Quick Reference Guide

Rated Quick Reference Guide

Seasons:
[First Season] [Second Season]

First Season

The Starship Voyager, captained by renowned Starfleet commander Kathryn Janeway, is sent on a mission to rescue a renegade Maquis ship from "The Badlands", a dangerous region of space. An inexplicable force transports both ships to a distant, uncharted region of space.

One-line summary: When the USS Voyager crew attempts to find a lost Maquis ship, everyone finds themselves hurled to the other side of the galaxy, where both crews must unite in an attempt to stay alive and find their way back home.

In brief: Not bad at all, particularly for a pilot.

The Starship Voyager encounters a quantum singularity and what appears to be another ship in jeopardy.

One-line summary: The Voyager finds itself near a "quantum singularity", with another ship nearby in distress -- but circumstances soon take a turn for the bizarre as they realize that the other ship is *also* the Voyager...

In brief: Generally good, particularly on the characters -- but oh, the bogus physics hurts.

The Starship Voyager experiences a shock wave in space, a wave set off by a huge explosion on a nearby planet.

Brief summary: The "Voyager" crew investigates a planetary catastrophe that destroyed an entire population, only to see Janeway and Paris vanish into the past ... just before that catastrophe takes place.

In Brief: Not a bad bit of plotting ... but where were the characters?

In their continuing for a source of dilithium crystals that could be used to supplement the Voyager's power core, the crew of the Starship come upon a planet that seems replete with the substance.

Brief summary: Neelix's lungs are stolen, forcing the doctor to resort to untried measures as the Voyager crew tries to recover the original organs.

In brief: Basically fluff, I think, but entertaining fluff.

While investigating what they believe to be a nebula in search of fuel, the crew of Voyager discovers that they have in fact entered and injured a new life form, which they must help heal as they try to escape.

Brief summary: The Voyager crew investigates a nearby nebula in the hopes of replenishing their power reserves -- but instead find that the nebula itself is a living thing, badly hurt by their attempts to invade and escape it.

In brief: while extremely light fare, another entertaining outing.

Eye of the Needle

The Voyager crew becomes hopeful when they encounter a small wormhole through which they communicate with a cargo vessel on the other side... in the Alpha Quadrant.

Brief summary: The crew attempts to communicate with the Alpha Quadrant via a small wormhole, only to find unexpected complications when the receiving ship turns out to be of Romulan origin.

In brief: A little thin getting going, but the first real test of a major part of VOY's premise -- and a test it passes handily.

Upon visiting a world in the midst of a war with a neighboring planet, Lt. Tom Paris finds himself accused of a murder he didn't commit... his sentence--to relive the crime from the victim's point-of-view every 14 hours for the rest of his life.

Brief summary: While the Voyager crew works to clear the name of Tom Paris, Paris himself is forced to relive the murder he's accused of committing -- from his victim's point of view.

In brief: "Voyager"'s first episode to fall pretty firmly flat.

While exploring an alien race's burial ground, Kim is transported to the culture's homeworld, and his only way back is dead.

Brief summary: Harry Kim disappears during an away mission, only to find himself in the company of a race of aliens who believe he has returned from the afterlife.

In brief: Not always the best in execution, but not bad at all -- and with a few interesting subtleties.

The crew of Voyager encounters an alien race that may hold the key to their return home.

Brief summary: The crew meet a race with highly advanced technology that has the capability to send them most or all of the way home -- but resentment and conflict arises when the aliens refuse to help them.

In brief: A slow starter, but with some of the best character moments the series has had to date.

The Voyager crew discovers that a traitor is on board.

Brief summary: When the crew answers a distress call from a Kazon ship, they find evidence of Federation technology -- leading to the unmasking of a traitor in their midst.

In brief: Probably the series' best show to date. Marvelous work.

Heroes & Demons

Holographic doctor faces death to save the crew of Star Trek: Voyager.

