I need encouragement with Voyager

[Farscape One]

I can sum up season 3 by saying I think it is the season that feels like it drags at points. It has some good ones near the beginning, but the middle was so... middling.

But from "BEFORE AND AFTER" to "SCORPION", it's great stuff. They started to hit their stride. Season 4 is when they really hit gold.

The thing to remember is that sesson 3 only had 22 produced episodes. Season 1 and 2 had 4 episodes each held over for the next season. Season 3 simply had 4 cut out of the usual 26 per season. (Although season 1 had 20, the same as DS9's season 1.)

I honestly think, despite not liking having a fuller season, that this helped the writers rethink and retool and come back fresher. That's at least a few weeks of production time break to give them some time to ponder and reconsider. Season 4 is the result, which I will say 4 and 5 were their best seasons. At least, the most consistantly good.

 

[EnriqueH]

No I just meant I didn't have anything particularly new to say about Voyager's shortcomings.And more importantly, don't really have any way to make them better.



The same reason why almost every planet where we see nature has the same vegetation as the LA area.

These shows needed more aliens to have rockstar, neon lights, and industrial looking planets. Every other episode is an earthy, hippie, simpleton town, village or civilization where everyone walks and talks passively and pronounces slowly. Yyyou arrrre nnnot ffffrom heeer..we...welcommme...yyyouuu....hhhhere is a re-freshmennnt.

That or we get party animal Klingons in a confined set

 

[EnriqueH]

I thought it was cool to have a full Vulcan as a regular character and Tim Russ did a good job as Tuvok...yet, something was missing there. Charisma? Good writing? Both.

 

[Lynx]

Need to vent!!!!

Ok, so I’ve been trying to watch Trek in chronological order. I’ve never seen DS9, Voy or Enterprise all the way through.

And as a lifelong Star Trek fan, I feel like it’s my duty to watch them all, especially now that I saw Picard Season 1 and the series has tie ins to previous Treks.

Loving DS9, but OMG, I’m just starting Voyager Season 3 and I’m finding it a real slog.

It feels like work.

Maybe it’s because I got used to television series having arcs, but then again, why don’t I have a problem watching TOS or TNG reruns?

I do like the cast and characters, except for Neelix who is the Jar Jar Binks of Star Trek. I know Kes eventually dies, but I do like her and find her to be a better character than Neelix. It’s painful to watch an otherwise good cast act like this guy is nice to have along. Even the way he talks, his pronounciation, ugh!

There are entertainin, enjoyable episodes including some with good morality tales, but there’s a definite lack of...what’s the word...urgency?...in the episodes. I don’t feel like, “OMG! I gotta watch the next one!”

The show feels like a prolonged series of side quests.

Voyager is trying to get back to Alpha quadrant but it mostly feels like they’re strolling their way back. I just saw the Ferengi episode (it was entertaining) but there was the wormhole and when they missed the opportunity it was like, “Shucks ::snaps fingers::”

I like Janeway, Chakotay, the Doctor even Harry Kim is likeable. But is it me, or did they need better writers and a few cases of Red Bull?

Im six episodes into season 3 and I don’t feel like I know these characters any better than I did when I saw the pilot.

Don’t get me wrong: they are mostly mildly entertaining episodes and few bad ones but also very few great ones. I feel like it should be called Star Trek: Sidequest

I like the first three seasons of Voyager but I lost interest whe Kes was dumped and the series became the Seven Of Nine Show.

One episode at the end of season 6 finally made me give up on this series and I never watched season 7, except for "Endgame" which was horrible.

However, I still have a lot of affection for the first three seasons and the characters. Season 1 was great, season 2 was excellent, season 3 was good except some bum episodes like "Blood Fever" and "Real Life". But season 3 has some excellent episofdes as well, like "Basics #2", "The Swarm", "Warlord" and "Future's End" with my favorite villain Henry Starling.

The characters are great. Unfortunately bad writing ruined a lot. better writers could have done wonders to the characters, like they did in DS9.

But I must also admit that Voyager is one of two shows where I took an immediatle liking to all the characters, already in the first episodes. The only other serries which has affected me that way is NCIS.

And not only because of kes, I already had that feeling the first 40 minutes or so before she shows up. Every time I watch "Caretaker" and that scene when Kim says "we're on the other side of the galaxy", I stii get goosebumps and feel exactly like a did back then, like "now the adventure really starts."

Spoiler: Kes

As for Kes, she didn't die but the way they treated the character and considering the pathetic episode "The Gift" and that horrible crap episode in season 6, it was almost as she was executed.

However, it is hope to find down the road.
If you really want to know what happened to Kes, then you have to visit The kes Website and read the story "Coming Home", the best Voyager episode never produced!

Don't watch in order? Why not watch some of the good episodes first, then circle back for some of the more lackluster outings?

I have to disagree here. Better to watch the whole series from beginning to end to get a clear grip of everything which was going on. If you only like parts of the series, then you can sort out your favorite episodes and watch them next time after you finished the first round of everything Voyager.

