Should the Trek sequel have a bad guy?

[Duane]

From an interview with the Trek writer's:

"The common denominator in [successful sequels] involved a major test for the hero and a bad guy who was truly frightening and who put the hero through the mill."

The best TOS Trek did not have a bad guy: The Corbomite Maneuver, Balance of Terror, City on the Edge, Shore Leave.... The list goes on and on.

Does the Trek sequel really need a bad guy?

 

[Sketcher]

City i don't recall there being a villain but...

the fesarius captain, romulan commander, finnigan,

 

[Duane]

I don't consider any of those to be villians in the typical "Khan" sense. The Fesarus Captain was a cautious explorer who was testing us. The Romulan Commander was doing his duty. Finnigan was Kirk's fantasy coming to life with the help of the machines under the planet.

More classic episodes with no real villian include "The Naked Time" and "Amok Time."

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

Well, it would be good to have a villain who's not revenge/grief-driven for a change. It would also be preferable if it were not just a "bad guy", but a more multi-dimensional antagonist (just like the aforementioned Romulan commander!).

 

[Shazam!]

I think they should go for a "WTF is that" approach like TMP and TVH.

 

[SilentP]

Well, it would be good to have a villain who's not revenge/grief-driven for a change. It would also be preferable if it were not just a "bad guy", but a more multi-dimensional antagonist (just like the aforementioned Romulan commander!).

Or perhaps an antagonist who's not specifically out to be enemies with the Federation, but has motivations and modus operandi that's incomprehensible to the crew that will bring them into conflict with each other until an understanding is finally reached? Explore the nature of what happens when you explore the galaxy, and that you may find others who are really quite 'alien'.

 

[Misfit Toy]

A discussion about the next movie should be posted in the Future of Trek forum. Since there are already several threads in there that address this topic, I'm going to close this one.