How Do You Feel About Chakotay?

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

About Chakotay,I notice that for a former Starfleet senior officer, he quickly made with the Maquis savoir-faire (=lack guard rail) and, was very comfortable with that. That surely why I don't understand why some people saw - and still see - him accepting to return to Starfleet as Captain of a vessel, while his desire/will to manage whatever situation he would face as he wish, would not be well received by the commanding brass and would let him know without fuss.
Captain Kathryn Janeway was able to bend the rules when she felt it necessary but she always did it from Starfleet protocol and at the end, once the deal done, she always returned to it. What I mean is that she had Starfleet deeply ingrained in her. Not Chakotay.

About Robert Beltran, Brannon Braga revealed not being one of his fans because of his attitude on/out sets and because of that, he didn't want or even let his staff of writers write about his character. I guess that if ST: Voyager was made today, producers would require his removal from studio, regardless of whether his character is a fan favourite, and surely would get it, while at that time, UPN & Paramount bosses wanted to keep him no matter the cost (tensions with producers and other actors, salary).
For my part - ‎but it's up to me! -, I often thought that Beltran's acting was limited (and even wooden, sometimes) and it would have been difficult to obtain from him a more nuanced acting like others ‎were able to offer us... except Garrett Wang, of course even if in Timeless, he was unexpectly pretty good.

 

[2takesfrakes]

You're right nothing of value was explored in Distant Origins but could've been fleshed out in a future episode. I thought the episode's relevance lie on Chakotay's monologue; for me it was like modern humans ignoring the ancestral, primordial man and their life threatening, bone breaking obstacles to evolve--an achievement which was quite extraordinary-- and dismiss it for something more fantastical like what's written in the Bible.

What's written in the bible about Creation, for example, is a very powerful lesson about life, to me. I'm devoutly Roman Catholic and I was taught, basically, how to read aspects of the Bible. Adam's rib, for example, is a mnemonic device, intended to reference how Men aught to treat women in Jewish society. Eve came from Adam's rib, mainly because of its location: near his heart, so he would love her and by his side where he could best protect her. As opposed to his fist or foot, which might become abusive. That's not to say that the Bible's absent Historical fact. For the longest time, there was a question as to whether or not King David actually existed, then archaeologists discover the Tel Dan Inscription. Same with Pontius Pilate and along comes the Pilate Stone. Proofs of people and events are being - literally - dug up, all the time. But that's not what Distant Origins was about, of course ... it's about the complete opposite of that, because VOY wants to appear "progressive."

STAR TREK is not without its own political slant, all for the appearance of being "inclusive." So, when you have someone who's an acknowledged minority, like Chakotay, voicing how a society's belief system is bullshit, it's strangely set up to give this sense of legitimacy, like he knows what the hell he's talking about. And he's only MET these people AND he's only going by 2nd hand reports as being spun by an alien who's kidnapped him. Instead of passing for entertainment, it ends up becoming preachy. Again, to use Chakotay as the vessel for all that, it's not doing the character any service and it's certainly not winning me over. In fact ... it's only when Gegen finally submits to the Dinosaurian Councilwoman's persistent threats that the day is saved. Which makes this episode even less entertaining, because it's now trying to bail out of its own argument, by having this society maintain the status quo. So, it's like watching a dog chase its own tail, for roughly an hour. And episodes where Chakotay could've really made an impactful statement, like in Sacred Ground, he's strangely absent. It's not that hard to make good use of Chakotay, but VOY's got these shitty-assed writers in charge of him.

 

[Refuge]

So, when you have someone who's an acknowledged minority, like Chakotay, voicing how a society's belief system is bullshit, it's strangely set up to give this sense of legitimacy, like he knows what the hell he's talking about. And he's only MET these people AND he's only going by 2nd hand reports as being spun by an alien who's kidnapped him. Instead of passing for entertainment, it ends up becoming preachy. Again, to use Chakotay as the vessel for all that, it's not doing the character any service and it's certainly not winning me over. In fact ... it's only when Gegen finally submits to the Dinosaurian Councilwoman's persistent threats that the day is saved. Which makes this episode even less entertaining, because it's now trying to bail out of its own argument, by having this society maintain the status quo. So, it's like watching a dog chase its own tail, for roughly an hour. And episodes where Chakotay could've really made an impactful statement, like in Sacred Ground, he's strangely absent. It's not that hard to make good use of Chakotay, but VOY's got these shitty-assed writers in charge of him.

That's a good point. Yet personally I react to Chakotay as being the more spiritual character but also with an understanding of cultural sensitivities.

 

[catshadowsi8]

That's a good point. Yet personally I react to Chakotay as being the more spiritual character but also with an understanding of cultural sensitivities.

