What killed Voyager for me
I know this is practically inviting a flame war, but I believe I have achieved some emotional distance here. I, who was once dubbed "King of the Nitpickers" for criticizing some references to direction that did not match the effects shots, have semi-retired from nitpicking. I would say I have fully retired from Voyager-bashing, but I feel that "bashing" implies that I manufacture complaints. I believe I never have. However, I feel that I did complain about many things that were entirely equal to thinks I basicly let slide in regard to other Trek shows. I used to say that each incident may not be awful, but the pattern was. I have discovered that I was more right than I knew.
What bothered me about Voyager was not the presence of errors, not the calibur, nor even the frequency. What bothered me about Voyager was how easilly fixable they each seemed, and even that wasn't really it. What it was, really, was that it seemed that no one was trying to correct or avoid those errors.
See, no matter how hard you try, some mistakes are going to slip through. Some of them will be suprisingly obvious to others ("Is that gladiator wearing a wristwatch?"), and some of them will only be obvious to the guy who was supposed to prevent them ("I forgot to change the number on that door."). They will happen. The important thing isn't really the perfection of the job, it's the effort. It's important that someone cares enough about the finished product that they try to make it perfect. It's important that someone cares enough about the consumers that they try to make the product perfect for them, so they will enjoy it more. It's important that someone cares.
Over my years of watching Voyager, I got the distinct impression that no one with the power to make changes there cares. They care if we tune in week after week, and they care if we buy Coke because of it (a little), but they don't actually care if we liked the show, or if we enjoyed watching it, so long as we tune in next week.
That's fine, really. I mean, TV is a business, and the ends of the business are served if the viewers tune in and no one really cares why they tune in as long as whether or not they will tune in next week is, in some way, predictable.
But, I think, for it to be truly worthy of being Star Trek, of being the show with a muti-million dollar industry based upon devoted fans buying books and toys and memoriabilia, and keeping the actors wealthy just for appearing at a few conventions a year, where adoring fans fight for the chance to sit in a crowded, poorly ventilated hall just to listen to them talk about whatever topics they choose, ...... Someone making the show is supposed to care.
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You're a Starfleet Officer. "Weird" is part of the job.
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