The Continuity and Serialization of Voyager
- Thread starter DigificWriter
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^ TOS was wholly episodic, whereas Voyager had a certain degree of serialization and need for continuity inherent in its very premise and that was belied by the producers and network's deciding that they wanted it to be able to be broadcast in an episodic fashion for syndication.
I said in my last post that I didn't think Ensign Wildman's pregnancy needed the explanation introduced in S6's Fury to retroactively explain the discrepancies in her gestation period, but I've just been proven wrong by Non-Sequitur.
Even so, Elogium being aired as part of Season 1 would've still made the whole situation work better even though it's not actually possible to look at Ensign Wildman's gestation period being normal the way that I talked about in my last post.
I said in my last post that I didn't think Ensign Wildman's pregnancy needed the explanation introduced in S6's Fury to retroactively explain the discrepancies in her gestation period, but I've just been proven wrong by Non-Sequitur.
Even so, Elogium being aired as part of Season 1 would've still made the whole situation work better even though it's not actually possible to look at Ensign Wildman's gestation period being normal the way that I talked about in my last post.
Two points. First, you're comparing a series made in the mid-sixties with one made in the mid-to-late nineties, which isn't fair or particularly useful. Second, I don't think many fans would refer to the way that 'The Changeling' completely glosses over the fact that Uhura has lost all her memories as a virtue of the episode.
I wouldn't argue too strongly against your assertion that Star Trek is "wholly episodic," but I do think it had some of the same occurrences of what might be described as "minor continuity" that you are using to praise Star Trek: Voyager.
-- In "By Any Other Name," for example, Kirk both mentions that the Enterprise has already visited the Galactic Barrier (a reference to the events of "Where No Man Has Gone Before") and asks Spock to use the same trick he used to fool the guards on Eminiar VII (a reference to the events of "A Taste of Armageddon").
-- In "Turnabout Intruder," Kirk directly mentions the events of both "The Tholian Web" and "The Empath." General Order Four from "The Menagerie" is also referenced (although the script gets the number wrong).
It has been suggested that TOS could be viewed in any order. Like VOY, that's not *quite* true, because of minor continuity, but the fact that both series were broadcast out of order without any viewer difficulty demonstrates their episodic nature.
Have you ever heard of Crusade?
Babylon 5 spinoff.
13 episodes.
Halfway through the run, the crew changes uniforms.
A massive la de da as the spacemen get project runwayed.
Network didn't notice this as they shuffled the episode order to force the most "exciting" stories to the front of the sample because... The doomed SOB was going to be cancelled anways no matter how hard they retooled it.
This may have been why Berman turned down the used uniforms when DS9 folded?
Babylon 5 spinoff.
13 episodes.
Halfway through the run, the crew changes uniforms.
A massive la de da as the spacemen get project runwayed.
Network didn't notice this as they shuffled the episode order to force the most "exciting" stories to the front of the sample because... The doomed SOB was going to be cancelled anways no matter how hard they retooled it.
This may have been why Berman turned down the used uniforms when DS9 folded?
It's funny you should mention Crusade because, as I've been watching Voyager and posting in this thread, I've come to the conclusion that there are a good deal of similarities between it and Crusade, not just in terms of premise, but also in terms of being quite serialized despite being treated 'episodically'.
As for Voyager not changing uniforms, it's never been something that's ever bothered me, as there was never any storyline imperative for it to happen, nor do I think there should've been one created.
I did a search to see if I could find a real-world explanation for why Voyager didn't use the First Contact uniforms for its final few seasons and saw someone - on Star Trek.Com's forums, of all places - call the lack of uniform change a continuity error, which I find to be a rather silly assertion.
As for Voyager not changing uniforms, it's never been something that's ever bothered me, as there was never any storyline imperative for it to happen, nor do I think there should've been one created.
I did a search to see if I could find a real-world explanation for why Voyager didn't use the First Contact uniforms for its final few seasons and saw someone - on Star Trek.Com's forums, of all places - call the lack of uniform change a continuity error, which I find to be a rather silly assertion.
After the movie shut down, DS9 got the new uniforms, and Voyager got the Borg stuff.
It was a fair split.
That would make those uniforms third hand no matter how well you cleaned them if Berman told the Season 6 cast of Voyager that it was this that they are now wearing.
Although Admiral Janeway's future uniform had been seen on DS9 the Visitor and TNG All Good Things... If you harvested DNA from the gusset of that costume to make a clone, it's unsure whether you would be growing a Farrel, McFadden or Mulgrew baby till after she had been poured out of its test tube.
