2:00

and Brandon was interested in following

2:02

that story thread. It

2:04

was originally intended that this two-parter

2:06

would bridge the end of seasons

2:08

three and four, but the scorpion

2:10

story took its place. Then for

2:12

a very brief time it was

2:14

considered to make Year of Hell

2:16

a season-long arc where the Krenim

2:18

were returning antagonists. It was Rick

2:20

Berman who put the kibosh on

2:22

that idea, and hence we have

2:24

a two-parter which aired in mid-November

2:26

1997. Part

2:29

one is directed by Alan Croker and

2:31

part two is directed by Mike Veyhar,

2:33

both returning Star Trek directors. Now with

2:36

Alan the most recent episode of Voyager

2:38

that we discussed of his was displaced,

2:41

and Mike up until this point

2:43

all of his credits exist on

2:45

DS9. The one that is most

2:47

concurrent with this episode is

2:50

Rocks and Shoals, and that aired

2:52

just about a month before this

2:54

episode aired. Now we have

2:56

a fun little call back to Star Trek First

2:58

Contact which was released also about

3:00

a year before this episode aired, and

3:02

that was also written by Brandon Braga

3:05

along then with writing partner Ron Moore.

3:08

And there are a lot of other little

3:10

references scattered throughout that I felt like were

3:12

a lot of fun. Let's see we name

3:14

check Titanic Disaster of 1912, Alfred

3:17

Hitchcock's 1955 film to Catch

3:19

a Thief, Captain William Bligh,

3:22

and we have a made-up reference

3:24

to Captain Cray, a 19th

3:27

century British ship captain. I'm not saying

3:29

that a British captain named Cray

3:31

never existed, but there's no record

3:33

of one doing anything outstanding, and

3:36

the only ship that matches Chakotay's

3:38

description in the pocket watch story

3:41

was not under such a

3:43

person's command. So you

3:45

can make up your own alternate past history I

3:47

guess for that one. Let

3:49

us move on to our guest stars

3:51

again covering both episodes here, and given

3:54

the scale of the production, not

3:56

too many guest stars for this

3:59

two-parter. We have a

4:01

recurring crinum commander played by Peter

4:03

Slutsker. He has shown up three

4:06

times before on Star Trek, all

4:08

on next gen and all while

4:10

covered in fringing makeup appliances. John

4:13

Lopriano as Obrist. John

4:16

is best known as a soap opera

4:18

performer. He's from Chicago. He teaches acting

4:20

as well as performs. And you may

4:22

have caught him in multiple

4:24

episodes of One Life

4:26

to Live as a world turns and searched

4:28

for tomorrow. Just the tip

4:30

of the iceberg there for his career. The

4:33

only zall we get to know is

4:35

a representative played by Rick Fitz. And

4:38

he may not look familiar right away

4:40

under the makeup, but we gave Rick

4:42

a shout out in the fifth season

4:44

of next gen when he guest starred

4:47

in the episode Violations, looking quite a

4:49

bit more like his human self. We

4:52

briefly meet Anarax's wife. She

4:55

is played by Lees Sims. She

4:58

also has a number of soap opera credits to

5:00

her name, but there are a number of additional

5:02

TV and film credits in her resume. She

5:05

was a series regular in the family

5:07

sci-fi series Phil of the Future. And

5:10

she does have one more Trek credit to her

5:12

name as one of the voices in the 2001

5:16

video game Star Trek Away Team.

5:19

Finally, Anarax is played by Kurtwood

5:22

Smith. And what

5:24

more can we say about Kurtwood

5:26

Smith? We've covered his appearances in

5:28

Star Trek VI as the Federation

5:30

President, then on DS9 as

5:32

a Cardassian in Things Past. He's

5:35

one of those distinctive actors who excels

5:37

in authoritative roles. And if you're like

5:39

me, you probably always associate him with

5:41

Robocop in which he played Baudicur. Norman,

5:43

I know that you're a fan of

5:45

that 70s show. He was

5:47

in that as well. I mean,

5:50

obviously, he just keeps working on

5:52

TV, film and in voice roles.

5:54

His time on Star Trek isn't done

5:57

either. As recently as 2020, he's appeared

6:00

as the voice of Magistrate

6:02

Klar in Lord Max. Welcome

6:08

to the Delta Quadrant. I tell you how

6:11

twisted the timeline is about to get, but

6:13

we don't have time for that. Prolog.

6:19

Somewhere the Delta Quadrant, a

6:21

peaceful, idyllic civilization, is

6:24

wiped out of existence after

6:26

a fearsome Krenim warship appears

6:28

and fires its weapon. On

6:31

board the captain asks if the

6:33

target event has been achieved, but

6:35

his frustrated officer says it has

6:37

not. This was a

6:39

Zal colony, and the Krenim captain

6:42

announces that their next target will

6:44

be the Zal homeworld to erase

6:46

the entire species from time itself.

6:50

And this is just day one. First

6:53

one. Meanwhile on Voyager, it's time for

6:55

celebration. Since Harry and Seven's new astrometric

6:57

lab has opened, the improved accuracy will

7:00

cut time off the trip back to

7:02

Earth, and the next leg of the

7:04

journey will take them through the heavily

7:07

populated but friendly Zal region of space.

7:10

Before you know it, Voyager is fired

7:12

upon by a single low-powered Krenim ship,

7:14

and its commander is insistent that they

7:16

leave at once. Which

7:18

they don't. By

7:20

day four, a Zal representative meets with

7:23

Janeway to discuss the ongoing conflict, but

7:25

with reassurance that they won't face any

7:27

real trouble. The Zal are

7:30

friends here, and the Krenim aren't a

7:32

threat anymore. But sure enough,

7:34

the Krenim show up again, and

7:36

this time a space-time shockwave comes

7:38

soon after. It envelops

7:40

everything in a five-lightyear radius,

7:43

erasing the Zal from history.

7:46

Voyager is transformed to darkened,

7:48

battle-scarred, and on the run

7:50

from a much more powerful and much

7:53

more threatening Krenim officer who says he'll

7:55

spare the crew from execution if Janeway

7:58

hands over her ship. Back

8:00

to the fight is on and Voyager

8:02

takes more damage from the Krenim vessel.

