Star Trek 517: Coda

517. Coda

FORMULA: Persistence of Vision + Cause and Effect + The Tholian Web + Frame of Mind

WHY WE LIKE IT: Janeway dies repeatedly.

WHY WE DON'T: Doesn't know it's a parody.

REVIEW: Coda perhaps screws with the audience one too many times as twist is piled upon twist upon twist upon twist, but it's in a sense a parody of the kind of plots Voyager's already known for. But unlike the tongue in cheek Relativity to come later, Coda takes itself seriously and therein lies its weakness. For the first 20 minutes though, it's very much Jeri Taylor channeling Brannon Braga, right down to the thesaurus title.

We see Janeway die many deaths, but each time a classic twists seems to save her. Is it a time loop? A temporal anomaly? A parallel universe/timeline? Or is it all in her head? Is she visited by her father's spirit? A figment of her own imagination? Or some kind of psychic vampire? Let me spoil the ending by revealing it's the latter who, as part of Voyager's atheistic agenda, is used to intimate that all near-death experiences are the result of alien visitations, and the after-life possibly nothing more than a subspace matrix. Star Trek is never so weak as when it tries to give scientific rationale for the great Mysteries (remember when Kirk met God?).

So we ARE in Janeway's head, even if manipulated by the alien. We shouldn't be surprised then to see all those alternate reality twists and turns. This is very much her world, day in and day out, isn't it? Temporal anomalies are at least as important an element as the Vidiians who also make an appearance. Being in her head, we should take particular attention of her funeral because it's what she thinks others think of her. Watch out, ego coming through! It's one big love-in. Let the violins play on.

The episode does give us some insight into Janeway's background - her father's death, her upbringing, etc. - mostly cribbed from Taylor's novel Mosaic (and thus possibly the most canonical Star Trek book every written). An adult Janeway doing ballet for her crew is a little hard to imagine however. But then, there are a number of eyebrow raisers in the script. The ship's two leaders traveling together in a shuttle, for example (the reason they shouldn't is presented in the episode). And is it a good idea for the alien to generate the first 20 minutes of the episode when all they do is cast doubt on Janeway's death? Perhaps it's all part of Janeway fighting it.

LESSON: Go with the flow. Unless it flows towards death.

REWATCHABILITY - Medium: The premise is on the insensitive side, and there is either one too many twists or one too few, but the episode has a good focus on Janeway. It might raise a smile in an ironic, postmodern kind of way.

A Taste of the Silver Age

Ambush Bug returns in eleven weeks, and already he's got me thinking about cool merchandise. After all, the Bug is the man who brought us such Silver Age goodies as the Surprise Pop!If there's a sucker born every minute, where's mine? Hopefully the Final Crisis will fix it so that there's enough kryptonite in the DC Universe so it can be mass produced as a candy!

6 flavors too!
-Green: It's a killer taste!
-Red: You never know what it'll actually taste like!
-Blue: Me am hate Surprise Pops!
-White: Stick 'em in the lawn and it kills weeds!
-Jewel: The Phantom Zone favorite!
-Gold: You'll gladly give your powers for a taste!

Surprise Pops: Let yourself be ambushed!

Star Trek 516: Alter Ego

516. Alter Ego

FORMULA: 11001001 + Hollow Pursuits + Heroes and Demons + Past Imperfect

WHY WE LIKE IT: The luau of death!

WHY WE DON'T: That soapy feeling.

REVIEW: Harry Kim's latest loser predicament - he's fallen in love with a hologram (not the Doctor) and now wants Tuvok to rid him of these pesky emotions. At least it turns out the light fixture of his affections, Marayna, is more intriguing than your usual hologram, so as Tuvok investigates, Harry gets jealous. Then Marayna goes all Fatal Attraction on Tuvok and it's revealed she's an alien hiding in a nebula who's just lonely. If I make it sound like a bad soap opera, it's because it is. In fact, the whole episode strains under the schmaltzy melodrama.

