Indeed. The RV trip analogy doesn't hold up in that they didn't choose to go to the DQ. It would be like somebody taking you hostage in an RV and driving out in the wilderness, then leaving you to find your way back. Meanwhile, the towns you hike through on your way home have never seen your home and don't have a map to it.
1) The Feddies and Maquis would NOT be all happy-happy-joy-joy by the end of the pilot episode. There would be some ongoing friction and a period where a lot of stuff had to get sorted out. 2) The ship would get progressively less pristine as the series went on. They're a lot of light years from the nearest Starfleet repair depot. And the supply of shuttlecraft would a hell of a lot less
Were I to rewrite Voyager, I would've definitely made Kathryn Janeway a much younger character ... 30, perhaps. And I would've definitely opened her up to having many relationships, along the way, as the series progressed. Kes would not have been burdened with Neelix as anything more than a buddy and she would've had a normal, Human lifespan. I would've informed Chakotay's Native American Heritage much better, that's for certain. Harry Kim would never have been the whiney, holodeck addict we see in the actual series ... he would've been written much cooler and maybe even something of a badboy himself and emphasised that aspect of Tom Paris' character much more. Neelix looks like a hyæna, he should be written as such ... I'd make him much more animalistic. The ship would get dirtier and more beat up on the outside, as the series progressed and I would've done everything possible to improve the writing for the show. I would've probably also made it a point to have the uniforms be much more mixed and interesting-looking. I really did not care for the TNG-styled uniforms and would've tried to break the show from being stuck with that. Too much black, too cheap-looking and just cheesy, in every respect ... I really hated those faux turtlenecks, especially. Otherwise, I wouldn't have changed Voyager all that much, really ...
I’d have a ban on holodeck stories, and I’d underplay the Doctor’s rise to sentience. Why would a crew immersed continuously in seamless AI assume or accept that the EMH was anything more than a convincing App? I’d play that one long and slow, even the EMH wouldn’t know, but gradually. I’d have no recurring characters or races. They’re moving through space as fast as they possibly can, not wondering round a super market. I would also make a big deal of the journey, and include it in the credits. Distance travelled, distance to Earth, photon torpedoes remaining, crew surviving etc. Progress against Star charts. So long as they have warp power, I don’t see why they’d need to ration anything. The replicators should work just fine, it’s a new ship, everything is under warranty. So I would expect the ship to remain pristine. Polished boots and steak for every meal. The crew would need to argue a bit more just so there’s some drama and tension. Controversial decisions would need to be made. Maybe a few spatial anomalies that take them further from home. The crew would exhibit waves of depression and home sickness. There would be a disco every Friday in the mess, and all hair would be let down. No reset buttons. Neelix would be more mercenary, and consumed by anxious doubt. He’s thrown his lot in with a bunch of aliens from the other side of the galaxy. He should be on edge and ready to jump ship in a heart beat. His innate niceness is an act, and one of self preservation. Kes is on the clock. Her life is ticking away. She’s not gonna spend it in sick bay wiping the foreheads of the pampered feds. She’s chomping at the bit, tasting every fruit, putting herself about, living it large. And neelix hates her for it. Chakote is biding his time. He’s not loyal to Janeway, and he’ll stab her in the back as soon as she balls it up and he swing enough support. Janeway cries herself to sleep every night, but because there’s more than caffeine in that coffee, she never lets it show. Tuvok takes matters to their logical conclusion to maintain discipline aboard the ship. It gets pretty dark at times. Torres lies about the state of the ship because she can’t handle failure or risk disappointing the crew. The lies catch up eventually. Paris would be more of a cunt, but he realises that he’s out his depth without a safety net and soon settles down and tows the line. Kim. Got no place for him. Maybe swap him for the Betazoid that died in the pilot.
Chakotay and Tuvok had issues. Mainly of trusting each other. Even up into the second season. They just didn't express it in the same way Torres did.
If they made that the sexual tension of the series it would've made Chakotay more interesting than watching pain dry.
Either age the characters and make it take decades to get home or change this foolishness of 70 years from the Alpha quadrant since prior Starfleet ships can get to the edge of the galaxy in five minutes (hello Kirk's Enterprise). Plus have more alien crew and less humans (that's a franchise issue).
Here here! Trek really is too much of a homo sapiens only club. Star Trek isn't porn. Sex scenes add nothing but titillation, which you can get from other places.
I would say I partially agree. I would like it to be more realistic, but eventually they have to get to that happy place. It was rather ludicrous for the entire ship to be one big happy family by episode 5 - and more or less stay that way. Once the events of Caretaker are over with, I'd like to see things pretty easy going for a few episodes. Call this the honeymoon period where everyone, stuck together out of circumstance, are trying to make this hybrid crew work. Then the natural resentments come out and there are major discipline problems. The Maquis are not officers, and not all of them are going to be able to adapt to Starfleet life. For many of them, it was never a life they chose or wanted. The conflict with those crew members eventually has to come to a head and a resolution. This probably means that Voyager will be run mostly (but not quite) like a Starfleet vessel. Those differences should be highlighted and accentuated in an episode or two mid season 1 or early season 2. Another big misstep in this regard for Voyager is not showing the psychological effects of isolation on the crew. We should have seen a range of emotions and reactions among them that changed over time. While one can certainly argue that Troi wasn't very useful on TNG, Voyager is the one hero ship that could've used a character like that. What about watching Harry Kim go from hope to despair over their predicament for example, for example. Others displaying character (or lack thereof) traits they never would have in the Alpha Quadrant. (i.e. Why should I care? No one back home will ever see me again.) It would be nice to see everyone not reacting more or less the same way and taking a long time for some of the more mentally fragile crew to adjust and find a new mental equilibrium. Given even the most extreme situations, if you're in them long enough, I would have to imagine it becomes your new normal - and you take happiness in what you can. I find it hard to believe they're not going to have a hard time smiling at the beginning. I have an equally hard time thinking that they spend all seven years brooding. This works early in the show, but I think one of the things they did more or less right was show a maturation of Tom Paris into a family man. A lot of this I can get behind, except the cursing, sex scenes, etc. I have no problem with more implied romantic relationships among the crew, but unless you want to take a huge risk by messing with the demographic of those that can and do watch Star Trek, this really isn't feasible IMO. Star Trek isn't NYPD Blue and shouldn't play in that space.
Ditch Harry, never cared for the character and neither did the writers. Make them have to use Neelix's ship more frequently while they are making/repairing shuttles. Replace the doctor with an alien doctor re Phlox whose treatments are more controversial than Starfleet practices. Keep Seska and keep her Bajoran and Joe Carey too.
Oh! And I would've given B'Elanna a rubber head that complimented Roxann's beauty and even drew attention to aspects of it, like her smoldering eyes. I hate the headpiece that Michael Westmore's attempts at it, they all look like shit and had to go ...
We are all grown ups, we know people have sex, so why would we need to see it? Also if it's gritty you should probably consult a doctor.