A good example of the voice/inflection thing can be seen in the episode Parturition, S2 E7. Listen to the Doc/EMH speaking to Kes in sick bay after Tom & Neelix leave for the planet, he sounds irritatingly pompous his voice lowered, jaw clenched. A stunning homage to arrogant a-holes everywhere. When he returns to something close to his natural speaking voice between season 3 & 4 it's a welcome fix. I think most would agree the character is better served in his natural voice & mannerisms.
Early in the series the Doctor's speech is definitely more terse and clipped. As the character softened so too did Picardo's speech. I'd give the show runners some credit for the idea, but it was probably all Picardo's doing.
I loved his snarky attitude in the early seasons. In fact, one of my favorite quotes is Kes needing something, and the Doctor responding "Seems I've found myself on the voyage of the damned."
That is one of my favorites! I had some doubts about The Doctor in the first two episodes, I liked him but thought that the whole idea of a holographic doctor was a bit over the top. But this conversation in the excellent episode Time And Again made me laugh and made me really like The Doc too. KES: I'm not a member of the Starfleet crew. NEELIX: We came aboard at mid-expedition. THE DOCTOR: And no one asked you for your medical histories when you arrived? Of course not. That would be the ship's doctor's job. My job, if anyone had bothered to tell me about new passengers, but I seem to be just about the last to know about everything around here. So, tell me, just how many other new arrivals are there? NEELIX: Just us. KES: And the crew from another ship that was destroyed. THE DOCTOR: Another crew. That's nice. This is the Emergency Medical Holographic system to Captain Janeway. NEELIX: She's not on board. She's missing on the surface of a planet. THE DOCTOR: Missing. The Captain is missing. It seems I've found myself on the Voyage of the Damned. And this one from Parturition is really hilarious: KES: There are some things you can't cure. Neelix and Tom Paris had a physical fight over me. THE DOCTOR: How delightful. KES: Delightful? THE DOCTOR: You should consider it a high compliment. Throughout history, men have fought over the love of a woman. Why, I can quote you autopsy reports from duels as far back as 1538. KES: That's not funny. THE DOCTOR: It's not meant to be. You've always been interested in autopsies. KES: On my homeworld it's so much simpler. You choose a mate for life. There's no distrust, no jealousy, no envy, no betrayal. THE DOCTOR: Hmm. Your world must have very dry literature.
Generally, I like early Voyager better than later seasons, but this is a rare example where I disagree. Funny as the snarky doctor of early seasons might have been, I also found his attitude grating and coming accross as being frustrated and bitter except when encountered in small doses. I'm glad he got more 'human and softer' in later years, and I also think it's consistent with the overarching narrative of him gradually developing a personality and learning to fit in with the crew over the years.
His first appearances can be taken as reproducing Dr Zimmerman’s personality before developing his own traits.
But he was more funny in the early seasons! Just look at these quotes I provided in an earlier post. Hilarious!
^I don't think both viewpoints bite each other, he might have well been more funny in earlier seasons (though he also had some great comedic moments in later seasons. I would cite Message in a bottle as an example, if you are willing to accept that as a 'later season example'). It's just which version of hi you like more. For you it's the former, for me it's apparently the latter.
He was supposed to be grating and frustrated and bitter hence why everyone bitched about his bedside manner and the Mark Is were banished to mining duty. And Picardo pulled it off perfectly
Yes, I take this more as an 'evolution of character' thing. At first he merely a 'servant', as he was intended. As he was used more, he became annoyed at the illogical humans, and their mannerisms (things he should never have noticed during normal usage). But over time, as his personality learned how to properly interact with living beings (things Data also had to learn), he became more 'humble' (not really, but he learned to fake it). One of my favorite scenes is when he and Tuvok threw snark back and forth at each other - something neither of them should have been capable of. LOL