After a weak episode Voyager is on top form again here. When a strange planet is spotted Janeway takes Voyager closer in order to investigate. As it goes into orbit Voyager gets trapped. Down on the surface a primitive race see Voyager's arrival as the arrival of a new deity which they dub "Ground Shaker" as Voyager's presence causes regular earthquakes. Looking down at the surface Voyager's crew notices that the seasons are changing very quickly leading them to believe that time passes much faster on the surface than it does elsewhere in the galaxy. The next time we see the people on the surface their civilisation has progressed from the stone age to their equivalent of the Middle age Europe. By the time they have developed to the "1960s" Janeway decides to send the Doctor to the surface to see if he can learn anything that might help them leave. It is intended to send him down for a few days; which means only three seconds should pass on Voyager. When they have difficulty beaming him back he ends up spending three years there. Not much later the people have developed rockets and send two astronauts up to Voyager which they now call the "Sky Ship". Once on board the two astronauts are initially still in their own time but soon change to Voyager time which only one survives. By the time he is ready to return the people on the planet have developed weapons and are attacking Voyager, he must persuade then to stop before Voyager is destroyed.
This was a great episode, it was interesting to see the planet's civilisation rise while only a few days passed on board Voyager. Guest star Daniel Dae Kim, best known as Lin in Lost, does a good job as the astronaut who visits Voyager. The only weak point for me was that the astronauts stayed on planet-time for some time before suddenly changing to Voyager time; surely they would have gradually changed time rates as they ascended from the planet, this is a small quibble though.
This was a great episode, it was interesting to see the planet's civilisation rise while only a few days passed on board Voyager. Guest star Daniel Dae Kim, best known as Lin in Lost, does a good job as the astronaut who visits Voyager. The only weak point for me was that the astronauts stayed on planet-time for some time before suddenly changing to Voyager time; surely they would have gradually changed time rates as they ascended from the planet, this is a small quibble though.