Something I have noticed about this board, that I must say, with all due respect: It seems to have developed a strong cadre of full-fledged, spare-no-opportunity apologists (led by one person, in particular), in a way that often comes off as, quite frankly, disingenuous, and that makes genuine, honest discussion about the show nearly impossible.
The defenses of even the worst, most glaring examples of the show's bad choices always seem to be along the lines of:
1. A strange appeal to presumed fan preferences: "The writers tried to do X/Y/Z, the fans/viewers didn't like it, why try it again?".
2. A kind of simplistic everything-should-be-okay appeal to diversity ("why does every show have to be alike?"), as if VOY's well-established laziness were some kind of mark of thoughtful uniqueness instead of, more often than not, laziness and a kind of shoehorning of Trek into the least common denominator.
4. Relatedly, a kind of lowering the bar ("if Kirk/Picard/Sisko doesn't get criticized for it, why criticize Janeway for the same action?"), somehow ignoring the fact that the Captains were supposed to be different characters with different circumstances.
5. A kind of fill in the gaps/use your imagination approach to what we saw (or more often, DIDN'T see) on the screen. For instance, the rather far-fetched excuses about how the ship could repeatedly look so shiny and new, or how they magically seemed to never really run out of supplies.
The very disingenuous first cousin of this argument: "Who would want to see a whole episode about (fill in the blanks)", as if the viewer somehow wanting to be shown how things actually got done, actually going on "the journey" that VOY was supposed to be about, is some kind of desire to see a PBS-style documentary.
Another one of my favorites: by the time of VOY, Starfleet had learned so much about and adapted to the BORG so well, that its completely feasible that VOY would go flying into BORG cubes/spheres, that Janeway & Co. would get themselves assimilated on purpose, that the crew would basically have no fear when it comes to the BORG, that Janeway's knowledge, combined with her much-bandied about guile and the "love and loyalty" of her family, could defeat the beings who took out whole fleets in the AQ.
Umm, yeah, o.k.
6. Close cousin #2: It's a sci-fi show. If we accept transporter technology, replicators, and ships capable of warp speed, why should ANYTHING - like constant time-jumping, twisting, and manipulation - be off-limits?
7. Finally a kind of "can't-we-all-just-get-along" ethic, accompanied with the idea that Trek fans (especially the ones that criticize Voyager) are merely overly critical, nitpicky crybabies.
Forgive me for saying so, but these Frequently Employed Rationales [TM] have become a tad predictable, and, for me at least, and they seems to serve as a kind of a false balm, and a set of cheap protection for VOY fans - and among the reasons this forum seems to be one of the most inactive on the BBS, IMO.
I mean, how many times can one discuss the differences in Janeway's hairdos, or the Jeri Ryan/Kate Mulgrew rivalry?
Now, that doesn't mean that I don't feel some of the criticisms of Voyager aren't overheated, or motivated by than just honest observation; I've said before that some critics of the show are clearly seeing through the lens of "what they wanted or expected to see", and thus refuse to deal with the show as is. Moreover, I find the repeated fetishization of nuBSG as "what VOY should have been" to be, well, a bit on the absurd. You'll get no shortage of criticms of the show from me, and I certainly have been irritated by what I see as the show's often lazy, uncritical, fearful and shortsighted approach to storytelling, but even I'M getting tired of the nuBSG-comparisons. Even as a fan of DS9, I think it would've been wholly inappropriate to turn Trek into what nuBSG has been.
But that doesn't mean that what we got was "just fine" - the show was too often weak, tepid, and afraid to try anything different, that didn't constantly tell us how moral and noble and strong and powerful Janeway (and, by extension, anyone who adopted her pov, or moral disposition)was, and how we should always cheer for Our Intrepid Crew (TM). Even those of us who like the show (or like myself, like certain things about the show)) shouldn't pretend otherwise, or constantly employ endlessly belabored arguments that justify the VOY writers' laziness.
Just my two cents worth.
Get Real!!!
