10 Most Hated Star Trek Voyager Episodes

When the USS Voyager is enveloped by a powerful energy wave that strands it in the galaxy's unexplored Delta Quadrant, the crew find themselves more than 70,000 light-years from Earth and now have to embark on an estimated 75 year journey back home with no Federation to rely on while encountering numerous strange alien lifeforms along the way.

While not as popular as its contemporaries, Star Trek The Next Generation and Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager did manage to carve out a small niche for itself slowly building a loyal following owing to some memorable encounters, most notably with the Borg, and a likeable cast of characters led by the competent Captain Janeway, the funny Doctor, and the sultry Seven of Nine.

Yet the journey home was far from smooth sailing. More deadly than Species 8472 were the dud episodes that would make us wonder whether the Delta Quadrant was worth exploring at all as these displayed Star Trek's worst tendencies like like an over reliance on technobabble, contrived plotting, and obligatory space battles. From improbable premises, half-baked aliens, and the dreaded Ensign Kim spotlight, these ten Star Trek Voyager episodes will make you wish the Federation just quarantines the Delta Quadrant.

When Voyager gets trapped in chaotic space where the laws of physics don’t apply, the key to its escape lies within Chakotay, who has to decipher strange visions after he begins hallucinating due to a mental hereditary defect getting stimulated by aliens.

These dreamlike scenes utilize dark lighting, offbeat camera angles, and some distorted imagery like a disintegrating boxing ring to create a nice atmosphere, but they are too obscure in meaning to land an effective punch denying us any fresh insight into who Chakotay is. At some points, we are bombarded with rapid cuts to multiple crew members spouting murky dialogue directly at the camera, at others, we have longer yet vague interactions between Chakotay and his grandfather concerning fear, mentor Boothby yelling generic don't give up advice, and even The Doctor played by a hammy Robert Picardo.

It does make us experience firsthand the same disorientation Chakotay is going through, but with no unifying theme and no emotional thread to latch on to, aside from a halfhearted attempt to characterize Chakotay as afraid of going insane, we end up just tuning out. Overall, The Fight makes a valiant attempt to dive deep into Chakotay’s psyche but ultimately loses via unanimous decision.