Spinoff....

[fireproof78]

That would only motivate me more to do it if I worked in “the business”. Nothing should be off limits inherently in fiction. Take your best shot, hope it’s a success, but realize success is not guaranteed. I never view any art (fine or commercial, if the distinction is necessary) with the notion that I’m owed satisfaction. I’m owed the proposed experience—nothing more or less. I’m not entitled to anything else. I’m always puzzled by “the fans deserve (are entitled to)…” satisfaction. No one is.

I loved the way a friend of mine put it when another friend expressed dissatisfaction with the Phantom Menace because he read so many books and had ideas of how a Star Wars prequel should be: "George Lucas can do whatever he wants and doesn't owe us a damn thing."

That's how it works. It's a product first and foremost; buy it or don't buy it. They're not obligated to cater to my fan wishes.

 

[Admiral Archer]

I'm so happy to see so many fellow fans wanting a post-TMP five year mission! I hope we get it. If we don't I'll still be happy with what we do get but I strongly wish to see the refit movie Enterprise on screen again.

 

[Pauln6]

I'm so happy to see so many fellow fans wanting a post-TMP five year mission! I hope we get it. If we don't I'll still be happy with what we do get but I strongly wish to see the refit movie Enterprise on screen again.

You can't improve on the TMP Enterprise but sadly they will probably try. Unless they are able to use Otoy's digital refit for inspiration.

I know it's cheesy but I wouldn't mind if they did a story based on the 'resurrection' of Decker and Ilia. They were due to return in Phase II and I had a kernel of an idea where they return as amnesiacs and become the focus of a new multi-planetary religious cult and the Enterprise is roped into complex interplanetary negotiations where the presence of the prophets of V'Ger is compulsory or the negotiations are are off.

Shades of Emissary perhaps, but are they even the real Decker and Ilia and/or pawns in a larger game? Maybe even inspiration from Solaris.

The only part of S31 I liked was the Deltan. I would love to see a character explored using the lore from the TWOK novelisation.

 

[FederationHistorian]

I think “Year One” discourse is going to be an interesting case study in the various types of fandom chatter. Because you’ve got the “Legacy” stuff, which has three distinct groups:

• “Hell yes.”
• “Hell no.”
• “Hell yes, but not for the memberberries.” (Myself.)

With “Year One”, my early read on the fanbase is that things are more muted in both directions:

• “Okay, sure.”
• “I dunno. Nah.”

There’s less passion here. Which kind of makes it a nonstarter to some extent. I made the thread on this over on the Future Trek board, and like, I’m not surprised by that, either.

From a business sense, it’s probably savvy for Goldsman to have gotten this out right now rather than closer to Strange New Worlds’ series finale. And perhaps excitement will build over time. But right now, I’m not sure the initial reaction to the notion is quite where he and Alonso Myers might have hoped. It’s telling that there’s yet to be any discernible galvanization around it from any corner of the net that I’ve researched.

I get that its savvy. I also get why they may run into issues.

They are only pitching Year One. No Long Treks of any sort - not a series of them, not with the SNW cast or with a character or two, not a crossover with another series, nothing that tackles a specific genre- nothing. Just Year One. With no other way to maximize usage of the SNW (and SFA) sets, despite the investment in a studio in Toronto to make Star Trek. Selling everyone on the familiar (McCoy, Sulu, Chekov), instead of the unfamiliar (Kelso, Piper, Mitchell, Dehner). When they’ve already introduced their version of Kirk, Uhura and Scotty, to the audience. And even if Year One is greenlit, it won’t be seen until 2029 or 2030 anyways.

Meanwhile, Skydance can do a number of animated series for far cheaper, they can do audio dramas for far cheaper. Can probably even do a six-part miniseries with a new cast in the same setting for far cheaper. They could even do a fourth Kelvin movie that would cost whatever it costs to make a few seasons of Year One, reuse the SNW sets for a refit Ent-A - like how the TNG sets were used for the later TOS movies nearly 40 years ago. Make it be a profitable film, make it critically acclaimed to make up for the shortcomings of Section 31, especially if they land an actor or actress that can bump up the quality of the script, and get that off their backs forever, which would help with finances long term. It does not matter if that ship has sailed for a Kelvinverse movie. The point is not understanding why choose Kirk on the small screen when they could choose Kirk for the big screen and bring that Kirk to the Prime timeline with his crew. Bring that Kirk to the 25th century and make that century matter, using it as a launch pad for a series of new shows.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

They were due to return in Phase II

Where they?

