Merry said:
None of the episodes worked for me as a whole, but I'd like to think that each of them has at least one redeeming feature. Please help me brainstorm the best individual scenes, subplots, visual effects shots, and moments in these episodes.
I don't know if I can get that specific, but I'm always up for finding nice things to say about things that don't often get nice things said about them, so here goes...
"Fury": This is a very hard episode to redeem (though it helps a lot if you've read the novel
String Theory: Evolution), but it is nice to see Jennifer Lien back again.
"Vis A Vis": Hmm... well, one interesting thing is that the female alien is played by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, the voice of Motoko Kusanagi in the English dub of
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
"Alliances": Not bad at all. It's the best worldbuilding episode the Kazon got, because it introduced the Trabe and explained a great deal about the Kazon's background. It introduced a lot that deserved to be followed up on, particularly the idea of making some real allies in the Delta Quadrant.
"Fair Haven": I think this is a decent allegory about the temptation to change the people we get romantically involved with.
"Juggernaut": This is the one with the B'Elanna shower scene, right? That's about the only positive I can see in it. Note that the toy spaceship the Malon crewman is playing with is the model that was used in the original (pre-FC)
ST Chronology as Zefram Cochrane's prototype warp ship.
"Hope and Fear": Not bad at all. A good wrapup to Seven's arc in her first season on the show, and an all-too-rare story about the long-term consequences of
Voyager's actions.
"Think Tank": It is a nice glimpse at various nonhumanoid aliens, something we didn't see nearly enough of. And I appreciated the throwaway reference to the Vidiian phage finally being cured.
"Time and Again," "Twisted": I think most of the first season has pretty good writing, since Michael Piller headed the staff. Even when the stories were weak, we still got good character moments. "Time and Again" is a significant early character-building episode for Kes and lays the groundwork for her relationship with the Doctor. "Twisted" shows the whole cast interacting socially and then dealing with a shipwide crisis, and though the crisis is weak, the character writing isn't bad.
"Alter Ego": Not bad at all. An episode that tests Tuvok's stoicism and reserve without resorting to gimmicks like mindmelds and neurological traumas.
"Good Shepherd": Ohh, this is an excellent episode! A welcome and long-overdue return of the real Kathryn Janeway, the nurturer and strong mother figure to the crew.
"Latent Image": An even better episode! A very powerful Doctor story, even if it does have a few continuity glitches (like Janeway having short hair and Paris being a medic in the flashbacks). The only things I don't like about it are the lack of Kes in the flashbacks and the fact that the gorgeous Ensign Jetal was killed off before we even knew her.
"The Void": Another favorite of mine. This is what
Voyager should've been like all along -- not just about running home to mommy, but about building a community in the Delta Quadrant, using Federation values to make it a better place.
"Dragon's Teeth": I thought the Vaadwaur had a lot of potential and had a very interesting makeup design. The main reason the episode doesn't quite work is simply that it never got a followup.
"Equinox": It was good to see another Caretaker-abducted ship at long last, though it was greatly overdue and lacking in execution.
"Darkling" / "The Fight" / "The Thaw": These are all Joe Menosky episodes that I like and a lot of people hate (along with TNG's "Masks"). I'm intrigued by Menosky episodes like "Darkling" and "The Thaw" (and "Masks") where the enemy is an
idea, an abstract principle given form through technology. More specifically: I like "Darkling" because it gives Kes some real growth as a character as well as for its philosophical musings. I like "The Fight" and "The Thaw" for their surrealism. I hate boxing, but "The Fight" redeems itself through the Doctor's condemnation of the "sport," and through the fact that it's used as a metaphor for overcoming the fear of pain and damage, whether physical or mental.
And "The Thaw" deserves special mention for giving the Doctor the best entrance
ever, when he first arrives in the virtual environment.
"Heroes and Demons": I'm very surprised to see this on a list of weak episodes, since it's a fan favorite. It's the Doctor's first big episode, his first away mission and his first romance, and it's a lot of fun. Plus it features a lively Korngoldian score by Dennis McCarthy.
"Collective": Hmmm... well, I did like Mezoti, and this episode introduced her. That's about it.
"Friendship One": Interesting glimpse into the history of Earth's space exploration, though it does have credibility issues. And at least they remembered Joe Carey existed, even if they only brought him back to kill him.
"Course: Oblivion": Doesn't make a lick of sense, but it's nice to see an alternate version of
Voyager where they actually move forward in their lives.
"Sacred Ground": A marvelous challenge of Janeway's worldview and a clever rumination on rationality and faith. And it's a hoot to see Trek aliens played by Keene Curtis, Estelle Harris, and Parley Baer, who are hardly the type of actors you expect to see playing Trek aliens.
"Threshold": Again, what salvages it is Michael Piller's emphasis on character-driven writing. Underneath all the nonsense is a decent attempt to explore Tom Paris.
"Flashback": This is a lot of fun. It does have a couple of problems, mainly a climax that's too technobabbly rather than character-driven, but it's not bad at all.
"Lifesigns", "Coda," "Retrospect": Again, I'm very surprised to see these on a bad-episodes list. "Lifesigns" is a touching romance; "Coda" (once it gets past the time-loop stuff) is an effective thriller that fills in a lot of Janeway backstory (taken by Jeri Taylor from her novel
Mosaic); and "Retrospect" is a thought-provoking piece in which Our Heroes are actually allowed to be wrong.
"Fair Trade": Not great, but harmless. And it acknowledged the fact that
Voyager was making progress through space and leaving old places and peoples behind, something all too often overlooked later on.
"Repression": At least it made an attempt to find something to do with the moribund idea of the Maquis crew.
"Spirit Folk": Silly, but fun if you turn your brain off, and I love Jay Chattaway's Celtic music in this one.
"Parturition": Not bad at all. A welcome resolution to the Neelix-Kes-Tom triangle.
"Once Upon a Time": A nice, sweet, character-driven episode about the hardships of being the only child aboard
Voyager. Good, sensitive music by David Bell (reminiscent of Holst's "Venus").
"Natural Law," "Unforgettable": I can't think of anything to single out for praise, but they're harmless enough.
"Bliss," "Memorial," "The Voyager Conspiracy," "Alice": Can't think of anything nice to say.
Ok even if you don't like the idea behind this most awesome of episodes surely you can appreciate the cool special effects of Voyager flying through a nuclear wasteland of a city escaping from the people they helped to free?
