Star Trek: Voyager Top 10 Episodes

 

 

 

Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

 

 

When Star Trek: The Next Generation was finishing its run, I had just recently become a fan of all things Star Trek. I spent a number of those first years exploring the galaxy with Picard and company on board the Enterprise-D. I had quickly discovered Deep Space Nine, but during those early years of my trekdom, I found it too complicated and too much of a commitment to watch. I enjoyed the episodic nature of TNG at the time and relished with delight in the small continuities that continued to show up as I watched the show in syndication. It took a number of years, then, for me to discovery Voyager. When Voyager finally arrived in my viewing area, I began watching it with anticipation, but I quickly found it derivative and full of explosions. Certainly people said (and still do) about TNG, as well as DS9 when compared to Babylon 5 and I certainly don’t blame them. There were a number of striking similarities with some of the first shows of TNG’s season one as well as what I have seen on Babylon 5 having just purchased the entire series.

 

I have not seen all of Voyager, but I have watched enough where I believe I can be judgmental about the show overall as well as to specific episodes. Voyager is perhaps my least favorite series, but has some amazing episodes that are certainly some of my favorites. My favorite overall episode was perhaps Critical Care and its criticism of the American health system. While it is not first on my list, as I believe Caretaker shows us what Voyager could have been like, Critical Care remains one of my favorite episodes. If some of your favorites are not on here, it might be perhaps that I have not watched them. Netflix certainly is my friend at the moment, so I will be watching them soon. How could I call myself a Trekkie if I haven’t watched every episode?

 

I had a friend in college whose favorite series was Voyager. Voyager was pretty decent science fiction and I dare say decent storytelling overall. I can understand those who do like it. There is an appeal there that is not in other series and the debates I had with this friend does suggest perhaps everyone’s favorites may be the one they grew up with.

 

But I personally don’t think Voyager made for great Trek. The first three incarnations set the bar so high in their own unique way and Voyager was poised to do that with their own plot, but it never achieved it. Perhaps my biggest frustration is the opportunity that was squandered with this series. Voyager was lost in space and had to travel through an entire galaxy that was completely unknown to human beings. The potential there was astounding thinking what kind of beings and adventures Voyager could have gotten into. The philosophical ramifications of being cut off from the rest of humanity, struggling to stay alive and keep the views and opinions what you hold dear, and always waving on that line could have made for a great series. The stories of the Equinox or Year in Hell were great, and showed what it could have been great, but it should have been part of the entire series rather than just two episodes. There is a suspension of disbelief in watching any show, especially science fiction, but Voyager seemed to go beyond that. I could not understand watching Voyager stay in pristine condition episode after episode, but they probably were attacked more than any ship in the Federations history, and it was only in 7 years!

 

 

Top 10 Episodes 

 

 

Caretaker

Season 1, Episode 1

Season 1, Episode 2

 

This is what Voyager should have been throughout its entire series. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the story and the way the crews of the Federation ship as well as the Maquis ship were forced together if they ever wanted to get home. A great pilot and one I have to say was much more dramatic and interesting than Encounter at Farpoint. It brought the immediate conclusion of the plot, but left open a wide range of things that I anticipated, the problems with an alien race, an alliance with a race that only exists on one planet, and thus, not very practical in teams of survival and the possibility of continued interpersonal conflict between crews, something sadly missing on the Enterprise-D.

 

Critical Care

Season 7, Episode 5

 

I have not seen this episode for quite some time, but I remember vividly the stark contrast it showed between the various classes of the planet and how hard it was for the working class to function. People were judged on the basis of their worth to society and sometimes their likelihood of surviving if it is an complicated and risky surgery. I may be wrong on this now, but when I watched this, it seemed like it was the most blatant social criticism of any Star Trek since the original series.

 

Eye of the Needle

Season 1, Episode 7

 

Romulans in a Voyager episode? Nuh uh! Well, Voyager certainly did have contact with the Romulan Star Empire. Voyager encounters a micro wormhole that leads to the Alpha Quadrant and is disappointed that it is not large enough to send the crew home. It was a great episode, with a great appearance by Vaughn Armstrong as the Romulan Dr. Telek R’mor. Oh, and there is a great twist at the end that I never saw coming.  

