"Vis A Vis"
Air Date: April 8, 1998
Star Date: 51762.4-51775.2
PLEASE NOTE: This file is frozen. I think we've done all we're going to do on it! You're welcome to send addition nits but they will be filed for future reference instead of uploaded
4/13/98 Update
4/20/98 Update
4/27/98 Update
When a damaged vessel folds space and emerges nearby Voyager, Janeway is quick to offer help. The ship apparently uses a coaxial warp drive that allows it to leap tall buildings on a single bound. It's pilot, Steth, is grateful for the assistance and with Paris's help the vessel to soon ready to fold space once more. Steth then springs his surprise on Paris. He isn't really Steth. He's a body-thief, able to absorb the DNA of his victim and transfer his current host's DNA into the new victim. So . . . Paris now looks like Steth and Steth looks like Paris. Paris/Steth then sends Steth/Paris on a little joyride while Paris/Steth takes over Steth/Paris's duties on Voyager. Fortunately for Steth/Paris, it could be worse. The original Steth was swapped after the body thief had taken on female form so when the original Steth catches up with Steth/Paris, he's a she and has been for a while and is in a really bad mood. Thankfully, Steth/Paris can convince her/Steth that he's not the thief: Paris/thief is the thief. And by this time Paris/thief has become Janeway/theif and Janeway has been tranferred into Paris's body becoming Paris/Janeway but--mercifully--remains unconscious for most of the ordeal. Janeway/thief then attempts to make her escape but Steth/Paris comes with the two-minute technobabble ending and holodoc waves his magic wand and the show ends.
Brash Reflections
Not time for a lot of Brash Reflection. I have to get this file uploaded so I can write a plot summary for the Star Wars Guide so I can go to bed. Two items though:
Holodoc just gets more and more amazing! Now he can perform complete body exchanges. So I guess if Paris and Torres *really* want to understand each other, holodoc could swap their bodies for a week . . .
Note: Voyager now has a shuttle with coaxial warp drive. Anybody want to guess how many times this is going to be mention in coming episodes!
I leave the rest to you fellow nitpickers!
Reflections from the Guild
(Note from Phil: I haven't verified these reflections but they sounded good to me!)
Matthew Patterson: Would they STOP already with the references to 20th century Earth! I'll bet last week's DS9 was the only time-travel episode that didn't involve Earth, the 20th century, or any Starfleet crews from the past or future! (Just barely, it did involve main characters, but they were Bajoran and Cardassian.)
So if Paris often finds solutions to 24th century problems in 20th century devices, why hasn't he stumbled upon a simple device called the FUSE!!!! It would save Starfleet millions of credits (or strips or slips or bars of latinum or whatever, I am NOT going to get into that again) in console repair, not to mention training fees for new expendable goldshirts!
Big, giant BIMOL!!!!! Neelix's thing in the mess hall. (Actually, it does go to further my belief that Neelix has no tact or in fact any sort of manners whatsoever.)
Yet another plot to lose a shuttle. Use Steth's technology! I'll give you 10 to 1 odds the shuttle will blow up if they actually make the attempt.
Harry mentions Ensign Kaplan, but they killed her during "Unity."
This whole "Steth steals DNA, takes appearance of that which he stole from" plot sounds a whole lot like those ANIMORPHS books for kids. Basically, they're about kids who absorb DNA from animals and use it to "morph" the animals to fight a race of body-snatching aliens. In fact, I would bet that one of the writers has read that series, since ae of the scenes with Steth morphing look similar to the descriptions in the books. (And yes, I do read the things, but they are rather well-written for a series intended for fifth-graders.)
That little console on Steth's ship just before Paris/Steth wakes up looked rather like a video game of some sort.
That woman that said Steth used her body for nearly a year looked a bit like Etana Jol from TNG's "The Game."
So you can replicate alcohol. What about all those episodes that said (or at least seemed to say) you couldn't?
Finally! An explanation of why the consoles keep exploding: the power cells on Tuvok's hidden cache of phasers must overload whenever there is an unexplainable power surge. I say again, GET SOME FUSES!!!!!!!!
I have to say, there are some nice graphics of the ship going into Coaxial warp. Rather like a giant cloud of dust being thrown off and creating an expanding silhouette of the vessel.
How do they tell who's performing the all the unauthorized launches that happen so frequently aboard Voyager?
I kept thinking that the coax warp ship's bridge looked familiar, then it hit me: it's a smaller version of the Krennim WeaponShip's bridge.
So, is the real Steth a she or a he?
Wow, no 47s. THat's surprising, considering that Joe Menosky, the original 47 man, is the producer!
Next week's preview looked rather like that of "Prey," Seven defies Janeway for her own purpose. Oh well, I can only hope that PAL.
Johnson Lai: That wrench that Steth took: isn't that a holographic re-creation?
Does it seem logical that they have already built a prototype coaxial warp drive already?
Kim was talking about playing Golf against Ensign Kaplan, but Kaplan DIED in "Unity". Is there another female ensign aboard named Kaplan? How convenient...
Brian O'Marra, Little Rock, AR.: Not too bad an episode. Reminded me of the TNG episode "Man of the People." Only instead of emotions being hijacked, it's identities!
A couple of nits, though...
I guess it's up for debate again! Does holodeck matter exist outside the holodeck? According to this episode...Yup!! Paris is working on his grease monkey program in which he has a holo 1969 Camaro complete with hologrease. He's all dirty when he is called to the bridge, and he appears on the bridge still dirty. Shouldn't the grease dissolve from his face when he left the holodeck??
