7 Ideas for Star Trek 2017

[Rahul]

1. Don't mention where this is the original timeline, the Abrams timeline or a new one until the final episode of the first season.

Well, in either timeline they should set it post-TNG era, simply to be able to use common Trek lore like replicators, the holodeck, the Borg or the Ferengi.

That being said, the show should have a modern, completely unique own look and feel to it. They should give us the timeframe of the show very low-key (for example by mentioning "a message from Vulcan", or "Admiral Janeway's lecture on the Borg" in the background), so that for casual viewers it could be interpreted as a continuation of both the original timeline or the new movies.

2. Include relatives of known characters in the show--but maybe don't make immediately clear their exact status. For example, we might have an officer named "Kirk" onboard.

I don't know, feels kind of forced. I prefer giving us a straight up cameo of an old character during a Starfleet meeting (but DON'T write an episode around an old guest star! At least not during the first two seasons!)

3. Throw in a wild card absolutely nobody will expect--such as the Borg treated as trusted allies of the Federation!

YES!
Although in this case, I wouldn't take the Borg (they are too unique in all of pop culture. Transform them! But keep them as adversaries). But how about we casually have an ambassador who is a shapeshifter?

4. Do a redesign of the basic Starfleet shape, echoing what we know but taking it in a new direction (a vertical orientation for example, or a very different color scheme).

Hm... not sure about that. The Starfleet shape is an iconic look as much as the Bat Symbol or Supermans' chest. Modify it, for sure! But keep the basic shape.

5. Please make the series 'antagonists' something that resembles Al Qaeda and/or ISIS not even a little bit.

Well. Don't do it "on the nose". But why not let them have the same general effects? When the Borg first appeared, suddenly everyone was a target, not just one's military, but all of population as well! That was a pretty big game changer, and would allow for stories that are identifiable in the modern age. Don't make the villains barbaric terrorists from a desert planet. But let them have the same effect (EVERYONE could be a target now!) on society.

6. A genuinely interesting Captain/First Officer combo. Frankly the re-imagined BSG and Joss Whedon's Firefly did a much better job than almost any Trek since the original.

The Captain/Doctor combo is one not to be despised as well
It's the only combination where no one "outranks" the other, so there could be genuine friendship easier (a lot of naval books have that combination!)
Just make sure the characters are new and interesting, and not a rehash of the Kirk-Spock-McCoy trio!

7. An idea to explore--the Federation consists of such a huge array of cultures, Starfleet itself must function as its own culture at some point in order to work. This means there are likely families that routinely join Starfleet, and certain types of dissidents made welcome there (refugees, half-breeds of races that don't get along, certain dissenters such as emotional Vulcans, etc.)

Yes AND No.

I would love to see more characters stepping out of the norm (emotional Vulcans, honourable Romulans, philantropic Ferengi and peaceful Borg).

But I don't want essays about Federation Society. A good backstory is welcome, but Star Trek should be about the adventures out there. Whenever someone tries to show too much of human society, it becomes less of an interesting story, and more about a (boring) predicion of the future, which will probably be rendered irrelevant in less than ten years anyway...

 

[EnderAKH]

The notion of a problematic cultural divide between Starfleet and civilians is a good, dramatic and plausible one - there really should be.

Thank you!

Something like this was even mentioned twice in TOS--first in the whole idea that Spock as a half breed found his home there (would love to see other off spring of mixed-species marriages, not including humans, such as Vulcan/Andorian or Cardassian/Bajoran, etc.), and in "Balance of Terror" there's a hint of what might be called service families, the Stiles specifically (was the initial Captain of the Excelsior a relative?)

Not to mention David Marcus's reaction to Starfleet in Wrath of Khan. I can't imagine he is the only civilian distrustful of what he views as the military.

 

[wulfio]

I just hope they spend more time examining other cultures; possibly giving us multiple perspectives. And the aliens are not so one dimensional, or morally absolute. But I give 4 to 1 odds that it's going to be dark and gritty. And every episode will end in a montage of the entire crew looking pensive with an overlay of an acoustic version of a "retro" 80's/90's track.

 

[ChristopherPike]

I'd go for a show set on the U.S.S. Kelvin. The end of Season 1 can be a triple success story of George Kirk being promoted to First Officer, having a young son and Star Trek still basically being on the air...

