UNCUT - Basics Part 2 (VOY S3E1) | Star Trek Journey 421

Electrolyte milk.

Because they DON'T have their COM BADGES But a good point about THAT is then how do the humans speak with Kes and Neelix (as they so obvi do)? You can say Tuvok by that point in his life knew English, but there are also supposed to be other Vulcans in the crew who might not, and I think it's possible neither Kes nor Neelix would speak English yet. And of course the only answer is: It's a TV show...

Two parter season finale/season premiere was a popular form of storytelling. You may not care for it, but it was pretty standard for the time and instead of complaining about it every time, just accept that that's how seasons were structured and enjoy the show. I just think judging the way a story was told based on modern standards is silly. Like complaining about the quality of special effects from a movie 50 years ago. Instead of complaining about it, embrace it for the way things were done at the time. As for this episode being a predictable conclusion, I will grant that is a flaw... But TV doesn't have to always be about "being worked," fun as that may be. Sometimes it's just about watching events unfold. Even if you know they're going to get the ship back, and you know a character is likely going to die in the process, and you have a general idea of the way things are going to go for them on the planet, it's still about *how* is that all going to play out. How will they get the ship back? How will the character die? What is the journey for our characters and how will they grow from their experiences. And that can be entertaining in its own way. I like this two parter. I like the overall themes and the journey for the crew. I think it was a fitting way to "wrap up" the story from season 1 and 2 up to this point.

The day will come where people will come from all over the galaxy to get a genuine Kazon red mud hair and facial treatment complete with stink lines and mushrooms growing out of their hair with exfoliating pieces of debris and chunks of decorative garbage!

You guys make fun of people "forgetting about Star Trek between seasons". The facts are shows often lost millions of viewers who didn't come back to a show the next season. DS9 was on in a different day/time when it came back in some markets and UPN was a new network with small viewership. Of course they are going to do season ending cliffhangers whether you like them or not. DS9 was just much more clever with their season finales. They were still usually cliffhangers, just not packaged as such. Which is better. It also gave them loopholes when they changed their minds between seasons and wanted to alter the story. I know you have already watched Flashback. I did love Alex talking up Episode 2 in this reaction, knowing it was an Undiscovered Country related story. lol

I disagree about the Rita Repulsa thing. In Morpheus' voice, "Then I am glad that it is not up to you." I will never understand how people can watch all of Star Trek, and conclude that it is mainly just a silly show where weird stuff happens in space, or Twilight Zone in space. Yes that is a part of it if you want to view it that way, especially with people like Brannon Braga creating episodes like that, because that's also his interpretation. You guys are definitely not alone there, so your perception is definitely valid. But our perception is equally valid. And our perception is that Star Trek is also so much more than that. And all of the stuff that you guys don't care about or dismiss, like the show's worldbuilding, intelligence, competency porn, and at least an attempt to be based in real science, is the main reason why most of us watch because that's what sets it apart for us. However, although my own personal Star Trek would probably cut out all of the more over the top, weird stuff entirely, I recognize that Star Trek is good not just because of the things that I watch it for, but because of its wide variety, including all of the things that you watch it for. But all of those things have to be in balance. Yes you can have weird stuff in space, but the main thing that Star Trek has to be in order to separate itself from all of the generic sci-fi out there is smart. Otherwise, you just have Sharknado. If you want Sharknado and Power Rangers (which I happen to love Power Rangers) fine, but go watch those where that stuff belongs. Don't water Star Trek down to where now it's just as one-dimensional as those other things. Seska was a great villian, and Cardassians are a great species as a whole because they are SMART. Seska was a smart villain. Why would her entire goal be to blow up Voyager? Her entire goal is the same as the crew's, to get home ON Voyager. She just disagrees with the crew on how best to do that. She has no problem manipulating every resource at her disposal, like the Kazon, in order to do that. Watering her down to a Rita Repulsa villain removes everything that made Seska, and Cardassians as a whole, unique and great. If all of the stuff about how they think doesn't interest you and went over your head, fine, but don't ruin it for the rest of us. Star Trek is the only place where we can get smart. You have an entire Sci-Fi Channel if you want something else. ---- That being said, I agree with you on everything else. This episode works best as a two part finale, and this episode really is the end of season 2, not the beginning of season 3. And if they wanted this to be a two part premiere, it would have been way better if it started out showing our crew after 3 months of living on this planet, instead of it being one 90 min episode cut in half. Also what they did with the baby was insulting and stupid. They got rid of a plotline that would have been great for Chakotay's character. Killing Seska was also a waste, although, I can also see her story ending here. However, I also understand why they did it this way. Both for the surface reasons of the show's philosophy of playing it safe, and audiences expecting the two-part finale trope at this point so they have stuff to speculate on over the summer. And for behind the scenes reasons. I could be wrong here, but I thought I heard that a lot of the people who did the more serialized stuff in Voyager seasons 1 and 2, left at the end of season 2 after Basics Part 1. They were setting everything up for the new team to use. The new team for season 3 then had a choice to either continue everything that season 2 had set up, or wrap it all up and do their own thing. With part 2, they chose to wrap it all up. Fans are divided over whether or not this decision was cutting the dead weight of the first two seasons, or wasting a massive opportunity that things like Chakotay's baby could have had for the series. And to clarify, I am not confirming or denying whether or not any of these threads return later. I'm only saying that in this episode, the decision appears to have been to tie up everything that season 2 set up.

