30th Anniversary VOY Discussion Marathon

[Nate the Great]

Before I do Caretaker I'd like to cover the writer's guide and series bible.


Star Trek Voyager Bible


Cardassians within the Demilitarized Zone continue to harass Federation outposts, and while Starfleet responds to any significant aggression, some colonist have decided to take matters into their own hands.


This is a fundamental problem with the whole premise. Back in "Journey's End" the Cardassians promised to leave the ex-Federation citizens alone if they stayed peaceful. If they're still hassling the colonists this just shows that they can't be trusted. Furthermore, why is Starfleet responding at all, they specifically said that the colonists who choose to remain in the DMZ are renouncing their citizenship and will not be rescued.


One problem that is NEVER brought up is that regardless of the precise status of the DMZ residents, if the Cardassians are bullying them around this must count as militarization by definition. That's a treaty violation.



This group of resistance fighters calls itself the Maquis, and they are becoming more than a nuisance. The Federation considers them outlaws.


Seriously, why are the Maquis using an Earth term when they should be using a Bajoran term? It's not like the average viewer knew about the WWII Maquis so they could make the connection.


Their quest is to find a "shortcut" home...but the Voyage captain also insists that...they behave as a Starfleet crew. They will continue to go boldly, to explore, study, and investigate, so that when they do return, they will have amasses a vast wealth of knowledge about a heretofore unexplored region of space.


It occurs to me that this would be a much more reasonable conflict between the Starfleet and Maquis crews. Even if the Starfleet people want to explore, the Maquis would be continually breathing down their necks asking why they're not looking for wormholes and resources exclusively.


Because let's be real here, what's the point of gathering data about the Delta Quadrant if they're destroyed before any of it can get back to the Federation?


[The Maquis] are idealistic nonconformists who believe passionately that they are taking the only course of action they can to protect themselves and their loved ones from continued Cardassian aggression.


Except, you know, ask the Federation to be evacuated. Duh. As SF Debris said, these people have been here a few decades at most. That's not enough time to develop the deep emotional connection to the land that people on Earth today have.


Did the Maquis leadership say that any DMZ colonist who asks to be evacuated to the Federation will be locked up?



Some are Starfleet officers who have resigned their commissions or dropped out of the Academy. Some have been asked to leave Starfleet.


And most of them are Bajorans who just want to fight Cardassians. And yet this aspect never comes into play in Voyager except for the Crell Moset episode. Did the Voyager creators think that their viewers were exclusively from TNG and not DS9?


In addition to the two regular characters that are Maquis (Chakotay and B'Elanna), we assume that some twenty more have come on board...

Well, this one was retconned rather quickly. One big problem is that the Val Jean is explicitly called a raider and yet everyone acts like the Maquis lived on it full time. Raiders are supposed to be small and quick, so why is this thing stuffed with personal belongings?

Janeway is by no means the only female captain in Starfleet. But it is generally acknowledged that she is among the best, male or female. She embodies all that is exemplary about Starfleet officers: intelligent, thoughtful, perspicacious, sensitive to the feelings of others, tough when she has to be, and not afraid to take chances.


Hi Jeri Taylor! As SF Debris said, a big problem with the writing is that Janeway had to always be right or else people would take her less seriously for being a woman. This is completely antithetical to the Trek philosophy. Each of these adjectives will be proven to be incorrect in one episode or another.



Chakotay himself develops a strong bond with Janeway. He has known of her, heard of her diplomatic and tactical exploits, and realizes that they were to be dumped at the ends of the galaxy with an Captain, they're lucky it was this one.


None of this was carried on to the actual show.



There was an accident during a war games demonstration, a pilot was killed, and Tom Paris, fearing his reputation might suffer and derail his career, lied and placed the blame on the dead man. The fault was actually his, and had he simply owned up to that, he would have been disciplined. But he was young, and was terrified of bringing disgrace onto his illustrious family.


I wish that they had explained this version more to distance him from Locarno. It would've made the "Locarno is a bad guy pretending to be a good guy, and Paris is a good guy pretending to be a bad guy" thing more explicit.


[The Maquis] offered him the one thing he wanted most-to pilot a sleek starship in situations which require extraordinary prowess.


This weakens Paris-the idea that he could be happy just being a pilot without respect or glory.


