11 REASONS WHY I HATE STAR TREK: VOYAGER #4 (PART 2)

4.2 Mrs. Smith's Kindergarten class is still hard at work designing nifty aliens for Rick Berman.

Eventually, we are introduced to Species 8472. That is their Borg designation, and that is how the crew of Voyager refer to them. We never learn their true name (unless I missed that, which is entirely possible as Reason 9 will point out). Species 8472 is intent on wiping out Voyager's crew resulting from a short lived alliance between Jayneway and the Borg Queen (Species 8472 has a bit of a blood grudge with the Borg). Not once in Jayneway's attempts at negotiation did she make the effort to learn what the species prefers to be called. A Starfleet captain truly intent upon seeking peace would have been wise to learn by what name the enemy prefers. Calling them "Species 8472" throughout the series is tantamount to using Borg war propaganda. Not a wise move. What do we know about Species 8472? We know they live in fluidic space, whatever the hell that is. Wait! Fluidic space exists in another dimension, so I suppose that explains everything . . . We know the vacuum of space does not crush them into a pulpy goo since we have seen them crawling around on the external hull of Voyager. We know they are huge compared to humans, and are living, breathing tripods--the third leg seems completely unnecessary and cumbersome though they move with grace. They navigate space in bio

ships, a technology that was first introduced with the Vorlon. Their ships look the same, and the prime weapon is close enough to identical as to not matter. The Vorlon first appeared in Babylon 5 . . . Was that canonized into the Star Trek universe when I was sleeping? Our is this simply blatant plagiarism?

This new alien race had some great potential, but we know nothing else of the Vorlon/Species 8472 culture. A sad decision on the part of the producers.

Voyager's carelessness with alien races extends to cultures previously introduced in the
Star Trek Universe. In this case, I am focusing on the Borg. These cyborg terrors were first introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and were an instant hit. Granted, they are nothing more than watered down versions of Dr. Who's Cybermen, but they were fun. That is until they were found in the same shipping lanes as Voyager. Once again Rick Berman and Brannon Braga decided to forget everything they had produced in the Star Trek. When Jean Luc Picard last saw the Borg in the television series there was some definite evolution taking place. In Star Trek: First Contact he and Data put an end to the Borg Queen in a manner in which only a graphic novel could hope to resurrect her. In Voyager, however, the Borg are nothing more than drones once again, and the Borg Queen is alive and well for a miraculous return nearly two years after her gruesome death. There is no explanation given for her resurrection (unless I missed it due to Reason 9). She is simply alive and well.

When the Borg were first introduced, they referred to themselves in the plural, "we," and, "our." Never did they use the singular until later episodes of The Next Generation, and only by those drones who had managed to disconnect themselves from the Borg Collective. (The exception being Locutus.) Voyager ignored this aspect in regards to their intended lack of personality. I suspect this is due to the writers viewing the constant use of the plural as cumbersome. Under the care of the Voyager team, the Borg are not a species to be feared. Rather, they are a joke filled with inconsistencies.

The one thing Voyager did right when it came to the Borg was in casting the queen. The actor portraying the Borg Queen in the television series, Susanna Thompson, looks so much like Alice Krige from First Contact that it is almost impossible to tell them apart.

In all fairness, I have to admit creature design is a difficult job that challenges even the seasoned artist. I would also be foolish not to mention the problems in alien design did not begin with Voyager. The problem began with The Original Series where we are introduced to mind controlling rubber dog poop aliens, a rock tunneling alien that appears to be a steaming pile of dinosaur skat, and aliens that are nothing more than light shinned through a kaleidescope. Though many fans laugh at the silliness of these creatures, we still give them a free pass for any number of reasons: 1) Technology, 2) Budget, 3) A less sophisticated audience. We expect more from our television shows now more than ever (take a look at the success of Lost.)

