I'm torn about this episode. For the following reasons:
First: Similar to the TNG episode "The Measure of a Man", a court case is being heard about whether an artificial life form (in this case a hologram) is a person - whether it is conscious and sentient. In other words, whether this artificial intelligence is on the same social and legal level as a human and is therefore entitled to be judged according to the same laws and to claim these for itself.
Unfortunately, this question is asked far too late in the Voyager series. We have already reached the final season. If so, then the series should have dealt much earlier with what values should be measured for a hologram that has outgrown its former programming and become a valuable member of the crew. Especially since Janeway in particular has often shown a rather dismissive attitude towards the doctor and in past seasons has left the question of whether a hologram is equivalent to a human unanswered.
Second: I'm actually a fan of the doctor, but I'm disappointed in him in this episode. After seven years he still feels like he isn't treated equally by the crew? With everything he has experienced in the past episodes and what responsibilities have been given to him and what freedoms he has enjoyed?
The fact that he generally wants to advocate for holograms to have the same rights as organics is a noble goal, but the way he discredits his own colleagues and puts them in a bad light is shameful. How can it be that after seven seasons he still paints a deeply negative image of his comrades? After all, he didn't write a comedy that deliberately exaggerated and pointedly portrayed the actions and character traits of the crew in a satirical and ironic way. He wrote a stirring work that wanted to point out the oppression of holographic life forms and the attitude of many organics who perceive themselves to be of higher status and merely exploit holograms as cheap slave labor. However, none of this applies to Voyager and the crew! If this episode had been shown in the second season, this distorted perception of the doctor could have made sense, because at that point he actually still had to fight for his privileges.
Third: The actual scenes in the holo novel, on the other hand, are hilarious. In my opinion, the authors should have focused on this part and explored it in an amusing way. Similar to the mirror universe of DS9, all the main characters of the series are represented, but they are different in terms of appearance and personality.
When it comes to B'Elanna, however, I have to say: Chapeau! Her character is exactly the same. Her grumpy attitude hits the mark. And Tom Paris' alter ego - Tom Marseilles with a mustache - the laugh! Or this huge and heavy backpack as a mobile emitter. Not to mention the adapted version of the novel, which Tom corrected somewhat: the predatory and condescending doctor with his comb-over hairstyle is simply brilliant. All of these exaggerated characteristics of the holo novel characters could have made a perfect episode. Instead, the authors wanted too much at once.
First: Similar to the TNG episode "The Measure of a Man", a court case is being heard about whether an artificial life form (in this case a hologram) is a person - whether it is conscious and sentient. In other words, whether this artificial intelligence is on the same social and legal level as a human and is therefore entitled to be judged according to the same laws and to claim these for itself.
Unfortunately, this question is asked far too late in the Voyager series. We have already reached the final season. If so, then the series should have dealt much earlier with what values should be measured for a hologram that has outgrown its former programming and become a valuable member of the crew. Especially since Janeway in particular has often shown a rather dismissive attitude towards the doctor and in past seasons has left the question of whether a hologram is equivalent to a human unanswered.
Second: I'm actually a fan of the doctor, but I'm disappointed in him in this episode. After seven years he still feels like he isn't treated equally by the crew? With everything he has experienced in the past episodes and what responsibilities have been given to him and what freedoms he has enjoyed?
The fact that he generally wants to advocate for holograms to have the same rights as organics is a noble goal, but the way he discredits his own colleagues and puts them in a bad light is shameful. How can it be that after seven seasons he still paints a deeply negative image of his comrades? After all, he didn't write a comedy that deliberately exaggerated and pointedly portrayed the actions and character traits of the crew in a satirical and ironic way. He wrote a stirring work that wanted to point out the oppression of holographic life forms and the attitude of many organics who perceive themselves to be of higher status and merely exploit holograms as cheap slave labor. However, none of this applies to Voyager and the crew! If this episode had been shown in the second season, this distorted perception of the doctor could have made sense, because at that point he actually still had to fight for his privileges.
Third: The actual scenes in the holo novel, on the other hand, are hilarious. In my opinion, the authors should have focused on this part and explored it in an amusing way. Similar to the mirror universe of DS9, all the main characters of the series are represented, but they are different in terms of appearance and personality.
When it comes to B'Elanna, however, I have to say: Chapeau! Her character is exactly the same. Her grumpy attitude hits the mark. And Tom Paris' alter ego - Tom Marseilles with a mustache - the laugh! Or this huge and heavy backpack as a mobile emitter. Not to mention the adapted version of the novel, which Tom corrected somewhat: the predatory and condescending doctor with his comb-over hairstyle is simply brilliant. All of these exaggerated characteristics of the holo novel characters could have made a perfect episode. Instead, the authors wanted too much at once.