Year of Hell

"Year of Hell" is a two-part episode from the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager which aired on UPN in November 1997.

Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet and Maquis crew of the starship USS Voyager after they were stranded in the Delta Quadrant far from the rest of the Federation.

A huge ship appears in the sky above an alien colony and fires an energy beam, transforming the city into mountains and fields.

On board Voyager, Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) have developed a galactic map which should shave five years from their journey.

The wave wipes the Zahl race from existence while making the Krenim vessel bigger and more powerful, and reducing Voyager to a severely damaged state.

When utilized, the shielding also affects the temporal waves in the region, attracting the attention of the Krenim "time ship", the large vessel that is causing the disruptions.

However, a prior incursion caused a plague that killed millions of Krenim, including Annorax's wife, and he has been seeking a full restoration of his species for the past 200 years.

After giving the command to plot a course around the disputed space, Janeway remarks to Chakotay that she is thinking of replicating a bottle of wine for Voyager’s re-dedication ceremony, saying the vintage is a "good year".

[10] In 2016, U.K. film magazine Empire ranked this the 25th best episode of all Star Trek television, noting it as "gritty two-part adventure" but lamenting its "reset button" ending.

[16] In 2017, Den of Geek included this episode, along with "Scorpion" (Part II), "One", "Message In A Bottle", "Living Witness", and "Hope And Fear" from Season 4, for their abbreviated viewing guide for Star Trek: Voyager.

They call it "film level quality", praising everything from the space battles, moral conundrums, and guest star Kurtwood Smith.

[21] In 2020, CNET ranked the Krenim timeship the fifth most powerful spacecraft of the Star Trek universe, for its ability to commit genocide by erasing a species from time.

[23] They said the sequel, "Year of Hell, Part II" was the 8th best episode of Star Trek: Voyager, based on an IMDB rating of 8.7 out of 10.

[25] In 2017, the complete Star Trek: Voyager television series was released in a DVD box set with special features.