CHARACTERS:
Elizabeth Shelby as Captain. Her first command, out to prove she has what it takes to brandish the fourth pip. Not as 'motherly'. Still confident, cocky and decisive--though that hides her anxiety about their situation.
Have Chakotay from a real tribe, with an established culture and beliefs to draw upon. Make him more aggressive and adversarial to begin with, someone who can really but heads with Shelby until put in his place.
Keep Tuvok as the Captain's closest friend and confidante, the only person she truly confides in. Her closeness to and trust in Tuvok should be a point of irritation to her supposed First Officer.
Make Paris homosexual (or at least bisexual), with a more roguish air. Rather than being kicked out of Starfleet, make him leave to go and kill Cardassians--after they murdered his significant other.
Hark back to the original idea with Torres, and have Tuvok become a mentor figure to her (as he would have once been to Shelby) to help her find a little peace with herself--though still opposed to Klingon pomp and ceremony.
Turn Harry Kim into Hryan Kem, a Bolian chief petty officer. More experienced in Starfleet but not so much in a senior role. Used as the voice of the non-coms and a look into how the average crewmember deals with their new mission.
Remove the EMH and replace it with an inexperienced young doctor/intern, thrust into such an important role without being prepared for it. Most likely human, though open to any race or gender.
Turn Neelix more into Han Solo, a scoundrel with a heart of gold, someone you could actually believe would be able to survive in such a harsh neck of the woods. Total redesign of make-up as well, not to cutesy/goofy.
Kes won't leave the series. Give her an extra couple of years lifespan, but make more of her intellect and mental abilities. As the innocent one onboard, more should be seen through her perspective for the awe and wonder they are.
If Seven is introduced, make the character male though in the same catsuits (give others the chance to ogle). His introduction will not be at the expense of all other characters, though his journey will be a hard one.
CONTINUITY:
Have the show more serialised, a few stand alone episodes now and then, but (especially to begin with) the struggle should be on how to survive and how to pull together. Damage sustained will build up, meaning solutions other than fighting their way out need to be sought. Ramp up the uncertainty of the ships survival and the fact they are completely cut off from home.
Keep track of just how many crewmembers, shuttles and torpedoes there are. If replaced make at least one mention of the fact they can now do that.
Establish a good number of interesting and well-developed reoccurring crewmembers (see DS9 for pointers), who can be used and even killed off when necessary. In this category, keep Seska onboard and slowly return to active duty after her true identity is revealed--for added tension and conflict among the crew.
Restrict the number of Borg episodes, even when encountered the ship won't always be the clear winner--after all it is just a single starship against the entire Collective. Also no Q (or at least stop after one guest appearance).
More focus on character arcs and development and less on aliens of the week and space battles. More plots on actual exploration and the true marvels they find than on how evil some random species is.
Elizabeth Shelby as Captain. Her first command, out to prove she has what it takes to brandish the fourth pip. Not as 'motherly'. Still confident, cocky and decisive--though that hides her anxiety about their situation.
Have Chakotay from a real tribe, with an established culture and beliefs to draw upon. Make him more aggressive and adversarial to begin with, someone who can really but heads with Shelby until put in his place.
Keep Tuvok as the Captain's closest friend and confidante, the only person she truly confides in. Her closeness to and trust in Tuvok should be a point of irritation to her supposed First Officer.
Make Paris homosexual (or at least bisexual), with a more roguish air. Rather than being kicked out of Starfleet, make him leave to go and kill Cardassians--after they murdered his significant other.
Hark back to the original idea with Torres, and have Tuvok become a mentor figure to her (as he would have once been to Shelby) to help her find a little peace with herself--though still opposed to Klingon pomp and ceremony.
Turn Harry Kim into Hryan Kem, a Bolian chief petty officer. More experienced in Starfleet but not so much in a senior role. Used as the voice of the non-coms and a look into how the average crewmember deals with their new mission.
Remove the EMH and replace it with an inexperienced young doctor/intern, thrust into such an important role without being prepared for it. Most likely human, though open to any race or gender.
Turn Neelix more into Han Solo, a scoundrel with a heart of gold, someone you could actually believe would be able to survive in such a harsh neck of the woods. Total redesign of make-up as well, not to cutesy/goofy.
Kes won't leave the series. Give her an extra couple of years lifespan, but make more of her intellect and mental abilities. As the innocent one onboard, more should be seen through her perspective for the awe and wonder they are.
If Seven is introduced, make the character male though in the same catsuits (give others the chance to ogle). His introduction will not be at the expense of all other characters, though his journey will be a hard one.
CONTINUITY:
Have the show more serialised, a few stand alone episodes now and then, but (especially to begin with) the struggle should be on how to survive and how to pull together. Damage sustained will build up, meaning solutions other than fighting their way out need to be sought. Ramp up the uncertainty of the ships survival and the fact they are completely cut off from home.
Keep track of just how many crewmembers, shuttles and torpedoes there are. If replaced make at least one mention of the fact they can now do that.
Establish a good number of interesting and well-developed reoccurring crewmembers (see DS9 for pointers), who can be used and even killed off when necessary. In this category, keep Seska onboard and slowly return to active duty after her true identity is revealed--for added tension and conflict among the crew.
Restrict the number of Borg episodes, even when encountered the ship won't always be the clear winner--after all it is just a single starship against the entire Collective. Also no Q (or at least stop after one guest appearance).
More focus on character arcs and development and less on aliens of the week and space battles. More plots on actual exploration and the true marvels they find than on how evil some random species is.
