WI: Star Trek pulled a Doctor Who

[Emperor Norton I]

In Doctor Who, the Doctor and his companions are replaced whenever actors wanted to leave, and this has allowed the show to go on (with a decade long hiatus) for almost 50 years.

So what if Star Trek did that same sort of thing, keeping in mind it somehow getting that constant longevity? Shatner wants to leave in season 7, another Captain comes on or Spock gets promoted, crew come and leave as actors get bored or want to leave, and the crew and ship are constantly dynamic and moving forward in time like an actual ship would. Could that at all work?

[Landshark]

Originally Posted by Emperor Norton I

In Doctor Who, the Doctor and his companions are replaced whenever actors wanted to leave, and this has allowed the show to go on (with a decade long hiatus) for almost 50 years.

So what if Star Trek did that same sort of thing, keeping in mind it somehow getting that constant longevity? Shatner wants to leave in season 7, another Captain comes on or Spock gets promoted, crew come and leave as actors get bored or want to leave, and the crew and ship are constantly dynamic and moving forward in time like an actual ship would. Could that at all work?

It's certainly possible given how long the original Law & Order ran with a similar premise.

[wietze]

" As the enterprise turns"

although the good doctor did have one effect already, american shows have taken over the "christmas special" concept (a town called eureka for example)

[Emperor Norton I]

Originally Posted by wietze

" As the enterprise turns"

Where slash fiction comes true.

[wietze]

or maybe "everybody hates shatner"

[Gimple]

Check out Star Trek Phase II. These are fan based full hour continuing episodes.

[Emperor Norton I]

Originally Posted by Gimple

Check out Star Trek Phase II. These are fan based full hour continuing episodes.

But they don't have a shifting cast and they aren't part of a series on air since 1966.

[Glen]

What can elevate Star Trek to Doctor Who status....

I think you need it to burst into the national consciousness of the US the way Doctor Who did in Britain. Doctor Who had that almost immediately with the Daleks causing Dalekmania. It need not be something like that, but you need something that captures the American imagination. Once Doctor Who is an institution, it will be hard to kill.

I think you need to replace Shatner as Captain at some point, probably the earliest being in season 2, but the latest at the end of season 5. Actually, that would make for an epic moment, at the end of Season five the Enterprise's first 5 year mission ends, Kirk is promoted to Vice Admiral in recognition of his service, with Spock being named Captain of Enterprise, and Kirk officially handing over the reigns to him. I think Nimoy could really make an interesting lead for the series. DeForrest Kelly would probably leave no later than season 5, maybe earlier.

The real question is who can you bring in in season 6 to play the foil(s) for Nimoy. And of course, then there is who else crews the ship in future seasons.

[Gimple]

Originally Posted by Emperor Norton I

But they don't have a shifting cast and they aren't part of a series on air since 1966.

True but they are a good source of ideas for such a TL. For example Checkov from Phase II is the same actor casted in the newer movie.

[Landshark]

Originally Posted by Glen

The real question is who can you bring in in season 6 to play the foil(s) for Nimoy. And of course, then there is who else crews the ship in future seasons.

I don't know about specific actors but character wise you could have the Deckard/Riker character come in as 1st officer. Effectively you'd be switching the dynamic with Kirk and Spock, Human and Vulcan.

[theReturner]

Interesting idea, but I'm not sure if it would work. I think part of the longevity of Doctor Who is that even tough the actor/face of the Doctor has changed, it's still the same character we've growm to know (or not know?) over the years. He's the one constant in a series that's always changing. It's a bit like the James Bond films. Even if you don't know the fanchise very well, you can still enjoy them because you know who the character of James Bond is regardless of the actor who is playing him.

To do something like that with Star Trek, you would either need an iconic actor or character to stay around for years and years. Maybe make the Enterprise sentient? That way you could still have the cast change but keep something familiar to casual viewers and fans alike.

[fortyseven]

Originally Posted by wietze

" As the enterprise turns"

although the good doctor did have one effect already, american shows have taken over the "christmas special" concept (a town called eureka for example)

Warehouse 13 too.

[Celestialhost]

A key difference between Star Trek and Doctor Who is that Star Trek is much more grounded in science fiction and makes that central to it as show. While Doctor Who is about time travel and features a lot of science fiction, it goes beyond that in its appeal.

