A search for photonic (holographic) life forms on board the Delta Flyer means that the Doctor has to be hidden in Seven’s neural pathways. Will he give his presence away as he, Seven and Kim try to escape?

Well, the trailer for this episode looked good as it was way past time Voyager did a comedy episode. Tragically, they’re not willing to go the whole hog, which is a shame. What is enjoyable (no surprises here) is Jeri Ryan’s superb performance as a Doctor-infested Seven, using his mannerisms and delivery to superb effect. The only aspects that aren’t addressed are a) how does Seven manage to fit an entire holographic program into her (admittedly different) brain and b) how does Seven not discover the Doctor’s feelings for her? While awfully reminiscent of Red Dwarf’s Bodyswap in places, there’s plenty of good laughs here as the Doctor is overcome by some of the new sensations he gets to have.

The let-down is the rest of the story. The plot is thin at best, with everyone on the ship that has captured Seven and the others falling for her/him at some point. Meanwhile, Tuvok’s long-awaited pon farr is downplayed to the point where it’s insignificant, with the solution being exactly the same as that used for Vorik four seasons back. It’s good that they haven’t forgotten it, but there would surely have been a better way of dealing with it than this. And Paris’ attitude towards Tuvok’s problem isn’t particularly sympathetic, preferring as he does to make fun of something the poor man can’t control. As a counterpoint to the more silly things happening to Seven, it doesn’t really work, and the whole episode leaves you feeling as if you’ve been cheated of a story a lot better.

***

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