What? No reprimand for Paris for being out of uniform? He appears on the bridge in his dirty overalls. I should think Janeway should have had a sit down chat with him, at least!
Also, when Steth almost reverts back to its original form (a woman) while in Paris' holoprogram her voice doesn't change back. She still spoke as Steth while Paris' back was turned toward the Camaro's engine. Yet, when Steth hijacks Paris' body and Janeway's, their voice is also hijacked. Shouldn't the reverse also hold? Shouldn't the voice revert back when they loose the abduction?
That's it for me. Good to have fresh meat for a change.
Kirk Johnson - Roselle, IL: This episode took a LONG time to pick up. The last fifteen minutes were okay. Anyhow, on to the nits...
1.) The episode starts out with Tom working on a car in the holodeck. We see him with oil stains from the car on the outfit he's wearing. He then reports to the bridge, where the oil stains from the holodeck are still on his outfit. Once again, they defied the law that says matter created on the holodeck cannot exist outside the holodeck.
2.) I don't know if anyone reading this saw the film "Event Horizon," but in that movie, the ship they went to investigate used technology that "folded space" so that you could very quickly get from one point to another over incredible distances. Also, on Gene Roddenberry's "Earth: Final Conflict" they explained how the Taelons' little shuttles also "fold space" to go incredible distances. I don't know if the writers had any of this in mind when they brought up "coaxial warp," but it's very similar.
3.) Janeway interrogates Steth (posing as Tom) about his conduct toward Seven of Nine. Once again she has forgotten that the ship keeps visual logs with very accurate playback as well as multiple camera angles.
4.) Three personal notes: a) It seemed to me Daelen looked suspiciously like a Trill inhabiting a Vulcan. b) In the first conversation between Tom and Belanna, I was waiting for Tom to say he wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition and a whole Monty Python scetch to form. c) As various members of the Guild continually point out, Neelix still has nothing to do.
5.) Question (this may or may not be a nit): Was Tom's wrench real or was it from the holodeck? If it was from the holodeck, how did Steth steal it? (Like I said, I'm uncertain about this one).
Keep up the good nitpicking everyone.
Shane Tourtellotte: Well, your mini-vacation is over. Here comes the avalanche-o'-nits, and I'm throwing my two rocks in.
The Doctor chides Paris for neglecting his medical studies for 'several weeks'. Tom says in that period, they've had no worse medical emergency than an ingrown toenail. Well, by this episode's stardate(51762.4) compared with the stardate for "The Killing Game", we get 47.2 stardates(47 ... hmmm) since Voyager took "extreme" casualties from the Hirogen. Using our 1000 stardates=1 year conversion, that's roughly 2 1/2 weeks. You may decide for yourself whether 2 1/2 equals "several".
When Paris identifies the ship's propulsion as coaxial warp drive, Chakotay exclaims "Coaxial what?" I'd think 'coaxial' deserves more of a "What?" thn 'warp drive', but them I'm just a nitpicking semanticist. :-)
"Without your coaxial drive," Janeway tells "Steth", "it's a long way home." That long way is 20 light-years, about a week's cruise for Voyager. Funny for Janeway to talk about *his* long way home ...
Before a commerical, "Steth" confirms his body has little over three hours before genome reversal. After the commercial, after what is implied to be a night, he's still stable, and remains so for a good while longer.
Just how can "Steth" maintain a male voice when his body briefly reverts to female? Do the vocal cords somehow not revert? Is he an accomplished voice impressionist? (Hey, interesting career possibility. Impersonate famous personalities' voices *and* bodies. He'd go over great in Vegas.)
It was interesting to see 7o9 lecturing somebody else about adjusting to the rules and protocols aboard Voyager. Almost like The Doctor instructing her on bedside manner.
Should a crewmember(Janeway in this case) really be allowed to check up on what somebody else(Paris/Steth/whoever) is replicating? Is this somehow connected to the replicator rationing we're reminded of whenever the writers remember it exists? The possibilities for spying, not to mention a bit of blackmail, are endless.
I guess Tuvok finally decided "Stun settings are for people who can't commit," to quote another SF TV creator. "Paris" has phaser burns after being shot in Janeway's ready room. I didn't think stuns left burns.
And why oh why, when Janeway's/Steth's/whoever's stolen shuttle gets knocked out of coaxial warp with a 'bad carburetor', why does she/he/she just quit? The pursuing ship had lost its shields. Blow it to pieces, and get away. Yes, Voyager might pursue, but don't make assumptions. Destroy your one pursuer, and get away as best you can, or at least try to fix your engine. Somebody wrote themselves into a corner, and didn't write their way out too well.
Rebecca S. Bare: I just finished watching "Vis a Vis", and I have a few comments which could be turned into nits. 1. I thought the Universal Translator could translate only after analyzing the aliens speech patterns. Yet, it seemed to be able to translate this alien's speech right off. 2. Janeway let a TOTAL stranger onto her ship without even asking for a name! I don't know about you, but I don't let total strangers into my house without some i.d. And then, he gets to walk around without even an escort of some kind. Speaking of walking around, as "Steth", he seemed to be able to find the cargo bay easily, yet as "Tom", he couldn't find sickbay.
It was nice, however, to see a new episode for a change.
Steven Berke: Wassamatta? Did the creators suffer creative burnout after "The Killing Game" (or maybe "Scorpion")?
