Rosie Perez, Lori Petty or Fran Dresher ring any bells?
Why was Mulgrew so polarizing?
- Thread starter Captain Worf
- Start date
Agreed. I for the record (again) really like Janeway, and Mulgrew. I just wish she had been written consistently. I think the 'average' portrait of Janeway depicts a scientist who is naturally rather curious to a fault, a leader who is bold and headstrong to a fault, and a woman who is fully comfortable being in command, but who is constantly on trial with herself to a fault. She seems like a character of extremes because of the uneven writing.
Eesh. Perez bothers me, but Petty and Drescher not so much. Besides, being annoying is part of Drescher's shtick. She doesn't sound quite so bad in normal life.
Rii
Rear Admiral
I didn't realise that Janeway's voice was a point of contention amongst fans until now, certainly it didn't bother me in the least, but an actor's voice can play a significant role in how a character is portrayed and perceived. It's at least as meaningful as their physical appearance, moreso in the long run.
Well it's a good thing none of us hang out there!
BTW, I've met many Janeway fans myself included.
I work with three different people that love Janeway and they've never been on the internet.
I've never met anyone that didn't like Janeway except on the internet.
I find that because people seem to believe they are anonymous on the internet, that their real personalty comes across. So if someone on the internet say's they like Janeway, you can be pretty sure they do like her, or that they dislike her. Most reasons though for disliking her always seemed pretty flimsy to me as if you were prepared to dislike her no matter what.
Brit
I've never met anyone that didn't like Janeway except on the internet.
I find that because people seem to believe they are anonymous on the internet, that their real personalty comes across. So if someone on the internet say's they like Janeway, you can be pretty sure they do like her, or that they dislike her. Most reasons though for disliking her always seemed pretty flimsy to me as if you were prepared to dislike her no matter what.
Brit
One thing I always liked about Janeway : coffee!
I'm a coffee addict myself, so that's one thing I have in common with her.
Nothing like a good steaming cup of coffee in the morning!
I'm a coffee addict myself, so that's one thing I have in common with her.
Nothing like a good steaming cup of coffee in the morning!
One thing I always liked about Janeway : coffee!
I'm a coffee addict myself, so that's one thing I have in common with her.
Nothing like a good steaming cup of coffee in the morning!
Oh YEAH!
Inconsistency.
I just didn't get a believable portrayal of the captain throughout the series. This is outside of normal character development. To me, she seemed rather "polarized" in her version of Janeway. At times I thought she did a bang-up job, and at others I wondered why I even bothered watching the series. Granted, it was a very difficult role. And yes, at times the writing was lacking, instigating the inconsistencies. Mulgrew had a fine line to walk... should she be more stern and military, or more soft and approachable? It varied according to the scene at hand... and sometimes she got them mixed up. I don't know if that was Mulgrew, the script, or the directing. But overall, she pulled it off... and unfortunately I can't help but notice it when she didn't. :-/
I just didn't get a believable portrayal of the captain throughout the series. This is outside of normal character development. To me, she seemed rather "polarized" in her version of Janeway. At times I thought she did a bang-up job, and at others I wondered why I even bothered watching the series. Granted, it was a very difficult role. And yes, at times the writing was lacking, instigating the inconsistencies. Mulgrew had a fine line to walk... should she be more stern and military, or more soft and approachable? It varied according to the scene at hand... and sometimes she got them mixed up. I don't know if that was Mulgrew, the script, or the directing. But overall, she pulled it off... and unfortunately I can't help but notice it when she didn't. :-/
Exactly. I really like Kate Mulgrew. And I really liked Janeway in the beginning.
Some people have accused me of being sexist, and that as Janeway became more herself I felt threatened, but I don't think that's true. I loved the female characters on DS9 (the Next Gen caregivers weren't given enough good material for me to really embrace them) and they were developed wonderfully...and I'm a fan of the books, so I love Captain Kira and Captain Dax, & Admiral Shelby. And the only difference between those characters and Janeway (that matters) is the writing.
Some people have accused me of being sexist, and that as Janeway became more herself I felt threatened, but I don't think that's true. I loved the female characters on DS9 (the Next Gen caregivers weren't given enough good material for me to really embrace them) and they were developed wonderfully...and I'm a fan of the books, so I love Captain Kira and Captain Dax, & Admiral Shelby. And the only difference between those characters and Janeway (that matters) is the writing.
I'm reminded of Hansel's speech about Sting from Zoolander for some reason.
"Richard Gere's a real hero of mine... Sting... Sting would be another person who 's a hero... The music that he's created... I don 't really listen to it... But the fact that he's making it, I respect that."
"Richard Gere's a real hero of mine... Sting... Sting would be another person who 's a hero... The music that he's created... I don 't really listen to it... But the fact that he's making it, I respect that."
Not really the point I was trying to make. lol Similar, though.
Moral of the story: everyone sees something different when it comes to performance art.
I agree with the idea that some of Voyager's erratic writing ended up affecting people's opinion of Janeway.
Also (though I do really like Voyager) I would argue that Voyager probably had the weakest supporting cast of any of the TNG time period series. I think Mulgrew is a great actress, but I think you need other talented performers to work with and feed off of..makes your performance better.
Some of Janeway's best scenes involved her and the Doctor interacting. Picardo was a great actor, so he makes her look good.
On the other hand, when you have her playing off people like Garrett Wang or Beltran (fine actors, but definitely not the greatest) I think it weakens her performance, since they weren't really giving Mulgrew much to work with.
Also (though I do really like Voyager) I would argue that Voyager probably had the weakest supporting cast of any of the TNG time period series. I think Mulgrew is a great actress, but I think you need other talented performers to work with and feed off of..makes your performance better.
Some of Janeway's best scenes involved her and the Doctor interacting. Picardo was a great actor, so he makes her look good.
On the other hand, when you have her playing off people like Garrett Wang or Beltran (fine actors, but definitely not the greatest) I think it weakens her performance, since they weren't really giving Mulgrew much to work with.
^ Too true.
I do put the dislike of Janeway squarely on the shoulders of the Voyager writers.
I've never understood why they had such a tough time keeping Janeway's character on an even keel, when TNG and DS9 didn't seem to have problems like that (not nearly as often anyway). Just pick a characterization and STICK WITH IT, don't change an entire character just to fit with one episode.
I do put the dislike of Janeway squarely on the shoulders of the Voyager writers.
I've never understood why they had such a tough time keeping Janeway's character on an even keel, when TNG and DS9 didn't seem to have problems like that (not nearly as often anyway). Just pick a characterization and STICK WITH IT, don't change an entire character just to fit with one episode.
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