Bride Of Chaotica!

Carol -- 27 Jan 1999, 7:51 PM

"Stay tuned next week for: The Return Of Chaotica!"

Well, only if Tom hadn't deleted the program of course. :-)

Anyway, this had to be one the silliest episodes I've ever seen. However since it wasn't supposed to be about anything deep, but just a silly, corny, campy lighthearted romp, then I'd say it succeeded. Lots of Laugh out Loud moments for me. (Starting form the title card in fact. Did you catch the exclamation point in the title? :-)

Cheers

I know Kate Mulgrew had fun playing a vamp (anyway, she said she did in a interview), and she was really good at it. I like how Janeway had her own ideas (looking at Seven) as to the person who should play the Spider Queen. And when Tom was briefing her, her look of disbelief at some of the "rules." :-)

And Kate's a size four? Well, that's disgusting! :-) What's that make Seven, a size 0? :-)

Also, Kate's apparently more addicted to Coffee then we've realized. She looked almost crazed before she had her first sip, and then the blissful peace that settled over her after that first sip -- classic reaction of a addict.

Tuvok's "shame we don't have one" comment about Chaotica's Death Ray. I don't know why, but that line had me laughing harder than any other moment in this episode. Look behind Tim Russ' head -- Jeri Ryan breaks out of character during that line and appears to be laughing herself.

I loved some of the in-reference and self-reference lines -- about the hyperbolas of "Cliffhangers," the proper use of old technobabble, supposedly different locations looking like past sets (a common nit-pick people make regarding Trek's sets incidentally). Tom hitting the Robot to make it work properly, then hitting it again to make it shut-up, (Don't you all wish that B'Elanna would do that to some engineering system that breaks down just once?) etc. All fun. :-)

Great lines galore also:

"This is how you've been spending you free time?" -- Janeway to Paris

"You can always uncork the pheromones..." "I beg your pardon!?" -- Paris and Janeway

"Listen to me now because I'm only going to say this once: Coffee. Black." -- Janeway, proving that her mind really sometimes can't function without a Java fix. And I think she's taken more sips in this episode than she has all season so far. (I counted four)

"Now that we have your blessing." -- B'Elanna's sly comment to Seven, which had me laughing and applauding. After last year, that line was quite welcome, at least to me. :-)

"I see you've kept my pheromones." -- Janeway as Aracnia (OK, I've got a sick mind. So sue me :-).

Anyway lots of funny moments. Chaotica's fortress reminded me of the one in the short that Joel and the 'Bots had to watch on occasion on MST3K called "The Undersea Kingdom." And God, that ending was corny, just like all those old serials. The only thing missing was Chaotica kicking a nearby bucket. :-) And also with the "The End ... ?" (Or IS it?) Now I'll always wonder -- Not. :-) Though I liked Janeway, Harry, Tom and the Doc's all rolling their eyes at it. :-)

Jeers

I know I was wishing for a lot, but a little continuity from last week would have been appreciated. I didn't expect the Doc to still be hold up in the holodeck contemplating what happened or mention it. but I was hoping he wouldn't be in sickbay. But I guess he didn't necessarily have to be working, since he doesn't exactly have quarters to go to.

Not really a jeer, but hey, I thought they did this because the bridge set burnt down (or at least got very waterlogged). I wasn't expecting to see any bridge or briefing room scenes for that matter, but there were some anyway.

Anyway, that its for now. Funny episode -- while not as brilliantly funny as I think Worst Case Scenario was, it was a fun little distraction. A welcomed changes after all the heavy episodes of late.

AnnM. -- 27 Jan 1999, 9:24 PM

Just finished watching Voyager. It was a nice diversion. Several moments of LOL. Heard my husband roll his eyes. :) What cheesy music. Really brought back memories of Flash Gordon.

I enjoyed Neelix's concern over the lack there of amenities. Had to laugh as he mentioned how many lavatories were still in service and the lines. I guess some things never change.

Still chuckling.

Mrs. Mac -- 28 Jan 1999, 6:30 AM

"My performance was impeachable" was my favorite line. My husband and I laughed out loud. Leave it to Hollywood to make an inside political statement of affairs (cough).

Roxanne -- 28 Jan 1999, 10:52 AM

Mine, also, Mrs. Mac. Unimpeachable. I loved it. The whole story was light and campy and well done for the type of show it was. I wouldn't want to make it a habit, but it's great once in a while.

Terry -- 27 Jan 1999, 9:34 PM

We never did learn about the hygienic problems of Bolian. Maybe it is something better left unknown.

D'Alaire -- 27 Jan 1999, 10:33 PM

Let me say this first--I'm on meds. It must have been the flu, because I got only giggles out of BoC. I was dazed throughout.

I admit, I'm not a big fan of camp/cheapy flick fun (aside from MST3K--which, yes, I'd thought of, too), but I know I'm too zoned right now to appreciate the mischief that went on. I did like the writing, though--very quippy thought out. There were some great zingers.

Some things that Terry and Carol site that I'll repeat--
B'Elanna's "blessing" line to Seven was perfectly, perfectly classic. That I did LOL about--for the same reason as Carol did.
The robot--WHACK!--I was expecting Tom to take it down on his knees and rip that tube back out. : )
Neelix and Janeway and the coffee cup--of course I liked that.
Janeway--the look on her face in the briefing room to Arachnia...What_a_dump. (snicker) She was great--that part of the show, I think was my favorite.
Tuvok--oh, he was gooood. Again, a great spoil for Tom.

I think I was more bothered that thay'd let the cat out of the bag so soon. There weren't any good spoilers on this one that I read, so I know I didn't go into this knowing much more than the premise. But I'd have liked to have seen less of Voyager -- - if any, such as Janeway suddenly just appearing as Arachnia, then us slowly getting let in on the mania. It worked as it was, but I'd have liked a little more mystery, perhaps.

