If You Could Rewrite ENT?

[Tenacity]

Tell UPN to fuck off with trying to meddle with the show because they thought they knew what was best.

Yeah, it's not like they were the ones paying for for the show to be made. Right?

Imagine them acting as though the show were their property.

I hope at least one of the characters are black, if not I would stay away from that show like an infected leper.

In order to make it less American centric, none of the character would be either Black or White. The two largest groups in America.

Plenty of different type of Asians.

I would have set it back immediately after the events of First Contact.

I'd put it a couple of decades after, but certainly not a century after.

Most of the show would be more about colonization, early conflicts that led to the U.E., using the new power of warp flight to find cures for diseases.. going all over the solar system.

Yes to all of these, and more. Give the ship an actual well thought out mission.

Something that I would have added to the pilot would have been a mission briefing between Admiral Forrest and the senior officers, laying out for them (and the audience) what was expected from the ship.

- Locate prospective uninhabited (no sapiens) colonies planets.
- Identify worlds that would accept Human immigrants.
- Acquire (buy) high technology and advanced medical knowledge.
- Acquire data bases so Humans would be less dependent on Vulcans.
- Acquire anything so Humans would be less dependent on Vulcans.
- Cultivate potential trading partners for Earth products.
- Cultivate potential political allies.
- Learn who the interstellar player are.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Something that I would have added to the pilot would have been a mission briefing between Admiral Forrest and the senior officers, laying out for them (and the audience) what was expected from the ship.

- Locate prospective uninhabited (no sapiens) colonies planets.
- Identify worlds that would accept Human immigrants.
- Acquire (buy) high technology and advanced medical knowledge.
- Acquire data bases so Humans would be less dependent on Vulcans.
- Acquire anything so Humans would be less dependent on Vulcans.
- Cultivate potential trading partners for Earth products.
- Cultivate potential political allies.
- Learn who the interstellar player are.

Definitely better than bumble around, piss off numerous races, get into situations you can't deal with, and threaten planetary security by being completely ill-equipped for the first deep space mission.

 

[Dukhat]

Yeah, it's not like they were the ones paying for for the show to be made. Right?

Imagine them acting as though the show were their property.

So during the production of Babylon 5: Crusade, JMS was getting pissed off that TNT was changing his scripts to what they wanted. He finally had enough and said, fuck it, I'm going to write the scripts the way I originally envisioned them. TNT said that they'd cancel the show if he did that. He said that he'd rather have the show cancelled than have it be something different than what he envisioned. So TNT cancelled it.

I didn't see Berman and Braga caring enough about their own creation like JMS did to threaten to kill it if it wasn't the way they wanted it. JMS stood up to TNT. B&B let UPN screw with ENT, and that's why it was ultimately cancelled.

 

[Tenacity]

MS ... said that he'd rather have the show cancelled than have it be something different than what he envisioned.

JMS was willing to put hundreds of people out of work in a temper tantrum over not getting his personal way? What a great guy to work for.

I didn't see Berman and Braga caring enough about their own creation like JMS did to threaten to kill it if it wasn't the way they wanted it.

B and B wanted to spend the entire first season on Earth, UPN wanted to have the ship and crew into space mid way through the pilot.

UPN was right, B and B were wrong, theirs was a stupid idea.

The Temporal Cold War was a interesting idea, a conflict that would take place over the span of centuries. B and B refused to develop the concept owing to it not being their own, preferring to whine about it instead, and write half hearted scripts involving the TCW to prove some kind of point.

The Xindi story arc was UPN's idea, stemming from the September Eleventh attack. While I feel the arc was too long (half season would have been better) it was a excellent idea.

B and B sold (yes sold) the series to UPN. If B and B didn't want to work in UPN's restaurant, they should have walked out of the kitchen and let UPN put someone else in charge of UPN's property.

Like Coto (and maybe Ron Moore).

B and B were the ones who thought TATV was a great idea and a gift to the fans, UPN (my understanding) didn't force them to made TATV.

 

[Tenacity]

At least one of them is ...

(on second thought)

since the andorians are (for the most part) blue, have the andorian be very deep purple. kind of like eggplant.

 

[Dukhat]

JMS was willing to put hundreds of people out of work in a temper tantrum over not getting his personal way? What a great guy to work for.

JMS's personality isn't relevant to the discussion.

B and B wanted to spend the entire first season on Earth, UPN wanted to have the ship and crew into space mid way through the pilot.

UPN was right, B and B were wrong, theirs was a stupid idea.

