Voyager early seasons (1-2)

[Lynx]

Personally, I divide the series a little differently. Season 1 isn't too well focused on it, but there's an overarching idea of the crews blending together (it's honestly why I feel like The 37s getting held back for the season premiere ended up hurting the episode overall, as that empty cargo bay would have hit a lot harder after fifteen weeks of showing the development of Voyager's blended crew, rather than waiting another three months to give that emotional payoff). Season 2 builds on it, into the Kazon arc (for good and for ill). Seska is something of a binding factor in these two seasons, since she'd appeared a few times before leaving Voyager and then being the power behind the Kazon throne.

Season 3 is a change up, but I would still pair it together with the first three seasons, for the simple fact that at this point in the series, there does seem to be a feeling of the crew bonding and developing. You see little character arcs starting to appear, things that aren't long lasting but still continue across a few episodes with their payoff not coming in the episode they're introduced.

If season 1 was "learning to get along" and season 2 was "well, the neighbors won't get along with us, so we might as well move," then the overall theme of season 3, to me, is "learning to love the Delta Quadrant." This is the season that really builds on the idea that, whatever length of Voyager's journey, the crew is coming together and building up a connection with each other and exploring this distant part of the galaxy they're experiencing, going beyond the borders of any prior Federation ship.

The thing is, that all gets chucked out the airlock as of Season 4. Scorpion is, in and of itself, a great episode, it's in my personal top episodes of Star Trek as a whole. But it makes a turning point in Voyager's identity. Voyager is presented with a definitive choice - what matters, above all else, getting home or exploration? Because once Voyager reaches Borg space, once Janeway decides to make an appeal to the devil, once she says that she will not turn around and leave well enough alone in the name of getting this crew home... That's it. Voyager's course is set. This is no longer "learn to love the Delta Quadrant, and don't forget, you're here forever." This is "we will get home."

And then on top of that, you have the writers losing interest in the characters - in the 104 episodes that make up seasons four, five, six, and seven, how many episodes are centered on Chakotay? On Harry? On Neelix? On Tuvok? Oh, sure, occasionally, they'd get something, if they were lucky, maybe one episode per season would center on them. But that would be one episode out of twenty-six per year, and otherwise, they're there to rattle off lines of technobabble, or even just battle damage, rather than doing anything that really develops their characters as people or individuals.

While I won't argue that Seven and the Doctor are fan favorites who probably kept the show afloat until the finale, the fact is, the way that the writing handled things, they ended up sucking up all the air in the room so that no one else got the development that once was theirs. The show stopped being an ensemble, and centered around them and Janeway (who still got plenty to do, because she was The Captain™, but her character was pulled by the writing to be what they needed per episode enough that it became a popular interpretation to assume that she was bipolar - didn't even Kate Mulgrew suggest that on one occasion?).

Like, near the end of season three, after Neelix can no longer act as a guide because they've moved beyond the area of space that he'd explored, he started working on all sorts of odd jobs and training around the ship, to the point that in various forms of the potential future episodes, he was wearing a Starfleet uniform like the Maquis did. But this never happened in the main timeline, because he faded in to the background. Harry was stuck as the perpetual ensign, while Tuvok got a promotion for seemingly no reason, and Tom's promotion back to Lieutenant equally is out of left field. Everyone starts getting reduced to one line descriptions - Tuvok's the logical emotionless Vulcan, B'Elanna's the angry forehead, Harry's the naive wet-behind-the-ears-ensign, Tom's the flyboy pilot... Season four and on do not CARE about the people of Voyager beyond what they provide in any given scene. There's no real development or growth for anyone, save Seven and Doctor.

Once you get to season four in any given rewatch, you can effectively swap around episodes from various season and there is almost no difference. And while there's certainly shades of this in TNG, it is just all the more pronounced in Voyager, because TNG never proposed it would be anything different. Voyager was sold as two crews coming together, so put forward as a show about the people going on an emotional journey. But at this point, Voyager is no longer about the characters on this journey, it is just about the journey. About getting this ship and crew home. Their emotional journey no longer matters.

And that's honestly such a disappointment, because they had a good cast, good characters, and the beginnings of something with season three. But it all gets flushed down the toilet.

And, look, even after all of what I just said, I DO still love Voyager. It's the Trek I grew up on - I watched it from premiere to finale, all through my elementary school years. But I look back on it now, and I just see how it failed to live up to its potential. As much as I love what we have, I mourn what we could have as well.

I agree with most of what you have written. Unfortunately season 4 and onwards became the Seven Of Nine Show while the other characters, except for The Doctor and Janeway were shoved in the background.

 

[Oddish]

I think that Tom and B'Elanna had some growth, because of their romance. Tuvok, by his nature (Vulcan and 110 years old), was a mostly static character. But, Chakotay stagnated, Neelix was underused, and if Harry had been killed off when his low rank still made sense, it's debatable whether anyone would have noticed.

 

[Eddie Roth]

I'm rewatching season 6 for the first time since it aired, and so far it's better than o remember.

