Series about the Star Fleet Academy, why not?

I wish before they did the big auction, that a 4 or 5 year series could have been done about the academy. Think about it, how many of you ST fans out there have been able to see much of anything that has happened relating to Star Fleet Academy? Give me some feedback on your thoughts about this

 

I don't know why no one has proposed this before.

 

Now now, be nice to the nugget.

I agree: there's no reason why an Academy series HAS to stink. It doesn't have to be about kids and their raging hormones, but for some strange reason - maybe because that's the default mentality of Hollywood - everyone jumps to that assumption.

 

Ok, if you want to make fun of me, go ahead. I'm a 48 year old who has watched all the Star Trek series and movies from the very beginning; how many of you can say that? Anyway, I just wanted to elaborate on my idea for what the series would relate to; and it has nothing to do with kids or hormones or any immaturity that obviously seems to be present. (Part of letter sent to Majel R.)
I've watched the TV shows that went through the history and continuity of each of the different series that was based on your husband's ideas, seeing how each series moved forward, as well as backwards; in other words, starting with the original Star Trek, then going to The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and on forward in the timeline to Voyager. Then the idea took a huge step backward with Enterprise, starring Scott Bacula. I had strangely thought that there would still be another series that would follow, but so far never has, maybe because no one has thought of an idea for another series element that could continue to sustain the Star Trek universe, at least for a few more years; which is when I began to think... I thought back on all the different episodes I could remember from all the different series, and tried to find a common element that was used or discussed or referred to on a regular basis, yet never really stood out distinctly in any one of the episodes, where writers could find numerous story lines based on that element, and further still, have a completely new set of characters and identies, and situations, completely different from the regular Star Trek scenarios, but still be based on the principal of all the series as a whole. I thought of two Next Generation episodes that would describe that element.
One, where a parasitic life form infiltrated all the way to Star Fleet Command, and the Enterprise eventually was able to thwart the invasion. The other is the Nova Squadron incident involving Wesley Crusher at the Academy. You may already see where I'm going with this. I would propose for your consideration, a series called "Star Fleet Academy", based on the events of a squadron going through four years together at the Academy. Since the series would only last four years, (the first episode is when they are introduced and placed together to be a squadron; the next four years would deal with things like class situations, alien race relations, pranks gone wrong, problems with authority, etc.), until the series finale, where the squadron finds they must now separate from each other in order to assume their new assignments as graduated officers in Star Fleet.
Now I can only imagine that you have probabally been more than bombarded with people coming to you with ideas for new series for a number of years, but as you can obviously tell by the way this proposal was brought to you, I don't think you would argue with me if I told you this is the first time I have considered doing anything like this. However, I still think this proposal has some level of merit, even if you are unable or unwilling to persue another series for the fans, I would be grateful if you would consider "taking the baton and running" to persue producing one more series for the sake of the Star Trek fans, and if not, allowing the concept to be passed along to Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, or Brent Spiner, all of which, if I'm not mistaken, have directed Star Trek episodes. And with the help of someone like Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, or Rick Berman helping in story and technical aspects, I feel the series would be very successful. I believe the "Academy" series can help complete a final piece of the Star Trek universe.

 

At this point I'm assuming this is a parody.

 

Okay, now... to be fair, I'm going assume Larris is serious here (nothing worse than being serious and having people assume you're NOT serious... so even if I'm wrong, I'm erring on the side of "good" so..)

You might just be surprised how many of us here can say that. You're guilty of exactly what you're evidently assuming we're doing.

As for me, I'm a handful of years younger than you... I was born January 1st, 1966. I'll hazard a guess that I know at least as much about this stuff as you do, and very likely more. Not bragging (this is TRIVIA in real-life terms, after all!). You might be surprised just how many folks here are similar. Yeah, there are also some "kiddies" here... but be careful of your assumptions.

Uh... you're totally missing the point of the prior posted response to YOUR post here.

You DO realize that she has literally NO authority over anything Trek-related at this point. Which, I'd have to say, is probably not a bad thing... no offense, Majel, if you're here and reading this, but c'mon...

