Exploring a darker theme in a future star trek series

[Cmdr Ji Qi Ren]

Mars wrote:

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There's a reason Battlestar Galactica chose bullets rather than blasters the previous show had, they wanted to show the blood and gore.

One more reason to watch BG then. I'll add it to my long "series I ought to watch" list.

[Bry_Sinclair]

With the Mirror Universe being "evil" it wouldn't work for a full series, as it has no redeeming features. A darker series with more fully realised characters, who go through hell only to come out the other side better for the experience, would be better viewing. I'm not saying make it totally dark and bleak, but make it more "real".

[Temis the Vorta]

The next Star Trek series won't be pitched at adults and kids because shows are more narrowly targeted than that. If its animated and on the Cartoon Network, it will be pitched at kids. If Netflix, Showtime or most places like that, it will be for adults.

That doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed by other age groups in either case, but the approach will be very different depending on what outlet it is created for. Like I said, it needs to pass the hip-grandma test, no graphic sex. But it can't come off as namby pamby compared with other well regarded shows. Its peer group is cable, not broadcast.

The MU might be a viable setting if for instance it takes off on the post Mirror Mirror story, which implied Spock and Marlena Moreau were going to stage some kind of uprising or guerrilla campaign. Quinto could be Spock, natch, and Moreau could be recast with a Hispanic actress. That will give us our good guys to root for, and the possibility of movie actor cameos playing their eeeevil selves.

Hmm, I'm starting to like this idea after all...

[Mars]

Temis the Vorta wrote:

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The next Star Trek series won't be pitched at adults and kids because shows are more narrowly targeted than that. If its animated and on the Cartoon Network, it will be pitched at kids. If Netflix, Showtime or most places like that, it will be for adults.

That doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed by other age groups in either case, but the approach will be very different depending on what outlet it is created for. Like I said, it needs to pass the hip-grandma test, no graphic sex. But it can't come off as namby pamby compared with other well regarded shows. Its peer group is cable, not broadcast.

The MU might be a viable setting if for instance it takes off on the post Mirror Mirror story, which implied Spock and Marlena Moreau were going to stage some kind of uprising or guerrilla campaign. Quinto could be Spock, natch, and Moreau could be recast with a Hispanic actress. That will give us our good guys to root for, and the possibility of movie actor cameos playing their eeeevil selves.

Hmm, I'm starting to like this idea after all...

My problem is that would make it a straight prequel set in the Pre JJ Abrams timeline, where we know the outcome is the Terran Empire getting conquered by the Klingons and Cardassians. Not something to look forward to at the end of a series. We know for a fact that in the original Mirror Universe timeline, Spock becomes Emperor, makes democratic reforms and then the Republic he creates gets conquered by the Klingons and Cardassians, and Spock is killed in the process. That means there is no Spock around to try to save Romulus, the Star explodes anyway, but no black hole is created, thus no means for Nero to travel back in time, so thus Mirror Universe Nero doesn't show up in the Mirror Universe's 23rd century to change the mirror Universe's timeline. Vulcan is not destroyed in the Mirror Universe, but if the JJ Abrams timeline is followed in the other timeline then things have changes sufficiently such that the ISS Enterprise might not necessarily be visited by the new Captain Kirk of the New Enterprise. Perhaps Kirk, Scotty, McCoy, and Uhura are simply beamed into space in the JJ Abrams Universe because his Enterprise is elsewhere at the time. As Far as bearded Spock is concerned those crewmembers have just vanished in an unexplained transporter accident due to the ion storm. Since the Captain is gone, Spock takes command of the ISS Enterprise, but he is unaware of the Tantalus device which remains in Kirks quarters.

[Temis the Vorta]

We don't know the outcome of anything in the Abrams timeline because it's a new reality we've never explored before. That was the point of creating the new timeline, so that nothing is a foregone conclusion.

A live action series is almost certainly going to be set in the Abrams timeline if for no other reason than to take advantage of actors like Quinto and Cho who would be likely to do TV cameos and give the show a PR boost. Even if that's the only way in which the universe is IDed, it will be enough.

CBS is not going to ignore the advantage if doing movie actor cameos. A new series will have a hard enough time as it is being a success, given the niche audience/big budget problem that all space opera series face. They'll need to try every trick in the book to make it succeed.

[T'Girl]

Temis the Vorta wrote:

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if for no other reason than to take advantage of actors like Quinto and Cho

The producers could still place the show in the original universe, in the TOS era (or a few decades after) and still have Quinto and Cho make appearances.

Because if they wanted to have appearances by the characters of Spock or Sulu, they would have to get actors other than Nimoy or Takei.

Why would the setting have to be the alternate universe to get those two actors? Just hire them.

[Temis the Vorta]

If Quinto and Cho show up, the audience will assume it's in the Abrams universe. Ditto for the production design which if course would be more akin to Abrams than the original, for the same reason as the movies - the old style would look hokey and weird to modern audiences unless updated.

The writers will probably not tip us off via anything but circumstantial evidence like that. Even the presence or absence of Vulcan wouldn't tell us anything, since the new colony may look like the original, and be given the same name. The writers would have to go out of their way to make clear which universe the show is in, and odds are they won't bother since I doubt most of the audience understands or cares that we've jumped realities.

So, getting back to the original point, there's no reason to worry that the future is somehow preordained. Just like with the movies, the TV writers aren't going to allow themselves to be limited by that, not if the majority if the audience doesn't care (how many of the potential audience even remembers details from TOS? how many have seen TOS? I wouldn't place any bets on either.)

The only people who will notice that "hey that's not how its supposed to go!" because for instance, a human character reveals that they know Vulcans and Romulans are related, are a minority of the potential audience and we have an easy out for such concerns - its in the Abrams U, problem solved.

And lastly, odds are very good that a new series would involve Abrams and/or Kurtzman and Orci, since they have the credibility of reviving Star Trek as a money making brand. That will count a lot to CBS even if CBS wasn't involved in the movies. Why would they suddenly jump universes when they have one that's putting butts in seats?