A brief reference to Zimmerman meeting Sisko in Doctor Bashir I Presume was it. And Ake's "parental issues" were as a parent.
At least of all the bizarre criticisms of Academy this one is just a stretch and not outright false.
I dunno, as @Ceridwen has been saying a few posts ago, it’s basically zero surprising that young adult characters, both in fiction but also young people in reality, are very much defined by their relationship (or lack thereof) to their parents. Learning about their parents is basically shorthand for learning where they are coming from, what their experiences in life have been like so far and how they see themselves. With older characters you might talk about their partners, their kids or their profession, but with fresh faced cadets? Of course you’re going to mention their parental situation at some point or make it a motivator for the character’s coming-of-age! I don’t understand how any of that would be surprising, negative or unrealistic.
Ok. to continue to drag a slightly dead horse.. Lets expand it to "Family" problems, I know its a main star trek troupe. Picard and his dad/brother, Riker and his dad, Deanna's dead dad and quirky mother, and dead sister, and dead son, and dead son #2.. Data and his father, Worf and his being an orphan, Laforge losing his mother in an episode. Westley and his dead dad. Sisko and his dead wife.. ON and on... Enterprise had the most stable family life for the most part, except Trip losing his sister. ( huh)
While I think SFA made some fumbles in its first season (what Trek show hasn't?) even if it had writing on par with DS9 at its height, it still would've been canceled.
But I want to focus on one big mistake I think was made structurally speaking, which was the season opener. I think Kids These Days was fine, but it was 100% SFA playing on "generic Trek action adventure mode" - not the YA tone of about half the season. This seems like it was a big mistake. I think the series should've frontloaded the YA, and put more Trek on the back end.
As I noted upthread, a lot of the Trek audience who might have been paying attention to DIS Season 1 has already vanished. But there was a hardcore set of Trek fans (us) who would give the show a chance regardless, because we watch everything Star Trek. But the other side of the audience Kurtzman was trying to convince - the YA market - they had one shot to get it right, which was the pilot. And I just don't think Kids These Days was structured enough like a Riverdale-style show to appeal to these folks straight out the gate. So we ended up with a repeat of Prodigy, where a show meant to bring in new Trek fans was just watched by the same group of 35-70 year olds as the rest of modern Trek.
But I want to focus on one big mistake I think was made structurally speaking, which was the season opener. I think Kids These Days was fine, but it was 100% SFA playing on "generic Trek action adventure mode" - not the YA tone of about half the season. This seems like it was a big mistake. I think the series should've frontloaded the YA, and put more Trek on the back end.
As I noted upthread, a lot of the Trek audience who might have been paying attention to DIS Season 1 has already vanished. But there was a hardcore set of Trek fans (us) who would give the show a chance regardless, because we watch everything Star Trek. But the other side of the audience Kurtzman was trying to convince - the YA market - they had one shot to get it right, which was the pilot. And I just don't think Kids These Days was structured enough like a Riverdale-style show to appeal to these folks straight out the gate. So we ended up with a repeat of Prodigy, where a show meant to bring in new Trek fans was just watched by the same group of 35-70 year olds as the rest of modern Trek.
But for a group of young adult characters who basically all just left their homes (or didn’t grew up in one), why would we expect their parental situations to not come up? How can something be a trope when it’s more or less what we would realistically expect from a story in a particular setting with a particular kind of characters?
I will just say I'm disappointed, but not surprised.
I enjoyed the show well enough, some things quite a bit.
I do hope they get out of the 32nd century with the next effort. I think the TNG/DS9/VOY/PIC Era still has the best chance for going forward.
But...no one asked me...
I enjoyed the show well enough, some things quite a bit.
I do hope they get out of the 32nd century with the next effort. I think the TNG/DS9/VOY/PIC Era still has the best chance for going forward.
But...no one asked me...
It would've run into the same problem that Picard S1 did (The Fandom Menace would be screaming, "When are they going into space? When are they going exploring? The show is called STAR Trek!")
