Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "Nor the Battle to the Strong"

It is 21 October 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Dr Bashir (Alexander Siddig) and Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) are travelling in a Runabout when they receive a distress call from a Federation colony. A splinter faction of Klingons are attacking the base, inflicting heavy casualties. Jake is keen to visit to get material for his developing writing career, but Bashir is reluctant to put him in harm's way. Reluctantly arriving to assist in the colony's makeshift hospital, Bashir does his best to assist while Jake is confronted with the real horror of war.

"Nor the Battle to the Strong" feels like it's about a month late - war with the Klingons ended four episodes ago - but it still works as both a relatively strong war story and a showcase for Cirroc Loften's Jake Sisko. It also provides a rare team-up between Jake and Bashir - a pairing that works so effectively it's a shame it isn't really done again.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "Looking for par'Mach in all the Wrong Places"

It is 14 October 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

When Quark's (Armin Shimerman) ex-wife Grilka arrives on the station, Worf (Michael Dorn) is immediately smitten - but due to his exiled status in Klingon society he has no means of courting her. When Quark shows a romantic interest instead, a reluctant Worf begins teaching him how to woo a Klingon woman - with the help of Dax (Terry Farrell).

Star Trek adapts Cyrano de Bergerac in the weird, faulty little romantic comedy that absolutely not be as entertaining as it is. A lot of its appeal comes down to Armin Shimerman's consistently wonderful performance as Quark. He spars well with everybody with whom he shares the screen, from an early scene with an eavesdropping Dr Bashir (Alexander Siddig) to his courting of Grilka (Mary Crosby) to his conversations with Worf and Dax. It's funny to think that Deep Space Nine started with the Ferengi being probably the most disliked alien civilization in Star Trek; by this stage of the franchise they're one of the most fleshed-out and entertaining. That's mostly down to Shimerman working his character so hard.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "The Ship"

It is 7 October 1996, and time for an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

While on a mission in the Gamma Quadrant, Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) and his team find themselves marooned on a desert planet but in possession of a crashed Jem'Hadar spacecraft - and when the Jem'Hadar come to retrieve their property, Sisko is disinclined to surrender it.

The Deep Space Nine writer's room certainly doesn't waste time getting back into war with the Dominion. Just one episode after wrapping up the Federation-Klingon War, the DS9 crew are trading blows and gunshots with the Dominion's best shock troops in this 42-minute war movie packed with stereotypes and smart ideas in equal measure.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "Apocalypse Rising"

It is 30 September 1996, and time for the Season 5 premiere of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

With Odo (Rene Auberjonois) confirming that Klingon Chancellor Gowron (Robert O'Reilly) is a changeling, he, Sisko (Avery Brooks), Worf (Michael Dorn) and O'Brien (Colm Meaney) head on a top secret mission to the heart of the Klingon Empire to reveal the infiltrator and potentially stop the Klingon-Federation War.

"Apocalypse Rising" is a high concept blockbuster of an episode - in its ideal sense, at least - and brings back Deep Space Nine for its fifth year in an energetic fashion. In practice it doesn't quite work as well as it should on paper, almost as if the production team elected to pull their punches. I have never managed to quit work out why.

Star Trek: Voyager: Season 2 in review

What a difference a year makes. The second season of Star Trek: Voyager marked a significant step up from quality, particularly once it got away from the season's first messy episodes - hang-overs produced as part of the Season 1 shoot.

One key challenge that faced the series in its second year was how to extend its storytelling from a series of self-contained adventures to a more extended storyline that crossed over and developed from one episode to the next. It was a challenge because the core premise of the series is that the USS Voyager is always moving, by-and-large in the one direction, and that makes it very hard to believably bring back the same antagonists or alien civilizations. Voyager's solution? Bring those antagonists back anyway, and hope like crazy that audience doesn't interrogate things too much.

Star Trek: Voyager: "Basics, Part I"

It is 20 May 1996, and time for the Season 2 finale of Star Trek: Voyager.

Chakotay (Robert Beltran) receives an emergency transmission from ex-lover and traitor Seska (Martha Hackett): she is about to give birth to their child, her new lover Cullah (Anthony De Longis) has discovered the baby is not his, and she fears for his life. Despite suspecting the entire message is a trap, Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) leads Voyager on an urgent rescue mission.