We pass 2233 without the ship getting destroyed and the only thing that's clear - is that this isn't set the Abrams universe anymore. Leaving it open to interpretation. After that point, I'd probably think about renaming the ship. Not overly fond of Kelvin as the name of a hero ship. So it would start off with that name and then out it goes, during some dramatic storyline that rationalises it being changed in honour of something or somebody that has affected its mission.

 

[RAMA]

ST09 brilliantly destroyed Vulcan and kept it destroyed...it showed that the status quo had changed and that real changes can happen when it's not tied down to canon. The new show should do something similar.

Oh my god, hell NO.

Whenever an uncreative hack tries to leave his "mark" on a property, he wants to "kill one of the old characters"
or "destroy a familiar place", to show "It matters what I do!!!!!!11oneone11eleven" and "we have MORE consequences now" (as if before there were never changes to the status quo, without the one at the helm being a dick about it).

How about creating something NEW? That's apparently too much to ask from someone who is in the "creative business".

It was one of the major successes of the first movie. The long-standing, unchanging ST universe that many casual fans had come to expect finally did something really different.

Isn't it the NEW things the unimaginative purists have problems with??

 

[Rahul]

ST09 brilliantly destroyed Vulcan and kept it destroyed...it showed that the status quo had changed and that real changes can happen when it's not tied down to canon. The new show should do something similar.

Oh my god, hell NO.

Whenever an uncreative hack tries to leave his "mark" on a property, he wants to "kill one of the old characters"
or "destroy a familiar place", to show "It matters what I do!!!!!!11oneone11eleven" and "we have MORE consequences now" (as if before there were never changes to the status quo, without the one at the helm being a dick about it).

How about creating something NEW? That's apparently too much to ask from someone who is in the "creative business".

It was one of the major successes of the first movie. The long-standing, unchanging ST universe that many casual fans had come to expect finally did something really different.

Isn't it the NEW things the unimaginative purists have problems with??

The "long-standing, unchanging ST universe" had some pretty heavy changes to the status quo in the past. The appereances of th borg for example, or a galaxy-spanning war. The only consequence of the destruction of Vulcan in the new universe was a Spock/Uhura-love scene...

It's usually the NEW things that go unnoticed by - the expansion of the Star Wars universe in "Empire strikes back", the Alien Queen and the change of general tone in "Aliens", Pretty much everything that TNG added (Holodeck, Replicators, Borg, Cardassians), the whole expansion of the MARVEL cinematic universe...

"unimaginative purists" most of the time have a problem with some jerk coming in, destroying/killing the previously established characters and things, and calling themselves very clever for it. Nobody had a problem with the (few) innovations of "Alien 3". But a lot of anger comes from needlessly killing Hicks, Newt and Ripley. Most people don't like X3 for killing Cyclops and Prof Xavier. The destruction of Vulcan only enraged fans, but both in-universe and for general audiences it is something that barely anyone remembers anymore.

 

[dub]

ST09 brilliantly destroyed Vulcan and kept it destroyed...it showed that the status quo had changed and that real changes can happen when it's not tied down to canon. The new show should do something similar.

Oh my god, hell NO.

Whenever an uncreative hack tries to leave his "mark" on a property, he wants to "kill one of the old characters"
or "destroy a familiar place", to show "It matters what I do!!!!!!11oneone11eleven" and "we have MORE consequences now" (as if before there were never changes to the status quo, without the one at the helm being a dick about it).

How about creating something NEW? That's apparently too much to ask from someone who is in the "creative business".

It was one of the major successes of the first movie. The long-standing, unchanging ST universe that many casual fans had come to expect finally did something really different.

Isn't it the NEW things the unimaginative purists have problems with??

I really enjoyed Trek '09, but the destruction of Vulcan wasn't particularly brilliant/imaginative/brave. Mass destruction of places which are famous/beloved is increasingly EXPECTED in action movies. It's been going on since the beginning of cinema, but it's certainly become more prevalent since CGI has made it easier. People, I guess, want bigger and bigger and more "shocking" boom-booms. Just watch the trailers next time you go see an action movie. You'll get bored after about the 5th or 6th famous location is obliterated.

 

[T'Girl]

I feel like a new series should push the affairs of the Federation a bit to the back. Star Trek's been more about the frontier than it's ever really been about the Federation, and I feel like a new series should emphasize that before letting Federation politics come into play.