Why else would we be subjected to tne nth recycling of the tired old "rogue shapeshifter impersonates a crew member" plot which has been with us Trekkers since--literally--Day 1? ("The Man Trap", first televised episode of TOS, September 1967--I was there!).
Wasn't anything very special about this one either. The shapeshifter wasn't really a monster or a villain tnis time, just a jerk. How he could have learned enough about Paris' duties to fool anyone more than ten seconds is beyond me. And it was very convenient that Janeway/Paris didn't wake up after Steth stole Janeway's body....
...but why go on? The actors, those wno had much to do, did what they could with this [stuff]. Jeri Ryan had a good moment as usual. Maybe the actors (or us) should start dreamimg up story ideas. Couldn't do worse than the creators lately.
David T. Shaw, Hamilton, Ontario: Saw “Vis À Vis” Not too bad an episode. And much to my surprise, I only have a few nits:
Janeway sent Tom over to repair the ship- fine. He certainly seemed to have a handle of the theoretical aspects of the drive. However, why wasn’t an engineer or physicist (or both) sent as well? Certainly Janeway could have spared more than just one person.
Seven of Nine caught an alien at the computer console, something that he did not have access to, and let it ride? In terms of rules, Seven is really anal retentive- why didn’t she report it? Or at least check his story in terms of seeing what files he was accessing.
NAN, so B’Ellana considers re-calibrating the plasma manifolds as a romantic evening eh? No wonder Tom was spending so much time in the holodeck.
A ship comes out of co-axial warp, an engine that is faster than Voyager can hope to get, something that engineers have only been dreaming about, and the Captain doesn’t ask for schematics? Or to accompany the ship back home to have a talk with the original engineers (she is certainly entitled, it was one of her crew that made the prototype workable). I realise that Tom now had some knowledge of the engine, but why not go to the source (she could have at least asked...)
Thought it was neat that Nelix saw that Tom and B’Ellana were having a spat, and he went to try to defuse the situation (didn’t work, but he tried).
And what is wrong with Tom? Just feeling restless, and this episode cured that? (A diagnosis and treatment- “You appear to be unsatisfied with your life- I recommend that an alien steal your body...”)
They mentioned the 20 light years was a long way home- is that just for a ship with no engines? Voyager is 60,000 light years away from the Federation- now that is a long way home. (And once again, why didn’t they offer Seth to take him and his ship home instead of wasting time trying to repair it? It wasn’t like the engine was broken- it was fundamentally flawed, and if Tom hadn’t of been brilliant, they would have never of gotten out of there.)
But you know, except for never finding out what was bothering Tom to begin with, I thought this episode wasn’t half bad....
4/13/98 Update Update (Note from Phil: A quick reminder. It is not my intention to upload every message that I receive on an episode. I will always upload comments--i.e. "I enjoyed the episode." "I felt like the episode lacked . . ."--but if a nit has already been picked, it's picked . . . unless I decide to list it twice because it's repicked in a funny way or I just wasn't certain it had already been picked and I was bombing through my mail and I let it pass just in case!)
Joshua Truax: Leave it to Star Trek's creators to outdo the feature films they
"remake" as Trek TV episodes -- in this case, last year's "Face/Off".
Anyone can write a script about two people swapping identities. It's
considerably more difficult to write one about a serial swapper like
Steth -- at least and still keep track of who's really whom, and in
whose body.
I do find it a bit of a stretch that the DNA swapping between Steth and
his victim can take place so quickly, however.
I also find it a stretch that Steth can change genders as well as
physical appearances.
Speaking of genders, good ol' Chuckles sure is in a sexist mood early in
the show, isn't he? When Paris volunteers to help repair Steth's ship,
Chakotay refuses at first, then changes his mind. As Chakotay puts it,
Paris is "the best *man* for the job." (Emphasis mine.) Hello? Wouldn't
B'Elanna Torres be the best choice to assist with repairs to a warp
drive? (Actually, even if Chuckles really did insist on a man to do the
job, Harry Kim, with his engineering experience, would be a better
choice than Paris.)
The dialogue indicates that Paris has been running his "grease monkey"
holodeck program for weeks prior to this episode. If that's the case,
he must be using Holodeck 2 -- the one that *didn't* get a gaping hole
blown in one of its walls in the last episode, "The Killing Game".
Either that, or the damage to Holodeck 1 wasn't quite as "extreme" as it
was made out to be...
For some reason Dubuque's Fox/UPN station has stopped showing the
trailers for the following week's episode. I haven't seen a preview for
the past five new episodes. Then again, I trust Voyager previews about
as far as I can pick up my 27" TV and hurl it, so it's just as well.
Besides, there's always the WWW... which is where I've read about next
week's show. Janeway becomes a latter-day Tim Allen (!), willing to
flirt with disaster in the name of "more power" for Voyager. (At least
it's disaster she's flirting with this time, not Chakotay...)
David D. Porter: Not wanting to spend time with H-Doc is a *big* problem when you're
the primary medical assistant. And again, why is there only one guy
helping in sickbay? And the pilot at that?
V-ger's heierarchy is *not* what I would term 'complex.' In fact,
it's quite straightforward. Responsibilities are explicitly delineated
(except 7/9), and authority relationships are clear.
By definition, the Captain can't make an unauthorized launch! She
*is* the authorizing agency.
Boy, it's consistently amazing what aliens can do with Fed technology
they've just encountered--block sensors, modulate shield/weapon
frequencies, etc., etc., etc. (Note from Phil: It's that Invader-Friendly Operating System--IFOS--at work!)