Or maybe I should have another shot of Robitussin and try it again tomorrow, when I'm alive. ; )

No, it definitely wasn't the classic, quick-paced, WCS-- but da, da, da, it was a much needed non serious ep, which I'm grateful for and did, in all, enjoy (if not get too excited by). It was lighthearted and decidedly different. That I can appreciate, particularly this season.

Jules -- 28 Jan 1999, 8:04 AM

I've never really bought into the bridge set substitution theory .I mean, if you think about it, it's nonsense. Any episode is going to have been in pre production for weeks, while the set, costume, makeup and model designers do their stuff, not to mention the director. And prior to that it will have been pitched and written. So, it's hardly likely that they're going to have been able to whip up a quick bridge-free episode from nowhere. Especially as the title of this one was known well in advance of the bridge fire actually taking place. I know that it was supposed to have been filmed at round about the right time, but that's all.

I'm willing to bet that the rumour that this was written as a bridge-free episode was just the result of some internet rumour scribe extrapolating from the fact that [a] the bridge/ready room/briefing room sets were in an unusable state, and [b] this was a holodeck centered episode, and putting two and two together to make 47. :-)

What is much more likely, for this episode and others at the appropriate point in time just after the fire, is that there might have been a certain amount of rewriting to minimize the number of bridge scenes required and - unless absolutely unavoidable - engineer them to only require the regular actors to be present. If you don't have any guest actors to pull back in for a reshoot, it's much easier to mount a special bridge shoot session after you've rebuilt your set, and just add in the missing scenes to episodes where necessary. I'd think that's much more likely to be how they worked it.

Hitting electronic gadgets of all descriptions to make them work, is of course an old Doctor Who cliché. The Doctor used to do it to the TARDIS all the time. :-) I confess that I never expected to have the chance to see it in something like the modern incarnations of Star Trek though; they generally take their technobabble much too seriously...

Leonie -- 28 Jan 1999, 10:55 AM

Right if Kate's a size 4, then I'm........ a size 6!!!

Seriously Carol, I had the impression that she was just joking. You know, along the lines of you're not supposed to ask a woman's size and her weight and all women quote themselves as one to two sizes smaller than they actually are. Kate's got to be an 8 or a 10.

Leonie
Size 8
Honest!!
(And if you believe that I'd like to sell you shares in Janeway's caffeine free coffee business.)

PS: That coffee scene had me rolling. One week my mother decided to call me twice, early in the morning before I'd had my first cup, and ask me about some rather mundane matters. I ended up having to apologize to her that week.....twice!!!

Mrs. Mac -- 28 Jan 1999, 11:06 AM

I believe Kate IS a size 4. I think I read that somewhere else - or it could be a joke in Costuming. Surely she ballooned up to a size 6 last season. I think everyone was pregnant along with Dawson. However, I caught Regis and Kathie Lee last Thursday and they were discussing "small" people. Kathie Lee said something to the effect that Kate Mulgrew had the smallest hips and butt she ever saw.

Vickie T. -- 28 Jan 1999, 11:16 AM

Well, they say the camera adds pounds...and inches. I saw Dolly Parton on the Tonight Show once and Johnny asked her about meeting her fans and she said the most common thing people say to her is "Gee, you look so much smaller in person." Then they launched into a discussion of how the camera makes you seem larger and how many TV and movie performers are much smaller people than they appear to be on the screen.

I came face-to-face with Kirk Douglas one time and was amazed at what a small man he was compared to what I visualized from seeing him on TV.

So, KM may really be a size 4.

SuzyQ -- 28 Jan 1999, 11:42 AM

Sorry to disappoint, Leonie, but Kate is a 4....I've seen one of her Janeway jumpsuits, either at a Planet Hollywood or ST: The Experience in Las Vegas. She's always shot so that she doesn't appear as small next to taller members of the crew (i.e. from waist up, walking up to or down from the higher parts of the bridge, leaning against a sitting Tom, etc.)

Carol -- 28 Jan 1999, 11:54 AM

Actually, Kate was a size 4, but then she quit smoking and ballooned up to a size 5 or 6. No joke. :-)

She was compiling about the weight she had gained from quitting on Tom Snider and Rosie and that's why she hired her personal trainer. Before she had quit though, she really was a size four.

The heals on her boots also help add height to her character since Kate's only about 5'4". (She once said she tried to film a scene without them and she looked like a midget standing next to the six-foot two RDM).

Carol -- Size 8, but 5'9" so everyone thinks I'm too skinny and a size 6. (And no, I'm not kidding).

Diane -- 28 Jan 1999, 8:13 AM

What a hoot of an episode! Here are my thoughts from the "Land of Impeachable Performances."

I love satire, and this was satire at its best. Great lines, of course there's Doc's Impeachment line, but how about Harry's questions about PAL (previews always lie) in the show's trailer? And, how about the fact that Janeway play's Arachnia. What a play on Scorpion! She certainly stung Chaotica.

The Story, Sets, and music were great, Kudos to the director Allen Kroeker for capturing the feel of 1930 Buck Rogers. Then there were the performances: McNeill needs to do more comedy, Mulgrew was fantastic. She looked great in that slinky outfit. Need to get these two to The Shakespeare Theatre (the one where I volunteer) to do Shrew, Much Ado, or Mid-Summer's Night Dream. I agree with Ginny, these two have great chemistry together. They really know how to play off each other.

Then, Of course there was the Robot who almost stole the show.

Finally, TPTB need to do more comedy shows like this one. Although I love dark, several great comedies, like this one, make for a more rounded season. A steady diet of Dark is not that good for Voyager, or any show.

And, I hope this is not the last of the Captain Proton set!

Did I mention I loved the show, I laughed so much, that when the Doc talked about his impeachable performance, the tears started rolling. I haven't had a reaction like this in a very long time.

Terry -- 27 Jan 1999, 9:24 PM

Bride of Chaotica! was everything I hoped it would be.

Campy, funny, and very tongue-in-cheek. This episode is a very, very welcome change to deadly seriousness of all the fifth season eps preceding it. Fuller and Taylor make a great writing team.

