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The Star Trek franchise has gone through a lot since its creation in the late 1960s, having been canceled and negatively portrayed time and time again within popular culture. Despite the shows setting a groundbreaking precedence for space-faring science fiction, each iteration into the franchise has been met with mixed reviews. There have been negative responses to the first season of The Next Generation and even The Original Series, some of their episodes not aging well. Bearing the brunt of much of this negativity is the Voyager series, which many believe to be one of the worst iterations into the franchise. But does it really deserve it?

For many, the answer is yes. Fans dislike the show for its unimaginative storytelling, and some of the most inane episodes, some so bad they have been written out of canon. It is not all bad, however. For many who persevered through the bad stuff, and forgave the writers for getting rid of Kes, there are a lot of good things about the show. For one, the storyline, while many found it repetitive, was one of the most interesting long-running story arcs Star Trek has come up with. After being cast deep into the Delta quadrant, the crew of the USS Voyager, captained by the questionably ethical captain Kathryn Janeway, must face the harsh truth that they may never return home, as the journey is estimated to take a whopping 75 years. This sense of desperation, and true isolation in a quadrant entirely unknown, feels exciting even upon re-watching the show now. There is a deep-rooted sadness each and every crew member must face, but the strength to keep on going regardless is admirable.

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Some describe Voyager as true Star Trek, removed somewhat from the Federation politics the other shows of the time were obsessing over. Instead, it focused on various different challenges that were thrown at the crew each and every episode. There were overarching themes and storylines in addition to the “get home” narrative, but each episode felt truly episodic, and contained a little more fun and excitement than a lot of the other shows. It was a true voyage into the unknown, something The Original Series (and the new Stragne New Worlds series) did really well, but The Next Generation, whose premise was still to explore and seek out new life, somehow lost this feeling.

Star Trek USS Voyager

This caused some criticism, however. Many complained that it was like a reset button had been pressed at the end of each episode. Shuttles were magically fixed, warp drives back in perfect working order, and the hull with not a scratch on it, no matter what damage had happened previously. But then again, this was the point. Voyager strived to have more self-contained storylines, where viewers could jump in and out and still follow what was going on.

Another thing fans enjoyed about Voyager was the genuine friendships and camaraderie between the characters. There was a strange sense of distance present within the crew of the iconic USS Enterprise D under the command of Picard. Audiences felt they knew the characters well, only to discover some massive backstory or element to their personality that was never truly addressed. Worf is a great example. His demeanor, reserved personality, and strange association with Klingon culture were only truly explored during the Deep Space 9 series, despite his pivotal presence in TNG. On Voyager however, audiences knew and loved characters in and out, from the fairly annoying ones such as Neelix, to the surprisingly deep and rich character of the holographic doctor.

There was often a great sense of triumph found when the crew aboard Voyager would band together to solve a problem, something made even more satisfying considering that they are all very different people. Most of the crew aboard the various other ships in the Star Trek franchise are all different, yes — after all, diversity and acceptance was an important aspect for the shows' creator Gene Roddenberry. But in most shows, the crew were all there because they had a deep-rooted passion for Starfleet, and a drive that propelled them forward, pioneering the Federation mindset.

Chakotay, Voyager

On board Voyager, however, it might be easy to forget that half the crew are not even official Starfleet officers. They are Maquis, a band of rebels/freedom fighters who got trapped in the Delta quadrant with Voyager. They donned the uniforms and became Starfleet crew after the two captains, Janeway and Chakotay, realized the only way to survive was to join forces. This duality in mindsets, personalities, and drives are what makes the crew on board the ship special. They are longer carbon copies of each other; rather, a mismatched array of polar opposites banding together to not just survive, but create a better crew. Some complain that the juxtaposition between Maquis and Starfleet had a massive build up in TNG and DS9, only to be perfectly ironed out by episode 4 of Voyager. However, the tensions are always there, bubbling under the surface, and boil over sporadically when professionalism has a day off.

At the end of the day, Voyager has received its fair share of flack, seemingly more recently now than it did while it was being made. Looking back at it now and comparing it with the lens of foresight, there is a lot wrong with it. But at the time, it was an exciting and fresh adventure that worked perfectly alongside DS9, the two shows airing at the same time for a while. DS9 was gritty, and real, a station where it was impossible to be a saint. It focused on war and the fine line between being a good person, and doing what must be done to save countless lives. Voyager was a breath of fresh air, a much lighter show. Audiences needed that levity in order to associate Star Trek with more than just political warfare and complex moral questions. If modern day audiences can see past the grievances they have, they might just uncover a hidden gem.

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