all star trek voyager episodes

Latest Tweets

• December 2023
• August 2022
• February 2021
• January 2021
• December 2020

ST: Voyager episode guide – Seven seasons of trekking through the Delta Quadrant

Of the three 1980s/90s Star Trek series, Voyager takes the longest to really get up  a head of steam. The very premise of the show, i.e. Federation citizens and members of a terrorist organization must learn to band together to survive in an unknown part of the galaxy, is mostly forgotten by episode 4 of season 1 . In addition, the show’s two most notable characters – the Doctor and Seven – don’t really take over the proceedings until season 4 or so. Nevertheless, Voyager does include some true ST classics in its run (e.g. “The Blink of an Eye”, the existential nightmare “Course: Oblivion”) that just about forgive all involved for “Threshold.”

Star Trek: Voyager – Bests and worsts of seven seasons

Season 1 – How can “Caretaker” be considered by far the weakest of all Star Trek premieres? Because it suffers from all the blah plotlines and meh characters while introducing a handful of dead-end stories and irrelevant background. Any sort of conflict promised by combining Maquis and Enterprise crews is cleared up by episode #3, for example, and Tom Paris’s supposed controversial past is hardly an issue by the time the credits roll.

Season 2 – In an attempt to up the stakes for the series, much of season 2 is devoted to trying to make the Kezon badasses. However, stuff like “Alliances” (#14) pales in comparison to anything involving political machinations on Deep Space Nine. Voyager thankfully reaches is nadir in this season, with the straight-up stupid “Tuvix” (#24, in which Tuvok and Neelix are combined via transporter accident) and the profoundly bad “Threshold” (#15, in which Paris exceeds warp 10 in shuttlecraft, passes through every point in the Universe, evolves into a giant insect and impregnates Janeway – and it’s even more ridiculous than that tight summation makes it sound).

Season 3 – A fairly uneven season does contain a few gems. Lots of head trip episodes lead up to Voyager’s version of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in “Future’s End” (#s 8-9) – except set in the 1990s and not nearly as funny. Janeway and Kes end up on the wrong (but suspenseful) side of time paradoxes in “Coda” (#15) and “Before and After” (#21); Robert Picrado gets to chew the scenery as a Mr. Hyde-like version of his Doctor in “Darkling” (#18). And Voyager season 3 may boast the best holodeck-based episode ever with “Worst Case Scenario” (#23).

Season 4 – Season 4 is to Voyager what season 2 was to Next Generation or season 3 was to Deep Space Nine . As in those other instances, Star Trek: Voyager starts out purposefully and strong from the starting gun: Part 2 of “Scorpion,” “The Gift” and “Day of Honor” gave lots more quality time to the fan favorites (and, let’s face it, better characters) Captain Janeway, the Doctor and new addition Seven of Nine while keeping Neelix’s participation minimized and jettisoning Kes. The “Year of Hell” storyline (#s 8-9) puts the emphasis on action, while the awesome Species 8472 returns in “Prey” (#16).

Season 5 – Although Voyager was conveniently “flung” out of Borg space early in season 4, season 5 sets a single-season mark for greatest use of the Borg – even if we don’t include everything about the increasingly interesting Seven of Nine – with “Drone” (#2), “Infinite Regress” (#7) and “Dark Frontier (#15-16) all Borg-centric. This season is also notable for its high number of character-focused episodes In fact, of all the main characters, only Neelix is denied (yes!) a solo shot in this season.

Season 6 – Perhaps feeling the urgency of a seventh season (the closer for TNG and DS9), more episodes in season 6 tantalize at methods of reducing the Voyager’s trip back – heck, even noted Next Generation second banana Reg Barclay gets broken out of mothballs to try and contact the ship through subspace (“Pathfinder”, #10). We’ve also got good old Federation machinations (“The Voyager Conspiracy”, #9) to ramp things up a bit. Season 6 is also a great one for returning characters: The Borg are back again of course, but so are Kes (“Fury”, #23) and Dr. Zimmerman (“Life Line”, #24).

Season 7 – Voyager’s final season hardly feels like a final season, and the concluding two-parter (“Endgame“) is as muted as the entire series had been, as is quasit-retrospective “All Good Things”-like “Shattered” (#11). Q makes his final appearance (to date) within the franchise in Q2 (#19), and hardcore ST fans cannot be too enthusiastic about “Inside Man” (#6), a mash-up of Ferengi con artists, Borg technology, Federation conspiracy and Reg Barclay.

Star Trek: Voyager

• Kate Mulgrew as Capt. Kathryn Janeway
• Robert Beltran as Cmdr. Chakotay
• Roxann (Biggs-)Dawson as Lt. B'Elanna Torres
• Robert Duncan McNeill as Lt. (later Ensign) Thomas Eugene Paris
• Ethan Phillips as Neelix
• Robert Picardo as the Doctor
• Tim Russ as Lt. Tuvok
• Garrett Wang as Ensign Harry Kim
• Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine [ 4-7 ]
• Jennifer Lien as Kes [ 1-3 ]
• Majel Barrett as the Voice of the Computer
• recurring characters:
• Nancy Hower as Ensign Samantha Wildman [ eps 20- ]
• Scarlett Pomers as Naomi Wildman [ eps 99-172 ]
• Martha Hackett as Seska [ eps 3-66 ]
• Manu Intiraymi as Icheb [ eps 136-172 ]
• Marley S. McClean as Mezoti [ eps 136-148 ]
• Kurt Wetherill as Azan [ eps 136-148 ]
• Cody Wetherill as Rebi [ eps 136-148 ]

Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, Sep 7 - 9, 2023, Hunt Valley, MD

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Star Trek: Voyager

Cast of characters.

Latest Articles

• Latest Articles See More

Latest Videos

• Latest Videos See More

Latest Galleries

• Latest Galleries See More

Boldly Go: Subscribe Now

• Web Channels
• Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: Voyager - Episode List

Episode Guide

• 8.4 ( 10 votes)
• 9.1 ( 7 votes)
• 8 ( 7 votes)
• 9 ( 8 votes)
• 8.1 ( 8 votes)
• 7.8 ( 8 votes)
• 7.7 ( 7 votes)
• 8.2 ( 9 votes)
• 7.9 ( 7 votes)
• 8.9 ( 8 votes)
• 8.6 ( 7 votes)
• 8 ( 8 votes)
• 9.1 ( 8 votes)
• 7.4 ( 7 votes)
• 8.9 ( 7 votes)
• 8.4 ( 7 votes)
• 7.3 ( 7 votes)
• 7.6 ( 8 votes)
• 8.1 ( 9 votes)
• 8 ( 9 votes)
• 9 ( 9 votes)
• 7.5 ( 8 votes)
• 6.8 ( 9 votes)
• 7.7 ( 9 votes)
• 7.3 ( 8 votes)
• 8.4 ( 8 votes)
• 7.9 ( 8 votes)
• 7.4 ( 8 votes)
• 9.6 ( 9 votes)
• 9.2 ( 9 votes)
• 8.5 ( 8 votes)
• 8.4 ( 9 votes)
• 8.8 ( 8 votes)
• 9.4 ( 8 votes)
• 8.9 ( 10 votes)
• 7.3 ( 9 votes)
• 8.3 ( 9 votes)
• 5.4 ( 8 votes)
• 7.4 ( 9 votes)
• 8.6 ( 9 votes)
• 8.2 ( 10 votes)
• 7.1 ( 10 votes)
• 8.3 ( 10 votes)
• 7.7 ( 10 votes)
• 8.6 ( 11 votes)
• 7.6 ( 9 votes)
• 7 ( 9 votes)
• 8.1 ( 11 votes)
• 8.7 ( 9 votes)
• 8.5 ( 12 votes)
• 7.8 ( 10 votes)
• 7.9 ( 10 votes)
• 7.2 ( 9 votes)
• 8.1 ( 10 votes)
• 6.4 ( 9 votes)
• 9.2 ( 10 votes)
• 9.1 ( 9 votes)
• 7.9 ( 9 votes)
• 7.3 ( 10 votes)
• 8.7 ( 11 votes)
• 8.4 ( 11 votes)
• 7.9 ( 11 votes)
• 7.1 ( 8 votes)
• 8.3 ( 12 votes)
• 9.1 ( 10 votes)
• 8.7 ( 10 votes)
• 7.8 ( 9 votes)
• 7.5 ( 11 votes)
• 7 ( 11 votes)
• 6.9 ( 11 votes)
• 6.7 ( 10 votes)
• 7.5 ( 12 votes)
• 7.4 ( 11 votes)
• 7.7 ( 11 votes)
• 7.6 ( 11 votes)
• 6.7 ( 11 votes)
• 7.6 ( 10 votes)
• 6.5 ( 10 votes)
• 7 ( 8 votes)
• 7.3 ( 11 votes)
• 6.4 ( 10 votes)
• 7.2 ( 10 votes)
• 7 ( 10 votes)
• 6.8 ( 10 votes)
• 7.2 ( 11 votes)
• 7.8 ( 11 votes)
• 7.5 ( 10 votes)
• 8 ( 10 votes)
• 8 ( 11 votes)
• 8.4 ( 12 votes)
• 7.1 ( 11 votes)
• 6.7 ( 12 votes)
• 7.3 ( 14 votes)
• 7.4 ( 14 votes)

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!

The 15 greatest Star Trek: Voyager episodes, ranked

Credit: CBS

Star Trek: Voyager was a series with a great premise and stories that somewhat frequently — but not always — lived up to it.

25 years ago today, Voyager premiered with the two-hour pilot "Caretaker" and forever changed the franchise with its introduction to the first female Captain, Kathyrn Janeway (a perfect Kate Mulgrew). Resilient, Janeway was unyielding in her efforts to get her untested crew home after they were zapped to the uncharted Delta Quadrant, 75 years away from Earth. Starfleet personnel mixing with former officers/current members of a resistance group known as the Maquis promised great, "only-on- Star-Trek " conflict — coupled with a ship stranded from the usual resources and aid afforded Kirk and Picard’s Enterprises.

Sadly, Voyager never fully embraced the full potential of that core conceit, leading Voyager to spend a big chunk of its seven-season run feeling like " Star Trek: The Next Generation lite." The ship was usually always fixed the next week if the previous one had it under attack or badly damaged. And the crew seemingly didn't mind too much about taking detours to explore and map this unknown area of space instead of doing what normal humans would — less sightseeing, more getting this 75-year journey underway as soon as possible and without distraction.

Despite Voyager 's uneven feel, when the show hit its stride, it produced some of the most entertaining hours the genre has ever seen. To celebrate Voyager 's 25th anniversary, here are the 15 best episodes.

15 . “Caretaker” (Season 1)

Voyager 's feature-length series premiere is one of the strongest pilots ever for a Trek show. Starting off at Deep Space Nine before stranding Captain Janeway and her motley crew of Maquis deserters in the Delta Quadrant, "Caretaker" has a riveting first half, peppered with exceptional character interplay. Then the pacing and tension slow in the second hour where we spend way too much time with an alien race that seems to have modeled itself after the citizens of Mayberry and The Waltons.

14 . "Eye of the Needle" (Season 1)

"Eye of the Needle" has a bittersweet twist that ranks up there with some of the best Twilight Zone endings. With the help of an anomaly via a wormhole, Voyager is able to communicate with a ship in the Alpha Quadrant. The catch? It's a Romulan vessel and not one in the same time as our lost heroes.

13 . "Dreadnaught" (Season 2)

If Speed and Runaway Train had a kid, it would be "Dreadnaught."

