Early Concepts for Voyager Characters

[WarpTenLizard]

It's fun to read about early ideas and casting considerations for the characters we know. Like...

Nicole Janeway: Before Kate Mulgrew was cast, it was going to be French-Canadian actress Genevieve Bujold. In the scenes she filmed, it seems like Bujold's Janeway would have been far more like Picard, while Mulgrew had more of the charm and charisma of Kirk.

Seven of Nine was initially Perra, assimilated as an adult while working at an outpost, with her journey being treated like a recovering drug addict. Trinity from "the Matrix" and Ivonava from B5 both auditioned.

The Doctor was going to have a different personality every episode, due to various people always tweaking his program. Every time he activated, it would be a surprise what his personality would be.

Kes's working name was Dah, and she was in consideration for being the scout that Neelix wound up being. She'd age every half a season. (90s special affects likely prevented this.)

Ro Laren was supposed to be the Maquis malcontent of Voyager, but the actress didn't want to commit to a series. The next "fallen character" from TNG that they opted for was Nick Locarno, played by Robert Duncan McNeil; they changed his name to Tom Paris and altered his backstory slightly, either to avoid paying royalties to someone, or to make him more "redeemable." But kept the same actor.

Tuvok was supposed to be old and "grandfatherly." Chakotay....was going to have even more tattoos and more mystical stereotypes.

How would one or more of these characters have interacted with the canon ones, each other, or the Delta Quadrant in general?

Feel free to add any I forgot.

 

[Akiraprise]

I am kind of a fan of the Nicole Janeway character. Everyone rags on Bujold in the brief scenes we've seen of her from Caretaker as being more wooden than Chakotay. Don't get me wrong, she was clearly uncomfortable, but I think she was enough of an accomplished actress to turn it around quickly.

Ro would have been awesome on VOY as would Locarno. A Doctor with ever changing personalities every week would have gotten annoying I think.

 

[suarezguy]

I thought Bujold Janeway came off as too much like Picard, both with the accent and just with very much seeming to not be in her first command, the Mulgrew version was improvement.

The only character I particularly miss, think not having was a missed opportunity was not having Ro, not a lot better than similar Torres, to the point that it would have been a bit of a shame to not have Torres, but I think at least a bit better, and a lot better than Tom (or Locarno). I know many would disagree but I think it would have been interesting to have also had Wesley in the Maquis and then Voyager crew.

Kes was a bit too much not really having a role (other than assistant and friend to the Doctor), it may have been better to somehow combine her with Neelix. Or to have Seska have not been (revealed to be) Cardassian, just a more continually rebellious Maquis, and stick around on crew for the first two or three years.

 

[suarezguy]

Tim Russ as Tuvok conveyed enough life experience for the character to seem quite a bit older than he actually was, while also coming off as just a bit mentor to also kind of contemporary Janeway. The character actually being/more often coming off as old (let alone grandfatherly) mentor would have felt gimmicky, trying a little too hard to distinguish too much from Spock.

 

[Oddish]

* I saw the original Janeway in a couple scenes... it was enough.
* Shamen Chakotay... Star Trek doesn't do the mysterious very well. Look at "Sub Rosa".
* Dah sounds like something you shout and send people flying across the room.
* Ro is a decent character... but I'll take Seska over her.
* Perra seems about the same.

I'll take Nick Lacarno, who we should have had anyway, multiple personality EMH (at least his lack of a name would make sense them), and Ensign Harry Kim in the hands of a scriptwriter who knows how to develop characters. By show's end he's lost a body part and had it replaced by a cybernetic implant, had to be dragged out of the Paxau resort after PTSD from losing said part, had several failed relationships, gotten married, fathered a kid, adopted a weird alien pet, finally beaten Tuvok at Kal-toh, and gotten two full gold pips on his collar.

 

[Dee1891]

* I saw the original Janeway in a couple scenes... it was enough.
* Shamen Chakotay... Star Trek doesn't do the mysterious very well. Look at "Sub Rosa".
* Dah sounds like something you shout and send people flying across the room.
* Ro is a decent character... but I'll take Seska over her.
* Perra seems about the same.

I'll take Nick Lacarno, who we should have had anyway, multiple personality EMH (at least his lack of a name would make sense them), and Ensign Harry Kim in the hands of a scriptwriter who knows how to develop characters. By show's end he's lost a body part and had it replaced by a cybernetic implant, had to be dragged out of the Paxau resort after PTSD from losing said part, had several failed relationships, gotten married, fathered a kid, adopted a weird alien pet, finally beaten Tuvok at Kal-toh, and gotten two full gold pips on his collar.

