Okay, I've finished re-watching Voyager, and I am ready to confirm it was the worst in the franchise (shocking, I know). I was going to do a top 5 worst characters, but that seemed to easy, so I' passed up the low-hanging fruit and and went with the top 5 best Voyager characters. Let the debate begin! http://kooztop5.blogspot.com/2012/03/top-5-best-star-trek-voyager-characters.html
Best Voyager Characters
- Thread starter Kooz
- Start date
I just started season 6, so I have about 50 episodes that I still have to watch, but based on everything I've seen so far here is how I rank the characters:
Top Tier:
7 of 9
Tuvok
Second Tier:
Tom Paris
Janeway
Third Tier:
B'Ellana Torres
Harry Kim (He grew on me a lot in season 5)
Neelix (He grew on me in season 4)
The Doctor
Bottom Tier:
Chakotay (Had the potential to be great, but totally wasted)
Top Tier:
7 of 9
Tuvok
Second Tier:
Tom Paris
Janeway
Third Tier:
B'Ellana Torres
Harry Kim (He grew on me a lot in season 5)
Neelix (He grew on me in season 4)
The Doctor
Bottom Tier:
Chakotay (Had the potential to be great, but totally wasted)
In descending order...
Seven of Nine - Seven's search for her humanity was so much more interesting than Data since she actually had humanity stolen away from her and it was a search to regain it. The writers liked doing Seven.........episodes, and we got a hell of a lot of good ones.
The EMH - While the Doctor's ego got out of control in later seasons, his story arc was definitely the most solid out of all the characters....in that he actually had one. The issues of holographic rights provided us with three of the series best shows in "Latent Image", "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and "Author, Author"
Kes - I never paid much attention to her until "Before and After" when I suddenly became really interested in the character, all the possibilities she had and her beauty. The fact I missed her presence in season 4 told me I actually liked her being on the ship quite a lot
Torres- Slightly uneven development and often big character shows that lead to nothing, but nonetheless I liked that she was more or less made out to be this character with so much inner turmoil. Two of her episodes fall into my top 11 episodes ever "Barge of the Dead" and "The Muse", and "Lineage" and "Faces" were fantastic too. Probably the strongest dramatic actor for me along with Ethan Phillips.
Neelix - I didn't hate him at all, I just never found him that annoying and when he was annoying, it didn't bother me because not everyone in Star Trek can be perfect. He is my favorite actor in the show and his performances in "Jetrel", "Mortal Coil" and "Once Upon a Time" really made those episodes great. Also, Kes, Seven of Nine and Neelix have the benefit of being characters most unique to Voyager which is why I feel getting rid of Neelix or Kes would have been a mistake.
Tuvok - Appropriately enough, I don't feel strongly either way about Tuvok. He was a decent standard Vulcan but that was probably the problem. An emotionless character doesn't really give much besides some stability which is always boring
Tom Paris - The rebel without a clue, the bad boy that never was. A failed character in my eyes who I found extremely ennervating with his constant quips at the helm, I kept wishing someone would smack him in the back of the head. He was also kinda douchey in his r'ship with Torres and I was willing her to just break up with him in "Drive".
Janeway - Mulgrew is certainly charismatic although I sometimes found her acting style to be grating and very unnatural. Even though I enjoyed watching her, I found Janeway to be impossible to relate to, she simply isn't a real person to me.
Harry Kim - Bad actor, bad episodes. I don't know why he got little attention from the writers, I can only assume its because they knew he stunk.
Chakotay- Talk of bad acting, I'm not sure I can blame the man for shifting into total autopilot for those last few years. Chakotay was easily the character hurt most by the show moving away from its initial premise and becoming a TNG clone.
Also, can't believe you put Q at #5...I hate Q and he is definitely not what one would describe as a "Voyager character".
I also disagree with your assessment that Voyager was not a good sci-fi show, it had a lot of good writing. If you consider it a collection of fairly self-contained sci-fi stories, its a good anthology. And I'm comparing it with sci-fi at large....I think its miles better than any Stargate for example.
Seven of Nine - Seven's search for her humanity was so much more interesting than Data since she actually had humanity stolen away from her and it was a search to regain it. The writers liked doing Seven.........episodes, and we got a hell of a lot of good ones.
The EMH - While the Doctor's ego got out of control in later seasons, his story arc was definitely the most solid out of all the characters....in that he actually had one. The issues of holographic rights provided us with three of the series best shows in "Latent Image", "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and "Author, Author"
Kes - I never paid much attention to her until "Before and After" when I suddenly became really interested in the character, all the possibilities she had and her beauty. The fact I missed her presence in season 4 told me I actually liked her being on the ship quite a lot
Torres- Slightly uneven development and often big character shows that lead to nothing, but nonetheless I liked that she was more or less made out to be this character with so much inner turmoil. Two of her episodes fall into my top 11 episodes ever "Barge of the Dead" and "The Muse", and "Lineage" and "Faces" were fantastic too. Probably the strongest dramatic actor for me along with Ethan Phillips.
