Voy: Alter Ego

[bronnt]

Link: http://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/v855.php

I had forgotten this episode. I read the premise and I recalled some of the details: Harry Kim falls in love with holodeck character and then decides he wants to be emotionless because....he's Harry Kim and is so awkwardly written it makes me embarrassed to watch him. But I thought it was much later and was one of the ladies from Fair Haven, so this whole Luau thing had entirely slipped my mind.

Honestly, I'm surprised Chuck actually liked this one. It's nice in that it's one of a VERY few episodes that actually develops Tuvok's character (I hope he reviews "Gravity" sometime soon), but to me everything about it was cringe inducing. It's yet another story of holodeck shenanigans when that story is very, very tired. It's Harry Kim falling in love with yet another character well after it's established that he's in love with Libby and that she's probably waiting for him back home. Harry Kim is so poorly written that you can see Garrett Wang just refusing to give a crap about this episode.

Plus, the overall main plot about a woman threatening to destroy Voyager because she's obsessed with Tuvok, that also made me cringe. Something about that idea made me rather uncomfortable.

[Arkle]

I honestly did not expect Chuck to score this episode as high as he did. I do not remember this episode fondly.

[GandALF]

So should waifuism be added to the list of things Trek predicted?

[J!!]

Wasn't there a TNG episode where some kid tried to get rid of his emotions by emulating Data?

[Arkle]

Wasn't there a TNG episode where some kid tried to get rid of his emotions by emulating Data?

Yep. "Hero Worship." Poor kid blamed himself for an event that killed everyone on his ship but him becuase he'd leaned on a console, but Data figures out that was just a coincidence and it was actually the ship's own shields that caused the disaster.

[nebagram]

Harry Kim is so poorly written that you can see Garrett Wang just refusing to give a crap about this episode.

Wasn't this the episode where Wang had flu and was filming with a 102 fever or something?

Either way, I agree the episode stank. Then again, it's a Harry Kim sex episode, which is a bit like trying to put on a serious performance of Shakespeare where every character is wearing a massive pair of fake tits, it just terminally weighs the episode down to the point where I barely remembered that it was a Tuvok episode until I watched the review.

[ChiggyvonRichthofen]

I'd say the review score is pretty good evidence that Chuck is actually pretty fair. For many viewers, myself included, reading the premise alone is enough for an eye roll and instant -2 on the scorecard. For me, merely decent character work isn't enough to save what is not a very worthy story for a show with such a wide range of possibilities.

On the other hand, maybe the score is greater evidence that the show isn't very good.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

See, if he wanted to rid himself of emotions, why didn't he go to Chakotay first?

[Laeril]

See, if he wanted to rid himself of emotions, why didn't he go to Chakotay first?

You know you've got a wooden XO on staff when the VULCAN security officer is more emotive.

[TerranceMonster]

Harry, Harry, Harry...

1) Falling in love with a holadeck character is like falling in love with an Inflate-A-Date™ or a RealDoll™.
2) Me thinks you're making that all too common mistake of getting love and lust mixed up.
3) As usual, you're a cautionary tale waiting to happen when it comes to such matters.