Why would the series need Nick Lacarno in the first place? Let me get this straight. Because Harry Kim didn't get promoted, he lacked character development? Hardly any of the characters, aside from Tuvok, had received a decent promotion. And that's your idea of character development for Kim?

You know what. Never mind. I keep hoping that one day, someone would post a complaint about "Voyager" that I find plausible. But after so many years, I have failed to come across one. I do have my complaints about the series. But the more I keep coming across these certain complaints, the more I keep forgetting that I actually have complaints about it. Just as I have my complaints about the other Trek shows and the franchise as a whole.

 

[Oddish]

Why would the series need Nick Lacarno in the first place?

Because TNG left him in a bad place. Wes confessed, but Lacarno's future was destroyed. Expelled from the academy, he probably lived out a meaningless and pathetic existence. Featuring him in Voyager would give him a second chance.

Because Harry Kim didn't get promoted, he lacked character development?

No. Harry would have lacked character development even if he'd been promoted. But he would be a respected character, as opposed to one who gets more crap than Neelix.

Hardly any of the characters, aside from Tuvok, had received a decent promotion. And that's your idea of character development for Kim?

It's a possibility, maybe influenced by Nog's incredible journey. Did they have to do exactly what I said? No. But for crying out loud, do something with him!

You know what. Never mind. I keep hoping that one day, someone would post a complaint about "Voyager" that I find plausible.

You're saying that it was perfectly acceptable that...
1. The writers were so incredibly lazy, they didn't spend literally SECONDS addressing painful inconsistencies. I have a topic on the subject in this forum.
2. A cast member was a victim of a calculated effort to humiliate him, one that the Trek community has been continuing with sadistic pleasure for the past two decades.
Fine. You're entitled to your opinion. But I refuse to change mine.

Just as I have my complaints about the other Trek shows and the franchise as a whole.

You think I don't? I have long-running complaints about all four Berman era Treks:
TNG: Deanna gets promoted for killing a hologram. Data saves the Federation twice and doesn't.
DS9: An episode that's supposed to be all about female empowerment absolutely takes an enormous crap on them... apparently, Ferenginar has only one intelligent and business capable woman, so when she drops, they have to send a man in her place.
ENT: They have transporters. They always work. And the same weapons set as they use 210 years later. And the only reason I don't trash it just as hard about promotions is that my head canon is that Riker's holosimulation was never intended to be historically accurate. Hence no one changing in six years.

 

[Tosk]

Not to defend crap, but...

Ferenginar has only one intelligent and business capable woman, so when she drops, they have to send a man in her place.

It wasn't about how many were on Ferenginar, they needed a female Ferengi on DS9 in the next few hours.

ENT: They have transporters. They always work.

Didn't they put branches and leaves and stuff inside someone once?

And the same weapons set as they use 210 years later.

Just like we do now? I don't know how old guns are exactly, but I do know they've been around quite a while.

All that said, I agree in that I mostly dislike Profit and Lace, and I wish that ENT hadn't been forced to "be more Trek" so soon.
I also know this all ain't the point of the thread, but sometimes any conversation will do.

 

[Oddish]

It wasn't about how many were on Ferenginar, they needed a female Ferengi on DS9 in the next few hours.

Another reason why the Nagus's plan was ridiculous. He set out to transform his society on a fundamental level in much too short a time (how is Ferenginar going to double its job pool overnight?)... he was opposed by 99.7% of his chief business magnates... and he couldn't even secure more than one business-savvy female to back his play.

Didn't they put branches and leaves and stuff inside someone once?

Other Treks had transporter malfunctions as well, often worse ones. Remember "The Motion Picture"?

Just like we do now? I don't know how old guns are exactly, but I do know they've been around quite a while.

It's true, guns have grown slowly. One of the most highly regarded handgun designs is over 110 years old, and the 75-year-old AK47 is still the benchmark for durability and reliability (it can keep firing after abuse that would turn one of our M4's into an expensive club). But the point is this is a PREQUEL. It should be different, not more of the same.

 

[suarezguy]

Another early, kind of contrary concept for the Doctor would be that he pretty quickly would choose a name, he would go by and also by others be called Doctor Zimmerman after his designer, I think that would have been a little too much character development too soon (racing through it). But maybe that could work in Season 4 or the end of 6/beginning of 7 after he actually met him.

