‘Star Trek: Voyager’s “Threshold” Just Turned 30 Years Old

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The Star Trek series has many beloved, classic episodes, but also a number of installments that weren’t well-received and haven’t become popular over time. One such episode aired on January 29, 1996. It was part of a Star Trek show that was already struggling, and unfortunately, this particular episode didn’t help improve things.

Three decades ago, Deep Space Nine and Voyager were the only two Star Trek series airing. While both started slowly, they eventually became beloved parts of the franchise’s golden age. Voyager, in particular, continues to gain new viewers even years after it ended, and is frequently referenced in newer Star Trek shows. However, one episode from Voyager‘s second season almost seriously harmed the show’s reputation. Fortunately, Voyager managed to overcome the controversy.

Why ‘Star Trek’ Fans Hated ‘Voyager’s “Threshold” Episode So Much

“Threshold” has a rating of just 5.3/10 on IMDb


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The Star Trek: Voyager episode “Threshold” started with a fascinating idea. The show had already shown the Voyager could travel incredibly fast, briefly reaching Warp 9.99. This episode explored what would happen if the ship broke the Warp 10 barrier – something the Star Trek universe had always considered impossible. Creator Gene Roddenberry set this limit before The Next Generation to maintain a sense of scale and challenge. If warp speeds kept increasing, the universe would feel smaller, and storylines wouldn’t have the same dramatic tension they needed.

In the original Star Trek series, the USS Enterprise achieved “Warp 11.” However, the warp scale was changed in The Next Generation and subsequent series. This meant the meaning of “Warp 11” was redefined, effectively altering its original significance from the earlier episodes.

While Voyager often took liberties with established Star Trek lore, the episode “Threshold”‘s biggest flaw wasn’t actually its depiction of Warp 10. Even back in 1996, dedicated fans understood the episode was a bold departure, and that was part of what made it interesting. What really bothered viewers was how the episode changed the Star Trek characters. As discovered by Lt. Paris and Captain Janeway, exceeding Warp 10 caused a strange biological transformation in those who traveled at that speed.

Consequently, Paris and Janeway slowly began changing into creatures resembling alien salamanders – beings that were supposedly the future of humanity. This transformation doesn’t align with how evolution actually works, and it famously included them having offspring while in these salamander-like forms. When the crew finally found them, they left the babies behind, meaning there’s still a strange legacy of this unusual storyline somewhere in the Delta Quadrant.

Star Trek: Voyager’s 3 Lowest-Rated Episodes on IMDb
Title Season Episode IMDb Score
“Elogium” 2 4 5.8/10
“Threshold” 2 15 5.3/10
“The Fight” 5 18 5.0/10

The Voyager episode “Threshold” surprisingly offered a solution to the show’s core problem: getting Captain Janeway and her crew home. The entire series revolved around their decades-long journey across the Delta Quadrant, which even at maximum warp speed would take generations. When Tom Paris briefly achieved Warp 10, he reported feeling like he was “everywhere,” including “back home.” While Warp 10 clearly had drawbacks, the Doctor was able to restore Paris and Janeway to normal. However, despite establishing a potential shortcut to Earth very early in the series, the show never revisited this idea. This felt like a significant missed opportunity and made the episode’s existence seem even more puzzling.

The Legacy of ‘Star Trek: Voyager’s “Threshold” in 2026


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Some parts of established Star Trek storylines are initially disliked by fans, but often become accepted over time. A good example is Star Trek: Enterprise – many of the additions it made to the timeline weren’t popular when the show first aired in the early 2000s. However, in the years since its finale in 2005, fans’ opinions have become more positive. The episode “Threshold” hasn’t seen this kind of shift in perception yet, but it’s still frequently mentioned. It’s often brought up when discussing the worst Star Trek episodes, but instead of making fans angry like it used to, it’s now more often the subject of playful jokes.

Star Trek released an official action figure of the mutated Tom Paris from “Threshold” in 1996.

As a huge Star Trek fan, I always got a kick out of how Voyager‘s infamous “Threshold” episode – you know, the one with Tom Paris turning into a salamander – kept popping up. It was actually referenced as recently as 2021, unofficially marking the 20th anniversary of Voyager‘s finale! The second season of Star Trek: Lower Decks had a whole episode, “We’ll Always Have Tom Paris,” that was full of nods to Voyager, and even brought up the salamander storyline with Ensign Mariner. Honestly, Lower Decks was the perfect show to acknowledge it – it was always willing to poke fun at and pay tribute to even the most…questionable Star Trek plots. But now that Lower Decks has finished its run, it feels like “Threshold” might never get another moment in the spotlight, even a brief one, and that’s a little sad.

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2026-01-29 17:06