Why do trekkies hate voyager

Despite all this, I have never been able to bring myself to condemn Voyager. To this day I still watch the show and find pleasure in more than the prospect of being assimilated by Seven of Nine. Those on Trek have always represented the best of the best, symbols of how highly evolved twenty-fourth century humans were. Captain Picard and Mr Spock may as well have been gods on Olympus in terms of accessibility to me as a then-twelve-year-old viewer. Just by looking, you could tell they had never had to work at Argos or clean the bathroom like mere mortals.

The Voyager crew on the other hand, were a mismatched collection of incompetents. But in a strange kind of way characters who were rougher round the edges were a lot easier to get on board with. For people who make mistakes, a certain kinship is felt when watching TV characters do the same. Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! And without its diverse characters, schlocky action and comic tone I may never have watched any show that bore the Star Trek banner.

Think of it as a gateway drug, if The Original Series was heroin; the ultimate high but a crippling way of life, then Voyager is cannabis; pleasant enough, easily accessible, but capable of permanent brain damage Threshold anyone?

And the thought of having missed out on great episodes like Tapestry, In the Pale Moonlight and Balance of Terror makes me rush right back to my original statement. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here. He cant be a total loss since Seven-of-Nine saw something in him eventually. If the original Star Trek series was about a future utopia, then the later decades would naturally swing back to realism. Deep Space 9 and Voyager are often the shows credited with taking Trek to a more visceral level with higher stakes and bigger adventures, and plenty of fans think that Voyager, in particular, didn't go far enough.

It's some of the most brutal television out there, and some argue that realistically, the whole series should have been the same. Not everyone thinks that a girl has to be a six-foot-tall blond in a bodysuit with the XO on her arm to be compelling. In another bit of controversy that Voyager stirred up back in the day when it comes to feminist ideals, there's a fierce debate about whether Kes should have left only be replaced by Seven-of-Nine.

A lot of fans always liked Kes, and argue that she got more interesting as she deepened her relationships with other crew members and developed her psionic powers. She left just as she was getting interesting, only to be replaced by a hot chick, who actually turned out to be an amazing character despite the stereotypes.

The real unpopular opinion might be that we shouldn't have to choose between them. If the Federation had such a problem with the Marquis, maybe they should have paid more attention to the social and political fallout caused by the peace treaty they signed with the Cardassian Union. Viewers tend to take the side of the Federation and go along with the show's narrative of the Marquis being troublemakers, but in this case, the details reveal that the United Federation of Planets might have been careless here.

If the Cardassians are supposed to be such villains, then why did the Federation award them territory where other people were living?

Offering to relocate doesn't replace lives and homes, either. Of course, people would refuse to leave and fight those who tried to force them. Viewers usually point to later seasons as their favorite, when episodes like "Year of Hell" and "Scorpion" blew audiences' minds with stellar writing, tight plotlines, and high stakes.

The unpopular opinion about the best season is that the first one is at the top of the list, but it's really a matter of individual taste.

The first season included a lot of exposition and new characters, plus we had the novelty of political intrigue and the first female Star Trek captain, giving the first season the advantage of novelty. Most agree that the show declined in season 2 but came back in season 4. Up until this point, with a few notable exceptions, aliens in Star Trek could be benevolent, ugly, wise, or dangerous. It's a big universe out there and the variety of faces you can see depicted on Star Trek was part of the show's charm.

Boy, talk about serendipity! Mulgrew was not only perfectly cast but never gave a less than perfect performance for the entire series and never allowed anyone to upstage her. Pretty impressive for an actress who appeared it seemed out of nowhere, and never really sought the limelight again. There were other mis-steps. The scripts for the first half of the first season were very weak. One critic called the show "a flying daycare center. Then there was the "oestrogen follies" when series could not decide on who to dangle in front of the key "young male" demographic.

