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| Janeway and the Doctor fend off a threat to the ship. |
SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT SEASON THREE
Season One of Voyager surprised me by being generally engaging and by showing potential. Quality was uneven, and only about half the characters worked, but there was promise there, a foundation that could be built upon to craft a genuinely good Star Trek series.
Three seasons down now, and I'm sad to report that the uneven but promising first year remains the best overall season of the series thus far. Season Three has its bright spots, but it never feels like anything more than a string of episodes - and by the end of the season, I mostly just felt numb.
BACK TO BASICS: THE VERDICT
In my Season Two overview, I set aside a section for the season-bridging two-parter, Basics, whose promising first episode was undermined by a resolution that eliminated all interesting elements. With Michael Piller departing, new head writer Jeri Taylor seemed to insist on a Season Three opener that would close off all arc elements and leave the show safely "back to basics."
This was not an inherently wrong-headed approach. As I observed at the time, Piller's attempt at shaping the series around the Kazon arc failed miserably. The Kazon were dull villains, and making them ubiquitous helped to make the show itself dull. In addition, the arc did little to advance the regulars as characters. By focusing so much on Chakotay (the regular most involved in that arc), I think it may have actually made him even more bland than he was already! Contemporary viewership plunged, and it was clear that a new approach was needed.
Having taken a storytelling risk that failed in Season Two, Season Three goes for the other extreme: avoiding any risks at all. Season Three has no real core to it. Some of the episodes are good; too many of them are not. But there's nothing beneath the surface. As the season progresses the show feels emptier than ever.
Voyager remains a watchable series, with only the worst episodes actually a chore to sit through. But even there's nothing here that makes me want to watch. If I wasn't writing these reviews, I would have jumped this ship a very long time ago.
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| Chakotay stages a mutiny! Er, on the holodeck, that is. |
CHARACTERS: CHAKOTAY
Chakotay was my least favorite regular in Season Two. He's still well down my personal list, but he shows substantial improvement in this season, particularly the last part. Robert Beltran seems to wake up long enough to actually enjoy some decent material in Displaced and Worst Case Scenario. Both Beltran and the character are wonderfully served by Unity and Scorpion.
Scorpion, in particularly, sees Chakotay at his best. Unlike the block of wood we've usually gotten, this episode's Chakotay considers Janeway a friend, but he will still voice his own opinions when they differ from hers. When circumstances place him in command, he follows his own instincts, even though he knows that he's acting against her wishes. It's dramatic, and the interactions between them during the episode feel authentic and interesting.
If the series keeps going with this, then Chakotay could be rehabilitated in my eyes. I wouldn't bet on it - but Unity and Scorpion show that it's possible for him to work as a character.
OTHER CHARACTERS:
The series introduces a new dynamic between Tom and B'Elanna Torres, who are clearly moving toward a relationship by the season's end. This is enjoyable so far, with the contrast between the feisty B'Elanna and the laid-back Tom creating obvious potential for humor. The two actors seem to be enjoying their scenes together, and they show a decent amount of chemistry.
Meanwhile, the Doctor's new holo-emitter gets him out of sickbay and allows him to be more of a full member of the crew. Robert Picardo continues to delight, though I found this season's Doctor-centric episodes to be of uneven quality: The Swarm suffers from a poorly-realized "B" plot, Darkling has two plot strands that don't fit together at all, and Real Life is so manipulative that what's meant to be emotional mosty just feels manufactured. Still, Picardo is able to partially redeem bad scripts with his pitch-perfect line deliveries, and he brings out the best in good ones. Here's hoping for better Doctor-centric episodes next season.
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| Harry Kim has better luck surviving in prison than his characterization does of surviving terrible scripts. |
THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY
Remember those glimpses of potential I saw in Harry after last season's The Thaw? This season's first Harry-centric episode, The Chute seems to carry that forward, with Garrett Wang delivering his series-best performance to date as a desperate Harry tries to keep both himself and Tom alive in an environment in which morality becomes indistinguishable from weakness.
