Voyager 7x15 "The Void"

rating: **

the story: The ship ends up trapped in a region of space, and the only way out is to forge alliances with other stranded crews.

 what it's all about: "The Void," despite a painfully straightforward title (of the wrong concept, as you'll see), is actually pretty interesting.  You can see the third and fourth seasons of Enterprise sort of germinate in it, and it also reflects the idealism Janeway always sought to embody, which was always at the core of the series premise.

Now, just to get the metaphor out of the way, in Enterprise's third season, Archer's crew is stranded in a region of space where they're often forced to confront desperate measures in order to survive, having to decide how to handle other ships that have resources they need.  And of course, in the fourth, Archer lays the most deliberate foundations of the Federation as he helps Andorians and Tellarites overcome their differences, paving the way for them to join humans and Vulcans at the core of a powerful alliance.

There's no Federation being formed in "The Void," but the idea is much the same, mutual cooperation to mutual benefit.  And like Archer, Janeway encounters plenty of complications in her efforts to forge alliances.  The whole thing is an exercise in exploring just how Janeway was able to maintain a Starfleet outlook despite difficult circumstances.  Where fans saw only hardship (and that's much how it played out in Ron Moore's sort of response to Voyager, Battlestar Galactica), and that kind of pessimism was in fact indulged in "Year of Hell," "The Void" embodies the kind of resourcefulness and optimism that's at the heart of Star Trek.

There's a subplot involving a "vermin" species the crew discovers among the alien ships, which is eventually used to disable uncooperative (and treacherous) crews, which I'm not sure was given enough time to properly consider.  It's like an entirely separate story that was mashed into the main plot, and sits uncomfortably beside it.  And for its focus on Janeway's significance, Janeway herself doesn't really seem essential to how everything play out.  There's no specific focus on her.  It's more like business as usual.  Seems like a missed opportunity.  Plotwise, "Void" is almost a response to "Night," the fifth season premiere where the crew was similarly stranded in a desolate region.  "Night" was a terrific Janeway spotlight. 

criteria analysis:

• franchise - These echoes of Enterprise are all in hindsight. 
• series - Demonstrates the viewpoint of the crew exceptionally well.
• character - It's the Janeway ethos minus any real spotlight on Janeway.
• essential - And yet, I use the word "exceptionally."  Even if the center is missing, the puzzle is complete in that regard.

notable guest-stars:
Jonathan del Arco