Kirsten, if you'd quoted more of my previous posting I went on to describe exactly how I didn't see that Janeway would fit in the role of leading the new fleet. So no, I don't see the characters as interchangeable at all.
I was referring to a post I'd read a few weeks ago that tried to explain the decision to kill off Janeway as being a result of her promotion to Admiral, and how we fans wouldn't like that as she would have to be sidelined in stories.
I have never said I won't read Full Circle... I'm never going to agree with the decision to kill her though.
Frazzled,
I did read your whole post and you certainly make valid points addressing some of the challenges of Janeway being an admiral. I take no issue with your reasoning on that subject and quite agree with some of them (which is why I didn't comment on it.) And, as I'm sure you know, the choice to promote her to Admiral was actually based upon her brief appearance in Nemesis. Had it been up to me, which it never was, I would have looked for a way to work around Nemesis because her promotion as it stands takes a lot of choices that I would like to have had off the table.
However, having said that, once she was promoted, allowing her to die was obviously not the only option available either. It was simply the one that was chosen because the editors felt it presented the most compelling story possibilities and that unique story was something they were interested in exploring.
I understand your reaction to Before Dishonor. Completely. And I understand how reading it makes it difficult to contemplate picking up Full Circle any time soon. I was aware that you never said you weren't going to read it. I was actually speaking to kimc there.
However, until you have read it, you should resist the temptation to make assumptions about characters and story points beyond Janeway's death, because out of context they make a great deal less emotional sense than they do in context.
I know you're never going to agree with the decision. I'm not trying to change your mind on that. You are absolutely entitled to your opinion about that choice and I totally respect it. I think everyone who feels as you do is deserving of respect and compassion. My only issue comes when facts are argued in the absense of evidence.
I wish you well and hope that someday, when you feel ready to look at Full Circle, you enjoy the read.
So at the time Before Dishonor was created, Full Circle hadn't even been imagined.
Are you saying that Pocket killed off Janeway with
no actual plans for Voyager post-death?...Was there no forward planning by Pocket whatsoever?
No.
What I said was that the story Full Circle...the fully developed final version which included Admiral Batiste...did not exist when the choice was made to explore the death of Kathryn Janeway.
There was plenty of forward planning, a great deal of which was delayed by the development of
Destiny. The story that ultimately became Full Circle went through numerous revisions before the writing began. I was first brought into the picture after BD was conceived and knowing the major plot development, began my work accordingly. But plot and character don't just happen overnight. There were versions of the story that existed without Batiste. There were versions of the story that did not include the events of
Destiny. Then there was a point when it all came together and we ended up where we are now.
There's always a plan. It waits for individual authors to come along and breathe life and character into it...to build upon the broad strokes selected by the editors.
Can you tell me why we should invest time with any new character when the much loved older one has been treated so badly? If you did it once it can be done again.
Brit
No.
You should invest your time and money in stories you are likely to enjoy. And though I do not think you should read Full Circle, it is not because I fear for your becoming attached to characters other than Janeway, be they old or new, and then those characters suffering fates you might find offensive.
You have indicated time and again that Janeway's fate alone determines your ability to enjoy a story. So there was no way for you to take pleasure in a story that features her death.
So don't read it.
However, I reject your premise that she was treated badly...particularly in Full Circle. I believe that it was possible for her to die
and be treated well in the story. Turns out a number of readers agree with me. I've read a lot of criticisms by people who have read the book, but I have yet to come across one who thought Janeway's character was badly done in Full Circle. Disliking the fact that she died is not the same as disliking her character as it was portrayed.
I'm still not saying you should read it. But you should rest easier knowing that her character was not destroyed or otherwise bent, spindled or mutilated on her way to meeting her death and should not fear for the fate of other characters you might someday come to care about.
Kirsten Beyer