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We’ve done the general outline in Part 1 and the character bios in Part 2, now for some of the episodes of the first season…

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Notes:

These are just vague ideas without much flesh.

The doctor seems to get a lot of episodes, so could just hold one or two of them back for later seasons.

Needs more focus on the two captains, especially the captain who’s been demoted. Actually, there’s a parallel there…I didn’t notice it before…the other captain has been promoted due to the deaths of its superiors, whereas the female captain has gone the other way, equally fast. Should do something with this, though not sure what. It can’t be too overt whatever it is…

They get captured by aliens and are forced to play on a giant snakes & ladders board?

The new alien race doesn’t feature much. Too understated? Don’t want to frontload everything and turn into another ‘Heroes’, but too much slow burn and we might not get a second season…

Pilot episode

It starts with a Federation ship in orbit, making third or fourth contact with the new alien race that will become more involved as the series progresses. The female captain meets the alien envoy and answers/avoids questions about all the terrible things Starfleet has done over the last 50 years or so. Some of it will be from other Trek series, like ignoring the occupation of Bajor, and other stuff will be new, like the alliance with the Klingons and looking the other way when they did some immoral things.

They go around the ship for the first 20 minutes, introducing the security chief and the doctor and a boy genius who is the son of the first officer. Then the Romulans appear and say it’s their turn to talk to the new aliens. A standoff ensues until one of the new aliens is revealed to be a spy and the female captain is shot. The boy genius tries to stop the spy beaming off but his incompetence causes a power surge in the console and blows half his face off.

Shoot forward five years and the female captain boards her newly assigned ship as an ensign and gets a tour. The new captain is quite distant, but the ensign meets everyone else and gets on quite well with them. She tries to get involved with the plot, but is often left out of the loop, so she ends up using her connections with the Klingons to get more screen time. The existing Captain gets annoyed and looks up the word ‘friction.’

Back to plot: the Klingons turn up and say, hey, let’s look at this new planet, it looks like it might have treasure. They check it out, the aliens living there seem violent, so they plan to avoid. But the Klingons insist. Then the new aliens arrive and say they’re gonna go down and introduce themselves to the planets inhabitants. The Captain says bad idea, but it’s too late. Things get confused and confusing and then stuff blows up and everyone suspects each other. What’s going on?

The Engineer who knew too much

The Chief Engineer is having a bad day. He’s got a headache, a lot of work on his plate, the new boy genius won’t stop bugging him about setting tasks for him to do, and worst of all, he’s been told to fix something that he doesn’t know how to fix. With his head about to explode, he gives up and gets a Vulcan ensign to help him. The thing gets fixed and the engineer is only too happy to give credit to the ensign and ask for her to be promoted to Chief Engineer. The captain says no, he’s the best man for the job, and the only one with any experience. The Chief goes to the ships bar and whines to Whoopi Goldberg that he can’t take it anymore, it’s too much pressure. He asks her if he can work in the bar and she says no, he’s an engineer not a waiter.

The next day, the Vulcan ensign turns up dead, and the security chief suspects other engineers as they might’ve been jealous of the Vulcan getting praise. Some of the engineers question the security chief about his own xenophobia towards Vulcans, but he handwaves it out into space. There’s more investigating until it’s decided that the only bad thing the Vulcan had done prior to her death was get praised by her boss. Subsequently, all other engineering people avoid the Chief Engineer, thinking they might be next, so he’s left to fix the warp core when it breaks down. He fails, makes it worse somehow and everyone has to evacuate the ship. One crew member stays behind secretly and fixes the problem, along with the boy genius, who didn’t realise the alarm was ringing as he was in the holosuite. When everyone returns to the ship, only the boy genius is alive, and he gives credit to the other officer for saving the ship. The Chief Engineer again asks the Captain if he can be relieved and the Captain agrees, admitting his mistake. The Chief goes to the bar, relieved, and tells Whoopi G he’s the new culture assistant and he’ll be working with the Cardassian, who he finds quite attractive.

