Voyager, season 4

Was dumping kes justified? How would the show have fared had harry been cut instead, as intended? Or neelix, which would have been the most sensible choice? It's a cop-out to suggest that the writers couldn't have moved kes' character arc forward - they had already taken the one absolutely necessary step, of disentangling her from neelix. It's all rather unfortunate...yet no one can deny that the final seasons were better.
FOUR-STAR EPISODES: 4
AVERAGE EPISODE RATING: 3.1
-Scorpion, pt. 2 ****
-written by brannon braga, joe menosky
-directed by winrich kolbe
A bit less big-screen than part 1, but still...tight and nasty. The alliance with the borg fractures when janeway is incapacitated. Chakotay countermands her orders, after realizing that the borg started this war. Species 8472 suffers a defeat through Federation/borg nano-weapons. Voyager escapes both adversaries, with a drone who becomes separated from the collective. Welcome to our universe, 7 of 9.
-The Gift ***
Seven violently resists her humanity, as the doctor removes many of her implants. Do the writers soften her automaton-like quality a bit unrealistically soon? Kes's psionic powers increase so rapidly she becomes a danger to the ship, and turns into (pure) energy. There are nice moments, but a slightly funereal quality pervades, perhaps fed by the actors' conflicted energies.
-Day of Honor ***
B'elanna decides to honor her klingon heritage, by embracing masochistic rituals. Then she chucks the idea. Then regrets it. An accident forces the warp core to be ejected. She and paris chase it in a shuttle, but end up adrift in damaged EV suits. The cinematography is beautiful...and while the image of them suffocating together is the high point of their romance, it has much greater resonance in the abstract, as a metaphor for all romance in our repressed culture. The image of two lovers trying to connect through space suits is so horribly apt. We fumblingly try to love and be loved, but are so completely walled in by the fears that most of us can only begin to unravel, that virtually no lovers are ever able to peel off our "suits".
-Nemesis ***
A fine episode - and a missed opportunity. Chakotay crashes onto a war-torn planet, and soon fights alongside the soldiers he's fallen in with (not realizing he's been brainwashed as a form of military recruitment). All too often, the universal translator produces aliens who sound exactly like us. Here, we hear syntax which feels alien - a nice touch. What's needed however, is greater punch. During the attack on the refugee village, chakotay should have been forced to watch the girl being raped. It would have made his transition into bloodthirsty killer more convincing. Everything else about the episode is spot-on, especially the tapping into our "ugly" bias by having the "nemesis" look bestial (dead ringers for PREDATOR aliens, actually)...when in point of fact they may have been the conciliatory, aggrieved ones. Even an implied rape would have added the necessary touch. Shame on whomever was minding the store - you, director alexander singer?
-Revulsion ***
Responding to a distress call from a ship with one nervous survivor (a hologram), torres and the doctor try to help. The rest of the crew weren't killed by outside forces, however. The damaged hologram became a germophobe, killing all aboard. He tries to kill torres, and convince the doc to run away with him. A disturbing performance by leland orser (ALIEN: RESURRECTION, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN). Meanwhile, harry is assigned to work with seven, and develops a crush on her. Her analytical response is classic.
-The Raven ***
After experiencing disturbing hallucinations, some of seven's removed implants regenerate, and she goes AWOL, in pursuit of a borg signal (or is it?). She discovers the wreckage of the vessel in which she lived as a child. If you're inclined to think that jeri ryan is a gratuitous, talentless joke, take note of the scene in which she eats solid food for the first time in twenty years. She's captivating, and ever so subtly funny.
-Scientific Method ***
Bizarre medical conditions arise shipwide. Seven and the doctor discover out-of-phase aliens performing experiments. Her presence feels seamless, and her chemistry with the doctor begins to germinate. The first time it feels like she's always been there.
