The crew of voyager and their story and predicament really hits home for me

[dave2770]

no pun intended.

Whenever I think about them being the only culture or group from earth, so far away.. 70 years away from home.. Everywhere they are in the delta quadrant they basically represent earth and the federation.. But it's the part where they always have to journey through difficult terrain to one day reach their home that always gets to me.

I've always felt like my journey in life no matter my achievements have always been to reach a place I could truly call "home". Though I've tasted and understood what my home was, I still can safely say I have not yet reached it. So when I watch voyager I relate hard. And the episode "Eye of the Needle" made me shed some tears. That was the crews first time encountering a chance to get home only to realize they'd be going home but just to a time before they were even born or very young, meaning they have to accept reality that their journey won't be cut short and home is still so far away. It's really sad actually and tragic . That's why they have a place in my heart

 

[MacLeod]

Aside from a few episodes I never really got the impression that these people thought they may never see home again.

 

[dave2770]

Aside from a few episodes I never really got the impression that these people thought they may never see home again.

Well yea. We all know they'd eventually reach home. But the first 2-3 seasons were definitely very lonely until kes threw them 10,000 light years ckoser

 

[Sybok Was Wrong]

This is why Voyager is the most compelling series for me!

They're not the "best" crew, like Picard's was supposed to be. They're a patchwork crew with one goal.

I find all the cast/characters likeable, and root for them. Their story resonates with me the most of all the "Berman Treks". Great, great show!

 

[MacLeod]

Well yea. We all know they'd eventually reach home. But the first 2-3 seasons were definitely very lonely until kes threw them 10,000 light years ckoser

Well yes we knew that the series would end with them getting home, but the characters didn't know that. Aside from a few episodes the ship could just as easily have been in the AQ and they could pop home easily they never really sold it to me that these people would think they may never see home again.

Sure one can be optimistic that you will see home again, but there would likely be days when the reality of your situation would hit home.

 

[dave2770]

Well yes we knew that the series would end with them getting home, but the characters didn't know that. Aside from a few episodes the ship could just as easily have been in the AQ and they could pop home easily they never really sold it to me that these people would think they may never see home again.

Sure one can be optimistic that you will see home again, but there would likely be days when the reality of your situation would hit home.

Not sure why you're arguing..I'm simply stating my opinion I feel like you're trying to disregard it and sound smart at the same time by trying to give your own thoughts and rationalize it in your own way. I'm simply stating I feel that the thought that home is 70 years away and you dream to see your life again back on earth but can't and can do nothing but accept that reality will be your little ship and a 120 or so others is a difficult thought. Even subspace communication wasn't fast enough

 

[KennyB]

Not sure why you're arguing..I'm simply stating my opinion I feel like you're trying to disregard it and sound smart at the same time by trying to give your own thoughts and rationalize it in your own way. I'm simply stating I feel that the thought that home is 70 years away and you dream to see your life again back on earth but can't and can do nothing but accept that reality will be your little ship and a 120 or so others is a difficult thought. Even subspace communication wasn't fast enough

Dude---that's not even close to an argument..........

 

[Lynx]

I think that Voyager had the best premise of all series and the best characters as well.

However, it could have been much better. It's potential was never really fulfilled.

Despite that, I still love hte series, well at least the 3 first seasons, mainly because of the characters and the premise.

 

[MacLeod]

I think that Voyager had the best premise of all series and the best characters as well.

However, it could have been much better. It's potential was never really fulfilled.

Despite that, I still love hte series, well at least the 3 first seasons, mainly because of the characters and the premise.

Hasn't that always been one of the biggest criticism of VOY "Great Premise, which was never lived up to"

Sure VOY produced some great episodes but for me the show overall was decidedly average, with a few exceptions it really didn't try to do anything new that hadn't been done by previous ST shows. But I can understand why someone new to the franchise and perhaps Sci-Fi in general might hold a different view

 

[Lynx]

Hasn't that always been one of the biggest criticism of VOY "Great Premise, which was never lived up to"

Sure VOY produced some great episodes but for me the show overall was decidedly average, with a few exceptions it really didn't try to do anything new that hadn't been done by previous ST shows. But I can understand why someone new to the franchise and perhaps Sci-Fi in general might hold a different view

Just for your information, I had watched all TOS movies, many TOS episodes, all of TNG and one season of DS9 when Voyager arrived in my life.

As I wrote before, the characters and the premise for the show was what made me a Voyager fan (not only Kes if anyone should think that) and I really enjoyed the first three seasons even if season 3 in retrospect had more bum episodes than the previous ones.

Looking back now, I get the imression that the writers started to lose interest in season 3. OK, there were many great episodes in that season but it was also a sense of loss after the ship left Kazon space, sort of the writers didn't know what to come up with. Which is strange since a ship lost in uncharted space would give the writers an enormous freedom to really use their imagination to come up with new species, new villains and new ideas.

I don't know if it was the ratings who scared the s**t out of Berman and his gang or if it was that they were burned out after seven years with TNG and had nothing new to cfome up with, or maybe both.

But instead of keeping their head cool, realizing that the second spin-off always have lower rating than the original (in this case TNG) and the first spin-off (in this case DS9) and though focusing of coming up with something unique and exciting for just tjhis series, they became defensive (or just tired) and started to play safe and more than that.

It became something like: "Now what do we do?" "We bring in the Borg, the vievers love the Borg". and "We bring in a sexy babe, the vievers love Baywatch and sexy babes".

