Alternate Captains.

[Timewalker]

I think Scotty would have made a hell of an interesting captain. Mind you, I'm talking abou the skinny, TOS tough-as-nails Scotty who felt the best diplomat was a fully charged bank of phasers. Not the chubby, comic relief Scotty of later years.

Lol! Bang goes every peace treaty the Federation ever made, with a swoosh of phaser fire and an " Up yer shaft!" I would love to have seen Mr Spock try to keep Scotty out of trouble.

Scotty would have gone insane, what with simultaneously needing more speed and "the engines canna' take the strain!"

One of the best fanfic series I've ever read (Valjiir) has Spock as captain of the Enterprise and Sulu as his First Officer. This part of the series takes place during the time when Kirk is missing in the short story "Mind-Sifter" (he's back in time in a 1950s-era mental hospital).

One particular story is a hilarious sequel to "A Piece of the Action" -- the bright, imitative Iotians have figured out how to build their own starship and have come looking for Kirk to find out why he never came back for his "cut." As soon as Spock realizes what's going on, he sighs and instructs a flabbergasted Sulu that "whatever I say, Mr. Sulu, you will respond with 'Riiight' or 'Check.'"

 

[SFRabid]

I think Dax would have made a good captain for a ship in DS9.

Would like to have seen more of Trip Tucker in the command chair. In the few episodes that had him in command of the Enterprise I liked the way he handled things.

 

[Anika Hanson]

I would have liked to have seen Picard and Commander Riker as captain and first officer on voyager. Janeway was rather paitient in most situations, but Riker and Picard often were short tempered. I wonder hown their tempers would have faired in the Delta Quadrant. I would also like to see data take command of a ship or maybe even deep space nine.

 

[ClayinCA]

I would have liked to have seen one of the Chief Medical Officers running a ship. It could have been something like MASH in space.

I always wanted to see something like this, too - kind of like the Starfleet Corps of Engineers books, but with medicine.

I would have loved to see Riker as Voyager's captain. He also could have remained a captain after BOBW and gotten his own ship, instead of mysteriously being demoted. Alternatively, Picard is lost to the Borg and Riker stays on the Enterprise. In both cases I'd bring on Shelby as first officer. I'd want Picard to return some day though, so maybe rather than an outright defeat the Borg are merely forced to retreat somehow, keeping Picard available as a recurring villain while also leaving the door open for a future rescue.

That's a cool idea. I would have liked to see Tom Riker in the Chakotay role as Janeway's Maquis first officer on Voyager, who would then have taken command when Janeway was among those killed when the ship got flung into the Delta Quadrant.

I always thought it would be fun to show a parallel universe Enterprise where Spock became Captain, say after The Tholian Web. Spock looked all right in gold -- see Where No Man Has Gone Before.

Spock in command of the Enterprise is a fun idea, especially if they used the Xon character (from the aborted Phase II series) as his first officer.

 

[PhoenixIreland]

Loving the ideas of Ro or Thomas Riker in "Chuckles" position on voyager, would have made the voyager XO far more interesting.

 

[WillsBabe]

That's a cool idea. I would have liked to see Tom Riker in the Chakotay role as Janeway's Maquis first officer on Voyager, who would then have taken command when Janeway was among those killed when the ship got flung into the Delta Quadrant.

Interesting idea! To tinker with your idea: I'd like to have seen Tom Riker as the first officer with Janeway still alive throughout the run. I don't think he would have knuckled down the way Chakotay did. I think Will Riker and Janeway would have found a way to work together, I don't think Tom Riker and Janeway would have found it so easy. I find this a really intriguing idea.

 

[Karl 1 of 3]

I always thought it would have been nice if TOM Riker had stayed on the Enterprise-D and William had gone off to be captain of a different ship. Data might have become XO, and we could have had quite an interesting dynamics with the "changed" crew without having to change the cast :-)


just my 2 (euro)cents

back to lurking ...

 

[T'Cal]

Great ideas!

