Night

*** (3 stars out of 5)

I have to give the season opener props. It's not perfect, but I will give it three thumbs up. One: the Flash Gordon homage created in the Captain Proton adventures is my favourite Voyager holodeck hang-out in all the seven seasons. Who could resist ray guns, goggles, jet packs and a fiendish villain called Dr. Chaotica? Beats the hell out of Sandrines.

Two: the Void was long overdue. Any genuine attempt to cross the galaxy would hit the huge starless gaps between the spiral arms at some point. Even though Voyager doesn't quite have the bravery to stick with that lonely emptiness for even half an episode. Gotta find something there to do... or we'd have to see what our characters are really made of.

Three: the Malon are excellent villains. Shades of the Ferengi, but more obviously self-destructive. The Ferengi have thrived for many centuries with their finely honed utter selfishness, but the Malon society really seems to be running out of time. Radioactive Space Trucker Garbagemen, dumping their toxic waste on perfectly nice nameless "Night Aliens" who look like a cross between oil-soaked seabirds and the dancing poops from Flesh Gordon meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders (a movie which, while it makes this episode looks amazing by comparison, I cannot in good conscience recommend. You have been warned!).

While I'm off an a tangent about the design of the Night Aliens, I should mention that since the script claims they evolved in total darkness, it seems ridiculous that they should have EYES. Ordinary, dramatically sympathetic human eyes. C'mon, guys, where's the mad creativity of the Horta? They made me feel sympathy for a lumpy pizza thirty years ago. How about some more of that? Mmm, Pizza.

"Night" is pretty good. If that's damning with faint praise, so be it. I have to calls 'em like I sees 'em.