A little context: For a while now, I've been developing in this currently stuffed-up head of mine (cold, sadly, not great thoughts) a series of theories, some about characters, some about specific episodes, some about aliens or overarching developments or general issues, about how Voyager could have been better. Today, sick and bored, I randomly started writing one down; what follows is a lot of speculation about one of Voyager's particularly lusterless ventures into alien-culture-creation: the Kazon. What follows is more ramble than essay, I'll admit, mostly filled with wild speculation on how the Kazon could've gathered a little more grit and uniqueness. I hope it'll be interesting; I also hope that it'll be the first in a series. What'll be next? The underuse of the Vidiians? The lost potential of Neelix? Janeway's character flaws, and why nobody seems to notice them? How Kes Has Balls? Who knows? Probably just the next thing to sieze my attention.
A general sort of disclaimer: I am
not a Voyager basher. I have a deep and t00by love for Voyager. I practically grew up with Voyager--it started when I was eleven, finished when I was seventeen. It's worth noting that I've shelled out for seasons of Voyager on DVD, yet not done so for TNG or DS9, both of which I think are
better, simply because I like Voyager that much. Nor have I spent days upon days wrestling seasons of the other shows out of torrents, just to have them on my hard drive for obsessive rewatching--no, I downloaded Voyager first. (Sorry to show my love through piracy; am broke.) And part of the reason I like it is my fondness for picking over episodes, characters, aliens, plotlines, etcetera, and realizing just how much unexplored potential there was in the show, how much better it
could have been. (And in a way this almost makes it easier to fic about, as there are more cracks for our bunnies to breed in.) So everything I say here is friendly, not antagonistic criticism, with a basic love for Voyager as a whole, but also with the understanding that it had some, ah, flaws.
As far as flaws go...ahhh, the Kazon. Possibly the most underwhelming major villain to ever growl its way out of the brains of the Trek writers, much mocked and maligned, and little, little missed. How the hell, most people doubtless ask, could the Kazon have been better? Better strike them out of the story alltogether. Spend more time with the angst-ridden history of the Vidiians, perhaps. Or trying to give Harry a backbone or Chakotay some verve.
Well, the answer lies in a quote I remember from some interview with one of TPTB: that the Kazon were originally concieved as a sort of interstellar biker gang.
( Biker gang? Well, here we go! )( Possible points of expansion: the Kazon versus the Maquis. )( Origin stories need more than licks and promises, Trabe or no Trabe. )( Feminists Meet Kazon, Fur Flies. )( In which it is obvious that I suck at conclusions and am always a fic-writer by nature. )![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}