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Author Topic: New Star Trek show
Lyrhawn
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Okay, I tricked you a bit to get you in here. There is no new Star Trek TV show on the horizon, but, having grown tired of waiting, I've created my own.

I've plotted out seven 18 episode seasons of Star Trek: Ranger, the adventures of young Captain Bishop aboard the USS Ranger.

The premise: Alpha Quadrant, Federation, 2388.

It's been 12 years since the end of the quadrant-spanning Dominion War, 10 years since the return of the USS Voyager to the Terran System, and a little over a year since the Hobus System star went supernova, destroying Romulus and taking with it Ambassador Spock. The Federation has endured a brief respite from war in the years following the invasion of Cardassia. But the breakdown of the quadrant's balance of power has begun to take its toll. The Alpha Quadrant is on the brink of chaos.

The Klingon Empire, recovered from the Dominion War is once again on the prowl, sensing weakness in its neighbors the Cardassians and the Romulans, Klingon pirates raid the shipping lanes of these two weakened powers with increasing frequency. On Quo'nos, tensions mount between Chancellor Martok's pro-Federation peace policies and those of the House of Duras, who press for a return to the old ways of war and conquest.

Cardassia is no longer a major quadrant power. Quietly they have undergone a decade of cultural revolution as women – the artists and scientists of their society – have taken almost total control from the militaristic men. Most men accept this change in the aftermath of their world's destruction at the hands of the Founders, but many bristle at being under the control of women, subject to the protection and good graces of the Federation. Their continued progress depends on the Federation Ross Plan, a massive rebuilding effort overseen by Admiral William Ross. Whether their continued development will lead to a new Federation alliance or civil war is undetermined.

With Romulus destroyed, the Romulan Star Empire is thrown into disarray. Surviving members of the Romulan Senate reconvene on Argona Prime, now renamed New Romulus, deep inside Romulan space. Their attempts to stabilize the Empire fail. Renegade members of the Romulan military, Tal Shi'ar and rogue senators all make plays for leadership, leading to the creation of a series of fiefdoms with Romulan warlords at the helm, each with its own agenda. The largest of these factions is based on New Romulus, headed by the new Romulan Praetor Voral. His goal is to reunite the Empire by any means necessary, even if that means temporary alliances with the Federation. Many smaller factions devote themselves to destabilizing the Federation, blaming Spock and the Council for intentionally allowing Romulus to be destroyed. It is an uncertain time, and the Romulan Neutral Zone is more dangerous than ever before.

Into this void is thrust the USS Ranger. A new breed of heavy cruiser meant to succeed the venerable Akira-class, the ship is months out of the Utopia Planitia Shipyards, filled with the latest technology available from a decade of research and development, as well as many new technologies brought back by Voyager from the Delta Quadrant. She is a ship built to achieve multiple mission objectives in dangerous areas of space without assistance, and as such carries a complement of MACOs – Starfleet Marine Command's shipboard ground troops. Unlike most Federation ships, she carries a minimal science crew and no families, assigned to only the occasional mission of exploration or research. It's a new ship for a new era, where peace and exploration are a luxury after the loss of thousands of vessels to the Dominion, with neighbors sharpening their knives and charging their disruptors.

Her leader is Captain Joseph Bishop, born 2357 in Montreal, Canada. Captain Bishop is 31. He enlisted in Starfleet Academy at 17 with the blessing of his father, who was a retired Starfleet captain, but not his mother, who was already nervous about having their eldest son serving as an Ensign on the USS Agrippa. But she relented when the Dominion War began. Bishop spends a full year of field training aboard the USS Sun Tzu assigned to the 10th Fleet. He serves with distinction during the conflict, at one point manning the helm after the conn officer is killed and successfully piloting the ship through the Dominion fleet to safety. He earns a commendation for valor and an assignment to Blue Squad, created as a group of elite cadets to replace the oft-discredited Red Squad. He is quickly elected leader of Blue Squad by his peers. During the Breen assault on Starfleet Command, Bishop and a team of Blue Squad cadets beam up to a derelict orbital weapons platform and destroy a Breen warship. Bishop earns a commendation. Based on his stellar record, he is granted a field commission due to the heavy losses sustained by Federation forces. He is assigned to the USS Venture as an engineer. He quickly makes up for any time lost in his Academy studies and serves out the final months of the war on the Venture, culminating in the assault on Cardassia. For the next two years, Bishop serves aboard the Venture in patrolling the Gamma Quadrant. He earns a great deal of combat experience in fighting skirmishes with rogue Jem'Hadar forces.

In 2379, while on combat patrol in Cardassian space, the Venture was attacked by rogue Cardassian military forces. When the chief engineer was killed in the attack, Bishop took command of engineering, fixed the shields in record time, and allowed the Venture to withdraw in one piece. For this he is made Assistant Chief Engineer, promoted to full Lieutenant, and assigned to the bridge crew as engineering liaison. He finished his tour with distinction.

