Ideal TV Show Characters

[Ineti]

Er, the theme was covered in the original post:

If you absolutely must have a setting idea, I suggest the USS Sovereign on an exploratory mission along the Alpha Quadrant frontier of the Federation. It will give us a general baseline to work on the characters.

I don't think there needs to be much else known. We got a ship, we got a place, we got a crew. Adventures to follow!

Incidentally, once we've hashed out the crew, what do we do with it? Look at it and say, that was a fun exercise?

[Silverthorne]

I see a problem with a full perapelgic(SP?) even though I have nothing against the physically challenged, There would be situations that the person in question would be the best qualified to go on an away team, but not allowed becuase of the planets terrain. Unless they had some supped up hover chair that could raise and lower its self to move along a surface, that would also have problems because of extreem heights.

Captain: We need a way up this wall, where is the science officer.

SO: Here captian.

Captian: I want you to float up this 1/2 mile cliff and take Ensign 3 up with you.

... few hours later

Catptain: OK, Ensign 3 says its clear, SO start ferrying everyone up the cliff.

Would get old quick... I would limit the chair to only the the weight of the person in it, and only about 10 foot up. but then there would be problems with terrain..

[kimq]

WOW! I got a lot of responding to do. I'll address each person in turn.

Perrryyy,
I'm not sold on the energy being concept. The audience needs to connect with the character and their disability. The closest connection they can feel would be with a parapalegic because this kind of thing is relatively common in our time. Even though Melora had her own disabilities, she was only a one-shot character. Story wise she was more of a nod towards disabability but certainly not an exploration. I certainly like the parapalegic concept more.

Sea Tyger (Cardassian),
The roots of the concept are excellent. I would suggest removing the part about willing to experience new things. The reason for this is that he becomes too Garak/Dr Phlox. Perhaps a harder Cardassian demeanor but not necessarily the nature of his heart?

Sea Tyger (Centauran),
Excellent character. The only part I have problems with is the defeat of TWO Dominion vessels with a damaged Galaxy-class. It seems a bit too far fetched. I can see him being a part of the officers who fended off Jem'Hadar boarding parties, but the exact number of parties is really not that important. By getting in the trenches with the troops, he shows a certain strength. The inclusion of an exact number detracts from the imagination of the audience in this case. At least, IMO. I could be wrong.

Lancer,
I believe creating the characters first will give us the springboard to consider theme and plot. Some people go about things with theme and plot in mind, but I've decided to do it this way. By no means are you raining on anyone's parade, it's just that the creation process for some people is different than others.

Ineti,
Once the characters are created, I have several other threads I want to start. Consider this a work in progress. Do I have a destination in mind? Yes, I do. Am I ready to share it with everyone? No I'm not. Will it be cool? That depends on your perspective, but I think those positively involved will find it very cool.

Silverthorne,
I agree with the overuse of the hoverchair. It must be limited to basic functions - transporting others, phasers, and personal shielding is a bit much. I see it as a kind of readily-accessible mini science lab for the character and a mode of slow transportation (no more than a slow jog at maximum speed). The character still needs to be disabled onscreen and they should not be overshadowed by the chair.

Overall,
Those people who are still considering some kind of CGI respresentation of characters or parts of characters need to consider the cost factor. What kind of impact would that kind of thing have on each episode's budget? Odo was cool in that he didn't constantly shapeshift each and every episode. Imagine an energy creature or Kaitan where their presence would require CGI every episode. That would get rather costly, eh?

We still have character concepts that need development. Captain Leana Craig, would you be willing to do the engineer? Ineti/qerlin, would you be willing to do the XO? First of Two, would you be willing to do conn/ops? Sea Tyger, would you be willing to do Dr Selar? Joe Dizzy, would you be willing to do the diplomatic attache?

[Ineti]

Originally posted by kimq
Once the characters are created, I have several other threads I want to start. Consider this a work in progress. Do I have a destination in mind? Yes, I do. Am I ready to share it with everyone? No I'm not. Will it be cool? That depends on your perspective, but I think those positively involved will find it very cool.

Ooooh, I love mysteries.

Can you answer this - Should I be dusting off my Word teleplay template?

Oh, and I'm game for taking a crack at the XO, though I know nothing about Andorians other than they're blue, they have white hair, antennae, and a foul attitude.

Incidentally, this thread is exactly what Piller and Berman did for DS9. If you've read the Making of DS9, it's all in there. Time for us to get some cheap chicken.

[kimq]

Ooooh, I love mysteries.

