Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series) Lineage (2001) User Reviews

May contain spoilers

[mickeyandme20042000 · 8/10 · 27 August 2016]

To the previous reviewer (ShogaNinja) who said this episode was written to conceal Roxanne Dawson's real life pregnancy. You are wrong. She was not pregnant in season 7. In 2 episodes of season 7 (Author, Author and Renaissance Man) you can clearly see that a holographic version of her character is not pregnant.

Dawson was pregnant in season 4. But it wasn't written into the script then. They had her character wear a smock/jacket over her uniform.

I truly liked this episode. Because I felt it dealt with real life issues such as childhood abandonment by a parent and being bullied as a child and how these things affect a person. Both of these things happen to the character as a child. She thinks that she wants to spare her child that. But it's also that she doesn't want to be abandoned again.

Wow, talk about a bad case of gestational hormones!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 7 March 2015]

This is an interesting episode that further explores B'Elanna Torres and her self-loathing. When the show begins, B'Elanna finds out that she is pregnant. However, instead of being overjoyed, she is full of doubts and self-loathing. As a result of her terrible childhood and daddy abandonment issues, instead of being happy she's worried to death that the child will look Klingon and will feel left out when dealing with its peers. This IS odd considering how politically correct and nice everyone is during the 24th century--it's just hard to imagine any of the kids during this time not being 100% p.c.. But her concerns run much deeper--making her behave and think VERY irrationally.

At first, I didn't care for the episode. However, over time I started to appreciate B'Elanna's character and her struggles. All in all an interesting show--one well worth seeing.

I Find Their Relationship Dull

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 17 September 2018]

I've said it before. When these two get together, it's like wheel's spinning in the mud. For me, they are both one dimensional characters. They wouldn't have to be, but the writers seem to be intent on making them that. We have the man-child married to the confrontational Klingon woman. Here, a child is in the offing, and the responses are at best silly, from them and from the crew. B'Ellana's confrontation with her father and her guilt are at the center here. That's interesting, but her initial "persecution" seems slightly less than overwhelming. It's OK I guess. Mostly, I was hoping for something else to happen outside of this story.

Moving Episode

[Kaleko · 13 July 2011]

I wasn't too keen on this episode on the beginning, having become a little annoyed by Tom and B'Elanna's less-than-happy coupling. I did not feel like going through another round of Telanna fights. However by the end of the episode I was impressed by how they both have seemed to have grown and show that they care for one another more openly. Not only that, but this episode was constructed in such a way in that really pulled you into the characters' plight.

When someone becomes a parent, they are often reminded of what they went through as a child. This happened with B'Elanna, and we were given a little more insight into why she hated being Klingon so much. While she did get teased a little, it was her interpretation of her father's departure being not only her fault directly for telling him to leave, but indirectly her and her mother's fault for being Klingon and too difficult to live with, as she overheard him complain about them.

This whole portrayal was very realistic, minus the Klingons! It is very common for adults to still harbor illogical beliefs that surface when things happen to them as children exactly like this.

In the end, you really felt B'Elanna's pain when she finally confessed all of this to Tom. Tom did a stellar job in comforting her and putting her fears to rest. I was impressed by both of them in this scene so far as being mature characters in a relationship. Due to their acting in this sequence, it was highly believable and moving. Also, knowing these events made B'Elanna's actions in the past when she denied her heritage a little more understandable.

The episode ended on a very feel-good note when B'Elanna finally accepted her child as part Klingon and gave the most realistic heartfelt smile I have seen her give in the series.

The idea of genetic manipulation arose as well. This is a timeless issue, and it was interesting to hear the arguments. There were comparisons made about how is it okay to correct one defect, but not another? As genetic manipulation becomes more realistic in future years, we may be revisiting these issues.

Good Tom and B'Elanna episode

[snoozejonc · 7/10 · 5 August 2020]

Tom and B'Elanna receive news of pregnancy and B'Elanna struggles with painful memories from her childhood.

This is a very different episode that mixes a great deal of emotional drama with a touch of science fiction. It's probably not one for hardcore sci-fi fans, although the sci-fi concepts are good, particularly the genetic treatments and baby image projection.

It is a great episode to watch for anyone who is pregnant or has recently been pregnant due to the little observations on first time parents, like the reaction and advice from friends.