Camera work is great. Why are we not getting TNG style reactions on that with VOY?

The only Indian on the planet remark by chakotay was cringy and painfully dated…same with Tuvok calling the aliens savages 🤦‍♂️

These guys are really really obsessed and bothered by the 2 parter thing. It’s not healthy guys lol. Just enjoy it because you can binge them and not wait an actual season in between

I was under the impression that Michael Pillar did part 1 and was responsible for a lot of the arc stuff in season 2, but from this episode on, Jeri Taylor runs the show, and Pillar and some others went back to DS9? I also thought that meant it was Taylor's decision to have this part 2 be the second half of a 90 min episode that tied up all of the threads instead of trying to do anything ballsy. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Not even 5 minutes into the episode, Neelix tells Hogan that the bones are a warning to potential cave dwellers. Then immediately tells Hogan to gather all the bones and fucks off resulting in a death. This shows off Neelix's amazing leadership skills.

RIP Hogan. I liked him too. Ayala (actor Tarik Elgin) seemed to speak here but he is still uncredited, unfortunately. He's the Ensign Gates of Voyager. Doctor was very quick thinking in this, immediately deleting Suder's commbadge. Josh does make a good point that it could have been 2 episodes to end S2. Josh has some good points, but hindsight is 20/20.

Had to leave a note of appreciation for the Brad Dourif impression.

This is one of my favorite Voyager episodes because Seska ends up dead. Also one of my favorite Brad Dourif performances.

Ref: Mobile Emitter I don't get it. They were projecting holographic ships OUTSIDE voyager just last episode to fool the Kazon, and accidentally emitted the Doctor in space, but for some reason they can't create emitters inside the rest of the ship?? This never made sense to me at the time either.

If the universal translators were removed, how can they speak with Neelix and Kes? Or Tuvok even? Now THAT would have been a cool twist.

58:00 Don't forget about Lt. Carey! He's probably still the assistant Chief Engineer! Also, I like your perspective of this being the real season 2 finale. Makes total sense.

Seska's baby doesn't look like a human. It looks like a Cardassian (it has a "spoon" on its forehead, although it's difficult to see in this episode. It was clearer in previous episodes). It just doesn't have any additional obvious Kazon characteristics, so it could be either a Cardassian/Kazon or Cardassian/Human.

My major nitpick with this epsiode is the Kazon knowing exactly how to run voyager despite being shown blowing up their own ships with a stolen replicator in the past. Like running the bridge isn't 1000 times harder than a replicator. I also don't know how they could understand Neelix and Kes on the surface though they shouldn't have been able to without the badges.

