Why is Voyager so damn Earth centric?

[Gotham Central]

The Earth centrism of this show is actually pretty grating. In the first few seasons, there seemed to be some effort to declare that Voyager was trying to reach the Federation. However, later on, the focus becomes exclusively Earth. On more than one occasion, Janeway declares that they are from a planet called Earth. Really, her whole crew is from Earth. Tuvok didn't have anything to say about that. Would Janeway have cried foul if she had only been able to get her crew to Bajor, Andor or Vulcan? It just seems like as the series went on it seems like the United Federation of Planets was reduced to an afterthought.

I was watching Hope and Fear the other day and I found it odd that everyone kept trying to sell Seven on Earth. Not ONCE does anyone say, if you don't like Earth, there are 150 other worlds to choose from and a vast frontier yet to be explored. Instead its all Earth, Earth, Earth. Even Neelix gets an Earth fixation despite the fact that he's headed to a place where all of the worlds will be new to him.

 

[exodus]

The Earth centrism of this show is actually pretty grating. In the first few seasons, there seemed to be some effort to declare that Voyager was trying to reach the Federation. However, later on, the focus becomes exclusively Earth. On more than one occasion, Janeway declares that they are from a planet called Earth. Really, her whole crew is from Earth. Tuvok didn't have anything to say about that. Would Janeway have cried foul if she had only been able to get her crew to Bajor, Andor or Vulcan? It just seems like as the series went on it seems like the United Federation of Planets was reduced to an afterthought.

I was watching Hope and Fear the other day and I found it odd that everyone kept trying to sell Seven on Earth. Not ONCE does anyone say, if you don't like Earth, there are 150 other worlds to choose from and a vast frontier yet to be explored. Instead its all Earth, Earth, Earth. Even Neelix gets an Earth fixation despite the fact that he's headed to a place where all of the worlds will be new to him.

Because it was Federation headquarters.

 

[Bertie]

Honestly, couldn't you basically say this about all 4 Federation era Trek shows?

 

[JustKate]

I noticed this, too, Gotham. I retconned it to myself kind of the way Exodus explains - that Earth is an abbreviated way to say "Federation headquarters" or perhaps "home" or something. But I freely admit that this is a retcon - it doesn't make a ton of sense. Clearly, there were a lot of people on that ship who weren't from Earth and had no real interest in going there, so why that came to represent home is a little baffling.

So basically, I just try to ignore it. It's not perfect, but it works OK.

 

[The Grim Ghost]

Right or wrong, Janeway made it her mission...well really more her obsession to get home.

For her, Earth is home. It was so incredibly personal to her, especially after shouldering all of the blame for stranding them there.

And since she speaks for the crew..

That's my theory.

 

[Brit]

My theory is more basic even than destro's although his is reasonable. All the Trek series including Voyager are Earth centric because the audience is Earth centric. It's easier to use Earth as home because it is the audience's home. Anything else and you would have to do some explaining, which would slow down the story telling.

Brit

 

[Pemmer Harge]

I find it grating too, but I guess Voyager was Earth centric because Star Trek as a whole is. All the really important stuff seems to be on Earth, whereas you'd have thought that the founding treaty would have shared the most important institutions between the founding worlds. Government on Earth, Starfleet on Andoria, Supreme Court on Vulcan etc.

 

[AuntKate]

It could be that saying they are returning to The Federation is so amorphous--what is that? Using a planet name is much more understandable, and it is, after all, Starfleet's "home."

 

[Tallis Rhul]

It's Janeway, she can be pretty single minded. How many times did she come up with a plan that Chakotay deemed selfish and/or dangerous, went into the ready room to shout her down and then left convinced she was doing the right thing the whole time?

If Janeway says Earth then the crew say "which bit ma'am?"

 

[Odon]

Look, what's so complicated about this? If they say "Earth" even casual viewers know what they're talking about.

 

[ALF]

Earth is this planet, right?

 

[Hartzilla2007]

Earth is this planet, right?

No we're on Mars Earth is the crappy blue water planet, we all mock and plan to invade.

 

[ALF]

Earth is this planet, right?

No we're on Mars Earth is the crappy blue water planet, we all mock and plan to invade.

Sounds good.

TOS was incredibly Earth centered as well. Helps Joe Six Pack understand I guess. "Lookit, Sherlene, them astronauts done found a world with Cowboys and Injuns."

