This Week's Episode: "Ashes to Ashes"
Mission Image Archive for 'Ashes to Ashes'
Summary: A former member of the crew, Lyndsay Ballard, returns to Voyager in a new form. Ballard had died in an Hirogen attack several years ago, and her body had been recovered by a race known as the Kobali. The Kobali reproduce by reanimating the dead. When Lyndsay returns to Voyager, she wishes to return to her duties, but she soon learns that this may not be as easy as it seems.
Rating: 8
Best Scene: Most of the B-plot scenes with the Borg children were appealing.
Worst Scene: Captain Janeway, who is obviously no cook, burns a roast when replicating it (!). How the heck did she ever become a Captain...that's like not being able to program your VCR, or use your microwave!
Best acting award goes to: I can't recall the actresses name, but Lyndsay Ballard deserves this award by far!
Best Line: "Hair is my specialty...despite evidence to the contrary" -- The Doc, gloating over his ability to give Lyndsay back her hair.
Impressions:
The bottom line of "Ashes to Ashes": a predictable, slow paced, rehashed plot. And I liked it.
When it comes right down to it, you knew exactly how this show was going to unfold, even prior to the opening credits. You knew she would return to Voyager, only to leave again. Why? The producers and writers have no spine to try something new and different, and keep this crewmember on board. I have to say, even if they did keep her on, she could have had many interesting future storylines. I felt her character was fantastic, and not just a cardboard cutout. She had dimension, feelings, and was superbly acted. I'm not sure who played Lyndsay, but she impressed me. Too bad she couldn't have stayed, taken over for Harry, and then let Harry return to the Kobali. Even though we've only seen her once, she by far already has more depth and character than Harry does, and she is far more interesting and likeable. Oh well. I guess you can't have everything.
I found that the story was so enjoyable due to some pretty powerful and well written scenes that unfolded around Lyndsay. Her dream sequence, her recollection of being 'reanimated', and my favourite, her confrontation with Captain Janeway. That scene was fantastic. In a way, she confronts the person who signed her death certificate so to speak, as Janeway sent her on the mission. Lyndsay, who obviously has thought about this moment for several years, accuses Janeway of sending someone more distant on the mission, just in case something did happen.
So why is "Ashes..." a rehashed plot? Well, I think we've all seen the same "displaced person" episode before in Star Trek. Some people are even comparing this episode to TNG's "Suddenly Human". But what makes this episode more enjoyable is not only the acting talents of the actress who plays Lyndsay, but also the depth her character is given. As mentioned before, even though her character is only briefly seen, we get a nice background and history of the character: we learn that she went to the Academy with Harry, that they live across from one another on Voyager, and that she likes to skate. It is almost a waste to lose her, as there could have been many possible future episodes with her.
"Ashes to Ashes" doesn't come without faults however, and there does appear to be many. Firstly, the most obvious, is how did Lyndsay catch up with Voyager...In the past three years, Voyager has used transwarp conduits, slipstream, etc... to get themselves well over thirty years closer to home...and Lynsday manages to travel that in six months. Ya right. Once again the producers are paying the price for giving Voyager so many jumps closer to home. Do they care anything about continuity? I guess not. They just like to think that the viewers are tools and nimrods, and don't realize the obvious continuity error. Second, yet another continuity error, is that Harry announces that he changed classes at the Academy so he could be with Lyndsay...HELLO! Harry, you were supposed to be with your girlfriend, Libby, at the time. But I suppose the writers forgot about that one too. Sure sure, just sweep everything under the rug for simplicity sake. Third, is that several members of the crew have had "near death" experiences, and I'm suprised that the writers wouldn't have used this to their advantage. People such as Harry (who died in "Emanations") and Neelix (who died in "Mortal Coil") could have related their experiences with Lyndsay, perhaps to help her transition back into the Voyager crew. Just another lost opportunity by the writers and producers. I'm now convinced that they certainly never think too hard when writing an episode...there is so many fantastic approaches and opportunities that they could take, but never do. Sigh.
On a side note, I really enjoyed the B-Plot of Seven and her kiddies. For once, the B-Plot and main plot sort of blended together seamlessly, which was nice. I really thought the little girl drone was fantastic (she's better than Naomi, who I always thought was a good little actress), and the eldest drone was quite good as well. I'm glad they kept him and not the other Borg drone that died in "Collective". And the twins, well, they did nothing again on this episode. The opening scene with the little girl, as well as the closing scene, were very good. I guess the only girl Harry can pick up on Voyager is a ten year old former Borg Drone. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Just kidding :) But it was nice to see a friendship somewhat develop between the two. It'll be interesting to see how many more episodes the Borg children stay on board. I think they are a nice addition, and provice a little more opportunity for Seven of Nine's character...then again, it could be a bad thing, since we really don't need anymore episodes that focus on Seven of Nine. ;)
Overall, I found "Ashes to Ashes" to be an enjoyable hour of television. And come on, it was lightyears better than last week's "Spirit Folk". So, I'll give it an 8.
Next week, the Borg children arc comes to a close with a deadly secret being revealed about Icheb.