The Next Generation also proudly displays its own collection of poorly conceptualized space aliens. Though I am beginning to like the tar monster from the first season, found in the episode Skin of Evil, I have to admit it looks more silly than menacing when taking on a humanoid appearance. The Next Generation had some of the same problems as The Original Series when it came to budget and technology, despite great advances in both issues. It is because of these advances that the aliens Picard encounters are viewed with a more critical eye.

The technology was there to support a limited budget by the time Deep Space Nine and Voyager aired. Adding this to the years of creative experience leading up to Voyager tends to leave an audience with high expectations--an expectation to see fewer cheesy aliens rather than more in this case. Unfortunately, (and this pains me to say so) Enterprise followed suite with erecting its own Cheese Factory for producing aliens. (I may get to that in more depth at some point in years to come.) This glance at Voyager's alien cultures was nearly cut from the blog series, but ultimately retained since it is indicative of the sloppiness plaguing what could have been a fantastic series.

Reason 1

Reason 2 (Part 1)
Reason 2 (Part 2)
Reason 3
Reason 4 (Part 1)
Reason 5
Reason 6
Reason 7
Reason 8
Reason 9
Reason 10
Reason 11

Related Links:

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Delta Quadrant Alien Database

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11 REASONS WHY I HATE STAR TREK: VOYAGER #4 (PART 1)

4. The aliens were imagined by Mrs. Smith's kindergarten class. I can clearly see how the board meeting must have begun when the producers and writers sat down to discuss the alien life forms in Voyager's Delta Quadrant. "This is a section of we have not yet explored. The lifeforms here must be like nothing we have seen before in Star Trek." That is a fine start, but in the first episode we are introduced to three alien races that will make continued appearances in the series: Talaxians, Ocampans, and Kazon. Let us take a look at them, but first I must worn you they make tribbles like a highly cultured society.

The Talaxians are represented by the character of Neelix, and they pretty much look like bipedal hyenas. Unfortunately, they are not funny like hyenas--other than their looks. Talaxians are traders, and that is as far as the writers got in seven seasons in developing their culture. They come across as Ferengis on Valium. From outward appearances, it seems the main contribution of the Talxians is bringing back the mullet after a millennium long hiatus. Business in the front and party in the back never before looked so ridiculous. Yes! Voyager managed to destroy an already ridiculous hair-do.

Ocampans are another poorly conceived alien culture. We know they live for nine years, and perhaps one in three hundred kajillion (or some such huge number) have telepathic abilities. And that's about all we know of the Ocampans, aside from an inability to take care of themselves. The only thing to differentiate them from humans in appearance are their ears, which resemble those of Vulcans albeit a touch bulky. So much for strange new life forms, especially since a nine year life span does not constitute strange. Such a device lends itself to the absurd. I'm unable to imagine a race capable of achieving anything beyond rudimentary stone tools when the members live no longer than the average domesticated dog, unless the Ocampans require little to no sleep, and come equipped with mental prowess capable of making Vulcans look like village idiots. Such is not the case assuming the character Kes is a standard representation. Naive comes to mind. I find nothing remotely interesting in connection to the Ocampans.

Perhaps the greatest unintentional joke Voyager played on its viewing audience was the Kazon. These aliens have what looks like coral reefs, rocks, and ferns growing out of their heads as though it were hair. I suppose they are the Vikings of the Delta Quadrant as they like to raid, prize warrior abilities, and have a bad attitude. Star Trek already had an alien race like this long before Voyager was discussed in board meetings. That race is known as the Klingons. In fact, the Kazon are nothing more than Klingons minus the culture, cool ships, honor, and humor. I would go so far as to say the Kazon are what Klingons would be like if the forehead ridges were reversed so the bone grew into the brain. Well, the Kazon do have rocks for heads after all. What else do we know about them? Nothing.

These races set the tone for all life forms encountered in Voyager. More will be explored in Reason 4 Part 2.

