Describe YOUR new Star Trek series.

[TheSubCommander]

Constellation class, http://offworldgirl.home.comcast.net/~offworldgirl/fanfic/StarTrek/timeline.html

Which would be a good way to do a Star Trek: Stargazer series. I have always been interested in seeing the crew of the Stargazer, when both Jack Crusher and Picard were junior officers. In fact, it would be nice to see Picard before he was a major player... think the Lower Decks, with Picard, Jack Crusher, and some new characters. The captain would be a major player, but since Captains aren't supposed to go on away teams anyway, the Captain can be more in the back ground sort of like Hammond was in Stargate SG1.

Another thing, and not so much a series idea, but more of an element I would like to see is the supernatural. I don't mean wormhole aliens... something that was supernatural until explained by science, but some actual unexplained beings and events, that can't simply be explained by being more evolved.

 

[Tim Walker]

Another thing, and not so much a series idea, but more of an element I would like to see is the supernatural. I don't mean wormhole aliens... something that was supernatural until explained by science, but some actual unexplained beings and events, that can't simply be explained by being more evolved.

I have delved a bit into UFO lore. There is the Interdimentional Hypothesis. The idea is that intelligences from another (higher?) dimension are making forays into our world. Which might explain ghosts, angels, etc.

But how would you prove it?

 

[T'Girl]

Another thing, and not so much a series idea, but more of an element I would like to see is the supernatural.

I would like to see our heroes not entirely knowing what was going on around them at all times, there being things they can't explain within the limits of what is science.

Also, have the transporter be based on a supernatural occurance that they learned to harness, but they don't really understand the basic theory.

 

[Tim Walker]

One part of canon is ESP, the most famous example being the Vulcan mind meld. Was that ever explained?

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

In the TrekBBS Arts forum I'm presently modeling an early to mid 22nd century ship design partially inspired by some of Matt Jefferies' early conceptual sketches. From that I've gotten the idea for something that could do what ENT failed to do, whether it be animated or live-action.

Presently I think of it as Star Trek: Constellation.

Imagine...

- No saucer
- No transporter
- No phase pistols
- No Warp 5 (unless we assume an older Warp formula)
- No catsuits
- No Suliban
- No temporal guys
- No Klingons
- No Ferengi or Borg

...to name a few things.

Star Trek with a touch of The X-Files vibe.

Colour me intrigued

 

[Tim Walker]

Another thing, and not so much a series idea, but more of an element I would like to see is the supernatural. I don't mean wormhole aliens... something that was supernatural until explained by science, but some actual unexplained beings and events, that can't simply be explained by being more evolved.

Perhaps something like the first season of Lost? That was a bit surreal, but handled well by the writers.

 

[Warped9]

Y

In the TrekBBS Arts forum I'm presently modeling an early to mid 22nd century ship design partially inspired by some of Matt Jefferies' early conceptual sketches. From that I've gotten the idea for something that could do what ENT failed to do, whether it be animated or live-action.

Presently I think of it as Star Trek: Constellation.

Imagine...

- No saucer
- No transporter
- No phase pistols
- No Warp 5 (unless we assume an older Warp formula)
- No catsuits
- No Suliban
- No temporal guys
- No Klingons
- No Ferengi or Borg

...to name a few things.

Star Trek with a touch of The X-Files vibe.

Colour me intrigued

I like to think of it as a show that ENT didn't do. It could be interesting to have a recurring sense of a weird and moody atmosphere to help foster the feeling of being on their own and far from the familar.

Of course, this is only a vague idea. If something like this were to be made a lot more thought would have to go into the setting, the characters and such. I know that I've seen things in Stargate and Babylon 5 I thought could be adapted into a Trek series. There's also, of course, the X-Files vibe I menetioned.

I envision a time period roughly 2120s-2150s. There's not a lot of interstellar infrastructure out there yet for Earth. Humanity would know of a handful of intelligent species and rumors of others. I would avoid specific references to previous productions--keep it vague if you do it at all. Is it Prime continuity or a reboot?--this is a similar question that could have been asked with TNG.

If we're talking about a 13 episode season then one season could indeed be equal to one year. The Constellation (or Challenger or whatever it's called) could encounter other Earth ships in distress or struggling colonists. I envision an early episode where they find the dead uins of an extinct race and they place creeps the hell out of them--something might still be there.