Neelix - I didn't hate him at all, I just never found him that annoying and when he was annoying, it didn't bother me because not everyone in Star Trek can be perfect. He is my favorite actor in the show and his performances in "Jetrel", "Mortal Coil" and "Once Upon a Time" really made those episodes great. Also, Kes, Seven of Nine and Neelix have the benefit of being characters most unique to Voyager which is why I feel getting rid of Neelix or Kes would have been a mistake.
Tuvok - Appropriately enough, I don't feel strongly either way about Tuvok. He was a decent standard Vulcan but that was probably the problem. An emotionless character doesn't really give much besides some stability which is always boring
Tom Paris - The rebel without a clue, the bad boy that never was. A failed character in my eyes who I found extremely ennervating with his constant quips at the helm, I kept wishing someone would smack him in the back of the head. He was also kinda douchey in his r'ship with Torres and I was willing her to just break up with him in "Drive".
Janeway - Mulgrew is certainly charismatic although I sometimes found her acting style to be grating and very unnatural. Even though I enjoyed watching her, I found Janeway to be impossible to relate to, she simply isn't a real person to me.
Harry Kim - Bad actor, bad episodes. I don't know why he got little attention from the writers, I can only assume its because they knew he stunk.
Chakotay- Talk of bad acting, I'm not sure I can blame the man for shifting into total autopilot for those last few years. Chakotay was easily the character hurt most by the show moving away from its initial premise and becoming a TNG clone.
Also, can't believe you put Q at #5...I hate Q and he is definitely not what one would describe as a "Voyager character".
I also disagree with your assessment that Voyager was not a good sci-fi show, it had a lot of good writing. If you consider it a collection of fairly self-contained sci-fi stories, its a good anthology. And I'm comparing it with sci-fi at large....I think its miles better than any Stargate for example.
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1.The Doctor-the true comic relief rather than the failed Neelix comic relief. The EMH's sarcastic wit brightened even dull episodes.
2. Tuvok-Vulcans are awesome, Tuvok's no exception. The first full Vulcan regular, he had dignity and class, and he found Neelix annoying, which is another plus. His early friendship with Janeway was nice too.
3. Kes-such wasted potential. She brought out the best in the Doctor, she was kind and compassionate, and very cute on top of it.
4. Chakotay-he declined as the show went on, but early Chakotay was pretty good, with his "reluctant warrior" thing and his relationship with Janeway.
5. B'Elanna- her inner struggle was interesting, I was disappointed with her going for Tom Paris. She fit better with Chakotay. I liked her early non-Starfleet perspective.
2. Tuvok-Vulcans are awesome, Tuvok's no exception. The first full Vulcan regular, he had dignity and class, and he found Neelix annoying, which is another plus. His early friendship with Janeway was nice too.
3. Kes-such wasted potential. She brought out the best in the Doctor, she was kind and compassionate, and very cute on top of it.
4. Chakotay-he declined as the show went on, but early Chakotay was pretty good, with his "reluctant warrior" thing and his relationship with Janeway.
5. B'Elanna- her inner struggle was interesting, I was disappointed with her going for Tom Paris. She fit better with Chakotay. I liked her early non-Starfleet perspective.
I completely agree about Paris--it's as though they wanted to create someone like Starbuck from the re-imagined BSG, but they couldn't bring themselves to have someone be too wild in the shiny Trek-verse, so we got a Fonzie wannabe. The episode where he left the ship--I thought he was actually being written off the show! I was so happy! Then he was back. Crap.
Janeway was terrible. She acted all high and mighty sometimes, then broke rules nilly-willy on a whim. Easily the worst captain to play a major role in any Trek series or movie. She also seemed to morph into a god whenever the situation called for some unique skill, she had it, or some obscure piece of knowledge, she knew it. Give us a break, please.
I hated Chakotay form moment 1. He's a lousy actor, and the premise behind his character was stupid. Also, did he introduce magic to Trek? Suddenly he has an animal spirit guide who imparts wisdom to him whenever he meditates? Come on. And his character is pretty insulting to Native Americans, I would think. He's like a bad parody of the 50s movie Indian Chief. I'm shocked he never uttered "me smokum peace pipe"--it seems like that's what the writers thought of native american culture.
I added Q not because Q was any good in the series (he wasn't), but because I couldn't bring myself to raise any other regular character to the same level as the first 4. I suppose I could have included Neelix (and I said so in the post), but they ruined him after Kes left and after he ceased being useful as an emissary and font of knowledge of the Delta quadrant.
But I stand by my assertion that it wasn't a good sci-fi show. It had a few good episodes (out of 172), but most were instantly forgettable, and others were affirmatively bad. I came across this today on SpikedNation.com: http://www.spikednation.com/evideo/star-trek-voyager-sucks. I think it sums it up better than I can.
