[6.7/10] Change the uniforms and throw on some film grain, and you might mistake the first hour of Star Trek: Voyager for an episode of The Original Series. It hits so many of the beats Gene Roddenberry and Gene Coon deployed all the time in the show that started it all: the strange god-like being with mysterious purposes, the former Starfleet officer gone rogue, the strange planet of the week that looks like a set they booked because it happened to be open on the Paramount backlot. As the third spin-off in this era of Trek, “Caretaker pt. 1” doesn’t feel terribly original, offering a 1990s take on a set of 1960s tropes.
But what lifts it above the lower lights of TOS is something simple but vital -- Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway.
Both William Shatner and Captain Kirk have their admirers and defenders, but in my book, many of the best episodes of that show worked despite him, with a bevvy of talented performers and creative writers working around their lead’s limitations. The first half of “Caretaker” is the opposite. Voyager struggles out of the gate, with shaky performances, stock standard Starfleet problems, and a sense of “Been there, done that” after almost a decade of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Yet, the rock that holds the first outing together, the element of the series that feels fully-formed from the jump, is this capable captain and the actor who brings her to life.
It’s a cliche adjective to use, but Captain Janeway is instantly credible and commanding as a leader. She has the poise and presence of a seasoned officer, speaking firmly but not curtly to the likes of Tom Paris and Harry Kim, with just enough wry wit to show she’s a human being and not a jerky Jellico type. Her short conversation with her beau helps humanize her, showing how she has connections outside of her work, and a gentler but no less persuasive way with people who aren’t under her command. Even her interactions with the denizens of the holographic “waiting area” show somebody who stays cool amid the tense and unknown, and her methods of convincing Chakotay to cooperate and show her crew some respect keep her on top of the situation despite its difficulties.
The writing for the character is only matched by the acting. It’s easy to say having not only seen Mulgrew perform the character over seven seasons, but also reprise the role in later Star Trek projects, but it’s hard, if not impossible, to imagine anyone else in the role. The fact that another actor was cast but ultimately left seems like a happy accident, because whatever the original performer’s talents, Mulgrew not only injected so much into the character over the years, but is the only actor in this first hour who’s able to convincingly deliver all the shades of the character that are there on the page.
Were that the same could be said for Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris. I want to go on record here as liking both the character and the performer from their work on Voyager, but both are off, and kind of a chore in the early going before the show figures them out. (See also: Dr. Bashir on DS9.) Star Trek has never been good at pulling off the sly rogue archetype (see also: “The Outrageous Okona”, or don’t), and McNeill is not up to the task of breaking that streak.
Some of that is the awkwardness of the fact that, with McNeill in tow, Tom Paris is a conspicuous reskin of Nicholas Locarno from TNG’s “The First Duty”, with the show regurgitating a suspiciously similar backstory. But even if you can get past the “Wait, this is a different guy?” of it all, Paris comes off as a generic and not terribly likable perspective character for this first hour. The libertine, caddish son of an admiral who’s ostracized for his mistakes and was a mercenary for the rebels feels like a focus-grouped backstory of every tired rendition of this archetype you’ve ever seen. McNeill struggles to inject charm rather than prickliness to the “Starfleet Observer” roped into Janeway’s rescue mission. And given his jerky attitude, the other officers seem right to give him the cold shoulder, even if this is a chicken-and-the-egg situation. The biggest mistake “Caretaker” makes in its first half is channeling most of the story through Paris.
But the second biggest is the fact that this never feels like a terribly big deal. This is the premise of the show! You are introducing the characters who will hopefully fuel the series for the length of its run. Obviously, some throat-clearing and introduction is necessary, but the tone and approach to this episode makes it come off like a random weekly episode of TNG, not the dramatic impetus for a new series. Momentous things happen! Spies reveal hidden allegiances! People die! And somehow, whether because of the professionalism of those involved or the fact that the beats at play were overfamiliar after decades of other Trek, the beginning of “Caretaker” seems like just another day at the office.
That said, Voyager’s opening hour does take a few big swings that mark it as unique. For one, it’s cool that the proceedings start not with Janeway getting the band together, or some other Starfleet threat, but rather with a ragtag Maquis crew escaping from their Cardassian pursuers. That choice capitalizes on one of the more interesting elements from the end of The Next Generation and shows a willingness to focus on those upset with, not a part of, the Federation.
