New Fan Retention Rate

[Joshua Howard]

With the release of XI, a whole lot of teens and folks who were completely new to Star Trek stepped into theaters and saw the movie; a fairly big number of them liked the film and decided to become fans.

That is great, but this is the question; how many of those folks - new fans - do you think are going to actually stay loyal to Star Trek permanently?

For me, Star Trek interest began outside the theater when I decided to buy ST: TMP on DVD, and grew slowly from there; but that interest wasn't a fly-by-night joyride like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, which - as much as I liked them upon release - are now just sitting on the shelf.

I can't help thinking that STXI is playing out like a woman who turns heads on the sidewalk, but won't stand a chance at lasting a decade as somebody's wife. We have seen it turn heads; but what has to be done to make it spark a romance with a 21st century generation of new fandom?

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Re: New Fan Retention Rate features vs. TV

how many of those folks - new fans - do you think are going to actually stay loyal to Star Trek permanently?

I think Temis the Vorta summed it up nicely.

Paramount spent hundreds of millions to buff up the Star Trek brand back to "premium" status,

There's a reason Mercedes doesn't make crappy cars for the low-end market, even though there's money to be made, or if they did, they sure wouldn't slap the Mercedes brand on it. Everyone has to start thinking of Star Trek as a product like toothpaste, dog food or cars.

If you want a low-end car, don't go into a Mercedes dealership. If you want direct-to-DVD crap, don't expect for Star Trek.

Fans will equate Star Trek with high quality science fiction action fare (at least in the cinema). The sixth Star Trek TV series is where your question Joshua Howard really comes into play as the action cannot be sustained and you need time for a lot of character development on a TV series.
The Enterprise series did that for the first two years of Enterprise before they switched back to more plot driven stories. Hopefully TPTB will have learned from that when they start up the sixth Trek TV series.

 

[childofdarkness]

If another Neutrek movie is released within a reasonable timeframe, and if another Trek series (preferably a better one than the last two or three) gears up, I think the potential is there for it to start all over again. Right now, there doesn't seem to be anything else out there with the epic/legend feel of the Trek universe. After all, something in Trek captured our hearts and imaginations and keeps us coming back to fandom again and again, even if we try to leave. It's like quicksand, or flypaper, or the Hotel California or something....

 

[KimMH]

Love nuTrek or hate it if it swells the ranks of Trekkies it's done it's job well.

 

[Therin of Andor]

how many of those folks - new fans - do you think are going to actually stay loyal to Star Trek permanently?

Depends on if they find what they're looking for. There were reports that sales of all Star Trek series boxed sets of DVDs went through the roof in the weeks after the movie.

But some fans are attracted by the camaraderie of other ST fans in fan clubs, some are attracted by the tech, the actors, the relationships, the toys, the books/comics, etc.

I know many friends who found ST fan clubs during the 80s, became disheartened by ST itself, but loved the company of other people in the clubs so much they stuck around. It's weird to have people in a ST club proclaim that they "hate" ST, but it happens.

 

[Danny99]

I highly doubt a lot of new fans will be reeled in for old Trek.

Most teenagers and young adults these days liked it for the beautiful cast and because it was action action action.

Most sci-fi fans under thirty these days like shows like Stargate, nuBSG, and Firefly.

Neither of those categories are going to watch old Trek morality tales or any old Trek for that matter.

 

[KimMH]

But seeds will be planted and sprouts will grow in their psyche and when they're ready to come back - we'll still be here to welcome them with open arms. Because we're ethical principled compassionate people - fer heck's sake - we're Trekkies.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Love nuTrek or hate it if it swells the ranks of Trekkies it's done it's job well.

Couldn't have said it better...

Though I would add this. If they make a new series now, it would be about the most stupidest thing ever. TREK has over 600+ hours of shows to watch, and that's enough. I hope TREK has finally graduated to the big-screen and never goes back to TV again...to do so would be going backwards..

Rob

 

[KimMH]

I confess I've watched epis of TNG VOY DS9 and ENT and wondered why they had to redo a TOS epi. If a new series was made it should be based on some of the Lit like SCE or NewFrontier simply because it hasn't been seen before. I really want to see a Saurian - I imagine Gorn-like but maybe CGI.

 

[SG-17]

Most sci-fi fans under thirty these days like shows like Stargate, nuBSG, and Firefly.

Neither of those categories are going to watch old Trek morality tales or any old Trek for that matter.

I do.

 

[RobertScorpio]

My daughter, 15, wants to see it again so she can see Pine again...and if you don't think SEXY babes had anything to do with why many of us old-farts became fans of TOS, then you're living in a dream world.

Rob

 

[Kegg]

Most sci-fi fans under thirty these days like shows like Stargate, nuBSG, and Firefly.

