User Reviews

Reviewing the reviews here, people loved this episode, or hated it, but everybody clearly cared about it. That's pretty significant for a mid-budget, mid-rating, mid-90 sci-fi show.

Watching this with my nuclear family, everybody identified with it, and it provoked impassioned comments from all of them.

My wife demanded to know whether I secretly wanted her to be more like Charlene (played by Wendy Schaal, the distinctive voice of American Dad's Francine Smith). Well, there's no secret about it, of course I would.

Son, who is far too Vulcan, said that he doesn't need any Klingon friends - oh, but he does, he really does.

Daughter became obsessed with knowing what future blood-sport Belle was playing, and I'd like to know too. And credit to Lindsey Haun here for her compelling performance in the role, with talent far beyond her years.

Robert Picardo ties the episode together and really sells the concept. He is a genuinely superb actor, and often rises above the material, but here he was given something to really get his acting teeth into.

There's also a science fiction plot going on, but it's not that important. Eddy's in the space-time continuum, and this is his swirly sofa. Hat tip to the Bussard collector, some actual science. It's just filler around the Doctor plot, but it's unobjectionable and doesn't get in the way.

I'm in the "loved it" camp, but I respect the views of those who hated it. Nobody ignored it though.

Very compelling story with how the Doctor journeys through this episode in a different way - exploring family. There are some funny moments - like how his son likes hanging out with Klingons... I just found that a cute take on a kid hanging with the "bad boys" hehe. Or how his family is so perfect at the start. Classic Trek stuff. But I admit, I was not prepared for the ending. Yes, I shed a couple of tears. Anyways, I really enjoyed going on this journey with the doctor and also... damn fine acting, good sir. If there is any actor who really shines in Voyager it's this one. They are all great actors but the Doctor really shines in this episode.

I remembered the last scene from when I watched it a long time ago, but I couldn't remember which show it was from, much less which episode. It was just the sheer painfulness of it that was seared in my mind.

And then I watched it again just now, half by accident.

Can't fault it for doing its job, but jeeeeeesus is it ever brutal.

Worth a watch, even if it's contrived (when is Star Trek ever not?), if even just to remember what it's like to have feelings.

But expect feelings.

I was surprised people were so hostile about the Doctor and his family. Yes it was a convention but I really thought Picardo's performance was excellent. I thought it Emmy worthy. I bawled. I also realize that the average reviewer here is Comic Book Guy far from having a family. Or anything that might lead to being in the family way. I'm a father and the script worked for me.

I didn't care that the eddy story was a non starter. Again Picardo's performance deserved some special recognition here. He chews the scenery with the best of them in the Darkling, but this was restrained and very moving. I'm also an actor and always enjoy when an actor pulls back on the reins rather than capital A act. Star Trek has plenty of that. The doctor role could easily fall into Data land or some other cliché but Picardo never does.

I've really appreciated seeing Robert Picardo's Doctor grow as the series goes on.

He starts as a sarcastic and unempathetic hologram, unable to understand common human actions. As time goes on he begins to learn how to comfort his patients, learning human emotions and reasoning. Finally in this episode he learns what it all means to be human, to be a part of family.

The Doctor creates a holodeck program to experience family life.

This is a decent episode with good character moments for The Doctor.

I think to get into the story you have to forget they are holo-characters and go with the flow of what happens. The comedy and drama moments are strong enough to hook me. The only real downside is after all the moralising about sticking with family through thick and thin, we never see these characters again in the show.

Robert Picardo is excellent as you would expect, going through a range of emotions.

I am a fan of Wendy Schaal from her work in Joe Dante movies. She does the humour and sadness well, but I think she struggles some of the more angry dialogue. Lesley Haun is a sweetheart as Belle. Glenn Harris is whiny and annoying, but I guess that's what the part calls for.

The subplot for me is pretty flat, but Tom Paris' role does link well to what the Doctor is going through.

The Doctor 's vision of a normal was so funny couldn't stop laughing.

This is actually what a lot of people want to be a normal happy family but it's kind of scary when you see it now.

Even B'Elanna's reaction and freezing of the program was so priceless on it.

