OVEG: Macrocosm

[Sonnenburg]

On the heels of Genesis, Macrocosm.

Review

[Bounty]

Two of the images don't load right for me, right under the tentacle rape. Could be me though.

[Gandalf]

They work fine for me.

[Darth Wong]

I like the finish where you point out how laughably underwhelming the apocalyptic final detonation was. It looked like the graphic you'd use if you were trying to depict a 24th century prankster's stink bomb.

PS. The fact that the flying blobs had to make buzzing bee sounds was pretty obnoxious. We get it: they're supposed to be like insects or something. Only problem is: they don't have wings! Why would they sound like giant bees? But as you say, the idea that a virus is basically a tiny yet complex lifeform is already hopelessly absurd. A virus is just a piece of protein.

[spaceviking]

probably stupid question: what is talc?

[Darth Wong]

probably stupid question: what is talc?

Talcum powder. The idiot "Stewart from SDI" claimed that the asteroids in Star Wars were made of "talc" (even though they didn't look like talc, and didn't even break up when TIE fighters smashed to bits against them) in a vain attempt to pretend that the ISD shots which vapourized them were actually no more powerful than a mortar shell.

[Darth Onasi]

Now you have me thinking of Janeway tentacle porn.
Thanks, really. Thanks. Now if you'll excuse me I must inject bleach directly into my brain.

[Academia Nut]

I'm getting a Site Unavailable message everytime I try to load.

A virus is just a piece of protein

Also, I just wanted to correct this. You're thinking of a prion. A virus is significantly more complex than a prion (although still so simple that there is debate over whether they are technically alive), in that they contain a bit of genetic material, either DNA or RNA, in a lipid membrane sheathe with some surface proteins for camouflage and occasionally some internal enzymes to get their genetic material used properly by the host cell.

[Isolder74]

well it still doesn't change that a macrovirus would just sit there. How could something that is by definition inert move about?

[Crossroads Inc.]

well it still doesn't change that a macrovirus would just sit there. How could something that is by definition inert move about?

Thats what I wondered when I first saw the episode as a kid... What the hell is making them fly?

[Academia Nut]

Oh, I'm not arguing that. If nothing else the square-cube relationship that prevents single celled organisms from growing very large would make this mindnumbingly stupid if they went with bacteria, and the fact that they couldn't support their own weight, let alone fly, and somehow they are injecting people with copies of themselves and... yeah... just yeah...

[Darth Onasi]

Brannon Braga must've flunked every biology class he was ever in.
If indeed he ever attended one.

[Ilya Muromets]

Now you have me thinking of Janeway tentacle porn.
Thanks, really. Thanks. Now if you'll excuse me I must inject bleach directly into my brain.

Seconded. Ack, horrible mental image.

And I must've missed this episode during the show's run here, because I don't remember it at all. That said, that might be a good thing. I mean, growing viruses? What the hell? Well, sure, Star Trek's never been hard science in the slightest, but that's tremendously silly even by Voyager's usual standards.

[tim31]

well it still doesn't change that a macrovirus would just sit there. How could something that is by definition inert move about?

Thats what I wondered when I first saw the episode as a kid... What the hell is making them fly?

MILLIONS OF TINY WINGS, hence buzzing noise[/apologist]

Also:

This story actually makes just as much sense as me writing one about how I ate high-yield fertilizer, grew to be the size of the sun, flew off at faster than light speeds, and then proceeded to have sex with a black hole.

New UPF material?

[Darth Servo]

Um, is it just my hasty reading or did you forget the stupid Neelix moment?

[Isolder74]

I'd say that is safely found in the beginning of the episode.

ugh!

[Ted C]

And to think I'd almost forgotten this piece of dreck. It so completely failed to capture the atmosphere of an action/horror flick that it became bad comedy.

[Sidewinder]

All the ridicule over the idea of a macroscopic virus made me wonder: why did Braga describe the monster-of-the-week as a "virus" instead of a "parasite," which might grow to the size of a German Shepherd under a growth hormone's effects, move on its own, actively seek out and infect other hosts, engage in hand-to-tentacle combat with potential hosts, etc.? Or was Paramount (or whoever the hell came up with this macroscopic virus idea) paralyzed by fear that 20th Century Fox would sue their pants off if they call the monster-of-the-week a "parasite"?

[Ghost Rider]

All the ridicule over the idea of a macroscopic virus made me wonder: why did Braga describe the monster-of-the-week as a "virus" instead of a "parasite," which might grow to the size of a German Shepherd under a growth hormone's effects, move on its own, actively seek out and infect other hosts, engage in hand-to-tentacle combat with potential hosts, etc.? Or was Paramount (or whoever the hell came up with this macroscopic virus idea) paralyzed by fear that 20th Century Fox would sue their pants off if they call the monster-of-the-week a "parasite"?

