i'm a doctor, not a dragon-slayer
Sep. 7th, 2010 11:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lunabee34I wanted to post my thoughts on VOYAGER so far, but as I haven't been taking notes during episodes, I don't think episode review posts are gonna work as well for me.
I thought instead that I would make posts about my thoughts on the characters so far and on general themes/world buidling issues. (That's not to say that I won't get all het up about an episode in the future and give it a post all its own. *g*)
Up first:
1. The Maquis vs the Federation
I will admit that I'm rusty on my DS9, and I don't remember all the ins and outs of the Maquis well enough to pass an essay test on them. LOL So, for my reference (from wikipedia):
In the fictional American Star Trek science-fiction franchise, the Maquis are a 24th Century paramilitary organization or terrorist group first introduced in the 1994 episode "The Maquis" of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, who subsequently also appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager. The concept of the Maquis was introduced by the creators of Deep Space Nine so that it could intentionally play a plot device in the upcoming Voyager, which was scheduled to begin airing in 1995. As Jeri Taylor commented, "we knew that we wanted to include a renegade element in Voyager, and that the show would involve a ship housing both Starfleet people and those idealistic freedom fighters that the Federation felt were outlaws [i.e. the Maquis]." It was for this reason that the creators of Star Trek decided to create a backstory for the Maquis in several episodes of Deep Space Nine and The Next Generation, and they named them after the French guerilla fighters of the Second World War. Whilst the recurring character of Michael Eddington (played by Kenneth Marshall) in Deep Space Nine was a member of the Maquis, Voyager contained three regular Maquis characters, Chakotay (Robert Beltran), Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) and B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson).
According to the fictional storyline of the Star Trek universe, the Maquis were formed in the 24th Century after a peace treaty was enacted between the United Federation of Planets and the Cardassian Union, redesignating the demilitarized zone between the two powers, which resulted in the Federation ceding several of their colony worlds to the Cardassians. Although the colonists were offered free relocation to elsewhere in Federation territory, some insisted on remaining on the ceded worlds, effectively becoming Cardassian Union citizens. Some of these colonists subsequently formed the Maquis to protect themselves from Cardassian aggression, although they received no official support from the Federation, who feared breaking the peace treaty with the Cardassion Union, which would lead to war.
Nonetheless, various Federation members supported the Maquis' cause, and illegally helped to supply them with weapons and other technology that they could use in their struggle. In several cases the Federation actually intervened in the war between the Maquis and the Cardassians, aiding the latter in recognition of the peace treaty. In one case the Federation ship USS Voyager tracked a Maquis vessel to the Badlands with the intention of apprehending it but an alien being sent both to the Delta Quadrant in the opposite side of the Milky Way Galaxy, where the two crews' were forced to unite to survive against alien threats like the Kazon. In following years, when the Cardassian Union joined forces with The Dominion to fight in the Dominion War against the Federation, the Dominion aided the Cardassian military in obliterating the Maquis.
I really like that there's tension on Voyager between main characters, tension that isn't likely to just dissolve or be resolved quickly. I like that there are fundamental ideological differences between the Maquis and the Federation that lead them to approach situations differently although I don't know that I quite buy the notion the show keeps pushing that Federation means uptight and rigidly rule-following and Maquis means intuitive and brash. I accept that the command structure is different in the Maquis and based far more on personal loyalty and results than it ever could be in Starfleet. I also accept that the Maquis are used to taking much more personal initiative than Starfleet officers (see something broke, go and fix it rather than reporting the problem and waiting for orders). I also believe that the Maquis are more comfortable operating within a level of moral ambiguity than their shipmates on Voyager. However, sometimes it feels like the show is suggesting that the Maquis are all flaily hands and Starfleet is all chewing each bite twenty times, and that simplistic kind of comparison gets old.
I like that the Maquis is a sympathetic group and not merely criminals. Their desire to keep their homes and to protect their families from what they see as a Cardassian invasion is very easy for all the Federation officers on Voyager to understand and empathize with even if they don't condone the methods of retaliation that the Maquis adopt. I like that there are no easy answers or black and white distinctions that can be made about either group or the ideologies that separate them.
