The Seska/Kazon arc

[Seven of Five]

It's funny really. I think I used to be so harsh on VOY when I was younger, as I was disappointed that it didn't carry on the sort of ongoing storytelling that DS9 did fairly consistently. Then whenever I come back to revisit the show year later, I find I always appreciate what they tried to do more than I used to. Taking the show for what its worth, warts and all.

So I've nearly finished season two on my latest rewatch, and I've been reminded how much I appreciated the early attempts at arc storytelling on VOY. I think one of the major failures was the Kazon being particularly uninspired Klingon clones, and I always like to think what things may have been like with a Seska/Vidiian team-up instead.

Season one is easily my favourite of the first three seasons, because even though the Maquis issue is dealt with a little too quickly, I like how Seska was developed. They built her up as a recurring crewmember, and then the wool is removed from our eyes and we see her for who she really is. It was fascinating.

Eventually, season two (second favourite) has her back with her quest to capture Voyager. I think Manoeuvres and Alliances are where the arc peaked, particularly as the ongoing Jonas plot ended up being a damp squib when Superspy Neelix exposed the truth. Of course Basics was a pretty good cliffhanger, but I hate how the writers just washed their hands on Seska and the baby in part two. And Sudar for that matter.

I feel like Chakotay never had a purpose again, which was a shame after everything he went through. Seska could have seen the Kazon as a losing side, and skipped off to find a different ally. Or perhaps they could have kidnapped her and put her in the Brig?

What do other people think? Do you like Seska and wish she had stayed around? How would you have done things differently?

What other arcs did you like throughout early VOY? Or in fact the rest of the show's run for that matter.

 

[locutus101]

I think Seska was so devious and ingenious that they would have a hard time keeping her in check. Hey, even dead she was able to get the ship in trouble.

 

[TonyLeung82]

I always liked the Jonas-Arc

 

[locutus101]

I always liked the Jonas-Arc

It's strange that he dies fighting against Neelix though.

 

[TonyLeung82]

And when I think about it, I really like the complete Hirogen-Arc from beginning till "The Killing Game".

 

[Paradise City]

Seska was a thrilling character but they paired her with those lazily conceived knock-off Klingons.It made that arc wobble a bit for me. I kinda wish they had Seska allying with someone else. I would've liked to have seen more of Lon Suder but of course it's hard to give that character a long lifespan.

 

[Tracy Trek]

Of course Basics was a pretty good cliffhanger, but I hate how the writers just washed their hands on Seska and the baby in part two. And Sudar for that matter.

I've said this before. I think it was a big cop-out that the baby did turn out not to be Chakotay's. Somewhere on this board, I think it's stated that he was supposed to be, but the writers/producers changed their minds.

 

[Seven of Five]

I was reading on Memory Alpha (probably quoted from somewhere else) that the original plan was for it to still be Chakotay and Seska's baby, but wanted it to die, but leave Seska alive. That was deemed a bit of a dark direction by Berman, so they rethought it. They thought about Cullah being killed off instead, but they didn't think it would have the required emotional punch for Seska.

So eventually they decided to kill off Seska. And as Jeri Taylor didn't want a baby on board, they changed the father's identity and sent him off with Cullah.

 

[2takesfrakes]

That Seska, a 24th Century woman, would screw up something so simple as knocking herself up was really stupid and unbelievable. And what a coincidence that she happened to have already been pregnant, when she attempted it. Hey, I've got a question, though: did she use a piece of STAR TREK technology to attempt this feat with Chakotay's DNA, or was it a tried and true turkey baster she employed? We have to assume that she wouldn't have been sexually active, around the time she tried this stunt. Perhaps Kazon sperm are particularly hardy and robust ... that a previous rendezvous was responsible and she'd miscalculated? In short ... it's so unlikely that Seska could've screwed this up, that even to a casual fan, seeing VOY for the first time, it would've seemed an obvious cop-out.

