Things that need be done with a new Star Trek show

[Temis the Vorta]

A show that has the same hit-to-miss ratio as TOS (where a third of the episodes were garbage) would get the axe very quickly. No show on cable can afford to have that high a proportion of bad episodes, and no space opera series can survive anywhere outside of cable. One Spock's Brain and the show's credibility is destroyed.

Star Trek would need to be more adult in content than it's ever been, strongly serialized, and much more consistent in quality. (Unless it's on The Cartoon Network, where it would be more like The Clone Wars than any previous Star Trek series.)

So no, imitating TOS is hardly the answer. The day when TOS could survive anywhere on TV is long gone. But there are some elements of TOS that would be useful to bring back for a new series, the foremost one being the space-cop element that has been missing in all the spinoff series.

Other sci fi series use cop show elements to lock in that nice fuzzy familiar factor, and it works for them. Star Trek's already got a built-in justification for it, and it would help overcome any viewer resistance to seeing a "silly" show with blue and green people.

I would love to see a Lost and/or Fringe style Star Trek series.

You know that feeling when you throw up in your mouth a little bit, I just had that, now.

Well lay in a supply of barf bags because any live-action Star Trek series has to follow the rules for cable drama, where the episodic format is scarce to nonexistent.

It's not about what any of us want, really. (I wouldn't mind a mixed episodic/serialized format.) It's about what cable channel the show would be on, and what that audience expects from any show on that channel.

Don't confuse what you like in a TV show with what the average US viewer likes in a TV show.

What "average US viewer"? The TV market is so broken up into niches that the idea of an average makes no sense except in the broadest sense on broadcast, which isn't an option for space opera anymore. The real question is, what does a Showtime viewer expect (if the series is on Showtime), or what does an FX viewer expect, etc.

There's a shrinking remnant of a mass market on broadcast, and a proliferation of niche audiences all across cable, each with its own expectations. That's the environment Star Trek needs to fit into now.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

A show that has the same hit-to-miss ratio as TOS (where a third of the episodes were garbage) would get the axe very quickly. No show on cable can afford to have that high a proportion of bad episodes, and no space opera series can survive anywhere outside of cable. One Spock's Brain and the show's credibility is destroyed.

Star Trek would need to be more adult in content than it's ever been, strongly serialized, and much more consistent in quality. (Unless it's on The Cartoon Network, where it would be more like The Clone Wars than any previous Star Trek series.)

So no, imitating TOS is hardly the answer. The day when TOS could survive anywhere on TV is long gone. But there are some elements of TOS that would be useful to bring back for a new series, the foremost one being the space-cop element that has been missing in all the spinoff series.

Other sci fi series use cop show elements to lock in that nice fuzzy familiar factor, and it works for them. Star Trek's already got a built-in justification for it, and it would help overcome any viewer resistance to seeing a "silly" show with blue and green people.

That's logical. The original show used elements from westerns that were familiar to audiences at the time. It seems to me that the most successful mainstream scifi franchises are those that start with the familiar and ease into the fantastic. I would heartily support a Trek series that uses bits of cop show to give itself more mainstream appeal.

 

[Maurice]

There's a middle ground that is the best of both worlds. You can have episodes that are stand-alone adventures representing individual missions, but you have the character arcs and subplots continue from show to show thus providing the serialized narrative without having to tie all the episode stories together. Mad Men does this fequently, where there's a client or potential client of the week and a plotline involving them which then frames the ongoing storylines of the characters.

 

[T'Girl]

I don't care if you run the Enterprise on a clothesline across the studio floor

I don't know if this was what Anji was referring to ...

Often in these threads, one of the things which is brought up is "state of the art special effects." I say leave them out, don't get me wrong, have good modern FX, just don't waste money pouring cash into incredible CGI.

Have a establishing shot of the ship and cut to the actors on set, or cut to the actors on planet hell, or cut to the actors on location. The action should be in the story, not with zooming starships.

Something that hasn't been mention is incorporate some humor into the show, not make it a comedy, just lighten the load on occasion.

 

[horatio83]

There's a shrinking remnant of a mass market on broadcast, and a proliferation of niche audiences all across cable, each with its own expectations. That's the environment Star Trek needs to fit into now.

Of course Trek is sci-fi but not hardcore sci-fi that tries to appeal to a certain limited audience. Many people who like TOS or TNG are not particularly into sci-fi respectively only became interested in sci-fi because of Trek.
Any good TV series has a fairly universal appeal. When I watch a crime series I watch it because it is good, not because I like crime series.

 

[Methos]

i know this concept won't be popular with everyone, but it's something i'd love to see done...

fast forward the Trek universe a couple more decades to the 29th Century, and work with the USS Relativity... Use the crew and ship as a sort of 'time cop' style show, with the ship monitoring temporal problems and time travel abuse throughout the timestream...

