Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series) Parturition (1995) User Reviews

The Old Green-Eyed Monster or How They Became Mom and Pop

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 15 August 2018]

I'm not going to say much. Neelix's jealousy concerning Kes gets really tiresome. His major adversary is Tom Paris, who is handsome and a bit of a lady's man. Neelix totally overreacts to their friendship, but all is settled by Janeway when the two are sent to a planetary surface where an interesting events forces them to come clean. It is pretty good but really formulaic.

Star Trek: Voyager - Parturition

[Scarecrow-88 · 6/10 · 14 January 2017]

Voyager seemed keen on "repairing" character arcs deemed unacceptable or annoying in the writing process, and so the "Neelix is horribly jealous of Tom Paris over Kes" storyline is brought to an end through a rather pleasant means: Neelix, as a nutritional specialist and for his keen insight into the quadrant, and Tom Paris, due to his pilot expertise, are ordered by Janeway to shuttlecraft to a Class-M planet to find possible edible content for the Voyager crew as the replicators are exhausting and food supplies wane. There's obvious animosity as Neelix wants Paris to leave his woman alone while Paris had admitted to Ensign Kim he was possibly in love with Kes. So "Parturition" absolves the arc's deflating portrayal of Neelix who wasn't the kind of character to react as he does because Kes has never behaved in any way to warrant his toxic personality decline. Tom is prone to desire women he could never attain, but this episode treats him wonderfully (I like Tom and consider him as this "reclamation project" Janeway believes is salvageable a compelling character), allowing him to prove to Neelix that he would respect him enough never to make a play for his woman. They become stranded on a planet that doesn't have edible life, just atmospheric content which gives both of them a nasty rash. Neelix and Tom do encounter a hatchling they respond to favorably and wish to see survive, looking for whatever they can to feed it and nourish it so that it lives and thrives. Will there be a parent coming to secure it, retrieving it for a safe and healthy upbringing? If the parent does eventually arrive, will Neelix and Paris escape the planet through a small transport window? While the Voyager awaits for the transport window to open, they must deal with a ship orbiting the planet as well. This is clearly an episode designed specifically to *heal* the story arc that seemed to *damage* Neelix, and if that is the case, job well done. Plus, it actually is quite beneficial to Paris, too. The three leaving the transport room—Neelix, Paris, and Kes, all warm and harmonious—is a final gesture of good will…to us.

Despite Neelix's annoying jealousy, this is a pretty good episode.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 12 February 2015]

When the show begins, Neelix is doing what he usually does on the show during season 2--he's VERY jealous and very much like an overly controlling boyfriend. However, this is the first time that he actually might be right--after accusing Paris of horning in on his girl in the past, Paris is starting to have some feelings towards her. But, he's too honorable to act on these feelings. However, Neelix is the jealous idiot type and begins a physical fight with Paris in the mess hall. Naturally, that means that the Captain will soon ask the two of them to go on a mission!

The mission involves the pair going to a nasty planet to see if there is any food. Unfortunately, the mismatched pair are stuck there--and an alien ship attacks Voyager. What's next is pretty clever and cute-- and it makes the show worth seeing.

This isn't exactly a brilliant episode but it is not stuck on the ship and there is an alien--things you just didn't see enough of in the series. Worth seeing.

Food Fight!

[Bolesroor · 3 February 2011]

A sparring Paris and Neelix get stranded on Planet Hell while trying to harvest food and nurse a bird-like creature back to health.

So it's the middle of Season Two and the writers still haven't decided on Kes... Is she a naive child? A husky-voiced sexpot? Nurse to the holo-doc? Neelix's wife? If the producers don't know, how can we be expected to? It took me a good five episodes to figure out that the pointy-eared imp was supposed to be Neelix's spouse and NOT his daughter, but by then I was suitably- and permanently- confused.

If the two ARE a couple we have never seen any sign of physical affection... and since she treats Neelix like her slightly duddy Dad then he may as well be. Instead we are treated to bizarre moments of jealousy and an implied relationship that has yet to convince anyone or show the slightest sign of chemistry. These two make Keiko & O'Brien look like Brad and Angelina. So who better to break up the blissful fake-marriage than Tom Paris, AKA Lt. Groin, and to make his first move by groping Little Blondie in a holodeck shuttle craft drill? My parents met the same way.

A green-with-envy Neelix and fully-erect Paris eventually fight over the Ocampa's affections by throwing spaghetti at one another, which naturally leads to the two of them being chosen at random to partner up for a dangerous mission gathering food on an inhospitable planet. After the shuttlecraft crash lands and the phasers and transporters stop working for the sake of the plot, Tom and the Talaxian hide in a cave and witness the birth of a baby vulture-person, a strange creature who immediately begins to die so that he can immediately be saved. By Tom & Neelix. Working together. Starting to get it?

"Next Generation" may have gotten away with this episode, but by the time Voyager started this kind of plot was so stale it was crumbling. What a coincidence that the two suddenly-enemies are forced to work together and that by doing so they're able to resolve their personal differences? Who could have seen that coming? (Put your hand down.) And what exactly is the resolution here anyway? That it's okay to bang another guy's wife because you helped him give mouth-to-mouth to a chicken-monster?

This is corny and predictable Trek and Voyager should be much better.

