• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Poll Should the fans be running the show?

Should the fans run the show?


  • Total voters
    114
In regards to a new continuation, I possibly cannot give a definition of “good Trek with a consensus”, though I can give an example of how this was achieved for another franchise.
Then how can we have a right standard if it can't be defined?
 
The Reboot Films are the only "new" Star Trek the general public has seen. If you want to win them back over, undoing them isn't a good idea. It sends the message of, "That Star Trek you like? We just undid it!" You have to think about it from their point of view.
The reboot films would always be there as a splintered/fractured off timeline, just like the other mirror universes are. The JJ-verse could even play a part in soft rebooting the franchise, the next movie could *still* be JJ-verse based as I have said before elsewhere on this board. The JJ-verse is almost a pivot point in Trek’s overall continuity, with the destruction of Romulus and Vulcan being focal points. If the destruction of the Romulan sun is undone, it should be done so ‘onscreen’ as part of a continuity between the JJ-verse and ‘prime’ Trek. This would mean that the JJ-verse is always there and not dismissed/uncanonised. Remember, we have a multiverse of canon that runs along with the prime timeline. My idea would add to the JJ-verse, not take away from it, whilst at the same time expanding in to a new 25th century continuation of Star Trek with a soft reboot of the franchise in a similar way as to how Doctor Who was rebooted.
 
No, but accomplished writers who understand the fans should.

And how would you define accomplished writers?

Michael Chabon was an accomplished writer, and PIC S1 was met with criticism. Terry Matalas wrote S3 and while is garnered more praise, fans can still see faults with the season, including the fanwank. And this was with having a massive 50+ year lore to work with.

The thing is, if there are faults with the writing with accomplish writers who have either published books, or written a tv show, what makes amateur writers any worse?

Paramount has a pretty good grasp on quality control, so I don’t get the fear of amateur writers who are fans of Star Trek coming in and writing for Star Trek?
 
Paramount has a pretty good grasp on quality control, so I don’t get the fear of amateur writers who are fans of Star Trek coming in and writing for Star Trek?

Being a fan of oral hygiene doesn’t make you a dentist.

The idea that an amateur could write a better TV show than a professionally trained and experienced writer is laughable.
 
Paramount has a pretty good grasp on quality control, so I don’t get the fear of amateur writers who are fans of Star Trek coming in and writing for Star Trek?
And once those fans have written for Star Trek, they then by default become professional writers. They can then write sh*t like Star Wars. :D
 
Anything is possible.

I mean, its not heart surgery we are talking about here.

And once those fans have written for Star Trek, they then by default become professional writers. They can then write sh*t like Star Wars. :D

Spoken like two people who will never write a story, much less a Star Trek story. Writing professionally is not easy. It is occasionally fun. It most certainly is not for the thin-skinned or the faint of heart.
 
Anything is possible.

I mean, its not heart surgery we are talking about here.

Well, the mathematical probability of an amateur fan writing some great Star Trek isn’t zero, I’ll grant that point.

But that’s not really a strong argument.

I just find it fascinating what people think they can easily master when they haven’t been trained or educated.
 
Being a fan of oral hygiene doesn’t make you a dentist.

The idea that an amateur could write a better TV show than a professionally trained and experienced writer is laughable.
Even pro-writers are heavily rewritten by folks who run the show. (See Ellison, Harlan)
 
Spoken like two people who will never write a story, much less a Star Trek story. Writing professionally is not easy. It is occasionally fun as have almost everyone It most certainly is not for the thin-skinned or the faint of heart.
I have written many a story for fun both on and offline, just read my signature, but so has almost everyone on this planet in their own imagination at one time or another, TrekBBS and other fan sites just give us a platform to type our thoughts up so that we can share our imaginations with like minded people. My online fan fic is ironically a Star Wars story though… not Trek. Not for the thin skinned or faint hearted either… especially if you happen to be George Lucas, hehe, :angel:
 
Last edited:
I have written many a story for fun both on and offline, just read my signature, but so has almost everyone on this planet in their own imagination at one time or another, TrekBBS and other fan sites just give us a platform to type our thoughts up so that we can share our imaginations with like minded people. My online fan fic is ironically a Star Wars story though… not Trek. Not for the thin skinned or faint hearted either… especially if you happen to be George Lucas, hehe, :angel:
Which is fine, and is nowhere near the process it takes to write for, much less submit to, much less get approval for, a TV show.

