British series approach?

[Crazyewok]

My thought is that for the next series rather than the typical American 20 odd epioside approach with a few good episoides, few bad ones and the rest mediocre go for 8-12 really really good1 hour eposides per series.

To me less is better. It means more money per episode and more time for writers, actors and directors to do a stand up job.

 

[MacLeod]

A shorter season like the UK's 8-14 episodes, doesn't automatically mean you'll have a higher ratio of good to bad episodes. As for budget if each episode of say US$4m to produce they wouldn't get any more money that number of episodes times cost to produce one episode

 

[Crazyewok]

But look at Game of Thrones that has gone down that route.

It can really work far better that the standard 20 episode approach if done right.

I would rather have 10 really strong episodes than 6 really good ones 2 terrible and 12 forgetible episodes thats seem to make up most start trek series.

 

[Belz...]

But look at Game of Thrones that has gone down that route.

It's on cable, though. On network you need sponsors, which makes half the number of episodes problematic.

 

[Hober Mallow]

I'd actually like to see the British make Star Trek. They've done much better with Sherlock Holmes than American TV and films producers have been able to do these last few years.

 

[Crazyewok]

But look at Game of Thrones that has gone down that route.

It's on cable, though. On network you need sponsors, which makes half the number of episodes problematic.

The why not go the cable route?

But at the end of the day I would rather see quality over quantity which TNG, ENT and especialy Voyager seemed to go for.

Even DS9 would have been better in series 6 and 7 if they had cut out the stupid holodeck filler crap and SOME of the stand alones and just done 12 1 hour episodes on the war useing the money saved to make them even better

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

Even DS9 would have been better in series 6 and 7 if they had cut out the stupid holodeck filler crap and SOME of the stand alones and just done 12 1 hour episodes on the war useing the money saved to make them even better

Except, I loved "Take Me Out To The Holosuite" - one of my favourite episodes of DS9. I'm an "entire franchise fan", so don't misinterpret this as dislike here, but DS9 is certainly my least favoured flavour of Trek. Why? Frankly, I found "the war" just a little tiresome. For me, it dragged on and on and on - waaay overused. I wasn't that fond of the quasi-religious overtones that permeated the series either.

Back on topic. At this point, I'd take new TV Trek at whatever season length - I'm just starved of new epsiodes! As others have stated, a shorter run is no guarantee of quality.

 

[Crazyewok]

Except, I loved "Take Me Out To The Holosuite" - one of my favourite episodes of DS9. I'm an "entire franchise fan", so don't misinterpret this as dislike here, but DS9 is certainly my least favoured flavour of Trek. Why? Frankly, I found "the war" just a little tiresome. For me, it dragged on and on and on - waaay overused. I wasn't that fond of the quasi-religious overtones that permeated the series either.
[/QUOTE]
Fair enough but I think your in a minority in regards to the war being too long. Infact 2 years for a war is pretty short. It needed to be long and bloody not some over in 2 episodes skirmish. I agree on the religius bit though.

a shorter run is no guarantee of quality.[/QUOTE]
Agreed but it does increase its chances of being better I think.

 

[MacLeod]

I'd actually like to see the British make Star Trek. They've done much better with Sherlock Holmes than American TV and films producers have been able to do these last few years.

I might be somewhat baised being a Brit. But it might be interesting to see how it would turn out if they say they decided to film it in the UK. Would it add something different to how it's filmed?

Perhaps that might be an idea to look at filiming any new ST show outside of the states in either the UK, Canada or Australia.

 

[F. King Daniel]

When I read "British series approach" my immediate thought was THIS

 

[MacLeod]

Of course in a British Sci-Fi show the Federation is a totalitarian empire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terran_Federation_(Blake's_7)

Sorry wrong show.

 

[Hober Mallow]

...DS9 is certainly my least favoured flavour of Trek. Why? Frankly, I found "the war" just a little tiresome. For me, it dragged on and on and on - waaay overused. I wasn't that fond of the quasi-religious overtones that permeated the series either.

I wasn't interested at all in the DS9 war stuff. I stopped watching the series altogether around season five. Eventually, I caught the rest of the series, but I found every bit of the war story unimaginative and uninspired (although I did like "In the Pale Moonlight," so I guess not quite every bit).

I was fond of the religious stuff, the idea of transcendence of time and how both humans and alien cultures try to relate to the transcendent. It was something different Trek had never before tried. "Emissary," had a lot of promise with this stuff, but it never really delivered on that promise.

 

[Hober Mallow]

How about a crossover mini-series with Doctor Who?

 

[MacLeod]

It'll never happen. Closest we got was in ENT when we had the TARDIS like ship.

 

[Belz...]

The why not go the cable route?

Why not indeed ? But I think CBS would rather the show air on its network. I might be wrong about that.

But at the end of the day I would rather see quality over quantity which TNG, ENT and especialy Voyager seemed to go for.

Well I thought TNG went for quality, myself, especially after the shaky first season. Enterprise wasn't half bad after season 2.

Even DS9 would have been better in series 6 and 7 if they had cut out the stupid holodeck filler crap and SOME of the stand alones and just done 12 1 hour episodes on the war useing the money saved to make them even better

I don't know. I appreciated the time off, once in a while.

 

[Chrono85]

I think that the fewer episode season would only be beneficial if the show is serialized, where it needs a tighter adherence to an ongoing story arc. Star Trek's episodic format has worked well for it from the beginning, and I don't see any reason to change it As for where it's filmed, or whether it is written/directed by Brits or Americans, that doesn't make any difference either, as long as the storytelling is good. I don't think it makes any sense to say that it would be better if it were made by British people, if it was Americans that made it great in the first place .

 

[Crazyewok]

Star Trek's episodic format is old though. Yes there is some room for it but alien of the week is just so well 1990's.

I would rather the TNG had cut half its forgetible alien of the weeks and focused on a few and expanded there role. Would loved to have seem more on the tamarians or the sheliak ect

And its nice to have some continuty between episoides even if its slight.

 

[MacLeod]

I don't think anyone has said it would be better, just perhaps different. And different can be good.

As for serialised vs episodic, perhaps the DSN route of semi-serialised is the best of both worlds.

 

[Crazyewok]

As for serialised vs episodic, perhaps the DSN route of semi-serialised is the best of both worlds.

I agree with you there. A mix of both is the best way to go.

 

[Hober Mallow]

Star Trek's episodic format is old though. Yes there is some room for it but alien of the week is just so well 1990's.

Serialized doesn't automatically mean better. And episodic doesn't automatically mean "alien of the week."