The Most Disliked Episode of VOY, 2023 Edition - Season 7...

[Farscape One]

Welcome to our bi-yearly 'Most Disliked Episode' games! Now that the 'Least Disliked Episode' games hosted by BlueStuff (who inspired me to create these games, so thank you very much for paving the way) have concluded, we can begin the opposite side of that coin.

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 most favorite or the one you deem the 'best.' 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, leave at least 2 eliminations by other posters before you eliminate another episode.

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

Hall of Champions (or Failures?)
2011 - "THE FIGHT"
2018 - "FAVORITE SON"
2019 - "SPIRIT FOLK"
2021 - "FURY"
2023 - "FRIENDSHIP ONE"


Season Seven -

"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"IMPERFECTION"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"CRITICAL CARE"
"INSIDE MAN"
"BODY AND SOUL"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"SHATTERED"
"LINEAGE"
"REPENTANCE"
"PROPHECY"
"THE VOID"
"WORKFORCE"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"Q2"
"AUTHOR, AUTHOR"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"
"HOMESTEAD"
"RENAISSANCE MAN"
"ENDGAME"

 

[Farscape One]

And now comes season 7 of VOYAGER. I have to admit, I find this to be the second weakest season of VOYAGER... only slightly better than season 3. A lot of it just felt like going through the motions... much like TNG's 7th, but in a different way, if that makes sense. It has some gems, don't get me wrong. And I'll start off with the first one of the season.

"IMPERFECTION" could very easily have been a snooze, but Jeri Ryan elevates this concept flawlessly. Icheb was also quite touching throughout the episode, from his tireless efforts to look for a solution for Seven to his removal of the implant and explaining to Seven that one of the fundamental values of the crew is to help each other. That last 10 minutes of the episode shines brilliantly, and thus gets saved from this list.

Along with last season's "CHILD'S PLAY", this helps cement Seven's bond with Icheb, and why she (rightfully) went after Bejayzl in "Stardust Rag City" in PICARD season 1.


"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"CRITICAL CARE"
"INSIDE MAN"
"BODY AND SOUL"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"SHATTERED"
"LINEAGE"
"REPENTANCE"
"PROPHECY"
"THE VOID"
"WORKFORCE"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"Q2"
"AUTHOR, AUTHOR"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"
"HOMESTEAD"
"RENAISSANCE MAN"
"ENDGAME"

 

[Qonundrum]

A few cross my mind, but...

"ENDGAME"​

Somehow manages to be more riveting than Unimatrix Zilch ever could.

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A reminder of the bond between Janeway and Tuvok. Not unlike "Timeless", but the role of Harry - wanting to prevent the destruction of all his friends - is now Janeway. VOY did the Vulcan lore a bit of decent fleshing out, without driving them into the ground a la the Borg.

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And that is how you talk to yourself with dignity. What might you tell your younger self, since the younger self would invariably ask "What the blank happened?", but I digress?

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"The final end" for the Borg never seems to be, but it sure felt epic at the time. Alice Krige excels, as usual, and the music enhances the story for the most part (when it doesn't, it just reminds that franchise burnout had also kicked in).


What's left:
"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"CRITICAL CARE"
"INSIDE MAN"
"BODY AND SOUL"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"SHATTERED"
"LINEAGE"
"REPENTANCE"
"PROPHECY"
"THE VOID"
"WORKFORCE"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"Q2"
"AUTHOR, AUTHOR"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"
"HOMESTEAD"
"RENAISSANCE MAN"

 

[Sakonna]

"Renaissance Man" is a fun penultimate episode. Great to bring those aliens back for another go round.

"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"CRITICAL CARE"
"INSIDE MAN"
"BODY AND SOUL"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"SHATTERED"
"LINEAGE"
"REPENTANCE"
"PROPHECY"
"THE VOID"
"WORKFORCE"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"Q2"
"AUTHOR, AUTHOR"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"
"HOMESTEAD"

 

[Farscape One]

My next save is "THE VOID".

