(0:36-end mark from the theme from the final season of American Gladiators original run play the camera moves back to see James on top of the slab with the words “The Last Of The Americans” on it before cutting to James physically)
TLOTA:
I'm James Faraci, The Last Of The Americans and the views I'm about to express are that of my own & some of yours and Welcome to another edition of "In Defense Of..."(Show pics of maligned pieces of pop culture while the fanfare from the Olympics play and James comes up after Vanilla Ice slides back and his right-hand thumbs up and the words "In Defense Of..." before cutting to clips of "Star Trek: Prodigy" as James does a voiceover.)
TLOTA (V.O.):
Last year was Star Trek's fifty-fifth anniversary and to celebrate "Paramount+" the official streaming service of Paramount gave its audience a new season of "Star Trek: Discovery", a preview of the second season of "Star Trek Picard" and a new animated series called "Star Trek: Prodigy" and one of the selling points to the series to entice the audience to check out "Prodigy" was the return of Captain Janeway played by Kate Mulgrew. (Cut to James physically)
TLOTA:
And to many fans of Star Trek who remember her and "Voyager" both are not remembered fondly. Partly due to the fact that the creative staff was burned out from "The Next Generation", "Deep Space Nine" and the movies that were happening at that time, and the fact they had no clue how to handle the series properly. So they literally left the cast to handle the series and there would be some pretty big problems when it came to the series. But did the series deserve the disdain? Let's go over the plot of the series. (Cut to clips of "Star Trek: Voyager" as James does a voiceover.)
TLOTA (V.O.):
Hurdled deep into the Delta Quadrant a combination of Starfleet, Maquis, and a few Delta Quadrant species, the Voyager now must make their way back to the Alpha Quadrant while taking on different creatures and old foes like the Borg. Now if this doesn't feel like a Star Trek series, well, to be honest, it could've been a knockoff of a Sci-fi series. However, because the series has the Star Trek title hanging on it there had to be some effort in something. While the first few seasons were touch and go on the concept of these different crews and creatures trying to come together, it really needed some help. I mean in one episode both Lt. Paris and Capt. Janeway was reduced to Alligator lovers for crying out loud. We had to deal with a combination of Tuvok and Neelix! And trust me I've heard every joke and attack about Neelix having been done and over with and I am glad he found his home and his people so welcoming after seeing so much on board the Voyager. The looking at different creatures part may have been tough but at least with some of the designs they were trying to make new aliens when the story needed it and keeping the ideas fresh was a struggle but they tried the best they could. I wasn't against the idea of the series, I was just burned out from having to deal with the events of the movies, "DS9" and the oversaturation of the reruns. I mean, the return of the Borg after "First Contact" was a great ongoing threat for the crew as were the interactions between again the Maquis though it was a moot point. Overall, the series as a concept was not a bad one, if the plan was to try and see if the ideals of the Federation and Starfleet could be upheld while working with those the Federation considered their nemesis and having to work with them to get back to the worlds they left behind. (Cut to James physically)
TLOTA:
Now onto the thoughts of the fans who had all these things to complain about with the series. (Cut to clips of "Star Trek: Voyager" as James does a voiceover.)
TLOTA (V.O.):
"Why didn't the crew of the Voyager use the wormhole that would take the team to Bajor?" Okay, let me say the following about the wormhole, or as the fans call it "The Celestial Temple Of The Prophets Of Bajor" leads into the Gamma quadrant! The Voyager is in the Delta Quadrant! Totally different sections of outer space. "Star Trek" has never set the borders of where the quadrants are and even if the Voyager were to make it to the Gamma quadrant they'd have to deal with the Dominion an even more implacable enemy than the ones in the Delta Quadrant, so it's safe to say the Voyager was better off staying in the Delta Quadrant and not getting involved in the Dominion War. "Everyone seemed to want to kill Harry Kim!" Oh boy, poor Harry Kim as performed by Garrett Wang apparently got the short end of the stick, but after watching the series, he had his fair share of moments where he got into trouble or had a bullseye on him because the plot says so. He's not as bad as most people have claimed him to be nor was he the walking Red Shirt waiting to die in the series. "Neelix is annoying" Neelix as performed by Ethan Phillips was believed to be the last of his species after something called A Metron Cascade. It isn't until the fourth to the final episode that he found a settlement of his people he decided to leave Voyager. And to the biggest complaint, "Captain Janeway was the worst captain in the history of Starfleet!" (Cut to James sputtering)
TLOTA:
I'm sorry but have you been thrown 75 light-years away from everyone? Have you had to team up with people your employer says "The People you're with now are our enemy"? Have you ever had to try and uphold the concept of Starfleet without Starfleet who are now several quadrants away? Captain Janeway had to do that. (Cut to clips of "Star Trek: Voyager" as James does a voiceover.)
TLOTA (V.O.):
And to me, it was admirable that she was able to do so with the grace, dignity, and composure a Starfleet Captain should embody, even those who kneel at the altar of Captain Kirk should do kneel at Janeway's altar. While yes writing-wise she had been made to be emotionally distant or someone who has been pushed to a point where things were difficult, the fact she was able to maintain control over every situation thrown her way and stay focused on the statement of Starfleet which is to explore strange new worlds, seek out new lives and civilizations, and to boldly go where no one has gone before and the added wrinkle of getting everyone home. She had a lot on her plate and she leaned on Chakotay played by Robert Beltran a lot to help her stay the course. Yet in spite of that, fans still hate her, is it because she's a female captain? This series is set in the future where it doesn't matter what your gender or sexual preference is and you'd still be accepted. This is set the future where everyone and everything is equal and yet a female Captain is still foreign to your sensibilities. Then there is obviously something wrong with your sensibilities when it comes to being open-minded about females in command of starships, especially since one of the new Star Trek series has an adopted sister of Spock, Michael Burnham, who is a female and as of the past couple of seasons has become the Captain of The Discovery as had the former Captain of the Discovery played by Michelle Yeoh. So while you may be of the mindset of the first being the worst, if that's the case then you've never fully seen the original Star Trek series or the first movie of the Star Trek Franchise and you certainly aren't truly behind what Star Trek is about. (Cut to James physically)
TLOTA:
I can love "Star Trek" and enjoy both "The Orville" and the "Star Wars" franchises. I can enjoy "The Lord Of The Rings" movies and still think "The Hobbit" movies aren't that good and you can disagree with me, that's fine, you're allowed not to agree with others as long as we can find some common ground, I don't mind you not liking what I like. But this is one of those times where I have to put my foot down and say "Yes, Captain Katherine Janeway does not deserve the hate she has gotten from Star Trek fans! (Cut to clips of Captain Janeway as James does a voiceover.)
TLOTA (V.O.):
And while the new series has done some damage control, I think she doesn't deserve it. Captain Janeway is an awesome character and was a reason why "Voyager" is a worthy series in Star Trek's lore. If you are looking for a good continuation of "The Next Generation" and if you have seen it and after hearing what I have said you decide to look at Katherine Janeway and Star Trek: Voyager differently may be one of the best things to happen to this series because it deserves a second chance from everybody. (Cut to James)
TLOTA:
I'm James Faraci The Last Of The Americans and that's my opinion.
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