The Void (Star Trek: Voyager)

Last updated
"The Void"
Star Trek: Voyager episode
Episode no.Season 7
Episode 15
Directed by Mike Vejar
Story by Raf Green
Kenneth Biller
Teleplay by Raf Green
James Kahn
Featured music Jay Chattaway
Production code261
Original air dateFebruary 14, 2001 (2001-02-14)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Prophecy"
Next 
"Workforce, Part I"
Star Trek: Voyager season 7
List of episodes

"The Void" is the 15th episode of the seventh season of Star Trek: Voyager , the 161st episode overall. Voyager gets trapped in a resource-scarce region of space, and must work with others to survive and escape.

Contents

"The Void" aired on the United Paramount Network (UPN) on February 14, 2001. [1]

Plot

While on course for the Alpha Quadrant, Voyager is suddenly pulled into an area of space absent of any matter, and in which a number of other starships have been trapped. In the chaos of their arrival in this area, Voyager is set upon by another ship that disables its shields and transports away its deuterium stock and other supplies before moving away. Captain Janeway orders a counter-attack, but the ship has moved off to warp.

They are approached by another ship which hails them. Its captain, General Valen, explains they are in "The Void", and while impressed with Voyager's response to the attack, believes they can help if they were given some of the ship's photon torpedoes. Janeway refuses, unsure of Valen's purpose. Valen departs with his ship.

Later, Seven offers a potential way out of the Void by recreating one of the funnels to normal space that brought them there via shield modulation. However, though they nearly escape, they are drawn back in forcefully at the last moment, damaging many of the ship's systems. Janeway asserts they must find the ship that stole their supplies to sustain themselves. Tracking the ship, they find it has been attacked with a complete loss of life, and all of its supplies, including those belonging to Voyager are gone. However, among the ship's casing they find a wounded humanoid creature that they bring back to Voyager for treatment.

The crew recognize damage to the ship belonging to Valen's species, and track his ship down. They disable his shields and demand he return their supplies, but Valen refuses. Janeway orders them to recover their supplies and considers taking more, but decides against it. They find they have recovered less than half of that was stolen, and First Officer Chakotay suggests they may have to resort to stealing from other ships to survive, an action Janeway refuses to take. Instead, she offers the idea of creating an alliance with the other ships to pool their resources so they may all escape the Void. Voyager begins contacting the other ships, some of whom agree to the alliance, and the various crews start sharing their resources and technologies, with Voyager itself gaining several useful upgrades for their journey home should they escape.

Meanwhile, the injured humanoid, called Fantome by the Doctor, has recovered. The being is mute and does not appear to understand their language but picks up on sound and music, and Seven works to create a device to allow primitive communication. The Doctor suspects Fantome and others of its species are native to the Void. When Bosaal, another alliance captain, sees Fantome, he calls the species "vermin", noting that they will somehow occupy ships in the Void. When Janeway offers to remove any of Fantome's species from his ship and take them to Voyager, Bosaal agrees and joins the alliance. However, when Janeway finds that a functioning polaron modulator, needed to escape the Void, installed on Voyager was obtained by an act of piracy by Bosaal, she orders the device removed and forces Bosaal off the ship. Lieutenant Tuvok witnesses Bosaal and Valen discussing creating their own alliance to attack Janeway's alliance. Janeway pushes on B'Elanna Torres and Seven to fashion a new polaron modulator before they can launch this attack.

Soon, the alliance's combined technology has completed the necessary modifications to attempt escape. Janeway approaches Fantome to explain they are about to leave. Through the Doctor, Fantome thanks Janeway for her help and offers their help in return. Soon, the alliance fleet is set upon by Valen, Bosaal, and other vessels that aligned with them. Voyager and their alliance are able to disable their shields, and Fantome's people beam aboard these ships, disabling their engines so that they will not trouble the alliance during their escape. The combined shield modulation is successful and all the ships of the alliance escape the Void. After saying their goodbyes, Voyager returns course to home, with Janeway considering their brief time with the alliance like being part of the Federation again.

Reception

Gizmodo ranked "The Void" as the 29th best of the top 100 Star Trek episodes in 2016. [2] In 2011, they had ranked it as the 9th best Star Trek episode. [3]

In 2016, Vox rated this one of the top 25 essential episodes of all Star Trek. [4]

In 2013, Slate ranked "The Void" one of the ten best episodes in the Star Trek franchise. [5]

Home media releases

On December 21, 2003, this episode was released on DVD as part of a Season 7 box set; Star Trek Voyager: Complete Seventh Season. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chakotay</span> Character from Star Trek: Voyager

Chakotay is a fictional character who appears in each of the seven seasons of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. Portrayed by Robert Beltran, he was First Officer aboard the Starfleet starship USS Voyager, and later promoted to Captain in command of the USS Protostar in Star Trek: Prodigy. The character was suggested at an early stage of the development of the series. He is the first Native American main character in the Star Trek franchise. This was a deliberate move by the producers of the series, who sought to provide an inspiration as with Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series for African Americans. To develop the character, the producers sought the assistance of Jamake Highwater who falsely claimed to be Native American. Despite first being named by producers as a Sioux, and later a Hopi, Chakotay was given no tribal affiliation at the start of the series, and eventually was assigned ancestry with a fictional tribe in the episode "Tattoo”. It wasn’t until his appearance in Star Trek: Prodigy that he was formally identified as a descendant of the Nicarao people of Central America.

