WRT Neelix, I can't say I've ever liked him. I actually think he's the stupidest alien character ever conceived for the ST franchise. I think they wanted a funny alien character like Quark but they really blew it. Neelix has rarely been funny. On the contrary, he's irritating. He's ST's Jar-Jar Binks imo. Worse, that whole relationship with Kes, who was less than two years old at the time, is beyond creepy. It's a wonder that Berman, Pillar, and Taylor didn't take a step back and say, "Hey, we have a hairy middle-aged truck-driving man hooking up with a minor (at the very least)."
Yeah, I know, Kes is supposed to be very mature for her age, but the whole concept of the Ocampans never ever worked for me. She had less than two years of life experience, how could she possibly be mature?
Technically, Kes isn't human, so therefore her age does not make her very young as in a human child's age. And the fact that she is only two but she is very mature, lies on the very fact that she is indeed an Ocampa and is not human...
And besides that matter, age makes no difference on maturity level. Many have said I am beyond my years, but I am still young.
So therefore, she is evidently the same way.
Yeah, I know that.
That said, again, it strains credibility that with only 2 years of life experience , Kes could be considered a mature adult. Physically, she might be in her early 20s when she met Neelix, mentally, I can't buy that she's that age at all. I posed this question to a psychologist I know and she agreed with me and found the whole relationship to be really offensive (she was a child psychologist who had treated abused kids). I just think it was a terrible idea for the creators of VOY to hook up an older man with a young woman who could be considered a minor, or, at worst, a child.
I know I'm in the minority wrt this, but I feel strongly about this subject, as I know a girl who was victimized this way, pursued by a much older man while being a 15 year old girl in highschool. It ruined her life.
Kes and Neelix, imo, is the same scenario all over again.
As I've written before, I don't think that those in charge really did know what they were doing when they created that scenario. I don't think they ever saw the possibility that Kes could be regarded as under-age. It was more like, "hey, let's create a beauty-and-the -beast-scenario".
If they did realize that it didn't look so good (which I doubt), then they did as they always did when something went wrong in the show, they just let it roll along and continue, sort of "never mind, the fans won't notice".
The most stupid thing was that nine-year lifespan. Without it, the Kes-Neelix relationship don't look that bad.
I can see
Rocketscientist's point about the impossibility of learning and developing in only two years. On the other hand, since the species had such a short lifespan, I guess that the writers and producers thought that it would be possible for the Ocampa to develope that fast in only two years, just like some dog or cat.
The way the Ocampa develope is another interesting things. According to different sources, among them Jeri Taylor's book "Pathways", they develope very fast in the first two years. Then they stay almost the same for 7-8 years before aging rapidly at the end of their lives.
If we look at Kes, she did celebrate her second birthday at the end of 2371. Than means she was about 1,5 years old when she was saved from the Kazon by Neelix and the Voyager crew which would make her an equivalent to a 17-20 years old or something like that, still in the "danger zone".
(say hello to
Eeky!)
OK, as I've said before, the Ocampa do develope different than humans but....
Oh dear, what a mess. And I feel sorry for the Ocampa, the most ruined species of all in Star Trek (but highly likeable).
No wonder that, as a fan of the character Kes, I've spent so much time trying to come up with a way to "write around" the lifespan problem. It only creates trouble.