There's nothing wrong with many of the stories per se; I remember at the time the constant frustration at wanting to see the development of the journey and the characters, and being constantly shown the sci-fi trope of the week. BSG did much more to show the realistic issues of a ship on the run, and Voyager started in the first couple of seasons but never delivered on it.

It made it feel less like a journey and more like seasons of random events followed by "...oh, and then they got home one day".

That's true. But I've realized over the years that Voyager can be more than liked, but actually loved, if (IF!) you can yourself in a mindset that it's essentially TNG seasons 8-14. You know, in the sense of "there's been some turnover in the cast" like e.g. ER did and "yeah sure the earlier seasons (i.e. TNG) were a bit fresher, but it's still fun". I managed to do that, and I'm currently in this rewatch of a good number of episodes that I only ever saw once because back in the day, my frustration with the show prevented me from wanting to see them again. It's almost brand new again now.

 

[cosmic mouse]

3-7

More precisely, the last 25% of season 3- season 5. That's the core of VOY for me....

 

[IMC Headquarters]

I especially enjoy the freshness of Season One. I bought fully this integrated crew was stranded and alone and upholding its principles as they all headed for home. The defining episode "Eye of the Needle" encapsulated hope, exultation, and heartbreak. The Castaways would not be leaving the island this week...foiled by a temporal variance named Gilligan.

But I digress. I loved this new Trek series which got back to exploring space with utmost drive. And the characters were instantly memorable.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Voyager season 1 and 2 had more of the resourcing and “One lone ship amidst the barbarians” going for it. But ultimately it had far weaker writing than the middle seasons.

 

[Lynx]

Voyager season 1 and 2 had more of the resourcing and “One lone ship amidst the barbarians” going for it. But ultimately it had far weaker writing than the middle seasons.

I don t think so.
Season 2 had the best episodes in the series.
Season 1 and season 3 were good too even if season 3 had some bum episodes.

 

[Laughing Dragon]

I actually quite liked the series opener and the other episodes are ok. I just gave it another try despite certain circumstances and watched ep. 8 first season and it was entertaining enough but nothing you would call earth-shattering just an alien of the week episode.

 

[ichab]

I have the opposite opinion. For me seasons one and two are just basically more of the same stuff I got in TNG except worse eg: Tom Paris accused of a murder that he didn't commit? Saw that already with Will Riker in TNG, Voyager trapped in a part of space that they can't get out of? Saw that in TNG etc. etc. The Kazon were weak/cliched villains that had me changing the channel every time they came on. Of course there were some decent episodes in there (even season three of TOS had a few good ones), but for me they were a start to a series that, like Enterprise, hurt the show in the long run. Maybe if I had never seen an episode of Star Trek and Voyager was my gateway to the franchise I might have enjoyed it more. But after TNG and DS9, early seasons of Voyager were such a letdown and I didn't get interested in it again until they shook things up in Season 4.

 

[Farscape One]

I think the real problem with VOYAGER was the constant change in lead writers.

Season 1 and 2 basically had Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor. Season 3 was Taylor. Season 4 was her winding down with Brannon Braga coming up taking the reigns. Braga wasin charge for 5 and 6, and Kenneth Biller for season 7.

When you change head writers, you usually change visions of the show because they bring something different than the others. And that can be a good thing for long running shows. SUPERNATURAL was able to do this.

But done too often, it leads to a lot of inconsistancy. Biggest example is how Janeway was written. I don't fault Mulgrew at all... in fact, I like her a lot and she certainly gave it her all in every scene.

My view on the seasons is this... (and this is counting produced episodes for season 1 and 2, not airdate order. Also, I'm going by production order for all the episodes of the series... I think that tells a better story of how the behind the scenes worked than airdate order.)

Season 1: Possibly the best first season of a show since TOS. The DQ really felt like a different place. Some execution felt off, but almost all the ideas were solid and really good.

Season 2: Much better than it gets credit for. It's one of the rare times this show dabbled in arcs... too bad it had to involve the Kazon. Some really great episodes here... "PERSISTENCE OF VISION", "MANEUVERS", "RESISTANCE", "DEATH WISH", "ALLIANCES", "MELD", "DEADLOCK", "THE THAW", and "TUVIX".

Season 3: Starts off strong with "THE CHUTE" to "FUTURE'S END" duology... then is VERY middling until you get to "BEFORE AND AFTER", and the rest of the season is awesome. It's like having an awesome appetizer and dessert, but the actual entree is just meh.

Season 4: Very, very strong. Except for "CONCERNING FLIGHT" and "UNFORGETTABLE", it's hard to find any faulty episodes this season.

Season 5: Pretty much the same as season 4. A lot of high concepts and great executions. Duds were very few.