Well, Harry may not have died in The Chute, but his characterization appears to have. That was the third episode of the season, and it represents the last time he was anything other than wallpaper. His other spotlight episode, Favorite Son, is so comically pathetic that Ed Wood must be looking down in envy, while the remaining episodes keep him in his box as "guy who recites Technobabble."
The original plan was reportedly to kill him off in Scorpion, and I really think they should have. It wouldn't redeem a character who only ever worked in two episodes... but at least it would have given him a dramatic exit.
THE REDSHIRTS:
I would now like to take a moment to step away from the regulars and focus on the recurring guest cast. That's what I would like to do - but in a major backward step, there is no attempt to maintain recurring crew members. Season One made a decent stab at establishing a crew beyond the command staff. Season Two at least managed to remember they were there. Season Three divides the crew into two categories: Regulars and Extras. The only exception is Vorik, from Blood Fever, and it would be easier to write something interesting about Harry than about him.
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| A misadventure with Q. Yes, we definitely need to be in a whole new region of space for fresh stories like this... |
WHY ARE WE STILL IN THE DELTA QUADRANT?
The first two seasons of Voyager struggled with the lack of urgency to the crew's dilemma. Season Three doesn't even struggle. The only episode in which being stranded is a major factor is False Profits. You know, the episode in which Janeway and much of her command staff all but actively sabotage an opportunity to get home?
With the possible exception of Scorpion, this season's offerings could have just as easily taken place in the Alpha Quadrant. Given that, what's the point to keeping them stranded? At this point, I genuinely think there are more interesting story possibilities in returning home than in leaving them in the Delta Quadrant. Half of the crew is Maquis, they now have a Borg on board, and they've come from a place no one in the Federation has seriously dreamed of exploring. This seems like fodder for a couple of season's worth of stories!
But no, we will continue trudging through the Delta Quadrant, even though by this point it must be clear to all that there's nothing uniquely interesting about it...
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| Scorpion introduces a character with obvious potential. Here's hoping the writers do something with her! |
SEASON FOUR WISHLIST
I'll repeat my first one from the last season overview: That the show gets better. There are episodes that show how good Voyager could be. Scorpion, Before and After, Unity... These did not come from the pens of incompetent writers. These were not brought to life by incompetent directors or incompetent actors. Writers, cast, crew - All are capable of making good Star Trek. The main thing holding it back is a lack of... I was about to say ambition, but it's not even that. It's a lack of any direction at all.
I keep mentioning Scorpion, because it stands out so much from Voyager's norm. THis was an outstanding two-parter, and it has left the show with possibilities. Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) offers clear dramatic potential. I'd like to see her integration into the crew be slow, with suspicion on all sides. People need to distrust her, and she needs to distrust them - not least because the events of Scorpion should reinforce the prejudices of both sides.
Speaking of the potential for conflict among regulars, I would like to see the Janeway/Chakotay relationship continue to be a little uncomfortable after Scorpion. Chakotay was a leader in his own right before he came to Voyager. He shouldn't just be Janeway's "Yes" man. Let him continue to be supportive of her publicly - but let them argue behind closed doors the way they did in this episode.
Finally, much as I hate seeing Kes written out, at least make her departure mean something. Don't just remove the character and then have everything be exactly the same - Have her leave in such a way that something is changed.
If I get even two of my wishes, I'll be pleasantly surprised. If I get three or more, I'll be ecstatic.
IN SUMMATION
Season Three isn't particularly worse than Season Two, but neither is it particularly better. Chakotay becomes marginally more interesting, while Harry becomes even duller than he was before. A new character is introduced who has potential - but other characters who had potential never got to realize it, which doesn't exactly lead to optimism. Worst of all, there's a lack of anything that feels like direction, or even a unique series identity.
The season-bridging Scorpion ends Season Three with what is easily the best episode to date, and it begins Season Four with possibilities. But the series has had possibilities and potential since it began. We're moving into Season Four now - It's time for to stop simply drifting on the Star Trek name and start actually doing something!
Previous: Season Two
Next: Season Four
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