As I understand, there are many hard core ST fans who hate the show and its producers. I have to admit that I really enjoyed Voyager and I found it much less cringeworthy than TNG or DS-9 (oh, man...i hated Odo so much, great show though, loved Bashir-O'Brien relationship).
What's, in your opinion, wrong with Voyager?
It had a woman captain.
I jest, I jest. I dunno, I just started season 4, and while it feels like it lacks the richness of DS9, it's the season I've adapted to most easily. TNG was odd after TOS, it took me the better part of a year to get properly into DS9 after TNG, coz it just felt wrong. Maybe being back to the travelling starship setting is more familiar to me so it's easier to get into.
There are things I cringe at, like the dramatic pauses before a scene transition, the technobabble is just unnecessary sometimes. "How do I disable it?" "You must disconnect each sequencer conduit at the insertion juncture." So, 'unplug it', then :P
Maybe people are affronted that there's a Vulcan that isn't Spock lol
Kung fu movies are like porn. There's 1 on 1, then 2 on 1, then a group scene...
Die hard fans of an original usually find sequels to get weaker as they go along. It was Star Trek but it had to make it somewhat original too.
I didn't watch it during its run but have been enjoying a few repeats.
As a dedicated "Die Hard" fan, I kept waiting for McClain to show up and gun down the kazon. . ..
shareNot sure why it's considered bad, but I have read complaints about Janeway being a b!tch, and some episodes being bad.
Others have written that Voyager missed so many opportunities, but this is more of a critique of ideas the writers didn't explore. I do agree with the claim that Voyager should have grown technologically stronger over the course of the series.
Another complaint, which is somewhat related to the previous one, is that events in one episode seem to be forgotten in the next. Like in Equinox, Voyager picked up additional crew members who were to be watched and placed in low level service positions. Yet we never see any of these crewmen again. No development, no interaction with the main characters.
The thing that I disliked most about the show were all the instances of the characters going out-of-character. That and the Tom+B'Elanna pairing. I never liked them as a couple, and their relationship never made any sense. Same deal with Chakotay+Seven. Incompatible, and out-of-character. The better matches would have been Tom+Seven and Chakotay+B'Elanna, or Chakotay and that blond woman from the Equinox.
Oh, I completely agree about Chakotay and 7! Ugh!! I hated Janeway, but she should have ended up w/Chakotay, not 7!
shareJeri Ryan expressed the same in an interview, she said she had asked the writers and other department heads if they were going to progress her character with the real Chakotay after her "dates" with the holo version and told her no. So they never bothered building up the chemistry and resulted in the relationship coming out of left field and felt inorganic.
As for the original question, I think people were getting fatigued of the entire Star Trek franchise it wasn't Voyager in particular but viewers were ready to move on after nearly 20 years of sequels, which is why they tried for the prequel Enterprise which is generally regarded as the worst of all the series.
The thing that I disliked most about the show were all the instances of the characters going out-of-character. That and the Tom+B'Elanna pairing. I never liked them as a couple, and their relationship never made any sense. Same deal with Chakotay+Seven. Incompatible, and out-of-character. The better matches would have been Tom+Seven and Chakotay+B'Elanna, or Chakotay and that blond woman from the Equinox.
Got to agree with you about the pairings...Tom, and B'Elanna always seemed a little "forced" to me....Otherwise I love the show....TNG had its share of clunkers also, and all 3 series overdid the holodeck a bit, but most were fun..
You Have a Hard Lip, Herbert..
Better Living Thru Chemistry
The problem with Janeway being a bitch is that there was no need for her to be a bitch. But lazy writers and actresses almost always fall back on "bitch" to convey "strong woman". It would be more work to write and act a capable woman with a pleasant demeanor, so it rarely gets done that way.
shareI agree.
Throughout most of the series I can't stand Janeway. She's usually completely unlikeable due to the reasons that you stated.
