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Star Trek: Terran

Star Trek: Terran

After a lot of teasing, the mystery script project is finally revealed. Enjoy!

Just to get that out of the way: this is not a Kickstarter, crowd-funding or other monetary “fan project”.

What is Star Trek: Terran all about?
There is, currently, an ever-growing discussion about Star Trek, and especially the future of the franchise.
As a fan, I thought it was finally time to advance that discussion.
Specifically, I wanted to bring to the table a realistic way Star Trek could be brought back to TV. Not a fan-fiction, and not a web-series (or combinations thereof).
I ended up writing a 1-hour original spec pilot off that idea, which I am now posting online. No strings attached.

Terran is what, I believe, a new Star Trek show HAS to be: a fresh take on the franchise.
This is not a generic “re-imagining” or general reboot/remake/sequel.
It is my version of a viable modern Star Trek series, trying to work within the realities of the mythology and television industry.

The show is also supposed (and meant) to be accessible to everyone, including non-Trekkies.
If you’re at least sci-fi curious, you’re more than welcomed to partake in the script reading. The more the merrier!

I don’t consider Terran to be a pitch, nor do I expect it to be actually made by anyone any time soon.
It’s an experiment. A proof of concept.

Over the next couple of days, I’ll delve even more into the project through two additional posts.
One about the state of the Star Trek franchise, and the other about the writing/spec side of this particular script (and why I chose to post it).

In the meantime, let me finally introduce to you the project.

Download the pilot script (.PDF)

Presenting Star Trek: Terran

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Set in the mid-23rd century, Star Trek: Terran follows the most powerful people in the three most influential branches on Earth:
– The Federation, with the President and his close advisers.
– The United Earth government, via the Prime Minister.
– Starfleet, mainly through the Academy and Intelligence, in various echelons.

The World

Terran is a show that aims to be real. It isn’t about the showy tech. It isn’t about the technobabble. It is about a reflection of reality.
Grand ideals and a hopeful outlook, like Star Trek always has been, but with stories closer to The West Wing or Game of Thrones than Stargate SG-1.

The series is grounded figuratively, but not literally. The title doesn’t reflect a location, it represents humanity’s attributes.
At its core, Terran is a story about the exploration of who we are as people. It is about a collection of characters, intertwined in 23rd-century realpolitik and futuristic institutions. Different goals and different values, but all striving towards a prosperous future.

The Characters

It’s always better to discover a character through their portrayal on the page, rather than a simplistic description (especially just off a pilot).
But here’s still a small introduction of each.

The main ensemble cast includes a wide range of people:
– President David Kendrick: Commander in chief of the United Federations of Planet. A bold leader that wants to see the best in others.
– Prime Minister Zora Guillory: Executive leader of the United Earth government. She wants to protect her people (and planet) as best she can.
– Val: Chief of staff for President Kendrick. A Vulcan focused on being extremely proficient at helping the President.
– Admiral Barros: The boss of Starfleet Intelligence. Under pressure.
– The Deltan: Lieutenant at Starfleet Academy, in charge of Cadet Squadron 47. She also dabbles in extra-curricular activities.
– Thelos: A one-antennad Andorian who enjoys telling stories and wearing all-black clothing.
– Damien Ellis: Cadet at Starfleet Academy. He likes to think he’s always right (and is).
– Kylli Moon: Reporter for the Federation News Network and married to Prime Minister Guillory.
– Doctor Richard Daystrom: Works at Starfleet Advanced Technologies. He’s also an old friend of the President (and the only preexisting character on this list).

The Visuals

Since some people reading the Terran pilot won’t be familiar with a few Trek-related visuals (specifically alien races mentioned), I took the liberty of digging up pictures and concept art to better illustrate the Star Trek world. A couple are from the shows, the others are concepts for the two latest Star Trek movies.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Time to answer a few (soon-to-be) common questions about Terran.

Is this yet another “dark and gritty” attempt at a beloved franchise?
Short answer: no. There’s a difference between being realistic, and being dark & gritty.
I’ll go in depth about this very point in tomorrow’s post, but suffice it to say that Terran is not trying to be Battlestar Galactica: Starfleet Edition (or the awkwardly bleak Star Trek Renegades).

Is this set in the Bad Robot/NuTrek-verse?
The Terran pilot works in both the prime or new timeline.
Though if there’s a new Star Trek series made in the coming decade, it will probably be set in the NuTrek-verse.
Yes, I’m saying that in full knowledge of the different TV/movie copyright holders (CBS v. Paramount).

