Character Insight No. 169: Best of Kes

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe. An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.  

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Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we continue the "Best Of" series with a look at the best episodes featuring Kes, from Voyager. 

(Kes, courtesy Wikipedia)

Kes is one of two Delta Quadrant residents who become part of Voyager's crew as a result of the events of the pilot Caretaker. She is an Ocampan, a life form which has psionic powers and a 9-year lifespan. Thus, even though she serves as a medical assistant, she eventually leaves the crew after three seasons, making way for Seven of Nine as a new character. Here are some of her best moments. 

In the Season 3 episode Before and After, Kes is shown participating in a year-long battle with the Krenim and being infected with particles from a Chroniton torpedo, which leads to a backwards journey through an alternative version of her life when the Doctor accidentally activates these particles when trying to keep her alive. In this timeline, she marries Tom Paris and their daughter marries Harry Kim.

Kes: If there's one thing that this experience has taught me, Captain, it's that there's no time like the present. 

In the season 2 episode Elogium, Kes is caused by some space-dwelling life forms to prematurely enter the once-per-life Ocampan female reproductive state. She must deal with the potential loss of her only opportunity to have a child, and the Doctor helps her with this as much as she helps him with his growth as a character. 

Neelix: A... Awful! How can you eat it? 
Kes: I can't stop eating it. I've had six bowls! And the reason it tastes so strange, I've put a container of nitrogenated soil in it. 
Neelix: Dirt? You're eating dirt? 
...
The Doctor: Her unusual appetite may merely indicate a nutrient deficiency. It is not unusual for humanoids to crave foods that are rich in the very vitamins and minerals that their bodies are lacking. 
Kes: You... you can't mean my body lacks dirt? 


Finally, in the season 3 episode Warlord, Kes has the consciousness of an Ilaran tyrant transferred into her own and she must fight this consciousness off to regain her individuality. This leads to the end of her romantic relationship with Neelix, as well as trauma over being caused to do violent acts when under the tyrant's control. 

Kes: How can I worry about my own wellbeing when... so many people have suffered and died? 
Lieutenant Tuvok: You were not responsible for Tieran's actions. 
Kes: I can't help wondering whether I could've fought harder. 
Lieutenant Tuvok: It was your absolute refusal to surrender which defeated him. You cannot ask more of yourself than that. 

Kes was an interesting character at times, but her development was more stilted than Neelix, and she ended up being a character the show could do without. Although the actress who played Kes has recently gotten into some legal trouble, we shouldn't let that color our enjoyment of this character provided by the early Voyager show writers trying to bring that Delta Quadrant flavor to the crew.

Until next time, have a great Thanksgiving!

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Feedback can be sent to me with future segment suggestions on Twitter @BuckeyeFitzy.

Character Insight No. 168: Best of Tom Paris

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe. An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.  

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Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we continue the "Best Of" series with a look at the best episodes featuring Tom Paris, from Voyager.

(Tom Paris, courtesy Memory Alpha)

Tom Paris is the chief helmsman on board Voyager.  As the journey continues and the crew grows thin, Paris also takes on the duty of auxiliary medic for when the holographic doctor is unavailable or overwhelmed. He's a sometimes brash son of an Admiral from a long-serving Starfleet family, but his development comes in overcoming his own life's obstacles. His character was also loosely based on the Nicolas Locarno character the actor played in the TNG episode The First Duty. In this way, he serves as an interesting character contrast for his best friend Harry Kim.

Here's some of his best quotes and moments. 

In the Season 2 episode Threshold, Tom addresses his past aspirations and disappointments of his family line face-on, as he has a chance to test the first ever Warp 10 flight in space. The experiment goes horribly awry and he de-evolves, as does the show writing in what perhaps ends up being the worst episode of the whole Voyager show. However, Tom's character bits in the first half of the episode are fantastic, including his debate with Captain Janeway when he is initially not medically cleared to do the test flight:

Tom Paris: When I was a boy, my father used to tell me that I was special. That one day I'd do something significant. My teachers at school, all the kids, everyone used to say, "Tom Paris is gonna do something important when he grows up". Obviously that didn't happen. Captain Kathryn Janeway: This isn't about personal redemption. We're talking about medical risk. Your life could be in danger, and we need you. Tom Paris: Captain, this is the first time in ten years I feel I *have* a life to risk.