Bob Weiss in Bowie, MD: In the BSIP (Being Stupid in Public) category, how come everyone on Voyager is
suspicious of the fake Paris' behavior except his girlfriend, who knows him
most intimately? Well, her BSIP behavior means she now "knows" the alien just
as initimately as she knows Paris. At the end of the episode, no one even
seems a bit upset by the fact that she slept with the nasty bad guy!!!!
Also, if the alien wants to pass himself off as Paris among the crew, why does
he make no effort to behave in a decorous manner? He almost goes out of his
way to behave in an aberrant manner, offending people from the moment he sets
foot on Voyager. (Note from Phil: Then again, he *was* played by the same actor who plays Bulldog on Frasier! Wink, wink.)
Ron Saarna, Toronto, Ontario: I think this one is now an anti-nit, but wasn't Tom Paris carrying a
tool-kit with him as he walked the corridors with Steth to the Holodeck
garage? Why couldn't the wrench have been in there? Wish I
taped the episode. Still, after spending all that time with Paris, why
would he have to steal the wrench to match DNA fragments. Surely Tom
touched display panels, access hatches etc...on the Coaxial Ship. They
did spend a lot of time together. I guess the powers that be had to
spell it out for us.
Scott McClenney: One question I have from Voyager yesterday is how could two entirely alien species
from two completely different parts of the galaxy have evolved so completely similiar DNA
that "Steph" could be able to steal both Paris and Janeway's identities without any
problems? Wouldn't they be uncompatible? (Note from Phil: One would think so but then again we do have Vulcans and humans mating and apparently having no difficulty producing offspring in the Trek universe.)
Mike Gurwitz, Washington, DC: Ahh, all the good nits have been taken. Now I'll REALLY have to nitpick:
When Steth first beams onto Voyager and is greeted by Janeway, he and
Janeway are on instant buddy buddy terms, like Steth was an old
Starfleet cadet from the early days. Pretty strange considering that
this was the first contact between two alien species. But my very
nitpicky nit is that after beaming aboard, Janeway and Steth and Tuvok
walked down the hallway, and Steth was leading the way! Hello? Alien
on board. Doesn't know where he's going. It's not his ship anyway.
What about propriety? I'm surprised that when they reached the end of
the corridor, Steth didn't turn to Tuvok and say, "If you need me, I'll
be in my ready room."
Just thought of a big nit! When Paris/Steth steals Janeway's body, we
see Tuvok rush into the ready room, and Paris/Steath is strangling
Janeway. Tuvok stuns Paris/Steath and hauls him away. Okay, so when
did the body stealing occur? It couldn't have occurred after the
assault, because Paris/Steth was unconscious in sick bay, ergo, it must
have occurred prior to or during the assault. If that's the case, then
when Paris/Steth was throttling Janeway, it was really Janeway inside
Paris' body, and Steth was in hers, which meant that the true Janeway
was throttling the true Steth (still with me?). Okay, two nits: first,
is this how Captain Janeway would react to having her body stolen, by
throttling her aggressor? Of course not (Kirk maybe, but still, I'd
expect this sort of reaction from a Klingon, and a dumb one at that).
Second, the body switcheroo was supposed to be traumatic for the victim,
leaving him stunned and senseless (as we saw when Steth stole Paris'
body on the shuttle). Ergo, the true Janeway would be lying senseless
in Paris' body, not throttling the true Steth in her body. Phooey. (Note from Phil: Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! I've been waiting for someone to hit this one! It didn't occur to me until the day after the show and I thought, "Hey! Wait a minute! ;-)
Brian Lombard: As Holodoc examine's the unconscious body of Paris (with Janeway
inside), he says that he has picked up an unknown DNA strand in
addition to that of Paris. Now at this point, we the audience were
supposed to think he had found Steth (given the previews, it was
pretty obvious Steth was now Janeway). My question is, wouldn't
Holodoc have recognized Janeway's DNA? That was the mysterious DNA in
question. Even primitive 20th century scientists can identity a
person's DNA (Los Angeles being the exception).
There were so many ways for Paris (as Steth) to convince Chuckles
of his identity. How about their Maquis experience? Or the fact that
Chuckles owes his life to Paris (see "Caretaker"). Chuckles seemed to
take Helm-Boy's explanation far too readily.
When they first discover Steth's ship, Paris mentions "coaxial warp
drive". Chuckles responds "coaxial what?". Just how dumb is our first
officer? Ain't he ever heard of warp drive before?
So how did Paris and the real Steth get the coaxial ship to work? I
thought there was a security lock-out.
Johnson Lai: When Steth (as Paris) attacks Janeway in the ready room
and switches with her, he must have quickly swapped the rank pips too, I
guess. Since, from what we've seen, clothing does not get swapped during
the change.
Chris George: Ok, time for another edition of NEWS (Nitpicker Early Warning System)! I
haven't seen the episode yet, as it doesn't air in our area till very late
Saturday night. Still, I have big problems with the plot as described on the
nitcentral page.
Ok, this guy somehow absorbs DNA (plausible), integrates it into his system
(barely plausible) and somehow restructures his body to match (ludicrous)? I
mean, come on. Yes, I realize most people don't understand exactly what DNA
actually does, but still. This guy (or whatever he actually is) somehow
takes a sample of DNA from the subject, and manages to transform the
trillions of DNA strands throughout his body to match? And then, he somehow
transforms his skin, bone, musculature, circulation system, et. al. to
match? Eh? Then, to top it off, he somehow does the same thing to someone
else?