Her serves in various roles over the next few years, rapidly climbing the promotion ladder until he's made First Officer on the Prometheus, one of the more advanced starship models in the fleet, though by now fourteen years old. He continues his exemplary service and is offered his first command. Given his high level of combat experience and impeccable record, as well as a newfound appreciation in Starfleet Command for tactically minded officers, he is given command of the Ranger and assigned to patrol the Neutral Zone. His older brother, Commander Marc Bishop, is the first officer aboard the USS Constantine.

His First Officer is Commander Winston "Win" Hawking. He is first and foremost a scientist, having spent most of his life in R&D positions in warp theory and energy research. He's married, but his husband and son live back on Earth where his husband is a researcher. Hawking spent several years working on a team that studied Romulan technology, and even worked with other Romulans during the Dominion War. Because of this experience, Starfleet strong recommended him to Bishop. However, neither Bishop nor Hawking want Hawking there. Hawking wanted to go back to Earth to be with his family, but was pressed into service as First Officer. It will take time for them to get used to this new set up, and it will at times me a rough transition.

The ship has two new types of officers in the modern Star Trek era. Starfleet experiments with bringing back MACOs - Starfleet Marines - because of the proximity to the Neutral Zone. Ranger's detachment of Marines are led by Lieutenant Jim Maxwell, only 20 years old and not long out of MACO Academy.

The ship also has an Intelligence Officer, Ensign T'rel Granger, posing as a half-Vulcan half-human, she is in fact the daughter of an ex-Tal Shi'ar operative who worked for Starfleet Intelligence and retired to Earth. Her identity as Half-Romulan is kept secret for the first few seasons, and her loyalty is constantly in question. She must deal with her mixed heritage while also helping Bishop fight her own people.

Ranger's Chief Medical Officer is Lieutenant Commander Jackson Hayes. He's the oldest of the senior staff, recently widowed, making his first longterm voyage into space. He served out a training cruise back during his Academy days, but was assigned to Starfleet Medical right out of the Academy, where he served for a number of years. With his wife gone and promotion having long eluded him, he decides it's time to get his space legs on a long term cruise. Long a family friend of the Bishops', having befriended retired Admiral Andre Bishop years before, when he hears that Andre's son Joseph is getting his own ship, he gets himself invited aboard. Hayes has spent almost his entire life on Earth doing research at Starfleet Medical. He hasn't stepped aboard a spaceship in more than 20 years. His wife died in a freak research accident which exposed her to extreme high energy particles. What he might lack in shipboard experience he makes up for in skill. As a researcher he at the fore of much Federation medical technology, and unlike most doctor researchers, has kept his skills as a practicing doctor sharp, able to diagnose and perform surgeries without advanced tools when necessary, making him invaluable.

Lieutenant j.g. Tal Lara is the Ranger's Conn/Ops officer. She is in charge of piloting duties as well as scans and beaming. Ensign Tal was six when the Cardassian Occupation ended, and 13 at the end of the Dominion War. Her early life was very difficult. Her parents were killed when she was very young, and her brother Jatem and her were largely raised by their older sister Prennam, herself only a child as well at the time. Prennam spent much of their youth as a runner for a local resistance cell, rarely around to provide her siblings much more than food and a blanket. When the Occupation ends in 2369, Lara and Jatem are sent to a monastery for war orphans while Prennam, only 12, manages to lie her way into a youth position with the Bajoran Militia. During the second Occupation by the Dominion, Prennam forms her own resistance cell to kill Jem'Hadar troops against the wishes of the military, but with the support of the people. When the Dominion War ends, she joins Bajoran Intelligence. Meanwhile, Lara is brought up by the monks and given a deep sense of spirituality. Her brother decides from a young age that he will join the monks' order, and devotes his life to the Prophets. Lara, however, decides upon turning 16 that she needs to get away from Bajor. Displaying an aptitude for starship operations, Lara enrolls in a Federation school to tutor her for the Starfleet entrance exam, which she passes. She graduates and is assigned to the Destiny, where she serves ably. When the Ranger launches, she is part of the hand-picked crew. She is unsure why she has been reassigned, which adds to her anxiety, but Starfleet wanted someone with her background, figuring her an ample asset in a new era of hardship and terrorism. She comes to the Ranger with a host of issues, abandonment from her parents and sister, a very strong religious upbringing, and a moral view of terrorism that tends more towards the pragmatic than high-minded.