 

[Nakita Akita]

There are a lot of good points being made.
I've just recently started watching VOY.
I like it okay. It's like Trek lite.
I'd go absolutely nuts if I was on a ship trying to get somewhere and everyone is like , "suuuure, there's a molocule out of space alignment 30,000 light years sideways to the direction we need to go, but let's Check it out."
They all seem pretty much okay with it.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

The series gets a bit more of a direction once Seven comes on board. Kes had a lot of potential and could have provided similar direction, but it seems they never really made their mind up about her.

One of the series bibles basically just sums up Kes as Neelix's girlfriend without much else to say on her, when that's the starting point then it's amazing what they were able to do with her and no wonder they had issues with how to develop her.

the Klingon for Klingon storylines (and you bet we gonna shoehorn the Klingons in, even if they're half a galaxy away!)

All I can think of is Star Trek XII: So Very Tired -- "Again with the Klingons!"

Spoiler: (Un)Popular Opinion

But its still vastly superior to Enterprise, JJTrek, Discovery, and Picard. Bazzzzinga

Ain't nothing wrong with that opinion

For me, Voyager is really the one series that missed the mark. I loved the concept and a lot of the characters had potential, but it was victim to when it was made and bending to the demands of the studio. Whilst serialised shows weren't the norm back then (man, I'm feeling old), Voyager could've blazed a new trail and gone down that route or at least dipped their toe in and actually had events from previous episodes have lingering and continuous consequences, this would've helped with character development and also keeping the central plot (a starship alone in the wilderness desperately trying to get home) more in focus, rather than them just ambling along, stopping to smell every flower on their path. The show always felt too safe for what it was meant to be.

There are a few great episodes in the mix, but on the whole it always just stacks up as "being ok" (especially coming right after DS9).

 

[Lynx]

One of the series bibles basically just sums up Kes as Neelix's girlfriend without much else to say on her, when that's the starting point then it's amazing what they were able to do with her and no wonder they had issues with how to develop her.

But good writers could have overcome that. I mean, that only note about "Neelix's girlfriend" actually make it possible to develope the character without any restrains into something amazing.....if the writers has the skill and will to do so.

Look at DS9 where the characters really developed. Even Jake Sisko, who I did see only as an annoying whiny kid in the first season actually developed into something much better as the show went on and he was never the top priority for the writers.

 

[Lynx]

These shows needed more aliens to have rockstar, neon lights, and industrial looking planets. Every other episode is an earthy, hippie, simpleton town, village or civilization where everyone walks and talks passively and pronounces slowly. Yyyou arrrre nnnot ffffrom heeer..we...welcommme...yyyouuu....hhhhere is a re-freshmennnt.

That or we get party animal Klingons in a confined set

And don't forget the different bumps in the forehead!

I would have liked to see more non-human looking aliens.

 

[plynch]

The show feels like a prolonged series of side quests.

If TOS was "'Wagon Train' to the stars"
you just nailed the elevator pitch of VOY.

"A prolonged series of somewhat enjoyable side quests."

And I liked (and like) VOY.

It was TNG II (not "lite") because it was a starship in that era having adventures. As opposed to a very different concept like DS9, which was really radical and world-buildy in its original set-up. As VOY could have been, had it been morally ambiguous, broken-down, two-rusty-runabouts left, etc. But again . . . I liked and like it.

 

[Qonundrum]

Should I just skip Season 3? I’m watching the Belanna episode where the aliens are getting into her head. This is like a rejected recycled TNG episode.

Do watch "Scorpion"!

"Worst Case Scenario" is something of an underated gem...

Maaaaaaaaaybe "Unity" too...

Then go to season 4 - VOY picks up big time with the Seven/Janeway dynamic. "Living Witness" does a great job with its material...

Season 5's "Timeless" - surprisingly quite good!

IMHO, almost all of seasons 4 and 5 are "good" and better. Lots better than seasons 1-3. The episodes I recall being less-than-stellar I might give another shot at. Just because of the overall quality increase of these two seasons.

Season 6 starts the downturn but has "Blink of an Eye" - it's a rock solid episode. "Tinker Tenor Soldier Spy" and "Live Fast and Prosper" are more real good ones. "Pathfinder" is cornball but still excellent (Barclay's almost a different character in VOY at times but he still works, but if you liked him in TNG you'll like him in VOY)... And, of course, the conclusion to "Equinox"... "The Voyager Conspiracy" is good for a rewatch as well...

Season 7 even manages to eke out "The Void", which TNG and DS9 could not even begin to do.

 

[somebuddyX]

Just watch Voyager episodes out of order, maybe with a list of all the best episodes first. When I rewatch I just skip all over the series no matter if I go and watch Course:Oblivion and then Demon or Relativity and then Future's End. There's still episodes I've never seen that I have to check out one day.

