Story: Hunters
Written By: Jeri Taylor
Series: Star Trek: Voyager
Year: 1998
If this episode had been made on DS9, it would have been a simple character drama about our crew getting letters from home, and dealing with the emotion that goes with that. But this is Voyager, so it has to turn into an action story. The action was just unnecessary. It took the punch out of the drama and distracted from what should’ve been the focal point of the episode...the first contact with home in four years. That focus is lost in the halfway point as generic action plot starts up, in order to further introduce the Hirogen into the fold, which is silly, since they are going to appear in the very next episode...couldn’t action with them waited?
The good of this episode is all in the letters and the drama that comes with. Janeway learns her former fiancé eventually moved on and married someone else, Chakotay and B’Elanna learn about the Maquis meeting their end at the hands of the Cardassians’ alliance with the Dominion, Tuvok learns that he has become a grandfather, while Kim eagerly awaits any form of message and Tom hopes he hears nothing from his father. There was plenty of meat on that bone, and yet they minimized it for yet another action heavy third act.
I thought maybe this show was getting its act together at the beginning of this season, and while I never assumed it would last the whole series, I was really hopeful that it might make it to at least the end of the fourth season.
NEXT TIME: Hirogen
Written By: Jeri Taylor
Series: Star Trek: Voyager
Year: 1998
If this episode had been made on DS9, it would have been a simple character drama about our crew getting letters from home, and dealing with the emotion that goes with that. But this is Voyager, so it has to turn into an action story. The action was just unnecessary. It took the punch out of the drama and distracted from what should’ve been the focal point of the episode...the first contact with home in four years. That focus is lost in the halfway point as generic action plot starts up, in order to further introduce the Hirogen into the fold, which is silly, since they are going to appear in the very next episode...couldn’t action with them waited?
I thought maybe this show was getting its act together at the beginning of this season, and while I never assumed it would last the whole series, I was really hopeful that it might make it to at least the end of the fourth season.
NEXT TIME: Hirogen