#Ensign Rick

[camyfilms]

GHOSTBUSTERS 1984

We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!

[vanvelding]

I'm going to say one of the nicest things I can about a show about Star Trek: Lower Decks

They played us like a string quartet.

(Spoilers for 4x09: "The Inner Fight")

Lower Decks was sold a Star Trek/Rick & Morty mashup from the start. The first scene is a drunken Mariner literally harming her sidekick, Boimler. It practically screamed, "Mariner & Boimler a hundred tours! Double-u, double-u, double-u dot Mariner and boimler dot com!"

But of course, it also had Star Trek references. One of the earliest is "Who would win in a fight? Khan or Roga Danar?" Why would anyone else in The Federation know or care who Roga Danar is? And there's no imagination on display for the oldest referential paradigm, "Who would win in a fight?" Lazy. Bullshit.

Of course before the end of season one, Lower Decks showed us it was more than that. Boimler was gaining the kind of experience he needed. The story hinted very strongly that Mariner had been in Starfleet a LONG time. She wasn't a omnicompotent mary sue; she was a Commander with her own philosophy/trauma that compelled her to remain an Ensign.

It was a good show and it stood on its own. The references were used well to create interesting stories ("Twovix"), as part of the setting ("Hear All, Trust Nothing"), or just as a gag here and there ("Kayshon, His Eyes Open" and, like a dozen others). The references to the setting become the background radiation, remarkable in how deep a cut they really are (Vendorians?). I've described it to many people as "Star Trek, but everyone has watched Star Trek."

What it wasn't, was related to its namesake. "Lower Decks" was a surprisingly heavy episode about the younger members of the Enterprise crew and their perspective on the missions of galactic import that the viewer usually enjoys an omnisicent view of.

Lower Decks mentions our main cast don't have that omniscient view, but Mariner is a stone-cold badass, Rutherford was part of a secret effort to develop artificial intelligence, Tendi is the Mistress of the Winter Constellations, and Boimler--actually Biomler is no more exceptional than any other Starfleet officer.

So when we get our main cast and the senior officers into a room and they mention Nick Locarno, our thought is, "LOL, another reference. This one from TNG. Not particularly deep. LOL, Boimler is a Beverly Crusher fanboy. I guess it makes sense, they have the character model from the episode with Tom Paris. Clearly, Robert Duncan McNeil is happy to do some voice work. We'll probably make a reference to how much he looks like Tom Paris.

"lol"

Look, if you figured it out then pat yourself on the back. Me? I filed away another reference. I didn't realize that Nick Locarno was connected to the episode of TNG that was this entire series' namesake. The characters even say, "Who?" which is one of the first times they don't get a Star Trek reference. Because Nick Locarno isn't a part of the Star Trek universe they view with an enthusiastic fandomness; it's part of their dramatic history, whether they know it or not.

"ha-ha, I guess Nick Locarno is too deep a cut for the show that called back to Morgan fucking Bateson."

But whatever, A-plot/B-plot. Gags about Starfleet habitually rolling up to seedy establishments in uniforms while looking for information, which is subverted by Captain Freeman being fucking genre savvy (also, wasn't she going to be promoted before getting arrested at the end of season two? I guess getting framed for a crime was deemed to be not very 'admiral-able'). Mariner ends up in a cave with a Klingon taking shelter from a crystal rain.

The pieces are there. Mariner was an ensign during The Dominion War. Two to three years before The Dominion War, Wesley Crusher left Starfleet, our Nick Locarno expy Tom Paris was recruited to Voyager, and Sito Jaxa was an ensign.

And Nick Locarno is in play.

We could have figured it out! We're in the narrative and emotional third act of this series (Tendi gave us the "We'll always be friends" speech last week)! Everyone regular just sat in a room trying to figure out how to help Mariner; we were one fruit salad analogy away from an intervention with Dr. Migleemoo!

Mariner escapes from Cardassian interrogation chambers for fun!

But Locarno is just another TNG reference, like Beverly Crusher. Background radiation. The season's story arc is something original to Lower Decks, which it's proven it's unafraid to do at this point. The series has no relation to "Lower Decks"

And then they fucking hit us with it; Beckett Mariner knew Sito Jaxa. They were friends. Then Jaxa died.

That's Mariner's trauma (that and The Dominion War).

And I didn't see it because I came to see Lower Decks as a series that stood on its own merits as a show while calling back to earlier Treks in a light, non-committal way. And I credit that solely to the writing of the show which leveraged both of those qualities to make an entertaining show that I like before, but now respect.

Just amazing stuff.

[gay-spock]

here’s a compilation of why rick berman of star trek fame could have ruined the franchise with his bigotry, thanks to @/thisismewhatevs on twitter:

- rick berman is usually cited by writers as the main reason gay characters were not allowed on screen in TNG/VOY/DS9/ENT even though gene roddenberry specifically wanted gay representation in the 1980s

- notably, he is responsible for demanding female actors be "sexed up" in various ways including jeri ryan's catsuit and padding terry farell's breasts

- when terry farell asked for a reduced contract similar to those of her male costars, she was fired, leading to the sudden death of jadzia dax

- with seven of nine's catsuit, not only was it berman's idea to make her "born sexy yesterday" her original costume pinched her neck so much she kept passing out. rather than change it, berman brought in nurses to administer oxygen between takes

- berman would continually comment on the appearance of female actors to the point that marina sirtis developed an eating disorder. sirtis also mentions how tight her corset and how large her breast padding was under her "uniform"

- berman was left in charge of trek because he was in the right place when roddenberry got sick. He had no experience with scifi previously and didn't really believe in roddenberry's vision of the future:

- In addition to being a dick to denise crosby after pushing her out, he's also the reason for wil wheaton was kicked out for similar contact negotiation as terry farrell

- harry kim was never promoted from ensign since berman hated his actor, garrett wang, according to him

- enterprise was a step backwards in a lot of ways because berman had far more creative control (seasons 1-3) and took a much more hands on writing role. here's t'pol actor jolene blalock discussing his sexualization of her

- as DS9 went on, garak and bashir spent less time together and garak was given zyial as an incredibly gross love interest because andy robinson's portrayal as queer coded made berman uncomfortable

- despite the "equality" promoted on the show, berman hired very few female writers, with less than 30% of episodes having even one female writer during his time

- “Rick Berman is not the only asshole to have worked on Star Trek and he is not the reason for every bad choice from TNG-ENT. However HE WAS the executive producers and show runner in charge of production so much of the sins of that time lie at his feet. When people get confused about how some people seem to "misunderstand" the point of Star Trek and don't know how they can watch/enjoy the "progressive" nature of the show and be such vile sexists and racists, this is how. They let a sexist asshole run the show for three decades. On screen representation is important. It's amazing for people to see themselves in such a hopeful future, but the behind the scenes matters just as much if not more than who is in front of the camera. Representation without responsible storytelling is a tragedy.“ -Deep Space Fine on twitter

this is not to say that TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT are bad shows, or that they shouldn’t be watched, or anything else; but that understanding why these awful choices were made behind the scenes in depicting a “progressive” future. rick berman didn’t agree with this future because he didn’t want others who weren’t white, cis, straight men like him to benefit in the ways he did.

[dominickeating-source]

TV Zone Issue 63 (2005)

Reed All About Him

As the curtain comes down on Star Trek: Enterprise, Dominic Keating talks with Steven Eramo about the show's final episodes and looks back fondly at his tour of duty as Lt. Malcolm Reed.

His favourite food is pineapple, he tends to be shy around the opposite sex, and he takes great pride in doing a job well done. Over the past four years, fans of Star Trek: Enterprise have gotten to know a bit about what makes the Enterprise NX-01�s tactical officer Lt. Malcolm Reed tick. Recently, he was even forced to reveal a part of his life that he'd previously kept well-hidden. But the lieutenant's TV journey has come to an abrupt end with Enterprise's cancellation. 

"I was in the parking lot of the YMCA when Rick Berman called to tell me that the show had been cancelled," says Reed's alter ego Dominic Keating, referring to the series' executive producer. "I more or less took it on the chin. Deep down, I think we all knew. It's quite sad, really. I mean, there are people I know at the gym who ordinarily wouldn't watch a show like Star Trek. However, because they know me, they've been watching and have become fans. Over the past few months, these people have come up to me and said, This year has just been incredible. They've been genuinely excited to tune in each week, especially as Enterprise seemed to have finally found its stride this season. But, of course, now it's all over."

