STAR TREK VOYAGER
SEASON THREE
Starring:
Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Robert Duncan McNeill, Ethan
Phillips, Jennifer Lien, Tim Russ, Garrett Wang and Robert Picardo
Available to buy on DVD 6th September 2004
"We are the Borg"
After surviving three years in the Delta Quadrant, the Starship Voyager and its crew are about to find things getting a lot more perilous.
Basics (Part
2)
The Kazon captures Voyager and the crew are dumped on a planet in its early
stages of evolution. As only Tom Paris and Lon Suder have evaded capture,
it's up to them and the EMH to come up with a plan to retake the ship.
Flashback
After falling ill to what appears to be a repressed memory Tuvok must perform
a mind-meld with Captain Janeway in order to survive. The meld takes them
back to when Tuvok was a junior science officer aboard the U.S.S. Excelsior
under the command of Captain Hikaru Sulu.
The Chute
Paris and Kim are sent to an Akritian prison after being accused of a terrorist
bombing.
The Swarm
Voyager encounters a region of space owned by a mysterious race of aliens
that would take 15 months to go around. Upon crossing the boundaries, a
swarm of ships attach themselves to Voyager's hull - an act that drains
the ship's power supplies and threatens to destroy it.
False Profits
A pair of Ferengi is found masquerading as Gods to a culture still in its
Bronze Age. It is discovered that they had arrived through the Barzan Wormhole,
which leads back to the Alpha Quadrant, however, its Delta Quadrant end
is highly unstable and always moving.
Remember
After Voyager encounter a telepathic species, B'Elanna starts having powerful
dreams that depict the life of a woman and her lover in a time of great
political and social upheaval. Sacred Ground Captain Janeway has to undergo
a rigorous ritual in order to save Kes' life when she is knocked unconscious.
Future's End
(Part 1)
Both Voyager and 29th century Federation Timeship, the Aeon are pulled back
in time to Earth in the late 20th century. The Timeship Aeon crashes in
Arizona during the 1960's, while Voyager appears in orbit around Earth during
1996.
Future's End
(Part 2)
While trying to rescue Paris and Tuvok, Torres and Chakotay are captured
by a gang of weapons smugglers who believe that they are from the government.
Warlord An injured alien named Tieran transfers his consciousness into Kes'
mind moments before he dies. He then gains control over her and begins using
her abilities to steal a shuttlecraft and return to his home world to attempt
a political coup.
The Q and the
Grey
Voyager encounters several supernovas in a small region of space. Time soon
reveals that it is the after effects of a civil war within the Q-Continuum.
Q appears and believes that the solution to the problem is for him to produce
a child, and his mate of choice is Captain Kathryn Janeway. Matters are
complicated when a jealous female Q appears claiming that Q was her boyfriend.
Macrocosm
Janeway and Neelix return from an away mission to find Voyager adrift in
space and the crew barely alive. They soon learn that the ship has been
overrun by viral life forms that are rapidly growing in size.
Fair Trade
Voyager encounters a region of space named the Nekrit Expanse. Since Neelix
has no knowledge about the space after this point, he tries to make himself
feel useful to the crew by trying to obtain a map from an old friend named
Wixiban, who uses him as a courier for illegal substances.
Alter Ego
Ensign Kim asks Tuvok to teach him Vulcan emotional control techniques when
he falls in love with a holodeck character named Marayna. Kim soon becomes
jealous when he sees Tuvok interacting with her behind his back as she tries
to seduce him.
Coda
Captain Janeway repeatedly dies after she and Chakotay crash into a planet
in what appears to be a time loop. Soon, her deceased father appears and
tells her that she is dead and must accept her situation and move on.
Blood Fever
Ensign Vorik expresses his desire to mate with B'Elanna during his Pon-Farr.
After they get in a brawl over the matter, Torres begins showing signs of
the Pon-Farr herself.
Unity
During an away mission, Chakotay discovers a Federation hailing signature
coming from an alien planet. After landing, he learns that all is not peaceful,
and those helping him have not been entirely honest about their true origins.
The Darkling
When the doctor tries to improve his personality by incorporating the psychological
profiles of famous and historical people, he is overwhelmed by their dark
sides and begins exhibiting signs of a split personality, one the regular
doctor, and the other dark and evil. Kes asks to leave Voyager when they
encounter a race with vast knowledge of the region of space they are currently
exploring.
