"I just got back from visiting a relative in Glendale, and after taking a trip to the local mall they had there, wound up in a focus group where, yes, they were screening three Star Trek series concepts.
Since I see someone has already reported in about it, I'll try not to repeat much here. Basically as was already said,when they braught us in, they had a standard VCR setup where they would show us all some CGI animations of ships little virtual people running around the decks, things like that. With a woman talking over the animations with an explanation of each show. Then they left us alone and we debated which one's we'd watch if they were on the air. I tell you I was pretty disappointed for the most part, that they have had like a year to think up a new series and this is all they came up with. I was pretty sad that there wasn't a movie-era concept.
The first one was, from what I could gather from the ships and story outline, pretty much a Deep Space Nine spinoff. Nothing new. Which takes place at the same time period and everything.(Oh God I see many a pointless crossover) I wasn't suprised when discussion time came around and about five of the eleven people there loved this one. The animations were balls-to-the-walls KICKASS, no doubt. Again, very Deep Space Nine-ish. They had God-knows-how-many battle sequences with ships gratiutously blowing up even when they didn't appear to be hit, looking alot like the ones we saw in the opening battle of Star Trek: First Contact, with finally a greek letter flying towards the screen that I'm pretty sure was the symbol for Omega. Is that the name of the series? Got me. Anyway, the ships were very militaristic, not typical "one saucer, two nacelles" design of ship that we are used to. About the size of the defiant, but different configurations, much sleeker like they were made out of metal. There was also a sequence of CG characters storming some new alien ship with what looked like "breaching pods" (which is stupid when they could've just beamed over.) All in all, this was the worst of the options presented in my opinion. Absolutely no story, but plenty of cloak and dagger, spy and shoot. I was probably the only one that really hated it. Every one else had dumb comments, envoking Star Wars to say something like "this is what space shows are supposed to be." Yeah right. Sometimes what looks great in a five minute clip won't cut it in a seven year run.
Conclusion: All style and no substance. It would kickass for a couple of seasons and then fail to develop. You don't care if the characters get captured or die because they're strangers to you.
Next, shock of shocks, Starfleet Academy appeared on the monitor. The CG was less inspiring than the first, consisting of some kind of 24th century "aircraft carrier", a huge tub ship with a long hull about the shape of Voyager's. The openning scene showed these long bays along the side openning up and these almost boomerang shaped fighters flying out one by one. The uniforms on the CG characters looked like what we saw in the episode "valiant" I kinda was receptive to it, then they started explaining what the show would be like. A total barrage of cliches. The old scolding captain trying to keep in line the wild top gun cadets. It just got worse from there. The lady who was standing with her clipboard by the screen said it would focus on their adolescent problems, they might have trouble at school, one of the guys might fall for one of the girl characters who likes someone else. I wanted to gag. However, I'm wondering if maybe the guy who first reported was in an earlier focus group, because as far as I can recall no one called it a "90210 in space." That's actually a perfect way to put it, but no one said it then. It's an intriguing premise, I mean I remember reading Heinlein's original Starship Troopers...but the wrong direction to take it.
Conclusion: Space: Above and Beyond resurrected, and this time worse!
Finally, the last one, the 22nd century one I'd have to say was the one that sat with me the best. Unlike the other two it had VERY little CGI, and no video, just screen shots. The ships kinda looked like a cross between The Old Series and 2001: A Space Odyssey, having kindof a rugged gracefulness to the ships(They kept the "orange necelle lights from TOS unfortunately :-) However, just a correction: The series as it was explained to us would take place VERY far pre-TOS and would even be pre-federation. It would focus on a ship, the USS Enterprise(Interesting to note, the room erupted when they mentioned that note :-) from an earth space probe administration or something, and would focus on the exploits that led up to the establishment of the Federation, and the havoc that occured after the disasterous first contact with the Klingons. A "the people who were behind it all that you never knew of" story pretty much. It looked to have taken a little of the feel from the original series, but leaving all the 60's decor out, and leaving in an Apollo 13 kinda motif. I'd have to say without a doubt in the end this was my fav, as from my years watching The Next generation, this seemed the only one to capture that spirit.
james bond with pointy ears
