Alex Kurtzman Gets New Deal With CBS, Will Expand 'Star Trek' TV

[Nerys Myk]

I'm not going to get into a fruitless philosophical debate, but that kind of corporate fealty comes across as, at least, reductive and simplistic, especially considering a pop culture entity that was kept alive only by fans during the 1970s, and considering Kurtzman has no ties to the original tree or its branches. (whereas Berman, Piller, Behr, Moore all knew and worked with Roddenberry.)* I mean, let's say a Russian mining consortium bought Lucasfilm and turned Star Wars films into state propaganda for Putin - at a certain point, that would stop being Star Wars, despite legal claims of ownership.

*I'm not claiming Roddenberry is the be all & end all of Star Trek, but to continue the Star Wars comparison - Disney Lucasfilm is run by and has employed close associates of George Lucas (Kennedy, Kasdan, Howard) - whereas with B. Fuller long gone, Kurtzman Trek is currently disconnected from the primary tree of life (sorry, Nero & Keenser don't have essential dogmatic status just yet) and thereby has to earn its Trek status in the minds of devotees- it doesn't get that automatically by the royal decree of Moonves.

I probably could write another draft of this, but oh well.

I have no fealty to CBS, so let's cut that BS out and the "toeing the corporate line" BS as well. That's just trying to play word games. I was a fan in the 70's and yeah we helped keep it alive. But so did the toys, comics and reruns. All made possible by Star Treks owners. So spare me the lone hero fighting the evil corporation line.

If some corporation, be it Russian, American or Ugandan, buys Star Trek or Star Wars and puts out an inferior product or one with a negative message I'll stop watching. But they will still own the thing and they will be Star Trek or Star Wars. It[s about the product not who owns it . Now if they start using child labor to make the show, then I'll have a problem with the owners.

I don't care about connections to some "tree of life". I want a good show. If that means someone who's never heard of Roddenberry, Star Trek or science fiction can produce a story I like, then more power to them. That's pretty much what happened when Bennett and Meyer created TWOK.

 

[Jinn]

Debatable. Hehoha. I just have an "issue" with the weird notion of corporate loyalty some fans seem to possess, especially with properties nigh-wholly divorced from original architects or even apprentices of original architects.

In most non-Trek discussions I'm involved in I usually get called a leftist SJW communist so it's pretty funny to be accused of corporate loyalty for once

My claiming DSC to be canon based on the people in charge saying it has nothing to do with loyalty to CBS. Canon is what the owner decrees it is. That's all. If CBS says that Discovery is good, I won't mindlessly say that it's good. If CBS says that the Lorca reveal was good I won't mindlessly say that it was good. Same can be applied to pretty much every other thing CBS could ever say.

That none of the original creators are involved has really nothing to do with anything. Or would it be better if the show was exactly the way it was but more familiar names would show up in the credits? Would that change your opinion on what CBS says?

Also, I second what @Nerys Myk said. He just said it was better than I

 

[Hythlodeus]

Now if they start using child labor to make the show, then I'll have a problem with the owners.

child actors are part of Star Trek since the TOS days

 

[Groppler Zorn]

you really can't make an argument the TNG movies like "Nemesis" are "so old" that they "need" a visual upgrade

And yet some on here have argued that TNG and its movies have dated terribly. I don’t think they have really (ok some of the s1 stuff is a bit cringe now but overall I think tng has held up pretty well - especially FC).

then DIS will probably simply go down as an anomaly in the Trek franchise - like TAS, which stories definitely count, is a genuine Trek show, but where not every single little technical detail has to be treated as first class canon

Now there’s a thought. I never thought of DSC as being in the same league as TAS. That actually makes a whole lot of sense to me. However (see below)

Will it even be the original Picard?

The fact that DSC has taken the approach of “little details don’t matter” makes me worry about the Picard idea. Will they respect the character, or will Picard end up like Kirk, largely played out at this point. I mean, that’s why they rebooted Kirk in 09 - what else was left to do with the character? I wonder what else they could do with Picard without changing elements of his history, or the future world he presently inhabits. Maybe Worf knows someone who ate the heart and flesh (because Klingons do that, we’ve seen it in DSC - it was never hyperbole on tng and DS9 they literally ate the hearts of their enemies like Dothraki) of one of Picard’s old classmates during the Klingon war in DS9 so Picard goes to hunt him down?

 

[fireproof78]

Anyone to change their views based on what I think. Watch the show, and make up your own mind. But, don't let CBS tell you what it is.

CBS has never told me what to think.

That's pretty much what happened when Bennett and Meyer created TWOK.

