I have finished watching Star Trek Next Generation and Deep Space 9 following a friend’s recommendation. I enjoyed both shows and started watching the other one, Star Trek Voyager.
So far, I’m not finding it as enjoyable as the other two. I want to try to see it through the eyes of someone who enjoys the show, maybe it will also help me understand why it feels different somehow.
I can’t speak for everyone of course, but as someone who genuinely was not fond of DS9 (not because of writing quality or anything like that, it was great for what it was in that regard.)
After DS9, Voyager had the audacity to try to be FUN again. It offered a really good mix of some serious episodes with some downright goofy episodes. For every “Year of Hell” or “Equinox”, you would get an episode where they were attacked by giant viruses, or a good old fashioned holodeck program goes haywire episode.
It wasn’t afraid to dive into Shlock after DS9 tried to be sooooo fucking serious.
To me, that was a breath of fresh air.
Also:
Janeway is easily the best captain overall. She doesn’t give “Picard Speeches” like Stewart of course, but in every other aspect, her leadership is amazing throughout that series.
Voyager 2 parters were usually epic. This of course comes from the fact that the CGI had come a long way from the TNG days, but with the exception of Best of Both Worlds, I’d put Year of Hell, Equinox and Scorpion ALL better than any other two parter from any other series.
If your comparison is to DS9 and you want “super serious” than yeah…of course Voyager isn’t going to be for you. But if you want something that isn’t afraid to be a little silly sometimes, Voyager is hella-fun.
picard was too moral compared to sikso and janeway, she was willing to violate more rules because they are so far from home.
See, that’s what I love about Picard. He’s a man who deeply believes in the value of morality and the difficulty of maintaining it and effective leadership. It shines through to every aspect of who he is. We see a man who was once a rambunctious youth, once was an overly ambitious officer, and now is tempered and weathered by mistakes and failures and knows that starfleet succeeds or fails on the behaviors of people like him. I find him incredibly relatable and eminently admirable in this struggle.
I haven’t gotten to ds9 or voyager yet, but this thread is making me glad I’m going to tos after I finish tng. It will serve as a palate cleanser
Fun Voyager openings, I hear you asking.
This is probably my favourite https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIjOifRG-u8
That’s the episode where the Doctor becomes the “Emergency Command Hologram” in his mind, isn’t it?
At the end when the computer magically makes three pips appear on his collar and Janeway just says “nice touch…”
That’s exactly what I mean. Voyager wasn’t afraid to be a little goofy sometimes. They walked that line really really well without delving all the way into “Let’s do a whole musical episode” or anything.
Yes, I think it is. But not the one where he actually does become the ECH?
The Doctor has added a daydreaming protocol and some aliens who have an AI overlord (they can’t do anything without asking it first) manage to survey the Doctors daydreams but not the inside of Voyager, so they believe the Doctors daydreams to be real.
I think Voyager’s more musical episodes (and Robert Picardo himself) have at least a little to do with SNW eventually getting the musical episode.