Michael Gummelt has been working on his idea for a modern Star Trek TV series for close to 20 years according to the show’s official website. Star Trek: Uncharted — formerly Star Trek: Beyond before the talk of the third movie sprouted — is a fleshed out and fresh look for the series that seems to want a direction opposite of J.J. Abrams’ film series. There’s a diverse crew, a new galaxy to explore, and modern themes. All in the effort to grab some attention from those who hold the reigns to the franchise.
The good news is that it might’ve worked. According to Slash Film and shared on Gummelt’s web site, the long time fan is getting his chance to finally pitch the series to Paramount this summer:
“I can now officially announce that I do, indeed, have an invitation to come pitch Star Trek Uncharted at Paramount this summer! As far as I know, this is the first time a fan (not an established industry insider) has been invited to pitch a Star Trek TV series. This is, obviously, extremely exciting and I’m doing my best to get support for it from industry professionals. One of my concept cast members has read the script and expressed interest in supporting it, which is fantastic!”
Just perusing through his idea and some of the information shared over on Slash Film, it’s an interesting take on the franchise. It has that modern feel that Abrams is going for in his films, but it also seems to have a lot of ideas that haven’t previously been in the series at this point. Maybe something to catch the eye of the average TV viewer who isn’t a full Star Trek fan.
The part I like is the description for how the series would flow. Not as a traditional episodic piece of television, but more along of the lines of the premium series we’ve come to enjoy in the “golden age” of television:
I believe Star Trek would feel stale and “old-fashioned” as a traditionally scripted, Four Act, purely episodic series. The best shows on TV nowadays tell their stories in a more naturalistic format, with less expository dialogue and more reliance on acting and directing to convey subtext. Stories don’t all wrap up nice & neatly, with everything back to normal by the end of an episode. One major approach that could help revive Star Trek is to present its stories in a more modern way. To that end, I’ve written the show in a “premium cable” format – along the lines of shows like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Mad Men and The Walking Dead. There’s a theme to each season of 13 high-quality episodes and stories are told in long arcs with overlapping subplots, mysteries and character arcs. You can judge for yourself if I was successful.
Would I invest in a Star Trek series that features the same kind of peaks and valleys as Breaking Bad or Mad Men? Hell yeah. Would I be pissed if it involved as much stalling as The Walking Dead. Also a yes, but at least it would be in space.
It’s doubtful that Gummelt’s idea would stay completely intact as it is, but there’s plenty to draw from within to make a Star Trek show that could thrive with modern TV viewing. The Next Generation is enjoyable to watch, but a change of structure could be a great leap forward.
(Via Star Trek: Uncharted / Slash Film)