Mulgrew wasn't doing that kind of role, and Dawson was a nice-looking actress completely buried under makeup, so Jennifer Lien was recruited to play an elfish character that was also providing the bulk of the sex appeal. It didn't work, and, as the series evolved, Lien would be unceremoniously thrown under the bus and replaced with the anatomically correct Jeri Ryan whose form-fitting uniforms were even catching the attention of males still in elementary school.

All the cast members "evolved" during the years of production, the most notable being Robert Picardo, who not only developed the notion of a non-human human further than it had ever been taken, but also sang and directed.

The weakest cast member was Tim Russ, who entered the series burdened by the spectre of the iconic Spock and, although politically correct as to casting, never really found his niche. The series once it found its sealegs was superb. I believe that the scripts on time travel, in particular, will remain un-equalled for a very long time.

My favorite episode, of many, surprised the viewer by providing no backstory. Suddenly, off the top, the crew was working on another planet with no memory of their real names or real lives, and they had to fight an entire planet to find out who they were.

It was brilliant, iconic, and unforgettable. Like the series itself. If you want to know more, check the chat groups. Last of the great wide-spectrum multi-channel Treks. Tweetienator 16 July 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. Perhaps the last of the sci-fi series saga that portrays future in glorious light and not try to bring future down to "man" size like so many of the sci-fi series that came since then including Star Trek's own "Enterprise" series.

The characters, the special effects, the production design are of highest creativity and beauty, something epitome of sci-fi has strived for since first sci-fi appeared on screen.

I'm not sure why sci-fi characters started getting merged with working class heroes in recent years, but this only shrinks the genre in my opinion. If this series was the swan song for the beautiful portrayal of our future, I think the loss is great. As a die hard sci-fi fan, this series was the last of the great sci-fi epic. If you see that the subsequent series "Enterprise" became the first Star Trek series to be canceled due to poor ratings, I believe that there is still a market for great sci-fi epic like the Star Trek Voyager.

In my opinion this was the best of Star Trek series with best production design, and character portrayal. I would love to see more Star Trek series continue in this vein and I hope other sci-fi series will follow suit. XweAponX 10 June Or so they Thought, it was NBC's loss, and a big one. Syndication provided a way for it to be resurrected in Movies and two Hugely Successful Syndicated TV shows - But never again had it been bought by a Network.

I have said in another review, Ethnic Comedies are not a problem for me, but BAD comedies are, and to replace all of some interesting Dramatic shows with Bad comedies was UPN's first huge mistake. So for the first time in 29 years, Trek finally became a NEW Network show- For the company that produced it- Paramount and the Network they created specifically to host new Trek shows. What was Bad about Voyager? New "Starfleet" Uniforms - The DS9 Uniforms were supposed to be the new Fleet uniforms too, but for the fact they looked unflattering and sometimes just plain bad.

But Voyager was stuck with them until Season 4, they were slightly updated to look better before given the "First Contact" Uniforms. She can't get the jobs done in time! I'm sure there are other things I didn't like - I hated these new Kazon enemies, but Voyager needed new Races that could cause them Grief - Like Viidians.

But as Voyager started moving toward home, new interesting Races had to be thought up, plus, Old ones like The Borg - We knew, Voyager would eventually run into the main Hive. What was Good about Voyager? Plenty of things. Remember it took Next Generation at least one year to find it's stride - Voyager took almost two and a half years, despite some very good initial episodes.

But we have to remember, this show was not syndicated and therefore not immune to Cancellation and therefore Micromanaged by it's Parent Network, UPN. So each week, I could see this struggle between the Trek Creative Teams and Network Beancounters and Pencil Pushers, a struggle which the Creative force eventually won starting about 2 and a half years in.

But my main complaint was that there was this one great Character - Kes. At First I thought she was rather Silly, but as I saw the range of Jennifer Lien finally being accessed, especially in episodes like "Warlord" and even "Before and After" which pointed to "The Year of Hell" - I knew she was much better than being given credit for. I never knew why the Character was taken out so abruptly, but when I found out that they yanked her Unceremoniously, I was livid.

