History WhatCouldHaveBeen / StarTrekVoyager

** Janeway was the first regular ''Trek'' role to actually be recast before the series aired. Initially Oscar-nominated actress Geneviève Bujold was cast as Captain Nicole Janeway. After she departed, the character's name became Elizabeth Janeway and only became Kathryn when Kate Mulgrew was finally cast and the name seemed to suit her better.

* Tom Paris was originally meant to be one-off TNG character Nicholas Locarno, an expelled Starfleet cadet [[YouLookFamiliar also played by]] Robert Duncan [=McNeill=] in the TNG episode [[{{Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E19TheFirstDuty}} "The First Duty".]] Under [=WGA=] rules, the writers of the episode, Ronald D. Moore and Naren Shankar, would get royalties for every episode Locarno appeared in. Reasons for changing it included the royalties and the more plausible idea that, unlike Tom, Nicholas was "irredeemable". And so the writers instead created Tom Paris, with a very similar backstory but with a few differences: an Admiral for a father, kicked out of Starfleet for lying about an accident (rather than directly causing it), and briefly joining the Maquis before being captured and imprisoned. For his part, [=McNeill=] believes they are vastly different characters, viewing Paris as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold and Locarno as [[BitchInSheepsClothing the opposite]].[[labelnote:*]]Case in point, Paris confessed the truth even though he was in the clear, simply because his conscience finally overwhelmed his desire to remain out of trouble, while Locarno only confessed after Wesley had already revealed the truth.[[/labelnote]] It's impossible to say how Locarno's character might have evolved if the original blueprint had gone forward. ''Side note'': Incidentally, Tom Paris follows the same naming convention as Nicholas Locarno. Both have a common first name and a European city for a last name.

* Before the Locarno/Paris switcharoo (see below), the producers wanted the convict character to be Ro Laren, which would have made sense since she defected to the Maquis (Chakotay's oufit) in ''Series/StarTrekTgeNextGeneration''. The plot of TNG's [[{{Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E23PreemptiveStrike}} "Preemptive Strike"]] was meant to allow a way for her to join the crew of ''Voyager''. However, just as with [=DS9=], Creator/MichelleForbes didn't want to commit to a series. The writers started thinking about what other "fallen" characters could be used, and came up with Locarno, who eventually became Paris.

* Tom Paris was originally meant to be one-off TNG character Nicholas Locarno, an expelled Starfleet cadet [[YouLookFamiliar also played by]] Robert Duncan [=McNeill=] in the TNG episode [[{{Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E19TheFirstDuty}} "The First Duty".]] Under [=WGA=] rules, the writers of the episode, Ronald D. Moore and Naren Shankar, would get royalties for every episode Locarno appeared in. Reasons for changing it included the royalties and the more plausible idea that, unlike Tom, Nicholas was "irredeemable". And so the writers instead created Tom Paris, with a very similar backstory but with a few differences: an Admiral for a father, kicked out of Starfleet for lying about an accident, and joined the Maquis before being captured and imprisoned. For his part, [=McNeill=] believes they are vastly different characters, viewing Paris as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold and Locarno as [[BitchInSheepsClothing the opposite]][[labelnote:*]]case in point, Paris confessed the truth even though he was in the clear, simply because his conscience finally overwhelmed his desire to remain out of trouble, while Locarno only confessed after Wesley had already revealed the truth[[/labelnote]]. However, it's impossible to say how Locarno's character might have evolved if the original plan had gone forward.
** Incidentally, Tom Paris follows the same naming convention as Nicholas Locarno. Both have a common first name and a European city for a last name.

* "Non Sequitur" was originally supposed to feature Counselor Troi as the one grilling Harry Kim in the alternate timeline instead of an Admiral. The creators were unable to get Creator/MarinaSirtis on short notice. She did appear alongside Reg Barclay in two later episodes.

