Voyager Flashback: Cold Fire

In my review of the series premiere of Star Trek: Voyager, I wrote that the show never followed up on its dangled thread of a female Caretaker out there somewhere. I suppose that's an indication of how memorable I found the the episode "Cold Fire" to be.

Voyager discovers a smaller "Caretaker array" where a group of Ocampans live under the watchful eye of Suspiria, a Caretaker entity who has helped them increase their life spans and boost their latent mental abilities. As their leader Tanis takes an unnatural interest in Kes, he's also setting up the rest of the crew for vengeance at the hands of an angry Suspiria.

The "second Caretaker" concept was an escape clause built into Voyager's premise at the request of studio executives. If fans didn't take to the "lost in the Delta Quadrant" premise of the show, it would be the way to reset, bring the ship home, and reintroduce Star Trek staples like Klingons and Romulans and all the rest back to the show. Evidently, by this point in the second season, there wasn't much need for an escape clause anymore, as "Suspiria" (no relation?) is used here as a somewhat garden variety Menace of the Week.

There are a lot of interesting elements at play in this episode, though I'd say a lack of commitment permeates it all and keeps it from being truly great. At the top level is the question of tone. This episode is almost a horror movie, from "boiled Tuvok" to suspended bodies that drip blood to a creepy little girl who is filmed with Dutch angles and speaks with a woman's voice (Majel Barrett's!). Yet for these very effective trappings, things never really seem that dangerous. Tanis' creepy interest in Kes is an entirely different type of horror (a "140-year old" lusting after a "20-year old"?), and the odd prop used to disable Suspiria reaches "improv prompt" levels of ridiculous.

It is a solid show for Kes. Not only does she go on an interesting arc in this episode -- unlocking her mental abilities and recoiling from what she finds -- but we're reminded just how integral a character she already is on the show: she studies with Tuvok, apprentices with the Doctor, runs the arboretum, and can even be called on for diplomacy. (It is simply bonkers that, among the entire cast, she would be the one written out to make room later for Seven of Nine.) Jennifer Lien has to do a lot of "stare intensely" acting in this episode, and manages to pull it off surprisingly well. But the show lacks the commitment to make a lasting change in Kes' character; by the end of the episode, she's mysteriously lost her souped-up mind powers (leaving you to wonder if Tanis was somehow responsible... but if so, also wondering how Kes was able to attack him).

It helps that Jennifer Lien has a solid scene partner in guest star Gary Graham as Tanis. I may not like the character's major motivation, but Graham does a good job finding many levels in the role. Tanis is part cult leader, part mentor, (and yes, part horndog) -- and you can see how Kes is drawn in. It's no surprise to me that Graham would later be tapped for a recurring role on Enterprise. Indeed, some sources claim he was considered as a possible captain for Deep Space Nine and Voyager, at early points in development before the decision was made to expand the racial and gender diversity of Star Trek's leading roles. It is perhaps funny that Graham chose to come back to Trek, however; he commented in an interview about how "tightly wound" the Voyager set was (despite the fact that he liked the main cast), and that the experience of making this episode was "about as fun as taking a midterm when you really, really have to make a good grade."

Other observations:

• Outside of explicit two-parters, not many Star Trek episodes to this point begin with a recap. The one at the start of this episode is almost jarring.
  

• It's also a good episode for Tuvok (who shows himself to be a patient teacher and a cautious, capable security chief) and Tim Russ (who shades his performance with the right levels of annoyance and jealousy for a Vulcan).

• It's also -- against all odds -- a good episode for Neelix. While I could complain about the inconsistency of him not getting jealous over the guy moving in on Kes, I'm far more relieved that Neelix is instead fully supportive of her efforts to learn and grow.
  

Maybe it's the way this episode resets everything at the end. (Even the "other Caretaker" is still "out there somewhere.") Maybe it's the way the episode pulls up shy of going full horror. In any case, "Cold Fire" is mostly good, but certainly not great. And, as I've already personally demonstrated, not very memorable in the long run. I give it a B (maybe just barely).