It was a fair split.
That would make those uniforms third hand no matter how well you cleaned them if Berman told the Season 6 cast of Voyager that it was this that they are now wearing.
Although Admiral Janeway's future uniform had been seen on DS9 the Visitor and TNG All Good Things... If you harvested DNA from the gusset of that costume to make a clone, it's unsure whether you would be growing a Farrel, McFadden or Mulgrew baby till after she had been poured out of its test tube.
Sort of like running it through the Tuvixizer and getting Jaderlyn Janedaxer.
I haven't heard that word gusset in years.
Owned by a sailor on skid row possibly?
Melakon gussies up and Guy gussies down.
The Circle of Liff.
I used to have two ties.
The survivor is a screen print of Doctor Doom.
'Pretty sure it was a 21st Birthday present.
The survivor is a screen print of Doctor Doom.
'Pretty sure it was a 21st Birthday present.
I like how Enterprise told us that ties survived WWIII and first contact even though they died out before TOS.
It's just an arrow pointing to the wearers penis.
So that no one has to ask for directions.
So that no one has to ask for directions.
I thought it was a leash!
It's not really a leash if you're the one always begging people to tug it.
Pulling this thread back on topic, I've heard a lot of lamenting over the idea that Neelix's jealousy of Tom kept cropping up and had started to 'get old' by the time Partuition came along, but I really don't understand that line of thinking. Jealousy is an emotional flaw, and unless it's addressed, it's not just suddenly going to go away. Neelix insisted he was over being jealous of Tom spending time with Kes, but he hadn't actually addressed the root of the problem, which is entirely understandable, and the fact that it continued to surface is actually a good thing when it comes to characterization continuity, even if it's not an aspect of Neelix's characterization that is particularly flattering.
Another little piece of continuity I noticed - and that would've been more effective if episodes had been aired in production order - is Harry owning/playing the clarinet, which is set up as a matter of background 'noise' in Non-Sequitur and then used as a focal point of the scene in Partuition where Tom admits to Harry that he's falling in love/has fallen in love with Kes.
I've spent much of this thread talking about instances in which the show demonstrates continuity positively, but, since I've already acknowledged that it wasn't perfect when it came to balancing the issues of episodic storytelling, serialized storytelling, and story continuity, I figure it's time to mention some of the things that are clearly inconsistencies, starting with Walter Baxter's changing uniform. When he's first introduced in Eye of the Needle, he's wearing a red Command Division uniform, but when he reappears in Twisted, he's wearing Operations Division gold and is serving in Security.
There's also the costuming inconsistency with regards to Tuvok's rank that persists from Caretaker through Cathexis, and the costuming 'downgrading' of Tom from a full Lieutenant to a Lt. Jr. Grade that also happens in Cathexis.
I don't personally think the Paris and Tuvok costuming inconsistenciess are that big a deal because they don't really affect things story-wise, but am bugged ever so slightly by the Baxter one because his being a Security officer is directly addressed in Twisted when he encounters Tuvok and they talk about him (Baxter) needing to get back to his duty station, and it therefore would've been nice to have had his position as a Security officer established in his first appearance earlier in Season 1.
Another little piece of continuity I noticed - and that would've been more effective if episodes had been aired in production order - is Harry owning/playing the clarinet, which is set up as a matter of background 'noise' in Non-Sequitur and then used as a focal point of the scene in Partuition where Tom admits to Harry that he's falling in love/has fallen in love with Kes.
I've spent much of this thread talking about instances in which the show demonstrates continuity positively, but, since I've already acknowledged that it wasn't perfect when it came to balancing the issues of episodic storytelling, serialized storytelling, and story continuity, I figure it's time to mention some of the things that are clearly inconsistencies, starting with Walter Baxter's changing uniform. When he's first introduced in Eye of the Needle, he's wearing a red Command Division uniform, but when he reappears in Twisted, he's wearing Operations Division gold and is serving in Security.
There's also the costuming inconsistency with regards to Tuvok's rank that persists from Caretaker through Cathexis, and the costuming 'downgrading' of Tom from a full Lieutenant to a Lt. Jr. Grade that also happens in Cathexis.
I don't personally think the Paris and Tuvok costuming inconsistenciess are that big a deal because they don't really affect things story-wise, but am bugged ever so slightly by the Baxter one because his being a Security officer is directly addressed in Twisted when he encounters Tuvok and they talk about him (Baxter) needing to get back to his duty station, and it therefore would've been nice to have had his position as a Security officer established in his first appearance earlier in Season 1.
