Been watching some of the old Star Trek shows. Pretty good, but after binging a bunch of TNG episodes, I just found some issues. So, going back to the what if machine, what if I had Gene Roddenberry's ear back in the late 80's?
Overall I wouldn't change much. I'll leave changing episodes or coming up with new ones to better writers. No, I'd change 3 things from the start.
Lt. Tasha Yar. After watching the first season, I fully understand why Denise Crosby left. When a carboard cut out can fulfil the same duty as you, it's a poor part.
I suppose I'd have the security chief actually DO things. Also, her background. I know it was developed in novels, notes, and elsewhere, but on the show? She was from a planet that left the Federation. Why?
How did she leave? What made her want to go to Starfleet? The order? Serving something greater? How would she have handled the Marquis? I'd also have Worf serve under her in security. Not shipping, but more buddy cop. I might write her off, but I'd go more with injured, transferred to a base rather than dead.
Counselor Troi, or the most useless member of the crew. The idea of a empath for a counselor isn't a bad idea, plus someone who can tell if you're lying is a fine addition (albeit more security than medical). Likewise, just have her actually do things instead of saying 'Captain, I feel great joy!'.
I'd also avoid having her getting back with Riker. Just seemed like a copout ending to the series. Also, less of her mother.
Wesley Crusher. Man, no disrespect to Wil Wheaton, but Wesley was an annoying little git for most of the first few seasons. Personally I would have him join the crew maybe later (4th or 5th season). He'd be driven, but there would be conflict. His mother would be opposed (as she lost her husband to space) and Picard would have guilt (failure to save his father, etc.) and then the crew. It would be more "Oh, you're only here because the captain's sorry. We're here because we're the best of the best!" so he'd be focused on proving himself.
Maybe not the best idea but that's my take.
Honestly you got me thinking a bit about this one. It's been said before, but one of the main problems with Next Generation (I show I dearly love but it's far from perfect) is that all the characters get along and are friends. I understand you probably don't want the crew of the flagship at each other's throats, but I think with some mild tweaking, you could have the characters disagree with each other more on how they do their jobs, as well as personal issues. This is just spitballing, but off the top of my head, here's some ideas for each character.
ReplyDeletePicard: Doesn't need to change. His intensity and loneliness were good at putting him at a distance from others, and made his every reaction to them a surprise.
Riker: My biggest problem with Riker is he's a little too much like Picard in terms of his decision-making. He's more personable and perhaps more unconventional in his strategies, but overall he's still pretty idealistic. I think Riker should probably be more of a harsh pragmatist, but one who forces Picard to justify his idealism honestly. I also think about half the crew should hate Riker, and the other half love him. He'd be neat as a harsh taskmaster who sometimes brings out the best in people while other times burning them out. In short, he should be a bit more of a bastard, but with a surprising amount of charm and cunning that justifies his spot as first officer.
Data: Data's personality is fine, though I think he could probably stand to be less the best at everything. Other than diplomacy, Data could probably run the ship by himself, and that's a problem. It's understandable he's great at lots of stuff, but all his knowledge makes sense as theoretical, and people with practical experience and intuition should actually be better at some things than he is. Gives his mission to become more human some justification.
Tasha Yar: If you're going to keep Tasha around, I think playing up her background in her personality (instead of her talking about rape gangs every episode; you'd think she wouldn't want to talk about that but she brought it up every chance she got) is the way to go. If she's from a violent, anarchic, corrupt planet but left for Starfleet, she's probably someone who is eager to prove she belongs, hiding the parts of herself that are of that world until she loses her cool. She'd probably have a greater understanding of the underworld and seedy dealings than the Federation members, though she'd probably also lack sympathy for take the Federation for granted and act badly.
Worf: Seeing as Worf was one of the most complex and flawed characters on the show, he doesn't really need to change much. Mainly he just needed to be allowed to win a fight once in awhile. They did eventually fix this on DS9, though. Also, I like your buddy cop idea with Worf and Yar. His honor philosophy and her criminal background could actually play off each other well.
Counselor Troi: So this might require the most change, as Troi, while she had a few great moments, did spend a lot of the time being either a love interest or kinda useless. But one of her best episodes, Face of the Enemy, showed she is pretty good at thinking on her feet when she's in an espionage situation. So I think it would be neat if she, while a psychologist by training, is also secretly an agent of Section 31. Most of the time she carries out her counselor duties, and she genuinely enjoys it, but occasionally she has to act on behalf of her spymaster superiors and deceive the Enterprise crew. Wouldn't that be great?
To be continued...
Part Two:Geordi LaForge: Geordi was always kind of a straight shooter, and I think that's fine. But his love of machines and trouble with women should probably have been more prevalent in his personality. Like, it would be neat if Geordi was this bright, idealistic guy who is all about Federation ideals and whatnot, but the second he has to explain anything outside the professional to alpha male types like Riker, or god forbid any woman, he just turns into an awkward mess. He mostly sticks to Engineering where he's comfortable, and he's only able to be close to Data, who doesn't notice his awkwardness.
ReplyDeleteDr. Crusher: The idea of a Starfleet member with a family is a pretty good one, as it can create a sense of conflict between their loyalties, especially when their family is on the ship. It was probably a mistake for Crusher to just have one kid, and for him to be caught up in every adventure. Maybe Bev has another kid, a young one, and she doesn't just want to hand off raising said kid to someone else on the ship. So in addition to being the head doctor on a ship like the Enterprise, where weird stuff happens all the time, she spends the rest of her time being a parent, burning herself at both ends. To extend the metaphor out a bit, let her act like a mother to everyone, including every stray and lost cause on the ship, and even her crewmates. She would probably be protective and a little bossy all at once, even toward Picard.
Wesley: I like your idea, so let's go with that.
So yeah, I think you could do that without damaging the core of any of the characters, and added those sorts of sparks needed to make a good show even better. I'd probably also have more of Guinan's mysterious past come into play, but that's just me.