New Star Trek TV Series' - Romulan Dissolution, Cartoon & Section 31

New Star Trek TV Series' - Romulan Dissolution, Cartoon & Section 31

With the latest batch of Trek announcements we'd be forgiven for thinking we're living in the Nineties when Trek was at the height of productivity. Two more series' have been confirmed, but the more interesting news for me is the mention of the Picard series dealing with the aftermath of the destruction of Romulus, leading to the dissolution of the Star Empire. One of the (many) things that irritated me about 'Star Trek XI' was that, along with creating a whole other universe, it left a clanger of a development when we learned that Romulus was taken out by a supernova. I thought we'd never get the chance to see the fallout of such a major event in Trek history, especially annoying because that was about the only thing that happened in the original universe during the film, this single contribution to Trek's 24th Century a fascinating addition to canon. I'm not saying it's great that one of the big three or four races dating back to 'The Original Series' had its homeworld destroyed, but it certainly would throw up many questions and a shift in the power balance of the Alpha Quadrant like few things had. The Dominion War would be the previous most dramatic moment of future history, and the Romulans became allies through that major event, so relations between the two enemy states of Federation and Romulan had already taken big steps to becoming something quite different. How would the Klingons, already favoured Federation allies, react to this?

So many things to wonder about, and yet we were never going to get a chance to see the repercussions of the war, and now the aftermath of a homeworld's destruction, so the news that this will be addressed in the Picard series is great. Maybe we'll see the first Romulan in Starfleet? Maybe the Remans will have become more of a threat, though their homeworld is likely ruined as well. It's not like this one confirmation raises my anticipation level for the series in the same way as, say, they told us Worf was going to be in the cast, but it's a further tick box in the positive. There hasn't been much revealed about this series, not even a title, but so far, with Picard, a setting twenty years after 'Nemesis,' and now acknowledging canon from even the less well regarded entry of the franchise, it shows they are committed to the integrity of Trek history, which to any long-term viewer like me is of paramount importance.

The other news isn't quite so attractive, but it shows the dedication CBS seems to have to the brand they previously allowed to lie fallow for a decade and more on TV. None of the proposed new series' have excited me and I can't say that another animated series, more specifically aimed at children, nor a Section 31 series starring Michelle Yeoh, changes that. I understand their thinking of trying to draw youngsters in, in the same way 'Star Wars' has, they're thinking about their future profits and getting all ages involved for years to come. But Trek has never been Wars, by nature it isn't so much of a child-friendly entity, the best of it encouraging people to come up to its level, not to meet them at their level or on their terms. Unfortunately, Trek in this century has been very much dropping down in its expectations and aims, it could no longer be called the thinking man's sci-fi, it's taken a turn towards simpler stories and action, which were always part of it, but that had been slowly changing towards something unique. To become popular originally it just did what it did, and did it well, which drew in the audience, but now those in charge want more, a bigger piece of the pie, the kind of value the comics industry has developed with its big budget, but insubstantial general impression, leading to a courting of popularity by trying to appeal in a broader sense, watering itself down.

Can Trek survive in this mould? Will the Picard series redress a perceived imbalance? We'll only know in a few years, perhaps a decade beyond when the dust has settled, as we can look back on the golden era of the Nineties now, or the troubled times of the 2000s. We're still a way off the output of the Nineties when, for seven years, there were around fifty episodes every year. Shorter seasons of modern 'TV' means you'd have to have several series' running at the same time, and we're currently only at the stage of gearing up. There's still the possibility this could all be a flash in the pan, CBS All Access fails and they pull the plug (as we've seen on a few superhero shows that haven't necessarily lasted as long as traditional TV shows), but for anyone that remembers the fallow years it's a glut of interest if nothing else.

Section 31 has never been something I was desperate to see in the limelight. It's something that should stay in the shadows of half-known rumours and conflicting facts. It's all the fault of 'Enterprise' which brought back the 'DS9' creation, but made them a bit bland and somewhat stereotypical of undercover secret organisations. On 'DS9' I had some room for doubt over whether it really even existed or was something Sloan had invented, but then 'Enterprise' used them, and 'Into Darkness' included them, and while I've yet to learn of their influences in 'DSC' (Bryan Fuller said they were marble through the meat of Season 1), I wonder if they'll ever be used effectively. If they'd announced a series set in Sloan's era and William Sadler was back as one of the main cast, that would have been more intriguing, but Michelle Yeoh, from what I've seen of her character in 'DSC' (which isn't much as yet), never convinced me she worked well in the role. Not that I'd write the idea off, or Yeoh, but it's difficult to see how it could work in more than a one-off situation.

As things stand, although I'm intrigued by the amount of Trek productions planned, none of them, bar Picard, have me excited. Perhaps so many seem to be based around the 'TOS'/'DSC' era, whereas if they said they were going to bring back 'Enterprise' and most of the cast for a limited series, or create something set during the Romulan War shortly after that series, or a series set in the Enterprise-B or -C era, or something further into the future, or a series based around Worf… I'd be much more piqued - there are so many possibilities and the good thing is it doesn't look like stopping at the moment, so there's still room for things that would interest me beyond Picard. Of course it'll all interest me to some extent or the other, though I'm hoping the animations aren't going to be canon, just like the original 'The Animated Series' isn't, because then what they do in terms of comedy and other things doesn't matter to the greater whole. How much of all this I'll see is also in question as I had to wait about a year before 'DSC' came out on DVD, but I was just glad to get it!

Anticipation Rating:

another cartoon series: *
Section 31: **
Lower Decks: *
Picard: ****
Khan: **
Starfleet Academy: *
more Discovery: ***