TNG without the annoying bits

[Stofsk]

The problem with the Moriarty episodes is how the hell can you simply tell a computer to give a program consciousness then not figure out how/why it happened. On the other hand, those episodes were campy fun so I don't really care. Calling them a holodeck malfunction is a bit rich though.

[Multiverse]

If I were to do a revised version of The Next Generation I would make the following general changes:

1. I would establish that each planet has its own military. For example, the Andorian Guard or something similar could use their own ships and troops to protect Andoria.
2. I would have the Enterprise be based out of a starbase with the crew's families living on the starbase.
3. I would establish that all of the senior officers are fully capable of commanding the vessel if needed.
4. The Prime Directive would not prevent the captain from deciding to help a society if he was asked to do so or if there were some compelling reason to do so like impending genocide.
5. The safeties on ship systems would not fail just for the sake of drama.
6. Drama will not be used as an excuse to over emphasize how exotic an alien culture is.
7. No species would make up more than 15% of the crew.
8. The ship would have approximately equal numbers of male and female crew.
9. Creating interspecies children would be allowed but would require genetic engineering.
10. Starfleet Uniforms would be closer to TNG versions of the Mirror, Mirror uniforms.

[NeoGoomba]

Regarding civilians, in DS9, can anyone recall if the Odyssey mentioned civilians when they docked at DS9 before going on their recon mission to find the Siskos?

[Crazedwraith]

1. I would establish that each planet has its own military. For example, the Andorian Guard or something similar could use their own ships and troops to protect Andoria.

Why? Beyond being a bit of random background trivia, how would this affect the show at all?

2. I would have the Enterprise be based out of a starbase with the crew's families living on the starbase.

Again, pointless. How does this improve the show?

3. I would establish that all of the senior officers are fully capable of commanding the vessel if needed.

Other than possibly Troi, which senior officer failled at this? The only thing that needed to be changed is Troi and Crusher not being in the chain of command at all as the medical staff and not line officers.

4. The Prime Directive would not prevent the captain from deciding to help a society if he was asked to do so or if there were some compelling reason to do so like impending genocide.

You mean like actually ended up happening in Pen Pals and Homeward?

7. No species would make up more than 15% of the crew.

Hooray for soaring make-up costs for extras. Completely pointless and has no impact on the show.

9. Creating interspecies children would be allowed but would require genetic engineering.

Again, other than be slightly more realistic what impact does this have on the show at all? Do you hate the Worf/Alexander plot or something?

10. Starfleet Uniforms would be closer to TNG versions of the Mirror, Mirror uniforms.

What does this mean? You want knives, gold sashes and bared midriffs on the women?

[spooky spice]

An example would be Counselor Troi. I don't mind the concept of counsel for Captain Picard, either in the form of sage wisdom or emotional support, but in the beginning we had two characters who accomplished the same role, and not at all equally. One was Guinan, the other Troi.

Yeah, but Troi was there from episode 1, Guinan didn't show up until Season 3 ...

If you think of the ship as a city in space, it's a lot easier to understand.

I seem to remember reading/hearing that the general gist of the show originally was to be based on the premise that the Enterprise D was a city that just happened to be a space ship, so there were families living in the saucer section, along with all the facilities, and the military branch of things was in the rear section of the ship.

Troi: Would have been better if they had made her part of the medical set up, instead of giving her a seat on the bridge.

Agreed.

[Multiverse]

7. No species would make up more than 15% of the crew.

Hooray for soaring make-up costs for extras. Completely pointless and has no impact on the show.

9. Creating interspecies children would be allowed but would require genetic engineering.

Again, other than be slightly more realistic what impact does this have on the show at all? Do you hate the Worf/Alexander plot or something?

10. Starfleet Uniforms would be closer to TNG versions of the Mirror, Mirror uniforms.

What does this mean? You want knives, gold sashes and bared midriffs on the women?[/quote]

7. My basic point is that there should be more alien recurring, minor, and background characters than there were. The exact percentage is not especially important as such.

9. I don't have any particular problem with the Worf/Alexander plot. Requiring genetic engineering to create Alexander would mean his birth would be more intentional than accidental. I could see this opening up some interesting plot possibilities.

10. Mostly I think the Mirror Universe uniforms are sexier than the regular universe uniforms. It has never made sense to me that the people in the Mirror Universe seem to experience more sexual pleasure than folks in the regular universe. Beyond that, I see the mirror universe uniforms as a basis around which to create opportunity for individual expression with one's uniform.