This compelling and tense hour of Voyager centers on engineer — the Klingon-Human Torres — struggling to reprogram a deadly missile designed by her enemy, the Cardassians, before it destroys a planet. Most of the hour is just Torres in a room, talking to a computer, and it is some of the most harrowing scenes in all of Trek history.

12 . "Mortal Coil" (Season 4)

Neelix, as a character, struggled to find solid footing among the ensemble jockeying for meaty storylines. But "Mortal Coil" remedies that with a dark, brooding storyline that takes on the afterlife and Neelix's near-death experience with it. After realizing the afterlife his culture believes in isn't really there, our favorite Talaxian suffers a heartbreaking existential crisis.

11 . "Tinker, Tailor, Doctor, Spy" (Season 6)

Veteran Star Trek: The Next Generation writer Joe Menosky — with a story from cartoonist Bill Vallely — crafted one of The Doctor's funniest outings, as the sentient hologram struggles with the hilarious consequences of giving himself the ability to daydream. The good doctor's fantasies catch the attention of an alien race's surveillance, but they think they are real — which brings about some trouble for the crew. How the Doctor saves the day is one of the best scenes Voyager has ever done.

10 . "Blink of an Eye" (Season 6) / "Relativity" (Season 5)

"Blink of an Eye" has a perfect Trek premise — Voyager orbits a planet where time passes differently for its inhabitants that for the ship's crew, so Janeway is able to watch this society evolve in, well, a blink of an eye.

This first contact scenario allows the show to invest the "explore strange new worlds" mandate with more emotion and nuance than Voyager usually affords its stories, giving fans a surprisingly poignant episode that still holds up to this day.

And despite time travel being a popular narrative trope in Star Trek , the show never failed to find new ways to explore and subvert it. "Relativity" is a fun, ticking-clock caper that sends former Borg drone Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) back in time to prevent the destruction of Voyager. Co-written by Discovery co-creator Bryan Fuller, this exciting episode keeps you at the edge of your couch cushion with an impressive act four twist.

09 . "The Equinox, Parts I & II" (Seasons 5 & 6)

In a plot worthy of a Star Trek movie, Janeway and her crew encounter another starship stuck in the Delta Quadrant, The Equinox. Commanded by a battle-hardened, Ahab-like figure, Captain Ransom (John Savage), The Equinox plots to hijack Voyager and strand her crew aboard their dying ship — in order to escape a race of subspace aliens that have been plaguing them.

Part of the fun of this excellent two-parter is never really knowing for most of its run time where the plot is going to go — for a moment, we actually think Janeway will lose this one.

08 . "Deadlock" (Season 2)

"Deadlock" is one of the few bright spots from Voyager 's bumpy early days. While the episode could take place on any of Trek 's ship-based shows, the stakes feel higher and for Janeway and her crew as they must work with those belonging to an alternate version of Voyager to get out of trouble.

When our Voyager — Voyager Prime — becomes fatally disabled, Janeway volunteers to sacrifice her ship so the other Voyager can go on. How Janeway handles the idea of this sacrifice results in the Ensign Harry Kim (Garret Wang) the show started with being replaced by his doppelganger.

07 . "Scorpion, Parts I & II" (Seasons 3 & 4)

"Scorpion" is action-packed Season 3 finale/Season 4 premiere that kicks off with a hell of a hook for a teaser: A small fleet of Borg cubes easily destroyed by an offscreen threat.

That threat is revealed to be Species 8472, a long-standing rival of the Borg in this quadrant of space — the only thing the Borg are afraid of. Enter Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), a Borg attache who becomes a remember of Janeway's crew as Voyager teams up with the enemy of their enemy to both defeat the Borg and shave some time off their trip home.

"Scorpion" represents a turning point for the series and for the franchise, with the introduction of the instantly-iconic Seven — another member of Trek’s deep bench of alien characters struggling to learn what it takes to be human. Or, in Seven's case, rediscover her humanity.

06 . "Counterpoint" (Season 5)

"Counterpoint" (Kate Mulgrew's favorite episode) is arguably Voyager 's most underrated episode, with a storyline whose elevator pitch could be "The Diary of Anne Frank" in space.

Voyager is secretly providing safe harbor to a group of telepaths being hunted by an alien race that hates them. (So, basically, Space Nazis). When the latter's charming leader defects to Voyager, and sparks a relationship with Janeway, it's instantly fraught with suspicion that boils over into bittersweet betrayal. The hour is an acting showcase for Mulgrew, as she pushes Janeway to uneasy places with the hard choices only this captain can make — and learn to live with.

05 . "Latent Image" (Season 5)

The most successful medical storylines on Star Trek are those that tap into moral/ethical dilemmas with a tech twist. In "Latent Image," the Doctor finds himself caught in the middle of both as he and Seven work to uncover who appears to have tampered with his memory — and why.

What starts as a whodunit becomes a powerful drama dealing with consent and the rights afforded all lifeforms — including artificial ones like the Doctor — when he discovers that Janeway altered his program against his will. Why? Because the doctor was confronted with a hard choice that broke him: With two patients' lives on the line, and only enough time to save one of them, the Doctor chose to save his friend.

04 . "Hope and Fear" (Season 4)

A rare non-two parter season finale, "Hope and Fear" is a landmark episode in the Janeway-Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) dynamic that puts the two at odds — only to come together in the end — in ways that echo Kirk and Spock.

When a sketchy alien (Ray Wise) shows up with the promise of getting Voyager home with the help of an all-too-convenient new starship, everyone fantasizes about the pros and cons of their long journey coming to an end. But the alien's plan is revealed to be a long con — he is a Borg attack survivor seeking revenge on Voyager, specifically Seven.

After he suffers a fitting but tragic end, "Hope and Fear" wraps up with a crew overcoming the letdown of still being stuck lightyears from home by focusing on a renewed purpose to keep going.

03 . "Message In a Bottle" (Season 4)

This fast-paced mix of action and comedy is a solid two-hander between Voyager’s EMH and a more advanced version (Andy Dick) aboard a sophisticated new starship that’s been hijacked (naturally) by Romulans. The two unlikely heroes are Voyager's only hope as they must use the ship's unique ability to separate into three different sections to defeat the bad guys.

Star Trek is hit and miss when it comes to comedy, but "Message In a Bottle" finds a near-perfect balance between laughs and sci-fi action while providing further proof that actor Robert Picardo is the series' MVP.

02 . "Timeless" (Season 5)

Voyager 's 100th episode is one of the greatest ever produced on any Star Trek series. "Timeless" opens in a future where Voyager crashed on an ice planet while on its way home, and centers on Ensign Harry Kim's efforts to save his crew in a very "timey wimey" fashion. (Captain Geordi La Forge, played by LeVar Burton — who directed the episode — stands in the good Ensign’s way).

With "Timeless," showrunner and writer Brannon Braga set out to do for Voyager what "The City on the Edge of Forever" did for the classic Original Series . A high bar this entertaining, high-concept hour effortlessly reaches.

01 . "Year of Hell," Parts I & II (Season 4)

Voyager achieved feature film-level quality with this epic two-parter.

Janeway and crew struggle to defeat time-manipulating genocidal villain (a perfect Kurtwood Smith) as he risks breaking the laws of physics — and chipping away our heroes' starship with battle damage — all so he can get back to his lost wife. To right that wrong, and alter the timeline by doing so, he and his time ship destroy an entire civilization. With some of the best space battles in the franchise's history, coupled with the moral and ethical dramas only Star Trek can do, "Year of Hell" is an all-timer.

• Star Trek: Voyager

Related Stories

Why Fast Five Remains One of the Greatest Films in the Fast Saga

R.I.P.D. Creators Talk Abandoned Franchise & Resurrection Hopes

Why Tokyo Drift is the Perfect Fast & Furious Spinoff

Flushed Away Director On Aardman's First CG-Animated Feature

Anthony Mackie On John Doe Vs. Sam Wilson

The Best Fantasy Movies Streaming on Peacock in April 2024

The Best Slasher Movies on Peacock for April 2024

The Best Sci-Fi Movies on Peacock in April 2024

The Wild Cartoon World of Billy Madison

Bruce Almighty Teleprompter Scene Wasn't in Original Script

The 20 Best Sci-fi TV Shows on Peacock in April 2024

The Fast and the Furious: Remembering how the Fast Saga began

Recommended for you.

Linda Hamilton on Resident Alien Role: "I'm Not the Funny Girl, I'm the Straight Man"

The Classic Twilight Zone Episode That Inspired Jordan Peele's Us

Resident Alien's Alan Tudyk on Harry's New Love Interest, Edi Patterson's Blue Avian

Best Star Trek: Voyager episodes

From battles with the Borg to explorations of humanity, we’ve picked out the best Star Trek: Voyager episodes.

Running from 1995 to 2001, Voyager was a departure for the Star Trek series, journeying into new territory, literal and metaphorical. It was the first in the franchise to feature a woman in the captain's chair, with the strong and stubborn Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) taking the helm. In the pilot episode, Caretaker (January 1995), the Intrepid-class starship Voyager is catapulted to the Delta Quadrant, a hitherto unexplored quadrant of the galaxy. Voyager’s mission (and overall story arc) was simple then: Make it back to Federation space, even though it was 75 years away (spoiler: it didn’t take that long). 

During its seven seasons and 172 episodes, Voyager introduced new species, like the Hirogen and the bane of the Borg, Species 8472. It explored emotional and ethical quandaries, such as hologram sentience and reformed drone Seven of Nine’s dating life, and along the way had fun with rogue Klingons and Q. It was a somewhat uneven show and didn’t fully hit its stride until season four, but it still provided plenty of memorable moments.  

Although Voyager never quite reached the heights of cast alchemy and narrative depth of its immediate forebear, the iconic The Next Generation, it broke new ground. Most significantly perhaps, it centered, for the first time, on a woman captain – one who commanded with utmost confidence, inspiring the love and loyalty of her crew, helping to pave the way for the gender-breaking 2017 series Discovery. And, it also included some very fine writing, as this list demonstrates (note: spoilers for individual episodes and the series follow, and two-parters will count as one episode for the purposes of this list).

If you want to relive Voyager's best episodes, then check out our Star Trek streaming guide to find out where you can watch the show online. Or if you’re a just big fan of all things Star Trek then check out our list of Star Trek movies, ranked worst to best , 

Now, let's count down our top ten best Star trek Voyager episodes, starting with...

10. Distant Origin

• Season 3, episode 23 
• Original air date: April 30, 1997

As Voyager was set in a distant part of the galaxy, 70,000 light years away from home, the series was always a touch more whimsical than The Next Generation (TNG) or Deep Space Nine (DS9). In this episode, Voyager, one of the jewels of Starfleet, more than meets its match in a race known as the Voth, when the entire ship is transported inside a massive Voth vessel. 

It turns out the Voth might’ve evolved from Earth’s dinosaurs aeons ago in this tale about the importance of scientific curiosity and open-mindedness. “Eyes open” is the memorable line uttered by the trailblazing Voth paleontologist as he tries to prove humans and Voth once shared the same origin.

9. Good Shepherd

• Season 6, episode 20  
• Original air date: March 15, 2000

Recalling the The Next Generation episode Lower Decks, Good Shepherd gives viewers the chance to see Voyager from a different perspective – not of the captain and her officers, but from much lowlier crewmen. Focusing on a Bajoran who has trouble with her sums, a hypochondriac, and a misanthropic physicist, Captain Janeway decides to take these three on an away mission, to steer these lost sheep back on course. 

It’s a fine episode that shows Voyager as the hierarchical starship it always was, and the importance of its many crewmen that help it to remain running. Fun fact: Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello appears in this episode as Crewman Mitchell.

