After watching TOS for the first time several years ago, I was left with the desire to create my own non-Kelvin Timeline reboot for the Star Trek Universe. It wasn't because I thought the show was bad – far from it – but because I felt the series, in spite of its strong characters and stories, never really realized its full potential, hampered as it was by storytelling conventions and SFX limitations of 1960s television.
In 2015-2016, I wrote the pilot episode for a hard reboot of TOS which was to consist of five seasons with 22 episodes each. It didn't take long for me to realize writing 110 episodes would be too daunting a task for me to tackle alone, and so abandoned the idea after completing that one pilot script.
I've since returned to the pilot and revised it to bring it more in-line with established Trek lore, though still kept it distinct from the Prime Universe. I then began thinking about the ideas I'd conceived for my abandoned hard reboot, wondering how they might work incorporated into a soft reboot/interquel/sidequel series instead.
Though I'll never say never, it's unlikely I'll ever get back aboard the Enterprise. In lieu of a series proper, here's Star Trek: The Companion Series (The Treatment):
NATURE OF THE REBOOT
This'd be a companion to TOS, and as such I'd try telling my stories without overturning too much established continuity. That said, elements perceived as outdated/silly/bad would be jettisoned/altered as the need arose. Also, my faithfulness to canon would end at TOS itself; aside from TWOK, I'd ignore all the movies/spinoffs.
Unlike TOS, The Companion Series would be more serialized in nature, an ensemble series chronicling the first five-year mission from beginning to end, with ongoing story/character arcs, with 16 episodes per season (8-10 for ongoing storylines, 6-8 for multi-part/standalone stories). There'd also be a stable of recurring characters.
IN THE 23RD 28TH CENTURY
The Federation feels to me too young/too close in time to our own era for its level of technological development to be plausible. Add to that the 1990s date for the Eugenics Wars, and I feel an older Federation/Federation set further into the future would be preferable. I'd shift the TOS era as far into the future as I could without straining continuity to the breaking point — the 28th century. Likewise, the Eugenics Wars would be shifted to the 26th century.
HUMANS, NEAR-HUMANS, HUMANOIDS, & ALIENS
I'm not fond of the TNG episode "The Chase" or its silly "directed panspermia" explanation for why most Trek aliens are rubber forehead aliens. I much prefer the theory expounded in "The Paradise Syndrome", that these human/rubber forehead aliens are the descendants of people (most likely Terrans) seeded across the galaxy by an advanced alien race. For this series, I'd return to that older idea. Vulcans, Klingons, Orions, etc. would be retconned as genetically modified near-human offshoots.
Humanoid species such as the Saurians, Caitians, Kzinti, etc. would be retconned as descendants of terrestrial non-human animals, creations of the same aliens who influenced human evolution and seeded humanity across the stars.
Actual aliens — non-humanoid entities like the Horta, Excalbians, Kelvans, etc. — would make appearances in this series, but their appearances would be rare. The third season would be the only season to make regular use of them.
VULCANS & ROMULANS
The Vulcans and Romulans would receive a shared redesign:
As a half-human, Spock would remain untouched, but all full-blooded Vulcans/Romulans would receive forehead ridges, green skin, "green-in-green" eyes, and even greenish bones and teeth.
Because Vulcans/Romulans would be retconned as human offshoots, their biochemistry/anatomy would be changed to reflect this. No longer would they have copper-based blood or hearts where their livers should be. Their blood would remain green, but as with green-blooded skinks, this colouration would be the result of high biliverdin levels in their bodies. They'd be essentially human otherwise, making their capability to produce viable offspring with Homo sapiens plausible.
New aspects of Vulcan culture would be explored. It'd be revealed there're Vulcan colonies/individuals who're more liberal in their expression of Surakean philosophy than mainstream Vulcans or don't follow Surakean philosophy at all.
It'd be established that the Romulan Star Empire's cosmopolitan, with non-Romulans serving in the military, mirroring the Federation/Starfleet.
