“That woman had none of my commanding gravitas! She probably can’t even do a decent Russian accent, either!” Normally when an episode stars the captain, it tends to be a weightier and more dramatic story, so it’s a delightful change of pace to have Janeway untangling this relatively low-stakes mess.
Orek goes on to mention some orphans, and Janeway’s ears perk up. “That woman isn’t me,” Janeway says incredulously, but Orek isn’t having it (I couldn’t help but recall the Futurama episode where they fool some aliens by switching Leela with an orangutan – uncanny!). Orek, the chief of the colony shows Janeway “her” transmission promising to return with what she owed them. However, the aliens in charge of the cheated mining colony have caught up with Voyager and demand recompense for their stolen ore.
TIM RUSS FALLOUT INSTALL
A likely story! “Neelix, how many toolbars did you install in this browser?” Neelix got it from Sister Dala, a religious cleric he met who was supposedly helping some orphans. On the real Voyager, a bevvy of ship malfunctions annoys Janeway enough to track down the source of the problem herself – a faulty power thingie Neelix acquired and installed in the mess hall. The aliens don’t even have hair – the imposter Janeway (Dala) rips her wig off as soon as they’re aboard the “ Delta Flyer,” a beat-up bucket of bolts that’s the base of their operations.
TIM RUSS FALLOUT SERIES
This is a villain type that Trek has featured often (since The Original Series on), but the posing as our heroes is certainly a novel approach. They arrange a trade with the miners for some mineral ore, and once they beam it up the two imposters make an excuse to high tail it out of there, revealing themselves to be common thieves and con artists. Faneway is diplomatic and even speaks wistfully of Indiana, and Fuvok displays intelligence and dispassionate logic. They generally look the part of the real Janeway and Tuvok and even act like it, too. However, they were not pleased when I communicated this information, Captain.”
I also experienced a diverse array of body odors from the throngs of attendees, some of which may necessitate medical intervention. “I received ninth place ranking in the costume competition and attended several informative panels. Fans of Star Trek pioneered the practice of large public conventions and cosplaying, and I have to believe these two are a winking reference to those passionate followers (I’m in this image and I like it). The collars aren’t right, and the rank pips and comm badges are almost childishly oversized. Their uniforms are hilariously off-spec – at first glance they look close enough, but to any fan they’re clearly mediocre facsimiles. The episode begins with a couple of alien miners getting ready for an important meeting, and down beams… Captain Faneway and Lieutenant Fuvok! “May the Prosper be with you.” “Look at me, I’m the Janeway now.” Like “ Trials and Tribble-ations,” it captures a fun sense of whimsy to match its very silly story. It’s a nice episode because it’s a low-stakes romp that’s pretty easy-going. Aliens posing as Janeway and Tuvok in crappy knock-off uniforms grifting other unsuspecting aliens? Just the sight of them had me beaming like an idiot. Recalling the pit in my stomach I had when I first saw the previews for the episode featuring The Rock, I had an absolute inverse reaction of pure giddiness when the promos for this aired. It’s not a perfect episode or even a top 10 of Voyager, but hot damn do I fucking love it and I’m just gonna go for it, everyone. Of all the episodes I’ve covered in this “Best of Voyager“ series, this one is probably, objectively speaking, the most inessential entry. It’s not surprising that a little bit of meta-contextual self-reference began to creep in as the series approached its end. This was, after all the fifth Star Trek series, and thus it leaned on that multi-decade continuity in successful and not-so-successful ways. The predilection to be introspective and even self-effacing was a unique aspect that Voyager explored a few times. “Live Fast and Prosper” is a light-hearted comedic escapade that manages to be funny and startlingly meta in a way Trek had never been up to this point. It does dip its toes into comedy, either in brief doses or episode-length capers. Star Trek is usually a pretty Serious Property about Serious Things. Star Trek: Voyager – Season 6, Episode 21
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