What I struggle with are the flashback sequences and the concept of 24th century children getting a hard time based on racial differences. It seems a difficult plot point to swallow when Star Trek had previously painted the Gene Roddenberry picture of the future. Also, I'm not that keen on very basic flashback type sequences as they are shown here, there needed to be a bit more imagination to how they are cut into the storyboard.

The biggest positives are Tom and B'Elanna. I've never been that fussed on the romance between the two characters but this is by far the best interaction between the two. Roxann Dawson and Robert Duncan McNeill are a compelling and thoroughly believable husband and wife in this story. They take the characters to the next level, with B'Elanna's brutal course of action and Tom's display of utter devotion to make her see sense.

Other characters such as The Doctor, Seven of Nine, Janeway and Tuvok all provide good support.

Great themes are explored such as identity, genetic alteration and parent-child relationships.

An issue of the week episode

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 20 May 2010]

There have been several episodes of Voyager which have dealt with B'Elanna's Klingon heritage, some of these are good, others less so; sadly this is not so good. When B'Elanna discovers that she is pregnant the Doctor tells her that the baby has something wrong with her spine. He solves this with a simply genetic treatment. This gets B'Elanna thinking, perhaps she could get the Doctor to perform further treatments so that her child will not have Klingon features and will thus avoid the bullying she suffered as a child. Her husband Tom and The Doctor are both horrified at the idea of performing such a procedure but B'Elanna takes drastic measures to persuade the Doctor to do it.

The story wasn't too bad but it did feel like an "issue of the week" episode where it was clear that we were meant to think B'Elanna was making the wrong decision but doing so for good reasons. There was far less excitement than in most episodes, in fact apart there was never any feeling of threat. I have nothing against character led episodes but this felt like it was going over old ground as it has been made clear many times before that B'Elanna has issues concerning her Klingon heritage.

Identity

[eonbluekarma · 10/10 · 15 March 2010]

Lineage, a heart felt well written episode, deals with the relationship between B'Elanna's Klingon and Human background. The episode written by James Kahn, writer of the "Return of the Jedi" novel, is not only applicable to contemporary life issues, but works with the 24th century world in Voyager. Identity issues are common in today's world and fictionally in the inter-species world of Star Trek. I think that some Trek fans forget that Gene Roddenberry's original vision was not just of a fictional, Scifi world, but a world that relates 24th century life to 20/21st century life. A vision that is both far reaching and grand, yet grounded in contemporary society, 'Lineage' lives up to that vision.

The parallels of people not understanding the struggles of a POC

[shakesnbake · 8/10 · 3 November 2021]

Rewatching Voyager for the umpteenth time and seeing this episode through new eyes.

Interesting parallels of what it's like to be a POC and have people dismiss the struggles we deal with on a daily basis such as acceptance and fitting in.

Roxanna Dawson gives a stellar performance in portraying how she doesn't want her future child to experience what she went through. Tom being dismissive at first is what happens to a lot of minorities.

Not sure if the writer had this in mind back in 2001 (a simpler time!) but it's a brilliant portrayal of the need to be accepted and not seen for our physical appearances and cultures.

Well intentioned but forgettable episode...

[karacter · 3/10 · 30 June 2010]

The famous motivational speaker Zig Zigler has a great expression for people & projects that start out with the best of intentions but soon pan out to nothing of significance...he calls it "squatting to rise (up), but getting cooked in the squat". "Lineage" does this very thing...it starts out with good possibilities, but falls flat very soon.

Its failure has nothing to do with the energy of the actors- all the regulars give it their best effort, in particular Robert Duncan McNeill & Roxann Dawson, who turn in perhaps their most emotionally charged performances of the entire series. Rather, the major faults here include poor writing and poor guest star casting.

With respect to writing, the plot moves at a snail's pace, with little or no action, and very little humorous interplay to fill this void. And the plot holes make the Grand Canyon look like a drainage ditch. In a series franchise like Star Trek that has time and time again passionately preached the message that ALL life is sacred, special, and worthy just as it is, B'Elanna attempts to have her baby surgically altered by using unethical and illegal means (commondeering ship systems, locking out Voyager's security team, reprogramming the Doctor) and yet she is not punished or reprimanded in any way.

