No. 2 - The Eye of the Needle, Voyager, Season One.

It is a widely-held view that Voyager simply wasn't any good 'B79' (Before Seven of Nine). While her introduction undoubtedly invigorated the series, there were some excellent episodes before her arrival. In particular, Season One's 'Eye of the Needle'.

The plot is as follows: Voyager discovers a miniature wormhole. Unfortunately, said wormhole is breaking down and is too small to send a ship through. However, the crew manage to send a probe which is intercepted by a Romulan ship in the Alpha Quadrant. Hopes of getting home are raised when Torres manages to transport the Romulan captain aboard Voyager, despite the obvious political tensions such a move produces. But what looks like a genuine opportunity for the crew to get home ends in drastic failure (otherwise...there wouldn't be six more seasons of the show).

It may sound a little formulaic on paper but 'Eye of the Needle' is actually a sensitively drawn, character-driven episode that reaps the rewards of Voyager's ensemble acting. After a post-pilot run of episodes where the crew combat time anomalies (yawn) and organ-thieving aliens, Janeway, Tuvok, Chakotay and Torres are at their best in a refreshingly dark drama. Given second viewing after five years, you realise you have forgotten how much the crew have been toughened by their experience in the Delta Quadrant: here they are much more vulnerable, and the possibilty of getting home is much more real.

The interaction between Janeway and the Romulan commander Telek (played by 'Next Generation' Klingon alumnus Vaughn Armstrong), is extremely effective. Even the subplot involving Kes' campaign to persuade the crew to treat the holographic doctor with more respect rises above the often rather syrupy standard.

The story wraps up with a provocative 'Twilight Zone'-esque twist that distinguishes it from many subsequent Voyager damp squib endings. In fact, this episode is one of the few to live up to early claims that Voyager would echo the best qualities of the original series. The sense of the crew being in a genuinely alien environment, cut off from home, recalls some of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy era's finest moments. 'Eye of the Needle' reassures fans that the Star Trek franchise can still deliver great sci-fi after thirty years.

If you are ever watching Voyager's first season again, pick this episode out. But avoid at all costs 'Jetrel', wherein Neelix blubs for an entire episode about the persecution of his furry-headed alien race...Does anyone care?

by Chris Small