Voyager is without a doubt the BEST!

[Gary7]

Really, my main 'Voyager' quibble (the thing that keeps it from being 'best' in my eyes no matter how much I like it) is that the premise was so clever that it just ended up not living up to it.

Here you essentially had an opportunity for a largely 'clean slate' approach equal to that of TOS without wiping out the Trekverse (ahem) with the creation of a new environment, races, and so forth, and also the angst and excitement of doing a 'Star Trek: Lost in Space' show. (The historic irony of that alone is delicious.)

The would-be writer and television viewer/critic in me is appalled that so much of 'VGR' felt like 'TNG Part II,' but the kid in me (who grew up on TNG) can't help but like it because of this, as well as its own unique virtues.

Very well put. I also believe that there was a phenomenal premise with so much to work with... the Maquis and Federation crew mix, as someone else pointed out, could have been a great dynamic to keep going with. No, not one of those "well, any time now the Maquis are going to take over the ship again" ideas... Paris wouldn't have become Star Fleet so quickly. The Maquis would eventually realize that they do need to closely cooperate so they all get home. But once in a great while, there would be tensions because of the two different mixes.

One key issue I had with Voyager was the whole start of it. The CareTaker could have easily been handled to allow the crew to get back to the Alpha quadrant. Instead, they make it Janeway's decision to stay, rather than a technical limitation. I really think that was a bad choice. The first season was really under par for me... then things slowly got better.

I also appreciated the fact that they were in the Delta quadrant far from Star Fleet space, so that new beings could be encountered without compromising the integrity of Star Trek canon. It even made sense for the Borg to be out there, running about completely out of Star Fleet radar.

But the show was becoming tired. The rehashed TNG format was indeed catching up with them. Same old thing, week after week. Then came Seven. Despite all the sex appeal of Jeri Ryan, I really do think it was a great "jumpstart" for reviving the series. It certainly gave the writers a heck of a lot more material to work with and they did exploit a lot of it rather well.

Voyager had a lot of great episodes, plenty of mediocre ones, and some lousy ones. I really don't consider it the all out best. The original series was probably the best, from the perspective of it being the boldest for its time and making due with very limited budgets. The remastered verisons with new effects helped tremendously at lifting it up (the Enterprise bobbing back and forth on a string just had to be dispensed with!). But all that followed contributed so much to the Star Trek franchise. I'd say that VOY and TNG come in at a close second.

 

[Praetor]

Really, my main 'Voyager' quibble (the thing that keeps it from being 'best' in my eyes no matter how much I like it) is that the premise was so clever that it just ended up not living up to it.

Here you essentially had an opportunity for a largely 'clean slate' approach equal to that of TOS without wiping out the Trekverse (ahem) with the creation of a new environment, races, and so forth, and also the angst and excitement of doing a 'Star Trek: Lost in Space' show. (The historic irony of that alone is delicious.)

The would-be writer and television viewer/critic in me is appalled that so much of 'VGR' felt like 'TNG Part II,' but the kid in me (who grew up on TNG) can't help but like it because of this, as well as its own unique virtues.

Very well put.

Thanks!

I also believe that there was a phenomenal premise with so much to work with... the Maquis and Federation crew mix, as someone else pointed out, could have been a great dynamic to keep going with. No, not one of those "well, any time now the Maquis are going to take over the ship again" ideas... Paris wouldn't have become Star Fleet so quickly. The Maquis would eventually realize that they do need to closely cooperate so they all get home. But once in a great while, there would be tensions because of the two different mixes.

I agree. It's not that I wanted mutinies every week, I'd just like to see some dissent. It's obvious that was the intent of having the Maquis aboard in the first place: to give a reason for these otherwise highly evolved 24th century folks to fight.

One key issue I had with Voyager was the whole start of it. The CareTaker could have easily been handled to allow the crew to get back to the Alpha quadrant. Instead, they make it Janeway's decision to stay, rather than a technical limitation. I really think that was a bad choice. The first season was really under par for me... then things slowly got better.

That was the low point of the pilot, IMO. Having her make the choice attempted to give Janeway a guilt complex, which was ultimately unnecessary to do so in the first place. It could have worked just as well had she been trying to both help the Caretaker and get home, but the Kazon end up destroying the array. Then she has justifiable guilt. Personally, I might have preferred if Voyager's stranding had been a planned expedition gone wrong. As I've said before elsewhere, the creators wanted both to have a ship that was advanced and suited to a long isolated mission, but felt compelled to create reasons why life should be difficult for them, and as a result of trying to have it both ways those reasons didn't really ring true and we didn't really feel like this was an extraordinary hardship most of the time.

I also appreciated the fact that they were in the Delta quadrant far from Star Fleet space, so that new beings could be encountered without compromising the integrity of Star Trek canon. It even made sense for the Borg to be out there, running about completely out of Star Fleet radar.

But the show was becoming tired. The rehashed TNG format was indeed catching up with them. Same old thing, week after week. Then came Seven. Despite all the sex appeal of Jeri Ryan, I really do think it was a great "jumpstart" for reviving the series. It certainly gave the writers a heck of a lot more material to work with and they did exploit a lot of it rather well.

Agreed as well, although I'd argue that the catsuit was unnecessary. I think GodBen has explained before quite well (better than I am now) how the Seven character isn't really sexy as much as a marketing ploy that appears sexy. The character actually was interesting to me despite this, and Jeri actually was a pretty lady without all those trappings.

Voyager had a lot of great episodes, plenty of mediocre ones, and some lousy ones. I really don't consider it the all out best. The original series was probably the best, from the perspective of it being the boldest for its time and making due with very limited budgets. The remastered verisons with new effects helped tremendously at lifting it up (the Enterprise bobbing back and forth on a string just had to be dispensed with!). But all that followed contributed so much to the Star Trek franchise. I'd say that VOY and TNG come in at a close second.

Agreed. I think the positive thing that can be said about 'Voyager' is that while its episodic quality is almost constantly up and down, for the most part (for me at least) the highs make up for the lows and made me like it. It's just the wasted premise and lazy decisions that frustrate and daresay anger me.