Doctor Who has something that appeals to every kind of viewer- comedy, adventure, monsters for the kids. Star Trek never had that kind of diversity.

Even more importantly, Doctor Who was aimed at a family viewing demographic and always had a strong appeal to children. That meant that children grew up with Doctor Who.

Perhaps if Star Trek had aimed itself at child viewers more (with much more monsters) it might have maintained Doctor Who's continuity of running.

[Sicarius]

Originally Posted by wietze

" As the enterprise turns"

although the good doctor did have one effect already, american shows have taken over the "christmas special" concept (a town called eureka for example)

Did Doctor Who do Christmas specials before the reboot? Because other shows have been doing Christmas specials for decades.

Anyway, the non-fan Star Trek: Phase II coming to pass might be a good way to fit the bill. Maybe PTVS actually gets pushed through, filling Fox's OTL "fourth network" spot early. Star Trek: Phase II becomes something of a flagship after its 1978 debut, helped by the massive popularity of the recent hit Star Wars. William Shatner knows this, and his demands for more money in the 1980 season ultimately collapse, at which point Captain Will Decker takes over the Enterprise and we're off to the races.

[wietze]

Originally Posted by Celestialhost

Even more importantly, Doctor Who was aimed at a family viewing demographic and always had a strong appeal to children. That meant that children grew up with Doctor Who.

you mean grew up hiding behind the sofa, peeking at the screen because the daleks and more scared you lol.

[Glen]

While the clever way doctor who changes the actor who plays the doctor cannot be used for our enduring Star Trek, I think the success of the Star Trek franchise later on shows that the Star Trek universe itself has enough appeal that if handled properly an ongoing series with a revolving cast of characters can be successful.

"Let history never forget the name Enterprise!"

[Antonio]

Well, early in the pre-production of TNG, David Gerrold, DC Fontana and some of the other people fom TOS that collaborated in the development of TNG proposed that the series could continue by the characters following the usual fate of military personnel: being kicked upstairs, transferred off (or in) and retiring, so that way they could have continued (Law and Order-style) for many years. Unfortunately Gene Roddenberry ego got in the way of this (and many other proposals from the same source), so in the end much of the creative people from TOS left early in the first season (or not even that, D.C. Fontana shortly after writing the original script for Encounter in Farpoint, which was heavily rewritten later)

[unclepatrick]

The idea of Star trek with a rotating cast is not that out there. In the real navy, people come and go all the time. Training, promotions, and other reason. If David Gerold became the Script editor in season 3 or 4, He might have suggested it. In his proposed Starwolf series, the main character was suppose to be the First officer and the captains would change every so often.

So one ask if the original Doctor Who had Christmas special. Yes one episode of the Dalak Master plan was a Christmas episode and ended with the Doctor wishing Christmas Greeting to the Viewers. It a lost episode.

[Barbarossa Rotbart]

I like the idea of a revolving cast. In combination with story consistency it would have been great (and it could have run for decades). Cast changes (promotions, retirements, transfers, deaths) would have not been the only changes. Other changes would have been costume changes (new uniforms) and set changes (refits).

[Noravea]

My attempt.

Star Trek (1966-1997/2009-Present)

The Captains:

-----Original Series-----
William Shatner..........Captain James T. Kirk (1966-1972)
Leonard Nimoy...........Captain Spock (1972-1980)
Stephen Collins..........Captain Willard Decker (1980-1984)
Nichelle Nichols........Captain Uhura (1984-1985)
James Doohan...........Captain Montgomery Scott (1985-1987)
Patrick Stewart.........Captain Jean-Luc Picard (1987-1997)

-----Cancellation/Film Era-----
Jonathan Frakes........Captain William T. Riker (1998, 2001, 2003)

-----New Beginning/Reboot-----
Chris Pine........Captain Tiberius Jameson (2009- )

-------------------------------------

The History of Production:

Star Trek was the brainchild of the late Gene Roddenberry, and was first released in 1966 originally as a low-budget science fiction series on NBC. For its first 3 seasons, Star Trek made history, having the first interracial kiss on television, as well as an integrated crew of all races and sexes. By the third season (1968-1969) the show was cancelled by NBC, but Gene Roddenberry convinced NBC to have a Christmas Special for 1969 as a farewell to the dedicated fan base. Coupled with the Moon landings that summer, the Christmas Special was one of the most watched television event of the 1960s (Only being surpassed by the Moon landings). After a letter-writing campaign, and an alleged letter from President Richard Nixon to NBC, the show was renewed for a Fourth season and a massive budget increase. The 4th season and 5th season saw many celebrities guest-starring on the show, and the start of Trek Mania, one of the largest fan bases in the world (And often comparable to Doctor Who's Dalekmania).

