The House of Mouse "married" to Looney Tunes? I find the idea intriguing, but I don't think Roy would want his uncle's company to merge with their old rival.
"Where Are We Going This Time": The Golden Age of Science Fiction
- Thread starter Timelordtoe
- Start date
Chapter LI: "All Good Things..."
Timelordtoe
Monthly Donor
Part II, Chapter LI: "All Good Things..."
“Our last season really was tarnished by the whole Rick [Berman] fiasco. On the whole, I think that almost everyone agrees that the franchise was better for what happened, but it really was uncertain back then. The amount of conflict behind the scenes, I’m surprised that the season got made at all. I’m just glad there there were people like David [Gerrold] there to stand with us.”
- Marina Sirtis speaking about the production of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s eighth and final season. [1]Season Eight of Star Trek: The Next Generation was to be its last. Despite this, the franchise would go on, as 1995 would see the cast of the show taking over the films, while Deep Space Nine would continue to air, with Odyssey soon to follow. Compared to the previous season, Season Eight would “play it safe”, as the crew and ship remained the same. If anything, it would be more of a return to the old, with a smattering of an exploration of the new.
Some of the “old” that would be returning was writer David Gerrold, who was to involved heavily with the production of Odyssey. As some of the stories in this season would be laying the groundwork for that show, Gerrold was brought in to write those episodes. Gerrold had written for the franchise in the past, having written the Original Series episode “The Trouble With Tribbles”. Gerrold had been part of the initial writing team on The Next Generation, but had left in protest after his script “Blood and Fire” was not produced. Since then, he had found success with the script and other story ideas on Doctor Who. [2]
To say that there was little love lost between David Gerrold and current franchise head Rick Berman would have been an understatement. Gerrold blamed the fact that his script was not produced on Berman, and his interference. In fact, much of the cast and crew did not care for Berman, seeing him as a limiting influence on the franchise as a whole. While under Roddenberry, despite his flaws, when executives had an issue with a story, Roddenberry would generally support the writer, under Berman the situation seemed reversed. [3]
Of course, the writers had started to get their way after the arrival of Doctor Who on the scene, and it capitalised on the many opportunities for progressive stories that Star Trek had passed up in its early seasons. Since then, Paramount had been more happy to give the writers more breathing room, though Berman often shot down ideas that he feared could cause complaints from more conservative fans. [4]
The situation would come to a head during 1994. As preparations were being made for The Next Generation’s eighth season and Deep Space Nine’s second, it was clear that the end of an era was being reached. For the coming films and TV shows, contracts would need to be renegotiated, and there was a chance for the franchise to explore a new direction, while staying true to Roddenberry’s vision. Much of this, however, was being actively resisted by Berman.
During the salary negotiations for the upcoming film Star Trek VI: Generations, there was a dispute over Marina Sirtis’ pay. When it became clear that she would not accept the amount offered to her, and would instead walk, Berman asked the writing staff to write Troi out of the film. When news of Sirtis’ departure from the franchise reached the cast and crew, for many it was the last straw. Many of the cast and crew, most notably Ira Steven Behr (DS9 co-executive producer), Famke Janssen (Jadzia Dax actress) and David Gerrold (Odyssey producer) raised complaints with Paramount executives, threatening to leave if Berman was not replaced. [5]
As the situation escalated, and production slowed to a halt, Paramount realised what it faced. It either had to remove Berman, or have a large portion of the cast and crew of the franchise leave. They did not relish the thought of either, but it was clear that one would be less damaging. A deal was reached. Berman would retain creative control over the material to be released until the end of 1995, but would step away from the franchise afterwards, and someone else would take over. [6]
The announcement of this would divide the fandom. Many believed that Berman was integral to the franchise, and without him, it would fail. Others were of the opinion that he was causing the franchise to suffer from fatigue, and that it was not “boldly going” as it had before. Berman himself would remain critical of his removal for many years afterwards, becoming an open critic of the franchise’s direction after his removal.
As for who would take Berman’s place, there was a great deal of discussion. Paramount knew that they needed someone that the writing staff and cast would be happy with, and could not be someone that was seen as overly similar to Berman. Eventually, they asked David Gerrold, who had worked with the franchise since the start of his career. One thing was clear, this new era of Trek would be different to Berman’s. [7]
But the era was not quite over yet. The eighth season of The Next Generation would continue from where the seventh had left off, concluding the story “Forgiveness”, which saw the return of Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov.
