10 Dumbest Things In Star Trek: Voyager

Packed with fresh ideas and the opportunity for new adventures unrestricted by the Alpha and Beta Quadrants

Janeway and the crew took the Borg by the Simulation Tubules and headed right on home

Well, almost. The journey was diverted and downright interrupted on occasion by some of the deadliest opponents and situations ever faced by a Federation starship

Yet there was still the occasional time for a Fromage-based emergency or a holodeck jaunt to break the tension

Here, though, we're going to be looking at those moments, plot points, and characters

that could have been avoided and likely would have shaved a few dozen light years off of

the trip back to Earth. Of course, if they just shifted into high warp and aimed a line for the Alpha Quadrant

seven seasons of Janeway sipping coffee and Neelix's cooking would have become rather

tedious for viewing public. So, of course, there has to be some intrigue and story to make this a truly great Star Trek

show, which Voyager heartily delivered in spades, week in, and week out. But that also means there

were a few times the sillier ludicrous did creep in. Prepare for story time, rapid builds, rug

sweeping, and most importantly, lizards. I'm Bree from Trek Culture, and join me as we take a

stumble down the path that is the dumbest things in Star Trek Voyager. One second, it's Rillig

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Number 10. Tiny Little Legs We could land the ship, announced Captain Janeway in the 37s, marking the first occasion that a starship would make planetfall, and not end up a burning hulk of twisted metal

The audience held their breath as she descended into the atmosphere and the 400-year-old mystery of Amelia Earhart

Successfully completed more times than the Enterprise-D saucer separated, USS Voyager's party trick wasn't just limited to the intrepid class

but would be the only craft during this era of the franchise that would touch down

With blue alert flashing and no need for a bulb change, the tidal vessel would descend from the stars, through the clouds

and gracefully come to rest on the surface. However, it would do so on the most inadequate set of landing gear

The nearest equivalent in current times might be standing a Boeing 747 on four bricks

But whatever way you look at it, the inertial dampeners have a lot of work to do

For one, the ship is saucer heavy with all four landing feet aesthetically having to be located

on the underside of the engineering hall. One may even expect Tom Paris to step out and stick up a prop rod for precautionary measures

Whatever way you look at them though they are very very small and just to emphasize this nearly every shot of Voyager landed has the feet concealed somehow In Basics and the 37s they are hidden

behind rocks or a cliff face. And in future sightings, Voyager is often seen from above

rather than highlighting the landing gear. Number nine, Salamander Babies. Classically up there among

the dumbest and therefore one that is inevitably on this list. Let's deal with it now. The concept

of Threshold and the potential to hit Warp 10 and be everywhere in the universe is mind-bending

Full of potential for storytelling and the epic of Voyager's return to Earth

it could have been an early turning point, even tying back to TNGs where no one has gone before

Instead, Tom Paris and Catherine Janeway mutated into lizards and did the business

There's really no other way to put it frankly because that's just how silly it sounds

The fact that it's summarily swept under the rug and never mentioned again

is a silence that speaks volumes. What may have seemed like a good idea on paper should have resulted in at least some fallout

yet there isn't even a concern for the offspring of said relationship

At least Lower Decks nodded that one of them potentially survived in Much Ado About Boimler

although they weren't faring very well. The we fixed them ending which again avoids any explanation

of how the captain and helmsman are returned to human form is an insult to the intelligence of

the audience. That even involved reattaching Tom's tongue which must have just been lying around the

ship somewhere. The only time there's been a quicker mop-up was Scotty transporting the

tribbles to the Klingons. Number 8. Space Friends. Pages of space have been given over to the speedy

way in which the Maquis and Starfleet crews blend together before the caretaker's rocky remains have

even cooled. Promoted as an opportunity for conflict and character development, Voyager's

melding of two factions offered a new spark to the franchise that was set up in the later days of TNG

and the second season of DS9. Yet it failed to pay off in any respect

The nearest fans got to seeing this conflict in action was Torres and Carrie clashing over who would become chief engineer

As the elephant in the room, the duality of the crew would play out in a holodeck for worst-case scenario

but otherwise be firmly left at the roadside. It was backroom discussions that led to the removal of the friction

between the crews of Janeway and Chakotay, yet to ditch such a fundamental element of the show and something intrinsic to its concept

still leaves fans baffled today. Revisiting this controversially abandoned plot point only reignited the fires three seasons later