Lt. Commander Movaac is the Ranger's Chief Engineer. Movaac is a Praxian, a race of long-lived humanoids with very low birth rates. Due to population stress, they suffer from DNA degradation that causes their bodies to break down. Thousands of years ago they began experimenting with cybernetic enhancements. Their bodies produce a much more powerful bioelectrical field than humans, providing a natural power source for technology. Over time, their bodies bonded with the enhancements forming a symbiosis. They cannot live without them. Adolescence is a slow process requiring years of tinkering and surgeries to stabilize their systems. As a result, Movaac doesn't enter Starfleet until he is close to 40. Federation citizens, despite their professed openness and acceptance, are wary of Praxians due to their similarity to the Borg, but in actuality they are quite different. Their technology is far less advanced and more problematic than Borg. Their society is also riddled with cultural taboos regarding their technological aspects. They are not allowed to use their technology to augment their bodies for improvement beyond the normal range of abilities for their species. In other words, to make them stronger, faster, or smarter. It is also taboo to "plug in" to another member of the species, sharing a digital connection for any length of time. All these things constitute violations of their highest laws. He requires frequent check-ups from both the doctor and an Engineer (often himself, which is why he became an engineer in the first place). Since he is half machine half man, he is resistant to many things biologics suffer from, especially from energy discharges, which makes him immune to low-grade phaser blasts and a boon in engineering. He can also augment his functions on occasion to help the crew, but there are lines he can't cross. But he is also highly dependent on access to services. He is also highly susceptible to blood loss, due to lower bone density and a lack of organic components. His mechanical parts break down without regular repair His struggle will eventually become one of ends justifying the means. Praxians have very rudimentary nanites in their blood to regulate autonomic functions and make repairs, but they are not self-produced, and must be manually replaced if damaged. Can he justify tinkering with himself for whatever reason, when he readily has the ability to do so, and may need to save lives on the ship? Likewise, he will have trouble separating which parts are man and which are machine.

Lieutenant Adhira Nash is the Ranger's Tactical Officer and Chief of Security. Scion of a long and proud tradition of Starfleet service, including two well-respected flag officers, Nash grew up with Starfleet and the MACOs all around her. She was never given the choice to pursue another career, given only the choice between the two branches of service. She chose what she thought was a middle ground – Starfleet Security. Despite being forced into a family role, she relishes her work. She grew up with three brothers, all of whom became MACOs, and is an expert at all forms of armed and unarmed combat, as well as a tried and true Starfleet brat. Born on Earth but rarely around to see it, her parents dragged their family from ship to ship during her childhood. She was a teenager when the Dominion War began, and watched two of her older brothers leave to fight Jem'Hadar invasion troops. Adhira is one of the few minors allowed to stay aboard the USS Triumph with her parents while it serviced with the 7th Fleet during the Dominion War. As such, she is well-experienced with combat situations.
Adhira is good friends with Jim Maxwell, the ships lead MACO. She knew him briefly from school, and was delighted when they were assigned together. Their friendship is platonic, in large part because she sees Maxwell as a replacement for her brothers. Despite her hard edged physicality, Adhira has a wonderful, active sense of humor coupled with an intense sense of duty and loyalty to Starfleet.

Seven Seasons: I have every episode roughly outlined over seven seasons. The basic idea is that Romulan space is wild and heading for an open civil war. Bishop gets pulled into the conflict by accident and stays involved for all seven years. He finds himself slowly trying to put Romulan space back together, building alliances, and negotiating a mine field of Federation and Romulan politics to stabilize the region and bring about a lasting era of peace in the Alpha Quadrant.

My plan this summer is to start writing out the episodes as short stories, one per episode, and release them one a week for a "season," on a website I've yet to create. If anyone would like to read it, I have a roughly 100 page Show Bible that explains the characters, the show, and every episode of the seven seasons. If any Star Trek fans want to read and offer me feedback I'd be appreciative, but I also think any real Star Trek fan would also really love this show. It takes the best of Star Trek (mostly from the 90s) and continue into the modern era. It's already canon in my mind. For those of us desperate for more Star Trek on TV with long term character development and morality plays for plots, this fits the bill.

Edited to add more information on the Command Staff.

[ May 15, 2013, 06:21 PM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]

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Bella Bee
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I like the idea. The plot as described has a DS9 vibe - that was always my favourite ST show.

Plus, secret Romulans. They improve everything.

(Tell me that Granger doesn't wear a catsuit, right? It would be so good if for once nobody had to wear a catsuit. Even if it is only imaginary.)

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Lyrhawn
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No catsuit. She's not T'pol or Seven of Nine. She's maybe not the same kind of Starfleet officer as the others, but she'll still be in a regular Starfleet uniform.

It's very much in the vein of DS9 with more focus on the characters, and with a long running plot arc that covers all the seasons. DS9 was the model I was trying to follow with a lot of this, it's my favorite Trek as well. I did some looking at Babylon 5 as well as far as planning out a show goes. JMS has a lot of advice floating around out there on design.

There are also a lot of "darker" episodes in the vein of DS9. It's close to that in that they have to deal with the same people over and over rather than having new bad guys of the week. The characters aren't quite as starched as Picard, but it does have a lot more Picard-like moral quandaries.