The year 2807, time travel is a reality and it's fallen into dangerous hands. With history itself at risk the United Federation has ordered the completion of the Wells class Starship, a top secret ship class responsible for policing the temporal stream. An elite team of Starfleet officers track unlawful travellers across time. Their mission: protect the past preserve the future.

I just think it could be interesting... just like the DS9 episode where the Defiant went back to the original series and met Kirk and the Enterprise, some episodes could be done like that, with Captain Braxton going back to investigate temporal anomalies and any 'time travel' episodes throughout Trek history... Kirk, Picard, Janeway, Sisko, Archer... they've all had time travel incidents, and Braxton could be there afterwards trying to limit the mess or clean up the time stream...

M

 

[Nerys Myk]

There's nothing wrong with the Star Trek format of a ship exploring/defending the galaxy. All thats needed to be updated is how they tell the story. Which these days means story arcs, a "mystery" to solve or a goal to obtain. The trick is not making the show only about that mystery or goal so it can move on when that goal is achieved or the mystery solved. Something better than "trying to get home".

 

[xortex]

Scott Bacula - hoping that his next leap won't be his last.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

There's nothing wrong with the Star Trek format of a ship exploring/defending the galaxy. All thats needed to be updated is how they tell the story. Which these days means story arcs, a "mystery" to solve or a goal to obtain. The trick is not making the show only about that mystery or goal so it can move on when that goal is achieved or the mystery solved. Something better than "trying to get home".

Also, they could treat each individual adventure as a mystery to be unraveled. Think of all the planets the Enterprise has visited that have had secrets pulsing beneath an unassuming exterior.

 

[Trekker82]

A new Star Trek show needs to go back to the 24th century and take off where TNG, DS9 and Voyager ended. No more recycling of Kirk, Spock and the other TOS characters. TOS was a great show. Let it rest in peace and create something new instead

I think having a series based on Romulus (it happened, even though I HATE the JJ movie) fallout. And or something to do with the Iconians.

I'm not sure if a show could be successfully written from Star Fleet HQ's perspective or an Admiral's perspective and have a few flag ships be featured throughout a serialized series?

A new Star Trek show needs to ignore us fans.

IGNORE US, SHOWRUNNERS, IGNORE US! WE'RE NOT HERE!

Isn't that what JJ did?

Get Abrams, Orci, etc. involved...Have a new show, new characters, different ship (U.S.S. Hood, U.S.S. Faragut for example) set in Abramsverse (as it's called). Star Trek 2009 has attracted a lot of people who weren't really into Star Trek to begin with. In that case, people may watch just because they liked the 2009 film.
I believe it work along with all the other points that have been mentioned already...Nero pretty much single handedly laid waste to the whole (as far as we know) Starfleet armada.
It would make sense with a newly built starship and fresh crew going off on and to who knows where. In my humble opinion an Abramsverse set series is what would work now. The eposidic idea is spot on...I would love to see a Lost and/or Fringe style Star Trek series. Stand alone episodes just don't work in today's tv.

The writers of Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis tried this, they created "Stargate Universe", look at how well that show did. They nearly took out all references the SG lore and turned it into a sex-ed up space opera with young actors as the primary focal points.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

A new Star Trek show needs to go back to the 24th century and take off where TNG, DS9 and Voyager ended. No more recycling of Kirk, Spock and the other TOS characters. TOS was a great show. Let it rest in peace and create something new instead

I think having a series based on Romulus (it happened, even though I HATE the JJ movie) fallout. And or something to do with the Iconians.

I'm not sure if a show could be successfully written from Star Fleet HQ's perspective or an Admiral's perspective and have a few flag ships be featured throughout a serialized series?

A new Star Trek show needs to ignore us fans.

IGNORE US, SHOWRUNNERS, IGNORE US! WE'RE NOT HERE!

Isn't that what JJ did?

Get Abrams, Orci, etc. involved...Have a new show, new characters, different ship (U.S.S. Hood, U.S.S. Faragut for example) set in Abramsverse (as it's called). Star Trek 2009 has attracted a lot of people who weren't really into Star Trek to begin with. In that case, people may watch just because they liked the 2009 film.
I believe it work along with all the other points that have been mentioned already...Nero pretty much single handedly laid waste to the whole (as far as we know) Starfleet armada.
It would make sense with a newly built starship and fresh crew going off on and to who knows where. In my humble opinion an Abramsverse set series is what would work now. The eposidic idea is spot on...I would love to see a Lost and/or Fringe style Star Trek series. Stand alone episodes just don't work in today's tv.

The writers of Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis tried this, they created "Stargate Universe", look at how well that show did. They nearly took out all references the SG lore and turned it into a sex-ed up space opera with young actors as the primary focal points.

The problem wasn't ignoring lore which isn't that important anyway. It was that the show was boring as hell.

 

[Trekker82]

A new Star Trek show needs to go back to the 24th century and take off where TNG, DS9 and Voyager ended. No more recycling of Kirk, Spock and the other TOS characters. TOS was a great show. Let it rest in peace and create something new instead

I think having a series based on Romulus (it happened, even though I HATE the JJ movie) fallout. And or something to do with the Iconians.

