Describe YOUR new Star Trek series.

[mgummelt]

My thought is the best way to depict an "alien" is through the actors acting abilities, and the way the character is written and directed.

Elaborate make up is unnecessary, maybe just something like a accent, or Vulcan ears, or a Bajorian nose.

I don't think there's any one "best" way. Yes, Vulcans and Klingons were great, even with simple makeup (though Klingons got a lot more elaborate in the 80's). A lot of that is due to the writing and acting and world building. I never said there would be no place for that. In fact I said that would continue. One is not replacing the other. I said they wouldn't be *limited* to that. Too many times aliens on the shows were not memorable. They were just a person with another nose/forehead prosthetic and were blandly written. It was lazy all around. It doesn't always have to be that way.

And just because a character is CG doesn't mean they can't have a great performance (see: Gollum, Caesar in Planet of the Apes, etc.)

There's no right or wrong way, just more ways.

 

[mgummelt]

For non-humanoid aliens why not go the FarScape route and have animatronic puppets?

The number of times I've watched it and forgotten that Rygel and Pilot aren't actually actors in makeup is a testament to good writing, interesting character usage and solid voice work. They definitely had more depth and personality than the likes of Chakotay, Kim and Mayweather combined.

Totally agree. Good characterization through writing and acting is far more important.

 

[Tim Walker]

Intergalactic star. There is the concept of using these as a "island hopping" strategy to reach other galaxies.

 

[mgummelt]

Hey, cool idea. You could use them as refueling stops and do shorter jumps. Build stations there. Talk about being isolated! I wonder if they could have planets around them? Imagine a night sky with no stars...

 

[Tim Walker]

Imagine the night sky being dominated by a galaxy!

 

[Tim Walker]

An old beater for a Hero ship.

I also like the Hokule 'a class.

 

[Tim Walker]

I imagine a new series as Star Trek meets Dr. Who and the X Files.

A radio observatory detects a radio signal from a rogue star, across a large expanse of unexplored space. Star Fleet dispatches al ship to investigate. Upon arrival, the crew finds mysterious artifacts left behind by a super civilization.

Artifacts that that can cause bends or rifts in time and space.

 

[Tim Walker]

I recall being intrigued by Andre Norton's Forerunners, when I read her novels many years ago.

I can imagine a Trek series with at least three canon Forerunners: Iconians; T'Kon Empire; Preservers.

I imagine a new sector of space being opened up for exploration. A number of planets with human societies deposited by the Preservers; human slave colonies left by the aliens from "The 37s" (Voyager), or the aliens in "North Star" (Enterprise).

Intriguing artifacts left behind by the Iconians and the T'kon, including Iconian gateways. (I can imagine a gateway going to Omega Centauri, which might count as intergalactic travel).

I can imagine a touch of the X Files-second encounter with the enigmatic aliens from "Silent Enemey" (Enterprise), who seemed to have a technological edge. Rumors of the almost mythical Kinshaya, described as "griffins."

Further details.

 

[Tim Walker]

And then there is the Triangulum Galaxy.

Yeah, Triangulum is the smallest of the 3 major galaxies in the local cluster.

That Godzilla galaxy is awesome! 5 times our size. Pretty cool. Though it's 100 times further away than Andromeda...

I once came across an alternate concept for NuBSG-an FTL glitch throws Colonial and Cylon fleets into an unexplored region of space, where they find artifacts left behind by Precursors.

 

[Rahul]

Here is something I would find very interesting:

It's a line from the second "Pirates of the Caribbean"-movie, an exchange between Lord Cutler Beckett and Will Turner:

"The world is shrinking, the blank edges of the map filled in"


I would like to see that in Star Trek. A time, where the ships get fast enough to travel the whole galaxy in a few years (but still not fast enough to reach other galaxies). Set in there some 18th century style exploring (with better ethics...). The major players would stay the same (Federation, Klingons, Romulans, Borg, Dominion), maybe one or two "newly descovered" major players (but many smaller, new ones, like the Cardassians once where). And our Starships are sent into the "white corners" of our map of the galaxy. This would allow for long-term political stories with the well-known major species, and for the "weirdness of the week" in those undiscovered spots.

Only downside is: You could not "stumble" into a new major player (like the Enterprise did with the Borg or DS9 with the Dominion). They would have to be either visitors from another Galaxy or peoples "evolved beyond us" that have restricted themselves to live humble and in peace (like many of those energy-beings on TOS). Or live in hiding, like B5's Shadows. Or come form another dimensions. There are possibilties.


Would you like this idea? What Pros/Cons do you see with it?

 

[Taylirious]

Star Trek meets The Hunger Games!

I still think an "Elite Force" series would be awesome.

 

[RAMA]

Here's my last idea from this board in 2012:

OK, so instead of saying what it should not be, let me suggest a few things...

Firstly, ST is probably never going to be up to the level of it's literary cousins. It has to be entertainment first and foremost. Still, its hard to take any future SF series seriosuly unless they come to terms with what SF writers have been for almost 2 decades...what are the implications of a singularity event for ST/Earth's future? The 23rd and 24th century shows already got it wrong by that measure, but to seem up to date they are going to have some perspective on it. If the show takes place in the 23rd-25th centuries in the "Prime Universe" it'll be a moderate view, we may encounter more civilizations that have passed through this stage or multiple stages of development to comment on it. In JJ's universe, probably much of the same thing will occur, but it'll probably be more open ended. A whole new universe and history would probably make more sense, but then you'd have to create a whole new show!

