Year of Hell, Part II (episode)
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(written from a Production point of view)
| "Year of Hell, Part II" | ||
|---|---|---|
| VOY, Episode 4x09 Production number: 177 First aired: 12 November 1997 | ||
| ← | 76th of 168 produced in VOY | → |
| ← | 76th of 168 released in VOY | → |
| ← | 491st of 727 released in all | → |
 | ||
| Written By Brannon Braga & Joe Menosky Directed By Mike Vejar | ||
| 51425.4 (2374) | ||
| ← | Arc: Year of Hell (3 of 3) | |
- For the event, see "Year of Hell".
With Voyager all but destroyed, Captain Janeway risks everything to rescue Paris and Chakotay, and stop Annorax from continuing to tamper with the timeline.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
[edit] Teaser
Day 133
"Captain's log, stardate 51425.4. Our condition has left us vulnerable to spatial anomalies and to any alien species eager for a piece of hardware. We've taken refuge in a class-9 nebula."
Wrecked beyond nearly all repair, Voyager wallows in the nebula. The ventilation system, while still partly functional, has allowed nebular gas to flood one of the remaining decks. Janeway and Kim, wearing gas masks, enter the deck and manage to fix the controls, preventing it from going further; the system, and the ship itself is too damaged to eject it. But in fixing it, they are forced to stay longer than their air supply lasts, holding their breath. Despite doing this, some gas enters their lungs, causing damage. Kim is treated by the Doctor but Janeway refuses to sit still long enough. The Doctor follows her to the bridge, trying to get her to do so and failing.
Janeway marches onto the remains of the bridge. Lt. Torres is at the still somewhat functional engineering console. Janeway gets a report on the engines from her: one of the warp nacelles is still a bit functional; the other is dead and beyond repair. Between violent fits of coughing, Janeway orders her to get the recoverable one working again.
The Doctor, still on her heels, angrily tells her that she must stop and rest for 48 hours for treatment to let her lungs heal. She refuses, telling him to inject her with trioxin to help her breathing. He objects: trioxin is only a stopgap measure. Her lungs, he stresses, have been seriously damaged. He tries to invoke medical rank to get her to acquiesce, but she ends his efforts with a stern order to use the trioxin. Seeing that further efforts will be futile, he reluctantly obeys. She continues her work despite the coughing.
[edit] Act One
Chakotay, grimy and face covered with stubble and a rough goatee, is taken from a holding cell aboard the Krenim temporal weapon ship. He is cleaned up, shaved, given clean Krenim clothing, and then brought to Annorax in his quarters.
Annorax sits at a table loaded with an impressive feast. He greets Chakotay as he removes his uniform gloves. Chakotay asks about his crewmate, Lt. Paris. Annorax responds that "no doubt he is making himself difficult". Chakotay asks him what he expects, given their captivity for the last two months, in isolation, poked and prodded. Annorax, with dignified irritation, responds that he expects that they would at least act with some level of dignity or restraint, of which Paris is showing none.
Chakotay demands to know what he wants from them. He politely responds that he wants information at the moment. Paris enters. He ascertains that Chakotay is unharmed. Annorax invites them to join him, describing the feast on the table as a selection of delicacies not found anywhere else in the galaxy.
The Starfleet officers accept. Annorax pours them each a glass of an alcoholic drink. He calls it an extremely rare vintage of Malkothian spirits, so rare that his is the only existing bottle.
His next words explain why: the Malkoth are one of the races he has used his weapon ship against. They were erased from time, along with their culture which would include food and drink. His bottle of Malkothian spirits, collected before the erasure, is the only component of them left. In fact, all the food on the table is from races that were erased. He informs Paris, for example, that he is eating "the last remnants of the Alsuran Empire." Paris, on hearing this, stops eating immediately. Annorax' voice is as mixture of pride and shame as he recounts having collected artifacts from each race he has erased, calling his weapon ship more than a weapon, but a "museum of lost histories."
