about the voyager stuff, Up until recently I found star trek strangly compeling, kinda like an addiction, you know like when you're not particually enjoying it but you're compeled to go on... its looking back on voyager you see that it was average at the best, even scorpion, arguably its best episode isn't watchable after the third time, you'll just get bored and do something else after five minutes... Plus I cant think of any truely spectacular set pieces either which stick to the back of your mind... when the fleet pulls away from the federation station to retake DS9 is almost awe inspiring. Also when you say that the other series used the same plot devices, the other Star Treks actually have compeling characters, and ones (not all by any means) which where fully developed... and it is in this that you see that the characters grow... in voyager it became the "seven show" after season 4. which is of course depressing on a story basis. some of the decent ideas the cunjured up where wasted like the internal tentsion between the Marque (excuse spelling) and Feds was never used after a few episodes... it definatly is a "wouldn't it be a lot better if..." kinda show, but really that isn't good enough.
heres something I pulled from
http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/ which pretty much sums up voyager:
Top ten things that never happened on Voyager
10. Janeway encounters Q and asks him to take the ship home.
9. Janeway takes any chance to get home.
8. Voyager is attacked, and none of the crew is hurt by an exploding plasma conduit.
7. Voyager is not attacked.
6. At the end of an episode, Voyager is in better shape than at the beginning.
5. Voyager encounters a completely intact cube and is immediately destroyed like usual starships.
4. Voyager runs out of shuttles/crew members.
3. A shuttle gets into an electromagnetic atmospheric turbulence. However, due to the excellent pilot abilities of Janeway/Chakotay/Tuvok the shuttle lands safely.
2. The crew are forced to play in a Shakespeare drama instead of just loitering in the holodeck.
1. Neelix discovers the secret of tasteful clothing.
and....
Ten more things that never happened on Voyager suggested by Martin Schulz
10. Compatibility problems with alien technology cannot be solved.
9. For once, alien technology is to Voyager's benefit.
8. Voyager returns after 70 years and the crew consists of a colorful bunch of human/alien half-breeds born on the ship.
7. Janeway learns that bending the rules does not necessarily mean breaking the rules.
6. A battle is lost because the weak point of the vastly superior enemy is not found.
5. Janeway realizes that it is better to avoid the territory of a vastly superior enemy. No chance - we're gonna fight it out. Let the Prime Directive be damned.
4. Small injuries of main characters such as blindness, disease or trivialities like death cannot be undone.
3. Someone needs more hairspray than Janeway.
2. Chakotay and Janeway
1. A new female crew member comes on board who looks better than Seven of Nine.
Even more things that never happened on Voyager
10. The crew needs more than one week to accomplish a major technological breakthrough.
9. Another wormhole is detected, but this time Harry Kim is not excited about it at all.
8. Seven realizes that Voyager has been in the Beta Quadrant already for months.
7. Tom notices that his Delta Flyer is taller than the shuttlebay door, but after all, he is a good pilot.
6. Janeway wakes up, only to realize that the whole 5th to 7th season was a dream, and all the events in "The Year of Hell" did actually take place.
5. B'Elanna creates holographic projections of the crew to attend the Doctor's slide shows.
4. The cryogenic chambers or the cloning lab are shown. The many crew members must come from somewhere, unless the lower ranks are frequently surgically altered.
3. Tom is demoted to crewman for not switching off the lights in shuttlebay 2, wherever this may be.
2. Harry and Seven
1. Janeway suffers a caffeine shock.
Well anyway I think I wanna get away from the Voyager and babylon five arguement...
The first season should consist of the events leading to the Kilrathi war... this would leave suitable time to establish characters, scene etc. before the real stuff happens...
And it shouldn't be based on the Tigers Claw...
Shows the intelligence level of people who agree with you, and that was the first list I looked at.