I also like how Tom Paris is alienated from both groups to begin with because of perceived betrayals by both and has to work to be accepted. I like that many of the Maquis are shown having trouble fitting in and functioning on Voyager for a variety of reasons (Seska, Suder, the group that Tuvok trains, B'Elanna to a certain extent). Finally, I really like the way Chakotay is never going to forgive Tuvok for betraying him. As centered and calm as Chakotay always is, he is pissed as hell that Tuvok lied to him and sold him out. Even three seasons in, that anger is still palpable and coloring their relationship.
2. death and the afterlife
Several episodes so far have focused on the process of dying and what happens to beings when they die. The most powerful of these for me is "Emanations" in which Harry is transported to a planet where people enter a machine that kills them and send them through some kind of portal onto another planet. They believe that when they die they become energy and go on to have an afterlife that includes re-encountering those they love. All throughout the episode, we're lead to believe that these people are deluded. They're killing themselves needlessly instead of living their lives until they die of old age. And then at the end, we find out that energy does emanate from their bodies and join other energy readings in space. There are no definitive answers, but maybe some kind of sentient life after death does exist for this race, and by extension, us. I could see this episode going over really well in a philosophy class; you'd need very little background Star Trek knowledge to get what's going on, and the big existential questions are so beautifully addressed.
There's also all the episodes that deal with the Vidiians (particularly the one in which the doctor falls in love). How does a culture, how does a race of beings, change when faced constantly with its own reduced mortality? As revealed in these episodes, the Vidiians don't congregate together for fear of spreading the Phage, so no parties. No sporting events. No religious events that require attendance. They don't casually touch. They spend all their energy and resources on curing the Phage. And worst of all, they engage in the worst kind of Othering, the kind that allows them to kill other beings for the organs they need to survive.
3. Science vs Religion
We just watched "Sacred Ground," and while that episode is pretty much a Janeway character study, it's also a really nuanced discussion of the tension between science and faith that exists for many of the crew. I am a Victorianist, and so I am especially intrigued with the ways that people's faith is or is not altered by scientific advancement and/or technological change. One of the hallmarks of an "educated" person has become the assumption that most phenomena considered supernatural actually have a natural, scientific explanation. And mostly that's true. But I believe very strongly that there is an element of Mystery that still exists in the universe no matter how closely we are able to examine and quantify our surroundings. The inexplicable still exists. I really like watching Janeway wrestle with those questions.
4. Personal responsibility
This is a huge theme in the series so far, whether it's Janeway taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of the crew of Voyager or Harry deciding that he cannot live in the comfort of the alternative timeline because to do so is to betray his shipmates or B'Elanna deactivating the Dreadnought weapon that she created so long ago in the Alpha Quadrant. In many ways, Voyager is like a crucible in which each character must decide what matters most to him or her. Many of them are given the opportunity to address old wrongs or to take moral stances that define them.
5. The logistics of being cut off from Starfleet
This is why I love SGU, why I love the apocalypse, why I love shipwrecked on a desert planet. First Voyager has to deal with the most basic of necessities--procuring food and water and the stuff that makes the ship go. What are they willing to do to get this stuff? Is it ever acceptable to just take what they need? What price are they willing to pay? Then there's the whole issue of some things being irreplaceable--they just can't be manufactured given Voyager's supplies and technology. How do you ration the use of this stuff? Can the ship survive once it's gone? Then you've got issues of morale. People have lost loved ones. Many of them have no realistic hopes of reaching home in their lifetimes. Where's the Deanna Troi big enough to heal all that hurt? And then how do you deal with the more nitty gritty--issues like procreation and the development of relationships, punishments for infractions, the allocation of work? I really liked the way Janeway wrestled with the idea of crewmembers becoming involved and eventually having children. I like that it was a fraught decision for her but that she decided to relax the frat regs.