I kind of like the idea of one of the characters being a Wiccan by faith, intrigued and sometimes frightened by the mysteries encountered as they step into the galaxy.


I think the design of the ship matters as a visual cue to the series. I always felt the NX-01 looked too advanced for the time period as if the producers were uncomfortable with going for something too unfamiliar. The Constellation is an immediate visual cue this is a less advanced era. It's one of a number of ships mapping out the local interstellar area, cataloging habitable planets for possible colonization, lending aid to other Earth ships and scientific investigation when possible (wherein sometimes they could be ferrying specific scientific research teams). Similar to submarines today the ship's voyagest could last about six months to a year or so before returning to more familiar territory for resupply and perhaps some personnel rotation.

Just some thoughts.

 

[Warped9]

One thing I'd definitely avoid would be the conventional origin story that is pretty much standard these days. I'm bored with all that time wasted.

The series starts with the characters already into their voyage or whatever. You meet the characters and get to know them as they appear and doing whatever they do in each their own distinctive way.

 

[fireproof78]

^^
I felt that both "The Cage" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before" did that quite well in terms of being more of a cold open rather than an origin story.

I find some of your ideas for a new show to be interesting. I was not a huge fan of X-Files but I can appreciate the idea behind it.

 

[David.Blue]

Okay.

My concept is a Trek miniseries titled Star Trek Revelations. Takes place a decade or so past VOY. The Federation and it allies/partners are all still recovering from the Dominion War.

The story initially focuses on a brilliant pair of Vulcan sisters, T'Pree and S'var, experts in attempting to create transwarp drive. Much needs to be made of how utterly gigantic the galaxy still is. In fact, all the known governments and civilizations we know of make up less than ten percent of the galaxy as a whole. Even the Alpha Quadrant is largely unexplored.

Star Fleet suddenly lets them in on a secret. Someone claims to have developed transwarp drive already, and covertly arranged negotiations with several powers on the condition the Federation be kept in the dark. A demonstration is to take place in neutral territory at a certain date.

They ask T'Pree to go with an operative to "crash" the negotiations and hopefully find out about this drive, as well as why the Federation was excluded.

S'var on the other hand will accompany a small, fast starship following up on various clues to learn the identity of the Sellers.

Ultimately, the Sellers are identified as an obscure species long thought extinct. Their homeworld was facing a massive solar flare and had almost invented warp drive when a Federation Starship made first contact. In keeping with the Prime Directive, the Captain of that ship left them to their fate. Now it seems the solar flare killed billions, but left a few hundred alive, some with the psychic ability to generate a transwarp drive field. Now they are roughly divided into two factions--one that seeks to eclipse the Federation economically, forcing it to abandon the Prime Directive, the other just wanting revenge. The latter in particular has been targeting remaining crew members from that starship what refused to save their world.

Obviously, this is but a seed. But the essence of the story are these two sisters approached a politco-ethical crisis from different directions. The crew of S'var's starship, plus the "team" to which T'Pree belongs, make up the core of the regulars. One aspect of the former will be a ship they become aware of, one that carries the avenging aliens and maybe a few allies. In that respect they are akin to the Nautilus in Jules Verne's 20,OOO Leagues Under the Sea. I'm thinking eventually S'var ends up on this ship, which we'll tentatively call the Justice. She is a prisoner, and our POV to the most extreme of the aliens who have a sincere problem with the Federation.

Amidst the tensions faced by these two sisters, I'd like to see explored the messy, complicated nature of this situation. We're talking ten episodes, probably on cable, with enough of an open ending to allow for further stories. A few things I would forbid:
1. The Federation absolutely positively never develops its own transwarp drive.
2. The powers of the aliens to not fade, do not go away, etc.
3. They certainly do not see a reason to forgive the Federation and change their minds.
I don't want any even remotely easy solutions to this problem, no demonizing of the aliens, but a continued focus on how individual lives are disrupted by this crisis.

 

[Tim Walker]

Well, actually it is someone elses. But some of the images are interesting.

http://www.st-minutiae.com/misc/renaissance/images/index.html

It appears that scripts were written for a series set a few decades after the Dominion War. This includes first contact with the Q'tami, and discovery of a semi-stable wormhole.

 

[Esirprus]

I think I'm noticing a pattern those posting are following Enterprise only or spinning off from existing shows relying on what's already been told to grab the viewers' attention. I think it will take a left wing out of the blue approach to get a new Star Trek on the air by next year.