I thought you guys went dead silent for like 5 minutes towards the end until I realized that the Patreon video had just froze

Part 1 was shot at the end of season 2. Part 2 was shot in a staggered fashion right after all season 2 production shoots were done. The story is really one story split rather than the traditional "Let's write the finale and get through the season. We'll worry about what happens next later"

The guys might not like the two part season ending and season opener but that format was a major form of TV entertainment for the 70’s , 80’s , and 90’s. It started to evolve from that in later tv series but most of the writers and show runners at the time were taught with the cliff hanger format in mind. As for the CGI vs Practical that argument will never die from then till now. But when it’s millions of dollars spent that isn’t the audience’s money it’s easy to arm chair produce and easy to say ’I would..’ or ’They should..’ but that’s a critic’s role to review and evaluate.

Hearing Alex's excitement for Ep. 2... I'm just LMAO right now. I'm so excited for that reaction, for all the wrong reasons.

what are you talking about, the baby looks like a human? it looks like a cardassian.

As Michael Piller originally wrote, Seska, Suder and Chakotay's baby (Yes, it was his) all survived, but he was leaving as showrunner and Jeri Taylor was taking over and she didn't want to be tied down with those continuing story elements..

k Episode. The Aftermath from the 2 Deaths in the End was rushed, to say it nicely. Both had deserved more.

the universal translator "is not working" because it is inside their comm badges, and they don't have those.

Neelix killed Crewman Hogan.

I genuinely hated this episode but it was a necessary evil to get rid of the damned fucking Kazon and get the fuck out of their space.

I know you guys could only go off the credit, but it still stung a bit having you lay all those character deaths and narrative backtracking at his feet when that was Jeri Taylor flipping Piller the bird as she took over the dude's job as showrunner. ... oooh, and Red Dwarf catching strays there too.

Seskas baby exibited Cardasian physiology. “Humans have such weak foreheads” - Seska (Basics Part 1)

So very late comment, but I don't like how Tom's shuttle was able to take multiple hits from the Kazon ship and destroy it so easily compared to what we've seen with Voyager. Ok, so maybe the Kazon weapons arent all that powerful but it doesnt make any sense he could destroy one so easily with just a partially damaged shuttle's phasers. Also, shuttles traveling between systems has never made much sense since they are not supposed to have warp. Even at the speed of light it would take a ship 42 years to reach earth's closest neighboring star system

This was always a great episode for me. I've never liked end-of-season cliffhangers but I've never quarreled about their existence the way you have because that's just what networks wanted at the time. It has nothing to do with the writers. To their credit, writers in the 90s didn't always end seasons on cliffhangers but you couldn't get away with that too often on a network because the people who are paying the bill got nervous.

RIP Sweetface Hogan, I liked you and your sweet face.

I mostly agree with Josh here. Episode is fine. It certainly has it's flaws, but it's far from the worst. I'm not as bothered by whether it's placed as the season 3 opener or S2 finale though. I understand thematically the idea of wrapping the story in S2 and starting fresh this season, but on rewatches I don't necessarily pay much attention to where seasons start and end. It's not like I (or TA) have to wait 3 months for the conclusion (I had to wait about 2 years originally). So as is it doesn't make much difference if both parts are in the same season. That said I would definitely be behind the idea of having the show pick up 3 months later, maybe have a 2 part conclusion where Tom had to call in some favors like the planet they saved from Dreadnought, and put together a proper group of allies to help take back the ship, as well as getting to see the crew settling into life on the planet long term. Honestly though, of the 3 character deaths, the one I'd undo is Hogan. He's a decent dude and a good recurring character. Suder got his redemption arc, and goofy death scene aside, his story ended well. Seska was also played out. As others have said, it would be unrealistic to have them keep running into her as they follow a constant path away from the region. As it is they were straining believability. Not like her kid could have been an antagonist given he'd be 5 years old by the time the show ended. Finally, I will not stand for this Ayala slander. Put some respect on that jawline. Voyager's real Maquis Giga Chad doesn't need lines to be iconic.

