Rewatching Voyager

[tomalak301]

Tattoo

There isn't much to say about this episode. Chakotay gets some nice backstory and we get to know about his relationship with his Father and why he does the vision quests, but the whole storyline of Aliens who visited earth rang hollow to me. I did love the Doctor's storyline though. I think this is the first time Picardo has done a more comedic portrayal of the Doctor. It definitely won't be the last.

 

[Thomas Eugene]

So ... B'Elanna secretly yearns for Chakotay ... She doesn't realize yet that there's a much better choice for her on the ship ...

 

[tomalak301]

Yeah B"elanna and Chakotay didn't make much sense. Thank god for B'elanna and Tom. Now that was a great couple.

 

[Thomas Eugene]

Yeah B"elanna and Chakotay didn't make much sense. Thank god for B'elanna and Tom. Now that was a great couple.

It actually made sense to me. Until that point Chakotay must have been the most suitable candidate for her. Then later Tom started wooing her, she realized that there was someone who would be a better choice and ultimately decided to go for it.
And yes, Tom and B'Elanna are an excellent couple, I think.

 

[SPCTRE]

So ... B'Elanna secretly yearns for Chakotay ... She doesn't realize yet that there's a much better choice for her on the ship ...

the Paris and Janeway reaction faces here are actually perfect

 

[stardream]

B'Elanna's fantasy wasn't to be with Chakotay. It was to love and be loved and at that point in her life Chakotay just happened to be the person who was there. This was also Roxanne Dawson's interpretation. It was similar to what Kes saw. Her fantasy wasn't for Tom to be hurt and in pain...it was to be needed. Lonerunner has a video about this on his Star Trek Voyager Ruminations channel. He can explain it so much better than I can.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Start around the 23 minute mark. That is what I believe these 'fantasies' were really all about.

I liked Memorial except for the ending. I have a son who is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom who is on disability. The idea of forcing PTSD on anyone makes my blood boil. No. Just..no.

 

[tomalak301]

Cold Fire

This episode was just ok. It was nice to see more ocampa but they were so one dimensional. Also, why couldn't there be dialogue with Susperia and Janeway instead of Susperia just leaving. Here is the crew trying to convince her that they didn't kill the caretaker and the episode ends with a bit of a non ending. I remember when this episode first aired I was thinking hopefully they will see Susperia again but that whole thing was a wasted opportunity. I did like Kes here there, further going beyond what we thing the Ocampa are capable of and learning to harness her telepathic abilities. I like that this is a thing all the way up to The Gift.

 

[Thomas Eugene]

Yeah, Susperia was strange. After seeing that Janeway didn't kill her, she could at least have given our captain an opportunity to explain herself. Instead, she just left. I found that quite weird, actually.
I guess after this episode everyone had secretly hoped there'd be more about the caretakers later on but the idea was abandoned. It's a shame really.
But at least we got an episode that focussed on Kes and her telepathic/telekinetic abilities. That was good.
On to MANEUVERS then. It's high time to continue the Kazon-Seska arc - she changed sides several episodes ago.

 

[tomalak301]

Just a note of personal bias, I love the Kazon/Seska arc so all those episodes will be rated very highly.

 

[Thomas Eugene]

Just a note of personal bias, I love the Kazon/Seska arc so all those episodes will be rated very highly.

Good. I agree 120%. For me, Seska was the best villain on VOY.

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

I'd rather that she was one of the villains on ST:Voyager with the Borg Queen.
Her ambivalent mind made of her a character whom we liked hating.
-> I would have liked seeing her more and her appearances be brought in a intelligent way, not just to allow Chakotay or Cullen to highlight. This character was self-sufficient.
Can you imagine the Borg Queen and Seska becoming some unexpected allied to destroy to Travel?! It could have been an explosive meeting and a so exciting fight to see.

 

[borgboy]

Cold Fire is one of my favorite episodes (I am a big Kes fan after all). The ending is awfully rushed and the lack of resolution with Susperia is flawed. Susperia is such a powerful and interesting antagonist, it's a shame they never used her again, although she does get another story in the String Theory novel trilogy.
Seska is another favorite. I wish she'd had a bigger role in Voyager. Her betrayal would've had even more impact if she'd had a bigger role before that, and I'd have loved to see everyone stuck with her on Voyager for multiple episodes after she's exposed.

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

Yesterday, I watched again "The Good Sheperd" (6x20).
I must admit that the first time, I didn't lend it too much attention but anyway, the second viewing was to my surprise, much more interesting (and even, entertaining) though, again, in watching the episode, I said to myself, "Gosh, what missed or/and failed opportunities!" and of course, I don't speak about implausibilities, like:
1) the one which consists in seeing Seven, who is on Voyager for 2 years, explaining a ship-wide efficiency analysis to senior officers who are onboard for 6 years,
2) if Tuvok and Torres (or even Harry) knew the problem and the names of these individuals, how come that they didn't inform Chakotay, who as 1st officer, was in charge of the staff (besides, didn't Janeway and he have regular meetings where they reviewed reports,among which, the ones concerning the crew) earlier, instead of waiting 6 years in a total indifference -> if Janeway hasn't decided to take things in hand, our 3 crew members would have wasted their time and especially the opportunity of a better future for them!
3) How come that after this episode, we see no more afterward,Tal Celes, Billy Telfer and Harrens? I mean that, it would have been nice to cross them more afterward and to show a certain interaction between them (it's the same with 4 members of the Maquis who have followed Tuvok's training) -> in brief, a small tour and then goes away! Sad! We saw some more like Enseign Vorik and Lieutenant Carey, ...See, it seems to me that these 3 "lost sheep" have potential to offer at the level of possible intrigues, in particular Tal Celes, the only Bajoran met on Voayger.

