You're suddenly given creative control of Star Trek's future movie output.
- Thread starter JeffZero
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You're probably right
i don't mind the new movies that much, they're not 'what I want' regarding Star Trek but I can understand the appeal, and why people might not like them. I rather have this Star Trek on the big screen than none at all.KernelPanic
Member
I thought Beyond was great. Up there with the first one, ID was terrible.
They should do a movie version of Balance of Terror(well maybe not the entire film). Haven't seen any real strategic ship combat.
They should do a movie version of Balance of Terror(well maybe not the entire film). Haven't seen any real strategic ship combat.
nekkid
It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
You're probably right
I'm with you. It's easier for me just to treat them as non-lore, that way I enjoy them for what they are without it interfering with my love of Trek.
JonnyDBrit
Member
To try and save on the budget a tad, but also delve into some world-building that the previous films somewhat glossed over, I propose the following:
The five year mission of the Enterprise and her crew has come to an end. The Federation flagship has one last assignment before it is expected to return to the heart of Federation space, where she will take on more general and traditional duties.
That assignment is to oversee and finalise the accession of a planet along the Klingon-Federation neutral zone into the Federation, a move to which the Klingons have not responded well; the planet is technically within the neutral zone. Thus the Enterprise's presence shall be as much deterrent as it is measure of goodwill.
So from this you have:
A) Political intrigue. An angle through which we can be allowed some look at Star Trek politics while also being far enough away from the core that we can keep things simple. Federation feels that as the border was drawn up with no knowledge on the part of those placed within it, if those people wish to join the Federation of their own free will, that is entirely their right. The Klingons see it merely as a territory and power grab by the Federation, to gain the resources of the planet (let's say it's got a lot of dilithium or something; just remind the audience that it's starship fuel, and the interest becomes easily explained).
B) Room for debate. Literally, scenes can easily be constructed out of people speaking over dinner tables and in conference rooms, minimising set piece moments until necessary. Should hopefully save on the budget, which the current Trek films desperately need to do in order to better turn a profit.
C) A chance to explain... changes, and drive character drama. Chekov can have gotten off the Enterprise for a new assignment, and the crew have wished him well, wherever he may be. Jaylah could be picked up from a starbase they stop at during the start of the movie; the indication being that she graduated from Starfleet Academy in good time - Kirk can be slightly impressed but still boast that he made it to Captain in three years, not merely graduate. With it uncertain if the crew will stay together once they're back home - the Enterprise now having some of the most experienced people in the fleet, and Starfleet may want to spread that experience around, as they already have with Chekov - you can give people like Uhura and Spock a push to get things resolved. Kirk can contemplate his navels about the possibility of being responsible for a new crew, talking to Bones about it as the good doctor is trying to figure out how to best compile all the medical knowledge he's gathered over five years so that it's applicable for the scores of doctors that will follow him - considering the next generation to come. Sulu can form a dynamic with Scotty and Jaylah I guess, where Jaylah is kind of the bridge between the two men; a sparring partner for Sulu's 'fencing', interested in engineering, and in general having a curiosity about the ship - what two members of the crew would know it better?
D) Mystery. Similarly to Trek VI I suppose, but needless to say, the accession of the planet would not go smoothly. Something, somewhere would explode, with fingers being pointed all over the place as to the culprit. It can look like the Federation did it, the Klingons accuse they would seek to take over the planet, get brought in as a 'mediator' while investigations takes place. Or it could look like the Klingons did it, and so Kirk is pressured into defending the planet's sovereignty and proving that the Federation would be a reliable ally - that's what they're there for, right? - even if it means triggering a war. Whether or not there'd be a third party who actually did it, I'm not sure; having the Federation somehow be behind it feels too obvious a twist, and easy to mess up, while the third party option would require more exposition and explanation. Romulans maybe, seeking to light the powder keg the two other superpowers have been sitting on since ID, and there'd be some familiarity to build off of, but it does feel sort of cliché for this franchise and would require some good foreshadowing so as not to come off as unnecessary fanservice.
Admittedly, that's a plan for a single film, rather than overall output, but I feel it lays the foundations for what can go ahead: The Enterprise's shift in status quo is addressed, Jaylah can be integrated into the crew as a consistent character rather than have someone new made up to fill Chekov's void, and it may perhaps ease audiences down into a place where some of the weirder but slower Trek stuff can subsequently occur.
The five year mission of the Enterprise and her crew has come to an end. The Federation flagship has one last assignment before it is expected to return to the heart of Federation space, where she will take on more general and traditional duties.
That assignment is to oversee and finalise the accession of a planet along the Klingon-Federation neutral zone into the Federation, a move to which the Klingons have not responded well; the planet is technically within the neutral zone. Thus the Enterprise's presence shall be as much deterrent as it is measure of goodwill.
