What next for Trek?

Straha · Post by **Straha** » 2004-01-19 10:31pm

What's going to happen next to star-trek, with the assumption that it will not be put to rest?

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2004-01-19 11:26pm

Depends on what happens to Enterprise. If that gets cancelled, likely the whole franchise will lay dormant for some time. What comes after that is anyone's guess. Perhaps nothing, perhaps Star Trek has lost too many fans. Or perhaps after a decade or so people will begin to miss it enough to clamour for it's revival. If it does get revived, just hope B&B are nowhere near it.

I personally would like to see an "Enterprise Mk2" As I said in the previous thread, the show had a good concept but was poorly carried out. Another possibility is a movie-TOS era show, when Starfleet was run like a military and the ships and crew reflected this. Plus I love the uniforms from that time.

Techno_Union · Post by **Techno_Union** » 2004-01-19 11:27pm

Unfortunately there are not many options left for ST. It has a short history and they are not spread across the galaxy so there is little room for expansion beyond the TOS era and the TNG era. If they do another movie (heaven forbid) then it will have to be phenomenal just to keep the ST movies alive. But is there a possibility of another series, I doubt it.

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2004-01-20 01:19am

I concur. There is not realy much scope for a new series or movie that can gather a wide audience while still remaining faithful to original Star Trek.l

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2004-01-20 01:40am

evilcat4000 wrote:I concur. There is not realy much scope for a new series or movie that can gather a wide audience while still remaining faithful to original Star Trek.l

Oh c'mon, that's too cynical. Think positive! The problem isn't a lack of scope etc it's hand-cuffed writers and poor executive decisions. If you can get past that somehow, if you're free to take risks and concentrate on good storytelling, then there's no limit to what you can put up on the small screen.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-01-20 01:49am

This question gets asked like every two weeks or so here...

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2004-01-20 01:54am

Maybe someone should compile all the good ideas posted here and send them to Paramount.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2004-01-20 02:40am

The current production staff needs to be completely turned over, or at least stripped of all power; put them in a position where they do not say "this is how we will do things", but say "this is how we did things" and let the new blood decide whether something was good or not.

IMO, the next place to explore should be the years directly following The Undiscovered Country. Dealing with the newly forged peace, which surely must have been uneasy at first. Perhaps exploring some of the one-time TOS races a bit more... a Tholian conflict, perhaps?

Probably would want to put it on an Excelsior... or, hell, maybe the Excelsior?

This series would absolutely have to be done right; if this one crashes, the franchise will die.

Damaramu · Post by **Damaramu** » 2004-01-20 03:18am

Oh yeah....when I heard they were planning a new Trek series...I was hoping it would be Excelsior. Hell, I heard Takei was up for it.

And then we got Enterprise.

Sigh. Would have loved an Excelsior show. I'm sure B&B would have found a way to fuck that up too.

Murazor · Post by **Murazor** » 2004-01-20 06:01am

If they are to continue... There are factors that suggest that a "Dark Side" of Starfleet has been rising since the beggining of TNG. A civil war of the Federation would be nice. The Maquis would have made a nice addition but...
And if the Federation is weakened by inner conflict, Romulans and perhaps the Dominion are going to want revenge... Somebody wants Andromeda ala Trek?

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-01-20 06:18am

I just want more reference books. I couldn't give two shits about Star Trek in movie or TV form...

Super-Gagme · Post by **Super-Gagme** » 2004-01-20 07:51am

Personally I'd like a Tales of Star Trek or something show. Basicly a bunch of mini-stories set throughout trek, without Federations taking the spot light. Think a couple episodes aboard a Romulan vessel with Romulan characters and perhaps not actually being the bad guys! *gasp* Just my 2 pence.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2004-01-20 02:47pm

Or, hell, maybe not a full-on new series, but going back to the concept of doing miniseries/TV-movie of the week shows of Star Trek? Give everyone a little more breathing room between episodes?

Techno_Union · Post by **Techno_Union** » 2004-01-20 03:02pm

What about a series of the alternate Federation, the one that was at war with the Klingons? Or even just a warlike Fed who fights the Romulans like an actual military force. The TOS era was nice but as long as it is where the excelsior is. But for another series to work this show would have to be very very good, if it failed then the franchise would go down and lose too many fans.

