Re: Reboot Voyager: A Hypothetical.
Posted: Thu May 25, 2017 12:36 pm
If I was redoing Voyager, then I think I'd like to do the following:
Have things matter, and unless it's made explicit that Voyager has put in somewhere for repairs (either docking at an alien star base in the episode or mentioning in the opening captain's log that they did so between episodes), the ship interiors should look battered and to a degree in a state of disrepair (especially if the plot of the episode is how screwed they are). Also, don't have the plot of one episode be about looking for resource X, having them fail to get it and then the next episode having resource X in abundance; if the episode can't be rewritten to avoid this, then at the very least the episodes should have their running order switched so the problem is minimised and can be handwaved that an unseen event between the episodes depleted reserves of resource X (oh and try not to make resouce X be one of the most common elements in the universe - I'm looking at you deuterium!).
Similarly, don't have the crew become homogenised by the first episode after the pilot. I'm not saying the Starfleet-Marquis conflict should stick around for the entire run, but at the least I'd have the Marquis characters stay in their civilian clothes, slowly transitioning into Starfleet uniforms over season 1 to show how they're growing together overtime. I'd have only Chakotay and a few extras adopt uniforms straight away (explained with them being ex-Starfleet and choosing to reactivate their commissions).
Similarly I'd have the early seasons have a theme of them building alliances. Possibly something like the first half of season 1 being about just surviving, and then the second half and season 2 be about alliance building with the season ending with them establishing a sort of proto-Federation with Voyager departing to bring their allies' applications for membership to the actual Federation.
I'd also make the Kaxon a credible threat rather than a bumbling group of dim witted thugs. Let's accept that they need to be a warrior race that's not just Klingons in a different forehead. Okay. I'd have them have a focus around honour, but take it in a different direction to what the Klingons have. Instead of the Klingon warrior obsession with them spouting how everything is a combat even things like being a lawyer, I'd have it be the honour is about doing a good job a serving society the best you can and to further differentiate them from the Klingons give them a cast system so that the aforementioned honour is about serving in your cast (e.g. a doctor is regarded honourably for saving lives but if he took up arms and killed thousands in combat he wouldn't be viewed honourably even though a member of the Warrior Cast who'd done the same would be toasted and celebrated). In this light they're a warrior race simply because the Warrior cast is on top and Voyager and others mostly only deal with the Warriors. And over the two seasons it'd be their dealings with Voyager that leads to a cultural revolution that leads to the other casts being awarded higher regard and more equality.
As for characters:
I'd have Janeway not start as the Captain and be younger. I'd start her as a Commander or even Lt. Commander, recently promoted to that rank and the first officer. Whatever brings Voyager to the Delta Quadrant (whether it's still the Caretaker or something else) kills the Captain, forcing Janeway to take charge. As such destroying the array being a mistake is because she's out of her depth in that moment and her story arc would be about her learning from that and other mistakes and how she grows into the role of Captain.
Chakotay I'd make older, fitting with his backstory of being an instructor at the academy, and would serve as one of Janeway's advisors. I'd also get an actual expert in Native American cultures to help write his backstory. I'd either chose an actual tribe for him to be from, or (to help with him representing all Native Americans), explicitly state his colony was founded by people from various tribes and over a couple of centuries they've intermingled resulting in a blend of all of them.
Tuvok I'd leave much the same.
Nelix I'd make more like the Ahab alien in Bliss. He's gruff, rugged and seasoned. He'd serve as a guide and would have actual survival and combat skills. I'd also change his backstory from loosing his sister to loosing his wife and young daughter, and that fuels why he associates with young girls (eg Kes and Naomi) so often; he has a protective (grand)fatherly relationship with them rather than a slightly creepy clingy one (this would change his antagonism against Tom from being jealousy over Kes to him being protective of her and not wanting to see her hurt). If his role as Mess Officer is kept, then I'd make his leathal chef aspect be not out of incompetence but down to his alien physiology having slightly different needs to the others.
