Does anyone think there's a possibility for another TV show? I know ENT was the last and it didn't fare well enough to make it to a fifth season, but I'm wondering if anyone thinks there's a chance there will be another. I'd really like to see one that's placed even further into the future.
Well, there are a lot of factors. First, we'll have to see how the JJ reboot of the franchise goes. If it goes well, I would bet that we'd eventually see a TV series, though it will probably be at least seven years to a decade down the line (IMO). The next question becomes, what kind of TV series - Prime Universe or JJVerse? Then, finally, where to place it in the universe chosen. Do we follow the adventures of Pine/Kirk's successors on the Enterprise in the JJVerse, or do we get the Enterprise-N in the Prime Universe? Or, something else entirely? (The adventures of the USS Yorktown during the timeframe of JJVerse Trek?) I am not sure, though, that I want a new TV show. SciFi doesn't seem to be doing all that well on TV these days, and I think that if I did see anything, I would want a very serious reboot with major changes (and nothing that vague resembled the JJVerse). No connection to established continuity... just the bare-bones universe, the concept of a wagon-train to the stars, and complete creative freedom for whoever takes the franchise and runs with it. Rob+
I hate to break this to you, but CBS has no desire whatsoever to produce another Star Trek television series. I doubt we'll ever see another one. However, if Hollywood's current creative slump is any indication, who knows? I mean, they made a new Hawaii-5-0 for crying out loud. What's next, a new Barnaby Jones? The problem now is that television producers can make 20 reality shows for the same price as one Trek show would cost, and get better returns to boot, because there's far more of an audience for reality TV than there is for sci-fi TV. And Father Rob is correct. The recent crop of sci-fi shows were utter garbage, IMHO. I have no high hopes that a Trek show, if produced right now, would fare any better.
While I have not seen Falling Skies (which I hear is very good), the only recent SciFi television I have cared for is the rebooted V and the rebooted Battlestar Galactica. Since SyFy is an NBC connection, I don't see a new Trek series there, which is the only place one could hope to see the kind of funding needed to pull Trek off correctly. If SyFy got a series, it would last 3 years, tops. I also do not see the film franchise surviving the JJ arrival. I think we get three or four movies out of him, and movie Trek gets laid to rest in all but the minds of us fans out here in the ether. I think that CBS would have to see some kind of major benefit potential before it brought Trek back on-screen in a live-action format TV show. I do think they'll try at some point, but on network television it is doomed to fail, and if it goes onto Showtime (I think that's CBS's premium network connection) I doubt enough of the fanbase will watch to keep it afloat. (Also note, to make it on Showtime, you'd have to add some *ahem* visual benefits *ahem* that you don't get on regular TV... and I think that would probably kill the family appeal that much of Trek had in the 60's and 80's.) A happy medium would be an annual Star Trek mini-series. (Yea, remember the Mini-Series? It was all the rage back in the 80's!) But, again, is the fanbase broad enough to invest the money in that? I just don't know. I do know this... the current fanbase is aging, and the kind of engagement you got in the late 60's through early 80's from fans is somewhat lacking. Back in those days, fans felt they owned Trek, and new fans could get right in on the ground floor. Today, there is a wider variety of cult programming to engage in, and Trek is not on the forefront of it anymore. Unless Trek can regain a similar position in cult fandom, I see little hope of a major Star Trek revival. Rob+
While I share your interest in nuBSG, I have to say that I thought nuV was an absolute disaster (and I am a fan of both shows' original versions). And these days I'd rather steer clear of SyFy for any actually intelligent science fiction. If SyFy got Trek, and it lasted three years, it would be the worst three years of Trek ever.
What??? Maneating Nuclear Hurricane Monster VIII: Antartic Slaughter wasn't your cup of tea? Shocker. I agree, I don't think SyFy has the guts to make Trek the way it needs to be made. Which is why I doubt it would last three seasons. However, they are the only network that could possibly get the money together. As for NuV I found it very appealing, in a different way than the original V, which I also find appealing. In a way, I am disappointed by the ending, though, on the flipside, I do like my science fiction ending with the annhilation of the human race from time to time. Rob+
I definitely think there will be another Star Trek series, but it could be a long time from now. Possibly long enough where there's a whole generation of viewers who never experienced new episodes of Trek on a weekly basis maybe. What might be more immediate could be an animated Trek series (either traditional or CGI) that might exist in its own continuity and be aimed at a younger demographic with the intent of expanding the Star Trek brand in that area, IMO.
