Infinitely more interesting than the snoozefest of a two-parter that preceded this episode, Voyager gets super high concept when Tom, suddenly bored with everything except for fixing a 400 year old car, makes a new friend with a hot rod of his own.
That last bit wasn't intended as a double-entendre, but feel free to interpret it however you want.
Steth, Tom's new BFF, thinks he has The Right Stuff, and wants him to come test drive the new 2372's. Tom is nearly in, but Steth starts turning into a woman, and then takes over Tom's body. He's a shape-shifter! Sort of.
The writing's a little sloppy, but this is one of the rare Voyager episodes that is actually about something, even if it is a contrivance. Tom has to learn and grow as a person, and that means spending more time with his gorgeous girlfriend and less time repairing a 1969 Camaro on the Holodeck. Do they have a Dead Man's Curve simulation to test it out on? Also fun are the instant stakes in the audience knowing what's going on (alien posing as Tom), but the rest of the crew just thinking it's classic Tom Paris.
Anyway, this feels way more Star Trek-y than most of the recent episodes. Which is a nice change of pace for a Star Trek show.
That last bit wasn't intended as a double-entendre, but feel free to interpret it however you want.
Steth, Tom's new BFF, thinks he has The Right Stuff, and wants him to come test drive the new 2372's. Tom is nearly in, but Steth starts turning into a woman, and then takes over Tom's body. He's a shape-shifter! Sort of.
The writing's a little sloppy, but this is one of the rare Voyager episodes that is actually about something, even if it is a contrivance. Tom has to learn and grow as a person, and that means spending more time with his gorgeous girlfriend and less time repairing a 1969 Camaro on the Holodeck. Do they have a Dead Man's Curve simulation to test it out on? Also fun are the instant stakes in the audience knowing what's going on (alien posing as Tom), but the rest of the crew just thinking it's classic Tom Paris.
Anyway, this feels way more Star Trek-y than most of the recent episodes. Which is a nice change of pace for a Star Trek show.