And, speaking of which, what ABOUT that very sneaky trick of diabolically altering the Doctor's program to make him an unwitting accomplice to an "ethnic cleansing" of the unborn child? True, she does apologize to him, but in the "respect everyone's individual rights at all times" world of Star Trek, shouldn't the consequences of her dangerous actions be a little more severe than her mild embarrassment at having to apologize to him? Finally, poor guest star casting makes the situation worse. The actor cast as B'Elanna's father is just too wimpy too be believable..he's a good actor, but he is simply the wrong choice for the part. We're supposed to believe that this rather effeminate & "milk-toasty" guy won the admiration of...and married.. a KLINGON woman? He seems more suited to play the mild-mannered Dad on some Nickelodeon show or perhaps The Disney Channel, not the husband of a woman from an aggressive warrior race that values strength and power above all else.

The story and end result here mirrors many of Voyager's Seventh Season installments- good concept, but poor execution.

Mom knows best.

[thevacinstaller · 8/10 · 19 February 2023]

This is a good character study of B Elanna's early childhood trauma growing into a bit of a monster later in life. Guilt is a real thing and when parents divorce at a young age the kids do blame themselves. In this case, B Elanna's interpretation is that it was her (and her mothers) Klingon heritage that drove her father away and destroyed a relationship she deeply valued with her father.

Her actions are extreme but understandable given that she has been living with that guilt for decades. And even if you understand the situation correctly there is always a little guilt still there in the back of your mind ----- I come from a broken family so I can identify quite a bit with B Elanna's journey in this episode.

I am glad that the episode ends with B Elanna letting the child be born without genetic manipulation. We are not god's afterall.

Nonsense

[newarkinvaders · 1/10 · 24 May 2022]

Remember in the season before this when B'lanna went on the barge of the dead and reconnected with her dead mum and decided she needed to reconnect with her Klingon heritage going forward.

Then this garbage is the next time she mentions being Klingon.

Captain Proton becomes Captain Nappy

[tomsly-40015 · 5/10 · 5 February 2024]

When it comes to Tom and B'Elanna, fans are divided. I belong to the faction that consider B'Elanna to be too one-dimensional and are also annoyed by her bad mood and her snappiness. I also don't notice any romantic chemistry between the two. They still behave as colleagues and not like a married couple in love. Looking at what happened to B'Elanna's father, I wouldn't bet on Tom that his marriage will last much longer. The two basically have nothing in common except that they serve on the same ship. Tom is a man-child who has completely different interests than the perpetually bad-tempered B'Elanna.

It's just lucky that B'Elanna doesn't get pregnant until halfway through the final season. Otherwise we would have had to deal with their parenting problems in episode after episode. And if B'Elanna is so afraid that Tom will leave her one day or that her children will be bullied by their classmates because of their Klingon origins - then why is she even in a relationship with Tom? By the way, with 150 crew members crammed together on Voyager for seven years, there should have been a dozen of babies by now.

The episode revolves around the question of whether it is justified to genetically modify an unborn child or whether this is ethically irresponsible. Basically like the movie Gattaca. But B'Elanna is more interested in fixing her own messed up youth by genetically removing any Klingon characteristics from her unborn child. Wasn't there something about banning genetic modifications? Because of the eugenic wars and stuff? Janeway doesn't seem to really care though. The fact that B'Elanna reprograms the doctor to ultimately get him to carry out the procedure is also not punished. Morals and laws are apparently very flexible on Voyager.

By the way: Does anyone really think that the guy who plays B'Elanna's father could have convinced a Klingon woman? Especially one that believes in warrior honor and all that Klingon nonsense. Such a woman would probably never have fallen in love with such a weakling.

Wrong-itty-Wrong-Wrong-Wrong

[ShogaNinja · 3/10 · 16 April 2009]

Garbage...Trash....Flotsam.

