How would you fix Star Trek?

[Yukaphile]

I mean at this point, in 2018, not... in the mid 1990s, lol.

[clearspira]

Here's my proposal. Don't try to cash in on TOS and TNG nostalgia. Try a reboot. Now, I know this may seem like a JJ Abrams inspired attempt to take the franchise in new directions, but I actually have a radically different take on what they did, that I think could have actually worked. Don't do a half-assed reboot, but instead a completely expansive reboot that doesn't adhere even one iota to the previous continuity. It's not time travel, it's another dimension. Call the main reality we've been following Earth-415 or something, and then create a new, entirely separate Earth to play around in. Maybe even one of the parallel universes we saw in "Parallels." Like the one where the Borg had overrun the Federation. Well, no, maybe it wouldn't work after how badly Voyager nerfed the Borg. But my point is, that could offer up a lot of new storytelling possibilities, without being shackled to a greater canon. Because my worst fear with STG is that they're going to botch the continuity, like they're doing with STD. So, just shove the continuity to the side and create a new Earth for us to play around in. Like, maybe the Federation has Klingons and Romulans are Federation members in this reality, or maybe the Dominion is the way the Federation should have been, and it's them uniting to take on the Borg or something.

What do you guys think?

On paper, I really liked the idea of Abrams Trek as it could have been the equivalent of the Ultimate Marvel universe. There is too much canon and too much history for new viewers on their first viewing to understand - there is no ''pick up and play'' as it were. But by introducing a parallel timeline or universe, you are not getting rid of what came before, you are merely saying "hey, all that stuff you loved? Its still there. We may even still make content for it. But here you have this other Star Trek alongside it with the potential for brand new and amazing stories that isn't beholden to anything else because nothing else yet exists.''

You're absolutely right. The problem with Abrams Trek was over-reliance on nostalgia and weak scripts. As much goodwill as I had for the concept, bringing back Khan killed that series for me because all of that potential for new stories went flying out the window for our third rehash of Wrath of Khan (the second being Nemesis).

It is crucial however that we also get rid of every writer currently working on Star Trek if STD and the new animated series is the fruits of their labour.

[Madner Kami]

Abrams Trek as it could have been the equivalent of the Ultimate Marvel universe

You mean the Marvel Universe that nobody read, because old fans were put off by the changes and "potential" new fans didn't care about in the first place or were put off by stupid choices like She-Thor and relying on plot-points from the regular Marvel Universe, thus largely rendering the opening of an "all-new continuity" essentially pointless and thus, consequentially, was ended? Yup, great comparison.

[clearspira]

Abrams Trek as it could have been the equivalent of the Ultimate Marvel universe

You mean the Marvel Universe that nobody read, because old fans were put off by the changes and "potential" new fans didn't care about in the first place or were put off by stupid choices like She-Thor and relying on plot-points from the regular Marvel Universe, thus largely rendering the opening of an "all-new continuity" essentially pointless and thus, consequentially, was ended? Yup, great comparison.

She-Thor wasn't Ultimate universe, she was Prime universe which is exactly why she failed. There is no reason why She-Thor couldn't have worked in an alternate universe setting with the right push and right stories, and I am going to use female Starbuck from BSG as an example of this.

Beyond that, I think that you are being a little harsh by saying that nobody read it considering that it lasted for 15 years. Clearly it must have been making regular money for at least some of its existence.

[Deledrius]

There is too much canon and too much history for new viewers on their first viewing to understand - there is no ''pick up and play'' as it were.

With all respect, I hate this argument, and I think it's entirely, completely wrong.

If someone can't write a story which is accessible in a franchise that contains history, that is a writing problem, not some inherent flaw in a world having history. It's lazy writing, and it's a lazy excuse for bad writing which blames its failures on having too much inspiration rather than not enough imagination. That's incomprehensibly idiotic reasoning. Having all of that canon to base a new work on is a fertile field of potential stories with well-developed worlds, characters, politics, places, and events. It's the writers' job to tell a compelling story which stands on its own as part of that tapestry.

Anything else is just an admission of failure.

Unsurprisingly, every Trek project to come out since Voyager has tried to use this excuse simultaneously for their lack of originality (despite being touted as a "fresh new direction") and for their unjustified breaks with canon.

[Yukaphile]

The problem with Abrams Trek is that it was time travel, and not an alternate dimension. It was still shackled to the previous continuity to a large extent, and that was because of nostalgia. "These are the same characters you love, only changed!" By placing it in another dimension, and not an altered timeline, then you could even explain this new version of Khan. He's Khan-2 rather than Khan-1. Similar to Earth-1 Superman and Earth-2 Superman. Yeah, he'd be the inferior Khan, but I think it would have upset a lot less people. And this way, you don't have those pesky fanboys obsessing over continuity errors. It's win-win! But alas, they did not do that.