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Corwin
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I hate you.
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narrativium
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Sounds a lot better than Renegades.
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Stephan
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Star Trek being about exploration should definitely take advantage of the catastrophe in Romulan space, the Beta Quadrant. The only part of the galaxy the show has not explored. Assisting the Romulans while exploring this new region is definitely the direction I would take.
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Lyrhawn
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That's actually a big part of Season 6. Ranger gains more access to Romulan space as the show goes on and the conflict deepens and grows and they are able to freely cross the Neutral Zone. In Season 6 they meet a lot of species conquered by the Romulans and then Bishop wrestles with how to negotiate the Prime Directive with regard to conquered species (something never considered during the Federation's long alliance with the Klingons). It's still going to be a bit closer to DS9 in the sense that exploration will play a secondary role, though much more so than in DS9 where there was almost no exploration.

The whole point of the show, beyond the plot, is to explore Romulan society and space in a way that every other major race like the Klingons, Cardassians, Borg etc have gotten from other shows. The Romulans are the last great species shrouded in mystery, and this is about pulling back the covers.

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Samprimary
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which is why it needs a non secret 100 percent romulan on the crew, maybe even as high as the first mate
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Lyrhawn
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Then you end up with Worf, and it becomes more about the culture than the character. Making her half and half, and only having it be a secret for a brief period of time allows identity and character issues to shine through while allowing her to be a vehicle for species exploration.

Having her be a 100% Romulan and First Officer would I think be stretching believability quite a ways. She works better as a young intel officer.

TNG had a full blooded Klingon, but the Klingons as a culture and species weren't really explored until DS9 when they introduced multiple Klingons, personalities and perspectives. Worf was a boring caricature in TNG, and even in a lot of DS9 for his first season until they paired him with Jadzia. Most of his personal development had to do with childhood abuse he suffered as a Klingon amongst humans, and that's less interesting to me this time around than having her serve as a personification of the juxtaposition of humans and Romulans.

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Elison R. Salazar
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I've honestly preferred the idea of a complete reboot and retooling of Star Trek to take up some of the more interesting aspects of Star Wars to better take advantage of some of the implicit bits of Trek.

For example, instead of the Feds, Rommies, Klingons being separate "Space Empires" make them all constituents of a much looser Federation of planets and the mission of the Enterprise and Star Fleet is actually peace keeping, which I believe opens up a huge slew of oppurtunities for the ethical philosophical stuff that Trek does best plus leaves lots of room for pew pew action.

And then you can still throw in the Borg, the Dominion, Pirates, etc as external threats.

So you gots political intrigue, peace keeping, the whole Romulan-Vulcan-Klingon thing going on, the occasional war; you can even do a more solid U.N/Rome analog where sometimes the new Feds actually annex states into the fold who provoked wars against them.

I imagine the Orions would make a great recurring basis for this, Space Afghanistan that raided one Federation border world too many and gets forcibly occupied and annexed; making the Feds a sort of Space!Israel; leaving the protagonists/Enterprise to deal with the occasional Orion space pirate-terrorists.

The main argument is that this works because Federation markets and technology, and the provision of order and stability via Peace Through Superior Firepower will actually after a generation or so staying with the Feds an attractive plausibility.

Think Post-War Japan who for a brief time wanted to become the 49th State; like that or how they joined the United Nations; so a mix of the two.

Rome's early expansion in real history usually comprised of annexing the territory between warring states by invitation and then voting to join soon afterwards because of a skillful use of Sticks vs. Carrots strategy.

In my brain storming I also made it referential in that I made the Enterprise Captain a mix of Kirk & Picard but named him Julian Wiggin to call out to Ender's Game.

Because honestly, what in Star Trek hasn't already been done before with the format? A retool/reenvisioning is vaguely called for at this point.

quote:

Having her be a 100% Romulan and First Officer would I think be stretching believability quite a ways. She works better as a young intel officer.

Not in Star Trek Online where its basically canon you got a faction of Pro-Federation leaning Romulans. ^_^ I <3 Romulans.

Considering that in DS9 it was supposed to be a Thing where the Defiant with a Rehansu cloaking device REQUIRED ABSOLUTELY a Romulan Officer onboard for its extended use, I think it opens up a lot of What-If wankery about how to write in a Romulan first officer from anywhere from Post-Neutral Zone TOS to.... Now....

Edit: I'm actually confused, have you not played Star Trek Online? It's canon y'know since its endorsed by Paramount, a crucial exception to the "Must be Onscreen" rule, since it includes the Rehansu novels and Titan this can only mean good things[tm].

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Lyrhawn
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Well, I would say a couple things to that:

1. If you want Star Wars mixed with Star Trek, watch the new movies. Abrams has said straight up that the movies are basically Star Trek minus the philosophy and high-mindedness dumbed down for mass audiences. I have no interesting in seeing a whole show based on that.

2. DS9 is the best Trek because it focused on the characters more than the plots. You can make a new show using the framework already in place if the characters are interesting.

3. I don't think you need that radical a reimagining to do the things you want to do. Ranger is informed by more recent shows like BSG and political events of the last 15 years, so it's very much current in that regard.

You'd have to read the show bible to see what I mean, but Ranger mixes old with new in some pretty neat and interesting ways, I think. And even if it occasionally recycles, it has great characters that get solid development, which is what really matters.

