Is star trek dead on tv

[Therin of Andor]

Presently I think most PTB (the decision makers) in tv just don't have the imagination for a decent space adventure idea. Hell it isn't even on their radar because they're convinced it's too expensive for something they likely don't really understand anyway.

TV is a business. The shareholders expect maximum returns for minimal investment.

Scripted drama is hugely expensive. Scripted comedy is even riskier; it needs highly-skilled writers and actors, or the show just isn't funny. Scripted SF drama has the additional costs of SPFX and unable to use existing locales and sets. All drama is very risky TV, money-wise.

Actors are very reluctant to lock themselves into five year minimum contracts in case they must turn down other roles.

So limited-life lifestyle programs, quiz shows and reality TV shows are comparatively more economical - and these days the audiences donate money to the studios "vote" the players out of reality shows.

Not to mention that so many channels, plus cable, the Internet, X-box, Wii, etc is splintering the old huge, dependable slices of audience. When CGI SPFX is cheap enough, someone will come up with a SF series where cast members can be voted off, and maybe there'll be a new contender for Show of the Year!

 

[darkwing_duck1]

The "Star Trek Office" was Gene Roddenberry's domain at Paramount Pictures, part of his contract as "Creative Consultant" and "Executive Producer". Susan Sackett and Richard Arnold worked out of it, but were on Paramount's payroll - at one point Paramount balked at also paying Ernie Over, Gene's driver (because Gene was hardly coming into the office), so Gene had to start paying Ernie out of his own money. When GR died, Susan and Richard were locked out of the office!

My impression was that the dissolution of the "office" was a sign by CBS et al that they no longer felt Trek viable enough a property to warrant dedicated staffing

Your timing is way out! The ST Office closed in 1991, the day after GR's death but Paula Block, of Viacom (and now CBS) Consumer Products, and her team, were vetting ST tie-in manuscripts for several years before the closing of the Office and continues to do so to this day. Closing the ST Office just meant that nobody represented GR directly. PB does, I guess, but she (and her team) no longer has to follow the 1989 memo which essentially banned certain elements from the tie-ins for several years.

The change you seem to be inferring by Viacom splitting into Paramount Pictures and CBS TV didn't affect the tie-ins one iota.

My impression was that the "Star Trek Office" (which included the design staff, the production teams, that is all the behind the scenes people who had made Trek for all these years [Berman, Braga, Rick S, the Okudas, Eaves, the various show runners, etc]) didn't close until after the end of "Enterprise", when all the sets were scrapped, all the props that were inventoried and stored were sold off, etc and all the "brain trust" of set designers, concept artists, etc were let go.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

We've all analyzed the hell out of ST and have a pretty good consensus of pitfalls to avoid to make the ideal Star Trek tv show.

No, we don't.

 

[MiralParis]

Is star trek dead on tv or is there still hope

All I can say is, I hope so. I love Star Trek so much it would break my heart to never see it on TV again.

I think they have the potential to turn Star Trek into something more amazing than it has ever been before. That it is, if they do it at the right time and with the right motivation and vision.

 

[Trekwatcher]

I actually hope that there is no star trek on TV for some years to come. Not that I don't love Trek and watch it/think about it/read about it all the time. I just think that all of Trek needs a break. I actually think it is too soon for a new movie, but JJ and TPTB didn't bother to ask my opinion before starting work on the new film. Someone earlier mentioned the Dr. Who model, which I think is a good one. Let Star Trek rest for a good long while, and bring it back fresh, new, and different while still being true to it's roots. I, for one, loved Enterprise, but after TNG/DS9/and VOY there was just so much ST fatigue out there and the fans got tired of the same types of shows week after week. To get back to the original post, ST is and should be dead on TV for a while, but I hope that when they do bring in back as a weekly show (which I know they will) the learn the lessons that Dr. Who and nuBSG can teach them.

