It's no secret that "Voyager" underutilized its recurring characters. I've already made a thread speculating about Charlie Quizzlink. In this thread, we'll speculate on other minor characters. I'm just going to throw some observations and ideas out here, and you guys can add to or contradict them.
Naomi Wildman:
An interesting detail about Naomi. In Season 3's "Macrocosm," she and her mother are attacked by the giant viruses and rendered unconscious (offscreen). The giant germs were coming out of Voyager's replicators. One season later in "Mortal Coil," what is poor Naomi terrified of? "Monsters in the replicator."
During the "Year of Hell," she'd have spent a significant portion of her childhood in that mess (recall that as a half-Ktarian she ages much faster than a fully human child). She likely had at least a somewhat different personality in that timeline. Unless the adults managed to convince her it was all a game, a la "Life is Beautiful."
Speaking of deadly games, how about "The Killing Game." Most fans presume she and her mother were among those locked in their quarters. But the Hirogen might be sadistic enough to want to see how far this new "prey" would go to protect is young. I tend to imagine Sam and Naomi in the role of Jews hiding out with Neelix's character. Or maybe she was on the outside of it all, feeling left out (still a bit too young to fully understand the gravity of the situation).
How many times has an adult gone insane in front of poor Naomi? Seven switched personalities on her in "Infinite Regress;" then the entire crew got high in "Bliss," scaring Naomi so bad she hid from everyone in the cargo bay. Then Neelix went berserk in the kitchen, in "Memorial," then Seven scared Naomi with her paranoid rant near the end of "the Voyager Conspiracy." No wonder this girl was so hard to phase by the end of the series.
When did she learn about the circumstances of her birth in "Deadlock," and how did she take it? Did she and her mother get a letter from her father, in "Hunters?" In "Author, Author," when the crew gets face-time with relatives back home, that would've been Naomi's first time meeting her father. I'm pretty P.O.ed that the show skilled all of that.
I've covered some of these things in fanfiction, but I'm interested to hear what you all think.
Samantha Wildman
I wish we'd seen more of her, but it makes sense that we didn't; Janeway probably gave a lighter work load to the crewmember who was also juggling parenthood. It would still have been nice to see her interacting with Seven of Nine and the Borg kids, knowing how close they all became to her daughter. In fanfiction she's often shiped with Joe Carrey, despite having a husband back home, and given their unusual circumstances I can see an affair happening, though I think she'd ultimately go back to her husband once the hope of returning home becomes more possible.
As the ship's Xenobiologist, Sam must have played a role in some significant events on "Voyager," even if we didn't see it onscreen. She must have been heavily involved when the crew was learning about Species 8472. One would think that the ship's xenobiologist would be the first to find out the true nature of that starship-eating creature in "Bliss;" then again, maybe studying it so closely caused her to get an even worse blast of its brainwashing than anyone. Naomi was particulaly weirded out by her mom's behavior in that episode. Sam might have been one of the first and strongest affected. She might have been the one to declar the wormhole "definitely real, and definitely not a hungry animal" to Janeway, leaving her feeling incredibly guilty after the whole fiasco is over.
Lt. Joe Carrey
I love that he's Irish, simply becasue for a crew that's supposeldy made up of Starfleet officers from around the Alpha Quadrant, a goofy proportion seem to be American. I also like that he was building a model of Voyager in a bottle. But I'm afraid I can't say I find anything else about this poor schmuck terribly interesting. Fans have complained about how he seemingly vanished after Season 1, despite being the runner up for Chief Engineer. However, it's been pointed out that he might well have been the one in charge whenever B'Elanna was off-duty.
Lt. Ayala
That Maquis guy with the hockey vest, Ayala was PISSED when he learend Tuvok was a spy, and had to be stopped by Chakotay. Yet, almost immediately, he becomes a security officer with the rank of lieutenant, and is one of Tuvok's favorite security bookends. It's mentioned that Ayala has two sons back home who he misses terribly; perhaps he and Tuvok bonded over both being fathers separated from their families. The Maquis crew's initial dislike of Tom Paris might also be something Ayala and Tuvok might've bonded over.
Lt. Lang
In "Displaced" (season 3) Lang is a white female, and has a fairly substantial role in the episode. In latter seasons, Lang is suddenly an African American male with the first name of Timothy. Timothy Lang is later listed among crew casualties in a Season 7 episode.
Lang is a common enough name that there could simply be two of them. But cosmetic surgery has also come a long way by the 24th Centry. Maybe Lang is actually from some species that regenerates like Dr. Who. Or maybe the two Langs were a married couple.
Ensign Ashmore:
Alongside Sue Nicoletti, Ashmore seems to be one of B'Elanna's two favorite engineers. I don't think we ever see him speak, but the fact that he's so often named and shown during crucial engineering situations suggests that he's a damn good engineer. In "The Killing Game," it is Ashmore who distracts the Hirogen for Harry Kim. In "Retrospect," when Seven strikes Kovin, Andrews is the first to react to restrain her. He's clearly fast on his feet, and that's probably part of why B'Elanna loves having him in her engien room.
