What Aliens would you like to see in Season 2?

[matthunter]

Surely given we know he's human we have nothing to go on regarding the Centaurans? Everything else is, as you say, non canon

Right, so my point stands - let's see some Centaurans. They're our closest neighbours AND Zef chose to associate with them to the point he has "of Alpha Centauri" after his name. Unless it's one of those "buy a 1m2 plot of land in Scotland and be a 'Laird' of our whisky distillery" schemes, I'd kinda like to know the backstory on this one.

 

[Spot261]

Right, so my point stands - let's see some Centaurans. They're our closest neighbours AND Zef chose to associate with them to the point he has "of Alpha Centauri" after his name. Unless it's one of those "buy a 1m2 plot of land in Scotland and be a 'Laird' of our whisky distillery" schemes, I'd kinda like to know the backstory on this one.

Not getting why there needs to be a significant backstory though, he lived there, it was at the time noteworthy to live out of system, hence he gets referred to as "of Alpha Centauri"?

 

[catshadowsi8]

eschaton- Ok Iets talk Voyager. The show had a couple major drawbacks when it came to its aliens. The first was the fact they basically transferred the crew from Next Gen to make up the crew on Voyager. It's hard to come up with new ideas after so many years writing and producing a similar show. Discovery doesn't have that problem.

The second was the journey itself. They are travelling through space without stopping. As a result they are literally moving out of alien territories constantly. For some strange reason (and I blame this on tptb) they felt the need to neutralize their antagonists before moving on. They did this constantly and it drove me crazy but that doesn't mean they failed to come up with some very memorable aliens and some wonderful episodes. The Vidians (The Phage, Faces, Lifesigns, Deadlock) species 8472(Scorpion, Prey), the Hirogen (Prey, The Killing Game) and of course Annorax of the Krenim (Year of Hell). Drop that name near a Voyager fan and you get an instant reaction. They are unique to that series.

True some were duds like the Kazon and Malon but every series has some of those. I'll also admit Voyager did 'steal' from other series (Kazon were like mini Klingons) but to say none were memorable...well, I disagree.

I think we also have to acknowledge Star Trek has produced hundreds of episodes so a lot has been done. Still truly creative writers can produce new and unique lifeforms. Look at Saru.

Imo great series mix old with new. To me saying no to new species is the equivalent of tying a man's hands behind his back, putting a plate of food before him, and saying eat. Sure he will get it down but its messy. Untie his hands and give him a knife and fork...well you get my drift.

Of course tjmo and do understand your argument. For you staying within established lore for this time period is important. I get that. I guess I'm just wanting something different.

 

[fireproof78]

Of course tjmo and do understand your argument. For you staying within established lore for this time period is important. I get that. I guess I'm just wanting something different.

Since the established lore in TOS is not as well known I think you can have both.

 

[catshadowsi8]

Since the established lore in TOS is not as well known I think you can have both.

I agree. I understand that many people feel there are enough established aliens to keep Discovery going for a long time. Hopefully there is a little room for something new. I guess we will see

 

[fireproof78]

I agree. I understand that many people feel there are enough established aliens to keep Discovery going for a long time. Hopefully there is a little room for something new. I guess we will see

We already got Saru. Isn't that clear enough for something new to be included alongside Vulcans, Klingons and Orions?

 

[catshadowsi8]

Yes but I'm greedy. I want more.

 

[fireproof78]

Yes but I'm greedy. I want more.

Well, that wasn't my point but fair enough.

 

[catshadowsi8]

Well, that wasn't my point but fair enough.

Really? Sorry can you please elaborate?

 

[eschaton]

eschaton- Ok Iets talk Voyager. The show had a couple major drawbacks when it came to its aliens. The first was the fact they basically transferred the crew from Next Gen to make up the crew on Voyager. It's hard to come up with new ideas after so many years writing and producing a similar show. Discovery doesn't have that problem.

