Jeffrey Rewrites Voyager: Parallax

The first episode of Voyager got the Starfleet and Maquis crews to the Delta Quadrant, established that they are on a journey home, and established that the mixed crew will have to work together. So obviously, the second episode has to show that tension, and it also has to highlight the two characters who were glossed over in the first episode, B'Elanna and the Doctor.

Which Parallax does... in a way that makes the Maquis seem completely unimportant by burying the central conflict between the crews, to only be brought out again occasionally. In addition, Parallax gives us our first taste of a problem that only got worse and worse as the seasons wore on: Janeway, the evil megalomaniacal star tyrant.

Now keep in mind, in my rewritten universe Chakotay and the Maquis are still in their old uniforms, and Chakotay is not just Janeway's lapdog. You may want to refresh your memory by looking at last week's post.

Once again, this rewrite will be thematic, rather than chronological, so if you do not remember the original plot of Parallax you can refresh your memory at the Memory Alpha Wiki.

Let's start by talking about the giant, glaring problem with this episode. It's only the second episode, and the first regular episode, and they are already bringing up temporal mechanics. And in a Brannon Braga-written episode, no less!

Possibly the greatest Trek episode of all time.

Listen, Braga. I know you love time travel. But time travel episodes in Star Trek are special. Some of the best episodes of previous Trek series involved time travel, and they were the best because they were rare, and because the crews were already established, allowing full attention to be paid to the timey wimey plot. Busting out the temporal mechanics in the second episode only makes it look like you have absolutely no idea what to do with this crew.

Which I think you don't, but that is neither here nor there.

A lot of the problems with this episode do revolve around the fact that they bring in temporal mechanics. So let's get rid of that. There is no reflected ship, and no distress call from themselves. They do run into a quantum singularity... but for crying out loud, this episode came out in 1995. There is no excuse for the shoddy science displayed here.

An artist's impression of an actual black hole. The
singularity is hidden by the accretion disk and x-ray jets.

No, an event horizon is not an "energy field". No, it does not trap things within it, which can then escape through a crack. An event horizon is a point where gravity exceeds light speed, thus meaning light cannot escape (that is, of course, a layman's definition. I'm not a quantum physicist, and Stephen Hawking now believes a lot of what we know about black holes may be wrong, but regardless, it's a lot closer than this episode gets).

So let's change the premise. It is a quantum singularity, but it was obscured by a large accretion disk. Because sensors are still damaged from the catastrophe in "Caretaker", Voyager does not detect a new stream of matter being sucked toward the black hole. Voyager is swept along by the stream, and ends up stabilizing itself in a decaying orbit around the accretion disk. The question then becomes: how to escape the doom whirlpool. At first B'Elanna comes up with a way to use the tractor beam to pull them out by locking into matter in a higher orbit, but this causes the matter to destabilize and fling them further toward the singularity.

But this region has less turbulence, so they set a course away, but find themselves again falling back into the accretion disk. Eventually they discover that the intense gravitational forces are bending space itself around them, pulling them dangerously close to the event horizon. Impulse power appears to take them away, but because space itself has become curved, it only steers them back to the accretion disk. And the warp drive cannot work because if they hit the surrounding matter at warp it will tear the ship apart.

Now the ending actually makes sense. They have to take a shuttlecraft out, because only a small shuttlecraft can navigate through the orbital layers without breaking apart. They are not cutting a hole in the event horizon, which is just stupid, but instead they are cutting a hole through the material "above" Voyager, thus making a tunnel for Voyager to escape through at warp.

To some of you that might not sound any more clear than the technobabble in the show, but for those of us who studied a bit of science, this makes far more sense (if those who know more than me can think of a better way to make this work, please leave it in the comments below!)

So, with the plot fixed, let's talk about the people. For dramatic purposes, I really wanted to save my primary objection for last, but the truth is that problem infects all the others, so I need to deal with it first.

Come to think of it, I would totally watch that show.

Janeway is an evil megalomaniacal star tyrant.

You see, as I watched Star Trek: Voyager, I began to develop a theory. This theory was that Janeway was actually an evil megalomaniac with dreams of ruling an iron-fisted dictatorship. She does not want to return to earth. She wants to rule the Delta Quadrant, with a crew that is cowed into submission.

At first the idea of Janeway, Star Tyrant was just a joke. But as the series continued I began to realize it was not a joke. It was a reality.

