The Internet can be a fairly good guide to which TV episodes of the Star Trek franchise are the worthiest to watch. Some that have been touted by web contributors I’ve seen on DVD and was glad I did.
Star Trek: Voyager‘s “The Omega Directive” (Season 4), for example, held up well on a second viewing and not just a first. Here, the starship’s crew are very much in the laboratory, with Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) working to destroy a particular molecule and the female Borg character (Jeri Ryan) working to stabilize it. The latter is making an error, desiring that the dangerous particle stay intact since it represents Perfection for her. In fact it seemingly represents a spiritual experience for a nonbelieving alien. Although limited in drama, the episode is not at all boring—and not at all stale either, but gleamingly fresh.
Another real fan-pleaser from Season 4 of Voyager is “Hope and Fear,” which presents duplicity and vengefulness in addition to hope and fear. (Get this: the fear belongs to Ryan’s Borg.) A phrase like “sophisticated fun” was invented for this episode. It’s not quite as intelligent as “The Omega Directive,” but it’s just as engaging. And better acted.
I’d like to write about a couple of other Voyager episodes in the future. The Internet has inspired me.
Star Trek: Voyager (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
