Straight Up Niners: How Would You Have (re) Written ST: Voyager?
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"Star Trek: Defiant"
Defiant gets stranded in the Andromeda Galaxy with Laas, Garak, Miles (but not Keiko), Admiral Ross, Gowron, Quark and Dax on board towards the finale of season 6 of DS9. They got some Peregrine class fighters with them to KICK ASS.
Defiant gets stranded in the Andromeda Galaxy with Laas, Garak, Miles (but not Keiko), Admiral Ross, Gowron, Quark and Dax on board towards the finale of season 6 of DS9. They got some Peregrine class fighters with them to KICK ASS.
I wouldn't have had them know how to get back to Earth, make them truly LOST.
I also would have dropped the "no support" part of the premise and have establishing alliances with other aliens be a priority dealt with in early episodes.
I'd have the other crew be Romulans instead of Maquis.
I'd have the Caretaker also be holding groups of Klingons/Cardassians/Ferengi captive and they all escape on their own ships in the premiere so there'd be recurring characters who could believably show up all the way to the end of the show.
I wouldn't put them in the Delta Quadrant, when it WAS revealed where they were.
I'd have made Voyager a Heavy Cruiser instead of a Scout Ship.
I also would have dropped the "no support" part of the premise and have establishing alliances with other aliens be a priority dealt with in early episodes.
I'd have the other crew be Romulans instead of Maquis.
I'd have the Caretaker also be holding groups of Klingons/Cardassians/Ferengi captive and they all escape on their own ships in the premiere so there'd be recurring characters who could believably show up all the way to the end of the show.
I wouldn't put them in the Delta Quadrant, when it WAS revealed where they were.
I'd have made Voyager a Heavy Cruiser instead of a Scout Ship.
I would have gone the BSG route and made Voyager a very old ship. Also, I would have put them in another galaxy all together thus pretty much ensuring they would never get home. I mean if you really want to go where no one has gone before, that would do it.
There's nothing I'd change about the basic set-up of Voyager. The problem is what they did with it.
For example, they have Captain Janeway and First Officer Chakotay, two captains with fundamentally different outlooks and philosophies... and yet they barely ever clashed or disagreed in any serious manner, apart from the rare occasion like "Scorpion". You'd think that the whole point of that set-up would be to make them clash and let the sparks fly, but it never did.
And that's really a microcosm of the whole Starfleet-Maquis divide: there really wasn't much of a divide at all, and what there was was resolved too quickly and neatly. Deep Space Nine got more mileage out of the Maquis than Voyager ever did, and they only appeared in a handful of DS9 episodes! The Maquis should have refused to wear uniforms. A good proportion of them should've refused to recognise Janeway's authority for a long time, and answered only to Chakotay. And by the time the two crews did fully reconcile, it shouldn't have been because the Maquis had been fully assimilated into the Starfleet structure: they should've met in the middle, so to speak, to form one crew which was uniquely Voyager.
Neelix... should have been written differently. Less goofy, less annoying, more knowledgeable, more likeable, a bit more openly unscrupulous... more like Quark, really.
For example, they have Captain Janeway and First Officer Chakotay, two captains with fundamentally different outlooks and philosophies... and yet they barely ever clashed or disagreed in any serious manner, apart from the rare occasion like "Scorpion". You'd think that the whole point of that set-up would be to make them clash and let the sparks fly, but it never did.
And that's really a microcosm of the whole Starfleet-Maquis divide: there really wasn't much of a divide at all, and what there was was resolved too quickly and neatly. Deep Space Nine got more mileage out of the Maquis than Voyager ever did, and they only appeared in a handful of DS9 episodes! The Maquis should have refused to wear uniforms. A good proportion of them should've refused to recognise Janeway's authority for a long time, and answered only to Chakotay. And by the time the two crews did fully reconcile, it shouldn't have been because the Maquis had been fully assimilated into the Starfleet structure: they should've met in the middle, so to speak, to form one crew which was uniquely Voyager.
Neelix... should have been written differently. Less goofy, less annoying, more knowledgeable, more likeable, a bit more openly unscrupulous... more like Quark, really.
