If it had been the Romulans

[Lynx]

I think both actors doing the same as Garok and Tukat would've worked just as well

No, I don't think so.
The actors would have done a good job.
But the characters wouldn't had been as good as they were as Cardassians.
They would have been more limited as Romulans

 

[Arpy]

I was looking at this image from Deviant Art thinking about the fantastic recurring characters on the series and imagining the Cardassians in Romulan makeup, and it stood out to me that between the Romulans and Deltans (...Humans,Trill, even the Changelings), that's a lot of rather human-looking characters. The Vorta too – cue another ear joke. So, I think that if they'd gone with the Romulans, by the time they decided to introduce the Vorta, they'd choose a more distinctly not human design for them. They might still decide to make them the slick and somewhat attractive-looking frontmen for the Dominion, but I think they'd look much more alien.

A few different ideas come to mind. Part of me imagines them more feline, talking and moving in that smooth way some cats can have about them...kind of like black or dark maroon jaguar people, with piercing yellow eyes, sharp hidden teeth, and maybe long elegant nails. Short dark fur that the makeup department might get away with delicately painting on the actors.

Or maybe in the way that the green Orions instantly stand out they might go classic and paint the actors red this time...Darth Maul? Or maybe a translucent purple, to stick with the existing Vorta/Dominion color palette and to suggest a more regal motif for these representatives of the Dominion.

Maybe between them, the afore-mentioned Corvallens, a really interesting look for the Barolians (maybe use the Lissepian makeup our DS9 used, or something else far-out), and a bustling Promenade of new aliens that would be enough. I mean, once the Klingons and Jem'Hadar show up, I think they'd be good. ...maybe make Fallit Kot a Nausicaan and let's see him open his giant Predator mouth at Quark's.

 

[TedShatner10]

The difference between the Romulans and Cardassians is that the Romulans were better at hiding their weaknesses and relative lack of numbers for many decades, until their facade cracked with the Dominion War and Shinzon terrorist/assassination incident (and then it all came crashing down with the nova).

The Cardassian Union were similarly subtle; their secret police was very invaisive and their decimation by the Dominion must've explained the Cardassian's increasing bluntness (or desperation) in later seasons next to their earlier appearances in TNG and very early DS9...

 

[Arpy]

The difference between the Romulans and Cardassians is that the Romulans were better at hiding their weaknesses and relative lack of numbers for many decades, until their facade cracked with the Dominion War and Shinzon terrorist/assassination incident (and then it all came crashing down with the nova).

The Cardassian Union were similarly subtle; their secret police was very invaisive and their decimation by the Dominion must've explained the Cardassian's increasing bluntness (or desperation) in later seasons next to their earlier appearances in TNG and very early DS9...

Oh, I dunno, I think they were plenty strong, and that’s precisely why they felt comfortable playing intra-empire politics with Shinzon & Co. or for that matter sacrificing billions of their own citizens to the nova to execute their anti-AI initiative. France had been in Revolution for decades and Napoleon still almost took over the world. And Sloane, with his eeevil super duper Section 31 intel thought they’d be able to compete with the Federation after the war for the top spot in the quadrant while the Klingons were licking their wounds and the Tzenkethi, Tholians, Miradorn, and others were at full strength never even entering it.

 

[Arpy]

Also, you know, I don’t know that Cardassia was weak necessarily, but they’d just gone to war with the Klingons who are, I imagine, second only to the Federation. But if the Cardassians were strong enough to war with the Federation in a war that IIRC “cost millions on both sides” they couldn’t have been especially weak either.

 

[kkt]

France had been in Revolution for decades and Napoleon still almost took over the world.

Not very close, really. Britain kept his armies bottled up in Europe. "I do not say they cannot come. I only say they cannot come by sea." - Lord St. Vincent, British First Lord of the Admiralty.

Napoleon tried to invade Spain, but his grip on it was always pretty tenuous. He tried to invade Russia, and that didn't go very well at all.

 

[Arpy]

Not very close, really. Britain kept his armies bottled up in Europe. "I do not say they cannot come. I only say they cannot come by sea." - Lord St. Vincent, British First Lord of the Admiralty.

Napoleon tried to invade Spain, but his grip on it was always pretty tenuous. He tried to invade Russia, and that didn't go very well at all.

Tenuous but established. In Russia he faced God and lost; the Brits would have been in trouble if he’d waited. And they certainly didn’t take the initiative while he was going. Or while the country was in disarray before his rise. They, and Romulus, were not to be underestimated.

