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Fair Haven Revisited comments? Vivien or our message board In the world of lesbian fan fiction, I am an interloper, so it is with some amazement that I find I have made it up from the message board and into the Zine. I have never written a line of fan fiction, I have read relatively few stories, and I, undoubtedly, lack the depth of knowledge that many authors and readers possess. Nonetheless, as some of you will know, this has never stopped me commenting on any aspect of the genre when I have felt like it. Where I am on safer ground, though only marginally, is in discussing episodes of Voyager. As a regular viewer of the programme, I am entitled to pass my opinion on what I see, and it is "Fair Haven" and "Spirit Folk", that have attracted my attention in recent weeks. It is more than possible that many of you are heartily sick of hearing about Fair Haven. However, as the T/7 fan base are currently suffering unimaginable agonies as they prepare themselves for Tom and B'Elanna to be formally united, this discussion might be considered timely. No episode in Voyager's history, except, perhaps, "Spirit Folk", has met with more derision than "Fair Haven". To say that lesbians were upset by this episode is putting it mildly. I hardly need to recount the details so firmly are they etched in people's minds. But for those of you who can bear to be reminded, a very lonely, and exceptionally sexually frustrated, Janeway seeks solace in a holographic lover, and, unexpectedly, falls in love with him. Apart from the fact that much of the content of these episodes could be deemed offensive to the Irish community, taken together, "Fair Haven" and "Spirit Folk" have sparked three main areas of contention:
Having now viewed both these episodes, I cannot, and would not want to, argue against any of these positions. Indeed, I doubt anyone could make a convincing argument, beyond the rather lame one, that it is not important that Michael Sullivan is real only that "your feelings are real". And when, towards the end of "Spirit Folk", Janeway told Michael, "just because we are from different worlds doesn't mean we cannot care for each other", I quite thought I was going to be sick. (I do not know whether it is just my imagination, but from her first appearance in "Fair Haven", Kate Mulgrew appeared, to me, to be playing Janeway as though she knew she was in for a good seeing to. In fact, judging by her demeanor, we could be forgiven for thinking that she had one already.) I certainly agree that Michael Sullivan can only be regarded as an "inflatable man" or a "vibrator" with arms and legs, that would allow Janeway to vent her sexual frustration. However, having said that, we do not know for sure that she did have sex with him, because she does not actually say she did. She kissed Michael, but when the Doctor asks if they had "intimate relations", Janeway tells him nothing more than that she has spent a "memorable three days". Okay, I might be clutching at straws here, but for those who are desperate, there is no real evidence to suggest she did anything with him. It also goes without saying, that the Captain, throughout most of these episodes, does not appear to be in complete control of her faculties, because not only does she put two members of her crew at risk, she wants to spend time with a man made up of photons and force fields when the voluptuous Seven of Nine stands waiting in the wings. Of course, the blame for all this has been lain squarely at the door of the writers and producers. An impassioned Michelle Erica Green has referred to the "misogynistic skanks who write Voyager", and "the television network executives who reshape formerly forward-thinking franchises for the young male demographic by shunting aside the original cast members in favor of a catsuit with attitude." Blaming the existence of a young male demographic is all very well when "bashing" Seven of Nine, but with Janeway, apart from pointing out, rightly, TPTB's complete lack of understanding that women who have passed the age of forty have sexual needs, there has been real comment on what the producers might have had in mind with "Fair Haven" and "Spirit Folk", although I am not sure that they even know what they had in mind. If one thing is clear, it is that TPTB try to keep everyone happy, the "faction" included, and it is this that offers, in part, an explanation for why these episodes are so poor. There are two main issues that run through these and other episodes. Firstly, Voyager is promoted as a 'family' show, and is aimed primarily at a heterosexual audience. Julia Houston's article, "Subtext and Slash: Having Your cake and Eating it Too, Part 4", highlights the attempts to heterosexualise the Voyager characters. She notes, "Q was married off and given a child. Paris and Kim hardly hang out anymore. All that Paris and Chakotay antagonism that lead to a slew of slash featuring them just died away on the show without explanation. Even Janeway and Seven have lost their spark lately". While this may be the case, the producers of Voyager are more than aware of the show's not insignificant lesbian following. It is by trying to balance episodes so that they do not alienate a section of the fan base while simultaneously trying to be sensitive to certain social values, that accounts for "Fair Haven" and "Spirit Folk" being such a monumental balls-up when it comes to the portrayal of Janeway. What do you do, if you want to give the Captain some love interest, but she cannot be seen as merely gratifying her lust because that would be unseemly, and it must be a relationship that can be dismissed in the long run as inconsequential to those groups with a vested interest in a particular