For another, the series premiere pulls the rug out from under the audience in terms of who lives and who dies. Candidly, I don’t remember if the press material made clear who would be a part of the cast and who wouldn’t. But even knowing what happens, it’s interesting seeing the brusque Chief Medical Officer, the plain but present First Officer, and the Betazoid helmswoman who fends off Paris’ advances get a touch of shading in the early going and then perish before the hour is up. It breaks from the semi-standardized introductory rhythms, and promises that, theoretically at least, this is not business as usual.
Still, much of this hour fails to capitalize on that thrill. As mentioned, Janeway’s mission to rescue her Chief of Security from a missing Maquis ship, while her vessel gets blown halfway across the galaxy by a mysterious, body-stealing alien, should seem momentous. Instead, the human-ish setting with a dark mystery, strange energy wave, and need to work with the enemy to deal with a demigod and rescue people missing on both sides plays like the sort of problem Kirk or Picard would resolve on a weekly basis, without the heightened tone or sense of genuine stakes that justifies this as the kick-off to a series that would become storied (if still somewhat maligned) in its own right.
It doesn’t help that the characters beyond Janeway and Paris are big nothings in the early going. Ensign Kim gets the most screen time, and even anchors the DS9 crossover with Quark that briefly unites the two shows that would run side-by-side for five years. But Garrett Wang is stilted and the “naive young ensign” role is another stock type. Chakotay, B’Elanna, Tuvok, and the Emergency Medical Hologram are all present and accounted for, but outside of some principled anger from Chakotay and a bit of unexpected sass from Tuvok, they barely get any shading in the opening hour. Beyond the imaginative thought experiments that spur episodes, Star Trek lives and dies by its characters, and with an uninvolving crisis of the week weighing the proceedings down, the other main players aren’t sketched enough to make the audience want to tune in and see the sparks fly.
Thank the stars, then, for Janeway. The first half of the episode closes with a moment of vulnerability, of regret. One of the few moments that provokes an emotional response in the first half of “Caretaker” is the light horror that comes from the titular being kidnapping his victims, splaying them out on flat planks, and injecting them with giant needles. Harry Kim is an unfortunate victim who gives out a panicked scream when it happens. While Janeway doesn’t see that, she laments that someone so new, so promising, seems to be lost on her watch.
The way she recounts how his mom wanted to send over his clarinet, the way she upbraids herself for not taking enough time to get to know her young officers, the way she resolves to get this right whatever it takes shows the human being beneath the polished officer who seems capable of handling everything with Starfleet precision when we first meet her. There are layers of complexity to her, a performance perfectly calibrated to the different moments she captain is called to, that elevate the material every time she’s on screen. In its maiden journey, Voyager may have been a shaky vessel, starting out with a bumpy ride, but unlike some other series, it had the right captain to lead them on from the beginning.
Rewatching it on Netflix now. Like as for DS9, SD quality is really a bummer. Like every other Star Trek show, the first episodes ain't good. The show needs a season or two to find out what direction to take. This double episode ain't a masterpiece for sure but unlike any other show premiere in the Star Trek universe it's extremely consequential: in the end the Voyager is alone, trapped in a different quadrant and needs to find a way back. This determines the trajectory of this show and I'm still not sure if that was ever a good idea. Star Trek was always the best when the crew and ship were part of something bigger not isolated from the rest of humanity. If Voyager and its crew were lost, it would be of little consequence to the fate of federation.
Interesting to see how early they introduced Neelix. I almost forgot that he was there from episode 1. He's probably one of the worst and most annoying season regulars in all of that shows from that era (except maybe the young Crusher). Thank god that the good doctor was there from the start - cause he's one of my most beloved characters. His comedy potential is obvious from the start while Neelix maybe was meant to be funny like Quark plus encouraging like Guinean but his character always remained stupid.
I've watched Stargate: Universe already, so the plot is similar as Universe was inspired from this. Hope it will be at least somewhat enjoyable! I'm easy to please!
