The Third season of Star Trek Voyager has arrived in a very impressive set from Paramount DVD.
Starring Kate Mulgrew as Commander Katherine Janeway, a career Starfleet officer who is forced to overcome all manner of obstacles as she attempts to get her ship and crew home from an unexplored region of space 70 years from their home.
The third season has often been the landmark season for recent Trek series as the combination of stories, acting, and cast chemistry find the perfect mix to propel the season on. While Voyager did not fully gel as well as the previous Trek series, the Third season is a shining example of some of the best episodes the series ever created.
Season Three wisely put the red herring of “are we getting home” on the back burner and focused on solid character driven stories that deal with topical issues. Issues covered by the show ranged from the afterlife, the criminal system, and exploitation of developing cultures.
The aliens that the crew encounters are often the hallmark of trek series and many classic characters and villains grace the third set ranging from the Ferengi, the enigmatic Q (John De Lancie), and the chilling Borg. When combined with state of the art effects and top notch acting, the show had all of the elements to thrive.
While the show had all of the elements to soar, it did not do as well as previous Trek outings as despite a great cast, and effects, many fans found the writing of the show did not match the quality of the original series or the recent “Next Generation” and “Deep Space 9”. While the writing is not of the quality of the previous series it is still better than the majority of action shows on television and it would be hard to constantly be able to continue the high standards that were previously set.
Standout episodes of the season include “False Prophets”, “The Q and the Grey”, and “Coda” but there are more than enough quality episodes to delight fans of the show.
The Season Three DVD set is a well crafted. The menu functions are well designed and easy to navigate and highly detailed. Aside from the plethora of behind the scenes, interviews and making of segments, the series features all 26 episodes in sparking color and sound.
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o Braving the Unknown, Season 3: Writers and producers Rick Berman, Brannon Braga and Jeri Taylor discuss highlights of the Third Season, including “Basics Pt. 2,” the two-parter “Future’s End” and “Scorpion”
o Voyager Time Capsule: Neelix: A new interview with Ethan Phillips and others discussing his role as Voyager’s resident Talaxian, Neelix
o Voyager Time Capsule: Kes: An interview with Jennifer Lien and others discussing her role as Kes
o A Flashback to “Flashback”: A look at the episode with guest star George Takei, Includes interviews with Takei, Tim Russ (“Tuvok”) and an exploration of how scenes from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country were recreated for this episode
o Red Alert: Amazing Visual Effects: Visual effects wizards Dan Curry and Ronald B. Moore provide an inside look at spectacular scenes from Season Three episodes, including “Basics Part II,” “Future’s End,” “Scorpion” and “Distant Origin”
o Real Science with Andre Bormanis: Andre Bormanis introduces famed astrophysicists who examine the reality of space phenomena as seen on the show, includes comments on the Wormhole seen in “False Profits” and the Supernova in “The Q and the Grey”
o Lost Transmissions: Interviews with cast and crew discussing Season Three
With each passing Trek set is clear that Paramount is providing fans with high-quality sets that are loaded with features and some of the best crafted collections available anywhere.
4 stars out of 5