There's no denying that the first half of Enterprise's fourth year was very much Malcolm Reed-lite. Except for his bridge scenes and the occasional rescue mission, the character remained off the radar. However, Keating was of the mind that good things come to those who wait, and he was right. "I did hardly anything in the first 11 episodes of this season," says the actor. "That said, they were terrific stories in terms of Star Trek lore, and I was just happy to be working. I'm not an actor who reads the scripts week after week and says, Is that all I get to do? I'm lucky in that I got off to a good start with Enterprise and had some neat Malcolm stories in the first three years. That sort of satiated my actors vanity and need to be recognized," he laughs.

"As for this season, things started to pick up for Malcolm with Observer Effect, in which his body is among those taken over by an alien life form. I had some fun scenes in that one, including the opening teaser where Malcolm and Ensign Mayweather [Anthony Montgomery] are playing chess. That was an actual chess game that Anthony and I played for every take. It was shot in a fairly wide angle so that you could, in fact, see each move."

Reed's other moment in the spotlight - albeit a very shadowy spotlight- came in the two-part story explaining the differences between the smooth-headed Klingons of the original series and the bumpy headed models of more recent years.

"I can't tell you how excited I was when I received the scripts for these two episodes," says Keating of the episodes which revealed Reed to be an agent of the black ops unit Section 31. "Funnily enough, I'd actually pitched a story not unlike it back in season one. It was an idea for a Manchurian Candidate-type episode apropos the Suliban. So when Affliction and Divergence came along I was thrilled that my character had this 'boiled sweet' as it were at the back of his mouth that nobody knew he was sucking on. I didn't even ring Manny Coto to ask for any backstory. I just figured that Malcolm was a member of some skull and crossbones society that he joined years ago and that it had now come back to haunt him.

"This was a solid story, very gritty, and a nice little arc for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes I had with Scott Bakula, and Eric Pierpoint, who played Section 31 chief Harris, was a pleasure to work with as well. The two of us really hit it off and we had a lot of laughs together on set. Eric has guest-starred several times on Trek, including the year one Enterprise episode Rogue Planet. This season, his character of Harris recurs almost right up to the end. In fact, threes a scene in the episode that LeVar Burton directed Demons where Harris and Reed meet in a dark alley and he suggests that my character go work for him. During one of the rehearsals I asked, "Why, what have you got? A TV pilot? A movie? That brought the house down, especially as we'd already heard about the cancellation."

It was while filming the second half of the alternative universe episode, In a Mirror, Darkly, that Keating along with the rest of the Enterprise cast and crew learnt of the shows imminent demise. " Supervising producer Merri Howard had announced she was leaving while we were working on the first part of this story," says the actor. "That was a bit of a belly blow. It was like, Oh, God, they're all jumping ship. Merri kept saying it didn't mean anything, but it was difficult not to imagine that it did. And then we got cancelled. The news was tempered by the fact that for this episode they'd built a replica of the original Enterprise bridge as well as its corridors, and our characters were dressed in classic Trek costumes. Still, it was an odd time. As I mentioned earlier, we all had a feeling this was coming, so it was like a dark cloud was suddenly hanging over us."

Not surprisingly, shooting Enterprise's finale, These Are The Voyages, was an emotional experience for all concerned, including Keating. "We shot our last scene in engineering on Friday night [25th February]," he notes. "It was Connor Trinneer and me, and it's quite wonderful, really. I think it's one of those moments that fans will play back over and over in their heads. Basically, it's a thinly disguised allegorical scene for the end of our stint on Enterprise as both characters on the ship and actors on a TV show. It's very moving. There were a couple of times that night where I welled up. That Friday it really hit home for all of us that this was it."

Although he has no idea what fate has in store next for him, Keating is sure that he'll be OK. "I truly believe that, generally speaking, things happen for a reason," muses the actor. "I remember at the time I was gutted when my contract wasn't renewed on the UK sitcom Desmonds. Nonetheless, I went ahead with my plans to visit friends in San Francisco. I ended up going to Los Angeles, which wasn't planned, met some people there and six weeks later I moved to the States.

"Had things not turned out the way they did on Desmonds, I wouldn't be here today. I love living in Southern California and best of all, during my time on Enterprise I've learnt how to really act in front of the camera. I'm a different acting animal than I was four years ago. The show was an amazing luck of the draw for me. It may take some time, but I've just got to wait for the right part in the right project to come along again. I'm confident that will happen."

Celestial Bodies

Among the final episodes to be shot for Enterprise's fourth season was Bound where three Orion slave girls use their feminine wiles to persuade male crewmen to do their bidding. "Let me just tell you, the dance that the three actresses perform in the episode is very sexy," says Keating "The choreographer they worked with had also worked at one time with Janet Jackson. There were no wardrobe malfunctions, but there was quite an energy on set, green or otherwise," chuckles the actor.

"Cyia Batten, who played the lead Orion slave girl, was one of the original dancers in The Pussycat Dolls. She's just beautiful, as are the two women who played the other two Orion gals. William Lucking, who guest-starred as the girls owner did a terrific job as well and gave a very Marlon Brando-like performance. The set for this episode was great, too. It was a sort of space-age Sci-Fi tent where our characters were seduced with food, drink and foxy chicks."

Taking the High Road

Looking back at his time on Enterprise, Keating has nothing but good things to say about the shows cast, in particular, Scott Bakula. "One of the times I welled up on the Friday that I previously spoke of was while we were shooting a scene in the shuttlepod launch bay," he says.

"It was me, Scott, John Billingsley, Linda Park and Anthony Montgomery. I remember watching Scott at work and thinking, Scott, I can't tell you how great these past four years have been. I've learnt so much working with you, not only about the craft of acting and how to carry oneself on a film set, but also about being a human being.

"Scott is an extraordinary individual and one of life's true gents. Without sounding too full of myself, there are moments in my daily life when I'm not prone to take the high road, and I'll ask myself, How would Scott Bakula behave in this situation? That's the kind of positive affect he's had on me."

Source: www.dominickeating.com

[fancoloredglasses]

Enterprise (A prequel that looks FAR more advanced than its future)

[All images are owned by Paramount. Please don’t sue me]

With the release of First Contact, it was established that mankind would achieve faster than light travel in 2063, 67 years from when the film premiered (or 39 years from now. Come on Cochrane, get a move on!) However, it would be almost 90 years from then that Earth would truly begin exploring space.

(Thanks to Rui Cruz)

Enterprise (produced by Rick Berman and (sigh...) Brannon Braga) is the final Star Trek series until Paramount+ went online. It follows the early space exploration done by Earth ten years before the founding of the United Federation of Planets (so the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) is the first Federation starship to bear the name, while this Enterprise is an Earth vessel)

Speaking of…

Enterprise (NX-01) is the first Earth vessel capable of achieving Warp 5 (125 times the speed of light), and the first capable of deep space exploration (though it will take a few weeks between systems) Despite being about 100 years technologically inferior to the USS Enterprise, it looks much more advanced (great continuity there, Braga!), but surely the interior looks more clunky, right?

OK, it does look a lot more cramped, but still looks like it was designed later than the 1960s.

Now, onto the uniforms

(Thanks to The Hollywood Reporter)

The standard Starfleet (what NASA would become after the invention of the warp drive) uniform is much like that of NASA flight suits: a blue jumpsuit. However, the color coding is still there (and following the colors for TOS) on the shoulder pads.

You will no doubt notice the two non-humans among the main cast. I’ll get to those later. Now, onto the legendary crew of this historic vessel that would help usher in the formation of the United Federation of Planets…

The Commanding Officer is Captain Jonathan Archer (played by Scott Bakula, formerly the star of the original Quantum Leap) Archer pretty much has the weight of Earth on his shoulders, as the success or failure of humanity’s journey to the stars depends on him. Too bad he doesn’t trust any of Earth’s allies. He also brought his beagle (Porthos) along for the journey (hope he’s starship-broken)

Speaking of allies, his First Officer and Science Officer is Sub-Commander T’Pol of the Vulcan High Command (played by Jolene Blalock), who was assigned to Enterprise in exchange for the Vulcans’ star charts after Enterprise blundered into Klingon space.

The Vulcans felt humans were not ready for interstellar travel and held back technology until they felt Earth was ready for it. Many on Enterprise initially feel that T’Pol was sent to spy on them for the Vulcans. She eventually leaves the Vulcan High Command to become an official member of Enterprise’s crew.

