Should they bring back Janeway?

[JoeP]

I read Star Trek to see the continuing adventures of these characters, not to see them die and then not read about them anymore! Anyone who doesn't like Janeway can not read a book with her in it, but if she's dead, people who like the character are deprived of seeing her further adventures.

Hear here!

Not really, no. What about the people who don't fit into those categories? What about the people want to read about the Voyager Fleet continuing to explore the DQ while the crew is still trying to come to grips with Janeway's death? Can't come to grips when she's alive...

I like Janeway AND I want to see her left dead. I don't feel deprived at her loss at all because her death is providing the only compelling Voyager novels to date, and I want to see those continue as is for now.

 

[snakespeare]

I read Star Trek to see the continuing adventures of these characters, not to see them die and then not read about them anymore! Anyone who doesn't like Janeway can not read a book with her in it, but if she's dead, people who like the character are deprived of seeing her further adventures.

Hear here!

Not really, no. What about the people who don't fit into those categories? What about the people want to read about the Voyager Fleet continuing to explore the DQ while the crew is still trying to come to grips with Janeway's death? Can't come to grips when she's alive...

I like Janeway AND I want to see her left dead. I don't feel deprived at her loss at all because her death is providing the only compelling Voyager novels to date, and I want to see those continue as is for now.

I do not find the recent VOY novels compelling even enough to read them, based solely on 1. what is written on the backs and 2. the fact that these writers kill main characters. All I know is that I will read why Chakotay hates himself and why Seven has such a bad attitude, which makes me suspect that Harry will wallow in self-pity while Tom establishes himself as some sort of tribute to his father. It just all makes me want nothing to do with the VOY relaunch.

Clearly your mileage varies.

I mean, I just look at the titles there on the shelf and shake my head.

The crew was lost for seven years in the Delta Quadrant. They were forced to be together. Some were Maquis, even. Why in the hell would they reunite just to GO BACK to the Delta Quadrant?

I know, I know, do not expect too much from these books... But can't we at least expect that they won't kill off the main characters? I guess that's too much to ask.

Who wants to read about a series where the TV show people are dead and a bunch of replacements are supposed to "compell" us? Not me. I don't even want to be compelled. I just want to read about the characters.

Seriously, have these writers created even one replacement character who can compare to Janeway? Again, your mileage may vary, but I have not been impressed with a single one of the replacement characters, and I really do not like the idea of Chakotay being a captain or whatever they did with him, because he was Maquis. No way does any Starfleet officer who went Maquis ever, EVER get a command!

These opinions are not meant to be correct or right or true. They are just one fan's reactions. You who disagree are equally right. :-)

Pete

 

[LightningStorm]

Voyager
Screen: Chakotay, Seven, Tom, B'Elanna, Harry, Miral, Reg, The Doctor, Vorik, Barclay
Missing: Janeway (dead), Neelix (stayed in the DQ), Kes ("character assassinated/annihilated" )

Poor Tuvok, gets no love...
Must not be pon farr yet.

 

[JoeP]

Voyager
Screen: Chakotay, Seven, Tom, B'Elanna, Harry, Miral, Reg, The Doctor, Vorik, Barclay
Missing: Janeway (dead), Neelix (stayed in the DQ), Kes ("character assassinated/annihilated" )

Poor Tuvok, gets no love...
Must not be pon farr yet.

Yikes, you're right! Fixed it in my post. Though, in my defense I was just using JDs list, so it's his fault. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it....yeah, that's the ticket.

 

[Thestral]

The crew was lost for seven years in the Delta Quadrant. They were forced to be together. Some were Maquis, even. Why in the hell would they reunite just to GO BACK to the Delta Quadrant?

Well, you know, I'm pretty sure that particular point is a main one addressed in Full Circle.

I know, I know, do not expect too much from these books... But can't we at least expect that they won't kill off the main characters? I guess that's too much to ask.

