"The Curious Affair of B'Elanna Torres' Age"

"THE CURIOUS AFFAIR OF B'ELANNA TORRES' AGE"

Over the years there have been many complaints about the inconsistency regarding characters and stories in STAR TREKseries, "STAR TREK VOYAGER" (1995-2001). I will not deny that the series has been guilty of the occasional inconsistency. To be frank, all of the five TREK series and many of the franchise's movies are guilty of the same.However, I was shocked and surprised to learn that some of the websites that provide information on the entire franchise turned out to be just as inconsistent. 

While perusing the WIKIPEDIA website several years ago, I was surprised to discover a major discrepancy featuring one of the major characters on "VOYAGER", namely that of the Chief Engineer, B’Elanna Torres. According to the site, B’Elanna was born in 2349, the same year as Voyager's Operations Chief, Harry Kim. It also included that B’Elanna had joined Starfleet Academy in 2366, right after her last meeting with her mother, Miral Torres. Two years later in 2368, B’Elanna allegedly resigned from Starfleet Academy and not long afterwards, joined Chakotay’s cell in the Maquis. There is another source that confirms this – namely Jeri Taylor’s 1998 Voyager novel, "Pathways". Personally, I had major problems with this summation.

One, I found it hard to believe that B’Elanna had joined the Maquis sometime between 2368 (the year that Chakotay had resigned from Starfleet and joined the Maquis) and 2369. If this is true, then she would have first met the ship's Chief Pilot, Tom Paris, in the Maquis. But the television series had never hinted that B’Elanna and Tom knew each other before Voyager was hurled into the Delta Quadrant in early 2371. The early Season Two episode, (2.05) "Non-Sequitur" made it clear that Tom had served his full sentence of eighteen months in a Federation prison – in an alternate timeline that Harry Kim found himself in. According to the episode and the stardate, Tom had been released from prison in September 2371. Which means that Tom had been captured and imprisoned by the Federation in March 2370. And another Season Two episode, (2.17) "Dreadnought", made it clear that Voyager’s encounter with Cardassian missile occurred nearly on the second anniversary of B’Elanna’s first encounter with the missile – not long after she had joined Chakotay’s cell. According to the stardate, "Dreadnought" occurred in the summer of 2372, which means that B’Elanna had joined Chakotay’s cell sometime during the late spring of 2370.

Also, it is not possible that B’Elanna had joined Starfleet Academy in 2366, after seeing her mother for the last time. According to the late Season Five episode, (5.26) "The Equinox, Part I", B’Elanna had not seen her old Academy boyfriend, Maxwell Burke, in ten years. "The Equinox" was probably set around the end of 2375 or the beginning of 2366, which means that she and Burke had last seen each other in 2365. I am also convinced that it is possible B’Elanna had last met with her mother after resigning from Starfleet Academy and not before joining it, as was indicated in Taylor's novel. Although there is no episode that claimed B’Elanna had last spoken to her mother after leaving Starfleet, the Season Six episode, (6.03) "Barge of the Dead" certainly did not make it clear that she had joined Starfleet Academy after her last meeting with Miral – despite what Wikipedia and Jeri Taylor had claimed. 

There is one last reason why I found it difficult to accept that B’Elanna was born in 2349. It happened to be the same birth year as her close friend, Harry Kim. If the two friends had been born in the same year, this meant that both had entered Starfleet Academy around the same time. And both would have immediately been placed on the Engineering track. Their chances of meeting for the first time at the Academy would have been pretty good. Yet, the series premiere episode, (1.01-1.02) "Caretaker" made it pretty clear that B’Elanna and Harry had met for the first time, while in the Ocampan settlement in 2371.

It is the series itself that still makes it easy for me to refute the claim that B’Elanna Torres had joined the Maquis in 2368 or that she had been born in 2349. In regard to the first claim, the stardates provided in episodes like "Non-Sequitur" and "Dreadnought" seemed to contradict Wikipedia or Jeri Taylor that B’Elanna had joined the Maquis in 2368. And episodes like "Caretaker", "The Equinox" and "Barge of the Dead" gave enough evidence to refute the claim that B’Elanna had been born in 2349.

