If I were to re-write Voyager

[Madner Kami]

1) Lacking water is a terribly stupid plot-point for a culture that has access to warp-drive, where water is literally at your door-step. No amount of infighting would explain a lack of ability of mining what is probably one of the most, if not the most abundant resource in the universe. It's on a level with a lack of Deuterium, in terms of unbelievable.
2) The Vidiians are interesting as an antagonistic force, no doubt. Until you remember that cloning is actually a thing. All the Vidiians need is the technology to clone (which Starfleet has access to, as proven as early as TNG) and some clean tissue-samples to work with. Well and hygiene, lots of hygiene to prevent a contamination of the clean samples.

[Admiral X]

Could be this is how the last hold-outs are keeping things together, but the idea is that the phage is widespread by the time they realize it's out of containment, and things fall apart rather quickly after that. Kind of along the lines of a zombie apocalypse except that you have no idea who the zombies are until they start showing symptoms. Which, maybe the early symptoms could be similar to a very common illness they have, you know, before things start rotting off. Kind of like Captain Tripps in "The Stand" was taken as just a normal flu until people started dying in droves. Which, speaking of, it could be that part of why it got out of hand was the government actively suppressing information about it even being a thing out of some misguided attempt to prevent a mass panic (which would happen anyway), or because it's actually a genetically engineered weapon that got out of control (as in "The Stand"). Which fits in with my idea of even having the "good guys" not be as pure as the wind-driven snow anyway. That could even help generate some drama as Voyager might refuse to help them once they find out the phage was a weapon and what was left of the Vidiian government lied to them to get them to help.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Neelix: Not. Comedy. Relief. I’m tempted to change his name, too, just to distance him from that. A Talaxian and native to the Delta Quadrant, he's more like an Indian guide than the putz he was on the show. He used to serve in the Talaxian military, but his homeworld was overrun by the Haakonian Order and what few Talaxians still exist are scattered throughout the Delta Quadrant. Since his world was conquered and most of his people killed, he has become a mercenary and turned his small ship into a cargo hauler since he prefers that kind of work to combat (think of Firefly). A few weeks before fate brings him to Voyager, his ship has been impounded and most of his crew is in jail. He actually has a warrant out for his arrest, but is hiding out at a station Voyager stops at to resupply. He offers his services to Janeway as a guide as well as his other skills and is taken up on his offer.

Would Ethan Philips's costume design be able to remain unchanged at least?

[Admiral X]

I don't know if I could take the Talaxians seriously as they were on the show, so I'd have to change how they looked, much as I would change the ship design. I know Sternbach-senpai would be upset to see me say that, but I never much cared for the design they went with.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

:-[

[Enterprising]

Wow, I'm also doing a Voyager re-write! I think this thread has really shown testament to how much lost potential the show really was, when you see so many folk wanting to go to all the trouble of changing it.

I’m not going to give away much as I’m hoping I’ll be ready to release in the summer, but what I will say is it won’t just be Voyager that’s pulled into the Delta Quadrant. It’ll be a small task force, with Voyager being the lead ship. The Equinox will be part of that, plus a Klingon and Cardassian ship, much love ensues when they catch up with the Maquis. There will be plenty of mini and long arcs, along with many actions having both long-term as well as short-term consequences.

There will also be MACOs!

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Sorry but Admiral X clearly has dibs on it.

[Enterprising]

Sorry but Admiral X clearly has dibs on it.

Not unless he started it 16 years ago.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Sorry but Admiral X clearly has dibs on it.

Not unless he started it 16 years ago.

You got the receipts to prove that?

[Admiral X]

I couldn't tell you when exactly I first did anything with re-writing Voyager, but I can't really lay claim to something I never owned to begin with. Paramount/CBS are the only ones who can do that. And besides that, while I know I started a long time ago, like not long after I started on Foundations, I can also say that what I have posted in this thread is fairly different from what I started with thanks to inspiration I've gotten from others, Chuck included.