New TAS?

Well, an official live action version is probably impossible, but in the current age of fan films, ya never know. In fact, I've been planning on adapting my SNW submission about the maiden flight of the Enterprise into script form, probably for James Cawley's production team to take on.

 

That would be interesting.

 

I notice there are a lot of talented 3d artist online that have re-created TOS using 3d software. Why not have a new animated series in 3d featuring the original crew. Here are a few images I found online unfortunately I do not know the artist names.

 

See, as nice as they are it doesn't work for me. They look like dolls and the ship looks like a model kit.

 

I wouldn't mind seeing a new animated series or film, particularly something like Jimmy Diggs' proposed Star Trek: The Lions of the Night featuring the Kzinti. Here's some of the promo art.

 

I'd love to see the Kzinti again. Unfortunately I don't think CBS will be willing to pay Larry Niven a penny, so in the unlikely event that "Lions of the Night" ever happens prepare to meet the M'Dok, Kythari or Mirak (all faux-Kzinti from novels and videogames over the years)

 

I'd like to see a new animated series, just not 3D animation like the new Clone Wars, but classic animation like the old Clone Wars shorts (what I would give to have Genndy Tartakovsky animate/produce a new TAS). It doesn't have to be a children's series, it can be more mature and still air on channels like Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon. Look at Justice League Unlimited and Dragon Ball Z. Prime-time network animation has only been successful with comedy unfortunately.

 

Since realistic human characters would cost more than CBS is willing to spend, I think I'd actually prefer something that looked like conventional animation, however it's actually executed.

 

What if it was done nearly right?

 

Depends on what they screw up.

 

Well, that's why I put "right" in quotation marks, because what constitutes the "right" way to do something is a matter of subjective opinion. In any incarnation of trek, there is always going to be some nitpicking about certain things, so I think it goes without saying that "nearly right" would be acceptable to most of us?

 

animted TV series

SG-17 has hit on a very important point. It was brought up in these 3 new animation series threads on Future of Trek why animation shows are mostly geared for kids and 30 minutes (22 minutes of screentime) length show and parental TV ratings of Y7 to PG.
With the exception of Cartoon Network's comedy cartoons for adults in primetime and up until 1AM cartoons/animated series are for children in story, pacing, characters, programmed TV times and Trek just won't work on American television as a cartoon unless it was aimed at children.

It has also been discussed on Future of Trek why a new direct-to-DVD Trek animated wouldn't be good for the Star Trek brand.

 

The real barrier is misguided perception. Many people see animation and simply assume it is something less serious aimed strictly at children. They can often perceive comics the same way even though adults buy the vast majority of comics for the longest time time now. But animation is just another tool, another form of visual media. The DCAU straight-to-dvd films are a good example of animation that can target a broad audience, very much like TOS and even TAS did initially. You don't have to have coarse adult language and gratuitous violence nudity and sex to craft a good story that both youth and adults can appreciate. And you can also deal with serious and even edgy ideas.

I recall a scene in Superman: Doomsday I believe where we see Lexx Luthor shoot his female assistant dead in silhouette--pretty edgy for an animated film meant for broad appeal.

And just visit the SF & Fantasy forum to see how widely those DCAU films are embraced and enjoyed by adults. The '90s Batman TAS hit pretty much the perfect tone (particularly the first season) for how a Star Trek animated project could be done. The recent Star Wars: The Clone Wars is another fair example.

It isn't that it can't be done. It's TPTB can't seem to get past their own biased perceptions. If it were done and the right venue found to carry it then it would find an audience.

The other nice thing is that such a series or series of straight-to-dvd films can be accepted much like published novels and comics in that they don't have to fit into established continuity. The animated DC films may have cross pollination of ideas and elements from comics and live-action films, but no one really expects them to be all of the same continuity. It can simply be a Pike era story or a TOS Kirk era story or a post TMP or TNG story or whatever and we could enjoy it as is.

 

^

I don't think that's entirely true, Warped9... I mean as shitty examples as these are, I would point out "shows" like Family Guy and South Park as cartoons meant for an older audience. Never mind that that these "shows" are pure crap, the fact remains that because of the nature of their content, they are geared for a more adult audience. King of the Hill is a cartoon that is a far better example of something that can be enjoyed by both young and old alike, and both age groups will be able to "get" a lot of the humor in King of the Hill. So cartoons need not be associated only with silly kid stuff... at least not this day in age.

And, IIRC, weren't the Flintstones, Jetsons, and the Simpsons originally targeted for an adult audience, as the first primetime cartoons?

And I think these days, a lot more older people are collecting/buying comics and graphic novels than young kids.

 

You're actually supporting my basic point. Animation has been proven it can appeal to adults and yet there's a large swath of people within and without of the industry that have this bias that it's just for kids.

You look at the Adam West Batman in its day and I'm sure there were a lot of people who couldn't see Batman done live-action any other way...until the 1989 Michael Keaton Batman and then later even more so Batman Begins. And candidly before Nolan's recent Batman films I think the '90s Batman TAS was the best Batman has ever been done in the visual media outside of comics.

I wonder if people look at Star Trek TAS and think well that's what Trek would be like as animation. It's shortsighted, but it makes you wonder.

I can easily see a new TAS Star Trek and I'm reasonably sure it would be a lot more affordable than live-action feature films or new live-action TV series. If it were something I liked I'd like to see it happen because frankly I haven't liked what we've gotten live-action for a very long time.

 

Same here. Although, as much as I'd love to see a TOS-era animated series (or ANYTHING), you just know that it would be done by people who are ignorant of TOS. And then you'd have stupid anachronisms like warp cores, PADDs, and touchscreens. And probably bumpy-headed Klingons, too.

 

Aye, all quite true. I would love to see a new Trek animated series done by the same guys who did the WB animated Batman or Batman Beyond.

 

Don't forget the Lyrans from the 3D space battle simulation PC game "Star Trek: Starfleet Command" by Interplay circa July 1999.


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I've just watched the new Batman: Under The Red Hood and it hits pretty much exactly the right tone for how new animated Trek could be done.

 

I actually like these examples. Surely if the stories are engaging enough you can look past any shortcomings in the animation. To be fair, as beautiful as the TOS Enterprise was, it was in fact a physical model (a 3 foot one and an 11 foot one), not that there is anything wrong with that.

Case in point, you cannot convince me that the AMT Enterprise model kit used in the Season 2 episode "The Doomsday Machine" to represent the damaged USS Constellation did not look like a model, yet that is one of my favorite episodes.


Navigator NCC-2120 USS Entente
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