Star Trek: Nemesis, for better or worse, was essentially a Trek-ification of Stephen King's The Dark Half. Insurrection was essentially a Trek-ification of Lost Horizon.
So here are some non-Trek stories/ideas that I thought could easily be re-jigged for future ST stories:
Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now
I think most of us are familiar with the story. In the original, Antoine Kurtz of the East India Trading Company goes missing in the Belgian Congo, so a man named Marlow must brave the harsh jungles of the Congo to find him. In AN, Colonel Walter Kurtz of the U.S. Army Special Forces goes rogue while fighting in Vietnam, and Captain Ben Willard (who isn't entirely sane himself), is sent to terminate him. In both cases, the protagonist finds that Kurtz has established a cult among the natives that worship him as a god. In the original, Kurtz is already dying of jungle fever when Marlow meets him, and passes away soon after. In AN, Willard sees the method to Kurtz's madness, but is ultimately still forced to destroy him.
People have talked about how cool a Trek version of HOD or AN would be, but no one's really done it. We see the "villain vs exploration" argument, but here's a story that has BOTH. The Kurtz of the piece could be Dr. Alonzo Richter, the creator of the Richter Scale of Culture, measurement standard that determines a civilization eligibility to be included in the Federation. The old man eventually comes to despise the Prime Directive, thinking it is unfair to developing cultures. Assuming one adapts Prime Directive into a film (would be really cool, but kinda doubt it would happen), then you could do a direct sequel where Dr. Richter (possibly with the student radical group from PD in tow) disappears in unexplored territory and Enterprise is sent to find him, braving the harsh spatial elements along the way. They find him among an alien civilization that he has both saved and irrevocably corrupted.
The Mind of Evil
This was a Doctor Who serial, part of the season 8 story arc that introduced the Master. A Professor Emile Keller has created a machine that alters the properties of the brain, essentially eliminating negative impulses such as anger, hatred, etc. After a successful test run, where a vile sociopath is turned into a childlike innocent, the experiment is deemed a success, and the machine is placed in prison populated by society's most violent offenders. But at the same time, numerous people are dying in powerful telekinetic attacks, with the Doctor himself barely surviving one. It turns out that Professor Keller is really the Master in disguise, and the machine houses a neural parasite that he brought to Earth to help him start World War III. But the parasite grows more powerful each time it feeds, and it is only a matter of time before no force on Earth can stop it...
The classic morality play, if you turn a vile offender into a productive member of society, but sacrifice their free will in the process, then is the price too high? It's kind of an old concept...
Picture if you will, a Starfleet vessel arriving on a world with a seemingly utopian society, where criminals are "reedeemed" with via a neural parasitic lifeform like above. But, like TNG's "Justice", DS9's "Hard Time," and VOY's "Ex Post Facto," it has gotten a little bit out of hand, and the parasite itself soon breaks free of its constraints and becomes a danger to everyone.
The Last Detail
This was a Navy "dramady" from the 1970s starring Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid. Two older, career sailors are ordered to transport a court-martialed young seaman to the prison where he will spend the next 8 years of his life. They bond with the young man and come to believe that his punishment is too harsh.
I would propose taking just the basic meat of the premise (transferring prisoner who may or may not have gotten a raw deal) and melding it with elements of TNG's "Disaster" and DS9's "Rules of Engagement" and "Waltz." Enterprise has a prisoner, he could be a Harry Mudd/Cyrano Jones type con man, or he could be the sole surving crew of the previous film's villain. In any case, he is wanted by the Klingons, and Enterprise are ordered to take him to the Neutral Zone (Nimbus III perhaps), where there will be a trial to determine whether or not he will be extradited to the Empire. En route, the Enterprise is besieged by a force of nature type phenomenon. The prisoner initially tries to take advantage of the situation to save himself, but it becomes apparent that his survival depends on working with the crew. By the time they reach the site of the trial, Kirk has doubts about his assignment, as he does not believe the prisoner deserves to rot on Rura Penthe.
Days of Future Past
That famous X-Men story that reminds people of Terminator. In a future where mutant rebels and robot Sentinels battle for control of a scorched Earth, a young mutant travels back in time to prevent the assassination that led to this nightmarish future.
There could be a future where the either the Borg or the Tzenkethi have more or less conquered Federation space. A fugitive scientist has pinpointed the event that has led to this; an assassination that seemed insignificant at that time it occurred, but ultimately significantly weakened the Federation. The scientist and his protege make it to the world housing the Guardian of Forever, where they plan to travel back in time (either the 23rd or 24th Century) to prevent the assassination. But the scientist is killed, so it's up to his inexperienced protege to jump through the Guardian and carry out his mission. But he/she doesn't know who the assassin, and the intended target, are.
