Star Trek : Voyager - Prototype

I had been following Voyager on BBC America earlier in the year until IMDb closed it's message board system. I was also starting other shows so it kind of faded into inattentiveness​. Not by design, mind you, but interests change on a dime, sometimes. However, last week I had awaken to the show out of sleep, borne from a habit of leaving the television on. The episode, Prototype, was on when I did, and I found that it was coming back on a little later. Directed by Will Riker himself, Jonathan Frakes, Prototype features robots kidnapping B'Elanna because she could build them a prototype as the means to supplement their dying mechanical race. These robots look like something designed similarly to Metropolis' robotic Brigitte Helm. Silver, lifeless faces and zero personality to them, one of the robots, Automated Unit 3947, senses that B'Elanna could help his race.

Frakes cleverly stages a perspective from the 3947's eyes, seeing Voyager from outside the ship, through a beam on board it, and watches as Torres, Kim, and Janeway, among others, talk about repairing him if able. Torres is inspired to return it from a state of non-functionality while Janeway isn't so sure that's a good idea. Nonetheless, Torres is given permission. Not sleeping and intent on coming up with an answer to fix 3947, Torres struggles when Neelix finally gets her to go to bed after weaving a story about his inability to find the right ingredient for a dish he was cooking. With a trip to the AI Doctor in the Sick Bay, she gets the idea to use conditioned warp plasma as the source for "restarting" 3947. What she doesn't realize or anticipate were the repercusions of that breakthrough...or the prototype idea 3947 insists Torres creates from parts and ingenuity.

 3947's Pralor Starship will be Torres' prison as she's kidnapped by the robot and transported on it against her will. 3947 has this power source which can subdue through electrical​ shock, so willing to use a weapon to accomplish what its developmental, evolving programming determines is necessary. So Torres gets a shock and unwanted trip to the room where her prototype, in disassembled form needing assembly and function capabilities, awaits. No patience for the wait on the prototype's construction, 3947 is not sure Torres will be able to accomplish what they need. A violent race, the Pralor robots are willing to kill if necessary to get their prototype and rebuild out of near extinction. Soon B'Elanna learns that there's a similar robotic race, on board a Cravic Starship, are the enemy of the Pralor robots, the two races at war due to their builder's design of them for that very purpose.

When the builders of both worlds that created the robots to support them call a truce, the robots don't consider that an agreeable solution, annihilation a result! Yes, the robots annihilated their makers! And now Janeway and her crew on the badly damaged Voyager are caught in the middle.

When Janeway attempts to use force to get Torres back fails due to the Pralor Starship's superior weapons systems, their return fire dismantles Voyager, causing decks to lose life support, shields to weaken, and warp speed incapable. So plenty of repairs, assisted by Torres' willingness to build the prototype buys Janeway and crew some time.

Frakes has a rather basic by-the-numbers action plot and B-movie robots that seem a bit closer to 1966 than 1996. Torres gets to have most of the focus, sharing time with 3947. Data's name-drop was cool as Torres talks about his uniqueness to Starfleet. Sentient mechanical beings could offer much, but unfortunately for the Pralor and Cravic robots, war will likely lead to extinction. That these robots are unable to realize beyond the warring programming is a bit of a disappointment to me because I was hoping for positive impact by Torres on them. She successfully builds the prototype and gives it life, having to make a tragic decision Janeway sympathizes and offers condolences. To be forced into destroying what you create isn't easy. It was ready for programming, and she had figured out a uniform module that could have saved the Pralor race, providing them the means to reproduce.

Frakes was a prolific Star Trek television director. I have his Star Trek: The Next Generation movie, Insurrection, upcoming. I think he does an adequate job but other than a good chance to see Torres get some rub there's nothing that will stick to my mind. The robots certainly won't.