#hirogens

[sshbpodcast]

Top 3 Star Trek Voyager alien races

By Ames

Now that we’re almost back in the Alpha Quadrant, we at A Star to Steer Her By have got a little time to reflect back on our time in the Delta Quadrant. As we saw in our two recent posts, we made a lot of really fascinating friends and really diabolical enemies, but possibly the most refreshing thing about being so far from the familiar faces of home is just how many unfamiliar faces we get to meet! Truly, the aliens we meet 70,000 light years from home are simultaneously wildly varied and also bear the same resemblances to the kinds of people that are truly universal, in every respect of the word.

And sure, the show goes out of its way to introduce some of the staple alien races we know from the other shows, sometimes in more contrived ways than others. But in my humble opinion, it’s when we meet these unique races that are like nothing else that the show really shines. So let’s whip out our First Contact handbook, try not to break the Prime Directive too much, and meet our favorite alien races from Voyager as you scroll on below or listen to this week’s triple-header episode (discussion starts at 1:22:56). Live long and prosper!

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Jake – More than meets the eye

Vidiians

Species 8472

Voth

These three alien races prove to be more than they seem, as Jake tends to spotlight characters who surprise you with their hidden depths. The Vidiians may be pushed to forcible organ harvesting to survive, but they become fascinating when you see that not all of them are ruthless. Everything about Species 8472 is cool: they live in fluidic space, their bio-ships take out Borg cubes, AND they adapt enough to disguise themselves as Starfleet! Finally, the Voth are freakin’ dinosaurs! What’s not to love about that Galileo allegory story? Rawr!

—

Caitlin – Best friends forever!

Talaxians

Ocampans

Hirogens

It may have taken a while, but even Caitlin’s heart was melted by the hardy people of Talax, most notably their Starfleet ambassador who won us over through his consistent writing, never-ending kindness, and character growth throughout the seasons. Another familiar face came in the Ocampans, whose contrast between their short lives and potential for supernatural powers made them phenoms (when the writers remembered). And while they never made it to the point of allies, we still enjoyed seeing the variety of Hirogens we met, especially J.G. Hertzler’s Tsunkatse fighter! 

—

Ames – Pour one out for…

Vidiians

Borg

Silver Blood Duplicates

My three picks all make you empathize with them because Voyager shows you such a multifaceted and complete picture of their society. Like Jake, I’m shining some spotlight on our Phage-riddled friends whose actions you can’t help but be both sympathetic for and horrified by. I’ll also always put Borg on my list evidently because every new thing we learn about their nature has me transfixed. And the doppel-crew from “Course: Oblivion” create such an effective story and such an original take on an alien race that I just had to include them.

—

Chris – There’s a little rebel in you

Borg

Takarians

Vidiians

Something I’ve noticed about Chris’s favorites is he always loves it when the little guy fights back. We see so many sides of the Borg and yet we are always engaged by them, especially when it becomes a theme that humanity can be brought back to those who resist. It was also easy to side with the Takarians from “False Profits” because they were so quick to immolate the Ferengi (who can blame them?). And here’s a little more love for the Vidiians, especially Danara Pel who proves there can still be humanity underneath a monster face.

— Say good-bye to some of our favorites as we leave them in the dust in the Delta Quadrant where they’ll be no tribble at all. We’ve only got one more episode of Voyager left in our watch-through over on the podcast, so don’t miss our final thoughts over on SoundCloud or wherever you listen and follow along here on the blog for our series wrap! Come in for a landing with us on Facebook and Twitter, and keep an eye on your organs. There may be Vidiians about.

[sirellas]

[isagrimorie]

Star Trek Voyager 4E16 - Prey

Tuvok: You missed. Since species 8472 invaded the ship, you've become increasingly agitated. Seven: They were the only species to offer true resistance to the Borg. They destroyed millions of drones, hundreds of our worlds. I have reason to be agitated.

---

Janeway: A single act of compassion can put you in touch with your own humanity. Seven You are trying to justify your present decision. Janeway: No, I'm trying to help you see this as an opportunity to grow. I know you don't want to do it, Seven, but I'm telling you as your Captain, and as your friend, you won't regret it. Seven: No. Your decision is tactically unsound. We will be surrounded by Hirogen ships in approximately two hours. If we do not surrender the creature, they will destroy us. A lesson in compassion will do me little good if I am dead.

[halestromthewhoobsessed]

“The Killing Game” dares to ask “What if the bad guys’ big plan was to force the Voyager crew to LARP their self insert AU fanfiction”

[tribblesoup]

Katrine

[valhahazred]

Some slightly more alien Delta Quadrant folks for Voyager to bump into.

[aquamonstra]

holy fucking shit i was staring at this for a solid minute like what kind of LOTR camera angle trickery did they pull this off with, but NOPE THAT ACTOR IS JUST 7'4 Y'ALL

Tuvok looks so teeny!! Teeny Tuvok! lmao

[ryfkah]

me: the hirogen are boring predator knockoff antagonists

star trek voyager: this hirogen has forced everyone on voyager into a french resistance au because of his gaming addiction ft. janeway as a humphrey bogart protag in a white tux

me: THE HIROGEN ARE MY FAVORITE ANTAGONISTS

[defconprime]

Hirogen from Star Trek Online

[novasjaneway]

Compliments on voyager be like

Hirogen: you and your crew would have made worthy prey, captain.

Janeway: thank you, I think.

(Affectionately)(smiles all around)

I love the voyager and hirogen relationship like what is even going on between them this happens everytime they get into a battle with each other, it's like a lovers squabble

[baylardian-1]

some Tête-à-Tête ficcy doodles. :3

contextually kathryn's implant short circuits and she wakes up to find herself in bed with the enemy lol

[dance-magic-dance]

what i find really funny about s3 of Picard is this vague implication that janeway is someone picard goes to when he has A Problem so do you reckon janeway is just all ugh what now jean-luc every time she sees him

[isagrimorie]

A Few Years Later in Unimatrix Zero.

And 25 years later in the Alpha Quadrant, Borg Cube Artifact

Arturis was right about the Borg being like a storm and they eventually just sweep through other species. And as unreasonable as it seems its fun to think that Seven inadvertently put a target on Hirogen when she proclaimed that to the Nazi Hirogen in the Killing Game.

[usstrekart]

"The Killing Game" (S04E18, Stardate Unknown) is a solid entry that pins Voyager's crew in the corner and gives the Hirogen some space to breathe. Harry gets a small chance to shine. It loses some points for rushing along the season's Hirogen narrative, but the setup for part II is fantastic.

My episode poster keeps it simple, featuring a particular uniform cap with the Hirogen icon centrally displayed.

[tribblesoup]

Janeway should never have accepted Seven of Nine as an ally!

When Seven first joined the crew, she didn't even share Starfleet's values. She was an ex-Borg with a problematic history and problematic beliefs.

Janeway should have jettisoned Seven into space, and not accepted her help in getting Voyager past the Borg, Species 8472, the Pitcher Plant, the Hirogen, and everything else. Voyager should've just waited for a better option to come along.

Sure, Voyager might be pretty screwed without Seven. But at least when everyone is getting assimilated by the Borg, Janeway could say...

[fandomtravelers]

The killing game

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