Star Trek: Voyager

Production

Initial work on Star Trek: Voyager began in 1993, during the final season of The Next Generation and the second season of Deep Space Nine. Seeds for Voyager's backstory, including the development of the Maquis, were placed in episodes of those earlier series. Voyager was shot on the stages previously used by The Next Generation, and the pilot "Caretaker" was filmed in September 1994. Costume designer Robert Blackman decided the uniforms would match those on Deep Space Nine.

Voyager was the first Star Trek series to use computer-generated imagery for exterior space shots, though early episodes used hand-built miniatures. Amblin Imaging won an Emmy for the opening CGI title visuals. The series transitioned to fully CGI for certain shots midway through season three, with Foundation Imaging handling effects starting with "The Swarm. In later seasons, visual effects came from Foundation Imaging and Digital Muse.

The digital effects were produced at standard television resolution, leading to speculation that the series cannot be re-released in HD without re-creating the effects.

Plot

In the pilot episode, USS Voyager departs Deep Space Nine on a mission into the Badlands to find a missing Maquis ship, which security officer Tuvok has infiltrated. Tom Paris, a former Starfleet officer who joined the Maquis, agrees to help in exchange for his freedom. While in the Badlands, an energy wave kills several crew, damages the ship, and strands it in the Delta Quadrant, over 70,000 light-years from Earth. The wave was sent by the Caretaker, an alien entity who abducts species to find a successor to care for the Ocampa.

The two crews join forces, and after the Caretaker dies, Captain Janeway destroys the Caretaker's transport array to protect the Ocampa from the Kazon, stranding the crew on a projected 75-year journey home. Chakotay becomes first officer, B'Elanna Torres chief engineer, Tom Paris helm officer, and the Doctor, an emergency medical hologram, serves as chief medical officer. Delta Quadrant natives Neelix and Kes join the crew.

Cast

Kate Mulgrew plays Captain Kathryn Janeway, who takes command of the Intrepid-class USS Voyager in 2371. Her first mission is to locate a Maquis vessel in the Badlands, but both ships are transported to the Delta Quadrant.

She destroys the Caretaker Array to protect the Ocampa, stranding her crew 75 years from home. Robert Beltran plays Chakotay, a former Starfleet officer who joined the Maquis and becomes Voyager's first officer after his crew merges with Voyager's. Roxann Dawson plays B'Elanna Torres, a Klingon-human hybrid and former Starfleet cadet who served with the Maquis and becomes chief engineer.

Jennifer Lien plays Kes, an Ocampan with psionic powers who joins Voyager after being rescued from the Kazon; she leaves in the episode "The Gift" and returns in "Fury." Robert Duncan McNeill plays Tom Paris, a human Starfleet officer who was dishonorably discharged and later joined the Maquis. After being captured and imprisoned, he helps retrieve Chakotay's ship and is transferred to the Delta Quadrant, serving as flight controller for seven years.

Reception

The two-hour debut "Caretaker" was seen by 21 million American viewers in January 1995. In 2016, the L.A. Times ranked Voyager 6th among Star Trek films and series. In 2017, Vulture ranked it the 4th best live-action Star Trek show before Discovery. In 2019, Nerdist ranked it 5th, and MovieFone also ranked it 5th among live-action series.

CBR ranked Season 5 the 4th best Star Trek season and Season 4 the 8th best. Popular Mechanics ranked Voyager the 36th best science fiction television show ever. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 76% rating based on 56 reviews; Metacritic gives a score of 66 out of 100, indicating generally favorable reviews. In 2021, Variety ranked it the 4th best Star Trek installment overall.

Voyager was noted as the most gender-balanced Star Trek series, with the first female lead and strong female supporting characters, earning the highest Bechdel test rating among the series. Critical accounts noted women in leadership and scientific roles but also adherence to gender binary and heterosexual norms. Ian Grey described it as the most feminist show in American TV history. Kate Mulgrew said the best part was the privilege and challenge of portraying the first female captain.

Did You Know?

• A Voyager comic series was published monthly from November 1996 to March 1998, totaling fifteen issues.
• In May 2020, the cast reunited for a live virtual event that raised $19,225 for The Actors Fund during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• A documentary titled To The Journey: Looking Back At Star Trek: Voyager raised over $1.2 million via crowdfunding, becoming the most funded crowdfunded documentary ever.