If I were in charge, I could easily make a series that would top all the Nielsen ratings. I know what Star Trek fans want.
Imagine this:
A scientist from the future clones 7 of 9. An Enterprise-class ship crashes on the planet and kills the scientist, leaving the clones helpless. They repair the vessel and leave on a voyage of discovery, with the starship crew being composed exclusively of 7 of 9 clones. Did I mention that the mad scientist’s planet is very close to its sun, so all its inhabitants wear only bikinis? On board ship the leisure outfits are all variations on the two-piece bathing suit, while the work outfits are similar to the 7 of 9 uniform as seen on Voyager.
Arnold, you have to throw the Doctor in there somehow… the fans love him, too. Almost every Voyager episode that focused on him (and not some namby-pamby “Aliens are trying to kill us for something Tom or Harry did, but that’s okay because we’ll just invent some new type of shield or weapon!” plot) was pure gold. 'Specially the one that dealt with the whole “are holograms considered people?” thing… that was masterfuly crafted.
All the down and out extras that have gotten thrown off the various Trek shows for drinking and drugs get put on a hostile planet together. They are armed with phasers, Klingon blades, the works.
Oh, and it only lasts for one season, so we get something new next year too!
I have to disagree with the chorus asserting that a prequel would be a bad idea on its face because it would mess up the continuity or because the end result (formation of the Federation) is already known. It might suck, but if done right, it could produce some wonderful moments.
Look at Isaac Asimov’s novels in the 80’s and 90’s. Fans who had read the previous material knew that the Robots period would end with the formation of the Empire, and that it would subsequently collapse and the Foundation era would begin.
New books could occur anywhere in the time stream, and often revealed new things about the continuity of the universe that signifigantly added to it. Take Robots and Empire, which tied together events from the Robots series, The Empire Series, and had a major revelation about the two Foundations.
Which is not to say that Star Trek’s writers are in any way the equal of Dr. Asimov (and yes, I do know about Harlan Ellison and James Blish). But a prequel series could work; it would just take more discipline than the easiest course of action, which would be to skip ahead 80-100 years and do Star Trek: The Next Next Generation.
Just read what I posted, checking it for errors. I take this stuff way too seriously. Someone should send William Shatner over here to give me his “Get a Life” speech.
SFGA (Science Fiction Geeks Anonymous) : Hi! My name is Number, and I am a geek. (Hi, Number!). I’ve watched every episode of every Star Trek series. Twice. Or more. My on-line nickname comes from an obscure British spy series filled with pseudo-science premeses. I know the “right” order in which to read Isaac Asimov’s robot, empire, and Foundation stories* for maximum effect. I have my students read The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress while we are studying the American Revolution. I can name every Dr. Who. In order. I check various Star Trek web sites for information on the next series. Every day. It never, not once, occurred to me that there wouldn’t be a next series. I care about the difference between SF and sci-fi. I met my fiancee through web personal adds. I kept watching Quantum Leap even after the two-parter in which Sam becomes Lee Harvey Oswald. I once wrote a comparison contrast paper in a Master’s level literature class comparing Bradbury’s “All Summer in a Day” to Asimov’s “Nightfall”. And got an A. My Master’s thesis was on SF as childrens and YA literature. It’s 1:00 and I’m posting to a Star Trek thread, even though I have to work tomorrow. I have been SF free for two hours, 18 minutes.
*The RIGHT order to read the Robot, Empire, and Foundation stories: First, read all of the Robot stories (which are in chronological order in “The Complete Robot”, the Robot Novels, The Empire Novels, and the Foundation trilogy. These can be read in any order, but this is roughly cronological. Then starting with Foundation’s Edge you MUST read the remaining books in the order they were published! This is vital. It’s late, or I would provide the names of the books and the exact order, but you can do the same by just checking the copyright dates.
Speaking of Q, all Janeway had to do is ring him up and say, “All right, send us home and I will blow you on command for a year.” A captain who REALLY cared for her crew woulda done that.
Well, Janeway is too prim and proper for that. But, Seven of Nine would probably do it – she’s much more practical, and willing to do whatever it takes.
I hate to burst the bubbles of the ones looking forward to the new series, but it may be delayed if the actors go on strike. The writers’ strike was averted, but writers are easier to please than actors and they work more cheaply!
There was a strike (writers? actors?) in 1988 that delayed the second season premiere of TNG until November 21. That’s why there were only 22 episodes that season instead of the usual 26.
OTOH, we saw the Borg for the first time that season in “Q Who?”
It’s official! Everyone who thought the new series will be set in the 22nd century was right on the money. The new show will be on Wednesdays at 8PM Eastern time. It will star Scott Bakula, surrounded by a cast of unknowns.
Ta heck with the bikinis. The show’ll be for nothing if John de Lancie doesn’t have some appearances. I don’t care how inconsistent with the other shows it could be, I want Q, durnit!
One thing that seems odd, and maybe I’m just trying to put too much realism into Star Trek, is this quote from jab1’s link:
Now, the buttons and tactile instruments on TOS were forgivable, touch screen technology was nonexistant at the time the show was created. But considering how touch screens are starting to become more and more used nowadays, wouldn’t it be reasonable to think that by the 22nd century they’d already be commonplace? Or would using touch screens at an earlier time than TOS invalidate TOS completely as part of ST’s continuity? Or am I thinking too hard about this?
[sub]o/~ Repeat to yourself “It’s just a show, I should really just rel-” Woops, sorry, wrong show.[/sub]
I’m hoping the new series will explore some of the early days of the technologies … transporters (like someone said earlier), improving warp drive, phasers, and so on. Of course, thanks to “First Contact” with the Vulcans showing up for the first warp flight, won’t the “Earthers” (extra points for this ref.) have a leg up on getting these technologies? Or will the Vulcans make us work for them, rather than just giving them to us?
And shouldn’t the promo leave out Janeway (she never captained Enterprise 1701-*) and add Pike? Or if they’re gonna include Janeway, what about Sisko and all the TOS folk who ascended to the center chair?
Warp drive, maybe (although it’s possible that their warp drive wasn’t that terribly advanced compared to Cochran’s.), but there’s no evidence that they already had transporters, and since they’re pacifists, it’s entirely possible phasers are a human invention, or gained from contact with some other race. (And we know, from TOS, that replicators are relatively new tech. I know you never mentionee them, but I figured I’d get them out of the way.)
An odd number of years ago (roughly ten I think), me and a buddy thought that it’d be really cool if they did a ST prequel series, then came DS9 (which was good, then sucked) and Voyager (which managed to combine the characters of the captain and the annoying little brat who saves the ship in damn near every episode into one character), now I have serious doubts about this thing. If its more of the same, I ain’t gonna watch it. What I loved about TOS was the energy of the show. They were running around doing things no one had ever done before. What I didn’t like about the subsequent shows was that a lot of it was simply a rehash of what had been done before and much of the energy was lost. (Come on, Kirk didn’t give up the ship! The only time Kirk truly gave up his ship was in ST III and then he blew it up, taking the Klingons with it! That’s cool!) Let’s hope they get it right this time, but I ain’t holdin’ my breath.
