Which Trek novel would make the best film and why ?

[Myasishchev]

I'd rather see it as a twelve hour miniseries myself. IMO it would really ruin the depth of the story if you tried to cut it down anymore than that.

Amen . Destiny would need, at the very least, a mini-series to do it justice. It's so epic, that anything less would be uncivilized.

I can only agree that Destiny would make a better moving picture presentation than a novel.

Hopefully, any such thing would cut the complete chaff that formed the scenes with all the TNG and Aventine people (Will Geordi continue to resist on principle the construction of a "doomsday weapon" that does exactly what every other weapon in Star Trek already does? TUNE IN NEXT WEEK), and focus on the actually interesting parts, namely Hernandez and Inyx and the Caeliar in general, and Bacco to a lesser extent. The Titan bits could be included as well, as they were rather entertaining (Ree chomping Troi was pretty cool/hilarious, although uncomfortably reminiscent of a similar cliffhanging bit in the comic 52) and also plot-essential.

 

[JD]

IMO The first Titan Novel!

I second that, but Dr. Ree would be a bit difficult to portray without resorting to CGI, which brings its own wagonload of issues.

It would probably make the decisions over portraying the Andorians look like a cakewalk.

Personally, I would love to see some of the characters like Ree done as animatronic puppets by The Jim Henson Creature Shop. They did some amazing stuff in Farscape, and I would love to see them tackle Trek.

 

[Omega_Glory]

I like Best Destiny and The Return.

 

[captcalhoun]

New Frontier would make a great TV series, rather than movie.

 

[Christopher]

I second that, but Dr. Ree would be a bit difficult to portray without resorting to CGI, which brings its own wagonload of issues...

Personally, I would love to see some of the characters like Ree done as animatronic puppets by The Jim Henson Creature Shop. They did some amazing stuff in Farscape, and I would love to see them tackle Trek.

The best approach in special effects is to use a mix of techniques, the right one for each shot, rather than trying to do everything with one technique. Animatronics work better for close-ups and static shots, but you need CG for full-length or fast-moving shots.

 

[craig keith]

I tend to agree that Star Trek works best in a TV format. Movies are a very different animal and not everything that is "Star Trek" translates well to two hour action adventure format. So when adapting the concept to Film something has to give. (For better or worse). I think the same can be said when adapting a novel to film or a TV show to a novel. A lot of Trek novels would lose too much when making the leap to the large or small screen.

I love both trek on tv and trek on the movie screen, but I think Trek works best in novel form. This is why Destiny would need to be made into a mini-series if it ever when live action, because it could never be one 2-hour movie and still be Destiny. The screenwriter would have no choice but to butcher it.

I love that most of the books now come out at 300+ pages and are tied into one another loosely via a unified effort to keep things within a tied together continuity. I haven't felt the sting of a trek-free life for years because of the good people at Pocket and the writers who are truly bigger fanboys than the rest of us and treat this franchise with the reverence it deserves.

Hear Hear to this ... the star trek authors and editors without knowing have proberly helped me and thousands of other people ... they helped continue a franchise which got me through some of the worst time of my life .... and to the authors i will be eternally greatful

 

[JD]

I second that, but Dr. Ree would be a bit difficult to portray without resorting to CGI, which brings its own wagonload of issues...

Personally, I would love to see some of the characters like Ree done as animatronic puppets by The Jim Henson Creature Shop. They did some amazing stuff in Farscape, and I would love to see them tackle Trek.

The best approach in special effects is to use a mix of techniques, the right one for each shot, rather than trying to do everything with one technique. Animatronics work better for close-ups and static shots, but you need CG for full-length or fast-moving shots.

Which is actually the way they did things on Farscape. Whenever they did far shots of Rygel he was CG.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I second that, but Dr. Ree would be a bit difficult to portray without resorting to CGI, which brings its own wagonload of issues...

Personally, I would love to see some of the characters like Ree done as animatronic puppets by The Jim Henson Creature Shop. They did some amazing stuff in Farscape, and I would love to see them tackle Trek.

The best approach in special effects is to use a mix of techniques, the right one for each shot, rather than trying to do everything with one technique. Animatronics work better for close-ups and static shots, but you need CG for full-length or fast-moving shots.

Wavey Rancheros would be an excellent Dr. Ree.

 

[CDP]

Vendetta would have made a fab trek film..

 

[Geoff Thorne]

Maybe I'm not hip to the new way of thinking, as the Abramsverse seems utterly exploitive of women, too. So maybe the fanboy wet dreams that permeate some of these Trek books are better raw material, not worse, and a guy like me is just meant for a more politically correct era. *shrug* I doubt any of it could withstand a feminist critique.

p.s. I am not offend by this, your THIRD ATTEMPT to call me a racist. I know myself. I am proud of my work. And I don't care about the judgement of sexist people like you!

Hm.

I must be reading the wrong books.

I'm always equal parts puzzled and amused by people trying to claim Star Trek is or has ever been sexist or racist in even the slightest way.

The very last hurdle Star Trek canon has to get over is sexual "preference" and the books have done this already (though there could be more.)

Even TOS, the version most people like to cite as the most egregious example of sexism does NOT portray women in a negative light (and no whining about Janet Lester. She was ONE character out of scores and in no way representative of a bent).

TV wants us to look at it. That means, mostly, TV World is populated by extremely attractive people. There's nothing inherently sexist about this, not unless a particular show crosses the line.

With STAR TREK fiction, there's simply no evidence of either a sexist or racist bent that I have been able to glean in three decades of reading. Indeed the very reason I gravitated to Star Trek, rather than some other Stellar franchises I might mention, was the generally excellent treatment of "minorities" in Rodenberry's future.

