Series VI?!?

[Wizdoc]

There was a thread on the board about how us RPG writers could probably better than the current writers of Star Trek and about sending a letter regarding the matter to Paramount. The original thread (entitled Totally Insane Idea) can be found here: http://www.trekrpg.net/Board/ubb/For...ML/000633.html

All right, here's the deal. I've been following the scriptwriting business for a long while now and the whole thing goes like this:

1. Paramount DOES accept teleplays from outside sources, even without an agent (AFAIK being the only show that does). Just order the appropriate release form and the writer's kit from them and hammer down a spec script - that is writing a "speculative script" for the show, a sort of measure of your abilities to write for the show in question. Then just send your spec to the show's script coordinator.

But please note that the Writers Guild of America has absolutely nothing to do with SAG (which is the Screen Actors Guild) - except that both of them seem to go on a strike. If you want to work for Paramount, you'll HAVE to be part of WGA, otherwise they can't hire you, it's the law. So, if the WGA goes on strike, Paramount can't hire you, even if they wanted. Exception to all this being spec scripting mentioned aboved. After a successful sale (ie. they buy your spec), you're eglible to join WGA (check www.wga.org for more details).

2. Every TV show in the world gets hundreds of letters a month saying: "Me and my buddies can write much better than the crap you're currently producing." Sometimes that's true, most of the time not. Sending them a letter with that kind of claim only shows the kind of unprofessionalism which is frowned upon in the industry.

3. To write to Star Trek, you'll have to wait for Series V. Voyager no longer accepts spec scripts and will do all the last season writing in-house (as did DS9).

However

All is not lost. There IS an excellent idea behind all this. We could make a Trek series of our own. Sort of like a fan fic series, structured in an episodic format like all the one hour dramas - including Star Trek. Think of it as a virtual Series V (or more appropriately VI). If nothing more than just to prove that there ARE quality writers out here that can write good Star Trek episodes.

The industry is very fond of playing by the rules, so we'll play. Every episode is properly formatted (a teaser & five acts, industry standard teleplay text etc.). And we throw the best ball we can. And it will be Star Trek, only exception that we can have a all the story arcs and plot twists we want. Only requirement to get your teleplay as part of the series would be the ability to format the text in industry standard... and show appreciation to the continuity of the series and the Trek mythology altogether.

All we need is an intriguing basic setting, a series bible and someone to coordinate the whole effort (being sort of like Executive Producer). And a teleplay of a two-hour series pilot to get the ball rolling.

Any thoughts on the idea?


Wizdoc

[This message has been edited by Wizdoc (edited 01-25-2001).]

[First of Two]

You mean a series concept?
Well, okay.

*Note: This may sound like New Frontier, but it's an idea I came up with before I'd started reading the books, and have been planning to implement in my own game. Honest.*

A few years after the Dominion War.

The Romulan Empire, unable to recoup from the physical, fleet, and economic losses suffered during the war, due to their exceedingly insular culture, has collapsed.

The Empire has split into many factions, including Old Guard Romulan Imperialists, The Tal Shiar, new wannabe Emperors, and the Unificationists, each controlling their own planets or territories.

Meanwhile, oter formerly Rom-dominated servitor worlds are freeing themselves, some seeking to start up their own empires, some just wanting to be left alone.

The Power (Taurhai Unity, or whoever) on the far side of Romulan space that spurred that famous line in TNG: The Neutral Zone; "matters of greater urgency caused our absence," returns.

Into this powder keg flies your ship, going into what were previously no-go zones, trying to help keep the peace, at the behest of one of the more Federation-friendly Romulan factions. But as to whether your Romulan guide has his OWN agenda...

This gives you a lot of potential for conflict, as well as recurring characters, new threats, old threats, etc.

[Wizdoc]

The series concept is the first, but probably the most important part of the actual series bible. The bible itself basically contains everything a writer needs to know to be able to write for a show. Character bios, location descriptions, the setting, and so on and so on.


Wizdoc

[Cmmdr JT Wayland]

I still think, and will continue to say it until I'm blue in the face, that any new series should continue on from the end of DS9 and should explore the post-Dominion War situation in all facets of the the Star Wars Universe.
As for the series concept, I believe it should follow the Adventures of a Starship, say an Akira or Soverign (or new ship with the capablities of both classes,e.g. a Heavy Explorer and Strike Carrier, I'm sorry, but I regard the Akira class as Strike Carrier rather than Heavy Cruisers); which is used as both a Fast Reaction Ship in a Fire Brigade roll and as a traditional explorer class vessel.
I aslo think, that they should explore the tensions between the various generations of Starfleet Personnel: those who were the pre-war fleet, the personnel who served in Starfleet during the war, and those who careers effectively started after the war, e.g. newly commissioned ensigns or even cadets in their fourth year.
I have been reading many of the adventure ideas and campaigns that I have been posted on this board and many of them are set in this post-Dominion War Situation. Perhaps, either for own entertainment, or even if we make our own submission to Paramount, we develop our own (possibly non-canon) post-Dominion War Campaign Time-line/ Future History. Especially, if as rumours suggest, if the new series is about the Birth of the Federation in 2160.
Any body agree with me or not?


