"Life Line"
comments? pforooghi@compusmart.ab.ca
Well, I figured that since "Life Line" would be a Doctor episode, and since Doctor shows are usually among my favorites, that this would be an entertaining, enjoyable hour. To my delectation, it certainly was, not to mention a much better episode than we’ve seen in weeks. The recent snooze fest was really getting tedious, but thankfully, this show was anything but a yawn. Although the storyline was a tad trite and the ending predictable, it still was a sweet, moving show.
We certainly did learn tonight where the Doctor gets his arrogant, irascible, gruff characteristics from. Zimmerman was all of these things, and more! A true curmudgeon! The Doctor can be very annoying with his narcissistic and self-satisfied attitude, but he’s always lovable. I particularly love how Seven deals with him now- she tries to indulge him. Seven is also amused by him- this is most evident in her slight smiles and sarcastic eye rolling gestures. However, Zimmerman was much more obnoxious than our doc. Though at the end, he did come off as somewhat sympathetic, once we understood why he was so adamant about not allowing the Doctor to help save his life. As it was explained, the Doctor reminded him of all of his failures, not only in his scientific career, but also in his personal life. As he himself said, most of his friends were created- this of course was no doubt due to his difficult, off-putting personality. Though one can understand why Zimmerman has become so bitter and resentful, other than because he thinks he is a dying man. Starfleet not only rejected all of his mark 1 holograms, but turned them into lowly plasma conduit scrubbers. And to add insult to injury, these menial tasks were carried out by hundreds of holograms who look exactly like the scientist. So again, the Doctor, who is a mark 1 hologram albeit much more advanced due to his experiences in the Delta Quadrant, still symbolizes all of Zimmerman’s failings and shortcomings. Zimmerman is so incorrigible that he doesn’t allow himself to see what the Doctor has become, what a unique individual he is, rather all he sees are the flaws and deficiencies of a mark 1 hologram. Understandably, the scientist is very reluctant to allow what he perceives as an inferior piece of technology to save his life. After all, much more competent doctors and holograms had failed to cure what ailed him up until this point. But at the end, the Doctor, with the help of Barclay and Troi, manages to get through to the ornery Zimmerman, which leaves us with a happy, touching ending. Sure, the idea of a "son" saving his "father" and a somewhat sappy ending is not all that original, but it was still an enjoyable hour for me. Especially given the quality of recent episodes.
In the final analysis, although "Life Line" was nowhere near as good as most Doctor episodes have been in the past few years, it still was a fairly decent, enjoyable show, particularly given this less than stellar and unremarkable season. Which is why I’m awarding it three comm badges.
Cheers!
