Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series) Basics, Part II (1996) User Reviews

Stranded

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 3 August 2010]

Season Three opens with the crew still trapped on the prehistoric planet the crew split up to find food and water, as Hogan gathers bones that might be usable as tools from a cave mouth he is attacked by a creature that is dwelling within, we just hear a scream but it is assumed he is dead. There is some good news however, it soon becomes apparent that Tom managed to get away on a shuttle, it is damaged but he still manages to destroy an attacking Kazon vessel. While the crew are dealing with the planet's local population Tom has met up with the Talaxians and the Doctor and Suder are trying to think of a way to retake Voyager, although Suder is concerned that he may have to kill some of the Kazons; something he would have relished a few months before but is now worried that it will bring back his old violent feelings. When volcanic activity threatens both the crew and the natives Chakotay rescues one of them this leads to the two groups cooperating. Suder manages to sabotage the ship's systems so that Tom and the Talaxians can retake Voyager and rescue the rest of the crew.

This episode got off to a great start, killing off a character who we had seen in previous episodes made it clear that this was a dangerous planet. Brad Dourif makes a welcome reappearance as the conflicted sociopath Suder; it was god that he got an heroic death. This episode also saw the end of Seska, Martha Hackett was good in the role making one of the best villains in the series.

Suder's redemption.

[thevacinstaller · 8/10 · 8 April 2020]

Where's Suder's funeral?

Come on!? He saved the entire ship and Voyager mission to get home --- this man at least deserves an inspiring Janeway speech on the honor of self sacrifice and overcoming obstacles.

I am pretty sure those Kazon jerks would have used the Voyager crew as slave labor but we did get to have some space dinosaur adventures on the planet and the primitive alien society did save Wildman's baby ---- so, that's something.

This is the end of a plot arc that just didn't end up working well. I have a feeling the baby was changed to be Kazon/Cardassan instead of being Chakotay's to end this plot arc and move forward from here.

Even with the Kazon not working out there is a genuine earned crew comradery that is evident within the Voyager crew even at this early stage of the show.

Janeway even sacrifices part of her glorious mane for the cause of making fire. Picard couldn't pull that off!

Season General Thoughts -----

• Average score of 7.34 for this season. This puts in good company with other solid seasons of star trek.

• This season would likely rank higher on my rating scale if not for two stinkers that brought down an otherwise good to great season of star trek.

• The Kaizon / Seska story arc just didn't work for me. The performances/makeup of the Kaizon is wonderful but they are not compelling enough antagonists being nothing more then fragmented space pirates. If I was the star trek gate keeper I would have the Kaizon be the Delta quadrant version of a corrupted fragmented star fleet and we get to experience the positive/negative elements of them through interactions with Janeway ---- in the end Janeway gets through to them.... well, there's a bunch you can do with it.

• Mulgrew continues to lead the ensemble with her wonderful performances. I am developing an appreciation for Neelix and Chakotay in my current viewing as well.

Satisfying......I Guess!

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 21 August 2018]

The conclusion of this episode is fun for those of us who are pulling for the good guys. Any Kazon television viewers might feel differently. These are kind of fun villains because they are quite enterprising and quite stupid at the same time. Ceska has to continually remind her "man" what the right things to do are, and he reluctantly follows her advice. There is a lot of action on the surface of the planet where the original crew is trying to survive. Meanwhile, the Doc uses his holographic gifts and along with Suder and later, Paris, plots a method of disrupting the ship's technology. It is fun to watch the subtle changes in the ship as it collapses around the Kazon. I wonder if we've seen the last of them.

Suder makes it memorable

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 13 November 2022]

Janeway and the stranded crew struggle for survival, whilst Paris, Suder and The Doctor fight to retake Voyager.

This is a solid finish to the story and enjoyable start to series 3.

The back to basics plot of Janeway and the crew is fairly good and feels a quite traditional Trek concept that could have been any of the shows. Some aspects are contrived, but it is entertaining and well intercut with what happens in space.

For me the highlight of the episode is Suder's arc and everything that happens on Voyager. This character is put in a difficult position and these scenes are very well done. It helps that some of the best performers are sharing scenes like Brad Douriff, Robert Picardo, Anthony De Longis and Martha Hackett.

For me it's a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.

It's much better than part 1.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 16 February 2015]

This is the second part of an enjoyable but dumb first episode. I say dumb because to assume that Voyager was taken by the Kazon means assuming the Federation crew (especially Chakotay) are idiots. Regardless, this follow-up episode is significantly better and well worth seeing.

When the show begins, Voyager has been taken by the Kazon and the crew were ditched on a planet that totally sucks. Why the Kazon didn't just kill them is a big confound, as the Kazon are supposed to be bad and bad people kill hostages....duh. So now it's up to the crew to survive while help MIGHT be on the way.