About an hour ago, I had examined the Wikipedia page for B'Elanna's character. Changes had been made. The site no longer claimed that B’Elanna had been born in 2349. Instead, it claimed that she had been born in 2346. I do not know if this is true, but it seems a lot more plausible than its earlier claim. But I would not be surprised if these changes were removed by the site’s webmaster. No matter. I am now satisfied.

Five Favorite Episodes of "STAR TREK: DISCOVERY" Season One (2017-2018)

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from Season One of the All Access CBS series, "STAR TREK: DISCOVERY". Created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman, the series stars Sonequa Martin-Green as Commander Michael Burnham: 


"FIVE FAVORITE EPISODES OF "STAR TREK: DISCOVERY" SEASON ONE (2017-2018)



1. (1.09) "Into the Forest I Go" - While ignoring Starfleet's orders, U.S.S. Discovery's commander, Captain Gabriel Lorca decides to use the ship's new core drive in an effort to help end the Federation's war against the Klingons.





2. (1.07) "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad" - While the Discovery crew enjoy a party, an unwelcome visitor boards the ship to seek vengeance and bring about a series of bringing about a twisted sequence of events that involves a time loop. This episode has been recently nominated for a Hugh Award for writing.





3. (1.02) "Battle at the Binary Stars" - Incarcerated in one of the U.S.S. Shenzhou's brig for disobeying an order, First Officer Burham struggles to escape, while the ship is under attack by the Klingon Empire. Later, she joins her commanding officer, Captain Georgiou, in an audacious plan to prevent war.





4. (1.13) "What's Past Is Prologue" - With the U.S.S. Discovery still stuck in the mirror universe, Captain Lorca plots a coup against the Terran Empire's ruthless leader, the Emperor Philippa Georgiou. Meanwhile former Starfleet officer Michael Burnham struggles to find a way for the Discovery's return to their universe.





5. (1.11) "The Wolf Inside" - As the crew continue its deception as being a part of the Terran Empire, Burnham undergoes a merciless mission in hopes of helping the ship return home.

"STAR TREK: DISCOVERY" Season One (2017-2018) Photo Gallery

Below are images from Season One of the sixth series of the STAR TREK franchise, "STAR TREK: DISCOVERY". Created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman, the series stars Sonequa Martin-Green as Commander Michael Burnham: 



"STAR TREK: DISCOVERY" SEASON ONE (2017-2018) Photo Gallery

Excessive Criticism of “STAR TREK VOYAGER”

EXCESSIVE CRITICISM OF "STAR TREK VOYAGER"

For the past two decades, I have never encountered so much criticism of one particular Star Trek show than I have for the 1995-2001 series, "STAR TREK VOYAGER".

Ironically, I used to buy this negative opinion.  Or accept it.  One of the reasons I had ignored "STAR TREK VOYAGER" for so many years, because I had assumed that those fans who had deemed it inferior to the other shows in the franchise were right.  When my sister found out that the rest of our family was ignoring the show, she fervently suggested that we watch it.  This happened when the early Season Five episodes were going through its first run.  Well, we did.  We watched some of those early Season Five shows.  We also watched the previous episodes from Season One to Season Four that were currently in syndication.  And guess what?  My family became fans of the show.

I am not going to claim that "VOYAGER" was perfect.  Yes, it had its flaws.  I have even posted a few articles about some of the flaws I had encountered.  But I was also able to pick out both major and minor flaws in the other Trek shows at the time - "STARTREK", "STAR TREK NEXT GENERATION", and "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE"  - while still enjoying them.  I never really became a big fan of "STAR TREK ENTERPRISE", but there were a good number of episodes that I really enjoyed.   