The Chief Engineer is Commander Charles “Trip” Tucker (played by Connor Trinneer) and is an old friend of Archer’s. He is responsible for upgrading and debugging the new technology Enterprise has equipped. Later in the series, he has a relationship with T’Pol.

The Head of Security and Tactical/Armory Officer is Lt. Malcolm Reed (played by Dominic Keating) Reed’s family was all Royal Navy, but Malcolm is aquaphobic, so he joined Starfleet. As a member of a military family, he understands the need for discipline and attempts to instill it on Enterprise (with mixed results)

(Thanks to Sipping Kanar with Dukat)

The Communications Officer is Ensign Hoshi Sato (played by Linda Park), who is an expert linguist that learns languages quickly, which is important as the Universal Translator (the device that makes everyone speak perfect English) hasn’t been developed at the start of the series.

The Helmsman is Ensign Travis Mayweather (played by Anthony Montgomery), who was born in space and knows many of the races along Earth’s trade routes.

The ship’s doctor (not Chief Medical Officer as he’s not officially part of Starfleet, but is just along for the ride) is Dr. Phlox (a Denoubulan played by John Billingsly), an expert in xeno-medicine, able to treat the crew when they encounter something that Earth medicine hasn’t yet encountered.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Star Trek without other races to butt heads with.

It also wouldn’t be Star Trek if the Klingons weren’t somehow involved (yes, in this prequel the forehead ridges are around, then somehow disappear in tome for TOS, then reappear in time for The Motion Picture. Can someone explain this please?

(Thanks to Vladimir)

Thanks, Braga Worf!

Also, there should be Romulans.

Fortunately, someone informed Braga that no one knows what the Romulans look like until TOS.

We also see the first contact with the Andorians, who are more than a bit wary of Enterprise since they are allied with the Vulcans (who they are at war with)

We also see a brand new enemy starting in season 3: the Xindi (When I first heard the name advertised, I was hoping I heard the Kzinti, but no luck) The Xindi are an alliance of several species (primate, insectoid, reptilian, and amphibian)

However, Brannon Braga’s lackadaisical approach to continuity reared its head in two major continuity errors with two factions that should not have been seen for another 200 years or so:

The Ferengi

...and the Borg, both of which had (thankfully) only one appearance.

The series ran for four seasons before being cancelled due to low ratings (the first since TOS to end prematurely) However, they got a proper final sendoff…

(Thanks to April 5, 2063)

If you would like to watch the series, it’s available on Paramount+ or behind your favorite paywall. If there is an episode you would like me to review, please let me know!

[g0at0ad]

I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't really find jokes about Harry Kim being an ensign forever that funny considering the only reason he was an ensign for all 7 seasons of voyager was because Rick Berman was a racist asshole. there is zero valid in universe reason for him to not have been promoted. end log. stardate whatever the fuck.

[historyhermann]

"Star Trek: Lower Decks" Breaks Protocol with LGBTQ Representation

On October 14, the season two finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks aired on Paramount+, and while the show is lauded by some for "breaking new ground" as a sci-fi comedy and mature adult animation, often reviewers don't talk about the LGBTQ representation at the heart of the show itself.

Reprinted from The Geekiary, my History Hermann WordPress blog, and Wayback Machine. This was the eighth article I wrote for The Geekiary. This post was originally published on October 20, 2021. In the original version of this article I made an error about the bisexuality of Mariner, and unknowingly said some biphobic stuff about Mariner, which I had not intended. I corrected it not long after I heard those comments and worked to make sure that wouldn't happen again. Strangely enough, this article flew through the editors at The Geekiary with no comment on this, showing that the issues with articles are my own and the editors aren't there, all the time, to help me.

Star Trek: Lower Decks, which premiered on the streaming platform CBS All Access (later renamed Paramount+) in August 2020, is the first animated series in the Star Trek franchise since Star Trek: The Animated Series which aired on NBC from 1973-1974. It has been nominated for three Critics' Choice Super Awards and one Emmy Award for voice acting, animation, and sound editing. The series focuses on officers of a low rank who engage in menial work,, rather than senior officers or captains, who are supporting characters.

The series has four main characters: ensigns Beckett Mariner (voiced by Tawny Newsome), Brad Boimler (voiced by Jack Quaid), D'Vana Tendi (voiced by Noël Wells), and Sam Rutherford (voiced by Eugene Cordero). Supporting characters include Carol Freeman (voiced by Dawnn Lewis), captain of the Cerritos, Mariner's mother, First Officer Jack Ransom (voiced by Jerry O'Connell), Tactical Officer Shaxs (voiced by Fred Tatasciore), and head medical doctor T'Ana (voiced by Gillian Vigman).

Mike McMahan, the creator of Solar Opposites and writer and producer of Rick and Morty, is the series creator and showrunner, while music is composed by Chris Westlake and Titmouse, Inc. does the series animation. Both series include LGBTQ characters, specifically the genderless aliens Korvo and Terry in Solar Opposites. Sleepy Gary and Jerry Smith on Rick and Morty are queer, with Gary as bisexual and Smith as bisexual or pansexual as noted in recent episodes.

The ten-episode first season of the series involves wild adventures from fighting a virus infection and terraforming agent on the ship, to ship salvaging, a surprise party, and a family secret, that Freeman is Mariner's mother. The second season ups the ante, with godlike possession of a crew member, a dangerous mission with a "collector," a mission to retrieve a "special item" for T'Ana, a scammer, and a race of beings which duplicate when they get scared. Other episodes focus on the lower deckers cleaning up unpredictable anomalies from previous missions, a malevolent computer A.I., drills for the crew which they are designed to fail, a 12-hour-time warp, and a risky first contact mission.

Through all of this, Mariner's queerness is emphasized. In the show's first season, Captain Amina Ramsey (voiced by Toks Olagundoye) is shown as being chummy with Mariner in the episode "Much Ado About Boimler," and in the episode "No Small Parts" it was shown that she previously dated Steve Levy, a Lieutenant. She also stated in the episode "Envoys" that she once dated a humanoid and female-presenting Anabaj to anger her mother. In an October 2020 interview, McMahan confirmed that Ramsey was Mariner's ex-girlfriend at Starfleet Academy, and stated that "every Starfleet officer is probably at the baseline[,] bisexual" and hinted that this would be expanded in the show's second season. This meant that by the end of the show's first season, it was implied that Mariner is bisexual.

However, the Season 2 episode "We'll Always Have Tom Paris" blew it out of the water. At one point, Mariner tells Tendi she is "always dating bad boys, bad girls, bad gender non-binary babes, ruthless alien masterminds, [and] bad bynars." As such, this implied she is pansexual, as some reviewers noted. Furthermore, in the show's season two finale, Mariner admitted she liked a female-presenting alien, Jennifer Sh’reyan (voiced by Lauren Lapkus), after Sh’reyan saved her from dying in the void of space, as Mariner's walls began to come down. This led some fans to speculate the two may be shown as a couple in the upcoming third season.

Mariner tells Tendi about the people she has dated in the past, hinting at her possible pansexuality

There appear to be other LGBTQ characters in Star Trek: Lower Decks as well, their identities arguably implied. For one, Andarithio "Andy" Billups (voiced by Paul Scheer), the chief engineer aboard the Cerritos and prince of Hysperia, is implied, arguably, to be asexual. In one episode, "Where Pleasant Fountains Lie", he has no interest in having sex with either the male guard nor the female guard. In another, in the simulated drill called "Naked Time," where all the crew are naked, either kissing one another or engaging in foreplay, which scars poor Mariner, he is not participating in any sexual acts. The funny part about the latter drill is that apparently all of them could see this drill happening with their eyes. Now, that would have been an interesting scene, even though many of them might have been scarred by life if they saw it.

In an interview this month, Quaid has said that Boimler could be queer, stating that he would "not rule it out," and adding that in the Star Trek universe, it is an "aspirational future and sexuality is a spectrum." That has been shown to be the case with queer characters - for instance, Hikaru Sulu, a gay man in various Star Trek films, while Hugh Culber, who is in a relationship with Paul Stamets in Star Trek: Discovery. The latter series also features Gray Tal, a trans man. Kira Nerys, from the mirror universe, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is bisexual and in a relationship with a woman, Ezri Tigan. This is not to be confused with the Kira Nerys in the main universe, who did not have such relationships and had a different sexual orientation. Tigan, on the other hand, also flirts with women other than Nerys from the mirror universe. In the same series, Dax is a symbiont who became an icon for trans people who changes genders. In Star Trek: Picard, Raffi Muskier is the romantic partner of Seven of Nine.