His attention then turns to the two men. He tells them he has decided not to erase Voyager. Instead, he has decided to try to alter the timeline to restore her as well as achieve his objectives; perhaps even get them closer to home. However, to do this, he needs certain information from them, such as their experiences and a list of races they encountered.
But Paris does not believe him; he bluntly asserts that the only reason he has not destroyed Voyager yet is because she got away from him and he cannot find her. Annorax, annoyed again by his attitude, threatens to destroy her if they do not cooperate. Paris derides the offer; no Starfleet serviceman would possibly accept such a proposal; not at the cost of wiping out the entire existences of whole civilizations. He disgustedly rises to leave, expecting Chakotay to do the same.
But he is shocked when Chakotay remains seated and orders him to wait. Chakotay asks Annorax if he can restore Voyager without harming anyone. He affirms, but says that it is extremely difficult, and thus he needs their cooperation for it. Paris scoffs again, refusing to obey Chakotay's order to return to his seat. Annorax has Obrist enter and take him to guest quarters, encouraging him to think about it. Paris leaves without a word.
Annorax focuses on Chakotay. He compliments him on his ability to 'truly perceive time', supposedly evidenced by his question about the possibility of restoring Voyager without erasing anyone. He offers Chakotay the chance to work with him to do so. Chakotay accepts. The two seal their agreement with a toast of Malkothian spirits.
Voyager's senior staff toasts their departed comrades.
Aboard Voyager, in the wreck of the mess hall, Janeway and the senior officers also toast, not with fine liquor, but with a concoction that Neelix, the Talaxian chef, has created using ration cubes, water and Talaxian spices. It tastes horrible, but, as Seven of Nine notes, taste is irrelevant. Janeway takes the opportunity to get situational updates: the Doctor has repaired an error in his program, and sensors, according to Kim, should be up to 50% functionality in a few days; all well and good.
But news from Torres frustrates her: it will take at least 3 weeks to fix the operational warp nacelle. Janeway curses figuratively; they appear to be stuck in this nebula ad infinitum, when they should be out in open space, finding allies to go up against Annorax. She comes to a decision; they are leaving the very next morning. Seven objects that they should wait to complete their repairs as much as they can, but Janeway's mind is made up. Upon leaving the room, Tuvok notes that Seven should not challenge the Captain in such a situation, even when her logic is flawed.
[edit] Act Two
Day 161
Aboard the temporal weapon ship, Chakotay tries his hand at temporal incursion calculations. He has come up with an incursion in which erasing a comet that Voyager changed course to avoid 8 months before will prevent her from ever entering Krenim space. Annorax lets him simulate it.
But when he does, he is shocked when a totally unexpected simulated result occurs: 8000 species are erased with the comet. Annorax, with a chuckle, explains why: 4 billion years ago, fragments from the comet crashed into a planet, releasing hydrocarbons that caused the rise of several different plant species. These in turn fed other complex organisms. In time, several space-faring civilizations arose. Thus by erasing the comet, he would cause these civilizations never to develop.
His smile fades. He explains that he too made this mistake. It was when he first oversaw the use of the weapon ship against a race called the Rilnar. The Rilnar had removed the Krenim Imperium as the dominant power of the region. Thus their erasure caused a causality paradox in which the Krenim stayed in power.
But it also caused one in which 50 million Krenim died of a plague within a year; the Rilnar had introduced a critical antibody against the disease into Krenim physiology. Thus their erasure took the antibody with it. He tells Chakotay that he has been seeking to correct that mistake by his incursions against species whose erasures his calculations show would undo this first incursion. But his guilt over these erasures is very evident.
He again asks Chakotay for his help; together, he asserts, they can restore the Krenim Imperium and Voyager, and undo the damage he has caused. Chakotay tells him he, Chakotay, still has much to learn of temporal manipulation. Annorax takes him to see the heart of the weapon ship, the temporal core, which gives it its power over time.
