Star Trek: Voyager

TV review by Will Wade, Common Sense Media
Star Trek: Voyager Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 8+

Getting lost in space has never been so much fun.

Spike, Syndicated Science Fiction 1995
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Parents say

age 12+

Based on 4 reviews

Kids say

age 10+

Based on 27 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that some of the main characters in Star Trek: Voyager die, though they're generally resurrected through a variety of advanced technological devices, including time travel. This can make life and death seem somewhat fluid, rather than a permanent condition, which might seem confusing to some young viewers -- though older children will probably understand that these twists are just one of many common plot devices in the sci-fi realm. Overall, as with most of the Star Trek series, there's not too much content to worry about.

Community Reviews

FionaChen
FionaChen Adult
February 17, 2022
age 12+

Ratings require revision

While it is difficult to rate a TV series (particularly when one goes well over 100 episodes), I think some of the content advice is a bit off in areas. For starters, while the show is upbeat and optimistic, there are episodes which can be very dark and mature, enough to warrant an M rating. For example; "sex" should be boosted to three stars, not one. There is an episode in Season 3 where the Chief Engineer develops a heightened sex drive after a member of the crew attempts to force her into a sexual act. The entire episode, which follows, concerns the woman and a man alone in a series of caves where she is begging him for sex while he is turning her down, knowing that she isn't wanting it with her genuine drive. There are several other episodes concerning sex, reproduction, and mature themes of this nature. The sexual content in this show is above one star. Please amend. The same can be said for the violence.
2 people found this helpful.
777regina
777regina Adult
February 8, 2014
age 18+

Loved the first 5 seasons

We really enjoyed the first five seasons, especially Captain Janeway and the Doctor, and all characters were great. Good acting. We were sorry to see Kess leave and really noticed the series going down hill after 7 replaces her. I am surprised this series was given a "zero" for sexual content. 7 's suit was purposely extremely skin tight sexualized (she mentioned in an interview it would take her 20 minutes to go to the bathroom during filming and needed help to do so, due to the tightness, the extreme corset was etc unnaturally "over-sized" body parts. It would have been okay until they had her "explore" her sexual nature. Some scenes were close to soft porn. And flirting and sexual innuendo became more frequent. Granted there was no outright nudity (only one scene the viewer knows 7 is nude while only her upper back is shown BUT a male viewer makes a remark of course) Usually Common Sense Media would have given those scenes at least "2" points for "sexy stuff" in their ratings, movies and TV series have gotten marked for those for much milder flirting and "sexual" talk. We liked the series very much in the beginning though and would have given it a 4 or 5 stars if we'd never watched the rest.
1 person found this helpful.
See all 4 parent reviews

What's the Story?

STAR TREK: VOYAGER follows the crew of a starship that's been teleported to the very farthest reaches of the galaxy and is struggling to find its way home, a 70,000-light-year journey that could take decades. This handy plot device means that Voyager's structure can be pretty much identical to its predecessors, but with an almost completely new set of alien guest stars. Many of the ship's crew members perished when the Voyager was zapped across the universe; a renegade ship that the Voyager was pursuing was destroyed shortly afterward. Circumstances force the two groups to team up -- predictably, the "marriage" of the Starfleet crew and the rebels doesn't always go well.

Is It Any Good?

While this series lacks the cultural heft of the original series -- far fewer storylines serve as metaphors for important social issues -- this isn't necessarily a flaw, just a difference. The lost-in-space premise gave Star Trek: Voyager (which originally aired from 1995 to 2001) a compelling narrative arc. It may not be as deep as the original series, but it was ultimately a good addition to the Star Trek universe.

Because the Voyager is stranded out in the Delta Quadrant, Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) -- the only female captain in the Star Trek franchise -- has to solve any problems that arise on her own, without being able to call for backup. The influence of characters who never attended the rigid Starfleet Academy leads her to make decisions that might never have happened on another starship or on a more traditional mission. In this way, the series does harken back to the original Star Trek's off-the-cuff feeling and can be refreshing.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about humanity's need for companionship in Star Trek: Voyager. This series follows the lonely travails of a ship that's been transported to the farthest reaches of the universe and is struggling to find a way back to Earth -- which could take about 75 years. How do you think you'd react in that kind of situation? How does the ship's separation from the rest of society make this series different from the other Star Trek shows?

  • The Voyager unites two groups of former foes into one crew. How are they able to set aside their differences and cooperate on the starship? What happens when they cannot cooperate?

  • Which things in the Star Trek universe are possible and which are purely science fiction? In what ways do they use technology that is similar or the same to ways we use it?

TV Details

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