Yes, it made sense for the two crews to work together and put aside their differences

yet barely a line is given to exploring how it was all put to bed before the closing credits of Caretaker

That decision may actually have been the real worst-case scenario, depriving the show of more character depth and exploration

as opposed to checking out the next gaseous space anomaly. Number seven, please state the nature of the medical kerfluffle

Before futures end, the Doctor is a character that is evidently quite difficult to manage

Confined to either sickbay or the holodecks, the level of opportunities for the digital MD are, to a point, limited

Even he asks to be included more as part of the crew, and treated with more respect than a light switch

resulting in his ability to deactivate his own program. Yet his early appearances just fail to find that spark that a mobile emitter immediately does

This limitation means characters either need to go to him or communicate via a monitor

reducing Picardo's range in the series, something that was most certainly addressed

It was a time where the series was still finding its feet, however, and it's as though the crew are just humoring him

The Doctor was given time off, yes, actual time off, in projections

which goes horribly wrong, and he was sent to tackle Anglo-Saxon history in Heroes and Demons

which also goes horribly wrong. Yet those first seasons also tend to dumb down the character

instead of building and exploring. The two worst examples of this show up in Parallax

where his sickbay projectors play around with his stature, turning what should have been an

involving character into a comedy turn. And secondly, there's also the time where his image

is projected into space during the Kazon battle in Basics Part 1, again offering that comedy turn

moment. It displays alarming ineptitude of the Voyager crew at the most crucial time of the

series up to that point. Not only does it dumb down a high-tension moment, but it also makes

viewers wonder if there's really no hope for the crew at this pivotal time

Number six oh yes the shuttles How can any list of dumb Voyager things be complete without the mention of a shuttle bay larger than the TARDIS Voyager Rolodex of shuttles is a muddled mess of

inconsistency that did two things. It highlighted the difficulty in keeping canon as canon for the

sake of a story, and also that the Star Trek universe was becoming such a large animal that

at times it rode itself into a corner that it just couldn't get out of. Hence the Voyager

shuttle conspiracy. If one was destroyed in an episode, you could guarantee that four more

identical ones would be available two weeks later. The Delta Flyer was introduced as a super shuttle

to curb some of this overuse, although its revered status caused its own issues as has been explored

in previous entries. There were shuttles that did survive multiple encounters. Ex-Astra Scientia

indicates at least 10 were definitely lost, with a further 7 probably lost. As noted

The second Delta Flyer was constructed overnight, so there's no reason that the same couldn't be said for Voyager

although it is doubtful they had a vehicle replicator akin to that aboard the USS Protostar

The official technical guide even suggests that the ship would only carry two regular shuttles

so fans might assume that there are a ton and a half of spare parts just sitting around somewhere

After all, Voyager does carry a spare warp core, just in case

Number 5. Ranking Paris and Kim The blatant choice for anything to do with rank here would be Forever Ensign Harry Kim

Yet the progress of Tom Paris makes even less sense when examined

Once convicted criminal Tom Paris joins the Starfleet crew, he's officially given the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, immediately stepping above Harry

Disgraced in 30 days, Tom is demoted to Ensign, but only until Unimatrix Zero

receiving a return to his junior grade lieutenant status at that episode

This again shelves Harry Kim so much so that even the former ensign notes that he's still missing that additional pip

Your time will come, Harry. So why would this be dumb? Well, because from a crew morale perspective, this crushes anyone who's made Starfleet their career in the ranks or the enlisted ensemble

If there's a real line behind all of this, it's that crime does in fact pay

It makes it even more understandable how both character and actor Garrett Wong

were disappointed with the development of Harry Kim. This led to some difficult times for the actor, who felt tragically underused

Tom's contribution to the ship is no more or less important than Kim's

who has faced his own series of trials across the breadth of the show

I mean, clearly, surviving an attack by Species 8472 is just an everyday occurrence

Maybe he should have mutinied and been bumped up to a full lieutenant. By the finale, it is resolved to some degree

However, the choice to award him command of the USS Rhode Island, America's smallest state, feels like another jab

Number four, blind to danger. A point more associated with the show's early and formative seasons, Voyager had a tendency to stop off a great deal and check out every planet and space anomaly that popped up

Time and again, only the second episode almost screams how this is a bad thing as the ship's involvement with one planet leads to a catastrophic event

The Cloud tells you everything you need to know about the story from the title. In fact, Janeway's choice to take a diversion to grab some coffee may be one of the worst things that she does