The season would also see the return of Hugh and Lore in the two part story Descent, while other stories would introduce characters and concepts that would be making an appearance on the upcoming show Star Trek: Odyssey. In particular, “Medical Emergency” would see Lt. Barclay assisting in the creation of the Emergency Medical Hologram, which was to be a major part of Odyssey; “The First Duty” would see a return to Starfleet Academy as Picard is asked to investigate a flight accident, which would involve Nick Locarno, another character that would appear in that show. In addition, multiple stories in this season, and DS9’s second, would involve the Maquis, a terrorist group made up of former Federation colonists, and Gul Evek, played by Nigel Havers, who would also be a major character in Odyssey. [8]
But easily the story that would build the most hype would be the finale, which was to be aired as a two-hour long story on first run. “Past Perfect” would see the return of many actors who had left the show, including Denise Crosby and Gates McFadden, and would also feature Q, as he continues “the trial of humanity”, which has been set up in the show’s opening two-part story “Encounter at Farpoint”. [9]
Star Trek: The Next Generation would air as 1995 came, and Star Trek faced the end of a era, and the start of an exciting new one. [10]
[1] As we've seen, 1994 and 1995 are years of big instability for the franchises mentioned so far, and Star Trek is no excpetion.
[2] I really like Gerrold's writing, and I think he would be a good creative voice on Odyssey.
[3] Two things. One, you can tell my opinion of Rick Berman from this update. Generally, I try not to make my opinions on certain people (well, when they're negative) obvious, but I made an exception here. I am firmly in the camp that Berman was why Star Trek suffered the issues it did in the late 90s/early 00s. Two, I'm realising that I have the unfortunate habit of making big changes I had planned for a while be released in updates around the same time as a video about how it went in OTL. (Renegade Cut's video on Berman yesterday)
[4] A little explanation for why things are a bit better ITTL even with Berman. But still, there are only two major LGBT characters (that are out at least) right now in the franchise (Dr. Henderson and Riker), and in these cases they've been "one-shots" that don't really get mentioned again.
[5] I was going to get rid of him sooner or later, so I had Sirtis' pay dispute happen at the start of the films, not the end. As to how realistic something like that is, I honestly can't say, but if something like that could happen anywhere, it could happen on Trek.
[6] Fun isn't something one considers when removing a producer from a franchise in a fictional universe, but this does put a smile on my face.
[7] It was honestly a toss-up for me as to whether it would be him or Behr, but I decided that since he had worked on the franchise for longer, and had been offered the showrunner role on Doctor Who, he was the more obvious choice from the in-universe perspective.
[8] A few things here, and they'll be a bit more fleshed out in later updates. I've been waiting to use Havers for a while though. A lot of stuff for Odyssey is getting brought up now.
[9] Yeah, this is basically the "All Good Things..." of OTL, but I honestly couldn't think of a better end to TNG. It will, however, be the only show to end in the exact same way as OTL.
[10] When I've mentioned that I've been really looking forward to writing this bit of the timeline, this is why. This is the first of eight Trek related updates to come before the end of Part II, which is soon. Two more TNG, three DS9, one film and one on Odyssey. Exciting times. This really will be the end of an era in the timeline too.
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Timelordtoe
Monthly Donor
Much as I like the idea of Robin Williams being the Doctor, he's a bit too big of a name to be cast in a show, even a popular one like this. Best I could see is him making a guest appearance on the show in a minor role, like the cameo he did in Friends.
As for "The First Duty", it definitely won't be considered a standout. A few of the "Odyssey set-up" stories will be considered the weaker ones of the season.
I don't intend to have that same conclusion. Frankly, other than a bit of fanservice in bringing back Tasha Yar, I never really saw much reason for the past Enterprise being in the story. I have an idea to fix that though.
Chapter LII: "Coming to an End."
Timelordtoe
Monthly Donor
Part II, Chapter LII: "Coming to an End."
“With all of the drama that happened behind the scenes, with Marina and Rick and everything else, I sometimes forgot that we were actually making a TV show. There’s no doubt that all of the behind the scenes events that happened that season had an effect on the show, and I think that that’s why season eight is considered a weaker season than most of the others. Sometimes, it really was difficult to keep your head on straight on set that season.”
- Jonathan Frakes, on The Next Generation’s final season.The eighth and final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation would be very important for the franchise. Aside from acting as the closing part to one of the most popular shows on television, the drama that had occurred during its production had left many fans worried about the quality of the final season. This season would not only be a send-off for the cast of The Next Generation, but also Rick Berman.
This season would be a full return to the episodic format, with no major arcs over the whole season, though the finale would see the return of Q’s “Trial of Humanity”. As a result, it would be the only season of the show to feature the Enterprise-E for the entire season, as it had been introduced partway through season seven.
The eighth season, overall, received mixed reviews, as it was clear that the disputes among the cast and crew had adversely affected production in some areas. Some episodes were noted af feeling “rushed”, though the finale, “Past Perfect” was critically acclaimed. Many of the stories that introduced elements of Star Trek: Odyssey were less well received, with many noting that there was no real requirement for them, complaints that have only become more pronounced with time. However, many of the stories were praised, as was the character development in the season.