Isn’t the franchise called STAR Trek for a reason? And by reason I mean STARS.
I personally believe the Star Trek franchise is about one thing: exploration.
Whether that literally means exploring the stars, or more metaphorically an exploration of humanity, that’s up to the shows (and, to various degrees, the movies).
After 700+ episodes, I do think that taking the literal concept of a trek throughout the stars is a bit tiring, especially for a “new take”.
Sure, you could do a show in the 25th century. The ships would be sleeker, maybe there’d be a Romulan on board or something. It would basically be “the NEXT next generation”. But it wouldn’t feel new, and would be compared ad nauseam to its 90s counterpart.
One of the reasons the television franchise started to burn out (even before Enterprise) was because of a lack of drive, and novelty factor. There are only so many “reactor failure” stories.
Terran, to me, still fits the above description. It’s ultimately closer to what Deep Space 9 brought to the table: real and (hopefully) interesting situations with a backdrop of human introspection. It’s self-exploration (or self-reflection).

Isn’t Earth a utopia by the 23rd century?
“It’s easy to be a saint in Paradise.” – Commander Sisko (DS9 – 2×21)

It is well known that Gene Roddenberry’s uncompromising stance on a utopian version of Earth was a point of dissension and controversy among some of the shows’ writers.
The planet was barely a focal point of The Original Series. The question was more about how “evolved” humanity had become in the future.
By the time the utopian concept was being explored in the latter shows, that vision had already been challenged in the canon. In other words, it was never really explored as faithfully being the utopia. Of course, this very comment is itself a point of dissension among Star Trek fans.

TOS didn’t have to legitimately deal head-on with this vision, so there was no reason to even question it.
DS9, and Enterprise to a different extent, both wanted to explore the cost of this utopia.
And if you think The Next Generation is exempt from this contemplation, take a look at the featured Starfleet admirals on the show. There’s a reason why all of them turn out to be “bad guys”.
It’s the characters that are always striving to keep these ideals.

Maybe there’s a reason why the Earth hasn’t been a focus of Star Trek stories. Midi-chlorians, anyone?
I’d say that the equivalent to the Star Wars “Force” would actually be all the technology used in Trek. Therefore, midi-chlorians = treknobabble.
More importantly, Earth has been used at some point in every Star Trek series. It’s even my opinion that the some of the best and most compelling episodes of the entire franchise are set on Earth (or directly connected to it). Examples include:
The Next Generation: Family/The First Duty (4×02 / 5×19)
Deep Space 9: Homefront/Paradise Lost (4×11 / 4×12)
Voyager: In the Flesh/Pathfinder (5×04 / 6×10)
Enterprise: Demons/Terra Prime (4×20 / 4×21)
This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Terran is is about giving a new perspective on something that has been in the background of Star Trek for nearly half a century.
It is delving, head first, into this part of the universe, (ironically) seldom explored, but fundamental to the entire dynamic of the franchise.

I hope you’ll enjoy, and share your thoughts.

Download the pilot script (.PDF)

Click Here For Part II – “Why Star Trek?”: The State of an Enduring Franchise

Click Here For Part III – “Breaking Rules”: Speccing and Sharing Star Trek: Terran

Zack Stentz’s Stance on Script Stakes

Zack Stentz’s Stance on Script Stakes

I may not have previously expressed my appreciation for Zack Stentz (from the truly awesome Sarah Connor Chronicles show), so here we go.

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying his daily long tweetscussions© about screenwriting for a bit now.
They’re so cool that he should really compile them on his blog.
Since this isn’t the case (yet?), I shall do it for him. Rather, I’ll compile what I think is one of his better tweetologue© from this past month: the August 6 talk about stakes. And not the Buffy kind.

Turns out, scripts need to have stakes. Yeah, shocker. What’s relevant to us however, especially for television, is that stakes can’t be as high as a lot of modern block-busters (at least they are in appearance). You can’t save the planet every episode. In fact, one would think that the average action movie has the Earth/USA in jeopardy, constantly. Turns out, this isn’t quite right. You should dig a little bit deeper to find the real meat. That’s right, character stakes (aka TV’s bread and butter).
Zack goes over a few feature examples, specifically from both Thor (which he co-wrote) and the Star Trek reboot. It may not be much (only ten tweets), but it’s still pretty interesting.

And now, I’ll shut up and let the tweets talk:

7 Screenwriting lessons from Farscape

7 Screenwriting lessons from Farscape

A key part of writing for television is watching television. And learning from it.
Screenwriting lessons from tackles series past and present, analyzing them through the prism of screenwriting.

