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''Star Trek: Voyager'' is a '', and was created by Rick Berman , Michael Piller , and Jeri Taylor . The show was based on '' Star Trek '', created by Gene Roddenberry . It is sometimes shortened to '''''ST:VOY''''' or '''''VOY'''''. The series follows the adventures of the USS ''Voyager'' and her crew who have become stranded in the Delta Quadrant , seventy thousand Light-year s from Earth . Unless they can find some kind of shortcut, it will take them seventy-five years to return to the space of the United Federation Of Planets . PLOT OVERVIEW In the pilot episode, " Caretaker ", ''Voyager'' is sent on a mission to locate a ship piloted by a cell of the Maquis , a terrorist organization created in protest of a treaty between the Federation and Cardassians . Tom Paris (a former member of the Maquis) is brought out of prison to help find the ship. During a chase through the dangerous Badlands , both ships are transported to the other side of the galaxy by an ancient alien known as the Caretaker. While being pulled across the galaxy, several members of ''Voyager'''s crew are killed, including the ship's first officer and all medical staff including ships doctor. Both ships are attacked by Kazon raiders intent on capturing the Caretaker's Array. Rather than using the Caretaker's Array to return home, Captain Janeway decides to destroy it to prevent it from being misused. The raiders destroy the Maquis ship, but not before its crew are able to transport safely to ''Voyager''. The Starfleet and Maquis crews are forced to integrate and work together as they begin the long journey home. Chakotay , the leader of the Maquis group, becomes first officer. B'Elanna Torres , a half-human, half-Klingon female, becomes chief engineer, beating out Lieutenant Carey, a Starfleet crewman who would have been promoted to the position. The Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH Mark I), designed for short term use only, becomes ship's doctor after the death of the entire medical staff. Along the way home, the crew must contend with organ-snatching Vidiians , the relentless Borg , and the extra-dimensional Species 8472 . The conflict between the fiercely independent Maquis revolutionaries and the by-the-book Starfleet crew is a central theme of the first season, but by the second season, it is largely forgotten and there is scarcely any conflict among the crew. Only Janeway remains anguished for the entire run of the series over the consequences of her decision to destroy their way home. THEMES ''Voyager'' continues the themes presented in the '', such as explorations of space and of the Human Condition . It also demonstrates Democratic principles (peace, openness, freedom, cooperation, and sharing) and philosophical issues such as the sense of self and what it means to be human. In the Star Trek series, the examination of humanity is typically explored by contrasting non-human characters with human ones (for instance, the Earth -born Kirk and McCoy against the Vulcan Spock ). On ''Voyager'', these aliens include the Emergency Medical Hologram ( The Doctor ), who is actually a computer program, Vulcan security officer Tuvok , Talaxian Neelix , half Klingon - half Human B'Elanna Torres, Ocampa Kes, and the former Borg drone Seven Of Nine . It should be noted that although, biologically speaking, Seven is a bona-fide '' Homo Sapiens '', having been a Borg drone for most of her life means that she has not developed normal human behavior patterns when she first becomes part of ''Voyager'''s crew. Voyager was probably more reminiscent of the '', with the heavy sentimentality of that series being almost entirely absent. Another of Voyager's most interesting elements is the radical departure from the "best and the brightest" theme of '''' in particular. Rather than a group of ace Starfleet Academy graduates, the characters in this series included an ex-convict, former terrorists, a notably unseasoned captain, and an unusually militant Vulcan. Another common plot theme is the implications of being stranded far from home. ''Voyager'' has only limited resources and no easy way to replenish them; its crew is cut off from the normal chain of command and institutions of its society. Janeway often expresses that though they are cut off from Starfleet, it is still their duty to live by Starfleet values and regulations. Their situation frequently faces them with difficult choices of necessity versus idealism. Unlike the other Star Trek series, the crew of the Voyager cannot just stop at a starbase for repair or resupply. They often have to make trades with alien cultures or find completely new solutions to unforeseeable problems. REACTIONS magazine.]] The reception from Star Trek fans has been mixed. Like ''''. There were concerns from the beginning that ''Voyager'' and ''Deep Space Nine'' would compete for ratings within the ''Trek'' fandom. One obstacle that the show faced was that ''Voyager'' was the first Trek series to air on network television since the original series. This factor stripped ''Voyager'''s writers and producers of a certain amount of creative control. UPN wanted the show to move away from its more "sci-fi" background to more of an action show. The central character of Captain Kathryn Janeway has brought praise and criticism. Although female captains had been featured as guest characters in each of the previous Star Trek series, as well as in several theatrical movies, Janeway was the first female character to star in a Star Trek series in the role of captain. Some women who watched the show claim Captain Janeway as a role model. While Kate Mulgrew's acting on the show was often regarded as superb, some (including short term writer Ronald D. Moore ) criticized the inconsistent command style of Captain Janeway. ''Voyager'' is often praised for its humor, and for delivering it in higher quantity than any of its sibling series. The contrast between Neelix and Vulcan security officer Tuvok is often played to, as is the contrast between hot-headed Chief Engineer ( B'Elanna Torres ) and calm and cool assimilated Borg ( Seven Of Nine ): "The Borg wouldn't know fun if they assimilated an amusement park." General criticism of the show includes lack of character growth and repetitive storylines — especially past season four. There were complaints that the show was trying to mold itself too closely