How Would You Fix Neelix?

[Winter]

So given how awful a character Neelix is what could be done to make him, at the very least, tolerable and at best, likeable? Personally I would have made him a much more minor character, given him a better design, and make him more like Griffin the Chef from Doctor Who's Enemy of the world.

Sure we have the Doctor who is himself is a wonderful ball of Snark but having a minor character who cooks in the mess hall who is the ultimate pessimist show up here and there would be a great addition to the Ensemble. Then, if he's proven popular enough, Then give him more to do in the story. Have him be like Garak from DS9, where you learn very little about him but imply that he is some sort of former solider or spy, but unlike Garak who is very polite and does what he can to be friendly My version of Neelix is a cantankerous old bastard who only puts up with anyone because he has to.

Also I just want to see this version of Griffin's famous line in Trek.

First course interrupted by warp core explosion. Second course affected by demolition shifts. Third course ruined by interference in the kitchen. I'm going to the holodeck, It'll Probably Malfunction!

[Darth Wedgius]

That could work.

Or make him a decent person but a lot rougher around the edges than the crew -- much more willing to get his hands dirty. A lovable rogue. He'll arrange trades that we later learn weren't exactly legal in the area they traded. Like Quark, but not motivated by profit so much as gettin' 'er done. If someone suggests finding a way to infiltrate an installation without shooting anyone, he'll suggest explosions could work fine, innocently missing the point.

He's in a rougher part of the galaxy than the U.F.P., and is used to scraping along by hits wits. He shouldn't be as stupid as the writers made him.

[Yukaphile]

They seemed like Voyager-specific problems, so fix the rest of the show, and Neelix will follow. They really didn't know what to do with ANYONE'S character, even those that worked. Shudder in terror if the Voyager creative team got their hands on Odo or Quark...

[Winter]

They seemed like Voyager-specific problems, so fix the rest of the show, and Neelix will follow. They really didn't know what to do with ANYONE'S character, even those that worked. Shudder in terror if the Voyager creative team got their hands on Odo or Quark...

[Admiral X]

I'd honestly go more straightforward and honest on the idea of him being the vet of a lost war against his people and make him a lot more like Malcolm Reynolds.

[Cassandra]

With a pair of pneumatic shears. There's no need to be too inhumane about it.

Oh, you didn't mean that kind of fix.

Nevermind.

[Yukaphile]

Make him like Quark meets Data, only do it right.

[Deledrius]

Most of what's wrong with the character could be solved simply by better writing all around. Consistent characterization goes a long way, and not having him do and say stupid things just to move the plot along (or cause problems for others to solve) makes a big difference. I don't think he needs any one big solution, just a lot of smaller fixes along the way (the same as the rest of the show, really).

[Darth Wedgius]

I completely agree that better writing in general would have helped Voyager, but I think a more solid idea of the characters would have made it easier to write. We want to see the anomaly of the week (or at least I do), but I want to see how it has an effect on the characters and how their individual personalities and view of the universe guides them in dealing with it.

Torres might have been frustrated by an inability to resolve an effect the field of woopie particles was having on the ship's turboencapsulators, and started taking it out on her staff until Chakotay corrected that. A possible enemy of the week (where we don't know for sure) could have led us to explore Tuvok, a member of a largely pacifist species, being the tactical officer and chief of security.

[Yukaphile]

I think something like the approach JMS took on B5 could have helped here. Once Neelix has moved past the area he's familiar with, bring in a new expert on local space, like how they kept changing command staff officers.