The internet struck again this week with the speedy viral spread of the supposed teaser poster for the 2017 series.
Just as fast as it went up and was shared it was denounced as a fake and that was the end of that. Hilariously we also had a trailer for the show this week which turned out - very very quickly - just to be the closing monologue from Enterprise's finale These are the Voyages... and a set picture that had zero to do with the production whatsoever. At least Beyond could manage a real photo for us even if it was of two people staring into darkness (erm...aren't we due more than a frikkin picture by now???) Anyway, back to the main thread here.
But what has come about this week is that we had the suggestion that the new series would be set "after Star Trek VI". More precisely I think it was originally indicated that Fuller, Meyer and co were looking to The Undiscovered Country for inspiration and an ethos that would successfully drive the franchise beyond 51 years in the making.
Now that could be saying that the series will be set after Kirk and the crew's final voyage on the NCC-1701-A is actually quite unspecific rather than a straight fact that the series is going to be set in 2293 or 2294 which would curtail the need for a Kirk cameo any place it just after the classic generation events of, well, Generations.
In fact this only specifies that the new show will occur after that point. It could therefore take place between then and The Next Generation in 2364, during the period we've seen in that series, Deep Space Nine and Voyager (just somewhere else in the big old universe) or after the events of the reboot movie perhaps which revolve around the destruction of Romulus and the disappearance of Ambassador Spock.
In essence this only confirms that we won't be getting something set in the Enterprise or The Original Series eras and that the Klingons will be in some form of peace accord following the summit at Khitomer.
The best source I garnered this info from was TrekCore (and also idigitaltimes) which I do take to be one of the more respectable sites for news and they are directly quoting from the man himself which leads me to believe it. Meyer better than anyone else involved in the show does have a stronger grasp on that period in Star Trek history seeing as he was heavily involved with all three of the even numbered classic movies.
Fuller wants The Undiscovered Country as his jump point it seems according to Meyer and one thing I hope this does mean we get, to keep in line with franchise continuity, are the monster maroon uniforms from the movies. I think losing those would be a bad movie and certainly rile a few thousand or so fans. So what else could we expect from a new series if, theoretically, it was set during that Lost Era? Fuller and co will need to be damn careful with their continuity since we will already have established lore after that point. It could mean we get to see a young Picard, an older Chekhov or Sulu as guest characters which might appease some of the backlash that has reared its head since November (or be a complete sell out in desperation for an audience if it's rubbish...)
Of course Meyer could just mean this is a jump off point in terms of look, feel and ethos. I honestly think at this time we could have a series that bridges the generation gap. For fans of the novel series it might seriously play with the established non-canon continuity most recently explored in One Constant Star. Will we get to see the adventures of the Enterprise-B or will we steer voyages new on board a new starship? Will this step off from VI indicate we will see gunmetal bridge styling and a more militaristic appearance and belief within Starfleet. We know that Roddenberry wasn't a fan of the crumbling Cold War undertones that Meyer introduced but, of course, there have been a fair few years since Gene was pulling the creative strings.
Will this suggestion rile a few people? Probably as there will be fans out there hoping to see the franchise jump into the unknown ethers of the 25th Century and perhaps further than that. For the moment though I still believe that these comments around The Undiscovered Country really show that the creative powers are merely looking to that time period for their inspiration - perhaps they are truly looking to get back to a more "aligned" Star Trek that does tie into the existing continuity while also giving us something fresh and new for 2017.
The idea of stepping into a mostly unexplored period really appeals to me but hey, I'll be happy just to see Star Trek back on TV.
UPDATED 14/04/16
Remember the rumour mill?!
So yesterday (April 13th) an apparently reliable source (via TrekCore) indicated not only that the series will indeed be set in the very open-to-possibilities Lost Era between The Undiscovered Country and The Next Generation. Plus point is that apparently it will be set in the Prime Universe (how the fans rejoiced) but there was then the tacked on point that it might well be an anthology and that only the first year will be set in that as yet unexplored-on-TV period after the Enterprise-A is decommissioned.
Sounds intriguing but seriously - it's gonna cost a fortune to recast the show every year, redo all the stock footage, create a whole new universe every 12 months for "x" number of years. I realistically can't see this happening. It would be madness and way too expensive I would have thought even though there's huge anticipation over the new show. So what do I honestly think?
I do believe that the show will be set within the gap from The Undiscovered Country and Encounter at Farpoint and that it won't be set on an Enterprise but that's it. Period. Let's wait until Paramount or Mr Fuller come up with some factual announcements or why not follow Star Trek Writers on Twitter to see what's going on - at least this will be from the lion's mouth so to speak.
UPDATED 14/04/16
Remember the rumour mill?!
So yesterday (April 13th) an apparently reliable source (via TrekCore) indicated not only that the series will indeed be set in the very open-to-possibilities Lost Era between The Undiscovered Country and The Next Generation. Plus point is that apparently it will be set in the Prime Universe (how the fans rejoiced) but there was then the tacked on point that it might well be an anthology and that only the first year will be set in that as yet unexplored-on-TV period after the Enterprise-A is decommissioned.
Sounds intriguing but seriously - it's gonna cost a fortune to recast the show every year, redo all the stock footage, create a whole new universe every 12 months for "x" number of years. I realistically can't see this happening. It would be madness and way too expensive I would have thought even though there's huge anticipation over the new show. So what do I honestly think?
I do believe that the show will be set within the gap from The Undiscovered Country and Encounter at Farpoint and that it won't be set on an Enterprise but that's it. Period. Let's wait until Paramount or Mr Fuller come up with some factual announcements or why not follow Star Trek Writers on Twitter to see what's going on - at least this will be from the lion's mouth so to speak.
Would Star Trek in the 23rd Century appeal to you? Would you want to take a step back in time or keep on moving forward?
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