After season 3 charcters take the backseat.

[orthis]

Anyone noticed that after season three voyage pretty much focuses on four things, Janeway, Seven,The Paris and B'lanna relatoionship and The Docter)

Tuvok has a few episodes mainly about visions or mind melds

Neelix has episodes, about telling storys or going on supplie missions, but he hardly ever appears.

Chakotay just pretty much looses any episode based around him what so ever he gets pretty much one episode a season, after seven joins the cast.

Kim, has more episodes than chakotay but he pretty much follows tom eveywhere, crys about his rank or whines about going home.

 

[BlobVanDam]

Aside from Chakotay and Kim, I think every character gets a good mix of moments, although there's no denying that The Doctor, Janeway and 7 of 9 get by far the most attention.
Incidentally, the quality of the show rose dramatically at this point, so I don't mind that Chakotay and Harry got less screen time. Neither of them are very good actors, and neither of them were ever written as particularly interesting or useful characters.

Since I'm a big fan of The Doctor, and 7 of 9 and Janeway, I don't mind at all that they got the most focus during the later seasons. Tuvok was one of my favourites too, and although I can't think of a lot of individual episodes he got (Riddles is the only one that comes to mind, which I loved), he always had a good relationship with Janeway that gave him plenty of great moments throughout the series, and I never felt he got neglected.

So I'd say your assessment is pretty accurate, although I don't see it as a bad thing.

 

[JanewayRulz!]

Actually in season 4 Chakotay got more screen time, not less.

He was a major player, or central character in:

Scorpion 2, Nemesis, Year of Hell, Mortal Coil, Waking Moments, Prey, The Killing Game, The Omega Directive, Unforgettable, and Demon.

Not too shabby for a guy who gets only "1" ep a season.

 

[froot]

The show definitely changed between 3 and 4 when the leadership switched around (although I think Season 3 was pretty different than Seasons 1 and 2.)

I like the latter half of the show just fine, but plenty of other people did not, for the reasons the OP stated (although JR's right; Chakotay actually got a good amount of screentime in 4 and 5.) Depends on what floats your boat, I guess.

I think Janeway got plenty of screentime in the latter half of the show, but, as kimc said once, we didn't really get in her head very well after Season 3. We got Night and a few others, sort of, but there was never anything on the level of Coda for the rest of the show. Maybe Endgame. But poo on Endgame.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Since I'm a big fan of The Doctor, and 7 of 9 and Janeway, I don't mind at all that they got the most focus during the later seasons.

Yeah I completely understand the complaints from people who felt it turned into the Doctor and 7 show but.. those three are my favorite characters on VOY, they would be in my top 10 favorite characters for all of Trek so I am not complaining! I love the eps focussed on any of those three.

"Gravity" in Season 5 is an excellent Tuvok ep.

"More spider?"

 

[exodus]

Anyone noticed that after season three voyage pretty much focuses on four things, Janeway, Seven,The Paris and B'lanna relatoionship and The Docter)

Tuvok has a few episodes mainly about visions or mind melds

Neelix has episodes, about telling storys or going on supplie missions, but he hardly ever appears.

Chakotay just pretty much looses any episode based around him what so ever he gets pretty much one episode a season, after seven joins the cast.

Kim, has more episodes than chakotay but he pretty much follows tom eveywhere, crys about his rank or whines about going home.

I think they scaled back Chakotay and Kim for behind the scenes reasons. Beltran couldn't read his lines and was holding up filming on reshoots & Wang wasn't taking his job seriously. So the production team wasn't going to waste time writing for actors that were costing them money.

I think Tuvok & Neelix got knocked back due to popularity.
Neelix has a love/hate following in Trek fandom, so why put too much focus on a character some compare to Jar Jar.(However, I think it'sa crime how fans overlook Ethan Philips' performance in "Once Upon a Time".) Tuvok I think just drew the short straw. IMO people seem to overlook him due to the surrounding characters being more "colorful" in their personalities. The writers knew this and scaled him back too.

Tuvok's dry wit is greatly underrated as is his beautiful and comforting words to Ensign Wildman about Niomi's future in "Once Upon..." as well.

 

[SRFX]

Wait, people like Jar Jar?

 

[exodus]

Wait, people like Jar Jar?

I kinda do but I'm weird like that.

No, I said folks compare Neelix to Jar Jar.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Neelix was nothing like Jar Jar. Other than in Caretaker when there was the bath scenes there wasn't anything slapstick about him.

Jar Jar could have done with being a bit more like Neelix, (as in more adult personality, more intelligible) but he's interesting in that he's portrayed as the village idiot of the Gungans but ends up being an Senator because of his ability to mix with other species (Gungans would probably say he was too dumb to stay home, different perspectives).

 

[exodus]

Neelix was nothing like Jar Jar. Other than in Caretaker when there was the bath scenes there wasn't anything slapstick about him.

I don't think it has anything to do with that but rather level of annoyance.

 

[SRFX]

Wait, people like Jar Jar?

I kinda do but I'm weird like that.

No, I said folks compare Neelix to Jar Jar.

Well, my point was that I can understand how people can like Neelix.

I don't understand how anyone over the age of 5 can like Jar Jar.

 

[exodus]

Wait, people like Jar Jar?

I kinda do but I'm weird like that.

No, I said folks compare Neelix to Jar Jar.

Well, my point was that I can understand how people can like Neelix.

I don't understand how anyone over the age of 5 can like Jar Jar.

