Things that need be done with a new Star Trek show

[Sjaddix]

Typhoon Pact: An alliance consisting of Romulan Star Empire, the Breen Confederacy, the Tholian Assembly, the Gorn Hegemony, the Tzenkethi, and the Holy Order of the Kinshay.

Also I think it would be interesting to see Sisko (Emissary), Kira (as Kai) and the Prophets building a more powerful Bajor. Naturally, the Prophets would do it for something totally unrelated to normal galactic problems. An Empire would be interesting I could see them demanding harsh repartions from the Cardassians and the Federation saying no which results in another war.

Still the reason I say you are best starting on the precipice of war or the start or during a war. Just a war is good idea because its a pretty easy sell. If u cannot sell a war to the executives on a scifi or fantasy show then I don't see u being able to sell anything. Also going to war worked wonders for DS9 in terms of

 

[TotesMagotes]

In terms of what?

Alot of the posts seems to be of the opinion that this show should try appeal to a broader audience, i.e.: people who don't like Star Trek, or sci-fi in general. I dunno if that's possible, but I met one guy who had a bad impression of Star Trek.. though based on his tastes in entertainment, I think that he would like it if he actually saw an episode. His impressions are mainly from the little bits he's seen of the original series being spoofed, and the general stereotype of the "Star Trek fan". Another reason he gave was that all the aliens looked like humans with a little bit of makeup on, which felt really unrealistic to him.

Maybe the "Star Trek" label is the problem? Battlestar Galactica did well, how did it do it? You want another great, sci-fi space opera, does it have to have the Star Trek label? What about something new? Something "Trek like", but still in a different universe, with the benefit of not being restricted to pre-established canon?

 

[Patrick O'Brien]

A new Star Trek show needs to stay focused on the core values that have made every series succesful in the past. Namely the themes of humanity and exploration. Trek has been around for 50 years, so the creators/directors/writers have been doing something right.
I agree with Temis the Votra, that the show also needs to be "serialized due to the expectations of the audience." Borrow from the success of Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, etc... Make it a show that matters week to week and comes together with a big finally after 5 to 7 seasons.

Another good point is the idea of a long term war, as Sjaddix mentioned. I loved how TNG and DS9 slowly intoduced their main antagonist, the Borg/Dominion respectively. They went from a whisper, to a rumor, to the full blow terrors over the corse of several episodes/seasons. Rewatching early TNG/DS9 now, I notice the little hints more and more, it was simply Brilliant!

 

[T'Girl]

A new Star Trek show needs to stay focused on the core values that have made every series succesful in the past. Namely the themes of humanity and exploration.

Add interesting characters/character development, and moral/ethical dilemmas.

Not everyone wants to watch the "spaceship show." But that same person will watch Star Trek as that "interesting people show."

 

[Patrick O'Brien]

A new Star Trek show needs to stay focused on the core values that have made every series succesful in the past. Namely the themes of humanity and exploration.

Add interesting characters/character development, and moral/ethical dilemmas.

Not everyone wants to watch the "spaceship show." But that same person will watch Star Trek as that "interesting people show."

Very true. Thanks T'Girl

 

[Sjaddix]

A new Star Trek show needs to stay focused on the core values that have made every series succesful in the past. Namely the themes of humanity and exploration.

Add interesting characters/character development, and moral/ethical dilemmas.

Not everyone wants to watch the "spaceship show." But that same person will watch Star Trek as that "interesting people show."

Good Points.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Alot of the posts seems to be of the opinion that this show should try appeal to a broader audience, i.e.: people who don't like Star Trek, or sci-fi in general.

It's really not about appealing to people who do or don't like sci fi, or some amorphous "broader audience" (which is a meaningless term in the modern TV business) but it will have to appeal to specific audiences, and who they are will vary depending on which network or cable channel is picking it up.

Whoever picks up the show (to a CBS-owned channel, or from CBS Studios), the first question they're going to ask is, how does this fit in with our existing strategy to keep our audience and attract new audience? That means, first off, any new show must be compatible with existing shows on that channel, so that when an ad for that show runs during an existing show's timeslot, the viewers will say, "hey that looks good!"