What about a ship diving into the unexplored Beta quadrant?

A ship with too few officers and a barely functional ship having to achieve what multiple sound ships failed at?

What about a glance at the reality of the Neutral Zone? That on opposite sides of the border the patrol crews who police the borders follow a set of unwritten rules created by the neutral zone?

What about focusing on the unsung heroes of the Dominion war? Deep Space Nine didn't win the war all by themselves!

What about a ship of archeologists delving into the historical pasts of far societies and near societies?

These are just a sampling of the ideas I have for Trek. I spent most of my life living in that universe, so for me it's not just entertainment but real. We'll see what comes of it.

 

[Esirprus]

One thing I'd definitely avoid would be the conventional origin story that is pretty much standard these days. I'm bored with all that time wasted.

The series starts with the characters already into their voyage or whatever. You meet the characters and get to know them as they appear and doing whatever they do in each their own distinctive way.

This answers a question I haven't asked ye. Thanks!

Personally I find openers worth filming but erring in re-runs, only. I thought the DS9 opener dragged horribly until I watched it after having seen all but the ladder half of season 7. After all that I liked how I got to see the characters met, finally.

And writing the opener is important for the writer. Because the writer gets to know the characters best by watching how they meet each other. But even then a writer has to back and re-write those introductions.

 

[Warped9]

And writing the opener is important for the writer. Because the writer gets to know the characters best by watching how they meet each other. But even then a writer has to back and re-write those introductions.

And what do you base this assertion on? People have been writing stories for centuries without an origin story and seemed to know their characters pretty well without an origin story. I've never heard of a Sherlock Holmes origin story when he became a detective and Arthur Coman Doyle had a pretty good grasp of his characters right off. Ian Fleming didn't write a story of Bond becoming a 00 agent. Bond was 007 right from the first story without an origin story, and Fleming had a handle on who Bond was.

With few exceptions origin stories work best when the origin is integral to a major event in the characters lives. Also a lot of origin stories can be contrived as if nothing of import happened to these characters until they met. That's not credible. The vast majority of people meet others at different points in their lives. One could be astonished at how many people we each meet individually, know for some time and then they pass out of our lives where we then meet others and the cycle repeats itself.

For example, Spock (and maybe some others) were already aboard the Enterprise when Kirk assumes command. So where is the real origin? Is it when Spock was born? When Kirk was born? When Spock came aboard the Enterprise or when Kirk came aboard? The only value in showing Kirk taking command is if it's integral to a bigger story. But there was no bigger story in TOS. TOS was the 5-year mission which was comprised of a collection of individual stories. It might matter more if the 5-year mission were redefined with an over arcing storyline running throughout.

Don't misunderstand. I'm not against an origin story if it has value, but I resist it as something that's assumed to be required by default. This summer's release of the reboot The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was an origin story in telling how agents Napolean Solo and Ilya Kuriyakin came together. Strictly speaking it wasn't necessary, but they managed to make it work because their coming together was merely part of a larger story.

On the other hand the origin story for TNG was largely a snore given that the larger story wasn't that engaging or well executed. The episode "Where No One Has Gone Before" was a better and much more interesting jumping off point and that was a few episodes into the first season.

Basically it comes down to I resist the idea of being spoonfed as if I won't understand anything unless I'm told everything in excrutiating detail from the beginning. I'm a lot more perceptive than that and I suspect a lot of other viewers are as well.

 

[MantaBase]

And what do you base this assertion on? People have been writing stories for centuries without an origin story and seemed to know their characters pretty well without an origin story.

Actually Warped9, this happens more than you know. Is pretty common for writers to write up origin and backstory that never makes it into the final product or ends up truncated/summarized in a prologue. Even in my own science writing I have cut tons of awesome intro material that helped me write a wonderful article, but in the end, was not needed in the final. Alas, an editor (rightfully) cut some of my best writing in an article to shorten it up and make it "run quickly". They were right, but it really helped me write the article at first. And it hurt removing it.

 

[Warped9]

And what do you base this assertion on? People have been writing stories for centuries without an origin story and seemed to know their characters pretty well without an origin story.

Actually Warped9, this happens more than you know. Is pretty common for writers to write up origin and backstory that never makes it into the final product or ends up truncated/summarized in a prologue. Even in my own science writing I have cut tons of awesome intro material that helped me write a wonderful article, but in the end, was not needed in the final. Alas, an editor (rightfully) cut some of my best writing in an article to shorten it up and make it "run quickly". They were right, but it really helped me write the article at first. And it hurt removing it.