8:05

Their only chance of survival is to

8:07

take off. Balled. Back

8:09

on the first Krenim warship, the

8:12

officer, Abrist, reports to the commander,

8:14

Anorax, that their latest incursion has

8:16

been a rousing success, restoring the

8:19

Krenim Imperium to The

8:23

good news isn't good enough for

8:25

Anorax, though, who insists on some

8:27

more specific goal, one that includes

8:29

the restoration of the people at

8:32

Kiana Prime Colony. Over

8:34

the objections of Abrist, who insists that

8:36

the crew has worked so hard to

8:38

get them this far, that absolute

8:41

perfection is unrealistic now that

8:43

the Krenim are thriving and

8:45

powerful again, Anorax orders him

8:47

back to make more calculations

8:49

for another incursion. They

8:52

can do it too, as long as it takes.

8:55

Their ship is prevented from the effects

8:57

of the time incursions. They can wipe

8:59

out as many perceived enemies or historic

9:01

events as it takes, protected

9:03

there on the warship, which is

9:05

creating these changes in the continuum.

9:08

Fast forward another 28 days and Voyager

9:11

is still fighting off Krenim attackers. It

9:13

just gets worse each time with Voyager

9:15

taking on more damage. They

9:18

get in the deadly shot against the

9:20

Krenim, dropping torpedoes like mines, but in

9:22

the skirmish, the doctor has to evacuate

9:24

Sickday and all of Deck 5. Two

9:27

of the evacuees don't make it as

9:29

they were lagging behind just as the

9:32

doctor was closing a hatch. With

9:34

a moment to breathe, Janeway surveys the extensive

9:37

damage to her own ready room and

9:39

Chakotay offers up a suggestion. Abandon

9:42

ship. Launch escape pods

9:44

and rendezvous later. Janeway

9:46

is having none of it. As long

9:48

as Voyager is in one piece, just

9:50

like the captain's lucky teacup, which

9:53

is promptly smashed into bits after

9:55

a new incoming Krenim attack. because,

10:00

of course, it is. Amongst

10:03

the damage this time, Harry and Balanna are

10:05

stuck in an elevator, biding their time until

10:07

seven of nine sets them free. Chakotay

10:10

and Tom have been working on ways to upgrade

10:12

the integrity of the bulkheads, and

10:15

later seven makes an interesting discovery. One

10:17

of the chronoton torpedoes launched by

10:20

the Kredem is stuck, undetonated, in

10:22

Voyager's Hall. Meanwhile, the

10:24

doctor has set up a temporary sickbay in the

10:27

mess hall. The trauma of

10:29

his decision to let two crew

10:31

members go while protecting the others during

10:33

evacuation has affected him, as he snaps

10:35

at Tom Paris more than the usual

10:38

bantering. And back to that

10:40

chronoton torpedo. Seven is scanning

10:42

it, but Tuvok warns that it can explode

10:44

at any moment. Just

10:46

as he pulls into safety and

10:49

directs a force field, Seven announces

10:51

that she has determined the temporal

10:53

variants handy as they try to

10:55

develop shielding against Kredem humans. But

10:58

sure enough, the warhead does explode, sending a

11:00

fireball down the Jeffrey's tube toward them. Act

11:03

Four. Now it's day sixty-five,

11:05

and wow is Voyager in bad

11:07

shape. Many systems are

11:10

offline, including replicators. Seven

11:12

decks are uninhabitable. Oh,

11:14

it also happens to be Captain Janeway's

11:16

birthday. Chakotay got her a

11:18

replicated antique pocket watch, which Janeway

11:21

insists he returns back into the

11:23

replicator it came from to be

11:25

reconstituted into something more useful. In

11:28

his quarters, it is apparent that Tuvok was

11:30

blinded in the explosion in the Jeffrey's tube.

11:33

Seven of Nine arrives to help him prepare for

11:35

his day. She has a

11:37

breakthrough with matching their shields to

11:39

the temporal variants of the Kredem

11:42

torpedoes, and not a moment too soon.

11:45

More enemy vessels close in an open

11:47

fire on Voyager, but the shields hold.

11:50

When Janeway hails her attackers, they ignore

11:52

her. Elsewhere, Anorax has

11:54

pointed his weapon to a new

11:56

target, the Garanor homeworld. When

11:59

it fires, it rolls. racing the Garanor

12:01

from history, a temporal shockwave

12:03

radiates outward. That

12:05

shockwave merely passes over Voyager's

12:07

new temporal shielding, but it

12:09

doesn't spare the Krenim warship that was in

12:11

pursuit. It is now

12:14

transformed into something smaller, less

12:16

powerful. In the

12:18

affected timeline, the Krenim Imperium is

12:21

decimated, reverted to a pre-warp state,

12:24

and that, according to Obris' readings,

12:26

is because of an alien ship,

12:29

Voyager. Anorax sets the

12:31

order to find them. Act

12:34

5. It's five days later.

12:37

Seven of nine has loaded up the data from

12:39

Krenim's space that they took before and

12:41

the more recent readings after the

12:43

last temporal shockwave to run a

12:46

comparison in the Astrometrics Lab. The

12:48

results are quite revealing. The

12:51

Krenim Imperium was a massive region

12:53

of nearly 900 planets

12:56

and thousands of warp-capable

12:58

ships. After the

13:00

shockwave, quite the opposite, and

13:03

Voyager seems to have been protected from

13:05

the temporal changes by the new shielding.

13:08

But they are also clued into the

13:10

erasure of the Garanor and how this

13:12

has affected history. As

13:15

if on cue, Anorax shows up

13:17

in his massive weaponship and immediately

13:19

beams away Chakotay and Tom Paris

13:22

as prisoners. Janeway's got

13:24

his number and Anorax is apologetic

13:26

about now having to erase Voyager

13:28

from the timeline, but it's all

13:30

in support of helping the millions

13:33

of Krenim who will be restored.