Reason 1

Reason 2 (Part 1)
Reason 2 (Part 2)
Reason 3
Reason 4 (Part 2)
Reason 5
Reason 6
Reason 7
Reason 8
Reason 9
Reason 10
Reason 11

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11 REASONS WHY I HATE STAR TREK: VOYAGER #3

3. Janeway's decisions give cause for worry in regard to the Federation's educational system. Not only do the writers feel the need to put her on the wrong side of every debate between herself and any other damn person on the ship, but they were either unwilling or unable to give her compelling arguments.

Janeway's greatest blunder was in the steadfast decision to follow the primary (and noble) mission of the Federation--exploration. The return trip to the Alpha Quadrant was estimated at seventy-five years, and in Gene Roddenberry's futuristic world this means many of the younger crew members would still have half their lives to enjoy upon returning home. But no! Janeway wants to stop at every Delta Quadrant pit stop rather than picking up whatever information the scanners can gather as they blow through at warp speed. If I had been the captain, I would have stopped for no other reason than to replenish consumable supplies or conduct maintenance and repairs (of course the result is one boring show!) Her decision resulted in a great sacrifice forced upon the crew. Her duty to those serving under her was to return them home, safely and at warp nine. Janeway failed her crew every time she delayed the journey for anything other than the necessities.

Her decision making abilities also suffer when it comes to dealing with alien species or new life forms. In season seven, a number of holographic people become sentient, and steal a ship in the two part episode, Flesh and Blood. If we backtrack to The Next Generation, when Captain Picard was forced to defend Data's rights as a sentient life form, then we know the Federation's attitude toward life does not require it to arise naturally. They recognize artificial life forms. We can go even further back into the Star Trek universe to Nomad, the killer robot/computer of which Kirk and Spock recognized as a life form. We also have the cooler Voyager from Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture, you know, the Earth probe intent on gobbling up every thing from space ships to entire planets while navigating back to its birthplace. But now we have to deal with Janeway who defines life as something that bleeds and breeds. That was pretty much her basis for the decision not to help the sentient holograms in their time in need. Star Trek requires its captains to be right (most of the time), and in order for Janeway to be right in this instance the writers took the lazy way out by making the leader of the hologram ship a bit crazy mixed with a generous portion of asshole. See! She was right not to help them because that one hologram was a pile of salot poop! A bad decision is not transformed into a good decision based upon the unfolding of events in which the character is unable to predict. It simply makes Janeway lucky.

There are 172 episodes in Star Trek: Voyager. That translates to a minimum of 172 bad decisions made by Captain Janeway (she is unforgivably fortunate there was not a mutiny two weeks into the return trip to the Alpha Quadrant). For brevity's sake, we will leave it at the two examples above. Oh! At least she did not make giant lizard babies with Neelix. . .

Reason 1
Reason 2 (Part 1)
Reason 2 (Part 2)
Reason 4 (Part 1)

Reason 4 (Part 2)
Reason 5
Reason 6
Reason 7
Reason 8
Reason 9
Reason 10
Reason 11

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MY DAMN NEIGHBORHOOD: YOU'RE GONNA GET SHANKED

I get a sick feeling in my stomach when the girls ask if they can go to Walmart. If you have seen the website People of Walmart then you know that is reason enough to reconsider the trip. But when they ask to go by themselves to

enjoy a few minutes of feeling like an adult, well I have a near panic attack. This stems from the January 23rd, 2011 shooting in the parking lot of our local Walmart when the Kitsap County Sheriff's department was forced to kill Anthony A. Martinez when he shot and wounded two deputies. My oldest daughter and I missed The Gunfight at the O. K. Corral by two hours, and would have been in the middle of the shooting if I had not changed our plans on a whim. I wish that was all that could be said of "excitement" when it comes to the Walmart in our mighty Port Orchard.

On April 13th 2012 Justin Alstatt allegedly visited the local Walmart for the five finger discounts. This was not the first time Alstatt had entered the store for similar reasons, according to store security. When confronted, Alstatt thought it would be a wonderful idea to brandish a switchblade. Before running off on what began a manhunt that lasted into the next day, Alstatt said: "Nothing personal, but I can't go." I'm assuming this is in reference to jail. Perhaps he should have taken incarceration into consideration when pocketing a $10 cell phone case. Walmart security claims this was their third run in with Alstatt, making a person wonder why this particular horse kept coming back to the same watering hole. I wonder if his defense will include temporary insanity brought on by Friday the Thirteenth.

