Ultonius wrote:(I hope this isn't a necro - I can start a new thread if the mods think it is.)
You're safe. It's only been three weeks since the last post; the cutoff's a month.
I've had a couple of ideas for new
Star Trek series, and either way I want both Joss Whedon and Ira Steven Behr on board. Never mind that
Firefly and
Serenity were both awesome shows; I want Joss because of his scriptwriting skill and experience handling ensemble casts (the two best Trek series gave roughly equal screentime to all cast members, and Joss's experience with ensembles is what got him the job writing and directing
The Avengers). I want Ira Steven Behr because of his DS9 run. He knows the setting and I can trust him not to fuck it up.
Idea Number One: TNG-esque deep space exploration show set in the 2380s. Newly launched Starfleet science vessel gets dispatched on a six-year mission to chart areas beyond Federation borders. I have a very vague write-up on Memory Gamma for the USS
Jadzia Dax NCC-80175, a
Luna-class ship commanded by Jennifer Kirkpatrick, that could be adapted. The relevant section:
Kirkpatrick and crew were then reassigned onto a long-term survey mission past the Federation's northwestern fringe.
After leaving Federation borders the Dax made a six-year loop through uncharted space and made first contact with seventeen species. Captain Kirkpatrick believed her greatest achievement during the voyage was to mediate an end to an interstellar war between the Fuima and the Aziri, both of whom expressed interest in joining the Federation.
Basically, take the broad concept of VOY (single Starfleet ship a long way from home and far from timely support) and set out from the beginning to mate it to TNG's exploration premise via the fact that the crew and ship are
actually prepared for the trip. We already know Starfleet still does that kind of mission in the 24th century because DS9 had an episode where the
Defiant picks up a distress signal from a ship that had spent eight years mapping the Beta Quadrant (the USS
Olympia IIRC). We get to see areas of the galaxy the previous shows never touched (
Star Treks Star Charts puts that area past Ferengi and Breen space), and where people probably haven't heard of the Federation because it's years away even at max warp.
The other idea, which is considerably better-developed (and more grimdark), basically takes and runs with the claims made by the genetic augments in "Statistical Probabilities" that the destruction of the Federation in the Dominion War would lead to a new, stronger Federation being created years down the line. Take the Federation's many wars in the STO timeframe and mate them to the complete void in the timeline between 2409 and Procyon V, and get the Federation collapsing under foreign invasion roundabout 2450 and Earth and the other core worlds being occupied. The show then centers around a Starfleet vessel that is part of remnant forces trying to turn the tide.
Provided they spring for a decent writing team, it'll be dark and dramatic, with plenty of opportunities for classic
Star Trek ethical dilemmas (especially around, do we continue to uphold things like the Prime Directive when it means the death of the Federation, not just inconvenience for us?) and a tension about maintaining
Star Trek's hopeful tone in the face of annihilation.
The premise is something like late DS9 crossed with the Rebel Alliance from
Star Wars and bits of BSG. Unlike ENT and VOY the heroes aren't the
only ship out there, but part of a small resistance group. They work solo most of the time, but they also fight the occasional major fleet action and work to liberate worlds and build coalitions by equal parts diplomacy and guerrilla tactics.
What they don't have is lots of redshirts and spare ships they can throw around. Stuff like supply problems and crew cracking under stress should be recurring plots, and control of repair facilities a major priority. Exploration would be purposeful rather than for its own sake, searches for new allies and other resources to help restore the Federation (think
Stargate SG-1, not TNG).
Main Cast:
- USS Indomitable NCC-98347 (Thy'lek Shran-class Multirole Cruiser)
- Captain Varus Karn (3/4 Bajoran, 1/4 Romulan male from Bajor; played by Jon Huertas) - Commanding Officer
Grandson of a Romulan expatriate and her Bajoran husband, and a decorated career officer, Karn was an advanced tactics instructor at Starfleet Academy prior to the fall of the Federation's core worlds. When the enemy (haven't decided who they are yet) reached Alpha Centauri he was recalled to active duty and placed in command of the untested Indomitable with a skeleton crew drawn from Academy and Headquarters staff and instructions to get two companies of cadets to safety. Earth surrendered a week later, and Varus and company fought their way clear of the blockade and fled to Bajor, where he was contacted by a Section 31 operative trying to set up a resistance movement.
- Characterization: Tough, savvy guile hero, perfectly comfortable with being part Romulan (Varus Saeihr was an accountant), but a bit standoffish and regretful about having to abandon the core worlds instead of fighting.
