Voyager - Second Chances

[Sokar]

Hello childrens!

I've had a touch of the insomnia lately and have found myself for several weeks somehow catching the 3am showing of Voyager on Spike.

You see, I use to enjoy Star Trek. Grew up with TOS. Loved TNG after it stopped being gay the first couple of seasons. And I loved DS9. But after giving Voyager a try, as I did with all Star Treks, I felt it was disingenuous and the character were bland.

So, I was up anyway, and the TV kept winding up on that channel for some reasons, so I figured, what the hell, I'll watching a few.

Much to my surprise, it didn't just disappoint, it has to be some of the blandest Sci-Fi I have ever seen. This show could have been written by children. Characters so pointless that any line of dialog could be delivered by any of them and nobody would fucking know. Not even a courtesy nod towards the reality of limited resources in their situation. No sacrifice ever. No sense of community. No consequences.

But what surprises me more than that is the same characters I had a problem with the first time seem even more unlikeable. Start with that goddamned hedge hog Neelix. Unrelenting goofiness. Tuvok, while played well by the actor, just seemed petty and vindictive. Chakotay was a prop. Harry Kim....

And Janeway. My God. I don't even know where to begin.

"The ship can no longer support us. The case leads are going to stay behind and try to hold it together. You will be evacuating in escape pods. Set a course for the Alpha Quadrant and we will meet up. I want to hear lots and lots of stories about your adventures when we meet again. This despite the fact that you will be floating in space in a tiny escape pod without the ability to land and with limited food, air and water. Hopefully you won't get shot as space debrit during your 75 million year drift."

But I remember what really broke it for me. The ex-Borg white female Tuvok with titties in a jump suit. The pandering was sad. Not that the girl she replaced was any good.

And the technobabble. It reminds me of the headless chicken and kazoo gag on the last South Park. That has to be how they come up with these idiotic solutions. Leonardo Divinci on a planet? The COMPUTER on a planet? They're going to recalibrate what? They can't send a voice message to the Alpha Quadrant but they can download their EMH who... I don't know... might be needed?

The leaps in logic are bizarre. That's bad writing. Crutch writing.

After watching this show for a couple of weeks on a daily basis, you start to get the impression that there's a big assembly line somewhere that was shitting out these scripts.

So much wasted potential. And I mean that. The premise was a fantastic setup.

I was fortunate enough to watch Year of Hell (both parts) during this time. I know it's been said a million times, but that was probably the closest they ever came to being honest with the premise.

I couldn't help but hearing Red Forman say 'dumbass' at the end of each line. I was doing it for him by the second half. It made the episode even more fun.

Well that's it. I gave it a second chance. It has aged badly.

Adios!

 

[Robotech Master]

You see, I use to enjoy Star Trek. Grew up with TOS. Loved TNG after it stopped being gay the first couple of seasons. And I loved DS9. But after giving Voyager a try, as I did with all Star Treks, I felt it was disingenuous and the character were bland.

This is almost exactly how I felt.

I liked 'Year Of Hell' also. Though I knew a reset was coming... sort of killed my enthusiasm for the episode.

Those two episodes could have been a whole arc of the series, if the writers had any interest in the premise of the show.

Sadly, Janeway became Annorax herself by the end of the show. She became a lunatic willing to destroy a timeline in which the Federation is prospering and most of her crew is home and well... in order to save a select handful of her friends.

Even though she violated Federation ethics and put the galaxy in grave danger by bringing future tech back to the present time. What if the Borg had assimilated that technology?

And if she was going back in time, why not save all the countless other people that SHE stranded in the Delta Quadrant? She went back to save her pet Borg... forget Suder, and Carey, and all the other folks who died following her.

As long as she could play granny matchmaker and bring Seven and Chakotay together again, to hell with the rest of the universe.

The ending was sort of a cheat too. They get home and that is it? Oh sure, we got to see the crew's future... but that was in the timeline that Janeway completely destroyed.

And then we have Kim talking about how the journey was more important than the destination? Huh? Wasn't he the one that was always most anxious to get home? It's not like he had any sort of life on the ship. Granny Janeway wouldn't promote him, wouldn't even let him have sex with hot alien chicks... though I don't recall Kirk or Riker ever asking permission from their superiors.

Ah well. We can only wonder what could have been.

 

[J47]

Loved TNG after it stopped being gay the first couple of seasons.

Because that's not mildly offensive...

 

[Muad Dib]

VOY was a steaming pile IMHO.

 

[The Lady Eve]

^Your haiku is also a steaming pile IMHO too.

 

[14thDoctor]

At least Jennifer Lien was thin back then.


Seriously, what's the deal with that?

 

[Muad Dib]

At least Jennifer Lien was thin back then.


Seriously, what's the deal with that?

She's gonna make a comeback doing Nutrisystem commercials.

 

[tafkats]

Loved TNG after it stopped being gay the first couple of seasons.

Because that's not mildly offensive...

But how else would you describe this?

 

[Sokar]

Loved TNG after it stopped being gay the first couple of seasons.

Because that's not mildly offensive...

But how else would you describe this?

Perhaps 'queer' would have been more appropriate?

I'll never forget seeing that for the first time. I was watching it with about 3 friends and we all said in perfect synchronization 'what the fuck!'.

 

[14thDoctor]

Voyager was also really, really racist. The Kazon, the main baddies for the first two seasons, turn out to be former slaves? What's the message there, that slavery is a good thing because it kept the bloodthirsty savages in line? Thanks, guy.