Advertising to existing viewers is the core of any new show's promotional plan, and if it doesn't succeed in that most basic task, it's almost certainly doomed. Networks and cable channels use existing shows to boostrap new shows. It's by far the most cost-effective promotional approach possible, vs the much harder task of attracting a new audience or stealing audience from a competitor.

Beyond that, the network/channel might have a strategy for building their audience into new demographics where it's currently weak. So if a new show can appeal to existing viewers and also the viewers who are targetted in the expansion, so much the better.

If Star Trek is ever going to return to TV, it has to successfully jump through all those hoops. It's a fantasy to think that anyone is going to exempt it from the process that all shows go through just because it's somehow special. No show is that special.

This all means that there's no sensible way to talk about what audience Star Trek needs to appeal to, until we know who is picking it up. If Showtime picks it up, it will be a very different show than if, say, TNT does.

The fact that there aren't any space opera shows on the air to use to bootstrap Star Trek isn't that big of a problem, because what makes a show compatible with its network is as much in the approach it takes as the subject matter.

There were no zombie shows on the air when AMC launched The Walking Dead, and that's been a huge hit. But AMC's idea of a zombie show is way different than another network's would have been.

MTV also has a zombie show - Death Valley - and it's infantile and jokey. AMC's zombie show is heavy on character development and ethical issues - far more serious of an approach. The two shows basically have zombies in common, and nothing else. Both MTV and AMC are "correct" in their approach to the zombie genre, because they're doing the zombie show that's right for them, that fits their brand identity and appeals to their existing audience.

Or you could compare Game of Thrones to HBO's approach to non-fantasy drama - The Sopranos, for instance - and see the family resemblance there. That's what would happen to Star Trek. It would be crafted to fit the family where it's going to live. As long as it's more AMC than MTV, we should be fine.

 

[BrownShatner]

Alot of the posts seems to be of the opinion that this show should try appeal to a broader audience, i.e.: people who don't like Star Trek, or sci-fi in general.

I think what you're overlooking is that Star Trek was actually many people's introduction into science-fiction. (Along with Star Wars, Avatar, and a few other big motion pictures.)

The point is there isn't a large pre-existing "sci-fi" audience sitting around waiting for a show to come on. The producers need to sell people on the idea of a spaceship show. If the show catches on (e.g. TNG), only then do you have a "sci-fi" audience.

Look at the Lord of the Rings movies -- gigantic audience, and probably 95% of them had never sat through a fantasy film before. But they loved it. (I'm actually very surprised there isn't a "Knights vs Goblins" show somewhere on cable.)

 

[jpch]

unlike what so many people say i happen to like techno-babble lol,Time Travel,Space ship pew pew action...i also like Romance,and character Drama,survival issues (Year of Hell my fav)

my fav shows are TNG/VOY i think they are far more loyal to the ''Gene'' vision then others.

tho a new series would have to be in the same attitude as DS9 to succeed nowadays yet with the flavor of TNG/VOY exploration and some classic trek canon.
also have 1 premise and why not bring some iconic people into it like small cameo or for a few episodes,that would certainly attract views. (Bring Mulgrew/Shatner/Stewart) they will surely assist the relaunch of a series seeing a familiar face.

 

[Sindatur]

unlike what so many people say i happen to like techno-babble lol,Time Travel,Space ship pew pew action...i also like Romance,and character Drama,survival issues (Year of Hell my fav)

my fav shows are TNG/VOY i think they are far more loyal to the ''Gene'' vision then others.

tho a new series would have to be in the same attitude as DS9 to succeed nowadays yet with the flavor of TNG/VOY exploration and some classic trek canon.
also have 1 premise and why not bring some iconic people into it like small cameo or for a few episodes,that would certainly attract views. (Bring Mulgrew/Shatner/Stewart) they will surely assist the relaunch of a series seeing a familiar face.

