Star Trek: Voyager

For the Voyager space probe from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, see V'ger.
Star Trek: Voyager
Created by
Based on Star Trek
by Gene Roddenberry
Starring
Theme music composer Jerry Goldsmith
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 7
No. of episodes 172 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)

Showrunners

Camera setup Single-camera
Running time 45 minutes
Production company(s) Paramount Network Television
Distributor CBS Television Distribution
Release
Original network UPN
Picture format NTSC (SDTV)
Audio format
Original release January 16, 1995 (1995-01-16) – May 23, 2001 (2001-05-23)
Chronology
Preceded by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Followed by Star Trek: Enterprise
Related shows Star Trek TV series
External links
Star Trek: Voyager at StarTrek.com

Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series, set in the Star Trek universe.

The series takes place during the years 2371 to 2377, and begins on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy, 70,000 light-years from Earth. It follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant while searching for a renegade Maquis ship.[1] Voyager has to make the estimated 75-year journey home.

The series was created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor, and is the fifth incarnation of Star Trek, which began with the 1960s series Star Trek: The Original Series that was created by Gene Roddenberry. It was produced for seven seasons, from 1995 to 2001, and is the first and only Star Trek TV series with a female captain, Kathryn Janeway (played by Kate Mulgrew), as the lead character. Berman served as head executive producer in charge of the overall production for the series during its entire run. He was assisted by a second in command executive producer who generally functioned as the day to day showrunner. There were four throughout the series' run: Michael Piller (EP/showrunner – first and second season), Jeri Taylor (EP – first through fourth season, showrunner – third and fourth season), Brannon Braga (EP/showrunner – fifth and sixth season), and Kenneth Biller (EP/showrunner – seventh season).

Star Trek: Voyager aired on UPN and was the network's second longest-running series.

Production

As Star Trek: The Next Generation ended, Paramount Pictures wanted to continue to have a second Star Trek TV series to accompany Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The studio also planned to start a new television network, and wanted the new series to help it succeed.[2] This was reminiscent of Paramount's earlier plans to launch its own network by showcasing Star Trek: Phase II in 1977.

Initial work on Star Trek: Voyager started in 1993, when the seventh and final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the second season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine were in production. The development of the seventh Star Trek film, Star Trek Generations, and seeds for the show's backstory, including the development of the Maquis, were placed in several The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine episodes. Voyager was shot on the stages The Next Generation had used, and where the Voyager pilot "Caretaker" was shot in September 1994. Costume designer Robert Blackman's decided that the uniforms of Voyager's crew would be the same as those on Deep Space Nine.

Star Trek: Voyager was the first Star Trek series to use computer-generated imagery (CGI), rather than models, for exterior space shots. seaQuest DSV and Babylon 5 had previously used CGI to avoid the expense of models, but the Star Trek TV department continued using models because they felt they were more realistic. Amblin Imaging won an Emmy for Voyager's opening CGI title visuals, but the weekly episode exteriors were captured with hand-built miniatures of Voyager, its shuttlecraft, and other ships. This changed when Voyager went fully CGI for certain types of shots midway through Season 3 (late 1996).[3] Foundation Imaging was the studio responsible for special effects during Babylon 5's first three seasons. Season 3's "The Swarm" was the first episode to use Foundation's effects exclusively. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine started using Foundation Imaging in conjunction with Digital Muse one year later (season 6). In its later seasons, Voyager featured visual effects from Foundation Imaging and Digital Muse.

Plot overview

In the pilot episode, "Caretaker", USS Voyager departs the Deep Space Nine space station on a mission into the treacherous Badlands. They are searching for a missing ship piloted by a team of Maquis rebels, which Voyager's security officer, the Vulcan Lt. Tuvok,has secretly infiltrated. While in the Badlands, Voyager is enveloped by a powerful energy wave that kills several of its crew, damages the ship, and strands it in the galaxy's Delta Quadrant, more than 70,000 light-years from Earth.

There, Voyager finds the Maquis ship, and eventually the two crews reluctantly agree to join forces to survive their journey home. Chakotay, leader of the Maquis group, becomes Voyager's first officer. B'Elanna Torres, a half-human/half-Klingon Maquis, becomes chief engineer. Tom Paris, whom Janeway released from a Federation prison to help find the Maquis ship, is made Voyager's helm officer. Due to the deaths of the ship's entire medical staff, the Doctor, an emergency medical hologram designed only for short-term use, is employed as the ship's full-time chief medical officer. Delta Quadrant natives Neelix, a Talaxian scavenger, and Kes, a young Ocampan, are welcomed aboard as the ship's chef/morale officer and the Doctor's medical assistant, respectively.

Due to its great distance from Federation space, the Delta Quadrant is unexplored by Starfleet, and Voyager is truly going where no human has gone before. As they set out on their projected 75-year journey home, the crew passes through regions belonging to various species: the barbaric and belligerent Kazon; the organ-harvesting, disease-ravaged Vidiians; the nomadic hunter race the Hirogen; the fearsome Species 8472 from fluidic space; and most notably the Borg, whose home is the Delta Quadrant, so that Voyager has to move through large areas of Borg-controlled space in later seasons. They also encounter perilous natural phenomena, a nebulous area called the Nekrit Expanse ("Fair Trade", third season), a large area of empty space called the Void ("Night", fifth season), wormholes, dangerous nebulae, and other anomalies.

However, Voyager does not always deal with the unknown. It is the second Star Trek series to feature Q, an omnipotent alien, on a recurring basis. (Q made only one appearance on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.) Starfleet Command learns of Voyager's survival when the crew discovers an ancient interstellar communications network, claimed by the Hirogen, that they can tap into. This relay network is later disabled, but thanks to the efforts of Earth-based Lieutenant Reginald Barclay, Starfleet eventually establishes regular contact in the season 6 episode "Pathfinder", using a communications array and micro-wormhole technology.

In the first two episodes of the show's fourth season, Kes leaves the ship while Seven of Nine (known colloquially as Seven), a Borg drone who was assimilated as a six-year-old human girl, is liberated from the collective and joins the Voyager crew. As the series progresses, Seven begins to regain her humanity with the ongoing help of Captain Janeway, who shows her that emotions, friendship, love and caring are more important than the sterile "perfection" the Borg espouse. The Doctor also becomes more human-like, thanks in part to a mobile holo-emitter the crew obtains in the third season which allows The Doctor to leave the confines of sickbay. He discovers his love of music and art, which he demonstrates in the episode "Virtuoso". In the sixth season, the crew discovers a group of adolescent aliens assimilated by the Borg but prematurely released from their maturation chambers due to a malfunction on their Borg cube. As he did with Seven of Nine, The Doctor re-humanizes the children; Azan, Rebi and Mezoti, three of them eventually find a new adoptive home while the fourth, Icheb, chooses to stay aboard Voyager.

Life for the Voyager crew evolves during their long journey. Traitors Seska and Michael Jonas are uncovered in the early months ("State of Flux"); loyal crew members are lost late in the journey; and other wayward Starfleet officers are integrated into the crew. In the second season, the first child is born aboard the ship to Ensign Samantha Wildman; as she grows up, Naomi Wildman becomes great friends with her godfather, Neelix. Early in the seventh season, Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres marry after a long courtship, and Torres gives birth to their child, Miral Paris, in the series finale. Late in the seventh season, the crew finds a colony of Talaxians on a makeshift settlement in an asteroid field, and Neelix chooses to bid Voyager farewell and live once again among his people.

Over the course of the series, the Voyager crew finds various ways to reduce their 75-year journey by five decades: shortcuts, in the episodes "Night" and "Q2"; technology boosts, in episodes "The Voyager Conspiracy", "Dark Frontier", "Timeless", and "Hope and Fear"; subspace corridors in "Dragon's Teeth"; and a mind-powered push from a powerful former shipmate in "The Gift". There are also other trip-shortening opportunities the crew are not able to use, as seen in the episodes "Prime Factors", "Future's End", "Eye of the Needle", and "Inside Man". A final effort, involving the use of a Borg transwarp conduit, reduces the 70,000 light-year journey to just seven years in the series finale "Endgame".

Cast

Main cast

Actor Character Position Affiliation Appearances Character's species Rank
Kate Mulgrew Kathryn Janeway Commanding officer Starfleet Seasons 1–7 Human * Captain
* Admiral (finale)
Captain Janeway took command of the Intrepid-class USS Voyager in 2371.

Her first mission is to locate and capture a Maquis vessel last seen in the area of space known as the Badlands. While there, the Maquis ship and Voyager are transported against their will into the Delta Quadrant, 70,000 light-years away, by a massive displacement wave. The Maquis ship is destroyed while fighting the Kazon-Ogla, and although Voyager survives, there are numerous casualties. To protect an intelligent species (the Ocampa), Janeway destroys a device, the Caretaker Array, which had the potential to return her crew to Federation space, stranding her ship and crew seventy-five years travel from home.

Robert Beltran Chakotay First officer * Maquis
* Starfleet		 Seasons 1–7 Human Lieutenant commander (Starfleet, provisional)
A former Starfleet officer who joined the Maquis. While Starfleet is trying to capture him in the Badlands, he and his Maquis crew are pulled into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker's array and are forced to merge with the crew of Voyager during its 70-year journey home. Before serving as Voyager's first officer, he had resigned from Starfleet after years of service to join the Maquis to defend his home colony against the Cardassians.
Tim Russ Tuvok Second officer, security officer, tactical officer * Maquis (cover)
* Starfleet		 Seasons 1–7 Vulcan * Lieutenant
* Lieutenant commander
Tuvok is a Vulcan Starfleet officer who serves aboard Voyager while it is stranded in the Delta Quadrant. In 2371, Tuvok was assigned to infiltrate the Maquis organization aboard Chakotay's Maquis vessel, and is pulled into the Delta Quadrant. He serves as tactical officer and second officer under Captain Kathryn Janeway during Voyager's seven-year journey through this unknown part of the galaxy. He is the only Voyager crew member to be promoted in the Delta Quadrant (lieutenant to lieutenant commander).
Robert Duncan McNeill Tom Paris Helmsman, medic * Maquis
* Starfleet		 Seasons 1–7 Human * Lieutenant junior grade
* Ensign
* Lieutenant junior grade
Thomas Eugene Paris is a Human Starfleet officer who serves for seven years as flight controller of the Federation starship Voyager. The son of a prominent Starfleet admiral, he was dishonorably discharged from Starfleet and later joined the Maquis before being captured and serving time at the Federation Penal Settlement in New Zealand. After joining Voyager to retrieve Chakotay's Maquis ship from the Badlands, he is transferred with the crew of Voyager 70,000 light years across the galaxy, deep into the Delta Quadrant.
Roxann Dawson B'Elanna Torres Chief engineer * Maquis
* Starfleet 		Seasons 1–7 Human–Klingon hybrid Lieutenant junior grade (Provisional)
A former Starfleet cadet who joined the Maquis. B'Elanna Torres is the sometimes-combative Klingon-Human hybrid who serves as Chief Engineer on the Federation starship Voyager. B'Elanna is pulled into the Delta Quadrant on Chakotay's ship and is forced to merge with the crew of the Voyager during its 70-year journey home.
Garrett Wang Harry Kim Operations officer Starfleet Seasons 1–7 Human Ensign
Ensign Harry Kim is a human Starfleet officer. He serves as USS Voyager's operations officer. When Voyager is pulled into the Delta Quadrant, Harry is fresh out of the Academy and nervous about his assignment.
Robert Picardo The Doctor Chief medical officer Starfleet Seasons 1–7 Human hologram None
"The Doctor" is USS Voyager's emergency medical holographic program and chief medical officer during the ship's seven-year journey through the Delta Quadrant. The EMH mark 1 is a computer program with a holographic interface in the form of Lewis Zimmerman; the creator of the Doctor's program. Although his program is specifically designed to only function in emergency situations only, Voyager's sudden relocation to the Delta Quadrant and the lack of a live physician necessitated that The Doctor run his program on a full-time basis, becoming the ship's chief medical officer. He evolves full self-awareness and even has hobbies.
Ethan Phillips Neelix Cook
Morale officer
Ambassador 		None Seasons 1–7 Talaxian None
Neelix is a Talaxian who becomes a merchant, shortly after the Haakonians launch an attack on his homeworld, using a technology called a metreon cascade, resulting in the death of his entire family. He joins the Voyager, serving as a valuable source of information about the Delta Quadrant, as well as chef, morale officer, ambassador, navigator, and holder of many other odd-jobs.
Jennifer Lien Kes Nurse
Botanist 		None Seasons 1–3 (4+6 recurring) Ocampan None
Kes is a female Ocampa with psionic powers who joins USS Voyager after it is catapulted into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker's array. Kes is Neelix's partner, who had promised to save her from the Kazon who had captured her. Kes leaves the show in the episode "The Gift" and returns temporarily for the episode "Fury", then leaves and never returns.
Jeri Ryan Seven of Nine
(Annika Hansen) 		Astrometrics lab crewman * Borg
* Starfleet 		Seasons 4–7 Human (de-assimilated Borg) None
Seven of Nine (full Borg designation: Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01) is a Human female who is a former Borg drone. She was born Annika Hansen on stardate 25479 (2350), the daughter of eccentric exobiologists Magnus and Erin Hansen. She was assimilated by the Borg in 2356 at age six, along with her parents, but is liberated by the crew of USS Voyager at the start of Season 4.
Secondary cast (Recurring)

