I would like to see a species who shares common ancestry with the Founders, but is nothing as powerful as a full shapeshifter. Essentially, they have duplicate sets of chromosome pairs: one pair active, the others suppressed. Gradually (over the course of weeks, or a month, perhaps) they shuffle which genes are active and which are suppressed and change shape to some minor degree into some other humanoid form with different characteristics (possibly including height, build, skin tone, gender, superficial species characteristics, etc). The process is automatic and ongoing and not fully controlled.
If the Changelings originally had humanoid bodies and evolved past the need for them, I’d envision this as an intermediate stage which didn’t have the evolutionary pressure to evolve as rapidly as the main Changeling branch. But why? I’m leaning toward the idea that their planet was one either wracked with cataclysm or plague, some periodic devestation that would wipe out large branches of the population; this evolutionary trick was born of a need for each being to harbor much more genetic diversity than it needed, protecting both itself from ordinary hazards and its population from stagnation and inbreeding.
It’s just a thought, because I like the idea. I’m not sure where it goes from there.
DSeid, can you think of a way to make that overeager ensign not the Boy Who Was Right But Everybody Ignored, like Wesley Crusher?
This is not a slam against you especially, but I’m really not sold on the idea on a ship full of Klingons and a ship full of Vulcans and a ship full of Humans + Weird Aliens. The ships ought to be unique but not uniform, at least on my butterfly ballot. I’d really like to see a Vulcan captain with a Ferrengi first officer, for instance… or a Romulan captain with a Klingon first officer. A whole ship fulla the same thing sounds dull to me.
Fish the founder related species may have potential. Make a plot line around it.
My Ensign is usually not particularly right or especially smart. He’s not super great at his usual job and he’d much rather be spending time with his hobby. No one else appreciates his interest but he thinks everybody else should. (Sort of like a Trekkie in the real world. :)) Others are not shy about trying to avoid conversations about his favorite subject or even telling him to please just shut up about it. These are usually played as comic bits. When his observation eventually is both right and important it is hard to get anyone to actually pay attention to what he is saying since they’ve glassed over so many times when he starts talking flora and fauna.
It certainly is not a slam on me, since I do not promote quite that. I’m throwing my nonexistant vote behind a Federation ship with a Vulcan captain, a human First Officer, a Klingon Panda on exchange program, a Bajoran doctor, a becoming-nonhuman-human, my nerdy xenobiology nut, and a motley crew of humans and other Federation species. This ship is the main focus. Also in the flotilla are a Klingon ship and a Cardassian science vessel (mainly females) with a small military contigent. This uneasy arrangement was negotiated as part of a truce between Cardassia and the Klingon Empire. Occassional episodes could focus on the POV’s of those ships but more often they are bit players.
Of course decisions are really up to our all wise (and did I say how wonderful that tie looks sir? Cream with that coffee?) EP.
Actually, since none of us can entirely agree what our show should be about, I’d vote we each invent our own idea of a new Teeming Millions Trek and pitch it to the executive producer.
We’d each come up with the time and place for our proposed series, the name of the ship and a brief description of 6-10 characters, and any necessary new background. Also, we’d have to have a synopsis for the pilot episode and the first two episodes of the season.
Of course, we probably won’t even agree that we can’t agree on a show, and despite this, we’ll vote not to vote to submit our separate ideas.
That could work although, in that case, I’m out as I’m much more a producer than a creator. Give me ideas and I can work with and build on them but ask me to come up with them on my own and I’m more useless than a phaser to a Pakled.
Well, okay. I’ve gone first (see above). Here are some details to start with -
Episode One opens up with a Klingon fist slamming on a table. “No!” Insert colorful Klingon epithets to the effect that a cooperative venture with Federation and Cardassian ships is unacceptable as the focus goes to an angry Klingon face. Discussion ensues in which it is clear that the Cardassian ship would be limited to a science vessel and that this is the only way for the Klingon Empire to lay stake in the beachead to be established on the other side of the wormhole in the GQ as the Dominion recedes in influence.
Next scene “No.” Calmly spoken by a Federation admiral. “I don’t think you’ll have any problem with either the Cardassians or the Klingons … they hate each other too much to be giving you trouble.” Spoken to our Vulcan captain as he ventually accepts the assignment.
Next “No.” Said swarmily by a Cardassian official. “The federation will believe that you are only a simple science vessel, they want to believe the best of everyone. They will not worry at all about your other … efforts. And the Klingons… they are too stupid to be worried about. We will control the Gamma Quadrant.”
[Option includes cuts at each “no” and then back to complete each scene to finish with each captain accepting the assignment with a “Yes.”]
Remainder of ep finds plot driven ways to introduce our First and get us into positions. Establish some basic personality traits.
Long term arcs include:
the assignment of Klingon-human Panda to Federation ship in an exchange of Jr officers and her increasing disgust of humanity and eventual redemtion in the eyes of her Klingon superiors and later strong nemesis role.
My xenobiology nerd character.
Bajoran doctor/Vulcan captain evolving relationship finding a position of respect between strong religious and stong atheist positions.
Becoming-nonhuman-human character. His increasing distance from humanity and what he gives up along the way. A tragic character.
Fumbling along the emerging culture wars in the post -Dominion GQ.
The trust/mistrust between the different ships and captains and crews. Our slowly deducing what the Cardasian agenda actually is, and finding out that superiors of the Federation and the Klingon empire had their own unshared agendas also. Cardassians end up more as allies than the Klingons do.
Where did the EP go? Their job is to sort through these various ideas and create a codified concept (actually that’s the head writer, but in our case it is the EP).