I don't know whether your a conspiracy idiot or just plain garden variety. Attributing malice where pure stupidity explains it cleaner and more objectively is seen here and only the rabid retard would think there's darker motivations.

We see from a great volume of his work that Braga has no fucking clue of what terminology means what and at the time Paramount acceded his demands because he brought in consumers. There's not much else to it.

[Solauren]

Yeah, that episode could have been saved if they'd changed 'Virus' to "Parasitic Lifeform' or something.

It starts really small, and just grows.

No need to explain how it flys or anything, but don't make it a virus.


Also, is it wrong of me for thinking that those things are just a mutant strain of Metroid?

[Swindle1984]

I think the worse part is that someone actually thought it was a good idea to revisit this episode in the one where Janeway meets herself before Voyager got screwed- er, lost.

[phred]

I think the worse part is that someone actually thought it was a good idea to revisit this episode in the one where Janeway meets herself before Voyager got screwed- er, lost.

What? they wanted to do a clip episode without doing a clip episode.

[Solauren]

Actually that 'clip show' episode got me thinking;

Maybe the experimentation the Caretaker did on them fucked over Janeways mind.

I mean, 'pre abduction' Janeway wanted to reset things so they were all 'pre-abduction' so she could avoid the incident all together.

[Ghost Rider]

This will be off topic, but because Sidewinder believes I am being both too harsh on his comment, and him in general. I won't cover the other material because to be honest, I did lay out my reasons and you never retorted to them or fulfilled my demand. But this particular I will detail because you are using a moderator tool that was noted not to be used unless you could not PM a moderator.

Let's take the quote:

All the ridicule over the idea of a macroscopic virus made me wonder: why did Braga describe the monster-of-the-week as a "virus" instead of a "parasite," which might grow to the size of a German Shepherd under a growth hormone's effects, move on its own, actively seek out and infect other hosts, engage in hand-to-tentacle combat with potential hosts, etc.? Or was Paramount (or whoever the hell came up with this macroscopic virus idea) paralyzed by fear that 20th Century Fox would sue their pants off if they call the monster-of-the-week a "parasite"?

The first part is a logical question of general stupidity that Braga utilized.

But

Or was Paramount (or whoever the hell came up with this macroscopic virus idea) paralyzed by fear that 20th Century Fox would sue their pants off if they call the monster-of-the-week a "parasite"?[/

is assuming a great many things.

It assumes that Paramount had any say except giving ST cash to create the episode and further assumes that Paramount feared retribution from Fox for the use of the word PARASITE.

So dumbfuck are you going to back up your assumptions? Or are you again not, and slink away?

[Sidewinder]

But

Or was Paramount (or whoever the hell came up with this macroscopic virus idea) paralyzed by fear that 20th Century Fox would sue their pants off if they call the monster-of-the-week a "parasite"?[/

is assuming a great many things.

It assumes that Paramount had any say except giving ST cash to create the episode and further assumes that Paramount feared retribution from Fox for the use of the word PARASITE.

So dumbfuck are you going to back up your assumptions? Or are you again not, and slink away?

Paramount did have a say in ST, as demonstrated by the change they ordered in the ending of "Dear Doctor".

The ending was changed by UPN who wanted Phlox and Archer in total agreement, rather than retain the original ending which left Archer and Phlox in conflict. John Billingsley who plays Phlox had touched on this in an interview. "The ending that had initially been created (for the episode) I was fairly comfortable with. But the head of the studio suggested some revisions on the ending. What do you do? I wasn't as happy with the revisions, but it's not my show, you have to sort of adjust, even if sometimes it does seem a bit of a contradiction in terms for what your character is supposed to be about. In the original ending in this crisis of conscience, the Doctor essentially does something that violates the standard issue hierarchical obligations of a crewmember to his captain. In effect, he makes a decision that's rooted in 'I've got bigger fish to fry', rather than honoring his captain's wishes. The network essentially felt that no, it was important to essentially make sure that everyone was here to support the captain's decisions. Personally, I thought, 'Well, I think you've kind of lost something interesting in this potential tension. But, that's not my call.'"

Not to mention the fact that, as the copyright holders, they had the authority to order the producers to make changes if they bothered to keep an eye on the production, just as George Lucas had the authority to order Karen Traviss to stop wanking Mandalorians (an authority he exercised when he ordered Anakin Solo's death) if he bothered to proofread any of her works.