Fantastic Voyager
This is a promo pic of the first season cast that was printed in TV Guide. Janeway, Tuvok, and Chakotay are front and center; they were supposed to be the Kirk, Spock, and McCoy of Voyager.
One thing that strikes me about this photo: no cheesecake. Maybe because a woman (Jeri Taylor) was one of the creators of the show? (They certainly stocked the cast with ample male pulchritude.)
TOS had Rand, Uhura, and Chapel in miniskirts and go-go boots. TNG had “Counselor Cleavage” in her catsuit. DS9 had Jadzia and Kira, both “aliens” in a way that did not obscure their human sex appeal. (And Kira, at least, often wore clothing that was more form-fitting than the men’s.)
But Voyager originally had no cheesecake. Captain Janeway, played by 40-year-old Kate Mulgrew, was older than your standard space babe (and 52-year-old Genevieve Bujold was the one originally cast). B’Elanna was played by a 36-year-old actress with a lobster on her forehead. (Roxann Dawson says originally the Klingon makeup was much less attractive; she asked them to change it so she looked prettier.) And then there’s Kes. Jennifer Lien was just 19 when she was cast, and conventionally pretty; she seemed obvious cheesecake material.
But they (mostly) didn’t use her that way. Her clothing was not revealing; no cleavage, and it was often pretty loose-fitting as well. I read an early interview with Jennifer, where she talked about how blessed she felt, getting to play a character like Kes. Most young women end up being cast as eye candy; she felt Kes was not, and she realized how lucky she was.
Unfortunately, TPTB decided the lack of cheesecake was a mistake, and Jennifer was fired and replaced by Jeri Ryan. I remember Braga promoting Enterprise by saying T’Pol’s costume would make Seven’s catsuit look like a muumuu. (It didn’t save Enterprise from cancellation, just as Voyager’s ratings continued to fall, even after they swapped out Kes for Seven.)
Still…looking back, I’m surprised Voyager even launched without cheesecake. Almost half the cast people of color, too. Pretty daring for the time. They eventually fell back into a more conventional pattern, adding Jeri Ryan, and writing far more for the white characters than the others. But they deserve props for casting the show the way they did.
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