Trivia / Star Trek Voyager S 1 E 1 "Caretaker"

• Deleted Scene: Harry and Tom visiting engineering very soon after they first come aboard Voyager.
• Executive Meddling: The producers weren't happy with Janeway's shoulder-length hairstyle, so it was restyled into the famous Bun of Steel. Unfortunately that meant reshooting a lot of the pilot as well. Ironically Janeway would go back to a similar style towards the end of the series.
• The Other Marty: Geneviève Bujold was originally cast as Captain Nicole Janeway, as the studio wanted a notable name in the lead role. But Rick Berman said he was always reluctant because she did not know television production^note Movies shoot about 1.5 pages of script a day, tv shows do 5-6. After less than two days of shooting she walked off set and didn't return, most people said she was too timid in the role and not comfortable with the technobabble (footage from those two days have been released). Once Kate Mulgrew came in she took command exactly the way the captain needed to, though had network executives watching her every move for months.
• Recycled Set:
  • The cockpit of the Val Jean is actually a redressed runabout cockpit from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, with screen overlays taken from the Enterprise-B from Star Trek: Generations.
  • The bridge of Evek's vessel during his cameo is actually one of the Deep Space Nine sets. Judging from the details (the background wall, the chair, the monitor), it specifically appears to be Sisko's office.
• Troubled Production: Oh boy, this episode probably is the poster child for this (at least in Star Trek terms).
  • The original Janeway was Geneviève Bujold who dropped out after two days of filming, which resulted in a scramble to recast. Production shut down for a week while they reviewed previous candidates which included Kate Mulgrew, she was offered the role on Friday and started Monday. It was only two days of filming to refilm, but all network execs were on set ready to veto Mulgrew if she didn't perform.
  • Mulgrew's red hair caused issues with the cinematography, dailies were coming back with distracting light refraction and they had to put it in a tight bun to prevent that from happening again, forcing another round of reshoots. Location filming was especially rough, as last minute returns like this tend to triple the original costs.
  • By the time all was said and done the episode's budget had ballooned to $20 million^note Sources differ on exactly how much "Caretaker" cost in the end, though all are agreed it cost more than The Wrath of Khan at $11 million; the pilot of Lost, shot ten years later, has often been said to be the most expensive pilot in history, though it has been said to have cost as little as $10 to $14 million; in order for both claims to be true, "Caretaker" must have cost "only" between $12 and $13 million. This may or may not take into account the initial set construction and costume creation, of which the cost value was diffused over the lifespan of the show; no other episode ever cost as much (that's double what it cost to film The Wrath of Khan and more than half way to The Motion Picture's notorious budget). It's also (a decade later) roughly what one season of Enterprise cost to produce. While the episode looks spectacular on screen, it was a long slog getting there to say the least.
• You Look Familiar:
  • Jeff McCarthy, who played Roga Danar from TNG's "The Hunted", is the first CMO on Voyager.
  • Scott Jaeck, who played a Kataan administrator in TNG's "The Inner Light", is the original First Officer on Voyager.
  • Scott MacDonald, who played Tosk in DS9's "Captive Pursuit" and Sub-commander N'Vek in TNG's "Face Of The Enemy", appears as Ensign Rollins.
  • Bruce French, who plays the lead Ocampa Doctor, also appeared as Sabin Genestra in TNG's "The Drumhead"

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