142 – Muse

Grade: B+

Summary

This episode begins in a place similar to Ancient Greece. A playwright has written a story about two “Eternals”: B’Elanna Torres and Harry Kim. They have set sail in their Delta Flyer and have crashed onto the shores of this ancient country. The play is a hit, but now the patron wants more stories about B’Elanna Torres.

Commentary

When I watched this episode, I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy it. It is among the most unique episodes we’ve seen in Star Trek – if that is even possible. It was interesting to see what might happen if someone from Voyager actually had contact with a civilization from the Bronze Age.

There are no explosions, no space battles, no time portals, and or any other major sci-fi events in this episode. What it does have is a very interesting storyline based in classical Greek history and culture. I thought it was fascinating – to steal a phrase.

The irony did not escape me, that this particular episode deals with the trials and tribulations of writing a new episode every single week. At one point, one of the wise characters says, “find the truth of your story and you won’t need all those tricks.” Interesting. One of my complaints about Voyager all along is that there are too many episodes that rely upon such “tricks.” I wonder if this was a veiled criticism of the series in general.

After I watched the episode, I found out this was one of the last times Joe Menosky wrote an episode of the show. It’s an excellent farewell. Since it was his last episode, I wonder if that explains some of the characters’ comments.

About the only trick that was used here was the destruction of the Delta Flyer. When the episode ends, we don’t have any idea how Voyager got the ship back, or even if it did. Maybe they used a tractor beam. Maybe they just left it on the planet and hoped we wouldn’t ask such questions.

It’s certainly not for everyone, but I thought the change of pace was welcome. It was great to see Voyager do something different for a change.

Of Note

Tuvok stays awake for at least 10 days straight, trying to help find the missing crewmen. Eventually, it catches up to him and he ends up falling asleep (and snoring) on the bridge.

You may recognize the actress who plays the poet’s love interest. She also appeared in several episodes of Enterprise as Crewman Cutler.