The show hasn't really dealt with this very much (and I doubt it will) but allocation of work is something I wish they'd explore. Each of them has been assigned a job and they get to do it for seventy years with very little down time? What about any children they have? Ala one of Chief Tyrol's awesomest speeches on BSG, do their children just inherit the jobs of their parents? What sort of opportunity for advancement or career change can there be in this environment? We just watched "Fair Trade" tonight and it broke my heart watching Neelix confess that he believed his usefulness had come to an end. What if Amelia Earhart and company had stayed aboard Voyager? In what way beyond custodial services could they have contributed to ship's operations? (THIS IS A SERIOUS QUESTION. AND IT IS TWO-PART. WHO CLEANS SHIT UP (have you ever seen a broom on an episode of Star Trek?) AND IF I ACCIDENTALLY GOT TRANSPORTED THROUGH THE SPACE TIME CONTINUUM INTO CHAKOTAY'S ARMS, HOWEVER COULD OUR EPIC LOVE SURVIVE THE FACT THAT I AM GOOD FOR NOTHING IN HIS WORLD BUT LEADING A BOOK CLUB AND SCRUBBING TOILETS?)
6. Duality of character (B'Elanna, Kes, Tuvok, Paris, etc)
This is one of my favorite aspects of the show. Almost every character has a darker side, or to be more accurate, two ways of approaching the world around them that are diametrically opposed. This is literalized in B'Elanna's character when her Klingon and human halves are separated from one another, and we see that tension permeate the first three seasons. Does her humanity make her weak? Does her Klingon side made her too agressive and reckless? Can she find balance? Kes is several times shown how to use her mental powers for evil purposes and I don't know how it's gonna play out, but she's been given access to power often enough that I suspect that's gonna be her central struggle. She's so kind and empathetic, and yet she can really wreak some havoc. Tuvok is a Vulcan and in control of his emotions, but more than one episode has highlighted that that control really means repression more than anything else and that stamping down his anger and aggression is an ongoing process. What happens when that control is eroded? Will he learn, ala Spock, to accept that emotions are acceptable to some degree, or will he hide even further behind the facade? Besides having played both sides of the fence, Paris is asked to play two roles in order to flush out the spy on board Voyager. I could go on about pretty much every main character for this one, but my fingers hurt. LOL
I thought instead that I would make posts about my thoughts on the characters so far and on general themes/world buidling issues. (That's not to say that I won't get all het up about an episode in the future and give it a post all its own. *g*)
Up first:
1. The Maquis vs the Federation
I will admit that I'm rusty on my DS9, and I don't remember all the ins and outs of the Maquis well enough to pass an essay test on them. LOL So, for my reference (from wikipedia):
In the fictional American Star Trek science-fiction franchise, the Maquis are a 24th Century paramilitary organization or terrorist group first introduced in the 1994 episode "The Maquis" of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, who subsequently also appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager. The concept of the Maquis was introduced by the creators of Deep Space Nine so that it could intentionally play a plot device in the upcoming Voyager, which was scheduled to begin airing in 1995. As Jeri Taylor commented, "we knew that we wanted to include a renegade element in Voyager, and that the show would involve a ship housing both Starfleet people and those idealistic freedom fighters that the Federation felt were outlaws [i.e. the Maquis]." It was for this reason that the creators of Star Trek decided to create a backstory for the Maquis in several episodes of Deep Space Nine and The Next Generation, and they named them after the French guerilla fighters of the Second World War. Whilst the recurring character of Michael Eddington (played by Kenneth Marshall) in Deep Space Nine was a member of the Maquis, Voyager contained three regular Maquis characters, Chakotay (Robert Beltran), Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) and B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson).
According to the fictional storyline of the Star Trek universe, the Maquis were formed in the 24th Century after a peace treaty was enacted between the United Federation of Planets and the Cardassian Union, redesignating the demilitarized zone between the two powers, which resulted in the Federation ceding several of their colony worlds to the Cardassians. Although the colonists were offered free relocation to elsewhere in Federation territory, some insisted on remaining on the ceded worlds, effectively becoming Cardassian Union citizens. Some of these colonists subsequently formed the Maquis to protect themselves from Cardassian aggression, although they received no official support from the Federation, who feared breaking the peace treaty with the Cardassion Union, which would lead to war.
