To The Journey: A Star Trek Voyager Podcast

Remember Rewrite. Episode quality varies greatly in Voyager's body of work, ranging from exceptional to downright pitiful. Most episodes fall somewhere in between these extremes, and they are the best candidates for a TTJ-style facelift. In this episode of To The Journey, Char and Tristan share their ideas for how they would bring more life to Voyager's "Remember," a Season-Three story where the r...

The Borg Queen. She is the beginning, the end, the one who is many. After she was unveiled in Star Trek: First Contact, it seemed inevitable that the Borg Queen would make an appearance on an episode, or several, of Voyager. And make an appearance she did. In this episode of To The Journey, Charlynn and Tristan dig beyond the Borg Queen's presence on Voyager and ponder her origin, discuss the elem...

Author, Author and The Measure of a Man Comparison. With hundreds of hours of Trek under the writers' belts by the time Voyager arrived, it was no wonder that some stories brought about a feeling of deja vu. "Recycled plots" aren't necessarily a bad thing when they're given a new spin, and that's exactly what the writers did with Voyager's "Author, Author"—they took the insightful and compelling m...

The Raven Commentary. It's a bird! Check. It's a shuttlecraft! Check. It's a… Borg? Also check. When Seven of Nine find the wreckage of small science vessel she and her parents called home before being assimilated, she begins having hallucinations that seem to be calling her back to the Collective. "The Raven" began as the story of Seven's reactivation as a drone but became one that shed light on...

Trek Actors Directing Voyager. Most Trek actors gained their notoriety in pop culture from their roles on their respective series. However, for some, their involvement in Star Trek didn't end in front of the camera. Several Trek actors from TNG, DS9 and VOY went to "Trek Directing School," did their homework, and eventually made their directorial debut on a Star Trek TV series. For Jonathan Frakes...

Ultimate Season Seven Marathon. When  Voyager  entered its seventh season, it was accepted that it would be the show's last. With both TNG and DS9 setting the precedent for a seven season run,  Voyager  naturally followed suit. The season was fraught, however, with ups and downs — in part due to several years and hundreds of episodes of Star Trek that had aired by this time. Then there was also th...

Most Memorable One-Liners. One thing all Star Trek fans can agree on is that each show has its fair share of brilliant one-liners. Whether it's profound words coming from Spock or a snarky retort from The Doctor, every series has a variety of notable quotes. In this episode of To The Journey , Char and Tristan divulge just a few of the Voyager one-liners they consider the most enduring. In the int...

Cast Crossovers.   Characters crossing over from one Star Trek show to the next happened rarely, but it did happen—even to the point of bringing well-established characters from one show and turning them into main characters on another. For instance, both Miles O'Brien and Worf jumped from TNG to DS9 and became pivotal characters, with more depth as a result. In this episode of To The Journey, Cha...

Voyager's Saddest Moments.  Char and Tristan enjoy talking the lighter side of Voyager ; the show certainly had its fair share of witty and comedic moments. But as we know, along with the laughs, heartbreaking occasions are never too far behind. In this episode of To The Journey , Char and Tristan discuss the segments on Voyager that were among the most heart-wrenching in the series. Listen on and...

Unforgettable Rewrite. Chakotay-centric episodes rarely make fans' lists of favorites. Whether it's the writing, story, or the performance, they just don't stand out. For Char and Tristan, the ill-designated "Unforgettable" from Season Four tends to be just the opposite of what the title implies. In this episode of To The Journey , Char and Tristan share their thoughts on how they would make "Unfo...

Real Life Commentary.  No matter the situation, having a family comes with challenges. The Doctor finds this out when he creates a holographic family and plunges right into family life. In this episode of To The Journey , Char and Tristan watch as B'Elanna visits The Doctor's family and is sickened by its saccharine-sweet harmony. She reprograms the family's subroutines into something more "realis...

Introducing Kids to Voyager. When asking fellow fans how long they've been watching Star Trek, "I've been watching it since I was a kid" is a common response. Many of us became cognizant of Star Trek when we were quite young. The franchise means a great deal to us as we grew up with it. Now those of us with children are introducing Star Trek to our kids, in hopes of propagating the next generation...

Voyager in Today's TV Environment. When Voyager premiered in 1995, it launched with the fanfare of the much-hyped United Paramount Network. Almost 20 years later, UPN is now defunct and the landscape of television production has changed drastically. Major networks must not only compete with cable, but also with streaming services, such as Netflix, that have added a new dimension of how, when, and...