The problem with Chakotay and the Maquis were that they didn't have much in the way of differences with the Feds to begin with. The Cardassians were their prime enemies, and the DMZ was the main fighting point.
Both of which were now 75 years away.
If the other crew had been REAL enemies of the Feds, like Cardassians or Romulans, then there's something to work with.
And also, they should have had a lot more Delta Quadrant natives in the crew than Neelix. That way there is a lot of connection to the area and local civilizations for future stories.
Neelix should have been a renegade Kazon too, to better tie to them.
Both of which were now 75 years away.
If the other crew had been REAL enemies of the Feds, like Cardassians or Romulans, then there's something to work with.
And also, they should have had a lot more Delta Quadrant natives in the crew than Neelix. That way there is a lot of connection to the area and local civilizations for future stories.
Neelix should have been a renegade Kazon too, to better tie to them.
I also agree with VOY's problem being execution/not premise. Still, to have a little Deep Space Fun with the question...
What if the far end of the Bajoran wormhole were substantially closer to the ship than the direct path and they headed for it instead? By later seasons the ship would make contact with Dominion ships and trying to evade detection. Maybe part of the series would be putting together a fleet of Dominion neighbor species to open a new front in the war? Or introducing the Borg to the Dominion?
What if when Voyager left DS9, one of the regular's went along and got stranded. Jadzia? She'd have a different perspective on time.
What if the far end of the Bajoran wormhole were substantially closer to the ship than the direct path and they headed for it instead? By later seasons the ship would make contact with Dominion ships and trying to evade detection. Maybe part of the series would be putting together a fleet of Dominion neighbor species to open a new front in the war? Or introducing the Borg to the Dominion?
What if when Voyager left DS9, one of the regular's went along and got stranded. Jadzia? She'd have a different perspective on time.
I would have kept strict count on Voyager's resources, and made much more out of them having to scrape to get by (this could include food, fuel, or any other materials). I would have had more signs of privation obvious aboard the ship. It wouldn't have to be like Battlestar Galactica, but more obvious evidence of power conservation (besides replicator rations so we can have Neelix on board) would've been nice. For instance, restricting the holodecks to military use only on an as-needed basis, making sure that when a shuttlecraft is gone, it's GONE (we could even show them salvaging the debris for parts and even raw material for the replicators), and so on. More realism. It doesn't have to be grim, but keeping strict tabs on resources and making sure that when things are used, they're USED and have to be replaced from the outside, would help. It would also provide plot material. That could include alliances like Anwar said, mining operations on uninhabited worlds, and all sorts of plots that could come out of that.
An actual series arc beyond "going home", including a series-long adversary, would have helped as well.
Let's be honest here, "On a long voyage" really is only good for 2 seasons or so. After that it just drags on if there's nothing else.
Now, if the plot of the series was the 8472 invading and wanting to destroy the Galaxy (nothing to do with the Borg, though they can get involved later) and VOY having to put together an alliance to stop them as well as find a way home, that would add to the show as well.
Let's be honest here, "On a long voyage" really is only good for 2 seasons or so. After that it just drags on if there's nothing else.
Now, if the plot of the series was the 8472 invading and wanting to destroy the Galaxy (nothing to do with the Borg, though they can get involved later) and VOY having to put together an alliance to stop them as well as find a way home, that would add to the show as well.
The couple in TNG "The Survivors" was able to operate a replicator with the fusion reactor in their basement.
For a starship, limted access to the food replicator seems odd. And with the warp reactor mostly running at max, it's hard to believe there would be much of a power problem.
I mean, if a civilian like Quark could run several holosuites on DS9, which doesn't even have a Warp core...
They should have problems with space, some rare materials they run out of. But fuel and power should not be a problem. Not with everyone around them (including civilians) having spaceships.
There's also no reason they can't make more shuttles.
Imo, their problem should not be that they're weak, but that they are so strong (and are stuck in a faraway place), they can't help becoming players.
For a starship, limted access to the food replicator seems odd. And with the warp reactor mostly running at max, it's hard to believe there would be much of a power problem.
I mean, if a civilian like Quark could run several holosuites on DS9, which doesn't even have a Warp core...
They should have problems with space, some rare materials they run out of. But fuel and power should not be a problem. Not with everyone around them (including civilians) having spaceships.