In the Season 4 episode Day of Honor, the slow-budding romance between Tom and Engineer B'Elanna Torres finally advances when both characters are stranded in space following an attack on their shuttle while trying to recover an ejected warp core. B'Elanna eventually admits her love for Tom, which will lead to a marriage and a child by the last season of the show. She still plays coy in the process though, as shown here:

Tom Paris: When we first met, you didn't have a very high opinion of me. B'Elanna Torres: That's putting it mildly. I thought you were an arrogant, self-absorbed pig. Tom Paris: Flattery won't get you any more oxygen... Do you think I've changed? B'Elanna Torres: A lot. Now you're a stubborn, domineering pig.

The best Tom Paris episode is likely an easy choice, that being the Season 5 episode Thirty Days. In this episode, Tom recalls in a message to his father the series of events that led to his demotion to Ensign as well as a 30 day stay in the ship's brig. On a meeting with delegates of an ocean planet, the Voyager crew discovers that some oxygen-mining units and a central reactor at the core of this planet is causing water loss at a rate that will destroy the planet in 5 years. The delegates and government do not want to impair lifestyle to change this, which leads to Tom Paris breaking the Prime Directive to use the Delta Flyer to destroy some of the oxygen-mining units.

Captain Janeway: Four years ago I released you from prison and gave you a fresh start. Until now you've been a fine officer; your service on this ship has been exemplary. I really believed you were past this kind of conduct. Lt. Tom Paris: I've never been very good at playing by the rules. That doesn't mean that serving under your command hasn't changed me - for the better. At least, this time I broke the rules for a reason - for something I believed in. Captain Janeway: I admire your principles, Tom. But I can't ignore what you've done.

He struggles with the decision on whether to actually finish the letter and/or send it to his father, but with Harry Kim's guidance, he ends up deciding this moment is one where he could earn his family's trust back again.

[last lines] Tom Paris: [in his letter to his father] "I honestly don't know if I'll ever understand you. Or what went wrong between us. But I hope this letter helps you understand me a little better." - Computer, file letter in my personal database. And transmit when we're within range of Earth.

Paris does not suffer from some of the same character development flaws as other characters on this show, and he comes full circle from a Maquis sympathizing small-time criminal to a family man over the course of the show. Although episodes focusing on him are a little few-and-far-between, the ones we get are pretty strong.

Until next time, keep striving to make yourself better, whether for family or for other reasons. 

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Feedback can be sent to me with future segment suggestions on Twitter @BuckeyeFitzy.

Character Insight No. 167: What's in a Theme?

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe.  An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here. 

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Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we take a look forward to the newly-announced Star Trek TV series with an investigation on what we want in a theme song. 


(The opening of the TNG theme credits)

Everybody has an opinion on theme music, but it seems that most Trek fans can agree on some things they like and some things they dislike about theme music. Especially when you are generally stuck with theme music for many years, it can be critical to set the mood and make you excited for this week's adventure in space. This has proven to be just as much a character of the show as the actors themselves!

Here's my own personal ranking of the theme songs.

1. The Next Generation

Yes, I know it's kind of a cheat because they stole it from The Motion Picture, but this update to the classic theme has just enough bombastic to get you geared up for excitement while still having the majestic quality of orchestral music as well.

2. Voyager

The middle of such a list is where most people will make personal choices, and I personally like Voyager's theme because it has a light, uplifting feeling that fits Star Trek better than darker toned themes, in my view. Not as exciting as TNG, however.

3. The Original Series

This has the sounds of 60's lounge music, which is kind of cheesy, but it is also iconic. It set the standard for no lyrics and letting the theme song stand on its own, which is critical as we will see.

4. Deep Space Nine

I find this to be too flat in places, which doesn't make me want to jump into the next episode like the songs above it on my list. It is calm and majestic, like the Deep Space Nine station...OK maybe not.

5. Enterprise

I've got faith to believe...that it doesn't matter which version you pick, this is just an awful choice with lyrics that don't make sense for the show, but at least it wasn't boy bands...I guess we can say that.

