Voyager: Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy

When I was a kid I wanted to be a photographer for National Geographic. When I was in high school I almost joined the Air force on the promise of a cryptography career. In college I started with a theatre/english double major with a minor in art but graduated with a degree in anthropology. I almost went into a classics program so I could dig stuff up in Greece but changed to an MFA in creative writing when I finished my first novel and didn't know what to do with it. In the years since graduating I've, at various times, wished I'd pursued a career in neuroscience or dendrochronology. In the meantime, I've worked as a story time lady, a taxidermist's assistant, and a milkmaid.

I believe that you've only got one turn on this merry-go-round so you'd better pick a good horse. But picking that horse is hard. Sometimes, a quarter of the ride is over before you've decided and when you finally hop on, you still can't help wondering if that dappled horse with the green saddle is the right one. That orange pony looks pretty good. Holy crap is that a glittery unicorn? That's when the daydreaming starts.

I bring this up because I watched (what might be my very favorite Voyager episode) Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy the other night. In this one, The Doctor has added the ability to daydream to his program and now he can't stop thinking about what it'd be like if he could be an Emergency Command Hologram or could rouse his friends and colleagues to a standing ovation with an improvised operatic performance, or to pursue relationships with any of the various gorgeous, brilliant women of the crew. When his daydreams spin out of control (and end up getting the ship into serious trouble) he has to apologize for his reveries but says that he only wanted the chance to exceed his original programming. Isn't that what everyone wants? A chance to be more and do more and explore their potential?

Anyway, I love this episode. I think it's perfectly written, directed, and acted. And, it has an amazing opening number:

I dare you not to get this stuck in your head for the next five days.