Well, maybe aside from allying with the Borg. If viewers step back a bit from the show, it becomes increasingly apparent that Janeway and co

are some of the worst meddlers in Starfleet history. They are trying to get home, and do so on occasion by trying to find new technologies

but it's almost as if they can't help themselves. Heading into the third season, they're still prepared to take extreme risks

such as plugging into an alien computer to tackle a clown in The Thaw

or, controversial mention, even later transporting refugees through dangerous territories in Counterpoint

Turning back for more Kazon interactions seems like a picnic in comparison

Dropping into orbit and getting involved becomes almost as easy as pulling off the freeway for a coffee and comfort stop at Bucky's or Wawa

or Stratford Services if you're across the pond. Except that instead of getting an overpriced blueberry muffin

they end up embroiled in planetary affairs and then wonder how it all went wrong

It's almost fortunate that they only spent seven years on this journey home

Number three, going back for baby. Seska's reappearance in Basics Part 1 shook the crew with the news

that she was now a mother and the father was potentially Chakotay

The final episode of season two aired the story works as a starship heist with or without the family element Fans knew in their hearts that Chakotay was very unlikely to be the father and even in the episode itself the crew note just how improbable this is

It all feels too obviously like a trap, with the conclusion seeing that Kazon manipulation coming to fruition

through no surprise to anyone. It's a rare, and some might say out-of-character instance

of the Voyager crew acting really, really dumb, especially given their history with the Kazon and two full years of experiences in the Delta Quadrant

So let's reflect back to Threshold, where the Captain and Tom had a full litter of salamander children

who they left and never spoke of again, which makes you wonder if they have to have drunk the ship dry of its Romulan ale stash

Yet, they still go back even after the multitude of events involving the Kazon alone during the second season

Adding into this episode a chance to see those wonderful landing legs once more

and it's a double bubble of dumb in less than an hour. Number two, Bendy Wendy Spacey Wacey

Among four episodes held back from the first season, Twisted echoes a trope from some of DS9's initial years in that this episode as a whole

doesn't need to happen and doesn't ultimately affect anything. One of several Space Anomaly stories that littered the 1995 batch

Twisted's conclusion has the crew resolve their reality-bending predicament by doing precisely, and no more or less, than nothing

It is perhaps less of a cringeworthy moment than taking a block of maturing milk to a medical facility

but yet there still seems very little point. Overkilling it on the technobabble and racing around the ship attempting to get from one location to another

no one stops to take a moment to think about precisely what is happening

leaving the show to descend into a mineshaft of its own spatial distorted craziness

Twisted is, in a way, a prime example of where Voyager's first season didn't work out

and shouts at its falterings. The concepts were there, but when it came to satisfying resolutions

that explained what happened and made viewers return, it did miss the mark

Instead, fans got a twist that was in fact an untwist, and the reset button was firmly punched

This complaint could even be leveled at the final two minutes of Endgame

where it's another example of Voyager's ability to rug-sweep important moments and hope that the audience just doesn't notice

Drinks all around it, Sandrine's. Now, let's take a left at the next Galactic Roundabout

because after all, what's the next worst thing that could possibly happen? Number 1. Once Upon a Flutter. Aside from a nice easter egg on Soji's lunchbox and Picard

this creation has no place on Voyager. At this later stage of the series, to pull out an episode

that rivals the insanity of Threshold must have been quite a challenge to accomplish

Framing a Porgorn's Teletubbies adventure against the more serious backdrop of a missing parent

the fifth season's Once Upon a Time offered a parallel story that truly took any nuance or

seriousness away from Ensign Wildman's potential peril. Originally an Alice in Wonderland concept

its narrative was ripped apart and rewritten, giving rise to the ever-blue flotter

Instead of spending quality time with Naomi, the crew allow her to bury herself away in the fantasy

of the holodeck and with the two worst role models possible. Neelix's strains at becoming

a parent only feel undermined further by the inclusion of the holodeck, which hauntingly

reminds viewers of Barkley's predicaments back in TNG's Hollow Pursuits. But there's also another

side to this episode, in that making the Flutter doll, it was hoped that fans would demand for one

to be made, and the merchandising money would flood in. The demand obviously did not come

Flutter is one of those points, like the chef in Enterprise, that viewers didn't need to see to

understand. Bringing the character to life was an infuriating cash grab that Star Trek's powers

that be should have stepped away from and respected the intelligence of its audiences

which makes it really dumb. Huh, did you know Halskern means woodcore in German

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