Ummm... a suggestion. You might want to avoid "run-on sentences" when you're trying to convince people of your position. Unreadable english generally doesn't give a positive impression, and run-on sentences are pretty much universally acknowledged as unreadable. Of course, since Majel Roddenberry's opinion matters to the folks at Paramount even less than yours or mine does... in this case it's fairly irrelevant. But still, a point worthy of your future consideration.

Yes, even that would qualify as a run-on, and technically it's part of the same sentence I referred to above! YOIKES!

Not too bad... these were two fairly interesting stories, though flawed in some ways. And either could be used as the basis of a new story (though I personally doubt that the combination of the two could really carry an entire series).

Here's where you got some "rolling eyes" responses. There have been not just one but TWO different OFFICIAL proposals for "Starfleet Academy" storylines, already. And many people have (incorrectly) assumed that this upcoming movie, if it involved a younger Kirk, would inevitably be "90210 in Space" (a reference to the uncomplimentary prior description used by many fans to describe those prior proposals).

So the negative response you get is that (1) this is FAR from an original premise, and (2) the proposals put forth previously were pretty much roundly rejected as being, well... pretty sad.

Your story MIGHT be different, but from your description, it really doesn't SEEM that way.

Possibly she has been... but only by people who have no idea AT ALL how TV and movie production works. Again, Majel Roddenberry has ZERO... ZIP... NADA... NOT ONE BIT... of influence over what Trek gets made, or doesn't get made. Hell, in later years, GENE RODDENBERRY had no such influence, and became largely a "persona-non-grata" on the Paramount lot!

Evidently yes. And please take this for what it is... a relatively GENTLE "teaching experience" rather than mockery. Seriously... go elsewhere on the 'net and you'd get bloodied throwing this sort of thing out!

Spell-check is your friend... mis-spelled words, or bad grammar, in "formal proposals" result in the document going directly into "file 13." The word is "pursue."

And not ONE of which has the slightest influence with Paramount's management. There are channels for this sort of thing... going to an actor from a series which is currently considered ... ungenerously... by the current Paramount management team is not going to gain you ANYTHING.

You want to make a proposal... work it up into an acceptably written, professional document. Get an agent. Get your agent to present this to the director of programming (since you're talking TV) at CBS (since CBS now owns all rights to televised Star Trek). Do anything else and you're basically pissing into the wind...

Shatner doesn't "get" the adulation felt by many people for Trek... Nimoy is retired, basically does "art photography" now... and is only agreeing to come back for this film because he feels it's an outstanding script (and because he's not going to be subjected to the rigors of a full production project, only a few scenes!). And Berman is basically the one, rightly or wrongly, who is blamed for the decline of Trek over the past 15 years... and was FIRED from his "Trek" job by Paramount's board of directors. SO... again... pissing into the wind.

Potentially, if done VERY well... but based upon the lack of understanding of the industry which your letter shows... you stand no chance of convincing the people whose opinions actually MATTER on this issue.

Which is not to say that you can't revise it, make it look good, and present it to CBS, and that they wouldn't CONSIDER it. You'll just have a VERY "hard sell" to make.

Of course, if this was all supposed to be parody... NEVERMIND!

 

Yes - it doesn't have to be ABOUT kids and hormones - but if you stick a bunch of 18 year olds in a big place - there will be hormones flying about. It'd be unrealistic to ignore that.

 

Gotta agree here. The Academy idea has been proposed several times over the course of 20+ years and has been flatly rejected by Paramount, GR, Berman, and the fans themselves. I seriously doubt a poorly worded letter to the widow of the creator of the series will convince anyone.

 

Well, pardon me for not having a PhD in English; I didn't realize I was turning my paper in to a teac...ah, forget it. I wrote what I wrote because the first two responses I got seemed strongly to be poking fun at my idea. I mean, calling somebody a 'nugget', come on! I got more than enough of that in high school, so I wanted to elaborate so they would understand my idea a little better, that's all. What I said I said to the FIRST TWO responders only. It's just that if you don't like my idea(s), just tell me it's been done already, or it won't work, or something, and maybe tell me why. I also write the way I talk, so I don't talk in short, choppy sentences. If you read me carefully, I think you will see that they really aren't run-on sentences. Also, these 'kids' are supposed to be Star Fleet Cadets, with a naturally high intelligence level, and the professionalism to obey Star Fleet regs (as much as possible). As far as the letter itself, I quote myself:

 

Dangerous assumption.