Star Trek history time: "Basics, Part I" is the final episode of Star Trek to be written by Michael Piller. Brought it as a writer and then as an executive producer on Star Trek: The Next Generation, it was Piller who aggressively shifted the series' narratives from a science fiction/action focus to one on characters and relationships. His effect on the franchise cannot be understated: not only did he effectively create 1990s Star Trek, he went on to co-develop both Deep Space Nine and Voyager. On the way he contributed some of the franchise's best-ever episodes, including "The Best of Both Worlds".

Star Trek: Voyager: "Resolutions"

It is 13 May 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

After being infected with an incurable virus that could infect the rest of the crew, Voyager first officer Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and Tuvix murderer Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) are left behind on the planet as its natural properties will keep them alive. As the castaways build a new life for themselves, the Voyager crew struggle with their orders to continue heading for Earth.

An attempt to achieve something quite different to the normal style of Voyager episode wobbles a little - not because the idea was a bad one, but because the episode simply doesn't go quite far enough. There are some good elements in "Resolutions", as well as a smart return of some old antagonists, but in the end everything falls just a little too flat and feels a little too dull.

Star Trek: Voyager: "Tuvix"

It is 6 May 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

A transporter accident sees Lt Tuvok (Tim Russ) and Neelix (Ethan Phillips) fused into one gestalt identity: a humanoid created from the fused dna of both men who elects to call himself Tuvix (Tom Wright). As the crew scramble to find a way of separating Tuvix back out into two people, Tuvix begins to immerse himself in his new life on Voyager.

What a hell of a rollercoaster this was. It begins with a terrible and rather tacky premise: the accident creating a 50/50 blend of Tuvok and Neelix, presenting aspects of both men in a very overt and two-dimensional fashion. It then evolves into a surprisingly sensitive and well thought-out drama about adjusting to loss and change. After that, it all wraps up with Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) committing a pre-meditated homicide with almost the entire crew sitting back acting as accessories to crime. From then, I suppose the audience is simply expected to move on without ever dwelling on the fact that the star of the show is an unrepentant murderer.

Star Trek: Voyager: "The Thaw"

It's 29 April 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

Voyager detects signs of life beneath the surface of planet rendered lifeless by an ecological disaster. They find several humanoids alive inside life support pods, each with their mind wired into a collective virtual environment. When Lieutenant Torres (Roxann Dawson) and Ensign Kim (Garrett Wang) enter the environment to make contact, they find the humanoids trapped at the mercy of an insane artificially intelligent clown (Michael McKean) - and once they arrive, the clown won't let them leave.

"The Thaw" is one of those unexpected Star Trek episodes that seems dreadful at the beginning - a mad horror circus is the sort of thing The Next Generation would do in a holodeck-based episode - but which unexpectedly unfolds into some genuinely interesting and entertaining.

Star Trek: Voyager: "Innocence"

It is 8 April 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

Lt Tuvok (Tim Russ) crashes his shuttlecraft on an unexplored forest planet - only to discover a small group of young children marooned there as well. While he protects them from what they claim is an invisible monster, back on Voyager Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) attempts to make first contact with the alien Drayans.

"Innocence" is a surprising episode in many respects. It starts off in a pretty risible fashion, and then somehow manages to pivot into something rather touching and effective, only to swing back once more with one of the more irritating endings to a Star Trek episode. What's a viewer to do?

The Pull List: 2 May 2018, Part 2

It is almost certainly an appalling coincidence, but just as DC Comics are set to relaunch Justice League with the arrival on Earth of massive, all-powerful giant aliens, Marvel has relaunched The Avengers with the arrival on Earth of massive, all-powerful giant aliens. Great minds and all that, I suppose.

In Marvel's case the storyline comes from the new creative team of writer Jason Aaron and artist Ed McGuinness. I am an enormous fan of the former, but somewhat on the fence with the latter. That pretty much fits with the issue at hand: Waid's script manages to introduce both the new Avengers line-up and the threat to the Earth, as well as cover all the various continuity elements and backgrounds in a fairly neat and non-frustrating way. McGuinness' artwork feels surprisingly weak an inconsistent; either Tony Stark is a giant or he drinks frighteningly tiny cocktails. The colouring feels a little off in places too (pink ships?), and together it makes this first issue feel a little bit rushed.