Can you answer this - Should I be dusting off my Word teleplay template?

Not unless it's for another purpose.

Oh, and I'm game for taking a crack at the XO, though I know nothing about Andorians other than they're blue, they have white hair, antennae, and a foul attitude.

Consider only everything you have seen ONSCREEN! If you have read it, do not consider it. This goes for everyone else.

Incidentally, this thread is exactly what Piller and Berman did for DS9. If you've read the Making of DS9, it's all in there. Time for us to get some cheap chicken.

Really? They did that?! Cool!

Um, cheap chicken?

[calguard66]

The Amazon space bikini babes of the USS Cabanna... Captain Seven-of-Nine commanding.... and me as the bartender.

Originally posted by kimq
Let’s say you had a chance to design a new Starfleet TV show set a few months after the return of Voyager. Ignore plot, setting, continuity, and theme for now – I’ll start those threads in the future. What kind of characters would you consider to be your ideal archtypes? Once an archtype has been determined, what kind of quirks would you give the character to make them a unique person? What kind of character interaction strings would you have between the various main characters? What are their names and ranks?

I see this an opportuntity for all of us to get together and hash out a generally accepted group of characters. I know that there will be conflict in this concept and not everyone will be happy, but I’m interested to see if we Trekkers/Trekkies have a common ideal among us. The first step is deciding on the main characters for the show.

If you absolutely must have a setting idea, I suggest the USS Sovereign on an exploratory mission along the Alpha Quadrant frontier of the Federation. It will give us a general baseline to work on the characters.

[Sea Tyger]

Originally posted by kimq
Sea Tyger (Cardassian),
The roots of the concept are excellent. I would suggest removing the part about willing to experience new things. The reason for this is that he becomes too Garak/Dr Phlox. Perhaps a harder Cardassian demeanor but not necessarily the nature of his heart?

Sea Tyger (Centauran),
Excellent character. The only part I have problems with is the defeat of TWO Dominion vessels with a damaged Galaxy-class.

I have adjusted both characters as per your suggestions. Dokar now has a tendency to retreat into his "Cardassian" pride and rigid beliefs, and I've toned down the battle info on the captain.

...would you be willing to do Dr Selar? Joe Dizzy, would you be willing to do the diplomatic attache?

Aye, aye, Kim! I'll work on that today.

[Ineti]

On screen only? Perfect. I have to do the same thing when writing stories for the Strange New Worlds contest, so I'm already in that mindset.

As for the teleplay, I was thinking once the characters and stories were in place, you might be thinking of writing "what if" teleplays, as if we were doing a series. I guessed wrong.

Piller and Berman went back and forth with memoes for months hashing out character ideas, much like we're doing here.

Cheap chicken - take-out food for brainstorming sessions.

[Sea Tyger]

Name: Selar
Age: 41
Species: Vulcan
Gender: Female

Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Organization: Starfleet
Position: Chief Medical Officer

The daughter of Vulcan merchants, Selar was born on Starbase 171 (where her parents based their freighter). Although she spent much of her time in transit from one planet to another, the young Vulcan remained studious. Her mother pushed her towards a "non-mercantile" profession, and Selar developed an aptitude for life science and medicine, and applied to Starfleet Academy.

Receiving her medical degree in 2364, Lt. Selar immediately transferred to the Galaxy-class explorer, USS Enterprise, under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. She served under Doctors Crusher and Pulaski in her eight years with the Enterprise, transferring to the Vulcan Defense Force Medical Command in 2371, to have a child with her husband.

Following the seven-year sabbatical, Dr. Selar reactivated her commission, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and assigned to USS Sovereign as chief medical officer.

Notes: Selar is the protypical Vulcan. Her demeanor is cool and dispassionate, and her bedside manner is quite "dry." She has a broad knowledge of planets and species within the Alpha and Beta quadrants (given her travels in her youth), and is quite savvy when it comes to business (she actually haggles very well...although she does so "logically").

Here are the notes for Selar off the StarTrek.com website (Paramount copyright 2002):

A Vulcan medical doctor in Starfleet who was part of the U.S.S. Enterprise crew for its eight-year history, under both Crusher and Pulaski. In her mostly visible role, she surreptitiously diagnosed Dr. Ira Graves' Darnay disease in 2365. A nurse was told to have Selar run a bio-spectral analysis back aboard ship on Ned Quint's dead body during the Ronin intrigue. Dr. Crusher relayed an order to have her set up a special ward after a diplomatic incident leaves casualties near Lenaria; she was paged along with Dr. Hacopian when Crusher suspected a viral epidemic in 2370, and was on duty when her CMO was relieved of duty and telling Guinan about it over the Ferengi autopsy flap.

