25 years Star-Trek-Voyager — critical-constructive
Regular readers of my blog know that there are 2 things I like very much and adress regularly:
For several Star-Trek-series, especially for “The Next Generation” and “Deep Space Nine”, as well as for Babylon-5, I to each of them have already written 2 anniversary-tributes.
For Voyager (VOY) I leave it at 1 big tribute, the on of its 20th anniversary from 2015. But as this series turns 25 years today on the 16th January 2020, I contribute a supplementary-post.
Specifically, I would like to:
- once again point on my 2015 blog-entry, which still is up to date and certainly still exciting :-)
- make a few more supplements that have evolved in the last 5 years.
So here Uli’s additions to Star Trek: Voyager from the years 2015–2019:
- Already mentioned last time however I would like to reiterate that there have been many particularly interesting episodes to me especially in season-1.
Survival in far off alien territories combined with the Starfleet-Maquis-conflict makes Voyager unique in the Star Trek universe. - I also like the changing pathway of the “front-line” within the Voyager Crew particularly well.
While at the serie’s beginning, with the crystallisation-point of the deceased chief-engineer’s succession, the conflict-lines clearly run between Starfleet and Maquis, these change completely soon after.
For the chance to get technology that can bring the Voyager home, contrary to Federation law, Maquis as well as Starfleet crew-members then cooperate against Captain Janeway. - But I am also one of those voices who think that the Starfleet Maquis conflict in the series has not escalated enough and ended too quickly.
The episode “Learning Curve”, where Tuvok sweats rebellious Maquis-members hard and finally all of them achieve a viable working relationship, was pretty much the only episode where the cold conflict got hot.
You could have gotten more out of this, so a lost opportunity.
Apart from that, since 2018, I have also presented 2–3 Voyager episodes to friends of mine as part of movie- and series-nights — and they really enjoyed it.
Episodes like:
* „ Lifesigns”, with the background of true love
* „ Sacred Ground”, with the topic religion versus science
* „ Great War “, about propaganda through falsifying history by victors
are excellent for making people think about current issues from the real world.
Finally, I can only repeat my conclusion from 2015 that Star Trek: Voyager is not one of the very best, but one of the really good science-fiction-series. Still also in 2020.
Congratulations on the 25th anniversary!
Originally published at http://critical-constructive.over-blog.com on January 16, 2020.