This was certainly an episode of Voyager

The only thing I remembered from this episode was Chakotay's line: "Trapped on a barren planet, and you're stuck with the only Indian in the universe who can't start a fire by rubbing two sticks together!" It always made me laugh.

I, as well, cannot wait for episode two

Nice to see the TV Guide has pride of place on the shelf! I agree that we were robbed of some good Chakotay as unwilling father stories. The decision to abandon that is stupid, especially with the way the baby looks, but overall Overall Piller's decision to wrap things up feels like it could freshen up the show, but a wrap up is not a great way to kick that off.

"weightless" thats a good way to describe how I feel about this show in general

Its self defense, not murder

I don't get how you talk about how you think the patreon takes are going to be. Since you've selected them in advance, don't you already know what they are? or does someone else like your wife pick them?

As far as the baby be raised to hate Chakotay, there's a limit of plausibility of how long Ceska and the Kazon can follow the Voyager outside of Kazon territory. Remember every episode they are traveling on a one way course. As it stands it's a bit much that Cullah's ship has followed them for this long, or how far apart Talaxians are. Compare it to DS9 where Quark said a trip from DS9 to Earth, so traveling across more then half the Federation along the east-west galactic axis, took two weeks at warp 6 or whatever. The Voyager has been going on a path towards Earth (yes Earth is slightly in the Alpha Quadrant but it is a bit weird they use "Alpha Quadrant" to refer to local space since a lot of the Federation is in the Beta Quadrant and Romulan and Klingon space are entirely in the Beta Quadrant, it feels like its simplified for non-hardcore fans) since the first episode at warp 8. Yes they stop a lot but hopefully you get the point, if Cullah and Seska kept following them, even given that Kazon dont really have a homeworld and are basically pirates so they have a wide range, it already seems a stretch they've travelled this far out of their usual stomping grounds, to have that continue you would have needed Seska to find some new flunkies and it just strains credulity in terms of how far this ship has supposedly traveled.

Ok... the sense it makes is that all humanoids were created by the Preservers so they all look basically the same as babies

Theres limits to what you can do with babies makeup wise so they all look human

"Magic Wand, make my Cullah Grow" Now that could have been a great scene

The whole "it can be silly because its about a ship in space" you guys know better, the whole thing with trek from its inception was to make it NOT "silly because its sci fi" Although I like the idea of villians literally like Rita Repulsa or the guy with no skin, like more "alien" aliens which could have been a thing cause its the delta quadrant but its mostly goofy forehead planet of the hats

Finally someone mentions Lt. Ayala! He was in Markis gear in the pilot and went all the way till now. He is like Voyagers Ensign Gates and constantly walking, sitting, standing in the background pushing the buttons to keep the ship running and you never noticed him. Well also kudos for mentioning Hogan’s Heroes, classic show! “Schuuuuuulz!”

Closing the Kazon arch is a GOOD thing. That's the beauty of Yoyager. You don't go on missions, you are on a voyage home. You can stumble over anything. And you can leave it behind when you travel further.

I went back and played a PS3 video game recently. I remember being blown away back when it came out in terms of how incredible the graphics and gameplay were. But now I can't play it, it's clunky and looks awful! Same concept. When this episode came out, the snake monster was cool! We didn't know then that it looked bad because it was new tech and it was cool to see. We didn't have the benefit of 30 years of improving CGI to judge it against. You might not be able to, but you really shouldn't judge these as if they were released in 2026.

The two parters were NOT about them being afraid people would forget in three months. It was done as event for people to get excited about. And it WORKED! The season ending cliffhangers and season opening resolutions were hugely popular. Sorry you guys don't like them. But to say if this had been the season 2, two-part finale you would have liked it better? That makes NO sense at all! LOL🤣

Will the Voyager crew be stranded for eternity? That's a pretty weak hook for the season break

The universal translator is part of the communicator. Ferengi uniquely have them implanted in the ear

Have to also say - while I hear your points that the baby doesn't look like a Cardassian, I don't think any Kazon mother would survive giving birth to a baby with Stegosaurus plates strapped to their heads

Alex basically described Angel season 3.

