one seems
to be working on it.
if Voyager's engines are down, howcome the engines are lit? And there's
something fishy about the way the warpcore looks when it isn't working. IT
still has that swirly-cloud effect thing in there, it just dosen't move.
Granted Voyager is now 10 years closer tohome, but looking at the whole
scheme of things, it really dosen't help. Granted, they are clear out of
Borg space, but what if Kes caused them to miss a stable wormhole, or a
species willing to help Voyager get home, or a dirlect ship that had a
working transwarp drive, or something... And they still have another, like,
60 year trip. Although one could argue Kes just brought them 10 years closer
to any of the aforementioned possiblities to get home.
The Doctor has to remove part of Seven's skull to remove the Borg implants.
Was the smae done to Picard? Or was Beverly more patient with removing the
implants? (Note from Phil: Or maybe Picard's implants weren't as extensive because he was only a part of the collective for a matter of days!)
The Doctor gets frustrated when Tuvok stands in his way. Why not make
himself walk-throughable and pass right through him?
The Doctor gives Seven a "normal" eye. From my understanding in the dialouge.
So will we see Geordi with the samething in the next TNG feature?
Obvioulsy the Borg give their drones an armor that appears to be solid metal,
but isn't. As Kes stops Seven's seisure Seven breaths heavily, and her
"armor" rises up and down with her stomach. And during many close ups of
Seven's face the part of her Borg armor around her neck, bends and flexes
like rubber too.
Obviously baldness is a fashion-trend in the 24th century, because medical
science can stimulate hair folicles and cause hair growth.
Warp technology, transporters, holodecks, and still scientists in the 24th
century haven't discovered that there's something in between the molecules
and sub-atomic particles in an object? Something that I'm sure even present
day scientists are open to.
And finally, during the closing pull back (haven't gotten away from them
yet), I was able to use Tuvok's body to figure out the height of the doors
along Voyager's rim (the very doors that were opened in Scorpion II to eject
the Borg)., as they are seen at the end of the pull-back. As I said in my
nits of that episode the doors seemed very large, and figured three Borg
could be stacked ontop of eachother and make up the height of the opening. I
estimated this made the opening between 18 and 20 feet. But Tuvok only fits
in the door once, with a little room left over, so it must only be about 10
feet tall (the height of you're average "story" or deck).
Josh Truax of Platteville, WI: It just occurred to me this morning that Voyager's
creators have done more than just written out one
character and introduced a new one. By also flinging
Voyager ten warp-years away from where they were, the
creators have, for all intents and purposes, re-invented
the series, giving it a fresh start in a completely new
part of the galaxy. (Indeed, some would say that a fresh
start is just what this series needed!)
One more thing: In my
humble opinion, [the individuals in "Unity"] don't count [as having survived assimilation]. They still remain
linked to one another through those neural transceivers.
Indeed, at the end of "Unity" the Cooperative defeated
would-be plunderers by "assimilating" them into the
Cooperative against their will.
Trevor Ruppe: Q: What do you get when you combine "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (TOS) and "Suddenly Human" (TNG)?
A: "The Gift"--one of the most predictable hours of TREK ever.
Was anybody *really* surprised that Seven ended up as a typical
"non-regulation-uniformed blond babe with a Starfleet communicator," and
VOYAGER's answer to TNG's "I'm-becoming-more-human" Data? Was anybody
*really* surprised when the "Kesgoddess" sent the ship closer to home?
Only three problems come to mind:
Since she's already more human than Borg, why not start referring to her
as "Annika" instead of "Sevenofnine"?
The Creators prove in this episode that they knew they were making a
continuity error when they claimed the 18-yrs-ago Borg contact, so rather
than waste script space explaining how she was the First Ever Human
Assimilated, why not just have her be from Wolf 359 or "First Contact" and
let it go at that? (Note from Phil: Personally, I found the explanation of her parents being rough explorers to be very plausible!)
Since the Creators sat down and came up with the Gary-Mitchell-style exit
for Kes, they could've given her the ability to send the crew ALL THE WAY
HOME--but she didn't only because they didn't want her to. So now it's 60
yrs instead of 70, huh? Yawn.
Finally, about next week's episode: is anyone else sick of the
let's-let-all-the-characters-on-DS9-and-VOY flirt-with-each-other-endlessly?
I'd like to see Belanna look Paris in the eye and say "We're going to die,
so there's something I have to tell you..."
(dramatic KMYF pause)
"...YOU GET ON MY NERVES!"
All in all, an incredible let-down after such a strong opening to the
season. Hopefully they're getting the worst episodes of the season out of
the way NOW so the rest of the season will be great.
ALEX OTIS: I love Voyager's new look. I am glad they have kept it so
far. There was a major KMYF between Kes and the Captain during Kes's "I have
to leave" speach. Kes warping Voyager out of Borg space was a big cop-out.
At least we know that we haven't seen the last of the Borg. They are too
good an enemy.
Bob Canada: This was a pretty good episode, considering it was directed by Potsie.
Although it suffered in the end from OOOTS (Oops, Out Of Time Syndrome).
Everything was going along and progressing nicely, then suddenly in
under 5 minutes Kes starts tearing the ship apart and has to leave and 7
Of 9 has an abrupt change of heart. Shoulda been a 2 parter, or split
into 2 episodes.
Finally, Tuvok uses the neck pinch. I was beginning to think he'd
forgotten how to do it. Maybe it doesn't work on Delta Quadrant aliens?
I realize that every year computer technology and storage capacity
increase, but is the ENTIRE Federation database really stored onboard
Voyager? Even down to photos and detailed history of citizens who
disappeared 20 years ago?
The Doctor states that removing the Borg headpiece from 7 Of 9 is "like
peeling an onion." Has the Doc ever really peeled an onion. Maybe when
he was in his family simulation (BTW, is he still doing that?). (Note from Phil: Then again, he does have the collected "wisdom" of all those doctors and that is something that McCoy might say!)
Obviously Tuvok deactivated the ships fire-suppression mechanisms before
he and Kes started playing with fire in his quarters.
At least 2, and possibly 3 47s this episode. (1) Tuvok says Kes' body
was destabilized for 17.4 seconds. (2).Annika (7 Of 9) was born on
Stardate: 2547.9. (3) work with me on this one--7 Of 9 talks about
Species 259. 2 + 5 = 7. 9 - 5 = 4. I know, that ones strecthing it a
bit, but it works.
That security guard posted in engineering when 7 Of 9 cold-cocked Harry
was worthless! He wasn't even facing her direction!
Shouldn't the Structural Integrity Field intensify itself automatically
when a bulkhead comes apart, instead of waiting for Chakotay to order
it?
Another bald joke by the Doc. Again I ask, if its bothering him, why not
just programsome hair. Every time we see a future timeline he's got
hair, so...
7 Of 9 seemed to get over her collective-disconnection trauma awfully
fast. And last week, she was connected to the collective and kept
referring to herself as "I," now she's disconected and keeps referring
to herself as "this drone."
Hopefully there'll be an explanation as to why, a few episodes from now,
Neelix's Ocampan lung doesn't start glowing and trying to tear apart the
ship (maybe everytime he sneezes the ship could be thrown 2 or 3 years
closer to home :-) (Note from Phil: Cute! However, I got the impression that it was Kes's mind that was doing the transformation!)
Brian Lombard: Before I make this nit, I want to remind everyone that Voyager was
lost before the events chronicled in "Star Trek: Generations". We know
this from the given stardates. That given, I find it odd that Holodoc
knew how to construct artificial eyes, long before Geordi ever
acquired them in "Star Trek: First Contact". Did Starfleet have this
technology for a while? You'll recall that in "Generations" Geordi
still had his visor.
