Voyager 5x15 "Dark Frontier, Part 1"

rating: ****

the story: The Borg Queen comes calling for Seven.

what it's all about: "Dark Frontier" is likely responsible for much of fan angst over Voyager's use of the Borg. It not only brings back First Contact's Borg Queen (portrayed by a different actress), but it seems to retcon early human contact with the Collective.

Let's get the second point out of the way first.  Next Generation clearly featured a couple of traumatic early encounters with the Borg.  It's worth remembering, however, that as early as the first season, the presence of the Borg was being teased well before they made their actual first appearance.  The backstory of Seven's parents investigating the Borg, then, doesn't seem so outlandish.  Clearly their efforts ended in disaster, assimilation, and so their activities have no tangible effect on Picard's experiences with the Borg. 

The appearance of the Borg Queen seems to be more problematic, but in First Contact she makes numerous vague comments about her existence that she claims simply isn't as easy to comprehend as might be assumed.  While seeing her again might seem to cheapen Picard's victory over her (and a rather grisly death scene), it's not necessary to view it that way.  Like most fan opinions about the greater franchise, you're absolutely free to think what you like.  It's just as likely that there's a kind of DNA template the Borg Queen uses to modify new hosts; being the central figure in the Collective she's certainly entitled to such perks.  It's no stretch to assume her memory can be easily downloaded from body to body.

Anyway, "Dark Frontier" also has Janeway plan another audacious plan against the Borg, and that in itself would be problematic for some fans, even though Next Generation did that, too, which is how Picard stopped being Locutus, after all.

I choose to interpret all this, as I do all of Voyager's Borg episodes, as a wonderful continuation of a rich ongoing story about one of the franchise's most distinct elements. 

criteria analysis:

• franchise - The Borg are back!
• series - Back in the franchise, back in this show!
• character - Seven explores her backstory as she actively dreads returning to the Collective.
• essential - Viewed by its own merits, this is rich material.

notable guest-stars:
Susanna Thompson (Borg Queen)
Scarlett Pomers (Naomi)

Voyager 4x26 "Hope and Fear"

***

Anyone who wonders what the value of doing Borg stories after "The Best of Both Worlds" and First Contact needs to watch "Hope and Fear."

A show set in the home territory of the Borg Collective can so much more effectively convey the scope of its existence than random cataclysmic encounters, where the results of Borg actively can be felt rather than encountered.  The fact that humanity has eluded assimilation is an anomaly in the greater experience of the Borg (otherwise resistance could not really be considered futile).  The Voyager crew gets to experience in dramatic terms not only the results of their meddling in "Scorpion," but what lengths those affected by the Borg will really go to in order to find some peace.  It's ironic that the Borg seek order and all they do to those around them is produce chaos.

The other layer of "Hope and Fear" is another chance to see how badly the crew wants to get home, and one possible way it could have actually happened.  The series teased these opportunities on a regular basis, and this was one of the more clever examples.  A series that only looked at what might be perceived as the harsh realities of the crew's situation probably would never have even considered an episode like this, and that would have been a shame.  When someone tells you that this show was a giant waste of time, this is an episode that contradicts that opinion.

franchise * series * essential * character

Notable guest-stars:
Ray Wise

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x25 "One"

*

There are other episodes like "One" in other iterations of Star Trek, so you might as well view this one for comparison.

Seven's last episode of the season finds her trying to cope with being the only member of the crew still conscious during transport through a particularly tricky area of space.  It's not really that probing of Seven's character, or the fact that she used to exist in a Collective where she was never alone (that's mere implication).  Mostly it's just an excuse to see how she reacts.

franchise * series * essential * character

Notable guest-stars:
Wade Williams

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x24 "Demon"

**

It's hard to believe, but the dynamic duo of Tom Paris and Harry Kim had to wait all season for their episode (in fact, this is pretty much the only episode that centers around Harry this season, which may not be surprising, given that the producers were going to scrap him at the end of the previous one), but it's exactly the kind of nightmare scenario that's typical for them, so don't sweat it.

The kicker is that there's a sequel to this one later on, so "Demon" bears paying attention to, if only so you can say that you know what everyone's talking about in "Course: Oblivion" the following season.

franchise * series * essential * character

Memory Alpha Summary.