-Year of Hell 1&2 ****
-written by brannon braga, joe menosky
-directed by allan kroeker, michael vejar
Voyager gets caught up in the efforts of an alien ship trying to restore a lost empire by eliminating entire species from history. The ship exists outside time, and has been on its mission for 200 years, led by the obsessed annorax (kurtwood smith - THAT 70's SHOW, STAR TREK VI). A fine turn is also rendered by john loprieno (ONE LIFE TO LIVE, DEATH OF A PRESIDENT), as the loyal but conflicted first officer. Relentlessly attacked, Voyager's damage is stunning: people die, tuvok is blinded (a curious choice for a species with an extra set of eyelids), entire decks explode, and the hull is partially ripped away. Chakotay and paris are kidnapped, and Voyager is abandoned, except for the bridge crew (and, um, the morale officer?). Mulgrew, all reckless grit, has never been better. There's a scene between her and tuvok that evokes the classic. Part 2 is more cerebral, as annorax makes chakotay understand his vision. Janeway crashes Voyager into the timeship, wiping its existence from history and restoring all as it was. Blistering...and more importantly, the proper way to invoke spiritual discussion in a TREK product (as opposed to the inappropriate clumsiness of both DS9 and chakotay). Annorax argues that time is somehow "alive", and janeway makes the same claim for Voyager itself. We cannot conclusively refute those claims, and more to the point, they can (and will) be pursued scientifically. 
-Random Thoughts ***
On a planet of telepaths, b'elanna is arrested for thought-crime. Tuvok discovers a black market for violent thoughts, in this apparently crime-free society. Had they been able to pack a little more punch into the deepest images of tuvok's mind, this could have gone to a whole 'nother level...as it is, he single-handedly elevates this from two stars.
-Concerning Flight ***
John rhys-davies returns! Voyager is mugged, losing a computer core and other technology. They track their possessions to a trading outpost where the da vinci hologram is still running...and working for a new patron, thanks to the doctor's mobile emitter.
-Mortal Coil ***
In what feels like an apology for the DS9/chakotay mumbo jumbo, neelix experiences a crisis of faith after being dead for eighteen hours. He found no "Great Forest"...only nothingness. There's no feelgood backpedaling either, as he eventually ends up on a transporter pad, trying to beam himself into space. The episode flirts with brilliance, but goes out with an ending that glosses over the needs of someone with post-traumatic stress.
-Waking Moments ***
The crew are assaulted and trapped in their dreams by an alien race who have foregone waking life. Thanks to his training in lucid dreaming, chakotay is the only one left awake, and fights the invasion with the doctor...never quite sure whether he's still dreaming. How can you go wrong with a naked tuvok, and seven snogging harry?
-Message in a Bottle ****
-written by lisa klink
-directed by nancy malone
The best TREK can put a goofy smile on your face. Voyager discovers an alien signal array that has accessed a Starfleet signal. The only data compressed enough to be sent back is the doctor's program. He finds himself in the alpha quadrant aboard the prototype vessel Prometheus...which has been captured by romulans commanded by rekar (judson scott - THE WRATH OF KHAN, THE X-FILES). Enlisting the aid of a patronizing EMH mark 2 (andy dick - NEWSRADIO, THE ANDY DICK SHOW), he re-takes the ship and is returned to Voyager, which is now off Starfleet's "lost" list. Fantastic visuals, including a couple of defiant-class ships. Only three stars on paper, but chemistry makes it a joyous firecracker of danger and comedy.
-Hunters ***
Voyager receives letters from home. The maquis have been slaughtered, and janeway gets a "dear jane" letter. Tuvok and seven are captured by the enormous, armored hirogen, and learn about their predatory ways. In order to escape, Voyager must destroy their entire signal array. Crisp and dangerous. Chakotay and b'elanna learn that all the maquis back home have been massacred - had she exclaimed "fucking cardis" (or the network racist equivalent) in her anguished shock, this might have gone four stars.
-Prey ****
-written by brannon braga
-directed by allan eastman
Voyager rescues a wounded hirogen (the diabolical tony todd - THE NEXT GENERATION, THE CROW). His wounded prey gets loose...a member of species 8472, trying to return to fluidic space! Seven saves the ship by disobeying an order to free the alien, giving it over to the hirogen instead. Janeway no happy.
