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Episodes:
Disc One: “The 37’s”, “Initiations”, “Projections”, “Elogium”
Episodes:
Disc Two: “Non Sequitur”, “Twisted”, “Parturition”, “Persistence
Of Vision”
Episodes:
Disc Three: “Tattoo”, “Cold Fire”, “Maneuvers”, “Resistance”
Episodes:
Disc Four: “Prototype”, “Alliances”, “Threshold”, “Meld”
Episodes:
Disc Five: “Dreadnought”, “Death Wish”, “Lifesigns”,
“Investigations”
Episodes:
Disc Six: “Deadlock”, “Innocence”, “The Thaw”, “Tuvix”
Episodes: Disc Seven: “Resolutions”, “Basics, Part I”
Stars:
Kate Mulgrew, Ethan Philips, Robert Picardo, Jennifer Lien, Robert Duncan
McNeill, Roxann Dawson, Robert Beltran, Tim Russ, and Garrett Wang
Guest Stars: Sharon Lawrence,
Henry Darrow, Martha Hackett, Gary Graham, Brad Dourif, Louise Giambalvo,
Anthony DeLongis, Dwight Schultz, Joel Grey, Charles O. Lucia, John DeLancie,
Graham Gerrit, Jonathan Frakes, Raphael Sbarge, Michael McKean, and Tom Wright
Writers: Brannon Braga, Kenneth
Biller, Jeri Taylor, Jimmy Diggs, Steve J. Kay, Arnold Rudnick, Rich Hosek, Tom
Szollosi, Larry Brody, Anthony Williams, Lisa Klink, Michael Jan Friedman, Kevin
J. Ryan, Nickolas Corea, Michael Piller, Shawn Piller, Michael DeLuca, Michael
Sussman, Gary Holland, Jeff Schnaufer, Ed Bond, Anthony Williams, Joe Menosky,
Richard Gadas, Andrew Shepard Price, and Mark Gaberman
Based On “Star Trek” Created
By: Gene Roddenberry
Directors: Jonathan Frakes,
Winriche Kolbe, Kim Friedman, James L. Conway, David Livingston, Alexander
Singer, Cliff Bole, Les Landau, LeVar Burton, and Marvin V. Rush
Executive Producers: Rick Berman,
Brannon Braga, and Jeri Taylor
Feature length: 19 hours and 43
minutes
Extras: “Braving The Unknown: Season Two”, “Voyager
Time Capsule: Tuvok”, “Sabeteur Extraordinaire: Seska”, “A Day In The
Life Of Ethan Phillips”, “Red Alert: Visual Effects Season Two”, “Real
Science With Andre Bormanis”, “Lost Transmissions From The Delta
Quadrant”, “Photo Gallery”, “Text Commentary For The 37’s”
Languages: English Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Surround Sound
Subtitles: English Captions and
Closed Captions
Packaging: Seven-Disc Book Style
Digipack Within A Split Plastic Case
Chapter Stops: 8 Per Episode
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Sound and Dolby Surround Sound
Year of Television Broadcast:
1995-1996/DVD Release: 2004
Home Video Distributor: Paramount
Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Like most TV shows in any genre, I
think “Star Trek: Voyager” was still trying to find itself during the
series’ second season. Four episodes were held back from season one and were
aired as a part of the series second season instead. The same thing would hold
true for the third season of “Star Trek: Voyager” as well. As the Federation
starship Voyager continues it’s long exploratory journey back toward
the Alpha Quadrant, the crew have encounters with various sects of the Kazon as
well as the organ harvesting Viddiians, but they also encounter the counterpart
life form of the Caretaker in the episode “Cold Fire,” which guest stars
Gray Graham (Star Trek: Enterprise/Alien Nation) as Tanis, an Ocampa that works
with the entity that refers to itself as Suspiria. In the ten months that
Voyager has been in the Delta Quadrant, the ship has garnered a reputation of
being a harbinger of death due to Kazon reports detailing the destruction of the
Caretaker’s Array as an act of murder rather than following through on the
creature’s final request. So while Kes (Jennifer Lien) is beginning to
discover long dormant telepathic abilities through the help of Tanis, she is
unaware that it is an elaborate trap to lure her away from Voyager before
Suspiria avenges the Caretaker’s death by destroying the ship and her crew.
