Star Trek: Learning Curve

Episode: "Learning Curve"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 1, Episode 16

Original Air Date: May 22, 1995

via Memory Alpha

A few Maquis are struggling to adjust to Starfleet protocols.  Tuvok takes it upon himself to train them.  Not surprisingly, his heavy-handed approach to enforcing conformity doesn't go over too well.  Meanwhile, the ship's bio-neural gel packs are suffering from a debilitating illness and it's spreading quickly.  Also, Janeway's 19th-century England holonovel continues in the second of three installments.

As we reach the end of the first season, it's a great time for broad generalizations.  So far, I feel the most compelling Voyager episodes are the ones that adhere most closely either to the desire to get home or the struggles to integrate the Starfleet and Maquis crews.  It's not surprising.  Especially in the early going, one would imagine those two problems would be foremost in the minds of the characters so building stories built around them seems natural.  The series runs into trouble when it veers too far away from either.

"Learning Curve" is a good one for exploring the tension and also for Tuvok development.

Food Notes

Wouldn't you know, cheese from Neelix's kitchen is the cause of the gel pack trouble.  Fortunately, the same cheese also provides the solution.

Thoughts on Season One

General Impressions

For the most part, Voyager's first season is strong.  It's no stretch at all to say it's better than TNG's first (low bar).  More surprising to me personally is the fact that I might even be willing to concede that it's stronger than DS9's first.  Mind you, Voyager Season 1 is still light years short of where Deep Space Nine is by the concurrent Season 3.  But it's a strong start.

Favorite Episode: "Eye of the Needle"

The series's seventh episode is rock solid, beginning to end.  "Eye of the Needle" deals more intimately with the emotional struggles of being so far from home than any other installment thus far.  Our heroes come tantalizingly close to finding a shortcut back to the Alpha Quadrant, only to have hope snatched away.  It's cruel and it's real.  Every crew member - even so-tough-she-doesn't-care Torres - feels the sting.  

The story also provides meaningful development for the Doctor-Kes relationship, one of the best among the principals thus far.

Least Favorite Episode: "Cathexis" 

A mysterious entity is taking over the minds of the crew one at a time.  Mental possession has an unfortunate legacy in the Star Trek canon, beginning with the notoriously terrible "Spock's Brain" from TOS's third season.  "Cathexis" does little to improve the reputation for this thread.  It's also one of several stories that tread a fine line between innocuous and disrespectful when addressing Chakotay's Native American heritage.  When the wooden flute music kicks in, look out.

Favorite Recurring Character: Seska

via Memory Alpha

Honestly, it's surprising there aren't more characters on Voyager like Seska, former Maquis who simply could never be fully won over.  Of course, there's more to Seska, played by Martha Hackett.  She's Chakotay's former lover.  She turns out to be a spy and, in fact, a Cardassian in disguise.  There aren't a lot of recurring characters to choose from at this early stage but even in a more crowded field, Seska would be a strong choice.

Favorite Blast from the Past: Robert Duncan McNeill

For devotees, there was a familiar face in the principal cast when Voyager launched.  Robert Duncan McNeill, now in the role of Tom Paris, had previously played Nick Locarno in the excellent NextGen episode "The First Duty."  There are other important similarities between Tom and Nick, similarities not lost on the actor when he auditioned for the gig.  

Favorite Guest Actor, One Shot: Vaughn Armstrong

via Memory Alpha

For Armstrong, the role of Doctor Telek R'Mor is one of numerous Trek appearances over four different series.  But "The Eye of the Needle" is R'Mor's only story.  The encounter between him and Janeway is clearly intended to contrast sharply with the one between Kirk and The Romulan Commander in "Balance of Terror."  Perhaps this is indeed the different reality where a Starfleet captain and a Romulan could friends.  It couldn't have worked with a lesser actor.  Armstrong brought the goods.

Onward

Keeping both Voyager and Deep Space Nine going at the same time was clearly not easy.  It was hard enough coming up with 25 quality episodes a season, never mind over 50.  By Season 4, DS9 was humming along beautifully.  Could Voyager keep up? 

We shall find out together.