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* CaptainCrash: Chakotay crashes the ''Val Jean'', condemning him to seven years bad luck as the NumberOne of another captain.
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* RammingAlwaysWorks: When Voyager is being hammered by a huge Kazon cruiser, Chakotay flies the ''Val Jean'' into it, condemning him to seven years as the NumberOne of another captain.
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* RammingAlwaysWorks: When Voyager is being hammered by a huge Kazon cruiser, Chakotay flies the ''Val Jean'' into it, condemning him to seven years as the NumberOne of another captain.it.
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!!!This episode contains the following tropes:
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!!This episode contains the following tropes:
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* RousingSpeech: Janeway gives on at the end of the episode.
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* RousingSpeech: Janeway gives on one at the end of the episode.
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-->'''JANEWAY:''' We're alone in an uncharted part of the galaxy. We have already made some friends here, and some enemies. We have no idea of the dangers we're going to face, but one thing is clear. Both crews are going to have to work together if we're to survive. That's why Commander Chakotay and I have agreed that this should be one crew. A Starfleet crew. And as the only Starfleet vessel assigned to the Delta Quadrant, we'll continue to follow our directive to seek out new worlds and explore space. But our primary goal is clear. Even at maximum speeds, it would take seventy five years to reach the Federation, but I'm not willing to settle for that. There's another entity like the Caretaker out there somewhere who has the ability to get us there a lot faster. We'll be looking for her, and we'll be looking for wormholes, spatial rifts, or new technologies to help us. Somewhere along this journey, we'll find a way back. Mister Paris, set a course for home.
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* DerelictGraveyard: The other vessels brought to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker, currently being scavenged by a very strange creature called a Neelix.
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* DerelictGraveyard: The other vessels brought to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker, currently being scavenged by a very strange creature called a Neelix.
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** Quark claims he acquired the Loki crystals from "a very strange creature called a Morn". ''Series/DeepSpaceNine'' viewers will recognise Morn sitting right next to them.
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** Quark claims tells Harry he acquired the Loki crystals from "a very strange creature called a Morn". ''Series/DeepSpaceNine'' viewers will recognise Morn sitting right next to them.
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* DerelictGraveyard: The other vessels brought to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker, currently being scavenged by a bizarre alien called Neelix.
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* DerelictGraveyard: The other vessels brought to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker, currently being scavenged by a bizarre alien very strange creature called a Neelix.
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* CasualDangerDialogue: As the stairs threaten to collapse, Tom and Chakotay engage in SnarkToSnarkCombat
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* CasualDangerDialogue: As the stairs threaten to collapse, Tom and Chakotay engage in SnarkToSnarkCombatSnarkToSnarkCombat.
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* HarsherInHindsight: Janeway switching off the Doctor was funny at the time, but becomes a sore point later in the series when [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman he becomes more aware of his rights]].
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* HarsherInHindsight: Janeway switching off the Doctor when he gets in her face was funny at the time, but becomes a sore point later in the series when the Doctor [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman he becomes more aware of his rights]].
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* PrimeDirective: Tuvok argues that destroying the Array will violate the Prime Directive. Not for the last time, Janeway decides ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight
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* PrimeDirective: Tuvok argues that destroying the Array will violate the Prime Directive. Not for the last time, Janeway decides ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRightScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight.
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* EnemyMine: By the end of the episode, Janeway decides the only way to survive is to integrate the Maquis into her crew as brevet members of Starfleet.
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* EnemyMine: Janeway and Chakotay team up to find their missing crewmembers. By the end of the episode, Janeway decides the only way to survive is to integrate the Maquis into her crew as brevet members of Starfleet.
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!This episode contains the following tropes:
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* VerbalBackspace: Neelix
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* VerbalBackspace: NeelixNeelix does this a lot.
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* SceneryPorn: Voyager launching from Deep Space Nine, and the Ocampan homeworld.
* ShoutOut: The opening to the pilot "Caretaker" bears more than a passing resemblance to the opening of ''Film/ANewHope'': an OpeningScroll giving a bit of backstory, followed by a pan to a running lightfight between a small rebel ship (Chakotay's ''Val Jean'') and a large enemy ship (a Cardassian ''Galor''-class destroyer). Only difference is, the rebel ship ''escapes'', by pulling a TryAndFollow into the Badlands' plasma storms.
* ShoutOut: The opening to the pilot "Caretaker" bears more than a passing resemblance to the opening of ''Film/ANewHope'': an OpeningScroll giving a bit of backstory, followed by a pan to a running lightfight between a small rebel ship (Chakotay's ''Val Jean'') and a large enemy ship (a Cardassian ''Galor''-class destroyer). Only difference is, the rebel ship ''escapes'', by pulling a TryAndFollow into the Badlands' plasma storms.
to:
* SceneryPorn: Voyager launching from Deep Space Nine, and Nine has the Ocampan homeworld.
expected lingering shots.
