(Contains portions of my reviews of previous sets) Being that “Star Trek” started off with a little three season run back in the 1960’s, it’s almost hard to fathom that it created such a foothold as to become the mega-franchise that it is today. Ahh…witness the power of fandom. Of course, the fact that this original series later launched an animated version, a popular motion picture series, and three additional spin-off series (each lasting 7 seasons) cannot only be credited to the fans, but must also say something about the level of quality viewing that is being offered. This is evident by the newer fourth spin-off series that appears to be losing steam in its third season. But, I’m not here to talk about that particular series. I’m going to focus this time around on the new “Star Trek Voyager: Season 3” DVD set. “Star Trek Voyager” was the third spin-off series. It aired from 1994 - 2001 and proved once again that Trek was a force to be reckoned with. Like most of the series that came before, it wasn’t an immediate hit, but grew on the fans over a period of time.

I am only a casual fan of the Trek universe, interested enough to watch, but no so much has to go to conventions dressed as my favorite Klingon. Admittedly, this was the series I most wanted to see on DVD, as I missed most of it when it originally aired. I was still going through a phase where I was trying to wean myself from TV, and though I taped the series, rarely watched it.

Now that I’ve had the opportunity to really sit down and spend some time with it, I can see that it still kept a lot of the qualities that make for great Trek. It harkened a bit back to the old days of Trek by putting the main characters in a position where they could travel great distances and explore areas never seen in Trek before. Of course, this wasn’t by choice. As the series begins, the crew is sent out on a mission to deal with the Maquis (Federation Rebels). When a spatial disturbance throws both ships light years away, they are faced with the seemingly impossible task of returning home, and have to work together to do so. With the realization that due to the great distance they may never make it home, continue to ‘explore strange new worlds and seek out new civilizations, boldly going where no man has really ever been before.’

“Star Trek Voyager” had the distinction of being the first series to feature a woman as the captain of the ship, much to the delight of women’s groups everywhere. As Captain Katherine Janeway, Kate Mulgrew seemed a bit stiff through the first season, but I understand over the course of the series warmed up quite a bit. It was actually quite understandable that she would have appeared this way as it was her first foray into the world of Trek, much as it was Janeway’s first command of a starship. In spite of her abrupt manner, I also understand she was much better than the first actress chosen to fill the role. In the interest of fairness, and the need for the two factions to work together she takes on a Maquis as her 1st Officer. Commander Chakotay, a Native American character whose role was quite ably filled by Robert Beltran. I met Beltran briefly on the set of the Chuck Norris film, “Lone Wolf McQuade” and found him to be quite friendly and was glad to see him in a role that was liable to give him a tremendous amount of exposure.

As is the formula for any Trek series, you must have an interesting array of crew members. Since we had to throw to disparate crews together it gave the writers an opportunity to not only create colorful characters, but build an interesting dynamic by having them forced to learn to work together. On the Federation side we had Lt. Commander Tuvok (Tim Russ), who was the Vulcan security officer, Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeil), who has it in for the Federation for imprisoning him, and Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) the fresh faced and eager newbie. Chiming in for the Maquis there is B’ellana Torres (Roxanna Dawson), a Starfleet Academy dropout who happens to have temper issues due to her half-Human / half-Klingon heritage.

Also joining the crew after being shot across the galaxy is Neelix (Ethan Phillips), who offers to serve as a guide to the ship’s new stomping grounds, and his mysterious companion Kes. I was curious to see what the seven year series would bring for this character as her race only has an eight year life span.

Probably the most interesting character for me was the ship’s doctor. Even when he was there, he wasn’t really there. This is because the good doctor was a ship’s hologram. A hologram so sophisticated that he could actually perform whatever treatments were necessary. This idea had been visited by earlier Trek series with the thought that the holographic images did indeed exist as a form of matter. I’d try to get into all the appropriate techno-babble that would explain it, but I haven’t a clue what it is and doubt I’d understand it anyway. He just IS. I was intrigued by this character more for the actor that played him. I’ve long been a fan of Robert Picardo, who has been in numerous movies, though rarely recognized. Picardo is also a skilled effects artist who has been in heavy costumes for films like “Legend” (Meg Mucklebones) and ”Explorers” (Wak, Wak’s Father, and out of makeup as Starkiller).

Both the 1st and 2nd seasons were pretty good and I thought they set the stage for what was destined to be a successful follow-up to the shows that had come before. The cast was great, and they all worked well off each other. As good as I thought the 1st season was, the 2nd season really turned out to be much more than I expected. With only a few weak episodes, most of the episodes were stellar and really delivered some good old-fashioned science fiction.

The 2nd season ended with the episode “The Basics, Part 1”, which was one of the best cliffhanger episodes to come around in a long time. The 3rd season, even at the brisk pace they were coming out, couldn’t get here fast enough for me. I needed to see how things were going to play out. I would get into spoilers here but for those few whose first exposure to the series will be these DVD sets, I don’t want to ruin it for them. Needless to say, the crew comes out on top.

