When Voyager is called into duty to track down a Maquis ship in the badlands, they have no idea what they're getting themselves into. They're hit by a wave ripping through space and brought to the Delta quadrant - 70,000 light years from their previous location. They find the Maquis ship they were looking for, and they reluctantly join the crew of Voyager, knowing their small ship won't make the long journey (especially after it's destroyed later). The Voyager crew is made up of Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill), Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) and Tuvok (Tim Russ) and they're joined by the former Maquis', Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson). They also take on some Delta quadrant locals; the Talaxian, Nelix, and Kes, an Ocampa they rescue in the first episode. Three groups of people, one crew.
When I reviewed the first season I didn't comment on the disc art, or lack of it, and a reader pointed out to me that I was doing Voyager fans a great disservice by failing to mention the shoddy work they did. You know... he was right. I've never been one to look at the artwork on a disc - sure, I'll glance at it, but the disc comes out of the package and goes into my player. The other day I was trying to find an episode of the show to put on for a friend and I sat there looking at the names of episodes spiraling around the center of the disc. Who designed this thing? It wouldn't have been so bad if it were around the outer edge of the disc, but the inside? No wonder the reader was ticked I didn't mention this before; it's a horrible way to package the discs.
Video
The video for this release is nearly identical to the video found on the Deep Space 9 sets. Colors are nice and consistent and there isn't any edge enhancement or compression artifacts, and very, very few specs of dust. There's shimmering on the ship in some shots, which mirrors the shimmering found on the DS9 station, and the shimmering on the Enterprise.
Once again they were able to set a chapter after the opening of the show, on every episode! now if only they could put a "play all" on their discs I would be happy.
Audio
I've always been a fan of the remixed audio for the Star Trek shows, but I think I went a little overboard giving DS9 a 9/10. There are quite a few directional effects in the episodes, such as the ship flying past the viewer or lasers zipping past during a fight. The episodes, and bonus features, contain English subtitles.
Braving the Unknown: Season 2 (16:30)
Executive Producers Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor and Brannon Braga discuss pushing the envelope and raising the stakes in Season 2, from action-packed episodes like "Deadlock" to the cliffhanger "Basics."
Voyager Time Capsule: Tuvok (13:57)
A new, exclusive interview with Tim Russ explores his role as Tuvok and offers a look at the actor's other creative pursuits, including his music and directing. Features a live music performance.
Saboteur Extraordinaire: Seska (6:42)
A profile of recurring character Seska, featuring an all-new interview with actress Martha Hackett.
A Day in the Life of Ethan Phillips (7:03)
This rare glimpse into a day on the set with actor Ethan Phillips reveals the lengthy makeup process and shooting schedule for an episode of Voyager.
Red Alert: Visual Effects Season 2 (12:51)
Visual effects producer Dan Curry explores the making of several amazing visual effects, including the landing of Voyager in "The 37's" and the explosive action in "Basics."
Real Science with Andre Bormanis (11:26)
The Star Trek science consultant discusses astronomical phenomena and other real scientific theories seen on Voyager.
Lost Transmissions from the Delta Quadrant (14:32)
Includes Interviews with Kate Mulgrew, Robert Picardo, Dan Curry and Brannon Braga. These are easter eggs.
A Special Text Trivia Version of "The 37's"
This fun option allows viewers to watch the episode with fascinating trivia on Amelia Earhart, The 37's, and lots of Star Trek related topics.
Photo Gallery (40 photos)
40 photos from the second season.
Borg Invasion 4D (0:57)
A trailer for the new Las Vegas attraction.
Summary
The second season of the show was better than the first, but still a far cry from the beauty of The Next Generation or Deep Space 9. I'm not saying it's a bad show, it's just not as good as the others. The lack of artwork on the discs is an obvious pain now, but I stil find the packaging to be kinda cool, maybe just because it's different from the norm. I wish Paramount would discover that viewers are interested in a "play all" feature for their sets; they seem like the only major studio that hasn't figured it out yet. While it's not unique, I thought the trivia version of "The 37's" was a cool feature, and hopefully we'll see it on future seasons.
