:: Star Trek 1964 - Today ::

:: Monday, March 17, 2003 ::

The Future of Star Trek:

A Commentary on Mark Nollinger·s article in that ubiquitous journal, TV Guide.

How can the writers resolve the differences between Enterprise NX-01 and it·s following iteration Enterprise NCC-1701 written over 30 years ago with the desires in our current modern age for technology, science, society, and fast paced action. Mark has succinctly advised us that the ratings have fallen, particularly lately with STAR TREK NEMESIS and the second season of Enterprise, recently on a hiatus at UPN, and not yet seen here in Australia. He recommends some courses of action as follows:

HOW TO FIX TREK 1 MAKE IT OMINOUS It's cold and dark in space. Enterprise needs real peril, dread and fear so that characters are tested to within an inch of their lives. Introduce a chilling, powerful, wholly original threat that can't be vanquished in an hour. The Suliban aren't bad, but they're no Borg. 2 MAKE IT MORE REAL Let the crew make grave mistakes. Let them argue and be driven by less-than-moral impulses. Let the phaser beams rip through metal and bone. And let there be dangling emotional threads that weave through the lives of these otherwise bland characters. 3 LET CAPTAIN ARCHER BE HEROIC As written, Scott Bakula has as much commanding presence as Cap'n Crunch. Archer, like his beagle, is benign and a little too cute. He has an annoying tendency to second-guess, which trickles down to the rest of his whiny crew. Either light a fire under this laconic guy or kill him in a blaze of glory that explains why starships, planets and star systems should one day be named Archer. (And while you're at it, take out that annoying Ensign Hoshi with him.) 4 OPEN FIRE AND CLOSE THOSE PIE HOLES Enterprise should expand our belief about what is possible and transport us to realms unimagined with its ideas. But if it can't also be packed with action and adventure, move it to Lifetime. We're weary of the endless Trek babble on the bridge, the shuttlecraft, the crew quarters. Enough! 5 GET US ON THE EDGE OF OUR SEATS You shouldn't be able to figure out what the general direction and ending of any given episode is by the first 12 minutes. "Oh, here's where Hoshi overcomes her fear of failure..." "Well, it looks like Trip and that belligerent alien are going to work together to save both their hides..." Why not try some longer, unpredictable story arcs? Cliff-hangers, big and small, give a series purpose, poignancy and punch. Make us miss you this summer.

Recommendation 1: I can·t argue with this , although further expansion of the Temporal Cold War would be expected from the fans like yours truly, but an evil enemy (In other words, a threatening alien race we don·t understand) to match the propaganda surrounding our War on Terror would be appropriate and draw in a wider audience perhaps.>/p>

Recommendation 2: This too ·Make it more real,· would raise the interest and allow for wider plot variation with varying loyalties, internal politics, and personal relationships with the ever present sexual tension between the Captain and T·Pol, sounds like a song titleJ The violence should be considered, not reactionary, our explorers need to be seen as intelligent and the good guys.

Recommendation 3: I like Ensign Hoshi so, leave her alone, I·ve met girls like her, she seems real enough. Scott Bakula needs a more courageous and energetic Captain Archer, one who is the reason for the Prime Directive and the reason so many Alien worlds join a United Federation of Planets, instead of the currant state of affairs of chaos in relations between aliens. He has already started down that path with the mediation in Cease Fire, between the Andorians and the Vulcans. Maybe our writers have already a plan, since Future Tense (my review below) I have increased faith in their ability.

Recommendation 4: This is just a plead for more action, I enjoyed the episode in series one Singularity where Reed, apart from trying to improve the Captains chair unsuccessfully, does succeed in establishing an alert protocol, which we know is the origin of the alerts used throughout all the Star Trek Movies and Episodes. The trouble with Science Fiction is, there are two basic types, Hard like Asimov, Bear and Brin to name a few and Fantasy like Star Wars. In real space travel we can expect long journeys, boring routine, etc. In fantasy, space is full of aliens and adventure, no restrictions or bows to reality. Star trek has for a long time tried to steer a course between the two. I for one feel refreshed when ·reality· comes into the picture, but only occasionally. Episodes like Singularity should only be one offs occasionally, but nevertheless should be there!!

Recommendation 5: Excellent, and I have enough faith in the writers to know they can make plots that twist and turn and even my favourite device, the Alfred Hitchcock type turn at the end. I·m all for it, so go for it guys, make a nightmare plot that twists and turns and the following episode where anything could happen.

There is my small contribution to the discussion and trust our brilliant writers can meet the challenge, in fact I know they can.

Clifford Dubery

STARTREK: ENTERPRISE: Episode 42, Future Tense.

This episode started off well and I commend the authors Mike Sussman & Phyllis Strong in their efforts. Keeping this sub-plot (The Temporal Cold War) straight is going to be interesting as we progress through these episodes. I laughed as Tucker and Reed, exploring a small truck sized spacecraft found floating in an empty quarter of space, they unlock a hatch in the floor and find a vertical descending ladder that goes down past the keel line of this craft. Tucker exclaims, "How can it be bigger on the inside than it is outside!!"

That straight away made me laugh, why you may say? Well, I am old enough to have been weened on that old British Sci-Fi classic "Dr. Who". Being of great age and good memory, I definitely remember a number of the guests of the good Doctor querying him about the Tardis. How can it be bigger on the inside than it is on the outside? The Tardis was an early TV time machine.

All space appeared to be interested in this craft, the ever interfering Sulibon, but more interesting, the Tholian. Now I thought the Tholian were first encountered by us humans in ST TOS when the Enterprise was caught in a "Tholian Web" also the name of the episode. We see a Tholian in that episode, and he is somewhat peculiar , if the universal translator could handle their language then they must have had some contact prior to that episode I suppose. Apart from that apparent slip, the Star Trek time line remains reasonably intact. Not only is the Vulcan "Mind Meld" a forbidden practice in this time frame, time travel has been determined by the Vulcan Science Directorate to be impossible, and our resident Vulcan T'Pol, played by the gorgeous Jolene Blalok, insists on it.

Another thing is the autopsy of the crafts pilot. It turns out he has a number of alien DNA markers in his Genome, which indicates a history of inter-breeding of his family when none has occurred at this time. One of the DNA markers is Vulcan, again T'Pol advises us that breeding between Human and Vulcan was impossible, there are too many biological differences for such activity to result in a living organism, she informs us. Does that put an end to the sexual tension between T'Pol and Archer or not? I doubt it.

Live long and Prosper

Clifford M Dubery

:: Clifford 8:07 pm [+] ::
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