Voyager: "Equinox, Parts I&II"

[Snowman37]

Let's talk about Voyager: "Equinox, Parts I&II." To start off the discussion, I once read online that Kate Mulgrew had considered backing out of the show at the end of the fifth season. At the end of Part 1, she was struct by an alien, suggesting that she might have been killed. I suspect that had Mulgrew backed out, either Chakotay or the Equinox captain would have taken command. Has anyone else read this, and can you provide a source? I think I read this on Memory Alpha, but it's since been edited away from the page I read it on.

[DigiFluid]

You know, I swear I read the exact same thing about Mulgrew somewhere, but damned if I can find it now

Anyway I think this pair of episodes is yet another example of Voyager setting up tremendous opportunities for itself....and then failing miserably. With the Equinox and her crew, and particularly Capt. Ransom (which, by the by, is a completely moronic name for a character), they had a fantastic opportunity for the show to start its very own rag-tag-fleet--Voyager and Equinox, struggling to find their way home together. Or at the very least, adopt some truly malcontent characters into the Voyager crew.

And then they laughed in the face of writing great television, and hit the big reset button as usual. Equinox was blown up and forgotten by the next episode, and the handful of crewmembers were never mentioned again. Sigh.

[Snowman37]

You do realize the show was on a network, right? UPN, a network which the made it very clear to the producers that it did not want story arcs. The reasoning being that the network feared story arcs would make the show too hard to follow, or something to that effect. Seven of Nine's introduction was suppose to be much longer, with her deBorgification lasting several episodes, leaving Seven with numerous scars. It was the network that wanted the transformation to happen in one episode, no scars, and the catsuit. "Year of Hell" was suppose to span the fourth season, but the network wanted it condensed into a two-parter. Get my point?

The producers and writers were always thinking big, and the network always said no. Two-parters are as big as the network was willing to go. Try not to put all of the blame on the production team. They put together a great TV show that lasted seven years, 172 episodes, and it was consistently entertaining. It made not have had the depth of TNG, but it was a fantastic production nevertheless.

I prefer to enjoy the show for what it is rather than mope over what it wasn't.

[Merlin1701]

I always wanted the idea of voyager creating a small fleet which would have allowed for promotion and different stories with different people/ interactions.

I personally would have loved to see the dauntless taken on and had a full refit; to see if Chakotay of Tuvok would have been given command who would have moved to the dauntless...

[Snowman37]

The only problem with this is that it would have been too expensive. However, I think two ships would not be unreasonable. The Equinox could have stuck around with Chakotay as it's captain. UPN never would have agreed to this, though. The network would probably go on about how viewers would get confused as to where this other ship came from. Remember, UPN was all about ratings, not fans.

[SaberBlade]

I think the problem with having a small fleet is people could start thinking of Battlestar Galactica (original, not remake) by having a small group of ships on a long, lonely quest trying to find Earth.

Like BSG (both), I think everyone would have been waiting to see how long Equinox would last before being lost or going boom, anything that removes it from the series.

[DigiFluid]

I think the problem with having a small fleet is people could start thinking of Battlestar Galactica (original, not remake) by having a small group of ships on a long, lonely quest trying to find Earth.

Like BSG (both), I think everyone would have been waiting to see how long Equinox would last before being lost or going boom, anything that removes it from the series.

Well, except that voyager preceded RDM BSG by quite a few years, and until then nobody really gave a rat's arse about old BSG....

[knowles2]

Voyager probably had some of the best two partners in the franchise, Equinox, Year of Hell, and I even joyed the own where seven get taken back by the Borg.

It a shame that they were not allow to do these stories how they wanted to, especially given the success that DS9 achieve with its story arcs. An Enterprise season 3 shows the potential brilliance that these writer could do writing season long story lines.

I also felt it was a shame we never heard of equinox crew members again.

[SaberBlade]

Well, except that voyager preceded RDM BSG by quite a few years, and until then nobody really gave a rat's arse about old BSG....

Unless people, like myself, had seen the original BSG and it's horrible Galactica 1980 sequel series. Just because RDM's is still being milked, doesn't mean that people during Voyager's run wouldn't associate BSG with Voyager leading a ragtag fleet for Earth.

[McAvoy]

Let's talk about Voyager: "Equinox, Parts I&II." To start off the discussion, I once read online that Kate Mulgrew had considered backing out of the show at the end of the fifth season. At the end of Part 1, she was struct by an alien, suggesting that she might have been killed. I suspect that had Mulgrew backed out, either Chakotay or the Equinox captain would have taken command. Has anyone else read this, and can you provide a source? I think I read this on Memory Alpha, but it's since been edited away from the page I read it on.

