Just Imagine: Big Finish's Star Trek

I'm quite content with how the franchise is being run on TV right now and don't really need any tie-ins. I think what would interest me most would be the adventures of a whole new, completely original crew. Set it in a little-explored era and/or region to avoid any part of the franchise stepping on its own toes, and just have Big Finish spin out its own story.

While we disagreed with the direction of TV Trek (though I thought Disco 3 was easily the best of all the newer projects so here's hoping that keeps going up) I agree for storytelling and licencing, not to mention casting, a new era would be best if BF, Audible or whomever, were handed the franchise.  A bit like the New Frontier novels from the 90s. It's the only way CBS would even consider a sub-licence for it too, I think.
 
BF got the rights to do the Prometheus trilogy but they were pretty poor. The only reason they could even get those is they were a very obscure set of German sub-licenced novels by Cross Cult, who literally only had the right to make three and no more. Wheras the rest of the Trek books are from Titan who have all the rights to books now, from TOS and TNG to Disco and Picard.  It did lead to some people getting carried away thinking "BF have the Trek licence" when it was rather obvious that they had those 3 alone hence not even being able to use the Trek logo and "starting" with translations of three obscure sublicenced books . It would be like someone assuming the rights to make the Brigadier audiobooks gives Fantom the rights to make Doctor Who audio dramas too.

Just imagining BF could somehow get the rights, it'd need to be a fresh crew or recasts as the ensembles would be a logistical nightmare even if all were willing to return. CBS did their own version of what Disney did with the Star Wars books and "Legends" in ending a lot of the lines, so I'm not sure they'd want them cluttered again on audio. In some cases though that was a mercy as they got REALLY fanjodrelly in the 2000s "contnuation" novels with the books treating the characters like a fan-cast, getting characters from multiple shows and putting them on crews together. Dax, Riker and Tuvok at one point was a particularly egregious example. It made the Trek Universe seem very limited and small which is a massive failure in my book.  That would be horrible. Yes, Digi is right - a fresh crew would be best. I'd say in the period Nick Meyer and Bryan Fuller wanted Disco to go to next (when it was originally devised as an anthology show with much of the same cast, Trek's American Horror Story) and go to the period after Trek VI (or Generations, I guess) but before TNG. There's a loooong time to play with there and a lot happened. It wouldn't be post-Nemesis for me. Ideally it could be but given Picard...I like to imagine the DS9 and Voyager finales are as far as the timeline gets. CBS wouldn't allow any potential work to be set too far forward anyway I'm sure. 

I backed the Indiegogo for that and got my name in the credits and a Tribble called Hank from Terry Farrell.   When I saw the backers' stream for it all I could think of was how the hell can we not get this DS9 reboot now given that aging was written into all their thoughts in the concept. It was terrific and super-original. Yet Aron Eisenberg's sad death makes me think the time for that has long gone - especially with Avery Brooks who was already quite...mercurial...really being quite out there now. I'm not sure he'd be interested or focused enough. I think a comic version would be really cool though - where Aron can live on and Avery can be written and performed as well as the ink allows!  


The Voyager doc from the same team has raised $900,000 with 8 days to go. I was never anywhere near as big a VOY fan but I backed it anyway as the highs were very high. If we can't have these shows in HD then getting these films to celebrate their legacy is how I'm supporting "classic" Trek these days.

^^ I know, I know. It's just my pension struggles sometimes to cover all the 'essentials' let alone new BF stuff, so paying for streaming TV is not happening for me. Hence my dislike for it and why it annoys me when that's the only place stuff I might like gets shown.
At least the BBC has got BSG for me to catch up with at present.

So back on topic - there is so much scope for audio Trek, probably too much, that who knows where to even start? While CBS is milking the video cow, I would hazard that they'd only consider licensing the much older stuff - and then probably at silly money anyway like they did to the fan-run conventions who dared to mention the two magic words and/or wanted to have actors etc drop in for panels and autograph sessions.

But that's the nature of the beast these days, I suppose.

I would also love to see this, but I am aware it will never happen.
They definitely should get their own crew, and have to option to have guest stars.
They already have some Trek actors on board, and Bob Picardo is friends with Sylvester...
Just imagine how awesome it would be to get some continuation after DS9.
Without the blood and violence of Picard.

I also have not dared enter the DIS rabbit hole yet, because I just have an inkling it might not improve my mood.

Chakoteya- I totally get where you are coming from. I also have not signed up for streaming, except for Prime. I simply do not have the time to follow all the various series and franchises, and for me it is only a waste of money (especially since I am also not swimming in money). I just follow a few very select things.
I also have this impression you got from conventions...
It has become so commercialised that the smaller conventions we had back in the day in Germany have all died out. We only have a few big ones left (if at all thanks to COVID and the great way our govenment managed vaccinations). But as it is now, I do not think it would be possible anymore to have one of the better known Star Trek actors visit fanclubs for dinner...
20 years ago, my fanclub in Munich once had dinner with Bob Picardo, right during the golden age of Star Trek, when Voyager was still on air. That was really amazing and not sure that could happen in such a casual way anymore (well, apart from the people who spend hours dressing up as Klingons and Ferengi, but I would not call them "casual" exactly).

I find this sad.

Similar situation with the fan productions (video and I also assume fanfic). The creativity and spark has been taken completely out of the fandom.

Or the Corsair...

How about an adaption of the two William Shatner books. The Return and Avenger.

I remember reading them back in the day and being entertained. Although I cannot recall much about them.

Produce them as a hybrid between narration and full cast for certain dialogue with music and sound effects. They might even be able to get William Shatner in to voice Kirk.

I believe these are already considered alternative timeline stories, but if successful Big Finish could continue the story on.