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News Exclusive: Scott Bakula Eyeing Star Trek Return In President Archer Series Pitch From ‘Enterprise’ Producer

I'm not sure I follow that. Do you think 60+ fans are only interested in the TOS era?
The ones (like me) who LOVED TOS and never truly likeGR's attempt to retcon and replace it with TNG because he either passed or was unable to buy TOS from Paramount in 1969 and was upset that after Paramount put it in syndication it generated a lot of money he didn't get any piece of...

Yes.
 
I was tempted to react to some dubious political comments, but instead I will simply wonder how no one seems to have reacted to this.



Faith. Heart. Get it? Huh? Do ya? Well, I tried. In fact, my wife sometimes thought I was very trying.

I got your joke.
 
I've always thought a focus on Federation politics could be interesting, but I'm not sure if this is the what I had in mind.

I like Bakula and I think Mike Sussman wrote some good Star Trek, but Archer is never a character I particularly warmed to.

I'd prefer an original set of characters. But I doubt this will actually happen so it's not really an issue. It there was a chance this could happen, Sussman wouldn't be openly discussing it.
 
I doubt anything is going to happen in the next few years other than SNW ending and SFA getting a second season.
 
I doubt anything is going to happen in the next few years other than SNW ending and SFA getting a second season.
Makes sense.

Usually a lot of stuff gets canceled or runs it course when these mergers happen. Then, all new stuff comes out. We should enjoy what we get because we might have a pause coming.
 
If there's a hiatus after Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy, well, I lived through the 1970s wilderness years and the post-Enterprise wilderness years and, based on the fact that my parents are still alive, I'll probably make it through the next wilderness years. But I'll be able to look back at a wild and wonderful few years of Star Trek that were often new and different but always still true to what Star Trek has traditionally been about.
 
Just as the Picard series did not adhere to David Goodman's Picard Autobiography in any way, shape or form.
They did use some of the art created for that book for the Picard museum at Comic-Con back in 2019 or whenever it was.
I can't remember if any of that ended up in the show.
 
Could this book/writer be a bit of a springboard for this show if it happens?. Anyone own it?

Star Trek Federation: The First 150 Years by David A. Goodman https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16168077-star-trek-federation
They have more than enough to draw from for plot ideas, from unused Season 5 ideas for ENT, various threads from all four seasons of ENT, and from TOS as a whole. Factor in the ENT novels, including The Good That Men Do, and they are spoiled for ideas.

But, they can always use what’s in that book to help with worldbuilding. Particularly if fallout from the Earth-Romulan War is going to be a recurring theme throughout the series.

Even the unused Star Trek: The Beginning script could help with worldbuilding.
 
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I have nothing but respect for Bakula and the rest of the ENT cast, but I just don't think this premise has the legs to work, especially twenty years later.

Instead, I think the focus should be on the very "first" Federation starship, i.e., the first starship to be designed, build, and crewed by inhabitants of the founding worlds of the UFP. I'm sure respective fleets were grandfather in and referred to as "Federation starships," but this ship and her crew represent the first joint venture of the newly-formed Federation.

Since this ship would have a great deal of meaning for all involved, a nice reference to Zephram Cochrane and the end of the Earth-Romulan War would be to name the ship "Phoenix." Human captain, Andorian security officer, Tellarite doctor, and toss in a Vulcan engineer who is a technical advisor.

Consider the significance of such a show: different people from different worlds and backgrounds and cultures, working together for the first time on a long-range deep space exploration mission. There's a ton of relevance to our world now and loads of storytelling potential. Archer could be a recurring character along with other former Enterprise crew members.
 
Such a story might have potential, but based on how things were set up in ENT, there seemed to be no end to the contentious nature between the founding worlds. Hell, even by the 23rd century we had canonical references to segregated all-Vulcan crews (USS Intrepid).

Conflict can bring good storytelling, but it could either get overly brutal in a way inconsistent with Starfleet principles, or it will get hand-waved away in favor of "playing it safe" like what happened between the integrated SF and Maquis crews in VOY. The conflict there just evaporated and/or became completely inconsequential.

I honestly don't see something like that happening.
 
I don't know, I can't see Star Trek crossed with The West Wing working at all.

(Ahem.)

 
"President Archer?"
"Yes."
"Take a look at this."
"What is it?"
"It's new hologram technology. Take a look at this: it's a hologram of Trip Tucker."
"That's amazing! It's almost like he's not dead, and--"
"And we accidentally deleted it."
 
