For fans looking to complete their Star Trek DVD collection, Star Trek: Voyager's fifth season on DVD is, of course, a no-brainer. But there are plenty of other reasons to pick up this great season of Voyager. The previous season showed a lot of Seven of Nine's adjustments to being an individual instead of part of the Borg Collective, but during Season 5, her role as a crewmember came to the fore, demonstrated admirably in "Drone" as well as the great "Dark Frontier" episodes. In "Think Tank," we get some stunt casting in the featured guest role by Seinfeld superstar and longtime Star Trek fan Jason Alexander. Seven of Nine and The Doctor also get a fine showcase of an episode in the Robert Duncan McNeill-directed "Someone to Watch Over Me." (This episode is frequently cited by Robert Picardo as his favorite.)

This season also featured a number of episodes that allowed for character growth and some unique science-fiction storytelling opportunities that pushed the envelope of and grew the Star Trek universe. One of my favorite Voyager episodes in this season is "In the Flesh," which not only allowed for a return appearance by legendary actor Ray Walston (Boothby from the TNG episode "The First Duty," seen here with a twist), but showed a new side to the prior season's mysterious and terrifying antagonists, Species 8472. This episode reflects the perennial Star Trek theme of thoughtful détente with an adversary as the Voyager crew and Species 8472 come to a new understanding of each other.

I also really enjoy "Timeless," if for nothing else the amazingly spectacular sequence where Voyager crashes into an icy planet. But there is more, of course, such as Geordi La Forge's onscreen return to Star Trek as captain of the U.S.S. Challenger (in the future) and a time travel story that I can make sense of. There are also plenty of other great episodes in the seven-disc set, including "Counterpoint," "Bride of Chaotica!" and the season cliffhanger, "Equinox, Part I."

On top of all that, one of the things I most appreciate about watching Star Trek on DVD is that I can see the episodes as they were intended to be seen — no annoying little station bugs in the corner of the screen, no syndication cuts for time, and quality picture and sound. Plus the seventh disc is packed with nifty extras, like behind the scenes documentaries, time capsules on B'Elanna Torres and Tom Paris, "The Borg Queen Speaks," photo galleries and more. I've got my shelf ready for this one!

[Paul]