From The Idea Hole: Star Trek - Strange Frontier (Part One Of Three: Introduction And Premise)

(Note: Because this post is very long and intricate even at three separate parts, I will be linking extensively to a wiki appropriate for background information on this topic.)

A few months ago in the somewhat arbitrary context of discussing my Top Ten Favorite Super Monkeys, I briefly touched upon my love of the Star Trek franchise, which led me to produce among other works of sad unread fan fiction a pilot treatment and show bible for a new Trek series called Star Trek: Strange Frontier. Though I talked about a few elements of the idea, I never actually went into great detail about it, and I thought that with the recent Star Trek Into Darkness, as well as a new review series I have planned, I might as well throw it out there, in case anyone was interested.

The motive for the show would be to present a love letter to the spin-off era of Trek I grew up with, in the same way that The Next Generation was a love letter to the original series. Because the end of Voyager and the last non-Abrams Trek film Nemesis marked the most recent chronological point in this universe, I would use the gap since then to do what Star Trek does best, and what hasn't been done since the decision to produce the prequel series Enterprise and the new alternate reality film series, to move forward instead of backwards by showing what has happened in the intervening years since we last saw an original present day Trek show.

We would find the Alpha Quadrant in a new age of peace and prosperity, with nearly all of the old enemies defeated or made into allies. The post-war treaty with The Dominion has created a vast though still somewhat uneasy cross-Quadrant alliance, the destruction of Romulus (as seen in the first Abrams film) leads to Re-Unification by necessity, and thanks to the work of the EMH on Voyager, a cure for Borg assimilation has rendered a once unwinnable war into a humanitarian mission.

The series would begin with what is supposed to be the last mission of the show's Captain, a gruff soldier without a war to fight who has announced his early retirement. His last act as Captain of the U.S.S. Intrepid is to escort a group of rough and tumble colonists to a newly annexed planet in Tzenketh space, a region still thought to be akin to the Wild West. Though they have their own ship The Louis And Clark, he insists on guarding them through hostile territory, because among the colonists is his daughter.

Along the way, the two ship convoy comes across a mystery in a nearby system, when they discover that where there are supposed to be seven planets, now there is an eighth, nestled in between the two M class planets, yet somehow without altering the atmospheres of any of the worlds around it. When they stop to investigate, both ships are brought down to the planet, torn in half by the force of some sort of natural tractor beam. The majority of the series would take place on this world, as the two crews must work together to unravel the mysteries they find and seek rescue or escape.

The planet appears to be an uninhabited jungle world, the only signs of intelligent life being the ruins of an ancient city built by a technologically advanced race. The first night stranded on the surface, a bright light cuts through the air, and the following night, they notice that the constellations have all changed, indicating that the planet has moved, making immediate rescue unlikely. A study of the flora and fauna shows species of plants and animals from all four quadrants, some that have been extinct for years, The planet appears to be bouncing around in space and time, collecting lifeforms from all over the galaxy like the Bermuda Triangle attracts ships and planes.

The main thrust of the series would be the characters exploring this planet that just so happens to be littered with aliens not only from everywhere in the galaxy, but also from all of Star Trek history. They might run into the Mugato or a mutated Salt Vampire, or maybe a crashed Borg scout or those little ear wig things from Wrath of Khan, along with any number of new creatures not yet encountered by the Federation. In between, they will discover that this strange planet has a unique place in the secret history underpinning much of the lore created in the spin-offs, paving the way to answer some of the more intriguing loose ends that were never tied up after Enterprise.

Also, yeah, it's kinda like Star Trek meets Lost, in case you somehow didn't pick up on that, only its not as terrible as that mingling of plot mechanics would suggest.

(Okay, so I originally wrote this as one incredibly long post so dense and without mercy that no one would ever want to read it, but I decided that since I actually do want people to enjoy reading my blog from time to time, I've decided to split it up into three parts. Stay Tuned for Part Two where I discuss the cast, and Part Three for a detailed series breakdown.