8. Nightingale

• Season 7, episode 8  
• Original air date: November 22, 2000

The “lowest ranked officer” Ensign Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) finally gets his chance to shine as he asks Captain Janeway to give him his first command mission. This episode was an efficient education in the finer points of leadership, as the junior officer took command of an alien ship, revealing the Captain and First Officer’s jobs were harder than they looked. 

Watch as Ensign Kim undermines the confidence of his new crew and overemphasizes the importance of routine checks, among other lessons in what not to do as a leader.

7. Human Error

• Season 7, episode 17  
• Original air date: March 7, 2001

Human Error finds Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) trying to outgrow her Borg limitations in a bid to become more human. It’s romantic, amusing, awkward, emotionally expansive, and yet oddly claustrophobic. As Seven navigates various social activities such as a baby shower, small talk, and, most poignant of all, dating, this episode unpicks obsession, perfectionism, and Seven’s sensitive interior, which belie her inscrutable drone façade. 

With some fine performances by Ryan and Picardo as The Doctor (who is secretly in love with Seven), this episode is slightly flawed, yet more ambitious, and more attuned to human moods than much of Voyager’s oeuvre.

• Season 2, episode 16  
• Original air date: February 5, 1996

“You live on the edge of every moment, and yet, in its own way, violence is attractive, too. Maybe because it doesn’t require logic. Perhaps that’s why it’s so liberating” – Suder’s chilling words to Tuvok.

The early seasons of Voyager were patchy as the crew took time to establish chemistry, while antagonists such as the Kazon were uninspiring. But in season two, we were treated to an episode of high drama that didn’t rely on alien battles. Instead, it came via an onboard murder. The resident Vulcan and Chief Security Officer, Tuvok (Tim Russ), is charged with solving the case. Attempting to establish motive, the logical Tuvok is baffled when the murderer, the crewman Suder, replies that he committed the crime for “no reason”. Tuvok mind melds with Suder in order to better understand him. 

Needless to say, Tuvok experiences adverse effects from the meld in this study of extreme violence, and grapples with the ethics of appropriate punishment. Anchored by a charismatic performance by Brad Dourif, as the sociopath, Suder even gets a chance at redemption, returning in the two-parter Basics (season 2, episode 26), when he helps to retake the ship from the Kazon. 

• Season 5, episode 25 & season 6, episode 1 
• Original air date: May 26, 1999 & September 22, 1999

This season five finale has a grittiness and darkness that later series Enterprise and Discovery would utilise more. Encountering another Starfleet vessel in the Delta Quadrant, Captain Janeway goes to the aid of the U.S.S. Equinox. A much smaller and less powerful vessel, the Equinox is a Nova-class starship not designed for long-range missions. 

So, how have they managed to survive this long? In this tense and dramatic two-parter, Janeway is pitted against fellow Starfleet officers and turns vengeful as she discovers the horrifying truth about the Equinox's betrayal of Star Fleet's principles and the Prime Directive.

4. Blink of an Eye

• Season 6, episode 12 
• Original air date: January 19, 2000

The U.S.S. Voyager investigates a world that rotates 58 times a second, with time passing much more quickly on its surface than in space, but gets trapped as it is caught by the planet’s orbit. Meanwhile, the primitive natives on the surface see a new star in the sky, which happens to be Voyager. 

In this enjoyable episode, the crew of the ship, and we the audience, get to see the evolution of a world and its inhabitants before our very eyes. Featuring a pre-Lost Daniel Dae Kim as an alien, Blink of an Eye has a charm and sweetness that is magically expressed in the episode’s final moments.

• Season 7, episode 24 
• Original air date: May 23, 2001

When Voyager’s finale aired, it was met with mixed audience reactions, with a consensus that it wrapped things up a little too neatly. While that criticism is not invalid, in retrospect Endgame was more of a treat than a sour note. After all, over its 86-minute runtime the two-parter finally gave its characters a little more room to breathe. This generosity extended to include the return of the wonderful Alice Krige as the Borg Queen, who first appeared in the role in the Star Trek: First Contact movie. 

Involving a Borg showdown, among other delights, Endgame treated us to the sights of a Voyager crew in old age, as we learn of the crew’s destinies, the wonders of even more futuristic technology, and a white-haired Janeway coming to terms with how stubborn her younger self could be.

2. Year of Hell

• Season 4, episode 8 & 9 
• Original air date: November 5, 1997 & November 12, 1997

This two-parter is among the darkest and grittiest Star Trek has ever gotten. This was Voyager in distress and Captain Janeway at her most grim. Voyager gets embroiled in an interspecies conflict, but finds itself drawn into a more personal story. Kurtwood Smith delivers an authoritative performance as the villain Annorax – a brooding figure who commands a temporal weapon ship capable of erasing objects and civilizations from the timeline. 

Year of Hell had an epic quality, a sense of awe and real peril as it was difficult to imagine Voyager surviving through the onslaught. Full of memorable imagery – from Janeway as a gung-ho militaristic figure to a devastated ship with holes in its hull – this was Voyager at its most hellish.    

1. Timeless

• Season 5, episode 6 
• Original air date: November 18, 1998

A mini-masterpiece. For Voyager’s 100th episode the show’s producers and writers Brannon Braga, Rick Berman, and Joe Menosky created something special. With Levar Burton (of Geordi La Forge and The Next Generation fame) as director, Timeless had the majesty of a movie. The 45-minute run-time included the extraordinary image of Voyager encased in ice and a plot that was as satisfying as it was compelling (as well a cameo from Burton as a Starfleet captain). 

What was even more surprising was Garrett Wang playing an older, grizzled Harry Kim, in probably his standout performance, for a story that was full of pathos and regret. Can the older Kim send a message back through time to correct a huge mistake and avoid the deaths of his crewmates? Timeless really does have a timeless quality to it, since it’s the finest episode of Voyager ever produced.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Get the Space.com Newsletter

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Lu-Hai Liang is a British Chinese writer and reporter. He has a degree in multimedia journalism and has written about culture for The Atlantic, BBC, CNN, Eurogamer, IGN, and Wired among others. He was based previously in Beijing for six years and reported on China’s changing society and development in business and technology. Generally, he likes sci-fi, video games, and space.

This Week In Space podcast: Episode 107 — Mars Sample Return Blues

'Transformers One' 1st trailer unveils Optimus Prime and Megatron's shared history (video)

12 of the best total solar eclipse 2024 photos from our readers

Most Popular

• 2 Saturn's ocean moon Enceladus is able to support life − my research team is working out how to detect extraterrestrial cells there
• 3 Why is it so hard to send humans back to the moon?
• 4 Eclipse expert Jamie Carter wins media award for extensive solar eclipse coverage
• 5 'Devil Comet' 12P/Pons-Brooks reaches peak brightness tonight. Here's how to see it

Screen Rant

Star trek: voyager’s 20 best episodes ranked.

Star Trek: Voyager's 20 best episodes bring out the best in Captain Kathryn Janeway, Seven of Nine, and the USS Voyager in the far-off Delta Quadrant.

• Star Trek: Voyager explores themes of grief, loss, redemption, and persistence in the face of astronomical odds.
• The show's characters learn to cope with a changing definition of normal and the loss of what they once knew, while trying to navigate personal relationships and find a route back home.
• Voyager may not be the highest regarded series, but it offers comfort and hope in a world marked by rapid, unexpected changes, making it worth watching.

The 20 best episodes of Star Trek: Voyager highlight its overarching themes of grief, loss, redemption, and persistence in the face of astronomical odds. Voyager, at its heart, is about its characters learning to cope with a changing definition of normal and the loss of what they once knew, while trying to figure out how to navigate both personal relationships and a route back home. Exploring the final frontier comes with difficult choices, and Voyager isn't afraid to admit that. It may not be the highest regarded Star Trek series, but there is something nonetheless comforting about Voyager. It's familiar, and particularly hopeful in a real world that's also marked by rapid, unexpected changes.

Star Trek: Voyager follows the USS Voyager, an Intrepid Class Federation starship led by Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), on its long journey back to the Alpha Quadrant and Earth after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant. The crew of Voyager , made up of Starfleet and Maquis officers, encounters new foes like the Kazon, Vidiians, Hirogen, and Species 8472, and memorable Star Trek villains the Borg. While its commitment to episodic storytelling sometimes stifles character growth, the format allows Voyager to take risks without permanent consequences, which makes it the source of some of Star Trek 's most bizarre episodes -- but also some of the best.

20 "Deadlock" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 2, Episode 21)

A divergence field splits the USS Voyager into two versions of itself, which are connected through a shared antimatter supply, so only one version can survive in the end. Because both Voyagers are equally real, it's never really clear which Voyager is going to survive. One Voyager takes more damage and even suffers two significant losses of life. The other is more intact, with a full crew complement, but when they're boarded by Vidiians, it's up to both equally stubborn versions of Captain Janeway to determine which ship must self-destruct to save the other.

19 "Pathfinder" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 6, Episode 10)

"Pathfinder" guest stars Star Trek: The Next Generation actors Dwight Schultz as Lt. Reginald Barclay and Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi, as it checks in on Barclay's progress on the Pathfinder program. He dips back into his comfortable holodeck programs, this time in the guise of working on the project, with holographic versions of Voyager's crew. The episode is largely focused on Barclay, but it's very much a Voyager episode, with his determination to bring Voyager home from the other side nearly matching Janeway's, and his fervent hope, even when odds don't look good that it will work.

18 "Infinite Regress" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 5, Episode 7)

As Voyager approaches a destroyed and seemingly abandoned Borg cube, Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) becomes overwritten by those of people that she was personally responsible for assimilating as a Borg drone. She doesn't remember what she does when she's suppressed by these alternates, and there's a real concern that she might lose herself in the different and warring voices that vie for control, as time between the shifts lessens. Jeri Ryan is great in this episode, embodying each of the different people in Seven's mind with care, believability, and a great balance between humor and drama.

17 "Eye of the Needle" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 1, Episode 7)

Early Voyager episodes indicate that the show is still finding its feet, but "Eye of the Needle" is an emotional exception. Shortly after becoming stranded, Voyager discovers a wormhole that leads directly to the Alpha Quadrant. The catch is, it's only large enough for a microprobe, and the person on the other side of their subspace transmission is Romulan Telek R'Mor (Vaughn Armstrong). The erstwhile enemies drop their prejudices to work together towards a solution that can safely bring Voyager home using the tiny wormhole, only to find that there's yet another catch: the sides of the wormhole are separated by about twenty years, in addition to the thousands of lightyears of distance.

16 "Someone to Watch Over Me" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 5, Episode 22)

The Doctor has been helping Seven of Nine adjust to life as an individual ever since she arrived, and he believes it's time for her to try engaging in romantic social situations -- in other words, dating. He creates a series of holodeck lessons designed to prepare her for the real thing, but in doing so, accidentally falls in love with her. The scenes between them are sweet and touching, particularly because neither of them are actually fully human, and neither quite understand what's happened until it's happened. She lets him down easy, but the friendship between Seven and the Doctor isn't destroyed; it's stronger in the end.

15 "Bride of Chaotica!" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 5, Episode 12)

Star Trek 's best holodeck episodes are often the most fun ones, and "Bride of Chaotica!" is a delightful season 5 outing revolving around Tom Paris's (Robert Duncan McNeill) "Adventures of Captain Proton" program. Photonic lifeforms, not unlike holograms themselves, register only the holodeck as being reality, and take the program at face value. It's up to the crew to ensure that first contact goes off without a hitch, while making sure the retrofuturistic program's story keeps going. Even Captain Janeway reluctantly participates, as the titular bride for campy villain Doctor Chaotica (Martin Rayner), and it's clear Kate Mulgrew is having a blast hamming it up for the black-and-white serial's style.

