Life Line
Rating
Favorite Quotes
"You're both jerks!" --- Deanna Troi
"Can't it wait until I'm dead?" --- Lewis Zimmerman
"You don't have any friends." --- Lewis Zimmerman
"I'm a doctor, not a zookeeper!" --- The Doctor
"We're receiving a transmission from Starfleet." --- Seven
Synopsis
Lieutenant Barclay approaches Jupiter Station in shuttlecraft Dawkins. He is granted permission to dock. Once aboard, he meets with Doctor Lewis Zimmerman. He asks him how he is doing. Zimmerman replies, "I'm dying Reginald, and there's nothing anyone can do about it."
A signal is sent from Earth. It's intercepted by the MIDAS Array. Using a nearby pulsar, it sends the message halfway across the galaxy to the the Delta Quadrant, where the U.S.S. Voyager receives it. The message contains letters from home, Alpha Quadrant news, and more. Using the pulsar, Voyager and Starfleet will be able to send messages to each other once a month.
When the Doctor reads a message from Barclay, he discovers that Doctor Zimmerman is dying. Wanting to save the closest thing he has to a father, the Doc begs Janeway to send him to the Alpha Quadrant using the pulsar. Janeway finally agrees, and the Doc begins his journey.
Much to the Doctor's surprise, Zimmerman isn't too thrilled to see him. Apparantly, the mark 1 EMH failed to meet Starfleet's standards. Once the mark 2 was up and running, Starfleet reduced the mark 1s to work on waste transfer barges. Zimmerman is humiliated, knowing that his face is on all of those holograms. Even so, the Doc tries to become friends with Zimmerman. It doesn't work. They fight with each other constantly. Wanting to cease hostilities, Reg calls up Conselor Troi, hoping she can help them.
Troi arrives, but she isn't able to help much. After talking to Zimmerman's holographic assistant Haley, she comes up with a plan. Reg accesses the Doc's program and creates a malfunction. Thinking that the only worthwhile mark 1 will be destroyed, Zimmerman spends hours fixing his program. Finally, he allows the Doc to save him.
After a month, the Doc can finally return to Voyager. Before he leaves, he has Reg take a picture of him with Zimmerman. He also promises to drop Zimmerman a line, next time he has a chance.
My Thoughts
"Life Line" wasn't quite as good as last week's "Fury", but it's still one of the season's very best episodes. Robert Picardo was magnificent as both the Doctor and Zimmerman. Also, it was really nice to see Reg and Troi again. Dennis McCarthy created a very good musical score, and the producers did a great job designing Jupiter Station. It looked really cool. I was happy for the Voyager crew when they learned that they'll be receiving monthly letters from home. We were treated to some nice Janeway/Chakotay interaction, a nice performance by the actress who portrayed Haley, and some humorous scenes involving Leonard the lizard. Well, that about wraps it up. "Life Line" joins "Fury" and "Pathfinder" as one of the season's three best. It was full of drama, comedy, and excitement. It was truly enjoyable. My Rating: You guessed it! It's a 10.00 out of 10.00! -- NEXT WEEK: A mysterious being haunts the decks of Voyager.
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