Star Trek Voyager
Can we just take a moment for a much belated review for Star Trek Voyager. When the series came out, I was so disgusted with it that I just stopped watching after the Amelia Earhart episode. They brought in Seven of Nine and I just assumed she was eye candy for the teen-aged boy in every man who watches science fiction.
About two years ago, however, our Tivo started recording episodes of Voyager for me. I would watch an episode and be pleasantly surprised. I still hated Kess. I still thought Seven of Nine was eye candy, but I was willing to take in an episode when I was running on my treadmill.
Something changed about a year ago. I was singularly impressed with the writing on a particular episode with Chakotay (one of my least favorite characters). He was stranded on a planet that was warring. Their language was different and Chakotay found himself involved in their fight against their enemies very quickly. It was such a beautiful episode that I saved it on my Tivo for a long time, watching it over and over. You can see it here:
Ever since then, I have watched EVERY episode of Voyager that Tivo has recorded for me. It is now my absolute favorite of the Star Trek collections, knocking out even Captain Kirk and Captain Picard. I even saw an episode with Q in it two nights ago and LIKED it. Q! The epitome of what was WRONG with Star Trek! And I ENJOYED the episode!
We are living in a resurgence of great sci-fi right now. We have Battlestar Galactica, The Chronicles of Sarah Connor, Heroes, Lost, Dr. Who, Torchwood and a bunch of other series that I haven’t been able to keep up with. I haven’t been watching any of them, but I have religiously watched Star Trek Voyager for the last couple of years.
I wonder… In ten years, will I be singing the praises of ten year old sci-fi while persistently ignoring the sci-fi of the present? Why can’t I just get on the train NOW?
I feel EXACTLY the same way! I HATED Voyager and DS9 when they first started, so I just stopped watching altogether. It wasn’t until DS9 was in it’s 6th season that I started watching again… and VOY I started watching in season 4.
I learned a big lesson: it takes some time, but Star Trek series ALWAYS get better once they have time to develop the series and the characters.
After that experience, I watched Enterprise NO MATTER WHAT I THOUGHT… And, by the 3rd season, I LOVED IT SOOOO MUCH!
And, that is why I hate it when people diss VOY & ENT… you need to give it a real chance before you judge it.
On a side note: I’ve heard AMAZING things about the new Star Trek movie… can’t tell you anything publicly, but it sounds like it’s going to ROCK! ;)
Comment by Casey McKinnon — 2/11/2009 @ 6:41 pm
Laura,
Welcome to the Voyager fan club. Yes I am going to brag, I have watched all seven seasons of Voyager all the way through… FOUR TIMES. That’s right, every episode 4 times. Yeah baby, That’s a ton of Voyager!!!
I agree, Kess’s character was extremely annoying. Seven was a vast improvement.
If you are able to view the entire series, here is my guidepost to the best episodes of Voyager!
“The Inner Light” is my favorite episode from Next Generation, and “Timeless” is my favorite Voyager episode.
PS. your page has great background music.
Enjoy the list…
THE BEST OF VOYAGER Season 1: Time and Again Phage Ex Post Facto Learning Curve
Season2: The 37’s Non Sequitur Tatoo Prototype Threshold Meld Death Wish Lifesigns – 5 stars Tuvix – Silly, but this is still one of my favorites Resolutions
Season 3: Flashback – Tuvok experiences flashbacks to earlier star trek days with Captain Sulu at the helm of the USS Excelsior. The Chute – A test of true friendship. False Profits Future’s End, Parts I & II The Q and the Grey Macrocosm – Kate Mulgrew does her best Sigourney Weaver “tough girl” impersonation. Fair Trade Unity Distant Origin – Professor Gegan is obviously supposed represent Carl Sagan? How blatant can it get? Worst Case Scenario Scorpion, Part I – Species 8472!!! Maybe the best two part episode in Voyager
Season 4: Scorpion, Part II The Gift (Seven of Nine Joins Voyager !!!) Day of Honor Scientific Method The Year of Hell, Parts I & II (very depressing but well done) Message in a Bottle Hunters Prey The Killing Game, Parts I & II The Omega Directive – 5 stars Hope and Fear
Season 5: Night – Janeway deals with guilt and depression Drone – A Borg drone is born on Voyager In the Flesh Timeless – ((((( My Favorite Voyager Episode )))) Gravity – Has some nice scenes of an adolescent Tuvok working with a Vulcan Master Dark Frontier, Parts I & II 11:59 – Strange, but a nice story about family heritage. Relativity – 500 years into the future, Captain Braxton of the Federation timeship Relativity recruits Seven of Nine to change history. Equinox, Part I
Season 6: Equinox, Part II Riddles – Tuvok suffers from a neurological disease which allows Neelix to get close to him and be friends. One Small Step – An old US Mars ship is found in an anomaly. Pathfinder Fair Haven – This is a fun episode. Tsunkatse Spirit Folk Live Fast and Prosper – Con artists take advantage of Voyager’s reputation Muse – The heart of what star trek is really about. Life Line Unimatirx Zero, Part I
Season 7: Unimatrix Zero, Part II Drive Critical Care – A tongue and cheek look at the modern health care system Inside Man – It’s nice to see Barclay and Troi again! Workforce, Parts I & II – Great story. Human Error Homestead – Cute episode Endgame, Parts I & II
Comment by Chris — 3/5/2009 @ 10:01 pm
@ Chris…
you left out “Coda” season 3, by far one of the best of that season. As well as “Mortal Coil” in season 4, as much as people dislike Neelix, this was still a great episode.
Comment by Will — 2/1/2010 @ 6:28 pm
I am a fan of Star Trek even the pins logo are different,mine is Futures end,has the mine logo but there a silver diamond at the bottom.
Comment by stan otter — 2/1/2011 @ 4:04 am