Solid writing wins the day - as does a spectacularly silly opening scene involving the Avengers of 1,000,000 BCE. Hopefully the art settles a little with issue #2, but in terms of story and characters this new volume of The Avengers is off to a pretty solid beginning. (4/5)

The Avengers #1. Marvel. Written by Jason Aaron. Art by Ed McGuinness and Mark Morales. Colours by David Curiel.

Under the cut: reviews of Action Comics, Green Arrow, Scales & Scoundrels, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Preemptive Strike"

It is 16 May 1994, and time for the penultimate episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Lieutenant Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) returns to the USS Enterprise to undertake an espionage mission deep inside the Federation-Cardassian demilitarized zone. Making contact with the Maquis rebellion, she is tasked with ingratiating herself into the terrorist cell and taking it down from within. Once embedded, however, she finds her sympathies may not lie with Starfleet after all.

Star Trek: The Next Generation's penultimate episode acts as a victory lap for Michelle Forbes' popular and combative Ensign Ro - now promoted for her final appearance. Introduced as a semi-regular character at the beginning of Season 5 to contrast with the likes of Troi and Crusher, she was popular with both audiences and the production team - so much so that spin-off series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was partially developed with Ensign Ro in mind (Forbes turned down the offer of a regular role, and it was rewritten as Major Kira Nerys).

The Pull List: 18 April 2018, Part 4

Aisha is a Muslim engaged to a non-Muslim named Tom. After moving in with Tom's bigoted mother Leslie, Aisha has started to hallucinate ghostly apparitions around the apartment building. Trying to convince herself it is all a side effect of her medication, Aisha makes the attempt to push through - but it is soon apparent that the hauntings are both real and dangerous.

Infidel's second issue further cements it as a top-notch work of horror, using its supernatural conventions to play with issues of religion, Islamophobia, multi-culturalism, and racism. Pornsak Pichetshote's script is well plotted and nicely creepy, while incisively hitting the sub-texts in a provocative and efficient manner. Aaron Campbell's artwork has a nicely realistic style that emphasises the horror elements brilliantly. Jose Villarrubia's colours have a clear strategy and structure to them, and that enhances the horror still further.

I think comic books are a comparatively difficult medium in which to express the horror genre, but Infidel manages it so well. Now that we are two issues in, it seems safe to name it one of the year's strongest American comic books. If you're a horror enthusiast you need to check it out. (5/5)

Infidel #2. Image. Written by Pornsak Pichetshote. Art by Aaron Campbell. Colours by Jose Villarrubia.

Under the cut: reviews of Aquaman, Batwoman, Deadman, Punk's Not Dead, and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Star Trek: Voyager: "Deadlock"

It is 18 March 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

To avoid approaching a Vidiian colony, Voyager tracks through a nearby nebula only to be bombarded by subspace turbulence and unexplained proton bursts. The ships is catastrophically damaged with extended loss of life - including Ensign Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) - and unless the mysterious bombardments can be blocked, the entire ship will be destroyed.

"Deadlock" is the most dramatic episode of Star Trek: Voyager yet. It is packed with action, crises, character deaths, and the sort of batty pop science that is the franchise's stock-in-trade. The opening act may be one big 'gotcha' at the audience, but it's a surprise that they hold out for an impressively long amount of time. A few weeks ago I pointed to "Meld" as the best episode of the series to date; "Deadlock" is better.

Star Trek: Voyager: "Investigations"

It is 13 March 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

Finding his position on Voyager untenable, Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) resigns his commission to join a Talaxian freighter. Neelix (Ethan Phillips) begins broadcast a daily news show to the crew, which leads him to suspect someone is sending unauthorised communications to the Kazon Nistrim.

After weeks of Tom Paris increasingly acting like a selfish idiot, Star Trek: Voyager turns the tables with the revelation that it was all an act: Tom's apparent playing-out was a ruse to enable Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Lt Tuvok (Tim Russ) to identify the mole leaking intelligence to the Kazon. While it is good to see Star Trek embracing longer-form storytelling, it ultimately does not worth very well. A for effort, but C for conclusions, I guess.