Finally we shed the first two seasons.

Voy Sex Scoreboard Well no one ended on the snake monster so no scores SCOREBOARD Paris 3 Jayneway 3 Seska 2 RIP Chakotay 2 Neelix 1 Kes 1 Harry 1 Torres 1 The Doctor 1 Hogan +1 new We are sure he did RIP

Okay assuming that the translator is in their ear. They mention that the planet is in the Pliocene era or something which I think means that these individuals are like homo Erectus. Meaning they have a language but it’s a pronto language missing many key elements of language, like syntax, making it impossible to quite translate. Thats my sci-fi take on it lol.

I will always push back on "You shouldn't have a problem with crazy, insane, over the top, silly, goofy stuff because Star Trek is a show set in outer space in the future on a ship." It can have higher standards than that, yes even with a show set in outer space in the future on a ship, and IMO it absolutely SHOULD and thank God they usually DID try to have higher standards back then. Part of what made Trek special and distinct is that it wasn't deliberate low-grade slop like that. Promoting goofy slop because of the reductionist framing of 'outer space in the future on a ship' is to me total BS and a disservice to good Star Trek IMO. In fact, you want to see it in Trek? Go back and watch those DS9 mirror universe episodes at their worst, basically, where there's over-the-top villains and perverts and the stories are mostly hollow shlock.

"Did they kill off Hogan in the season fucking opener?" Well, they had to 'go big' somehow...

Yay. I'm so glad you read my comment. Lt. Ayala has been the king of nondescript background extras. He's been here so often, but he's just so damn unremarkable that he makes Ensign Gates look like Lwaxana Troi by comparison. But oh boy did his ship come in this episode, he got himself 1 single word of dialogue! "HONEY, WE'RE EATIN GOOD TONIGHT!" I'm sure he exclaimed upon hearing the news. Anyway, Ayala aside, I felt the same as you guys did about the episode, twas very mid. Some ok ideas kinda half baked and surprisingly let down by bad direction at parts. Particularly the 2 deaths being shot very flat, when clearly they called for like close up maybe even wide angle shots to heighten those dramatic crawling final moments. I wonder if the on location shooting forced some of the ship stuff to be shot rushed or by a second unit or something. Or maybe it's a good director but a bad DP or cinematographer? Idk, needed some of that more Sam Rami type directing from things like "Frame of Mind".

There were definitely a lot of sloppy wrap-ups in this episode. A random death for Seska and a quick retcon of the baby's father so that they could end that plot thread. But it's a fun one.

I agree that Seska would have been the most suited character to not kill off and keep around... but I think it's difficult to keep any enemy around i a believable way. Already with the Kazon, one wonders how big their space is, and if they constantly travel in the direction of the Alpha Quadrant as Voyager does. If they don't, how do they catch up? And why can they find Voyager all the time? Is Voyager going so slow, with stops that make them leave their path for a while so that others can catch up? You'll need good reasons for why an enemy (or a friend) can cross their path again and again, especially if the enemy/friend is not focused on constantly flying towards the Alpha Quadrant.

"No, listen to that score. It's our people." That KILLED! Great reaction, guys. Poor Suter. Redemption = death trope rears its ugly head. But hey, at least we got more great stuff from Brad Dourif. And R.I.P. Seska. She could have shined on as a villain, but her time was done.

We have placed our hopes in the hands of an excon, a serial killer, DocGPT and an army of wannabe Neelixes. I like those odds!?

I love the Leonard McCoy-isms that the Doctor occasionally spouts. "I'm a doctor, not an insurgent!"

