Wikipedia featured it on the main page today for the episode's 20th anniversary:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barge_of_the_Dead
Let's take a look back at the SFDebris review of one of the better Torres episodes!
https://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/v923.php
There are things worse than death.
Re: VOY: "Barge of the Dead"
Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2019 7:30 pm
by CharlesPhipps
I think this episode goes along very nicely with Neelix's loss of faith episode, "Mortal Coil" and how two different people react very differently to near-death experiences. I've had a couple of myself and I know someone who also did (and lost his faith as a result). It is a nice insight into the Klingon religion and you have to wonder just how much about Belenna she's going through. Chakotay seems like someone who would have supported her having a vision quest in a controlled environment.
The irony is that this disposable filler episode from DS9 is probably one of the most emotional and interesting ones that I feel Voyager came up with. Mind you, that's kind of their thing as the show didn't do well with its multi-parters but had moments like "Living Witness." This isn't nearly as good as Living Witness but is one of Belenna's best episodes as it gets into her heritage with Klingons, mommy issues, and the fact she desperately wants to connect with her heritage.
Re: VOY: "Barge of the Dead"
Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 4:00 pm
by TheStarWarsTrek
To repeat some of what I said in a different thread, Chuck talks about how Janeway is a hypocrite for getting on Torre's case when other times we see Starfleet officers doing dangerous things. (He specifically mentions Worf's bat'leth competition, Data removing holodeck safeties, Kirk rock climbing, the game paressee's squares, and Chakotay going off in a shuttle by himself to meditate).
First, I think there's definitely a world of difference between doing a sport or other activity where injury or death is an inherent risk, and deliberately stopping your heart with the hopes that the doctor can restart it. It's like saying a parent is a hypocrite because they'll let their high school student play football, but won't let them deliberately smack themselves in the head with a sledgehammer to knock themselves out.
Second, most of those examples take place in the alpha quadrant. 75 years from home it's more understandable not wanting to risk the safety of your officers. (And the Chakotay example was criticized as being a stupid thing to do anyways in the review of the episode where that happened).
Re: VOY: "Barge of the Dead"
Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2019 4:51 pm
by CharlesPhipps
Mind you, that Janeway just thinks religion is stupid and hates it is an actual character trait. We saw that she went through all the rituals of that one culture while thinking it was completely stupid. We know she found Near Death Experiences to be the result of Space VampiresTM. We also know she is iffy on the whole vision quest thing.
It'd at least be a consistent part of her personality.