A renegade band of freedom fighters known as the Maquis are operating outside of Federation guidelines. When one of their ships gets stranded in an area of space known as "The Badlands," the Federation decides to send the Starship U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656, captained by Kathryn Janeway, to its rescue. Upon arriving in the Badlands, both the Maquis vessel Val Jean and Voyager are swept up in a bizarre phenomenon that catapults them 70,000 light years away to a previously uncharted area of space.

The two crews must band together to escape the clutches of an alien force they come to know as "The Caretaker." Along the way, the Maquis ship is destroyed, and its crew must board Voyager to survive. These two crews encounter several new alien lifeforms, and ultimately invite two — Neelix and Kes — to join them aboard the ship. Together, this disparate group of people must work together to find their way back home.

Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway)
Robert Beltran (Chakotay)
Roxann Biggs-Dawson (B'Elanna Torres)
Jennifer Lien (Kes)
Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris)
Robert Picardo (The Doctor)
Ethan Phillips (Neelix)
Tim Russ (Lt. Commander Tuvok)
Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim)

Basil Langton (The Caretaker)
Gavin O'Herlihy (Maje Jabin)
Angela Paton (Adah)
Armin Shimerman (Quark)

Scott Jaeck (Lt. Commander Cavit)
Alicia Coppola (Lieutenant Stadi)
Bruce French (Ocampa Doctor)
Jennifer Parsons (Ocampa Nurse)
David Selburg (Toscat)
Jeff McCarthy (Dr. [Lt. Cmdr.] Fitzgerald)
Stan Ivar (Mark Johnson)
Scott MacDonald (Ensign Rollins)
Josh Clark (Lt. Joseph Carey)
Richard Poe (Gul Evek)
Keely Sims (Farmer's Daughter)
Eric David Johnson (Daggin)
Majel Barrett (Computer Voice)

• Two-hour series premiere.
  
• The Badlands is an area of space plagued by severe plasma storms, located between the Federation and Cardassian border, near Bajoran space.
  
• The following senior officers were killed when the Caretaker pulled Voyager into the Delta Quadrant: Lt. Cmdr. Cavit (First Officer), Lt. Stadi (Conn Officer), Dr. Fitzgerald (Chief Medical Officer) and his Vulcan nurse (T'Prenna), and the Chief Engineer.
  
• Genevieve Bujold was originally cast as Captain Janeway. After two days of filming, she walked off the set and Kate Mulgrew was cast in her place.
  
• The "Theme from Voyager" won an Emmy in 1995 for outstanding music in a TV series.
  
• Janeway reinstates Tom Paris' rank of Lieutenant-Junior Grade with a field promotion.
  
• There is some confusion regarding Chakotay's rank. He is referred to as Commander, but his provisional rank pin is that of a Lieutenant Commander, which was his rank when he resigned from Starfleet.