* ShoutOut: Theopening to the pilot "Caretaker" ActionPrologue bears more than a passing resemblance to the opening of ''Film/ANewHope'': an OpeningScroll giving a bit of backstory, followed by a pan to a running lightfight between a small rebel ship (Chakotay's ''Val Jean'') and a large enemy ship (a Cardassian ''Galor''-class destroyer). Only difference is, the rebel ship ''escapes'', by pulling a TryAndFollow into the Badlands' plasma storms.
* ShoutOut: The
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* SacrificialLamb: We are introduced to Bajoran helmswoman Stadi, an unnamed Chief Medical Officer, and Janeway's NumberOne; Lt. Commander Cavit. All are killed when Voyager is hurled across the galaxy, leaving their positions open for the Maquis characters.
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* SacrificialLamb: We are introduced to Bajoran helmswoman Stadi, an unnamed Chief Medical Officer, and Janeway's NumberOne; Lt. Commander Cavit. All are killed when Voyager is hurled across the galaxy, leaving their positions open for the Maquis characters.characters and the EMH.
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* SacrificialLamb: We are introduced to Bajoran helmswoman Stadi, Voyager's Chief Medical Officer and Janeway's NumberOne, Lt. Commander Cavit. All are killed when Voyager is hurled across the galaxy, leaving their positions open for the Maquis characters.
to:
* SacrificialLamb: We are introduced to Bajoran helmswoman Stadi, Voyager's an unnamed Chief Medical Officer Officer, and Janeway's NumberOne, NumberOne; Lt. Commander Cavit. All are killed when Voyager is hurled across the galaxy, leaving their positions open for the Maquis characters.
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* RammingAlwaysWorks: When Voyager is being hammered by a huge Kazon cruiser, Chakotay flies the ''Val Jean'' into it, condemning him to seven years being the NumberOne of another captain.
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* RammingAlwaysWorks: When Voyager is being hammered by a huge Kazon cruiser, Chakotay flies the ''Val Jean'' into it, condemning him to seven years being as the NumberOne of another captain.
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* PlanetLooters: The Kazon-Ogla are (in BMovie sci-fi tradition) trying to steal water! The Ocampan homeworld can't produce rain due to environmental damage by the Caretaker's race, so they beat Kes in a futile attempt to find out how to get into the UndergroundCity. As he's dying the Caretaker persuades Janeway to destroy the Array for fear the Kazon will annihilate the Ocampa.
to:
* PlanetLooters: The Kazon-Ogla are (in BMovie sci-fi tradition) trying to steal water! The Ocampan homeworld can't produce rain due to environmental damage by the Caretaker's race, so they beat Kes in a futile attempt to find out how to get into the UndergroundCity. As he's dying the Caretaker persuades Janeway to destroy the Array for fear the Kazon will annihilate the Ocampa.Ocampa without his protection.
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Changed line(s) 78 (click to see context) from:
* PlanetLooters: The Kazon-Ogla are (in BMovie sci-fi tradition) trying to steal water! The Ocampan homeworld can't produce rain due to environmental damage by the Cartaker's race, so they beat Kes in a futile attempt to find out how to get into the UndergroundCity.
to:
* PlanetLooters: The Kazon-Ogla are (in BMovie sci-fi tradition) trying to steal water! The Ocampan homeworld can't produce rain due to environmental damage by the Cartaker's Caretaker's race, so they beat Kes in a futile attempt to find out how to get into the UndergroundCity.UndergroundCity. As he's dying the Caretaker persuades Janeway to destroy the Array for fear the Kazon will annihilate the Ocampa.
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* PrimeDirective: Tuvok argues that destroying the Array will violate the Prime Directive. Not for the last time, Janeway decides ScrewTheRulesImdoingwhatsright
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* PrimeDirective: Tuvok argues that destroying the Array will violate the Prime Directive. Not for the last time, Janeway decides ScrewTheRulesImdoingwhatsrightScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight
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* PlanetLooters: The Kazon-Ogla are (in BMovie sci-fi tradition) trying to steal water!
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* PlanetLooters: The Kazon-Ogla are (in BMovie sci-fi tradition) trying to steal water!water! The Ocampan homeworld can't produce rain due to environmental damage by the Cartaker's race, so they beat Kes in a futile attempt to find out how to get into the UndergroundCity.
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-->''Captain, if these sensors are working, we're over seventy thousand light years from where we were. We're on the other side of the galaxy.''
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** Chakotay's ship is called the ''Val Jean'', presumably named by Starfleet officer-turned-Maquis defector Michael Eddington, who in the DS9 episode "For the Uniform" was shown to be obsessed with the protagonist of ''Literature/LESMISERABLES''.
to:
** Chakotay's ship is called the ''Val Jean'', presumably named by Starfleet officer-turned-Maquis defector Michael Eddington, who in the DS9 episode "For the Uniform" was shown to be obsessed with the protagonist of ''Literature/LESMISERABLES''.''Literature/LesMiserables''.