14 "Extreme Risk" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 5, Episode 3)

"Extreme Risk" is notable as the episode in which the Delta Flyer is developed and built, but the emotional center of the episode is half-Klingon Lt. B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), and the realistic depiction of her depression. She's using the holodeck to engage in increasingly risky behavior, with the safeties off, in hopes of being able to feel something, anything, after receiving a communication from the Alpha Quadrant with devastating personal news. Her close friendship with Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) takes center stage with his validation of her feelings in a particularly moving and hopeful scene between the two of them. Even if things aren't okay now, they can be.

13 "Timeless" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 5, Episode 6)

Fifteen years after Voyager's attempt at an experimental quantum slipstream drive to cross the galaxy crashes it on an ice planet, Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) and Chakotay find a way to make sure the accident never happens. It's a memorable episode for Kim in particular, who doesn't often get a chance to shine; Wang portrays the older Kim with a poignant blend of regret and anger, with his determination to correct his own past mistakes as his driving force. "Timeless" feels like a better and more contained version of Star Trek: Voyager 's finale, "Endgame" , with bonus points for LeVar Burton's cameo as Captain Geordi LaForge.

12 "Mortal Coil" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 4, Episode 12)

When Neelix (Ethan Phillips) dies in the cold open, it's obviously not going to stick. The answer to his revival is Borg nanoprobes, handily provided by Seven of Nine, and from there Neelix is physically fine, but he begins to question how the experience of being brought back to life fits in with his Talaxian religious beliefs. He's Neelix, so he's a master at staying positive in even the most dire situations, but this existential crisis hits home for him, and it's not as easy to cover his concern with a smile. It's refreshing to see a more serious take on Neelix, with added depths to his inner thoughts, his family and culture, and his reasons for even being on Voyager.

11 "Body and Soul" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 7, Episode 7)

When Harry Kim, the Doctor, and Seven of Nine are arrested by Lokirrim authorities in search of "photonic insurgents," Seven downloads the Doctor into her cybernetic implants in order to save him. What follows is a series of misadventures in the Lokirrim prison involving mistaken identities, misplaced romance, and the Doctor's pure enjoyment in discovering that having a physical body, even if it's borrowed, means he can experience the delight that is New York cheesecake. Also enjoyable is the B-Plot, which explains how Lt. Tuvok (Tim Russ) gets through pon farr in the Delta Quadrant.

10 "Message in a Bottle" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 4, Episode 14)

The Doctor has a rare opportunity to make in-person contact with a Starfleet vessel in the Alpha Quadrant when Voyager encounters an abandoned relay station that lets him transmit his program in lieu of messages. He discovers his successor, the EMH Mark II (Andy Dick) is online and hiding from Romulans who have taken over the ship. Mark II is a more advanced Emergency Medical Hologram, but the Doctor's growth as a person means he has more or less the right skills to foil the Romulans' plot, and their joint mission results in comedic misunderstandings, holographic hijinks, and a real win for not just the Doctor, but Voyager's ultimate return.

9 "Distant Origin" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 3, Episode 23)

Casually known as "the one with the dinosaurs," "Distant Origin" posits that hadrosaurs departed Earth in their own spaceships prior to the extinction event that ended the dinosaurs' reign, and the inhabitants of those ships found a new home as a Delta Quadrant species . When it's discovered that the genetic similarities between the saurian Voth and Voyager's crew proves a theory relating to their origin, it sparks a powerful philosophical debate between Voth scientists and religious leaders. The silly sounding premise belies a poignant story about truth, doctrine, and how powerful people mold truth to suit a narrative that keeps them in power, even when it's patently false.

8 "Equinox" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 5, Episode 26 & Season 6, Episode 1)

Voyager encounters another Starfleet vessel that's also lost in the Delta Quadrant courtesy of the Caretaker. The USS Equinox hasn't fared quite so well as Voyager, however, with their first contacts in the Quadrant killing a large percentage of their crew. They've had to resort to some unsavory acts just to survive, seemingly abandoning the Starfleet principles that Janeway has desperately held onto as a guiding star. Janeway is at her most ruthless here, pursuing Equinox's Captain Ransom (John Savage) with determination to both make him pay for his actions and bring him back to the guiding light of the Federation.

7 "Latent Image" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 5, Episode 11)

When the Doctor discovers that his memory may have been comprised, he initiates an investigation to find out what exactly happened during his missing time, and who might have been responsible for tampering with his files. A compelling mystery leads him to the unfortunate possibility that his memory was deliberately erased -- repeatedly. The true moral quandary is whether it's right to erase a traumatic memory when it's possible to do so, and who has the authority to do it when it might be a medical necessity. There's also a great moment in Seven advocating for personal rights, an important step on her own journey.

6 "Scorpion" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 3, Episode 26 & Season 4, Episode 1)

After dropping hints throughout its third season, Voyager finally comes to the edge of Borg space. Janeway's solution of allying with the Borg to cross their space safely is a radical one, and Chakotay expresses his obvious displeasure, but Janeway has something the Borg wants: the ability to harm fluidic space natives Species 8472 , a Borg enemy that defies assimilation. "Scorpion" marks a turning point in the series, with the introduction of Seven of Nine and the overall quality of Voyager episodes beginning to increase. Correlation isn't always causation, but it just might be in this case.

5 "Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 6, Episode 4)

Frequently cited as a favorite among Voyager 's comedy episodes, "Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy" sees the Doctor develop a new daydreaming subroutine, which allows him to explore the possibilities of expanding his role beyond simply medical professional. It seems harmless, until would-be invaders find a way to spy on Voyager through the Doctor's program, and interpret his daydreams as reality. To them, he's a man of infinite talent and a formidable foe, so maybe, just this once, the Doctor might be allowed to live out his dreams if it means Voyager can avoid confrontation.

4 "Counterpoint" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 5, Episode 10)

As Voyager travels through Devore space, they're subject to frequent routine searches for renegade telepaths. The Devore believe that telepaths are immoral, inherent criminals, even as children, and insist on relocating them. Janeway won't be party to such prejudice, so hides a dozen Brenari telepaths in the transporter buffer. The Devore commander, Kashyk (Mark Harelik) defects, initiating a romance with Janeway as they work together to help the refugees find freedom. There's beauty and tension in the way their conversations dance around each other, with loyalties weaving in and out of the believable romance and their obligations to lead their people in what they believe is right.

3 "Living Witness" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 4, Episode 23)

In the closest thing Voyager has to a Star Trek mirror universe episode , an inaccurate future museum exhibit tells the tale of how the warship Voyager's involvement led to inequality between the planet's two species. Fortunately, the Doctor's program has survived for hundreds of years, and he can explain how things actually happened, and correct all the inaccuracies in not just the small details but also the broader motives of Voyager's presence. There's always more to the story when history is written by the victors, and the second reveal later in the episode makes this one of Voyager 's very best.

2 "Blink of an Eye" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 6, Episode 12)

In "Blink of an Eye", Voyager is pulled into the gravity of a planet that experiences time at a much faster rate. Generations rise and fall on the planet below, while Voyager becomes a fixture in its sky and -- perhaps more alarmingly -- its culture. Its presence inspires mythology and science alike, as the stories told by the planet's people drive its inventors forward into the future, with technology designed to reach "the skyship," as they call it. It's a beautiful sci-fi concept that works excellently on Voyager , with seemingly ephemeral people living and dying in mere moments, yet building a legacy that remains after they're gone.

1 "Year of Hell" (Star Trek: Voyager Season 4, Episodes 8 & 9)

Star Trek: Voyager doesn't get much better than "Year of Hell", a season 4 Voyager two-part episode that sees Janeway face off against Annorax (Kurtwood Smith), a man obsessed with restoring the Krenim Imperium to its former glory by changing the timeline until it's perfect. Annorax is a perfect foil for Janeway, since both of them are equally determined to return to worlds they've left behind, whether in space or time, but they handle the pain of their losses quite differently. Voyager's damage is more extensive than ever, and Janeway fights on out of devotion to protect her crew; Annorax, by contrast, is only chasing ghosts, desperate to hold onto something that's already gone.

So many of Star Trek: Voyager 's best episodes stand out as unexpected surprises. It's a series that certainly takes risks, but once it finds its feet around its fourth season, its broader themes begin to coalesce. Its characters become less static, as they're allowed to learn, grow, and change, with particularly memorable arcs for the Doctor, Seven of Nine, and Captain Janeway. Star Trek: Voyager , for all its memorable duds, should be recognized for its truly great episodes, with their explorations of grief, change, recovery, and reputation; and how not just its crew, but also its viewers can learn to cope with the most unprecedented of events, and hold onto hope when it seems lost.

'Star Trek: Voyager': The 7 Best Time Travel Episodes

“The future is the past, the past is the future, it all gives me a headache.”

The Star Trek franchise loves time travel. Some of the best episodes across the franchise’s many shows involve temporal hi-jinks, from heartbreaking episodes like “The City on the Edge of Forever” in the original series to hilarious ones like “Trials and Tribble-Ations” on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

20 years ago, Star Trek: Voyager came to an end with “Endgame”, a two-part finale that involved time travel. The Voyager crew were infamous for their temporal infractions, but at least they gave us plenty of great episodes to enjoy while breaking the temporal prime directive. In honor of the show’s swan song, here’s a look at the seven best time travel episodes on Star Trek: Voyager .

Season 1, Episode 3: “Time and Again”

The ship is hit by a shockwave and Kes ( Jennifer Lien ) believes she hears people crying out from a planet below. When an away team goes to investigate, Captain Janeway ( Kate Mulgrew ) and Tom Paris ( Robert Duncan McNeill ) find themselves trapped in the planet’s past. As if that’s not bad enough, the clock is quickly ticking down to a planet-wide catastrophe.

“Time and Again” is only the third episode of Star Trek: Voyager , but it handles multiple issues deftly. While we’re invested in Captain Janeway and Tom’s retrieval, the planet’s politics are equally riveting, especially the conversation about the episode’s version of nuclear power. It’s also a great character study—Tom Paris begins the episode apathetic to the planet’s residents since there’s no way to save them, but along the way, he changes his mind.

Season 3, Episode 8-9: “Future’s End: Parts 1 & 2”

Voyager is attacked by a ship from the future and is accidentally sucked into the 20th century. The crew have to juggle numerous missions—find a way to return their ship to its time, stop an evil tech mogul from messing up the timeline, and save a young scientist from said mogul’s goons. Oh, and the Doctor ( Robert Picardo ) needs rescuing, as well.

This two-parter feels like a quintessential 90s film. There’s a little bit of everything in it, action, comedy and famous guest stars . The episodes add to Star Trek lore, while also taking the crew out of their regular Delta Quadrant setting. Given that they’re on Earth during “Future’s End”, the characters also have to contend with the philosophical question of whether to stay on Earth, even if it’s not their Earth.

RELATED: 'Star Trek' Creator Gene Roddenberry Gets the Biopic Treatment From 'Discovery' and 'Picard' Producer

Season 5, Episode 6: “Timeless”

A shuttlecraft lands on an icy planet and beneath the frozen surface is the familiar bow of Voyager. It’s the future and there are only two surviving members of the crew—Harry Kim ( Garrett Wang ) and Chakotay ( Robert Beltran ). Decades ago, Voyager thought they’d made a breakthrough to return home early, but instead, they’d met their doom. Now, Harry and Chakotay have the ability to save their friends. If they only had enough time.

