Fresh Blood Lifts Voyager Season 4
By
Kristin Battestella
“That
show with the girl with the thing on her eye” – that’s how my mom still refers
to Star Trek: Voyager. Although Seven
of Nine would become both a blessing and a curse to this Trek spinoff, the character’s introduction here in Season 4
provides a much needed infusion of fresh ideas and adventures.
Captain
Katherine Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) reluctantly works with the Borg in order to
save the Delta Quadrant from the fluidic space invaders Species 8476. The
Captain and Holographic Doctor (Robert Picardo) must work with the Borg drone
Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) after she is separated from the Collective and help
her adjust to life as an individual on the far from home starship Voyager. Meanwhile,
Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) and B’Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) embark on
a romance, and the crew says goodbye to one of the family.
“Scorpion
II” is a bit of a let down from its Part 1 cliffhanger, and some of the weaker
early episodes like “The Gift” and “Nemesis” seem like a step back from the conclusion
of Season 3. Fortunately, the year does get stronger as it goes on thanks to the
introduction of Seven of Nine, and the effects and mythos surrounding Species
8472 are also nicely done – even if the aliens are designed as a bit too
insurmountable. Considering all their previous bads, the new Borg alliances are
a leap, too. However, these are new, daring plots for Voyager, and it works. The
ship is further along in its journey and the traveling and encounters are much
more realistic. It’s not ideal to a have lighthearted Seven and Harry Kim
tangent mixed with the heavy in “Revulsion,” but this A and B plotting works
better than most thanks to the hologram parallels by The Doctor and horror
movie filmmaking, psychology, and peril.
“Year of Hell,” however, feels forced by default. On one hand, you have an awesome two-part
thrill ride that could have gone on for several more episodes as originally
planned. The possibilities are glorious
and it all plays out wonderfully. Unfortunately,
all that magic and greatness is retracted by a big old reset button! “Unforgettable” also starts with a nice
premise but ends up dry and sappy. The audience knows this memory reset won’t
stick and will never be mentioned again, so why should we even go there? There’s
still a lot of potential and vigor here, but it is incredibly frustrating that Voyager is not willing to take the science
fiction risks or make the Star Trek statements
of which it is more than capable of doing.
Can you imagine how much more awesome the final ten minutes of “Year of
Hell, Part II” would have been had it been a season finale?
Thankfully,
“Omega Directive” is actually a fine spiritual episode. Even Starfleet realizes
there is an atom out there that can create life or destroy civilization, and
it’s lovely when the prime directive doesn’t apply for this rare, deadly
perfection. Voyager does well with
these weighty topics and multiple character pairings per episode and should do
more of them. It’s nice to see which issues unite the ship family or create
onboard discourse. “Concerning Flight” is also a cute little cross culture Leonardo
Da Vinci adventure. It’s fun, yet thoughtful and entertaining. Ethan Phillips’ Neelix has some fine death
examinations in “Mortal Coil,” and Robert Picardo shines again for the serious
Alpha Quadrant contact in “Message in a Bottle” and “Living Witness.” There’s great
humor, rapport, and wisely used Romulan connections. “Hunters” is also a fine return-to-home
pros and cons follow up, as is “Prey.” The second half of the season strikes a
good balance in reminding us how Voyager got to the Delta Quadrant and why they
want to get home. “Waking Moments” is a creepy bottle show, but a bit ahead of
its time in discussing Inception-esque
dream within a dream within a dream quiet and thoughtful examinations. Likewise, “Hope and Fear” is a soft, dynamic
finale. Voyager spends all its time
getting our ship home, but it is intriguing to see just how much The
Federation’s lone presence in the Delta Quadrant affects others – even
destabilizes the region. Is that worth the price of getting home?