Voyager 4x23 "Living Witness"

****

A must-see episode on every account, featuring The Doctor being "awakened" many years hence on an alien world, forced to account for the version of his crew's reputation that has survived there.

Beyond clever, this is exactly the kind of episode that the series had every potential to produce.  The Doctor was the artificial being whose existence received the most exploration in the franchise, eclipsing Data in fairly quick order, moving past and then circling around the exact nature of his existence while also capitalizing on nearly every possibility with such regularity that he seemed to be the main character whenever he was in the spotlight, not just in the episode, but the series in general.

Anyway, to get back to "Living Witness" specifically, a backup program of The Doctor's is discovered in the wreckage recovered by Delta Quadrant natives who remember the Voyager crew as tyrants, and have simulations to prove it.  The Doctor is thus in the unique situation to set the record straight, but will he believed?  Every now and again, the series liked to explore what people who had no experience with the Federation might actually think of a Starfleet crew forced to represent its best ideals without any real sense that anyone but them cared about those ideals.

Anyway, it doesn't matter what I say about it.  Watch it.  Essential viewing.  Anyone who can watch this episode and still dismiss the series can't be taken seriously.

franchise * series * essential * character

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x22 "Unforgettable"

*

Once all his best relationships faded into the past, Chakotay became a free agent, and his spotlight episodes were uniformly episode-of-the-week endeavors.  Though fans still liked to think of the possible romance with Janeway, Chakotay stayed on the shelf until the end of the series, when he hooked up with Seven, for all the reasons that kept him there all that time.

But his great romance was "Unforgettable," a heartbreaking experience with someone who predictably could never remain a permanent fixture of his life, not just because she was from a random alien species the ship was going to move on from soon enough, but because she couldn't remember him, and was a secret agent besides...Janeway had her own relationship almost exactly like this, too, but Chakotay had the best one-off experience of this kind in the series.  It has no lasting consequences and means nothing to the continuing saga of the crew, but it's arguably the best episode for Chakotay in the last four seasons, a capsule of the frustrations he experienced on a regular basis with the pesky Seska in the first two.

franchise * series * essential * character

Notable guest-stars:
Virginia Madsen

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x21 "The Omega Directive"

***

Surprisingly, there are very few episodes of Star Trek where the characters seem to be deliberately engaged in specific interests of the times they are living in.  "The Omega Directive" is an exception because it unexpectedly gives our crew the chance to examine their responsibilities to something of great importance to both Starfleet and the Borg Collective.

On the surface, and if you want to take it simply as that, both Janeway and Seven find themselves horribly intrigued by a phenomenon everyone's been looking for.  It's an episode that reminds you that Janeway's background is in science, and that the Borg aren't just interested in assimilating unsuspecting species, but advancing knowledge and striving for perfection.  Both characters find themselves in unusual circumstances trying to justify what turns out for both of them to be rash pursuits.  It's not often that Star Trek does this kind of thing without a villainous presence in the story.  If you want, think of this as a more pure version of "Equinox" from later in the series, or even the ideal of maintaining ideals and what the cost can sometimes be, as the show was essentially about from the very start.

So it's a good one to see on a number of levels, maybe not essential exactly, because a lot of it is a little more abstract and random than it really needs to be, but that was another line the show was always straddling.  If you must, think of "The Omega Directive" as a really good shot at the best possible storytelling for the series.

franchise * series * essential * character

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x20 "Vis a Vis"

*

One of the pitfalls of setting a Star Trek show away from home is that great difficulties result in exploring the full impact of any given story on a character. Most character building is based on character alone, but when that character is separated from most of what gives that character meaning, there is a necessary limiting effect.

What I mean to say here is the character of Tom Paris suffered the most from being adrift in the Delta Quadrant. The Maquis members of the crew had redemption arcs of their own, but Tom had a wider curve, since he was an outcast to both Maquis and Starfleet in the first episode. That he quickly proved his worth didn't mean that his inherent characters trait could easily be demonstrated later on, however. He was the outsider who could fit in, but was still an outsider. (And no wonder that he ended up married to B'Elanna Torres.)

In an episode like "Vis a Vis" (much like the misunderstood "Threshold"), Tom Paris undergoes one of his periodic lapses into antisocial behavior, grounded in his instincts that few are properly able to comprehend. When he alienates everyone, even tagalong buddy Harry Kim, there's no one to understand what he's really going through, no family or friends who knew what he was like before his life spiraled out of control. That's what's missing in most of his episodes. Robert Duncan McNeill seems to understand this in his acting most of the time, portraying Paris as someone who's tired of people not "getting" him, and sometimes simply doesn't care. He's got good instincts and bad instincts, and sometimes he's caught up in both of them.

