Why not just make a Pike era show?

[Terok Nor]

Rather than Discovery why didn't CBS just make a series set during Pike's tenure as captain of the Enterprise? Now that we've seen the Enterprise it seems even more stupid that they didn't.

I like Discovery but Pike's adventures is an area of Star Trek that exists but has barely been explored. Seems fruitless to do a prequel and create a whole new ship and crew when THE ship everyone knows is ripe for use.

 

[plynch]

Well, DSC IS a Pike-era show, technically. But you want those actual characters.

The show would've begun right off with a reimagined Enterprise. Heads explode. Plus, I think they just wanted a blank canvas for their storytelling.

 

[Verteron]

You could ask the same question about why they bothered with DS9 or Voyager instead of just following the adventures of the Enterprise-E.

The answer is, people like variety. Different shows attract different, yet overlapping, demographics and fans. With Discovery they've chosen a slightly darker feel that probably wouldn't work so well on the bridge of a 60s-style Constitution Class starship. Yet another reinterpretation of the classic Enterprise would probably upset lots of fans of the classic series, and confuse new fans primarily familiar with the Kelvin universe movies.

Plus, although Pike has been developed significantly in beta cannon, in terms of actual series he's been on screen for a few hours, with very little character development. Creators/Writers like Fuller and Kurtzman like to go their own way. Trying to drag Pike in to stories they want to write themselves will either annoy or confuse people.

 

[cultcross]

confuse new fans primarily familiar with the Kelvin universe movies.

I think this is a major reason why they didn't go with an Enterprise based show, in any era. They wanted to do something different from the movies - bearing in mind that at the time they were pitching ideas for this show, everyone assumed there would be a fourth, fifth Kelvin movie alongside it.

Do I think they would have gone with a Pike story if the Kelvin movies hadn't happened? No, probably not. The Cage was a failed pilot that wasn't even widely seen until decades later, and even then only really by Trek fans. It has no famous characters except Spock, and he is nothing like the character we'd come to know. So they get a boatload of whinging from canon purists, and gain little in terms of recognisable characters or settings - in fact, the average viewer is going to be all 'huh? Where's Kirk?'.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Pike or even April would've been great to have seen, but then that would mean having to stick with canon and you can't possibly so that and make a new show flashy and exciting.

 

[Lord Garth]

I like the idea that DSC is a spin-off as opposed to a direct prequel. I like "The Cage" and wouldn't have necessarily objected to a series focusing on their crew but I prefer a ship that you can do anything with because we don't have to worry about where it is later on. Plus we have three Star Trek series with the Enterprise out there doing its thing from week to week. With DSC, the ship is different, the structure is different, the crew is different. Discovery stands out.

Also, that ship design, as soon as I first saw it back in the '90s in the book The Art of Star Trek (link), I was disappointed that we never got to see it.

 

[Spot261]

They are sticking with canon

I agree though it would have limited story telling with no real advantage to draw on from the established character

 

[Campe]

Oh noes, not TEH CANNON!!!!!!1!!! again.

Has it occurred to people that this is a fucking fictional universe, a multiverse now really? So, yeah, if it helps you sleep at night, accept Disco as being a visually different universe that the same or similar events have happened in the all-sacred Prime™. I really don't understand why it matters. The series should be judged on its quality, not whether or not it fits exactly in with 50 years of entertainment. And before anyone starts, no, you don't have to love it.

 

[eschaton]

The answer is because they initially hired Fuller as the showrunner, who decided to craft the Micheal Burnham character which the entire first season arc was ultimately constructed around. Even after he left, they had to keep somewhat true to his vision when it came to things like the casting that had already taken place and the sets which had already been designed. Shifting to a Pike show would mean everything had to be trashed.

 

[guyute03]

.... because they wanted to create something new. A new crew. A new ship.
That's the reason I believe at least.

 

[PixelMagic]

About a year ago now, that's exactly what I heard was planned. The reason the Enterprise showed up in the finale was to introduce the new crew in Season 2 and have the Pike-lead adventures of the Enterprise spin off into a second series.

Whether that is still CBS's plan now, I don't know.

