'Star Trek: Discovery' will be the worst series.

[{ Emilia }]

But I get the distinct feeling he's going to push the cast balance to a point where it just doesn't make any sense compared to the other series. It's important to maintain a balance.

Counting all main cast members in the five previous Trek shows you end up with around 30 male characters in 10 female characters.

So I think it can't be about "maintaining" a balance. There never was one.

I think for the show to make sense and not look ridiculous in these times, it would make sense to actually finally create a balance. Or if an exact 1:1 ratio feels too forced, just make the cast predominantly female. To show that the predominantly male crews in the other shows were a coincidence and that a predominantly female crew would be just as likely.
But hey: I don't see why 1:1 (or close to it) shouldn't work anyway.

After five shows with a predominantly male cast it'd be rather absurd to go for that again. The world isn't predominantly male. Nor is it predominantly Caucasian.

Just create interesting characters, and to most people interesting also means some diversity because it reflects the actual real world. Caucasian men are a minority on this planet so I'd find it bizarre to end up with having the majority of the cast being Caucasian or even male again.

It would just feel super-unrealistic not to have a reasonable representation. I see a diverse world when I leave the house or travel. Having future Trek societies be less diverse than the actual world we live in now would be completely absurd and I can't suspend that disbelief.

 

[BillJ]

It would just feel super-unrealistic not to have a reasonable representation.

Though I wouldn't be surprised if it is predominantly straight white men cast. Star Trek is a franchise, and they (Paramount/CBS) haven't been interested in tipping over the apple cart for thirty years. The outcry over Sulu and Beyond's sagging box office may work against diversity in the new series.

 

[Zonker]

You know I logged on to this website today intending to make a joke thread about how Discovery would be the worst series ever and complain about non existent plot holes based on a 30 second half finished trailer just to take the piss and have a laugh. But instead I opened up the forum and found that someone else made the same thread in total sincerity.

 

[Vger23]

I can't believe, almost a week later, I surf on in here and still see people counting "character types."

Y'all would make a considerable salary working for the Affirmative Action department.

 

[Vger23]

You know I logged on to this website today intending to make a joke thread about how Discovery would be the worst series ever and complain about non existent plot holes based on a 30 second half finished trailer just to take the piss and have a laugh. But instead I opened up the forum and found that someone else made the same thread in total sincerity.

And, given the types of people we are talking about here...this somehow surprises you?

 

[BillJ]

I can't believe, almost a week later, I surf on in here and still see people counting "character types."

Y'all would make a considerable salary working for the Affirmative Action department.

For a franchise with a supposedly progressive agenda, there has been very little progressive about Star Trek for a very, very long time.

 

[{ Emilia }]

Though I wouldn't be surprised if it is predominantly straight white men cast. Star Trek is a franchise, and they (Paramount/CBS) haven't been interested in tipping over the apple cart for thirty years. The outcry over Sulu and Beyond's sagging box office may work against diversity in the new series.

Many shows these days are doing a hell of a lot better in that regard than Star Trek ever did. They manage to show a somewhat realistic representation of the real world. I think Trek should aspire to do so, too.
For every bigoted jerk who doesn't want diversity in Trek you will also have people like me who will be insanely annoyed if representation is again completely unrealistic. I know it'll be a huge downer to me if they go for a sixth Trek show with a predominantly male cast.

I don't think they'll have to shy away from diversity. At least on the gender diversity front many shows these days are much closer to realistic representation and their ratings are just fine.

Your attitude there is a bit self-defeating. You're repeating an old meme that doesn't really hold much truth anymore. At least when it comes to gender representation many shows (like OITNB) have shown that audiences are fine with not having white men in every role.
And Trek surely doesn't need as extreme as OITNB in that regard.

It'd just be nice to finally get some balance.

 

[BillJ]

Your attitude there is self-defeating.

What attitude? It is a simple analysis of the situation I have watched for the last forty-plus years.

 

[Vger23]

That's not even my IMDB. xD. This is me.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm6391644/

No. I don't have experience in this, but I am a good writer, and if given the chance I'd prove it.

No shortage of self confidence, huh?

 

[{ Emilia }]

What attitude? It is a simple analysis of the situation I have watched for the last forty-plus years.

