Change Your Image
sirdscoast
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againEnterprise may have come out a bit prematurely. After three shows with TNG, DS9, and Voyager running seven seasons each with many plots dusted and redone over and over again, Enterprise took a look at the first steps of humanity into an early warp culture where the fastest speed was warp 5. The popularity already waning in the former installments finally caught up and the franchise were cancelled. I believe had the show been broadcast now (after a period of at least 10 years had past) , the show would have been better and fans would gladly flock to the show even more than they already had. It is fun rewatching these episodes now as it almost really is like watching a newly made Star Trek show.
The following list represents the collection of Enterprise episodes I believe to fit well with established Star Trek canon and lore. You may disagree with me or like to add another episode, but each to his own. Those episodes that are not included may have been fun and exciting in their own right, however, there may have been an element within them that I found overdone as in previous Star Trek shows or contradicted the history of Star Trek. In the end, it was a well worthwhile show and I highly recommend it.
ST: VOY began at the end of TNG's run and coincided with Star Trek's only iteration of running two different crews on two different shows simultaneously. Namely, Voyager was released one year after DS9's 1st season. DS9 in turn took several new approaches to the Star Trek universe including dedicated entire seasons to a singular arc: The Dominion War. This look at war is unparalleled and served as the focal point for DS9. DS9 was not without its problems as it the story centered on a space station rather than a starship. For those new to Star Trek who might be thinking so what? there is a difference in going to the action and having the action come to you. This limitation was noticeable throughout the first two seasons and was remedied with the introduction of the USS Defiant. After DS9 also decided to break the color barrier by introducing Commander Sisko as its first African-American central figure, Voyager followed suite by introducing the first female lead character and captain: Captain Kathryn Janeway.
This fourth addition to the Star Trek universe decided the shows had become less about exploring the unknown and more about regulating the peace between species within and without the Federation. Voyager therefore is set in the Delta Quadrant, taken there by the Caretaker, with a very long and unknown trip ahead towards home. What could have easily been a show about First Contacts and Undiscovered Countries, because a show focused on a singular cause: the Journey Home. (See the Puns there? :))
Personally, of all Star Trek shows, Voyager does not hold up the torch very well. The cast of the show lacks chemistry, all character friendships seem forced. This is a first strike against Voyager. The ship never seems to be in great parallel or maintain sustained damage (why are Starbases considered vital if a ship can seemingly be fixed on its own) over the course of several episodes or an arc (with the exception of Year of Hell). Voyager seems less about wonder and discovery than an Americanized version of Starfleet to perceive situations and context through a narrow ethnocentric mindset. In essence, a problem is perceived through this mindset and the need to "fix it" to match our ideas of civilization should resemble seems to echo American Middle East policy during the War on Terror and Invasion of Iraq. As I write this description, the year is 2016 and it would appear following Brexit, a possible Trump Presidency, greater Russian aggression, Turkish Minister President Erdogan's abolishing of democracy in his own country, and constant threat of terrorism, the world is in need of rationality and understanding as best seen in the fictional realm of Star Trek. Star Trek has always represented the best of what humanity can offer, but always attempted to understand the ways of others first without a judgmental eye. As the Vulcan's believe: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.
Voyager had many good episodes, but did not create any groundbreaking of its own or expand the Star Trek universe in any meaningful way. Of the over 170 episodes, I have cut this down to just less than 60. This Canon List specifically focuses on the strengths of the show while also looking to highlight necessary arcs. Those arcs include: 1) Starfleet and Maquis adjusting to one another, 2) Experiencing elements of the Delta Quadrant, 3) Time Reset episodes, 4) the suprisingly short-lived Vidiians, 5) a deeper look into the Borg, 6) the brief look at the short-lived Hirogen, and finally 7) contacting Earth through the Pathfinder Project and the Journey Home.
Some of the best episodes Voyager was particularly notorious for involved a certain type of plot recycling where the crew of Voyager live and suffer through events that are then erased via time manipulation. Although these episodes in particular are great, when examined in this list, it gives the impression that since they never existed in the first place, Voyager has one of the most uneventful trips back to Earth. Enterprise, the show following Voyager and set to a time before Kirk, does a better job of making even established contacts seem new and fresh with a simple addition of Ensign Sato serving as a universal translator rather than computer that makes all species of alien speak English. If the writers of the show wanted to explore the unknown citing the Alpha and Beta Quadrant were done so thoroughly before, then the writers failed to see that when experiencing something new, you have to make it new. In the end, Voyager was already suffering from plot recycling and lack of ideas among the writing staff. The late 90s and early millennium saw a prosperous America and a relatively quiet world order. Star Trek itself had already helped launch several groundbreaking social ideas into the world such as Nuclear Proliferation and promotion of cultural and ethnic roles, that little was left to be said of needed political or social commentary. This served as Voyager's death sentence from becoming what a TV show normal is, a TV show, entertainment.