"Vis a Vis" is a basic version of that character arc, which became harder to explore the longer the series continued.

Franchise * Series * Essential * Character

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x19 "The Killing Game, Part 2"

***

The second half of "The Killing Game" has the benefit of the crew finally coming together and formulating a strategy, while the arc for the Hirogen also comes to a culmination. With the metaphor of the French Resistance during WWII, it's both a period piece and a fond sendoff to the semi-regular appearances of the Hirogen on the series.

It's essential viewing for both the series and the season, and for all Star Trek fans looking to complete their Nazi set.

Franchise * Series * Essential * Character

Notable guest-stars:
J. Paul Boehmer

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x18 "The Killing Game, Part 1"

***

The Hirogen go out with a bang after a strong fourth season effort in this two-parter that features yet another hostile takeover of the ship, this time with the crew being stuck into elaborate holodeck scenarios that allow the hunters to continuously track their prey, in ways that may prove a new future for the species.

It's essential viewing for the season and the series, a culmination of appearances for the Hirogen throughout the midpoint of the fourth season. Even though "Message in a Bottle," "Hunters," "Prey," and "The Killing Game" can be viewed separately, together they create a cohesive portrait for a Delta Quadrant species where very few others exist. Of course, by nature our crew can't hang around any of them for long, but the Hirogen benefit from more work than even the Talaxians, who are represented by Neelix for seven seasons, were able to muster, with a fairly complete understanding of who they are and where they're headed. Like the Kazon before them, they may not seem so different from Klingon warriors who live on hostile intent, but they've got ambition and nuance that suggests a culture that's living in the moment rather than in tradition.

It just so happens that some Hirogen are trying to come up with new methods other than actual murder to get what they want.

The particular method of holographic hunting the Hirogen eventually decide upon, Nazis, happens to be a franchise staple.

Franchise * Series * Essential * Character

Notable guest-stars:
J. Paul Boehmer

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x17 "Retrospect"

*

If for no other reason than it helped shape the direction of two characters, this one is worth watching, even if it's not too great otherwise.

The Doctor and Seven were two characters the show never really got tired exploring, so it was only natural that they would develop some kind of relationship. Given that Seven basically replaced Kes, it's also appropriate that this happened, since The Doctor tended to try and live vicariously through the more innocent members of the crew, and you don't get more innocent than Kes and Seven. In his quest to push his own limitations, however, The Doctor could sometimes make huge mistakes, and he didn't seem to mind dragging others with him.

Hence what happens in "Retrospect." Actually, that's pretty much all there is. It doesn't really do much for Seven, which is weird, because she's supposed to be the hot new thing on the show, and one of her own episodes is co-opted by an existing character's story. The fact that The Doctor's lesson is a little redundant here is why I don't find it to be one of his stronger entries, but it's worth a look for its historical significance.

Franchise * Series * Essential * Character

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x16 "Prey"

*

The Hirogen episodes continue, and again it's worth watching, this time as much for the Hirogen themselves (featuring Star Trek veteran Tony Todd) as the first appearance of Species 8472 since the two-part "Scorpion" (and thus the beginning of the season).

Species 8472 was not only the one threat the Borg couldn't handle, but also one of the first purely CGI aliens, so they were more alien than most aliens, didn't have speaking parts, and so mainly represented themselves by way of reputation. That the Hirogen obsessed over them wasn't a surprise. "Prey" is more about the Hirogen than it is Species 8472 (this is the least important appearance for them), but it's worthwhile viewing for crossing both in one episode, and therefore a good episode to watch for fans of the series.

Franchise * Series * Essential * Character

Notable guest-stars:
Tony Todd

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x15 "Hunters"

*

This is another episode that defies the conventional wisdom of Seven's impact on the series, at least in her first season. This is technically a Seven episode, but it's far more about the emerging Hirogen threat (and its basic culture) than anything. She is a lead character in the Chakotay sense, to be frank.

