Before I do Caretaker I'd like to cover the writer's guide and series bible.
Star Trek Voyager Bible
Cardassians within the Demilitarized Zone continue to harass Federation outposts, and while Starfleet responds to any significant aggression, some colonist have decided to take matters into their own hands.
This is a fundamental problem with the whole premise. Back in "Journey's End" the Cardassians promised to leave the ex-Federation citizens alone if they stayed peaceful. If they're still hassling the colonists this just shows that they can't be trusted. Furthermore, why is Starfleet responding at all, they specifically said that the colonists who choose to remain in the DMZ are renouncing their citizenship and will not be rescued.
One problem that is NEVER brought up is that regardless of the precise status of the DMZ residents, if the Cardassians are bullying them around this must count as militarization by definition. That's a treaty violation.
This group of resistance fighters calls itself the Maquis, and they are becoming more than a nuisance. The Federation considers them outlaws.
Seriously, why are the Maquis using an Earth term when they should be using a Bajoran term? It's not like the average viewer knew about the WWII Maquis so they could make the connection.
Their quest is to find a "shortcut" home...but the Voyage captain also insists that...they behave as a Starfleet crew. They will continue to go boldly, to explore, study, and investigate, so that when they do return, they will have amasses a vast wealth of knowledge about a heretofore unexplored region of space.
It occurs to me that this would be a much more reasonable conflict between the Starfleet and Maquis crews. Even if the Starfleet people want to explore, the Maquis would be continually breathing down their necks asking why they're not looking for wormholes and resources exclusively.
Because let's be real here, what's the point of gathering data about the Delta Quadrant if they're destroyed before any of it can get back to the Federation?
[The Maquis] are idealistic nonconformists who believe passionately that they are taking the only course of action they can to protect themselves and their loved ones from continued Cardassian aggression.
Except, you know, ask the Federation to be evacuated. Duh. As SF Debris said, these people have been here a few decades at most. That's not enough time to develop the deep emotional connection to the land that people on Earth today have.
Did the Maquis leadership say that any DMZ colonist who asks to be evacuated to the Federation will be locked up?
Some are Starfleet officers who have resigned their commissions or dropped out of the Academy. Some have been asked to leave Starfleet.
And most of them are Bajorans who just want to fight Cardassians. And yet this aspect never comes into play in Voyager except for the Crell Moset episode. Did the Voyager creators think that their viewers were exclusively from TNG and not DS9?
In addition to the two regular characters that are Maquis (Chakotay and B'Elanna), we assume that some twenty more have come on board...
Well, this one was retconned rather quickly. One big problem is that the
Val Jean is explicitly called a raider and yet everyone acts like the Maquis lived on it full time. Raiders are supposed to be small and quick, so why is this thing stuffed with personal belongings?
Janeway is by no means the only female captain in Starfleet. But it is generally acknowledged that she is among the best, male or female. She embodies all that is exemplary about Starfleet officers: intelligent, thoughtful, perspicacious, sensitive to the feelings of others, tough when she has to be, and not afraid to take chances.
Hi Jeri Taylor! As SF Debris said, a big problem with the writing is that Janeway had to always be right or else people would take her less seriously for being a woman. This is completely antithetical to the Trek philosophy. Each of these adjectives will be proven to be incorrect in one episode or another.
Chakotay himself develops a strong bond with Janeway. He has known of her, heard of her diplomatic and tactical exploits, and realizes that they were to be dumped at the ends of the galaxy with an Captain, they're lucky it was this one.
None of this was carried on to the actual show.
There was an accident during a war games demonstration, a pilot was killed, and Tom Paris, fearing his reputation might suffer and derail his career, lied and placed the blame on the dead man. The fault was actually his, and had he simply owned up to that, he would have been disciplined. But he was young, and was terrified of bringing disgrace onto his illustrious family.
I wish that they had explained this version more to distance him from Locarno. It would've made the "Locarno is a bad guy pretending to be a good guy, and Paris is a good guy pretending to be a bad guy" thing more explicit.
[The Maquis] offered him the one thing he wanted most-to pilot a sleek starship in situations which require extraordinary prowess.
This weakens Paris-the idea that he could be happy just being a pilot without respect or glory.
He of all the crew is not dismayed by the cruel fate which has befallen them: what does it matter that they're at the ends of the galaxy? He's flying a ship and having adventures, that's just what he wants to be doing and it doesn't matter particularly to him where it happens.
This should've been established earlier instead of that womanizing nonsense with Kes and the Kazon plot. If anything the "Tom joins the Kazon" thing should've been a first season plot.
He has an affection for B'Elanna, seeing in her a soul at war and reminding him of himself.
This is odd, as I thought the Tom/Kes/Neelix triangle would've been established earlier.
In the 22nd century, a group of Indian traditionalists became dissatisfied with the "homogenization" of humans that was occurring on Earth. Strongly motivated to preserve their cultural identity, they relocated to a remote planet near what has now become known as the Demilitarized Zone.
We covered this in "Journey's End", but a big problem is the idea that this colony has existed since the 22nd century. In the 22nd century known space didn't extend anywhere near Cardassian/Bajoran territory. Even the Irish transcendentalists were still in Federation space, just a previously unexplored portion of it. No no, any American Indian colonies near the DMZ are a few decades old at most. I still don't see why these guys can't just be moved to a planet firmly within Federation space.
But he was "contrary" at the Academy, also, and found he had difficulty adhering to the rigid codes and rules.
This was also ignored in the actual show.
[Chakotay has a wolf as a spirit guide who appears in his dreams to give guidance]
This is never seen, but would've made for an interesting recurring theme.
[Tuvok's] grandfatherly presence is comforting to many, particularly the young and headstrong B'Elanna...
That one didn't make it to the series, did it?
He goes about his duties with diligence...but more than anyone else, Harry is suffering.
This should've been a bigger subplot: Harry putting on the brave front of an ideal Starfleet officer while on duty, but when off duty speaks of his fears and loneliness to Tom and B'Elanna. He doesn't want to disappoint Janeway or his parents. But no, Starfleet officers are perfect and never complain about this stuff, even to mourn. Stupid Voyager writers. It occurs to me that it would've been nice to have Chakotay as his confidant, he would know how to sympathize and keep the nonessential stuff a secret from Janeway.
As a member of the Maquis, B'Elanna had finally found an outlet for many of her frustrations, a tangible enemy against whom she could fight...Now, on Voyager, that foe has been taken away, and her own inner frustrations are thrown into marked relief. Without an enemy, B'Elanna is forced to deal with angry parts of herself that no longer have an appropriate outlet.
Another aspect that should've been explored better in the show.
She turns many heads, but the person she has designs on is Tom Paris.
If the Torres/Paris thing was part of the writer's bible, where did the love triangle with Kes come from?
Doc Zimmerman
I'm not sure how well it would've worked giving Doc a real name. At least at first. The EMH has no need of a name beyond "EMH". He wouldn't see the purpose of having one.
Because of the huge power drain that replicators place on the ship's systems, the crew must, for the first time in years, eat real food.
Another plot point that was never fully developed. As SF Debris said, they should be growing and canning food all the time.