Should they bring back Janeway?

[Dark Gilligan]

My point here was that I don't feel that only paid writers are professional writers. Writing something without being paid doesn't necessarily make it an unprofessional piece or work.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Payment is the criterion that defines professional. If you don't get paid real money for your work, it's not pro. End of story. There's no other standard.

 

[Admiral James Kirk]

My point here was that I don't feel that only paid writers are professional writers. Writing something without being paid doesn't necessarily make it an unprofessional piece or work.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Payment is the criterion that defines professional. If you don't get paid real money for your work, it's not pro. End of story. There's no other standard.

This is correct. How can one be a professional if one has never earned a cent writing? I can barely claim to call myself a professional writer since I've only made one sale. But one sale is all it takes.

That said just because you don't make money writing doesn't mean you don't write at a professional level just because you're just writing fanfic. Unfortunately because you are writing fanfic that means you'll probably never know if you are writing at that level because you're not writing and selling your own stuff to publishers.

 

[Biffette]

RonG: A VOY book that IMO positively and correctly portrays the Janeway character is Echoes. Whether the Janeway portrayal is accurate is up to the individual reader.

I have hesitated in voting in this poll. I haven't read Before Dishonor and I feel rather ambivalent about Janeway's death in the first place. I also get irritated that Star Trek can't seem to stick with character departures. But if Janeway is brought back and the story is entertaining, why not? So I am tempted to vote yes but I don't feel her resurrection must occur any time soon. The further down the road, the more unexpected and a (hopefully) pleasant surprise it will be.

 

[seigezunt]

What if she came back as a man?

 

[Biffette]

First thought: That would be awesome.

Second thought: B-but I *like* having lots of female characters! Can't she just be man-ish?

 

[teya]

I hate the term "canon" so much. The only difference in fanfiction and Pocket Books (aside from the quality, probably) is an official logo on the back. You don't have to accept anything that you see on TV or read in a book or on the back of an action figure is "canon." If you like the fanfic more, go read that. No one will hold it against you.

Then you should be satisifed with your own fan fiction and we can have the "professional" books with pseudo "official" standings including a living Janeway. No one grows from the death of another, you are only traumatized. Growth comes from Living.

Brit

I was widowed at 43.


Unless you've decided life is no longer worth living because that person died, then you most definitely *do* grow from the death of another. Living through trauma is growth.


Or at least, it should be.


Of course, you could wallow in self-pity and loneliness for life, but that's not really living.


I look forward to seeing how the Voyager crew grows following Janeway's death.

 

[AuntKate]

I think some of you are painting Janeway fans in a poor light on purpose

What can I say? Some of us prefer illustration over impressionism.

You may not be aware of what you are illustrating.

 

[Ferd Burfel]

I can understand why the Janeway fans would be and are so upset. I even voted for "bring her back". But that doesn't mean I really care if it happens.

I will not presume to speak for the...Janeway Faithful... but the reason I voted that way was because of the poor way she went out. I'm all for the emotional aftermath and story possibilities after her "death". Hell, I want Data back but that doesn't mean life is going on well without him. I ranted about that in another thread, but him being gone isn't causing me to boycott Trek Lit or any other such thing. But I for one hated the book she "died" in and thought it was such a poor exit. I would have thought that regardless of the character. I don't love or hate Voyager, but any main character from any main show derserved better than what she got. So perhaps we're missing the point on some of the Janeway Faithful's thoughts about her being gone. Like I said, I just really think the readers got shafted on her exit.

Others have likened it to Chewbacca in Star Wars or other characters being killed. But Janeway's "death" had no greatness or real emotional depth, it was cheap and contrived. And had that been Geordi or Picard or Worf, well I think many more people would be able to understand better where the JF are coming from.

Just my two cents. I say bring her back simply because the way she left was cheap and stupid. If you're gonna kill her, make it count and have real ramifications and impact. Otherwise, it just seems like this WAS a cheap comic book death.

 

[Darth Duck]

Others have likened it to Chewbacca in Star Wars or other characters being killed. But Janeway's "death" had no greatness or real emotional depth, it was cheap and contrived.

So they should've dropped a moon on her?

 

[Ferd Burfel]

LoL, I think some would have gone for that.

 

[captcalhoun]

Janeway died sacrificing herself to help defeat the Borg and stop their planned assimilation of Earth. how was that not great? it was EPIC.