I am sure that was not the intention. Maybe it was the combination of the generally shoddy writing and the fact that Kate Mulgrew was allowed quite a lot of creative input into the scripts. But the more you watch Voyager, the more it becomes the story of a helpless crew, tormented under Janeway, Star Tyrant.

That process begins with this episode. Janeway is having to deal with a mixed crew, Starfleet and Maquis. The episode should be about she and Chakotay finding a balance between strict Starfleet regulations, and the looser, more flexible Maquis methods. Chakotay should point out that, alone in the Delta Quadrant, Voyager will need some Maquis ingenuity. Janeway should point out that, alone in the Delta Quadrant, Voyager will require Starfleet discipline. Eventually they will reach a compromise, with B'Elanna becoming Chief Engineer, and the Maquis donning Starfleet uniforms for the first time as Chakotay takes his place as first officer. This relationship should be based on respect and bargaining, because the Maquis have absolutely no reason to submit themselves to Starfleet otherwise.

Janeway, master of the "condescending mother" look.

Instead, Janeway sets herself up as the tyrannical captain from the start. When Chakotay suggests B'Elanna Torres as Chief Engineer, because she is quite frankly an engineering genius (which, in my rewritten universe, would already have been proven when she and Harry reprogrammed the Caretaker's self-destruct), Janeway looks at him with incredulity, then rudely and disrespectfully changes the subject without another word.

That is an important point. Janeway does not just dismiss Chakotay's advice. She treats it with disdain. She acts as if Chakotay is not worthy of respect. And that makes it impossible for me to buy the loyalty the Maquis later show her.

When Chakotay gets in touch with B'Elanna to solve their engineering problem, it is perhaps a little bit of a power play, but only to show what B'Elanna can do, and because Chakotay knows she is the best. And sure enough, she proves that... only for Janeway to rather publicly disrespect both Chakotay and all the Maquis by insisting on Carey's second opinion.

It would have been all right if she had asked Carey to be in charge in a professional, captainly manner, but her methods, tone, and wording make it clear that she was putting B'Elanna and Chakotay in their place, subordinate to Starfleet. Then she further disrespects Chakotay by asking him into her office like a schoolboy called to meet with the principal.

Granted, Chakotay's response is brilliant, and points out her hypocrisy, but as so often happens, the show seems to think we should side with Janeway on this one... when really, I am siding with Chakotay. It is not a Starfleet ship anymore, not totally. They may adopt Starfleet uniforms and try to live by Starfleet principles, but it is their own family, unique and original... or it should be.

Really, we should have seen this coming.

Of course, the biggest problem is the writers seem to have no idea just how tyrannical Janeway is. She is treated as an almost messianic figure, the one who has to fix every problem, and solve every issue. They seem not to realize that, since Janeway clearly does not respect her crew, we, the viewer, will not respect them either.

Janeway has data transfered to her ready room, to do her own analysis. That is ridiculous. She has people for that, she has a whole engineering team, and probably a number of science officers as well. I like that Janeway came up through the science officer ranks instead of Tactical or Ops, but it's ridiculous for a starship captain to analyze data by herself during a crisis.

The same thing happens when B'Elanna comes up with a way to escape the singularity. This should be B'Elanna's moment, the moment where B'Elanna proves that she is the finest engineering mind on the ship. But Janeway cannot let her have it. While I do enjoy some aspects of the nerd debate that ensues between B'Elanna and Janeway, I hate the fact that it is often Janeway, not B'Elanna, who delivers the facts, as if Janeway came up with them first.

No. B'Elanna came up with them first. Janeway is just tech-savvy enough to catch on to what she's saying, and to get excited about it.

It's the same thing in the shuttle, when the two of them have to decide which reflection to head toward. Now in my version, there are no reflections, so we need another crisis. Perhaps the angle at which they must set out so the space curvature takes them back to Voyager. In the episode, Janeway shows up B'Elanna through her logical skills. But why? Why does Janeway need to win?

Let B'Elanna win. Let this be her moment. She's the clever, scientific one. Let her impress Janeway enough for her to realize Chakotay was right.

Then, later, Janeway steals the spotlight from Tom as well. Tom is another person who, like the Maquis, does not settle into Starfleet command structure well. Why couldn't this be Tom's moment? Why does it have to be Janeway who says "Sometimes you just have to punch your way through?" Why can't it be Tom who, as the expert pilot, says that? Why can't Janeway look at him with alarm, then say, "I hope you know what you're doing. Engage, Mister Paris!"