He of all the crew is not dismayed by the cruel fate which has befallen them: what does it matter that they're at the ends of the galaxy? He's flying a ship and having adventures, that's just what he wants to be doing and it doesn't matter particularly to him where it happens.


This should've been established earlier instead of that womanizing nonsense with Kes and the Kazon plot. If anything the "Tom joins the Kazon" thing should've been a first season plot.


He has an affection for B'Elanna, seeing in her a soul at war and reminding him of himself.


This is odd, as I thought the Tom/Kes/Neelix triangle would've been established earlier.


In the 22nd century, a group of Indian traditionalists became dissatisfied with the "homogenization" of humans that was occurring on Earth. Strongly motivated to preserve their cultural identity, they relocated to a remote planet near what has now become known as the Demilitarized Zone.


We covered this in "Journey's End", but a big problem is the idea that this colony has existed since the 22nd century. In the 22nd century known space didn't extend anywhere near Cardassian/Bajoran territory. Even the Irish transcendentalists were still in Federation space, just a previously unexplored portion of it. No no, any American Indian colonies near the DMZ are a few decades old at most. I still don't see why these guys can't just be moved to a planet firmly within Federation space.


But he was "contrary" at the Academy, also, and found he had difficulty adhering to the rigid codes and rules.


This was also ignored in the actual show.


[Chakotay has a wolf as a spirit guide who appears in his dreams to give guidance]


This is never seen, but would've made for an interesting recurring theme.



[Tuvok's] grandfatherly presence is comforting to many, particularly the young and headstrong B'Elanna...

That one didn't make it to the series, did it?


He goes about his duties with diligence...but more than anyone else, Harry is suffering.


This should've been a bigger subplot: Harry putting on the brave front of an ideal Starfleet officer while on duty, but when off duty speaks of his fears and loneliness to Tom and B'Elanna. He doesn't want to disappoint Janeway or his parents. But no, Starfleet officers are perfect and never complain about this stuff, even to mourn. Stupid Voyager writers. It occurs to me that it would've been nice to have Chakotay as his confidant, he would know how to sympathize and keep the nonessential stuff a secret from Janeway.


As a member of the Maquis, B'Elanna had finally found an outlet for many of her frustrations, a tangible enemy against whom she could fight...Now, on Voyager, that foe has been taken away, and her own inner frustrations are thrown into marked relief. Without an enemy, B'Elanna is forced to deal with angry parts of herself that no longer have an appropriate outlet.


Another aspect that should've been explored better in the show.



She turns many heads, but the person she has designs on is Tom Paris.


If the Torres/Paris thing was part of the writer's bible, where did the love triangle with Kes come from?

Doc Zimmerman


I'm not sure how well it would've worked giving Doc a real name. At least at first. The EMH has no need of a name beyond "EMH". He wouldn't see the purpose of having one.

Because of the huge power drain that replicators place on the ship's systems, the crew must, for the first time in years, eat real food.


Another plot point that was never fully developed. As SF Debris said, they should be growing and canning food all the time.

[Nate the Great]

January 16th, 1995, "Caretaker"


Fiver by Zeke


The Episode


GUL EVEK [on viewscreen]: Maquis ship, this is Gul Evek of the Cardassian Fourth Order.



I didn't remember that the Cardassian was Evek from "Journey's End". It's almost like the creators WANT us to complain about the inconsistencies with the prior episode.


(Inmates are busy constructing something. They all wear ankle-tags...


This seems odd. Why would you still need ankle tags in the 24th century? You'd think you they'd just inject a microtag under their skin.



JANEWAY: Tom Paris? Kathryn Janeway. I served with your father on the Al-Batani.



I question why Janeway would think that invoking Admiral Paris would be a good first impression for Tom.


PARIS: You'd like me to lead you to my former colleagues. I was only with the Maquis a few weeks before I was captured, Captain. I don't know where most of their hiding places are.
JANEWAY: You know the territory better than anyone we've got.


This is a really flimsy premise for bringing Tom along. DS9 should've been mapping the Badlands this entire time, especially after the Maquis revealed themselves.


PARIS: Chakotay will tell you he left Starfleet on principle, to defend his home colony from the Cardassians.



I don't think that this ever really came up after this episode.



JANEWAY: Officially, you'd be a Starfleet observer during the mission.