Ashmore is also partially responsible for the infamous cheese incident in "Learning Curve." His longing for macaroni and cheese set off the chain of events that led to Neelix trying to make hommade cheese, and poisoning the ship. So Ashmore is this brilliant, quiet, fast-thinging engineer, who loves his mac n' cheese. Or maybe it's just something he mentioned offhandedly that Neelix took to heart, but I prefer the former.
Ensign Pablo Baytart:
This dude is mentioned, but never shown. He's only mentioned in early episodes, leading to the grim possibility that he was a casualty during one of their many battles or shipwide crisises. I hope not though, because not only does he have a cool sounding name, but he sounds like someone who likes to live dangerously. He's a good enough relief pilot that Paris recommended him for the missing to "Planet Hell" in "Partruition." Or maybe Tom just hated him, as it was a missing to Planet Hell with Neelix. But Pablo clearly doesn't mind Neelix, because he demonstrated his juggling skills on Neelix's public-access mornig show in Season 2. We're told that the items he juggled included PADDs, hyposprays and phasers. Was Baytart a former Maquis? Or just a Starfleet who really likes to take risks? Apparenlty he also lives next door to Harry Kim, and pounds the wall when the dweeb's clarinet playing is too loud, indicating that Baytart isn't shy or timid. Unfortunately, his boldness might explain why we don't hear about him in later seasons; maybe he took a phaser blast for a comrade, or got too close to an interesting alien animal on an away mission.
The Equinox survivors
I still find it bonkers that they were all Humans, and all but one had Western names. But whatever. Poor Marla Gilmore at least was remorseful, and turned a new leaf by the end of the episode. More than one fanfiction has her adopting the Borg baby from "Collective," perhaps as an act of redemption and/or just to have a distraction and a new start. But what else might she or the other Equinox five have gotten up to? Did they relate to Seven, over feelings of guilt for thier past atrocities? Were any of them still brainwashed into thinking they'd been in the right all along? What the heck did they say to their relatives during their facetime calls in "Author, Author?"
Jurot
In "Counterpoint" (season 5), she's a Betazoid who must hide from the anti-telepath villains, with Tuvok and Vorik. But in "Dragon's Teeth" one seasons later, Janeway laments not having a Betazoid to help her tell if someone is lying. Fans speculate that Jurot died some time between the two episodes. Personally, I speculate that she was one of the causalties in "Equinox," and died trying to telepathically communicate with one or more of the aliens. However, she does appear in the game "Elite Force," which takes place late in the series. Some other fans speculate that Jurot was simply in stasis or off-ship for some reason during "Dragon's Teeth."
I need to get to bed, but go crazy.
Naomi Wildman:
An interesting detail about Naomi. In Season 3's "Macrocosm," she and her mother are attacked by the giant viruses and rendered unconscious (offscreen). The giant germs were coming out of Voyager's replicators. One season later in "Mortal Coil," what is poor Naomi terrified of? "Monsters in the replicator."
During the "Year of Hell," she'd have spent a significant portion of her childhood in that mess (recall that as a half-Ktarian she ages much faster than a fully human child). She likely had at least a somewhat different personality in that timeline. Unless the adults managed to convince her it was all a game, a la "Life is Beautiful."
Speaking of deadly games, how about "The Killing Game." Most fans presume she and her mother were among those locked in their quarters. But the Hirogen might be sadistic enough to want to see how far this new "prey" would go to protect is young. I tend to imagine Sam and Naomi in the role of Jews hiding out with Neelix's character. Or maybe she was on the outside of it all, feeling left out (still a bit too young to fully understand the gravity of the situation).
How many times has an adult gone insane in front of poor Naomi? Seven switched personalities on her in "Infinite Regress;" then the entire crew got high in "Bliss," scaring Naomi so bad she hid from everyone in the cargo bay. Then Neelix went berserk in the kitchen, in "Memorial," then Seven scared Naomi with her paranoid rant near the end of "the Voyager Conspiracy." No wonder this girl was so hard to phase by the end of the series.
When did she learn about the circumstances of her birth in "Deadlock," and how did she take it? Did she and her mother get a letter from her father, in "Hunters?" In "Author, Author," when the crew gets face-time with relatives back home, that would've been Naomi's first time meeting her father. I'm pretty P.O.ed that the show skilled all of that.
I've covered some of these things in fanfiction, but I'm interested to hear what you all think.
Samantha Wildman
I wish we'd seen more of her, but it makes sense that we didn't; Janeway probably gave a lighter work load to the crewmember who was also juggling parenthood. It would still have been nice to see her interacting with Seven of Nine and the Borg kids, knowing how close they all became to her daughter. In fanfiction she's often shiped with Joe Carrey, despite having a husband back home, and given their unusual circumstances I can see an affair happening, though I think she'd ultimately go back to her husband once the hope of returning home becomes more possible.
