The Doctor is activated to find Voyager nearly deserted after a Kazon attack. But as strange inconsistencies strain the credibility of that story, a holographic Reginald Barclay appears with a remarkable claim: the Doctor is really Lewis Zimmerman, the inventor of the Emergency Medical Hologram, trapped in a simulation that threatens his life.
"Projections" is, in my view, the best episode of Star Trek: Voyager to this point. From an immediately engaging teaser of the Doctor "waking up" to an empty ship, the story builds a fun mystery that zigs and zags through one plot twist after another. It has a good horror-movie-esque "one final scare" false ending. And the material is elevated by another great performance from Robert Picardo, blending anxiety and comedy and adventure.
But... a lot of this concoction is made up of familiar ingredients. This "what is real, what is a delusion" premise is quite similar in presentation to the Next Generation episode "Frame of Mind." (So perhaps its fitting that Jonathan Frakes, featured in that episode, directs this one.) The "alone on the ship and maybe losing your mind" elements recall another Next Generation episode, "Remember Me." And with Reginald Barclay present, it's easy to see "Ship in a Bottle" as another source of inspiration here. All of those being "very good to great" episodes, this episode is almost inevitably going to come up short.
Yet there are just enough unique flourishes here to latch onto. For eeriness, there's the moment when the command to end all holograms erases everyone but the Doctor. For comedy, there's the Doctor going for a hypospray as an impromptu weapon, and quipping about the size of the bridge. For cleverness, there's "resetting the program" to the events of the pilot and having the Doctor play around with them a bit.
Although this is a "bottle episode" (filmed on existing sets to save money), the scope feels bigger with it being the Doctor's first time moving so freely around the ship. And the budget is used smartly in key places for good effect: showing the wrecked bridge, unconventional lighting and lenses to heighten the tension... and, of course, visual effects of holograms winking in and out.
As for putting Reginald Barclay in this episode? I think it works well that the first crossover character from The Next Generation is a recurring, secondary character. And Barclay is a very logical choice for a story revolving around self-doubt, paranoia, and hologram trickery. (The detail that he was responsible for testing the EMH's interpersonal skills says a lot, in a fun way.) Dwight Schultz gives a good performance, and is a good foil for Robert Picardo.
Other observations:
- Don't think about it too much, but... it doesn't really make sense that the holographic Doctor would need to talk -- physically, out loud -- to the ship's computer to access information.
- Neelix's role as the Jar Jar Binks of Star Trek: Voyager is really calcifying here. (Actually, Voyager premiered four years earlier, so I guess Jar Jar Binks is the Neelix of Star Wars.) Anyway, Neelix's food fight with a Kazon is ridiculously over the top, and too big a hint, I think, that this scenario isn't real.
- Putting Chakotay into the Doctor's hallucination as a calming voice does make some sense, I suppose. Though I think it would have been even more natural for Tuvok to serve as the voice of reason.
- Ultimately, how and why the Doctor wound up in this scenario is a bit of hand wave. Which is good, because the bit we do get is "something something yet another trapped on a malfunctioning holodeck" story.
As I said, this is Voyager's strongest episode yet. But it's not as good as the Next Generation episodes which serve as "comparables." So I think I'd call it a B+. Very good, but not "great."
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