It is likely that Sh’reyan, an Andorian woman, will have more of a recurring role in the show's next season. This can be extrapolated from McMahan's recent interview with SYFY where he talks about how the arc with Sh’reyan started with an ad-lib from Tawny Newsome, with Sh’reyan pushed aside in the episode "Cupid's Errant Arrow." Apart from the interaction between Mariner and Sh’reyan in the Season Two finale and both crossing paths briefly across many episodes, Sh’reyan is coded as liking women. She is shown kissing Barnes, an ensign, in the "Naked Time" simulation, is talking with an officer, Castro, in the episode "wej Duj."

Many shipping fan fictions for Mariner are more skewed toward men, like Boimler and Ransom, and less so toward anyone else, with those fan fictions shipping Mariner with Boimler, a ship dubbed "Marinler" by fans which is popular on AO3 and Tumblr. These fan fictions are just as valid as those shipping her with women like Tendi, or those which describe Mariner as in polyamorous relationships, to give two examples. Marinler fans see Mariner and Boimler as more than friends and buds. Rather they see Mariner as Boimler as two people who are romantic toward each other. This perspective is completely understandable based on the interactions between Mariner and Boimler during the series, even if other fans, like myself, interpret the interactions between Mariner and Boimler as being more platonic. While Marinler fan fictions will undoubtedly continue to prosper and grow, even without a dedicated subreddit, in the fandom as a whole, it is possible that there will be more fan fictions which ship Mariner with non-male characters. After all, McMahan has confirmed that Mariner will be dating Jennifer in the next season of Star Trek: Lower Decks. McMahan also noted that although the show is "not about Mariner’s romantic relationships" it instead focuses on how Mariner "sees herself, and how she treats friends and colleagues more than romantic partners," in his words.

Mariner admits she likes Sh’reyan in the season two finale

A third season of Star Trek: Lower Decks is already confirmed and will likely air sometime in 2022. If Mariner gets a girlfriend, like Sh’reyan, as was implied in the Season 2 finale, and is shown exploring her identity more in the season, then it would mean that series would truly be one of the best representations in mature animation for a while. It would far exceed representation embodied by the lesbian protagonist in the mature animation Final Space, named Ash Graven (voiced by Ashly Burch), for which I gave an overly optimistic (perhaps too optimistic) assessment which led to annoyance from angry Redditors at my "incorrect" assessment of the series.

Unlike Final Space, which was sadly cancelled earlier this year due to the merger of Discovery and Warner Media according to Final Space creator Olan Rogers, Star Trek: Lower Decks will continue on due to its seeming support from ViacomCBS and CBS executives. As such, the series has the ability to expand its LGBTQ representation, apart from Mariner and possibly Billups, to, hopefully, others in the main cast like Tendi, Rutherford, or Boimler, or even in the supporting cast. However, it does not seem that any of the cast members are part of the LGBTQ community, which is unfortunate.

As such, Star Trek: Lower Decks has the possibility of moving mature animation in a more inclusive direction, joining the ranks of ongoing mature animations like The Great North, Invincible, RWBY, Disenchantment, Harley Quinn, Tuca & Bertie, Bojack Horseman, and gen:LOCK, to name a few, of series with LGBTQ characters. While I remain cautiously optimistic that Star Trek: Lower Decks will do this for LGBTQ representation, I'm not holding my breath, as the season could go a different direction and focus on something else entirely.

© 2021-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

[typingtess]

Tiptoeing through the “Let It Burn” guest cast

Duncan Campbell as NCIS Special Agent Castor Back from “Of Value” earlier this season.

Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut as FBI Special Agent Summer Morehurst Will be Ensign Sidney La Forge in the final season of Star Trek: Picard.

Guest roles include appearance in Gotham, The Mysteries of Laura, Homeland, The Good Fight, Timberwood, Prodigal Son, Instinct, Cruel Summer and Rap Shi!t.

Romi Dias as Denise Perez Guest roles include Third Watch, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Castle, Scandal, The Newsroom, Criminal Minds, Matador, The Bridge, The Mentalist, Major Crimes, Queen of the South, Mistresses, Doubt, Lethal Weapon, SEAL Team, Dirty John, 9-1-1, Snowfall, Grey’s Anatomy and CSI: Vegas. Trailer Photo.

Thal Gondim as Crystal Perez Appeared in a few short films.

Justin Huen as Randall Perez Was Santo Perez in “Personal” where he shot Deeks.  Hmmm.

Brian Leigh Smith as Bomb Tech Aaron Roberts Played this role in both season 11’s “Mother” and season 13’s “Live Free or Die Standing”.  Was also a cop in “Overwatch” and the wingman in “The Bear”, season 12’s premiere.

Rhomeyn Johnson as Terrell Guest starred in episodes of Lady Blue, Life Goes On, The Practice, 7th Heaven, She Spies, Robbery-Homicide Division, Grounded For Life, Las Vegas, Eight Simple Rules, Boston Legal, Malcolm in the Middle, Barbershop, Grey’s Anatomy, State of Mind, How I Met Your Mother, Moonlight, Parks & Recreation, Belle’s, Hart of Dixie, How to Get Away with Murder, The Rookie, Shooter, Good Girls, 9-1-1: Lone Star and Reservation Dogs.

Was Trucker Al in NCIS’s “Beneath the Surface” in season 16.

Joe Corzo as Foreman/Michael Duncan Appeared as Henchman #1 in NCIS’s “First Steps” in season 19.  Guest roles include 9-1-1: Lone Star, All Rise and Animal Kingdom. Instagram story about guest starring on the show.  

Written by:  Indira Gibson Wilson co-wrote, “The Frogman’s Daughter”, "Signs of Change" and “Hard for the Money”, was the sole writer for "Lost Soldier Down".

Directed by:   Directed by: Rick Tunell directed "Revenge Deferred", "Se Murio El Payaso", "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" and “Hard for the Money” (co-written by Indira Gibson Wilson).

And we’re on a six-week break (some CBS holiday movies, some reruns) before returning with the three-series crossover on a Monday night (which is so much better than waiting for a 10:45PM football delayed start).  

Have a good long holiday weekend if you’re in the US, a fabulous rest of the week worldwide.

[the-anxious-youth]

ℜ𝔢𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔰𝔱 ℑ𝔫𝔣𝔬

Characters I write for, newest at the top (* means favorites):

One Piece: [Closed]

Buggy*

Nami*

Koby* (I hc Koby as trans bc of @tinfairies (go check them out), but if you want me to write him as amab let me know)

Luffy

Zoro

Sanji

Shanks*

Mihawk

Alvida

Usopp

Helmeppo

House of the Dragon: [Closed]

Aemond Targaryen*

Aegon II Targaryen*

Helaena Targaryen*

Alicent Hightower

Rhaenyra Targaryen

Daemon Targaryen

Jacaerys Velaryon

Harwin Strong

Slashers: [Closed]

Bo Sinclair (House of Wax)*

Vincent Sinclair (House of Wax)

Lester Sinclair (House of Wax)

Thomas Hewitt (Texas Chainsaw Massacre)*

Bubba Sawyer (Texas Chainsaw Massacre)

Brahms Heelshire (The Boy)

Michael Myers (OG and RZ)

Jesse Cromeans/Chromeskull (Laid to Rest)

Baby Firefly (House of 1000 Corpses)

Tiffany Valentine (Chucky)*

Yautja (Predator)*

Jed Sawyer (Leatherface 2017)*

Johnny Slaughter (Texas Chainsaw Game)*

The Walking Dead: [Closed]

Daryl Dixon

Rick Grimes

Maggie Rhee

Turn Washington’s Spies: [Closed]

John Graves Simcoe*

Ensign (Thomas) Baker*

Benjamin Tallmadge

John Andre

Marquis de Lafayette

Edmund Hewlett

LA Noire: [Closed]

Cole Phelps

Stefan Bekowsky*

Roy Earle

Jack Kelso*

Detroit Become Human: [Closed]

Connor (RK800)

Ralph (WR600)

Nines

Peaky Blinders: [Closed]

Thomas Shelby

John Shelby

Arthur Shelby

Finn Shelby

Johnny Dogs*

Bonnie Gold*

Alfie Solomons

Topics I will write about:

Violence, gore, etc

Dark!Characters and reader

Dub-con

Mental illness

NSFW

I will NOT write about:

Non con in any form

Incest outside of HoTD

Glorification of abuse

Real People

I write reader insert one shots and series, as well as OC works and reactions with multiple characters. I’m honestly pretty open minded so if you have an idea, feel free to ask! Worst I will do is politely decline. :)

[phantom-le6]

Episode Reviews - Star Trek: Voyager Season 7 (5 of 7)

Episode 17: Workforce (Part 2)

Plot (as given by me):

Following the events of Part 1, Chakotay is able to overcome the Quarran security officers pursuing him, but takes an injury to his shoulder from an energy weapon in the process, while in space, Voyager is able to evade pursuit by Quarran patrol ships.  Chakotay returns to the bar he and Neelix visited earlier and learns Kathryn is moving in with her co-worker Jaffen.  As an investigation begins into B’Elanna’s abduction from the planet, Chakotay is soon missing as well.

