"Mr. Paris, set a course ... for home."

The fourth Star Trek series, which hit U.S. airwaves in January 1995, broke new ground by featuring a female captain — Kathryn Janeway. Set aboard the starship U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656, the ship and crew find themselves marooned more than 70,000 light-years from Federation space and are struggling to find a way home. The premiere of the series finds the U.S.S. Voyager carried beyond the explored limits of space while in pursuit of a rebel Maquis vessel. Out of necessity, the two stranded ships combine into a mismatched crew of Starfleet officers and Maquis rebels.

The main crew members of the U.S.S. Voyager are Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew); Vulcan Starfleet Tactical/Security Officer Tuvok (Tim Russ); an EMH (Emergency Medical Hologram) know simply as "The Doctor" (Robert Picardo); and the former rebel leader as Janeway's first officer Chakotay (Robert Beltran). A native of this region of space takes on the roles of guide/cook/handyman, Neelix (Ethan Philips), originally with his Ocampa companion Kes (Jennifer Lien) alongside.

A half-Klingon ex-rebel serves as Chief Engineer, B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), and Ops / Communications Officer Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) is a recent Academy graduate. The ship's pilot is field-commissioned Lt. Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill). During the series' fourth season, as Kes shed her physical body while her mental powers increased, a de-assimilated Borg drone dubbed Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) became a reluctant member of the crew.

Mixing classic sci-fi elements with tales of conflict and hope, Voyager was again a distant cousin to its predecessor, Deep Space Nine. Endlessly seeking ways home, whilst trying to maintain a semblance of Starfleet protocol, the U.S.S. Voyager encounters aliens never before seen, in sectors of space no Starfleet ship has ever come near.

In 2001, Star Trek: Voyager finished its run of seven years but continues to be popular in syndication.

NEXT: Star Trek: Enterprise