Welcome to the Hanspostcard TV Draft. I hope you will enjoy it! Today’s post was written by Mike at https://musiccitymike.net
Star Trek: Voyager
Let me begin by saying that I really don’t care much for science fiction. My family can confirm how I am on record for falling asleep in the movie theater for Star Wars and Lord of the Rings movies. I guess my brain finds little appeal for fantasy. So, what is it about Star Trek: Voyager that makes it different?
Well, this attraction started with Star Trek: The Next Generation which my family and I watched together and which I would likely pick as a favorite should there be a second round to this draft. Together, we binge-watched all of TNG on DVD, and in true geekiness, kept a spreadsheet where we rated each episode on a 1 to 5 scale. Our watching continued with Voyager, but our nerdom didn’t include the spreadsheet after Mom dropped out.
So, this leaves me to try and explain both how Star Trek overcome my disdain for sci-fi and why I favor (ever so slightly) Voyager over The Next Generation.
I guess what makes me somewhat of a Trekkie, is how these shows extend the history of our planet into the future and explore the unknown expanse of our galaxy. We see the development of technology (some of which has since come to pass) and experience the remarkable acceleration of the speed of travel (unlikely to ever happen). As a child, I always enjoyed books about the future and Trek provided me with a continuation of this fascination. Perhaps my attraction takes root in the fact that there is some probability to some of what is presented in Trek.
On the other hand, as the name itself implies, Star Wars focused more on wars and battles with much more emphasis on alien fantasy rather than the evolution of Earthlings.
As for The Next Generation, everything about it was fabulous and more than satisfied my needs. The casting was perfect, the technological advances were exciting and sometimes realistic, and the stories were fantastic. However, while the same can be said for Voyager, there was just something about it that attracted me even more.
As brilliant as Patrick Stewart was as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on TNG, so was Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway on Voyager. Let’s just stop there and call it even. Likewise, both casts matchup well with Data on TNG and Seven of Nine on Voyager getting the nods as my favorites. Touché again.
But perhaps what puts Voyager over the top is simply the passage of time, both fictionally in the scripts and, as to the tools available for filming. As to the former, Starfleet technology advanced especially in the use of the Holodeck, a recreational device in which crewmembers freely interacted in an imaginary setting of their choice. To the latter, TV special effects just got better and for the first time in the Trek series were enhanced through the use of CGI (“Computer Generated Images). TNG had made a giant leap however in this regard when compared to the original Star Trek series which at times often completely lost the feel of traveling through outer space.
Voyager lasted seven seasons (1995-2001). It started just after and ran concurrently with Deep Space Nine which failed to catch my fancy along with the other subsequent Trek series that have maintained the franchise. So, if like me, sci-fi is not your thing, like me, you might find enjoyment in Voyager. On the other hand, if you regularly attend Trekkie conventions, where do you rank Voyager amongst the Star Trek canon?
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Seven of Nine always held my interest and I couldn’t take my eyes off of Jeri Ryan.
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your first paragraph kind of sums up my attitudes too I’m afraid, so never seen this . But I agree that the overall concept of Star Trek is quite good and positive, I like that. I don’t mind watching an old, original series one now and again but it just seems wrong not to have Shatner and Nimoy in the new ones! Anyway, good writeup and I like how you approach it from almost a “non-fan” angle!
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I’m a huge original Star Trek fan…I do watch some of the others but I’m not a Trekkie… my love is focused on the original episodes. The stories are fantastic. I did watch The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and this one but wasn’t a regular viewer. I suppose one day I would like to give them a more thorough watch.
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Very recently, I watched for the first time in my life just two weeks ago (when we had a Netflix subscription!) the first two episodes (Pilot and Episode 1) of the original Star TV series. I really enjoyed them. It seems you did also Max. I hope to one day to see them all.
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I haven’t seen much beyond Captain Kirk series. I remember some of some of the rest and none of others. I am a big science fiction fan but just not enough hours in the day to watch everything I like.
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amen to that… a number of series presented here so far are new to me and look OK to very good but there are indeed just so many hours in the day.
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I am a devout Trekkie…no doubt. Star Trek, in its entirety, is the same age I am. I was nine days old when Kirk & crew appeared on NBC. Pike would remain unknown for several years.
I loved all of the ST series & movies. I’ve even enjoyed the Kelvin timeline movies, despite the re-imagining. I was beside myself over Quinto’s incredible channeling of Nimoy.
My rankings for ST series would be…1. TNG, 2. OS, 3. Voyager, 4. DSN & 5. Enterprise. I have no interest in the newer “woke” series. The previous series were cutting edge & groundbreaking but, they weren’t “in your face.” The latest series was born out of a backstory of the January 6 so-called “riot”, with all of society falling apart because of it. Oh, please… I want appealing stories, not politics.
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Science Fiction is a strange genre; many people love the Fantasy element and are quite at home 1000.000 light years from home, others only can stand being a few years in an alternative future, De Lorean/Doc Brown style. I’m a ‘life on Terra Firma, life as we know it down-to-earth kinda guy,’ sorry. ‘Star Trek’ and all that came after are all too much colourful costumes and and over-the-top sunglasses for me. (Hey, I guess my credibility as a critiquer can be shot down by any pure Sci-Fi fan when I admit to seeing the first Matrix and going ‘meh.’)
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I might add that although I did love the original Star Wars when it came out, (’77 I think), I was a little kid… since then, well, except for a scene or two not much of the series has grabbed me. I’ve been known to fall asleep watching some of the newer ones in the series when with someone who really wanted to see ’em
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