Prototype
- Episode aired Jan 15, 1996
- TV-PG
- 45m
B'Elanna gives aid to a failing automated device found adrift in space. After the repairs, the device recalls what its purpose was - and carries it out.B'Elanna gives aid to a failing automated device found adrift in space. After the repairs, the device recalls what its purpose was - and carries it out.B'Elanna gives aid to a failing automated device found adrift in space. After the repairs, the device recalls what its purpose was - and carries it out.
- Lt. B'Elanna Torres
- (as Roxann Biggs-Dawson)
- Ensign Culhane
- (uncredited)
- Kashimuro Nozawa
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne of the robotic arms seen on the table in the reconstruction bay is that of Johnny Five from Short Circuit (1986) and Short Circuit 2 (1988).
- GoofsAt 15:12, when B'Elanna Torres comes around the table in Engineering, you can see her wearing white shoes, not the standard black boots that go with the Starfleet uniform.
- Quotes
[Unit 3947 tells Torres about the war between the Pralor and the Cravic]
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres: Has anyone in all these years ever tried to stop this war?
Automated Personnel Unit 3947: The Pralor and the Cravic called a truce.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres: Wait a minute. If both sides called a truce, then why didn't they stop you from fighting?
Automated Personnel Unit 3947: They attempted to do so.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres: And?
Automated Personnel Unit 3947: We terminated the Builders.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Star Trek: Voyager: Warhead (1999)
A lot of time is spent on the energy and excitement of Torres trying to fix the machine and coming to a rather radical solution like a student with their thesis project. She solves the puzzle, the robot is fully functional and now they get to learn from the machine about who it is why it was in space.
It all starts interestingly until we see the robots are not what they appear to be, they kidnap Torres because she can build and repair them. Reminds me of the TNG episode Samaritan Snare.
this is where discovery ends for this episode and we are thrust back into the same idea Voyager has been exploring now for a while, war, war war. Everything seems to be about war with Voyager when in the end, it could be more about exploration like TNG. Voyager cannot seem to write an episode where Voyager gains something along the way. Instead they are always dealt a blow that makes you wonder why they continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. Janeway is definitely a person who gives the benefit of the doubt.
In the end, this is a shallow episode with shallow writing. Frakes is a competent director here but the material to work with is trite. It poses nothing interesting of discussion, nothing interesting is learned other than for Voyager to never rescue more things in space. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
How could it have been fixed?
First change the costume as they reminded me of the movie Sleeper and I really couldn't take them seriously. Moreso, rewrite this robot like Asimov would by making it a robot that evolved. That is, this robot gained consciousness, it feels alone, afraid, and it is praying to a God. We learn from this robot as it explores the ship and what a wonderful time for us to see the ship from this perspective. The ending could be a ship looking for it where the Robot refuses to return, kinda like Short Circuit. I think having the robot be a beacon of hope for the ship would have been a great change of pace over the dismal endings where they are trying to one up Deep Space Nine.
- brdavid-429-96270
- Apr 7, 2020
Details
- Runtime45 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
- 4:3