As the ship's Xenobiologist, Sam must have played a role in some significant events on "Voyager," even if we didn't see it onscreen. She must have been heavily involved when the crew was learning about Species 8472. One would think that the ship's xenobiologist would be the first to find out the true nature of that starship-eating creature in "Bliss;" then again, maybe studying it so closely caused her to get an even worse blast of its brainwashing than anyone. Naomi was particulaly weirded out by her mom's behavior in that episode. Sam might have been one of the first and strongest affected. She might have been the one to declar the wormhole "definitely real, and definitely not a hungry animal" to Janeway, leaving her feeling incredibly guilty after the whole fiasco is over.
Lt. Joe Carrey
I love that he's Irish, simply becasue for a crew that's supposeldy made up of Starfleet officers from around the Alpha Quadrant, a goofy proportion seem to be American. I also like that he was building a model of Voyager in a bottle. But I'm afraid I can't say I find anything else about this poor schmuck terribly interesting. Fans have complained about how he seemingly vanished after Season 1, despite being the runner up for Chief Engineer. However, it's been pointed out that he might well have been the one in charge whenever B'Elanna was off-duty.
Lt. Ayala
That Maquis guy with the hockey vest, Ayala was PISSED when he learend Tuvok was a spy, and had to be stopped by Chakotay. Yet, almost immediately, he becomes a security officer with the rank of lieutenant, and is one of Tuvok's favorite security bookends. It's mentioned that Ayala has two sons back home who he misses terribly; perhaps he and Tuvok bonded over both being fathers separated from their families. The Maquis crew's initial dislike of Tom Paris might also be something Ayala and Tuvok might've bonded over.
Lt. Lang
In "Displaced" (season 3) Lang is a white female, and has a fairly substantial role in the episode. In latter seasons, Lang is suddenly an African American male with the first name of Timothy. Timothy Lang is later listed among crew casualties in a Season 7 episode.
Lang is a common enough name that there could simply be two of them. But cosmetic surgery has also come a long way by the 24th Centry. Maybe Lang is actually from some species that regenerates like Dr. Who. Or maybe the two Langs were a married couple.
Ensign Ashmore:
Alongside Sue Nicoletti, Ashmore seems to be one of B'Elanna's two favorite engineers. I don't think we ever see him speak, but the fact that he's so often named and shown during crucial engineering situations suggests that he's a damn good engineer. In "The Killing Game," it is Ashmore who distracts the Hirogen for Harry Kim. In "Retrospect," when Seven strikes Kovin, Andrews is the first to react to restrain her. He's clearly fast on his feet, and that's probably part of why B'Elanna loves having him in her engien room.
Ashmore is also partially responsible for the infamous cheese incident in "Learning Curve." His longing for macaroni and cheese set off the chain of events that led to Neelix trying to make hommade cheese, and poisoning the ship. So Ashmore is this brilliant, quiet, fast-thinging engineer, who loves his mac n' cheese. Or maybe it's just something he mentioned offhandedly that Neelix took to heart, but I prefer the former.
Ensign Pablo Baytart:
This dude is mentioned, but never shown. He's only mentioned in early episodes, leading to the grim possibility that he was a casualty during one of their many battles or shipwide crisises. I hope not though, because not only does he have a cool sounding name, but he sounds like someone who likes to live dangerously. He's a good enough relief pilot that Paris recommended him for the missing to "Planet Hell" in "Partruition." Or maybe Tom just hated him, as it was a missing to Planet Hell with Neelix. But Pablo clearly doesn't mind Neelix, because he demonstrated his juggling skills on Neelix's public-access mornig show in Season 2. We're told that the items he juggled included PADDs, hyposprays and phasers. Was Baytart a former Maquis? Or just a Starfleet who really likes to take risks? Apparenlty he also lives next door to Harry Kim, and pounds the wall when the dweeb's clarinet playing is too loud, indicating that Baytart isn't shy or timid. Unfortunately, his boldness might explain why we don't hear about him in later seasons; maybe he took a phaser blast for a comrade, or got too close to an interesting alien animal on an away mission.
The Equinox survivors
I still find it bonkers that they were all Humans, and all but one had Western names. But whatever. Poor Marla Gilmore at least was remorseful, and turned a new leaf by the end of the episode. More than one fanfiction has her adopting the Borg baby from "Collective," perhaps as an act of redemption and/or just to have a distraction and a new start. But what else might she or the other Equinox five have gotten up to? Did they relate to Seven, over feelings of guilt for thier past atrocities? Were any of them still brainwashed into thinking they'd been in the right all along? What the heck did they say to their relatives during their facetime calls in "Author, Author?"
Jurot
In "Counterpoint" (season 5), she's a Betazoid who must hide from the anti-telepath villains, with Tuvok and Vorik. But in "Dragon's Teeth" one seasons later, Janeway laments not having a Betazoid to help her tell if someone is lying. Fans speculate that Jurot died some time between the two episodes. Personally, I speculate that she was one of the causalties in "Equinox," and died trying to telepathically communicate with one or more of the aliens. However, she does appear in the game "Elite Force," which takes place late in the series. Some other fans speculate that Jurot was simply in stasis or off-ship for some reason during "Dragon's Teeth."
I need to get to bed, but go crazy.
