Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a
science fiction television series set in the
Star Trek universe. It was produced for seven seasons from
1995 to
2001, and is the only Star Trek series to have a female
captain,
Kathryn Janeway, as a lead character. The show was a spinoff of
Star Trek: The Next Generation and
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and was created by
Rick Berman,
Michael Piller, and
Jeri Taylor. The show was based on
Star Trek, created by
Gene Roddenberry. It is sometimes shortened to
ST:VOY or
VOY,
VGR or
ST:VGR.
The series follows the adventures of the
USS Voyager and her crew who become stranded in the
Delta Quadrant, seventy thousand
light-years from
Earth. At warp-speed, it will take Voyager seventy-five years to return to the
Alpha Quadrant, and more specifically, Earth.
In the pilot episode, "
Caretaker",
Voyager is sent on a mission to locate a ship piloted by a cell of the
Maquis, a terrorist organization created in protest of a treaty between the Federation and
Cardassians.
Tom Paris (a former member of the Maquis) is brought out of prison to help find the ship, and discovers that his reputation as a troublemaker has turned the ship's First Officer and Medical Officer against him. During a chase through the dangerous
Badlands, both ships are transported to the other side of the galaxy by an ancient alien known as the Caretaker. While being pulled across the galaxy, several members of
Voyager's crew are killed, including the ship's first officer and all medical staff including the ship's doctor.
Both ships are attacked by
Kazon raiders intent on capturing the Caretaker's Array. Rather than using the Caretaker's Array to return home,
Captain Janeway decides to destroy it to prevent it from being misused.
The raiders destroy the Maquis ship, but not before its crew are able to transport safely to
Voyager. The
Starfleet and Maquis crews are forced to integrate and work together as they begin the long journey home.
Chakotay, the leader of the Maquis group, becomes first officer.
B'Elanna Torres, a half-human, half-Klingon female, becomes chief engineer, beating Lieutenant Carey, a Starfleet crewman who would have been promoted to the position. The Vulcan
Tuvok is revealed to be a spy on the Marquis ship under the command of captain Janeway and resumes his duties as a security officer. The Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH Mark I), designed for short term use only, becomes ship's doctor after the death of the entire medical staff. In the Delta Quadrant the crew gain new additions to the crew such as
Neelix (a member of the Talaxian race that was nearly wiped out and scattered through out the galaxy) and
Kes (member of the Ocampa race that lives with the aid of the entity known as the Caretaker). Along the way home, the crew must contend with the organ-snatching
Vidiians, the relentless
Borg, and the extra-dimensional
Species 8472.
The Voyager returns home in the series finale
Endgame.
The conflict between the fiercely independent Maquis revolutionaries and the by-the-book Starfleet crew is a central theme of the first season, but by the second season, it has largely been worked out. Only Janeway remains anguished for the entire run of the series over the consequences of her decision to destroy their only known way home.
Voyager continues the themes presented in the
original Star Trek series and
Star Trek: The Next Generation, such as explorations of space and of the
human condition. It also demonstrates
democratic principles (peace, openness, freedom, cooperation, and sharing) and philosophical issues such as the sense of self and what it means to be human. In the Star Trek series, the examination of humanity is typically explored by contrasting non-human characters with human ones (for instance, the
Earth-born
Kirk and
McCoy against the
Vulcan Spock). On
Voyager, these non-humans include the
Emergency Medical Hologram (The
Doctor), who is actually a computer program,
Vulcan security officer
Tuvok, Talaxian
Neelix, half
Klingon/half Human B'Elanna Torres, Ocampa
Kes, and the former
Borg drone
Seven of Nine (although, biologically speaking, Seven is
Human; having been a Borg drone for most of her life means that she has not developed normal human behavior patterns when she first becomes part of
Voyager's crew).
Voyager was probably more reminiscent of the
original Star Trek series than
Star Trek: The Next Generation (although greatly technologically advanced, the size of the ship is almost identical to the
original series'
Constitution class Enterprise. Seven of Nine's post also grew similar to that of Science Officer, as held by Spock in the
original series.) The show was often grittier than
Star Trek: The Next Generation, with the members of the thrown-together crew often clashing in ways that would have been almost unthinkable on Picard's Enterprise.