Mr. Ayalla's been demoted. During the first season, he was referred
to as Lieutenant, yet in this episode he summons the bridge as "Ensign
Ayalla".
Ed Watson: Chakotay said crews were working around the clock to remove the Borg
armaments, but the exterior shots of the ship never showed anyone
working on it.
The scenes with Janeway and 7o9 were great. 7o9 gave a great
description of Janeway's case of WTTB. Janeway was giving her freedom
to do anything she wanted, except to go home which is what she really
wanted to do. She even had the great line. "Then you're no different
from the Borg."
I like the way they wrote Kes out of the script. I just wish there
could have been some kind of "Saying Goodbye" scene. I suppose that
would have been to hoky.
To say the ending was predictable would not be exactly correct. It
would be more accurate to say the ending is what I hoped would happen
while watching the show. I was thinking "Wow, Kes could send them all
home!....wait a minute, no she can't. The series would be over. OK, so
she could send them part of the way home, at least past Borg space." I
usually don't call the endings that accurately.
Harvey H. Kitzman, Jr.: Kes' gift was an interesting way to get through Borg space quickly -
remember it was going to take them several months to get through it.
Also, interesting background on the parents of 7 of 9. However, if
she was assimilated prior to the Enterprise-D's first encounter with the
Borg, wouldn't they have started coming to the Alpha Quadrant sooner? (I
know, we beat this one to death last week). (Note from Phil: Maybe not! Perhaps the Borg didn't find 7o9's parents that interesting!)
I loved Holodoc's comment about regenerating 7 of 9's hair.
I forgot a comment my wife made regarding the episode. She pointed
out that 7 of 9's name Anaka (Hanake - sp?) could be a female version of
Anakin - as in Anakin Skywalker who as Darth Vader was a combination of man
and machine, not unlike the Borg. Could this have been a nod to Star Wars?
Michael Gurwitz, Washington, DC: Not a bad episode, held my attention.
Nit: After Kes propels Voyager 9500 light years closer to the Alpha
Quadrant, Janeway boldly proclaims, "She's thrown us clear of Borg
space." How does Janeway know that, since they've only
been in their new location what, 5 seconds? You'd think Janeway
would assume the opposite, given that the Borg already invaded the
Alpha quadrant once before (to her knowledge).
I'm now proud to introduce my wife, Maria Schmit, as a new guild
member. Though now a true Trek fan, she still came up with this after I
told her about the episode: When Kes propelled Voyager 9500 lightyears
thru space, how come Voyager didn't collide with anything (planet,
asteroid, space junk)? Pretty lucky, eh? Or is Kes just that good? (Note from Phil: Welcome to the Guild, Maria!)
Mike Konczewski of Havertown, PA: "The Gift" was not bad; a good sendoff for Kes, leaving the door
waaaaay open for her return in the unspecified future. Maybe she'll
run into Wesley or Q in her travels.
An observation--7of9 made a good point about Janeway when she said
Janeway is as bad as the Borg. Janeway is convinced that she knows
what's best for everyone. Didn't she try to convince Kes to stay,
without fully understanding Kes's transformation (and almost
destroying the ship in the process)? Why couldn't she promise 7of9
that, if 7 still wanted to be a Borg after the period of transition,
it would be okay? I'm not counting this all as a nit, cos it's just
an aspect of Janeway's personality--she's a bull-headed busybody.
Nits:
Tlaxian champagne--properly speaking, this should have been called
either "sparkling wine" or "champagne-style sparkling wine." Only
sparkling white wines made in the Champagne region of France can
legally be called Champagne. Of course, this brings up the whole
Romulan Ale, Vulcan Port, Aldeberan Whiskey question--why should an
alien food product, made with alien foods, be named after a
terrestrial product? Ease of translation, I suppose.
This episode had a serious case of PAL, and I predict the same for
next week. In fact, I'll make this prediction about next week--just
as B'lanna is about to tell Paris the Something Important Before She
Dies, they're both going to get beamed onto the ship and get saved.
Then she'll tell Paris, "Oh, never mind; it wasn't important."
Ed Ouellette: Is "Voyager" dying? I've watched the premiere and the second episode and
it seems that the "Borg Babe" was added simply to get the 18-34, lonely,
troubled male audience. The stories just weren't that good. Also, if the
holographic doctor could figure out a way to 'rehumanize' 7 of 9 don't
you think the Federation could do the same with all its vast knowledge
and doctors? And if one could be brought back from the Borg collective
(à la 7 of 9) does that mean that Capt. Picard can now be brought up on
murder charges for his actions in "First Contact"?
Do you consider the "evolved" Kes sending the Voyager almost 10,000
light years closer to home a Deus Ex Machina? Was this the only way the
writers could think of to get them out of Borg space without repeating
the Kazon trap (of voyaging without making any headway)?
Is "Voyager" becoming a "Love Boat" in space? There seems to be
something between Janeway and Chakotay, Torres and Paris and now (maybe)
Kim and 7 of 9.
Since the doctor developed a weapon that could attack specifically those
aliens who were beating the Borg (I've forgotten their name) could that
weapon now be tweaked to attack any sentient group? Could this be a new
genocidal weapon?
Paul MacEachern, Hudson, MA: It looks like the new edition of the Borg babe is going to be a hit.
That Starfleet Database never ceases to amaze me. The information on
the
human that eventually became 7 of 9 seems extremely remote to say the
least.
It looks like her parents were migrating all over the place, never
filing a
flight plan. To be blunt, why would Starfleet care??
It was obviously no mystery that 7 of 9 would remain on Voyager. I just
have
a feeling that her transition from Borg to human is going to be a
breeze.
And I hope I'm wrong. I would love to see the ongoing psychological
rebuilding of this person throughout the season. We will see.
Is Janeway taking any more suggestions from anybody on Voyager anymore?
She
made the decision to keep 7 of 9 on Voyager against the trepidation of
at
least the senior staff and probably most of the crew. I guess she just
made
her mind up.....again.
And by the way, even though 7 of 9 is altered from her human state,
doesn't
she have a right as a 'Borg' to want to rejoin the collective? I think
the
Captain is severely violating the prime directive here. (When was the
last
time you heard THAT phrase on Voyager?)
Tuvok seems extremely uneven in his security of the Borg. At the
beginning
of the episode with 7o9 in sick bay, he was keeping such close tabs on
the
Borg he was getting in the doctor's way. Yet as the episode elapses,
Tuvok
is nowhere to be found and consequently the Borg tries to contact the
collective, slamming poor Harry in the process.
I thought of a half a dozen ways they could extract Kes from the show.
Kes'
transcendence was really a cool way to do it.
George Angstadt of Reamstown, PA: Ok, they wanted to remove the borg armor from the hull of voyager, why? armor is armor, is it not?
The doctor put dermoplastigrafts on the borg.....looks like duct tape to me. Glad to see that its still around in the 24th century, its just being used
for medical reasons.
Janeway is in the brig with the borg. The borg attacks her. The security
guy is still standing there..hmmmm. If you attacked the captain of a ship
today, you could probably lay money on 3 or 4 guys beating the tar out of
you. She sure took a risk going in there though...the borg threatened to
kill her!
