UNCUT - Phage (VOY S1E5) | Star Trek Journey 345

The captains dining room was just that small section where the cooking stuff was, there use to be a wall separating it from the rest of the mess. Kirk had one, every time you saw him dinning with his officers, like in Star Trek VI (i know you don't like that movie but its an example :P ) when he hosts a dinner for the klingons, that is the captains dining room. I am sure the Galaxy Class has one too but we never had a reason to be shown in TNG, and the Defiant was too small to have that Luxary, on DS9 Sisco just used his own quarters lol

All I'm going to say is buckle up guys it gets amazing I think it's already amazing but it gets incredible

really enjoying your reactions! voyager has a warm place on my heart! my favourite star trek series!!

Y'all really need to be more careful with those patron takes.

I like the Vidiians as a species in this show. Idk if I'm going to explain this well, but, as a kid, it helped open my mind to what culture was and how it could shape a society in different ways than my own. Like their ship isn't super sophisticated or heavily armored (for example) but their medical technology and knowledge is far beyond what the Federation collectively is capable of because their culture has evolved with the primary objective of confronting a particular medical challenge. Their culture is oriented around medical innovation and development and is probably less concerned with exploration or diplomacy or military strength. I ended up studying Ethics (moral philosophy) in college in large part because of some of the medical episodes of Voyager. I think it's an area of tremendous strength compared to other Trek series. In no small part because of the job Robert Picardo does as the Doctor and the inherent moral new-ness of a holographic sentience in charge. It really makes for some interesting stories. Also, I love the nomenclature introduced here. "Vidiian" is such a Star Trek-sounding alien species name, I can't believe it didn't already exist before this episode and "The Phage" sounds like an organ and tissue-dissolving disease that ravages and consumes entire civilizations. It also sounds icky...which matches the design of the affliction, too. Oh, and once again going to bat for Neelix--Ethan Philips does an EXCELLENT job in this episode. For a character that's as jovial and scrappy as Neelix, seeing him turn (justifiably) cynical and nihilistic without becoming a whole different character, was really cool. Also, I thought the jealousy was totally normal in his situation. It was prompted by the sudden insecurity he felt at suddenly no longer being able to provide, protect, or even just spend time outside of sickbay. He saw notorious playboy walking around freely, being friendly with Kes and it hit him that he can't even offer that bare minimum to her anymore. Kes rightly identified his outburst as fear. And I think that's a totally excusable reaction from him in that moment.

Neelix here reminds me of Paul Alexander,a man who lived in an iron lung for over 70 years after contracting polio,he was Paralyzed from the neck down, he became an attorney, author, and eventually learning to breathe independently for short periods, in his situation i would have chosen death

Janeway was more Kirk than Picard

Michael Westmore is a LEGEND. His Daughter MacKenzie hosted FACE/OFF the competition show on Sy-Fy and its basically Project Runway:Star Trek and he was the Tim Gunn-esk mentor/advisor to the make up artists. It's FORKING awesome!!! Just saying.

Also making constant references to popular things that came before is cringe. Not to say this was cringe but shouldn't you want your show to make its own unique special moments and not lean on stuff from decades ago?

The reason Crusher never does a “I’m a doctor not a…” is because after the first few ripoff episodes bombed (Naked Now, Where No One Has Gone Before) there was a directive to not reference the original series in order to set the two apart in hope people would not see TNG as a shitty clone. By the time it was deemed ok to directly reference TOS, TNG *was* Trek there was no need to lean on references.

Refuses to kill them to save her crewman, threatens them with "deadly force" if they try this again. This never made sense to me. It still doesn't make sense to me.

Voyager's first genuinely very good episode in my opinion. And a fantastic villain species. Also the Doctor's expression when the Vidiian says the holograph lungs are "primitive" always makes me laugh.