“Timeless” is heartbreaking. Every time I watch it (and I’ve seen it several times), I can sympathize with Harry’s pain and guilt. It’s a layered episode that combines science-fiction elements with character development. The tension is heightened to the maximum. You’re genuinely left wondering if you’ll ever see the crew again.

Season 5, Episode 23: “Relativity”

“Relativity” begins on Captain Janeway’s first day aboard Voyager, but something’s not right. An ensign is snooping around the ship and to our surprise it’s none other than Seven of Nine ( Jeri Ryan ). How is it possible when Seven didn’t even join the crew until years later? Turns out, Seven has been recruited by the temporal ship, Relativity, as part of a secret mission to locate a device that will destroy Voyager. But time is not on her side.

“Relativity” is part time travel heist and part Groundhog Day . Not only is the ship at stake, but so is Seven’s life. This episode is fun and entertaining and ties in with numerous past episodes of the show. There are so many twists and turns that you’ll be at the edge of your seat.

Season 6, Episode 12: “Blink of an Eye”

Voyager gets trapped in a planet’s orbit and accidentally influences its entire history. Unbeknownst to the crew, time moves at a different pace on the planet—in the blink of an eye, entire generations are born, grow old and die, all while looking up to the “sky ship”. We watch as the planet’s residents worship Voyager, then begin investigating what it is, before finally attempting to reach it. Voyager couldn’t avoid changing the planet’s mythology, but they will do everything they can to save it.

“Blink of an Eye” is classic science-fiction, but its wistful and almost tragic nature make it a memorable entry in the canon. The episode writers chart a planet’s evolution, echoing humanity’s own history and understanding of the universe around us. That final scene of Daniel Dae Kim ’s character looking up at a departing Voyager will always make you tear up.

Season 7, Episode 10: “Shattered”

Chakotay is blasted by a shockwave and wakes up to an unrecognizable Voyager. The entire ship has been ‘shattered’ into different time periods, and Chakotay is the only one who can navigate through all of them. With friends and enemies all over the ship, how will Chakotay save the crew?

“Shattered” is a brilliant demonstration of how to use an old trope in a new way. Every time Chakotay enters a new timeline, you’re excited to see who’s there and how they’ll react to him. The episode builds a great deal of suspense along the way; you can’t guess how Chakotay is going to get the ship back together. And that denouement—it feels triumphant, but so emphatically in line with Star Trek ideology. “Shattered” takes place in the final season of the show, and the third act builds on everything we’ve learnt about these characters. The episode is compelling from start to finish.

Season 7, Episode 24: “Endgame”

“Endgame” begins with the celebration of Voyager’s 10th homecoming anniversary, but this is not a joyful time. The crew were stuck in the Delta Quadrant for over two decades, and they lost many of their friends along the way, while others have suffered a worse fate. This pain weighs heavily on Admiral Janeway and it’s no wonder that she is adamant to change her past to give her crew a better future.

This final chapter feels like an homage to the Star Trek: The Next Generation finale, “All Good Things ...”, which also employed time travel in its storytelling, yet “Endgame” carves its own path. There’s a lot at stake here, not just the crew’s return home, but the possible end to the constant threat of Borg invasion. The start of the episode is heartbreaking, especially as we learn more about the losses Voyager has suffered. This may not have been the most unique use of time travel, but “Endgame” certainly was a satisfying one.

KEEP READING: Quentin Tarantino's Star Trek Movie Would Have Involved Kirk and Time Travel, Writer Reveals

Personal musings, Professional Updates, and Maybe (just maybe), Useful Information

• Freakonomics asks, “What makes a good boss?”
• The 11 Laws of Showrunning by Javier Grillo-Marxuach
• Have We Tried Burning it All Down?
• Finding the Right Routine
• “…Maybe the Industry Deserves to Die.”

Every Episode of Star Trek: Voyager, Ranked (with comments)

Main Page TOS  |  TAS  |  TNG  |  DS9  | VOY |  ENT  |  DSC  |  ST  |  PIC  | LD Whole Enchilada

VOY Ranking by Titles Only

On one level, Star Trek: Voyager feels forced. It’s like that D&D campaign where people decided to make characters they hadn’t played before, like the Orcish Ranger, the Tiefling Paladin, and the Dwarven Bard. I really didn’t take to it at first.

However, in going back to watch the entire series, it definitely rose in my estimation. For one thing, they did two-parter episodes really well — so much so that I really wonder why they went with a one-part season finale for season four. I mean, “Hope and Fear” was good, and the fifth season opener “Night” was even better, but man, I wanted another “Scorpion” or “Equinox.”

In short, Voyager did what every other Trek series has managed to do: tell some timeless sci-fi stories well. If the tone and quality was uneven — and if it seemed like they went back to particular Trek wells a bit too often rather than delving for their own– that may explain why they don’t get as high in the overall rankings. Indeed, this is a show that had both a pile of dismembered Borg and a charming storybook holodeck program designed to amuse children. I wish there was some kind of way I could drive this home…

(Want to watch or re-watch Voyager before delving into spoiler territory? Check out this viewing guide! )

Note: Everything below may contain spoilers and definitely contains some snark.

Kathryn Janeway Let me come right out and say it: this woman made Admiral for a reason. Faced with seven years of tough decisions while she had to keep a stiff upper lip that would impress Hornblower, she not only got her crew home, she did it bringing new technology and by decisively defeating the Borg. Janeway is awesome (and being an ardent scientist is an added bonus).

Chakotay Look, any XO (executive officer) is going to be a bit tough on occasion. It’s their job. When it comes to serving under XOs, Spock and T’Pol might be Vulcan sticklers and it’s well established Kira needs medical prescriptions to have fun. But Chakotay? Chakotay is that XO who understands. While Matt McCoy’s Devinoni Ral probably has him beat as “most sensitive man in the Star Trek universe,” Chakotay is definitely in the running. I bet he’ll sign your leave slip.

B’Elanna Torres Half-Human, half-Klingon, all engineer: you know the deal.

Tom Paris The would-be oh-so bad boy really comes across as more of a rapscallion. He’s not a favorite, but he sometimes adds a very necessary amount of snark to the show that could sometimes get too serious.

Tuvok Speaking of serious, let’s talk about Tuvok. If he was ever a straighter straight man, he’d be used by comedy statisticians to calibrate their instruments. He probably thinks that “comedy statisticians” are a thing. Tuvok, babe: don’t ever change.

Harry Kim Combining elements of Wesley Crusher’s enthusiasm, Geordi’s romantic mishaps, and O’Brien’s tendency to suffer, poor Ensign Kim probably had one of the worst seven-year journeys of all of them (the sad fate of Lt. Carey notwithstanding). I certainly hope he got a promotion on his return.

Seven of Nine Jeri Ryan plays a perfectly fine continuation of the character commenting on humanity from afar (even though she is human under all the Borg nurturing and nanotech). Alas, the promise of a more ambitious character arc hinted at the beginning of season 4, in which her Borg implants could be removed and she could more fully reassert her humanity, basically stalled (I’m sure the producers felt it wasn’t broken, so why fix it?).

The Doctor The clear “breakout character” of Voyager , the Doctor’s character arc throughout the series was a joy to see, even if we didn’t always dig the opera. The fact that he became more personable and well-rounded while maintaining an acerbic core is a tribute to Robert Picardo.

Neelix I’m not saying every starship couldn’t use a cheerful bar rodent (Q’s term, not mine). I’m saying he’s the Pumpkin Spice of Star Trek characters: good for certain situations, not for every storyline.

Kes What if we had someone who was just incredibly nice? Oh, and she has untapped psychic powers? And let’s not have her do much of anything, okay?

161) “Threshold” Season 2, Episode 15 Meddle not with the mysteries of the universe by going to warp 10, otherwise you too may turn into a giant space salamander, your captain will turn into a giant space salamander, and you shall mate with one another. No, I’m not kidding.

160) “Tuvix” Season 2, Episode 24 Okay, I’m going to give unequivocal props to Tom Wright for his portrayal of Tuvix. He’s a great actor who you can see doing great work in no end of films. Many consider this a great exploration of morality and identity in the grand Trek tradition. Perhaps I’d be more forgiving if it was one of the crazy-go-nuts episodes of the animated series (which got really crazy). Nevertheless, I’ve watched it multiple times and I still can’t take it seriously.

159) “Parturition” Season 2, Episode 7 Do you really need to spend an entire episode with Tom and Neelix bickering? No.

158) “The 37’s” Season 2, Episode 1 The appearance of an odd object in space (a hand, Abraham Lincoln, a truck)  never bodes well. At least some of the other episodes that start off this way have the decency to explore some intriguing ideas. This episode, however, spends undue attention to the heretofore unknown “Blue Alert” which normal people call “landing your damn spacecraft” and then proceeds to have the most interesting action of the story occur off camera (e.g., the visit to the civilization the humans’ built, the unlikely decision by all of the crew to stay on Voyager). What a sour note to start a season on.

157) “Parallax” Season 1, Episode 3 Say, how about we begin our first season with a little bit of the Maquis getting integrated with the Voyager crew and a whole lot of technobabble?

156) “Elogium” Season 2, Episode 4 Kes is feeling frisky. How about we give her and Neelix the room?

155) “Blood Fever” Season 3, Episode 16 Apparently, the only way to advance the Tom/B’Elanna relationship is by making Pon Farr contagious.

154) “Faces” Season 1, Episode 14 “The Enemy Within” without any energy and zero cute space dogs.

153) “Fair Trade” Season 3, Episode 13 Neelix wants to feel important. This episode isn’t.

152) “Cathexis” Season 1, Episode 13 An unremarkable alien possession story.

151) “The Haunting of Deck Twelve” Season 6, Episode 25 Did you really think an episode with this title would be anything more than padding to get to the season finale? Blah.

150) “Alice” Season 6, Episode 5 The possessed spaceship plot does little but reaffirm that Tom and B’Elanna do, in fact, have a relationship.

149) “Deadlock” Season 2, Episode 21 An anemic entry into the alternate timeline story is nothing special. Wait until “Shattered” and ”Endgame.”

148) “Jetrel” Season 1, Episode 15 Some good ideas about prejudice and forgiveness are explored here, but it’s proportionate to how much you like Neelix.

147) “Phage” Season 1, Episode 5 The Vidiians are introduced and, although they’re potentially a fun “villain race,” this episode is mainly unsatisfying.

146) “Sacred Ground” Season 3, Episode 7 Look, the whole matter of Janeway coming to balance her love of science with a bit of faith is okay, but not great. The main reason I’m ever rewatching this episode is for Estelle Harris, Keene Curtis, Harry Groener, and, especially, Parley Baer. And for you young whipper-snappers who don’t know who they are, get off my sacred ground!

145) “Prime Factors” Season 1, Episode 10 Tuvok betrays Janeway’s trust for what turns out to be no good reason. I mean, it’s logical, but we’re all a bit bummed by the end of this.

144) “The Fight” Season 5, Episode 19 Chakotay likes boxing so much he will even box characters that seem to be from a Jack Kirby fever dream.

143) “Vis à Vis” Season 4, Episode 20 Tom Paris is a jerk in a way that Tom Paris is not usually a jerk because of ALIENS.

142) “Lifesigns” Season 2, Episode 19 The Doctor falls in love and B’Elanna learns a bit more compassion, and, um, that’s about it.

141) “Favorite Son” Season 3, Episode 20 Alien femmes have designs on Harry Kim, which means his romantic life remains bad.

140) “Good Shepherd” Season 6, Episode 20 Janeway works on team-building, which somehow turns into a life-or-death situation.