KLINGONS
The Klingons would be established as eugenicists who maintain a strict caste system consisting of four primary castes — the warrior, scholar, merchant, and worker castes — with centuries of genetic engineering/selective breeding evolving them into distinct subspecies. A lesser "under-caste" would also exist, consisting of disgraced, disabled, mixed caste, and mutant Klingons who have no status or rights in the Klingon Empire.
WEAPONS & TECHNOLOGY
The transporter became too much of a crutch and deus ex machina, especially once TNG rolled around. To place limitations on what transporters can do, I'd portray them operating only in tandem with other transporters and only as transporters.
The original warp scale would be used and strictly adhered to. The Enterprise wouldn't be able to make quick trips from the frontier to the heart of the Federation and back again by conventional warp travel.
The communicator and tricorder would be combined into a single device, the "comcorder".
The communicator and tricorder would be combined into a single device, the "comcorder".
The disintegration setting would be removed from phasers. Only disruptors would have that power.
UNIFORMS
STARFLEET UNIFORMS (SEASON 1)
(commissioned officers)
(enlisted personnel)
STARFLEET UNIFORMS (SEASONS 2-5)
(commissioned officers)
(enlisted personnel)
STARFLEET UNIFORMS (MIRROR UNIVERSE)
(commissioned officers)
(enlisted personnel)
- Gold – command
- Blue – sciences
- Light blue – medical
- Beige – operations
- Red – security
- Silver – cadets/trainees
Only commanding/first officers would wear command gold.
Gray jumpsuits would be standard landing party garb, substituted with EV suits/body armour in more hazardous environments.
SEASON 1
(This'd be Janice Rand's hairdo for the season.)
Season 1 would have no central arc. This season would be about introducing the universe and getting to know the characters.
The pilot, "To Boldy Go", is a partial adaptation of both Enterprise: The First Adventure and "All Those Years Ago".
From this point forward, I'm going to assume you've read "To Boldy Go". If you haven't, I suggest you do so before continuing.
The second episode would be an adaptation of "Uhura's Story".
One episode would be "Sister in Space".
One episode would be a remake of "The Alternative Factor". This episode would set up a mini-arc for Season 2.
One episode would be a flashback episode exploring Rand's childhood as a Klingon slave.
It'd be revealed Kirk's an Ahmadi Muslim.
It'd be revealed Uhura's Ethiopian Orthodox.
Lt. Kyle and Spock would be brief love interests of Uhura's.
It'd be revealed Piper's a homosexual who'd been married to a Vulcan man.
Rand's insomnia would persist through the season. For reasons unknown, she wouldn't visit Piper to determine the cause of her sleeplessness. Instead, with fellow crewman Lt. LeBeque as go-between, she'd meet Beckwith, another crewman who'd supply her with illegal sleep-substitute drugs.
The "handsome female lieutenant with short blond hair" mentioned in "To Boldy Go" would be revealed as Elizabeth Dehner. She'd be a recurring character and Mitchell's love interest throughout the season.
The penultimate episode would be a remake of "The City on the Edge of Forever". It'd stick closer to Harlan Ellison's original draft. In this episode, it'd be established the Trek Universe adheres completely to a "growing block universe" concept of time.
The season finale would be a remake of "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Piper would die in this episode.
SEASON 2
(Rand would switch to her (in)famous "wicker basket" hairdo.)
This season would feature the series' first seasonal arc: the re-emergence of the Romulans and the creation of their alliance with the Klingons.
The season premiere would be "Bound in a Nutshell, the King of Infinite Space", a semi-adaptation of Enterprise: The First Adventure. McCoy would join the crew as of this episode. This'd be the first episode to feature genuine sapient aliens.
Christine Chapel would come aboard the Enterprise.
Kirk and Rand would become lovers.
