10 Greatest New Beginnings In Star Trek

3. A Little Bit Of Borg Never Hurt Anybody

Star Trek: Voyager debuted with a lot of weight on its shoulders. Not only was it the first Trek iteration to have a woman commanding the main ship, it was also the flagship show of a fledgling network, UPN. 

The first couple of years were a challenge for Kate Mulgrew. She was beset by producers fretting over her hair, while remaining unsure about the premise. The Maquis may have been wrapped into the Starfleet crew by Caretaker's end, but at least the ship was still stranded in the Delta Quadrant. 

Scorpion Part 2 opened the show's fourth season and saw the arrival of Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine. That may have shaken the cast up, and certainly caused friction between Ryan and Mulgrew, but it also was the undeniable breath of fresh air that Voyager needed. Though it also led to the departure of Jennifer Lien, Seven's story was intended to boost flagging viewership numbers in a way that Kes's had not successfully done.

The legacy of Seven's story is such that she returned for all three seasons of Star Trek: Picard, rising from Fenris Ranger to captain of the Enterprise-G. The road wasn't entirely smooth and not every storyline truly worked. However, despite the obvious ratings-grab that her introduction and the silver cat-suit may have been, Ryan and the writers created a new direction for Star Trek: Voyager that helped that show, and the later Picard, run for as long as they both did.