485. TattooFORMULA: The Chase + Journey's End
WHY WE LIKE IT: Uhm... Chakotay's butt crack?
WHY WE DON'T: Booooring.
REVIEW: For some reason, Delta Quadrant cultures have an obsession with far away Earth. After finding out UFO abductions are DQ-related, we discover that the the Rubber Tree People of the Amazon are DQ aliens too! And they influenced Amerind cultures for centuries until Europeans spoiled everything! It's another factoid come to life. Might as well throw in the concept of racial memory too.
At least it attempts to put a bit more flesh on Chakotay's back story, by showing that he used to reject the ways of his tribe, and only joined the Maquis (and got the tattoo) to honor his father. Using flashback sequences is an interesting choice, but unfortunately, the young actor who plays Chakotay is robotic at best. Henry Darrow as his father is good, but he can't save these sequences, which I found to be more confusing than not. It's not clear, for example, if their quest takes place on Earth or not. The hawk would indicate it is, but does that mean there are alien beings in the Amazon and no sensor's ever spotted them? The mention of a Captain Sulu who sponsored Chakotay for the Academy is likewise mystifying. And the link to the Rubber Tree People further muddles the origins of Chakotay's tribe.
It's another episode where Chakotay uses pacifism to resolve his dilemmas, and that's fine, but it also makes for a rather boring story. Having him consistently face off against the aggressive Tuvok is an interesting juxtaposition however (the warlike Vulcan and the peaceful human). But once again, this is an episode that plays like a supernatural story, with sky spirits, unexplainable weather (as Voyager heads into an atmosphere once again), and Native American mysticism. More X-Files than Star Trek.
The subplot is a rather silly bit where the Doctor learns a lesson in empathy when he gives himself a holographic disease and acts just as much like a big baby as he claims the rest of the crew does. Robert Picardo knows how to work the comedy, and Kes throws in a little twist, but it is what it is. At least they follow up on Ensign Wildman's pregnancy.
LESSON: In the future, tattoos will be that depressingly uncool thing your dad has.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium-Low: Tries to be important, but the iffy premise can't survive a boring and slow-moving plot.
Comments
What am I kidding it pushes it into the negative - into active disbelief.
It just now occurred to me that the Earth connections could actually make sense if the dinosaur interstellar empire acted as the quadrant's progenitors and left clues to where they came from. Still doesn't make for good TV, though.