 

[Oddish]

The Doctor's name was like a certain other guy's rank: an inside joke that just wasn't funny.

 

[Akiraprise]

Which is ironic considering the early promotional material for the show actually used the name Dr. Zimmerman for him. Perhaps they abandoned the notion as an homage to Dr. Who? Nah...

 

[Lynx]

It's fun to read about early ideas and casting considerations for the characters we know. Like...

Nicole Janeway: Before Kate Mulgrew was cast, it was going to be French-Canadian actress Genevieve Bujold. In the scenes she filmed, it seems like Bujold's Janeway would have been far more like Picard, while Mulgrew had more of the charm and charisma of Kirk.

Seven of Nine was initially Perra, assimilated as an adult while working at an outpost, with her journey being treated like a recovering drug addict. Trinity from "the Matrix" and Ivonava from B5 both auditioned.

The Doctor was going to have a different personality every episode, due to various people always tweaking his program. Every time he activated, it would be a surprise what his personality would be.

Kes's working name was Dah, and she was in consideration for being the scout that Neelix wound up being. She'd age every half a season. (90s special affects likely prevented this.)

Ro Laren was supposed to be the Maquis malcontent of Voyager, but the actress didn't want to commit to a series. The next "fallen character" from TNG that they opted for was Nick Locarno, played by Robert Duncan McNeil; they changed his name to Tom Paris and altered his backstory slightly, either to avoid paying royalties to someone, or to make him more "redeemable." But kept the same actor.

Tuvok was supposed to be old and "grandfatherly." Chakotay....was going to have even more tattoos and more mystical stereotypes.

How would one or more of these characters have interacted with the canon ones, each other, or the Delta Quadrant in general?

Feel free to add any I forgot.

If I would go for any of those options, then it would be Ro Laren who is a great character. One of my favorite characters.

Nicole Janeway? Hmmmmm.....no! I think that they should be happy that they got Mulgrew's Janeway instead.

Seven as Perra? No! Not only the name is weird, the concept too.

Kes? Dah? Nah!
The silly nine-year lifespan is even worse in that concept
(Lynx go down on his knees and thanks higher powers for the limited 1990's special effects.)

Nick Locarno? Maybe because of the events in the TNG story but I think that Tom Paris is a better name.

What they should have done is to come up with a somewhat different background story for Paris. The one they made is too much like Locarno's

The Doctor? Could have been funny if that concept had been used at least in some episodes.

Tuvok and Chakotay was better as they were.

 

[Lynx]

Which is ironic considering the early promotional material for the show actually used the name Dr. Zimmerman for him. Perhaps they abandoned the notion as an homage to Dr. Who? Nah...

He's actually called Zimmerman in two of the early Voyager books: The Escape and Violations.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

From the scenes we got, I thought Genevieve Bujold came off more like a Vulcan than Tuvok.

 

[publiusr]

An older Tuvix could have been interesting
https://original.newsbreak.com/@her...-career-of-the-emmy-winning-soap-benson-actor

 

[at Quark's]

* I saw the original Janeway in a couple scenes... it was enough.
* Shamen Chakotay... Star Trek doesn't do the mysterious very well. Look at "Sub Rosa".

Then again, there's the wormhole aliens from DS9 whose true nature and motivations we never learn, and the religion we see around them, unexplained powers of the orbs, telepathic aliens and objects with mysterious powers in other series, etc. It wasn't always handled very well, but sometimes it was.

 

[at Quark's]

The Doctor having a different personality each ep could have been fun for a while, but I agree it would have become annoying had they stuck too long with it. Just as the 'Neelix can't cook and the entire crew is suffering under it!' was perhaps funny initially, but they kept it up for too long.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Chakotay done right. Different actor, proper backstory and a Maquis edge. Something like Bearclaw from the old DC TOS comics.

 

[Timewalker]

Just as the 'Neelix can't cook and the entire crew is suffering under it!' was perhaps funny initially, but they kept it up for too long.

I was under the impression that Neelix's cooking was fine - if your palate matches that of a Talaxian. Neelix felt that human food was far too bland and tastless, so he used overly-generous amounts of spices and foods with very strong flavors. No wonder most of the crew disliked it.

I would have enjoyed Ro Laren being part of the show.

For "Other", I chose Janeway's dog. If Archer could have a dog, why couldn't Janeway? Then Molly could have had her puppies on board the ship and some of the more homesick crew members could have had an emotional support puppy.

I'd have made Mezoti a regular character so Naomi would have a friend her own age. Besides which, I just liked Mezoti.