Halfway through the season, Rand would develop a split personality. Rand would be revealed as a spy for the Klingons, brainwashed while in captivity then set free to infiltrate Starfleet, with her insomnia a symptom of her true personality re-emerging. "True" Rand would reassert command of her body and "false" Rand — the Rand who'd fallen in love with Kirk — would cease to exist. Under order of Starfleet Command, she'd depart the Enterprise to undergo a thorough psychological evaluation, leaving the series.
Chekov would join the crew as one of the Enterprise's security officers.
Chekov's illusory brother, Piotr, would be retconned as a real flesh-&-blood sibling who was killed by Klingons prior to his joining the Enterprise. Chekov's bitter hatred toward Klingons would figure heavily into his character arc.
Chekov and Ruan would become friends.
One episode would be a retelling of "Space Seed" told from Chekov's POV.
"The Naked Time" and "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" would be remade as the first two parts of a three-episode mini-arc. The third part, "A Reflection Refracted", would be an original story of the Enterprise stranded in the Mirror Universe.
SEASON 3
This season's arc: the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans cooperating to stop a forthcoming Kelvan invasion of the Milky Way.
The season premiere would be a remake of "Amok Time". The opening would recap the events of "Operation: Annihilate!", retconning the ending so Spock would still be blind from the events of that episode, necessitating the temporary use of a VISOR. The Enterprise would be too far out of range to make the trip to Vulcan; Spock would use "astral projection" technology to visit his homeworld instead.
A new recurring character would be introduced: a "liberal" Vulcan female crewman of the Enterprise. This character would become a love interest for Spock. She may or may not be eventually revealed as a Romulan double agent.
The Kelvans and the enigmatic "Old Ones" mentioned in "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" and "Catspaw" would be established as one and the same.
Chekov would join the bridge crew.
Chekov and Sulu would start off as rivals but evolve into friends.
Chekov and Ruan would become lovers.
One episode would be "Deep Mudd".
One episode would be an adaptation of "Cloak & Dagger".
One episode would be a remake of "The Trouble with Tribbles", including cameos of Benjamin Sisko, Jadzia Dax, Miles O'Brien, Julian Bashir, Worf, & Odo from the DS9 episode "Trials and Tribble-ations". At the end, it'd be revealed Ruan's a surgically altered Klingon spy.
Spock's natural eyesight would be restored near season's end.
The season finale would have Ruan's true nature revealed to the Enterprise crew, much to Chekov's shock and dismay. She'd leave the Enterprise and return to the Klingons thereafter.
SEASON 4
This season's arc: McCoy makes peace with the universe as he slowly succumbs to xenopolycythemia.
The season premiere would be a remake of "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" (minus the deus ex machina ending).
One episode would be "Portrait in Black and White".
One episode would be "Castles in the Sky", a remake of "The Cloud Minders".
One episode would be an adaptation of "The Real McCoy".
One episode would be an adaptation of "Past Imperfect".
It'd be revealed McCoy's a lapsed Christian whose father was a minister.
The season finale would have McCoy finding a cure for his xenopolycythemia and Chekov leaving the Enterprise.
SEASON 5
Like Season 1, this season would have no central arc. This season would be all about tying up loose ends.
Arex and M'Ress would come aboard the Enterprise.
Mira Romaine would be a recurring character.
The season premiere would be an adaptation of "Strange New Worlds".
The second episode would be a remake of the TAS episode "Yesteryear".
One episode would be an adaptation of "The Planet of No Return", reimagined as a Mirror Universe tale. Mirror Rand would make her first and only appearance here.
The third-&-second-to-last episodes would be a two-part remake of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Sha Ka Ree would be reimagined as a pocket universe accessible only through "Heaven's Gate". This two-parter would conclude with Spock making a solemn pledge to undergo the Kolinahr ritual and finally shed himself of his humanity.
The series finale would be "In Thy Image", a remake of Star Trek: The Motion Picture and "The Changeling". Chekov and Ruan would replace Decker and Ilia. The series would conclude with Spock and Chapel becoming lovers.