Why is this such a problem? Agatha Christie did it, Arthur Conan Doyle did it, why can't Star Trek do it? Outside of Tasha Yar, Data, Jadzia Dax, Ben Sisko (sorta), I mean.

Who wants to read about a series where the TV show people are dead and a bunch of replacements are supposed to "compell" us? Not me. I don't even want to be compelled. I just want to read about the characters.

Seems to work pretty well for Doctor Who. Though I'll grant that generally most of the "TV show people" aren't killed before being "replaced," except the Doctor of course.

 

[JoeP]

The crew was lost for seven years in the Delta Quadrant. They were forced to be together. Some were Maquis, even. Why in the hell would they reunite just to GO BACK to the Delta Quadrant?

I didn't have much of a problem with this. They are Starfleet officers and part of their duty is to go where their orders take them. It's not exactly unheard of either...soldiers had/have gone on multiple tours of duty in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc... Though, I wouldn't have minded maybe one senior officer request a transfer out of a desire to not go back. But I'm sure then some of the militant fans would've screamed that the authors and editors are committing charactercide in making said officer a coward.

Who wants to read about a series where the TV show people are dead and a bunch of replacements are supposed to "compell" us? Not me. I don't even want to be compelled. I just want to read about the characters.

There's ONE person who's dead. And the "replacements" are largely for characters who have moved elsewhere in the fleet, so they're still around. In Cambridge's case, there wasn't a counselor to begin with on the series...

Seriously, have these writers created even one replacement character who can compare to Janeway? Again, your mileage may vary, but I have not been impressed with a single one of the replacement characters,

I've become a HUGE Cambridge fan, even from only 2 books. And his relationship with Chakotay has developed really well. I also find Sharak quite interesting, from what little we know/seen of him. I was quite surprised to see a Tamarian serving. Definitely want to learn more about how they dealt with the language barrier.

and I really do not like the idea of Chakotay being a captain or whatever they did with him, because he was Maquis. No way does any Starfleet officer who went Maquis ever, EVER get a command!

I get that concern, and I don't recall what, if any at all, justification was given at the time of his promotion. I can only assume Janeway fought for him. But IMO if Ro can serve as chief of security on DS9, I have no problem with Chakotay being a captain,

Spoiler: Unworthy SPOILERS

especially with him serving under Eden who commands the fleet. She's the type to not put up with any B.S.

Not that there would be any. Maquis-like tendencies seemed to have disappeared from those serving on Voyager long before the show went off the air (or it just wasn't depicted).

These opinions are not meant to be correct or right or true. They are just one fan's reactions. You who disagree are equally right. :-)

Pete

Absolutely, but the backs get raised when said opinion turns to insults thrown at the authors and editors. Not so much in this thread, and definitely not by you, but the many others that crept up when Janeway's death reached the militant fans. I just recently finished reading through those threads (before this thread came along), so it's still somewhat fresh in my mind as to the amount of petty whining that went on. It was quite stunning, actually, and entertaining too.

 

[JoeZhang]

I didn't have much of a problem with this. They are Starfleet officers and part of their duty is to go where their orders take them. It's not exactly unheard of either...soldiers had/have gone on multiple tours of duty in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc... Though, I wouldn't have minded maybe one senior officer request a transfer out of a desire to not go back. But I'm sure then some of the militant fans would've screamed that the authors and editors are committing charactercide in making said officer a coward.

Voyager was a fairly stupid show to start with (in how the characters behaved when stuck on the other side of the universe), that they continue to act in a contrived manner is in perfect keeping with the show!

 

[snakespeare]

Well, TrekLit is not canon, thank goodness.

As for fighting with authors, man, sometimes I wonder about that whole dynamic. The writers and editors have power to kill characters, but we fans only have the power not to buy the books.

I am exercising that power, lately. I will not buy any "NuTrek" or VOY novelization. It is the only power I have, and I'm for damn sure going to use it.