I always hoped that TNG's movies would show the crew moving on more. These were officers who were among if not the best in their fields and they should have been recognized for their efforts more. What with the events in VOY's Timeless, Geordi should've been promoted to full commander at least by the end of INS. He could've been assigned as XO on the Challenger, however, the scenes with him and acting captain Riker in that film show that he would've made the perfect XO for Wil. On the Titan, a great source of conflict for Captain Riker would be CMO Cmdr. Bashir. Bringing Worf back for NEM just didn't make sense. He, too should've been promoted and reassigned as an XO, with his career path leading to him being the first Klingon Federation captain. Going back a ways, I always liked the idea of leaving Picard as a Borg for several episodes (half a season or so) and keeping Riker as captain and Shelby as his XO. I liked Janeway, Paris, Torrez, Kim, and 7of9 but found Chakotay, Nelix, Tuvok, and Kes lacking depth for the most part. Including Ro, Tom Riker, or even Sam LeVelle in some way could've been better.

 

[TGTheodore]

I would have liked to have seen one of the Chief Medical Officers running a ship. It could have been something like MASH in space.

Like Beverly comanding the Pastuer in "All Good Things..."

During the final season of Voyager, I developed a series bible for a series called Starfleet Medical with the EMH back on earth at the McCoy Medical Center at Starfleet HQ. Beverly had her first command and her ship was the head of the medical fleet (and was only a recurring character).

It would have focused more on the medicine and less on space travel. (Hmmm ... Scar Trek, anyone?)

Picardo liked it.

I think Will Riker and Janeway would have found a way to work together, I don't think Tom Riker and Janeway would have found it so easy. I find this a really intriguing idea.

I like that idea, but I just get the feeling that because of Frakes' height, he'd keep smacking his head on doorways and crossbeams. As it was, he was frequently ducking on the Enterprise, and that seemed to have "higher ceilings" than Voyager.

--Ted

 

[Red Ranger]

I always thought it would have been nice if TOM Riker had stayed on the Enterprise-D and William had gone off to be captain of a different ship. Data might have become XO, and we could have had quite an interesting dynamics with the "changed" crew without having to change the cast :-)


just my 2 (euro)cents

back to lurking ...

Karl: I understand Jonathan Frakes had lobbied for that change, but TPTB overruled it. We finally would've gotten a Riker/Troi romance on the ship. It also seemed Tom Riker would be even more rash than Will Riker, and he probably would have clashed with Picard, not to mention the other officers like Data and Worf. In fact, they could have also revived an early aspect of Will Riker's personality that they quickly dropped -- his unease at working with an android who considers himself superior to humans in many ways. All kinds of possibilities could've been realized due to this "new" character. -- RR

 

[Red Ranger]

I would have liked to have seen one of the Chief Medical Officers running a ship. It could have been something like MASH in space.

Like Beverly comanding the Pastuer in "All Good Things..."

During the final season of Voyager, I developed a series bible for a series called Starfleet Medical with the EMH back on earth at the McCoy Medical Center at Starfleet HQ. Beverly had her first command and her ship was the head of the medical fleet (and was only a recurring character).

It would have focused more on the medicine and less on space travel. (Hmmm ... Scar Trek, anyone?)

Picardo liked it.

--Ted

Ted: Interesting idea. There was a short-lived show like this called Mercy Point -- dealt with a medical outpost on a far-flung planet, as I recall. Joe Morton, no stranger to the genre (Terminator 2, Brother From Another Planet, Gremlins) was the star. Here's a little link about it: http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue80/screen.html. It ran briefly on UPN from 1998 to 1999. -- RR

 

[Sector 7]

Wesley Crusher as captain Valentine to the fans.

Awesome idea! After seeing him back in uniform in the movie, I always hoped he would eventually take command of his own ship.

Loving the ideas of Ro or Thomas Riker in "Chuckles" position on voyager, would have made the voyager XO far more interesting.

Thomas Riker would have been awesome. I always hated that 'Chuckles' was such a wuss. There were times when I felt he SHOULD have stood up to Janeway, but they always had him give in. (Has anyone ever asked Beltran how he felt playing a character with no balls?)

I always thought it would have been nice if TOM Riker had stayed on the Enterprise-D and William had gone off to be captain of a different ship. Data might have become XO, and we could have had quite an interesting dynamics with the "changed" crew without having to change the cast :-)


just my 2 (euro)cents

back to lurking ...