But the ending was so sad. Picardy nailed it here

I always love those stories where it's starts with a tear of joy, and ends with a tear of sadness.

The other storyline with Tom was unclear why they put that in this episode and would have been better as a separate episode.

Is this good science fiction or just manipulative drama? Watching the evolution of the Doctor's "family" was quite engaging. At first it's a sappy, squeaky clean set of automatons. When Torres finishes with them she has turned the wife into an overworked, uncooperative shrew, the daughter a whiny little snot, and the son heading for danger with his teenaged Klingon friends. Meanwhile, there is some other plot that we just cast aside. Everything comes to a head when the little girl is injured and blinded with no hope of recovery. This is a gut wrenching scene that is at the very least tearful.

I'll be honest, I prefer the action episodes, watching the battles and fights but thanks to the brilliance of Robert Picardo I've grown to enjoy these episodes too. Out of all the cast it is he who brings 100% every episode. Think about it. In the beginning he was a hologram stuck in one room and yet he becomes not only a regular but often regarded as one of the best trek characters! He puts in another episode saving performance here and should there ever be a real Trek revival, I hope he's involved!

This episode felt like it was telling two completely different stories till the last 10 minutes or so without a clear sign as to which story was the A story and which one was the B story (which would have been helpful for this one). And the two stories didn't seem to fit together until the end. For that reason it doesn't get a higher score from. But once the stories get connected when Tom is sent to sick bay the whole episode comes together and becomes very touching. The acting from Robert Picardo and the guest stars who played his hollodeck family did a great job. Especially the daughter who really had a tough acting assignment for someone so young. Overall it's a solid Voyager episode. Not the best but probably a little above average in my opinion.

The doctor has programmed his own family to learn how his patients deal with their families. Naturally he programmed his family all too well. It feels like a 1950s version of a happy family: The wife stays at home and is proud of her husband, the kids are good in school and seek for their father's attention. After B'Elana and Kes are invited to dinner, B'Elana cannot longer stand this dreamworld and suggests to the doctor to tweak his program to make it more real, unpreditive.

Then we see absolute chaos: A wife that is busy working herself, a son that falls for some shady Klingon friends and a daughter that is all about dangerous sports. And here the episode goes a little over the top for my taste. You don't just take a pre-defined family over but the family evolves. And if someone is determined to teach their children manners and care for them, they don't just turn into monsters. This family is just a caricature of a family. A simulation to test everything that can go downhill in a few days - including the death of a child.

While it makes sense to teach the doctor how real life works and that you have to deal with whatever life throws at you, it is just way too much with this family simulation. And I bet we will never see his "family" again in other episodes, which would make it even more awkward. The acting of Picardo saves this episode though. He is great again.

The other plot - Paris being trapped into a layer betweem space and subspace - is completely forgettable.

When this episode began I thought it was a bit corny but stayed with it. Eventually, the storyline hit on some real life family concerns and did a pretty good job of it for the available time of one episode. I especially liked the versatility of Lindsey Haun in her role.

There's so much to be done with this idea, that The Doctor wants to experience normal human life, and also I love the chemistry between Picardo and Roxann Dawson (B'elanna), but I do feel like as soon as the episode started, I knew exactly what was gonna happen for the rest of it. Just very predictable, and kind of a waste of a good opportunity to add some depth to a popular character. But still, it's entertaining and the woman who plays the holo-wife is great.

"Real Life" is an episode of "Star Trek: Voyager" you can live without seeing. It does nothing to really further the overall story and seems like the writers were stretching the Doctor's character a bit too far. In this case, the Pinocchio-like Doctor has decided that to be more human, he has to have his own family. Most of the show concerns this make believe family. At first, they are like a "Donna Reed Show" family but after B'Elanna makes some changes to the program, they are a family in constant crisis and turmoil--too much. How the Doc deals with all this is a bit painful to watch towards the end...and it's a bit painful to watch because it's rather stupid as well.

Overall, this is not a terrible episode but it is forgettable and amazingly contrived.

I like actors. It's great to see them become different people. This story is very entertaining around gives a number of people a chance to be someone. All kinds of daredevils around the show. Just saying. They should try that luck in Vegas.