Voyager, what would you have done?

Television, Movies Games and Books Star Trek
#1

The discussion on the podcast about Voyager got me thinking once again about what I would have done differently, Chuck was right in that the set up for the series was perfect for conflict and intrigue. And yet rarely was anything ever done with it.

Here is a place for everyone to air their ideas, and comment. I’ll go first…

Janeway and Chakotay

I would have used Chakotay for the first few seasons as a ‘wild card’, in that the audience would never be sure where he stood. Because he would wear two faces, one for the Captain and the Federation crew, and another for the Maquis. The Maquis think he is in their corner, scheming on how to take over the ship, and the Federation crew members think he is ‘on Janeways leash’. Leaving the viewer to wonder which one these Chakotay’s was real, or if either is real at all.

His relationship with Janeway would be volatile and tenuous, they would never fight openly outside of the ready room, but the bridge crew could feel the tension and knew damned well what was going on inside her office. They would start out on opposite sides of the spectrum, Chakotay reckless and daring, using very unconventional tactics and cunning. Janeway very by-the-book and in lockstep with Federation doctrine. They would rarely see eye to eye on anything in the beginning but have a grudging respect for each other. By the end of the series Chakotay is a stronger and more respected officer and leader and Janeway is a more shrewd negotiator and cunning tactician, and more relaxed and confident officer.

Chakotay’s strengths would be his ability to find unconventional answers to problems. And his way of disarming conflicts within the crew, and earning loyalty and trust from unlikely individuals. And ‘acquiring’ items and favors from people through haggling, scheming and blackmail.

Janeway’s strengths would be her strength of morale character, and her steadfast determination in the face of insurmountable odds, her ability to rally and inspire her crew in times of crisis. And her ability to get more out of her crew than they ever thought possible. And her undying hope for their future and getting home.

There is far more but I do not wish to bore you with the specifics…

Neelix and Kes

My Neelix would be a Ferengi with ‘balls’, he is conniving and devious. That is how he has survived so long on his own, he plays Janeway and uses Voyager to suit his own special needs. He pretends to be a charming yet bumbling fool, but it is all an act to put his clients at ease, and it lets people think they can take advantage of him. But far from it… He is good at reading people and finding their weaknesses and using it against them, and enjoys seeding discontent and playing people against each other.

He stays with Voyager and helps them so long as it benefits him, but he would sell them out if the price was good enough. He starts out thinking the federation people are soft and naive, but over time he comes to begrudgingly respect them. And even though he has fooled Janeway; Chakotay and Paris (both scheming bastards in their own right) see through Neelix’s act and have to constantly watch her back by figuring out what he is really doing, so they can counter it and make sure he doesn’t rob them blind or sell them out.

Kes is a slave and a prostitute, he uses her to sweeten his deals. And he uses her sex-pheromone ability to keep his clients horny and off balance during negotiations. Because of her pain implants she afraid to seek help or escape from Neelix, and being mute and addicted to a drug that only he can supply doesn’t help either. Being so close to freedom but being unable to ask for it is sheer torture for her, she needs to find a way to communicate with the crew.

Voyager

Voyager would be beaten to Hell during the seasons and be constantly worked on using whatever parts they could find. It would change in appearance and ability season to season, constantly evolving and adapting to whatever new dangers came its way. By the time it would reach Earth it would be almost unrecognizable as a Federation vessel.

The hallways would have panels missing and lights out in places, alien technology and cables might be hanging or sticking out in strange places. And sometimes the different techs and power sources might not play nice together and cause interesting problems.

Anyways these are a few of the ideas that came to me while watching the series.

#2

IYKWIM…

just kidding. but I think for two people being so close, they should have done more character shows to explain why they ultimately decided not to get together against their heart.

If Voyager was made as dark as BSG then, it would have been wonderful. But now after BSG, and I try to picture what Voyager could have been like, there’s something in me that just don’t want to see dark Voyager, at least not as dark as BSG. I kind of had enough…

Voyager had a lot of flaws. The lack of arcs, the repetitive stories, but it was always the character and character moments that kept me watching week after week. As opposed to darker series like BSG where you don’t know who you can like or depend on. That is the only thing that I won’t change with Voyager.

As for the plot, I wish they didn’t push forward the borg arc, and the first two seasons of all Trek series seems to be a mess… so, i’d probably change that for any trek series.

The one thing I definitely will change is the finale. I want they to get back to Earth in a way that doesn’t destroy Janeway’s character and makes the 7 year struggle pointless.

#3

The discussion on the podcast about Voyager got me thinking once again about what I would have done differently, Chuck was right in that the set up for the series was perfect for conflict and intrigue. And yet rarely was anything ever done with it.

What would I have done? See Stargate Universe and Battlestar Galactica.

