Sunday 5 June 2016

More new Star Trek TV writers and production details

The writing room for the new Star Trek TV series is starting to fill out. Continue below for all the details.

The most recently announced came via another of the writers, Kemp Powers, who I found about thanks to TrekFM's new Stage Nine podcast. Powers himself is new to TV, but has a wide range of writing credits, including stage-plays, journalism, and his own memoirs revolving around a terrible event from his childhood.

Powers tweeted two new names to add to the the writing room. One of those is Aron Coleite, a writer and producer of several TV series, including Heroes, where he worked alongside new Star Trek showrunner Bryan Fuller who also produced season one of that series.

They are also joined by Joe Menosky, who also will have worked with Fuller, and pre-dated him in the Star Trek world, as writer and producer on many episodes of TNG, DS9, and Voyager. Some of Menosky's most notable episodes include Darmok, Year of Hell, and Timeless.

Jesse Alexander in his dangerous work uniform
Another name which appears to be in the room, as highlighted by TrekFM's Commentary Trek Stars, is Jesse Alexander another Heroes alumni, who has also worked with Fuller on Hannibal, and with another of the producers of the new Star Trek series, Alex Kurtzman, on Alias, as well as producing episodes of Lost. Alexander certainly seems happy about this role, posting some fun images from the production offices on his social media.

In addition to all these writers, the series' production designer has also been revealed, that will be Mark Worthington. His CV lists him as designer for the pilot and series. The CV also suggests Bad Robot have some involvement in the series (which is either new or an error, activate speculation machine). Worthington has previously worked on Lost, Once Upon a Time, and Ugly Betty, among many other shows and movies.

That document also reveals Alex Kurtzman will also be serving as director for the pilot episode. Kurtzman doesn't hasn't directed that much before, just an episode of Alias and a film called People Like Us (starring Chris Pine), but he is lined up for more, including Universal's reboot of The Mummy.

Two further producers have also been announced, in fact they were back when the teaser trailer came out, in press releases then. They are writing partners Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts, who have worked as writers and producers of numerous TV series, including Fuller's Pushing Daisies and Wonderfalls.

Finally, the latest rumour regarding the setting of the series swings us back towards the nuTrek timeline. According to 1701 News, a source says there are people in CBS pushing for this due to the new reality being what current audiences (not just trekkies!) relate Star Trek too:
There is apparently a contingent within CBS that views the prime universe closed for business. And there is something to that. The last hour of prime universe Star Trek was filmed 12 years ago. Meanwhile, there have been three films set in the new universe. The faction says it would be ludicrous to return to the shackles of the prime universe and confuse new viewers.
Shackles seems a good word choice; the new movies could have been a straight reboot, but instead they chose to tie the new timeline directly to every bit of Trek that came before, while still opening up all the options a reboot allows. The new films are free to tell whatever stories they like, and come up with whatever (contemporary) design they like, while also being free to pull whatever they like from the old shows. Much is made about the rights issues surrounding Trek, but it boils down to this: Paramount can make movies, CBS can make TV (and also deal with all Trek merchandise), certainly as I understand the rights split, either could choose to make their new productions in any timeline they like. So the decision will ultimately come down to which reality CBS thinks will make the most profitable TV series.

There are people working on the new show from many eras of Trek production, so it's hard to read much in from that, and there are solid arguments to made for works being created in either reality. Of course, like the previous rumours about an anthology series, and post The Undiscovered Country setting, these are right now, very much just rumour.

The new Star Trek series is due to start in January next year. The first episode will air in the US on the CBS Television Network, but subsequent episodes will be available exclusively on the the CBS All Access on demand streaming service. International distribution has yet to be detailed. To keep track of all the latest details from the new show, visit my Star Trek (2017 TV series) Guide page.




11 comments:

VorpalK said...

If it's NOT in the Prime universe, I won't watch a single second of it. They've talked a lot about the "Legacy" and that legacy is in the continuity and the story to work WITH and move forward. Not in unrelated re-imagining.