Janeway has probably never had the chance to show her comedic ability on Voyager as here. She was just terrific. Whether she was totally in character as Arachnia or when the campiness was making her wince.

I loved it when she thinks Tom wants Seven to play Arachnia. She was all ready to tease Seven about it. Instead, Seven seemed to be actually enjoying seeing her embarrassment. But I just loved Janeway's dragon-lady act. With that body-hugging dress with slits and the neck train?, she reminded me of Princess Ardala in Buck Rogers.

And four sips of coffee for Janeway. And one for Neelix.

The Doctor was pretty good as the President. (But they couldn't resist an impeachment joke, however.) I got to see many of the most fun character combinations: Tom and Harry, Tom and Tuvok, Tom and the Doctor, and Tom and Janeway. (BTW, what did they do to B'Elanna's hair?)

And of course, Taurik Elgin just stole the show as Satan's Robot. I find it very funny that when we see the actor (as in the mess hall here), he doesn't speak. And when we hear him (as the robot), we don't see him. I bet that he got paid less for one silent role and one speaking-only role than for one simple role with lines.

Well, it sounds like we may never see Captain Proton again. Well, if true, he went out in style. This holoprogram was worth it for managing to provide the only light moments and only light episode of the season.

The holoprogram itself looked really great. Ray-guns, death-rays, rings of restraint, pheromone perfume, robots, imperial thugs, imagers, Fortress of Doom, lightning shields, ticker-tape telegraph sensors, aliens in dark suits and fedoras, and all of the costumes were fabulous. They really recreated the look and feel of the old sci-fi serials.

I'm only sorry we missing the marriage of Chaotica and Arachnia.

Did you catch some of the sly comments with double meaning? Chaotica: "You're cursed with incompetent subordinates, too?" Arachnia/Janeway: "Something like that." (Roughly.)

Another funny scene was this. Paris: "To Captain Proton from President of Earth STOP ... STOP Chaotica at war with aliens from 5th dimension STOP Must strike now to disable death-ray" Tuvok: "Stop."

Great, great fun. Can't wait to watch it again.

Jason -- 28 Jan 1999, 1:35 PM

B'Elanna's hair. I love B'Elanna's hair all the time, but it was certainly behaving a bit erratically in this episode.

In the first scene she was in, I noticed that it was cut short-- I liked it, it kinda reminded me of the way it was in season one and two. It was a nice change. And then in the scene with the Doc, wowza! It was all back again!

Klingons must have some pretty whacky follicles. Either that or a TPTB to veto any hairdo change on the spot.

Eric -- 27 Jan 1999, 9:41 PM

HoloDoc for President! LOL! He really DID give a unimpeachable performance didn't he?

Quick question : I thought this episode was filmed due to the bridge fire? But we DID get to see the bridge! Was this the new bridge, or the old one?

Anyway, BoC was the best Star Trek comedy since Trials and Tribblelations on DS9. Anyone who didn't like this one should check their sense of humor at the door.

Amazing performances by everyone! Even Chaotica was great! Kate did a jaw-dropping Queen of Spiders(?!?) Jason and Mike must be in heaven right now :-)

The good :

The whole dang hour. I mean it. Even the credits were good.

The Bad :

There were no bad parts.

Jason -- 27 Jan 1999, 10:32 PM

That neurotic robot is now my favorite Voyager character.

What a great show! Not one false note. I was even greatly impressed with McNeill, whom I seldom praise.

I think the writers have finally found his niche. He's great doing either light comedy or being a sleazy producer. That "Remember, you're tha Queen!" line was both funny and frightening at once.

Kate had a lot to do this episode, but I laughed out loud when she said "I'm a size four." Very unexpected line handled very well.

I loved Neelix gulping the coffee. I could have done without the lavatory humor, that's been constricted to DS9 where it should stay!

If this show is not nominated for an Emmy in production and costume design, I'll be shocked. The best effort Trek has put out in years.

Great show and very funny.

Terry -- 27 Jan 1999, 11:06 PM

He was great, wasn't he, Jason.

Satan's Robot stole the show!

BTW, I'm still wondering what the button that the Doctor President almost pushed does.

Vickie T. -- 28 Jan 1999, 8:45 AM

Me too, Jason. At one point I found myself saying "Chakotay, I do love to look at you, but this robot is taking your place as my favorite guy on Voyager." I loved seeing the ever-silent Ayala turned into an absolute babbler inside the robot suit.

Eric -- 28 Jan 1999, 11:08 AM

LOL! Yes, I agree Jason (now about that potty humor :-)

What's wrong with a little bathroom humor on Star Trek? I think it belongs since Trek is getting a little darker over the years!

And that's a dark subject indeed :-D

Ted Mullaney -- 28 Jan 1999, 12:46 AM

Ha! Ha! Ha! Pretty entertaining episode,the look on Tuvoks face when Tom was explaining the program was priceless.Can we all safely assume that life forms from the fifth dimension are basically idiots? I generally like when they inject some humor into episodes, its been done well more than a few times on DS9, maybe they should keep throwing in the one-liners between the crew more often on Voyager, it did the trick this week.Kind of a light and fluffy episode but enjoyable nonetheless. By the way, does anyone think that Janeway should maybe seek treatment for her addiction when they make it back to the Federation? JAVA JUNKIE!

Ginny -- 28 Jan 1999, 7:15 AM

Here comes the BRIDE...

I am going to part company with the majority of posters so far, and say this. About 25 minutes into this ep, I'm thinking, "Dang, this is slow. I mean, Harry and Tom are really cute in their Captain Proton togs, and Garrett looks like he's having a ball, but dang! This is *so* slow." Then, after we take a commercial break at the half hour, Tom bashes Satan's robot to shut him up, and the episode takes off.

My initial dissatisfaction probably stems from the fact that WORST CASE SCENARIO is my second all-time favorite episode of Voyager, and I wanted this one to be as good. It simply wasn't, 100% of the time. However, it was, 50% of the time.

Let us begin.

