'Star Trek: Voyager's' triumphant creation stars in crowdfunded documentary 'To the Journey'

These are grand times to be a "Star Trek" fan, as the rising tide of new "Trek" TV series, classic show anniversaries, concept art books, tie-in novels, video games and comics set in the Starfleet sphere are all contributing to a blossoming renaissance of interest.

Riding that surging swell is an upcoming documentary on the making of one of the most popular "Star Trek: The Next Generation" spinoffs, "Star Trek: Voyager." 

A new teaser video for "To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager" was recently released to give followers of the pioneering series a hint of what's to come. The show, which ran from 1995 to 2001 on UPN, lasted for 172 episodes over seven seasons and depicted the USS Voyager's endeavors while traversing the galaxy's remote Delta Quadrant. 

You can check out our Star Trek streaming guide to see where to watch "Star Trek: Voyager" and any other Trek series that may catch your fancy. That includes "Star Trek: Discovery," "Star Trek: Picard" and a preview for the May 5 release of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

Star Trek: Voyager

Star Trek: Voyager is getting the documentary treatment in the crowdfunded feature "To the Journey." (Image credit: 455 Films)

"Voyager" represented milestones in "Star Trek" lore as it became the first series to feature a female commander, with Kate Mulgrew's solid performance as Capt. Kathryn Janeway, as well as the only Asian male co-starring as a series regular at the time, with Garrett Wang (Ensign Kim). The new making-of retrospective highlights that "Voyager's" unique cast chemistry remains intact after 20 years.

Packed with fresh interview snippets with cast members Wang, Robert Duncan McNeill, Robert Beltran, Ethan Phillips, Tim Russ, Robert Picardo and Kate Mulgrew, in addition to "Voyager" executive producers Jeri Taylor and Rick Berman, this project's preview promises a definitive exploration of how this successful spinoff was created and has endured.

"To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager" has been years in the making, as producer/director David Zappone first announced back in early 2020 that shooting would start aboard Star Trek: The Cruise. The COVID-19 pandemic put a swift but temporary halt to those plans, and filming picked up in late 2020. 

A crowdfunding effort provided more momentum in March 2021, when the campaign blasted through its goal of $150,000 less than a day after it launched, eventually collecting over $1.3 million — the most money ever pledged for a crowdfunded documentary.

"To the Journey" is currently moving into the final stages of production, and the documentary is slated to start appearing at fan events and on streaming services, and will become available for purchase in late 2022.

For more "Voyager" goodness, dive into our guide to the best episodes of Star Trek: Voyager!

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Jeff Spry
Contributing Writer

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.