I view Jar Jar as someone with a learning disability and a look at how some societies have un-ethical treatment of those like him. Like how Arien Brody's character was in "The Village". They didn't know how to deal with him, so they'd lock him in a closet. The Gungans didn't know how to deal with Jar Jar, so they threw him out. "Clumsy" was a polite way of saying "retarded". So I kinda see past the slapstick in Jar Jar and feel sorry for him. I see Amedala's using him as a liasion to the Gungan army as a statement showing us that those with disabilities still serve a purpose.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

The Gungans didn't know how to deal with Jar Jar, so they threw him out. "Clumsy" was a polite way of saying "retarded". So I kinda see past the slapstick in Jar Jar and feel sorry for him. I see Amedala's using him as a liasion to the Gungan army as a statement showing us that those with disabilities still serve a purpose.

Well if it's lesser folk still serving a purpose yeah.. like the very non-power oriented and short hobbits. However if by retarded you mean actual intellectual disability I don't see how he could have functioned as a Senator.

 

[froot]

The Gungans didn't know how to deal with Jar Jar, so they threw him out. "Clumsy" was a polite way of saying "retarded". So I kinda see past the slapstick in Jar Jar and feel sorry for him. I see Amedala's using him as a liasion to the Gungan army as a statement showing us that those with disabilities still serve a purpose.

Well if it's lesser folk still serving a purpose yeah.. like the very non-power oriented and short hobbits. However if by retarded you mean actual intellectual disability I don't see how he could have functioned as a Senator.

[insert disparaging comment about the American Senate here]

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I'm thinking maybe the Gungans made him a senator because no one else wanted to do it.

 

[Lynx]

Voyager had the best characters in a Trek series. Unfortunately they were ill-treated by those in charge.

After season 3, Kes was dumped and characters like Paris, Torres, Tuvok, Neelix and Kim were reduced to nothing more than moving images in the background.

What a shame actually.

 

[propita]

Anyone noticed that after season three voyage pretty much focuses on four things, Janeway, Seven,The Paris and B'lanna relatoionship and The Docter)

Tuvok has a few episodes mainly about visions or mind melds

Neelix has episodes, about telling storys or going on supplie missions, but he hardly ever appears.

Chakotay just pretty much looses any episode based around him what so ever he gets pretty much one episode a season, after seven joins the cast.

Kim, has more episodes than chakotay but he pretty much follows tom eveywhere, crys about his rank or whines about going home.

I think they scaled back Chakotay and Kim for behind the scenes reasons. Beltran couldn't read his lines and was holding up filming on reshoots & Wang wasn't taking his job seriously. So the production team wasn't going to waste time writing for actors that were costing them money.

I think Tuvok & Neelix got knocked back due to popularity.
Neelix has a love/hate following in Trek fandom, so why put too much focus on a character some compare to Jar Jar.(However, I think it'sa crime how fans overlook Ethan Philips' performance in "Once Upon a Time".) Tuvok I think just drew the short straw. IMO people seem to overlook him due to the surrounding characters being more "colorful" in their personalities. The writers knew this and scaled him back too.

Tuvok's dry wit is greatly underrated as is his beautiful and comforting words to Ensign Wildman about Niomi's future in "Once Upon..." as well.

Beltran knew all the lines for Hamlet (from Tim Russ’ anecdote of Beltran and Ray Walston), so it wasn’t like he couldn’t learn his lines. It’s been said that the scripts were constantly being changed up to the last minute. Whether this was a production decision, writer decision, or to compensate for an actor’s disinterest is unclear. But I would agree with what Beltran (supposedly) said: Why learn lines that were going to be changed? Learn the final ones that mattered.

 

[henbane]

propita - it seems all the others were professional enough to learn their lines, so the old "oh the lines may change" excuse just doesn't wash with me.

 

[brcarthey]

when you see the family resemblance b/t exodus and jar jar, you'll better understand exodus' man-crush.

 

[exodus]

Anyone noticed that after season three voyage pretty much focuses on four things, Janeway, Seven,The Paris and B'lanna relatoionship and The Docter)

Tuvok has a few episodes mainly about visions or mind melds

Neelix has episodes, about telling storys or going on supplie missions, but he hardly ever appears.

Chakotay just pretty much looses any episode based around him what so ever he gets pretty much one episode a season, after seven joins the cast.

Kim, has more episodes than chakotay but he pretty much follows tom eveywhere, crys about his rank or whines about going home.

I think they scaled back Chakotay and Kim for behind the scenes reasons. Beltran couldn't read his lines and was holding up filming on reshoots & Wang wasn't taking his job seriously. So the production team wasn't going to waste time writing for actors that were costing them money.

I think Tuvok & Neelix got knocked back due to popularity.
Neelix has a love/hate following in Trek fandom, so why put too much focus on a character some compare to Jar Jar.(However, I think it'sa crime how fans overlook Ethan Philips' performance in "Once Upon a Time".) Tuvok I think just drew the short straw. IMO people seem to overlook him due to the surrounding characters being more "colorful" in their personalities. The writers knew this and scaled him back too.

Tuvok's dry wit is greatly underrated as is his beautiful and comforting words to Ensign Wildman about Niomi's future in "Once Upon..." as well.

Beltran knew all the lines for Hamlet (from Tim Russ’ anecdote of Beltran and Ray Walston), so it wasn’t like he couldn’t learn his lines. It’s been said that the scripts were constantly being changed up to the last minute. Whether this was a production decision, writer decision, or to compensate for an actor’s disinterest is unclear. But I would agree with what Beltran (supposedly) said: Why learn lines that were going to be changed? Learn the final ones that mattered.

That's a different issue all together actually.
The cast and Beltran himself admits that he would stumble over his lines the most because he had trouble saying the technobabble. This problem goes back as far as the first season of production. This is even before rewrites in the script became he next issue. If you watch his performance in the show, you can even hear Beltran hesitate in saying certain words or phrases. Due to it, many retakes had to be done when filming scenes that gave Beltran a speaking part. Star Trek sci-fi was just the wrong genre for an actor like Beltran.