GRIPES

--Primarily, just the excruciatingly slow pace at the beginning. The effects were terrific, and RDM and Wang adopted a convincingly stiff acting posture to simulate the B actors on those old Saturday morning serials. But I kept comparing it to WCS in my mind, and it came up short.

GRATIFYING BITS

--The absolute best thing about this episode, once it started clicking, was the same wry, tongue-in-cheek insider commentary that WCS had. There were so many in-jokes about Season Four that I'm convinced the writers have been surfing the net. For example:
Tom: "You can always uncork the pheromones."
Tom: "And remember. You're the queen." (My absolute favorite line of this episode.)
Kathryn, sitting in the Big Chair: "Somehow, I feel comfortable here."
Kathryn and Chaotica: "I often have to do things myself." "Because of the incompetence of your inferiors, no doubt." "Something like that."

Then there was the whole conversation between Tom and Kathryn in the briefing room, which was just too funny for words, and later in the turbolift, which commented on a variety of issues:
--what Tom has been doing, instead of getting good character development
--the importance of properly used technobabble
--the implication that, as much attention as Seven has received, it is still Kathryn who is the axis around which Voyager revolves

Also, there were references to re-used sets and cheesy effects--the stuff of Trek legend.

And finally, to the delight of obsessed Trekkies everywhere--a conversation about toilets.

--The J/P'er in me was going positively orbital about the scenes between Tom and Kathryn. They look good together, they play off one another so well (every "Yes, ma'am" had me howling), they have more chemistry than DuPont. Why were they given so little time together in Season Four? Why, tell me, WHY? [because chemistry is a relative thing?]

--Kate Mulgrew, I just love her! Her facial expressions all through the second half of this episode were hysterical. And her Queen Arachnia was a tour de force. I am now prepared to say that she has the potential to be the funniest captain since Kirk, whose wonderful performance in THE TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES is the standard against which all others are measured.

--Have I mentioned that RDM is the most adorable man in prime time? I have now.
--Thanks to Terry for reminding me that the actor playing Ayala was also playing Satan's Robot. That was an in-joke par excellence.

--Every time Constance Goodheart screamed, I laughed. And I could have gotten the count wrong, but Constance (who could be thought of as Seven Lite) screamed four times.

--Almost all my favorite pairings were included: Tom and Harry, Tom and Kathryn, Tom and Tuvok. The only one missing was Tuvok and Seven.

--Did anyone else catch Tom's reference to getting out and pushing? He said essentially the same thing in the second or third episode of the first season. Speaking of Tom, Kathryn kept him on a pretty tight leash this episode. It was almost like Seasons 1-3 again.

--Other great lines:
"Especially the Bolians."
"Stop. Please summarize the message."
"I'm a size 4."
"Captain Proton?" "Defender of the Universe, scourge of intergalactic evil, and a competent medic, to boot. But don't say I said that."
"My performance was unimpeachable."
"Ha! You're no match for Arachnia."
"The other panel!"

--Loved that Flash Gordon (the movie) ending.

--And now, the 47's. I didn't see any straightforward 47's, except for the 74 on Voyager's hull, but there were a ton of oblique ones:

Four sets of seven blue lights at the bottom of the screen in astrometrics. Later, there are eight (2x4) sets of seven blue lights.

53 of the photonic aliens had been killed. 53=100-47

There were four-shaped designs on the bulkhead in the briefing room, and seven-shaped designs on the lighted wall in Chaotica's throne room.

The medallion set in the floor of Chaotica's throne room was divided into four sections, and there were seven stars in each of two of those sections.

There were three lightning bolts in each of the other two sections of the medallion and lightning bolts on Chaotica's robe which had a very stylized look that merged four and seven shapes.

There were three obvious references to the number 4:
Four functioning lavatories
Kathryn is a size four
Kathryn called for deck four on the turbolift 3+4=7
(O.K., that one's a stretch, but the category does say 47's that only *I* would see.)
[Not to mention 4 sips of coffee] You could stretch this to the number 3 as well. 3 days to subscape, 3 meals a day, chapter 3, etc.]

Terry -- 28 Jan 1999, 7:42 AM

"Get out and push." -- Parallax? (NIM)

Jules -- 28 Jan 1999, 7:49 AM

That's the episode. It was during the first ever meeting in the briefing room, the one that Neelix and Kes gate crashed.
Paris said:

"Engine efficiency's down another fourteen per cent. If we don't get more power to the warp drive we're all going to have to get out and push."

I've always thought that it wasn't entirely coincidence that Janeway decided to get her own back on Mr Smartmouth later in the meeting by "volunteering" him for sickbay duty. :-)

Mrs. Mac -- 28 Jan 1999, 7:59 AM

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears, and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area we call, Star Trek: Voyager.

Hip-hip-hurrah! Congratulations, the writers have finally used their collective imagination to come up with a winner.

It is a dimension of sight...

Yes, I was most impressed with the costuming. Harry and Tom looked very handsome, especially Harry with his trim waistline. The doctor looked more Professor James Moriartyish than President but dapper nevertheless. Lastly, Captain Vampway stole the show with her finest Gloria Swanson imitations with a little Dorothy Gish thrown in. Even the overdone eyelashes were a hoot. Kudos!

It is a dimension of sound...

There were so many innuendoes mixed in (both visually and spoken) that I need to watch the episode again just to catch them. There were certainly enough phallic symbols for Ginny to spot which makes me disappointed that we didn't include this as a category in the shuttle pool. I particularly noticed Janeway's hot little hand on the death ray.

It is a dimension of pleasure...

Ours to watch and I'm sure theirs to participate in.

Mike -- 28 Jan 1999, 12:59 PM

Janeway was kind of into that deathray, Mrs. Mac...

Mrs. Mac said:
"There were certainly enough phallic symbols for Ginny to spot which makes me disappointed that we didn't include this as a category in the shuttle pool. I particularly noticed Janeway's hot little hand on the death ray."

