Wish List for Star Trek: 2017

[TheGoodStuff]

Picard never mentions a heaven, but neither did I. Picard believes that the self survives the demise of the flesh, this is a spiritual belief. As I said "Picard expresses a belief in a afterlife."

You see, it is not a spiritual belief [at least not in the traditional sense]. You are twisting what Picard actually says to suit your own argument. Even your mention of an 'afterlife' is steeped in religious symbolism and imagery. Here is a direct quote:

"Some see it as a changing into an indestructible form, forever unchanging; they believe that the purpose of the entire universe is to then maintain that form in an earth-like garden, which will give delight and pleasure through all eternity. On the other hand, there are those who hold to the idea of our blinking into nothingness - with all of our experiences and hopes and dreams merely a delusion.

Considering the marvelous complexity of the universe, its... clockwork perfection, its balances of this against that, matter, energy, gravitation, time, dimension - I believe that our existence must be more than either of these philosophies. That what we are goes beyond Euclidean or other practical measuring systems, and that our existence is part of a reality beyond what we understand now as reality."

There is nothing 'spiritual' or religious about what he states. He specifically discounts an Elysian fields/Heaven type of afterlife while simultaneously stating that he does not feel that we simply cease to exist either.

His final statement, that "...existence is part of a reality beyond what we understand now as reality" Is quite scientific and apt for a man like Picard. It must be borne in mind that he is a 24th century man, who has witnessed alternate realities & different dimensions while being aware of mirror universes and alternate timelines. It is not far-fetched of him to conclude that 'death' as we know it in a 3D sense may not actually be cocnlusive to this existence.

Again, that is not a spiritual belief as such. Within his universe [and there are people just now who believe in a similar scenario] it is entirely understandable why he see's this as a possibility. He makes no mention of a spirit or soul. Now I understand that you may want to retort that 'spirituality does not necessarily need a 'god' or belief in a soul' which in some ways is correct, but the word is steeped in religion and attempts to diverge the two is a modern [and controvertial] thing.

Yes. Whether a event, or a metaphor, or a parable, it is believed that it happened in some form. Why would this stop in the future?

It would be interesting if the new show revealed that different alien species also had a great flood, in some form.

I think you betray your own stance with this...absurd post. The notion of multiple alien species having great floods all [I presume] to prove the existence of one 'god' from one planet [which has dreamt up thousands] is laughable.

 

[hux]

It would be interesting if the new show revealed that different alien species also had a great flood, in some form.

Maybe they could visit a planet that's only six thousand years old where bearded men ride dinosaurs.

 

[T'Girl]

then I'd like to see McCoy attempting to treat serious illnesses with homeopathy

Kind of like what McCoy did at the end of The Tholian Web, where he cures the mental breakdown of the crew by giving them diluted poison. I think McCoy would be open minded enough to employ "non-standard treatments" if he felt it was the correct choice.

After all, McCoy himself was once saved by a psychic healer (The Empath).

Hard to argue with success.

Here is a direct quote

Picard mentions both heaven and nothingness. Picard states the his beliefs goes beyond the philosophy that include heaven, but Picard also discounts that upon death we cease to exist.

The continuation of the self beyond death is spiritualism, Picard believes that in some way he will "outlive" the end of his corporeal life.

This isn't about what you or I personal hold, it's about Picard's stated beliefs, Picard is no more a Christian than he is a atheist, but he does have spiritual beliefs.

It would be similar with other characters, there would be no expectation on my part that every character (hero or otherwise) would follow my religion faith, and I earlier stipulated that some might be atheist.

My personal vision of the future Federation is a diverse and cosmopolitan multicultural society. Christianity would be a part of this yes, but religions and faiths could easily exist by the millions. Big and small. Do either of us want a Federation that doesn't include (among other things) freedom of worship?

In a communication from his wife, Tuvok's family had prayers said at Temple for his safe return ... does this sound like atheism to you?
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[Hartzilla2007]

The main thing I want is for the new series to hopefully follow these.

I. Build your episode on an action-adventure frame- work. We must reach out, hold and entertain a mass audience of some 20.,000,000 people or we simply don't stay on the air.

II. Tell your story about people, not about science and gadgetry. Joe Friday doesn't stop to explain the mechanics of his .38 before he uses it; Kildare never did a monologue about the theory of anes- thetics; Matt Dillon never identifies and dis- cusses the breed of his horse before he rides off on it.

III. Keep in mind that science fiction is not a separate field of literature with rules of its own, but, indeed, needs the same ingredients as any story -- including a jeopardy of some type to someone we learn to care about, climactic build, sound motivitation, you know the list.

IV. Then, with that firm foundation established, inter- weave in it any statement to be made about man, society and so on. Yes, we want you to have some- thing to say, but say it entertainingly as you do on any other show. We don't need essays, how- ever brilliant.

V. Remember always that STAR TREK is never fantasy; whatever happens, no matter how unusual or bizarre, must have some basis in either fact or theory and stay true to that premise (don't give the enemy Starflight capability and then have them engage our vessel with grappling hooks and drawn swords.)

VI. Don't try to tell a story about whole civilizations . We've never yet been able to get a usable story from a writer who began... "I see the strange civilization which...".

VII. Stop worrying about not being a scientist. How many cowboys, police officers and doctors wrote westerns, detective and hospital shows?

With bonus points if they keep these in mind

Inaccurate terminology.... Sure, the term United States Space- ship" was incorrect, but it could have been fixed with a pencil slash. Although we do want directors, writer, actors and others to use proper terminology, this error was cer- tainly far from being the major STAR TREK format error.

Scientifically inaccurate.... Although we do want to be scientifically accurate, we've found that selection of this item usually indicates a preoccupation with science and gadgetry over people and story. ( ) Concept weak. Wrong again. It is, in fact, much like the opening of one of our best episodes of last year. “Aliens", "enemy vessels", "sudden attack" and such things can range from "Buck Rogers" to classical literature, all depending on how it is handled (witness H. G. Wells' novels, Forrester's sea stories, and so on.)

Unbelievable.... because we've learned during a full season of making visual science fiction that believability of characters, their actions and reactions, is our greatest need and is the most important angle factor.

 

[eyeresist]

Kind of like what McCoy did at the end of The Tholian Web, where he cures the mental breakdown of the crew by giving them diluted poison. I think McCoy would be open minded enough to employ "non-standard treatments" if he felt it was the correct choice.
After all, McCoy himself was once saved by a psychic healer (The Empath).
Hard to argue with success.

In Star Trek, apparently magical things have a rational scientific basis. Vulcan thought-transference is a repeatable process subject to observable rules, and the wormhole aliens are transdimensional, not holy. I can't imagine McCoy using a medicine which has repeatedly been shown to be non-effective, purely in the interests of being "open-minded".

 

[T'Girl]

Tell your story about people, not about science and gadgetry

This is the important one, and something that post-TOS occasionally lost track of. The story should be people (not just Humans) figuring out the episode's dilemma and coming up with a solution as a team. And not have a piece of equipment do this in their stead.

It's like the show CSI, the equipment is there, but it's people who solve that weeks mystery.
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[T'Girl]

Vulcan thought-transference is a repeatable process subject to observable rules

In TSFS, when it came time to perform the the fal-tor-pan ceremony and transfer Spock's katra from McCoy into Spock ...

The refusion wasn't made by a doctor.

The refusion wasn't made by a scientist.

The refusion was in fact made by a Priestess.

Sarek: "He entrusted you with his very essence, with everything that was not of the body."
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[eyeresist]

^ Doesn't contradict what I said.

 

[Tai]

Develop the main characters of the show. No Harry Kims or Travis Mayweathers. Felix Gaeta was a minor character in the beginning of BSG. He was an instrumental force by the end. His final two episodes were some of the best in the series. I watched every episode of Enterprise and I can't think of three things to say about Mayweather. If you have a cast of 9... I'd like to see nine people with meaningful arcs. I'd like these characters to be consequential, even in death. Tasha Yar through some really cool stories helped shape TNG's universe.

Make the cast diverse, without tokenism. Star Trek has a world-wide audience, Starfleet has humans from every corner of the Earth, as well as aliens. The casting should reflect that. The last few series have done so, but towards the end I kind of got the feeling that an actor was cast simply to satisfy some diversity check-list. Please show diversity, not only in skin color, but in worldview, in customs and traditions. Show Earth as a place that has united, but still has many voices and ideas.

Prime Universe. For all the reasons stated by everyone.

Cameos. Sorry, I miss a lot of the TNG/DS9/VOY characters. It'd be nice to see how Bashir, O'Brien, Riker, Kira, Torres etc. are doing. They needn't overdo it... but you have a deep bullpen of characters built up over 50 years... I don't think it's a crime to use them every now and then.

Homage. JJ Abrams sees this word and thinks it means copying the central plot of a film beat by beat. Others believe a reference here or there to an alien race or a previous event amounts to nothing more than cheap fan service. I believe there's a thin but firm line between homage and ripoff... between fanboy pandering and wholly ignoring a 50 year legacy. Screenwriters have chided me for saying this on these boards, but honestly... if you can't walk this line expertly, consider writing for a show not named "Star Trek".

