What channel should a new Trek TV series be on?

[jefferiestubes8]

Most of us know CBS took over ownership of the Star Trek franchise in 2006.
For a new Trek weekly TV series (13 or 22 episodes) what TV channel do you think would be most appropriate and realistic in 2010-2013?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Wow, what horrible choices! I held my nose and clicked Skiffy but I didn't want to.

Showtime - The audience expects Showtime series to be less mass market than Trek should be.

Spike - Cmon, Trek is better than that.

Skiffy - Has destroyed its reputation so thoroughly that Trek would be tainted by association.

CBS - Of all the major nets, this audience is the least good fit for Trek.

CW - This one has demographic problems, like CBS, but instead of too old, CW's is too young and too female skewing.

Cable in general has the problem of too-small audiences. Trek has been boosted back up into big-ticket franchise status by Paramount; CBS shouldn't be allowed to come along and smush it back down into mere basic cable status.

It's possible that CBS could sell Trek to another network. Fox or NBC would be the most appropriate. If it must be on basic cable, I'd opt for AMC, which is making a name for itself with quality programming that isn't too premium-cable-artsy/high toned.

 

[caisson2delta]

I opted for SyFy, of all the choices. A trek show, might have a chance, if it was scheduled back to back with another decent show, on the same night. Hopefully, if a new trek series does come about, they don't try to make it compete with other successful shows in prime time on major viewing nights. I think it would be doomed, regardless of the content.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

TV channel programming

if a new trek series does come about, they don't try to make it compete with other successful shows in prime time on major viewing nights. I think it would be doomed, regardless of the content.

The Friday night timeslot after 9PM is where shows usually go to die as a network is not expecting them to perform there. Is that what you would like to have happen?
If a show is launched and planned as a 4-year run (instead of the past 7-year planned runs and contracted actors) CBS Television would want to promote it and put it in a place where they will get their largest audience. It would probably get a TVPG rating and thus be on weekly between 8-10PM on broadcast TV or cable to get the younger crowd under age 14.

 

[Borgminister]

Re: TV channel programming

It would be risky, but I'd prefer Showtime, even if it meant 12 episodes of a more adult-skewing show.

I think Star Trek's IMAX performance surprised everyone, and the same might hold true for a well-done Showtime presentation.

 

[ChristopherPike]

Anywhere else but SyFy and it would get cancelled after 13 episodes, no matter how good those 13 stories were frankly. SyFy produces a lot of pulp sci fi (I wouldn't class it all as crap). Whether a future Star Trek spin-off would succeed or fail seems to be in the hands of TV critics working within the media (based on the major BSG lovefest that went on) and has absolutely nothing to do with low ratings or a vocal fanbase. CBS isn't going to happen because we all know where the buck stops within that organisation. Presumably the man in question wouldn't say no to coining it in, while a co-production put in all the effort and finance, risk free?

 

[C.E. Evans]

Broadcast networks should be a firm "no way in hell" from the very beginning unless you want the show to be cancelled quickly. Aside from the fluke that was TNG (which came in at the right place at the right time), Trek has never been a real ratings hit on TV except in syndication where small numbers (by broadcast standards) are considered gold there...

IMO, SyFy probably is the best bet for a new Trek series, although I actually wouldn't rule out My Network TV or even first-run syndication again (when you think about it, Trek has still been running in syndication--in one form or the other--ever since TOS reruns first arrived there)...

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Broadcast networks should be a firm "no way in hell" from the very beginning

I actually wouldn't rule out My Network TV or even first-run syndication again

This thread/poll is for a first-run new series. I hadn't thought of it being syndicated in the USA but instead on one network nationwide.
We know a new TV Trek series eventually will happen probably 6 months after Star Trek XIII is released in theaters around 2013. I would really love to see it on subscription-based premium television doing a 13-episode run with high quality written episodes and the time taken like The Sopranos or Mad Men. I just seriously doubt it will happen like that. While we all want more Trek how many of us would be happy with a 13-episode series? Sure Paramount/CBS Home Video would sell a Blu-ray/DVD at the same cost for a season but we would buy it.
I did not include the cable channels AMC or TNT as I don't think it would happen there either.