Of
course, “The Gift” marks regular cast member Jennifer Lien’s exit as Kes. It’s
somewhat iffy – did they write in those lost Ocampa psychic abilities at the
start just to have an exit clause? We know she’s leaving, but the titular
measure makes sense for the show. The
departure, however, does make for some strange motivations from Captain
Janeway. She wants Kes to stay, but Kes must leave to help the ship and save
herself. By contrast, Seven does not
wish to remain on Voyager – it might be best she doesn’t – yet Janeway forces her
to stay and receive medical care she does not want. It’s out of character for
the Captain, even unlikeable. I’m also not
sure about her new short hair yet, either. At first, it seems so much better
than the stiff old bun. After the long ponytail, however, the chop feels older
and makes Janeway look more rounded. The long hair was lengthening, commanding,
graceful, not soccer mom. I guess
they’ve given up on trying to make Janeway attractive now that Miss Catsuit is
on Voyager. Perhaps the mom vibes and proverbial hair down
gone casual family ship is the point, but the dysfunctional aspects of the
family don’t stick. The rift between Janeway and Robert Beltran as her
increasingly diminished second in command Chakotay in “Year of Hell” is
quality, but sadly, their one on one conversations and debates at the time only
work from scene to scene. Naturally, the conflict never seems to last, and the
heavy for Janeway and Voyager is
never as it heavy as it could be.
Fortunately,
that aforementioned introduction of Seven of Nine is a plus for Year 4. The step-by-step
Borg design stages are nicely one in “Scorpion” and “The Gift”, however this cat
suit thing is the freakiest thing ever! Perhaps as a non-teenage fan boy I
never noticed it before, but the initial shiny silver leotard worn by Seven
makes her look, well, deformed. She’s packed with pillows and boobs above a
seriously skeletal mid section, and I swear they can’t show her straight from
behind because there is a stick up her butt.
The look is clearly uncomfortable and cumbersome despite the illusion of
being skintight and convenient. I don’t see how this appearance is appealing at
all, but “The Raven” does far more in the exploration of Seven’s character and
past. Her trauma is relatable and keeps Seven likeable – this is a journey to
rediscovering one’s humanity, not a forced order from Janeway. The brown jumpsuit is much softer and honest,
not shiny silver kitten, and the look fits in with the fun Da Vinci holodeck in
“Scientific Method.” It is also very
smart to utilize the interactions between both Seven and Tim Russ’ Tuvok in
“Year of Hell” and The Doctor in “Retrospect.” Seeing these nonhuman characters
facing dilemmas together is fine Trek material.
Yes, the early episodes come too easy and Seven fits in a little too soon.
“Retrospect” also unnecessarily messes with Seven’s head and has some plot
holes. The ending is under written, even undone, but it doesn’t take the easy
way out, and this quality SF adventure and character focus remains strong for Seven
to finish the season in the “Demon” and “One.”
Most
of the players on Voyager take a backseat
to the Seven development, but Chakotay is as limp and dry as ever in “Nemesis.”
The language attempts and propaganda influences are a nice try, but it all
lacks charisma and comes across more awkward than hard hitting. Thankfully, “Day
of Honor” has some fine B’Elanna Torres moments. Maybe the space shuttle or
space suit angles don’t hold up, but there are good steps in the relationship with
Tom Paris here and in “Scientific Method.” Some of it might feel forced plot-wise, but we
don’t mind because of the genuine players. “Vis a Vis”
is also a nice Tom episode, but I’m not sure why we are going backwards for a reckless
pilot retread. “Random Thoughts” is much
better all around, with freaky mental crimes for Tuvok and Torres – an
intriguing opposite pair that isn’t often explored. “The Killing Game” is also
a very fun two-parter. It doesn’t incorporate a reset and leaves plenty of lingering
possibilities. This is a very decent way to have period delights and Alpha Quadrant
touches, too. It’s serious, but is an escape from the regular adventure. When Voyager takes the time and pace to go
there and get the story right like this, it is a dang fine little show.
Some
of what makes Year 4 special does become overkill later on in the series, and
the change in pace and format is apparent from the previous seasons, yes. The
increasing focus on Seven of Nine and her 18 to 34 demographic bod may also
give serious viewers cause to tune out from here on in. However, fans who tuned
out of Voyager’s earlier seasons can
begin a new here thanks to the character shake-ups and new storytelling
elements.
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