Will they go back to primeTrek after nuTrek finishes?.

[Squiggy]

But the writers of TOS put their story in our future - not anyone else's. And TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT were all within that same universe.

Not our future. Not even close. Unless we were launching orbital nuclear weapons platforms in 1968?

I'm just glad we all survived the war.

 

[Makarov]

We don't live there. It's fictional, and no Trek continuity is more or less fictional than another.

No but his point still stands, because some continuities are invested in and others are not.

Nope what exactly? Are you really arguing that the 5 second Riker borg dimension is just as important of a continuity as the rest of the show? The writers didn't put that much thought into it and it's never explored again. If they wanted it to be a big deal they would have chosen to make it one.

 

[Sindatur]

No but his point still stands, because some continuities are invested in and others are not.

Nope what exactly? Are you really arguing that the 5 second Riker borg dimension is just as important of a continuity as the rest of the show? The writers didn't put that much thought into it and it's never explored again. If they wanted it to be a big deal they would have chosen to make it one.

Well, I've never been able to appreciate the character of Riker, so, it was a big deal for me, to see Riker killed. I kept wanting Picard to say "Fire at Will" and have someone actually do so

 

[Trekkin]

But investment is a personal thing. I personally have no trouble investing in alternate continuities, one-off and new characters etc. I'd have a very hard time reading Greg's Khan trilogy if I couldn't get over the fact that:
a) Most of its set in an alternate version of our own history
b) Most of the characters were completely new
c) We know most of their actions aren't going to have any impact on the overall outcome of the Trek story. Everything they do has a set outcome.

Another example was that I cared a lot more about Kor's death in '...Unto the Breach', than I did about Data's in NEM. This is in spite of me being a regular watcher of TNG who liked Data, and '...Unto...' being my personal introduction to Kor. DS9's execution made me care, whereas NEM scene just...happens.

Plus, for a great big bulk of fans the Prime verse is the alternate universe they have no investment in.

 

[JWPlatt]

...I kept wanting Picard to say "Fire at Will" and have someone actually do so

The writers had their big chance to do just this in "Peak Performance," but blew it. I'll never forgive them for that.

 

[-Brett-]

The mirror universe is best in small doses.

+1

I only count about four good Mirror universe stories. The original "Mirror, Mirror", Mike Barr's Mirror Universe Saga (DC Comics), the aforementioned Dark Mirror and David Mack's Sorrows of Empire.

Star Trek Enterprises "In a Mirror Darkly" Part 1 and 2 was pretty damn good.

If you've got a real soft spot for nostalgia, maybe. Otherwise it was a typical Enterprise episode. No plot to speak of. No characters worth mentioning. No personality. No drama. Only difference is TOS themed sets, costumes and props.

 

[eyeresist]

Star Trek Enterprises "In a Mirror Darkly" Part 1 and 2 was pretty damn good.

If you've got a real soft spot for nostalgia, maybe. Otherwise it was a typical Enterprise episode. No plot to speak of. No characters worth mentioning. No personality. No drama.

The second ep of the arc was a bit plodding, but this criticism is obviously untrue. There was a ton of plot and a ton of drama. Maybe you don't like the characters, but they certainly have personality.

 

[fireproof78]

But investment is a personal thing. I personally have no trouble investing in alternate continuities, one-off and new characters etc. I'd have a very hard time reading Greg's Khan trilogy if I couldn't get over the fact that:
a) Most of its set in an alternate version of our own history
b) Most of the characters were completely new
c) We know most of their actions aren't going to have any impact on the overall outcome of the Trek story. Everything they do has a set outcome.

Another example was that I cared a lot more about Kor's death in '...Unto the Breach', than I did about Data's in NEM. This is in spite of me being a regular watcher of TNG who liked Data, and '...Unto...' being my personal introduction to Kor. DS9's execution made me care, whereas NEM scene just...happens.

Plus, for a great big bulk of fans the Prime verse is the alternate universe they have no investment in.

I agree with this point of view. Investment comes from my own personal choice, not what writers choose to focus on. A quick list of examples from my own life of characters I cared about but got little screen time (not all Trek related and not exhaustive):

R5-D4
Commodore Wesley
Captain Robau
Lt. Valtane
Captain Antilles
Glorfindel
Prince of Dol Amroth

Ok, the rest escapes me at the moment, but I can recall being really attached to people who have less than 5 minutes of screen time.

Anyway, definitely a matter of individual taste

Regardless, authorial intent does not indicate my level of commitment. Which is why story matters and characters matter.