Day 180
Voyager has left the nebula. But Seven's warning that they should not have is prophetic; a huge micro-meteoroid shower catches her. Thousands of the microscopic rocks pelt her ruined hull, rapidly destroying what little is left. On the bridge, Janeway, amidst the clanging and clattering of the shower hitting the hull, inquires of Torres if engines are available yet, to get them out of the shower's way. Torres answers no. Ensign Kim reminds her their navigational deflector is nonfunctional. She orders Tuvok to divert emergency power to it, but the ship lost that long ago.
Janeway makes a decision. She rises from her seat and announces she is heading for Deflector Control. Tuvok warns her that the area is far too hazardous. But she still goes, arriving at the room at a fast run. But as soon as she reaches it and opens the door, the level of the hazard Tuvok spoke about becomes clear: a raging fire burns inside, so hot that she recoils against the opposite wall with a gasp. But she is determined; Kim reports that the damage from the micro-meteoroid shower is growing rapidly.
Janeway orders Tuvok to prepare to engage the shields. She also tells him to inform the Doctor she will be coming back with severe burns. Tuvok objects, but she sternly repeats her order. Then, steeling herself, she charges into the inferno.
On the bridge, Kim reports that deflector shields have come online. Tuvok immediately raises them. The sound of the micro-meteoroids hitting the hull stops immediately. Tuvok hails Janeway. But he gets no answer. Torres and Kim look blankly ahead in horror.
Among the flames, Janeway lies unconscious on the floor. Half of her face and one arm are seen to be severely burned.
Janeway lies, still unconscious, in the remains of the mess hall, on a makeshift bed. The Doctor sighs deeply and reluctantly wakes her with a shot from a hypospray. Her eyes flutter open and she asks him her condition. He informs her: she suffered severe burns. He was able to heal most of them, but, not having a dermal regenerator, he could not heal the damage totally; her face and arms are scarred. This is seen: her arms are indeed scarred and a long, deep scar runs down the right side of her face.
She rises, prepared to return to the bridge. But the Doctor stops her. This time, unlike the last, he is not about to let her have her way. With dead seriousness, he insists that she stay 2 days for observation. He invokes a Starfleet regulation which forces any officer, even a commanding officer, to obey the medical orders of a Chief Medical Officer or face court martial. He has diagnosed the deadly risks she has been taking as signs of traumatic stress syndrome. If she does not follow his instructions, he will relieve her of command.
Her response is to look at him sadly, but still with determination, and ask him how he intends to have this enforced; there is no security staff except Tuvok, the brigs are both destroyed and the transverse force fields no longer work, thus she cannot be confined. He quietly warns her of the consequences for disobeying his medical order. She responds that if they do get back home, a court martial will be a small price to pay, given what she has endured. She leaves, the Doctor watching her somberly.
[edit] Act Three
Day 207
Janeway and Neelix walk through Voyager's destroyed corridors, noting stopgap repairs that need to be made. They stop by Chakotay's quarters and enter. Janeway searches the debris and finds the same watch he had tried to give to her for her birthday. He had disobeyed her order to recycle it.
But she is by no means angry about this. She picks it up, telling Neelix what it is. When she starts to tell him about her order to Chakotay to recycle it, her voice chokes. She stops speaking, visibly blinking back tears. She controls herself, rises, puts the watch on her belt, and she and Neelix continue on.
On the temporal weapon ship, Lt. Paris plays a Krenim board game with Obrist. To Obrist's amused astonishment, Paris wins convincingly, though he has never played the game before. Obrist reminisces that Paris' end-game sequence is the same one Obrist's brother favored. His face then falls. When Paris asks him what is wrong, he recalls sadly that he used to celebrate his brother's birthday, along with those of his parents and closest friend, until 100 years ago when he realized that he was celebrating birthdays for people who were dead or, because of the temporal incursions, never existed. Paris looks at him sympathetically.