[StarSword]

10. Mostly I think the Mirror Universe uniforms are sexier than the regular universe uniforms. It has never made sense to me that the people in the Mirror Universe seem to experience more sexual pleasure than folks in the regular universe. Beyond that, I see the mirror universe uniforms as a basis around which to create opportunity for individual expression with one's uniform.

And why is individual expression and sexiness in uniforms in a military organization a good thing? Jellico had the right idea making Troi lose the dresses and put on a uniform.

If Starfleet pajamas offer poor protection in combat situations and such, how much protection do you think midriff-baring uniforms offer? (One World of Warcraft fan comic pokes fun at this type of thing.) For all their faults, at least the Klingons wear armor. Hell, even SW fighter pilots wear flak jackets.

A better uniform for Starfleet would be one that offers some form of protection and utility and doesn't just look pretty. I don't give a rat's ass about it looking futuristic. In any realistic military organization, safety is important, not looks. On-duty Engineering and Science should wear coveralls (lots of pockets for tools and the like) and have haz-mat suits available (since warp coolant is super-toxic, just for starters). Security and away teams should wear armor (preferably made of packing crates ). When combat is likely, command crew should wear armor capable of pressure-sealing on demand, since a standard tactic in ST ship-to-ship combat is to target the bridge. They should also buckle into their seats so they don't get spaced in the event of an explosive decompression. The only places the pajamas make any sense whatsoever are off-duty and in Medical, and even Dr. Crusher wears a lab coat over hers.

Also, Trek writers should do actual research and listen to their tech advisers, so they don't make stupid mistakes. Data is supposed to be this super-advanced android, but he would've failed science at a modern high school because the guys writing his lines were idiots. Also, lose the technobabble: one of the reasons I like Lt. Paris is that he doesn't use it! Not having any particular interest in writing sci-fi is not an excuse for bad science, or for near-meaningless statements designed to take up screen time.

[Eternal_Freedom]

On the uniforms issue, I think this is one thing that ENT did better than the other series. At least there were pockets.

[StarSword]

On the uniforms issue, I think this is one thing that ENT did better than the other series. At least there were pockets.

Agreed, and I think they also had body armor on their away teams (ENT: "These Are The Voyages...").

[Batman]

The uniforms were about the only thing ENT did right, unfortunately.

As for the TNG PJs, I fail to see why their shipboard uniforms need to offer much in the way of protection. 99+% of modern day uniforms don't and for a very good reason: 99+% of the time they don't need to. Body armour, helmets etc are something you don when you seriously expect to be shot at, not all the time. The problem with the TNG uniforms (and the TOS uniforms, while we're at it) was the complete and utter lack of pockets (other than the mysterious phaser and tricorder holsters that spouted up on away team uniforms).
Away Teams should have a more rugged version of the uniform, but again, unless they're beaming into a known or at least likely hostile situation, there's no need for it to have to function as armour.

Now the TNG engineering crew not having protective suits (which we do see in the TOS movies) or nobody ever wearing body armour even in clear cut combat situations is another matter, but the standard shipboard uniform doesn't have to provide much in the way of protection.

[Batman]

And why is individual expression and sexiness in uniforms in a military organization a good thing?

Starfleet is not a military organization.

They claim that a lot, but it sure has a lot of the aspects of one

If Starfleet pajamas offer poor protection in combat situations and such, how much protection do you think midriff-baring uniforms offer?

Starfleet uniforms are designed for protection and comfort.

The uniforms don't protect against anything except possibly sunburn and judging by all the fidgeting with it the crew does I suspect they aren't particularly comfortable, either

[StarSword]

And why is individual expression and sexiness in uniforms in a military organization a good thing?

Starfleet is not a military organization.

Correction: Starfleet does not call itself a military organization. There was an episode of TNG where the entire crew lost their memory, queried the computer for a summary of Enterprise's systems, and came to the conclusion that she was a warship. Darth Wong cites this episode somewhere on the main site (it'd be nice if he had a Google toolbar ) to refute this exact point.

Apparently for trekkies, if it looks like a duck, talks like a duck, and walks like a duck, it's obviously a hamster.

If Starfleet pajamas offer poor protection in combat situations and such, how much protection do you think midriff-baring uniforms offer?

Starfleet uniforms are designed for protection and comfort.

Comfort, sure. Protection? Hell no. There are any number of instances throughout the canon where armor, haz-mat resistance and the like would have saved lives.

In any realistic military organization, safety is important, not looks.

LOL. Military uniforms are hugely about looks! Soldiers who look good feel better about themselves, get the country to feel better about them, and help recruitment.