Thankfully for the episode, it's saved by many details included in the script. Tuvok's dissection of human emotion, for example, gives us some insight into Vulcan logic and emotional suppression. We also see kal-toh for the first time. For all of Tuvok's snobbery, isn't it just the Vulcans' answer to pick-up sticks? And speaking of Vulcans, Vorik is starting to make his play on B'Elanna in this episode, and I must admit to liking his particular brand of emotionlessness. Everything seems matter of fact to him.

Meanwhile, an attraction seems to be brewing between B'Elanna and Tom Paris, at least from his side of their conversations. They've got a good banter going, and Tom seems bothered as hell by Vorik's advances. Another couple on show is Janeway and Chakotay, who are by all accounts on a date. Between this and Chakotay's pangs of jealousy in The Q and the Grey, it's got me thinking that the events of Resolutions weren't really swept under the carpet. I would have liked to see this continue as a kind of covert relationship that even the audience doesn't get much insight into. Visually acknowledged, if never mentioned.

The episode also has one wickedly funny luau fight, with pretty Polynesian girls in grass skirts trying to choke the crew with leis. Might be worth the price of admission alone. One last note: This episode once again makes reference to something that happened on the Enterprise, this time the events of Ship in a Bottle, and I've got to say I find these more annoying than anything. I'm not suggesting they ignore continuity, but it really calls attention to itself when they only ever namecheck events we've seen on one of the other shows, as if there weren't hundreds of ships part of Starfleet history. At least the reference turned out to be a red herring this time.

LESSON: Be careful who you give attention to.

REWATCHABILITY - Medium: The emotional throughline is insupportable, but there are still quite a few likable elements.

I Am Iron Man

Went to see Iron Man last night. The trailer had me a-titter in a way that, say, the new Indiana Jones' didn't. I thought the casting inspired. Jon Favreau hasn't done me wrong yet. And Rotten Tomatoes had the movie at a whoppingly fresh 94%. Thus, Iron Man was singled out as one of the few films I was going to see in theaters this year.

I wasn't disappointed. Top notch effects, great actions scenes, good acting, a very funny robot pit crew, and it felt distinct from other superhero movies (a must). But what I most liked was that it sounded like a Jon Favreau film. The dialogue, with people constantly speaking over one another, felt very natural and reminded me of Swingers and Made. Comic book movies so often sound "written", with one-liners taking up the bulk of the dialogue, and exposition the rest. Not so here. Between that and the "current affairs" environment, Iron Man had a realistic vibe running through it.

And for the geek (and here come the spoilers, by the way), there's a nice number of references to the comics too. I was impressed at how well they were integrated into the script so as to not usually call attention to themselves or make non-geek audiences scratch their heads, and yet feel like the makers paid homage to the entirety if Iron Man comics through the decades.

Attempting a full list (from memory, feel free to add to it):
-Iron Man's origins in the middle of a war zone (Afghanistan taking the place of Vietnam).
-Tony's problems with alcohol.
-Tony being a billionaire jackass (a mix of the current incarnation and Ultimate Iron Man).
-The original iron suit.
-The gold iron suit.
-The original 60s supporting cast: Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan.
-From the 80s supporting cast: Rhodey.
-Rhodey gives a silver suit a longing look.
-A Mongolian terrorist with a large ring recalls the Mandarin, and his terrorist organization is called the Ten Rings. In the comics, the Mandarin indeed had 10 aliens rings, each with its own power.
-Obadiah Stane and the Iron Monger suit (that name dropped in conversation).
-SHIELD makes an appearance, and it's true that it's a big part of current Iron Man stories.
-The motivation to destroy weapons he's created is reminiscent of Armor Wars.
-The obligatory cameo by Iron Man co-creator Stan Lee.
-Dr. Yinsen suffers a nationality change, but is once again part of Iron Man continuity.
-At the awards show, the orchestra plays the 60s Iron Man cartoon theme.
-The bodyguard cover story is given lip service, but discarded.
-And the big one, Tony's home A.I. is called Jarvis, after the Avengers' butler (and Stark employee).

And in the small bit after the credits...
-Ultimate Nick Fury shows up as played by Samuel Jackson, the man the comic book character was modeled on.
-Not only are the Avengers mentioned, but the word "Initiative" as well.

