Voyager’s First ‘Villains’ Nonetheless Stands Amongst Its Greatest

A number of folks get sick or wounded in Star Trek—it’s why a medical officer is all the time an important character in a collection, why their sickbay is as essential and oft-visited a locale as a starship bridge. And a part of that’s that often Trek dabbles with the concept of depicting persistent sickness, for higher or worse, and the potential actuality of characters having to face long-term care. However 30 years in the past right now, Voyager explored that whereas additionally introducing us to among the finest recurring alien species it ever acquired in its seven-season run.

Voyager has fairly quite a few recurring antagonist species, even because the again half the present will get slightly too Borg-obsessive for its personal good. Early on there’s the repeated looming menace of the various Kazon clans, later we get the faux-Predators within the Hirogen (suppliers of the collection’ finest holodeck episodes in “The Killing Recreation” two-parter)—with all the things from the asshole polluters within the Malon or the sinister Species 8472 in between. However three a long time in the past right now, nonetheless early into the present’s run, we acquired among the finest of the entire present when “Phage”—my very own private very first episode of Star Trek, sparking a lifelong love—launched us to the Vidiians.

A species pushed into organ-harvesting piracy by the lethal, pan-generational affliction that provides their debut episode its title, the Vidiians mix a plethora of components to make them such a compelling foe, and ultimately tragic frenemies. First, their look is a exceptional little bit of prosthetic work, gruesomely tragic humanoids ravaged by a illness that has visibly scarred and ravaged their our bodies—sincerely creepy and uncomfortable to take a look at. The second is that they’re, even pushed to the extremes we first encounter them by means of, not less than considerably comprehensible in why they’re the way in which they’re, one thing the collection explores additional and additional of their future appearances, however can also be current from the get-go in “Phage.” However “Phage” can also be actually the one Vidiian episode that completely nails what makes them so scary: the potential actuality of what their actions inflict on others.

“Phage” opens as a routine away mission (that Neelix has, in his common method early on in Voyager‘s run, managed to bother himself onto) going catastrophically mistaken when a mysterious assailant assaults Neelix with a peculiar power machine. However Neelix hasn’t been phasered, because the Physician shortly realizes: he’s had his lungs eliminated.

What follows is genuinely a type of early Voyager eventualities that speaks to the collection’ unimaginable potential. There’s the “a personality tries to take care of Neelix being annoying” stuff that’s widespread in early Voyager, positive, at the same time as these aggravated acquiesce that they’re coping with a abruptly chronically disabled colleague. However because the physician works by means of stopgap remedy after stopgap remedy, a multitude of problems makes dealing with the prospect of Neelix needing quick, lifelong remedy actually fascinating to contemplate even past the physique horror of his scenario. This early on, Voyager continues to be grappling with simply how resource-strapped a ship stranded tens of 1000’s of lightyears from assist handles itself: the ship doesn’t have the power or personnel to spare; the medical division, all-but-eradicated by the injury Voyager took being flung into the Delta Quadrant, is just about simply the physician flinging issues on the wall to see what sticks in an space of remedy he has no historical past or understanding of. Attempting to maintain a Federation member species with out lungs for an prolonged time period would already be a meaty concept to deal with, however Neelix is the one Talaxian the crew or we the viewers know at this level, compounding remedy even additional.

And the truth that we sit with this wrestle for a lot of the episode not figuring out how or why it’s occurred—heightening the thriller of this new menace whereas additionally truly attending to really feel out and discover the present laying out this concept as a probably ongoing plot—simply makes the horror of the concept linger in your thoughts all of the extra, whereas giving Neelix some nice early characterization past being the Quirky New Alien. However for nearly as good as “Phage” is—particularly by the point of the fourth-act reveal of who the Vidiians are and what their deal is—it does finally nonetheless undergo from the problem that plagues loads of Voyager‘s finest concepts, not in contrast to a illness that can by no means go away.

On the finish of the day, Neelix has to get higher, irrespective of how a lot time this one episode units up him and his pals coming to phrases with a life-altering affliction, not as a result of the story actually calls for it, however as a result of Voyager‘s heavily episodic nature signifies that, exterior of broad swings, only a few issues within the present finally persist past an episode or two. As shortly because the Vidiians are launched and go from being shadowy, threatening foes to still-dangerous, however tragic figures, it’s simply as shortly established that they might help Neelix get alternative lungs and everybody may be on their means. The present can’t maintain the existential problem of getting a chronically unwell character, as a result of all the things has to soft-reset after 45 minutes. The truth that each Neelix and Kes (his eventual donor, because of the Vidiian’s organ-manipulation tech) simply have a singular lung for the remainder of their respective runs on the present is introduced up maybe a few times, and never in a major method. For as filled with improbable concepts as it’s, “Phage” has to make its impression after which get out with little or no actually modified in regards to the present, aside from it performing because the turning level the place the Physician decides to tackle Kes as medical assist employees.

And but, that impression continues to be keenly felt 30 years later: the energy of the concept, even figuring out that it needs to be resolved a lot prior to it ought to, continues to be there, as is the nice, conflicted first impression the Vidiians make on Voyager‘s crew and the viewers at giant. “Phage”, even this early into Voyager‘s journey residence, nonetheless stands as one of many present’s finest variations of itself—even when that additionally means it has to face as a testomony to one of many collection’ perpetual weaknesses within the course of.

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