Thanks for posting this! I was inspired to think of my own show concept. Here’s episode 1: We begin on a new Federation ship we haven’t seen before, staffed with an extremely blended crew that...
Thanks for posting this! I was inspired to think of my own show concept. Here’s episode 1:
We begin on a new Federation ship we haven’t seen before, staffed with an extremely blended crew that includes Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, Bajorans, Ferengi, even a couple Breen. Notably, several command positions including the captain’s are filled by holographic life forms. It’s evident that there have been 20 years of peace, innovation, and social progress since the quadrant united to repel the Dominion.
The ship has been sent to the frontier between the alpha and gamma quadrants to investigate reports of possible Dominion activity encroaching on Federation space. The Federation is concerned the Founders may be in violation of their peace treaty and since the wormhole is no longer operable, preparing an invasion the old-fashioned way.
Our heroes arrive at an outpost which has gone dark and is not responding to communication. Suddenly a Jem’Hadar warship decloaks directly ahead of them and sends a hail. “Onscreen,” says the captain, and the image of a Vorta appears, pale and hollow, covered in garish black implants. “We are the Borg,” it states. “You will be assimilated. We will add your technological distinctiveness to our own.”
The captain orders his crew to fire on the ship but is surprised to find a number of his senior staff are suddenly refusing to follow orders. It appears to be a mutiny. Three Jem’Hadar Borg drones beam directly to the bridge. The mutineering officers morph into the visage of Founders, revealing they’ve been covert operatives all along! But these changelings also wear the telltale marks of Borg implants. As the helpless crew is assimilated, they manage to send a message of warning back to the Federation: The Dominion is returning, but is now an apparatus of the Collective. Resistance is futile.
Cut to a quiet desert cliffside on an alien world. A team of civilian archaeologists is painstakingly unearthing the ruins of an ancient structure. Suddenly one of the excavator’s eyes flash with recognition at what she has uncovered. She grabs her communicator. “Dr. Picard,” she calls, “I think you’re going to want to see this.”
The team’s overseer, Professor Jean-Luc Picard (as he is now known), is stunned to discover that the El-Aurian structure they’ve been digging is actually built on top of something much older: an Iconian city. Without a moment’s hesitation, he opens a subspace channel to his old friend Guinan.
“I was wondering if we might have this conversation one day,” she tells him mysteriously. “The Federation doesn’t know much about my people, and the truth is we like to keep it that way. Your scientists believe the Iconians died out 200,000 years ago. In reality, something very different happened to us.”
“Us?”
Guinan reveals that long ago, when faced with the Borg threat, the Iconians split into three factions: the listeners, the defenders, and the infiltrators. Scattered among the galaxy, each played a different role in fending off the Borg and ultimately their efforts set back Borg progress by millennia. But there was a great schism that put the three factions at odds with either other and over time they became bitter rivals. The listeners became the El-Aurians and have been continuing their mission discreetly, all along. Guinan discloses what top-level Federation intelligence has only just become aware of, that a new shape-shifting Borg threat is heading toward the alpha quadrant as they speak. Picard’s discovery on this planet holds the key to driving the Borg back again.
“And what of the other Iconian factions? What became of them?” asks Picard.
“One of them went silent centuries ago, we’re not sure what happened to them... and you’ve already met the other,” says Guinan.
A flash of white light fills the room and a smirking man in full Starfleet uniform appears in the empty chair next to Picard.
That was great! I desperately hope that John de Lancie will be involved in this new Picard show too. Q and Picard's interactions were always a major highlight of TNG for me. p.s. I actually had...
That was great! I desperately hope that John de Lancie will be involved in this new Picard show too. Q and Picard's interactions were always a major highlight of TNG for me.
p.s. I actually had the privilege of meeting Mr. de Lancie about a decade ago at a Trek con here in Toronto after he performed an absolutely fantastic one-man play. He was every bit as nice as you would hope. :P
This is obviously not really a review since the show doesn't exist, but this was really fun speculation, IMO. And the ideas they have for what the new Picard based series could/should be are...
