The other Janeway

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Hello kimc,

it's good to be back. Thanks

I remember you! Last time you were here I was still Mr. Laser Beam.

Hello Mr. Laser Beam, hit me!

*waves*

Now if only Red77 were here as well...

 

[kimc]

I really like Bujold, but she excels at playing vulnerability, and I think she was right to realize that wasn't going to work for this role and smart to get out early.

Edited to add: To the first point, she may have fit in quite well as a captain on one of the civilian ships in nuBSG.

I think Bujold was trying to make the captain vulnerable but that was not what the role called for and she recognized it. After all, this was someone who had chosen a life of adventure and while homesickness would occur Janeway was above all a very highly-trained professional.

As for Adama he was ready to retire and had never put in for role of protecting the remnants of his civilization. Yes, the actor plays the darkness but the vulnerability of Adama's character is seen in rare glimpses. Bujold had it going on for Janeway all the time if the clips are anything to go by.

 

[ria 75]

I think Madame Bujold's more suited to an Adama-type command/tone. The series would have evolved differently to showcase her character, I'm sure of it. It would have been drier. More serious. Quite possibly great on occasion, but we'll never know. I've no doubt but that she could have done some great work given the conditions.

^ You seem to be suggesting that if they'd kept the captain we all hate, we might have got a show we'd all love.

Nah. Wrong franchise.

All I'm saying is that we never got to know Bujold's Janeway, all we can do is compare it to the character Mulgrew established.

But Bujold may have risen to the occasion. It's unfair to judge on one scene. Bujold seems pretty much labeled as one who plays vulnerability, but let's remember that actors often crave to break their image. They're just not always given a chance. I'll say that a 7-year gig is a good chance for evolution - theoretically. I really don't see many character arcs in Voyager besides Harry Kim and Kes growing up.

 

[Lt_Wandrey]

Geneviève Bujold wasn't that bad in the previews but she just wasn't right for Janeway. She was horribly miscast. I got the feeling from the previews that she wasn't happy or comfortable in the role.

She could've made a good guest star on the show.

It makes me glad that they cast Kate Mulgrew as Janeway. She did so well in the role.

 

[ria 75]

I'll say that a 7-year gig is a good chance for evolution - theoretically. I really don't see many character arcs in Voyager besides Harry Kim and Kes growing up.

And the Doctor and Seven, of course. Why did I forget about them?
I was unfair.

Give me a good, heavy-handed character arc like Telemachus Rhade's in Andromeda S5 any time: the man grows his hair, his beard, changes his dress style altogether, broods a lot more, drinks and chases whores and fights for the wrong reasons - without becoming less sexy, only more virile. Oh yeah. I'm not always attracted to subtlety!

 

[Koinek]

I remember you! Last time you were here I was still Mr. Laser Beam.

Hello Mr. Laser Beam, hit me!

*waves*

Now if only Red77 were here as well...

And Woim. We'd be all set to party like it was '03.

bod, good to see you back.

 

[freak]

At first, I didn't like Janeway's voice either..but later on I really started to enjoy the character very much and she kinda stuck well with me. And Kate Mulgrew's voice isn't THAT bad..geessh..it's not as bad as that Trish lady from Clean House...YEESSHH! Now HER voice sounds like nails going up and down a chalk board!!! *teeth chatters*
At the beginning of the show, I thought Janeway was a little too stiff and unbelievable..but then she deepened as a character and I started to admire her for being a woman captain. And in all honesty, I don't know how they cast Bujold as captain either. I saw her take and she looked so...bland..and..BORING! Poor Voyager would have crashed after just a few episodes and the reputation of Trek would have probably been trashed then. But I was so glad they took on Mulgrew as a Captain because I always thought of her as a leader..sorta.

 

[roguephoenix]

i also like the change to mulgrew. bujold was just too stiff it seems. they were going for the picard type thing, but i think she would not have fit in too well. she looked much too unyielding to compromise with anything. and she always looked serious or disinterested. much like britney during her gimme more performance on vma. >_<

 

[Gary7]

i also like the change to mulgrew. bujold was just too stiff it seems. they were going for the picard type thing, but i think she would not have fit in too well. she looked much too unyielding to compromise with anything. and she always looked serious or disinterested. much like britney during her gimme more performance on vma.

I just watched the "First Janeway" videos, both Berman's interview and the 'complete' version. Wow, I can't get over how stiff Bujold was. She's a very good actor, but even smarter to see that there wasn't any way she was going to be pulling off this role. I do wonder... if she still kept at it, would Berman have stepped up and demanded a change?

Mulgrew did a fine job. I really did not like her at first, mostly because of her voice. She kept reminding me of the ladies used for voice overs on women's lingerie commercials, or Playtex Living Gloves. Personally, I would have liked to have seen Tricia O'Neal, who played Capt. Rachel Garrett on TNG have the role.

But that might have been a little too obvious, more so than Mark Lenard playing both Sarek of Vulcan and a Romulan commander in the same series.

Still... Mulgrew "made it so" and I'm glad the show had such a nice long run.

 

[KimMH]

^

so say we all!

 

[Koinek]

^People need to stop saying that.

 

[ZERO_of_ZERO]

Well I'm very glad this thread has been resurrected.
I never knew Genevieve Bujold had been considered!

Now Janeway is not my favourite character,
but I much prefer the Mulgrew version having seen the vids.

Perhaps its just famliarity.
(If this is not a silly thing to say. I mean If Bujold had stayed for the series then this discussion would not be happening.
But there may be a few "What if Kate Mulrew was Janeway" threads.)

I cant see Bujold having the same empathy with Seven (nor Tuvok) or any of the others really.

 

[kimc]

^People need to stop saying that.

Yeah, quit frakking around.

 

[Praetor]

Bujold was just not a good fit, all the way around.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Although I don't like her voice, Mulgrew is clearly a good \actress. I won't say "great" but she is very good. Reading lines from that pilot episode, she knew how to stress the correct words. She knew how to deliver them with the correct amount of punch, from "It's not crunch time yet, Mr. Kim. I'll let you know when" to "At ease before you sprain something." All delivered the way an actor should deliver them. As a kid, I liked her supporting character in Remo Williams.

it's liek Geddy Lee of rush. A lot of people hate his voice, but even they would have to say that over time, Geddy has learned how to sing, how to use it effectivley and to deliver the lines, for the most part very well. It still is up to the listener whether they like his voice. Same with Mulgrew. My problems are more related to the character of Janeway, and more than that, the limitions of the show's premise. all other captains on Star Trek have benefitted from being part of a greater chain of commande, and that is lacking by nature of the premise.

The other actress couldn't adjust to the quick set-ups of TV productions, and the idea of shooting four pages a day instead one as is the case with a feature. I would gather that she would have had difficulty adjust8ing to the constant change in directors thats the norm in weekly TV production

 

[Praetor]

Good post, Tuln. I agree.

I might add to that my personal thought that Genevieve Bujold did not know the way to use her voice to deliver lines in the way a Captain of a starship, a figure of authority, should and as Mulgrew did. Bujold sounded very meek to me - not completely because of her voice, but more over the way she delivered her lines.

 

[crusher]

When I heard Bjould was the new Captain, I thought there goes the franchise. I have seen some of her movies and never liked her. But I wasn't to thrilled with the Mulgrew choice but as I watced her I grew to like her.

 

[JM1776]

Ironic that a woman who starred in Coma has an acting style largely reminiscent of one.

 

[brcarthey]

^buh dum bum!!