This is my favorite episode of season 7. It's also something we should have seen Janeway do much more often... recruit allies.

The reason why I love it so much is it's the best example of STAR TREK at its core from this show we've seen in a long time... everyone coming together, helping each other out, and solving a dilemma together. Everyone brought something that helped the others out... one had super efficient energy tech, another had sophisticated sensors.

Caring for Fantome and making his people feel welcome is also very STAR TREK at its core, when even the outsiders and pariahs are treated fairly, they become not only friends but are essential for the escape plan to work.

This best embodied the spirit of the franchise since DS9 ended over a year and a half prior to this one airing.

"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"CRITICAL CARE"
"INSIDE MAN"
"BODY AND SOUL"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"SHATTERED"
"LINEAGE"
"REPENTANCE"
"PROPHECY"
"WORKFORCE"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"Q2"
"AUTHOR, AUTHOR"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"
"HOMESTEAD"

 

[Brennyren]

Saving "Body and Soul" for Jeri Ryan's brilliant performance channeling Robert Picardo. Amazing work, and entertaining as hell.

"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"CRITICAL CARE"
"INSIDE MAN"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"SHATTERED"
"LINEAGE"
"REPENTANCE"
"PROPHECY"
"WORKFORCE"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"Q2"
"AUTHOR, AUTHOR"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"
"HOMESTEAD"

 

[Oddish]

Saving "Lineage". It's a bit of a variation on Torres's issues with being Kling-free, I mean Klingon. But at least it does it well. And I liked how Harry supported Tom, Tom stood by B'Elanna, and B'Elanna made up with the Doc at the end.

"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"CRITICAL CARE"
"INSIDE MAN"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"SHATTERED"
"REPENTANCE"
"PROPHECY"
"WORKFORCE"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"Q2"
"AUTHOR, AUTHOR"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"
"HOMESTEAD"

 

[Farscape One]

"BODY AND SOUL" was going to be my next save and for exactly that reason.

So I go to my next one after... "HOMESTEAD".

Contrivance aside on a Talaxian colony this far away from Talax, this was a fantastic ending for Neelix.

Until the current era, he was the ONLY character to even get an ending. The final scene of him walking through the corridor and his expression... loved it. But what makes me shed a single man tear every time... Tuvok's dance. A beautiful ending to a character I really loved.

Yes, I have a very high opinion of Neelix. I know I am likely in the minority there, but I don't care.



"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"CRITICAL CARE"
"INSIDE MAN"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"SHATTERED"
"REPENTANCE"
"PROPHECY"
"WORKFORCE"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"Q2"
"AUTHOR, AUTHOR"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"

 

[Oddish]

Until the current era, he was the ONLY character to even get an ending. The final scene of him walking through the corridor and his expression... loved it. But what makes me shed a single man tear every time... Tuvok's dance. A beautiful ending to a character I really loved.

Beautifully stated. Every other Voyager character just vanished into the ether at the end of the series. And except for Janeway, we didn't see most of them for two decades.

Yes, I have a very high opinion of Neelix. I know I am likely in the minority there, but I don't care.

A minority, maybe. But not alone. I'm a fan of the old bar rodent as well.

 

[Seven of Five]

S7 is another schizophrenic season like S6, though I like a lot of what they did with Tom and B'Elanna., and holographic rights. Endgame was a pretty average finale for me, and I'm not sure why they thought the Borg Queen should appear in Endgame.


Author, Author is like a warmed-over The Measure of a Man, but it's still a lot of fun, and we see that the Doctor is one of the few characters being allowed to evolve on the show.

"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"CRITICAL CARE"
"INSIDE MAN"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"SHATTERED"
"REPENTANCE"
"PROPHECY"
"WORKFORCE"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"Q2"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"

 

[Sakonna]

“Prophecy” is an unexpected good time. They get the Klingon wackiness just right.

"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"CRITICAL CARE"
"INSIDE MAN"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"SHATTERED"
"REPENTANCE"
"WORKFORCE"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"Q2"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"

 

[Qonundrum]

2B or not 2B, that's the question.

