Star Trek - Voyager, Episode 39: The Thaw (1995) Review

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(More customer reviews)Michael McKean guest stars in a quite different sort of role in "Star Trek: Voyager," Episode 39, "The Thaw" (Story by Richard Gadas, Teleplay by Joe Menosky, Aired April 29, 1996). "Voyager" receives an automated distress call from the Kohl settlement. Facing an ecological disaster, the small group of settlers went into artificial hibernation. When the hibernation pods are beamed aboard two of the settlers are dead and the other three remain in deep stasis, connected to a computer. The Doctor reports that both of the dead settlers suffered heart failure that might have been caused by extreme fear (hear ominous organ music at this point). That means when Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) and B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) decide to enter the two available pods and hook up to the computer that this is not a good idea.
When they enter the computer-generated dream world of the settlers they discover a nightmarish carnival run by an evil Clown (McKean), whose followers drag Kim off to a guillotine. Although Harry keeps his head he and Torres now understand how the Kohl settlers could have been frightened to death. The computer gives the Clown access to the darkest fears of his guests, which he then uses to torment them. Living off their fear, the Clown refuses to let Kim and the settlers wake up, but sends Torres back (how much fear can you get from even a half-Klingon?) to warn Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) that she tries to disconnect the hibernation pods, all of his guests will die. While the Clown is torturing Kim, Janeway tries to figure out a way to rescue her young officer.
The chief attraction of "The Thaw" is McKean indulging his dark side as the malevolent Clown, aided and abetted by performers from Cirque du Soleil as his minions. They always say comedies can do tragedy, but watching them do horror can be fun as well. Carel Struycken, best remembered as Mr. Homm on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," plays Spectre, the incarnation of death for the Kohl settlers. Of course, the idea of being terrified for eternity is better in the mind than seeing it acted out, by this episode definitely has its moments. On balance it comes in at a 4.5 but we round up for McKean's memorable performance.

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