List of Episodes of Season Eight of Star Trek: The Next Generation:
- Forgiveness (Part II)
- All The King’s Men [1]
- Liaisons
- Medical Emergency [2]
- Genesis
- Land of Luxury
- The Iceman [3]
- The First Duty
- Descent (Part I)
- Descent (Part II)
- An Uneasy Peace [4]
- End Times [5]
- Eye of the Beholder
- Finding Yourself [6]
- The Excellence Invasion
- Bloodlines
- Straight on ‘Til Morning [7]
- Turn To Stone
- Firstborn
- The Monsters We Create [8]
- Arm-in-Arm
- Someone To Watch Over Us [9]
- Sibling Rivalry
- Preemptive Strike [10]
- Past Perfect (Part I)
- Past Perfect (Part II)
Cast of Season Eight of Star Trek: The Next Generation:
- Captain Julien Picard – Patrick Stewart
- Commander William Riker – Jonathan Frakes
- Lt. Cmdr. Data – Brent Spiner
- Dr. Amelia Henderson – Stephanie Beacham
- Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge – LeVar Burton
- Counsellor (Lt. Cmdr./Cmdr.) Deanna Troi – Marina Sirtis
- Lt. Worf – Michael Dorn
- Lt. (j.g.) Ro Laren – Michelle Forbes
With the end of The Next Generation, the cast would move on to take over the films, starting with Star Trek VI: Generations, which would be released in November of 1995. The end of an era had come.
[1] A story about the consequences of your actions, a reference to the book of the same name.
[2] The previously mentioned EMH creation story
[3] OTL's "Thine Own Self", but it couldn't be called that because of Season Seven's "To Thine Own Self Be True".
[4] End of the Cardassian border war, introduction of the colonist's issues. No Maquis yet, but we do meet Gul Evek.
[5] The Enterprise encounters a planet that is undergoing a preventable sxtinction event, but refuses involvement as it has been foretold in their prophecies.
[6] An away team suffers an incident that causes them to believe that they are other members of the party.
[7] The Enterprise encounters a warp-capable species that encountered an Earth probe, and believes humanity to be a greater life form than them.
[8] OTL's "Journey's End", but with some major differences due to no Leslie Crusher.
[9] Lt. Ro has an external performance review, where her more impuslive and insubordinate tendencies are noted. It covers why she joined Starfleet.
[10] Different from OTL in that Ro doesn't defect.
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Looking forward to the season breakdown of these shows!
Esp that Finale!
I always wondered if Past Picard retained any knowledge of the time jumping- maybe on the way to Farpoint he writes down the detail of everything he can recall: Farepoint's slavery, Riker needs a beard, Mogh is not a traitor- its Duras, BORG, Data sentient, Bluegill etc etc etc. Q allows him to do so to see how a partially temporally aware Picard deals with his life...
Esp that Finale!
I always wondered if Past Picard retained any knowledge of the time jumping- maybe on the way to Farpoint he writes down the detail of everything he can recall: Farepoint's slavery, Riker needs a beard, Mogh is not a traitor- its Duras, BORG, Data sentient, Bluegill etc etc etc. Q allows him to do so to see how a partially temporally aware Picard deals with his life...
Good catch! @Timelordtoe, I've sent you a replacement for the duplicate titled Arm-in-Arm.
Timelordtoe
Monthly Donor
Whoops! I'll mark that one down to tiredness. Thanks for informing me, and thanks to @The Chimera Virus for the replacement episode, and all of the other stories he's provided for this season.
Timelordtoe
Monthly Donor
Hey everyone,
This won't be threadmarked for too too long, maybe just over a week. I just wanted to make sure that the people (if there are any) who only really take note of the threadmarked updates read this too, so they knew what was happening.
By how this is threadmarked, you may be worried about the direction I'm going to take the timeline in, but I don't think that there's really any need. It seemed an apt title to me.
I've been thinking about some of the stuff that's been mentioned this past month about this timeline, and how it will handle politics (well, it was the once really, but it got me to thinking). At the time, I said that I pretty much won't tough on politics at all, but I wanted to tell you exactly what I meant, and how my view has changed on that slightly over the past week.
Firstly, this will always remain a pop-culture timeline. I have an interest in political timelines, and I will probably write one someday, but this won't be it. However, the two main foci of this timeline are Star Trek and Doctor Who, franchises that have pretty much always had political undertones, especially with Star Trek. As a result, a little bit of politics here and there is inevitable, but I won't be doing anything like election maps or the like. There may be a name-drop here and there, when it is relevant. But I think that I felt that because I wanted to avoid making this timeline into a politics one (much less one that deals heavily with current politics), I felt a requirement to avoid anything that could end up political. So I've changed my mind on that.
This has probably been a bit ramble-y, but I felt that it needed to be said. To sum things up: How I deal with politics in the timeline is basically the same, in that it rarely, if ever, appears; however, I won't shy away from touching on something that is happening in the world of politics ITTL if it is relevant.
My thanks to all of you for continuing to read, and I hope you understand my position on this. I hope to have TNG's Season Eight plot synopsis update out tonight.
This won't be threadmarked for too too long, maybe just over a week. I just wanted to make sure that the people (if there are any) who only really take note of the threadmarked updates read this too, so they knew what was happening.
