Design you own Movie

[Crazedwraith]

The answer is simple: Don't do TNG movies. Do the first Star Trek New Frontier arc. And get PAD to update it if approprite. Start with Calhoun getting the sword and the scar and end with the climatic duel as Thallon explodes around them.

Every movie should end with a sword fight on a self destructing world. That is all.

[FedRebel]

Every movie should end with a sword fight on a self destructing world. That is all.

So Trek should just rip-off Star Wars.

BRILLIANT!

[Bounty]

Every movie should end with a sword fight on a self destructing world. That is all.

So Trek should just rip-off Star Wars.

BRILLIANT!

Well, technically, Mustafar didn't self-destruct and both Death Stars only fell apart after the swordfight had ended

[lord Martiya]

The answer is simple: Don't do TNG movies. Do the first Star Trek New Frontier arc. And get PAD to update it if approprite. Start with Calhoun getting the sword and the scar and end with the climatic duel as Thallon explodes around them.

Every movie should end with a sword fight on a self destructing world. That is all.

I'll prefer a prequel movie, with Romulans and a fierce war... And now, let's restart with my movie. Where I was? Oh, yes, at the start of the war...
In the aftermath of the Romulan attack, a fleet guided from the Archer's Enterprise (that here is only a fusion-powered ship armed with lasers and nuclear weapons, and not the first of the Akiraprise-type. Every ship is fusion powered if not stated the opposite) try an offensive. At Galorndon Core, near an asteroid belt, the Terrans destroy an outnumbered Romulan fleet led by a commander called Chulak (a little quote from a VOY episode that state it), but Terrans gained no fruits from the harsh victory: Romulans self-distructed to prevent capture, possibly near Terran ships, and losses are high. At this time from the asteroid belt a Romulan admiral called Vorkado orders the Terrans to surrend, and a lot of asteroids reveals to be warbirds in disguise. Terrans refuse, and in the second battle the overwhelming Romulan fleet crushed the Terrans, making no prisoners.
The Enterprise and a three other damaged ships barely escape to Sol system, while Vorkado (and only now we see the Romulans. Vorkado and some officials are smooth, but the others have the brow ridges) receive a message from a Tal Shiar operative (who have the ridges) and comments something on 'those stupid big cats', saying that he prefers to not have them. The operative says that they are excellent cannon fodder, and that the Terrans are to be crushed before they can activate 'that ships'.
Near Mars a survivor ship deactivates the holografic system and reveals to be another warbird, that with missiles destroy two ships and with the plasma weapon destroy the Enterprise, and then procede to attack an early version of Utopia Planitia, while Romulan ships and other weaker but very more numberous alien ships enter in the Sol system and begin to overwhelm Earth defences.
Archer and other survivors reach the attacked Utopia Planitia Shipyards shortly before the destruction of the last defending ship. Shipyards commander talk to them of the Daedalus, a new and powerful ship ready for launch, but the Romulan warbird destroyed the crew quarters, and only part of the Engineering personnel is alive. Archer offers to take the ship in battle, and assume the command. Reed is glad for the powerful weaponry and armour, and Mayweather is excited for the speed and manovrability stated by the commands (similar to the ones of the Enterprise), but the real great new comes from Trip: the main reactor is a powerful matter-antimatter fueled warp core, that make the ship capable of previously impossible speeds. With the Daedalus Archer outmanouvered the mighty warbird and destroy it, and then join a mixt fleet, composed Terran ships from Alpha Centauri, Vulcan combat cruisers, Andorian battle cruisers led from Shran and Tellarite ships.
On Earth the invaders opened a breach, and while Romulans continue to fight the last orbital defences and ships the other aliens land near Paris and San Francisco and reveal themselves for the Kzinti (a feline race). Kzinti have the tactical ability of drunken chimpanzees and fell in various traps, but their weapons are superior to the Terran ones and their foot soldiers are very fast and difficult to target, and Paris risk to be overwhelmed. Some Kzinti soldier even reach Place de la Concorde, but armoured troops led by general Georges Picard managed to attack at back the bulk of the Kzinti and beat them, forcing to retreat, and at San Francisco the Terrans, with air control, slaughter the other Kzinti.
In orbit the joint fleet engage the Romulan fleet. Even outnumbered, the Romulans resist and with the superior firepower of their plasma cannons and some trick (like fire nuclear weapons with proximity fuses in the middle of the Vulcan ships) begin to beat the joint fleet, and only the Daedalus, with superior manovrability and shielding, can resist. In this moment Kzinti ships reach the orbit and escape at warp speed, and the Earth space-capable fighters join the battle and engage the Romulans, covered by a barrage of surface and naval ship-launched missiles. Romulans are now in difficult, and the Daedalus open a path to Romulan flagship for a group of Andorian battle cruisers. The flagship fires a barrage of nuclear missiles and the plasma weapon, destroying four battle cruisers, and then fire the plasma weapon at the Daedalus, but the last battlecruiser, the Kumari of Shran, move in the path of the plasma bolt, being destroyed but saving the Terran ship, and the Daedalus fires its own missiles on the warbird, crippling it, and then finishing with lasers, killing Vorkado.
After the loss of their flagship, the Romulan surviving ships escape, covered by a kamikaze attack of the damaged warbirds.
In the final, at Paris representatives from Vulcan, Andoria and Tellar sign an alliance treaty to beat the Romulan Empire and the Kzinti, and T'Pau stated that once the full production of the Daedalus-class ship will begin the Alliance will be able to fight every enemy at his condition and win easily, while Archer cry the death of Shran. On the background, Guinan, dressed in U.E.S.P.A. uniform, say that the Alliance could begin a great federation, and when an Andorian confirmed and say that it'll be fun, she say: "Q, you are too cruel".
And now, after a brand new Daedalus is launched from Utopia Planitia and fly near some drydocks with Daedalus in construction, start the end titles.

