Of all the permanent changes we could've had, Harry Kim becoming an alien is the worst

Star Trek is one of those shows that knows not to mess with a good thing. Usually, quite often the franchise will set up it's premise for a series and adhere to it. The original show had a five-year mission, Deep Space Nine was set on a space station, Voyager was in the Delta Quadrant, and Quark was a mischievous rascal. These were constants that never changed.

Yet, sometimes the formula was put to the test. Star Trek: The Next Generation was set to have Jonathan Frakes and his character Will Riker take over as series lead following the conclusion of season three. With Patrick Stewart waffling about returning, and a perfect exit point featuring The Borg, stars alignd to shift focus.

That was not to be, however, as Stewart and his character Jean-Luc Picard both returned to the fold for season four. Yet, that wasn't the only time a major change was considered for a franchise. Apparently, there were talks of turning Harry Kim alien for good.

In the Voyager episode, "Favorite Son", Harry Kim had his DNA changed to that of a newly discovered alien race so that he could help the aliens maintain their society. Much like the Gerudo in the Zelda universe, this alien race is predominantly women. The only way they can maintain their race is by using the few men they do have and visiting aliens to help propagate the race.

The aliens known as Taresians, laid out a trap of sorts to bring in Kim and other alien males, with the express interest to "use" them until there was essentially nothing left. In order to get these men to commit to a short life span of DNA extraction, the Taresians would send out a virus that would mess with the DNA of the unsuspecting alien, convincing them that they were, in fact, members of the Taresians all along.

It's a solid concept, but one that was a bit lacking in the eyes of the fans. Still, the episode could change the entire show's dynamic forever. Episode writer Lisa Klink had the idea of leaving Kim an alien even after the events of the show had ended.

According to Kim, it was UPN execs who shot down the idea, saying in a 1998 Star Trek magazine interview (via Slashfilm);

""They were going to keep it that way. They were talking about keeping me in alien spots for the rest of the series. Some big-wigs looked at it and said, 'More sex, more action,' and suddenly, it became convoluted. The arc wasn't clear. They added in the vampire-like, blood-sucking women. But they didn't go all the way with it.""

Of all the permanent moves that were stolen from us, this feels like one we never needed. Having Harry Kim be an alien for the remaining four seasons felt pointless and needless. It felt like a move for the sake of a move. Thankfully they didn't go forward with it.