They basically fired her, although she was the strongest new Actress of the show - If you don't believe me, watch "Warlord" which shows some dynamic acting on her part. Despite this huge mistake, Voyager entered Borg Space and took on a needed new passenger, Seven of Sixty-Nine, a Sexy Borg - Who was able to accomplish what Kes did for the Year of Hell, and the Krenim storyline explained this wonderfully.

You will always see Temporal Causality Loops in Trek, it's just part of the fabric of Trek Reality, and Voyager was able to put new interesting twists into these kinds of stories- Even keeping changes which were introduced during some of the more Major Time stories. But they also explored all kinds of interesting things - A Race that attacked Voyager in their Sleep, a Woman who created a Holodeck Character and falls in love with Tuvok - Even Neelix and Tuvok being joined into "Tuvix" in a Transporter accident.

It took me a while to start enjoying this show, but I agree it was weak in it's first season - So was Next Generation. I liked what I saw of this show, and it deserved better than the reviews it got. I liked the combination of Star Trek and Lost in Space as Voyager was hurtled light-years from Federation space and traveled back, finding new alien cultures on the way.

This was the way to do the discovering new civilizations bit:while traveling in uncharted space! A couple years ago I made a point to rewatch every Star Trek series to date not yet touching Discovery, since it's both ongoing and on a subscription site I've not yet ventured into.

Of them all, I was and really, still am least familiar with Voyager. Despite that lack of knowledge, I entered my rewatch with a presupposition that I wouldn't like Voyager. And I couldn't even tell you why; I just remember not caring for it based on what little I had previously watched or knew of the series. I was mistaken. What are Voyager's weaknesses? Exaggeration, yes, but not entirely.

Not to say there wasn't good material as such, but other characters definitely took a back seat by comparison. There's also the common accusation that Seven was introduced as "Barbie Borg" to boost ratings.

That's not unfair; it's unfortunate that the character was cheapened in that way. Although, at least the writers didn't treat Seven the same way the costumers did. Another issue with VOY: When the writers aim for sentimentality, it becomes saccharine to the point of falling apart in your hands.

Exhibit A, S7E12 "Lineage": I'm not convinced the script wasn't stolen from a soap opera filming nearby. Easily the single worst episode of the series. S5E23 "" isn't much better. I certainly don't want narrative bereft of sentiment, but there has to be a balance.

And too often, VOY came down heavily on one side, to its detriment. And one more thing: There's not a whole lot of follow-through in VOY. Sure, characters mention things that happened in previous episodes, and character arcs progress over the course of the series, and there are recurring villains.

But I'm talking about plot points that come back to haunt the crew further in the series, actions that bear consequences years later. It just doesn't happen here. Much like the series finale, where the ramifications of everything therein aren't even broached. To that point--Voyager as a series felt very episodic. That's a sharp contrast with the original series, which was something new every week.

Less specifically, there's one more broader complaint of VOY I understand, but which I don't carry for reasons I'll get into. Holodeck episodes. Antagonists that defy suspension of disbelief. Time travel. Family episodes. Those moments of overly sentimental tripe?

The focused attention on cast members, putting the ensemble in the back seat? TNG did it. So did DS9. Holodeck episodes, plots that defy suspension of disbelief, one person saves the day, mundane activities, time travel, family; missed connections, sentimentality, focus on crew members.

All of it. Who can forget the time Beverly Crusher fell in love with a ghost? Or the Seven-esque jumpsuit that Troi wore for 4 seasons? The DS9 crew playing baseball? The day Data learned to dance. The DS9 crew pulling a heist on a holographic casino, or Odo confessing his love to Nerys. Worf in the Old West. It became a lot easier to like Voyager when I realized I didn't have a specific reason to dislike it.