No, I haven't seen any of Star Trek Online or read any of the books. I'm vaguely aware that they're doing something with Romulans and Sela, but I'm ignoring all that.

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rollainm
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Lyr, you mind if I share this with my pops on facebook? He's about as nuts for Star Trek as you are and I think he'd love this.
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Lyrhawn
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Sure, go ahead. I have to start building a fan base somewhere. [Smile]

If he'd like to read more, I have some material available. I'm working on getting a website up and running in the next month to start promoting before I get to writing.

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Elison R. Salazar
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1. The reboot JJ Abrams movies are just action movies, similar to the original TOS and TNG movies; that is not what I meant by invoking Wars. I meant in having a government that spaned the entire geographical "setting" in terms of radically changing scope not in making things more action-y.

2-3. Characters have to grow, they do things, stuff happens and it cannot be separated from the back drop of what the setting premise is because it vaguely sets the "half life" of how long you can keep things going.

The premise of Trek of an elite group of people in Space handling day to day crisis's in the process of doing some vaguely defined over arcing goal; has been virtually every Trek and by Enterprise we more or less came fully circle and had full episodes outright plagarizing older episodes from the previous shows. The show Terra Nova couldn't even escape it with episodes being rewritten trek scripts.

A good story should work even with all of the proper nouns changed, to use Game Design as an example, don't start with the story. Here, in essence when it comes to thinking how to do a new Star Trek I'ld put off thinking up the story and figure what sort of new emotion or setting your seeking out to explore. Trek is fundamentally an exploratory adventure of the Human Condition, so what do you seek to explore and study that your characters will act as the medium for? Each Trek did something different.

TOS was adventure and exploration for its own sake, reveling in the newness of the unknown and relishing the exciting it brought, like children finally realizing they can drive the car for the first time.

TNG we're older, more responsible, the world is on our shoulders and damnit we must act like it, grapping with so many questions our power brought us that it left us breathless; and humbled.

DS9 had us pondering back to more esoteric and mundane matters, the ethical delemna's of fighting a war for survival, petty politics and war crimes in a supposedly enlightened era. No longer are we concerned with inhuman incomprehensible beings like the Borg but aliens who are ultimately just mirror copies of ourselves, other "ramen" to use OSC's terminology; the prickliness of interacting with what are our equals.

For brevity I'll just say I can come up with something convincing sounding for both Voyager and Enterprise but I have other things that need doing. So I'll ask what emotion, what question do you want your characters to ask, to ponder, to experiment and sometimes fail with?

For me, my radical retooling is meant to satisfy a few urges, namely to have my cake and eat it. Since the whole setting is now self contained within one polity, it means it becomes simultaneously possible to both have Starfleet be innocent adventuring explorers unsullied by the experiences of adults and morally grey peacekeepers, weary with age and endless dilemna's of responsibility of adulthood at the same time with the switch being just a matter from parking the Enterprise from Deep Base 42 to Starbase 13 in however long the plot demands.

In essence, without needing to create wholly new settings it becomes possible to ask every question; to put it simply, I'ld like to combine every trek as a single show, maybe swap between different crews as needed but allow that interaction to take place, allow things to change slowly overtime.

Like in Doctor Who, change ships, change crews and captains as contracts expire with awesome or heartwarming send offs; there's no need for having Star Trek: Blargh Bleargh Number a Number every 9 years or so.

STOChat: You should, its very comprehensive and genuinely good story telling, all my longtime trek friends enjoy it greatly. There's probably a wiki somewhere that can summarize the main stuff. Like the Tholians returning as a major threat.

They have Mecha!

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AchillesHeel
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quote:
Okay, I tricked you a bit to get you in here. There is no new Star Trek
This is all I read. Vengeance will be taken, cold patient vengeance.
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Lyrhawn
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ERS

I see what you mean. I just don't think you need to do your reimagining in order to do it all. Interesting ideas.

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Samprimary
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quote:
Originally posted by Lyrhawn:
Then you end up with Worf, and it becomes more about the culture than the character. Making her half and half, and only having it be a secret for a brief period of time allows identity and character issues to shine through while allowing her to be a vehicle for species exploration.

No way, keep the half and half secret romulan, but also have a straight up romulan. and not part of the initial main cast, either. Has to join after being an initially separate individual.
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Lyrhawn
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quote:
Originally posted by AchillesHeel:
quote:
Okay, I tricked you a bit to get you in here. There is no new Star Trek
This is all I read. Vengeance will be taken, cold patient vengeance.
But this thread COULD be the beginning of new Star Trek! You just have to invest yourself in it.
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Lyrhawn
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quote:
Originally posted by Samprimary:
quote:
Originally posted by Lyrhawn:
Then you end up with Worf, and it becomes more about the culture than the character. Making her half and half, and only having it be a secret for a brief period of time allows identity and character issues to shine through while allowing her to be a vehicle for species exploration.

