|
The prospect of Voyager returning to the Alpha Quadrant
seems to draw closer when the starship is contacted by Lieutenant
Reginald Barclay of the Pathfinder project. Meanwhile, Seven
of Nine is forced to face up to her past as she meets some
Borg children and other former drones. And an aged and embittered
Kes returns to the ship, hell-bent on revenge...
Season
6 comprises another strong set of episodes. Following the
suitably spectacular and dramatic resolution to the Equinox
two-parter, other highlights of this season include Blink
of an Eye, a staggering depiction of an alien culture
for which time passes much more quickly than it does for the
rest of the universe - including the starship Voyager,
which is detected by the population for centuries of their
time. This episode guest stars Daniel Dae Kim, who is better
known as Gavin, the evil Wolfram & Hart lawyer in Angel,
and as Lieutenant Matheson in Crusade.
Live
Fast and Prosper is another - more amusing - tale of Voyager
being sorely misrepresented, as a group of con artists masquerade
as Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and her crew. As the fraudster
Dala, Kaitlin Hopkins turns in a hilarious impersonation of
Mulgrew.
Pathfinder
sees the return of Dwight Schultz as Reg Barclay, establishes
the Pathfinder project for communication between Voyager
and the Alpha Quadrant, and also marks the first of several
guest appearances in the series by The Next Generation's
Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi. The follow-up episode,
Life Line, is even better, as it also features a dual
role for Robert Picardo as both the Doctor and his ailing
creator, Dr Lewis Zimmerman. Co-written by Picardo himself,
this instalment boasts many amusing and poignant scenes with
the two irascible doctors, not to mention seamless special
effects that allow the same actor to appear in shot twice
over.
The
season concludes with another potent cliffhanger, and another
dramatic encounter with the Borg Queen (Susannah Thompson),
in the first part of Unimatrix Zero. More Borg intrigue
is to be found in Survival Instinct and Collective.
In Survival Instinct, Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) discovers
that she was once freed from the Collective along with a group
of other drones, but she was responsible for their re-assimilation.
The group now wish to be restored to their individuality,
though it may cost them their lives, as well as Seven's. Meanwhile,
Collective marks the first appearance of the recurring
characters of the Borg children Azan (Kurt Wetherill), Icheb
(Manu Intiraymi), Mezoti (Marley McClean) and Rebi (Cody Wetherill).
Other strong contenders this season include Alice,
a spin on the novel and movie Christine; One Small
Step, a touching tribute to real-life space exploration
(which commemorated the 30th anniversary of man's landing
on the moon); and the chilling and poignant Ashes to Ashes,
in which a crewmember returns to Voyager, despite having
been killed during a previous mission. Muse is another
fascinating view of the starship from an alien point of view,
in this case that of a poet who encounters an injured B'Elanna
Torres (Roxann Dawson), while Fury sees the final appearance
of Jennifer Lien as Kes, in a time-travel narrative that also
provides the perfect excuse to meet the gruesome Vidiians
again.
The
ever-popular EMH is the focus of Tinker, Tenor, Doctor,
Spy and Virtuoso. In both of these episodes, an
alien race seeks to exploit the Doctor's versatile talents.
At
the other end of the scale, you might want to skip Tsunkatse,
which is a blatant attempt to cash in on the success of televised
WWF wrestling, guest starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and
Good Shepherd, the plot of which is merely a rehash
of the earlier - and even weaker - Learning Curve.
Around
90 minutes' worth of special features on the final disc include
a Voyager Time Capsule spotlight on Chakotay and an
exclusive interview with the versatile actor Vaughn Armstrong,
whose roles have ranged from a Klingon in The Next Generation,
Cardassians in Deep Space Nine, and numerous species
in Voyager - including a Borg in this season's Survival
Instinct and a Vidiian in Fury - to, more recently,
Admiral Forest in Enterprise.
Following
the absence of a Red Alert: Amazing Special Effects
featurette in the previous box set, this time we get coverage
of effects from both Seasons 5 and 6. These include the CGI
assembly of the Borg Queen in the two-part Dark Frontier,
the crash-landing and frozen wreckage of the starship in Timeless,
and the motion-control effects used to allow the two doctors
to interact in Life Line.
Timeless
is also covered in one of the Lost Transmissions from the
Delta Quadrant Easter eggs - which would have seemed more
at home in the Season 5 collection, but never mind.
Who
would have thought that so many excellent episodes could be
spawned by what was, to begin with, such a pants series? Not
me, that's for sure. Make the most of these Voyager
box sets... before Enterprise comes out!
Richard
McGinlay
Buy
this item online
We
compare prices online so you get the cheapest
deal!
Click on the logo of the desired store below
to purchase this item.
|
|
|
£58.99
(Amazon.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
£73.99
(MVC.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
£67.99
(Powerplaydirect.com) |
All prices correct at time of going to press.
|
|
