Craggus’ Trek Trek:
Now, Voyager! Vol 18
Craggus’ Trek Trek Now Voyager Vol 18 sees Voyager Season Six finish with a strong run of episodes, putting the cultural stereotype holodeck nonsense behind it.
Star Trek Voyager S6E19: Child’s Play
Icheb’s future becomes the subject of a whole episode, a future Star Trek Picard would callously and cynically discard purely for shock value. But while that narrative kick in the teeth awaits in the future, Voyager gives us a very sci-fi spin on a custody battle drama which also provides more fascinating insights into how civilisations and races which have developed on the Borg’s doorstep have adapted to cope with the looming threat. It’s a great episode, bolstered by a strong performance from Jeri Ryan and guest star Mark Sheppard that reinforces the strong theme of family which surrounds Voyager’s crew.
Star Trek Voyager S6E20: Good Shepherd
Part “Learning Curve“, part “Lower Decks” this has neither the edge nor innovation of its predecessors but is basically fine. The problem with doing this kind of episode again in Voyager is that we never got to see what became of the previous underperformers after their Tuvok boot camp and it’s true of the crewmembers here too. On a ship like the Enterprise-D with its crew of over 1,000 you can believe that especially as we only met them in season seven but with Voyager’s much small crew of around 150, it seems very unlikely we wouldn’t see them again.
Star Trek Voyager S6E21: Live Fast And Prosper
One of the best premises of the whole series gets the best treatment in this fun and fast-paced con artists caper. The series plays to its strengths by playing it largely straight and having the humour come from the situation and the guest cast, rather than going into full comedy the way Deep Space Nine would likely have done this kind of story. Not that the regular cast don’t have fun and play it with a light touch, though, and everything’s wrapped up neatly in a satisfying last-minute reversal.
Star Trek Voyager S6E22: Muse
Basing a story around the traditions and tropes of ancient Greek theatre is a wonderful conceit for an episode and the way it’s done in this episode makes it all the more delightful. It’s a nice touch that the B’Elanna survival story almost feels like a b-story to the main episode’s tale of plays and patronage. B’Elanna Torres finds herself in a situation that’s an unusual one for her character and we get glimpses of the creativity which underlines her engineering genius as she’s beguiled by the idea that she has become an artist’s muse. It’s neat to hear the trials and tribulations of life onboard Voyager interpreted through a lens of classic mythological drama although it’s more surprising that B’Elanna suffers no repercussions whatsoever to her “fuck the Prime Directive” mic drop ending.
Star Trek Voyager S6E23: Fury
Kes returns – with a vengeance in this time-twisting tale that promises a great deal but squanders much of its potential in a damp squib talked-down-from-the-ledge ending. Jennifer Lien gets a two-for-the-price-of-one return as she plays old Kes and new Kes when the episode time-travels back to Voyager’s early days in the Delta Quadrant. It’s also an opportunity for the Vidiians to pop up again and while there’s not much action aboard Voyager there are some spectacular external effects shots as Voyager struggles to escape the clutches of the Vidiian ship.
Star Trek Voyager S6E24: Life Line
Like his appearances on TNG, it’s always nice to have Dwight Schultz back as Barclay although this time he’s more the support act to another Robert Picardo masterclass in acting against – and stealing scenes from – himself. The idea of The Doctor making a trans-galactic house call to attend on his creator is a fun idea, and a neat reversal of V’Ger’s quest from Star Trek The Motion Picture but the execution is too talky, although there’s a fun twist towards the end which reminds us Troi isn’t all empathy and understanding: she can be very cunning when she needs to be.
Star Trek Voyager S6E25: The Haunting Of Deck Twelve
A familiar Trek trope gets a makeover thanks to a cute (but not too cute) campfire redress as Neelix relates the tale of a non-corporeal alien inadvertently taken on board the ship and causing mischief and mayhem throughout the ship. While the campfire scary story makes for an entertaining framing, it also blunts the edge of what could have been a very effective straight horror story but it’s still a worthwhile watch.
Star Trek Voyager S6E26: Unimatrix Zero
When the Borg Queen discovers some of her drones have created their own VR MMORPG where they can be individuals again, she’s determined to stop them having any fun at all. She should have just introduced loot boxes and contracted EA to develop Unimatrix Zero 2.0. Voyager gets involved through Seven of Nine being invited to an open play trial in Unimatrix Zero but it turns out she used to have a subscription that lapsed when she left the Collective. It’s something of a contrived season finale because it has to work really hard to find a reason for the Voyager crew to get involved in something which is insanely dangerous and foolhardy (even if it’s for a worthy cause) and it underlines the sometimes breathtaking arrogance of Janeway in believing that she and one little Intrepid-class ship can take on the whole Borg Collective with minimal risk. The fact that she has more than a fighting chance shows just how Nerfed the Borg have become by this point, compounded by a cynical cliffhanger which evokes the end of “The Best Of Both Worlds” yet reminds us just how much The Borg have mellowed since that seminal moment.
