Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series) Collective (2000) User Reviews

Young Borgs

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 14 April 2010]

When Chakotay, Tom, Harry and Neelix sit down to play a game of poker as the return from an away mission on the Delta Flyer they think it will be a quiet flight home, that is proved wrong when they encounter a Borg cube. Three of them are soon captured but aren't immediately assimilated as expected in fact they don't see any drones, Harry was injured in the initial attack and wasn't spotted by the Borg when they took the others off the flyer. When Voyager attempts a rescue they learn that everything isn't as it should be aboard the cube. The Borg offer to exchange the prisoners for Voyager's deflector dish, before agreeing Captain Janeway insists on sending Seven of Nine over to the cube to ensure that the crewmen are well. Once there she is surprised to find that instead of a crew of thousands there are only five drones on board and they are just children. They are insistent that that the collective will send a cube to rescue them, Seven discovers that the collective has no intention of rescuing them but chooses not to tell them in case they act irrationally when they learn they are unwanted. The Doctor learns that the adult drones were killed by a virus and against his advice the captain orders him to use this virus to make a weapon to kill the young drones. Seven must persuade them that they don't have to live as drones before the captain is forced to release the virus.

This was a good episode that had plenty of excitement and while it was unlikely that any major characters would come to any harm it was interesting to see how far they would be prepared to go to save the captives.

Borgbrats

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 13 September 2018]

I didn't realize the Borg had a nursery. I always assumed that they took the bodies of some poor souls and stuck their stuff on them and Bob's your uncle. Here a bunch small group of Borg kids are on board a dysfunctional ship. They kidnap Neelix and Paris, not noticing that Harry is still in the shuttle. Janeway is able to put off their assimilation by withholding some technology that the Borg kids need. But they are petullant and clueless about how things work and they have been abandoned by their Borg "parents." From past experience with Borg episodes, these kids are too much like spoiled American kids.

So what are the others up to lately?

[sloopnp · 8/10 · 24 August 2020]

Not that I'm not enjoying the episodes, but it's now the Seven of Nine show. Everyone else are just along for the ride. And kids in Sci-fi shows are never a good idea. I hope they dump them all off soon. Naomi Wildman is good enough.

A set up episode.

[thevacinstaller · 6/10 · 12 February 2023]

There is nothing profound in this episode and it seems like the set up to expand seven of nines arc for future episodes. SO9 gets to be mother bear to a group of abandoned borg orphans. We can see where this headed ---- in teaching the children about recovering or developing their identities she will discovery and learn more about herself.

There is a conflict that arises when the option of killing the borg kids with a virus is presented. We get a few brief scenes of tension between Janeway and the Doctor but it feels like a lesser coles notes presentation of a dilemma adeptly covered in 'Hue'.

YES, WE ARE BORG

[douglasjordane · 9/10 · 18 June 2019]

The evolution of Star Trek can be envisioned in this episode of imperfect drones being rejected by the collective but salvaged by the Voyager crew. This imperfection also marks the history of when Voyager figures out that they have the technology of a virus that can destroy a cube.

Captain Janeway struggles with using the deadly force of the virus on Borg children who survived to run the damaged cube cube and ultimately return to the collective. The unpredictable Borg survivors erratic behavior cause a tense standoff with Voyager. Only 7 of 9 is equipped and knowledgeable enough to save both entities.

This is one of the better story arcs of ST:VOYAGER. The BORG deserved its own spinoff series, starring Jerry Ryan as 7 of 9. Notwithstanding, this episode ("Collective ") was Star Trek at its finest!

And the Borg children shall lead

[snoozejonc · 6/10 · 9 November 2023]

This is an okay episode with some good standout moments.

A positive for me is the opening scene as the group play cards in an enjoyable scene of banter that is abruptly brought to a halt by a very effective visual moment.

What follows is a decent Seven of Nine focussed story with some standout moments for the character. The scene where she explains how the ordered thinking of the Borg helped deal with the transition to individuality is a great insight. I also thought the scene involving her and the baby is very good.

