Star Trek: Voyager Blink of an Eye (1995–2001) Online

As the title states, this was my favorite Voyager episode ever made. The story was perfect for an episode of Star Trek and the only thing disappointing about it was that it should've been a two-part episode giving more time to focus on the inhabitants of the world as they worship the "Skyship." At times I even think this could've passed as a Star Trek Movie plot. I am now learning from a previous comment that this episode was based on a book by Robert Forward and I will be checking it out as soon as possible. The Doctor's trip away from Voyager added a interesting history to the character and I think that they handled it well by just showing the doctor leaving and coming back without knowing what happened to him, then finding out later through dialog what did happen. This episode also should be noted for it's greatness because although there was a small bit of conflict at the end, this episode focused more on problem solving rather than space battles. Also it didn't rely on the return of old favorites (Borg, Q, etc.) to make it good.

A very good episode although it appears to have its roots in an excellent book called 'Dragon's Egg' by Robert Forward. This concerned the discovery of a life on a Neutron star whose development was (compared to the orbiting Earth ship) hyper accelerated. The inhabitants (The Cheela) went from being a primitive civilisation to one that was far more advanced than the Earth ship in the space of a few days.

This is mirrored by the Voyager episode. Perhaps the Star Trek writer did acknowledge Forward in some way just a Gene Coon did for TOS episode 'Arena'.

Still it is very well done and at least the Doctor got to experience a long life down on the planet.

I had very much the same reaction to this episode as some of the other reviewers. "Blink of an eye" is an example of excellent science fiction very well presented. The premise of a planet operating in an accelerated time field and its effect on societies living in it are exactly the type of thought-provoking topics science fiction was created to address. The interaction of the planet and Voyager takes place in interesting ways.

The story reminds me of the cultural anthropological explorations of science fiction writers like Ursula K. Le Guin.

Daniel Dae Kim gave a very strong and memorable performance as an astronaut from the planet. I'm glad to see he has gotten more opportunities to use his talents in other works.

This episode is a real grower and is, without a doubt, evidence that Voyager could rise above its predecessors with an intelligent plot.

Fans of The Doctor will get an especially good kick out of this episode as he achieves some sort of humanity. It'll give you a warm smile, much in the way Data's quest for humanity did for many TNG fans.

Daniel Dae Kim's appearance as Gotana-Retz is certainly welcome as is his acting which appears very basic on the surface, yet his style suits the universe so well. I could imagine him being a cast member of a future Star Trek.

For me, the ending is the best part of the episode. It'll make you feel warm, happy and sad. An extremely great story that manages to put itself among the best of the Star Trek episodes.

This kind of story has been told in many books and shows, most famously in an episode of The Outer Limits called "Wolf 359" - And in the Robert Forward book called "Dragon's Egg" which two other reviewers mentioned.

In a way this was told in the Next Generation 1st season 17th Ep called "Home Soil" - But in this case, the life form is not silicon based and they are Humanoid. It was also touched on in the 2nd Season DS9 17th Episode "Playing God" - A Proto Universe is developing. That is probably the same story as this, but happening in a smaller Quantum- So all they can see there is the overall growth of the Proto 'Verse- So that story lacked the personal human element this one has, except for maybe returning it where it belonged.

Here, we get a Donut Shaped Planet: "The Weird Planet Where Time Moved Very Fast And So Did the People Who Lived There." as Naomi Wildman describes it. Also - "What we got here is a Problem with Communication" - How do you talk to life forms that are living their whole lives in the span of a few minutes?

But there are other things to deal with - As Voyager attempts to leave orbit of this unlikely orb, they get stuck. They appear as a Star in the sky of this planet, but as the planet develops they make Telescopes and can make out Voyager's Features. And, the same conundrum that has Voyager stuck like a Fly on Flypaper is causing earthquakes.

But it is not Voyager's story of being stuck that makes this great or even interesting, it's how we are shown Vignettes of Life on the Planet as it develops through their centuries and Voyager's Minutes. But of ultimate interest is the story of the Astronaut played by Daniel Dae Kim and how he becomes an intermediary between his planet and Voyager. Basically it is the same as the Original Trek "Wink of an Eye" - Where we had aliens on the Enterprise that moved so fast they they sounded like Bugs when they talked. In this episode when Kim gets onto Voyager it's the same thing, but he is not there as an invader but as an explorer. Ironically it wasn't the change from his time to Voyager time that was a problem, but acclimation back into his own time-frame and society - Who scoffed at his return as the butt of jokes.

So his return in fact stifles those jokes once and for all. It is as if someone says "When the Sun sets down on the Moon" or "When Pigs Fly"- And then it Happens.

This was the one time Voyager was not saved by "Technobabble this" from Torres or "Borg Gadget That" from Seven. They were at the mercy of a Civilization who was the victim of their unintentional gravitational effects for a thousand years- And this one Astronaut who was dead by the time they actually left orbit.

