script of star trek: the beginning FOUND

[watermelony2k]

with a lot of details and spoilers from Erik Jendersen's 121-page script.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/34635

Here's one small excerpt from the article:

”Penelope, I am going where so many have
gone before - to the place where all
paths lead, and all journeys end. Please
know, my love, that if I do nothing
else...that at least...I go there boldly.”

-Tiberius Chase
September 18, 2159
D-Day Minus 1

I think this kind of radical new vision for trek would have been the best thing to happen to the franchise.

So in my mind I'm thinking of a fusion between Band of Brothers/Saving Private Ryan with Star Trek. Wow, J.J. Abram's movie better be GOOD or else jendersen's script could be the biggest lost opportunity in trek history.

Anyone else find it hilarious that Archer & Crew are at Risa, of all places, at the time of the movie?

I wouldn't mind seeing this take form in a SCIFI miniseries or something.

 

[Joker]

War? Snore.

 

[theARE]

Berman really was starting to lose it wasn't he!

Thank God Paramount showed him the door.

 

[Corinthian7]

I saw this earlier and my first thoughts are that it could have made a really great Star Trek movie! I was particularly impressed that it was taking a different approach to Trek whilst the description makes it sound like it was very rooted in Trek lore. I would have loved to have seen this brought to fruition and with Shran appearing in the first of a proposed trilogy there would have been further opportunities for Enterprise characters to have featured in the subsequent movies had it been a success.

Having said that, I couldn't have seen this movie adding significantly to Treks audience and therefore it would likely have failed at the box office. Without serious A list talent I couldn't see the general public coming out for a film featuring brand new characters, particularly after the failure of nemesis. Furthermore I doubt this production team would have had the pull that Abrams has and even he hasn't brought in a major Hollywood star yet! Still if the new feature is a success maybe this could be revived somewhere down the line, possibly as a mini series. At the very least maybe Pocket could get Jendreson to write a trilogy of novels that could be incorporated into their Enterprise relaunch.

 

[Corinthian7]

theARE said:
Berman really was starting to lose it wasn't he!

Thank God Paramount showed him the door.

As I recall when this project was in development Berman was pretty much involved in name only.

 

[watermelony2k]

theARE said:
Berman really was starting to lose it wasn't he!

Thank God Paramount showed him the door.

Berman didn't write the script?

You guys really don't like this? I think it sounds great. A dark and gritty war drama set in star trek universe. And not redefining the trek universe, too. The script had kirk's ancestors, Shran, NX-02 Columbia (which gets destroyed by Romulans), Denobulans..

Combining a new feel for trek with established history.

 

[DeafPoet]

It does sound cool, but this would have been a disaster at the BO, I think. We'll never know of course, but it's my gut feeling.

 

[CaptainDonovin]

I found this to be very interesting of an idea that may not have worked on the big screen but may have made a great tv movie or mini-series. I would have rather had Archer & company IN the movie (at least good ol' Shran was) than just a refrence to them but I would have looked forward to this. Seeing or referring to Earth being attacked like that has not been seen a lot of (the bomb that went off at Starfleet and the Breen attack of San Fran and the Xindi attack come to mind first)in Trek and would have been something to see what it did to either unite or divide the people of Earth and their allies.

 

[Joker]

watermelony2k said:
You guys really don't like this? I think it sounds great. A dark and gritty war drama set in star trek universe.

The point of setting something in the future is to do things that aren't possible in the present.

A remake of every war movie of the past few decades is a waste of a science fiction franchise, moreso since we've already had 7 years of DS9 "war is hell" storylines.

 

[Procutus]

Personally, I think the story sounds dynamic, though I agree with several people here that I don't know if it would've resulted in good box office. Some time back I posted a thread about the idea of Pocket Books doing this trilogy as a set of novels, and I hope that still comes to pass.

I also like the way this story acknowledges all facets of Trek and uses elements from ENT as well as hinting at the future. It's a shame we're most likely never to see this.