People are entitled to their opinions but this Trekker is gonna need some pretty specific quotes to entertain the argument that there's sexism or racism in these works. And the rampant versions of these blights are right out.


As for the topic.

I think a CLONE WARS (TV) treatment is the way to go. And I've been an advocate of that treatment of STAR TREK since well before there was a CLONE WARS.

It allows the actors to play their parts as long as they like no matter how old they get. It removes any restriction a writer might have as to where she could set a story or what sort of aliens she might use. It flattens the FX budget to nil because there is no need for such a thing.

CGI. End Line.

 

[snakespeare]

I must be reading the wrong books.

I'm always equal parts puzzled and amused by people trying to claim Star Trek is or has ever been sexist or racist in even the slightest way.

The very last hurdle Star Trek canon has to get over is sexual "preference" and the books have done this already (though there could be more.)

Even TOS, the version most people like to cite as the most egregious example of sexism does NOT portray women in a negative light (and no whining about Janet Lester. She was ONE character out of scores and in no way representative of a bent).

TV wants us to look at it. That means, mostly, TV World is populated by extremely attractive people. There's nothing inherently sexist about this, not unless a particular show crosses the line.

With STAR TREK fiction, there's simply no evidence of either a sexist or racist bent that I have been able to glean in three decades of reading. Indeed the very reason I gravitated to Star Trek, rather than some other Stellar franchises I might mention, was the generally excellent treatment of "minorities" in Rodenberry's future.

People are entitled to their opinions but this Trekker is gonna need some pretty specific quotes to entertain the argument that there's sexism or racism in these works. And the rampant versions of these blights are right out.

^I got in trouble for flaming Christopher. There is no need to reply to anything I wrote on that topic.

But since you didn't understand, I will explain again. HE called ME a racist for asking why T'Ryssa has to be played by an "asian" since everyone in the books thinks she is 100% Vulcan. He did not answer the question, he just said it sounds like racism to even ask the question!!! Nobody made any charge of any racism in any Trek Lit.

In retaliation, I wrongly accused him of exploiting women to create salacious situations that titillate the reader unnecessarily. I did it out of anger. I was pissed. It isn't true, of course.

So don't bother arguing with me.

I have already been put on probabtion for it, and I deserved it.

OK?

Pete

 

[craig keith]

dudes the star trek novels are not in any way sexist or racist in any way shape or form , and it is way off the subject matter ... wats goinm on guys .... this argument is like startrek.com used to be , hence why i stayed away from treekie boards for ages ..... i only came on here beacuse soo many of my famous authors recommeded this site .... i may have to reconsider lol ......

 

[seigezunt]

Let's see a movie version of Killing Time, with the new cast.

Or Price of the Phoenix.

 

[Therin of Andor]

"The Entropy Effect" felt like a movie when it first came out, but we've had a lot more timeslip adventures since then.

"Uhura's Song" would be ultra cool: modern makeup (and CGI enhancements) would make felinoid aliens more believeable, but I recall wishing at the time that M'Ress (TAS) could have been a participant in the action, esp. when McCoy was looking for answers for the Eeiauoans' sickness.

 

[Captain Robert April]

Let's see a movie version of Killing Time, with the new cast.

Or Price of the Phoenix.

Hell, why not base the next movie on "Spock, Messiah!"?

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

On HBO.

With Ian McShane running a saloon somewhere.

"Live long and prosper, cocksucker."

Deep Space: Deadwood - I love it! DS9 should have been much more like the town of Deadwood, a real frontier station instead of Federation-lite.

And Quark would only speak very poor, but emphatic English: "Swigen! Swigen! Fed-ah-ation cock-sucka!"


My votes would be for Federation or Imzadi, although the latter would have made a great later season TNG 3 parter. If DS9 had ever gotten a movie, I think the Millennium trilogy would have been perfect.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Let's see a movie version of Killing Time, with the new cast.

Wasn't that the new film?

Actually I think KT had a good story (but it was a lousy novel). A new version without the gay undertones and more emphasis on Loser Kirk's shitty life (with Cupcake as the guy who beats him) and getting over his drug addiction before saving the timeline. Save himself before saving anyone else.
And have a somehow-survived Nero killing Captain Archer to screw up the timeline in the firstplace.

"The Entropy Effect" felt like a movie when it first came out, but we've had a lot more timeslip adventures since then.

"Uhura's Song" would be ultra cool: modern makeup (and CGI enhancements) would make felinoid aliens more believeable, but I recall wishing at the time that M'Ress (TAS) could have been a participant in the action, esp. when McCoy was looking for answers for the Eeiauoans' sickness.

Just no Mary Sue this time. And I'd pick Mr Arex over silly purring M'Ress any day.
I have the strangest feeling the Eeiauoans were based on the authors cats.

 

[Myasishchev]

Nero killing Captain Archer to screw up the timeline in the firstplace.

Heh, I have no problem with the notion that it's a new universe and a billion things are retconned. Trek needed a good Crisis on Infinite Earths, you could maybe go as far as to say "Parallels" did such a thing, under the table.

But that would've actually been pretty neat. Archer finally gets beaten up for the last time.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Just no Mary Sue this time. And I'd pick Mr Arex over silly purring M'Ress any day.
I have the strangest feeling the Eeiauoans were based on the authors cats.

Well, my point with M'Ress is that she's a felinoid crewmember and much of the premise of "Uhura's Song" is that they needed to do felinoid disease research.

And Evan, the "Mary Sue" you mention was based on the author's mother, so that doesn't fit with the concept of the typical Mary Sue.

 

[justcorbly]

The Destiny trilogy would be fodder for a fantastic film, even if some subplots would need to go. Too many Trek books, episodes and movies are scared to tackle the great issues Trek is more than capable of handling. Destiny did.