A british Star Trek Show.

unclepatrick · Sep 3, 2012

It started with a child Letter to the BBC in 1996. "Love Star Trek but why is there only Americans in Space in the Future?"

The BBC had good ratings with the recent Star Trek Show, Next Gen, Deep Space 9 and Voyager. The BBC had done Good Sci Fi in the past with Doctor Who, Blake 7 and Red Dwarf, but now none of those were being made.

The Head of the BBC decides to contact Paramount and do a deal to make a British Star Trek spinoff. Paramount agrees, in exchange for the broadcasting rights in the US and control of the Merchandising. BBC pays for the show and get revenue from sales to all other countries but the US.
UPN get a New Star Trek for nothing.

1997 Star Trek UK: the on going Voyages of the Star Ship Nelson premeres.

How would this show different from US version of Star Trek?
Who would star in the Show?
Who would be the Producer and who would be the writers?

(Yes I know the POD is ASB but I being driven Crazy by both Parents and Inlaws today.)

Antonio · Sep 3, 2012

Probably it would be quite closer to DS9 in tone. And they won't resist the temptation of doing a Who "backdoor pilot".

Mike Stearns · Sep 3, 2012

Antonio said:
Probably it would be quite closer to DS9 in tone. And they won't resist the temptation of doing a Who "backdoor pilot".

I know that they want to do a Who/Trek crossover on Enterprise, but they were never able to make it work. Too bad. I am having a very fun image of Starfleet fighting Daleks.

Caspian · Sep 3, 2012

Wouldn't British Star Trek just be Blake's 7?

Some Bloke · Sep 3, 2012

Space, the Final Frontier;
These are the Voyages of the Starship Endeavour ...

King Midas · Sep 3, 2012

The Federation's main ally would be a culture of brash, impulsive, self absorbed people that the wiser Federation captain would have to continually bail out of trouble...

Marc Pasquin · Sep 3, 2012

King Midas said:
The Federation's main ally would be a culture of brash, impulsive, self absorbed people that the wiser Federation captain would have to continually bail out of trouble...

are we talking about the Farenchy or the Ya'anks here ?

Akeel1701 · Sep 3, 2012

caspian88 said:
Wouldn't British Star Trek just be Blake's 7?

My initial feeling is that if the bbc tried to make firefly it'd look like blakes.7

King Midas · Sep 3, 2012

Marc Pasquin said:
are we talking about the Farenchy or the Ya'anks here ?

<G>I was thinking of the Ya'anks.

The Farenchy would be a now decadent culture more consumed by internal politics, and mainly annoyed by interstellar events. Though having their leader be an assimilated alien Magg Yar would be interesting...

Meadow · Sep 3, 2012

unclepatrick said:
It started with a child Letter to the BBC in 1996. "Love Star Trek but why is there only Americans in Space in the Future?"

The BBC had good ratings with the recent Star Trek Show, Next Gen, Deep Space 9 and Voyager. The BBC had done Good Sci Fi in the past with Doctor Who, Blake 7 and Red Dwarf, but now none of those were being made.

The Head of the BBC decides to contact Paramount and do a deal to make a British Star Trek spinoff. Paramount agrees, in exchange for the broadcasting rights in the US and control of the Merchandising. BBC pays for the show and get revenue from sales to all other countries but the US.
UPN get a New Star Trek for nothing.

1997 Star Trek UK: the on going Voyages of the Star Ship Nelson premeres.

How would this show different from US version of Star Trek?
Who would star in the Show?
Who would be the Producer and who would be the writers?

(Yes I know the POD is ASB but I being driven Crazy by both Parents and Inlaws today.)

He'd never do it, but if they wanted to one-up Stewart as Picard, Ian Richardson would make a superb British Starfleet captain.

Marc Pasquin · Sep 3, 2012

Meadow said:
He'd never do it, but if they wanted to one-up Stewart as Picard, Ian Richardson would make a superb British Starfleet captain.

Would be funny if their answer to picard was to hire Gerard Depardieu to play a captain called Alistair Smith.

Lord Brisbane · Sep 3, 2012

Meadow said:
He'd never do it, but if they wanted to one-up Stewart as Picard, Ian Richardson would make a superb British Starfleet captain.

By 1996 he's past 60 which would be a little too old for someone of the rank captain in my opinion - but he's just come off the very successful and highly rated House of Cards trilogy.

Maybe Timothy Dalton as captain?

Faeelin · Sep 3, 2012

Everyone mocking the BBC and saying their show would be grimdark has seen Doctor Who, right?

The protagonist is viewed as a monster because he defends worlds, aliens are beaten with the power of HUMAN LOVE, and one of the show's points is that humans are awesome.

Meadow · Sep 3, 2012

Lord Brisbane said:
By 1996 he's past 60 which would be a little too old for someone of the rank captain in my opinion - but he's just come off the very successful and highly rated House of Cards trilogy.

Maybe Timothy Dalton as captain?

That's the thing, Richardson was epically hot TV property at that point. You're right though - perhaps a senior Federation figure or a *Spock on the ship.

Lord Brisbane · Sep 4, 2012

Meadow said:
That's the thing, Richardson was epically hot TV property at that point. You're right though - perhaps a senior Federation figure or a *Spock on the ship.

For a senior figure on the ship that doesn't need to do to many action sequences, he could pull it off - from what I've read he liked to keep generally fairly fit and was active until his death, so the odd rumble would be fine.

Perhaps a more "magnificant bastard" version of the Rush character from SGU. Although depending on how he's written, critics might merely says its "Francis Urquhart in space."

MattII · Sep 4, 2012

Would they cast an all British crew do you think, or would we see other European nationalities in the crew?

Akeel1701 · Sep 4, 2012

MattII said:
Would they cast an all British crew do you think, or would we see other European nationalities in the crew?

I think an all-British crew might work, depending on the circumstances - on Earth, is the UK part of Europe or standing alone? The crew would probably reflect that.

If the crew is all British then include all the regions - Scottish, Irish and Welsh as well as English.

We still have to have a Scottish engineer, and actually have him/her being portrayed by a Scottish actor.

Wonder what the Vulcans would make of Cockney rhyming slang - some might be confused but some might also pick it up very quickly

Richter von Manthofen · Sep 4, 2012

I am wondering if there still is a His or Her Majesty in the ST Universe.

(I think in ST:Enterprise it was hinted that the Royal Navy still exists as a Blue Water Navy)

So we might get the "HMS Lady Di" on a mission to "whatever".

Bernard Woolley · Sep 4, 2012

It started with a child Letter to the BBC in 1996. "Love Star Trek but why is there only Americans in Space in the Future?"

Scotty, Chekov, Uhuru? Plus Kirk, although an American is played by a Canadian.

MattII · Sep 4, 2012

Akeel1701 said:
I think an all-British crew might work, depending on the circumstances - on Earth, is the UK part of Europe or standing alone? The crew would probably reflect that.

Part of Europe almost certainly. Mind you, I suppose an all-British ship wouldn't be too bad if we occasionally got an all-German or all-French ship in the plot.