Brief summary: When Kim disappears from inside his own holodeck program of "Beowulf", and others disappear in an attempt to find him, it falls to the doctor to solve the mystery of what is going on.

In brief: Some reasonable character moments where the doctor is concerned, but some classic TNG-style plot silliness to get there -- too much to really suit me.

Tuvok is attacked by aliens who take over the mind and Chakatoy must fight to save his life and the life of the crew.

Brief summary: Chakotay is rendered brain-dead by an attack on his and Tuvok's shuttle -- and evidence increasingly mounts that an alien presence is inhabiting one of the crew, changing hosts at will.

In brief: Not one of the stronger outings -- in fact, one of the series' weakest.

Lt. Torres is captured by the Vidiians and split into two separate beings--one Klingon, the other Human.

Brief summary: Aliens abduct an away team and proceed to split B'Elanna Torres into two people -- one entirely human, and one entirely Klingon.

In brief: Some decent moments, but mostly pretty nondescript.

Neelix is confronted by the man responsible for the annihilation of much of the Talaxian Race, including his family.

Brief summary: When the scientist responsible for a weapon that killed Neelix's family comes on board Voyager looking for him, Neelix must face up to his own past and his own hatreds.

In brief: I hear the thud-thud-thud of a parable ... but at least the last ten minutes or so gave it something of a twist.

Tuvok's attempt to train Maquis crew members in Starfleet protocol turns them mutinous while B'Elanna and The Doctor try to discover why the ship is mysteriously losing power.

Brief summary: As Voyager's bio-neural circuitry mysteriously begins to fail, Tuvok begins training some difficult Maquis crew in Starfleet procedures.

In brief: Now that's more like it. The plot's still a bit on the goofy side, but at least it's holding together -- and the character work here was quite promising.

Second Season

Captain Janeway encounters the first woman aviator, Amelia Earhart.

Brief summary: An old radio distress signal leads the Voyager crew to find famed pilot Amelia Earhart frozen in stasis -- and a human community so enticing that they may not want to leave.

In brief: I'm glad this was a first-season holdover; that means I'm just disappointed instead of *really* worried. In brief: I'm glad this was a first-season holdover; that means I'm just disappointed instead of *really* worried.

Alone aboard a Shuttlecraft, Chakotay is targeted by a young Kazon who must earn his warrior name by killing the Federation enemy.

Brief summary: Chakotay, traveling alone in a shuttle, becomes entangled in a young Kazon's attempt to earn his name -- by killing Chakotay or being killed in the attempt.

In brief: A definite upturn. Not great by any means, but good -- "pleasant" might be the best word. In brief: A definite upturn. Not great by any means, but good -- "pleasant" might be the best word.

Believing the ship has suffered a massive attack, The Doctor ventures from Sickbay via a remote holo-projection system.

Brief summary: The Doctor finds himself in a near-deserted Voyager, where circumstances lead him to believe that everything he has experienced was an elaborate simulation -- that he, the only real person on Voyager, was running.

In brief: Great fun. The first episode from "Voyager" in a while which has had me truly wondering how things were going to be resolved. In brief: Great fun. The first episode from "Voyager" in a while which has had me truly wondering how things were going to be resolved.

When alien life forms accelerate Kes' reproductive process, she has just one chance to mate and have a child.

Brief summary: An encounter with space-born lifeforms traps Voyager among them ... and accelerates Kes's reproductive process into the "elogium", where she must reproduce very shortly or lose her chance to have a child forever.

In brief: The word "appalling" scarcely does justice to the episode. Not the worst filmed Trek ever, but definitely the worst to come from "Voyager".

Ensign Kim awakens to find himself on Earth in a 24th century San Francisco.

Brief summary: Ensign Kim awakes in San Francisco, finding himself in an alternate reality where he never boarded Voyager.

In brief: The ground here is so well-trodden that there's nothing fresh to find, but it was pleasant and diverting enough. In brief: The ground here is so well-trodden that there's nothing fresh to find, but it was pleasant and diverting enough.