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* IDontLiketheSoundofThatPlace: The Badlands
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* IDontLiketheSoundofThatPlace: IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace: The Badlands
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** The Caretaker says his female partner left long ago to pursue other interests. Janeway is determined to find her, and does so in Season 2's "[[ Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E10ColdFire Cold Fire]]".
to:
** The Caretaker says his female partner left long ago to pursue other interests. Janeway is determined to find her, and does so in Season 2's "[[ Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E10ColdFire "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E10ColdFire Cold Fire]]".
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** Tom Paris is treated like a pariah by the crew of ''Voyager'' and even among the Maquis, with only Harry Kim to call a friend. This was quickly papered over by the second episode, "Time and Again."
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** Tom Paris is treated like a pariah by the crew of ''Voyager'' and even among the Maquis, with only Harry Kim to call a friend. This was quickly papered over by the second third episode, "Time and Again."
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* CasanovaWannabe: Tom tries to charm Janeway, and hits on the pretty Bajoran helmsman.
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* CasanovaWannabe: Tom tries to charm Janeway, Janeway and hits on the pretty Bajoran helmsman.Stadi.
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* SassyVendingMachine: Tom argues over tomato soup.
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* VengefulVendingMachine: Tom argues with a replicator over tomato soup.
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* ActionColdOpen: The episode opens on the Maquis raider being attacked by a Cardassian warship.
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* ActionColdOpen: ActionPrologue: The episode opens on the Maquis raider being attacked by a Cardassian warship.
** There's a mention of the Chief Engineer being killed off-screen. B'Elanna will take this position in the following episode.
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* MrExposition: Tuvok works out what's happening with the Caretaker.
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* MrExposition: Stadi delivers Voyager's specs as she flies a shuttle toward it. Tuvok works out what's happening with the Caretaker.
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* SacrificialLamb: On being thrown across the galaxy Voyager loses its First Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and helmsman. Their positions are taken by Chakotay, the EMH, and Tom Paris. There's also a mention of the Chief Engineer being killed; B'Elanna will take his place in the following episode.
to:
* SacrificialLamb: On being thrown across the galaxy Voyager loses its First Officer, We are introduced to Bajoran helmswoman Stadi, Voyager's Chief Medical Officer, Officer and helmsman. Their Janeway's NumberOne, Lt. Commander Cavit. All are killed when Voyager is hurled across the galaxy, leaving their positions are taken by Chakotay, open for the EMH, and Tom Paris. There's also a mention of the Chief Engineer being killed; B'Elanna will take his place in the following episode.Maquis characters.
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* CassanovaWannabie: Tom tries to charm Janeway, and hits on the pretty Bajoran helmsman.
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* CassanovaWannabie: CasanovaWannabe: Tom tries to charm Janeway, and hits on the pretty Bajoran helmsman.
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'''TORRES:''' What do you think you're doing? That Array is the only way we have to get back home!\\
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-->''Captain, if these sensors are working, we're over seventy thousand light years from where we were. We're on the other side of the galaxy.''
The newly-commissioned Federation starship Voyager is assigned to locate a missing Maquis raider, only for both ships to be snatched into the Delta Quadrant by a powerful alien called the Caretaker. The Caretaker is dying, and is searching the galaxy for compatible genetic material to create offspring to carry on his life's work: the protection of the Ocampa. When the Caretaker dies before accomplishing his goal, Captain Janeway is forced to destroy the Caretaker Array to stop it falling under the control of a hostile alien species who would destroy the Ocampa, leaving Voyager stranded on the far side of the galaxy.
!This episode contains the following tropes:
* The47Society: The energy pulse from the Caretaker Array comes at intervals of 0.47 seconds.
* ActionColdOpen: The episode opens on the Maquis raider being attacked by a Cardassian warship.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: [[StarfishAlien The Caretaker]] appears as an old man with a banjo, living in an Earth farm house that Tuvok speculates is meant to calm down the abductees prior to their medical examination.
* AlienAbduction: Including a medical examination played for horror rather than AnalProbing comedy.
* AlwaysABiggerFish: The Kazon vessels are shown to be tiny in comparison to Voyager. Then a Kazon cruiser turns up that dwarfs Voyager.
* ArmorPiercingSlap: Paris gets bitch-slapped across a barn.
* BigWordShout: Chakotay's "NOW!" for Voyager to beam him out just before his starship is about to [[RammingAlwaysWorks crash into the Kazon cruiser]].
* {{BFG}}: "Break out the compression phaser rifles."
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Caretaker. While he feels a sense of duty to care for the Ocampa after his species' intergalactic exploration devastated their homeworld, he does so by turning them into a docile childlike people utterly dependent on him. When he begins to die, he proceeds to abduct, rape and ultimately kill sentient beings from elsewhere in the galaxy in his desperate attempt to produce an offspring to continue his duties, as his female counterpart has long since left him.
* BathtubScene: Involving a very happy [[FanDisservice Neelix]].
* BoxedCrook: Tom Paris is introduced in a penal colony on New Zealand. Janeway recruits him to find his former colleagues in the Maquis.
* BrutalHonesty
-->'''TUVOK:''' I must inform you that I was assigned to infiltrate your crew, sir. I am Captain Janeway's Chief of Security.
