posted
He probably meant the Kazon or perhaps some of the other races we have seen that seem to be fairly technologically advanced but don't have transporter technology.
All in all, I would have to agree. I think it is a little early for Earth to have transporters. It just doesn't seem to be in stride with level of tech at the time.
posted
The general idea behind the Kazon was that they weren't all that advanced. Their ships were huge because they didn't have all the nifty automation of a "modern" starship, and all their tech was liberated from their former masters anyway.
posted
As I recall, the Kazon were a slave race that revolted and took the starships of their oppressors.
------------------ "Let me ask you something, Mr. Garibaldi, a purely philosophical question. On a scale of 1 to 10, how stupid do you think I am anyway?" - Bester Federation Starship Datalink: Brand new look, fresh minty scent, same great taste!
posted
I'm already not liking Series V. It's not even premiered yet and they're talking about mucking continuity up. I just hope none of it is true and they set it after TOS/TNG-Voy but not far into the future either.
------------------ "Instructed by history and reflection, Julian was persuaded that, if the diseases of the body may sometimes be cured by salutary violence, neither steel nor fire can eradicate the erroneous opinions of the mind."
-Edward Gibbons, The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire.
posted
My vote definitely goes for the path taken here: the earlier we get transporters, the better. They are an integral part of treknology, and as stated, there is very little canon material on the date of their introduction. Heck, even noncanon material suggesting transporter introduction in the 2230s-40s is limited to the Spaceflight Chronology and the derived "Final Reflection" and Diane Carey books - the "mainstream" writers like Friedman use transporters freely in the mid-22nd century.
As for the Klingon first contact, it certainly doesn't match any previous fanfic or novel interpretation, but the potential canonity breach is really minor. Lack of Universal Translation is also a cool idea, but I wonder if that will survive beyond the pilot. Both SG-1 and Crusade dropped that realistic concept pretty soon and went for the standard "every alien speaks English" universe.
I'm all for warp four as the maximum speed of the 2150s, too (and incidentally, so is most of fanfic). Grappling hooks? I'll reserve judgement - but I have to confess I gaped in awe at "Soul Hunter", right until the point where Sinclair engages his rockets and defies the laws of physics after all. There's potential to do this well, and potential to do it very badly indeed.
It seems a given that the uniforms here will be typical mlitaristic Alienesque-S:AaBian variety. I wonder if they'll go for a subtle retro element or not. It would be WONDERFUL to see an odd hairstyle (perhaps an early version of the famous Starfleet Sideburns). A dull 2000s hairstyle would be unimaginative and cowardly IMNSHO.
Remember the fancy ties of "Past Tense"? Trek *can* be subtle in creating out-of-this-world dressing trends. I hope they'll do plenty of that in the new show.
posted
A few random comments: For purely selfish reasons (conflict with the Starfleet Museum) I hope this series is closer to First Contact than to the Romulan war. The reviewer seems to think that the series takes place within a decade of the Romulan war. If that's true, you'd think that Earth would be pretty far advanced with almost a century's worth of experience with warp drive. Earth would also have its own ships and star fleet (albeit not Starfleet). Does anyone want to see a Romulan War as a major part of the series?
If the series is set nearer towards First Contact, will they spend a lot of time on Earth showing the rebuilding after the war and the establishment of a world government? Will they have a "tribe of the week" as the advanced proto-World Government tries to bring everyone into the fold? (Shades of "Genesis II" and "Planet Earth"!)
One thing I hope they don't do with this series is to "front-load" it too much with all the races and technology of TOS. I think new tech and races should be introduced gradually during the course of the series so we what changes they effect. Of course, this might allow to many stories that rely on malfunctioning technology, which would be bad and lazy. They might do this anyway. I'm a little bothered that the Klingons will make such an early appearance, but the first contact in 2218 is purely conjecture anyways. I had just grown used to that date. (I wonder how many changes Okuda will have to make in the third edition of the Chronology) On the other hand, I hope they don't have too many "first contact" episodes.
I'm very interested in the look of this new show. If I were the designer, I'd favor a sort of a sleek, sophisticated early Syd Mead, high-tech 1950s-in-space look. It might not be to everyone's taste, but it would certainly distinguish the new series visually. On the other hand, I hope they stay away from a grungy lower decks Alien kind of look with fog, cold grease, and blue lights or a post-apocalypse Mad Max/space pirates look. If they had a level of tech that looked like 2001: A Space Odyssey, I'd be satisfied, I guess.
PS: If I were a member of the Taliban I would be sure to have a lawyer ready to sue Viacom over the Suliban . Would they qualify as shape-shifters (who Kirk thought were mythical) or are they more like Plastic Man or Reed Richards (Fantastic Four)?
------------------ When you're in the Sol system, come visit the Starfleet Museum
posted
If the show is set at 10 years before Federation, instead of 5, then the Romulan war might not be an issue at all. Okudaically, the war would be a short romp of perhaps four years, and would not really fall within the timeframe of the show, even if it runs for a full seven years.
Then again, that would be something of a loss. If the whole show is about the humans trying to prove their worth to the Vulcans, then surely a war with the cousins of the Vulcans would be a big issue. Of course, one would have to dance around the issue of showing the faces of the Romulans... I wouldn't worry about the proximity of the war making Earth too "advanced", though. Perhaps space warfare developed at a pace comparable to air warfare in WWI - from zero to full speed in nothing flat?
Also, the show is likely to evolve a lot during its run, just like all the Trek shows so far. Perhaps there will be a major shift in mid-run towards Romulan war stories, or alternately a big swing away from them (say, the Enterprise gets a propulsion upgrade and is sent to deep space far away from Earthly worries)?
posted
I'm not too eager to see the rebuilding of Earth. The thing about Star Trek is that it's very much a piece of utopian fiction, and the thing about utopias is that, by definition, they don't exist. Examine them too closely and they start becoming transparent. I'm afraid that the show would either gloss over the difficulties of building a perfect world and thus prove dull and uninteresting, or it would pack lots of flaws into the thing, thus rendering one of basic premises of Star Trek void.
Far better, I think, would be to do the beginnings of the Federation. We've got much more room to manuver in that organization, because Trek is less contingent on the UFP being perfect. Usually right, yes, but so are the heroes of every show.
Now, this isn't to say that I wouldn't like to see anything done about the immediate post-Contact Earth. The occassional episode, perhaps. But I don't think a series would work.
posted
I wonder if they'll set the pilot exactly seven years before the founding of the UFP, so they can end the series w/ that...?
------------------ "Although, from what I understand, having travelled around the Mid-west quite a bit, apparently Jesus is coming, so I guess the choice now is we should decide whether we should spit or swallow." -Maynard James Keenan
posted
Ooooh. I'd like to see the beginnings of Section 31. They didn't start out as such a clandestine organization though...
TSN: There's no guarantee that this thing will run for 7 years, though. I'm not sure how I would handle that if I were them.
------------------ "The sons of the Prophet were valiant and bold, And quite unacustomed to fear. But, of all, the most reckless, or so I am told, Was Abdulah Boul Boul Ameer." Aban's Illustration www.alanfore.com
posted
Aban: Yeah, but, if it lasts at all, it will probably run for seven years (since that's become their "magic number"). So, I wonder if they'll set it up that way just so they'll be able to do that if it does last.
------------------ "Although, from what I understand, having travelled around the Mid-west quite a bit, apparently Jesus is coming, so I guess the choice now is we should decide whether we should spit or swallow." -Maynard James Keenan
. Would they qualify as shape-shifters (who Kirk thought were mythical) or are they more like Plastic Man or Reed Richards (Fantastic Four)?
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