[Faithful Reader]

One of the old standbyes is pairing two characters that have not been together and see if the dialogue just writes itself. In Crossroads, we got a twist on that but had to limit things since there are only so many in the 'recurring' cast to use.

Rok-Tahk got to meet Tysess and was just kind of ... there. Dr. Noum and Pog had a meeting and it went about as well as a meeting two Tellarites could. I never knew how much I wanted Jason Alexander and Jason Mantzoukas to share the screen until this moment. It practically begged for a sequel, especially since Dr. Noum can impart 'wisdom' unto Pog at a alter date. Ascenia met Gwyn briefly and Gwyn had to cut that short. We do not know if she will follow up with it to the Diviner.

The highlight was Dal with the honest to gosh actual Janeway. We saw the nurturing captain from Voyager, the one who was Maternal to Kes, Torres and made sure her crew were doing well. She had to cut things short but this was a good pairing. Mulgrew played these two characters how have the same voice actor differently. Maybe she'll pull a Dan Castellaneta and talk to herself?

Oh, and a car chase.

As for the draft, Pog was working with the weapon for a doohickey point. Dal provided exposition and went outside his skill set with both burying the Protostar and piloting the hovercraft. Both the ETH and Murf got points for their actors voicing other characters.

Scoreboard is below:

10and01 27
aabecame 23
abargar7510 24
Armus 25
CaptainHelensvale 21
droidscotty 24
Faithful Reader 16
Frool 22
Jadziadax8 26
nyyankees72 21
Theguardian 19
uglywithglasses 19
Weyounslastclone 27

[Faithful Reader]

Nota huge fan of masquerade. While we got some answers about Dal, it was somewhat underwhelming though in true Lost fashion, when they answered one question, they asked another which is great writing. It is cool that while he may not have a bio family per se, he is getting another. Okana left and was not really all the great in his appearances.

On the Dauntless, we leaned about the enemies the crew is up against and welcomes back both Drednok and Jellico. It also seems like it may be a bit much for our young crew.

With the draft, Rok-Tahk, Gwyn and Murf all got tagalong points while the ETH and Murf got points for outside roles. Dal the the ETH had exposition while the latter also had a Trek Drop. Dal definitely got a doohickey to use and displayed an outside skill, as did Murf. Totals are below.

10and01 33
aabecame 27
abargar7510 28
Armus 28
CaptainHelensvale 24
droidscotty 28
Faithful Reader 17
Frool 25
Jadziadax8 32
nyyankees72 23
Theguardian 22
uglywithglasses 20
Weyounslastclone 31

[Faithful Reader]

This feels like a final bit of exposition before we get into the finale arc. It was a bit clunky for them to just start talking about their backstories, but what else are they going to do while awaiting repairs to be complete?

Pog's fell the most flat on my end. It was an explanation as to why eh refers to himself in the first person but not all that great. We learned about Medusans and what makes Zero special. Rok-Tahk was a little Fezzik-in-Princess-Bride vibes but was an honest look back at another time in her life. Though it did shine a light on the differences between her speaking Federation Standard and Brikar.

Good of Ascenia to give us the backstory of the villains at the same time as our heroes, but it filled in a lot of blanks and sets things up nicely as does their kidnapping of Janeway, whom finally had an moment to do some research on these kids.

With the draft, The ETH and Murf's actors voiced other roles. Pog, Rok-Tahk and Zero got exposition points. Totals are below:

10and01 34
aabecame 28
abargar7510 28
Armus 30
CaptainHelensvale 26
droidscotty 30
Faithful Reader 19
Frool 27
Jadziadax8 34
nyyankees72 24
Theguardian 23
uglywithglasses 22
Weyounslastclone 32

[Faithful Reader]

At first watch, Ghost in the Machine did not excite me. We got a character focused backstory leading us to the final batch of episodes and now we have another Stuck on the Holodeck bit. Not going to the Dauntless did not help matters.

On the rewatch, this worked out better. It showed the crew bonding and havign one last hurrah with fairly low stakes in preparation for the season finale, which will hopefully begin in earnest next week.

As for the draft, the ATH had some treachery going on and Murf was able to sing. A fairly low scoring week with updates below:

10and01 35
aabecame 29
abargar7510 28
Armus 31
CaptainHelensvale 27
droidscotty 31
Faithful Reader 19
Frool 28
Jadziadax8 36
nyyankees72 24
Theguardian 23
uglywithglasses 22
Weyounslastclone 33

[Faithful Reader]

The body swap is an old trick in the genre often giving actors a chance to expand their range. That is the case this week when we got to hear Kate Mulgrew saw 'pew pew pew," worth the price of admission. Also, the second instance in Trek of Janeway talking to herself.

We were wondering how the information would get from the Protostar to Starfleet and we have our answer. laneway did her homework beforehand and now she knows the crew. It couldn't be that easily as the end showed.

In terms of the draft, it is another low scoring week as Murf, Zero and the ETH got points for voicing another character. Leaderboard is below:

10and01 36
aabecame 30
abargar7510 28
Armus 33
CaptainHelensvale 29
droidscotty 32
Faithful Reader 19
Frool 29
Jadziadax8 38
nyyankees72 24
Theguardian 23
uglywithglasses 23
Weyounslastclone 34

[Faithful Reader]

The stories are coming together as we tie up the season arc.

There are a lot of callbacks to the start of the season with the universal translator going down but Gywn was wisely taught languages, though not for good use even if she did turn that around. We have the majority of the cast facing off against Drednok and getting beaten as the result, but they get away after the fact.

There is some drama with Dal not being able to join Starfleet but he wants to save lives and that is very noble. Though if laneway could get theMmaquis off, she can probably help Dal, especially if eh saves the fleet from destruction.

laneway wasted little time getting out of the brig but was a bit late overall. WE have heard about this terrible weapon that would wreck havoc if the Federation encountered it and encounter it they do. We are left with a good cliffhanger.

Farewell Diviner. John Noble was great in the role. We will probably see him again but he had a good arc.

As for the draft, The ETH provided exposition while Pog and Dal demonstrated skills outside their skill set with Dal knowing languages and Pog being able to maneuver expertly. The ETH, Zero and Murf had actors playing multiple roles.

Here is the updated tally.

10and01 39
aabecame 31
abargar7510 29
Armus 36
CaptainHelensvale 31
droidscotty 34
Faithful Reader 20
Frool 32
Jadziadax8 41
nyyankees72 24
Theguardian 25
uglywithglasses 24
Weyounslastclone 36

Next week will work a little differently. I'll do the recap here but the points will be on a front page article where we announce the winner!

[Faithful Reader]

As is the case for modern shows, the main fighting bit is out of the way letting us handle the fallout. The final tech solution handles things pretty well and proves the case of the cast.

Janeway is not able to get the crew into the academy, as that would not be a good TV, but they are helping her out, learning the ropes as it were. Gwyn will try to head the problem off at the pass, setting up for season two. There is also the matter of finding Chakotay as well.

Keep an eye on the front page for the final results of the draft.