The Doctor is kidnapped and sold to a medical ship where patients are treated based on their usefulness to society.
This is one of those episodes where the subject matter feels more important than how the story is told. There are a few questionable things that happen to make the plot work, but the message being delivered is so powerful that you should really overlook them.
I live in a country with a nationalised health system that entitles free care to all. It is far from perfect with resources stretched to near breaking point. However, it is easy to take for granted the fact that a system to support critical care is in place and both medical professionals and government officials are held accountable for any failures in that system. What happens when things go beyond breaking point, I don't really know, but only time will tell. Contrasting this with nation states who do not have this type of safety net in place and you see the relevance the episode and the various ethical dilemmas explored.
Robert Picardo yet again delivers a high quality performance, this time requiring his character to make a number of ethical compromises to heal patients and what he believes to be a broken system. Supporting characters interact well with him in all scenes.
The sub-plot of him being stolen from Voyager and their subsequent search to find him is okay. There are some decent moments, particularly Neelix solution to the Gar problem.
Overall a memorable episode with excellent performances.
This is one of those episodes where the subject matter feels more important than how the story is told. There are a few questionable things that happen to make the plot work, but the message being delivered is so powerful that you should really overlook them.
I live in a country with a nationalised health system that entitles free care to all. It is far from perfect with resources stretched to near breaking point. However, it is easy to take for granted the fact that a system to support critical care is in place and both medical professionals and government officials are held accountable for any failures in that system. What happens when things go beyond breaking point, I don't really know, but only time will tell. Contrasting this with nation states who do not have this type of safety net in place and you see the relevance the episode and the various ethical dilemmas explored.
Robert Picardo yet again delivers a high quality performance, this time requiring his character to make a number of ethical compromises to heal patients and what he believes to be a broken system. Supporting characters interact well with him in all scenes.
The sub-plot of him being stolen from Voyager and their subsequent search to find him is okay. There are some decent moments, particularly Neelix solution to the Gar problem.
Overall a memorable episode with excellent performances.