on '''' instead of trying to find its own path. Many fans complained about the show's secondary characters not getting enough background information, or enough air time as the show progressed. Many also felt that the episodes followed the same format in the later years for example, Voyager would meet a new race that seems nice, then turns out not be what they seem and attack or attempt to steal technology from the ship. There was also major debate over Voyager's use of the Borg. Many felt that Borg were over used and became more of a "bad guy of the week" rather than a deadly feared race. Other notable issues were a lack of ongoing plot continuity or story arcs, generally resolving conflicts and dilemmas within the confines of a single episode, and rarely revisiting past story plots, characters or events. Many viewers also found it frustrating that the series drifted away from the main premise of being stranded and alone in space, and that any sense of realism was seemingly ignored within this situation. For example, the ship's fuel supply and general condition remained virtually unaffected and intact throughout its seven-year journey, despite the situation of being tens of thousands of light years away from any Federation outposts. In essence every new episode, more often than not, ignored previous ones. Fans often humorously referred to this phenomenon as pressing "the Reset Button" . The show came in for particular criticism from hardcore Star Trek fanatics for several factual inconsistencies. In the series' sixth episode, one character declares that the ship has a non-replaceable supply of 38 , carries only two). There are also inconsistencies in trans-warp theory, Borg technology and technological supremacy over the Federation, and astrometric data. Even the color of the trans-warp conduits changed between the episode entitled "Dark Frontier" and the series' finale, "Endgame." In addition, aliens that Voyager encountered thousands of light-years ago would reappear on the show. For example, in the seventh season episode entitled "Homestead," Voyager encounters a Talaxian colony deep in the Delta Quadrant. The Talaxians claim they fled the war that tore their planet apart and created this colony. However, their homeworld is 40 thousand light-years away from the colony, meaning it would have taken them forty years to travel that distance. However, it only took them about five. ''Voyager'' 's ratings declined throughout its run, yet like ''The Next Generation'' and ''Deep Space Nine'' before it, it aired for seven seasons. While part of ''Voyager'''s critical failure has to do with its weaker storylines and poor character development, there was a much wider selection of science fiction and fantasy programming on the air during its run, and TNG had no serious competition most of its run. As well, ''Voyager'' had to compete with its critically acclaimed "big sister" DS9. Star Trek fans have been long divided on ''Voyager'''s contribution to the Trek mythos. Its female characters were much stronger than in other Trek series, although it was widely speculated by fans that Seven of Nine was often used to acquire a larger male audience. One prominent critic of ''Voyager'' was Ronald D. Moore , who has noted that Voyager failed to live up to its premise of realistically portraying a lone starship with limited supplies stranded in deep space and trying to journey to Earth. : The premise has a lot of possibilities. Before it aired, I was at a convention in Pasadena, and illustrator, technical consultant Rick Sternbach and art supervisor, technical consultant Michael Okuda were on stage, and they were answering questions from the audience about the new ship. It was all very technical, and they were talking about the fact that in the premise this ship was going to have problems. It wasn’t going to have unlimited sources of energy. It wasn’t going to have all the doodads of the Enterprise. It was going to be rougher, fending for themselves more, having to trade to get supplies that they want. That didn’t happen. It doesn’t happen at all, and it’s a lie to the audience. I think the audience intuitively knows when something is true and something is not true. VOYAGER is not true. If it were true, the ship would not look spick-and-span every week, after all these battles it goes through. How many times has the bridge been destroyed? How many shuttlecrafts have vanished, and another one just comes out of the oven? That kind of bullshitting the audience I think takes its toll. At some point the audience stops taking it seriously, because they know that this is not really the way this would happen. These people wouldn’t act like this. [http://www2.cinescape.com/0/Editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Television&action=page&obj_id=18741] Moore would later go on to address a similar premise in Battlestar Galactica . CAST Main characters Recurring characters
One-time, cameos or infrequent spots
Alien races ''See also List Of Star Trek Races '' RELAUNCH ON BOOK In the wake of a successful series of original novels collectively known as the '', a similar relaunch was planned with regards to ''Voyager'', with novels based upon events occurring following the end of the series. In the relaunch, several characters are reassigned to other posts, some new characters are introduced (such as Kaz, the new Trill ship's doctor), Kathryn Janeway is promoted to Admiral , and Chakotay is promoted to Captain of Voyager. Most of the other characters are promoted two steps in rank (for example, Ensign Harry Kim is promoted directly to full Lieutenant , and Tom Paris is promoted from Lieutenant Junior Grade to Lieutenant Commander ) to make up for time spent in the Delta Quadrant where they could not normally receive promotions. So far, only a few Voyager Relaunch novels have been published, beginning with ''Homecoming'' and ''The Farther Shore'' in 2003. More novels are planned, both in the Relaunch and also other novels set during the original 7-season run of the show. In November '04 Pocket books published Spirit Walk One , closely followed a month later by Spirit Walk Two . The stories are based on the Star Trek Voyager episode 'Tattoo' however are set in the Alpha Quadrant when Captain Chakotay has been sent on assignment to transport a set of colonists back to the planet of Loran II... TRIVIA
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