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Recap / Star Trek: Voyager S7 E7: "Body and Soul"

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The Doctor in Seven's body, being awesome.
Seven of Nine reluctantly lets the Doctor hide himself within her Borg implants when he, Seven, and Ensign Harry Kim are captured by a group of humanoids who are on the lookout for ships carrying holograms. Meanwhile, we finally see Tuvok struggling with the pon farr.

This episode provides examples of:

  • Attack Hello: Apparently SOP for the Lokirrim whenever they detect photonic activity on another ship. As far as they're concerned, even holograms aboard foreign, non-aligned vessels are enemies.
  • Ban on A.I.: The Lokirrim after facing an AI-hologram revolution.
  • …But He Sounds Handsome: The Doctor can't hide his signature bravado.
    Doctor (in Seven's body): That's right, "the photonic!" If only you could've known him! Ruggedly handsome, a sharp wit, a towering intellect.....
  • Continuity Nod: Seven still can't hold her liquor. And a case of pon farr is once again treated with a holodeck visit, albeit more successfully this time.
  • Definitely Just a Cold: Tuvok tries to excuse his absence as this, though Janeway isn't fooled.
  • Dirty Old Man: Tom is surprised that Tuvok is going through the pon farr at his age. Tuvok actually smirks while informing him that the Vulcan libido usually increases with age!
  • Explosive Instrumentation: The Lokirrim captain catches one in the face. He's not killed, though, and the Doctor does take the time to save his life.
  • Everyone Has Standards: Tom might occasionally tease Tuvok in small ways, such as reprogramming his meditation program, but when he's the only person available to help Tuvok deal with his pon farr Tom respects doctor/patient confidentiality, keeps Tuvok's condition secret, and does his best to help.
  • Foreshadowing: We hear the first rumors about the holographic rebellion "Flesh and Blood" would later show was starting at about this time.
  • Gunboat Diplomacy
    Janeway: Your sensors should confirm [our holodecks have] been deactivated.
    Lokirrim Captain: You're still required to submit to inspection.
    Janeway: Your sensors should also confirm that our weapons are ready to fire. We're both reasonable people. I suggest a compromise. Your vessel will escort us through Lokirrim territory. That way, you can keep an eye on us, make sure we don't reactivate our holodecks. The other alternative is, we destroy your ship.
    Lokirrim Captain (suddenly looking a bit uncomfortable): Your proposal is acceptable. [Transmission ends]
    Janeway (sits back down in her chair): Sometimes diplomacy requires a little sabre rattling. [Chakotay smirks] Begin long range scans.
  • Hollywood Healing: Tuvok shrugs off the pon farr like it's a bad head cold, instead of the life-and-death situation it's portrayed as in "Blood Fever" and TOS "Amok Time". However both Vorik and Spock were going through their first pon farr and had no context or experience to help them deal with it. Tuvok (who is over 100 years old) has gone through it at least ten times (and has four children) so has much more experience and discipline to help cope; it also helps that the holodeck solution was done with a recreation of his wife in order to ease the illusion.
  • Honey Trap: Seven/Doc pulls this on the Lokirrim captain before using the off-button hypospray on him.
  • Identity Impersonator: The Doctor impersonates Seven while he is inside her body. A lot of the Doctor's personality "bleeds through", but that's all right because the people the Doctor is actually trying to fool don't know Seven OR the Doctor.
  • Incompatible Orientation: As the Doctor (when back in his proper holographic form) tells the alien captain, there are plenty of attractive young ladies who'd be happy to return his affections. (Here, he subtly looks over to the captain's good-looking subordinate and secret admirer who'd offered to set the Doctor up on a date with her brother back when she thought he was Seven of Nine). "I'm just not one of them." Also, when said Love Interest subordinate informs the Doctor that she's rescinding that earlier offer for obvious reasons, he says "Because I'm a... hologram?"
  • It's a Long Story: Doc says this to Janeway re the fact that he's in Seven's body.
  • Jerkass Has a Point / Both Sides Have a Point: Seven is understandably incensed that the Doctor has been using her body to consume gluttonous quantities of food and alcohol, and leaving her to deal with the consequences. He angrily retorts however that her organic body is capable of experiencing any amount of sensual pleasure that his photonic body cannot, and she treats this as though it were something to be shunned instead of enjoyed.
  • Kiss Me, I'm Virtual: Tuvok goes through the pon farr ritual with a holographic copy of his wife. The Doctor also teases his captors about not having realized he was a male hologram while hitting on what they thought was the flesh-and-blood (and Borg) Seven of Nine.
  • Man, I Feel Like a Woman: The Doctor just barely averts it while in Seven's body. While indulging in the feel of having actual skin, he starts to feel down her body from the shoulders. Just before getting low enough for the trope, however, he remembers himself and quickly reins himself in.
  • Orgasmically Delicious: The Doctor as Seven of Nine eating cheesecake. S/he also gushes over eating prison rations, to which Harry Kim retorts that his uniform would taste better.
  • Pseudo-Crisis: In TOS "Amok Time" and VOY "Blood Fever", pon farr was presented as a life-threatening Mate or Die situation for a Vulcan. Yet when the holodeck is shut down the middle of proceedings, Tuvok shakes off his condition like a bad head cold and even takes the bridge in an emergency (incidentally, pon farr also causes severe lack of judgement, as demonstrated in both those episodes; so he's not exactly someone you'd want at Tactical). He's apparently able to sustain himself on anticipation for a while, as he later finishes the program with his holo-wife.
  • Sense Freak: The Doctor experiences this in Seven of Nine's body, especially with the sense of taste. Poor Seven is none too happy to be left dealing with the consequences.
  • Shaped Like Itself: The Doctor observes to Harry that Seven's unique physiology is... unique.
  • Sharing a Body: Seven has to share her body with the Doctor in order for him to survive.
  • Sick Captive Scam: Harry plays sick so that Seven/Doc will be summoned to treat him, allowing them to put their plan into motion.
  • Snark Knight: The Doctor is in rare form while in control of Seven, even joking about Neelix's Bolian Souffle being the only "deadly" item the food replicator could potentially make.
  • Space Clouds: The Lokirrim Captain passes by some really pretty ones in his efforts to get Seven in the mood.
  • Stink Snub: One of the first observations the Doctor makes after gaining a olfactory sense is how bad Harry smells.
  • Stronger with Age: Or at least a Vulcan's sex drive is.
  • Sweet on Polly Oliver: The captain of the alien ship unwittingly hits on the Doctor, who's currently in control of Seven's admittedly voluptuous body.
  • That Came Out Wrong: Given some play when Neelix sees Tuvok on the bridge with what's supposedly the flu (but actually pon farr), he says, "A person in your condition really ought to be in bed." Nobody bothers to inform him of his faux pas.
  • Working Through the Cold: And if Tuvok really had a cold, that might have been logical.
  • You Need to Get Laid: Tuvok's old buddy Tom Paris will be more than happy to help him whip up the holodeck program he needs.

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