No offense,
Bill, citing this:
Well, Star Trek is what it is and it is about big heroes exploring the final frontier. I'm not exactly sure why Star Trek needs to be something else?
And then asking for this:
When I say I want something new, I mean I want something new.
Seems a bit contradictory.
I mean, I get what you're trying to say, but just how "new" does new have to be? At its most basic level, what
is (real)
Star Trek? How do we define it?
If we say it's something as simple as "Wagon Train to the Stars," then we've included four of the five series and all the films. Make it more specific like, "The intrepid crew of the
Starship Enterprise seeking out new life and civilizations," and now it's only three series. Or we could make the classification more broad and say something like, "A series of stories, set in the
Star Trek universe, that explore the human condition," and we've included everything. I think the goal is to then keep elements of the "old" but make them
different so they feel "new."
Like your football analogy, I think it's safer to say it's best to take something from something else that's
similar and try to incorporate and adapt it to fit, like the forward pass.
Which is what
Star Trek has done the past with DS9 and VOY. TPTB took story concepts from similar shows and molded them to fit in the
Star Trek universe.
R. Star's idea just takes it a step further. It's basically DS9 and VOY thrown in a pot together with pinch of
Lost for seasoning. If someone wanted to, I think he could take such a concept and make as "Star Trek" as he wanted.
However, I don't think that's the best direction for the television franchise. (I would like to see more of that kind of thing in the lit-verse, however.) I think if and when there's a TV series, it's best to stick to the basics. Or, as I said in the other thread: stick with the "The intrepid crew of the
Starship Enterprise seeking out new life and civilizations" idea. There are plenty of ways people could change the concept around and still make it "new."
That said, given the option, the
Enterprise is best left on the big screen. That is to say, if it's an either/or situation stick with the
Enterprise. If Paramount wants to try both again, keep the
Enterprise on the big screen and do something else for the small one.
And, honestly, I think for the time being it's going to just be movies. Even if the nucast fizzles after STIII, and they're skeptical about a new casting turnaround, there's always the potential of nuTNG. I know the idea is usually scoffed at as a "never going to happen," but someone at Paramount has to be thinking, "Those 9 million weekly viewers all have kids now." Either way, expect to see feature film
Enterprise for
at least another decade.
But if someone over at CBS gets antsy and wants to dip his toe in the TV (or streaming) water, I think it's still best to stick with "wagon train to the stars" and not deviate too far. Just, err, make sure it's better than
Voyager.
All that said, if I could wave a magic wand and have my number one fanboy dream show, it would be an
Aventine series. Aside from the
Vesta class being kick ass, the whole idea of ship specifically designed as a test-bed for super-advanced technology and propulsion that could completely redefine Starfleet's core mission seems like cornucopia of story ideas, yet still doing the "exploring the final frontier" thing.
And, I admit, it's just an excuse to get Nikki de Boer back on TV. She's utterly stunning these days, definitely one of those ladies who looks better with age. And she's got that whole maternal captainy look going these days.
After thinking about it for a while, I've decided that if TV and film are to run parallel, it might be best to keep the TV show in the Prime-verse. At the very least, it would alleviate any potential conflict. But, more importantly, it would keep things compartmentalized. I sure there would be some concerns about "well it might confuse people," but I think they'd be completely overblown the same as that silly Warner Brothers/DC embargo is. Hell, they could even use Starfleet's search for Spock and Nero as the launching point of the pilot, since (I believe.) both Ezri's promotion and the destruction of Romulus occur in 2383.
So you've got a new concept to start from, that isn't so different from the old one. And, while I'm not an expert on the slipstream drive, there's always the potential to send the ship off into Andromeda, I suppose.
The benefit of forming the show around an already established character who isn't so tied to her previous series that it'd just feel like a sequel. (As in say Riker/Titan.)
Not completely cutting bait and jumping another century at (essentially) another reboot. But distancing the show enough from the old universe to keep it fresh, yet leaving enough ties to it (And possibly the nuverse!) to keep it welcoming for long-time fans.
