Chakotay.. please don't attack me
- Thread starter PikeFan
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Chakotay was just so boring. He was the epitome of bland. No charisma whatsoever.
That spirit guide stuff was tedious. How did they manage to make a guy using hallucinogenics on a spaceship uninteresting??!
And the thing with poor, poor Seven...
That spirit guide stuff was tedious. How did they manage to make a guy using hallucinogenics on a spaceship uninteresting??!
And the thing with poor, poor Seven...
And the thing with poor, poor Seven...
I felt bad for Seven the moment I learned of this relationship. Chapman was more interesting of a character, and he was established in one episode.
Chakotay had moments, occasionally, but I thought he was a but tedious and boring for the most part.
His relationship with Seven felt forced and slapped together at the last minute.
His relationship with Seven felt forced and slapped together at the last minute.
How is he a good character? The only focus his character got was him talking about his people or the Spirits of the Bear, rather then on the individual. They tried to make him more interesting by randomly giving him hobbies, like boxing and palaeontology, but those had no build up and were hardly ever mentioned, so they were almost irrelevant. Just one week, he was always into palaeontology and then, maybe mentioned a year later, if we were lucky.
Betran had the guts to say his own character was bland. If he isn't invested. If Beltran had the guts to say Chakotay was a crappy character, why should I like him?
Personally I don't have any strong feelings either way about Chakotay.
I do agree however about the relationship with Seven feeling forced at the end (I would've thought a relationship with Janeway would've been more logical since they seemed to be trying to build that up for a while)
But for the most part I thought he had his moments but I do prefer most of the other characters to Chakotay as for Beltran saying what he did well that's up to him lol.
I do agree however about the relationship with Seven feeling forced at the end (I would've thought a relationship with Janeway would've been more logical since they seemed to be trying to build that up for a while)
But for the most part I thought he had his moments but I do prefer most of the other characters to Chakotay as for Beltran saying what he did well that's up to him lol.
The Chakotay character had the scope to be a great character, one that was at odds with Janeway, questioning her decisions on a more regular basis, but the chance was lost (which I think was lost on most of the Maquis characters as we never really saw too much conflict with the SF personnel). It wasn't developed at all, and you can see why Beltran was feeling a bit miffed with what happened.
So I certainly don't hate Chakotay or Beltran at all, he's just another missed oppertunity to develop a more intersting character.
So I certainly don't hate Chakotay or Beltran at all, he's just another missed oppertunity to develop a more intersting character.
I hardly notice him. Certainly don't hate him. He's very good looking. I like the times when he and Janeway disagree, when she doesn't take his advice (most of the time). It's a good way to highlight the differing ways of looking at the situation, how it effects how you approach it.. mostly Chakotay is useful in these scenes because it showcases Janeway's decision making.'
Everything about him though.. the acting, the writing, the way he moved.. was so muted. Bland is the word.
Everything about him though.. the acting, the writing, the way he moved.. was so muted. Bland is the word.
I doubt there was any maliciousness about it. The powers that be simply wanted to focus on certain characters. As a result, others were underused.
Janeway, Seven and The Doctor were the ones they wanted to highlight. Paris and Torres also got development, just not as much. And Neelix got a little less than them. Bringing up the rear were Chakotay, Tuvok and Kim.
As for my personal thoughts on Chakotay.... I don't hate the character, but I really don't like him either. If anything, I'm just indifferent about him. He never really left enough of an impression on me to either love him or hate him.
But, I say to each their own. If you like the character/actor, then fine. I mean, I'm a huge fan of ENT, so I know all about liking things a lot of other people dislike.
It's because he's the first officer that it's so weird. We get used to every series having the non-players, the bland ones.. but when the first officer is only a bit more interesting than Travis on ENT that's.. odd. We just expect more.
I think I said before on here that Chakotay's like the butter pecan of Trek characters. He doesn't have the reach-out-and-grab-you appeal of something like New York Superfudge Chunk--it's a more subtle thing with him.
The first couple of seasons, I definitely had a greater appreciation for the character than I do now, as I'm watching season 5.
The first couple of seasons, I definitely had a greater appreciation for the character than I do now, as I'm watching season 5.
Nice analogy. I butter pecan is my fave LOL!
Thanks. I love this smile. And I love this man.
Well, I think the problem is that the main focus was on the captain, Janeway. There was no room for a strong first officer. Janeway was the boss and he had to follow her. There have been only a few moments to disagree. I also wished they should have shown some of his backround. But they didn`t. I know that Beltran asked them about his heritage or his tribe ... . But they haven`t been interested in the character.
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It's the chicken and the egg thing. It could be that they chose not to write for him because they knew he wouldn't pull it off. We don't know. Either way, it is odd for sure.
There's an E! special that was taped at the very beginning of VOY's run and, in it, there's a bit with RB where he admits he was having trouble pulling off his lines, particularly the technobabble. This was at the very start of the show, not later on when he was bored and disenfranchised. And whether or not someone writes for you, you should do your job. He wasn't learning his lines. If I worked a high-paying job and blatantly surfed Facebook all day in front of my bosses, I'd get fired. Even if I don't like the job, I should do my work. Same thing.
I think folks who herald RB for "speaking out" should also remember that he wasn't just yammering about things that bugged him about VOY. He also implied that the whole sci-fi genre was beneath him (at least that's how it sounded, even if that wasn't what he meant.) And he said this to sci-fi fans. That's what got everyone's hackles up.
I knew I was forgetting something . . .
Definitely agree, there was a lot of good stories there. The Maquis, dealing with B'Elanna, the Seska arc which was excellent. But I do think the actor just wasn't up to it. I know he was supposed to be peaceful and strong and spiritual but it never seemed to come at a cost. The Seska betrayal.. it just didn't even seem to rock him much. I can just picture the Doctor, how well he did shocks, the look on his face.. very emotional face. And we just didn't get that for situations which were extreme.
Okay. Now, I still don't *despise* Chakotay [yet, as I've only seen a dozen or so episodes], but I am starting to have my boiling hate pour on Beltran.
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