Meanwhile, the boy genius sits in his quarters, staring at pictures of other crew members with three of the faces crossed off.

Note: try to include some racism against Vulcans from the Security Chief. It will become a recurring theme.

The Damned and the damned with diamonds

The crew encounters a planet with an abundance of resources, but it’s already occupied by a decadent culture which is very much aware of Warp and the rest of the galaxy. An away team beams down with some Klingons and discovers that the wealth gap is obscene – same as it is on Earth now, only without a middle class. Some of the crew find it difficult not to interfere, especially the young lieutenant. He tells one of the poor people about the concept of ‘socialism’, something the guy has never heard of before as all media is controlled by the rich. The poor guy organises meetings then a huge protest which turns into a riot. The Captain has to decide whether to intervene…

Note: swerves too far into the ‘social message’ lane perhaps?

Dissidents

The crew come across an old ship drifting in deep Space. The ship makes it difficult for them to get aboard, but eventually a few of them do, discovering three dissidents from a nearby system. They’ve been adrift/in exile for twelve years and are not allowed to leave the ship. The problem is, now that they’re aboard, the Security guard, the Cardassian and the Captain/ensign are seen as dissidents too, which means…they can never leave.

Note: this episode will strand the three crew members on the prison ship for a total of 4 episodes. The Starfleet ship will be forced to continue with its original mission at the end of this episode, vowing to come back when they think of a way to free their crew.

So, over the next 4 episodes, there will be scenes on the prison ship, showing the relationship/conflict between the crew and the prisoners. The main method of escape will be convincing the ship’s computer that they are not dissidents, which basically requires them to rewire its core belief system. Tough job. When they finally get off the ship, two prisoners come with them, having made a deal to help them in exchange for freedom.

Some of my best friends are Bolian…

The doctor is set up with a female Bolian officer by one of the other crew-members and cuts the date short as soon as she figures out what’s going on. The Bolian actually likes her and is offended by a comment that makes it seems like the doctor doesn’t like Bolians. Something beginning with ‘You fucking Bolians…’ perhaps.

During the next few days, the doctor is ostracised by the rest of the crew and pro-Bolian protests take place in the ship’s bar, demanding the doctor’s resignation from Starfleet. The Doctor confronts the Bolian officer and ends up in an argument, which in turn leads to the doc lashing out with her fist.

The doc is confined to the brig and only the lieutenant, the ensign/captain and the Cardassian come to see her. The actual Captain is content to let justice take its course. The doc hears about this and snaps at the lieutenant for trying to get into her pants under the pretense of being a good friend, but the lieutenant keeps visiting. The Cardassian and the ensign/captain act as advisers, telling the doc that the only way to get out of this mess is to say sorry. She refuses at first, but gives in eventually and says sorry to the Bolian, who accepts it for the punch she dished out, but not the original racist remark.

The doc is released from the brig and charges are dropped but the Bolian and some supporters continue to isolate her until finally one of them gets injured trying to throw something boiling hot at her and the doctor treats him without hesitation. Well, maybe a little hesitation.

The Bolian hears about this and has a drink with the doc in the bar, telling her she still thinks she has a problem with Bolians, whether she wants to admit it or not, but she can also appreciate that she’s the ship’s doctor and not just a walking piece of racism.

Note: this episode is a bit of a mess, but I want it to end on a quiet moment with the scene in the bar, where neither side abandons their position, but they do realise that a witch hunt is also not the answer.

Actually, re-reading it, is there enough of a science fiction element in this? It seems more like a stage-play…maybe I could do a riff on Day of the Dove from Kirk Trek and make one of the pro-Bolian activists an alien that gets off on seeding dissent…perhaps the one who gets injured?

Treasure planet

The crew find a planet with a pre-warp culture and a whole load of useful resources. It’s a goldmine, but the Captain decides it’s a step too far away from the Prime Directive. Then they discover a group of Klingons are already down there, hiding in an isolated area, surveying. The Captain contacts them and they tell him they have a plan to mine resources without disturbing the culture. And if the Captain doesn’t want any part of it then, too bad, they’re staying.

