Yes but, sometimes, the "nobody enseign" can introduce something different and/or interesting, which could recreate a certain interest for the show and even improve the overall quality of a season (on 24 or 25 episodes per season, only the half was good so, there was therefore a margin to try something with other characters!), OR could be simply used to improve a known main character's story! -> I would have liked to see some arcs turning around 1) the former Equinox's crew (Noah Lessing/Marla Gilmore, in particular), like seeing how they acclimated to their new environment and their way to get redemption after what they have lived/done to survive on their previous vessel. 2) it would have been interesting to see if Tal Celes/Mortimer Harren and William Telfer have finally found their place onboard. Their personalities and skills could lead to good exchanges/actions scenes 3) Mezoti remaining onboard (I think of all the Borg children, she was the most interesting and would have deserved to be more developped. Icheb was boring!) Instead of that, we got, on 9 main characters (Janeway, Chakotay, Seven, Tuvok, Tom, B'Elena, Neelix, the Doctor, Harry), 3 held the upper hand because their performers (Mulgrew, Picardo, Ryan) were able to play every situations, 2 were put in background because their performers (Beltran and Wang) were punished for their attitude behind the scene, 2 were associated in a romantic SL what allows to producers/writers to occupy their performers (McNeil and Dawson) with something concrete and finally, Tuvok and Neelix were condemned to be wallflower because despite the talent of their performers (Russ and Philips), said producers/writers did not know what to make of them (to the point that one of 2 finally decided to leave for his own conduct). And you would have liked to see these situations persist, Sophie74656?! :-O Sorry but not me. If people in charge of the show had no intention of working more with their main characters, well, they offer us other characters with other (or same) situations but different reactions and other philosophical/moral issues to chew. In short, I wouldn't said no to a lower deck team (composed by Equinox crew members and The Good Shepherd ) and Mezoti, with possibilities of interactions between "both" crews! ;-)
Hmmm... now I wonder if someone has written an in-universe short story about that... (e.g. Janeway or some other senior officer discovering that he's still alive after all these years, wanting to make their lack of attention up to him by giving him some nice assignments, and then getting him killed by putting him on that away team)
Mezoti. She was the most interesting of the Borg kids and if they'd kept her on board, it would have created more story opportunities with Naomi, Seven, Samantha Wildman, and Icheb. Crell Moset. Would have given the doctor a friend, so he'd not have annoyed the crew so much and provided a new opponent for B'Elanna and other former Maquis. Flotter program. Some story opportunities with the Borg kids.
Ah Lt Joseph Carey.... ! In any case, although this recurring character's appearances were scarce, without forgetting a tragic end, he (as his performer) had the right to an official figure (1), an autographed picture (2) and his own art work/fantasy photo (3) . Not bad as proof of recognition, isn't it?! (1) (2) (3)
Call me stupid, but wasn't Lt. Carey killed off in Basics Part 2 when the Kazon dumped them on that horrible planet to fend for themselves like primitive beings? That wormlike creature eek!
In fact, Lt Carey was killed twice. First, in the alternate timeline of "Years of Hell", during the conflict with the Krenim. And the second time, was for real, in "Friendship One", killed by Verin. I fear that you have mistaken him with Hogan, a Maquis (see the picture), who was the one who got attacked and dragged into the tunnel by an unknown predator.
After season one, Carey's only appearances before his final episode took place in flashbacks/time travel, which would support the theory that the writers might have mistakenly thought he was killed off until they realized they didn't. I do think it's odd how the show didn't make use of more recurring characters. The argument that it only made sense on DS9 isn't valid, because TNG was pretty consistent with its use of recurring characters like, Guinan, O'Brien, Ro, and Barclay, and Voyager didn't have a rotating crew like the Enterprise. VOY could have easily had its own set of recurring characters that would pop up every now and then when the story suited it. For me the biggest loss was Suder. With a great character actor like Brad Douriff, that character could have served be the Garak of VOY. Jeri Taylor's reasons for killing him off was really perplexing, showing that she was far more rigid and unimaginative as a writer than her work suggested.
