Star Trek Retro Review: "Bride of Chaotica!" (VOY) | Holodeck Episodes

[@lakegroce685]

Little did the crew know this was all an elaborate plot by Janeway so she could LARP without being judged.

[@screamingslave99]

or was it an elaborate plot by the crew to get janeway to try out larping without being so judgy.

[@ProgressiveRoxx]

My favourite part of this episode was when Tom was prepping Janeway for her Arachnia role, and he turned from someone giving information into a cliche director of early cinema. His final line "and remember... you're the Queen!" always cracks me up and makes me imagine him in shirtsleeves with a cigar, tweed cap and vintage metal megaphone.

[@susanscott8653]

RDM's first directing gig then.😁

[@BlackCover95]

You once said that if you could improve _Voyager_ , you would do away with the Holodeck. But if you did that, we’d never have this gem.

[@davidson8939]

don't bore him with details....

[@dm121984]

Tbf, the fundamental issue with Voyager was an utter lack of willingness to have long term consequences with a premise that practically demanded them. The holodeck wouldn't really have much impact on that core issue.

[@kaysi6605]

There is a difference between enjoying a great episode, vs judging how a show overall like Voyager could be improved

[@qhu3878]

find a space station with a holodeck thats stuck in the subspace thingy and the voyager gets stuck not long after docking, simple

[@EclecticFruit]

@@dm121984 💯💯

[@adam-michaeljames8328]

One of my best friends (RIP) appropriated Janeway's big catchphrase from this episode back in the day, particularly when it had to do with technology. Whenever he got something working, especially after a brief struggle, he'd proclaim, "Ha! You're no match for Arachnia!" 💕 I still do say that sometimes myself.

[@Saiyanprince1114]

Best line of the episode

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

@@Saiyanprince1114 Kate Mulgrew's delivery was campy perfection!

[@Its-Tonal-Whiplash]

I'm so used to Steve shitting on Voyager at seemingly every opportunity that seeing him genuinely enjoy this episode was a shock

[@bdchiaccio]

So many great episodes of this series that there's a lot to love

[@Saiyanprince1114]

Right? I rather enjoy this episode so I was kinda dreading his review. It was a pleasant surprise

[@wallacewallaby5782]

Same. I nearly didn't click on for that reason. Glad I did.

[@Bastion90]

With Voyager being my favourite series, I find it a breath of fresh air when Steve talks about an episode he actually likes (or at least doesn't hate).

[@FordLancer]

I remember playing Star Trek Elite Force you can go to the holodeck for some combat training. Captain Proton is one of the simulations you can run through all the way to the killer robot at Chaotica’s fortress.

[@Bastion90]

That was part of the expansion pack, wasn't it? I loved playing that section.

[@FordLancer]

@@Bastion90 I believe it was

[@HumanFellaPerson]

One of my favorite tropes in Star Trek is when they have no other option but to solve the problem with... Theater! Always a good time.

[@Ioganstone]

Put on the McDonalds hat, captain

[@salenstormwing]

I don't know why but the Doctor as "The President of Earth" is just a great title. He even has an emblem on his jacket that says "The President of Earth" on it in case you forgot what The President of Earth looked like.

[@davidpumpkinsjr.5108]

I love that when Janeway sits on Chaotica's throne and says "Somehow, this feels right."

[@Theoddert]

I loved how Satan's Robot starts of pretending to be a Beeb Boop Automiton but then reveals a personality as time goes on. It's been a while but I remember this one little scene where the two of them propose something to it and it just looks back and forth between them like "??" which I find really endearing

[@burnerdaughter]

One of my favorite parts of this episode was the fact that the safety was never conveniently turned off to add tension. It creates a story that's unique to the Holodeck, the science fiction concept this whole episode is centered around, instead of using the Holodeck as an excuse to portal into some random peril for 45 minutes.

[@williamblakehall5566]

I only wish there had been some way to have a Captain Proton series. As I recall, this came out around the same time that Congress was punishing President Clinton for perjuring himself over Monica Lewinsky, and the Doctor got to describe his portrayal of the President of Earth as "unimpeachable."

