Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series) Maneuvers (1995) User Reviews

Seska returns!

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 12 July 2010]

When Voyager detects a probe emitting a Federation code they head towards it to investigate; as they near the nebula it is hidden in a Kazon ship attacks, it somehow knows Voyager's weaknesses and breaches the shields. With a hole in the shield a Kazon shuttle flies through the hole and crashes through the hull into one of the cargo bays. A small group of Kazon board Voyager and steals a transporter unit before beaming back to their own ship. Before they depart they get a message from the Kazon, it turns out that they had had help from Seska who is now looking like a Cardassian. Determined not to let them get away with the equipment Chakotay takes it upon himself to attempt to retrieve it but just gets captured. The Kazon torture him for Voyager's command codes. By the time Voyager turns up to mount a rescue mission the Kazon ship has been joined by several others from different sects.

This was a decent episode with some nice action scenes. It was good to see Seska again as she makes a good villain; her final message to Chakotay showed how villainous she can be. Unfortunately the Kazon were never great Star Trek villains like the Klingons, Romulans, Borg and Dominion, they manage to be an irritation to Voyager but rarely seem like a real threat.

Give me back my stuff

[thevacinstaller · 7/10 · 5 April 2020]

You can the Chakotay out of the maquis but you cannot take the maquis out of the Chakotay.

I enjoyed the story of Chakotay feeling a sense of personal ownership over the loss of the federations technology due to not being able to spot Seska being a spy previously. It can be easy to forget that this man is not actually a Starfleet officer when he's in the uniform taking orders.

There's a subtle performance by Seska in the scene with Cullah where you actually pinpoint the second the wheels start to turn about betraying him and Chakotay rightly points this character trait out to Cullah during his interrogation.

I nearly had to take a cold shower during the open scene when Lt Torres comes out dressed to kill in a crimson shirt. We also get further character development between torres and Chakotay (does he have a first name or is he like Prince?) where she gives him advice on controlling his emotions and how he has poor judgement in women. It was cute and it added to the impact of her passionate plea to Captain Janeway to save Chakotay.

It's a good episode but (forced at gunpoint?) the writers decided to introduce the plot device of Seska impregnating herself with Chakotay's DNA that feels like it was ripped straight out of days of our lives.

Enjoyable Seska episode

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 9 August 2022]

Seska and the Kazon attack Voyager.

This is a solid episode with some good action-adventure moments and strong performances.

The story has some good material for Chakotay, which is much needed. Robert Beltran is very good in the scenes that call for more range than the actor usually needs to show. There is a well made torture scene that is quite memorable, plus a number of great exchanges between Chakotay and characters like Janeway, Torres and Seska.

Seska is a good baddie and the character's presence lifts the episode above what would be a relatively bog-standard encounter with a hostile alien species. Martha Hackett is excellent and so is Anthony de Longis as Cullah.

Katie Mulgrew has plenty of good opportunities to shine and takes them with another strong performance. Roxanne Dawson is also very good.

I struggled with the ending as it involves a bit of the old deus ex machina technobabble and there needed to be way more consequence to the actions of a certain character, such as a temporary demotion.

For me it's a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.

You're Gonna Be A Daddy!

[Bolesroor · 2 February 2011]

An exciting, intelligent, engaging episode of Voyager: the best of the best, ruined by a single, final line of dialogue that redefines stupidity.

A Federation beacon turns out to be bait for a skillful robbery: a Kazon shuttle enters the ship, the invaders stealing a transporter module and beaming back to their own ship. It turns out traitor-at-large and absolute whore Seska has been feeding Starfleet secrets to her new Kazon buddies, allowing them access to technical information on a starship's inner workings.

After pulling off this immaculate appropriation she taunts her former lover and victim Chakotay on the view screen, in front of his bridge crew, with words akin to: Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, you can't catch me...

Chakotay and Co. decide to do just that, fully aware that Seska will be anticipating their arrival and attempting to take Voyager for its technology, which will empower the inferior Kazon-Nistrim, giving them firepower against their enemies and political sway over rival Kazon sects. Chakotay confides to B'Elanna that he feels personally responsible for this attack; Seska has broken his heart, betrayed his beliefs, attacked his ship and crew and is personally humiliating him in the process. The storyline here is so good that hideous trashbag Martha Hackett is actually rendered tolerable.

