Voyager Hate

[LMFAOschwarz]

I don't want to see stories about some enlisted nobody, the ordinary crewman. STAR TREK's shown the folly of such in the TNG episode: TAPESTRY, when Picard's shown to be an "ordinary" crewman, thanks to the magic of Q. That part of the story was dull and without imagination. Captain Picard, as he was, proved to be far superior.

Well, I wasn't suggesting they do a crewman-of-the-week format, but they could have told some interesting stories with the idea. Something along the lines of the original series' Obsession, with a large part about Ensign Garrovick.

I haven't seen Tapestry since its original broadcast, but wasn't boring crewman Picard the point?

 

[USS Triumphant]

I haven't seen Tapestry since its original broadcast, but wasn't boring crewman Picard the point?

Indeed it was. And yes, U.S.S. is fine.

 

[DarKush]

I wasn't a Voyager fan.

-Janeway: I never quite got her. Looking back now, I think Kate Mulgrew was a good actress and did fine in the role, but Janeway didn't work for me.
-The ship wasn't in enough dire straits. In comparison to new BSG, I think BSG showed that fleet in peril and on the verge of desperation and I wish Voyager had been more like this at times. There needed to be more focus on survival.
-I didn't like them dispelling the tension with the Maquis, mainly by the end of the pilot. I thought there was a lot of potential for good drama there.
-The characters were mostly bland. One paper the crew had potential though.
-Neelix was annoying.
-The Kazon were poor Klingons and a bad choice to be the major adversaries early on. The Vidiians were creepier.
-The show overused and defanged the Borg.
-As much as I liked looking at Jeri Ryan I don't think she needed to be in a catsuit, at least so quickly.
-They defanged Species 8472. A pretty cool villain which was made uncool pretty quickly.
-The series finale was underwhelming compared to the TNG and DS9 finales.

Today my antipathy for Voyager isn't as strong as it once was. I still consider it a disappointment compared to the shows that preceded it. I also rank it below Enterprise, mainly due to that show's third and fourth seasons. I will concede that Voyager had a better developed crew than Enterprise did.

 

[Ithekro]

Something that was suggested at some point, probably during Voyager, was to have Star Trek run as a series of mini-series. To the point were a writer could setup any cast in any ship and just tell a story in the Star Trek Universe. I think something similar is happening with Star Wars, in some respects. The Clone Wars did have a core cast, but they were not always the main focus. They shifted from one group of Jedi or clones to others, or even focused on the Seperatists, or Senators. The story didn't have to follow one ship or crew.

In Star Trek that could mean following one ship on an adventure for a few weeks. Then the next series is about a station someplace, then a story about Klingons. Then a story set in the past. Then a story set on Izar or Betazed for whatever reason. Just whatever story comes out.

The largest problem would be for the writers as they would have to come up with their own cast of characters without a core cast every series.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I could have of course forgiven all of Voyager's flaws if the individual episodes were really, really good.

Only a few of them were.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I could have of course forgiven all of Voyager's flaws if the individual episodes were really, really good.

Only a few of them were.

I find that's what makes it more disappointing for me, when they got it right and nailed a good episode, it was really good, unfortunately they were few and far between.

 

[Amaris]

I didn't even realize it until I was watching an episode today. I had browsed through all of the episodes on Netflix, trying to pick one, and I just couldn't really find one that interested me, that I had yet seen. So many of the storylines were the same: shuttlecraft crashes and the crew needs to be rescued, or Janeway almost finds a way home and then something happens. It's Gilligan's Island, but in the Star Trek universe. That probably sounds more harsh than I intend, but maybe that's why I never cottoned to it. Even when DS9 had the Dominion war arc going on, the episodes were varied and nuanced. It didn't feel the same here.

Also, I just watched the episode "Time and Again," where a planet meets its demise due to the dangerous use of polaric radiation (I remembered a term!). Paris finds himself transported back a day, and sees it as a chance to try and save everyone. Of course, Janeway arrives and insists they don't tell anyone, because it would breach the Prime Directive. She then goes on to ask "do you realize what kind of damage it would cause?" to which I immediately replied, "Does it fucking matter? This whole planet will be a roasting husk in less than a day. What more damage could be done to these people?!"

I hate the Prime Directive when it's used this way. Of course, Tom voices my thoughts a few moments later, to which Janeway pretty much shrugs it off. That might or might not be lazy writing, but it still makes Janeway look like a cold, heartless asshole. This happened to Picard a number of times as well, but it keeps happening to Janeway over and over again in other episodes, and that is lazy writing.

 

[Anwar]

Well, the problem WAS that the show suffered from Gilligan Syndrome. They gave it a premise that couldn't be resolved without ending the show. All their attempts had to fail until the finale because there was nothing else to the show.

Frankly, the whole "Lost Ship" thing is only good for 1 season or so. You need something else to drive the plot after that.

Without that, the show was bound to become repetitive.