 

[Carpe Occasio]

Presently I think most PTB (the decision makers) in tv just don't have the imagination for a decent space adventure idea. Hell it isn't even on their radar because they're convinced it's too expensive for something they likely don't really understand anyway.

TV is a business. The shareholders expect maximum returns for minimal investment.

Scripted drama is hugely expensive. Scripted comedy is even riskier; it needs highly-skilled writers and actors, or the show just isn't funny. Scripted SF drama has the additional costs of SPFX and unable to use existing locales and sets. All drama is very risky TV, money-wise.

Actors are very reluctant to lock themselves into five year minimum contracts in case they must turn down other roles.

So limited-life lifestyle programs, quiz shows and reality TV shows are comparatively more economical - and these days the audiences donate money to the studios "vote" the players out of reality shows.

Not to mention that so many channels, plus cable, the Internet, X-box, Wii, etc is splintering the old huge, dependable slices of audience. When CGI SPFX is cheap enough, someone will come up with a SF series where cast members can be voted off, and maybe there'll be a new contender for Show of the Year!

Like you said, TV is a business and scripted drama's are their bread and butter (always have been). Reality TV is a fad but scripted shows are still big money (Lost, Desperate Housewives, Heros, all the CSI's, etc., etc.). And movie success often leads to TV. Star Trek on TV may well be resurrected if Star Trek XI and then Star Trek XII both do well (still a few years off however).

As for "voting off" characters on a scripted drama, look at Lost. They've gotten rid of a few main characters and introduced new ones (some have stayed, others have gone as well). I used to think that would be a great plot device to keep you guessing, but now I think it doesn't work.

 

[RAMA]

Is star trek dead on tv or is there still hope

Give it 8-10 years.

RAMA

 

[Bill Morris]

I was just thinking, since Paramount has film footage of the sets that no longer exist, if they wanted to, they could make animated series with such footage as backgrounds. They could even do an animated series with new characters, putting cartoon people on Defiant-class, Intrepid-class, etc. starhips, plus whatever Klingon and other alien ships and other sets for which they have flim in storage. Or they could do computer processing to making cartoonish copies of that background footage, as needed, perhaps adding CGI versions of backgrounds the scripts may require.

How expensive could that be?

 

[sidious618]

I have no doubt that we'll have a Trek show soon enough. Maybe as early as 2010.

 

[I am not Spock]

I love Star Trek, and I honestly say, I hope it DOES stay dead on television forever...or at least for a long time. It's better to have no new Trek at all than oversatuarating the market until it becomes a shadow of its former self (see: Enterprise)

If Star Trek appears again on television, fair enough. But even if it doesn't, I say: 'It had a good run. There's 5 series (plus an animated one, if you consider it canon), and ten movies. That's more than enough material, surely'. That is more material than fans of most fictional universes get. We're lucky to have gotten this much, when it all could have died in 1969 with the cancellation of the original series.

 

[Therin of Andor]

My impression was that the "Star Trek Office" (which included the design staff, the production teams, that is all the behind the scenes people who had made Trek for all these years [Berman, Braga, Rick S, the Okudas, Eaves, the various show runners, etc]) didn't close until after the end of "Enterprise"

But that's not the "Star Trek Office". That was something else entirely. The production/writing team, I suppose. Not sure they even had a name. but when you hear about "the closing of the Star Trek Office", it was in reference to Roddenberry's death, and the dismissal of Over, Sackett and Arnold in 1991.

And the Okudas are still around - they've been part of the CBS CGI team for the TOS "remastering" project.

 

[Therin of Andor]

they could do computer processing to making cartoonish copies of that background footage, as needed, perhaps adding CGI versions of backgrounds the scripts may require. How expensive could that be?

All animation is expensive.

And who would you be aiming at? Children? Teens? Adults?

I turned on Saturday morning cartoons the other day and the style of modern animation is almost unrecognisable to a person raised on "Crusader Rabbit", "Huckleberry Hound", "The Wacky Races", TAS and even more recent staff such as "Futurama".