Science Fiction stories with a strong foundation in science. Star Trek has inspired astronauts, engineers, Tech CEOs and countless others, and for a reason. While a ton of Star Trek is silly space opera, there are just as many episodes that are built on astronomy, physics, medicine, robotics and the ethical questions that arise in these fields. Star Trek at its best stimulates intellectual curiosity, and I hope the new series follows this tradition. The success of "The Martian" speaks to this.

Universe Building. Over 50 years we saw the rise and fall of empires. Star Trek has such a rich history. I hope the show explores and broadens it. People fawn over the "it's all connected" nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I scoff when I compare it to Star Trek. You can have your own style of storytelling, you can find your voice and set the tone however you want Bryan Fuller... but you know this universe as well as anybody. Let's pick up the story where we left off!

 

[Mudd]

You see, it is not a spiritual belief [at least not in the traditional sense].
Considering the marvelous complexity of the universe, its... clockwork perfection, its balances of this against that, matter, energy, gravitation, time, dimension - I believe that our existence must be more than either of these philosophies. That what we are goes beyond Euclidean or other practical measuring systems, and that our existence is part of a reality beyond what we understand now as reality."

God, that was vapid gibberish.

The use of "clockwork" was particularly retrograde.

Quite simply, cruising around in warp-capable starships with replicators and transporters while believing in thousands of years old nonsense [with all the eefrit's, goat-demons, sprouting lotus blossoms and unicorns included] strikes me as being utterly embarrassing and utterly un-marriable.

We do it now. Hell, we've had astronauts read the Bible aloud from Moon orbit.

 

[Cake]

I hope, that the series will be optimistic and fun. Overall I like a lighter tone. I really hope they won't go the dark and depressive route like new BSG or SGU. Star Trek is about a positive, idealistic future. Too much doom and gloom is just not Star Trek.

 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

Ugh. SGU was way too depressive.
I think a lighter tone would be good. It needs a good balance.

 

[eyeresist]

I hope, that the series will be optimistic and fun. Overall I like a lighter tone. I really hope they won't go the dark and depressive route like new BSG or SGU. Star Trek is about a positive, idealistic future. Too much doom and gloom is just not Star Trek.

I'm guessing there will be a serious threat underlying the new series. Hopefully they will get the balance right.

 

[Jerikka Dawn]

As long as there are no evil councils of vagueness, "coming storms", and FutureGuys that don't even have an outline. There is nothing worse than being strung along by a television show where there's supposed to be some "plan", arc, whatever, yet the writers don't have a clue. e.g. V (2009).

Edit to add: Especially since this is going to be pay to play. I love Star Trek. But if I'm going to pay to watch it, I want pay off while I'm watching it. Sure, have multi episode arcs, most definitely, by all means, absolutely. But don't dick me around, I'm serious. I'll stop watching like that. Don't put up a pretense episode after episode that there's a bigger narrative if there isn't. I want my money's worth every episode.

 

[Nyotarules]

1.Great uniforms for all genders,
2.Career progression, as much as I love TOS and the movies the lack of career progression for anyone but Kirk, Sulu and Spock was pathetic
3.Diversity of alien species, human nationalities and not just North Americans, gender, sexuality and cultures and it should not matter whether sentient beings are religious or not if there is no freedom of beliefs that is not based on harming others then the Federation is just a fascist state.
4.A female Trill or Bajoran Captain (easier alien makeup)
5.Crew with mixed backgrounds; with over 200 years of Federation history you mean folks are only getting it on with people from their own race/ethnic background? I find that hard to believe, especially for humans.
6.Cameos to pass the torch, but not too many
7.Set show in the Prime universe
8.Make reference to the death of Ambassador Spock
9. Accept that Starfleet is not the Federation version of NASA, its a Federation version of USAF/Royal Navy etc. When the fighting starts who do Federation folks call? Ghostbusters?

 

[Tai]

^ I agree with most everything you said Nyotarules.

I'm amazed when I see uniforms in concept art for the movies and video games, and then see rather drab uniforms in production. I really have loved what they've done with uniforms on all three of the new films, with the various overcoats and duty uniform variations. What do you think of them?

The career progression thing is tricky. You want to have a stable cast that develops... but then you also get into a Riker situation where yeah, he really should have taken his own command by season 5. I love how they handled it in TNG, and one of my gripes with the way next generation ended was that Picard didn't retire and hand over the ship to Riker. Kind of a dick move IMO, since literally Generations was all about how he didn't have any kids and he didn't have a legacy and in Insurrection he fell in love with a beautiful immortal who could have given him some... and given that the best episode of Star Trek ever made was all about how Riker REALLY wanted to wait to command the Enterprise.

