Written By: Kenneth Biller
Directed By: Cliff Bole
Rating: *** (out of 5)
Well there�s my totally irrelevant rant out of the way. �Extreme Risk� wasn�t too bad an episode, but its two main plots don�t coincide as well as you think they would. The two major plots should�ve been separate episodes.
There was the �B�Elanna guilt� side of the story and the �Solving the Shuttles disappearing problem� side of the story. And before you say that I�ve forgotten about the �Get the Interspatial Probe� story, I�d like to say that this Plot Device was totally ridiculous.
Why did the Malon want the Probe so bad and why was Janeway so keen on getting the probe back? Why did Janeway risk relations with the Malon for this probe? Did it contain some important data? Had it been their last probe? Was it the only probe they have? Did it have some kind of sentimental value? Why?
As for the B�Elanna plot, it should�ve been handled in an episode where someone discovers her injuries and inquires about them, finally landing on the climax when B�Elanna faces her true feelings and tries to get better.
The Delta Flyer should�ve been built in a light-hearted episode showing the ups and downs of creating a shuttle. Imagine how funny it would�ve been to have the crew fighting over the look of shuttle, and the design, like is briefly touched on here in an amusing scene.
An example of the unevenness of the two major plots is when B�Elanna tells Chakotay how she wants to join the Away Mission to get the probe, you�ll notice that Chakotay has totally changed his attitude from the Holodeck scene. This scene is nothing special, but it does bring the episode together and is therefore important.
But enough on the unevenness, this episode did some good stuff anyway. The B�Elanna story was quite powerful. She is guilty that she is feeling no emotion towards the deaths of her Maquis friends, or her friends on Voyager or even Tom. I�m willing to overlook that it�s been a while since her Maquis friends have died and we�ve seen no indication of this guilt before.
Chakotay helps her to reconcile with her feelings in what is a well done conclusion, but the whole story would�ve benefited from extra work with a whole episode devoted to it.
The Delta Flyer and retrieving the Probe is all very basic. Well, the Delta Flyer part is good and could�ve benefited from extra work like the B�Elanna story, but it does okay as it is. Retrieving the probe, like I said, was pretty stupid and only served as glue for the other plots. They could�ve made the glue just a bit more convincing though.
But I just can�t understand that TPTB or the writers or whoever to blame can�t see such things. And believe it or not, this is a small example, because such mistakes have been made quite often in the past and are often worse. It�s so aggravating!
Well, as �Extreme Risk� is shown it isn�t too bad. It has some good scenes and manages to accomplish quite a bit. But I can�t forget how much the plots would�ve benefited from separate episodes.