Story By: Mike Sussman
Directed By: Allan Kroeker
Rating: **** (out of 5)
�Unimatrix Zero� benefits from some excellent directing, special effects and music but the story has some major plotholes and flaws. Let�s start from the beginning; the place of Unimatrix Zero is a virtual reality where Borg drones can go to be individuals and it was apparently created by some kind of defect in one assimilation and only one in every million drones has this defect and can go to Unimatrix Zero.
The story is much too fuzzy. How exactly was this defect caused and how was it able to create such a world as Unimatrix Zero? How did Axum get in contact with Seven and how did he design the nanovirus? Does Unimatrix Zero have the ability for the inhabitants to created materials and technology? If so, how so? There are so many discrepancies even with the idea of this Unimatrix One. �Unimatrix One� was described by production staff as being like �The Matrix� (starring Keanu Reeves) in Star Trek, but in �The Matrix� it was technology allowing them to integrate themselves with a robot created computer world. Unimatrix Zero is a mind thing more then a technology thing, so how is it that they can do the things they do? For example, when the drones that come into Unimatrix Zero start to injecting some of the people there, what is mentally or physically happening to them that allows that Drones to have an effect on the Unimatrix Zero inhabitants by injecting them? And vice-versa, how does hitting a drone in Unimatrix Zero make it go away? Does it die?
Even more fuzziness is created when we discover Janeway�s daring plan to put the nanovirus into a cube to awaken the drones able to access Unimatrix Zero. In �Dark Frontier� Janeway was able to use the Delta Flyer to fly into the Borg City and then get into the Borg City and not be seen with those bio-damper things. How dumb is Janeway (or the writers) not to use the same technology! And why the hell wasn�t Seven asked to go on the away-mission, surely that force field that went up at the end would�ve been stopped by Seven, she could�ve contacted the group in Unimatrix Zero afterwards. And the Borg children, why weren�t they involved at all? Since �Collective� when they were introduced we�ve had only one really good and meaningful use of one of the kids, in �Child�s Play,� and I�d have thought that the kids would play a significant role in the future, more obviously in a Borg centered episode. Besides, Icheb could�ve gone on the mission if Seven was needed on Voyager. Talking about the crew�s placements; why is it that Chakotay no longer runs Away-Missions?
And what about the Prime Directive? Voyager and the crew are willing to destroy an entire enormous civilization that could completely demolish the balance of power in the Delta Quadrant (if that is in fact where Voyager now is) just like was shown in �Hope and Fear.� You can understand the dilemma here, if they ignore Axum�s pleas for help then they are sentencing all those people in �Unimatrix Zero� to death, however it is an internal conflict within a civilization. You could argue that the Prime Directive doesn�t apply because in TNG�s �Descent� Admiral Shelby ordered Picard that if he had an opportunity to destroy the Borg then he should take it, and also the fact that the Borg interfere with other cultures without mercy.
The Borg Queen is no longer amusing to me. In �First Contact� she was interesting; in �Dark Frontier� she was less menacing and now the Queen is just plain dumb. She contacts Voyager and bargains with her? Why can�t she just send 20 cubes to assimilate Janeway and crew and get it over with? She�ll eventually, with time, destroy Unimatrix Zero anyway. I didn�t like the fact that the Queen was verbally talking to the Drones. She is now just like any normal master villain, she�s lost her edge. Why couldn�t we have heard the millions of voices and her voice over the top of those millions giving orders and then receiving reports, that would�ve been much more effective and menacing then what we get here.
I hope that the next Borg episode after �Unimatrix Zero� concludes has Species 8472 returning and completely destroying the Borg in mass genocide with Janeway trying her best to stop it, but failing. I�m serious too, that would be a good show with big consequences and big implications, even moral implications. Either that or we get an explanation for the Borg or the Borg are simply never shown again. Maybe the Borg could start to realize that organic tissue is disabling them and start to transfer their consciousness into machines and it ends up destroying them? Whatever happens, it better happen soon because this is all getting ridiculous. Maybe �Unimatrix Zero II� will destroy the Borg? My Dad, who normally watches Star Trek with me wasn�t interested in watching �Unimatrix Zero� because he saw the Teaser with the Borg in it. Doesn�t that say something?
What I want to see is an explanation to the Borg Queen. Are there more of them? Where they the first Borg? I�d like to know why the Borg doesn�t just send hundreds of Cubes to destroy the Galaxy? Why they don�t use cloaking technology? There are many things I want explained.
And about Tom�s promotion; why exactly does he deserve that? He mightn�t have done anything bad recently, but Harry has almost never done anything bad and he�s still an ensign! I�m sorry to say it but it really does tell me the writers are just throwing anything they can at us without thinking about it.
�Unimatrix Zero� still gets **** stars though. You must think I�m a complete maniac having just raved on about all the bad things here but as an isolated episode, and without thinking too much, �Unimatrix Zero� is quite enjoyable. The premise is interesting, albeit flawed, and Allan Kroeker�s directing is truly marvelous. All the scenes here were very cinematic and there is some interesting camera work here. Most notably I loved the Borg red laser eye�s crossing over the camera, it created a great deal of suspense.
The assimilation at the end was thwarted by the silliness of their plan, but it was still effective. The destruction of the Delta Flyer I feel should�ve been more like the destruction of the Defiant in DS9�s �The Changing Face of Evil,� slow and somber. But in the middle of the action like it was, I was satisfied. I�m surprised it hasn�t been fully destroyed before, it had only recently crashed in �Muse.�
The acting here is pretty average, although there really wasn�t anything in the episode to show much acting skills. Mark Deakins was not bad as Axun, and Susannah Thompson was pretty good as the Borg Queen. None of the problems lay with the acting though, it�s the material the actors have been given that was the problem.
The music, by Star Trek�s legendary composer Dennis McCarthy, is wonderful and has many strong points throughout. I noticed his theme from DS9�s �What You Leave Behind� being used in there a few times. With the directing and music the same as Deep Space Nine�s finale �Unimatrix Zero� has a strong epic feel just like �What You Leave Behind.�
The CGI is wonderful. The Borg City shots were impressive, as was the Borg Queen�s reassembling sequence. There was a particularly good CGI shot of Voyager doing a flyby of the Borg Cube near the end that was truly impressive and really captured the size of that Cube. Overall the CGI was impressive and not overused.
�Unimatrix Zero II� should be interesting but I have a feeling that it will suffer that same fate as �Equinox II� and the beginning of Season 6 and not have enough time to fully explore the issues brought up. We�ll see though, it might turn out brilliant.
As we head in Season 7, Voyager�s final season, I can�t help but feeling a little sad. I remember seeing �Descent II� on TNG and �Image in the Sand� on DS9 and feeling the same way, this is the last normal season finale we�ll see on Voyager, and possibly the last one we�ll ever see on Star Trek. Voyager has a lot to live up too after DS9, and I�m hopeful that they�ll surpass it, not right away, but it will happen before this series ends.