13:35

When Anorax aims his weapon on

13:38

Voyager, the temporal shields start to

13:40

fail, leaving Janeway with only one

13:42

choice, to risk tearing her ship

13:44

apart by jumping to warp. Now

13:47

on day 73, Janeway addresses her crew

13:49

with the decisions she was loathed to

13:51

make. Everyone but

13:53

the senior staff are to abandon ship through

13:55

the escape pods and shuttles, then one

13:58

day Voyager will be back for them. Part

14:02

2 It's day 133 and Voyager

14:04

is hiding out in a

14:07

nebula. Janeway and Harry Kim

14:09

do their best to contain a gas leak,

14:11

but both are overcome. A

14:13

little while later, the doctor is chasing

14:15

a stressed Janeway around the bridge, urging

14:17

her to take care of herself after

14:19

scorching her lungs. She won't

14:22

do it, though. Too much to do and only

14:24

a handful of crew on board. Fuffing

14:26

through it, Janeway demands a shot of tri-ox

14:28

to get back to work. Act

14:31

6 Anorax does his best

14:33

to reason with Chakotay and Tom, explaining

14:35

that the power of his ship could

14:38

not only restore Voyager but the timeline

14:40

along with it. He might

14:42

even be able to get them closer to home. He

14:44

just needs their cooperation. And

14:47

over a sumptuous feast of rare

14:50

delicacies from civilizations erased

14:52

from time, it becomes

14:54

clear that Voyager has eluded him.

14:57

Tom refuses to cooperate, but Chakotay

14:59

may just hear him out. Back

15:03

on Voyager, Neelix has done his best

15:05

to prepare some libations for the remaining

15:07

crew. It's not

15:09

good. Despite

15:11

numerous repairs still needed, Janeway is determined

15:14

to ship out of the nebula the

15:16

next morning, and Seven raises her objection.

15:19

It goes nowhere, and Tuvok seizes

15:21

the teachable moment to remind

15:23

Seven that the captain is always

15:26

right. Act 7 Chakotay,

15:29

having studied Anorax's calculations,

15:32

explains how Voyager avoided a comet some

15:34

months ago which led them into Krenim

15:37

space. Easy solution, right?

15:39

Eliminate the comet from the space-time

15:41

continuum and Voyager never enters Krenim

15:43

space. Problem solved.

15:46

But Anorax educates Chakotay of the

15:48

long-term effects of messing with the

15:50

timeline. In a simulation

15:52

he points out that billions of years

15:55

ago the comet helped life form on

15:57

a planet, which led to 8,000 civilizations.

18:00

prior. Honoring her friend, though,

18:02

she keeps it and wears it on her

18:04

waist. Back on

18:06

Anorak's ship, Tom has made

18:08

a breakthrough. He has befriended Obris,

18:11

who seems a lot less inclined

18:13

to follow Anorak's than maybe he

18:15

was two hundred years ago. What's

18:18

more, Tom has learned that the

18:20

temporal core powering their weapon is

18:22

protected by very weak shields. Take

18:25

those offline, and the whole system could

18:27

be stopped. And Chakotay is

18:29

less inclined to encourage a mutiny just

18:31

yet. He thinks he can

18:34

use Anorak's techniques to get the Krenim what

18:36

they want and save Voyager

18:39

So they need to lay low, and that's in

18:41

order. They can't debate

18:43

the point much longer, though. In

18:45

a moment of inspiration, Anorak has

18:48

charged his weapon again for a

18:50

temporal incursion. This time

18:52

the target will assuredly restore the

18:54

Krenim Imperium to fifty-two

18:56

percent. And Chakotay asks him

18:58

to reconsider. Anorak's

19:01

fires anyway, and Tom quietly tells his friend

19:03

that if he doesn't do anything about this

19:06

maniac, then Tom will. Act

19:09

9. Chakotay confronts Anorak's.

19:11

The last incursion was another

19:13

act of genocide like so

19:15

many others, but he

19:17

is unmoved. Anorak

19:19

sees the stakes as much bigger, but

19:22

also more personal. He

19:24

lost his wife on Kiana Prime, and no

19:26

adjustment of the timeline since has brought her

19:29

back. He has just one thing

19:31

to remember her by, a lock of

19:33

her red hair stored in a glass case

19:35

on his desk, so he

19:37

will keep fighting against time until

19:39

he has corrected his mistake and

19:41

gets her and his own future

19:43

back. Later

19:45

Tom confronts Chakotay. Anorak's

19:48

is mad, and they have to fight back. They

19:51

will have help in Obris getting access

19:53

to a communications array. That

19:55

means coordinating with Voyager and hoping Janeway

19:57

can show up with some firepower. Chakotay

20:00

gives Tom the go-ahead to get to

20:02

work. Day 226. The

20:06

message from Tom gets through and Janeway

20:08

has called in some reinforcements to help

20:10

her out. They will head

20:12

out fifty light years to intercept the

20:14

Krenim weaponship and aim for the temporal

20:16

core once Tom gets its shields off

20:18

long. The Voyager crew will

20:21

split up among the alien vessels while

20:23

Janeway stays behind on Voyager to coordinate

20:25

the attack. Plus, it

20:28

is a personal thing. Even

20:30

if Tuvok doesn't get it, she has an

20:32

emotional attachment to the ship that they've called

20:34

home. The two friends say

20:36

goodbye and that leaves Janeway alone on

20:38

her bridge. Act

20:41

10. Day 257. Janeway's

20:45

makeshift armada arrives close to

20:47

Anarax's weaponship. Immediately

20:49

Anarax brings the weapon online and wipes

20:51

out two of the attackers. But

20:54

at the same time, Obris has transmitted

20:56

vital information about the temporal core to

20:58

Tom who passes it along to Janeway.

