Star Trek: Voyager’s The Doctor may just be the show’s second most popular character.
When people talk about Star Trek: Voyager, the most common person everyone brings up is Kathryn Janeway, the captain of the U.S.S. Voyager. The character became an icon to many, in part due to actress Kate Mulgrew’s take on the character and the other part due to how brilliantly she was written. She’s easily the show’s most popular character all these years later, but if you were to ask fans who would be second, would you suspect it’d be The Doctor?
Now, there’s no official list or any sort of official ranking here to suggest that The Doctor is number two, but there is something that may suggest he is. EXO-6, an action figure collectible company, has released an announcement that The Doctor will in fact get an action figure. An action figure that’ll run about $174.99 USD. That’s a big chunk of money to spend on a collectible. They know that, so they’re more than likely only going to produce the most sought-after characters.
They’ve already done one on Janeway, that will be available in 2022, so it may stand to reason that The Doctor is one of the show’s more beloved characters. Why wouldn’t he be? He was one of the more dynamic characters, and his evolution was among the most notable. He went from being purely a hologram following his program, to falling in love and even having PTSD. Fans love complex and layered characters like him.
Who else is among the most popular from Star Trek: Voyager?
Just gauging off of fan conversations I’ve seen, merchandise, and appearances, the safest other two bets would be Seven of Nine (because Jeri Ryan, duh) and Tom Paris. Like with The Doctor, Seven of Nine had a huge transformation during her run on the show, and as mentioned before, fans like that. It didn’t hurt that she’s a very attractive individual either, but good looks never outweigh bad acting. If she couldn’t act, she wouldn’t have been as beloved as she is. Ryan is clearly aces on screen, which is part of the reason she was brought back for Star Trek: Picard. That and her popularity.
For Paris, similar thought process here. Fans love the witty, sarcastic, bad boy and he was Voyagers. Not only was he the good-looking, playboy pilot, but he also had a heart of gold. The way he annoyed Tuvok or palled around with Henry Kim were always highlights of an episode. Though, his best moments came when he won over the cantankerous B’Elanna Torres and eventually married the half-Klingon, half-human Chief of Engineering. This might be why Star Trek: Lower Decks brought him back all those years later in a cameo.
Who would you say the most popular characters from Voyager are?