I do not like the killing of Janeway, I do not like the convenience of altering the timeline just so the newbie movie writers don't have to have their ideas fit into the existing Trek universe. There is nothing I can do but refuse to buy. I recommend that others who agree with me (if any) do so as well.

I'm done with arguing with the writers. It's pretty obvious that they are never wrong, so why bother?

I hope, for those who like the VOY relaunch, that you enjoy yourselves and not let a curmudgeon like me spoil your fun. But, next time, could you kill Neelix instead?

 

[jht0681]

I vote to bring her back. I have been a fan of Star Trek from the beginning. Yes I am that old. I loved that the fans kept Star Trek alive when TPTB let it go in the early 1970's. I still have every copy of the fanzine R&R. I loved Shatner's Kirk. But I have a special place for in my heart for Janeway.

 

[Defcon]

And even for informational purposes this poll is pretty useless since it doesn't show who voted for what, so for all we know a motivated individual could create countless duals and screw the vote to his/her liking.

By the way, that's exactly what's happening. Just out of curiosity I googled "Bring back Janeway", and the very first link was to a German Star Trek board where some members openly admit that they have created multiple accounts to vote in this poll.

What's even sadder is that some of them seem to think that this poll was set up by someone from Pocket Books because of e-Mails and letters they've sent.

 

[JoeP]

Well, TrekLit is not canon, thank goodness.

As for fighting with authors, man, sometimes I wonder about that whole dynamic. The writers and editors have power to kill characters, but we fans only have the power not to buy the books.

I am exercising that power, lately. I will not buy any "NuTrek" or VOY novelization. It is the only power I have, and I'm for damn sure going to use it.

Well, that's how it always is in any form of entertainment. Even when the shows were on the air we were subject to the writer's and producer's whims. You can't fault Pocket and the authors for that. But you have the right attitude: just stop buying. I did with New Frontier and haven't looked back.

I do not like the killing of Janeway, I do not like the convenience of altering the timeline just so the newbie movie writers don't have to have their ideas fit into the existing Trek universe.

FWIW, the timeline wasn't altered. NuTrek is in a separate timeline parallel to PrimeTrek, leaving it just fine. Which, IMO, was the best thing they could've done.

I'm done with arguing with the writers. It's pretty obvious that they are never wrong, so why bother?

Yeah, they can be pretty hard-headed, to put it mildly, at times...thank god for the ignore feature.

I hope, for those who like the VOY relaunch, that you enjoy yourselves and not let a curmudgeon like me spoil your fun. But, next time, could you kill Neelix instead?

Yeah, he could be a bit much at times. MOST times.

 

[JoeP]

And even for informational purposes this poll is pretty useless since it doesn't show who voted for what, so for all we know a motivated individual could create countless duals and screw the vote to his/her liking.

By the way, that's exactly what's happening. Just out of curiosity I googled "Bring back Janeway", and the very first link was to a German Star Trek board where some members openly admit that they have created multiple accounts to vote in this poll.

What's even sadder is that some of them seem to think that this poll was set up by someone from Pocket Books because of e-Mails and letters they've send.

UGH, my god, I wish I knew how to read German... This place seems like heaven. And I thought the Dead Janeway threads HERE were entertaining...

 

[Therin of Andor]

I'd think that PB would be interested in expanding their readership rather than narrowing it by getting so far afield from the onscreen canon. That is, if their goal is to keep selling more books.

And, according to Marco, IIRC, these innovative books of the DS9 Relaunch sold incredibly well.

I became a fan of ST in 1979, via ST:TMP, and became fascinated by Andorians almost straight away, even though they were barely in TMP. I wondered, even then, if we'd ever get a novel that featured Andorian culture, set on their homeworld. Never in my wildest dreams did I think something like "Andor: Paradigm" would ever happen. Not a ST regular character in sight, but still so very much ST.

This debate reminds me of an interstate convention I went to, where the committee got swindled of all their cash and a US agent tricked them into getting... no celebrity guest. I used to attend conventions solely due to the calibre of the guest, and yet this fan-run convention had to struggle on without a drawcard. It was still a Star Trek convention, we had the best time, and yet there wasn't a celebrity in sight of the place!

