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For anyone that likes hand to hand combat fighting in films and likes Star Trek, then this episode should be ranked high on the enjoyment scale. I know I feel that way. I only wish Seven did more fighting like that on Voyager.

Bsisko wrote:For anyone that likes hand to hand combat fighting in films and likes Star Trek, then this episode should be ranked high on the enjoyment scale. I know I feel that way. I only wish Seven did more fighting like that on Voyager.

The uniform would have popped apart at some point.

I don't think Tsunkatse is all that good... I just think it's fun to watch.

Maybe the story here is possibly better than I gave it credit for (I think it rips off Unreal Tournament within SFF -- in addition to the art of kayfabe), but this episode is still often trotted out as bad Voyager and bad television. Can you tell it's sweeps week on UPN?!

I actually kinda like this episode. Though I freely admit it could be due to lowered expectations. "Oh, a wrestling tie in? Really? This can't be any good at all." Then you watch it and the fight scenes are decent, The Rock has raw charisma, and J.G. Hertzler and Jeffrey Combs are fun to watch.

I've always thought the episode COULD be good, but that it's missing any sort of edginess which keeps it pretty bland and sedate. It's all because you don't want to push the envelope too far because you're just going to hit the reset button and pretend it never happened.

What they SHOULD have done is skip a lot of the set-up, which is mostly bland and doesn't say anything about character relationships other than that people think Seven is a big stick in the mud. You cold open with the scene after Seven has been captured, and then told that she's going to fight in order to save Tuvok's life. After you establish that, with some dialogue to remind us she has cybernetically-enhanced physical strength, then you can cut to the crew of Voyager enjoying a match and the ensuing conversation, since those character interactions are actually some of the best parts of the episode.

Then you can cut out some of the pointless preaching about violence and bloodsports, since that's already prevalent within the subtext of the episode, and it saves more time to focus on the characters. Before Seven rights The Rock, you can mention that she's already won a couple of fights, to help establish that time has passed. She loses that fight. But then she's told she needs to fight in a Red Match-to the death. You can have struggling with the dilemma-will she skill someone to keep herself (and Tuvok) alive? Let that, and the conversation about the ethical ramifications with Tuvok, be the driving thrust of the episode. This lets Tuvok serve as a bit of a spiritual guide and gives Tim Russ some decent material. And you show that fight, and let the tension rise throughout it....and then in the end she IS forced to kill her opponent.

She heads back to talk to Tuvok, and she's distraught, wondering how long it will go on. Is she going to kill again? How many people would she have to kill before they can escape? Those would be some real nice character moments for her. Everything else that happens with Voyager and the rescue plot is so tired and formulaic that it's cheesy, so you can skim that down to just the highlights and then have them show up to beam her and Tuvok out of the training area.