A grittier new Star Trek series?

[Naitron]

After re-watching some DS9 on Netflix and the TNG movies I started missing Star Trek. I loved the new reboot movie but I want a TV series. I kind of imagine a show like Battlestar Galactica. Well the tone of BSG at least. With some X-Files mysticism and story. Pretty much I want a more adventurous story as in with a true plot. Maybe show soldiers on the front lines of a new war. Like Space Above and Beyond had it's "warzone" feel to it. Sorry I know I'm just throwing all these aspects of different shows intot he mix. I love every Trek series I have seen. DS9 > TNG> Voyager

 

[Temis the Vorta]

If CBS ever developed a series for Showtime, it would definitely be grittier than we've seen previously, because the audience expects it.

Maybe show soldiers on the front lines of a new war. Like Space Above and Beyond had it's "warzone" feel to it.

I think there's a market out there for a military sf series, on cable and more violent than you'd see on broadcast, but I don't see why Star Trek would be the best topic. Maybe adapting the Honor Harrington series would work.

The best shot for Star Trek on TV would be to return to the TOS approach of depicting a charismatic crew on missions for the Federation - policing, defense, diplomacy - the full range of what they're supposed to be doing. Make it dark, gritty and adult and put it on Showtime, or make it lighter and less violent so it can appeal to adults and kids alike, animate it and put it on The Cartoon Network.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

What the hell does "gritty" mean in this context, anyways?

It feels like a vague, wishy-washy high-concept pitch word.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Gritty like DS9 and nuBSG, I would guess, in the sense of the morality not being easy and black-and-white. I'd call that more messy than gritty.

With some X-Files mysticism and story.

That doesn't seem very appropriate to Star Trek - that's more B5's turf.

 

[Vulagr]

The opening scene will be of a female security down on a planet being kidnapped by a new alien thread to the Federation. Of course there'll be some full frontal nudity...

BAH. Why does everything have to be grittier and edgier these days.

 

[bullethead]

I'm not in favor of "gritty" due to the fact that it often ends up being misinterpreted as "make everyone douchebags, all the stories dark and depressing/stupid, and everyone gets shit on." I'm fine with moral ambiguity, just don't over do it and make everything so dreary that the show is a slog to get through.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Hoping against hope, maybe they'll make it "gritty" like The Walking Dead is gritty: without there needing to be any obvious villain at all. Or, go for obvious villains and follow Sons of Anarchy or Breaking Bad as a template.

There are a lot of successful examples around of how to do a morally grey show without the characterization being off-putting or clumsy. But it takes deft writing to maneuver even good people into doing bad things without needing to make them stupid or careless to explain it away. One big thing to remember: don't make them excessively whiny and self-pitying. I think that goes a long ways towards not engendering audience contempt.

 

[FordSVT]

What the hell does "gritty" mean in this context, anyways?

It feels like a vague, wishy-washy high-concept pitch word.

If it's like the example used, BSG, it means people only shower once a week, they fuck a lot, and 1/10 of them will attempt to commit suicide or kill someone close to them at some point in the series.

 

[USS Triumphant]

I don't know if others share this opinion, but one of the things that drew me to Trek (TOS) was that it was bright, shiny, and hopeful as opposed to the other depressing, pessimistic, and/or flat-out boring sci-fi of the time. And that seems to be the trend now, too, so maybe it is time for Trek again. Update the writing styles, the production values, the special effects, and maybe tighten up continuity - but let Trek be Trek.

 

[Sandoval]

Why does everything need to be gritty? Bleak, depressing, dirty, blah blah blah.

 

[xortex]

Braga had the right idea. Traipsing around in the mud building Starships. A future prequil should be more founded in reality compounded by the aliens and the tech and the supernatural where they try to distinguish between them. ENT was very unclear on the details and specifics. Their bible didn't seem any different then TNG. Does anybody have a copy of ENT bible? That should be a nebulous mess. GR knew exactly what he wanted. Braga kind of did but resistance to the Berman was futile.

 

[Joe Washington]

How's this for a premise of a gritty Star Trek show?

