Small changes

[catshadowsi8]

First, cast Chakotay with a human actor and not a wood one. Then mane his Native American stuff real and not stereotype.

I disagree. I like Chakotay and when you change actors you change how the chatacter is presented. This is why recasts often struggle to find footing. I would not recast any of the actors. You risk messing with chemistry and potentially creating a horrible work environment. Like Beltran or not, he got along well with his castmates. That is gold if you want people to stick around for 7 years.

 

[Catarina]

I disagree. I like Chakotay and when you change actors you change how the chatacter is presented. This is why recasts often struggle to find footing. I would not recast any of the actors. You risk messing with chemistry and potentially creating a horrible work environment. Like Beltran or not, he got along well with his castmates. That is gold if you want people to stick around for 7 years.

Keep Beltran. Give him a challenge .oh wait...he had one...to act without words. So rather a challenge give him stuff to do besides have arguments with Janeway. It got stale. I was curious how his day went with other officers. See that grounded 1st officer with the ranks. See some more side stories, back stories. I personally think chakotay should have done The Good Sheppard. Why does janeway HAVE to do it all? (And she's my fave.)

 

[Timewalker]

In that case I would like to see the following changes:

4. Lt. Carey shouldn't have been killed off.

Agreed.

5. Neelix should have stayed on the ship

Agreed again.

9. The Doctor manage to replicate a new holo emitter which he gives to Flotter!

Oh, HELL, no!

Get rid of Flotter, as in never bring that ridiculous holoprogram into the show in the first place. Surely somebody in the Federation must have written better holoprograms than that for children.

That's an homage. TRIPLE Let's go crazy!

Janeway: "Help me, Obi-Wan Chakotay! You're my only hope!"


My changes:

Give Seven a uniform from the get-go. If she needs special fabric next to her skin, call it long underwear that nobody has to see.

Also: Keep Mezoti on the ship and show her and Naomi playing as 'tween girls do - just being kids and best friends.

And... have someone remember the Borg baby, somehow! Kill her off and have a funeral, or better, let somebody on the crew adopt her.

Finally: Promote people mid-series, other than Tom and Tuvok. The scene could have gone as follows:

The crew are gathered on the holodeck for a promotion ceremony. First up: Several below-deck extras get promoted, whether a full rank or half a rank doesn't matter, but they get promotions. Next, Naomi is formally promoted to Captain's Assistant and gets to wear a little doodad on her clothes to signify this. Then several other commendations and acknowledgments are given. As all this happens, Harry keeps perking up and then being disappointed as each new wave of promotions is announced, and he's not among them.

Just as Harry is completely convinced that even the friggin' Borg baby will get promoted before he does, Janeway finally announces that he will indeed receive his long-awaited promotion to Lieutenant (j.g.).


So... some small, some not-small... but it's what I would have done, given the chance. Plus a few other things.

 

[catshadowsi8]

Ok i have one. Make Seska's baby Chakotay's and keep him on the ship. Naomi and the boy would grow up together and get into mischief, as most kids do. Naomi was a little too perfect and could use a rascel to create a little chaos with. The borg kids certsinly did not fill that role.

 

[Catarina]

Oh, HELL, no!

Get rid of Flotter, as in never bring that ridiculous holoprogram into the show in the first place. Surely somebody in the Federation must have written better holoprograms than that for children.

agreed

 

[Tracy Trek]

Give Seven a uniform from the get-go. If she needs special fabric next to her skin, call it long underwear that nobody has to see.

Also: Keep Mezoti on the ship and show her and Naomi playing as 'tween girls do - just being kids and best friends.

And... have someone remember the Borg baby, somehow! Kill her off and have a funeral, or better, let somebody on the crew adopt her.

I like all of these. Especially about Mezoti staying on the ship.

If you want to read a fanfiction about the Borg baby being adopted, check out Fostering by Jamelia116 on Fanfiction.net or AO3.

Ok i have one. Make Seska's baby Chakotay's and keep him on the ship. Naomi and the boy would grow up together and get into mischief, as most kids do.

I also like this idea. It could have led to more storylines for Chakotay having to raise a child on his own. I've always thought that the child ended up being not Chakotay's was a bit of a cop-out.

 

[Sophie74656]

I would have loved for Mezoti to stay. I really liked her.

 

[Timewalker]

There are some Icheb & Mezoti-centric fanfics I'm into. One of them involves Mezoti staying on Voyager, Seven legally adopting her, and they try to make a go of it as a family after reaching Earth, when they move in with Chakotay. The story is very much Mezoti's, with her attempts to fit in at school (not easy when one or more classmates lost family at Wolf 359), and how she and Chakotay deal with whether or not they could really form a daughter/father bond.

