Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series) Cold Fire (1995) User Reviews

Pretty good stuff.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 12 February 2015]

During the course of the first few seasons of "Star Trek: Voyager", the character Kes changes tremendously. At first, she's sweet and a bit saccharine. Later, she shows some nice empathic qualities when she begins working for the doctor. Later, however, she shows she has super-powers--something that make her a very interesting character!

When the show begins, Voyager discovers that the Caretaker who brought their ship all the way to the Delta Quadrant in the first episode might just have a mate nearby. And, like the Caretaker, there is a race of Ocampa living on a station and being protected by her. However, this other caretaker isn't so positively disposed towards Voyager nor are her Ocampa. Well, that is until the Ocampa see that Kes is one of them and serving aboard a Federation ship. What follows is a weird little case where the Ocampa teach her how to unlock her mighty powers--and then regret this in hindsight.

All in all, a rather interesting and intense show--one that gives you some insight into the sort of being Kes might become in later shows. Very interesting and worth seeing.

Kes gets intimate with flowers.

[thevacinstaller · 7/10 · 5 April 2020]

There was a ton of sexual overtones during the back and forth dialogue between Kes and Tanis and I felt a bit weird for a minute or two.

This episode establishes that there is far more to Kes then meets the eyes. We are reaching Q levels of space magic powers but I bought into the arc of this episode thanks to the strong acting by Jennifer Lien.

It's a bit confusing that suspira has such a confrontational view of the Voyager crew and for a while I thought the writers were intending to write the caretaker character as being a child who did not possess the maturation to truly understand the situation. I was wrong. She was the wife of the original caretaker and is an explorer from another galaxy ... ... ... who is controlled by emotions of revenge just like your regular carbon based lifeform is. Odd.

An act of mercy on Janeway's part ends up saving the Voyager crew but I was ultimately left feeling unsatisfied with this conclusion. She believes Janeway's story now because she took down the force field? What's going on here? Why are the Ocampa's on this space station such jerks?

Neelix gains some points with me in this episode with his supportive moments.

Tuvok doesn't hold grudges against Kes despite having his blood boiled and nearly dying. It is a very Vulcan attitude of pure logic. "Well, i'll help you master your powers so you won't try and kill me..."

I might sound down on the episode but I was actually entertained and engaged throughout the entire runtime.

Easier to Like

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 16 August 2018]

While far from perfect, this was a very entertaining piece of work. The forces that Voyager is searching for suddenly show up. Because Kes is being groomed by Tuvok, she becomes the intermediary for a group of evil beings. Fortunately, she has a base of integrity to fall back on. Despite the promises of greatness, she hangs on to her loyalty. She chooses not to turn on her friends. The issues are a bit obtuse at times, but our young alien acts heroically.

Dear Mr. Fantasy...

[Bolesroor · 2 February 2011]

There's a tremendous difference between sci-fi and fantasy, and the later Trek series began to blur the distinction in episodes just like this. What exactly IS the Caretaker that sent Voyager halfway across the galaxy? A robot? A God? A ghost? An alien? In the pilot episode the Caretaker is a plot device but a forgivable one: the writers needed a way to strand in the ship in the Delta quadrant, and this vague space-station/robot/spirit fit the bill quite nicely. But now we're midway through the second season, and the appearance of the Caretaker's companion raises too many questions without answers. What is this? And why?

Science-fiction uses technical and biological fact as a departure point, as a way to advance or re-invent the universe as a backdrop for a story. It provides genuine reactions to hypothetical situations, or vice versa. "Trek" has always been built around the inevitable progress of science: someday, the show postulates, we will be in space, seeking out life and exploring strange new worlds, and this is the way the way we hopefully will- or will not- react. Even the episodes with the most outlandish premises come complete with a fictional scientific explanation... sometimes you can feel the writers working overtime to rationalize a plot line, and that evidence of effort and extra exposition is not always a bad thing; it is in fact a hallmark of the genre.

In Fantasy, however, nothing has to make any sense. A frog becomes a prince with a magic kiss, a wizard disguises himself as a lion, and happily ever after can be achieved with nothing more than purity of heart. In summary: Star Trek = Sci-Fi, Star Wars = Fantasy

So it was strange- if not inevitable- that beginning with Sisko's mystical destiny on "Deep Space Nine" that "Star Trek" as a franchise became more and more willing to slip into the fantastic, to embrace a sense of magic and the menacing mystery of Evil. The Caretaker is the perfect example of Star Trek outgrowing its sci-fi roots... is this a villain that can be defeated by a creative technical stunt or by pulling the sword from the stone?