"Q2"​

will be my next pick.

"Q2" is not exactly VOY's finest hour by any measure, but it's not the worst of what's left.

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And 1:20 for the win! The spark for classi'Q is still there... At least until when the Q tribunal, wearing the TNG mockery court outfits for no reason, appears to sentence Mini-Q. Was there no other "accessible" outfit, as if Janeway couldn't understand what a court was without such an arcane focal point as if 24th century humans use the same garb? Oh wait, that budget wouldn't be possible, and I'm supposed to be defending my choice of save as to why it's the least-disliked. Well, everything up to the "trial" scene definitely works.

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Dennis the Menace: "I'm the world's worst child!"
Q2: "Hold my coffee- and Ecstacy-infused beer, you bland little microbe!"

And speaking of uppers for a rave*,

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Intended discontinuity of clip order aside so it'll fit in with the rest of all this, how come Engineering and the warp core weren't always lit like this? Oh, wait, that might have rendered a thousand Engineering scenes less sleep-inducing and be genuinely exciting Trek again! Though the 60s-wannabe go-go dancers were a bit much... But back to something good, check out 0:39 because it almost sounds like Godmommy Kathy there had stifled a swear, woohoo!

As for something good*,

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Don't you love it when content creators use their computer equipment in the videos? It's edgy! At least back then when a computer looked like a computer. Now they're just boring slabs that make the beige PC boxes of the late-90s more exciting in looks and are more easy to crack than an addict. But check out those sweet sweet angles of that Atari ST computer! Dang creativity... Of course, at ADHDTV frame rates, it's a "blink or you'll miss" phenomenon - but that's for the music genre, at up to 300bpm, of course

* Sadly, I'm not reposting the music video for Ebeneezer Goode, and hey neato - it's a two-for-one footnote!​

What's left:
"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"CRITICAL CARE"
"INSIDE MAN"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"SHATTERED"
"REPENTANCE"
"WORKFORCE"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "REPENTANCE".

A solid story that is greatly elevated by both Jeri Ryan and Jeff Kober as Iko. An interesting alternate take at a justice system, too.


"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"CRITICAL CARE"
"INSIDE MAN"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"SHATTERED"
"WORKFORCE"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"

 

[Sakonna]

Oh jeez. Not much left to get excited about. I guess I recently rewatched "Workforce, Part I" and enjoyed it more than I ever have previously. I like the intercutting of all the cliffhangers at the end.

"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"CRITICAL CARE"
"INSIDE MAN"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"SHATTERED"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"

 

[BlueStuff]

Critical Care - my favourite of a very ho-hum season.

"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"INSIDE MAN"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"SHATTERED"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"

 

[at Quark's]

I like Shattered.

Perhaps it breaks apart under scrutiny, but then again, many episodes do. An entertaining hour of relatively lighthearted adventure, as far as I'm concerned.

"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"INSIDE MAN"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"HUMAN ERROR"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"

 

[Sakonna]

“Human Error” is probably one of the least successful Seven episodes, but Jeri Ryan is still doing incredible work.

And asking a character this dynamic and compelling to be infatuated with someone as bland and inert as Chakotay — that is truly a tall order.

"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"INSIDE MAN"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"

 

[Oddish]

I like Shattered.

Perhaps it breaks apart under scrutiny...

I saw what you did there...

Inside Man was one of the weaker Barclay & Troi episodes, but it was a Barclay and Troi episode. That's enough, given the lackluster nature of this season, to justify a save.

"UNIMATRIX ZERO PART II"
"DRIVE"
"REPRESSION"
"NIGHTINGALE"
"FLESH AND BLOOD"
"WORKFORCE, PART II"
"FRIENDSHIP ONE"
"NATURAL LAW"

 

[at Quark's]

I saw what you did there...

Lol, that wasn't even intentional on my side

 

[Oddish]

Lol, that wasn't even intentional on my side

Even better.