Together, Nelix, Tuvok and Chakotay would serve as a sort of Chorus for Janeway, being her chief advisors. Tuvok would be the unemotional and logical Spock to Neelix's passionate and emotional Bones, with Chakotay serving as the middle ground as a balance.
Unless rights prevented it, I'd make Paris Locarno. If it was just the name, then I'd make it that Locarno was a name Tom took to avoid preferential treatment due to who his dad was.
Keep the rest pretty much the same, but in the case of Harry and Torres, give them more to work with over the course of the series. Notable changes for those two, give Torres the Chief Engineer position because she's an engineering genius/savant, not because she beat up the other candidate, and give Harry a promotion at some point.
I'd also emphasise building a supporting cast. DS9 showed how effective fleshing out its supporting cast was, and I think it's even more important for Voyager to have one considering it has no access to replacement crew. It also has an advantage in that when you want to show a situation is especially dangerous you can injure or kill one of them to show character shields aren't in full effect; or for something especially shocking you can kill off a main character and then you'll have a fleshed out replacement who won't appear from nowhere. And if you do kill them off you can do the thing they did with Carry to show timetravel has happened, except this time they'd actually be dead rather than forgotten.
Something I think might also be interesting is to stretch the Q's son thing out; have Q bring him to Voyager in say season 3 or 4, and have the episode end with him being left there. At this point he slots into the supporting cast and stays there. This then ties into the finale when Q collects him and reveals, as he stated in 'All Good Things', the trial of humanity by the Q is still ongoing, and Q Jr's presence on Voyager (and the actual reason they were brought to the Delta Quadrant) is part of the trial.
Also, assuming this is going to be followed by an Enterprise reboot and that is going to still have the Temporal Cold War, then at some point I'd include a Borg episode to lay some groundwork for it and explain why the Borg only used time travel in First Contact. I'd have the Borg reveal that they're aware of the TCW and in First Contact they went to Earth to try and warn the Federation, but were attacked and decided to play the role of the villain and draw Picard back in time so he could ensure First Contact occurred. The reason they don't normally use time travel is partly because they don't want to get drawn into the TCW and partly because they know mucking with time can be dangerous and isn't worth the hassle unless they're desperate.
Have things matter, and unless it's made explicit that Voyager has put in somewhere for repairs (either docking at an alien star base in the episode or mentioning in the opening captain's log that they did so between episodes), the ship interiors should look battered and to a degree in a state of disrepair (especially if the plot of the episode is how screwed they are). Also, don't have the plot of one episode be about looking for resource X, having them fail to get it and then the next episode having resource X in abundance; if the episode can't be rewritten to avoid this, then at the very least the episodes should have their running order switched so the problem is minimised and can be handwaved that an unseen event between the episodes depleted reserves of resource X (oh and try not to make resouce X be one of the most common elements in the universe - I'm looking at you deuterium!).
Similarly, don't have the crew become homogenised by the first episode after the pilot. I'm not saying the Starfleet-Marquis conflict should stick around for the entire run, but at the least I'd have the Marquis characters stay in their civilian clothes, slowly transitioning into Starfleet uniforms over season 1 to show how they're growing together overtime. I'd have only Chakotay and a few extras adopt uniforms straight away (explained with them being ex-Starfleet and choosing to reactivate their commissions).
Similarly I'd have the early seasons have a theme of them building alliances. Possibly something like the first half of season 1 being about just surviving, and then the second half and season 2 be about alliance building with the season ending with them establishing a sort of proto-Federation with Voyager departing to bring their allies' applications for membership to the actual Federation.
I'd also make the Kaxon a credible threat rather than a bumbling group of dim witted thugs. Let's accept that they need to be a warrior race that's not just Klingons in a different forehead. Okay. I'd have them have a focus around honour, but take it in a different direction to what the Klingons have. Instead of the Klingon warrior obsession with them spouting how everything is a combat even things like being a lawyer, I'd have it be the honour is about doing a good job a serving society the best you can and to further differentiate them from the Klingons give them a cast system so that the aforementioned honour is about serving in your cast (e.g. a doctor is regarded honourably for saving lives but if he took up arms and killed thousands in combat he wouldn't be viewed honourably even though a member of the Warrior Cast who'd done the same would be toasted and celebrated). In this light they're a warrior race simply because the Warrior cast is on top and Voyager and others mostly only deal with the Warriors. And over the two seasons it'd be their dealings with Voyager that leads to a cultural revolution that leads to the other casts being awarded higher regard and more equality.