DNA just doesn't work that way. This would be like taking a blueprint for a
building and making changes, and somehow magically this will change the real
building. I don't think so, myself. I much prefer the more plausible idea
that X-Files uses for their shape-shifters... they just mimic the appearance
of someone else through the use of a transdermal sheet of muscles.
Anyway... Why coaxial? What does that have to do with folding space? And
how is that much different than the way standard starfleet engines work?
Guess they already are using the Nanoprobes in full force... Kim: "Seven, I
really want to go out with Kaplan again... you think you might... you
know...borg her?"
Anyway, I probably should actually WATCH the episode before I nitpick it to
death... :-)
Christine Grabb: This is my first attempt at NitPicking - please be gentle. (Note from Phil: Ya did just fine!)
It's a good thing that Voyager has "universal" control panels since Steth
takes over a duty shift at the helm! Can't find sickbay but has no problems
piloting an alien vessel.
7o9 catches Steth/Paris drinking on duty - what duty was he on? Shouldn't he
have been on the bridge or in sickbay? Someone should have missed him well
before she did.
Steth didn't waste any time before finishing the replicating of the golf clubs
& learning to putt. Also, how did he get into B'Elanna's quarters?
I wouldn't think that her lock codes would be in Tom's files.
NAN - Is is just me or has Paris put on more than a few pounds?
Jeff Winkle: I was glad to see a new episode...
But, here are a few more nits:
Why was there an overhead ceiling fan on the coaxial ship? The
enviornmental controls having a problem?
The back wall and some of the consoles of the coaxial ship's bridge
looked somewhat Cardassian.
Paris talks about taking his father's shuttlecraft out for a
joy-ride...I thought Starfleet didn't give out private shuttlecraft.
Wow! I guess being an Admial does have some nice priviledges! In
"Unnatural Selection" (TNG) Capt. Taggart said he would have given
Pulaski her own shuttlecraft if she would have stayed on the U.S.S.
Repulse (any fans out there wish he had?). Also, in "Relics", Picard
told Scotty to consider the shuttlecraft an "extened loan" after the
U.S.S. Jenolen was destroyed. Perhaps someone realized that not
everyone liked a desk job and started supplying flag officers with their
own shuttlecraft to make them feel they were still in command of a
vessel.
Paris says that he isn't sure if they fished the shuttlecraft out of
Lake Tahoe. Why not? A Klingon transporter could beam up a couple of
whales and surrounding water (ST:IV), and Federation tractor beams can
manipulate tetonic plates on the ocean floor (TNG "Family"s Atlantis
Project). So why can't they get one measaly shuttlecraft out of a lake?
Tony H Forbes: -So... what do you think are the chances of seeing that coaxial warp
drive shuttle again?
Also, has everyone forgotten about Starfleet's message? It had some
probably important info in it... and no one is going after it!
When Paris first goes after the ship, we get a shot of Voyager flying
VERY close. Cut to the inside, and suddenly everything starts rumbling.
Paris says that they're just now encountering turbulence. JUST NOW?
They're really really close to that thing. I think that they should have
hit turbulence a lot earlier, or they never would have felt it at all.
Next Week: Voyager at a new time? New time it came on (in Abq.) at 8
MDT, and the new time said 9/8 eastern-central. That would make it 7 pm
MDT... but that's what it was LAST week. I don't get it.
Matthew Patterson: Several people have mentioned that Steth's voice doesn't change when he
starts morphing back to that female. Well, what if he's only partially
morphing? Maybe his insides are mostly the same and he changes from
outside in? Or maybe it was a random thing and it was just chance that
his face morphed first. (Of course, that would be bad if it was really
random, because then what would happen if your internal organs started
morphing without the rest of you? Think of the pain!)
From Someone Identified Only As voy_lcars: Now the Alien posing as Steth had the ability to switch DNA with
people. Now bones contain DNA as well and had to be swaped in the
process. That would hurt. Compare Steth's skull and height to
Paris's. Expanding and compacting your bones like that fast would
probably shatter all your bones making you paralyzed yet Steth and
Paris were walking around after the commercial break, interesting.
Chris Lang: This COULD have been Voyager's 'Turnabout Intruder' if only they'd
allowed Janeway/Paris to regain consciousness after the alien took
Janeway's body. As it is, the creators wasted a
rare opportunity. I for one was hoping to see what happened when 'the
role of Kathryn Janeway, usually played by Kate Mulgrew, is played by
Robert Duncan MacNeil'. Maybe the creators and/or the actors weren't
up to it, but in my view, they 'wimped out' on this one.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that Ensign Kaplan is back
following her death in 'Unity' (which I thought was a pretty
senseless death anyway). Come to think of it, 'Turnabout Intruder'
also brought a previously killed crewmember back to life. At least
Kaplan wasn't vaporized; at least here we can suppose that Borg
nanoprobes or something brought her back...(as for Lt. Galloway,
vaporized in 'The Omega Glory' and miraculously returned in
'Turnabout Intruder', only a Q or something like one could bring him
back...)
The alien's motivation, I feel, was never truly explained. They could
have developed his/her/its desire to live other people's lives better.
And I agree that it would take more than just reading Tom Paris'
computer bio to give the alien enough knowledge to impersonate Paris.
Murray Leeder:Another episode that makes me wish I wasn't a completist. If not, I'd
quit on Voyager right now.
Overall, this episode reminded me rather of Lovecraft's short story
"The Thing on the Doorstep"... which was infinitely superior to this.
I don't think Robert Duncan McNeil is that great an actor. His
performance as Steth was a little too much like... his performance as
Paris. A really good actor would have inserted more little nuances.
Did Steth really think that he'd ever get away with this? Seriously? I
can't believe that he figured for one second that he could fool
everybody all of the time! In fact, it's utterly incredible that he got
as far as he did.
Also, They didn't even TRY to explain
away all of this! How hard would it be for them to have
explained that they forced Steth, at phaserpoint, to pull the old
switcheroo in the right order to fix everything up?
Why don't voices change when the bodies are switched? After all, your
voice is not a genetic trait. Right?
Steve: "Steth's" ships computer sure seems a lot like all Starfleet computers (even
uses our measurements). Why doesn't "Steth's" ship's computer reply at all
when he asks Voyager's location? (I just took notes, not complete sentences
and this one is a little cloudy) Did 7/9 just say it only takes her seconds to
remember something? Isn't that a little slow, especially for an ex-borg?
Janeway can't talk and call for help while being choked. When Janeway calls
for help, Tuvok rushes to the ready room, understandable as he is a bridge
officer and head of security, but an officer leaves ops and goes with him.
Isn't it rather inconvenient to make a bunch of lock-out codes for going to
super-warp? When "Janeway" goes to the shuttle to shoot 7/9, she just waltzes
in the shuttle, but whatever happened to the back of the shuttlecraft? Tom is
even grosser that I thought, he goes to conn with grease on his face, and even
worse it should come right off when he leaves the holodeck unless he
replicated real grease (a bit odd). At one point Steth's ship is maneuvering
near Voyager, about 30 meters near, too close. They could just use the main
deflector to move him a few hundred meters out of their way, he almost crashes
into them. 20 LY really isn't too far, a few days at maximum warp maybe? The
car on the Holodeck does of course produce holo-Carbon Monoxide, but wouldn't
it violate a safety protocol to use real CO. And even if it did make real CO,
it is vented at the back, it really won't get him back to sickbay that way.
Seven should be able to see what Steth is downloading much better than she
did, she just kind of looked over his shoulder. Since when can LCARS control
panels been able to read? Harry should be more confused when Paris gets the
deck chart to find sickbay. It would be like if you had this 344 meter, 15
story mansion and you'd been living there for over 4 years, then suddenly you
had to use blueprints to find your way around. Last time I checked the doctor
got rid of the psychobabble subroutine in "Retrospect," but now he is trying
to counsel Paris about an inferiority complex. Real Steth looks a lot like on
of those Scientific Method aliens (and also kind of like a goat too, but
that's beside the point.) Sorry if that was a little redundant or long, but I
wrote it all down again.
Scott McClenney: One other question,after being in Paris' body do you think Janeway is gonna need counseling for awhile? Also why didn't "Steph" try to take 7's identity if he knew she was going to be
a problem?
Mica Colston, Springfield MO: During Seth's possesion of Tom Paris, how intimate was the "let's make up" after our argument with B'elanna? I don't want to bring up "sleaze" or
tabloid material, but If some alien took over my body, and then went out and
pursued "Adult relations", I might need some counseling. I guess it's safe to
asume that they control themselves during passionate moments...Yeah Right!....
These two were always throwing each other onto engineering panels in boundless
passion whenever they saw each other, -- remember when Tuvok walked in on
them.
Also, did this "Seth" make a Captains Log Entry, while in possesion of
Janeway's body? Do Starfleet Captains have to erase all such messages?
Todd Felton: In the webpage remarks, Johnson Lai said "That wrench that Steth took:
isn't that a holographic re-creation? " No, it's not--they showed
Paris walking into the Holodeck with his own toolbox of tools, therefore
Paris does own his own set of 20th Century car-repair tools.
So here's how the coaxial drive works on "Steth"'s ship: He can fold
space, but once gets to the destination, the ship is about to explode.
How to solve this problem: a 24th century equivalent of a carburetor.
So at the end, the alien in Janeway's body is in the process of folding
space with the coaxial drive in the Starfleet shuttle, when Paris (in
the male body we were introduced to as Steth) specifically disables the
carburetor. Wouldn't this then mean that the shuttle should have
proceeded with folding space, but exploding once it reached the other
side of folded space?
The female who says she is Steth--doesn't she look like the actress who
was with Verad in the DS9 episode "Invasive Procedures" (where Verad &
pals take over station to remove Dax's symbiont)?
Nat Hefferman: Once again, Ethan Phillips has a totally pointless 30-second cameo. (7 of 9 to
Phillips: "Take the week off, Ethan - Neelix is irrelevant.")
Steth steals Tom's body, stuns him, and sends the coaxial warp ship on a joy
ride. Why didn't Steth a.) kill Paris and b.) rig the ship to have an
"accident" like the one it was about to have at the beginning of the episode,
therby destroying the evidence of his crime? Steth did say he felt sympathy
for Tom, but I just chalked that up to Steth's con artistry at work.
A moment I'd like to have seen: As Tom wakes up in Steth's body, he shouts,
"This stinks! This is total B.S.!" (like Dan Butler's character Bob
"Bulldog" Briscoe on "Frasier").
A final thought: "Turnabout Intruder" (TOS) meets "Aquiel" (TNG), anybody?
