Imagine: ENT entering its final season

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

I also don't think they would integrate their militaries/fleet just yet. In the beginning I see the UFP Starfleet as a kind of NATO where they co-operate and have a gradual (probably over decades) integration until you get the Starfleet we know from Kirk's time. Like the USA, I see Earth dominating this NATO-type early UFP Starfleet, and with Starfleet Academy as something like West Point.

West Point?!? Compares to Starfleet Academy? Last I checked Ground pounder U is not to interested in ship life, or Navel operations of any kind. Dont you mean Annapolis instead. Course Comparing The US Navel Academy, to Starfleet is Just as big a insult as comparing West Point to Starfleet.

Yeah, yeah, make that a combined West Point/Annapolis/whatever the Air Force have... My point is that Starfleet Academy would be an institution most other UFP members would want to send their officers, much like the US military academies teaches a lot of foreign officers today.

[Mitchell]

I realise thats a massive compliment to the US Military Academies. But I cant help but think,,, "Uh Oh! That could backfire."

[Linda]

Well, I can see I jumped the gun on wanting to see more aliens in Starfleet and the Academy - I was thinking post-federation formation but writing pre-federation, LOL. My bad. Again.

BUT. I am not relenting on my Trip's sister is NOt.Dead stance. I don't buy the view that just because someone has gone through an intense and painful mourning that the person they are mourning should therefore stay dead, LOL. As one canon line of Trip's stated: "I would do anything to get her back". In my ST universe, I do just that for him.

[evcake]

I don't see why anyone neccessarily has to stay dead - Mulder didn't, after all. JR didn't (ick, Dallas, ick - to say nothing of dating myself.) This is fantasy, after all.

I would like more stand-alone episodes, like Vox Sola and Terra Nova. More exploration and less war. More like TOS. Too much "arc" can really bog a series down.

[Linda]

Oh, KTR said war is not supposed to be funny in response to my comment. Well, no one thinks war is supposed to be funny. I just found that Xindi arc depressing for a reason I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it was Archer's bad leadership like in that suicide attempt? I thought that was poor leadership. Of course war IS depressing, and scary, with lots of horror stories, cruelty, and massive numbers of deaths. There is also heroism in the face of danger, difficult and heart breaking decisions, moral choices being presented - that is what I'd like to see. I also like to see those ships moving...the strategy.

I do not like year long arcs. As Evcake said, too much arc can bog a series down. If the war goes on over a full season or more, it should be the driving force in the background on which shorter arcs of two through perhaps up to four episodes play out, featuring the stories of different characters.

In characters, someone mentioned moving Archer up in rank and having less of him, right? Then having Trip as a captain? I agree with that. I'd like to see more of Trip. I'd also like to see more of Soval. And Ambassador V'Lar again. And Kuvak as a major recurring character. Then, at least one arc where Kov and Trip meet again. Well, more Vulcan involvment, even if it is behind the scenes in a mostly Human/Romulan war. Being related to the Romulans, I don't see how the Vulcans could keep out of it, anyway.

[evcake]

Yessss!!! More. Vulcans. And I'd like to see more interaction between the founding races.
Here's an arc: breaking the back of the Orion Syndicate.

[justTripn]

This isn't a well-thought out post, but my first reaction, is I'd like to see Trip and T'Pol and crew do a little more old-fashioned exploring before the war comes crashing down on their heads. I want them to be facing the weird science-fiction danger of the week--odd phenomenon and strange aliens with strange customs that causes everyone, including the viewers, to reexamine their preconceptions and that throws the characters into some improbable, but delicious drama.

As for what happens to our couple, maybe an Aeryn/Chreighton type pairing that stays interesting even after they get together. How to acheive that? I don't know the magic formula, but I've heard/seen that Farscape found it.

[Elessar]

They ABSOLUTELY did. It was amazing. But then again, Aeryn and Chrighton were the two main characters which made their romance the main plot, so, it all worked in tandem. Wish we could have had it

The thing I would defend the "arc" idea with is that, even if you do 'standalone' episodes that are about new alien races and exploration and all that good stuff, because this show is a prequel to TOS, TNG, etc, you can do those episodes in arc-like form, because the fact that we already know who the Bajorans or the Bolians or the Betazoid are (it's just luck those all start with B...weird). If they did a first contact episode with one of them, it wouldn't be standalone in the same sense that it's standalone if they're some goofy alien race we've never seen before. That's the thing I was a little disappointed in is many of the standalone episodes were first contact with races or technologies or areas that aren't important in later shows, like they thought if they had the surprising new alien race be something we've seen before that it would be boring. But that's a narrow view, because even if the Enterprise encountered a ship full of Bajorans, can you even imagine how different the Bajorans could be 250 years before TNG? It's like an entire new race to play with, you would have just as much freedom of story and could basically treat them as a new race, showing them 250 years before we saw them. There are a few givens when you pick a race that's already been shown, but not enough to strangle any surprise or creative writing.

