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For the past few months I have noticed the volume increase of disatifaction
over the writing and plot developements of Star Trek: Voyager.  At first, I
tried to defend the show against knee-jerk critics who nitpick everything
to death.  But, it became a case of urinating against the wind as the cries
of unhappiness grew louder.

And then I started to see a pattern in the writing that some may have seen
as well, but have yet to comment on - so I will.  The first of my comments
will center on the lead role of Captain Kathryn Janeway, played by Kate
Mulgrew.

Even before Kate got the role of Kate, the fandom was at odds with her. A
*woman* as the captain of the newest starship-featured series?!?  With the
vast majority of the core audience being male, was that a risk the UPN-TV
executives *really* want to take?  Okay, so maybe the presence of Trek
Producer Jeri Taylor might help take some of the worry off of the production,
but did TPTB need to be this politically correct?

Okay.. everyone knows about choice #1, the walkout of choice #1 after a day
and a half of production, and the subsequent hiring of Mulgrew. The thing to
remember here is that the expectation level of the show was SO HIGH at that
point, one could possibly argue that there was nothing for Mulgrew to do,
save for do the best job that she could do.

Well, for the most part, Caretaker did what it was suppose to do - launch a
new TREK series and a new broadcast network. It basically was up to par with
DS9's Emissary, and much better than TNG's Encounter at Farpoint.  Janeway
was a sterling example of what a Starfleet captain should be: responsible,
resourceful, and unnerving.  Once she made a decision, she stuck to it. And
whether anyone agreed to it or not, Janeway was clearly in command.

The fandom seemed to want to have it both ways: great show, but DX the
captain's voice, the captain's hair, oh, the heck with it, just kill her
off and put a MAN in charge of the ship (re: the series).  For an
enlightened audience, their 20th Century prejudices seem to come out loud
and clear.  *sigh*

And then came the build up (I call it the Kirk/Shatner factor).  At the
expense of every other member of the ship, TPTB decided it necessary to make
Janeway larger than life.  To that end, stories came along that ultimately
took down each key cast member a peg...

Cmdr Chakotay - defies Janeway's authority in Manuevers

Lt Tuvok - mutinies against her in State of Flux and goes bonkers himself in
           Meld

Lt Paris - misbehaves with someone else's wife in Ex Post Facto, starts an
           illegal gambling operation in Meld, and starts a steady downfall
           of behavior from Dreadnought forward

Lt Torres - breaks Lt Carey's nose in Parallax, mutinies with Tuvok in State
            of Flux, and forced to destroy a Cardassian missile that she
            modified in the Alpha Quadrant in Dreadnought.

The Doctor - ease-drops on other crew members and ultimately questions his
           santity in Projections

We won't count Kes and Neelix as they are not technically part of the senior
staff.  And we won't count Seska and Jonas as we know they are the "heavies"
in the show.  But you get the idea.  Janeway can do no wrong from a moral
standpoint as the show goes.  The ONLY person who has yet to fall from grace
as it stands is Ensign Kim.  But the show is still young, heehee..

Sooner or later, Janeway is going to be forced to the proverbial dark side
of her nature and reveal herself to have feet of clay.  If that never occurs,
I suspect that the PC forces will look upon this as a victory of sorts, but
at the expense of showing Janeway's true humanity and all of her frailties.

The biggest problem with Voyager is its very premise: once you solve it, the
show is over.  And the status quo is such that *any* change could possibly
affect the life and length of the series.  Argh, the frustration of it all.
I suppose I could list the ways we can deal with this, but I gotta save
something for my next post! <g>

Stay Tuned...
Bryan

�ͻ  Bryan "Duke!" Wicks - theDittoheadTrekkieEchoHound
�ͼ  Internet: wicksb@stewart-emh4.army.mil -or- BryanWicks@aol.com

... Deja Moo: The feeling you've heard this bull before.