NOTE: This is meant to be a fictional round-up of Trek events in an alternate universe.  Objects in mirror are not as real as they seem.  Distort reality at your own risk.

***

Well here we are, June 2001, looking at the end of another Trek series.  Seems like only yesterday that we were figuring out the paradox in "All Good Things", or loving every minute of "What You Leave Behind".  Modern Trek has a tradition of going out with a bang, and Voyager hasn't disappointed.  Despite the difficulties of early years, it has pulled together magnificently, and has set a high standard for whichever series comes along next (c'mon, Rick, you can tell us).

Yes, Voyager has come a long way from its original status as the cash-cow's runt.  Jeri Ryan added a lot to the cast in season 4, and (ironically) Jennifer Lien has done the same in season 7.  Kudos to the Triad -- Berman, Braga and Moore -- for their courage in replacing Mulgrew with Lien.  The naysayers can scream "Ezri clone!" but true fans will recognise the courage it took to have the series lead change bodies.  Thank God Kate didn't stick to her original threat of having Janeway sent out in a coffin!  And Jennifer Lien's performance as the troubled, almost-schizophrenic Janeway was a marvel -- who would have thought that Voyager could pull off such great characterisations.  Working with great scripts, Lien has managed to make Janeway her own in only twenty-five episodes.  Her performances in "Regressions" and "Acceptances" have equalled or surpassed the best of Shatner, Stewart, Brooks and Mulgrew. The feminists can complain that Janeway became weak and simpering, but let's face it, no one comes within inches of death, has their mind transferred into their friend's body -- against their will -- watches said friend die and comes out roses.  And the new Janeway could hardly be called weak -- by the end of the season she was back to her old self, blowing away Species 8472 like Ripley blew away Aliens.

In fact, the change in actress has really only upset one person -- Jeri Taylor, former Voyager producer and the person credited with creating Janeway.  "She should have stuck it through," Taylor said of Mulgrew, "or they should have killed Janeway outright.  But this is just silly -- you can't have a twenty-five year old playing the captain."  She was eventually appeased by the episode "Acceptances" in which Janeway finally gets it back together.  Perhaps that steamy clinch between Janeway and Chakotay helped --  Taylor was a strong proponent of the oft-mooted relationship.

Of course, there have been other benefits to the change-over. Lien has garnered enough media attention to rival Jeri Ryan.  Despite rumours of feuds, the two women seemed friendly enough at the Emmy awards, sharing a hug for the cameras and praising each other's skills and outfits.  And Kate Mulgrew, of course, with whom they shared the stage with at a Cleveland convention last month.

Kate certainly seems happy enough, with her acting workshop, charity work and theatre performances.  And let's not forget her fantastic performance as  Gertrude in Tim Burton's Hamlet.  Her chemistry with Patrick Stewart's Claudius has sparked rumours that Mulgrew's Janeway will be resurrected for Star Trek X, and more than made up for Johnny Depp's whiny Hamlet and Drew Barrymore's bizarre Ophelia.

Of course, rumours about Star Trek X are continuing to spread.  Officially, nothing has been planned, Paramount preferring not to compete with the Star Wars trilogy -- not that anyone's getting exited about *that* anymore.  Unofficially, though, the next cinema outing could be anything from a tense thriller focussing on Picard and Janeway to a musical version of "I, Borg" featuring Seven of Nine and Data.  Brannon Braga was happy to tease the audience last week, telling "Entertainment Tonight" that several ideas were being considered.  "We were thinking of making it a crossover between Trek and Ally McBeal," he joked, "with Calista Flockhart as Captain Janeway.  Maybe we can do the Doctor Who thing, replacing Janeway when the actress gets bored.  We've been in talks with Jim Henson -- I really think that Riker and Miss Piggy are made for each other, don't you?  Or we could just do a musical, with Brent [Spiner] and Jeri and Robert [Picardo].  You never know."

What is for certain is that the next movie will not feature a complete television cast.  Michael Dorn (Worf) has happily moved on, as have most of the Deep Space 9 cast, and Gates McFadden, the chronically underused Beverly Crusher, has admitted that she could do better elsewhere.  It's been virtually acknowledged that the most likely characters to stick around are Picard, Janeway (Lien's Janeway), Seven of Nine, Data, the Holographic Doctor and Chief O'Brien.  'Reserve' characters, those less likely to hold major roles, are Chakotay, Geordi La Forge, Ezri Dax and Deanna Troi.  It is presumed that the cast will be determined more by the plot than anything else -- with most positions held in triplicate, almost everyone is expendable.

Anyone who doesn't make it into the next move will have to find new jobs.  Garrett Wang has made the leap into teen heart-throb territory, starring with Buffy's Nicholas Brendon in a new teen horror movie.  Jeri Ryan has already made a successful leap into film with her first mainstream movie "Soho Black".  Her role as an otherworldly British stripper raised a few eyebrows, but those hoping for titillation were disappointed -- despite the teasing advertisements, the Borg stayed almost clothed.  Jennifer Lien gave a wonderful performance as Lucie in "A Tale of Two Cities" and Trekkers got to enjoy the irony of Kate Mulgrew as the villainous Madame Defarge.  Robert Duncan McNiell and Robert Beltran have both immersed themselves in theatre, while Roxann Dawson, the erstwhile Mrs Paris, has demonstrated a gift for comedy in "Ally McBeal" and "The Practice".

And little Scarlett Pomers and Kate Mulgrew (who seems so busy these days that one wonders when she sees her family) play the same character in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".  Mulgrew plays Christine, a woman who was a Slayer in the '70s.  After dying temporarily, another Slayer was chosen (something similar happened to Buffy herself) and Christine happily withdrew, becoming a history teacher and mother.  Tragedy strikes when her children are killed, and then rise again as vampires.  She follows them to Sunnydale, where she becomes romantically involved with the Watcher, Giles.  Computer effects are used to youthen Mulgrew for flashbacks to the 1970s, and Scarlett Pomers plays Christine as a child.  It is expected that Christine will become a recurring character.

Yes, Trek is moving on.  One series has finished, leaving us without Trek for the first time in about fifteen years.  At least until next year, when the next series makes its debut, finally breaking the cloud of secrecy surrounding it.  Until then, we can rest safe in the knowledge that Voyager,  the former 'worst Trek ever' has gone out with a bang.

END

God that was strange.

CREDITS

I got the idea for an article from an alternate universe from the column "Plumage from Pegasus" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

The ideas about swapping Janeway into Kes and the Slayer Christine are mine.  Both may turn up as fanfics one day, where you will presumably find out what made "Regressions" and "Acceptances" so special.

Soho Black is a real book, and if I had any sense at all I'd be able to remember the author.  It's a pretty bizarre book, but it would make a decent movie.

Questions, comments, chocolate, Voyager or Buffy gossip: elizabeth_barr@yahoo.com.au

Copyright © 2000 Elizabeth M Barr

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