"Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy"
comments? pforooghi@compusmart.ab.ca
What a hilarious episode! "Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy" was one of my favorite shows this year, and with good reason. It was a fabulous romp, a comic gem. All in all, a very entertaining hour. From beginning to end, I was left in stitches. Though I must say, after watching this show, I became even more convinced that our beloved Doctor is suffering from a little ailment of his own- narcissistic personality disorder. More about that later. For now, let’s discuss what made this show so enjoyable, at least to me.
Where to begin but at the beginning. I simply adored that opening teaser. I should say that I’m quite partial to the Doctor’s spectacular singing voice. I love any episode in which he gets to showcase his musical ability. If ever Picardo were to come out with a CD of opera’s greatest arias, I would be the first person in line to buy it. So, I would have loved the opener for that reason alone, but then to witness the Doc’s amusing handling of Tuvok’s Ponn Farr madness (not to mention that side-splitting ditty to the tune of La Donna et Mobile) was priceless in and of itself. From this point onward, we are treated to more of the Doctor’s very active, not to mention hilarious, imaginings.
The conference room daydream is probably the best of the episode. To see all the women of Voyager fighting over the Doctor, not to mention both Janeway and Seven acting so flirtatious and seductive, was simply marvelous. And Seven blinking and acting all kissy face with the Doctor throughout the episode was a positively breathtaking sight. Though I couldn’t help wishing that we could somehow superimpose Janeway’s face over the Doctor’s during those moments. But at the end of the show, I loved how Seven burst the Doc’s bubble by assuring him that she would never pose for him, and that the peck on the cheek was platonic. I didn’t even think Seven knew what platonic meant! Those last moments were very cute. Back to the earlier scenes in the episode. I thought I saw my TV set overheat during those segments where the Voyager ladies were vamping it up, as well as later on, when the Doctor fantasizes about painting Seven in the nude. Most likely, it was I who was overheating! LOL Terrifically stimulating, not to mention amusing, stuff from our favorite ladies. But our Doc sure has an over-active imagination, doesn’t he? Not to mention the fact that he has an ego the size of Voyager itself. Not only is he the man of every woman’s dreams, but he is also the savior of the ship, jumping in at perilous moments to save Voyager and her crew from the Borg, or any other hostile threat. He is the perfect heroic figure, loved and respected by all. Which leads to a couple of important questions. Why does the Doctor come off as such a narcissist, not only in this episode, but in most others? Why does he hold such a grandiose view of himself and his role on Voyager?
The answer to these questions is quite simple, actually. In the famous words of Rodney Dangerfield, the Doc can get no respect. At least, that’s the way he sees it, and I don’t think he’s terribly off the mark in believing that for the most part, he is neither respected or taken seriously by his crewmembers. Most don’t even think him a sentient being, which is neither here nor there, since he thinks he is sentient and deserving of all the rights and privileges of any other person aboard the ship. The fact that I agree with him is also irrelevant for our purposes. The point is that he is always seen struggling to not be taken for granted by Voyager’s crew, and to be respected, perhaps even appreciated, for being an integral part of the crew. Instead, we see how he is often ridiculed by people like Tom Paris (I know, he’s a jerk around most people), even the Captain, although I don’t think she means to be condescending towards him. Nevertheless, most people are just that- contemptuous of the Doctor- because they think he is only a hologram, not a real person. So, where does that leave the Doc? I suppose he believes that if he doesn’t love or admire himself, albeit in a very bombastic, narcissist way, then no one else will. And this is why I think the Doctor comes off as such an egocentric person. He truly believes that no one appreciates or respects his contributions to the ship, so he overcompensates by literally loving/admiring himself to the point where its now turned into a serious case of narcissism. Forgive my amateur psychoanalysis of the Doctor here, but this is the best explanation of his bravado in this particular episode, not to mention his overall self-satisfied manner, at least in my mind. I think that once the crew in general begin to accord him with more respect as a unique individual and cease taking him for granted on a regular basis, then the Doctor’s narcissist tendencies may abate. Though knowing the Doctor, he might become even more enamored with himself, thinking that finally others have realized what a wonderful, talented, handsome, all around superior individual he is! Somehow, I think the latter scenario is more likely than the former one I postulated.
In the final analysis, I found this episode to be incredibly funny and entertaining, and I enjoyed it very much. After J/7 episodes, Doctor episodes are my favorite, not only because of Picardo’s brilliant acting, but because any storyline involving his character is usually quite interesting and entertaining. One could argue that things started to go precipitously downhill after this show aired, and didn’t pick up until "Tsunkatse". Unfortunate. Nevertheless, this was a great show, so I will award it four comm badges.