William Shatner and his cast continued for two more years until 1972, when at the end of the fifth season, Shatner announced he would leave the show. To say farewell to his fans, Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released, depicting the farewell of Captain Kirk as he was promoted to Admiral for saving Earth, as well as the promotion of Spock to Captain. The film won Best Picture, Shatner Best Actor, and Leonard Nimoy as Best Supporting Actor. Leonard Nimoy's tenure as the star of Star Trek lasted 8 seasons, and saw a massive increase in budget. The famed Enterprise was refitted between the 1976-1977 season, and new cast members were introduced. DeForest Kelley, playing Doctor McCoy since 1966, retired in 1976 after 3 years of being First Officer, only to be replaced by Nichelle Nicholas as Uhura becoming the First Officer. By 1980, Leonard Nimoy's tenure on the show as Captain saw 4 films, the most popular being Star Trek V: The Terror of Centauri, winning Best Picture, Best Actor (For Nimoy) and Best Director (Nimoy). It was America's third highest-grossing film ever.

Stephen Collins took the helm of Star Trek as Captain Willard Decker in 1980, starting what was considered by fans to be the series' 'Dark Times', when there were massive budget cuts, and often poorly scripted episodes. In 1982, facing cancellation, Gene Roddenberry brought back the original cast to star in a film, Star Trek VI: The Wrath of Khan, bringing back one of the series' greatest villains, Khan, for a film starring Shatner and Nimoy. The film was a success, and became the highest-grossing film in history. It saved the show, but not Collins' reputation on the show. Collins left the show in 1984, his final episode seeing the destruction of the Enterprise and his characters death. Gene Roddenberry's tragic death that year in a car-crash saw the show come into new hands, and a largely new cast being brought on. Nichelle Nichols' tenure as Captain Uhura from 1984-1985 had nearly 55 high-budget episodes to bring back old fans of the show. The show under Nichols' year and a half long tenure saw the crew rebuilding the Enterprise, and introduced Patrick Stewart and his future cast. Uhura left the show in 1985, leaving Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov as the remaining original series cast members. Sulu and Chekov became Admirals, and Scotty became Captain for two years, largely exploring the inner-workings of Starfleet.

In 1987, Star Trek's "Golden Age" began when James Doohan retired from the show. Patrick Stewart, who was a regular since 1982, became the lead, and for the first time since 1966, an entirely new cast was on the show (Sulu and Chekov, as well as other original cast members occasionally guest-starred). Under Stewart's leadership, known as "The Next Generation", ten seasons of high-budget success were met with many arguing Stewart as Picard was the best Captain alongside Captain Kirk. Under Picard's tenure, the cast got a new Enterprise, and became a television institution. Seven films were produced during Stewart's years as Captain, and in 1996, it was announced that the show would end. The show's farewell in 1997 however wasn't the end. Jonathan Frakes, who starred alongside Stewart as the First Officer from 1987 to 1997 would star as Captain during the 12 years the show was cancelled in 3 major films, all three being critically acclaimed, but often lacking any strong popularity.

During the 1990s and early 2000s, three spinoff shows were released, among them being Deep Space Nine (1993-1999), and Star Trek Voyager (1995-2001), each one having films, books, and radio shows. While both were very popular, they never reached the popularity of the original series.

The show would return in 2009 under J.J. Abrams' control. Chris Pine starred in a 2009 film rebooting the show, and introducing a new Enterprise. Pine would star as Captain Kirk's grandson Tiberius Jameson, and would star with new cast members, and the occasional guest-star from the original series, among them Captain Kirk, Spock, and Picard. In 2012, Leonard Nimoy returned as a permanent cast member as Admiral Spock, along with new spinoff series' being produced. In 2013, a new film is set to be released, and rumors of Pine's leaving the show after the 2013-2014 season continue. The second movie in the reboot era is to be called Star Trek XX: The Return of Khan.