Uh, a villain who appeared 23 times? What's inaccurate about suggesting that they were a tad overused?
^ Because 23 appearances over the course of 168 episodes is but a drop in a proverbial bucket. It should also be pointed out that, of those 23 listed appearances for the Borg, 1 was as a corpse, 1 was as an image on a vidscreen, 2 were as hallucinations, and 2 were as holograms, meaning that the Voyager crew actually only fought the species 17 times over the course of its 168-episode run, which equates to just over 10% of the series overall.
Actually, the Vidiians made no sense. If they had the technology to do what they did, they would have the technology to clone the organs they "harvested", and there would be no need to roam space harvesting more. Actually, they could just clone healthy Vidiian organs from uninfected Vidiians. Plus, the "Think Tank" cured the Phage. Interesting idea, but it falls apart if you look too closely. I've written a lot about how much I hated the Kazon and how I think that their profound ugliness and unlikability hurt the show in early years. Klingon, Romulan, Borg... intresting adversaries that on some level you want to learn more about. Even the Dominion, Vorta and Jem Haadar. Kazon? Nothing more than violent and hostile to everyone including themselves. Ugly inside and outside. No redeemable qualities whatsoever. Even the Borg didn't want them. So, my vote would have been "None of the Above". The Borg may have started as "Picard's foe", but by the end of Voyager, "Janeway" owned them completely. And they were ingrained with the series to the point I don't thnk you can really call them "Foes" in the same sense as the others listed. Malon? Hirogen? Once was enough IMO. Too much Hirogen, actually, but I applaud the concept for being somewhat original, and sometimes scary as hell. I guess I liked the fact that for the most part, the "foes" came and went quickly. They were supposed to be moving through 70,000 light years of space, and that made the most sense to me.
Nice work. People see what they want to see. It's nice to bust up the constant droning negative rhetoric with facts. Interestingly, the Kazon appeared in about 1/2 as many episodes.
Which post are you replying to? Anyway, your post made me think that maybe the Borg Queen in Endgame shoud have turned out to BE Seska. No I'm just kidding, that sounds like something out of Mad Magazine.
Well, in fairness TNG was about Borg in federation space, VOY was about a federation star ship in Borg space. This fact renders the validity of the "debate" of overuse moot. I'm surprised Voyager only encountered them 17 times.
I picked Vidiians. The Kazon and Hirogen didn't really bring much that the Klingons didn't do better. And the Borg belong to several series.
I would have been interested to learn more about the motivation of a villain we only meet once - and that even when captured appears to be still mocking Janeway, and refuses to give any other explanation than because I can before disappearing. I'm talking about the Persistence of Vision alien. It's one aspect I like more about early Voyager where Janeway often has to struggle to simply achieve a draw, to escape a threat, rather than smugly triumphing over her enemies, as happened a bit too often for my tastes in later seasons.
Annorax would probably by my favourite villain, followed by Kashyk of the Devore from "Counterpoint". The Viidiians get solid points for taking down the photocopy Voyager from "Deadlock". To me, by TNG standards the Borg were overused on Voyager and completely defanged. But having a Borg crew member meant this was inevitable. Really I like to think of the TNG Borg and Voyager Borg as almost separate entities. And Enterprise had the best Borg episode after "Scorpion Part 1".
I really liked how we never got an explanation of the Bothan. It was refreshing to have the end be a complete mystery. As vast as space is, there should still be some things left unexplained.
And let's be honest, additional episodes attempting to flesh that villain or the race further out probably would have spoiled it. Better indeed to just keep it a mystery.
I agree about Annorax, he was a great baddie. But I'd dispute who took who down in Deadlock. JANEWAY: "Hi. Welcome to the bridge." 3... 2... 1... PFOOOOOOM!!!!!
The Clown from “The Thaw” I would love to have had Dourif’s character ‘save’ the Clown to computer...Redjack reborn
100% agree. It's a shame the Kazon arc seemed to have scared the producers and writers from embracing more long term arcs. Hirogen might be my favorites, but I agree the Viidians are the most interesting, and fit in well with Voyager's pulp/horror sensibilities.
Speaking of villains, who would you say was closest to Janeway having an arch foe/rival? I guess it'd have to be Seska or the Borg Queen
Hmm I have to agree to others that have declared the Vidiians as their choice. The Vidiian culture was a tragic one. Much like today's society. They were ingrained to keep away from each other. They didn't socialist with those that got the Phage. It would've been more satisfying if Voyager and B'lanna were able to eventually defeat the phage and help the Vidiians. Kind of a nice send off for the last time we ever saw them on screen, to leave with the knowledge that Voyager could probably have saved them all. The vidiians are grateful and even come to aid Voyager against the Kazon in the Season 2-season 3 two-parter episode, instead of the Talaxians. It would have been a kind off sad, but hopeful end to them, to think that although it would take the Vidiians a long time, they have a potential cure and after all the hostility between Voyager, the Vidiians and their own hostility to other alien species, they finally had that eternal weight lifted and could return eventually to the peacefull and grand civilisation they once were.
Seska could have been awesome as an arch villainess. She helps the Kazon develop moderately effective water replication technology, and as a result unites the Kazon under her banner. Instead of squabbling tribes, Voyager is pursued by a united and deadly force, who want their other tech, plus their superior replicators (they can produce water, but Voyager's Starfleet grade replicators can put out nearly anything). Instead of Klingons Lite, the Kazon are like the "bad" Klingons of the 23rd century.
Except of course that against such a united force of vastly superior numbers trying to hunt them down, Voyager realistically would have no chance, long-term. It'd almost be as much of a stretch as how they kept defeating the Borg whenever they crossed paths.
So is it a good thing (quality of show-wise) for Voyager to face villains who can actually threaten her? Or bad?