What's John watching?

Star Trek: Voyager - Dark Frontier, Part II: Well, those who know me know I'm no fan of Voyager; The Next Generation: absolutely, and the first few seasons of Deep Space Nine. But by the time Voyager came on the scene, I was getting a bit tired of the Star Trek theme, and, I'll admit, more than a bit critical of the whole enterprise (no pun intended). Enter Emanations, the worst episode I've ever seen, regardless of the series (and, yes, I know I'm putting some really cheesy TNG episodes ahead of it when I say that), and so ends my regular dose of Star Trek.

However, that was ten years ago - would you believe I typed five first? Where's the time going? - and in the meantime more than a few Star Trek fans whose opinions I respect have tried to convince me that the series did turn around. Specifically, one of my friends convinced me to take a second look at Babylon 5 after that horrendous pilot, and I've been enjoying the DVDs ever since. When he tells me that there were some good Voyager episodes, I'm inclined to listen.

So, that brings me to this morning, when I turn on Space and find the second part of Dark Frontier starting. I figured, what the heck, I've got some time; let's see how this goes. And, I have to say, it was pretty good. I'm shocked to learn that the Borg Queen (Susanna Thompson) wasn't the same actress who played the queen in First Contact (that was Alice Krige). The resemblance (in full makeup, granted) is striking.

I liked the snapshots of Seven of Nine's childhood. I don't know, it could've been cheesy, but it struck the right note for me. Oh, and I also liked the tail end of the rescue; specifically, the boarding. Janeway and Tuvok's solution to the force field problem, followed by her quick dismissal of the failed bio-dampener was very professional. It really kept me in the moment.

So, like all things, I guess, my dislike of Voyager is fading with time. ¶ 2:28:00 p.m.