The least disliked episode of VOY - Season Four

[BlueStuff]

This is a game that we play every few years, and it's generally a lot of fun, providing a chance to mentally revisit those episodes you may not have thought about in a while. With that in mind, why not play again?

So, here's the game. The basic idea is your standard elimination game. I'll provide a list of the episodes for each season and you need to eliminate your least favorite or the one you deem the 'worst.' Please provide an EXPLANATION for why you are eliminating your choice and be sure to copy and paste the list with your choice removed. Finally, please leave at least 2 eliminations by other posters before you eliminate another episode.

No tactical voting! You cannot remove an episode just because you feel they would threaten your preferred episode's chance to win. Pretty simple. Enjoy!

Hall of Champions
2011 - Meld
2013 - Living Witness
2017 - Blink of an Eye
2019 -

Season Four

Scorpion (II)
The Gift
Day of Honor
Nemesis
Revulsion
The Raven
Scientific Method
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Random Thoughts
Concerning Flight
Mortal Coil
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
Retrospect
The Killing Game (I)
The Killing Game (II)
Vis á Vis
The Omega Directive
Unforgettable
Living Witness
Demon
One
Hope and Fear

 

[Starflight]

Retrospect. Pathetically clumsy writing, laugh-out-loud hamfisted metaphor, excruciatingly dumb line where the accused guy says "an accusation alone can ruin me forever on my world!!". The episode's moral also seems to be that Seven should have just shut up and not said anything, because look, the guy dramatically blew himself up and it's all Seven's fault. Unbelievable. They could have written a show on that subject matter if they really felt the need to, but it'd take vastly more skill and effort than this crap displayed. Jeri Ryan and Robert Picardo really try to save it and do some great work, but no, it's not happening.

Scorpion (II)
The Gift
Day of Honor
Nemesis
Revulsion
The Raven
Scientific Method
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Random Thoughts
Concerning Flight
Mortal Coil
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
The Killing Game (I)
The Killing Game (II)
Vis á Vis
The Omega Directive
Unforgettable
Living Witness
Demon
One
Hope and Fear

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Scorpion II … same reason as Scorpion I, but not because of Scorpion I. The season 3 finale had problems in how it approached the drama over decisions and leadership structures. In this episode, they are amplified. I understand that Mulgrew and Kolbe wanted to have a scene where the question of the chain of command came into play. Great! Unfortunately, the writers showed Janeway berating a crew member who flushed out an implacable hostile force trying to take over the ship. Not only does it not add up, the tension between the two is meant to carry the rest of the episode. The writers can't simply randomly paste scenes into an episode.

The Gift
Day of Honor
Nemesis
Revulsion
The Raven
Scientific Method
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Random Thoughts
Concerning Flight
Mortal Coil
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
The Killing Game (I)
The Killing Game (II)
Vis á Vis
The Omega Directive
Unforgettable
Living Witness
Demon
One
Hope and Fear *

 

[Sakonna]

I'll have to knock "Unforgettable." What was it with the Voyager writers compulsion to use references to memorability as the titles for their most blandly forgettable episodes?

The Gift
Day of Honor
Nemesis
Revulsion
The Raven
Scientific Method
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Random Thoughts
Concerning Flight
Mortal Coil
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
The Killing Game (I)
The Killing Game (II)
Vis á Vis
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
Demon
One
Hope and Fear

 

[BigDaveX]

Scientific Method. Feels like a grab-bag of tropes from the 1987-2005 era Trek shows, and doesn't really offer anything new.

The Gift
Day of Honor
Nemesis
Revulsion
The Raven
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Random Thoughts
Concerning Flight
Mortal Coil
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
The Killing Game (I)
The Killing Game (II)
Vis á Vis
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
Demon
One
Hope and Fear

 

[Farscape One]

The Gift
Day of Honor
Nemesis
Revulsion
The Raven
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Random Thoughts
Mortal Coil
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
The Killing Game (I)
The Killing Game (II)
Vis á Vis
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
Demon
One
Hope and Fear

"CONCERNING FLIGHT" is gone. While I love John Rhys-Davies and Joe Menosky's work, the episode just doesn't work for some reason.

 

[Seven of Five]

Fun with DNA strikes again, with the terrible Demon. It doesn't have much going for it.

