If I were to re-write Voyager

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Ah, were you baiting me? If so, then I'm sorry to disappoint you, you shan't get a reaction out of me.

I don't know, I don't really set out to bait really.

I'm personally just glad you see it as not serious.

[Admiral X]

Maybe some other time. I really should be working on a panel for an upcoming con.

Just give on longish answer and i won't push you on this...

Or anyone that responds unless they use ad hominem.

You are still allowed to do that in 2019 with your unwoke politics...?

At the cons I go to, yes.

[technobabbler]

There needs to be a good antagonist in the Delta Quadrant (that isn't the Borg). To quote Neelix, one Intrepid-class ship being the matching anything in the sector?/quadrant? (i forget the line) is just plain lazy world building.

Possible antagonists: A Federation-type alliance collapsed because of ______ and different factions battle for resources (all of them various shades of gray like in "The Void") and Voyager survive by its wits.

Or an authoritarian version of the Federation (aka Starship Troopers) exists in that area the Delta Quadrant. Voyager finds itself allied with the underground movement, mercenaries, and smugglers.

Something like that.

[Actarus]

I agree that Voyager could benefit from some rewriting. This show has many missed opportunities. The first is the Starfleet/Maquis forced cooperation, which is solved in a few episodes, while it should have been a recurring problem throughout the series or almost. I also liked the idea of an alien with a lifespan of only seven years. Kes character has been wasted, in my opinion. However, I believe that Voyager only deserves a few tweeks to work.

The ship

Voyager would have been strctly a science vessels. She would have had top-notch science equipment and long range sensors, but would be lacking in weaponry and shields. Her mission would have been to map and study the Briar Patch. There, Starfleet would have sent a message about a Maquis ship that needed to be intercepted. Since Voyager is the closest ship, they are asking Janeway to act.

The characters: those I would change

Captain Nicole Janeway I actually liked the kind of character that Geneviève Bujold played. She may not have been the best cast for her, but I like that she played a captain specialized in science who is overwhelmed by the situation. You often forget that Katherine Janeway was a science officer. Nicole Janeway would have been a scientist in command of a science ship. She would not have been very good on tactics, but she would have been a strong leader and an excellent diplomat.

Chakotay Boy he needs some work... Mr Beige... Anyway, since he's the leader of the Maquis ship, I imagine him with excellent leadership skills and some sort of tactical genius. He would end up as second on command on Voyager, but his tactical skills would complement Janeway's flaws in that sector. He would also be leading most of the away teams. The whole Maquis crew would be the brunt force on Voyager. Not a very good diplomat though, and not too strict on the Prime Directive either. He would have been one of the colonist on the Native American colony we saw in TNG, and not a renegade Starfleet officer.

Kes: No ESPs for her. She would have remained on the ship and died there.

Neelix: Neelix was anoying and he was also too nice. He should have been some kind of street urchin. He would have been shady and a little anoying but charming. Some kind of Thalaxian Hondo Ohnaka, maybe. He would often use his ship to get supplies and equipement for Voyager.

Ceska: I like the idea of a Cardassian spy. She would have been genuinely in love with Chakotay and would have been pregnant when she lost her cover. She wouldn't leave Voyager for the Kazons (what a stupid move anyway). She would have had some valuable skills (like splicing or weapon designs, I don't know) for Voyager and since she wants to get back in the Alpha Quadrant, she would be cooperative. But, she remains a Cardassian, so sometines she would manipulate things in her way, like some kind of Doctor Smith...

Starfleet vs Maquis

My idea is that, like in the show, both would need each other to survive. However, each would bring something the other doesn't have. Starfleet would be very disciplined, efficient, with excellent scientists and engineers. The Maquis would be unruly, undisciplined but ressourceful, creative and excellent fighters, being used to fight stronger opponents. Which would help the underarmed Voyager. Each group would keep its identity, so no SF uniforms for the Maquis. Of course, the two groups will differ greatly in their methods. Sometimes, SF would prevail, other times, the Maquis would have their way. Each part of the crew would rub on each other, so in the end the crew would be much more united.

Opponents

Each season would have had its own story arc, with its own villains, a begining, a development and a satisfying end. That way, we would have the impression that the ship is actually moving through different territories. The first season would have been about the Kazons. I liked the idea that the Kazons were formed of different tribes. Too bad they were so alike. I would have made them more more different, and one would have similar values to the Federation and have become an ally for Voyager. Second season could have been about the Vidians, and Voyager could have helped them to find a cure to the Phage. Then ther Hirogen, etc. And of course the Borg towards the end.

[Admiral X]

There needs to be a good antagonist in the Delta Quadrant (that isn't the Borg). To quote Neelix, one Intrepid-class ship being the matching anything in the sector?/quadrant? (i forget the line) is just plain lazy world building.

