Paramount+ adds live Star Trek channel

[Sakonna]

About time! I am excited about this, this is something I've been wanting them to add for awhile. I learned about it via this article: https://www.vulture.com/2021/12/paramount-plus-streaming-live-channels.html

Though the programming of it leaves something to be desired, in that this episode lineup seems like it could have just been created by a glitchy algorithm with no human involvement whatsoever. It shows the schedule for about the next week or so, and it's all blocks of TNG & ENT, mostly from the first two seasons of both shows (so, starting with the high points! ). They also are already repeating blocks of episodes within the week.

I am particularly amused to notice these blocks are streaming in production order, no matter how little sense that makes. So in a few hours, "Shockwave Part I" is scheduled to play into "Carbon Creek" and then into "Shockwave Part II" (and then right after, "A Night In Sickbay" streaming in the middle of the "Minefield"/"Dead Stop" arc). This actually makes me a bit nostalgic, in that this was also a feature of the syndicated reruns through which I first discovered TNG. They aired Part 2 of "Unification" before Part 1 every single time. "Symbiosis" always followed "Skin Of Evil."

Possibly no one would like this but me, but my dream live Star Trek channel would be as random as possible. You know, show me "Reunion" followed by "Stardust City Rag" followed by "Resurrection" followed by "One Of Our Planets Is Missing" followed by "The Void" followed by "Star Trek The Motion Picture" followed by "Prime Factors" followed by "Whom Gods Destroy." With this many shows/episodes/movies, lean into the variety!

The interface is as glitchy as the Paramount+ interface always is (for me, anyway, maybe others have better luck on different devices), but it's good enough. It only lets me join the episodes in progress, and not pause or link to on-demand versions. But, just like the weird production-order-scheduling, these limitations are also making me feel a bit nostalgic for the days of Old TV.

Ultimately, I am ecstatic there is now a button I can push to just start some Star Trek playing. I can really fall into decision wormholes trying to pick just the right episode/movie of the 819 (& counting) possibilities, so it's nice to get around that.

 

[XCV330]

Possibly no one would like this but me, but my dream live Star Trek channel would be as random as possible.

I like the idea of this. I will give it a try, soon.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Hmm. I don't do paid streaming services, but I note that this is far better than something I endured in the waiting room while I was getting my car serviced by the dealer:

"The All House Reruns Channel."

Makes me really glad I never saw a single episode when House was in first run. Like so much TV, it was a monument to Kitman's Law.

 

[XCV330]

Hmm. I don't do paid streaming services, but I note that this is far better than something I endured in the waiting room while I was getting my car serviced by the dealer:

"The All House Reruns Channel."

Makes me really glad I never saw a single episode when House was in first run. Like so much TV, it was a monument to Kitman's Law.

The only time I saw House was when I was recovering in a hospital for a few days. Seemed like the only channel they had played House all the time. I was so drugged I just remember wondering why that guy from Blackadder was on the TV all the time but wasn't very funny.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Seemed like the only channel they had played House all the time.

Hmm. A medical show that appears to be about dysfunctional doctors, as the only TV available in a hospital?!?

And people think it strange that my in-flight movie of choice is Airplane!

 

[C.E. Evans]

I'm a Paramount+ subscriber and just received an email announcing this. It kind of replaces the H&I cable channel I lost a couple of years ago for me.

 

[Campe]

With streaming you can watch whatever order you want on most of these shows offered by said service. I tried to watch a little bit of the Trek channel the other day. I was just underwhelmed by the whole concept of the thing. Ah well. I’m sure it’s got its fans. Just not me.

 

[JoaquinSlowly]

Possibly no one would like this but me, but my dream live Star Trek channel would be as random as possible. You know, show me "Reunion" followed by "Stardust City Rag" followed by "Resurrection" followed by "One Of Our Planets Is Missing" followed by "The Void" followed by "Star Trek The Motion Picture" followed by "Prime Factors" followed by "Whom Gods Destroy." With this many shows/episodes/movies, lean into the variety

I like the idea of this. I will give it a try, soon.

