Last week I did a post on the proposal to reboot the Star Trek universe that Bryce Zabel and Joe Straczynski wrote and sent to Paramount.
The post generated a number of comments in the combox, as well as a comment via e-mail from Bryce Zabel himself (who gave permission to use his name). He writes:
Thanks for the mention in your blog… you must have a very popular one because I got a lot of referrals. I also agree with the comments that a reboot, for those who freak out at the exact word, could simply be to tell the Star Trek story in an existing alt.universe. Anyway, all best to you, Jimmy…
I think that Bryce’s point (and that of other commenters) is a good one about presenting a rebooted Star Trek universe as an alternate timeline.
If a reboot ever goes forward, it might even be possible to deflect some concern by fans by showing the point of divergence for the two timelines or having them interact with each other in some way (via an interdimensional gateway or a timeline jumping means like in that great episode where Worf was jumping timelines accidentally). This would show the fans that all of their favorite, beloved stories were still "real" and still "existed out there"–just not in the timeline or universe that was in focus in the reboot.
As I mentioned in last week’s post, Mr. Zabel runs his own blog, and he frequently discusses matters of the television and movie industry, including science fiction and related genres, so be sure to
If you’d like to know more about the man himself,
HIS BIO ON IMDB IS ALSO QUITE INFORMATIVE
AND HERE’S INFO ON HIS SERIES DARK SKIES.
Thanks for stopping by, Bryce! Hope to see you around the cyberspace!
Some of his photos on his blog remind me of Dave Armstrong.
Interesting work history on IMDB, especially the time in ’94 when he was an actor on “Lois & Clark” and played a priest. Doee anyone know of Mr. Zabel’s religious leanings?
The problem is phraseology. When you “reboot,” you keep the same computer (universe). When you change computers, or universes, it is not called a “reboot.”
showing the point of divergence for the two timelines or having them interact with each other in some way (via an interdimensional gateway or a timeline jumping means like in that great episode where Worf was jumping timelines accidentally).
I know! How about a hand-held device, looking something like a remote control? And they could have that fat kid from Stand by Me be the star. Oh, wait. They already did a show like that. It was called Sliders.
Or maybe have God or some other mysterious force control the changes. They could even bring back Scott Bakula. Oh, wait again. They did a show like that too. It was called Quantum Leap.
LOL symantics. Star Trek fans are known to be rabbid about them. Maybe we should call it a Star Trek low-level format.