Update: The starting was a bit off, the Klingon girl's acting seemed off. But the story turned out good.
This was better than I expected after reading the comments. Also I had a familiar feeling seeing Janeway until I realized she‘s Red from Orange is the new Black. Since I really enjoyed her character on that show I‘m already very positive regarding this one. Kate Mulgrew is a great actress and I’m looking forward to see how she will manage the role of the captain. The rest of the actors also give a good vibe so I really hope that this will be fun to watch.
The only downside for now is the unrealistic situation of the Maquis joining the crew but I guess special situations need special solutions. We‘ll see how this will develop.
OK, I've never made a secret of the fact that Voyager has always been my least favorite of the second wave of Star Trek shows. The reasons for that you'll find in multiple comments I already left about the show. However I still decided to take it one again for no apperent reason.
Yes Caretaker isn't a great episode by any stretch of the imagination. Truth be told, I never thought of Misson Farpoint as an exiting pilot. Knowing how the characters will progress throughout the show isn't exactly favorable, too. For whatever strange reason I still wasn't bored watching it. I don't think it got better with time. But I'll say this - I feel much more at home here. In this version of Star Trek.
Review by LeftHandedGuitaristBlockedParent2017-09-07T13:16:42Z— updated 2017-09-09T10:18:37Z
Ah, Voyager.
I set myself a task of watching through the Star Trek franchise in chronological order, using the Star Trek Chronology Project as a guide. Since there is so much of it, I figured I would reach a point where I would struggle. So far, so good, but now I have to begin Star Trek: Voyager and from the off I'm feeling despondent.
I just don't like this show. It had a great concept - a Starfleet vessel lost on the other side of the galaxy, trying to get home - but was consistently a let down in every way. The potential was squandered at every opportunity, the writing always weak (especially compared to the incredible stuff happening on DS9 at the same time) and the characters incredibly bland. There was no sense of continuity or struggle. Do I even need to mention the heavy use of the reset button at the end of each episode?
I've never been able to get all the way through it before. When it was originally airing I stayed with it up until season 4 or maybe 5, then lost interest. I tuned in for the finale and don't remember much about it other than being underwhelmed. But I'm going to give it another chance here and see if I can make it all the way through.
'Caretaker' is a pretty weak beginning to the series. It sets up the initial concept and immediately makes everything feel very safe and ordered. Fortunately, it does have a pretty good cast but many of these good actors are given terrible characters to play. Captain Janeway is good, embodying many of the noble traits we'd expect of someone in charge and having a likeable command style. The holographic doctor is fun from the first moment we meet him. That's pretty much where the good stuff ends.
The characters we meet here are, more or less, exactly the same people they are going to be at the end of the show. Harry Kim will forever feel like an inexperienced kid on his first mission, Paris will attempt to be a cocky bad boy and never pull it off, Tuvok is a Vulcan and that's it, and Chakotay is pretty much the blandest man you'll ever meet. Torres has a bit of spark in her and will hopefully make her mark, but then there's Neelix who will remain the most annoying character ever to grace Star Trek. I guess Kes is there, too.
From the moment the crew are transported to the awful "farm" sequence on board the array, the episode just begins to fall flat and sit comfortably among the most basic of Star Trek tropes. All of the danger is manufactured and the aliens have uninspired designs. The Ocampa especially suck. There's a requisite scene where a rickety staircase begins to collapse. It's wrong to just blame everyone working on the show for these problems, by this point the franchise had done so much and it was following immediately on the heels of TNG, and they wanted to draw in fans of that series and let them feel some sense of familiarity. By the end of the episode we get a completely unbelievable situation as the renegade Maquis terrorists join the Starfleet crew, put on the uniforms and live happily together. Janeway makes Chakotay the bloody first officer... it's insane.
I read a fantastic idea online somewhere: the first season of this should have been about the original Voyager crew hunting down Chakotay and his Maquis crew. We would have gotten to know him as a villain and formed an attachment to everyone. Then, towards the end of the season, the Voyager crew who died here are killed and THEN Chakotay et al are forced through circumstances to join together. How much better, and so much more powerful, would that have been?
I will say one thing, though: the show has a gorgeous title sequence and theme tune.