Also, and I have probably indicated this before, but a fictional work existing in my world or history does not make it more or less meaningful to me. Otherwise, Tolkien, Butcher, Lucas, Heinlein and Sanderson's work would not have the impact that it has.

Inspiration can be found in many places.

 

[Ryan8bit]

...I kept wanting Picard to say "Fire at Will" and have someone actually do so

The writers had their big chance to do just this in "Peak Performance," but blew it. I'll never forgive them for that.

The Duras sisters say it in Generations, and then it immediately cuts to Riker on the bridge. That's as good as it gets!

 

[Sindatur]

...I kept wanting Picard to say "Fire at Will" and have someone actually do so

The writers had their big chance to do just this in "Peak Performance," but blew it. I'll never forgive them for that.

The Duras sisters say it in Generations, and then it immediately cuts to Riker on the bridge. That's as good as it gets!

There is actually one occurrence of Picard saying "Fire at will" in the Series (don't remember which episode, but, did notice it last time I watched through the Series). Though nobody took a shot at Riker in response.

 

[TRON JA307020]

Star Trek Enterprises "In a Mirror Darkly" Part 1 and 2 was pretty damn good.

If you've got a real soft spot for nostalgia, maybe. Otherwise it was a typical Enterprise episode. No plot to speak of. No characters worth mentioning. No personality. No drama.

The second ep of the arc was a bit plodding, but this criticism is obviously untrue. There was a ton of plot and a ton of drama. Maybe you don't like the characters, but they certainly have personality.

Exactly. Seeing the defiant start to move is drama enough right there.

 

[Tim Walker]

Star Trek isn't going to be on traditional television ever again. Networks are demanding bargain basement budgets and Star Trek wouldn't fit that. SFX, large casts, sets, all expensive.

This point has been made in several different threads-it is just cheaper to produce shows set in the present. This includes even shows that have speculative content. (X-files, for example. ) So how would suits view the options...what is the bottom line?

This gives me an idea for a new Trek show which would be affordable - and possibly quite terrible (or actually decent):

Someone is screwing with the timeline, causing the Federation to cease to exist, so the show follows Federation agents as they travel to different times in Earth's history to fix the problems and stop the baddies. This would be cheaper to produce than a show set in the future, as they could just use the backlot or present day locations, as well as pre-existing wardrobe. One amusing facet would be to see how the world outside their future base has changed each time the agents come back from an operation (assuming their base is somehow "immune" to temporal skullduggery).

I realise this is basically a revival of the unpopular Temporal Cold War (from an insider perspective), but it would be doable, and with good writing it could be good. Quantum Leap has shown this genre can win an audience, and more recently there is the Canadian show Continuum. It could even be a "stealth" Trek show, designed to stand alone but with subtle continuity references for the fans.

I was thinking this over...there are comparisons other than the Temporal Cold War. Probably the most obvious is a TOS episode, Assignment: Earth. Other possible comparisons include the X-Files, Torchwood, and even Primeval.

I can imagine an attempt to sell a series of movies to The Powers That Be-"It's James Bond meets the X-Files."

 

[Squiggy]

You'd also be stripping out what everyone likes about Star Trek.

 

[JWPlatt]

You'd also be stripping out what everyone likes about Star Trek.

But hey, as long as it's entertaining what's the big deal?

As long as they throw in a sexy polymorphic cat, I'm good.

 

[Kemaiku]

Oh I see, real Caitians aren't good enough for you, you have to bring in shape shifters to take their jobs.

 

[JWPlatt]

I was going more for Tim Walker's "Assignment:Earth" idea.

 

[Tim Walker]

Elaborating, there could be several different sets of opponents. What if, while searching for the first set of bad guys, our Star Fleet team stumbles across another threat.

Anybody recall a series called The Invaders?

Or perhaps aliens who use humans as guinea pigs, for experimentation.

 

[mos6507]

No one's whipping them for it. But the point is that no predictions are going to be accurate anyway, and that shouldn't even be the point of investment for fans to begin with. The enjoyment and takeaways from those episodes should be the focus, not accuracy.

Amen. Who can you look to as the most prescient? Arthur C Clarke didn't even predict the future properly in 2001 and 2010.

 

[Tim Walker]

The science fiction writers pretty much missed the Information Revolution of recent years.

 

[Tim Walker]

You'd also be stripping out what everyone likes about Star Trek.

But hey, as long as it's entertaining what's the big deal?

As long as they throw in a sexy polymorphic cat, I'm good.

Maybe not exactly Trek, without a starship. It would be a spin off. One distinction from other endeavors would be the presence of a Star Fleet team. Scully and Mulder, for example, lacked 23rd or 24th century tech.