The Doctor, still in Command Hologram mode, hides Voyager on a moon that is able to mask the ship’s energy signature.  A discussion with Neelix reveals the extent of the manipulation performed on their abducted ship-mates; while select memories have been left intact, others have been altered or bypassed.  Working together, the Doctor and Neelix begin working to help B’Elanna remember her real life.  Back on Quarra, Annika Hansen begins looking into things following her real memories beginning to resurface as a result of Tuvok’s attempted mind-meld.  At the same time, Kathryn begins moving her belongs to Jaffen’s apartment, only to find the injured Chakotay now using her former apartment as a hideout.

Chakotay initially succeeds in gaining Kathryn’s assistance, but when he’s contacted by Ensign Kim and the Doctor, his revelation that she’s their missing captain jeopardises things, even when he removes his cosmetic alterations to show that he’s also human.  When Kathryn confides in Jaffen, it isn’t long before Quarran security arrive and take Chakotay.  An attempt to speak with him by a detective named Yerid is foiled when Chakotay is moved to Neuro-Pathology at the local hospital without anyone scanning him, and Yerid is swiftly relieved of duty.  However, Yerid soon teams up with Annika, as well as Tom Paris, Kathryn and Jaffen in further investigations, and at the same time, a young doctor at the hospital also become suspicious.

It isn’t long before the truth becomes apparent; the head of Neuro-Pathology and a few key officials are conspiring to resolve the Quarran labour shortage by abducting and brainwashing the crews of passing ships, including the crew of Voyager.  Chakotay planned to disable the planet’s shields so Voyager could beam their crew away, and the plan is now taken up by the others.  While Kathryn and Jaffen infiltrate the power station to contact Voyager, Annika and Yerid infiltrate the hospital.  While Chakotay and Tuvok are promptly rescued, Chakotay has been manipulated into luring Voyager into an ambush by the Quarran patrol ships.

While Voyager battles the Quarran ships, they convince Kathryn to execute Chakotay’s plan to take down the shields, which ultimately succeeds.  As the crew of Voyager begin to regain their memories, the Doctor and Ensign Kim wrap up things from a diplomatic stand-point.  With the conspiracy now uncovered, others who were victims are being treated and repatriated to their proper home worlds.  Kathryn, now restored to being Captain Janeway, is forced to leave Jaffen behind.  When she returns to the bridge, she thanks Chakotay for coming to rescue her, and despite her feelings for Jaffen, she claims that she doesn’t regret being reminded who she really is.  Voyager then resumes its course for the Alpha Quadrant.

Review:

Part 2 of ‘Workforce’ is the second of two episodes directed in this series by Roxann Dawson, which is probably down to her character being featured less in the second part of the story.  On Trek wiki site Memory Alpha, Dawson notes that producer Rick Berman gave her this chance by coming up and saying to her “So, I’m giving you another chance to fail”.  Apparently, Dawson herself took it as Berman saying she’d done well on her first directorial effort but could potentially find the next one more problematic.  Without knowing how Berman said this, I’m not sure if that’s a good interpretation.  To me, the words seem to imply Dawson did poorly on her first effort, which was the season six episode ‘Riddles’.  Considering how good that episode was, and that Dawson went on to direct 10 episodes of prequel Trek series Enterprise, I’m thinking that she did very well with directing, and if Berman meant what he said in the way I’m thinking, then he’d be an idiot to think along those lines.  Dawson does a great job concluding this second part to the overall story, and if the episode is failed, it’s possibly in its writing.

Why do I consider that the episode might involve a writing error?  Well, because it took me until the end of this part to get the underlying issue exploration at hand.  The whole thing is basically about human trafficking, but via the metaphor of Trek, having Janeway and her crew essentially being trafficked to this alien world to work.  The problem is the episode doesn’t make this very apparent because it doesn’t focus on the issue within the story, and that’s down to how it was written.  There’s no debate, no seeing all sides of the issue; the mystery of what’s happened to the crew, figuring out how to restore their memories and the inevitable action sequences Voyager goes for by remit all take up too much time for that.  As a result, the issue exploration is left, well, unexplored, which is sad when you consider Starfleet and thus Trek is very much in the business of exploring.

Granted, we get the usual excellent acting, some decent character beats and so on, but I really think the episode needed to delve into the substance it had to hand more and focus less on hollow style.  For me, this episode earns the same as part 1, 7 out of 10.

Episode 18: Human Error

Plot (as given by me):

Seven of Nine begins a holodeck program in which she has finally shed the last of her Borg implants, becoming more sociable with the crew, being given a Starfleet uniform and allocated crew quarters.  She also develops a relationship with a holographic double of Chakotay that quickly turns romantic.  However, the program begins to take up time Seven should spend on her duties, even in terms of her interactions with others off the holodeck, such as giving B’Elanna a belated baby shower gift and becoming irritable with the Doctor when he is unable to remove an implant that requires maintenance.

When Voyager is knocked out of warp by a nearby explosion, the crew investigates and learn that they’re travelling through a region that is being used to test weapons that travel via sub-space.  Seven is given the duty of trying to detect the test munitions so Voyager can evade them, but the holodeck program interferes with her duties, to the point where she fails to complete her assigned work and is away from her post when another munition strike occurs.  When Captain Janeway confronts Seven on the matter, she claims the holodeck program is something else and leaves to perform her duties.

After a brief discussion with Icheb, Seven returns to the holodeck to end things with the holographic Chakotay, but he doesn’t give in, and suddenly Seven collapses.  Fortunately, she is able to contact the Doctor before she collapses, and he transmits himself to the holodeck.  Initially confused by Seven’s outer implants being absent, the Doctor soon realises this is part of Seven’s program and shuts it down.  When Seven awakens in sickbay, the Doctor presses her for further information, as it seems Seven’s cortical node shut down and he needs to understand what happened.  Following Seven’s time in Unimatrix Zero, she began to feel incomplete and wanted to experiment with the aspects of her humanity she found there.  Seven intends to delete the holodeck program to avoid compromising her work, but the Doctor suggests that the solution lies in Seven finding a proper work-life balance instead.

Seven finally aids Voyager in getting clear of the alien munitions range without further damage.  However, the Doctor has bad news; apparently, the Borg design the cortical nodes of their drones with a failsafe mechanism, designed to shut down a drone’s higher brain functions if the individual experiences a certain level of emotional stimulation.  The idea seems to be that the Borg would want to inhibit emotional awareness to suppress any desire to leave the collective.  The Doctor believes he can remove the mechanism, but it would take multiple surgeries and involve extensive recovery time.  Seven is unwilling to consider this, and curtly dismisses the Doctor as she enters a regeneration cycle.

Review:

Whoever at Wired that recommended skipping this episode in a Voyager binge-watch back in 2015 clearly didn’t know what they were talking about.  This episode is another bit of quality Trek, and as we’ll see in the series finale, it’s actually of some importance from a continuity standpoint.  In this case, we’re getting to see more development in Seven’s character, and in the process, we’re getting some decent issue exploration into the bargain.  The character development is fairly obvious throughout; Seven clearly wants to be more human at this point, and as things progress, we learn this is a consequence of her rediscovery of Unimatrix Zero in the shift from season 6 to season 7.  In the process, we also see Seven get frustrated and even overwhelmed by these discoveries, and in turn retreat from them.

How does this story explore any issues?  Well apparently, the episode was written by a writer named André Bormanis who claims this to be his favourite writing contribution (out of 7 Voyager episodes and 12 for Enterprise).  According to Bormanis, the episode was intended to be a metaphor for post-traumatic stress disorder, and I can see how that was worked in.  Seven’s liberation from the collective was originally likened by those behind her introduction to someone being freed from a cult, and as I understand it, being part of a cult can lead to traumatic situations.  It can be viewed that Seven’s emotional stimulation and the way her implants react to that would be equivalent to a PTSD sufferer experiencing flashbacks or other trauma symptoms from sensory stimuli associated with their original trauma.