By how this is threadmarked, you may be worried about the direction I'm going to take the timeline in, but I don't think that there's really any need. It seemed an apt title to me.
I've been thinking about some of the stuff that's been mentioned this past month about this timeline, and how it will handle politics (well, it was the once really, but it got me to thinking). At the time, I said that I pretty much won't tough on politics at all, but I wanted to tell you exactly what I meant, and how my view has changed on that slightly over the past week.
Firstly, this will always remain a pop-culture timeline. I have an interest in political timelines, and I will probably write one someday, but this won't be it. However, the two main foci of this timeline are Star Trek and Doctor Who, franchises that have pretty much always had political undertones, especially with Star Trek. As a result, a little bit of politics here and there is inevitable, but I won't be doing anything like election maps or the like. There may be a name-drop here and there, when it is relevant. But I think that I felt that because I wanted to avoid making this timeline into a politics one (much less one that deals heavily with current politics), I felt a requirement to avoid anything that could end up political. So I've changed my mind on that.
This has probably been a bit ramble-y, but I felt that it needed to be said. To sum things up: How I deal with politics in the timeline is basically the same, in that it rarely, if ever, appears; however, I won't shy away from touching on something that is happening in the world of politics ITTL if it is relevant.
My thanks to all of you for continuing to read, and I hope you understand my position on this. I hope to have TNG's Season Eight plot synopsis update out tonight.
I hope no one bugs you about politics ITTL. I also hope no one bugs you about being too political...some annoying people like to complain that modern Trek and Who are overly political. They've always been political. The second Doctor Who story was an allegory for Nazism. I look forward to seeing how your interpretation tackles societies issues.
Overview of Season 8 of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Timelordtoe
Monthly Donor
Overview of Season 8 of Star Trek: The Next Generation
“That is the exploration that awaits you, not mapping stars and studying nebulae, but charting the unknown possibilities of existence. And as for your past crew who were set on a different path to you, that’s an interesting little timeline I intend to keep my eye on.”
“Q, what is it that you’re trying to tell me?”
“You’ll find out. In any case, I’ll be watching you, Julien. And if you’re very lucky, I might just drop by to say hello, from time to time. I’ll see you… out there.”
- Q and Picard speak about the destruction of the anti-time anomaly, revealing that not only will he retain his memories of the incident, but so will his past self.Forgiveness (Part II)
Worf and Ro move to Engineering, and attempt a command lockout, and to transfer the controls to Engineering. However, they find that Chekov has already locked them out of the system, having encrypted the computers with a highly advanced program. Chekov is alerted to their presence by an automated warning, and tries to subdue them by releasing anesthazine gas into Engineering. Ro and Worf escape, but they face an uphill battle now that Chekov is aware of their presence.
Back on the station, Picard has made Starfleet aware of the situation, and he and the rest of the senior crew are to be picked up by the USS Raleigh, which is to intercept the Enterprise before it can reach the Gorvek homeworld.
Ro and Worf theorise that while they may not be able to stop Chekov from controlling the ship, they may be able to sabotage it, to stop the ship from reaching the Gorvek homeworld, Gorvalla. Ro decides to make her way to the nacelles, to perform a manual override and drop the ship out of warp, while Worf uses his limited access to try to figure out how Chekov is planning on attacking Gorvalla.
The Raleigh begins to make ground on the Enterprise, but the warp core is on the brink of an overload, and cannot maintain its high warp speed. While Geordi and Data try to keep the core operational, Picard warns the Gorvek about the Enterprise, deciding that the harm to their relations would be well worth the increased chance of saving their homeworld.
Ro reaches the port nacelle, but before she can disable it completely, she is found by Chekov, who stuns her, taking her to the brig. However, the momentary loss in the warp field leaves the Enterprise momentarily crippled. Worf uses the opportunity to restore his computer access, and is able to disable the security lockouts on the turbolifts, and goes to the bridge, and prevents Chekov from accessing the ship’s computers again. A Gorvek ship finds the Enterprise, and Worf tries to convince them that he has taken back control of the ship, but they believe that he is in league with Chekov.
The Raleigh arrives, and Worf hails them. Worf explains that he has taken control of the Enterprise, but that Chekov remains on-board, and that he has taken Ro. Picard is able to get the Gorvek to stand down, and beams a security team over to the Enterprise to capture Chekov. Worf meets with them, and they find that Chekov has taken Ro hostage, and will kill her unless they leave him. Worf talks with him, and manages to talk him down. Chekov is taken aboard the Raleigh, and the crew of the Enterprise takes control of the ship once more.
Back at the starbase, the talks conclude, though there is a dispute as to who should gain custody of Chekov. When the Enterprise departs, the senior crew muses on how one of Starfleet’s greats fell, and consider whether the same could happen to them.