Note: this summary makes the episode seem slight/weak…but there’s definitely conflict in there…just don’t know if it can really lead anywhere…

Blake’s 7

The crew respond to a distress call from a ship with 1970’s technology. They beam aboard to find a man with a huge perm pointing a curly straw at them. One of them tries to shake hands with him and is shot. The Cardassian, the doctor and the security Chief are taken prisoner and told that they will only be freed if their captain agrees to aid the permed man in an attack on Jacqueline Pearce’s house just west of Bristol, England. The crew realise the permed man is insane and try to persuade the robot called Avon to help them escape. He takes the piss out of them and walks off, so they ask the blonde woman sitting in the corner. She tells them it’s her last episode so she doesn’t really give a shit what happens. Meanwhile, the permed man teleports over to the Starfleet ship and knocks everyone unconscious by pushing them a bit, slapping their shoulders, kicking their thighs etc. Finally, he meets one of the main cast and his trick doesn’t work. Luckily, he’s suicidal and paranoid so he tells the Captain he’ll blow up both ships if they don’t help him destroy Jackie Pearce and her damn allegorical fascism. The Captain tells him the 70’s were 350 years ago, it’s time to let go. The permed man shrugs, gives up his bomb trigger device thingy and asks if Phoenix Con is still going cos he hasn’t paid his electricity bill yet and some of those fuckers pay $100 a pop for an autograph.

Note: will either have to use stock footage from Blake’s 7 or film the episode before the original cast die…not sure how old they all are…

Raktagino isn’t the only drink

The ship comes across some aliens being attacked and helps. Turns out the aliens are military and they were being attacked by superior ships. The doctor and security chief beam down to their planet and find out that the whole military is gay whereas the rest of society is straight. The Doctor talks to one of the military officers more and finds out that gay aliens are all drafted into the military to be useful as they are ill-suited to other work, and if they survive to retirement age they are rewarded with a house and garden on a secluded part of the planet. The Doctor is horrified and tries to get the military officers to question their role, but the officers don’t see any problem. They are not discriminated against, they are celebrated by their people and it makes them happy.

The doctor tries to talk to one of the senators on the alien planet, and he tells her that the military chose their own path. Some of them even massacred a gay rights group that was trying to broaden their role in society. The doctor asks if anyone is gay and not in the military, and the senator says no. The doctor goes around the city and meets someone who is gay and asks him what’s going on. The alien sees the military officer and runs and is shot dead. The military officer shrugs and says, he’s a deserter.

The doctor doesn’t know what to do. The episode’s already at the 35 minute mark and there’s no ending in sight, so the whole thing turns into a two parter, with all the exciting stuff happening in the first part and all the message stuff dragging down part 2.

Note: most social message episodes of Trek are terrible, so gotta make this one a decent story first and foremost. Perhaps it’ll be okay as the message isn’t one-note, it’s complicated i.e. it’s not about being gay, it’s about being intolerant of other viewpoints…at least I think it is.

There’s no place like home

The crew are investigating a rogue planet, when they get a distress call from a Cardassian ship. They answer the call and find the ship badly damaged after attempting to achieve Trans Warp. The Cardassian officer goes over to the ship with the head engineer to help with repairs, but is given a frosty reception – the Cardassians despise her. Some of them conspire to take over the Federation ship, but are talked down – instead they vent their frustration by trying to kill the traitor…even when she’s back on the Federation ship!

* This episode will be quite a lonely one for the Cardassian officer – she’ll find that no-one really cares about helping her when her life is in danger. Also, it will show the frustration/impotence of the Cardassians as they’ve lost power in the quadrant and are trying to regain their former “glory”.