As such, "Hunters" is designated as an episode for fans of the series, because it's an important one for you to watch if you want to know what Voyager actually did versus what detractors will say it was. The Hirogen and how the crew handled them are exactly the kind of experience you'd expect from a show that focused on a ship lost on the other side of the galaxy.

Franchise * Series * Essential * Character

Notable guest-stars:
Tiny Ron

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x14 "Message in a Bottle"

****

One of my favorite episodes, easily, an essential episode for the series and the character of The Doctor, and thus essential in general, only lacking in hard relevance to the franchise, an opportunity that might be considered wasted considering how much was going on for it already.

(In that regard, consider that Andy Dick appears as the new version of the emergency medical hologram, and there's no reference to Lewis Zimmerman, also played by Robert Picardo, or even Julian Bashir, who flunked his chance to become that model a year earlier.)

But Andy Dick, a pop culture oddity who made his best mark on NewsRadio, is such an unusual Star Trek presence that even without a series of priceless interactions with Picardo (who probably only ever had comparable fun on the show in "Heroes and Demons") his appearance would have helped this episode stand out.

The Doctor's unexpected visit to the Alpha Quadrant has the benefit of another appearance from the Romulans on the show (it was a missed opportunity for the creators to forget about this recurring theme in the later seasons), even though this one's far more random than "Eye of the Needle."

But the biggest development and most relevant element for later episodes and thus for the series as a whole is the debut of the Hirogens, who quickly became a defining alien species both for the season and the show as a whole.

In short, there's very little about this episode that should prevent you from watching it.

Franchise * Series * Essential * Character

Notable guest-stars:
Andy Dick

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x13 "Waking Moments"

*

Here's another episode that's fun to watch if you're a fan of the basic Star Trek format of a crew running into a situation where aliens are just messing with them (much like the earlier "Scientific Method").

Again, Chakotay finds himself in a nominal lead position, but there's very little to his part in the story other than following along as everyone falls asleep and can't wake up. There are other episodes like this, notably in Next Generation and Enterprise, but again, this is a worthy variation.

Franchise * Series * Essential * Character

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x12 "Mortal Coil"

*

This was always one of my favorite episodes of Voyager, and I struggled how best to characterize it with my four ranking methods, since it flirts with nearly all of them.

But I had to be honest with myself. You can enjoy the series without having seen it, because Neelix is basically enjoying a classic Let's-Torture-O'Brien episode (a recurring phenomenon in Deep Space Nine, and even his earlier appearances in Next Generation). And come to think of it, actually, but there were a lot of Let's-Torture-Neelix, episodes, too, and this was possibly the one that defines those, the most literally life-or-death-moment story in the character's canon.

But it stops short of actually saying something about him, other than being one of his more personal experiences, since he struggles with thoughts of suicide after being revived from a near-death state (he had similar problems in the first season's "Phage"). There's talk of Talaxian culture, but Neelix only cared about Talaxian culture when it was relevant, when he really needed to. Most of the time he was defined by his ability to embrace a larger worldview than even his Starfleet hosts could manage (which is what made him annoying to some fans).

What's funny is that this recurring bout with homesickness that was the only thing that made Neelix seem at all out of place on the ship actually coincides in an episode with the emerging presence of Naomi Wildman, for whom this is a key early appearance (though she's played by a different actress than Scarlett Pomers, who would assume the role in the fifth season). Naomi is the Voyager baby, born during the second season, and thanks to rapid aging (should have been Ocampan!) a character who helped mark the progress and suggest the real toll of the ship's long journey home, where if things had developed differently would have been among the first of the second generation to handle daily operations. That's why she quickly transitions to "captain's assistant," spending less time hanging out with Neelix (an ideal father figure) and more with Janeway and Seven (mother figures).

In "Mortal Coil," however, there's little to suggest how important she'll become. She's a prop.

But hopefully you care about what happens to Neelix, too!

Franchise * Series * Essential * Character

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x11 "Concerning Flight"

*

"Concerning Flight" is one of those episodes that helps define what exactly Voyager thought of itself. For a lot of fans, the show was a poor substitute for Next Generation, compounded with the sin of trying to go for a premise that seemed like it should have been one thing, and because it wasn't, only made things worse by not even being what it appeared to be.