Chakotay is in his guest quarters, poring over a large PADD with temporal incursion calculations. Paris enters excitedly and informs him that he has vital information about the ship's defensive systems, information provided by Obrist, who, like many of the crew, have become quite unhappy and disillusioned with their seemingly endless mission. The ship, he tells Chakotay, depends on its temporal core for defense; it keeps the vessel out of the space-time continuum, making it immune to all conventional weapons. Thus little attention was paid to conventional defenses in its design and construction; its deflector shields are extremely weak. His inference is clear; foment a mutiny among the already disillusioned crew and disable the temporal core, leaving the ship vulnerable.
But Chakotay tells him no; they will instead focus on Annorax' offer. Dumbfounded, Paris becomes insubordinate, telling Chakotay that Annorax is flattering him with talk of him having an "instinct for time". Chakotay orders him to make no move against Annorax, insisting that he is not a villain. Paris refuses to do so. Chakotay challenges him to a fight to determine the leader between them if Paris will not maintain their command structure by obeying his order. Just then, an alarm sounds.
They go to the bridge. Chakotay is shocked to find that another incursion operation is being carried out against another species, the Ram Izad. Annorax explains that it occurred to him that their erasure would aid his mission. He made some calculations which confirmed it: a 52% restoration of the Krenim timeline will result. Chakotay is horrified. He begs him not to go through with it. Paris, in a low, angry voice, mocks Chakotay's decision to work with him.
Annorax does not listen. He orders the weapon fired on the species' homeworld. A temporal shockwave spreads out over the planet and then beyond, erasing the species. Obrist reports the results as the sensors track the wave. Annorax orders him to keep tracking it and retires to his quarters. Paris, fuming, tells Chakotay sotto voce that he will deal with "this maniac" if Chakotay will not.
Chakotay enters Annorax' quarters and heatedly insists he did not have to erase that species. Annorax dismissively responds that the fate of one species is insignificant next to the desired goal. Chakotay angrily tells him this is not so. Annorax' face falls into the guilty expression he had when he told Chakotay about why he was doing this. It was so easy the first time, he recalls. But, he continues, when he first tried to correct his mistake with another incursion, he lost "more than you can imagine."
But Chakotay's next words shock him greatly: "Kyana Prime". He demands of Chakotay how he could know that. Chakotay responds that he guessed it: he has rejected the results of every incursion he has done, no matter how close he came to restoring the glory of the Imperium, because that one colony was not restored. Annorax admits this to be true, and informs Chakotay why he is so obsessed with restoring it: his beloved wife was there. Her erasure took her and his entire future away: children and grandchildren. He picks up the pyramid containing the lock of hair. It is his wife's hair.
His next words, however, show him as being obsessed with restoring her to the point of insanity. He asserts that time itself is against him, keeping him from her in angry retaliation for his arrogant manipulation of it.
Obrist enters and reports to Annorax that he was correct: a 52% restoration was achieved. As usual, Annorax asks him about Kyana Prime. Obrist fails to completely contain his exasperated anger; it is evident in his clipped tone and facial expression when he tells him no. Annorax orders him to continue tracking the changes in the timeline and dismisses him. He then tells Chakotay that his, Chakotay's, calculations are promising, but need more work; meanwhile, he will continue his mission. Chakotay begins to angrily rebuke him, telling him he does not have the right to do what he is doing, but Annorax responds that he indeed has the right to fight for what is his; only time itself can judge him, not Chakotay.
In Chakotay's guest quarters, Paris fumes as he asserts that Annorax is insane, after Chakotay has informed him of what he said about time having it in for him; that statement proves it, Paris insists. Chakotay finally agrees; Annorax must be stopped, not worked with. Paris informs him that he believes that Obrist will help them get a message to Voyager, informing Captain Janeway of the ship's location. Obrist will also help him sabotage the temporal core, taking it offline so that the ship will be vulnerable against conventional attacks. Chakotay gives him the go-ahead.
