For those who are new to my episode reviews, you can find the post where I establish my point criteria here
Overview – Voyager beams aboard the body of an artificial lifeform. It
is humanoid and low on power. Torres begins work to repair it and reactivate
it. After receiving advice from Neelix and the Doctor, Torres is able to
reactivate the robotic humanoid, which identifies itself as automated unit
3947. It appears that 3947 is one of many robots that were created during a
war. 3947 requests that B’Elanna helps him in producing more of his kind, as
his kind are only able to repair existing units and not create new ones. When
Janeway refuses the offer, 3947 seems to accept it. When a ship of identical
looking units arrives (identified as the Pralor automated personnel units),
3947 abducts Torres and forces her to construct new units. After Voyager is
almost destroyed in an unsuccessful rescue attempt, Torres finally agrees to
assist the Pralor units. Just as Torres appears to have been successful at
creating a prototype unit, the Pralor unit’s enemy, the Cravic units, attacks
their ship. As the battle rages on, B’Elanna makes a startling discovery about
the true nature of the automated units.
Score: 7/10 – This is a classic type of story dealing
with artificial intelligence, a staple of any sci-fi franchise. B’Elanna is
fascinated by the possibility of being a “builder”, a term the Pralor unit uses
to describe the sentient beings that created them. Because of the idea in the
Federation that artificial life can be sentient and therefor has rights, we are
put in a Prime Directive dilemma of deciding whether it is best to help these
units build themselves or to allow the society to evolve in its natural course.
It is a clever twist to have the units turn on their builders when the Pralor
and Cravic people declare the war to be over. To have the robots turn on and
destroy their builders/creators because peace was against their programming is
interesting, and it awakens within Torres a startling realization about how
quickly good intentions can go awry. The episode is well written and acted,
giving Roxann Dawson some good scenes that she pulls off well. If there is one
thing that I could note that might be an area that could have worked better was
the design of the robots. They basically looked like men in plain jumpsuits
with a weird metal mask covering their face. The look just seemed to much on
the corny side. According to Rick Worthy, the actor who played Unit 3947, it
was almost impossible for him to see through the slits they had in the mask.
Relevance – 1 point. Only one point to score here. During
her conversations with Unit 3947, she mentions that artificial life forms in
the Federation are regarded as sentient beings. She then goes on to mention
Data by name. This harkens back to the 2nd Season TNG episode “The
Measure of a Man”.
Continuity – 3 points. Character continuity works.
Tuvok is opposed to repairing the robot due to security concerns. Torres is
fascinated by the engineering challenge. Neelix tries to help out with
anecdotes. The Doctor is sarcastic. Universe continuity checks out, as does the
story continuity. It truly makes sense that the robots destroyed their creators
because of their programming. Since the creators were trying to stop the war,
they were seen as an obstacle in the way of achieving the unit’s overall
mission.
Character Development – 2 points. Definitely a Torres episode.
She gets to tap into both her engineering side as well as polish her mothering
nature. She does treat the prototype unit as a child and takes a certain amount
of extra care towards it. That makes her deactivating it all the more painful
for her when that moment comes. It is nice to see Torres go on the journey
towards saving Unit 3947. One thing I loved about B’Elanna’s character is how
she solves problems. Other engineers tend to consult with their peers, but
Torres has a different approach. This is likely due to her being in the Maquis,
but she would turn to anyone who may have a different perspective. This is not
the first time that she turns to the Doctor to get a biological/medical
perspective, and it all came from the advice she got from Neelix.
Social Commentary – 2 points. There are quite a few things that
we could touch on with this episode. First, there is the classic commentary
about the warnings of an over-reliance on technology. That is typically a given
for stories involving AI. The more we go down this road, the more likely the AI
units will eventually do something bad to us. Going deeper, as we examine the
relationship between B’Elanna and the prototype unit, we see how sometimes our
own belief system on what is right can be challenged. B’Elanna’s experience
with the prototype was also a metaphor for motherhood. Of course, most mothers
are not forced to kill their offspring to protect the galaxy, but sometimes a
mother has to turn her back on her children for their own good.
Cool Stuff – 1 point. Alright, I know I criticized
the look of the robots in this episode, but I am going to give a cool point for
the Pralor and Cravic units. The fact that they turned on their creators when
peace was declared was an interesting revelation. I guess to go along with
social commentary section there is the idea that if you are going to create AI
to fight your wars for you, make sure you include a “Peace” switch to turn on
when the war is over. Their ships are also quite cool looking and fit the
concept of the character.
Rank – Captain (17 points). Overlook the very cheesy appearance of the
units, then you have an excellent episode. It is fun with a clever plot-twist
that gives us some insight into the character of B’Elanna Torres.
If you would like to read an episode review from any of the Trek series, click the following link to get to the series catalog. If the episode you want reviewed has not been done yet, then feel free to request it in the comments and I will see what I can do.
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