[@irregularassassin6380]

I also found myself wanting a Captain Proton series after watching Bride of Chaotica. It was just so much fun! Even as a series of interlude episodes sprinkled throughout Voyager it would have been a blast.

[@a178design]

Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris) has said on his podcast that he would also like to make a series, along with Harry of course.

[@alanpennie]

The Doctor got some fantastic punchlines.

[@xionkuriyama5697]

When you said "Commando Cody", I realized George Lucas had plagarized again and I, a massive Star Wars fan, didn't know for 19 years.

[@bezelboot6652]

Not plagiarized, but rather "drawn inspiration from". Pretty much everybody does it (Star Trek 2 -> Moby Dick, Forbidden Planet-> Shakespeare's The Tempest).

[@teknomancer6330]

One of my favorite Trek episodes of any series, and shout out for Martin Rayner, he was brilliant as Chaotica here. Not quite to the level of cheesy vamping Mulgrew could pull off (the outfit helped), but he chewed quite a bit of the scenery himself, and it was glorious.

[@bezelboot6652]

And an additional shout out for Nicholas Worth, who played Lonzak, Chaotica's chief henchman, probably better know for his appearance in the Command & Conquer:Red Alert series of strategy games.

[@alanpennie]

​@bezelboot6652 I thought I recognised him. Excellent guest casting.

[@joshhardin666]

I really wish that current star trek would go back to having 22 episodes per season... there's no space in the stories for plots like "Bride of Chaotica" or "Little Green Men" or "Peak Performance", etc. in nu trek :(

[@DawnDavidson]

Well, to be fair, we did get a musical episode and a crossover episode last season. So maybe there is a LITTLE wiggle room. But it’s true, having such short seasons is quite a constraint in some ways. More of this would be good!

[@MadisonGrene]

THANK YOU. I’m so sick of people saying it’s better now because they put more resources towards fewer episodes so what we end up with is better quality. Steve’s summary of DISCO S5 is the perfect rebuke of this notion. Sure, in the old season structure we might end up with a handful of ‘filler’ or downright wacky episodes - but on balance most were still entertaining enough to be worth having the extra opportunities to hang out with our space friends (literally more than twice as many!). And that extra breathing space in a season also allows for important non-sequitur character exploration in unexpected gems like this that make us connect and care about the characters more. How is this lost nowadays?

[@Vilamus]

Guess I hallucinated Subspace Rhapsody and The Elysium Kingdom then in SNW and All The World's A Stage from Prodigy.

[@ShinGallon]

People who don't know what "filler" is complaining that episodes that don't serve the direct plot of the series are filler have never heard of character building episodes. Episodes like this or "Data's Day" serve to further develop the characters and give us a reason to care about the plot-driving episodes. It's a problem with most modern TV, sadly, along with the "Well it's not instantly pulling Stranger Things level viewing numbers within 30 minutes of us uploading the episodes, cancel it" shit Netflix and Max love doing.

[@DubiousStory]

I would be happy with 15-16, overarching story maybe but NO mystery boxes every again. That would give a nice amount of stand alones and be enough to not feel like everything is being rushed but let actors have other gigs if they want.

[@Oonagh72]

Kate Mulgrew can act her azz off and she is stunningly beautiful, so she was so amazing in this episode. She was Marlene Dietrich.

[@hypnoamber3248]

Totally agree. I saw an interview with her once that said she was worried about going so camp but then loved being her so much for this episode.

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

@@hypnoamber3248 Nothing to worry about there - she played her scenery chewing high camp to a degree that would challenge the best drag queens!

[@michaelramon2411]

I think it would be kind of fun to have an episode or plotline where the Federation has to deal with 5th-dimensional photonic beings by writing holoprograms for them to interact with.

[@RoundHouseDictator]

I would vote Emergency Medical Hologram for president

[@tsharabrown3719]

The Doctor would at least be pro-universal healthcare, so already a huge improvement on what we have in the US.

[@BCBaron]

Cue Robert Picardo instructing the computer to activate the "Emergency Commander In Chief Program"

[@StormsparkPegasus]

@@tsharabrown3719 After Critical Care, yeah he definitely would be.