Of course Pocket Books are interested in expanding their readership. The DS9 and VOY novels used to be Pocket's poorest-selling novel series. The relaunch of both lines, post their canonical TV finales, turned out to reap in thousands of new readers. Getting "so far afield from the onscreen canon" was exactly what many fans were looking for. And, if a DS9 or VOY fan suddenly decided to start reading the licensed novels, and wanted only stories set within the TV series of each, there were already many, many titles (at least 28 DS9 and 25 VOY, plus the more recent "String Theory" trilogy), some still in print and on the shelves, others in second hand stores, for them to choose from!

 

[Thrawn]

snakespeare - out of curiosity, what recent TrekLit have you liked?

 

[Therin of Andor]

The crew was lost for seven years in the Delta Quadrant. They were forced to be together. Some were Maquis, even. Why in the hell would they reunite just to GO BACK to the Delta Quadrant?

You've never seen "Rescue from Gilligan's Island", the TV reunion telemovie?

 

[captcalhoun]

if all anyone wants to reads books starring canon characters having adventures like in the TV shows, how do you people explain New Frontier's success that was such that at one stage (IIRC) New Frontier was actually the best-selling series?

given that the only canon characters in NF are a pair of characters who guested in 2 episodes and a bit-part character from one season 2 episode.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Damn German Militant Janeway Fans ruined my poll!

I would like to state that I do not work for Pocket Books, CBS, Paramount, Bad Robot or anyone else with anything to do with Star Trek. That should be blatantly obvious to anyone I've ever spoken with here

 

[Therin of Andor]

It's almost certain that, when the book was written, the plan was to bring the character back after a while.

This is the same gimmick used in comics - where, as I said, it creates a stale universe.

It continues a hackneyed cliche, yes, but it's not necessarily stale for many readers. People drop in and out of licensed tie-ins like they do comic books. Not every reader is in for the long haul. But, essentially, these stories have to keep resembling the parent TV show, or comic book premise, every so often or they become something else entirely.

When Spock (Nimoy) was unavailable for "ST: Phase II", people worried it "couldn't be Star Trek without Spock", and would Xon be a suitable replacement? When Spock died in ST II, people worried again that any future ST project "couldn't be Star Trek without Spock" and would Saavik be a suitable replacement? Then, with ST III, we ended up getting Spock back and losing the Enterprise itself. Now people worried that any future ST movie "couldn't be Star Trek without the Enterprise" - and to trick people even more, the main adventure, even the poster art, featured a huge ST adventure with no Enterprise.

It's a cycle of life, things die and come back, like trees sprouting new leaves, only to have them turn autumn colours and drop off the tree. Licensed tie-ins and comic books usually, eventually, return to some semblance of what we knew and loved once before. Fans are often too busy calling for the eradication of "the dreaded reset button" and yet - when something comes along like JJ Abrams' ST movie, which surprisingly avoided the reset button - people still express their concerns and gnaw their knuckles. It's hilarious!

 

[Therin of Andor]

I would like to state that I do not work for Pocket Books, CBS, Paramount, Bad Robot or anyone else with anything to do with Star Trek.

Whatever you say, KingMarco. We know your little secret.

 

[F. King Daniel]

^Do *not* say things like that! They'll be reporting it as fact on all the sites linking to this poll and I'll end up with all the hate mail if she's not back by the end of the week!

I stuck Defcon's link though Google Translate and had a look. Those people *really* like Janeway. They don't actually seem "Militant" though, unless that includes mass-letter writing.

It seems a large portion of the "keep her dead" crew are more concerned with the wishy-washy nature of sci-fi "deaths" than any specific vendetta against the Admiral herself.

I don't think anyone who voted "keep her dead" threated to stop reading should Janeway return, whereas we've had a few people say they haven't read Trek since she died, and won't again until she returns.