21:01

When Anarax calls for another shot,

21:04

Obris brings the weapon offline, exposing

21:06

their ship in the normal space-time

21:08

continuum. Tom and Chakotay

21:10

are beamed back to safety on one

21:13

of the other ships, and while Voyager

21:15

is taking on extreme damage, Janeway gives

21:17

the order for all vessels to lower

21:19

their temporal shielding. Without

21:21

control of weapons, she plans to

21:24

ram Voyager into the temporal core

21:26

and hopefully wipe it from history

21:28

as well. Sensing

21:30

what is to come, Anarax runs into his

21:33

ready room only to see

21:35

the container holding the lock of hair

21:37

from his wife crash to the floor,

21:39

then the lock disappears. As

21:42

Voyager plunges through a massive explosion,

21:44

then a shockwave emanates from

21:46

where the ship was. Then

21:50

all is quiet. Day

21:52

1. Voyager

21:54

enters an unremarkable section of space,

21:56

ready to activate the new Astrometrics

21:58

lab. The

36:00

also get used to me name

36:02

checking twenty Thousand Leagues Under the

36:04

Sea because there will be many

36:06

more references to that. but also

36:08

see any other seen with a

36:10

bad guy trying to show off

36:12

their sophistication that happens and Bond

36:14

movies and happens and so many

36:16

other places and this is a

36:18

nice nod to that played very

36:20

well. As monologue, Anton

36:22

Fisher is in a look at

36:24

Welcome to my Underground Alerts and Ice

36:27

Ago know when I a hairy and

36:29

Captain Jean were trying to turn off

36:31

that gas leak that was happening on

36:34

the ship they're wearing. Basically just.

36:37

Futuristic oxygen mask rights and I know that

36:39

the gas with actually you know harming them

36:41

even though they had oxygen masks on price.

36:43

but if it's. If it's strong

36:45

enough to be able to burn lung

36:47

tissue to the point where the doctor

36:49

obviously has to intercede on Janeway, perhaps

36:51

it's definitely strong enough to burn okcular

36:54

tested point: the mucus membranes. In.

36:56

Your eyeballs? yeah, how old are

36:58

your exposure? Were some goggles guys?

37:00

come on. Interesting definition of senior

37:02

staff. On Voyager, his members Janeway

37:04

gives the order everybody else leaves

37:06

except for the senior staff. So

37:09

does that me that seven of

37:11

nine has enlisted now. whom.

37:13

Get what about the Helix? I know

37:15

he's the ambassador both six if you

37:18

know if it's everybody. okay but but

37:20

also seven of nine and Felix You

37:22

stick around. and by the way or

37:24

the on a three shift rotation because

37:26

seems like there should be other senior

37:28

officers as well. But

37:31

you're. Really paying attention. Really paying

37:33

attention. Sorry. Have that. Are

37:38

when the doctor Atlanta? He when he snaps

37:40

at Janeway after she burns her lung tissue

37:42

and says it's your body Who am I

37:44

to judge? Emily the Chief Medical Officer? What

37:46

do I know that is Pete. Oh

37:49

gee, doorway it is right there at it

37:51

and I love that. Yeah yeah have felt

37:53

so good. or a note to Voc. Is

37:55

the captain always right? Say

37:58

as Adidas. With her

38:00

before maybe it's and honestly to

38:03

cookies job is partly to disagree.

38:05

So I do wonder how that

38:07

goes down on the real world.

38:09

Maybe some of our listeners who

38:12

are or were in the armed

38:14

forces can tell us, but I

38:16

do think that that is an

38:18

important aspect of command leadership as

38:20

being able to listen to other

38:23

points of view is that make

38:25

a make an informed command decision.

38:28

What Seven of Nine arguably was

38:30

out of line, but I'm curious

38:32

about the reaction than to to

38:35

Vox react to that the I

38:37

think he's just responding to and

38:39

maybe this is like. A.

38:42

Symptom of his blindness. Because you know

38:44

there are occasions where people a has

38:46

lost their site. Has. Enhanced

38:49

other senses and league listening. And

38:51

he's like. Hearing more about

38:53

scene was convictions than before. Now.

38:56

And then some point maybe maybe that's it's

38:58

ah yes a wonderful spread on Anoraks Texas

39:00

I get away. it was a wonderful spread

39:03

and they really made it look alien for

39:05

saw the me that wouldn't big the there

39:07

was like a lot of attention paid to

39:09

that and set of to sites. his have

39:12

played with some cut up dragon fruit on

39:14

it and I know that this was big

39:16

was opulence. You know what I want and

39:18

what that whiskey bottle. With.

39:21

Ah, I thought about you and I

39:23

saw that that was all very that

39:25

will stuff. That's nice. Prom an anorak

39:28

she's got either. There's so many great

39:30

lines of dialogue in this episode, you

39:32

can't imagine the burden of memory. That.

39:35

I carry of course in the

39:37

Sky fi contacts and what this

39:39

character goes through that is very

39:41

specific to him and specific to

39:43

the construct of the stories, but

39:45

I just. As. a

39:47

truth as if emotional truths

39:49

i thought i was a

39:52

lovely lines and is it

39:54

underlines the personal motivations and

39:56

tragedies that are in his

39:58

life more breached A

52:00

man crew to abandon ship. Be. Ordered

52:02

that she said she would never give

52:05

but if she listened to to coach

52:07

Hey earlier. Maybe. More

52:09

would have been alive to also abandon

52:11

ship. And. Increase their odds of

52:13

survival. Okay,

52:16

what you're doing here is brilliant

52:18

because it lays out perfectly. The

52:21

parallel between Janeway sets and the

52:23

Anthrax is for the purpose of

52:25

this episode and or acts again,

52:28

he is these elon. But

52:31

when questioned if he is a

52:33

villain, if he is truly villainous

52:35

at heart, for Janeway to make

52:37

these types of decisions. Who

52:40

among her crew might see

52:42

her as a villain, my

52:44

hers of might see her

52:46

as somebody who is behaving

52:48

in a villainous way because?

52:50

Can. Sacrifice Crew members

52:52

like. Piece. On a

52:55

chessboard to get to a goal

52:57

that as driving her. I love

52:59

that we have had moments in

53:01

the past where other crew members

53:03

of had a question should we

53:06

just stop. Should. We just

53:08

stay here on the cool, technologically

53:10

advanced planet with the ghosts of

53:13

Amelia Earhart because we can and

53:15

because will survive. Why are we

53:17

just going home? Because that's what

53:20

you want. And that, as Anorak

53:22

points out, Is.

53:25

A nearly impossible goal.

