Is TV Ready for another Star Trek?

It’s been six years since we’ve had Star Trek on TV.  Six years since a fresh set of Starfleet Officers, beset by bumpy-headed creatures, saved the day in 44 minutes or less using an amazing array of techno-babble and good old fashioned know-how.  Six years since Sci-Fi made you feel good.

So after 18 years of continuous Star Trek, we, the loyal Trekkies (or Trekkers, I refuse to take part in that debate) find ourselves in a wasteland of new Trek.  Why is that?  Why is one of the most successful Sci-Fi Franchises in history completely absent from primetime?  Sure…much like COPS, you can find some form of Star Trek on some channel nearly any time of day, but where’s the fresh content?

There’s no doubt that JJ Abrams 2009 Star Trek reboot was phenomenal, and that the 2012 sequel will be equally exciting, but what we received wasn’t Star Trek…it was an action flick with Star Trek characters.  A major component of the essence that is Star Trek, and the love it incites, comes from the utopian society, the bold exploration, and the interpersonal growth and connection of the crew members.

There has been a recurring theme in science-fiction lately; a dusty overtone of grit, sweat, despair, and violence.  Battlestar Galactica, Stargate Universe, Fringe; while these shows are all great in their own rights, none of them point to a world I want to live in.  I don’t look forward to a future where evil robots constantly riddle weak human flesh with blaster/bullet/laser/phaser/knife holes.

So listen up Paramount, CBS, geeks, anyone who’s not JJ Abrams; 2015. 2015 will be the perfect time to introduce a brand new Trek.  This new show will be fresh off the heels of the JJ Trilogy.  This new show will have had 10 years to remove the stink of Enterprise from the airwaves (side note: I thoroughly enjoy Enterprise, and it is entirely too underrated.)  The world will be ready for new adventures in space.

The previous paragraph featured the word “new” four times.  The previous paragraph used the word “reboot” exactly zero times.  NO REBOOTS, Hollywood.  I appreciate the alternate timeline for the fun one-shot trilogy purposes, but your bread-and-butter audience wants brand new content, brand new characters to care about.  I think this new Star Trek series should be set sometime in the 25^th Century (cir 2450.)  Allow us to experience some of the effects of all the greatness that happened in the TNG era.

What happens to the tenuous alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire?  How have the Cadassians gotten along with the Bajorans since they’ve joined the federation?  What about the Founders and the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant, how do they continue to influence the Federation?  What sorts of benefits or problems have arisen due to Neelix’s ambassadorial role in the Delta quadrant?  Exactly how much space-vagina is the time-traveling Wesley Crusher getting during his travels?

Taking the three longest running and most critically acclaimed Star Trek series (Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and The Next Generation) and exploring the aftermath of their effect on the galaxy is a hotbed for phenomenal storytelling.  There’s no need for alternate timelines, there’s no need to ret-con, just continue the stories that we all know and love with a brand-new crew.  COME ON, HOLLYWOOD!  The iron is hot!  The time has come for striking!  You need to get to work a.s.a.p. to have this bad mama-jama ready for the fall 2015 TV season.

Most importantly…this (already bad-ass) new show MUST feel like Star Trek.  No grit, no gratuitous sex or violence, for God sake no hand-held cameras.  Bring back the charm, the techno-babble, the utopia….give this guy a future to look to, a star to wish upon, and most importantly; a reason to fall in love with Sci-Fi again.

PS: Inclusion of the work “Frak” is acceptable.