Nonetheless, various Federation members supported the Maquis' cause, and illegally helped to supply them with weapons and other technology that they could use in their struggle. In several cases the Federation actually intervened in the war between the Maquis and the Cardassians, aiding the latter in recognition of the peace treaty. In one case the Federation ship USS Voyager tracked a Maquis vessel to the Badlands with the intention of apprehending it but an alien being sent both to the Delta Quadrant in the opposite side of the Milky Way Galaxy, where the two crews' were forced to unite to survive against alien threats like the Kazon. In following years, when the Cardassian Union joined forces with The Dominion to fight in the Dominion War against the Federation, the Dominion aided the Cardassian military in obliterating the Maquis.
I really like that there's tension on Voyager between main characters, tension that isn't likely to just dissolve or be resolved quickly. I like that there are fundamental ideological differences between the Maquis and the Federation that lead them to approach situations differently although I don't know that I quite buy the notion the show keeps pushing that Federation means uptight and rigidly rule-following and Maquis means intuitive and brash. I accept that the command structure is different in the Maquis and based far more on personal loyalty and results than it ever could be in Starfleet. I also accept that the Maquis are used to taking much more personal initiative than Starfleet officers (see something broke, go and fix it rather than reporting the problem and waiting for orders). I also believe that the Maquis are more comfortable operating within a level of moral ambiguity than their shipmates on Voyager. However, sometimes it feels like the show is suggesting that the Maquis are all flaily hands and Starfleet is all chewing each bite twenty times, and that simplistic kind of comparison gets old.
I like that the Maquis is a sympathetic group and not merely criminals. Their desire to keep their homes and to protect their families from what they see as a Cardassian invasion is very easy for all the Federation officers on Voyager to understand and empathize with even if they don't condone the methods of retaliation that the Maquis adopt. I like that there are no easy answers or black and white distinctions that can be made about either group or the ideologies that separate them.
I also like how Tom Paris is alienated from both groups to begin with because of perceived betrayals by both and has to work to be accepted. I like that many of the Maquis are shown having trouble fitting in and functioning on Voyager for a variety of reasons (Seska, Suder, the group that Tuvok trains, B'Elanna to a certain extent). Finally, I really like the way Chakotay is never going to forgive Tuvok for betraying him. As centered and calm as Chakotay always is, he is pissed as hell that Tuvok lied to him and sold him out. Even three seasons in, that anger is still palpable and coloring their relationship.
2. death and the afterlife
Several episodes so far have focused on the process of dying and what happens to beings when they die. The most powerful of these for me is "Emanations" in which Harry is transported to a planet where people enter a machine that kills them and send them through some kind of portal onto another planet. They believe that when they die they become energy and go on to have an afterlife that includes re-encountering those they love. All throughout the episode, we're lead to believe that these people are deluded. They're killing themselves needlessly instead of living their lives until they die of old age. And then at the end, we find out that energy does emanate from their bodies and join other energy readings in space. There are no definitive answers, but maybe some kind of sentient life after death does exist for this race, and by extension, us. I could see this episode going over really well in a philosophy class; you'd need very little background Star Trek knowledge to get what's going on, and the big existential questions are so beautifully addressed.
There's also all the episodes that deal with the Vidiians (particularly the one in which the doctor falls in love). How does a culture, how does a race of beings, change when faced constantly with its own reduced mortality? As revealed in these episodes, the Vidiians don't congregate together for fear of spreading the Phage, so no parties. No sporting events. No religious events that require attendance. They don't casually touch. They spend all their energy and resources on curing the Phage. And worst of all, they engage in the worst kind of Othering, the kind that allows them to kill other beings for the organs they need to survive.
3. Science vs Religion
We just watched "Sacred Ground," and while that episode is pretty much a Janeway character study, it's also a really nuanced discussion of the tension between science and faith that exists for many of the crew. I am a Victorianist, and so I am especially intrigued with the ways that people's faith is or is not altered by scientific advancement and/or technological change. One of the hallmarks of an "educated" person has become the assumption that most phenomena considered supernatural actually have a natural, scientific explanation. And mostly that's true. But I believe very strongly that there is an element of Mystery that still exists in the universe no matter how closely we are able to examine and quantify our surroundings. The inexplicable still exists. I really like watching Janeway wrestle with those questions.