Rise
Neelix is pushed to the limits when Tuvok's attitude becomes too much to
bear while the pair is on an away mission to help evacuate a Nezu planet,
which is being bombarded with asteroids.
Favourite Son
Harry Kim experiences strong senses of deja vu in an unknown region of space.
He soon learns that he is native to this region and that he is T'Karian,
not human.
Before and After
Kes begins travelling backwards through time from the moment of her death.
With each shift, she comes closer to a solution but she also grows months
and years younger at a time.
Real Life
The Doctor decides he should create a holographic family in order to expand
himself. When B'Elanna is disgusted by its unrealistic perfectionism, she
alters the program to include random events and outcomes with interesting
and devastating results.
Distant Origin
An alien palaeontologist discovers a common ancestral link between his people
and humans. He believes that this proves that his people (the Voth) evolved
on Earth and migrated to the Delta Quadrant millions of years ago, but his
government is not as willing to believe his interpretation of the evidence.
Worst Case Scenario
A holodeck program is discovered in which Seska raises a Marquis mutiny
on board. The ship is placed in danger when the program is altered and the
author is seemingly powerless to stop it.
Displaced
One by one, the crew of Voyager go missing and are replaced by strangers
who claim they have no idea how they arrived. Soon, nearly the whole crew
is gone, and there is no way of stopping the strangers from appearing and
overrunning the ship.
Scorpion (Part
1)
Voyager finally enters Borg space, only to discover a threat more powerful
than the Borg themselves.
Star Trek Voyager enters its third season that sees many changes including the loss of a major character and the return of a major villain.
After an exciting second season, fans anticipation for the third season was extremely high but the fourth year produced mixed results. Along with many standout episodes you had shows like Remember, Scared Ground, Alter ego, Rise, Favourite Son and Displaced that didn't really push the franchise in any new direction. These were instantly forgettable stories that raised a lot of undue criticism for the series from not just fans but the studio as well. While the third series might not be Voyager's best it does contain some classic episodes.
The 30th Anniversary celebration episode "Flashback" is an instant classic. The return of Captain Hikaru Sulu, played by original series veteran George Takei, to the franchise was an inspired move by series producer Rick Berman and his team. This is a pure science fiction episode that shows the best that Star Trek has to offer the genre and the amount of dedicate and care that went into its production shows how much people love working on this show.
Future's End marked the start of Voyager's epic mid-season two-parters. This would become a trademark of the show and a highlight for fans that loved two part stories but hated season end cliffhangers. Future's End made great use of that favourite Sci-Fi topic, Time Travel, to allow the crew to go back to 1996. Of course there are the out of time moments, which are quite funny, but the story itself is another good example of how good this series can actually be.
The Q and the Grey sees the return of the always-brilliant John de Lancie, as Q tries to woo Janeway so that he can have a child. This is Q on great form, providing superb comedic moments and continuing the story of the downfall of the Q-Continuum.
Unity is the much-vaunted return of The Borg to the franchise but this isn't the story you might have been expecting. This is a well-written character drama that deals with the problems of being a survivor of the terrors of the Borg.
Before and After gives Jennifer Lien the chance to shine in what is probably Kes's best episode. Here we get glimpses into the future and the past as Kes flitters about through her lifetime, giving her the chance to change things for the better.
Scorpion Part 1 is the Borg story that fans have been waiting for. In the same style as they where in Star Trek: First Contact, this is the Borg like we have never seen them before, running scared. The introduction of a species that the more powerful than them was a masterstroke by the writing team and sets up the upcoming series brilliantly. This is also a killer of a cliffhanger as well.
You can also throw in the episodes Real Life, Blood Fever, Distant Origins and Worst Case Scenario into this excellent category as these really showcase the talents of Robert Picardo, Roxann Dawson and Martha Hackett.
Star Trek Voyager's third season might not have been the best of the seven but it does have some of the best episodes of the series. The introduction of the Borg allows Voyager to really take off and cement its place in Star Trek folklore.
PICTURE & SOUND
Presented in full frame 4:3 with a Dolby Digital 5.1 sound track, the transfer is very good. As the standard of special effects continues to improve, the excellent picture quality shows how good they actually were. The sound is also good, especially during Scorpion Part 1's return of the Borg.