For the most part you are correct. But it was a Rick Berman thing as well. DS9 did huge story arcs and didn't really have a problem with it. Berman didn't want the Dominion War, at best it was to span a few episodes.

Voyager from the get-go was a missed oppournity. The Maquis crew should have never intergrated with the crew so easily within a few episodes. There should have been conflict, Voyager damaged, low morale, etc. Instead it was a reset button at the end of each episode.

At the end of season 7, Voyager should have looked like it was cobbled togther sort of like the NX-01 in E2 in season 3. basically the crew finding alien parts and resources to patch up Voyager when broke or damaged. At the very least, make it look weathered.

I did personally like the idea of having the Equinox for awhile. Maybe, make an episode too where they taker her apart for spare parts to repair the damaged Voyager I said above.

[Snowman37]

I think the problem with having a small fleet is people could start thinking of Battlestar Galactica (original, not remake) by having a small group of ships on a long, lonely quest trying to find Earth. Like BSG (both), I think everyone would have been waiting to see how long Equinox would last before being lost or going boom, anything that removes it from the series.

I never watched BSG, so no comment. As for a fleet of ships, I'm not proposing a fleet. I'm suggesting the Equinox stick around for more than two episodes. Maybe not all season, but imagine if it stuck around until the big, mid-season two-parter? It's destruction would have had a bigger, emotional impact if it had served as Chakotay's command with some of the Voyager crew and Equinox survivors calling it home. No?

It a shame that they were not allow to do these stories how they wanted to, especially given the success that DS9 achieve with its story arcs. An Enterprise season 3 shows the potential brilliance that these writer could do writing season long story lines.

I won't put all the blame on UPN, but I do believe the network was the primary reason as to why VOY was so episodic.

For the most part you are correct. But it was a Rick Berman thing as well. DS9 did huge story arcs and didn't really have a problem with it. Berman didn't want the Dominion War, at best it was to span a few episodes.

Really? Was Berman anti-story arc or anti-war? Perhaps he just didn't want the show to turn into Star Wars?

Voyager from the get-go was a missed oppournity. The Maquis crew should have never intergrated with the crew so easily within a few episodes. There should have been conflict, Voyager damaged, low morale, etc. Instead it was a reset button at the end of each episode.

Pretty much everyone on the writing staff agreed that the Voyager/Maquis conflict should be settled by the end of the first season. Really, what good would it do for the Maquis to be in conflict with Voyager? Janeway could always unload them at the nearest M-class planet if they became too much trouble. I like how it was mostly in the form of the Starfleet way or the Maquis way, and that did continue as the show went on, especially given that the first officer and chief engineer were ex-Maquis now.

At the end of season 7, Voyager should have looked like it was cobbled togther sort of like the NX-01 in E2 in season 3. basically the crew finding alien parts and resources to patch up Voyager when broke or damaged. At the very least, make it look weathered.

I think that might have been stretching it a bit far. The writers tried to address this with "Nightingale" where Voyager touched down for extensive repairs. Sure, they could have been done in space, but I guess landing the ship made things easier? Maybe not faster, but surely easier. However, I do like your idea of the ship looking weathered by the end of the series. One thing I wish the ship would have kept are the Borg upgrades from "Scorpion, Part II." They'd have helped defend the ship from the Borg, no? Perhaps there was the fear of the ship assimilating itself?

I did personally like the idea of having the Equinox for awhile. Maybe, make an episode too where they taker her apart for spare parts to repair the damaged Voyager I said above.

I can see this happening. There'd have to be more than the Equinox being scuttled, though. It's television, and people expect a ship to end with a big bang. How would you see the Equinox go out?

[Saquist]

Let's talk about Voyager: "Equinox, Parts I&II." To start off the discussion, I once read online that Kate Mulgrew had considered backing out of the show at the end of the fifth season. At the end of Part 1, she was struct by an alien, suggesting that she might have been killed. I suspect that had Mulgrew backed out, either Chakotay or the Equinox captain would have taken command. Has anyone else read this, and can you provide a source? I think I read this on Memory Alpha, but it's since been edited away from the page I read it on.

Voyager had a severe problem with it's two parters. Equinox was probably it's best one.