I noticed the way Janeway was eyeing that deathray too, Mrs. Mac, and didn't she touch it and say something like "Oh my" or was that just my imagination playing tricks on my memory again. Now I'll have to rewatch that scene just to check it out. And talk about phallic symbols, what about Captain Proton's space ship, if it wasn't for the fact it looked like Buster Crabbe's ship in the Flash Gordon movies I'd have been suspicious about that shape...

Mike (I'm glad someone else noticed that deathray scene)

Tracy -- 28 Jan 1999, 10:23 AM

Tracy to TPTB: "More, please...?"

I absolutely LOVED Bride of Chaotica!

What a fun, campy romp through Science Fiction's own history, using some of the best stereotypes of the early days of broadcast sci-fi. The screaming damsel in distress, the dashing and oh-so debonair hero, and the terribly weasely villain were all there, in one of Voyager's most memorable eps yet. Yes, like Ginny, this one wasn't quite Worst Case Scenario, but it had a charm all its own. And delivered some of the funniest lines in Trek history.

They must have had one heck of blast filming this one.

Two thumbs up in my book.

NEXT WEEK: Tuvy gets some long-needed lovin' from Lori Petty. Or maybe not. And Eric wants some lovin' from Lori Petty. But he ain't gonna get it. No, he never gonna get it. (insert En Vogue arm swish here).

Leonie -- 28 Jan 1999, 10:44 AM

Way too much fun.

I'm so happy that I think I'm going to cry!!

No ethical debates, no arguments, no sticky situations, cool aliens and best of all, a one paragraph review. After the week I'm having, Voyager "lite" was just what the doctor ordered. It was wonderful. All of it, Kudos all round. Even to Beltran and his face expressions, you could tell that the cast enjoyed this one. Mulgrew is one H*ll of an actress, she was superb in this one. Kudos especially to Fuller. The attention to detail on this script was a welcome change after last weeks glaring holes. All I have to say is that it's about time, and can we see that at least one more for this season.

Vickie T. -- 28 Jan 1999, 11:09 AM

I'll get my gripe out of the way right up front. Like Ginny, I thought the pace was waaay too slow at the beginning. I found myself looking at my watch a couple of times. But, I agree that once it got going, it was great fun.

There were lots of things to love about the show, most of which have already been mentioned. I loved "unimpeachable" and "Now that we have your blessing." I really loved Satan's Robot. I loved the Janeway/Neelix/cup of coffee scene, too. And add me to the list of those who were thrilled to see some screen time given to some of my favorite relationships: Tom/Tuvok, Tom/Janeway, and Tom/Harry. Geesh, do I sound like I'm turning into a Tomaholic? Well, he did look mighty fine in his Captain Proton suit.

Here's something no one has mentioned yet. I've got to go back and watch the scene again for a closer look, but in the briefing room scene, didn't you think Chakotay was standing really close to Seven of Nine? And didn't I see him toss more than a couple of smiles her way? Could it be that Chakotay is flirting with Seven of Nine??!!? I suppose it's possible that RB could be flirting with JLR!?! She is practically single again, you know. (To quote an old friend, "Have I heard that rumor? Why, I started that rumor!")

Mrs. Mac -- 28 Jan 1999, 11:39 AM

Vickie said: ... didn't you think Chakotay was standing really close to Seven of Nine? And didn't I see him toss more than a couple of smiles her way? Could it be that Chakotay is flirting with Seven of Nine??!!? I suppose it's possible that RB could be flirting with JLR!?!

Nah, Vickie. Jeri was probably whispering Beltran's lines to him. (drumbeat)

Mike -- 28 Jan 1999, 11:45 AM

'Bride of Chaotica' was engaging(snicker)...get it "bride" and "engaging"...hey come on gang, give me a break, it's not easy trying to come up with a catchy topic for my episode comments :^)

I'll try and keep this short and sweet. As usual I have not read any other comments, so I'll probably be repeating stuff already said.

I enjoyed this episode cause it was lots of fun and a nice refreshing change of pace. If you think about the premise too much you're bound to find holes in the plot big enough to drive Captain Proton's space ship through.

Likes:

I'm a big fan of old sci-fi and horror films from the thirties and forties so this was lots of fun for me to watch. I especially liked seeing Katie get a chance to really chew up the scenery. I loved her performance as the queen and wasn't that a little strange when she sat on the throne and said something like "somehow this feels right", I guess cause she's used to sitting in the big chair at the helm where she IS the Queen of Voyager.

Harry Kim's character has improved amazingly this season, so much so that I enjoy seeing him on screen now.

They did a wonderful job recreating the look and feel of those old Buster Crabbe 'Flash Gordon' serials from the 30s. And the doc looked pretty cool dressed as the president. That was a sneaking little jab that Picardo made at the current state of things in Washington, did you catch that little "impeachment" joke that he made about himself as president? That was an in joke that people won't catch in reruns twenty years down the road.

Kate looked fetching (now there's a word that dates me) in that evil spider queen get up and I loved the way she played it to the hilt, she almost went over the top a few times. I bet Kate Mulgrew had a good time in this episode.

I'm going to miss the Captain Proton holoprogram, but I guess it is time to put it to rest. I'm starting to have serious doubts about Tom's state of mental health if he continues playing this role. When you think about it, it's kind of ridiculous, here he is Tom Paris a supposedly "real" space adventurer playing a phony space adventurer for relaxation (I don't buy that research excuse for a second). It's kind of like a guy who works on fixing modern cars all day using a hologram to be a guy that works on fixing old cars all day, what kind of escape is that. At least Doctor Bashir, on DS9, plays a secret agent in his holoprograms for a change of pace. Still I will miss Satan's robot :^) I thought that Tom and Harry were kind of mean to the big lug.

Dislikes:

This post is getting longer than I wanted so I'll just post the number one problem I had with the episode, the one I couldn't overlook as easily as the others.

It looked like the crew was having a good time with the whole Captain Proton thing, but they sure didn't show much concern for the aliens from that other dimension. Those poor aliens were the only ones that were REALLY DYING, one of them even got vaporized right in front of us. Meanwhile old poker face Chakotay seemed to be laughing about the whole thing. I wanted to smack him in the head and say "what's so funny Chuckles? There are innocent aliens dying here, it's not a joke or something to smile about".