 

Scorpion

Season 3, Episode 26

Season 4, Episode 1

 

Although the Voyager series would reuse the Borg to death, when Voyager first encountered the Borg Collective, it was perhaps one of the scariest depictions of them in Stark Trek. 15 Borg Cubes, making full speed towards Voyager had to have been one of the craziest and most exhilarating moments in Star Trek History. The Enterprise had a hard enough time just dealing with one ship and only lucked out when they encountered them. How would Voyager survive? Well, obviously make a deal with them…

 

Year of Hell

Season 4, Episode 8

Season 4, Episode 9

 

Well, as reset buttons go, this one has to be a doozy. Usually referred to as a “Bad Dream” episode, this one proved that no one would remember the events of nearly an entire year, which saw the death of numerous main characters and the eventually and most sweet destruction of the Voyager by a self-sacrificing Janeway. An entire year goes by where the ship was constantly bombarded by the Krenim Imperium.

 

Pathfinder

Season 6, Episode 10

 

It may be odd that one of my favorite episodes actually doesn’t take place on Voyager itself, but it does include the Voyager crew, at least 36 minutes into the episode. Barclay always fascinated me.  I can’t understand why so many people would really look down upon him for his social insecurities. Given how enlightened the 24^th century Federation is supposed to be, one would think that people would attempt to help him. I mean, the Federation is a Post-Scarcity society that can give its population relatively anything for relatively no cost! Ironic that the most distant humans would strike some connection with Barclay, yet people in the next room wouldn’t.

 

Living Witness

Season 4, Episode 23

 

The Doctor was above all, my favorite character on Deep Space Nine. After starting out as merely a mechanical oddity with a penchant for sarcasm, he developed into one of the richest characters on Voyager. This particular episode is set 700 years into the future, where the Voyager crew are looked upon as villains by an alien population and the history it records shows something much different than what we have been used to. The Doctor and a museum curator of surviving Voyager artifacts attempt to find the truth rather than what is political best. A wonderful Doctor episode and an interesting look at what I call “Parallel crews” (Similar to the Next Gen episode Parallells)

 

Friendship One

Season 7, Episode 21

 

This episode has one of my most hated things about Voyager. The death of Joe Carey a character we hadn’t seen for seasons, only to be brought back to be killed for no particular reason. It does show the effects of alien contact and how even the most benign thing could have devastating consequences, a theme that is always welcome but never used enough.

 

Future’s End

Season 3, Episode 8

Season 3, Episode 9

 

Another episode taking place in our “present” 20^th century! Woo hoo! Now, by this time, it seems to have become a cliché, especially considering how Voyager was actually stuck across the galaxy, but the execution of the story really did make it seem plausible given the time ship from the future. In this episode, the doctor gets his 29^th century mobile emitter, allowing him to leave the confines of the sickbay, a brilliant little addition that would go on to become a major part of the rest of the series.

 

Message in a Bottle

Season 4, Episode 14

 

Another doctor episode, this one sees him transferred to the Beta Quadrant through an ancient alien relay system that still seems to function. We get to see an awesome and powerful starship called the USS Prometheus that can split into not two, but three separate parts in order to conduct battle with an enemy. It seems ever since the Borg started causing mischief with the bald one, Starfleet has been really trying to develop new technologies. More importantly, Voyager is able to contact Starfleet and lets them know they are still alive and out there.

 

 

Honorable Mention 

 

 

The Haunting of Deck Twelve

Season 6, Episode 25

 

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I really enjoyed this episode. Perhaps because it takes the form of a story within a story or perhaps it’s somewhat of a ghost story that the Borg children eventually don’t believe but actually did happen. Regardless, it is a really fun episode that shows just how far Janeway will go to protect her family that is the Voyager crew.

 

Remember

Season 3, Episode 6

 

I cannot quite put my finger on it, but B’lanna Torres always frustrated me. I never really did like her character. It wasn’t the actress or anything, I think it had something to do with the way her character was written and how gruff she seemed to be. One would think that by season 7, she’d have more or less acclimated to life with humans and with the Voyager crew. This episode, is one that I really enjoyed, and really showed just how emotional B’lanna could be when she takes her emotions to the maximum level, well besides angry. It was endearing to see this other side of her, one that wasn’t so conflicted between her Klingon and Human sides.

 

~ by shadowsphere on July 8, 2008.