Mobile Site | Shops | eMail Author | Caption Comp | Monthly Poll | Sudden Death | Colour Key | Statistics | Cookie Usage |
Series : | Voyager | Rating : | ![]() |
||
Disc No : | 1.2 | Episode : | 5 | ||
First Aired : | 6 Feb 1995 | Stardate : | 48532.4 | ||
Director : | Winrich Kolbe | Year : | 2371 | ||
Writers : | Timothy De Haas | Season : | 1 | ||
Guest Cast : |
|
||||
YATI : | The EMH says he will use Neelix's last transporter trace as a template to create holographic lungs for him. Unfortunately, the last time Neelix used the transporter was when he came back on board the ship after losing his lungs. So there was nothing there to serve as a template. | ||||
Body Count : | None that we see. Presumably the Vidiians have killed people to get all their organs, though. |
The others rush him back to Voyager only to find that Neelix's lungs have been surgically removed. The EMH rapidly generates a pair of holographic lungs for him. Whilst this saves his life, the limitations are severe; for as long as he is dependent on them, Neelix will have to remain in sickbay, clamped down on the bed with his chest held perfectly still.
Janeway leads another away mission to the asteroid where they find an alien facility and wound one of the aliens, forcing him to drop his weapon before he escapes in his ship. Voyager follows the ship whilst they examine the weapon; part tricorder, part transporter, the device can scan a person, analyse their anatomy, and beam out selected organs. The aliens each appear to be a hodgepodge of stolen body parts from different species.
Voyager chases the alien ship into another asteroid, but this one appears to be lines with natural mirror surfaces, casting hundreds of reflections all around them. They come up with the solution of simply firing a phaser on a low setting; the beam bounces from wall to wall, only stopping when it hits the real alien ship. Beaming the aliens aboard, the crew learn the horrific truth; these Vidiians are infected with an incurable disease which eats away at their organs. Using their advanced medical technology they steal organs from alien species, modifying them so that they can replace their own dying parts. Neelix's lungs have already been modified and implanted, and Janeway must face a choice; taking them back would mean murdering one of her prisoners. The man even offers to volunteer, telling her it would be a relief to die and finaly be rid of the life he is forced to lead. Unable to take him up on the offer, she sees no choice but to let the Vidiians go, but issues them a stark warning; in any future encounter she will use lethal force to defend her crew from any further harvesting.
About to leave, the Vidiians realise there is another choice; their medical technology is advanced enough that they might perhaps be able to modify a lung from one of Voyager's crew to be suitable for transplant into Neelix. Kes volunteers, and the procedure is successfully carried out. Neelix, now with one lung, makes a full recovery and everyone goes on their way.
The Kazon and Vidiians make an interesting contrast. The Kazon were shallow - Klingon wannabes with no real potential for growth or interest, no way to add depth to the show. The Vidiians on the other hand... they had a good deal of potential, and could have become something really interesting, but although Voyger would bring them in a few times and get one or two good moments out of them, they just seemed like a big bag of potential that the writers never bothered to explore. In the end, both species were written off in favour of a mix of baddies of the week and the Borg as a recurring threat; many years later we would get an offhand remark that the aliens in Think Tank were responsible for curing the Vidiians. An unthinking end to a species that could have been so much more.
Copyright Graham Kennedy | Page views : 20,142 | Last updated : 24 Nov 2014 |