Star Trek: Voyager‘s Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) never achieved one big Star Trek milestone experienced by Captains Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). Picard, Sisko, and Janeway all brought something brand new to the role of Star Trek captain, but they also shared a lot in common. For example, Janeway and Picard had an unwavering loyalty to Starfleet’s Prime Directive, even when the USS Voyager found itself stranded in a region of space that wasn’t beholden to it. Similarly, Sisko and Janeway had a similar ability to see the potential in those that didn’t obviously fit the mold of a Starfleet officer.
As the best known Star Trek captains of the 24th century, Picard, Sisko and Janeway were custodians of the legacy of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). The adventures of Kirk’s version of the starship Enterprise were hugely influential and featured prominently in the history books studied by the younger Picard, Sisko, and Janeway. Both Picard and Sisko even got a chance to step into the history books by meeting the legendary Captain Kirk, a Star Trek milestone that Janeway never got to achieve.
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Star Trek’s Picard And Sisko Met Kirk – Janeway Didn’t
It was once estimated that Captain Janeway made first contact with more civilizations than any Starfleet captain since Captain Kirk. However, Janeway and Kirk never get a chance to compare scores, on account of the legendary Enterprise captain having “died” decades earlier. However, Kirk’s death was no barrier for Picard and Sisko to meet the Starfleet legend in Star Trek Generations and the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Trials and Tribble-ations”. Time travel allowed Sisko and the DS9 crew to save Kirk, while the timeless nature of the Nexus facilitated a meeting between two of the greatest Enterprise captains.
Sadly, however, Janeway never got to meet Kirk in Star Trek: Voyager which does feel like a missed opportunity. Janeway would have been more than a match for Kirk’s machismo and charisma, and the two captains could have formed a great team. While Star Trek: Enterprise floated a Kirk episode, Voyager never considered such a possibility, probably due to the finality of Kirk’s second death in Star Trek Generations. However, Janeway did find herself adjacent to Kirk’s Enterprise as part of Star Trek‘s 30th anniversary celebrations in 1996.
Janeway Did Meet Sulu And Janice Rand In Star Trek: Voyager
Janeway met Captain Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) and Commander Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Flashback”. Written to celebrate 30 years of Star Trek, the episode focused on Janeway and Lt. Commander Tuvok (Tim Russ) interacting with his memories of his service aboard the USS Excelsior. Janeway and Tuvok witness Captain Sulu aiding the USS Enterprise-A in their attempts to unmask the conspiracy that framed Captain Kirk and Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley) for murder in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
“Flashback” is a fun Star Trek: Voyager episode that sheds some light on what Janeway thinks of the 23rd century’s legendary Enterprise crew. Discussing the adventure with Lt. Harry Kim (Garrett Wang), Janeway reflected on Kirk’s crew with admiration.
“Of course, the whole bunch of them would be booted out of Starfleet today. But I have to admit: I would have loved to ride shotgun at least once with a group of officers like that.“
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Could Janeway Still Meet Kirk In Star Trek’s Future?
William Shatner’s return to Star Trek feels unlikely, which does limit the potential for a Janeway/Kirk team-up. However, it’s not impossible, and the answer could lie in Star Trek: Prodigy, which teamed Dal R’El (Brett Gray) with multiple legacy characters like Lt. Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Captain Montgomery Scott (James Doohan). Archive audio was used to place the Star Trek: The Original Series actors in a brand-new adventure with the young crew of the USS Protostar, so something similar could be done to team up Kirk with Admiral Janeway.
Alternatively, live-action Kate Mulgrew could cross paths with Paul Wesley’s younger James T. Kirk from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The story specifics as to how the two characters would meet is something to be worked out, but with Star Trek‘s 60th anniversary just two years away, plans could be drawn up to rekindle the fun of 1996. Star Trek: Voyager‘s “Flashback” was a creative addition to the 30th anniversary celebrations, so there’s no reason that the modern franchise can’t do something equally creative with Janeway and Kirk for the 60th.
Star Trek: Voyager
The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they’ve never faced before.
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series follows the exploits of the crew of the USS Enterprise. On a five-year mission to explore uncharted space, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) must trust his crew – Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Forest DeKelley), Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (James Doohan), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Sulu (George Takei) – with his life. Facing previously undiscovered life forms and civilizations and representing humanity among the stars on behalf of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, the Enterprise regularly comes up against impossible odds and diplomatic dilemmas.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
A spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a television series that takes place before the events of the original series and follows Captain Christopher Pike as he mans the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The show focuses on this previous crew of the Enterprise as they explore the galaxy with returning characters from Discovery.
Star Trek: Prodigy
Star Trek: Prodigy is the first TV series in the Star Trek franchise marketed toward children, and one of the few animated series in the franchise. The story follows a group of young aliens who find a stolen Starfleet ship and use it to escape from the Tars Lamora prison colony where they are all held captive. Working together with the help of a holographic Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the new crew of the USS Protostar must find their way back to the Alpha Quadrant to warn the Federation of the deadly threat that is pursuing them.