That's just your opinion. You have no idea if it would have been better or worse than what we got.

The Temporal Cold War was a interesting idea, a conflict that would take place over the span of centuries. B and B refused to develop the concept owing to it not being their own, preferring to whine about it instead, and write half hearted scripts involving the TCW to prove some kind of point.

They didn't like it because it wasn't part of what they wanted to do. They had every right not to take it seriously and to "whine" about it (although I'm pretty sure there wasn't as much whining as you're making it sound.) And BTW, the actual concept of the TCW was B&B's idea. All UPN mandated was that they have something more science-fictiony/timey-wimey than just a crew on a spaceship.

The Xindi story arc was UPN's idea, stemming from the September Eleventh attack. While I feel the arc was too long (half season would have been better) it was a excellent idea.

No, I'm pretty sure the Xindi arc was B&B's idea. UPN wasn't smart enough to come up with ideas like that. Rather, they wanted inane shit like having a boy band perform on the ship each episode.

B and B sold (yes sold) the series to UPN. If B and B didn't want to work in UPN's restaurant, they should have walked out of the kitchen and let UPN put someone else in charge of UPN's property.

They didn't so much sell the series to UPN as they knew UPN already wanted a new series, they already worked for UPN, and they simply needed to come up with a concept that UPN would sign off on.

B and B were the ones who thought TATV was a great idea and a gift to the fans, UPN (my understanding) didn't force them to made TATV.

Half correct. The story for TATV was B&B's idea, but UPN hamstrung them by such means as not giving them enough time to come up with a better idea and only giving them one hour instead of the two that all ST finales had in the past. I'm not excusing B&B, mind you. TATV was and is still a pile of crap.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

(on second thought)

since the andorians are (for the most part) blue, have the andorian be very deep purple. kind of like eggplant.

Well they do come in green and grey (Lal and Thelin respectively).

 

[Tenacity]

JMS's personality isn't relevant to the discussion.

His ego very much is relevant to the discussion and the points that you have been raising.

That's just your opinion.

You're aware that you've been expressing yours?

They didn't like it because it wasn't part of what they wanted to do.

Right, they didn't want to do what the people who owned the show want to do, it wasn't B/B's show. They were just the people who were manufacturing a commercial product, the direction of the show was never meant to be entirely in their hands. Other people were involved.

 

[Dukhat]

His ego very much is relevant to the discussion and the points that you have been raising.

This discussion is "If I Could Rewrite ENT." One of my choices would be to write what I wanted instead of whatever silliness UPN mandated. I used JMS as an example of that, but he was a real executive producer and I'm just a guy on an internet bulletin board writing things years after the fact. This discussion isn't about him, it's about me.

You're aware that you've been expressing yours?

My only opinions have been in answer to the OP's question. Everything else I've mentioned to you has been fact (Well, it is my opinion that TATV is crap; I'm sure there could conceivably be one guy out there who thinks it's a masterpiece.)

Right, they didn't want to do what the people who owned the show want to do, it wasn't B/B's show. They were just the people who were manufacturing a commercial product, the direction of the show was never meant to be entirely in their hands. Other people were involved.

They did the most minimal amount that UPN wanted. They created the TCW idea but didn't take it anywhere. UPN wanted them to use the Akira class starship for the NX-01, but Drexler modified it in such a way that it wasn't just a carbon copy of a 24th century ship. UPN wanted a boy band to play on the ship during the Xindi arc. Since that never happened, I can only assume B&B nixed that idea.

 

[Shawnster]

If I could rewrite all of ENT.....

While I loved season 4 of ENT I found it too much fanwank/fanservice for one season. I'd spread all those references out over the entire season instead of concentrating them so much in the final season

I'd definitely not make it as similar to the rest of Trek as they did. Oh, they aren't "phasers" they are "phase pistols." They aren't "photon torpedoes," they are "photonic torpedoes." Bah! Nothing more than playing with words so that they are easily connected to the rest of Trek.

While I'm not advocating using 60s production values over 00s values, I'd do my best to make the show "feel" older than TOS. I'm fine with the look of the tech, but I'd make it work differently. Slower. Maybe this goes back to the "phase pistols..." Make them slug throwers or something. Leave them as lasers but they are a little larger than the common pistols we're used to. No stun settings. No universal translator through the communicator (they did that, didn't they?) I'd use Hoshi a lot more for translation. That might slow story telling down, though.

