The state of Trek

After seeing the "trailer" (basically a bunch of groovy images of space and the logo) for the new Star Trek series in January, I thought I would share my $0.02.

First of all, next year, for the first time since 2005, Star Trek is returning to the small screen. This is where Star Trek began 50 years ago, and this is where it belongs. TV was a bit oversaturated with Trek when "Enterprise" made its final voyage, but 11 years have passed. I am ready, and I think the fans are ready.

So far things look good. The series will air on CBS All Access, the network's streaming video service which requires a monthly subscription fee of $7 or so. I wouldn't put it past the greedy bastards at Viacom to hike the price before the series starts in January.

I was also encouraged to hear that Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) is the showrunner and excited to hear that Nicholas Meyer, one of the best writers and creative voices in the history of the franchise, is on the writing team.

Also, the bar is set low, because anything, and I mean anything, has to be better than Enterprise.

The rumor mill is also saying the new series will be an anthology show of sorts, with a new setting and storyline each season. This is also a great idea, because it keeps things fresh. On the other hand, it could be a liability because you don't get to know the characters as well, and the show will lack the iconic characters like Spock, Data and Picard.

I was brainstorming the possibilities of an anthology show... Although they should probably start with a conventional starship setting like TOS or Voyager, the possibilities are endless. They could set an entire season at Starfleet Academy. They could have an entire season aboard a Klingon or Romulan ship. They could have a buddy sitcom starring Data and Geordi. Okay, forget about that last one.

First of all, what I do know is the special effects will be top-notch. DS9, Voyager and Enterprise all had movie-caliber special effects, and that was more than a decade ago.

The bottom line: If CBS expects Trek fans to pay for this, the quality has to be there from day one.

Trekkers are one of the most demanding fan bases in pop-culture history, as demonstrated by the backlash against the "Star Trek: Beyond" trailer which came out earlier this year. The second trailer looked a little better, but I still have my reservations about whether this will be true Trek, or just another special effects-laden light show.

Anyway, I digress. Although TNG developed into one of the best shows on television, "Encounter At Farpoint," the series'  first episode, was hokey, poorly paced, kind of cheesy, and the acting was inconsistent. TNG didn't hit its stride until the third season and very well might have been cancelled if it was on a major network instead of syndication. Enterprise was doomed from the beginning, thanks in part to that cringe-inducing theme song (no link, find it yourself, if you dare). Since they need to knock one out of the park on the first episode if they expect people to pay to watch this show, here is a list of do's and don'ts for this new series, with some lessons learned from Trek series past.

Do:

• Have a theme song played by an orchestra. I am again referring to Enterprise. Begin with the nine-note fanfare so everyone knows this is Star Trek.
• Because this is not on a network, have shorter seasons (13-16 episodes) and use serialized storytelling. Hitting the reset button at the end of every episode won't fly anymore.
• With shorter seasons, avoid filler episodes, and "alien of the week" episodes.
• Hire good actors. They don't necessarily need to be well-known, just experienced. See Stewart, Patrick.
• Bring back familiar characters sparingly to provide a sense of continuity.
• Use humor when it's appropriate so the show doesn't get too serious, but don't overdo it. Use the episodes featuring Q as an example.

Don't:

• Have a ship's counselor. Ever. That was the 1980s thing to do when TNG started, and it should stay in the 1980s.
• Overuse the holodeck to the point where it becomes a crutch for the writers.
• Hire an actor for no reason other than the fact that he/she is attractive, even though he/she can't act his/her way out of a paper bag. See Blalock, Jolene.
• Feature any Ferengi in an episode unless you have a really good reason to do so.
• Portray Vulcans as emotionless robots. See Russ, Tim. Vulcans may suppress their emotions, but do have them. Spock often displayed emotion in subtle ways, like the famous eyebrow raise. 
• Gratuitously use sex and violence for no reason other than to make the show more "edgy." Yes, I'm looking at you again, Enterprise.
• Hire Rick Berman to do anything. The farther away he stays from this, the better.

Update: Showrunner Bryan Fuller says the show will run for 13 episodes, and it will be like a 13-chapter novel. In other words, no episodic storytelling. He hinted at multiple crews. These are all good things. Also, I will have to see this one to believe it, but rumors are circulating that Nathan Fillion ended his commitment to "Castle" so he could be on this show.

Now, on to the ship itself, which was unveiled. As the article says, it looks an awful lot like the Ralph McQuarrie concept drawing. Also, I think it looks like a Federation ship mated with a Klingon Battlecruiser. Could this ship be a Federation-Klingon collaboration if they are allies post Star Trek VI? Who knows? Finally, this ship isn't as sleek as those on the newer series like the Enterprise-D, the Voyager and the Defiant. Although Fuller denies it, I am guessing from the design and the ship's registry number (NCC-1031) that this show takes place sometime between Star Trek VI and The Next Generation, a span of about 80 years. Of course, the fans are moaning and groaning about the ship, because that is what they like to do.