Paris being reinstated as a real officer instead of the provisional rank that the Maquis had seems odd to me. Especially since Chakotay wears the provisional pips when he actually had the rank of Lieutenant Commander before leaving Starfleet.


PARIS: Stadi, you're changing my mind about Betazoids.
STADI: Good.
PARIS: Oh, that wasn't a compliment. Until today I always considered your people warm and sensual.
STADI: I can be warm and sensual.
PARIS: Just not to me.
STADI: Do you always fly at women at warp speed, Mister Paris?
PARIS: Only when they're in visual range.



Tom is very charming and clearly has practiced his methods for getting women, but I question why he'd try them on a Betazoid when they can instantly tell how phony he's being.


STADI: Some of the traditional circuitry has been replaced by gel packs that contain bio-neural cells. They organise information more efficiently, speed up response time.



And yet these things never came into play as anything other than a gimmicky plot device. Furthermore even if they can do processing faster, you still have the delays introduced by converting isolinear to bioneural, then bioneural to isolinear again.



KIM: We were warned about the Ferengi at the Academy.
QUARK: Warned about Ferengi, were you?
KIM: That's right.
QUARK: Slurs about my people at Starfleet Academy.


Slurs? It's the truth! Even so, I thought Starfleet officers were trained to leave their prejudices in their quarters (see "Balance of Terror").


DOCTOR: Oh yes. The observer.
PARIS: That's me. As a matter of fact, I seem to be observing some kind of problem right now, Doctor.
DOCTOR: I was a surgeon at the hospital on Caldic Prime at the same time you were stationed there. We never actually met.



As SF Debris said, isn't it convenient that all the people who hate Tom die? In the case of the doctor I don't think that anti-Paris opinions should've been expressed, or else we're going to think that the EMH is an improvement over this grump.


JANEWAY: She's pregnant?
MARK [on monitor]: The puppies are due in seven weeks.
JANEWAY: Oh, Mark. You've got to take her home with you.
MARK [on monitor]: With me? I just got the rugs cleaned.


Ugh. If starships can be self-cleaning, why can't all Federation homes (with the obvious exception of the retro folks like in "Sub Rosa", of course)?


JANEWAY: Ensign, despite Starfleet protocol, I don't like being addressed as sir.
KIM: I'm sorry, ma'am.
JANEWAY: Ma'am is acceptable in a crunch, but I prefer Captain.


And yet "ma'am" and "Captain" will be freely used in roughly equal numbers over the next seven years, so what's the point of this exchange?


PARIS: Tomato soup.
COMPUTER: There are fourteen varieties of tomato soup available from this replicator. With rice, with vegetables, Bolian style, with pasta, with
PARIS: Plain.
COMPUTER: Specify hot or chilled.
PARIS: Hot. Hot, plain, tomato soup.



This is just dumb and a waste of time. It's not even funny. A simple "tomato soup" should default to hot, plain soup.



PARIS: Was the accident my fault? Yes. Pilot error. But it took me a while to admit it. Oh, fourteen varieties and they can't even get plain tomato soup right.
KIM: They said you falsified reports.
PARIS: That's right.


I wish they'd made it clear that the problem wasn't the pilot error, it's the falsified reports. And even at this point it's clear that Paris is not Locarno.



PARIS: Look, I know those guys told you to stay away from me. And you know what? You ought to listen to them. I'm not exactly a good luck charm.
KIM: I don't need anyone to choose my friends for me.


A good scene, and a fine example of "Locarno was bad pretending to be good, and Paris is good pretending to be bad."


CAREY [OC]: Possibility of a warp core breach.
JANEWAY: Secure all engineering systems. I'm on my way.


I never liked this bit. Janeway was a science officer, not an engineering officer. This makes her either look like she doesn't trust anyone but herself to do anything or she has the compulsion to be in the part of the ship in the greatest danger at all times, which I suppose is the same thing.


COMPUTER: Warning. Warp core microfracture. Breach imminent.


This is where you do an emergency shutdown, clear out all the matter and antimatter, then fix the fracture.



PARIS: We lost our nurse too.


Are they trying to say that on a ship of 150 people the medical staff was two people? That's just dumb.



EMH: Tricorder. Medical tricorder.



What's a normal tricorder doing in Sickbay anyway?


(The corn is as high as Kim's eye...


Cute. Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day...