Also, I thought the medical side of things in this episode came across so much better than the medical story in Life Support. The problem and the solution the doctor came up with just seemed much more fascinating and believable to me than the story with Bareil, and I cared and felt much more invested here than in the events of Life Support. I just couldn’t get into the story of Bareil making the extreme choices he did and completely throwing away his own life just so he could give Kai Winn a little more advice on discussions with the Cardassians, especially when those discussions just didn’t seem important. The situation Neelix found himself in in this episode along with The Doctor’s medical achievement was much more compelling to me.

Based on your reactions to the first few episodes I expected you guys would be more enthusiastic about this one. The Vidiians have a compelling story and fit into the horror category you seem to love. There is great character development throughout. There is well placed comedy. And it’s an episode with a unique premise and believable stakes. I thought it was all very well done and an entertaining hour of TV. The Captain’s private dining room was just the smaller room that Neelix turned into the kitchen, not the whole kitchen and mess hall area. You keep doing the “Mr. Kim” joke… I think referencing the “Mr. Worf, fire” joke. Problem is that Mr. Kim is not the one who would fire… that would be Tuvok. Just saying... unless I’m totally misunderstanding what you’re saying when you make that comment.

easily my favorite of the first few episodes so far. creepy aliens, cool janeway "dont fuck with me" speech, more braga sci-fi weirdness... i thought the alien expo was fine and kinda cool actually .... nothing here i didn't like.

The holographic lung set up is basically the same as a Iron Lung (at least in how he is trapped in a tube).

Phage is easily the best episode so far. THIS is what the show's critics mean by, "We want the show to make use of its premise." 1. The ship is actively attempting to get necessary supplies. 2. The crew is finding ways to adapt to their limited resources. 3. Janeway faces challenges that are heightened by the circumstances. 4. The aliens are well-designed, unique, and actually interesting. 5. The story tackles real-world ethical issues in a sci-fi setting. And on top of that, we get a couple of major bonuses: 1. The Doctor and Kes both get fleshed out further. 2. Neelix is made to suffer, as he should. The one downside is that Neelix survives, but you can't win them all.

For me, the Borg had been a major horror, despite also being an intriguing faction/species in Star Trek, that, as a kid/young teenager, wasn't apparent, but something I understood/realised later on. What kept me on edge were two things. 1st, their Hive Mind which exsponges Free Will from the assimilated, and further, 2nd is the body horror of having perfectly normal people being cut up and fitted with some specialised cybernetics to further lean in the 1st part.

I’m glad you guys remember TOS fondly but I get surprised by the way you describe it sometimes. The reason it’s my favourite series is because I think it has the best character scenes. Hearing you describe this episode as “It’s like if TOS had more character scenes” is so far away from my perspective!

I would be updating my advance directive to make it clear that the holographic lungs thing is not cool and just let me die. Being stuck completely helpless on a ship with limited crew that regularly gets into dangerous situations and will never be able to drop me off at a starbase to be sent back to Earth is a wide awake nightmare. But hey, at least Neelix now has a single lung and it was donated by the passenger with the shortest lifespan. Life is a banquet.

Alex in the first episode of TNG: "Oh no, an empath? I hate this Deanna Troi character." Years later in Voyager: "I like this character who's kind of like an empath!".

This is the episode where the real Neelix begins to emerge and you'll see more of that development as you go forward. Also, iirc, Bob Picardo adlibbed the "I'm a doctor, not a..." line when auditioning, NOT knowing how iconic it was and it helped get him the role. The Doctor is 1 of 2 of my favorite characters on VOY. (The other won't be introduced for awhile.) He continues to develop & grow as my favorite for as long as he's on the show.

The dialogue is the weakest part of this show, and the technobabble can get ridiculous at times. Its a shame because a story doesnt really need it.

I haven't vibed with the Voyager technobabble so far. For example, the Janeway/Torres scene in the Ready Room in Parallax talking about a reflection on the frozen surface of a lake... just didn't land for me. The metaphor felt forced and I didn't like how it was then extended to arrive at the solution. Anyway, I want to give this episode credit for how The Doctor explains his medical procedure by slapping Paris in the face. And also how he focuses on the stakes ("If it doesn't work, he will die.") instead of the technical details when explaining to Kes.