So from this you have:
A) Political intrigue. An angle through which we can be allowed some look at Star Trek politics while also being far enough away from the core that we can keep things simple. Federation feels that as the border was drawn up with no knowledge on the part of those placed within it, if those people wish to join the Federation of their own free will, that is entirely their right. The Klingons see it merely as a territory and power grab by the Federation, to gain the resources of the planet (let's say it's got a lot of dilithium or something; just remind the audience that it's starship fuel, and the interest becomes easily explained).
B) Room for debate. Literally, scenes can easily be constructed out of people speaking over dinner tables and in conference rooms, minimising set piece moments until necessary. Should hopefully save on the budget, which the current Trek films desperately need to do in order to better turn a profit.
C) A chance to explain... changes, and drive character drama. Chekov can have gotten off the Enterprise for a new assignment, and the crew have wished him well, wherever he may be. Jaylah could be picked up from a starbase they stop at during the start of the movie; the indication being that she graduated from Starfleet Academy in good time - Kirk can be slightly impressed but still boast that he made it to Captain in three years, not merely graduate. With it uncertain if the crew will stay together once they're back home - the Enterprise now having some of the most experienced people in the fleet, and Starfleet may want to spread that experience around, as they already have with Chekov - you can give people like Uhura and Spock a push to get things resolved. Kirk can contemplate his navels about the possibility of being responsible for a new crew, talking to Bones about it as the good doctor is trying to figure out how to best compile all the medical knowledge he's gathered over five years so that it's applicable for the scores of doctors that will follow him - considering the next generation to come. Sulu can form a dynamic with Scotty and Jaylah I guess, where Jaylah is kind of the bridge between the two men; a sparring partner for Sulu's 'fencing', interested in engineering, and in general having a curiosity about the ship - what two members of the crew would know it better?
D) Mystery. Similarly to Trek VI I suppose, but needless to say, the accession of the planet would not go smoothly. Something, somewhere would explode, with fingers being pointed all over the place as to the culprit. It can look like the Federation did it, the Klingons accuse they would seek to take over the planet, get brought in as a 'mediator' while investigations takes place. Or it could look like the Klingons did it, and so Kirk is pressured into defending the planet's sovereignty and proving that the Federation would be a reliable ally - that's what they're there for, right? - even if it means triggering a war. Whether or not there'd be a third party who actually did it, I'm not sure; having the Federation somehow be behind it feels too obvious a twist, and easy to mess up, while the third party option would require more exposition and explanation. Romulans maybe, seeking to light the powder keg the two other superpowers have been sitting on since ID, and there'd be some familiarity to build off of, but it does feel sort of cliché for this franchise and would require some good foreshadowing so as not to come off as unnecessary fanservice.
Admittedly, that's a plan for a single film, rather than overall output, but I feel it lays the foundations for what can go ahead: The Enterprise's shift in status quo is addressed, Jaylah can be integrated into the crew as a consistent character rather than have someone new made up to fill Chekov's void, and it may perhaps ease audiences down into a place where some of the weirder but slower Trek stuff can subsequently occur.
i think there's still gas in the tank with the JJ verse (or whatever we're calling it), though i understand Paramount wants these movies pulling in over $500 million a pop so it wouldn't surprise me if they pulled the plug after Beyond, just the way of things. but i think that'd be ill advised, as that is Star Trek for this generation so going back to the drawing board would probably just confuse people and cause the franchise to flounder into relative obscurity again
just give it another go with a good script. close out character arcs, start new (and interesting) ones, be a little ballsy and kill off certain characters or whatever else would give it a "soft reboot" without reinventing the wheel. take the narrative to the next level without just blowing stuff up. i think the last few movies had people walking out the theater going "hey remember that first movie (2009)? that was cool" and diminishing returns naturally followed
just give it another go with a good script. close out character arcs, start new (and interesting) ones, be a little ballsy and kill off certain characters or whatever else would give it a "soft reboot" without reinventing the wheel. take the narrative to the next level without just blowing stuff up. i think the last few movies had people walking out the theater going "hey remember that first movie (2009)? that was cool" and diminishing returns naturally followed
Sad Affleck
Member
I would stop trying to make Star Trek 'cool'. I would embrace its nerdiness and try to create something that is pleasing to modern audiences in terms of visual style while still being faithful to the source material. If comic book movies can be commercially successful there's no reason Star Trek can't.
Praetorpwj
Member
I suspect that there are a lot of DS9 fans here (like myself) who really enjoyed the more political slant that show brought to Trek.
Forget the movies the new tv show should have returned to the 24th century. I personally find it a little sad that we seem to be returning ever closer to our 'own time' with Trek rather than progressing the future and breaking new frontiers. Hari Seldon would no doubt have had something to say about this.