[@hypnoamber3248]

One of my all time favorite trek episodes. When I first saw it it was when it aired and at that time those old black and white sci Fi serials were not very popular amongst my young peer group. Except for my weirdo friends who just happened to adore them. So seeing a Voyager episode do such a good job at this was absolutely delightful at the time. Like trek peeked into our little weird brains and gave us a perfect episode. It's honestly one of the reasons I love VOY so much. Thanks for covering this episode. I was tickled that you knew so much about the genre and could add all the excellent factoids to your video.

[@BernardManansala]

Love the Captain Proton episodes.

[@dalesands1291]

I have watched a few of Flash Gordon shows from back in the 1930's and these shows got the tone just right. Those guys were always over the top.

[@The_Real_Kyrros]

Tuvix Pizza Party! Slice that up! 😂 Oddly enough, this probably one of my favorite VOY episodes. Maybe not THE favorite, but definitely up there. (I wonder if that correlates to 'A Piece of the Action' also being one of my fav TOS eps as well...?) My favorite quote from this episode: "And remember... you're the Queen!" So applicable to the real-world when wanting to give a friend or coworker a nice boost for the day!

[@DawnDavidson]

I love both this episode and A Piece of the Action. “Except on Tuesdays” 😂 Both incredibly funny, over the top, and thoroughly enjoyable. :)

[@bezelboot6652]

@@DawnDavidson I've read that on DS9 they were going to do a return to 'A Piece of the Action', but we got 'Trials and Tribbilations' instead (which is fine). I keep hoping we might revisit that planet on Lower Decks, or even Prodigy.

[@beard78748]

This episode I always found fun. Just like the Tribble episodes from other Star Trek series. It is nice to let the cast ham things up a bit.

[@a1locjaw]

We try and never miss one of your Star Trek reviews. I got my start in in Syfy by watching Rocky Jones Space ranger when it was first aired between the late '50s. I wanted anything sci-fi after that. Now I got a DVD set of all the Rocky Jones SOS. Thanks for keeping it all alive

[@nolarobert]

This was a fun episode of Voyager. I agree that it is a well-executed homage to 30s Sci-Fi.

[@TheSpiderbridge]

I love when you feel enthusiastic and happy about creative choices you see. So many people seem to think reviewing is just dunking on everything with the snark turned up to eleven.

[@TonksMoriarty]

"Basically the ship is stuck and a bunch of systems aren't working." So a Tuesday on Voyager?

[@willmfrank]

Even after all these years, I'm still miffed that we didn't get a full twelve-chapter "Captain Proton" serial.

[@Roxor128]

I would love to have that as a game. Also, the serial format would make it a perfect fit for the shareware model of "first episode free, buy the rest".

[@baystated]

When Paris wrote this storyline, who did he intend to portray Arachnia? Did he think he was going to get BLana to do it?

[@hypnoamber3248]

And this just adds another layer to their strange relationship. Lol

[@spikeoramathon]

This is my second favorite Voyager episode (Critical Care being the best) - and one of my favorite episodes of Trek overall. Thank you for your excellent review.

[@catherinewood948]

Thanks!

[@ShinGallon]

Heeeeeeeeeeeey, it's the Undersea Kingdom, for you and for me, and it's fun! Being the lifelong MST3K fan that I am, I recognized SO MANY of the serials referenced in this episode. I half expected Joel, Crow and Servo to start riffing on it. It's a fun little episode, a nice change of pace from Voyager's usual slogs of technobabble self importance. It might just be my FAVORITE Voyager episode. Once again I question why Starfleet never put a failsafe "Oh Shit" button outside the Holodeck that just cuts all the power to it immediately though.

[@melindayoung5133]

"Let's gather around the water cooler." "We are the water cooler." "Oh." I was actually surprised when Steve didn't say "He's sort of Commando Cody without the nipple-nipple-tweak-tweak."