Another place of interest for my girls is the downtown waterfront area. There is a small park, an observation platform behind the creepiest cement public restroom ever conceived, the foot ferry to Bremerton, and the library. They are too young for the bars. It can be a great place to spend a day, particularly when the public market is crowding the parking lot on the weekends.

On April 27th, 2012 (also a Friday), two men, friends mind you, exited the bus in downtown Port Orchard. They had been arguing on the bus, and the matter had not yet been resolved as they approached Kentucky Fried Chicken. One of the men involved was attempting to put some distance between himself and his buddy, reportedly not wanting to go back to jail. The buddy had a different notion, and shoved a knife into his pal, twice. The fight was broken up when two women driving along the strip saw what was taking place, and used their car to separate the two men. The victim ran across the street to an auto shop to call for assistance. He survived. He was treated and absent from Tacoma General Hospital by the following Monday.

My girls want to romp, goof off, and hang out with their friends without adult supervision, just like any other kid. Just like my brothers and I when we were their age. Is this the proper location for enjoying such freedoms? If you ask me, not in my damn neighborhood!


MY DAMN NEIGHBORHOOD: FIRES, GUNMEN, AND A TANK
MY DAMN NEIGHBORHOOD EXPANDED: GUNPLAY AND BLADE
MY DAMN NEIGHBORHOOD: AN UPDATE

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Walmart Shooting
Walmart Shop Lifter
Alstatt's Arrest
Downtown Port Orchard Stabbing
More on the Downtown Stabbing
People of Walmart
You're a daisy if you do

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11 REASONS WHY I HATE STAR TREK: VOYAGER #2 (PART 2)

Neelix:

In Star Trek there is an expectation to have aliens working hand in hand with humans. This makes things more interesting from a story telling point of view, and also more interesting visually. This is true in all cases, except in regard to Ethan Phillips character of Neelix. I have no idea if Phillips pulled an Anthony Daniels by changing the personality of the character once he was in costume, but either way Neelix is creepier than C-3PO on any given day. To put it mildly, I am not about to trust Neelix to be alone with anything that breathes.

Neelix' function on Voyager is to annoy the crap out of everyone, cook disgusting meals (this bit of canned Three Stooges routine is suppose to be funny). When he is not engaged in those activities he is briefing Janeway on whatever sector of space they happen to be crossing through. Neelix is suppose to be a culinary expert, and an authority on cultures and customs in the Delta Quadrant, the latter due to his extensive trading enterprise prior to running afoul of Voyager. Neelix' knowledge quickly dries up, leaving him in the galley. But he is listed in the opening credits, so we are unable to trap him on the mess deck and forget about him. Nope! For some unexplained reason Janeway feels it is necessary to have Neelix present in every briefing to offer simplistic advice. (Trust me when I say this does not happen in the real world. Captains of Navy vessels do not demand the presence of the chief cook during mission briefings.) Apparently serving as the cook (a time consuming job) was not enough for the writers. They had to invent new reasons to drag Neelix out of the galley. He launched a news program that felt like reading an elementary school news paper, and he convinced Tuvok in allowing him to join the security force--giving me the false hope Neelix would meet with the wrong end of a disruptor blast.

What do we have when Neelix is removed from every scene? Well, think about Star Wars Episode I without Jar Jar Binks and Baby Anakin, and you get the idea. The show remains bad, but at least it is no longer unbearably annoying. Neelix is simply another crew member that would not be missed if he had found somewhere better to be at the end of Voyager's first episode.

