Should DSC and PIC have a run in syndication?

Discussion in 'Future of Trek' started by Ralphis, Aug 28, 2019.

  1. Nightdiamond

    Nightdiamond Commodore Commodore

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    One thing on favor of a cable run;

    There's that missing dynamic of everyone watching the same episode at the same time and talking about it the next day at the water cooler or on forum threads, like Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad. With streaming, lots of people do see it, but at different times and with different episodes.

    A small cable run may have exposed it to more fans and casual viewers and made it feel more like a community fanbase thing, instead of a tight nit fanbase. With Discovery, I'll bet not everybody knows what's going on.

    So now everything is in its own little bubble. The dynamic of everyone seeing a show and talking about it the next day is pretty much eroding.

    When Discovery has it's series finale, it's core fans will talk about it, but how many other people will know what's going on?
     
  2. Lord Garth

    Lord Garth Admiral Admiral

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    Probably not many, but I'm passed the point of caring.

    I have some family and friends who watch Discovery. I'll talk about it with them and people I know online, here and elsewhere. I don't need to go up to Tony and Frank next door and ask, "Hey! Did you see the season finale of Star Trek: Discovery?"

    This is actually the same exact view I had with DS9. Nothing's changed, except the decade and the name of the series.
     
  3. Nightdiamond

    Nightdiamond Commodore Commodore

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    I'm kind of with you on that one, I watched the first season, but pretty much passed on the second. I have little idea of what's going on the show, unless I google it.

    The funny thing is I'm still somewhat interested in it.

    If it were on cable, in some form, I could at least catch up on it and it might get interested in it again. That's why I think a run on cable might be a good idea.
     
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  4. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I can see that but people's viewing habits have changed.
     
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  5. Nightdiamond

    Nightdiamond Commodore Commodore

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    Definitely understand - there's no way I would want to give up binge watching or watching an episode whenever I want.

    I really have no idea what's going on with Discovery right now. It's not just because it's on a streaming service, but it's a combination of a lack of enthusiasm and it being on a streaming service only that's the reason.

    There's no sense of a "must see TV" urge to keep up with show. So the hard core fans who like the show and have CBS All Access know what's going on, but everyone else doesn't. It's all happening in a bubble.

    I have a theory that because reruns of Voyager gets aired on a couple of stations now, it got more interest. Activity on the Voyager forums page used to be near the lowest, next to Enterprise. Now it's passed DS9, and it gets the most rewatches on Netflix.

    Maybe more people got exposed to it and got more interested. If you ask me, Discovery related topics should be leaking into the other discussion forums, but because it hasn't got enough mainstream (no pun) exposure, no one really knows what's going on except hard core Discovery fans.
     
  6. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    If I'm honest I don't have that sense with any show. There is no show I feel I must see.
     
  7. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I just remembered, Discovery technically has already been on TV. They showed the first episode on CBS either right before, or right after it was posted to CBSAA. I was a little surprised they didn't do the same thing for the Season 2 premiere, but I could see where it could have been hard since it was so built off the end of Season 1.
    I'm curious if they're going to do the same thing with Picard and Lower Decks. I could at least see them showing the first one or two Picards since it's so closely tied to the series that did air on TV.
    As for whole seasons, I could maybe see them doing it years from now. But since the whole point of Star Trek on CBSAA is to get people to subscribe to it, I just can't see them showing it on TV until they have decided they've gotten everything possible out of them as a CBSAA exclusives.
    It's worth remembering that there is the Nickelodeon series coming up, so there is a slight chance we could get more new series on TV.
     
  8. Lord Garth

    Lord Garth Admiral Admiral

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    I wonder if they'll put the first episode of Picard on regular CBS?
     
  9. Nightdiamond

    Nightdiamond Commodore Commodore

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    Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad had that. It's not so much you have to rush home to watch it, but the show was so good, people did anyway. With it airing on cable, everyone watched it at the same time and knew what was going on and talked about the same episode the next day.

    Discovery is getting good numbers I've heard, but with it being on a streaming service and not exactly having that "must see" feeling, I have no idea what's going on with the show.

    I can see the pros and cons of both.

    Cable exposure gives it access to a much larger audience, both mainstream and Trek fans. But if they do, they'll then have to follow network rules, fears, prejudices and all that, so that'll mean no casual cursing, sexual scenes etc.

