Majel Barrett Movies

Largely abandoning the self-contained episodes of the previous season and returning to the complex story arcs so beloved of the series' biggest fans, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda launches its fourth season in syndication. Despite the idealistic efforts of Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo), captain of the starship Andromeda Ascendant, the New Commonwealth is collapsing under the weight of corruption and being undermined by friends and enemies alike. Although Hunt's crew could, if they wished, remain safely on solid ground, they finally agree to help Hunt salvage what is left of the Commonwealth -- and to do this, the Andromeda must hopscotch through slipstreams to various alternate universes in order to enlist allies in the Great Cause. And they'd better hurry: there is an impending apocalypse hanging over the proceedings throughout the season.
The year's pivotal episode is "Soon the Nearing Vortex," in which former crew member Tyr (Keith Hamilton Cobb), now aligned with the enemies of the commonwealth, launches a campaign to unite and rule all Nietzchean prides and thereby control the universe. Tyr not only hopes to steal the Route of Ages, the guide to all existing slipstreams, but he intends to win Hunt's second-in-command Beka (Lisa Ryder) over to his side. The treacherous Tyr is foiled with the help of Telemachus Rhade (Steve Bacic), isolationist leader on the "Old Commonwealth" planet Terazed -- and the look-alike descendant of Generis Rhade, the selfsame scoundrel who during the series' first season betrayed Hunt and left him in a state of suspended animation for 300 years. Despite his inherent distrust of Telemachus, Hunt ultimately invites him to join the Andromeda crew. At the same time, the enigmatic Trance (Laura Bertram) reveals herself to be an avatar of the sun, with the ability to disintegrate her comrades in order to rescue them when danger threatens, then reintegrate them when the danger passes. The season ends with dissension in the ranks of the Andromeda, as the crew expresses disillusionment over the fact that Hunt's dreams of restoring the Commonwealth have not come to pass. The various crew members separate to pursue their own destinies, leaving Dylan and Trance alone to fight off a new Magog attack all by themselves -- but Dylan may be predestined to be the sole survivor! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The tenth film in Paramount's highly lucrative sci-fi franchise is also positioned as the last for the entire original Next Generation crew. En route to the honeymoon of William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) to Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) on her home planet of Betazed, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise receive energy readings identical to those uniquely emitted by the positronic brain of android crew member Data (Brent Spiner). Upon investigation, they discover the disassembled parts of an identical android named B4, an early prototype of Data himself, now scattered on the surface of a remote world. As they reassemble B4, the crew receives word from Starfleet that a coup has resulted in the installation of a new Romulan political leader, Shinzon (Tom Hardy), who claims to seek détente with the human-backed United Federation of Planets. As commander of the closest starship to Romulus, Picard is ordered there to negotiate with Shinzon. Once in enemy territory, the captain and his crew make a startling discovery: Shinzon is human, a slave from the Romulan sister planet of Remus (the residents of which are vampire-like creatures that dwell on the perpetually dark side of their home world), and has a secret, shocking relationship to Picard himself. It soon becomes clear that Shinzon has lured the Enterprise to Romulus using B4 as bait and that his sinister ulterior motives include the destruction of Earth. A vicious battle between the Enterprise and Shinzon's powerful warship ensues, resulting in heartbreaking heroics and a devastating casualty. Star Trek: Nemesis was written by long-time Trek fan and Oscar-nominated screenwriter John Logan. Regular cast members Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, and Whoopi Goldberg co-star with Ron Perlman, Dina Meyer, and Steven Culp. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Season two of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda picks up where season one left off, as Andromeda crew members Tyr (Keith Hamilton Cobb) and Harper (Gordon Michael Woolvett) are captured during a battle with the fearsome Magog and injected with millions of Magog eggs. They are rescued by their comrade in arms Rev Bem (Brent Stait), himself a Magog who has pretended to betray the Andromeda on behalf of his own race. Once this matter is settled, Rev decides to leave the Andromeda to embark upon a long soul-searching mission in order to cleanse himself of his race's more bestial tendencies. This leaves Captain Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo) with one fewer crew member to help him rebuild the Commonwealth for its final confrontation with the Magog, but Hunt's loyal aides Harper (Gordon Michael Woolvett), Beka (Lisa Ryder), Trance (Laura Bertram), and humanized artificial intelligence Rommie (Lexa Doig) seem more than capable of facing up to the challenge. As for Nietzchean crew member Tyr (Keith Hamilton Cobb), his true loyalties are still very much in question. In the course of preparing for the last battle with the Magog -- not to mention the inevitable head-to-head against a new enemy, the Abyss -- the enigmatic Trance exchanges places with her older, wiser future self, ostensibly to strengthen the Andromeda's battle force, though Dylan Hunt wonders if the new Trance can be trusted. Season two ends on the eve of the signing of a new Commonwealth charter, as the Andromeda gears up to safeguard its allies from thousands upon thousands of phase-shifting warships from another universe. It is at this point that the present Trance confronts her time-shifting former self -- but to what end? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season one of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda begins as Captain Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo) of the Systems Commonwealth high guard, is betrayed by his Nietzchean first officer Generis Rhade, whereupon Hunt and his starship, Andromeda Ascendant, are trapped in a black hole and left in frozen stasis for 300 years. During Hunt's long sleep, the Commonwealth collapses when the Nietzcheans declare war on their former allies in general and their hated enemies the Magog in particular. Awakening from suspended animation, Hunt finds that he and the Andromeda are under siege from the "Eureka Maru," a mercenary vessel captained by the beauteous Beka Valentine (Lisa Ryder), who has been hired to capture the Andromeda on behalf of the Nietzcheans. When she realizes that her "allies" plan to stab her in the back, Beka accepts Hunt's invitation to join him on the Andromeda and embark upon a mission to rally support for the restoration of the Commonwealth. Also going along for the ride are crew members Seamus Harper (Gordon Michael Woolvett), Trance Gemini (Laura Bertram), and Rev Bem (Brent Stait), the latter a Magog suffering the pangs of conscience over the bestial side of his nature. In addition, Hunt is backed up by Rommie (Lexa Doig), the sexy human manifestation of the Andromeda's artificial intelligence -- and, surprisingly, by maverick Nietzchean Tyr Anasazi (Keith Hamilton Cobb), whose loyalties fluctuate wildly throughout the season. In the season one finale, the Andromeda is attacked by the Magog, who capture Tyr and Harper and inject them with parasitical Magog larvae -- while Rommie, her memory accidentally wiped out, all but sells out everyone on the ship. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a huge rolling energy ball called the Graviton Ellipse, Janeway and the crew try to rescue a trapped U.S. spacecraft. Originally the vanguard of the first manned mission to Mars, the American vessel -- and its skipper, Lt. John Kelly (Phil Morris) -- has been in a state of suspended animation since the year 2032. Janeway's (Kate Mulgrew) efforts to shepherd Kelly to safety end up having disastrous effects on her crew -- especially Chakotay (Robert Beltran). Written by Mike Wollaeger, Jessica Scott, Bryan Fuller, and Michael Taylor from a story by Wollaeger and Scott, "One Small Step" made its network TV bow on November 17, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dwight Schultz reprises his Next Generation role of hypersensitive officer Reg Barclay. Now stationed at Starfleet's San Francisco Yards, Barclay becomes obsessed with contacting the long-lost Voyager. Enlisting the aid of the reluctant Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Barclay succeeds in getting them both in hot water with their superiors, but that doesn't stop him from hatching a bold and dangerous plan to carry out his self-appointed mission. The final first-run Voyager episode of the millennium, Pathfinder originally aired December 1, 1999; it was written by David Zabel and Kenneth Biller, from a story by Zabel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide