Voyagers premise and Janeway "stupidity"

[Captain Picard's Hair]

It's hard not to notice the crap Janeway takes around here; I was wondering how much of her "stupidity" is a result of the Voyager premise. Voyager was lost in the Delta Qudarant and the whole point of the show was the long journey home. It's inevitable that the writers will play on the understandable yearning to get home, only to pull away the opportunity (since the show would be over at that point). On the other hand, they couldn't just produce endless variations on the same old cocktease, where the promise of getting home in time for dinner turns out to be physically impossible. Janeway had to turn down certain opportunities.

On the BIG one, the reason Voyager ended up trapped 70,000 light years from Earth in the first place, that was a choice by the writers that really casts Janeway in a bad light, right in the very first episode. It's not a good way to get a character started. There certainly could have been other ways to achieve the same effect, though simply making the Caretaker too weak to send Voyager back home certainly wouldn't have had the "punch" that the eventual choice did, even if that "punch" wasn't viewed by all in a positive light. We may choose to blame the writers for not finding a reason for Janeway to decide to trap an entire crew on the far end of the galaxy without coming off as a dumbass to some (*coughRocheycough ). The fact that Janeway forgets about the very notion of timed explosive charges wasn't exactly a promising sign for a captain who's meant to be a scientific expert.

Then, while Mulgrew's voice may have been annoying, it might not have made much of a difference who played the role as long as the same idiots were writing for the show... which takes us to the biggest problem with Voyager. We can also say that the interesting idea Voyager was based on certainly wasn't taken to its fullest promise (well, duh!).

[Mikey]

That's a very astute analysis, but I think that most of the criticism levelled at Janeway follows that idea; the lion's share of abuse seems to be aimed at the character, not at Mulgrew's portrayal. Unfortunately, to make the show, Janeway was doomed to make the first dumb decision, as you mentioned. However, it seems that she made a lot of subsequent decisions at cross purposes. She seemed to be willing to ignore certain protocols in order to expedite the trip home, yet she was interested in following others that did the opposite, or even endangered the voyage altogether.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

That's a very astute analysis, but I think that most of the criticism levelled at Janeway follows that idea; the lion's share of abuse seems to be aimed at the character, not at Mulgrew's portrayal. Unfortunately, to make the show, Janeway was doomed to make the first dumb decision, as you mentioned. However, it seems that she made a lot of subsequent decisions at cross purposes. She seemed to be willing to ignore certain protocols in order to expedite the trip home, yet she was interested in following others that did the opposite, or even endangered the voyage altogether.

And, this is only emblematic of the poor writing that characterized Voyager in general. Janeway is only the biggest symbol. BTW, nice to have you back!

[Captain Seafort]

There were half-a-dozen different ways Voyager could have been stranded without making Janeway a blithering idiot. For example: the Caretaker wasn't a sole benevolent alien, but the vanguard for a large-scale invasion of the Milky Way, bringing ships to him as part of his intelligence-gathering remit. To prevent the invasion, which would make the Borg look like children, Voyager has to destroy the array, and with it their only route home. This also allows the writers to do Klingon/Romulan/Cardassian stories without resorting to stupidity such as "Faces" or "Dreadnought".

As for the rest of the show, Janeway repeatedly put the ship in danger due to her insistence on stopping to investigate the anomaly of the week rather than heading home, and in the later series getting into a personal feud with the Borg Queen.

[Aaron]

If you look at it from an OOU perspective, it is indeed craptastic writing. That's dogged Trek since the last few seasons of TNG.

However when you look at it from an IU perspective, the only explanation is that Janeway is a retard (durr! what's a timer?) and a douche at best. Look at how she handled Tuvix.

[Blackstar the Chakat]

The fact that Janeway forgets about the very notion of timed explosive charges wasn't exactly a promising sign for a captain who's meant to be a scientific expert.

I don't think her expertise involved explosives. Actually, why was a scientist assigned to hunt down the Maquis? Sure her friend and tactical officer was on board but, someone else cold do it and send Tuvok to her. (well, obviously not since they would've been in the Delta quadrent, but I think you get it). Janeway wasn't totally at fault. It was Starfleet's fault for sending a scientist on a combat assignment.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Exactly as I noted in my original post: that the writers made a choice that portrays Janeway in a negative light in the pilot, while neglecting options more favorable to the "Hero Captain." This is why I started this thread, to discuss these very issues - I don't doubt that Janeway, as portrayed, was a fool of colossal proportions.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Even a scientist should understand the notion of timers, though. After all, it's not as though timers don't have applications in science!

[Captain Seafort]

Look at how she handled Tuvix.

Of all the major anti-Janeway examples put forth, generally, that's the one I don't have a major problem with. Two crewmen are more useful than one, and you can't afford to have your chief of security splitting his time between the tactical station and the galley. Plus the old adage on the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few...or the one. From that cold use-of-resources approach, Janeway made the right choice.

[Mikey]

I also didn't mind that decision on its own. But, it's an excellent example of Janeway's inconsistency. In that situation, she was willing to make the most pragmatic decision for the needs of the entire crew, even though it was a hard one to make; elsewhere, she's willing to sacrifice the needs of the crew (read: getting home ASAP) in order to spend a few weeks investigating a pretty flower on some random planet, even though she's been informed that the locals are hostile.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

I myself have wondered at the detours Voyager often took on the way home. That was even brought up on the bridge once that I recall: Chakotay informed Janeway of a nearby nebula (pretty much your run-of-the-mill nebula) and Janeway decided it was worth taking a little time off the way home to take some readings. I don't recall the episode or what happened next.

[Captain Seafort]

True - morally dubious decisions taken in the interests of the greater good I don't have the big a problem with. It's those decisions which cause problems for the greater good (the Swarm encounter, the Bomar encounter, etc), or are morally dubious without any discernible advantage (Noah Lessing for example) that I have a problem with. Plus the issue of committing treason regarding her alliance with the Borg, and picking sides in someone else's war based on the half-detected thoughts of some bolshy fighter jockey.

[Blackstar the Chakat]

Even a scientist should understand the notion of timers, though. After all, it's not as though timers don't have applications in science!

True but she may not be as tactically minded as a combat professional. There may have been time for the Kazon to disable the explosive as well.

[Captain Seafort]

She doesn't need to be "tactically minded", all she needs to be is intelligent enough to say: "Tuvok, would it be possible to set the bomb on a timer?" If the answer is no fine, if the answer is yes, everyone goes home. She chose not to ask at all, proving herself to be as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

True - morally dubious decisions taken in the interests of the greater good I don't have the big a problem with. It's those decisions which cause problems for the greater good (the Swarm encounter, the Bomar encounter, etc), or are morally dubious without any discernible advantage (Noah Lessing for example) that I have a problem with.

Not to mention detours (hurting the common good) taken for no good reason, as in the example I gave.