How would you improve Star Trek? Seriously

[Neo]

The original Star Trek series got an Emmy nod for Best Dramatic Series. The Star Trek animated series got a Daytime Emmy nod for Best Children's Entertainment. Star Trek: The Next Generation got an Emmy nod for Best Dramatic Series in 1994. But ever since, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and now, Enterprise, has never gotten such prestigious nods. Sure, we've won many makeup and cinematography awards, but not ones for actors, writing, series and such.

How would you improve Star Trek? For instance, what would you do to make the current Enterprise series get a nod for Best Dramatic Series in a few years?

 

[ray gower]

I think I would look at the continuity more.

Use the episodes to weave a story, not just an event to be got over. Events should have a cause and effect that carries from show to show.

Broken Bow was good because there was time for the actors to hint there was something behind their characters. It added a little drama and feel.
It started to happen in DS9, but too late, everybody had given up. It rarely appeared in Voyager after the second show, because it was always so rushed, when it did it brought some excellent shows

 

[Dave]

I would agree with Ray, they would need to weave story arcs and not finish every story each week to start again afresh the next week.

Unfortunately, they won't do this, because they think that they will lose viewers who don't watch every episode and cannot follow the convoluted plot.

My reaction to this is disbelief. Firstly, real fans never miss an episode.

Secondly, soap operas have huge followings, and no one complains about them doing exactly this.

Thirdly, why can't they make use of "ON THE LAST EPISODE OF STAR TREK....." Other shows do this, but Star Trek rarely does.

Fourthly, do they think the audience is so stupid it cannot follow a plot when they do miss an episode?

 

[Cpt Larraq]

There should be no technobabble. If the science is not realistic than there is no purpose in keeping it there. Keep it simple.
I think there should be a spin-off series that branches off from convention. Instead of a ship on a mission of peaceful exploration how about a Federation Captain who broke off from the Federation and assumed rogue status. A captain who would do anything to assure his/her survival.

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by Cpt Larraq
Instead of a ship on a mission peaceful exploration how about a Federation Captain who broke off from the Federation and assumed rogue status. A captain who would do anything to assure his/her survival.

Just like Voyager could have been... If only...

 

[ray gower]

It would have added an interesting theme to Voyager. As Capt Kate had to slide from her high moral horse and started to become nearer to Equinox's Captain as she struggles to hold things together.

At least she would have changed in some way

 

[rde]

Simplest, easies, most practical answer: give creative control to J. Michael Straczynski.

 

[ray gower]

Sorry for being thick but who is the foreign geezer?

 

[Tabitha]

Originally posted by ray gower
Sorry for being thick but who is the foreign geezer?

Do you mean J. Michael Straczynski? If so, he is most famously known as the creator of Babylon 5 (I am 99% sure he is from the US). He has also written various comics (I am currently reading Rising Stars - it's great!) and the new show "Jeremiah".

I believe he tried to get Paramount interested in B5, and there is some (heated!) discussion as to whether his idea was actually the genesis of DS9 - which came out at roughly the same time.


As for how I would improve ST? Um, I don't know - I am not very good with original ideas, but I would definitely have to agree with Dave and Ray about introducing more of an arc.

 

[ray gower]

Thanks

Babylon 5 was dark and moody. I don't think it would suit P/mounts rose tinted glasses if it set off too far along that route. Still it would be different from having the same tired crew and their tired ideas at the helm.

 

[Tabitha]

n/p

Trek could do with a bit of darkness IMO...

I have just had another idea - what about a moratorium on heavily overused themes like transporter incidents?

 

[Dave]

You've been making me laugh with this "Foreign Geezer" stuff!

 

[Cpt Larraq]

What Trek needs is darkness and lots of it. None of this utopian future fantasy garbage. I bet there are plenty of cracks in the Federation facade, I doubt the organisation is perfect. I would like to see a Section 31 spin-off series.

 

[ray gower]

I agree the Star Trek Universe looks too perfect.

Star Trek is conceived as a hopeful show, but there are a lot of cracks there- DS9 showed them and Insurrection was about a crack in their perfect universe.

I do not think it needs to be turned into something gloomy like Babylon 5 or Farscape.

 

[Cpt Larraq]

Yes but the ideas of a perfect future are boring, unoriginal and samey. A darker show might just be the thing to break the mould.

 

[ray gower]

I've actually watched a couple of episodes of Andromeda. (Viet-Taf TV sneaked it in to their schedules, hoping nobody would notice). In terms of corn it took me back thirty years!

What has this to do with improving Star Trek?

Easy.

Star Trek has grown up, despite attempts to dumb it down so that it appeals to the younger market and Americans.
It must never go back to the glib plot holes, miraculous discoveries and 'You didn't know this, but I knew you were a spy before I met you,' solutions, no matter how much the producers would like it to. Andromeda does it better, because it has no past.

Use its maturity over the others to add depth and drama and advance the concept of Sci-Fi to a different more mature audience.

 

[Cpt Larraq]

Originally posted by ray gower
I've actually watched a couple of episodes of Andromeda. (Viet-Taf TV sneaked it in to their schedules, hoping nobody would notice). In terms of corn it took me back thirty years!

What has this to do with improving Star Trek?

Easy.

Star Trek has grown up, despite attempts to dumb it down so that it appeals to the younger market and Americans.
It must never go back to the glib plot holes, miraculous discoveries and 'You didn't know this, but I knew you were a spy before I met you,' solutions, no matter how much the producers would like it to. Andromeda does it better, because it has no past.

Use its maturity over the others to add depth and drama and advance the concept of Sci-Fi to a different more mature audience.

And yet Farscape is still a better show than Star Trek by miles.

 

[ray gower]

Farscape is not American.

It is an Australian/British(?) production. Filmed for a, dare I say, more sophisticated market.

It is drama based, and it shows. Though recent episodes have become a little weird. I understand it is also a lot cheaper.

As I said Star Trek is/has been 'dumbed down' for a low level denominator and has not been allowed to 'grow'.

 

[Cpt Larraq]

Farscape is an Australian/American production. It's financed by the Science Fiction channel, an American cable-network. The British quotient doesn't exsist. It went out in the beginning.

 

[ray gower]

Thanks for the correction. But the earlier comment still applies