5. Year Of Hell, Part II (Voyager)
Plot In Two Lines: Voyager gets bruised and battered as the crew attempt to stop the Annorax (what a name) and the Krenim temporal weapon ship from rearranging the universe.
Why Your Trek Friend Says It's Good: Never before on TV had we seen the main ship of a Star Trek series get such a pummelling. It was a revelation to see the crew hanging by a thread; Voyager operating on a shoestring and there seeming to be no hope as crew members are killed off, the future looks increasingly more bleak and Annorax's plan seem to be going his way. It's the ultimate what-might-have-been episode where everything is at stake. The accompanying storyline of Paris and Chakotay on the Krenim ship is great to watch as they attempt to work against and with Annorax respectively as he continues his temporal mission.
Why It's Not Actually That Good: Welcome to Voyager's answer to Bobby Ewing stepping out of a shower. While this didn't take an entire season to reset and annoy viewers, Berman's universe managed to ram it all into two episodes and then put it all right in the last ten minutes. It's a great double-header but you're still left with a question what could have been if the Big Reset Button hadn't been pushed? It's made even worse because you know it's coming and no matter how good the story is, you still feel like someone is laughing at you as the credits roll. Plus Janeway gets to blow up the ship...again. Suckers it's back to normal next week....