139) “Spirit Folk” Season 6, Episode 17 Due to a glitch, the residents of Fair Haven become more self-aware and — oh, for the love of all that’s Trek, can we give the malfunctioning holodeck episodes a rest?

138) “Twisted” Season 2, Episode 6 The crew pads for time as they explore Voyager-as-Magic-Labyrinth

137) “Human Error” Season 7, Episode 18 An okay character-based episode where Seven of Nine tries to sort out how human she wants to become or can become. It errs a bit more on the frustrating versus existential side, though I suppose if it was in French with B&W cinematography it would be hailed at Cannes.

136) “Fair Haven” Season 6, Episode 11 How can Captain Janeway experience any romance on the long journey home? Why the holodeck, of course! If you’re on board for Voyager , this episode scratches a good character-based itch.

135) “Someone to Watch Over Me” Season 5, Episode 22 It’s Pygmalion with the Doctor and Seven of Nine. Tell you more? It’s nice work if you can get it I suppose, but at the end, the Doctor, pardon my English, goes girl crazy. Okay, I’ll stop with the Gershwin references.

134) “Q2” Season 7, Episode 19 John de Lancie and John de Lancie’s son play Q and Q’s son in this final Q outing. If you liked Q on Voyager, you’ll like this.

133) “Live Fast and Prosper” Season 6, Episode 21 A somewhat charming, but far from amazing episode where the Voyager crew contend with some flim-flamming imposters. If the term “flim-flam” made you queasy, this probably isn’t for you.

132) “Alter Ego” Season 3, Episode 14 Harry falls for the wrong person… again. Tuvok does not prove to be a good wingman.

131) “One” Season 4, Episode 25 Seven of Nine learns that Voyager might just be her new collective. Awww.

130) “Author, Author” Season 7, Episode 20 What rights do writers who are holograms have? The Doctor finds out.

129) “The Cloud” Season 1, Episode 6 Janeway’s coffee-based motivation is never clearer than in this episode. Not bad, but could use a bit more story cream and sugar.

128) “The Chute” Season 3, Episode 3 Tom and Harry are wrongfully incarcerated and have to go through the typical motions of a prison story.

127) “Investigations” Season 2, Episode 20 Neelix as an investigative journalist is somewhat mitigated by his efforts moving the Seska/Kazon storyline along.

126) “Projections” Season 2, Episode 3 A kind of fun take on the Trek “mind-warp” tale where the Doctor questions his holographic existence. Hey, Philip K. Dick’s android said it was okay.

125) “Mortal Coil” Season 4, Episode 12 Neelix gets very existential exploring his ideas of the afterlife. Thoughtful.

124) “Life Line” Season 6, Episode 24 Robert Picardo gets to do a father-son drama playing both parts! Decent.

123) “Pathfinder” Season 6, Episode 10 A little Barclay goes a long way and this episode gives you a lot of Barclay. Gird your holodeck loins!

122) “Learning Curve” Season 1, Episode 16 The Maquis learn that “discipline” and “procedure” aren’t just things Starfleet created to annoy them and Tuvok learns to improvise. A little.

121) “Remember” Season 3, Episode 6 B’Elanna goes on a magical mystery tour… in her mind. Okay, it’s more mystery than magical, but it’ll do.

120) “Darkling” Season 3, Episode 18 What if the Doctor was EVIL?

119) “Tattoo” Season 2, Episode 9 Thrill to the… okay, Marvel to the… Fine. Observe Chakotay’s backstory adventures in Flashback-Land.

118) “Non Sequitur” Season 2, Episode 5 Harry gets caught in an alternate timestream allowing him to suffer general AND romantic angst.

117) “Real Life” Season 3, Episode 22 B’Elanna is something of a jerk, the Doctor gets the O’Brien treatment, and your room may get a bit dusty at the end of this one.

116) “Waking Moments” Season 4, Episode 13 If you like Chakotay and lucid dreaming, you’re going to love this episode.

115) “Resistance” Season 2, Episode 12 A rather touching tale absolutely aided by Joel Grey.

114) “Child’s Play” Season 6, Episode 19 Icheb’s parents are not nice. I mean, you can understand their motivations in a ends-justifies-the-means kind of Greek mythology not-nice way, but they’re still not nice.

113) “Virtuoso” Season 6, Episode 13 The Doctor learns a great deal about fame and fads.

112) “Drive” Season 7, Episode 3 A reasonably involving story where a multi-species spacecraft race is used to illustrate B’Elanna and Tom’s relationship. They also make time for Harry to be unlucky in love again.

111) “Ex Post Facto” Season 1, Episode 8 It’s TNG’s “A Matter of Perspective” with a little smattering of DS9’s “Hard Time” with Tom as the Riker/O’Brien stand-in.

110) “Heroes and Demons” Season 1, Episode 12 A surprisingly enjoyable holodeck outing where the Doctor contends with a Beowulf-type tale. I’m still bummed he didn’t stick with the name “Schweitzer.”

109) “Initiations” Season 2, Episode 2 You get both Nog and the Vasquez Rocks in this story of a young Kazon training to become a proper dudebro Kazon.

108) “Macrocosm” Season 3, Episode 12 Janeway does her best Linda Hamilton impersonation as she takes on a macro-virus. If you’re on board for a wacky monster-of-the-week episode, it’s pretty fun.

107) “Repression” Season 7, Episode 4 Tuvok is the Manchurian Vulcan in a reasonably effective mystery-thriller.

106) “Collective” Season 6, Episode 16 Borg children are precocious. And by “precocious,” I mean “just as deadly as regular Borg if they can get away with it.”

105) “Resolutions” Season 2, Episode 25 Some attempts at serial storytelling come into play here what with callbacks to previous encounters with the Vidiians (aka, your make-up class final exam) as well as exploring the relationship between Chakotay and Janeway. However, there’s nothing exceptional.

104) “Coda” Season 3, Episode 15 Janeway experiences a bit of Groundhog Day. There’s a lot of temporary death in this episode, which, depending on how you feel about the Voyager characters, is either a plus or a minus.

103) “The Gift” Season 4, Episode 2 Let’s officially make the ensemble change from Kes to Seven of Nine and give Kes a good sendoff, okay?

102) “Extreme Risk” Season 5, Episode 3 A notable story in introducing us to the Delta Flyer as well as showing a character work through clinical depression. Because let’s face it, life in a Star Trek series is pretty taxing for one’s mental health.

101) “Emanations” Season 1, Episode 9 An enjoyably philosophical episode comfortably in the Trek wheelhouse looking at beliefs around the afterlife. Plus, Harry Kim is tormented physically and mentally, so you get to check both those boxes off your Voyager bingo card.

100) “Nothing Human” Season 5, Episode 8 Following in the footsteps of TNG’s “Ethics,” the Doctor gets to question whether he can benefit from the research of a Cardassian Dr. Mengele type. Maybe not gold medal, but still Olympic-level wrestling with morals.

99) “Before and After” Season 3, Episode 21 An entertaining enough story where Kes becomes “unstuck in time,” serving as a prelude to the following season’s excellent “Year of Hell.”

98) “The Disease” Season 5, Episode 17 Yes, Harry has another failed romance which, actually, almost kills him. In the meantime however, he gets his groove on and we get to see some okay drama about a generation ship.

97) “Imperfection” Season 7, Episode 2 Character building between Icheb and Seven of Nine which isn’t bad, but rather dependent on you being more than a casual viewer.

96) “The Swarm” Season 3, Episode 4 Irwin Allen is nowhere to be found in this installment which is titularly about xenophobic aliens and their flocks of ships, but really is more about what to do with the Doctor who has outgrown his holographic specs.

95) “Repentance” Season 7, Episode 13 A solid scenario where Federation ideals such as non-interference and no capital punishment come in conflict with a race that plans to execute some of their criminals. Good character moments for several of the crew.

94) “Rise” Season 3, Episode 19 If you like the idea of space elevators and can abide by Neelix, you’re going to be perfectly happy with this one.

93) “Riddles” Season 6, Episode 6 Neelix finally gets to be besties with Tuvok, but Voyager still needs a good tactical officer, so his possible new career path as a jazz-loving baker is cut short.

92) “Homestead” Season 7, Episode 23 The producers wisely realize that Delta Quadrant native Neelix probably won’t like being the lone Talaxian in the Federation and so they send him off in decent style, where he gets to rally a colony of his people against miners in a clear Homesteaders/ranchers homage. Bonus points for the obvious, but enjoyable bit of closure with Tuvok.

91) “Nightingale” Season 7, Episode 8 Okay, so maybe it’s okay for Harry Kim to remain an ensign for a while.

90) “Workforce” (Parts I & II) Season 7, Episodes 16 & 17 A decent, but not standout two-parter that gives some good character moments, especially, for Janeway and the Doctor — yet the story doesn’t match some of Voyager’s more epic two-parters.

89) “The Voyager Conspiracy” Season 6, Episode 9 Seven of Nine becomes a poster child for the every instructor who has ever wanted to illustrate how data is different from information which is different from knowledge which is different from wisdom.

88) “Once Upon a Time” Season 5, Episode 5 A charming tale about Neelix living up to his role as Voyager ‘s morale officer with a fun little world-building reveal at the end featuring Janeway, making you speculate whether there are holodeck versions of Goodnight Moon and Dr. Seuss books.

87) “Warlord” Season 3, Episode 10 Jennifer Lien has a field day playing a would-be military dictator who can’t quite escape Kes’ irrepressible niceness.

86) “Scientific Method” Season 4, Episode 7 Pitiless aliens experiment on the crew once again making a critical mistake pretty much all the villains make on Voyager : when you go against Janeway, you have to go all-in.

85) “Tsunkatse” Season 6, Episode 15 A decent but not particularly surprising diversion of an episode involving gladiatorial combat. You could say this episode puts Seven of Nine between The Rock and a hard place. I won’t say it, but you might.

84) “Think Tank” Season 5, Episode 20 Nefarious aliens will get what they want, and they want Seven of Nine! But have you noticed people who cross Janeway tend to wind up broken or dead?

83) “The Q and the Grey” Season 3, Episode 11 The repercussions of “Death Wish” come to pass in an entertaining enough outing where John de Lancie’s self-important Q is joined by Suzie Plakson as his significant Q other. Bonus meta points for Miss Q flattering B’Elanna about Klingons.

82) “Caretaker” Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2 A somewhat perfunctory, but decent enough series premiere gives us a taste of what to look forward to –and what we might find annoying– about the latest Star Trek series. That they revisit Janeway’s fateful decision to strand themselves in the Delta quadrant because of Federation ideals later in the series is good. It’s also nice that Voyager represents some technical sophistication after endless episodes of the Enterprise (in multiple series) being completely outclassed (and it also gives a good covetous motivation for the new villains, the Kazon).

81) “Alliances” Season 2, Episode 14 In a great move for the overall Kazon narrative, Janeway and the crew find the limits of selling the Kazon on their Federation principles. Cultures used to betrayals and power games tend not to change overnight.

80) “Day of Honor” Season 4, Episode 3 A good entry in both B’Elanna’s ongoing exploration of her Klingon heritage and her relationship with Tom Paris.

79) “Drone” Season 5, Episode 2 Mix a transporter mishap with the Borg and 29th century technology and you have yourselves a spicy meatball of an episode!

78) “Retrospect” Season 4, Episode 17 A tale of assault, abuse, doubt, and trust that offers enough great moments for Seven, Janeway, and the Doctor to make one feel properly uncomfortable.

