The Problems with Prequels...

[stueyross]

So then (SPOILERS!)


News today that the new series will be set Ten years before James T Kirk and the crew boldy went where no man had gone before.....

I'm dreading another prequel. Partly because the years of non-canon whining we're all going to have to put up with will dredge up all the old Enterprise days. Borg. Ferengi. Romulans etc. We can't see any of those now because they were NOT seen Pre-TOS. We're going to get years of whining about 60s art styles not being adhered to. (sigh)

My biggest issue with setting this pre-TOS is that it removes a large part of suspense from the show. One of the things that worried us all when the Jem-Hadar attacked in Deep Space 9 was whether the federation would survive this or not. When Huge Godlike Aliens™ threaten the universe, we know they won't win because hey Jimmy Kirk and the guys are only ten years down the line and the Universe was just fiiiiiine then.

If the TOS era floats your boat then ok, kick them into another alternate universe. If its not just the TOS fixation then set it after VOY and the TNG movies.

Between the Fugly ship and this....I'm not looking forward to it so much.

 

[F. King Daniel]

The Federation may survive, but will the new characters? How will they change and grow as the series progresses? That's the story. Get people to care about the characters and nothing else matters.

 

[The Habs Fan]

The universe is a big place. There are many ways the story can go that will be different than what came before. It all depends on the writing, not the setting. Considering the writers involved, I'm not worried at all.

 

[Tosk]

The stories will be the same they always were. When you watched DS9 you knew the Federation wasn't going to be destroyed. When you watched TOS, you knew the ship wouldn't be destroyed with all hands aboard. DISC will be the same, new stories about new people.

 

[Rahul]

Well, we know right from the beginning that Vulcan will not be destroyed...

 

[Captain of the USS Averof]

My biggest issue with setting this pre-TOS is that it removes a large part of suspense from the show. One of the things that worried us all when the Jem-Hadar attacked in Deep Space 9 was whether the federation would survive this or not. When Huge Godlike Aliens™ threaten the universe, we know they won't win because hey Jimmy Kirk and the guys are only ten years down the line and the Universe was just fiiiiiine then.

Yes, but will the Chagarians survive? Or will their home world Tethannis IV be destroyed by the Abegitar Hierarchy?

Who you ask? Exactly!

 

[CJCade]

I agree, the setting shouldn't matter. But by placing it in one, the Prime timeline, the show creators and runners are making it matter. They are acknowledging a world that already exists with a history and a future. Yes, stories and characters and so forth can be new, but they have essentially made anything new beyond that out of the question.

Long and short of it... by stating they are Prime Universe and a prequel, they are saying they are going to acknowledge that Universe and it's events, and that leads to a certain degree of loss of the unknown on grand scope. And while just the stories and characters should matter, somehow the grand scope also matters.

 

[.:: TSN ::.]

On the other hand, if you think that prequels have no suspense then you could never make pirate, medieval, western or any other kinds of historical dramas. We know that there are no longer saloons and gunslingers in the old West, so whats the point.

I too would have liked them to stop rehashing the same time period all over again and move on with the future. But prequels are not the end of the world.

 

[Seven of Five]

I think the trouble with ENT was that it should have had a year or two at least after VOY finished before it aired, to allow the producers some breathing room. As it was, the quality of Trek was on a decline, and ENT was caught up in that.

So many of the ENT people were TNG/VOY employees, so the general tone and look of the show remained the same for many years, and that was to VOY and ENT's detriment.

I must admit, my gut tends to agree with the OP's view of yet another prequel, but as I grew up with TNG and DS9 as my favourites, I'm always going to be a little disappointed if they don't follow up those series. I know realistically it won't ever happen, but there you go.

DIS is going to be different beast though. Unlike the new films, we're going back to the Prime universe, which is enough to get me excited. We have one or two familiar faces in Meyer and Fuller in particular to help steer the ship, but the amount of new talent working on the new show will give it a fresh outlook. We only have 13 episodes in a season, which means they can really focus on the quality of those 13, as opposed to 22-26 episode seasons that led to so many duff episodes. Standalone stories with ongoing arcs also is the right way to go.

I'm very optimistic, and look forward to hearing more.

 

[Nyotarules]

I would prefer something post Dominion war, say ten years and its effects on the Alpha and Beta quadrant. Anything pre TOS makes it too Terrancentric, unless they show how the Federation amalgamated all those different fleets to make Starfleet.

 

[Terok Nor]

My initial thoughts upon hearing the news. Unfiltered. My opinions may change upon actually VIEWING the series so please retract your claws if you intend to scratch my eyes out for daring to make pre-judgements about something I haven't seen (because no one ever does that, right?)

