 |
| VOY "The Chute" |
Our first stop aboard the good ship Voyager is an almost subversively unusual one: a parade of unpleasantness in the form of a grimy prison drama with an SF twist. Harry Kim and Tom Paris are unjustly convicted of a terrorist bombing and left to rot in a hellish prison, where the only point of interest is a central chute that deposits new prisoners and occasional food shipments. There are two SF elements: an implant in the brain of all prisoners called the Clamp that stokes aggression and paranoia, and the twist of the episode, that the prison that is understood to be underground is in fact a space station.
While it almost goes without saying that "The Chute" should be no one's idea of comfort Trek, there is something admirable in what it's trying to do. So often in SF TV, the characters will get imprisoned and of course always escape. Here, the episode chooses to present such a situation as unvarnished as it can, depicting an atmosphere of nihilistic claustrophobia. The stakes are further raised with the Clamp, a device (literal device and plot device) that genuinely starts to drive Harry and Tom crazy, and to turn them against each other. They swing from desperate solidarity with homoerotic undertones to being victimized by the Clamp into instinctive fear and paranoia.
The only prisoner in a seeming state of equilibrium with the Clamp is Zio, played effectively by guest star Don McManus. In a standout sequence, Zio monologues with deranged but calm conviction about his "manifesto", essentially a self-help text to cope with the Clamp. As he finishes his speech, the chute forms a makeshift halo over the head of this prison philosopher. Audacious.
From time to time, the action cuts back to Captain Kathryn Janeway and the Voyager crew figuring out how to get Harry and Tom out of prison. Really, every time we see Voyager it's just a relief to break up the bleak prison scenes.
Disorienting and non-sugarcoated, but at the same time unpleasant viewing. 6/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment