If Star Trek did a new show, where and when should it be set with what theme?

deaftravis05

The title's a bit of a mouthful. There's rumours of Enterprise related materials or a new show based off it coming out.

So I'm thinking, what should they do?

I feel they should do a JAG/NCIS based theme... probably set at ds9 a generation or two after the Dominion war. The children that grew up during the war are now officers in Starfleet. So we can see the impact of the war, the Borg invasion, Voyager's return. A decorated Starfleet officer after a skirmish with the Borg is offered command of Deep Space Nine. Deep Space Nine is given a full staff and the Commander of Deep Space Nine is the Judge Advocate General for the sector. Bajor has joined the Federation. So DS9 is responsible for the old Cardassian Border. We get to see cases of war crimes being settled, colony claims, that sort of thing. Guest stars would be like Odo in Dominion related issues. He's asking to have the Founder released. Everyone is gone except for Kira who is a vedak or the former station commander retiring. The defiant is replaced by another warship, up to date. There's a fleet stationed at DS9 with some troops but it's just a trade and administration station with the other side protected by a more peaceful Dominion.

There's many ways it can go, but I wouldn't do it with a war as the background, but rather the fallout of the war.

angrytarg

I'd like to see an ensemble show (not sure if this is the correct term) accompanying a Starfleet ship and crew, a Klingon ship and crew and a Romulan ship and crew on the border of deep space going where no man/klingon/romulan has gone before set in the early 25th century. We'd get in depth contact with the three superficially different cultures involved, see how they act differently or alike in the situations they have to deal with and eventually how they interact with each other.

Second very interesting take would be a show accompanying the Enterprise-C. A show in the "past" has to take care to not TRIBBLE up continuity too much so any show doing this would have to resign on forced recognition and forced references to former (in-lore future) shows to not TRIBBLE it up too badly. No Brannon Braga, no pumped up sex dolls and we're good.

Third possiblity: A remake of Enterprise. Do it again, following the rules I stated above. Maybe set in the Romulan war but following the established canon of both humans and romulans not making visual contact with each other. The show could let us take the human/allies perspective and romulan perspective, show how they are affected by it but there are no viewscreens and no personal interaction on a scale that would invalidate the canonical claim.​​

deaftravis05

They didn't make visual contact in ENT though.

I do like the concept of an alliance forward operating base. Are you thinking of something like Stargate Atlantis, where there's something discovered and they're sent there, probably by slipstream or an Iconian gateway and they have to work together to survive as reinforcements take time?

angrytarg

deaftravis05 wrote: »

They didn't make visual contact in ENT though.

Technically not, but the whole V'Las arc and the holoships were too much in my opinion.

I do like the concept of an alliance forward operating base. Are you thinking of something like Stargate Atlantis, where there's something discovered and they're sent there, probably by slipstream or an Iconian gateway and they have to work together to survive as reinforcements take time?

I don't know Stargate Atlantis, but essentially yes. Definitely a story set at a deep space border with little interaction with the core worlds, exploring the mindsets of the crews involved and showing us similiarities or potential for conflict, ultimately set off on a hopeful note in the spirit of cooperation. I can see occasional change of scenery and we visit some contact in the affiliated core worlds and witness how the explorer's action might ifnluence core world politics and recognition. The outpost/exploration crews would have sporadic contact with supply runs and the like. The story may be set in the gamma quadrant since the other quadrants have been seen already.​​

artan42

A continuation of Enterprise, after a time skip possibly. Or a JJ Trek TV series following a different crew. Those two would be the best options due to them being the most modern parts of Trek available to most fans.

I agree with the basic sentiment of ENT that VOY was basically in 'godmode' rendering most drama moot due to the deflector dish (it's hit and miss if ENT ever fully mitigated that problem or not).

Maybe a show set between ENT and ST09, a Kelvin show or something.

If this were 5 or 10 years ago I would have wanted a miniseries or two wrapping up VOY and DS9, they did't get films, but a 13 or so episode series would have allowed them to tie up properly.