But Voyager always knew what it wanted to be, and that was an opportunity to do the basic Star Trek exploration template in a setting with a fresh set of aliens to explore, an uncharted region of space, with characters who were pioneers of their own kind. It should be no surprise, then, that Leonardo da Vinci (portrayed by John Rhys-Davies) eventually turned up as a mentor figure for Captain Janeway (originally appearing in "Scorpion, Part 1" at the end of the previous season), years before, it should be noted, either The Da Vinci Code or Rhys-Davies' appearances in the Lord of the Rings trilogy (but following his high profile role in Sliders).

Essentially, this is an episode that gives a minor supporting character his own story, well in advance of Vic Fontaine receiving similar treatment in Deep Space Nine, while at the same time giving a holographic character a chance to let loose a little, thereby continuing one of the themes of the series suggested by the presence of The Doctor (as last seen in "Revulsion" only a few episodes earlier).

This is the kind of episode that is important for someone who didn't previously understand what Voyager was doing for seven seasons to have another look at. It's not essential viewing, but it does reveal one of the show's most basic layers.

Franchise * Series * Essential * Character

Notable guest-stars:
John Rhys-Davies

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x10 "Random Thoughts"

Please take note: It is apparently possible to get a bad episode out of B'Elanna Torres.

Unlike "Day of Honor" earlier in the season, an attempt to draw a more generic episode out of Torres and her continuing efforts to find peace with herself doesn't work, especially when you draw anything significant for Torres herself from the story, and instead make it more about Tuvok's investigation. I love Tuvok, but he's not always compelling as a lead character, being the typical dispassionate Vulcan, which does not lead to a compelling (read: charismatic) detective, which is probably why the show stopped trying to do episodes like this with him. They just plain didn't work.

Unfortunately, that also meant that Tuvok started receding further and further into the background, much like Chakotay, with the wrong lessons being learned, or lessons being misconstrued. Conversely, it was fortunate that they didn't afflict Torres with more material like this. It took a while, and not until the next season, but they got this character back on track.

But in the meantime, look away. This one's not worth your time, unless you want to see a bunch of missteps. With Voyager, a Star Trek series some fans said were full of them, this might at least be worth examining to see where real problems developed.

Franchise * Series * Essential * Character

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x9 "Year of Hell, Part 2"

****

This is a story that only gets stronger the more desperate everyone gets, from guest star Kurtwood Smith to Chakotay, who almost gets points as lead character to Tuvok bonding with Seven to Janeway with an awesome one-liner to close out the experience.

"Year of Hell" is essential viewing for Voyager, and it's a rare two-part episode in the franchise where the conclusion is completely worthy of the set-up, not to mention the story continuing seamlessly from one half to the next, without need for significant tinkering on what exactly you're supposed to be caring about.

Whereas there are more clear standout characters in this half, it's still an ensemble effort, and therefore most clearly enjoyed for all of them. If you're a fan of this series, you have to see this one.

Franchise * Series * Essential * Character

Notable guest-stars:
Kurtwood Smith

Memory Alpha summary.

Voyager 4x8 "Year of Hell, Part 1"

****

Two-part episodes are always a big deal in Star Trek, especially if they aren't a season finale/premiere, since that's what's most typical. Voyager started to make an art-form of it in the third season, but the best ones are in the fourth.

"Year of Hell" is the story that most fans expected the whole series to look like, and so if you're wondering what that would have actually been like, look no further.

Based on aliens first referenced in the third season episode "Before and After," this is the epic story of everything that could possibly go wrong, the ship and the crew completely degenerating, and not because of any enemy that has a particular problem with Voyager itself, but rather a regional problem that the series premise always had as a possibility, moreso than any other Star Trek crew might have expected, except maybe Enterprise.

It's Voyager as an opera.  It's the later "Course: Oblivion" played out, and is uniquely effective, even if there's a reset bottom by necessity waiting at the end, BattleStar Galactica by way of Star Trek, why this was never done before and why even the third season of Enterprise waited until the end of the Xindi arc to finally duplicate it.

The weight of Janeway's command is a key element of the story, although this time it's nothing of the decisions she has to make (only the ones she has to make), as close as this series will ever get to a movie, and in fact the first time Voyager makes its own surrogate movies, when it became possible for Star Trek to present this kind of experience in its TV incarnations, which led to the epic Dominion War in Deep Space Nine and plenty more in Enterprise.

Franchise * Series * Essential * Character

Notable guest-stars:
Kurtwood Smith

Memory Alpha summary.