Voyager Season 1 TOP 5 Episodes & Season Recap

Inception Finale ^^

my favorite thing about Janeway, which I don't think I gave her nearly enough credit for when I watched then when it first came out... is her sense of wonder. I absolutely love seeing her nerd out with Torres... Her sense of wonder when she is talking to any number of her crew is contagious. Mulgrew did such a fantastic job of being the embodiment of curiosity and wonder.

Alright, I watched(listened while driving) a few days ago, but a little late with my summary post. At least now it won't get buried in the comments. Patrons Josh Alex 1 - Eye of the Needle 1 - Eye of the Needle 1 - Eye of the Needle 2 - Jetrel 2 - Prime Factors 2 - Jetrel 3 - State of Flux 3 - State of Flux 3 - Time & Again 4 - Caretaker 4 - Jetrel 4 - Prime Factors 5 - Prime Factors 5 - Caretaker 5 - Learning Curve Honorable Mentions Faces Faces Mudd's Women Phage "The Season" The Cloud Parallax Parallax Emanations State of Flux Caretaker Since I didn't find time to send in my own list, I would say 1 - Jetrel 2 - Eye of the Needle 3 - Faces 4 - Caretaker 5 - State of Flux With HRs being Prime Factors Emanations and Phage

If one more person says, “Oh, gee, I wish they would finish reacting to Battlestar Galactica because they love Ron Moore,” I will point them to around minute 25 where they say, “if all the episodes focus on interpersonal conflict (Maquis versus Starfleet) and survival with limited resources, it’d be f-ing boring!” Yeah, BSG is a superbly well-crafted study of human nature under survival circumstances, and the politics, interpersonal dynamics, and survival strategies are central to the show. It’s great! It’s introspective, gritty, and meticulously made. And it’s not what they want from their Sci Fi.

For the most part my favorite Trek is the Trek I am watching

If someone had asked me before I started the DS9/VOY journey with you, I would have said that DS9 is the best ‘90s Trek series, even though TNG is the one I’ll always love the most. But I also would have said that Voyager probably had the strongest first season and it also probably had the strongest overall cast. Watching each episode again with you has confirmed that, if anything, I underestimated Voyager on both counts. I’m genuinely looking forward to season 2 and I never expected that. Keep the takes coming!

I just realised, one thing you guys didn't do was rank your favourite characters so far. As much as i'd love to include Seska, she'd win which seems unfair on the mains so i'll leave her out of my ranking based on Season 1, which i saw a good 10 years before anymore Voyager (the next Voyager i saw after this was when i bought Season 4 on dvd lol, before watching and taping the rest off Sky 1 and 2) anyway my Season 1 rankings first to last: The Doctor, B'Lanna, Janeway, Tom, Tuvok, Harry, Chakotay, Kes, Neelix.

The patrons award Cathexis no points, and may God have mercy on it's soul

Voyager is my favourite Star Trek series is exactly for the same reason that you’re enjoying season one, it understands how to deliver those classic “Star Trek vibes“ that you just don’t get from any other show. It’s the exploration of moral questions, and a captain who has a greatness to them, who can lead the crew through and even make them soar. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I’m so glad you guys are enjoying it, and to let you know that there are plenty of people who think this show starts great and stays great.

it does, in fact, get better.. and better... and better... all the way to the end. Dont get me wrong, there are some stinkers to be sure, but that being said, this show solid.

Not to nitpick with beloved fellow fans, but you have Journey’s End the inciting incident, Maqui 1 and 2, Preemptive Strike, and maybe you can count Defiant as actual pre Voyager episodes that have to do with the Maqui, its not that much or that long, I guess you could say Tribunal was adjacent but wasn’t about them. So there’s really nothing to see with the premise of Mqui hating starfleet. I dare say there isn’t enough foundation material to justify the idea of such a premise making it clear why it changed (i imagine hollywood coming up with the premise than one smart writer or director saying “what….that makes no sense.”)

I think you guys convinced me to raise my opinion of the Burger King episode. I can't fully get on board because I think the ending falls flat but I do appreciate the idea of not weaseling out of following the Prime Directive like Picard would. 1) Jetrel (A) 2) Prime Factors (A-) 3) Parallax (B) 4) Phage (B) 5) Caretaker (B) Would probably have State of Flux and the one with the dog as D/D- Floating Chakotay as an E Everything in between falls in the C range Ranking the Season Ones: This season was a much stronger season 1 than TNG. There's only maybe 3 episodes in that season I could recommend. I'd rank it behind DS9 season 1. Even though that season is all over the map it did give us a S+ in Duet giving more peak value. DS9 s1 also had more B/B- level episodes, but did have more Ds. One thing Voyager did well is to not have was an episode so incredibly bad as If Wishes Were Horses. Nothing here gave me second hand embarrassment from watching. Of course TOS season one is the clear winner. That's their strongest season.