No way, keep the half and half secret romulan, but also have a straight up romulan. and not part of the initial main cast, either. Has to join after being an initially separate individual.
There are a couple full-blooded Romulan characters who will be regular recurring characters, and a Reman character as well. Praetor Voral will probably be in every third episode or so, and the Tal Shi'ar leader, Primus, will be in maybe a fifth of every season's episodes as another antagonist. By the end of the show they'll practically be full cast members, but not members of the actual crew. Similar to how Weyoun, Damar and Gul Dukat got so much screen time in Seasons 5-7 of DS9, only more so, since Voral actually goes through as much character development as everyone else does.
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Samprimary
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if I'm counting the named crew of the ship right, it's:

human
human
human
human
human
human
praxian
half-romulan half-human

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jebus202
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Throw in a Bajoran, maybe we can get some snippets of post-DS9 info through them.

Edit: Ah, I think you already have one, good call!

[ May 16, 2013, 11:00 AM: Message edited by: jebus202 ]

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Stone_Wolf_
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Read about half before duties called...

Great!

One question...is the main character eldest or have an older brother? Think it contradicts.

Will read more as time allows.

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Dan_Frank
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quote:
Originally posted by Samprimary:
if I'm counting the named crew of the ship right, it's:

human
human
human
human
human
human
praxian
half-romulan half-human

The Conn officer is Bajoran. But they're pretty much humans already, so yeah.
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Elison R. Salazar
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Maybe you can make a adventure game with it.
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Lyrhawn
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quote:
Originally posted by Samprimary:
if I'm counting the named crew of the ship right, it's:

human
human
human
human
human
human
praxian
half-romulan half-human

Yeah, as others have noted:

human
human
human
human
human
bajoran
half-human half-Romulan
praxian

That puts Ranger about average with other Star Trek shows on the ratio of humans to aliens. TOS only had Spock. TNG had Data and Worf. DS9 had Dax and Kira and later Worf (and the Ferengi when you spread out beyond the command staff). VOY had Tuvok, Torres and The Doctor (and Seven/Kes and Neelix when you go beyond the command staff), and ENT had Phlox and T'pol.

We (my creative partner and I) made sure the human characters had a lot of their own diversity as well. Adhira Nash is the first Indian crew member (half Indian half Af-Am, which makes her the second Af-Am after Sisko since Uhura and Geordi were straight up African). Hawking is the first gay crew member. Hayes is black as well. So it's in keeping with the tradition of allowing diversity among humans make up for it not being quite the interspecies love fest of something like Farscape.

There are a number of secondary recurring characters who are non-human, mostly Romulan, that will pop up all the time. But for the command staff, we're coming in at about par.

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Lyrhawn
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quote:
Originally posted by Stone_Wolf_:
Read about half before duties called...

Great!

One question...is the main character eldest or have an older brother? Think it contradicts.

Will read more as time allows.

He has an older brother in Starfleet.
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Lyrhawn
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quote:
Originally posted by Dan_Frank:
quote:
Originally posted by Samprimary:
if I'm counting the named crew of the ship right, it's:

human
human
human
human
human
human
praxian
half-romulan half-human

The Conn officer is Bajoran. But they're pretty much humans already, so yeah.
In looks perhaps, but Bajorans are culturally pretty dramatically different from humans. The Federation has always been portrayed as secular, whereas Bajorans are highly religious. Federation sensibilities abhor terrorist attacks and other things that happened during the Occupation, which I think would color a Bajoran's mindset post-Occupation much differently than a human's. The nose ridges might be a cop out, but I think Kira proved Bajorans aren't just humans with wrinkles.
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Aros
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quote:
Originally posted by Lyrhawn:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Samprimary:
[qb]
That puts Ranger about average with other Star Trek shows on the ratio of humans to aliens. TOS only had Spock. TNG had Data and Worf. DS9 had Dax and Kira and later Worf (and the Ferengi when you spread out beyond the command staff). VOY had Tuvok, Torres and The Doctor (and Seven/Kes and Neelix when you go beyond the command staff), and ENT had Phlox and T'pol.

You forgot. . .
Next Generation: Troi and Guinan
DS9: Odo

Next Generation had 4 humans (Picard, Riker, Geordi, and the doctor) to 3 aliens in the command crew (Worf, Data, Troi) (4:3)

DS9 only had three humans in the command staff (Sisko, Bashir, and O'Brien) to four aliens (Kiera, Odo, Dax, and Worf). Quark is the last to round out the main cast (3 : 5)

Voyager had four humans (Janeway, Chakotay, Paris, and Kim) to three (Tuvok, Torres, and the Doctor). But the rest of the main cast were Kes, Neelix, and Seven. Even if you count Seven as a human, you're still even (5 : 5).

Yes, Enterprise was 5:2, but it was set before the Federation. It's understandably low on aliens in the main cast. But it makes up for it in guest stars.

I think you're racist against aliens.