Guest Star: Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov
All The King’s Men
The Enterprise arrives at Vetris III, a planet in the equivalent of the Industrial Revolution just outside of Federation space, as part of a routine survey. There, they find that a Federation citizen, Taler, has provided advanced technology to the planet, advancing them to the technology of the early 21st century. He has set himself up as leader, but as he neither works for the Federation nor is in Federation space, has committed no crime. However, Picard receives orders from Starfleet to remove Taler from the planet, and must battle with the fact that while he agrees with his orders, they technically go against the Prime Directive. The crew is split over whether to intervene or not.
Liaisons
As part of a cultural exchange, the Enterprise welcomes two Iyaaran ambassadors aboard, while Picard departs to spend time with them. However, Picard’s shuttle crashes, and he must survive, while also coming to know the Iyaarans. On the Enterprise, the two ambassadors begin acting very strangely, tensions arise, while Picard is nursed back to health by a survivor from another crash.
Medical Emergency
The Enterprise is visited by Dr. Lewis Zimmerman, who required Lt. Barclay’s help in creating a new “Emergency Medical Hologram”, which is to act as a ship’s doctor in the event that its medical crew are incapacitated or otherwise unavailable. While at first they work well together, Barclay and Zimmerman begin to clash over who should be the model for the program and over certain programming techniques.
Guest Star: Robert Picardo as Dr. Lewis Zimmerman and the Emergency Medical Hologram
Genesis
During weapons exercises, Worf accidentally fires a torpedo that veers off into space. While Data and Picard go off in a shuttle to retrieve it, a virus begins to infect the crew, reverting them into primitive creatures. When they return, Data and Picard try to find a cure, while also avoiding the savage creatures that the crew have turned into. Time is in short supply when they discover that Picard has also contracted the virus, and it is only a matter of time before he too is affected.
Land of Luxury by @The Chimera Virus
Weary after recent events and with no shore leave in sight, tempers are a little short aboard the Enterprise. En route to Golpengra IV for a standard first contact procedure, the ship suddenly finds a large, sphere-shaped space station blocking their path. The senior staff are almost entirely spellbound by it, and Picard orders that the ship dock. The Golpengrati can wait. Troi, disturbed, tries to protest, as does Data. They are ignored by everyone except Guinan and several other mostly telepathic and empathic crewmembers. Aboard the space station, called Arcady Omega, the interior rearranges itself to suit all the crew’s wants and needs. Riker finds himself playing saxophone with Kenny G, Picard has endless green hills to ride horses over, while Ro is among an enclave of Bajorans who have never heard of the Cardassians. Even Troi finds a room made entirely of chocolate. Investigating further, the unaffected crew discover this space station is a honey trap made by a long-dead race… one purported to be impossible to escape.
Guest Star: Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan and Kenny G as himself
The Iceman
Data is sent to Barzon IV, a planet undergoing the equivalent of a Renaissance, to recover radioactive components of a crashed probe. During the recovery, Data is damages, and loses his memory of who his is or what his mission is, and encounters the people of a nearby village, who believe him to be an “iceman”. Meanwhile, on the Enterprise, Troi takes the test to be certified as a command officer, and to gain a promotion to Commander, but struggles with the no-win scenario test.
The First Duty
Picard is asked to deliver the commencement address at the Starfleet Academy graduation ceremony. Upon arrival, the crew learns of an accident that had injured some of the cadets, and killed one. The squadron’s leader, Nick Locarno, testifies that they were performing one manoeuvrer, but the footage does not concur. When questioned, Locarno and the other members of Nova Squadron remain tight-lipped, and it is clear that they are trying to hide something.
Guest Star: Robert Duncan McNeill as Nick Locarno
Descent
The Enterprise responds to a distress call from an outpost. Upon investigating, they are attacked by a group of Borg, but that seem to be acting as individuals. As Data begins to experience emotions, the Enterprise pursues an alien ship that the Borg seem to control. Under orders to destroy the Borg once and for all if given the opportunity, the Enterprise follows the ship through a conduit, stranding them far from Federation space, as they find an old enemy and Data’s loyalties begin to shift.
Guest Star: Jonathan Del Arco as Hugh
An Uneasy Peace
The Enterprise is ordered to a world on the border with Cardassian space, to be present at the signing of the peace treaty between the Federation and Cardassia. Tensions are high as Ro has difficulty in keeping her emotions in check given the history between Bajor and Cardassia, and as the treaty is clearly in Cardassia’s favour despite the Federation’s superior negotiating position. When hardline elements in both the Federation and Cardassia come to light, the peace is left in jeopardy.
Guest Star: Nigel Havers as Gul Evek
End Times
The Enterprise is ordered to prevent a meteor from striking an Rava II, a planet surrounded by Federation space. If the planet is hit, not only will most of its population die, but simulations show that fragments of the meteor may release materials that can cause large scale subspace damage, which would make the local area dangerous to travel through and would also damage other celestial bodies in the range of a few light years. As Rava II is warp capable, Picard speaks with them to gain their permission to intervene, but they refuse, citing that their civilization’s end has been foretold by their religious texts, and is part of a renewal. If the Enterprise does not intervene however, many more people could be harmed than just on the planet. The question is asked if they must violate the Prime Directive to fulfil the needs of the many.
