Fans, what don't you like about VOY?
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
But I don't want to hear about the quantum shield matrix depolarizing along the lateral translytic collimators, I just want to hear "Shields failing, Captain." I don't even want percentages.
For me, the technobabble takes away from the drama, and VGR was mucho guilty of going there to jazz up the script with technical sounding terms.
For me, the technobabble takes away from the drama, and VGR was mucho guilty of going there to jazz up the script with technical sounding terms.
What? 
You don't want to hear about the theta-matrix's hyperfluctations and their inpact on the quantum-static destabilisators which is necessary to make the shields function properly?
Not to mention the resonance bursts from the electromagnetic pulses in the beta flux generators which can affect the warp coil as well?
You don't want to hear about the theta-matrix's hyperfluctations and their inpact on the quantum-static destabilisators which is necessary to make the shields function properly?
Not to mention the resonance bursts from the electromagnetic pulses in the beta flux generators which can affect the warp coil as well?
I think the point where I truly thought "oh dear god" about the technobabble was when they seriously used the word "interferometric". I think this excerpt by SFDebris from his review of "The Swarm" covers it perfectly:
Interferometric? Interferometric?!! Look, I have blasted Trek for its technobabble before, but this really takes the cake! You're not even trying any more!!! Interferometric... All this does is just makes the technobabble stuff even more obvious, just pulling back the curtain so we see how they always handle things.
Harry: Captain, they've set up an anti-what-we're-doing field!
Janeway: See if you can remodulate the shields to repel it with a boing-atron burst.
Harry: No good. I also tried having the deflector release a multiphased-knock-it-off pulse, but it didn't work.
Paris: Captain, things are critical. I'm reading 7.23 isocochranes on the we're-f*cked scale; I'm not sure how long we can keep this up.
Janeway: Bridge to Engineering, I need all power transfered to the deus ex machina generators right now!
Torres: But captain, I have Oh Shit! lights coming on all over the place!
Janeway: If we don't do it now, we risk total quantum-sodomization, and that's a risk I'm not willing to take!
I still believe that the claims of technobabble in Voyager are pure over exaggeration. I never paid any attention to it, so that might explain why it was never a problem for me. From my point of view, there was absolutely no difference between the language used in TNG, DS9 and VOY. None whatsoever. 
Same here! I enjoy trying to figure out how the technology behind the technobabble would work. And if it could work in real life in our future.
What?
You don't want to hear about the theta-matrix's hyperfluctations and their inpact on the quantum-static destabilisators which is necessary to make the shields function properly?
Not to mention the resonance bursts from the electromagnetic pulses in the beta flux generators which can affect the warp coil as well?
I know, shocking isn't it?
(Those last two weren't that bad, actually.
)I like technical talk that makes sense, or is relevant to the story. I mean, I own almost every great TM ever made. (Still annoyed there wasn't a VGR one...
) But when it reaches the babble point and feels gratuitous, there for the sake of being there, then it's just distracting to me.I honestly believe at some point the poor technical advisors just reached their breaking point trying to make up nonsense words for the demanding writing team.
Eh, there's still a difference between jargon that would be a part of everyday use for someone in a given field, and meaningless babble that's just gratuitously there. I can watch "Dragnet" without getting a headache, and that's about the most jargon and procedure heavy police show I can think of.
There's a famous quote from the immortal "The Making of Star Trek" that I shall have to paraphrase where Gene Roddenberry explained that just like a policeman doesn't bother to explain how his gun works on a police show, Starfleet officers shouldn't go into technical detail about their equipment so long as it isn't relevant to the story. It should be sufficient that it does work, without babble to explain it. It's one thing to address the concepts of it, but, again, it's another to invent new words to describe things for technology that don't exist and that are already based only loosely on theoretical science of our own era.
I like technical talk that makes sense, or is relevant to the story. I mean, I own almost every great TM ever made. (Still annoyed there wasn't a VGR one...
Was there ever a reason for not putting out a TM for Voyager? I know I would buy one if it was published.
IIRC, the sales for technical books dropped off significantly by the time that one could have been done for VGR, and so Pocket didn't want to do one, or any other techy books other than that last little "Ships of the Line." I think the sales for the DS9 one were like half the one for VGR, but don't quote me on that because I'm not certain.
Well, I can see how they'd not want to publish one if the numbers arn't there. However, let's hope that with this new Star Trek movie it'll rekindle some interest maybe get things going.
I like technical talk that makes sense, or is relevant to the story. I mean, I own almost every great TM ever made. (Still annoyed there wasn't a VGR one...
Was there ever a reason for not putting out a TM for Voyager? I know I would buy one if it was published.
Hmmmm.....it looks that the quotes have been somewhat messed up here. That quoted comment wasn't mine but a reply to a funny comment I made.
But I would love to have a Voyager TM.
As for technobabble, it can be a bit exaggerated sometimes but mostly I just let it pass. I see it as a part of the show.
I don't think that Voyager was so much worse than TNG when it comes to techobabble. That show had its fair share of technobabble too. I haven't seen all episodes of DS9 but I guess it was the same there too.
