Series: Star Trek: Voyager
Season 2, Episode 20
Original Air Date: March 13, 1996
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| via Memory Alpha |
A couple of subplots have been running through the last few Voyager episodes. Crewman Michael Jonas has been sharing intelligence with the Kazon and Tom Paris has been acting like a jerk, even getting himself thrown in the brig and removed from duty. Both stories come to conclusion in "Investigations" and - surprise! - they're connected. Neelix gets to play investigative journalist with his new morning show, A Briefing with Neelix.
Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was firmly against continuing stories. To a point, it's an understandable objection. In the 1960s - an era long before streaming or even home video collections - you would want a new viewer to be able to tune into your show any given week and be able to get caught up in the story right away. Going back and binging from the beginning simply wasn't an option. In the 2020s, the television industry has moved so far in the other direction that Roddenberry's objection seems archaic.
But the mid-'90s, there was still some resistance to the idea within the franchise. Showrunner Jeri Taylor didn't like "Lifesigns" quite as much as I do, for instance, because she didn't like how the otherwise strong story was broken up by unexplained teasers from the two threads that culminate in "Investigations." I think the format is clever, but I suppose I understand the purist point of view.
As for "Investigations" itself, I see positives and negatives. On the plus side...
- The reveal of what's really going on with Tom is satisfying. Very Trek.
- Pushing on the no one trusts Tom button is effective.
- Neelix's show within a show is an accurate parody of 1990s television.
On the negative...
- I'm starting to feel the same way about Neelix episodes as I do about droid episodes in The Clone Wars - groan-inducing.
- The plan for getting Tom on the Kazon ship works too well. I understand the press for time within a TV series but they still could have stretched that out a bit.
- Jonas's story is short-changed. In an earlier installment, he is encouraged by his Kazon contacts to damage Voyager's warp coils (which happens by accident anyway) and he flatly refuses. He makes clear he won't do anything to harm the ship or the crew. Clearly, he's motivated by something other than anger or resentment and he's killed off too quickly for us to learn more.
- Making Chakotay the chump doesn't feel good for the long-term development of the character. Tom's apology is meaningful but the implications for a trusting Janeway-Chakotay relationship are not encouraging.
Acting Notes
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| via Film and Television Wikia |
Jerry Sroka played the role of Laxeth, a Talaxian who takes Tom on as a member of his crew as part of the scheme. "Investigations" is his only Trek appearance but he has another fun connection with the franchise. He has been married to Mariette Hartley, Zarabeth in the original series episode "All Our Yesterdays," since 2005.
His films include Godspell and Our Almost Completely True Love Story. The latter is the tale of his romance with Hartley. The two wrote, produced and starred in the movie. Beyond Trek, Sroka's television appearances include Seinfeld, Murphy Brown and The West Wing.
From a logistical point of view the plan certainly had to be compartmentalized. It lends credibility if Chakotay is out of the loop. His judgment as concerns the Kazon and:or Seska is also a wild card.
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