More letters on Star Trek
More general science fiction letters

Rick Berman's idea of having a new Star Trek series take place just before the original series began is a great concept. Everyone who grew up with or was a fan of the original series wants to know the early history of how the Federation came about.

Also, there is no reason George Takei and the other Trek alumni couldn't portray other characters in the series, and in fact, it would add a great touch to such a concept.

The adventures of Captain Sulu idea sounds lame by comparison. Let's go back and learn the early history of the Federation and the first wave of Starship Captains.

. . . hate it . . .

Why go back in Federation history? Star Trek is about the future, not the past future.

Voyager was about coming home. The fifth series should be about exploring those borders not yet explored.

Also, why bring in a villain from the 29th century? The beginning of the Federation has enough intrigue and suspense and testing of man's ability to deal with the challenges of the unknown without muddling up the plot with some 29th century time traveler.

 It appears that Rick Berman and Brannon Braga are determined to wreck as much of Trek as they can. While an endeavor such as a "pre-Trek" show is a fascinating concept, it requires excellent familiarity with Trek lore to pull it off.

What hope do we have of Braga, who probably would be in charge of the show’s creative aspects, actually pulling it off?

Considering he's the guy that wanted to script a romantic interlude between Captain Picard and Zefram Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact -- until he was told that Cochrane is male -- I have very little faith or hope and every reason to believe that Birth of the Federation will be the show to finally kill the franchise for Paramount.

Of course, Paramount will simply claim that the Trek franchise has run its course instead of realizing they have put the wrong people in charge. It will be just like Warner Brothers’ claims that the Batman franchise has run its course, and was not, never, in no way bludgeoned to death by the likes of Joel Schumacher.

Sad, really, but fortunately there's always the episodes on DVD and laserdisc.

. . . and ask for Sulu instead

George Takei and Excelsior sounds like the best idea.

If the Trek people are going to do a new series, I’d prefer to see "The Adventures of Captain Sulu."

Fact is, the Federation doesn’t make any sort of realistic sense. Presenting the "birth" of this silly construct seems like an exercise in futility.

Star Trek should take us into the galaxy for fun and adventure, not back to the boring, pointless "past."

Tell Paramount that the Excelsior idea is a natural. Two thumbs up, way up.

The idea about the beginning of the Federation is dangerous because it plays with the myth that surrounds Star Trek -- it could backfire bigtime.

Remember guys, give the public what they want (with a twist).

The current producers of Star Trek should quite simply stop trying to reinvent Star Trek in their own image and get back to basics. I personally am in favor of a Captain Sulu series.

I think George Takei would embrace the role and quite frankly the man deserves it. He is a legitimate heir, and the lineage should be preserved as long as age permits.

That would be my first choice. I also don't have a problem with a retro-Star Trek series if it's done right.

I’ve always wondered, though -- why they don't do a Captain Pike series? I think the fans would accept it if was recast well.

Thanks for your mention of the Excelsior Campaign on SPACE.com. One thing that I must point out -- and you'll hear this from George as well -- is that George Takei and Grace Lee Whitney are not spearheading the campaign.

The campaign was started and is still operated solely by the fans. George is not actively involved in the campaign, and he can't be.

This is totally a fan initiative, though I contacted George and asked him to speak to the press about his inside view of Star Trek and his plans once we succeeded.

We have seen in our first 10 weeks that the press wanted information on the campaign and also to talk to George about it. The press conference in Pasadena provided both of those aspects in person.

Though George will tell you he is flattered and energized by our efforts, he will also tell you that he is not involved in the campaign. Paramount must know that this is a fan initiative, organized and run totally and solely by the fans since its start.

Though George was gracious enough to appear at our press conference, he is not actively involved in the campaign.

Thanks again for the story.

Have we erred?

There's a fundamental error in the article on the "fifth Trek series," namely that it would be the sixth series:

1. TOS
2. The Animated Series (most people forget about this one)
3. TNG
4. DS9
5. Voyager
6. Federation

Just had to be enough of a Trekkie to both notice the error immediately and enough of a geek to point this out.

A good point, though most people simply lump the animated series together with the original series. SPACE.com staffer Scott Martin, for example, considers TAS one of his favorite incarnations of the show, but would feel hard-pressed to argue for it as much more than an animated appendix to TOS.