But thank you for reading the post and taking the time to comment! I'm always intrigued at how far away from other fans my views are!
I would rank the characters from best to worst..
1. 7 of 9
2. Janeway
3. EMH
4. Tuvok
5. Neelix
6. Torres
7. Paris
8. Kes
9. Kim
10. Chakotay
That's not a ranking of favorites, rather a ranking of how good a character they were. I like Kim considerably more than Paris or Torres but no, he wasn't a developed character.
1. 7 of 9
2. Janeway
3. EMH
4. Tuvok
5. Neelix
6. Torres
7. Paris
8. Kes
9. Kim
10. Chakotay
That's not a ranking of favorites, rather a ranking of how good a character they were. I like Kim considerably more than Paris or Torres but no, he wasn't a developed character.
C
clarence44
Guest
I have to say that I completely disagree with your assessment of both VOY and Janeway. Was VOY a great show? No, but neither was TNG, DS9 or Trek in general. They have their moments, but none of them are as good as the best television shows out there. And I think it is pointless to compare one franchise to the other, because, really, how different are they? How is DS9 better than VOY, or TNG better than DS9? They all have underdeveloped characters, weak dialogue, missed opportunities, etc. Yes, maybe DS9 had more continuity, or TNG occasionally dealt with weightier issues, but VOY had its highlights too and calling it "the worst franchise" is just being nitpicky. The different shows just aren't all that different from each other and none of them are that great (though they are entertaining and I'm a fan of them all!
) As for Janeway, what can I say? She's awesome. I know a lot of people don't like her, and of course everyone's entitled to an opinion. But I just disagree with the haters. To those who criticize her actions, I would say, she has balls (so to speak), she takes risks and gets things done. To those who criticize her inconsistent behavior, I would say, what do you expect? This is Star Trek and sometimes the writing isn't great. Sometimes characters make U-turns (see Jadzia Dax), although really, I never found her behavior all that inconsistent.
Now that I got that off my chest, here are my lists:
Best VOY characters:
Seven - Well-developed character with interesting storylines.
Janeway - See my comments on Janeway above.
Tuvok - Cool and competent, sometimes seems to be the only "adult" on the ship. Could have been developed more.
Torres - Had some good storylines; I especially liked her mother-daughter relationship with Janeway in "Barge of the Dead."
The Doctor - Could be extremely annoying, but he was one of the more developed characters.
Worst:
Kim and Paris - Bad actors and whiny, irritating, immature characters.
Chakotay - Not great acting and unfortunately kind of left to the side by the writers.
Well first of all I do feel that TNG/DS9 are among the best shows out there, and there's a dozen reasons DS9 is superior to VOY although I enjoy all Trek.
This is sad. Everyone seems to hate Chakotay. I like the guy. Maybe I'm lucky that I'm not hamstrung by the ability to differentiate between good and bad acting
LOL, Jhet'leya's existence didn't even make sense.
He's actually number 2 on my list!
I think that Chakotay is a great character. OK, they never really used his potential but he's still one of the best Voyager and Star Trek characters.
I think Beltran is a good actor too. Sadly, many sem to dislike him because of his criticizm of certain aspects of the show. But he was never "anti Star Trek". he wanted better stories, especially for the character Chakotay.
Sometimes I like him just fine and I think he looks good on the bridge if that makes any sense. I felt like any respect I might have had for Beltran's acting blew out an airlock with the Seska arc though. He was just so bland when the story called for so much more. So I certainly don't hate him though I do take some pokes at him now and then
I hated that bitch
I don't dislike him because he bashed the show, I simply think he's a terrible actor.
Sometimes I like him just fine and I think he looks good on the bridge if that makes any sense. I felt like any respect I might have had for Beltran's acting blew out an airlock with the Seska arc though. He was just so bland when the story called for so much more. So I certainly don't hate him though I do take some pokes at him now and then
I think Chakotay suffered as a character because the writers had no idea what to do with a first officer. That goes back to the days of Spock and Kirk. Spock had a bridge role as Science Officer, so his First Officer role was never much of an issue for the writers. But from TNG onwards, First Officers seem there only to say raise shields and otherwise confuse the chain of command on the bridge.
That coupled with that officer being a man and the captain a woman. I suspect they may have been oversensitive to let Chakotay be seen as 'protecting the lady' and had him be backseat to Janeway as opposed to Riker and Picard where they'd have felt safer having Riker telling Picard he shouldn't be putting himself at risk. Also, from Beltran's comments, the role just may not have been his cup of tea and so often didn't let himself get into the part. His evil Chakotay in Living Witness was a lot of fun to see.
I think he'd have been much better served, if they'd kept more of an edge and sense of Janeway and Chakotay as two alpha types challenging each others capabilities. Alternatively, they could have played up more of Chakotay's anthropological interests and instinctive Maquis disposition to develop the character into more of a McCoy like role to play of Janeway and Tuvok.
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