Re-booting TNG For TV?

[Temis the Vorta]

Picard - Wentworth Miller
Data - Alan Tudyk
Riker - Taylor Kinney (one-time hunk-of-the-week on The Vampire Diaries - that's the kind of resume we'd be looking for)

I'm sure there's a thread around here somewheres where we've played the casting game.

 

[Mr_Homn]

I'm actually looking more forward to the reboot of this potential reboot of a spinoff more than the actual reboot of the spinoff itself.

 

[ColeMercury]

It's probably best not to remake TNG with all the same characters and everything. The thing about TOS is that the characters really are mostly archetypes, so it's easier to recast them and have the new actors play on the characters in different ways to the original cast -- the characters in TNG, on the other hand, have more personality and are rather more distinctive, so there's less room to move. If they had to make a new TNG, it'd probably be best to have a completely new cast of characters.

Personally, though, I'm holding out for an Excelsior series starring John Cho as Captain Sulu.

I'd sooner NOT find myself having to ignore, disown, whatever... anything in the Star Trek franchise.

I even value what the Animated Series brought to the table. It proudly sits between the Original Series and Motion Picture.

Ideally I'd prefer the next chapter to work as part of a bigger picture like that, in addition to doing its own thing.

But try telling that to anyone in Hollywood. The entertainment industry is basically eating itself alive right now. Picking over carcasses, some of which to me, weren't dead enough for that sort of reimaging. Somewhat obsessed with remaking everything they remember seeing when they were 8 years old, rather than coming up with completely original programming that will itself stand the test of time... without having a successful brand name to lean on.

Remakes and adaptations are nothing new. Hollywood has been doing them ever since there's been a Hollywood. Ben-Hur? That was a remake. The Wizard of Oz? Remake. The Maltese Falcon? A remake of a remake -- and all three versions were released within ten years of each other!

 

[Skywalker]

Riker would probably be eliminated entirely, and Picard would be more action-oriented from the beginning, like he became later in the series and in the movies.

 

[spooky spice]

Who could they even cast in the roles?

Actors between the ages of 18 and 25, since that's the most important demograph

apparently

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

I'm against the idea of rebooting TNG. This cast is one of my favourites. I'd rather see a new series set in another time, either before (Sulu series), or later with new characters. There are so many characters and series in the Star Trek universe.

 

[thumbtack]

I don't see why William Shatner can't play all the parts. Today's CGI would make it easy.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Riker would probably be eliminated entirely, and Picard would be more action-oriented from the beginning, like he became later in the series and in the movies.

Good call, I agree. A younger Picard will be more an action-oriented character.

But Riker can be reconstituted and still be useful. How about an Okana type figure, a younger, slimmer and sexier Harry Mudd type?

 

[Jetfire]

If I was making changes to the original characters I would make Data a female...it would balance out the 8 main characters...

Picard-M
Riker-M
La Forge-M
Worf-M
Troi-F
Crusher-F
Yar-F
Data-F (Instead of M)

Then there would be secondary characters like Wes-M, Barclay-M, Ro-F & Guinan-F.

Plus you can have an interesting friendship with Geordi...Data being female and all...not to mention even more interesting relationship with Yar if Data was female.

I must be channeling Gaith.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Riker would probably be eliminated entirely, and Picard would be more action-oriented from the beginning, like he became later in the series and in the movies.

Good call, I agree. A younger Picard will be more an action-oriented character.

But Riker can be reconstituted and still be useful. How about an Okana type figure, a younger, slimmer and sexier Harry Mudd type?

Or Riker could become Wilhelmina "Mina" Riker, who would be Picard's female equal and executive officer who often clashes with him on command decisions. The only person on the ship that could go toe-to-toe with Picard. Some crew members speculate that there's more sexual tension than strife in their relationship.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

You guys really want this show on the CW, don't you? Make Picard, Data and Wilhelmina Riker all Starfleet cadets, whomp up a love triangle, and move over Vampire Diaries, you've got a new lead-in show.

Imagine the angst of being in a relationship with an android! Does he love me for myself, or is he just programmed that way...?

 

[Witterquick]

Does he love me for myself, or is he just programmed that way...?

You only love him because he's your maker! You should love me - I'm pretty! (And smart!)

 

[Skywalker]

Riker would probably be eliminated entirely, and Picard would be more action-oriented from the beginning, like he became later in the series and in the movies.

Good call, I agree. A younger Picard will be more an action-oriented character.

But Riker can be reconstituted and still be useful. How about an Okana type figure, a younger, slimmer and sexier Harry Mudd type?

Or Riker could become Wilhelmina "Mina" Riker, who would be Picard's female equal and executive officer who often clashes with him on command decisions. The only person on the ship that could go toe-to-toe with Picard. Some crew members speculate that there's more sexual tension than strife in their relationship.

The executive officer is never the commanding officer's equal.