So here are some non-Trek stories/ideas that I thought could easily be re-jigged for future ST stories:
Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now
I think most of us are familiar with the story. In the original, Antoine Kurtz of the East India Trading Company goes missing in the Belgian Congo, so a man named Marlow must brave the harsh jungles of the Congo to find him. In AN, Colonel Walter Kurtz of the U.S. Army Special Forces goes rogue while fighting in Vietnam, and Captain Ben Willard (who isn't entirely sane himself), is sent to terminate him. In both cases, the protagonist finds that Kurtz has established a cult among the natives that worship him as a god. In the original, Kurtz is already dying of jungle fever when Marlow meets him, and passes away soon after. In AN, Willard sees the method to Kurtz's madness, but is ultimately still forced to destroy him.
People have talked about how cool a Trek version of HOD or AN would be, but no one's really done it. We see the "villain vs exploration" argument, but here's a story that has BOTH. The Kurtz of the piece could be Dr. Alonzo Richter, the creator of the Richter Scale of Culture, measurement standard that determines a civilization eligibility to be included in the Federation. The old man eventually comes to despise the Prime Directive, thinking it is unfair to developing cultures. Assuming one adapts Prime Directive into a film (would be really cool, but kinda doubt it would happen), then you could do a direct sequel where Dr. Richter (possibly with the student radical group from PD in tow) disappears in unexplored territory and Enterprise is sent to find him, braving the harsh spatial elements along the way. They find him among an alien civilization that he has both saved and irrevocably corrupted.
The Mind of Evil
This was a Doctor Who serial, part of the season 8 story arc that introduced the Master. A Professor Emile Keller has created a machine that alters the properties of the brain, essentially eliminating negative impulses such as anger, hatred, etc. After a successful test run, where a vile sociopath is turned into a childlike innocent, the experiment is deemed a success, and the machine is placed in prison populated by society's most violent offenders. But at the same time, numerous people are dying in powerful telekinetic attacks, with the Doctor himself barely surviving one. It turns out that Professor Keller is really the Master in disguise, and the machine houses a neural parasite that he brought to Earth to help him start World War III. But the parasite grows more powerful each time it feeds, and it is only a matter of time before no force on Earth can stop it...
The classic morality play, if you turn a vile offender into a productive member of society, but sacrifice their free will in the process, then is the price too high? It's kind of an old concept...
Picture if you will, a Starfleet vessel arriving on a world with a seemingly utopian society, where criminals are "reedeemed" with via a neural parasitic lifeform like above. But, like TNG's "Justice", DS9's "Hard Time," and VOY's "Ex Post Facto," it has gotten a little bit out of hand, and the parasite itself soon breaks free of its constraints and becomes a danger to everyone.
The Last Detail
This was a Navy "dramady" from the 1970s starring Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid. Two older, career sailors are ordered to transport a court-martialed young seaman to the prison where he will spend the next 8 years of his life. They bond with the young man and come to believe that his punishment is too harsh.
I would propose taking just the basic meat of the premise (transferring prisoner who may or may not have gotten a raw deal) and melding it with elements of TNG's "Disaster" and DS9's "Rules of Engagement" and "Waltz." Enterprise has a prisoner, he could be a Harry Mudd/Cyrano Jones type con man, or he could be the sole surving crew of the previous film's villain. In any case, he is wanted by the Klingons, and Enterprise are ordered to take him to the Neutral Zone (Nimbus III perhaps), where there will be a trial to determine whether or not he will be extradited to the Empire. En route, the Enterprise is besieged by a force of nature type phenomenon. The prisoner initially tries to take advantage of the situation to save himself, but it becomes apparent that his survival depends on working with the crew. By the time they reach the site of the trial, Kirk has doubts about his assignment, as he does not believe the prisoner deserves to rot on Rura Penthe.
Days of Future Past
That famous X-Men story that reminds people of Terminator. In a future where mutant rebels and robot Sentinels battle for control of a scorched Earth, a young mutant travels back in time to prevent the assassination that led to this nightmarish future.
There could be a future where the either the Borg or the Tzenkethi have more or less conquered Federation space. A fugitive scientist has pinpointed the event that has led to this; an assassination that seemed insignificant at that time it occurred, but ultimately significantly weakened the Federation. The scientist and his protege make it to the world housing the Guardian of Forever, where they plan to travel back in time (either the 23rd or 24th Century) to prevent the assassination. But the scientist is killed, so it's up to his inexperienced protege to jump through the Guardian and carry out his mission. But he/she doesn't know who the assassin, and the intended target, are.
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