It would have been nice to see more of a culture form on Voyager beyond the main cast. It was definitely a missed opportunity. I'm not sure they could have really redeemed Seska. It would have been too easy and children's show-like to just have her magically awaken to Starfleet values being right the whole time. Maybe she could have worked her way into the main crew but it would have had to all be an act with a long game to wait for a chance to sew mutiny. They could have been put in situations where Seska and the crew shared a common interest and were forced to work together.
I suppose Seska could have been found out in a different way to still make it believable she might work with the crew toward the common interest of getting home, then she even could have taken a Garak like role. But after the way she was caught there was no believable way to redeem her.
I think it's too bad that Piller's original idea of Seska being captured alive after "Basics" wasn't used. It really sticks out how much her death was tacked on at the last minute. There could have been a nice thread throughout the season of the crew figuring out what to do with her. Janeway wants to keep her in the brig, some Maquis want to execute her for her betrayal, Chakotay doesn't even want to look at her after the death of their child. Lot of potential, if Jeri Taylor and Berman weren't such fuddy duddies.
And what about I cheb?! From all young people rescued by the Voyager, he was the only one to have chosen staying with the crew (his parents prefering to use him for inoculating a virus among Borgs to get ride of them) and except, 3 big episodes where he was the center of all attentions (Child's Paly, Imperfection and Q2 -> I didn't quote "Collective" because this one was the introduction of Borg children), he was pretty absent while his Borg knowledge, associated with Seven's one, could have been better used,as an "an indispensable addition". As for his performer's acting, Manu Intiraymi, was bearable.
There's a fanfic on fanfiction.net about Mezoti remaining on board the ship. The story actually starts on Earth; Mezoti opted to stay on the ship, and when Voyager reached Earth, Seven legally adopted Mezoti as her daughter. Then Seven and Mezoti move in with Chakotay and the three of them try to balance work, school, and learning how to be a family (Seven and Chakotay haven't married... so far; the story's not finished). This is currently complicated by the fact that Mezoti is being bullied at school (apparently elementary-age girls are brats in every century). Agreed. Apparently the only place Naomi and Mezoti hang out like normal young girls is in fanfic. We didn't see them interact much on the show. Gah, NO! That Flotter program grated on my nerves like Barney the Dinosaur. Seriously, is that the best kids' holodeck program the writers could come up with?
Damn! I'd forgotten hot hot Hogan was! Why Voyager PTB? Why kill him off? Harry was on that planet too and doing sweet F.A.!
Oh and about our little Mezoti of yesterday (performed by the cute Marley McClean). (and damn she grew up, as you can see! )
Yeah, I think one of the weakest things about Voyager was its reluctance to allow the main cast to develop in relation to a recurring cast of secondary characters, particularly more women. Having spare characters would have meant that they could have killed off people we cared (a bit) about and if any of the main cast decided to leave, the second stringers could have stepped up to avoid the need to draft in a new replacement.. In fairness, there were a few in season one, plus we have Vorik, Naomi, Icheb, Hogan, and a few others, but why wait until season 7 to bring back Carey and Chell? Why did the ship's only xenobiologist only get 'mommy' stories? Why not use the Maquis to inject a bit more life into the crew? Why not give the Equinox crew some chances at redemption? I would have happily watched Harry pursue the wrong twin if their scientific skills also featured in a few stories. I would have been happy to see Jennifer Lien make special appearances in Kes-centric stories instead of as a regular where she was under-used and forgotten.
Hey guys, newbie here. I was just wondering if any of you have seen what Manu has been saying on Twitter about Anthony Rapp and Kevin Spacey. it's quite disturbing and gross the stuff he has said. Doesn't shock me now though, hearing the rumors of what he has done to his own fans and to his ex.