Star Trek Voyager - A Thread for Fans

There seems to be a few threads here that are about how much people (fans) disliked Star Trek Voyager. I want to post a thread for those of us that actually liked the series.

I was unable to watch most of this series when it was being aired because I didn’t have UPN. Because of this, and the negative things I have heard, I didn’t plan on buying the series on DVD. After all, $100 per season is a lot of money.

One day I happened to notice that a certain e-tailer had the entire series on sale for $385. This was about half of what the other series cost (They have since raised the price to $485 – guess it was a mistake). I went ahead and ordered it, and I have been pleasantly surprised, and glad that I did.

To me, this series was very different than the sterile, rigid, Next Generation series. I think a lot of the negative opinions of Voyager were because it was different. The fans didn’t like change. I was getting tired of the same old villains and rules, and was in the mood for the Star Trek world to expand. Voyager allowed this to be possible.

Right now I am a few discs in to Season 6. I have enjoyed the ride so far and am looking forward to them getting home. I did see the finale few episodes when they aired, so I know the ending, but now that I will have watched the whole series, I will be able to enjoy the finale even more I hope.

Are there any other people here that liked this series?

Count me in. I really enjoyed this series as well.

I will admit that I only started watching the series because I caught a pic of Jeri Ryan in a magazine and after I put my eyes back in my head I began watching, I thought it was a pretty good show personally.
If I had one complaint with the first three seasons or so it was that their message episodes (and that was a few) were quite often laborious, they would play out with some modern day moral parallel that was rather easy to understand but they would just bash you over the head with said message as if the viewer was a moron and couldn't understand...like "DO YOU GET IT!?!?! IT'S A MODERN DAY PARALLEL!! DO YOU GET IT?!?!? HUH!?!?"

Apart from that when they were on their game it was a very enjoyable show with good characters.

If I just read that statement by itself, I would swear you were talking about DS9.

The funny thing is that a common complaint people had with Voyager was that it was more of the same old, same old. I might be among the minority here, but I actually preferred the first 2 or 3 seasons to the rest of the show's run.

I thought that Voyager was (mostly) entertaining for the average Star Trek fan; it's main problem was that its character development suffered mightily compared to Deep Space Nine.

Every character on the DS9 series changed radically between its opening season and its concluding episode. The same could not be said of Voyager. Except for "the Doctor", and Seven of Nine, there just wasn't all that much character development for the principal cast members.

The series also suffered from some inconsistency. In most of the seasons we got 5 or 6 really tremendous episodes, about 10 average episodes, and around 10 below-average-to-poor episodes. That's a total of 20 episodes per season that were between poor-to-just a little above average. (I will say that the number of really poor episodes went steadily down each season, and that the seventh season was, by far, its most consistently entertaining season with not a single below-average ep the entire year. Had it not been for the "Borg Children" eps in the Sixth season, I would probably have enjoyed that season more.)

The other thing about Voyager was when it got it right, it was really good!

Here's a list of some of the episodes that I really enjoyed:

Season 1:
Caretaker ***
Faces ***1/2

Season 2:
Death Wish ***
Lifesigns **** (In my Top 25 for all Star Trek series combined.)
Tuvix ***1/2

Season 3:
Flashback (Sulu!) ***1/2
Future's End, Parts I and II ***1/2
Blood Fever ***1/2
Distant Origin ***
Scorpion Part I ****

Season 4:
Scorpion Part II ****
Day of Honor ***
Message in a Bottle **** (Top 25)
Living Witness ****

Season 5:
Drone ****
Timeless **** (In my personal Top Ten for all Star Trek series.)
Gravity ***1/2
Dark Frontier Parts One and Two ***
11:59 ****
Equinox Part One ***

Season 6:
Equinox Part Two ***
Barge of the Dead ****
Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy ****
One Small Step **** (In my Top Ten)
Pathfinder ****
Virtuoso ***
Muse ***
Life Line ****

Season 7: The Entire Season, but especially
Imperfection ***
Critical Care ***
Body and Soul ***
Shattered ***
Prophecy ***
The Void ***
Author, Author ****
Homestead ****
Endgame Parts One and Two ***

I also liked the series. I only got to see the first few seasons back then because my station stopped showing it or something. I can't exactly remember. Thanks to Spike TV I watched the enire series last year.

I guess the writing gets criticized alot but for some reason, when it comes to TV, I just don't get that deep. I just need to be entertained. Call me dumb. I just enjoy watching the world of Trek. I liked Voyager because to me it was more like TNG with a ship out uuhh..voyaging unlike DS9 which I stopped watching because it got too boring for me just being on a space station (of course after I stopped watching they brought in the Defiant). I gave DS9 another shot last year thanks again to Spike and enjoyed it more this time although I still think the first few seasons were blah.

Good to see others liked this show.

I do have a question for any Star Trek Geeks out there. Why is it that the crew of Voyager had to have replicator rations, and eat cooked food yet they had enough energy for the holodeck? Seems to me it would take less energy to make food than to run a holodeck.

LOL, leave it to me to ponder the details on a fictional world.

