Archer was going to be bald in Season 5. That and the inclusion of Shran as a main cast member were what we ENT fans were all looking forward to.
Dark Frontier TV-Movie: Thoughts and First-Time Recollections
- Thread starter CaptainMatt
- Start date
Thank God Janeway was not bald! But tell me why the Borg Queen had no hair, and did the drones in general ever have hair? I don't remember.
Nope. They were bald.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbXq4OhnmTg
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbXq4OhnmTg[/yt]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbXq4OhnmTg
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbXq4OhnmTg[/yt]
I'm now waiting for Guy to ponder whether or not they had pubes.
OMG dont give him any ideas! LOL
I like topics like this (but hate the crappy squabbling that fills a page and a half). It allows some of what that original reception was to get glimpsed, what it looked like at the time, when Voyager & DS9 were still on the air in "Dark Frontier"'s case and before the rest of Season 5-7 were known. Sometimes things that would be forgotten turn up. An example- a chunk of Voyager's viewers might have been distracted/preoccupied during "Infinite Regress", particularly during the last 10-15 minutes on original airing. Why? Babylon 5's long-anticipated series finale "Sleeping in Light" aired on cable immediately after Voyager got off.
I saw "Dark Frontier" back in Feb 1999 (BTW, it aired about a week after Pluto became the furthest known planet again (back when it was still considered a planet), taking the position back from Neptune, which held it since 1979. Due to their orbits, Neptune is further than Pluto 20 in every 248 years). Heck, I've seen every Voyager episode but 1 and all of them I saw first-run or via tape/weekend rebroadcast so I have a lot of first-hand memories.
"Dark Frontier" stood out because it was the return of the Borg Queen and the first big Borg confrontation since "Scorpion" and the first real direct confrontation as opposed to scorpion fable-styled opportunism. This was a known enemy. Other big 2-parters/cliffhangers had new (Hirogen, Species 8472) or relatively new (Kazon) enemies... or one that's been previewed (Krenim), which gave it a different feel. It felt like, going into it, it would have to prove its worth in the annals of big Borg stories, up against "Q Who?", "The Best of Both Worlds", First Contact, "Scorpion" (but not vs. "I, Borg", "Descent", where the Borg were more secondary to other things). It had feelings of epicness (Unimatrix One, the transwarp coil, planning to heist the gold bullion train, errr, damaged Borg vessel limping back, the Borg Queen) but also a feeling of smallness, like a midseason, midwinter episode (took a lot of time for the story to get going, to establish all the pieces).
It also plugged in well to Seven's presence on the ship, her experiences since joining (similar to how "Hope and Fear" did). It seemed a little weird at first, the Queen going out of her way to get Seven back until it became clear later in the episodes that it was essentially a duel of queens and collectives, and Seven was a symbolic pawn. To the Borg Queen, she just couldn't fathom why someone would want to leave/stay out of the Collective. It was a sort of heresy and her Borg blinders wouldn't let her understand it. I'm sure it helped for others that Seven got to be the centerpiece of the story, which was the first big 2-parter/epic episode centered on her ("Scorpion" was bigger than her, then her story was the B-plot, the undercurrent to "Hope and Fear", she was part of the ensemble to "Year of Hell" & "The Killing Game"). Made for eye candy. Borgs, babes, action.
I never thought "why is she back?" because I knew a little about beehives/ant colonies and know they replace queens. The Borg Queen was less an individual monarch and more a hierarchical role that another Borg being groomed to be queen would fill. I liked how the Queen acted in "Dark Frontier" far more than in First Contact.
And yes, "Dark Frontier" did feel much more satisfying than "Endgame" and thematically, except for the focus on Seven and not an ensemble effort, it would have made a much better series finale.
I saw "Dark Frontier" back in Feb 1999 (BTW, it aired about a week after Pluto became the furthest known planet again (back when it was still considered a planet), taking the position back from Neptune, which held it since 1979. Due to their orbits, Neptune is further than Pluto 20 in every 248 years). Heck, I've seen every Voyager episode but 1 and all of them I saw first-run or via tape/weekend rebroadcast so I have a lot of first-hand memories.
