Summary
Star Trek: Voyager suffered the most from episodic storytelling's "reset button" approach, erasing character development and undermining the impact of the episodes.
The earlier Star Trek series often relied on the reset button, but in the case of Voyager, its usage negatively impacted some of its strongest episodes.
However, Voyager eventually acknowledged the shortcomings of the reset button approach and made a conscious effort to embrace serialized character arcs. This shift not only resulted in more fulfilling episodes but also marked a progressive move forward for the franchise.
Star Trek: Voyager was greatly impacted by the episodic Star Trek "reset button" narrative style, suffering the most out of all the series. This style involves each episode being a complete storyline that is ultimately erased or rewritten, often utilizing sci-fi tropes such as time travel. Consequently, any character development resulting from these episodes is also nullified.
During the era when the first Star Trek TV series were broadcasted, episodic storytelling was prevalent, leading to the frequent use of the reset button. Star Trek: The Original Series was particularly prone to this approach, as nearly every episode stood alone. Although Star Trek: The Next Generation occasionally employed this tactic, it gradually introduced more serialized story arcs, including its famous two-part episodes. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine significantly departed from episodic storytelling, but this shift in format negatively impacted its ratings. As a result, Voyager attempted to revert back to the episodic style.
Episodic Star Trek’s Reset Button Hurt Some Of Voyager’s Best Episodes
Regrettably, the presence of the reset button in Voyager negatively impacted some of the series' finest episodes. The reset button was first used in season 1, episode 3, titled "Time And Again." Introducing this technique so early on was a risky decision that ultimately did not yield satisfying results. While the episode presented an intriguing time travel narrative and showcased compelling interactions between Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill), the reset button employed at the conclusion undid all the progress made, leaving the crew exactly where they began with no recollection of the events.
"Time And Again" is not among Voyager's strongest stories, but even more popular episodes resorted to the use of the reset button. The prime examples can be found in season 4, episodes 8 and 9, titled "Year of Hell Parts I and II." These episodes demonstrate the reset button in action as Voyager's crew endures a year-long battle with the time-traveling Krenim, facing truly distressing circumstances. However, once the timeline is altered, their memories of the entire ordeal are erased. While resetting the events of "Year of Hell" was necessary for the show's continuation, the utilization of the reset button arguably diminishes the significance of the experiences of Voyager's main characters and the episode as a whole.
How Voyager Moved Away From The Reset Button In Later Seasons
Fortunately, Voyager recognized that the reset button was ineffective in later seasons. While they primarily followed an episodic storytelling format, they devised strategies to work around it. A prime example is found in season 6, episode 14 called "Memorial." In this episode, Janeway and her crew were haunted by suppressed memories of a war they had no recollection of. It was eventually revealed that alien technology had influenced their minds. Although the conflict they remembered did not directly pertain to them, the crew couldn't shake off the memories even after learning the truth.
In this manner, Voyager cleverly subverted the reset button, maintaining genuine drama and character development while neatly resolving the story within a single episode. While this approach wasn't always feasible, Star Trek: Voyager progressed towards serialized character arcs in later seasons, resulting in more gratifying episodes overall. While it didn't completely compensate for the previous reliance on the reset button, it was undeniably a step in the right direction for the franchise.