Eye of the Beholder
Picard orders Troi and Worf to investigate the suicide of Lt. Kwan when it is revealed that he began making cryptic comments before he threw himself into the plasma discharge in one of the warp nacelles. As the investigation continues, Troi begins to suffer from hallucinations, having strange visions, including the construction of the ship at Utopia Planitia. As strange happening begin over the ship, Troi begins to suspect that Kwan may have been murdered.
Finding Yourself
Dr. Henderson, Lt. Ro and Riker return from a planet where society has recently collapsed. Upon returning, however, they do not go to their respective quarters, and begin to act as if they were another member of the party. They each believe themselves to be another member of the party, but, unsurprisingly, are not able to carry out their tasks as they each lack the expertise. Data suspects that this phenomenon may have caused the society on the planet to collapse, and the crew try to find a way to reunite the identities with the correct people before they can cause any damage.
The Excellence Invasion by @The Chimera Virus
The remote Federation colony of Trialphys V is suddenly outpacing the Federation’s best and brightest in every field, prompting Starfleet to investigate. Dirt farmers don’t turn into astrophysicists overnight. The Enterprise is assigned, being the closest ship to the planet. Instead of a small agrarian community, a massive metropolis covers the planet’s smallest continent. Madam Altrecia, the leader of the colony, welcomes the crew with open arms, claiming that anyone who wishes to assist their intellectual pursuits should beam down at once. When told that Starfleet has sent the Enterprise to inspect Altrecia and her second-in-command, wunderkind Lygeis, become obstructive, hampering the investigation. But then someone lets slip about the classified Project: Gateway, and how everything will change for Trialphys V and the entire Alpha Quadrant once that’s complete….
Guest Stars: Kathleen Turner as Madam Altrecia and Paolo Montalbán as Lygeis
Bloodlines
A Ferengi named DaiMon Bok informs Picard that he intends to kill Picard’s son as revenge for Picard killing his when Picard was attacked on the USS Stargazer. Picard is unaware of having a son, but soon tracks down someone who appears to be. As this is confirmed by a DNA test, Picard finds that he has difficulty in bonding with his son, Jason, while he suffers from a strange disease. All this time, Bok repeats his threats, beaming on-board the Enterprise multiple times.
Straight On ‘Til Morning
The Enterprise is asked to make first contact with Loris VII, a planet that has recently broken the warp barrier. Upon arrival, it is found that the Lorissians seem to recognise humans, and revere them as a god-like species. Investigating this, Data discovers that the inhabitants of the planet have undergone a huge technological leap after an Earth probe from before the Federation crashed on the planet 200 years ago. As a result, the inhabitants believe that it is a gift from the heavens, and are eager to join what they believe to be a superior species in exploring space. As the human intervention predates the Prime Directive, the Federation must question whether they must shatter the Lorissian’s illusions, or keep the Prime Directive intact by not interfering with their internal affairs.
Turn to Stone by @The Chimera Virus
The Enterprise is given the honor of escorting three Medusans from their homeworld, Meduscyll Prime, to Earth. The ambassadors – Zekor, Xak-Dui, and Vyln – are a strange lot, often found conversing amongst themselves in their protective tubes. Medusans are, of course, noncorporeal beings. They are insanely intelligent and master navigators but induce total insanity upon sight in most species followed immediately by total organ failure. Everyone aboard is tense during the trip, with some members of the crew feeling such a dangerous species shouldn’t be welcome in the Federation. This turns ugly when the headstrong Lt. Cmdr. Constantine conspires with Xak-Dui to prevent negotiations. Xak-Dui kills other ambassadors, causing them to explode into blinding light and driving almost an entire deck insane, with only Constantine and Geordi left unaffected. The crew is left scrambling to salvage what has turned into an intergalactic incident.
Guest Star: Elias Koteas as Lt. Cmdr. Constantine
Firstborn
Worf decides to help his son Alexander explore his Klignon heritage, worried that he is not exploring it enough. At a festival, Worf and Alexander are attacked, but are saved by a man called K’mtar, who says that he works for the House of Mogh. Investigating the attack, the crew of the Enterprise find evidence that it was carried out by the Duras Sisters, while K’mtar pushes Alexander further than Worf is comfortable with.
The Monsters We Create by @The Chimera Virus
Following the signing of an unsatisfying peace treaty with Cardassia, the Enterprise is ordered by Admiral Nechayev to help to relocate Puebloan colonists on Dorvan V. The planet is a new home for Puebloan people, and they are adamant that they will not leave. Picard raises a litany of objections, but an apologetic Nechayev explains she previously raised all of them to the Federation Council and had been shot down every single time. It’s a horrible situation, but everyone’s hands are tied. Sadly, Picard agrees.