Voyager does have a solid first ish season, you have to go back to TOS season 1 to see stronger. I really can't wait to you get much further in the series to discuss more in depth things they do right and where they blow it big time, and in some cases why.

The "I'm a Doctor, not a..." line makes in-universe sense coming from The Doctor, since his training data includes the experiences of specific Star Fleet medical officers. I imagine that Bones was one of these profiles and this is an example of The Doctor exhibiting behavior learned from his original training data.

Yo be fair, the BBC has called a character "The Doctor" for over 60 years. Sometimes it just works.

The makeup department is the most stable departments of Berman's Trek. It might be the only department where the original department head is the head for every Berman production. Because of that (with a few minor examples, and a few vary glaring examples) the look of the races of Trek stay consistent for so long, that any later changes got a sizable number of fans upset (which isn't rational). Between TOS, And the 6 TOS films, look of races changed fairly dramatically, and barely any fans make any such fuss about it. But after the end of Berman Trek , bitching really ramps up.

Neelix creepin on a 2 year old. Meh. Heh. Its a C. :-)

I think this episode is really strong, giving more character developments and setting up the status quo and subplots of Voyager. Kes and the Doctor have had some good interactions and her empathy towards him has caused his bedside manner to improve, as we see when he wakes up Kes. The Vidiians are compelling antagonists. I thought the silhouettes in their appearances almost gave a Nosferatu appearance with the dark colors and lean look. I know some people online have taken issues with the thousands die everyday, but it seems the Vidiians were a fairly advanced race, likely warp capable, prior to the Phage taking hold. They called themselves a sodality, which essentially means a brotherhood.

The great twist with Voyager is even the worst episodes are worth watching for the character moments. And Phage is a good episode, for context. Even on rewatches I'll see a particular episode and think "urgh, not this one..." but then get immediately hooked by the cold open of two of the crew just having a conversation about something completely unrelated to The Plot. Even early on the cast has great chemistry and bounce off each other beautifully.

It wasn't the Doctor that made Paris the field medic, it was the captain. "Mr' Paris I understand you paris you studied biochemistry at the academy" "...close enough, you just voluntiered to become field medic." Speaking about the Bridge, I think Voyager had my favorite. Can pan around, let the cinematic go or do a 3d walkthrough/look around here by clicking the 3d view if you want a better sense of it....the archive is great though don't go exploring the other pages too much haha. https://roddenberry.x.io/2371-uss-voyager-ncc-74656/?view=Bridge

Yes, that is the asteroid from TNG: The Pegasus. Strange how it ended up in the Delta Quadrant. And also yes, that corridor in the cave is the exact same corridor as the one in "Time and Again". In fact, you've already seen it (or parts of it) in TNG: 11001001, The Neutral Zone, The Hunted, Sins of the Father, Legacy, Future Imperfect and Star Trek V.

Voyager ended up in a weird spot. A lot of the harder TNG fans either wrote off other shows, or went to DS9 and DS9 is about the 'trek world' and did amazing things. Voyager, like every star trek, took that '3 seasons warm-up' before finding it's legs. So people were already hardcore DS9 or just not watching Trek. DS9 got people back and people are finding out how fucking good it was, Voyager never got that.... yet. I have a feeling as people watch that show through, it will find it's own audience like DS9 has. Also, by the time Voyager is between seasons 1-3, there were so many amazing Trek characters that overshadowed the 'still good' Voyager characters. Given how heavy and adult DS9 becomes, I can see how others see Voyager as 'too light' which is a but unfair for Voyager, but totally understandable.