I understand that. But when we discuss an origin story I assume we're talking about something the audience actually sees rather than something the writer uses merely as a tool to get started.

 

[Jeffe525]

I would set the new show about 20-25 years after Nemesis, right around the dawn of the 25th Century. This would make cameos from TNG, DS9, and VOY possible (even believable this time), but cameos would be used sparingly and only when it compliments the story.

The main characters would be split between the senior staff of three crews:
Crew 1 - A construction and shakedown crew of a new mid-sized prototype, like a next-gen Defiant-Class.
Crew 2 - A special forces recon group that primarily operates across the lawless regions of the Klingon frontier and the Romulan Neutral Zone out of an older, unregistered Runabout-equivalent vessel.
Crew 3 - A standard Luna-class ship that officially patrols the UFP side of the Romulan Neutral Zone, but unofficially offers strategic and material support to Crew 2.
Other minor characters include the Admiral that commands all 3 crews along with a couple of intelligence geeks at Starfleet HQ in San Fran, a rag-tag renegade Klingon commander & crew, and a mystery character who is slowly revealed in season 1 and ties all the main characters together.

The series would be organized into 5 seasons, about a dozen episodes/ season. Each season would have its own arc, which feeds into a larger arc stretching across the whole series.

The primary plot is geared towards the Borg's final stand against the superpowers of the Alpha Quadrant, while each season will address issues like internal politics, the resurgence of the UFP-Romulan rivalry, the "other side" of Utopian societies, and other challenges that mirror social and geopolitical issues of our time (in the 21st century).

Very few new species or wondrous discoveries in this concept; it's mostly a story based in the already established Trek universe and built upon some events of the previous generation (TNG/DS9/VOY).

 

[fireproof78]

I could get behind the concept with a couple of caveats:

First, reintroducing the Borg. That is always an iffy proposition, mostly due to how in to the ground VOY drove them, taking any mystique or menace to them. Are there any ideas of how to reintroduce them in a meaningful or impactful way?

Secondly, why the use of multiple ships? I'm not critiquing it (per se') so much as curious as to that format choice. Any one of those concepts is great in theory, and could easily be expanded upon for a full show. I would be concerned about short changing any number of potential with one crew.

I get that this is just a proposal, so I'm not trying to nitpick. I'm more curious as to your thoughts as to what direction it could go.

 

[Jeffe525]

...reintroducing the Borg. That is always an iffy proposition, mostly due to how in to the ground VOY drove them, taking any mystique or menace to them...

I always saw the Borg, first and foremost, like the cancer of the Milky Way. They are formidable, highly adaptable, and will always keep growing until they are eradicated completely. They were by no means beaten down by Voyager and they're still a threat to the Delta Quadrant. SF Command knows it's only a matter of time before they come back as strong as ever.

...why the use of multiple ships?

Just between the UFP, the KE, and the RSE, there is a lot of space to cover. I always liked the idea of delving deeper into planets or species that were previously only touched on (like ENT did with the Andorians, loved that).
I think it would also allow for more details in the plot to unfold simultaneously.
Plus, the 3 settings represent 3 aspects of Star Trek I would like to see more of:
Crew 1: Future Earth/ Sol System, SF HQ, and SF Academy.
Crew 2: The concept of M.A.C.O.s taken to the next step.
Crew 3: Not the Enterprise - because they don't have to be the stars of the Alpha Quad to have an interesting starship.

Any one of those concepts is great in theory, and could easily be expanded upon for a full show.

I disagree. Here's why:
Crew 1 - I'm sure Warped9 will be the first to point out that a show about a crew that typically stays around Earth is not really Star Trekking.
Crew 2 - Although I like the militaristic aspects of Trek (space battles are always fun), I never thought they should dominate the show. Ironically, this is where I would plan to delve deepest into questions about humanity.
Crew 3 - TOS, TNG, VOY, ENT, ???, we don't need another one just like this format (IMHO).

I get that this is just a proposal, so I'm not trying to nitpick.

No way, dude. You're cool. Thanks for showing interest.

 

[uniderth]

Perhaps the Borg have adapted beyond the setup of having a Queen and are back to the hive mind. That is what the Borg do best isn't it? Adapt.