VOY - Virtuoso

[Yukaphile]

Remember the time Harry Kim tried to create a backup EMH, and failed? Of course that was just Harry doing what Harry does best.

Also, I never saw the episode. In the episode, did Janeway let him go or no? My impression is that she didn't, even if the new hologram didn't render that moot.

[clearspira]

VOY was very inconsistent about whether you could back up the Doctor. There was the future episode in the museum that clearly states that you can - but then there is the ep with Andy Dick AKA EMH Mk2 where Paris and Kim try to bring another Doctor online but fail miserably as it is implied that they actually have to go to the length of building a new one. It also makes you wonder why in the episode where he malfunctions because of saving Kim's life or some random crewmember why THE FIRST TIME when he was still just a piece of equipment to them why they wiped his memories instead of just resetting him to before the incident. Far more efficient and carried no risk of him remembering.

Realistically they should be able to back him up of course, but we always have to factor in the ''tech tech not gelling with the tech tech plus quantum'' as Chuck would say.

[Makeshift Python]

This episode reminds me why I liked Doc in the early seasons, when he seemed to be in a grumpy ill bedside mannered snarkfest. At some point, probably in the fourth season, he gained a peppy attitude that may have been in line with his self entitled persona but made him more obnoxious to me. I guess you can’t have him be one note for all seven seasons, but I couldn’t get enough of the old Doc.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Remember the time Harry Kim tried to create a backup EMH, and failed? Of course that was just Harry doing what Harry does best.

Also, I never saw the episode. In the episode, did Janeway let him go or no? My impression is that she didn't, even if the new hologram didn't render that moot.

Wasn't Harry rather competent with his engineering or w/ever?

[Yukaphile]

Not competent enough to be a lieutenant, apparently.

Also, I loved the contrast between Picard and Janeway.

[RobbyB1982]

As for my review, this is a very meh episode. You can definitely tell that we are into the end times for Trek reviews on this site as we are left with the real forgettable bottom of the barrel stuff now. Stuff that you've probably only watched once and then never have again. Chuck makes talking about it far more fun than actually watching it.
TBH, part of me is kind of looking forward to him running out of episodes just so we can get to the weekly Dr Who or Stargate reviews (the most likely candidates for when he runs out of Trek).

I did a rough count a couple weeks ago. He's done very close to 500 episodes now (somewhere in the 490's with a rough count) out of 755, plus the movies, (but not counting whatever Discovery ends up being.) About 2/3 of everything. Of everything Trek at this point, what's left are mostly middleground forgettable episodes that nobody felt compelled to request for the last 11 years. So that material in particular is just kind of there, through no fault of Chuck's, the remaining reviews are almost all going to be forgettable episodes that you'd only know were missing if you were doing a rewatch.

If he was still doing 4 episodes a month he'd be done in about five years, but at 3 a month it'll last about seven.

But that limited supply and the fact that the only eps left are forgettable table scraps is the reason he switched it to 3 a month in the first place, so... I don't know if he'll be eager to wrap when he get to that point after doing this for 16 years, or if he'll slow it down more and start doing 2 a month interspersed with other stuff more. (ANd of course, every new episode of Discovery or the upcoming Picard series expands it a little more.)

[Yukaphile]

"Data's Day," "Starship Down?" I love those episodes.

[RobbyB1982]

I don't get why the Doctor staying on the planet would require him leaving Voyager. He's a computer program; surely they can make a backup copy of him?

Actually, that'd make for a neat episode. The Doctor is believed lost or destroyed while down on some planet, but after several weeks/months manages to get off the planet and make his way back to Voyager . . . only to find no one's really missed him, because they just rebooted him from his last save point, and now he's got to contend with what he sees as an "imposter" taking his place.

I mean, they mention a backup device for the museum episode no other time because drama. And even if you made a copy, both would want to leave, only one would get to. As a sentient being, duplicating him kinda raises ethical questions.

And forcing him to stay is understandable, but also not ethical. The necessary thing but not the moral thing. I mean, he didn't even join Starfleet by his own will, he was just programmed to be in it.

Well it was established in one episode that they DO have backups. And that they can erase some of his memory without gutting the whole thing. They just choose not to. And narratively doing that in season six of a seven season show would have been an awful route to take.

Consdering that the final solution was in fact, to make a backup version of him that was an even better singer, well... that was the solution.

ABout the only excuse I can think of is he'd take his future tech holo emiter with him, so any new Doctor would be stuck in sickbay? Except the natives obviously installed/created their own holo emiters, so...

It also makes you wonder why in the episode where he malfunctions because of saving Kim's life or some random crewmember why THE FIRST TIME when he was still just a piece of equipment to them why they wiped his memories instead of just resetting him to before the incident. Far more efficient and carried no risk of him remembering.

That was actually a pretty decent ways in though, like season 5. Yeah Janeway was still treating him like a toaster, but he'd definitely turned into his own person by then. Erasing his memory going back a couple days was a way safer bet.

If it happened in season one, episode 8, different matter entirely.

[Linkara]

I HATE this episode.

Absolutely despise it. Hated it the first time I ever saw it and still hate it today - when I eventually get around to making my Top 15 Worst Star Trek episodes it's on there.

It's character assassination. While not as bad as Phlox condoning genocide, it's pretty damn bad. The idea that the Doctor would happily leave Voyager for fame and adulation from a bunch of assholes is ridiculous and frustrating. While the Doctor's ego has always been a problem, he shelves that ego when it comes to the health and safety of others because he's got his priorities in check. I recall Macrocosm, where his enthusiasm for an away mission and getting to be off the ship instantly deflates because an alien is in trouble and he wants to help. Some asshole behavior like not calling Janeway Captain or letting his ego get the better of him for a longer stay on the planet and wanting to give away autographed recordings? Sure, dickish, but no one's life is being threatened. Leaving his friends, colleagues, and duties to stay on this planet because he became a celebrity? BS and I hate it.

On a more positive note for discussion, I'm wondering how the Prime Directive would apply to a situation like this? While not interfering with their GOVERNMENT, introducing an artistic idea like music into a culture that has no concept of it feels like the kind of thing that will radically interfere and transform said culture.

[Fianna]

"Data's Day," "Starship Down?" I love those episodes.

I've been wanting to see him do "By Any Other Name" for a while now. All it needs is an alien civilization that's identical to an Earth civilization, and it might very well be the TOS-iest of all TOS episodes.

On a more positive note for discussion, I'm wondering how the Prime Directive would apply to a situation like this? While not interfering with their GOVERNMENT, introducing an artistic idea like music into a culture that has no concept of it feels like the kind of thing that will radically interfere and transform said culture.

The aliens have warp capability, and so can seek out other worlds and species on their own. The uncontaminated-culture genie is out of the bottle. If they didn't learn about music from Voyager, then they'd inevitably stumble across it somewhere else.