Strangely, I still agree with the guy. No reason an Academy series/movie must stink. People jump to negative conclusions because stories about 18-22 year olds are so routinely bad. That's not written in stone on Hollywood Boulevard, is it? (Or maybe it is, right next to: For the love of god and your sanity, STOP CASING THE ROCK IN MOVIES!!!)

So we can have stories about sex & love & romance that are believable, true, and a solid basis for good storytelling. Hey, didn't Will Shakespeare do that once or twice? Nobody calls HIM a sleazy hack. I certainly have no objection to romance/sex/hot stuff in stories...but Trek has a hideous track record in this department, and a certain degree of skepticism is understandable.

All in all, Trek is probably better off sticking to its strengths and avoiding its weak spots. Young folks/romance/sex is not a strength, traditionally speaking.

In theory, an Academy movie could work. In practice, it's probably better to do something else because of the higher probability of success.

People gave you BSG-derived nicknames in high school? Sooo...Caprican or Geminon?

 

Thanks for the input...and by the way, I am Geminon.

 

Hmmm, I thought only the Navy uses the term "nugget" to describe naval aviators fresh from training?

In any case, yes it would have been nice to see something on the Academy (series or more just episodes from TNG/DS9/VOY).

On a side note, I remember just before Enterprise, the rumors of the StarFleet academy series were so bad because people said James Van Der Beek (the guy from Dawson's Creek) was gonna be cast.

People were calling for blood, haha.

 

I think an Accademy series could work. I think it should be animated and geared for the younger teens. It shouldn't be centric to the characters, seeing how they will only be there for 4 years. The permanent cast would have to be the instructors, and lets not forget BOOTHBY (He's the de-facto 2nd Commandant and mentor to Starfleet's finest).

There are several potentially interesting dramatic devices that could be used to create compelling and fun stories.

Interplay between Red Squad, Nova Squadron, and the rest of the cadet corps.

Interplay between certain cadets and certain instructors taking on the antagonist/protagonist relationship.

Training mishaps that test the cadets skills.

Temporary assignments in the fleet (Kirk only spent 1 year as a sudent at the academy) so this does happen.

Really close friendships between cadets.

2 cadets that are in opposition to each other.

Instructors mentoring their favorite cadets.

Romantic interactions. This would not be 90210 at the academy, as relationships do happen at the academy. This is also a necessary device to ensure realism.

Did I mention Boothby, he is awesome, and if they got Ray Walston to do the voice it would be awesome.

Animated cameos from all of the characters from TNG,DS9, and possibly VOY depending on time frame.

There are almost endless possibilities to keep this show fresh for a 10 year run. I think this would also garner Star Trek a shit load of new fans from the next 2 up and coming generations. There could be a companion comic, and all sorts of other merchandising tie-ins to generate profits for CBS/Paramount.

 

YES, YES! That's exactly the kind of ideas I was thinking of! Some of the cast members from TOS and Enterprise could be admirals and instructors, get someone to play Boothby (maybe someone cast to be his son or nephew), and some new faces for the different squadrons. I figure even if the big networks don't want to produce a series like that, maybe some other network might give it a shot. The SciFi channel produces a lot of original series and movies.

 

Eeech.

 

I want to see the character have adventures which is why I've always been oppose to the Academy idea as a tv series. What adventures are cadets going to have week in and week out> How do they explore strange new worlds while at achool?

 

I can see this working, potentially... but I wouldn't be watching it, myself.

Also, it'd be VERY hard to get Ray Walston to play a role in this, short of through the use of a seance.

I can see this as a book series, and sure, you could do a "non-canonical" animated show as you describe. It would certainly have as much "broad interest" as the IKS Gorkon books or the Starfleet Corps of Engineers books. Which is to say... enough to carry a book series, but not enough to carry a "general public" show.

IMHO, of course...

 

Maybe they can get Jonathan Harris instead, and a wacky robot named Peebo.

 

Why not get James Doohan as the engineer as well ?
We can call it.....
S P A C E
A C A D E M Y !
- W -
* God's i'm old, I remember that show *

 

I think an academy series could work quite well. For a start it would drawin a younger audience, and for older fans you could feature established characters as lectureres or guest speakers.
Harve Bennet wanted to do an academy movie, so why not.