It's been said many times before, but the central problem with Voyager was the decision to essentially ignore the setting of the show. The Starfleet-Maquis conflict was dropped as any real drama point by the end of the pilot due to studio insistence. The show also chose to essentially ignore the possibility that resources would be strapped and/or it would be hard to fix things being stranded so far from home. As a result, all Voyager really had going for it that was different was the overarching mission of the series (Janeway must get the crew home - which of course we knew couldn't happen until the last episode if we thought outside of the show's confines) and being located in the Delta Quadrant.

The second was the journey itself. They are travelling through space without stopping. As a result they are literally moving out of alien territories constantly. For some strange reason (and I blame this on tptb) they felt the need to neutralize their antagonists before moving on. They did this constantly and it drove me crazy but that doesn't mean they failed to come up with some very memorable aliens and some wonderful episodes. The Vidians (The Phage, Faces, Lifesigns, Deadlock) species 8472(Scorpion, Prey), the Hirogen (Prey, The Killing Game) and of course Annorax of the Krenim (Year of Hell). Drop that name near a Voyager fan and you get an instant reaction. They are unique to that series.

True some were duds like the Kazon and Malon but every series has some of those. I'll also admit Voyager did 'steal' from other series (Kazon were like mini Klingons) but to say none were memorable...well, I disagree.

I actually thought the alien races in Voyager were a bit too recurring at times. Voyager was supposedly headed in a roughly straight line across the quadrant, meaning it crossed something close to the width of the Federation every season. Aside from special cases like the Borg, Q, and Species 8472, species should only appear in a few episodes, or maybe a single season at most. Yet even discounting things like flashbacks and holodeck simulations the Kazon and Videans appear across two seasons, the Hirogen four, etc. The worst by far was how Neelix found a colony of Talaxians at the back end of the seventh season. It made the Delta Quadrant seem tiny rather than this vast frontier. Again, Voyager couldn't stick to the established premise - they basically wanted to tell the same sort of stories that TNG did, which required some sort of recurring antagonists.

 

[fireproof78]

Really? Sorry can you please elaborate?

I wasn't saying that you should be satisfied with Kelpians. My larger point is that the production team have already demonstrated a willingness to introduce new races in a previously known era. In addition, I would want to see more races since the TOS era always struck me as very wild west and frontier like in its presentation, though Enterprise did visit a lot of human colonies.

But, the animated series featured plant based aliens, three armed aliens, Caitians, and the like. There is room to expand those races, and see more.

 

[catshadowsi8]

Eschaton- When I was speaking about Voyager's issues I was talking only about their aliens, not the show in general. Since this thread is about aliens I feel I have to stay on topic.

About the aliens on Voyager, the journey home was suppose to take 70 years. In the beginning they spent a lot of time jumping around solving problems and fighting the Kazon. It was far from a straight line. They even had to back track on occasion. (Cathexis, Faces, Jetrel, Manoveurs, The Basics just to name a few). Makes sense they did not clear their space quickly. The first major leap forward happened in The Gift. No more Vidian or Kazon.

The Hirogen were nomadic so finding them scattered around the delta quadrant wasn't that big a stretch. Same with the Borg but they are a Next Gen original so don't count.

You have me on the Talaxions. Geesh... how stupid was that, but this was close to Endgame and I simply don't want to even think about that episode. If I try really hard I might be able to suffer from a limited form of amnesia and convince myself it never happened.

Ok it didn't work but I tried.

My point is if other series can do it, why can't Discovery. Big universe...lots of potential and it doesn't have to mess with canon. They simply disappear before the series finale. Sort of like the spore drive.

 

[catshadowsi8]

I wasn't saying that you should be satisfied with Kelpians. My larger point is that the production team have already demonstrated a willingness to introduce new races in a previously known era. In addition, I would want to see more races since the TOS era always struck me as very wild west and frontier like in its presentation, though Enterprise did visit a lot of human colonies.