And don't even get me started on Tuvok, the "magical negro," Torres, the "tragic mulatto," Seven, the "Aryan superwoman," or Chakotay, the "noble savage." The whole show was based around racist stereotypes.

 

[faceman]

I'll say this for Voyager. The actor who played their first officer probably didn't get raped.

 

[Tachyon]

Yay. Another "this is why Voyager sucked" thread. We didn't have enough of those here in the first place. Doesn't it make your favourite Trek shows just slightly better when you diss Voyager? It seems that it does. I guess it is needed since Voyager is acknowledged better than DS9 outside of the fanbase.

 

[14thDoctor]

Who got raped now?

 

[Praetor]

"The ship can no longer support us. The case leads are going to stay behind and try to hold it together. You will be evacuating in escape pods. Set a course for the Alpha Quadrant and we will meet up. I want to hear lots and lots of stories about your adventures when we meet again. This despite the fact that you will be floating in space in a tiny escape pod without the ability to land and with limited food, air and water. Hopefully you won't get shot as space debris during your 75 million year drift."

Thank you. So much. Despite having some otherwise relevant points, you may have ruined 'Year of Hell' for me slightly now. I'd never considered how little it made sense to not just deposit the crew on a planet. Pandora's Box is opened. The plotholes are seeping through.

Again, thank you.

Voyager was also really, really racist. The Kazon, the main baddies for the first two seasons, turn out to be former slaves? What's the message there, that slavery is a good thing because it kept the bloodthirsty savages in line? Thanks, guy.

And don't even get me started on Tuvok, the "magical negro," Torres, the "tragic mulatto," Seven, the "Aryan superwoman," or Chakotay, the "noble savage." The whole show was based around racist stereotypes.

Oh no, now you've ruined the whole show for me.

Yay. Another "this is why Voyager sucked" thread. We didn't have enough of those here in the first place. Doesn't it make your favourite Trek shows just slightly better when you diss Voyager? It seems that it does.

I was with you, Tachyon...

I guess it is needed since Voyager is acknowledged better than DS9 outside of the fanbase.

But then you said that. You know that's so not true. DS9 is the beloved spinoff. Because it's gritty and darkly lit and stuff.

And yes, fellow DS9 and VGR fans alike, that was said with tongue firmly in cheek.

Apples and oranges.

 

[Gates]

 

[Tachyon]

I was with you, Tachyon...

But then you said that. You know that's so not true. DS9 is the beloved spinoff. Because it's gritty and darkly lit and stuff.

Apples and oranges.

I was referring to the recent Top 50 Sci-fi show thing posted on General Board my friend. DS9, for some reason, was not listed there. It was only mentioned as "poor man's Babylon 5", so to speak. So the logical conclusion is that DS9 is not as highly acknowledged outside of fanbase as Voyager is. It was not my opinion, it was my observation based on that particular article.

I do like DS9, as you should already know.

I don't really like Enterprise, yet I have not urge to go on Enterprise board and tell what a flop of a series it was. Nor do I have a need to watch the ENT episodes and analyze every single flaw in them in detail, because Enterprise does not interest me enough to do so. So I do not get where this urge to diss Voyager comes from, other than their need to feel better about their own personal favorites.

 

[Praetor]

I was with you, Tachyon...

But then you said that. You know that's so not true. DS9 is the beloved spinoff. Because it's gritty and darkly lit and stuff.

Apples and oranges.

I was referring to the recent Top 50 Sci-fi show thing posted on General Board my friend. DS9, for some reason, was not listed there. It was only mentioned as "poor man's Babylon 5", so to speak. So the logical conclusion is that DS9 is not as highly acknowledged outside of fanbase as Voyager is. It was not my opinion, it was my observation based on that particular article.

I do like DS9, as you should already know.

I don't really like Enterprise, yet I have not urge to go on Enterprise board and tell what a flop of a series it was. Nor do I have a need to watch the ENT episodes and analyze every single flaw in them in detail, because Enterprise does not interest me enough to do so. So I do not get where this urge to diss Voyager comes from, other than their need to feel better about their own personal favorites.

I know, my friend. I actually agree and was attempting to satirize the effort of the OP for doing so. I almost didn't post because I was afraid someone might not get the sarcasm. Sometimes a '' just doesn't work like it should.

Everyone who knows me knows that I like both shows equally and take careful pains not to put one down at the expense of the other. Both have their merits and neither is perfect.

 

[Tachyon]

I will pay more attention to s for now on, P.

Yes, both DS9 and Voyger have their ups and downs. I personally prefer Voyager, but I can still say that DS9 is pretty good one too.

 

[Tulaberry whine]

Sadly, Janeway became Annorax herself by the end of the show. She became a lunatic willing to destroy a timeline in which the Federation is prospering and most of her crew is home and well... in order to save a select handful of her friends.

I've never picked up on that parallel before. Interesting, and yes, rather sad.

 

[kimc]

Sadly, Janeway became Annorax herself by the end of the show. She became a lunatic willing to destroy a timeline in which the Federation is prospering and most of her crew is home and well... in order to save a select handful of her friends.

I've never picked up on that parallel before. Interesting, and yes, rather sad.

One of the reasons why I detest "Endgame" and I am a fan of the show.

As for those who aren't fans constructive criticism is welcome - flames and trolling are not.