The characters- all scientists at heart- lose a significant amount of power when they're forced to fight a demon. And what's worse than that is this episode marks Kes' descent into futility. She's almost Neelix's wife, almost an alien, almost a sexpot, almost a nurse, but mostly she's a series of ideas that have thus far not coalesced into any solid character. Here, her telepathy- slyly set up in a previous episode- is brought to the forefront as her Ocampa kin encourage her to reach out with her feelings and face Vader alone.

Whoops! Voyager can't keep it straight so why should I? Kes embraces the Force and learns how to move a cup, heat her own tea, and- for your nightmarish Voyager moment of the week- boil Tuvok's blood, disfiguring his face and turning him temporarily into a feverish monster.

The Caretaker's mate Suspiria wants to destroy Voyager and assumes the form of a little girl for maximum shock value in order to taunt Janeway and horrify the audience. After Suspiria is defeated we return to normal- Kes even loses her telepathic abilities until such time that the script requires them again.

A decent episode, and hopefully the slide from sci-fi to fantasy will be corrected as the series continues. For whatever reason during the conference scene Neelix refers to Kes as "Tess." Trust me. I played it back three times.

GRADE: B

Obvious Evil

[Hughmanity · 6/10 · 22 October 2020]

It was interesting to see ales have a chance to interact with other Ocampa, but this guy was just obviously evil and creepy.

Gee, you taught me to kill all the plants and almost kill Tuvoc, but life and death are the same and don't matter so no biggie? Sounds like a really positive influence.

Glad Kes got to kick some ESP butt, but otherwise this wasn't Trek at its best.

Interesting but lame.

[wwcanoer-tech · 7/10 · 24 October 2021]

Star Trek Voyager follows signs of the caretaker's mate to find Ocampa on a mini caretaker array. The Ocampa there have very advanced telepathic powers.

Unfortunately, we only ever meet one Ocampa who is outwardly pleasant but creepy. That Kess can't visit the array or meet any others is a big warning sign but then the writers throw it in our face with a short clip of the Ocampa man talking to the caretaker who says "You can have the Ocampa, I want that ship!" (paraphrasing). Surely it's not necessary to be so blatant, to take away any question in the viewer's mind as to whether the caretaker will be friend or foe. Takes away all suspense and makes it only a question of "how will she try to take the ship", not whether she will try, or whether this Ocampa man is really the caretaker in disguise. Ruins the episode.

When Janeway captures the caretaker in a force field, she explains that the first caretaker died of natural causes and then drop the field and the caretaker runs away. That's incredibly boring an uninteresting!! Instead, Janeway could have spent 10 seconds explaining that they the first caretaker missed her, that he was looking for someone to replace him but failed. Once he died, the Kazon were trying to take over the array so that they could raid the Ocampa and steal their water, so Voyager needed to destroy the array to protect the Ocampa even though it meant making enemies of the Kazon. Then there could have been an interesting conversation about why the mate left. And of course found some reason why the caretaker could not or would not send them home, or could have sent them 1/10th the distance because the array was 1/10th the size. Lots of ways to have an interesting ending rather than "I'm outta here."

Voyager is full of "explorers" who rarely take the time to learn about the many fascinating people they meet.

So many lost opportunities to make the stories more interesting.

A non-emotional response would be more useful

[snoozejonc · 7/10 · 4 August 2022]

Kes attempts to develop her psychic powers.

This is an enjoyable episode with strong moments for Kes and Tuvok.

The story may feel relatively standard in an era when filmmaking is saturated by characters with superpowers, but it does make the character of Kes more interesting than just assisting The Doctor or being Neelix's love interest. How interesting it is depends on how much you like the character.

I like the scenes of Kes exploring her abilities and the sci-fi detail in how it is (sort of) explained at a molecular level. This feels very Star Trek. Plus the moment when Kes attempts to show Tuvok a new ability is quite impactful and cinematic.

It feels that certain aspects are stretched to reach the expected running time. Especially when you consider that not a huge amount happens overall. It's mostly about Kes displaying powers, plus both her and others reacting to it. The scenes involving the character Susperia are quite predictable.