Tuvok has some BIG quarters, doesn't he? on the final shot, when he puts
the candle in the window, that window is huge....going by that standard,
there must be about 20 people on the ship, or the bridge crew gets really
big quarters, and everyone else sleeps 35 to a room. :-)
Best lines, "Not a bad diagnosis, for a security officer" and "Not a bad
security measure, for a doctor"
John W. Weiss of Northfield, MN
Tuvok tells Kes to "see the flame at the subatomic level. Even a
secutiry officer should know that there is no "flame at the sub-atomic
level." Fire is chemical, not nuclear.
While there, Kes makes the flame more intense, "hotter" in her own
words. But looking at the flame, it gets bigger! A hotter flame would
turn bluer. What she did was actually make it less hot if anything.
What, in general, lights the hulls of the starships in any incarnation
of Trek? THey are usually too far from the nearest star to create that
kind of light. We can only assume that the vessals have flood lamps
that fly along side them.
How is it that the inertial dampers can take a jump to warp or high
impulse, but not a tremor from a blast? Having vital stations
(tactical, helm, engineer, etc) unamanned during crutial moments of
battle has to be unsafe. (Note from Phil: The Tech Manual explains that the response of the inertial dampeners is not instanaeous. For planned manuevers, it can compensate.)
Chris Booton: In my opinion, this
was a very good episode , it's exploration of the human and okampin (sp?)
spirits worked out very well to produce a high quality episode that was
definitely one of Voyagers best to date. I think that the producers picked
a very interesting way for Kes to depart (which I would rather that they
didn't have her depart at all), it was much better than simply killing
her character as is often done. Seven of Nines behavior and attitude towards
her situation was believable in that she did not adjust to individuality
easily and likely will not. As for the nits I saw (I always find it hard
to find nits in good episodes but I will try)
At one point Janeway mentions
Tuvoks vulcan candle thing as something he purchased 8 years ago from another
Vulcan. I find it hard to believe that Vulcan's would use money of any
kind, as they would see it to be illogical.
After Voyager goes out
of it's hyper warp they report that they are 9500 light years away from
their previous position. Original calculations gave it as 1000 light years
per year so an estimate of 9 years 6 months is more accurate (but then
again saying 10 years closer sounds better)
At the end seven of nine
appears to be almost fully restored, when you consider that it took nearly
the entire episode to get like 20% of the borg off of her this does not
seem realistic (but then again perhaps the doctor was able to remove the
other stuff quicker once he got rid of the hard stuff) . Not only that
but after surgery that severe would she realistically be wearing a skin
tight suit, but then again she looked great in it.
Not nits just obervations
Why is it that only Janeway
is visibly upset when Kes leaves? Other crew members liked her just as
much if not more (paris and nelix for example).
When seven of nine and
Janeway fight in the brig for a short time just before they sit down Janeway
gets an expression on her face like she had just been stabed or something
and yet after they sit down she looks just fine.
Charles Sylvia: When Janeway is escorting Kes to the shuttle bay and Kes is reluctantly
blowing up the walls behind them everyone seems to think that they need
to get Kes off Voyager into a shuttle craft so she doesn't blow apart
Voyager. But...why wouldn't she just blow apart the shuttle craft with
her new found extremely volatile and hard to control telekenetic powers?
(Even though she actually was just in the process of becoming some sort
of new entity, they didn't know that, so I would think putting Kes in a
shuttle is more of a death sentance for her since it would probably just
rip itself apart once she got in. Of course, it didn't since at exactly
the right moment, Kes stopped blowing up everything and turned into some
kind of big bright transparent energy type thingy....um....yeah.)
Scott Padulsky: In response to someone's complaint that if Holo-Doc could make 7of 9
an eye, why coudn't La Forge get one. Well first, the Doc mentioned
that he was incorporating her Borg implants to make it work, implying
that Federation science aone wasn't enough. And second, La Forge *did*
get his own eyes in First Contact.
I can't remeber the dialogue exactly but it seemed to me that they
were measuring the output of the matter/anti-matter reaction in
Cochranes. I thought (recalling the tech manual) that Cochranes were a
measure of warp fields. Shouldn't the output of the core be measured in
power (watts) or energy (joules?). I could be wrong but I always
assumed that the warp field wasn't formed in the reaction chamber, but
by the energy from the reaction chamber being pumped through the warp
coils. The m/a-m reaction was a source of *power* for warp not a source
of warp itself. Yeah I know its a show and weren't talking about stuff
that doesn't exist but stuff that doesn't exist should be consistant
right?
Scott F. Newton of New Brunswick, NJ: Looks like everyone caught my nits, except these:
Where's Q? shouldn't he be concerned about someone developing
abilities like Kes's? (A future episode?)
What's up at the prop department? Besides the duct tape (pointed out
by another nitpicker), that new eye for 7/9 looks like something you
could buy at a novelty store.
I admit I'm not much on sorting through technobabbble, but I can't
figure out why the Borg implants in the engines would render them
inoperable. The engines seemed to work fine in the previous episode.
The TNG episode in which Picard allows a human boy to return to his
non-human father was "Suddenly Human." What's the difference between
that boy's situation and 7/9's? Does respect for individual choice only
extend to non-ex-Borg? Never mind that leaving her behind on a planet is
probably the tactically correct thing to do (as a number of nitpickers
have pointed out).
A NON-NIT: Kes probably tried to get the ship all the way home, but she
phased out of our universe before she could finish. (Or something like
that. Like I said, I'm not much on understanding technobabble!)
Nit mode off, rant mode on.
It's only been two episdoes, and already I can't stand 7/9! She has a
chip on her shoulder the size of a Borg cube. At least Hugh had a
modicum of humility. (My only hope is that her personality will change
over the coming episodes.) We all know what's up with this costume. As a
man, I find it rather insulting that I'm supposed to be entertained by
something like this. Granted, Kes was a babe, too, and so was Troi for
that matter, but at least they both had brains AND a legitimate reason
to be on the ship. I hope the creators are reading this because I'm
disappointed that they got rid of Kes and I'm even less thrilled about
this new character. After a great start to the new season, they took a
major step backwards in this episode. (I knew the creators were going to
make this change, but I wanted to wait until I saw the actual episode
before I said anything.) Maybe it's time I started watching Drew Carey
(which airs opposite Voyager in my area).
Karen Fischer, Hercules, CA: I must admit I liked the way Janeway showed 7o9 the data she found on her as a young child. Now the question I have is how long ago was she
assimilated? In Scorpion II, 7o9 says that "this body was assimilated
18 years ago." Then in this episode Janeway tells Chakotay, or was it
Tuvok that she was assimilated 20 years ago. Which one was it?
Did love Doc's line at the end about stimulating her hair follicles
and saying it was a vicarious experience for him. Was that a smile I
saw on Janeway's face when he said that?
It does look like the surrogate mother/daughter realationship thing
will be more successful with Jeri Ryan than it was with Jennifer Lien.
Especially since Jeri's character needs training in how to be human.
Let's see what kind of job Janeway does.
Murray Leeder: I think Kes has become a Traveller... like Wesley, she noted something
along the lines of "maybe space, time and thought aren't so separate
after all". Plus, she super-accelerated the Voyager, just as the
Traveller did the Enterprise.
Stephen Mendenhall: Why did Janeway suggest, "maybe it's all in your head," like it's a
hallucination? I would have shrunk her down to doll-size, flown her
around the room, and said, "how's that for a hallucination?" (Grin)
Considering she's about to leave the ship she might feel safe in
"letting go" and being a little impulsive. (Grin) Why didn't Q show up
like he did for the episode "True-Q"?
