Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series) Hunters (1998) User Reviews

Messages from home.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 21 February 2015]

The success of the Doctor's mission in the last episode is obvious when Voyager begins receiving letters from home via the same relay network that they just used. However, the letters arrive in drips and drabs--which really makes no sense considering today we can transmit dozens or thousands of messages in small data packets. Why in the 24th century they should receive a few letters at a time is a bit funny considering how much technology has improved since this episode was made. Perhaps they were using old 2400 baud modems! As for the letters, some bring wonderful news from home, some bad news and some folks get no letters at all.

Unfortunately for the crew, a warlike and very large race, the Hirogens, have discovered the ship because of these messages and now these folks are looking for a fight. At first they take Tuvok and Seven of Nine while they are in a shuttle. And when Voyager stops to examine some ancient device, the Hirogen are in hot pursuit. Fortunately, the Hirogens are a pretty stupid race as well!

This is a very good episode complete with a new baddie which will be further plaguing Voyager. Well worth seeing.

Letters from home

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 30 January 2010]

This is very much an episode of two halves; after finding the array and getting a message to the Alpha Quadrant in the last episode they receive a message from home although it is somewhat garbled. As Seven works to decipher the message it becomes clear that it contains letters to the crew from friends and family back home. The crew's moral is raised although it turns out that not all of the messages contain good news; some speak of broken relationships and lost friends. As they couldn't get the complete message they head closer to the nearest relay station to see if they can get more of it. Seven and Tuvok head closer to the station in a shuttle but are captured by an alien race called the Hirogen who wish to kill them and remove various body parts as hunting trophies.

This episode probably won't appeal to many who aren't fans of the series as most of the first half is taken up with people getting their letters or talking about the act that they are finally hearing from home, this is unlikely to appeal to people who don't know the characters. The second part where they confront the Hirogen is more exciting though.

Hooray for USPS

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 1 September 2018]

Two plot elements. The first is the fact that letters are arriving from earth because of the work of the Doctor in the previous episode. It was remindful of the mail-call on the MASH series. We get a glimpse of many of the crew as their letters arrive. Janeway has big news which I won't give away. The other plot is a group of hunter-aliens who control the portal that the information from the letters is coming from. Tuvok and Seven are sent to negotiate or to keep the channel open. These are big bad guys and may be formidable in the future. As the series is at about the half-way point, there are some new factors at work.

Maihar'Du Speaks (Part II)

[XweAponX · 10/10 · 6 October 2013]

Tiny Ron was "Maihar'Du", The Grand Nagus' personal servant for almost all seven years of Deep Space Nine, it was only fitting he appear in Voyager at least once.

We only got to see his helmeted head in the previous episode, as he tries to Interrupt Voyager's attempt to retrieve The Doc from the Alpha Quadrant and is shocked by Seven to get him to stop.

But here, his race in named: The Hirogen. I think they used "Tiny" Ron because The Hirogen are supposed to be all Huge. You can see their stature emphasized in later Episodes. And Tiny's role in this is effective, because Tuvok and Seven are dwarfed by his mass, his hand can encompass Sevens head twice around.

I have grown to love The Hirogen, especially as they showed up repeatedly in Voyager as either enemies or friends to Voyager. At first enemies, later collaborators and finally friends.

What we learn in this episode is that they are a race of Hunters. Where the Klingons are Warriors, The Hirogen are Hunters, but they have many of the admirable traits of Klingons. I would almost say they are like "The Predators" but a little bit more accessible than any Predator we saw in any of the Predator or AVP films. Also, The Hirogen have Butts for Heads, but we don't get to see this yet. Here, they are in full Combat/Hunting Armor, which we learn later is protection against even a Neutron Star. But at this point in the Series, they are a Threat, and Tuvok gives Janeway a dire warning about them. But the same would have been said about The Klingons in The Original Series.

Tiny's character - He is the "Alpha" Hirogen - He wants a Trophy so he chooses Seven's Intestines. But she is loathe to part with them. Besides, I don't think The Borg have found a way to replace them in a Drone, although The Borg Queen does not seem to need any intestines. When asked what purpose her intestines could possibly serve "Tiny" informs her that Interesting Intestine-Trophies will make him popular, honored by men and pursued by Women. We never really did get to see a Hirogen Woman, since they are somewhat reptilian, I suppose they lay eggs. So various of Seven's Borg or Human parts would be "Objects D'Art" when hung on this Hirogen's Bulkhead.

I think many fans of the "Riddick" Chronicles will be surprised to see one of the Blades that Richard B Riddick uses in "The Chronicles of Riddick" - The one he uses to kill a whole troop of Necromongers on he surface of "Crematoria".

And the Hirogen Ships are a little too tough for Voyager's weapons to handle. They use Monotanium Hull Plating, which is resistant to Phasers and Photon Torpedos.

The Hirogen are the Guardians of the Galaxy Spanning Communications network that Voyager found in the previous episode- It is not clear if they actually made it, but they own it, and use it. So Tiny's ship is guarding this main Node, which is powered by a Forced Quantum Singularity, which we know is what Romulans use to power their Warp Drives and Cloaking Devices.