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Lyrhawn
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Nah we're fine. But you're right about making good use of guest stars.
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Aros
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Really? Based on the other series, it should be at least 50/50.
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Stone_Wolf_
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"but not his mother, who was already nervous about having their eldest son serving as an Ensign on the USS Agrippa."

Oh, I read this wrong.

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Lyrhawn
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quote:
Originally posted by Aros:
Really? Based on the other series, it should be at least 50/50.

Which other series? TOS and TAS were 6:1. 8:1 depending on how many of the other recurring roles you count.

After that it depends on who you count as part of the cast, who you count as a full time member, and whether it matters who is on the command staff and not, and what constitutes a really worthwhile alien. Betazoids were humans with telepathy, Trills were really smart humans with multiple personality disorder. Neither of them really had the fundamental cultural or personality differences that someone like Data or Seven had, where they viewed life from a fundamentally different perspective. I don't see the point in putting in different species just to hit a quota, especially when DS9 and VOY established that 1. Starfleet intentionally made some ships entirely or mostly one race. 2. Humans made up the bulk of Starfleet personnel.

Continuing on though, TNG for the first season had only two aliens in every day roles; Troi and Data. Worf was still a recurring character. And Wesley was in the main cast for the first four seasons. Guinan appeared in a whopping 28 episodes out of 178, which puts her firmly in the recurring character role, rather than that of series regular. So your ratio there is more like 6:2 in the first season, and then 5:3 for a few more.

DS9 is the great outlier because they had so many non-Starfleet characters in the main cast, and I think it worked excellently. Their ratio was lopsided in favor of aliens because they could break outside the Starfleet box, and it was wonderful for pursuing outside perspectives.

Voyager was more even. And ENT was wildly lopsided in favor of humans.

So if you average them all together, you get two shows wildly favoring humans with bare scraps of aliens. One show in favor of humans with decent representation from aliens. One even. And one tipped much more in favor of aliens.

So yeah, I think our representation is fine. If you want aliens just for the sake of aliens, then okay, Maxwell is now a Risian. Done and done.

Correction: Maxwell is now half-Risian. His father was basically on shore leave from a Starfleet ship, got his mom pregnant, and then married her. He was killed during the Dominion War, so Maxwell was raised largely on Risa, but with a human sensibility that challenges some of their more hippie sexually liberated ways.

[ May 16, 2013, 09:56 PM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]

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Jeff C.
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Abrams recently said he wanted to get a TV show off the ground, but couldn't because the rights for a show were locked in by CBS. The films are owned by Paramount. Because of this issue, it is unlikely we'll see one for at least a few years.
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Samprimary
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i think you don't want aliens for the sake of aliens, but because of the opportunities they create for episodic development.

i have been getting in way too many discussions about this, but hey i already know I'm crazy. universal sentiment is that story needs to involve a Romulan becoming primary cast and command crew. too much potential.

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Lyrhawn
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I agree, I just think Granger fills that role perfectly. You'd have to see the episodes, but Granger is a heavy focus of the show, so her status as a Romulan is a pretty central point. I don't think they need to kidnap a Romulan and bring him into the crew.

Besides, there are several other Romulan characters who became series regulars later on who represent a more straight up, unadulterated Romulan point of view.

You're right about the potential, and that base is totally covered.

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jebus202
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I don't think there's much need for a full Romulan once the secret about the half Romulan is revealed. Since you're going to have a lot of Romulan antagonists and recurring characters, it would just seem like too much Romulan going on.
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Darth_Mauve
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I like the idea, and more importantly, the time and effort put into fleshing it out.

I have my own idea for a reboot, but everyone will hate it. Its more of a book series anyway.

"Free Enterprise".

It stars Ferengi. Don't forget that the Ferengi were one of the most powerful and feared players in the quadrant. People do forget that easily. Cisco should have purchased some of their mercenaries for the final battles of the Dominion War, (the Nagas likes him) but they didn't want to go there.

I take a Ferengi Captain who is in trouble at home. He is too liberal, focusing on the "Fun of Profit" and the "Adventure of the Sale" more than Ferengi racism. He doesn't see other people as mere customers to cheat, but clients to work with.

His crew consists of not the best Ferengi who could buy their way on board, but the best people to fill the jobs for the best wage.

So you have Captain Zeir--adventurous Capitalist.

Xen--First Officer/Accountant. The Ferengi Moral Center keeping the captain from being too adventerous.

Nathaniel Mudd-- Salesman and descendent of the only human the Ferengi ever considered truly great. He is also the owner of...

The Hologram Zephrym Mudd--Navigator of the Neutral Zone before his death, and father of the CEO of Mudd Enterprises--the third largest trading conglomerate in Federation Space. Zephrym traded to the planets in the Neutral Zone for decades. This hologram is the only thing Nathan wanted from his very rich family, as he promised his grandfather--Zephrym--that Nathan Mudd would earn his fortune--the fun way.