It is absolutely vital in any Star Trek show that the cast be an ensemble. That each member of the crew show that they are competent and skilled. Janeway being the best at everything destroys that. Worse yet, it makes her a hated Mary Sue character, the bane of good fiction everywhere. So we get rid of it. Janeway is a good, competent Captain, but she is a good Captain because she relies on the experts she has chosen for their fields.

"Ensign Sue Must Die" by Clare Moseley and Kevin Bolk

Thus, this episode is all about the Maquis, and Tom Paris, proving to Janeway that they, too, are experts in their fields, and are to be trusted.

So, with Janeway being less of a tyrant, Chakotay can shine more. He is actually pretty good in this episode. He stands up for his people, but at the same time he begins to accept that this will be a Starfleet vessel. I especially like his speech to the other Maquis officers, and to B'Elanna, at the beginning of the episode. I perhaps would like him to tell Seska and the other Maquis why they have to work together, rather than just threatening to throw them into the brig if they continue speaking of mutiny. Something like, "We're out in the middle of nowhere, on a Starfleet ship. Mutiny is not an option. We have to work with these people, and by god we will, or I'll throw you in the brig myself." When he dons his Starfleet uniform for the first time (in my universe) at the end of the episode, it represents a great compromise on his part.

To be fair, Chakotay does have a mug-shaped skull.

Another thing I would change is when he asks Janeway, "If things had happened differently, and we were on the Maquis ship now instead of Voyager, would you have served under me?" Janeway flippantly responds with, "One of the nice things about being Captain is that you can keep some things to yourself," and he smiles good-natured smile. I would not have had him smile. Or, rather, I would have had him smile to Janeway... and then let the camera see that smile vanish into a troubled look as she turns her back, because this is an indication that she still does not fully respect the Maquis, and that she still considers the Starfleet crew superior.

B'Elanna is handled very well in this episode as far as characterization goes. I would give her more chances to shine, as I pointed out earlier, her character development is strong. Her anger comes not just from her genetics, but from a deep sense of inadequacy and self-loathing that will make her a complex character in episodes to come. And just as Chakotay has to compromise by accepting a Starfleet uniform and a subordinate position to Janeway, so B'Elanna has to compromise by no longer being the brilliant loner, but by being the leader of a team, and having to work together with the arrogant, jealous Carey. She is out of her comfort zone now, and that is just where we want a developing character.

Neelix and Kes are mostly good. I would perhaps have split Neelix's speech before the officer's briefing between Neelix and Kes, showing that both of them are eager to be included in the planning. As it is, Kes seems like extra baggage that Neelix is dragging along. And I would have had Janeway bring up Kes's experience farming on the surface of Ocampa as another good reason why she should be in charge of hydroponics, which also would remind the audience that (in my universe) Kes has a strong reason to be with Voyager, to help her people. But generally I liked their role.

Tuvok only really had one scene, where he was talking with Chakotay in the corridor. I thought that was spot on for Tuvok. His dedication to Chakotay's acceptance as co-captain (not first officer in my universe until the very end of the episode, where he accepts the Starfleet position in exchange for fuller Maquis integration into the crew), while at the same time noting his objection in his security log is pure Tuvok.

Harry and Tom barely show up, save for the scene where Tom shows off his piloting skills in my rewrite, which is fine. It's not their episode.

There is no reason for this picture. I just think it's hilarious.

The Doctor is pretty much just comic relief again since we have not yet had an actual doctor-development episode, but I like how they bring up the fact that he cannot switch himself off. I also like how no one except Kes is yet treating him as anything more than a computer program. It feels strange saying it, since the Doctor, if anything, will be over-used as the series goes on, but thus far he has just been comic relief for two episodes. I think it's about time for the Doctor to get some character development.

All in all this is not a bad episode, but it lays the seeds for a lot of bad things that will only grow worse as the show goes on. Best to nip those things in the bud now. In addition, this is pretty much the last episode for a while where there is significant tension between Maquis and Starfleet, beyond a few easily-resolved problem cases. Which is unrealistic. We're going to drag that out a bit further in my rewrites.

The journey back to Earth has just begun. And it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Foreshadowing? Nuh-uh. None of that here. No sir.