More Useless Characters

More Useless Characters

by Genesun Han

The Star Trek Saga lives on and on, with the torch being passed on from The Next Generation, whose sole purpose of existence seemed, at times, merely to make more money for Paramount; to Voyager. Which isn't to say that Voyager is inherently evil, purely being yet another cash cow for Paramount and all, but rather to say that it does suffer a bit of a lapse from time to time. The largest flaw, of course, being characters that could just die and nobody'd ever know. For those that care to remember, Yar springs instantly to mind, as well as, wistfully, Riker, Troi, Geordi at times, and Superkid Wes. However, Voyager is the subject at hand, with it's own wealth of character flaws.

In all fairness, what Voyager has up on The Next Generation is certainly a larger cast of people one can care about, and a greater potential for development amongst the crew. However, there are characters like Nelix, Chacute{Help! I can't spell his name!}, or the Vulcan dude, who really are the little people of the show. Starting with the alien grandmaster himself who does little more then serve as comic relief (and a corny sort of humor at best), it's now apparently standard procedure at Paramount to resurrect popular characters in different forms. In this case, a dumber, clumsier, certainly taller Quark has come to join the crew. Comic relief has its place in any show, but perhaps a more original source then the almost crafty ignorant alien might have been a better choice. Goodness knows at least Quark had his Rules of Acquisition that made everything so darn logical. Then there's the good stoic, and certainly cookie-cutter, friend Chacute, who certainly lives up to his role as the perpetual side-kick that First Officers are supposed to be. With the Captain doing all that there could be done, from saving the ship to swabbing the deck, there's just enough time for him to stand around looking slightly concerned and slightly comatose. Oh sure, he has his rag-tag crew of Maqui, but if you take that away from him, which Janeway has, you've got nothing. Which isn't to say that he's all that bad considering the Vulcan (I'd type in his name if I could spell it as well). The fact that he's supposed to be emotionless, cold, and purely logical doesn't mean he has to be as dull as a post. One line appearances and a detached personality certainly makes conversations with the computer seem more lively.

While one can hope that the writers, directors, actors, make-up people, and anybody else can turn this set of useless bodies into something, there remain the boarder characters. People you'd miss if they left, but not enough to really be upset. Characters such as Tress, Bellana, and Harry, who seem more human then the people they surround, but have this aura about them that they seem doomed to stay in the shadows of the special effects. Not a terrible thing that comes to pass, for all good heroes need their sidekicks, and both characters indeed make good sidekicks if anything else. Tess with her drops of exploratory curiosity and pearls of wisdom dropped here and there, sprinkled about like what one would expect from a good fairy or nymph. Bellana, our token Klingon with which no Star Trek show is complete without (case in point: DS9 ), who suffers more a problem of being left for the background then anything else. The fledging prodigy of Chacute, which in itself is already a liability, and the genius that seems a little too smart to be genuine, certainly shows more then enough room for character development within the first few episodes. Unfortunately, due to a Tuvoc syndrome, we've not seen her since except to provide the exact right answer that nobody else, not even Geordi and Data themselves,(with the exception of Janeway) could find. Harry with his naive and all too classic wet-behind-the-ears persona, fumbling about trying to learn how to be a real man in the universe under the careful apprenticeship of Paris. All the characters, certainly if anything else, present what one expects out of a liminal character. Not so much a person nobody cares about, but one in which nobody is really very enthusiastic over.

Having put away the more disrespectful moments of the show behind, what is left are the shining moments of the show, the Captain, Paris, and (the best of them all) the doctor. The Captain once again takes up the grand tradition of all real Trek captains. No more of this quasi-philosophical stuff of that bright headed Picard, it's back down to the nitty gritty of action and over acting. From a bright-eyed and sickeningly sweet schoolgirl role when asking Chacute on animal guides, to a firm terse lecture to warring aliens, Janeway is there to fulfill every role Kirk left behind. Guns blazing, even when there's nothing left for them to shoot, shields holding, although they don't have anything to run on, threats and warnings firing, although they have no substance behind them, and the prime directive thrown out the window, our Janeway is once again the feared, although not as witty as hoped, leader of the crew. Which isn't to say that Paris is no slouch. Certainly lacking the superficial all encompassing knowledge that pervades the Captain, and no stranger to doing something first and asking questions later, Paris is a pleasant relief from the cookie cutter heroes and villains that have been presented for the past three years. Not some sterile bad guy or a generic hero, driven by a character design that reads better then a roadsign, Paris represents something that certainly has been lacking for some time now, a character that one could truly believe existed in the present, the past, or in this case the future. But once again, it is the non-living that steals the show, perhaps something of a symbolic significance. yes, it is the Doctor, much like the Data of old, which manages to steal away heart and souls, doing a far superior job of living and being human then the other clueless folk around them. Witty, refreshingly sarcastic, full of fact but still requiring time for a solution (as opposed to the insta-answer thinking of Janeway and Bellana), and with more depth then one could believe of a mere hologram. The doctor's antagonistic interactions with the crew, his more then novel put-downs of the apparently inexperienced humans he is surrounded by, and his standout flare for the dramatic makes one wonder why there aren't more of him and Data about. Perhaps that is all this show really needs to help push it along into pure platinum standing. A few more tangible characters, more modern in their sophistication and interaction, rather then stick with the same tried and tired method of using generic background extras suddenly turned into main characters.