77) “Infinite Regress” Season 5, Episode 7 Jeri Ryan gets to act her socks off and Naomi Wildman continues her quest to become the “captain’s assistant.” Fun all around.

76) “Latent Image” Season 5, Episode 11 The Doctor gets to experience conflict as never before in a thought-provoking story about ethics and choice.

75) “Lineage” Season 7, Episode 12 As with many couples suddenly facing a family addition, Tom and B’Elanna are forced to consider their heritage. B’Elanna’s struggles with her familial baggage are very real and a welcome presence in a Star Trek story.

74) “Friendship One” Season 7, Episode 21 Do you remember Lieutenant Carey? He’s been with us since season one. Prepare to be depressed.

73) “Prophecy” Season 7, Episode 14 A good story filled with enough action that will in no way alleviate B’Elanna’s anxiety about having a baby as her unborn child may be the Kuvah’magh… or the Kwisatz Haderach… or both! Also, for better or worse, we discover more about Neelix’s tastes in women.

72) “Natural Law” Season 7, Episode 22 A perfectly enjoyable Trek outing about cultural progress and survival focusing on Chakotay and Seven of Nine.

71) “Time and Again” Season 1, Episode 4 Writer David Kemper would go on to explore more time travel and causality themes in Farscape , but despite some technobabble, this is an entertaining entry. Bonus points for showing how Tom Paris can do some math in his head.

70) “Thirty Days” Season 5, Episode 9 A good framing device often adds to the richness of any story as well as drawing you in. Here, we want to know what happened that led to Tom’s demotion and we get some good wrestling with the Prime Directive as well.

69) “Survival Instinct” Season 6, Episode 2 Seven of Nine being a first-class tool back when she was part of the collective has some repercussions. Also, Vaughan Armstrong needs to play another Star Trek race.

68) “Inside Man” Season 7, Episode 6 While not as intricate a plot as the film “Inside Man,” this Dwight Schultz-packed story of deceit is reasonably satisfying.

67) “The Omega Directive” Season 4, Episode 21 The “omega particles” are about as ridiculous science as “red matter,” but it does make for some entertaining space opera amid the technobabble.

66) “Eye of the Needle” Season 1, Episode 7 A nice installment for season one, where the crew is still focused on getting out of the whole premise of being in the Delta Quadrant in the first place. Space-time twists can be the worst twists, can’t they?

65) “Juggernaut” Season 5, Episode 21 The character storyline of B’Elanna learning to deal with her rage and the plot storyline of monster aboard the freighter don’t quite mesh, but the resulting episode works well enough.

64) “Cold Fire” Season 2, Episode 10 Kes learns more about her mutant -er- psychic powers from Gary Graham, who’s clearly honing his multilayered antagonist character in advance of playing Soval on “Enterprise.” Plus, we get followup on the Caretaker of sorts.

63) “Renaissance Man” Season 7, Episode 24 We get one last relatively light adventure before the grim series finale, and focusing on the breakout character that is the Doctor is a good way to do it. If “The Blue Danube” isn’t stuck in your head by the end of this episode, you may have a natural resistance to earworms.

62) “Random Thoughts” Season 4, Episode 10 The premise of a race of telepaths who have a secret longing for unsavory thoughts makes this a fun mystery with allegorical overtones.

61) “Fury” Season 6, Episode 23 Kes is back for character-based closure –and a few explosions– and it works out pretty well.

60) “False Profits” Season 3, Episode 5 In a fun follow-up to TNG’s “The Price,” we find the Ferengi lost in the Delta Quadrant are behaving like, well, Ferengi.

59) “Dragon’s Teeth” Season 6, Episode 7 Voyager shows off its visual effects budget as we are introduced to the Vaadwaur, an ancient race not unlike the Iconians, except they used subspace tunnels versus portals as their chosen tool of conquest. Despite their antagonistic potential, we sadly never see them again in the series.

58) “Barge of the Dead” Season 6, Episode 3 Both Klingon world-building and B’Elanna Torres character-building are on display as we get a look at Klingon hell (well, mainly the metaphorical road to hell and how it’s paved).

57) “Persistence of Vision” Season 2, Episode 8 Not content to have just one crew member experience a “mind warp” episode, the writers cleverly figure out how to get just about the whole crew involved. The villain, sadly, never appears again.

56) “Ashes to Ashes” Season 6, Episode 18 The idea of an alien species reproducing by re-purposing old humanoid corpses is almost as interesting as the lengths Voyager ‘s writers will go to in order to cause Harry Kim romantic heartache.

55) “Critical Care” Season 7, Episode 5 A very blatant allegorical look at healthcare which is just as topical –if not more so– that it was when it aired about 20 years ago.

54) “Counterpoint” Season 5, Episode 10 A solid, enjoyable episode mixing elements of a heist or “long con” caper with a noble Starfleet goal of protecting people who are too different for an uptight race. Guest star Mark Harelik channels William Campbell’s Original Series performances as ingratiating villains, and Janeway gets to show her own form of three-dimentional thinking.

53) “Maneuvers” Season 2, Episode 11 Machinations with the Kazon –aided directly by Seska being the schemer she is and indirectly by Chakotay being a bit of an idiot– make this a decent entry in the overarching Kazon storyline.

52) “Nemesis” Season 4, Episode 4 Chakotay gets brainwashed to fight in someone else’s war in a story with allegorical overtones of far too many conflicts around the globe.

51) “State of Flux” Season 1, Episode 11 Seska has multiple secrets as the Kazon storyline starts taking off.

50) “The Raven” Season 4, Episode 6 We get some quality backstory on Seven of Nine just as we learn she didn’t exactly have a quality childhood.

49) “Hope and Fear” Season 4, Episode 26 A solid episode aided by a great performance by Ray Wise and a shipload of mystery. The one quibble is that, as a season finale, it lacks the heft of some of the two-parters Voyager proves to do so well.

48) “Flashback” Season 3, Episode 2 Voyager took a different, more serious take for their 30-year anniversary assignment and it’s both entertaining and ingenious.

47) “Gravity” Season 5, Episode 13 Lori Petty learns that Vulcans are hard to love as Trek writers find yet another way to mess with space and time, which works quite well both thematically and plot-wise.

46) “Displaced” Season 3, Episode 24 A surprisingly engaging mystery where the Voyager crew is cautious but helpful… and gets overwhelmed by a bunch of medieval hat fanatics. Luckily those marauding milliners didn’t count on Starfleet stubbornness and ingenuity. Bonus points for the universal translator being useless in the face of alien computer displays.

45) “Prototype” Season 2, Episode 13 Frequent Trek guest star Rick Worthy is unrecognizable under his robot costume, but the tale of artificial intelligence gone awry, plus the ethical questions Torres and the rest of the Voyager crew face are familiar and nicely done.

44) “Message in a Bottle” Season 4, Episode 14 Voyager ‘s sending out an S.O.S. The Doctor as an S.O.S. But there’s Romulans in the bottle. And by bottle, I mean pretty darn cool experimental starship located in the Alpha Quadrant.

43) “Warhead” Season 5, Episode 25 In something of a follow-up to “Dreadnought,” the crew contends with an AI that, in this case, takes over the Doctor. Entertaining variations on the theme.

42) “In the Flesh” Season 5, Episode 4 You could speculate that this was simply a cost-effective way to get another story about Species 8472, but I’m not entirely convinced it wasn’t just a ploy to get Ray Walston back to Star Trek. Nevertheless, the tale has satisfying Trekkish overtones of cold war detente.

41) “Hunters” Season 4, Episode 15 The first episode with the Hirogen is pretty solid as the newly discovered race stands between Voyager and better contact with the Alpha quadrant. Somehow, we also find time for Harry Kim’s angst. Focus on the Hirogen.

40) “Prey” Season 4, Episode 16 An immediate improvement over “Hunters” thanks to the appearance of Species 8472 and Tony Todd as an Alpha Hirogen. Plus, we get some mileage out of Seven of Nine’s adjustments to Voyager.

39) “Flesh and Blood” Season 7, Episodes 9 & 10 An occasionally ungainly two-parter that explores the aftermath of “The Killing Game” and the notion of sentient holograms. Iden’s descent into crazed would-be savior is uneven, but the moral and ethical questions raised throughout are classic Trek.

38) “Future’s End” (Parts I & II) Season 3, Episodes 8 & 9 Look, I know that Ed Begley, Jr. may not be anyone’s ideas of a villainous industrialist nor is Sarah Silverman the first person you picture when I say “plucky astronomer,” but the whole two-parter works a lot better than you’d expect. Plus, the Doctor gets a mobile emitter out of it.

37) “The Thaw” Season 2, Episode 23 Of course Micheal McKean can play a freaky clown well. His villainy creeps up into the episode quite effectively, but Janeway’s got a schedule to keep, so…

36) “Distant Origin” Season 3, Episode 23 A bold and fun story about dogma and scientific discovery with Voyager and her crew being a catalyst for questions. Though I don’t mind a Chakotay-focused episode, demerits for having Janeway and several of the others inelegantly disappear from the narrative near the end.

35) “Basics” (Parts I & II) Season 2, & Season 3, Episodes 26 & 1 The on-again, off-again Kazon storyline (with Seska seasoning) finally pays off with some inventiveness in both halves, though peaceful it’s not. Bonus points for the Harryhausen-esque monster.

34) “Dark Frontier” Season 5, Episodes 15 & 16 Much ballyhooed when it originally aired as a feature-length episode, it remains an entertaining exploration of Seven of Nine’s backstory along with some Voyager vs. Borg action that becomes a mainstay in the latter half of the series.

33) “The Killing Game” Season 4, Episodes 18 & 19 A disturbing amount of alien races in Star Trek seem to be at home in Nazi uniforms, but the Hirogen work the schtick pretty well. Plus, we get some fun moments of holodeck-imitating-life as the crew finds ways to resist in character. Best of all, the ending isn’t an unabashed win for the Voyager crew, leading us later to “Flesh and Blood.”

32) “Concerning Flight” Season 4, Episode 11 John Rhys-Davies’ outsize performance as Leonardo da Vinci makes this more than just an average get-back- Voyager ‘s-tech caper.

31) “11:59” Season 5, Episode 23 A fun exploration of ancestry, using the contemporary coming of the millennium to good effect as Janeway learns the truth and myth around some of her family lore.

30) “Memorial” Season 6, Episode 14 An unsettling episode that you’ll be forgiven for thinking wandered in from the DS9 writers’ room. Regardless, it raises some great Trekkish questions about how history is remembered.

29) “Innocence” Season 2, Episode 22 Tuvok enters and then exits, playing his part in this strange eventful history: one whose twist is second childhood and mere oblivion.

28) “Shattered” Season 7, Episode 11 Voyager does an inventive and entertaining take on the “alternative timeline” tale that makes full use of the seven years’ worth of storylines.

27) “Bride of Chaotica!” Season 5, Episode 12 Look, if you can’t enjoy this goofy homage to old Flash Gordon serials and somewhat meta-commentary on Voyager itself, you’re going to miss out on some wonderful character moments and a chock full of delight.

26) “Unforgettable” Season 4, Episode 22 Some significant suspension of disbelief is needed to accept that anyone could forget Virginia Madsen, but the tale of reclusive, biologically unmemorable aliens is a solid tragic romance tale. Bonus points for pen and paper being the solution to all the technobabble.

25) “Demon” Season 4, Episode 24 Because Voyager is ultimately not a horror movie, we end up with a very Trek end to discovering a strange new world and new life, but what a wonderfully creepy ride through a great sci-fi scenario in the meantime!

