When Star Trek was rebooted by J.J. Abrams in 2009 and brought the franchise into mainstream popularity, it was a bitter-sweet moment for many long-time fans. On the one hand, Abrams had made Star Trek "cool" for the first time in the franchise's history and ensured that Star Trek would continue to live on since it's future following the cancelation of Star Trek: Enterprise and the bombing of Star Trek: Nemesis was uncertain. On the other hand, the movie was a reset that took place in a new Star Trek continuity that essentially erased the more than 40 years of Star Trek history. Long-time fans suddenly had to deal with the possibility that the timeline (as it originally existed) was over. There would likely never be any further development of the original Star Trek continuity, since all future projects would probably be based on Abrams' reboot.
Star Trek, as it originally existed, seemed dead.
This meant that the only likely outlets for extension of the original continuity would come from novels, comic books, and the craptacular Star Trek Online MMORPG computer game. And since Star Trek canon generally only includes official, on-screen material, none of those sources would be considered truly canonical.
This would mean that many Trek fans might have some very serious questions about the future of their beloved series go unanswered:
- Would B-4 eventually take the place of Data?
- Would Jake and Benjamin Sisko ever be re-united?
- Was Romulus really destroyed (as stated by Abrams' movie)? And if so, what is to become of the Romulan Empire?
- Will the Ferengi society ever accept Rom as Nagus and allow females to be regarded as equals?
- Are the Borg no longer an issue now that their transwarp hub has been destroyed?
- What ever happened to V'Ger?
And so on...
But it seems that Roddenberry's Star Trek may live on after all!
I read several articles earlier today about a pitch for a new Star Trek television series being offered to studios by 1947 Entertainment's David Foster. 1947 Entertainment is a television and movie writing studio that focuses in "thought provoking science fiction". Foster talked about his ideas in the recent Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada - which I was unable to attend :(.
Rejected ideas
This is the third time that rumors regarding a proposed Star Trek television series project has begun floating around the interwebs. Two other projects have already been scrapped. The first project was a potential animated series that was hinted at by Roberto Orci. I don't think any real details about what the project would involve were ever announced, since the project was mainly just a pipeline dream and not a real project.
The second proposal came from X-Men movie writer and director Bryan Singer. His proposal was titled Star Trek: Federation, and was supposed to take place in the year 3000 (hundreds of years after the events of the last prime Trek project Star Trek: Nemesis). This pitch revolved around the Federation becoming complacent and stagnant and suffering from internal strife and conflict that would mirror the collapse of the Roman Empire and the modern day United States. During this time, a new alien menace called "The Scourge" would threaten the galaxy, and Starfleet would have to commission a new starship Enterprise (commanded by a decendant of James Kirk) in order to combat them.
The idea sounded kind of silly and contrived, but some people who were more closely involved said that the ideas were very similar to the Battlestar Galactica remake on the Sci-Fi channel (before it became "SyFy"). Battlestar may have fallen apart due to a lack of clear creative direction after the second season, but the show started out strongly enough that comparisions to it are generally a positive thing.
Neither of these ideas panned out though.
A fully fleshed-out concept?
This new one by David Foster, however, may get more serious attention. According to Foster:
"The series concept is fully developed, subject to change of course, with a solid 5-7 year series plan, pilot script and a conceptualized finale that intends to define Star Trek for generations, extensive character bios, costume and ship/set designs, and more. This is a drastic departure from the typical 8-10 page treatment of the previously pitched Star Trek series ideas that have not included even a pilot script."
-David Foster (http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Could-Next-Star-Trek-TV-Series-Already-Mapped-Out-34543.html)
Sounds like he's done his homework!
I haven't seen any more detailed information about the show's plot, characters, or settings, but what I have read suggests that the show would take place in the original continuity after the events of Star Trek: Voyager. I'm not sure if this means before of after the destruction of Romulus that triggered the events in 2009's movie. According to Foster, the show would be going back to the roots of the franchise as they were envisioned by creator Gene Roddenberry. I assume this means that the show would focus more on the exploration of space and humanity. Foster teases the premise of the show with:
"If evil wore the face of a hero, would you recognize it? If freedom came in the likeness of your oppressors, would you accept it? If you were your own enemy, who would be victorious?"
-David Foster (http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Could-Next-Star-Trek-TV-Series-Already-Mapped-Out-34543.html)
Sounds like provocative stuff, but it's hard to really get on board without knowing a little bit more about how the new universe would be constructed.
Regardless of whether CBS/Paramount moves forward with this concept or not, it is a very positive sign to see that people are still pitching ideas for new Star Trek that continues to explore the familiar setting that we Trekkies grew up with, rather than just throwing it all away as Abrams did. All three of these pitches were supposed to take place in the original continuity (except maybe for the animated one).
Star Trek, it would seem, is not dead after all!