The Star Trek fictional universe contains a variety of weapons, ranging from missiles to melee. The Star Trek franchise consists mainly of several multi-season television shows and thirteen movies, as well as various video games and merchandise. Many aspects of the Star Trek universe impact modern popular culture, especially its fictitious terminology and the concept of weaponry on spacecraft. The franchise has had a widespread influence on its audiences from the late 20th to early 21st century. Notably, Star Trek's science fiction concepts have been studied by real scientists; NASA described it in relation to the real world as "entertaining combination of real science, imaginary science gathered from lots of earlier stories, and stuff the writers make up week-by-week to give each new episode novelty." For example, NASA noted that the Star Trek "phasers" were a fictional extrapolation of real-life lasers, and compared them to real-life microwave based weapons that have a stunning effect.

"The Thaw" is the 39th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 23rd episode of the second season. In this science fiction television show, the crew of a spaceship discover aliens who are mentally connected to a computer. The spacecraft finds a planet that was destroyed by a solar flare, and the survivors are in hibernation pods.

"Counterpoint" is the 104th and tenth episode of the fifth season of Star Trek: Voyager. In this space science fiction television show, a spacecraft, the Federation's USS Voyager is stranded on the wrong side of the galaxy as it must slowly makes its way home to Earth. In this episode, Voyager and its crew encounter the Devore aliens, posing particularly difficult choices for the ship's captain, Starfleet Captain Kathryn Janeway.

"The Raven" is the 74th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the sixth episode of the fourth season. The episode was directed by LeVar Burton, and was broadcast on UPN in October 1997.

"State of Flux" is the eleventh episode of Star Trek: Voyager, which was a science fiction television show that ran from 1995-2001. Recurring Voyager characters Seska and Lt. Carey star, along with the show's main cast, in an episode that sees the return of the Kazon aliens previously introduced in "Caretaker".

"Blink of an Eye" is the twelfth episode from the sixth season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, 132nd episode overall. The show is set in the 24th century of the Star Trek universe, aboard the USS Voyager spaceship on a decades long journey back to Earth.

Basics (<i>Star Trek: Voyager</i>) 26th episode of the second season and 1st episode of the third season of Star Trek: Voyager

"Basics" comprises the 42nd and 43rd episodes of the science fiction television Star Trek: Voyager, the cliffhanger between the second season and the third season.

"Bride of Chaotica!" is the 106th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager airing on the UPN network, the 12th episode of the fifth season. The episode originally aired on January 27, 1999. The episode largely takes place on the holodeck, which is running a holo-program in black and white instead of the usual color. This was because of a small fire to the Bridge set that had occurred while the episode was in production; as a result the Bridge scenes were shot weeks later after the set was repaired and scenes that were originally set for the Bridge were either entirely rewritten or set on a different part of the ship. The episode satirizes numerous elements of the classic 1936 film serial Flash Gordon and classic 1939 film serial Buck Rogers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Year of Hell</span> 8th and 9th episodes of the 4th season of Star Trek: Voyager

"Year of Hell" is a two-part episode from the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager which aired on UPN in November 1997. It aired in two parts, on November 5 and November 11, 1997. Part I was directed by Allan Kroeker and Part II by Mike Vejar; it was written by Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky. This includes a number of guest stars, including Kurtwood Smith.

"The Gift" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the 70th episode overall. The episode marks the transition of Kes, played by Jennifer Lien, out of the main cast of the series, and integrates her replacement, Seven of Nine, played by Jeri Ryan, into the ensemble.

"Displaced" is the 66th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 24th episode of the third season. In this episode an alien, a Nyrian who goes by Dammar appears on the USS Voyager. In this episode, the crew of the USS Voyager contend with crew members disappearing as Nyrian aliens appear to replace them.

"Demon" is the 92nd episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 24th episode of the fourth season. The crew of USS Voyager, a 24th-century spacecraft trying to get back to Earth, land on planet in search of supplies. However, two crewman are lost and the Captain investigates.

"Alliances" is the 30th episode of American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager airing on the UPN network, the 14th episode in the second season.

"Macrocosm" is the 54th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 12th episode of the third season. The title borrows the philosophical term macrocosm, definable as a larger world that mirrors what exists in a miniature world, or microcosm.

"Coda" is the 57th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 15th episode of the third season. This science fiction television show episode focuses on the characters Janeway and Chakotay of the Federation spacecraft USS Voyager. In the 24th century, a spaceship Captain and first officer are traveling by shuttlecraft back to USS Voyager when they have an incident.

"Night" is the 95th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the first episode of the fifth season. In this episode, as the starship USS Voyager crosses an enormous expanse with no stars visible, they encounter local denizens whose home is being used as a dumping ground for toxic waste by the Malon aliens. The void is said to be size of about two years of travel for the Voyager spacecraft.

"Collective" is the 136th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the 16th episode of the sixth season.

Equinox (<i>Star Trek: Voyager</i>) 26th episode of the fifth season and 1st episode of the sixth season of Star Trek: Voyager

"Equinox" is a two-part episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the cliffhanger between the fifth and sixth seasons. This television episode features a 24th-century spacecraft, the USS Voyager, lost on the opposite side of the Galaxy as Earth, the Delta Quadrant, and they must make their way home.

"Scorpion" is a two-part episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager that served as the last episode of its third season and the first episode of its fourth season. "Scorpion" introduced the Borg drone Seven of Nine and Species 8472 to the series.

References

  1. "Star Trek: Voyager - TV Guide". TVGuide.com.
  2. Anders, Charlie Jane (2 October 2014). "The Top 100 Star Trek Episodes Of All Time!". io9.
  3. Anders, Charlie Jane (10 May 2011). "The 10 Best Star Trek Episodes". io9.
  4. Siede, Caroline (2016-09-06). "Star Trek, explained for non-Trekkies". Vox. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
  5. Yglesias, Matthew (2013-05-15). "Star Trek Movies, Series, and Characters Ranked". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  6. "DVD Talk // Star Trek Voyager: Complete Seventh Season // Paramount // Unrated // December 21, 2004". www.dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2021-02-25.