Is it time to retire TOS?

[RAMA]

There is no doubt TOS gains a few viewers here and there but that's probably a small minority of new fans, and despite a "remastering" that went a long way to modernizing the show, I find very little interest in watching TOS these days. I had a brief resurgence of interest around the 50th anniversary, watched a few episode, and nothing since...rarely before that date either. This from a fan who probably watched TOS in the 80s as much as anyone, every airing before VHS and then rewatched them on recordings. Am I simply spent? Or does TOS just not tick off the boxes of modern interest?

Have shows like The Expanse--the best space opera ever in my opinion--and other "geeky" obsessions like the interminable and hopelessly vocal Firefly fan support supplanted it to the point of indifference? Have "genre" shows like "Walking Dead" or "Game of Thrones", supplanted science-based shows and blurred what casual fans call "science fiction"? Are gritty shows like Daredevil, Luke Cage, Black Mirror, etc. keeping fans from discovering TOS?

Have the newly minted, modern and magnified TOS Trek films increased the sales and success of the franchise to the point that the old show no longer seems fresh? Despite loving all the JJ movies, did it take the last one, and the associated 6 hrs of new universe to finally replace the original crew in my mind's eye?

I don't know how many people stream TOS-R, and it's rarely shown anywhere else these days so should it just be relegated to those of us who want hard copies in our collection...but mostly to gather dust as an archival matter?

Was it inevitable this time would come after the incessant march of time?

RAMA (4 years younger than TOS)

 

[dahj]

It still holds more public interest than any other Star Trek production, and any other old sci-fi show and its reference footprint in other media is still quite large. TOS has already survived the test of time and cemented itself in the public consciousness.

New shows will naturally have more current viewers, but in 20 years you'll still see people dressing up as Spock, not sure anyone will remember The Expanse by then...

 

[Green Shirt]

In a word, no.

 

[Tosk]

Why would any movie or TV show need to be "retired"?

 

[The Old Mixer]

and it's rarely shown anywhere else these days

You must not get H&I...it's on 6 nights a week...as are all of the other Trek shows, but TOS and TNG have much more prominent slots (6 and 7 p.m. weekdays), whereas DS9, VGR, and ENT are relegated to the 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. weekday slots.

 

[2takesfrakes]

Just because something's old, it doesn't mean you throw it away.

 

[johnnybear]

I don't see why us long term fans should stop watching it or raving about it! It's still the best of the Trek series for me! There are other shows like The Walking Dead yes, but although I am a fan of that one I'd say it's more a horror series than a contender to TOS! My children won't watch Trek as they say all the old stuff is boring so yes there is a resistance to the series but when they're older I'm sure they'll give it a whirl!
JB

 

[Paradise City]

Could you imagine if this entire board chimed in on this thread and said "yeah, lets *retire* TOS"?

What's "retire" even supposed to mean in context here? What a bizzare OP.

 

[The Old Mixer]

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[RAMA]

Could you imagine if this entire board chimed in on this thread and said "yeah, lets *retire* TOS"?

What's "retire" even supposed to mean in context here? What a bizzare OP.

That's covered in the body of the post...

To others: No, I don't get Heroes and Icons, and I forgot that it started siring there this year, but i doubt the viewership there is significant. I think STNG gets a lot more viewership on BBC America where it holds an apparently high position, being aired there almost every time I check the channel (I don't have cable, I stream it).

I am aware Netflix and Hulu both have great success with ALL the Trek shows, and they often appear to be trending or "popular" there. What percentage watch TOS-R I have no idea, as Netflix does not reveal such numbers.

RAMA

 

[Paradise City]

That's covered in the body of the post...

To others: No, I don't get Heroes and Icons, and I forgot that it started siring there this year, but i doubt the viewership there is significant. I think STNG gets a lot more viewership on BBC America where it holds an apparently high position, being aired there almost every time I check the channel (I don't have cable, I stream it).

I am aware Netflix and Hulu both have great success with ALL the Trek shows, and they often appear to be trending or "popular" there. What percentage watch TOS-R I have no idea, as Netflix does not reveal such numbers.

RAMA

TOS finished in the late 60s dude.

 

[dahj]

What percentage watch TOS-R I have no idea, as Netflix does not reveal such numbers.

Does that matter?
TOS is a cornerstone of SF TV, whenever some hypothetical new person gets into SF, eventually they're bound to stumble upon TOS.

Besides, Discovery being set in the roughly same time period will probably cause a minor spike in interest.

 

[RAMA]

TOS finished in the late 60s dude.