-->'''CHAKOTAY:''' Were you going to deliver us into their waiting hands, Vulcan?
-->'''TUVOK:''' My mission was to accumulate information on Maquis activities. [beat] And then deliver you into their waiting hands.
* CasualDangerDialogue: As the stairs threaten to collapse, Tom and Chakotay engage in SnarkToSnarkCombat
-->'''PARIS:''' You'd rather die than let me be the one to rescue you?
-->'''CHAKOTAY:''' Fine. Be a fool. If I have to die, at least I'll have the pleasure of watching you go with me.
-->'''PARIS:''' Isn't there some [[MagicalNativeAmerican Indian trick where you can turn yourself into a bird and fly us out of here?]]
-->'''CHAKOTAY:''' You're too heavy.
* CassanovaWannabie: Tom tries to charm Janeway, and hits on the pretty Bajoran helmsman.
* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: "We never asked to be involved, Tuvok, but we are."
* CharacterTic: Our very first sight of Captain Janeway is of her in the trademark hands-on-hips position. She also has a habit of [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness walking with her hands behind her back]].
* CharacterOverlap: Gul Evek from ST:TNG and ST:DS9 is commanding the Cardassian warship chasing the ''Val Jean''. Voyager launches from Series/DeepSpaceNine, where we have a cameo involving Quark trying to con NaiveNewcomer Harry Kim.
* TheDeterminator: Even at maximum speed it will take Voyager 75 years to get back to the Alpha Quadrant. Janeway declares they're going to head home regardless, though with an eye for shortcuts that will cut things down to the length of a seven-year TV series.
* DerelictGraveyard: The other vessels brought to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker, currently being scavenged by a bizarre alien called Neelix.
* DontCallMeSir: It's been established in Trek canon that superior officers are called sir regardless of gender. Janeway makes it clear she doesn't like it. "Ma'am is acceptable in a crunch, but I prefer Captain."
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness
** Neelix is established as a ConMan (in the vein of Quark) who deceives ''Voyager'' to save Kes and then screws over the local Kazon tribe on the deal they made. Afterwards, Neelix is never portrayed as anything other than a harmless goofball.
** Tom Paris is treated like a pariah by the crew of ''Voyager'' and even among the Maquis, with only Harry Kim to call a friend. This was quickly papered over by the second episode, "Time and Again."
** B'Elanna is a lot more aggressive than in later episodes.
* EnemyMine: By the end of the episode, Janeway decides the only way to survive is to integrate the Maquis into her crew as brevet members of Starfleet.
* ExplosiveInstrumentation: What kills everyone in Sickbay.
-->'''PARIS:''' They must have been right next to the console when it exploded.
* {{Foreshadowing}}
** The Caretaker says his female partner left long ago to pursue other interests. Janeway is determined to find her, and does so in Season 2's "[[ Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E10ColdFire Cold Fire]]".
** The Ocampans mention the advanced PsychicPowers their ancestors allegedly possessed, and that Kes will develop in later seasons.
** The Doctor gets annoyed because people don't shut down his program when they leave Sickbay. The Doctor's stand over this issue is the first in his CharacterDevelopment.
** When Neelix boasts of his [[LethalChef great cooking skills]], Kes rolls her eyes.
* HarsherInHindsight: Janeway switching off the Doctor was funny at the time, but becomes a sore point later in the series when [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman he becomes more aware of his rights]].
* HeroesLoveDogs: Janeway is shown persuading her fiancé back on Earth to look after her pregnant dog while she's away.
-->'''MARK:''' Is this another 'love me, love my dog' demand?
* IDontLiketheSoundofThatPlace: The Badlands
* ImpliedDeathThreat: A nicely understated one from Maje Jabin.
-->"You have made an enemy today." ''(screen off)''
* IOweYouMyLife: Tom Paris saves Chakotay and jokes that his life belongs to Tom now. Chakotay responds "Wrong tribe!" but repays the favour by keeping the rest of the Maquis from harassing Tom.
* IronicEcho: Quark tries to hawk some jewellery to Ensign Kim, who says they were warned about Ferengi at Starfleet Academy. Quark is so outraged at this speciesism that Harry offers to buy the whole tray… until Tom points out they're being sold at a fraction of the price elsewhere. As they walk off together, Tom says, "Didn't they warn you about Ferengi at the Academy?"
* ItsALongStory: Harry asks why everyone appears to be snubbing Tom.
-->'''PARIS:''' It's a long story, Harry, and I'm tired of telling it. I'm sure someone around here will tell you before long.
* [[HumanShield Kazon Shield]]: Neelix holds Maje Jabin at phaser point in exchange for Kes.
* JumpedAtTheCall: Kes and Neelix volunteer to go with Voyager on their journey.
* TheMagnificent
-->'''JANEWAY:''' Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager.
-->'''NEELIX:''' A very impressive title. I have no idea what it means, but it sounds very impressive.
* MarsNeedsWomen: Though NoBiochemicalBarriers is averted as the Caretaker can't find anyone whose DNA is compatible with his own.