53:27

The odds are that none of the people

53:30

on Voyager now will live to see that

53:32

day. Or. At least very few of

53:34

them ranks so it is very easy

53:36

to see. The chain way is may

53:38

be behaving out a line here. Does

53:40

Whitey needs coat A to Colorado while

53:42

you had to other characters he hadn't

53:44

Aside from to Cota you had to

53:46

cut a at first, then he had

53:49

the doctor who is obviously diagnosing her

53:51

with a very specific stress disorder and

53:53

then you have seven. Who.

53:55

Yes, you know, as the outsiders, he sees

53:57

things that no one else really sees. That.

54:00

In and of course to Vog. You.

54:02

Know he kind of counter mans up in I'm going to get.

54:04

To. That in a second, both

54:06

figuratively and literally about blind

54:09

loyalty. But. One thing I do want to

54:11

kind of segue into and you set me up for this

54:13

perfectly. John. Janeway and

54:15

Anoraks are two sides of the

54:17

same coin. Because. They

54:20

are both unrelenting in their beliefs,

54:22

but at what cost? That's the

54:24

big question, right? There are these

54:27

two very parallel book any type

54:29

of sad interactions that both Anoraks

54:31

and dodging we have with their

54:34

executive officers. Anorak says early on

54:36

in episode one or the first

54:38

part, no, not until every colony,

54:41

Every individual, every blade of grass

54:43

is restored. Oh breasts, As you

54:46

said yourself, our task will never

54:48

be complete. Please.

54:50

We should be satisfied with what we have

54:52

accomplished for two hundred years. We have never

54:55

come this close. Anorak. Says

54:57

not close enough. Now on the other

54:59

side of the equation. You. Have

55:01

to coat a Walking into Jane was ready

55:03

room after it. you know several weeks of

55:06

being bombarded by the condoms and to cut

55:08

he says. I'll be blunt, our strategy is

55:10

stealing. It was a good idea to trying

55:12

for a temporal shielding but it isn't working

55:15

and she was has not yet but it

55:17

will with every attack. Were getting more information

55:19

about their chronic on weapons and Dakota ask

55:21

earth how many more tax will it take

55:24

before long There won't be a sip left

55:26

to protect and Jane was As we don't

55:28

have a choice and Dakota's as maybe we

55:30

do. As the same scene.

55:34

You know, but on opposite sides of the spectrum.

55:36

I'm. Going to throw this out

55:38

there are partly to play Devil's

55:40

Advocate, but partly because other people

55:42

might be thinking this comes in

55:45

our audience. I do think that

55:47

the dynamics. Is very

55:49

much the same and I do

55:51

think that. Putting. The crew

55:53

at risk. Is very much

55:55

the same being driven by

55:57

the singular goal. That's why.

56:00

Runs parallel with Janeway and Anoraks.

56:02

I think there is one big

56:04

part of the equation though. That

56:07

has to be factored in and

56:09

that is said. Anorak says. Actions.

56:12

Affect many, many millions, countless millions

56:15

of people who cannot advocate for

56:17

themselves. He is carrying out a

56:19

chorus of genocide and when he

56:21

doesn't get the you know the

56:23

response, the outcome that he wants,

56:25

he just goes back to the

56:27

computer and figures out another way

56:29

to do it. and then another

56:31

way. and then another way and

56:34

another way. I would

56:36

give Janeway some leeway in the

56:38

respect that in Siri. Every

56:40

one on her ship. With. The

56:43

exceptions of Naomi

56:45

Wildman and. Seven

56:48

of Nine. To an extent. You know, because we

56:50

had to get there with her. These

56:53

are all people who volunteered to be there. These.

56:56

Are all people who signed up because

56:58

they knew the risks of what setting

57:00

foot on a starship would bring them.

57:03

And part of the goal of that

57:05

starship is to explore and hopefully we

57:07

that corner the universe better than you

57:09

found that that's where. at least not

57:11

in battle yet. But now they're in

57:13

this impossible situation where they have to

57:16

interact. They have to do things that

57:18

they hadn't planned on because the mission

57:20

has changed. The mission is to get

57:22

home but at the same time. Maintain.

57:25

The said a Starfleet. To. Get

57:27

home so is. It

57:29

puts chain way in

57:31

eve theory. Unique situation.

57:34

But driven the wrong way

57:37

and without the council of

57:39

good officers as we see

57:41

here. Is a driver

57:43

to extremes that paint her very

57:45

much like an earnings and that

57:47

goes into the blind loyalty issue

57:49

that we were discussing about to

57:52

box because Toolbox. Know. He

57:54

said this to Seven when he was

57:56

being brought back to his quarters. You

57:58

know he said remember this guideline. a

58:00

cat there is always right And and

58:02

Seven says, even when you know her

58:05

logic is flawed and to access perhaps.

58:07

So. Does that mean she

58:10

is always right? Or does

58:12

he is he discounting his

58:14

own instincts and logic where

58:16

that is concerned, because he

58:18

has put Janeway. On.

58:20

A pedestal of leadership because she

58:22

is the captain, you know, and

58:25

logically as a Vulcan would serve,

58:27

the captain has the best interests

58:29

of her crew. F hard until

58:31

they don't. There's a lot

58:34

of ways to look at sad and and yeah, I

58:36

think that. To. Fuck

58:38

knows Janeway well. and he also

58:40

knows the Org chart very well.

58:43

So yeah, I think he can

58:45

see all the instances. Where will

58:47

you do go along with her

58:50

captain? Because ultimately, the captain is

58:52

sinking. You know. Three steps ahead.

58:54

Five steps ahead to all the

58:57

pieces that maybe you're not aware

58:59

of in your role. That that's

59:02

all fine. Absolutely. same time. The

59:05

maybe it just wouldn't have worked in

59:07

an episode like that as I feel

59:09

like you're kind of missing a scene

59:11

where it's Janeway at the big table

59:13

with all of the senior officers to

59:15

say what are our options. That's a

59:17

very Picard thing and we only guess

59:19

at a few times and Voyager but

59:21

we get it. I feel like mostly

59:24

those are pretty valuable. Except.

59:26

When they're making fun of Felix.

59:28

Ah hum, but you know they

59:30

have, but you can. I need

59:32

that Where you've got Janeway saying

59:34

what are my options and. I.

