"Star Trek: Voyager" premieres 1995

Star Trek: Voyager, the fourth live-action Star Trek series, premiered January 16, 1995.  In the first episode, Caretaker, the star ship Voyager is thrown 70,000 light-years away into the Delta Quadrant along with a Maqui ship full of rebels, some of whom were in Star Fleet.  They have to join an uneasy alliance to make it back home.

It is the first series to have a female captain, Capt. Kathryn Janeway played by Kate Mulgrew.  Robert Beltran played Starfleet-turned-outlaw-turned-Starfleet Commander Chakotay.  I thought he was the coolest second-in-command of all the series and the most under-appreciated.  Voyager also introduced the first character that I really did not like: Neelix.  He was the most annoying of ALL Star Trek characters.

The rest were pretty awesome people.  Garret Wang (Ensign Kim), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine),  Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres), Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt. Paris), Robert Picardo (the Doctor) and Tim Russ (Lt. Tuvok).

I stopped watching the show after the third season when it became The Janeway/Seven of Nine Show, but I did watch the last season.

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month - Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Star Trek: Voyager

I tend to stay away from celebrities, such as musicans, actors, athletes, when honoring someone's heritage.  I prefer to celebrate the trailblazers, the firsts, the ones making a difference in everyone's life.  But sometimes, I have to suspend that rule and talk about my favorites.  Especially the ones that appear in Star Trek.

Robert Beltran (Mexican-Native American heritage) and Roxann Dawson (nee Cabarello) are stars of Star Trek:Voyager.  I believe it was the first show in the series to feature Hispanic/Latin characters. A friend once complained to a group of our friends about how there were no Hispanic females on television.  If I was there, I would have told him about Ms. Dawson, who has played Lt. Torres in more than one TV show.

I always thought Commander Chakotay was the coolest member of Star Trek: Voyager, the best Number 1 and the most underutilized member of the cast.  Beltran won a Golden Eagle award for his portrayal of Commander Chakotay.

Happy birthday, Commander Chakotay!

Robert Beltran, born November 19, 1953, is probably best known for his role as Commander Chakotay in "Star Trek: Voyager".  I always thought he was the coolest second in command since Spock, but he was totally under-utilized on the show, especially after Seven-of-Nine came on board. 

I couldn't find a good clip of him on "Star Trek: Voyager" so I had to settle for clips from an interview with him during the last season of the show.