Josh Clark Joe Carey Asst. chief engineer Starfleet Seasons 1–7 Human Lieutenant
An engineer aboard USS Voyager, Carey serves under B'Elanna Torres. In 2371, Carey is briefly named acting chief engineer when the original officer in that position is killed during the ship's violent passage to the Delta Quadrant. He is disappointed when Captain Janeway later names Torres for the position of chief engineer, but he soon recognizes her superior abilities.
Nancy Hower Samantha Wildman Science officer Starfleet Seasons 1–7 Human Ensign
Science Officer married to a Ktarian named Greskrendtregk. Wildman joins the Voyager crew unaware that she is pregnant with a daughter. She gives birth to Naomi in 2372 and selects Neelix as her godfather. Wildman continues her scientific duties while raising her child.
Alexander Enberg Vorik Engineering Starfleet Seasons 1–7 Vulcan Ensign
A Starfleet engineer aboard the Voyager, Vorik is one of two Vulcans to survive its cataclysmic arrival in the Delta Quadrant. Within the merged crews of Voyager, Vorik likely trails only Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres and Lt. Joe Carey in engineering expertise.
Manu Intiraymi Icheb Asst. astrometrics lab crewman * Borg
* Starfleet 		Seasons 6–7 Brunali (De-assimilated Borg) Cadet
A Brunali who was assimilated by the Borg and then "adopted" by the Voyager after being abandoned by the Collective and again after it was revealed that his parents (to whom Voyager had attempted to return him) had deliberately allowed him to be assimilated by the Borg in order to infect the collective with a destructive pathogen coded into his DNA.
Scarlett Pomers Naomi Wildman Captain's assistant None Seasons 2–7 Human–Ktarian hybrid Civilian
Half-human, half-Ktarian daughter of Samantha Wildman, the first child born on the U.S.S. Voyager after it was swept into the Delta Quadrant. She is granted the unofficial role of Captain's assistant by Captain Janeway.
Martha Hackett Seska Science officer
Engineering 		* Maquis (cover)
* Obsidian Order		 Seasons 1–3, 7 Bajoran (disguise)
Cardassian 		Ensign (provisional)
Born Cardassian, this female Obsidian Order agent was surgically altered to appear Bajoran and infiltrate a Maquis cell commanded by former Starfleet officer Chakotay. A good friend of the Starfleet dropout B'Elanna Torres, she joined the cell after Chakotay's approval and soon became his lover.
Brad Dourif Lon Suder Engineering * Maquis
* Starfleet 		Seasons 2–3 Betazoid Ensign (provisional)
Maquis fighter, engineer and homicidal Betazoid, Suder joined USS Voyager in 2371.
Raphael Sbarge Michael Jonas Engineering * Maquis
* Starfleet 		Seasons 1–2 Human Ensign (provisional)
Member of the Maquis contingent that joined the Voyager crew in 2371.

Notable guest appearances

Non-actors

Actors

Source material:[6]

Connections with other Star Trek incarnations

Main article: Star Trek Crossovers

Characters and races

As with all other Star Trek series, the original Star Trek's Vulcans, Klingons and Romulans appear in Star Trek: Voyager.[8] Voyager saw appearances by several other races who initially appear in The Next Generation: the Q, the Borg, Cardassians, Bajorans, Betazoids, and Ferengi, along with Deep Space Nine's Jem'Hadar (via hologram), as well as the Maquis resistance movement, previously established in episodes of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.[8]

One notable connection between Voyager and The Next Generation appears regarding a wormhole and the Ferengi. In The Next Generation season 3 episode "The Price", bidding takes place for rights to a wormhole. The Ferengi send a delegation to the bidding. When the Enterprise and Ferengi vessel each send shuttles into the wormhole, they appear in the Delta Quadrant, where the Ferengi shuttle becomes trapped. In the Voyager season 3 episode "False Profits", the Ferengi who were trapped have since landed on a nearby planet, and begun exploiting the inhabitants for profit.

