Why Star Trek Kept Janeway From Being A Cowgirl
Over the course of Star Trek: Voyager, we got to learn plenty about Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Janeway, including how she liked to relax. The first season introduced a holonovel that she liked in which she played a governess in a Gothic setting straight out of the 19th century. As it turns out, though, this holonovel was originally going to be a Western, one that imagined Janeway as a pioneer cowgirl.
Kate Mulgrew Didn’t Want To Ride A Horse
The holonovel in question was a going concern for the first two seasons of the show, and it was introduced in the season 1 episode “Cathexis.” It was first planned by executive producer Jeri Taylor, and she wanted to make Janeway a full-on cowgirl in a pioneer setting meant to mirror the captain’s experiences in the Delta Quadrant. However, Kate Mulgrew’s fear of working with horses, combined with potentially high production costs, was enough to make the show’s producers scrap plans for this exciting Western setting.
Originally, the holonovel (or “Janeway Lambda One” for you purists out there) was going to portray our captain as a cowgirl against the world. Taylor conceived of this adventure as one where Janeway was headed West in a covered wagon, dealing with various challenges on the road while also attending to the needs of her husband and children. Such an adventure would force this futuristic Starfleet officer to master skills like making a fire, all of which Taylor thought was a perfect parallel for Voyager’s predicament.
Similarities To The Wild West
Just what the heck does Janeway being a cowgirl have in common with her being a captain, though? In short, Voyager being thrust into the Delta Quadrant made its captain and crew a bit like the pioneer explorers and settlers of the Old West. Like the average pioneer woman, Janeway has to deal with being far from home and solving unexpected problems, all while dealing with a crew that often feels more like family than subordinate officers.
Too Expensive To Film
However, Jeri Taylor eventually realized that she and other producers would have to ditch the Janeway cowgirl dreams because “we probably would be saying over and over again, ‘We can’t afford that this week, we’re going to have to do something else.’” As for why this would have been a budgetary nightmare, it comes down to the fact that they would have to constantly pay for on-location shooting costs, wranglers, and horses.
Speaking of which, the woman who played Janeway had no problem with her character missing out on being a cowgirl. Reportedly, she was determined not to work with any horses while producing the show. Unlike Janeway’s colleagues like Kirk and Picard, Mulgrew had no real affection for horses…at least, not enough to constantly work with them.
As much as we enjoyed Janeway’s holonovel in Star Trek: Voyager, it’s difficult not to imagine that a cowgirl theme would have been a bit more exciting. Jeri Taylor had the right idea: because this show represented Starfleet’s equivalent of exploring the Wild West. Plus, considering that The Next Generation gave us several different variations of a cowboy Commander Data, it’s disappointing we never got to see Janeway put boots to spurs even once in all seven seasons of Voyager.
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