As much as I love Star Trek, I've been slow to warm up to Voyager. For a
while, I wanted to change the name of Voyager to Been There, Done That. Many
of the plots were too reminiscent of Next Generation for my taste. And every
time Kate Mulgrew delivered her lines as Captain Janeway, I couldn't help but
see the lovable Mrs. Columbo. I tuned in sporadically during the first few seasons and entertained myself
by identifying parallels between Voyager and past Treks. However, some time
during season five, Voyager came alive for me. The feedback loop was broken,
and Voyager left a genuine warp signature on my collective unconscious.
"Dark Frontier," the two hour movie event which played during May sweeps,
definitely caught my attention. I also loved the bittersweet connection
between the Doctor and Seven of Nine in "Someone to Watch Over Me." And who
could forget "Timeless" and Garrett Wang's epic performance as a tormented
Ensign Kim trying to correct his mistake 15 years in the future… a mistake
which cost the lives of the entire Voyager crew except for Chakotay?
"Bring on Season 6" was my mantra this summer. "Equinox," the two part
cliffhanger/ premiere, blew open the new season with an intriguing premise.
Would another Starfleet Captain and crew trapped in the Delta Quadrant
(several thousand light years from home), behave with the same principled
devotion to Starfleet ideals and the Prime Directive as Janeway and her crew?
This is such a delicious premise that I'm surprised it wasn't explored
earlier in the series.
John Savage, who played Captain Ransom (aptly named) of the Starship Equinox,
gave a startling performance. He evenhandedly portrayed the depths of
Ransom's cruelty, desperation and sad compassion. This was a complex role to
nail. In the hands of a less able actor, it would have tanked. But Savage
was compelling as he revealed the tragic choices and the dark secrets of
Equinox's history in the Delta Quadrant.
Kate Mulgrew absolutely bristled as an infuriated Captain Janeway who had
finally met her nemesis in Captain Ransom, a Starfleet leader who would kill
to get his crew home a little faster. Scratch all comments about Mulgrew as
the lovable Mrs. Columbo. To be honest, Mulgrew's Janeway scared me. It
was breathtaking to watch her become unhinged with rage and cruelly effective
in the same moment. Mulgrew had the courage to not hold back, to not protect
her character. And we, the viewers, got our rich reward: an emotional study
of leadership and how one slight imbalance in character can destroy an
organization and the lives dependent on it… and not dependent on it as was
the case of the hapless aliens Ransom murdered.
My only disappointment were the aliens themselves… they looked a little too
cartoonish, and I fear they won't hold up over time considering the rapid advances in special effects wizardry. I anticipate that some twelve
year old will be able to duplicate this work ten years from now . I know
the Star Trek makers have been criticized for having too many human looking
aliens, but human looking aliens may have served this story line well.
Back to the story… Voyager's second-in-command, Chakotay, also turned my
head. In the face of Janeway's pride and anger, he simply let go and let her
have her way. He wisely knew there was no quicker way to bring a wayward
leader to her senses. And when it was all over, he was there to help her
hang the ship's battle worn placard in its rightful place.
The only thing missing in this richly, dark premiere were comments about feet
of clay. But that would have been overstating the case for a series that
truly honors the Trek legacy. Season 6? Engage!
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"Star
Trek: Voyager - Season 6? Engage!!!"