Rumored Voyager Episode Ideas. People will say anything on the Internet. That's its beauty and its downfall. It's also why it's rarely wise to believe everything you read—because most of it probably isn't completely true. However, in this episode of To The Journey , Char and Tristan ignore their better instincts and discuss a list of rumored Voyager episode ideas that circulated the Internet in 19...

Voyager as the "Soundtrack to Your Life." Star Trek fans are well known for their loyalty to the franchise, and their devotion is a part of why the shows still have life today. Many fans started watching some incarnation of Trek at a young age and will remain fans for life. Tristan and Char are no different, and in this episode of To The Journey they talk about how their teenage years were influen...

Janeway's Worst Command Decisions. With four pips comes enormous responsibility. This is an attribute that all of the captains in Star Trek, from James T. Kirk to Benjamin Sisko, have come to understand. The well-being of the crew and ship hangs in the balance with every decision made. Actions will affect not only the crew, but possibly impact entire civilizations—or in Captain Kathryn Janeway's c...

Persistence of Vision Commentary. In this episode of To The Journey , Char and Tristan break out the coffee ice cream and do a commentary for Season Two's "Persistence of Vision." Topics include the numerous times The Doctor got shrunk, Neelix's meal serving schedule, Chakotay's disappearance in the turbolift, the numerous angles in which we see the Bun of Steel, and, of course, Torres's "sweet dr...

Ultimate Season Six Marathon. It's a lazy Sunday afternoon. You have absolutely nothing to do, nowhere to be. How do you spend this time? Chances are, you do what Char and Tristan do, and that is watch several episodes of Star Trek. In this episode of To The Journey , Char and Tristan talk about which episodes they would pick for an ultimate Voyager Season Six marathon. Their picks aren't necessar...

Alpha Quadrant Characters/Actors. For a ship that was stuck in the Delta Quadrant, Voyager had a decent amount of crossover with characters we knew in the Alpha Quadrant. On top of that, Star Trek often used a roster of regular guest actors for both one-off roles and recurring appearances. Some of these faces familiar to us were well-known at the time while others' careers took off after appearing...

Displaced Rewrite. Not all Voyager episodes are winners. Some are downright ugly and others are forgettably mediocre. Season Three's "Displaced" fits the latter, and in this episode of To The Journey  Charlynn and Tristan give this story a rewrite. Both agree that the episode needed better action sequences and more of them, but differ on who should save the ship. Did Char appreciate the rarely see...

Friendships. In the hostile Delta Quadrant, Voyager and her crew were often on their own. This isolation not only united Starfleet and Maquis crews, but it spawned several friendships and a family dynamic that thrived throughout the series. In this episode of To The Journey , Charlynn and Tristan talk about some of their favorite friendships on Voyager  including why the show should have had more...

Threshold Commentary.  No Star Trek show is immune from its share of "stinker" episodes, but few are of such ill-repute that the writer eventually strikes them from canon. "Threshold" is such an episode, and despite its unpopular status among the masses, Char and Tristan actually enjoy watching it. And in this episode of To The Journey they do just that as well as comment, laugh, cry, lose tongues...

Character Deaths. Starfleet officers know that they risk death every time they put on the uniform, but some seem to face it more than others. This goes double for our beloved crew in the Delta Quadrant. In this episode of To The Journey, Char and Tristan discuss the numerous and varied ways the Voyager crew died, nearly died, or wanted to die. And no, this is not all about Harry Kim, who is often...

Casting Voyager with Larry Nemecek. 1994 was an incredibly busy year for Star Trek. Upon the conclusion of TNG's seventh season, the cast and crew went straight into production for Star Trek Generations . On top of that and the third season of DS9, they were also starting production on Voyager . And, as many fans know, the fallout with Genevieve Bujold added uncertainty as to whether a woman would...

Drone Commentary.  In 2014, where serialized storytelling is the norm on TV, sometimes a self-contained episode is refreshing. Voyager' s “Drone” fits that bill with its concise beginning, middle, and end—all in 45 satisfying minutes. In this episode of To The Journey , Char and Tristan bring you a commentary for the fifth-season episode “Drone.” We discuss 29th Century Borg attire, the merits of...