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My Top 5 Episodes of Voyager Season Six

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As my husband and I are going through our second full watch of Star Trek as a couple, I thought it would be fun to report on the highlights along the way. So I decided to copy the same format as Charlene. See her favorite episodes of Voyager season six.

5. Fair Haven

This episode is a little silly, but it’s fun to see the Voyager crew in a new environment. The main plot follows Janeway’s romance with a holodeck character whose program she alters to better fit her needs (and to delete his wife!), which is slightly alarming for Janeway, but not outside of the realm of plausibility for her either.

4. Good Shepherd

After Seven identifies the ship’s resident misfits, Janeway takes them in for an away mission, to prove to them that they add value to the crew. What is supposed to be a simple away mission turns into a potentially life-threatening situation, and they all have to rely on each other more than ever anticipated. I really kind of liked the hypochondriac character on this episode; I would have liked to have seen more of him!

3. The Haunting of Deck Twelve

Episodes that take place entirely on the ship hardly ever catch my interest, but I love the way this episode is framed. Neelix proves to be quite the storyteller as he deflects the Borg kids’ questions about what is happening on Voyager by telling them a scary story, which may in fact be the truth of what is happening.

2. Blink of an Eye

The concept behind this one is so fascinating: Voyager is trapped in a planet’s atmosphere for what feels like days for them, but for the people below, it’s centuries. If Voyager doesn’t act quickly enough, the people on the planet will soon have technology that outpaces their own.

1. Unimatrix Zero 

I barely remembered this season finale (and part two season 7 opener) from my first watch of Voyager, but it was a stand-out episode for me this time. Though I do feel like Seven relaxes some after this episode, I would have liked to have seen her relax even more. She really seemed to thrive in the world she and some other Borg had created for themselves.

What are your favorite episodes of Voyager season six?

MY TOP 10 EPISODES OF STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE

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Several months ago, my husband and I were talking about startrek.com’s poll results of fans’ favorite top 10 episodes of all of Star Trek. I disagreed with some of the episodes and definitely the order, so my husband suggested I create a top 10 list favorite of each series, and then at the end of our current rewatch do my own top 10 of all the series. Since we finished DS9 semi-recently (I dragged my feet a little on this post), it’s time for my Top 10 of all DS9!

My honorable mention placement on this list won’t make sense if you look at my season 2 list, but I just had to go with my gut and what has stuck with me since finishing the series again. Also, my apologies to season 4, which really was fine.

In descending order…

Honorable Mention (yes I’m cheating).The Wire (Season 2)

Garak, Garak, Garak.

10. Duet (Season 1)

A great, twisty season one offering that holds up in the overall canon of DS9 too.

9. Dr. Bashir, I Presume? (Season 5)

The one where we learn Dr. Bashir’s big secret and it changes how we view him as a character.

8. Past Tense (Season 3)

It amazes me how these episodes are still so relevant 22 years after they came out.

7. Extreme Measures (Season 7)

I really enjoy seeing what “extreme measures” Julian is willing to go to in this episode to cure Odo.

6. Badda Bing Badda Bang (Season 7)

All you could really ask for in a heist episode.

5. What You Leave Behind (Season 7)

A fitting and poignant ending for the series.

4. Far Beyond the Stars (Season 6)

So incredibly powerful. Literally everyone should watch this episode.

3. It’s Only a Paper Moon (Season 7)

All the feels, guys. All the feels. I love Nog’s arc so freaking much.

2. Trials and Tribble-ations (Season 5)

The perfect homage to my favorite episode of TOS.

1. In The Pale Moonlight (Season 6)

It was hard to choose between this and the former, but my gut said Pale Moonlight. It is just 100% Deep Space Nine and brilliance and I love it and its complexity.

If you are a fan of DS9, what are your favorite episodes of the series? 

My Top 5 Episodes of Voyager Season Five

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As my husband and I are going through our second full watch of Star Trek as a couple, I thought it would be fun to report on the highlights along the way. So I decided to copy the same format as Charlene. See her favorite episodes of Voyager season five. 

In my mind this season of Voyager was very okay. There were some I wasn’t crazy about, one standout, and the rest were good or fine. However, I do have two honorable mentions I considered for this list that I wanted to mention: Relativity and Nothing Human.

5. In The Flesh

In this episode, the Voyager crew finds a recreation of Starfleet Academy on a planet and learn that an alien species they have encountered are using it to learn how to infiltrate the human race.

4. Equinox Parts 1 & 2

Part Two is technically in season 6, but I still decided include them both on my list for season five. It’s comforting to the Voyager crew when they run into another Star Fleet ship, the Equinox, but their crew is hiding a dark secret that makes it clear they have abandoned Star Fleet protocols. Between Janeway and Ransom these episodes made me uncomfortable at times, but that is the point. What are you willing to do in order to survive?

3. Someone to Watch Over Me

This is a fun episode where the Doctor (of all people) tries to teach Seven about social interactions and dating, and then ends up falling for her (which I can live without, but whateves). There’s also a secondary plot where Neelix is hosting an alien ambassador who gets a little too caught up in the pleasures Voyager has to offer.