As for characters:
I'd have Janeway not start as the Captain and be younger. I'd start her as a Commander or even Lt. Commander, recently promoted to that rank and the first officer. Whatever brings Voyager to the Delta Quadrant (whether it's still the Caretaker or something else) kills the Captain, forcing Janeway to take charge. As such destroying the array being a mistake is because she's out of her depth in that moment and her story arc would be about her learning from that and other mistakes and how she grows into the role of Captain.
Chakotay I'd make older, fitting with his backstory of being an instructor at the academy, and would serve as one of Janeway's advisors. I'd also get an actual expert in Native American cultures to help write his backstory. I'd either chose an actual tribe for him to be from, or (to help with him representing all Native Americans), explicitly state his colony was founded by people from various tribes and over a couple of centuries they've intermingled resulting in a blend of all of them.
Tuvok I'd leave much the same.
Nelix I'd make more like the Ahab alien in Bliss. He's gruff, rugged and seasoned. He'd serve as a guide and would have actual survival and combat skills. I'd also change his backstory from loosing his sister to loosing his wife and young daughter, and that fuels why he associates with young girls (eg Kes and Naomi) so often; he has a protective (grand)fatherly relationship with them rather than a slightly creepy clingy one (this would change his antagonism against Tom from being jealousy over Kes to him being protective of her and not wanting to see her hurt). If his role as Mess Officer is kept, then I'd make his leathal chef aspect be not out of incompetence but down to his alien physiology having slightly different needs to the others.
Together, Nelix, Tuvok and Chakotay would serve as a sort of Chorus for Janeway, being her chief advisors. Tuvok would be the unemotional and logical Spock to Neelix's passionate and emotional Bones, with Chakotay serving as the middle ground as a balance.
Unless rights prevented it, I'd make Paris Locarno. If it was just the name, then I'd make it that Locarno was a name Tom took to avoid preferential treatment due to who his dad was.
Keep the rest pretty much the same, but in the case of Harry and Torres, give them more to work with over the course of the series. Notable changes for those two, give Torres the Chief Engineer position because she's an engineering genius/savant, not because she beat up the other candidate, and give Harry a promotion at some point.
I'd also emphasise building a supporting cast. DS9 showed how effective fleshing out its supporting cast was, and I think it's even more important for Voyager to have one considering it has no access to replacement crew. It also has an advantage in that when you want to show a situation is especially dangerous you can injure or kill one of them to show character shields aren't in full effect; or for something especially shocking you can kill off a main character and then you'll have a fleshed out replacement who won't appear from nowhere. And if you do kill them off you can do the thing they did with Carry to show timetravel has happened, except this time they'd actually be dead rather than forgotten.
Something I think might also be interesting is to stretch the Q's son thing out; have Q bring him to Voyager in say season 3 or 4, and have the episode end with him being left there. At this point he slots into the supporting cast and stays there. This then ties into the finale when Q collects him and reveals, as he stated in 'All Good Things', the trial of humanity by the Q is still ongoing, and Q Jr's presence on Voyager (and the actual reason they were brought to the Delta Quadrant) is part of the trial.
Also, assuming this is going to be followed by an Enterprise reboot and that is going to still have the Temporal Cold War, then at some point I'd include a Borg episode to lay some groundwork for it and explain why the Borg only used time travel in First Contact. I'd have the Borg reveal that they're aware of the TCW and in First Contact they went to Earth to try and warn the Federation, but were attacked and decided to play the role of the villain and draw Picard back in time so he could ensure First Contact occurred. The reason they don't normally use time travel is partly because they don't want to get drawn into the TCW and partly because they know mucking with time can be dangerous and isn't worth the hassle unless they're desperate.