Exactly

 

[RAMA]

Not as much as it used to be. I've noticed a lot of newer "genre" fans online (yes and younger people) who either don't have Star Trek as part of their geekdom anymore (I mean that used to be standard) or simply think TOS is too old to include it with the rest of the shows. I've seen this feeling ion Twitter especially.

RAMA

Does that matter?
TOS is a cornerstone of SF TV, whenever some hypothetical new person gets into SF, eventually they're bound to stumble upon TOS.

Besides, Discovery being set in the roughly same time period will probably cause a minor spike in interest.

 

[urbandefault]

There is no doubt TOS gains a few viewers here and there but that's probably a small minority of new fans, and despite a "remastering" that went a long way to modernizing the show, I find very little interest in watching TOS these days. I had a brief resurgence of interest around the 50th anniversary, watched a few episode, and nothing since...rarely before that date either. This from a fan who probably watched TOS in the 80s as much as anyone, every airing before VHS and then rewatched them on recordings. Am I simply spent? Or does TOS just not tick off the boxes of modern interest?

Have shows like The Expanse--the best space opera ever in my opinion--and other "geeky" obsessions like the interminable and hopelessly vocal Firefly fan support supplanted it to the point of indifference? Have "genre" shows like "Walking Dead" or "Game of Thrones", supplanted science-based shows and blurred what casual fans call "science fiction"? Are gritty shows like Daredevil, Luke Cage, Black Mirror, etc. keeping fans from discovering TOS?

Have the newly minted, modern and magnified TOS Trek films increased the sales and success of the franchise to the point that the old show no longer seems fresh? Despite loving all the JJ movies, did it take the last one, and the associated 6 hrs of new universe to finally replace the original crew in my mind's eye?

I don't know how many people stream TOS-R, and it's rarely shown anywhere else these days so should it just be relegated to those of us who want hard copies in our collection...but mostly to gather dust as an archival matter?

Was it inevitable this time would come after the incessant march of time?

RAMA (4 years younger than TOS)

 

[The Old Mixer]

but i doubt the viewership there is significant

Significant enough for a young cable network to base its prime-time lineup six nights a week around. Weigel Broadcasting (which also owns retro channels Me-TV and Decades) has rights to a crapload of classic shows...if Trek wasn't a draw, they'd be airing something else in those slots.

(On that note, TOS has also been a staple of Me's Super Sci-Fi Saturday Night lineup for years.)

But I think you're just seeing what you want to see here. The way you "retire" TOS is to stop watching it yourself. No need to impose that on everyone else.

If I'm understanding your argument right...you're saying that they should stop showing TOS, and using the perception that nobody is showing TOS as evidence that they should stop showing it?

 

[John Clark]

Obviously, certain channels still think it brings in enough watchers (In the UK, it looks like it's on five days a week on CBS Action.) so I don't think it's time to retire it.

For myself, I have the discs so I can catch up anytime I'm in the mood.

 

[dahj]

Not as much as it used to be. I've noticed a lot of newer "genre" fans online (yes and younger people) who either don't have Star Trek as part of their geekdom anymore (I mean that used to be standard) or simply think TOS is too old to include it with the rest of the shows. I've seen this feeling ion Twitter especially.

I'm not a twitter person, but from what I've seen people mostly talk about current and trending stuff there, and those conversations shouldn't be taken as evidence of staying power.

As for being "too old", TOS was "too old" when I was a kid (and that was quite a long time ago), back when being a geek was not considered particularly cool and the only way to watch it was on TV in odd hours.
If it survived that, it will certainly survive these peak geek times where there's so many opportunities to watch it from dvd's, blurays, streaming, and the old fashioned classic TV as well.

 

[Smoked Salmon]

I don't get that OP's title thread. His opening post makes no case for a "retiring". It just asks whether or not TOS is dated.

I have to say that I watch TOS less and less. Part of that is due to age, part is due to having seen them all many times, part is simply due to the fact that it is looking dated in terms of production values, which was inevitable sooner or later. But where TOS is dated in its production and technology, many of the stories and social issues discussed are things we still face today and so it should not be "retired". For that reason alone it still has relevance.

 

[Spot261]

Funnily enough Netflix in the UK is running TOS at the moment, something they didn't do for a long time. Probably this has much to do with Beyond and DIscovery but the fact is they would pull it in short order should it be a flop.

Why would it suddenly have become time to "retire" (whatever that means) it now? People have been calling it outdated for forty years and getting it wrong as whatever happens to be the current new thing fades into obscurity but TOS carries on being iconic.