Kathryn Janeway
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Kathryn Janeway, (Born: May 20, 2336 in Bloomington, Indiana) a character in the fictional Star Trek universe played by Kate Mulgrew, was the captain of the USS Voyager (2371-2378) in the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. She was later promoted to Admiral.
Throughout the series, she maintained a steadfast goal of getting out of the Delta Quadrant and back home to Earth. Along the way, Captain Janeway (or "Kathy" as Q liked to call her, perhaps in reference to Wuthering Heights) spent much time helping other crew members grow and deal with their situation. Hard as nails, the good Captain nearly sacrificed herself many times to help out her crew.
Her first major task was integrating the Maquis crew into hers after the rebels' ship was destroyed following their transport to the Delta Quadrant. Commander Chakotay, captain of the Maquis ship, became second-in-command of the newly integrated crew.
Other important interactions Captain Janeway had with the crew:
- Helped Seven of Nine, an ex-Borg drone, claim back her individuality and adjust into human culture.
- Took Tom Paris (the son of her friend and former commanding officer, Admiral Owen Paris) under her wing, and made him her helmsman when her existing one was killed in the first episode.
- Helped the Doctor through many rough times, and advocated his status as a conscious, living being (although even in the later seasons she openly said that he was a machine "like a replicator" and not a person).
The Captain took her crew very seriously and worked hard to help them become something greater than they were. During the time Voyager was in the Delta Quadrant, they re-established communications with Starfleet in 2374, through an alien relay station.
In Star Trek: Nemesis Janeway is shown as an Vice Admiral circa stardate 56844.9. However, in the Star Trek Encyclopedia it was said that Janeway was a Rear Admiral. In the film Star Trek: Nemesis she had three pips in her collar, which is probably one of those infamous Star Trek pip errors. How a captain known for her inconsistency and dis-regard for protocol during the seven years USS Voyager was missing was promoted to such a high level, bypassing several ranks, has never been explained. Some books have stated that thanks to her extensive first-hand knowledge of the Borg, she was promoted to Rear Admiral to gain the proper security clearances to be able to access all available information on the Borg; however, these books are not considered canon.
The Janeway character, which during Voyager's early years was one of Trek's most popular captains, is criticized by many Trek fans, with some feeling that the character was poorly written and often contradicted herself from week to week. Mulgrew herself often jokes that she felt Janeway was mentally unstable. Mulgrew also once remarked that she considered the writers to be at fault for Janeway having what she termed as bipolar disorder. Janeway's apparent insanity is a matter of some debate with Voyager fans, with some blaming poor writing for the characterization, while others consider this to be an important facet of the character, giving her some similarities to Captain Queeg of The Caine Mutiny.
- See also : Star Trek, Kathryn (name)