 

[Verteron]

Oh noes, not TEH CANNON!!!!!!1!!! again.

Has it occurred to people that this is a fucking fictional universe, a multiverse now really? So, yeah, if it helps you sleep at night, accept Disco as being a visually different universe that the same or similar events have happened in the all-sacred Prime™. I really don't understand why it matters. The series should be judged on its quality, not whether or not it fits exactly in with 50 years of entertainment. And before anyone starts, no, you don't have to love it.

It's funny how as I've got older, I've become far more accepting of this as a view, rather than being some sort of canon fascist as I probably was 10 years ago.

 

[Balok's Decoy]

Why not make a Star Trek show set anywhere, anytime, based on anyone?

You'd have to ask the writers.

 

[Campe]

It's funny how as I've got older, I've become far more accepting of this as a view, rather than being some sort of canon fascist as I probably was 10 years ago.

Honestly, me too. But now, I guess while I still love Star Trek and like to discuss it, the whole canon thing? Yeah, there are more important things to think about in life. Spend time with your family! Get outside! Read a book! Learn something! But don't worry so much about this. Because at the end of the day? There's not ever going to be a test on how Discovery fits in with the rest of Star Trek.

That's just my personal opinion on the subject.

 

[Tuskin38]

The series should be judged on its quality, not whether or not it fits exactly in with 50 years of entertainment.

You'd have to blame the writers and producers for that one.

 

[jaime]

Oh noes, not TEH CANNON!!!!!!1!!! again.

Has it occurred to people that this is a fucking fictional universe, a multiverse now really? So, yeah, if it helps you sleep at night, accept Disco as being a visually different universe that the same or similar events have happened in the all-sacred Prime™. I really don't understand why it matters. The series should be judged on its quality, not whether or not it fits exactly in with 50 years of entertainment. And before anyone starts, no, you don't have to love it.

If you want to celebrate anniversaries as a series event, if you want to trade on a history and a heritage, then a decent level of ‘canon’ adherence is necessary. Otherwise, you may as well have Donald Trump declare himself a Native American, and be cheerful as he whoop whoops his way round the Oval Office in slippers with a feather sticking out of his hat. (Yes that’s an extreme example, but a funny visual image, or biting satire. Something like that.)

Look at NuWho. It’s a fifty year canon...even the novels and audios of the wilderness years have been folded in at this point. It’s not NuWho anymore, it’s Just Who.

 

[Lord Garth]

All canon problems are solved not with the Prime Timeline or the Kelvin Timeline, but with The Mandela Timeline. It has quite an effect.

 

[Campe]

If you want to celebrate anniversaries as a series event, if you want to trade on a history and a heritage, then a decent level of ‘canon’ adherence is necessary. Otherwise, you may as well have Donald Trump declare himself a Native American, and be cheerful as he whoop whoops his way round the Oval Office in slippers with a feather sticking out of his hat. (Yes that’s an extreme example, but a funny visual image, or biting satire. Something like that.)

Look at NuWho. It’s a fifty year canon...even the novels and audios of the wilderness years have been folded in at this point. It’s not NuWho anymore, it’s Just Who.

And I still don't care. You can. I'm just saying my peace from a personal perspective. This topic was supposed to be about a Pike era show, a topic that actually interests me. Then someone brought up canon, a topic that does not.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Pike and the Enterprise will be the Superman in Supergirl of Discovery.

 

[XCV330]

The thing about a Pike era show is it's a series with a definate end-cap. Pike ends up a head on a box with a lightbulb, we even know how it goes down. I still want to see it. [Spoilers]Drastic Measures makes mention of the early Constitution ships being involved in secret missions. So much so that the rest of Starfleet doesnt even seem to know much about the ships. Desperate Hours has them wearing their own separate uniforms and with a design layout in general very different to the rest of the fleet. How come? Sounds interesting. [/spoilers]

Discovery initially wasn't encumbered and clearly had some kind of path prepared. Then Fuller left and who knows how much that changed things. I think Season 2 for Discovery is to get back on their feet and really decide what the show is going to do. And now that they've filled in a bit of their canvas its safer to start incorporating a bit of TOS element stuff into it.