Another of Voyager's distinguishing elements is the departure from the "best and the brightest" theme of
Star Trek: The Next Generation in particular. Rather than a group of ace Starfleet Academy graduates, the characters in this series included an ex-convict, former freedom fighters, a notably unseasoned captain, and an unusually militant
Vulcan. As a full-blooded Vulcan, Tuvok did not suffer from Spock's angst regarding his "half-breed" status and was consequently impatient with the emotions of those around him. Also, as head of security, he was more likely to suggest an aggressive course of action. Compared to the
Next Generation characters, the Voyager crew on the whole had more personal issues, with Torres struggling with her Klingon/human heritage, Paris working to overcome his criminal past, Neelix haunted by memories of his race's near-extinction, and so on.
The most common plot theme is the implications of being stranded far from home.
Voyager has only limited resources and no easy way to replenish them; its crew is cut off from the normal chain of command and institutions of its society. Janeway often expresses that though they are cut off from Starfleet, it is still their duty to live by Starfleet values and regulations, and this philosophy often brings her into conflict with Chakotay, Tuvok and other members of her crew who are more willing to make compromises in order to get home. Their situation frequently faces them with difficult choices of necessity versus idealism. Unlike the other Star Trek series, the crew of the Voyager cannot just stop at a starbase for repair or resupply. They often have to make trades with alien cultures or find completely new solutions to unforeseeable problems. They are also stuck with each other, which makes for new plot twists - for example, shipboard romances are not discouraged - but it also means that promotions are very rare, leading to some resentments. To overcome their
claustrophobia the crew rely on the
holodeck more than other
Starfleet crews, with some of their holodeck adventures becoming ongoing plotlines, such as Tom Paris'
Captain Proton serial, or Janeway's recurring trips to the home of
Leonardo da Vinci. Most of these recurring holodeck stories end up behaving in very unexpected (and sometimes dangerous) ways due to alien interference or holodeck malfunction.
The reception from Star Trek fans has been mixed. Its ratings were lower than those of
Deep Space Nine which, in turn, were not as high as those of
Star Trek: The Next Generation. There was speculation that
Voyager and
Deep Space Nine would compete for viewers.
One obstacle that the show faced was that
Voyager was the first Trek series to air on a single
television network (rather than be
syndicated) since the original series. This factor stripped
Voyager's writers and producers of a certain amount of creative control. UPN wanted the show to feature more action than previous iteration of Star Trek, and ongoing storylines were discouraged.
The central character of Captain
Kathryn Janeway brought praise and criticism. Although female captains had been featured as guest characters in each of the previous Star Trek series, as well as in several theatrical movies, Janeway was the first female character to star in a Star Trek series in the role of captain. Some women who watched the show claimed Captain Janeway as a role model, and many male viewers also admired her. But while Kate Mulgrew's acting on the show was often regarded as superb, some (including short term writer
Ronald D. Moore) criticized what they saw as the inconsistent command style of Captain Janeway and Mulgrew's rather regal manner was not universally admired. (It is notable that Janeway preferred to be called "Captain" or "Ma'am", although Starfleet captains are generally called "sir" regardless of their gender.) While Janeway was generally a more empathetic captain than the
Trek norm, she was also capable of aggression when the occasion demanded and was very definite about maintaining her authority when other characters overstepped their bounds.
Voyager fans praised the show's humor, which usually resulted from "odd couple" character pairings. The contrast between
Neelix and
Vulcan security officer
Tuvok was often featured, as was the contrast between hot-headed Chief Engineer (
B'Elanna Torres) and calm and cool assimilated
Borg (
Seven of Nine): "The Borg wouldn't know fun [even] if they assimilated an amusement park." The Doctor's angst and frustration over his development and treatment as a hologram is also often played for laughs, although it is also often the source for drama.
Because
Voyager had such a specific premise, it was subject to criticism when it frequently violated its own continuity, and failed to support that premise. In the series' sixth episode, one character declares that the ship has a non-replaceable supply of 38
photon torpedoes, but by the end of the series' run a minimum of 93 have been fired (
fansite). These extra torpedoes were never explained. Others have pointed out the fifteen shuttlecraft lost by the crew (on a ship that, according to the show's
"bible", carries only two). There are also inconsistencies in trans-warp theory, Borg technology and technological supremacy over the Federation, and astrometric data. Even the color of the trans-warp conduits changed between the episode entitled "Dark Frontier" and the series' finale, "Endgame." In addition, aliens that Voyager encountered thousands of light-years away would reappear on the show. For example, in the seventh season episode entitled "Homestead", Voyager encounters a Talaxian colony deep in the Delta Quadrant. The Talaxians claim they fled the war that tore their planet apart and created this colony. However, their homeworld is 40 thousand light-years away from the colony, meaning it would have taken them forty years to travel that distance. However, it only took them about five.
