I was unsure when I started Voyager, I had heard all the bad stuff and it did make me fear the show could be a miss. Then I finally sat down and watched it. I can see the comparisons to TNG, however, given that everyone now wants a show like TNG again, maybe the fact that it followed the model was not such a bad thing. To me, while the stories may be similar, the crew and set up for the voyager and its overall tone make it feel different from TNG to me at least. It has plenty of humor, but it seems to deal with heavier topics a lot more often, some storylines have felt slightly similar to some of TNG, but I think that had more to do with the writers wanting to retell the story in a different manner. Even when the stories are similar I feel the crew's personality really changes things in a big way.
I was also unsure how I would like Janeway, and I was really surprised how much I loved her. I understand the scrutiny her character has, I can see people feeling she is more emotional, or makes subpar choices, but I do not even fault the writers for that, as they seemed to be trying to make Janeway part Picard and part Kirk. She is thoughtful and smart as Picard, but she is also brash and headstrong like Kirk. She may make mistakes, but really no more so than Picard or Kirk before her. Some seem to want her to be more reserved and even smarter, yet I think they did a really good job portraying how a captain, not a female or anything else but just how a captain would react being in her very unique position of being lost in space.
It seems like she makes choices out of the desire to protect her crew, and to get them home safely even if she has to put herself at great risk doing so. It would seem odd if she never made a mistake, and while they may have given her more emotional moments than Kirk or Picard, could it not be because of the situation she is in rather than her gender? Sure they are explorers, and I am sure Picard and Kirk would enjoy the voyage, but I also think they would have just as many emotional moments. The stakes are just higher, and I feel her reactions are more demonstrative of that, than being an overly emotional female.
A character that never makes mistakes or choices based on emotional reasons is not believable unless they are meant to be Vulcan or something like that. Really if you stop thinking Janeway should or shouldn't do this, and observe how she is, I really think you would be surprised by her skill and her huge brass balls. They had a real challenge to create a show that felt similar to TNG and TOS, while still being it's own thing, I really think they did that, I can see the influences from both TOS and TNG, and I think that really worked well. There are even times I would rather watch it than TNG and I am a diehard TNG fanatic. There is something about the setting and crew of Voyager, and maybe the fact that my expectations were so low, that it really seems very special to me. If I really had to choose, I would probably pick TNG, but that would be because I like the more humorous episodes and the stuff that was done, more or less just to be silly fun.
Yet Voyager lacking most of those things, and instead focusing on more character based humor and darker and more serious themes is really enjoyable. IT never gets too dark, and loses the sense of wonder and fun that makes Trek what it is, but it also really takes the other elements, family, working together in times of crisis and the exelent moral plays that really make up my favortie pieces of the universe.
I can understand people not loving it, but I really do not understand why so many, even parts of the Trek cast, looking at you Jonathan... Think of it as a lesser version of TNG, and before I am attacked, I am a die-hard Jonathan Frakes fan I own Thunderbirds and Clockstoppers just because he made them and I actually watch them, I like his directing style. But still, why does everyone think so little of such a great show? I guess sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.
This concludes my book report on Star Trek Voyager LOL.
But sometimes, I feel very lonely but fortunately some like Thomas Eugene, who speaks fluently french, encouraged me to post quotes in this language to translate a personal feeling and/or just describe situations which is related to Voyager, of course. So, I do it occasionally when it is relevant. 