The series takes place centuries in Star Trek’s future, in the aftermath of a bloody Federation civil war. The restored Federation is just getting back on its feet and the scars of the civil war are still fresh. The new and improved Starfleet has begun launching its ships on missions of exploration, policing, and diplomacy as a message of hope for the future to Federation citizens. The series focuses on the crew of one of those ships. The crew suffers from personal conflicts between each other with it being composed of members of both the winning and losing sides of the war. The starship captain fights to keep the crew together. Meanwhile, the ship is assigned a mission to reconnect with colony worlds that fell out of contact with the Federation during the civil war and reestablish diplomatic relations between them and the new regime. But among the colony worlds are those whose peoples don’t want anything to do with the Federation. The Federation won’t risk having those worlds becoming independent in fear of the negative message it would create giving power to forces within the Federation that have upsetting doubts about the new order which they want to fail. There is also the risk of any of those colony worlds being the future spark of another Federation civil war. So the starship crew is authorized to do whatever it takes to bring those worlds back under Federation control. Some of the crew has moral qualms about the order. In addition to their primary mission, the crew is to make contact with potential alien allies they may encounter along the way who would make fine additions to the Federation. The more allies, the more power and stability the new Federation would gain through the alliances.

The series would be like The Walking Dead with a large focus on the characters without any need for big villains but delving the audience into complicated moral shades of grey.

 

[Jetfire]

Maybe Christopher Nolan can bring Trek back to TV.

 

[T'Girl]

How's this for a premise of a gritty Star Trek show?

In other words Andromeda. Not that it a bad idea mind you, but you're describing Andromeda.

With some X-Files mysticism and story.

That doesn't seem very appropriate to Star Trek

Vulcan mind melds, Betazed mind/emotion reading, Kes's "powers" and Q. There is plenty of mysticism in Star Trek.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

With some X-Files mysticism and story.

That doesn't seem very appropriate to Star Trek

Vulcan mind melds, Betazed mind/emotion reading, Kes's "powers" and Q. There is plenty of mysticism in Star Trek.

You forgot Orbs and wormhole aliens.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Yeah, coz turning "dark and gritty" worked so well for Stargate

Star Trek is meant to be fun. I'm sick of TV shows, like BSG, that leave the viewer more miserable than when they started watching. Because, what's the point?

I want upbeat entertainment. What Star Trek has been for 45 years. What Stargate was until SGU.

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

Yeah, coz turning "dark and gritty" worked so well for Stargate

Star Trek is meant to be fun. I'm sick of TV shows, like BSG, that leave the viewer more miserable than when they started watching. Because, what's the point?

I want upbeat entertainment. What Star Trek has been for 45 years. What Stargate was until SGU.

Yes, a relentlessly "dark and gritty" Star Trek à la NuBSG makes me feel sick.

 

[T'Girl]

The rare "dark and gritty" episode, maybe once a season (at the most) would be okay.

Like in the episode Data's Day, where Captain Picard had his hat handed to him by the Romulans, that level of grit. But at the very end we had a delightful wedding.

 

[Kelthaz]

Yeah, coz turning "dark and gritty" worked so well for Stargate

Star Trek is meant to be fun. I'm sick of TV shows, like BSG, that leave the viewer more miserable than when they started watching. Because, what's the point?

I want upbeat entertainment. What Star Trek has been for 45 years. What Stargate was until SGU.

Yes, let's avoid a Star Trek: Universe, shall we? Dramatic ≠ gritty.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

In other words Andromeda. Not that it a bad idea mind you, but you're describing Andromeda.

Do Andromeda over and do it right this time. Sounds like a plan.

Vulcan mind melds, Betazed mind/emotion reading, Kes's "powers" and Q. There is plenty of mysticism in Star Trek.

Those have sciencey explanations, not supernatural. They're no more mystical than other magical things like the transporter or warp drive. Star Trek's turf is the rational cosmos and when they start getting pseudo-religious, like with DS9's mystical arc, it turns into absurd mumbo-jumbo. Best if they stick with the rational stuff.

Yeah, coz turning "dark and gritty" worked so well for Stargate

Their problem is that they had no idea how to do "dark and gritty" and ended up with "boring and inane."