 

[The Wormhole]

”Penelope, I am going where so many have
gone before - to the place where all
paths lead, and all journeys end. Please
know, my love, that if I do nothing
else...that at least...I go there boldly.”

-Tiberius Chase
September 18, 2159
D-Day Minus 1

By the way, that quote is horrible. I give the guy points for trying to come up with a new spin on "To boldly go where no man/one has gone before" but that little piece of poetry(?) just plain sucks. Seriously, I can see myself groaning in the theatre.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

THE BEGINNING takes traditional war genre structures/clichés and applies them to STAR TREK; a formula we’ve never seen before. For example, there are (literally) love letters written between characters…read in voice over…as one character heads off to battle, and the other sits at home worrying and waiting. THE BEGINNING is about a group of folks newly graduated from the United Earth Stellar Navy who are forced to go their separate ways in a time of great upheaval. Some head into war, some find other purposes, while all hell is breaking loose around them.

In structure, the story very much resembles STARSHIP TROOPERS mixed with the madness surrounding Pearl Harbor. As a whole, the script is extremely military in nature.

That actually sounds like an intriguing approach to SOME sci-fi movie, especially since someone from the wonderful Band of Brothers is involved. But I'm not sure it's Star Trek. I'm glad they scuttled this idea. Even DS9, which people bitch about being too military, is actually about Federation ideals under stress, so it's very much in line with the heart and soul of Star Trek. But the Jendersen script sounds way off the mark.

However...

If they'd done this in a TV series, it could work. When Series V (which became ENT) was announced, I acutally was hoping that they'd depict a more military Starfleet from the 22nd C, which will one day evolve into the Starfleet we know. But to toss this at us in a mere two hours wouldn't work; everyone would be confused. You need the longer format of a TV series to clarify why Starfleet of this era is so different (simple: Earth is small and defenseless, the galaxy is nasty and rough, no Federation to watch Earth's butt).

But this concept would NOT fit at all with ENT's continuity, which already established Starfleet as being pretty much the same as Kirk's Starfleet. There seemed to be no military at all other than Starfleet, or else why weren't they running the response to the Xindi attack?

 

[watermelony2k]

Where is the actual script, though?

 

[Franklin]

The Wormhole said:

”Penelope, I am going where so many have
gone before - to the place where all
paths lead, and all journeys end. Please
know, my love, that if I do nothing
else...that at least...I go there boldly.”

-Tiberius Chase
September 18, 2159
D-Day Minus 1

By the way, that quote is horrible. I give the guy points for trying to come up with a new spin on "To boldly go where no man/one has gone before" but that little piece of poetry(?) just plain sucks. Seriously, I can see myself groaning in the theatre.

Beyond the rim of the starlight,
My love is wandring in star flight.
I know he'll find
In star clustered reaches
Love, strange love
A starwoman teaches.

I know his journey ends never.
His star trek will go on forever.
But tell him while
He wanders his starry sea,
Remember,
Remember me.




-- Gene Roddenberry

That just needed to be inserted in here, somewhere.

 

[MrPointy]

The mission to nuke Romulus sounds fucking stupid. But I really like everything else.

 

[TK421]

This would have made a better TV show than a movie. It's what Enterprise should have been.

 

[Kokomo]

I would have just loved to have seen that Romulan force charging Earth! That would have been awesome!

 

[Saul]

I love this idea. I have always wanted to see a Romulan War movie on the big screen. They should make this into a mini series or direct to DVD or a book. Would be great.

 

[watermelony2k]

saul said:
I love this idea. I have always wanted to see a Romulan War movie on the big screen. They should make this into a mini series or direct to DVD or a book. Would be great.

sadly i don't think a dvd movie or miniseries could capture the epicness of it all -- the battles, earth's cities, romulus -- as well as a feature film trilogy could have. This could have been something along the lines of lord of the rings kind of epic.

 

[ALF]

DeathPoet said:
It does sound cool, but this would have been a disaster at the BO, I think. We'll never know of course, but it's my gut feeling.

Agreed.

Although I think I would have enjoyed it...