4. Personal responsibility
This is a huge theme in the series so far, whether it's Janeway taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of the crew of Voyager or Harry deciding that he cannot live in the comfort of the alternative timeline because to do so is to betray his shipmates or B'Elanna deactivating the Dreadnought weapon that she created so long ago in the Alpha Quadrant. In many ways, Voyager is like a crucible in which each character must decide what matters most to him or her. Many of them are given the opportunity to address old wrongs or to take moral stances that define them.
5. The logistics of being cut off from Starfleet
This is why I love SGU, why I love the apocalypse, why I love shipwrecked on a desert planet. First Voyager has to deal with the most basic of necessities--procuring food and water and the stuff that makes the ship go. What are they willing to do to get this stuff? Is it ever acceptable to just take what they need? What price are they willing to pay? Then there's the whole issue of some things being irreplaceable--they just can't be manufactured given Voyager's supplies and technology. How do you ration the use of this stuff? Can the ship survive once it's gone? Then you've got issues of morale. People have lost loved ones. Many of them have no realistic hopes of reaching home in their lifetimes. Where's the Deanna Troi big enough to heal all that hurt? And then how do you deal with the more nitty gritty--issues like procreation and the development of relationships, punishments for infractions, the allocation of work? I really liked the way Janeway wrestled with the idea of crewmembers becoming involved and eventually having children. I like that it was a fraught decision for her but that she decided to relax the frat regs.
The show hasn't really dealt with this very much (and I doubt it will) but allocation of work is something I wish they'd explore. Each of them has been assigned a job and they get to do it for seventy years with very little down time? What about any children they have? Ala one of Chief Tyrol's awesomest speeches on BSG, do their children just inherit the jobs of their parents? What sort of opportunity for advancement or career change can there be in this environment? We just watched "Fair Trade" tonight and it broke my heart watching Neelix confess that he believed his usefulness had come to an end. What if Amelia Earhart and company had stayed aboard Voyager? In what way beyond custodial services could they have contributed to ship's operations? (THIS IS A SERIOUS QUESTION. AND IT IS TWO-PART. WHO CLEANS SHIT UP (have you ever seen a broom on an episode of Star Trek?) AND IF I ACCIDENTALLY GOT TRANSPORTED THROUGH THE SPACE TIME CONTINUUM INTO CHAKOTAY'S ARMS, HOWEVER COULD OUR EPIC LOVE SURVIVE THE FACT THAT I AM GOOD FOR NOTHING IN HIS WORLD BUT LEADING A BOOK CLUB AND SCRUBBING TOILETS?)
6. Duality of character (B'Elanna, Kes, Tuvok, Paris, etc)
This is one of my favorite aspects of the show. Almost every character has a darker side, or to be more accurate, two ways of approaching the world around them that are diametrically opposed. This is literalized in B'Elanna's character when her Klingon and human halves are separated from one another, and we see that tension permeate the first three seasons. Does her humanity make her weak? Does her Klingon side made her too agressive and reckless? Can she find balance? Kes is several times shown how to use her mental powers for evil purposes and I don't know how it's gonna play out, but she's been given access to power often enough that I suspect that's gonna be her central struggle. She's so kind and empathetic, and yet she can really wreak some havoc. Tuvok is a Vulcan and in control of his emotions, but more than one episode has highlighted that that control really means repression more than anything else and that stamping down his anger and aggression is an ongoing process. What happens when that control is eroded? Will he learn, ala Spock, to accept that emotions are acceptable to some degree, or will he hide even further behind the facade? Besides having played both sides of the fence, Paris is asked to play two roles in order to flush out the spy on board Voyager. I could go on about pretty much every main character for this one, but my fingers hurt. LOL
no subject
Date: 2010-09-08 05:40 am (UTC)So sorry, no well-informed discussion of these interesting things from this quarter. In elementary terms I recall liking Kes, underutilized that she was, and disliking Seven. Kate Mulgrew is one of the most interesting women ever judging by what I heard from her at DragonCon 2009 and I find Janeway intriguing for many reasons. I enjoyed the friendship between Bashir and Chief O'Brien--and one of my all time fave episodes was the O'Brien vehicle Hard Time. And over in ST:TNG land, I cry every time I watch the episode The Inner Light and love the episode Darmok--I used it when we talk language and meaning when I taught speech classes.
