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, Neelix, and Kes, an Ocampa they rescue in the first episode. Three groups of people, one crew.
I thought the quality of the episodes was much better in season 3. "Future's End" was a great two-part episode which greatly impacted the Doctor's character. There's also the return of the Borg to the Star Trek franchaise, and Q shows up for an episode as well.
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. One of the worst examples of shimmering occurs in "Future's End: Part 1" with the first shot of them on Earth; the railings seem to strobe and appear jagged. I noticed a bit more noise in some of the episodes on the set, more than in previous ones.
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
The 5.1 track on this release is good, but not as good as some other 5.1 mixes I've heard. 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 Three (13:10)
Writers and producers Rick Berman, Brannon Braga and Jeri Taylor discuss highlights of year three, including "Basics, Part II," the two-parter "Future's End" and "Scorpion."
Voyager Time Capsule: Neelix (12:05)
Features a new interview with Ethan Phillips and others discussing the role of Neelix. There are clips from shows that haven't been released on DVD yet, including the finale episode.
Voyager Time Capsule: Kes (12:03)
Features a new Interview with Ethan Phillips, Robert Picardo and Tim Russ in addition to Jennifer Lien discussing her role on the series. There are clips from shows that haven't been released on DVD yet.
Flashback to "Flashback" (13:36)
A special look at the Voyager episode with guest star George Takei ("Sulu"). Includes interviews with Takei, Tim Russ, and an exploration of how scenes from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country were re-created for this episode.
Red Alert! Amazing Visual Effects (16:56)
Visual effects wizards Dan Curry and Ronald B. Moore provide an inside look at amazing scenes from season three episodes, including "Basics, Part II," "Future's End," "Scorpion," and "Distant Origin."
Real Science with Andre Bormanis (10:40)
Bormanis introduces famed astrophysicists who examine the reality of space phenomena as seen on Voyager. Includes comments on the Wormhole seen in "False Profits" and the supernova in "The Q and the Grey."
Photo Gallery (40)
There are 40 images from the third season here.
Borg Invasion 4D (0:57)
A trailer for the new Las Vegas attraction.
Lost Transmissions from the Delta Quadrant (12:42)
Includes Interviews with Kate Mulgrew, Martha Hackett and others. These are easter eggs.
Summary
I'm not sure when I stopped watching Voyager, but I remembered many of the episodes in this set. I believe I saw some episodes with 7 of 9, so I assume it was sometime after season 4. I love that Paramount is putting these out so quickly, and it's hard to believe they will have released 24 Star Trek season sets on DVD in just a few years. I was very happy to see the pace of the series pick up, especially after the Borg were introduced to the show.