Actors from other Star Trek incarnations appearing on Voyager

Actors from Voyager appearing on other Star Trek incarnations

Behind-the-scenes connections

List of episodes

Broadcast history

Music
Opening theme
Of Star Trek: Voyager composed by Jerry Goldsmith.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Unlike The Next Generation, where composer Jerry Goldsmith's theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture was reused, Goldsmith composed and conducted an entirely new main theme for Voyager. As done with The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, a soundtrack album of the series' pilot episode "Caretaker" and a CD single containing three variations of the main theme were released by Crescendo Records in 1995 between seasons one and two.[10][11]

Awards and nominations

Novels and revival attempts

A total of 26 numbered books were released during the series' original run from 1995 to 2001.[12] They include novelizations of the first episode, "Caretaker", "The Escape", "Violations", "Ragnarok", and novelizations of the episodes "Flashback", "Day of Honor", "Equinox" and "Endgame". There are also "unnumbered books", which are still part of the series, though not part of the official release. These novels consist of episode novelizations except for Caretaker, Mosaic (a biography of Kathryn Janeway), Pathways (a novel in which the biography of various crew members, including all of the senior staff is given); and The Nanotech War, a novel released in 2002, one year after the series' finale.

Book relaunch

A series of novels focusing on the continuing adventures of Voyager following the TV series finale was implemented in 2003, much as Pocket Books did with the Deep Space Nine relaunch novel series, which features stories placed after the finale of that show. In the relaunch, several characters are reassigned while others are promoted but stay aboard Voyager. These changes include Janeway's promotion to admiral, Chakotay becoming captain of Voyager and breaking up with Seven of Nine, Tuvok leaving the ship to serve as Tactical Officer under William Riker, and Tom Paris' promotion to First Officer on the Voyager. The series also introduces several new characters.

The series began with Homecoming and The Farther Shore in 2003, a direct sequel to the show's finale, "Endgame". These were followed in 2004 by Spirit Walk: Old Wounds and Spirit Walk: Enemy of My Enemy. Under the direction of a new author, 2009 brought forth two more additions to the series: Full Circle and Unworthy. In 2011, another book by the same author called Children of the Storm was released. Other novels – some set during the relaunch period, others during the show's TV run – have been published.

Cultural influence

Voyager is notable for being the most feminist Star Trek series with the first female lead character and strong female supporting characters,[13] with a review of the different series giving Voyager the highest Bechdel test rating.[13]

In an article about Voyager, Ian Grey wrote: "It was a rare heavy-hardware science fiction fantasy not built around a strong man, and more audaciously, it didn't seem to trouble itself over how fans would receive this. On Voyager, female authority was assumed and unquestioned; women conveyed sexual power without shame and anger without guilt. Even more so than Buffy, which debuted two years later, it was the most feminist show in American TV history."[14]

About her years on Voyager, Kate Mulgrew said: "The best thing was simply the privilege and the challenge of being able to take a shot at the first female captain, transcending stereotypes that I was very familiar with. I was able to do that in front of millions of viewers. That was a remarkable experience—and it continues to resonate."[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Caretaker, Part 1". StarTrek.com. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
  2. ↑ Pascale, Anthony. "Rick Berman Talks 18 Years of Trek In Extensive Oral History". TrekMovie.com. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
  3. ↑ "DVD Reviews – Star Trek Voyager Season 3". Thelogbook.com. June 10, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
  4. ↑ Hinman, Michael (28 May 2013). "Jordan Breaks Ground On Trek-Featured Theme Park". 1701news. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  5. ↑ Krider, Dylan Otto (6–12 November 2008). "Righteous anger". BoulderWeekly.com. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  6. ↑ Ruditis, Paul (2003). Star Trek: Voyager Companion. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-1751-8.
  7. ↑ Caron, Nathalie. "Why Voyager's 1st Capt. thought she was a good fit (but wasn't)". blastr.com. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  8. 1 2 3 Okuda, Mike; Okuda, Denise; Mirek, Debbie (1999). The Star Trek Encyclopedia. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-53609-5.
  9. ↑ "Full cast and crew for "Star Trek: Voyager" – Virtuoso". Virtuoso. IMDB. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  10. ↑ "Jay Chattaway & Jerry Goldsmith – Star Trek: Voyager (Music From The Original Television Soundtrack)". Discogs. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  11. ↑ "Jerry Goldsmith – Star Trek Voyager Main Title". Discogs. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  12. ↑ "New Book Releases, Bestsellers, Author Info and more at Simon & Schuster". simonandschuster.com.
  13. 1 2 Hodge, Jarrah (1 September 2014). "How Does Your Favorite Star Trek Series Fare on the Bechdel Test?". TheMarySue.com. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  14. ↑ Grey, Ian (11 June 2013). "Now, "Voyager": in praise of the Trekkiest "Trek" of all". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  15. ↑ Spelling, Ian (September–October 2006). "Deep Space Five!". Star Trek Magazine (1): 27.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Star Trek: Voyager.
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Star Trek: Voyager
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.