Star Trek: Voyager

Voyager, though different in many ways than other Star Trek series, is nonetheless a great chapter in the Star Trek saga. The characters are well developed, and the unusual situation allows for a creative array of episodes.

In the first few seasons, it is obvious that the actors (and directors) are still getting used to the characters they are trying to create. As such, the first season or two is a little chaotic, though there are underlying personal and situational themes. Regardless, the early season are most definitely enjoyable, and provide a good foundation for the seasons that follow.

Once the show gets underway, however, the characters are given more shape and depth, and the acting/directing vastly improves. The shows focus on a variety of subjects - interpersonal relationships among the crew, individual moral and spiritual issues, scientific anomalies, and time travel, as well as many other things. Both new and previously used aliens appear in the series, so while there are unfamiliar species (such as the Kazon), there are also ties to the original Star Trek villains.

I highly recommend seasons two and four - they stand out as two of the best.

Star Trek: Voyager, with its unique cast of characters and unusual mission, is a new way to explore the "final frontier".

Contrary to what many Trek nerds would have you believe, Voyager is not the worst Star Trek series, and is not at all a bad show. The acting is superior to that on the beloved The Next Generation (that comment alone will probably have people throwing their Spock ears at their monitors), and I think many of the stories were better. TNG stories always seemed to revolve around spacial anomalies and holodeck malfunctions, which became excruciatingly boring. I wasn't interested in seeing Picard dressed up like Sherlock Holmes and trying to solve a fake mystery, only to be trapped on the holodeck and have the safety mechanisms shut off. As many times as this happened, I would have shut the silly thing down and prohibited its use.

Voyager was so great because it truly put its protagonists into a situation that they could not extricate themselves from. For the first time since the original 1960's series, Star Trek characters truly went where nobody had gone before, discovering new races and acquiring knowledge. And they couldn't call on the federation to save them.

And no doctor has ever been as good in his role as Robert Picardo. That even includes DeForest Kelly, who was exceptional.

Jennifer Lien was also outstanding as Kes, who was very much missed after her departure from the series.

Voyager brought back a lot of the adventure that was inherent in the first Star Trek series, and was lost in TNG. Perhaps it didn't live up to its enormous potential, but it was still a very good series that is, unfortunately, far to often the target of hate by TNG purists and people who like to pick at microscopic details.

If IMDB had a way of getting a blood pressure reading on some of the users making comments for this show, the results would be frightening. There's no reason to EVER get that worked up over a program!

I've never been able to understand why a person would watch an entire seven year series, hating it all the way. Option: Turn the channel. You've got nothing to lose. It's not like in the theater where one might sit through a tepid movie because they paid admission. Voyager was free. Take it or leave it.

Personally, I enjoyed the show. I liked the plot, the cast, and most of the storylines. I appreciated the mix of drama and action. Voyager, in my opinion, was a very good program. Had I not felt good about it... I would have turned it off. Problem solved.

Not every series is going to be a masterpiece. Not everyone is going to like every show. If it's your cup of tea, drink it. If not, put the cup down.

Just paying my tributes here: I gotta confess, on the side of the original Star Trek with Captain Kirk and his crew, Star Trek: Voyager is my other most favorite piece of Roddenberry's universe: lots of interesting and unique (and lovable) characters and on top the idea of a crew getting lost in some far away place of the galaxy, which provides a great background story for lots of unique and special stories. Still top notch.

I just finished watching Voyager start to end over the last several months. Of course there are some misses at times but mostly it's very good and definitely gets better as it goes along. Adding Seven of Nine was a great move but Janeway and the heritage crew also get more interesting as time goes on.

For me TNG is always #1 for the amazing reboot they did and the first class acting including the master Patrick Stewart. DS9 is my #2 because it tried to do something different, darker and serialized, and it worked! Voyager a close #3 for doing it all without the usual Alpha Quad crew of Klingons, Vulcans, Cardassians, etc. They really had to start from scratch in the D Quad and they did a great job.

Thanks to the writers, cast and crew for making this series special and a very worthy journey for this viewer. I'm on to 'Enterprise' now which doesn't have a great reputation but just a few episodes in I'm enjoying it.

Live Long and Prosper!