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I've done quite a few blogs about my journey through Star Trek from TNG, through to Enterprise Despite the recommendations against the latest series from many, I'm just entering season two and things are lining up as they tend to do in Star Trek. The crew, having begun strange and unfamiliar, have become moderately familiar, while the ranks of new, Delta Quadrant species are fleshed out in custom, demeanor, and first impressions of Voyager/The Federation. Of TNG, DS9, and Voyager, Voyager has started, if not the slowest then definitely the clunkiest. I suppose this is to be expected leaving 90% some odd percent of the Star Trek canon, in favor of boldly going where no series had previously.
The Ship
May as well start with the namesake of the series
At first glance, I thought the ship looked goofy, but that is not uncommon in my experience. I find the first incarnation to look comparatively strange though I chalk that up to the sixties/crazy 23rd century design. I also was not initially intrigued by the Defiant, but that grew on me as well. The USS Voyager, has followed much the same path. I especially like how the nacelles turn upwards in the style that most Star Trek viewers would be familiar with
You'll note it if you can catch that brief little bit before the loop
The one bit I am not so sure about, and this was touched on in the first season, is the bio-neural gel packs that make Voyager a unique specimen among intrepid class ships. They even get sick, hence the bio part, but in all honesty they just look like cooling gel packs. I am being nit picky, this is a cool little ship and I like the departure away from Galaxy Class, or the bigger boys to something a little more run of the mill.
The Captain
Captain Janeway. Yay female captain and forward progress!
First things first, in episode one and I don't know if it is the mic'ing or what but Kate Mulgrew's voice was really, really grating. It seems to be a temporary problem, but I had to get that off my chest. Janeway as a character is pretty much what you would expect from a captain put in charge of a vessel like the Voyager. She is very human, and much more so that you'll get from Picard, or Sisko, but without the appetite for the flesh that Kirk that made Kirk famous.
My first impression of Janeway as a captain is that she is far too hands on with various bits of running the ship; either that or we just never saw the day to day drudgery of star ship operations in the other series. What is painfully obvious at times is that the writers for the show seemed to struggle with a strong, human, female character. Other, consistent female characters from the 2370s (K'Ehleyr, Kira, Jadzia Dax to name a few) were both not human, and not as prominently featured in their respective series as a Captain maybe. Portions of what made them strong or dynamic came from distinct ties to their alien culture; this provides creative leeway for character development that just isn't there for an Earth girl. One season and some change in, I am hopeful that they find some footing and I think they are getting there.
If it wasn't obvious I am a fan of the doctor
The Crew
Taking DS9's multicultural crew bit a step further, and bringing Maquis/Ex-starfleet together in one tiny little ship, tacking on a few different alien species from the Delta Quadrant to round out the crew. Plenty of room for dramatic interpretation, and interesting set ups though I feel like through the first season has not set any one character apart from the rest as interesting protagonists. They are just running about in Starfleet uniforms, and occasionally the subject of holodeck drama or goings ons on the given surface of planet X.
I know of Seven of Nine, but as of yet she has not made her debut, we need to do a bit of glossing over as far as she is concerned. From what I've seen, Tuvok and the Doctor are my favorite characters at this point and time. I have a weakness for Vulcans as a species, and the Doctor is another first of his kind being a holographic character. He is also delightfully sardonic and often times in-human which I suppose puts him in a similar vein as Vulcans. Neelix has played the role of Pagliacci fairly well though he tends towards the side of bothersome more than interesting at this point and time. I am also not a huge fan of the Talaxians in terms of make up. The Talaxian history is definitely interesting though.
Chakotay is the most heavy handed character of the lot. This is not out of the wheelhouse of the portrayal of natives in the mid-to-late nineties. The initially Native Americanish, later Mayan (Apparently, I am really not sure yet though I am literally watching the episode,"Tattoo," as I write this), is a text book caricature a la Last of the Mohicans, Dances with Wolves, or Pocahontas. He bothers me, can you tell?
Tom Paris, the most Quarkish of the lot, is interesting but as of yet thin character but what I do like is that his Holodeck program offers a little den of fun for the crew similar to Quarks or Ten Forward. Ensign Kim is thinner than most of the core staff, he has (had?) a serious significant other on Earth, and is interested in Beowulf, that is about all I can tell you about him at this point. B'Elanna is pretty tepid, and I think that she'll become more interesting when/if the writers pair her off, she suffers a bit of the same as Ensign Kim.
The Enemies
Vidiians, Kazon, and Botha, are the only antagonists we have yet encountered thus far that are unique to the Delta Quadrant. Later seasons the Borg obviously play a role, but we've not gotten there yet and frankly the rogues gallery leaves a lot to be desired. I love the Borg as much as any Trekkie(er), but I was hopeful that the latest series would have come up with something a bit more original. DS9 had the Dominion, TNG had the Borg, now I also know that Voyager has the Borg as well.
