Paramount has confirmed on Monday that ST:XI will revolve around Starfleet Academy days of Kirk and Spock, leaving the TNG storyline somewhat unfinished.

I know Brent Spinner clearly said "never again", but so did Leonard Nimoy at some point.

Even in the event where this was to become absolute, I was more hoping to see some adaptation of Enterprise "missing" seasons. Something maybe that could be called "Birth of the Federation".

Seems to me that the proposed idea is working away from Roddenberry's original concept and more into a space opera without much substance, cashing in purely on the success of a franchised name.

What are your impressions?

Didn't Data get blown up?

Yeah, but he had previously transfered his "consciousness" in his brother B-4. The script idea was to do a resurection à la Search for Spock.

I'm sorry, I just have to laugh about posting questions about Star Trek to an Esperanto forum. It says something about Esperanto speakers, doesn't it?

Having said that, I stopped liking Star Trek after Deep Space Nine, and even the second half of DS9 I didn't really like. I heard that Enterprise improved a lot in season 3, but honestly I was so put off of it by season 1 that I didn't watch beyond that. I would prefer to see another TNG movie to anything being proposed, but obviously that's not going to happen.

And actually, the more I watch other quality science fiction tv - Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5 - I find that Star Trek doesn't compare very well when I go back to it.

erinja:I'm sorry, I just have to laugh about posting questions about Star Trek to an Esperanto forum. It says something about Esperanto speakers, doesn't it?

There's a good sprinkling of offbeat topics in the Exchanges forum - take freemasonry, for one, or... I dunno, the Cseh method? This thread would probably have fitted in better there, if only to allow non-anglophones to chirp in more easily.

erinja:I would prefer to see another TNG movie to anything being proposed, but obviously that's not going to happen.

Although TNG was my favourite Star Trek series, I don't really think the general public care that much about the TNG crew anymore, hence why the last movie had such low viewing figures - audience fatigue set in. You can picture how this new movie will be trying to capture as wide a demographic as possible.

Well, my impression is that there's a higher percentage of linux-using, computer-oriented, Star-Trek-lovin' geeks in Esperantujo than any other country on earth! And I fully admit that I'm one of them.

When I was a kid, I couldn't get enough of the original series. When TNG came up I hated it. A BALD captain. What the heck?

I got over it. After watching Classic, TNG, DS9, and Voyager, I personally feel that TNG was the best of the various series by a considerable margin. The special effects weren't very good, but the story lines were - they covered a lot of pretty solid sociological and philosophical issues in a lot of the episodes.

DS9 had too many religious overtones for my taste, and while Voyager was more or less entertaining, the story lines were pretty weak as a general rule. I couldn't stomach more than a couple of episodes of Enterprise - my feel was that a lot of the spirit of the original series and TNG had been lost by that point. No doubt there are people who feel differently, and I'm perfectly happy that they were able to find value in a series I found I couldn't stand.

While a new TNG movie would be alright, I can see why many of the original cast members wouldn't want to do it - they're all 20 years older, for one thing. And they've all moved on to other things, as well.

I would be perfectly happy to see a new movie in the Star Trek universe - the Federation, the Klingons, etc. - but with a cast of complete newcomers. I think that the draw for Star Trek (at least for me) wasn't so much in the characters themselves, but in the story lines, and so having a completely new cast wouldn't be terrible if they had a good story to tell.

Let me see... my favorite series in order would be:
Next Generation
Original Series
Voyager - DS9
Enterprise (though I only watched the first season of that one)

What I notice is that ofter Rodenberry died, then my liking for the shows decreased. It went from being a little family owned coffee shop, to being Starbucks.

I do agree, the story lines are what draw me into the series, not the characters. I want an original story line, not a story line that is reused with just a few changes in there. The characters are the next thing that will draw me in, (in Voyager for example) I rather liked the characters, till they put in 7of9 (all boobs, no personality).

I don't really watch ST any longer. I tend to watch Dr. Who more then any other sci-fi series currently, though Stargate had my attention for the longest time.