    With the streaming services there is a lot more freedom of expression. But like I've said there's this sense of casual fans being out of the loop, and the devoted ones viewing it in a bubble.

    When Picard premieres, I'll bet the characters will sound and act a lot differently than they did on TNG, because streaming will give them the freedom to.
     
  10. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Ah. I must have missed that.
     
  11. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I think the lack of Rick Berman will also play a pretty big part in the characters acting differently.
     
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  12. Nightdiamond

    Nightdiamond Commodore Commodore

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    Without the Networks looking too much over their shoulder, it's going to be interesting seeing Seven or Picard swearing or talking about crazy everyday things people do. Or some Risqué things like sex.

    The thing is though, it IS CBS....not Netflix. But Discovery had some pretty open minded scenes so I'll bet Picard will too.
     
  13. fireproof78

    fireproof78 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Please no.
     
  14. Lord Garth

    Lord Garth Admiral Admiral

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    Picard swore in French during the first season of TNG. So I think it's technically in-character. And he's said a "You're damned right" or two before. But dropping F-bombs? I think that's a step too far for Picard.

    There are people don't go around saying "fuck". My father is one of them. He doesn't swear. The only member of my family who doesn't.

    I have no idea about Picard's libido. He strikes me as someone who either takes it dead serious or wants nothing to do with it. He's not casually flirtatious.

    The best way CBSAA can handle this is to have characters go further where it would've been in character for them to do so. If Riker weren't married, I'd say him going after whoever and being raunchy as all Hell would work. It's something we never could've seen in the TNG days. Actually, with Riker and Troi, and Beteazoid culture, we can see things that they never would've shown in the TNG days. And it would be in character.
     
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  15. Nightdiamond

    Nightdiamond Commodore Commodore

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    I don't really mean swearing just for swearing's sake, but I just never thought TNG characters ever really sounded normal. It just seemed like they had this perfect standard to hold up and you can hear in it their dialog. The way they talked sounded very standard.

    It would be refreshing to hear talk and sound like regular people-- this is one of things I do like about Kelvin trek characters-- they sound like regular people.

    Exactly! I would be curious to see that.

    This is EXACTLY the type of things I've always been curious to see. In TNG, everybody always does the right thing in the end. They always say the right thing. And that's beside the "no conflict" rule among the crew thing. That and the episode of the week thing makes TNG a hard re-watch for me.

    I've always wonder what it would be like if they did this with Geordi and Leah Brahms, the woman he had a crush on. And after that last episode with her, they started communicating with each other over a number of episodes until it became a full blown affair.

    And then have Geordi begin to question himself and either the affair continues (without resolution) or he breaks it off, although painfully. To me, that would be fascinating to watch.

    Of course the problem is, the producers would never allow Geordi's character to do that, because it would be considered "controversial" and against the strong morals ideal that TNG characters represent.

    And TNG followed a strict episodic format, so the idea of a continuing story like that would be foreign. So basically it ended up being a potential love interest of the week thing.
     
  16. F. King Daniel

    F. King Daniel Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    It's been 20 years, who says they're still married?

    That said... although I'm down with streaming depicting sides to the Trekverse they've only spoken about before... current day Riker/Troi nudity is not top of my must see list:lol:
     
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  17. Dukhat

    Dukhat Admiral Admiral

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    The show is about Picard, not Riker & Troi. Hopefully the writers will have learned from that piece of crap TATV that guest stars should be guests stars, and not overshadowing the real stars.
     
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  18. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    It would be a little weird to see the TNG characters suddenly swearing and doing other R rated things, but the new characters sound like they might be a rougher bunch, so we could get stuff like that from them.
     
  19. Lord Garth

    Lord Garth Admiral Admiral

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    TATV = "These Aren't the Voyages" ;)
     
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  20. Nightdiamond

    Nightdiamond Commodore Commodore

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    We'll skip Riker and Troi, but bring on the Orion women and men! They were practically made and waiting for this opportunity!

    Yes I know, especially Picard, being so proper all the time, wer'e so used to seeing them act and talk a certain way, but they have to do something different. In TNG the dialog--to me the characters always talked as if a network censor was standing right behind them.

    It would be really refreshing even interesting to hear them sound just like we do or even behave in ways we never really seen them before-- now that they're on streaming they're freer to do, no more having to worry about a network looking over their shoulders.

    It would be fascinating to see this just once.
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2019