Entertainment
From Paris, With Glug: The Alcoholic Star Trek Episode That Gave Us Hope
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
As a franchise, Star Trek is full of episodes that are hard to understand. Sometimes, this is because of all the weird technobabble. You can only hear someone mention tachyons and deflector dishes so many times before you zone out. More often, though, it’s hard to understand an episode because you don’t understand why a character made a surprising decision. This can make Star Trek feel like a horror movie because you find yourself screaming at the screen, wondering why supposedly smart people are making nothing but dumb decisions from beginning to end.
A prime example of this is “Non-Sequitur,” a Voyager episode where Harry Kim wakes up back on Earth. Instead of being stranded in the Delta Quadrant, he’s engaged to the girl of his dreams and generally living his best life. However, he risks it all to restore the timeline so that his best buddy, Tom Paris, can have meaning in his life again. Kim’s decision to ruin his own life for his friend was baffling to everyone, including the actors. But Kim’s shocking choice perfectly defines what Voyager is all about: standing fast to your ideals, no matter the cost.
The Man Who Had It All
“Non-Sequitur” is an episode where Harry Kim seemingly has it all. After his shuttlecraft starts shaking, he suddenly wakes up in a different timeline where he never joined Voyager’s crew. Instead of enjoying a happily ever after with his old flame (and now fiancée) Libby, however, he becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to him. That obsession reaches a fever pitch when he finds out that Tom Paris never made it to Voyager and has become a drunk, bitter has-been. After getting Paris’ reluctant help, the two restore the timeline and rejoin Voyager on its 70-year mission to get home.
It’s a standout episode of Star Trek: Voyager and arguably the first really great Harry Kim episode. However, it can be hard to suspend your disbelief when watching “Non-Sequitur,” especially if you put yourself in Kim’s shoes. For most people, being separated from all their friends and family for the better part of a century is one of the worst things that could ever happen to them. This is an episode where Harry seemingly got a second chance at living an infinitely happier life, but he ultimately threw it away to return to the bleak status quo of his existence in the Delta Quadrant.
From Paris, With Glug
Interestingly, both Ensign Kim actor Garret Wang and Libby actor Jennifer Gatti had the same questions about why the heck Kim would ever want to return to Voyager. Eventually, producer Jeri Taylor revealed the answer in an old interview with Cinefantastique: “The big thing is finding his friend Tom Paris is dissolute, because of this whole change,” she said. “Kim may be living a lovely life with his girlfriend, but it is at the cost of his friend’s happiness, and it just isn’t right. He is too much a young man of principle and integrity to indulge himself when it is at the expense of others.”
Arguably, this perfectly encapsulates the values of Star Trek: Voyager. As an idealistic and principled Starfleet officer, Harry Kim couldn’t screw over his best friend just to make his own life better. Just like Janeway couldn’t use the Caretaker to take her ship back home because she knew it would doom the Ocampa. Kim’s moral dilemma isn’t all that unique. In the finest Trek tradition, he must choose between happiness and duty, and he doesn’t hesitate to choose duty.
Is that message more than a bit cheesy and impractical? Of course. But let’s face it: we watch Star Trek because these characters are aspirational. They give us hope that, hundreds of years from now, humanity will have evolved beyond petty selfishness in the collective pursuit of bettering ourselves.
Harry Kim did something that none of us would have done in his place, and that’s the point. He’s modeling how to be a better man. In this way, “Non-Sequitur” is more than a solid Voyager episode: it’s also the embodiment of this franchise’s greatest ideals, perfectly defining everything that fans love about Star Trek.
Entertainment
Get Ankers 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $60 less at Amazon
SAVE 15%: As of April 22, you can get the Anker Prime 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $339.99, down from $399.99, at Amazon. That’s a 15% discount or $60 savings.
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Working off a laptop is great until you realize you only have two ports and need to plug something in. If you’re hooked up to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse, you’re pretty much out of luck on the rest. Not only that, but your previously uncluttered desk will most likely look like a Best Buy exploded (a rat’s nest of cords isn’t cute or helpful for anyone getting work done).
If you literally hate mess and cords as much as I do, you need a docking station to hide all that chaos and protect your aesthetic. Right now, Anker’s Prime TB5 Docking Station is on sale for $339.99 at Amazon, down from $399.99. (That’s a $60 price cut.)
Mashable Deals
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Entertainment
How I scored ad-free Paramount+ Premium for only 99 cents
SAVE $26: As of April 22, returning subscribers can score two months of ad-free Paramount+ Premium for only 99 cents per month with the code N8C27L. Usually $13.99 per month, that’s $26 in savings. Just note that your mileage may vary.