The attitude that shit only sells if it caters to white men alone. It's not the case anymore and maybe never has been. Hollywood understands that these days. They have realized that better representation actually broadens the appeal it has to a more and more diverse audience.
It's not like white men will just stop watching Trek. White men are a minority in both the US and the world so I don't think casting white men in a majority of the new Trek show roles makes any sense.
Neither from a conceptual point of view, nor from a financial point of view.
Women are 50% of the world and potentially 50% of the audience.

 

[Zonker]

And, given the types of people we are talking about here...this somehow surprises you?

No not at all. I've been dealing with these same sort of fans over on facebook and it was supposed to be a mockery of this sort of behavior but I guess trekkies are trekkies no matter where you run into them.

 

[Mudd]

Is a "set production assistant" qualified to EP a show in a high profile franchise like Trek? I don't know, educate me.

It's equivalent to doing a search on IMDB for the surname "Bruno" and posting a link.

No. I don't have experience in this, but I am a good writer, and if given the chance I'd prove it.

Meh...you're given the chance every time you post. So far...uh-uh.

 

[Vger23]

For a franchise with a supposedly progressive agenda, there has been very little progressive about Star Trek for a very, very long time.

I just can't believe, with everything going on in Star Trek right now, that THIS is going to be our main focus.

 

[BillJ]

The attitude that shit only sells if it caters to white men alone. It's complete nonsense. Hollywood understands that these days. They have realized that better representation actually broadens the appeal it has to a more and more diverse audience.
It's not like white men will just stop watching Trek.

Seventy-seven percent of the US is white. That isn't my fault.

I hope Fuller has enough "oomph" to remake Trek to match its supposed progressive image. But we'll have to wait and see.

 

[BillJ]

I just can't believe, with everything going on in Star Trek right now, that THIS is going to be our main focus.

Why shouldn't it be our main focus? There is seven hundred episodes of Star Trek, it needs to change, to reflect a changing world.

 

[Mudd]

Though I wouldn't be surprised if it is predominantly straight white men cast. Star Trek is a franchise, and they (Paramount/CBS) haven't been interested in tipping over the apple cart for thirty years. The outcry over Sulu and Beyond's sagging box office may work against diversity in the new series.

I think there's some truth to that where big-budget commercial films are concerned, but I don't think it's been particularly true on television for a while.

 

[{ Emilia }]

Seventy-seven percent of the US is white. That isn't my fault.

This is getting really tedious, @BillJ. You're just completely ignoring what I said.

I was talking about realistic representation and white MEN are a minority in the US.
Whites are still a huge group but... half of them is female, you know?

I was talking about gender representation, not just racial diversity.

That's what I meant when I said having a SIXTH series with a predominantly male cast would be more than a little absurd.

 

[Vger23]

Why shouldn't it be our main focus? There is seven hundred episodes of Star Trek, it needs to change, to reflect a changing world.

I don't know. I guess I just care about different stuff when it comes to television series I watch. I'd rather care about the stories and settings and character relationships primarily. Not really too concerned about the progressive message. Is it a part of it? I suppose...but it's certainly not my primary (or even secondary) area of interest. I don't need TV to help me think about who I am and what I value. I get enough of that every day as real life happens all around me.

 

[BillJ]

This is getting really tedious, @BillJ. You're just completely ignoring what I said.

I was talking about realistic representation and white MEN are a minority in the US. So they shouldn't be the majority of the cast. In case you never noticed, 50% of whites in the US are female.
I was talking about gender representation, not just racial diversity.

That's what I meant when I said having a SIXTH series with a predominantly male cast would be more than a little absurd.

Jesus, you're so bent on being combative that you don't realize that I agree with you. The series should be diverse, I want it to be diverse. Does that mean it is going to happen? I don't know? Which is why I said:

I hope Fuller has enough "oomph" to remake Trek to match its supposed progressive image. But we'll have to wait and see.

CBS as a network, makes its money selling to old white folks. CBS is producing the new Trek. CBS had been conservative with Trek, like Paramount before it. Will CBS conservative value effect Trek? Who knows? Will the backlash over Sulu and Beyond's soft box office affect CBS' thinking? Who knows?

 

[Kor]

If racial diversity is still under discussion, then I would like better representation of multi-racial people, speaking as one myself. In areas that have different races in their populations, bi-racial or multi-racial people have become more and more common in recent generations. And presumably, as humanity becomes even more of a melting pot and borders break down further as time goes on, there should be even more in three hundred years. There have been prominent characters that are half human and half alien, but human backgrounds always seem to be quite monolithic.

Kor