This is the only episode in the history of Star Trek for which the hairstyling cost more than visual effects because most of the Janeway scenes had to be re-shot after the studio requested that Janeway have a different hairstyle.
With their appearances in this pilot, Armin Shimerman (Quark), Richard Poe (Gul Evek) and Mark Allen Shepherd (Morn) have all played the same character in three different live-action "Star Trek" series: Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Star Trek: Voyager. The only other actors to do so are Jonathan Frakes (Commander William T. Riker), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Deanna Troi), John de Lancie (Q) and Michael Ansara (Kang).
The first scene to be shot was the "tomato soup" scene with Paris and Kim.
Commander Benjamin Sisko previously mentioned that several ships had been lost in the Badlands in The Maquis, Part I (1994).
The role of Janeway was the most sought after role, with Linda Hamilton, Nicola Bryant, Erin Gray, Lindsay Wagner, Patty Duke, Carolyn McCormick and Joanna Cassidy all vying for the role. Susan Gibney (Dr. Leah Brahms on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Captain Benteen on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) was originally asked to play Captain Janeway by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, but the studio rejected her, stating that she looked too young to be a captain. Scenes of her wearing a type of a command uniform (the type used on the previous shows) on the Voyager bridge were taped.