 

[Oceanborn_angel]

When I'd learned about Voyager before it aired the article had described it as a return to the original Trek mission of deep space exploration. It took several years before our cable company got Paramount's fledgling network. By then Voyager was deeply entrenched in the third season I believe. I was just a little disappointed by the fact that instead of embracing the notion of exploring uncharted territory they were constantly fretting about getting back to familiar surroundings. Where was that thrill of space exploration I'd been promised? I've always thought that each and every Starfleet Cadet was informed of the dangers of being an officer in the organization, and that getting lost might actually happen to them. Even death while serving aboard a ship should have been covered. It really did the show a disservice to have them constantly whining about wanting to get back home all the time.

 

[TheGodBen]

^ "We're a lifetime away from our families and loved ones; our friends, our parents, our siblings, our significant others and our children. We may never speak with them again, and they probably think we all died in a horrible accident... But look at that, an orange planet! This is fun! "

No we're on Mars Earth is the crappy blue water planet, we all mock and plan to invade.

You guys have an internet connection on Mars? But surely there's a 3 to 22 minute delay.

 

[kes7]

Earth is this planet, right?

No we're on Mars Earth is the crappy blue water planet, we all mock and plan to invade.

Your operational security is made of fail. Just saying.

 

[Oceanborn_angel]

^ "We're a lifetime away from our families and loved ones; our friends, our parents, our siblings, our significant others and our children. We may never speak with them again, and they probably think we all died in a horrible accident... But look at that, an orange planet! This is fun! "

That should be the Starfleet Motto. Unless Starfleet suppresses all sorts of news concerning Starfleet operations to only include the positive aspects and completely squelch information about fleet wide destruction, lost ships, deceased Red Shirts, etc. etc. you'd think anyone signing up to the Academy would be aware that they could be separated from their loved ones one way or another. I'd call it making lemons out of lemonade to have had the crew of the Voyager envelope some sort of sense of adventure in exploring uncharted space. That has after all been Star Trek's overall philosophy that begins with "Space, the Final Frontier." If men like Columbus took a Voyager approach to exploration we'd still be thinking that the world was flat.

 

[TheGodBen]

If men like Columbus took a Voyager approach to exploration we'd still be thinking that the world was flat.

Firstly, nobody seriously thought that the Earth was flat, most ancient scholars knew the Earth was round since the third century BC and Eratosthenes even figured out the size of the Earth reasonably well. As for Columbus, he was about ready to quit:

...by October 10 the crew's apprehension had increased to the point of near mutiny. Columbus headed off disaster by promising his crew that if land was not sighted in two days, they would return home. The next day land was discovered.

Source

I'm a horrible person, but I'm so charismatic that I'm absolutely certain my family would be rather upset should I find myself missing and presumed dead. I would not be able to rest until I got home to my family and they learned the good news that I was alive and well. The knowledge that they're in pain would hurt me far more than simply being separated from them.

 

[Farrens]

^ "We're a lifetime away from our families and loved ones; our friends, our parents, our siblings, our significant others and our children. We may never speak with them again, and they probably think we all died in a horrible accident... But look at that, an orange planet! This is fun! "

That should be the Starfleet Motto. Unless Starfleet suppresses all sorts of news concerning Starfleet operations to only include the positive aspects and completely squelch information about fleet wide destruction, lost ships, deceased Red Shirts, etc. etc. you'd think anyone signing up to the Academy would be aware that they could be separated from their loved ones one way or another. I'd call it making lemons out of lemonade to have had the crew of the Voyager envelope some sort of sense of adventure in exploring uncharted space. That has after all been Star Trek's overall philosophy that begins with "Space, the Final Frontier." If men like Columbus took a Voyager approach to exploration we'd still be thinking that the world was flat.

Most explorers, Columbus included planned to return home one day. The reality of Voyager was that unless some short cut was found they weren't likely to EVER return home. While as you say they knew that becoming lost may have been a risk that does not mean they should simply have accepted that they would never return home. Also on top of it all they did explore a fair amount of new territory while looking for a way home. As Janeway herself put it "I've made more first contacts than any captain since Kirk". Their quest for home and search for knowledge were not incompatible goals.

 

[Unicron]

It's just like how London comprises all of Britain in the traditional Hollywood Atlas.