What do you think of my idea for a series???

[Infern0]

Ok, so my basic synopsis is this, we are set 10 years after then end of the dominion war, the captain of our new ship is newly promoted to the rank, it can be a male or female captain, but the person i picked is Elisabeth Moss

This captain came through the science ranks and has a brilliant mind, however they also suffer from anxieties that they keep hidden, and are having trouble with the responisibility of being captain.

They are supported by a Dominian War veteran as first officer, again, can be male or female, some suggestions

Lena Heady

Matthew Fox

This person has a ton of front line experiance and dealing with trauma, but isn't as diplomatic as the captain.

It's an odd-couple relationship and forms the basis of the first season or two.

We could also delve into them becoming romantically involved.

Build the rest of the show around it, but this would be the central relationship

For the captain, think kind of like Kaylee from firefly, brilliant mind, extroverted, but deep down lacks confidence, and thus doesn't get full respect

The commander would be kind of the opposite, full of "street smarts", not academically brilliant, fairly reserved, but with 100% confidence in their abilities, and a commanding presence.

The commander would teach the captain the things they need to be succesful.

 

[indolover]

OK, but what about the setting? Or the ship?

Why would the CO lack confidence? Can anybody in a leadership position lack confidence?

 

[Infern0]

OK, but what about the setting? Or the ship?

Why would the CO lack confidence? Can anybody in a leadership position lack confidence?

The ship i'm not sure of yet

as for the confidence thing, she fakes it, but the xo sees through it

she is promoted because she is brilliant as a scientist and someone thought shed make a good captain and she accepted

 

[Tarek71]

I would switch the Captain and XO as far the confidence, lacks confidence element. Maybe the XO could have been sitting in the big chair by now, except for something thats holding them back.

And I agree that we need to hear a little more fleshing out of the idea as far the ship, the setting, the other characters, the journey you envision them on, etc.

Presumably most of the people in Starfleet who are over 30 have some kind of Dominion war background, so that will be a given for everyone in the higher ranks, so I think theres ground to cover as far as the affect thats had on lives and careers.

 

[The Badger]

Why would the CO lack confidence? Can anybody in a leadership position lack confidence?

If this were set earlier, no more than a couple of years after the war, then the CO might have been promoted before they are ready. A shortage of experienced officers--due to the high casualty rate in the conflict--could lead to any officer of high enough rank being pushed into the centre seat, even if they have little training for command.

There are numerous real life instances of people being promoted beyond their comfort, and indeed competence. Now given Star Fleet's organisation I don't think the latter is likely, but the idea of a self doubting CO is certainly plausible.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Don't have the characters lack confidence, it makes them pathetic, like you are angling for the audience's sympathy. The audience will sense the manipulative intent and resent it. Instead, give them faults that don't come off as badly: too aggressive, too stuffy and rule-bound, too much of a loose cannon who plays by his/her own rules.

To pair up with Elizabeth Moss, who I see as a female version of Picard to some degree, we need more of a charismatic wild-card actor for second in command. Like...Josh Holloway!

There are numerous real life instances of people being promoted beyond their comfort, and indeed competence.

Don't mix up real life with fiction. We want fiction to help us escape from the nuisances of real life, such as incompetent bosses who should never have been promoted. But do we really resent a co-worker who is highly competent, just kind of stuffy? Who is charismatic and fun, but a bit too wild? The first guy will get more than his fair share of work done; the second makes going to work fun. On the assumption that all people must have some faults, those faults are more welcome than most. Populate your story with people we'd want to be around in real life, even with their (well chosen and non-fatal) faults.

 

[Infern0]

Just to clear up the issue, the captain isn't incompetent she just is unsure of herself

I find it interesting, theres a lot of room for character development

Kaylee was one of fireflys most intriguing characters IMO, some of her qualities would translate well into my captain I think.

As for Josh holloway, good idea but I want someone with a more stoic prescence, I never bought Josh as a legit tough guy, just an intimidator, fillion could play the role, but thats too many firefly people

 

[C.E. Evans]

I like it simply by virtue that some thought is given to characters--and what makes them tick--more than how many torpedo tubes the ship has and establishing the Federation is once again at war or in ruins...

 

[Infern0]

I like it simply by virtue that some thought is given to characters--and what makes them tick--more than how many torpedo tubes the ship has and establishing the Federation is once again at war or in ruins...

