So I've been watching Voyager again for about the fourth or fifth time since it first aired, and I'm finding myself becoming more impatient with the series. The usual complaints, like ignoring the premise, lack of episode continuity etc. are things that I'm not willing to overlook anymore. I'm half way through the third season, and while I know Voyager hit it's comfortable formula from the fourth season onwards, having watched shows with similar story elements like NuBSG, I have to wonder what they could have done with Voyager if given the chance. My question is, are there any other Voyager fans here who are starting to see what many complained about when the show first broadcast? Everytime I rewatch TNG (from season 3) and DS9, I find them to be just as good, if not better than when I first saw them.
Does Voyager get worse with subsequent viewings?
- Thread starter crouteru
- Start date
I would not say it gets worse for me. There are definitely episodes that are better than others in each season, but I don't think they get really any better or worse with subsequent viewings. Every Trek series suffered from the issues you mentioned at some point in it's run, so Voyager wasn't really unique in that regard.
Quiet the opposite, I seem to enjoy the Voyager series the more I watch it.
That has been my experience. I find that no longer burdened by expectations that I originally had and knowing what I'll get out of VOY coupled with nostalgia for Trek and some of the VOY characters made me enjoy the series more than I initially did.
It still is probably my least favorite Trek series though.
I find it's gotten better with age, having realized that there were more recurring plot threads, dark themes and overarching ideas than people ever gave the show credit for during its original run. I even like the way they ended it, kinda Sopranos-like in retrospect.
My problem with Voyager these days is that I've analyzed it to death and back to the extent that I simply can't watch it without remembering all those debates and flame wars.
If I ever lose my memory of TBBS though, I'm there.
My problem with Voyager these days is that I've analyzed it to death and back to the extent that I simply can't watch it without remembering all those debates and flame wars.
If I ever lose my memory of TBBS though, I'm there.
I don't know if it gets any worse, but it sure doesn't get any better. Spike TV started airing episodes from the pilot on recently. I only got to somewhere around season 2 before I quit. I even found new things to complain about. For example I didn't remember how much Kes and her ever shifting magical power levels were used as a Deus Ex Machina to get Voyager out of more than a few sticky situations.
I've re-watched about 20 or so VOYs recently, and I find that if I turn off the little voice in my head that says, "They're cut off from the Alpha Quadrant! How the hell are they thriving like this?", then I can enjoy the show as TNG: Phase Two. It's a mellow, button-down, low-key kind of sf. The characters are fun, the production design's nice...some of the dialogue is okay.....I even enjoyed the much-hated "Threshold" when I saw it last week. The scenes with Tom the Mutant bitching at Holodoc were kinda fun......
The series can't carry DS9's jock, but VOY's a pretty good have-it-on-the-background sort of thing.
The series can't carry DS9's jock, but VOY's a pretty good have-it-on-the-background sort of thing.
Interesting, I have a similar view..its my least fav series but I have been watching some of the "high point" episodes, and if you really look at it carefully, when Voyager was good, it was very good!
rama
I think it gets better.
I enjoy it as much today as I did when watching it first run. Maybe a little more for nostalgia's sake.
It's funny, but Chakotay and Paris aren't half as annoying as I remember them. Janeway and Seven are twice as annoying as I had remembered, though.......
I'm also in this camp. I remember being very disappointed in the series when I was watching it in first run. There was so much I was hoping they would do and never did. When I watch it now, I enjoy how fun the show is and I love watching the actors. I see the show for what it is...very entertaining and well produced, but not exactly groundbreaking...rather than what I want it to be. I do enjoy it very much now and actually hope to start collecting the DVDs soon.
-Aaron
You do have a point here. I've re-watched seasons 1-3 of Voyager many times and I've noticed a lot of flaws and contradictions each time which don't annoy me but still are there in some way.
And note that I've only re-watched seasons 1-3 a couple of times (for obvious reasons) and they are seasons I really like and enjoy watching. What I did see of seasons 4-6 when I watched them a long time ago, the writing got even more erratic with more obvious flaws and contradictions.
But still I like the series, mostly because of the characters. My opinion is that all that was good with Voyager outweights what was bad. However, I wish that there was a way to really make something better out of the great characters and the great premise for the series.
Yeah I see all the stuff that I didn't notice before thats bad about it but I don't really care...Voyager FTW!
Of late I have been DvR'ing every episode on Spike. So thats been 10 episodes per week and I have been watching it since they aired caretaker a while back now.
This is probably the first time since the series ended that I have watched them in (mostly) correct order. I have watched random episodes the past 8 or so years. What I am discovering is that I am enjoying the episodes more now then before and I liked the show from day one.
So I don't agree that it gets worse with subsequent viewings. For me its the opposite.
This is probably the first time since the series ended that I have watched them in (mostly) correct order. I have watched random episodes the past 8 or so years. What I am discovering is that I am enjoying the episodes more now then before and I liked the show from day one.
So I don't agree that it gets worse with subsequent viewings. For me its the opposite.
Not for me. I enjoy it as much as I ever did - which was a great deal. In general, I'm not into analysing shows to pieces. I don't expect them to be "real" or to reflect "real life", or anything else along those lines. I just want interesting characters and stories that entertain me. With a handful of exceptions Voyager provided that in spades at the time and it does so now. In fact, I had no idea I was supposed to hate the show - or that I was stupid (one of the more polite adjectives often used back in the day) for liking it - until I joined TBBS.
I'm enjoying Season 5 of Voyager and am actually excited to get to Season 6. I've seen Season 5 within the last few years, but I haven't seen Season 6 in a long time. Looking forward to it.
I want to add that I'm actually lightening up on the show a bit now. I've just finished season 4 and it is a genuine improvement. Voyager became more consistently strong from 'Before And After' in season 3 onwards.
What I find most annoying in the first couple of seasons is the aimless direction the show was going in. The Kazon were turning up too often when the ship was supposed to be heading away from their space. Some episodes were recycled from previous shows.
Season 1 was annoyingly short with just 16 episodes, the first half of season 2 was mostly medicore until 'Resistance'. Season 3 finally got shot of the Kazon and showed some progress like moving beyond the region of space that Neelix has knowledge of in 'Fair Trade', entering the Nekrid Expanse and encountering the Borg for the first time in 'Unity'.
Seven Of Nine in season 4 shakes things up a bit. She doesn't necessarily follow orders and speaks her mind a lot. It makes her a good foil for Janeway.
