Braga: Crossover That Never Happened

[ChristopherPike]

http://www.trektoday.com/content/2012/09/braga-crossover-that-never-happened/

If Brannon Braga had had his way, an iconic Star Trek character would have made a guest star appearance in Star Trek: Enterprise.

Crossovers were nothing new for Star Trek or for Braga, who controversially put Commander Riker and Counselor Troi in the finale to Star Trek: Enterprise.

The Enterprise guest appearance that Braga hoped to have happen but didn’t was that of William Shatner as Captain Kirk. “The only crossover that was exciting was there was a brief time when we were going to put Captain Kirk on Enterprise,” said Braga, “and we even met with William Shatner, but it just never happened.

“We had some story concocted about why Kirk was there and how he got there. I don’t remember. I think Shatner had a pitch. It was actually going to be a pretty cool two-part episode. I don’t know exactly what happened. It might have been that we couldn’t make a deal with Shatner or something like that.”

Braga is currently working on the Star Trek: The Next Generation comic mini-series from IDW Publishing, as well as Malice, a new FX series, and a reboot of Carl Sagan‘s Cosmos for Fox.

Let's see if we can't refresh his memory...

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

The episode would have ended with a surprising revelation. "We would have found out that Tiberius and Archer were responsible for the creation of the Mirror Universe", notes writer Judith Reeves-Stevens.

How utterly retarded that would have been. WAY too much of the NX-01 just happening to be a part of pivotal history points. Now if you just had the story where Tiberius hijacks the ship and gets back to the MU, that would have been very cool. I like the twist on the Tantalus Field and this very neatly allows Shatner to be plenty old.

I wonder what sort of chemistry Archer and Shatner would have had.

 

[REDrake]

I wonder what sort of chemistry Archer and Shatner would have had.

Klingon vs Tribble?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I predict Shatner would spend the whole episode calling Archer "boy".

 

[F. King Daniel]

Memory Alpha has had a detailed synopsis up for these episodes for years...

During the fourth season , there were efforts to write an episode that included a role for William Shatner. (Inside the Mirror Episodes, ENT Season 4 DVD special features)
One of these early concepts involved the mirror universe . At the Grand Slam XIII Star Trek convention in March 2005, executive producer Manny Coto recalled, "We had talked about doing a mirror universe episode ever since we got into Season 4. But then we had the possibility of getting William Shatner. Coincidentally, the Reeves-Stevens [Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens , who had worked with Shatner on several Star Trek novels] were a pair of writers whom I desperately wanted to bring on the show. And they, it turned out, had an idea for a mirror universe two-parter which would feature the return of William Shatner." [X] wbm

At the same convention, Garfield Reeves-Stevens explained, "The idea was that the Tantalus field was not a disintegrator, it was a humane way of dealing with prisoners, by sending them back in time to a sealed penal colony . Enterprise (NX-01) comes upon the colony – and Tiberius [ mirror-Kirk ] is there. Tiberius thinks, 'Finally, a ship with a transporter – I can get back to my own universe, my own time.' He basically goes on the NX-01, gets to the transporter, sets it to go back to the mirror universe – the mirror universe doesn't exist." "It hasn't been created yet," Judith Reeves-Stevens added. Garfield continued, "So Tiberius and Archer work together to figure out where the division point is between the universes, what point that one split off into the other. And as it turns out, Tiberius and Archer together are responsible for the creation of the mirror universe." [X] wbm William Shatner himself pitched this story concept to executive producers Manny Coto, Brannon Braga and Rick Berman, over lunch. The idea was well received by Coto, Berman and Braga. However, Berman then pitched an alternative concept, this one having been devised by Mike Sussman . The idea was totally unrelated to the mirror universe and involved Shatner playing Enterprise's Chef , who Daniels would bring into the future to preserve the timeline by successfully posing as James T. Kirk during an important event in history. As Shatner and Paramount were unable to reach an agreement, the plans to have him included in the series were discarded. [X] wbm However, the desire to visit the mirror universe remained, and resulted in the production of " In a Mirror, Darkly " and " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ".

 

[Reanok]

I remember reading on this forum about a Mirror Universe show with William Shatnera and was less than thrilled when I read about the storyline for a season 4 episode was what are you kidding me?I Like William shatner but I'm glad this show didn't happen in season4.I like in amirror darkly .

 

[CorporalCaptain]

The fanbois would have lapped up the Tiberius two-parter like it was manna from heaven. It would have been the best fucking thing evah.

 

[ChristopherPike]

While I'm not especially a huge fan of the Temporal Cold War, I can see a lot of potential in the unseen Chef being trained up for a mission to stand-in for Kirk.

A lot like the TCW itself really. Promising start, a couple of interesting episodes connected to it but disappointing and hasty conclusion. Too many questions left unresolved, like Future Guy - despite comments since that they planned to make him a Romulan. It frustrates on that level, on rewatch, things that feel important but we'll never see resolved.

