The Doctor has feelings in this episode that was originally broadcast on April 28, 1999. This is Someone to Watch Over Me.
The Episode:
Captain’s Log Stardate 52648.0 Someone To Watch Over me.
Seven gets dating advice from the Doctor causing him to realize how he feels about her, meanwhile Neelix has to attend to a guest who is used to bland food.
The Story:
Yes, this episode is a bland as the food the Kadi like to eat. Okay, that is not entirly fair as you don’t know who the Kadi are yet. So, here is the episode in a nutshell. Well, in bullet points…but you catch my drift.
- Seven pisses off Torres after the Klingon Engineer catches the former Borg taking notes about Torres’ and Paris’ love life.
- The Doctor begins teaching Seven about the subtleties of dating since it is clear she wants to learn.
- The Doctor and Paris make a bet as to whether The Doctor can get Seven to successfully attend a formal event with a date.
- As Janeway and Tuvok visit the Kadi culture, Neelix is assigned the duty to attend to Ambassador Tomin of the Kadi, who are from a very conservative and puritanical race.
- Neelix soon finds that his charge actually likes more flavorful things causing issues along the way.
- Seven attempts to date and things do not go as expected resulting in the Doctor accompanying Seven to a formal reception.
- The two stories run into one another when Seven and Tomin run afoul of one another ad Seven discovers the date between Paris and The Doctor.
- Seven continues her studies and the Doctor soon realizes that he is falling in love with his student.
- Even though the Ambassador has violated his ‘cultural’ rules, he returns to his people with nothing but praise for the crew and Neelix.
- In the end, although the Doctor loves Seven, he keeps it to himself when she informs him that she is done with dating until she finds a proper mate.
- The Doctor is sad.
- The End.
Is this a ‘Good’ Episode:
Maybe I dumbed it down a bit but it almost feels like the stories are two B level stories the writers wanted to use but ran out of stories so they mashed them together to make a rather half baked episode.
I do love a good Doctor story and , while the episode itself feels rather forced, the dynamic between The Doctor and Seven of Nine is pretty great. We have seen a little bit of a romantic nature in the Doctor and, since he has been working with Seven, it is rather clear that he has found a connection with her. Honestly, this part of the episode isn’t bad, in fact is quite funny at times, but would have been so much better if it had been played out over the course of the season. The Doctor’s feelings for Seven and subsequent let down at the end would have been much more impactful had we had a nice buildup over time. To add insult to injury they even steal in a little bit of My Fair Lady with a bet between Paris and the Doctor on whether the Doctor can get Seven a date or not. This results in a rather awkward series of events ultimately leading to the Doctor falling for her. It is pretty cringe-worthy to be honest but Robert Picardo and Jeri Ryan manage to make the scenes rather entertaining if you don’t focus on the story.
Overall, this is a fun episode that could have been fleshed out more over the course of the season instead of cramming the Doctor’s infatuation of Seven into a single episode. While I know that Voyager tends to focus on the episodic nature of Trek, forgoing the long form story-lines DS9 was well known for, this episode really manages to show how that strategy only weakens the series as a whole by never really letting the characters develop over time. I really want to like this episode as it is full of genuinely enjoyable, touching moments, sadly that is not enough to make this a truly great entry to the series.
Gleanings and Cool Bits:
- 0 photon torpedoes fired, -14 remaining.
- 0 shuttlecraft lost or destroyed, -4 remaining
- The Doctor has slides of species mating rituals…I guess that makes sense….
- We also get to see Neelix act as an Ambassador for the first time and honestly, he doesn’t do too poorly.
- There is a pretty great moment with The Doctor and Seven singing together.
Thanks for reading the Retro TV Review, I look forward to discussing the rest of the series with you, one episode at a time every Monday, Wednesday and Friday! Next Review: 11:59
For more reviews: check out the weekly series called Key Movies Of My Life that comes out every Thursday and for more retro TV goodness check out the rest of the Retro TV Reviews here.
As always, please feel free to comment below and share your experiences with these episodes as well. If you just happened by, tell me what you think! Don’t Forget To Follow me if you like the blog!
Late To The Game 12/21/2020
Special Thanks to Memory Alpha as they are one of the best sources for details on Star Trek information available. Although I have a pretty deep knowledge on the subject, they have proven invaluable as a regular resource.
“Star Trek and all related marks, logos and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan production is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise, and is a non-commercial fan-made production intended for recreational use. No commercial exhibition or distribution is permitted. No alleged independent rights will be asserted against CBS or Paramount Pictures.”
Late to the Game Blog 