 

[Tracy Trek]

So eventually they decided to kill off Seska. And as Jeri Taylor didn't want a baby on board, they changed the father's identity and sent him off with Cullah.

And since Chakotay was a main character, maybe they thought they couldn't just ignore a child of his like they did Naomi for 2 seasons. I mean, you didn't see her character any past Basics until Mortal Coil, right? Or maybe they just didn't want 2 kids on board at the same time.

 

[Seven of Five]

I know it's bizarre logic.

 

[Mareika]

Seska was a really interesting character and I was very upset that they killed her off. She could have been a great addition to the Voyager crew to give some interesting conflicts. And it was a loss for the Chakotay character.

 

[Catarina]

That Seska, a 24th Century woman, would screw up something so simple as knocking herself up was really stupid and unbelievable. And what a coincidence that she happened to have already been pregnant, when she attempted it. Hey, I've got a question, though: did she use a piece of STAR TREK technology to attempt this feat with Chakotay's DNA, or was it a tried and true turkey baster she employed?

She stuck him in the neck with something. Not sure how that translates into sperm meets the egg in the 24th century. I doubt it was semen she procured later off screen. It's a family show of the 90s and they needed to write a connection to that episode and basics so they stuck him in the neck and sampled DNA throw in technobabble for good measure.

 

[Catarina]

Initially, I was critical of it as well. I emotionally invested in it and when it went episodic I found that disappointing. I also have a problem with the attention to character consistency. Nevertheless, something about that journey and its crew has charmed me and it's beloved to this day.

 

[locutus101]

And when I think about it, I really like the complete Hirogen-Arc from beginning till "The Killing Game".

Does this mean that you hated what came after?

 

[locutus101]

I was reading on Memory Alpha (probably quoted from somewhere else) that the original plan was for it to still be Chakotay and Seska's baby, but wanted it to die, but leave Seska alive. That was deemed a bit of a dark direction by Berman, so they rethought it. They thought about Cullah being killed off instead, but they didn't think it would have the required emotional punch for Seska.

So eventually they decided to kill off Seska. And as Jeri Taylor didn't want a baby on board, they changed the father's identity and sent him off with Cullah.

They did similar things with The Best Of Both Worlds, it was supposed to be Stewart's send-off. But he changed his mind and so they found a way to bring him back. I wonder if they would have done the rest of the series with Riker as captain in case Stewart had left the show . I don't think that would have worked.

 

[Thomas Eugene]

They did similar things with The Best Of Both Worlds, it was supposed to be Stewart's send-off. But he changed his mind and so they found a way to bring him back. I wonder if they would have done the rest of the series with Riker as captain in case Stewart had left the show . I don't think that would have worked.

So ... is it customary in the world of Star Trek that Captains want to leave after a while? Bujold left after a few days, Mulgrew wanted to leave around EQUINOX, and Stewart after BoBW (did Benjamin Lafayette want to leave at some point, too?).
If all this is true, why is that so? Aren't they satisfied with their characters? Is it because of money? Or do they find other, more interesting projects?

 

[2takesfrakes]

I was critical of it initially as well. I emotionally invested in it and I was bummed when it went episodic as well as paying little attention to character consistancy. Nevertheless, something about that journey and its crew has charmed me and it's beloved to this day.

... Agreed!

 

[locutus101]

So ... is it customary in the world of Star Trek that Captains want to leave after a while? Bujold left after a few days, Mulgrew wanted to leave around EQUINOX, and Stewart after BoBW (did Benjamin Lafayette want to leave at some point, too?).
If all this is true, why is that so? Aren't they satisfied with their characters? Is it because of money? Or do they find other, more interesting projects?

I think it must be for different reasons each time but it has often to do with them expecting to get better offers elsewhere or maybe a movie that will take all their time.

 

[TonyLeung82]

Does this mean that you hated what came after?

no, in general i liked almost everything at Voyager. But i like it when an arc is appearing like in DS9. After season 4 there did not appear much other arcs anymore, so i liked the Hirogen-arc quite well.