Star Trek: Voyager - Season One

Reviewed by Simon Plumbe

Welcome to the season five video review archive for Star Trek Voyager. We would like to stress that many of these reviews were written at the time that the cassettes were originally released and as such, may have some comments or remarks that may seem a little dated...

Volume 5.1 - "Night" / "Drone"

Voyager's fifth season kicks off with a new departure for Star Trek with "Night", followed by the return of the Borg in "Drone".

In "Night", Voyager is travelling through a vast area of space where there are no stars. All the crew can see behind and ahead of them is empty space, and the crew are beginning to get more than a little restless. Then they encounter a new species, the Malon, who are using that area of space as a dumping ground for toxic waste material from their planet and spacecraft, and who are seemingly unconcerned about the damage they are causing, or about the other alien race residing in the void...

Acting is generally quite good, and the costumes for the Malon are superb - you really get the impession that they are not a very environmentally friendly species. The effects shots of the Voyager flying through the empty void conjure up a wonderful sense of loneliness, and the introduction of the new black and white "Captain Proton" holonovel provides light relief from what is a serious episode especially when a full colour Doctor intrudes on Tom and Harry!

While "Night" certainly raises a few new concepts for Star Trek having an area of space where there is literally nothing for light years, the episode itself doesn't stand out particularly well. It's not that it is a bad episode, it is just that "environmental crusade" stories are something I would have expected back during the TNG days and it seems a rather old idea for a story - fine for the late eighties or early nineties, but certainly not what I would expect in 1998/99. Still quite watchable, but definitely not a classic.

"Drone" marks the return once again of the Borg to Voyager. While returning from an away mission, a transporter accident fuses some of Seven of Nine's Borg nanoprobes with the Doctor's holo-emitter. Transferring the Doctor to sickbay before his program is lost, the emitter is take to the science lab to check for any permanent damage. owever, the nanoprobes have already assimilated the emitter, and after it samples the DNA of an unsuspecting crewman, begins to create a new lifeform in the shape of a 29th century Borg. Seven and the Doctor try to raise this new offspring as an individual, while protecting him from the collective...

This is an episode that is going to be talked about for a LONG time. Everything about "Drone" is perfect. Stunning acting all round, especially from Jeri Ryan as Seven struggles with her emerging maternal instincts as she helps the new Borg to develop, and special mention must go to J Paul Boehmer playing the new Borg in a departure from his appearance as a Nazi in "The Killing Game".

While it offers many similarities to "I, Borg", "Drone" is a far superior episode. While the ending is sadly rather predictable, it makes for compulsive viewing. The viewer is quickly drawn into the initial development of the Borg and the crew's uncertainty about what they should do, soon followed by a sense that the Borg's individuality should be actively encouraged and he soon becomes a popular face on board the Voyager. It is because of this interaction with the crew that the end of the episode is all the more poignant.

One fun thing at the beginning is when the Doctor is assigned to the away mission. as well as a tricorder, he takes along with him a holographic imaging device (camera to you and me), that is going to be featured later in the season as a "hobby" for the Doctor (I can see a merchandise deal approaching with Kodak...!).

Overall, this tape is an essential buy. While "Night" isn't an inspiring 45 minutes, this is more than made up for by the exceptional "Drone". "Drone" is one of Voyager's finest moments, and is an episode that will be in more than a few fans all time favourite lists. Worth the asking price for this episode on its own.

Volume 5.2 - "Extreme Risk" / "In The Flesh"

Moving on to the second cassette of Voyager's latest season, we see a change in B'Elanna that puts her life in jeopardy, and the Voyager unexpectedly encounters an almost perfect replica of San Francisco, including Starfleet Headquarters, in the Delta Quadrant...

In "Extreme Risk", the Voyager discovers that one of it's recent creations, a multi-spacial probe, has been intercepted by the Malon who intend to steal the technology. To prevent this, it is steered towards a gas giant, where it is subsequently trapped. It's enhanced shields protect it from the giant, unlike the Malon craft that pursues it. The Voyager is then in a race against time to get to the probe before the Malon do...

In order to salvage the missing probe, Tom Paris decides that it is an opportune time to suggest an idea he has been toying with of building a new shuttle he has specifically designed for the more varied nature of the missions they have undertaken, named the Delta Flyer, which he believes would be perfectly suited for the probe's recovery. Janeway agrees, and an engineering team start work developing the craft, although strangely B'Elanna seems uninterested in the project, and she seems to be on a course of self destruction...

It is good to see that the plot thread from the previous season dealing with the eradication of the Maquis has not been forgotten. While Chakotay managed to grieve for his friends in his own way, we never saw anything with B'Elanna and now we know why. This has been handled superbly and is both extremely convincing, and concludes this storyline more than adequately.

The new shuttle looks absolutely fantastic and adds a new dimension to the series. It's a small, fast, manoeuvrable, powerful shuttle that won't get destroyed on every mission as seems to be the case with Voyager's other shuttles. The special effects and set building for the shuttle are well up to the show's normal standards, and really help to convince that this is a new ship in its own right.

Performances all round are excellent with Roxann Dawson showing B'Elanna's struggle brilliantly, and Robert Duncan McNeill clearly showing Paris' enthusiasm for the Delta Flyer project. It's also refreshing to see some of the other characters getting to take the lead rather than the Doctor, Janeway, and Seven of Nine.

One of the obvious highlights is featured in the opening teaser where we see B'Elanna on the holodeck relaxing by doing a bit of orbital skydiving... yes, the same activity Kirk was originally going to be seen participating in at the start of Generations, and she is wearing a similar outfit to the one worn by Kirk. Overall, this is a pretty good episode, adding a whole new layer of depth to B'Elanna and to her relationship with Tom, and it's an episode that will keep you gripped from start to finish.

Following that is "In The Flesh". The Voyager has discovered a space station that is playing host to an extremely accurate recreation of Starfleet Headquarters, complete with Starfleet Officers, training facilities, and the groundskeeper, Boothby. All is not what it seems, however, and an away team headed by Chakotay and Tuvok must find out the true secret of why the station exists out in the Delta Quadrant...

"In The Flesh" is a great mystery story that will keep you guessing as to the station's true nature, and when the secret is revealed part way through the episode, you won't believe your eyes! The plot then takes an interesting turn and ends up being the type of story that Gene would have certainly been proud of. There are aspects of Voyager now that see the crew bending Starfleet rules and regulations on occasions to help them get back home faster, but this is definitely in the true spirit of Star Trek, and works wonderfully because of it.

Acting is superb, especially from the guest stars including Ray Walston reprising his role as Boothby (this time playing a more integral part in the plot than in his previous Trek appearance in the TNG episode "The First Duty"), and Space Above And Beyond's Tucker Smallwood as a Starfleet Admiral. The regular cast also work well, and there are a few nice touches with the interplay between the Voyager crew and those on board the station.

There are quite a few good moments in the episode to look out for. At the beginning, a nice reference to "Drone" sees Chakotay using a holographic imaging device, there is a nice touch of continuity in terms of the uniforms worn by the Starfleet officers on the station, and there are some quite impressive special effects as well. It's good to see location filming again for Trek for the exteriors of Starfleet HQ and its grounds, something that is sadly underused in the series, but here it works very effectively and they have made full use of the opportunity.

This is a great episode and if the episode's conclusion is followed up later in the season, we could be in for a great sequel to this thought-provoking story. Highly entertaining, and combined with "Extreme Risk" makes for another worthy cassette to be added to your video collection.