“Star Trek Voyager” is probably one of the most difficult of the various “Star Trek” series to critique because there seems to be so many people diametrically opposed in terms of their opinions. Some fans hated it for all its inconsistencies, while others enjoyed it for it simple ability to entertain. I fall into the latter category. Sure I could nitpick every little thing, or complain about all the ‘techno-babble’ and energy re-routing that goes on in order to get out of jams. However, I prefer to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Yes, I do enjoy when a series rises above itself to deliver thought-provoking episodes, but they don’t all have to be that way.

This is what I enjoyed about “Star Trek Voyager.” It had its fair share of good and bad episodes, but I don’t think I saw a single one that I didn’t get into. At least, so far. The 3rd season, I felt, took a lot of chances. The producers tried to follow-up the “Trials and Tribble-ations” episode of “Star Trek DS9”, with its own 30th Anniversary tribute with the second episode, “Flashback.” Through the use of a mind meld, we are taken into the events that took place in “Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country”, which includes a guest appearance by George Takei, Nichelle Nichols and Grace Lee Whitney.

This season also marked the return of the Borg, which in turn was the start of a whole new direction for the series, at least casting-wise. This would be the last season for Jennifer Lien, who played Kes. She would only survive shortly into the 4th season, where she would be replaced (in a manner of speaking) by Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine.

The new 3rd season DVD release of “Star Trek Voyager”, like the sets that have come before, offers up a striking number of extra features. There are so many, I’m still going through them. Many are continuing features that they carry over into each season. “Braving the Unknown, Season 3” is fairly lengthy and features Rick Berman, Brannon Braga and Jeri Taylor discussing the 3rd season. The “Voyager Time Capsule” feature generally focuses on particular characters in the series. This time around we hear from Jennifer Lien and Ethan Phillips as they talk about their respective characters, with some of the other cast members chiming in from time to time.

One of the other features takes a look at the aforementioned episode “Flashback” and includes interviews with George Takei and Tim Russ. It also focuses a bit on how some of the scenes were re-created. Once again we get a look at the special effects in the series in “Red Alert”, while Andre Bormanis talks about the science of Trek and how real it really is... or isn’t.

The thing that always strikes me about these ‘Trek’ sets that Paramount has been releasing is the amazing amount of extra features that are packed into each one. The second season set of “Star Trek Voyager” is no different. They carryover a couple of features from the first season set like “Braving the Unknown” which contains interviews with the producers of the series as they explain the difficulty of creating a series like this. This is followed up by an interview with Tim Russ, where she talks at length about his approach to the character of Tuvok. And if you’re not familiar with the character of Seska, played by Martha Hackett I won’t give anything away here. But there is a look at her character which includes some revealing interviews.

So far, all of the packaging for the Star Trek series sets has been impressive. The sets for “Star Trek Voyager” look a little bit plainer than the previous sets, but are still pretty cool. The discs themselves are still housed in a book-like holder, but this time the clear slipcover comes apart in the middle, with a top and bottom. The disc holder itself is also clear, but tinted green. It looks like each season will be a different color, making the whole set really standout on the shelf.

Once again my hat’s off to Paramount for delivering yet another Trek series to the fans on DVD. It looks as though they’ll still have the entire 7 year run out this year, if all goes as planned. The speed at which they turn these out still staggers the mind, especially considering the work that goes into each set.

Episodes:
Basics, Part 2
Flashback
The Chute
The Swarm
False Profits
Remember
Sacred Ground
Future's End, Part 1
Future's End, Part 2
Warlord
The Q and the Grey
Macrocosm
Fair Trade
Alter Ego
Coda
Blood Fever
Unity
The Darkling
Rise
Favorite Son
Before And After
Real Life
Distant Origin
Displaced
Worst Case Scenario
Scorpion, Part 1

Starring: Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Tim Russ, Robert Duncan McNeil, Garrett Wang, Roxann Dawson, Jennifer Lien, Ethan Phillips
Extras: “Braving the Unknown, Season 3” - Writers and Producers Rick Berman, Brannon Braga and Jeri Taylor Discuss Highlights of the Third Season, Including "Basics Pt. 2," the Two-Parter "Future's End" and "Scorpion", “Voyager Time Capsule - Neelix” - A New Interview with Ethan Phillips and Others Discussing His Role as Voyager's Resident Talaxian, Neelix, “Voyager Time Capsule - Kes” - An Interview with Jennifer Lien and Others Discussing Her Role as Kes, A Flashback to "Flashback" - A Look at the Episode with Guest Star George Takei - Includes Interviews with Takei, Tim Russ ("Tuvok") and an Exploration of How Scenes from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Were Recreated for This Episode, “Red Alert: Amazing Visual Effects” - Visual Effects Wizards Dan Curry and Ronald B. Moore Provide an Inside Look at Spectacular Scenes from Season Three Episodes, Including "Basics Part II," "Future's End," "Scorpion" and "Distant Origin", “Real Science with Andre Bormanis” - Andre Bormanis Introduces Famed Astrophysicists Who Examine the Reality of Space Phenomena as Seen on the Show, Includes Comments on the Wormhole Seen in "False Profits" and the Supernova in "The Q and the Grey", “Lost Transmissions” - Interviews with Cast and Crew Discussing Season Three, Photo Gallery
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 7/6/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Star Trek Voyager: Season 3 an A.