A Semi-Hater Revisits Voyager

[Tachyon]

Eye of the Needle - great writing, great performances by the actors. Definitely one of the jewels on season 1.

[MilitantJaneway]

Voyager was really great through the end of season 4, there were a few duds in the earlier epis but not that many. In the later seasons though after Jeri Taylor left and the show just focused on 7 all the time, the quality took a serious dive. I had also heard that B&B were very focused on getting Enterprise out there and lost their interest in Voyager so that didn't help at all. It really showed by the time Endgame rolled around. What a sorry ending to a show that had so much potential.

[DGCatAniSiri]

GodBen wrote:

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The final scene kind of bugs me because he he claims to want a name, but in seven years he fails to come up with one.

Whenever I watch Endgame, I STILL laugh at 'It took you 33 years to come up with JOE?'

[Tachyon]

MilitantJaneway wrote:

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Voyager was really great through the end of season 4, there were a few duds in the earlier epis but not that many. In the later seasons though after Jeri Taylor left and the show just focused on 7 all the time, the quality took a serious dive. I had also heard that B&B were very focused on getting Enterprise out there and lost their interest in Voyager so that didn't help at all. It really showed by the time Endgame rolled around. What a sorry ending to a show that had so much potential.

I actually prefer season five over season four. Season four was too much Seven. During season five the rest of the cast started to get more screentime again. But, of course, the episodes overall were better on season five from my perspective.

[Lynx]

GodBen wrote:

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Eye of the Needle (****½)

I have always liked this episode. The hope keeps on building through the episode until finally everybody's dreams come true... then they are all slapped in the face by something nobody saw coming. Then they get one last punch in the gut when Tuvok reveals that the guy died before he transmitted the messages. This is the sort of episode I can get behind because I'm a miserable fucker.

There is also a B story about the Doctor and whether he should be treated as a machine or allowed to grow as a person, and it is always nice to have Robert Picardo on screen. There is a certain irony in the fact that he is only considered a person right at the time when everyone is planning to beam to the AQ leaving him behind as though he doesn't matter. The final scene kind of bugs me because he he claims to want a name, but in seven years he fails to come up with one.

The performances by all the cast are good and there is no Neelix, so its all good!

Yes, this one is great. When I watched that episode the first time, I knew that there would be a twist in the tale and when it finally came, it was actually brilliant. Not to mention when Tuvok tells about what happened to R'Mor and the messages from the crew. Now that's something which could have been followed up in some book, R'Mor's daughter and the messages.

The B story with The Doctor is also good. As we can see, kes is the one who starts treating The Doctor like a sentient being instead of just a program. She helps The Doctor to realize that he's more than a progar and is also the one who makes the crew members start treating The Doctor with more respect too which leads to The Doctor developing to a valued colleague among the senior staff.

[MilitantJaneway]

Tachyon wrote:

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I actually prefer season five over season four. Season four was too much Seven. During season five the rest of the cast started to get more screentime again. But, of course, the episodes overall were better on season five from my perspective.

Oh I dont know, YOH, Hunters, Prey, Msg in a Bottle-best EMH epi, Concerning flight, Nemesis, Killing Game, Mortal Coil I thought this was the last season where we saw more of the crew before it became all seven all of the time.

[Tachyon]

^Tee hee. Interesting how differently we perceive this!

Great episodes on season four, no denying that! But season five alongside season two have a special place in my heart. Lol.

[es!]

I love Season 5 too. Only one word: Kashyk... the best villain ever.

[TheGodBen]

Ex Post Facto (*½)

This was pretty bad. The plot was dull, the aliens were dull, Tuvok was dull, the episode was dull. The idea of being forced to relive a crime you committed from the point of view of the victim is good, but everything else about this episode fails to work for me. The evidence that exonerates Paris is flimsy at best, and the way Tuvok assembles everyone and describes how he solved the case is silly.

This is another episode which could easily have taken place on TNG. Well, TNG season 7.

[Praetor]

Yeah, I remember thinking that episode was going to be good because of the premise but then the actual execution was quite 'meh.' And of course the TNG-lite qualification hurt it.

[kimc]

GodBen wrote:

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and the way Tuvok assembles everyone and describes how he solved the case is silly.

You haven't read much Sherlock Holmes, have you? The assembly of interested parties to announce the murderer and how the investigator got there is classic mystery fare.

[Jeri]

I like "Ex Post Facto"; it has a dog in it, who wins the day. That is a great feature.

And the woman has feathers for hair. She's a mala right out of a telenovela; a perfect vilana type. I just don't know why the dog didn't bite her; that would have been more like it. Dogs know. But vilanas can get away with murder -- except not this time.

It's kind of in the vein of a "torture Paris" episode; he sort of inherited the venerable "torture O'Brien" legacy. Paris is my favorite, so I thoroughly enjoy seeing so much of him.

Seriously, the ability they have of seeing through someone else's eyes is fascinating. I would love to do that.

[Tachyon]

Ex Post Facto and Heroes and Demons are my least fav episodes of season 1.

[leola]

Tachyon wrote:

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Ex Post Facto and Heroes and Demons are my least fav episodes of season 1.

Same with me. I thought the premises were interesting enough initially, but they lacked in the end result.

[Gorf]

And me. Those are sections on my dvds that won't be worn out ever.

GodBen wrote:

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This is another episode which could easily have taken place on TNG. Well, TNG season 7.

Maybe the same writer wrote both - didnt Voyager start when TNG ended?