Janeway pairing? That is a tall order, but the answer is make Janeway fall in love with a hologram. However, by choosing this route the writers were placed in an impossible position, which resulted in the ridiculous situation of the Captain wanting to avoid purging the computer of a faulty program because she believes herself to be in love with one of the holo-characters. If she had been able to treat Michael as a sex toy this would never have happened. Setting aside the damage to Janeway's image, because there is nothing that can be done about it now, you might be surprised to learn that I think the Captain got off lightly. Janeway's relationship with Michael Sullivan is bizarre, but at least she is not as unfortunate as Major Kira Nerys in DS9. I nearly choked when I read Michelle Erica Green's review of Chimera in which she pronounced Odo and Kira's affair to be "perhaps the finest love story ever told on television" and that "I adored the scene…where Odo gave Kira a backrub by transforming into a puddle of goo on her skin". Fine, his penis can be made as large as Kira wants it, but would you really want a boyfriend you have to carry around in a bucket whenever he reverts into a slimy substance? Imagine if something similar was tried with Janeway on Voyager, Green would probably be the first person to get her knickers in a twist about it. Perhaps I am giving TPTB more credit than they deserve, but I think they are more sympathetic to the "faction" than we realize. Attempts to satisfy each element of the Voyager fandom are demonstrated in a number of ways in "Fair Haven" and "Spirit Folk". Janeway tells us that Michael is "exactly my type, attractive intelligent, we share the same interests." Michael's coarse exterior and chin stubble contrasts sharply with Seven's refinement, and her wonderful, big blue eyes and alabaster skin, thus assuring the heterosexual fans that there is nothing 'funny' about Janeway. However, as others have pointed out, when we listen to her list modifications to the hologram's sub-routines she wants provocative, a complicated personality, someone who is outspoken, confident and should "be more curious about the world around him", in other words, a lover very much like Seven of Nine. I think the writers knew what they were doing with this, but you may think I am overly generous in my assessment. What I found interesting about "Fair Haven" and "Spirit Folk", and which parallels the experience of Seven in "Someone to Watch Over Me", is the total lack of support for Janeway from other women. Why did Janeway disappear after the pip scene in "Someone to Watch Over Me? Why is Seven absent for most of "Fair Haven" and "Spirit Folk"? I originally assumed, along with others, that it was a failure of male producers and writers to understand the nature of relationships between women. However, on reflection, I think TPTB recognized how painful it would be for the "faction" to not only witness Janeway and Seven engaging in heterosexual relationships, but also assisting one another in the process. If they had done this, what would be the basis for assuming that there was any sexual tension between them at all? This really would have turned J/7ers off. B'Elanna is not on good terms with Seven, so there is no solid relationship between them to warrant her involvement. Besides, TPTB wanted to make "Someone" a Doctor episode as well. In "Fair Haven" and "Spirit Folk", B'Elanna is too busy trying to keep the holodeck functioning to give Janeway any advice. Instead, the Captain effectively becomes one of the lads. She discusses her 'relationship' with Tom, Chakotay and the Doctor. She gets advice from Chakotay, and jokes with him about her 'boyfriend' malfunctioning. Knowing that the Captain is engaging in a romantic liaison with Michael, Tom automatically consults her about her preference for saving character/s from the Fair Haven program. I did find it heartening that the only really sensible comment and balanced behaviour in these episodes (discounting Tuvok) was exhibited by women, namely, B'Elanna and Seven, so this in part compensates for the ruination of Janeway. The expression on B'Elanna's face when the Captain suggests they should make a final visit to the pub before the Fair Haven program is finally shut down speaks volumes. For once, B'Elanna's irritation is more than justified, and it is abundantly clear that Janeway has lost much of her respect. There was no need for the writer to include this, but since by this time Janeway could not have looked any more foolish, they probably thought, what the hell. In my view, out of all the "relationshippers", followers of J/7 actually came off best in these episodes. The J/Cers and J/Paris people had to sit there and watch Chakotay and Paris assist and advise Janeway about her relationship with Michael Sullivan. The only relationship that is preserved intact is Janeway/Seven. It would have been very easy for the TPTB to kill the subtext with "Fair Haven" and "Spirit Folk" if they had wanted to, but they did not, because the TPTB know, as we all do, that it is the Captain and Seven that exude the most sexual chemistry of any pairing on that ship. However, nothing can excuse how pathetic and unstable the writers made Janeway appear, but at least "Fair Haven" galvanized authors into rewriting the episode in favour of J/7. Perhaps what comes in Season 7 will persuade T/7ers to do the same. [Vivien lives in England and has long been a Star Trek fan. She has a passion for history and is nearer Janeway's age than Seven's - and this is as much as she will admit to. If you wish to discuss this article, or any other subject that has arisen on the Alternative Quadrant's message board, then please contact her at Vivien1911@yahoo.com] |