The Doctor:

Robert Picardo is perhaps the only actor on Star Trek: Voyager who is worthy of being called an actor. I enjoy the way he handles his character, The Doctor, though he was not given much to work with. Picardo was cast to play what amounts to as an interactive video game, and did what a good actor does, he made the role his own as The Doctor worked at becoming something more than a medic hologram. Unfortunately, much of the charm and ingenuity of the character is lost when we realize we have already seen technology strive to be human in the form of Data. The main difference between The Doctor and Data is that the former wrote a program that gave him human emotions while the latter required his creator to build an emotion chip. (I suppose that means The Doctor is more advanced than Data, though Data still remains more advanced than Lore . . .) The Doctor is nothing more than Data with Captain Picard's hairline and emotions. Despite Picardo's success with the role, we really do not need to see this evolutionary story again.

Imagine what life on Voyager would be like without The Doctor. If you are like me, you are thinking there would be significantly less humor in the show, and a larger number of people would have died--including the entire bridge crew. The Doctor is perhaps the only indispensable character. I doubt Voyager would have had a chance to return to the Alpha Quadrant if not for this hologram's ability to patch, mend, and cure.

Lieutenant Commander Tuvok:

Tim Russ first appeared as the villain Devor in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and promptly got his butt kicked by Captain Picard in the episode Starship Mine. Apparently getting your ass kicked by an old man makes you perfect for the position of chief security officer on a Federation starship. Actually, that is unfair since Tim Russ was playing two separate characters in the franchise.

Tuvok is perhaps the only frequently seen Vulcan in Star Trek who does not develop beyond the unemotional, logical, and arrogant mindset his species suffers from. We watched Spock grow from a robotic first officer to a warm grandfatherly character, and it worked well. After Tuvok, we witnessed the struggles of T'Pol to maintain control after a mind meld assault and drug addiction. None of these exercises in character development were planned for Tuvok. He remained bland throughout Voyager's run, and therefore fails to differentiate himself from all the other Vulcans who have appeared in the long history of the franchise. The only value he provided to the ship was in the fulfillment of his duty as chief security officer, a job most anyone can successfully execute after proper training. As a person, he offered nothing that improved or detracted from the culture of the ship. The nature of the show would not have changed if his character failed to exist.

Ensign Harry Kim:

Garrett Wang's character, Harry Kim, is a naive and impressionable boy fresh out of the academy. He is eager to please, unsure of himself, and misses his parents and girlfriend. All he wants in life is to be the best Starfleet officer he can be, thereby pleasing his parents and captain. This is where the character begins and ends. In seven seasons he fails to grow and develop. We know nothing more of his back story, and never will. But that is fine by me. He is one boring fellow, and any scene without him is improved, though not by much. He adds nothing to Voyager. If he had been killed off in, oh say, the first episode, nothing would have changed in the entire run of the show, thus making him another worthless character.

Seven of Nine:

Ah! Jeri Ryan! This is when Star Trek truly realized sex appeal improves just about anything . . . except Star Trek: Voyager. The single purpose of Seven of Nine is the sex appeal.* She offers little more than a touch of tension among the crew members, but this, thankfully, is not limited to her . . . attributes (the type of attributes which prove men remain shallow in the future.) She also frustrates the crew due to her Borg mentalities of efficiency and perfection. Seven of Nine spends the four seasons we are forced to endure her in attempting to reclaim her humanity. Hold on a second! I thought The Doctor was suppose to be the re-imagined Data. Seems the originality of Voyager knows no bounds. Once again we have another character stepping on the holographic shoes of The Doctor. Like with having two medical gurus in sickbay, having two characters searching out the meaning of being human in the same series is redundant and ludicrous. Besides, what do the writers have against The Doctor? He is clearly their best character, and yet they seem intent on trying to over shadow him with, well, boobs.

Can you guess what happens when you take Seven of Nine out of Voyager? That is right! It looks much like it did during the first three seasons with the exception of well placed curves. (And now I am in some serious trouble with my wife after spending all this time referring to Jeri Ryan's anatomy. I deserve what's coming.)