The same reasons why:
1) the ship was in perfect condition at the start of each new story, despite there not being any maintainence facilities or the fact that the ship might have suffered damage in the previous episode/storyline

2) they never had to trade or scavenge for supplies

3) they seemed to have an infinite number of photon torpedos and shuttlecrafts

The non-sarcasm answer : Would you believe the holodeck had its own power supply? Totally independent of and incompatible with the ship's other systems. I think they tried messing with it around Episode 4 but decided they couldn't siphon power because the energy signatures were just too different.

I cared very little for Voyager but it was entertaining. Like a chocolate bon bon, it was an easy enough guilty pleasure. Lifesigns was the best episode of the series, imho, and one of the ten best episodes of Trek ever. The show had promise, potential and some really cool ideas that were totally squandered. I sometimes wonder what Voyager would have been like had the DS9 folks gotten ahold of it. Talk about tension between the Maquis and the Federation!

I know this is a fan thread. And I own every season of Voyager on dvd. But, I have one beef and its a doosey. I felt very cheated by the end of Voyager. You spend 7 years investing time with a show and its characters. And I was hoping they would arrive home with 2 or 3 episodes left. And use that time to show the consequences and ramifications of their 7 year absence. They had some many great storylines they could have worked with...what happens to the Maquis crew? The Doctor? etc. All the other criticisms people make I can deal with. This too me was the biggest mistake the producers made.

This was Voyagers main problems. Great premise but lack of character development and the reset button. You can see why Robert Beltran was so vocal about his dislike for the show.

I think everyone wanted this. Ashame. There are books out there that finish the story where the show did not.

I enjoyed the show during it's run, although I am fully aware of it's problems. I am not at all a Star Trek fan, don't care one bit for the Klingons, Vulcans and whatever else, so I liked that they were far far away.

I never religiously watched it, but caught a good many reruns late night on UPN. My favorite episodes:

- the one with the Omega particle (AWESOME concept)
- the one where the ship crashes onto an ice planet. It involves time travel.
- the one where the crew turns out to be a copy of the real thing
- the one with the memorial that forces people to experience the horrible events that took place there.
- A couple of borg and/or species 4271 (2471? 8274? 1234?) episodes

There's a few others.

--
H

There are some very good episodes of Voyager but what made them less effective is that the things that happened in an episode were not carried over. They were forgotten by the next episode.
Did we ever really get to know the characters in Seven years? Except for Seven and the Doctor, did anyone really evolved?

Those episodes would be...

The Omega Directive
Timeless
Course: Oblivion
Memorial

Of course the Borg and Species 8472 episodes have a fair share to name, so I'll just leave them alone.

I think we did get to know all the characters. Seven and the Doc evolved the most, but I think they did a good job of giving all the other characters a depth.

I think that the characters in Voyager evolved more and seemed deeper than the sanitized characters on TNG.

As for the comment about the seemingly unlimited shuttles and torpedos, they did mention that they could build them (replicating the parts) as long as they had energy. There we a number of episodes dealing with their ongoing search for dilythium (or whatever) that they need. They also traded with every non-hostile race they came across.

As far as the seemingly quick repairs, there where 150 people on board. Guess they kept them busy

Concerning the shuttles: It should be pointed out that there were at least two episodes that dealt with the building of "Delta Flyers", which were sort of a "Super Shuttle for the Delta Quadrant". Since they aptly demonstrated in those eps that they could build these "Super Shuttles" out of available raw materials and replicator energy, it's not too much of a stretch to believe that they could replicate spare parts to build standard shuttles anytime they wanted to.

Besides, it should be remembered that Voyager(the ship) was built such that it could endure "long" deep space missions (which would explain why the ship always looked "new" for most episodes.) It *was* possible to damage the ship beyond the crews' ability to repair it though, such as in the multi-part episode "The Year of Hell".

But remember, that episode never really happened.

I watched Voyager and for the most part enjoyed it. However, I just felt a bit let down that they didn't go all the way with the concept of having a crew of rebels aboard and the fact that Voyager was all alone out there. They should have had a much rougher time getting home. At least they should have offed Harry Kim (and when I say that, I mean they should have killed him twice since he was replaced by the duplicate from that one episode). I guess that was the plan until he got on People's 50 most beautiful and instead they deep spaced Jennifer Lien.

I was never bothered by how the Maquis acted onboard Voyager. Remember, these weren't terrorists who hated the Federation. They were opposed to the Cardassian occupation of their worlds. Granted, they would attack a Federation target if it would further their needs. But, they were not out to destroy the Federation. Also, a lot of Maquis were former Starfleet officers. So they still have a semi-allegiance to them. That being said their would be no sustainable reason they wouldn't work with the Starfleet crew to get home.

You're not a Star Trek fan but watched all of Voyager? We're you forced at gunpoint?

I never really felt they fleshed out the characters. Robert Beltran constantly complained in the press about that so it not anyone's imagination that characters went through the motions but you never really knew them. They were like cardboard cutouts. Sure things occasionally happened to them but by the end of the episode the reset button was pushed.
Did we ever really find out who Chakotay was. What made him tick? Why all of a sudden did he fall for Seven?

