What Would you Change About Series StoryLine?

I’d delete all seasons except Season 3.

 

I heard that the original plan was to have the entire first season of the show take place on Earth. That would have been...interesting. I wish they'd gone with that!

Also, I would have done these things;

- Add back the Colonel Green arc (which was cut in favor of the Augments/Arik Soong after Brent Spiner said he wanted to be on the show)

- Add a Romulan War arc that lasts an entire season.

- Do the same for the Mirror Universe.

- Have the ship's security, up to and including Malcolm, be members of the Starfleet Marine Corps as was originally intended (Malcolm was going to be a SFMC Major).

 

While I could see taking a little more time for Archer to assemble his crew, maybe get some more universe building in that time period, what would the majority of the Earth bound stories be?

How could it be made interesting enough to hold an audience for 26 episodes on Earth, then wait till the next season, prior to "getting to the action?"

Like the Dominion War before it, the Xindi War was much too long. The Xindi War should have been a half dozen episodes max.

 

I would begin the show at the Warp-5 center, Henry Archer the star of the pilot, launch the ship, at the end of the pilot. As the song suggests, technology plays an integral role in becoming explorers. We have to get there, get back, communicate, and defend ourselves. I want narratives that play as Kirk and Picard fire photon torpedoes and hail a vessel. This requires watching how Picard fires phasers, and when, building a strong narrative around the technologies of Star Trek, and its potential other avenues.

So, for a first season, I play with time and character, earn every scratch on the hull (it's Zephrame Cochrane's dream, look at how species-of-the-week threatens the dream!).

There is no time travel, just flashbacks. That's the first season.

Season Two leans into policies--Prime Directive, surface reconnaissance in First Contact stories) and here the Vulcan strains of relationships play an integral role. Bones is "an old country doctor" and he should reflect the common man, old world view of them. Jonathan Archer is shaping the future policies of the Federation, as its first explorer. Explore the rules of Trek. This is a show that is more integral than any other. Again, this is the dream of the elder Archer and Cochrane, why he built the ship to get us there, and back.

Season three is about the characters and their motivations in space. Do they still want to be on Enterprise? Is exploration worth it? Where are we headed? Is the dream alive? As they run into species, they should be testing these questions, perhaps finding an area of space, after a long time without meeting anyone, that is full of people's to know, conflict with.

Season 4 and 5 is the formation of the Federation, and how. Informed by all their missions, and lessons, the crew of the Enterprise plays an integral role in its founding. This isn't based on war, but the prevention of conflict. This isn't about politicians, but real-world knowledge of exploration. Archer feels compelled that this is necessary for the dream to live.

Season 6 is about cooperation. That Archer's dreams now have conflicting views, views echoed in DS9 and Voyager, about how to be proceed. Some ideas they adopt, some ideas they discard, but most cause discord. How will the Federation survive, function, cooperate with all these different views?

Season seven is coming home and some feel the journey was worth it, others feel it isn't complete, Archer longs to continue it. But, the Enterprise is done, and needs repairs, to be used again. He has grown attached to this life, and doesn't want to leave it.

The last scene is where it began--at the warp-5 complex, where Enterprise is serviced. Jonathan Archer looks to the sky in resigned satisfaction, as the theme plays over the stars, Melody only, his imagination as alive as ever, his hope for the future, stronger than ever. The three-pointed star pendant gripped in his hand.

Fade to Black. Let's go watch the rest of the series. Let the threads resonate throughout the rest of the series.

 

I would have just continue on for 3 more seasons (26 episodes each) and add in the romulan war for the last two. And in those years make them 2 years per season instead of one. Show the nx refit and more NX, intrepid, warp delta, Daedalus (as a ship older than enterprise). Starfleet is 50 ships big by the romulan war. It is called Star Trek enterprise from the beginning. Add the ranks of LTjg and LCDR and add more enlisted ranks such as petty officer (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and chief petty officers. Keep the MACO’s for season 3 on although have a new commanding officer to replace Hayes when he dies and have a executive officer for the MACO’s and just more MACO’s and maco ranks in general. Name tags. Also all ships have the designation U.E.S. (United earth ship) So basically flesh the series out with some details and of course the three extra seasons. And during the war have small fleets and occasionally flip to other crews during the war. Also mostly space war and few ground battles (max ten though war). And of course end it with the founding of the federation.
Also in season 7 the Andorians give earth shields. Which Greatly help the war effort.

 

The show wasn't too bad once Archer learned his swaggering, jingoistic attitude wasn't going to get him anywhere with these new races they encountered. But after the first, maybe second, season it all fell apart. Instead of the chronicles of the first interstellar exploration from earth, in a ship that should have been notably inferior to anything they encountered, we suddenly have Archer & Co. zipping around the universe in a ship at least as good as anything else around, getting involved in the politics and wars of every civilization along the way. Instead of being treated as newcomers to the interstellar community they are virtually lords of it. Then come the latter seasons with a virtual soap opera of a time travel war that drags on forever.

I'd have liked it much better if they had stuck to the original concept of earth's first interstellar exploration.