"I wasn't afraid of zombies, vampires, or werewolves, I was afraid of the more supernatural stuff." - Josh "Spooky" Mulder LOL

I always like Voyager but it would be last in the classic series for me . But I think my appreciation of it is more given what a shitshow modern Trek has become

I just watched Document of the Dead and it’s amazing the Savini basically taught himself the craft the guy is a wizard

You mentioned Tom Savini. When I was a kid I worked at a movie theater. I was sitting at the box office and one afternoon I was counting my register and a guy walks up eating an ice cream cone. I look up and immediately recognize Tom Savini. I blurted out something to the effect "You're Sex Machine!" He smiled and was very pleasant while buying his tickets. This was an era well before cell phone pics but I have no doubt he would have thrown a selfie my way. He was a nice man and I still remember that encounter fondly over 25 years later.

Regarding Janeway's decision, I respect it, although I think there's a reasonable argument to be made that taking the lungs back from this thief is justified. It's the difference between saying "I would never shoot someone under any circumstances, ever," versus, "I would only shoot someone who is shooting at me, as means of self-defense." The Vidiian assaulted Neelix in a way that would normally result in his death to steal body parts he had no right to, so to me it would be justifiable to reclaim them. Although, as Josh points out, they said they already changed them so Neelix couldn't take them back, but then again they demonstrate superior medical technology, so maybe they were just lying?

Also, I'm one of those fans who saw bits and pieces of TOS (mostly the movies) as a kid and fell in love with the TNG, DS9, VOY era of Star Trek, so I didn't have your perspective on TOS while watching Voyager. That's actually a really cool POV you laid out about how Voyager is sort of 'being TOS' or 'paying homage' to TOS. Hadn't really considered it that way before. Also credit to I think some of the other Patrons for mentioning this earlier in comments, but I think the way you described it here really lays it out there.

The Bajoran mentioned who appeared again is called Seska played by Martha Hackett. You previously saw her as the Romulan in The Search. It's also her birthday today. She was the first Star Trek actor i had a photo with. I had a really great chat with her at a convention in 2012, and she insisted on a selfie when i told her we have the same birthday. This is another really good one, yet again i give it B.

Solid is a pretty good word to describe Voyager in general IMO. Not too many high-highs or low-lows come to mind, but... it's good.

I'm not sure where this Smackdown aired after Voyager thing came from. Voyager aired on Wednesday, Smackdown was on Thursday. Wednesday night was Trek night on UPN from Voyager to Enterprise. In later years they did add a replay night on Saturday, but Wednesday was the premiere night. Also UPN had a 2 hour block from 8 P.M. to 10 P.M. to air stuff on the local affiliates before the local news started. There's not even any logistical way they could've aired a 1 hour TV show & a 2 hour wrestling show in a 2 hour block even if they never even showed a single commercial

If you are interested in special effects makeup, then you may want to look into the reality competition TV show "Face Off", which ran from 2011 to 2018 on Syfy. It was hosted by Michael Westmore's daughter McKenzie and Michael Westmore himself appeared as a mentor to the candidates in some seasons. I can't recall if there were any Star Trek spoilers in the show, but I doubt there were any major ones.

Man I love Neelix so much. He's a flawed character, but so likable too, and I never felt like his flaws were inconsistent or didn't make sense: in fact most of them make PERFECT sense for someone who is essentially a kind and open person but who has lived a very solitary and hardscrabble life. Lots of great stuff with the Doctor and Kes too, and the Captain...🥵 I could watch her grit out angry but logic words (while pacing like she wants to put her boot through someone) every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Special shout-out to the poisonous look Janeway shot at the less-helpful alien when taking them to Neelix, and to the expression on that one security guy's face when he was getting scanned.

It's time I acknowledged the 'upside' of Voyager (despite my frustrations with most of it). When Josh and Alex have finished watching it and choose their top 26 episodes, those 26 will be of a consistently high standard and wide variety. Intense, imaginative, poignant, well plotted, fun and thought provoking episodes that can rank among the upper tier of TV ST.

The Idea, that the Doctor says the "I am a Doctor, not..." because he has Bones programmed in him is such a cool Idea. It's headcannon for me now, thanks!

