Star Trek: Elogium

Episode: "Elogium"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 2, Episode 4

Original Air Date: September 18, 1995

via Memory Alpha

Our heroes encounter a swarm of spaceborne creatures, evidently engaging in mating rituals.  Their proximity triggers spontaneous sexual maturity for Kes and with it, her only chance to have a child.  This stage for Ocampa is called the Elogium.  Kes and Neelix must make a decision about their future quickly.

Okay, so it's time to talk about Neelix.  To put it bluntly, Neelix is one of the least liked principals in the history of Star Trek.  In a word, he's annoying.  We've all had that overly enthusiastic coworker and he channels all of them in his self-assigned morale officer role.  As for myself, I'm not always anti-Neelix.  Voyager can get heavy and occasional levity from Neelix is often welcome, much as his equivalent Quark provides on DS9.  However, stories that focus on Neelix can feel like a lot of work.  In "Elogium," his jealous boyfriend to anxious father journey is not a good look.  

via Memory Alpha

The unfortunate cost of an annoying Neelix is what he detracts from Kes who is certainly one of Voyager's more interesting principals.  The short lifespan of the Ocampa provides rich narrative opportunities.  Some complain about the skeezy relationship between the adult Neelix and the sexually immature, though adult-seeming, Kes.  To be sure, the writers created a difficult situation for themselves with that one.  Lolita implications aside, this intimate glimpse into an accelerated life cycle is fascinating.  The shame is that it turns out to be a false alarm.  

A shame because the incident sparks an important conversation between Janeway and Chakotay about longterm considerations.  At this point, there is no guarantee that Voyager will make it back to the Alpha Quadrant within the lifetime of the current crew.  While the ship isn't well-equipped for families or children, procreation will become both inevitable and necessary for ultimate success.  For the moment, they appear to be let off the hook regarding any decisions, until...

Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

Nancy Hower played the role of Ensign Samantha Wildman, a xenobiologist who reveals to the captain in the final scene that she is, in fact, pregnant.  Hower was born in Wyckoff, New Jersey, May 11, 1966.  "Elogium" marks her first of eight appearances as Wildman.

Hower graduated from Julliard, after which she embarked on a stage career.  Films include Insomnia, Blackout Effect and The Last Man on Planet Earth.  She guest-starred on Suddenly Susan and The Sentinel.  Voyager was probably the high point of her acting career.

Hower has had an impressively varied career off-screen.  She has fronted two alternative rock bands, including STELLA which opened for Meat Loaf on his 2001 UK tour.  She wrote music for a play called Momma.  She has written, directed and produced for both film and television.  Work includes Memron, a darling of the film festival circuit in 2004, and series 10 Items or Less and Quickdraw.

On the Coffee Table: Saga

Title: Saga, Volumes One - Four

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan

Artist: Fiona Staples

via Amazon

Saga is an ongoing space opera comic book series, one of the most critically acclaimed titles in the industry, having won multiple Eisner, Harvey and Hugo awards.  The series has been running since March 2012 with 69 issues so far.  Apparently the goal is 120.  These four trade paperbacks cover the first 24.  

via Amazon

The story follows the adventures of Alana, Marko and their child, Hazel.  The parents are from two races who have been waging interstellar war for generations.  The family is being hunted by mercenaries from both sides, neither wanting the interracial romance exposed to the public.  Saga has drawn comparisons to Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and Romeo and Juliet.  I see it as a Tarantino tale set in space with a lot more sex.

via Amazon

And yet, amid all of the violence, gore and lust, Saga has a lighter and relatable side.  Alana and Marko are, at their core, lovers desperately horny for each other, willing to risk it all for the sake of their love.  Once the child is born, they are protective and stressed out parents.  Their in-laws and exes complicate matters.  Set aside the fact that Alana has wings, Marko ram horns, their nanny is a ghost and their ship is a magical tree and it's just like real life.

via Amazon

The series is wonderful.  The art is vivid.  The writing is compelling and the story moves at a satisfying pace.  I have several more volumes on my TBR shelves as my wife has already read them.  So I'm definitely with Saga for the long haul.  Because of the quasi-pornographic sex and the shameless violence, it's not a series for children.  But for adults, it's good stuff.