Star Trek: Voyager: "Lifesigns"

It is 26 February 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

Voyager encounters a Vidiian transport with one passenger - a critically ill Vidiian doctor named Danara Pel (Susan Diol). With a neurological implant about to fail, the Doctor (Robert Picardo) transfers Pel's brainwave patterns to Voyager's computers - and creates a holographic body for her to use while he can stabilise her real one. While he cares for her, the Doctor begins to experience romantic feelings for the first time.

"Lifesigns" sees Voyager in classical Star Trek mode, with the Doctor - a character inexperienced with the human condition - experiencing a human emotion for the first time. Much like the Star Trek: The Next Generation showcased Commander Data's first romantic relationship, "Lifesigns" undertakes the first experience of love for the Doctor. It may be a re-used concept, but it still works very well.

Star Trek: Voyager: "Death Wish"

It is 19 February 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

While investigating a strange comet in deep space, the crew of the USS Voyager accidentally free a trapped member of the omnipotent Q Continuum (Gerrit Graham). Soon afterward another Q (John De Lancie) arrives to apprehend the prisoner. His crime? He - a member of an immortal species - wishes to commit suicide.

The character of Q (the De Lancie version), who debuted along with the rest of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987, was a fantastic foil of Patrick Stewart's Captain Picard. When Deep Space Nine launched, Q made one guest appearance during the first season which struggled to make the same impact. Tonally he simply did not fit the darker, more cynical style of Deep Space Nine's characters and storytelling. Not to let the character go to waste, the Star Trek production team now introduce him to Voyager - he is not much more successful here, to be honest.

Star Trek: Voyager: "Dreadnought"

It is 12 February 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

Voyager stumbles upon Dreadnought, a Cardassian-designed weapons platform that had been sabotaged by B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) during her time with the Maquis but then lost in the Badlands. Now trapped, like Voyager, in the Delta Quadrant, it has accidentally mis-identified a nearby alien planet as its original target. Torres must race against time to re-program Dreadnought before it kills millions of people.

"Dreadnought" is a fairly decent episode that has been carved out of a fairly silly premise. One of the main elements that is supposed to distinguish Voyager from its predecessors is the isolation of its characters. They are a lifetime away from the Federation, and all of the various civilizations with which audiences were familiar. Having Voyager stumble upon a Cardassian super-missile in the Delta Quadrant is a leap the series shouldn't have to take. The reasoning for how it got there is weak, and the odds of Voyager and Dreadnought encountering one another when the two ships arrived there months apart and could have headed in any direction in a three-dimensional space beggars belief.

Star Trek: Voyager: "Meld"

It is 15 February 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

The shocking murder of a Voyager crew member leaves Lieutenant Tuvok (Tim Russ) on a dangerous journey as he tries to rationalise the motivations of the killer (guest star Brad Dourif) and understand the logical purpose of a random act of violence.

When Voyager was originally broadcast, it was widely seen - quite rightly in my opinion - as the more breezy and upbeat alternative to companion series Deep Space Nine. The latter series had a cynical 'realpolitik' edge that separated it from its predecessors, and which was not popular with all franchise viewers. If one was not interested in the darker and more bleak take on Star Trek that Deep Space Nine offered, one could always stick to Voyager for something more in keeping with The Next Generation's generally utopian outlook. Then "Meld" was broadcast, and for at least one week Voyager went dark. It went really dark.

Star Trek: Voyager: "Threshold"

It is 29 January 1996, and time for another episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

Lt Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) becomes the first person to ever fly past the 'transwarp barrier', the point where a vehicle is travelling so fast that it simultaneously occupies every point in the universe. Once back on Voyager, however, he begins to suffer a massive cellular change - and if the Doctor (Robert Picardo) cannot arrest the development, it may wind up killing him.

Every Star Trek series tends to wind up with one episode that is so widely derided by fans that it gains its own perverse kind of mystique. For fans of the original 1960s series, there is "Spock's Brain": aliens steal Spock's brain from his body, forcing Dr McCoy to control his movements with a remote control deck. In The Next Generation there is "Sub Rosa": Dr Crusher has a torrid sexual affair with a glowing alien ghost on a colony based on 18th century Scotland. For Voyager there is "Threshold", otherwise known as 'that one where Paris and Janeway turn into giant lizards that have babies'.