[Crazedwraith]

Every movie should end with a sword fight on a self destructing world. That is all.

So Trek should just rip-off Star Wars.

BRILLIANT!

Oh come off it. Aside from the swords, which Star Wars doesn't have a monoply on. The ending of NF is more akin to Kirk's fistfight on the dying genesis planet than Star Wars.

[Skylon]

Whoops. Can this post. Wrong thread.

[Flagg]

The answer is simple: Don't do TNG movies. Do the first Star Trek New Frontier arc. And get PAD to update it if approprite. Start with Calhoun getting the sword and the scar and end with the climatic duel as Thallon explodes around them.

Every movie should end with a sword fight on a self destructing world. That is all.

No thanks, I'd rather not see that literary abortion transferred to the screen.

[Sidewinder]

I'd probably exploit an idea I had last year:

'Golden Knights', a series is set before Christopher Pike becomes captain of the Enterprise-- 'Star Trek' is NOT in the title, as that might drive away potential fans who know the franchise it as "The show for nerds who'll never get laid."

The "Golden Knights" are Starfleet's version of US Navy SEALs, operating in Kirk's era. The seven-man team, lead by Lieutenant Commander Pike, includes Lieutenant James T. Kirk, Lieutenant Junior Grade Spock-- who's still emotional, lacking the self-discipline he'll gain by the time Kirk becomes captain of the Enterprise-- and four mission specialists whose identities will vary from episode from episode.

Necessary sets will be a starship bridge which represents different ships-- I'm assuming Starfleet ships have similar bridges for ease of logistics and training, the way Airbus airliners have similar cockpits-- a wardroom where the Knights will be briefed on the upcoming mission, sleeping quarters, an armory, a shuttle hanger, and a "black shuttle" designed for spec ops missions. Most scenes will be filmed outdoors.

The enemies are Klingons, pirates and other criminal organizations, and Romulan proxies, e.g., mercenaries. (If my memory is correct, Starfleet is not yet aware of the link between Vulcans and Romulans.)

To keep the budget down, the emphasis will be on drama and suspense, with short action sequences-- a spec ops team is usually supposed to AVOID contact with the enemy, as they're often behind enemy lines, outnumbered and outgunned.

Making 'Star Trek' similar to 'Mission Impossible' (the first movie) might work.

[Stark]

Except Mission Impossible sucked and succeeded only on Cruise Power?

[Patrick Degan]

Yeah, there's also the point of "if you're going to do something big you should run with it" whereas NEM just used it as a minor point of getting Shinzon powerful enough to summon Picard to Romulus.

The Genesis device, while being in the background for 2/3 of the movie, proved to be a major part of the plot towards the end. The Romulan Senate assassination was hardly even menioned after the first ten minutes.

As I'd said when I trashed this film a few years ago, the one way to have shown just how dangerous Picard's Evil Clone Skippy and his Ubermicrowave o'Doom would have been for him to use the weapon against Romulus itself —exterminating the entire planetary population (shown in horrific detail of course) before taking off for Earth. This would have underlined the full extent of the danger to Earth and why he had to be stopped, and it would have given a true reason for the Romulan fleet to ally with the Enterprise to stop Skippy. Have him including Q'onos and Cardassia Prime on the target list as well. Reason? Skippy has decided that the one way to bring peace to the galaxy is to eliminate the governments most likely in his view to start wars, which makes him Capt. Nemo taken to his ultimate logical extreme.

[Flagg]

Yeah, there's also the point of "if you're going to do something big you should run with it" whereas NEM just used it as a minor point of getting Shinzon powerful enough to summon Picard to Romulus.

The Genesis device, while being in the background for 2/3 of the movie, proved to be a major part of the plot towards the end. The Romulan Senate assassination was hardly even menioned after the first ten minutes.

As I'd said when I trashed this film a few years ago, the one way to have shown just how dangerous Picard's Evil Clone Skippy and his Ubermicrowave o'Doom would have been for him to use the weapon against Romulus itself —exterminating the entire planetary population (shown in horrific detail of course) before taking off for Earth. This would have underlined the full extent of the danger to Earth and why he had to be stopped, and it would have given a true reason for the Romulan fleet to ally with the Enterprise to stop Skippy. Have him including Q'onos and Cardassia Prime on the target list as well. Reason? Skippy has decided that the one way to bring peace to the galaxy is to eliminate the governments most likely in his view to start wars, which makes him Capt. Nemo taken to his ultimate logical extreme.