 

• Pilot "Broken Bow": Replace the Klingon with Tellarite. Suliban acts under order from a mysterious character. Remove the Temporal Cold War setting.
• First season: Introduce Andorian. Episodes consists of early exploration, Vulcan culture, Vulcan-Andorian conflicts. Some Tallarite perhaps. Definitely No Ferengi.
• Shockwave: An action-oriented episode involving Suliban conspiracy. No time travel this time.
• Season 2: Introduce Romulan. More episodes about Tellarite and Andorian-Tellarite conflicts. Definitely No Borg.
• Expense: An action-oriented episode introducing Xindi. Perhaps replace Klingon with Tellarite (again). The Xindi was (still) misguided to attack Earth.
• Season 3: Xindi arc lasts about first 6 episodes. End of arc revealed that a possible Vulcan was behind (actually a Romulan, but unknown at this time.) The Augment arc, the Forge arc, Mirror universe arc, the Romulan drone arc.
• Season 3 ends with Demons/Terra Prime.
• Season 4: Romulan War.
• Season 5: Continuation of Romulan War, and leads to birth of Federation.
• Season 5 ends with "These are the voyages...", except no holodeck this time.

(If we are lucky)

• Season 6 begins with Trip actually survived from the accident of last season finale.

 

That’s pretty good. One thing. The romulan war should really be 2 seasons. Or maybe a season and a half.

 

Yeah. Still unsure about how long the Romulan War should last until I submit my post. I'll make some adjustments.

 

Might have the contentious relationship between Reed and Hayes make more sense when the MACO's are assigned to the ship. Reed's problem with the MACO's didn't make sense the way the show originally was.

Naked women and money?

Might have been interesting if Archer's rank were that of a Lieutenant Commander, do you really need a full captain to command 50 people?

While we're at it, have Hayes be a first lieutenant, and not a major. With one sergeant and the rest junior enlisted.

Have the Romulans around right from the start, but no one fully realizes who/what they are, only that they're a growing threat. So Earth quietly goes on a rapid ship building program.

End of season three there can be the big reveal that the threat are Romulans (oh shit!).

Yes.

Or just one, have the single season cover multiple years.

Have the captain win the day through intelligence, guile and occasionally blinding bullshit.

Not fire power.

 

Don't have this rushed storyline in Season 4 to retcon away all the perceived differences in Vulcan culture and society in one big fanboyish sweep.

Kor

 

Can't the Romulan war last like a few weeks?

Blasphemer!

 

Well it’s actually 83 people and I have written down and having a captain command 83 people works not perfect but it works. Although I would increase the ships crew about to 90. (I like to use the designs made by the enterprise project at waxing moon. Not cannon but a very good approximation of the ship the guy apparently spent hours watching Star Trek enterprise to get the best picture of the inside structure.) But yeah I would have loved for Star Trek in general to not have ever ship commander as a captain.
And there would be more maco’s in my version. Maybe not enough to warrant a major but at least a captain.

 

Wouldn’t be much of a war. Ent ships aren’t very fast and space is big.

Just saw your adjustment. Very good. Like this this timeline

 

Not every war mentioned in dialogue has to be some huge, epic war for survival. All that is required is a formal declaration of war.

 

But I believe that was what the romulan was like. If not a war like that Why would all the species come together and form the federation. The Andorians are very territorial. And again if the war only last a few weeks it wouldn’t be much of a war since ent ships aren’t very fast I would take weeks form ships to come and fight. Unless earth wants to risk waiting for the romulans to come to earth and fight there and risk losing earth. No one said this war was going to be dominion war big or Klingon war big but definitely not a few weeks. Non cannon has it at 4 years and frankly that seems about right.

 

In the unmade movie Star Trek: The Beginning, it takes places over the space of about about a week in October 2159. Instead of a big war across space as told in various novels and technical manuals (and IIRC, Diane Duane's version lasted a whopping 25 years), it's a prolonged attack on Earth by a Romulan drone fleet.

(That said, the film script does end on a cliffhanger so perhaps the second part would have extended things somewhat)

 

Could you imagine the reaction from fans, though, had there been 26 Earth-bound episodes? "This isn't Star Trek!" Especially if they were BORING, poorly plotted out episodes or standalones? In this week's episode, Captain Archer retrieves his uniform from the dry cleaner after Porthos pisses on it! A hovercar accident has closed down the Golden Gate Bridge, and transporters are down! Will he make it before it closes? And in an exciting B-story, Mayweather gets points against his pilot's license after failing to report a minor collision with a docked, unmanned shuttle pod.

Also, after said Earth-centric first season, how would fans have reacted had we gone into season two with the same TNG style episodes, except in the 22nd century? I would imagine the show would have been shit canned after season two had this happened. DEFINITELY after season three if season three played out the same as season two did.

 

We had some cool stuff happen on Earth in season 4 (and 3, in mid-2000's "Carpenter Street") , like Phlox getting kidnapped. That could have lead to somewhere on Earth instead of a distant sector of space.

 

Season 3 and 4 also had a few new writers like Manny Coto involved to add a little fresh blood into the storyline to jazz it up a bit. I'm imagining a Seasons 1-3 envisioned by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, still burnt out from Voyager and still following UPN's mandate to rush Enterprise into production.