Making a Star Trek series that fits in with today's TV landscape

Discussion in 'Future of Trek' started by The Overlord, Aug 23, 2013.

  1. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

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    It's just a case that the price for decent CGI has gone up. It's cheaper if it's more cartoony in nature.
     
  2. Mycroft Maxwell

    Mycroft Maxwell Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I have always hated the Neilson ratings system. Its like this, a selected small group of people have a box that monitors which shows they watch. Say that group represent a pack of M&Ms. Well the rest of us people represent the warehouse full of M&Ms. YOu open that pack of M&Ms and see that there are more yellow M&Ms in that pack than the other colors...DO you automatically assume that the warehouse has more yellow M&Ms than any other color. Its FLAWED!!! Also, what type of person lets corporation monitor what they watch? Anyways, this is why a crap show like Law & Order stay on the air for decades at a time.
     
  3. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

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    Statistical sampling, if done right, is an incredibly accurate way to measure large numbers.

    And why do I care if a corporation monitors what I watch? My credit card company knows what I buy. My cable provider knows what web sites I visit. My cell phone company knows who I call and text.

    Companies wouldn't waste hundreds of millions of dollars every year on advertising if they didn't believe in the method of counting who watches what.
     
  4. MakeshiftPython

    MakeshiftPython Commodore Commodore

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    I thought ENT's fourth season made a good template for how Trek could work in today's landscape. Multi-arcs while at the same time all of them sort of build up to other stories like how the Augment trilogy later played a part for the Ridgeless Klingon two parter. It's just too bad this had to happen right after ENT's ratings had sunk.
     
  5. Mycroft Maxwell

    Mycroft Maxwell Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Since When? I have always seen it work completely flawed.

    My evidence- 90% of CLASSICS were CANCELED. 90% of successful shows were CRAP.
     
  6. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

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    That's your opinion.

    Once again, companies wouldn't spend millions of dollars on advertising if they thought the data was wrong.
     
  7. Hober Mallow

    Hober Mallow Commodore Commodore

    Since always.
     
  8. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

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    Television is a business. Networks renew programming that (a) attracts an audience and (b) attracts advertisers. The business has little interest in what programs will be deemed "classics" in the forum of public opinion years later. Indeed, there's no way anyone could know that information without a time machine.
     
  9. Mycroft Maxwell

    Mycroft Maxwell Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I don't think corporations have the brains to question if the data is wrong. They Aren't smart enough to know that insurance rates sells insurance to me, not a Pig joke on an Airplane. Or a hot chick eating a hamburger doesn't make me want to eat a hamburger. It makes me want the hot chick.
     
  10. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

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    I'm sorry but this really makes no sense.
     
  11. Mycroft Maxwell

    Mycroft Maxwell Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I was making a Joke out of my point. I see advertisements all the time that instead of selling what they have they just waste space. Like the Hardee's commercial (I love Hardee's by the way). Their commercials are dumb. They are advertising the chick eating the hamburger more than they are advertising the hamburger. The minds behind this commercial wouldn't be smart enough to check if their commercials are really getting out. People eat fast food for whats cheapest, not what they have. THey just don't get it. If the commercial was 10 seconds of "Hey we have a triple bacon cheese burger for 99 cents" that would sell quicker to me than a 30 second commercial of a Hot chick eating a hamburger.

    So I saw again, and as FACT, the Nielson rating system is FLAWED. I don't know of anyone that watches law and order SVU and CI. Yet they stay up on the ratings. But if you were to argue that it is just the area I live, then we run right back to my M&M example all over again. If it so happened that the selected group of people for those stupid Nielson boxes were all from my area, L&O would be canceled. Now these flawed pieces of crap boxes are the reason why a good show like Star Trek, got canceled. If TV companies want the (at least partial) truth of who's watching what, they need to put up surveys on their sites.
     
  12. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

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    Nothing you've said is fact.

    Hot chicks sell shit and people do watch the various Law and Order shows (though I don't personally).
     
  13. Mycroft Maxwell

    Mycroft Maxwell Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Neilson is FLAWED- FACT!!! (I say its fact as nothing is flawless in this world so I win HAHA)

    Seriously though, why you defending a system that's been Star Trek and Science Fiction's enemy for years?
     
  14. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

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    People generally aren't interested in televised sci-fi. Very few shows end up being hits. That isn't a problem with the system used to measure ratings.
     
  15. Sindatur

    Sindatur The Gray Owl Wizard Admiral

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    Yea, the reason for the hot chick, is because there are indeed guys who will walk away from the commercial thinking Hot chicks eat there, and so they're going to give their business to that restaurant in order to stare at (and maybe have a chance with) those hot chicks, they believe flock there.

    I do question the legitimacy of Neilsen ratings numbers, but, honestly there has been cancellations questioned, and when investigated, it turns out the ratings were correct, and the show really wasn't being watched enough to justify it being continued. And again, if you're not watching it live as it airs, but, instead watch it On Demand, torrent, streaming, after 3 days on DVR, etc, you can often avoid the commercials, and the folks paying the bills for the show want their commercials to be seen, that's what they are paying for. (Though On Demand is starting to show the commercials in the first week, with no Fast forward option, and DVRs also are starting to prevent you from skipping the commercials)
     
  16. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

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    I use to question the Nielsen ratings as well, but realized there had been studies (pre-internet, God I'm old) that showed they were pretty accurate on what people were watching.

    People like for the things their involved with to be popular (I know I do). But the fact is, science fiction has rarely drawn well in the ratings. When you factor in that it usually costs a lot more to make than a sitcom, drama or reality show it doesn't make economic sense for content providers to produce it.
     
  17. Hober Mallow

    Hober Mallow Commodore Commodore

    Because you don't personally know anyone who watches shows which get good ratings means the ratings system is flawed? I'm not trying to be douche, but do you have any idea how statistics work? Because you don't know people who watch those shows proves absolutely nothing about the Neilson system.
     
  18. David.Blue

    David.Blue Commander Red Shirt

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    I actually used to work for Nielsen (would still were it not for the economic downturn--they are very good employers) and can tell you they take their market research extremely seriously. Constantly re-examining methods, tinkering with quality control, etc.

    Frankly, you look around at the current world of mass media, seems to me television can still sustain a Star Trek, given that the basic special effects needed have become cheaper. Like anything, it requires good stories and fascinating characters, while not going crazy on the budget. Me, I see one extremely valuable element in ST there's no getting around--automatic recognition. Means in terms of publicity you get a lot more bang for your buck. The success of Abrams' films have raised awareness of the franchise, quite possibly whet the appetite for more.
     
  19. T'Girl

    T'Girl Vice Admiral Admiral

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    While the publicity can't hurt, the sad fact is people who will go see the occasional sci-fi action flick in the theaters, won't necessarily sit in their homes and consistently watch a weekly space opera.


    :devil:
     
  20. David.Blue

    David.Blue Commander Red Shirt

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    Not necessary. You don't need the same people to watch the t.v. show as see the movies. Some, yeah. But movies and t.v. are different audiences, and even in the crossover between the two different media carry with them different expectations. Some fans of James Bond also liked Alias, fore example. Likewise those who enjoy the movies will include lots who'd like to watch a good t.v. show.