I have nothing but respect for Bakula and the rest of the ENT cast, but I just don't think this premise has the legs to work, especially twenty years later.

Instead, I think the focus should be on the very "first" Federation starship, i.e., the first starship to be designed, build, and crewed by inhabitants of the founding worlds of the UFP. I'm sure respective fleets were grandfather in and referred to as "Federation starships," but this ship and her crew represent the first joint venture of the newly-formed Federation.

Since this ship would have a great deal of meaning for all involved, a nice reference to Zephram Cochrane and the end of the Earth-Romulan War would be to name the ship "Phoenix." Human captain, Andorian security officer, Tellarite doctor, and toss in a Vulcan engineer who is a technical advisor.

Consider the significance of such a show: different people from different worlds and backgrounds and cultures, working together for the first time on a long-range deep space exploration mission. There's a ton of relevance to our world now and loads of storytelling potential. Archer could be a recurring character along with other former Enterprise crew members.
That sounds like more the end goal of the show than the beginning. It’s a good goal, btw. It of course suggest that there were previous attempts before in the Federation and they did not work out. But there is no drama if it all works out smoothly. There could even be drama of them trying to break the Warp 8 barrier together.

Such a story might have potential, but based on how things were set up in ENT, there seemed to be no end to the contentious nature between the founding worlds.
Continuity wise, it should be a struggle to get all the crews together, because of T’Pau. And by exploring T’Pau, who never sat on the Federation Council and is considered all of Vulcan (according to TOS), it can explore why the crews stayed separate. Maybe the lack of a Prime Directive has something to do with it too, since it was not a part of the values agreed upon to found the Federation. So, Vulcans are following the Prime Directive, the other crews are not, and this creates political drama. And as Archer is supposed to have grown past his issues with Vulcans by the end of season 4, while having experience that younger crews do not with exploration and prewarp cultures, while having Section 31 at his disposal to deal with all the hostile species out there that do not mind interfering with prewarp cultures, while a certain engineer and best friend of Archer’s tries to bring Section 31 down…there’s great potential for interesting tv.

Hell, even by the 23rd century we had canonical references to segregated all-Vulcan crews (USS Intrepid).
In non-canon sources, there are Andorian only crewed ships too (USS Eagle). Though I do not know if they are crewed soley by Andorians and Aenar, or if they include Andorian subject species like the Arkenites (who are seen in TVH). And in the case of the latter, are the Arkenites freed or not? What does Archer think, since he was the Ambassador to Andoria for a time?

Conflict can bring good storytelling, but it could either get overly brutal in a way inconsistent with Starfleet principles, or it will get hand-waved away in favor of "playing it safe" like what happened between the integrated SF and Maquis crews in VOY. The conflict there just evaporated and/or became completely inconsequential.
P+ is not UPN. Conflict as seen in PIC S3 or DIS S1 & S2 is more likely. And those crews still came together in the end.

Plus, if Shran's a part of the main cast, then conflict is inevitable.
 
I don't know, I can't see Star Trek crossed with The West Wing working at all.

(Ahem.)

What? I want to see the time travel episode where the 24th century Katherine Pulaski goes back in the guise of a Lawyer and 'accidently' falls to her death in an open elevator shaft...oh, wait... ;)
 
I think my ideal Trek Nerd version of this show would take place immediately after the Khitomer Conference in Star Trek VI. That seems like a pretty intense time for politics in Trek history. We could meet a fresh incoming President who suddenly has the job of working out the details of peace with the Klingons, selling Federation member worlds and general populace on the importance and viability of the new alliance, overseeing the Federation's role in post-Praxis recovery efforts, along with all of the other political brushfires and hot potatoes that end up on the Federation President's desk...all the while keeping in mind that a high-level interstellar conspiracy just tried to assassinate his predecessor. (Since Kurtwood Smith still seems to be acting, he could pop in to consult now and then. Maybe his character could even get a name after 35 years).

We could also glimpse at least the beginning of Spock's trajectory out of Starfleet and into diplomacy. Oh and speaking of diplomacy, there's a young Curzon Dax running around who is eager to prove himself a friend to the Federation's new Klingon allies.

Fanservice aside, a show about the hard work of ending a long cold war and making the dream of peace into a reality could make for some intresting Trek storytellling.
 
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