But clearly having watched the Captains documentary, and Bill & Scott alongside the others touring conventions around the globe, they do get on and it's a dynamic I'd like to have seen happen in Enterprise. Particularly if he'd have played Chef with the same tragic/comic angle he did with Denny Crane. Another part like Quantum Leap's Scott/Dean double act.

Probably would've been played for laughs to start with, senior/junior actor role reversal and then something goes horribly wrong, leaving Chef to actually be James T. Kirk. Maybe even remain in the future, with absolutely nobody twigging a switch has happened. Possibly a way to fix Shatner's dissatisfaction with Kirk getting killed off in Generations... without undoing what had happened.

 

[Mach5]

Fuck that. They should have done an ENT/Red Dwarf crossover, now that would have been worth watching.

 

[JarodRussell]

I'm more intrigued by the story about John Logan's crossover proposal that Stewart liked, involved all the Captains and would have shattered the format.

 

[Mach5]

I'm more intrigued by the story about John Logan's crossover proposal that Stewart liked, involved all the Captains and would have shattered the format.

Doesn't sound silly at all...

 

[LtChange]

It might be an unpopular idea, but I would love to see Enterprise Direct to Home Video/Netflix movies, maybe twice a year, and give Mr Coto the helm. Would love stories like: Movie 1: Stratos based adventure, 2: The Romulans are coming, 3-4: Romulan War, 5: Birth of the Federation, 6: Some post NX-01 adventure but set in the same timeline, like Federation Early Years

 

[grabthars hammer]

It might be an unpopular idea, but I would love to see Enterprise Direct to Home Video/Netflix movies, maybe twice a year, and give Mr Coto the helm. Would love stories like: Movie 1: Stratos based adventure, 2: The Romulans are coming, 3-4: Romulan War, 5: Birth of the Federation, 6: Some post NX-01 adventure but set in the same timeline, like Federation Early Years

That would be great, though I'm afraid Braga would worm his way into it and make it crap.

 

[Saga]

i remember reading these rumors back when Ent was still on the air. i never liked the Kirk/Chef idea. i'm glad the crossover/team-up thing never worked. much happier with Mirror episodes we got.

 

[BillJ]

I always thought the most interesting story that could feature Shatner as Kirk, would've been to place Storm Front forty years later and in that reality Kirk, Spock and McCoy never escaped the 1930's from City.... Archer would've teamed up with an elder Kirk who was now running the mission in Nazi occupied New York.

Before the timeline gets set right, an elderly Kirk gets a chance to step foot onto the NX-01 bridge and sit in the captains chair one last time.

 

[ChristopherPike]

I always thought the most interesting story that could feature Shatner as Kirk, would've been to place Storm Front forty years later and in that reality Kirk, Spock and McCoy never escaped the 1930's from City.... Archer would've teamed up with an elder Kirk who was now running the mission in Nazi occupied New York.

Before the timeline gets set right, an elderly Kirk gets a chance to step foot onto the NX-01 bridge and sit in the captains chair one last time.

That sounds fucking amazing. The more you think about it, the better it works. A faction in the TCW having taken advantage of McCoy altering history. He's pushed Edith out of the way, and been hit by a truck instead. She's nationally famous as a peace campaigner. The Nazis invade the US, and we're told Spock had been taken away for dissection... so Nimoy not required, leaving Shatner to play a broken 60-something Kirk discovered by Archer. Shift it forward in time to an alternate 1966 with a facist America versus Soviet Russia. Probably a Black Civil Rights underground and other ongoing resistance movements, instead of just Italian American Gangsters in NY.

No need to involve the Guardian of Forever. Obviously have Kirk hint at it just enough to piss Harlan Ellison off, with not enough grounds for him to file a lawsuit.

 

[BillJ]

I always thought the most interesting story that could feature Shatner as Kirk, would've been to place Storm Front forty years later and in that reality Kirk, Spock and McCoy never escaped the 1930's from City.... Archer would've teamed up with an elder Kirk who was now running the mission in Nazi occupied New York.

Before the timeline gets set right, an elderly Kirk gets a chance to step foot onto the NX-01 bridge and sit in the captains chair one last time.

That sounds fucking amazing.

Thanks.

One of many ideas I've got floating through my brain that I've never had the guts to put to paper.

 

[JarodRussell]

I'm more intrigued by the story about John Logan's crossover proposal that Stewart liked, involved all the Captains and would have shattered the format.

Doesn't sound silly at all...

It worked for The Avengers.

I always thought the most interesting story that could feature Shatner as Kirk, would've been to place Storm Front forty years later and in that reality Kirk, Spock and McCoy never escaped the 1930's from City.... Archer would've teamed up with an elder Kirk who was now running the mission in Nazi occupied New York.

That is actually, without a doubt, the best idea ever.

 

[Mach5]

I'm more intrigued by the story about John Logan's crossover proposal that Stewart liked, involved all the Captains and would have shattered the format.

Doesn't sound silly at all...

It worked for The Avengers.

They should have thrown in some dinosaurs too, it worked for Jurassic Park...

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

We had dinosaurs in Who.

ENOUGH with the dinosaurs.