Voyager Flashback: The Cloud

"The Cloud" isn't exactly a bad episode of Star Trek: Voyager. But it is quite boring, which at this early point in the life of a new television series trying to find its feet, amounts to much the same thing.

With limited resources a growing concern, Voyager explores a nebula with potential for harvesting of energy -- but the nebula harbors a secret the crew fails to anticipate.

In principle, the formula for this episode should be a good one. It features a "problem of the week" that's so simple and straight-forward that it leaves plenty of time for interesting character scenes. But what sounds good on paper doesn't work out right on screen; "The Cloud" is a slow and meandering episode.

I think part of the problem is that the episode doesn't focus enough on any one character. It starts out like it's going to be a Janeway episode -- the captain is concerned that she needs to be more than just a captain to her crew, but is stymied as all her efforts to interact with people result in awkwardness. But then we get a lengthy sequence on the holodeck with Kim and Paris, and later a long scene demonstrating the relationship between Neelix and Kes. The story drifts away from Janeway, and only occasionally finds its way back to her.

Maybe this wasn't intended to be a Janeway episode, but rather a "ripples in the pond" sort of story where one external element intrudes and all our characters must react. But the episode isn't really successful in this approach either, because most of the characters are reacting as if to a completely different episode. The holodeck antics of Paris and Kim are completely at odds with the idea that the power supply is a growing concern. (It was vaguely implied several episodes ago that holodeck power doesn't come from the same place, but why you wouldn't mention that in this episode is beyond me.) And while Neelix might have had valid criticisms about Starfleet's reckless curiosity in any other episode, here the reason for the exploration is to replenish ships' supplies. Neelix decides to complain the first time we're "boldly going" not on a lark.

While I'm hardly one to suggest that all characters on a television series must be likeable, it is rather remarkable how many character traits displayed here are decidedly not likeable. Paris breaks into his friend's quarters and wakes him up in the middle of the night... to go play. Janeway mutes the Doctor after they call him for advice. Neelix is completing incapable of reading a room, deciding that a crisis on the bridge is the best time to serve appetizers. Tuvok chastises Kim for unprofessionalism on the bridge, then turns around and hypocritically does the very thing he called out Harry for. (At least Harry gets an admittedly funny retort in this moment.)

The flaws in Chakotay's story line deserve special discussion. I could call out Tom Paris' unsavory line about "setting the Indian up for the hustle." (B'Elanna rightly says that Paris is a pig... though she's talking about still other boorish behavior on his part.) I could point out the inconsistency that Chakotay says he's never shown his medicine bundle to anyone but Janeway, then ends the very same scene by saying he introduced B'Elanna to her animal guide (which she tried to kill -- haha!). But more than that, this is as good a place as any to discuss a larger issue with Chakotay.

Nominally interested in infusing the character with some authentic Native American heritage, the writing staff of Star Trek: Voyager worked with a consultant throughout the run of the series. The man they consulted was Jamake Highwater -- a quite problematic individual. Born Jackie Marks, "Highwater" invented his Cherokee lineage in the late 60s as a way of selling books, scamming grants from public broadcasting, and getting paid for public appearances. And lest you think this fraud was exposed only after "Highwater" had been working on Voyager for a while, think again: a reporter and a true Sioux activist both separately exposed Marks as a phony back in 1984.

In this episode, the story of the animal guide (and specifically, Janeway's vision of a lizard) were reportedly details given to script writer Michael Piller straight from Marks/"Highwater." The writers were actually getting exactly what it seems they really wanted here: something that sounded authentically Native American without actually being that. That's going to be a hallmark of many Chakotay character traits to come.

Other observations:

• The prop department certainly had fun making whatever sludge Neelix says substitutes for coffee.
  

• I think one scene in particular showcases just how strange the pacing of this episode is. B'Elanna runs a test in engineering on some kind of futuristic centrifuge, ponders the results, then leaves. This takes about half a minute of screen time, there's absolutely no dialogue, and no other characters. Story-wise, this all could have just started with the next scene, with B'Elanna arriving in Sickbay to discuss the test with the Doctor. But this episode had that much time to fill, and nothing better to fill it with.
  

• Although they're scattered weirdly throughout the episode, there are a few genuinely good character beats. The final moment is especially good: Janeway is truly bonding with her crew off-duty, having reached in just a few episodes the point it took Jean-Luc Picard an entire series to reach (as that series finale makes a point of highlighting).
  

But is "The Cloud" actively bad? That might be going a bit far. It's certainly not on par with stinker first season episodes from The Next Generation or Deep Space Nine. So I think I'll give it a possibly-too-generous grade C. Either way, it would certainly never make anyone's "best of Voyager" list.