Luzifer's right hand · Post by **Luzifer's right hand** » 2004-01-20 04:18pm

I would love a series about an alternative dark Federation.
Space...The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship, predator. Its 5-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new resources and new civilizations to annex , to ruthlessly conquer what no man has conquered before!

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2004-01-20 04:45pm

Dark Mirror.

TheDarkling · Post by **TheDarkling** » 2004-01-20 04:52pm

Why create a Dark Federation when you can just creat a new evil Space Empire and have more creative freedom, of course cashing in on an established name in that fashion is common but usually fans gripe about it.

Luzifer's right hand · Post by **Luzifer's right hand** » 2004-01-20 05:18pm

TheDarkling wrote:Why create a Dark Federation when you can just creat a new evil Space Empire and have more creative freedom, of course cashing in on an established name in that fashion is common but usually fans gripe about it.

1. I like the "Mirror" episode from TOS
2: I would love to see the homeworlds of many star trek civilisations burn.
3. I would like a reboot of the Borg without the crap Voyager and First Contacet added.
4.They could invade the normal Star Trek universe and kill Janeway.

TheDarkling · Post by **TheDarkling** » 2004-01-20 06:50pm

Luzifer's right hand wrote:
1. I like the "Mirror" episode from TOS

Give everybody in generic Evil Empire 167 a goatee then.

2: I would love to see the homeworlds of many star trek civilisations burn.

hmmm

3. I would like a reboot of the Borg without the crap Voyager and First Contacet added.

The Borg don't exist in the mirror universe pre End-DS9.

Edit: I should say they haven't been to the Alpha quadrant (maybe the homing signal didn't get sent).

4.They could invade the normal Star Trek universe and kill Janeway.

Can't argue with that.

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2004-01-20 07:09pm

The mirror universe could work out well. Expand on the writting of Shatner and the Gar-Stevens's. In those books we found out that Kirk became Emperor of the Terran Empire and Spock became the power behind the throne, but it'd be nice to see the rise and fall off Terra. Seeing Tiberious uniting the Cardassians and Klingons would be good also.

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2004-01-20 07:26pm

I personally think that after Enterprise is finally cancelled they will put the franchise on hiatus for between ten and fifteen years. When it comes back, the show will be unimaginatively but effectively placed in the future, and it will probably be a right good show, again.

Enola Straight · Post by **Enola Straight** » 2004-01-20 07:53pm

Wait 10-15 years, and launch Star Trek: GEN3.

NCC-1701-K, Ultimatum Class Starship.

I figure, this would take roughly an equal amount of time past the TNG era as TNG is past the TOS era.

Transwarp and/or Quantum Slipstream is an established, reliable technology, as is Quantum resolution Replicators, useful in medical regenerators.

(Commander! The Captain was just Decapitated!
Leutenant...beam his head up to Sickbay...he'll be alright in about five minuites.)

Due to a Revolution, The Romulan Star Empire has embraced Vulcan Logic and joined the Federation.

The Crew Discovers "the Worm", the advanced technology which creates wormholes...and offers access to transverse the vast voids between galaxies.

CDiehl · Post by **CDiehl** » 2004-01-21 02:10pm

Enola makes a good point. I have thought that Star Trek needs a break of about a decade followed by a series set further in the future. I have some suggestions to add to his idea of a third generation series.

1. With new drives, the Federation has expanded to the far side of the galaxy. This has brought them new members from the Gamma and Delta Quadrants. It has also brought wars with the Dominion and the Borg. The Federation's leap in technology has made it ascendant over it Alpha Quadrant neighbors, and their instability has resulted in some of their worlds entering the Federation. The Klingons remain an ally of the Federation, but the Cardassians and Romulans remain thorns in the Federation's side.

2. The Federation is taking a greater interest in the study of ancient galactic powers, like the Iconians and the Tkon. They send archaeological expeditions to find and study their technology. Some of it has already yielded results, such as the Worm, which could have been based on Iconian gateways.

