This Week's Episode: "Collective"
Mission Image Archive for 'Collective'
Summary: During a routine shuttle mission, the Delta Flyer is captured by the relentless Borg. However, the shuttle crew soon learns that this isn't just any cube: it is a cube controlled by five neo-natal Borg Drones. Upon further investigation, it appears that the entire population of the cube was killed by some kind of pathogenic virus. It is up to Seven of Nine to negotiate with the head drone to ensure the safe return of the Voyager hostages.
Rating: 7
Best Scene: The Cold little Borg Drone commenting on Paris learning his lesson.
Worst Scene: The head Borg drone was absolutely terrible. He didn't seem too bad at first, but he got worse. Thank goodness that bolt of energy killed him! ;)
Best acting award goes to: Although she didn't have much to say, the little girl drone stood out the most in this episode.
Best Line: "He's learned his lesson" and "Your weapon won't work here...dampening field" -- The little girl drone
Impressions:
So far to date, most Voyager fans have grumbled the most about last week's Tsunkatse and this week's Collective. People were prepared to hate them with a passion, much like other episodes which have aired in February ("Rise", "Favourite Son", "The Disease", "Darkling"). February must be a scary month for Star Trek producers, as in the third season, it became infamous for producing the "Trilogy of Terror" (aka "Rise" "Favourite Son" and "Darkling"). But you know what, I think the curse is over. Both Tsunkatse and Collective turned out not bad, but they weren't earth shattering either.
Lately, I haven't been a huge fan of the Borg. People say that they've been oversaturated by Voyager (hey, they are Voyager's Klingons!), but that isn't necessarily it. It's just that I feel we've seen this episode before ("I, Borg" anyone?). But the big thing is that they seem to have become a merely a plot device for Voyager: "Hey look, here comes sweeps. Let's whip out the Borg prostethics and the cubes". Don't believe me? "Dark Frontier", "Collective", "Drone", "Unity"...they are all Borg episodes which aired at the all too critical sweeps period in the television world. So, I guess I take back my original statement. We have been oversaturated by the Borg on Voyager.
Placing that aside, Collective is a pretty enjoyable episode. Pretty. The effects are alright (I kept hearing about these 'Incredible" special effects that were in this episode, but maybe I missed them. I thought they were pretty standard). The musical score was a little different. The acting was OK. OK, but acting was a little bad. Not from the Voyager ensemble, but the children. Children and Star Trek never seem to be able to find a happy medium. Wesley Crusher has gained a cult following: of people who want to kill him. Naomi Wildman is quickly becoming Voyager's "Mini-Wes". Jake Sisko defied that mold. But then again, Cirroc Lofton is a pretty good actor. The Borg children in this episode were OK. The little girl was undeniable the best, but she wasn't given much to do. She was appropriately cold, and "superior". Hey, maybe when she grows up, she can be the Borg Queen in Star Trek XXII. The head drone (not the eldest) was undeniably the worst. Yikes. His acting was so forced and transparent, I'm convinced that the casting department was smoking something when they decided to cast him. The eldest drone wasn't too bad, and the twins had nothing to do but stand in the background and look "Borg-ish".
The writing was pretty good, but overall, the episode was fairly predictable (just like last week). This primarily is a result of the fact that this episode is light fare. No big developments and no earth-shattering revelations. It's "Fluff" compared to episodes with deeper meaning like "Blink of an Eye" and "Memorial". The direction was pretty standard, with no new ground covered.
"Collective" is the kind of episode that you can rewatch later down the road. You can turn your brain off, and just enjoy it for what it is: fluff. It reminds me of the recent release, 'Deep Blue Sea'. It's corny, with alright effects, little story, mediocre acting, but for some reason, you just enjoy it for what it truly is: entertainment. The episode has it's moments: the comraderie of the poker game, the little girl drone following Harry's trail of cards, and then admiting how she thought the Queen card reminded her of Seven of Nine. The baby drone was so obviously mechanical, made of rubber and latex, it was nauseating. But hey, nobody is perfect. And I'm sure what toddler is going to be willing to have tubes and prostethetics glued all over your body. Yes, people say it was done in "Q, Who", but come on people. Go back and rewatch it, and tell me how bad it looked then too.
It should be interesting how "Mommy Borg", aka Seven of Nine, deals with her four new children (five if you count the toddler we are bound never to see again). The children are set to return, let's just hope they've taken a few more acting classes to prepare.
One last thing: Boy oh boy, does the costume department ever get good wear out of their old costumes. The "human" dress that the little girl is wearing at the end is the same as the one the girl wore in TNG's "Imaginary Friend". That was like eight years ago. You aren't going to tell me that dress is STILL in style, are you darling? ;)
So, for a pretty entertaining hour of television, I have to give "Collective" what I gave "Tsunkatse": a seven out of ten. So, the episode wasn't entirely original, but you can't tell me that you didn't take a little guilty pleasure from it...
Until next week, when Worf and Alexander get trapped in the Holodeck. Oh, sorry, this is Voyager. Harry and Tom get trapped in the Holodeck.
