David Foster reveals his plans for a new Star Trek series?

[Steven321]

I'm sure that this has already been said on here, but here it is anyway -

(the main parts)

David Foster, a writer, producer and head of the production company 1947 Entertainment, has revealed that he’s planning a new series that is designed to take Star Trek back to its “original series roots.” He’s said the new show will take in all the usual Roddenberry trappings – Klingons, Vulcans and Ferengi, for example – but will feature a much younger cast.
“The series concept is fully developed, subject to change of course,” Foster told Trek Web, “with a solid 5-7 year series plan, pilot script and a conceptualized finale that intends to define Star Trek for generations.”
Foster’s series will take place after the Voyager series of a few years back, and won’t conflict with JJ Abrams’ big-screen take on the Star Trek mythos, since it’s set in a different timeline.


It then goes on to state that it is still very much just "words on paper" and it may never lead to anything, but if it was, from his ideas on a new series, who would you want in it etc and what would one of the major plots be?

 

[Dukhat]

He was "preparing" to pitch his idea to CBS on August of 2011. It's now January of 2013, and no further information has been heard about it. But the thing is, the original universe is done. It's highly unlikely CBS has any intention whatsoever in going that route.

 

[Steven321]

I think it was said elsewhere that he was still hoping another company would come in and pick it up. Think Syfy was mooted as another possibility. Still time I suppose, problem there is that I can imagine that if anyone did take him up on it, the majority of his work would have to be re-written.

 

[Nerys Myk]

The company that can say yes or no is CBS. Without their okay no one else can touch it.

 

[Christopher]

Why does this non-story keep getting coverage? David Foster is a guy who has only a couple of minor credits on IMDb. His production company has only done a couple of short subjects. I think the only reason the news sites picked up the story in the first place is because they confused him with a more prominent TV producer with the same name. This David Foster wasn't much more than a fan posting a story idea on the Internet. As far as anyone knows, he's never actually talked to the studio about it.

Hell, if he really did have any chance of getting to develop a Trek series, he wouldn't have spilled the whole idea to the public before even getting a meeting with CBS. That's just not the way it works. Look at any legitimate TV or movie production and you can see how slowly the information seeps out. People working on actual projects like to keep the details secret for a variety of reasons -- ideas are still in flux, contracts haven't been signed, you name it. So the fact that Foster revealed so much of his idea online is the best reason to doubt that anything was ever going to come of it. He was probably just trying to drum up fan interest in his idea in the hopes that it would convince CBS to let him pitch it to them. And obviously it didn't work, nor was there any reason to expect it would. If there's to be a new Trek TV series anytime soon, it'll probably be developed by either Bad Robot or Kurtzman/Orci.

 

[mos6507]

"if he really did have any chance of getting to develop a Trek series, he wouldn't have spilled the whole idea to the public before even getting a meeting with CBS."

Then what's your take on Renegades?

I mean, isn't the intention (realistic or not) to ultimately get CBS to "bless" the show and let it run as a sort of new-media web-show kind of like Battlestar Blood and Chrome?

The whole definition of TV is changing. And it could be that the ultimate fate of the prime continuity is some sort of blurring of the lines between a fan production and an official low-budget show. Who is to know?

Not that long ago people never thought CBS would pony up the dough to remaster the FX for TOS, and then they didn't think TNG would ever go high-def. I don't think it's likely they'll want to continue the prime continuity outside of Star Trek Online, but I wouldn't rule it out as long as it is truly in its own niche.

Look how many years it's taken to develop the JJ Trek sequel. That's lots of years for a franchise to basically lie fallow. So one could say that they want to not overexpose the franchise, they do kind of have an interest in keeping the coals going inbetween sequels if it's going to take 4 years between each movie. Hell, you can have an entire series run in that span of time.

 

[C.E. Evans]

He was "preparing" to pitch his idea to CBS on August of 2011. It's now January of 2013, and no further information has been heard about it. But the thing is, the original universe is done. It's highly unlikely CBS has any intention whatsoever in going that route.

It's not so much that the original universe is done that it's the Rick Berman-era of Trek is done.

A new Trek series could be set in the original universe, the Abramsverse, or all-new continuity altogether, since it'll likely be produced by someone new with his or her own idea of how Trek should return to TV.

 

[mos6507]

It's not so much that the original universe is done that it's the Rick Berman-era of Trek is done.

Which is fine by me. The prime continuity is inextricably linked with Berman, which it shouldn't be. He isn't the only guy on the planet qualified to handle that universe and there's no reason to think someone else might be incapable of making that universe relevant and interesting. I spent a long time reading Ron Moore's epic rant about Voyager, for instance. There were people even back in the day who had a better idea how to make those shows really pop, and Berman really sabotaged things.

 

[Steven321]

Here is someone Else's idea from a few days ago that I came across, the person also mentions that Ronald D. Moore might be in the mix of things for a potential new series.

http://sciencefiction.com/2013/01/1...ion-series-should-follow-peter-davids-vision/

 

[Christopher]

Then what's your take on Renegades?

I mean, isn't the intention (realistic or not) to ultimately get CBS to "bless" the show and let it run as a sort of new-media web-show kind of like Battlestar Blood and Chrome?

I don't know what "Renegades" is, so I can't comment.

The whole definition of TV is changing. And it could be that the ultimate fate of the prime continuity is some sort of blurring of the lines between a fan production and an official low-budget show. Who is to know?

Even if that's so, this particular pitch only got a brief flurry of attention a year and a half ago, and absolutely nothing came of it. This is not news anymore, if it ever was.