The defenses of even the worst, most glaring examples of the show's bad choices always seem to be along the lines of:
1. A strange appeal to presumed fan preferences: "The writers tried to do X/Y/Z, the fans/viewers didn't like it, why try it again?".
2. A kind of simplistic everything-should-be-okay appeal to diversity ("why does every show have to be alike?"), as if VOY's well-established laziness were some kind of mark of thoughtful uniqueness instead of, more often than not, laziness and a kind of shoehorning of Trek into the least common denominator.
4. Relatedly, a kind of lowering the bar ("if Kirk/Picard/Sisko doesn't get criticized for it, why criticize Janeway for the same action?"), somehow ignoring the fact that the Captains were supposed to be different characters with different circumstances.
5. A kind of fill in the gaps/use your imagination approach to what we saw (or more often, DIDN'T see) on the screen. For instance, the rather far-fetched excuses about how the ship could repeatedly look so shiny and new, or how they magically seemed to never really run out of supplies.
The very disingenuous first cousin of this argument: "Who would want to see a whole episode about (fill in the blanks)", as if the viewer somehow wanting to be shown how things actually got done, actually going on "the journey" that VOY was supposed to be about, is some kind of desire to see a PBS-style documentary.
Another one of my favorites: by the time of VOY, Starfleet had learned so much about and adapted to the BORG so well, that its completely feasible that VOY would go flying into BORG cubes/spheres, that Janeway & Co. would get themselves assimilated on purpose, that the crew would basically have no fear when it comes to the BORG, that Janeway's knowledge, combined with her much-bandied about guile and the "love and loyalty" of her family, could defeat the beings who took out whole fleets in the AQ.
Umm, yeah, o.k.
6. Close cousin #2: It's a sci-fi show. If we accept transporter technology, replicators, and ships capable of warp speed, why should ANYTHING - like constant time-jumping, twisting, and manipulation - be off-limits?
7. Finally a kind of "can't-we-all-just-get-along" ethic, accompanied with the idea that Trek fans (especially the ones that criticize Voyager) are merely overly critical, nitpicky crybabies.
Forgive me for saying so, but these Frequently Employed Rationales [TM] have become a tad predictable, and, for me at least, and they seems to serve as a kind of a false balm, and a set of cheap protection for VOY fans - and among the reasons this forum seems to be one of the most inactive on the BBS, IMO.
I mean, how many times can one discuss the differences in Janeway's hairdos, or the Jeri Ryan/Kate Mulgrew rivalry?
Now, that doesn't mean that I don't feel some of the criticisms of Voyager aren't overheated, or motivated by than just honest observation; I've said before that some critics of the show are clearly seeing through the lens of "what they wanted or expected to see", and thus refuse to deal with the show as is. Moreover, I find the repeated fetishization of nuBSG as "what VOY should have been" to be, well, a bit on the absurd. You'll get no shortage of criticms of the show from me, and I certainly have been irritated by what I see as the show's often lazy, uncritical, fearful and shortsighted approach to storytelling, but even I'M getting tired of the nuBSG-comparisons. Even as a fan of DS9, I think it would've been wholly inappropriate to turn Trek into what nuBSG has been.
But that doesn't mean that what we got was "just fine" - the show was too often weak, tepid, and afraid to try anything different, that didn't constantly tell us how moral and noble and strong and powerful Janeway (and, by extension, anyone who adopted her pov, or moral disposition)was, and how we should always cheer for Our Intrepid Crew (TM). Even those of us who like the show (or like myself, like certain things about the show)) shouldn't pretend otherwise, or constantly employ endlessly belabored arguments that justify the VOY writers' laziness.
Just my two cents worth.
Get Real!!!
Nothing personal here, but the fans of one particular ST series can't seem to get over Voyager's popularity. It seems to be a rite of passage for them to belittle VOY fans and put down the program on the VOY forum, itself, as if the people who enjoy VOY are just too simple or stupid to figure out VOY's shortcomings without their help. At least, IMHO, that's the way it seems to me. I do wish they'd get over it, because their efforts have not dissuaded me from preferring VOY and aren't likely to do so. 