Personally, I didn't care that she was a woman captain. It never bothered me or (most likely) anyone else that watched the show. It was her constant "Boss Girl" attitude that made viewers dislike her. She didn't need that attitude because everyone aboard Voyager were (for the most part) doing what they should be doing in order to get home.
There were brief instances when Janeway was likeable. The episode where she alters a holographic bartender because she is lonely and can't carry on a relationship with an actual crew member due to her statis was good. That element should have been explored more. It could have been a very interesting character arch for her, but it was dropped after one episode.
The show didn't really pick up until it became about Seven (dumb name) and the Doctor. The two of them were gold together.
This really wasn't "Bad Star Trek", but it did have its problems. Like several people mentioned above the Tom, and B'Elanna relationship was rough as was believing that Seven and Chakotay wound up together. It would have been better if Chakotay wound up with B'Elanna. I'm not sure who would have been a better choice for Seven, probably me. lol
My main issue with the series is that it concentrated too much on special effects and technical gobbledygook dialogue and not enough on plain, simple good storytelling. There are episodes where the tech jargon overwhelms the storyline to the point of absurdity.
It's regrettable the production staff preferred style over substance. They did have the ability to produce excellent story driven episodes such as "Death Wish" where the crew accidentally released a Q from incarceration, locked up in a comet for all eternity for the crime of trying to commit suicide.
Ronald D. Moore was a producer on the show. After his falling-out with Brannon Braga and departure from the show, he produced the reimagined Battlestar Galactica where he intentionally reduced the tech dialogue to very basic elements.
It did have many inventive stories which kept me watching it. Some dross as well - I kept hoping Nexil would fall in to a vat of hot oil - but generally it won me over.
The Kazons were a dreadful creation - may they rot in the bridge between the matter and antimatter Universes.
The Kazons were a dreadful creation - may they rot in the bridge between the matter and antimatter Universes.I and many others couldn't agree more. Many fans thought they were a watered-down and weakened version of the Klingons. And their hair looked like a coral reef!
I can overlook annoying characters, that seems to be the complaint I see.
I caught it during syndication, and watching it again via Netflix. "The Phage" is certainly a dark episode. A civilization that has been ravaged by a disease for two thousand years has to steal organs from alien species to survive. That is disturbing to think about, but it challenged me to think about the decisions of the characters. It really struck a chord with me in terms of ethics. I'm still not sure what to think about it.
--Will.
A civilization that has been ravaged by a disease for two thousand years has to steal organs from alien species to survive.
Just what the Chinese have admitted to doing for their elite class who can afford it. Well actually they 'harvest' organs from 'criminals' or those who they think are criminals
I personally enjoy all treks, with the exception of the animated series. Sure Voyager had issues like giving up on their own premise after the first 2 or 3 episodes. They also missed a lot of opportunities for some great stories. For example as someone mentioned that blond engineer from the equinox could have had a good story or two.
Also the technobabble was over the top and usually the salvation from almost every calamity. But for me the one thing I always had an issue with was the use of the reset button after each and every episode. No sustained damage, no recollection of past events, no advancements in technology, nothing. Each episode was like a new iteration of Groundhog Day and B’lana was like Drew Barrymore’s character in 50 first dates. In the Q and the gray when the female Q showed her how to increase shield strength, enough to withstand flying into an exploding star, she seemed to forget all about it by the next episode. Damn if those shields couldn’t withstand someone throwing a rock into them after that. WHY DIDN'T ANYTHING GET CARRIED ON?
GlobalWarmer
I can teach you how to shoot so close to a raccoon that he craps himself.
I consider it the best Star Trek, it's my personal favorite. I've watched every episode in order about 7 to 8 times and I'm currently doing it again right now, currently on season 2. I think it's the best Star Trek as it's lost in such a far away galaxy in unknown territory so they could make up lots of new original stories. The Doctor and 7 of 9 really made the show so much better.
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