I haven't watched your reaction yet but this remark is more about the previous video. Watching your suspicions about Suder emphasized to be why it can be so enjoyable to watch reactions. It reminds me of exactly what information that audience member would have had when they first watched an episode and it helps me see where the plot might be teasing at possibilities without necessarily spelling them out like casting suspicion on Suder at a time when we know Seska has some kind of plot going. I hadn't really stopped to think in a while about not being aware of where Suder's character arc was going. You reminded me that for the audience, Suder would still be suspicious. The whole subplot about him being so intense in his insistence on beginning his project and being brushed off could serve as a plausible motive for betrayal but it also shows us the beginning of a new side of him and his desire to contribute which makes it tragic when his contribution has to involve going back to his old ways. It feels like he's sacrificing a piece of himself even before his ultimate sacrifice. Great way to stoke suspicion while setting up a different pay off.

Just a reminder the baby Jem'Hadar looks pretty human in DS9 and I don't remember you guys hating on that. Also kind of funny that you love Voyager for being the episodic show then get mad they dropped ongoing story lines. Careful what you wish for. Also, Neelix got Hogan killed. Hey these bones look like a warning for danger, hang out alone and pick up these bones, that's an order.

I agree this would have been a better season ender. Two parters season endings would be so much better, but executives are always thinking along the lines of "we've got to hook them for next season!" Even when it makes the two parter worse. But this is still alright. Part one is still the better episode.

It was established that in The 37s that the combadge is the source of their universal translator. This is directly contradicted by Resistance when Janeway has hers stolen yet is still able to talk to Joel Grey, so feel free to consider that erased from canon.

I won't address whether or not what I'm about to say is true.... But when I first saw this episode during the series' original run.... I figured, okay, this is closing out the Kazon stuff... because, logically, as Voyager moves further toward the Alpha Quadrant, it will pass BEYOND the species we've already seen. There is, after all, the concept of borders, habitats, and spheres of influence. Otherwise the feeling will be that our crew is still in the same sector of the Delta Quadrant... never making ANY progress toward the distant Alpha Quadrant.

Very much enjoyed the Pumpkin Latte/Youtube/March gag probably more than the episode. Looking forward to seeing what you make of season three.

Better episodes are coming I just can’t tell you when

As a kid of the 90's, I was brutally harsh about the crappy 90's CGI, remember we had Jurassic Park TWO YEARS before this. I know TV shows are not going to have that kind of budget, but you don't need to have a shot with the entire monster in view. Not showing the creature or just showing a glimpse of it using practical effects would have been a million times better.

I like watching the episode, any episode could get rewritten or thrown out and written

In "Little Green Men", the Universal Translator is implanted because that's how most Ferengis do it. In Starfleet, it's built into the Comm Badges.

Of course we cannot answer your questions, the only answer is to keep watching

After 30 years of watching Voyager, I honestly never knew people considered Kazon as Temu Klingons until y’all and other reactors watched the show recently. Now I can’t unsee it, lol. Their look never bothered me, though.

Josh.. my man. Phrasing. Beverly Crusher had sex with a candle-ghost... NOT a ghost-candle.. That would have been too much :D

RIP Mr. Suder, leaving us with a satisfying conclusion to his character arc. RIP Seska, Martha Hackett was criminally underused as a villain and unfortunately left us on a whimper instead of a bang. And finally RIP mister Hogan, taken from us too soon because Neelix lied on his application.

"it's a new day" don't you mean... a new level?

Ferengi have the translator in their ears , Starfleet has it in the badge which were all taken. All Tech was taken from them

Hogan, gone not forgotten

The irony is that they filmed this at the end of season 2, so they absolutely could have aired this as either a 90-minute or 2-part season finale.

Starfleet has their universal translators integrated into the combadge. The Ferengi have them surgically implanted.

Like my mom used to say: "Oh! You wait til I get home!"

Low key... best part 2 trek has done so far, because it just throws so much out as a reset to the show. Deadlock was their attempt to structure the show around more longer takes/ higher pace (mainly fluenced specifically by ER). I spoke about the big Swings S2 VOY attempted, some successes... some failures... but this set the show up for what it locks into... similar to TNG S3, and DS9 S2/3, this was a core statement episode. Enjoy Season 3 fellas. [And thanks for posting this on my day off... I have called in sick too many times for TA.]