This is obviously not really a review since the show doesn't exist, but this was really fun speculation, IMO. And the ideas they have for what the new Picard based series could/should be are interesting, especially since The Red Letter Media boys really know and love their classic Star Trek, too.
Thanks for posting this! I was inspired to think of my own show concept. Here’s episode 1:
We begin on a new Federation ship we haven’t seen before, staffed with an extremely blended crew that includes Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, Bajorans, Ferengi, even a couple Breen. Notably, several command positions including the captain’s are filled by holographic life forms. It’s evident that there have been 20 years of peace, innovation, and social progress since the quadrant united to repel the Dominion.
The ship has been sent to the frontier between the alpha and gamma quadrants to investigate reports of possible Dominion activity encroaching on Federation space. The Federation is concerned the Founders may be in violation of their peace treaty and since the wormhole is no longer operable, preparing an invasion the old-fashioned way.
Our heroes arrive at an outpost which has gone dark and is not responding to communication. Suddenly a Jem’Hadar warship decloaks directly ahead of them and sends a hail. “Onscreen,” says the captain, and the image of a Vorta appears, pale and hollow, covered in garish black implants. “We are the Borg,” it states. “You will be assimilated. We will add your technological distinctiveness to our own.”
The captain orders his crew to fire on the ship but is surprised to find a number of his senior staff are suddenly refusing to follow orders. It appears to be a mutiny. Three Jem’Hadar Borg drones beam directly to the bridge. The mutineering officers morph into the visage of Founders, revealing they’ve been covert operatives all along! But these changelings also wear the telltale marks of Borg implants. As the helpless crew is assimilated, they manage to send a message of warning back to the Federation: The Dominion is returning, but is now an apparatus of the Collective. Resistance is futile.
Cut to a quiet desert cliffside on an alien world. A team of civilian archaeologists is painstakingly unearthing the ruins of an ancient structure. Suddenly one of the excavator’s eyes flash with recognition at what she has uncovered. She grabs her communicator. “Dr. Picard,” she calls, “I think you’re going to want to see this.”
The team’s overseer, Professor Jean-Luc Picard (as he is now known), is stunned to discover that the El-Aurian structure they’ve been digging is actually built on top of something much older: an Iconian city. Without a moment’s hesitation, he opens a subspace channel to his old friend Guinan.
“I was wondering if we might have this conversation one day,” she tells him mysteriously. “The Federation doesn’t know much about my people, and the truth is we like to keep it that way. Your scientists believe the Iconians died out 200,000 years ago. In reality, something very different happened to us.”
“Us?”
Guinan reveals that long ago, when faced with the Borg threat, the Iconians split into three factions: the listeners, the defenders, and the infiltrators. Scattered among the galaxy, each played a different role in fending off the Borg and ultimately their efforts set back Borg progress by millennia. But there was a great schism that put the three factions at odds with either other and over time they became bitter rivals. The listeners became the El-Aurians and have been continuing their mission discreetly, all along. Guinan discloses what top-level Federation intelligence has only just become aware of, that a new shape-shifting Borg threat is heading toward the alpha quadrant as they speak. Picard’s discovery on this planet holds the key to driving the Borg back again.
“And what of the other Iconian factions? What became of them?” asks Picard.
“One of them went silent centuries ago, we’re not sure what happened to them... and you’ve already met the other,” says Guinan.
A flash of white light fills the room and a smirking man in full Starfleet uniform appears in the empty chair next to Picard.
“Bonjour, mon capitan!”
Roll credits
That was great! I desperately hope that John de Lancie will be involved in this new Picard show too. Q and Picard's interactions were always a major highlight of TNG for me.
p.s. I actually had the privilege of meeting Mr. de Lancie about a decade ago at a Trek con here in Toronto after he performed an absolutely fantastic one-man play. He was every bit as nice as you would hope. :P
This is obviously not really a review since the show doesn't exist, but this was really fun speculation, IMO. And the ideas they have for what the new Picard based series could/should be are interesting, especially since The Red Letter Media boys really know and love their classic Star Trek, too.