Season 6: I have never seen a season in this franchise so wildly all over the place in terms of good and bad episodes. You'll start off with Janeway going completely off the rails in "EQUINOX, PART II", go right into a phenomenal episode in "SURVIVAL INSTINCT", dip a little lower in quality with "BARGE OF THE DEAD", go right to excellent with "TINKER, TENOR, DOCTOR, SPY" and "DRAGON'S TEETH", get some moderate to good with the next few (except "THE VOYAGER CONSPIRACY"... just bad) up to "PATHFINDER"... then have terrible ("FAIR HAVEN", "TSUNKATSE"), phenomenal ("BLINK OF AN EYE"), bad ("VIRTUOSO", "COLLECTIVE"), excellent ("MEMORIAL"), really bad ("SPIRIT FOLK", "ASHES TO ASHES"), okay ("CHILD'S PLAY", "GOOD SHEPHERD"), horrible ("FURY"), okay ("LIVE FAST AND PROSPER"), good ("LIFE LINE", "MUSE"), okay ("THE HAUNTING OF DECK TWELVE"), and a terrible finale. Calling this season schizophrenic in quality is being kind.

Season 7: Except for season 3, I would call this the weakest season. Very few gems here... "IMPERFECTION", "BODY AND SOUL", "LINEAGE", "REPENTANCE", "THE VOID", and "HOMESTEAD" are really the only good ones. So much of the season just feels like a slog to go through, and this is coming from someone who loves this show. Very little feel of closing out the journey. And don't get me started on the finale... only ENTERPRISE's finale is worse.

 

[Bork359]

After First Contact came out the suits at Paramount wanted Borg, Borg, and more Borg. They milked that Borg cash cow until the utters ran dry then butchered it for hamburgers.

I was a dumb teenage boy when the show was on the air and to be fair, all I wanted to see was more Borg too. So I guess they were just giving their mainstream audience what they wanted. However in retrospect, I think most of the fanbase is in agreement that it was taken way too far to the detriment of the series.

 

[DigificWriter]

It's been almost 20 years since the series went off the air; it's well past time that this "Voyager overexposed the Borg" fallacy died.

Borg-specific stories made up less than 14% of Voyager's overall narrative output, with 3 stories in Season 3 and no more than 5 stories per season (out of 26) in Seasons 4-7.

 

[Oddish]

After First Contact came out the suits at Paramount wanted Borg, Borg, and more Borg. They milked that Borg cash cow until the utters ran dry then butchered it for hamburgers.

Hope they didn't forget to render the fat, make a nice leather jacket from the skin, and grind up the bones to make china.

Use everything but the moo!

 

[JirinPanthosa]

It's been almost 20 years since the series went off the air; it's well past time that this "Voyager overexposed the Borg" fallacy died.

Borg-specific stories made up less than 14% of Voyager's overall narrative output, with 3 stories in Season 3 and no more than 5 stories per season (out of 26) in Seasons 4-7.

14% of four seasons is still a lot. Especially when the majority of two parters became about them. And they had to nerf the Borg to justify having them that often. Like for some reason they could no longer adapt to new strategies.

I liked what they were trying to do in seasons 1-2 but they failed to make the Kazon any more than generic brand Klingons and held back on the moral compromise themes that could have made it great.

 

[DigificWriter]

^ It's not 14% out of 4 seasons; its14% out of 172 episodes.

Nobody complains about the Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, or Q being overexposed, even though the amount of episodes from any given series that featured those races vastly overshadows the amount of Voyager-specific episodes that featured the Borg.

 

[Farscape One]

Q only appeared basically once a season on TNG.

Cardassians appearing on DS9 frequently is a given considering their space is pretty much right next door.

Many people have complained about overuse of the Klingons. (I'm not one of them, but I have seen a LOT of people here and elsewhere say this.)

The Romulans are so secretive that it took PICARD, and over 50 years since they were first introduced, for us to really dig into their society.


And really, it IS 14% out of 4 seasons, since they did not appear at all in seasons 1 and 2. I'll even throw in season 3, since we got 2 episodes and a reveal at the end of another. So that's 14% out of 126 episodes. (I am going by production order... 20 episodes for season 1, 26 for season 2.)

Given the premise of VOYAGER, going past many territories on their way home to the Alpha Quadrant, it highlights overuse compared to the other shows that were set primarily in the Alpha Quadrant. Honestly, I think the reason why it feels so egregious with the Borg was how they were defanged in VOYAGER. Had they still maintained their terror like they did in TNG, we might not be having this conversation.

 

[plynch]

Borg were cool when mysterious. Then ... tedious? The poster above saying they weren't overplayed then shocked me with how much they were overplayed. On my second rewatch ever, in S2, so had forgotten.

 

[DigificWriter]

^ I have no idea how 23 stories over the course of 4 seasons equals overexposure, but whatever.

 

[Qonundrum]

I prefer 3-7 overall thanks to the Borg who temporarily revitalized the show, but season 2 has some of the best-ever storylines that didn't involve a de-assimilated Borg, such as "Meld" and "Tuvix" and I can't fathom how those would work in TNG, a show borne out of late-80s veneered hokum.

As much as season 4 and 7's journey are top notch and gave VOY a new and robust life, these one-off stories still feel stronger in their own right - despite clunkers surrounding them.

Interesting point about many actors phoning it in, though Neelix always remained looking spry.

Season 1 never really appealed, despite some attempts at harder sci-fi. The actors were still finding their way with their new characters and the payoffs just didn't feel as strong as they might have been, had they been made later on.

 

[DigificWriter]

The funny thing about the Borg's 23 appearances on Voyager is that the majority of them aren't even focused on Seven of Nine.