Now, in the modern world when working, the looks work with safety, but there's still a lot of times when they are pretty well dressed up, especially in offices.

Well, alright. I'll buy that looks are important for soldiers. But duty uniforms should err on the side of utility, not looks. Dress uniforms can look however you please, since incidents like the beginning of Generations notwithstanding, you typically aren't expected to fight or fix stuff in them.

[Crazedwraith]

Correction: Starfleet does not call itself a military organization. There was an episode of TNG where the entire crew lost their memory, queried the computer for a summary of Enterprise's systems, and came to the conclusion that she was a warship. Darth Wong cites this episode somewhere on the main site (it'd be nice if he had a Google toolbar ) to refute this exact point.

Here it is.

WORF: I have completed a survey of our tactical systems. We are equipped with ten phaser banks, 275 photon torpedoes, and a high capacity shield grid.

MACDUFF: We're a battleship.

WORF: It appears so.

Culture: once freed from the baggage of his relentless Federation indoctrination, it's perfectly obvious to Worf (as well as every other member of the bridge crew) that the Enterprise is a warship.

Once their memories were restored, I presume they immediately reverted to their knee-jerk reflex to describe their ship as a peaceful exploration vessel, in spite of its weaponry and classic military mandate to project Federation power, defend Federation territory and deter potential enemies (all in the name of "peaceful exploration", of course).

It's actually the imposter who claims they're a warship. So the E-D has guns, no-one's denied that. It also has a lot of other shit on board. It has a bunch of science labs, doesn't make it a research complex. It has an arboretum, its not a garden ship etc.

[Stofsk]

I love how Worf taking command in that episode because he was 'obviously' distinct from everyone else because of his sash doesn't get a mention. It turns out judging a book by it's cover is actually stupid and can lead to false conclusions.

[StarSword]

Thanks for digging that up for me, Crazedwraith. That wasn't the instance I was thinking of, but it'll work.

[Crazedwraith]

That's the episode where they lose their memories. Unless there's more than one episode with that plot.

[StarSword]

That's the episode where they lose their memories. Unless there's more than one episode with that plot.

No, "Conundrum" is the right episode. I meant that's not the instance where Mike cited "Conundrum" that I was thinking of.

[Batman]

The uniforms don't protect against anything except possibly sunburn and judging by all the fidgeting with it the crew does I suspect they aren't particularly comfortable, either

Maybe. Of course, the story of Patrick Stewart hating those early ones is well known, but aside from the shirts having a habit to ride up (hence why Picard would always pull it down to straighten it up as he sat), I don't know of complaints about the later ones.
Of course, I've never worn one myself so who knows.

Um-the early uniforms didn't have a shirt that could ride up. If memory serves the two-part uniforms were created precisely because the cast complained the original unitards were uncomfortable.

[Multiverse]

If you could "fix" Star Trek: The Next Generation, who would you have as the main characters of the show? For characters that were on the actual show, how would you change them for your version?

[Stofsk]

Wesley Crusher is at the top of my list. I'd have him be a midshipman. In fact, if I must have teenaged boys and girls on the ship, best to make them midshipmen/cadets in training. He can still be a genius but green; he has knowledge and intuition but not experience. I'd also de-emphasise the whole 'he's a Gene Roddenberry insert' aspect of the character.

Having counselor Troi a member of the crew is fine, just write her better. If you have to explain her presence on the bridge, make it like she's the captain's yeoman who advises Picard and Riker on issues relating to the crew's welfare and so on, and is otherwise a sort of admin assistant or aide; very useful for diplomatic missions. I think the best thing that anyone ever did for her character was when she started wearing a uniform. Above all else curb the annoying tendency the writers had of making her utter self-evident remarks.

Having civilians on the ship is fine; civilian mission specialists on a long-range exploration mission? Why not. Starfleet's not a military in a way that is familiar to our frame of reference. In that respect I never had a problem with TNG.

Probably the biggest thing I'd do though is have more focus on the writing. TNG's writing was a scattershot - some episodes were brilliant, others were terrible. The consistency was highly variable. TNG's best season was its third - most of the episodes were excellent, with only a few turkeys. Its weakest would be its seventh - the first and second weren't good by any stretch of the imagination, but it's easier to stumble when you first start to walk than when you're supposed to have hit your stride. By the seventh season the quality of the scripts had nose-dived and it became abundantly clear that the writers were simply lost. When one of the season's most solid episodes - the two-parter 'Gambit' - can be dismissed by one of the show's regular writers as 'too campy' (admittedly by a hack who couldn't write his way out of a wet paper bag), maybe it's time to do a little bloodletting and bring in fresh talent. Actually assuming we have the power of Q in this I'd get rid of Brannon Braga and Jeri Taylor immediately. The latter wasn't bad during TNG, but she certainly wasn't good, and she took over as lead writer during the seventh season so a lot of its problems can be chalked up to her (lack of) direction. But the former, he hasn't written a goddamn thing that was worthwhile that didn't have someone better to lift it up out of the gutter, like Ronald Moore.

