So, I just got done re-re-re-watching the 2nd Star Trek movie and was thinking about what I'd like to see in a new Star Trek TV series. These are my two favorite ideas that I've come up with...
Federation Academy
This series would take place at the Academy in San Francisco. Rather than a lot of deep space adventure, it would focus more on the formative ideals of the Federation and how those ideals are taught to new students. The cast would consist of young, late teens and early twenties cadets. The races would be diverse, including a first ever cadet of the Romulan race. The series would start out with a "Crew" assigned to a fictitious ship. Students from each of the requisite curriculum would be assigned to the team; including Command, Science, Engineering, Security and Medical. The reason for the "Crew" would be to teach the students not only how to perform their individual duties, but how those duties interact with the overall starship team dynamic.
The Federation Academy show would focus more on the interpersonal relationships of the races and individuals. It would show how a diverse group of strong individuals can, with training and gentle guidance from their instructors, become a fully functional team. Guest stars from prior versions of the show could appear as guest lecturers or Professors.
A Bold New Frontier
One of the recurring concepts I've always been fascinated with in the Star Trek series is the holodeck. Specifically, the Doctor from Voyager and the Lounge from Deep Space Nine. In both these cases, the holographic individual became more and more complex... more and more REAL... the longer their programs were allowed to run without interruption or reset.
In A Bold New Frontier, the Federation scientists have decided to conduct an experiment. The ship is known as the U.S.S. Asimov. Unlike other Starships, the Asimov's central computer has been programmed with sub-routines and A.I. copied from appropriate holodeck programs. The resulting program was actually sent through the academy like any other cadet, albeit in a stationary database rather than housed in a mobile body. Once it had "graduated", the A.I. has been installed in the Asimov.
It has also been given the rank of Captain.
That's right. For the first time in Star Trek history, the ship ITSELF will be the Captain. It has also been fitted with a living crew, as would a normal ship. Every part of the ship is outfitted with holo-emitters allowing the Captain to appear in its humanoid form anywhere it needs to. I also think it would be interesting to have the crew be unaware their leader is not "real" at the beginning of the series, although this would change as the series progressed.
Just to add some spice, I think I'd like to see a new hybrid breed be the first officer. How does a half-Klingon, half-Vulcan sound to everyone?
So what do you think? Which do you like better? Do you even like either of them? What ideas would YOU like to see implemented in the next Star Trek series?