It is all in all just a bit disappointing. The Vidians are scavengers for body parts, so far one dimensional, Botha from the one encounter seem like more aggressive, less interesting Romulans, and the Kazon... Ugh, the Kazon. Let me blow up a picture of the Kazon for you:
We're like the Klingons, but our hair looks literally like shit and we are about 150 years behind the Federation in terms of technology
The Kazon, if you can really call them an enemy, are currently my largest problem with Voyager. Thinking about it in earnest, I am not sure they qualify. They occupy a space not unlike the Klingon early TNG or the Cardassians when it suited them in DS9. More often combative than not though, I am content in putting them in the same category as some of the seedier characters I've thus far met. It is almost entirely a bit of character design, as I said before, a walking piece of shit. Culturally they seem equally thin, and dull. I hope they leave soon, and stay far, far away. I've even Googled, "Redeeming qualities of the Kazon Star Trek," and turned up a forum post that make me giggle.
The Kazon are so crappy the Borg refuse to assimilate them (literally) and they think a line on the floor constitutes a prison cell.
They have no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
It is early yet, maybe I'll come around to them like I did the Bajorans, but for right now. The Kazon can be dismissed.
All in all, I am satisfied with the progress of the show. It has stumbled some, but is finding its cadence. I don't mind the show using the Borg as a crutch down the line, I am sure it will pick things up, but what worries me most is the crew and the enemies. By this point in DS9 and TNG, I feel like I had a better idea of who I gravitated towards and why, but Voyager's crew and enemies are all very beige. I know what I am supposed to like and dislike about each character, but I often cannot bring myself to really care like I did for others. First few seasons are always the roughest though, next blog on Star Trek after season seven.
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My problem with Voyager is the woman captain. Men just make better captains. That's like biology, or something.
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Yay, you're finally watching Voyager! Character development always takes a few seasons, we'll see what you think after you get a better feel for the characters.
Edit: You won't really meet 7 of 9 until season 4.
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Germany25658 Posts
Dude if you ever want to have a nerdy/in-depth discussion about Star Trek, please PM me 
That said, I think Voyager gets better and better through the first 2 seasons. Seasons 3 an onward are pretty good in my opinion and not nearly as bad as most fans say.
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I have seen all the star trek series, just not DS9 (Ill probably try that one again...)...for me voyager kinda stood out from the rest because of its great overarching story.
I dont know if you guys read the book about james cook, but its pretty obvious that this was the main inspiration for the entire star trek franchise (I really recommend this book to any trekkie...i probably read it in just two days...and im a slow reader..)
But voyager really captured this story of being stranded in the unkown and trying to find its way back.
Besides that, the female captain didnt bother me that much, if you replaced the actor with a male actor but kept the script...i think you wouldnt even notice. (I like strong women  )
I do have to admit, that the stories of the individual episodes were of lesser quality then those of next generation..but next generation in return didnt have that one big overarching story in the way voyager did it.
Its different then next gen and the original series...and i dont think you can compare them with eachother, itsprobably a matter of taste...and also, the series really becomes better in later seasons .
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Voyager really suffers from its characters. Janeway is okay, even though she's pretty bland in comparison to the other captains. As you've said, the doctor definitely is the most interesting guy in VOY, while he's basically just another Spock / Data clone. But Pardo's acting really helps the character's development.
Chakotay is a disaster. Compare him to the other "Number 2s". Hell, Riker looks like a super hero, if you put him next to Chakotay. As for the others, I also think that Seven and Tuvok are the best of the lot, which sadly doesn't mean that they're great. The whole series is very "nineties": They wanted to include all skin colors, minorities and sub-groups, which led to one-dimensional characters, because they are primarily described by what they are and not what they think or do.
Also, there's not much development going on, even though they tried. Paris could have been a great character, but his storyline remains lackluster throughout the whole series. Same goes for Kim and Torres (who later on gets really annoying imho). And then there's Neelix. Well...I tried to like him. I really did. But he's just too goofy.
Overall, Voyager isn't as bad as many people say. The sad thing is that it could have been much better. Being stranded in the delta quadrant would have offered so many great possibilities for both storytelling and character development, but the writers just didn't dare enough. Sometimes, Voyager feels like a Star Trek variety show.
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Yay Star Trek Blog \o/
Out of all the Trek series, Voyager takes the longest to really get going, seasons one and two are pretty much completely skipworthy (I made a word), thanks to bland characters and the Kazon.
As for the characters, I did immediatly like Captain Janeway, she's great. Tuvok isn't bad at all, but nobody can beat the doctor, not even Seven of Nine(despite her looks :>).
In my opinion both Neelix and Torres have rocky starts but they get a lot better further on. I just can't get myself to like Kim, Parris, Chakotay and Kes. They are dull and they stay dull.
I will say though that having the Borg in Voyager wasn't dissapointing at all to me, they're great in that series. The Borg episodes are some of the best episodes in all of Star Trek, despite the series' flaws. You also have the Hirogen to look forward to; their first appearance is lackluster but they'll produce some solid episodes down the line.
All in all, there are more episodes you want to skip in Voyager than in all the other series, but you also have quite a few great ones to look forward to!