My Top 5: 1. Eye of The Needle 2. Phage 3. Jetrel 4. Faces 5. Emanations Honourable Mentions: Prime Factors, Parallax, State of Flux, Caretaker and Time and Again It's been over 5 years since my first watch of Voyager and the rest of the Berman era shows and I have to say, Voyager's first season is pretty good. Outside of TOS, it's the strongest first season we've had so far. Even though for me DS9's first season had stronger highs in Duet, Captive Pursuit and Progress, this season was more consistent and I would maybe only give one episode a D or a C-

More and more I like the entire first season as I did when I first watched, Eye of the Needle, Phage, State of Flux, Prime Factors are the best but I like then all. Becaust I started in season 2 with out seeing DS9 or the 2 Maqui adjacent TNG episodes I had moderate interest in what some of the original ideas were. As a writer, plots change, direction changes

Vaughn Armstrong also played a Cardassian in the second episode of DS9, "Past Prologue."

I would welcome a bit of Starfleet vs. Marquis as far as debating practicality vs. virtue in tough situations... But if they were at their throats all the time? That wouldn't feel like Star Trek. Also, I don't think it's FAIR to harshly criticize Voyager for dropping the conflict of the two crews. DS9 had Starfleet vs. Bajoran Milita and they became a harmonious crew by the end of the three parter in opening season 2, and had mostly stopped fighting before then.

Why Voyager was the flagship, but DS9 was first? Two simultaneous starship shows weren't going to fly. DS9 had stand out from TNG. They wanted it to have it's own unique feel. That's why there's a station and that station is alien. That's why they had to wait until the Enterprise went away to introduce the Defiant. The writers wanted to wait another year to launch Voyager in order to avoid Trek fatigue and to force Trek fans to give DS9 a chance, but Paramount needed their starship show now fucking now.

In the 90s when I first watched Voyager I was someone who wanted a little more of the Starfleet/Maquis tension and the survivalist/minimal resources struggle. But then the 2000s brought me Battlestar Galactica (which I love) which has that aspect to the nth degree. So now when I watch Voyager I'm glad it's not so tense in that sense all the time. It's, for the most part, classic Star Trek vibes - something I really hope we get again someday.

I am content with the way the show has handled the integration of the two crews and the amount of conflict between the Maquis and Starfleet crew. They address it several times throughout this season, enough that it's still present but not in your face all the time. They could have incorporated it into more episodes and that may have been a neat element to have, but I don't think the show suffers because they didn't do more of it. I maintain the opinion that the fans who complain about this particular element have a misunderstanding about the fundamental nature of the Maquis. The Maquis dislike Starfleet politics - in particular, they were angry with their choice to abandon numerous colonies in a treaty that ceded several planets into Cardassian territory. So they actively worked against Starfleet and the Cardassians in an effort to protect those planets. But that is a very limited conflict. And it is on the other side of the galaxy. It seems unreasonable to me that the Maquis and the Starfleet crew members would continue to take issue over a matter that is completely irrelevant in the circumstances they find themselves in. They may not like Starfleet, and may not be happy to be serving on a Starfleet ship... but that doesn't mean they are going to holding a grudge and fighting with the Starfleet crew all the time. Now, if this had been a Romulan ship or a Cardassian ship that was forced to join the Federation crew, I could understand that leading to a lot more drama and conflict. But the Maquis really aren't that level of adversary.

Veridians 😂

Ex Post Facto does not get enough respect. No, Neelix cannot be great.

Lord I am looking forward to the rest of this show with you two - I am so pleased to have been correct all along in thinking that I understood what it was that wound your clocks and TRULY inspired you. It's not always going to be S-tier and amazement, but damn it, the GOD-tier emotionally connecting scenes from this show will NEVER leave your minds once you've seen them and there are so many of them. Great discussion, can't wait to enjoy all these reactions on YouTube! Have a great one gents.

I just looked and Season 2 aired it's premiere episode on my 11th Birthday 🎂 🥳

Great discussion as always. Curious, do you find it difficult to become immersed into fiction? I've noticed you say this a few times Josh, where you "don't care" because it's a fictional show, you know they'll survive, etc... I'm not able to immerse myself into everything I watch, there's a barrier to cross there to achieve that, but when I am able to, I no longer think on that meta level at least not while watching the episode (after the fact is different).