But I will always love the orginal Leonard 'Bones' McCoy the best out of all the characters.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-08 03:27 pm (UTC)I really really like Kes a lot. She's such a complex and interesting character. I haven't gotten to 7 yet, so I have no idea how I'll react to her character. I suspect I'll like her.
Oh man, Bashir/O'Brien is like my all time favorite pairing for DS9, unless it's Garak/Bashir which is a close second. I've got a lot of DS9 fic recced here so you should check out my tags for star trek if you're into that. :)
I do so love DeForrest Kelly. *squishes him*
no subject
Date: 2010-09-14 09:35 pm (UTC)I really loved the whole Voyager set-up, with the two enemy groups forced to work together, the palpable tension between characters for various reasons (some personal, some political) ... and you know what? I also loved that everyone buckled down and went with it and didn't make a huge drama out of it. So often when the subject comes up, people complain that more wasn't done with the tension between the Maquis and the Starfleet crewmembers, that it all went too peaceful too quickly. I've complained myself, at times - it's a trope that interests me a great deal, and I'd have loved to see what they could have done with all those tensions if things hadn't settled down so quickly. But in the end, I think over what we didn't get, people tend to forget what we did get, which (as you say) was still quite a lot of tension, but between people who were doing the reasonable thing, who were capable of compromise and mutual respect even where they didn't agree. Hot-headed Maquis or rigid Starfleet officer - say about the clichés what you will, they all managed to overcome their reservations and go along with it. (Well, with Janeway. *g*) It makes me respect and like all of them just that much more, if that makes sense. I like practical people. :)
Btw, I also really liked the Vidiians, and was very sad when Voyager moved out of their space. (Unlike the Kazon, who I don't think were missed by anyone. *g*)
You're right about the existential questions, too - Voyager was very good at letting unanswerable questions be unanswerable while still making a good story out of them. And confronting the characters with things that have no easy answers, or indeed any kind of real answer at all. I like that!
In many ways, Voyager is like a crucible in which each character must decide what matters most to him or her. Many of them are given the opportunity to address old wrongs or to take moral stances that define them.
YES! This really is the heart and centre of the show. Very well put! ♥
I could go on about pretty much every main character for this one, but my fingers hurt. LOL
You should talk about Janeway! Not that I'm biased or anything, LOL. :D
no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 12:41 am (UTC)I am so with you on everybody putting on their big girl and big boy pants and just getting down to the business of living. I like that the tension doesn't completely dissolve but that it goes away to the degree that these people can work together and actually be friends and support each other.
Just after I posted this, we watched the episode where the alien being tries to get Janeway to "cross over into the light." I love how creepy that episode is. Is the afterlife actually something science can explain? Is this species responsible for near death experiences? *shudders* Love it.
I like the Vidiians too.
We just started season four and I am digging on the Borg plotline and 7. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
I'm also really irritated about Kes. It's not that I object to her and Neelix splitting. I don't. But it pisses me off that they cut the scene where they break up which makes the subsequent episodes just seem lame and weird. And I hate the way they shunted her to the side before getting rid of her entirely. She's such a cool character and they sent her out with a whimper. Although I totally bawled when she shot them ten years closer to home. *sniffle*
no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 07:55 am (UTC)I'm glad you're enjoying s4 and Seven so far! Seven is fabulous. There are lots of people who dislike her for shipping reasons, but I always loved her. And the tension between her and the rest of the crew really adds something to that weird mix on Voyager.
Agreed abut Kes; the way she was written out wasn't exactly perfect. *sighs* So much they could have done with her but didn't.
Are you going to post more about your Voyager-watching? I'm really looking forward to it. :)
no subject
Date: 2010-09-17 12:12 am (UTC)Yes! Another post tonight. (Josh is watching football so no more Voyager watching tonight. May as well do *something* with that time.)
no subject
Date: 2010-09-21 08:34 am (UTC)Looking forward to properly reading your post once I've got a bit of time - I've got it open in a tab. :)