Like it or not most of Trek lore has now been established in the 24th century stories and it would have been smart to have created some connective tissue to the three previous shows in order to provide a bridge for younger viewers. Not to mention the incredible pool of legacy cast you could have called on for cameos every once in a while.
To me a major missed opportunity.
Forget the movies the new tv show should have returned to the 24th century. I personally find it a little sad that we seem to be returning ever closer to our 'own time' with Trek rather than progressing the future and breaking new frontiers. Hari Seldon would no doubt have had something to say about this.
Like it or not most of Trek lore has now been established in the 24th century stories and it would have been smart to have created some connective tissue to the three previous shows in order to provide a bridge for younger viewers. Not to mention the incredible pool of legacy cast you could have called on for cameos every once in a while.
To me a major missed opportunity.
hobblygobbly
Member
Intrigue and espionage, movies surrounding the Tal Shiar, The Obsidian Order, V'Shar, Starfleet Intelligence, Section 31, etc. Topics surrounding them can work for film, I'd watch the shit out of an operative/spy-focused series of Star Trek films.
SlipperyFishes
Banned
Let it go. That was a stylistic choice in one movie and was dropped from the sequels.
ShiroAmakusa
Member
I'd go for a nice Q Continuum story line. Yeah, The Q are stuff for lazy writers, since there is basically nothing they can't do thus making it important to not overdo their deus ex machina-potential. As for the story line, I'd propose the return of "God"/ The One, maybe tied to the discovery of an Omega molecule.
Now throw in John de Lancie as Q, find some explanation why he appears much older than in all the encounters before (possible good tie to the Omega continuum) and go for it.
This could be the mind-bending, space and time warping (thank you, modern CGI!) flick of my dreams. Or at least a fan fiction I should bring to paper. In a million years. After I realized all my other projects...
Now throw in John de Lancie as Q, find some explanation why he appears much older than in all the encounters before (possible good tie to the Omega continuum) and go for it.
This could be the mind-bending, space and time warping (thank you, modern CGI!) flick of my dreams. Or at least a fan fiction I should bring to paper. In a million years. After I realized all my other projects...
parrotbeak
Member
Tbh it would just be holodeck porn. Maybe also holodeck reboot of SW Eps 1-3.
I want all the worst elements of Star Trek in one show:
Harry Kim and Neelix as captain and first officer.
Admiral Janeway getting advice from hologram Fred Flintstone.
Endless holodeck episodes.
The blind pilot becoming the chief engineer and the annoying child becoming the pilot.
Luwaxana Troi guest appearances galore.
Then, I want the show to remake classic episodes like the one with the planet of the black people and the other one with the planet of the drunk and surly and backward Irish people.
Harry Kim and Neelix as captain and first officer.
Admiral Janeway getting advice from hologram Fred Flintstone.
Endless holodeck episodes.
The blind pilot becoming the chief engineer and the annoying child becoming the pilot.
Luwaxana Troi guest appearances galore.
Then, I want the show to remake classic episodes like the one with the planet of the black people and the other one with the planet of the drunk and surly and backward Irish people.
I would ditch the nuToS cast and revisit the TNG crew on the JJ Abrams-verse.
In this timeline, the events of the four TNG movies have not taken place and we get to see the whole crew go off on their last adventure before they retire, or something like that.
Edit: I would also bring back Jonathan Frakes to direct.
Edit2: Tasha Yar is also alive.
In this timeline, the events of the four TNG movies have not taken place and we get to see the whole crew go off on their last adventure before they retire, or something like that.
Edit: I would also bring back Jonathan Frakes to direct.
Edit2: Tasha Yar is also alive.
poppedcollar69
Member
cast myself as sir patrick's cabana boy
Beastie Boys was more entertaining​ than anything someone too into Star Trek would be able to produce on the big screen.
Beyond might have topped out the franchise.
Secret Fawful
Member
I would hire actual science fiction writers to pen the scripts.
Also Warren Ellis.
Also Warren Ellis.
Succinct Verbosity
Member
I actually had no issue with the Kelvin timeline... Hell I watched Into Darkness today, but I think going back to the prime universe with the star appeal of Patrick Stewart may not be the numbers idea given that Star Wars has shown riding off the nostalgia wave works.
Pestilence11
Member
Picard and the crew.
I had only watched TOS and TNG when I was younger, and very much preferred TNG. I've been watching DS9 recently on Netflix for the first time (part way through season 5) and it's easily my favorite Trek. Hell, it's probably one of my favorite shows period now.
I agree with this post. I was disappointed when I heard they were going further into the past. I wanted 24th century.
Himynameischris
Member
I think I'd like a series in the Mirror universe, that would be fun.
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