I see the Kazon often compared unfavorably with the Klingons, as if they are supposed to be the Delta Quadrant's Klingons. I think that's unfair. The Kazon are not an empire. More like warring gangs with shifting alliances. Voyager has the bad luck of getting thrown into one of the bad neighborhoods of the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker.

As a total Deep Space 9 mark, don't worry Voyager will get much much worse

You're thinking of the survival and the Maquis stuff in terms of plot mechanics (you wouldn't that to be every episode etc). Why it's disappointing to me and others is because you can have much more interesting character arcs if you stick with those things. The characters should be stressed out yet striving against all odds to hold things together. There should be conversations that are dialled to 11, but Voyager does not seem any different day to day than the Enterprise, which means no matter how good it is I'm always vaguely disappointed about what could have been. To me the best episodes of Voyager (there are two in particular I love) are just cool sci-fi that could have been on any show with different characters, but the best episodes of TOS, TNG and DS9 rely on the characters and feel of those shows. This lack of tension is why BSG and DS9 are to me unquestionably better than Voyager (an opinion I know you don't share). But as my wife says that's a me problem, not a you problem. Just sharing my take because you said it was "ridiculous." Great chat as always.

1) Jatrel 2) Eye of the Needle 3) State of Flux 4) Caretaker 5) Emanations HM) Prime Factors, Time & Again, Faces I have a specific episode in Season 2 I can't wait to see you guys react too but you are atleast over 2 months away. It's not the one I suspect most people are waiting on but it's my most anticipated this season based on my perception of your possible reaction. I am excited you guys are so receptive to Voyager and hope it doesn't dissapoint in the future. Mr. Kim .... Fire !

There have been many channels and forums that have discussed the lack of resources issues and how many Photon torpedoes Voyager has, etc. I like that it doesn’t matter that much to you. There will always be production errors, continuity changes and such. Spot changed from male to female, after all.

My top 5: 5. State of Flux (B) 4. Phage (B) 3. Prime Factors (B) 2. Faces (A) 1. Eye of the Needle (S) Everything else in the season is a C or below for me.

RE Technobabble: It's a great point that Trelane doesn't break my immersion as a technically-minded fan, but Janeway's conversation with B'Elanna about reflections in Parallax does. Why? Because they are two different things: 1.) Trelane, Q, The Traveler, Kevin from The Survivors, etc. etc. are all members of super-advanced species that are constrained by the same natural laws as we are, but have a much more sophisticated understanding of these laws and a much larger amount of control over time, space, matter, etc. due to their more sophisticated understanding. Super advanced alien species don't exist as far as I know, but they could. And, as Arthur C. Clark said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." So it's easy for me to maintain my suspension of disbelief while Q materializes a mariachi band on the bridge of the Enterprise. 2.) When Janeway and B'Elanna start stretching a metaphor about a lake to a breaking point to explore a technical idea together, it's obvious they aren't having a real technical conversation. They are explaining plot jibberish to the audience. Think of a technical topic you have expertise in, like lighting, or editing, or fight choreography (I don't know anything about wrestling, please excuse me if this isn't the proper term). Now, imagine you are trying to explain a new, technical concept to someone else with the same core technical understanding as you. You don't speak in metaphor, you speak in the technical jargon of your field. Metaphor is used for explaining jargon to the uninitiated. In TNG, Picard and Riker don't know any of the technobabble Geordi and Data spout, so they ask for a metaphor or a diagram to explain. It works, because the audience can take Picard or Riker's POV and have the technobabble explained to them too. In Voyager, Janeway has scientific/engineering experience, so she understands B'Elanna's technobabble. There is no reason for them to dumb down their conversation with metaphor to arrive at the conclusion. Maybe it would make sense if they were explaining it to Paris, but they always just tell him he's an idiot for not understanding and then move on. I think it all just boils down to that we need someone in charge, like Chakotay or Janeway, to not understand the technobabble so it can be dumbed-down and explained. It just doesn't work for me to have the competent people hold technical discussions in the dumbed-down metaphor so the audience can follow along. It feels... weird.

My Top 10 1 - Eye of the Needle 2 - Jetrel (basically tied for 1st) 3 - Prime Factors (most improved, didn't evne make my initial top 10 on first watch) 4 - Caretaker 5 - Cathexis (I really don't get the „hate“ for this one) 6 - State of Flux 7 - Faces 8 - Heroes and Demons (sue me, I like old tales and dark age stuff) 9 - Emanations 10 - The Phage

From my perspective, the "outsider" (Spock, Data, Doctor) character of DS9 is Odo, who was perfectly cast and acted by René Auberjonois from early in Season 1.

I agree Sloyan brought the best out of Ethan Phillips, but it can also be said the Phillips brought the best out of Sloyan. Great episode.

