I really enjoyed seeing another more advanced, but not too advanced, race of creatures in the Trek universe try to study the Federation. Just like in Who Watches the Watchers they are able to cloak themselves around us but just like there something goes wrong. It is also clearly an episode about people fighting over evolution which is a fight that has at least settled down a bit since then. Also the idea of a race of dinosaurs escaping the earth and becoming an advanced race in the stars is so cool I would be surprised if it originated here, but it is certainly the first time I have heard anything about it.
The episode opens with a pair of dino dudes discovering a human skull with a fragment of a starfleet uniform in a cave. A DNA scan confirms that the skull is just what they are looking for! Finally the evidence that will make the council of science shut up and accept that professor Gegen has been right all along! His assistant Veer is enthusiastic but a bit more reserved. They get back to their ship and get the hearing they want but the council is unimpressed and seems afraid that the discovery that they aren't from that part of space would contradict dogma and therefore must be shut down. Gegen doesn't give up though and tracks down Voyagers plasma signature. Using their advanced sensors they track her down though and then using advanced transwarp they easily catch up to Voyager. They are even able to phase both their ship and themselves slightly out of reality allowing them to approach and even board Voyager without detection. The two wander the halls watching behaviors and getting data from the ships computers. When they get to the bridge though Kim detects something is going on. Tuvok puts up a forcefield but they still manage to beam to the mess hall. Tuvok again tracks them down, this time with phasers that get them back into reality and the assistant shoots Chakotay with some sort of dart. Veer is knocked out with a phaser as Gegen escapes with the unconscious Chakotay.
In sickbay the Doctor is fascinated by the unconscious Veer. He tries to reawaken him but Veer goes into some sort of defensive hibernation. His scans though show the same thing Gegen's did, the two species are clearly closely related and almost certainly come from the same planet. On Gegen's ship Chakotay wakes up and convinces Gegen to let him out of the forcefield. The two have a long conversation during which Gegen agrees Chakotay is both intelligent and his relative, but he can't just let him go, he needs to show him to the science committee! Voyager suddenly encounters a massive ship which beams all of Voyager inside. They are quickly overwhelmed by the advanced dino men and are used as ransom to get Gegen to come back. He returns with Chakotay but the council aren't impressed. Veer repents but Gegen insists his theories are right. So he all all the crew of Voyager are sentenced to hard labor. Gegen finally gives in and agrees to give up his theories and go study rocks.
Review: I super enjoyed this episode despite being a little too openly about the evolution debate. Strong science fiction ideas going on here and a nice role reversal for the crew.
8 out of 10
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