There are two types of shows: Procedural vs. Serialized.
* Procedural or episodic shows are stand alone episodes. There may be arcs that connect shows. These shows have a built-in reset button which sets the show back to default. Most of Star Trek has been of this type.
* Serialized shows are a chain of connected episodes. There is no reset button. Storylines, characters, and, sometimes, settings change over the course of the series. Enterprise experimented with serialization in its third season.
http://seriable.com/serialized-vs-pr...vision-series/
The premise of Voyager was best suited for serialization; however, the show was done as a procedural.