An Alternate Trek

[HonestAbe1809]

They did.Thank you for the comment.

Good. That way we're saved from "woman fights oppressive evil lesbians for the right to be straight". LGBT rights activists will praise this episode in the years to come

No, ITTL the equivalent character is played by Steve Buscemi. It is anything but a caricature!

The problem with OTL Time's Arrow is that doing an impression of an impression, which is what Trek did with Twain, just turns a real person into a caricature. Like how literally everyone's Shatner impression exaggerates his rather unique cadence.

Mea Culpa bad editing on my part

Thank you for the comment. When re-editing I took the opportunity to also change some other mistakes which had slipped through.

Who replaced Raleigh when he died?

You know what'd be amusing? If there was a one-off/semi-recurring character named Riker who pissed Marshall off. Just for the OTL actor association of having a character named Riker frustrate a character played by Frakes.

 

[Lindseyman]

Who replaced Raleigh when he died?.

Jeffrey Combs' character Sovak was promoted to be First Officer. His "guilt" at being promoted over Data formed an important subplot for the first half of season 4.

 

[Lindseyman]

Explorer

Enterprise: The Next Generation had proved to be an outstanding success. So much so that discussions were held as early as during season three about the possibilities of another series spun off from it. Discussions were ongoing for the next year but were slightly hindered by Gene Roddenberry’s failing health and by uncertainty about the basic premise of the show. However in 1991 Rick Berman was asked to fully develop the show which by now was being called Explorer.

The series was designed to have more interpersonal conflict than its predecessors, while still staying true to the universe that Gene Roddenberry had created. Rick Berman commented:

"The problem with Enterprise: The Next Generation is Gene created a group of characters that he purposely chose not to allow conflict between. Fleet officers cannot be in conflict, thus it’s murderous to write these shows because there is no good drama without conflict, and the conflict has to come from outside the group. What we wanted to do was something that was almost paradoxical – bring conflict but not break Gene's rules. They still play paramount importance in what we're doing. We created an environment where Fleet officers were in a location that they weren't happy about being in, and they were in a location where the people who were already there weren't all that happy about them. We also created a situation where we had people who were members of our core group who were not Fleet.”

It was important for the writers to vary the series from Enterprise: The Next Generation in other ways. Berman stated, "When came around and we knew we were going to place the series on a star ship we wanted to do it in a way that was not going to be that redundant when it came to The Next Generation. So we had a certain amount of conflict on the ship because of the Tellurians. We had a different dynamic because we were not speaking every day to Fleet and because we had a female captain. Those were the major differences that set this show apart from the others... It had the core belief of what Enterprise was all about, both in terms of the excitement and the action and in terms of the provocative elements of ideas that Enterprise has always been known to present to the audience."

Regarding Gene Roddenberry's involvement, Berman stated, "Michael (Piller) and I discussed it with Gene when we were still in the early stages, but never anything conceptual." "We never got a chance to discuss it (the concept) with Gene. By the time we had it to the point that it was discussable, he was in pretty bad shape and not really in the condition that it would have been wise to discuss it with him. On two specific occasions I was with him at his house and we tried to bring it up, but it wasn't really appropriate."

Jeri Taylor concurred that Explorer had to be different from its predecessors. She stated, "We felt a need to create an avenue for new and fresh storytelling. We are forced into creating a new universe. We have to come up with new aliens, we have to come up with new situations." Taylor also recalled, "We knew we were taking some risks. We decided, in a very calculated way, to cut our ties with everything that was familiar. This is a dangerous thing to do. There is no more Fleet, there are no more admirals to tell us what we can and cannot do, there are no Klingons, there are no Ferengi, no Carnyate. All those wonderful array of villains that the audience has come to love and hate at the same time will no longer be there. This is a tricky thing to do

Differentiating the new series from what had gone before hardened the challenge of inventing the series' main characters. Jeri Taylor recounted, "It took a long, long time, it took us weeks and weeks and weeks, even to come up with a cast of characters, because we found that so many wonderful characters had already been done and we didn't want to exactly repeat ourselves. We'd come up with an idea then say, 'No, that's too much like Data,' or, 'That's too much like Marshall,' or, 'That's too much like M’ogh.' So to try to find the right balance of characters, in terms of gender and alien species and that kind of thing, really took a long time.

Finally the basic premise was sorted out. A New United Systems ship the USS Endeavor was to be swept to the other side of the galaxy by an unstable wormhole. Once there they would find a Tellurian ship the KSS Revanche (Both names were a nod to the ITC Star Trek). Both crews would incur considerable losses due to conflict with a local power and would have to merge crews on the Tellurian ship in order to try to get home.

Berman commented

“It struck us out of the blue. What if to get home the Endeavor crew had to work with the Tellurian crew? Originally the ship to be used was going to be the Endeavor but it set up more potential if the ship used was the Revanche. There would be disagreements about who was in command, whose regulations were to be used, the disposition of positions between the two crews. We were really enthusiastic about the possibilities!”

 

[Lindseyman]

Season 6 of Enterprise:The Next Generation

The sixth season of Enterprise: The Next Generation commenced airing in broadcast syndication in the United States on September 21, 1992 and concluded on June 21, 1993 after airing 26 episodes.

The season begins with the successful rescue of Data from the nineteenth century, and we begin to learn just how long the Guardian has been involved in Earth’s history.

Sisko is temporarily assigned away from the Enterprise for a dangerous espionage mission against the Carnyate, but is captured and subjected to torture, nearly succumbing before being released.

Sovak also experiences a deeply personal conflict, making a gripping personal battle with his own sanity.

Several well-known recurring characters make appearances this season, the most famous among them being James Hunter. The Enterprise Captain from the Original Series is discovered alive, and after an awkward period adjusting to the new situation, saves the day yet again.

