More details on the new Star Trek Excellent TV series
01/11/1999 . Source: Jessica Martin 

Deep Throat has been busy again, leaking us some more snippets on Brannon and Berman's new Trek universe series, you know, the one planned as the follow-on to DS9 and eventually Voyager when it's retired shortly.

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For those that haven't already done so, check our previous story on this (the following might not make much sense otherwise).

A quick précis: The USS Excellent (probably named after a famous 18th century battleship, a Trek fan wrote to tell us) is a vessel helping a friendly Federation-like alliance at the far end of UFP space, when this friendly EEC analogue is invaded by a gothic nomadic space-barbarian-like race.

On to the new leaks … It is likely the new captain won't be human at all, but an alien. How alien is under discussion - they are planning to go heavy on the CGI for the series.

But, we suspect it is unlikely they'd go for CGI for someone as major as the Captain's chair; too much like hard work, not to mention a drain on the budget every episode. Deep Throat agrees, and suspects the skipper will probably be some face make-up job like a Trill.

A new race is being trotted out, whatever happens, so no Vulcans or Fernegi commanding the bridge, I'm afraid.

The ship is planned to be about three time the size of the TNG Enterprise, the logic being that this was a new top of the line model planned as an escape ship for Federation races in the event the UFP was ever over-run by the Borg or the Dominion or whoever (think of the Defiant blown up to monster size with generation ship aspects to her).

The alien barbarians, which Trekkies in newsgroups have nicknamed orks in space, have had some flesh added to the concept.

It is planned that although their technology is to be relatively primitive, they will follow a species philosophy of genetic enhancement similar to that banned by humanity and first outlined in the Wrath of Khan episodes.

The tribes spawned from an Earth-type world that faced the same challenges as America in the early 21st century, but one whose Enhanced Princes maintained their hold on society and spread their feuding feudalism to the stars using whatever technology they could scavenge and steal.

The dark side of genetic engineering is to be explored in the series, with many among the modern barbarian clans having rogue genes and variable grips on reality (a bit like Julian's enhanced pals in DS9).

Our contact also talked about Q. maybe featuring in the first episode … to dispense his unique wisdom to the new crew in their first contact with the new enemy (and apparently advising the other side too, who he finds equally fascinating).