This fervent need to nitpick everything about "STAR TREK VOYAGER" in order to deem it as some kind of pop culture disaster is mind boggling to me.  Every time I access an article on the Internet - especially on a Trek message board - about series, the criticism seemed to strike me as unnecessarily excessive . . . and constant.  And most of the complaints I have come across are either about some ridiculously minor flaw or how Janeway was a terrible star ship captain.  I do not understand this opinion.  Janeway made her mistakes.  So did the other Trek captains.  What made her worse than the others?  Her gender?  Star Trek shows were not allowed to have women as the leads or even worse, in the command position?  

More importantly, these same fans seem very reluctant to point out the flaws - both minor and major - about the other Trek shows.  At least not to this extreme degree. What is going on?  If you are going to state that "VOYAGER" was simply the worst show in the Trek franchise, do not expect  me to buy this opinion anymore.  After seeing the show and the others in the franchise, I really have great difficulty in accepting this view.  So what is it?  What is the real truth?  I guess in the end, these are questions that no one can really answer.  After all, art and entertainment are subjective. 

Janeway's Decision in "STAR TREK VOYAGER" (3.04) "The Swarm"

JANEWAY'S DECISION IN "STAR TREK VOYAGER" (3.04) "The Swarm"

Over an hour ago, I had just finished watching the early Season Three "STAR TREK: VOYAGER" episode, (3.04) "The Swarm". And after watching it, I was reminded on why I have disliked it so much for so many years. 

Although most of the story focused around Kes' efforts to save the Doctor's degrading matrix, the B-plot focused around Voyager's efforts to cut short fifteen months of their journey by trespassing through the territory of a species named by Voyager's crew as the Swarm. Now, Chief of Security, then Lieutenant Tuvok tried to remind Captain Kathryn Janeway that the territory belonged to these aliens and that they had every right not to allow other travelers through their space. After two seasons, Janeway decided to adopt the "Maquis way" and ignore Tuvok. Instead, she labeled the Swarm as"bullies" - as if that was a sufficient reason for Voyager to commit trespassing - and led the ship into "the Swarm's" space.

I am quite certain that most Trek fans would disagree with me, but I found Janeway's actions to be more of a "bully" than the Swarm. If some aliens had decided to trespass into Federation space, despite Starfleet's decision to ban them, I bet that both Janeway and Chakotay would be among the first to defend Starfleet's decision. But being the arrogant Starfleet officers they were, I guess they decided that they simply lacked the patience to add fifteen months to a journey that already left Voyager with 68 or 69 years left to reach Earth. Fifteen months against 68 or 69 years. Hmmmm. Was Janeway's effort to ignore "the Swarm's" wishes really worth it? Personally . . . I do not think so. 

During the series' the first two seasons, Janeway struggled to rigidly stick to Starfleet protocols. In "The Swarm", she decided to drop this command style and adopt Chakotay's method of utilizing "the Maquis way". This decision eventually led to Janeway's disastrous alliance with the Borg during their war against Species 8472.

I have read both Jim Wright and Julia Houston's reviews of this particular episode. Wright practically celebrated Janeway's decision to ignore Tuvok's advise and trespass into the Swarm's territory. Frankly, I was not surprised. During the show's first three seasons, Wright had made it clear that he disliked Tuvok. In fact, I can only wonder if his dislike of Tuvok had blinded him to Chakotay's constant taunting of the Vulcan during the show's first season. Apparently, anything that would cut the Vulcan down to size seemed to satisfy him. And I also noticed that he also seemed to enjoy a vicarious thrill in Janeway telling the Swarm to go fuck themselves. Perhaps her aggressive move brought back memories of the "good old days" of Captain James T. Kirk's arrogant "gunboat diplomacy" attitude toward various species hostile toward the Federation.

Then I read Julia Houston's review. Although she seemed to believe that Tuvok was right in advising Janeway not to invade the Swarm's territory, a small part of her felt a "twinge of imperialistic satisfaction" that Voyager did it anyway. Apparently, the Swarm's attitude to keeping invaders at bay irked her. What can I say? I get the feeling that deep down, she was just as thrilled as Wright.