BONUS FEATURES
Braving the Unknown: Season 3 (12.55 mins)
Series co-creator Jeri Taylor, writer/producer Brannon Braga, executive
producer Rick Berman, episode director David Livingston and star Robert
Picardo, Tim Russ, Roxann Dawson and Garrett Wang talk about the third
series. They discuss the episodes Basics, Real Life, Blood Fever and Future's
End and they also reveal how they took the decision to bring back the
Borg but give them a new nemesis in the shape of Species 8472.
Voyager Time Capsule: Neelix (11.50 mins)
Actor Ethan Phillips talks about the character he played for seven years,
Neelix. He reveals how the role was developed and living with the makeup
for the entire run of the series. He also discusses some of Neelix's featured
episodes such as Fair Trade, Jetrel, Mortal Coil, Riddles, Once Upon a
Time, Flashback, The Cloud and Homestead.
Voyager Time Capsule: Kes (11.49 mins)
Actors Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo, Tim Russ and Kate Mulgrew talk
about Jennifer Lien's contribution to the show. The actress herself doesn't
actually give an updated interview but see her talking about the character
at the start of the series in 1994. The cast members talk about the character's
impact on the series in episodes like Warlord, The Caretaker and The Gift
and each of them reveal how their character's relationship with Kes.
Flashback to 'Flashback' (13.22 mins)
Episode director David Livingston, visual effects producer Dan Curry and
star Tim Russ and George Takei talk about celebrating Star Trek's 30th
anniversary on Voyager. The featurette reveals how the show connects with
the feature film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and how the series
team went to great lengths to recreate the USS Excelsior even down to
rehiring all of the original actors from the movie.
Red Alert: Amazing Visual Effects (16.41 mins)
Visual effects producer Dan Curry and visual effects supervisor Ronald
B. Moore talk about creating the visual effects for the episodes Basics,
Distant Origins, Futures End, Macrocosm and Scorpion. The reveal how the
series increased their use of computer generated imagery especially in
the creation of Species 8472.
Real Science with Andre Bormanis (10.26 mins)
The series science consultant talks about the use of real space anomalies
such as supernovas, nebulas, wormholes and the distribution of live throughout
the universe. He relates these phenomena to the episodes Fair Trade, The
Q and the Grey, Unity and Flashback. Bormanis also discusses the more
hypothetical theories of the show such as sub-space and the use of anti-matter.
Creating the Voyager Crew (16.19 mins)
Series co-creator Michael Piller talks about creating Captain Janeway,
Tom Paris, Harry Kim, B'Elanna Torres, Chakotay, Tuvok, Kes Neelix and
the Doctor. The featurette includes the actually entry for each character
in the original Star Trek Voyager bible and Piller reveals the origins
of each of the character, even revealing that the Doctor actually had
a name.
30th Anniversary Moments (8.17 mins)
On October 6th 1996 Paramount celebrated Star Trek's 30th birthday with
a big party. This featurette features interviews with cast and crew members
like producer Rick Berman, original series producer Robert Justman, art
designer Mike Okuda and star and guest stars DeForest Kelly, Sally Kellerman,
Grace Lee Whitney, Joan Collins, Marina Sirtis, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Duncan
McNeil, Kirsten Dunst and Sharon Lawrence talking about what Star Trek
means to them.
Photo Gallery
Enjoy behind the scenes photographs from Star Trek Voyager's third season.
Star Trek Deep Space Nine DVD Trailer (4.49 mins)
An extended preview of the third Star Trek series as it hits DVD. With
interviews of executive producer Rick Berman and stars Avery Brooks, Nana
Visitor, Michael Dorn, Terry Farrell and Andrew J. Robinson.
Star Trek: The Next Generation DVD Trailer (1.10 mins)
A short trailer advertising the DVD release of the first Star Trek spin-off
series
Borg Invasion 4D (0.57 mins)
A trailer for new Borg attraction at The Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas.
Easter Eggs (10.57 mins)
Five hidden mini featurettes featuring interviews with Kate Mulgrew, Martha
Hackett, Robert Picardo, Tim Russ and director David Livingston talking
about the episodes Worst Case Scenario, Macrocosm, Blood Fever, The Swarm
and Distant Origins.
OVERALL
Paramount has produced another brilliantly package Star Trek Voyager season. The extras are first rate but could be improved by the inclusion of commentary tracks. It is still a tad expensive however (shop around) but this aside, this is still another exceptional season box set that keeps up the very high standard set by the previous two.
DVD
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