I hate prequels. At least this one is set only 10 years before TOS and not 100 years into irrelevance like Enterprise. I'm disappointed Star Trek has gone backwards once again. I was hoping it would bet set after the 24th Century shows but what's done is done. As much as people love The Original Series to death I think it's a shame TPTB don't recognise that a whole generation of fans grew up loving the TNG era. Although I wouldn't want another show set in that era I'd like those shows to be relevant once again and that's not going to happen as long as they keep making prequels to TOS.

I also think reinventing the TOS era is a bad idea and will alienate a lot of hardcore fans as Fuller rightly pointed out. Haven't they already reinvented the TOS era with the last 3 movies anyway? It mixed fine with the DS9 era in "Trials And Tribble-ations" so I don't feel it needs to be reinvented. The uniforms still look good (a variation of them are being used in the new movies) and although the technology does look dated it's incredibly iconic and it will be hard to see it revamped in a series supposedly set during the same era as TOS.

I'm also not that thrilled about the captain not being the lead character. For a Trek show that's just going to be plain bizarre. I also can't for the life of me think of any event referenced in TOS dialogue besides the Romulan War that sound even slightly interesting enough to base an entire season around. Has anyone figured out what this is supposed to be yet?

On the plus side, I have a new Star Trek series to look forward to and if it's great I will eat my own words and worship the ground Fuller walks on

 

[Mudd]

This reasoning suggests that historical movies and TV shows cannot be well-made or successful - no reason other than a lack of curiosity about other times on the part of the contemporary audience, anyway - and those concern real events, not stuff that can be changed easily to suit the producers.

They can fucking blow up Vulcan if they want to.

I'm interested in seeing the adventures of the characters in the show. Don't care what happens on a supposed large or historic scale - after all, Kirk and his crew spent most of their time preventing historically significant events from happening (eliminating the Doomsday Machine before it could chew up the Federation, preventing Khan from launching new conquests, avoiding a war with the Romulans when they attacked Federation starbases, etc).

 

[Mage]

People worry to much. Just watch the first season, then see if there's anything to worry or complain about. The first effing episode isn't even shot yet, the characters not cast. But already, doom and worry everywhere.

 

[Tom]

Over all, I'm disappointed its a prequel as well. I would have preferred a post Nemesis timeline. It would be a continuation of a universe we are invested in, where anything could happen and it would not violate canon etc.. Star Trek should look towards the future and not behind. I am hoping the personal drama of the new crew will keep me invested. I was not happy Enterprise was a prequel either but I ended up loving the series as I got into it.

 

[Mudd]

Two decades later, not that many people are that invested in the modern Trek tv shows - TNG is the only one, after all, that's generated enough interest lately to justify the expense of a "remastered" Blue-ray release.

 

[mdtauk]

Fan Films focusing on the TOS era, as well as the JJ Films (all be it in another timeline). These must have played some part in the decision to tell a 13 part story in this time frame.

 

[SpaceLama]

There are literally millions of other dramatic points, above and beyond the survival of the Federation - it does not dilute anything. I re-watch things all the time, knowing that nobody will die.

Besides - it's probably not a "war show" - it's probably gonna be about exploration!

 

[Terok Nor]

Over all, I'm disappointed its a prequel as well. I would have preferred a post Nemesis timeline. It would be a continuation of a universe we are invested in, where anything could happen and it would not violate canon etc.. Star Trek should look towards the future and not behind. I am hoping the personal drama of the new crew will keep me invested.

I agree with all of this. I snipped out the Enteprise bit as I couldn't stand that show. I already hated prequels when it arrived and it only made my hatred even deeper

 

[Kemaiku]

There are literally millions of other dramatic points, above and beyond the survival of the Federation - it does not dilute anything. I re-watch things all the time, knowing that nobody will die.

Besides - it's probably not a "war show" - it's probably gonna be about exploration!

Unless it's about Axanar and the Sheliak wars, which happened in that period.

 

[Captain of the USS Averof]

Anything pre TOS makes it too Terrancentric...

Terrancentric a show (TOS) that never once showed us Earth. And with Fuller stating to expect the most alien diverse crew ever!

I would prefer something post Dominion war, say ten years and its effects on the Alpha and Beta quadrant.

Besides - it's probably not a "war show" - it's probably gonna be about exploration!

Unless it's about Axanar and the Sheliak wars, which happened in that period.

Federation-Sheliak War setting CONFIRMED!!!