In creating this canon list, I wanted to highlight the best episodes of Voygaer. You may disagree with me or like to add another episode, but each to his own. Those episodes that are not included may have been fun and exciting in their own right, however, there may have been an element within them that I found overdone as in previous Star Trek shows or contradicted the history of Star Trek.
Reviews
Star Trek: Voyager: Scientific Method (1997)
Voyager Twist to Some TNG Plot Recycling
Oh Star Trek, how I love you, but after watching nearly every single episode of every incarnation, you start to notice not just a few episodes share very similar plots. It is fantastic in a sense as each show had to produce 20+ episodes a season and we were not in the singular season arc most contemporary shows such as Game of Thrones, Arrowverse, and the sort currently produce. Different facets of humanity were explored or actors were permitted to explore their characters and experiment with their own acting abilities. This episode is strongly reminiscent of the TNG episode "Schisms", which was also creepy in its own right. Kudos to the writers for giving thought to individual story lines such as Seven continuing to learn about working in a hierarchy or Tom and B'Lanna pursuing their relationship. Both Schisms and Scientific Method treat the episodes as mysteries, with the crew finding a way to counter the threat by relying on each other's unique abilities to save the day. When I was younger, as much as we love Trek or even hero-worship, it made me wonder if similar events happen to other species' crews and if they were equally successful? I think my younger self was beginning to find certain episodes where the crew always have a convenient solution to an uncanny problem a bit too convenient. Its like every superhero movie every made: villain wants to destroy Earth, hero saves the day, gets the girl. Especially in these Marvel and DC expanded universe times, if you have seen it at least 5 times with 5 different heroes, you kind of have seen it all. :) Now that I am older and am coming around to watching Voyager again for the second (or third) time, I see that each show's crew has a higher chance of several because of the unique traits each character possesses. A purely human, Vulcan, Klingon ship may also find success, but not as quickly as the TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, or ENT crews. In this case, had Seven not been on board, it might have been possible to adjust the doctor's field of vision as in the episode "Displaced", but Seven seems to be a more convenient choice. Star Trek's core message of inclusion and celebration of diversity rings true even here, without the straightforward, written message directed at audiences. As a species, we are more likely to survive and evolve if we treasure each other and rely on each other. As much as I don't like plot recycling, it was a decent episode focusing on how Voyager's crew handles similar experimentation as TNG once did. Oddly enough, I don't remember a similar episode in DS9, but I could be wrong! Enjoy!
Star Trek: Voyager: Sacred Ground (1996)
It is not science vs fantasy or rationalism vs religion, it is simple faith
For the casual observer looking for an episode to watch, you may either view the ratings of any particular episodes or even be so inclined to read the comments. Many of the comments rated this as one of the worst Voyager episodes, I strongly disagree. Many also claimed this episode was an affront to rationalism and scientific thought, no it was not. Though a debate could occur over the degree of sanctimony the alien species had, I believe this particular Voyager episode was more in spirit with Star Trek than most other Voyager episodes. I say this as Voyager often follow into a particular plot: first contact new species, a problem emerges with interaction (usually a major character is injured or detained), and through ethnocentric point of view, Voyager's crew solves the problem without trying to understand the other side's point of view. Voyager was far quicker to briefly highlight a disagreement in philosophy, to only ignore the bigger questions the particular incident raised towards or in comparison to the human condition. And since we need a convenient plot ending to the episode, a quick fix, save, or rescue is written it without really addressing the bigger issue. This episode was more in line with Picard and TNG, a willingness to go through a ritual even if it is to save a crewmen. Janeway did not enter the caves to become spiritually enlightened and when she finally became open to the experience and observed the ritual as would the alien species, was she enlightened. It did not necessarily change her character, but it made her briefly question her absolute devotion to science and devotion. Based on all the other comments, it almost seems that Star Trek is an atheist harbor, where a leap of faith cannot and should not occur. Although we should strive to be able to rationalize the beauty of the world, to understand the underlying mysteries of the universe, we should also be capable of appreciating not knowing and simply accepting either 1) one day we will know, or 2) have hope and faith in what we do. I did not see this as an attack on science, but simply the omission we do not yet understand everything and even if we did, sometimes we just have to believe something good will happen. I also do not believe the alien species had an ill will towards Kes, it was an accident, and they felt this transcendental experience is a worthwhile cause to share with the universe, especially those willing to sit and learn about strange new worlds and new civilizations. If I had a pet peeve with Voyager is that it only tried to solve problems through its own narrow understanding of the universe and saw itself as the gift to the world. Janeway and crew often thought they knew everything better and it took most of an episode to begrudgingly accept another point of view from another species. With all the negative comments for this particular, it is no wonder we have a polarized country that seeks to not back down in the endless fight that is religion versus science. Watch the episode, make up your own mind, but above all be the open-mindedness that true Trek truly envisioned. This was not a religion vs science episode and could have been a TNG episode.