For a while now, I've been binge-watching Star Trek: Voyager on Netflix. I can't believe the series is 20 years old! That's insane to me. Way back when it first started, I watched about the first season and a half or so, and then just kinda lost it.
Missy and I began watching it together a few months back, and I keep going on my own in fits and starts. It really, really gets good after Season 3, when Seven of Nine comes on the show.
Sometimes, I'll admit, the show is like a breaded mozzarella stick, just stuffed with cheese.
But more often than not, it's amazing. There's great storytelling, characters you invest in, complex feelings, and tearful situations. I'm a sucker for tearful situations.
I especially love Neelix, and lately I've come to really love this little space girl he is responsible for, Naomi Wildman.
Naomi's mom, Samantha Wildman, was pregnant with her when Voyager first got lost. She asked Neelix to be Naomi's godfather. (Mako-kun says it was a great personal favor she was asking for. He loves that joke.)
Anyhow, in the episode I saw that prompted this post, Once Upon A Time, you really get to see Neelix feel the weight of that responsibility. He cares for Naomi while her mom is away, and possibly in a deadly situation. It's both heartwarming and heartbreaking, at the same time.
I'm really glad I started binge-watching the series. It's really amazing.