$0.99/month for 2 months (save $13/month) with code N8C27L
If you’re looking to save some money on your streaming lineup, my number one recommendation is to cancel your subscriptions. While it doesn’t work for every streamer, many will offer you a special discount to come back. Not to mention, you’ll be eligible for any new deals that may appear that are marketed to “new and returning customers.” Case in point: as of April 22, returning subscribers can get two months of ad-free Paramount+ Premium for just 99 cents per month.
I’ve tested this out myself, so I can vouch for it. When you navigate to Paramount+ and sign in to your existing account, you’ll be prompted to pick a plan. Select the Paramount+ Premium monthly plan for $13.99 per month. On the “Welcome back!” page, scroll down to the box that says “Have a promo code?” and enter N8C27L. Once you hit “apply” the price should drop to just 99 cents per month.
Credit: Paramount+
That’s all, folks. You can take advantage of two full months of ad-free Paramount+, Showtime, BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, CBS live TV, UFC fights, and more for less than two bucks. That’s $26 total in savings.
Mashable Deals
Paramount+ has a surprisingly hefty library. Subscribers can enjoy Paramount+ Originals like Landman and RuPaul Drag Race All Stars, Showtime series like Dexter Resurrection and Yellowjackets, CBS hits like Survivor and NCIS, and nostalgic shows from Nickelodeon and MTV. Not to mention, there’s a lineup of movies that’ll keep you fully entertained for your two-month promotional period. Just be sure to cancel again before the second month is over if you want to avoid paying full cost. You can always sign up again when another deal arises. I know I will.
Entertainment
How Stargate SG-1 Used A Classic Trope To Emotionally Wreck Its Fans
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Garfield and Friends said it best: “Oh no, we’ve resorted to an evil twin storyline.” Star Trek: The Original Series did it the best with Mirror Universe Spock, and ever since, it’s been a lazy excuse for every series to use when they run out of ideas. The exception is Stargate SG-1’s sixth episode, “Cold Lazarus,” which plays with the trope by making the twin less evil and more confused.
When fans say they skip this episode when rewatching, it’s not because it’s a lazy, poorly written episode. In fact, it’s the opposite. The ending of “Cold Lazarus” is a pivotal character moment for Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and a gut punch to the audience.
Stargate SG-1’s First Evil Twin
“Cold Lazarus” opens with the SG-1 team on a planet that doesn’t look like Vancouver (it was a giant pile of sulfur at the port of Vancouver). The desert landscape is dotted with shattered blue crystals that look like the remnants of a civilization until we see a crystal eye-view of O’Neill, a mysterious light knocks him out, and all of a sudden, a second O’Neill is looking down at the first. Turns out, the crystals are the civilization.
Fake O’Neill is trying to figure out who O’Neill is and what SGC is all about. When he pulls out photos of his family, it takes Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) by surprise. O’Neill’s never mentioned his wife, Sara, or his son, Charlie. Confused, the Fake O’Neill goes to the home, where Sara is disgusted he’d come by and thinks it’s a sick joke that he’s asking about Charlie. If you’re wondering if you missed a key part of O’Neill’s backstory, don’t worry, this is the first time that either Sara or Charlie is mentioned, and tragically, we soon learn why.
No One Ever Dies
Charlie shot himself with O’Neill’s gun. Fake O’Neill starts to piece this together when he goes into Charlie’s old room and breaks down, prompting Sara and him to finally have the conversation about their shared grief. Back in SGC, the crystal’s nature is revealed to be an energy alien calling itself Unity, which accidentally killed a Jaffa, and the Goa’uld shattered them in retribution. That’s when O’Neill stumbles back through the Stargate, and the team realizes the mistake they made.
The Fake O’Neill is soon captured at a local hospital, suffering from Earth’s radiation, where he explains that he sensed O’Neill’s pain after he took his form and wanted to help ease the suffering, as nothing ever truly dies to Unity. To prove its point, Unity transforms into Charlie, giving O’Neill and Sara one last chance to see their child. Fans who haven’t lost a child can understand the emotion, but for fans who have, this scene is emotional torture, in the best way possible.
Jack knows this isn’t Charlie, but he talks to him like he is, and then they walk together through the Stargate back to Unity’s planet. It’s a beautiful moment that explains so much about O’Neill’s throwing himself into work and how even his friendships remain professional. “Cold Lazarus” may have started out with the “evil twin” trope in full effect, but the ending is proof that even early during its run, Stargate SG-1 was going to be the greatest.
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Get Ankers 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $60 less at Amazon