 

[Michael]

There's 5 series (plus an animated one, if you consider it canon)

What does TAS' canon status have to do with it being a Star Trek series or not?

 

[AlboOfBorg]

TPTB would really need to come up with a great idea and great writers. Considering the last two incarnations of Trek television (VOY and ENT) I doubt this will happen.

 

[Rabid Trekkie]

I actually hope that there is no star trek on TV for some years to come. Not that I don't love Trek and watch it/think about it/read about it all the time. I just think that all of Trek needs a break. I actually think it is too soon for a new movie, but JJ and TPTB didn't bother to ask my opinion before starting work on the new film. Someone earlier mentioned the Dr. Who model, which I think is a good one. Let Star Trek rest for a good long while, and bring it back fresh, new, and different while still being true to it's roots. I, for one, loved Enterprise, but after TNG/DS9/and VOY there was just so much ST fatigue out there and the fans got tired of the same types of shows week after week. To get back to the original post, ST is and should be dead on TV for a while, but I hope that when they do bring in back as a weekly show (which I know they will) the learn the lessons that Dr. Who and nuBSG can teach them.

I think fans got tired of the same types of shows because that's what they were getting. Not so much with DS9, which after season 2 rarely took a story from a previous Trek without at least putting a new twist on it. But Voyager borrowed heavily from TNG, which occasionally borrowed from itself.

Enterprise, just from the first season that I watched, borrowed from TOS/TNG/VOY and all without making you really care for the characters. When Manny Coto finally got the reigns, it became really good. Borrowed from TOS some, but not in a way where you felt you were watching a repeat from another show.

Haven't seen BSG, but I think the real lesson of it and Dr. Who isn't so much that you have to wait for forever, just make sure you have good writers. If Davies was around back when Dr. Who was in a slump and started churning out his episodes, the fans would have been revitalized and the idea of sending it off by itself for a long time wouldn't have occurred to them.

So as long as they have great writers and don't try to run two series at the same time again, I think it could be good.

 

[blockaderunner]

I've said it here before, and I stand by it. If the live action Star Wars series is a hit, expect Star Trek to follow suit. CBS would be stupid to pass up on it. That's the good news. The bad news, of course, is that expect a ton of space based properties to compete as well. Trek's going to have to do something to stand out from the crowd. And Masters Of The Universe type morality plays, spatial anomolies of the week, and depleting sheild percentages won't cut it.

 

[Kira Nerys]

Trek is alive if you watch them on dvd.

 

[PopBoy]

I can't see a sequel either. It seems each series has a hook.

In TOS: A multiracial/multinational crew with one alien.
In TNG: A new Enterprise crew 80 year years later with a child genius as a crew member. There was the addition of a former enemy alien as a senior officer. I remember reading that Gene Roddenberry was excited with the addition of Wesley Crusher for this series.
in DS9: A person of color as the Commanding Officer leading a space station and not a starship. DS9 was able to go beyond this gimmick.
VOY: A female captain with a non Enterprise starship 70,000 light years from home. They added a Borg as a crew member.
ENT: The first Earth starship permitted exploration by their Vulcan allies.

So what could be next? An alien captain? A reimagined ST series? I better be quiet. The ST PTB seem to be behind the curve as far as new series or ideas.

They'll have to seriously think outside of the box with regards to a T.V series. If not they may as well as not even try. They must refuse the urge to base it around young cadets or something awful like that. I dont think anyone wants to watch a new star trek series mashed-up with the High School Musical. Personally, I think they have to look at the original series, see what made that click and entrench the new product with those elements. Take the best of Trek and push that into an entire new universe, timeline and completely reorder borders...

 

[Keith1701]

Is star trek dead on tv or is there still hope

Star Trek is not dead yet, it's still alive ---- it's just needs to find more to find it again.