Ideally a show set as far away from VOY as TNG was from TOS, set it on a new fronter (a new quadrant, galaxy anything), and make it a TNG style exploration with DS9 type characters, and a TOS approach to the Prime Directive (no more genocide because you can't be arsed). Token appearances by the Klingons and Romulans maybe, or perhaps stick some on the crew.

angrytarg wrote: »

Third possiblity: A remake of Enterprise. Do it again, following the rules I stated above. Maybe set in the Romulan war but following the established canon of both humans and romulans not making visual contact with each other.

None of the shows should be beholden to TOS for anything, ENT least of all. Unless you want ships flying to the centre and edge of the galaxy, inflatable decoys, Warp 14, Romulans without warp drive, Bonaventure not the Phoenix, or any of the hundreds of things that were retconed long before ENT was made.​​

jonsills

On a previous thread discussing these concepts, my vote's already in for a series focused on a new generation of starship, using quantum slipstream jumps (since VOY established that the stresses of slipstream are too great to sustain for prolonged periods, and typically for them discarded it as an imperfect solution - but why not use it for a few hours at a time?) to visit one of the satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. There are a couple whose orbits even intersect the plane of the main galaxy, leaving a trail of stars and gases to explore along the way.

No more prequel series, though. They have to tiptoe too carefully to avoid violating canon. If you're going to do something like that, make it plain that you're dealing with an alternate timeline, so you're not bound by the requirement to make sure all the toys are back in the box when you're done playing with them. (For instance, in the JJVerse, the Klingon Empire was weakened by Nero's attack; how have they developed since? Could a decreased attention on expanding their empire possibly have been to blame for the lack of planetary defenses in Into Dorkness, and if so would that imply a greater emphasis on, say, epic poetry? Could that lead to cooperation with the Federation, now that Admiral Robocop and his version of S31 aren't running things any more? These are the questions a JJVerse version of TOS could look into, possibly using Roddenberry's original idea of the Yorktown instead of the Enterprise. Let one of the other ships have some fun for a change!)​​

hawku001x

I kind of see them doing a series that runs at the same time as the current movies, aboard another ship. The producers would probably want something that supports the films.

highlord83

I think it'd be interesting to do a post DS9/Borg Invasion series that really focuses on what the Federation is, what it's become, and it thinks it should be. Let me explain.

At the end of DS9, the Federation has faced massive war on multiple fronts. It's been hammered by the Borg, tussled with the Cardassians, and been pushed to the brink of defeat by the Dominion. A lot of it's idealism died in the fires of war alongside countless people and hundreds of ships. The Federation that survived is composed of people that are more wartime officers than peaceful explorers. Science has taken a backseat to tactical preparedness and much of the Federation suffered greatly from it not being a fulltime military fleet. I can see many newly christened captains and admirals pushing to change that, with whats left of the old guard fighting it tooth and nail.

That sort of conflict, from individual officers to whole crews and even Starfleet itself trying to balance itself against the endless optimism of Picard's era and the grim cynicism born of brutal warfare, if written right, could be compelling, thought provoking, and extremely interesting. Humanity and our struggles, after all, is at the heart of Star Trek. What I think most of Trek's writers have forgotten though the decades though, is that our most implacable and insidious enemy is ourselves. Human nature is not and never has been all sunshine and rainbows, no matter how hard we try.

To quote a Marvel hero, whose words fit Star Trek perfectly; "There is grace in their struggle."

angrytarg

@highlord83 : What's interesting is that even TNG had those internal conflicts. Basically every time we see an Admiral making an appearance it is a minor villian, symbolizing higher ups being too distant from the principles they claim to defend and making ammoral decisions. The protagonists hold the hopeful message up even after suffering unspeakable acts. That's something often forgotten - TNG wasn't all sunshine, not even TOS was. I really don't get the fascination with all the grimdarkness - I feel a new series should promote cooperation before paranoia. This can work with showing such a conflict but I don't feel like the "usual" directors and writers (those that basically inherited the show at last) could pull that off.​​

mirrorchaos

deaftravis05 wrote: »

The title's a bit of a mouthful. There's rumours of Enterprise related materials or a new show based off it coming out.

So I'm thinking, what should they do?