You hit on something I never fully considered. As a Voyager fan, I’ve always found the negativity toward the show excessive, but I realize now that my love for it likely stems from my first obsession: TOS. While I enjoyed TNG and DS9, those shows can make the universe feel small because they're so steeped in galactic politics. TOS and Voyager both capture that sense of being truly far from civilization and venturing into the unknown; the universe feels big again. Plus, the self-contained 'bottle episode' format just feels right for what Star Trek is meant to be. Of course, I love that TNG and DS9 expanded the franchise by adding more character depth, conflict, and serialization. While Voyager isn’t perfect, I like to think it borrowed a bit from those shows as well, giving it a modern edge that TOS lacks. Despite what critics say, many of these characters have fantastic arcs by the time the series finishes. I’ve also got plenty to criticize, but I’d have to spoil the show! I do think Season 2 is probably the weakest season of Voyager. It has a legendary seven-episode streak of 1-star episodes that is... rough, to say the least. I hope you can power through that stretch and still stay optimistic about the show!

As I recall, at first in my area, DS9 aired on Saturday and Voyager aired on Sunday. Later they both moved to UPN, but I think they were still on different nights. (But I might be wrong about that.)

There is a Venn Diagram of Star Trek fans and Pro-wrestling fans with only slight overlap, but the absolute best people exist there.

"The competition has started." Just having watched the introduction, I have to take a minute to respond to this comment... I really hope that you don't go through the next five seasons looking at these two shows as "competing" because that is exactly why there are such strong feelings between the fans of the two shows. It's like fans look at the two shows like they have to choose a favorite. And the thing is, it's possible to love both series. They are two VERY different shows, with different premises, different characters, different styles, and different methods of execution. They both have strengths and weaknesses. I have really loved how you approached the start of Voyager with the mindset of "We're just excited for a new Star Trek series." And I think looking at both of them as two different types of Star Trek, rather than trying to compare and choose a favorite each week, will make for a much more enjoyable experience of appreciating each series for what it has to offer, not trying to compare DS9 to what Voyager is, or comparing Voyager to what DS9 gives each week. And that's true for all of the series. You've compared Voyager to TOS a lot, and there are certainly similarities, but it's not TOS. Again, there are things it does better. And there are things that maybe some people think it does worse. Each Star Trek series needs to be viewed through it's own lens, not seeing it as a reboot of one of the series or competing with another series. Just my two cents there...

I totally agree with your opinion that this is the strongest series 1 since Classic Trek, but my enthusiasm waned by series 5 onwards, but that's straight series viewing episodes without mixing DS9, so I will be fascinated to see if your own passion remains as strong.

Trying to imagine Genevieve Bujold's version of Janeway giving that 'deadly force' speech to the Vidiians.

While there's room for somewhat better execution, I do think this is a strong early showing for Voyager. Like Elizabeth said, introducing the Vidiians earlier and building up the moral dilemma would have worked better, and better actors would have helped too. Still, the Vidiians are such a grotesque and unique concept and I have to credit the Voyager writers for coming up with a species that's so far outside the box after getting "klingons from Wish" in Caretaker. Obviously as tragic as the phage and it's effects on vidiian society has been, that never gives them the right to kill someone else to sustain themselves. I think Janeway strikes the right balance of not succumbing to petty revenge(and recognizing the impracticality of imprisoning them) while still letting them know she has no issues killing to defend her crew. But it does make you stop and think, if we found ourselves in that situation for so long, would we be any better? Probably not. On the surface it seems like a Neelix centric episode, but of course it's much more an early showcase of the EMH. It also shows how selfless Kes can be, though the scene where she stops the Doctor in the middle of trying to save Neelix's life while the clock is counting down to his inevitable death really pisses me off. WHATEVER the risks are, it doesn't matter, because he's 100% dead if they don't act. Still, giving up a lung is a big sacrifice, so good on her. I too wonder if it would last Neelix's lifetime given the short lifespan of Ocampa. Maybe that was addressed in whatever the Vidiians did to adapt it to Talaxian physiology.

Josh just saying "lifeforms" had me think of Data singing about scanning lifeforms in Generations.

