From: "Travis Edmunds" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I have been hoping for a while that we'd see a darker Federation.
We did, in DS-9, which I loved. Apparently, viewers didn't. When TV finally
reran it, it was daytimes when I'm in school (Sob)
A
Fed from the perspective of colony worlds who had not joined it, who
didn't want (necessarily) to join it. Set it in the Kirk era, when
tensions were at their all-time high.
All-time high? I'd call it a Cold War analog. Kirk seemed to be able to zip
in and out of trouble with a lot less trouble than, say, Picard and the
Borg.
I mean -- OK, so the Federation features high tech, highfalutin
philosophies and of course lean hardbodied crew. Wouldn't it be
magnificent to see the story of a world that didn't want to get barcoded
and look exactly like FedVolken? These people, maybe, have had to eke out
a living for decades on some barely survivable rock at the farthest fringe
of almost-forgotten space. They have traded with the Ferengi, the Klingons
and even the Romulans on more or less even terms, and they've managed over
the years to develop their own culture and sense of independence.
Along comes some guy in a big shiny vessel with a command shirt and a
brief to standardize the planet to Fed guidelines. But they don't *want*
those guidelines. To them the Fed is little different from the Borg. And
because of strategic position or planetary reserves, the Fed wants them
badly, but the Ferengi, Klingons and Romulans would all benefit from
seeing this world retain its non-Federation affiliation.
What happens then?
See FIREFLY. <G> Or why I love Firefly.
And suppose these people have access to Fed history (current events?) ...
and often quote one James Tiberius Kirk regarding the values of
independence, internal ethics and so forth?
Hoo boy! "We, the people of the United States of Backofbeyond...."
Use the Trek model to interrogate the values of the Federation, IOW. That
to me would be interesting, particularly if there was no reset button.
Wouldn't it be cool to see a Fed captain saying something like, "Prime
Directive be damned! We MUST have this planet! We WILL have this planet!
Disable their shield and arm the torpedoes!"
"....to the sound of thunderous applause from the homeworld." The locals
would be labeled "Terrorists". See also "Indian Wars."
Not tea bag of an idea really (current political parallels aside), but it's
my understanding that fans have already been dealt the dark side of things
with DS9, and by and large want a return to the more quixotical side of
things best exemplified by early TNG and of course the irrepressible and
avant-garde TOS.
I'll try to dig up some articles on that if I can.
-Travis
I think Trek has run through the entire cycle of possible events and
mindsets at this point, and will either need to reinvent itself well and
truly, or wait until we're in a Kirk-ish mood again (along about 2020?) or
go quietly to the "Best of the XXth Century" museum.
Notice how we get a different Batman for every decade, and the current one
is said to be the best yet. We've been getting a different Superman for
every decade, too, which isn't working quite as well, but Smallville is
excellent. Reinventions that failed miserably include my all-time favorite,
Catwoman (Poor Halle Berry, stuck with such a dreadful script and costume!)
Pat
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