First floated as a part of Deep Space Nine 's Dominion War arc, the concept of "Section 31" has been divisive among Star Trek fans. Here's the idea: Buried deep within Starfleet exists an anonymous, ruthless intelligence agency that operates out of sight of most Federation citizens and Starfleet officers. Section 31 exists outside of typical Federation safeguards and restrictions, getting its hands dirty so that others in the Federation can pretend that dirt doesn't exist.

Subsequent Trek series would sometimes make a nod toward Section 31 or do contained Section 31-adjacent episodes or story arcs. But the inherent conflict between "post-scarcity utopian future where diplomacy and compromise are always the answer" and "autocratic future where shadowy extralegal spy agencies secretly pull all the strings" kept Section 31 from really feeling like a fully integrated part of the universe.

Surely a Section 31-themed direct-to-streaming feature film called Star Trek: Section 31 would be interested in exploring these contradictions? Surely it would have something thoughtful to say about our current age of misinformation and paranoia—the future reflecting and commenting on the present, as the best Star Trek media always has?

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First floated as a part of Deep Space Nine 's Dominion War arc, the concept of "Section 31" has been divisive among Star Trek fans. Here's the idea: Buried deep within Starfleet exists an anonymous, ruthless intelligence agency that operates out of sight of most Federation citizens and Starfleet officers. Section 31 exists outside of typical Federation safeguards and restrictions, getting its hands dirty so that others in the Federation can pretend that dirt doesn't exist.

Subsequent Trek series would sometimes make a nod toward Section 31 or do contained Section 31-adjacent episodes or story arcs. But the inherent conflict between "post-scarcity utopian future where diplomacy and compromise are always the answer" and "autocratic future where shadowy extralegal spy agencies secretly pull all the strings" kept Section 31 from really feeling like a fully integrated part of the universe.

Surely a Section 31-themed direct-to-streaming feature film called Star Trek: Section 31 would be interested in exploring these contradictions? Surely it would have something thoughtful to say about our current age of misinformation and paranoia—the future reflecting and commenting on the present, as the best Star Trek media always has?

Read full article

Comments

First floated as a part of Deep Space Nine 's Dominion War arc, the concept of "Section 31" has been divisive among Star Trek fans. Here's the idea: Buried deep within Starfleet exists an anonymous, ruthless intelligence agency that operates out of sight of most Federation citizens and Starfleet officers. Section 31 exists outside of typical Federation safeguards and restrictions, getting its hands dirty so that others in the Federation can pretend that dirt doesn't exist.

Subsequent Trek series would sometimes make a nod toward Section 31 or do contained Section 31-adjacent episodes or story arcs. But the inherent conflict between "post-scarcity utopian future where diplomacy and compromise are always the answer" and "autocratic future where shadowy extralegal spy agencies secretly pull all the strings" kept Section 31 from really feeling like a fully integrated part of the universe.

Surely a Section 31-themed direct-to-streaming feature film called Star Trek: Section 31 would be interested in exploring these contradictions? Surely it would have something thoughtful to say about our current age of misinformation and paranoia—the future reflecting and commenting on the present, as the best Star Trek media always has?

Read full article

Comments