This is the first really great episode of Voyager and my first favourite - but I wish they’d called it “Neelix’s Lungs” in the spirit of “Spock’s Brain.” Many moons ago when I hosted on Canada’s SPACE Channel we had a yearly show that was called The Spacey Awards and we gave Michael Westmore a Lifetime Achievement Award. I got to spend some time in his studio where I saw all kinds of original molds and makeups from the various Trek series, and then he invited me to his home where I spent a few hours and he showed me all kinds of Trek and other memorabilia from his long and brilliant career. It was like being in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. An unforgettable day with an incredibly talented man and a real gentleman.

I love Voyager’s bridge except for the “love seat” captain should have a center chair and commander a “jump seat” 💺 It’s not as distinctive as TNG but it’s very command centery

One micron = one millionth of a meter One meter = a unit a measure used in every other part of the world except the United States

One of the better Voyager episodes, also we get to see Neelix suffer, which is always enjoyable.

I just saw an interview with Roxanne Dawson and she said it took 2 1/2 hours to put on her makeup each day for character. Crazy

Only in Star Trek do you get a two year-old girl who is more emotionally mature than her middle-aged boyfriend.

If you're enjoying Neelix not being super creepy with Kes, with being overly jealous or anything, thank Ethan Phillips. They originally wanted to make him and Kes more of a "traditional" romantic couple, but Phillips felt that the age difference, both between him and Jennifer Lien and between Neelix and Kes, was SO inappropriate and gross, that he actively fought that plot line and torpedoed their on screen chemistry.

Yeah, I think the actors playing the Vidiians weren't the greatest in this. Decent episode, though, with some good character development for the doctor. Your point about how many Trek fans in the TNG/DS9/Voyager era weren't necessarily big TOS fans, and this is certainly true. I had seen a handful of TOS episodes and generally liked but didn't love it at the time (I'd also seen the movies and liked those a lot on the whole). It was only years later that I went back and actually watched TOS all the way through.

I remember this episode as being better than it was. The Neelix stuff is great, as is Janeway's ending scene, but instead of all the time spent tracking them down, perhaps the Vidiians needed a little more time to develop onscreen for us to buy the sympathy we're supposed to feel for them. Maybe if they'd been caught earlier and they spend time in the brig while Janeway debates her decision there could've been scenes where Janeway gets to know them and understands more of why they act the way they do. That mixture of sympathy and horror could've been dwelt on longer. Either way, it's still a pretty good episode in my opinion. The Vidiian's always creeped me out!

Just for the record: "I'm a doctor, not a botanist." – Bashir in 2x22 The Wire

We see that without the Federation Janeway has to display strong moral character to lead her crew We will see starting with this episode that she is very "classic Catholic" in her reasoning using Thomas Aquinas' principle of double effect to reason that 2 wrongs don't make a right so lets the Videans go and then Kes exhibits classic biblical "Caritas" to donate a lung. Key Conditions for the Principle of Double Effect: The Act Itself Must Be Good or Neutral: The action cannot be inherently immoral. The Intention Must Be Good: The agent must only intend the good effect; the bad effect is foreseen but not intended or desired. Bad Effect Not a Means: The good effect must not be achieved by means of the evil effect. Proportionality: There must be a sufficiently grave reason for permitting the evil effect, meaning the good consequence outweighs the bad. Janeway wants Neelix healed- a Good Act, It is Well Intentioned (she shouldn't want to secretly get revenge on the Videan if she took the lung back, rationalizing that killing the Videan to get the lung would a good end justifies the means- this is tenuous Proportionality- the good consequence of healing Neelix outweighs the unmalicious act of taking the lung back- this FAILS since they can't surgically return the lung anyway so it would just be disguised revenge So she lets them go

Wow that’s two tear-inducing episodes in a row, is that a first? Also, I’m hearing you there Josh dropping that D&D lingo. You think Tuvok is some kind of gunslinger class?