Neither of those categories are going to watch old Trek morality tales or any old Trek for that matter.

I do.

You're posting on a Star Trek forum. Of course you do.

As for fans of the new Trek, they'll at least be around for the sequel, and probably other movies after that. I doubt that a new TV show is in the cards anytime soon, to be honest.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Most sci-fi fans under thirty these days like shows like Stargate, nuBSG, and Firefly.

Neither of those categories are going to watch old Trek morality tales or any old Trek for that matter.

I do.

You're posting on a Star Trek forum. Of course you do.

As for fans of the new Trek, they'll at least be around for the sequel, and probably other movies after that. I doubt that a new TV show is in the cards anytime soon, to be honest.

And I hope you're right. As I said in another thread, a new series would be wrong headed...

Rob

 

[jamestyler]

The new film revived interest. I know newcomers and casual fans who have been hooked as well as old fans who's interest has been revived.

One new fan even signed up to this forum recently and has enjoyed watching some DVD's with me. I even got her hooked on a Trek story I wrote. For a lot of people here it's more like a cult to follow rather than entertainment which can be offputting as hell labeling yourself as a fan.

Personally I'd say once fans can enjoy rather than immerse themselves, more new fans would pop up.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: New Fan Retention Rate features vs. TV

how many of those folks - new fans - do you think are going to actually stay loyal to Star Trek permanently?

I think Temis the Vorta summed it up nicely.

Paramount spent hundreds of millions to buff up the Star Trek brand back to "premium" status,

There's a reason Mercedes doesn't make crappy cars for the low-end market, even though there's money to be made, or if they did, they sure wouldn't slap the Mercedes brand on it. Everyone has to start thinking of Star Trek as a product like toothpaste, dog food or cars.

If you want a low-end car, don't go into a Mercedes dealership. If you want direct-to-DVD crap, don't expect for Star Trek.

Fans will equate Star Trek with high quality science fiction action fare (at least in the cinema). The sixth Star Trek TV series is where your question Joshua Howard really comes into play as the action cannot be sustained and you need time for a lot of character development on a TV series.
The Enterprise series did that for the first two years of Enterprise before they switched back to more plot driven stories. Hopefully TPTB will have learned from that when they start up the sixth Trek TV series.

Far be it from me to argue with myself.

The number of fans who will hang on mindlessly regardless of Star Trek's quality will be small - and should be small. But if the next movie is as good as XI, expect more blockbuster numbers. No franchise should be allowed to coast along regardless of quality. I hope the audience continues to be critical and hard to please.

How to get Star Trek back on TV is a trickier question - that's where it belongs, content-wise, but the business trends in TV pose a big barrier.

Star Trek on TV would most likely fall into the same dilemma that Heroes is facing now - popular worldwide, yet unable to measure and monetize that popularity to remain safely in business for the indefinite future. If NBC can solve the Heroes problem, they deserve to air Star Trek (even if CBS's studio that makes the show).

 

[Kelso]

The majority of people who see the new films will remain fair-weather fans, turning out for big Trek event pictures and possibly granting TNG-esque popularity to a TV show one day (well, as TNG-esque as you can get in today's TV industry.) That is, until the pendulum swings the other way and Trek becomes unpopular again.


Hopefully, there will be a whole slew of nerdy little 8 year olds out there, though, who will fall in love with the Star Trek universe through these new movies and begin a life-long obsession with the franchise.

 

[GhostFaceSaint]

Actually the new film didn't do so well internationally, and I really don't know why not, was it because it wasn't as into humanism, or were they offended by the marketing saying that this wasn't your dad's Trek?

 

[Kirkman1987]

Actually the new film didn't do so well internationally, and I really don't know why not, was it because it wasn't as into humanism, or were they offended by the marketing saying that this wasn't your dad's Trek?

I may be wrong, but I didn't think Star Trek was ever considered a huge international success. I thought it's success was largely in the US and Western Europe.

 

[fek'lhr1]

Frankly not many. Not to long ago I was on another forum site talking about star trek, the OP went into detail clarifying what star trek was and all it's series etc. The very first post was "Oh star trek that was a good movie".
I feel like it has turned into a bit of a fad especially for teens, but that's the beauty of it. We wait a few months and the superficial fans will be weeded away and we will be greeted with some fresh loyal fans who actually watch the episodes and are able to contribute to sites like these.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Actually the new film didn't do so well internationally, and I really don't know why not, was it because it wasn't as into humanism, or were they offended by the marketing saying that this wasn't your dad's Trek?

IIRC, the only place where it underperformed was Germany. Everywhere else the film took way more money than predicted.

The marketing wasn't as strong in some countries. I think you'll find local divisions of Paramount were responsible for most of the marketing and some divisions assumed it would flop and didn't inject the local funds required.