As for their help, the crew really looks screwed as it consists of some Talaxians (a rather weak and annoying race), Paris in a shuttle, the Doctor (who is, after all, a hologram) and Suder. Suder is a serial killer who has reformed--but now he'll have to channel his old wicked ways to try to regain control of the ship.

Although the eventual triumph of the crew of Voyager (it's a foregone conclusion) is VERY hard to believe, this is an excellent and exciting episode. Well worth seeing even if part one makes far less sense.

Ding-Dong, The Witch Is Dead!

[Bolesroor · 7/10 · 2 February 2011]

Seska is dead!!! Finally!!!

The hideously-unappealing, scenery-chewing, pointlessly-evil villain is gone from Voyager! She will be missed.

This episode is really just the killing off of the lingering, failed plot lines that had yet to be resolved. Chakotay's baby? Not his. COP-OUT! That's why they never should have begun such a ridiculous plot line in the first place.

Seska the Evil? Dead. No more contrived cliff-hanging baby-mama drama, and no more having to look at that pigskin she calls a face.

The Kazon Nistrom wars? Over. And not a moment too soon. It was clear Voyager had bitten off more than they could chew with all these plot lines. For a show about a ship heading home how many times could they keep running into the same people? While "Basics I" established a great cliffhanger, "Part II" resolves it way too quickly. Doc and Brad Dourif play Die Hard on the occupied ship while Tom sneaks back with his shuttlecraft. Not the greatest, but at least we're finally free from the ghost of plot lines past.

Die, Seska. Stay dead. Good dog.

GRADE: B-

Formidable conclusion that missed more than hit.

[brdavid-429-96270 · 6/10 · 15 April 2020]

It's now obvious to me that the creators and writers of Voyager so desperately wanted their own Gul Dukat as De Longis portrayal of Maje Culluh has a lot of similarities and the writers were trying to make him as animated and as formidable. The big difference between the two characters is depth. Gul Dukat has depth. He is a character. Culluh is a wooden block of a character. He is just another bad guy on the screen who is as dumb as they need him to be so the crew of Voyager can beat him. When the crew for DS9 beats Dukat, it's real. It really does seem Dukat always has the upper hand. A lesson worth exploring for Voyager.

Basics II follows three subplots, and tries very hard to cram them into a single show. The result is this should have been a two parter. What is happening on the ship is far more interesting than what is happening on the planet. Suder's subplot of him finally getting his mind back and able to cope and live with his past comes back to haunt him when he is asked and tasked with the very job he not longer wants. Dourif does an excellent job but Suder's talents are not given the screen time necessary, because apparently we need to know that Voyager is learning to have diplomatic relations with an alien species. There is also another alien on this planet that takes a few officers as dinner. One of which made me incredibly angry because the officer is someone whom we've following for some time now and I was really beginning to like the character. Hopefully it was the actor who wanted to leave and not the writers writing the character off. It was a rather unfitting end for a very fitting character.

Voyager has been a show that consistently foregoes the obvious plot element for the less enjoyable one. I feel like they want to shoehorn an episode into a situation rather than let the situation call to a character or perhaps focus on a character and ask yourself what should this person learn today? This episode felt it more necessary to focus on diplomatic relations with neanderthal people over the psychological pressures of being an assassin and the toll it can take on the human psyche. It made Basics Part II a rather forgettable follow up to a situation that asked for a lot more.

I wanted to give more stars but couldn't

[leadfootjen · 7/10 · 4 February 2024]

This was an intriguing episode: it had a lot going for it. Voyager was really taken by the Kazon?? The crew gets stranded on a volcanic planet and has to survive without supplies or weapons?? Thanks to Seska and her knowledge of Voyager, the Kazon seize the ship. The only ones who can try to fix this situation are the Doctor, Suder, and Parris; Suder and Parris were presumed dead while the Doctor isn't seen as threatening. You wonder how this trio will succeed, and see the struggle in Suder, who has been fighting his inward demons, managing to overcome his violent tendencies for the last few months. And you know, as he does, that he's going to have to most likely kill to protect himself and his ship....all the whole, dreading slipping back into his old ways and undoing all the months of therapy he and Tuvok had worked on. Seeing Parris find assistance with Telaxians was refreshing, as we hardly see others of Neelix' people. Everyone fought hard and eventually won, and the flow of the story was great until the last ten minutes.....and it was as though the writers went "uh oh, we ran out of time. Wrap up the story, quick!" And the show ended. Whaaaattt? No Captain's log wrapping up what might have happened offscreen, like a funeral for Suder, or what the aliens on the planet called themselves, or whether Voyager might stay to learn more about those people?? Seriously?? SO MANY PLOT HOLES that didn't need to be there. A very disappointing ending for a gripping story.

