10 Episodes That Should Have Changed Star Trek Forever - But Didn't

1. "Threshold" (VOY)

For Star Trek fans, this episode might seem like low-hanging fruit, but it's a hard one to ignore. "Threshold" involves the Voyager crew building an experimental warp engine that can reach warp 10, at whichspeed, you move so fast that you occupy every point in the universe simultaneously. In other words, if you can reach Warp 10, you can go anywhere you want to in an instant. And the crew is successful: Tom Paris pilots a shuttle with the experimental engines, which far outpace Voyager's maximum velocity and eventually break the Warp 10 barrier. However, there are complications: Paris begins felling ill, and before long begins mutating into a new life-form. Eventually, The Doctor derives a treatment: by bombarding Paris' mutated DNA with anti-proton radiation, he should revert to his human form. There are some complications, which are almost too silly to describe (Paris kidnaps Captain Janeway, takes her on Warp 10 flight, the two "evolve" into Salamander-like creatures, mate, and have offspring), but eventually The Doctor is able to use his treatment to return the Lieutenant and the Captain to their human forms. In other words, the only complication from Warp 10 travel can be reversed by a simple medical treatment, but, for some reason, the crew abandon their new discovery - which could get them back to the Alpha Quadrant in short order (albeit with some temporary side-effect involving the social awkwardness of knowing you had slimy fish sex with the captain) - and never mention it again. Did we miss any other Star Trek revelations that were swept unceremoniously under the carpet after just one episode? Share your thoughts in the comments thread below.