Written by Ronald D. Moore and Bryan Fuller
Directed by Mike Vejar

Eric Pierpoint -- Kotar

B'Elanna is in a shuttle. There is some turbulence, and she calls for help, but soon she is safely aboard Voyager. Meanwhile, she finds a small plaque with a Klingon insignia -- a strange discovery, given that the Klingon Empire is on the other side of the galaxy. But things get stranger yet. Alone in her quarters, she observes blood spilling from the plaque, and hears a burst of noise and Klingon shouting.

Like its titular slow boat, the "Barge of the Dead" carries viewers into a half-baked mishmash of New Age religious sentiment and self-actualization flapdoodle.

The Klingon netherworld jibes poorly with the complex but comprehensible universe that's generally been posited in Star Trek. The barge and its destination are reminiscent of classical and Christian visions of the afterlife, reflecting a lack of scriptwriting imagination.

B'Elanna's descent, in any event, turns out to be merely an opportunity for her to feel better about herself. No hard choices must be made. Eternal damnation lasts about 60 seconds.

Don't suffer through this one.

The Klingon artifact initially seems to be the cause of B'Elanna's netherworld experience. But then it seems to be a mere figment of that experience. Which is it?

Oxygen deprivation may be the crucial factor in "near-death experiences" including afterlife visions. B'Elanna's experience also occurs amid reduced oxygen intake, but the script implies that genuine supernatural forces are at work as well.

Reruns continue, but the lucky episode has yet to be announced.