 

[at Quark's]

Ok i have one. Make Seska's baby Chakotay's and keep him on the ship. Naomi and the boy would grow up together and get into mischief, as most kids do. Naomi was a little too perfect and could use a rascel to create a little chaos with. The borg kids certsinly did not fill that role.

If you are going to do that, why not make it a baby that has Kazon and Cardassian and Human DNA ? (biologically implausible but hey, it's the Trek universe )

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

An idea I had to ramp up the early internal tension among the crew just a little bit more: Start with Janeway as the first officer, who becomes captain once the original captain was killed when the Caretaker brought them over. Meanwhile, have Chakotay be a former captain who used to be a living legend in Starfleet, mentioned in one breath with Picard, Kirk, & Archer before he resigned to join the Maquis. Once the Maquis join Voyager's crew, it's understood that, legally, Chakotay has no claim to command since he resigned his commission and Janeway only made him first officer as a courtesy. Yet there would still be members of the crew, both Maquis and Starfleet, who believe that their chances of survival would be a lot higher with a more seasoned & decorated officer in command.

I hated what they did with Q. It was cute that he chased Janeway around, because of his powers, I mean ... if he really wanted to deny her a say in the relationship, he surely could have. Instead, he's persistently awkward in his attempts to win her over and there's never any real justification for it.

Q only ever really fit on TNG. Thematically, it made sense to pit the calm, orderly Captain Picard against a capricious, omnipotent being that he once referred to as "Next of kin to chaos." I don't think Captain Janeway ever really represented anything like that for Q to contrast against. He still kinda worked on Voyager because Mulgrew & DeLancie had such great chemistry with each other but it wasn't the same.

A small change but I felt the Borg were more ominous without a head.

Cat: "Life without a head... that's gonna put a real crimp on his lifestyle. I mean, what can you do without a head?"
Lister: "Apart from being you? Hardly anything."
--Red Dwarf, "Beyond a Joke"

 

[catshadowsi8]

If you are going to do that, why not make it a baby that has Kazon and Cardassian and Human DNA ? (biologically implausible but hey, it's the Trek universe )

Unfortunately the Kazon came off as having only marginal intelligence. Be a shame to saddle some poor kid with that legacy. And what's with the hair!

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

An idea I had to ramp up the early internal tension among the crew just a little bit more: Start with Janeway as the first officer, who becomes captain once the original captain was killed when the Caretaker brought them over. Meanwhile, have Chakotay be a former captain who used to be a living legend in Starfleet, mentioned in one breath with Picard, Kirk, & Archer before he resigned to join the Maquis. Once the Maquis join Voyager's crew, it's understood that, legally, Chakotay has no claim to command since he resigned his commission and Janeway only made him first officer as a courtesy. Yet there would still be members of the crew, both Maquis and Starfleet, who believe that their chances of survival would be a lot higher with a more seasoned & decorated officer in command.

I like the idea very much, The Borgified Corpse! :-D

I'd add too:

- keeping Seska's baby on board, confirming that it's well Chakotay who fathered him "unbeknownst to voluntarily".. This unexpected arrival on board would have given to Chakotay something to occupy his hands and his mind. 1) Chakotay, in his adolescence, made life difficult for his father, in turning away from his culture even if afterwards, he returned to ‎the culture of his ancestors to marry it entirely What it would be if his son was his antithesis and worst, he felt more Cardassian than human? 2) it would be more credible than his unexpected romance with Seven, right?!) ;-)
- keeping the adorable Mezoti instead of our wooden Icheb . Indeed, this character had potential to become someone essential on board (an intelligent & sensitive mix between Kes and Seven).
- although I think that Neelix had to leave, I would have made him leave Voyager and her crew near the end of S7, because I think that he was doomed to remain within DQ.

 

[catshadowsi8]

- keeping Seska's baby on board, confirming that it's well Chakotay who fathered him "unbeknownst to voluntarily".. This unexpected arrival on board would have given to Chakotay something to occupy his hands and his mind. 1) Chakotay, in his adolescence, made life difficult for his father, in turning away from his culture even if afterwards, he returned to ‎the culture of his ancestors to marry it entirely What it would be if his son was his antithesis and worst, he felt more Cardassian than human? 2) it would be more credible than his unexpected romance with Seven, right?!) ;-)

I like this for all the reasons you state plus it would also have put J/C to rest in a way that would make sense. Chakotay has his hands full raising his son and he isn't following Janeway around as if he is waiting for her to change her mind. They can still be close friends and the bridge crew would love the little guy because they are close to the father. It could also play into Tuvok who misses his own children and could bond with his counterpart over the little rascal. The thought of Tuvok trying to teach Seska's child to think logically, without emotion, amuses me.