Next thing you know Chakotay has stolen a shuttlecraft from Voyager and taken off without permission. The scene in which B'Elanna makes a personal plea on his behalf to Captain Kate is wonderful, an example of what works in the show and keeps me watching. Roxanne Biggs-Dawson has an energy, an urgency, that is impossible to deny and absolutely perfect for the character of Torres. Kate Mulgrews angular features and strong jaw, the husky growl of her voice play well against the softness of her eyes, the emotion at work within. She never has to shout or act like a man in order to convince us she's a starship Captain. Sexy and strong, sweet and razor sharp, she is a joy to watch at work.

And the scene works perfectly: two strong woman fighting for what they believe in, the inner-disciplinarian in Torres' wild-woman persona emerging ever so slightly as Janeway tries to conceal not just her rage at Chakotay for breaking the rules but her sense of genuine betrayal and hurt at his actions, especially in this lonely universe of the stranded spacecraft. Nicely done, ladies...

Janeway considers her options as Tuvok's logic and Torres' emotion perch on her shoulder and debate the next move. Seska confides in prisoner Chakotay's ear that she's not a monster and wants to avoid the death of the Voyager crew if possible, and this little admission keeps the character from flying off into the realm of cartoon super-villain, and makes her more realistic, and even sympathetic.

The Voyager crew decides a transwarp beaming is the best method to recover their captive Commander, and although they eventually have to reverse their plan of attack they succeed in recovering Chakotay and destroying all stolen Starfleet technology taken by the Kazon. Janeway has a realistic discipline discussion with Chakotay, even wondering aloud whether formal punishment has any value in their situation.

Just as we're ready for a bridge laugh and exterior shot we see Seska on the view screen, speaking the sentence that destroys this episode. Seems she took advantage of Chakotay while he was captive on the Kazon ship, sampling his DNA while he was unconscious and impregnating herself. Yep, the bitch is gonna be a Mom, and the last-minute twist that Chakotay will be a Father to a woman he considers his mortal enemy raises so many questions and makes resolution impossible.

Is this Star Trek or Days Of Our Lives? What are we- and Chakotay- supposed to do between now and the inevitable follow-up episode? How can there be any satisfactory resolution to such an impossibly-muddied storyline, and why in God's name would the writers commit to bringing the dreadful Seska back for a mind-blowing FOURTH appearance on the show?

Producers, do me a favor. Don't do soap operas. Don't do fantasies. Don't do multi-episode story arcs. Don't do "To Be Continued..." Don't do Seska. Don't reinvent the warp drive. Just do Trek, and do it well. That's what we came for.

GRADE: (without final line of dialogue) A-

GRADE: (with final line of dialogue) C-

Star Trek: Voyager - Maneuvers

[Scarecrow-88 · 6/10 · 14 January 2017]

Insidious Seska, Chakotay's old flame, has attached herself to a Kazon Maje named Cullah, manipulative and calculating as ever. Using a Kazon shuttle as a diversion by driving it into a cargo bay in the Voyager, Cullah's officers seize a transport device that could provide them with Federation technology, as Seska had knowledge of certain access codes allowing them to fire upon the ship effectively. Chakotay, humiliated and feeling guilt due to Seska's ability to steal tech from the Voyager, takes it upon himself to commandeer a shuttlecraft without Janeway's knowledge, heading to the Kazon ship Seska is located, with plans to destroy the transport device before it can be of future benefit in the wrong hands. Janeway is put in a difficult position in that she must decide if a rescue mission can be carried out without jeopardizing her ship and crew, and figure out the proper punishment due to the ramifications of his negligence in disrespecting the protocols representing command. Martha Hackett makes a grand villainous return, having such revelry in her detrimental actions against former lover Chakotay and the possible dangers to Voyager, as her Seska uses Cullah as a means to a hopeful end…attaining power how she can by orchestrating what she hopes is a unification of forces, if the various Kazon sects can agree to join together, attack the Voyager as a fleet of ships, and take the Federation technology certain to provide great benefit to them if victorious. Chakotay's efforts, though, foil such lofty goals, and the Voyager isn't about to just give up without a fight (and a creative transport rescue of their first officer). Chakotay gets pummeled but won't adhere to torture and give up Federation secrets, while Seska torments him with flagrant attempts to seduce him and further manipulate him. The way Seska works Cullah and mocks Chakotay and the Voyager crew gives Hackett a real nasty bitch to hiss…it's a great part. Anthony De Longis, as Cullah, has the perfect egomaniac with which Seska could caress his narcissism, making him feel he's in control when in fact she's totally behind all the success that eventually derails because they are up against a foe far wiser and slippery. Seska's devious methods (taking Chakotay's DNA to impregnate herself) beyond the failed Kazon unification show quite an adversary the Voyager is up against. The Kazon sects, all at each others throats, waiting to betray one another when the time presents itself, prove to be quite the menacing bunch. The Kazon shuttle crashed into the cargo bay is a nifty set piece. Janeway's scolding of Tuvok due to Chakotay's ability to take a shuttlecraft without anyone knowing conveys the demands of officers to stay on top of things, and the pressures put on a Captain when they fail to prevent complications needing closure with potential danger as a result.

