Sunday, May 29, 2011
Season Six Evaluation
I think that it is safe to say that the honeymoon is over. When Voyager appeared to turn the corner in season four, I had hope. Things were getting better, slowly, but the improvement was noticeable. Season five was a holding pattern, not much better or worse than season four, but at least they had downplayed my biggest complaint about the previous season: the Janeway-Seven debates. Those are back with a vengeance this season, and this time they've added plain, simple nonsense to the condescension. Often times Janeway's arguments won't even make sense within the context of her previous line - but she's got to be right in the end because she's Janeway. If they would have honest, intellectual debates about the benefits and disadvantages of collectivism versus free will, I would be glued to the television - but that would require a little effort on the part of the writers.
In general, I am becoming quite disillusioned with Voyager because of the intellectual laziness on the part of the writers. It isn't just the bad science that would take one look at in a general reference encyclopedia to fix (though that's infuriating too), it's the whole strategy of "hey, people like Seven and the Doctor, so let's make every episode about them!" To be fair, they have a better handle on what to do with those characters (Virtuoso and Someone to Watch Over Me notwithstanding), but when they can't figure out what to do in a Chakotay episode, they just give it over to Seven and hope for the best. That particular example (One Small Step) pointed me in the direction of Robert Beltran's thoughts in the form of this article, which I consider required reading regarding this point.
It is pretty damning that the best episodes, by a pretty wide margin, were both Ronald D. Moore efforts, and he left after the third episode of the season. The difference in storytelling cohesion is so stark; it's almost like the rest of the writers wanted to distance themselves from quality after he left. Both Survival Instinct and Barge of the Dead are character pieces that don't take the central crew member back a step in order to develop them, they build on what we already know about them in a consistent manner, and neither one offers any easy answers. While it would have been awesome to see what would have happened if he had taken over the show, I think we already have a good idea given the similarities between the Voyager and Battlestar Galactica premises.
Watchability: 2/5
Bottom Line: The bottom line is I expect a show to get better over time. I expect the writers to get more comfortable with the characters, for the actors to have a better handle on what's expected of them, and for the producers to be a bit more hands-off. I'm definitely harder on the series now than when I started, and that's why. They should know better by now.
9. Kathryn Janeway - Another example of the writers' dearth of creativity glimmers in episodes like Good Shepherd, wherein they prove how clueless they are about making a character likable. I mean, maybe you could start by making her fallible? A character that humans can identify with? Or they could try giving a single heroic, self-sacrificial deed to her name, as I suggest in Live Fast and Prosper. These are just ideas. Maybe she could not treat her crew, every member of which I like more than her, like naughty puppies who just can't seem to figure out this not-pooping-on-the-rug thing. No character in the show has had more episodes devoted to her, and yet I still cannot stand her.
8. Chakotay - He's still here? Seriously, this article. That's all I have to say on him.
7. Tom Paris - This is the first character evaluation since adding the character tags, and Paris has had the same number of episodes total as Kes, and she left three seasons ago. Seriously. Every single time he comes on, I have a new idea for what they could do with his character (for the most recent one, see Unimatrix Zero), but nothing ever materializes. I guess that he at least did get an episode this season (Alice), which is more than Chakotay could say, but then again Alice was a complete waste of time.
6. Harry Kim - Kim also had no episodes that focused on him this season, though he had an okay piece of the ensemble episode Memorial. I am just generally neutral towards him this season. His friendship with Paris is one of those opportunities for dramatic character growth that seems to be withering. Maybe they'll do something with the lack of promotion next season? I mean, why else would they have his character lampshade it? Oh. Yeah. This show is so frustrating.
5. Tuvok - Tuvok also had only one episode, which he shared with Neelix, but he was sort of playing some other character. Riddles was decent in the end, but the Tuvok character still feels really stagnant.
4. Neelix - Neelix had a couple of middling episodes this season, and has been a bit more annoying than in seasons four and five, but no where near seasons one through three levels.
3. B'Elanna Torres - She shoots to number three because she had one of the RDM episodes, and it was good, and she was good in it. Congrats, Torres, one of your two episodes this season was great. Welcome to what is realistically the top of the list for non-Seven/Doctor characters.
2. Seven of Nine - I am beginning to see the Seven fatigue, but at least the writers know enough about their own shortcomings to stick to what works, I guess. Still, when you have all the episodes, you have all the best episodes.
1. The Doctor - I do not, however, have Doctor fatigue. Sure, Virtuoso was terrible, and he actually has no fives this season, but in terms of total numbers of stories about him, he's just barely keeping pace with Seven. Both are at seventeen episodes apiece, but the Doctor has been around for twice as long as Seven has. And his delivery is still perfect, his comic timing is still amazing, but now, based on Life Line (which Picardo got partial story credit for), it is that much more clear how well he knows his character.
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