Joe Buss: I saw two problems with characters in this episode. First, why do they have
Paris still being the Doc's primary assistant? If the ship is under attack,
Paris can't pilot the ship and take care of the wounded pouring into sickbay.
Also, I for one, am getting a little tired of pouty Torres. A ship with this
super gizmo engine comes up along side Voyager, one that could potentially
shorten their trip, and the Cheif engineer not only show absolutely no
interest, but gets upset when Paris wants to go do "Guy Stuff" with the pilot.
Robin Londner: I'm totally unsure on this, so if someone could comment I'd appreciate
it. I seem to remember something about Captain's personal logs being
inaccessible for 50-100 years after their command. This would enable
captains to relate *everything* without fear of reprimand. This way
Starfleet eventually gets the full story on missions.
So (if I'm right), how did Steth/Paris access Janeway's personal log?
Did he use his handy-dandy decoder ring (as seen in the cargo bay) or
what?
P.S. If we see "Voyager" using (or even mentioning) coaxial warp any
time soon, I'll be impressed. I think we should add, in the spirit of
this episode, "Threshold," and "Day of Honor" a new definition to the
glossary -- technology that could get Voyager home but will be ignored
from now on. We could call it TTBI -- technology to be ignored. (Note from Phil: Either that or we could call it DT for "Decoy Technology". That's why Janeway gives up on this stuff so quickly, somehow she knows it will never work in the end.)
Lorraine Spickermann: There is a basic problem with the last DNA-transfer. When did it occur?
It did not occur when "Paris" was choking Janeway, unless you find it
plausible that the thief not only changed bodies but *also* positions.
(If the transfer had occurred, we should have seen Steth-in-Janeway
choking Janeway-inParis, shouldn't we?) Even if they had managed to
switch positions, Janeway-inParis *still* would have shouted out to
Tuvok about what had just happened. "She" didn't. Therefore, it did
not happen in the Ready Room. (The fact that Janeway makes a perfectly
in-character captain's log entry after that suggests that it did not
happen in the ready room, either.)
But could it have happened in the Sickbay? Sure, Janeway goes to
Sickbay, and then we see Steth-in-Janeway attack 7o9 and take over the
shuttle. But, if the body transfer took place in Sickbay, we have to
assume that he accomplished this transfer with the Doctor *and* a
security guard watching! We could explain it away with Steth-in-Paris
waking up somehow and then disabling a security guard *and* somehow
turning the doctor off, all quickly enough that neither could call for
help! Is this likely?
So. It didn't happen in the Ready Room. It didn't happen in Sickbay.
So where did it happen?
S. Oostrom, Oshawa, ON. I saw Vis a Vis, and I can tell you I was not
impressed. I did not like the episode, simply because it seemed to be a
rehash of things that have come before (shapeshifting aliens taking over
appearances of the crew is a concept that should be retired, although I
heard it's coming again). Anyway, since this was the first new episode
after "The Killing Game," I thought it would have been nice to see some
damage, to see on-going repairs, but of course, it was not to be. They
blew up sickbay in the last episode, and now, it looks like it was not even
scratched.
Since when was Tom Paris an engineer? I was surprised when he volunteered
to go over to Steth's ship and make repairs, and even more surprised that
Chakoty did not find this surprising, and eventually,he agreed. I guess
that all the time that Paris and Torres were together, they were talking
about her job. Then again, their dates seem to be in engineering, doing
repairs. Alternatively, maybe everybody on this ship is becoming an expert
in every department, considering how fast they repaired the ship after "The
Killing Game."
Is there always a security officer on the bridge? When Janeway put out her
call, Tuvok and another officer immediately pulled out phasers and stormed
the ready room. What was that other person doing on the bridge? Steth was
believed to be off the ship by this time, so only Voyager crew was on
board.
Several correspondants have mentioned Tom's toolkit (which is likely
replicated and not holographic) and the grease, saying again that holodeck
matter cannot exist off the holodeck. This was established in TNG episode
one and basically violated increasingly since then. I think it should be
possible that not all matter generated on the holodeck should be confined
to the holodeck. Some could be run-of-the-mill replicated matter that can
go anywhere.
Also surprising in my mind was the fact that Paris showed up on the bridge
in his grease-monkey outfit, and nobody seemed to bat an eye at what had to
be violation of uniform rules. Was he needed that urgently that he could
not stop by his quarters for a quick change?
Stephen Mendenhall: Half-way decent episode title.
Vis-a-Vis--is that a pun on "visage"? Decent title, I suppose.
(Note from Phil: "vis-a-vis" literally means "face to face". It's primary definition is "one that is face-to-face with, opposite to or paired with another")
The actors deserve credit for acting like they aren't really who they
appear to be.
How conveeeeeenient, the villain isn't a telepath so he can pick up any
extra info he needs. But he shoulda known better, there'd be a lot of
little...nitpicky...stuff to make people suspicious.
I suppose Tom downloaded language data to the other ship's computer so
when he wakes up the ship's computer obligingly speaks in his own
language. Did the villain take this into account? Why didn't the
villain kill Tom?
Rob Roszkowski: "I can't wait to get my hands on those clubs ... Ensign Kaplan won't know
what hit her." So muttered Ensign Kim in this week's Voyager offering. Well,
he's right. After all, Kaplan's been dead since "Unity," when renegade former
Borg iced her.
I immediately went to work theorizing. Perhaps a small factor Voyager
changed in "Future's End" in 1996 affected her reincarnation, with another
unknown person dying, or perhaps no one? Nope, "Unity" occured after
"Future's End," so the universe would have aligned before her death.
