Star Trek: Voyagersent its titular ship 70,000 light years from home, but the show still found ways to incorporate characters and concepts fromStar Trek: The Next Generation. Following the adventures of Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and theUSS Voyager’s journey through the Delta Quadrant,Star Trek: Voyagerwas the true successor toTNG.AlthoughStar Trek: Deep Space Ninebegan airing 2 years beforeVoyager, DS9’sspace station setting and darker tone made it a different kind ofStar Trekshow.Voyager,on the other hand, followed a structure that was more similar to that ofTNG.
LikeStar Trek: The Next Generation,Star Trek: Voyagerfollowed a singular starship as it explored strange new worlds and new civilizations. The USS Voyager literally went where no Federation starship had gone before, asthe ship found itself far from home in the unexplored Delta Quadrant.Captain Janeway and her crew encounterednew alien villains inVoyagerbut also ran into some familiar faces. With a similar premise,Voyagertried to capture the magic ofTNG,and while it didn’t quite reach the same heights,Voyagermanaged to create its own kind of magic.
Why TNG Was Referenced So Much By Star Trek: Voyager
Voyager Truly Expanded The Star Trek Universe
Star Trek: The Next Generationbecame a major success for Paramount Studios and they wanted to keep that success going.Star Trek: Voyagerwas commissioned afterTNGended, to air alongsideStar Trek: Deep Space Nineandserve as the flagship for the new UPN network.Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and Jeri Taylor createdVoyagerto expand the world ofStar Trekand maintain continuity with the otherTrekshows. They intentionally incorporated elements fromTNGintoVoyagernot only to entice fans but also to make the wholeStar Trekuniverse feel more connected.
Best Star Trek: Voyager Episode From Each Of The Show’s 7 Seasons
Standout episodes show the best of Captain Janeway and the USS Voyager crew throughout each of Star Trek: Voyager’s 7 seasons in the Delta Quadrant.
The Borg, for example, had been introduced onTNGand served as antagonists for Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew.Voyagerfurther developed the Borg, offering more insight into their collective, and even introducing reformed Borg drones, like Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan).The Maquis, too, were first mentioned onTNGbefore becoming a major part ofVoyager’sset-up. Several characters fromTNGalso popped up onVoyager,including Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Lt. Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz), and Q (John de Lancie).
Voyager Wasn’t The Star Trek Success TNG Was
But Still Left Its Mark
Following in the footsteps ofStar Trek: The Next Generationwas not easy forStar Trek: Voyager,and the show never reached the same heights asTNGin terms of popularity.Voyagerdid not attract as many viewers asTNGand received less critical acclaim. Still,the show broke boundaries by featuringStar Trek’sfirst female lead,Captain Janeway, and incorporating more intelligent and capable women than had been amongTNG’scast. Counselor Troi and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) were great onTNG,but they often got weaker stories than their male counterparts.
Prodigyalso incorporated elements fromTNG,but that only makes it more fitting asVoyager’ssuccessor.
Like everyStar Trekshow,Voyagerhas continued to gain new fans thanks to streaming but remains less popular than its predecessors. Despite this,Star Trek: ProdigyembracedVoyagermore than any otherTrekshow,bringing back Janeway,Chakotay (Robert Beltran), and the Doctor (Robert Picardo).Prodigyalso incorporated elements fromTNG,but that only makes it more fitting asVoyager’ssuccessor.Star Trek: Voyagermay not have achieved the same level of success asStar Trek: The Next Generation,but Captain Janeway and her crew still captured the hearts of countlessStar Trekfans.
