i may have a lot to say on the matter, so i'm going to title all my STAR TREK posts as some kind of STAR TREK. get it? FIRST CONTACT? eh? eh?

at this point we've all had multiple pandemic tv show binges, i'm sure. one of mine has been DEEP SPACE NINE. but i realized something horrible late last year, the same thing i realized the first time i watched it way back when it finally debuted on netflix. once you hit seasons 4 and 5, it becomes clear that this isn't just the best STAR TREK show, this is the best show ever and you never want it to end.

so i started VOYAGER, to delay death and the inevitable end of DS9. i've tried before. somehow getting past the first hour of the pilot has until now been a hurdle i couldn't clear. but a very dramatic and stressful autumn found me seeking comfort, and what comforts like STAR TREK? i finally made it past those first few episodes. i was hate-watching for a while, only impressed with tuvok (well written, well performed) and chakotay (well performed, sorry about the writing). but then a strange thing happened.

i got covid-19, and now i love STAR TREK VOYAGER.

it's definitely the cast. okay, the ship is pretty cool too, and the uniforms, and it has the best star trek theme ever (the DS9 fan in me is furious about that one). but it's the cast. killer. even when the material sucks, they have fun with it. occasionally, the material doesn't suck. sometimes i dare VOYAGER to keep my attention, and it's starting to win more often than lose. the michael mckean and brad dourif episodes were immediate highlights so far. with VOYAGER and the currently airing PRODIGY i'm getting a real mainline of janeway all at once, and i'm definitely not complaining. what a badass.

and i finally saw FLASHBACK, the tuvok/sulu episode that ties into STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY! that was a true delight, because VI is maybe my favorite STAR TREK movie. yes, it's even better than the one with the whales.

anyway, VOYAGER is cool. DEEP SPACE NINE is the best. and no matter how hard life gets, i'm still never gonna watch ENTERPRISE. fuck you, bakula.

(and by the way, this happened.)

2022.01.24