All in all, 'The Bride of Chaotica' was loads of fun as long as you don't take it too seriously, it was a 'Trouble with Tribbles' type episode only meant for a nice humorous change of pace.

Vickie T. -- 28 Jan 1999, 1:18 PM

I agree about "Chuckles," Mike.

Mike wrote:

Meanwhile old poker face Chakotay seemed to be laughing about the whole thing. I wanted to smack him in the head and say "what's so funny Chuckles? There are innocent aliens dying here, it's not a joke or something to smile about."

Yes, I had exactly the same thought in that scene: "What are you laughing at?" You bring up a good point, Mike. With all the camping and vamping, no one seemed to be at all concerned that a whole bunch of aliens were being killed.

Ruth -- 28 Jan 1999, 6:26 PM

The whole scene was played for laughs and Chakotay wasn't the only smirking -- he may have been most obvious, but Janeway was also having a grand old time, and even Seven of Nine was smiling and throwing out lines like "consider it the Federation's first contact with Planet X." The only two not laughing were Tuvok (who I assume was amused in his own Vulcan way) and Tom, who was earnestly describing Chaotica and his Evil Army and Death Ray.

It was a funny scene, if you could, as they did, forget that the photonic people were involved. It probably should have been written differently; that the Fifth Dimension weren't in danger of death (maybe of losing their record contract? Sorry, I restrained myself from making Billy Davis, Jr. and Marilyn McCoo jokes as long as I could). Anyhow, maybe say that they really were constantly regenerating holocharacters, like you get in the holodeck? And unless the program ended a certain way -- with the defeat of Chaotica -- it would be replayed and replayed and replayed and Voyager couldn't leave that part of space?

I'm going to admit -- I still haven't watched all of "Latent Image." I was watching something else when it was on last week, and the comments I read about it didn't particularly make me want to go watch it. But I got the impression that one of its themes was the "rights" of holographic beings. Interesting that the crew wouldn't even think about that a week later, especially the Doc. But this was a comedy, and the introspection didn't belong here, but I think the story could have been written a little differently to take out that distasteful aspect.

Wasn't there a TNG episode where things kept repeating until the crew got it right?

Joyce -- 28 Jan 1999, 1:57 PM

Oh, good, I'm not alone. I posted my comments before reading the entire thread. I'm glad someone else thought it was weird that they were so cavalier about the aliens dying. Seemed Un-Trek to me.

Joyce -- 28 Jan 1999, 1:47 PM

I had a problem with this episode. And I don't see anyone else mentioning it, so maybe I'm just an old poop.

But it *bothered* me how little concern was expressed for the fact that their stupid game was *killing* people! If they'd scripted it so that the death ray was doing some sort of reversable damage to the photonic beings' realm, that would be fixed when the Voyager crew solved their problem, I could have gotten into the fun of the story more. But as it was, I kept being jarred out of the fun-of-it-all by the occasional, utterly casual mention of casualties mounting up.

Some shows do tend to treat the deaths of other types of beings lightly, but Trek has always shown an exaggerated care for all sorts of lifeforms, from the microscopic beings of Home Soil, the human-created exocomps, the nebular lifeform damaged in Janeway's quest for coffee, etc, etc. It was as if, because these beings were photonic, they weren't Real, and we didn't have to care about what happened to them -- even the Doctor didn't seem particularly concerned, and he's a photonic being himself!

The same crew that risked their ship to fix that Nebular creature, that were so careful not to wound the non-sentient space creatures in Cold Fire, and they're more concerned about the fact that their ship is stuck than that they're in a first contact situation where their *entertainment* is killing sentient beings! Consequently, they came across as criminally self-absorbed, and Paris was downright petulant, in a situation where other Trek characters would have been guilt-ridden.

If you want to do a light episode, that's fine. But leave out the genocide, or you wind up with another Desmond Pfieffer.

D'Alaire -- 28 Jan 1999, 4:43 PM

I did, too, Joyce.

I watched this again today, and although I got a lot more of it, enjoyed a lot more of it, I did also notice the AOTW all the more.

It concerned me the first time when the AOTW got lasered, but I was out of it and didn't think about that. The second time, the reality of it only got a passing mention by Paris in the briefing room, IIRC.

And although I know we're not to take this ep very seriously, TPTB just had to put something in there that shouldn't have not been taken seriously (which is not surprising, nowadays). For once, I feel sorry for the AOTW, the "explorers" who were killed by some silly entertainment. So, I totally agree with you & Mike, even if we're not to think about it.

Okay, back to the medicimals [hot brandy with lemon] and another vid (hmmm, SciM looks good). Hey, Mike! Great idea! Salut!

Michelle -- 28 Jan 1999, 7:07 PM

Why is Tuvok a Lieutenant Again? I'm sure I heard Tom introduce himself as "Ensign Paris" and Tuvok as "Lieutenant Tuvok." I thought a "Lt. Commander" was referred to as "Commander." Somehow I don't think (my) Tom's commander would appreciate it if I referred to him as "Lieutenant" instead of "Colonel" (he's an LTC (Lieutenant Colonel). I could try it of course, but then Tom may be considered "Private Roberts" instead of "SFC."

Just wondering, that's all.

I loved Bride of Chaotica. I think every Trek show should do something like this. I was reminded of the TNG show where Q had the senior staff acting out Robin Hood and DS9 doing "Trials and Tribbulations." I enjoyed it. I think I'm gonna go watch it again.

PegN -- 28 Jan 1999, 12:17 PM

"Captain Proton?" "Defender of the Universe, scourge of intergalactic evil, and a competent medic, to boot. But don't say I said that."

Even though there were some really good lines, the above was the most gratifying. I've complained in the past about Doc's disrespect towards Tom and and the things he says to to others about him. I found that unacceptable behavior. He even said it kind of warmly (the "competent medic" part).