[@yensid4294]

My mom was probably the reason I got into scifi/fantasy/horror. I got to stay up & watch Star Trek with her when TOS aired originally. She loved Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Doc Savage, Conan the Barbarian & John Carter Mars series by ERB. Also watched Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, & Night Gallery with her. Definitely read a lot of scifi too via her Book of the Month clubs & subscriptions to scifi short story magazines. I can still remember the plots of some of those stories altho I cannot remember the authors' names anymore (I'm kind of bad with names & titles, I just remember what happened in the story)

[@bobmathis-friedman6742]

Bride Of Chaotica! is my second-favorite Voyager episode

[@spikeoramathon]

mine too, with Critical care as the first. What's your first?

[@tonoornottono]

i love the doctor’s role as President of Earth. i just love the aesthetic of these episodes, the sense that characters and important objects are created with a cool name before they do anything else, and it really works.

[@heartbeatbear]

They offered a great B/W poster for this episode! It was my hope that when Voyager returned to the Alpha quadrant Star Fleet would hail them and find themselves facing Arachnia who had come to take over the Federation!

[@mikejankowski6321]

I think this review really covers that episode well. I found that holodeck adventure just tongue-in-cheek enough to be delightful while still having a serious side to the overall plot. Loved the style, the design and execution, and the black and white! And yes, it looked like everybody making it happen had as much fun as the audience was supposed to. Thanks for the review!

[@air1fire]

Everyone knows there are only FIVE dimensions!

[@michaelcherry8952]

Didn't they have a hit with "Age Of Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In?"🤣

[@TonksMoriarty]

Width, breadth, length, time, & space! At least according Doctor Who!

[@alexblank91]

THERE. ARE. FOUR. L̶I̶G̶H̶T̶S̶!̶ DIMENSIONS!

[@Stradus07]

When tom paris is in the meeting room explaining whats happening on the holodeck and he just straight faced says "his army of evil" i LOL everytime. Great delivery by robert duncan McNeil

[@alysmackyntoich2456]

This is far and away my favorite Voyager episode, so I'm glad you finally reviewed it.

[@Howlrunner82]

The day the doctor came up with the "photonic cannon" 😅

[@lessonslearned2569]

SFDebris showed up and said, "Damn and I thought my mean Janeway was a bad B!"

[@danieltilson4053]

This episode was fun. Janeway hamming it up was everything the world needed.

[@davidmcdonald1898]

I loved this one. Owing to my fondness for hyperbolic performances, Chaotica is my hero. I had never bought ST merch for myself, but this time I did: the movie poster and Martin Rayner's own script with his notes.

[@solarcorona9760]

You can totally tell how into the specific episode Steve is by how much of the dialogue he lifts with his signature twist. *chefs kiss*

[@bobpeters61]

My favorite dialogue: "Uncork the pheremones." "I beg your pardon!"

[@veganmonter]

Beginning of video: love this episode! This is on the top of my list for, favorite Voyager episodes. Wait! Will Steve make this be my Boondock Saints. Where my memory is WAY better than the actual episode (movie). End of Video: PHEW! Ok It was as good as I remembered it.

[@IngieKerr]

Now, I'm not saying it's a point of _vital_ mark on his getting into character that Harry initially objects to getting off Proton's ship until promised his previously agreed slave girls, But it did make me raise at least one "I beg your pardon, Ensign?" eyebrow. :)

[@PaulHFleming]

Hilarious! I particularly enjoyed Capt Janeway as Queen Arachna. The costumes, sets and stage props were spot on Target to classic SF serials.

[@alanbear6505]

There was an episode where Captain Proton did have a rocket pack so yeah, Commando Cody.

[@LittleNala]

I remember playing this as a level in one of the Star Trek Elite Force games, many years ago. Great stuff!

[@jamiebisson2752]

I love this episode!!!!!!! I really love it!!!!!!! I love that it is such a loving tribute to Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers.

[@professoreff3483]

Definitely in my top 3 voyager episodes. So gorgeous to look at. witty, irreverent, and nerdy. 5 stars

[@catherinewood948]

Glad you are being more light-hearted in this episode.