-Retrospect **
The doctor discovers apparently-suppressed memories in seven, of her having been assaulted by a trader (michael horton - FIRST CONTACT, DANCES WITH WOLVES). She wants vengeance, and the crew rush to her defense...too eagerly? There is a sense of missed opportunity here, in having her violated for her nanoprobes, a choice which feels tepid and familiar. The dialogue and energy keep dancing around the idea of rape - making it literal would have been so much more compelling in terms of character development and social commentary. Can't you hear the dialogue, as a distraught seven tries to convince janeway (and more to the point, herself)..."I do not accept this as tragedy! I was assimilated, a process a thousand times more invasive!"
-The Killing Game 1&2 ***
Hirogen capture the ship, and force the crew into endless holodeck battle scenarios in which they're subjected to mind control, not realizing they aren't the characters they're playing. Seven as a french chanteuse, plus janeway and neelix as klingons, are high points (ah, if only neelix were someone other than himself every episode). The conquerors lose control, and the decks spill over into one huge battle with hirogen, klingons, and nazis everywhere.
-Vis A Vis **
An alien swaps bodies with tom, who ends up under fire and stranded alone in a strange ship, as the alien tries to make hay with his life. Flaccidity seeps from this one's pores - they don't commit to the idea that tom had been (understandably) disenchanted with his life, then they gloss it all over at the end. And hold on...we seem to have a winner in the "who-will-hump-a-delta-quadrant-alien-first" contest*, as b'elanna has nookie with the fake paris! It only took us...four seasons?? Forget LOST IN SPACE, this show should have been called REPRESSED IN SPACE! *(harry's mating with kes's daughter is discounted, as that timeline failed to materialize, and seska's kazon canoodling is under review, as she technically wasn't a member of the crew at the time)
-The Omega Directive ***
Sensors discover a particle of awesome complexity and power, the existence of which is known only to starship captains. It could negate warp travel across a quadrant, and janeway is duty-bound to destroy it. Seven bridles at this, as the particle embodies borg perfection.
-Unforgettable ***
A fugitive requests asylum, saying she has been aboard before, that she and chakotay fell in love, and that her species' physiology automatically negates any aliens' memory of their existence. Having no memory of the affair, will he fall in love again? Either way, he receives the miss congeniality award in the WWHADQAF contest, as the first crewmember to shag a delta alien...intentionally. A resonant, tender performance by virginia madsen (DUNE, SIDEWAYS), but sadly, the writing doesn't quite rise to the level of the acting or chemistry.
-Living Witness ***
The doctor's backup program is activated 700 years into the future, on a planet that remembers Voyager as genocidal marauders. The rest of the cast appear as historical holographic simulations. Janeway is butch (no, for real butch, you haters), the doc is an android, and seven is a fully-borg leader of a security squad of drones. Evil Voyager!
-Demon ***
During an urgent away mission to a demon planet, harry and tom suddenly reappear, now able to breathe the toxic atmosphere and withstand lethal temperatures. A bio-mimetic life form has begun replicating the crew, and achieving sentience. This brilliant episode might make the top-ten pure sci fi TREKs. Harry's character also matures, at long last. Denied four stars by a too-abrupt ending, and insufficient explanation of why the original tom and harry didn't die.
-One ***
A poisonous nebula forces the crew into stasis, except the doctor and seven. Eventually, the radiation forces him offline too. For one month, she must face crises while dealing with her fears of loneliness and individuality. Then the hallucinations begin. This one has all the right elements, but barely holds on to three stars.
-Hope and Fear ***
Very, very good. Ray wise (CAT PEOPLE, MAD MEN) gives a beguiling performance as an alien who blames Voyager for the assimilation of his race, and fools them into believing that his holo-camouflaged ship is a Starfleet experimental vessel, the Dauntless, sent to bring them home. Once they all get aboard, he'll strand them in borg space.