GRADE: C

Neelix is Jealous again

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 6 July 2010]

Over the last few episodes Neelix has been getting more and more jealous as Tom is seeing quite a lot of Kes. Things come to a head and the two end up covered in food after a brawl in the mess. As they are rolling around on the floor they find themselves summoned to see Captain Janeway and ordered to go on an away mission which needs Tom's flying skills and Neelix's knowledge of Delta Quadrant flora to help restock the ship's dwindling food supplies. When they crash land they find themselves trapped on a planet with a hostile environment. Seeking shelter they seal themselves in a cave where they find alien eggs. One of them hatches and they must take it back into the hostile atmosphere if it is to survive. Back on Voyager Kes is feeling bad that two people she cares about are fighting over her and as they are missing on the planet she might not see them again. The crew work to find a way to get in to a position where they may be able to beam the away team from but this isn't made easy when an alien ship turns up and opens fire on them.

I was pleased that the story concerning Neelix's jealousy finally came to a head and appeared to be resolved. While Tom and Neelix were the main characters I think the best acting came from Jennifer Lien in the scene where Kes is talking to the Doctor about her concerns about Tom and Neelix. I liked how Tom and Neelix worked together to save the alien hatchling and ended up talking their problems over even if the alien didn't look very believable.

Hopefully brings an end to the triangle

[snoozejonc · 7/10 · 12 July 2022]

Neelix and Tom Paris go on an away mission.

This is a surprising episode in that I found it relatively enjoyable.

For me the premise of this story contains some of the most unlikeable aspects of Star Trek: a highly clichéd plot combined with the Neelix/Kes/Paris triangle. However, the negativity associated with the characters previous scenes together is hopefully concluded with these characters doing something worthwhile together.

There are some predictable situations and several eye-roll moments, but I feel somewhat of a killjoy criticising it too much as it is such a positive story.

Neelix is a less annoying character here than in previous outings, but the relationship with Kes, still does not work for me. All the obvious signs of love she apparently shows him must be either too subtle for me to notice or this notion is pure exposition.

Ethan Phillips, Robert Duncan McNeill and Jennifer Lien are all solid and the production values are great.

It's a 6.5/10 for me but I round upwards.

Enjoyable even though it features Paris

[Paularoc · 7/10 · 8 August 2012]

I just don't don't care much for the Tom Paris character. I suppose he's suppose to be a lovable cad. Oh, well. I do like the Neelix character although his proneness to jealousy is not particularly attractive although in fact understandable. I was glad that by this episode's end he was able to lay that particular demon to rest. Paris realizes he "loves" Kes and Neelix is jealous because he sees Kes laughing with Paris. Paris whines to Kim about how unfair life is. When Kim and Paris go to the dining room they deliberately avoid sitting with Kes which hurts her feelings and off she goes. Neelix and Paris soon get into a food fight but this fight is broken off when they are summoned by the Captain. It seems they are near a planet that appears to have abundant food sources; however, they cannot use their transporters so Neelix and Paris (the person who knows the most about edible plants and the best pilot) are sent on a shuttle craft to investigate. Alas, things go wrong and one more Voyager shuttle craft bites the dust. The planet is covered by noxious vapors so Neelix and Paris take refuge in a cave and seal it off to keep the vapors out. They find a just hatched alien who soon has difficulties breathing. They realize that the noxious vapors are actually what the alien needs to breathe so out they go, thus saving the baby alien. When they return to the Voyager, Kes is both surprised and pleased to see Neelix and Paris joking and laughing and being best buddies. There are only so many plots and I don't mind that they are recycled. I happen to like the "enemies who become best buddies through a shared adventure" plot.

Neelix and Paris have a baby.

[thevacinstaller · 7/10 · 4 April 2020]

After the last episode when Tom Paris gave Kes a necklace with a locket I am firmly on Neelix's side. Even before there is a unspoken rule about social distancing yourself from another persons love interest and Tom crossed the line.

Even Tom's bromance partner Harry Kim agrees with me as he performs like a trained seal on his clarinet for Tom's amusement.

I love the trekesque 'fight' between Neelix and Paris that is played as half series half ham. Janeway's disappointment mom scene in the ready room also featured some classic Kate Mulgrew face acting and despite knowing that there was more to this story she essentially washed her hands of discipline and told them to deal with it like adults.

I enjoyed the scene between the Doctor and Kes and his earnest sensitive loving advice to her. The doc is generally hilariously blunt with his advice/opinions but his love(?) for kes really shines through here.

On the planet we run into a situation where Tom and Neelix have accidently disturbed the nesting place for an alien dinosaur and they have a debate on whether to become surrogate parents for the baby. I found it interesting that is was Neelix who represented the Starfleet ideals of taking care of this baby and Tom presented the cut and run idea.

We get a nice scene between Tom and Neelix talking through some of there personal faults and laying the foundation for a personal peace treaty between the two. That rascal Tom Paris actually has an excellent quote, "If you have any doubts look into her eyes...."

Jealously is a nasty human emotion and it has many layers of destruction to it. Not only to the person who feels jealously it also effects Kes as she is placed in the position of being consider a love object without feelings and personal ownership. There is a fine line between being protective and being jealous and Neelix definitely fell on the jealous side of the line.

In the end they space dinosaur parents comes down to the planet and the bonding experience of saving a life overshadows the personal problems between tom and neelix.

aka Pathological jealousy is so darn tootin' tricky

[jimwhit · 2/10 · 7 December 2020]

Neelix really is one unsavoury character from start to end. Or, as one might say from a mentally sane standpoint, a violent emotional abuser and repeated aggressor. Because of production trying to shuffle his many crimes and trangressions around, this episode ended up back to back with another containing his absolutely psychotic behaviour. Enjoy - or watch an informational film on how to save friend from a toxic, physically threatening relationship.