10 Star Trek: TNG Facts You Probably Didn't Know
3. The Borg Were Almost Bugs
Originally, TNG planned to have the Ferengi as the big bad for the show, filling a role similar to the Romulans or the Klingons in the original series.
This was short-lived for good reason, but it also left a place in the universe for a much needed antagonist for the series. Maurice Hurley came up with the initial idea for the Borg: an alien species that was insect like in appearance. The budget for such a design was too much for the show so they decided to go with a cyborg creature instead.
Costume Designer, Durinda Rice Wood, talked about the process of designing the visuals for the Borg, saying:
"I was tired of the futuristic, clean, stainless steel imagery of the time. I was interested in more texture, the ugliness of humanity and the ugliness of nature. The idea was always that they would be half-human and half-mechanical. Their body parts would wear out and they would replace them with mechanical parts. So, I wanted to make all of the mechanical parts different and unique for each person..."
The final version of the Borg was no longer bug-like in appearance, but they had similarities to the earlier incarnation like the Borg Collective which was built on the idea of an insect like hive mind. Added elements, like the Borg absorbing other races into their consciousness, gave a frightening edge to these new villains.