TOS Season 1 was 59 and a half years ago.... not 30 years. I know.... I was 4 months old when it premiered. I WISH I were 30!

For me, the first season of "Voyager" was a solid effort. Stronger than Next Gen's debut year but DS9's first season was the best of the three IMO. The reveal of Seska was a nice plot twist even if the Kazon come off as second rate Klingons. That said, the entire cast establish a good rapport with each other from the outset and settle into their respective characters with ease and confidence

Bit of a disingenuous argument here when you deride the idea of every episode being about the Maquis/Starfleet conflict, or about survival. I don't think anybody wants that to be EVERY episode. I think what people want is a bit more continuity, a bit more interpersonal conflict bubbling up now and then, a bit less of the Maquis becoming standard-issue Starfleet personnel as quickly and easily as they do. (Note, I say this as a Voyager fan!)

I already really enjoy Voyager, but watching with you guys makes this first season even better than I remember. My top five would be: 1) Eye of the Needle 2) Jetrel 3) State of Flux 4) Time and Again 5) Cathexis Honourable mention: Heroes and Demons, just because Robert Picardo is so good.

Question I would be interested to see Josh and Alex answer: If they were just watching Star Trek on their own, would they have already decided DS9 is not for them and stopped watching the series? Because I know big Trek fans who even today have never watched all of DS9 because it’s just not what they’re looking for out of the franchise, which always fascinates me, but I completely get it.

My top 5 1. Prime Factors (S) 2. Eye of The Needle (S) 3. Emanations (A) 4. The Phage (A) 5. Jetrel (A) ---- my honorable mentions are my B graded episodes 6. Learning Curve 7. State of Flux 8. Caretaker

Regarding the crew tension and resource plot points and the general audience problem with how they were handled: I wouldn’t mind if they were introduced and used consistently and well or if they were never introduced and a non factor in the series. It’s the half hearted “It’s a thing only when we need it to be.” aspect I didn’t care for.

My season one top 6: --------------------- Eye of the Needle (S) Faces (S) Time and Again (A+) Emanations (A) State of Flux (A) Jetrel (A) Watching your reactions made me realize it was a stronger season than I remembered. It really is superior to DS9 Season 1. Still, there's much better stuff coming in later seasons. When? "When the show really starts".

I enjoyed this discussion! Eye of the Needle is my #1 also ☺️ but my 2-5 are The Cloud, Prime Factors, Emanations, and Time and Again

This was a really good Top 5. Not a lot of surprises, but that's because some of these where just so amazing that they really stand out. I can't wait for The X-Files Top 10! I hope that'll be out soon, I'm going through X-Files withdraws😂. Curious about DS9's Top 10 too. I don't follow DS9 as closely but I still enjoy it. For me, it's because you can't jump into any episode and just enjoy it on it's own like you can TNG or Voyager. So I don't watch it nearly as much, unless I'm rewatching the whole show.

Regarding Vaughn Armstrong, he is actually 3 for 3 on S1s, as he played the Cardassian Gul chasing the Bajoran terrorist that was friends with Kira in Past Prologue. While the episode itself isn't amazing, his performance is pretty great.

The only 2 episodes i don't like are Emanations (D), and Heros And Demons (E).

I cannot express without spoilers just how many things you guys have said that make my brain scream "They must watch The Orville!", and I'm not even halfway through the video. What do I have to do to get it slotted in chronologically with the Star Trek journey?! We're a long way off anything that aired in 2017 atm so I've got time to build my grassroots movement here 😂

Rewatching this as a DS9 fan who "sat through" Voyager since his wife (who is also a DS9 fan) likes Voyager I MUST credit the show with having many of its characters- especially the Captain so well formed. I have watched DS9 and VOY at least 7 or 8 times and some episodes from both series 10-15 times. Sort of like a runner who starts a longer race too fast....Voyager stalls and then burns in Season 2...I will try to keep an open mind, given how familiar I am with every episode to look for positive points as I re-watch through with you here, but I am dreading Season 2 and hope that I am able to see some bright spots that I may have overlooked since my opinions are so jaded now.

My top 5 are: State Of Flux, and Eye Of The Needle (both S), Learning Curve, Cathexis, and Faces (my only 3 A's). I missed the voting for this, because obviously Cathexis would have got points.

The rewatch for me surprised me with the quality the show had immediately. I always remember season one being 'bad' - but it wasn't bad at all, it was good!

I was never a big fan of Voyager and have always been sneery about people who claim it's their favourite Trek series - however watching back with you guys I'm enjoying it more than I remember enjoying it first time around.

Here for it

Whatever anyone says, Voyager is awesome Trek,