Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is 75 years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.
Star Trek Voyager follows the experience of multiple factions (Federation, Maquis, Borg, etc.) who are stuck together on a solitary Federation ship, named Voyager, in a desperate attempt to return home (the Alpha quadrant [in particular, Earth]) after being stranded 75,000 light-years from home (approximately 70 years of "maximum warp-drive", based on the original warp-engine of Voyager).
At the beginning, the captain of Voyager (Janeway) chooses to save a species known as the "Ocampan", but this decision strands the Voyager/Maquis crew in the Delta Quadrant (many, many years from home). Being stranded, the Maquis crew decides to join Voyager...
Voyager meets many races on its way home. Sometimes they make friends, but often they make enemies. Despite the enemies, Voyager gains a "boost" home from several friends they make during their journey...
In particular, Kes (the Ocampan) evolves and grants the Voyager crew a 10-year short-cut... (now *only* 55K light-years from Earth).
And then....
Wow, I mean 75 years away? Stuck in a hostile environment, with a leader like Janeway at the helm?
... well, that is an adventure isn't it?
I mean, I love TNG, I really do... but Voyager should have gotten the movies right. Those would have been a trip to watch.
Farscape meets Star Trek for those of you who have never seen it. Lost in Space meets Star Trek only they know where they are so.... Farscape meets Star Trek.
OK, if you are going to be a Star Trek purest, it isn't as Star Trek as Star Trek can be.... but it is SUPER fun. It is a cool show and the best of the 80s and 90s bunch....
.... maybe behind DS9.... Maybe.
I'm not a Star Trek fan when it comes to TV, but Voyager is the one huge exception. I love this series, even to this very day. I collected them all on VHS, and still own them for posterity, now I have them all on DVD too. Obviously, some episodes are pretty bad, like with any series, but overall it's great. Enjoyable characters, villains and situations. And The Voyager herself rocks!