* Tom Paris was originally meant to be one-off TNG character Nicholas Locarno, an expelled Starfleet cadet [[YouLookFamiliar also played by]] Robert Duncan [=McNeill=] in the TNG episode "The First Duty". Under [=WGA=] rules, the writers of the episode, Ronald D. Moore and Naren Shankar, would get royalties for every episode Locarno appeared in. Reasons for changing it included the royalties and the more plausible idea that, unlike Tom, Nicholas was "irredeemable". And so the writers instead created Tom Paris, with a very similar backstory but with a few differences: an Admiral for a father, kicked out of Starfleet for lying about an accident, and joined the Maquis before being captured and imprisoned. For his part, [=McNeill=] believes they are vastly different characters, viewing Paris as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold and Locarno as [[BitchInSheepsClothing the opposite]][[labelnote:*]]case in point, Paris confessed the truth even though he was in the clear, simply because his conscience finally overwhelmed his desire to remain out of trouble, while Locarno only confessed after Wesley had already revealed the truth[[/labelnote]]. However, it's impossible to say how Locarno's character might have evolved if the original plan had gone forward.

** In addition to the initially-cast Genevieve Bujold (see immediately below), many other well-known actresses were considered for the role of Captain Janeway, including Creator/NicolaBryant, Creator/LyndaCarter, Creator/PattyDuke and Creator/LindaHamilton. Note that, unlike Bujold, all of these actresses were TV veterans and would have been accustomed to the aggressive shooting schedule on ''Voyager'' from the get-go.
** Janeway was the first regular ''Trek'' role to actually be recast before the series aired. Initially Oscar-nominated actress Genevieve Bujold was cast as Captain ''Nicole'' Janeway. After she departed, the character's name became Elizabeth Janeway and only became Kathryn when Kate Mulgrew was finally cast and the name seemed to suit her better.
* For that matter, even before the Locarno/Paris idea (see below), the producers wanted this character to be Ro Laren, which would have made sense as she was now Maquis. The plot of TNG's "Preemptive Strike" was meant to allow a way for her to join the crew of ''Voyager''. However, just as with [=DS9=], Creator/MichelleForbes didn't want to commit to a series. The writers started thinking about what other "fallen" characters could be used, and came up with Locarno, who eventually became Paris.

* "Non Sequitur" was originally supposed to feature [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Counselor Troi]] as the one grilling Harry Kim in the alternate timeline instead of yet another random Admiral. The creators were unable to get Creator/MarinaSirtis on short notice. (She did appear with Reg Barclay a few seasons later.)

** Indeed, a version of the first part of the Year of Hell was originally going to be the third season finale, but it was changed to "Scorpion" to capitalize on the recent release of Film/StarTrekFirstContact and the use of the Borg.

* Tom Paris was originally meant to be one-off TNG character Nicholas Locarno, an expelled Starfleet cadet [[YouLookFamiliar also played by]] Robert Duncan [=McNeill=] in the TNG episode "The First Duty". Under [=WGA=] rules, the writers of the episode, Ronald D. Moore and Naren Shankar, would get royalties for every episode Locarno appeared in. Reasons for changing it included the royalties and the more plausible idea that, unlike Tom, Nicholas was "irredeemable". And so the writers instead created Tom Paris, with a very similar backstory but with a few differences: an Admiral for a father, kicked out of Starfleet for lying about an accident, and joined the Maquis before being captured and imprisoned. [=McNeill=] believes they are vastly different characters, as Paris, for all his BadBoy tendencies, was good at heart, which he doesn't believe is true of Locarno[[labelnote:*]]case in point, Paris eventually came forward about his lie even though he could have gotten away with it, while Locarno only confessed after Wesley had already revealed the truth[[/labelnote]]. However, it's impossible to say how Locarno's character might have evolved if the original plan had gone forward.

** In addition to the initially-cast Genevieve Bujold (see immediately below), many other well-known actresses were considered for the role of Captain Janeway, including Creator/LyndaCarter, Creator/PattyDuke and Creator/LindaHamilton. Note that, unlike Bujold, all of these actresses were TV veterans and would have been accustomed to the aggressive shooting schedule on ''Voyager'' from the get-go.

