A guy on the M&M boards posted a thread about how you'd change Star trek if you got the chance. I was running my mouth about it, and he put me to the test. So I decided to share. Aslan found the post and asked me to bring it over here, so here goes.
"In my analysis of trekkies/trekkers I have found what appears to be two main schools of thought: the "Touchy-Feelies" and the "War-Mongers". The Touchy-Feelies are the ones who generally think that the future in which Trek exists must be presented as entirely rosy, with no hint of the savagery and conflict of the present; that Star Trek should always show the best of man and the goodness he strives to attain. The War-Mongers are the ones who prefer to see the more visceral side of Trek; they like to see the conflicts and the arguments and the sneaky bastich aliens. They identify more with Starfleet than they do with the Federation as such...and they like to see things get blow'd up good.
usually you can tell the difference by who likes or dislikes DS-9. I have seen too many arguments spawned over this dichotmy. Of course, i am simplifying things for the purposes of humor (a difficult concept). But in general, from what I have observed, there is a lot of truth to these two stereotypes. I mention them merely to serve as a backdrop for my next statement:
I do not think that my ideas for Trek will be very popular with those who wish to see Trek and the Federation presented in the best possible light. Of course, the reality is that Trek cannot be all things to all people, so here goes.
I see Trek as a direct progression of storylines, leading from TOS to (now, Enterprise goes first, technically) the TNG era, which includes DS-9 and Voyager simultaneously, or at least overlapping. The people and agencies and philosophies evolve. As a character grows and changes during a series, so to, in my mind, will the Federation and Starfleet.
But as with characters, there are setbacks. I'm sort of a "war-Monger" because I like ship-to-ship battles, and flashy SFX...and I liked DS-9. It showed us how this beneficent organization and society deals with war. Yeah, I like seeing Worf slash Jem-Hadar warriors from stem to stern, but there is also a depth of story that war explores. What happens when war strikes the perfect society? When it forces the highly evolved to become reduced to the savage common denominator? Since War is a contemporary issue, and Trek has always dealt with contemporary issues as metaphor, I think it is not just fair game, but about damn time.
But since the Dominion War is over, we have another arena to explore; what society becomes in the wake of a devastating war. Americans are dealing with something like this, in the wake of 9/11. We've become paranoid, willing to surrender certain freedoms for safety...And I think Trek can deal with this too, as metaphor, in the wake of the Dominion War.
Were i to write a new Star Trek show (preferably a miniseries event), I would like to showcase a federation/Starfleet that has evolved, or more appropriately, de-evolved into something scarred by the conflicts of the 24th century.
While the Dominion was defeated, it was not through force of arms; not a decisive victory. They remain an edgy unknown quantity. The Cardassian Alliance is shattered, creating a massive refugee population strewn across space...already taxed by the bajoran forced-diaspora that ended where DS-9 essentially begins. You have a tenous Romulan-federation Alliance perhaps significantly strained by the events of Nemesis. And you have a Klingon Empire shattered by internal conflicts at the very top, led by a commoner. To be sure, Martok is a hero and a noble warrior, but he's not of any sort of high birth, and the Council can be trusted less and less. It seems a matter of time before the Klingon Empire factionalizes into various, squabbling warlord states as suggested in the possible future shown in Voyager's final episode. And then, of course, there is the ever-present paranoia which the threat of the Borg presents.
In other words, a very dangerous political morass. A federation taxed to and beyond her limit. A Starfleet whose primary mission may become so confused that peaceful exploration may well take a back seat to peace-keeping.
There is also the idea that in the future of trek, around the 30th century or so, the federation becomes a bit more brutal with its fleet of time-travel capable vessels. With crews willing to ignore any prime directives to get the job done. (maybe the idea of the temporal Cold War could play into this from Enterprise) No future is, of course, written in stone, but I'd like to explore the intermediate setting, the in-between the "now" and the "then"
I would advance the TNG timeline by about twenty years or so, bringing it in line with Janeway's future in the final episode of Voyager, where the grown-up daughter of Tom and Belanna Paris, Miral, is an agent working for the Admiral. The main difference would be that Voyager arrived home as it did in the final episode, through a transwarp conduit pursued by a Borg Sphere.
So, you'd have this boost of paranoia, accompanied by a sudden boost of futuristic technology (reactive shielding, multi-phasic torpedoes, etc), and severe stress on the temporal fabric.