Ratings

The Nielson rating for this season never fell below 10.2 (“Chain of Command”). The highest rating was 13.9 for “Legend pt 2”. Most episodes were between 11.7 and 13.3. The show never fell below 4th and was again more often or not 2nd or 3rd in ranking for its timeslot with some 1st.

Reviews

Juliet Lapidos referring to “Chain of Command” wrote for Slate that “The Next Generation take is darker and more politically progressive: Torture is counterproductive for the interrogator and devastating-both physically and emotionally-for the subject.”

Jeremy Conrad for IGN wrote “There are some solid episodes in the season, but not too many of them come close to the greatness that was seen in the previous seasons, except of course “Legend”.

Zack Handlen for AV Club wrote “It's been a good season by and large, certainly better than I was expecting.”

Awards

Enterprise: The Next Generation was nominated for several Emmys this year but didn’t win any of them. However “The Inner Light” from Season 5 won a Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation.

Episodes

In the following table, episodes are listed by the order in which they aired.

1 "Time's Arrow, pt 2"

The Enterprise crew follow Data to Rome of the 1890s. The crew deals with Pietro Mascagni (Steve Buscemi) and runs into the Guardian (David McCallum) while trying to find a way to prevent aliens from interfering with 19th century Earth.

2 "Realm of Fear"

Marshall (Jonathan Frakes) must overcome his dislike of a new subordinate Thomas Riker (John De Lancie) to solve a mystery.

3 "Diplomatic Immunity"

Ambassador Beverly (Gates McFadden) must use all her skills to prevent a diplomatic crisis.

4 "Legend pt 1"

The Enterprise investigates a vessel that crashed on the surface of an asteroid 75 years ago. To their surprise they find a still living James Hunter (William Shatner).

5 “Legend pt 2”

When the Bridge Crew is incapacitated by a Carnyate attack, Hunter assumes command and using his experience defeats the attack.

6 "Schisms"

Several members of the crew are abducted and experimented on while they sleep, including Sovak (Jeffrey Combs), Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy), La Forge (Tim Russ), and Marshall, and become sleep deprived.

7 "Rascals"

A transporter malfunction turns Sisko (Avery Brooks), Hernandez (Salma Hayak) and M’ogh (Michael Dorn) into children who become the ship's only hope when they are left aboard while the adult crew are forced to perform dangerous labour by Ferengi pirates.

8 "A Fistful of Datas"

Data's mind is connected to the ship's computer which creates unforeseen effects.

9 "The Quality of Life"

Data observes that mining tools have become sentient beings and fights for their preservation. To save Sisko, the tools must be put in harm's way. Data refuses to allow this since it is unacceptable to kill one sentient being to save another. One of these tools decides to give its own life to save the others.

10 "Chain of Command, Pt I"

Captain Karla (Patrick Stewart) is assigned command of the Enterprise while Sisko is sent on a covert mission into Carnyate territory.

11 "Chain of Command, Pt 2"

Sisko, having been captured, is tortured by a sadistic Carnyate interrogator (played by David Warner).

12 "Ship in a Bottle"

The Enterprise is captured by a strange force and is made part of a display in a museum. They are rescued by the Guardian (Burgess Meredith)

13 "Aquiel"

La Forge falls for an alien Starfleet officer Aquiel Uhnari (Renée Jones) who is suspected of murder.

14 "Face of the Enemy"

Sovak is involuntarily recruited to assist in the transport of defectors across the border.

15 "Tapestry"

An accident incapacitates Sisko. He analyses his past choices.

16 "Birthright"

M’ogh is told that his father is alive and is being held prisoner by the Carnyate. He goes AWOL to rescue him.

17 "Court Martial"

M’ogh, is court martialled for his actions.

18 "Starship Mine"

Thieves attempt to steal trilithium from the Enterprise during a Baryon sweep at the Remmler Array and Sisko alone must thwart them.

19 "Lessons"

Riker is sent on a mission and learns something about himself.

20 "The Chase"

The Enterprise rescues an alien who wants to be reunited with his pursuers.

21 "Frame of Mind"

Sovak finds himself prisoner in an alien mental institution which resembles scenes from “One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”

22 "Suspicions"

Dr. Crusher (Jenny Agutter) risks her career to solve the murder of Tellurian scientist Dr. Winhardt and vindicate his research.

23 "Heirloom"

Sovak, after his recent experiences, has a crisis of faith and travels to a Vulcanian holy site where he makes an astounding discovery

24 "Second Chances"

Ensign M’ogh redeems himself on an away mission.

25 "Timescape"

The Enterprise is caught in temporal stasis and on the brink of destruction by a FTC ship.

26 "Descent"

A message sends the Enterprise to the Guardian’s planet.

 

[Lindseyman]

Season 7 of Enterprise:The Next Generation

The seventh and final season of Enterprise: The Next Generation commenced airing in broadcast syndication in the United States on September 20, 1993 and concluded on May 23, 1994 after airing 26 episodes.

The season begins with the crew helping the Guardian defend his planet. It continued a theme of family history with some of the episodes. Data confronts the realization that his relationship with the Rememberer Androids has yet to be resolved. In "Interface", Marshall attempts to save his father from a damaged ship and is forced to deal with his loss.

Sisko also faces challenges with his father in "Thine Own Self" and his relationship with his family – past, present, and future – in the series finale "All Good Things..."

While Michael Piller continued to be credited as Executive Producer, he chose to focus on Explorer more, as it was encountering difficulties, and so Jeri Taylor took over as showrunner for the final season of the series. One of her first decisions was to put an end to the open-submission process that Piller had put in place for scripts, and focus the writing around a core team of regular staff, with freelancers occasionally invited to make submissions.

Ronald D. Moore has admitted he was less than satisfied with this season. In an interview about Enterprise and Explorer he said “Enterprise, I think, overstayed its welcome. The last season of that show is kind of rough. To be honest, there are chunks of it I haven't watched myself. The show just didn't know what it was trying to do in the last year."