On the Coffee Table: City of Light

Title: Berlin, Book Three: City of Light

Writer and Artist: Jason Lutes

via Amazon

It's been 11 years since my last post about Lutes's extraordinary comic book series, Berlin.  In the time since, he has finished the series.  City of Light compiles issues #14-24.  We saw him give a talk at a local bookstore and he signed the copy I just finished reading.

Overall, the stories follow a group of characters - many of them only tangentially connected - from 1928-33, an extraordinary time in Berlin's history.  The tensions playing out on the streets will spill over to the battlefields of an entire continent before long.  The central character is Marthe, managing two romances: one with a woman, Anna, one with a man, Severing.  Neither works out, nor does her art career so by book's end, she gets on a train back home to Cologne - her story started on a train arriving, now ends on one departing.

In a secondary narrative, we follow 12-year-old Sylvia, orphaned by the May Day Massacre, taken in by a Jewish family.  She runs the streets with a group of Communist toughs who scuffle with both the police and the Nazis, an increasingly meaningless distinction.  As readers, we know those tensions won't completely resolve until decades later.

As Hitler rises to power, life is getting tougher, especially for the Jews.  Sylvia's foster family boards the same train as Marthe in the end.  Again, as the reader, we know more about what's coming than the characters do.  We're more worried for the Jews than they are for themselves.  We worry, too, for Anna and other homosexuals, knowing the persecution coming for them.

Over 24 issues, the tension gradually builds for the reader and the tension is never fully released, because we know what comes next.  Safer is not the same as safe.  That's life.

Berlin is excellent.  I wouldn't say it's on the same level as Persepolis, Maus or Showa but it's a solid addition to any historically-based graphic novel collection.

Squid Eats: Pie Empire

Jericho Ale & Bean is a shared storefront for Brew House Coffee Company and Lucy & Howe Brewing.  They offer a few snacky foods for anyone who cares to linger (in Vermont, you have to serve food at a bar), including the pickles in the photo.   From time to time, they'll host a vendor to provide something more substantial.  Such was the case this past weekend when Pie Empire paid a visit.

Pie Empire sells hand pies, ubiquitous in Australia and New Zealand, a growing trend here in the States.  Sweet pies exist but the standard is a meat pie.  We got three in all: curry chicken for my wife, chicken and bacon for me, steak and ale to share.  All were comforting and delicious.  My wife won this round.  The curry chicken is definitely one to remember.  Other intriguing options include Buffalo chicken and chipotle beef and chorizo.  Plus they have seasonal specials like an Oktoberfest pie made with saurbraten.  

Breweries seem to be their thing as the next several events are all at brew pubs.  Beer and meat pies are a natural pairing.  Thinking about them makes me hungry.  I guess we'll need to hit their next event.  

Star Trek: Projections

Episode: "Projections"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 2, Episode 3

Original Air Date: September 11, 1995

via Memory Alpha

Barclay episode!

The Doctor finds himself in an alternate reality.  Here he is no longer a holographic projection.  He's the real, flesh and blood Louis Zimmerman (the EMH's human creator).  Meanwhile, it's the ship and the rest of the crew that are the holograms.  Dwight Schultz returns as Barclay - or at least a character who looks and sounds like Barclay.

"Projections" does well with critics but I found it tedious.  As a rule, I don't care for it-was-all-just-a-dream narratives.  Occasionally, there's a really good one like "The Inner Light" but "Projections" is nowhere near that level.  Pet peeves aside, I can acknowledge the story provides meaningful development for the Doctor, quickly emerging as Voyager's most interesting character (for now).

In my initial Voyager post, I put the Doctor in Data's chair and I stand by it.  Among the new show's principal's he's the best fit.  However, with this episode I've come to realize our favorite android is actually not the Doctor's best TNG parallel.  Particularly in the exploration of how the EMH might have an existence beyond sick bay, the Doctor is the realization of Moriarty's ambitions to have a life beyond the holodeck.  Fortunately for the Voyager crew, the Doctor's motivations are more benevolent.

