Just a few months ago, all I knew about Star Trek were some vague recollections of the show back in the 80’s. But my wife’s a big fan, so I’d join her when she watched the original series on DVD. It was actually alright. I loved Spock (I’ve named my laptop after him - how geeky is that?). I began to appreciate the sci-fi genre for its metaphors, but I was turned off whenever Captain Kirk took off his shirt and/or started kissing random girls (cue rousing music), which occurred far too often for my taste. Really, the writers could have done better.

Upon a friend’s tip, my wife and I decided to try Star Trek: Voyager, a more recent series based on the same concept of space exploration. This time, I loved watching all seven seasons, and here are just a few of the reasons why:

1. Captain Kathryn Janeway

Voyager is filled to the brim with girl power. For one, the Captain is a woman - highly intelligent, a cunning diplomat, and can stand her ground in battles. Addicted to coffee: black. Sometimes they give her one-episode male love interests, but in my head she’ll always have a thing for Seven of Nine. *buries self in subtext*

2. Seven of Nine

Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One. Her real name is Anika Hansen, child of two scientists who studied the Borg. She was assimilated into a drone when she was only 6 years old. Seven of Nine was “captured” by Captain Janeway, who helped her regain her humanity (see the before and after pics below). It was fun seeing Seven’s slow and sometimes awkward steps to re-learning what it means to be human.

3. Kes

Sweet Kes. I’ve been missing her since she left the show early in Season 4. She’s an Ocampan who assists The Doctor in Sickbay and grows flowers and vegetables for the crew. As the seasons went by, she developed telepathic and psychokinetic powers. The best thing about Kes is that she’s so together, so wise beyond her years. And dammit, she’s cute!

4. Neelix

The best cook in the Delta Quadrant! If you like exotic food, he’s your Talaxian. Voyager’s resident chef, morale officer, expert guide and ambassador. The journey wouldn’t have been half as fun without Neelix.

5. The Doctor

Perhaps the most well-loved character in Voyager. He’s the quirky Emergency Medical Hologram that was activated when the resident human doctor aboard Voyager died. Sure, he’s a hologram, but he constantly developed his program, that in the end he was treated like a regular sentient being. He even fathered a child along the way (don’t ask me how that happened). Here’s one of my favorite scenes from the episode “Someone to Watch Over Me”, where The Doctor teaches Seven of Nine how to sing, and inadvertently falls in love with her.

I’m afraid this song has been permanently embedded in my brain. *sings along* “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…”