Sadly, I think the series is doomed one way or another because of All-Access, so I guess it doesn't much matter.

ASTRAL4 said...

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1901029/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr9

New vehicle designer as well:

HankMeadows said...

It makes me laugh whenever people say they won't watch it because it won't be in the prime universe. Ditto for All Access. As if it's going to make any difference to the producers by saying that. I've been watching Trek since 1966 and this Trekkie feels that the prime universe is played out. nuTrek is the future. Deal with it.

Unknown said...

Anyone spotted these Star Trek series concept designs on his showreel page?!?!....

WOW!

http://markworthington.viewbook.com/

8of5 said...

Thanks Glasgow, those are AMAZING! Have put up another post about them! And they also conform the vehicle designer IMBD list Astral.

VorpalK, Hank: I think concern over having to sign up to CBS All Access is reasonable, especially if you're a pessimist. But writing of the new series Just because it Might be nuTrek seems silly to me. Let's say it is nuTrek, a few episodes in, it will have clocked up more screen time than all the nuTrek movies combined, so at the point, it will have more weight in that reality, and will have established it's own take on reality, as different to the movies as TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager, or Enterprise are to each other. It could be good, it could be bad, but it being nuTrek will not determine that, any more than it being prime would.

Unknown said...

And it makes me said when "fans" care more about branding, than about substance. If it's not Star Trek, I won't watch it either.

Joe Wiess said...

I'm not a big fan of the new trek movies, since they have thrown out 50 years of canon and"rebooted" the series as a new bratty crew with no sense of discipline or the close friendships that made star trek so popular. Kirk, rather than being a mature and intelligent captain was a spoiled brat who used his small head more than he did his big head. Spock is both more human and less Vulcan than nimoy portrayed him. Scotty is less the brilliant engineer and more comical, and uhura is more a discipline problem. All in all, this should have been written as a mirror universe series. Rather than showing what's best about the future, it shows the worst of today. Instead of being hopeful Amma inspiring, it's dark and dank and fetid.

Joe Wiess said...

I'm not a big fan of the new trek movies, since they have thrown out 50 years of canon and"rebooted" the series as a new bratty crew with no sense of discipline or the close friendships that made star trek so popular. Kirk, rather than being a mature and intelligent captain was a spoiled brat who used his small head more than he did his big head. Spock is both more human and less Vulcan than nimoy portrayed him. Scotty is less the brilliant engineer and more comical, and uhura is more a discipline problem. All in all, this should have been written as a mirror universe series. Rather than showing what's best about the future, it shows the worst of today. Instead of being hopeful Amma inspiring, it's dark and dank and fetid.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps we can have our Trek cake -- and eat it, too. If the new series is to be in an anthology format say, similar to that of "American Horror Story", each season could take place in its own time period, its own part of the galaxy or beyond -- and its own universe. Each season can then act as a single "episode." That way, everyone gets their favorite flavor. Some of us may just have to wait a little longer than others to get their slice.

I, for one, would welcome the IDIC.

8of5 said...

Joe: It's fair enough if you don't like the particular flavour of nuTrek we've had so far. But that's no reason to write off a new TV series set in the same timeline (if that happpens). Makes as much sense as deciding to hate TNG, and Voyager if you didn't like DS9 for some reason - Same reality completely different shows.

Fox said...

None of the nuTrek movies really took the setting seriously (so much terrible Office writing), so to my mind, the less of it, the better. Even though nearly everything I've heard about the new show sounds great... if it's NuTrek, I'm not going to watch it, either.

Oh, I may give an episode or two a view years later to see if it's any good, but it sure as hell ain't gonna be a priority.

And let's pause for a moment to recognize the absurdity of treating viewers like brain-dead packets. The new series should not be predicated on any prior works no matter which setting it's in--if a story cannot stand on its own merit, it should not exist in the first place.

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