That depends on your perspective really. It's also "We're in the Great Unknown, let's start the longest journey through unknown space that any human has ever attempted, and then report what we've learned".
Not really. There's lots of ways to still accomplish exploring while heading home. Looking for shortcuts, for starters.
Exactly.
And the Maquis, they'd be fine with the Fleeters "Wasting time" on exploring when their every action should be focused solely on "survival"?
Look at Farscape and NuBSG, how much "exploring" did they get done on those shows? Next to none. It was always about survival and trying to not use their resources for anything BUT survival.
Stargate Atlantis, they were cut off from Earth and managed to re-establish contact after only ONE season. Did that hurt their show?
But BSG was still looking for Earth, and it was their end goal from the start. Exploration wasn't their primary goal, anyway... they were on the run from being annihilated. A bit different than VOY.
And FARSCAPE, home was still a goal for almost everyone. In that case, a different place for each. (Hyneria, Earth, etc.) And they still managed to explore at times.
As far as the Maquis, it was ridiculous how quickly they fell in line. And some exploration would be necessary FOR survival. Food, for instance... replicator power was minimal, so they would need to go to worlds to find sources of food. And minerals to help fabricate needed spare parts (or to rebuild warp coils that get fried, like in "INVESTIGATIONS").
And one can argue that ATLANTIS getting in contact with Earth so quickly DID undercut the show. It made it not as distant and faraway as the first season felt.
I'm just trying to figure out how VOY would be able to do Trek types stories if the most their "Exploration" came to was farming resources from uninhabited worlds and mining asteroids as opposed to big adventurous stuff like "Errand of Mercy".
You can complain about Holodeck malfunctions, but is repeatedly doing "Okay we need food, let's go to this uninhabited planet and farm stuff for a while and then leave" for 7 years any better?
I don't recall anyone complaining nearly as much about Atlantis doing that either.
The maquis on Voyager were smart enough to realize that Voyager was their best and only chance to get back to Earth.
That and their respect for Commander Chakotay was the reason for simply doing their job on the ship, even if they weren't fond of it.
As for the constant exploring which Voyager did, well without it the series would have been rather dull.
Farscape did handle it quite good but series like NuBSG and especially Stargate Universe were downright boring with constant bickering among the crewmembers.
In Stargate Atlantis, they ended up at a certain location in space, not a moving ship on the other side of the Galaxy.
Maybe Atlatis were located closer to earth that Voyager was and therefore it was possible to reach Earth after one season or year and whatsoever.
Voyager was so fara away that it would be impossible to get in touch with Earth and I have to state that an important part of the show's premise was löost then.
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