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"Those Klingons are up to something, I can feel it in my bones"
Cmmdr JT Wayland
Strategic Operations Officer, Starbase 415, Dragomer Sector, Klingon Border, 2372

[Caretaker]

Actually, the Romulan idea isn't half bad. But, I would make it a different ship... an Akira seems too small, I think, and the Sovereign just would not work as well on the small screen. I would almost say use an upgraded Excelsior-class vessel.

Also, while I am not suggesting that this proposed series be planned as intricately as Babylon 5, I would say that one should look at the beginning where you are starting from and plan where you want to be in terms of the adventures, missions, etc. by the end of the season, and fill in the gaps.

[Hugh Casey]

My personal belief is that ST has to move in a new direction or it will atrophy. We've done Starfleet exploring for the federation (TOS), Starfleet adventure IN the Federation (TNG), Starfleet based in one location (DS9) and Starfleet flung far from the Federation trying to get home (VOY). Now, in order to decide what new direction we want to move, let's look at the common element in all of the previous shows...

Starfleet.

If we (they) want to do something different, they should do a non-starfleet show. Normal (or abnormal, as the case may be) citizens of the galaxy, involved in the conflicts that would normally come about in thier line of work.

If this sounds boring, then just think about what most TV shows are about... doctors (E.R.), lawyers (The Practice), cops (NYPD Blue), lawyers and cops (Law & Order, the best show on TV), bartenders (Cheers), and other ordinary people in ordinary jobs. It's the storys and the characters that make the show, not the enviroment. You can foster confict anywhere.

How about a show about the crew of a civilian ship? The captain is ex-starfleet, who perhaps left SF in disgrace. The owner of the ship is a ferengi or orion who used to be a prominent businessman, but who lost everything to a rival (a brother perhaps?), and the only assets he was able to salvage was an old Klingon BOP. He needs the captain, the captain needs him, but they don't get along. The rest of the crew are a group of misfits and "losers", each seeking his/her own brand of redemption.

Hmmmm... "Star Trek: Redemption"?

Give other characters in the show interesting backgrounds that will allow for plenty of story ideas, for example...

A "Vulcan" who is hiding the fact that he/she is actually a rogue Tal Shiar agent.

The Klingon whose house was dishonored, and is seeking revenge.

The Pakled engineer, who is not too bright, but his a genius/savant in the engine room (RAINMAN in space... or Sewer Urchin from the TICK "Definitly... down here, I'm the apotheosis of cool.")

The former Maquis, just released from prison (maybe the captain?)

The stoic andorian, who left his/her home in grief after the disappearance of his/her family.

The ex-Obsidian Order Cardassian, who is harboring a dangerous secret (war crimes, perhaps?).

And the list goes on and on.

Perhaps they are trying to scrounge a living any way they can. One week they're merchantmen hauling cargo (which turns out to be contraband, of course), the next they're hired for a corporate survey mission (which turns dangerous, of course), and the next they're on a search and rescue mission (and they weren't told the truth about it, of course). Wide range of stories, and plenty of room for character development.

I think that a show like this could be much more character intensive than other ST shows, perhaps more like B5 or Farscape. I'd like to see more Char. Dev. in ST, esp. since we've seen next to none in VOY (Doctor and Seven excluded), and in most of the other series (DS9 excluded), the characters tend to suffer at the expense of the plot.

Let me know what you think.

Hugh Casey

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"Sell your soul to the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society... ASK ME HOW!"

[This message has been edited by Hugh Casey (edited 01-25-2001).]

[Delta]

Not a bad idea Hugh. You initial list of characters contains a least one seasons worth of episodes!

Your assessment of the future of Star Trek is, IMO, right on the money. Star Trek needs an infusion of fresh blood, and your non-Starfleet concept is it. Don't get me wrong, I love Starfleet and what it stands for. But I love the Star Trek universe even more. Such a series will probe deeper into the Star Trek universe than any Starfleet-based series could ever do.

[Lolth-org]

This Star Trek: Redemption(?) idea has a spirit that is there. Besides you can always have starfleet pop up occassionally. Just think, Riker missed his ride and the "tramp steamer" is there to give him a ride. They dock at DS9 for a layover/pickup/whatever. A few ideas to keep a little continuity in the trek universe.

