Cause for celebration! “Star Trek” is heading back where it’s always been strongest: serialised television (albeit on a subscription only streaming service in the US although time will tell). At present there’s no word on what format the TV series will take, where it will be set (Prime universe or Abramsverse) and what it will focus on. For better or worse, we have our new Kirk, Spock, McCoy etc. so I think the TV series would be best to focus on a ship that’s not the USS Enterprise.
Let’s get back to the days of strange new worlds, new life forms and new civilisations. And lets do it with a completely new ship and a new crew. But who to cast? The new Star Trek will be arriving during an age where genre TV isn’t seen as the poor relation anymore and many Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Genre series are not only ratings juggernauts but even seen as prestige roles.
So lets throw caution to the wind and embrace the idea of an ambitious, starry cast of brave new Starfleet personnel.
Captain
Hugh Laurie – Grizzled veteran a combination of Picard’s experience, Kirk’s cunning and a dash of House’s disdain for authority.
First Officer
Maggie Q – Cool, calm, the counterbalance to the Captain’s irrascibility, quick to action and a skilled tactician
Science Officer
Christian Clemenson – Enthusiastic, knowledgable and utterly fascinated by the wonders of the universe.
Chief Medical Officer
Paterson Joseph – Ambitious, serious, dedicated. Places the wellbeing of patients above all other concerns.
Chief Engineer
Kal Penn – Ingenious, creative and ever so slightly reckless. Never happier than when confronted with an apparently impossible problem.
Navigator
Karen Gillan – Fresh out of the academy, talented and intuitive. Determined to prove her worth to the crew and climb the ranks.
Helmsman
Richard Coyle – Veteran pilot, came to Starfleet later in life after running his own ever so slightly shady cargo operation.
Security
Gina Torres – Tough and highly skilled, long time crew mate of the Captain with a wicked sense of humour.
So there you have it, that’s my dream cast for a show charting the adventures of the new ship and its crew. The character bios danced along the edge of fan fiction, so I held back from making anyone specifically an alien, android or hologram but there have to be one or two, right?
So…who would you have in your dream TV Trek cast? What kind of ship? What would it be called? What kind of character bios do you think would make for a worthy new incarnation of “Star Trek”? Let me know in the comments below – looking forward to hearing your ideas!
