posted
WARNING! The following is a summary of the episodes of Series ? Season 6.2.
It is not meant to be comprehensive. Some stuff hadn't actually been sketched out all that well.
Further, this does not mean I am not actually going to write these episodes in full at some point. Hopefully. If I do write these episodes, I will not contradict anything below. I just know a few of you have really wanted some resolution to the plot, and life has not been too conducive to writing full episodes.
Episode 6x15: Revenge of the Singh
The A-plot of this episode would have been Khan running for the office of Federation President. Of course, everyone suspects he's going to cheat, but it turns out he's actually running fair-and-square on a pro-continuity campaign. Khan actually wins, to everyone's amazement.
The B-plot would continue Braxton's recent arc of trying to do away with all the series' running jokes. Damar, having gotten beaten up by Yar again, realizes that's a running joke and alerts Braxton. Braxton puts a stop to it, of course, leaving Yar with no outlet for her endless rage. Hilarity (hopefully) ensues.
Episode 6x16: Gary 007
Admiral Ross and Luther Sloan (I believe last seen in "Never Ask About Nimbus III!") arrive on the Relativity believing that there is a spy on the ship. As it turns out, there actually is a spy on the ship, and Gary Seven is sent to extract the individual. So who is the spy? Anyone familiar with Gary Seven can probably guess that it is, in fact, Helix! Yes, Helix has been keeping an eye on Captain Braxton all these years. (And yes, in the same vein as "Assignment: Earth", Helix not only turns out to be female, but a really hot woman!)
Episode 6x17: Another Cheap Crossover
Not much to say about this episode, since the premise kept changing over the years based on what sci-fi show I was currently watching. Basically, Scorpius finally figures out how to commercialize wormholes, opening up a tourist trade by letting other shows visit the Star Trek universe. However else the episode wound up being written, it would have ended with a familiar ship coming through Scorpy's wormhole with an ominous message: "Hallowed are the Ori..."
Kes, still nearly-powerless, would have eventually been converted to Origin to get her powers back. I believe MinutiaeMan actually did a mock-up of what she would look like as a Prior; maybe he could dig that picture out.
Episode 6x18: Q&A, Part I Episode 6x19: Q&A, Part II
This two-parter resolves the dangling plot thread of Ducane still being in a coma, and also finally gets around to advancing the Progeny story arc.
Ducane awakens to find himself in a "Tapestry" parody, complete with Q. As it turns out, Q has been responsible for keeping Ducane in the coma, so that he can impart important plot exposition concerning the ancient war between the Progeny and the creators of the Plah D'Viz. As it turns out, said creators of the Plah D'Viz (who probably would have actually gotten a name in this episode) had devised a defense against the Progeny, but never had a chance to use it.
All of this plot exposition has been taking place in the Star Trek afterlife, which (as we all know) has only one permanent resident. Yes indeed, Evil Braxton tags along, scheming to use the situation to somehow return to life. And yes, he fails utterly.
The two-parter ends with Ducane actually waking up in the Relativity sickbay, with vague knowledge of where to begin searching for the solution to the Progeny problem. T'Lenol, being redundant, is immediately and unceremoniously switched off.
Also, Q reveals at some point in these episodes that he's behind the switching of Galvy's and Janeway's sixth senses. Why? Because he's Q, that's why.
Episode 6x20: Meddling Kids
Ducane's vague sense of where to go to further the plot leads to an ancient crashed ship in the Gamma Quadrant. Said ship belonged to the Plah D'Viz creators, so the crew boards it, only to find that its home to a monster. Cue every Scooby-Doo trope ever. Who is the monster? Probably the Female Changling. C'mon, who doesn't love the Happy Fun Dominion (or what's left of it at this point)?
The crew ultimately learn where they must make their stand against the Progeny... the Ejuf'Ereva!
Episode 6x21: ...And a Star to Sail Her By
Another "wham" episode: We finally get back to the evil crew of the evil Excelsior. And just as I've said, they don't escape.
The Federation Council, having realized that "Endgame" wasn't really so bad compared with "These are the Voyages...", pulls a Star Trek IV and drops most of the charges against Janeway and her crew. They are released, although Janeway is demoted to Captain and given a new ship to command (undoubtedly a new Excelsior).
Dark Helmet, having just received his first check for his work on Spaceballs: The Animated Series, decides that he's going to live the high life and leaves. Nobody bothers to tell him Spaceballs: The Animated Series was a complete flop.
Zo'or, of course, sees this as a chance to actually get himself a position, but as it turns out, the Federation Council isn't quite as stupid as you might think. T'Lenol has been hardwired into the new Excelsior, forcing Janeway and Co. to be the goodest good guys who ever did good!
