10 Best Star Trek: Voyager Episodes Not About The Main Cast

Star Trek: Voyager offered some excellent episodes that didn't feature the main characters in starring roles. Though it was tempting to include Course: Oblivion on this list, where technically the entire cast only appear as their regular selves for about a minute at the episode's end, there are other options with greater emphasis on the guest stars and roles.

There is one episode here that skirts the line mentioned above but there are examples from almost every season where the writers decided to reach out beyond the bulkheads of the USS Voyager, and see what fresh faces could bring to the show. Whether it was returning Star Trek alumni or new characters altogether, Voyager delivered on the goods on more than one occasion.

The thirtieth anniversary of the franchise was celebrated in high fashion, with the regulars getting to rub shoulders with some of the classics. Meanwhile, questions of morality and the meaning of life dogged several members of an omnipotent race.

There are more than a few thought-provoking episodes on this list, aided by the outsider's views on how Starfleet life is run. These are the hours when another set of eyes proved to be a great asset to the series.

Q: The Next Generation is a seventh-season episode of Star Trek: Voyager and it is surprising for actually being quite an affecting story. Keegan De Lancie, real-life son of John De Lancie, guest stars as the adolescent Q who is deposited by his father on the ship. The elder De Lancie is brilliant as the struggling father who simply can't keep up with his son.

The true success of the episode comes in the pairing of Manu Intirayami with De Lancie Jnr, as the pair make for a great comedy duo. 'Itchy and Q-ball' could even be its own show in this age of the Star Trek renaissance, as they are a brilliant double act. Keegan also shows a strong range of emotion when Q believes that Icheb has been seriously hurt by an alien attack.

Though it is all a ruse, the guest stars shine in this late entry into the franchise, with both De Lancies on pitch-perfect form as the annoying twosome, though Intirayami also excels here, even if he is given slightly less to do than everyone else.