Bartok Dirg--Science officer and Klingon. Klingon Science has trailed behind Federation and Romulan Science, as unless you are making weapons, it is considered a cowardly career. Bartok wants to explore, but on his own terms and Zeir allows him those terms as long as a profit is produced.

Ko Tier--Vulcan Defense officer. Grand Chess Master, cold blooded, efficient assassin and secretly a Romulan. What his mission is, and why he is here is not clear yet. However the Free Enterprise (the name of the ship) is headed into the Neutral Zone for trading purposes.

Belloona Sine--Betazoid Medical Officer. Medicine on Betazed is not a common profession. To be a doctor you have to be with people in pain, talk to people in pain, and find where that pain resides. For a telepath, that means living in a world of pain. Doctors on Betazed are treated with great respect for such sacrifice. Some doctors, centuries ago, discovered a way to survive the constant pain. With meditation, practice, and a bit of neurosurgery they have transferred the pain others feel, and they themselves feel into joy or ecstasy that they themselves feel. The result is such doctors enjoy working with the Betazoids in pain. The problem is that several began increasing the pain that others felt in order to increase their own pleasure. With in a century this practice was made illegal and all such doctors were removed from practice. Belloona secretly became such a doctor to help with her medical practice on Betazoid. Her secret, like most secrets on Betazoid, soon came out. She has been exiled to earn a living as best she can outside of Betazed.

The story begins as Nathan Mudd has to prove to the suspicious Ferengi that his Hologram can be the perfect navigator for the Neutral Zone, but that his is a great salesman. Unfortunately some Cardasian Merchants thought they had bought the hologram first, and want it back. The Ferengi Trade Association considers Captain Zeir a threat and have sent assassins of their own, Zephrym made a few enemies when he worked the Neutral Zone--like the Romulan Empire--and Captain Zeir has a few plans of his own that would be considered Capital Crimes on Romulus. There is more than one way to count profit.

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Samprimary
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is the ship called the "Invisible Hand"
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Lyrhawn
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quote:
Originally posted by jebus202:
I don't think there's much need for a full Romulan once the secret about the half Romulan is revealed. Since you're going to have a lot of Romulan antagonists and recurring characters, it would just seem like too much Romulan going on.

Right. Exactly. Her identity is revealed in Season 3 episode 6 in a pretty dramatic three episode arc. So there are four and a half seasons with her on the ship as an open half-Romulan.
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Lyrhawn
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Darth Mauve -

I like the eclectic crew, and I like that it's not based on a Federation ship (which is why it'd never make it to TV, at least). But I think it'd make a really interesting book series.

We bring back Mudd for one episode in Ranger. I never saw the TOS episode he was in, but clearly people remember him.

We also have a sort of bumbling Ferengi villain used for occasional comic relief. Ferengi have been made a lot more cartoonish since TNG, but it wouldn't take much to make them fearsome again. We all just need to forget about "The Magnificent Ferengi."

I'll be honest in that I don't think I'd watch that show on TV, but I'd maybe read about it. It's not so much a reboot as it is just an expansion based on the existing universe.

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Parkour
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Lyrhawn, I hate you. This thread is responsible for us all now constantly discussing star trek. We already got through the part where we have to educate useless morons who don't understand that DS9 is the best series. Now we are all debating this not real trek series.
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Lyrhawn
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Just because it's not sanctioned by CBS doesn't mean it can't be real to us. [Smile]

Maybe you'll change your mind when you start reading the episodes later this summer.

I don't know about you, but I need my classic Trek fix.

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Parkour
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the entire thing has now been discussed three nights in a row. we here at the Ministry have committed ourselves to making a few cases for a few things.
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Elison R. Salazar
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Well "not being sanctioned" doesn't stop a lot of manga/doujinshi writers from writing fiction (in a visual medium) as good as any good original work I've ever read. If you really wanted to make this work, either as a game, manga, visual novel or so on I don't think anyone would stop you.

And your work would always be applicable later down the line as artistic and creative experience.

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Lyrhawn
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I'm not worried about legal action or anything. Star Trek has always been really tolerant of fan created material, especially original material set in the universe. So long as I don't directly commercialize the stories themselves, I don't think I'll have a problem.

They also allow people to make money off fan made art and things on places like Etsy, so I actually do think I might find a way to partially monetize it.

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Samprimary
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quote:
Originally posted by Lyrhawn:

I don't know about you, but I need my classic Trek fix.

It's no trek show, but Star Trek Online just released the many-years-in-the-making expansion.

its feature: romulans come to the game.

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/7172/stow.jpg

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Lyrhawn
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Yeah I'm actually kind of annoyed by that. I've spent the last six months in my free time developing the Romulans as the chief antagonist of my own little slice of Star Trek, and they come in and steal all my thunder.

Oh well, I still think mine is better.

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Samprimary
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well you might as well play through the intro and find out what happens to the romulans after the a-blowed-up of romulus

here, i took a picture

http://i.imgur.com/9dp8wXB.png

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Lyrhawn
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They built themselves a really nice martini bar?
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Samprimary
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damn straight they did
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