Moore said a similar thing in 1998; "I wish we could've had a more coherent idea of what we wanted to accomplish in TNG's last year. Too much of it was random story-telling without a sense of bringing the show to a conclusion."

Ratings

The season never fell below 11.2 and was often over 12.5. The highest ratings were obtained by the season finale “All Good Things” which achieved a rating of 14.2, whilst the lowest was the 11.2 achieved by “Lower Decks”. The rankings were consistently 2nd or 1st.

Awards

This season was nominated for, and won, the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, making Enterprise: The Next Generation the first syndicated series to win the award.

Reviews

Will Wade for Common Sense Media stated “Still going boldly, updated series is fun for all.”

However Jeremy Conrad for IGN said” There are very few great episodes in this year, but the fantastic series finale saves it from oblivion.”

Whereas John J. O’Connor for the New York Times was of the opinion that “..Still one of the most successful drama series ever put into syndication.”

Episodes


1 "Descent, Part II"

The Guardian (Burgess Meredith) is rescued from his enemy but he is gravely weakened and vanishes..

2 "Liaisons"

Sovak (Jeffrey Combs) and M’ogh (Michael Dorn), now reinstated as a Lieutenant, reluctantly play host to two Iyaaran ambassadors while Sisko crashes in a shuttle with another Iyaaran. He is rescued by a human female who exhibits strange behaviour. It is revealed that this is the Iyaaran way of learning about other species.

3 "Interface"

Marshall (Johnathan Frakes) tries to rescue his father's starship via a remotely controlled probe.

4 "Gambit, Part I"

The Enterprise crew investigate the apparent murder of Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) during a trip. Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy) is kidnapped by mercenaries and finds Sisko working as part of their crew.

5 "Gambit, Part II"

Sisko and Shelby help mercenaries collect archaeological artefacts to prevent an ancient Vulcanian weapon from falling into the wrong hands.

6 "Phantasms"

Data experiences strange dreams while the Enterprise has issues with its renewed warp core. But all is not as it seems.

7 "Dark Page"

A psychic breakdown puts Sovak in a coma and Dr Crusher (Jenny Agutter) works to save his life.

8 "Attached"

A Klingon exchange officer (Tony Todd) is accused of espionage. M’ogh clears his name and finds the real culprit.

9 "Force of Nature"

A pair of scientists show that warp drives are harming the fabric of space.

10 "Loyalties"

Data encounters another Android (Robert Englund). He finds his loyalties torn and has to decide whether he stays with the Enterprise or goes with the Android.

11 "Parallels"

Shelby finds herself randomly shifting between alternate realities, after attending a training course and celebrating her birthday.

12 "The Pegasus"

Sisko's former Captain, Admiral Tourischeva (Natalia Nogulich) boards the Enterprise to retrieve the USS Pegasus. Sisko becomes concerned about the operation and asks Sovak to investigate the circumstances.

13 "Homeward"

The Enterprise encounters a strange ship of reptilian beings trying to reach its home world. It is with some shock that they find that that world is Earth!

14 "Sub Rosa"

Dr. Crusher attends her grandmother's funeral and takes on an unusual family tradition. She finds that the house is inhabited by a spirit who is 800 years old, and was her grandmother's lover. She also finds herself having an erotic love affair with the spirit until it is discovered he is just using her.

15 "Lower Decks"

Junior officers buck for promotion as one of them is assigned the dangerous task of helping a Carnyate spy, and ends in the death of one of them.

16 "Thine Own Self"

Sisko goes to Earth to visit his father (Brock Peters) after his brother’s death. They eventually reconcile themselves with each other.

17 "Masks"

The Enterprise finds an ancient library that recreates its civilization by taking possession of Data and transforming the ship. Data exhibits symptoms of schizophrenia.

18 "Eye of the Beholder"

Shelby investigates the suicide of a crewman and uncovers a murder that took place during construction of the Enterprise.

19 "Genesis"

The Enterprise investigates rumours of a Carnyate super weapon.

20 "Journey's End"

Hernandez considers her future as the Enterprise is ordered to remove settlers from a planet that is about to fall under Carnyate jurisdiction.

21 "Mutiny pt 1"

Mutinies spread through the Fleet as a result of the Treaty with the Carnyate. Sisko refuses to obey orders to lead a force against the mutineers.

22 "Mutiny pt 2"

The mutiny ends as the Carnyate repudiates the Treaty and tries to seize more territory. Sisko leads a force of the former mutineers to victory.

23 "Emergence"

The Enterprise becomes an emergent intelligence. It is discovered that the ship is creating a new life form via the holodeck characters.

24 "Pre-emptive Strike"

The Carnyate launches its Genesis Weapon against the New United Systems. However it backfires very spectacularly.

25 "All Good Things..pt 1"

Promoted to Admiral, Sisko leads the New United Systems contingent of a joint Tellurian/Klingon/New United Systems force that investigates what has happened to the Carnyate.

26. “All Good Things..pt 2”

Admiral Sisko finds himself being transported between three time periods, thanks to the Guardian (Robin Williams), He manages to protect the Timeline from the effects of the Genesis Weapon. At the end he oversees the transfer of command of the Enterprise to Sovak.

 

[Lindseyman]

Explorer:the unproduced Star Trek

Explorer, is an unproduced American science fiction television series created by Paramount as a follow on to Enterprise: The Next Generation, which ran from 1987 to 1994. The plans for the series were first developed after the third season of TNG, but there were continual problems with the storyline and production. The initial order was for a two-hour pilot episode, followed by 13 episodes.

After many difficulties Michael Piller left the final season of TNG to Jeri Taylor and concentrated on trying to bring the plans for Explorer to fruition. It was a fraught process but by the time that the final episodes of TNG were being shot Piller felt that he was ready to start the production of Explorer.