24) “Bliss” Season 5, Episode 14 Mix a TNG “mindwarp” story with TOS’s “The Immunity Syndrome” and add in a bravura performance by W. Morgan Sheppard, and you have a humdinger of an episode, you betcha!

23) “Dreadnought” Season 2, Episode 17 B’Elanna’s past sins and Voyager ‘s current problems with the Kazon are all wrapped into an action-packed race to disarm a doomsday weapon.

22) “Muse” Season 6, Episode 22 A wonderful story that explores the power of storytelling within its own plot of an ancient Greek type civilization and an artist struggling to please his patron. Kudos for having B’Elanna Torres as the irascible muse and bonus points to Harry Kim for clearly remembering all his Starfleet survival training.

21) “Death Wish” Season 2, Episode 18 A spirited, philosophical Voyager entry that takes us to the dawn of time back to the 24th century, wrestling with notions of mortality and purpose in an insouciant manner that only the Q can.

20) “Unimatrix Zero” (Parts I & II) Season 6, & Season 7, Episodes 26 & 1 What’s this? More Seven of Nine backstory, you say? She’s part of what could become a Borg Liberation Front, you say? We’re going to have a rousing two-parter with a cliffhanger that makes us wonder how our heroes will recover? Count us in.

19) “Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy” Season 6, Episode 4 The Doctor contains multitudes and within those multitudes can be found comedy gold — as we see in this Walter Mitty-esque sci-fi outing.

18) “Course: Oblivion” Season 5, Episode 18 A surprise follow-up to “Demon” that surpasses its predecessor and ends on an incredibly downbeat ending — while still holding true to Starfleet boldly going and the desires (and constraints) of the silver blood aliens. Well done.

17) “Night” Season 5, Episode 1 A season opener packed with moral quandary as a Janeway is presented with deal with the Devil that promises to banish her own demons.

16) “Unity” Season 3, Episode 17 An intriguing take on the needs of the many versus the needs of the one using the Borg… or a variant thereof as a stand-in. It hints at the events of “Scorpion” and the nuanced Borg stories to come.

15) “Meld” Season 2, Episode 16 The episode proves to be an almost theatrical exploration of ideas –and no easy answers– right in Trek’s wheelhouse absolutely elevated by Brad Dourif’s portrayal of the remorseless Lon Suder and matched by Tim Russ’ now placable Tuvok. Dark humor points are grudgingly awarded for naming the victim “Darwin.”

14) “The Void” Season 7, Episode 15 A quintessential piece of Star Trek as the Voyager crew is faced with ignoring their Federation ideals in order to escape the titular void, but finds a solution through those selfsame ideals. The demerits for the convenience of the alien stowaways are offset by the bonus points for them representing lifeforms that others do not value.

13) “Blink of an Eye” Season 6, Episode 12 Take a seat, armchair anthropologists, and enjoy the epic of a species’ evolution with Voyager as its constant star.

11) “Revulsion” Season 4, Episode 5 A spectacularly creepy episode of AI gone wrong due in no small part to Leland Orser’s effective performance. Plus, you get at little Harry Kim romantic angst to lighten things up.

10) “Relativity” Season 5, Episode 24 A clever and engaging time travel episode where Seven of Nine gets to shine, Janeway gets to show off more of her backstory, and Braxton gets to be more than Captain Ahab vis-à-vis Voyager .

9) “One Small Step” Season 6, Episode 8 A homage to the explorers that have inspired Trek… just as Trek has inspired people to become scientists and explorers. Seven of Nine finds your observation that the room is getting dusty entirely valid.

8) “Worst Case Scenario” Season 3, Episode 25 Yet another holodeck episode… only done right. Starting as a holodeck Choose-Your-Own-Adventure, mayhem quickly ensues thanks to the impossible appearance of Seska. Bonus points for the reprogrammed Doctor and the general meta commentary on writing.

7) “Body and Soul” Season 7, Episode 7 Sci-fi makes for a great excuse for a body-swapping farce and both Ryan and Picardo deliver. Plus, when they’re in their respective bodies, we get wonderful banter erupting between Seven and the Doctor with Harry Kim as the bewildered Ralph Bellamy straight man (come on, the character was born for this!). Megan Gallagher and Fritz Sperberg round out a great cast — and Tom Paris proves to not be a total schmuck (I think that’s a Vulcan term).

6) “Living Witness” Season 4, Episode 23 An absolute standout sci-fi tale playing with perception and how history is written that starts with Voyager and her crew, but goes far beyond it.

5) “Endgame” Season 7, Episodes 25 & 26 Give credit where credit is due: Janeway leads her crew home and wins a decisive victory over the Borg. Oh, and she picks up some fancy futuristic technology along the way. For a conclusion that ends with our crew winning, it’s surprisingly grim — even DS9’s conclusion, with its elements of genocide and a Pyrrhic victory, had a charming curtain call for the benefit of the viewers. Still, it’s a solid entry following in the footsteps of “All Good Things…”

4) “Timeless” Season 5, Episode 6 A well-told time travel story filled with heroism, regret, and a nice cameo by director LeVar Burton.

3) “Equinox” (Parts I & II) Season 5, & Season 6, Episodes 26 & 1 Obsession, duty, and the importance of choices dominate this taut two-parter with some truly freaky monsters, some truly monstrous acts, a great performance by John Savage, and a guarantee you’ll never look at the Doctor the same way again.

2) “Scorpion” (Parts I & II) Season 3, & Season 4, Episodes 26 & 1 Starting with what is arguably one of the best ever Trek cold opens (assuming viewers know of the Borg), we get an action-packed, Borg-infested, issue-wrestling two-parter that takes things to eleven and gives us Seven of Nine.

1) “Year of Hell” (Parts I & II) Season 4, Episodes 8 & 9 Take a villain with an obsessive quest, played wonderfully by Kurtwood Smith, and place it in a story that allows you to do whatever you want (thanks to a magic sci-fi reset button) and you have Voyager ‘s best episode bar none. Every member of the crew gets some great moments here and the ending lands expertly.

• Copy from this list
• Report this list

Top 25 Star Trek: Voyager Episodes

• Movies or TV
• IMDb Rating
• In Theaters
• Release Year

1. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Scorpion (1997)

TV-PG | 46 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

About to enter Borg space, Voyager finds a threat so devastating that even the Borg cannot deal with it.

Director: David Livingston | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Jennifer Lien

Votes: 2,563

2. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Scorpion, Part II (1997)

TV-PG | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Voyager finds a solution to combat the invader of Borg space. All Captain Janeway asks is free passage through their territory and Voyager will share their knowledge.

Director: Winrich Kolbe | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 2,542

3. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Dark Frontier (1999)

TV-PG | 92 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Aboard the Delta Flyer, Janeway leads Tuvok, Paris and the Doctor on a rescue mission to retrieve Seven from the Borg Queen. whose treatment of Seven is markedly atypical.

Directors: Cliff Bole , Terry Windell | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 2,250

4. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: The Killing Game (1998)

After Voyager is captured by the Hirogens, the ship is turned into a massive holodeck so that the Hirogens can hunt members of the crew who have been fitted with new identities in various scenarios based upon Federation history.

Director: David Livingston | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 2,032

5. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: The Killing Game, Part II (1998)

Janeway seeks to retake her ship and crew from the Hirogens.

Director: Victor Lobl | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 1,914

6. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Timeless (1998)

TV-PG | 47 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

A miscalculation by Ensign Kim causes a fatal crash during Voyager's first test with slipstream travel. Fifteen years in the future, survivors Chakotay, Kim and The Doctor attempt to send a message back in time to prevent the tragedy.

Director: LeVar Burton | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 2,631

7. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Bliss (1999)

The Voyager crew discovers what seems to be a wormhole leading to the Alpha Quadrant and home. Images of Earth and letters from home elates the crew of Voyager. Seven, and others, however, are skeptical of this seeming deliverance.

Director: Cliff Bole | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 1,958

8. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Living Witness (1998)

The Doctor awakens in the museum of an alien culture seven hundred years in the future, where Voyager is thought to have been a passing warship full of cold-blooded killers.

Director: Tim Russ | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 2,604

9. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Future's End: Part II (1996)

As the Voyager crew pit their 24th century technology against Starling's stolen 29th century technology, Chakotay and Torres fall into the hands of paranoid white supremacists.

Director: Cliff Bole | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Jennifer Lien

Votes: 2,231

10. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Year of Hell (1997)

Voyager comes across a Krenim timeship that's wiping whole species from existence to change the existing timeline.

Director: Allan Kroeker | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 2,574

11. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Year of Hell, Part II (1997)

A year after Voyager encounters the Krenim time ship, a badly damaged Voyager with a skeleton crew leads an armada of interplanetary ships against them.

Director: Michael Vejar | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 2,429

12. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: One Small Step (1999)

TV-PG | 44 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Voyager crosses paths with a rare spatial anomaly that swallowed an Earth ship orbiting Mars in 2032 (a discovery that calls for an away mission).

Director: Robert Picardo | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 1,981

13. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Course: Oblivion (1999)

A slight respite seems to be in order but some mysterious force is affecting the very fabric of Voyager itself. To solve the mystery this crew must retrace their steps to see what went wrong.

Director: Anson Williams | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 2,145

14. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Relativity (1999)

Federation time ship Capt Braxton pulls Seven out of her time to help identify and destroy a bomb planted aboard Voyager.

Director: Allan Eastman | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 2,258

15. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy (1999)

An alien race, sizing up Voyager for a raid, taps into The Doctor's cognitive subroutines to make him their spy, unaware they're watching The Doctor's new daydreaming program.

Director: John Bruno | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 2,410

16. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Pathfinder (1999)

TV-G | 44 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

On Earth, Barclay uses holograms to formulate a plan to open communications with Voyager.

Votes: 2,286

17. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: The Voyager Conspiracy (1999)

Modifying her alcove to process several months of gathered data at a time turns Seven into a rampant conspiracy theorist. Meanwhile, Janeway deals with an alien scientist developing catapult technology.

Director: Terry Windell | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 1,911

18. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Future's End (1996)

A timeship from the future who tries to stop Voyager gets thrown with Voyager into the twentieth century. His timeship is found in the 1960's and Voyager finds a company that has benefited from its technology exists in 1996.

Votes: 2,373

19. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Endgame (2001)

TV-PG | 87 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Having long since made it home, an aged Admiral Janeway breaks Starfleet directives and temporal laws to take a last stab at an old enemy and shorten Voyager's journey home.

Votes: 2,793

20. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Flesh and Blood (2000)

TV-PG | 85 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Free from their pursuers, the leader of the holograms decides to continue the crusade against the organics in order to liberate all holograms, everywhere. The Doctor finally realises what he had done and comes up with a plan to redeem himself.

Directors: David Livingston , Michael Vejar | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 1,818

21. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Basics, Part I (1996)

Seska knows Voyager, and her Kazon cohorts want it, so the Voyager crew wonders what to make of her distress call announcing the birth of Chatotay's son.

Director: Winrich Kolbe | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Jennifer Lien

Votes: 1,928

22. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Think Tank (1999)

As a relentless bounty hunter race closes in on Voyager, a sly alien think tank offers to devise a solution in exchange for a particular member of Voyager's crew joining them.

Director: Terrence O'Hara | Stars: Kate Mulgrew , Robert Beltran , Roxann Dawson , Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 1,924

23. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) Episode: Prophecy (2001)

TV-PG | 43 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Voyager finds a multi-generational Klingon ship that left the Alpha Quadrant more than 100 years before. When they hear of B'Elanna's child, they claim it as their savior.

Votes: 1,735

List Activity

Tell your friends, other lists by scarecrow_n_tinman.

Recently Viewed