3. The Federation has become more and more adept at removing Borg from the Collective, and teaching them to live as individuals. As a result, independent Borg, such as those Hugh led, have developed their own culture, and are part of the Federation. They now use more aesthetically pleasing implants and look a lot less like the undead. These Borg have spearheaded Federation policy against the Borg, directing it towards de-assimilation and settlement rather than destruction. Also, some cyborg enhancement has become socially acceptable in Federation society.

4. The union of Romulans and Vulcans has led to a hybrid of the two societies. Vulcans are more emotional and Romulans are more logical, and they work to find a balance between the two.

5. At the begnning of the series, the Federation, the Borg and the Dominion are in the midst of a cold war. But, a threat from outside the galaxy appears on the horizon due to exploration of other galaxies. A Starfleet vessel could have a run-in with the Kelvans (who appeared in TOS, "By Any Other Name"), who are preparing to invade the Milky Way Galaxy. With modern special effects, the Kelvans could be presented as they really look (huge, with 100 arms).

6. Make this series a continuing one. I know continuity is a dirty word to the people who run Star Trek, but they should try doing it from the start. Perhaps the ship in this series could encounter the Kelvans in the pilot or the first regular episode, and the plot could flow from the results of that event. This would require a single writer or a small group of them, working with producers who want to put their idea on the screen (in other words, not B+B), but if they look at Babylon 5, they can see that it can be done.

7. Make the characters a lot less perfect. Populate this series with people who aren't the best and brightest, who aren't perfectly well-adjusted. Let's have some character conflict among the main cast, and see some negative consequences for their choices, even if they are "right," ones that stay with them long after the episode ends. Let's see Starfleet and the Federation make morally iffy choices and the results of those choices, good and bad. In other words, jettison the utopian BS because it's stifling the show.

8. Give the Federation, or just humans, a popular culture. I do not mean transferring modern pop culture to the future, though the products of it could continue to exist. I refer to them having a popular culture that is of their time. They can't always listen to, read and watch the classics. Let's see a crew member reading a trashy 25th-century novel, or listening to pop music. Let's see the crew watching a recent holo-movie (or whatever they watch for fun) or watch one of their own doing stand-up comedy. It does not have to be shown in exact detail, but just indicate that it's there.

The Aliens · Post by **The Aliens** » 2004-01-21 06:25pm

My thoughts:

1. The Federation should be the main focus, around the year 2400. This has given them a bunch of time to repair most of the damage from the Dominion War, and so are a fairly well-equipped force, epxloring more and more of the Alpha Quadrant. Starfleet Command has taken the sensible approach of building up existing colonies instead of expanding rapdily, so there are several stronger 'Core' Worlds.

2. The ship used should be a decrepit piece of rubbish, more than 50 years out of date. It was assigned to a long patrol twenty years ago, and has never had its mission changed. They're set to hang around the Tholian border, exploring neutral worlds and keeping the wolves from the door. This provides lots of conflict off the top of it, they're in a constant state of disarray, never knowing if something will work or not, and have to be much more daring. As opposed to "look, aliens! Let's use phasers and blow them up!" it becomes "Look! There's aliens- how can we stop of make contact with them without being turned into free hydrogen?"

3. Let's get some last-chance, no hoper screw-up crew here. Emotional charges ready to go off, intereesting backgrounds, even new species. Let's see much more junior officers in Senior Staff piositions, having only a couple Commanders who are also on their last chance before being washed out of Starfleet. Because Starfleet as a whole is modern and this ship isn't, there's going to be a lot mroe animosity and idividuality among the crew to Starfleet.

4. Better look at one individual world. Maybe have the ship based off a semi-proseperous world with a newly-warp capable indigenous population. There should be something interesting about them, they're insectoid, deeply religious, fanactical warriors, live in the ocean- something we haven't seen before. Give them a distinct culture and personality and maybe get some interest back into the universe at large.

5. Have a founding nation seperate from the Federation, taking several systems with it. This also gives more conflict, and opens up new subplots (the two governments are technically at peace, but lots of animosity) and brings other character development issues into play (people who side with either side's ideology forced to work in close quarters).

Not very good, but certainly combined with other ideas it could be viable.

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2004-01-22 12:43am

Excellent ideas. If put togather well they would make for a good show.