A spatial distortion causes a system malfunction and changes the ship's structural layout.

Brief summary: An encounter with a "distortion ring" causes Voyager to begin imploding in on itself -- changing layouts, disabling systems, and trapping the crew.

In brief: Ho-hum. Another day, another anomaly ... and another show boldly going nowhere. In brief: Ho-hum. Another day, another anomaly ... and another show boldly going nowhere.

Neelix and Paris make unlikely teammates and even more unlikely caretakers to an newborn alien.

Brief summary: As tensions between Neelix and Lt. Paris come to a head, their shuttle crash-lands on a desolate planet, where they find a clutch of reptilian eggs ... one of which hatches before their eyes.

In brief: A step up from "Twisted" ... but topping out at "okay" is not what I had in mind.

Persistence of Vision

A strange force causes the crew to succumb to a delusional state.

Brief summary: An encounter with a new alien race causes the crew of Voyager to begin hallucinating, bringing long-repressed thoughts and desires to the surface.

In brief: A goofy story, but nice atmosphere and creepiness until the last five minutes -- which might be a good place to stop watching.

When an away team encounters hostile natives, Chakotay has flashbacks of himself as a young boy who disappoints his father by not embraching his cultural traditions.

Brief summary: An away mission reminds Chakotay of his father and his father's teachings, which Chakotay never embraced ... until now.

In brief: Robert Beltran gets to do some solid work for a change, but the show itself is only so-so.

The Caretaker's female mate, possibly the only hope in returning the Voyager crew home, is finally found.

Brief summary: The Voyager finds a station similar to the Caretaker's array, with a colony of Ocampa on board -- a colony whose leader invites Kes to join them, and who hides a sinister secret.

In brief: Better than much of "Voyager" has been lately, but not by much. The stories are still too easy.

Seska is back and poised to help destroy Voyager--and Chakotay.

Brief summary: Voyager is attacked by a Kazon vessel and has its technology stolen, leaving Chakotay to plot the technology's rescue ... from his old associate, Seska.

In brief: Mostly entertaining ... though with a few big flaws that undermine it.

Janeway must rescue Tuvok and Torres when Mokra soldiers take them prisoner, but she is forced to rely on an eccentric alien man who believes she is his daughter.

Brief summary: When Tuvok and Torres are captured by an oppressive regime known as the Mokra, it falls to Janeway to attempt their rescue -- in the company of a man who mistakenly believes she is his daughter.

In brief: Good. Very, very good.

When the crew finds a deactivated robot floating in space, a curious Torres brings it back to life, only to be abducted by it.

Brief summary: B'Elanna Torres reactivates a damaged robot found adrift in space, but the tables soon turn when the robot abducts her to force her to create more of its kind.

In brief: A bit heavy on the Frankenstein complex, but a pretty decent piece of work nonetheless.

To strengthen Voyager's position in the Quadrant, Janeway reluctantly seeks to form an alliance with the Kazon.

Brief summary: After a series of Kazon attacks, Chakotay manages to convince Janeway that perhaps the ship's rules need to change, and Janeway finds herself looking to forge an alliance with one or more Kazon sects.

In brief: A lot of necessary issues come up here, handled well at least in character terms -- but the last five minutes cause some problems.

Paris makes history by shuttling to Warp Ten.

Brief summary: An attempt by Lt. Paris to reach warp ten ("transwarp" velocities) goes horribly wrong, as Paris begins to change into something not at all human.

In brief: Yuck.

One crewman murders another, leading Tuvok to attempt an understanding of violent impulses through a mind-meld.

Brief summary: A murder investigation leads Tuvok to meld with a killer to understand the urge for violence -- with unpleasant results.

In brief: The main plot was mostly good, particularly on the acting side -- but a somewhat weak ending and a lousy B-plot hurt it.

Torres must reprogram a Cardassian-designed errant missile before it destroys a planet and Voyager.

