Unity

This was a very good episode and it's great to see the Borg. Just a correction, one reviewer said Garak from DS9 was played by Tony Robinson. Actually he was played by Andy Robinson.

Just one episode earlier, Tony Robinson (who played 'Garak' on "Star Trek: Deep Space 9") directed. Here in "Unity" Robert Duncan McNeill ('Paris' from "Star Trek: Voyager") directs. Such things were common with the Trek shows--with a variety of actors from the shows getting to direct episodes. Most notably, LeVar Burton (29 episodes) and Jonathan Frakes (from "Star Trek: The Next Generation"14 episodes as well as movies) directed a lot of shows throughout all the later incarnations of "Star Trek" and went on to direct a variety of non-Trek shows.

At the end of the last episode, the Borg's presence in the Delta Quadrant is revealed with Chakotay discovers the corpse of a Borg drone. In "Unity", Chakotay and a 'red shirt' hear a distress call and when they respond, they find a planet peopled by their Swedish adversaries (yes, I know the Borg are NOT Swedish). However, it's a trap and you can guess what happens to the red shirt! Chakotay is rescued by a pretty lady and he learns that a bunch of Alpha Quadrant folks had been brought to this planet long ago. Oddly, it's peopled by all sorts of folks from all different races and planets. In the meantime, Captain Janeway and Voyager find a Borg ship that is apparently dead in space--and Torres says it's like a 'ghost ship'. What's next? See the episode.

Through two and a half seasons, "Star Trek: Voyager" suffered because the ship's enemies were for the most part really uninteresting. Unlike Romulans or Klingons in previous series, the Kazon were not particularly interesting or scary. The closet to interesting villains were the Vidiians but they were never particularly developed in the show. Fortunately, someone must have realized this and from this episode on, the Borg would become a super-serious threat--and the episodes would improve as a result. So, because of this, I really appreciate "Unity". Well worth seeing.

Chakotay and an Ensign are pulled into a planetary dispute. It turns out that there is a dangerous group who used to be Bork. At the conclusion of the last episode, a Borg signature was discovered, so we know what's coming. These intergalactic bees are always around and have tremendous powers. Chikotay gets all caught up in his role in helping these aliens. No one seems all that concerned about the poor ensign who dies almost immediately. Once again, there seems to be some truly bad decision making. Chikotay is incredibly trusting and, as is his want, endangers everyone. Of course, he an Janeway are two peas in the same pod and she would have gotten in over her head.

Chakotay investigates a distress call that leads to a surprising collective of individuals.

This is a strong episode with interesting themes and good reintroduction to previous Star Trek antagonists.

The story is good, as it brings the Borg into the Voyager narrative in an intelligent and philosophical way. It is interesting that the writers accept that certain aspects of a collective identity have merit and give a more rounded portrayal of the Borg than the one-note baddies of previous stories. We all know the writers were inspired by communist states, so it feels a bit more balanced in this one. Saying that, Janeway's general skepticism, the seductive nature of the characters, and Janeway's final conversation with Chakotay feels like it represents their take on the subject.

Technically it is very well made, with effective moments such as when Chakotay first sees a guest character looking more Borg like and the brilliant way multiple voices are brought together to eventually resemble the voice of the collective.

The visuals are great during both planet and space scenes. The Borg makeup and costuming is iconic as ever, plus the art design is generally strong throughout.

All actors are and good form and Robert Beltran leads it well.