Star Trek Voyager has a legacy of controversy and is both loved and hated by the fans. Like it or hate it, the show broke new ground in a variety of ways and enjoys a dedicated fan following.
Maybe you ‘d like a refresher on how good the show really was, maybe you hated it and want to give it another chance, or maybe you’re not familiar with the series. The IMDb has a handy list of the top-rated Voyager episodes to get you started.
10 “Relativity,” 8.6
It’s all about the passage of time when you’re sailing on the merry ship Voyager. Many of the most popular episodes focus on the concept of time in some way, and this story has an interesting angle. This episode might have inspired the character of Daniels from Star Trek: Enterprise.
A time traveler from the distant future contacts Seven of Nine in secret about a “temporal disruptor” that will eventually destroy the ship. Seven has to help the time travelers without her shipmates finding out.
9 “Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy,” 8.6
This episode flushes out the popular Doctor character and the whole concept of synthetic life forms, a theme that’s echoed in the new Picard series.
As part of experimenting with more authentic human experiences, the Doctor adds a daydreaming program to his protocol but it’s infiltrated by a band of alien pirates who think his dreams are real. The aliens realize their mistake and offer to help Voyager, but for a strange price.
8 “Year of Hell: Part II,” 8.7
The heartbreaking episodes that make up the two-parter “Year of Hell” are some of the most visceral you’ll see in the Star Trek universe. The original crew and ship are a shell of their former selves.
A weakened Voyager, with only a small crew aboard, finds the Kremin time-ship and defeats it. This episode might be so highly rated just because the survivors of these brutal times are finally given a peaceful resolution at the end.
7 “Living Witness,” 8.8
Most episodes of Voyager have a harsh lesson to teach, and this is a great example. Good intentions have destructive results when the Doctor’s program is reactivated 700 years into the future, in a time when the history of Voyager is shewed for the worse.
When the Doctor tries to correct the record, things don’t proceed as he had hoped. The portrayal of the Voyager and her crew from the point of view of the Kyrian race is both chilling and hysterical.
6 “Timeless,” 8.8
If you could go back in time and change a terrible mistake, would you do it? Not only do we get to see the Voyager interpretation of this question, but it’s the popular character of Harry Kim who’s the driving force behind the story.
He and other survivors of a crash, that Kim believes he caused, set out to travel back in time 15 years to avert the disaster. Their journey leads them to Voyager eventually, frozen in time.
5 “Message in a Bottle,” 8.8
A pivotal episode for the overall storyline and one of the first times the legendary USS Excelsior had appeared on film, this was the first time that Voyager was able to send a message to Starfleet after their disappearance into the Delta Quadrant. The catch is the ship has been stolen by Romulans after the cutting-edge tech.
Using some old-fashioned tricks and working as a team, the two holographic doctors succeed not only in freeing the confiscated ship but getting a message from Voyager to Starfleet. It’s a favorite for not only the drama involved but also the comic relief.
4 “Year of Hell,” 8.9
Kes once made a chilling prediction about this fateful era in Voyager history. The audience sees characters pushed to their limits, some of them scarred permanently by their ordeals, even to the point of abandoning ship just to survive.
Captain Janeway really shows her character in these episodes, holding her crew together even as they are faced with the loss of Voyager itself.
3 “Scorpion: Part II,” 8.9
The Borg assimilates, adapts, and survives. They never had any intention of honoring their agreement with Starfleet ship after they got what they wanted. However, they hadn’t counted on the cunning of the Captain and her officers.
The tables are turned, and for one of the few times in Star Trek history, the Borg is the prey instead of the predator. Plus, Seven of Nine becomes part of the crew. No wonder this episode is so popular.
2 “Scorpion,” 9.0
It’s not a surprise that the second-most highly rated Voyager episode is the one that introduces the iconic Seven of Nine, one of the most popular characters in the Star Trek universe. Voyager and TNG had some close encounters with the Borg, but the crew of Voyager took this to the next level when they join forces with the Borg.
Or at least, they appeared to do so. The old parable “The Frog and the Scorpion” comes up in the story, and it foreshadows the conclusion of the sequel but with a shocking twist.
1 “Blink of an Eye,” 9.1
Many of Voyager’s best episodes obsess over the passage of time, which is a central theme throughout the series, which explains why “Blink of an Eye” is such a fan and critic favorite.
Based on a novel by Robert Forward, “Dragon’s Egg,” Voyager is orbiting a planet where the time moves at an accelerated rate, but the ship is unaffected. It’s an example of how superior beings can change evolution just with their presence, and the Doctor is the one crewmember who experiences this on the planet.
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