I wonder why so many folks have this impression that DS9 didn't explore? It brought us to Bajor, and explored their culture and Religion intimately, it explored the Non-linear-time nature of the Worm Hole Aliens, it introduced us to the Vorta, The Jem Hadar, and the Changelings and their cultures, it explored numerous other one off Planets in the Gamma Quadrant. It gave us more exploration of the Klingons and an Indepth view of the Cardassians, who were pretty one-dimensional throughout most of TNG.

Having the show primarily set on the Space Station in the early seasons, didn't prevent exploration, because they had the Runabouts (Small ships, much bigger than Shuttle Crafts) and later on the Defiant.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

^ They also had to 'explore' the consequences of their actions. By being bound to the one place they couldn't just swoop in, save the day, and then be off again without a care in the world.

Things that happened on Bajor, the GQ, DMZ and with the Cardassians always stuck with them.

 

[Sjaddix]

unlike what so many people say i happen to like techno-babble lol,Time Travel,Space ship pew pew action...i also like Romance,and character Drama,survival issues (Year of Hell my fav)

my fav shows are TNG/VOY i think they are far more loyal to the ''Gene'' vision then others.

tho a new series would have to be in the same attitude as DS9 to succeed nowadays yet with the flavor of TNG/VOY exploration and some classic trek canon.
also have 1 premise and why not bring some iconic people into it like small cameo or for a few episodes,that would certainly attract views. (Bring Mulgrew/Shatner/Stewart) they will surely assist the relaunch of a series seeing a familiar face.

I wonder why so many folks have this impression that DS9 didn't explore? It brought us to Bajor, and explored their culture and Religion intimately, it explored the Non-linear-time nature of the Worm Hole Aliens, it introduced us to the Vorta, The Jem Hadar, and the Changelings and their cultures, it explored numerous other one off Planets in the Gamma Quadrant. It gave us more exploration of the Klingons and an Indepth view of the Cardassians, who were pretty one-dimensional throughout most of TNG.

Having the show primarily set on the Space Station in the early seasons, didn't prevent exploration, because they had the Runabouts (Small ships, much bigger than Shuttle Crafts) and later on the Defiant.

Indeed besides any new show would probably be closer to DS9. Exploration is all well and good but wars are better sellers.

 

[The Castellan]

I'd like to see Starfleet folks dealing with themselves when the damned Prime Directive comes into play, like when letting lesser civilizations go to hell, be destroyed, or be conquered, all so they won't get 'contaminated' and seeing their guilt. I know I'd be going through a personal hell with that going on.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

... the Khotimer Allies in a war against the Typhoon Pact Allies ...

Who?




.

Exactly.

None of this continuity porn can provide the basis of a television series. The studio clearly has a very good handle on how Star Trek can recover from its decline in the kine of minutiae that only fans care for, and they're going with that. Finding a way to make it truly popular on television again may or may not be part of that in the next ten years.

 

[horatio83]

Finding a way to make it truly popular on television again may or may not be part of that in the next ten years.

Big Brother and Keeping Up with the Kardashians is popular on TV. Popularity has nothing to do with quality and is perhaps even negatively correlated to it.

 

[Sjaddix]

I don't see how its hard to sell a war between the Federation & Klingons vs Romulans and Friends. Call it Continuity Porn if u want

 

[horatio83]

I think the trick is not to abandon continuity but the obsession with it respectively the obsession to get rid of it. STXI did try to break out of continuity but at the same time stayed deeply connected with it. After all the "passing of the torch" element in the story is as large as in no other Trek story and there are also quite a lot references and repetitions of lines (Spock repeats his Dole line from TUC).

 

[Sjaddix]

Which is why any show should move into the future. Going back without rebooting like the new Star Trek movies results in continuity screwups. Jump a good 50-100 years after Voyager and u can avoid most problems.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Or, follow the continuity of the Abrams movies. It's a whole new sandbox to play in, but similar enough to the one we already know that it still means something.

 

[nightwind1]

I'd like to see less obsessing about war and combat. Every time you turn around in fandom, someone's designing the next battleship, or dreadnaught, loaded with megaphasers and quantum/super/mega torpedoes.