Day 226
"Captain's log, stardate 51682.2. I've forged a coalition with the Nihydron and the Mawasi. Together, we're preparing to attack the weapon ship."
Voyager is seen in formation with four other ships from the coalition.
Janeway addresses her officers on the bridge. The bridge is now all but destroyed; just about all lights are out, the displays are dark and cracked, consoles are covered in dust, and the room is black and marred with twisted debris. The only still-working area is the command area.
She informs them that she has received an authenticated message from Lt. Paris, giving her the location of the weapon ship, as well as the location on it of its temporal core. Paris has promised to try and take its temporal core offline, leaving the ship vulnerable to conventional weapons. Voyager and her allied ships will then disable the weapon ship and retrieve Paris and Chakotay.
She then issues instructions: Kim, and Torres will go to the lead Nihydron ship, Tuvok, Seven, Neelix and the Doctor will go to the lead Mawasi ship. All ships are to be outfitted with temporal shielding, as Voyager has. She will remain aboard and pilot her ship. Torres questions Janeway's decision, claiming Voyager has barely enough to reach the battle, let alone fight one, but Janeway believes that the six photon torpedoes and temporal shields that the ship has left will be enough to hold her own. Furthermore, she believes that the captain must go down with the ship.
The crew disembarks, except for Tuvok; Janeway sensing his forthcoming objection to remain. Janeway tells him that Voyager needs her. Tuvok argues how illogical her decision is and is puzzled by the human predilection to bond with inanimate objects, as Janeway has done with Voyager, but, she tells him that the ship has been their home and feels as close to it as any member of the crew; the ship has carried them, even nurtured them, and now needs one of them. Tuvok respects Janeway's decision and gives her the traditional Vulcan salute, intoning "Live long and prosper" to his captain and dear friend. Janeway reciprocates and embraces Tuvok in hug, which the Vulcan returns, deeply affecting Janeway as she realizes what he has done. Alone on the bridge, Janeway checks the watch that Chakotay gave her and with a quick glance at the empty first officer's chair and around the silent bridge, the captain assumes her station.
[edit] Act Four
Day 257
Voyager and the other ships reach the temporal weapon ship. Aboard the ship, Chakotay and Paris put their plan into action. They have indeed succeeded in getting Obrist to support them. On the bridge, Obrist informs Annorax of the approach of the attacking vessels. At first he is unconcerned, since the ship is immune to conventional weapons. But then Chakotay makes him pause by telling him that Captain Janeway would not be attacking unless she knew she could do damage somehow.
Further, Chakotay reminds him of 'Voyager's temporal shields and tells him Janeway has probably given the technology to the other ships. Also, he continues, she may have also passed it onto the homeworlds in the region and warned them about him and his ship. This is totally unacceptable to him, of course; he cannot have potential targets protected from his weapon. True, the weapon has proven able to degrade Voyager's temporal shields, but what if those who receive the technology are able to improve it so that that no longer happens? He orders Obrist to bring the weapon online and prepare for multiple incursions, against the attacking ships.
Obrist does so. However, he also secretly transmits information to Paris in his guest quarters about the temporal core. Paris begins attempting to shut it down. Aboard Voyager, Janeway orders the attack commenced. Two Nihydron ships go in and perform a strafing attack.
But, try as he might, Paris fails to take the temporal core offline. The Nihydron weapons do not harm the weapon ship. But the ship harms them; on Annorax' order, the temporal incursion beam is fired on them. Its power almost immediately overwhelms their temporal shields and they vanish, erased from history. Janeway orders the fleet to engage in evasive maneuvers. She verbally wills Paris to succeed.