 

[brcarthey]

My point here was that I don't feel that only paid writers are professional writers. Writing something without being paid doesn't necessarily make it an unprofessional piece or work.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Payment is the criterion that defines professional. If you don't get paid real money for your work, it's not pro. End of story. There's no other standard.

just to play devil's advocate...is a physician who volunteers ALL their time not a professional then?
​

 

[Therin of Andor]

Janeway's "death" had no greatness or real emotional depth, it was cheap and contrived.

Your opinion. I thought it was wonderfully ironic. That the older Admiral Janeway forfeited herself to Borg nanoprobes in "Endgame" to help younger Janeway escape with her ship - only to have the younger, now-promoted Admiral Janeway get absorbed by the now-vengeful Borg, too. And that Seven tried to help her, and that Janeway's essence contributed to the solution to the Borg problem. And that Lady Q had given dire warnings, which Janeway ignored. What makes that cheap?

 

[Ferd Burfel]

Splitting hairs Gilligan. You're arguing for arguings sake. Getting paid is the definition of being a professional. But you also knew that the point was that people were talking about quality of work, not arguing the "definition".

And you are wrong that there is no other standard. If I say something is "professional quality" which emplies it is so good someone COULD get paid for it, then I'm introducing another standard.

Now I'm just arguing for arguings sake as well, so I'll stop.

 

[JD]

Yeah, but the poster who said it originally, said they were professionals, not not that they wrote professional quality stories, IMO there's a big difference.

 

[Ferd Burfel]

Janeway's "death" had no greatness or real emotional depth, it was cheap and contrived.

Your opinion. I thought it was wonderfully ironic. That the older Admiral Janeway forfeited herself to Borg nanoprobes in "Endgame" to help younger Janeway escape with her ship - only to have the younger, now-promoted Admiral Janeway get absorbed by the now-vengeful Borg, too. And that Seven tried to help her, and that Janeway's essence contributed to the solution to the Borg problem. And that Lady Q had given dire warnings, which Janeway ignored. What makes that cheap?

Great points my friend! But let me be more specific:

It is my opinion that this was VERY poorly written. The people coming and pointing out to me her sacrifice was noble and such doesn't change that opinion. To me you are all giving more credit and depth to what actually happened. When I read it, it didn't strike me as noble or heroic or epic. It felt... bad and contrived. Forced. Other negative feelings.

I get where you are coming from and respect it. I'm just saying that I can see where the Janeway people are coming from. I didn't like or dislike Janeway and I felt it was poorly written and a poor choice. So I can only imagine how someone felt reading that if that was their favorite character.

 

[Therin of Andor]

just to play devil's advocate...is a physician who volunteers ALL their time not a professional then?​

So fanfic writers are exactly the same as professional writers, except they are volunteering their writing skills to needy fans?

How does a doctor who volunteers ALL of his time support himself? How does he eat and clothe himself?
​

 

[Ferd Burfel]

just to play devil's advocate...is a physician who volunteers ALL their time not a professional then?​

So fanfic writers are exactly the same as professional writers, except they are volunteering their writing skills to needy fans? ​

How does a doctor who volunteers ALL of his time support himself? How does he eat and clothe himself?​

If you work another job (say, professional writer ) to support yourself, and you volunteer as a doctor. Just because you go to school for medicine doesn't mean it's how you have to make a living. I went to school for history and work with computers. So it begs the question of professional quality versus the textbook definition of professional.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I didn't like or dislike Janeway and I felt it was poorly written and a poor choice. So I can only imagine how someone felt reading that if that was their favorite character.

Janeway is my favourite VOY character. I am also a huge Peter David fan. I loved every page of that book. From the broad humour of Pluto getting eaten - finally resolving the argument of whether it was still a planet or not - to the tragic death of a beloved TV captain.

 

[brcarthey]

just to play devil's advocate...is a physician who volunteers ALL their time not a professional then?​

So fanfic writers are exactly the same as professional writers, except they are volunteering their writing skills to needy fans?

How does a doctor who volunteers ALL of his time support himself? How does he eat and clothe himself?
​

he or she could be a trust-fund baby or have won the lottery. the point is that getting paid for a profession does not necessarily constitute being a professional. it may be one aspect of it, but it's not the root definition.