Final Countdown

So if there is one opportunity for an amazing SciFi TV series that was just a pretty good movie, its 1980s, "The Final Countdown." If you're not familiar with it, its about a modern (then) crew aboard the USS Nimitz being sent back in time to December 7, 1941 near the Hawaiian islands. The movie is mostly about the crew trying to figure out where or indeed when they are, and they're returned to the present before ever getting to do much beyond shooting down a couple of Zeros (which incidentally is pretty goddamn bad-ass). A Book series called, "The Axis of Time," follows a very similar premise. What if instead of a short movie that ends too soon we got a TV series? So here's my pitch for a pilot:

December 7, 2021 - The USS Gerald R. Ford is beginning its first deployment to Korea to relieve the aging USS Nimitz. Carrier Strike Group 12. Five hundred miles out from Oahu, the Ford enters what looks to be an electrical storm and winds up on a clear day. Only the Ford, and the bows of two Ticonderoga-class cruisers make it through, three sailors aboard the other two ships are rescued, but the ship and crew have no Earthly idea what just happened. Aegis combat systems aboard the Ford detect two aircraft, and the captain, fearing his storm is some kind of attack, orders two F-35s to investigate with the rest of the carrier's aircraft on standby. They report, much to the surprise of the captain, that they have confirmed that the aircraft are indeed Mitsubishi A6M Zeros. The Zeros, unable to see the more advanced aircraft hiding in the sun, spot the American carrier and begin to approach to attack. The captain orders his planes to shoot down the Japanese aircraft, which they accomplish before the Japanese pilots even realize they're being targeted.

Later, the crew rescues the (fictional) US Senator Sam Chapman and his wife from their boat which was sunk by the two planes; along with one of the Japanese pilots. The Senator is greeted by the captain of the Ford and it quickly becomes clear that they are indeed in 1941, on the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor. As the captain struggles to inform the Senator of their situation, word comes in that a massive squadron of aircraft are approaching, bearing down on Pearl Harbor. At this point the crew begin to panic and argue about what they should do, with the crew being split on interfering to save Pearl Harbor at the risk of causing a time paradox. The ship's resident nuclear engineer, a proponent of multiverse theory, argues that they're stuck in this timeline and might as well make the best of it. As the argument reaches a fever pitch, the captured Japanese pilot manages to escape, killing one of his guards with his own gun and one of the deck officers. The man is shot just after he warns his commander via radio about the American carrier. With his crew about to come under attack, the captain orders all aircraft and defense systems to prepare for battle, and destroy the Japanese aircraft. 

F-35s and F-18s fly off the deck of the Ford, Phalanx guns and lasers begin finding targets, and the captain radios to Pearl Harbor alerting them to the attack, claiming to be the USS Ward. The battle is an all out slaughter. 75 aircraft from the 21st century attacking over 300 WWII Japanese fighters. The Japanese planes don't stand a chance, and the battle is over in less than an hour, most of which is taken up by attacking retreating Japanese ships and aircraft. By the time the battle is over, the planes are spent on most of their munitions, and only a few dozen missiles remain on the ship. During the battle a few dozen P-38s and the actual USS Ward join the fight and meet the American supercarrier which follows them to Pearl Harbor. The massive ship 200 feet longer and twice as heavy as the largest American battleship leaves the sailors and civilians at Pearl in silent awe.

Later that day, the captain of the Ford meets with Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, and explains the situation. Kimmel is skeptical of what has happened, but Navy technicians having reviewed the ship and its weapons cannot deny that the ship that saved them is far beyond anything possible for their engineers. Kimmel orders to radio Washington, and announce the arrival of the time traveling Super Carrier, as well as the attempted Japanese attack. The shot closes with Kimmel being informed that bases in Guam, the Philippines, and the Marshal Islands have all been attacked by the Japanese. Kimmel orders the captain of the Ford to spend the day transferring their paperwork over to the 1941 Navy, and to debrief him and his staff on the events of the war that has just begun.

...

So that's the pilot in my head. Basically the show would follow the Ford's crew as they join in the battles during the war, modify weapons from 1940s technology to fit their aircraft and maintain what they already have. Meet with historical figures and scientists to advance the Allied arsenal by decades (including giving Robert Oppenheimer everything he needs to not only produce an atomic bomb by 1943), breaking Axis codes in 1941, out maneuvering Japan with knowledge of future events and providing field intel via drones, and ending the war in the Pacific by 1943. Then the series could transfer to the War in Europe as the Germans have been beaten back with their codes broken and tactics known in advance, but a large overland invasion is still necessary to win the war. At this point in the series (season 3 or 4), the Ford and her crew play more of a commanding role and technology development role. A few of the ship's engineers are off at Los Alamos, or Groom Lake developing weapons, and by D-Day, the Americans now have FJ-1 Fury's to deploy (which look a lot more modern and are invisible to radar), as well as advanced missiles and rockets courtesy of Robert H. Goddard reverse engineering the Ford's BGM-109 Tomahawks. The US Navy has even begun reverse engineering the Gerald Ford, and three new Midway-class aircraft carriers will match the enormous ship in size and design, and are even being fitted with primitive nuclear reactors.

Just before D-Day the Ford is ordered to steam to Peenemünde with its team of Navy SEALS (which would have been doing awesome things in the 1940s and training soldiers from that era how to fight like they do). The goal is to destroy German rocket positions and capture the scientists, while Marines will secure a second beach-head while the Germans are busy defending their Atlantic coast from the Allied invasion. A few of the Marines landing on the beaches in Prussia are carrying assault rifles that bare a striking resemblance to FN-SCARs and M-4 carbines. The war ends in December 1944 after a second Allied invasion is opened up in Eastern Germany and the Americans drop an atomic bomb on Frankfurt. Hitler kills himself before Navy SEALs can capture him, and the Allies are able to capture Germany before the Russians even get too far into East Prussia.

If the series continues after that they could have a Cold-War story-line where some of the crew decide to leave the service and get rich with their knowledge of future events, only to find out Uncle Sam is keeping them on a very tight leash and hasn't even told the public that they're from the future, nor do they have any plans to do so. FDR dies in 1945 leaving the Presidency to Vice President Sam Chapman, who maneuvered his way into the Vice Presidency using information he gleaned about certain political figures and tricks of modern politics from his time aboard the Ford as its soul Congressional Investigator (a job he was appointed simply by being there when they first showed up in Pearl Harbor). Chapman is charming, affable, popular and incredibly corrupt, having made plans to remain in office for the rest of his days by blackmailing potential political opponents with information from the future. He eventually becomes a minor antagonist to the crew of the Ford, who see themselves as, "Chapman's personal hit squad." At the beginning of Chapman's Presidency, the crew are initially very supportive of him, as he was a friend of the crew when they first arrived in this time period. However as time goes on, it becomes clear that Chapman is the one keeping the Office of Naval  Intelligence and the FBI keep such a close eye on them.

The series reveals that Chapman's motives are selfish, but not entirely malevolent. He encourages the development of computers and a working civilian internet much like in the future, gets Congress to pass a single-payer healthcare plan and establishes NASA in 1947. As such, some of the crew are remain supportive of the President in the early days of his Presidency, and even argue that he's right to make sure the public isn't aware of such an advanced piece of military hardware like the Ford. But eventually things go to far. This would let the show spend a season focusing more on political intrigue and espionage. The show could probably continue until the captain of the Ford decides to retire and most of the crew have left.