Basics was a good first bad second part
Future's End was bad across the board
Scorpion was a good first and a bad second part
Year of Hell So much potential and while I can't honestly call it bad it wasn't really good...it was...mediocre
The Killing Game was perhaps the 2nd worse Two Parter after Futures End. If I see Nazis one more time in Trek...
Unimatrix Zero It was just medicre and when I say Mediocre...I mean there was no suspense after they got turned into borg it was pretty much cliche from that point on
The Workforce was BORING!...egregiously money saving.... and terrifyingly BORRRRING. Just so much UGH!!!
End Game was mildly entertaing....but mediocre in the end.


Something different happened in Equinox. The writers almost....matured.

They gave B'Elanna an antagonist
They actually seriously damaged the ship like in Deadlock (I don't care that the ship goes back to normal the next episode it's important not to be petulant as a Trek Fan and realize that carrying over damage would cost serious production money)
The story juxtaposition of the the two ships, the two Star Fleet Captains and their different dedication to the Rules the Prime Directive was good writing chops (somewhat easy and basic yes but sorely missing from Voyager's two parters and much of the series). Finally there was something artistic at work in a Trek production.

My only gripe ( a serious one) is that they make Janeway pscho to add that intensitive and it mirrored the same character sillyness of Picard going ape over the Borg in First Contact or Sisko going Megatron on Michael Eddington. Why the writers feel they have to depart from the character they wrote SO much just to add intensity is beyond me. Perhaps Trek characters are too Goody-two-shoes. But you'd think they could try a more believable and seemless meethod than to go from rationale and enlighten to hot rage and Khan like in an instant.

[McAvoy]

I never watched BSG, so no comment. As for a fleet of ships, I'm not proposing a fleet. I'm suggesting the Equinox stick around for more than two episodes. Maybe not all season, but imagine if it stuck around until the big, mid-season two-parter? It's destruction would have had a bigger, emotional impact if it had served as Chakotay's command with some of the Voyager crew and Equinox survivors calling it home. No?

Interestingly this is exactly what happened nuBSG with the Pegasus.

I won't put all the blame on UPN, but I do believe the network was the primary reason as to why VOY was so episodic.

It was a combination of producers basically getting VOY to be more like TNG than be on it's own. I mean the way it written, if you take away being 70,000 lightyears away, and say Voyager was on the deep fringes of Federation territory, it would be basically the same with the exception of odd episode here and there centering around them being far, far away from home. I am not saying every single episode should be Voyager stuggling but it should had a much more impact to the series.

Really? Was Berman anti-story arc or anti-war? Perhaps he just didn't want the show to turn into Star Wars?

No. It had nothing to do with making it like Star Wars or something similar. He wanted DS9 to maintain the TNG specific traits.

Pretty much everyone on the writing staff agreed that the Voyager/Maquis conflict should be settled by the end of the first season. Really, what good would it do for the Maquis to be in conflict with Voyager? Janeway could always unload them at the nearest M-class planet if they became too much trouble. I like how it was mostly in the form of the Starfleet way or the Maquis way, and that did continue as the show went on, especially given that the first officer and chief engineer were ex-Maquis now.

I don't think it should have been a dominant theme. But there should have been a big issue at leats in the beginning. I mean, you have the Maquis which many of them are either dropouts from Starfleet, never been in Starfleet or perhaps do not like Starfleet at all. These are people who were fighting a war becauee Starfleet gave away their homes. All of them have their own reasons for being in the Maquis. There should have been alot of conflict until they found their niche.

I think that might have been stretching it a bit far. The writers tried to address this with "Nightingale" where Voyager touched down for extensive repairs. Sure, they could have been done in space, but I guess landing the ship made things easier? Maybe not faster, but surely easier. However, I do like your idea of the ship looking weathered by the end of the series. One thing I wish the ship would have kept are the Borg upgrades from "Scorpion, Part II." They'd have helped defend the ship from the Borg, no? Perhaps there was the fear of the ship assimilating itself?

How so would be a ship deep in unknown space with no Federation bases to repair or replenish Voyager's supply of spare parts, or whatever the replicator cannot make? But instead we got a ship that practically brand new by the time of the end of season 7.

I can see this happening. There'd have to be more than the Equinox being scuttled, though. It's television, and people expect a ship to end with a big bang. How would you see the Equinox go out?

Considering that the ship was seriously damaged, slow by Voyager's standards and is inferior, it would have been a handicap for Voyager to keep her her around. The big thing is Voyager was supposed to have limited resources, Equinox would drain those limited resources to be fixed. I mean the interior of the ship was in pieces.