Captain’s log: stardate 50953.4

Kenneth Biller pens this episode that first debuted on 14 May, 1997, and gives the Voyager crew and the audience a “what if” scenario.

A holo-program depicting a Maquis mutiny aboard the Voyager is discovered, and it seems everyone is playing it. It also leads to a really nice teaser when Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and Torres (Roxann Dawson) have a discussion about what side she’ll be on once Chakotay leads the charge and the shooting starts.

There are subtle references throughout the beginning of the episode that these events are taking place before the present stardate, but that just gives us an unnerving sense that something is about to happen. And we really know something is up when Seska (Martha Hackett) shows up in uniform and a phaser rifle.

Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) and other members of the crew soon get caught up in the drama as well, but Torres is now determined to learn who wrote the program.

Still, as a what if, this episode gives us a look at what could have been, but the troubling part for those taking part in the program is that there’s no ending to the story.

And then the reveal of who wrote the story, and why is a fun revelation. and Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) okays the completion of the story, realizing that it is in fact harmless, and that the crew need to express themselves through art and theater.

But will the new writer get along with the old writer. And everyone has suggestions. But there’s a twist coming…

This is a fun, smart, and very enjoyable episode, and lets us have a quick respite before we dive into the season finale.

Captain’s log: stardate 50984.3

The Borg.

The Voyager arrives in Borg space in this episode written by Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky. It debuted on 21 May, 1997. But what an opening teaser… two Borg cubes are destroyed by an unseen enemy off screen, and done so easily.

It seems there is someone out there that is causing the Borg some problems, referred to only as Species 8472. Janeway contemplates the improbable, forming an alliance with the Borg to fight 8472, who plan on destroying all life in the universe.

As the Voyager crew realize where they are, they begin to prepare for war, and we see the ship running efficiently and sharply. They are ready… but will the be ready for what they discover?

I love how the episode plays out, as they learn what is going on, and encounter the new threat of 8472. And when these new aliens discover the Voyager… and puts them in their sights, we know we need to worry, seeing how handily they defeat the Borg.

They have terrifying abilities, and are a telepathic race. When they attack an away team, Harry (Garrett Wang) is hurt, and a single slash infects him with a virus that in effect begins to eat him from the inside out.

These guys are scary (if somewhat haphazard looking in their computer generated creation).

The episode is filled with stunning images, including a Borg graveyard, a mirror reflection of the battle of Wolf 359 and a disturbing pile of Borg body parts piled in the center of a room.

It races towards a edge-of-your-seat cliffhanger as Janeway proposes an alliance with the Borg as Species 8472 destroys a Borg planet.

This is the first episode that sees Janeway visiting Leonardo da Vince (John Rhys-Davies) work room on the holodeck.

The Human Adventure continues next week as I dive into season four of Star Trek: Voyager – The Complete Series on DVD. Boldy go…