Finally saw Course Oblivion (spoilers)

[Star Treks]

I saw about 90% of the original run of Voyager, and now I'm re-watching the whole series in order on DVD. One or two episodes a season are new to me. One of those I hadn't seen before was "Course: Oblivion". Is it just me, or is this just an unusually depressing episode?

Casting aside questions of how good or bad the episode actually is (I liked the basic premise, thought it was a bit corny... good concept, so-so execution), I was really surprised by the essentially sad ending of the episode. I think Star Trek usually throws us more of a bone in an episode like this (e.g. the "time capsule" would survive).

On the one hand, it is kind of nice to see an episode where not only the really happy, but even a moderately happy ending is kind of avoided. After all, the crew not only does not survive, they don't even have any real record of their existence other than one obscure non-specific notice of their destruction; and, to compound things, they could have survived if dupli-Janeway had made a different decision earlier in the episode.\

In other words, it doesn't go for the obvious "Star Trek" ending.

On the other hand, it does seem almost a bit too cosmically unjust for it to end the way it does.

So I guess I'll ask how you all feel about the episode. It kind of left me a bit bummed out, but at the same time I have a vague respect for it. I dunno. Weird.

 

[RaymondJames]

This episode has fairly poor review and ratings but I personally like it. It wasnt a happy ending and it was not a cliff hanger. You just ahve to feel sad for the duplicates who find out they are not the real voyager crew and die off with Harry as acting captain being the last to go. This is a sad episode but very cool so I do agree with you.

 

[startrekwatcher]

I can't stand it. It also was part of a string of really bad episodes in season five along with The Fight and The Disease.

 

[KayArr]

I find it depressing--it was one of the few season 5 eps I saw in the original run (I'm sure I turned in to see Tom and B'Ellana get married), and I hated it. Since, when I've either netflixed Voyager or when I recently bought the whole run, I don't watch it. I have no need to see it again. In one of the threads I saw the opinion that went something like--yeah, they lived with no one noticing or commenting on their achievements, just like us and I thought: "too true, that's why I hate it!" For me, it's neither entertaining television, nor "big idea, made me think" television.

 

[Magisterfrodo]

This is one of my favorite episodes of Voyager simply because it wasn't typical. It did surprise me that they didn't make it, and it actually made me feel for the characters. This was not true 98% of the time with Voyager, which is part of the reason I don't care to watch the series again. But this episode actually worked, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

 

[kimc]

This is one of those episodes that I want to like because it has so many great moments but since I could never buy in to the duplicates premise the episode never hung together for me.

 

[Akiraprise]

Love this episode. It had an ending I didn't see coming when I first saw it. I felt for the characters, it must have been miserable for them finding out they were only a copy and not real. The Torres / Paris wedding was neat, then it all fell apart tragically. It was a depressing episode, but that doesn't make it bad. There also wasn't a reset at the end, which is what normally happened on VOY.

 

[Capt_Piett]

I liked this episode. I thought it was a nice bit of continuity, given the previous episode where we saw the duplicates created on the Demon Pleant, I think it was referred to as. It was rather heartbreaking to see what happened to the crew, and made you wonder what different adventures they'd had than the "real" Voyager crew. Was definitely not your standard Trek "Everyone comes home happy ending".

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I never saw "Demon," but I thought this was a pretty good episode, and I'm normally very critical of VOY.

 

[freak]

I liked Course: Oblivion but didn't love it. I thought it was depressing as well and the ending saddened me. But Demon was even worse episode. I might re-watch this episode again tonight.

 

[STIntergalactic]

Course: Oblivion made me cry.

 

[DanCPA]

I enjoyed this ep. I enjoyed the "what if" scenarios

 

[PhoenixIreland]

This was Voyagers most depressing episode, not only did the poor bastards not make it, but everything they accomplished was lost, their counterparts never even knew it was them, they came so close to being rescued, that image of the intact voyager on the screen with just Kim left on the bridge knowing they would not make it was horrable.

 

[Smiley]

I don't mind a sad ending now and then, but this also had no relevance to the main characters of the show. Sure, they were indirectly responsible for what happened to the Demon planet entities, but we never saw an episode devoted to the aftermath of an Enterprise visit.

All that it's really good for is the wedding scene, since it was not depicted on the real Voyager.

 

[tomalak301]

This was Voyagers most depressing episode, not only did the poor bastards not make it, but everything they accomplished was lost, their counterparts never even knew it was them, they came so close to being rescued, that image of the intact voyager on the screen with just Kim left on the bridge knowing they would not make it was horrable.

Agreed. I liked it despite it being about a bunch of people who started out as goo. If there was cloning, than what makes us believe these people aren't real or aren't who we're used to seeing because they did come from the original crew. This indeed was a sad episode but it was an interesting one. It's not the best of the season but I enjoyed it, much in the same way I enjoyed The Fight.

 

[PhoenixIreland]

This was Voyagers most depressing episode, not only did the poor bastards not make it, but everything they accomplished was lost, their counterparts never even knew it was them, they came so close to being rescued, that image of the intact voyager on the screen with just Kim left on the bridge knowing they would not make it was horrable.

Agreed. I liked it despite it being about a bunch of people who started out as goo. If there was cloning, than what makes us believe these people aren't real or aren't who we're used to seeing because they did come from the original crew. This indeed was a sad episode but it was an interesting one. It's not the best of the season but I enjoyed it, much in the same way I enjoyed The Fight.

Just wanna be clear i liked that it was sad, it was nice to see a realistic ending, bt was still depressing.

 

[spoon]

This episode depressed the heck outta me.

The entire reason I started watching voyager(though I quickly discovered its better virtues) was to see Tom & B'elanna's relationship progress.... and I was excited to see C:O because it was apparently their wedding.


BUT IT WASN'T REALLY!!! It was a sadistic mind trick. Plot twisting, the sniveling little writers!

In the real timeline, they don't even get engaged until the end of season 6(or maybe it was beginning of season 7?).

Needless to say I was fairly dissappointed. Screw the duplicates. Who cares about them?

 

[david g]

In my view, Course: Oblivion is one of VOY's finest episodes. They take the premise of a minor, enjoyable previous episode and turn it into a profound meditation on originals and copies, life and death. Some of the best moments of the series can be found here--Tom and B'Elanna's wedding, her death scene; Janeway attempting to get safe harbor on the planet; and many other small, devastating moments. I would definitely put the episode up there with VOY's best.

 

[Sakrysta]

Seems like it's a rather polarizing episode. This one and "Mortal Coil" are two that I don't have any desire to ever see again. I don't like this much hoplessness & meaninglessness in my Trek.

 

[PhoenixIreland]

Im sure if I was Janeway, when that ship blocked my way to the plenet and I was about to die I'd just get exacerbated and say "oh ffsake get out of my way I'm tired of respecting the rights of every little prat species" and destroy their ship.

She stuck by her principls to the end