Caretaker

January 1995 Star Trek Voyager the first of the series with a Female Captain in the lead role. The anticipation for all Trek fans was incredible and Kate Mulgrew did extremely well and even excelled in the role of Captain Kathryn Janeway.

The first episode Caretaker set the series on it's path of a long, but very exciting Voyage home!

The crew of the USS Voyager find themselves trapped in the delta quadrant.

This is an enjoyable start to the show that sets the scene well.

'The Caretaker' uses its extended running time to introduce characters, send them on an adventure, explore themes and set the premise for the show. All of this it does competently.

Captain Janeway has a strong introduction from Katie Mulgrew, who nails an imposing Katherine Hepburn persona. She looks and sounds the part of a dependable commanding officer and has the charisma to lead the show.

All the Marquis characters are written cleverly into the ensemble, with Roxann Dawson standing out for me as the fiery Klingon B'Lanna Torres. Likewise Neelix and Kes are nicely worked into the setup.

Robert Picardo makes a good first impression as someone who will entertain on a regular basis from the inspired concept of his emergency holographic doctor.

As with many first episodes of TV shows, some of the exposition dumps feel quite forced to introduce characters and situations. None more so than Tom Paris. Robert Duncan McNeill does his best with dialogue that feels quite manufactured, and, for me, depicts a character merely trying to sound like badass.

What happens is mostly very good. There is plenty of excitement, drama and intrigue. Although when the big mystery the is revealed it comes from a fairly standard scene of verbal explanation. That being said it tackles some interesting subjects like playing God and the welfare state in typical Star Trek fashion. What the writers were thinking with the hillbilly scenes though, escapes me!

Visually it showcases great spectacle, particularly the space sequences and includes strong art design such as the planet's subterranean complex.

For me it is a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.

With Deep Space Nine established. The Next Generation coming to an end and about to hit the big cinema screens.

Star Trek bosses needed another replacement show. This time with a female captain and a ship's crew that were at odds with each other.

Voyager was the answer and it would be set in a different part of the galaxy.

A Maquis ship hits a strange wave and disappears inside a plasma storm in the Badlands. The Starship Voyager led by Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) leads the search. Inside the Maquis ship was a Federation undercover agent.

However they too are whisked away by the strange wave. Stranded in the Delta Quadrant, over 70 light years from home. Captain Janeway has to unite with Maquis captain, Chakotay (Robert Beltran) to find out just who this mysterious caretaker is. Why has he brought them here and can he send them back home?

Although different and for the time with some cutting CGI. The first half of Caretaker is intriguing and involving. The second half is pretty standard fare as the crew have to deal with the Kazon.

There is enough here to make Voyager watchable but also signs that this version of Star Trek is not going to be as radical as promised. There was something bland about it all and this was not a strong pilot episode.

Voyager's pilot episode is just as great and gripping as The Next Generation's pilot Encounter at Farpoint, but the Caretaker earns an extra brownie point because it establishes each character's basic traits clearly to the viewers. When all the principal characters' crossed paths at the Ocampan underground tunnel, you really feel that the show is really off to a great start on creating an ensemble show (well until Seven of Nine comes in halfway in season four, then the show becomes a rather one-sided affair). Bon Voyage, it has been a great seven seasons and all of its characters will be sorely missed.

Voyager has always been my favourite TV series from the franchise, maybe it's the nostalgia from College days, but this one truly hit the spot.

I hadn't seen the pilot since it first went out, it's a good, solid start to the show, it sets the scene, introduces the characters and gives a flavour of what's to come. In some ways it's a little raw, and some of the special effects are a little crude by today's standards, but this is approaching 25 years old, so you could argue it holds up well.

Some nice scenes, including some rather creepy and strange villagers, it of course introduces the fabulous Captain Janeway. It did its job and got me hooked on the series, so a solid 7/10, great episodes would follow.