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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Voyager's best, and maybe even one of Star Trek's bests, August 22, 2000
This review is from: Star Trek - Voyager, Episode 7: Eye of the Needle [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Even more so than the pilot episode, "Eye of The Needle" shows the potential that the series had. Certainly no episode since then has made such good use of the show's central premise of a not entirely harmonious group of people stuck with each other in a seemingly hopeless situation. In this episode, we get to see the dynamic range of this group when they are presented with the possibility of escape from their hopeless situation. This is a relatively quiet, character-driven piece, and every character hits the perfect emotional pitch in conveying the variety of feelings their situation engenders. Everything from the holographic doctor's anxiety over being left alone on the ship (which he is unable to leave at this point in the show) to Captain Janeway's desperate pleading with a suspicious enemy for the sake of her crew feels right. (As a side note, Kate Mulgrew's performance in this episode is almost certainly her finest moment in the captain's chair.) Another welcome difference between this story and many other episodes is that rather than obscuring the story with a parade of techno-babble (as even good Star Trek episodes often do), this one feels grounded in a reality anyone can understand. Obviously, the crew doesn't make it home in this episode, and the reason why is heartbreaking. The characters feel it and the viewer will too. One-hundred and some episodes later, Voyager has done some good stories and touched on some interesting ideas, but they've never cohered into anything this compelling, and while I have high hopes for the show's final season, I doubt it will transcend the standard set by this story.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterpiece, April 29, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Star Trek - Voyager, Episode 7: Eye of the Needle [VHS] (VHS Tape)
There's something very appealing about the situation the characters of Star Trek: Voyager are in. These people have been thrust halfway across the galaxy and probably won't ever see their families or loved ones again. But they are desperatley trying to get back and we feel for them. Anyone who's ever lost someone close to them or has gone through a tough experience can probably identify with the struggles which are most evident in "Eye of the Needle." The crew are on an emotional roller-coaster ride from start to finish when Ensign Kim detects a wormhole that allows communication with the Alpha Quandrant. We see how this discovery affects every character, everyone from Janeway to Kes. The performances are right on the money, and so is the writing. The story throws in twists where we expect predictability and keeps things highly entertaining. The subplot involving the Doctor is also well done. All in all, this one of the best episodes of Voyager. It deserves a place in your home!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Voyager" makes contact with the Alpha Quadrant, June 2, 2003
This review is from: Star Trek - Voyager, Episode 7: Eye of the Needle [VHS] (VHS Tape)
One of the questions when "Star Trek: Voyager" began, with the ship and crew stuck in the Delta Quadrant 70 light years from home, was how long before there was some contact, one way or the other, with the Alpha Quadrant. The answer was seven episodes. In "Eye of the Needle" (Story by Hilary J. Bader, Teleplay by Bill Dial and Jeri Taylor, Aired February 20, 1995) Ensign Kim (Garret Wang) discovers a wormhole that might be a shortcut back home. However, the opening in space is too small and all Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) can do is launch a microprobe into the wormhole to investigate. When the probe does not make it through Kim's hopes are apparently dashed (he is clearly established as the character who most wants to get home) but then readings indicate the microprobe is being scanned from the other side by someone in the Alpha Quadrant: a Romulan (Vaughn Armstrong). So, you come to the crux of the matter as Janeway is desperate to convince the Romulan that they are not spies and to get some sort of assistance. After all, as far as Starfleet knows, "Voyager" was destroyed when it disappeared. I rate "Eye of the Needle" of the very best of the first season episodes of "Voyager" because there is a pretty heavy twist to this particular storyline as well as a double dose of poignancy at the end. Many of these early stories where the crew is particularly eager to get home have an edge to them that remind you exactly why this "Star Trek" series was so different from its brethren. The subplot of "Eye of the Needle" has to do with Kes (Jennifer Lien), who has started working in Sickbay with the Doctor (Robert Picard), and disturbed by the way the crew dismissed him as only a hologram. With massive ramifications for down the road, Janeway agrees the Doctor should be treated as a crewmember and gives him control over his own deactivation sequence. Again, one of them most impressive things about these earlier episodes of "Voyager" is how well they work off of the pilot, when Janeway's strong sense of principle gets her crew stuck a long way from home. Put this all together and you get a classic episode of "Voyager."
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