* When the character of Janeway was being developed, the producers weren't sure if they were really going ahead with the first female ''Trek'' lead, and spoke to British actor Nigel Havers about the role, as well as ''Film/AlienNation'' actor Gary Graham (who also claims to have read for the role of Sisko). Graham would later guest star as Kes' [[EvilCounterpart evil foil]] (in "Cold Fire"), and on ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]'' as Soval, a skeptic-turned-ally of the Federation.

* "Non Sequitur" was originally supposed to feature [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Counselor Troi]] as the one grilling Harry Kim in the alternate timeline instead of yet another random Admiral. The creators were unable to get Marina Sirtis on short notice. (She did appear with Reg Barclay a few seasons later.)

* Tom Paris was originally meant to be one-off TNG character Nicholas Locarno, an expelled Starfleet cadet [[YouLookFamiliar also played by]] Robert Duncan [=McNeill=] in the TNG episode "The First Duty". Under [=WGA=] rules, the writers of the episode, Ronald D. Moore and Naren Shankar, would get royalties for every episode Locarno appeared in. Reasons for changing it included the royalties and the more plausible idea that, unlike Tom, Nicholas was "irredeemable". And so the writers instead created Tom Paris, with a very similar backstory but with a few differences: an Admiral for a father, expelled for bad behavior and joined the Maquis before being captured and imprisoned. [=McNeill=] believes they are vastly different characters, as Paris, for all his BadBoy tendencies, was good at heart.

** At the end of season three, either Harry Kim or Kes was slated to be killed off to make room for new character Seven Of Nine. Neither were killed off in the season finale, but the more likely candidate, Harry Kim, was seriously injured so that he could die in the fourth season premiere. Between seasons, Garret Wang ended up listed on ''Entertainment Weekly'''s list of 100 Hottest Celebrities, and the Executives mandated that he had to stay -- so they wrote out Kes instead. This is especially ironic given Rick Berman's mandate that the alien characters be more interesting than the human ones.

* Tom Paris was originally meant to be one-off TNG character Nicholas Locarno, an expelled Starfleet cadet [[YouLookFamiliar also played by]] Robert Duncan [=McNeill=] in the TNG episode "The First Duty". Under [=WGA=] rules, the writer of the episode would get royalties for every episode Locarno appeared in. Reasons for changing it included the royalties and the more plausible idea that, unlike Tom, Nicholas was "irredeemable". And so the writers instead created Tom Paris, with a very similar backstory but with a few differences: an Admiral for a father, expelled for bad behavior and joined the Maquis before being captured and imprisoned. [=McNeill=] believes they are vastly different characters, as Paris, for all his BadBoy tendencies, was good at heart.

* Tuvok was initially developed as an older Vulcan, with an actor in his 50's or even early 60's playing him. None of the actors in that age range satisfied producers, and so instead, Tim Russ became ''Trek'''s first black Vulcan. They kept the idea of Tuvok being well over 100, however.
* Creator/RobertPicardo desperately wanted to be cast on ''Voyager'', but as ''Neelix'', whom Picardo was convinced would become the show's breakout character. Thankfully he was persuaded to take the "boring" role of the Doctor, turning that role into the breakout character, instead.
* Other actresses who auditioned for Seven were Hudson Leick (''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'') and Claudia Christian (''Series/BabylonFive'').

* Janeway was initially going to be a lesbian before the producers chickened out. Kate Mulgrew herself was very supportive of the idea, and this is still a major stick in the craw of many fans, given that the franchise had yet to feature an explicitly homosexual character[[note]]Jadzia Dax appears to be bi, though the fluidity of joined Trill gender identity makes this a weird case.[[/note]] until ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' in the late 2010s.

** Many well-known actresses were considered for the role of Captain Janeway, including Creator/LyndaCarter, Creator/PattyDuke and Creator/LindaHamilton.