Visually it is strong, with digital effects that were great at its time of release and hold up relatively well now. There is also excellent make-up used to shock effect in one scene.

Jennifer Lien, Tim Russ and Gary Graham are all good when centre stage.

Kes plays with fire

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 9 July 2010]

When Kes and the Doctor notice something strange happening to the remains of The Caretaker it is some theorised that it might be reacting to the presence of the second creature of the same type that he mentioned in the opening episode. When the crew investigate further they find another array which they are surprised to find is the home of large group of Ocampa. Initially they want nothing to do with Voyager but when they learn that there is an Ocampa on board. Tanis, the leader of the Ocampans on the station beams over and shows an interest in Kes, offering to help her advancer her telekinetic skills. This leads to a rather gruesome scene when she tries to show Tuvok her newly found ability to heat up a liquid and ends up causing his blood to boil. Tanis continues to encourage Kes to explore her skills and tries to persuade her to join the Ocampa on the station. Tanis also leads them to Suspiria who was the Caretaker's partner, unfortunately she blames Voyager for his death which means rather than finding a way home they have put themselves in considerable danger.

This was a great episode centred on Kes, Jennifer Lien is great in the role, bringing real depth to Kes' character. The scenes where Kes uses her new skills on Tuvok and later on Tanis are much darker than one usually sees in Star Trek, I certainly didn't expect to see characters in this show bleeding from their eyes. Suspiria, as played by young Lindsay Ridgeway and voiced by Majel Barrett was suitably sinister.

Power of the Mind

[eonbluekarma · 10/10 · 9 March 2009]

"Cold Fire" is an episode that, in the early stages of Voyager, created a strong foundation and perhaps the first 10 episode. The darkness that Kes explores through her telepathic abilities will continue to be explored throughout the series by other characters. Tuvok mentions in the last scene that without the darkness their would be no light, which his character, as well as some of the best episodes in following seasons will emphasize.

The name "Cold Fire" is ingenious as it refers to a harsh duality; the euphoria that Kes experiences comes at a cost,

A well written and acted episode, well deserving of a 10.

Tricks of the Mind

[entourage2223 · 10/10 · 4 February 2022]

This has to be one of the most underrated episodes of the series. For it to be rated the same as the episode with the rock in the sixth season or closely situated episode resistance is laughable in my opinion. This is a deep dive into the character of Kess that only gets followed up on in her departure episode The Gift.

The episode explores deep philosophical questions such as how certain species deal/interact with "inferior" life, length of life not having an impact on destiny, as well as being who you truly are even if it's against common logic. As the title suggests; just as we see cold fire to be an oxymoron, Kess (and many people) understandably see advancements of genetics to be positive, when in fact it was something she (and us) do not need. She strives to be something more, and Tanis comes to the Voyager with what she wants, however they are at best tricks used to deceive Kess into thinking they are the people she should learn to become.

As said in spider man with great power comes great responsibility. This is evidently shown by Tanis and Suspiria and their eventual failure to capture Kess and Voyager. While Tanis was able to show his "tricks of the mind", his telepathic power is ultimately seen as inferior to the abilities of Kess. This may have been due to the motives of Tanis and Suspiria being egocentric, illogical and emotion driven while Kess and the crew's motives were rational.

What drivel

[Paularoc · 3/10 · 24 August 2012]

Voyager is in search of the female Caretaker and discovers that she is on a space station that is full of Ocampa. One of my heretofore favorite characters, Kes, is being tutored by Tuvok on how to further develop her telepathic powers. The space station's head Ocampa, Tanis, comes aboard the Voyager and teaches Kes how to further and greatly increase her "powers of the mind." The kicker is that the female Caretaker blames the Voyager for the death of her mate and wants to destroy the Voyager but doesn't because Janeway shows her mercy. Right. At the end Kes tells Tuvok how much she hated liking the destruction she did with her new found powers, e.g., she killed all her plants. Tuvok tells her that there is no light without darkness. Oh wow, that's deep. And pretentious horse hockey. The whole episode makes no sense which would be okay if it were at least engaging and/or a bit humorous. Not this one. Nada. With this episode I'm getting an inkling as to why I stopped watching this series (in the fourth year or so) - it loved the dark and hated the light. And started taking itself way too seriously.

I don't get the love for this episode.