* TheMole: Tuvok is a Starfleet spy on Chakotay's vessel. Voyager's assignment is to find him when the ''Val Jean'' goes missing in the Badlands.
* MoodWhiplash: In the barn, the villagers quickly turn hostile when Voyager's crew insist on snooping around.
* MrExposition: Tuvok works out what's happening with the Caretaker.
* MythologyGag:
** Quark claims he acquired the Loki crystals from "a very strange creature called a Morn". ''Series/DeepSpaceNine'' viewers will recognise Morn sitting right next to them.
** Chakotay's ship is called the ''Val Jean'', presumably named by Starfleet officer-turned-Maquis defector Michael Eddington, who in the DS9 episode "For the Uniform" was shown to be obsessed with the protagonist of ''Literature/LESMISERABLES''.
* TheNicknamer: B'Elanna calls Harry "Starfleet" even after he introduces himself. This nickname doesn't last past Season One. Neelix uses "Mr Vulcan" for the first time. Unfortunately for Tuvok, [[OddCouple he never stops]].
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Neelix blurts out that Voyager has technology that can create water from thin air, and Janeway informs the Kazon that it's integrated into their ship. The Kazon spend the next two seasons trying to get their hands on it.
** Chakotay rams the Kazon cruiser, causing it to crash into the Array, destroying the SelfDestructMechanism.
** Janeway destroys the Caretaker Array stranding them on the other side of the galaxy (though Tuvok tells her that it will take several hours to work out the technology involved, all while being attacked by Kazon forces).
* NoEndorHolocaust: The Caretaker gave the Ocampa five years' worth of power for the city before his death. Given how dependent on him the Ocampans were, it's doubtful they could figure out for themselves a different power-source. The forcefield protecting them from outsiders will most likely fail as the power dwindles and they'll eventually have to leave for the surface... ''where the Kazon are.''
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Neelix immediately hugs Mr Vulcan. And he hasn't had a bath in a ''long'' time.
* OddCouple: The inherent comedy of Neelix and Tuvok is immediately explored.
* OddFriendship: Harry insists on remaining friends with Tom even though everyone else on Voyager is cold-shouldering him.
* OpeningScroll: Leading to a ''StarWarsANewHope'' ShoutOut too.
* PlanetLooters: The Kazon-Ogla are (in BMovie sci-fi tradition) trying to steal water!
* PrimeDirective: Tuvok argues that destroying the Array will violate the Prime Directive. Not for the last time, Janeway decides ScrewTheRulesImdoingwhatsright
* RammingAlwaysWorks: When Voyager is being hammered by a huge Kazon cruiser, Chakotay flies the ''Val Jean'' into it, condemning him to seven years being the NumberOne of another captain.
* RecycledSet: The cockpit of the ''Val Jean'' is actually a redressed runabout cockpit from ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''.
* RousingSpeech: Janeway gives on at the end of the episode.
-->'''JANEWAY:''' We're alone in an uncharted part of the galaxy. We have already made some friends here, and some enemies. We have no idea of the dangers we're going to face, but one thing is clear. Both crews are going to have to work together if we're to survive. That's why Commander Chakotay and I have agreed that this should be one crew. A Starfleet crew. And as the only Starfleet vessel assigned to the Delta Quadrant, we'll continue to follow our directive to seek out new worlds and explore space. But our primary goal is clear. Even at maximum speeds, it would take seventy five years to reach the Federation, but I'm not willing to settle for that. There's another entity like the Caretaker out there somewhere who has the ability to get us there a lot faster. We'll be looking for her, and we'll be looking for wormholes, spatial rifts, or new technologies to help us. Somewhere along this journey, we'll find a way back. Mister Paris, set a course for home.
* SacrificialLamb: On being thrown across the galaxy Voyager loses its First Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and helmsman. Their positions are taken by Chakotay, the EMH, and Tom Paris. There's also a mention of the Chief Engineer being killed; B'Elanna will take his place in the following episode.
* SassyVendingMachine: Tom argues over tomato soup.
* SelfDestructMechanism: The Caretaker tries and fails to destroy the Array, leaving Janeway to do the job herself, earning the ire of Janeway-bashers across Trek fandom.
* SceneryPorn: Voyager launching from Deep Space Nine, and the Ocampan homeworld.
* ShoutOut: The opening to the pilot "Caretaker" bears more than a passing resemblance to the opening of ''Film/ANewHope'': an OpeningScroll giving a bit of backstory, followed by a pan to a running lightfight between a small rebel ship (Chakotay's ''Val Jean'') and a large enemy ship (a Cardassian ''Galor''-class destroyer). Only difference is, the rebel ship ''escapes'', by pulling a TryAndFollow into the Badlands' plasma storms.
* SpinoffSendoff: Starts with Voyager docked at Series/DeepSpaceNine.
* StarfishAlien: Once the Banjo Man avatar goes offline, the Caretaker appears as a translucent [[BlobMonster blob creature]].