However, as I’ve often noted before, Seven is one of the Voyager characters I often see as an Autism analogue, and there’s room here to see her reflect that as well.  A lot of Autistic people, myself included, have an interest or may at times express interest in the pursuit of romantic relationships.  This isn’t easy for us and we can get overwhelmed more than we might by more basic forms of social interaction.  We also see Seven play out how she wants to act in the holodeck, which is similar to how I often mentally envision and replay certain scenarios in my own head before they come around.  Of course, they then go totally different in real life because fantasy and real-life are seldom ever the same.

The episode also touches on the subject of work-life balance.  This is an issue all of us who have jobs struggle with, and as the Doctor rightly points out to Seven, it’s important to find a good balance.  Too much work lowers productivity by denying you rest, while too much leisure time has the same effect by wasting time you need to spend working.  As an autistic person who now works from home and is frequently surrounded by special interests, I can understand Seven’s temptation to spend more time than she should going to the holodeck.

The Doctor also brings in some less-than-ideal Autistic representation towards the end of the episode, when he presumes Seven will want to begin surgeries to remove the implants inhibiting her full emotional range.  I know from my own experience how much more preferable it can be to find a solution and implement it straight away so that the problem is eliminated.  However, not everyone thinks the same way, and sometimes the first solution isn’t something everyone is willing to go for.  It’s possible they have some issue with the methods involved, or they need time to process the problem, as Seven clearly does.  In circumstances like this one, it’s always better to give the other person time, so autistics like myself should probably take the Doctor’s behaviour in this closing scene as an example of how not to behave in similar situations.

For me, this episode doesn’t make too many mis-steps, and those which seem to be made are probably not errors or compensated for by the positives.  My only point of concern is that Seven’s holodeck program runs a little close to how Reg Barclay used the holodeck in his first TNG appearance, and then later in the Voyager episode ‘Pathfinder’, yet Seven’s privacy isn’t invaded like Barclay’s was, nor is she really subject to similar reprimands.  I’d be curious as to why that might be, considering that in the world of Trek, humanity is supposed to be beyond double standards based on sex.  Regardless of this, I find myself once again handing down a top score; 10 out of 10.

Episode 19: Q2

Plot (as given by me):

Captain Janeway is surprised when Q returns with his son, Q Junior, who has now reached an equivalent of adolescence by the standards of the Continuum.  Q claims his son has come to Voyager for a vacation from the Continuum, but after Q Junior makes a major nuisance of himself, culminating in a confrontation with the Borg, Q admits the truth to be somewhat different.  Apparently, Q Junior has been using his powers in irresponsible ways for fun.  The female Q who is his mother has disowned the young man out of shame, leaving Q alone to try and rectify the matter.  Q’s idea was that by leaving his son with Janeway and her crew, some of their morality might rub off on him.

Janeway suggests that Q needs to spend time with his son, but this gets no results.  When Q feeds back on what happened, Janeway points out that Q is indulging his son’s antics by cleaning up after him; unless he makes Junior face up to his bad choices, the bad behaviour will persist.  Finally seeing the sense of this, Q temporarily turns his son into an amoeba, then delivers an ultimatum; if Junior can show some sign of improvement within a week, he will be restored to the Continuum.  If not, then he will become an amoeba forever.  The conditions of that week are that Junior spend the time on Voyager as a human.

At first, Junior doesn’t take things seriously.  When assigned tasks similar to those Icheb is completing for Starfleet Academy, the young Q cheats instead of doing the actual work.  However, he begins to turn things around, but his earlier antics leave him on thin ice.  When Q returns to check on his progress, he is unimpressed, much to Junior’s sorrow and Janeway’s frustration.  Believing he will be sentenced to life as an amoeba no matter what he does, Junior steals the Delta Flyer to run away, dragging Icheb along on the pretence of fixing a mechanical fault.  When Icheb is injured during a run-in with an alien vessel, however, Junior is forced to return to Voyager in an attempt to save his friend’s life.

Junior pleads with his father to save Icheb, but Q refuses, so Junior and Janeway track down the alien vessel so Junior can apologise and plead for information on the weapon that injured Icheb.  It turns out the alien is really Q; he posed as the alien and injured Icheb to test his son’s sincerity to be a better Q, and believes he has passed.  The Continuum, however, disagrees, and sentences Junior to remain human.  Outraged, Q pursues his fellows into the Continuum, apparently abandoning his son.  As Junior opts to continue his training out of obligation to Janeway, Q returns and explains that he only left so abruptly to appeal the verdict.  It turns out Q convinced the Continuum to readmit his son, but on the condition that Q accompanies him for all eternity.  As a thank-you, Q provides Janeway with information that will reduce Voyager’s journey home by a few years.  When asked why he isn’t sending them all the way back to Earth, Q explains it would set a bad example for his son if he did all the work for them.

Review:

Until shows like Lower Decks and Picard revisited Q, this was John de Lancie’s last performance as Q in any Trek shows.  Apparently, the actor playing Q’s son is de Lancie’s real-life son Keegan, and it’s fun to see this father-and-son duo playing characters with the same relationship to each other.  The episode touches on some interesting aspects of parenthood, with some elements perhaps more cautionary tale than sound advice.  However, the episode doesn’t go deep on any of these issues, instead only touching on them where they serve and feed into the plot.  It’s also fun and interesting to see Q Junior and Icheb forming a kind of friendship banter similar to how I’ve noticed a lot of British male-male friendships play out, and I think it’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of this.  Perhaps in another reality in the Trek multiverse, it does play out more, but here it’s only a brief flash in the Voyager pan.  For me, this was a decent episode, but not by any means the best, and I grant it 8 out of 10.

Episode 20: Author, Author

Plot (as given by me):

Using the quantum singularity that’s enabled Starfleet to have monthly data-stream contact with Voyager, a comm-link is established between Earth and Voyager that will last for 11 minutes each day.  The crew draw lots to determine in what order they get to contact home, and the Doctor is first in line.  He’s been working on a holo-novel and speaks with his publisher, who presses him to complete revisions shortly.  When Tom Paris learns of this, he asks the Doctor about it and is invited to play the program for himself, as the Doctor knows Paris to be a fellow author of holodeck programs.  The holo-novel is entitled “Photons Be Free”, and is apparently based on the Doctor’s own experiences.

When Tom plays the holo-novel, he is surprised and concerns by what he sees; the characters and their ship are clearly based on Voyager, but the crew are portrayed in a very negative light.  The program also over-exaggerates elements like the Doctor’s mobile emitter.  When Captain Janeway plays the program to its conclusion, she summons the Doctor, who explains that he wrote the holo-novel to highlight the injustice facing the other EMH Mark 1 holograms in the Alpha Quadrant, which were reprogrammed for menial labour.  He also explains that the mobile emitter’s size and weight in the program is a representation of the stigma he sometimes feels is still attached to it, and refuses to compromise his creative expression to accommodate his friends.

When the Doctor goes to make his planned revisions to the holo-novel, he finds that Tom has altered the program to put the Doctor in Tom’s shoes, showing the Doctor as a lecherous slacker who drugs an analogue of Seven to take advantage of her.  When the Doctor confronts Tom, he is told that Tom is less concerned about how the crew will look to people back home.  His concern is that the Doctor sees him that way.  A further conversation with Neelix makes the Doctor see that he can revise his holo-novel to show greater sensitivity to his crew-mates without compromising the novel’s message.  To that end, the Doctor contacts his publisher and gains assurances that he will have time to make further revisions.

Unfortunately, the publisher reneges, and Lt Barclay is soon forced to inform Admiral Own Paris, Tom’s father, of the holo-novel because it’s already been released.  When the Admiral informs Janeway, the publisher is contacted and find out that under Federation law, holograms have no rights.  As a result, the comm link is taken over for several days by an arbitration.  Tuvok attempts to reason that the Doctor is entitled to control his work under the legal definition that an artist is “a person who creates an original artistic work”.  The arbiter points out that the definition of person doesn’t extend to holograms, so the crew rallies to demonstrate that the Doctor is indeed a person.