Paris fails. But Obrist, on seeing that, takes over for him. Annorax orders him to target the other ships. He does not, instead, exchanging a look with Chakotay. Annorax repeats his order. Obrist works the controls. But instead of the beam lancing out at another attacker, the ship shudders and alarms go off. Annorax, shocked, sees that he has been betrayed; Obrist has taken the temporal core offline. Obrist apologizes to him sadly, but firmly: this must end now. He works the console again, and beams Chakotay and Paris to a Mawasi ship. Annorax angrily rises from his command chair, rushes to the console and pushes him away. He notes with alarm that they are phasing back into the space-time continuum. They are now vulnerable to the attacking ships' weapons.
He orders reconfiguration to conventional weapons. Another officer obeys. He orders firing at will. Bursts of energy begin flashing from cannons on the ship's hull like Gatling guns.
As limited as the ship's conventional weapons are, however, they are still powerful enough to disable most of the attacking ships, one of which loses helm control and collides into Voyager's primary hull. This is the death-knell for her; a huge chunk of the saucer section is destroyed with the majority of the rest of it burning in space. Janeway, who was at the conn console, is thrown violently out of the seat by the collision. Great amounts of sparks fly and smoke rises in the room. Janeway crawls to her command seat. What she sees ahead of her on sitting down visibly stuns her:
For the last time, Janeway makes a decision. She hails the other ships and instructs them to take their temporal shields offline, and does the same to Voyager. Tuvok objects that they will no longer be protected from the weapon ship's temporal incursion beam, but removing their protection is just what she wants. She tells Tuvok and the other ships' commanders her plan: to ram Voyager into the ship, into the area where the temporal core is located. This, she hopes, will destroy the ship, thus reversing all the damage it has ever caused.
She enacts the plan. As she stares forward at the weapon ship, teeth gritted, gripping her seat arms with determination, she sets the course. Just before the collision, she grits her teeth and says "Time's up." Voyager plows into the weapon ship in a huge explosion of flame and debris, utterly destroyed. The weapon ship shakes violently. Sparks fly on the bridge. Annorax and the bridge officers are knocked off their feet. Annorax notes with horror the destabilization of the temporal core, and with that, the imminent temporal incursion that will occur within the ship.
He rises and hurries to his quarters just in time to see the pyramid containing the lock of his wife's hair fall and shatter. He watches this with horror, but his expression changes to one of wonder as the hair vanishes. He looks at the spot where it was, as it suddenly dawns on him the simple step he should have taken to accomplish his goal.
The weapon ship explodes, and then is engulfed by a temporal shock wave, erasing itself from history.
Day 1
"Captain's log, stardate 51252.3. The past couple of weeks have been uneventful, but we've made excellent progress on the new astrometrics lab."
Voyager, undamaged, continues on her journey home. On the bridge, which is in immaculate condition, are Captain Janeway, Chakotay and the duty officers, clean and relaxed, along with Seven of Nine.
A Krenim warship approaches and hails. Janeway orders an onscreen answer. It is the Krenim Commandant. His manner, though curt is not hostile, and his ship does not attack Voyager. He informs Janeway that they have entered Krenim space and instructs her to identify herself and her ship. When she does so, he informs her that the region is in dispute, suggesting she avoid it.
Janeway thanks him. He wishes them a good journey and cuts the communication. He and his race are completely unknown to them. Janeway and Chakotay decide to have a commissioning ceremony for the Astrometrics lab, complete with fine liquor: a bottle of Saint Emillion, 2370. Janeway jokes to Chakotay that she heard this was "a good year".
On Kyana Prime, Annorax sits on the porch at his home, working on a large PADD. His wife comes to him and asks him to join her for breakfast. He tells her he will do so in a little while; he still has "a few more calculations". She lovingly chides him that he always says that, and reaches her hand out to him, sweet-talking him into putting the PADD down and spending the day with her. He rises and takes her hand with a smile and they leave together.
The work he was doing on the PADD is seen. It is temporal incursion calculations.
[edit] Memorable Quotes
"It's your body; who am I to judge? I'm only the Chief Medical Officer; what do I know?"
- - The Doctor, to Captain Janeway
(Speaking about Paris) "I've never seen such an intransigent young man."
