Star Trek: Voyager is better today than it was when it premiered 30 years ago. Hype for Star Trek: Voyager was high in the months leading up to its January 16, 1995, premiere. Voyager promised a fresh twist on a familiar formula, with Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) as Star Trek's first female lead, captaining the USS Voyager's combined Starfleet and Maquis crew through the uncharted Delta Quadrant. Star Trek: Voyager also reversed Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's thematic departure from exploration and featured Lieutenant Tuvok (Tim Russ) as the first series regular Vulcan since Leonard Nimoy's Spock.
![Star Trek: Voyager Is Better Today Than It Was 30 Years Ago]()
During its UPN network run, Star Trek: Voyager couldn't escape harsh scrutiny as a new Star Trek show. Kate Mulgrew's Captain Janeway faced criticism just for being a woman in command. Inevitable comparisons between Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: The Next Generation deemed Voyager a rehash of its predecessor. Even as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine steadily improved by embracing serialization, Voyager's ratings languished. Seven of Nine's (Jeri Ryan) fourth-season addition was lambasted as a cheap way to attract viewers with blatant sex appeal. When viewed through a modern lens, however, Star Trek: Voyager is great Star Trek in its own right.
Star Trek: Voyager Overcame Its Problems From 30 Years Ago
Voyager's 1990s Problems Diminish In the Rear View
Viewed today, Star Trek: Voyager overcomes its problems from 30 years ago. Star Trek: Voyager's merits as a standalone show are easier to see today when it's clear that Voyager learned from its predecessors' early mistakes. Star Trek: The Next Generation's lackluster season 1 suffered from trying too hard to recapture Star Trek: The Original Series, and DS9 struggled with its purpose until shifting focus to the Dominion War. As a premiere episode, "Caretaker" clearly laid out Star Trek: Voyager's whole conceit, resulting in a show that knew what it was early on and rarely wavered from its central premise as it continued.
Even Star Trek: Voyager's missteps, like season 2's oft-derided "Threshold", have attained immortality as beloved memes in the decades since airing, with Star Trek: Prodigy even commenting on that time Janeway was a salamander.
Star Trek: Voyager’s strong central premise is both a strength and a weakness. Star Trek: Voyager delivered comfortable, even-handed Star Trek stories on a fairly consistent basis, but its clear storyline and goal meant early seasons offered little room for growth besides just getting home. Complaints that Star Trek: Voyager hit the reset button too frequently were countered with Seven of Nine's arrival and subsequent character arc, which gave Voyager's writers more room to let other characters grow, too. Star Trek: Voyager did have character development, but it was slow, especially compared to DS9's more dynamic pace.
Voyager Was Always A Better Show Than It Seemed In The 1990s
Star Trek: Voyager's Homeward Journey Maintained Roddenberry's Vision Of Cooperation
![Captain Janeway and Chakotay stand on the bridge with Tom Paris watching them in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Alliances"]()
Star Trek: Voyager was always better than its 1990s perception as a Star Trek: The Next Generation replacement that lacked Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's gravitas. While DS9 explored the difficult reality of maintaining a utopia, Voyager embraced core tenets of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek vision from the start. Janeway's decision to include Chakotay's (Robert Beltran) Maquis crew—and later, Seven of Nine—instead of relegating them to the brig laid the groundwork for Star Trek: Voyager's tone. By Star Trek: Voyager's end, Captain Janeway's stubborn optimism and radical compassion transformed the USS Voyager's crew into the best versions of themselves.
Despite its episodic nature, Star Trek: Voyager does feature recurring themes in a generalized arc. In Voyager's early seasons, characters grieve the lives they planned to live and learn how to cope with their new normal. Star Trek: Voyager's third season heralds the Borg with stories about colonization and rebellion. In seasons 4 and 5, Voyager questions traditions and directives, while the USS Voyager's growing Delta Quadrant reputation in seasons 5 and 6 drives themes like storytelling and perception. With home in sight, Star Trek: Voyager doubles down on the themes of family and individual choices that were always present.
Voyager Changed Star Trek For The Better
Star Trek: Voyager Expanded The Galaxy And Drew In Female Viewers
![Seven of Nine as a Borg talks to Captain Janeway in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Scorpion Part 2"]()
Star Trek: Voyager changed Star Trek for the better by taking the proven formula to the next level. After Star Trek: The Next Generation evolved and even perfected what Star Trek: The Original Series established, Star Trek: Voyager leaned into the inherent weirdness of the Delta Quadrant. Voyager took more risks with its storytelling and fleshed out concepts that were previously one-dimensional. Star Trek: Voyager gave fans a new version of the Borg Collective that was more alien culture than force of nature, and redefined Star Trek holograms' capabilities with Robert Picardo as the USS Voyager's Emergency Medical Hologram.
Seven of Nine's brilliant character arc drew a road map to liberation.
Perhaps most visibly, a generation of women became Star Trek fans because of Star Trek: Voyager, which eventually led to the gender parity seen in today's Star Trek ensembles. Star Trek: Voyager was female-focused from the jump, with Captain Kathryn Janeway as the franchise's first leading female Captain and Roxann Dawson's Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres as Star Trek's first female Chief Engineer. Seven of Nine's brilliant character arc drew a road map to liberation, and her moral tug-of-war with Janeway evolved into the philosophical heart of the show, proving Seven was more than just eye candy for the male gaze.
Why Watching Voyager Is Better Today Than It Was 30 Years Ago
Time—And New Star Trek Shows—Have Been Kind To Star Trek: Voyager
![Admiral Janeway addressing Starfleet In Star Trek: Prodigy]()
Today, it's easier to appreciate what Star Trek: Voyager brought to the table 30 years ago. Instead of just redecorating the house that TNG built, Voyager expanded the Star Trek universe and introduced ideas that influence today's shows. The exotic Delta Quadrant setting was a feature, not a bug. Voyager's takes on difficult themes of grief and isolation are repeated and explored in Star Trek: Discovery. Star Trek: Picard evolved Seven of Nine into a true Starfleet Captain. Star Trek: Prodigy couldn't introduce yet another generation to Star Trek without Admiral Janeway leading Prodigy's Delta Quadrant teens to the Federation.
Kathryn Janeway catches more internet flak in the 2020s for "straight up murdering" Tuvix (Tom Wright) than she does for simply being a woman in command of a Federation starship. It's weird, but it's progress.
Star Trek: Voyager is the perfect modern-day watch. The predictability and stability of the storyline makes Voyager excellent comfort food that’s perfect for binging. Captain Janeway no longer has to bear the burden of representing her entire gender, but instead shines on her own, since Janeway paved the way for female commanders like Star Trek: Discovery's Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Lt. Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn). Thirty years on, Star Trek: Voyager claims its well-deserved place as the beloved part of the Star Trek universe it was always meant to be.
