Favorite Episodes of Star Trek: Bride of Chaotica!

So far in this countdown we’ve covered three different Star Trek shows in some form or another. I’d say at this point my opinions on Deep Space Nine should be obvious, and I feel I don’t have to remind my readers that both the original Star Trek and The Next Generation were both classics in their own right. Then there’s Voyager. If there is one universal way to describe Star Trek Voyager, it is this: The show is… just okay. It had it’s great moments, it had it’s awful moments, but all in all, it was neither good nor bad, just okay. The major failing of Voyager, at least in my mind, actually has a lot to do with Deep Space Nine. See, the two shows came about at close to the same time, and as you now know, DS9 was exploring new concepts and ideas that we’d never seen in Trek before. Voyager had set out to do that, with the idea of a Starfleet crew joining forces with a group of terrorist rebels and being pulled into a previously unexplored section of space, but at the end of the day, it never amounted to much beyond a by the numbers Star Trek series. This is not to say Voyager was all bad. The cast, which included such great talent as Tim Russ, Kate Mulgrew and the always awesome Robert Picardo, did their best to lift the show up as best they could. And even in a run of the mill Star Trek show like this one, there are still some gems to be found.

To understand this episode, one must first understand Lt. Tom Paris. Tom Paris fancies himself three things above all else: an ace pilot, a smooth ladies man and an early 20th century pop culture enthusiast. So, naturally, the best way Mr. Paris can come up with to combine those three things is a holodeck program in which he plays the hero of an old 1930’s science-fiction series in the vein of Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon, and thus, Captain Proton, a recurring holodeck program played out by Tom Paris was born.

Our episode opens with, what else, a Captain Proton adventure, with Proton valiantly battling against the evil Dr. Chaotica and his robots. However, subspace distortions are causing some of the ship’s systems to behave erratically and the holodeck cannot be deactivated. This turns out to be horrible timing as two extra-dimensional photonic life forms have mistaken the world of Captain Proton for reality. To make matters even worse, the first person they meet is the evil Chaotica who sees them as a threat to his glorious empire. And, since these life forms are photonic, Chaotica’s Death Ray, is a very real threat to them, so it’s Captain Proton to the rescue, but this time, he needs help from Captain Janeway, who dons the guise of Arachnia the Spider-Queen, the object of Chaotica’s affection.

I’m sure that when most people think of their favorite episodes of Voyager, they probably think of Scorpion or Lifeline, and while I appreciate epic action pieces or fascinating character studies, there’s always a place for an episode that’s just purely for fun. This episode pays homage to the campy science fiction serials of the old days and does so magnificently. You can tell the cast is having the time of their lives with this one, Mulgrew in particular having to play an evil seductress. This episode is an absolute delight but next time, we must return to DS9 for what could very well be one of the most pivotal episodes in the series.