Fans have also complained about the series' use of the
reset button technique, wherein plot points critical to an episode are suddenly negated at the end of the episode, returning all characters to status quo ante. Examples of the reset button include the "
Year of Hell" two-parter, "
Time and Again", "
Living Witness", and "
Course: Oblivion". Related to the reset button and factual continuity issues, fans have also objected to the manner by which an episode ends with some life-changing occurrence for a character, only to have that character casually dismiss or not even acknowledge the event's implications in the next episode. Perhaps the most egregious example of such a plot inconsistency is the "
Unimatrix Zero" two-parter, where Janeway, Torres, and Tuvok are assimilated into the Borg collective. In contrast to
Jean-Luc Picard, who continued to suffer ill effects from his brush with assimilation, Janeway, Torres, and Tuvok do not seem to suffer any long-term trauma. Another example is "
Deadlock", where Harry Kim and Naomi Wildman die but are replaced by different versions of themselves who come through a rift in space-time. (The
DS9 episode "
Visionary" dealt with a similar plot contrivance.) Another episode begins with Commander Chakotay en route in a shuttle to attend a planetary conference, but it was not established how he heard about it if he was in a ship that was just passing through.
Voyager 's ratings declined throughout its run, yet aired for seven full seasons.
Voyager had to compete with the critically-acclaimed
Star Trek:Deep Space Nine and reruns of the other
Star Trek series, which were widely airing in syndication at the time. During
Voyager's run, science-fiction fandom grew increasingly dismissive of
Trek in general, with escalating criticisms that the franchise was getting tired. It is debatable whether
Voyager was a factor in this situation or a victim of it. Many fans saw the addition of the
Seven of Nine character as a condescending attempt to pander to a wider audience by giving the show a sexier edge.
Star Trek fans remain sharply divided on
Voyager 's contribution to the Trek mythos.
One prominent critic of
Voyager was
The Next Generation and
Deep Space Nine writer
Ronald D. Moore, who felt the show failed to live up to its potential following its premise of a lone starship with limited supplies stranded in deep space and trying to journey to Earth. His own remake of
Battlestar Galactica tackles a somewhat similar storyline in a very different manner. Moore had been a co-executive producer of the show, but departed after a public falling-out with executive producer
Brannon Braga. [
1] Many fans were dissatisfied by Braga's stewardship of the
Voyager franchise, particularly after it became known that he and
Jeri Ryan were romantically involved.
Main characters
Recurring characters
| Actor | Role | Appearances |
|---|
| Anthony De Longis | First Maje Culluh, leader of the Kazon-Nistrim | Seasons 1–3 |
| Martha Hackett | Ensign Seska, a Cardassian agent | Seasons 1–3 and 7 |
| Alexander Enberg | Ensign Vorik, a Vulcan | Seasons 3–5 and 7 |
| Scarlett Pomers | Naomi Wildman, the first child born on Voyager | Seasons 2–7 |
| Tarik Ergin | Lieutenant Ayala | Seasons 1–7 |
| John Tempoya | Nozawa Kashimuro | Seasons 1–4 and 7 |
| Nancy Hower | Ensign Samantha Wildman, Naomi's mother | Seasons 2–6 |
| Josh Clark | Lieutenant Joseph Carey | Seasons 1 and 5–7 |
| Simon Billig | Lieutenant Hogan | Seasons 2 and 3 |
| Christine Delgado | Lieutenant Susan Nicoletti | Seasons 1–4 and 7 |
| Dwight Schultz | Lieutenant Reginald Barclay | Seasons 2 and 6–7 |
| Raphael Sbarge | Ensign Michael Jonas | Season 2 |
| Tom Virtue | Lieutenant Walter Baxter | Seasons 1–2 and 7 |
| Manu Intiraymi | Icheb, formerly a Borg drone | Season 7 |
| Alice Krige / Susanna Thompson | The Borg Queen | Seasons 5–7 |
| Marley S. McClean | Mezoti | Seasons 6–7 |
| Cody Wetherill | Rebi | Seasons 6–7 |
| Kurt Wetherill | Azan | Seasons 6–7 |
| Brad Dourif | Ensign Lon Suder, convicted of murder | Seasons 2–3 |