DAUGHTER: Hey, let me show you around. The root cellar's right over there.
KIM: What's down there?
DAUGHTER: Potatoes, onions. But it's real private.


Yikes is that inappropriate. The Caretaker thinks that a strategy to keep the crew here is to offer sex?


CARETAKER: You don't have what I need. They might. No, you'll have to leave them.


I'll buy that Torres' genetics might be more useful to the Caretaker than the others, but Harry? He's an ordinary human and I doubt that Asian genetics are sufficiently different from that of other races when it comes to alien reproduction compatibility.

[Nate the Great]

JANEWAY: It's virtually a desert. Not one ocean, not one river. It has all the basic characteristics of an M-class planet except there are no nucleogenic particles in the atmosphere.
TUVOK: That would mean the planet is incapable of producing rain.
JANEWAY: I've studied thousands of M-class planets. I've never seen an atmosphere without nucleogenics. There must have been some kind of extraordinary environmental disaster. As soon as repairs are complete, we'll set a course for the fifth planet.



I don't like technobabble being used to explain "can't produce rain". The Caretaker may be responsible, but you can handwave his influence without resorting to technobabble.


NEELIX [on viewscreen]: Well, there's really very little that you could offer me. Unless.
JANEWAY: Yes?
NEELIX [on viewscreen]: Unless of course, you had water.


And here we are. This whole "water is rare in this part of space" thing is just stupid. I understand that the Ocampa aren't warp capable and Neelix's ship isn't big enough to evacuate everyone, but everyone else has ships to go somewhere else that DOES have water.


Or are you telling me that the Caretaker affected the nucleonic particles in ALL of the planetary atmosphere in this sector?



OCAMPA DOCTOR: Our society is subterranean. We've lived here for over five hundred generations.


Are we talking Ocampan or human generations? Sometimes the Universal Translator really does seem to raise more questions than it answers.


NEELIX: And to immerse myself in water. Oh, do you know what joy this is? No one around here wastes water in this manner. Good sand scrub, that's the best that we can hope for.


Is sonic shower technology that much more advanced than replicators?


PARIS: Yeah? But on the other hand, if I save your butt your life belongs to me. Isn't that some kind of Indian custom?
CHAKOTAY: Wrong tribe.
PARIS: I don't believe you.



Well, that's insensitive.


PARIS: Isn't there some Indian trick where you can turn yourself into a bird and fly us out of here?


And that's just nuts. Now is not the time for jokes!


JANEWAY: You're sealing the conduits before you die.
CARETAKER: If I don't, the Kazon will steal the water. But in a few years, when the Ocampa's energy runs out, it won't matter. They'll be forced to come to the surface and they won't be able to survive.


And the Caretaker couldn't just transport the Ocampa to another planet...because?


JANEWAY: Mister Chakotay said something about his life belonging to you? He'll be taking responsibility for your safety.
PARIS: I think I'm going to enjoy this.
JANEWAY: Don't be so sure.



Did this ever come into play?


The Fiver


Chakotay: Ha! Chakotay 1, Cardassians 0!
Tuvok: (detecting the wave) Um, you might want to reconsider that....



Are there some missing first lines, or is this just a halfbaked joke?


Tom: Hey, wanna be Voyager's version of Bashir and O'Brien?
Harry: Works for me.



I see where this joke came from, but it's not quite accurate. Bashir thought that he knew everything and had to be deflated, Harry wants to be Ideal Starfleet Man and needs to be seasoned.


Mark: You know, honey, they say a fool and her dog are soon parted.
Janeway: So what? Bye now.



This was one of the first scenes that I added to our TV Tropes page, I still remember it well.



Neelix: Welcome to part 2, and get out of my junkyard!
Janeway: Want us to give you everything you need for free?
Neelix: I grudgingly accept.



I seem to remember this gag being used in another fiver as well. Am I just imagining things?


Janeway: You jerk! You nearly got us killed!
Neelix: Yeah, but you're getting Kes out of it!
Tom: You know, he's got a point.


He really does.


Other Kazon: You guys really, really suck! Just for that, we'll provide an ineffective recurring menace for two whole seasons!
Chakotay: Bite me. What's the worst you can do, convince my girlfriend to defect?



Seska really should've been part of the pilot.