 

[Nakita Akita]

I had never seen VOY until I started watching it only about 3 months or so ago.
I would not skip around watching it. As an example Kes VS. 7 of 9.
Until just this past week
I had not seen an episode with KES.
The broadcast seems to be in correct order.
It would be very confusing to see KES for example then no Kes, replaced by 7 of 9.
7 of 9 new on the ship with her having been there a while, ( haven't seen that myself conjecture on my part)
The Tom/B'Lanna relationship, the change and growth in the Doctor as well as other characters. Let's face it, it would be weird if you have 7 of 9 in the first episode she shows up, then next chillin' with Janeway in her ready room. So far, for me, watching the series from the beginning ( mostly) is different than seeing it as I did before possibly from about maybe season 4.
( I still missed seeing how they ended up 7 hundred million light years away.)
I say just watch the show in the correct order, bad episode or not.

 

[somebuddyX]

My point was that if the OP is finding it a slog to even get through Voyager at the point they are up to, and we all know there are better episodes coming up for them, why wait just because you feel like you have to complete the series or something.

 

[Vger23]

For me, VOY is like reheated leftovers. There's nothing wrong with that, and it works in a pinch, but it's not a freshly cooked meal you sit down to. It's background stuff to put on while you are working. It's not a bad show, it's just not a very engaging one. It's like Orville without the quirky humor and hook of it being an "everyman ship..." just a generic Star Trek presentation without a lot to be passionate about.

And, I had the same experience as @EnriqueH . I had given up on Voyager right at the beginning of S2 in first run. Sure, I came back for things like "Scorpion" and I stuck with some of the 7of9 early plots....but I could never maintain interest. I think I probably only saw 1/4 if it in first-run. So I tried re-watching on Netflix a couple of years ago. It was not easy, and I gave up yet again.

And, from what I recall, the later seasons just get worse. There's a pick-up after 7of9 joins the crew...and then you realize that 7 and The Borg are going to be an essential part of almost every new episode, and that gets really old really fast.

A lot of people like VOY, and I don't begrudge them that. I like TMP, TFF, NEM and Season 3 of TOS...so I definitely have my unique tastes. But, for me, VOY was not something I could gut through.

 

[Vger23]

I say just watch the show in the correct order, bad episode or not.

I completely disagree with this. Why would someone who is already struggling to get through a series want to subject themselves to shitty episodes?

When it came down to the time during my attempted re-watch where I was running out of steam, I resorted to looking at online ratings of the episodes so I knew which ones to skip. I'd read a brief plot synopsis to ensure I didn't miss anything (rarely the case BTW), and I'd go on to the next episode that looked "good." Took me about 5-7 min total...rather than subjecting myself to 46 min of drudgery just for the sake of saying "I did it! I watched them all!." Nobody's getting a Star Trek merit badge for forcing their way through episodes they don't like. Life is too precious.

 

[Nakita Akita]

"Nobody's getting a Star Trekmerit badge for forcing their way through episodes they don't like."
Crap!!!!
Are you sure?????
Well, since I generally only see about 35 minutes of each show....
Technically I'm not eligible for the merit badge anyway

 

[Vger23]

"Nobody's getting a Star Trekmerit badge for forcing their way through episodes they don't like."
Crap!!!!
Are you sure?????
Well, since I generally only see about 35 minutes of each show....
Technically I'm not eligible for the merit badge anyway

I know....I was bummed when I heard the news too!

 

[Kirby]

To me it felt like the writers were bored by the time Voyager rolled around. Ronald D. Moore told a story about how he briefly joined the Voyager writing team after DS9 ended, and there was no consistency in the characters and he was told to just write what he wanted to write, and it was fine. He didn't stay very long.
There are some good episodes, and some fine performances, but overall its not a very inspired show.

 

[STEPhon IT]

Its the one things I thought Berman should've done with his two superstar writers have Braga and Moore switch shows when their creative juices run dry. Moore could've brought a lot to table on Voyager like wise Braga could've sprung up his imagination skill on DS9.

I thought it was cool to have a full Vulcan as a regular character and Tim Russ did a good job as Tuvok...yet, something was missing there. Charisma? Good writing? Both.

Tuvok is my favorite character on Voyager, and B'Elanna was second, these two actors had a way of putting a lot of facets to their characters with spare time they had on screen. EnrigueH, what episode are you up to and tell me about it and what did you think of it? What could've been better and who do you think shined in the episode?

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I watched Voyager first run on UPN. While other shows were doing story arcs, UPN insisted that VOY be episodic so reruns could be shown out of order. This was back when the rerun was still a thing. We'd get reruns between new episodes, and over fall and summer breaks. Being episodic never bothered me, but I do wish they'd done more episodes where they're out trading or hunting resources to keep the ship going. It also might have been fun if we'd seen them aquire alien technology here and there.

Don't watch, because it's Star Trek. Watch, because it's simply a fun sci-fi show combiming a Star Trek spin-off with the Lost in Space concept. I'm also in the minority in that I loved Captain Janeway. Yeah, she's not always consistent, but they did well enough. The captain, a scientist at heart, who gets torpedo happy when you threaten her ship. lol

It's episodic. If an episode is tearfully boring, skip to the next one.