Interesting note: Phages are real. They are viruses that attack and infect bacteria. They are the most diverse lifeforms on Earth (if you consider viruses lifeforms. Some microbiologists say yes, some say no). There's an untold number on you right now. And more INSIDE YOU. They pose no threat to you, and may actually benefit us with gut health. Now I doubt that this Phage is the same as a bacteriophage, but hearing the name made me remember college Microbiology class. (and look them up...they look creepy as fuck!)

2000 years of being the best medical practitioners in the universe and you haven't come up with a phage vaccine yet? Sounds like Big Organ has a hand in keeping this disease going Okay... I heard it as soon as I typed it. Get your minds out of the gutter. There's only room for me down here

"You're wasting your time!"... Insulting me that is - I'm the greatest Dr. in the Galaxy! Also season 2 of TNG is PEAK!!

Probably just a remnant of the state of organ transplantation in the ‘90s, but given how advanced the Vidiian tech is, you would think over the centuries they would have been able to maintain a vast stable of animals from which to pull and adapt organs from to use (rather than having to lure in aliens and ambush them). We’ve started to do that. Also, a question I might have asked if I was Janeway: “So, this virus that has devastated your people for millennia, since we’re, you know, standing right next to you, just how transmissible would you say it is?”

I like this one - especially Janeways final scene The Vidiians are a cool concept for a villain sympathetic but creepy too

Tom Savini mentioned! 🤘🏻

I like that the writers made the Vidiians sympathetic characters, or tried to. They set up Janeway's moral dilemma nicely. Of course then they hit the reset button because they're trying for seven seasons and Neelix has to be able to walk, but still, a solid early Janeway moment. I'm also amazed by how prescient the Doctor's whole character is now that AI is a daily thing. Does he just do a good imitation of learning and growing, or can he actually learn and grow? What does it mean for us if he can? None of that felt as pressing in 1995.

My mom hated this show and it started with this episode. I had to watch it in my room for the rest of the series due to "disgusting ugly aliens"

Spock's Brain done Voyager style. Instead of a brain, they harvest lungs. Done better here than in TOS. I agree with the ratings you each gave it.

Watching this again with the reaction, it’s an episode that has a lot of good elements that never quite comes together, IMO. Spending so much time searching for the Vidiians, instead of just jumping right into meeting them and learning about what they are, is an odd choice that pretty much requires that five-minute exposition dump at the end, instead of a deeper exploration of them. Really strong episode for the Doctor, though. The Kes-Doc dynamic is one of the more poignant ones on the show so far.

Michael Westmore’s roots go back to his grandfather George, who founded the first Hollywood Makeup Department in 1917. Between 1930 and 1960, if you saw a major studio movie, you were likely seeing a Westmore "product." FUN FACT: While Michael didn't work on the original Star Trek, his Aunt Pat Westmore was the hair stylist for Seasons 2 & 3! FUNNER FACT: They are the only family to have a collective star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

in ep 3 i think, the Doctor mentions that part of his program includes knowledge of X amount of well established and respected doctors and I wonder if Bones was one of them and that was why he hit us with the "i'm a doctor not a..." deal.

The time difference between your copy and Paramount Plus is driving me crazy. As soon as I sync it up, it's gets out of sync.

Watching you guys run through these shows has given me a new appreciation for different aspects that I never payed attention to before. I noticed the score during the scene when Neelix was having is freakout moment and I am kind of surprised you didn't mention it. The music got decidedly horror movie and I never ever noticed that before this time watching it.

"Flat 7" This line really struck a chord with me.

I vaguely remember the Vidiians and the Phage, not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Guess we'll find out. Agreed, solid episode with some nice character moments and an introduction to a new species.

I don't really see how this episode is like TOS, I've never really heard anyone say that. Can you elaborate on that?

Armin Schimermann is in fact a Theatre Director and is known for teaching and adapting a lot of Shakespeare

Cynical moment, the writers needed to show the Doctor and Kes more for the audience to take them seriously. Seriously on my part as disturbing as the idea of this episode is its a favorite of season 1. Its good to be watching Voyager again