Star Trek: Voyager – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Star Trek: Voyager

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

show1995

62%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Captain Janeway and crew trek home through the Delta Quadrant—if your kids can handle '90s TV pacing and the occasional Borg nightmare fuel.

77%

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Star Trek: Voyager

show

TV-PG, 1995

62%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Captain Janeway and crew trek home through the Delta Quadrant—if your kids can handle '90s TV pacing and the occasional Borg nightmare fuel.

77%

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Screenwise Verdict

Voyager is solid, thoughtful sci-fi with a great female captain and genuinely interesting ethical dilemmas. It's aged better than some '90s shows, but let's be real: the pacing is glacial by 2025 standards, the special effects look like a screensaver, and a lot of episodes are just...fine.

If your kid is already into Star Trek or loves space exploration, this can be a great watch-together experience. But if they're used to the breakneck pacing of modern streaming shows, they may check out after 20 minutes of technobabble about reversing the polarity.

The Borg episodes are legitimately scary—think zombie cyborgs with a hive mind—so gauge your kid's tolerance for creepy sci-fi horror. Otherwise, it's a safe, enriching show that models cooperation, critical thinking, and curiosity about the universe. Just maybe skip the really slow episodes about dilithium crystals.

Age Fit

Best for kids 8-14 who are into sci-fi and can handle slower-paced TV, though nostalgic adults and Trek fans will enjoy it too. Younger kids may find the Borg scary and the episodic format draggy compared to modern streaming shows.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

Voyager models cooperation across a diverse crew stranded together, emphasizing diplomacy, problem-solving through dialogue, and mutual respect. Captain Janeway is a strong female leader who balances compassion with command. The show consistently rewards teamwork and ethical decision-making. Some episodes deal with darker themes (war, loss, moral dilemmas) but generally maintain an optimistic, humanistic tone.

Imaginative

The premise—a starship flung 70,000 light-years from home—invites weekly exploration of new alien species, spatial anomalies, and sci-fi concepts. Episodes tackle time travel, parallel dimensions, holodeck adventures, and first-contact scenarios. The show encourages curiosity about space, science, and what-if thinking, though it follows episodic TV formulas of the '90s.

Safe

Common Sense Media rates it for age 8+, and content is generally TV-appropriate with phaser battles (no gore), occasional alien violence, and rare mild romantic content. Some episodes feature body horror (Borg assimilation), psychological intensity, or existential themes that might unsettle younger viewers. No nudity, minimal language, but the Borg can be genuinely scary for sensitive kids. Overall predictably safe for the family sci-fi genre.

Enriching

Voyager explores ethical dilemmas (Prime Directive conflicts, resource scarcity, sacrifice), introduces scientific concepts (warp theory, quantum mechanics), and showcases diverse problem-solving. Characters grow over seven seasons, and the show promotes critical thinking about technology, leadership, and cultural differences. However, entertainment value sometimes trumps depth, and '90s TV pacing can feel slow and didactic by modern standards.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Captain Janeway is a fantastic role model: smart, principled, and doesn't take crap from anyone (or any alien species)
Introduces big sci-fi ideas—wormholes, time paradoxes, alien cultures—in digestible weekly adventures that can spark curiosity about space and science
Diverse cast working together to solve problems through ingenuity and diplomacy rather than just shooting things
Seven seasons of episodic stories mean you can jump in almost anywhere without needing to binge from the start
Promotes ethical thinking through 'what would you do?' scenarios about survival, leadership, and doing the right thing when no one's watching

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What to Watch For

The Borg are genuinely creepy—half-dead cyborgs who assimilate people into a hive mind can terrify younger or sensitive kids
It's 1995-era TV: slow pacing, clunky CGI, and some episodes are just plain boring by today's standards (your kids may tap out)
Occasional episodes deal with heavy themes like death, war crimes, or existential dread that might need context for younger viewers
Some '90s-era gender dynamics and cultural portrayals feel dated now, though the show was progressive for its time

Conversation Starters

"If you were stranded on the other side of the galaxy, what would you miss most about home?"
"Captain Janeway had to make some really tough choices—like when she destroyed the array to save the Ocampa. Do you think she made the right call?"
"The Doctor is a hologram who becomes more 'human' over time. What do you think makes someone a real person?"
"Seven of Nine was taken from her family and turned into a Borg. How do you think she felt trying to become an individual again?"
"Would you want to explore space like Voyager's crew, or does being that far from home sound too scary?"

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