59:36

Guess. Forth. To

59:39

Voc and for others is just

59:41

understood That unless he says what

59:43

are my options that voicing that

59:45

is not welcome. Unless

59:47

you're to kowtow and you feel like you

59:49

can go bend her ear when you can.

59:52

but as of it's it's a weird dynamic

59:54

with this show because remember to Coty was

59:56

the new guy. But

59:58

then Janeway into Coty had a

1:00:01

moment of intimacy. Which. Drew

1:00:03

them closer together. I. Think

1:00:05

I'm more interested in the idea

1:00:07

that Shikotan to Voc had a

1:00:10

friendship much, much longer. Than.

1:00:12

Before they set foot on. Voyager.

1:00:15

And that's really the the Wise counsel

1:00:17

and I want to hear more of

1:00:20

a. Red

1:00:24

Alert probably mean something completely different on the

1:00:26

crane and sith it means and or access

1:00:29

about to put his foot up your. Timeline.

1:00:34

So here we are at the end

1:00:36

of year of hell. Parts One into

1:00:39

on: We have made all of our

1:00:41

temporal incursions quite at length or through

1:00:43

all the different segments of this particular

1:00:45

episode because there's a lot to talk

1:00:47

about. There are so many things in

1:00:49

probably so many more threads are you

1:00:52

can pull that even even an arrest

1:00:54

probably didn't even attempt. But. We.

1:00:56

Have to wrap it up we have to figure out

1:00:58

does the episode hold up? Does. It stand

1:01:00

the test of time or shows

1:01:03

a be episodes because it's a

1:01:05

two part episode. And did we

1:01:07

find any morals, meetings or messages

1:01:09

at the end of these two

1:01:11

episodes? One singular stories. So here

1:01:13

we are with John Champion and

1:01:16

he has fired off his last

1:01:18

chronic on Particle Torpedo to see

1:01:20

where the timeline take. Look, I'm

1:01:22

not going to mince words. This

1:01:24

works on pretty much every level

1:01:26

it is tightly produce. It is

1:01:29

epic in scale. The

1:01:31

performances are great and

1:01:33

I think you get

1:01:35

that terrific parallel match

1:01:37

have. A. High action

1:01:40

story but with really

1:01:42

good character drama and.

1:01:45

Is not saying the it's not

1:01:48

necessarily the the old Star Trek

1:01:50

you know you see Timmy message

1:01:52

beit din. I.

1:01:54

Think some really compelling idea is

1:01:56

to chew on. This episode would

1:01:59

have worked. There's a season ending

1:02:01

cliffhanger, but I'm actually it. You know

1:02:03

I mentioned that the it's a Crown

1:02:05

The idea of doing this as a

1:02:08

year long arc or a season long

1:02:10

arc. Glad they didn't do that. I

1:02:13

think you need to wrap this up

1:02:15

and I think the impact as best

1:02:17

served by having these two back to

1:02:20

back episodes. Production Values: very high action

1:02:22

as high Oh by the mentioned great

1:02:24

character moments were really pushing Janeway here

1:02:26

again and if you want to hear

1:02:28

norms them about that well you should

1:02:31

join us on patriotic and here the

1:02:33

whole thing because a lot of those

1:02:35

questions or a lot of those choices

1:02:37

the be questionable. I think that's a

1:02:39

good thing as well but as we

1:02:42

can sit and argue. Those choices low

1:02:44

rider respect is that the characters

1:02:46

own up to those choices and

1:02:48

we can see the logic. We

1:02:50

can all see the emotion in

1:02:53

those choices and then we as

1:02:55

viewers get to to beat them

1:02:57

up. Hats off to the guest

1:02:59

cast here. It. Is.

1:03:02

Tough. To pull up a

1:03:04

show that feels so epic again

1:03:06

with only a handful of gas

1:03:08

roles. But they do that they.

1:03:10

They really do mean he think

1:03:12

about of an epic show like

1:03:14

this, has to have this huge

1:03:17

cast and ask them to constantly

1:03:19

hit you in the face. But

1:03:21

he really doesn't hurt would smith,

1:03:23

He just owns it. Can he

1:03:25

just delivers this? Great. Real

1:03:28

performance in all of

1:03:30

this very concept. Size.

1:03:33

I sang and watches as a story

1:03:35

is if scratches a lot of siphon

1:03:37

a it's as for me and how,

1:03:40

especially in the context of Star Trek.

1:03:42

I love a nuance villains. I love

1:03:44

that we get this new take on

1:03:47

a powerful weapon. We get a new

1:03:49

take on alternate timelines that I feel

1:03:51

like Star Trek sometimes to does to

1:03:54

deaths and we get to see our

1:03:56

characters push to new limits. And then

1:03:58

we hit. Big that

1:04:01

reset. Which.

1:04:05

I. Hate. Normally.

1:04:09

But I watched this episode a number of

1:04:11

times. And I think we will

1:04:13

change my tune about the reset button it least

1:04:15

in this. I

1:04:17

think it works and and I

1:04:19

am. I think it's necessary. Actually,

1:04:22

it's because the whole story is

1:04:24

based around the idea of the

1:04:26

reset. The whole story is based

1:04:28

around the idea that you can't

1:04:31

change history. You can't Mode seems

1:04:33

to be the way that you

1:04:35

want them to be, so there's

1:04:37

really only one out. There's only

1:04:40

one way to wrap this thing

1:04:42

up and that is destroying the

1:04:44

machine that tries to make that.

1:04:46

Happen that will only fall into

1:04:48

the wrong hands that will only

1:04:51

be used even if. Anorak

1:04:53

says it necessarily a villain

1:04:56

by nature. This.

1:04:59

Machine will only be used

1:05:01

by people. Will ultimately. Will

1:05:03

put it to a villainous cause so I

1:05:05

think you have to reset this thing at

1:05:07

the end. Might have been cool. might have

1:05:10

been interesting to see Voyager all beat the

1:05:12

hell. carrying on for the next three and

1:05:14

a half years, but I want that to

1:05:16

come from something else. I

1:05:18

think the story needs to just be wrapped

1:05:20

up the way it is. And.

