Critical Care (Star Trek: Voyager, S7 E5) was recommended by Marky See He/Him, who said: Hi Folks,

I am loving the show. Growing up, my Dad and I weren't very close, he was much more inclined to sports where I am cut from a much nerdier cloth. We do however share a love of Sci Fi and I remember vividly sitting down together to watch Voyager when it came out.

Inspired by the Joy of Trek, I set out to rewatch Voyager as I haven't watched an episode since the early 00s.

As a teen, I loved Voyager for the danger, action and adventure, but on the rewatch I have really enjoyed the study of humanity portrayed by characters like Seven and The Doctor.

I love this episode as it adds to the numerous other discussions and the theme of whether or not The Doctor is a sentient being or just a piece of very smart technology. Building on his morals being overwritten in Equinox so he could experiment on Seven, his memory being erased in latent image so he could keep functioning and now in climax Critical Care, choosing a path of action that could actually cause harm to a patient in a tiered system of health care that sadly is not unfamiliar to us 23 years after it was aired.

Critical Care first aired on November 1, 2000, written by story by Kenneth Biller and Robert Doherty, teleplay by James Kahn, and directed by Terry Windell

The Doctor's program is stolen and he is forced to work in an alien hospital, where he skillfully manipulates the system to provide ethical medical care.

The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky)

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"When on Risa..." by SeemaG, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/19760191

"Worf and Dax discover one of the hidden delights of Risa."

The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky)

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Masks (Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), S7 E17) was recommended by He/him, who said: Although many find the episodes "incomprehensible" or "incoherent," I find it a joy.

First, Brent Spiner gets to really through himself into an array of personality types. He gets to show off his acting chops in ways that he rarely gets to, and almost never gets to on Star Trek.

Second, I truly enjoy this quick peek at a mythology where we can recognize all the parts as familiar to Earth mythologies, but they fit together in ways that we don't normally see. We get to follow Picard into seeing how he, as an archology student himself, would piece together that mythology from just the few pieces given to him.

Masks first aired on February 21, 1994, written by Joe Menosky, and directed by Robert Wiemer

The Enterprise finds an ancient library that recreates its civilization by taking possession of Data and transforming the ship.

The Joy of Trek is hosted by Khaki & Kay, with editing & production by Chief Engineer Greg and music by Fox Amoore (Bandcamp | Bluesky)

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