I believe they play this up in Basics to a certain extent.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I'm sure everyone's familiar with this BONUS footage, where Robert Beltran discusses playing his character, but it's also an opportunity for Beltran to chime in, which I couldn't resist ...

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[XCV330]

When I was a kid I recall my folks going to this restaurant a lot where you would get a little bit of parsley on the side of your plate. I guess it was a garnish. I remember asking my mother what it was for, if I should eat it. She said nobody ate it. It was just there for some reason. Maybe you could eat it. She left the option open that I could eat the sad looking sprig of parsley. I didn't. No one did. I wonder if anyone ever did.

Parsely was supposed to be there, but no one knew why or what it was for. I don't see parsley on plates anywhere much anymore. Chakotay was parsely.

 

[2takesfrakes]

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

When I was a kid I recall my folks going to this restaurant a lot where you would get a little bit of parsley on the side of your plate. I guess it was a garnish. I remember asking my mother what it was for, if I should eat it. She said nobody ate it. It was just there for some reason. Maybe you could eat it. She left the option open that I could eat the sad looking sprig of parsley. I didn't. No one did. I wonder if anyone ever did.

Parsely was supposed to be there, but no one knew why or what it was for. I don't see parsley on plates anywhere much anymore. Chakotay was parsely.

For information, the few parsley placed on the plate is not only a garnish but a breath freshening too, which is welcome for shellfish dishes and ‎garlic sauce served ‎to accompany meat and/or vegetables, while in ‎Asian restaurants, these are rather sweets which are offered after the lunch or dinner to breath fresh, :-)

 

[catshadowsi8]

For information, the few parsley placed on the plate is not only a garnish but a breath freshening too, which is welcome for shellfish dishes and ‎garlic sauce served ‎to accompany meat and/or vegetables, while in ‎Asian restaurants, these are rather sweets which are offered after the lunch or dinner to breath fresh, :-)

Interesting you mention that. Pickles are also more than a decorative garnish. They are there to cleanse the palate to enhance taste.

 

[XCV330]

Chakotay freshens breath.

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

Interesting you mention that. Pickles are also more than a decorative garnish. They are there to cleanse the palate to enhance taste.

Yes, it's true. In France, for ex, it is automatic to find a ‎small bowl full of pickles & little raw onions ‎to accopagny a plate of delicatessen (charcuterie) or a stew beef (Pot-au-Feu de boeuf, in french) . :-)

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

Chakotay freshens breath.

You see that he has at least one utility, and not the least! ;-)

 

[Refuge]

Funny, I eat the parsley but sometimes I worry it might be an unloved garnish.

 

[EmoBorg]

He was okay. He was a Maquis leader who challenged Janeway in the first two episodes. But he got tamed by Janeway and became her dogsbody for the rest of the series.

 

[2takesfrakes]

 

[Makarov]

What if each season it alternated captains between Chakotay and Janeway? Captain Chakotay, has a nice ring to it. Or maybe they capture a 2nd starship somehow and half the crew splits onto another ship following Chakotay.

I always wondered if he would get along with Riker & Picard

 

[catshadowsi8]

What if each season it alternated captains between Chakotay and Janeway? Captain Chakotay, has a nice ring to it. Or maybe they capture a 2nd starship somehow and half the crew splits onto another ship following Chakotay.

I always wondered if he would get along with Riker & Picard

I've always wished the Val Jean had not been destroyed. It would have made for an interesting dynamic but with the first female captain it was all or nothing. A shame but it was the 90's.

 

[XCV330]

What if each season it alternated captains between Chakotay and Janeway? Captain Chakotay, has a nice ring to it. Or maybe they capture a 2nd starship somehow and half the crew splits onto another ship following Chakotay.

I always wondered if he would get along with Riker & Picard

He would have gotten along well with Tom Riker.
The Sisko would have done a chemical gas attack on his world, then hauled him and everyone else Chakotay loved into jail, making it much easier for Picard to meet him, if he'd ever felt like it.

 

[STEPhon IT]

I thought a Trial of Kathryn Janeway would've been a great launching off point to have Chakotay in command of Voyager for at least 2 episodes because I thought she had a lot to answer for. I do not think she was a good Captain, and most of the decisions she made were correct because of those terrible scripts dictated she was. I thought while the trial was in progress, Chakotay would be the CO and he would make the appropriate adjustments to the crew. Maybe allowing more Maquis personnel on the Bridge, or finally promoting Kim. A different perspective of Chakotay's command structure would've been interesting for me ala Riker being in command in The Best of Both Worlds and Gambit.

 

[cosmic mouse]

That expression says it all.