10 Star Trek: Voyager Episodes That Were Almost Completely Different
These are the episodes that started life as one thing, only to be transformed in the writers' room.
Scripting an episode is sometimes a tricky process. For example, one can sit alone at the laptop, writing what they think is the next Best Of Both Worlds, only to hand it in and discover that everyone else thinks it's Spock's Brain. That, then, opens the floor to collaboration.
Almost every entry on this list began as one or two writers putting together a pitch or an idea, offering it up to the gods of Star Trek: Voyager, and watching their ideas mold into something else. The fact that they all changed shape doesn't truly indicate that one was better than the other - simply that when you put another set of eyes on it, the form may change.
There are examples out there in the Star Trek archives of great episodes and ideas that are lost to the sands of time - sometimes, the edits and the changes go one way, and we as mere mortals may only dream of their return later on. But we must never give up - there are those in this list that were pitched around the time of Caretaker, only to return like a phoenix later on.
Much like Kes's sudden return through the shield grid in Fury, let's dive into this pile and see what wonders await.
10. Tuvix
Tuvix, endlessly doing the rounds in debating circles, originally came to life in a plot that would ensure no one, least of all Neelix or Tuvok fans, would ever really remember the episode. In truth, it was originally going to be a slapstick comedy, one that even the writers weren't proud of.
Kenneth Biller, Brannon Braga, and Michael Piller, all worked on the script after the pitch came in. Biller recalled joking with Braga over how to name the character - Nulok? Tuvix? (surely not!) The jokes got so bad at one point that the pair even came up with a little theme song for the show.
Then there was the ending. In the beginning, Tuvix was going to sacrifice himself upon realising that the ship needed Tuvok and Neelix to survive, and would go about separating himself to ensure that happened.
No one was happy with this idea of a comedic character effectively killing themselves to return to the status quo, never to be mentioned again. Biller set about adding darker plot points, ditching the theme tune, and adding that ending with Janeway. The resulting episode remains a fan favourite for debate and discussion to this day.