And I thought Mulgrew was a hoot! I'll bet the cast involved in the holodeck piece of this episode enjoyed doing something different.

Okay, I gotta go get that zinc and ecchanasia(?) now.

PegN -- 28 Jan 1999, 12:28 PM

Vickie said: didn't you think Chakotay was standing really close to Seven of Nine? And didn't I see him toss more than a couple of smiles her way? Could it be that Chakotay is flirting with Seven of Nine??!!? I suppose it's possible that RB could be flirting with JLR!?! She is practically single again, you know.(To quote an old friend,"Have I heard that rumor? Why, I started that rumor!")

Mrs. Mac said: Nah, Vickie. Jeri was probably whispering Beltran's lines to him.

I'm telling you that there's chemistry there and has been for awhile. Hey! Maybe Beltran is the reason Jeri's getting divorced and that off screen chemistry overflows to the show! Oooooooo, let's get that rumour started!

Voyager Fan -- 29 Jan 1999, 8:53 PM

Bride of Chaotica

This light-hearted romp features Captain Proton, blatant campiness and numerous one-line zingers. How do I write a "serious" review about an episode that doesn't take itself seriously? About an episode which makes use of a marvelously cheesy sci-fi set, outlandish outfits - particularly on Janeway and guards, black & white filming, not-so-subtle 1930s movie music, and a hysterically funny robot? Watching it was like eating cotton candy, fun but oddly unsatisfying.

Paris was terrific in this episode -- all GUY. I found it highly amusing that he was so willing to share his grandiose fantasies as Captain Proton, protector of the universe, whose secretarial needs were met by a scantily clad blond bombshell. In the conference room, he was utterly unabashed spelling out the ridiculous details of his holonovel to his superior officers, even taking the time to make sure they were VERY clear on the details (ex. "His army of evil"), rather than speeding through them with embarrassment as I would have done. And when Janeway asked incredulously, "This is how you spend your free time?" he didn't even flinch! I'm not mentioning this as a nit, for some reason I just love it that he was so INTO his holonovel, bursting with enthusiasm and delighted to have his crewmates forced to play along.

Tuvok versus Seven -- these two characters often overlap -- they are unfailingly logical, reserved, and discomfited by the emotionalism of humans. In this episode, their demeanors diverged - Tuvok came across as bemused by and relatively tolerant of his crewmates; no matter how perplexing or clearly annoying he found them. Whereas Seven, once again, came across as insulting and as having an acute superiority complex (ex. interrupting the Captain in the astrometrics lab, and telling Kim that the Proton fantasy was "infantile" and that entertainment was a frivolous human endeavor). Overall I like Seven, I really do, but I like to see the positive aspects of humanity emerging in her, like her wry humor in "Night" as she announced on the bridge, "Captain Proton to the rescue", or her expressions of vulnerability and gratitude in "Infinite Regress." If she simply must act like a - witch ,- I'd like to see the crew call her on it, or snap back at her, rather than quietly accept or make a joke out of her rudeness.

While I'm on the subject of impatient females, I have to admit that for the second week in a row Janeway annoyed me a bit -- treating Neelix as an annoyance in the mess hall and breezily brushing off his concerns, snapping at Paris on the bridge, "Well join him!", and summoning the crewman to replace Paris at the helm with an impatient toss of her head. I just don't like to see the Captain irritable or brusque for no particular reason. If she is disciplining someone (30 Days) or trying to quell a ranting crewman (Latent Image) or suffering from a bout of self-doubt and depression (Night), or trying to avoid an armed conflict (In the Flesh) then fine, she can be as stern or threatening or snappish as she wants. But otherwise…well, I just don't like it. Her crew looks up to her, and I like to see her treat them with as much dignity as possible rather than appear - however slightly - to take them for granted.

Back to the episode - I can see why Paris selected Janeway over Seven as Queen Arachnia -- with Seven the holonovel would have lasted about 45 seconds. She'd have announced to Chaotica, "I am Borg", shoved him aside, and disabled the laser shields herself, per her actions in "Night" when she conquered the robot. Seven simply could not vamp and still be her character. As it was, it was a big stretch to imagine Captain Janeway vamping like that. I wish Arachnia had resembled Janeway more, perhaps had red hair, so the fact it was Captain Janeway playing Arachnia was more obvious. Paris as Captain Proton was still unmistakably Paris, the Doctor as President was still unmistakably the Doctor, and Harry Kim as loyal sidekick was still unmistakably Harry Kim. But I kept forgetting it was Janeway as Arachnia, it was so hard to connect the outrageous black haired vamp with the serious red headed Captain. Every now and then Arachnia would say Janeway-like stuff, such as "It's lonely at the top" and "We can't be slaves to our passion", but I think visual similarities would have enhanced the scene. Janeway was very funny as Arachnia; she clearly enjoyed the absurdity of the entire scenario. I loved her voice, and when she deftly disabled the guard with a very 1930's slap on his shoulder, and her "what did I get myself into" reaction to Chaotica's proposal of marriage.

Other characters - the Doctor is always a delight, he was as terrific as a dignified President as he was as a tortured, ranting man (Latent Image). I do think that he would have been more curious to learn about - and perhaps even experience - an entire photonic universe. And I am still trying to figure out what those Presidential bands on his shirtsleeves were.

As always, I enjoyed B'Elanna's intensity and intelligent professionalism. Even Chakotay seemed to be alive in this episode, rather than sleepwalking. I guess humorous adventures are his forte. And regarding Neelix - as annoying as he sometimes can be - I felt sympathy for him being brushed aside by the Captain. And I do like his surprisingly appropriate solutions to problems (schedules for the lavatories, crew rotation of jobs (Night)).

I loved all of the zippy one-liners. B'Elanna to Seven, "Now that we have your blessing"; Tuvok to Paris, "I'm sure you two were very close", "Too bad we don't have one", and "Stop and summarize"; Doc to Paris, "Aren't you going to sing 'Hail to the Chief?'" and "My performance was unimpeachable"; Doc to Aliens, "And a competent medic to boot".