"Dark Frontier" stood out because it was the return of the Borg Queen and the first big Borg confrontation since "Scorpion" and the first real direct confrontation as opposed to scorpion fable-styled opportunism. This was a known enemy. Other big 2-parters/cliffhangers had new (Hirogen, Species 8472) or relatively new (Kazon) enemies... or one that's been previewed (Krenim), which gave it a different feel. It felt like, going into it, it would have to prove its worth in the annals of big Borg stories, up against "Q Who?", "The Best of Both Worlds", First Contact, "Scorpion" (but not vs. "I, Borg", "Descent", where the Borg were more secondary to other things). It had feelings of epicness (Unimatrix One, the transwarp coil, planning to heist the gold bullion train, errr, damaged Borg vessel limping back, the Borg Queen) but also a feeling of smallness, like a midseason, midwinter episode (took a lot of time for the story to get going, to establish all the pieces).
It also plugged in well to Seven's presence on the ship, her experiences since joining (similar to how "Hope and Fear" did). It seemed a little weird at first, the Queen going out of her way to get Seven back until it became clear later in the episodes that it was essentially a duel of queens and collectives, and Seven was a symbolic pawn. To the Borg Queen, she just couldn't fathom why someone would want to leave/stay out of the Collective. It was a sort of heresy and her Borg blinders wouldn't let her understand it. I'm sure it helped for others that Seven got to be the centerpiece of the story, which was the first big 2-parter/epic episode centered on her ("Scorpion" was bigger than her, then her story was the B-plot, the undercurrent to "Hope and Fear", she was part of the ensemble to "Year of Hell" & "The Killing Game"). Made for eye candy. Borgs, babes, action.
I never thought "why is she back?" because I knew a little about beehives/ant colonies and know they replace queens. The Borg Queen was less an individual monarch and more a hierarchical role that another Borg being groomed to be queen would fill. I liked how the Queen acted in "Dark Frontier" far more than in First Contact.
And yes, "Dark Frontier" did feel much more satisfying than "Endgame" and thematically, except for the focus on Seven and not an ensemble effort, it would have made a much better series finale.
Though that may be true for insect queens, the dialogue in FC, from the indication that she was on the cube at Wolf 359, to Picard's "she was unique" line suggests that she was supposed to be more than just a random Borg raised to be a queen, one of many in the Borg's history.
But Voyager needed its plot, so retcon here we come.
But Voyager needed its plot, so retcon here we come.
I actually enjoyed Dark Frotneier more than First Contact, except for the scenes where Picard deals with is rage at what the Collective did to him in an earlier Borg-centric episode. DF was far more epic feeling than TBOBW and FC IMHO. The Queen seemed more seductive in wanting 7of9 back and less of a sadist as in FC.
I don't think TBOBW has aged well, which is a shame. Now that would make a nice reboot some day, certainly the most dramatic season finale in Trek.
I think the Queen is seductive in both though I prefer Alice Krige as she is damper and creepier in her seduction. Both FC and DF are epic Borg tales IMHO.
As to Picard's anger, I'm glad we finally saw some. In another thread here someone is complaining we never saw the aftermath of Neelix losing a lung in Phage, well Trek is full of aftermaths unshown, stuff that if it happened to you or I we would have PTSD and be complete wrecks for years. I think Picard needed to have some kind of breakdown at some point over his awful experience, not just being assimilated but being forced to attack his own people.
yes, I would tend to agree that it was a necessary part of Picard's character development. Without it, something would seem off in the film.
And at last somebody on here agrees with me that the Queen could be seductive!!
And at last somebody on here agrees with me that the Queen could be seductive!!
OH believe me we've had plenty of discussions about the Queen being seductive. She always seemed to know what her victims wanted the most didn't she? Quite the femme fatale, literally.
I was unaware of any previous disucssion but then, I have not been here that long.
Yes a femma fatale. Even Jonathan Frakes was taken with the look the Queen had initially in FC. It was almost an erotic experience when Data kisses her. Alice Krige is an excellent actress and has always done a great job in any role I've seen her take on. Ever seen habitat? She is super hot in that as well.
Yes a femma fatale. Even Jonathan Frakes was taken with the look the Queen had initially in FC. It was almost an erotic experience when Data kisses her. Alice Krige is an excellent actress and has always done a great job in any role I've seen her take on. Ever seen habitat? She is super hot in that as well.
No problem, Bill. I was much the same during the mid-90s and have had a LOt to play catch up on.
Haha good one my friend!
Never say never. It is part of a billion dollar franchise.
Indeed, oh indeed. Tehnology is grand now days, don't you two think? I wonder how they will make the Borg look remastered? In VOY they had this sometimes green and colorless look to their ships and in TNG they were just colorless.
I'm in the "don't change anything unless absolutely necessary" boat.
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