In an interview with SFX magazine in 2006, in the run up to the 40th anniversary of the ITC Star Trek, Piller recalled

“We had got a budget, the sets were designed, we had got a cast, we even had scripts for the first season then the Paramount executives got cold feet.”

“Why, I’m not sure. However I think that there were two causes:

Firstly, they hadn’t really liked the idea of a joint United Systems/Tellurian crew from the start but were prepared to run with it if the ship was captained by a United Systems Officer. However we had them captained by a Tellurian. The idea was to show that by now there really wasn’t much difference between the two different fleets and how the dangers encountered moulded them into one crew. After all in TNG a peace treaty had been negotiated. This didn’t go down well and we were told to rewrite.”

“By the time we had rewritten the show in a manner that was accepted by the executives it was May 1994.”

“Secondly, Babylon 5 hit the screens in January 1994. We thought that its success would finally give us the green light as Paramount would want something to compete with it. However it had the opposite effect. The executives kept delaying their decision. The cast not unreasonably moved onto other projects. It was clear that Explorer was dead in the water by August 1994 although the final announcement was not made until January 1995.”

Piller went on

“We were very frustrated. We felt that Explorer had potential. However all the effort that we put into it was not wasted. The major villains of the series were used in the second Enterprise film and the basic concepts have been turned into a very successful series of novels by Peter David.”

 

[TheDimensionalWatcher]

It seems like Star Trek has entered its second wilderness years.

 

[Lindseyman]

It seems like Star Trek has entered its second wilderness years.

Almost, there are two Enterprise films still to come.

 

[Lindseyman]

In Thine Own Image: the first Enterprise film

Enterprise: In Thine Own Image is a 1997 American science fiction film directed by Jonathan Frakes and based on the television series Enterprise: The Next Generation. It is the first of two Enterprise films, and stars the cast of the original television series. The film is set about 2 years after the end of the Television series, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud approaches Earth, destroying everything in its path.

When the television series finished in 1994, it was intended that there would be a follow-up series Explorer. However for various reasons Explorer was cancelled. Enterprise kept doing well in syndication and there was an upswell for more Enterprise. Initially thoughts ran for a television movie but on looking at the figures the Paramount executives decided that a cinema release should cover any increased costs and furthermore generate a healthy profit.

Jonathan Frakes who had directed many episodes of the last two seasons as well as starring as Matt Marshall was appointed to direct the film and he assembled a team mainly made up of those who had worked on the series.

Reviews

Released in North America on December 7, 1997, Enterprise: In Thine Own Image received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom faulted the film for its over-reliance on special effects. However all praised the acting and although some found the plot impenetrable others praised it as being true to the series whilst being more ambitious in scope. The Prisers loved it!

Box Office

In Thine Own Image opened in 2,812 theatres beginning December 5th, grossing $40.7 million its first week and making it the top movie at the US box office. The film was knocked out of the top place the following week by Scream 2, earning $29.5 million. The film went on to gross $97 million in its first four weeks, remaining in the top ten box office during that time. It closed with a US & Canadian gross of $122,027,888 and an international gross of $84 million for a total of $202 million worldwide. This made it the 4th best grossing film released in 1997 after Titanic, Men in Black and The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

Plot

A United Systems monitoring station, Epsilon Nine, detects an alien force, hidden in a massive cloud of energy, moving through space towards Earth. The cloud easily destroys three of the Tellurian Empire's new Revanche class warships and the monitoring station en route. It also destroys several United Systems ships including the new USS Constitution. On Earth, the Enterprise is undergoing trials after a major refit; her former commanding officer, Joseph Sisko, has been promoted to Admiral and is working in San Francisco as Chief of Starfleet Operations. Fleet dispatches Enterprise to investigate the cloud entity as the ship is the only one remaining in intercept range, despite some of her new systems not having had the bugs ironed out.

Sisko takes goes with the ship to lead the mission, along with Ambassador Beverly, although Sovak is still Captain, as he knows the new systems. Even so improperly calibrated engines nearly destroy the Enterprise. However Data and Marshall manage to save the ship.

Enterprise intercepts the energy cloud and is attacked by an alien vessel within. A probe appears on the bridge, attacks Sovak, severely wounding him and takes over Data. As the Captain and XO are out of action, Sovak in sickbay and Data being controlled by the probe, Sisko takes command. By careful questioning of Data, Sisko finds that there is a living machine at the centre of the cloud that is attempting to reach its creator.

At the centre of the massive ship, the machine is revealed to be Galileo III, a 20th-century Earth space probe believed lost. The damaged probe was found by an alien race of living machines that interpreted its programming as instructions to learn all that can be learned, and return that information to its creator. The machines assimilated and upgraded the probe to fulfill its mission, and on its journey the probe gathered so much knowledge that it achieved consciousness.

Ambassador Beverly realizes that the machine lacks the ability to give itself a focus other than its original mission; having learned what it could on its journey home, it finds its existence empty and without purpose.

Sovak who had returned to the bridge despite Dr Crusher’s objections finds and transmits the old ESA signal required for Galileo to transmit all the information that it has collected. On receipt of the signal the probe releases Data but still threatens Earth insisting on meeting its creator.

Ambassador Beverly inputs the signal manually and tells the others to flee. She merges with the probe, creating a new form of life that disappears into another dimension.

With Earth saved, Sisko directs Enterprise back to spacedock for repairs.

Cast

Admiral Joseph Sisko Avery Brooks

Captain Sovak Jeffrey Combs

XO Commander Data Brent Spiner

CEO Commander Matt Marshall Jonathan Frakes

CMO Dr Roberta Crusher Jenny Agutter

Ambassador Beverly Gates McFadden

Lt Commander Isabel Shelby Elizabeth Dennehy

Lt Geordi La Forge Tim Russ

Lt M’ogh Michael Dorn

 

[TheDimensionalWatcher]

So, what's the second and final Enterprise movie going to be?