Episode 6x22: Recap VI: The Undiscovered Recap
You might think this very summary would serve as the recap episode. You'd be wrong. This is where you'd have to put up with me being artsy again. This season's recap would have been in the style of a TV Tropes page.
(On a side note... A Series ? TV Tropes page would be very cool.)
Episode 6x23: The Hall Episode 6x24: The Orchestra Episode 6x25: The Dance
The Progeny show up again, this time with a ship that looks like what you would get if you took Atlantis (from Stargate Atlantis), mated it with a Vorlon planetkiller, and painted it red. (Yeah, I put way too much visual thought into a text-based series.)
At the same time, Braxton and Co. arrive at the Ejuf'Ereva, aka the Edge of Forever, aka the Guardian of Forever's planet. I still haven't gotten around to sketching out all the details of the plot here, but:
A) It would have a battle of pretty much everybody in the series ever vs. the Progeny city-ship/planetkiller/hotrod.
B) It would involve the planet's apparant protection from time.
C) Being, at heart, a Star Trek series, Braxton would have eventually negotiated a truce with the leaders of the Progeny, who actually would have wound up being those few remaining members of the species who were still corporeal.
Episode 6x26: Living Witless
A coda, of sorts.
We cut to the 31st Century, where we see the "Living Witness" Doctor finally finish his journey from Kyrian space to Earth. Upon his arrival, he is greeted by Daniels, who is there to set up the paradox involving the Doctor from way back in Season 1. (Keep in mind this would have been an altered timeline from what we saw earlier, so no burnt-to-a-crisp Federation.) We learn the ultimate fates of many of the characters (minus some very important information, as you shall soon see). Ultimately, the episode ends with the Doctor being sent back to the 29th Century to join Braxton's crew.
"But Krenim," you say, "you've forgotten a few dangling plot threads."
No. No I haven't.
Mini-Series II: Star Trek Continuous
Series ? comes to an actual close by answering two questions:
A) Whatever happened to Trip way back in "Tuckered Out, Part II"?
B) Far more importantly, who is Future Guy?
Yeah, this is the biggie. I'm tackling the identity of Future Guy. I've seen various "reveals" in interviews, novels, etc. I'm forced to facepalm at how unsatisfying they all are. This being Series ?, the identity of Future Guy had to fulfill three different criteria.
1) It had to be someone we already know. "Some Romulan guy" was not gonna cut it.
2) It had to make sense. I had to be able to weave Future Guy's various actions in Enterprise into some kind of coherent plan.
3) It had to make absolutely no sense at all. This is Series ?, after all. If you don't blink in disbelief for several minutes after reading Future Guy's identity, and then shout at the top of your lungs "WHAT THE (insert expletive here)", I haven't done my job.
Trip, along with several other baddies, have been recruited by Future Guy to alter history. If you think that sounds a lot like the first mini-series, you're right and/or shut up. Braxton and Co. chase Trip and Co. through the trilogy of Star Treks II, III, and IV, culminating in the reveal of Future Guy's identity.
Future Guy is...
SPOILER SPACE AHEAD!
.
.
.
.
.
.
END SPOILER SPACE!
...none other than the USS Enterprise NCC-1701! (No bloody A through Z.)
Yes, just like Spock, the Genesis Effect revived the Enterprise and granted it sentience. By the time it made it back to Spacedock, Kirk already had his new shiny Enterprise-A, and the original ship, furious, retreated to the galaxy's shadows to plot its revenge, projecting the Future Guy image throughout time and space to alter history.
Now that I've written that down, I'm not sure that's as awesome as I hoped it would be, but that's where it was going.
-------------------- "Kirito? I killed a thing and now it says I have XPs! Is that bad? Am I dying?"
-Asuna, Episode 2, Sword Art Online Abridged
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
First, I completely understand the lack of time involved in writing this stuff. Ever since I got a full-time job, I've devoted more free time to slacking off than actually writing, myself.
I love so many of the concepts here. Some of them I kinda saw coming, but some of them are a neat surprise. Like Scorpy commercializing wormholes, or the secret identity of Helix the Cat.
I'm entirely unsurprised that T'Lenol would get unceremoniously shut off once Ducane woke up. (Even though her name is one of the most hilarious Vulcan names ever.)
I know I've often joked that the Evil Crew of the Evil Excelsior "always" escape, but the idea that Janeway gets released because the Federation decides "Endgame" wasn't THAT bad is pure genius. Having T'Lenol as an observer (and Zo'or loses his job AGAIN) is icing on the cake.