TMP replaced Phase II. It wasn’t a thing that was intended to follow TMP.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I know it's cheesy but I wouldn't mind if they did a story based on the 'resurrection' of Decker and Ilia. They were due to return in Phase II

Weren’t they regulars in Phase II? They never would have “left” if Phase II had gone into production.

 

[Pauln6]

Weren’t they regulars in Phase II? They never would have “left” if Phase II had gone into production.

Ilia was scripted to be returned at the end - being effectively reintegrated as the real Ilia. I think Decker was intended to return in the following episode but I don't recall seeing that scripted.

So, to remain faithful to Phase II they could have returned in the next 'episode' after TMP, although personally, it's more interesting if it happens after the passage of some time because it opens up more philosophical options:

Are they clones? Are they real independent beings or projections of VGer? What was being ascended really like? Are there side effects? Do they dream? Is it really them or a scam (like Khaless).

 

[tenmei]

The full script of the Phase 2 pilot has been available since the mid-nineties (the book also included full treatments for other episodes and at least one other script). From what I recall, Illia and Decker were back on the Enterprise by the end of "In Thy Image" and weren't returned in future episodes.

 

[Pauln6]

The full script of the Phase 2 pilot has been available since the mid-nineties (the book also included full treatments for other episodes and at least one other script). From what I recall, Illia and Decker were back on the Enterprise by the end of "In Thy Image" and weren't returned in future episodes.

Yeah I am probably thinking of some of the background from the Phase II book. Still, the point is, joining with V'Ger was originally the beginning for the characters, not the end.

I think the finale of TMP is important - our ability to grow by opening ourselves up to new experiences, rather closing ourselves down and limiting ourselves to a narrow viewpoint is, frankly, a lesson that a lot of fans seem to have forgotten.

I think that message is more important if Decker and Ilia are absent for some time before returning. There is certainly more story potential there as a possible arc for one or two seasons.

But, of course, that doesn't have to be the defining storyline for 5 years - it could be self-enclosed for a season, like Picard's storylines. There were also lots of new Federation races that have never been explored, plus the usual suspects.

Even if she was only a semi-regular, like Sam Kirk or Pelia, it would be cool to see Sulu's leadership skills develop and an opportunity to build on his hilarious but successful double act with Rand.

As far as cries of woke go, TMP has a species (move over Orville) where males and females would both be played by male actors (Rhaandarite although presumably Saurians too if lizards don't breast feed on other worlds), and another that is gender neutral because they reproduce through cloning (Arcturian). ;-p

 

[Mr J]

The part I'm struggling with in the whole "Year One" pitch is—doesn't it just feel like Strange New Worlds Season 6? The same Season 6 that Paramount has already passed on?

If the sets are the same, much of the cast returns, and Pike's five-year mission is over, then isn't this just a continuation of the same show? Sure, there might be a refresh with some new cast members, and maybe they'll tweak the visuals or storytelling format. But SNW was always essentially The Original Series with modern production values, and I’m not seeing how "Year One" would really differentiate itself from that.

It could be fun if the sets gradually evolved into the classic TOS look and the ship transitioned into the original Constitution-class design by refits —but I half expect SNW to end with that kind of nod and lots of jokes about the Enterprise shrinking inside anyway.

The unique selling point of SNW was Pike’s time in command of the Enterprise. It was the untold era with a big gap and a lot of interest in how the TOS crew came to be and and a chance to flesh out those "The Cage" characters we never got to know. It gave/is still giving us the chance to see how TOS became the crew it was and flesh out an era and characters we didn't know. That story will have been told - the USP will be done with, and we already know what comes next. I’m just not convinced there’s enough substance to "Year One" beyond a bunch of continuity headaches.

More to the point - if Paramount was going to do it, it would have been called Season 6.

 

[V'Lias]

The part I'm struggling with in the whole "Year One" pitch is—doesn't it just feel like Strange New Worlds Season 6? The same Season 6 that Paramount has already passed on?