Karl: I understand Jonathan Frakes had lobbied for that change, but TPTB overruled it. We finally would've gotten a Riker/Troi romance on the ship. It also seemed Tom Riker would be even more rash than Will Riker, and he probably would have clashed with Picard, not to mention the other officers like Data and Worf. In fact, they could have also revived an early aspect of Will Riker's personality that they quickly dropped -- his unease at working with an android who considers himself superior to humans in many ways. All kinds of possibilities could've been realized due to this "new" character. -- RR

Frakes is a good actor and very good director. In such a situatiion he could have brought much more to the role. I would also like to have seen Shelby stay or Captain Jellicho. He turned the ship into a military vessel, the way it should have been. In the short time Jellicho was there he turned every comfortable thing in TNG on its ear. The potential crew conflicts would have been amazing. I remember cheering when he made Troi wear a standard uniform.

 

[Red Ranger]

Wesley Crusher as captain Valentine to the fans.

Awesome idea! After seeing him back in uniform in the movie, I always hoped he would eventually take command of his own ship.

Loving the ideas of Ro or Thomas Riker in "Chuckles" position on voyager, would have made the voyager XO far more interesting.

Thomas Riker would have been awesome. I always hated the 'Chuckles' was such a wuss. There were times when I felt he SHOULD have stood up to Janeway, but they always had him give in. (Has anyone ever asked Beltran how he felt playing a character with no balls?)

I always thought it would have been nice if TOM Riker had stayed on the Enterprise-D and William had gone off to be captain of a different ship. Data might have become XO, and we could have had quite an interesting dynamics with the "changed" crew without having to change the cast :-)


just my 2 (euro)cents

back to lurking ...

Karl: I understand Jonathan Frakes had lobbied for that change, but TPTB overruled it. We finally would've gotten a Riker/Troi romance on the ship. It also seemed Tom Riker would be even more rash than Will Riker, and he probably would have clashed with Picard, not to mention the other officers like Data and Worf. In fact, they could have also revived an early aspect of Will Riker's personality that they quickly dropped -- his unease at working with an android who considers himself superior to humans in many ways. All kinds of possibilities could've been realized due to this "new" character. -- RR

Frakes is a good actor and very good director. In such a situatiion he could have brought much more to the role. I would also like to have seen Shelby stay or Captain Jellicho. He turned the ship into a military vessel, the way it should have been.

Eh. Jellico is a dick. It would've been interesting to see him in command of Deep Space Nine, though, esp. when the Dominion War started. -- RR

 

[Sector 7]

^ He may have been a dick, but he is just what TNG needed. Someone to shake things up and make it more realistic. I've never been on a ship where being a happy family was more important than duty.

 

[TGTheodore]

Ted: Interesting idea. There was a short-lived show like this called Mercy Point -- dealt with a medical outpost on a far-flung planet, as I recall. Joe Morton, no stranger to the genre (Terminator 2, Brother From Another Planet, Gremlins) was the star. Here's a little link about it: http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue80/screen.html. It ran briefly on UPN from 1998 to 1999. -- RR

Cool! Thanks for the link!

--Ted

 

[Red Ranger]

^ He may have been a dick, but he is just what TNG needed. Someone to shake things up and make it more realistic. I've never been on a ship where being a happy family was more important than duty.

How sad for you, my friend! Didn't serve in a M*A*S*H* unit, eh? --RR

 

[Red Ranger]

Ted: Interesting idea. There was a short-lived show like this called Mercy Point -- dealt with a medical outpost on a far-flung planet, as I recall. Joe Morton, no stranger to the genre (Terminator 2, Brother From Another Planet, Gremlins) was the star. Here's a little link about it: http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue80/screen.html. It ran briefly on UPN from 1998 to 1999. -- RR

Cool! Thanks for the link!

--Ted

Didn't want you to get sued, Ted! -- RR

 

[T'Cal]

At risk of stirring up the Riker v. Jellico debate, I had always hoped that we would see a Titan mini-series with Riker as captain and Jellico as his admiral.

Frakes and Burton have done excellent jobs as directors for Trek. In fact, as I've posted here once or twice, I think the two of them should be placed in charge of Trek TV while JJA handles the big screen efforts.

Someone mentioned Trip as captain of the NX-01; what a fantastic idea! Bakula is a likable actor but his role as Archer was writen poorly. Trip was written as a much more interesting character. Perhaps Archer could've moved on (promoted or maybe killed off...heroically!!) and Trip could've taken command. The transition from Chief of Engineering to Captain would've created some interesting stories. I didn't much care for T'Pol; kill her off, too. A slow and painful death, please.