The Star Trek franchise
is about to take a warp speed trip down memory lane.
Sources close to Trek have told SPACE.com
that Paramount TV chairman Kerry McCluggage has given the green light to
Trek’s fifth series Star Trek: Birth of the Federation.
Scheduled to debut in fall 2001, Star
Trek: Birth of the Federation is set during the early days of the Federation
and Starfleet. It will take up where First Contact left off and
continue until the time period of the original ‘60s series.
To add suspense, it will feature a
29th century villain who is trying to prevent the Federation from being
born. An educated guess suggests that Captain Braxton and the Federation
Timeship Relativity might make an appearance.
The 13-year mission
After it became clear that Star
Trek: Voyager would reach its final destination in May 2001, Paramount’s
ongoing mission has been to seek out new forms of Trek. Since 1987 there’s
been at least one new Star Trek series on the air and Paramount is determined
to keep it that way.
Star Trek producer Rick Berman has
said that the new concept will be "be dramatically different" from previous
Trek outings. As late as Monday, Star Trek: Voyager Brannon Braga
confirmed that Paramount is testing a few early concepts with focus groups.
Federation beat out two other
contenders for series gold. According to sources close to Trek, the two
other pitches were:
-
Starfleet Academy: known derogatorily
as Star Trek: 90210, this series would have dealt with a cast of
young cadets learning the Starfleet way. This idea was the original plot
of Star Trek VI featuring a new cast as the young Kirk, Spock and
McCoy but fan outcry nixed the idea. The new concept was set in the same
time frame as the Next Generation movies.
-
Star Trek: Special Forces: an elite
Mission:
Impossible team that secretly goes into Federation hotspots and resolves
issues.
Since CBS is currently merging
with Paramount parent company Viacom, the new series will most likely air
on that network. Ironically, nearly 40 years ago, CBS passed on the original
Star Trek. Now they have a chance to correct that mistake.
Captain Sulu to the rescue?
Some fans are not pleased with Federation.
Instead they say the original navigator
of the Enterprise should lead the franchise into new territory. Fans are
backing George Takei (Captain Sulu) as their top choice as next Trek captain.
This Sulu series would take place about
two years after the events in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
Kirk is presumed dead, but Uhura, Chekov, Scotty, Dr. Chapel, and Spock
are still in fighting form.
Sulu, leading a new crew that may include
a young ensign Tuvok
(as seen in the Voyager episode "Flashback"), explore the galaxy
in the time period after the movies and 70 years before the Next Generation.
The Excelsior campaign (named after
Sulu’s ship in Star Trek VI) already has a worldwide following.
At a recent news conference, the amazingly fit Takei -- who is not officially
involved with the movement or its organizers, the International Federation
of Trekkers -- worked a crowd of fans from Brazil, Germany, Italy and England
like he was leading a revival meeting..
According to Takei "Paramount hasn’t
contacted anyone from the old series. They say it is unlikely. But when
we were cancelled back in ’69, Paramount said Star Trek was dead. The fans
are really the owners of the Star Trek phenomenon."
The Excelsior campaign harkens back
to the early days of the "Star Trek Lives!" grassroots movement in the
early seventies that resurrected the franchise with the first movie in
1979.
In the first three weeks of the crusade,
members of the Excelsior campaign sent 2,400 letters to Paramount. The
"Star
Trek Lives" campaign brought the franchise back with 10,000 letters.
In a call to action for Sulu activists,
the Excelsior campaign will hold a rally at the front gates of Paramount
studios on April 22. For more details check out their web
site.
For his part, Takei would be "delighted"
if Paramount called him back.
"We intend to knock your socks off,"
he says.
Other Trek stars have their pitches
According to a light-hearted Robert
Picardo, Voyager’s holographic Doctor, Paramount has focus tested
the following series:
-
The Voyager’s doctor travels throughout
the galaxy helping aging starlets reclaim their beauty through plastic
surgery in Star Trek: Botox
-
The crew takes on a nasty polluting utility
in Star Trek: Brockovich.
-
Muscled
warriors compete while busty women strut the stage in Star Trek:
Smackdown.
-
Seven
of Nine stars in Star Trek: Lap Dancer
-
Neelix
and Tuvok open a gay disco club in Star Trek: Fabulous
Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi) joked that
the next show will have Troi as captain of a ship of counselors giving
comfort to planets in trouble. "How long do you think that would last?
About midway through the first episode."
While a ship of counselors may not
sound like a good idea, if Birth of the Federation tanks, Paramount might
be giving her a call.
What do you think? Send your comments
to the editor.
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