I feel they should do a JAG/NCIS based theme... probably set at ds9 a generation or two after the Dominion war. The children that grew up during the war are now officers in Starfleet. So we can see the impact of the war, the Borg invasion, Voyager's return. A decorated Starfleet officer after a skirmish with the Borg is offered command of Deep Space Nine. Deep Space Nine is given a full staff and the Commander of Deep Space Nine is the Judge Advocate General for the sector. Bajor has joined the Federation. So DS9 is responsible for the old Cardassian Border. We get to see cases of war crimes being settled, colony claims, that sort of thing. Guest stars would be like Odo in Dominion related issues. He's asking to have the Founder released. Everyone is gone except for Kira who is a vedak or the former station commander retiring. The defiant is replaced by another warship, up to date. There's a fleet stationed at DS9 with some troops but it's just a trade and administration station with the other side protected by a more peaceful Dominion.

There's many ways it can go, but I wouldn't do it with a war as the background, but rather the fallout of the war.

nics/l&o have been done to death, so that wont happen. they need a genre within star trek that they can follow out as popular.

maybe something like an elite strike team bordering on violating the prime directive or doing it?
all that grimdark stuff you dont see much of besides part of it on ds9, a federation team on the USS incursion or something like that, "Unofficial, unseen, unknown". they are sent on missions into the unknown, risking life and limb every time, exploring, blowing things up, assassinations, secret wars, meddling in affairs, moral choices and so on.. there is a lot to find in that type of area of trek. there is still a lot about trek we still do not understand, brigning a more grim darkness setting can provide invaluable to the cultures and understanding of these other races and the federation as well.

deaftravis05

That is also possible, elite strike team... but it doesn't fall under Star Trek does it? Could they explore the culture, human issues and all that?

xarynn2058

I feel like a broken record but, *Points to a certain series by Mr Whedon* It can work it just needs to be set and run right.

mustrumridcully0

I am still more in favour of sending a new Enterprise into a new Galaxy and explore all the alien life there.

Maybe make it not a single ship, but a small joint fleet, some big project undertaken by the major powers in the Alpha (and Beta) Quadrants. So you can still have all the different Trek races, but you can have a completely new frontier, and the ship is more isolated. Without direct access to all the Federation save haven, you could mix parts of the Voyager idea - they don't want to return, but they are out there alone, and returning would represent a major setback to the operation, even if it was possible.

Maybe a bit like Stargate:Universe idea - there might actually be a specific goal at the end of this voyage, something they hope to figure out by the expedition.

The decent budget is for allowing more alien creatures. New Galaxies might mean the Preservers were never there to seed humanoid life, and so we can finally get something more alien. But at the same time, they could still have the usual conflicts. Maybe they enter a middle of a major war, and have to negotiate their way through it with words and diplomacy, all while they can unravel mysteries and do unusual first contacts.

If it's a fleet, they could have political conflicts as the different factions that send ships might have hteir own ideas how to deal with the challenges they encounter, and maybe some even have their own hidden agendas.

artan42

xarynn2058 wrote: »

I feel like a broken record but, *Points to a certain series by Mr Whedon* It can work it just needs to be set and run right.

Dollhouse? Firefly? Angel?​​

jonsills

artan42 wrote: »

xarynn2058 wrote: »

I feel like a broken record but, *Points to a certain series by Mr Whedon* It can work it just needs to be set and run right.

Dollhouse? Firefly? Angel?

Buffy the Iconian Slayer.​​

deaftravis05

jonsills wrote: »

artan42 wrote: »

xarynn2058 wrote: »

I feel like a broken record but, *Points to a certain series by Mr Whedon* It can work it just needs to be set and run right.

Dollhouse? Firefly? Angel?

Buffy the Iconian Slayer.​​

*groans*

lordrezeon

If I was going to present my wish list to the CBS big shots I have two ideas.

• If we are still in the classic timeline I would set it further into the future aboard a new Enterprise with a new cast. They would be using advanced new technologies to travel to neighboring galaxies to explore. For casting I wouldn't give to many specific suggestions except to include a Romulan on the main cast to show the progression of peaceful relations with old enemies. As for possible new technologies, by this point they should have mastered quantum slipstream propulsion, swap the turbolifts out for transporter booths, and use stuff like particle synthesis to blur the lines between replicators and holodecks (where you can reconfigure the molecular structure of entire rooms with a simple voice command).
  
