November Art Challenge - The Spin Off

[The Lensman]

For this months challenge, your task is to pick a character from any incarnation of Trek and make a spin off series from them. You can depict this spin-off by a screencap, book cover, ad, record album, magazine cover, poster, etc, etc.

1. The series must be something that Hollywood would plausibly produce.

That is key. So if you're thinking of that Gorn centric spin-off, well there's no way in hell that would ever get the green light. On the other hand, a Harry Mudd series is entirely plausible.

2. You must come up with a show title, but it cannot include the words "Star Trek". "Happy Days" and "All In The Family" each spun off numerous shows, none of which had the originators title as part of theirs.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Good Luck!

 

[largo]

considering some of the total rubbish which has made it to TV, i think "Gorn to be Wild" (starring Ss'zathis and David Attenborough) would actually have a shot.

 

[Shawnster]

2. You must come up with a show title, but it cannot include the words "Star Trek". "Happy Days" and "All In The Family" each spun off numerous shows, none of which had the originators title as part of theirs.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Good Luck!

Interesting, and a bit ironic. Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager were all greenlit. Enterprise intentionally did not include "Star Trek," but was later rebranded as Star Trek: Enterprise.

 

[B.J.]

It's going to be tricky picking a good character to start from. Looking forward to seeing who people pick!

 

[The Lensman]

considering some of the total rubbish which has made it to TV, i think "Gorn to be Wild" (starring Ss'zathis and David Attenborough) would actually have a shot.

Ha Ha Nice!

It's going to be tricky picking a good character to start from. Looking forward to seeing who people pick!

Some spin-off's feature a regular cast member going off and doing their own thing like Joey from "Friends" and Frasier Crane from "Cheers" or Rhoda from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". Sometimes the show is radically different from where it came from in the case of "Lou Grant" which was supposed to be the same character from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" but that show was definitely not a comedy like TMTMS was.

Sometimes it's a character that appears in an episode which is really a backdoor pilot like "Assignment: Earth". Or just a one off character who's popular like Mork on "Happy Days". He had a one or two more appearances on "Happy Days" before getting a show IIRC.

Considering that the original Trek ran for three years, the first three spin-off's for seven each, then Ent with another four years, you've got about thirty years of material to work with.

I'm interested in seeing how creative people get with this. Will they go with just another starship show? Or something more interesting?

Stay tuned!

 

[sojourner]

Oooo, a kid's show "Deep Space Nine and a half".

Feel free to use that anyone that wants. I have no real idea for the contest.

 

[Ptrope]

Great idea!

What about a spin-off of a spin-off? "The Lincoln Logs" - Roberta strikes out on her own as a 'naturalized' agent working for the Aegis, kind of a Modesty Blaise-type of character ;-).

 

[The Lensman]

Great idea!

What about a spin-off of a spin-off? "The Lincoln Logs" - Roberta strikes out on her own as a 'naturalized' agent working for the Aegis, kind of a Modesty Blaise-type of character ;-).

Sounds like a cool idea!

This is pretty much what I'm talking about as I could see something like this actually happening.

So let me stress again:

The series must be something that Paramount could or would plausibly produce.


(Actually that should probably be in the past tense since most of these made up shows were probably done years ago.)

"Could this have actually been made?" is the first thing you should ask yourself before putting pen to paper.

Yes, this is where the "Challenge" part of the "Art Challenge" comes in.

I can think of a few characters that would work for sitcoms, some for secret agent stuff, and others for crime and medical procedurals.

 

[Melakon]

Throwing out some titles for anyone to play with:

"T.J. Kirk" - the son of a retired starship captain joins the city police force, riding around on one of those fancy jet bikes. Father always tries to get him to join Starfleet instead.

"Sisko's" - Crazy old restaurant owner tells anyone who will listen that his son works on a space station.

"Delta Force" - Humanoid hedgehog organizes a small task force of ships to defend helpless planets-- for a price.

"The Lieutenant" - Ensign Harry Kim finally gets a promotion, serving as a Starfleet Academy instructor.

 

[Finn]

1. The series must be something that Hollywood would plausibly produce.

Cool challenge. I won't have the time this month, but I wanted to ask- Do you mean "plausibly produce" as in around the time its parent show had been airing, or nowadays (a tough sell, I think)

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I'm considering entering (not a promise). This would be my first such contest. How is it done? Would I start a thread to develop my entry?

 

[BK613]

I'm considering entering (not a promise). This would be my first such contest. How is it done? Would I start a thread to develop my entry?

From the FAQ (bolded underline added):

Q: How do I enter the monthly art challenge, and what are its requirements?
A: The monthly TrekArt challenge is not an 'official' function of the forum, but is informally agreed upon and continued by the members. In general, the requirements of the monthly challenge are determined by the winner of the previous month's challenge, but the common expectations are that a) the artwork you submit is created during the month of the challenge, rather than using artwork or compositions that already exist and happen to fit the theme and rules of the challenge, and b) you are allowed only one final image to submit, although it may contain multiple views. To streamline the process and cut down on confusion and logistical problems, the moderator will post the final poll, and the entrants need to e-mail their final entries to the moderator (currently Ptrope; email: ptrope at gmail dot com) by midnight, PST, on the last day of the month; the poll will then be posted in a timely fashion, usually on the first day of the month.

People sometimes create a thread to display their WIP and solicit comments, but it isn't generally required.

 

[The Lensman]

1. The series must be something that Hollywood would plausibly produce.

Cool challenge. I won't have the time this month, but I wanted to ask- Do you mean "plausibly produce" as in around the time its parent show had been airing, or nowadays (a tough sell, I think)

Around the time of the parent show, since I agree that trying to float something now would be nigh impossible.

 

[smalltalk66]

Hey, Lensman--I'd like to create a Trek show spinoff using a Roddenberry concept rather than a character from the actual shows. (It's because my idea takes place before TOS or Enterprise). Can I try it?

 

[The Lensman]

Hey, Lensman--I'd like to create a Trek show spinoff using a Roddenberry concept rather than a character from the actual shows. (It's because my idea takes place before TOS or Enterprise). Can I try it?

While I'm greatly intrigued by what you've come up with, I think I'd like to stick to the conditions set forth as that's the "challenge" part of the Art Challenge.

Ideally you could find a character that's appeared in one of the shows and and include them in your spin-off. Remember, it doesn't necessarily have to be a main character. It could be someone who was a guest star as well. There are several characters that we know of from Trek's turn of the 21st century to the 22nd century. The challenge is to take a character and make them work within the framework of your idea.

Give it some thought, and see if you can find a character who would fit with your concept.

 

[Kaziarl]

I have an idea, but no skills. Dangit!

 

[Ptrope]

Almost there! Midnight PST is only a couple hours away - do you know where your winning entry is?

Don't forget to e-mail it to ptrope at gmail dot com - spin off or spin out! .