There are bound to be characters in any Star Trek series who seem destined to drag down every scene they are in. In The Original Series . . . well I am going to leave that alone to avoid hateful comments. The Next Generation gave us Wesley Crusher (pre academy days), Tasha Yar, Geordi Laforge, Deana Troi, and Beverly Crusher. They did the right thing by culling the herd, first by killing off Yar, and then sending Wesley Crusher to Starfleet Academy (note to Wil Wheaton: I blame the writers and not you. Stand By Me is proof the TNG writers failed you.) Deep Space Nine had anything Ferengi with the exception of Quark (when he was not in drag), and Jake Sisko--at least until the writers figured out what to do with him. (It is as though Star Trek does not know how to write for characters under the age of eighteen.) Voyager leads in annoying and worthless characters in that all but The Doctor were uninteresting and unnecessary. With the mental power and abilities the crew of Voyager brings with them I am surprised Janeway did not loose possession of the ship more often (I think Kirk still holds the record for hostile take overs). I am even more surprised she ever regained the ship. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not that surprised. The Doctor was usually stuck on the ship, and his program was the only thing on Voyager with brains.

Who cast this show anyway? Did they get fired?

*Penni Russon offered a great counter argument to this assertion concerning Seven of Nine in the comments of the previous post, 11 REASONS WHY I HATE STAR TREK:VOYAGER #2 (PART 1)

Reason 1
Reason 2 (Part 1)
Reason 3
Reason 4 (Part 1)
Reason 4 (Part 2)
Reason 5
Reason 6
Reason 7
Reason 8
Reason 9
Reason 10
Reason 11


Related Links:
Tuvok Kills Neelix--if only!!!
Penni Russon's Excellent Blog: eglantine's cake
Only Ever Always by Pennie Russon

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11 REASONS WHY I HATE STAR TREK: VOYAGER #2 (PART 1)

2. The crew of Voyager is filled with uninteresting morons. This truly is the Federation's D list crew. Not even the inclusion of the Maquis officers and crewmen can excuse the lackluster line up we will be examining.

Captain Kathryn Janeway:

Kate Mulgrew was not the first woman cast to play Captain Janeway. That dubious honor went to Genevieve Bujold (only her Janeway was named Nicole rather than Kathryn.) Apparently Bujold was so bad the producers started looking for a replacement before filming on the original episode was finished. Kate Mulgrew earned the roll by proving she was better, but that is like saying Christen Hayden was an improvement as Anakin Skywalker after Jake Lloyd.

What we know of Janeway is that she has a boy friend, has a Golden Retriever, and she is the captain. We learn all of that in the first episode, and little to nothing more is revealed over seven seasons. I suspect the writers were thinking of Picard when they drafted her character, and attempted to dress Jean-Luc in drag. They gave Janeway the sense of duty Picard clung to, but failed to infuse her with his charm, compassion, and love of culture. This lack of character development shows in Mulgrew's performance in that she had no idea what to do with Janeway. Every so often the writers seemed obligated to allow Mulgrew a chance to show her acting ability (must have been contractual since it seems grudging), but those moments come across as awkward and forced. Simply put, she is a mediocre actor in a bad role. Not even Commander Riker's beard could helper her, though it might improve her appearance.

Imagine for a moment what the show would be like if Janeway was no longer the captain for any given reason. That's right! Chakotay, as executive officer, would have to assume the position because a ship needs a captain, even a bad captain like Captain Janeway of The Exxon Voyager. Perhaps Chakotay would have returned the crew to Earth in a faster and safer manner, but even that is uncertain. I doubt much of anything would have changed if Janeway had been removed as captain, and that makes her a worthless character. You should feel the absence of a character when they leave the story. You are not going to find that here. (And what is up with Janeway's hairdo?)

Commander Chakotay:

Robert Beltran is a rather humorous individual, but you would not know that unless you watched the gag reels for Voyager. His character, Chakotay, however, is bland since Star Trek has a horrendous habit of relying upon their Vulcan template when creating a spiritualist. With all the spiritualist gurus in the Los Angeles area, you would think the writers would have an unlimited supply of personalities to draw from.

