November Art Challenge - The Spin Off

Discussion in 'Fan Art' started by The Lensman, Nov 7, 2013.

  1. The Lensman

    The Lensman Commodore Commodore

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    For this months challenge, your task is to pick a character from any incarnation of Trek and make a spin off series from them. You can depict this spin-off by a screencap, book cover, ad, record album, magazine cover, poster, etc, etc.

    1. The series must be something that Hollywood would plausibly produce.

    That is key. So if you're thinking of that Gorn centric spin-off, well there's no way in hell that would ever get the green light. On the other hand, a Harry Mudd series is entirely plausible.

    2. You must come up with a show title, but it cannot include the words "Star Trek". "Happy Days" and "All In The Family" each spun off numerous shows, none of which had the originators title as part of theirs.

    Let me know if you have any questions.

    Good Luck! :)
     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2013
  2. largo

    largo Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    considering some of the total rubbish which has made it to TV, i think "Gorn to be Wild" (starring Ss'zathis and David Attenborough) would actually have a shot.
     
  3. Shawnster

    Shawnster Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Interesting, and a bit ironic. Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager were all greenlit. Enterprise intentionally did not include "Star Trek," but was later rebranded as Star Trek: Enterprise.
     
  4. B.J.

    B.J. Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It's going to be tricky picking a good character to start from. Looking forward to seeing who people pick!
     
  5. The Lensman

    The Lensman Commodore Commodore

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    Ha Ha Nice! :lol:


    Some spin-off's feature a regular cast member going off and doing their own thing like Joey from "Friends" and Frasier Crane from "Cheers" or Rhoda from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". Sometimes the show is radically different from where it came from in the case of "Lou Grant" which was supposed to be the same character from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" but that show was definitely not a comedy like TMTMS was.

    Sometimes it's a character that appears in an episode which is really a backdoor pilot like "Assignment: Earth". Or just a one off character who's popular like Mork on "Happy Days". He had a one or two more appearances on "Happy Days" before getting a show IIRC.

    Considering that the original Trek ran for three years, the first three spin-off's for seven each, then Ent with another four years, you've got about thirty years of material to work with.

    I'm interested in seeing how creative people get with this. Will they go with just another starship show? Or something more interesting?

    Stay tuned!
     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2013
  6. sojourner

    sojourner Admiral In Memoriam

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    Oooo, a kid's show "Deep Space Nine and a half".

    Feel free to use that anyone that wants. I have no real idea for the contest.
     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2013
  7. Ptrope

    Ptrope Agitator Admiral

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    Great idea!

    What about a spin-off of a spin-off? "The Lincoln Logs" - Roberta strikes out on her own as a 'naturalized' agent working for the Aegis, kind of a Modesty Blaise-type of character ;-).
     
  8. The Lensman

    The Lensman Commodore Commodore

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    Sounds like a cool idea!

    This is pretty much what I'm talking about as I could see something like this actually happening.

    So let me stress again:

    The series must be something that Paramount could or would plausibly produce.


    (Actually that should probably be in the past tense since most of these made up shows were probably done years ago.)

    "Could this have actually been made?" is the first thing you should ask yourself before putting pen to paper.

    Yes, this is where the "Challenge" part of the "Art Challenge" comes in.

    I can think of a few characters that would work for sitcoms, some for secret agent stuff, and others for crime and medical procedurals.
     
  9. Melakon

    Melakon Admiral In Memoriam

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    Throwing out some titles for anyone to play with:

    "T.J. Kirk" - the son of a retired starship captain joins the city police force, riding around on one of those fancy jet bikes. Father always tries to get him to join Starfleet instead.

    "Sisko's" - Crazy old restaurant owner tells anyone who will listen that his son works on a space station.

    "Delta Force" - Humanoid hedgehog organizes a small task force of ships to defend helpless planets-- for a price.

    "The Lieutenant" - Ensign Harry Kim finally gets a promotion, serving as a Starfleet Academy instructor.
     
  10. Finn

    Finn Bad Batch of TrekBBS Admiral

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    Cool challenge. I won't have the time this month, but I wanted to ask- Do you mean "plausibly produce" as in around the time its parent show had been airing, or nowadays (a tough sell, I think)
     
  11. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I'm considering entering (not a promise). This would be my first such contest. How is it done? Would I start a thread to develop my entry?
     
  12. BK613

    BK613 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    From the FAQ (bolded underline added):
    People sometimes create a thread to display their WIP and solicit comments, but it isn't generally required.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 1, 2013
  13. The Lensman

    The Lensman Commodore Commodore

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    Around the time of the parent show, since I agree that trying to float something now would be nigh impossible.
     
  14. smalltalk66

    smalltalk66 Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Hey, Lensman--I'd like to create a Trek show spinoff using a Roddenberry concept rather than a character from the actual shows. (It's because my idea takes place before TOS or Enterprise). Can I try it?
     
  15. The Lensman

    The Lensman Commodore Commodore

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    While I'm greatly intrigued by what you've come up with, I think I'd like to stick to the conditions set forth as that's the "challenge" part of the Art Challenge. :)

    Ideally you could find a character that's appeared in one of the shows and and include them in your spin-off. Remember, it doesn't necessarily have to be a main character. It could be someone who was a guest star as well. There are several characters that we know of from Trek's turn of the 21st century to the 22nd century. The challenge is to take a character and make them work within the framework of your idea.

    Give it some thought, and see if you can find a character who would fit with your concept.
     
  16. Kaziarl

    Kaziarl Commodore Commodore

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    I have an idea, but no skills. Dangit!
     
  17. Ptrope

    Ptrope Agitator Admiral

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    Almost there! Midnight PST is only a couple hours away - do you know where your winning entry is?

    Don't forget to e-mail it to ptrope at gmail dot com - spin off or spin out! ;).