Horrible but with a few redeeming qualities

[whatch-17931 · 5/10 · 23 November 2020]

The redeeming qualities are: * closing out the badly written uncompelling Kazon (whom Voyager should have left in the dust at least a year earlier) * closing out the completely implausible Seska character * solid Doctor work from the impeccable Picardo * the compelling character Suder's story.

Suder's story is also a disappointment because why on earth write him out so early? He was a very interesting character, especially since Voyager had to drag him along. No penal colonies available. They were almost literally trapped with an axe murderer. So much potential - Suder could have been Voyager's Garak.

At least he had a decent arc in this story and was played very well. Suder has a severe mental illness, knows that he does and is trying to become better. You actually feel sympathy for him being forced to do what he does. If a story can make you feel sympathy for an axe murderer, that's good writing and acting.

The planet side plot was so uninteresting and vaguely perfunctory. Gee, I wonder if they'll get their ship back. The only upside to the planet story is that it was well used in the later quite excellent Distant Origin.

And of course the baby plot. How soap opera can you get? I can believe Seska would do such a thing, but only because the character was written so whacky. But it's an intense level of soap which is not what I look for in Trek.

Another avoidable situation

[ceojonathanmontgomery · 7/10 · 5 September 2023]

Hello fellow humans,

I am commenting on the part two as to not give anything away in part one. So the Captain has screwed over her people yet again. While I feel bad for the baby in the situation and being a father myself would really hate leaving my children. However this isn't his child technically yes it has his DNA. However he never did the act to create a baby. Now because of their overly caring attitude they have not only lost their ship but people have died already.

Also why in the heck would they beam over an enemy. I get they are caring people, but seriously helping your enemies that sworn to kill your entire population it is best to never help them. They aren't going to establish diplomatic relationships with these species. While taking the peaceful approach is the best first start. However once they become aggressive you need to take a different approach. For example I would beam over a torpedo to the engine room and destroy the ships that way. Or beam the entire crew to space. While I fully understand peace and not killing they are in a situation of extreme survival. Every crew member lost means one less crew member to repair the ship.

Why do they not have military robots in the walls that come out when something happens like being boarded. They would easily kill the enemies and help the crew take back the ship. They would not have true AI but have basic ways of telling friend from foe.

Either way I would not have gotten my crew in this much of a mess ever. The Captain is a good person but she wasn't built for this. She was built to captain a ship in the Alpha Quadrant with lots of ships to back her up. I almost think Tuvok would have been a better choice as a captain as I don't think he would waste so much time and energy that the current captain wastes.

Brad Dourif the Great

[Bigideas_Baggins · 5/10 · 30 January 2024]

Looking at Basics in total we have several issues. One of the first is that it should be about 5 minutes long. Voyager learns that the baby is born, and Chakotay comes to the sensible conclusion that he really has no relation to this child, despite what the conveniently specific advice from the ancestors says. Moving on.

Instead, they know, or they should know, that they are walking into a trap, but do so anyway, and thus they are defeated. And then we learn two things: one, Seska spent her entire time on Culluh's ship giving classes about Voyager operating instructions, and two, the Kazon, who believe battle should end in the death of the loser, are perfectly willing to take the effort to keep the crew alive, because they also know that this is the start of a new season with more to come. Then we get the boring and predictable story of the crew having to survive on a primitive planet waiting to be picked back up. Predictable, because of the natives starting off antagonistic and becoming friends when one of them is saved by Chakotay thing. Also, the previous episode has J&C in a rather similar situation which is a bit unfortunate. Still, it's sort of standard Star Trek fare, so it's not that bad I guess.

Well, no. Because this time, that primitive survival thing comes at the expense of Brad Dourif as Lon Suder. Here we have a side character that is more interesting and complex than almost the main cast put together (though some of them get some interesting plot lines later in the show). Not to mention played by an actor that is also better than most of them. We could have spent the entire episode watching Suder doing Die Hard, made all the more interesting because unlike McClane, he also has to face his internal struggle of not wanting to kill anymore. There is so much that could be done with this. And to add insult to injury, all Suder gets in the end is a cliche "Vulcan" quote as he is lying next to Empty Shellska, Princess of Unsubtle Evil. You couldn't give him a proper ceremony in front of the entire crew where homage is paid to how they lost a person who did commit murder, but ultimately also saved the ship and was on track to change for the better? Hhm.

Screaming babies

[ANannyMoose02 · 1/10 · 7 December 2022]

They cast a baby to play two rolls in this episode. One was Wildman's screaming baby, the other was Seska's screaming baby. They decide this episode would be really authentic if they have the babies shriek very loudly in every scene through-out this god-awful episode. There is no excuse for screaming babies in TV and yet this episode deemed it necessary to have two screaming babies to cover the majority of the episode. I watched the episode on mute with subtitles to get through it.

Babies in real life only scream like that about 2% of the time, yet television producers and show-runners seem to think babies actual scream 100% of the time. This episode should be banned, it's so bad.