I can see having few stories involving politics, but I would like to see more of the Federation itself, we got a small view of Betazed through Deanna and Luxanna. More so of Vulcan through Spock, Tuvok and T'Pol.

Continue this with the other Members of the Federation, if the officers in the new series are from worlds we've never heard of before, we can learn about their home world and cultures.

Hopefully they won't be just like Earth.

.

 

[wulfio]

It's a big galaxy. Canon hasn't really explored much of it.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

1. Don't mention where this is the original timeline, the Abrams timeline or a new one until the final episode of the first season.

I don't know how you could hide this for any length of time and keep it interesting and an anticipated reveal--also just how would that be done (especially if it is a reboot of the franchise)?

2. Include relatives of known characters in the show--but maybe don't make immediately clear their exact status. For example, we might have an officer named "Kirk" onboard.

I'd rather not. Have the characters be new and fresh, people in their own right rather than having to live up to someone else's reputation. Have a Kirk onboard but make it well established that he/she is of no relation whatsoever.

3. Throw in a wild card absolutely nobody will expect--such as the Borg treated as trusted allies of the Federation!

They should be willing and able to shake things up, but I think the less done about the Borg the better. Not sure what would make a good wildcard though--that would depend probably on what incarnation of Trek it was set in.

4. Do a redesign of the basic Starfleet shape, echoing what we know but taking it in a new direction (a vertical orientation for example, or a very different color scheme).

Designs will of course change, depending on universe, timeframe, etc, with a lot of leeway available for both uniforms and ships (though the latter should still be recognisable as Starfleet, unless of course the new series doesn't focus on the fleet).

5. Please make the series 'antagonists' something that resembles Al Qaeda and/or ISIS not even a little bit.

Agreed. Terrorists already take up the 'bag guy' spot on many other TV shows. Give Trek something bigger and badder. Or better yet, an antogonist who isn't stereotypical evil, but rather someone who has a just cause (or at least something that could be understood/sympathised with, so it raises a few moral dilemmas for out heroes).

6. A genuinely interesting Captain/First Officer combo. Frankly the re-imagined BSG and Joss Whedon's Firefly did a much better job than almost any Trek since the original.

Picard/Riker was a little bland, Janeway/Chakotay just fizzled out after a while, and Archer/T'Pol just felt very forced. I always liked the Sisko/Kira dynamic though. If the Captain and XO will be the leads of the show, then their partnership should be something compelling and well thought out.

7. An idea to explore--the Federation consists of such a huge array of cultures, Starfleet itself must function as its own culture at some point in order to work. This means there are likely families that routinely join Starfleet, and certain types of dissidents made welcome there (refugees, half-breeds of races that don't get along, certain dissenters such as emotional Vulcans, etc.)

Not really understanding this point. If you mean greater diversity in the cast, then I couldn't agree more. In an ideal world I'd only want to see only a third of the main characters as human, with the rest being aliens (both established and new), with an equal male/female split (as well being open to others who don't fit into those genders). But the main thing is interesting and compelling people, regardless of their background, individuals you can get behind and root for.

 

[T'Girl]

I don't know how you could hide this for any length of time and keep it interesting and an anticipated reveal--also just how would that be done (especially if it is a reboot of the franchise)?

Simply avoiding references to events in the Abrams movies should do it. You can have Vulcans present, but no mention of whether Vulcan (the planet) still exists.

Terrorists already take up the 'bag guy' spot on many other TV shows. Give Trek something bigger and badder.

It would be nice to get away from what was used before, the "evil empire" in one form or another. Have something like the powerful corporation in the second Alien movie as a competitor and antagonist. A civilization run by a interstellar version of the British East Indian Company.

Not really understanding this point.

Perhaps make mention that Starfleet is somewhat like the French Foreign Legion, and that they routinely take in people from everywhere, not just from within the Federation itself. This was already (to a degree) seen with Ro and Nog.

Amanda: "It hasn't been easy on Spock. Neither human nor Vulcan. At home nowhere except Starfleet."

Separately, have Starfleet be depicted as a "catch basin" for those in the Federation who just don't fit in to their own societies, or with the Federation in general. The disaffected, disenfranchised, and marginalized.

And the occasional rebel.

.