Possible antagonists: A Federation-type alliance collapsed because of ______ and different factions battle for resources (all of them various shades of gray like in "The Void") and Voyager survive by its wits.

Or an authoritarian version of the Federation (aka Starship Troopers) exists in that area the Delta Quadrant. Voyager finds itself allied with the underground movement, mercenaries, and smugglers.

Something like that.

I'm not sure who I'd have then run into first, but the Vidiians would feature much more prominently in my version. There'd also be multiple factions involved, with both the "kill everyone and steal their organs" faction and a more civilized hold-out that is very much against that and realizes Voyager is probably their last hope. There'd also be some independent groups who are somewhere between the two on the spectrum and are just trying to get by. Basically, Vidiian civilization has fallen completely apart, and the only thing keeping them going as a species is the organ modification tech they already had which lets them re-purpose organs and other tissues for their own bodies. The "good" faction is basically what's left of their government, with scientists still struggling to find a cure or at least a way to keep the phage from spreading. The "bad" faction and various shades of "slightly less bad" factions are making that more difficult, though, as they keep attacking the hold-outs for resources and uninfected organs and tissues.

If I had them run into the Kazon it'd be a new version of them that was less stupid. Much like with the Vidiians, I'd actually bother developing their background and culture to flesh them out and give them more believable motivations aside from just being bad guys and easy to beat because they're stupid. I'd probably keep them less technologically advanced than the Alpha Quadrant ships, but I'd make them a legit power, and they'd make up for their technological disadvantages with tactics and intelligence on the part of whatever military commander is charged with taking on Voyager. Maybe that's how the Maquis ship will end up being lost.

Also since they are a big part of my Neelix's background, the Haakonian Order would probably play a big part in the show at some point. Maybe it's them effectively protecting the rest of the quadrant from the Viidians, or at least the part Voyager and the others end up in? They'd probably be as close as I'd go to having straight-up space Nazis, especially since I have them basically committing genocide against the Talaxians. I'd still have there be some nuance there, though, with the irony being that the Talaxians had been so antagonistic toward the Haakonians in the past that when the pendulum swung the other way, it swung hard.

I'd still have the Borg, but much later in the series, and there would be no direct conflict, as Voyager would get curb stomped. It'd be more along the lines of sneaking around and hiding out, hoping they don't get noticed.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Not saying they were that great or anything, but what do you people think's wrong with the Kazon?

Come to think of it, I thought the Vidiians turned out to be pretty threatening and ominous, though they seemed kinda limp their first episode.

[Admiral X]

Not saying they were that great or anything, but what do you people think's wrong with the Kazon?

They were stupid and self-defeating, and lacked any real believable background. After a while, they tried tacking on a somewhat Klingon-like "culture" to them and just failed miserably at it. They were like lame guido wanna-be Klingons, who were "bad" simply because there needed to be "bad guys."

Come to think of it, I thought the Vidiians turned out to be pretty threatening and ominous, though they seemed kinda limp their first episode.

The Vidiians were probably the best antagonists they came up with, and then they failed to do anything with them at all outside of a few episodes.

[technobabbler]

The Vidiians were probably the best antagonists they came up with, and then they failed to do anything with them at all outside of a few episodes.

yes. We have a genuinely alien race and nothing gets done with it. And the Phage is cured off-screen as a throwaway line. WTF.

one easy episode---near the middle/end of the Viidian arc....

Kes leaves the EMH on too long. EMH gets bored and works on the Phage. Finds a vaccine so that newborns don't get the Phage. EMH proudly announces his discovery to the staff at the magic meeting room.

Chakotay advocates using the vaccine as blackmail. Janeway is sympathetic and reserves judgement.

EMH - Chakotay - Janeway argue it out with some Piccard speeches about doing what's right versus survival.

In the end....insert your choice: EMH goes rogue and transmits the vaccine, Janeway reprograms the EMH, etc.

[Nealithi]

Not saying they were that great or anything, but what do you people think's wrong with the Kazon?

Come to think of it, I thought the Vidiians turned out to be pretty threatening and ominous, though they seemed kinda limp their first episode.

I don't recall where I got this. But the version I understand about the idea of the Kazon was they were to be like a street gang or gangs. The writer for them was instructed to seek a few out and get some feel for them. Instead he bought a thin book on gangs and sort of used it.
So the Kazon were wrong because they really had no motivation, no depth, and the look for them looked like TOS aliens done as cheap cosplay. So they came off as more a joke than anything else. If you had writing on them about one tribe was against this other tribe. And how the area of space they are in is limited in M class worlds and they really need water but can't mine it because any attempts would be attacked by other factions. None of them are sweathearts. So the crew has to pick who they ally with and for how long. As each time the pluck a string of the web, another enemy drops down.

[Admiral X]

Man, I really wished I could write on this now.