That's what I remember... anything else you'd call a reference to Iron Man continuity?

Star Trek 515: Fair Trade

515. Fair Trade

FORMULA: The Chute + Business as Usual + Prime Factors

WHY WE LIKE IT: The alien make-ups.

WHY WE DON'T: Another lecture from Janeway.

REVIEW: As Neelix gets to the edge of his area knowledge, he allows his life to spiral out of control, desperate to stay useful to Voyager. So it's appropriate that a drug deal gone bad should be part of this kind of story. Eager beaver Neelix doesn't interest me much, but there might have been something in the shady past alluded to by fellow Talaxian Wixiban. Not explored enough, I'm afraid, and Neelix comes off as ethically a child. At least, that's how it comes off in the last scene where Janeway treats him as such. Of course, we've seen that scene before, haven't we? Janeway's had it with Tuvok and Chakotay already. The disappointed mother who chides severely, has a speech about trust, the sneaks in a smile at the end.

And it's not the only familiar thing in the episode. Crew members falsely accused of a crime? Tom Paris is about to start his own drinking game, I'm sure. The featured station is kind of like a Delta Quadrant Deep Space 9, with lots of alien make-ups we might have seen through the last three seasons (and new ones as well). Is the pusher a member of the same race as the psionic villain in Persistence of Vision? They really look alike, but the modus operandi is totally different.

Speaking of which, the episode introduces the Vulcan engineer Vorik, played by the same actor as Taurik, a quite similar character in TNG's Lower Decks. He'll be a recurring character through the end of the series, but I have to wonder why they didn't make him Taurik. I mean, really, are they that different aside from the haircut? The other introduction is the Nekrit Expanse, a region that will be in the background for a few episodes.

LESSON: When old friends come back, so do old debts.

REWATCHABILITY - Medium-Low: A fair story that suffers from over-familiarity and somewhat ham-fisted character development.

Hey, What Stinks?

A Made Me Quit Week epilogue...

You know, when I reviewed Alpha Flight last week and it contained a lovely scene where Wolverine gets his clues from sniffing a gas station toilet?Well, guess who else has that particular power?

Presenting, from Amazing Spider-Man #553: Freak!
Ass-tracking... Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Star Trek 514: Macrocosm

514. Macrocosm

FORMULA: Genesis + Starship Mine + (The Immunity Syndrome x.000000001) + Aliens

WHY WE LIKE IT: That itchy sensation.

WHY WE DON'T: More running through corridors than your average episode of Doctor Who.

REVIEW: The teaser for Macrocosm features the Tak Tak, a people who have very specific body language, and as such seem to me much more realistic than the "humans with stuff on their face" that are usually encountered in Star Trek. Communication between us and aliens SHOULD be difficult. Anyway, Janeway very much fails this first contact, and might even have been killed if not for Neelix's diplomatic skills. If she's not a diplomat, maybe she's a fighter.

The rest of the episode has Janeway do a lot of running around corridors and conduits in a sweaty sleeveless shirt holding a rifle in front of her. You'd think this was the scene from First Contact Patrick Stewart worked out for. Taking a page from Aliens, she's very much cast in the Ripley role, fighting CGI monsters that have taken over Voyager (without killing anyone, mind you, not even baby Naomi). The camera work is good at keeping things edgy, with lots of shaking and insect POVs, but the atmosphere only takes you so far. They can't hide the fact that it's just a lot of running around looking scared, and not a lot of plot.

The monsters, well hidden from the audience for the first 20 minutes, are giant viruses with a peculiar life cycle. You may or may not believe they're possible, but you have to admit that whole deal with flies coming out of hosts is really effective. Man, I itch all over just thinking about it. My usual reaction to Voyager's body horror fetish is to wince and call foul, but here, it works. Of course, the larger variety is less credible. Where do they get their mass? How can they fly like they were swimming in blood plasma? How can there spit eat through a floor, but not through Neelix? And I'm sorry, but the knife fight looks really, really stupid.

LESSON: One man's middle finger is another man's obscene gesture.

REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Ably directed as a sci-fi thriller/horror film, but the plot is really thin and relies too much on the CGI creatures.