The Creators

As discussed in this post, Rick Berman had become the leading creative force behind the Star Trek franchise by the third season of The Next Generation.  Two of his fellow executive producers took on more prominent roles with the next two spin-off series, Deep Space Nine and Voyager.  Michael Piller had co-creator credit for both shows.  Jeri Taylor had co-creator credit for the latter.  

via Memory Alpha

Michael Piller was born in Port Chester, New York, May 30, 1948.  He was born to professional writer parents.  His father Gene Piller was a screenwriter.  His mother Ruth Roberts was a songwriter.  Michael graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Piller's career started in television journalism for which he won an Emmy.  He developed his first TV show, entitled The Doctor's Office, in 1987.  His work on Trek began in 1989 with the episode "Evolution," on which he served as co-writer.  Soon after, he became showrunner for the series.

Piller is often credited with bringing order to chaos.  The first two seasons were tumultuous for the writing staff.  Piller focused on building a strong sense of team and the result is the beautiful, more cohesive show we all know and love.  When Paramount asked for a new series, Berman turned to Piller to lead.  He wrote the pilot and took charge as showrunner.  With Piller moving on, Jeri Taylor took over his job with NextGen.  

Piller passed away in 2005 from head and neck cancer.

via Memory Alpha

Jeri Taylor (born Jean Cecile Suer) was born in Evansville, Indiana, June 30, 1938.  She went to Indiana University as an undergrad, then got an MA in English from Cal State-Northridge.  Before Trek, she wrote for Little House on the Prairie and The Incredible Hulk.  She directed and produced for Quincy, M.E. and Jake and the Fat Man.  

She joined NextGen in Season 4, initially as a supervising producer and co-writer for "Suddenly Human."  Two years later, she was promoted to co-executive producer.  After NextGen ended, Taylor joined Berman and Piller in creating Voyager.  By Season 3, she was the showrunner.  

Jeri Taylor passed away just last month at the age of 86.

On the Road: MASS MoCA

As discussed in previous posts, our frequent visits to MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) hold numerous advantages.  Once we're there, especially if we stay at Porches Inn across the street from the museum, everything is within walking distance: a hot tub, several enjoyable restaurants, book stores, coffee shops, bars, concerts and, of course, the largest contemporary art museum in the United States.  Highlights from our most recent visit...

From Osman Khan's Road to Hybridabad exhibition:

From Jeffrey Gibson's Power Full Because We're Different exhibition:

From Amy Yoes's Hot Corners exhibition:

Among the museum's more permanent features is the work of James Turrell, one of the most prominent artists in the Light and Space movement.  The two highlights - for us - are Hind Sight and C.A.V.U.  

For Hind Sight, two people follow a guided path into a dimly lit room.  Very dimly lit.  Essentially pitch black.  You sit for 15 minutes, just long enough for your eyes to begin to adjust.  I've done the experience twice now.  By about minute 10, I start to perceive the faintest light.  My wife describes it as greyish.  I think I saw a few more shapes the first time.  In both cases, I felt I needed maybe five more minutes.

C.A.V.U. was created out of a repurposed concrete water tank.  One can visit any time of day but the experience is most gratifying at dawn and dusk.  In the ceiling are two concentric circles, the larger one taking up the entire ceiling, 40 feet across, the smaller one maybe 10 feet across.  It's sort of an eyeball/iris relationship.  The colors of the two circles change depending on sunlight.  Most of the time, the smaller circle is darker but occasionally that switches.  We lied on the floor.  I found that if you relax your gaze enough, the two circles blend together.  Your eyes fight against it, of course, and it's hard when the people around you are whispering.  Ahem!

Both pieces require patience.  There are many ways to approach an art museum, of course.  My own default is to move relatively quickly from one piece to the next.  With Turrell's work, the time invested is essential to the experience.  If you're impatient, you'll miss the whole point, which is to connect with your own experience of the vision process.  I like that.