While speaking with Anthwara, leader of the Tribal Council, he reveals that one of Picard’s ancestors had been involved with the Pueblo Revolt back in the 17th Century. Matters are further complicated by Gul Evek and his crew arriving ahead of schedule, claiming he’s simply there for a survey. At a loss, Picard prepares to remove the colonists by force, causing a riot incited by another elder, Chatan. As the colonists take some of the Cardassians hostage, Picard and Evek try to come up with a solution. Eventually, after some of the Cardassians are killed by Chatan’s faction amidst the fighting, Evek agrees to evacuate his people. Some of the colonists forgo their Federation citizenship so that they may remain, becoming Cardassian citizens instead. A group led by Chatan, however, renounce any citizenship and leave to join the Maquis.
Guest Star: Nigel Havers as Gul Evek, Ned Romero as Anthwara, Graham Greene as Chatan, and Natalia Nogulich as Admiral Nechayev
Arm-in-Arm by @The Chimera Virus
The Enterprise is chosen to make further headway with the Children of Tama, assisted by several attachés from the Starfleet Diplomatic Corps (Phàng of Earth, Beldar of Andoria, and Gruulsh of Tellar) and renowned Starfleet translator Admiral Nyota Uhura. As Picard meets the wife of Captain Dathon, Sakalah – herself a noted diplomat – the negotiations prove to be slow-going. The language barrier begins to frustrate all those involved, save for Admiral Uhura. She makes incredible headway in four hours, but just as there is an apparent breakthrough the Tamarian delegates, save for Sakalah, leave in a huff. The lead delegate Gyban sneers, “Hodcus and Arradel, arm-in-arm, smiling despite themselves.” Unsure of what offended the delegation, Picard, Uhura, and Sakalah must now help the diplomats salvage the discussions before the Tamarians return to their isolation and render recent headway null and void.
Guest Stars: Nichelle Nichols as Admiral Nyota Uhura, Angela Bassett as Sakalah, Tim Curry as Gyban, John Lone as Phàng, Jeffrey Combs as Beldar, and Alice Nunn as Gruulsh
Someone to Watch Over Us
Ro is due for an external performance review, where her actions during her time on the Enterprise will be put under scrutiny. The evaluator, Lt. Cmdr. Davies, seems to have taken a disliking to her before he even begins the evaluation however. As the evaluations seems to be going poorly, Ro talks with Troi, revealing why she initially joined Starfleet, going into her past on Bajor, and how it was to grow up during the Cardassian occupation.
Sibling Rivalry by @The Chimera Virus
The Enterprise and its sister ship, the newly rebuilt Yamato, are about to meet for a crew exchange. When the ships are about two parsecs apart, their computer systems go unresponsive and the engines immediately accelerate to Warp 9.99. Investigation reveals an ethereal entity has taken control of the ship and sensors indicate the Yamato is in an identical situation. The entity, when prompted, explains that it’s “all in good fun – after all, who doesn’t love bloodsports when you don’t need to spill your own blood?” At the current speed, the starships will slam into each other in three hours. With omnipresent entities watching their every move, the chances of the crews being able to buck the hijackers and save themselves seem incredibly slim - but not out of the question.
Guest Star: Raúl Juliá as Captain Luís Alacrán
Preemptive Strike
Lt. Ro returns to the Enterprise after receiving advanced tactical training. The Enterprise is asked to assist a Cardassian ship along the Demilitarized Zone which has been attacked by a Maquis ship. Admiral Nechayev informs Picard that Starfleet intends to use Lt. Ro to infiltrate the Maquis. As Ro enters the group, she finds herself struggling to deal with her sympathies for them, given her past living on Bajor during the occupation.
Guest Star: Nigel Havers as Gul Evek
Past Perfect
Unexpectedly, Picard finds his mind jumping between the present, eight years ago, and twenty five years in the future. As these jumps happen suddenly and without warning, Picard finds himself disoriented and acting erratically, worsened when he begins to see figures jeering at him.
In the present, Picard is ordered to take the Enterprise-E to investigate a spatial anomaly in the Neutral Zone. In the future, he manages to convince Dr. Henderson, who now commands the USS Pasteur to take him to the location of the anomaly, accompanied by much of the Enterprise-E’s crew. In the past, Picard is ordered away from Farpoint station to investigate the same anomaly, but goes against his orders, believing that the coming meeting with Q is too important. However, they do not meet Q as Picard remembers. Picard goes to his ready room, but finds himself in Q’s courtroom, where he reveals that the trial of humanity from eight years ago never actually came to a verdict, and that now is the last chance for humanity to prove themselves. He also reveals that he is the reason for Picard’s time jumping.
Arriving at the location of the anomaly in the past, present and future, Picard discovers that the anomaly is larger in the past, but does not exist in the future. Picard has the Pasteur scan with an anti-tachyon beam, and scans the anomaly in the present. The Pasteur is attacked by Klingons, but is saved by the arrival of the future Enterprise-E commanded by Riker. Picard realises in the past that as the anomaly is getting larger the further back in time, and Q arrives, congratulating him and taking him to Earth 4 billion years ago, where he shows Picard that the anomaly now covers the entire Alpha Quadrant, and has prevented the birth of life on Earth.
