Projections

Voyager Revisited: Projections
Jules -- 7 Mar 2002, 14:26 EST

"Chief Medical Officer's log, stardate 48892.1. It appears that Voyager has suffered a disaster. What kind I don't know, but one thing is clear. The crew was forced to abandon ship. It would therefore seem that my usefulness has come to an end. I am terminating my program..." -- the EMH

One of my favourite Doctor/Paris moments...
Jules -- 7 Mar 2002, 14:32 EST

was this quote:

DOCTOR: Did I program Mr Paris to be so annoying?
BARCLAY: Actually, I programmed him. I modelled him after my cousin Frank.
DOCTOR: Computer. Delete Paris.

Of course, the joke wore rather thin during seasons four and five... and it really became desperately inappropriate when Paris was put in a position of having to work for the Doctor, rather than the two of them being equals in different fields who just rubbed each other up the wrong way. But back at this point in the series the trading of insults between the two most sarcastic members of the crew was in its infancy, and still had something of a novelty value.

Ive never cared much for this ep, so...
david g -- 7 Mar 2002, 18:00 EST

im really do for a rewatch. other than that great moment when Doc realizes all the rest of the crew are the holograms, accidentally deleting Janeway, this ep has always seemed to me too fussily twisty and tedious...but maybe i missed something?

in any event, i will give it another look soon.

Projections--It's an okay ep.
G'Inny -- 7 Mar 2002, 18:44 EST

I had a new HVAC unit installed today, and as I was waiting on the workmen to finish, I watched Projections. I'm embarassed to say that, while I was watching this ep, I kept thinking, "I vaguely recall this ep, but I can't remember how it ends." And then, toward the end, I kept thinking, "Oh, this is how it ends. No, wait. There's a little bit more." **pause** "Ah, so *that's* how it ends. No, wait. There's a little bit more." **pause** "Is that it? Oh, okay." A little anti-climactic, when you get right down to it.

All in all, it was nice to go back and visit the early days of VOY. This is the first time I've participated in the Voyager: Revisited discussion, so I'm probably going to say things that everyone has already said a dozen times over. Here are my initial second impressions of Projections:

(1) Even now, I still miss Kes.

(2) Reg has never been and is still not a particular favorite of mine.

(3) The story has a clever premise, but the audience would never have been able to suspend the necessary disbelief to really make it work. I mean, we all know the Holodoc is the Holodoc and that TPTB are not, this early in the series, going to branch off and do an episode about someone we don't know or care about, Lewis Zimmerman.

(4) Of all the people to reach out to the Holodoc, Chakotay seems an odd choice. Kathryn or Kes would have made so much more sense.

(5) "Delete Paris" is pretty funny, but it's sad that the two characters never quite get beyond this first season method of interaction. This was really brought home to me this week, because the episode about the Holodoc's novel was just on, and the interaction that he and Tom have in that episode is so good. Too bad it was three or four years too long in coming and shows again how completely wasted Robbie McNeill was in the Paris incarnation of Seasons 4-7. I'm not one to champion Robbie's incredible acting range, because I don't think he has an incredible acting range, but he was certainly capable of much more intelligence and pathos as Tom than he was given an opportunity to demonstrate.

An OK episode.
D -- 7 Mar 2002, 19:21 EST

[I accidentally taped over "Projections" and "Elogium", so I'm going on memory (saw parts of both in syndication over Christmas) & Jim's review.]

The first "messing with the characters' minds" episode. At least it didn't become another reset button, which, since Doc is a computer program, it could easily have been. And by this point in the series we knew enough about Doc to see where the differences were and understand why he reacted as he did.

A bit jarring to see the version of Barkley here after seeing him as an honorary member of the crew from "Pathfinder" on. Interesting in that a large part of his future interactions with Voyager would be with Doc - "Lifelines" & Doc being the one to realize something was wrong with the Barkley hologram. And given Barkley's history its appropriate that it's a holodeck episode.

Good lines (as I remember them; may not be the actual wording): On appearing on the bridge - "Its larger than I expected." "Computer, delete Paris"

Re: Ive never cared much for this ep, so...
Sherry -- 7 Mar 2002, 19:29 EST

I have to say the same thing. It's been a long time since I've seen it, though--it's just not an episode I was eager to see again--so there's not much I can say about it. Jim sees to feel the same way: that it's too twisty. Besides, didn't we really know that in the end, Doc would find out that he was a hologram and the crew were real? Too predictable.

At least Paris is restored in S7. NIM
david g -- 7 Mar 2002, 19:31 EST

Not a favorite of mine, although it's OK.
Nina -- 7 Mar 2002, 21:02 EST

I just didn't find it all that interesting. The plot twisted and turned all over the place, and managed to do it without making me feel a great deal of suspense (now that I think about it, that's quite a trick!). It wasn't bad; it just failed to grab and hold me.

But you know what's the one thing about it that annoyed me? Surprisingly enough, I really disliked seeing Kes as Doc/Zimmerman's wife. I already had enough sense of a daughter/father relationship between the two characters so that even though it was in a "dream sequence" (sort of), that part was an "eeeuuuwww" moment for me.

Nevertheless Picardo had a grand old time, and even when O.D.'d on "Doc episodes" in later seasons I've always enjoyed watching him have fun with his character. He's, well, infectious.

But give me "Heroes and Demons" over this one, anytime, for an early days Doc-fest.