# Question about the Star Trek franchise **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** star-trek-paramount\ **Created:** [October 24, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681 "2022-10-24T00:34:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/1 "2022-10-24T00:34:47Z")
I’ve seen there have been a lot of ST reboots and new series. I haven’t watched any of them. I kind of stopped watching sometime during Voyager. Now, I’ve been re reading a book series collectively titled the Ring of Fire. It started in 2000 and involves an American town sent back in time. There’s a segment in which four young men are depressed about the things they will never know, and one say “I wonder if Voyager ever got home?” So I’ll ask you, as I really don’t know. Did Voyager ever make it home? If someone answers this for me feel free to mock. Then you can ask other unanswered plot points in ST, if you have any. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/2 "2022-10-24T00:48:25Z")
It’s not a big spoiler to reveal that they did. I think it wouldn’t have been classic Star Trek if they hadn’t. But it took many years (though fewer than 70), and there was a heavy price to pay for that delay. The final episode, [Endgame](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Endgame_(episode)), deals with this. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/3 "2022-10-24T00:50:33Z")
In fact, Janeway was promoted to admiral, and appeared in the movie _Nemesis_ giving orders to Picard. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/4 "2022-10-24T01:01:29Z")
Thanks. Jeff, Larry, Jimmy and Eddie would be happy to know that. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/5 "2022-10-24T01:01:58Z")
In the original, unaltered timeline, anyway, it took many years, and there was a heavy price to pay for the delay. The old Admiral Janeway goes back to the show’s present time and presents _Voyager_ with future technology like ablative armor generators and transphasic torpedoes to make it possible for them to more easily defeat the Borg and use one of their transwarp conduits to get back home at the end of Voyager’s seventh season. Thus saving the lives of a lot of her crew, at the cost of her own assimilation. (“Our” Janeway is fine, though, and she got promoted to admiral.) Neelix left the ship a few episodes before the finale, to start a new Talaxian family in the Delta Quadrant. Since the show’s finale, we’ve seen both Tom Paris and Tuvok on _Lower Decks_. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/6 "2022-10-24T02:24:26Z")
It’s not that they got home was ever on doubt, it was _how_ they did it that forever puts Voyager in the crap pile. It was basically Gilligan’s Starship. Ways to get back are dangled in front of the crew and then snatched away. Progress is slow. Very slow. Then after 6.9 seasons, Voyager suddenly skips the last 60K light years \* in one hour, wrapping everything up. \*don’t quote me on the exact numbers. I’m never watching that show again. Once was bad enough. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/7 "2022-10-24T02:50:47Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > It’s not that they got home was ever on doubt, it was _how_ they did it that forever puts Voyager in the crap pile. It was basically Gilligan’s Starship. Ways to get back are dangled in front of the crew and then snatched away. Progress is slow. Very slow. > > Then after 6.9 seasons, Voyager suddenly skips the last 60K light years \* in one hour, wrapping everything up. I’m not a _Voyager_ fan either, though I do like a few of the episodes I’ve seen, but that’s actually a misconception. There are a _lot_ of times when ways to get back are snatched away, but there are several large jumps in the series. 1. When Kes evolves to a higher form of being, she has to leave the ship because the process is dangerous to them, but she transports them 9,500 light years closer to Earth. 2. When Seven installs the new astrometrics lab, she’s able to plot a course that takes an estimated 5 years off their journey, thanks to the Borg’s advanced knowledge of the DQ. 3. On two separate occasions, the Voyager makes use of a quantum slipstream drive that they acquired from the USS _Dauntless_. Their first journey propels them 300 ly closer, and the second, a further 10,000. 4. When Voyager went through the Void, a spatial vortex leading to the opposite side of the region cut two years and 2,500 ly off the journey. 5. The crew stole a transwarp coil from a Borg sphere that allowed them to travel another 20,000 light years. 6. Tash’s catapult cut three years off the journey. 7. Q provided them with a faster route that cut a few years off the journey, as thanks for straightening out his son. 8. Admiral Janeway’s intervention brought them the rest of the way home through the Borg transwarp conduit network. Citation: > **[USS Voyager](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/USS_Voyager#Shortening_the_journey)** > > The USS Voyager (NCC-74656) was a 24th century Federation Intrepid-class starship operated by Starfleet from 2371 to 2378. One of the most storied starships in the history of Starfleet, Voyager was famous for completing an unscheduled seven-year... ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/8 "2022-10-24T03:03:59Z")
