Mulgrew Confronts 'Voyager' Criticism

Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway) recently responded to Voyager's critics, stating the she feels that the relationship between the various Trek series is like a competitive horse race.

"I would think quite naturally it [Voyager] got criticized because of a female captain," Mulgrew told SFX Magazine (via TrekWeb). "[The] Next Generation was so successful and so loved by the fans, the stakes were very, very high. And we were being constantly compared as in a horse race. Each series is a very isolated affair. And I didn't think about it at all. But when I did I'm sure I felt competitive about it. But I never felt upset about it."

Mulgrew has a few theories about why Voyager bore the brunt of so much criticism. "Somebody brought something up, which may be valid. Good Star Trek is about the ship going out to explore, as opposed to a ship being lost and having to explore to survive," she said. "And we were on that situation which immediately flipped the predictable, and we had to establish new rules. And whenever there's change, I think people become uncomfortable. What is familiar is that they have grown to love."

Despite this, the actress thought that fans of science fiction responded positively to Voyager. "But I think in the end what one can say is that if they love true sci-fi their allegiance and their fidelity would be the same for Voyager as would be for anything else. And thank God that each [Trek] series is very different. If not it'd have been dull."

The full interview can be found in the special Voyager Collector's Edition of SFX Magazine, out now in the United Kingdom. Thanks to TrekWeb for this!

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