Ah ... "Year of Hell" had time travel. Well, though maybe we missed
something, in the end Voyager clearly did not go back in time further than
it's initial "Day 1" starting point.
Kaplan's a common name, but among 140 and dropping, having 2 female
Ensigns named Kaplan? If so, then the comm badges would have indicated in her
old episodes ... "Ensign Marla Kaplan or Freda Kaplan?"
Is there a slim chance that "Before and After" realigned the timeline,
since it did go back a few years? It did occur four eps after "Unity," so the
change could hve filtered through. Yes, but that's a lot of backpedaling for
not making up a name. (Note from Phil: Personally, I think that after "Year of Hell" all bets are off!)
4/20/98 Update
Jacob Boxer: So, the replicators on Voyager can produce alcohol? Very interesting
considering the ones on DS9 cannot, or the Defiant. If they could, Quark would
be out of business very quickly. Also, since when can they trace who ordered
what from which replicator? Is there no privacy on a ship?
An example conversation between Janeway and Kim:
"Harry, you're looking a little chubby around the waist, could you lay off the
Alvanian cream puffs that you have at 1:00 in the morning from replicator
number 2 on the right side of the mess hall?"
"Sorry captain. I'll try"
I've heard of a transporter trace, but a replicator trace? This is a little
dumb.
About the golf clubs.....
Kim says he's been saving his replicator rations again so he can make a
polyduranide golf club, much like the time he saved to make a clarinet (Which
we never see him use anymore by the way). This is logical. The writers have
incorporated the ration system into the script again. Very nice.
But.....Steth/Paris pr whoever he is, has a few clubs in B'elanna's room, and
it seemed like he just made them. I wonder how Tom will feel when he sees all
his replicator rations are gone and he has to eat Neelix's food for the next 6
months!
The car Paris was working on was a 1969 Camaro. Any coincidence that 1969
was the year that TOS was cancelled? Hmm? Me thinks there might be a
connection.
I'm shocked that Janeway didn't offer to makje a deal with Steth for his
coaxial drive technology. They tried to get that space folding Trajector thing
earlier in the series. And along those lines let's see what we have for new
warp technologies:
Transwarp: Mutates you and you turn into big alligator things
Coaxial warp: Can kill you and make a large spatial disturbance, also
killing
Trajector: Causes warp core breaches if not phasered by Chief
Engineer.
Sounds like good old double engine warp drives are the way to go.
How could Janeway have possibly called the bridge with a clear voice if she
was being strangled by Paris? I realize there is ample time to call before he
got his hands on her, but how could she anticipate him jumping her? They were
only about 2 feet away from each other before the attack.
The final nit: Once again we see that Starfleet people must be super-
brilliant. Paris finds himself in Steth's body on that ship and, in a matter
of minutes, finds out how to work the controls with completely alien writing
AND he can bypass security lockouts. Impressive.
Nick Angeloni: In the scene where Steth-as-Paris accesses the cross-section of Voyager,
the screen is normally a cross-section, like at the back of the bridge. The
display then changes to show the location of Sickbay. The Kim bumps into
Steth-as-Paris and they both start walking away. The screen is again back
to the cross-section, even though I don't recall a button sound or
Steth-as-Paris hitting a button to change it back.
Corey Reid, College Park, Maryland: I wish to introduce a new glossary term, one which
Steth/Paris/Janeway/woman suffers from: Grandma Syndrome ("My, what big
ears you have, Grandma").
4/27/98 Update
Dominic Lazaro: I thought that it was an interesting remark that 7 of 9 made in the
begining of the episode when she spoke of assessing the status of t6he
ship's aft sensors. At that same time it would seem that the director
decided to treat us to a view of 7 of 9's aft quarters as well. My point
is that I am sick and tired of having this woman constantly paraded in
front of me. 7 of 9 has the must dull wardrobe on the show that only
serves the purpose of giving us a constant opportune view of Jessica
Rabitt's redundant proportions.
I also thought it strange that Janeway would give 7 of 9 free reign
over the whole ship without even having a back-up contingency if 7 of 9
just happened to get out of control as she has done too many times in the
past.
Jason Krietsch: When paris is being attacked, why not use his other hand to tap his com pin?
And why not use the transporter to change everyones appearance? Pusaski was
transformed, so was picard Ro, gunan and Keiko in Rascals, plus Riker made it
sound it was possable to turn into data. but this leads to my new glossary
term: AGOW (Always goes our way).
Dustin Westfall: All I can say is, I wonder whether or not I would have enjoyed a rerun
before. It sure felt like a rerun, with concept and excecution done many
times before.
How did HoloDoc know where the horn on the Camaro was? Has he done this
before?
Why is Tom wearing his communicator when in his coveralls?
Maybe I missed something, but didn't I hear Tom say something about
tractoring him in? Then Tuvok responds with a comment about the
instability of the other ships course (Which I figure would have been
counteracted by the tractor beam). Yet, they don't use the tractor beam
at all!?!?
Why doesn't this guy simply kill the people he changes shape with? Then
there wouldn't be anyone chasing him looking for their body back.
Why did the add the technobabble from Steth/Alien Female about how he
changes body shape? Wasn't it obvious already?
PLEASE NOTE: This file is frozen. I think we've done all we're going to do on it! You're welcome to send addition nits but they will be filed for future reference instead of uploaded
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Copyright 1998 by Phil Farrand. All Rights Reserved.