And that reminds me of a my friends and I and our attempt to make a fan film. We wanted to think we were top dogs and could do it. And, the logistics alone were problematic. Never mind setting up schedules, writing and reviewing and rehearsing the script, and then filming. Later on I would watch documentaries on the filmmaking process and realize that each step in a professional production involves multiple people, from VFX workers, set designers, costuming, producer, budget, and director. Writing is only one step in the process and now there is adding an additional component of a fan review board to make sure it's right* on top of the rest of the movie pieces.

So, why should a production company add this expense to their bottom line?


*which isn't even defined as of now.
 
The idea that an amateur could write a better TV show than a professionally trained and experienced writer is laughable

Exhibits A and B, Star Trek New Voyages and Star Trek Continues. I enjoyed and appreciated what they did, but the level of polish on the scrips just wasn't the same level. And that's with the help of some people who actually were professional writers.
 
I’m not talking about a TV show, I’m talking about… a movie! :D
And still haven't defined what is "right" and are now putting an additional committee review process to an already long process in making a movie.

Exhibits A and B, Star Trek New Voyages and Star Trek Continues. I enjoyed and appreciated what they did, but the level of polish on the scrips just wasn't the same level. And that's with the help of some people who actually were professional writers.
Indeed.
 
When Doctor Who was soft rebooted by Russell T Davis and eventually handed on to Steven Moffat, there was general consensus amongst fans and non fans alike that this was a *good* show.
There are elements within Doctor Who fandom that have slagged on RTD and Moffat while they were the showrunners, while paradoxically becoming their staunchest supporters after they stepped down as showrunner. But then, Doctor Who fandom is noted for hating the current product and liking it when it becomes old. Indeed, it's actually an acknowledged part of the enjoyment process for them. Hate the new episodes, rewatch them five years later and determine they're not so bad and are much better than the crap which is currently airing.

It's their way.
 
And once those fans have written for Star Trek, they then by default become professional writers. They can then write sh*t like Star Wars. :D
First you have to know how to write.

I took courses in Screenwriting in college, bought five books on screenwriting, started writing stories when I was 7, wrote a lot of crap afterwards, including three screenplays I'll NEVER show anyone, before I finally wrote a script when I was 35 that I thought was good enough to shoot as my first independent film.

Here's a trailer for my first film, What's In a Fortune?

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

While we're at it, here's a trailer for my second film, The Holy Maple Tree.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

I wrote, directed, produced, and edited these.

But, anyway... it takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of training to learn how to write a script, much a less a good script, and you're selling it pretty fucking short!

"Oh, but Ron Moore!" I guarantee you Ron Moore practiced writing other stuff before he submitted "The Bonding". That was his first professional run around the block. Not his first run around the block ever, as an amateur.

I have written many a story for fun both on and offline, just read my signature, but so has almost everyone on this planet in their own imagination at one time or another, TrekBBS and other fan sites just give us a platform to type our thoughts up so that we can share our imaginations with like minded people. My online fan fic is ironically a Star Wars story though… not Trek. Not for the thin skinned or faint hearted either… especially if you happen to be George Lucas, hehe, :angel:
No. The experience can be fun, but you can't be writing it for fun. You have the take the process itself seriously. Even if it's a comedy, you have to take the process seriously. Which, from what I can tell from these posts, you don't.
 
Last edited:
Oh, but Ron Moore!" I guarantee you Ron Moore practiced writing other stuff before he submitted "The Bonding". That was his first professional run around the block. Not his first run and round the block ever, as an amateur.
And Piller, who bought it, had to rewrite parts of it because of Gene's famous "people don't mourn " criticism. It was not accepted as is.
 
Spoken like two people who will never write a story, much less a Star Trek story. Writing professionally is not easy. It is occasionally fun. It most certainly is not for the thin-skinned or the faint of heart.

Well, the mathematical probability of an amateur fan writing some great Star Trek isn’t zero, I’ll grant that point.

But that’s not really a strong argument.

I just find it fascinating what people think they can easily master when they haven’t been trained or educated.

I literally write scripts for fun now. Its literally a hobby of mine. Any era and any universe - ENT, Kelvinverse, PIC. And could write an original script not attached to anything ever produce. I also expand into non sci-fi territory as well.I get how to format this stuff, and how long scripts should be and why they are the length they are. While I am realistic that none of these will ever enter production, the point is I can still do it.

Those that have written fan films are also amateurs. And I can honestly say that every fan film I’ve watched I come away feeling good, and satisfied with the watch. Not just Star Trek fan films, but Star Wars fan film too. I never felt like my time was wasted at all. I can't say that for some of the stuff that's actually being produce for commercial consumption.

This narrative that every amateur writer if given a chance to write for Star Trek are all of a sudden going to produce “Threshold” 2.0 is misguided.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top