I’ve been on a sci-fi binge recently, so I decided to rewatch one of the greatest (and perhaps underrated) science-fiction series of all time: Rockne S. O’Bannon’s awesome Farscape.
It’s fun, it’s dark, it’s light, it’s amazing. Both serialized and stand-alone, the show has revolutionized, in more ways than one, the genre it was set in.
Almost ten years have past since it ended, but the legacy lives on.

[I’ll be talking about the show as a whole, so I highly recommend you watch the whole show before reading this post — it’s worth it.]


Lesson 1: Serialization and stand-alone stories are not mutually exclusive

Perhaps one of the most controversial lessons to take away from Farscape is this one.
The first season’s first half is considered by many to be the worst. As always, the writers were still figuring out the characters, so it makes sense.
Until perhaps its third season, Farscape wasn’t overtly serialized, but it still kept small amounts of mythology spread throughout. In other words, it was always giving viewers information (big or small), even during seemingly stand-alone episodes.
You could say that anything about alien characters’ pasts is de facto mythological, but I’m here talking about factual hints or stories enhancing the season-long narrative.
The first season built up Crais and introduced Scorpius. The second season developed the relationships and continued the characters’ individual journeys.
You still need to have episodes accessible to new viewers, at first, but keep creating the launchpads for your bigger, upcoming stories.

Lesson 2: Entertain!

As much as we like to think we’re providing humanity with the greatest of cultural gifts, television is still, first and foremost, an entertainment medium.
Science-fiction can be a super-serious drama, but it can (and should) be entertaining.
Think back to Farscape‘s craziest, greatest hours of TV. Chances are it’s something you can’t imagine other sci-fi show to do. Hell, they even did a cartoon episode! Obviously, this may not be something you want to incorporate in your show, but playfulness should be.
Crichton also offers countless opportunities to entertain the viewers. He’s an odd duck thrown into a world he has no understanding of. You don’t have to create an Abed-like character that drops references left and right. Making someone you can relate with, and also someone fun, can be achieved other ways.
Don’t be dull. Be joyful.

Lesson 3: Never reset a psychological wound

As Farscape viewers will remember, Scorpius tortures Crichton in “Nerve” (1×18).
It’s shocking, disturbing, and, more importantly, impactful.
The show doesn’t pull that kind of story for cheap thrills or just raise stakes.
Long after the episode is over, the psychological toll is still present. Embedded forever into John Chrichton’s psyche.
Instead of forgetting about it the next episode, the show used this pivotal episode as a fundamental shift in Crichton’s persona. From then on, he’s unhinged, borderline crazy. Our perception is completely changed, and so is he.
In fact, this aspect of Crichton becomes a defining value of his character.
No one forgets the “Crackers Don’t Matter” episode (2×04) which introduces us to the lovely Harvey (the Faux/Mind Scorpius in John’s head). This is a very different approach from all sci-fi shows that came before Farscape. Just take a look at Star Trek TNG‘s very own “Chain of Command, Part II“. Picard is physically and psychologically tortured by Cardassians. The next episode, it’s a whole tabula rasa. A reset.
You can check an example of “Crazy Crichton” in this clip from “I Do, I Think” (2×12). You won’t see a Starfleet captain behaving like that (well…maybe Sisko).
Psychological scars last as much as physical ones, if not longer. It’s much harder to “fix” the mind than a flesh wound.
TV shows often forget that. You shouldn’t.

Lesson 4: Characters, not (stereo)types

Too many science-fiction shows reduce their characters, and alien races, into stereotypes.
I’m a big fan of Star Trek, but the early series tended to summarize each race with a particular characteristic. Klingons = warrior, Vulcans = logical, Ferrengi = greedy. Yes, those traits became three-dimensional as the franchise progressed (especially through DS9). But you could still see them written across their foreheads.
Going back to Farscape, you may summarize Rygel as “that puppet that farts helium”, but that is a huge disservice to the character. Even a few minutes into Farscape, you instantly know that he has more depth than other, actual human characters from other shows.
All Farscape characters have specific needs, and wants:
Ka D’Argo wants his son, Jothee, back. John Crichton wants to go home. Aeryn Sun wants to know where she belongs. Rygel wants to become the Dominar he once was. And Zhaan wants to reunite with Eiffel 65.
A show’s strength depends on the strength of the people. Even in a story-based world, you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of “real” characters over archetypes.