Brief summary: When a Cardassian-turned-Maquis weapon unexpectedly shows up in the Delta Quadrant and threatens a peaceful planet, it falls to B'Elanna Torres to try to stop the monster she had a hand in creating.

In brief: Not overly deep, but nothing particularly problematic either. An hour's pleasant diversion.

The omnipotent Q returns to a Starfleet vessel.

Brief summary: When Voyager's crew accidentally frees a renegade Q and the "regular" Q comes to collect him, the renegade demands asylum from the Continuum, forcing Janeway to hold a hearing where she must decide between sentencing him to eternal confinement or granting him asylum -- an asylum that would lead directly to his imminent suicide.

In brief: Not bad, particularly in its last third -- but not nearly what it could have been, either.

While treating a Vidiian female for the Phage, the Doctor feels romantic for the first time.

Brief summary: The Voyager comes across a dying Vidiian woman, and the doctor's attempt to cure her leads to a new development in his program: romantic feelings.

In brief: A mixed bag; some moments worked pretty well, but several others didn't.

After Lieutenant Paris takes leave to join a Talaxian convoy, Neelix's investigation leads him to believe Paris had been trading information to the Kazon all along.

Brief summary: Neelix becomes an investigative journalist, and finds himself covering one heck of a story: the departure of Tom Paris from Voyager, Paris's subsequent kidnapping by the Kazon, and evidence that Paris may have been spying for the Kazon all along.

In brief: *This* is what everything was building up to? High marks for ambition, perhaps, but minus several million for good thinking, mm?

As the Vidiians draw near, a mysterious divergence field creates a duplicate Voyager with an identical crew but there's not enough antimatter to sustain both vessels.

Brief summary: A freak subspace accident causes Voyager to duplicate, with two ships occupying the same space and time.

In brief: The first forty minutes are nothing particularly to speak of, but most of the last third is pretty good.

Tuvok intervenes on behalf of a young Drayan-born child abandoned by her own people.

Brief summary: Tuvok's shuttle crash-lands on a moon -- and as Voyager tries to find and recover him, Tuvok comes face to face with three mysterious children convinced that they've been sent to the moon to die.

In brief: Some nice character moments for Tuvok, with a so-so story.

The crew must conquer the embodiment of fear--a maniacal clown.

Brief summary: An attempt to save some humanoids trapped in stasis leads to a bizarre virtual-reality encounter with a manifestation of fear -- a malevolent clown.

In brief: Um ... check, please.

A strange occurrence during an away mission causes Neelix and Tuvok to become one entity--Tuvix--a humor-filled, logic-defying fusion of the two crewmen.

Brief summary: A transporter accident merges Tuvok and Neelix into an entirely new person, Tuvix, who possesses the memories of both individuals and who does not wish to be "separated".

In brief: Dumb, dumb idea -- but amazingly, it came off pretty well.

Janeway and Chakotay are afflicted with a deadly virus and must confine themselves to a small planet while the rest of the crew continues the journey home.

Brief summary: Janeway and Chakotay, both suffering from a debilitating disease, are left behind to spend their days on a planet which can protect them. Meanwhile, the crew is left to try contacting the Vidiians to find a cure.

In brief: Good performance by Robert Beltran, but not enough to save a fundamentally dull story.

The battle is over... Voyager has lost... the Kazon seize the ship and abandon a defenseless Starfleet crew on a primitive planet. [Voyager crew tries to re-take Voyager with the help of the Doctor and another crewman who is still aboard.]

Brief summary: After a distress call from Seska comes in telling Chakotay about his son, Chakotay and crew head into Kazon Nistrom space -- with near-fatal results.

In brief: Some interesting moments -- but the only person whose situation I care about at this point is a guest star.

Third Season

[Two Ferengi from the Alpha Quadrant are found in the Delta Quadrant.]

Hans-Wolfgang Loidl <hwloidl@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk>

Last modified: Fri Jul 12 22:07:01 1996 Stardate: [-31]7799.39