* TeamMom: Janeway worries over Harry Kim even though she admits she barely knows him. She also tells off Chakotay for verbally abusing Tom Paris; [[AFatherToHisMen this act probably does more to guarantee Tom's loyalty than anything else]].
* TerminallyDependentSociety: The Ocampan dependence on the Caretaker Array. How dependent? We later learn that an Ocampan can only ever have a single child. Assuming that this is one child per Ocampa, male or female, every early death or miscarriage permanently reduces the Ocampan population.
* UndergroundCity: Where the Ocampa live after the Caretaker's race accidentally destroyed their environment.
* VerbalBackspace: Neelix
-->'''NEELIX:''' Let me guess. You were whisked away from somewhere else in the galaxy, and brought here against your will.\\
'''JANEWAY:''' Sounds as though you've heard this story before.\\
'''NEELIX:''' Sadly, yes; thousands of times! Well, hundreds of times…maybe fifty times.
* WakeUpFighting: B'Elanna in the Ocampan medical ward.
* [[WhatTheHellHero What the Hell, Heroine?]]
'''TORRES:''' What do you think you're doing? That Array is the only way we have to get back home!\\
'''JANEWAY:''' I'm aware everyone has families and loved ones at homes they want to get back to. So do I. But I'm not willing to trade the lives of the Ocampa for our convenience. We'll have to find another way home.\\
'''TORRES:''' What other way home is there? Who is she to be making these decisions for all of us?!!\\
'''CHAKOTAY:''' She's TheCaptain.
----
The newly-commissioned Federation starship Voyager is assigned to locate a missing Maquis raider, only for both ships to be snatched into the Delta Quadrant by a powerful alien called the Caretaker. The Caretaker is dying, and is searching the galaxy for compatible genetic material to create offspring to carry on his life's work: the protection of the Ocampa. When the Caretaker dies before accomplishing his goal, Captain Janeway is forced to destroy the Caretaker Array to stop it falling under the control of a hostile alien species who would destroy the Ocampa, leaving Voyager stranded on the far side of the galaxy.
!This episode contains the following tropes:
* The47Society: The energy pulse from the Caretaker Array comes at intervals of 0.47 seconds.
* ActionColdOpen: The episode opens on the Maquis raider being attacked by a Cardassian warship.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: [[StarfishAlien The Caretaker]] appears as an old man with a banjo, living in an Earth farm house that Tuvok speculates is meant to calm down the abductees prior to their medical examination.
* AlienAbduction: Including a medical examination played for horror rather than AnalProbing comedy.
* AlwaysABiggerFish: The Kazon vessels are shown to be tiny in comparison to Voyager. Then a Kazon cruiser turns up that dwarfs Voyager.
* ArmorPiercingSlap: Paris gets bitch-slapped across a barn.
* BigWordShout: Chakotay's "NOW!" for Voyager to beam him out just before his starship is about to [[RammingAlwaysWorks crash into the Kazon cruiser]].
* {{BFG}}: "Break out the compression phaser rifles."
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Caretaker. While he feels a sense of duty to care for the Ocampa after his species' intergalactic exploration devastated their homeworld, he does so by turning them into a docile childlike people utterly dependent on him. When he begins to die, he proceeds to abduct, rape and ultimately kill sentient beings from elsewhere in the galaxy in his desperate attempt to produce an offspring to continue his duties, as his female counterpart has long since left him.
* BathtubScene: Involving a very happy [[FanDisservice Neelix]].
* BoxedCrook: Tom Paris is introduced in a penal colony on New Zealand. Janeway recruits him to find his former colleagues in the Maquis.
* BrutalHonesty
-->'''TUVOK:''' I must inform you that I was assigned to infiltrate your crew, sir. I am Captain Janeway's Chief of Security.
-->'''CHAKOTAY:''' Were you going to deliver us into their waiting hands, Vulcan?
-->'''TUVOK:''' My mission was to accumulate information on Maquis activities. [beat] And then deliver you into their waiting hands.
* CasualDangerDialogue: As the stairs threaten to collapse, Tom and Chakotay engage in SnarkToSnarkCombat
-->'''PARIS:''' You'd rather die than let me be the one to rescue you?
-->'''CHAKOTAY:''' Fine. Be a fool. If I have to die, at least I'll have the pleasure of watching you go with me.
-->'''PARIS:''' Isn't there some [[MagicalNativeAmerican Indian trick where you can turn yourself into a bird and fly us out of here?]]
-->'''CHAKOTAY:''' You're too heavy.
* CassanovaWannabie: Tom tries to charm Janeway, and hits on the pretty Bajoran helmsman.
* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: "We never asked to be involved, Tuvok, but we are."
* CharacterTic: Our very first sight of Captain Janeway is of her in the trademark hands-on-hips position. She also has a habit of [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness walking with her hands behind her back]].
* CharacterOverlap: Gul Evek from ST:TNG and ST:DS9 is commanding the Cardassian warship chasing the ''Val Jean''. Voyager launches from Series/DeepSpaceNine, where we have a cameo involving Quark trying to con NaiveNewcomer Harry Kim.
