Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series) Think Tank (1999) User Reviews

Voyager is screwed and there is no escape...right?

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 28 February 2015]

Voyager is attacked by the Hazari--bounty hunters who are a very formidable and who will most likely capture the ship sooner or later. Almost as if by miracle, the Captain is contacted by a being named Kurros (Jason Alexander) who offers to intervene and spare the ship...for a price. It seems that Kurros and his friends on his ship are a think tank--rather amoral beings who will do things to help various species if they are willing to meet their demands. In this case, they want a few things that seem trivial*--as well as Seven of Nine! It's not selling into slavery, exactly--they want to make her a part of their group. But there is definitely an interesting hidden agenda.

I liked the twist--even though I had anticipated it in this one. The show also ends extremely well and is quite satisfying. My only complaint is a minor one, as the speaking style of Alexander's character was mildly annoying.

Help at a high price

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 15 March 2010]

This episode opened with two aliens discussing the payment expected for help in stabilising a planet that has been suffering from seismic instability. We are told much about them but it is clear that the helper expects to be generously compensated for his work. The action then switches to Voyager which is having problems with a group of Hazari bounty hunters who are trying to steal the ship. It looks as if there is no way out of the bounty hunter's trap when Kurros, the alien we saw in the opening scene, appears in the captain's room explaining that he can solve the problem for a price. He explains that he is part of the "Think Tank" a group of aliens who seek out unique items they wish to acquire and help people solve apparently unsolvable problems in exchange. When shown a list of things they want in exchange the captain is at first willing... until she sees the final item on the list; Seven of Nine. When Voyager manages to capture a Hazari ship they find evidence that they were hired by Kurros so it was little wonder that he had the solution to their problem as he had created it. Once the Hazari know that they are being used Janeway persuades them to help her tern the tables on Kurros.

This was a decent episode with a few good action scenes, it was a nice twist to find that Kurros had been behind the problems all along; although not explicitly stated I assume we are meant to believe most if not all the problems they solved were of their own making.

He Should Have Called in Cosmo Kramer

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 7 September 2018]

Jason Alexander makes an interesting alien, head of a Think Tank that offers help to troubled cultures and ships at a great price. When Voyager comes under attack, they must find a way to survive. It turns out that Alexander's character's manipulations are one of the only means for survival. So Janeway has to match wits with this guy and that's where the entertainment comes. Seven and all her gifts become the pawn in the game, but we know it's not going to be that simple.

Creating the problem and the solution.

[thevacinstaller · 7/10 · 30 January 2023]

I didn't mind Jason Alexanders performance as Kurros. He's going for that quietly devilish style and that comes through on the screen.

Have you ever known a person who was obsessed with collecting something? Coins? Magazines? Star Trek nicknacks? Well, what we have here is fandom dialed up to 1 million. This crew of telepathically link individuals must have things they perceive as beauty or value and damn the consequences.

It's a special kind of jerk to orchestrate events so that you can offer a solution to a problem that you created. I like chess master elements in my tv shows and I like intelligent antagonists and the thrill of the cat and mouse chase. We got a bit of that here but I did want more.

I was genuinely happy to hear that the phage has been cured.

This was a decent episode despite George

[jkurtzleben · 7/10 · 1 April 2022]

Jason Alexander was not good. The story was good enough he didn't wreck it.

I couldn't wait for him to leave the screen each time. WORLDS COLLIDING! THEYRE KILLING INDEPENDENT GEORGE!

a good episode with awful casting

[maddyjames-501-172593 · 7/10 · 15 May 2020]

I enjoyed this episode, and appreciated the multiple layers with the stories. However, Jason Alexander is laughably bad as the alien. I know he was at height of popularity in the 90s and this was, for them, seen as a good move to get other people watching. But he's truly terrible in this role, and it brings the momentum and excitement of the episode down.

It's not a bad episode, it's enjoyable. But a very bad mis-step with the casting, he was so awful.

Okay episode with decent concepts, but not everything works

[snoozejonc · 6/10 · 11 October 2023]

Voyager enters a dangerous area of space and Janeway is offered help to overcome its predators.

Certain aspects of the story work, such as the manipulations and deceptions used by individuals that use knowledge as power to exploit others. I find this relatable to real world. What does not quite hold together is the portrayal of certain characters as super-intelligent. They are clever because we are told they are, but nothing we see evidences it.

Seven of Nine is not really put in much of a dilemma as it is a straightforward decision for her given how nefarious the guest characters appear. They could have made the offer feel more attractive if the baddies were less one dimensional. Jason Alexander acting creepy and arrogant for the majority of an episode in alien makeup is hardly tempting.

The resolution to Voyager's problem is a good example of the Trek theme of using intelligence to win the day, but as a story it could have been done better. Key aspects of the plan are explained before they happen, which takes all the intrigue out of the situation.

Visually it is pretty impressive. I especially like the alien/creature designs of non humanoid characters.

Jeri Ryan stands out for me, giving another likeable performance of deadpan delivery and using facial expressions perfectly.

Space nerds are being beaten at their own game

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

This episode could have been outstanding if it had followed its originally exciting direction. Instead, in my opinion, the plot took a turn in the wrong direction and thereby lost its actual charm.

When Voyager is threatened by an armada of bounty hunters and there seems to be no way out, a stranger appears on the ship out of thin air and offers to help Janeway. As it turns out, he is part of a group of highly intelligent aliens whose mission is to solve complex and seemingly hopeless problems of alien civilizations, planets or spaceship crews. You could describe them as futuristic nerds who are no longer satisfied with just solving crossword puzzles and wordles and playing Kal-toh or Tongo with the best of the best. They seek great challenges - planetary catastrophes, intergalactic conflicts, civilizations on the brink of annihilation - in order to expand their intellect and hone their skills by solving virtually unsolvable cases. However, this group is far from acting out of altruistic motives or out of pure charity. Each time they demand an individual, unique reward as a price for their willingness to help. Here, they demand that Seven joins their think tank because the stranger has recognized her potential. She would be a worthy addition to their motley crew.

This setup could have made for an exciting and interesting episode. However, we learn that the stranger himself hired the bounty hunters under a false identity to capture Voyager. Basically, what we have here is a mafia organization that first threatens its victims with violence and then blackmails them with protection money in order to ensure their well-being. In the end, Janeway teams up with the bounty hunters to work together against this crime syndicate.

It would have been much more interesting if this think tank had actually been what it claimed to be: a bunch of nerds who, out of an arrogant fascination with puzzles and paradoxes, helped people out of trouble in order to boost their own egos. Seven and Janeway, together with the crew, should have found a way out of the predicament themselves instead. They would have proven that their team cohesion, their individual skills and their experience as a Starfleet crew would not let them down and that they can win this "game" too. In the end, the stranger could have appeared again on the ship to pay his respects to Janeway and Seven with the cliffhanger that one day they will need his help and their think tank will then be ready to negotiate a price again - only to disappear into nothingness again.

But as it is, it's just a story about an arrogant mafia organization that blackmails alien species and has now been taught a lesson.