Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Starship Mine" airs 1993

Another favorite episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation of mine, Starship Mine, aired March 27, 1993.  Many fans thought it should have been named Die Hard, Picard.  I thought it should have been titled Indiana Picard and the Enteprise of Doom.

The Enterprise is docked at space station for a routine sweep to remove accumulated baryon particles, which can be dangerous.  The process for removing baryon particles requires anything with living tissue must be removed.

Picard soon realizes that terrorists are aboard and confronts them with the lethal baryon sweep is approaching. 

Tim Russ, who played Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager, and Patricia Tallman, who played Lyta Alexander on Babylon 5, both appeared in guest roles.

"Star Trek: Voyager" premieres 1995

Star Trek: Voyager, the fourth live-action Star Trek series, premiered January 16, 1995.  In the first episode, Caretaker, the star ship Voyager is thrown 70,000 light-years away into the Delta Quadrant along with a Maqui ship full of rebels, some of whom were in Star Fleet.  They have to join an uneasy alliance to make it back home.

It is the first series to have a female captain, Capt. Kathryn Janeway played by Kate Mulgrew.  Robert Beltran played Starfleet-turned-outlaw-turned-Starfleet Commander Chakotay.  I thought he was the coolest second-in-command of all the series and the most under-appreciated.  Voyager also introduced the first character that I really did not like: Neelix.  He was the most annoying of ALL Star Trek characters.

The rest were pretty awesome people.  Garret Wang (Ensign Kim), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine),  Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres), Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt. Paris), Robert Picardo (the Doctor) and Tim Russ (Lt. Tuvok).

I stopped watching the show after the third season when it became The Janeway/Seven of Nine Show, but I did watch the last season.

Happy birthday, Lt. Tuvok!

Tim Russ, the Vulcan Lt. Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager, celebrates a birthday today, born in 1956 in Washington, DC.  He originally auditioned for the part of Lt. Geordi LaForge in Star Trek: The Next Generation, but the role went to Levar Burton.  Oh, well, because Tim got the role of Tuvok.

Even though I didn't watch much of Voyager, I enjoyed Star Trek's return to having a Vulcan as a main character when the episode "Ex Post Facto" aired during the first season.