[clearspira]

The problem with Abrams Trek is that it was time travel, and not an alternate dimension. It was still shackled to the previous continuity to a large extent, and that was because of nostalgia. "These are the same characters you love, only changed!" By placing it in another dimension, and not an altered timeline, then you could even explain this new version of Khan. He's Khan-2 rather than Khan-1. Similar to Earth-1 Superman and Earth-2 Superman. Yeah, he'd be the inferior Khan, but I think it would have upset a lot less people. And this way, you don't have those pesky fanboys obsessing over continuity errors. It's win-win! But alas, they did not do that.

Agreed. And ''Parallels'' had already laid the groundwork. It would have been perfectly in canon, but they just did not stretch out and grab the obvious...

New Khan was such a dismal failure of a conception and an execution. The original Khan was a man of charisma and cunning. Sure, he was stronger and faster than a normal human, but to a semi-realistic degree - kind of like a UFC fighter vs a normal untrained man. New Khan is essentially Captain America except worse because he now has blood that can raise the dead. Which you would think that Original Khan would have considered using to help his dying wife and followers when he was marooned on Ceti Alpha 5 if his blood could do that too. Even on a base level, it is impossible to call this the same man just with a slightly altered history and thus impossible to fit him into an alternate timeline scenario.

[Yukaphile]

Exactly. So sad. It's what SF Debris said in "Spirit Folk" and why it bugs me too, because this is the kind of attitude that makes Trek unsustainable - that there's no intelligence in the story at all. And yeah, we have STD, and we have another series planned with STG. At the rate they're going, how long do they think they can keep that up? Voyager and then Enterprise proved you can only offend your audience for so long once nostalgia has run its course...

Yeah, see... as I said, I think if this was a parallel dimension, like make it Earth-9812 to Earth-415 or whatever, then the fans would be more willing to accept the movie and the new material on its own terms. Plus it's an entirely new form of world-building that can pay homage to, draw inspiration from, but is not entirely shackled to the previous continuity. It really is a solution as bright as day, and they don't see that. But then, TOS and TNG nostalgia sells, and nostalgia sells in today's lackluster Hollywood entertainment-driven industry, so that makes it easy. And that's what entertainment creators are all about these days. Doing what's easy rather than putting any actual effort into it. This is what Star Trek has become, the same for ReBoot and Star Wars and many other series. Just a name brand to piggyback on for a bunch of lazy, out-of-touch CEOs to get richer. Bleagh.

[Admiral X]

I actually did do a write-up for a complete reboot, starting with TOS, and going through to TWoK before I ran into a block and out of steam. Mostly the idea was more to smooth things out, keeping the good and tossing out the bad, than to head off in a different direction.

[Darth Wedgius]

I've long wanted a series set between Star Trek VI and Encounter at Farpoint, but if I could wave my hands and create a series it would have to be post-Nemesis because that's what the vast majority of fans seem to want. And continuity goofs are harder when you're writing for a series after almost everything being seen before.

I would prefer a TV series to a film series. The Abrams films I've seen seemed to both be too focused on the spectacle.

The prime directive should be a guide to prevent unnecessary interference, as in TOS. Letting a species be wiped out by natural disaster because interfering could cause harm seems to be a little backwards. And while some Vulcans can be jerks, in general the audience should be able to expect to be happy to see a Vulcan. The characters can disagree and argue, and sometimes should, but they should have each other's back when the stool hits the impeller. Barring the mind-controlling alien of the week, of course. A good diversity of political viewpoints might be nice as well, if the writers are up to the job.

Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens might be nice as executive story editors, as they were in Enterprise's last season.

If audiences want political intrigue nowadays, Trek can provide it. Maybe the Romulan Empire has splintered with the loss of Romulus, with one faction inviting Starfleet's help patrolling space containing some of the empire's former subject worlds, and maybe even considering reunification with Vulcan, while less friendly remnants of the empire still hostile, and both the hostile and friendly factions being politically manipulative, the splinters splintering, some armed conflict between remnants, and frequent Romulan suspicion that the Federation caused the Hobus supernova and/or are manipulating Romulans for their own gain. We might even see the ramifications of exposure of deeds from "In the Pale Moonlight." Some of the subject worlds might want revenge on the Romulans, too. Maybe have some Romulan crew as exchange officers on the hero ship.