  I was never really impressed by the Enterprise-J until I saw an interview where its designer Doug Drexler explained that it was supposed to be a couple miles long with the saucer being a small self contained city designed for multi-generational exploration. Taking this concept and running with it would certainly be different from anything Star Trek has done before.

Of course it seems like a real long shot that they will ever revisit the classic timeline on TV or movies.

• So if they are going to have something set in the rebooted timeline I would probably lean towards a spinoff borrowing some ideas from the Star Trek Vanguard novel miniseries. Have it set primarily in one sector of space with the cast split between a starbase and a couple starships, with them trying to unravel the mysteries of a long gone civilization without their rivals taking notice and stirring up trouble.

antonine3258

I like the continuation of Enterprise idea - it's a time that feels pretty unplumbed - though I think another exploration focused show in the post-Nemesis era might work, just set it on the far side of the Federation from the common species and Earth so they're at long range, with very occasional visits.

I don't know how well it would play, though.

deaftravis05

That would be cool, a self-contained city ship

dareau

Here's one that seems obvious as all heck and can be expanded from the initial premise greatly:

Year or two after DS9, the Founders (Changelings), having been "discussing" with Odo his experiences in the Alpha Quadrant, elect to let a single ship through to see if/how the "solids that worked with, instead of for a Changeling interacts with the Gamma Quadrant", and gives Starfleet the opportunity to explore all those weird phenomenon, etc. that the Changelings haven't paid tons of attention to since they're busy making Vortas, Jemmys, and subjugating their quadrant "for safety"...

The ship in question would be, obviously, a Galaxy class or newer variant thereof. Changelings won't like the idea of the Feddie Captain "calling home" for every issue, so it'll have that touch of "Voyager" in that there won't be a Headquarters or even local starbase to top up at, though major repairs can be tackled at the local Dominion yards. Changeling prejudices would be a major hindrance for many a mission, can't be seen as "stirring up rebellion against the Dominion" - though any increases in efficiency that Starfleet manages to generate is appreciated.​​

k20vtec

A show about zombie-justice-police-investigation-reality-younger&edgier crew.
But seriously, a future several decades after nemesis would be perfect to reflect todays society with terroirsm, unrest and political challengers to USAs domination. UFP came out as the biggest winner after Nemesis and JJtrek, with RSE is destabilized, Klingons needs alot of time to recover from dominions(Sloane, DS9). Breens probably didnt fare well because they are on the losing side(disadvantagious treaties and limits on this and that), so alot of anger toward the winners of dominsion war. Cardassians not happy aobut their UFP overlord either, then there is always Ferengis economical ideal capitalism and the reforms of Rom that can be very good social commntary and spark some good plot ideas.
AND yes a new galaxy to explore eventually, or maybe delta quadrant in earlier seasons/shows, with all the borg, cartaker, traveler and -insert super race of the week- tech, they can create some damn fast warp drive. Yes Warp drives, I dont really want to lose it since it have been in Trek for so long, it is like if you replace phasers and Torpedos, it is part of the image.

khan5000

jonsills wrote: »

On a previous thread discussing these concepts, my vote's already in for a series focused on a new generation of starship, using quantum slipstream jumps (since VOY established that the stresses of slipstream are too great to sustain for prolonged periods, and typically for them discarded it as an imperfect solution - but why not use it for a few hours at a time?) to visit one of the satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. There are a couple whose orbits even intersect the plane of the main galaxy, leaving a trail of stars and gases to explore along the way.

No more prequel series, though. They have to tiptoe too carefully to avoid violating canon. If you're going to do something like that, make it plain that you're dealing with an alternate timeline, so you're not bound by the requirement to make sure all the toys are back in the box when you're done playing with them. (For instance, in the JJVerse, the Klingon Empire was weakened by Nero's attack; how have they developed since? Could a decreased attention on expanding their empire possibly have been to blame for the lack of planetary defenses in Into Dorkness, and if so would that imply a greater emphasis on, say, epic poetry? Could that lead to cooperation with the Federation, now that Admiral Robocop and his version of S31 aren't running things any more? These are the questions a JJVerse version of TOS could look into, possibly using Roddenberry's original idea of the Yorktown instead of the Enterprise. Let one of the other ships have some fun for a change!)​​

I am plotting a series based on my characters in the game and having it set in the Alternate-verse (should we still call it the JJverse if he's not directing the movies?) The idea is another ship has to step up since the Enterprise is out of commission for one year. My idea is the klingons build a new battlecruiser and a disgraced Klingon steals it and heads for Federation space...the plot will play out like parts of "Balance of Terror", "Undiscovered Country" and "The Hunt for Red October".

