In an eye opening interview with Michael Piller, the producer reveals exactly what made him proud, plus what made him disappointed in how the Voyager series turned out.



"The whole idea of exploring space is a metaphor for exploring ourselves," beginned Piller. "When VOYAGER did that, I think it did very well. I think Seven of Nine stories gave us some insight into humanity and the meaning of humanity that the series sorely wanted. It had its moments. But when it did the exploding spaceships and space-monsters and so forth, the problem is that that's what everybody does in science fiction."



"I think that reduces Star Trek to being no better and worse than other science fiction shows," continues the co-creator of "Voyager." "I have always encouraged the writers to try to find the human elements, the moral and ethical dilemmas. I think there was less an appetite for that after I left. I think in a sense that there were some people who felt, again trying to explain the ratings issue, that that was an ambition that was too lofty for a broad-based audience. I disagree with that."



While "Voyager" was sometimes iffy throughout the years, it did have its own good moments. "I thought Voyager was less focused over the years but certainly had fine moments, and certainly is a proud achievement for everybody involved with it."



"But I guess what it comes down to," states Piller, "'Star Trek: The Next Generation' was a phenomenon. It was the only show of its type at the time. By the time you had 'Deep Space Nine' and 'Voyager', you had reruns of all these shows running. [...] You had science fiction shows on cable and syndication and network, and the science fiction pool is a fairly narrow audience to begin with."



Michael Piller knows the viewers of Star Trek are "extraordinarily loyal" and are a very competent audience. Although because Star Trek was targetted so much, "we started being not only in competition with other people but in competition with ourselves and our own reruns."



"There was a certain chemistry on 'Deep Space Nine' that I thought worked very well as well. But again, for whatever reason, audience just did not gravitate to that as much as 'The Next Generation'."



Although Piller says the audience may have not gravitated toward DS9 as much as TNG, "frankly -- because of the great story telling... week after week on that series -- will be discovered over time, the same way the original 'Star Trek' was."



He concludes, "I think 'Voyager' has held its own."