1:05:24

We let the reset be part of

1:05:26

the message here, not just part of

1:05:28

the story. What about you Norman when

1:05:30

she think I like at last observation

1:05:33

of yours because there's something very features

1:05:35

and about that you know where that.

1:05:38

Technology. From between ninth century had to

1:05:40

be destroyed in order for them to reset

1:05:42

the Me: I'm winding up and lose their

1:05:44

opportunity to be a login home again which

1:05:46

is camilla Yes, I agree with a lot

1:05:48

with what you say and as you said

1:05:50

before and during the course of several other

1:05:52

podcasts of ours that we don't read each

1:05:54

other's notes so. I'm. Gonna take

1:05:56

a different angle on discuss for me.

1:05:59

this two-parter felt more like a

1:06:01

proof of concept for

1:06:03

a serialized season-long story. Oh,

1:06:05

interesting. There's something really solid

1:06:07

in the idea of this.

1:06:09

I just think, for me, my

1:06:11

tastes, I think it just needed more development. I

1:06:14

think there's a lot lost between

1:06:16

the jumps, between days and weeks

1:06:18

and months, you know, but I

1:06:22

think we lose a lot of, like, the nuanced

1:06:24

character development and the gradual changes that happen from

1:06:26

episode to episode. And I think that that would

1:06:28

have made it more interesting

1:06:30

to watch. Now, I think

1:06:32

that the visuals are amazing. You know, we have

1:06:35

seen, like, basically a quantum leap of how good

1:06:37

the quality effects are now, which I think is

1:06:39

going to help with a lot of future episodes

1:06:41

that we see. And the performances are

1:06:44

great, you know, the effects are great. But

1:06:47

I think that what we're losing here is

1:06:49

that slow and steady decline

1:06:52

into the gritty

1:06:54

and grim and bleak hopelessness that

1:06:56

would progress from episode to episode

1:06:58

to episode. I think that that's

1:07:01

where, say, Ron Moore's Battlestar

1:07:03

Galactica found a lot of success because it

1:07:05

really felt the scars, you know,

1:07:07

from one episode to the other linger and

1:07:09

continue, not just physically, say, on the ship,

1:07:11

but on the people as well, you know,

1:07:13

the stress disorders that people

1:07:16

were suffering over the course of time.

1:07:18

And I think that a serialized year

1:07:20

of this story of this particular narrative

1:07:22

would have really leaned into that and

1:07:24

definitely would have leaned into the title

1:07:26

Year of Hell. So I

1:07:28

just didn't really feel that because of the time

1:07:30

jumps that we were feeling

1:07:33

that the breaking down of Voyager as a ship

1:07:35

and Voyager as a crew, and of course, Janeway's

1:07:37

style as a captain, I wanted

1:07:40

more dramatic power to be earned in those

1:07:42

moments. And I think that that's what you

1:07:44

have to have from episode to episode. I

1:07:47

think that, yes, we had dramatic

1:07:49

moments, but like, say the

1:07:51

first crew members death was

1:07:54

literally walked over. Yeah. And

1:07:56

we didn't feel that. And if we

1:07:58

felt that at that end, instant, then

1:08:01

the sacrifices that the crew and Janeway

1:08:03

had to make during the course of

1:08:05

a year, you would have felt a

1:08:08

lot of those alliances just make a

1:08:10

lot more emotional sense, like Seven

1:08:13

and Tuvok becoming closer, Harry

1:08:15

and Balana becoming closer, the Doctor and

1:08:18

Janeway becoming closer, then all of those

1:08:20

moments, either of betrayal or loss or

1:08:22

sacrifice, you know, or coming together or

1:08:24

closeness, I felt would have

1:08:26

been stronger. And that's what I really want

1:08:28

to see. I just feel like it's becoming

1:08:30

a little bit more typical 90s science fiction

1:08:33

Star Trek, in this case, where

1:08:35

a lot of the drama is

1:08:37

very surface level and not

1:08:39

very deep. And

1:08:41

this story had the potential

1:08:43

of really going far

1:08:46

deeper into the emotional catharsis of

1:08:48

these characters than was being shown.

1:08:51

So I think that, again, it was

1:08:53

a great idea, but

1:08:55

because of a fan of certain other science fiction

1:08:57

shows that really capitalized on serialization,

1:09:00

I think that this would have been very

1:09:02

unique for Star Trek at the time and

1:09:04

Deep Space Nine did it so well in

1:09:06

seasons four through seven, you know, with the

1:09:08

Dominion War. But maybe that's

1:09:10

why they didn't do this in this

1:09:13

case, because they already had the Dominion

1:09:15

War starting in parallel time with Voyager

1:09:17

at this stage in season four. Interesting.

1:09:21

Yeah, agreed. All right.

1:09:23

I mentioned that this may not be

1:09:25

one of those episodes where you take

1:09:27

away a you see Timmy moment style

1:09:29

message. Not all of Star Trek

1:09:31

has to have that. But I think to me,

1:09:33

at least there are some interesting ideas here that

1:09:35

we get to explore through our characters. And most

1:09:39

significantly, that character being Anorax. I

1:09:41

think the way he is played

1:09:44

is very important to the way this story is

1:09:46

told, because this bad

1:09:48

guy at least can't just be a

1:09:51

mustache twirling villain if you

1:09:54

want them to be really effective.

1:09:56

And I think Anorax is very

1:09:58

effective. They built in personal. motivation,

1:10:01

which is smart. And I think

1:10:04

what lies at the heart of

1:10:07

him is the tragedy

1:10:09

of loss. And we can

1:10:12

all relate to that. Now, hopefully

1:10:14

the part that we can't relate to

1:10:16

is the obsessive drive that would force

1:10:19

someone to be stuck in that

1:10:21

past and to ignore other people's

1:10:23

needs in this sort

1:10:25

of attempt, ill-fated always attempt to

1:10:27

fix, and that's in big finger

1:10:30

quotes, fix the past to atone

1:10:32

for a mistake. Those

1:10:34

are traps. Those are

1:10:37

emotional mental traps that people

1:10:39

fall into. At one

1:10:41

point when Anarax and Shikote are arguing

1:10:44

with each other, he says, I'm altering

1:10:46

history on a massive scale. The destinies

1:10:48

of countless star systems are in my

1:10:50

hands. The fate of one species is

1:10:52

insignificant. Alright, so let's try to make

1:10:54

this a little bit more personal because

1:10:56

none of us as far as I

1:10:58

know are actually altering history

1:11:01

on a massive scale, not

1:11:03

with any mechanical means anyway. It's

1:11:06

an interesting thought. It's an interesting reminder

1:11:08

that we have to keep our perspectives

1:11:10

in check a little bit. You know,

1:11:12

one life could alter history.