Frankly, I found Janeway's decision a little repellent. Then again, I have never cared for any of the other Starfleet captains' arrogant attitude toward other aliens. It was this same attitude that led Starfleet to ignore the Dominion's wishes and invade their space in the Gamma Quadrant in "STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE". A decision that led to a brutal two-year war against the Dominion. I also recalled an "STAR TREK: ORIGINAL SERIES" episode called (1.23) "A Taste of Armageddon" in which Jim Kirk forced two societies to end their war by destroying the computers that had conducted the war, and insisted that Federation society was better than theirs. This act forced the two warring aliens to turn to the Federation in the end. That episode had repelled me just as much as Janeway's decision in "The Swarm". Kirk's intent may have been noble, but the manner in which he stopped a war that had no impact upon the Federation struck me as the arrogant moves of a bully. 

Do not get me wrong. I am a big fan of the STAR TREK franchise. I always have been a fan and I always will be one. But there are some aspects of the STAR TREK franchise (both movies and television) that has turned me off. One of those aspects was the habit of Starfleet captains making arrogant decisions against the wishes of those aliens they sometimes encounter. Decisions that the Federation would have definitely resented if some group of aliens had done the same to them. I guess that in their view, what is good for the Federation (or Starfleet) was not good for those other aliens. I find such attitudes rather distasteful.

Top Ten Favorite TIME TRAVEL Television Episodes

Below is a list of my top favorite television episodes that feature time travel:


TOP TEN FAVORITE TIME TRAVEL TELEVISION EPISODES



1. "Future's End" ("Star Trek Voyager"; 1996) - A 29th century timeship causes a time paradox when it accidentally sends itself and Voyager to two different periods in 20th century Earth.





2. "Tempus Fugitive" ("Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman"; 1995) - Lois Lane and Clark Kent are brought back to the past by H. G. Wells, in an attempt to stop the time-travelling villain Tempus from killing the infant Superman.





3. "Endgame" ("Star Trek Voyager; 2001) - Admiral Kathryn Janeway comes from the future to try and shorten Voyager's trip home.





4. "War Without End" (Babylon Five; 1996) - Former Babylon 5 commander, Jeffrey Sinclair, returns with a mission vital to the survival of the station - travelling back in time to steal Babylon 4.





5. "LaFleur" ("Lost"; 2009) - The remaining survivors of Flight 815 and the freighter find themselves permanently in the 1970s and become part of the Dharma Initiative, following John Locke's disappearance.





6. "The City on the Edge of Forever" ("Star Trek"; 1967) - After accidentally overdosing on a powerful stimulant, Dr. McCoy acts erratically and disappears through the Guardian of Forever, a newly-discovered time portal on a remote planet. Captain Kirk and Commander Spock follow after learning that McCoy somehow changed history. Arriving in the 1930s, the duo meet Edith Keeler, a New York social worker who gives them a place to stay. As the days pass, and McCoy is nowhere to be seen, Kirk finds himself falling in love with Keeler... but Spock discovers that Keeler must die to restore the timeline.





7. "Déjà Vu All Over Again" ("Charmed"; 1999) - As a demon makes plans for his attempt to kill the Charmed Ones, he receives a visit from another demon named Tempus, who will turn back time until the demon succeeds in killing all the sisters.





8. "Babylon Squared" ("Babylon Five"; 1994) - A previous station, Babylon 4, reappears at the same place it disappeared four years before; and Jeffrey Sinclair and Michael Garibaldi lead an expedition to evacuate its crew.





9. "Chris-Crossed" ("Charmed"; 2003) - A mysterious woman from the future named Bianca arrives to take Chris Halliwell's powers and bring him back forcefully to the future.





10. "D.O.A." ("Timecop"; 1998) - After Jack Logan and his boss, Gene Matuzek are murdered, Claire Hemmings takes an unauthorized trip back to the past to warn Logan.