Sorry about that, Lynx...other boards I post on don't add other posters quotes when I go to quote someone, so basically I got confused when I went to sift through the quotes.
And as for the technobabble, I don't mind it. To me, going through the technobabble is the necessary steps in finding a solution.
I agree that the other shows did it, but I really think VGR was the most guilty, particularly when it had to do with Seven inventing a Borg tech-derived magitech fix for something. And again, it's not that I mind the use of "jargon," it's the gratuitous overuse that becomes babble. If the warp core's about to explode, why say "The dilithium matrix has depolarized and the antimatter bottles are beginning to buckle" when you can just say "Core breach imminent!"
I honestly believe they could have better utilised Tom Paris in scenes like that (though it might have become a running joke)
B'Elanna: The dilithium matrix has depolarized and the antimatter bottles are beginning to buckle...
*Beat*
Tom: So...we're going to explode then?
B'Elanna: The dilithium matrix has depolarized and the antimatter bottles are beginning to buckle...
*Beat*
Tom: So...we're going to explode then?
Say, JB2005, that's a good idea.
Here's a thing that somewhat annoyed me that you made me think of: the crew's seemingly ever-rotating roster of personal interests. One week, gothic holo-novel. The next week, Da Vinci simulation. One week, repairing antique cars on the holodeck. Captain Proton the next. I'm not really complaining, since I liked a lot of those, but, really, that whole crew had ADHD.
At least their interests were generally confined to a specific area: Kathy likes history, Tom likes pop culture.
Here's a thing that somewhat annoyed me that you made me think of: the crew's seemingly ever-rotating roster of personal interests. One week, gothic holo-novel. The next week, Da Vinci simulation. One week, repairing antique cars on the holodeck. Captain Proton the next. I'm not really complaining, since I liked a lot of those, but, really, that whole crew had ADHD.
At least their interests were generally confined to a specific area: Kathy likes history, Tom likes pop culture.
I like VOY....even though it has a lot of problems.
One of my good Trek friends lost interest somehwere in Season 5 iirc. That was partly because, as he said, VOY was Fem-Trek. And after thinking about it, he made a good point.
The leading VOY characters that are the most intelligent, well-rounded, self-assured, and most courageous are all female: Janeway, Kes, B'elanna....they make the show go. Even the defining villain --Borg Queen-- is female. And when they introduced a new character that would make or break the show --Seven-- they made her female.
VOY's males are either hot-heads that can't stay out of their own way (Paris), hopelessly meek and uninteresting to the point of a-sexuality (Kim), annoying (Nelix), or pretentiously robotic (EMH). Even the noble ones (Tuvok and, especially Chakotay) weren't being developed in a parallel manner with their fem counterparts. Even Q --the all powerful male being --loses much of his power and aggressiveness when facing Janeway instead of Picard.
And the ship itself is smaller, more elegant, and less "warlike" than in TOS or TNG.
I still continued to enjoy VOY (for the most part) and I did like the idea of a female captain....but I've always thought there was something correct in his Fem-Trek analysis.
One of my good Trek friends lost interest somehwere in Season 5 iirc. That was partly because, as he said, VOY was Fem-Trek. And after thinking about it, he made a good point.
The leading VOY characters that are the most intelligent, well-rounded, self-assured, and most courageous are all female: Janeway, Kes, B'elanna....they make the show go. Even the defining villain --Borg Queen-- is female. And when they introduced a new character that would make or break the show --Seven-- they made her female.
VOY's males are either hot-heads that can't stay out of their own way (Paris), hopelessly meek and uninteresting to the point of a-sexuality (Kim), annoying (Nelix), or pretentiously robotic (EMH). Even the noble ones (Tuvok and, especially Chakotay) weren't being developed in a parallel manner with their fem counterparts. Even Q --the all powerful male being --loses much of his power and aggressiveness when facing Janeway instead of Picard.
And the ship itself is smaller, more elegant, and less "warlike" than in TOS or TNG.
I still continued to enjoy VOY (for the most part) and I did like the idea of a female captain....but I've always thought there was something correct in his Fem-Trek analysis.
I still believe that the claims of technobabble in Voyager are pure over exaggeration. I never paid any attention to it, so that might explain why it was never a problem for me. From my point of view, there was absolutely no difference between the language used in TNG, DS9 and VOY. None whatsoever.
I agree. Although I do think it was overused at times and probably more on Voyager than the other Treks, it was never a huge deal to me.
Why do you say fem-Trek like it was a bad thing?
If we make an assumption/generalization that females like romance fluffy-stuffy, then I would say DS9 would be more of a fem-Trek. There were romance in the air here and there on the station, whereas on Voyager there was mostly Tom/B'Elanna pairing. Just an interesting observation.
But yeah - Voyager had females in important positions. The captain and the chief engineering were pretty central for the crew.
However, I don't think they took anything away from male characters. I think Voyager men were great. Well, perhaps not Harry so much, but anyway.Similar threads