 

[kkt]

The Russians maneuvered him into overextending himself. Napoleon was supposedly a great strategist who prefered to make a strong line and let his opponent attack him - but didn't realize that's exactly what the Russians were doing to him.

The French navy could, and did, build new ships during the war - but with all their coasts blockaded they had no chance to train their crews. As soon as a ship was out of range of shore artillery, the British blockading ships would be on it - no chance for a green crew to learn seamanship before they were in battle.

No need for the Brits to undertake a costly land campaign when cutting the continent off from overseas imports would gradually strangle them, and they wore themselves out fighting Spain and Russia.

 

[STEPhon IT]

The original idea for DS9 used the Romulans in the place of the Cardassians as the main baddies of the series. How might this have gone differently?

Some thoughts that come to mind are 1. the Klingon arc in Season 4 and Worf’s involvement would have had additional meaning given the intense hatred between the two peoples. 2. “In the Pale Moonlight” might have been about the murder of Legate Macet at the hands of the Dominion….I wonder who this series’ Tal Shiar spy might have been—Garok? 3. I wonder if at the end of the series the Klingons succeed in fully conquering the Romulans fulfilling that part of the future glimpsed in “All Good Things…”

And what would the station have looked like? A giant blood-green nest-like structure to nestle warbirds…or something more like the Narada, a dark dank monstrosity out of an alien nightmare?

Speaking of, would it have been the Cardassian Sun that went supernova in alternate Star Trek ‘09?

With this concept DS9 loses the opportunity to have a cloaked ship since the Romulans were contributors to the stealth weapon. I guess the Romulans could've been oppressors to a society of people, but where would DS9 be stationed, by the border or somewhere else? This angle seems a lot more complicated for the 1st 2 seasons but I can see this idea flowing very well for the war seasons. I could see more Romulan ships being blown up for the war spectacle "FX zealots" would lavish.

The Cardassians had too much substance and I think the Romulans could've been the right race for what a less competent, engaging story and more action based series which it ended up becoming in the 4th thru 7th seasons.

 

[FederationHistorian]

The original idea for DS9 used the Romulans in the place of the Cardassians as the main baddies of the series. How might this have gone differently?

As the Romulans are not a second-rate power, we’d be seeing a lot of oppressed species that have lived under the Romulans. I think how they relate to the Ferengi and the Maquis would be interesting.

They don’t need to be “evil Spocks.” Just varying shades of Tomolak, Mendak, Selok, Taris, and Sirol.

“In the Pale Moonlight” might have been about the murder of Legate Macet at the hands of the Dominion….I wonder who this series’ Tal Shiar spy might have been—Garok?

DS9 didn’t use Tebok from TNG for ITPM. Why would they use Macet? They’d create a new character for that, like Vreenak was.

And what would the station have looked like? A giant blood-green nest-like structure to nestle warbirds…or something more like the Narada, a dark dank monstrosity out of an alien nightmare?

Why not a bit of both?

Speaking of, would it have been the Cardassian Sun that went supernova in alternate Star Trek ‘09?

That depends on if Nemesis was based on a coup occurring on Cardassia by a military faction that cloned Picard. And if that film’s a success or a bomb at the box office.

I’d imagine that NEM bombing was a factor in deciding to make the Romulan sun go supernova. To symbolically erase that failure.

With this concept DS9 loses the opportunity to have a cloaked ship since the Romulans were contributors to the stealth weapon.

Not necessarily. There are the Klingons who could loan them a cloaking device. The Cardassians could also have one, if they keep theirs after the failed attempt with the Romulans to take out the Founders. They just have to get around that Treaty of Algeron.

 

[Arpy]

The Russians maneuvered him into overextending himself. Napoleon was supposedly a great strategist who prefered to make a strong line and let his opponent attack him - but didn't realize that's exactly what the Russians were doing to him.

Even the greatest among us make mistakes. He might have known what they were doing and trusted his superior ability to deal with it, whether astutely or by sheer hubris having been so successful for so long by that point. Ultimately it was the Russian winter, not the military itself that beat him.

The French navy could, and did, build new ships during the war - but with all their coasts blockaded they had no chance to train their crews. As soon as a ship was out of range of shore artillery, the British blockading ships would be on it - no chance for a green crew to learn seamanship before they were in battle.

No need for the Brits to undertake a costly land campaign when cutting the continent off from overseas imports would gradually strangle them, and they wore themselves out fighting Spain and Russia.

If he’d won in Russia, it wouldn’t have mattered how powerful the British fleet was. He would have consolidated his power, prepared an overwhelming invasion force, and broken through. The English Channel is not the Atlantic Ocean.

