Thoughts on Some Star Trek Rumors

I've heard some things regarding a couple of new Star Trek series recently and I'm not sure what to think. Both major rumors I've heard (and they could both be wrong for all I know) have me wondering though, and I guess that's a good thing. I mean, let's face it. I've been a Trek fan since literally before I can remember. My earliest childhood friends were named Kirk, Spock and Bones. Well them and my friend Mike from around the block, but I'm guessing that I probably knew the other three first. I can't help but love anything Trek, for which I blame my father. It definitely wasn't my mom that got me started and don't even mention the words Star Trek in front of my sister. It had to have  been him. He's the one I always watched it with. I could tell stories. (If you haven't heard my Encounter at Farpoint story it 's pretty epic. Buy me a drink sometime and I'll share.) I've always been excited when new Trek series came out and, with at least one of these confirmed, it's a great time. That much being said, I've come to a couple conclusions and found some questions, all based on information that may or may not be accurate. But I'm a blogger: I do rumor, speculation and innuendo. It's who I am. So:

CBS has confirmed that there is a new Trek series starting next January. I'm ecstatic. Yes, I know I'll have to subscribe to their streaming service to watch it. I don't give a rat's ass. A new Trek series is worth ten dollars a month all by itself. I know that's blaspheme to some and you're entitled to your opinion but I disagree with it. I'd bet my ass that someone in marketing got a bit raise for suggesting a new series as a way to promote the service. It remains to  be seen whether it will work or not for sure, but I'm guessing yes. We'll see how it goes.

The rumor I heard is that the new series will be in the original continuity (If there actually is such a thing. Trek has always had a million problems with it's timeline) and set in the time period between Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. I'm not too sure this is a good idea. See the aforementioned continuity issues. A series set in that time period promises to create more and probably in job lot quantities. Don't get me wrong: I can't wait to see the new series. I'm just thinking that they could find a better time to put it in. There are only God knows how many years of Federation history after the end of the ST:TNG/ST:DS9/ST:VOY time period where a new series could be set. This is where the new series belongs.

Think about it. Technology has progressed a lot in the fifteen years since Star Trek Voyager ended. Do we really want a ship that looks more futuristic than the Voyager, the Enterprise or the Defiant but is from an earlier era? Does that make sense to anyone? Yes, the Enterprise D looks more futuristic than the original Enterprise. That makes sense. It is a much new ship. But to have a more futuristic look on an older ship (and it would have to have  a newer look because the Enterprise D doesn't really look all that futuristic anymore) would make zero sense. There's something else to think about too.

The Enterprise D computer core had a max capacity of a terabyte of memory. When ST:TNG came out that was a lot. It was a science fiction number. No one honestly believed that we'd live to see a computer that big. Now I can go buy a hard drive from Best Buy with that capacity. It would be impossible to get a modern audience to go for that now. It would have to be bigger. Virtual reality is much bigger than it was fifteen years ago as well. A holodeck doesn't seem that far off but it was made clear in the early episodes of ST:TNG that the holodeck was a new thing. Are they going to retcon that? I hope not. I hate retcons.

There's something else I've been wondering about and it's driving me crazy. What in the BLUE HELL is the name of the new series? They have to be preparing their promotional stuff by now. The debut is only nine months out. Why don't we know what the thing is called by now? I get that CBS wants to keep things under wraps for awhile. I'm not asking for plot details or the first view of the new sets here. This isn't some massive spoiler I'm requesting. I just want to know what the name of the show is. Please CBS? I'm not asking you to announce it here. I just want to know.

Here's another question: Who is going to be on this new show? I mean, a TV show takes actors right? Nine months out there have to have been some solid decisions made for the major roles. I'm not interested in the new redshirt who is going to be dead in the first ten minutes anyway but who is the new captain at least? The new first officer? I'm a Trekkie. I need to know.

Ok, so enough about the series we know is coming. I've got another question: Whatever happened to Michael Dorn and his quest for a series called Star Trek: Captain Worf? Is it dead? Is it continuing? Are we going to see it? I want to see it. I think it would be awesome. Worf was one of my favorite Trek characters of all time. I didn't always agree with everything he did but his actions always made sense in the context of his character and the story and he's entertaining as hell. Remember Abraham Lincoln's quote about a house divided? He wasn't a house divided. He was a WORF divided between his loyalty to the Federation and his Klingon heritage. He was coolness personified. BRING BACK WORF!!!

We do, however, need to work on the title of the series. Think about it. It's not Star Trek: Captain Kirk, it's just Star Trek. It's not Star Trek: Captain Picard it's Star Trek: The Next Generation. So while I would love to see a series with Worf as the captain of a Starfleet vessel, I think it needs a new name. I'm serious about wanting to see this. Worf as a Starfleet Captain, trying to maintain his Klingon outlook while captaining a Federation vessel would be beyond awesome. The conflicts between himself and his crew would be easy to believe and hard to bridge. This would be sheer awesome. So make it happen, just with a new name. Name it after the ship. Name it after the era. Just name it SOMETHING and get it on TV. I'm waiting....


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