[Deleted User]

highlord83 wrote: »

I think it'd be interesting to do a post DS9/Borg Invasion series that really focuses on what the Federation is, what it's become, and it thinks it should be. Let me explain.

At the end of DS9, the Federation has faced massive war on multiple fronts. It's been hammered by the Borg, tussled with the Cardassians, and been pushed to the brink of defeat by the Dominion. A lot of it's idealism died in the fires of war alongside countless people and hundreds of ships. The Federation that survived is composed of people that are more wartime officers than peaceful explorers. Science has taken a backseat to tactical preparedness and much of the Federation suffered greatly from it not being a fulltime military fleet. I can see many newly christened captains and admirals pushing to change that, with whats left of the old guard fighting it tooth and nail.

That sort of conflict, from individual officers to whole crews and even Starfleet itself trying to balance itself against the endless optimism of Picard's era and the grim cynicism born of brutal warfare, if written right, could be compelling, thought provoking, and extremely interesting. Humanity and our struggles, after all, is at the heart of Star Trek. What I think most of Trek's writers have forgotten though the decades though, is that our most implacable and insidious enemy is ourselves. Human nature is not and never has been all sunshine and rainbows, no matter how hard we try.

To quote a Marvel hero, whose words fit Star Trek perfectly; "There is grace in their struggle."

You pretty much took the words out of my mouth here. A postbellum Federation dealing with the wreckage of the Dominion War, not to mention the collapse of the Cardassian Union and the fallout from Shinzon's coup d'etat in the Romulan Empire, would I think produce a fantastic series.

artan42 wrote: »

xarynn2058 wrote: »

I feel like a broken record but, *Points to a certain series by Mr Whedon* It can work it just needs to be set and run right.

Dollhouse? Firefly? Angel?​​

Please have Joss Whedon involved.

deaftravis05

I agree, there is a lot of potential for stories and those stories can parallel current Earth.

mustrumridcully0

StarSword-C wrote: »

highlord83 wrote: »

I think it'd be interesting to do a post DS9/Borg Invasion series that really focuses on what the Federation is, what it's become, and it thinks it should be. Let me explain.

At the end of DS9, the Federation has faced massive war on multiple fronts. It's been hammered by the Borg, tussled with the Cardassians, and been pushed to the brink of defeat by the Dominion. A lot of it's idealism died in the fires of war alongside countless people and hundreds of ships. The Federation that survived is composed of people that are more wartime officers than peaceful explorers. Science has taken a backseat to tactical preparedness and much of the Federation suffered greatly from it not being a fulltime military fleet. I can see many newly christened captains and admirals pushing to change that, with whats left of the old guard fighting it tooth and nail.

That sort of conflict, from individual officers to whole crews and even Starfleet itself trying to balance itself against the endless optimism of Picard's era and the grim cynicism born of brutal warfare, if written right, could be compelling, thought provoking, and extremely interesting. Humanity and our struggles, after all, is at the heart of Star Trek. What I think most of Trek's writers have forgotten though the decades though, is that our most implacable and insidious enemy is ourselves. Human nature is not and never has been all sunshine and rainbows, no matter how hard we try.

To quote a Marvel hero, whose words fit Star Trek perfectly; "There is grace in their struggle."

You pretty much took the words out of my mouth here. A postbellum Federation dealing with the wreckage of the Dominion War, not to mention the collapse of the Cardassian Union and the fallout from Shinzon's coup d'etat in the Romulan Empire, would I think produce a fantastic series.

I've read two post-war novels, the one by Andrew Robinson and the "Neverending Sacrifice", and I liked them both, as they dealt also a bit with that. It convinced me it would be an interesting setting.