Slower warp drive. Or it breaks down more. Or it can only be used for a smaller amount of time before they have to drop to impulse and let the warp drive cool down or recharge or something before they can use it again.

Yes, ditch the Akiraprise design for something without a saucer. Maybe a Daedalus Class. I'd rather not use the name, "Enterprise," either. Call her "Discovery" LOL

I personally would not have used Klingons. Couldn't the story have been the same if they'd used Andorians or Tellarites instead?

Definitely not bow to pressures from the network on how to write the show. So, I'd probably not get a show. I really didn't like the "we must be influenced by 9/11" mindset. No massive attack on Florida. No Xindi war arc. Heck, make it the Romulan War instead and have the date change be the direct result of the temporal cold war. Therefore it would result in a slightly changed timeline but who cares? It's only an adjustment of 3 years.

Is there a way to do a steampunk Trek without, you know, actually making it steampunk? Maybe more cyberpunk? Cyberpunk meshed with a heavy industrialized feel? Make it feel retro without looking retro.

 

[Tenacity]

Make it feel retro without looking retro.

This sounds like a good idea, but I can't figure how they would do it. The thing is the bridge especially felt early 21st century, even from the perspective of a decade and a half later it seem dated.

Maybe a steampunk concept (not going overboard) would have worked, have the bridge (and other spaces) with exposed wire conduits, sheet medal boxes on the wall, pipes (GNDN) and lot's of gauges.

Have the bridge chair sbe like out of a '50's sci-fi novel. The chairs are bulky, and during battle the crew straps themselves into them.

That said some of the interiors of the ship really were pretty good, flight deck, sickbay and the dining room. Archer's cramped officer should have been the typical compartment. I thought the corridors were too wide, and the elevators should have been steep stairs.

Make the interior tight and the crew squished.

Heck, make it the Romulan War instead and have the date change be the direct result of the temporal cold war.

That'd be fantastic.

If the war started in about 2157 and ended 2167 (about a century before The Balance of Terror) that would make for decade long war.

Maybe the series could "skip time" and have each wartime season be two or three years each, instead of just one. The Captain's star log could announce how long it's been since the beginning of the war so we can keep tract.

Maybe a Daedalus Class. I'd rather not use the name, "Enterprise," either.

Maybe our heroes Daedalus could be named the "Cunningly Worked."

Slower warp drive

Wouldn't mind if the warp numbers were lower, make it so Starfleet didn't increase their warp speed by only one digit over the course of a century. Maybe make cruising speed 3.5 and max out at 3.8. But the ship would still have to get where it was going inside a given episode.

If warp 3.5 was 350 times light, that could work.

Or it can only be used for a smaller amount of time before they have to drop to impulse and let the warp drive cool down or recharge or something before they can use it again.

Very good.

 

[uniderth]

This sounds like a good idea, but I can't figure how they would do it. The thing is the bridge especially felt early 21st century, even from the perspective of a decade and a half later it seem dated.

Maybe a steampunk concept (not going overboard) would have worked, have the bridge (and other spaces) with exposed wire conduits, sheet medal boxes on the wall, pipes (GNDN) and lot's of gauges.

Have the bridge chair sbe like out of a '50's sci-fi novel. The chairs are bulky, and during battle the crew straps themselves into them.

That said some of the interiors of the ship really were pretty good, flight deck, sickbay and the dining room. Archer's cramped officer should have been the typical compartment. I thought the corridors were too wide, and the elevators should have been steep stairs.

I don't think it would have to look so retro. Certainly some classic design elements would work. But I think they key lies in narratively showing that the tech from Star Trek is more advanced than it looks. I'm not sure how you could do that in a series set 100 years before Star Trek. Perhaps an in between series could show the transition or maybe a time travel episode.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

I really didn't watch Enterprise because of Trek fatigue (and I thought it was stupid, to boot), but if I could re-write one single element, it would be TO ERASE THE FUCKING AUGMENT VIRUS! That is all.

 

[STEPhon IT]

In order to make it less American centric, none of the character would be either Black or White. The two largest groups in America..

Does Black people in Africa count? Or what about in the Caribbean Islands, or the ones in Europe? Or down under?

 

[STEPhon IT]

I'm working on the REAL version of Enterprise. This is my series bible so far:

The Ship

S.S. Enterprise UEV-47

A run of the mill science ship. Declaration class. There’s nothing really special about this ship. She has no namesake or legend to live up to. The Enterprise is designed to carry out multiple two year scientific research tours into deep space. She has already completed one tour under the command of Captain Lei. The Enterprise has a compliment of about eighty-four. Two thirds of those are civilian scientists while the other third are military personnel.