"You've had us in isolation for two months. We've been scanned, poked, and prodded. How do you expect us to act?"
"With some degree of dignity and restraint. Your crewmate has none."
- - Annorax and Chakotay
"This vessel is more than a weapon. It's a museum of lost histories."
- - Annorax
"It is offensive. Fortunately, taste is irrelevant."
- - Seven of Nine, regarding Neelix's "Elixir of Endurance"
"Remember this guideline: the captain is always right."
"Even when you know that her logic is flawed?"
(Pauses with uncertainty) "Perhaps."
- - Tuvok and Seven of Nine
"You've been at this for 200 years, Annorax. What makes you think you're ever going to succeed?"
"What makes you think Voyager will ever reach Earth? The odds against you are astronomical. Yet you keep trying."
- - Chakotay and Annorax
"If that little display didn't convince you, I don't know what will. He's insane!"
"No, he's not. Wounded, maybe. But I can still reach him; convince him to stop."
"Not from what you've told me. This guy thinks that time has a personal grudge against him! That's called paranoia, Chakotay; with a hint of megalomania."
"You don't know what he's been through."
"He's lost his family. Okay, that's a terrible thing. But so has everyone else on this ship. AND, FRANKLY, SO HAVE WE!"
- - Paris and Chakotay, discussing Annorax privately after watching him erase a civilization from history
"Tuvok, I can hear your objections already. I am not leaving."
"Given Voyager's damaged state, the probability of your surviving an armed conflict … is marginal."
"Oh, I know the odds. But I have to stay. Voyager's done too much for us."
"Curious. I have never understood the Human compulsion to emotionally bond with inanimate objects. This vessel has done nothing. It is an assemblage of bulkheads, conduits, tritanium – nothing more."
"Oh, you're wrong. It's much more than that. This ship has been our home. It's kept us together. It's been part of our family. As illogical as this might sound, I feel as close to Voyager as I do to any other member of my crew. It's carried us, Tuvok. Even nurtured us. And right now, it needs one of us."
"I respect your decision. Live long and prosper, Captain."
"Same to you, … old friend."
- - Janeway and Tuvok
"Target Voyager. Put Janeway out of her misery."
- - Annorax
"If that ship is destroyed, all of history might be restored. And this is one year I'd like to forget."
- - Janeway
"Time's up!"
- - Janeway's last words before ramming Voyager into the weapon ship
"It's a beautiful day. Spend it with me?"
"I suppose I can make the time."
- - Annorax's Wife and Annorax
[edit] Background Information
- The events of the episode take place between July 27th and November 29th, 2374, resetting to March 16th in the final scene.
- Janeway claims she plans to replicate a bottle of Saint-Émilion in the penultimate scene. Apparently it is possible to replicate fine wines and even specific vintages, as she adds, "2370. I hear that was a good year." The comment may refer to the fact that the final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation takes place in that year.
- This episode, along with the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Cause and Effect" and the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Twilight", form a genre of episode that some fans called the "Bad Dream." In each of these episodes, catastrophic events occur, and then a time-change returns everything back to normal.
- "Year of Hell" and "Twilight" also share the same method of restoring history - the catalysts of the disaster exist outside normal spacetime, and as a result, their elimination erases their existence at any time, preventing the damage they caused from ever occuring in the first place.
- Janeway spends an entire month alone on Voyager from the time she orders the senior staff off the ship until the day she battles Annorax.
- After leaving Star Trek, Ronald D. Moore used this episode as an example of how Star Trek: Voyager should have proceeded all along. [1]
- In the heavily damaged bridge, the viewscreen is offline, and the holographic OHD grid is visible behind it.
- The name "Annorax" seems to have been created intentionally to fit with the theme of time that is associated with that character. The word "anno" is Latin for "year." However, in Star Trek: Voyager - A Vision of the Future, Stephen Edward Poe suggests that producers created the name of Annorax as a not-so-subtle dig at the more obsessive Trekkies (Anoraks). It may also have been an anagram for "Aronnax", the narrator of Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; the latter is in fact referenced by Tom Paris, when he refers to Annorax as "Captain Nemo", the novel's antagonist, with whom Annorax shares many traits.
