Title says it all. I’m finishing up the third season of DS9 via Netflix, but everyone’s told me to stay the hell away from Voyager, and from what I’ve read I’m inclined to take their word. From the (admittedly non-canon) galactic maps I’ve been able to dig up, Voyager would have had a somewhat shorter trip to make if they’d headed straight for the gamma quadrant side of the Bajoran wormhole.
Did they ever explain why Voyager had to take the direct route?
Hmm, thinking about it, I would think that the Gamma Quadrant would be across from the Alpha Quadrant. If they’re named alphabetically and clockwise or counter-clockwise, then the Delta and Beta quadrants should be adjacent to the Alpha quadrant. In that case, it would usually be faster to go straight home, though it would depend on exactly where everything was in the various quadrants.
I’ve never seen Voyager, but I did watch DS9 alot. As often as the wormhole was almost blown up/closed/etc, I wouldn’t have trusted it to still be there by the time the Voyager made it over there. Then what? Best not to take the gamble.
I’ve read this theory before on various sites throughout the internet. I think the conclusion everyone reached was that the Bajoran wormhole was farther from Voyager’s starting point than Earth. I’m doing a cursory Google search now before heading off for work, here’s one discussion that reaches that conclusion.
That, and knowing previously documented incidents of wormhole instability, even if the Bajoran wormhole was 10 years closer, I would’ve followed Janeway’s lead. Who knows if that thing will still be there? If it’s not, well damn, you’re now even farther from home than before. Assuming it’s closer by 10 years, you set course, head 60 years that way… ah, crap, nothing here. Oh well, 75+ more back home!
Additionally, and I’m pretty sure there’s at least a little more charted information about space between the Delta Quadrant and home than there is from their start point over to the Gamma Quadrant, just based on the position of the Federation. Best to have at least some idea of what you might run into.
I’ll look for some more discussion after work today, if you’d like.
This map gives a clear picture of the various galactic landmarks. Using the scale of the map, the distance between Voyager’s starting position in the Delta quadrant and the Idrian terminus of the Bajoran wormhole is a distance of approximately 65,000 light years, or almost Voyager’s distance to Earth. They might have shaved 5 or 10 thousand light years from their trip, but as others pointed out, they would have no idea if the thing was still in existence by the time they got there. So they still would have had another 70 thousand light year trip. In addition, they would have been nowhere near the Borg hub in the Delta quadrant. If they had taken the journey to the Gamma quadrant, there would have been no incentive for Admiral Janeway to go to the past and try to get Voyager home sooner. If they had made it home at all, that is. Janeway was right to take the direct route.
Well, the map that cochrane linked to doesn’t have them named in rotational order, but in a sort of ‘z’ pattern. It also shows that it wasn’t nearly as easy as just getting to ‘the alpha quadrant.’ All of the federation and their immediate neighbors are just a fairly small cluster along the borders between the alpha and beta quadrants, about three quarters of the way from the core of the galaxy. Getting to the edge of beta quadrant would have been only half their way home, or a little more.
That might have been an interesting point to mark on an episode, actually - ‘okay, we’re out of the delta quadrant, but still a long way from home.’
I’m not really a Trek fan, but from the episodes I’ve seen I gained the impression that the crew of Voyager had been bribed or blackmailed into keeping Kate Mulgrew as far away as possible from Earth, for as long as possible, in order to keep her from inflicting her massive-headed overacting on innocent civilians. Thus, they kept the wormhole secret from her lest she get home, meet Penny Johnson and inadvertently destroy humanity.
Unfortunately, cameras were on board and a TV series commissioned, which rather undermined the whole point of the trip.
ETA: I just realised that Penny Johnson was in DS9, which is an even better reason why the wormhole was avoided.
Hi. My name is Lib. I like Voyager, especially after Seven of Nine comes on board. I also like Captain Janeway. Can’t stand Neelix, but every ST series had someone I couldn’t stand. I’ll sit down now.
Hi, Lib. Admitting you have a problem is the first step.
It would have been better to spend their time keeping Penny Johnson out of 24.
I liked Voyager despite Seven of Nine.
Here I was, thinking I would die alone.
While I’ve come to appreciate DS9 for the well-written-drama factor, Voyager will always hold a very special place in my heart.
What can I say? I watched every episode of Voyager for all seven seasons. Given my username, who could blame me?
Seven of Nine was always a pleasure.
Yep, I too loved Voyager. And I agree that there’s always ONE character you hate. For me it was Kes.
I think TNG and Voyager (in that order) are the greatest, and to a certain extent, I don’t know how you can like one without the other. Though the basic premise is different, the shows correspond in plot more. Each encounters a problem during an episode, and the problem gets solved. I could see if you hated Janeway that it would be a real sticking point.
I slogged through DS9, and enjoyed it to an extent, but it never really won me over. Enterprise I hated for the longest time, and then watched from the beginning and got into it. I can’t deal with TOS, and while I’m sure they’re going to do something terribly wrong, a part of me is glad they’re going to remake it (without Shatner’s terrible overacting and green women sleeping with him every other episode).
I dunno, I guess as a die hard TNGer, the transition to Voyager was surprisingly painless. Although both Neelix and Kes annoyed the crap out of me (but not as much as Wesley!).
And for me, Geordi. I don’t know why exactly, but he just got on my nerves.
Okay, my chronology isn’t very clear, but wouldn’t they had had to (as far as they knew) fight their way through the Dominion to use the Gamma Quad wormhole?
Or did Voyager premiere before the Dominion made itself known on DS9?
It was that Gawddamm barette…
Odd. I liked Seven of Nine despite Voyager.
Yep. Even Seven of Nine couldn’t get me to watch more than a handful of Voyager episodes.
TOS über alles!
