How are they unlike anything seen in the other series? I mean heck, if they could understand and use BORG tech I don't see what makes the tech of anything else in the DQ so hard. Borg tech should be really beyond the Feds and incomprehensible, yet they were able to understand and use it fairly fast. If the VOY crew couldn't adapt to anything in the DQ or be able to figure out how to use Alien tech, they'd look like total morons compared to all the other Trek shows.
As far as the OP, I agree inasmuch that Voyager was too "death-free", but they shouldn't have killed off the main cast. They just needed more redshirts.
First of all the Defiant was such a turd that it was mothballed for sucking for at least 3 years. Sisko was building that ship before he checked out and asked to be given a bullshit go nowhere assignment like Bajor. If Sisko wasn't their God, forcing these people to admit into the UFP would have been impossible for him or anyone else because it was like a planet of nothing but frightened rescues scared of loud noises.
That's one thing that Enterprise did have. If the ship got hit in one episode then it wasn't all fixed up again next episode.
They should have made the attempt of creating a feel for those 100+ people family developing aboard. All we get is a couple of episodes with random low level crew members who are never heard of or seen again. And probably, if you watched every episode and counted the crew members, you probably get a thousand different people. It would have been quite a task to keep 100 extras over the course of 7 years, but they should have tried it. And instead of doing a "random crew member who has never been seen before returns from the dead" episode, they should have created a short arc about it, with one episode introducing the character, another episode killing him off, and another episode dealing with the return. There also was an episode where the Doctor gets mad because he didn't save the life of a random crew member who, in that episode, EVERYONE seemed to know very well. And that is just silly because WE, as the audience, never knew her.
The Episode was called "Damage". By definition the fucked uppedness of the ship was practically a supporting character.
I'm fairly sure in some episodes of TNG and perhaps DSN, we learn that Starfleet uses certain materials that the Romulans, Klingons, Cardassians etc.. don't use or haven't leanred how to manufacture. The DQ races all appeared initally to be less advanced. So are we too believe that they stopped for repairs between every other episode and that each facility they stopped at was fully compatable with Federation technology.
Oh my god YES. I just had a flashback at how excited everyone was when we heard Bakula was going to be captain. BAKULA!!! It guaranteed success
Using alien tech is I think exactly what would happen, but it would be more interesting to show that as clearly different to business as usual with shiny starfleet-issue gear. Different deflector, nacelles glowing a weird colour. Engine room full of jury-rigged components. Some new weapon that isn't a torpedo or a beam. Some things giving out at really bad times, others adding unexpected new capabilities. and so on.
Just kill me if copper or bronze ever shows up in Star Trek. I firmly believe if I hold my breath long enough eventually we will return to the bright white minimalist future of TMP and Logan's Run. Heck they did have that on Ocampa. OMG! I am a luddite about the PAST infecting a fictional future!
That, is torture. If certain people had their way the Borg would all be in copper! With STEAM coming out of their implants! All of a sudden I'm feeling fond of Geordi's ridiculous visor. You know if VOY had happened a decade later Captain Proton would have been H.G. Wells inspired.
I agree they should've that they should've added alien tech that would give them new capabilities, but I disagree with the whole "Patchwork" ship thing to the point it's some ugly mish-mash. The other Trek shows showed them as being better than that. I mean hell, in Farscape they added new tech to Moya but it didn't change her appearance or anything.