[txriverotter · 4/10 · 21 April 2023]

This is one of those episodes I could skip completely on rewatches, if I weren't a completionist. I have to watch them all, or at least only skip parts I hate the most on episodes like these.

First off, anyone with half a brain on that ship should have seen through Tanis the second he set foot on Voyager. I was shocked Kes let herself be led by the bit so thoroughly thru the majority of the episode.

Tanis was arrogant and evil. And Kes, was weird and creepy when she was working with him. No matter what he did, or how far he pushed, she had this creepy smile or ceeepy intense look on her face as she was setting someone or something on fire.

In their first session, Tanis has her moving a cup, then heating the liquid inside. She's acting like a goofy schoolgirl with a crush on teacher, and when Neelix tries to ask a question, he holds his hand up and rudely tells him "We're not done." It's clear he doesn't want Neelix there. And Kes says nothing. If someone had spoken that way to my husband, which he basically is, I'd tell them where to go.

Then later she's showing off her new "skills" to Tuvok, and because she has no real control over her abilities yet, she boils Tuvok's blood, nearly killing him. If he'd been human, he probably would have died. And while she feels remorse, it's not nearly enough. This man has been like a father-figure and teacher/mentor to her, and she almost popped his head like a balloon.

Then even further on, Tanis finds Kes in her flower cargo bay, and in his argument to try and get her to leave Voyager and go with Susperia and him, tells her the people on Voyager, her family essentially, are no more than pets, because he, and by extension she, are so superior. Kes makes a lame attempt at defending them, then instantly forgets as Tanis has her set the entire cargo bay on fire, killing everything she'd spent so much time growing. And she expresses no real regret at all.

I guess my biggest problem with all of this is that it is all so out of character for Kes. She is a kind, considerate and very caring individual. She is the one who went to Captain Janeway and guilted her into realizing how badly everyone onboard was treating the Doctor. Granted he's a pain sometimes, but it sure won't get better with people treating him like he doesn't exist. And this all comes about because the Doctor is her friend and she was upset at seeing him disrespected repeatedly, because she could tell it hurt his feelings. Holographic feelings or not.

In this episode, Kes seems to abandon her core to play with fire and murder, and barely reacts to what she causes. None of that is what we've come to know of Kes.

And lastly, as Susperia arrives onboard Voyager, Kes senses her anger and realizes she intends to destroy everyone. Susperia thinks Voyager killed her mate, the Caretaker from episode one, and she's pissed. Tanis knew this all along and never told anyone, nor did he set the record straight with Susperia to alleviate her anger at Voyager. He wanted them destroyed so Kes wouldn't have any choice but to come along with him, which is super creepy and evil

For all these reasons, this is another of my least favorite episodes.

When will they finally learn?

[tomsly-40015 · 5/10 · 13 December 2023]

I don't know, I often have the feeling with Star Trek episodes that the characters are just stupid and don't see the obvious. All the time.

In this episode they discover another space station that looks like the one where they first met the male caretaker. They also get sensor readings that there might be another caretake in this sector - obviously the female one the male caretaker was talking about in the first episode. While approaching the station their sensors also pick up numerous life signs of Ocampa on that station. But instead of welcoming them, their contact on the space sation opens fire and tells them to leave. Only Kes can convince him, that they come in peace. But yet, this Ocampa does not want to have them on the space station and we also do not see any other individuum. Instead he wants to meet them on the Vovager. Here, alarm bells should have rang already, but everyone was fine with that. Then we see this creepy dude manipulating Kes because he has much more power than other Ocampa - the female caretaker taught them how to effectively use their skills. He also is way older than other Ocampa. Also a gift from the female caretaker.

While he teaches Kes to utilize her powers, she becomes creepier from scene to scene and almost kills Tuvok by showing off her skills. But still, no alarm bells. Then this Ocampa dude leads them to another destination where they should meet the female caretaker (anyone feels like this "Come with me into this dark and quiet alley" scenario should have rang some more alarm bells?). The caretaker is not interesting in helping the crew though. She wants to kill everyone on the ship because she believes they killed her mate and wants revenge. The creepy Ocampa dude knows about her plans and willingly leads the crew into her arms.

Starfleet is just too trustworthy. While every viewer sees the obvious, Starfleet officers are always tricked. If they would not wear plot armor, their whole journey home would have been over 20 times already because they just don't protect themselves or the ship as they should.