‪‪I love this idea, and have been wishing it was a thing for a couple years now, so I’m definitely going to be making use of this soon, most likely later today.

 

[BillJ]

With streaming you can watch whatever order you want on most of these shows offered by said service. I tried to watch a little bit of the Trek channel the other day. I was just underwhelmed by the whole concept of the thing. Ah well. I’m sure it’s got its fans. Just not me.

I'm not sure I understand this to be honest? If I already have access to all the episodes on the service, why do I need a separate "channel" playing them?

 

[shapeshifter]

OMG I cannot believe I have lived to see the day a Star Trek Channel truly exists. So excited! I cannot wait, I am going to watch it right now! Here I go...




AYSM?! A Night In Sickbay???

 

[fireproof78]

I'm not sure I understand this to be honest? If I already have access to all the episodes on the service, why do I need a separate "channel" playing them?

Same. I pick what I want to watch and I watch it. I thought channel suffering was gone?

 

[Vger23]

Seems odd

 

[Campe]

Same. I pick what I want to watch and I watch it. I thought channel suffering was gone?

Agreed. I dumped cable a decade ago so I didn’t have to worry about someone else or worse, an algorithm choosing what had available to watch and worse. (Yes, I realize algorithms do play a part in the type of shows I see on my streaming services.)

 

[Annorax849]

The free service Pluto TV also has a live Star Trek channel.. though so far I've only seen TNG

 

[CorporalClegg]

If they ever work out the kinks, then I do like the idea of a Star Trek randomizer -- the sort of thing you can fire and forget while doing housework or cooking or whatever.

 

[fireproof78]

Better to do playlists with a shuffle feature.

 

[dupersuper]

Wouldn't a Star Trek "channel" on a streaming service be just like the MCU/Star Wars/Starz/etc. sections on Disney+? Just a handy section with all the Star Trek stuff listed?

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I'm not sure I understand this to be honest? If I already have access to all the episodes on the service, why do I need a separate "channel" playing them?

If there's a Trek episode from any of the series playing on TV that I even slightly enjoy, I'll leave it on the channel. Whereas I'll very rarely seek out the same episode to watch from the streaming service. I can't explain it, but when it's presented in the streaming format I'll usually only want to watch if I watch all the episodes in order or something. Occasionally I'll check out a personal favorite episode by itself, but ones I enjoy but aren't favorites, rarely so.

So when H&I Channel did Star Trek marathons from all the series, I was there. Or on streaming, I'll watch Pluto TV's dedicated Star Trek Channel which shows all the series, but more TNG. Hopefully Paramount+ will do the same for all the series.

If there's something specific I want to watch I can still seek it out, but there's something to be said for just vegging out with a random Star Trek marathon.

 

[tomalak301]

This channel needs to be like H&I and just air the episodes from all the series. Right now it's Enterprise for some reason, but there are many series to choose from, and they can add in the new Treks. When I was taking care of my mom last week, they had H&I and I tuned in for a few episodes. Sometimes just changing a channel and just watching the episode airing is better than just picking an episode to watch.

 

[Tim Thomason]

Wouldn't a Star Trek "channel" on a streaming service be just like the MCU/Star Wars/Starz/etc. sections on Disney+? Just a handy section with all the Star Trek stuff listed?

They're doing like Pluto TV and offering "channels" in the traditional sense, so if you're watching from a TV or tablet, you can sort of surf the listings (although I can't really "change the channel" in a traditional way from the app).

Unlike H&I or Pluto, they have full access to all of Star Trek, the old free stuff and the P+ Originals. Right now, they're airing large blocks of early Enterprise episodes, followed by large blocks of early TNG episodes alternating. If they were to air one episode from each series, and maybe a movie (all are available on P+), that would fill up 10.5 hours of the day. Repeat it twice a day, and you have 21 hours full. You could go through all episodes chronologically for a few days (until Prodigy cycles through), and then all of Picard in 10 days and all movies in 13 days, and so on.

I assume that they are working out kinks, and there are probably licensing issues with the newer shows and certainly the movies. But if it's in their library, it should be available for their invented channel feature.