Read that in Milhouse's voice.
I don't think we'll see the 32nd-Century ever again. I'm inclined to think the Kurtzman-era of Trek is winding down, even though Kurtzman himself has recently said he's had talks with Paramount.
But did the audence exist? Is there cross over with sci fi with YA Stuff? Would the young adults who might watch a YA type of series also watch Star Trek? @eschaton has a point.
There is an audience for YA Content, if this was YA with a dash of Star Trek, as in its a School based show with teachers etc, but in outer space. That might have worked out better, but they went Star Trek first, with some YA stuff. You may not have attracted your standard audience, and the ones that would watch YA stuff didn't show up because its "Star Trek"
I think it went TO Young Adult. You have a base of fans that watch your stuff, so you have to play to them at the first. Basically a Trek show, but the leads are late teens early 20's People think, StarFleet Academy, best of the best, hard chargers not people that would swallow the combadge (ugh) Which brings a certain amount of discipline, professionalism, we're here to be captains, explore the galaxy. Sure there are going to be antics, some people that can't cut it, bit of hazing/fun times going on. But they didn't do that, Just a bunch of "Modern" kids mouthing off to the teachers, near zero professionalism. If they focused on the Teaching, Classrooms. etc. not a "Big Bad" Hell i would have liked the whole season be Earth based.
But hey.
There is an audience for YA Content, if this was YA with a dash of Star Trek, as in its a School based show with teachers etc, but in outer space. That might have worked out better, but they went Star Trek first, with some YA stuff. You may not have attracted your standard audience, and the ones that would watch YA stuff didn't show up because its "Star Trek"
I think it went TO Young Adult. You have a base of fans that watch your stuff, so you have to play to them at the first. Basically a Trek show, but the leads are late teens early 20's People think, StarFleet Academy, best of the best, hard chargers not people that would swallow the combadge (ugh) Which brings a certain amount of discipline, professionalism, we're here to be captains, explore the galaxy. Sure there are going to be antics, some people that can't cut it, bit of hazing/fun times going on. But they didn't do that, Just a bunch of "Modern" kids mouthing off to the teachers, near zero professionalism. If they focused on the Teaching, Classrooms. etc. not a "Big Bad" Hell i would have liked the whole season be Earth based.
But hey.
I’d personally prefer they stay with the 32nd century for years to come, but I suspect you’re right, especially with the new regime.
This show was DOA, just like Section 31. You think they'd do some market research.
Never mind. For All Mankind has been renewed for a Sixth and final Season. Pluribus will continue, Foundation is still going strong, along with Silo and Murderbot. All far superior to anything Star Trek has done since Enterprise was cancelled IMHO.
Never mind. For All Mankind has been renewed for a Sixth and final Season. Pluribus will continue, Foundation is still going strong, along with Silo and Murderbot. All far superior to anything Star Trek has done since Enterprise was cancelled IMHO.
I'd be disappointed if we left the 32nd century behind for good. I would save the 32nd cnetury (or the far future) for the movies as the larger budget would allow for bigger story ideas and spectacle. Can we just stay away from the prequels though.
Survivorship bias in action. Those who like the show will be more likely to post reviews here on a BBS.
I'm glad for those who really like it. And it does suck that it has been cancelled. SFA wasn't my cup of tea, although I didn't hate it. I did watch all of them and what SFA focused on isn't what I was interested in. But I don't want it taken away from those who really do like it a lot.
So let's all just get along and respect different opinions!
It's actually very hard to get people to change behavior under any conditions. Even when the person wants to change themself.
I've had my issues with Kurtzman Trek, but it's hard for me to argue that it's worse on a whole than ENT (or VOY for that matter).
Plus, when latter day Berman Trek was bad, it was beige and boring. When modern Trek is bad, it's usually bad in an interesting, trashfire sort of way.
Yes, but positive praise is more effective in long term change than looking down your nose and scoffing at the primitives.
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