Seriously Braga is one of those puzzles I can't figure out. He must have had compromising photos of Rick Berman stashed away. I can't explain his popularity at all.

Anyway one way you could improve the writing would be to start accepting submissions from actual science fiction writers, and/or guys like Peter David or Diane Duane, who have consistently written some of the best Trek novels.

EDIT: Oh one thing that always bugged me about the romulans, was their cro-magnon foreheads that were utterly inexplicable. I mean really, what the fuck. Also this is just for personal taste, but TOS always gave me the impression that the whole galaxy was the Enterprise's playground. The original series had a much faster warp drive - the Enterprise visited the galactic barrier no less than three times during the course of the show - while the E-D felt much slower and confined to a pie-slice of the galaxy. Introducing the whole concept of 'quadrants' feels counter-productive to me, like it was needlessly restrictive.

[Metahive]

Wesley Crusher is at the top of my list. I'd have him be a midshipman. In fact, if I must have teenaged boys and girls on the ship, best to make them midshipmen/cadets in training. He can still be a genius but green; he has knowledge and intuition but not experience. I'd also de-emphasise the whole 'he's a Gene Roddenberry insert' aspect of the character.

I'd also say that the whole gratuitous "next step in human evolution with (eventually) psychic superpowers" aspect of the character needs to go as well. Someone once described Star Trek's original premise as Horatio Hornblower in Space, so why not make Crusher a direct analogue by having him be a genius but also full of crushing self-doubt?

[Stofsk]

Particularly when you factor in stuff like his father having been killed on a mission.

Doesn't matter how smart you are, one lucky shot from a romulan or whoever and it's all over.

[Multiverse]

In browsing through Wikipedia I found a model for how Starfleet might function in a revised version of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Specifically, I am referring to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps. Were Starfleet to follow the model of the NOAA they would basically be a research focused uniform service with other services handling things like defense. The link to the Wikipedia article on the NOAA is below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOAA_Corps

[StarSword]

Comfort, sure. Protection? Hell no. There are any number of instances throughout the canon where armor, haz-mat resistance and the like would have saved lives.

Name them.

Okay, maybe I was too optimistic. I dug through the (incomplete!) canon database on the main site and found two instances where environment suits would've at least prevented problems. In TNG: "The Naked Now", the crew brings the Enterprise a case of polywater intoxication after they board the SS *something Russian*. Environment suits might've prevented the case of mass insanity that ensued.

Later, in "Shades of Gray," the very first away team to a planet does not wear environment suits, thinking that the transporter's biofilters (already proven worthless at preventing previously unseen contaminants from affecting the crew) will be able to screen out anything undesirable. Next thing we know, something stings Riker, and the biofilters can't screen out the microbes it introduces.

As for armor? You can point to virtually any firefight in the franchise and hypothesize that it might've saved lives or prevented injuries, especially when you consider the material-dependent nature of Star Trek infantry weapons.* Although, again, maybe I'm being too optimistic, since frequently the ST writers' idea of an exciting gun battle is a bunch of guys standing still at twenty paces, shooting at each other with rayguns that don't even nick the paint on the walls, and missing repeatedly. (I am so glad they got a different fight choreographer for the '09 movie.)

* That's another thing: if I had to choose between an FN P90 (submachine gun used by the SGC off-world teams) and a phaser, I'd take the P90 partly because you don't have to guess what its effect on something is: it puts holes in things, period. Whereas a phaser at full power will make a life-form disappear (probably using subspace technobabble), make rock shatter, and have no effect whatsoever on packing crates and bulkheads. The P90 also has some measure of ergonomics, sights, and a trigger guard.

[Stofsk]

In TNG: "The Naked Now", the crew brings the Enterprise a case of polywater intoxication after they board the SS *something Russian*. Environment suits might've prevented the case of mass insanity that ensued.

I believe they wore suits in The Naked Time, but shit still happens.

That was the TOS episode Adam. 'The Naked Now' was the TNG version. I can't remember whether or not they wore enviro suits though.