Janeway: Well, Tom, you're the pilot now. Don't blow it.
Tom: Bite me. What's the worst you can do, demote me?



Insert ominous "dun dun dun!" here.


Memory Alpha


* The writers wanted to get away from the cerebral nature of "Emissary" and do a more action packed pilot this time. I'd say that they failed utterly. A good step in being less cerebral would be getting rid of the enigmatic nature of the Caretaker. That was really dumb.
* There was much discussion about whether or not the Maquis would be given Starfleet uniforms, but Rick Berman ultimately decided on uniforms because he didn't want the conflict in every episode. Which shot the whole premise in the foot in the first episode, thanks Rick!
* At first Janeway's holodeck program would've been Wild West themed (I remember that now, it would've been too expensive to shoot outdoors and with horses).
* The creators were worried about looking like Janeway broke the Prime Directive. I say that their were more important ethical considerations in play. After all, Janeway didn't create the situation that required Prime Directive violations, the Caretaker did.
* Most of us remember that Janeway's first name was originally going to be Elizabeth, but I didn't know that it was changed because there already was an Elizabeth Janeway, she was a prominent writer in the fifties and sixties.
* Susan Gibney was an early contender for the role of Janeway, but I question how this would've worked without heavy alien makeup. Her portrayal of Leah Brahms really stuck in the minds of the fans (unlike Tim Russ's performance in "Starship Down", for example).
* I didn't know that it was Bujold who quit, she wasn't fired. She admitted that she wasn't ready for the faster pace of television production.



Nitcentral (there may not have been a formal Nitpicker's Guide, but Phil Farrand did maintain a site back at the turn of the century!)


* Tom was made a full Lieutenant in this episode, yet later episodes will give him Lieutenant Junior Grade pips. I guess these are the same shoddy uniform replicators that gave Tuvok Lieutenant Commander pips when he was supposed to be a regular Lieutenant.
* There was debate on whether or not Janeway could have brought Mark and her dog along. My immediate rejoinder is that Mark has his own life on Earth and might not want to be on board. Plus Voyager isn't designed for families.
* Much debate about whether destroying the Array was the only option.
* Stadi's shuttle flips from 74656 (Voyager) to 1701-D, and then back. Sheesh, talk about a rookie mistake on the part of the special effects department.
* Discussion about the canonicity of Mosaic and Pathways.

* Apparently the original nurse who died was Vulcan, and she smiled too much. Oops.
* Someone brings up that if Voyager had used a delayed fuse on a bomb to get home before the array blows up that the Kazon would've figured out how to defuse it. I think that this is nonsense. The Kazon don't have transporters or replicators, so it's easy to assume that their sensors aren't as good. And even if they found the bomb, it would've been easy to set it up to detonate when tampered with. No way are the Kazon smart enough to figure out Starfleet technology that fast.

[Nate the Great]

I can't help but feel that DS9 and VOY should've had three part pilots. For Voyager of course they wouldn't be yanked to the Delta Quadrant until the end of Part One, giving plenty of room to establish the characters. Show what life was like on a Maquis ship, introduce Seska and other important Maquis side-characters, give the doomed Voyager crew a chance to do something other than hate Tom Paris, etc.

[Nate the Great]

January 23rd, 1995, "Parallax"

Full warning, nits ahead. The acting was good all around, it's just a shame that none of the scenarios make sense.

Fiver by Admiral Sab

The Episode


CAREY: We were having a disagreement about the power grid. She wanted to realign the lateral plasma conduit. I told her that would cause an overload. As usual, she wouldn't listen. So I told her to step aside and let me handle it. She pushed me away from the console. I pushed back. Next thing I knew, I was lying on the deck with blood pouring down my face.

B'Elanna isn't Chief Engineer yet. Hence she should follow Carey's orders. Furthermore assault is a crime that she should be punished for.

TUVOK: Where is Miss Torres?

Does B'Elanna not have a rank yet? Tuvok is usually pretty good about referring to people by their rank.

CHAKOTAY: I've confined her to quarters.
TUVOK: I would like her moved to the brig until formal charges can be filed.
CHAKOTAY: Formal charges? Come on, Tuvok. We're seventy five years away from the nearest court. Are you really going to hold her in the brig for that long?
TUVOK: The Captain has the authority to try Miss Torres here on the ship, considering the extenuating circumstances.