And why can't a woman named Wilhelmina go by the name Wil (or Will)?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Willie. Very CW.

 

[Skywalker]

I'm not quite desperate enough for new Trek to want to see a CW-ized version of it.

 

[ColeMercury]

Riker would probably be eliminated entirely, and Picard would be more action-oriented from the beginning, like he became later in the series and in the movies.

Good call, I agree. A younger Picard will be more an action-oriented character.

But Riker can be reconstituted and still be useful. How about an Okana type figure, a younger, slimmer and sexier Harry Mudd type?

Or Riker could become Wilhelmina "Mina" Riker, who would be Picard's female equal and executive officer who often clashes with him on command decisions. The only person on the ship that could go toe-to-toe with Picard. Some crew members speculate that there's more sexual tension than strife in their relationship.

...And at this point you're basically creating entirely new characters anyway, so what's the point in pretending this is a "reboot of The Next Generation" when it is very clearly an entirely new show?

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Good call, I agree. A younger Picard will be more an action-oriented character.

But Riker can be reconstituted and still be useful. How about an Okana type figure, a younger, slimmer and sexier Harry Mudd type?

Or Riker could become Wilhelmina "Mina" Riker, who would be Picard's female equal and executive officer who often clashes with him on command decisions. The only person on the ship that could go toe-to-toe with Picard. Some crew members speculate that there's more sexual tension than strife in their relationship.

The executive officer is never the commanding officer's equal.

And why can't a woman named Wilhelmina go by the name Wil (or Will)?

The XO may not be the equal in terms of position and rank, but I meant figuratively that Riker could be Picard's equal in terms of strength, determination and intelligence. In other words, by quality of character not by pecking order.

Frankly, Riker and Picard were originally meant to be the captain role split evenly and equally into two.

...And at this point you're basically creating entirely new characters anyway, so what's the point in pretending this is a "reboot of The Next Generation" when it is very clearly an entirely new show?

Well, BSG was a reboot and recast the gender of Starbuck. Why not Riker in a reboot of TNG?

After all, Riker was a pretty bland square-jaw type that got castrated as a character after "Best of Both Worlds." I'd say any reboot of TNG would need to do some serious overhaul of the character.

Besides, this is all in fun so who cares how far this speculation goes.

 

[Skywalker]

Frankly, Riker and Picard were originally meant to be the captain role split evenly and equally into two.

Exactly, and when Picard began to take more of an action-oriented role, the character of Riker became completely superfluous. He would be equally superfluous in a reboot, so we might as well get rid of him. Doctor Crusher can and should be the one who goes toe-to-toe with Picard when the situation calls for it.

 

[ColeMercury]

...And at this point you're basically creating entirely new characters anyway, so what's the point in pretending this is a "reboot of The Next Generation" when it is very clearly an entirely new show?

Well, BSG was a reboot and recast the gender of Starbuck. Why not Riker in a reboot of TNG?

The difference is that BSG didn't already have 5 separate series plus 11 movies. Star Trek is so general that you can just start a whole new spinoff with no "rebooting" of existing material necessary, while BSG has a very specific premise ("start with a nuclear holocaust and then follow the fleet of human ships as they flee to Earth") which means you can't.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Good call, I agree. A younger Picard will be more an action-oriented character.

But Riker can be reconstituted and still be useful. How about an Okana type figure, a younger, slimmer and sexier Harry Mudd type?

Or Riker could become Wilhelmina "Mina" Riker, who would be Picard's female equal and executive officer who often clashes with him on command decisions. The only person on the ship that could go toe-to-toe with Picard. Some crew members speculate that there's more sexual tension than strife in their relationship.

...And at this point you're basically creating entirely new characters anyway, so what's the point in pretending this is a "reboot of The Next Generation" when it is very clearly an entirely new show?

Because then you can watch into the CBS pitch and say "it's based on The Next Generation, which was the last successful Star Trek series." That's even better than your other key selling point, the success of Star Trek at the movies, because you're specifically talking about TV. (CBS would be right to be skeptical that movie success means anything for a TV show.)

The fact that TNG's success could not be replicated today because the TV biz has changed, and your show has virtually nothing to do with TNG anyway, is immaterial. It will increase the odds of your show getting greenlit just because it gives the appearance of being a sure thing.

Otherwise, what's the point of all the TV and movie remakes that are constantly happening? Just because The Munsters or Bewitched were successes in the 60s, why should they be successful today? What if tastes have changed too much? What if the element that made them successful cannot be replicated? Those are valid questions but nobody cares. They just want the illusion of certainty because it's good for butt-covering in case the remake flops, and most shows do flop.

...and after typing all that, I've suddenly realized there is a strong chance that the next TV series will be based on TNG (with as much fidelity as Ron Moore's BSG was based on the original) because of what I just outlined. When I saw this thread title I originally thought "pshwah, dream on" but now I'm not so sure.