I have just seen the season opening episode of "Voyager". The conclusion to this cliff-hanger was slapped into production at the last minute to capitalize on what the producers perceive as rampant "Borgmania!" I see these episodes as a validation of my contention that the Borg are really not that scary. As much as I didn't like the season finale, I was intrigued enough to watch the season opener. I had believed Janeway would not be able to make a valid deal with the Borg; not because the Borg are deceitful, but because like the scorpion in Chakotay's story, it is their nature to assimilate everyone. I was right.
We are introduced to an alien species (#8472) of which the Borg are no match . The crew of Voyager stumble upon evidence of the new Aliens when they find a Borg ship with all of the inhabitants dead or dying. One notable scene is when the crew finds a stack of Borg body parts. While this scene is suppose to be gruesome like the bone piles in the movie The Killing Fields, the dismembered Borg stack lacks any humanity, causing the pile to appear as just an interesting sculpture. When the Aliens are finally revealed to the audience, they turn out to be a poor knock-off of the creature in Alien. Unlike the Aliens from the movies, this species is not interested in feeding on or breeding inside anyone. Unlike the Borg, these Aliens are not interesting in assimilating anyone. Their only intend is complete destruction of any species they come in contact with. Extending the parallels with eastern religion ( as in my page Why the Borg are Boring ), the Aliens represent Kalki, the god of destruction. Between the Borg and the Aliens, the crew of Voyager is confronted with the two things people fear most - change and death.
During the episode we are introduced to a female Borg ( 7 of 9). I don't know if the Borg is female because the writers felt a female Borg counterpart would be a more fitting opponent for Janeway. I suspect the real reason is that the writers wanted a buxom blond to take the place of the diminutive blond they were getting rid of - Kes.
Perhaps the most infuriating aspect of these two episodes, one which plagues the Voyager series, is the lack of depth in the story. The hallmark of the original series and The Next Generation was the use of the unique setting to explore novel and pertinent social and ethical questions. For a series that started out with so much promise, Voyager has been a nagging disappointment. I thought this unexplored corner of the universe would open up the story lines to new forms of life and cultures. Instead, the crew of Voyager has had to contend with the tired old Borg, the Q, and aliens that look like they were constructed out of carpet remnants. The audience does not get the wonderful stand-alone shows of this series' predecessors, but several continuing story lines and annoying two-part episodes that go nowhere in the producers' effort to get viewers to tune in every week. What is emerging is not a classic television series that will be watched for generations to come but a dismal footnote to the Star Trek legacy that will take it's place alongside Deep Space Nine, Land of the Giants, and Battlestar Galactica in the realm of forgettable science fiction television.
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