After DS9's growing pains when it comes to specific numbers you'd think the creators would've known enough to lock down these recurring facts this time. In the early days the trip will take 75 years, yet by the end of the season it'll be 70 years. Ugh. This fact should've been in the writer's guide.

As for "confined to quarters" versus "brig", I must bring up the fact that in the real Navy the brig is for short term use only, with the expectation that a trail or hearing will occur in the near future, where serious punishment will be held off the ship. That can't happen on Voyager, so alternate punishment methods must be created.

Off the top of my mind one of the lower decks should be retrofitted as a virtual penal colony. That is, minimal quarters, basic food being sent down from the mess hall, a rudimentary gym, and grunt work to do. No holodeck or mess hall privileges. And tell Harren that he either does real work in Engineering or he's going to be living down here permanently.

CHAKOTAY: Well, I'd like to settle this on my own without filing charges and without involving the Captain.

And here we reveal Chakotay as an idealistic idiot. He's one of the few Maquis that actually was a real officer, he should know better than this. The captain must be involved and charges must be filed.

TUVOK: She struck a fellow officer. That is a court martial offence.
CHAKOTAY: She's a Maquis, and in the Maquis, sometimes you have to push people out of your way to get things done.
TUVOK: Miss Torres is no longer a member of the Maquis, and with all due respect, Commander, neither are you. Allowing Miss Torres to get away with a clear violation of regulations sets a bad example for the rest of the crew. It makes it appear as though you were showing favouritism toward the Maquis.

Exactly. Chakotay is not supposed to be this stupid.

SESKA: We heard that Captain Janeway's going to put her in the brig for two months, and that all the Maquis are going to be restricted to quarters when they're not on duty.
CHAKOTAY: Not true.

This is not the right way to introduce Seska. Furthermore, this is a ridiculous scenario. Restricted to quarters is little better than solitary confinement. Plus, aren't all of the replicators in the quarters supposed to be turned off by now to conserve energy?

SESKA: We just want you to know that if things do get our of hand, we're ready to back you.
CHAKOTAY: What does that mean?
JARVIN: In case you want to take control of the ship, you have our full support.
CHAKOTAY: If I ever hear you talk that way again, I'll personally throw you in the brig for mutiny.

It's way too early for a mutiny plot. Stuff like this indicates that the Maquis can never be trusted and shouldn't have power over Starfleet officers.

CHAKOTAY: Or I could send you back to work with the understanding that you'll apologise to
TORRES: Apologise? He was the one who
CHAKOTAY: Not just a simple apology. A personal one, over a hot cup of pejuta.

Pejuta is the Lakota word for coffee. I question the point of this Indian word, because most of the audience won't recognize it. And frankly the first time I saw the word I thought it was a Bajoran drink (it certainly sounds like one, doesn't it?).

Captain's log, Stardate 48439.7. As we maintain a course back to the Alpha Quadrant, we're conducting what would normally be routine maintenance to the ship. Routine, that is, if we had access to a starbase.

Voyager has been in the Delta Quadrant for something like 45 days. WAY too early for maintenance that requires a starbase. The final status of the Maquis regarding officer status and posting should've happened before the two week mark. For that matter, in the real world the Maquis should've made an offscreen mutiny attempt, which would actually be a good background to this episode.

JANEWAY: What about alternative energy sources? Ensign Kim, have you had any luck getting power from the holodeck reactors?
KIM: Not yet. We tried hooking them to the power grid and we ended up blowing out half the relays. The holodeck's energy matrix, it just isn't compatible with the other power systems.

And here we go. This plot point was always stupid. What's the in universe reason for isolating the holodeck's power source?

JANEWAY: Neelix, this is a briefing for the senior officers.
NEELIX: I see. Well, I, I am the senior Talaxian on board. Kes is the senior Ocampa. And I do know more about this region of space than any other member of the crew.
KES: We have some excellent suggestions, Captain.

Why did Neelix and Kes wait 45 days for this? Truth be told this episode should've been a week after Caretaker and the ship's problems should've been from Kazon damage, not lack of starbase support.

KES: I've been thinking that you might be able to convert one of your lower decks into a hydroponics bay to grow your own food. I understand that the replicators are down and that the emergency rations won't hold out much longer.

