{"id":4832,"date":"2018-03-19T15:35:54","date_gmt":"2018-03-19T15:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/112-Heroes-and-Demons"},"modified":"2018-03-19T15:35:54","modified_gmt":"2018-03-19T15:35:54","slug":"112-heroes-and-demons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relivethemajesty.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/19\/112-heroes-and-demons\/","title":{"rendered":"1.12 — \u201cHeroes and Demons\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n

1.12 — \u201cHeroes and Demons\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Plot:<\/strong> Harry Kim is lost in the Holodeck, which is stuck in a Beowulf program which Chakotay and Tuvok can only enter and defeat in order to rescue their crewmate. But wait! Is this a new hero rising? Could it be that Chakotay and Tuvok are puny, and the day must be saved by\u2026 Schweitzer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thoughts:<\/strong> I have rarely seen an episode take such a turn for the delightful as \u201cHeroes and Demons.\u201d I was just sharpening the knives for critical evisceration when the Emergency Medical Hologram is appointed as the Knight Errant to slay Grendel. It\u2019s quite a momentous moment for the series! EMH leaves Sick Bay for the first time, and selects a name, although perhaps he won\u2019t keep it. Everything that happens after that point is a sendup of the first half, which redeems the whole proceeding. It turns out I’m okay with some Ren Faire Beowulf<\/em> cornball silliness if it’s done with self-awareness and a sense of humor and used to push the series and its characters into places they haven’t gone before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Until the rise of EMH, there was too much \u201cseen it before.\u201d The Holodeck goes crazy, but we have to play along, just like \u201cA Fistful of Datas\u201d the first Sherlock Holmes episode (\u201cElementary, My Dear Data\u201d), and too many others. The photonic being trapped on the ship wreaking havoc is just like TNG 1.7 \u201cLonely Among Us.\u201d But the EMH makes it new. I could watch Robert Picardo forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I fear the Holodeck would be very addictive IRL. Imagine how the tendency to over identify with fictional characters and situations would be exacerbated by total immersion! You might mistake the blond warrior maiden who\u2019s programmed to admire your prowess and make herself sexually available to you for reality. Just think what a tool for cyberwarfare this would be in the hands of Vladimir Putin! Once he escapes from the Holodeck, like Moriarty. In fact, the Holodeck might quickly discern its enlightened self-interest in creating this character. I am not sure our meat-puppet brains are equipped to stand up to this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Beowulf scenario is fun, though. I should read that again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As the voice over recites at the top of the episode, \u201cWe’ve altered course to investigate some unusually intense photonic activity in a nearby protostar. Lieutenant Torres and I are beaming aboard samples for further analysis,\u201d I thought, wouldn\u2019t be nice to be a roving scientific investigator, stumbling on mysteries that need analysis and which can be fully solved in a short period of time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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JANEWAY: How long will it take to finish the preliminary analysis?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TORRES: Um, six hours. Maybe more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Not bad. Barely a workday, and then on to the next unexplained phenomenon. Although a character on DS9 will critique this lifestyle on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4 out of 5 mead halls, thanks to high production values and the EMH.<\/p>\n\n\n

http:\/\/memory-alpha.wikia.com\/wiki\/Heroes_and_Demons<\/a>