CBS isn't going to happen because we all know where the buck stops within that organisation.

I agree with you ChristopherPike.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Most of us know CBS took over ownership of the Star Trek franchise in 2006.
For a new Trek weekly TV series (13 or 22 episodes) what TV channel do you think would be most appropriate and realistic in 2010-2013?

The hardest PORN channel there is. With lots of sex and all kinds of combinations of sex. Lots and lots and lots of naked women, and some naked men, just to throw a bone for our female audience (and other interested parties as well)

Channel XXX

Rob

 

[C.E. Evans]

Broadcast networks should be a firm "no way in hell" from the very beginning

I actually wouldn't rule out My Network TV or even first-run syndication again

This thread/poll is for a first-run new series. I hadn't thought of it being syndicated in the USA but instead on one network nationwide.
We know a new TV Trek series eventually will happen probably 6 months after Star Trek XIII is released in theaters around 2013. I would really love to see it on subscription-based premium television doing a 13-episode run with high quality written episodes and the time taken like The Sopranos or Mad Men. I just seriously doubt it will happen like that.

Even if a new Trek series should land on a premium-based series (which I also doubt), there's really no guarantee that it will be written to be less family friendly, IMO. Star Trek is, ultimately, a well-known brand name and while it can be edgier and sexier, I don't think CBS will ever allow it cross the PG-13/TV-14 threshold. Still, even with that, a new Trek series can push the boundaries of what had come before though...

Personally, though, I think any new Trek series will actually skew more towards younger audiences than older ones myself.

I did not include the cable channels AMC or TNT as I don't think it would happen there either.

Hmm...AMC is currently producing a six-episode remake of the '60s cult classic The Prisoner that's actually being filmed more like one giant theatrical movie rather than a television mini-series. I actually could see a new Trek series landing there if CBS and AMC can work out some kind of arrangement. Might be a good chance of a 6 or 13-episode series that way too...

TNT tends to shy away from science fiction after they canned Crusade awhile back and they also have their plate full with various other original dramas.

But I also think that no matter where a new Trek series lands, it will ultimately find its way to syndication as reruns...

 

[USS Triumphant]

if a new trek series does come about, they don't try to make it compete with other successful shows in prime time on major viewing nights. I think it would be doomed, regardless of the content.

The Friday night timeslot after 9PM is where shows usually go to die as a network is not expecting them to perform there. Is that what you would like to have happen?

Make it good, and put it on against the Simpsons. I've been hearing for years that the only reason that show won't die is that it's the only decent thing in the time slot. Let's steal the demographic.

 

[caisson2delta]

Re: TV channel programming

if a new trek series does come about, they don't try to make it compete with other successful shows in prime time on major viewing nights. I think it would be doomed, regardless of the content.

The Friday night timeslot after 9PM is where shows usually go to die as a network is not expecting them to perform there. Is that what you would like to have happen?
If a show is launched and planned as a 4-year run (instead of the past 7-year planned runs and contracted actors) CBS Television would want to promote it and put it in a place where they will get their largest audience. It would probably get a TVPG rating and thus be on weekly between 8-10PM on broadcast TV or cable to get the younger crowd under age 14.

That's fine and I see your point and their logic. I just don't see that many new fans or viewers tuning (casual fans, so to speak) in when they would normally be fans of shows like CSI, Law and Order, House, etc. It would just be difficult to compete with that demographic. Regardless of what fans may have liked or disliked about Enterprise, being aired on a minor league network on Wednesday nights, didn't help it ratings wise at all.

I think your idea about Showtime is cool, and I'd tune in, but there might be a lot of current or future fans who might not want to pay extra to watch. I seem to remember Stargate SG1 starting out there and did so so. it didn't prosper until it got to Sci Fi.

 

[Drogo]

I chose CBS because it's NOT cable or dish.

 

[Squiggy]

Neither is CW.

 

[Drogo]

Neither is CW.

