Whenever I catch STV in the middle of an episode, every time he shows up I sort of grunt and think, oh yeah, that guy. When I try to explain why I think he's so meh, I'll start thinking of episodes where he takes the lead, so he seems o-k, but as part of the ensemble, he just doesn't hold my interest. He just lacks something. All the other characters work fine, as far as I'm concerned. That there isn't much talk about him here (I'm guessing) just proves my point.
shareHe's very beige. Bland. Undefined. Didn't the actor complain he never had anything interesting to do?
shareIf he actually said that... he was very perceptive!
I mean I liked the guy, but he never got a chance to do much but stand at attention and look noble.
He could talk to animals.
shareNormally that would make a character interesting, funny about that.
shareCome to think of it, animals rarely have a place in the Star Trek universe, and I don't recall Chakotay talking with animals. While that sounds in character, the opportunity to use this trait doesn't seem to be there.
And what if we could talk to animals? Would they act the way we want them to? Like The Far Side comic that said What dogs are really saying when they are barking excitedly -- Hey ! Hey ! Hey ! Hey !
When my cat squeaks excitedly, she's saying "Come on, human, it's dinner time! Get with the program!". I understand her perfectly, and she understands me pretty well.
Here on Earth being able to communicate with animals isn't a rare gift at all, most pet owners and farmhands can do it. But I would be seriously impressed by a human who could communicate with animals of other planets, animals with whom they didn't share any genetic similarity. Pity I don't recall it ever actually happening on the show.
I mentioned Dr Doolittle, and I read all the books when I was a kid. The things is, all these animals had a human capacity for reasoning and taking action because of it. My experience with animals is they either want to be fed or given some stimulus or given comfort. They can't tell you which dress looks better, haha.
shareIt's pretty obvious there isn't much going on in Kitty's mind except food/cuddle/play/nothing, but there are animals like goats, raccoons, and parrots that seem to have a lot more on the ball. Like, world conquest or something, if we could only understand them and put a stop to their nefarious plans before we find ourselves bowing down to our new raccoon overlords.
As for animals on the galactic levels... if they have a human capacity for reasoning and taking action they aren't animals, they're sentient beings no matter what they look like! So yeah, someone who had a talent for talking to what-all species would have been super useful on the Voyager, but I don't recall Chakotay ever talking to anything but a spirit animal.
I don't remember that. I think your are confusing him with Dr Doolittle. And come to think of it, animals rarely have a place in the Star Trek universe.
shareIt's unfortunate he was written to be so calm and stoic. Paris and Torres were characters with passions and humor. Neelix, Seven and the Doctor were often comic foils. Even Tuvok was interesting with his exaggerated logic and sternness.
I fear the writers had a stereotype of Native Americans (or other indigenous people) as being one dimensional - noble and dedicated. And when I actually think of Chakotay, I certainly don't dislike him, he's just the one character I don't warm up to that much. Kind of a shame.
I would have picked Tuvok to be XO instead, but it also makes a lot of sense to pick Chakotay - to give the Maquis crew some confidence that they would be treated as equals instead of outlaws. One of those Janeway decisions that I can respect even though I disagree.
However, after he completely reversed Janeway's orders when she was temporarily incapacitated in Scorpion, I felt like he really had to go. How could she ever rely on him again after that?
I had heard that Robert Beltran wanted out of the series. For some reason he was unwilling or unable to leave. Maybe he was trying to sabotage his character and get released.
Ironically, he kept making ridiculous demands of the producers in hopes of being told to leave. His character proved so popular that the producers gave him everything he asked for, including ridiculous pay increases.