So what can we take from all this? It seems that having a piece of music with no lyrics is an absolute must, and I would personally prefer a bombastic exciting piece of music. However, it could fit the times like the TOS theme and bring in more modern stylings, perhaps a mix of styles like the Metallica S&M album (adding a guitar and bass, or maybe elements of hip hop rhythm with an orchestra leads to unique and good sounding results).

What would you want in the next theme song for Star Trek in 2017? Regardless of how it comes out, at least it's unlikely that we can do worse than Enterprise.

Until next time, keep your lyrics and your boy bands out of my Star Trek.

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Feedback can be sent to me with future segment suggestions on Twitter @BuckeyeFitzy. Until next time, live long and prosper..

Character Insight No. 166: Best of Tuvok

This is the latest installment in a series of "Character Insight" articles regarding the rich history of characters in the Star Trek universe. An audio version will appear on the This Week in Trek podcast, available for direct download here.  

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Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we continue the "Best Of" series with a look at the best episodes featuring Tuvok, from Voyager. 

(Tuvok, not his normal expression, courtesy the IronCladWords Blog)

Tuvok serves as the chief tactical officer and security officer aboard Voyager, and he is Janeway's original right-hand man, even after the Maquis join the crew and Chakotay takes over as first officer in the Delta Quadrant. The first Vulcan regular crew member since Spock had big shoes to fill, but we get to see a different character arc of a full-blooded Vulcan still struggling with some internal conflict and emotional control at times. Let's take a look at some of his best episodes.

In the Season 7 episode Repression, Tuvok discovers that he was discovered as a Starfleet undercover operative while he was with the Maquis by another Maquis who experimented with Tuvok using mind control. This mind control is triggered again seven years later by a subliminal message in a letter from his son, and this is one of Tuvok's internal flashbacks which helps him figure out the problem.

Tuvok: [flashback] What do you want? 
Teero: You. You're the perfect subject. 
Tuvok: For what? 
Teero: I'm a student of the mind. Yours is remarkable - disciplined, orderly. On the surface, that is. Beneath - boiling emotions, repressed violence. In a sense, you're two different men. One I could never hope to manipulate. But the other... 
Tuvok: I have been trained to resist mind control. 
Teero: That's the rational, logical part of you at work. But I want to reach your inner fire - your spirit. 

Other episodes like Season 3's Flashback focus on Tuvok's unsuccessful first stint in Starfleet. We see his struggles back then with dealing with non-Vulcans in the way he deals with being an ensign on Captain Sulu's Excelsior crew.

Captain Hikaru Sulu: Outstanding! I may have to give you a promotion. 
Tuvok: That was not my motivation, Captain. I am not attempting to curry favor with you in any way. 
Captain Hikaru Sulu: [laughing] Mr Tuvok, if you're going to remain on my ship, you're gonna have to learn how to appreciate a joke. And don't tell me Vulcans don't have a sense of humor, because I know better. 
Tuvok: I will... work on it, sir. 

Through Tuvok's character pieces in Voyager, we also learn small further bits about how Vulcans treat everyday items like emotions of family life, as seen in this short quote from the Season 2 episode Innocence.


Elani: [referring to Tuvok's children] If Vulcans don't feel anything, does that mean you don't love them? 
Lieutenant Tuvok: My attachment to my children cannot be described as an emotion. They are part of my identity. And I am... incomplete without them. 

Likely the best Tuvok episode of all time is the Season 2 episode Meld, in which Tuvok decides to mind meld with a Betazoid crewman Lon Suder who had murdered another person on board. This mind meld causes Suder's violent tendencies to transfer to Tuvok, who struggles to control them including during frustrating conversations with his foil Neelix.

Lieutenant Tuvok: Morale is irrelevant to a Vulcan. 
Neelix: Oh, please, there's no one on this ship requires my services more than you do. I will not rest until I see you smile. 
Lieutenant Tuvok: Then you will not rest. 

Other top episodes include the series finale Endgame as well as those focusing on Tuvok's odd couple relationship with Neelix, which we recently covered in Neelix's Best Of segment, including Riddles and Tuvix. 

Until next time, embrace the logic of good character development.  

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Feedback can be sent to me with future segment suggestions on Twitter @BuckeyeFitzy.