This is the basic backdrop. I would also like to bring in the Iconians, since they had a minor re-appearance (well, their doorways did) in DS-9. And give them a major, but mysterious new role in the affairs of the galaxy. I am aware there was a maxi-series in the novels dealing with the Doorways, but I think that it was poorly done. And in any event, the T'Konn empire could easily be substituted.
The cast would exist on a new Starship, a highly modern design, but only slightly larger than Voyager...maybe a refit of the Intrepid class. But unlike TNG era Starships, this one looks subtly dangerous, mirroring the new steel resting beneath the surface of Starfleet and the federation. The crew, however, are still idealists, striving for the best that they can reach. but their ideals are often at odds with an upper echelon that, more and more, can no longer be trusted to do what is morally right. We saw these trends beginning with the unthinkable conspiracy in Undiscovered Country, and in the existence of Section 31, as well as Ro Laren's introduction and Insurrection's odd plotline.
There are certain familiar elements I'd like to play around with;
I had a thought for an android character, whose designs were based on Data's daughter, Lal. Perfected, of course, since it's twenty years into the future. But two things. The new Lal would be the sex-pot of the show, and androids would be a part of every crew. Also, in keeping with the prejudice against artificials like Holograms, androids would be legally ruled as "property of Starfleet" given neither actual rank nor a real choice in their programmed loayalty to the Fleet and the mission of the Federation. The new Lal would also have a full range of emotions...but not entirely human ones. Androids are "raised" in scientific enclaves, almost like orphanages. So her "childhood memories" and interactions are all with other Androids, each with fairly distinct mechanical, as opposed to human/organic personalities.
Instead of a ship's counselor, there would be a Federation Advisor, there to consult on the specifics of Federation policy. Someone to take the same basic role as a Deanna Troi, but not so much with the touchy-feeliness. This would be another female, half alien. My thought was openly half-romulan, half human, and not a member of Starfleet. She would be another hottie, but more along the lines of Belanna than Seven of Nine. meaning, she's hot, but that's not her claim to fame on the crew.
And I would like to have a genetically enhanced human, openly so, as a member of the cast. Due to the paranoia of the Fleet and the Fed in general, the legal ban against them has been reluctantly lifted (because these folks are just damned useful in a scrap).
Everyone else would be normal as far as Trek goes; humans, Vulcans, so forth. But there may be occassional contradictions to what we have seen as traditional roles in Trek. maybe a minor character on the crew is a vulcan who embraces his or her emotions, but from a purely philosphical standpoint (like those jokers in that Enterprise ep). Maybe there is a sedate, reserved bajoran on the crew, an old veteran, perhaps.
Maybe a new warp technology comes into play, and the ship is sort of an operational testbed for it, allowing them to tackle stories in any quadrant in a relatively short amount of time.
If this were an ongoing, 5 to 7 year series, this would be the starting gate for a variety of stories that all carry some edge previously unknown or underdeveloped in Trek. The blatantly ignored rights of the Android; the open prejudice against the genetically enhanced crewmember; potential terrorist threats perpetrated by dissatisfied Cardie refugees; crafty Klingon plots by individual warlords seeking to gain whatever edge they can...that sort of thing. And then, there is the Dominion, waiting to see what they will become. Waiting to evolve. And even Species 84-whatsis could make an appearance, potentially as an ally, but mistrusted in the extreme by the Fed and the Fleet.
If this were part of a miniseries idea, I'd jump right into the Iconian/T'Konn empire storyline, with a prologue cameo from Patrick Stewart, now retired from active service, spending his years on archeaological digs. They uncover a new Doorway, or perhaps a new Portal, and the Iconians/T'Konn re-emerge as a power into the Alpha Quadrant. They would serve as both a nemesis, and a caretaker at the same time, overseeing the disarray the younger races have fallen into. Perhaps, they provide the crew with a challenge to overcome or face obliteration. perhaps their goal is more sinister and cosmic in nature.
In any event, the over-all theme would tend towards a darker, harsher reality, while the main characters struggle to keep their future bright and noble, doing what Trek heroes always have done. I come from a school of thought which says "conflict drives character", and I firmly believe it. So these characters would not be nearly so placid and stiff as we have seen the franchise characters previously written. because of the nature of their time period, they would be pushed to their emotional and moral limits, and they would have to deal with the consequences. But not everything would be about darkness and conflict. family is an important trademark of trek and would be an element in this iteration as well.
it would be like...life...only with ship-to-ship combat..."
Strictly Speaking
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