The Quantum Black Hole in this array is being held stable by a Field, which Voyager is manipulating when fired upon by some other Hirogen ships. Needless to say, all of the Hirogen ships get sucked into the Singularity and Voyager almost follows them in, like a toilet which is being flushed.

So Janeway in defending herself causes the destruction of the whole network, and makes new enemies of the Hirogen, at least for a time.

Too bad "Tiny's" Ship got sucked in, it would have been good to have him as a recurring character. We never got to see how his Butt-Style Head looked under the helmet!

There is a hint of some ominous ways The Hirogen collect their Trophies, they have huge machines that appear to liquefy all of their Prey's Internal Organs, Voyager had found Discarded Prey in a ship nearby. Seems like "Skin" is one thing The Hirogen do not prize as a Trophy. Unfortunately, this is never explored further in the rest of Voyager. It would have been interesting to see more of this process, albeit gruesome.

Janeway: Destroyer of artifacts.

[thevacinstaller · 6/10 · 29 August 2021]

In this episode, Captain Janeway destroys a 100,000 year old piece of galactic history ... but she also manages to save the Voyager crew.

The hirogen are an interesting species----- I consider them a nomadic group of big game hunters who are also members of the American militia.

I have to reach to find aspects I truly enjoyed about this episode. My favorite moment would be when Tuvok ends up reading the letter from home before completing his mundane task.

I consider this episode 'average' mainly due to it not having a message or situation that challenges me or engages me as a viewer. That's the heart of star trek to me and having space adventures battling space antagonist only goes so far with me.

Poor Little Harry Kim Cries Again!

[spasek · 7/10 · 13 March 2021]

A fairly solid episode with the crew trying to download letters and a message from Starfleet. Of course, nothing Voyager every really does comes without risk as we find that the owners of the relay satellites are on the hunt.

Of course, it wouldn't be an Voyager episode if Harry Kim wasn't crying about something. He has two laughable (and pathetic) scenes. The first involves him seeking out Seven with his schoolboy crush, but ends up whining to Torres about his "lack of a letter." Next, he gets upset when Neelix does not provide him with a letter, and so we have Kim crying to Paris next. It's sad that the writers chose to make Harry Kim such an annoying and weak character. I had hoped that he would have grown up and matured within the 4 seasons we've had so far. Nothing doing.

Further, I can't understand how Voyager always fails to keep track of their shuttles. I think this must be the 12th or 13th shuttle lost. It's funny how Voyager has an endless supply of them. Yet another ode to how sloppy and amateurish the writers were.

Still. the letters yielded and intriguing component, even with Torres's overeacting yet again. Now, I'm just waiting for Seven to slap Harry a few times!

Emotional resonance

[snoozejonc · 6/10 · 3 May 2023]

Voyager uses the Hirogen communication network to receive word from the alpha quadrant.

This is a fairly good episode with some good character moments.

For me the best scenes in the story reflect very differently upon certain characters as they receive information from home. Katie Mulgrew does great work in all her scenes and is supported well by the likes of Roxanne Dawson, Robert Duncan McNeil, and Robert Beltran. Seven of Nine also has some good moments during this plot thread and Jeri Ryan is great as always. The weakest aspect is how annoyingly pushy and intrusive Neelix is written, but Ethan Phillips does his best with the material.

What brings the episode down for me are the scenes involving the Hirogen. At this point they feel quite a one-note antagonist and the conflict developed throughout the episode concludes in a familiar Star Trek shaky-camera/technobabble solution. On a positive note, I do like the costume, make up and set designs associated with the Hirogen.

Enter the Hirogen. Another laughable wooden villain.

[brdavid-429-96270 · 5/10 · 17 September 2020]

When will Voyager get a writer to give the series a compelling villain? First we had the Kazon, a rather paltry group of gangs that offered nothing more than another version of the Klingons and nothing tangible or novel. The Vidiians were better, but very 1 dimensional in their purpose. There was a moment of story with The Doctor and Vidiian he fell in love with, but that ultimately had one episode and it was over and done. Annorax from Year of Hell in my opinion is probably the best one yet. His purpose had practical meaning, something you could get behind and understand. There was a sense of dread and the idea that Voyager may be way over their head (which they were). It was relegated to a two part episode, and that seems to be the end.

Now enter the Hirogen, a copy of Predator on a low budget. They are ... tall. They are... strong. They are... wearing masks. They... take trophies. There is nothing of value to these villains. They are not scary. They are not menacing. They are simply a vehicle that Voyager must maneuver around. They get in the way, and nothing more than that. They have nothing of value to the plot, to the story, to anything that matters, other than another villain the Voyager crew must out maneuver.

Where are the Dukhat's of this series? Where are the Duras Sisters? Where are the Khans? Everything we seem to get villain wise is just some awkward menace.

What makes this episode better than 1 star are the letters from home. I was a lot more interested in that over anything the Hirogen had to offer. There were some dark revelations and even some tie ins to DS9. If only the writers of Voyager could have written a story that would have introduced the Hirogen in a more organic way over, "We got letters from home. Happy times. Sad Times. HIROGEN!!" What if the Hirogen represented a distraction from home? What if these were say an offshoot of the Maquis that would bring the crew off balance. Nope. HIROGEN!

Watch for the letters. Skip the rest.