Voyager 7x7 "Body and Soul"

rating: **

the story: The Doctor seeks temporary refuge within Seven's circuits, taking over in the process.

what it's all about: "Body and Soul" is the kind of episode that can easily be dismissed as gimmicky, where Jeri Ryan (Seven) is basically being asked to impersonate Robert Picardo (the Doctor), and that's really the whole point.  There's of course a reason why it's happening, and it's relevant to the recurring subplot in the series about how holograms are interpreted by various cultures, but the way it's used this time is hugely reminiscent of the far superior "Counterpoint," and so I wouldn't go out of my way to sell in on those merits.

Instead, what's most noteworthy about the episode is how Tuvok's pon farr is the subplot.  Obviously it would've been difficult to make the main story center around it ("Amok Time" is difficult to contend with, and Voyager already had a Vulcan have a crisis over it in "Blood Fever"), but the fact that the series deals with it at all is a nice touch.  Like Kes's short lifespan stood over the early seasons as a ticking time bomb, seemingly designed to become relevant at some point (eventually in "Before and After"), Tuvok being stranded so far from home, and his wife, meant it was bound to happen eventually.  I'm glad it did.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - The classic pon farr matter is once again addressed.
• series - Seems like an episode that was done on a lark.
• character - The Doctor and Seven are always fun to watch together.
• essential - Not especially.

notable guest-stars:
Megan Gallagher

Deep Space Nine 4x8 "Little Green Men"

rating: ****

the story: Quark, Rom, and Nog end up in Roswell, NM, and become the source of the persistent rumors of...

what it's all about: In the spirit of classic franchise romps like "The Trouble with Tribbles" (fans tend to overlook that it's the "grim" Deep Space Nine that brought back this tradition, other than Next Generation's aberrant "Fistful of Datas"), "Little Green Men" is the best of the "Ferengi episodes," pulling the series' trio of that species into the past and generally lampooning the mid-20th century, making the aliens the most relatable characters in the story. 

Is there really much more that needs to be said?  By now you've seen what I thought about the fourth season's attempt to reboot the appeal of Deep Space Nine, and the various ways already attempted to appeal to a broader selection of viewers.  "Green Men" brings outright comedy into the equation, and like "The Visitor" before it as a standout experience it ranks among the best selling points the series was ever going to achieve.  You don't particularly need to worry about knowing anything else to enjoy it, and this is a good thing where other times it was a drag on an overall experience that generally benefited from commitment to the mythos.  Fans will appreciate the significance of Nog's journey to Earth for formal admittance to Starfleet Academy, as well as the various levels of support he receives from Quark (his uncle) and Rom (his father).  Casual viewers will probably get a kick out of a late-episode addition to the familiar faces running around a story that otherwise avoids the station and most of the regulars, one of the better uses of an element of Deep Space Nine from the very start.  (I'd really like to spoil it here, but it's such a great surprise!)

Bottom line, a goofy and hugely endearing experience.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - A welcome return to the idea of the Star Trek farce.
• series - It somehow remains grounded in Deep Space Nine lore at the same time.
• character - A remarkable spotlight for the Ferengi trio of Quark, Rom, and Nog.
• essential - It's a classic, easily.

notable guest-stars:
Aron Eisenberg (Nog)
Max Grodenchik (Rom)
Charles Napier
Megan Gallagher

Deep Space Nine 2x4 "Invasive Procedures"

rating: ***

the story: A rogue Trill seeks to pilfer the Dax symbiont.

what it's all about: The highly unfortunate thing about the timing of airing "The Siege" and "Invasive Procedures" back-to-back at the beginning of the second season is that they both feature the station getting evacuated, so it creates a situation where you've kind of got to decide which is the better version of the story.  On the one hand, you'd think "Siege" would come out on-top because it's the conclusion of the ambitious three-episode arc that is itself a huge selling point.  But the thing is, "Siege" seems thrown together and unearned.  "Invasive Procedures" on the other hand seems anything but.

The key difference is that the good guys have a dilemma that directly involves them this time, rather than merely the unwitting center of a crisis that otherwise doesn't really involve them except by choice (yay generic hero situation!).  And actually, "Procedures" is the soft beginning for what became one of the defining character arcs of the series, the trouble of Trills without symbionts. 

The Next Generation episode "The Host" introduced the concept of the joined Trill species, but it was Deep Space Nine that really had a chance to run with it, thanks to having Jadzia and then Ezri Dax as series regulars.  Jadzia would run into more problems of this kind in "Equilibrium," and then there was Ezri herself, the next host after Jadzia of the Dax symbiont, who embodied the problems of new and/or unprepared hosts.  (In case it slips your mind, but the reason Sisko tends to call Jadzia "Old Man" is because he knew the host before her, who was an old man.)  Ezri experiences the same problems in "Field of Fire," all the way in the last season.

So that's considerable reach for the problems "Procedures" addresses.  The Trill in Deep Space Nine were more fully developed than in "The Host."  "Equilibrium" is a better episode than "Procedures," but "Procedures" features a more memorable villain, mostly because he's played by John Glover, and has the future Tuvok in Voyager, Tim Russ, supporting him in one of Russ's several minor appearances before becoming a Star Trek regular.  In the end, it's all about hubris, not having any idea what the problems really are in what Glover's character is trying to accomplish.  Pretty standard storytelling, but it helps bring the characters together in a way that hadn't really happened previously in the series.  In a way, if you want to overlook the three-parter, or consider it an extension of the first season finale ("In the Hands of the Prophets") you might think of "Procedures" as the real second season premiere.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - This is pretty series-specific.
• series - Could easily function as the easy entry point of the season.
• character - Important for the future of the Dax symbiont.
• essential -  Okay, pretty important!

notable guest-stars:
John Glover
Tim Russ
Megan Gallagher
Steve Rankin