Brian O'Marra, Little Rock, AR: A pretty good episode. It seems to deal with the same issues of I Borg: Leave the Borg alone, or allow it to assert its individuality.
These Ocampans are amazing. Not only can they grow hair really, really fast,
but they can evolve mentally even faster. Telekinesis, seeing beyond the
atomic level, etc. In fact, it reminds me of the same dilemma Wesley faced in
Journey's End. Once you have ascended to explore higher plains of existence,
you have to leave your family behind.
One observation, maybe a nit. In Scorpion II, Doc used Borg technology to
excise 8472 from Kim. The nanite probes deassimilated the creature from Kim
that was eating him from the inside out. The sound effects wizards went to
work: you could see and hear Kim's rapid recovery. Moments later, he is
completely cured and back in action, fit for duty.
However, Doc seems to struggle with 7 of 9. Remember, 7 of 9 is a Borg.
Shouldn't it be easier to use Borg technology to remove Borg technology than
a completely alien assilimiation. Yet, Doc needs help from "higher-plain Kes"
to do his job. In fact, for almost the entire show, 7 of 9 recovers very
slowly, fighting the assimilation the entire time.
Beau Landaiche: Everyone is making this big deal about her 7o9 saying "I" instead of
"we" at points. However, she only referred to the singular in the matter
dimension. Also, she said that the connection to the connaction was very
weak. Does it not seem logical that she would refer to herself as "I" if
she is not totally connected to the Collective.
By the way, we finally see that "Baywatch" connection everyone was
talking about with "Future's End" last season. Obviously, the Borg
travelled back in time to 1979, captured some girl who was destined to
become a lifeguard 17 years later, and brought her to the collective in
the future! ;) Actually, this is probably the best Voyager episodes I've
seen in a long time.
Sean Breen: I dunno if anybody's gotten to this one yet, but it's a pretty big nit
if you think about it...
Recall the TNG episode "Q Who?" when the Enterprise is launched to
System J25 and encounters the Borg for the first time. At System J25, we
can safely assume that that is the farthest frontier of Borg space in
the Delta Quadrant. However, it's also within 7,000 light years of
Federation space! According to Kid Genius Wesley, it would take two
years at max warp to get back to Fedland from the edge of Borg
territory!
So what's this about Kes managing to shave *just* ten years off the
Voyager's journey? If you think about it, getting to the other edge of
Borg space would shave 60+ years off their travel time!
Or is this the creators trying to downscale the Borg so they can keep
having adventures in the Delta Quadrant without being *too* close to
home?
YOU make the call!
Christine Henry: RE: to Muray Leeder -Actually, you can have better acuity in one eye and not
suffer visually. Modern RK /laser surgeons will usually leave one eye
slightly nearsighted in people over 40 so that they can still see and read
without any use of glasses. The brain's able to compensate for the difference
without you noticing.
I think that Voyager should keep the Borg additions. Voyager's been
tossed to the other end of the galaxy, eaten by giant space critters, shot at
by practically everyone they've met, beaten up by god-knows how many
anomalies -and doesn't have A SCRATCH ON HER! By now the ship should have
something to show for all that it's been through; and beside looking neat,
the Borg technology has a useful purpose in giving the crew more launchers to
shoot with. (Not to meantion the looks on the faces of Starfleet officials if
they came back Borgified!;)
I must say, the last thing I ever expected see in an opening shot was an
eyeball sitting on a counter! The effects guys must've had fun with that one.
Seven of Nine is going to make a great engineer, knowing all of
the specs for Voyager. B'Elanna's not going to like this...
It's now getting into the fourth year of Voyager, and they've yet to run
out of shuttles or fuel. As for the shuttles it's anyone's guess, and
deuterium (matter) is collected from the surrounding space as they go, but
what about antimatter? Voyager only had a two year supply when they started
out, right? Did they make a pit stop back in-between episodes? This might be
an interesting plot to run through a few episodes, having the ship running
out. (Though if I remember it right, E-D had small generators according to
the tech manual - maybe Voyager has a lot of 'em...;)
Jennifer Patterson of Centerville, OH: The "Wesley
Crusher Solution." Whenever a character outlives their usefulness, such
as Kes has done, TPTB simply develop their awareness to a heightened
state and allow them to move to a higher plane of being! Pretty
convenient.
Laurie Davis of Duluth, Minnesota: Well I've looked through all the nitpicks so far and haven't seen it. When
Harry and 7-of-9 are working and she takes her shot at contacting the Borg
are we really supposed to believe that Harry's falling body was really
enough to render that security guard useless as well? Actually he was
pretty useless from the start. He's standing outside the door facing away
from them - just who exactly is he protecting? Afraid some rouge gangs of
ensigns might happen by and rough up the borg-babe? Shouldn't he be
watching HER if she's THE THREAT!!! Maybe I'm just not aware of the latest
security techniques.....
Murray Leeder: How come the Doctor didn't check to make sure Kes's seratonin levels or
whatever it is went down?
Aaron Nadler of New Cumberland, PA: When 7 of 9 is in the brig, Janeway comments that she has met Borg who have been seperated from the Collective. Picard?? Otherwise who is she
talking about?
I loved Tuvok's "Leaving a candle burning in the window "moment at the
end. Great touch.
David T. Shaw of Hamilton, Ontario: I was very disappointed in Capt Janeway's behaviour in this episode. When the Doctor stated that 7 of 9's immune system had started back up and was
rejecting the borg enhancements, I thought "Ah ha - a rational reason for
removing the Borg equipment."
Then Janeway ruins this - it is obvious that even if 7 of 9 was in
no danger at all she would have still ordered the removal. It seemed to me
that 7 of 9's request to make the choice once she was human again was
perfectly reasonable - in fact I was waiting for Janeway to make it so 7 of
9 would agree to the surgery. The Captain's response of "I don't think
you'll make that decision" must have lacked conviction, otherwise she would
have agreed, right? And would you really want to be have a passenger on
your ship who's sole wish was to leave? For seventy years? (Of course,
it's only sixty now, but Janeway didn't know that at the time.)
Which brings us to the question of the immune system - it is made
dormant by the link to the collective? (It was after the link was destroyed
that the problems started). So how do people get assimilated by a mere
injection? If the link is needed to suppress the immune system, then how is
the link established immediately? If the immune system doesn't need to be
suppressed, then why does it fail to prevent assimilation but can apparently
afect someone who is fully assimulated? It would seem to me that the
injection should be attacking the immune system first, as well as affecting
the mind so the victim has a desire to report to the nearest Borg ship to be
sized for a metal suit and an artificial eye.
What I am saying is that I don't buy the explanation for the removal
of the Borg equipment. Something along the lines that the power surge from
last week's episode fried most of the Borg equipment, and it was now
unstable would have been more satisfying to me.
Does it stike anyone else as strange that even after 7o9's massive
superstructure of an eye was removed, she could still zoom in to the control
chip? Or was the eye she had a temp loaned by the Doctor until he managed
to match the iris colour?
A prisoner is in a holding cell, and starts to act up - what do you
do? Call the Officer on Watch? The security duty officer (my choice)?
Apparently according to Starfleet protocols, you immediately call the
captain. If all ship's personnel acted this way, the captain would never
have a moments piece on the Bridge (or anytime to sleep). Of course,
Janeway might have given orders for her to be notified immediately of any
change in 7o9's behaviour, but we never saw that.
The Doctor has a complete record of all Starfleet medical logs - yet
he was unable to diagnose Kes as going through a Transfiguration, even after
she starts phasing in and out at the mess hall - Kes herself has to figure
that out. Didn't Crusher keep any logs about John Doe in "Transfigurations"?