The young guest characters are a mixed bag for me. I feel for the actor who plays First, as the dialogue he has sounds like it could be for any stroppy teenager and he delivers it that way. For me the director should have stepped in at some point and directed the young actors to sound more Borg-like, particularly in the scenes with Jeri Ryan, who's delivery by contrast makes them sound distinctly un-Borg. The plot involving them unfolds in a very predictable way.

I have fun imagining this type of situation in the original series, as it would likely involve a teenage Borg girl who (like Miri) Captain Kirk would flirt with to get her confidence.

Captivated

[rmholt1 · 9/10 · 10 December 2023]

I don't know why I liked this so much more than the average fan. This view of the Borg is new - we've seen all the components before in the background & we've seen Hugh & seven redeemed but this was fresh. I don't know if the techno aspects were that new but the characters & their behaviors certainly were. A lot of suspense. Addiction to good endings is a big flaw of all the STs but this episode could have gone either way.

Looking at the next episode synopses I see they've made this a multi episode arc. This could have been just one terrific episode so I hope they don't beat it into tedium. Definitely grabbed me.

The 80s and 90s brought us "Muppet Babies", "Tiny Tunes" and now "The Baby Borg"!

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 2 March 2015]

'They are contemptuous of authority...convinced they are superior-- typical adolescent behaviors for any species.'--Tuvok

When the show begins, several crew members from Voyager are kidnapped from their shuttle by the Borg. Soon, Voyager finds the cube and is surprised how weak it is. It turns out that there is a reason--the ship is disconnected from the Collective. It's also damaged and all the adult drones are dead or gone! Instead, it's peopled by Borg kids--hence the "Muppet Baby" comparison! Instead of just kicking the Borg butts and taking back the crew members (after all, this is a VERY weak cube), the Captain deals with them with 'kid gloves'. Eventually, everyone gets tired and they all go back to Voyager for ice cream...or something like this.

I guess I am just a grumpus. I don't like tossing kids into sci-fi shows--as Tuvok says, they are indeed annoying.

We are Borg-ish

[rsbluedragon · 2/10 · 20 December 2019]

By far my favorite series, but that punk who acts as the leader ruins the episode. Oh what's that? Someone has a decent idea? "NO! It's not what I want! And we only do WHAT I WANT!" *angrily walks away like a 5 year old* I get it, he's a teenager, but the character (or the script) could've been written better. Its not right to want an adolescent character to get decked in the face every time his mouth opens.

The teenage years of a Borg collective

[tomsly-40015 · 5/10 · 22 January 2024]

This episode is one of the weakest Borg episodes in the series. Not only because the story is completely predictable, but also because it lacks the necessary depth and instead gets lost in far too long sequences in which Seven tries to repair the Borg cube. In addition, the endless discussions with the leader of the collective are quite superficial and always follow the same pattern. Neither he gains knowledge in the conversations with Seven and Janeway nor the viewer. Basically, this character is a hopeless case and it's clear from the start what will happen to him in the end.

The starting point of the episode is promising though. Voyager encounters a Borg cube whose crew has been wiped out by a pathogen. A handful of young drones are still alive, but their maturation process has been interrupted. They have captured the Delta Flyer and its crew and are now blackmailing Janeway into providing technology to repair the cube in exchange for her crew.

Instead of deep discussions about whether these young drones want to gain back their lost youth by joining Voyager and leaving their Borg lives behind, it's basically all about the leader of the collective, whose only goal is to reunite with the Borg. The other drones remain pale and in the background the entire time. It's clear from the start that the leader will ultimately bite the dust and the remaining drones will be brought onto Voyager. And that's how it happens. From now on, Seven takes the young people under her care in order to slowly introduce them to life as individuals.

However, I wonder whether we will see these children again in future episodes and whether they will be part of Seven's own character development from now on. The former Starfleet crew members of Captain Ransom's ship "Equinox" were also never seen again when Janeway took them in.

Well written but the decline i the series can be seen

[jimdavidson-19532 · 5/10 · 28 March 2019]

Probably the only failings in this story are the authoritarian role of the captain, a typical failing of this juggernaut as the series winds down, and the demotion of Seven of Nine, arguably the best character, to the role of babysitter.