Were you planning for most of the Excelsior crew to stay on aboard the new ship? Or were the non-Trek characters going to be split up again? (Yoda could go home to try to get a new gig in Episode VII.)
The Guardian of Forever being built by the same race that made the Plah D'viz is another stroke of genius.
And yes, I did do that mockup when you mentioned the idea of Kes becoming a Prior. Naturally, it's a modified screencap from "Fury," providing that awful episode a modicum of an excuse for existing now.
The identity of Future Guy definitely made me say "...huh?" because it's just so far out there. It's one of those things that is just crazy enough to pull off, but would be tough to do so. Maybe the reason it seems so weird is that the idea of the ship becoming a character itself was never really done in Star Trek. (And no, TNG's "Emergence" doesn't count. Ugh.)
My only question would be, just how could Future Guy participate in the weekly Temporal Cold War poker game? Or go on vacation to Hawaii and wear a Hawaiian shirt?
My favorite theory is that Future Guy is JJ Abrams, trying to ruin Star Trek even so he can make the movies and ruin them some more. That would be sufficiently wacky and "meta" for a story like Series ?. Another wacky theory was that Future Guy was Archer, so Archer was basically fighting himself all along. (Also neatly explaining why Future Guy disappeared when Archer did in "Shockwave".) Oh well.
I still hope you get the time to finish these someday! I have a feeling that Ducane and Braxon would get along much better once Ducane realizes that Braxton is actually intelligent...
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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quote:Originally posted by MinutiaeMan: I'm entirely unsurprised that T'Lenol would get unceremoniously shut off once Ducane woke up. (Even though her name is one of the most hilarious Vulcan names ever.)
I know I've often joked that the Evil Crew of the Evil Excelsior "always" escape, but the idea that Janeway gets released because the Federation decides "Endgame" wasn't THAT bad is pure genius. Having T'Lenol as an observer (and Zo'or loses his job AGAIN) is icing on the cake.
Were you planning for most of the Excelsior crew to stay on aboard the new ship? Or were the non-Trek characters going to be split up again? (Yoda could go home to try to get a new gig in Episode VII.)
T'Lenol being inflicted on the Excelsior crew (and vice versa) rose out of a comment that was made way back when that I don't seem to be able to find. Someone commented that T'Lenol was likely a mole, since Janeway could have implanted any kind of malicious coding in her. I had never planned for T'Lenol to be a mole, but I was then forced to ask myself, "How can I make Janeway suffer for not doing so?"
And the Excelsior crew stays together. Having them forced to be good guys just struck me as the worst possible thing I could do to them.
quote:Originally posted by MinutiaeMan: The Guardian of Forever being built by the same race that made the Plah D'viz is another stroke of genius.
Actually, the builders of the Plah D'Viz would not have built the Guardian. I didn't want to mess with the whole "I am my own beginning and my own ending" thing. Rather, they (like many others) discovered the Guardian at some point, built a civilization around it, and learned from it.
quote:Originally posted by MinutiaeMan: My only question would be, just how could Future Guy participate in the weekly Temporal Cold War poker game? Or go on vacation to Hawaii and wear a Hawaiian shirt?
The Enterprise would have acquired various technologies over the years to maintain the illusion of being a biological humanoid, including lifting an android from one of many sources seen in TOS for when it needed to appear "in the flesh".
quote:Originally posted by MinutiaeMan: Another wacky theory was that Future Guy was Archer, so Archer was basically fighting himself all along. (Also neatly explaining why Future Guy disappeared when Archer did in "Shockwave".) Oh well.
From what I understand, this is actually what Brannon Braga tells people now: That Future Guy was Future Archer. This would have so many plot holes that it makes my head hurt, not the least of which would be "Future Guy was from the 28th Century, so what was Archer doing there?" (Granted, for Series ? where nobody ever stays dead, that wouldn't be so bad, but canonically? Ugh.)
-------------------- "Kirito? I killed a thing and now it says I have XPs! Is that bad? Am I dying?"
-Asuna, Episode 2, Sword Art Online Abridged
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote:From what I understand, this is actually what Brannon Braga tells people now: That Future Guy was Future Archer.
Are you kidding me? That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. It makes no sense whatsoever. Great, now he's ruined my hilarious idea.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
I really want to re-read right from the start. Surely you must have a full document copy of the series, and perhaps could convert it into a format for eBook readers?
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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quote:From what I understand, this is actually what Brannon Braga tells people now: That Future Guy was Future Archer.
A Future Archer that was, no doubt, trying to change history so that humanity could "evolve" into salamanders, just so he could get some sweet sweet loving from Sala-Janeway.
Registered: Jul 2006
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