The Gift
Day of Honor
Nemesis
Revulsion
The Raven
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Random Thoughts
Mortal Coil
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
The Killing Game (I)
The Killing Game (II)
Vis á Vis
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
One
Hope and Fear

 

[Sakonna]

"Harry Kim, take off your clothes." I am revolted by "Revulsion."

The Gift
Day of Honor
Nemesis
The Raven
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Random Thoughts
Mortal Coil
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
The Killing Game (I)
The Killing Game (II)
Vis á Vis
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
One
Hope and Fear

 

[Unicorn]

The Gift
Day of Honor
Nemesis
The Raven
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Random Thoughts
Mortal Coil
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
The Killing Game (I)
The Killing Game (II)
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
One
Hope and Fear

Bye Vis a Vis. Boring bodysnatcher plot and even more boring sitcom-like Paris subplot

 

[Brennyren]

I'm dismissing "Random Thoughts," because I have a problem with the way everyone (except Paris) is okay with the Aliens of the Week mucking about with B'Elanna's mind. Also, it is fairly incomprehensible to me that the Voyager crew were on that planet for three days without ever having an angry thought. Paragons or prigs? You tell me. Tim Russ does a nice job, but that's to be expected.

The Gift
Day of Honor
Nemesis
The Raven
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Mortal Coil
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
The Killing Game (I)
The Killing Game (II)
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
One
Hope and Fear

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Eliminating The Killing Game (II). Out of all the big Voyager premises I think this one's a huge stretch, and it's also an episode rife with writer indulgences.

The Gift
Day of Honor
Nemesis
The Raven
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Mortal Coil
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
The Killing Game (I)
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
One
Hope and Fear

 

[Takeru]

Mortal Coil, it introduces a death cure that's never used again and I give zero effs about Neelix's crisis of faith especially because his faith was never a big part of the character.


The Gift
Day of Honor
Nemesis
The Raven
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
The Killing Game (I)
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
One
Hope and Fear

 

[Brennyren]

Putting an end to the season-ender, "Hope and Fear." I appreciate the continuity nod, and completely understand Arcturus's desire for revenge. But his plan is preposterous, and the plot moves at the speed of contrivance.

The Gift
Day of Honor
Nemesis
The Raven
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
The Killing Game (I)
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
One

 

[Seven of Five]

I'll get rid of The Killing Game (I). Switch your brain off and it's an enjoyable enough hour, but it's thoroughly ridiculous.

The Gift
Day of Honor
Nemesis
The Raven
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
One

 

[Takeru]

The Gift because Kes' powers suddenly supercharging and forcing her off the ship doesn't feel like an organic exit at all.


Day of Honor
Nemesis
The Raven
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Waking Moments
Message in a Bottle
Hunters
Prey
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
One

 

[Sakonna]

"Message In A Bottle" Andy Dick is a terrible human being. I probably haven't seen this episode since it first aired, and I don't imagine I will ever watch it again. I just don't need to be reminded that Andy Dick ever existed and still exists. That's something it is better to forget.

Day of Honor
Nemesis
The Raven
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Waking Moments
Hunters
Prey
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
One

 

[BigDaveX]

The Raven. I did like the character insight we got into Seven, but the episode seemed a little lacking somehow, as if it were the first half of some two-parter that never got completed.

Day of Honor
Nemesis
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Waking Moments
Hunters
Prey
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
One

 

[Claudia]

"Nemesis"... boring as hell, typical Chakotay episode.

Day of Honor
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Waking Moments
Hunters
Prey
The Omega Directive
Living Witness
One

 

[Qonundrum]

So many good episodes left so it's not easy, but in the list "The Omega Directive" felt a bit by the numbers in plotting despite being somewhat original, and something the Borg would naturally want to find and tinker with, to use in ways other than destruction (because it's perfect and the old phrase "death is irrelevant"). Again, it's not a bad story but never really - for me - felt like more than the sum of its parts. \


What's left:

Day of Honor
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Waking Moments
Hunters
Prey

Living Witness
One

 

[Farscape One]

Day of Honor
Year of Hell (I)
Year of Hell (II)
Hunters
Prey
Living Witness
One

"WAKING MOMENTS" goes to sleep. While the concept of an alien race that lives and attacks through dreaming is pretty original and interesting, the episode itself isn't as good as the concept.