Our excuse to visit last weekend was a concert: the Kasambwe Brothers, a trio from Malawi.  MASS MoCA's concert organizers evidently have strong connections in the African music scene.   We saw Seun Kuti, a more established star, over the summer.  In 2023, we saw Kaleta and Super Yamba Band - technically Brooklyn-based but with strong ties to the Afro-funk scene.  The Kasambwe experience was more novel.  Saturday's concert was their first performance outside of Malawi.  They're taking part in a residency at the museum where, in addition to their live show, they will be recording their first full-length album.  

Their music was downright joyful, much needed in these difficult times.  Referring to the photo, the instrument in the middle is a babatoni, essentially a bass banjo: four strings with a bass drum body.  As far as I can tell, it is unique to Malawi.

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend.  We'll definitely be back, and we'll be keeping an eye out for that new album.

Star Trek: Initiations

Episode: "Initiations"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 2, Episode 2

Original Air Date: September 4, 1995

via Memory Alpha

Chakotay has been granted the use of a shuttlecraft so he can perform the pakra, a (Star Trek-invented) memorial ritual for his father.  I don't understand why he couldn't have done it in his quarters but it's as good an excuse as any for what comes next.  He accidentally stumbles into Kazon territory.  Once there, he has a hostile encounter with a young Kazon who sounds awfully familiar...

One of the asks of the writers for Season 2 was better development for Chakotay - a good call.  On NextGen, despite second-billing, Riker definitely suffers in the competition for quality material with Data and Worf.  The same could easily have happened with Chakotay (and may yet) without deliberate effort.  "Initiations" is a good start.  However, I always get nervous when they lean too heavily on the Native American heritage angle.  For starters, they would have done well to give him a more specific ethnicity.  The producers saw him as Sioux in the beginning, later Hopi.  The tribe wasn't named on-screen until a fictional one was invented for him.  Also, they could have cast a Native actor.  There were plenty of good ones around in the mid-90s.  Robert Beltran is technically Latino.  Why not tap into his actual cultural identity instead?

The biggest mistake regarding Chakotay, though, was not letting the Maquis story play out for longer.  Once Seska was gone, his character lost dimension he never quite got back.  Now, Beltran is quite frank in his own assessment of the situation.  I recommend David Wharton's piece on Giant Freakin Robot.

But at least for a while in Season 2, they were trying.

One of the most frequent criticisms of the episode has to do with the guest star who played Kar, the young Kazon.  Before we dig into it, let me emphasize that I find the criticism entirely unfair and I'll explain why.

Kar was played by Aron Eisenberg, better known as Nog on Deep Space Nine.  While the makeup is completely different, the voice is instantly recognizable.  Some critics found this off-putting, complaining that it took them out of the narrative.  I dispute this criticism for two reasons:

• Eisenberg had to audition for the part.  It's not as if they created the character for him.  They made him earn it.  And he did.
• 29 years later, it's entirely possible someone might watch the series in the opposite order.  I did.  When I first started digging into NextGen-era Trek back in the DVR days, Voyager episodes were available to me while DS9 ones were not.  So, I saw this episode first and never would have realized the connection.

Furthermore, Eisenberg is great in the part.  Evidently, he and Beltran had loads of fun working together.  Beltran likened it to working with comedian Don Rickles.

Acting Notes

via Wikipedia

Patrick Kilpatrick (great name) played the role of Razik, First Maje of the Kazon sect Chakotay encounters.  It's the first of three Trek appearances for the actor.  Kilpatrick was born Robert Donald Kilpatrick, Jr. in Orange, Virginia, August 20, 1949.  He graduated from Richmond University, then attended NYU for grad school.

He's earned his living as an action film villain.  Movies include Class of 1999, Minority Report and The Presidio.  Beyond Trek, television appearances include Babylon 5, ER and The X-Files.  

In 2021, Kilpatrick ran in the California Governor recall race.  The recall failed.  Kilpatrick won 1.2% of the vote.