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Dammit Jim!

Ron Moore Fills Us In On What It Would Take To Bring Star Trek Back To TV

by Jill Pantozzi | 4:14 pm, October 1st, 2012


Many of you know Ron Moore thanks to him bringing Battlestar Galactica back to television but less of you may be aware that he worked on several of the Star Trek series. He’s got a few projects in the pipeline at the moment, one of them being A Knight’s Tale drama series for ABC, but he recently weighed in on how to bring the sci-fi giant back to the small screen. 

Speaking with Wired, Moore discussed the difference between each incarnation of the Star Trek film franchise and their TV counterparts. He said the films are mostly action-oriented with very big stakes for Earth or the universe at large.

“But the lifeblood of Star Trek‘s television shows is its morality plays and social commentary. It’s sci-fi that provides a prism on human society and culture,” he told Wired. “The movies are never really going to do what the episodes do, like split Picard into two in a transporter beam and then talk philosophically about the nature of humanity, which parts of our strength come from good and which from evil. The movies are never going to do that.”

But he argued that people are more familiar with Star Trek as a TV show and that he believes another would be successful. “You have to spend some time talking about its form and structure, and how to update it again for a new audience,” he said. “You still want the ‘boldly go where no one has gone before’ part with a ship, crew and ongoing mission. That’s part and parcel of the franchise.”

He did, however, mention a new show would need to be a bit larger than in the past and not rely on the “villain of the week” format.

“That’s really not what the series was very good at. I mean, you could look back at the original Star Trek series or The Next Generation and find some cool action-adventure episodes with space battles, but the show is about so much more than that. If you were trying to do that flavor of Star Trek on television every week, it would just fail,” he said.

What do you think? Could a Star Trek TV show work in the current climate? Would you want to watch another?

(via Blastr)

Previously in Star Trek

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  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=735330678 Christopher Haley

    Yes yes yes! Please and thank you! None of the Star Trek shows ever had story-arcs in the same way BSG (reboot) did. They were very villain-of-the-week, like Moore said, with the occasional 2-part story. I’d be very eager to see modern television storytelling, with overlapping story arcs, in a Star Trek TV show.

  • AirDave

    Having TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise all on within a few years of each other – on top of the films featuring the original cast, books and comics – Star Trek did reach a saturation point. Now, I think less is more.

  • Anonymous

    Weeeell… If i hadn’t see the BSG series not knowing it was a reboot (or a prequel, whatever), I wouldn’t trust a new Star Trek series. But, with good authors, and good “renewal” choices (design, characters, stakes), could be good. Or at least interesting to look.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OD35QQZNBPZJXWTCBY7N4EE7VY Sarah

    Did you watch DS9? It definitely had story arcs that went beyond
    2-parters, with consequences that were far-reaching (not just hitting
    the reset button).

  • http://www.facebook.com/brian.adkins.77 Brian Adkins

    I’ve told people the same thing Moore is saying here. But honestly,what else can it say about us? ST,after a certain point, started recycling stories,i.e. viewpoints, in their episodes.

  • John Wao

    I certainly could use several more years of Star Trek free television. (blasphemy!)

    It’s not just the monster of the week stuff but it’s that they rehash the same plots just like they do in every new doctor/lawyer/cop show.
    It would be one thing if JJ Abrams’ Star Trek movie was radically different and new but it was basically rehashing what had come before it. I mean right off the bat they use time travel as a plot device. Why isn’t every race with a space ship traveling back in time and just undoing everything until they get the results they want?
    This just tells me that another show would be like another version of Madden Football same game different roster.

  • Phil Nixon

    Setting a new Star Trek series around an ‘event’ a la Dominion War in DS9 could make a new show work. You’d get the best of both worlds a villain and extended plotlinesstory arcs.

  • http://www.facebook.com/mark.matson6 Mark Matson

    Way back when, I thought the followup to TNG should be yet-another-next-generation onboard the first Federation ship capable of traveling between galaxies. Such a ship would require a hibernation period for the crew and they would be completely cut off from the Federation and on their own.

    Voyager sort of went that way, but they lost the feel of adventure because they were trapped and trying to get back home. That’s totally different than exploring on your own free will, on a mission to study and boldly go. Unfortunately, I think Voyager ruined such an idea from ever happening.

  • Anonymous

    I second the notion that you should check out DS9! Past season 3 especially. It was unlike any other Trek show, and it utterly shone.

  • Anonymous

    I think a limited-season, quality-over-quantity approach could work (I’m thinking about Sherlock here, though those seasons are a bit *too* short). I would definitely give it a chance.

  • sir_wible

    I’m glad that DS9 was recognized by many responding to this story, though I still love the original series as well. With that said, should another series comes along I would hope they pay homage to the entire mythology of the Trek universe, which Rick Berman often tried to do in my opinion. There are many stories to be told, and quite frankly many old stories to revisit, much like Khan was for instance. It’s a wide universe out there and its time for another ship to come in, especially a defiant class warship:}

  • http://twitter.com/TheAtomicHouse Kevin & Robin

    There is a lack of good science fiction on tv. What sci-fi shows the networks do pick up have a combination of bad writing/acting/premise. Fans are starving for any sort of new, good show. If that show is a Star Trek reboot? Awesome. It can’t be worse than Enterprise, right? At this point I would even watch a late night talk show hosted by Farscape’s Rygel puppet.

  • glacia

    DS9 did a good job with long story arcs. Enterprise also tried but with questionable success. In a sense Voyager was one long story arc.

  • Robert

    It’s called the Temporal Cold War to answer your question. The explain it in Star Trek.

  • http://www.facebook.com/migelle.patterson Migelle Patterson

    love if there was a new star trek series on tv a prequel series set in 2200 with captain robert april would answer alot of questions,alot is missing from enterprise set (2151) and the original series set (2264) what happened in thos 114years, great for loyal fans, or reboot more of a parallel quantum of star trek same type of ship with different types of characters and a new feel of missions and directives and reinvention of how we now see are future now and see the adviced we can make tecnology medision and are selfs, so it doesnt hurt the other previous star trek shows

  • http://www.facebook.com/joseph.damiani.7 Joseph Damiani

    I think the idea of storylines lasting 3-5 episode seem like a good compromise

  • Oscar G

    Having a new series would be good but i think the outline that Star Trek Online has a good combination of books, old episodes and new ideas for a tv show can be. if they could expand on the game, i would really like to see that.

  • Anonymous

    I’d like to see just one or two tv-movie type productions per year.

  • Anonymous

    Not a bad idea. All we’ve seen of that era is about 12 minutes of the USS Kelvin in 2233

  • Thugastrike

    I miss Star Trek. It was one of the few shows I enjoyed. Bring it back!!!

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