That said, let’s keep this at least partly on-topic, yeah?

How would you see the series with the Romulans as the baddies? What kind of stories would you have wanted to see?

One thing I wondered about is having Sela run to the station (one further away from Romulus as Bajor was made to be from Cardassia…I mean, the next star-system over, are you serious?) to try to escape execution/honorable suicide for her failure in the Vulcan invasion.

I’d be curious for them to do an episode about other beings in the dimension the Prophets are from too. I mean, is the Celestial Temple a pocket timeless universe, or is it a gateway to a whole nother one. If so, who or what else lives there? What effect might that have in the Bajoran/Deltan belief system?

 

[Arpy]

As the Romulans are not a second-rate power, we’d be seeing a lot of oppressed species that have lived under the Romulans. I think how they relate to the Ferengi and the Maquis would be interesting.

They don’t need to be “evil Spocks.” Just varying shades of Tomolak, Mendak, Selok, Taris, and Sirol.

There are a lot of great Romulans that it would have been great to revisit...besides those mentioned, how about M'Ret, Pardek, Bochra? That said, Madred, Lemec, Ocett and others weren't brought back for the series, so it would be great and crucial that they create interesting new Romulan characters for the series – like Garok. ...that said, maybe Mendak would have been an interesting take on Tekeny Ghemor. I mean, we kind of got a bit of that with Alan Scarfe as Tokath in "Birthright Part II."

DS9 didn’t use Tebok from TNG for ITPM. Why would they use Macet? They’d create a new character for that, like Vreenak was.

To use Alaimo on a DS9 show. That's more for us, not for the alternate universe in which they used the Romulans.

That depends on if Nemesis was based on a coup occurring on Cardassia by a military faction that cloned Picard. And if that film’s a success or a bomb at the box office.

Oh cool idea...I didn't like the Romulans much in that movie. Maybe it would have been a cool opportunity to update the Cardassian makeup like FC did the Borg. I'm seeing a lot more fine little scales, and maybe different skin tones and races of Cardassian. We've seen gray ones, maybe some charcoal colored darker ones and bone-white lighter ones, and everything in between.

I’d imagine that NEM bombing was a factor in deciding to make the Romulan sun go supernova. To symbolically erase that failure.

Eh, I just think they were looking for shot value. I mean, Vulcan blew up too in that movie.

Not necessarily. There are the Klingons who could loan them a cloaking device. The Cardassians could also have one, if they keep theirs after the failed attempt with the Romulans to take out the Founders. They just have to get around that Treaty of Algeron.

I'm not following why the Romulans wouldn't continue to be the inventors of the cloaking device as established in "Balance of Terror."

 

[somebuddyX]

Exploration of Bajorans and Cardassian was a big part of establishing DS9, but with Romulans would that even be a draw in incorporating them into a spinoff considering their previous exposure. Maybe the spinoff looks elsewhere and Cardassians continue as just a random villain race that reoccur every so often, and Bajor is only seen through the lens of Ro until Michelle Forbes gets a new job.
Even if they did do DS9 with Romulans it would be interesting to see what Cardassian fate is in this new universe.
I think it would be fun to pair this with a universe where everything is a little bit different, like the starbase is actually on a planet's surface

 

[FederationHistorian]

To use Alaimo on a DS9 show. That's more for us, not for the alternate universe in which they used the Romulans.

They would just create a new Romulan character for Alaimo and not use Tebok. Just like they created Dukat instead of using Macet.

I'm not following why the Romulans wouldn't continue to be the inventors of the cloaking device as established in "Balance of Terror."

I’m not following on what Romulans invented the cloaking device has to do with how I answered the question.

 

[Lynx]

I find it very hard to imagine TNG, DS9 and VOY without the Cardassians in the role they were.

 

[FederationHistorian]

Oh cool idea...I didn't like the Romulans much in that movie. Maybe it would have been a cool opportunity to update the Cardassian makeup like FC did the Borg. I'm seeing a lot more fine little scales, and maybe different skin tones and races of Cardassian. We've seen gray ones, maybe some charcoal colored darker ones and bone-white lighter ones, and everything in between.

If the roles were reversed, then the door is opened into exploring Cardassian cyberneticists, due to the involvement of B-4 to lure the Ent-E crew. It would also kind of redefine Cardassian space in that the Kolarans - the ones that chased Picard in his dune buggy - would be considered a neighbouring world of the Cardassian Union.

The one thing I wonder about the plot is, in the absence of Remans, would some of the Cardassians be made into telepaths?