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Star Trek Voyager - The Complete Second Season

Star Trek Voyager - The Complete Second Season

List Price: $129.99
Your Price: $103.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Wow, "Threshold..."
Review: ... still sucks. I saw it when it first came out and I was like "no way!?!" Now, I'm almost ten years older and may or may not be wiser (the fact that I bought this DVD set indicates the latter), and I am again shocked by the 220-proof ridiculousness of "Threshold." What an insane piece of writing! Okay, while turning people into cat-fishes is a great way to dispose of useless characters like Kes, Troi, or Wesley, it is another thing to do it, and then turn those people right back into human beings after a log entry! While the premise of the episode was certainly interesting, the ending was beyond bad.

To be fair, Voyager was getting better in season 2, but it was still amateur night compare to DS9.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Star Trek Voyager Season Two- More action, less originality.
Review: After a successful shakedown season,Star Trek Voyager's second season was filled with less hit and more miss moments.Being broadcasted on the UPN network meant for the show to be a more commercial, mainstream show, unlike it's more ambitious sister show, Deep Space Nine.Therefore the show was robbed of any chance at being an ambitious show who's concept of two once opposing crews (Starfleet and Maquis) lost in a distant part of the galaxy and trying to work together to find a way home despite tensions between the two .
Voyager started off with episodes filmed in the previous season (The 37's,Projections, Elogium,and Twisted).After a few episodes filmed during the season, the show started to slip in quality, focusing more on action, and less on solid story telling.
The season was littered by mediocre episodes(Parturition, Cold Fire,Prototype,Investigations with the idiotic "Morning with Neelix" show,and The Thaw one of the worst ever episodes),while even the better episodes (Non Sequitur, Tattoo, Maneuvers, Resistance, The first Q appearence Death Wish,
Lifesigns,Tuvix,Resolutions, and the seasons best Deadlock) were far and few between.The repeated appearence of the Kazon became redundant even with the traitor Seska adding to the crew's woes(especially Chakotay).
The season ends with Basics Pt 1 which brings the Kazon arc to a close.But even with a cliffhanger,Season Two is mostly hit and miss.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A bright star in the sky: an outstanding season
Review: Although I enjoyed season 1 of Voyager, I felt some of its episodes could have been better--especially the anti-climatic season finale that consisted of Tuvok having to train unruly Maquis cadets. Season 2 does not have this problem. From start to finish, it was a season that left me wanting to watch just one more episode before going to bed and then rewatching them. Every main character is given a chance to shine from Tuvok going berserk in Meld to Torres dealing with a delusional mega-bomb to Chakotay dealing with Seska and the Kazon (with a great return of Aron "Nog" Eisenberg as a young Kazon ready to earn his name by attempting to kill Chakotay in Initiations) in a couple of episodes. I also enjoyed the multi-episode plot arc with Paris becoming more and more of a jerk that meshes with the rogue Starfleeter who was busy betraying his comrades to the Kazon and the pregnant crewmember and her improbable baby. There were plenty of my favorite type of episodes, the "what is real/what is actually going on here" concept. Watching the Doctor announce, to the Viidean he was hot for, in the middle of surgery--like he was asking her to pass the scalpel--that he was attracted to her made me cringe with delight and it made me glad that this series continued the fish out of water/emotionally clueless character that each series has employed (Spock, Data, Odo, and the EMH Doctor). Finally, the season finale, Basics Part 1 was a romping kick in the stomach that has me desperately awaiting for the release of season 3 so I can see how the crew regains their lost ship from, as my friend calls them, the garbage head Kazons. All in all, this was one of the best seasons of any of the Star Trek series.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Trying to Find Its Way
Review: As a preface to this review, I should say that I have been a huge fan of Star Trek Voyager since the original broadcasts of the very first season. When I was away from a television set for a year, I even had a friend videotape all the episodes I missed so that I could see them when I returned to civilization.

But I have to admit that season two is my least favorite of Voyager. There are certainly some great episodes, but many left me frustrated and disappointed.

The height of the season, and the first real standout episode in the series, is Death Wish, with the amusing John De Lancie reprising his role from TNG, along with Jonathan Frakes as Riker. The plot, about right-to-death issues, adds a very serious foundation to all the fun. And Kate Mulgrew finally breaks out of her shell here and shows what she's made of as an actress.

The 37's is another solid episode, connecting Janeway to her childhood hero Amelia Earhart; Resistance gives Mulgrew a chance to act with the excellent and Oscar-winning Joel Grey. Meld affords another great guest star, LOTR's Brad Dourif, the opportunity to brighten up--or really darken--the season. This episode also provides fascinating insights into the emotional turmoil beneath the surface of Lt. Tuvok. Lifesigns lets Robert Picardo's character The Doctor take a very significant step toward becoming human, by falling in love. The Thaw, with another refreshing guest star (the guy who played Lenny in Laverne and Shirley), is the first of what I like to call Voyager's bizarro episodes. These are absurd and really wonderful, in the spirit of the original series. Deadlock I love, and it gives Janeway an excellent chance to get to know herself better, and the season ends with the strong cliffhanger Basics Part 1.