I also believe that Star Trek will return to its television roots with a new show Many of the Trek movies are very good..but I am personally often missing a weekly series. Television without Trek-show seems wrong somehow Maybe some sort of mini-series could be a good idea?
1. Yes, it's possible. 2. But the fact that CBS owns the TV rights makes it unlikely. CBS has lots of more likely ways to make money in the future, such as more cop shows and still more cop shows. 3. However, Showtime is part of the CBS family and there's the outside chance that the success of Game of Thrones on HBO might inspire Showtime to try attracting new subscribers with the same strategy: adapt a high-profile franchise with a large, loyal fanbase. 4. Or, CBS might adopt the same approach as The Clone Wars and create a low-cost animated Star Trek series for The Cartoon Network. It's already a success. But what succeeds in movies is very different from what succeeds on TV, and CBS is not Paramount. The movie success might make TV a bit more likely, but not very much more. Like space opera, the mini-series format has almost entirely vanished from TV - and for the same fundamental reason, the economics are against it.
Since Showtime is part of CBS, they might be miffed at CBS handing Trek off to the competition, but ya never know...
It's possible Star Trek will have a TV series sometime after Abrams is done with the franchise, but unlikely beforehand. And Falling Skies has been alright so far. I wouldn't call it very good yet, just merely good (need to get to the fourth episode, though) but I'd be satisfied with a Star Trek show of this caliber.
Re: the relative success of JJTrek. Yes, the movie made a boatload of money, but it also made the schism in fandom wider than ever, and a lot of the money it made was on the curiosity factor. The next film will be the true test, since it's now a known quantity, and it'll live or die on how many folks it can lure back for more of the same.
The "schism in fandom" is too minor, with far too few people involved, to translate into any kind of money Paramount or CBS is likely to be paying attention to. The next movie will live or die on the same basis as the last, and also the same basis as any movie in its category (mass-appeal popcorn flick): is it a fun, rollicking adventure worth ten or twelve bucks?
The completist in me does... but the Trekkie in me rejects it. I am all for a Star Trek reboot. But this isn't what I want. Of course, I can't fund my on Star Trek reboot, so what I want is of little importance. So, explosions, underwear shots, and lens flares rule the day... and Star Trek becomes more the superhero flick and less the culturually relavent and challenging SciFi that attacted so many fans in the late 1960's and into the 70's. Meh. I'll be there for the next Trek film... but it's not the direction I had hoped for with Trek. Good Trek, I think, is a TV serial.... not a Big Screen Wonder. Again, IMO. Rob+
And THAT is the problem. Too many fans who recognize crap when they see it can still be counted on to show up and plunk down their cash for more crap. There's no incentive for the studio to do something with even a modicum of intelligence, and all the reason in the world to play to the lowest common denominator. Who's ready for a full-on, on-screen, fully nude sex scene in Star Trek? If the movies keep on this path, it's coming.
Nope, not gonna happen. Summer blockbusters need to keep PG/PG-13 ratings to draw in the crowd. Once you go R it gets much harder to attract as many people. Think about all the other big summer popcorn flicks. None of them have nudity since they don't want an R rating.
Remember that lowest common denominator bit you just wrote? For more or less this reason, there will never be a Star Trek movie rated 'R.' Paramount isn't about to limit their audience by keeping out everyone under 17 who can't drag their parents to the movie. That's a big portion of the audience. For different reasons, we'll also never see another Star Trek film rated 'G.' That carries the stigma of being a children's film, and films that are aimed at adults are rarely even rated 'PG' these days. Of course, you're also exaggerating the "schism in fandom" to the nth degree. It's so minor that it probably isn't a factor at all when it comes to Paramount's plans for the franchise these days.