Nothing New Under the Sun
Some reviewers have criticized “Cathexis” ( Voyager ; season one) as a retread of alien possession clichés. Well, maybe I’m a sucker for alien possession clichés, because I thought it was one of the more interesting episodes of the first season. For one thing, I liked the sense of paranoia it created, and learning that Chakotay is the consciousness at work on the ship lets you to see the “alien’s” efforts in a new light during a second viewing. But one of the most memorable details of the episode is Tuvok’s use of the phaser to stun the entire bridge crew at once. Later in the episode, speaking as the alien intruder, he says, “This phaser is set to wide beam dispersal and set to kill.” “Wide beam dispersal.” I remember thinking (as a fourteen year old kid) how cool that was – a never before seen bit of Star Trek lore. But if the plot of “Cathexis” is a retread of sci-fi story lines, so is this seemingly unique detail. Of all the Star Trek series, I am least familiar with The Original...