Somewhat weaker, but still good, installments include Initiations, Projections, Elogium, and Non Sequitor, all of which could have been much more engaging. Persistence of Vision seems great until the alien's last line, which makes me wonder why I sat through the last forty-five minutes. The Kazon arc stories Maneuvers, Alliances, and Investigations also should have provided more compelling viewing. Certainly Martha Hackett is more than adequately treacherous and villainous as Seska, but the Kazons just don't seem very interesting. A missed opportunity: the show could have allied Seska with the Vidiians. Just imagine the creepy romantic scenes between her and some gross Vidiian captain. And how would she have kept that race from harvesting her body parts? We'll never know. Resolutions, the season's penultimate epidsode, deals with a plot thread I never really warmed up to: the almost romance between Janeway and Chakotay. I just see him with someone else, and her with someone else.

Weaker episodes are, unfortunately, many: Twisted, Parturition, Tattoo, Cold Fire, for example, all of which had interesting premises but poor executions. Roxann Dawson, who plays Torres as both fiery and brainy, gets substandard material to work with in both Prototype and Dreadnought, which basically have the same plot, if you think about it (robot, or computer, gone out of control). The entire series' bottom of the barrel is Threshold, which even its writer Brannon Braga candidly admits in one of the easter egg clips. Poor Robert Duncan McNeill, who tries to give this turkey some real emotion! Many people love Tuvix, I know, but perhaps I don't because I'm still mad at Janeway for destroying a new life form in order to get two valued crew members back. I understand her decision, but it still feels like murder somehow.

The additional material on this set is particularly entertaining, with interviews with Martha Hackett, Ethan Phillips, and Tim Russ, who even sings, quite well, in another hidden extra--though it's not that difficult to find. In Braving the Unknown Michael Piller is very honest about creative difficulties during the season, and perhaps this tug-of-war explains the uneven quality of this year of Voyager. The visual effects bit taught me the lesson that even a lackluster episode such as Threshold involved the incredible talents and work of many people, in this case to produce the CG alien babies of Janeway and Paris.

And if that last little plot point isn't enough to convince you that this season is Voyager's least strong, then I'll just give up. Still, the characters and actors grew and developed, the episodes hosted some amazing guests, and much was set up that would be developed in later seasons.

Those who are not Voyager fans should not start with this season, but perhaps with the superior third. Once you've seen enough excellent stuff, come back to this set to complete your knowledge of the fascinating Delta Quadrant world of the good ship Voyager.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Can't wait for the release!!!!
Review: By far my favorite series of the genre. Never missed an original air date and have watched season 1 thru 4 times. There is no calling for backup when you're 70,000 light years away from home. Wonderful concept of having to deal with two different philosophies merging into one crew of necessity. What better of a "TREK" than one to find a way home. A MUST BUY!!!!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellet season
Review: Great season for voyager.

Season 2 of Voyager was a good one in my opinion. With some great episodes

The 37's
Voyager encounters a trail of rust leading to a 20th century Earth pickup truck. The trajectory comes from a planet where the crew find humans cryogenicly frozen, one of which is Amelia Earhart and her co pilot Fred Noonan! It is later discovered that there are many thousands of humans living on the world.

Initiations.
While Chakotay is performing a ritual for his dead father while alone in a shuttlecraft, he accidently encroaches Kazon space and is attacked by a kazon adolescent. He fires on the kazon ship and beams aboard the youth, but is taken hostage when returning him to his people.

Projections
The doctor's program is activated during an emergency and the doctor learns the the crew has abandoned ship. Torres, Janeway and Neelix are still on the ship and when they vanish, the doctor thinks he may be dreaming.

Elogium
Kes prematurely ungergoes elogium, the ocampa equivelant of puberty. This is the only time her species is capable of reproducing and she considers the possibility of having a child with Neelix.

Non Sequitur
Harry Kim wakes up on Earth and discovers that he never served on Voyager.

Twisted
During Kes' birthday party, Voyager encounters a spatial distortion which envelops the ship disables the propulsion system and then starts to distort the ship. The crew believe that it will destroy the ship within hours.

Paturition
While on a mission to look for food, Paris and Neelix crash land on a planet. While voyager is searching for them, Neelix and Paris discover a nest with eggs in it. One of the eggs hatch and a humanoid life form emerges.

Persistence of Vision
While preparing for a meeting with the Botha, Janeway suddenly believes that she is a character from a holonovel

Tattoo
Chakotay discovers very familiar symbols on an alien moon which remind him of ones he saw as a child in the Amazon rainforest. He later discovers the same race of aliens that visited his people thousands of years ago.

