Alone in the dark: Voyager Edition. Originally broadcast on February 14, 2001, this is The Void.
The Episode:
Captain’s Log Stardate 54553.4 The Void
Voyager finds itself trapped in a region of space devoid of…well…anything only to find that there are others there and they are not friendly.
The Story:
Voyager is sucked into a starless void only to find itself under attack. During the attack the alien ship steals nearly all of the ships food supply as well as a large portion of deuterium. Soon, after meeting with another ship, the crew of Voyager learns that there are many ships in the void and they have resorted in stealing from one another in order to survive as it seems escape is not possible.
This results in the crew hunting down their supplies while remaining determined to not fall into the same trap everyone else has resorting in piracy. Eventually, after saving a wounded alien, Janeway forms her own mini-Federation with some other ships who have also been attacked allowing them to work together to gain back what was once theirs and escape. Once out of The Void the Alliance breaks up going back to their respective homes. Voyager, once again alone, continues homeward as well.
Is this a ‘Good’ Episode:
This is a very cookie cutter episode that is not only predictable but, as I just mentioned, somewhat of a letdown. Lets break this down shall we? Voyager ends up in trouble, they find themselves lost in a place no one has escaped from in possibly generations, they refuse to give up their morals to survive and only end up escaping through the power of…wait for it…friendship. Seriously, this is an episode with the lesson of ‘working together solves all problems’ and boy is it tropey as heck. Let’s see, Janeway refuses to violate the principles of the Federation while risking the ship’s survival, the crew has to learn to work without enough supplies (like I though they had been doing for some time anyhow), they make loose alliances and face betrayals, they discover a solution to a problem NO ONE has been able to for years, et al. Not to be too harsh, too late huh, but I swear I saw this story on an episode of Care Bears back in the 80’s at some point.
Yeah, you know exactly what I am going to say here. This is an episode with tremendous potential with Voyager actually gaining an armada of allies by the end of the episode who…just kinda leave. I mean, why wouldn’t they team up for a while, travel together, face obstacles as an armada? Nope, they all part ways and Voyager is left to face the struggles of the final episodes of the series all alone.
Bottom line, this is very much a filler episode that you can skip without missing much. Sadly, It’s as much of a Void as the Void that Voyager finds itself in. Heck, this would have been a pretty good season of it’s own as Voyager is forced to survive The Void with them breaking through and…finding that they are even closer to home than ever before. But no, we get a lackluster episode and Voyager is left behind as before only to continue on it’s way home.
Gleanings and Cool Bits:
- 0 photon torpedoes fired, -24 remaining.
- 0 shuttlecraft lost or destroyed, -6 remaining
- Seven finally shows her cooking skills and is quite efficient at it. In a good way.
- We encounter species and ships from several other episodes including the Vaadwaur, the Kraylor, the Overlookers, and a few others.
- You might not recognize him but the alien Janeway rescues is played by none other than Johnathan Del Arco who also played Hugh on STNG and Picard! He also happens to be from a species that actually lives in the void.
Thanks for reading the Retro TV Review, I look forward to discussing the rest of the series with you, one episode at a time every Monday, Wednesday and Friday! Next Review: Workforce Parts I & II
For more reviews: check out the weekly series called Key Movies Of My Life that comes out every Thursday and for more retro TV goodness check out the rest of the Retro TV Reviews here.
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Late To The Game 4/2/2021
Special Thanks to Memory Alpha as they are one of the best sources for details on Star Trek information available. Although I have a pretty deep knowledge on the subject, they have proven invaluable as a regular resource.
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