Ultimately, the arbiter is unwilling to go so far as to rule that holograms are people, but he can see the Doctor is no ordinary hologram and extends him the rights of an artist, enabling him to control his work, and a recall of the previous version is ordered.  The Doctor feels the victory is somewhat hollow, but his friends encourage him not to give up.  Four months later, EMH Mark 1’s in the Alpha Quadrant begin to play the finalised copy of the holo-novel during their diagnostic breaks.

Review:

Just as the Doctor’s episode ‘Real Life’ echoed TNG’s ‘The Offspring’, this episode becomes the Doctor’s version of ‘Measure of a Man’.  A lot of past Voyager episodes also come into the mix, either as references made by the other characters or by contributing plot elements to this episode.  Of course, this blending initially creates something seemingly original, because at first, it’s not really apparent what the episode will become.  The focus is initially on Voyager getting more direct contact with Earth, then it ends up primarily on the issue of the Doctor’s holo-novel.

Now as someone trying to become a writer and trying to focus many of my efforts on pro-Autistic narratives, I can appreciate where the Doctor is coming from.  He’s part of a group that’s not being treated in a fair and equitable manner, and those around him are a bit blind to this, most likely because none of them are in the same boat.  As such, he wants to showcase how people like him are treated, and when his friends object, he takes it the wrong way.  This is why any factual writing based on my life experiences doesn’t name names, and my fiction writing efforts don’t use a single person for each character.  Instead, I combine physical and personality traits from across a number of people for each character, creating composites to distance the story being told from my real life present or past.

Towards the end, however, the episode left-turns into full equal rights territory by saying the Doctor has no rights due to being a hologram.  Where TNG put Data’s legal status as an android front and centre fairly early on in ‘Measure of a Man’, this episode spent more time focusing on how the Doctor’s writing efforts were being taken by the others.  However, I think Tom is the only one who really gets a point across, because most of the others come off like they’re afraid to be seen in a negative light.  Given how some of them have ill-treated the Doctor in earlier episodes, even if only by accident, a little tarnishing of their reputations is the least they deserve.

Tom, however, notes that he’s more bothered by the idea that the Doctor sees him in the negative way the Tom-based character is written.  This is actually a good point because if someone ill-treats you but later makes amends and becomes a real friend, it’s hardly fair to show them in a negative light later on.  As such, I commend the Doctor for finally realising he needs to develop his story further.  A key reason I will probably take forever to get anything I write published is that I’ll be constantly reworking things to iron out as much of this kind of issue as I can.  Well, at least where my friends are concerned; for anyone that’s bullied me or not treated me right, they deserve whatever literary bombs I don’t defuse.

When the episode makes its shift into courtroom drama, I’m a bit disappointed the Doctor isn’t ruled a person by the arbiter in the same way Data was, but I understand why.  Aside from the real-world reason that the episode needed to remain different from ‘Measure of a Man’, there’s the in-world consideration that Data was a relatively unique being, whereas the Doctor is a unique member of a wider race of artificial life form, only some of which possess sentience and even less really capitalise on that gift.  It also makes me wonder how the Doctor considers how the TNG crew treated the Moriarty hologram, who I suspect was probably studied to develop the EMH program in the first place.

The episode also has some interesting character moments for others as the crew begin having proper, albeit short, conversations with their family and friends back home.  Now if the verdict on the Doctor’s legal status had been more positive, I’d give the whole thing top marks, but instead I’m only offering up 9 out of 10.

[keiraleth]

Books Read in 2022 (Part I/V)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are all the books I’ve read in 2022.

RATING: 5/5 = All-Time Favorite | 4/5 = Loved It | 3/5 = Liked It | 2/5 = It’s Complicated | 1/5 = Not For Me

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

Read in English | Rating: 3/5

“War is a primarily a game of skill. It is a Contest of mind matched against mind, tactics matched against tactics.”

Summary: After Thrawn is rescued from exile by Imperial soldiers, his deadly ingenuity and keen tactical abilities swiftly capture the attention of Emperor Palpatine. And just as quickly, Thrawn proves to be as indispensable to the Empire as he is ambitious; as devoted as its most loyal servant, Darth Vader; and a brilliant warrior never to be underestimated. On missions to rout smugglers, snare spies, and defeat pirates, he triumphs time and again—even as his renegade methods infuriate superiors while inspiring ever greater admiration from the Empire. As one promotion follows another in his rapid ascension to greater power, he schools his trusted aide, Ensign Eli Vanto, in the arts of combat and leadership, and the secrets of claiming victory. But even though Thrawn dominates the battlefield, he has much to learn in the arena of politics, where ruthless administrator Arihnda Pryce holds the power to be a potent ally or a brutal enemy.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Read in German | Rating: 4/5

“Nothing like watching your relatives fight, I always say.”

Summary: Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena - Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman

Read in German | Rating: 2/5

“You won’t understand anything about the imagination until you realise that it’s not about making things up, it’s about perception.”

Summary: Pulled along on his own journey too is Malcolm; once a boy with a boat and a mission to save a baby from the flood, now a man with a strong sense of duty and a desire to do what is right.

The second volume of Sir Philip Pullman's The Book of Dust sees Lyra, now twenty years old, and her daemon Pantalaimon, forced to navigate their relationship in a way they could never have imagined, and drawn into the complex and dangerous factions of a world that they had no idea existed.

Theirs is a world at once  familiar and extraordinary, and they must travel far beyond the edges of  Oxford, across Europe and into Asia, in search for what is lost - a  city haunted by daemons, a secret at the heart of a desert, and the  mystery of the elusive Dust.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill

Read in German | Rating: 4/5

“The one truth you need to know about the end of a machine is that the closer they are to death, the more they act like people.”  

Summary: It's been thirty years since the apocalypse and fifteen years since the murder of the last human being at the hands of robots. Humankind is extinct. Every man, woman, and child has been liquidated by a global uprising devised by the very machines humans designed and built to serve them. Most of the world is controlled by an OWI--One World Intelligence--the shared consciousness of millions of robots, uploaded into one huge mainframe brain. But not all robots are willing to cede their individuality--their personality--for the sake of a greater, stronger, higher power. These intrepid resisters are outcasts; solo machines wandering among various underground outposts who have formed into an unruly civilization of rogue AIs in the wasteland that was once our world.

One of these resisters is Brittle, a scavenger robot trying to keep a deteriorating mind and body functional in a world that has lost all meaning. Although unable to experience emotions like a human, Brittle is haunted by the terrible crimes the robot population perpetrated on humanity. As Brittle roams the Sea of Rust, a large swath of territory that was once the Midwest, the loner robot slowly comes to terms with horrifyingly raw and vivid memories--and nearly unbearable guilt.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Read in German | Rating: 4/5

“You would not call me a marrying man, Watson?"

"No, indeed!"

"You'll be interested to hear that I'm engaged."

"My dear fellow! I congrat-"

"To Milverton's housemaid."

"My dear Holmes!"

"I wanted information, Watson.”

Summary: Missing, presumed dead,  for three years, Sherlock   Holmes returns triumphantly to his dear  companion Dr Watson. And not   before time! London has never been in more  need of his extraordinary   services: a murderous individual with an air  gun stalks the city.

Among thirteen further brilliant tales of mystery, detection and deduction, Sherlock Holmes investigates the problem of the Norwood Builder, deciphers the message of the Dancing Men, and cracks the case of the Six Napoleons.

[sketchy-figure]

does a gay little salute that pisses you off

[filmjunky-99]

s t a r t r e k d e e p s p a c e n i n e created by rick berman, michael piller The Forsaken [s1ep17]

[cerritoburrito]

It's not letting me get a nicer photo right now but still... Omg I am so happy with my new Lower Decks shirt!! I chose this image cause I still want a Boimler plushie and lmao Mariner has one!!☺

💕

[fancoloredglasses]

Star Trek, part 6: Voyager (another Gilligan's Island in space)

[All images are owned by Paramount. Please don’t sue me]

With DS9 well under way and the first movie starring the TNG crew (more on that in a future review)…established, Rick Berman decided it was time to debut a new crew to the Star Trek continuity. Obviously, this couldn’t be the Enterprise (that name was tied up in the films, after all!) and doing another show on a station seemed redundant. So for the first time, a Star Trek series would feature a brand new starship designation!

(Thanks to webguy404)

Voyager made a few casting choices that put many fans up in arms (such as a female captain and a black Vulcan) I didn’t have any issues with either, wanting to see a compelling story about characters I grow to care about. One change behind the scenes would have lasting implications: Rick Berman brought in a new writer/producer named Brannon Braga, who tended to give no more than lip service to continuity. If there are continuity errors between this series and the one I will be reviewing in the future, odds are Braga’s hand’s in there somewhere.

