Star Trek: Voyager: Hope and Fear

"Hope and Fear" is the 26th and final episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. The episode first aired on the UPN network on May 20, 1998. Directed by Winrich Kolbe, it was developed from a story by Rick Berman, Brannon Braga and Joe Menosky into a teleplay by Menosky and Braga. "Hope and Fear" was the final episode of the Star Trek franchise to be worked on by executive producer Jeri Taylor. 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. In this episode, the Voyager crew discover a ship sent from Starfleet that could take them back to the Alpha Quadrant in just 3 months, but it will mean abandoning their vessel. However, it is all revealed to be an elaborate trap as the alien Arturis (Ray Wise) attempts to gain his revenge on the crew for preventing the destruction of the Borg. A variety of ideas were proposed for the season finale, with focus given to those plots relating to "slipstream" technology. The alien, named Arturis, was referred to as Yoda prior to being properly named. The sets for the fake Starfleet vessel, the USS Dauntless, were created by production designer Richard James. He sought to enable a quick change from the Starfleet appearance into something more alien. Rick Sternbach created the exterior of the vessel. Wise was cast as Arturis without auditioning, and the character's makeup was re-purposed by Michael Westmore from a design created for another television series. The episode was shot between February 28 and March 11. The final cut of "Hope and Fear" with special effects was delivered by April 30, with the score by Dennis McCarthy recorded on May 5. The episode received Nielsen ratings of 4.1/7 percent. One critic complained of continuance of the status quo in the series. However, it was warmly received by others and has been featured in best of lists, both of the season and of the series.