I did some searching but I’m not sure if this idea has been explored before, if it has, then cool… but I think there is a potentially lucrative idea here, and a marketing goldmine if done well, so here goes…
A lot of buzz ‘round here is about a new Trek series… what it should be, where it should be shown, on and on. But maybe a new Star Trek show should be a smaller project, something that can augment the string of new films, but also stay out of each others way. Something that doesn’t need to be the new flag ship of the rebooted franchise, allowing the films to continue that function, and still be considered part of the previous prime universe and also reflect Trek's new direction. A companion to NuTrek, that’s also a buffer acceptable to all factions of Trek’s fandom.
Something like... Star Trek: The Kelvin Chronicles… a half hour CGI series based on the Kelvin and her crew, set 5 years before the Narada incident, telling multi-chaptered stories exploring more of the unseen Trek universe and history, serving as a true spin-off of to the new Trek films, but telling original stories about strange new worlds and new civilizations… And yes, following the Clone Wars model on Cartoon Network, but hey: If their gonna make Star Trek more like Star Wars, why doesn’t Trek just do it right back.
Hear me out: Here we have a ship seen on screen for a relatively short time, but look at all that potential for fleshed out characters and new stories. The Kevin as we’ve seen her is a battered old bird, with a patched hull and big weapons, think of the action she’s seen? And all the places she’s been, there’s a lot going on there. And sure, we know her fate, and that of at least some of her crew, but Clone Wars has done some effective stories featuring characters practically all of which we absolutely know where their destiny leads them, but it doesn’t make their early adventures any less compelling. In fact it adds more weight to their motivations, and in the case of the Kelvins crew, even a bit more ambiguity considering which characters will live and who could die. We’ll get to see how Kirk’s parents met and fell in love. We have a captain in Robau, who has almost achieved cult status, as the link between Archer and Kirk, as a lineage of cowboy diplomacy and ass kickin’ heroics in an early vision of Starfleet more sure footed than depicted in Enterprise, and closer to the early spirit of TOS as a western set in space. We could see stories featuring an older Jonathan Archer, a younger Robert April and/or Christopher Pike, post Romulan war aftermath, smooth headed TOS style Klingons. And tons and tons of all new adventures without mucking up established canon. And because it’s CGI, stories can be told on a grander scale with new and different alien worlds and their inhabitants without worrying about new sets and expensive special effects, or guest actors wearing prosthetic make-up. I would love to see life on the Kelvin during Starfleet’s seminal days. Bring back the guts; bring back the weirdness and adventure that was Classic Trek, infused with NuTrek’s high energy action in a format that was practically made for that kind of storytelling.
I think the Kelvin is ready for her own adventures, one’s that will stand alone, but still fill in our need for new Trek as a companion to the upcoming films and it’s vibrant new vision.
And if this idea ain't so new, then many apologies.
So, what ya think, Eh?
A lot of buzz ‘round here is about a new Trek series… what it should be, where it should be shown, on and on. But maybe a new Star Trek show should be a smaller project, something that can augment the string of new films, but also stay out of each others way. Something that doesn’t need to be the new flag ship of the rebooted franchise, allowing the films to continue that function, and still be considered part of the previous prime universe and also reflect Trek's new direction. A companion to NuTrek, that’s also a buffer acceptable to all factions of Trek’s fandom.
Something like... Star Trek: The Kelvin Chronicles… a half hour CGI series based on the Kelvin and her crew, set 5 years before the Narada incident, telling multi-chaptered stories exploring more of the unseen Trek universe and history, serving as a true spin-off of to the new Trek films, but telling original stories about strange new worlds and new civilizations… And yes, following the Clone Wars model on Cartoon Network, but hey: If their gonna make Star Trek more like Star Wars, why doesn’t Trek just do it right back.
Hear me out: Here we have a ship seen on screen for a relatively short time, but look at all that potential for fleshed out characters and new stories. The Kevin as we’ve seen her is a battered old bird, with a patched hull and big weapons, think of the action she’s seen? And all the places she’s been, there’s a lot going on there. And sure, we know her fate, and that of at least some of her crew, but Clone Wars has done some effective stories featuring characters practically all of which we absolutely know where their destiny leads them, but it doesn’t make their early adventures any less compelling. In fact it adds more weight to their motivations, and in the case of the Kelvins crew, even a bit more ambiguity considering which characters will live and who could die. We’ll get to see how Kirk’s parents met and fell in love. We have a captain in Robau, who has almost achieved cult status, as the link between Archer and Kirk, as a lineage of cowboy diplomacy and ass kickin’ heroics in an early vision of Starfleet more sure footed than depicted in Enterprise, and closer to the early spirit of TOS as a western set in space. We could see stories featuring an older Jonathan Archer, a younger Robert April and/or Christopher Pike, post Romulan war aftermath, smooth headed TOS style Klingons. And tons and tons of all new adventures without mucking up established canon. And because it’s CGI, stories can be told on a grander scale with new and different alien worlds and their inhabitants without worrying about new sets and expensive special effects, or guest actors wearing prosthetic make-up. I would love to see life on the Kelvin during Starfleet’s seminal days. Bring back the guts; bring back the weirdness and adventure that was Classic Trek, infused with NuTrek’s high energy action in a format that was practically made for that kind of storytelling.
I think the Kelvin is ready for her own adventures, one’s that will stand alone, but still fill in our need for new Trek as a companion to the upcoming films and it’s vibrant new vision.
And if this idea ain't so new, then many apologies.
So, what ya think, Eh?