When Janeway was struggling to get Kes to the bridge, it struck me
that Starships seem to have a lack of stetchers. One of the first things to
get knocked out in a battle seems to be the transporters, and yet have you
ever seen any casualities transported lying down? It must be that all
injuries sustain are either fatal, or of the 'walking wounded' variety.
Matthew Chase Maxwell of San Francisco CA: When Seven of Nine goes into a seizure just before Kes uses her mental
powers to remove the Borg neural implant, watch the pillow on the
biobed. It shifts position throughout the scene.
When Seven of Nine was using her "bionic" eyesight to see the
communications node, I flashed back to Steve Austin in the "Six Million
Dollar Man." Too bad we don't get to hear the sound his eye made!
After Kes and Neelix have their heart-to-heart, Kes phases, doing much
damage to the structural integrity not only to the mess hall itself, but
also to the deck on which it resides. This seems to me like a
significant danger to those in the area. So who goes to investigate?
Captain Janeway! Isn't there a crew member who is -- well -- more
expendable than the captain to check on the problem? I would think
Tuvok would see the logic in this prudence.
Great shot of the shuttle bay door closing as Kes leaves the Voyager.
Nice touch!
Best line goes to the doctor: "I also took the liberty of stimulating
your hair follicles. A vicarious experience for me as you might
imagine."
I'm enjoying Seven of Nine thus far. I would , however, have liked to
see her remain a little more visually Borg for several more episodes.
As for her silver outfit, it is the high heels in which they have put
her that I find most objectionable. (Note from Phil: Then again, Maybe Bridget Borgette always dreamed of high heels even when she was Seven of Nine!)
Simon Crowley: *sees 7o9 at end of ep; jaw drops* Whoa. That's good surgery, doc.
REALLY good surgery. I mean, that's. . . OK, fine. Off with the
hormones, on with the nitpicking!
WANTED: Brig security guard. Ensign or NCO, must have poor vision, awful
hearing, and limited intelligence. Duties: sit around and fiddle with
computers while totally ignoring everything going on around you.
Oft-used line: "Inacceptable." A very Borg-like term, I guess. But she
wasn't very Borg-like later, as she sobs into Janeway's shoulder. Good
performance by Jeri Ryan there.
And lastly: Paris & B'Elanna: Love in Space. *gag, choke, cough, wheeze*
That sounds like a weak "bottle"-type show, full of cliches and such.
Well, I can only hope that Previews will still Always Lie!
David T. Shaw, Hamilton Ontario: I've just seen "The Gift for the second time and I have some info to add.
After Kes says that she's stopped 7o9 Tovac asks the bridge for a
status report (let us just skip the problem of asking the captain instead of
whoever is maining the security station). Janeway says something along the
lines of "There was explosion and stopped her before she could send a
transmission." Up to this point no one has told Tovac that 7o9 was trying
to send a transmission (at least not officially - I wouldn't rely on the
emerging psychic powers of a crew member to keep my chief of security
informed). So why didn't the Captain say "7o9 tried to send a sub-space
message but there was an explosion..." Maybe Janeway assumed that security
had did it's job and informed their boss of the incident, and Tovac
prudently decided not to correct her false impression.
The Doctor has to tell Tovac to move out of the surgical bay while
operating on 7o9. Surely security must have procedures for guarding
dangerous prisioners while being treated? Ones that don't get in the
doctor's way? (I would have Tovac on the far side of the surgical bay, that
way either him or the other security guard in the back ground would have a
clear shot at 7o9 no matter were the doctor was.
And if Tovac is so worried about 7o9 rising for sedation (hey - it
could happen - the Borg components could deactivate it or something) why did
he allow himself to be distracted by Kes's display of telekensis (which was
interesting but of no immediate danger to the ship) and actually leave the
room with a chunk of inert Borg technology? Couldn't he call a flunky to
carry it, or relieve Tovac of watching 7o9 whilst he talks to Kes?
Lastly, I find it interesting the 7 of 9 still seems to have all of
her memories intact. I would think that a Borg drone would have a limitted
amount of memory storage space to download info from the collective at need,
and wiped out if it was not pertinent to the matter at hand. Thus, maybe
she would still have the technical specs for the enterprise in some chip in
her head, but why would she know which species originated a certain piece of
technology, or information about Galatic Cluster 3? Doesn't seem useful to
me if I were in the process of trying to a) win a battle against an
unassimulatable species and b) to betray my erstwhile allies, which is what
she was involved in prior to losing her link.
If the Borg do have good enough technology that all or most of their
database is carried by every drone, then 7o9 has more information in her
head than probably exist in the entire Federation (the complete records of
the Borg and the several thousand species that it has asslimated.) This
means she can build transwarp engines and the like (which Janeway would be
more than happy to use I imagine)
In any case, it now seems that Voyager has a member with an perfect
memory - a walking log for away missions.
Shane Tourtellotte: "I, Borg" just reran in this area on Saturday. In it, Picard states
that if Doctor Crusher removes some damaged Borg implants from Third of
Five's brain(he wasn't yet Hugh), he will die. Are holographic doctors
that much better, that The Doctor can take out Seven of Nine's brain
implants without ill effect? Okay, I know, he only removed 82% of the
Borg technology from her body, but what do you want to bet that some
throwaway line on some future episode will tell us the remaining
implants aren't in her brain? Stay tuned....
Brian O'Marra, Little Rock, AR: While perusing the episode again, I think I may have found some additional
nits...Maybe some questions to be raised...
First, 7 of 9 was a little girl when she and her family left the Omega sector
to head for the Delta Quadrant. Chakotay says that she was the first human to
be assimilated by the Borg. Janeway says that that was almost 20 years ago.
The title "Omega Sector" (Omega the last letter of the Greek alphabet)
implies that this sector is on the outskirts of the Alpha Quadrant. Since she
is a Borg in the Delta Quadrant, and 20 years older, are we to assume that
Borg space is right on the doorstep of the Alpha Quadrant.
Let me illustrate: she and her family head to the Delta Quadrant.Let's assume
that the Borg are right there in the Alpha Quadrant to assimilate her. They
do and bring her back to the Delta Quadrant where they can meet Voyager. At
most the Delta Quadrant is 20 years from the Alpha Quadrant, not 70 minus 3
seasons! In fact, it may be closer, since time had to be spent to raise her.
Therefore, Kes' nudge closer toward the Alpha Quadrant (10 years) means that
they have no more than 10 to get back!
Unless, the Borg can travel 70 years in 1/4th the time! Well, Kes apparently
is suffering from a post reaction from her contact with species 8472. This
episode implied that. Species 8472 was more powerful than the Borg! Making
your observation Phil, about that puny ten year nudge more valid!! She could
have sent them the full 70!
Lastly when 7 of 9 attacks Kim he hits the back of a security officer!
Amazing both are knocked out! A glass shoulder, amybe?
Murray Leeder: I had no idea that the interior of the human brain was so amazingly
well lit!
Paul Crewe: When Kes and Neelix have their talk in the mess hall, Kes says when she
concentrates on something it starts to do that distorsioin thing (ie.
the table) why doesn't it happen to Neelix when she was stareing at him?
Also at the end of the show when it showed Tuvok in the window did
anyone notice that little green dot just below him. I know it could just
be part of the borg modifications but it was so small and no where near
any of the other borg stuff. It just seemed strange.