[Joe Dizzy]

Originally posted by kimq
Joe Dizzy, would you be willing to do the diplomatic attache?

Sure thing. Though my weekend is particularly crowded. So I probably won't get around to do it till monday.

[Perrryyy]

Originally posted by kimq
WOW! I got a lot of responding to do. I'll address each person in turn.

Perrryyy,
I'm not sold on the energy being concept. The audience needs to connect with the character and their disability. The closest connection they can feel would be with a parapalegic because this kind of thing is relatively common in our time. Even though Melora had her own disabilities, she was only a one-shot character. Story wise she was more of a nod towards disabability but certainly not an exploration. I certainly like the parapalegic concept more.

It was an extra long shot anyhow

I think a disabled character would probably be out of the running, paraplegics have been done, as has blind & deaf.

The only other thing I can think of is amputees, but with 23rd century medical tech, amputated limbs would be a novelty.

Originally posted by Silverthorne

There would be situations that the person in question would be the best qualified to go on an away team, but not allowed becuase of the planets terrain. Unless they had some supped up hover chair that could raise and lower its self to move along a surface, that would also have problems because of extreem heights.

Not to counter attack, but have you seen wheelchairs out there today? Some of them are almost comparable to ATV's (all terrain vehichles), built for speed, and wheels sturdy enough to handle any terrain. And that's 21st century chairs. I think 24th century wheelchairs will be able to handle just about any environment you can think of, possibly even corrosive environments, but that's JMBO, YMMV.

Since paraplegics have been done, it's moot anyhow.

[Silverthorne]

Not to counter attack, but have you seen wheelchairs out there today? Some of them are almost comparable to ATV's (all terrain vehichles), built for speed, and wheels sturdy enough to handle any terrain. And that's 21st century chairs. I think 24th century wheelchairs will be able to handle just about any environment you can think of, possibly even corrosive environments, but that's JMBO, YMMV.

No I have not. I was just thinking in lines of the chair that Pike used before he went to Talos.. The last chair that I have a good memory of of that caliber was from the Highway to Heaven series..

[Perrryyy]

Slightly off topic, but I did some research on chairs today.

http://www.discountscooters.com/em-turnabout.html (advertised in late nite infomercials)

http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~venkat/wheel.html (I think these are still on the drawingboard)

http://www.invacare.com/prontom71wheelchair.htm


http://www.eaglesportschairs.com/ (Racing chairs you see on ESPN2 & sometimes the olympics & paralympics)


And this is just a sample of what's out there now. Use your imagination to develop one for the 23rd or 24th century

[kimq]

Originally posted by Perrryyy
I think a disabled character would probably be out of the running, paraplegics have been done, as has blind & deaf.

So what if a disabled person has been before? Geordi's disability really wasn't when you get down to how much more he could do with his VISOR and then his new optics. Sure he got headaches and stuff, but it wasn't truly debilitating. Hell, Picard had a pacemaker.

The point is that the parapalegic would make an excellent character angle. I highly support this concept, coupled with the hoverchair.

However, it seems that you aren't satisfied with it. I will leave it up to you to create the science officer, if you are willing to take it on. Again, I support the current character concept.

I noticed that one of the chairs that you linked to came in blue. It triggered an idea. What if not only was the character's uniform blue, but also the chair to some degree. The character could be a kind of mascot for scientists, medical personnel, and engineers on the Sovereign. They could work together to create better technology to show off their R&D skills and make one of their crewman's life all the better through their efforts. The more advanced the chair becomes through the crew's efforts, the more pride everyone takes in it and the character for being a part of the crew.

[AslanC]

I say go one further, go all out Quadraplegic, he could use a kickin' chair to do everything

I have to agree with Joe Dizzy, male/male is more disturbing to average viewers and therefore more risque. But either way, I would avoid two homosexual relationships, it cheapens the value of each by taking away what makes them unique.

Same can be said for overloading the crew with Aliens. Aliens are used to show the extremes, if humans are the minority, then aliens just become color.

I agree with most of Dan G's points BTW, instead fo being defensive you may want to consider what he said. Just my opinion there.

Lastly, but not leastly...

Suzie would never revisit Selar, as she hates working on Star Trek. It's true, it's true.

But then you guys don't have to worry about casting do you?