Yes, speaking of lack of connections to the Star Trek "tree." Why isn't Meyer kicked out on his head (metaphorically speaking) for a being an outsider? The man had no connection, no familiarity with Star Trek, and is a self-admitted non fan as far as the franchise goes. If Kurtzman and DSC is kicked out on that basis, then Meyer and TWOK need to go with him.

 

[DaveyNY]

I was in high school... but I had friends who had friends who were 21. And, as cooleddie74 said, we did take shots of tequila. I wasn't afraid of getting arrested for underage drinking and driving. I thought the world was going to end anyway. "Might as well live now or I never will."

It was a different time.

I was into my 20's by the time the Drinking Age was upped to 21 here in NY.
(but I was already working on pickling my liver when I was 16)
By the time I hit 20, I was heavily into a lifestyle that decidedly needed a clear head to survive.
(think "50 Shades of Grey" x 100)
So I gave up trying to get to the 'worm' every night after work and instead tried to get tied and/or laid.

 

[thribs]

The teen orientated one sounds like that joke in the 200th episode of Stargate about a teen SG-1. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was like that.

 

[Uncle_Lou]

In most non-Trek discussions I'm involved in I usually get called a leftist SJW communist...

Hi there.

On topic: Kurtzman should be relegated to that 'CW' channel, teen/angsty stuff that's completely vapid and void of any real content. Maybe do a few action figure commercials for Hasbro and Mattel, essentially what he's been doing for years anyhow.
This guy, as well as his former partner Orci, are this generations's Bay & Devlin. (shudder)

 

[CorporalClegg]

That's reductive. And not remotely accurate.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Hi there.

On topic: Kurtzman should be relegated to that 'CW' channel, teen/angsty stuff that's completely vapid and void of any real content. Maybe do a few action figure commercials for Hasbro and Mattel, essentially what he's been doing for years anyhow.
This guy, as well as his former partner Orci, are this generations's Bay & Devlin. (shudder)

Nah, he's done stuff I really liked: Fringe, Sleepy Hollow and Alias.
They can't all be winners.

 

[Uncle_Lou]

Nah, he's done stuff I really liked: Fringe, Sleepy Hallow and Alias.
They can't all be winners.

I'm glad you enjoy his stuff. Fandom is a good thing and certainly subjective.

As for me, I'm simply not a fan. Mainly B-grade scripts/writing fueled by countless millions of dollars. I keep waiting for a drunken, barely coherent Cameron Mitchell to pop up in half of these flicks. He'd have got on well with Menahem Golan, I bet.

 

[Tuskin38]

Cameron Mitchell

The Stargate character?

 

[Nerys Myk]

The Stargate character?

The actor

 

[Nerys Myk]

I'm glad you enjoy his stuff. Fandom is a good thing and certainly subjective.

As for me, I'm simply not a fan. Mainly B-grade scripts/writing fueled by countless millions of dollars. I keep waiting for a drunken, barely coherent Cameron Mitchell to pop up in half of these flicks. He'd have got on well with Menahem Golan, I bet.

You didn't like Fringe??
He seems to be someone who delivers the product the buyers want, especially in film. I can't say I love his big screen work outside of Star Trek. One Transformers was enough for me. (actually too much)
His work on the small screen is more varied. He might be better suited there. None of which fall in the "CW teen drama" category. I don't even think the CW's output falls in that anymore.

 

[Uncle_Lou]

The Stargate character?

YouTube 'Best of Cameron Mitchell'. I Don't think it's something I'd be allowed to post here. Check out Mr. Mitchell at his 'finest'.
Did you know that his ghost will be starring in the next Kurtzman project? It's true. He'll be playing a gruff-but-lovable space captain in a CGI-animated world of explosions, quick cuts, giant robots, and inane dialogue. And Tom Cruise will be there. And some Millennials that look like they just stepped out of a molding machine.

 

[Nerys Myk]

People embed youtube videos here all the time.

 

[Uncle_Lou]

People embed youtube videos here all the time.

I understand, but in this particular case the video contains several clips from 70s/80s exploitation flicks, accompanied by the obligatory filthy language, graphic violence, pornography, etc.

Regarding 'Fringe', I'm aware of it. The Sci-Fi channel had something in a similar vein in recent years, as I recall....most of my friends/fam didn't have many good things to say about either, so I skipped out.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Fringe is great. No idea what the show on Syfy might be.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Regarding 'Fringe', I'm aware of it. The Sci-Fi channel had something in a similar vein in recent years, as I recall....most of my friends/fam didn't have many good things to say about either, so I skipped out.

 

[cooleddie74]

In most non-Trek discussions I'm involved in I usually get called a leftist SJW communist so it's pretty funny to be accused of corporate loyalty for once

The correct term is Full Luxury Gay Space Communism.