IMO you need to start with what makes the characters tick

tailor the ship and mission around the characters

 

[T'Girl]

she just is unsure of herself

Sounds somewhat similar to Captain Pike in the original "The Cage," during his conversation with the ship's doctor.

If you want to depict a perhaps younger and (owing to that) a bit inexperienced officer, you could have her be newly promoted to the rank of Commander and given command of a smaller ship, or if the ship were smaller still, maybe a Saber Class with a crew of 70 to 80, your new Commanding Officer (Captain) could be a brand new Lieutenant Commander. Her unsurety could stem from a personal belief that her promotion was premature and undeserved.

Early promoted because she is persevered of as a heroine in the eyes of Starfleet and the Federation, the events leading up to her heroism cost the lives of people under her authority while still a lieutenant.

The First Officer on the other hand could be a more mature and experienced officer, someone who was passed over for promotion for a variety of reasons (bad away mission, diplomatic incident, engineering accident) and harbors some resentment toward her younger aged superior. This could be exacerbated by the new CO's not completely trusting the First Officer, someone she didn't pick but who "came with the ship."

Trust and respect could grow over the course of the first season, and not be something which just magically happens in the last five minutes of the pilot episode.

 

[The Badger]

Just to clear up the issue, the captain isn't incompetent she just is unsure of herself

I wasn't suggesting that the captain should be incompetent, I was just giving examples of how hierarchies can sometimes put unprepared people into senior positions. Now a captain who believes she is not competent for her position would, by definition, lack confidence, even if she really was qualified for the post.

I like T'girl's ideas. In many ways it's a counterpoint to the 2009 movie. Inexperienced but genius young officer pulls off a difficult, dangerous task, saves lives, acts in best traditions of the fleet etc. Gets promoted to captain a ship ahead of it's dedicated and more experienced first officer.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I like it simply by virtue that some thought is given to characters--and what makes them tick--more than how many torpedo tubes the ship has and establishing the Federation is once again at war or in ruins...

That is refreshing.

 

[Volkanismo]

We could also delve into them becoming romantically involved.

Build the rest of the show around it, but this would be the central relationship.

Apart from the fact, that a captain falling in love with his or her XO is a bit cheesy, you would have to face the protest that Trek is not a space soap opera and should not be centered around romantic relationships, but about the dynamics between races and star systems that make up the universe. Yes, love can add depth to characters, or used as a way to express their personality, or to trigger certain events and decision points, but building an entire show around it would be far-fetched.

 

[indolover]

Why would the CO lack confidence? Can anybody in a leadership position lack confidence?

If this were set earlier, no more than a couple of years after the war, then the CO might have been promoted before they are ready. A shortage of experienced officers--due to the high casualty rate in the conflict--could lead to any officer of high enough rank being pushed into the centre seat, even if they have little training for command.

There are numerous real life instances of people being promoted beyond their comfort, and indeed competence. Now given Star Fleet's organisation I don't think the latter is likely, but the idea of a self doubting CO is certainly plausible.

Somebody of Commander, even Lt. Cmdr, rank is experienced in themselves, by virtue of his/her rank. A Lieutenant Commander may be an XO, or even command a small Starfleet facility. Military promotions are not like in an office or workplace. An officer in a military setting by definition commands, so s/he has the experience necessary. I don't think the OP's point about the CO lacking confidence makes sense, that's all.

 

[Jonny]

I'd swap the captain and the commander around in terms of personality with the captain being confident and charismatic whereas the commander is a bit less confident and somethings holding them back in terms of being a captain of their own ship one day.

As for your suggestions for who should play them I don't have any real problems with either of those two although I've never seen firefly so I don't know what the girl would be like lol.

I like the fact that your thinking about characters rather than just simply time frames and settings though. I'd like to know what type of doctor or engineer you'd have.

 

[cathouse_joe]

I could see a modest-sized exploration/science vessel, perhaps a Dakota-Class or Stargazer-Class from "Star Trek: Online".

Though, I'd add a really mixed crew to bring a TOS style flavor to the story, rather than stick with the usually-seen human-centric crew. Either a Binar team (that frequently operate in mated-pairs) or Triexian/Edosian Chief Engineer, Vulcan Tactical Officer, (in addition to the characters displayed in the O.P.,) Denebulan Chief Medical Officer. That sort of thing.

http://www.startrekonline.com/dyncontent/startrek/uploads/perspective_stargazer.png

http://www.startrekonline.com/dyncontent/startrek/uploads/perspective_dakota.png