1:11:15

One moment could make a difference.

1:11:17

And everyone has value, as Shikote

1:11:19

points out. You're trying to rationalize

1:11:21

genocide. One species is significant.

1:11:25

And no building the bigger

1:11:28

weapon, carrying out just one

1:11:30

more mission won't make it all

1:11:32

better. Anarax should have quit while

1:11:34

he was ahead. He should have quit before

1:11:36

he started. Nobody with a

1:11:39

doomsday device can be trusted. And part

1:11:41

of Anarax's problem here is maybe

1:11:43

part of the lesson if we try to access

1:11:45

this on more human, more personal

1:11:47

terms. That part of

1:11:50

loss is letting go and not

1:11:52

living in the past. What

1:11:55

about you, Norm? I'm very much on

1:11:57

the same page with you here because I love

1:11:59

to Star Trek episodes where they make

1:12:01

you ask more questions than you have answers

1:12:03

for. And

1:12:05

the big question is here for me is

1:12:07

like if you control the outcome of time

1:12:09

itself, when does the manipulation happen? Right?

1:12:13

Right. So and since Anorak's

1:12:15

ordered the destruction of so many

1:12:17

species based on resetting the Krenim

1:12:20

timeline and the Krenim evolution, he

1:12:22

also wields the power of creation

1:12:24

itself for all intents and purposes.

1:12:27

Taping out potential futures of so many lives

1:12:29

because in some way just one of those

1:12:31

lives could have influenced the time stream which

1:12:33

would influence the future death of his wife.

1:12:36

So this is the conundrum here.

1:12:38

Unless 100% of his mission is

1:12:40

achieved so he can return to

1:12:42

his wife, then Anorak's will always

1:12:44

be sitting on this high throne like

1:12:46

the gods of Olympus, like Zeus. With

1:12:49

his crew, his pantheon of

1:12:51

lesser gods casting their will

1:12:53

upon millions or billions of

1:12:56

unsuspecting moral lives until perfection

1:12:58

is achieved. Oh,

1:13:00

that's, you know, that's so, sorry to interrupt

1:13:02

but you know that is

1:13:04

something about the corruptive nature of power

1:13:06

as we look at it

1:13:09

in literature and history and discuss this idea

1:13:11

is that once somebody has the power, they

1:13:14

don't give it back

1:13:16

typically. It's not like well

1:13:18

I'm just going to use the power for a

1:13:20

moment and when we get to that point, okay

1:13:22

then, then we'll be fine, then I can just

1:13:24

step away and maybe that

1:13:26

is the spoken ideal but

1:13:29

I can't think of any example

1:13:31

where it's an actual thing that

1:13:33

happens. But if

1:13:35

Anorak's actually achieves his mission, even if

1:13:37

he had a 100% restoration rate because

1:13:41

they got to 98%, then what? Right?

1:13:46

Because will that ever be the end of the mission? He said

1:13:48

this to Obrist. If I told you

1:13:50

to count the stars in the cosmos, would the task

1:13:53

ever be complete? And Obrist

1:13:55

replies, sir? And Anorak

1:13:57

says, our attempts may be sufficient. be

1:14:00

relatively successful but they will never be complete.

1:14:02

Choose your words with more precision." So

1:14:06

even though this episode aired

1:14:08

on November 5th, 1997 and

1:14:11

Star Trek Generations was released almost

1:14:13

three years earlier on November 17th,

1:14:15

1994, I've always

1:14:17

felt that Anorak's story reminded me

1:14:19

a lot of Dr. Tolian Sorin's

1:14:22

story because like Anorak, he

1:14:24

literally destroyed whole

1:14:26

civilizations and wiped out billions of lives

1:14:28

and annihilated entire planets and stars in

1:14:31

order to push the Nexus to Viridian

1:14:33

III so that he could be with

1:14:35

his wife and his children again. So

1:14:39

in regards to Anorak's, do we believe as he

1:14:41

said to Obris that time is patient, so

1:14:43

we must be patient or

1:14:45

because what Anorak has done to fulfill his

1:14:47

mission and as Sorin said to Picard and

1:14:49

how it relates to Anorak's mission of restoring

1:14:51

his wife, is time

1:14:54

the fire in which we burn? In

1:14:57

my opinion, what this episode presents us

1:14:59

with is probably one of the greatest

1:15:01

unanswerable questions. If you command the

1:15:03

power over time itself, then

1:15:06

what power would be able

1:15:08

to influence you to stop

1:15:10

abusing this power knowing that

1:15:12

achieving perfection is just another

1:15:14

justification of abusing that

1:15:16

very power? Mission

1:15:19

Log is produced by Roddenberry Entertainment.

1:15:21

If you'd like to support us directly,

1:15:24

you can do so at patreon.com/mission

1:15:26

log for early access to shows and

1:15:28

the Mission Log Discord. Our

1:15:30

website is missionlogpodcast.com and for

1:15:32

more Star Trek news and

1:15:34

discussion, visit trekmovie.com. On

1:15:38

the next Mission Log, Random Thoughts.

1:15:47

Some of the music for Mission Log provided by

1:15:49

Warp 11, online at warp11.com.

1:15:54

Special thanks to consulting

1:15:56

producers Matt Esposito, Homer

1:15:58

Frizzell, Tom Kozak. Julie

1:16:00

Miller, Mike Richards, Mike Schaubel,

1:16:03

Paul Shadwell, and David Tuketche.

1:16:10

So did any of this ever happen or do

1:16:12

we strike that and reverse it? And

1:16:27

transmission. This

1:16:33

is a Rottenberry podcast. For

1:16:36

more great podcasts, visit

1:16:38

podcast.rottenberry.com.