[@roystonvasey2722]

Steve, Just have to say I am really impressed with how conversant you are in regards to early sci fi TV and movies. You rattle off references to Flash Gordon, Commando Cody, The Mysterious Doctor Satan, Undersea Kingdom and Rocky Jones, Space Ranger like millennials will know what you are talking about. A reference to Winky, WHINKY? Well done sir. I enjoy the above mentioned productions and this makes me enjoy the episode all the more for it.

[@renatocorvaro6924]

Dammit Steve now I have to watch some Flash Gordon. And listen to Queen. How dare you.

[@danielland3767]

Ahhh the photon based life forms...I LOVED THE VOYAGER EPISODE!

[@georgedrury2976]

Oh my god I 100% agree!!! And until you said it I did not realize how awesome that would be!!! Make the robot a perinate case member!!!!

[@gothatfunk]

This episode is, as you say, very watchable. It's more fun than it is funny, and Janeway throwing herself into the Arachnia character is my favourite part. She's so immersed in character that even when Chaotica is dying, she wants to wait for a moment and let him have his dramatic final words. But it's not just her. "Not that button!" from Buster and Proton was *chef's kiss*, and even when Proton says "the end of a twisted madman", it just adds to the flavour of the whole thing so well. When it first aired, I wanted to not like this episode, but its too likeable. The more times I've watched it, the more charming I find it to be.

[@GeorgeMarionerd]

Data is just the poor man's Satan's robot

[@koini11]

I think my favourite moment in Voyager is when Seven, without a second thought pulls the wires out of it with an 'I Am Borg'. Cant remember if it was in this one or the other one with Captain Proton.

[@barshafoxman4169]

This is legitimately one of my favourite episodes of Star Trek :)

[@Entertainer13]

Loved this episode as a kid. Still a highlight from Voyager.

[@bradcsuka5054]

As a fan of the Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials, I've always enjoyed this episode. So much fun!

[@lennierofthethirdfaneofchu7286]

It's a _Voyager_ episode that reminds us that the writers could write a good show when they tried.

[@thomaskalinowski8851]

I got a definite Cleolanthe vibe from Queen Arachnia. It's too bad they didn't give Arachnia a tiara.

[@carolinemcgovern4488]

Honestly, I think another reason the ep works is that the characters look like they're having fun- especially Janeway. She's having a blast. (Also I would have cracked a joke after Harry says the planet looks the same about "at least it's not a quarry in Wales"

[@Insightfill]

2:57 If Neelix fails to keep the crack-loaded coffee flowing, she'll have him shoved into the transporter and split into "Nee" and "Lix." It won't be pretty.

[@colincaldwell6458]

Harry still a sidekick, even in a video game. 😢

[@tsharabrown3719]

"You've always been Captain Proton, I have always been Buster Kincaid. It's my turn this time." - Harry Kim in "Nightingale"

[@luisa9628]

Speaking of star trek actors playing villains, Rosalind Chao is playing an awesome one on Netflix's Sweet tooth. Reminds me of how good she was in The Assignment.

[@nekogorogorogoro]

Wow, Steve talking positively about Voyager for an entire video? Better check outside to see if the world is ending...

[@ALoonwolf]

If you like audio/visual synchronicity this episode obviously synchronises with the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack album. It's quite average until it gets to the "floor show" at the end which is awesome. The feature film Nemesis also goes well with that album.

[@nutherefurlong]

Re: The Bride, try Queen Tika from The Phantom Empire, probably the serial I caught the most of growing up. These episodes had me wishing for an offshoot that was just a modern take on adventure serials, to be honest. It was one of the highlights of Voyager for me

[@eriks2962]

my favorite part of the episode is janeway as arachnia. she is a delight!!

[@A_Name_]

The toilet/shower situation shook me so hard I asked everyone I knew what they would do of they were on a 2 toilets for 85 people(random number that sounded about right at the time) situation lol.

[@catherinewood948]

Loved this episode. I hope the cast had as much fun as it looks.

[@doctorteethomega]

Janeway did a ton of work in this. The characters that came out the most for me was the Great Tyrant of Sogo from Barbarella (1968) mixed with Queen Taramis From Conan the Destroyer (1984) .

