B5 creator writes new Trek treatment....

[DR.MID-NITE]

The following was posted at www.trektoday.com (http://www.trektoday.com)
Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski claimed that he recently worked on the development of a new Star Trek series.
Cinescape has reprinted the news from a post at JMS News, in which Straczynski said that he and Dark Skies creator Bryce Zabel had written a treatment earlier this year for a new television series for Paramount. Straczynski stated that the new installment of the franchise would restore Star Trek "in a big way", adding, "I actually think it could be a hell of a show. Whether that ever goes anywhere with Paramount, who knows?"
Though there have been rumours that Paramount had entertained outside pitches for new Star Trek shows from everyone from William Shatner to a group of horror film producers, this is the first time another major television science fiction team has claimed to be working on a project independent of Rick Berman, who has been an executive producer of Star Trek for nearly two decades.
Berman's current production partner Brannon Braga has stated in interviews that he will not be the show-runner for Star Trek: Enterprise next season, with new writer Manny Coto likely to take over those duties, according to several actors on the show. Straczynski praised Coto and offered veiled criticism of Berman and Braga at the same time, saying, "Left to his own devices, I think he could be a big help over there without the other powers that be impeding the process."
The Great Link has previously reported Straczynski's claims that he was invited to become an executive producer on Enterprise, but declined the position.

[JohnCrichton]

I want Starfleet Academy!!!

Althought a Star Trek by JMS.... that's something I might watch...... so long as they've a tandem series running at the same time that takes place in Starfleet Academy. :p

[Funkatron]

Anyone know if Peter David is pitching ideas? His"New Frontier" Story would be perfect

[loyalheart]

wait why is he pitcing series to them again? isnt he the one who claimed he pitched ST: DSN and they passed it up so he went and found someone but it become B5? and then DSN came out

[I.R Joey]

Yeah I thought there was this whole big conflagration about whether DS9 is a rip off of Babylon 5. Why is he going to Paramount?

By the way I think both shows are really good, so whatever the truth may be I'm glad to excelent products came out of it.

[DarkAngel]

In regards to this, here's a question posed to JMS and his response:

>> John W. Kennedy wrote:
>>> Over on one of the British B5 groups, they've been speculating that
>>> you're about to take over "Enterprise", but unless you've suddenly
>>> started using the word "series" in the British TV sense (i.e., what US
>>> TV calls a "season [of a series]"), that's out.
>>
>> Enterprise has already been taken over by Manny Cotto. And why would jms
>> go and work for Star Trek??<<
>
>Manny Coto is, I believe, show runner; not EP.

No, just to clarify, though I got a call last year about coming onto
Enterprise, offering an EP position, and declined, the series I mentioned has
nothing to do with any current series, it's a new show. As for Manny, he's a
good writer, and left to his own devices, I think he could be a big help over
there without the other powers that be impeding the process.

Amusingly enough, on the Trek front, Bryce Zabel (the creator of Dark Skies)
and I got together and wrote a treatment earlier this year that specified how
to save ST and develop a series that would restore the series in a big way. I
actually think it could be a hell of a show. Whether that ever goes anywhere
with Paramount, who knows?

jms


I found this through a link at Trekweb.com. I doubt anything will come of it, though I really, really hope I'm wrong. JMS is a great writer and his treatment would undoubtedly turn Trek around. I'd either want him or the DS9 writers to be running Trek.

[DR.MID-NITE]

Anyone know if Peter David is pitching ideas? His"New Frontier" Story would be perfect
I always thought the "New Frontier" books/concept would be a great show.

[DarkAngel]

I always thought the "New Frontier" books/concept would be a great show.I think I read one of those a long time back, but don't really remember much. Is the concept really that different? Isn't it about a starship crew exploring space just like previous Trek? I know it features a lot of familiar characters, which is cool, but is it different enough to be a great tv series?

[Lord Dalek]

JMS doing Trek? That would be godly.

[Delthayre]

I've speculated in private upon the prospect before. Enterprise has been largely dissapointing and the stories are often shoddily told. JMS would quite probably be a substantial boon to the series, although I see some hope in Coto. Star Trek is iconic and venerable enough a franchise to deserve better than it's getting.


wait why is he pitcing series to them again? isnt he the one who claimed he pitched ST: DSN and they passed it up so he went and found someone but it become B5? and then DSN came out
No, B5 was conceived quite some time before DS9 (late 80s, I believe), it just took a long time to get funding and to pull the series together.

[Fone Bone]

I'll tell you what's killing Star Trek: Being on the air in some form or another for seventeen years straight. Seriously I like Joe Strazinsky and all, but the best thing for the franchise would be for it to take a hiatus after Enterprise is inevitably cancelled. Like, nothing for ten years, no movies, no series. The problem is even if Joe's series is great, the public's been oversaturated with Star Trek so much that it will be cancelled quickly. I would hate to see a great Trek series yanked away from us. Tell J. to wait a few years and then pitch it again.