B'lanna... she was a hot head and she was half klingon and half human. Other than maybe two episodes you never really found her evolving and dealing with her heritage. Why all of a sudden did she fall for Paris. Why did Paris fall for her. Sure they got together but did you ever get the sense they were in a relationship?

Kim...pushed a lot of buttons on the ship but other than a girlfriend he had on earth, you never got to care about him. Nexlis... bafoon of the ship. They never knew what to do with him. Hell we didnt even get a break up with Kes episode, they were just all of a sudden not together anymore.

There was no consistency.


Good Drama comes from Conflict and once everyone got along, all the conflict was gone.

One ship against the Borg and there ship looked grand spanking new all the time. Remember what the Borg did to the Enterprise? They changed the rules as they went.

I fully agree that at some point they'd start getting along, but when they got one of the main selling points of the show (conflict among the crew) out of the way by the second episode, it was a sign that Voyager would be the same old, same old.

They argued all the time what more proof you need?

Hey Joeseph Bolus,

Let's get a look at your whole top 25 list! I wanna see where TNG's "The Inner Light" is!

Ric

Sure they got together but did you ever get the sense they were in a relationship?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They argued all the time what more proof you need?


You got me there but other than the arguing, why were these two together?
Also, why was a relationship between Janeway and Chakotay hinted upon and then abandoned?
Another character I wished they had developed was Vorik, who was on two or three times and then abandoned. I thought he was more interesting than Tvok, the more boring part of Voyager.

Ric:

I almost hate to provide this list since it's sure to be controversial (and it probably doesn't belong in a Voyager appreciation thread to boot!)

But, since you asked, here's my list of the Top Star Trek episodes:

1. The City on the Edge of Forever (TOS)
2. All Good Things ... (TNG)
3. Yesterday's Enterprise (TNG)
4. The Best of Both Worlds (TNG)
5. The Inner Light (TNG)
6. In the Pale Moonlight (DS9)
7. The Visitor (DS9)
8. Amok Time (TOS) (Tie)
8. Timeless (VOY) (Tie)
9. The Trouble with Tribbles (TOS)
10. One Small Step (VOY)
11. The Menagerie/The Cage (TOS/Pilot)
12. Relics (TNG)
13. The Jem'Hadar (DS9)
14. Family (TNG)
15. The Way of the Warrior (DS9)
16. Space Seed (TOS)
17. Lifesigns (VOY)
18. Mirror, Mirror (TOS)
19. Far Beyond the Stars (DS9)
20. Data's Day (TNG)
21. Message in a Bottle (VOY)
22. Tomorrow is Yesterday (TOS)
23. The Andorian Incident (ENT)
24. Once More Unto the Breach (DS9)
25. Who Watches the Watchers? (TNG)

Unclassifiable:
The last 10 episodes of DS9!

Since there have been almost 700 episodes of Star Trek aired, it's really almost impossible to cover all the great eps in a single top 25 list (or, even, a Top 26 or Top 36 list!)

What part of not liking what I've seen of Trek's universe but enjoying Voyager precisely because it was away from said universe did you fail to understand? And exactly where did I say that I watched "all of Voyager" - or anything remotely resembling that statement?

--
H

Joseph, I've watched every live action Trek created, and I could never do what you've just done. Agree or disagree, that's quite an undertaking. Nice to see an ENT episode crack the top 25, though I'd have made it the Mirror, Darkly episodes. I take it you think DS9 rocked.

Why is Trials and Tribble-ations not on that list? That's clearly one of the better DS9 episodes they have.

Yeah, I thought about the hijacking aspect, but I wanted you to get the post! Sorry guys! BTW, nice list! But, where's "And the Children Shall Lead"??? Just kidding!

No, it's because it was, at worst, a complete rehash of the previous 14 years of Star Trek.

I really enjoyed Voyager when it came out. Its first season had the quality of third-season TNG, with some very interesting stories.

The problem was that it never really improved, remaining stagnant for its seven year run.

Despite, that I still enjoyed it, until I grew bored with my 21st year of ST, and drifted off to watch West Wing during one of its seemingly-10 week hiatuses.

I tuned in for the series conclusion, and felt that the finale wholly betrayed the story and its characters. After seven years of struggling for survival, and grasping for ways to return home, it's all made pointless as Future-Janeway comes back in time and takes them home.

They might as well found a comfy, pleasure planet and sipped Klingon Ale, until Future-Janeway showed up to take them home.

The writers betrayed their drama, their characters' travails, with the deus ex machina resolution

My perspective on Voyager is probably a little different than most due to how I am watching them. I am on an extended break from work (ie Unemployed) and am able to watch the entire 7 seasons in just a couple of weeks. By watching the series so quickly, it is easier to notice the changes in the characters. It is also easier to remember previous episodes so some things make more sense.

Watching 180 or so episodes in 2 weeks isn't the norm, but it does make me appreciate the story and characters more than if I watched only 1 episode a week.