| Brian Markinson | Lieutenant Peter Durst | Season 1 |
| Zoe McLellan | Crewman Tal Celes | Season 6 |
| John de Lancie | Q, galactic gadfly | Seasons 2–3 and 7 |
| Martin Rayner | Doctor Chaotica | Seasons 5 and 7 |
| Allan G. Royal / Bruce McGill | Captain Braxton, Starfleet captain from the 29th century | Seasons 3 and 5 |
| Warren Munson / Richard Herd | Admiral Owen Paris, father of Tom Paris | Seasons 2 and 5–7 |
| John Rhys-Davies | Leonardo da Vinci | Seasons 3–4 |
One-time, cameos or infrequent spots
*
Deanna Troi (
Marina Sirtis)
*
William Riker (
Jonathan Frakes)
*
Quark (
Armin Shimerman)
*
Geordi La Forge (
LeVar Burton)
* Ambassador Tomin (
Scott Thompson)
*
Arridor (
Dan Shor)
*
Arturis (
Ray Wise)
*
Boothby (
Ray Walston)
* Crewman
Chell (
Derek McGrath)
*
Q2, Son of galactic
gadfly Q, (
Keegan de Lancie)
* Extra on Episode 36: ''Investigations (
King Abdullah II of Jordan)
*
The Rock, as a professional fighter in the Episode "Tsunkatse"
* Kurros (
Jason Alexander) in the 20th episode of season 5 "Think Tank" (Production-number 214)
*
Andy Dick, as
Emergency Medical Hologram, Mk. II in the episode "Message in a Bottle" (Season 4, Ep. 14)
*
Tom Morello, from
Rage Against the Machine and
Audioslave, as Crewman Mitchell in one episode.
* Tierna (
John Gegenhuber) in "
Basics, Part I"
* Kelat (
John Gegenhuber) in "Alliances" and "Maneuvers"
Recurring alien races
See also List of Star Trek racesAlien races listed below have been featured or appeared in more than one episode. This list excludes episodes having plots significantly involving a non-human series regular or recurring character unless aspects of that character's alien heritage are profoundly explored or otherwise relevant.
| Race | Episodes of appearances |
|---|
| Borg"Blood Fever","Unity","Scorpion, Part 1 & 2","The Gift","The Raven","The Omega Directive","Living Witness","One","Hope and Fear","Drone","Infinite Regress","Dark Frontier, Part 1 & 2","Survival Instinct","Collective","Child's Play","Unimatrix Zero, Part 1 & 2","Imperfection","Shattered","Q2","Endgame" |
| Ferengi | "Caretaker", "False Profits", "Inside Man" |
| The Hierarchy | "Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy", "The Void", "Renaissance Man" |
| Hirogen | "Message in a Bottle", "Hunters", "Prey", "The Killing Game, Part 1 & 2", "Tsunkatse", "Flesh and Blood, Part 1 & 2" |
| Kazon | "Caretaker", "State of Flux", "Initiations", "Maneuvers", "Alliances", "Investigations", "Basics, part 1 & 2", |
| Klingon | "Day of Honor", "Barge of the Dead", "Prophecy" |
| Krenim | "Before and After", "Year of Hell, Part 1 & 2" |
| Malon | "Night", "Extreme Risk", "Think Tank", "Juggernaut" |
| Nacene | "Caretaker", "Cold Fire" |
| Ocampa | "Caretaker", "Cold Fire", "Fury" |
| Q | "Death Wish", "The Q and the Grey", "Q2" |
| Species 8472 | "Scorpion" (Parts 1 & 2), "Prey", "In the Flesh" |
| Talaxian | "Basics" (Parts 1 & 2), "Fair Trade", "Homestead" |
| Vidiian | "Phage", "Faces", "Lifesigns", "Deadlock", "Fury" |
In the wake of a successful series of original novels collectively known as the
Deep Space Nine relaunch, featuring stories placed after the end of
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a similar relaunch was planned with regards to
Voyager, with novels based upon events occurring following the end of the series. In the relaunch, several characters are reassigned to other posts, some new characters are introduced (such as Kaz, the new
Trill ship's doctor),
Kathryn Janeway is promoted to
Admiral, and
Chakotay is promoted to Captain of Voyager. Most of the other characters are promoted two steps in rank (for example,
Ensign Harry Kim is promoted directly to full
lieutenant, and
Tom Paris is promoted from
Lieutenant junior grade to
Lieutenant Commander) to make up for time spent in the
Delta Quadrant where they could not normally receive promotions.
So far, only a few Voyager Relaunch novels have been published, beginning with
Homecoming and
The Farther Shore in 2003. More novels are planned, both in the Relaunch and also other novels set during the original 7-season run of the show.