[Linda]

Very good point, Elessar! When is a standalone episode NOT a standalone episode? When we already know a bit about the future related to the episode.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Nice to see the discussion taking off...

I would like more stand-alone episodes, like Vox Sola and Terra Nova. More exploration and less war. More like TOS. Too much "arc" can really bog a series down.

I really, really, really disagree! As I stated abovethread I love story arcs. That was what was so great about Babylon 5. In essence it was one big story arc.

A story arc, or many story arcs, is a big strength. It allows history and characters to grow and change.

I do not like year long arcs. As Evcake said, too much arc can bog a series down. If the war goes on over a full season or more, it should be the driving force in the background on which shorter arcs of two through perhaps up to four episodes play out, featuring the stories of different characters.

If there is a big total war going on for years, it would be weird if it was not featured prominently on the show. But you can of course show the war from different view points and its different events, much like Rigil does in his fics. But tiptoeing around it and having excessive amounts of implausible downtime like they had on DS9 with that war isn't realistic.

In characters, someone mentioned moving Archer up in rank and having less of him, right? Then having Trip as a captain? I agree with that. I'd like to see more of Trip. I'd also like to see more of Soval. And Ambassador V'Lar again. And Kuvak as a major recurring character. Then, at least one arc where Kov and Trip meet again. Well, more Vulcan involvment, even if it is behind the scenes in a mostly Human/Romulan war. Being related to the Romulans, I don't see how the Vulcans could keep out of it, anyway.

Yeah, I would've liked to see more Vulcans and stories set on Vulcan.

Here's an arc: breaking the back of the Orion Syndicate.

I'd put that as something that happened just before the war. That way Earth and the Coalition of Planets would get into a false sense of security and then... WHAM... the Romulans attack.

Of course the Orion Syndicate wouldn't be completely destroyed, since we know it still exists in the 24th century. But their more open acts of piracy could have been curtailed.

This isn't a well-thought out post, but my first reaction, is I'd like to see Trip and T'Pol and crew do a little more old-fashioned exploring before the war comes crashing down on their heads. I want them to be facing the weird science-fiction danger of the week...

Well, in my original scenario I have a season and a half taking place before the war. But I'm not that keen on Aliens of the Week™ stories. They have been done to death on all the other Treks.

I'd rather have them explore "prequel" species such as the Vulcans, the Andorians, the Tellarites, the Orions and the Rigelians. Not so much the Klingons since they've done that and I'm frankly a bit sick of them. Oh, why not the Deltans? Or that catlike species from the animated series?

[justTripn]

OK, now I'm ready to play.

But first, good points about the need focus on first contact with Aliens we know from the other series, but I still vote, for more happy exploring, with the storm clouds of war gathering in the distance--and the outbreak of war researved for the last few episodes, leading into a short miniseries.

OK, here's what I'd do with Trip and T'Pol. We left off with them talking in the abstract about having a baby. Well as a story arc through the first season, we learn that they are actually pursuing plans to have a baby. We only get hints of it, the secret is revealed to the audience slowly. Apparently Phlox has continued his research into creating a viable Human-Vulcan clone and if he succeeds Trip and T'Pol want to have a baby, but they are very secretive and defensive about the whole thing. They feel it is there right after what happened to Elizabeth and is nobody's business but there own. Trip's parents have agreed to raise the baby. (Avoiding any conflict with their jobs).

Phlox keeps everything confidential, so first we just see Trip and T'Pol updating each other on breakthroughs and set-backs in the research. Here we have plenty of opportunity for intimacy, support, disappointment, and even hurt feelings. In fact T'Pol has her heart set on this plan, but Trip begins to waver as they face serious difficulties. Since he represes his own feelings, he claims it's no big deal that T'pol is unable to conceive. When Archer learns, accidentally, that there IS something going on in Sickbay, Trip is defensive. It doesn't impact Starfleet. (The baby would be gestated one of those tanks like Sim was in.) Archer reminds the couple that it is inappropriate for two senior officers to marry. But Trip claims they aren't married. In fact T'n T have looked into this option and found that the state (on Earth) won't sanction interspecies marriages. (So, we have an analogy to gay marriage.) Since marriage is defined as a "union between a man and a woman, or a man and a man, or a woman and a woman" [depending on how liberal you presume Earth to be in the 22nd century] and not "between members two sentient species" the state can have no say in the matter. So Trip feels wronged by Earth's legal system, and is willing to turn odiuos laws to his own advantage to do whatever the hell he wants.