Jason Liu: Voyager (TM), by Timex. Takes a lickin', but keeps on tickin'.
OK, here I go into Rant Mode (TM): Was I the only one who was a bit
bothered by how the crew treated 7 of 9? It seemed to me that Captain
Janeway went way overboard on the high and mighty moral stance. Of course,
the Federation is _always_ right. Forget the Klingons, Romulans, Tholians,
Ferengi, Cardassians, whatever. Humans are the proper standard for the
galaxy. Starfleet is the bastion on the moral high ground. Forget freedom
of choice, if the Federation says it's right, it is. The wrong way is
irrelevant. Resistance is futile.
I'm sorry, I seem to have gotten carried away there. Anyway,
seriously, I thought that 7 of 9's argument while in the Brig was pretty
good. And Janeway never really came up with a coherent response. The
Voyager basically takes 7 of 9, abducts her from her home, performs radical
surgery without consent, and then tells her to assume a new life and
identity. Now, 7 of 9 was Borg for basically all of her life. Wouldn't it
be _possible_ that the transition back to "humanity" might be too hard, and
beyond her capability? Just maybe? Janeway doesn't even consider this at
all. I guess I would have followed along if she had at least wrestled with
the question a bit. But she didn't, she just went ahead with all the
single-mindedness of, well, the Borg.
Yes, everything will turn out alright in the end. 7 of 9 will
become a happy human, and our good captain, in her everlasting wisdom, will
be proven right again. Voyager will get a new babe in a bunny suit (who
needs Kes?). Ensign Kim will get a new girlfriend (and forget about his
fiance back home). And things will be all hunky-dory (sp?).
By the way, my little rant above was written before I read your cult
deprogramming analogy. I hadn't thought of that. Actually, that's quite a
good argument, Phil, for Janeway's side. Hmmm...looks like ethics rears its ugly head again :)
My vote for Great Lines: "You must comply." Spoken by Janeway when
she asks for 7 of 9's help in reconstructing the ship. The reaction shot
from 7 of 9 was great (it seemed like her eyes grew to double their size!).
I can't wait to see this Paris/Torres episode. Hopefully, I won't
miss it this time.
Matt Nelson: You know, I really have to say that I liked this episode, even though
it almost seems cruel that the producers couldn't have thought of
some way for everyone to say goodbye. But then, I guess that just
makes it a little more real. I was almost unhappy when
they switched to the "7o9" bits, because I was hoping we'd get to see
a farewell between Kes and a couple more characters! All in all,
though, it was a good episode! Maybe the Voyager boys are just now
hitting their stride! (Too bad it's taken them so long.)
You know, chalk it up to my memory, but when did we hear that Kes had
telekinesis? I just can't remember. Anyone?
I'm confused. When Kes dissolved that implant in 7o9's skull, did
she dissolve it into nothing, or what? If there's lil' bits of that
floating around in 7o9's bloodstream, she could have a stroke or
something!!
Jeffrey M. Muscato: First of all, I've got to say this is possibly one of the best Voyager
episodes of all four seasons. Okay now on to the comments/nits: regarding
the pronouns, I think Borg drones can say "I" or "me" when referring
to that specific drone. While it makes sense to say "we will assimilate
you," it doesn't make much sense to say "we are 7 of 9" -- in that case the
Borg really is talking about itself as an indivdual -- not to say that it
has any sense of individuality, but physically it is one drone talking.
When 7 or 9 said that Janeway is just like the Borg in "assimilating"
her against her will, I began to actually think about 7 of 9's argument --
when the Bajorans were about to join the Federation, one of Sisco's
responsibilities was to oversee the absorption of the Bajoran militia into
Starfleet (which brings up another point -- why isn't the Klingon Defense
Force in Starfleet if they're part of the Federation?). It seems that the
Federation, in thinking that their way of life is the best, also thinks
that everyone else should live like they do. Although Janeway's right in
that the Borg will probably be happier as a human once she regains her
humanity, at that point in time 7 of 9 was trying to make a decision and
Janeway was blocking it.
Regarding the question of which plot is the main plot, and which is
the subplot (Kes or 7 of 9), I kinda like this kind of episode (like in TNG
"Brothers," concerning Data and Lore, and the Potts brothers on the
Enterprise.)
It seemed kind of weird to me when Paris said "nine-point-five
thousand light years." I've never heard anyone use a "point" for whole
numbers with anything less than a million (one-point-three million,
six-point-seven billion, etc.)
Regarding the question as to whether that part of 7 of 9 could be
beamed out, I guess this is as good a time as any to ask why sick bay has a
"medical transporter," and if this transporter is any different than normal
transporters. It seems to be able to beam stuff from off the ship (the Doc
once beamed something from a Vidiian ship), so I'm wondering if this is one
of those inventions that's really more of just a new way to use an existing
device, rather than a new invention. Because it seems that the only
difference is that someone decided that it'd be really cool if Ensign
Wildman's baby could be born by "transport delivery."
I mentioned this about the First Contact Borg; what's the point of
eyes that actually make an image harder to see? If these Borg have
such advanced doohickies over one of their eyes, how come it doesn't show
normal visual images most of the time, with the ability to zoom in, examine
things in other EM bands, or do other cool effects when desired?
These next two nits might be more fitting for "Scorpion II," but I'll
include them here: if the Borg can't communicate with the Collective
without using a Starfleet deflector dish, how do they stay in constant
communication with their dinky little tranceivers built into their Borg
body parts? Also, just what kind of provisions for humans does a Borg ship
have? Or did the Voyager send over a little shelter with a replicator,
beds, and sonic shower (like the one from the episode when Janeway and
Chakotay were stranded on that planet when they had some disease) for them
to set up on the Borg ship?
Jason Gorell: What a way to get rid of Kes!! Just send her to a new dimension of being and she can live way past her 9 year life span as an Ocampa. Possible plot: have
her meet up with Q?
How about 7/9.
1. Somebody please explain the attitude she has. This Borg has a
grudge against everyone non-Borg. (Note from Phil: Seems reasonable to me that the Borg are racist. They don't allow anyone different to exist!)
2. How atypical this Borg is.
What's up with her lashing out at the forcefield in the brig. From all the
past episodes we've seen dealing with the Borg, they choose the most
efficient course of action, the one that accomplishes their goal using the
least amount of energy. Why expend energy in a frivolous attempt to break
out?
Even though her link to the collective had been permanently severed (it sure
looked permanent) 7/9 still seemed to be able to recall detailed information
about Voyager when she aided Torres in restoring the ship to pre-Borg shape.
In TNG when Hue was isolated in the brig, he was totally clueless. 7/9
appeared not to have changed at all after her link was cut. Same high and
mighty attitude as before.
I will not be totally negative on this subject. Someone on the writing team
did include an important detail. At the end of "Scorpion II", Janeway states
that 7/9 will have to use the Borg re-energizing station until her human
functions take over. Applause.
Cydney Williams of Chicago heights: I just have a problem in general with Seven of Nine (SoN). It is not
necessary for any Borg to have secondary sexual characteristics, so the
Borg being pragmatic would have suppressed those hormones. So why is
SoN (and the Borg Queen for that matter) built like women from
"Baywatch?" I haven't seen this many full-body close-ups (both back and
front) on any on character since Deanna Troi of ST:TNG. (Note from Phil: Boys Will Be Boys)
Donald Carlson of Birmingham, AL: Okay, according to "Scorpion, Part II" the Voyager can
travel 40 light years in 5 days. That's 8 LY per day.
Kes through the ship 9,500 LY. Janeway says "10 years
closer to home."