Chakotay! Surprise!

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 16 August 2018]

Ceska come along to help the Kasons. What has she been doing in the meantime. I heard she joined Trump's cabinet. Anyway, when these dudes get on board and steal a transporter unit (out there where anyone could walk off with it) our boy decides to pay penance for his previous dalliance with the Dragon Lady by going alone to the ship she is on, aiding the enemy. It all plays out in the most obtuse way with the silliest ending imaginable.

Another example of failure

[ceojonathanmontgomery · 8/10 · 4 September 2023]

I love this show. However the Captain is way to nice. I get the idea of killing us horrible. However when they have a traitor who is helping a species of warlords to gain technology that would drastically harm the region. It is time to be aggressive. I would have beamed Seska into space and all the attackers. Then I would have taken the ship and added it to my own fleet. Growing food on it and setting up manufacturing on it or sell it to another species to gain other technologies. She is alone in a entirely new Quadrant with no backup. Trying to be friends is the first option. But if your attacked then you take the enemy out and take their ship as your bounty. They show so much naivety for being so advanced.

Also I am curious why they are friends with the Klingons and don't have stealth technology on their ships. Why would they not have this technology on their ships? It is something that would drastically help all their ships.

What??

[MsGeeke · 1/10 · 29 March 2020]

Having been in the military and worked in IT for a number of years, I can tell you that the first thing you do when someone leaves is change access codes. If that someone was known to have malicious intent, extra measures are implemented to defend against that specific person. When I heard, "someone's using our access codes", what followed became implausible and stupid.

Also...using a high ranking person to get command codes only works if it isn't known that person is in enemy hands and then only if the command codes aren't changed on a regular basis anyway. This is a common TV-ism and especially ridiculous on a sci-fi show where making and communicating changes would be so easy.

Lots of illogical things in this season

[sigelm · 4/10 · 31 May 2022]

The most illogical storyline in the last episode was to lower the forcefield around the female caretaker before having a talk with her and hopefully persuade her to help them. Then to leave her dwelling place in hope to meet with her again - how if you travel back home and away from her array? We continue with illogical storylines in this episode as well, let's just skip a few minor ones like not changing command codes immediately after a senior officer is captured which is standard Starfleet protocol, but to exchange three prisoners for Chakotay and the shuttle? Why not for Chakotay, the shuttle and Seska? Not like any of the Kezon that weren't captured cared about her. This way Voyager left her free to sell their secrets and endanger them further. And the last drop of illogical nonsense: Seska impregnating herself. She's an alien species on a ship full of aggressive, dimwit men. She's barely holding onto her dear life there. So in that situation she decides to become physically debilitated for a quite a few months? And her Kazon lover who is the only thing keeping her from being killed by his kinmen or sold into slavery will be delighted with her carrying another men's baby and whatsoever an enemy's baby?

Just shoot Seska in the face and be done with it!

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 13 February 2015]

Leave it up to "Star Trek: Voyager" to once again take an excellent plot idea and make the least of it. So is this limp follow-up to the defection of Seska. It should have been excellent but it left me wondering why it wasn't better.

When the show begins, the Kazon appear and disable Voyager. During the ensuing mêlée, the Kazon steal one of the ship's transporters. Well, this fight went too well for the Kazon and someone had to have helped them plan this attack--and that someone must be the traitor Seska. The plan is to track her and her Kazon allies down and recover the transporter, as this Federation device could throw off the balance in this quadrant. However, instead of working as a team, Chakotay gets all macho and defies orders--going off on his own to recover the device. This is stupid but what is worse is that he succeeds in destroying the transporter--and then, inexplicably, surrenders to Seska. Why didn't he shoot her in the face? He clearly could have easily done that--and she IS trying to give the Kazon technology regardless of the consequences. What follows is a typical Voyager plot--one where miraculously everything works out just fine.

The bottom line is that the plot was generally good but often made little sense. Too bad, as the show could have been very good but again and again, the show seemed to take great situations and make the least of them.