Or even better, don't rip off a shitty plot point from Star Trek: Armada by cloning Picard.

Rip off an awesome plot point from Wrath of Khan by bringing back an old 'forgotten' adversary.

[lord Martiya]

For Sisko it could be only Dukat or Locutus, but for Picard?

[Flagg]

For Sisko it could be only Dukat or Locutus, but for Picard?

Sela...

[lord Martiya]

Ops... I forgot her.

[ArcturusMengsk]

I'm still a fan of the Federation civil war concept. Yes, it's old; yes, it anally violates Roddenberry's vision of the franchise; and, yes, it would basically be eye-candy. But face it: all of the good Trek films were precisely that. As long as it were done in such a way as to not make it seem derivative of the Star Wars prequels, I think it could be successful. Perhaps a dispute between Vulcan and Earth leads to reunification, which in turn fuels secessionist sentiments in Vulcan culture and an alliance between Vulcan and Romulus? Such an occurance would undoubtedly lead to harsh feelings on the part of the Humans and would, out-of-universe, give the director a chance to portray the Federation in the same light which Generations tried and failed so miserably to do.

[lord Martiya]

It's a good idea! Can I make a 'script' out of it?

[Patrick Degan]

I'm still a fan of the Federation civil war concept. Yes, it's old; yes, it anally violates Roddenberry's vision of the franchise; and, yes, it would basically be eye-candy. But face it: all of the good Trek films were precisely that. As long as it were done in such a way as to not make it seem derivative of the Star Wars prequels, I think it could be successful.

Hmm... I think an earlier version of this idea was called Babylon 5.

[Uraniun235]

I'm still a fan of the Federation civil war concept. Yes, it's old; yes, it anally violates Roddenberry's vision of the franchise; and, yes, it would basically be eye-candy. But face it: all of the good Trek films were precisely that. As long as it were done in such a way as to not make it seem derivative of the Star Wars prequels, I think it could be successful. Perhaps a dispute between Vulcan and Earth leads to reunification, which in turn fuels secessionist sentiments in Vulcan culture and an alliance between Vulcan and Romulus? Such an occurance would undoubtedly lead to harsh feelings on the part of the Humans and would, out-of-universe, give the director a chance to portray the Federation in the same light which Generations tried and failed so miserably to do.

Uh, no, the best Trek films were not just popcorn action. First Contact certainly was but we've established that that was a pretty flawed movie itself. The Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country were both much more than just 'guns and badasses'.

I'm also skeptical of just how well your grandiose plot turns would fit into the space of a mere two-hour movie. The two pillars of the Federation tearing away from each other? That's the sort of thing you develop over a season or even multiple seasons, not jam-packed into two hours. If you really need a lesson on why trying to cram too much material into two hours can backfire, go rent David Lynch's Dune.

[ArcturusMengsk]

The Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country were both much more than just 'guns and badasses'.

But I don't like those films. That's really all that matters to me.

I'm also skeptical of just how well your grandiose plot turns would fit into the space of a mere two-hour movie. The two pillars of the Federation tearing away from each other? That's the sort of thing you develop over a season or even multiple seasons, not jam-packed into two hours. If you really need a lesson on why trying to cram too much material into two hours can backfire, go rent David Lynch's Dune.

Simple: don't develop it at all. A few throwaway lines referencing Shinzon's attempted coup destabilizing the RSE and causing it to seek out reunification are all that's really needed. Throw in Sela as the leader of a militant faction somewhere if you wish, and then a scene of the Federation Council going haywire over the recent developments. Wash, rinse, repeat. Starting up in medias res never hurt Star Wars.

If you want to make it more cerebral, make it a near civil war, with the crew of USS-Ship-of-the-Week going on a peacekeeping mission to Vulcan and Sela and her crew of Snidley Whiplashes stirring up rebellious sentiment.

Cliché? Sure. Bound to make money through false advertisement and eye-candy? Sure.

[Patrick Degan]

The Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country were both much more than just 'guns and badasses'.

But I don't like those films. That's really all that matters to me.

Except those films you don't like succeeded —and by means of some good, basic storytelling combined with characters people could care about.

A few throwaway lines referencing Shinzon's attempted coup destabilizing the RSE and causing it to seek out reunification are all that's really needed. Throw in Sela as the leader of a militant faction somewhere if you wish, and then a scene of the Federation Council going haywire over the recent developments. Wash, rinse, repeat. Starting up in medias res never hurt Star Wars.

If you want to make it more cerebral, make it a near civil war, with the crew of USS-Ship-of-the-Week going on a peacekeeping mission to Vulcan and Sela and her crew of Snidley Whiplashes stirring up rebellious sentiment.

In other words, a big film version of a TV episode which in the end really goes nowhere and resolves nothing.

Cliché? Sure. Bound to make money through false advertisement and eye-candy? Sure.

I'm sure Rick Berman thought much the same way while churning out four disasters which earned declining box office returns because movie goers found them to be dull, pretentious shit whoring out a legacy.