 

[Lindseyman]

Enterprise: Emissary the second Enterprise film

Enterprise: Emissary is a 1998 science fiction film directed by Jonathan Frakes, and based on the franchise of the same name created by Gene Roddenberry. It is the second and last film in the Enterprise film series.

After the release of Enterprise: In Thine Own Image, Paramount Pictures tasked writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore with developing the next film in the series. After some thought Braga and Moore wanted to feature a species that had been planned to be the major villains in the aborted Explorer television series, the Borg. These were a species of cybernetic creatures who increased their numbers by assimilating all that they met by grafting on cybernetic appendages. The Borg, for the film, were redesigned to appear as though they were converted into machine beings from the inside-out. Effects Company Industrial Light & Magic rushed to complete the film's special effects in less than five months. Traditional optical effects techniques were supplemented with computer-generated imagery. Jerry Goldsmith and his son Joel Goldsmith collaborated to produce the film's score.

The film was given a budget of $45 million, "considerably more" than In Thine Own Image’s $35 million price tag; this allowed the production to plan a larger amount of action and special effects.

Having directed the previous successful film, Jonathan Frakes was once again made Director.

Throughout multiple script revisions a number of titles were considered, including Enterprise: Borg, Enterprise: Assimilation and Enterprise: Destinies.

Release

The world premiere of Emissary launched the 1998 CineVegas film festival. It went on general release in the U.S. and Canada on December 11, 1998. The film grossed $22.4 million over the opening weekend; the most of any film during that period. It averaged a total of $8,417 per location across 2,620 theatres, but fell well short of the opening weekend takings of In Thine Own Image.

Emissary was the highest-grossing film during the first week of its release in the United States, and stayed in the top ten for a further three weeks. During its first week of release in the UK, it was the highest-grossing film, exceeding the takings of the Will Smith film Enemy of the State. It went on to gross $60,187,658 in the US and $37,612,342 in other countries for a total of $97,800,000 worldwide against a $70 million budget. Rick Berman said that he wanted to release the next film in the series three years after Emissary. Referencing Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, he said, "The notion of releasing a science fiction film in the year 2001 is very seductive."

Critical response

The critical response to Emissary was mixed. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 55% based on 67 reviews, with critic consensus being that, "Although not terrible, the sluggishly paced Emissary plays like an extended episode of the TV series." The Los Angeles Daily News said that the film had the "bare bones of one of those pseudo-philosophical political allegories Trek has always done so entertainingly. But the movie blows it." It praised the directing of Jonathan Frakes and the computer generated special effects and gave the film two and a half stars overall. The British newspaper The People also said it was an extended television episode.


Plot

Before the opening titles we are shown a starship fleeing from some unseen enemy. The ship is shaking from multiple hits.

“Return Fire” orders the Captain (It is Isabel Shelby formerly of the Enterprise)

“Weapons inoperable Captain. Shields now 35%”

“Engineering, we need more power to the shields”

“I’m trying Captain” is the reply

“Well try harder”

The ship comes to a juddering halt. It is caught in several tractor beams.

A voice sounds over the speakers

"We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ship. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile."

The shields fail.Several shapes start appearing on the bridge.

Opening credits.

Fleet Admiral Pike arrives on Enterprise with Admiral Sisko. Pike informs Captain Sovak that Commander Data has been offered the command of a starship and suggests that Data take the position. Pike advises Sovak that another Federation vessel encountered a strange "cube-like" vessel before sending a distress call that ended abruptly. He also informs Sovak that it has come from the same direction as the probe that threatened Earth five years previously. Enterprise moves to intercept and confronts the cube.

There is a demand that Sovak and Sisko surrender themselves, which they refuse. The demand is made by Shelby who now has many cybernetic implants. Although initially deterred by Enterprise's shield modulation, the Borg lock the vessel in a tractor beam and begin cutting open the hull. Data suggests randomly changing the frequency of the ship's phasers to prevent the Borg from adapting to the attack, which frees the vessel. The Enterprise escapes to a nebula, where Chief Engineer Matt Marshall and his team adapt a technique suggested by Data to modify the deflector dish to fire a massive energy discharge capable of destroying the Borg cube. The Borg flush Enterprise from the nebula, board the ship, and abduct Sisko. The Borg Cube moves at high warp speed towards Earth, with Enterprise in pursuit.


Sovak prepares to join an away team to transport to the cube to rescue Sisko, but Data reminds him his place is on the bridge. After a discussion, Data leads the away team onto the Borg cube, where they are ignored by the Borg drones. The team locate Sisko's uniform and communicator and then destroy power nodes inside the cube, forcing it out of warp. As the team prepares to transport to Enterprise, they see an assimilated Sisko. The Borg contact Enterprise, with Sisko stating that he is "The Emissary" and to prepare for assimilation. Sovak orders M’ogh to fire the deflector dish.

The deflector dish discharge has little obvious effect on the Borg cube; Emissary reveals that the Borg had prepared for the attack using Sisko's knowledge. The Borg cube continues at warp speed towards Earth, with the crippled Enterprise unable to follow. Upon reporting their failure to Pike, Sovak is given a field promotion to Commodore and learns that a fleet of starships is massing at Wolf 359 to stop the Borg. Enterprise arrives at Wolf 359 to find that the fleet has been destroyed.

The Enterprise follows the cube's warp trail picking up the few surviving starships on the way and offers to negotiate with Emissary. The request is denied, but the communication reveals Emissary' location within the cube. The Enterprise locates the Borg cube, Sovak orders all the ships to fire an anti-matter spread near the cube, disrupting its sensors and allowing a shuttlecraft piloted by Data and M’ogh to pass the Borg shields and beam aboard the Borg cube. They kidnap Emissary, although the Borg ignore this and continue to Earth.

