A lot of these are fairly bland and forgettable, like Scientific Method, Random Thoughts, Waking Moments, Unforgettable, Demon. Some of these count among the best episodes that Voyager ever produced, like Nemesis or Living Witness. A lot of the forth season is devoted to similar generic Star Trek stories. So it makes sense that this aesthetic would carry across to the fourth season. However, a lot of the more solid and reliable third season episodes had that “generic Star Trek” quality to them The Chute, Remember, Coda, Distant Origin. A particularly cynical critic might argue that the production team would only need to do a “find and replace” on the cast names. It is fair to argue that many episodes of Voyager could easily have been adapted for The Next Generation without too much fuss.
The production team seemed to embrace the idea that Voyager could be a more archetypal and generic iteration of the franchise, that it could capture that almost intangible “Star-Trek-y” aesthetic that many people associated with the franchise without being anything particularly unique or distinctive. When Michael Piller departed Voyager at the end of the second season, the writers seemed to stop searching for a unique identity. However, the fourth season also inherits a broader sensibility from the third season. More than that, Future’s End, Part I and Future’s End, Part II established a time-shifting mid-season blockbuster aesthetic that undoubtedly informed Year of Hell, Part I, Year of Hell, Part II, The Killing Game, Part I and The Killing Game, Part II. Most obviously, Living Witness would never have been possible without Distant Origin. This is apparent looking at the specific episodes, many of which borrow key elements for earlier stories. Similarly, the fourth season of Voyager recognises a lot of what worked with the third season and doubles down. The fourth season of Deep Space Nine is one of the best seasons in the franchise, in large part because it took many of the structural elements of the third season as a foundation from the decision to open the year with a pseudo-pilot and the positioning of an ambitious Dominion-centric mid-season two-parter through to an increased emphasis on scale and spectacle. Unfortunately, it never really gets off the ground, but there is something heartwarming in the effort.Īs with the fourth season of Deep Space Nine, the fourth season of Voyager largely works because it builds on the strongest aspects of an intriguing-but-flawed third season. The fourth season of Voyager ultimately retreats back to the comfort and safety offered by familiarity, but there are moments when it looks like the show might finally be ready to take flight. The fourth season is a weird synthesis of generic Star Trek and something unique, reflecting the fusion of organic and mechanical that defines the Borg Collective. The fourth season of Voyager is caught between mediocrity and brilliance, between being a perfectly serviceable mid-tier Star Trek show and being something a little more ambitious. In some ways, this is the central tension of the fourth season, one reflected in the addition of Seven of Nine and the focus on Borg culture. They just fill up the season order adding very little beyond a familiar Star Trek beat sheet. Stories like Scientific Method, Random Thoughts, Waking Moments, Unforgettable and Demon fail to make a lasting impression.
More than that, there are quite a few disposable and dull episodes, stories quickly forgotten after the end credits. While there are arguably fewer truly terrible episodes than in the earlier seasons, there are a couple of true stinkers like Retrospect or Vis á Vis. However, there is also an unevenness to the season.
More than that, there is a lot of really fun storytelling as well, with lighter episodes like Concerning Flight and Message in a Bottle. There are also truly great standalone episodes like Nemesis, Prey, and Living Witness. Scorpion, Part I and Scorpion, Part II are spectacular television, while Year of Hell, Part I and Year of Hell, Part II offer a glimpse of the show that Voyager could have been while also developing some of the series’ core themes.
As such, it also has some of the franchise’s best episodes. The fourth season of Voyager has some of the show’s best episodes. Somehow, this feels entirely appropriate. In the grand scheme of things, that places the best season of Star Trek: Voyager around the franchise median. It is also weaker than the first two seasons of Star Trek or the final two seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise. By any measure, the fourth is probably weaker than at least four seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and four seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Of course, that is arguably damning with faint praise. The fourth season is probably the show’s best season.
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