If the sets are the same, much of the cast returns, and Pike's five-year mission is over, then isn't this just a continuation of the same show? Sure, there might be a refresh with some new cast members, and maybe they'll tweak the visuals or storytelling format. But SNW was always essentially The Original Series with modern production values, and I’m not seeing how "Year One" would really differentiate itself from that.

It could be fun if the sets gradually evolved into the classic TOS look and the ship transitioned into the original Constitution-class design by refits —but I half expect SNW to end with that kind of nod and lots of jokes about the Enterprise shrinking inside anyway.

The unique selling point of SNW was Pike’s time in command of the Enterprise. It was the untold era with a bit gap and a lot of interest in how the TOS crew came to be and and a chance to flesh out those "The Cage" characters we never got to know. It gave/is still giving us the chance to see how TOS became the crew it was and flesh out an era and characters we didn't know. That story will have been told - we already know what comes next. I’m just not convinced there’s enough substance to "Year One" beyond a bunch of continuity headaches.

If they did this continuation I would assume all the contracts would need to be renegotiated, giving them room to cut out more expensive actors/crew and lowering salaries of some of the others.

 

[Mr J]

If they did this continuation I would assume all the contracts would need to be renegotiated, giving them room to cut out more expensive actors/crew and lowering salaries of some of the others.

This is true - but if the plan was always the five year mission of Pike, surely some of the big ticket stars would all be gone anyway?

And I'd imagine Uhura for example - after 5 years would want a pay rise.

 

[FederationHistorian]

The part I'm struggling with in the whole "Year One" pitch is—doesn't it just feel like Strange New Worlds Season 6? The same Season 6 that Paramount has already passed on?

Yes it does.

It creates questions on if SNW has used it’s time effectively, or if they had enough time to begin with. After all, they have to work with 10 episodes a season, instead of the 13-15 episodes Discovery worked with for 4 of it’s 5 seasons, plus Short Treks.

Not to mention how the show feel kind of bloated with how many main characters and recurring characters are in it. Not everyone is going to get developed, even when split into separate A and B and even C plots. I get wanting SNW to be like TNG and DS9, but there is only so much time for SNW, especially without a series of Long Treks being planned for them.

I personally find it very hard to believe that Mitchell, Dehner, Kelso, Piper and Rand get fleshed out more in a Year One show when they are already talking about McCoy, Sulu and Chekov - characters that should be cameos at best in SNW. And we do not know what happens to Una, Pelia, La’an, Ortegas, and Batel.

 

[V'Lias]

This is true - but if the plan was always the five year mission of Pike, surely some of the big ticket stars would all be gone anyway?

And I'd imagine Uhura for example - after 5 years would want a pay rise.

I certainly don't claim to know how the contracts on SNW are set up, but I've heard some are renewed every year at an incremental increase in salary. So by the end of 3-4 years the actor could be making a good bit more than they did when they started. So in that case creating a new show could give the studio the leverage to potentially reset that number a bit.

I'm no expert though, so all of this is a guess based on what I've heard of some sections of the industry.

 

[Pauln6]

Yes it does.

It creates questions on if SNW has used it’s time effectively, or if they had enough time to begin with. After all, they have to work with 10 episodes a season, instead of the 13-15 episodes Discovery worked with for 4 of it’s 5 seasons, plus Short Treks.

Not to mention how the show feel kind of bloated with how many main characters and recurring characters are in it. Not everyone is going to get developed, even when split into separate A and B and even C plots. I get wanting SNW to be like TNG and DS9, but there is only so much time for SNW, especially without a series of Long Treks being planned for them.

I personally find it very hard to believe that Mitchell, Dehner, Kelso, Piper and Rand get fleshed out more in a Year One show when they are already talking about McCoy, Sulu and Chekov - characters that should be cameos at best in SNW. And we do not know what happens to Una, Pelia, La’an, Ortegas, and Batel.

I do agree that, with so few episodes, the show can't really do justice to so many main characters but to be fair, it's still doing a much better job than Discovery did. A few more 'part time' characters like Pelia and Sam might allow them to concentrate the writing for each character individually. Babylon 5 did something similar, with a core 3 in every episode, a second tier in almost every episode, a third tier in about a third of the episodes, and then recurring guest characters.