I'm not sure if a show could be successfully written from Star Fleet HQ's perspective or an Admiral's perspective and have a few flag ships be featured throughout a serialized series?
Isn't that what JJ did?

Get Abrams, Orci, etc. involved...Have a new show, new characters, different ship (U.S.S. Hood, U.S.S. Faragut for example) set in Abramsverse (as it's called). Star Trek 2009 has attracted a lot of people who weren't really into Star Trek to begin with. In that case, people may watch just because they liked the 2009 film.
I believe it work along with all the other points that have been mentioned already...Nero pretty much single handedly laid waste to the whole (as far as we know) Starfleet armada.
It would make sense with a newly built starship and fresh crew going off on and to who knows where. In my humble opinion an Abramsverse set series is what would work now. The eposidic idea is spot on...I would love to see a Lost and/or Fringe style Star Trek series. Stand alone episodes just don't work in today's tv.

The writers of Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis tried this, they created "Stargate Universe", look at how well that show did. They nearly took out all references the SG lore and turned it into a sex-ed up space opera with young actors as the primary focal points.

The problem wasn't ignoring lore which isn't that important anyway. It was that the show was boring as hell.

IMO, it's important if you are going to name the show after a popular series. You can't take a the Super Mario Bros. game for example and put them in a Legend of Zelda series settings and barely talk about it's Mario's lore (bad example but it's all I could think of at the moment).

 

[Hartzilla2007]

I think having a series based on Romulus (it happened, even though I HATE the JJ movie) fallout. And or something to do with the Iconians.

I'm not sure if a show could be successfully written from Star Fleet HQ's perspective or an Admiral's perspective and have a few flag ships be featured throughout a serialized series?
Isn't that what JJ did?


The writers of Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis tried this, they created "Stargate Universe", look at how well that show did. They nearly took out all references the SG lore and turned it into a sex-ed up space opera with young actors as the primary focal points.

The problem wasn't ignoring lore which isn't that important anyway. It was that the show was boring as hell.

IMO, it's important if you are going to name the show after a popular series. You can't take a the Super Mario Bros. game for example and put them in a Legend of Zelda series settings and barely talk about it's Mario's lore (bad example but it's all I could think of at the moment).

especially since that isn't even remotely what SGU. In fact all they seemed that all the lore stuff they never mentioned HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SHOW.

besides its a pot and kettle complaint seeing as SG-1 didn't have any problem reconting the movie it was a sequel to.

And seriously outside of the fans of a show and the fanatical ones at that just way should the general audience give a crap about the lore. Continuity isn't the be all end all of a show whether it entertains its audience is.

 

[Trekker82]

I will have to respectfully dissagree that lore and prior history or canon is NOT important on a spinoff series. SG-U near the end was getting better, they started to respect the canon a little more and the characters were starting to flesh out a bit but it just wasn't a SG series. If the writers of Voyager had disregarded prior canon, and everything else that made Trek, Trek you could say that it really wasn't a Star Trek series. I'm bringing up voyager as the premise is semi the same as Universe (the part where they are both very far from the Sol System).

 

[Hartzilla2007]

I will have to respectfully dissagree that lore and prior history or canon is NOT important on a spinoff series.

And just way is it important?

 

[Trekker82]

It's important because you have an established set of history in the "Trek universe" or "Stargate Universe" that can't just be ignored or undone.

You can slap on the name Orange onto an Apple and have people expect an Orange when infact it's an Apple.

 

[thumbtack]

Orange is dead. Everything will be Apple from now on.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

It's important because you have an established set of history in the "Trek universe" or "Stargate Universe" that can't just be ignored or undone.

You can slap on the name Orange onto an Apple and have people expect an Orange when infact it's an Apple.

And the general audience who may know nothing of this show should care about minor details from a story 40 YEARS AGO that likely have nothing to do with a story they are currently watching that seem to only exist as a reason why they can't do this story or have to do it in a certain way?

Also can you explain to me just how SGU ignored canon?

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Also can you explain to me just how SGU ignored canon?

The O'Neill-Sheppard Integrated Quip Generator saw absolutely zero use.

 

[Sjaddix]

It's important because you have an established set of history in the "Trek universe" or "Stargate Universe" that can't just be ignored or undone.

You can slap on the name Orange onto an Apple and have people expect an Orange when infact it's an Apple.

And the general audience who may know nothing of this show should care about minor details from a story 40 YEARS AGO that likely have nothing to do with a story they are currently watching that seem to only exist as a reason why they can't do this story or have to do it in a certain way?

Also can you explain to me just how SGU ignored canon?

Agreed I am not sure what major mistake it made. It ignored some characters but it did not change lore. Sure we never head of this mission to the source of the universe but it was something the ancients would have researched.

Honestly I say hop ahead by a decade at least maybe two decades. Might want to start with the war between Starfleet and Friends vs Romulans and Friends.