Absolutely not a problem. We like long posts at SFFWorld.....
Your post is a thoughtful one (we like those too...)
Must admit I'm a little unsure myself. We've moved away from the Roddenbury ideal quite a way, haven't we?
Not always a bad thing - some of those ideas he had for some of the movies were dreadful, and
Encounter on Farpoint is still awful, IMO (it got so much better later) - but whatever we end up with
has to work.
You've highlighted some exciting ideas though and I think that this where the new series might work - it must go forward... less retrofitting, more new ideas is what we need...
Having said that,
The Orville series is better than I thought it would be - and perhaps more in line with how I once thought things would go with the Next Generation - admittedly with a tad more humour...
M.
I keep hearing good things about the Orville and if I ever see it on Netflix or some other streaming service I will definitely give it a watch!
I think the Roddenberry ideal is hard to hold up to but something Star Trek shows should strive towards. I feel like DS9 is an excellent example of a show challenging the Roddenberry ideal while holding true to the spirit of Star Trek. Even though the characters have interpersonal conflicts, those conflicts are important since they are used to make progress in the relationships between characters and to build trust that's sort of assumed in TNG. I always think about how Miles started out hating Bashir but how eventually by overcoming their preconceptions and expectations learned to create a powerful friendship/bond. I think Discovery has a lot to learn from DS9, which pulls off the darker tone with a balance of heart and humor perfectly.
I rather suspect that this discussion may end up split between those who watch on a streaming service and those who (sort've) pay-per-view.
It has got me thinking about what future innovations it may develop - where do we think the Holodeck will be in the future? Or what design can they add to the Enterprise?
I actually think they should start again as the original, admittedly iconic, does limit things a little. Having said that, The Excelsior I quite liked as an upgrade....
Oof, I'm sorry to say I
despise the Excelsior design/Enterprise B. It's one of many ships whose essential design when broken down is just the Enterprise but worse. Granted I'm sure it has a lot more appeal other than its visual design but that's sort of how I judge star ships. Then again I don't really like most of Star Trek's ship designs other than the original Constitution class Enterprise, which I think is actually why I like Discovery's ships; they seem to do a lot more with the saucer shape and make each ship class feel truly unique.
Oh boy I love thinking about what they could do next! I wouldn't want to see another Enterprise but there's so much they could do with the next flagship! Imagine the entire ship is outfitted with holo emitters, and most furniture in crew quarters is actually holographic but the technology is so sophisticated that one would never know (imagine little kids playing pranks on each other by making chairs disappear beneath their friends!) until some episode where the holo emitters are broken or taken over. That episode would be so beautiful because the entire ship's interior would be glitchy and fluid, and the very essence of reality would be contentious.
I'm imagining the next flagship to be all about art and uniting the cultures of different species. Imagine wood paneling with moving renaissance-style art on the bridge. The ship would be large enough to have large public spaces like an open garden and art galleries. Imagine a Borg embassy on board where the Borg are like the ones from the Voyager episode "Unity." Their light telepathic link to one another makes them intimate and spiritual (maybe even sexually liberal) rather than cold and robotic.
Androids are common place now and all capable of emotions, but they don't hate humans and instead humans act as parent figures to them. Imagine androids meeting up in an art gallery to try and replicate a Data Original piece and going to group therapy to discuss the intricacies of consciousness and the differences between them and biological life. You know what, screw it, make the ships counselor an android. And make them an aspiring theater actor or something.
Imagine the ship having regenerative hull plating that uses nanites to "heal" itself, making it viable to carry families and non crew personnel on board. The ship would practically have a blood stream made from the bio gel seen in Voyager, except they aren't limited to gel packs but run in veins throughout the ship. The ship would practically be an organism in itself, a living home. Engineers will not just be technicians, but doctors.
And think about the Klingons! I'm imagining Worf's son Alex to be a high ranking officer (maybe even first officer) who struggles with his culture and has depressive tenancies from serving years on klingon ships (imagine a klingon, but with like PTSD). He challenges the stereotypes held about klingons and their alleged violent nature and seeks to study klingon history with a focus on the way the warrior class seized power and manipulated the historical narrative to focus on power and conquest. I'm imagining an immense amount of diversity on board and among the crew. Let's get a Romulan bridge officer!
Transporters are super fast and sophisticated and have for the most part replaced lifts/elevators, making movement around the ship fluid and quick (like how the Enterprise J is described). There are cultural centers, cafeterias, schools, etc. Information moves around organically on board; imagine someone transferring a film or schematic or whatever from their tablet to a wall with the swipe of a finger. Every surface is a screen, so crew can customize their quarters by having the walls be animated with calming rain or other patterns to fit their needs/personalities. I would really want the ship to feel
alive but still be a hub/place for people create their own spaces and communities within.
The show surrounding this flagship in my mind would be focused less on action and a lot more on characters, people, and exploring new places. I'd want the show and the ship to example the best of humanity, to show a place that is about people, art, knowledge, technology. I'd want to see a lot more episodes focusing on the crew and their families. If this were made, I'd want the pilot to literally be a love story between two people on board. The senior officers have already been doing their jobs for a little bit, it's a comfortable place that moves at the speeds of minds and hearts. It's exciting because it isn't about action and stakes. It's about life and when it is about death it's about the philosophy of it and the way people/cultures interact/understand it.
I want Star Trek not just to move forward, but to make up for the time it has been stagnant. I don't like Discovery because it goes backwards and does less with the world. I want to see a world that is truly about love, overcoming prejudice, diversity, and making up for our histories. I don't care about militaristic Star Trek; I want to see it double down on what TNG started and really make it about people. Why not devote a whole episode to a young member of the crew overcoming their fears to perform at a talent show on board? Why not show the senior crew and larger political landscape operating from an inner perspective looking out? (What I hated most about Voyager is that we rarely saw a crew beyond the senior staff. I'd be fine if there are episodes where we don't even
see the senior staff except in passing or mention. Their impact should be constantly felt but the whole world/ship community shouldn't revolve around them. One of my favorite TNG episodes is when we follow the stories of younger crew members trying to get promoted and aspiring to the senior staff as these larger than life symbols of authority and maturity) I want a Star Trek show where the world feels big but small, where technology is not just something to learn how to deal with but something that can be integrated into society and the lives of people in a healthy way.
Sorry for going nuts again with this post, but I just love to think about what could be and feel a little disappointed that it seems very few people from the circles I've seen share this vision of Star Trek. I've got a lot of love in my heart and want to see a show that shares that love.