2. Counterpoint

Even though this episode features the most awkward kiss ever, I love all the trickery and deception in this one.

1. Bride of Chaotica

This episode is pure fun and a great homage to classic sci-fi. When an alien species mistakes the characters from Tom’s Chaotic holodeck program for the real crew, they have to be creative in defeating the enemy in the program, as well as effectively communicating who they really are with the aliens. You can tell Kate Mulgrew had a blast putting on the persona of Queen Arachnia.

What are your favorite episodes of Voyager season five?

Monthly Recap: July

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Books I Read

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (reread)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick (finished July 1)

So I read A Wrinkle In Time for the first time. And I can see why it’s so beloved and classic. However, some of it was too on-the-nose for me and some of it was a hair too out-there. It’s like when I watched Interstellar for the first time, and I was pretty sure where it was going and I watched as this movie teeter-tottered on the fine line between interesting sci-fi and going off the deep end. I wanted to feel just a little more invested in the characters and could have done with less unnecessary riddles. I also watched the trailer of the new movie coming out the same day I finished and felt a little disappointed. I guess I wanted the movie to feel more classic, but to me it already screams: THIS WAS MADE IN 2017, so I don’t see it enduring as a movie. But that’s based off a two-minute trailer, so what do I know? Maybe it will be amazing.

A New Favorite…

Baking mix! Though don’t let the fact that it comes in a box fool you, this is almost as involved as made-from-scratch, but just as delicious and so worth it!

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

For some reason, it feels really momentous to have finished Deep Space Nine again. Probably because I love the show so much and the end is just so satisfying for me. As is reflected by my top episode of the season, the Nog arc really did it for me. But of course there are also the great arcs we see for Kira, Bashir, Damar, Sisko… It could be talked about forever, which is why there are podcasts dedicated to such. (If you’re a fan of DS9, be sure to give The Orb podcast a listen.)

#bookstagram Images of the Month

I think that both Caraval and Wall-E have made it onto my #bookstagram images of the month before, but they’re just so photogenic!

Movies I Watched

My husband and I saw Spider-man: Homecoming and Dunkirk. I reviewed Spider-man here, and I’m still sorting out my feelings for Dunkirk. It’s incredibly raw and intense, but without much of a narrative it was hard for me to appreciate it as a story. It’s a beautiful film, that’s for sure, but I would have loved to have gotten to know the characters onscreen better. I mean, in a way we know them because we see them when they’re afraid, but… I just wish I could adequately describe how I respect what Nolan was doing but just don’t really love it but I desperately want to. I actually want to try to see it again, preferably in film, now that I better understand what happened, thanks to the movie’s Wikipedia page that spelled it out.

In Case You Missed It…

I was featured on Andi’s ABCs talking about what decision I wish technology would make for me!

Plans for August

Switchfoot concert! I’m so excited. I lost count on how many times I’ve seen them long ago. It’s got to be around the dozen mark at this point. It’s also my husband’s birthday month! Which means CAKE! Oh, and celebrating my wonderful husband. 🙂 It also means my birthday is around the corner SOS I don’t want to get older.

Potential July TBR

It Started With Goodbye by Christina June (already started)

These Vicious Masks by Kelly Zekas and Tarun Shanker

Without a Summer (Glamourist Histories #3) by Mary Robinette Kowal

(yes I know those last two were on last month’s list… shhh…)

How was your July? What are you looking forward to in August?

My Top 5 Episodes of DS9 Season Seven

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As my husband and I are going through our second full watch of Star Trek as a couple, I thought it would be fun to report on the highlights along the way. So I decided to copy the same format as Charlene. See her favorite episodes of Deep Space Nine season seven. 

I can’t believe I have finished DS9 for the second time! Ack! It was so good. I just love the last several episodes of the show and the finale. But despite my love for the last several episodes, my five favorite episodes are actually scattered throughout the season.

5. Take Me Out to the Holosuite

This one was even sillier than I remembered, and probably not quite as strong as some of the season’s later episodes, but still… “Death to the opposition!”

4. Extreme Measures

One of the last episodes of the show, in which Bashir is able to bait Sloan from Section 31 to the station. When he demands the cure to Odo’s disease from Sloan, it won’t come easily. It seriously feels like Christopher Nolan watched this and drew inspiration from it for Inception.

3. Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang

Thanks to a programmed “jack-in-the-box,” a mobster comes after Vic Fontaine, and the DS9 crew plan a heist to get Vic back into business. This one is just so much fun.

2. What You Leave Behind

A finale where everything right happens, even when there is sad in it too, and everything just feels complete.

1. It’s Only a Paper Moon

I loved this episode the first time, but it for sure made me teary-eyed this time around. After Nog loses his leg, he immerses himself in Vic’s world to forget his real-world troubles. Nog and Vic’s conversation in the end is pitch perfect. And Nog’s character arc… just wow. I love it all.

I’m sad to leave behind the world of Deep Space Nine once again! But I’ll be back one day. 🙂

What are your favorite episodes of Deep Space Nine, season seven?

(Coming soon… my top 10 episodes of all Deep Space Nine!)

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