This sixth episode of "Star Trek: Voyager" is the first really, really good one in the series. Like most new shows, the first few shows are a bit tentative--with characters still coming into their own and the shows not yet hitting their stride. This isn't a complaint--more just an observation. However, here in "Eye of the Needle", the show hit a home run--and it's among the better shows in the series.
When the show begins, the Voyager crew discovers a tiny wormhole. It's too small for the ship but the hope is that they can send a probe to the hole and somehow bounce a message through to the other side...into the Alpha Quadrant. Well, it is a success but not a rousing one. The ship they contact on the other side of the galaxy is Romulan and this race of beings have always been portrayed a very paranoid. Getting the Romulans to help WON'T be easy, that's for sure. But the problems get far worse, because when they finally get this Romulan commander to agree to relay messages to their families and Starfleet, there is a heartbreaking realization...and it's something you'll just have to learn when you see the show.
Like most Trek shows, this one has a secondary plot--but it's NOT an unimportant or slight one. Kes is a good study and is now working with the holo doctor. But she also notices that the humans on the ship treat him like dirt. After all, he's NOT alive and he's basically a tool. But she sees that he is much more and begins to bond with him and treat him as an equal. Kes then takes it upon herself to approach the Captain and request that something be done to remedy the crew's interactions with the doc--and thus begins the slow evolution of the doctor through the course of the film into an important and fully realized character. And, considering he IS the best character on the show, it's a journey I really enjoyed seeing.
Overall, the reason I score this one a 10 is that it really is exquisitely written--and a bit heart-felt and sad near the end. There are so many clever things that the script contains and it's well worth seeing.
When the show begins, the Voyager crew discovers a tiny wormhole. It's too small for the ship but the hope is that they can send a probe to the hole and somehow bounce a message through to the other side...into the Alpha Quadrant. Well, it is a success but not a rousing one. The ship they contact on the other side of the galaxy is Romulan and this race of beings have always been portrayed a very paranoid. Getting the Romulans to help WON'T be easy, that's for sure. But the problems get far worse, because when they finally get this Romulan commander to agree to relay messages to their families and Starfleet, there is a heartbreaking realization...and it's something you'll just have to learn when you see the show.
Like most Trek shows, this one has a secondary plot--but it's NOT an unimportant or slight one. Kes is a good study and is now working with the holo doctor. But she also notices that the humans on the ship treat him like dirt. After all, he's NOT alive and he's basically a tool. But she sees that he is much more and begins to bond with him and treat him as an equal. Kes then takes it upon herself to approach the Captain and request that something be done to remedy the crew's interactions with the doc--and thus begins the slow evolution of the doctor through the course of the film into an important and fully realized character. And, considering he IS the best character on the show, it's a journey I really enjoyed seeing.
Overall, the reason I score this one a 10 is that it really is exquisitely written--and a bit heart-felt and sad near the end. There are so many clever things that the script contains and it's well worth seeing.