But, the animated series featured plant based aliens, three armed aliens, Caitians, and the like. There is room to expand those races, and see more.

True. The animated series was very diverse because they didn't have to deal with CGI. I honestly don't have a problem with that. I simply don't want to limit the show to the standard fare. Lets face it we just spent an entire season doing Klingons...again. Too much potential to get stuck in a rut just because it is pre original.

 

[eschaton]

About the aliens on Voyager, the journey home was suppose to take 70 years. In the beginning they spent a lot of time jumping around solving problems and fighting the Kazon. It was far from a straight line. They even had to back track on occasion. (Cathexis, Faces, Jetrel, Manoveurs, The Basics just to name a few). Makes sense they did not clear their space quickly. The first major leap forward happened in The Gift. No more Vidian or Kazon.

The Hirogen were nomadic so finding them scattered around the delta quadrant wasn't that big a stretch. Same with the Borg but they are a Next Gen original so don't count.

You have me on the Talaxions. Geesh... how stupid was that, but this was close to Endgame and I simply don't want to even think about that episode. If I try really hard I might be able to suffer from a limited form of amnesia and convince myself it never happened.

Ok it didn't work but I tried.

My point is if other series can do it, why can't Discovery. Big universe...lots of potential and it doesn't have to mess with canon. They simply disappear before the series finale. Sort of like the spore drive.

One thing that frustrated me about later Voyager is they referred to things which happened in past seasons as if they were exactly chronologically. E.g., in season seven they would refer to something that happened in Season 2 as five years ago. Voyager's trip through the Delta quadrant makes a lot more sense if you headcanon it as taking seven years, but with large time skips that aren't seen onscreen.

As an aside, why aren't you responding directly to my posts by quoting? I have the thread flagged, so it's not a big deal, but generally you're supposed to quote the thing you're replying to on a forum.

 

[catshadowsi8]

One thing that frustrated me about later Voyager is they referred to things which happened in past seasons as if they were exactly chronologically. E.g., in season seven they would refer to something that happened in Season 2 as five years ago. Voyager's trip through the Delta quadrant makes a lot more sense if you headcanon it as taking seven years, but with large time skips that aren't seen onscreen.

As an aside, why aren't you responding directly to my posts by quoting? I have the thread flagged, so it's not a big deal, but generally you're supposed to quote the thing you're replying to on a forum.

Well I was taught a long time ago on a different forum not to quote a full post directly. You could clip parts out but quoting it all got you a nice little reprimand from the moderator about wasting space. I was not sure how it works here so I have proceeded cautiously. If quoting is the preferred method I'll happily change. Trying to spell some of the names here is a bit of a challenge. Lol

 

[Arpy]

I think the Tellarites are an opportunity. We've gotten more from the Andorians (especially in the Expanded Universe), but here's a full-on founding memberworld that could be developed almost any way you like. They, of course, have to deal with the expense of heavy make-up and the comical "pig-men" thing, but I see that as more a challenge than anything. Especially as, well, imagine if they managed to make them really really cool. Imagine that triumph of it. It could say a thing or two about beauty standards and get us to thing about how we treat other species in the real world. I think as our knowledge of the mind and our ability to scan it expands in the real world, we're going to have a different appreciation for the animals around us.

 

[Saul]

Not sure of that relevance. Both universes share the same sets of species.

Because it's a different universe so things are quite different. First Contacts may have come sooner in the Kelvin Universe than the prime.

 

[Tuskin38]

Because it's a different universe so things are quite different. First Contacts may have come sooner in the Kelvin Universe than the prime.

The changes don’t start until Nero crosses over

 

[Awesome Possum]

An Andorian crewmember would be cool, especially if Jeffery Combs wasn’t busy.

 

[eschaton]

An Andorian crewmember would be cool, especially if Jeffery Combs wasn’t busy.

IIRC he asked to be on the show, and was turned down.