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Ive never been able to get into star trek, i did enjoy the few episodes of stargate i watched though (and the film?), maybe i should watch those.
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Voyager is this only startrek series I was ever able to consistently watch. From TNG or DS9, I can enjoy an occasional episode here and there, but Voyager is just a series you can watch every evening before going to sleep. Some episodes are really dull and straightforward and Neelix becomes over time incredibly annoying, but other than that, the cast evolves into a much closer family than in the other series and it kindof works smoothly after a couple of seasons.
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What is painfully obvious at times is that the writers for the show seemed to struggle with a strong, human, female character.
The issue with Janeway is not that she was a woman, but that the character's entire design was focused around 'strong independent woman' cliches, that the show suffered from its relentless application in ever-increasingly hamfisted ways. From the sandpaper voice, the deliberate camera angles to make Mulgrew a head higher, Janeway's stiff posturing, the castration of her ineffectual second-in-command and her own God complex obediently accepted by everyone in her crew, she is the Mary Sue of a dementedly mediocre imagination.
Because Janeway is such an irritating and pig-headed take on human perfection, the audience is left dangling for seven years in anticipation of the episode in which this Caligula receives her comeuppance. Not only does she not receive it, but we discover her in Nemesis promoted to the rank of Admiral. Anyone who understands 'Admirals' in Star Trek will easily comprehend that Janeway was the arch-villain of Voyager, as much as Gul Dukat was for DS9.
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On August 22 2014 03:32 MoltkeWarding wrote:Show nested quote +What is painfully obvious at times is that the writers for the show seemed to struggle with a strong, human, female character. The issue with Janeway is not that she was a woman, but that the character's entire design was focused around 'strong independent woman' cliches, that the show suffered from its relentless application in ever-increasingly hamfisted ways. From the sandpaper voice, the deliberate camera angles to make Mulgrew a head higher, Janeway's stiff posturing, the castration of her ineffectual second-in-command and her own God complex obediently accepted by everyone in her crew, she is the Mary Sue of a dementedly mediocre imagination. Because Janeway is such an irritating and pig-headed take on human perfection, the audience is left dangling for seven years in anticipation of the episode in which this Caligula receives her comeuppance. Not only does she not receive it, but we discover her in Nemesis promoted to the rank of Admiral. Anyone who understands 'Admirals' in Star Trek will easily comprehend that Janeway was the arch-villain of Voyager, as much as Gul Dukat was for DS9.
That is definitely an interesting perspective, I definitely hadn't thought of her int hat way before. I can't quite appreciate the depth of your critiques just yet, but I can definitely see the cliches bit. Almost like a, "were Picard female," but with jaded sensibilities about how that would affect the character.
I definitely get the same Federation, embodiment of human superiority vibe from her some.
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I know its superficial but seven of nine is one of the hottest characters ever to grace the TV screen. That aside, that show had some really iconic moments, like with species 2479. For some reason the captain decided to deal with the borg for safe passage instead of dealing with those aliens. I guess I don't remember too well now though
Also I agree Neelix just seems pretty annoying, just because his character is so overly emotional and talks too much. Chakotay is a pretty cool character though, and Janeway actually makes a pretty solid captain. I didn't find her voice that problematic. I have to agree that generally Voyager seems to be one of the weaker shows
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Worst part is probably some episodes that attempted to deal with "spirituality", while seemingly written while high. (So, you can imagine the depth) And the ending of the whole thing. Real big cop out.
Oh, and the sudden "hologram rights" angle in the last series. They get to an area of space that suddenly has lots of problems with it. That was... odd.
I quite liked the Q Civil War. John de Lancie was born to play Q.
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I enjoyed this show. It's probably my favorite Star Trek series. While it does have it's flaws, it's still a great show. It's intelligent, funny, witty, and sometimes touches the human heart in a special way.
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Bumping this to say that after rewatching the episode Thirty Days that no wonder everyone hate Voyager so much. Janeway was a terrible/hypocritical captain.
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Well voyager is crap until "7 of 9" joins in.
I mean Tuvok and the doctor are cool too but nowhere near as much fun and sophistication as seven brings in.
There is a lot of time-travel shit going on in voyager and those are usually the worst episodes in Star-Trek universe, but if you can chew threw you'll find out a lot of good episodes as well.
As for the captain...
The only things I remember Janeway for is drinking black coffee and throwing everyone into the brig.
Not a type of captain you would like to have... too emotional.
But as I see it captains are a big problem of Star-Trek in general(or maybe it was meant to be this way?):
Picard - pussy captain(avoids conflict at all costs)
Sisko - in my opinion the only good captain choice within the series a lot of good qualities
Janeway - too emotional a lot of bad qualities for a captain
Archer - trainwreck
I can't say much about Kirk as I didn't watch enough episodes tbh.
Imo DS9 was by far the best of star-trek as both character variety and character development was a core part of this series.
Also if I should pick the best/strongest female leader it would be without a doubt Kira - strong, stable character with interesting background(+good-looking)!
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