* Jeri Ryan has said that she read two different scenes when she auditioned for Seven of Nine. One was the rather notorious DoYouWantToCopulate scene, which ended up being filmed (and she admits to hating it to this very day.) The other was apparently a really beautiful, touching scene where Seven first experiences laughter, and she seems to honestly regret that scene never made it to film.

* When the character of Janeway was being developed, the producers weren't sure if they were really going ahead with the first female ''Trek'' lead, and spoke to British actor Nigel Havers about the role, as well as ''Film/AlienNation'' actor Gary Graham (who also claims to have read for the role of Sisko). Graham would later guest star as Kes' [[EvilCounterpart evil foil]] (in "Cold Fire"), and on ''Enterprise'' as Soval, a skeptic-turned-ally of the Federation.

* When the character of Janeway was being developed, the producers weren't sure if they were really going ahead with the first female ''Trek'' lead, and spoke to British actor Nigel Havers about the role, as well as ''Film/AlienNation'' actor Gary Graham (who also claims to have read for the role of Sisko).

** It was, indeed, foreshadowed in the season three episode "Before and After", where Kes' time-jumps were caused by a Krenim temporal weapon in ''Voyager'''s future. Kes would leave shortly into the fourth season, however, which prevented her from participating in "Year of Hell", thus nullifying the events of "Before and After". In said episode, it showed a future in which where Janeway and Torres were killed off, leaving Chakotay in command of the ship. It also had Neelix as a security officer, and probably would have had some interesting plots later on.

* Braga did say that if ''Voyager'' was up to him, the show would have frequently been like the fan favorite episode "Year of Hell": enemies on all sides, dwindling resources, and crewman pushed to the ends of their rope. Additionally, the Year of Hell was not originally just a two-parter but instead the plan for the entire fourth season--until the executives put a stop to that, reducing a grim and gritty season to a ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' cop-out.

* The Caretaker and his mate, Susperia, were intentionally written with the ability to return Janeway's crew to Earth instantly if ratings plunged.

* Brannon Braga toyed with the idea of having Creator/SarahSilverman join the show full-time on the strength of her guest role in "Future's End" and perhaps have her character enter into a romantic arc with Tom Paris.

* Other actresses who auditioned for Seven were [[Series/XenaWarriorPrincess Hudson Leick]] and [[Series/BabylonFive Claudia Christian.]]

* In the episode "Favorite Son", it was considered making the reveal of Harry Kim as a Delta Quadrant alien a real, permanent change to the character. While the in-universe explanation probably would have been a VoodooShark, nevertheless, there would have been a fine poetic irony in Harry -- the character most eager to get home to the Alpha Quadrant -- actually turning out to be biologically native to the 'Delta Quadrant.

* After he left ''Voyager''[='s=] writing room, Ron Moore went on to create his own version of a show about a bunch of people stranded in hostile space, without access any sort of friendly infrastructure, trying to survive and make their way home. It was called ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' and it received significantly better press coverage and critical reception. One wonders what ''VOY'' would have looked like had he stayed.

* Brannon Braga toyed with the idea of having Creator/SarahSilverman join the show full-time on the strength her guest role in "Future's End" and perhaps have her character enter into a romantic arc with Tom Paris.

** It was, indeed, foreshadowed in the season three episode "Before and After", where Kes' time-jumps were caused by a Krenim temporal weapon in ''Voyager'''s future. Kes would leave shortly into the fourth season, however, which prevented her from participating in "Year of Hell", which nullified the events of "Before and After". In said episode, it showed a future in which where Janeway and Torres were killed off, leaving Chakotay in command of the ship. It also had Neelix as a security officer, and probably would have had some interesting plots later on.

* When the character of Janeway was being developed, the producers weren't sure if they were really going ahead with the first female ''Trek'' lead, and spoke to British actor Nigel Havers about the role, as well, as ''Film/AlienNation'' actor Gary Graham (who also claims to have read for the role of Sisko).