With two Star Trek series already concluded, and a third winding
down, Star Trek Voyager was going strong. The first season
was entirely successful in drawing in the faithful Trekkies and establishing
Voyager as a series that would last. Embracing the new female
captain, and the new crew, fans followed the show as Voyager began
its run, taking on the galaxy, only this time with a slight plot twist.
Season two of Voyager debuts on DVD with everything a fan could
want, including all 26 episodes and a decent amount of special features. It’s
also worthy to note at this point the special features are just as decent as
the number included. I was mildly impressed. And I say mildly simply because
I wasn’t astounding, but impressed nonetheless. However, I will go over
those in detail a little later.
The reason this Trek series differs from previous ones is it’s setting
far away from the normal Trek universe we have come to know and love. Klingons
and Romulans are now thousands of light years away and the crew of Voyager is
alone in the far reaches of space. This of course is due to incidents in the
pilot episode of the first season, when a powerful alien known as The Caretaker
swept the ship away from its home in the Alpha Quadrant to the vast unknown
regions of the Delta Quadrant. Now the only Federation starship in the area,
it continues on it’s main mission objective: to explore. However, during
it’s course of discovery there is always the intent on getting home. The
storylines included in all the seasons of Voyager also parallel the ship’s
journey home. For those of you who majored in Star Trek, you would know that
75,000 light years is a lot. But for those of you who do not know much about
Star Trek, or astronomy really, just take my word for it – it’s
a long way from home. Even at Voyager’s maximum speed it would take over
75 years for the ship to return to any previously known portion of the galaxy.
Captaining the lost crew is Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the first female
captain in the Star Trek series’ run (as a mainstay character). Joining
her are all the same people from the previous season including Commander Chakotay
(Robert Beltran), Tim Russ’s Vulcan Lieutenant Tuvok, Ensign Harry Kim
(Garrett Wang), B’Elanna Torres (Roxanne Biggs-Dawson), and Tom Paris
(Robert Duncan McNeill). How, though, could we forget the comical holographic
doctor played by Robert Picardo. And of course, the token alien characters Kes
(Jennifer Lien) and Neelix (Ethan Phillips).
As Voyager embarks on the journey home, naturally, stuff happens. Oh boy does
stuff happen. Season two has a number of fantastic episodes for fans and new
viewers alike to enjoy. While pretty much anyone can ease into a Star Trek story,
it still takes an enjoyment of the techno-babble and aliens. If you’re
a first time Voyager viewer, you’ll be scratching your
head over a few plots here in season two, but for the most part can fall right
in and watch the show without a problem. But in order to get the full experience,
I would highly suggest picking up the first season on DVD, which has already
been released. A number of the better episodes actually deal with some of the
continuing storylines so it would be beneficial to get in on the full story.
But if you’re not willing to pick up the first season and somehow just
ended up with this one, I think you’ll manage. Anyway, as I was saying,
season two contains a number of episodes well worth watching. Among them is
the season premiere “The 37’s,” in which the crew of Voyager
comes face to face with some people from Earth’s past, the year 1937,
such as Amelia Earheart who is portrayed by Sharon Lawrence of NYPD Blue fame.
Some other great episodes include “Projections,” “Twisted,”
“Cold Fire,” “Maneuvers,” “Resistance,”
“Alliances,” “Threshold,” “Dreadnought,”
“Deadlock,” and “Basics, Part 1.” Some of these episodes
deal with storylines continuing from the previous seasons and episodes, many
of which are key to the continuation of the series. One specific episode that
deserves mentioning is “Death Wish,” which sees the return of one
of Star Trek’s most beloved characters: Q. In fact, more than one Q. But
John deLancie returns for an episode as an advocate of the Q Continuum in order
to stop another Q from committing suicide. It’s a great episode with a
number of laughs, as well as a different perspective on assisted suicide. Overall,
out of the 26 episodes, almost all are worth watching. The season works and
flows very well, and leaves off on a cliffhanger, leaving viewing yearning for
season three.
Complimenting this array of great episodes is a number of special features that
are worth looking at. Here’s a rundown:
-Braving The Unknown: Season Two – This featurette is a decent look at
the turmoil the creators and writers of the show have to go through. As a new
Trek series in uncharted space, there’s so much that can happen, yet so
much has already happened. The show must be fresh, but familiar. I’d give
this a look.
-Voyager Time Capsule: Tuvok – Here’s a look at the history of Tim
Russ and his years in front of the camera in multiple Trek series and even movies.
Learn about his character, and Russ as the man he is off the screen. I was surprised
to learn he is an accomplished musician and guitar player. I’d also watch
this if I were you.
-Saboteur Extraordinaire: Seska – Explore the character of Seska, the
traitor from Voyager who is continually wreaking havoc with the crew as she
allies with the Kazon.
-A Day In The Life of Ethan Phillips – Go behind the scenes with Ethan
Phillips, the man who plays Neelix. Follow him through his long 15 hour day
from waking up at 4am, to hours of makeup, and hours of shooting the show. A
short feature.
-Red Alert: Visual Effects Season Two – This was an interesting little
watch. I’d give this a view if you’re interested in how some of
the special effects for the series are done. Includes descriptions of landing
Voyager on a planet, space battles, and other visuals on the ship.
-Real Science with Andre Bormanis – This is also slightly interesting
as some of the science of the series is explained. Learn about warp speed and
other features of the show. Kind of cool.
-Lost Transmissions From The Delta Quadrant – This isn’t actually
a labeled features, it’s composed of a number of easter-egg type finds
throughout the various special features menus. Most are interviews with cast
and producers on some of the finer points of the show, while one is a music
video by Tim Russ (Tuvok). I’ll admit it was a catchy tune, though not
an astounding video.
-Other special features include a photo gallery, which is mostly useless, and
a special “Pop-Up Video” version of the season premiere “The
37’s.”
Everything included here in this seven-disc set is wonderful. The amount of
extras nicely compliments the number of episodes. While these aren’t extras
really worth watching over and over, they are indeed worth a watch at least
once. And therefore they get my seal of approval as a good inclusion.
As before with season one, there is only one real gripe I have with the set,
and that is the packaging. I know it will never change because they will use
the same thing for all seven seasons, but I feel I should just warn you that
it’s really the most asinine thing I’ve ever seen. If you buy this
set, you’ll understand when you see it. Just fair warning. Everything
else, including the menus and transitions, as well as the transfer to DVD are
great, and well worth it.
So season two of Star Trek Voyager has arrived, and is indeed
worth checking out. For a fan of anything Star Trek, how could
you not add this to your already bulging collection? If you’re a first
timer, you won’t be disappointed either. With enough episodes and special
features to occupy you for almost 30 hours this set is definitely a good one.
I say let’s warp speed to season three! I’m hungry for more.
Season Two Episodes: A
Special Features: C+
Overall Set: B
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