Synopsis:
Harry discovers a wormhole but the crews hopes of a return to the Alpha Quadrant are dashed when they find Telek Remor is from the past.
Whilst eagerly awaiting the arrival of Season 6 premiere on video I resorted to watching some season 1 episodes and what a treat that was. Once you got passed Paris’ ridiculous hairstyle and Torres’ stiff/rigid makeup I became quite nostalgic for this crew that we don’t see very often. It was great to see the Captain with that bun of steel and the hands on hips stance. Now Janeway may have become much more relaxed in the way she acts on the bridge and I think it says a great deal for Kate’s skills that she still manages to portray a commanding air, but sadly she has become much harder. Where are the gentle touches on Paris’ shoulder the motherly smile she gives Harry?
Anyway I’m digressing slightly, so back to the episode I actually like wimpy Harry in this you could feel his eagerness to discover a way home and it was good that Janeway didn’t try to curb his enthusiasm as Tuvok requested. I loved Janeway in this Kate has a very expressional face and Rick Kolbe certainly took advantage of this in the way he directed the episode. (I hadn’t realised until this point that I had missed Kolbes style of direction and it’s such a shame he only does a few episodes now).
Most notable scenes were in her quarters when she had finished talking to the Romulan and she gazed out of the window. In her ready room after Torres had told her there was a possibility they could transport the crew back to the Alpha Quadrant when she picked up the picture of Mark and the final scene just after the Romulan had transported back to his ship and Tuvok broke the bad news to her.
One of my favourite scenes was on the bridge when Janeway was trying to persuade the Romulan Captain to send messages from the crew to Starfleet. Kate played this with such feeling and it always amazes me that they can portray this feeling when they’re acting to a blank screen!
The story moved along smoothly and it was a real shock when we found that the Romulan was from 50 years in the past and you could see the distress on both Harry’s and Janeway’s face when Tuvok informed them that Telek Ramor had actually died 4 years before Voyager was lost in the Badlands.
There were many good things to this episode but to me the best was the fact that there was NO BORG BABE!!!