Chakotay is a Native-American who was born on a Federation colony planet. Does this still qualify him as Native-American? I'm not sure, but it still qualifies him as a member of the . . . Well now we have a problem. What tribe did he belong to? At one time it was the Sioux, then he was descended from the Hopi, and later his ancestry shifts in favor of the Rubber Tree People/Mayan. In this regard, Chakotay is like a Tootsie Pop: the world may never know. No matter the tribe Chakotay originated from, it is well established they left Earth due to an abhorrence for technology--never mind they required technology to get them away from technology. Later they decided to make a pilgrimage back to their ancestral lands on Earth. In order to make the round trip, a starship was required, unless they have learned how to fly and their skins have evolved to ward off the effects of the vacuum of space. Last time I checked, spaceships lie in the purview of technology.

Latter in life, Chakotay decided his father was right in turning his back on technology, and embraced his ancestral heritage in a manner that only Hollywood can accept as authentic. Despite this decision, it is unexplained as to how Chakotay rationalized using technology to engage in a terrorist war with the Cardassians, or how he was so knowledgeable over the workings of the Federation's state of the art starship, Voyager. This display of laziness in forming the character of Chakotay is laughable at best, and shameful at its worst.

Chakotay was the first Native-American character in Star Trek to have his name appear

in the opening credits, and he was the executive officer of the ship to boot! (Though he was not the first Native-American in the Trek universe. That honor went to an extra in a crowd shot in Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture.) Suffice it to say, this was a pivotal moment for Star Trek, akin to the first interracial kiss on television brought to you by Kirk and Uhura, but the writers failed miserably when it came to fleshing out the first billed Native American in the franchise.

He was given a tattoo on the face that serves as nothing more than set dressing. Truly! There is nothing more to the tattoo than to make Chakotay look more interesting. At least it did not change in appearance from season to season, like Worf's forehead. The way they handled Native-American heritage is shameful to say the least. I imagine their research began and ended with Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown. Perhaps they threw in a few John Wayne movies to round things out. Voyager would have been better off leaving this insult out of the show. Actually, it would have been easy. Think about the ship without it's first officer, and what do you have? The same show.

Lieutenant Junior Grade B'Elanna Torres:

I can imagine Roxann Dawson was cast in the role of B'Elanna Torres to bring the strong, no nonsense attitude that made Nana Visitor's Kira Nerys such a success in Deep Space Nine. In that aspect, Dawson succeeded, but the writers failed her. As the seasons passed on Deep Space Nine, the writers realized they needed to show Kira's softer side, and this only improved a character who was fun to watch to begin with. The writers of Voyager failed to do the same for Torres until somewhere around the sixth or seventh season. By then it was too late. She had already become annoying and predictable.

To make matters worse, the character gives all appearances of serving as the counter argument to Worf. Though she is half human and half Klingon, Torres was raised exclusively by her human father while Worf was raised by human foster parents. Torres rejected all things Klingon, where as Worf had embraced his birth culture to the point of obsession. This pigeon-holed Torres in how she was going to respond to any given situation, making her predictable, boring, and annoying by the time season two was wrapping up.

Removing Torres from the show changes nothing. Granted, a ship requires a chief engineer, but at this point we are all well aware that Starfleet is filled with genius engineers (because the future is awesome!) Lieutenant Reginald Endicott Barclay III had more depth crafted into his character by the conclusion of his first appearance in The Next Generation with the episode Hollow Pursuits. He is the worst engineer, personality wise, that Starfleet has to offer, and he is far more interesting than Torres. The producers missed a great opportunity by failing to give us seven seasons of Barclay's antics. Instead, we are forced to endure yet another Klingon without a sense of humor--at least with Worf his lack of mirth was humorous in itself.