So I propose this...technoglocial advances in the next 30 years will make most of Trek tech seem quaint (prob not transporters or warp), let's make a 25th century show that deals with a UFP that's been an arrested culture, one that legislated out eugenics, nanotech, and AI to the point we've seen so far, but by the 25th century such advances cannot be contained, we start to see certain parts of the UFP evolve through transhumanism. Nanotech and foglet technologies transform UFP ships into maleable things...AI is everywhere. The crews are part "trans" with others relatively unmodified, though no one can be totally unmodified and function on a starship anymore. One aspect may be a conflict between those choosing to advance and those who do not. More conflict might arise with alien superpowers, some who may just be embarking on their own self-evolution, but are afraid of the advanced technological Federation. At this point, the final outcome, whether the UFP becomes a threatening machine civilization or a benevolent one is in question to all. Such a ST show will have advanced tech, exploration outwardly, but also inwardly to a large degree. It would have to leave a POV open to question, though no doubt there will be morality plays as well. Questions of aging, modes of thinking, analogies to racism and bias, man vs machine, and really where we are headed in the contemporary age would all be raised.

When I began writing science fiction in the middle '60s, it seemed very easy to find ideas that took decades to percolate into the cultural consciousness; now the lead time seems more like eighteen months.
Vernor Vinge

http://www.kurzweilai.net/singularity-chat-with-vernor-vinge-and-ray-kurzweil

RAMA

 

[mgummelt]

Star Trek meets The Hunger Games!

I still think an "Elite Force" series would be awesome.

Actually, in my Star Trek Beyond concept, the security chief (Qora) is in charge of the Hazard Team.

 

[slappy]

Here's my last idea from this board in 2012:

OK, so instead of saying what it should not be, let me suggest a few things...

Firstly, ST is probably never going to be up to the level of it's literary cousins. It has to be entertainment first and foremost. Still, its hard to take any future SF series seriosuly unless they come to terms with what SF writers have been for almost 2 decades...what are the implications of a singularity event for ST/Earth's future? The 23rd and 24th century shows already got it wrong by that measure, but to seem up to date they are going to have some perspective on it. If the show takes place in the 23rd-25th centuries in the "Prime Universe" it'll be a moderate view, we may encounter more civilizations that have passed through this stage or multiple stages of development to comment on it. In JJ's universe, probably much of the same thing will occur, but it'll probably be more open ended. A whole new universe and history would probably make more sense, but then you'd have to create a whole new show!

So I propose this...technoglocial advances in the next 30 years will make most of Trek tech seem quaint (prob not transporters or warp), let's make a 25th century show that deals with a UFP that's been an arrested culture, one that legislated out eugenics, nanotech, and AI to the point we've seen so far, but by the 25th century such advances cannot be contained, we start to see certain parts of the UFP evolve through transhumanism. Nanotech and foglet technologies transform UFP ships into maleable things...AI is everywhere. The crews are part "trans" with others relatively unmodified, though no one can be totally unmodified and function on a starship anymore. One aspect may be a conflict between those choosing to advance and those who do not. More conflict might arise with alien superpowers, some who may just be embarking on their own self-evolution, but are afraid of the advanced technological Federation. At this point, the final outcome, whether the UFP becomes a threatening machine civilization or a benevolent one is in question to all. Such a ST show will have advanced tech, exploration outwardly, but also inwardly to a large degree. It would have to leave a POV open to question, though no doubt there will be morality plays as well. Questions of aging, modes of thinking, analogies to racism and bias, man vs machine, and really where we are headed in the contemporary age would all be raised.

I like this stuff. Very relevant and different from what we've seen before.

 

[eyeresist]

Thinking about the controversy of prequels gave me another idea for a series:

Young Sefram!
A teenage boy coming of age in a post-apocalyptic landscape, with dreams of going to the stars. He encounters a series of mentor figures to further his growth as engineer and scientist, but also has to deal with deprivation, radiation, brigands and despots. Eventually he plays a key role in reviving air travel (giving hope to people), and makes friends with people who will later found the united Earth government.

 

[ScifiOnscreen]

I've been giving this a lot of thought lately. Because mostly, I think the core of Trek really can only be gotten at on the small screen. SF Movies seem to only be action based, and for me, Trek is so much more than lasers and hyperspace.

BUT i was thinking if they were to continue the timeline on TV, it would be interesting to me if the Federation were sorely challenged or tested. I was thinking that antagonistic forces in the galaxy combined to defeat the Federation militarily, perhaps even destroying Earth in the process. And the galaxy is ruled by several factions that are always warring with each other, making the galaxy a very interesting place. The series would begin with a group of rag-tag characters discovering that the Federation still exists, but as a secret underground organization. And we would then follow this (kind of like Star Wars Rebels).

The main throughline here would be that the Federation-ists would be tested in keeping to the tenets of the Federation as they lead a rebellion. Can they stay true to the non-violent and humanitarian principles, or do they succumb to violence to achieve their ends?

thoughts?

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

^ I always find it odd how some folk think the end of Earth spells the end of the Federation. It'd cause a heavy blow to the organisation, with the loss of billions of lives, but there are at least three other Founding member worlds plus over 150 other races out there that make up the Federation.

If anything, I think the loss of Earth would bolster the UFP and Starfleet into an even greater power and force for 'good' in the galaxy.

 

[T'Girl]

Riker stated in Nemesis that if Shinzon destroyed Earth that action would destroy the Federation.

As if Earth were the linch pin that ultimately held the organization together. Which does seem stange, if New York was somehow destroyed, the United Nations would (likely) reconstitute it's headquarters and leadership somewhere else.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

The egotism of humanity, believing that we are the be all and end all.

 

[ScifiOnscreen]

I think you both have misunderstood my post and focused on what you perceive as my human racism. I find that disappointing.

The gist of the post is that the idea of the series would be about the Federation broken and scattered. Whether it's Earth or another significant Federation world that's destroyed is besides the point, and only a suggestion.