Romulan Tide

Two Starfleet ships have disappeared while in isolated areas of Space – Starfleet suspects the Romulans and warns all ships to stay in communication range of other ships. The [name of ship] sticks close to Federation Space, but gets a distress call from an isolated area of Space. This is the episode where the Lieutenant gets kidnapped and the boy genius gets killed horribly.

It’s also an episode that focuses on the Security Chief and the two captains because there haven’t been many of those.

The Conference

The doctor attends a medical conference in the Klingon Empire, where the hosts are keen to improve their medical tech. She is met with distrust and generally blanked…apart from one doctor, who seems to be pursuing a romance with her. They end up drinking a lot and going to bed with each other…or the bedroom floor. However, things change when the doctor turns up dead the next day and the doctor discovers a new radical medicine in her bag.

*This episode will be similar in tone to ‘The Parallax View’ only with a more positive vibe. This is Trek, after all.

Ego permitting, Warren Beatty can cameo as a highly-sexed Naussican.

The Edge

The Federation ship gets closer and closer to the edge of the galaxy. Expecting to find fewer star systems, they actually find a system with every planet colonised – except there’s no people. All the buildings and infrastructure is there, but it seems everyone’s gone. The away team beams down to the outermost colony planet and discovers one woman still left alive. Naturally, she tries to kill them.

The Edge [Part 2]

After finding out that the entire system has set off for the nearest galaxy [across the void of in-between Space], and that they have a way to transport across the void Space in a matter of days, the Captain decides to follow. However, complications arise when the Romulans appear and make the same decision. Who will get there first? Is it safe? And are all the planets in the system really deserted?

[Actually, no…it’s all a big trick to lure ships in, send their crews into nothingness and then strip their ships for technology]

[Or…it could be the most elaborate Romulan trap ever concocted. The woman is actually a Romulan disguised as another alien, and the Romulans are trying to get the Federation ship. Too elaborate perhaps…]

All in good time…

The crew hears rumours of the new alien group being close to breaking Warp 5. It seems impossibly ahead of their predicted development, so the [name of ship] subtly investigates their test site. It’s not ready yet, the new aliens say the rumours were false, and what business is it of the Federation anyway – but then a Romulan Warbird decloaks in orbit. It turns out the new aliens are going to acquire the technology from them. After failing to convince the new aliens to slow down, the Captain decides to intervene…a decision that could lead to CGI [war]!

Other ideas

Language exchange episode

The value of bothering to learn languages in a universe with a universal translator. It could focus on the relationship between the Cardassian and the ex-engineer as they have to translate something.

Psycho Holosuite

A possible new member of the Federation finds out about holosuite technology and asks to use it to rehabilitate violent prisoners. The Captain says no, so the aliens steal it instead, along with the ensign-captain, who they use as a guinea pig.

Angel Two

The Lieutenant, the Security Chief and a few redshirts land on a planet populated solely by women. There are only women because there is only one gender: female [though technically they wouldn’t be referenced as female as that implies two genders. Basically, they just look like women and have no interest in fucking Riker]. Anyway, these women see the male crew members as demons and point guns at them. One of the redshirts holds up his hands and says relax, I’m a feminist too, and gets shot in the cheek. Another redshirt holds up his hands and says relax, I’m a misogynist, and gets shot in the gut. The lieutenant thinks briefly about saying relax, I’m asexual, but the security chief tells him these women aren’t women, they’re killers, so they should all start running. They start running. The doctor, ensign captain and Cardassian, misunderstanding the situation completely, beam down to try and explain things with a friendly female face, but the women don’t like them either so hunting season resumes. Finally, they all beam away, injured, and realise that the women were from an isolated continent on the planet and they just beamed to the wrong co-ordinates. Also, it’s probably not a good idea to transfer the human concept of the sexes onto an alien culture.

Note: this could be read as an attack on militant feminists, especially if the watcher is a militant feminist.

Possible fix = get one of the characters to ask, ‘are you militant feminists?’ and the aliens to reply, ‘what is a militant feminist?’

Maybe I should ask Elissa, see what she thinks…