 

[INACTIVEUSS Einstein]

There have been proposals/rumors from tons of big names:

- J Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5)

- Bryan Singer (X-Men, House MD)

- Ronald D Moore (Deep Space Nine, Battlestar Galactica)

- Sam Raimi (Xena: Warrior Princess, Spartacus: Blood and Sand)

- Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, American Dad)

Out of those, I know Seth MacFarlane understands and loves Star Trek, J Michael Straczynski created a masterpiece of sci-fi, but might not be suitable for Trek's style, Bryan Singer helped create House, which has the ideal format for a new episodic Trek series, and Sam Raimi has done some good TV over the years.

 

[Dukhat]

Then what's your take on Renegades?

I mean, isn't the intention (realistic or not) to ultimately get CBS to "bless" the show and let it run as a sort of new-media web-show kind of like Battlestar Blood and Chrome?

The whole definition of TV is changing. And it could be that the ultimate fate of the prime continuity is some sort of blurring of the lines between a fan production and an official low-budget show. Who is to know?

I think you're confused about what Renegades is. But that's ok, because you aren't the only one.

All Renegades is is a fan production, just like James Cawley's Phase II, that needed CBS's permission to create it, just like all fan productions legally do, since Star Trek is owned by CBS. And, like Phase II, CBS has given them permission to create their production as long as they make no money doing so (although I still to this day wonder how they were able to have a kickstarter campaign to raise the money to make it, as I'd think that was against CBS's rules...).

CBS tolerates these fan productions because they know that no money will be made off them. They have no intention of viewing these things as "pilots" for a new series, because right now CBS doesn't want to produce a new series. I doubt they even care what they're about.

The confusion, I believe, stemmed from some overzealous fans of the production, who believed Renegades was something that it was not. Now that's not a knock on the production itself or the ones who are creating it; just that it was misrepresented by a few people.

And the prime continuity will not be a mixture of a fan production and a low-budget TV show. No fan production is official, because it was not produced by CBS. Period. And CBS will not make a low-budget Star Trek show if they even make one at all.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

Here is someone Else's idea from a few days ago that I came across, the person also mentions that Ronald D. Moore might be in the mix of things for a potential new series.

http://sciencefiction.com/2013/01/1...ion-series-should-follow-peter-davids-vision/

They should do this.

 

[Christopher]

The confusion, I believe, stemmed from some overzealous fans of the production, who believed Renegades was something that it was not. Now that's not a knock on the production itself or the ones who are creating it; just that it was misrepresented by a few people.

Same with the Foster pitch -- a number of fans mistook it for something that CBS was actually developing, rather than something that an outsider just said he would like to pitch to them. All too often, the Internet is a big game of telephone.

No fan production is official, because it was not produced by CBS. Period.

Well, that's mostly right. Fan productions are, by definition, not professional. However, there are two cases of official Star Trek productions being subcontracted to other studios -- the animated series was produced by Filmation Associates and the current movies are produced by Bad Robot and Paramount Pictures. What made them official is that they were co-productions with the copyright owners -- not physically made by the owners' own studio, but still licensed and collaborated on by them. Any new Trek TV series would certainly have to be owned and produced by CBS Studios, using their facilities; but these days, with so many producers being incorporated as their own production companies, any new Trek series is likely to be a collaboration. If Abrams and Lindelof made it, it'd be a co-production of CBS Studios and Bad Robot; if Kurtzman & Orci made it, it'd be CBS and K/O Paper Products; if Ron Moore made it, it'd be CBS and Tall Ship Productions; and if they went with Bryan Singer and Bryan Fuller (which I'd love to see), it would be a co-production of CBS Studios, Bad Hat Harry Productions, and Living Dead Guy Productions.

 

[Amasov]

My question is, in all seriousness, who is David Foster? I've never heard of this man.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Then what's your take on Renegades?

I think you're confused about what Renegades is. But that's ok, because you aren't the only one.

All Renegades is is a fan production, just like James Cawley's Phase II...

Yep. Absolutely Right(TM).

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The whole definition of TV is changing.

True, but that doesn't change the fact that Star Trek is a premium brand (now more than ever thanks to JJ Abrams). CBS would be foolish to undo all the brand building work Abrams is doing for them (for free!) by making some cheapo web series that's not going to make them much money anyway.

Better to just do nothing, and wait for a proposal to come along that will encompass traditional TV plus streaming (why just do the internet when you can do both?) Orci doing an animated series with the Abrams characters (voiced by cheaper actors) is still far and away the most likely scenario.

But first, we have to wait for confirmation that the next movie is a success (and it will be). Then CBS may have confidence to go ahead. Don't underestimate what a tough sell space opera is on TV.

 

[Christopher]

My question is, in all seriousness, who is David Foster? I've never heard of this man.

Exactly why it's so bewildering that some people still think there's a story here.

 

[nightwind1]

Hey, folks, I've got a great idea for a new Star Trek series. I can't talk about it yet- hush-hush, y'know. But I'm going to talk to CBS sometime in the indefinite future and get their permission to take over one of their money-making franchises.

Now, I've got no experience (except for the two years of telecommunicative arts I majored in back in '77-'79). But my idea is rock solid.

So, keep it hush-hush, okay?

I'll let you know what comes of it.

 

[DFoster]

...he wouldn't have spilled the whole idea to the public before even getting a meeting with CBS....So the fact that Foster revealed so much of his idea online is the best reason to doubt that anything was ever going to come of it...


Um...nice facts .

The fact, is that there are over 800 pages of 'the whole idea.' How many pages are out there? None, just a few words, and a whole lot of discussion. Oh, yes, and some interviews that never happened.

Much has been published as fact without any real research. The people who have called or emailed directly have more information I assure you.

The true fans are excited about getting a well written series with gripping characters back on TV. If that is what happens, I will be thrilled.

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