Quel dommage!

 

[tomalak301]

Maneuvers

I got home from a little trip I took so might as well see at least one episode of Voyager. Like I said above, I love the Kazon/Seska arc so this was a pretty good episode. There are some quibbles like being able to use the transporter with the shields up, or not wanting Seska in addition to Chakotay's release.

still despite that , this is a great episode. It's urgent in pacing and Hackett as Seska is always a treat. Loved the interrogation scene and was Seska having an orgasm by saying "yes marje"? Also, this episode pinpoints my point that when Neelix is not comical, he's very useful. His advice to Janeway in terms of Kazon strategy is the most useful he's been since Jetrel.

 

[Thomas Eugene]

Maneuvers

I got home from a little trip I took so might as well see at least one episode of Voyager. Like I said above, I love the Kazon/Seska arc so this was a pretty good episode. There are some quibbles like being able to use the transporter with the shields up, or not wanting Seska in addition to Chakotay's release.

still despite that , this is a great episode. It's urgent in pacing and Hackett as Seska is always a treat. Loved the interrogation scene and was Seska having an orgasm by saying "yes marje"? Also, this episode pinpoints my point that when Neelix is not comical, he's very useful. His advice to Janeway in terms of Kazon strategy is the most useful he's been since Jetrel.

In addition, B'Elanna also shines on this one - showing what a loyal friend she is. It was a delight to watch her convince Janeway how she should listen to her gut rather than her better judgement.
Also, Janeway is fantastic (as always, LOL!) as she listens to B'Elanna. To me she is utterly brilliant when she comes up with the idea of beaming over the Kazon majehs (sp?). Well done, Kathryn!
But of course, the best thing is the end when Seska tells Chakotay about the child - and as we know, all is not as it seems ...

 

[tomalak301]

I know people have reservations are this arc but the thing I loved about it was it showed Voyager was trying to embrace the arc format and like I said the urgency is strong. In fact, this arc might be Chakotay's best thing during Voyagers run, until Beltran lost interest.

 

[stardream]

The writer originally wanted Chakotay thrown in the brig but someone higher up vetoed the idea.

 

[tomalak301]

Resistance

I had actually started a Voyager rewatch last November. Then I got busy and the last episode I saw before I decided to start over and keep track with this thread was Manuvers. That means we're now entering territory of episodes I really haven't seen in at least two years.

I forgot how great Resistance is. I remember thinking it was just average originally because I found Caylem kind of annoying but over time, I've grown to really love and understand this episode a lot better. Caylem is a crazy old man, but he has the best of intentions and is still very useful. The way Janeway reacts to him and even grows to love him like a father is really what this episode does best. Love watching two great actors just dance together and make magic on the screen. Yulin and Visitor did that in DS9's Duet, Stewart and Katsulas did that in The Defector, and Mulgrew and Grey did it here.

The other aspect of this episode I really enjoyed was Tuvok and B'elanna's story. The juxtaposition between the two here is really fun to explore and I wish we would have gotten deeper into it. I understand why we couldn't because of the 45 minute time limit, but it still would have been really interesting to explore further. Overall though, this is one of Voyager's best episodes and definitely one of it's most touching.

 

[Thomas Eugene]

Resistance

I had actually started a Voyager rewatch last November. Then I got busy and the last episode I saw before I decided to start over and keep track with this thread was Manuvers. That means we're now entering territory of episodes I really haven't seen in at least two years.

I forgot how great Resistance is. I remember thinking it was just average originally because I found Caylem kind of annoying but over time, I've grown to really love and understand this episode a lot better. Caylem is a crazy old man, but he has the best of intentions and is still very useful. The way Janeway reacts to him and even grows to love him like a father is really what this episode does best. Love watching two great actors just dance together and make magic on the screen. Yulin and Visitor did that in DS9's Duet, Stewart and Katsulas did that in The Defector, and Mulgrew and Grey did it here.

The other aspect of this episode I really enjoyed was Tuvok and B'elanna's story. The juxtaposition between the two here is really fun to explore and I wish we would have gotten deeper into it. I understand why we couldn't because of the 45 minute time limit, but it still would have been really interesting to explore further. Overall though, this is one of Voyager's best episodes and definitely one of it's most touching.

I remember seeing a phone-in programme with Kate Mulgrew (years, actually decades ago) when Voyager was in its second season and there she mentioned that she thought that Janeway was the best on RESISTANCE until that point. (If anyone knows what I'm talking about and finds the link to it, please share.)

Whenever I get to this epsiode - don't forget I'm watching VOY for the 34th time now -, my first reaction is to the title. I guess its title clearly shows that back then they had no idea how they would turn Voyager into the "Seven of Nine and the borg show" later on. If they had had, they wouldn't have selected RESISTANCE as the title for this ep. Or, most probabaly we would have got a borg episode with this title.

The dynamics between B'Elanna and Tuvok is excellent on this one, further explored on RANDOM THOUGHTS and JUGGERNAUT. And people say there's no continuity on VOY: it is all there IMHO, it's just not as apparent as in shows with large story arcs. On VOY continuity is done in a lot more refined manner - or so it seems to me ...

 

[tomalak301]

The dynamics between B'Elanna and Tuvok is excellent on this one, further explored on RANDOM THOUGHTS and JUGGERNAUT. And people say there's no continuity on VOY: it is all there IMHO, it's just not as apparent as in shows with large story arcs. On VOY continuity is done in a lot more refined manner - or so it seems to me ...

As a fan of the Kazon arc from the second season, there was continuity in VOY. I think they just played looser with it than a lot of the story arc shows of today or even DS9.