I found the C-band wild feed of Voyager, back when that was possible. I think it was the Canadian package, with brief fades-to-black for commercial breaks. I taped the last episode off a wild feed, which was supposed to be a two-parter (as I recall, their fast return to earth somehow involved the Borg, and possibly time travel to the past), but for us it was just a continuous 80 minute installment. It was kind of fun to try to pick out where the division was supposed to be between the parts, because it was not all that obvious. I found Enterprise packages on wild feeds as well, and I seem to be the one person who actually prefers that series. Mostly because it has a visceral realism to it that is missing from all the others. Except for the last episode, which was dreadfully fucked up. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/9 "2022-10-24T03:24:10Z")
Technically not in the series. They arrive dramatically in the Alpha Quadrant, but they only look at Earth from afar. But, yes, since then there have been indications they actually made it to earth, like Admiral Janeway’s first non-Voyager appearance in the last TNG movie (Nemesis). And, yes, there was real speculation that they might not actually make it back by the end of the series. There was some talk of having it wrap up with them still on their way. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/10 "2022-10-24T12:06:33Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > 1. Q provided them with a faster route that cut a few years off the journey, as thanks for straightening out his son. You have to wonder, if he was really that grateful, why he didn’t just zap them all the way home. (I’m familiar with Q from TNG, but never watched much Voyager. Maybe there was an explanation why he didn’t/couldn’t?) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/11 "2022-10-24T14:53:55Z")
He wanted to set an example for his son, that humanity had to settle their own problems and not rely on help from the Q. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/12 "2022-10-24T17:42:00Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I found Enterprise packages on wild feeds as well Didn’t Enterprise change to a digital feed we could not receive? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/13 "2022-10-24T17:42:43Z")
I kind of agree with you. It was Voyager that put me off watching Star Trek. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/14 "2022-10-24T18:06:47Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Didn’t Enterprise change to a digital feed we could not receive? ISTR that there were still analog wild feeds as late as '09, which was well after Enterprise met its sad end. The loss of the CBC analog feeds was a time of great sorrow and rending of what little hair I had remaining. Not to mention the absolute joy of watching the Superbowl in Spanish, with no commercials. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/15 "2022-10-24T18:17:38Z")
There were still other analog feeds. The Enterprise analog feeds stopped, and I recall hearing Colin Triner (sp?) saying that they changed to a less expensive digital feed. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/16 "2022-10-24T18:19:07Z")
I recall that the local affiliate edited the Enterprise feed to get in more commercials. They denied it, and I explained that I had watched the feed the day before. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/17 "2022-10-24T18:30:54Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > There were still other analog feeds. The Enterprise analog feeds stopped, and I recall hearing Colin Triner (sp?) saying that they changed to a less expensive digital feed. Well, I could swear I saw the last episode on a wild feed. It could be, though, that the pain of it has clouded my memory. I mean, who wants to see Troi and Riker on fucking Enterprise??? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/18 "2022-10-24T18:39:27Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > But, yes, since then there have been indications they actually made it to earth, like Admiral Janeway’s first non-Voyager appearance in the last TNG movie (Nemesis). And Janeway appearing as a training hologram in _Prodigy_. > **[Star Trek: Prodigy Timeline Explained — How is Janeway Already a Hologram?](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/star-trek-prodigy-timeline-explained-how-is-janeway-already-a-hologram/)** > > Janeway is stuck in the Delta Quadrant again but in a different year? Here’s why the creators of the newest animated Star Trek take the timeline very seriously. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/19 "2022-10-24T19:33:50Z")
That was actually the reason I added “first non-Voyager” to “appearance.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681/20 "2022-10-24T21:46:42Z")
Of course, their first opportunity to go home was in the very first episode. But they opted against it, because going home then would have meant missing out on an opportunity to violate the Prime Directive, and we can’t have that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-the-star-trek-franchise/973681.md?page=2)