Data and Dr. Crusher create a neural link with Emissary to gain access to the Borg's collective consciousness. Data attempts to use the link to disable the Borg's weapons and defensive systems, but cannot, as they are protected by security protocols. Sisko breaks free from Borg control and mutters, "sleep". Dr. Crusher comments that Sisko must be exhausted from this ordeal, but Data realizes that Sisko is suggesting accessing the Borg regeneration subroutines, which are less protected than key systems like weapons or power. Data issues a command to the Borg to enter sleep mode, causing their weapons and shields to deactivate. A feedback loop builds in the Borg cube, which destroys the vessel. Dr. Crusher and Data remove the Borg implants and augmentations from Sisko.

The Enterprise is repaired in an orbital shipyard, and Data, is again offered command of his own ship, which he accepts, taking M’ogh to be his XO. Marshall is also promoted to Captain and is reassigned to a task force dedicated to rebuilding the fleet. Sovak is promoted to Admiral and placed in temporary charge of Fleet Operations whilst Sisko recovers from his ordeal. Crusher is made Head of Fleet Medical. It is the end of an era.

Cast

Admiral Joseph Sisko Avery Brooks

Captain Sovak Jeffrey Combs

XO Commander Data Brent Spiner

CEO Commander Matt Marshall Jonathan Frakes

CMO Dr Roberta Crusher Jenny Agutter

Fleet Admiral Christopher Pike Christopher Plummer

Captain Isabel Shelby Elizabeth Dennehy

Lt Cmdr Geordi La Forge Tim Russ

Lt Cmdr M’ogh Michael Dorn

NOTE: Yes this film is rather adjacent to the OTL STNG story "The Best of Both Worlds".

 

[Lindseyman]

Rebirth

Although Enterprise: Emissary had done well enough at the box office for Paramount to at least consider a third film there were some problems. The film had ended with the crew of the Enterprise being dispersed and the major cast had other plans for their futures. For example Jenny Agutter had returned to the UK, Johnathan Frakes wanted to concentrate on directing rather than acting and Avery Brooks wanted to concentrate on theatre although he did provide voice overs for some television programmes such as the American versions of the BBC productions “Walking with Dinosaurs” and “Walking with Beasts”. This meant at least a new crew, which might have worked in a television programme but was considered too problematic for a film. So there was another lull in Star Trek derived programming although there were novels based upon Enterprise: The Next Generation which included many taking the story of the crew forward.

So the matter rested until 2005 when Will Smith was in the UK to promote his film “Hitch”. He recounted in 2009

“I was in my hotel room flicking through the television channels when something caught my eye so I kept watching. It was on BBC 2 and it was a 1960s science fiction program called Star Trek. What had caught my eye and kept me watching was the fact that the starship was captained by a black actor. Like many Americans I had thought that Avery Brooks was the first Black Captain yet here was a 1960’s British program with a black lead.

I immediately placed a call to Bill (Bill Cosby) and asked him about it. What he told me convinced me that this had the potential to make a good film so I started to approach people. It turned out that the rights to Star Trek were now owned by the BBC. They were very amenable to a film version. The stumbling block was Paramount as they owned the rights to Enterprise, the successor programme and it turned out the American rights to Star Trek. However after long negotiations they were won round especially as it was intended that the film was to be set in the original Star Trek continuity NOT the Enterprise one. We just needed a better script and a cast!”

 

[Lindseyman]

Possible Cast: a request


The film will be set in the first year of Ben Russell’s captaincy of the Endeavour. My first thoughts for the casting are as follows (Some are from the equivalent OTL film Star Trek). Any comments?


Captain: Benjamin Russell, Will Smith
First Officer: Commander Spock, Zachary Quinto
CSO Commander: Richard Brynne , Colin Firth
CEO Commander: Montgomery Scott, Simon Pegg
Navigation: Lieutenant Caroline D'Alembert, Rachel McAdams
Helm: Lieutenant Gary Mitchell, Channing Tatum
Chief of Security: Lieutenant Commander John Travis, Chris Hemsworth
Chief Communications Officer:Lieutenant Commander Esther McKenzie, Zoe Saldana
CMO: Lieutenant Commander Richard Fynely, Hugh Laurie

Other characters
Engineering: CPO Aedh O'Gorman, Colm Meaney
Medical: Doctor M'Beke, Noel Clarke
Science Officer: Lieutenant Stein, Nick Frost

Admiral Christopher Pike, Bruce Greenwood


The villain is yet to be decided.

 

[Lindseyman]

The Script

Paramount asked Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman to write the script for the Star Trek Film. Orci later commented

“We had both watched TNG avidly when younger and knew very little about this original Star Trek. We sat down and binge watched several episodes especially those with Bill Cosby as Ben Russell. What struck us was the fact that nothing at all was made of his colour, Ben Russell was the Captain and that was that. It was also apparent that the human crew was multiracial, unlike that of the original Enterprise! It was a bit of an eye opener but fitted with present day sympathies.

The major problem was when to set it!”

“We found our hook in the Season 3 (series 6 in the UK) episode “Leave” when it was obvious that time travel of some sort had been involved although it was never explained. Also just who were those people who were observing the Russells? Again it was never explained. As there was time travel we could involve the Guardian which gave us a character that American audiences would remember from TNG but who had also appeared in this British version.”

“We wrote a script and submitted it. Paramount loved it but the BBC were not too sure. In their eyes it was just TNG set in the Star Trek era. Actually on reflection they were right but at the time we just couldn’t see it!

Then the BBC produced their own script! It had been written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. It hewed as closely to the original as their scripts for Doctor Who did to the original. It would have been a superb script for just a British audience but would have not done as well in the US. What was interesting however was that they had, quite independently, picked the same starting point!”