Owned by CBS. Gee, maybe I should buy a TV and try and keep up. I totally forgot about the local tiny CW station.

 

[Supreme Admiral]

YOU has to ask me that question?!

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: TV channel programming

It would be risky, but I'd prefer Showtime, even if it meant 12 episodes of a more adult-skewing show.

HBO is developing 2 sci-fi dramas at the moment.
The next 3 years may give Trek moving back to the small screen more of a possibility on the premium channel Showtime if HBO is successful with the genre.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: TV channel programming

It would be risky, but I'd prefer Showtime, even if it meant 12 episodes of a more adult-skewing show.

HBO is developing 2 sci-fi dramas at the moment.
The next 3 years may give Trek moving back to the small screen more of a possibility on the premium channel Showtime if HBO is successful with the genre.

My hunch is that Showtime or HBO would rather develop their own space opera franchise than tap into one that, regardless of quality, is perceived as staunchly mainstream (which is great, that was what JJ Abrams was going for with Trek XI! But it's a mismatch with premium cable's objectives.)

Both Showtime and HBO position themselves as offering more exclusive content to their subscribers, that they cannot find elsewhere. That's how they justify their price tag. I hope they do space opera, but it would be more akin to Ron Moore's BSG than Star Trek. In fact, they'd probably strive to out-do BSG on all fronts because after all, they cannot afford to be behind any curve that a basic cable network is pioneering. That's like Mercedes trying to mimic Hyundai.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: TV channel programming

My hunch is that Showtime or HBO would rather develop their own space opera franchise than tap into one that, regardless of quality, is perceived as staunchly mainstream

That's how they justify their price tag.

Paramount Home Video charges the most for a season of television I believe. Showtime & HBO put out their stuff on DVD & Blu-ray too.
A quick comparison with Buy.com current prices:
Sopranos-Complete Series
This 33 disc DVD collection includes all 86 episodes of The Sopranos!
$259.00

or by the season:
Sopranos 4th season
$38.00


Star Trek: Enterprise - The Complete Series
27 DVDs.
$168.22

or Star Trek Enterprise (Complete Third Season)
$48.49

It all depends on what kind of audience Showtime wants to bring to itself and new subscribers.
Look what Sirius satellite radio did with Howard Stern a few years ago. It is possible Star Trek could be on a premium cable channel and the fans who don't want to pay the monthly fee can just by the DVD/Blu-ray 6-10 months later. Is Star Trek that mainstream that is beyond being able to have its flagship TV series 1st run on a cable TV channel and it has to be broadcast TV? Can't it be elevated to nuBSG quality for the fans instead of 22 episodes of which 16 would be good. How about just 13 episodes?

 

[jefferiestubes8]

premium cable channel/cable channel

My hunch is that Showtime or HBO would rather develop their own space opera franchise than tap into one that, regardless of quality, is perceived as staunchly mainstream

That's how they justify their price tag.

I understand.

Paramount Home Video charges the most for a season of television I believe. Showtime & HBO do put out their stuff on DVD & Blu-ray too.
A quick comparison with Buy.com current prices:
Sopranos-Complete Series
This 33 disc DVD collection includes all 86 episodes of The Sopranos!
$259.00

or by the season:
Sopranos 4th season
$38.00


granted Trek is 22-26 episodes/season...
Star Trek Next Generation Sixth Season
7 disc collection includes all 26 episodes
$48.49

Star Trek Next Generation Complete Series
49 disc collection includes all 176 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation!
$294.65

It all depends on what kind of audience Showtime wants to bring to itself and new subscribers.
Look what Sirius satellite radio did with Howard Stern a few years ago. It is possible Star Trek could be on a premium cable channel and the fans who don't want to pay the monthly fee can just by the DVD/Blu-ray 6-10 months later. Is Star Trek that mainstream that is beyond being able to have its flagship TV series 1st run on a cable TV channel and it has to be broadcast TV? Can't it be elevated to nuBSG quality for the fans instead of 22 episodes of which 16 would be good. How about just 13 episodes?