[@elizabethpalladino8301]

One of my favorite Voyager episodes.

[@TheOneTrueFingal]

Fun fact, one of the settings on Satan's Robot is "Winky Vibes." Didn't get mentioned much back in the day for budget reasons.

[@empirejeff]

This is one of Voyager's better ideas 💡

[@lfrands]

I enjoyed watching you enjoy this episode. It’s dang so charming! Also, The Flash theme by Queen is🔥, so yeah, good on you

[@eorzeantours1565]

Totally thought you were doing Dayman there for a second.

[@matthewsever]

I will always wish they had done an entire season where it all revolved around Captain Proton. Like we get to see the entire serial play out in every episode as the B story.

[@gordongraham2064]

If anyone's in a Flash Gordon mood, you should DEFINITELY check out the revival of the Flash Gordon newspaper comic by Dan Schkade. Dan's one of the best in the business at pulp adventure (see also Lavender Jack), and his comic completely rules.

[@Chris-tf7gi]

Agreed. Make the robot a full-time cast member. Looking forward to your Descent review too. While Dr. Crusher in command is something I would have liked to have seen more of, I can't forgive Descent for taking the Borg's fangs away. It just didn't feel right. The Borg never recovered their charm fully. If anything Data feels more creepy, considering how easily he's manipulated along with the Borg. Fortunately, he has ChatGPT ethical programs R US in his boot loader. Reload the AI program and its all good! Still looking forward to your review.

[@alanpennie]

I suppose we put up with the general mehness of Voyager because occasionally it would give us a perfect gem of an episode.

[@WWZenaDo]

SLIGHTLY bigger budget... But Janeway is drop-dead gorgeous in this!

[@luxordtimet]

This episode was fun camp. One of my favoites.

[@joyafi4913]

Oh, darn, I was really looking forward to hating Neelix's guts during a review of "Once Upon A Time." I hope you do that one first in the next batch!

[@pfefferfilm]

My favourite part of Bride of Chaotica other then all the fun cheese, was the Mexican Spanish dub, used an abuelita voice for Janeway, and that was the most amazing voice for Arachnia lololol

[@kirstenicevalley]

Im BEGGING you to look into the movie(s) "Traumschif suprise", its a german commedic remaking of the TOS and while there is no english verison I know of, is just as funny with the english undertitels.

[@MrBudPuphin]

One of my favorite Voyager episodes! I hope Steve doesn't ruin it for me with his biting criticism. 😬

[@RollTonight]

Really loving these holodeck episodes!

[@nicolasbazzano2028]

I’m not a big fan of Voyager, I’m not a big fan of Tom, and I’m really not a fan of Trek holodeck gone wild episodes. But this is hands down one of my favorite episodes, and definitely one of my favorite Voyager episodes.

[@yourgodismean4526]

You’re so much more articulate than I am and you’re excellent with film analysis, but is this why I like Star Trek far more than Star Wars? That Wars is cheesier? On the surface, ST looks politically more traditional (military hierarchy in Starfleet, etc) and SW seems more progressive (the rebels vs Empire story) but the message is kind of the opposite

[@Theoddert]

It's a very minor thing but one of the conciets of holodeck episodes is usually the "why"; why did the characters ask it to do something strange, why did the power surge only affect the holodeck, why was the holodeck the only place the teams transporter buffers could be placed in. I liked that this time it was specifically because there were photonic lifeforms that only cared about the holodeck, it was a neat twist on the usual stuff. Also NO TIME FOR DAW-DLE-LING LUNDSACK!

[@AndrewD8Red]

This is one of the episodes that springs to mind first when I think of Voyager. It's just good fun, y'know? Although it is pretty sad that an episode which has absolutely NOTHING to do with the overarching premise of the series is one of its most stand-out moments.

[@dlewis1701]

Always a fun time when you find any excuse to sing for us 👏

[@admanios]

You know... Satan's Robot would have been a *perfect* addition to the holographic roster of Star Trek Prodigy. Just have there be a glitch in the holo-matrix so he can join the bridge crew during the Kobayashi Maru!

[@agent_meister477]

I love when Steve loves Voyager.