The Anthology Show That Might Just Save Star Trek

Now that Paramount has completed its merger with Skydance, Star Trek is at a creative crossroads. Strange New Worlds only has a season and a half left, the buzz for Starfleet Academy is nonexistent, and there are no firm movie plans on the horizon.

New studio leadership claims they want to make this sci-fi franchise a priority, but it’s clear they have no idea how to do so. As a lifelong fan, I’m here to help Paramount with my own pitch: Kobayashi Maru, a Star Trek anthology show that features Starfleet officers from various eras all trying to pass the infamous no-win scenario.

The Infamous No-Win Scenario

If you need a refresher, the Kobayashi Maru is an infamous test that all Starfleet Academy cadets must take. It is designed as a test of character because there is no way to win: officers can try to rescue a freighter that is stranded in the Neutral Zone, effectively risking their own lives and risking potential war with the Klingons. Alternatively, they can sit back and do nothing, knowing they have condemned everyone on those freighters to death or even worse fates at the hands of the Klingons.

This test is introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, a movie that reveals James T. Kirk is the only cadet who has ever beaten the no-win scenario. He did so through the expedient of cheating, reprogramming the computer to make victory possible. Other cadets throughout franchise history had to find their own way to navigate this impossible virtual mission, and I’m calling for an anthology show that explores their stories.

A New Kind of Star Trek Show

What would this look like, exactly? The Kobayashi Maru series I am envisioning would be the ultimate anthology show, one that focuses on a different Starfleet cadet in each episode. And while those episodes would have their own additional drama to spice things up, the core premise of each story is watching how each cadet figures out how to deal with the no-win scenario.

One strength of such a show is that it wouldn’t be tied down to any single era of Star Trek. With some clever set redressing, episodes could take place in the time period of beloved shows like The Original Series and The Next Generation. We could also explore the two time frames of Discovery (the 23rd and 32nd centuries) and series such as Picard.

Old Characters, New Stories

Another strength of the Kobayashi Maru show is that it could alternate between episodes featuring entirely original characters and episodes featuring some very familiar faces. For example, some of the Strange New Worlds cast are young enough that we could have stories about how, say, Ensign Uhura and Nurse Chapel passed the test. In the hands of the right writer, this would be a great way to flesh out their character arcs to better explain the kind of officers that each character would later become.

If the Star Trek fandom didn’t mind recasting familiar roles with different actors, we could also have episodes featuring characters from the golden age of the franchise. How cool would it be to see how a young Picard, Janeway, or Sisko handled the Kobayashi Maru? Such a show might be the only way to get new stories featuring those characters since Picard and Prodigy have ended, and Star Trek: Legacy is never going to happen.

How Star Trek Faces Death Is As Important As How It Faces Life

Finally, the episodes of the Kobayashi Maru show featuring original characters could help Paramount get a better idea of what fans actually want from this franchise. For example, fan response could help them learn which era fans want to see more of, which could be invaluable when creating future shows and films. If the fans react strongly enough to a particular set of characters, they could even be spun off into their own series, much like positive fan response to Pike and Spock in Discovery led to the Strange New Worlds spinoff.

I’m a lifelong Star Trek fan, and despite my occasional (okay, constant) annoyance with its creators, I want this franchise to succeed. An anthology show focused on a vital part of Trek history and featuring familiar characters and eras as well as new ones may be just the thing to excite the fans and give Paramount a better idea of where to “boldly go” next. Without figuring out what the fans want, though, Paramount may discover that the ultimate no-win scenario is simply keeping the world’s great sci-fi franchise alive!