And push Rick Berman out an airlock.

[wrenchien]

they ought to do something about the 25th or 26th century of trek.. there's a pretty big gap between what little we know of the 29th and the tng century.

[Delthayre]

And push Rick Berman out an airlock.
Yes, please.

[DarkAngel]

they ought to do something about the 25th or 26th century of trek.. there's a pretty big gap between what little we know of the 29th and the tng century.I think a good idea would be to do a series set in the Mirror Universe. Something about the human resistance against the Alliance, for instance. It would be Trek, and yet it would be different. Or it would be cool to see something involving Section 31. Maybe a series following some 31 agents or about efforts to defeat the organization (or both).

[randomguy]

Hey, he brought The Amazing Spider-Man back from the brink, and Star Trek isn't near as bad. I'd like to see it, actually. I couldn't stomach Enterprise (to be fair, I haven't really watched Trek consistently since TNG), and I think some new blood would be great.

[James]

Hey, he brought The Amazing Spider-Man back from the brink, and Star Trek isn't near as bad. I'd like to see it, actually. I couldn't stomach Enterprise (to be fair, I haven't really watched Trek consistently since TNG), and I think some new blood would be great.
Everything RG says. Star Trek won't take a break - we all know that, so might as well have someone to inject some new life into it. Left to his own devices, I'm sure JMS could. He's worked on a variety of fiction, I think he could find something new.

To me, what Star Trek lacked for so long is a decent crew. Every scifi has the same sort of stories, but what seperates a Farscape from an Enterprise is the character dynamic. Star Trek has had a history of playing it safe. Everyone on the show is top of their class, with distinctions in everything, normally with one character flaw as about as deep Indiana Jones' fear of snakes. What I liked about JMS is he makes characters with flaws - big ones - that don't always resolve. Characters don't always become friends, some guys never really get off drink, people make mistakes.. that's what Star Trek is missing. Having perfect "everyones" just makes for more bland TV and every new set of bland starfleet crews that come along it just feels worse.

DS9 was the crew that got it the closest, I didn't like that crew too much, but the characters were a little more flawed and a little deeper.

[Supernovametalstar]

Get him writing the show now, and people might have more respect for Enterprise.

[DarkAngel]

DS9 was the crew that got it the closest, I didn't like that crew too much, but the characters were a little more flawed and a little deeper.DS9 got it right. I'd substitute "a lot" for "a little" when talking about their depth.

[William C. Maune]

How do you save Star Trek? How about by having the writer of sci-fi fan favorite Babylon 5 take a shot at it? According to Dark Horizons (http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/040622a.php), JMS has written a treatment for a new Star Trek series. There is no word on if it is going anywhere or even any word on what it is like, but that's the news for now, for what it's worth.

[The Penguin]

How do you save Star Trek? How about by having the writer of sci-fi fan favorite Babylon 5 take a shot at it? According to Dark Horizons (http://www.darkhorizons.com/news04/040622a.php), JMS has written a treatment for a new Star Trek series. There is no word on if it is going anywhere or even any word on what it is like, but that's the news for now, for what it's worth.We actually already started a thread on this William. You've got a different source though so threads merged. :)

[William C. Maune]

Doh, sorry about that! I need to look better before I start a new thread.

[PaQ]

I want Starfleet Academy!!!
ME TOO!! :D

I always thought that would be like an interesting twist, seeing them grow into the officers and such... Learning about things .. Augh.. Hard to explain.. but I'd love to see Starfleet Academy become a series..

[Delthayre]

A modest clarifacation directly from JMS (via JMS News (www.jmsnews.com))


There's some misinterpretations of what I said going around...so let's address
them.

>Well - the now verified (from the horse's mouth, so to speak) fact
>that JMS WAS approached on the possibility of taking the reins of Star
>Trek: Enterprise (and wisely turned that down - gag, hack, hack)

Nope. I said that Paramount approached me about coming on board as an EP, not
show-runner position. Berman and Braga would still have run the thing. I
didn't feel that I could function best in that arrangement.

As for the treatment Bryce and I wrote for another Trek series, as I said, we
wrote it on our own, NOT as an assignment from Paramount.

Just in the interests of accuracy.

[Fone Bone]

A modest clarifacation directly from JMS (via JMS News)

[font=Verdana] [/color]
Black on Blue. Can't read it.:(

[Delthayre]

Black on Blue. Can't read it.:(
Sorry, it hadn't even ocurred to me that it would be a problem, I've changed it to white. I'm just too used to subjecting myself to inadequate light levels and weird contrasts late at night.

I'm silly like that.