Star Trek: The Next Generationincluded a forgotten appearance by someone named “Janeway” in season 6. The name Janeway in the franchise is most closely associated withCaptain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the first female Captain ever featured in a lead role and the star ofStar Trek: Voyager. Janeway remains one ofStar Trek’s best and most important characters, with additional appearances in modern franchise shows likeStar Trek: Prodigy. However,Kathryn wasn’t actually the first JanewayStar Trekintroduced.
The name Janeway was first mentioned in theStar Trek: TNGseason 6 episode “Man of the People.” During the episode, a Lumerian ambassador named Ves Alkar (Chip Lucia) caused havoc on the USS Enterprise-D while he was being escorted to a diplomatic mission. After the death of his supposed mother, Ves Alkar singled outCounselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis),performing a ritual with her under false pretenses that ultimately turned her into a vessel for his negative emotions. This corruption caused Troi to act erratically, including lashing out at an Ensign with a familiar name during a counseling session.
Ensign Janeway On TNG Predated Star Trek: Voyager’s Captain
Ensign Janeway appeared in the TNG episode “Man of the People”
The Ensign Troi berated in “Man of the People” was named Janeway (Lucy Boryer), marking the name’s first appearance in theStar Trekfranchise. Ensign Janeway was only seen forone scene inStar Trek: The Next Generation, and wasn’t even given a first name during her time on the show. Janeway was also the victim of Troi’s altered state thanks to Ves Alkar, causing Troi to be rude to her during their session and offer bad advice.Although the scene is ultimately an innocuous part of “Man of the People,” Ensign Janeway’s inclusion is significantfor her name alone.
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Star Trekhas never indicated whether Ensign Janeway and Captain Janeway were related. In fact,Ensign Janeway’s name only holds significance in retrospect, since Captain Janeway wasn’t even created forStar Trek: Voyageruntil long afterTNGhad been off the air. Still, the Ensign’s existence is an interesting Easter egg that the franchise has left open to interpretation. She may have been a relative of Captain Janeway’s or the name might have been entirely a coincidence. Without official confirmation from the franchise, there’s simply no way to know.
Captain Janeway Never Set Foot On Any Starship Enterprise
Most Enterprise versions predate Janeway’s appearances in Star Trek
Outside of her name’s first appearance, Captain Janeway was not involved withStar Trek: The Next Generation, and this included never setting foot on any ship named Enterprise. Besides a brief appearance in theTNGmovieStar Trek: Nemesis,the majority ofTNGprojects predated Janeway’s creation. Although she would likely have been involved with Starfleet whenTNGtook place on theStar Trektimeline, Janeway’s backstory duringVoyagerestablished that she was never involved with any of the USS Enterprise-D or E’s adventures.
With Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) now in command of the USS Enterprise-G,Star Trekmight still have a chance to show Janeway aboard a ship named Enterprise.
What is less clear is whether Janeway ever boarded the USS Enterprise-F. The ship was part of the Frontier Day celebrations in 2401, andStar Trek: Picardestablished that Janeway was instrumental in the planning of Frontier Day, so it’s possible she set foot on the Enterprise-Fat some point. However,Picardnever showed Janeway doing so, making this speculation unconfirmable. With Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) now in command of the USS Enterprise-G,Star Trekmight still have a chance to show Janeway aboard a ship named Enterprise, bringing her connection toStar Trek: The Next Generationfull circle.