Is it? 9500/8 = 1187.5 days = 3.25 years (approx)
This is, of course, not factoring in stopping at various
planets along the way, being borded by hostile aliens and
left stranded every 3-4 months, etc.
Even if you consider the ship must slow or stop occasionally
for maintenance -- it's not reasonable to have the ship
travel at maximum warp for over three years -- clearly Janeway's
estimate of time saved is at least double what it should be.
Jeffrey M. Hall: Didn't Kes play with fire before, and almost burn down the quarters.
Let me hear this, Kes wants the leave the ship deep in Borg space. Her
ability to turn bulkheads into jelly could be may be better than that
virus that Picard wanted to give them. But that brings the count of
shuttlecrafts down again.
Erin Hunt of High Point, NC: Whatever makes Tuvok think that a *mind meld* will slow down system-wide cellular instabilities? While we're on the subject, when Harry Kim says
Kes's DNA is "degrading"- what does that mean? (Note from Phil: Who knows on the DNA thing but I was under the impression that the cellular instabilities were *directly* related to the lack of control in her psychic abilities. In that case, a mind meld makes sense!)
James Rioux: The stardate that Janeway gives as Seven of Nine's birthdate starts
with a 2. Since the first digit indicates the century, Seven of Nine
was born in the 22nd century, in the year 21-something. Somehow I
don't think this is right... (Note from Phil: Um . . . I've heard this "first digit indicates the century in the stardate" thing many times but it simply can't be right! The stardates on the episodes for this season will be 51xxx and the year--according to the Chronology--is something like 2374 AD!)
9/22/97 Update
Lee E. Patterson: I don't really have any nits as such. And if I did, they would no doubt
be expressed already by someone else. The problem is, here in Columbia,
MO, my cable co. doesn't have a UPN channel. So I don't even get to
watch Voyager until Saturday night. In any case, having watched "The
Gift," I just wondered if Kes and Wesley Crusher and the Traveler and
V'Ger are having a nice party up there in the Dimensional Highland of
the Universe (a party which Q would no doubt enjoy crashing). Also,
about that Talaxian champaign, yes, I really do grow weary of hearing
alien adjectives attached to Earth foods and especially ANIMALS, e.g.,
Tiberian bats. Well, enough of that. Time for me to feed my Andorian
dingo. Cura ut valeas, as the Romans say.
James R. Dolan III: I have a theory, which is related to the episode "The Gift" in that it
involves Kes leaving the show. I call this theory "The Counselor Troi
Theory."
Kes didn't fit into this theory, which is why she was written out, and 7of9
fit into the theory, which is why she showed up. The theory is this: Each
starship must have at least one crewmember who has cleavage, looks good in
a skin-tight bunny-suit, and has absolutely no purpose whatsoever except to
provide something for the male officers to stare at.
Kes did not fit this description. They tried to get her to fit, though:
First they had her divorce poor Neelix for no reason except to give her an
excuse to wear a skin-tight bunny-suit. Although she did look good in the
bunny-suit, she still didn't have enough cleavage, and her character
already had an established purpose. Knowing that the viewers would not
accept more than just her hair suddenly growing from hardly anything to
something substancial in the blink of an eye, and being unable to come up
with an acceptable amnesia story-line, they just wrote her out and brought
in 7of9.
Do you agree? (Note from Phil: It's a cute idea but from what little I understand about this situation--and am *not* at liberty to share--the problem was more than the catsuit.)
Brian Dominguez, Oswego NY: For an 8-year-old girl, didn't there seem to be a LOT of information on
Annike. Even if it included stuff on her parents, the data just kept
scrolling and scrolling and scrolling.
As for Ayalla, maybe that's the creators way of telling us that stuff
happens to other crew members. Hey, why couldn't he have been be
demoted?
Tuvok summons security to engineering, but how did he know she was
there? Wasn't he dealing with Kes?
To add to Joshua Truax explanation of the happenings of "Before &
After," I'll take it one step further.
Shouldn't the arguement be that they have ALREADY passed Krennim space.
If the happenngs in "Before & After" were preceded with Q or some other
space anomaly shooting them 9.5 years ahead, then they should meet the
Krennim in the coming season. However, I'm pretty sure with all the
info we got in that "B&A" that they would have blamed Q for the Year of
Hell.
So it's more logical to assume that they met up with the Krennim in the
same General area as the Borg, not 9500 light years away.
Not a nit:
Since Anneke was assimilated along with her parents, I think it would be
cool if her Borgified parents made a visit, and 7o9 had issues with
that. Even cooler would be if the Borg were using that to their
advantage.
Clay (No Last Name Given): Phil in your most recent "The Gift" update you said the year according to the chronology is 2473. This can't be right otherwise it would be the 25th
century. I think all the 47s of late has given everyone a case of the
Freudian Slips. I think you mean 2374. Which is it? (Note from Phil: Oops, sorry oops. Typo! I fixed it! Should be 2374.)
Travis McCord: First, a quick nit: many people have mentioned the interplay between the
Doc and Tuvok in this one. Problem is, in this, Tuvok appears to be
showing both chagrin and resentment (the latter at being one-upped by
HoloDoc)... both of which are _emotions_. Oops.
Second, a thought... a horrible, horrible thought: Kes appears to have
gone into the same limbo as a few other characters in Star Trek... the
good news is, at some point, she could come back. The bad news is... _so
could Wesley!_ (aaaaah!)
Third, an anti-nit: a few people have wondered why she didn't 'throw' the
ship all the way home. Well, maybe she intended to... but stopped when
she saw the ship itself couldn't make it. Kim said the ship was breaking
up right before they dropped out of ... whatever that was; maybe she
sensed that too!
Of course, the _real_ reason is that, if she did throw them all the way
home, the show would end. I may have mentioned this before, but every now
and then the characters and/or situations have to go through convolutions
in order to let the show continue... times when they have to make some
mistake, or have some circumstance prevent them from getting home & ending
the series. In fact, sometimes, they have to be just plain dumb for that
to work!
I'd like to submit (yet another) glossary term for this: DSS -- Data's
Stratagema (sp?) Strategy (or DaSS if you really want it to be an
acronym). Defined as: any decision that serves to let the show _continue_
rather than letting the ship go home--especially one that seems out of
place/character/whatever. Named, of course, after Data's end-of-show
'winning' strategy in the first-season episode ... uh ... slipped my mind. Oh, well, I'm sure you can find it... (Note from Phil: It was a second-season episode, "Peak Perfomance". ;-)
Johnson Lai: At the end, Janeway said something (to 7 of 9) like "you will
have more access to the ship when I'm sure you won't try to contact the
Collective again." Then, what's the first thing Janeway does? She gives
Seven of Nine a commbadge, a subspace transceiver. True that its range is
rather short, but Borg are known for being handy with technologies. Well,
maybe she's trying to show a bit of trust?
Derek Giromini of Richardson, TX: After watching "The Gift", a friend of mine observed
that there is no *real* difference between the Borg Collective and the
Pakleds. In "The Gift", some dialogue between Seven of Nine and B'elanna
revealed that much of what we consider Borg technology is really just
acquired from other races. No new information there. It's just the way
Seven of Nine said it, something along the lines of, "We didn't create it,
we took it." In the TNG episode "Samaritan Snare", the Pakled technology
was described as a smorgasborg (sp?) of other "borrowed" technologies.
So, really, the Borg are just Pakleds with one huge brain.