- This episode is the only one in the seven year run of Voyager where Janeway is relieved of command (albeit momentarily) by the EMH, on the grounds that she is suffering from Traumatic Stress Syndrome.
- This episode is the second to feature the complete destruction of Voyager, and is the fifth of many times Janeway "dies" in the series. On this occasion, she dies along with the destruction of Voyager.
- Annorax's ready room is a re-dress of the set originally built for use as Enabrin Tain's ready room aboard the Romulan Warbird in "The Die is Cast".
- Voyager is depicted as being severely damaged in this episode. To achieve that effect without lasting damage to any of the permanent sets, acryllic sheets similar to those used when the sets are in storage was draped over most of the "clean" bulkheads, and were then sprayed with charcoal dust to simulate the effects of multiple explosions. Unfortunately this resulted in many surfaces having a "wrinkled" appearance. The same technique would be used again in VOY: "Timeless", to protect the bridge, corridor, Jefferies tube, and sickbay sets from fake snow and ice used to simulate the effects of long-term exposure to the glacier.
- Main engineering is not seen through either half of this episode. Neither is sickbay; to reduce the costs associated with preparing the sets to be seen as battle-damaged, the writers were asked to place the action on as few of the Voyager standing sets as possible. As such, the events aboard the ship take place almost entirely within the corridors, the bridge, and the mess hall. Part of the junior officers' quarters set was also distressed, for a brief scene showing Janeway's discovery of a watch earlier given to her by Commander Chakotay.
- John Austin's costume from this episode was sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay and later re-used by Erick Hunter in the episode "Tsunkatse". [2] Lise Simms' costume was also sold off and previously used by Susan Diol in the episode "Lifesigns". [3]
[edit] Awards
- This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series.
[edit] Video and DVD releases
- UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 4.5, catalogue number VHR 4626, 1 June 1998.
- In feature-length form, as part of the UK VHS collection Star Trek: Voyager - Movies: Volume 2 (with "Scorpion"), catalogue number VHR 5072, 18 September 2000.
- As part of the VOY Season 4 DVD collection.
- As part of the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Time Travel collection.
[edit] Links and References
[edit] Guest Star
[edit] Special Guest Star
[edit] Co-Stars
- Peter Slutsker as Krenim Commandant
- Lise Simms as Wife
- Majel Barrett as Narrator
[edit] Uncredited Co-Stars
- John Austin as a Krenim officer
- Tarik Ergin as Ayala
- Sue Henley as Brooks
- Bob Shuttleworth as a Krenim officer
- Adrian Tafoya as a Krenim officer
- John Thaddeus as a Krenim officer
[edit] References
Alsuran; Alsuran Empire; amino acid; astrometrics; birthday; Bligh, William; carbohydrate; chief medical officer; Class 9 nebula; comet; command structure; communications array; component 37329; Deflector Control; deflector field; dermal regenerator; "elixir of endurance, the"; EPS conduit; fluidic converter; galley; general court-martial; genocide; gravitational plating; hydrocarbon; Krenim; Krenim Imperium; Krenim weapon ship; Krenim warship; Kyana Prime; lung; Malkoth; Malkothian spirits; Mawasi; Mawasi cruiser; megalomania; mutiny; Nemo; Nihydron; Nihydron warship; paranoia; particle emitter; photon grenade; pocket watch; power grid; Ram Izad; Ram Izad homeworld; ration cubes; Rilnar; Saint-Émilion; Starfleet ID code; Starfleet Medical Regulation 121; Talaxian spice; temporal core; temporal incursion; temporal mechanics; temporal shield; third-degree burn; Traumatic Stress Syndrome; trioxin; tritanium; Vassbinder; water; "Year of Hell"
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