Star Trek : Voyager Turns 30 Years Old!

Star Trek : Voyager turned 30 years old as the double episode pilot Caretaker was aired back in January 16, 1995. Since the pilot aired, we have had 172 (syndicated) episodes over the show’s seven seasons, ending with another double episode in Endgame which aired as the 171 and 172 in the overall series on May 23, 2001. Pictured here are the original cast members clockwise : Ethan Phillips as Neelix, Gareth Wang as Ensign Harry Kim, Jennier Lien as Kes, Robert Duncan McNeil as Lt. Tom Paris, Robert Picardo as the ships EMH The Doctor, Roxann Dawson as Lt. B’Elanna Torres, Tim Russ as Lt. Commander Tuvok, Kate Mugrew as Captain Katheryn Janeway and Robert Beltran as Command Chakotay. Missing from the cast pic is ofcourse Jeri Ryan who portrayed 7 of 9 from the 4th season onwards.

The fifth series in the Star Trek franchise, it served as the fourth live action series after Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the 24th century, when Earth is part of a United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager as it attempts to return home to the Alpha Quadrant after being stranded in the Delta Quadrant on the far side of the galaxy. After Janeway destroys the Caretaker’s array, stranding her ship 70,000 light years from home, in order to keep it from falling into the hands of the villainous Kazons, she recruits the Maquis members to join the crew as they try to make their way back to Federation space and Earth. After the initial distrust and classes, the crew becomes more or less like a family.

Voyager was the first Star Trek series to use computer-generated imagery (CGI), rather than models, for exterior space shots. Voyager was the only show in the Roddenberry/Berman era not to open with a scene featuring the Captain. The series was restricted by union rules to only use locations within a radius of 37 miles from Paramount studios which was why Vasquez Rocks was a popular filming location.  In an incredibly rare example of Star Trek successfully navigating something across all 3 of its 90s shows, the seeds of the Maquis were planted purely for the benefit of a show that hadn’t even made it to TV yet. despite their prominence on Deep Space Nine, and originally being mentioned both on that show and The Next Generation before Voyager had even premiered, they were written and conceived entirely for the upcoming adventures in the Delta Quadrant. The show is comfort food for Trek fans and is beloved as such.

RIP David Lynch

David Lynch, the American filmmaker whose works include the surrealist cult classics Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks, has died aged 78. Known for his surrealist films, he developed his own unique cinematic style which has been dubbed “Lynchian” and is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound design. Lynch’s death was announced on his official Facebook page by his family. Lynch revealed in August last year he was battling emphysema, a chronic lung disease, from “many years of smoking”. Considered by many a maverick filmmaker, he received three best director Oscar nominations throughout his career for his work on Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man and Mulholland Drive.

Lynch’s first project was the 1967 short Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times), an animated film which blended elements of sculpture and painting into its animation. His first feature-length project, 1977’s Eraserhead, became a cult film and launched his commercial career. Lynch’s other feature films include the critically successful The Elephant Man (1980), Blue Velvet (1986) and Mulholland Drive (2001), all of which went on to earn Academy Award nominations, and the then commercial flop but which became a cult favourite Dune. Lynch also branched out into television, and later, internet-based series. His first foray into the medium was the cult hit Twin Peaks, a joint venture with Mark Frost.

He won the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival for Wild at Heart in 1990. His last major project was Twin Peaks: The Return, which was broadcast in 2017, and continued the TV series that ran for two seasons in the early 1990s.