John Reese of Austin, TX: I detected some sour grapes from Tuvok when he told Kes that her psychic
abilities were "undisciplined", and she required his supervision. What was
his basis for such a statement? She just preformed delicate brain surgery
with her mind, for heaven's sake! Now, if she had made 7 of 9's head
explode, I would understand. "Very good, Kes, but you need to work on
control..."
Then again, I can see why Tuvok is developing an attitude. He's out of the
loop! In the midst of a MAJOR security crisis, no one bothers to contact
him!
When describing Kes's "phasing", they seem use the terms "cellular",
"molecular", "atomic" and "subatomic" interchangeably. Then again, it is
technobabble, so I suppose it doesn't matter.
When Kes presented her "gift", Tom says, "Our speed is...unbelievable!"
This from someone who traveled at Warp 10 a couple of seasons back. If I
were the captain, I would worry about the whole crew turning into giant
salamanders. (I'm sure they didn't reveal the true speed because the
writers are now totally confused about the meaning of "warp", "transwarp",
etc.)
Ron Saarna of Toronto, Ontario: I'm not quite sure it is fair to call the fact that another Vulcan sold Tuvok the candle a nit. Vulcan society in general is cashless, but that
doesn't exclude individual Vulcans from operating monetarily if the
situation warrants it. Take for example the situation of a Vulcan
ambassador to the Ferengi homeworld (not that I am saying there is one, but
use it...) To get around on the planet and conduct his business, he would
need to "grease a few palms". It would be the only logical course of
action.
Also, the Vulcans are not the Borg. They don't act as one, and I.D.I.C. is
living proof to the philosophy of individuality. I would imagine there are
Vulcans that are quite happy working in a barter system. Most of them
don't, but there may always be a few that rub against the grain. Remember
Sybok from ST:V?
Murray Leeder: I gotta wonder... in the upcoming "The Year of Hell" they better give
one good explanation of why they are encountering the Krenim on the
other side of Borg space! Obviously they didn't travel that distance in
"Before And After", because Kes was still there!
Oh, the problems with writing history!
Bob Canada: A correction. In my nitpickins for "The Gift" last week, I
made the comment that it was about time we saw Tuvok apply the Vulcan
neck pinch. Oops! I was watching it on the fuzzy station just like Phil.
At the beginning of the episode, when Janeway, Tuvok & Doc are examining
7 and she starts to act up, it looked for all the world like Tuvok
reached up and neck pinched her on the fuzzy channel. When I saw it
later in the week on the clear station, I realized that Tuvok just sort
of placed his hand on 7's shoulder, and the Doc zapped her with a
hypospray.
Mark Bowman: When Kess destablizes the bulk head and zaps the female borg, how was she
able to reassemble it? Is it possible for a mind, even ocompan (spelliing?)
to be able
to keep track of all of the molecules in that bulkhead?
How come at the end they did not show Neelix mourning for Kess, especialy
since he was her lover?
Derek Moffitt and Melanie Koleini: More nits and clarifications on "The Gift":
About the stardate of Annika's birth: She was born about 25 years ago on
stardate 25xxx, but Kestra Troi ("Dark Page" (TNG)) was born about 35
years ago (30 before that episode) on stardate 30xxx. Not only are the
stardates not always the same length, they're not even *increasing*.
Yes, the power output of the warp core should not have been measured in
cochranes. I believe we've heard "kilojoules" before, but I can't recall
an episode.
Covering 9500 ly in 10 years implies a speed of about 1000c, or warp 8;
this is consistent, roughly, with the estimated average speed implied by
the 75000 ly trip home requiring 70 years. Covering 40 ly in 5 days
implies a speed of almost 3000c, or *well* over warp 9 (more like 9.9, I
believe); it seems unlikely that the _Voyager_ could maintain such a speed
for five days, especially in its current condition. (Unless the Borg
souped up the engines a bit....)
If (read: when) Kes shows up again, the writers had better have a *really*
good excuse for her not flinging the ship another ten years homeward.
(Either that, or they'll have to make sure she doesn't turn up too
often....)
And one more might-be nit: In the opening scene in Cargo Bay 2, Dr. Z
doesn't appear to be wearing his remote emitter. We never get a good view
of his left arm; it's only briefly visible in the blurry-vision sequence,
and after much freeze-framing the Nitpickers' Local has been unable to
agree on whether the emitter is there or not. Perhaps someone else out
there has a better-quality videotape and can resolve the situation?
Lisa Solinas: My sister says that at one point, either Kim or the Doctor
refers to Species 8472 as Species 8417. I have not verified
this as of yet.
Janeway tells Seven that she's part of a human community.
A bit.... er, Terraistic? Isn't that? What about Bajorans,
Bolians, half a Klingon, Vulcans, and numerous others?
Seven sways while unconscious.
Best line: "I have no expression on my face."--Tuvok, meeting
Janeway's quip.
"You MUST comply." When I heard this, I kept expecting
"Resistance is futile."
The stardate of Annika/Seven's birth was 25479.
And of course, the doctor can't have the new babette grow hair
without a cool cut and possible mousse.
Throughout most of the show, Seven is clad only in her ratty-
looking Borg armor. And it leaves plenty of bare spots from
gaping holes on the shoulder and leg.
Seven certainly has a cool pose at the end. [I'm going to shut
up now.]
I'm going to beat my dead horse. When Hugh was severed from
the Collective, he simply was an individual with a lot of Borg
implants. Nothing happened. So why does Seven's body reject
her implants. (Note from Phil: I'm figuring that whole "gotta remove the implants" was just a cover for holodoc's real motive. He had guessed that Kes would be leaving and this was his best chance to get another woman dressed in a catsuit! I mean, who do you think suggested to Kes in the first place that she start wearing the catsuit? Huh, huh? Wanna venture a guess that it was holodoc? I mean, think about it, he's got the accumulated attitudes of 300+ doctors!! So . . . holodoc gets the clue that he's losing his bunny and gives Seven a hypo to make her flop around. Then he tells the captian, "Oh me, oh my I'll guess I'll just have to remove her implants." Very conveniently--at the end of this process--he manages to make her hair grow, style her hair and, oh yeah, somewhere come up with a babette outfit for her to wear!! Of course, he will require that Seven come in for many, many, auxilliary check-up just to make sure that everything is . . . ahem . . . working properly. Yeah, I'd say that Seven would have been just fine like she was without the activity of holodoc's holohormones!)
Scott Newton of New Brunswick, NJ: Several people mentioned a nit about Voyager being "beyond" Borg space,
even though J-25 was clearly in Borg space and still ahead of Voyager.
But who ever said Borg space was continuous? For a present-day example,
just look as the United States: There's the "lower 48," Alaska, Hawaii,
Puerto Rico, Guam ... I think you get the idea. Based on statements made
in "Scorpion II" and "The Gift," I get the impression that the Borg
don't care about territory; they care about what each new species has to
offer. Why bother assimilating your neighbors if they're Kazons and
don't even have transporter technology? As if they couldn't just waltz
right across Kazon space any time they jolly well please! Go after the
big boys first and take their technonlogy. There's always time later to
mop up the little people.
Jeff Carpenter: There is a lot of talk about Geordi and the eyes holodock made in this
show. First off, Geordi's "eyes" in First Contact were still a VISOR. Just
a more compact version. And second, I know Geordi was offered real eyes by
either Crusher of Pulaski within the first two years of Next Gen. He
refused, saying his VISOR made him unique.
PLEASE NOTE: This file is frozen. Once a file hits 100K it's time to give the episode a rest!! 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 "The Gift". 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.