Lesson 5: Embrace relationships

One of the most damaging running plotlines a TV show can do is a “will they, won’t they.”
This isn’t Moonlighting anymore. And such a thread has been done to, well, death. At this point, the horse getting beaten is merely the remnants of a disheveled carcass. Gross.
The point here is, Farscape avoided that trap.
Relationships are inherently dramatic. Sexual tensions are not (anymore).
Crichton and Aeryn Sun “get together” pretty early on in the series. In fact, the show is usually at its best when they are together.
It’s very hard to sustain any kind of tension between two leads, especially over several seasons. The audience wants to see some progression, and you can’t maintain a constant status quo. The two people are attracted to each other, and spend a ton of time together. There’s no real reason to keep them apart.
One of Farscape‘s ballsiest move is, without a doubt, the cloning of John Crichton.
As a refresher, Crichton in “Thanks For Sharing” (3×07) gets doubled. One stays on Moya with D’Argo, the other ends up on Talyn with Aeryn.
The show ends up having its cake, and eating it too. In other words, it does both sides of the coin at the same time.
One Crichton ends up with Aeryn, but then he dies. The lonely Crichton on Moya is reunited with his love, but she has grieved for her loss, and has moved on.
It’s genuinely heart-wrenching. And it works. By killing one of the Crichton after he got together with Aeryn, you still have both a tragic “shipper” ending, and a stomach punch when she comes back, alone. You come back to a “will they, won’t they” plotline, but the reset makes it more powerful and interesting than ever.

Lesson 6: Accept the genre

Farscape was one of the last great space-operas on TV.
Science-fiction will always be a metaphor of the present by way of the future (at least mostly). Beyond that, it’s escapism. As much as I love Battlestar Galatica, the “grounded” and “serious” aspect of the series is completely different from the legitimately fun vibe of Farscape. It is a trend right now that fiction needs to be “dark” and “gritty,” which does make Farscape the last successful sci-fi show of its kind (at least for now).
Most of the BSG drama could be put on, say, a modern-day military ship, and it’d pretty much be the same plot. Tough luck doing that with Farscape.
If you only glance at it, it’s “a bunch of puppets”. Yeah, and Buffy‘s vampires are “a bunch of guys in weird makeup”.
The truth is, the show is more than that. It’s inventive, and it’s alien. A rare sight on TV nowadays.
Why am I going on a mini-tirade over this? Because the show was at its peak when it embraced wholeheartedly its genre roots. There are tons of sci-fi tropes out there, but it doesn’t mean you can’t play with them.
Farscape is genuine about the way it uses them.
In “A Human Reaction” (1×16), Crichton seemingly returns to Earth through a wormhole. Unsurprisingly, it’s all an illusion (created by aliens). The illusion is destroyed when he tries to go to the ladies restroom (since he has no memories of ever being there in the real world). In a later episode, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (2×15), the same scenario seems to be happening (or at least Crichton thinks it is). He doesn’t think twice about it, and goes straight to the ladies’ room to test the theory.
Farscape understands that you probably have an encyclopedic knowledge of all things science-fiction, and it plays with your expectations. Aliens don’t speak English, so the show creates “translator microbes”.
It embraced the genre it was in, and subverted it.

Lesson 7: Get on with the story

Don’t tread water (or space). Farscape wasn’t afraid of big changes when they needed to be done.
When it happened, it feelt earned. Characters don’t always emerge unscathed. And they die when it makes sense. Crais sacrifices himself and Talyn at the end of Season 3 because there is no other way out of this mess. The title of the double-parter is, in fact, “Into the Lion’s Den”. With a name like that, you can’t expect to get out the same way you got in.
Earlier in that same season, the show’s usual format somewhat changed when the two Crichton separated. Even-numbered episodes are spent with the Talyn crew, and odd-numbered ones with the Moya people. The paradigm has shifted, which creates a more dynamic way of telling the “same old” stories. For all intents and purposes, the formula is relatively similar to what it’s always been. But it’s fresh. And the story has evolved.
Another, greater example, is the middle of Season 4. The entire crew gets to Earth. For real. The show stops playing game with one of its most crucial plotlines, and the biggest one for Crichton’s evolution.
It’s crazy to think that something so big, something most people take for granted as a “series-ender”, is in fact done midway through Season 4.
You don’t need a major twist every episode (see Lesson 1), but you still need a continuous story with real stakes.

What to take from the show

Be audacious, and bodacious, with your story and your characters. Don’t be afraid to make bold moves that will have a resonance within your show, and with your viewers. Make an impact. And have fun while doing it.