 

[Ithekro]

If this has been a show run like Babylon 5, USS Voyager would have remained lost for maybe two years and then found its way home, only to have other issues to deal with once it got their (like becoming part of the Dominion War, or having to negotiate its way though Klingon or Romulan and Cardassian Space to reach the Federation during one of any number of crisis started on DS9). Then forcing a crew breakup on returning home, or making an issue that splits the crew or forces them to be a key ship in the war. Basically change the premise as it goes along, but keep a thread of the plot going the whole way through.

 

[Anwar]

The DS9 writers wouldn't have wanted them interfering with DS9's story.

They should've done what Berman wanted to do and wait until after DS9 was done, it would've given them the time to think up more to the plot than "Lost Ship".

 

[Captain Kathryn]

It's because people are wrong.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

I was always under the impression ENT was more hated in general.

I love Voyager! It was my first and my fave.

 

[Amaris]

I was always under the impression ENT was more hated in general.

I love Voyager! It was my first and my fave.

I did dislike ENT more than VOY, but then I did a rewatch of ENT, and now I like it a bit better than VOY. That said, I don't hate the show at all, it's just it didn't click for me like TOS, TNG, and DS9 did.

 

[fireproof78]

If this has been a show run like Babylon 5, USS Voyager would have remained lost for maybe two years and then found its way home, only to have other issues to deal with once it got their (like becoming part of the Dominion War, or having to negotiate its way though Klingon or Romulan and Cardassian Space to reach the Federation during one of any number of crisis started on DS9). Then forcing a crew breakup on returning home, or making an issue that splits the crew or forces them to be a key ship in the war. Basically change the premise as it goes along, but keep a thread of the plot going the whole way through.

I think Voyager was a scapegoat for fan negativity for a long time, until Enterprise came along and it took the full force of the ire. Then Abrams came along and everyone was able to agree, "Ok, maybe you all weren't that bad." *heavy sarcasm here*

In all seriousness, Voyager did not really appeal to me beyond the new look and new faces. But, that newness wore off rather quickly and I was just not as engaged with the characters, beyond Tom Paris.

The whole idea of 7 years of trying to get home, but failing to do so, it started to feel repetitive after a while, because you knew they were not going to make it home.

So, I like the idea of bringing them home, and having to deal with a whole new set of problems, like the Dominion War. Heck, if you wanted to tie it in, have them emerge in the Gamma Quadrant, only to find the Dominion. Or the Dominion attempting to invade the Delta Quadrant.

The show never felt like it had any vision beyond "Get home" and so suffered for it. Because of that, there is not as much Voyager that I want to go revisit, like I have done with DS9 or TOS, or even Enterprise. Just does not have the same appeal to me.

 

[JeffinOakland]

Watching Season Two..almost done. "Cold Fire" Ep 10 is the 1st really good episode. "Meld" "Lifesigns" "Investigations" "Deadlock" & "The Thaw (my favorite)" are the only very good episodes from this season. Fortunately, Season 3 is better and Seasons 4-7 are significantly better. Something to look forward to.

 

[Lt. LaForge]

It just doesn't grab me. I tried watching from the beginning, but it was such a chore I gave up in episode 5 last month. Since then, I've started reading through various episodes in different seasons and watching what interests me. I liked Equinox and Scorpion. Good 2-parters there. What else should I watch..and don't say everything damnit!!!

 

[Lance]

Unless I'm mistaken, I do seem to recall that the idea of bringing Voyager home did come up sometime during the sixth or seventh season, once DS9 was off the air and the Alpha Quadrant was now free for the Voyager writers to use however they wanted again. I do remember it being thrown around during interviews in the Star Trek Magazine, anyway (of course, it could have just been Braga doing a bit of fan-baiting).

 

[Drone]

The passage of so much time will inevitably cool many people's passions, but what I gather from what's been detailed rather cogently here, is that it was more a matter of Voyager Indifference than Hate. With the surfeit of Trek in the immediately preceding years, people may have felt less conflicted or charged about voting with their eyes when the show did not prove to them to be highly intelligent, dramatic, or committed, as it rolled out. Not so much trauma or angst for some to calmly and perhaps, resignedly, move on and sign off.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

I think Voyager had the BEST comedic episodes and moments in all of Trek. It often feels lighthearted and like I am watching old friends that behave as a family.

And it actually had a stellar cast of actors. People tend to zone in on the lack of good performance on Beltran and Wang's part. But other than those two, the cast was absolutely phenomenal. Robert Picardo, Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, Tim Russ, Ethan Phillips, Robert D. McNeil, and Roxann Dawson were all fantastic in my opinion.

If you find yourself starting to hate on Voyager...just remember Robert Picardo as the EMH. And him singing this.

[YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIjOifRG-u8[/YT]

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

OMG! What episode is this?! Please tell me! Too bad it wasn't real. Did he do his own singing?

I came across this little ditty

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8Kf3_KJPtM[/yt]http://