But for now, let’s take a look at the star of the show.

(Thanks to Wikipedia)

USS Voyager (NCC-74565) is an Intrepid class starship that was unlike any version of the Enterprise in one respect:

It could actually land!

Voyager is on its maiden voyage and first mission, to track down and capture a Maquis ship hiding in a region of space near Bajor known as the Badlands. However…

(Thanks to April 5, 2063)

Upon their arrival in the Delta Quadrant, Voyager found the Maquis vessel (which was also ship-napped) Several members of both crews were dead (including Voyager's entire medical staff, its First Officer, and and its Chief Engineer) The commanders of both ships realized the two crews needed to work together if either were going to make it home, so the Commander of the Maquis vessel became Voyager’s new First Officer and began their trip home (though, this being a Starfleet vessel, they were going to learn as much as they could about the Delta Quadrant along the way)

Voyager’s Commanding Officer is Captain Katherine Janeway (played by Kate Mulgrew, who previously was known as Mrs. Columbo) Janeway is hard on her crew, because she knows there’s no one to call for help. However, she also is more empathic toward them, as all they have is each other.

The Maquis Commanding Officer is Chakotay (played by Robert Beltran), who was a Starfleet officer before joining the Maquis. Janeway gave him the provisional rank of Commander and made him First Officer. He has loyalty to his fellow Maquis survivors (placing a few in positions of authority on Voyager), but he is devoted to Voyager and its mission to bring everyone home.

The Second Officer and Tactical Officer/Head of Security is a Vulcan named Tuvok (played by Tim Russ), who was a Federation spy for Janeway aboard Chakotay’s ship when it was taken. Obviously, he and Chakotay butted heads when the crews first integrated, and he resented teaching discipline to some of the more unruly Maquis crewmen, but has learned to adapt and compromise in the face of the clash of cultures.

Lt. Tom Paris (played by Robert Duncan McNeill) is a screw-up who Janeway recruited (from a Starfleet prison) due to his knowledge of the Badlands. After the death of Voyager’s helmsman, Paris was given the position and straightened his life out. Paris is a fan of 20th century sci-fi pulp fiction, often using his time in the holodeck to create stories called holo-novels (and we all know how things tend to go when the holodeck gets involved)

B’elana Torres (played by Roxann Dawson) is a half-Klingon who served as Chakotay’s Engineer before the crews were integrated. As Voyager’s Chief Engineer was dead, Chakotay recommended her. Janeway gave her a provisional rank of Lieutenant and assigned her. She and Paris fall in love over the course of the series, get married, and have a child together.

Ensign Harry Kim (played by Garrett Wang) serves as Operations Officer, monitoring the multiple systems required to keep Voyager running (not easy, since he’s had to adapt several Delta Quadrant technologies into Voyager to keep the ship running) He is constantly questioning his ability to do the job he needs to do (even as he does it successfully) He becomes best friends with Paris, often helping him with his holo-novels.

Despite his competence at the position, Ensign Kim was never promoted during the series (the writers told Wang “Someone has to be the Ensign!”)

As I mentioned earlier, the entire medical staff was killed when Voyager was abducted. The problem is, someone needs to take care of the crew when space travel turns deadly. Fortunately, the writers Starfleet has a solution.

(Thanks to Carol Bee)

The Emergency Medical Hologram (or EMH; played by Robert Picardo) was designed to support the medical staff in case there is a major emergency or the Chief Medical Officer is incapacitated. It certainly wasn’t designed to be the Chief Medical Officer for over 70 years! Unfortunately, that is exactly what the EMH (or simply “Doctor”) is asked to do. As he was not programmed for “bedside manner,” he can be more than a bit gruff (fortunately, he was programmed to learn, as there are a TON of illnesses he couldn’t be programmed to treat as they haven’t been discovered. Therefore, his demeanor has softened over the years) He apparently has a few McCoy subroutines in his programming as “I’m a doctor…” has found its way back into the franchise.

Unfortunately, as he’s a hologram, he can only be of use where there are holo-emitters (i.e. sickbay and the holodecks) Eventually, thanks to time travel (more on that later), he acquires a device from the 29th century called a mobile holographic emitter that allows him to travel freely.

But the Maquis aren’t the only ones who are integrated into Voyager’s crew.

Neelix (played by Ethan Phiilips, previously known for his role on Benson) is a Talaxian salvager who Janeway recruits as a Native Guide through the Delta Quadrant, but assigns himself as Morale Officer (often trying to get Tuvok to show emotions, but only succeeding in annoying him) and ship’s cook. His knowledge of the races Voyager initially encounters proves invaluable.

Kes is an Ocompa and Neelix’s girlfriend. Ocompa only live for 9 years (so Neelix had better work fast!) As her time on Voyager progressed, she developed telepathic and telekinetic abilities that increased exponentially. Eventually, she would leave Voyager, using her abilities to push Voyager over 9,000 light years farther along in their journey (that’s some exponential jump!)

Of course, in the Delta Quadrant there are threats that the Federation have never encountered (and unfortunately two that are VERY familiar)

The Kazon are a warlike race (are there really any other types capable of space travel on this show?) that are highly factionalized. They would likely be a credible threat if not for the fact that the factions are at war with one another for supremacy. As such, they are really little more than the sci-fi equivalent of street gangs.

The Vidiians are a scavenger race (what they scavenge is organic material from living hosts!) They are affected by a disease known as the Phage that breaks down organic material. The Vidiians need a fresh supply of uninfected organic material to replace what breaks down. While not a threat to the ship, they have killed members of the crew so they could survive.

Before I mention the final new race, I’d like to bring back some old…favorites?

Q returns once again to annoy Voyager, but this time his appearances tell a story! He first returns when another Q wants to commit suicide. Then Voyager is thrust into the middle of a civil war among the Q Continuum, then the first Q birth in millennia happens…and Janeway is the godmother!

Next, prior to Kes’s telekinetic boost, Voyager’s journey came into contact with…

…the Borg!

The Borg seek Voyager’s help, in exchange for a path back to Earth, in dealing with the one race that is a legitimate threat to them.

A race the Borg designate as Species 8472, a race that lives slightly out of phase with the universe. The Borg modify Voyager assisted by one of their drones…

A drone designated "7 of 9, Tertiary adjunct of Unimatrix 01" (played by Jeri Ryan) After driving Species 8472 away, the Borg betray Voyager using 7 of 9, but Janeway is ready for a betrayal and manages to cut the drone from the Collective. Without the link to the Collective, 7 of 9’s body rejects most of her implants and her hair begins to grow out rather quickly.

Throughout the rest of the series, 7 of 9 (or simply “Seven”) has to re-learn what it means to be human and attempt to merge her lessons with what’s left of her Borg programming (similar to Data’s journey be learn what it means to be human) She uses what she remembers from her time with the Borg to do major upgrades to Voyager, potentially shaving years off of their journey.

Along the way, Voyager is able to make contact with Starfleet Command to let them know they’re still alive.

(Thanks again to April 5, 2063)

Aside from trying to get home, one recurring theme (and I can't help but think Braga had a major hand in this; I have no proof, just a general feel) is time travel. Voyager is constantly visited by the 29th Century version of the Federation (which is how the Doctor gets his mobile emitter) to the point that we learn that the Federation adapted the Prime Directive to deal with time travel (a Temporal Prime Directive: Do not interfere with history) Additionally, a number of Voyager's crew meet future versions of themselves attempting to correct mistakes they made in their past (time travel always makes my head hurt)

The series lasted for seven seasons (what is it with TNG-era Trek shows lasting seven seasons?), with the show ending in the best possible way.

(Again, April 5)

If you would like to watch the show, it’s available on Paramount+ or behind your favorite paywall. If you would like to see an episode reviewed, please let me know!

And now (because I couldn’t think of a better place to include it), I would like to present a non-canon meeting of the generations…

(Sorry I had to link it this way, I couldn’t find the full production in one video)

(Thanks to itzhakts and Mischa Lecter)

…and the sequel!

(Thanks to The Warp Core)

[geekysteven]

[Image description Scene from Star Trek Voyager with Tuvok and Kim being asked if they are friends with Tuvok saying "no" and Kim saying "yes" Tuvok is labeled "Star Trek fans" and Kim is labeled "Rick Berman"]