Macrocosm

*** (3 stars out of 5)

Only Janeway could make a mortal enemy just by putting her hands on her hips. Neelix has to smooth the ruffled feathers of the Tak Tak, a people who use a complex gestural language and are easily offended. Hand-talkers beware.

Meanwhile, the crew of Voyager has devolved into monkeys and the ship is drifting while they chase each other... no, wait, that was 'Genesis'. The crew has all come down with a virus, and the ship is drifting while they lie in piles of fevered unconsciousness. This is no ordinary virus, oh no. It's A MACROVIRUS. That means it's big.

Vomiting in the very face of the laws of physics, these bugs incubate in the bloodstream but grow billions and billions of times bigger, entering the visible world as buzzing mites from sores on their victims, then continuing to expand and then somehow fly and sting and slime their way around.

When they carry Neelix off to their larder, it's up to Janeway to Ripley her way to victory. Sweating, tank-topping, shooting, stabbing, and plasma-flame grenade-ing her way to victory. Sending wave after wave of hologram beach bunnies to their holo-deaths, although thankfully not the one hologram we really like.

"Macrocosm" is less enthralling than I once found it to be, but I can't dislike it at all. Action-thrills is a different kind of fun, and that's worthy enough. Plus I'm keen on the CG creatures. Logically, they make no sense at all, but they are definitely creepy.