This episode was seemingly written by a 4 year old child. It has so many inconsistencies based on childrearing in the 24th century that it is pretty much ridiculous. I will now reveal to you the source of the inconsistency which forces each ST series to falter by season 7: "Writers of the Week" fill the bulk of the 170+ episodes in all the Star Trek series' since TNG. These writers, sideline fans seeking pay, are terrible at keeping consistency to the storyline or the universe in general. Take this episode for example ( although it is not alone by a long shot ) ...it's complete garbage. The flashbacks of B'elanna's past are filmed with such painfully bad actors that they are basically unbelievable and nigh unwatchable. Notice how all the good Voyager Episodes are written by Brannon Braga? The good writers come up with the show and make usually the pilots and cliffhangers ( beginning and ends of each season with a mid-season cliffhanger as well) all the other episodes are written by these hack "writers of the week." In the Star Trek universe, all, ALL crewmen and officers are sterilized (thru injections administered by the doctor as part of their medical regimen (checkups)) unless express permission to procreate is given by the captain, which in this case would never happen. Do you think Voyager could run for several months without a chief engineer? Answer, NO. Thus she would never let this happen. Secondly, Genetic Modification of ANY sort is expressly ILLEGAL in the Star Trek universe as was laid out for us (long before this series/episode came out that's for sure) in DS9 with the antics of our beloved genetically superior Dr. Bashir. Thirdly, no officers shall fraternize with another member of the crew. Fraternization leads to conflict of interest. Could B'elanna order Tom Paris to his death if necessary? They prevent fraternization for this very reason. An emotional wife is not going to send her husband to his death even if it costs the crew of 145 their lives. So besides being a complete waste of film, this episode was terribly written and inconsistency is the rule of the day. It's episodes like this that ruin the whole, they aren't just filler, they are rotten apples ruining the rest of the bunch. Please, if you ever make another ST series, and I believe you will with the coming tsunami that is the new Star Trek movie ( 2009 ), write the entire thing before the first episode is shot a la Babylon 5. Take a lesson from the pros. Get a real set of writers and stick with them. Sign contracts. Make them study and watch each episode of Star Trek from front to back and hell, create a rules handbook for writing ST episodes so that they don't make stupid mistakes. More importantly though, no one would agree to travel for 3 generations in a starship just to get home. They would land on the best class-M planet they could find and live there, creating a colony and hoping one day the Federation would come along. First and foremost, these ships are run by people. People with their own agendas, not just Starfleets. Are we to believe that these people just work every day for the rest of their lives? Even excessive amounts of shore leave and all the holodeck time in the world couldn't make these officers stay aboard. From the beginning Voyager was a bad concept. Don't get me wrong, it turned out OK... I LOVE the Doctor, but still...things like this should never go forward again. If I was the executive funding this giant I sure wouldn't put my life in the hands of "writers of the week" or certainly not this weak concept for a ST series.

Rest assured, if the Star Trek Universe were real this episode would never of happened. Knowing that the STU is NOT real, this episode still should never have happened. Wonderfully convenient way to cover up Roxanne Dawson's pregnancy, though. Couldn't she wait one more year to procreate? Contracts people. Contracts. These episodes were filmed at a cost in excess of a million dollars an episode. Over the 170 episode series it cost them in excess of 170 million dollars to film Voyager. Don't let a rogue actress get in the way of all that money I say... This is business. They certainly built the Juggernaut that should have been Voyager on a foundation of sand.

Forgets to be a sci-fi

[jambuttons · 3/10 · 6 September 2019]

This is a classic example of when Star Trek forgets to be a sci-fi and is entirely concerned with 20th century moralizing. This episode could be analogously about an ethnic minority human mother, attempting to genetically modify her child, to avoid persecution, then being talked out of it by low tech people of religious faith. A Human/Klingon hybrid would take massive amounts of genetic engineering to achieve The doctor makes ridiculous faith-based statements that Klingon components within B'Ellana's baby are natural. You can almost hear him say that "God designed the baby this way, who are we to tamper with providence and nice naturalness". The writer momentarily touches on his hypocrisy in wanting to modify the baby's spine. Unfortunately, one of the bugbears of the Star Trek world is the ridiculous stagnation of humanity and their strange ability to talk to aliens, even when their translator has been taken off them. Is it sci-fi, just because they say "interphasic remodulator" a few times per episode?

Entire Episode Devoted to the Shallowest Character's

[kristufts-56872 · 4/10 · 29 April 2024]

Since the very beginning of Voyager, the Paris and Torres characters have had as much depth as a springtime shower rain puddle. After having to endure them for six and a half years, viewers are treated to an entire episode taking a deep dive into rageaholic Torres and her astonishingly dopey husband when she gets pregnant. The two of them fight, bicker, whine. Torres, apparently so filled with self loathing regarding her Klingon half, wants the doctor to start deleting gene strands to eliminate Klingon characteristics from her child. She goes so far as to alter the doctor's program to carry out her insane, Mengele-like desire to alter her child. Really quite sick. The cause, at the end, is the old trope: Torres has Daddy issues. Even the child Torres is annoying. The show was running on fumes at this point.