Regardless of its fluffiness and frivolity, I enjoyed this episode and give it a 7 out of 10.

Terry -- 29 Jan 1999, 9:07 PM

Welcome to the Nebula.

I don't completely agree with each of your comments but they show much careful examination and consideration of the episode and its larger context.

I do agree about Seven. The writers don't seem to exactly know where they're going with her emerging humanity. But I took her insults of the irrelevant holoprogram as a way to have Kim (and the audience) laugh at her stuffiness. I let it slide since this ep was a comedy and probably nothing should be taken too seriously from it.

Your comparison/contrast of Tuvok and Seven was appropriate. IMH0, they make a mistake when they write Seven as too Vulcan-like. Either these two are too similar or one is made pompous at the other's expense. Seven is not a Vulcan and I'd like to see her develop a unique (more human) personality.

BTW, can one tell a redhead from a brunette in black-and-white?

Voyager Fan -- 30 Jan 1999, 11:24 PM

LOL about how to tell a redhead from a brunette in black and white....I have no idea but it seems that SOMEHOW TPTB could have made Arachnia look a bit more like Janeway for those of us who really had to struggle to make that connection.....

Diane -- 30 Jan 1999, 8:08 AM

Voyager Fan, Welcome to the Neb. Insightful review.

I agree with you on Seven, TPTB are making her out to be a witch in many cases. I don't like it. I would like to see her humanity grow more. Mayabe it is because I work with a few who have her attitude and I need a rest from it in my entertainment.

Vickie T. -- 30 Jan 1999, 9:34 AM

I agree, Voyager Fan...with your comments about Janeway's behavior. Several times during the show I thought, "Boy, Janeway sure has been tense this week and last." She has been uncharacteristically short-tempered and callous in the last two episodes.

Regarding your question about the Doc's "presidential armbands," men used to wear those arm bands while working in their shirtsleeves in order to keep the sleeves pulled up tight. This kept the sleeves from dragging in the ink while they were writing, among other things, and kept the shirts clean (relatively!) for repeated wearings.

Ginny -- 30 Jan 1999, 2:36 PM

Greetings and felicitations, Voyager Fan. Didn't I read your review over at the Psi Phi board, too? We're actually a lot sillier than they are, while still doing more serious indepth discussion on this board. (How's that for a dichotomy?) Plus, we go on field trips.

Voyager Fan -- 30 Jan 1999, 11:17 PM

Hi Ginny - I was over at Psi Phi - I posted my reviews on those two sites to see what kind of feedback I'd get and Coffee Nebula wins hands down - no comments whatsoever at Psi Phi! the Coffee Nebula is a bit harder to maneuver around IMHO but it is worth it....

And I am a fan of your darling Tom, even though he can't tell the Delaney twins apart (30 Days)...

How do you go on field trips?

Jules -- 5 Feb 1999, 10:16 AM

Captain Proton conquers London!

I freely confess that I'll need to see this episode a couple more times before I can give any kind of objective judgement on the pacing. Yes, the first time I saw it it was very slow... but that was entirely self inflicted, and mostly to do with the fact that I gave in to the irresistable temptation to hit the rewind button and rewatch all the good bits as I went along. I'd probably seen it twice already by the time I finished my first pass. :-)

But there were certainly lots of good bits.

• Two Tom episodes in the same season. Is that allowed?
• Lots of wonderful Tom and Harry moments, Tom and Tuvok moments, Tom and Satan's Robotmoments, not to mention the exchanges between the somewhat bemused captain and her crazy helmsman. Aracnia and Chaotica together were a vamp and preen match made in... thirties Hollywood. And yes, I rather liked the Astrometrics scene where Tom stood around looking decorative while the women debated what driving instructions to give him.
• Satan's Robot! My hero! Well, okay, after I'd done with rolling around the floor laughing at his antics I was quite as tempted to hit him as Tom was, but that's obviously his role in life. Tom really ought to keep the program around just so that he can go and smack him about a bit when life outside the holodeck gets frustrating.
• I loved the discussion about the recycled scenery on Planet X. Especially as it looked very like the terrain that Tom and Harry were wandering through in "Demon" half a season back... Different colour scheme, that's all. :-)
• Chaotica's death scene. Every cliché in the book, from the excessive speechifying right down to the "I'll be back" threat he finished it with. And, of course, that question mark after "the end", which was straight out of the 1980 Flash Gordon movie.
• The scene in the briefing room had me in stitches throughout. Kudos to RDM for keeping a straight face while everyone else in the room was allowed to smirk throughout (except for Tuvok who merely rolled his eyes superciliously). I wonder if it needed many takes for him to manage it, or whether all that horseplay they're supposed to get up to on the set was good practice for the occasion? But I digress. Every "Yes, ma'am" made me laugh louder. And "His Army of Evil", when he quietly and quite seriously supplemented Janeway's grasp of the situation by supplying the correct term for Chaotica's minions nearly killed me. Okay, it's not that funny a line. But it was all in the way it was said. And then there was the way Tom jumped on Tuvok for sneering about the Death Ray, pointing out that it didn't matter what it was called if it was killing people. There's a delicious irony in the fact that the man most wrapped up in the fantasy is the one who most clearly sees the reality of the situation as well.
• Tom's sly little comment about his sociology project, that the future "didn't turn out quite as black and white as they expected".
• The pheromones. The Death Ray. That nice rocket ship with the rivets. The Fortress of Doom. Chaotica's minions, who were quite the mindless thugs they ought to be.
• Janeway's Aracnia costume. Whoo whoo. I want one just like it. If they don't win any costume, makeup and scenic design Emmy's for this episode there ain't no justice.
• The music. Entirely in period for a space opera of Captain Proton's type, and wonderfully appropriate. I don't normally pay much attention to the incidental music, but halfway through this episode I thought "I must check the closing credits to find out who composed this". Of course, I forgot, but it's the thought that counts! Anyone know? Jason?