“One day whilst the executives were arguing again, I and Mark left the meeting and went for a drink. We sat down and talked about the two scripts. There had been many parts of their script that could be incorporated into ours rather seamlessly. After several further meetings we reached a tentative agreement, so contacted Alex and Steven who joined us. They both made more suggestions but we had a script. It would satisfy those who remembered the original but was accessible to those who didn’t.”

“We presented our combined script. It helped that Will (Smith) had read it and loved it! With the main lead on board it was relatively straightforward to get it accepted by both sides. By now it was late 2007. Filming was timetabled to start in early 2008.”

 

[Lindseyman]

SFX review of the film Star Trek May 2009 issue

To reboot an age-old but dilapidated franchise, JJ Abrams had to please four distinct groups: the hard-core fans (forum dwellers, Klingon speakers, Prisies/Prisers/whatever) of Enterprise in all its incarnations; the general public (“Sci-fi schmi-fi, is it any good?”) and a studio with dollars in its eyes in search of a bankable franchise (“How broad can this play? Could the sequel be a Spider-Man 2, or even, gulp, a Dark Knight?”) and last but not least those who love and revere the original ITC Star Trek.

Boy, did Paramount pick the right director for the job. The nothing if not reliable Abrams has hit it out of the park, through the clouds and somewhere into hyperspace, delivering the first genuine blockbuster of the year and setting the benchmark for what’s to come.

An exhilarating, breathless, lavishly mounted adventure, it will appease all three pertinent parties (No mean feat – just ask Joss Whedon…).

Phasers are set to stunning in the pre-credit sequence, which introduces the neophytes to the CSS Endeavour and its crew.

It’s a strikingly powerful opening and leaves you in no doubt: ass is going to be kicked. In quick succession, we see Ben Russell re-exerting his command of the ship after a leave of absence; Spock, having another argument with his father over joining the Fleet; the Endeavour crew coming together … and we’re not even a third in.

The warp-drive pace never lets up, but the excitement is always resolutely accessible. For the first time on the big screen, Trek has some of that original-trilogy Star Wars sparkle.

Like the ’60s TV show, the relationship between Russell and Spock is pivotal. Spock’s the meatier of the two roles and Zachary Quinto is perfect, his youth perhaps offering a degree or two less gravitas than Stuart Damon (along for the ride in a cameo as Spock’s father) but his energy brings something new and compelling to the table – you feel the Vulcanian, emotion/logic battle that rages within him more vividly than ever before.

Smith is also good. He plays himself (as normal) but also brings a Cosby-esque (in a good way) comic charisma. If Quinto is the soul, Smith is the motor of the movie, his presence propelling the story forward.

The dynamic between the leads ebbs and flows precisely where it should: credit where it’s due to writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss (Orci and Kurtzman seem to be having even more fun with Gene Roddenberry’s characters than they did with their Transformers script).

All the main crew get their turns. Zoe Saldana is a pleasingly-fleshed out McKenzie (with maybe a touch of the Sydney Bristows about her) while Hugh Laurie is an instantly likeable, reassuringly grouchy Fynely (OTL:think House with a faint Yorkshire accent).

Chris Hemsworth’s Travis (although his accent wavers alarmingly at times between Aussie and Yank) and Channing Tatum’s Mitchell are given brief moments to shine while Simon Pegg’s Scotty is knowingly calibrated to please the fanboys and offer comic relief.

Though he’s not the only one bringing the funny, Spock, Fynely, McKenzie and co all dispensing decent quips that help warm up the sci-fi palette for a broader popcorn-munching audience. Although in some ways a standout is Nick Frost channelling his inner BRIAN BLESSED.

Compare this with, say, the recent Bond and Trek’s light touch is particularly welcome. Again, not since Star Wars IV-VI has a sci-fi flick had such a, well, likeable tone.

Visually the film has a flair (and indeed flares) that give a hitherto unseen sheen to the Trek universe. When it needs to hit warp speed, it does, with an almost balletic Endeavour pirouetting through battle debris in one scene and plenty of firepower in the space skirmishes.

In general, the design is slick but on the right side of flashy, and Abrams wisely keeps geek-pleasing elements in the frame, but never in the foreground.

Stylistically, the uniforms reference their ’60s counterparts, phasers not as clunky, teleportation a tad less synthy. All minor but telling adjustments in this measured, confident reboot.

If there are flaws, they are relatively minor. The cast generate a lot of heat but perhaps not a great deal of smarts (Quinto excepted). Deep Roy’s nefarious Nero – a time-hopper out for bitter revenge – gets the job done but hardly looms as large as a Vader, depriving the drama of the heft and emotional wrench a more compelling ‘big bad’ could provide.

You could also argue that the overarching reach and soulful optimism of Gene Roddenberry’s original vision is not quite there (although with sequels, it should come), leaving the ‘message’ of the film a slightly garbled one about seizing your destiny and fulfilling your potential.

Nonetheless, make no mistake: We have got Star Trek back, as your parents thought of it, albeit through an American lens (but not Americanised as per Enterprise). This is the biggest, boldest cinematic outing the franchises have yet seen. Hardcore fans may suggest it’s “not as good as the original” but the rest of us (and the box office) will tell a different story.

 

[Lindseyman]

Different Reactions

Star Trek opened in the US on the 7th May 2009. Although it was not the smash hit that Paramount had hoped it did steady business and in the end grossed $148,546,000 (making it the 19th highest grossing film released in the US in 2009). Film reviews had been mixed in the main with many critics complaining that it was not Enterprise and felt slow, although they did praise the special effects and the battle at the end of the film.

It was a completely different story in the UK. Here the film was universally praised by the critics even those who usually looked down their noses at science fiction. Star Trek was the number one box office hit in the UK for 12 weeks, it remained in the top ten films until well after Christmas (indeed it achieved number 2 slot over the Christmas holidays) and could still be found in UK cinemas over a year after its first release.

