Star Trek: Voyager 25th Anniversary Book Warps In For November Release
Twenty-five years ago, the Intrepid class USS Voyager (NCC-74656) departed Deep Space Nine on a mission to sort out those pesky ex-federation Marquis, only to find themselves up the Delta quadrant without a warp core (they had one but you get the point). Star Trek: Voyager first aired January 16, 1995 and ran for a total of seven seasons (172 episodes), finishing on May 2 3, 2001. It is the 3rd spin-off from the original Star Trek series back in 1966-1969.
ST:V followed Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) who finds herself stranded in the Delta quadrant 70,000 light years from home, when an alien know as the Caretaker transports it from the Aloha quadrant. Janeway is aided in her mission to get back home by a joining of Marquis and Federation crew including Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran), Commander Tuvok (Tim Russ), Lieutenant Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill), Chief Engineer B’Lanna Torres (Roxanne Dawson), The Doctor (Robert Picardo), Neexlix (Ethan Phillips), Kes (Jennifer Lien) Ensign Harry Kim (Garret Wang) and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan).
ST:V, for me, was a bit hit or miss. I think this show came about when the early days of Star Trek fatigue were starting to seep in through the cracks. There were some great characters, some good and a few I could have done without, and that incudes certain members of the main cast. There was also plenty of strong episodes, for the most part. That being said, on a recent re-watch of the series, I realized (much like DS9) that many of the episodes just felt like series fillers, and it seemed to me that new ideas were very thinly stretched. There’s no denying that Jeri Ryan’s character of Seven of Nine was brought in to sex-up the series, as the ratings had never really been that strong, and for a while it worked. However, it’s important to point out what a great character Seven was and how Ryan worked so well with her. Whilst I did enjoy most of the episodes that featured Seven, it was quite obvious that ST:V was still a wholly weak series from start to finish that had just enough great Start Trek moments to keep me interested and warrant a re-watch.
For those that are huge fans of the series, you’ll be pleased to know that a book celebrating the release of the 25th anniversary of the series, titled Star Trek Voyager - A Celebration, is due to be released on November 17, 2020. A Celebration is based on more than 30 new interviews, featuring the nine principal cast members, including Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, and Robert Picardo, and key behind-the-scenes personnel who reveal the stories and secrets behind the show.
You can also follow Garret Wang’s and Robert Duncan McNiell’s podast The Delta Flyers, where the two break down each episode of ST:V and take you behind the scenes.
