How about a series set in the early 24th century.

Oddly enough, I always felt that the primary purpose of the Miranda-class was to be a support vessel (or bridesmaid) that did all the dirty, unglamorous jobs.

 

The hero ship could be the USS Era.

 

I have done as well, but I think that would be an interesting concept to see; a ship that isn't the most glamorous or high-profile, but rather just a crew of hard-working dogsbodies that keep the Federation and Starfleet going.

 

^ That one of the reason I like TOS the most among the series, the ship there was "an old work horse," and not a brand new ship. If you think about it, Kirk's ship got a lot of little shit jobs that the other ship's didn't.

Kirk's crew were a bunch of regular joes, and not (with a few exception) the best and the brightest. Some of them obviously didn't want to be there, or were confused as to why they were. They slouched on the job and drank coffee while at the helm. Occasional they needed to be reminded they had to follow orders too.

Scotty: "I didn' ask you to check the board."

 

You can also say that about Picard's ship. Both the Enterprise and the Enterprise-D really did the same kind of missions, including transporting cargo and passengers from one place to another.

Were they? For all we know, the Enterprise may also have been a plum assignment during Kirk's day too (in regards to not everyone may have got to serve on a Constitution-class starship). But there was really no indication that Kirk's crew were just regular joes and not the best and brightest of their day--that might have been a requirement for those serving on a Constitution-class.

An argument can be made that among Constitution-class ships, the Enterprise was just one of thirteen such ships, but they may have been the top frontline design of the time.

Who were these folks?

That might be just an case of Kirk having a more casual attitude on the bridge while Picard wanted a more formal one. But who slouched on the job during TOS?

Sounds like something a number of TNG characters had to be reminded of too, including Picard at times by a few admirals.

 

No offense, but the Miranda class design is 33 years old (starting with TWOK in 1982). Plus, IMHO that design was seen far, far too much in DS9 thanks to the CGI model ILM made for it. I'd be happy if I never saw it again.

 

Wasn't first contact with Cardassia during the early 24th century? Actually, it might be an ominous first contact, with the Federation being confronted by another hostile empire.

 

First contact with the Cardassians may have occurred during the early 23rd-Century (their drinks--namely a "Cardassian Sunrise"--were being served in small town bars on Earth by the mid 2250s anyway).

Their relations may have soured over the course of several decades, leading to the rather lengthy Cardassian Border Conflicts of the early-to-mid 24th-Century.

 

What about the Asimov class?

 

Also, in DS9, Dax mentions a Cardassian poet who was in sanctuary on Vulcan in the 22nd century, so at least the Vulcans were aware of the race at that time. And in ENT "Dead Stop" a Cardassian body is seen in the alien space station, implying that Cardassia had FTL spaceflight capability at the time.

Just looks like a kitbash of Ambassador class parts.

 

Was the Archer class still in use during the early 24th century?

 

There is no Archer class starship in canon Trek.

 

It's only featured in novels. I'm not sure if it would still be around. But we know the Miranda and Excelsior are both still around.