There's also no reason they can't make more shuttles.
Imo, their problem should not be that they're weak, but that they are so strong (and are stuck in a faraway place), they can't help becoming players.
So maybe the problem becomes what happens when they start playing god or getting too self important.
It rarely felt like the crew was a mix of Starfleet and Maquis - there should have been a lot more conflict.
Every once in a while, we had an episode where "resources are low". By the next episode, we're back to normal. Inconsequential equals boring. They should have stranded Voyager with - I dunno - used up deuterium tanks or something for at least half a season. Make the prospect of ever returning home nearly impossible. Raise the stakes, up the ante!
Pay off the Maquis story, the "Seven was a Borg" stuff and all that potential heartbreak with remarried spouses by actually giving us a few episodes back home after Voyager reached the Alpha Quadrant. If they needed a big action finale, they could still have the Borg come out of their transwarp conduit a few weeks after Voyager's return home.
Every once in a while, we had an episode where "resources are low". By the next episode, we're back to normal. Inconsequential equals boring. They should have stranded Voyager with - I dunno - used up deuterium tanks or something for at least half a season. Make the prospect of ever returning home nearly impossible. Raise the stakes, up the ante!
Pay off the Maquis story, the "Seven was a Borg" stuff and all that potential heartbreak with remarried spouses by actually giving us a few episodes back home after Voyager reached the Alpha Quadrant. If they needed a big action finale, they could still have the Borg come out of their transwarp conduit a few weeks after Voyager's return home.
Really! Sometimes, it felt like Star Trek: Gilligan's Island
Just a few random thoughts I just had. Didn't spend too much time thinking about them. 
- Have Voyager start out without all of its supplies and without a full crew complement ("We're the only ship in the area!").
- Make the majority of the post-Caretaker crew Maquis.
- Have Janeway be the untested and inexperienced XO who takes command after the death of the CO.
- Chakotay starts out challenging Janeway's authority, but later becomes a mediator between the Starfleet minority and the Maquis majority after deciding that everyone's best hope to get home is to work together. There are still conflicts here and there, however; some instigated by Maquis, some by Starfleet.
- Turn Tom Paris back into Nick Locarno (I don't have to pay royalties, so nyah
). - Keep Harry Kim as the wide-eyed, naive new kid who starts out believing 100% in the purity and righteousness of the Federation. Pair him up with the jaded and cynical (and somewhat self-loathing) Nick Locarno, and eventually through their friendship Harry grows up a little and Nick owns up to his mistakes and turns over a new leaf.
- Drop Kes, and turn Neelix into a shady figure who uses his black market connections to help Voyager obtain supplies in exchange for taking him away from his part of the Delta Quadrant, where he's a wanted criminal (though he doesn't tell them that, at first).
More of the crew should've been Delta Quadrant natives, to connect them better to the area's history and local affairs.
And there should've been other folks from the Alpha Quadrant who were pulled there by the Caretaker, like a Klingon ship, a Cardassian ship, a Ferengi ship, etc.
That way it sets up recurring characters who could appear in all 7 seasons, and give the show cannon fodder to kill off to build up their enemies.
Want to show off how tough the Hirogen are? Have the Klingons show running scared of them.
Want to show what the Malon are like? Have them form a partnership with the Ferengi.
Etc, etc.
And there should've been other folks from the Alpha Quadrant who were pulled there by the Caretaker, like a Klingon ship, a Cardassian ship, a Ferengi ship, etc.
That way it sets up recurring characters who could appear in all 7 seasons, and give the show cannon fodder to kill off to build up their enemies.
Want to show off how tough the Hirogen are? Have the Klingons show running scared of them.
Want to show what the Malon are like? Have them form a partnership with the Ferengi.
Etc, etc.
I really liked the idea someone suggested that it should have been an older class starship, perhaps on its last mission. All that bio-neural stuff didn't do much anyway. And would have made EMH a much grumpier figure ("just look at this primitive equipment I have to work with. I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker")
Stone knives and bearskins!
I would of gone with the idea of Voyager building a alliance in the delta, and build the series that way. Also, have more marquis/federation resistance, or have the crews as romulans.
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