I just don't like the idea of an old BOP, unless it was stripped down of almost everything of importance, maybe a new paint job. Hmmmmm, actually that might work.
All you need now is a name for the ship.

Oh yeah, don't have too many dark secrets in a crew, other wise everyone will be too suspicous of each other.


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The pain, the pain. I think a neuron
just short circuited. *thud*

[Caretaker]

Well, there is another possibility for a new series. Call me crazy, but it just might work. Get a load of this...


There is a starship whose crew runs into an Angosian ambush near a mysterious anomaly. The captain realizes that chances of surviving are slim-to-none, so he evacuates most of his crew. The ship gets stuck in the anomaly, but is rescued by a freighter crew 300 years or so later. Unfortunately, the Federation has long since been destroyed. So the captain takes the freighter crew as his own after saving their lives from an evil Orion space pimp, and vows to restore the Federation.

I think it's an original idea. Just kidding.

[Chris Blanchard]

Originally posted by Lolth-org:
I just don't like the idea of an old BOP, unless it was stripped down of almost everything of importance, maybe a new paint job. Hmmmmm, actually that might work.
All you need now is a name for the ship.

Why not call it the Redemption? I know that's the standard for naming shows in Trek (after the ship), but if the Captain is an ex-SF officer, his naming the ship the Redemption would be a bitter irony.

Chris

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God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

[Sarge]

Caretaker, you're a "freakin' genius"!

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<<<<

LUGTrek isn't really dead. Not as long as we remember it.

[Cmmdr JT Wayland]

Hugh,
I also totally agree with you on your "Redemption" concept for the new Star Trek Series. A series in which they explore the Shadows and fringes of the Galactic Society would be a substantial and refreshing change of direction.
As for the Captain and Crew, I have had an idea. I know in another Thread, I speculated on the fate of Captain Erika Benteen, Admiral Layton's Protage at the time of the attempted Coupe. But how about using her as the new Captain, especially in the political and economic chaos immediately after the Dominion War.
In this situation, Captain Benteen could be the total oposite of what She was, a semi-alcholic and bedraggled tramp freighter captain existing of the fringes of society. In the new series, it could be the story of her redemption. Suppose, She and crew are Sometimes deniable Starfleet Intelligence and Security assets, who carry out some dangerous and deniable missions.
Sometimes against other Goverments, both major and minor, sometime on behalf of them as well as Operations for/against crime, both organised and not. In this series, the goal she is trying to achieve is reinstatement in Starfleet.
As the series continues, She might in fact endup comanding a small Starfleet vessel, say an old Light Cruiser or Escort. In fact, the Ship she might have is an old decommisioned Capella class Light Escort.
Any suggestions, anyone?

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"Those Klingons are up to something, I can feel it in my bones"
Cmmdr JT Wayland
Strategic Operations Officer, Starbase 415, Dragomer Sector, Klingon Border, 2372

[Wizdoc]

You all make excellent points and have interesting ideas for the virtual Trek series.

But instead of fragmentizing this discussion in many different forums (I started this same thread at TrekBBS), we should continue it in a centralized place. So, I invite you all to pitch in your ideas at TrekBBS Fan Fic forum thread, here:
http://trekbbs.com/ubb/Forum14/HTML/000744.html


Wizdoc

[This message has been edited by Wizdoc (edited 01-26-2001).]

[AslanC]

Hey just a thought, but you could use the Orion Sydicates...that would be very, very cool.

Imagine the scenes of dealinw tih these Orion pirate princes and their goons. I see Nausicans and Andorians and Klingons and others...oh my!

[Hugh Casey]

Hey this is fun!

The captain (who we will temporarily name Jack Neuman) was drummed out of SF because of certain "excesses" during the Dominion War (heat of the moment sort of thing... he feels guilty as hell about it). He hasn't been hitting the bottle (much), but he has been on the skids. Until he meets...

"DaiMon" Rosk, a Ferengi who at one time was master of a decently sized merchant fleet, and even had a Maurauder as his flagship, until his business was destroyed in a hostile takeover by an Orion merchant prince (and member of the Syndicate), who will become a semi-regular recurring antagonist. All he has left is one ship, a beat up Klingon BOP... it needs repairs, paint, a new warp core, etc. And Rosk, while a magnificent businessman (businessFerengi?), is no ship's crewman, let alone a captain. And Mr. Neuman is a captain... and he comes cheap.

But first, they need a crew... and that will be the subject of my next post!

Hugh


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"Sell your soul to the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society... ASK ME HOW!"