Tuvok (Tim Russ) experiences some
consequences in sharing his meditation and concentration techniques in the
season two. First he suffers a terrible accident because Kes in trying harness
her abilities she literally boils Tuvok’s blood and later Tuvok undergoes a
sort of psychotic breakdown when he performs a mind meld on the sociopath Ensign
Suder (Brad Dourif) that was supposed to assist Suder with overcoming his
violent urges and in the process it passes on those emotions to Tuvok. Tim Russ
really does a terrific job in “Meld” and I think he might be one of the best
actors in the entire ensemble. Other noteworthy episodes include “Death
Wish,” where Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) must decide whether or not to
grant asylum to a member of the Q Continuum (Graham Gerrit), who wishes to
become mortal so he can experience death. This marks the first appearance of
John DeLancie on “Star Trek: Voyager” reprising his role as “Q,” who had
previously appeared on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Star Trek:
Deep Space Nine.” Jonathan Frakes also has a cameo in this episode as
Commander William Riker. The holographic Doctor (Robert Picardo), who would
become one of the series’ most interesting and entertaining characters is
given a chance to grow in episodes like “Lifesigns” and
“Projections,” which features Dwight Schultz as Reginald Barclay, in
his first appearance on “Star Trek: Voyager.” Barclay had previously
appeared in several episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” as well as
the feature film “Star Trek: First Contact.” His character will play a
bigger role in the series as the seasons progress. Other noteworthy guest stars
that appear in season two of “Star Trek: Voyager” include Sharon Lawrence,
Michael McKean, and Joel Grey.
Seska (Martha Hackett) returns to
torment Chakotay (Robert Beltram) and assist the Kazon with taking Voyager
throughout the season until the cliffhanger series finale “Basics, Part 1.”
“Star Trek: Voyager” just wouldn’t be a Star Trek TV series without some
paradoxical episodes that involve inter-dimensional and or time travel such as
in the episodes “Non Sequitur” and “Deadlock.” We also learn about the
origins of the Kazon as a splintered warlike species in the episode
“Alliances.” There are a few bad episodes in season two, but none of them
match the sheer unexplainable manifestations that take place in “Threshold,”
where Lt. Thomas Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) becomes the first human to cross
the warp ten threshold and achieve transwarp speed. The first half of this
episode starts off well enough, but when Paris begins to turn into a giant
amphibious reptile like creature as a consequence of his actions, the episode
just goes down hill quicker than you say “The Fly.” Transwarp drive was at
least experimented with by the Federation aboard the Excelsior in “Star
Trek III: The Search For Spock” and in later seasons of “Star Trek:
Voyager” viewers will learn that the Borg have harnessed a means of traveling
at transwarp speed without turning into a bunch of lizards…
Each episode of “Star Trek:
Voyager” season two is presented in their original (1.33:1) aspect ratios and
the picture quality on these discs are the best I have seen for a “Star
Trek” TV series on DVD yet. “Star Trek: Voyager” had a brighter look to it
than “Deep Space Nine” and the show also benefits from the advancements in
effects that occurred in the 1990s as well as simply being a more recent
incarnation of “Star Trek.” The new English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Soundtrack mixes are a bit low, but for a mid 1990s TV series it still sounds
pretty good. An English Dolby Surround Soundtrack and English Captions and
Closed Captions for the hearing impaired are also included as an option on all
seven discs too. The second season premiere episode “The 37’s” also
features a pop-up text commentary with background information and anecdotes
related to the second season opener.
The balance of the extra value
features are on disc seven and they include the documentary “Braving The
Unknown: Season 2” (16:30), which features interviews with series writers and
producers. “Time Capsule: Tuvok” (13:37) is an extensive interview with Tim
Russ, who in addition to acting is also a singer and songwriter. What is it
about “Star Trek” that makes it respective cast members want to sing? Well
with respect to Mr. Russ, he actually sounds okay when compared to some of the
“Star Trek” golden throats that have recorded songs over the years. He
sounds pretty different too. I doubt I would recognize his singing voice singing
even now. As an Easter egg, a music video of Tim Russ singing “Kushangza”
(4:19) appears on disc seven too. Other Easter eggs include five short clips
ranging between a minute and a half to nearly two and a half minutes covering
topics related to season two episodes like “Deadlocked,” “Lifesigns,”
and “Threshold” as well as Dan Curry illustrating how the effect for the
region of space known as “The Badlands” was created. A look at Ethan Philips
on the set of “Voyager” (7:03), an interview with Martha Hackett (6:42), a
VFX featurette (12:51), and an interview with the series science consultant
Andre Bormanis (11:26) are also included. A
season two still photo gallery and an advertisement for “The Star Trek
Experience: Borg Invasion 4D” attraction (: 57) wrap up the extra features in
this DVD set.
The interactive menus feature four
different angles of the starship Voyager with animated transitions to
still frame menus and all are easy to navigate. “Star Trek: Voyager: The
Complete Second Season On DVD” box set is available now at retailers on and
offline from Paramount Home Entertainment.
© Copyright 2004 By Mark A.
Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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