Picard tries to find a way to destroy the anomaly, and when the present Data reveals that the anomaly is being sustained by an anti-tachyon beam, he realises that he created the anomaly when he ordered the scan on the Pasteur. He and Data theorise that the anomaly could be destroyed by creating a large static warp shell around it. However, neither of the Enterprise-E’s are capable of producing a field that large, due to their sleek design. Picard orders the Enterprise-D in the past to enter the anomaly, creating the shell, neutralising the anomaly, but causing the destruction of the ship.
Picard awakens in Q’s courtroom, where Q congratulates him on being able to think in multiple timeframes simultaneously to solve the puzzle, and that as the anomaly now never existed history is mostly restored. Picard still has his memories from the incident, and the past Enterprise has been restored to shortly before it encountered it, but the Picard there also still has his memories, creating an alternate timeline. Picard is returned to the Enterprise of the present.
As the senior staff have play their regular poker game, they reflect on what Picard has told them in order to prevent them from drifting apart. To their surprise, Picard enters, and asks to join, expressing regret that he had not done so earlier.
Guest Stars: John de Lancie as Q, Denise Crosby as Lt. Yar, Gates McFadden as Dr. Crusher, Colm Meaney as Miles O’Brien
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Nice to see Uhura return, but would she still be a Commander after all this time? Both McCoy and Chekov were admirals after all.
A second timeline? Interesting. I assume you have plans for it?
Did any of TNG's mains have different alternate futures than in our "All Good Things?". Where does Ro end up in the future timeline?
A second timeline? Interesting. I assume you have plans for it?
Did any of TNG's mains have different alternate futures than in our "All Good Things?". Where does Ro end up in the future timeline?
Timelordtoe
Monthly Donor
I'll be honest, I didn't really have too many worries about people considering me "too political". I just wanted to make my stance now clear, because it's different to what I had said previously, where I was going to be purposefully avoiding political subjects. But yeah, as well as societies issues (like LGBT rights and the like), there will be some natural discussion of the events of the day at the time, as they do have a profound effect on the popular culture of its time. At a fundamental level, everything is a product of the time it was made in, and I can't not reflect that here.
I'll be honest, I hadn't taken much notice of Uhura's rank, and I think her being an Admiral would be justified, after all, not all of the Captain-rank personnel will be in command. I'll have to run that one by @The Chimera Virus though, as it's his story.
The second timeline won't come up too much, but it will appear occasionally. Right now, in-universe, it's more of a throwaway line to explain that "present" Picard isn't in any way different to the other Picards in retaining the knowledge. Technically speaking, future Picard also exists in an alternate timeline, the "original" one where "Past Perfect" never happened. But as we follow Present Picard, it's that resultant timeline that we will continue to explore. I hope that made sense, because to quote a great engineer "I hate temporal mechanics."
Captain Ro was working as an aide to Admiral Riker in the alternate future. Riker and Worf don't have quite the same beef over Deanna's death due to Worf not ending up with her ITTL as "Parallels" never happened. Kelly is mentioned off-handedly as being in command of Deep Space Nine as well. I considered throwing him in the story as well, but couldn't find a good place for it.
And on a similar note to that, I've been thinking recently (well, a while actually, but I'm talking about it now) about creating another thread over in Fandom AH that follows the events of the Star Trek universe in the timeline from an in-universe perspective. It would give me a chance to try a more prose-y style than the documentative one I'm going for here, and explore the actual events of the episodes in more detail. So, I'll put a poll up asking if that's something that people want because, y'know, if not, I won't do it. Also, obviously, as the universe isn't written completely by me anymore, I wouldn't write the stories that aren't mine to write.
And on another similar note, I've been thinking, and I'm going to move the Odyssey update to be the next one, as it follows on better from TNG than it does DS9. So, that will be cast, writers, basic premise. We've explored a little of that already, but I think it deserves a full update like I did for when DS9 was first being made. The way things are going at the moment, Part II should end neatly on Chapter 60 (LX). See ya around.
EDIT: Looks like I'm going to have to contact the mods to delete the poll at the top of this thread in order to make a new one. Probably won't be up until tomorrow at the earliest, as I'm probably going to go to sleep soon, and I can't do a huge amount of work on this tomorrow. Still, if you have another question to ask, I'd love to hear what you think about that potential "story thread" over in Fandom.
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Yeah, that's a flub on my part. She should be an admiral.
Also, The Excellence Invasion hasn't been noted as one of mine in the post. Otherwise, great update! My favorites are Finding Yourself and Straight on 'til Morning.
Timelordtoe
Monthly Donor
Thanks for pointing that out. I thought I'd marked them all, but that must have slipped my mind. Thanks again for your work on the stories for this season! The update has been, well, updated.
Nice season there @Timelordtoe - there are some episodes there I’d really like to know how they end!
Gald to see a temporally awake Picard.
I’d say go for it on the prose thread.
Gald to see a temporally awake Picard.
I’d say go for it on the prose thread.