Star Trek: Voyager 2.21 FAQ
Which half?
The first half.
What’s it called?
“Endgame, Part I.”
Who’s responsible?
Teleplay is credited to showrunner Kenneth Biller and story editor Robert Doherty.
What’s TV Guide say?
“After seven seasons of interstellar adventure, Voyager's journey comes to a slam-bang conclusion as Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) travels back in time to assist her younger self in a climactic clash with the Borg Queen (Alice Krige). Expect plenty of fireworks in the finale, which finds the Borg taking a last crack at Voyager, whose destiny rests in Janeway's hands. The action alternates between a fast-forward to the future and the crew's final attempt to reach Earth, eventually coming full circle as the aging Adm. Janeway embarks on a desperate mission to alter the outcome of a past confrontation with the Collective - with fateful consequences.”
What is TV Guide not telling us?
It took Voyager 23 years to get home the first time.
Why are you reviewing this? Doesn’t “Voyager” suck?
”Voyager” is almost certainly the least of the Treks produced so far, but it’s still good enough for me not to have missed an episode in seven years. In quality, I’d say it’s still safely among the top 20 percent of primetime hours in production.
Top 20 percent? Are you insane?
There’s a lot of hourlongs out there. Watch a couple episodes of “Providence” or “Diagnosis Murder” or “Touched by an Angel” and “Voyager” starts to look pretty good!
Shouldn’t they just retire “Star Trek” for 20 years?
You’re thinking of “Dateline NBC.”
Isn’t this finale just a ripoff of “All Good Things?”
And “The Search For Spock” and “First Contact” and “Timeless” and maybe two dozen other stories. But it's worth it see what happened to the crew! And I never thought I’d be glad to see those ugly “All Good Things” uniforms again!
Ugh! Haven’t we had enough time travel?
Not me. Some of my very favorite Trek episodes involve the time travel. Time travel is interesting!
When does this episode begin?
10 years after “Voyager’s” return to Earth. Which means it’s 26 years since the last episode.
Okay, what’s the biggest thing TV Guide fails to mention?
What happened to everybody.
What happened to everybody? Start with Janeway.
Oh, Mr. I-Hate-Time-Travel wants to hear what happened to Janeway! She’s an admiral serving as a guest lecturer at Reg Barclay’s Starfleet Academy class on the Borg.
Harry Kim?
Captaining a vaguely “Voyager”-y ship called the Rhode Island.
Tom Paris?
Successfully writing holonovels.
B’Elanna Torres?
Acting as Federation liaison to the Klingon Empire. (Tom and B’Elanna’s daughter is a starfleet ensign, and grew up hot!)
The Doctor?
Unaged, still working for Starfleet medical, and still on the mobile emitter. When the episode begins he is two weeks into a marriage with a tall, young, beautiful (and non-holographic) blonde named Lana.
Seven of Nine?
Died on the way home.
Chakotay?
Died after they got home.
Tuvok?
Hobbled by a degenerative brain disease that consumed his mind before he could get home to Vulcan. He likes to jibber-jabber semi-coherantly about Janeway: “Her disappearance remains a mystery!”
Voyager?
CAPTAIN JANEWAY: Voyager’s in a museum?
ADMIRAL JANEWAY: Voyager is a museum!
How much of the hour takes place in the Alpha Quadrant?
The entire teaser and first act, and about half of the second and third acts.
Does the Klingon time travel device travel through time -- or time and space?
Time and space. The rift it creates deposits Janeway right next to Voyager in the Delta Quadrant.
Well if it can do that, why don’t they just use it to get back to the Alpha Quadrant?
The device is only good for one trip.
When does Admiral Janeway get back to the Delta Quadrant?
The end of the third act. “In case you didn’t notice, Captain, I outrank you,” Admiral Janeway tells her younger counterpart.
Does the Klingon time travel device talk like the Guardian in “City on the Edge of Forever”?
You wish!
How do the two Janeways get along?
Surprisingly well!
What’s Admiral Janeway’s plan?
Use the technology of her era to get past the Borg -- who stand between the ship and an array of wormholes that can get Voyager home in a hurry.
What else happens?
B’Elanna keeps having false labor. Seven plays a subspace game of space battleship (or something) with Neelix, who admits he’s contemplating matrimony. The doctor removes a cortical implant, allowing Seven a greater sense of intimacy. Seven and Chakotay go on their third date.
What’s good?
The eye candy. The opening flyby of Voyager against fireworks and the Golden Gate Bridge. The exterior shot of the crew on Voyager’s hull, ungrading the ship with the admiral’s technology. The cool new Batmobilesque armor shielding Janeway brings back from the future. Young Ensign Paris!
What else is good?
The premise and the pacing. Setting the episode in two eras lets the storytellers cover a lot of bases. It’s great to see Krige reprise her role from “First Contact.”
Is it really the queen from “First Contact” or do all borg queens just look alike?
The latter, I’m guessing. Didn’t Data dissolve the borg queen in “First Contact?”
What’s not so good?
This first hour doesn’t show us the Borg queen broken down into her constituent components.
Herc’s rating for “Star Trek: Voyager” 7.21?
***1/2
The Hercules T. Strong Rating System:
***** better than we deserve
**** better than most motion pictures
*** actually worth your valuable time
** as horrible as most stuff on TV
* makes you quietly pray for bulletins
Just say to yourself, “It’s just a show; I should really just relax!!”