- Commander Mahasin al-Harazi (human female from Archer IV; played by Naz Deravian) - First Officer
The liaison officer to the Bajoran Militia before the war, she also has extensive diplomatic experience dealing with the various major and minor species that use DS9 and its surrounds as ports of call. She had originally planned to enter the Federation Diplomatic Corps after retiring from Starfleet. After the fall of Earth she requested a transfer to the Indomitable.
- Characterization: Calm and collected, usually friendly but a tough negotiator. A practicing Muslim, though not a particularly devout one: She doesn't wear hijab, and insert joke about not bothering to try and face Mecca on a starship (basically, she acts roughly as Muslim onscreen as B5's Ivanova acted Jewish). Before we get any "Federation is atheist" comments in here, I want to point out I find the Federation more believable as a secular government rather than a militantly atheist one (basically, check your Bible at the Federation Council's door; you can pick it up again when you leave). Your mileage may vary, etc.
- Lieutenant Commander Dr. Tenya Oras (later Tenya Meer), Ph.D. - (Trill female from Trill; played by Bridget Regan) - Science Officer
A subspace physics instructor at Starfleet Academy, Starfleet Command assigned her to the Indomitable as first officer, but she wasn't comfortable in the post and asked for the science officer position instead once they were clear of Sol. Has to take a symbiont to save its life after the joined Trill cadet initially carrying it is mortally wounded a few episodes in.
- Characterization: Sweet, cheerful, initially somewhat jittery in battle, but that subsides after her joining with the Meer symbiont. Develops UST with Captain Varus.
- Ensign Peter Freeman (human male from Huxley II; played by Justin Martin) - Tactical Officer
Born to a working-class mining family on a colony near the Romulan Neutral Zone, and a member of that year's would-be Academy graduating class on tactical track, Freeman took over at the tactical station when the redshirt initially assigned there was killed by shrapnel during the escape from Sol. Captain Varus gave him a field commission.
- Characterization: Street-smart kid with a lot to prove, but mellows out as he gains experience and is later promoted to lieutenant junior grade.
- Lieutenant Grell (Ferengi male from Ferenginar; played by ... doesn't particularly matter since you can't see most of his face) - Section 31 operative, undercover as Security Officer
A former Ferengi Alliance intelligence officer with dual citizenship in the Federation, he was recruited into Section 31 a few years afterwards. He is one of the movers and shakers behind the scenes of the Starfleet resistance. He recruited the Indomitable's crew into the resistance movement and, given the fact that she was a reasonably well-equipped ship with a good crew, chose to insert himself aboard. Has lots of contacts all over the Alpha Quadrant, particularly in the Ferengi Alliance. Initially only Varus knows he really works for Section 31, but as the series goes on the other command staff figure it out or have to be let in.
- Characterization: A bit of a joker, tempered by a degree of ruthlessness. In service to Federation survival above all else. Very good at reading people, also good at computers.
- Commander Dr. Orott (Vulcan male from Vulcan; played by Raza Jaffrey) - Chief Medical Officer
A thoracic surgeon originally attached to the Starfleet Headquarters Hospital, and the son of an aide to the Vulcan delegation to the Federation Council. A career officer.
- Characterization: Stoic, by-the-book, with almost encyclopedic medical knowledge.
- Lieutenant Felina Genestra (Betazoid female from Betazed; played by Morena Baccarin) - Chief Engineer
A warp core engineer the Indomitable rescued from the flaming wreck of her sister ship, the Enterprise-G, during the escape from Sol. (Yeah, I'm starting out by Worfing the Enterprise 
.)
- Characterization: Initially quite shell-shocked over the destruction of her old ship, with nightmares and so forth, and throws herself into her work as a distraction. Initial character arc consists of coming to terms with it.
- Master Chief Special Warfare Operator C'Rel (Caitian male from Cait; played by whoever's willing to play a freakin' furry, lol) - MACO Unit Head
A security noncom and the usual go-to guy when violence may ensue, whether aboard ship or on away missions.
- Characterization: Snarky and eminently practical in his approach to problem solving (think Jack O'Neill with fur). His establishing character moment is solving a holodeck malfunction plot in about fifteen seconds by physically disconnecting the stupid thing.
Recurring Cast:
- Admiral Angela Reese (human female from Earth; played by Nicola Walker)
The de facto head of Starfleet, as the seniormost flag officer remaining alive and uncaptured when the Third Fleet was forced to withdraw from Sol. Intelligent, reasonable authority figure along the lines of George Hammond from SG-1 or William Ross from late DS9, rather than head-up-her-ass (Nechayev) or nuts (Layton).
- Rotating cast of noncoms and crewmen on the Indomitable