* TheDeterminator: Even at maximum speed it will take Voyager 75 years to get back to the Alpha Quadrant. Janeway declares they're going to head home regardless, though with an eye for shortcuts that will cut things down to the length of a seven-year TV series.
* DerelictGraveyard: The other vessels brought to the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker, currently being scavenged by a bizarre alien called Neelix.
* DontCallMeSir: It's been established in Trek canon that superior officers are called sir regardless of gender. Janeway makes it clear she doesn't like it. "Ma'am is acceptable in a crunch, but I prefer Captain."
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness
** Neelix is established as a ConMan (in the vein of Quark) who deceives ''Voyager'' to save Kes and then screws over the local Kazon tribe on the deal they made. Afterwards, Neelix is never portrayed as anything other than a harmless goofball.
** Tom Paris is treated like a pariah by the crew of ''Voyager'' and even among the Maquis, with only Harry Kim to call a friend. This was quickly papered over by the second episode, "Time and Again."
** B'Elanna is a lot more aggressive than in later episodes.
* EnemyMine: By the end of the episode, Janeway decides the only way to survive is to integrate the Maquis into her crew as brevet members of Starfleet.
* ExplosiveInstrumentation: What kills everyone in Sickbay.
-->'''PARIS:''' They must have been right next to the console when it exploded.
* {{Foreshadowing}}
** The Caretaker says his female partner left long ago to pursue other interests. Janeway is determined to find her, and does so in Season 2's "[[ Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E10ColdFire Cold Fire]]".
** The Ocampans mention the advanced PsychicPowers their ancestors allegedly possessed, and that Kes will develop in later seasons.
** The Doctor gets annoyed because people don't shut down his program when they leave Sickbay. The Doctor's stand over this issue is the first in his CharacterDevelopment.
** When Neelix boasts of his [[LethalChef great cooking skills]], Kes rolls her eyes.
* HarsherInHindsight: Janeway switching off the Doctor was funny at the time, but becomes a sore point later in the series when [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman he becomes more aware of his rights]].
* HeroesLoveDogs: Janeway is shown persuading her fiancé back on Earth to look after her pregnant dog while she's away.
-->'''MARK:''' Is this another 'love me, love my dog' demand?
* IDontLiketheSoundofThatPlace: The Badlands
* ImpliedDeathThreat: A nicely understated one from Maje Jabin.
-->"You have made an enemy today." ''(screen off)''
* IOweYouMyLife: Tom Paris saves Chakotay and jokes that his life belongs to Tom now. Chakotay responds "Wrong tribe!" but repays the favour by keeping the rest of the Maquis from harassing Tom.
* IronicEcho: Quark tries to hawk some jewellery to Ensign Kim, who says they were warned about Ferengi at Starfleet Academy. Quark is so outraged at this speciesism that Harry offers to buy the whole tray… until Tom points out they're being sold at a fraction of the price elsewhere. As they walk off together, Tom says, "Didn't they warn you about Ferengi at the Academy?"
* ItsALongStory: Harry asks why everyone appears to be snubbing Tom.
-->'''PARIS:''' It's a long story, Harry, and I'm tired of telling it. I'm sure someone around here will tell you before long.
* [[HumanShield Kazon Shield]]: Neelix holds Maje Jabin at phaser point in exchange for Kes.
* JumpedAtTheCall: Kes and Neelix volunteer to go with Voyager on their journey.
* TheMagnificent
-->'''JANEWAY:''' Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager.
-->'''NEELIX:''' A very impressive title. I have no idea what it means, but it sounds very impressive.
* MarsNeedsWomen: Though NoBiochemicalBarriers is averted as the Caretaker can't find anyone whose DNA is compatible with his own.
* TheMole: Tuvok is a Starfleet spy on Chakotay's vessel. Voyager's assignment is to find him when the ''Val Jean'' goes missing in the Badlands.
* MoodWhiplash: In the barn, the villagers quickly turn hostile when Voyager's crew insist on snooping around.
* MrExposition: Tuvok works out what's happening with the Caretaker.
* MythologyGag:
** Quark claims he acquired the Loki crystals from "a very strange creature called a Morn". ''Series/DeepSpaceNine'' viewers will recognise Morn sitting right next to them.
** Chakotay's ship is called the ''Val Jean'', presumably named by Starfleet officer-turned-Maquis defector Michael Eddington, who in the DS9 episode "For the Uniform" was shown to be obsessed with the protagonist of ''Literature/LESMISERABLES''.
* TheNicknamer: B'Elanna calls Harry "Starfleet" even after he introduces himself. This nickname doesn't last past Season One. Neelix uses "Mr Vulcan" for the first time. Unfortunately for Tuvok, [[OddCouple he never stops]].
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Neelix blurts out that Voyager has technology that can create water from thin air, and Janeway informs the Kazon that it's integrated into their ship. The Kazon spend the next two seasons trying to get their hands on it.
** Chakotay rams the Kazon cruiser, causing it to crash into the Array, destroying the SelfDestructMechanism.
** Janeway destroys the Caretaker Array stranding them on the other side of the galaxy (though Tuvok tells her that it will take several hours to work out the technology involved, all while being attacked by Kazon forces).