Mythos:I don't really watch ST any longer. I tend to watch Dr. Who more then any other sci-fi series currently, though Stargate had my attention for the longest time.

I like Dr. Who, too. The new one, you're talking about? You should check out Battlestar Galactica and Babylon 5, if you haven't seen them before. They're all about cool plots!

Actually, with the exception of BG, it's been "all British, all the time" at my house. Through the wonders of the internet, I was able to watch new episodes of Torchwood only a day after they aired in Britain. I do wonder if Torchwood will ever make it to the US; probably only on HBO if at all, unless they want to edit out significant amounts of sex/language/violence that just don't fly on US TV.

My ST ranking would probably be TNG, DS9, Enterprise, Voyager. I don't even include TOS; I think it's a completely different animal than the other series. I find it hard to watch without laughing, especially when Ensign Red Shirt bites the dust yet again.

I agree about 7 of 9 and the boobs. My "boobs" moment for Enterprise was some 1st season episode when everyone was scantily clad and moist in the decontamination chamber. It seemed clear that they cared more about sex appeal than about plots, and I stopped watching. I was even able to put up with the pop-music theme song until then, but I had to give up.

erinja:I like Dr. Who, too. The new one, you're talking about? You should check out Battlestar Galactica and Babylon 5, if you haven't seen them before. They're all about cool plots!

I do like the new Dr. Who series, though I was talking about most of the them. They did get a bit silly in the middle though.
I haven't really seen either of the other two series, never enough time in the day.

Actually, with the exception of BG, it's been "all British, all the time" at my house.

Those do seem to be the best shows.

My ST ranking would probably be TNG, DS9, Enterprise, Voyager. I don't even include TOS; I think it's a completely different animal than the other series. I find it hard to watch without laughing, especially when Ensign Red Shirt bites the dust yet again.

TOS was a different creature. It was funny because it was so bad.

TOS is probably my favorite. If you think it's terrible, I suggest you watch a contemporary science fiction show, Lost in Space for a few eps. TOS was revolutionary for the time. Yes there were awful scripts, and cheesy acting, but also some of the best scripts ever seen on TV (written by the likes of DC fontana, Harlan Ellison, etc...). One thing that is really nice is the new Star Trek Remastered series. They have taken the original series and redone all the special effects and sound effects with modern techniques. It's tastefully done, and often the changes are subtle, but it's a very impressive job.

Voyager and Enterprise were almost unwatchable (but apparently I'm enough of a masochist that I still sat through them). I think DS9 is the best of the "new" star trek series.

The new doctor who has been very good (and the penultimate doctor now plays on NBC's Heroes which has also grown on me quite a bit). I doubt Torchwood will ever make it to america (maybe on BBC America but I doubt it). The homo/bi-sexual themes that run throughout the show would make it a hard sell here. I hope that I'm proven wrong though, because it's been very entertaining. Of course, Captain Jack will be back on Dr. Who this season (though not till the end), so that will be fun.

Babylon 5 was a phenomenal achievement, and among the best television shows ever made (not just best sci fi shows, best shows period). The first and last seasons are the weakest, but seasons 2, 3, and 4 are beyond incredible.

And I think BSG is just really fantastic. It's very compelling storytelling.

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I do have one commendation for those brit sci/fi loving fans among us. Check out Life On Mars. It's not sci fi per se, but rather a police drama with sci fi elements.

The plot is that a modern day detective (who is very very by the book) is hit by a car and wakes up in 1970 (where everyone seems to think he's still a cop, just a 1970 one). But now he has to deal with being a cop in the 70's. there is rampant corruption, racism, sexism, etc in the department. They don't have any concept of modern forensics or investigative procedures (but he does which is a huge advantage) etc... And basically he's working as a cop with the broader theme of him trying to figure out what happened to him (is he in a coma? is he dreaming this all up? did he really go back in time?) and how to get back. There are a lot of surreal elements to the show, and some science fiction elements. But it doesnt focus on them. In any case, It's superb.