In November '04 Pocket books published Spirit Walk [Book One], closely followed a month later by Spirit Walk [Book Two]. The stories are based on the Star Trek Voyager episode 'Tattoo'; however, they are set in the Alpha Quadrant when Captain Chakotay has been sent on assignment to transport a set of colonists back to the planet of Loran II.
*
Kate Mulgrew (
Captain Kathryn Janeway),
Robert Beltran (
Chakotay),
Tim Russ (
Tuvok), and
Robert Duncan McNeill (
Tom Paris) are the only actors to appear in every episode of the series.
*
Roxann Dawson,
Robert Duncan McNeill,
Robert Picardo,
Tim Russ, TNG stars
LeVar Burton and
Jonathan Frakes, and recurring DS9 player
Andrew Robinson all have had a hand at directing episodes of the series. Dawson, McNeill, and Burton have also directed episodes of
Enterprise. McNeill has since directed in several TV shows including
Dawson's Creek,
The O.C.,
Las Vegas,
One Tree Hill,
Dead Like Me,
Summerland,
Supernatural, and
Desperate Housewives.
*Several famous guest stars have included
Sharon Lawrence,
Saro Mardikian,
Andy Dick,
Jason Alexander,
Michael McKean,
Sarah Silverman,
John Rhys-Davies,
Virginia Madsen,
The Rock,
McKenzie Westmore of
Passions, TNG stars
Jonathan Frakes,
Marina Sirtis,
LeVar Burton,
John de Lancie, and
Dwight Schultz, DS9 star
Armin Shimerman, and
George Takei and
Grace Lee Whitney from
the original series of the late 1960s.
*Robert Duncan McNeill appeared in the
Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The First Duty" as Nick Locarno, a Starfleet cadet expelled for covering up a classmate's death in a banned aerobatic stunt. Locarno was originally planned to return as part of the
Voyager cast, but a similar character was created instead - officially because Locarno was felt to be beyond redemption. Unofficially, McNeill was cast as Tom Paris rather than Locarno to avoid paying royalties to the writers of "The First Duty" every time Locarno was in an episode.
*
Ethan Phillips appeared as a
Ferengi in a
Star Trek: Enterprise episode, as a different Ferengi in
Ménage à Troi (TNG episode) and as a
maitre d' in the film
Star Trek: First Contact.
*
Tim Russ played the character Devor in the
Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Starship Mine", and also played Tuvok in a mirror universe on the
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Through The Looking Glass". Also, he appeared as a human on the bridge of the
Enterprise-B in the film
Star Trek: Generations and as a Klingon named T'kar in the
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "
Invasive Procedures". This makes him the actor to have stood beside the most captains in Star Trek history. In addition, he auditioned for the role of
Geordi La Forge on
Star Trek: The Next Generation, but did not receive it. Russ is the first African American to play a Vulcan, and thus Tuvok is the first black Vulcan seen in the
Star Trek universe. [
2]
*
King Abdullah II of Jordan, a well-known
Star Trek fan, appeared as an extra in the episode "
Investigations". Abdullah's role was not given any speaking lines because he is not a member of the
Screen Actors Guild.
|
Genevieve Bujold as Nicole Janeway |
*
The Doctor utters several lines that recall
Doctor McCoy's famous "I'm a Doctor, not a ..." quips. In "Phage", he says, "I'm a doctor, not a decorator." In "Gravity", he says, "I'm a doctor, not a battery," and in "Bliss", he says, "I'm a doctor, not a dragon slayer." Perhaps most famously, in
Star Trek: First Contact, when asked to halt the approach of the Borg in
sickbay, he says, "I'm a doctor, not a doorstop." This would possibly emanate from the Doctor's programming, which, as the doctor mentions several times, includes procedures and personality from Dr. Leonard McCoy, among others. (By the same token, Tom Paris also follows this pattern with the line, "I'm a pilot, not a doctor.")
*
Kate Mulgrew (
Captain Kathryn Janeway) was cast in the series after the original star,
Quebecoise film actress
Geneviève Bujold, quit after one day of filming citing exhaustion and incompatibility with television filming.
*This was the first program ever to air on the
UPN network. The "network" was a loose association of locally owned and operated stations that officially became
UPN when the first episode began to air at 8:00 p.m. on
January 16,
1995.
*
List of Star Trek: Voyager episodes*
Star Trek: Voyager at StarTrek.com
*
*
Star Trek: Voyager at TrekCore.com - Includes archive of over 50,000 DVD Screencaps from the show