Extraordinary adventures await this ordinary ship.


The Crew

Note: There are two characters I carried over from B&B’s Enterprise namely Trip and Hoshi. I have cut and paste some elements of their B&B bios.


Captain Johnathan Stiles

An experienced UESPA officer, about thirty-eight years of age. His previous assignment was as executive officer of the military ship S.S. Lapu Lapu. He was born and raised in the former Nation of Deseret(great basin region of the US). In his youth Stiles was one of those children who would stare up at the stars longingly. Although faster than light travel has become more common, young Johnathan would imagine the endless possibilities at each of those points of light. From an early 21st century perspective he’s one of those damn lucky souls who was fortunate enough to be born when interplanetary travel was a reality.

At age twenty-two Stiles joined UESPA, knowing this was the fastest and best was to the stars. Stiles progressed through the ranks serving with distinction.

Stiles married his wife Emily at age thirty-one and currently has two young daughters. He spent his time between his executive officer post and taking command of the Enterprise, with his family. His greatest strength and weakness is his love for his family. He misses them terribly while he is out on duty, but they are also a great motivator for him. He is torn between his duty to the space service and his duty to his family. One could say they are the two great loves of his life.

Another of Stiles’ strengths/weaknesses is his curiosity. He’s willing to look into things a little deeper than he sometimes should. However, this attribute is what got him command of the Enterprise. UESPA knows that with a mixed crew of military and civilians Stiles will give the civilians a fair chance, while other officers may be more inclined to favor the military. As this is Stiles’ first assignment as Captain on a deep space vessel, he is eager to see what is out there and explore it in his way.


Ntsais Lee

Lee is the executive officer of the Enterprise. She is thirty-four years young and was raised by a very traditional Hmong family. She, on the other hand, failed to see the purpose behind all of that archaic nonsense. This came to a head when, after graduating from college, her parents tried to sell her to the man she was dating. That was the last straw. She wanted to...

Click here to read the rest in the my thread.

I've also been designed the ship in Blender:

Here's a closeup of the main module. The figure standing on it gives scale. However, the orientation of the deck is perpendicular to the hull of the ship. This allows for acceleration based artificial gravity.
the large dome on the front is the navigational deflector. The lower circle used to be the bridge window, but when I flipped the deck orientation it became the housing for a sensor array. Though the bridge will still be in the lower cylinder. That ball on the side is modular Mission Module.

Here's the classic view of the ship from the Recreation Deck of the NCC-1701 refit. The warp reactor is house in the aft half.

You can follow my progress here.

TMP space dock was a reflection of the refit Enterprise design. TNG had something which reflected their timeline; has anyone ever tried to imagine a space dock which reflected TOS? I doubt it would look as dull as TMP.

 

[OldTrekker719]

I’d also expect to see humans treated with a little more contempt. There’s an interstellar community out there, species and cultures are trading and mixing in Star Wars bars throughout the quadrant by the time humanity first stepped out.

Perhaps you ought to consider living on (in?) UrAnus.

 

[OldTrekker719]

I hope at least one of the characters are black, if not I would stay away from that show like an infected leper.

"...one character IS Black ..." (NOT are). WTH was Ensign Merriweather, ...Aboriginie??? And one (two?) member of the military detachment on board were also Black ...Maybe you need to have your TV adjusted (or maybe your eyes). Perhaps YOU are the one that is the Leper.

 

[Butters]

I don’t get it

Perhaps you ought to consider living on (in?) UrAnus

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I don’t get it

Humour. It is a difficult concept

 

[Tenacity]

WTH was Ensign Merriweather, ...Aboriginie???

Where in Bry Sinclair's hypothetical crew list was Travis Mayweather mentioned?

And one (two?) member of the military detachment on board were also Black

Again where did Bry Sinclair list any "member of the military detachment" in Sinclair's hypothetical crew list?

Maybe you need to have your TV adjusted (or maybe your eyes). Perhaps YOU are the one that is the Leper.

Maybe you should read the entirety of the posts, so that you can commenting upon them accurately?

Does Black people in Africa count? Or what about in the Caribbean Islands, or the ones in Europe? Or down under?

Star Trek: Enterprise was a American made show, aimed primarily at a American audience.

I was proposing not including the two largest racial groups present in American (not necessarily American nationals Whites and Blacks) as a way of "shaking things up."