Cold Fire
The Caretaker's remains begin to show signs of activity and suspect that his 'widow' may be nearby. They later encounter a space station with Ocampa living on it.

Maneuvers
A former crewmember and Cardassian spy, Seska returns to Voyager and announces plans to unite the Kazon to make an attack on Voyager.

Resistance
While searching for a fuel source, Janeway encounters a strange man who thinks she is his daughter.

Prototype
After the crew discover a dormant humanoid robot. When Torres reactivates it, the robot kidnaps her.

Alliance
After repeated attcks on Voyager by the Kazon, Janeway comsiders the possibility of a parley.

Threshold
After Tom Paris becomes the first human to pilot a ship past the speed of warp 10, he mutates into a strange life form.

Meld
When the body of a crewman is found, and an autopsy reveals it was murder, an investigation implicates a Voyager crew member as the prime suspect.

Dreadnought
The crew find a massive WMD with a Cardassian design. Torres disovers that it had a program malfunction straying it off course and it is headed toward a heavily populated planet.

Death Wish
A sucidal member of the Q continuum seeks asylum on Voyager and requests that he be permitted to kill himself.

Lifesigns
A dying Viidian scientist is brought aboard Voyager and the doctor transfers he memories into a holographic body.

Investigations.
When Paris is kidnapped from a Talaxian freighter by the Kazon, Neelix discovers that a traitor on board may have tipped them off.

Deadlock
Voyager is attacked by a Vidiian ship, killing several people. Janeway later finds that they are unharmed and suspects the ship and its crew were somehow duplicated before the attack.

Innocence
After crash landing on a small moon, Tuvok finds some frightened children who are stranded there.

The Thaw

Voyager encounters some dead aliens who died of fright. Soon after the crew encounters what scared the aliens to death and may be the next victims.

Tuvix
A transporter accident fuses Tuvok and Neelix into a single person with a unique personality. He refuses to let the crew restore the other two because it would kill him.

Resolutions
After Janeway and Chakotay contract a incurable contagious disease they have no choice but to be left behind on an alien planet.

Basics Part 1
In the season cliffhanger, Seska returns, hijacks voyager and intends to maroon the crew on a nearby planet.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Just too much to swallow
Review: I keep hearing from various people, "Thank God they got away from the familiar aliens and the Federation so we can truly explore new life and new civilizations". What new life and new civilizations? We don't even know if they exist period. We're supposed to believe that these people got plopped in the middle of a knot of completely different lifeforms? TNG doged that bullet in the show The Chase where they established that a prehumanoid species spred their DNA, but it didn't go all the way out there. Which means that all those aliens shouldn't even look like us. Also, just how many variations on the human form can you do truly? The only original alien that ever appeared was Species 8472 and they were computer generated. Are we supposed to believe that there are hundreds of alien species out there that all look kinda like us? Just give up the ghost already and work with the wonderful species that you've already established. I gave this season an extra star for Brad Dourif because he's awsome. The best series was DS9 because they just focused on storytelling, not comming up with how to make some person look a little alien enough to pass them off as a new species. It's as believable as if we found a new civilization on Earth. Just give it up already!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Season 2 On the way
Review: I personally found season 2 to be excellent. So much happens and you get even more familiar with the crew. You see how the Maquis and Star Fleet work together more and more. Not to mention the arrival of Seska again with the Kazon. Just wait until you see Basics Part I where Voyager is stolen by the Kazon and the crew is stranded on a volotile planet. And to top it all off Voyager's best hope lies in a The Doctor, a murderer, and Tom Paris. There is so much to look forward to in season 2. And if this is your first time seeing it your in for the greatest ride fo your life.

But wait it gets better hwne season 3 arrives :)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Voyager DVD's!
Review: I really love these dvd's. This season is the first one where voyager lands, ie, really cool effects. I also love the episode "deadlock", where voyager splits. Great idea! The special features are really awesome on this one. The "day with ethan phillips" is really cool, becuase it shows the application of his makeup. There is an awesome easter egg on this one too. It's one of Tim Russ's (Tuvok's) music videos! He sings Kushangaza (and has a nice voice might I add ;) )

I would really suggest these dvd's to anyone who loves all things star trek. I'm glad I added to my collection, and will watch these for years to come!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Voyager DVD's!
Review: I really love these dvd's. This season is the first one where voyager lands, ie, really cool effects. I also love the episode "deadlock", where voyager splits. Great idea! The special features are really awesome on this one. The "day with ethan phillips" is really cool, becuase it shows the application of his makeup. There is an awesome easter egg on this one too. It's one of Tim Russ's (Tuvok's) music videos! He sings Kushangaza (and has a nice voice might I add ;) )

I would really suggest these dvd's to anyone who loves all things star trek. I'm glad I added to my collection, and will watch these for years to come!


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