And yet in future episodes the hydroponics bay will be shown as one room, not a deck. Not enough room to provide fruit and vegetables for 150 people.

Incidentally hydroponics is growing plants without traditional soil. I get that the term is used to sound more futuristic, but with an entire deck to work with you could beam up some soil from a planet and grow more crops. Whenever we see hydroponics in the future we just see small plants in suspended bowls. Maybe you could grow herbs and stuff like spinach like that, but to have proper crops you need proper garden beds.

[Nate the Great]

JANEWAY: Okay. The personnel situation. We've managed to find a replacement for the Transporter Chief, but we still need an Astrogation plotter, a Chief Engineer, medical support personnel.

You waited 45 days for this? And why isn't Carey already Chief Engineer?

JANEWAY: Regarding Sickbay, we still need a Chief Medical Officer.
NEELIX: What about that electronic man down in Sickbay?
TUVOK: It is an Emergency Medical Hologram and its abilities are limited. It can only operate within the confines of Sickbay.
PARIS: Not to mention its lousy bedside manner.
CHAKOTAY: Perhaps we should assign somebody to train with the hologram as a field medic.

Again, 45 days? Several people should've been training with Doc the week after they arrived.

JANEWAY: Good idea. Lieutenant, I understand you studied biochemistry at the Academy.
PARIS: Er, only two semesters.
JANEWAY: Close enough. You just volunteered to become a field medic.

Ugh. It's not like Tom already has a full time job. And wouldn't this be a great job for some of the non-Starfleet Maquis? Or are we going to imply that Janeway doesn't trust the Maquis to have control over a Starfleet officer's life? Unfortunate implications all around.

Incidentally I seem to recall that the reason Tom took two semesters of biochemistry was that he had a crush on a girl that was majoring in that field.

TORRES [OC]: I was thinking we could remodulate a tractor beam to match
[Engineering]
TORRES: The subspace interference. It might be enough to cut through the event horizon.
[Bridge]
CHAKOTAY: A subspace tractor beam?
TORRES [OC]: Exactly.

Yeah, this is complete nonsense. Tractor beams only operate at warp within the warp bubble. This is talking about cutting through the equivalent of a warp bubble.

JANEWAY: Let me be blunt. What you tried to do just now was out of line.
CHAKOTAY: In what way?
JANEWAY: When you decided to call Torres in Engineering.
CHAKOTAY: I've worked with her. I know what she's capable of. We needed an answer right away and I knew she could give us one.

Yes, this was a major misstep on Chakotay's part.

JANEWAY: Carey is the senior officer in Engineering.
CHAKOTAY: If you look at it that way, none of my people will ever have seniority.
JANEWAY: That's the problem, right there. They're not your people. You're treating the Maquis on this ship like they're still your crew.

Chakotay's response should be "if I don't defend the Maquis, they will mutiny. You do know that, don't you?"

JANEWAY: The Starfleet officers on this ship have worked all their lives to earn their commissions. How am I supposed to ask them to accept a Maquis as their superior officer just because circumstances have forced us together?

A good point. Both sides have good points, and if the show took advantage of the possibilities offered by the scenario, we could get good plots. But no, conflict is bad in Star Trek (whether or not that still applies is a screed for another time).

Frankly Tuvok should already be running a compressed Academy course for the Maquis to earn their commissions. It would've made a good subplot for the first season.

CHAKOTAY: Permission to speak freely.
JANEWAY: Go ahead.
CHAKOTAY: I have no intention of being your token Maquis officer.

Exactly. This should've been where Chakotay says, "either you have at least three Maquis senior officers, or you have none and the Maquis will mutiny immediately. They will beat you and then I'll be the captain and you'll be the spat upon crewman."

EMH: That's it?
KES: I'm sorry if
EMH: So it begins. The trivia of medicine is my domain now. Every runny nose, stubbed toe, pimple on a cheek becomes my responsibility.

Again, 45 days? Was the stardate just picked out of a hat?

EMH [OC]: May I request you activate monitor input forty seven, your Emergency Medical Holograph channel?

Obvious 47 is obvious. Wouldn't Sickbay be a bit higher on the list than 47? Top three at least.

CAREY: Is our priority here really the Medical Holograph system?

Actually it is, Carey! We have people sick NOW and the EMH is currently the only member of the medical staff. I'm beginning to think that your seniority wasn't earned.