An example of the different reactions on either side of the Atlantic is the reception to Nick Frost as Lieutenant Stein. Americans just didn’t get his portrayal and often commented that he should have been left on the cutting room floor. In the UK they lapped up his performance. A piece from the One Show on the BBC showing Frost and Brian Blessed (who had played the character in the ITC television series) trying to “out Stein” each other was the most watched clip on iPlayer in 2009 and is still popular to this day on You Tube.

It was a similar story in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The film also did better than expected in markets which were usually resistant to American Films such as China and the CIS. Even in France it exceeded predictions!

In the end the overseas box office amounted to $313,109,000, giving a total gross of $461,654,000. It was still outside the top ten but overseas takings were double that of the US!

Star Trek had heavily outperformed the two Enterprise films and had turned an exceptionally healthy profit which should have guaranteed another film. However the Paramount executives were unconvinced.

 

[Lindseyman]

On looking back through the thread, to check what I had written about the radio version of Star Trek (you'll find out why soon) I found these by @nick_crenshaw82 and I was struck by their similarity to these

the uniforms from Orville. Sometimes I wonder
PS Drawn well before Orville hit the screens

 

[Lindseyman]

After the film – UK: Radio, Web and a TV special

The BBC had already broadcast the old Radio Luxemburg programme Star Trek: The New Adventures (post 435) during 2008 and 2009 on Radio 7. They had been received well enough for the BBC to commission some more episodes. These were outsourced to Big Finish who would release them as CDs (and eventually downloads) after the programmes had come off iPlayer.

The reaction in the UK to the film Star Trek caused a minor rethink about this series, suddenly more money was made available and changes were made in the proposed cast. Originally the new programmes were to be about the same ship as the original (the CSS Discovery) with the crew having been recast. This was abandoned, although Big Finish did indeed produce some more adventures for the Discovery which were not broadcast on the BBC.

Instead after some thought the new programmes were set on the CSS Hecla, an exploration ship of the Commonwealth, at about the same time period as the Discovery) which had a five year mission to explore space “clockwise” from the Commonwealth (Imagine a line from Earth to the galactic centre being the datum). This was said to be the other side of the Commonwealth to the Klingon and Tellurian Empires and gave the writers much more of a free hand.

The extra money generated by the film enabled some better known actors to be cast.

The cast of Star Trek: Explorer

(Yes, the name was chosen deliberately) was as follows

Commander- Captain Taurik (an Andorian)- Douglas Henshall

First Officer- Commander Sonak (a Vulcanian)- Kai Owen

CMO- Lt.Cmdr Hannah Tydder - Eve Myles

CEO- Lt.Cmdr Thorrar (an Andorian)- Mark Bonnar

CSO- Lt.Cmdr Mark Jones- Gareth David-Lloyd

Helm- Lt. Ghulam Bishwas- Saikat Ahamed

Navigator- Lt. Gail Palmer- Siobhan Hayes

Communications- Lt. Hugh Guest- Mark Williams

The programme was first broadcast on BBC Radio 7 on Saturday Jan 15th 2011 and has continued ever since and is now broadcast on BBC Radio 4Extra. There have been cast changes over the years and they are now on their second 5 year mission (the first having finished in 2016) but it has proved enduringly popular both with listeners and cast and writers.

The cast of Star Trek: The New Adventures continue

Commander- Captain Brian Metcalfe- Roger Allam

First Officer- Commander Tarryck- Marcus Brigstocke

CSO- David Bruce- Andy Gray

CEO- Valentina Romanova- Rebecca Front

Helm- Lt. Suvik- William Gaminara

Communications- Lt. Rand- Katherine Parkinson

Produced between 2010 and 2012. These productions are not as well-known as either the originals or the BBC production but are still regarded as good Star Trek stories. Big Finish stopped producing them as they felt that there was no need given the success of Star Trek: Explorer but they are still readily available.

The Children in Need Special 2010

By early 2010 the BBC were becoming perplexed by Paramount’s apparent reluctance to green light a second Star Trek film. So they concocted a rather subtle nudge. Rumours began to abound that an old Doctor was to appear in that years Children in Need special. These were given substance when David McCallum was spotted filming in June.

Instead what happens was that indeed the current Doctor met the character played by David McCallum. At first the Doctor assumes that this is his previous self (McCallum had played the third Doctor) but as the episode plays out it becomes apparent that instead he is the Guardian from the Star Trek Universe (McCallum played the Guardian in two iterations of Enterprise) who apologises profusely about crossing time streams but he had had an accident. The Doctor helps him and all is restored to normal.

At first Paramount were angry but then they saw how this episode was received especially when it appeared on You Tube in the US. They began to think very carefully.

(NOTE ITTL the 2007 Children in Need Doctor Who special was very different to OTL. The 2010 ITTL version can be thought of as ITTL version of the OTL Time Crash).

 

[Petike]

Some pretty monumental work you've done here, Lindseyman. It's a genuine complete alternate history of the entire franchise.

A nice cast you have there. Who will compose the music for the ATL reboot films ? Some British composer instead of an ATL Mike Giacchino ? I'd suggest Ben Bartlett (if he exists in the TL), as he's unfairly overlooked.

 

[Lindseyman]

Ben Bartlett exists ITTL and has still done the music for Walking with Dinosaurs et al (and won the same awards as OTL). I'd assumed that as Paramount were putting in most of the money Mike Giacchino would still compose the music, although he uses cues from the ITC Star Trek in this case. The closing credits for the film indeed included a modern version of the ITC signature tune.

Thanks for your comments @Petike but it's not quite finished yet. There IS a second Star Trek Film and the ITTL equivalent of Discovery. Also at some point I'll have to cover the ITTL versions of Star Trek Phase 2 and Star Trek Continues (the two I know best although there are other competent fan productions).