Then when that didn't work and the ratings continued to be low, it was: "Let's bring in some TNG characters, the vievers love TNG" and when that didn't work, it became "Let's get out of here as soon as possible and create a new TOS series the way we think that TOS should have been made (Enterprise), thus abandoning Voyager and coming up with at leat two episodes which deliberately insulted many loyal fans.

Which was a pity because Voyager had potential to become a great series. Instead it became a series which had great potential which was never fulfilled.

But I stll remember when I first watched the excellent pilot episode "Caretaker", how those fantastic characters were introduced one by one in a very nice way. The excitement when they had been transported to the Delta Quadrant and Kim says: "We're on the other side of the Galaxy".

I got goosebumps when I first watched that scene and I thought: "Now the adventures really begin" and I still get goosebumps when I watch that scene more than 20 years later.

 

[STEPhon IT]

Aside from a few episodes I never really got the impression that these people thought they may never see home again.

It was the clearest sign for me the dangers they were in was not authentic; the show felt as if the characters were playing in the same playing field with TNG. DS9 experienced similar plight in their war seasons forgetting they were supposed to be far far away from the Federation and it's well known aliens to make them feel they're the only ones of their kind out in this new frontier. With this knowledge you have to act accordingly and play by the rules, you know, like making more friends and allies than making more enemies in every encounter. Yes, there are jerks out there but with the accumulation of allies, one can over come anything, but not having an all out War (DS9) and space battles (Voy) every tireless weekly episode. This crap shows from the producers down to the cast doesn't believe in the concept.

What a complete betrayal?

 

[Lynx]

It was the clearest sign for me the dangers they were in was not authentic; the show felt as if the characters were playing in the same playing field with TNG. DS9 experienced similar plight in their war seasons forgetting they were supposed to be far far away from the Federation and it's well known aliens to make them feel they're the only ones of their kind out in this new frontier. With this knowledge you have to act accordingly and play by the rules, you know, like making more friends and allies than making more enemies in every encounter. Yes, there are jerks out there but with the accumulation of allies, one can over come anything, but not having an all out War (DS9) and space battles (Voy) every tireless weekly episode. This crap shows from the producers down to the cast doesn't believe in the concept.

What a complete betrayal?

I agree here.

One episode which could have had a different story was "Alliances", a good epiosode as such but which also could have been made different.

Let's say that the good old Lynx had been the captain instead of Janeway. I would have had more of Chakotay's approach to the problems which would mean creating alliances with species which could help the Voyager crew to pass through a dangerous area. That wouldn't mean that I would trade technology or have an alliance with the Nistrim as Culluh proposed. I would definitely have considered a temporary alliance with the Trabe.

OK, the Trabe were scumbags, opressors who were responsible for the whole Kazon problem and they did try to assasinate the Kazon leadership which I can understand that Janeway didn't like and couldn't accept..

But if Voyager had hadf an alliance with the Trabe, they would have had a strong escort all the way out of Kazon space. Here we must also consider the fact that all Kazon sects did see Voyager as an enemy. Voyager had nothing to lose but a lot to gain if they had had an alliance with the Trabe.

Instead we got Janeway's annoying speech about the principles of the Federation at the end and then it lead up to the events which almost stranded them at hanon IV and a life together with volcanos, earthquakes, stone age people and dangerous lizards if the Talaxians hadn't been nice enough to help them. I really like Janeway but her speech and her standpoint there was sort of unrealistic. In real situations like the one Voyager was in, you don't have the luxury to hand-pick potential allies.

 

[Farscape One]

You should hand-pick allies based on a single thing... trust. The Trabe proved they couldn't really be trusted, so I do understand Janeway's reaction and speech in the end.

What didn't help Voyager was that the Kazon were spreading a lot of bad rumors about them ahead of where their course was. "COLD FIRE", "RESISTANCE", and "DREADNOUGHT" had dialogue that made this clear. At least in the case of the last episode, they made a friend due to the situation. Trying to find allies in that part of space was made doubly difficult because of this, and I would argue that is part of the reaspn why the first two seasons felt like the loneliest of the series.

The premise of the show made it easy to press reset on a regular basis due to simply leaving territory. It does make the job easier and harder at the same time. There will be some hits (Vidiians, Hirogen, Vaadwaur) and misses (Kazon, Malon) with the aliens. I would like to have seen a few more alliance attempts during the series, though we did get numerous stopover and exchange episodes, like "SURVIVAL INSTINCT", though that was more a background thing than the main plot.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I agree the Alliances ending was too pat, but while they could have made some compromises, allying with the Trabe would mean supporting their Colonial attitude and crimes. You need to draw the line somewhere.

I like the premise of Voyager a lot which is why it was so disappointing most episodes were just recycled TNG stories.

 

[chris of nine]

I agree the Alliances ending was too pat, but while they could have made some compromises, allying with the Trabe would mean supporting their Colonial attitude and crimes. You need to draw the line somewhere.

I like the premise of Voyager a lot which is why it was so disappointing most episodes were just recycled TNG stories.

When you don’t know what to write, you write what you know.
And VOY characters were more believable than TNG ones.
So, I forgive what derivative material was used.

 

[Delta Vega]

A real life crew in the dire situation that Voyager was in, would have mutinied multiple times over, in protest at the continued meanderings of the Captain,who was obsessed with exploration in a hostile environment.
The crew below decks must have been in despair at another weekly detour, rather than a relentless push for home.