Drone (Star Trek: Voyager)

"Drone" is the 96th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager, the second episode of the fifth season. The crew of the 24th-century spacecraft USS Voyager deal with a cyborg, played by guest star J. Paul Boehmer.

"Drone"
Star Trek: Voyager episode
One (left) with Seven of Nine (right)
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 2
Directed byLes Landau
Story byBryan Fuller
Harry 'Doc' Kloor
Teleplay byBryan Fuller
Brannon Braga
Joe Menosky
Featured musicDennis McCarthy
Production code196
Original air dateOctober 21, 1998 (1998-10-21)
Guest appearance(s)

Plot

A small team from Voyager, including Seven of Nine and the Doctor, are performing a survey of a proto-nebula. When the nebula becomes unstable, the team is transported to the ship, but a malfunction briefly merges their patterns together. The Doctor finds his mobile emitter is failing, and he is returned to sickbay while Lt. B'Elanna Torres takes the emitter to the science lab for repair. The crew is unaware that the emitter has gained some of Seven's Borg nanoprobes from the malfunctioning transporter, and it begins assimilating the equipment in the science lab.

The crew soon detects a large power draw from the lab, and discover that the nanoprobes have constructed a Borg maturation chamber, rapidly growing a Borg drone. They determine that the components of the drone are based on the advanced 29th-century technology of the emitter; should the Borg of this century gain that technology, the entire galaxy is doomed. Captain Janeway decides to allow the drone to mature, hoping to make it understand humanity's individualism once it is born.

The drone (J. Paul Boehmer) soon leaves the maturation chamber, and though it immediately attempts to seek out the Borg collective, Seven attempts to convince him that he is an individual. Several of the crew help the drone to integrate, purposely omitting information about the Borg collective, and soon the drone appears adapted to being an individual, requesting to be named "One".

Through the action of his nanoprobes, One involuntarily sends a signal to the Borg collective, and a Borg ship closes in on Voyager. Seven gives One a crash course on the Borg collective, and though One is fascinated by it, Seven asserts that she considers the Voyager crew her collective. One helps the crew enhance their shields and weapons, but the battle is still a losing one. One transports to the Borg ship and overrides the controls, sending the ship into the proto-nebula where it is destroyed.

The crew detects a life sign, and find One is still alive but in critical condition. He is rushed to sickbay, but refuses treatment, explaining that now that the Borg know of him they will pursue Voyager endlessly to assimilate him. He assures the emotional Seven that she will adapt once he passes away.

Reception

In 2017, Den of Geek rated "Drone" among their top 50 Star Trek episodes.[1] Jammer's reviews site gave it four out of four stars.[2] In 2017 it had an IMDb rating of 8.5/10 and was noted for its Borg-alien theme.[3] In 2017, Den of Geek ranked actor J. Paul Boehmer as 'One', as the third best guest star on Star Trek: Voyager.[4]

SyFy recommend "Drone" for their Seven of Nine binge-watching guide.[5]

In 2019, Nerdist suggested watching this episode as part of an abbreviated binge-watching guide featuring USS Voyager's confrontations with the Borg.[6]

Connections

A listing of Star Trek franchise Borg-centric episodes placed "Drone" in between "The Raven" (S4E6) and "Dark Frontier" (S5E15 & S5E16) in the Star Trek timeline.[3]

References
  1. "Star Trek: 50 Best Episodes". Den of Geek.
  2. "[VOY] Jammer's Review: "Drone"". www.jammersreviews.com.
  3. Higgypop. "Complete List Of Appearances Of The Borg In Star Trek". Higgypop.
  4. "Star Trek Voyager: 10 Great Guest Performances". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  5. Fleenor, S. E. (2019-04-16). "The Seven of Nine binge guide". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  6. "A Guide to Binge Watching 7 Great STAR TREK Arcs". Nerdist. Retrieved 2019-07-23.

See also
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