Kes:

For a show that earned the reputation of dressing women in as little as possible with The Original Series and The Next Generation, the producers of Star Trek remained slow in understanding the value of sex appeal. They kind of got the idea with Jadzia Dax in Deep Space Nine. When it came to Voyager, they pretty much failed for three seasons straight. Jennifer Lien's character, Kes, was suppose to serve as Voyager's hot item. She was cute enough, but nothing to make the patrons of sports bars worldwide demand the channel be switched from the Super Bowl to Star Trek: Voyager. That was not the only failure in conceptualizing her character.

Kes is on Voyager for one other reason, and that is to increase the nonhuman population. That is as far as the producers and writers got to thinking when they added her name to the opening credits. Her function on the ship is tending a garden in a storage bay, but that was not enough to ensure she was in every episode, as we will see with Neelix in the galley. The writers had to think of something else for her to do, so she became The Doctor's assistant. Think about this for a minute. Star Trek still grows fruits and vegetables in dirt, and occasionally combat wounds are so severe the doctors and nurses still have to stick their hands into folks. Now we have a gardener who moonlights as a nurse. I sure hope she cleaned well under her nails!

Now that Kes has something to do other than pick fruit and prune shrubs, you would think to see some growth, to become more interesting. Not a chance! She is dull, borderline whiny, and mopes more often than not. Besides, Star Trek works best when there is only one medical guru in sickbay, which is why Nurse Chapel was on screen only when necessary (with the exception of her cameo in Star Trek: The Original Motion Picture). Kes is forgettable. In fact, that is what we promptly did at the end of season three when she left the show to be replaced by Seven of Nine. Kes who? There was some other blond on Voyager before Borg Boobs?

Lieutenant Tom Paris:

Rick Berman and Brannon Braga truly failed us with this character. Tom Paris is played by Robert Duncan McNeil, who first appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation as Cadet First Class Nicholas Locarno in the episode First Duty. Locarno was drummed out of the academy for executing and lying over a banned flight maneuver that resulted in the death of another cadet. Tom Paris (also a fighter pilot) was kicked out of Starfleet for an unspecified accident that resulted in the deaths of three fellow officers. He then joined the Maquis, was captured, and sentenced to a Federation correctional facility where Janeway found him (because he was, apparently, the only Maquis prisoner in Federation custody despite all the folks rounded up by Captain Sisko).

What we have here is Berman and Braga plagiarizing from their previous work as though fans would not notice. Furthermore, they made Tom Paris a rather annoying little boy when a young man with a grudge would have been much more interesting. They missed a golden opportunity when they cast McNeil to play Paris to resurrect the character of Nicholas Locarno, a character of whom fans of The Next Generation were already familiar with. Give him a bit of an attitude resulting from bad luck and worse decisions, and now we have a loose cannon Janeway is forced to rely upon. Much more interesting than a misunderstood good boy who only wants a third chance.


Reason 1
Reason 2 (Part 2)

Reason 3
Reason 4 (Part 1)
Reason 4 (Part 2)
Reason 5
Reason 6
Reason 7
Reason 8
Reason 9
Reason 10
Reason 11


Related Links:
Genevieve Bujold as the first Captain Janeway

Kirk kisses Uhura

Chakotay links
The Rubber Tree People
Chakotay's Tribe in Voyager
Memory Alpha: Chakotay

Author Links:
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J. M. Tresaugue Books
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A HEART FELT THANK YOU FOR MY READERS

If you are reading this then you are among an amazing group of people. Let me tell you why.

As March was wrapping up, I saw my blog views were approaching what was then my record for most views in a month. I sent out numerous tweets with the purpose of asking you, my readers, to help break this record. You did it by five blog views! My appreciation for you does not end there.

Now that April is done and over with, I am looking at the blog views for that month. April's views far exceed all other months by well over 800 views. To put it mildly, I was staggered by the number.

There is a glut of material out there to read between books, short stories, articles, and blogs. Seeing so many of you took your time to read my blogs fills me with gratitude. In fact, to show my appreciation, I am working on a project (more on that in a later blog) that will be a gift to you, my blog readers. All I will say is to have your ereaders handy!

Thank you!
J. M.

Author Links:

Shadows Beyond the Flames
J. M. Tresaugue Books
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