But I am afraid it won't happen. In a way, it's too self-referential. The "higher-ups" will likely want a show that appeals to a wide audience, but if you base the premise of the story on the events of a particular movie, it might not convince them.

Even though they might be utterly wrong and it would work great. How good it really would be I think is mostly a question of writing, the topic itself would definitely work.

StarSword-C wrote: »

artan42 wrote: »

xarynn2058 wrote: »

I feel like a broken record but, *Points to a certain series by Mr Whedon* It can work it just needs to be set and run right.

Dollhouse? Firefly? Angel?​​

Please have Joss Whedon involved.

I like Whedon's work, but I am not sure he's the right person for a post-war story.

autumnwind34

This is way different than what everyone else is saying, but I think it would be cool if they went way back to the Eugenics Wars. There are alot of rather vague references to that time period throughout Star Trek, yet no real details. They should go back and elaborate on Khan and the other Augments rise to power and aledged power struggles between them and the human rebellion against the super humans

jonsills

autumnwind34 wrote: »

This is way different than what everyone else is saying, but I think it would be cool if they went way back to the Eugenics Wars. There are alot of rather vague references to that time period throughout Star Trek, yet no real details. They should go back and elaborate on Khan and the other Augments rise to power and aledged power struggles between them and the human rebellion against the super humans

Honestly, that would make a great novel series or limited series, but a lousy regular-TV show. Interpersonal struggles can be fascinating to read about, but tend to be boring to watch (hence the tendency of soap operas, which are purportedly about exactly that, to ring in evil twins and secret agents and vampires and whatnot, in order to remain "exciting"). And again there's the need to have all the toys back in the box at the end; no fascinating new technologies that are logical outgrowths of what we're doing now, because that makes the world you're examining more advanced than the world you're supposed to end up with and violates canon eight ways from Sunday.​​

xarynn2058

jonsills wrote: »

autumnwind34 wrote: »

This is way different than what everyone else is saying, but I think it would be cool if they went way back to the Eugenics Wars. There are alot of rather vague references to that time period throughout Star Trek, yet no real details. They should go back and elaborate on Khan and the other Augments rise to power and aledged power struggles between them and the human rebellion against the super humans

Honestly, that would make a great novel series or limited series, but a lousy regular-TV show. Interpersonal struggles can be fascinating to read about, but tend to be boring to watch (hence the tendency of soap operas, which are purportedly about exactly that, to ring in evil twins and secret agents and vampires and whatnot, in order to remain "exciting"). And again there's the need to have all the toys back in the box at the end; no fascinating new technologies that are logical outgrowths of what we're doing now, because that makes the world you're examining more advanced than the world you're supposed to end up with and violates canon eight ways from Sunday.​​

I vaguely recall there being a run of novels centred on Khan and the Eugenics War....
Here they are: memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/The_Rise_and_Fall_of_Khan_Noonien_Singh,_Volume_1
memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/The_Rise_and_Fall_of_Khan_Noonien_Singh,_Volume_2
memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/To_Reign_in_Hell:_The_Exile_of_Khan_Noonien_Singh

Soft canon, and STO has already touched on Project Chrysalis with a DOff arc.

k20vtec

While Eugenic war is certainly a interesting aspect of Star Trek... It is not very "trekky". No spaceships, no phase/pulse DEM-weapons and probably at best a few railguns/lasers, no transporters, no warpdrive and well.... Lacks alot of "trek" stuff so to speak... The show would probably be a drop of water in a sea sci-fi dictatorship-society or some half-futuristic sci-fi shows. Not exctly a space sci-fi.

deaftravis05

It wouldn't appeal to star trek fans would it?

orondis

A total reboot, going back to it's core. It should be a family friendly sci-fi action adventure series. TNG style stories but with the fun of TOS. Plenty of lively, likable and fun characters. They should of course be professional, but also more human than the cast of TNG.

It should feel like the characters are actually on the frontier, not a bus stop away from a star base (which even Voyager felt like).

No reams of meaningless technobabble, which really got on my nervse.

Plenty of real character drama (not dark gritty like BSG, but still enough to cause some corners of sci-fi fandom to scream "soap opera!").

Basically a more serious (and consistent) Doctor Who, only without the central character knowing everything.