On the surface, Trip and T'Pol are working together closely as always. Doing their jobs with no interupption. So all this is a minor story arc beneath the weekly adventure. There is nothing overtly lovey-dovey about their relationship, but you can tell they are intimate.

Eventually, of course a baby is concieved, pushing the issues out in the open. Lots of drama as Earth, Starfleet, Vulcan, and Trip and T'Pol negotiate the placement of the baby on Earth (with Trip's parents) or possibly on Vulcan.

Throughout the next two seasons, I want to show the couple negotiating Human/Vulcan differences, making compromises, and subtley adopting some of each other's perspectives. I want to see Trip become more Vulcan (like Kevin's Halan) and being selected for short missions on Vulcan ships, whether as an engineer or as in some other capacity. I want more episodes in which T'Pol reaches out to be a moderator explaining Humans to Vulcan officials.

Meanwhile, the exact nature of their relationship is left open to interpretation. They are parents of a baby, they are coworkers, they are best friends. Where do they sleep? How often do they "do it?" In what way do they "do it?" We only get hints. Maybe hints that Vulcan neuropressure is the main Vulcan form of sex. Maybe hints that Trip converts her to Human standards in marriage, or maybe not.

I haven't decided what Vulcans make of all this, but presumably there is similar resistance to interspecies marriage on Vulcan. But the couple gains respect as individual officers and become irreplacable as go-betweens between the species, and so their relationship is never officially condoned but it become unchallengable.

This last part goes way into the future, but they die unmarried but irrevocably bonded, and in retrospect all acknowledge them as pioneers.

[JadziaKathryn]

With respect, jT, as much as I'd like to see TnT have a baby, I'd rather no baby than the way you have it. Gestated in a tank is bad enough *shudder* but then they don't raise their child? What's the point of going through all the trouble if they're just going to ship the baby off to Trip's parents?

I agree with those who would've liked to have seen more first contacts. I liked what Distracted did with Betazoids, for instance.

But tiptoeing around it and having excessive amounts of implausible downtime like they had on DS9 with that war isn't realistic.

How do you know? Have you fought an interstellar war? Seriously, with the distances involved, there could be a lot of downtime, IMHO.

I would've liked to have seen more character development for Phlox, Hoshi, Malcolm, and Travis. (Preferably including Malcolm and Hoshi as a couple. )

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

I don't want to see another T'Baby story. Frankly I think it would be irresponsible for them to try and have one while they're both serving on board the Enterprise, let alone have Phlox doing research.

I also think that they wouldn't leave a baby behind to be raised by others. TnT strikes me as the kind of persons that would do it themselves. That means I want T'Kids to come after the founding of the Federation, when their mission, and the war, is over. Trip can be heading Starfleet Engineering or something, while T'Pol is a professor at the new Starfleet Academy, and that will allow them to raise children.

About their marriage, in many ways I think that according to Vulcan customs they are already married since they share a telepathic Mating Bond. In the interest of good will among allies, Earth would recognize it as legal. Or if Earth legalities have to be observed, have Archer perform a marriage ceremony, which has been Captains' prerogative throughout history.

But tiptoeing around it and having excessive amounts of implausible downtime like they had on DS9 with that war isn't realistic.

How do you know? Have you fought an interstellar war? Seriously, with the distances involved, there could be a lot of downtime, IMHO.

Bah! Distances, even in the ENT era, are a matter of plot conveniences. And during the downtime they would be dedicated to preparing for battles, not going around exploring strange new worlds. Earth is fighting for its very survival, so those stories would have to be for a later - or earlier (pre-war) time.

[evcake]

I don't want to see another T'Baby story. Frankly I think it would be irresponsible for them to try and have one while they're both serving on board the Enterprise, let alone have Phlox doing research.

You may encounter some resistance there. And Phlox seems to have time for whatever he wants to do. If he just delegated the the menagerie feeding, think how much more time he'd have.

Does anyody think Daniels would sticking his nose in?

And how about Soval? Presumably he'd be going here and there, being persuasive.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

I don't want to see another T'Baby story. Frankly I think it would be irresponsible for them to try and have one while they're both serving on board the Enterprise, let alone have Phlox doing research.

You may encounter some resistance there. And Phlox seems to have time for whatever he wants to do. If he just delegated the the menagerie feeding, think how much more time he'd have.

Feh! Typical! The women want T'Baby stories and the men want a lot of war stories... How gender stereotypical!

Does anyody think Daniels would sticking his nose in?

God I hope not! The TCW should be over and done with.

And how about Soval? Presumably he'd be going here and there, being persuasive.

Oh yes, more Soval! I see him as something of a substitute father for T'Pol. He might even start to appreciate Trip and the TnT relationship!