Star Trek: 10 MORE Greatest Time Travel Episodes

6. Year Of Hell, Year Of Hell, Part II

Voyager Year Of Hell
CBS Media Ventures

Technically speaking, there is no travelling in time in Year of Hell and Year of Hell, Part II, but we dare you to argue the minutiae with Captain Janeway as she barrels towards the Krenim timeship. "Time's up!" is not just a reset, it's also one of the best lines never spoken.

The story is getting there and back again; the power of Year of Hell is the menace of revisionism. You don't need a time machine to rewrite the past, just a megalomaniac, though a time machine does help. As Voyager traverses the rigours of the episode title, Janeway never loses sight of Annorax. Her dogged determination is underscored by an acting masterclass. As for Annorax, he gets off a little easy where history is concerned. But then, if you do get a do-over, you'd better do things right.

After Before and After, there were plans for the "Year of Hell" to become a hell of a season. However, twenty-six episodes that never happened would have been more than a waste of time AND a waste of other ideas. Year of Hell ultimately works because it is self-contained: twelve months in one hour-and-a-half is time enough.

Contributor
Contributor

Jack has been a content creator for TrekCulture since 2022, and a Star Trek fan for as long as he can remember. He has authored over 170 articles, including one of TrekCulture's longest, and has appeared several times on the TrekCulture podcast. He holds a first-class honours degree in French from the University of Sussex, a master's with distinction in Language, Culture and History: French and Francophone Studies and a PhD in French from University College London (UCL). He has previously worked in the field of translation. His interests extend to science-fiction television and film more widely. His favourite series is Star Trek: Voyager, followed closely by Stargate SG-1.