Omara, I like a lot of your ideas, and that would have been a good show, but very different then what we got.
Agree 100% on Chakotay. You Neelix is a totally different character, although that character would have been interesting to see on the show.

I think the Neelix from the first episode should have stay on the show instead of getting replaced with the Neelix from the rest of the series.

//youtu.be/JwrCCtOLteg

Jump to around 4:30. Neelix pulls a gun on the bad guy and threatens him. What happened to that guy?!

The other big change I would make would be to have the Year of Hell storyline actually takes a year, and it actually happens. Granted, the Xindi storyline on Enterprise was probably similar to what it would have been, but I think Voyager would have done it well.

#4

I did not want Voyager itself to be dark, I wanted the Delta Quadrant and its inhabitants to be dark. Thereby showing what a stark contrast it is from the Alpha Quadrant, and what the lack of a unifying Government or vision can lead to.

The Federation crew members would stand out like cue balls wherever they go, even if in disguise. And even though they try not to bring change to the cultures they meet, their very presence brings revolution and change wherever they go. Bringing hope to those who are oppressed or enslaved.

The Federation members are an example of what could be, if races worked together for a common good. The Maquis are scarred and disillusioned, reminders that the well meaning Federation can make mistakes. That adhering to lofty ideals can have real consequences, they are examples of what can happen when diplomacy is taken too far for the sake of peace. And yet because of the trails they went through they are more grounded in reality than their Federation crewmen, the two factions would often quarrel and bicker but having a common foe and goal would force them to resolve their differences.

#5

One problem that faced Voyager was it is unlikely for a ship more advanced than most in the quadrant to keep running into the same groups of enemies or races.

Kazon, Vidiians and countless others were forces to be reckoned with when they outnumbered Voyager. But once Voyager leaves their space, it’d be hard to have them to appear again. There were a few time that Voyager did that, and those episodes seemed a bit ridiculous.

More organized and advanced races, like the Borg, races that use the Vaadwaur corridors, or the Krenim are more suited to put a foot up Voyager’s ass in arcs.

There were a couple of episodes where Voyager befriends a race and then comes under attack from enemies of their new allies. I really enjoy those episodes. They reminds of me how in the age of exploration, same thing happens to the explorers. Magellan was killed because he befriended another tribe first. Too bad they never made an arc out of this.

#6

More vision quests…

That’s not weird right?

Okay so voyager had the same weakness as tng… all talking not so much with the fun.

I had no hate for. Kes although nelix could have gotten into a painful accident. With and airlock.

But as a whole i think it was better than next gen, its just this is supposed to be a space adventure and they only got the space part down patt.

So my answer occasionally they need to shoot a phaser at person taking off a limb. during a negotiation, exciting space chases, and janeway waking up in bed with two green alien men. and having no idea how she got there. See if you occasionally just write star trek like a trip to Vegas it becomes fun again.

I’ll prove it well to myself I’m gonna write a short story around.voyager.

spoiler nelix may die.

#7

I got a few ideas for the show. I never watched the whole series missed some eps here and there but I do have some. First I agree I liked the rough Nelix. He got way to soft. Kes was ok once the hair was long (had a bit of a crush.)

Janeway I think could have been more Kirk like I’d have loved to seen her shirt get torn a few times (redheads they hook me). But seriously a bit more edge couldn’t hurt. The future Janeway seemed to have had some balls. Although if she was going to fix it why not just prevent the whole thing.

Another thing was way too much time travel. Seems like any ep I caught had it in. Again it all could have been prevented.

The whole Seska plot was b/s. Why couldn’t she have just been a bitch without having to be a Caradsian.

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#8

Seska actually could have been a pretty good villain. They killed her off way too fast, and had her working with the worst enemy on the show. But even in her death, the two times she comes back and haunts them, she was amazing. I remember reading someone’s idea on how Seska should have been used, and it was brilliant. I think it’s probably a GWCer.

I personally would keep her on Voyager and not revealing her Cardasian nature a bit longer. At least after Voyager is out of the stupid Kazon space. I mean she can try to find a faster way home with the Kazon from the inside and manipulate her Maquis colleges, just don’t leave Voyager for the Kazon.

They should have ended the Kazon threat in Season 1. And for season 2, Seska with help with a new enemy would use the friction between Starfleet and Maquis and splinter the crew, taking half with her (even some of the starfleet people who are unhappy with Janeway’s slow way home approach).

Then, by the end of season 2, even though Seska achieves stranding Voyager crew on a crap planet, Seska starts to show her Cardassian nature. The Maquis crew betrays Seska because there is no way they will work for a Cardassian. The collaborative effort in bringing Seska down on Voyager and on the planet eventually mends the divid between Starfleet and Maquis crews.

Thus concludes the Seska arc while making her a great villain without stupid Kazon messing everything up…