Kirk's first year certainly didn't have Rand as his yeoman or McCoy as his CMO, and had Gary Mitchell at helm but, of course, they could well set it just after Mitchell's death, which would allow them to show both characters joining the main crew.

They have gone a bit too far IMO in shovelling women into the core positions in SNW, much as I enjoy them. I worry if transitioning from female first officer, helmsman, chief engineer, and security chief to a canon where those positions were all occupied by men, they might feel the need to abandon characters to even up the numbers. Admittedly, recurring characters at navigation and security could remain female but Rand's position starts to look very menial as a consolation to first officer. I desperately want them to salvage Rand. She was under-used and poorly written but an aide to the captain has every reason to be on diplomatic missions. Even as a third tier character, they could make her worthwhile.

 

[Noname Given]

The part I'm struggling with in the whole "Year One" pitch is—doesn't it just feel like Strange New Worlds Season 6? The same Season 6 that Paramount has already passed on?

If the sets are the same, much of the cast returns, and Pike's five-year mission is over, then isn't this just a continuation of the same show? Sure, there might be a refresh with some new cast members, and maybe they'll tweak the visuals or storytelling format. But SNW was always essentially The Original Series with modern production values, and I’m not seeing how "Year One" would really differentiate itself from that.

It could be fun if the sets gradually evolved into the classic TOS look and the ship transitioned into the original Constitution-class design by refits —but I half expect SNW to end with that kind of nod and lots of jokes about the Enterprise shrinking inside anyway.

The unique selling point of SNW was Pike’s time in command of the Enterprise. It was the untold era with a big gap and a lot of interest in how the TOS crew came to be and and a chance to flesh out those "The Cage" characters we never got to know. It gave/is still giving us the chance to see how TOS became the crew it was and flesh out an era and characters we didn't know. That story will have been told - the USP will be done with, and we already know what comes next. I’m just not convinced there’s enough substance to "Year One" beyond a bunch of continuity headaches.

More to the point - if Paramount was going to do it, it would have been called Season 6.

In the same way the upcoming Star Fleet Academy could be thought of/seen as Star Trek Discovery Season 6?

So yeah, there appears to be a precedent for things like this in the Kurtzman Trek era.

 

[DEWLine]

They have gone a bit too far IMO in shovelling women into the core positions in SNW, much as I enjoy them.

This alone worries me. A lot. Especially in the present social context.

 

[UssGlenn]

they could well set it just after Mitchell's death, which would allow them to show both characters joining the main crew.

Goldsman has said that "year one" starts with Kirk's first day, which is a pre WNMHGB thing. The crew familiarity in that episode is already apparent. He's also said the show could last long enough to get to McCoy and Chekov. So Year One isn't the best description, but it does get the starting point across.

 

[Pauln6]

Goldsman has said that "year one" starts with Kirk's first day, which is a pre WNMHGB thing. The crew familiarity in that episode is already apparent. He's also said the show could last long enough to get to McCoy and Chekov. So Year One isn't the best description, but it does get the starting point across.

Yeah Chekov was 22 in season 2, Implying he was a new graduate but, like Uhura, he could be on board at a younger age while a cadet.

 

[Pauln6]

This alone worries me. A lot. Especially in the present social context.

Don't get me wrong, women make up over 50% of humans, so if we can have a cast set up that was 2/3 male (the norm throughout Trek for no good reason), a cast that is 2/3 female is equally fair game. I just worry about what that means transitioning to a canon male heavy cast.

Just throwing it out there though, Helen Noel (psychiatry), Carolyn Palamas (exo-arhaeology), Charlene Masters (physics), and Ann Mulhall (astrobiology) were all female characters who could easily front multiple episodes along with Uhura, Chapel, Rand, and some security officers.

Rand is a bit of an all-rounder but given where she ended up, I would say pitching her as a technician with basic engineering skills would fit better that as a security trained bodyguard type. That said, it could be a running joke if Rand keeps taking down beautiful women whenever they get close to Kirk. Imagine her throat punching Lenore Karidian in CotK. "I thought I saw a knife, Sir." Or Elaan of Troiyus, "I thought I saw a... oh, I did see a knife."