Random Thoughts
- Episode aired Nov 19, 1997
- TV-PG
- 46m
A telepathic race arrests B'Elanna for thinking violent thoughts that have begun to infect their peacefully enlightened, virtually crime-free society.A telepathic race arrests B'Elanna for thinking violent thoughts that have begun to infect their peacefully enlightened, virtually crime-free society.A telepathic race arrests B'Elanna for thinking violent thoughts that have begun to infect their peacefully enlightened, virtually crime-free society.
- Guill
- (as Wayne Péré)
- Voyager Ops Officer
- (uncredited)
- Terril
- (uncredited)
- Lt. Ayala
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe violent images from Tuvok's mind include shots from Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Fair Trade (1997), Unity (1997), Nemesis (1997) and Event Horizon (1997).
- GoofsWhen Tuvok shows Nimira the brig, she comments on how barbaric it is. He even has to explain to her that they use it to hold individuals until they can be handed over to the proper authorities; yet, when Torres commits a crime, they arrest her and detain her until her sentence can be carried out.
- Quotes
[Seven blames Torres for being careless with her thoughts]
Neelix: B'Elanna's not used to being around telepaths. That doesn't make her guilty.
Seven of Nine: Then her crime was ignorance - a common affliction among your crew.
Neelix: What's that supposed to mean?
Seven of Nine: You make contact with alien species without sufficient understanding of their nature. As a result, Voyager's directive to "seek out new civilizations" often ends in conflict.
Neelix: What you call ignorance, we call exploration, and... sometimes it means taking a few risks, but it's-it's certainly better than assimilating everything in your path.
Seven of Nine: Your goal is to share knowledge. Assimilation is the perfect means of attaining that goal.
Neelix: "Perfect."
- ConnectionsFeatures Star Trek: Generations (1994)
This is a reasonably good episode with some decent themes.
The premise of the story in some ways reminds me of the 'TNG's' episode 'Justice', but with quite different content. You would think certain rules and laws would be established before exploring new planets, but I guess there would be no story if the writers did not allow for the audience to suspend the disbelief.
There are a number of thought-provoking ideas, such as the outlawing of violent thought, the desire to experience violent content and how illegal practices are only driven underground by certain laws. These are all worthwhile topics for Star Trek and written well into the story.
Not everything works for me. How the characters behave is quite frustrating in some scenes. Janeway pandering to ridiculous laws when she doesn't have to, the security woman's computer-says-no attitude, and one antagonist falling for Tuvok's ruse to obtain information are to name but a few.
Ironically that conversation between Janeway and Seven at the end made me laugh. Considering how often Voyager gets drawn into contact or conflict with other species (without seeking them out), they would still have an enjoyable journey home if they avoided situations like this one.
It's a 6.5/10 for me but I round upwards.
- snoozejonc
- Mar 30, 2023
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
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- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime46 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3