This Week's Episode: "Dragon's Teeth"
Summary: While escaping attack by an alien race known as the Turei, Voyager lands on a planet that has undergone a nuclear winter. During repairs, the crew detects lifesigns beneath the surface, and an away team is sent to investigate. They soon discover several lifepods that contact aliens in stasis. Seven of Nine, wanting to help this helpless species that has been in stasis for nearly nine hundred years, reactivates one of the pods. The alien who emerges, Gedrin of the Vaadwaur, seems harmless and peaceful. Voyager then proceeds to awaken the remainder of the Vaadwaur pods beneath the surface. However, Janeway has her suspicions that the Vaadwaur may not be who they seem to be.
Rating: 8
Best Scene: The opening sequence of the Vaadwaur city being destroyed was fantastic! As were many of the visual effects seen throughout.
Worst Scene: Janeway telling Paris to be a "good rat" and "find us the cheese"....cheesy! Oh, and does Chakotay always have to have a proverb for everything?! ;) First it was "Scorpion", and now it's "Dragon's Teeth".
Best acting award goes to: Jeff Allin as Gedrin
Best Line: "I suggest you pick your enemy..." -- Janeway attempting to convince the Turei Captain to fire upon the attacking Vaadwaur vessels.
Impressions: In case some of you may not have known, but "Dragon's Teeth" was originally written to be a two-parter, much like the "Killing Game" or "Dark Frontier". However, it was decided that the episode would be shortened to a one parter, as the writers and producers alike felt that there just wasn't enough material to flesh out a two hour episode. So, a one hour episode was shot instead. And you know what, it really shows that this was originally a two hour show. And that's why I'm only giving it an 8 out of 10.
Is it the budget-popping special effects that is a dead give-away that this episode was originally a two-hour episode? Yes and no. The real give-away is the pacing of the story. Firstly, the storyline is good and fascinating, but not original mind you (Voyager did encounter what was left of an alien race in "The Thaw"). I like the story since as many have already mentioned, "it gives a past to the Delta Quadrant". What made shows like TNG and DS9 more successful over Voyager in some peoples mind is that the setting for those shows, the Alpha Quadrant, has been established through the original Trek, and the movies. We know the aliens, we know the history, and in some ways, this makes it a bit more enjoyable to watch. However, in the case of Voyager, almost all the aliens encountered are new, and only appear in one episode. This makes it difficult to establish a history on these people, in one episode only. Perhaps that is one ingredient that Voyager lacks that turns some people away. I really don't know.
In "Dragon's Teeth", the writers try to jampack a two hour idea into one hour, and this really hurts the show in my opinion. They try to give us as much history surrounding the Vaadwaur as possible, until we as viewers realize they aren't goodie-two shoes. Then, the climatic finale, and that's it. The story and pacing is rushed. We really don't have time to catch our breath, as the story just zooms by. Again, this episode would have really worked as a two hour show...they would have had the opportunity to flesh out the whole Vaadwaur history, and I believe that this would have been intriguing (perhaps with the use of flashbacks, etc...). Even Brannon Braga, Voyager's executive producer, said prior to the episode's airing that he wished they did a two hour episode. When I heard this, I knew what to expect from "Dragon's Teeth": a rushed plot in an attempt to "squeeze" everything in.
Braga also mentioned that he hoped the Vaadwaur could return as villains. I wish they would. Again, with a two hour show, they would have been better established villains, with definate return-potential. However, by cutting the show down, I believe the producers shot themselves in the foot: I'm really not sure if they made the Vaadwaur interesting enough villains in "Dragon's Teeth" (I certainly think so, but others I've talked to say no) for them to have return-potential as new villains. Well, they will certainly be able to catch up to Voyager with their corridors, if the producers decided to bring them back. I personally hope they do, and establish a little more about them.
Overall, I did enjoy "Dragon's Teeth", regardless if the episode only scores an 8. I thought the direction was pretty standard, and the effects were incredible (Voyager should win an award for their amazing effects....they did win an Emmy last year for "Dark Frontier" if I'm not mistaken. They were nominated three times in the same category for "30 Days", "Timeless" and "Dark Frontier". I really think that Voyager is setting the standards for special effects on television series). The acting was good, especially from Jeff Allin as Gedrin. The Voyager cast was pretty standard, and I thought Neelix had some good scenes in this episode: particularly with Naomi, and when he concludes that the Vaadwaur aren't as peaceful as they seem.
It's just too bad that "Dragon's Teeth" ended up as an hour show. I really believe that it had the potential as a two hour show to be one of the finer Voyager episodes. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.