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

I like this for all the reasons you state plus it would also have put J/C to rest in a way that would make sense. Chakotay has his hands full raising his son and he isn't following Janeway around as if he is waiting for her to change her mind. They can still be close friends and the bridge crew would love the little guy because they are close to the father. It could also play into Tuvok who misses his own children and could bond with his counterpart over the little rascal. The thought of Tuvok trying to teach Seska's child to think logically, without emotion, amuses me.

And if you add Neelix trying to help in his way, in the dance, I'd say, poor little guy! I don't think Cardiassans are very worn on the festive! ;-)

However, I disagree when you say that everyone on board would like Chakotay's son, especially if he is more Cardassian (not only physically but in his behavior) than human. Some people from his former Maquis crew or even from Starfleet could have difficult to accept him, even if he is the son of the one who they still consider as their boss for ex-Maquis & XO for others. Some hatred is not forgotten so easily.
-> there is an old saying here, in France "Mon Dieu, gardez-moi de mes amis. Quant à mes ennemis, je m'en charge !" (= beware of friends as enemies).

 

[catshadowsi8]

And if you add Neelix trying to help in his way, in the dance, I'd say, poor little guy! I don't think Cardiassans are very worn on the festive! ;-)

However, I disagree when you say that everyone on board would like Chakotay's son, especially if he is more Cardassian (not only physically but in his behavior) than human. Some people from his former Maquis crew or even from Starfleet could have difficult to accept him, even if he is the son of the one who they still consider as their boss for ex-Maquis & XO for others. Some hatred is not forgotten so easily.
-> there is an old saying here, in France "Mon Dieu, gardez-moi de mes amis. Quant à mes ennemis, je m'en charge !" (= beware of friends as enemies).

You have a valid point but this is Roddenberry's utopia and i doubt Berman would let a child be the brunt of harshness. I think Chakotay's crew would accept the boy. They respect their former Captain and would go with what Chakotay wanted. Star Fleet was not at war with the Cardassians so I'm uncertain it would be too big an issue. Seska did betray them though and people died so not sure.

Could Chakotay see through it all? His spirit walk suggests he would try but he clearly feels violated by Seska. He is a moral, compassionate person. Still...

I actually see more problems the other way. Once the boy finds out the true story about his mother, watch the fur fly. Of course they would have to stay in the Delta Quadrant long enough for the boy to age appropriately though Naomi underwent sorasing so the boy could as well i suppose.

 

[cosmic mouse]

And what's with the hair!

Heatmiser!!

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Minor change to just a single episode: Ditch the creepy ending for "Ashes to Ashes." It makes Harry Kim look like a pedophile.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I liked Neelix's sendoff, I certainly wouldn't change that.

I've heard in other stuff Beltran proves he can act, if he stays, I would at least change that he actually did so.

 

[catshadowsi8]

I liked Neelix's sendoff, I certainly wouldn't change that.

I've heard in other stuff Beltran proves he can act, if he stays, I would at least change that he actually did so.

If we want someone to act the writers need to give him something to do other than following Janeway around nodding his head up and down or pushing imaginary buttons on a console. The same goes for some of the other under used actors on the cast.

 

[Ghislaine H. B. BRAEME]

I disagree. I like Chakotay and when you change actors you change how the chatacter is presented. This is why recasts often struggle to find footing. I would not recast any of the actors. You risk messing with chemistry and potentially creating a horrible work environment. Like Beltran or not, he got along well with his castmates. That is gold if you want people to stick around for 7 years.

Why to recast Chakotay. Just kill off the character once and for all (and because he is supposed to be a good guy, make him die as a hero) and create a new character having a different role on board*, performed by an actor who can act a true range of emotions, which goes beyond the frowning & smiling -> for me - but well, each of us is free to like his acting or not, right?! -, there was no subtlety & sincerity in his acting, contrary to others... except Wang, of course!
I still wonder on what basis he & Wang were hired!

* or better, pick another character, who was in background. And as seeing as Chakotay was a Maquis, take another Maquis rebel and expand his personality (Dalby, for ex., whose the past story was interesting & who showed his capacity to lead and care for his people).