It'd be neat if they hired an actor to play the first officer for only 4 years that eventually did get his own command and left the show maybe to a spinoff or something.

I think the Captain should be human. It's not a deal breaker or anything... but I think it's a question of accessibility.

 

[eyeresist]

As far as career progression goes, they could build it into the premise. Have a green cadet join the ship in the first ep (don't call him Wesley), and also have a senior officer due for retirement. Lower ranks are rotated through command positions to gain experience.

 

[Nyotarules]

^ I agree with most everything you said Nyotarules.

I'm amazed when I see uniforms in concept art for the movies and video games, and then see rather drab uniforms in production. I really have loved what they've done with uniforms on all three of the new films, with the various overcoats and duty uniform variations. What do you think of them?

The new films? Well the uniforms look similar to me, the ladies had no stripes in the first two which is a MEGA error on the costume designer's part. All officers should show rank insignia on their clothes since dog tags have gone to VHS heaven. I liked the wets suit. I heard the ladies wear pants in 'Beyond' which makes a lot more sense. Who wants to worry about not showing your knickers?

The career progression thing is tricky. You want to have a stable cast that develops... but then you also get into a Riker situation where yeah, he really should have taken his own command by season 5. I love how they handled it in TNG, and one of my gripes with the way next generation ended was that Picard didn't retire and hand over the ship to Riker. Kind of a dick move IMO, since literally Generations was all about how he didn't have any kids and he didn't have a legacy and in Insurrection he fell in love with a beautiful immortal who could have given him some... and given that the best episode of Star Trek ever made was all about how Riker REALLY wanted to wait to command the Enterprise.

It'd be neat if they hired an actor to play the first officer for only 4 years that eventually did get his own command and left the show maybe to a spinoff or something.

Or do what TNG did at least, Geordie got a promotion, Troi took her Command exams, Crusher went on sabbatical, O'Brien got a promotion. Even Major Keira became a colonel on DS9. But the TOS set up of following The Captain for decades on end, that's gotta stop. It made Kirk look like a selfish jerk, not encouraging the best for his people. Imagine their personnel review - 'I don't wanna let you go! Stay Spock, you're the best XO in the fleet and I want you to stay that way forever!!!!'

I think the Captain should be human. It's not a deal breaker or anything... but I think it's a question of accessibility.

Nah it smacks of 'white male privilege' 23rd century style makes Starfleet more Terrancentric than it should be. A Vulcan in command would be good, with a human XO, an Andorian doctor and a Tellarite engineer. These are meant to be the Founding species of the Federation after all and yet we hardly see the others in leadership roles in Starfleet. Its all offscreen supposition.
I don't see the point of the Starfleet universe being about 'humans have gotten over their negative isms' and are dealing with other races that got over theirs millenia before us and yet, we are always seen to be in charge?

 

[Jerikka Dawn]

Vulcan in command would be good, with a human XO, an Andorian doctor and a Tellarite engineer.

A non-human Captain would be great IMO, and I'd definitely prefer it be a well-established or founding Federation species like Vulcan or Andorian rather than something like Denobulan, etc.

I'm still wishing for a Pike/Spock/Number One/Boyce/Tyler/Colt series, though.

 

[T'Girl]

Vulcan in command would be good, with a human XO, an Andorian doctor and a Tellarite engineer.

I think there needs to be a Human in the mix somewhere, even if it's not the captain or the XO. That said, I would like the alien hero characters to be deliberately not be of the previous seen prominent alien species. Neither brand new species, or little seen before species (like what ENT did with the Andorians).

Diversity of alien species, human nationalities and not just North Americans ...

It would be interesting with the new alien characters if they were like the Humans in so far as there are differences within their species, just as there are with Humans. We saw with Spock and Tuvok that Vulcan have different races. The groups/nationalities within a alien species don't all have to have the same mono-culture.

People fawn over the "it's all connected" nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Not just the movies, all the Marvel comics (basically) take place in the same fictional universe. DC comics on the other hand exists in a series of separate universes.

Batman and Superman do inhabit the same DC universe, in fact Bruce Wayne owns the Daily Planet, so (in a way) Superman is employed by Batman.

Make the cast diverse, without tokenism

Definitely don't see the need to shoehorn in heterosexuals just because it's currently trendy to have some.

^ Doesn't contradict what I said.

Basically it does, nothing in any of the series suggests that Vulcan psychic abilities have a rational scientific basis. Plus there's this from TSFS ...

Admiral Morrow
...honestly, I never understood Vulcan mysticism.

Kirk
You don't have to believe.
I'm not even sure I believe.
But even if there's a chance that Spock has an eternal soul ...

Mysticism eyeresist, eternal souls and beliefs.
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