And I can't entirely place my finger on why. The cast are all quite good, there's no faulting them. So what gives? It's not as endearing, it doesn't strike the same chords, it isn't remembered as fondly. Why is that? The best answer I can give--personal opinion--is that VOY never found its voice. Consider TNG. Consider DS9. At their best, they were Very Serious Shows, expertly crafted narratives that made one think.

So what of VOY? Strong cast, with characters in a definite hierarchy who nevertheless interacted more like family than crewmates or friends. Plenty of sci-fi tropes, but only in service to the narrative.

A story to tell, but not the focus per se. Hints at bigger questions, but rarely probed deeply. VOY as a series had things to say and do, but it never quite seemed to truly say or do the things it really wanted to. Before it could, it was time to move on to the next episode. One of the things that struck me about VOY was how the ship faced multiple threats as it traversed across the Delta Quadrant.

Antagonists that they faced in one season didn't necessarily show up in the next because, hey, they'd moved beyond that region of space. As I think about it, it's almost as though that narrative thrust was woven into the very construction of the series. Constantly moving from one thing to the next, never really giving time to develop anything in particular.

But even as the type of plot varied sometimes in those series from one week to the next, there was largely a distinct unity of vision to them that kept the whole together despite its varied parts.

For all the things that VOY shares in common with its predecessors, a unity of vision within the series wasn't one of them. Maybe that's not a bad thing. But only if you've never seen any other Star Trek series can you watch VOY without bearing the legacy of its precursors in mind.

It may sound like I'm trashing VOY here, but that's not my intention. This is me trying to reason my way through the "why" of liking it less. But VOY had many more episodes that were absolutely stellar.

And for all its faults and weaknesses, the average episode, and certainly VOY as a whole, was actually quite good. There was a time near the start of my rewatch where I said aloud, "I haven't gotten to the point where I figured out why I dislike it, but I'm sure I'll get there.

Nor can I give any reason why I ever did. People love VOY more than any other series? Okay, great. People hate VOY more than any other series? Seems a bit much, but okay. Voyager may not get or deserve the same amount of recognition, but it definitely deserves more respect than it gets.

And that's okay. I never did see any of the first two years worth, guess that means lucky me, but I did get a looksee at the next 3 or so with madame BorgJuggs and here's what I think.

Has a few decent moments, say when the Scorpion guys showed up and nailed da Borgs, or when Q stops by, or when Kurtwood Smith came in and screwed around with the timelines, but over all, this show has a 'been there, done that' quality to it.

They should be so lucky to be as good as Bab5, but never mind Mulgrew, Jerie Ryan, the Doc and Neelix there aren't bad, just hand cuffed by a show that has seen its better days, has little to say and really only one way out-getting back to earth and deep sixing itself.

Paramount finally announced this winter that the next season will be the last for Voyager, and I would say about time. They really could have ended it two years ago and not lost any sleep over the decision I think, but that's me.

Paramount really should just leave well enough alone and not try any new Trek series for about 5 years, at least. Come up with new casting, new producers, writers, Ideas, and points of view. Because while Voyager is certainly a good try, you have to know-it ain't happening, and they have pretty well sucked this here well dry, at least for the time being. My rating for this series?? Time for something else. By the time this "Star Trek" shows was unveiled, creativity had pretty much come to an end.

No progress seems to be made in the characters returning home. Kate Mulgrew is good, as is the holographic Doctor an interesting character but the rest of the cast don't convince me. As a fan since , I'm not a follower of the "any trek is good trek," because it's simply untrue.

There's plenty of bad Trek and some of it starts right here. I'll recommend hunting up the Cinefantastique issues where Voyager is reviewed. The writers themselves admit the problems they had writing for certain characters. The show didn't pick up until seven came aboard and the doctor was unleashed.

Some of the problems with the show were: A Captain who never took her crews advice. Chakotay comes off as a wimp, rolling right over for Janeway.

He was a Maquis? Voyager was never lost. They knew exactly where they were: 70, light years from Federation space. Why didn't the writers have some guts and have Janeway try and form a branch of the federation? The ship.