How this planet could exist or why time is sped up on it's surface is not important, what is important is the story of the one enlightened being from the planet, the Astronaut played by Daniel Dae Kim.

I remember seeing this the first time. It has kept me thinking ever since, what would happen if I or one of my kind were put in this situation. I do remember one of the original Star Trek episodes where the Enterprise and another entity were in different times. There was a whine that went on because one species was moving at incredibly high speed and sounds were distorted. For once, in this episode, there wasn't any religious gobbledegook or combative aliens. In the beginning the "sky ship" was seen by some as a sacred light that was responsible for many of their problems. I know it isn't perfect. There has to be some speculation, but as an absolutely gripping piece, it works very well.

After a weak episode Voyager is on top form again here. When a strange planet is spotted Janeway takes Voyager closer in order to investigate. As it goes into orbit Voyager gets trapped. Down on the surface a primitive race see Voyager's arrival as the arrival of a new deity which they dub "Ground Shaker" as Voyager's presence causes regular earthquakes. Looking down at the surface Voyager's crew notices that the seasons are changing very quickly leading them to believe that time passes much faster on the surface than it does elsewhere in the galaxy. The next time we see the people on the surface their civilisation has progressed from the stone age to their equivalent of the Middle age Europe. By the time they have developed to the "1960s" Janeway decides to send the Doctor to the surface to see if he can learn anything that might help them leave. It is intended to send him down for a few days; which means only three seconds should pass on Voyager. When they have difficulty beaming him back he ends up spending three years there. Not much later the people have developed rockets and send two astronauts up to Voyager which they now call the "Sky Ship". Once on board the two astronauts are initially still in their own time but soon change to Voyager time which only one survives. By the time he is ready to return the people on the planet have developed weapons and are attacking Voyager, he must persuade then to stop before Voyager is destroyed.

This was a great episode, it was interesting to see the planet's civilisation rise while only a few days passed on board Voyager. Guest star Daniel Dae Kim, best known as Lin in Lost, does a good job as the astronaut who visits Voyager. The only weak point for me was that the astronauts stayed on planet-time for some time before suddenly changing to Voyager time; surely they would have gradually changed time rates as they ascended from the planet, this is a small quibble though.

Voyager is stuck in orbit around an odd planet that is progressing far, far faster than time on Voyager. For every second on the ship, apparently a day passes below. So, the Voyager crew observe and see a society move from the bronze age to the rudiments of space travel during their short time there! However, when these astronauts arrive on Voyager, these folks see that the Voyager crew is stationary due to the time differential. I was surprised because I just assumed the locals would be on Voyager time when they entered the ship. What happens next you'll just have to see for yourself. Suffice to say, it's a really cool episode and the concepts are similar to ones shown recently in "Interstellar" where there is a huge time differential on the planet versus the ship in orbit. Well worth seeing and one of the better episodes.

This episode is in a league with TNG's "The inner light". It is what sci-fi is all about. Great ideas, based on simple assumptions on the nature of our universe.

The episode would have been perfect, if it weren't for some very annoying details:

• The ridiculous, uncalled for scene with the two astronauts on the frozen Voyager just proves how the writers would do anything for a 'cool scene', no matter how little sense it made.

• That idiot Janeway refusing to communicate with the surface after having completely violated the prime directive and refusing to defend her crew, are just more of the cheap gimmicks so often used in this series.

(((VERY SMALL SPOILER)))

Seven-of-Nine says that 1 second on Voyager is nearly a day on the planet. This means nearly 10 years would pass for every hour and roughly 230 years would pass for every day, yet many centuries pass on the planet while only a few minutes pass on Voyager. I don't know how someone could be that bad at math but that's one of the worst inconsistencies I've ever seen. This episode was very poorly written.

This episode had such an impression on me that I decided to comment on it, and I never comment on a specific episode. When I watched it I literally forgot what happened in the previous episode where someone finally realized how the grownups use the holograms. Problem is I watched it right before this episode.

Time suddenly slowed down and I started feeling ill from the inability to process logic and plot holes (no, really). In fact all this time I have been thinking on the "time is relevant" theory. Did you know that density increases with speed (water for a speedboat is pavement)? Ever tried breathing concrete air at light speed? How about walking through it? That's one of the problems in the episode. Another is that the society is space travel handicapped – everything outside their planets time field travels so slowly, when (not if) they will run out of recourses… they wont be importing anything fast enough.

Encountering an organism with a faster perception rate (like a dog) is one thing, another is encountering a planet with its own time field around it. The questions left me ill and no doubt by the end of the week life on that planet was extinct one way or the other.

This is an excellent example why the primary directive NEVER works – just by being seen as a shooting star you already intervene. Pray you never become a sign from destiny for a cult on a regular cargo run.