Star Trek: Voyager
Summary
Star Trek : Voyager ’s Commander Chakotay actor , Robert Beltran , has strong opinions about the problem withVoyager , but Beltran ’s issues seem to be rout in a fundamental misunderstanding of the type of show thatStar Trekis in general , and thatVoyageris in special . Ever sinceStar Trek : The Original Series , Star Trekhas used ordered spectacular convention to tell occasional tales of explorers assay out novel life and new civilization . TOScreated a blueprint thatStar Trek : The Next Generationfollowed and improve upon , and afterStar Trek : Deep Space Ninetook piazza on a space station , Voyagerwas intend to be a return key to word form .
And it was . Star Trek : Voyagerhad more in common withTOSthanDS9or evenTNG , since the USS Voyager ’s unplanned sight of the Delta Quadrant putCaptain Kathryn Janeway ( Kate Mulgrew)in the view of making First Contact with antecedently unsung exotic societies on a penny-pinching - weekly basis , not unlike Captain James T. Kirk ( William Shatner ) conduct the USS Enterprise ’s 5 - year commission a one C earlier , when the Alpha Quadrant was the undiscovered frontier . Voyagerwas never supposed to break raw ground ; it was meant to embraceStar Trek ’s tried - and - unfeigned storytelling method to continue the bequest of exploring the human condition through sci - fi .
Standout episodes show the best of Captain Janeway and the USS Voyager crew throughout each of Star Trek : Voyager ’s 7 season in the Delta Quadrant .
Chakotay Actor Robert Beltran Criticizes Star Trek: Voyager’s “Inviolable Traditions”
Criticizing Star Trek for dramatic bridge scenes is like criticizing The Twilight Zone for twist endings.
InThe Fifty - Year Mission : The Next 25 Years - From The Next Generation To J.J. Abramsby Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross , RobertBeltran explains that his greatest issues withStar Trek : Voyagercome from so - called"inviolable traditions " :
My greatest criticism of the show was these inviolable tradition . For example , scenes on the nosepiece were always the same : “ Captain , the shield are down . ” “ Well , reroute this , and we ’ll be well . ” “ Captain , we did that . Thank you , we ’re saved . ” And then manufacturing some kind of crisis on the bridge … but the interview knows we ’re coming back next week , so why spend an ungodly amount of time on the bridge circuit with this construct crisis when we know we ’re go to make it ? And maybe one of us will get knock out and will have to be taken to sickbay . “ Is he going to make it ? We do n’t know . We ’ll see after the commercial message . ” Well , of course we ’re going to make it , because we are lead to be back next hebdomad .
The things Beltran criticizes aboutStar Trek : Voyagerare the same thing that makeVoyagera comforting show . In other word , Voyager ’s routine is a feature , not a bug . The formula ofVoyager ’s sci - fi job follows the same tradition ofTOSandTNGbefore it . Star Trekcharacters confront seemingly insurmountable problems and pull round , often learning lessons and coming out stiff on the other side . The entireUSS Voyager crewis lost in the Delta Quadrant , far from Starfleet Command and easy answers , with only each other to trust on , but they always get through challenges . How is that not a reassuring metaphor for viewers uncertain about their own future ?
Could Serialization Have Fixed Star Trek: Voyager’s Problems?
Voyager’s minimal serialization focused on interpersonal stories, not epics.
Robert Beltran suggest that a deeper form of serialization may have made up for the formulaic presentation ofStar Trek : Voyager ’s weekly episodes . Once again , inThe Fifty - Year Mission : The Next 25 days , Beltran says :
They refused to allow anything to be serialize . I suppose it was their way of branch us from DS9.But you good have something as good . I think that they did have some good episodes here and there , but in general , I thought that it was a missed opportunity . The show could have been just , and I find , as just about everybody feels who catch the show , that it missed the possibility of something much big and much better .
It ’s possible tighter serialization could have helpedStar Trek : Voyagerbecome more compelling to a broad audience . serialisation was one ofStar Trek : Deep Space Nine ’s greatest force , and a natural moment of a setting that stayed in one place or else of incite on from each calendar week ’s dangerous undertaking . compare toDS9,Voyager ’s serialization was minimal , but it did exist . Voyager ’s arcs normally focused on character maturation and relationship , rather than exalted sweeping epos , and inVoyagerseason 4 , the USS Voyager made contact lens with the Alpha Quadrant via a Hirogen subspace relay station , kicking off subplots with the Hirogen and"letters from home"that wove throughout the season .
Star Trek : Voyageris by no way perfect , it is still a beloved entry in theStar Trekfranchise for fans who seek quilt in it .
It seems that Robert Beltran is looking back onVoyagerthrough a modern lens , after television has germinate a measure of realism that usually was n’t present whenVoyagerwas made . In the nineties , DS9 ’s cinematic serialization was the exception , not the norm , and a immense risk that was only potential because of the focus onVoyagerasStar Trek ’s new flagship show afterStar Trek : The Next Generationended . WhileStar Trek : Voyageris by no means perfect , it is however a darling entry in theStar Trekfranchise for fan who seek comfort in it , despite its issues , and in some cases , because of them .
root : The Fifty - Year Mission : The Next 25 age - From The Next Generation To J.J. Abramsby Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross
Cast