* NoEndorHolocaust: The Caretaker gave the Ocampa five years' worth of power for the city before his death. Given how dependent on him the Ocampans were, it's doubtful they could figure out for themselves a different power-source. The forcefield protecting them from outsiders will most likely fail as the power dwindles and they'll eventually have to leave for the surface... ''where the Kazon are.''
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Neelix immediately hugs Mr Vulcan. And he hasn't had a bath in a ''long'' time.
* OddCouple: The inherent comedy of Neelix and Tuvok is immediately explored.
* OddFriendship: Harry insists on remaining friends with Tom even though everyone else on Voyager is cold-shouldering him.
* OpeningScroll: Leading to a ''StarWarsANewHope'' ShoutOut too.
* PlanetLooters: The Kazon-Ogla are (in BMovie sci-fi tradition) trying to steal water!
* PrimeDirective: Tuvok argues that destroying the Array will violate the Prime Directive. Not for the last time, Janeway decides ScrewTheRulesImdoingwhatsright
* RammingAlwaysWorks: When Voyager is being hammered by a huge Kazon cruiser, Chakotay flies the ''Val Jean'' into it, condemning him to seven years being the NumberOne of another captain.
* RecycledSet: The cockpit of the ''Val Jean'' is actually a redressed runabout cockpit from ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''.
* RousingSpeech: Janeway gives on at the end of the episode.
-->'''JANEWAY:''' We're alone in an uncharted part of the galaxy. We have already made some friends here, and some enemies. We have no idea of the dangers we're going to face, but one thing is clear. Both crews are going to have to work together if we're to survive. That's why Commander Chakotay and I have agreed that this should be one crew. A Starfleet crew. And as the only Starfleet vessel assigned to the Delta Quadrant, we'll continue to follow our directive to seek out new worlds and explore space. But our primary goal is clear. Even at maximum speeds, it would take seventy five years to reach the Federation, but I'm not willing to settle for that. There's another entity like the Caretaker out there somewhere who has the ability to get us there a lot faster. We'll be looking for her, and we'll be looking for wormholes, spatial rifts, or new technologies to help us. Somewhere along this journey, we'll find a way back. Mister Paris, set a course for home.
* SacrificialLamb: On being thrown across the galaxy Voyager loses its First Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and helmsman. Their positions are taken by Chakotay, the EMH, and Tom Paris. There's also a mention of the Chief Engineer being killed; B'Elanna will take his place in the following episode.
* SassyVendingMachine: Tom argues over tomato soup.
* SelfDestructMechanism: The Caretaker tries and fails to destroy the Array, leaving Janeway to do the job herself, earning the ire of Janeway-bashers across Trek fandom.
* SceneryPorn: Voyager launching from Deep Space Nine, and the Ocampan homeworld.
* ShoutOut: The opening to the pilot "Caretaker" bears more than a passing resemblance to the opening of ''Film/ANewHope'': an OpeningScroll giving a bit of backstory, followed by a pan to a running lightfight between a small rebel ship (Chakotay's ''Val Jean'') and a large enemy ship (a Cardassian ''Galor''-class destroyer). Only difference is, the rebel ship ''escapes'', by pulling a TryAndFollow into the Badlands' plasma storms.
* SpinoffSendoff: Starts with Voyager docked at Series/DeepSpaceNine.
* StarfishAlien: Once the Banjo Man avatar goes offline, the Caretaker appears as a translucent [[BlobMonster blob creature]].
* TeamMom: Janeway worries over Harry Kim even though she admits she barely knows him. She also tells off Chakotay for verbally abusing Tom Paris; [[AFatherToHisMen this act probably does more to guarantee Tom's loyalty than anything else]].
* TerminallyDependentSociety: The Ocampan dependence on the Caretaker Array. How dependent? We later learn that an Ocampan can only ever have a single child. Assuming that this is one child per Ocampa, male or female, every early death or miscarriage permanently reduces the Ocampan population.
* UndergroundCity: Where the Ocampa live after the Caretaker's race accidentally destroyed their environment.
* VerbalBackspace: Neelix
-->'''NEELIX:''' Let me guess. You were whisked away from somewhere else in the galaxy, and brought here against your will.\\
'''JANEWAY:''' Sounds as though you've heard this story before.\\
'''NEELIX:''' Sadly, yes; thousands of times! Well, hundreds of times…maybe fifty times.
* WakeUpFighting: B'Elanna in the Ocampan medical ward.
* [[WhatTheHellHero What the Hell, Heroine?]]
'''TORRES:''' What do you think you're doing? That Array is the only way we have to get back home!\\
'''JANEWAY:''' I'm aware everyone has families and loved ones at homes they want to get back to. So do I. But I'm not willing to trade the lives of the Ocampa for our convenience. We'll have to find another way home.\\
'''TORRES:''' What other way home is there? Who is she to be making these decisions for all of us?!!\\
'''CHAKOTAY:''' She's TheCaptain.
----
